The Auditorium of Beacon academy was packed, everyone from the first to third years were here, the fourth years were all doing missions outside of Beacon so they couldn't attend the sudden meeting that was ordered by Ms. Goodwitch.
It was right after dinner time too, it was unusual that students were called out this late, it was already 8pm.
The Faculty were on the stage looking down at the students who were all whispering and talking amongst one another. They were all thinking the same thing, why were they here? The last time they were gathered in the auditorium like this was for the Initiation, but even that was only for the first years.
The fact that all but one of the year levels were gathered here today meant that there was something big about to be announced.
Ozpin finally walked up to the microphone, tapping on it once. Everyone quieted down
"Good afternoon, I apologize for calling you all here on such short notice, you see, a few days ago, we received some… worrying information."
Ozpin clearly looked more on edge than he usually did.
The combined amount of confusion increased, though the students kept quiet.
"I'll get right to it. General Thomas Kirkman of the United States of America plans to visit Beacon tomorrow morning."
And with that the silence was completely broken, students started talking. Many 'What?!'s and 'Why?!'s were heard along with the general chatter that came with startling news.
"Silence!" Ms. Goodwitch ordered. The students once more quieted down.
Ozpin cleared his throat before speaking again. "General Kirkman will be given a tour around Beacon as he requested."
Some of the faces within the auditorium morphed into ones of anger, or even fear.
"Now I am aware that some of you are not very fond of the United States and its actions, but we expect you all to be at your utmost behavior, this is a very important visit."
Ozpin took a moment to look around and gauge the reactions of the students, the general emotion was confusion, but he could tell that some were very unhappy about this, he could particularly notice the scowl on the young Blake Belladonna. Given her history, it was unsurprising that she did not like General Kirkman.
"Ms. Goodwitch will remain to answer any question that you may have." He nodded before stepping down the stage and walking towards the door.
He exited. He walked down the hallway and into the elevator, he pressed the button leading directly to his office, the doors closed, and he sighed.
It had been a long couple of days, just two days ago he had received troubling information from Qrow Branwen that the General had paid a visit to Cooperwick last week. Qrow happened to be staying in Cooperwick while he was travelling back to Vale.
It was noted that Kirkman entered the town hall and seemed to speak with the Village Chief, Jonathan Winslow, before coming out and observing his Bullheads eliminate two Beringels that had appeared outside the Village walls, courtesy of Qrow's semblance.
The elevator doors opened, Ozpin stepped out and walked to his desk, before taking a seat, he scratched his head and observed the stack of papers on his desk. He had more important matters to attend to over the different forms that were related to the upcoming Vytal festival. Kirkman's visit was indeed an important one.
Qrow noted that Kirkman brought with him around thirty armed soldiers, along with two of those strange looking bullheads that he called "Comanches". This meant that Kirkman would likely bring the same posse with him to Beacon. It made Ozpin uncomfortable to know that such killing machines would be right at Beacon's doorstep. That along with the small army possibly coming with him worried Ozpin.
Was this supposed to be a diplomatic mission or a threat? Ozpin did not know.
While lost in thought the doors to the elevator in front of him opened. Behind it was General Ironwood.
"Ozpin, we need to discuss this visit that's about to happen."
"Agreed, but what is there really to discuss?"
Ironwood walked forward, standing directly in front of Ozpin.
"A lot, it was clear what the United States was trying to do with that 'Demonstration' of theirs from two weeks ago."
"Oh?" Ozpin already knew the answer but still felt the need to ask.
"Intimidation."
Ozpin stood up and walked to the table on the side of his office where a glass pitcher containing his coffee was.
"I am well aware that fact, but what is it exactly you plan to do? Intimidate them as well?" He sarcastically stated. Ozpin began to pour himself some coffee as Ironwood turned to face him, his eyebrows furrowed, it was clear he did not appreciate the sarcasm.
"Yes."
"And how exactly do we intimidate them? You saw what they could do. I hardly think they'd be intimidated by anything Atlas has to offer."
Ozpin walked back to his desk and sat down with his new cup in his hand.
"I think you just might be wrong, Oz." Ironwood smirked. "Atlas has been developing new technology, and as you know, we just got the first batch of Atlesian Paladins from our factories, if we put a few of them on display at Beacon during the visit, I'm sure that can show these 'Americans' that we are not to be trifled with."
"Oh? And you think the weapons that the Americans have displayed are not enough to make them fearless of your Atlesian technology."
Ironwood. "I doubt it, wasn't it you that said that the footage from the emerald forest of the bomb they used to demonstrate didn't really hold that much explosive power but instead produced a lot of flames. I assure you, the Paladin does very well against heat."
Ozpin was indeed able to procure footage from within the Emerald forest, there were many cameras there that were left from initiation, and of the ones that weren't damaged beyond repair, he was able to retain footage of the bombing, it was there that he saw that the bombs didn't actually detonate on the ground, rather they detonated above the ground, and even then, the strength of the explosion was strong but nothing certain semblances and loads of fire dust couldn't do.
What was more impressive about it was the fact that it spread so much superheated particles, smoke and flames all around that it caused an environmental hazard to the places around the areas affected.
But Ozpin had also known of what happened in Cooperwick.
"And what of the bombing in Cooperwick? Don't you think that's evidence enough for the explosive power of their weapons, or even the attack on the White Fang compound, and the reports from the very few survivors."
"Easy shot, the grimm were all packed together, I'm sure Atlas or a good group of huntsmen could have done the same. As for the White Fang compound, I doubt they can do that kind of attack again and again. I suspect that bombing was the strongest thing they have in their arsenal, and I don't think they can afford to do that all the time."
Ozpin still wasn't sure, given Kirkman's confidence when speaking to him about the United States' strength, it made him worry that they were a much bigger threat than he or Ironwood could even imagine.
"I'll let you do as you please, but I don't expect the Americans will be very intimidated."
"Hmph, I disagree." Ironwood turned around and walked to the elevator. "I'll have a few Paladins flown here overnight."
Ozpin folded his hands and looked at Ironwood as the Elevator doors closed. He grabbed his cup and took a sip of his coffee.
It was bland.
The day had been hectic, the majority of those in Beacon had barely gotten any sleep, what with the anticipation of General Kirkman's arrival. Classes would still push through but it was almost guaranteed that the students would just be looking out the windows for the duration of the classes, the same went for the Professors.
Ozpin was on the ground. Waiting. Stood there, was him, Professor Goodwitch, and General Ironwood.
They were all stood in between four Paladins, with an entire legion of the new Atlesian Knights stood behind them. Ironwood thought that this ought to intimidate the Americans when they came.
Ozpin looked at his watch, it read 8:26, Kirkman said he would be at Beacon by 8:30.
"James…" Goodwitch called out.
"Yes, Glynda?" Ironwood responded without turning, simply continuing to look forward.
"Do we really need these… robots?" Her voice was tinged with aggravation.
"Correction, the Paladins currently have my men and women piloting them. And yes, this shows the Americans our strength, that we are a force to be reckoned with." He said his fist in front of his chest.
Glynda let out an exasperated sigh while holding her forehead. She, like Ozpin, was not fond of Ironwood's clearly unnecessary display of military strength.
The Beacon courtyard had become designated landing zone for the American 'choppers' as the man called 'Colonel Burton' who coordinated the visit called them. As such, the courtyard had been cleared of all intrusions, students and faculty alike, minus of course, Glynda, Ozpin himself, Ironwood, and his unnecessary posse.
Ozpin looked around, he could hear the chatter of the students looking through the windows of their classes, he could tell apart the face of one Blake Belladonna with a grimace on her face as she looked on from her classroom.
He couldn't blame her, he too was not very fond of the Americans and their actions, Blake was especially angered given her history with America's current enemy, the White Fang.
Whatever the case, it was clear that everybody had ignored the order to be at their best behavior.
Ozpin checked the time, 8:28.
"He's gonna be late isn't he- "Glynda was cut off when the thunderous boom entered their ears, as four shapes in the sky filled their vision. Four grey shapes with wing like protrusion coming out of them, much like the airship the Americans used to show off their fire bomb, except these were flying much lower and slightly slower.
"What was that?!" Glynda yelled, but before she could get an answer, something could be spotted in the distance
But just as soon as they arrived, the shapes disappeared. And over in the distance, many more shapes could be seen, they were going fast, getting closer and closer as seconds went by.
Eventually the three of them could tell apart the many shapes, there were seven of them, at the center was something that looked almost exactly like a bullhead, but with a less bulky looking design and with propellors instead of dust-based propulsion jets. Surrounding it were two green cylindrical shapes, with two massive propellers on them. Surrounding them were four strange looking figures with only a single propeller at it's top, they could make out what looked like rocket pods on its wing like extensions.
They grew closer and closer, until they finally reached the edge of the courtyard. They reached big open area within the courtyard. The propellers on the different crafts slowed down, as wheels started to become visible. They descended onto the ground. Except for the green bullheads which reversed themselves before they too landed directly in front of them.
All the vehicles were now right in front of Ozpin and his group.
Ramps descended from the green bullheads, and out came dozens of men wearing green uniforms all holding what looked to be guns, some of the men had large tube-like equipment on their backs. There were easily around fifty men.
They lightly jogged around before finally getting in formation, they were all separated into groups of around ten. They surrounded the central bullhead.
A massive commotion could be heard from behind Ozpin, Glynda and Ironwood, only muffled by the walls and windows of the classrooms
All eyes went on the central bullhead.
Its ramp descended.
Out of it came General Thomas Kirkman himself, wearing sunglasses to block out the shade. He wore an elaborate uniform, with a dark blue jacket with a dress shirt and tie under. His suit jacket was decorated with many badges and medals. The nation's flag was on Kirkman's left collar. Ironwood's uniform paled in comparison to Kirkman's, and he felt lightly ashamed.
Behind him were the silhouettes of four men, possibly his personal protection detail.
Kirkman stepped forward, and his guards followed.
Everything was silent as Kirkman walked towards the shocked group of Beacon professors and Atlesian general.
The light had finally shone on Kirkman's guards, revealing men wearing similar green uniforms to the other soldiers, except one was wearing shades, and another wore a full-face mask and goggles.
Kirkman and his guards continued walking, before his eyes met Ozpins.
He nonchalantly brought up his arm and looked at his own watch.
"Right on time."
"OOOOOH MY GOSH THEIR VEHICLES LOOK SO COOL!" Ruby was screaming at the top of her lungs as she was watching the meeting from a window.
"Quiet, you dolt!" Weiss lightly smacked her palm on top of Ruby's head.
"Ow!" Ruby grasped at the top of her head with a mildly pained look on her face. "Why you…" She jumped at Weiss.
Yang ignored the usual antics of the two partners, and asked her own of the situation. "What are they saying."
They were all inside an empty classroom, they had snuck out of Professor Peach's class and were able to do so because Peach herself was distracted by the meeting. Through both the quiet (not so quiet anymore) empty classroom and her sensitive hearing, Blake was able to listen in on the meeting that was happening between the feared General Kirkman and Ozpin's group.
Blake could swear she saw a smirk cross Kirkman's face before disappearing in seconds.
"Kirkman just said 'Right on time'."
Yang was disappointed with the lack of interesting dialogue.
While Blake continued to listen in for anything interesting, Yang looked on in mild confusion. "What's the point of bringing out those Paladins and robots?"
Weiss stopped her argument with Ruby and turned to Yang.
"I believe it's because General Ironwood wants to demonstrate the strength of Atlas to General Kirkman."
"Preeetty sure Kirkman's show was better." Ruby commented.
"How so? I don't see any powerful Mechanized infantry on their side, just some bullheads and soldiers."
"But those things in the sky though! They were faster than any bullhead I've seen! And don't you think those bullheads on the ground are the ones that the White Fang member was talking about on the news, that would mean that they just brought some serious firepower."
Blake shuddered, it sickened her to think that those same bullheads on the ground may be the 'Comanches' that were used to carry out the brutal attack on the White Fang base.
"But we don't even know what those fast aircraft were for. Maybe they were just there for reconnaissance, and I seriously doubt those bullheads would be enough to destroy this brigade of cutting edge Atlesian might. I mean, could you really trust the words of a terrorist?"
Blake was very tempted to snap back but Ozpin just asked Kirkman an interesting question, one that was related to what Weiss and Ruby were talking about.
"… are those aircraft for? I assume they weren't just for show."
Kirkman removed his sunglasses and pocketed them
"They're our QRF of course."
"QRF?" Professor Goodwitch asked with a puzzled look.
Ironwood seemed to be mortified at Kirkman's answer. "A quick reaction force."
Blake gasped; those fast things were meant to be some sort of rapid response unit?
"Kirkman just said that the aircraft are his quick reaction force."
"What's that?" Yang questioned.
Weiss who was well versed in military terminology answered. "A quick reaction force is a unit meant to respond to any situation quickly, hence the name."
Ruby was perplexed "But if they're supposed to be a respond quickly why can't we see or hear them anymore? They'd have to be pretty far."
"You saw fast those things were, Rubes. I'm pretty sure they could get here real quick if they wanted to."
"And I doubt most guns would be capable of shooting them down." Weiss conceded.
Down in the courtyard, the conversation continued.
"Is that a threat?" Ozpin asked.
"Only as much of a threat as those androids and Atlesian Paladins behind you are. I'm simply taking the same type of safety precautions that you are."
None of the three could seem to rebut Kirkman's statement.
"Now, I believe I'm due for a tour around this place, don't worry, I'll only be taking these four with me." Kirkman gestured to the four men in green uniforms with him. "The others will simply stay here."
Ozpin shook off his shocked look before responding "Of course, now… come with us."
Blake looked back to her Team, Weiss was still in disbelief at their air capabilities, while Ruby was more focused on the technical side of things.
"What kind of propulsion methods do you think they use? Dust isn't very fuel efficient when it comes to Air travel."
Yang simply did not care; she was more interested in what was going on between Beacon and Kirkman.
"Blake, they say anything? Why are they walking off, is it time for the tour already?"
"Yeah."
"Should we follow them?"
As much as Blake wanted to stealthily jump from roof to roof and listen in on their conversation, she knew that it would be too risky, Ozpin only tolerated people looking and listening now because they were directly in front of school buildings, but once they got into a more private location, Ozpin would not be as lenient to people listening in.
"No, too risky."
"Hm." Yang disappointedly hummed. "So what do you guys think?"
"Well, their vehicles are pretty cool, their bullheads have unique designs and a have huge carrying capacities, I mean there must be at least a hundred of those soldiers down there."
"I don't think so, by my count there are maybe a little more than fifty of them, better than most dropships but nothing too impressive, and the fact that the bullheads use propellers instead of dust jet engines show that they have a primitive understanding of flight." Then Weiss remembered how fast and high the other aircraft flew. "Never mind."
"What do you think those fast things were anyway?" Yang asked. "I know they're supposed to be a 'Quick Reaction Force' but they didn't look like they could pack a punch, wouldn't they be way too fast for them to fire guns at the ground, they'd fly straight into the ground if they tried that."
"Maybe they have other methods of attack." Weiss couldn't think of any though. "But I'm starting to think that Kirkman just said that to intimidate Ozpin, there's no way something that fast can reliably attack something, maybe they were just aerial scouts?" Weiss brushed off the thoughts that Americans had superior air capabilities.
Ruby faced Weiss with an agitated look on her face. "Oh, come on. Didn't you read those news reports from the people from Cooperwick two weeks ago? A bunch of Grimm just exploded."
"I was probably busy with studying for the Grimm biology quiz unlike you, what news?"
Blake finally stood up. "Eye witness reports from the citizen of Cooperwick who were watching from inside their homes say that fire rained down from the sky and into the nearby forest. When the village guard went to check, all the grimm were already gone. I think those things were used to kill all the grimm."
Blake had kept up to date with the situation surrounding the United States of America, apparently reports were coming in that Kirkman had come to visit Cooperwick just a few days ago. It made Blake wonder if the reason for his visit there were the same for his visit here.
But she did not like it one bit that murderer was currently walking on Campus. And that murderer's army was standing right inside the courtyard. She looked down at the Window as her teammates continued to discuss.
All the soldiers were standing still, all of them holding these weird looking black guns, some had massive green tubes on their backs. They were all uniformed, though some had extra pieces on their uniform, others had some sort of walkie talkie, some had sunglasses, some had headphones, ear protectors and other peripherals.
Weiss stood beside her, also looking at the soldiers. "Their weapons are… strange."
"Yeah, their guns look pretty weird, they have bunch of tiny crevices and look really segmented, but from the looks of it all their weapons are customizable." Ruby was now looking outside too.
"Customizable?" Weiss asked, to her, their weapons looked inferior to Atlas, since the Atlesian standard Mk. 22 rifle looked smoother and sleeker.
"Almost all of them are holding the same gun model, but the guns have different attachments on them, different sights, I think I even see foregrips and a second trigger on some of them." Ever the weapons nerd, Ruby identified the unique nature of the American weaponry.
"What about those weird tube things, what do you think they are? Yang asked her sister.
"No idea." She shrugged. "Some sort of weapon? But I don't know what it would do." Indeed the shape perplexed her, they were just some long green tubes with some attachments and extra pieces.
If she were to guess, she would think rocket launcher, but the rocket launchers that she knew off were squarer.
"Though, considering that they seem to have no automated soldiers, I'm sure that in terms of military capability they aren't any better than Atlas. They probably just got lucky with the White Fang and grimm." Weiss surmised that the Americans were simply posturing and showing an air of confidence to intimidate the other kingdoms, when in reality he was weak.
Blake thought Weiss's thoughts were biased. "I don't think so, the fact that Atlas feels the need to show off in front of Kirkman shows that they're pretty worried of him too."
"General Ironwood is just showing off its strength." Weiss folded her arms.
"Why would Ironwood feel the need to show his strength if he wasn't worried on some level? If he was so confident that Atlas was more powerful than the United States of America, then showing off Atlas's strength in this way wouldn't be needed. Unless he's trying to intimidate Kirkman, which I'm sure you saw that Kirkman was not at all intimidated, in fact I'm pretty sure he was smirking down there."
Yang decided to cut in. "Yeah I don't know, I think we should just wait and see what happens before we assume what's going on."
Everyone seemed to agree.
Kirkman's footsteps suddenly stopped.
"So, now that that's over, I believe we must discuss some… things." Kirkman stopped walking and steadied himself.
The entire tour had been uneventful, it had been clear that Kirkman requested the tourjust to be polite, when in reality he really just wanted to negotiate. About what, Ozpin did not know. And it seemed Kirkman believed it was about time for negotiations to begin
Ozpin made sure to highlight all the greatest parts of Beacon, but it was as if Kirkman simply did not care about the grandeur of Beacon academy. Neither was he intimidated by the display of Atlas's military might, much to the disappointment of Ironwood.
They were standing in front of the CCT.
"Indeed" Ozpin finally answered Kirkman. "Shall we?" Ozpin gestured to the CCT.
Kirkman nodded as Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood walked in.
The group walked straight past the receptionist, and stood in front of the Elevator.
He held his hand in front of his men. "You stay here."
The man in sunglasses tilted his head in confusion but followed the order and stood still along with the rest of the protection detail.
Goodwitch pressed a button on her scroll and the elevator activated. It opened its doors. The four of them stepped in. The elevator began to lift itself upwards, for a good thirty seconds they stood there in complete silence. None of them daring to show any amount of nervousness.
When the lift finally reached the top, the doors opened and they all stepped out.
Ozpin, knowing that the true purpose of this visit was to negotiate, had set up an extra seat within his office for Kirkman.
For a brief second Ozpin saw a shimmer in Kirkman's eyes when he saw the office. There was something that seemed to finally impress him. As he walked, he looked around at the many machinations that were within the office.
Kirkman immediately knew where was supposed to be seated and walked to the chair in front of Ozpin's desk, while Ozpin's group walked to their side.
Kirkman took a seat, as did Ozpin. Goodwitch and Ironwood stood next to him.
"I believe it's best we cut to the chase." Kirkman seemed to gauge their reactions before continuing to speak. He seemed to be pleased.
"As you know, the United States is currently engaged in a war with the White Fang."
A look of shock spread throughout Ozpin's group. 'War' was quite a heavy word, almost nobody described a conflict of this scale in that way.
"War?" Goodwitch asked.
Kirkman turned his head to meet Glynda's. "Don't be mistaken Ms. Goodwitch, shots have been fired, lives have been lost on both sides, what exactly doesn't make this a war? All it's missing is a declaration."
Kirkman's almost relaxed statement of war disturbed the group. Kirkman only continued looking at them with a cold stare.
"Now, I'm sure that you heard from your informants within Cooperwick that I went there a few days ago."
Informants? The only informant he had within Cooperwick was Qrow who coincidentally was staying there for a few days on his way back to Vale. Did he know about Qrow? This worried Ozpin, how did he know about Qrow? And more importantly, was he in danger? Though the fact that he didn't send hm a message saying that he was in peril soothed his worries just a little.
"My purpose for going there was simple, I wanted to negotiate a deal that would aid in my current war with the White Fang."
"And you came here to do the same?" This time, Ironwood did the talking.
"Correct."
Ozpin folded his hands and looked directly at Kirkman with a stern look on his face. "And what is this deal?"
Kirkman appeared to not be deterred by Ozpin's intimidating tone of voice. He breathed in and leaned forward.
"After doing some thinking, I realized I was looking at the situation wrong, the White Fang doesn't operate like your average military and camp out in large heavily defended bases. They may have a few, but the majority are hiding among the civilian population within Kingdoms and the settlements outside."
Kirkman paused and leaned back, putting his hand on his chin.
"Go on."
"I convinced the mayor of Cooperwick that it would be in our best interest if I could detain some of these individuals within his village."
This shocked the others. Why would the mayor accept such a deal like that? To just let Kirkman and his forces stomp around his town unopposed. And Kirkman mentioned detaining individuals from the White Fang, did that mean he already had detainees?
And he came here to negotiate that same deal with Ozpin? No, Ozpin would not let the United States waltz into Vale and shed blood like he did to the other White Fang.
"At the current moment we have four new members within our detention camp. They are currently being questioned. I offer you the same deal. And I already know what you're worried about, I know that you are quite opposed towards killing, to which I can assure you that there will be no unnecessary bloodshed involved."
Ozpin took note of the word 'unnecessary'.
"And what constitutes as necessary bloodshed?"
"If they threaten the lives of my soldiers then I believe fighting back using lethal force is necessary."
Ironwood could agree with what Kirkman was saying, but what he was suggesting with just letting the United States walk into Vale with no obstruction was unheard of. No Kingdom with an ounce of pride would let that happen, and that, combined with the fact that Ozpin was a pacifist made it unlikely that the Headmaster would let that happen.
"I'm sorry but I cannot accept." Ozpin unfolded his hands.
"I believe you don't understand. The White Fang are a terrorist group that has been festering in this continent for years, and you have thus far let their actions go unanswered, they have killed many and struck fear into the hearts of many more."
"I can say the same about you."
Kirkman's fists clenched and his eyes lit up with a silent fury
Ozpin could tell that he was especially angered with that one, it was almost as if it activated an emotion held deep within.
"Do not suggest that I am a terrorist, Headmaster." His voice dipping into a growl.
Ironwood almost reached for his pistol, sensing the anger, but chose not to.
"My point still stands, you see, I do not indiscriminately murder hundreds if not thousands of innocents, I don't just kill the first human I see, I don't cause suffering under the guise of a desire for equality, the White Fang do."
Ozpin acknowledged this, he knew that the White Fang were a terrorist group, but he believed that no matter what, one was never to take another life.
"The White Fang kills and causes suffering, that much is true, but this doesn't mean we're supposed to stoop to their level."
Kirkman's fists finally unclenched, and the fury in his eyes lessened.
"I beg to differ." His voice to had returned to its original diplomatic tone. "But we're getting off topic, this isn't about whether or not killing as a military action is correct, this is about whether or not I can detain the literal terrorist I know are hiding within Vale." He ended with a matter-of-fact tone.
Ozpin knew that there were many White Fang hiding within Vale, how else could the sudden spike in crime be explained, but allowing a foreign nation to simply step into Vale to hunt and possibly kill was something that was undesirable.
"I'm sorry but I cannot allow that."
Kirkman seemed genuinely confused.
"I'm sure you've seen the reports of the many dust store robberies within Vale, I'm sure you've noticed the increase in assault, murder, rape, kidnappings and much more, all in areas where agents of the White Fang have been reportedly spotted. Are you really just going to let this all continue?"
"The police-"
"And don't even think about mentioning your unbelievably incompetent police force. Who, prior to our attack on the White Fang compound and the little altercation at the docks, have quite literally been unable to detain a single member in six months. They've barely done anything since the White Fang became violent. And I also know that most of your huntsmen are currently busy with grimm incursions happening everywhere. So I know for a fact that you are powerless to deal with the White Fang."
How did Kirkman know so much? Hadn't the United States been almost completely isolated for decades? Or had they been keeping tabs everywhere for a while now, it made no sense. Did he have access to police records?
Ozpin hid his concern well, the same with Goodwitch and Ironwood who had let Ozpin do the talking, since they themselves couldn't think of responses.
"But you know what you have power to do?" Kirkman slanted his head forward and looked Ozpin directly in the eye. "You have a seat in the council, and I know that you have enough influence and power to let me deal with this problem for you, there are exactly zero downsides to this."
Ironwood was at a loss for what would be the right answer, ignoring any morals, on one hand Kirkman was right, Vale was powerless to do anything, and that letting the United States do the work would be a seemingly effective strategy.
But doing that would humiliate Vale and would only exemplify its powerlessness to the public, which would mean less faith in the Kingdom and its council. And in their own ongoing war with a certain someone, a lack of faith in the Kingdoms would be disastrous.
Ozpin did not have a good rebuttal towards Kirkman's White Fang argument, but he still believed that he must protect the integrity of Vale.
"No." Ozpin answered firmly.
Kirkman lifted his leg and placed it upon his other leg before letting out a sigh. "Frankly, Headmaster, I'm starting to feel like you care more about protecting a group of terrorists than your own citizens."
Ozpin felt anger well up within him, but he didn't let it show.
"That is rather insulting, General. I'll have you know; I value the citizens of Vale very much. But I also value both Vale's sovereignty and human life."
"And I'm sure you know that the human life you are currently valuing are the lives of terrorists that I have stated I will do my best to not take the lives off. But what is this about sovereignty? You're saying that me sending my forces here to collect a few rebels infringes on your sovereignty?"
Ozpin felt that the answer was obvious. "Of course."
"Then by that logic, wouldn't allowing General Ironwood to deploy his forces in Both Beacon and Vale unhindered infringe on its sovereignty as well?"
Everyone in the room was stilled, nobody dared speak a word, Ozpin could not think of a good argument
Many thoughts raced through the Atlesian general's mind, Kirkman was right, no matter how much Ironwood did not want to admit it.
"Are you averse towards an attack on Vale's sovereignty or are you just averse towards the United States entering Vale? After all I'm sure we can compromise, rather than me entering here, I can just send you a list of the insurgents and you can hand them over to me upon collection."
The room was silent, all that could be heard was the light whirring of the many mechanisms within the office. Kirkman eliminated the sovereignty argument and it was clear that Ozpin would not win in this battle of words. But no matter how logically flawed, he would stick to his ideals.
"General, I believe it's best that you leave."
It seemed that both Goodwitch and Ironwood were surprised by Ozpin's decision.
The American General's face remained the same. He stood up.
"You are making a mistake, Headmaster. But I'll respect your decision nonetheless."
He walked to the elevator doors. They automatically opened. He stepped in, and as the doors slowly closed, he spoke.
"I'll have you know; this isn't going to stop us; it will only slow us down.
The doors finally closed as they got one final look at Kirkman's visage as the lift began its descent.
For minutes, it seemed as though time had stopped, they all simply looked at the elevator many thoughts rushing through their minds.
The silence was broken by Glynda sighing. "This was a disaster."
"Agreed."
"Oz' are you sure you don't want to reconsider? He was offering you a way out on the White Fang problem, and you just said no without even thinking it through."
Ozpin folded his hands once again and let his head rest upon them.
"We will find our own way, James."
Suddenly a boom echoed throughout the sky. Goodwitch and Ironwood looked out to see the same four aircraft flying out towards the direction they originally came from.
Down below the Bullheads could be seen taking off before flying the same direction the aircraft went.
Ozpin stood up and looked out to the window as well, as the silhouetted of the bullheads grew smaller and smaller.
"But who's to say the Americans won't find their own."
Yo, I know that this chapter was pretty uneventful but don't worry it's set up for what's to come next. And before anyone complains about Ozpin kind a being stupid here, it's in line with what we've seen of him in RWBY, he's idealistic as fuck and he's a stubborn motherfucker both in general and when it comes to sticking to those ideals.
And god damn that's way more reviews than I was expecting, I'm really loving the reader response to this, keep it up, it motivates me to continue.
Monster King: Thank you.
rama alif: Here you go, another chapter, hope you liked it.
quma25: At the current moment, Kirkman is doing his best to hide the fact that they are literal aliens, so this hypothetical scenario probably won't happen for a while. And aww, nice to know I've inspired you somehow.
CrazzyTony: Ironwood is one paranoid son of a bitch, the US showing off its power will definitely fuck with his mental state.
Arakile: I'm pretty sure I mentioned artillery guns arriving a couple chapters ago, and like I said, don't even worry about other vehicles, I'm already trying to include as much IRL/in-game United States tech as possible, as for rearming, they rearm the tomahawk the same way they rearm other cruise missiles.
Janny092: Nice to see you to, Reviewer-san, if you haven't already noticed, Kirkman is going overkill with how much shit he's bringing to the table. And ye this chapter took 3 weeks, which is better than the last one's 3 months
Bruhmeister935: Thanks, and I hope this satisfied your expectations.
farrajimohammad: I believe it was mentioned earlier that Kirkman doesn't want to bring out the big guns yet, as he wants some of the more ridiculous weapons to be a surprise.
Just a Crazy-Man: Nice
AkaliMidLaner: The next few chapters are gonna be pretty hype as well, I promise.
CaptainWarhammer: Yes, it will, not anytime soon though. And thank you for leaving your thoughts on this like always, and I'm really happy the last chapter was worth the wait, I was actually worried that it was lackluster relative to the time it took to make it.
mecanozantin: And I hope this satisfied your need for more posts, lol.
VGBlackwing: No, no Remnant people in general will be joining the military directly for the foreseeable future, and take not of the word *directly*, remember the Mujahideen?
Guest: Bro, if massive artillery and BVR strikes aren't rule of cool, I don't fucking know what is, watching that shit hit is sick.
Guest: Huntsmen sounds cooler and more unique I guess.
Perseus12: Here ya go.
Guest: Sadly there wasn't that much interaction between US forces and the other people within Beacon, but this won't be the last time they'll hear from the US. Like I said Earlier, if you really think about it, what good ol' Oz has been doing is kinda fucked up. And as for other franchises, I already use CoD, and as for the others I have played them all but I'm not sure if I can integrate them, so maybe.
vmoneywashere: Guest: IF you think about it RWBY's world is actually as fuck, apart from maybe Salem. Weak bullets, mechs, dogshit military doctrine and strategy, and a lot more.
Konstantinsen: Ye I see that, I'll be honest with you, I was kinda running on fumes when I was writing that bit of the chapter, so I probably did not have the right mental capacities to have judged whether that line was appropriate or not, and now that I reread it, yeah, it's not very good, so thanks for bringing it up. And if you read my response to insightguy, you'll see that yes, it was a reference, basically ran out of character names, but I kinda now regret not using a certain graduated member instead. Oh the detention center is definitely being put to good use, four new members baby. And yeah, she's stickin around.
Gunfighterxy76: I'm not sure if I satisfied those expectation for the visit, but I hope that you at least enjoyed. And yeah I agree, though Atlas is definitely fucked up in its own way, all the Kingdoms are, and it's wrong to hate on it simply because it's in a position of power.
3: I was never not alive to begin with, life just kinda hit.
Enriks-Da-Writer: I actually have never played Ace Combat but I have watched playthrough of it, and I'll think about using a legit squad from there to fill in the blanks of pilots and shit. Trust me, the whole Salem BS will be very interesting, as for that last bit, see my answer to CaptainWarhammer.
Gen. Oil Derrick: Worry not, my friend. As I have thought it all through, so there's no need to throw around head cannons, as I have my own.
Guest: I believe that's a bit much, she's a bitch but Ozpin took her in for a reason, that reason may be fucked, but it's a reason nonetheless. And the fact that she had the sense to leave shows that at this point she has at least some stability.
Guest: Huntsmen themselves are kinda PMCs, considering the fat that often have agencies and licenses.
raven2327: Sad to hear that, and I hope this is keeping in vein with the "epic work".
insightguy: Correction: Hunstmen have an advantage over American troops, your average goon or Atlesian soldier ain't got shit. Ironside may be incuded, as for the RotR generals, I don't think so, too many things to keep track off at once. Also that omake idea is brilliant, will definitely keep that in mind.
Peroroncino: Thanks for waiting, but I can't make no promises, kinda doing research for a paper atm, so anything else is gonna have to be slowed down/put on hold for a bit. But don't worry, I usually write this when I got nothing better to do.
Please leave your thoughts, were you disappointed, elated, aroused even? I don't mind.
Next chapter will probably take a bit longer, but don't worry, it'll be chalk full with content.