Blake strolled into the Intelligence Platform headquarters and blinked tiredly. She held a hot cup of coffee in her hand and went up to the control room, carefully sipping her drink as she strolled inside. The countless staff members greeted her before turning back to their screens and someone quickly came up to her and handed her a tablet. She looked at it for several seconds before handing it back to them.
The large screen gave them all a bird's eye view over certain areas and they observed a group of Locust patrolling around somewhere. Judging by the snow covered ground and mountains, it was somewhere in Atlas. They had been getting reports of increased Locust activity recently and they needed to get as many people from Mantle out of there.
Her scroll buzzed and she looked at it to see that it was her parents, making her sigh and excuse herself. She walked to her office and entered it, setting her cup on the desk and answering the call.
"Hello?" She asked tiredly.
"Blake, sweetheart." Kali called out.
"Hey, mom." She answered.
"Do you have a minute?" Kali asked.
"I can spare a few minutes. What's up?" Blake asked.
"Do you think it's possible for you to visit for a few days?" Kali asked.
"Um..." Blake trailed off as she looked at her calendar and saw that they weren't leaving until next week. She wanted to see her parents, but knew that she had some work to attend to first.
"It's alright if you can't. I know you're job is important and all." Kali quickly said.
"No, no... I just have to do some things first. I just have to ask Walker if it's alright." Blake answered.
"Do you ask him for permission for everything?" Kali asked.
"No. There are things I do that he doesn't either know or care too much about. Although, we do like to be on the same page most of the time." Blake answered as she sipped her coffee and turned on her computer. It booted up quickly and she started to get to work before sending him a message.
"Sounds like you two get along pretty well." Kali teased.
"We do. By the way, how's dad?" Blake changed the subject almost instantly and her ears twitched in minor annoyance when she heard her mother's chortle.
"A little stressed. Sienna is still going on about the occupation of the Gears and other company... what were they called?" Kali asked.
"Black Steel Saviors, or the BSS for short." Blake answered.
"Yes, them. I've seen her rant so much about them and I can tell Ghira is getting a little tired of it all." Kali answered.
"I bet. Walker said I should be good for a few days... oh... he's coming with." Blake said, her tone dropping a bit.
"You don't sound too happy." Kali commented.
"I'm glad he's coming, but I just wish he'd take it easy once in a while." Blake sighed.
"A workaholic?" Kali raised an eyebrow, not knowing she opened up a can of worms.
"Oh my gods, you have no idea. He constantly works until he drops, doesn't let anyone do his work for him, and you should see him once he gets hooked on something. It's almost impossible to persuade him to let others take some of weight off his shoulders." Blake listed off.
"Sounds like your father." Kali said.
"He does. I'm sure him and dad would-" Blake stopped when someone knocked on her door and she allowed them to enter. They peeked inside and saw she was on the scroll before quietly handing her some files and departing shortly after.
"Is everything alright?" Kali asked.
"Yeah, something came up though. I'll talk to you later." Blake said as she read the files.
"Alright, see you later." Kali said before hanging up.
The office went quiet as Blake read the contents of the file some more before she drank the rest of her coffee and tossed it in the waste bin. She grabbed her ID card and put it on the lanyard around her neck before strolling out. Countless staff members strode through the hallways and building, giving her a wave before continuing on with their day.
She stepped outside and climbed in the backseat of the car, crossing one of her legs over the other while the driver took her to the destination. The driver was a quiet man for the most part, he didn't really have any skills other than driving and Walker had employed him as a personal chauffer. He pledged loyalty to the Gears faction and took certain people around.
The base had gotten bigger and more ways of transportation were needed to transport people across. They had finally gotten a tram system to go around the base and it was extremely useful for some people. It was just another addition to their home that served its purpose rather than just being there. Needless things such as mansions and large properties of empty space weren't needed.
As she was driven, she crossed her right leg over her left and turned on the tablet. The screen illuminated the somewhat dark car and she looked at the files. She was actually glad that she was out of the office because she had been cooped up there recently.
"Ma'am?" The driver asked.
"Yes?" She glanced up at him then back at her tablet.
"Are you all heading back to the front lines?" He asked.
"We are." She nodded.
"I see. I wish you luck then." He looked in the rear view mirror at her.
"I take it that you'll miss our conversations?" She asked.
"Master Ronin, you, Madam Red, Mr. Arc, and I usually have pleasant conversations. Who will I talk to now?" He asked.
"You can always talk to the people who enter this vehicle." She said.
"Bah... they aren't able to talk about any interesting topics." He shook his head.
"I'm sure you'll find someone who is interesting to talk about things with." She laughed a bit.
"Aye." He agreed and they were thrown into silence. Their conversations were usually interesting and the four often found the driver a pleasant person to talk to. He was always listening and relaying information to the higher ups, doing his job and pulling his weight around here.
"Hold on." She said when she spotted Jessica walking across the platform. The vehicle stopped and she rolled down the window, making the young Faunus do a double take and look around.
"Ms. Belladonna? I thought you were at your office?" Jessica asked.
"I got called so I might be out of the office for the day." She answered.
"Oh. Well, don't let me keep you." Jessica said.
"Where are you heading?" Blake asked.
"Commander Ronin and Director Myers called me to a meeting." Jessica answered.
"You didn't think to take some other way of transportation other than walking?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Well... I don't want to bother anyone." Jessica rubbed the back of her neck. She never liked to make people go out of their way to help her, especially if she was capable of doing it herself. Walking long distances was one of them.
"That's unacceptable, hop in." Blake said and moved her things a bit.
"Are you sure? I mean, it's only another half an hour walk." Jessica said sheepishly.
"No, you've done enough." Blake shook her head and opened the door. Jessica looked around before climbing in the SUV and sighed a bit as she leaned back into the seat. It was relaxing to say the least and she felt a bit of tension leave her body.
The ride was quiet and both of them simply enjoyed the ride. Minutes turned to ten minutes before they arrived at the Command Platform and exited the car, bidding the driver a farewell before walking into the building. Jessica followed Blake to the elevator and stood back as the button was pressed then the doors closed. They felt the elevator ascend and waited patiently for it to reach the desired floor; once the doors opened, they moved out of the way when a couple of people started to enter it then exited themselves.
They arrived at the meeting room and Jessica took the spot closest to Theresa as Blake took her spot next to Walker and slid him the tablet. He just nodded briefly in appreciation while staring at the Arcs. It was clear that the tension in the room was thick because Walker just clasped his hands together and silently listened to the matriarch ramble on about space.
"So let me get this straight... you want more space for... a closet?" He asked as he stared at the tablet then looked back up at her.
"Correct." She nodded.
"Denied." He said instantly, making her freeze in place.
"What?" She blinked.
"Denied, no, negative. However you want to look at it. I'm not increasing your living space because you want more room to put some clothes you won't even wear." He explained.
"What about you though? You probably have more space than anybody else." One of the sisters pointed out.
"The space in my apartment is a tad bit bigger, but not by much. It has one more room than the others but that's it. I don't see the reason for me to have all that useless space." He said.
"We have-" Jaune's mother started.
"I'm aware you have more children than most, which is why I gave you all four apartments. That's four living spaces that people can live in and I specifically allocated it to your family. Not to mention, I gave you all supplies to start off so that you were ready for your stay here." He said and looked at each one of them.
"What about Jaune?" Jaune's father, Nicholas, asked.
"What about him?" Walker asked back.
"We've seen his apartment. It's well kept and looks better than most." Nicholas answered.
"So? That's because I force him to keep it clean. His apartment space is the same as yours." Walker responded.
"Then what about those new apartment buildings you're building?" Another sister asked.
"They're for the refugees that are arriving soon. Our numbers are growing and we're nearing its maximum capacity. Supplies are to be kept under a close eye to avoid wasting them." Blake chimed in as she looked at her tablet.
"Which means no, you're not getting special treatment. That means no extravagant meals, unnecessary buying of groceries, and wasting shit. We're in times of war and sooner or later, supplies are going to grow scarce." Walker said.
"Your soldiers seemed to be dining like kings." Jaune's mother commented.
"They earn that right to eat decently. You're not out there fighting the Locust, none of you are. The only one who's doing something about them is Jaune. He's pulling his weight and had to earn half his shit. I gave you all space out of the goodness of my heart and I can take it back if you want." He said.
"You wouldn't." Nicholas narrowed his eyes.
"Do you really think I won't?" Walker tilted his head and hit a few icons on his own tablet. After putting in a few commands, he put the video on the TV and gestured for them all to look. All of the Arcs widened their eyes when a few workers unlocked the doors to their apartments and waited patiently.
"W-W-Wait! You're not serious?!" One of the sisters asked quickly. Her heartbeat started to quicken when she saw the workers enter their apartments.
"I'm completely serious." He nodded and everyone in the room looked at him.
"F-Fine! We won't complain anymore. We'll just live in this... microscopic apartment." Jaune's mother said bitterly. She grit her teeth in frustration and looked up when Walker put a few commands and the workers locked the door up securely before leaving. Several of the Arcs glared at him, but Jeannette and Terra just felt relief that he wasn't going to thrown them to the wolves.
"You all need to understand something... I built this faction from the ground and I'll be damned if I have some entitled people try to cause some turmoil. Don't think I haven't been keeping a close eye on you all. So when this war is over, you can go back to your extravagant mansion and have all the feasts you want. Until then... shut the fuck up and appreciate the fact that you're here and not out there." He said.
"..." None of them said anything but just looked at him. They couldn't believe that he was about to kick them out without much hesitation. Doing something to him was practically a death sentence because of how many Gears there were. The experienced soldiers went toe to toe with genocidal monsters almost daily, so what were they to them?
"Get out of my sight." Walker gestured and watched as they slowly climbed to their feet and left the meeting room. Gears escorted them out and left the floor as well. The room was quiet for a few moments before he sighed and adjusted himself a bit.
"You get used to it." Myers said.
"I'm sure." Walker nodded and pulled out his cigar. The sweet scent entered their noses as he exhaled and some smoke seeped from his lips.
"That smells like cinnamon." Jessica commented.
"That's because it is. Word of advice kid, you'll have to deal with shit like that if you get to a higher position." He said.
"I don't know if I want to then." She rubbed her neck. They shared a brief laugh before sighing a bit and the door opened up. Jaune slid in and closed it behind him then sat down and scooted in his seat. He looked at them all when they noticed him staring.
"What?" He asked.
"I take it you had fun before coming here?" Walker asked as he leaned back in his seat.
"What are you talking about?" Jaune asked.
"You got uh... got a little..." Blake gestured to the corner of her mouth.
"Oh shoot!" Jaune said quickly and wiped his mouth harshly.
"..." Walker just shook his head and sighed as he turned to the screen and gestured for Blake to start.
"Did you have fun?" Red asked from the corner of the room. The others had forgotten she was there since she had been silent the whole time; only when someone addressed her did she speak up.
"Shut up, I was busy." Jaune said as he finished wiping his mouth.
"I'm sure you were." She said as her wolf ears flicked around in amusement.
"Knock it off, both of you." Walker ordered. The other two nodded and looked at the screen as the briefing started. It was their next location and they knew that acting like fools during these was the best way to receive punishment.
Walker decided to not go to Menagerie in the end, because he knew that staying there would drive him nuts. Instead, he headed to Vale for a few weeks and to deal with Ozpin. The old fool was driving him insane with the constant messages and he decided to nip that problem in the bud immediately. After that, they'd head to Atlas to start moving the people from Mantle to the base.
The ride was quiet for the most part and Red had fallen asleep against his shoulder and he simply listened to music on the C-Droid. It made the ride go by faster and he yawned a bit before leaning back and closing his eyes. His mind slipped into unconsciousness and he dreamt of better days.
Days where he could finally lay down his weapons and enjoy what was given to him. He dreamt of his little brother having a normal life and his grandfather finally able to relax and enjoy his retirement, not having to worry about genocidal monsters trying to end his existence. Sooner or later, he needed to start worrying about finding a way home.
Minutes turned to tens of minutes and it eventually turned into hours before they arrived at their destination. The music stopped and he woke up with a small jolt before he noticed that his leg felt a bit numb. He looked down to see Red sleeping on his left thigh, making him poke her cheek a bit.
Her left cheek squished a bit when he poked it numerous times before she turned away.
"Stop." She mumbled.
"We're here. Get up." He poked her cheek again. When she didn't get up, he started to poke her at a quicker pace until she slapped his hand away and sat up.
"Isn't Jaune and Nikos supposed to come?" She asked as she stretched a bit.
"They're arriving tomorrow." He answered.
"Why tomorrow?" She asked as she lied back down on his leg and played on her scroll.
"They're reviewing her scroll and going over the pictures she took." He said.
"She really thought she could get away with that, didn't she?" She glanced up at him. One of her canine ears flicked around in amusement and he glanced at it.
"Apparently." He said and scratched behind her ear. It was something she enjoyed and he was the only one who could do it without ending up with an injury. She had been with him since the start of their faction, volunteering to do various tasks to earn her keep.
"Why Vale?" She asked.
"There's more to do around here than there is in Menagerie." He answered. She just shrugged and sat up when they landed, following him out when he slid the door open and hopped out.
There were more shelters; the old, decaying materials were taken away and replaced with better ones. They were packed together tightly to accommodate for the mass of people, but it was more organized than before. Gears, BSS, and whatever was left of Vale's military patrolled around the area and kept watch.
A section of Beacon was dedicated towards imported and exported supplies, usually supplied from the two mercenary companies. The Gears mainly supplied weapons, ammo, and equipment; the BSS supplied clean water, food, and medical equipment and staff. The only thing Vale could offer was bodies. Recently, they had started drafting able bodied people to help with the war effort.
"Stop those little thieves!" Someone shouted and he turned to see two little children running with a bag of bread and vegetables. Behind them was one of the people who keep inventory of the food and was quickly gaining on them.
He recognized them, the two little dragon Faunus he saved from the aftermath of the Heaven's Spear strike. The only one had silver hair with yellow eyes while the younger one had blue hair and red eyes. Their clothes were dirty and some grime was stuck on their faces. They looked a tad bit skinnier than when he last saw them and he chalked it up as them not eating as much as they should.
They were too busy looking behind them that they didn't notice him until they slammed into his legs. He grunted a bit as they collided into his legs and fell backwards on the ground. The food they had stolen scattered across the pavement. They rubbed their foreheads and froze when they spotted him and Red looking down at them.
He knelt down to their level and tilted his head before looking at the many people staring at them. It was to be expected, a lot of people didn't want to deal with children that weren't theirs. They darted behind his legs when the man stormed up to them.
"Is there a problem?" He asked the man.
"About time you Gears did something. These little shits stole all this food." The man said as he gestured towards the girls.
"Are they being fed properly?" Walker asked.
"What?" The man asked.
"I didn't stutter." Walker responded.
"How the hell should I know if they're being fed properly? They're not my kids." The man shook his head.
"Then why are they starving? If they were being fed properly then they wouldn't need to steal food." Walker said.
"They probably ran out of ration cards." The man said.
"Ration cards?" Red asked.
"Vale and Beacon issued everyone ration cards. Adults get three meals a day and children get four depending on their age." He answered.
"Where are your cards, kids?" Walker looked at the two behind him.
"They were stolen." The older one answered.
"By who?" He asked.
"We don't know." The younger one shook her head.
"You sure?" He asked. They nodded and he looked into their eyes and saw that they weren't lying. People had decided to prey on them because they knew they couldn't fight back, which meant it was easier to obtain more food for themselves.
"So what are you going to do about them? Thieves are usually punished severely." The man said.
"They're kids." Walker said as he stood up.
"So? That still makes them thieves." The man responded.
"They're hungry and scared." Walker said as he helped pick the food up and hand it back to the man.
"Why are you giving the food back to me?" He asked.
"Because I'm going to feed them, since nobody around here is going to." Walker said as he began to walk away with the two. They took his hands and followed him and Red to the section dedicated to food. Large pots of beef stew were being served to the various people.
He looked down when they tugged his hand to get his attention.
"What do you want us to do?" The older one asked.
"Nothing, just eat." He shook his head.
"Usually if people have to give away their meal cards then they want a favor in return." The younger one tugged his hand.
"I don't want anything." He said and handed the two of them a bowl of beef stew. Him and Red got their own bowl and sat next to them, watching as they quickly ate their fill. It was clear they haven't been eating well lately.
"So what are we going to do about them?" Red gestured to the two. He looked at them and looked around to see people avoid looking at them, either from guilt of not helping or disregard. It leaned more towards the latter though.
"Did you two ever find your parents?" He asked.
"They don't want us." The older one answered.
"..." He looked at them evenly before heading towards the direction their parents were in. After searching for twenty minutes, he found them and talked with them. Red watched nearby and saw them talk to him for several minutes.
It seemed like he offered them a deal because they eagerly shook his hand and thanked him profusely. He walked away from them and shook his hand several times, as if to get rid of the filth that had covered it. She could tell that he wasn't pleased, even with his expression on. His body language conveyed the message well enough.
"What'd you do?" She asked as she walked with him back to their seats.
"I gave them ration cards for the next few months if they allowed us to take them." He answered.
"What?" She blinked.
"They willingly sold their daughters for some food." He said as he got closer to their seats.
"Walker, where are they going to stay? They can't stay in our apartments." She said.
"They're not staying in our apartments. They're going to stay at the orphanage at base." He said.
It made her stop and remember that they had an orphanage at base. There were over two hundred faces in there, ranging from infants to eighteen year old kids. The oldest willingly chose to become a Gear, as a way to show their appreciation and to serve underneath him.
"So when are they leaving?" She asked.
"When we do." He answered.
"So what until then?" She asked.
"Patrol around the city, see what we can find, and get things straight here." He answered.
There wasn't much to do as of now. They had recuperated from the attack, created more weapons and equipment, and even got more bodies to fight. Once he evacuated all he could from Mantle, then he'd start planning future offensive measures.
Ironwood had shown up to Ozpin's office without so much as a warning. It shocked the Headmaster, but didn't even surprise Walker in the slightest because he knew the man would eventually come out of his hole. He sat back silently as the man went on a rant about the Locust and the Grimm.
Red sat near him and the two would exchange messages silently, keeping an ear open just in case they were called upon. She didn't really need to be here for the meeting, but these types of things were her weakest point and he felt that some experience in this field was good for her.
"Commander, do you have anything to say?" Ozpin asked.
"Nope." Walker answered.
"We'd appreciate it if you weren't playing games on your device." Ironwood said.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste my time like always." Walker retorted. The atmosphere was tense and Glynda cut in before any more turmoil could happen.
"Alright, enough. We apologize for wasting a bit of your time, now let's discuss the matter at hand." She said.
"Which is?" He asked.
"The Locust are getting closer to Atlas as we speak. Mistral has fallen recently and there's no telling how much supplies were there." She said.
"I know Mistral's fate, there's nothing that could be done about that. The kingdom was too divided, as was Vacuo, and sending forces there now would be a lost cause." He explained. His tone was even, like it didn't even bother him all that much.
"So what should be our next move?" She asked.
"Why are you asking me?" He tilted his head.
"You're the only one that knows how they operate. You know more about them than anything." Ozpin pointed out.
"Which I find suspicious. How do you know so much about them?" Ironwood crossed his arms.
"I just do. I'm more curious as to how you knew about their existence before the rest of the world." Walker responded. It made Ironwood momentarily stop before he quickly collected himself.
"It's time you've given us answers. We've been lenient so far, but your secrets are costing us." Ozpin said.
"Oh... you do not want to go there." Walker clicked his tongue.
"I think we do." Ozpin nodded.
"Then tell me about Amber." Walker said, throwing the room into silence. His gaze slowly slid over each one and he knew that he had them trapped for a few minutes. Despite them wanting to feign ignorance, there was no telling how he found out or how they could try to cover her existence up.
"..." They didn't say anything and he simply waited.
"If you're not going to tell me about her then don't pry into my personal business. As for the next move, start increasing security measures and going out there. Yes, that means learning more about them and their plans." He said.
"How? Huntsmen and-" Ozpin started.
"The military, you fucking jackass. Stop going on about the previous protectors of humanity. A majority of them are dead." Walker said callously. He didn't care if he sounded rude, just the mere mention of the glamorized idiots made him sick.
"Where should we start?" Glynda asked.
"Reconnaissance." Red merely said. This was the first time they've heard her speak this entire time and they momentarily assumed she was mute.
"Information is key. It's why I've been stressing you all use seismic detection devices." Walker said.
"We get it, we'll try to improve." Glynda sighed and rubbed her forehead. To her, Walker Ronin was a difficult individual to work with. He was crude and ruthless individual that didn't bow down to any authority. Her, Ozpin, and Ironwood saw someone that had no problem digging in the trenches to get the job done.
He was dangerous to them; his knowledge about some of their dirtier secrets, his tactics, and even his prowess were of someone that had fought tooth and nail on the daily. As opposed to them, he was someone who had no problem leading his troops from the frontlines. He had garnered the respect of both the general populace and his own people.
Vale's military listened to him more than they listened to them. Gears were the ones that people often looked up to the most, seeing them as heroes to the younger ages. To be a Gear was the equivalent of being like how Huntsmen and Huntresses were in the past.
The only difference was that Gears focused on pragmatism. They openly shunned glory and were sometimes aloof when it came to the populace. Some saw them as too serious while others felt that their demeanor was what saved them a majority of the time. Walker was the one that they would follow to the ends of the planet.
However, they knew that some individuals worshipped him like a god. The picture that Pyrrha had sent of the four robed individuals shed some light that there were people that were borderline fanatical in serving him.
"Where is Ms. Nikos? She was supposed to arrive today." Ozpin looked at him.
"Oh her? She's currently undergoing investigation." Walker waved his hand.
"For what?" Glynda asked.
"What else? Spying on us." He answered.
"How do you know that she's spying on you all?" Ozpin asked.
"Why would someone take pictures of a military location and try to send the coordinates? To Beacon nonetheless?" Walker asked. His tone started to shift into a state of bitterness and they could feel it.
"..." Once again, they didn't say anything and he was starting to believe they were doing it on purpose.
"People are going to start wondering where the base is at." Ironwood said.
"The existence is know, the location is not... and it's for a good reason. Do you realize how many people could die if the Locust found out where we were located?" Walker asked.
"No." Ironwood shook his head.
"I have thousands of souls aboard that place and I'll be damned if something happens because you all want to try and fuck me over." Walker said as he stood up.
"Vale's military and the Council will start to grow suspicious." Ozpin pointed out.
"They already know, idiots." Walker revealed. He didn't say anything else before Red followed him out to the elevator. They all watched as he pressed the button and the doors slowly closed, leaving them in silence.
Doing anything else to him would force him to reveal Amber's existence to the council and that was the last thing they wanted. If they wanted to keep their already shaky relationship with him, then they needed to play their cards right.
Shorter chapter, but it's better than nothing. I've had people ask me if I'm going change the story or do story requests and the answer is no. I'm not writing another person's story for them, stop asking.
People have also been asking to get closer to me on a more personal level and... can some of you not? It's kind of creepy when some people constantly message me asking for my name and shit.
Anyways, see you all later.