Tinman's Good Intentioned Plan

"These are but rumours, Custodian," Guilliman's voice echoed off the walls of the Imperial Palace,

"They are backed by reports and information, even further regarding Primarch Dorn and Vulkan are first-hand reports from the ships that are carrying them back to Terra. In Primarch Vulkan's case, back to Nocturne." Trajann Valoris' voice echoed before the other Custodian responded as he entered the room through the massive reinforced double doors, a series of other officials following him in.

As she passed the threshold behind the yellow power armour of Gregor Dessian, the Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists, and the representatives of the High Lords, she watched as all bar the Primarch shuffled uncomfortably or reacted with disgust to her presence. Her insides churned and boiled hot, especially at the lowlives that were the representatives who scurried like dying rats to the other side of the room.

As she cast her gaze around the gathering, she caught blue eyes framed by a black bob cut who studied her intently. Unlike that of the representatives or even Chapter-Master Dessain; these eyes were simultaneously hard with weariness from experience and soft with an innocent spark of curiosity.

A contradiction for the current Imperium, she dared to even believe it a rare form of stupidity to be as such within the regime. Yet it eased the boiling and gave her some comfort that someone was not outright repulsed by her- or her sister's- nature.

She felt her own bright green eyes stare back. When the other woman blinked, so did she. An odd limbo of curiosity balanced between the two, and it wasn't an unwelcome one if the gentle smile that graced the other woman's face was of any indication. Though there was some slight shuffling in her stance…

The woman was trying. That alone made her something rarer than any resource or weapon. It made her a decent person.

"So, my brothers have really returned?" the raspy tiredness was overshone by the hope in the Regent's voice,

Valoris nodded, "yes they have," he turned to Dessain, "Rogal Dorn has sent a single message to you specifically,"

The Chapter-Master's eyes widened for a brief moment. He cleared his throat, "what is his word, Captain-General?"

"The Last Wall Protocol is now in effect,"

Dessain spared a moment of surprise to wash over his face, "I will return to the Phalanx and send the order immediately," he turned to Guilliman, "are there any standing orders for the Imperial Fists Legion, my Lord?"

"Not at the moment, however, a question if you will?" his slightly raised brow showed surprise at the referring to the Chapter as a Legion. She was as well, was curious.

"At you word,"

"I am unaware of the Last Wall Protocol, please explain,"

A low gravelling voice with an obvious underlying ego echoed the Lord Commander, "yes, what is it?"

She faced the representative with a blank stare from her side of the room and the man backed down, his face in a crumpled sneer.

Dessain cast his gaze over the room then settled on the Ultramarines Primarch once more, "it is an order to recall all Imperial Fists and its Successor Chapters to Terra in the event of an event on the scale of the Horus Heresy,"

Guilliman's brows flattened at the mention of his deceased brother, but before he could speak, another representative interrupted,

"and what does that mean exactly?" the shakiness of worry laced her words,

The Chapter-Master, as well as everyone in the room- including the Inquisitor with the large hat- eyed the representatives with growing annoyance, "all who share Primarch Dorn's gene-seed are to banner under the 'Fists flag once more as the Imperial Fist Legion in the defenc-,"

He was overspoken by the exclamations of outrage and anger. She could understand why to an extent; the Codex Astartes was written to prevent another betrayal and has been treated like gospel since.

The problem was, the author was standing less than ten metres away and is also now the Lord Commander of the Imperium. And he wasn't disagreeing with it.

"-with the reformation of the Legion we may suffer another heresy!" the female representative swung to Guilliman, "is that not why you wr-"

Guilliman raised a single hand, "and the amount of Astartes that have fallen are the same. It did nothing but split the Imperium's defences further in two,"

The blue-eyed woman blinked rapidly and glanced over to the Inquisitor, then back to Guilliman as continued to speak, "Valoris, bolster the defences of the Palace and prepare squads to be sent out to help bolster fighting Chapters. Chapter-Master Dessain, ready the Phalanx for a Legion as you would."

The Primarch turned to the sister beside her, "Sisters Asurma, rally other Sisters of Silence to provide escort for the Custodes through warp-locked space," at the nod from Sister-Commander Asurma he turned to Celestine and Greyfax, "Greyfax, continue as previously ordered. Celestine go where you and your followers are needed,"

"If the Emperor wills it," the Saint replied while Inquisitor Greyfax nodded sharply.

"What are you doing!?" the indignant shout resounded from the representatives, "bolster the Astartes with what?"

"Primaris."

He did not wait for the room's response, "The Primaris Astartes will bolster the current forces on the front lines." Guillimans voice hardened, "They will be the next generation of Astartes. They are one of many steps in bringing the Imperium back from destruction."

"Bah!" the female representative petulantly spat, "the Imperium is stronger than ever!"

"Cadia has fallen, the Eye of Terror has torn open across the galaxy, the Imperium is split in two and there are a multitude of threats against us on all sides! The abominations that are the Tyranids are not coming from one direction but many and Orks are massing in a size we haven't seen since the War of the Beast!" Greyfax exclaimed to them, "If we are to pull the Imperium back from this we can not afford to be blind to the state it's currently in!"

"Two more of Primarchs have returned with rumoured third-"

Alexea droned out the bickering between the factions in the room. A glance to her left and right showed Valoris and Asurma barely paying much attention as they silently hashed out plans to carry out Guillimans orders. Chapter-Master Dessain had long since left the room to return to the Phalanx.

She turned to the Blue-eyed woman, Celestine, and admired her armour and wings for a brief second before facing the representatives. She gave them an open glare as they began fighting the Primarch further.

The pristine white halls gave way to towering scaffolding that lined the interior of the server room. Many of the massive blocks of technology had been burnt out or reduced to charred debris, now larger, newer versions took their place as the walls were reinforced or torn apart to install a Carbon Dioxide fire prevention system.

How it was not a preexisting safety feature when the CCTS was constructed, Ironwood had no idea. Just that the designer's basic common sense was nonexistent and caused a multitude of problems for Atlas' Council, the Academy and the Military.

Problems that he couldn't fix without a stiff drink.

He straightened his already creaseless uniform as he marched over to the new lead engineer of Research and Development.

"Pollendina," the man spun his wheelchair around to face the General, "I received notification that the CCTS was online again."

The man smiled brightly, "yes, the repairs are coming along nicely!"

Ironwood sighed in annoyance and his brows flattened, "and I told you to inform me before it brought back online,"

Pietro's smile diminished to a sheepish one, "ah, yes, I may have gotten carried away…"

Ironwood's voice hardened "And what if something went wrong again? We already lost Watts when the glitch spread to the Paladins," he closed his eyes and took a breath, when he opened them his voice sat at a calmer level,"next time I ask to be informed, inform me."

"Losing Arthur was a massive blow to our projects, yes…" the scientist trailed off sombrely and Ironwood's eyes narrowed,

"Inform me," he let his gaze wander over the massive servers and their coolant systems, "is it possible for such a thing to happen again?"

"No, it shouldn't be," Pietro's voice sounded off from his right, "especially when the next software and firewall update is rolled out to all CCTS towers,"

He turned to Pollendina again, "how long will that take?"

The scientist jotted his head back and forth for a moment then answered, "roughly a week to a month before the updates are ready to shipped out, General,"

Ironwood's arms crossed over his chest, "why not in increments?" This needs to be solved as quickly as possible.

An exasperated sigh left the other man's lips, "it's an overhaul of the security systems and basic infrastructure of the CCTS worldwide, if it were to be done in smaller updates it would make it even more vulnerable" he took his cap off and flattened his hair as he continued, "besides, the coding is conflicting to such a degree that trying to mesh it together would cause more damage than good; like two minds in one body, it wouldn't work,"

Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand, "alright, so long as it's before the Vytal Festival, our PR is in shambles as it is and with Jacques running circles to gather support and more sway…"

Pietro hummed, "it'll get worse now that the CCTS is back again, the PR I mean…"

"A week without it and people panic, forcing the Atlesian Guard and navy to be deployed," he sighed and crossed his arms again, "Mantle isn't happy about the military being down there,"

His Scroll pinged and he held a hand up in a 'stop' motion. He glanced at it briefly then looked to Pietro again, "I apologize, but there's an incoming transmission from Argus that needs to be taken,"

Pietro waved the man off, "yes, you go run your part! I'll oversee everything here,"

Once the General was out in the white and grey corridors once more did he dare to think, not once did the man mention the loss of his legs…

He knew what it felt like to lose a limb, whether it be through amputation or nerve damage, so it couldn't be easy for the man to have suddenly lost control of his legs then get thrown into repairs almost immediately. Even if it was by his own choice to do so through more pain medications than what should be normal, even Pietro's Aura was struggling to repair what was damaged.

But the man pushed through it all for science and repairs, he idly thought as he saluted some passing soldiers.

The General had no doubt that the madman would devise a new way to walk, the Gods knew he was a master at it by this point, having created his prosthetic arms and even the internal systems that coated his entire right side of his body down to the top of his thigh.

He made it to the stairs that led up to his office. Even after two years of having the rank and office to match, it was still a little disorienting to have it in his name. He saw it as a privilege to be respected. One he always would.

He strode up multiple steps at a time and through the automatic doors, once on the inside he tapped a button on his Scroll and the doors locked while the crest opened up to allow a holographic display to rise from within in synchronization to the blast shields that covered the windows. The moment it locked into place he stood next to the table and answered the transmission.

"General Ironwood here,"

"Captain Caroline Cordovin reporting," the words were spoken just as a hologram of the Captain sprung to life, showing a blue digital version of an aging woman. She continued after Ironwood gave a nod to continue, "there may be a situation developing here,"

"I imagine that is why you are reporting to me directly," he spoke evenly.

She cleared her throat, "yes, General, there was a Grimm attack on a Mistrilian town ten Kilometres outside of Argus two days ago,"

His brows flattened and he crossed his arms over his chest once more as she continued, "we dispatched two Bullheads to the town when the emergency reached us and upon arrival we found…" she trailed off and her eyes flicked up to the side unsurely.

"Found what exactly?" this could not get any worse…

Cordovin adjusted her collar, "we found three things, Sir,"

"Three?"

"The decaying corpses of Grimm scattered around the gate to the town, the Belladonna family gathering support for their 'White Fang' movement-" the disdain in her voice made his lips curl into a firm frown- "and, well, it would be easier to show you,"

She stepped out of the range for the transmitter rather quickly and a new figure took her place. Tall would be his first guess as the receptor adjusted to the figure's size, eventually, Cardovin was included in the image. While the hologram was not scaled realistically, the size of Cardovin gave him an estimate of the figure's height; roughly six foot four to six-six.

The figure was also a 'she' and for a moment he thought it was the new Spring Maiden due to the armour. That is until the details came into focus from the receptor; while it was made of shades of blue from the Holo-projector, it was clear by the dark blue that the armour was not gold like Ozpin had described it, only the ornate outlining and accents were of a lighter blue but even then, he couldn't tell what colours they were.

Giving up on the colour scheme of the armour, he focused on the person underneath it, or as much as he could. The only visible body part was the head of the woman.

Her eyes had a roundish-almond shape, cheekbones were sharp yet softly rounded like her chin was and her nose was almost button shaped. All sat on an oval-shaped face.

Overall, a relatively average face to him, if a little distinguishable.

But what caught his attention was the lack of hair on her head, only a ponytail that stuck up from the top of the back of her head, the metallic joints that replace her mouth's natural ones and the tattoos around her eyes; immediately around them they shaped like small wings that flicked off in the direction of her temples, but on the bottom on large wings curved gently down over her cheek and stopped in a point level with her nose.

Though the receptor struggled to pick up the detail, he could faintly make out some markings within the tattoo, almost like writing.

He brushed his second long observations aside, "hello there, who might you be?"

A friend of this 'Saint Celestine' perhaps? The armour bears a bare resemblance to the description…

The woman made a series of short signals and Ironwood sighed internally, "I am sorry, but I don't understand sign language, do you wish for me to stick to yes and no questions?"

The woman debated it briefly then nodded. Ironwood continued, "alright then, it should only be a handful of questions. Firstly, are you a Hunter?"

She shook her head, 'no.'

The General Hummed, "alright, do you have any Identification?"

Another 'no.'

He unfolded his arms and placed them on the rim of the table and leant forward his fingers moving over a series of buttons, "Is there any way you can tell me?"

This time the woman placed her middle, index and thumb together on her right hand and held her left-hand palm up, making the universal gesture for something to write on.

"Captain Cardovin, if you will?"

The Captain briefly disappeared from the receptor's view and promptly returned with the larger, tablet-like version of a Scroll called a 'Scribe.' She handed it over to the woman, not daring to get to close then immediately positioned herself just within the receptor's view. The somewhat saddened expression that flashed across the other woman's face didn't pass his notice either. Interesting…

The armoured woman took a moment to figure out how the Scribe worked and after a minute of instructions from himself and Captain Cordovin, the first message appeared on his end,

'To answer your previous questions General; my name is Alexea Vennoris, I am not a 'hunter' or have any Identification.'

"Okay then, are you the one who killed the Grimm?"

Instead of typing out the response, she simply nodded firmly.

He hummed once more, "are you willing to come to Atlas for further screening?"

The woman stared blankly into the receptor, her fist tightened around the Scribe slightly. Ironwood couldn't tell what was going on in her head outside of a clear debate. Whether it be a yes or no, she was going to be watched. One entailed it being known while the other involved a crow if it was free from its current task.

If Summer was still here we wouldn't be spread so thin...

After a minute of the woman, Alexea, debating, she gave a nod. The microphone picked up a faint grumbling from Cordovin as she shuffles uncomfortably,

"What was that, Captain?"

She straightened like an arrow and held her head up high, "I will find a Bullhead team immediately, Sir,"

"Very well," he faced Alexea, "I will see you upon arrival in a few hours, until then," as he was making the motions to cut the transmission he noticed as the woman placed the back of both hands in front of her chest, her thumbs extended out and interlocking with each other in a form of some salute.

When the transmission cut out, he released a huff of exasperation and ran a hand through his hair. He moved over to the bookshelf on the left side of the office and pulled a bottle of whisky off the shelf along with a glass, poured two shots worth into it, placed the bottle back onto the shelf and moved back to the table in the centre of the room.

He took a sip of the whisky and began another transmission. Within a moment the upper half of Ozpin was hovering above the table, "I see the CCTS has been repaired, my friend,"

"Yes, thanks to Pietro it was a rather rapid repair," he sighed,

A chuckle filtered through the speakers, "I am glad to hear it. Is there any report on what happened?"

Another, heavier sigh, "a glitch spread through the systems taking anything out on its path, it even made it into the Paladin we were testing… the glitch caused the dust reserves to detonate killing the test pilot, Arthur Watts,"

Ozpin pushed his glasses up, "I'm sorry to hear that, was the body recovered for his family?"

"No, when the Dust detonated it took the entire Paladin with it; nothing but a smouldering crater was left behind… and he doesn't have any living family on record…"

The Headmaster of Beacon hummed, "my condolences on the loss. Who would be taking over the R'n'D now?"

A tiny smirk graced his lips, "Pietro Pollendina, he's a brilliant mind and man. Despite shrapnel from the explosion cutting off the use in his legs, he still carried out the repairs on the CCTS without complaint and wouldn't listen to anyone saying the word 'no' to him,"

"Wasn't he and Watts in competition with each other?"

The smirk quickly disappeared, "Yes, but they worked through Watts' bitterness up until his death,"

Ozpin reached out of view slightly and his hand came back with his omnipresent mug for him to sip out of, Ironwood did the same with his glass of whisky and the Headmaster of Beacon chuckled, "isn't it in bad taste for not only a headmaster but also the General of Atlas to be drinking on the job?"

In response, Ironwood took a large swig while eyeing the Ozpin and finished with an exaggerated breath. Ozpin rolled his eyes.

"Usually I only drink off hours but after this week, this hour, I was a need,"

Ozpin tilted his head, "Oh? Care to share?"

"I have had the Council hounding me to fix the CCTS as quickly as possible, two teams got into a fight over some a girl, funnily enough, it was the girl who started it, then Pietro ignoring me when I asked to be informed that the CCTS will be coming online again, then I had Cordovin call…"

"I assume this was just this hour?"

Ironwood drank the remnants of the whisky in one go, "yes it was, but it is the call from Cordovin that has added another potentially large wrench into the works,"

Beacons Headmaster interlocked his fingers in front of his face and rested his chin on his thumbs, "I understand it has been a new station for her,"

A dark chuckle left Ironwood's lips, "it has been six months since she was...transferred to Argus,"

"Military term for 'kicked out' I take it,"

"Officially no. Actually, yes," the General shook his head, "anyway, she brought someone to my attention that may relate to the new Spring Maiden,"

Ozpin's posture straightened, "do tell,"

It may have sounded like a suggestion, but he knew it for the order it was, "a woman was found at the sight of a Grimm attack on a town, she killed them all and was brought in by Cordovin," Ironwood pressed a series of buttons, "I just sent a still of her,"

Ozpin's projection changed and the man appeared to be observing something out of frame, "her armour is rather similar to Celestine's but different in its details and pauldrons,"

A few moments later an image of a woman in similar armour shimmied into existence above Ironwood's table. The difference was obvious when compared to the other, "I take it this is Celestine?"

"Yes, the image was sent by Qrow not an hour ago, he found her last night at the town of Cambridge,"

His eyes took in the details; how her head was framed by the metal, spiked halo behind it, her wings that barely fit into the frame and the insignias on the pauldrons to the rest of her armour before he noticed the double-headed bird on the chest,

"The new woman, she called herself Alexea, made a hand gesture that resembles the bird on the chest," he pointed out,

"Well, it seems we found another of her religion,"

Ironwood rocked his head gently, "she thinks of herself as a saint doesn't she?"

A humourless chuckle, "yes, and someone who can 'revive the dead if they remained faithful to the Emperor' according to Qrow,"

The General groaned into his palm, "so she's delusional, great,"

"Maybe, maybe not. The Grimm she kills don't disintegrate so she must have some power on top of the Maidens' power,"

His eyes were half-lidded in annoyance and his shoulders dropped, "Oz, are you even sure she is the Spring Maiden? 'Her eyes are one fire' is not exactly solid evidence,"

Ozpin untangled his fingers from one another and exhaled audibly, "given that she has now shown that use of telepathy on Qrow, I am starting to believe that myself with the current evidence we have of the Grimm not dissolving and the telepathy,"

Ironwood's eyes widened considerably, "telepathy is her semblance?"

"From what Qrow mentioned, yes. He's spent the majority of the day humouring her with her… beliefs on what she is capable of,"

"What else does she think she's capable of?"

"Teleportation, reviving the dead, forcing select targets to combust and forcing her sword to combust...given the number of burnt corpses left in her wake, I am inclined to believe that one of those is true, at least,"

A sigh mixed with a groan left his lips, "Okay, what type of telepathy does she have?"

Ozpin pulled his Scroll up to read off it for a moment, "Qrow only experienced her voice in his head, so as far as we know, that is all she's capable of. No mind-reading or alike."

The General leant onto the table and his voice drew iron, "Oz, if she really is a Maiden we need her on our side,"

"I know, James, I know. Unfortunately, other circumstances are calling Qrow, and now Glynda, away to Mountain Glenn," his voice laced with annoyance, "the Council demanded something be done about the rising spikes in not only Grimm activity but also spikes in the power grid,"

"I thought the grid was offline in 'Glenn?"

"It is."

General Ironwood stood again, "I can send a Centurion-"

"-I don't need a battleship, James," Ozpin dismissed, "though the sentiment is appreciated. Now, what are you doing with...Alexea, was it?"

Ironwood began to run his hands over his uniform to remove any creases, "I asked her to come into Atlas for screening by myself, she agreed reluctantly after a literal minute of thought,"

Ozpin hummed lowly, "be careful, James, she may not be as...accommodating or nice as Celestine has been with Qrow,"

He breathed through his nose harshly, "I am, that's why I'm doing it myself… if what you say about Her is true, I need all the caution I can get,"

"Don't let it rule your judgement, James,"

"It's only caution, Oz, nothing more,"

Ozpin's eyes narrowed minimally, "caution has led to rampant paranoia, James, don't let it consume you,"

A ping rang from the console, alerting the General to someone at the door. Ironwood stood as tall as he could and his voice hardened, "I will do what is best for Remnant, Ozpin. Nothing less."

He ended the transmission with a pleasant farewell and the table retracted into the floor while the blast shields rose, revealing a mild weathered midday over the Kingdom of Atlas as Centurion battleships patrolled the skies above, their metallic hulls glistening in the sun that poked through the clouds.

His admiration came to a halt as turned back to the door, he pressed another button on his scroll while he approached it and they unlocked and whirred open to reveal white hair in a perfect bun and pristine Academy uniform.

Winter stood at attention with an overzealous salute for a sixteen-year-old. He gave a salute back at her, "at ease Schnee and make it quick, I have many things to do,"

Her feet parted from their firm stance ever so slightly and she clasped her hands behind her back, she still held her head up high as she spoke, "Father wishes to speak with you over a trade deal with the military and Air Traffic Control reports a Bullhead from Argus on approach,"

He gave her a careful stare, "you are not supposed to be reporting such information to me, you're a first-year remember?"

She shuffled and her gaze averted from him, "yes Sir, sorry Sir," her voice was dulled slightly.

She would make a fine soldier when she's ready, he thought, but not yet…

His Scroll buzzed and he groaned heavily internally as he turned away and answered it, "General Ironwood here,"

"Sir," a male's voice came over the speaker, "this is Air Traffic Control, a Bullhead from Argus is requesting to land with priority from you, Sir,"

He glanced at Winter out of the corner of his eye to find a distinct red tint on her cheeks, "I have already been informed by first-year Schnee. Grant the landing at the academies docks, pad four, I will be there personally,"

"Copied," his Scroll went silent for a moment, "orders sent and confirmed, ETA ten minutes,"

"I'm on my way," he hung up and slipped the Scroll back inside his coat then faced Winter again,

For what felt like the hundredth time that hour, he sighed, "I understand you're eager to prove yourself, especially with the Vytal festival coming up, but military matters are not your jurisdiction yet," he motioned for her to follow as he made his way to the nearest elevator and she followed a step behind his right, "that said, I believe if you keep going the way you are, you may become eligible for a wide array of roles,"

They both entered the elevator, "really, Sir?"

He chuckled at her amazed tone, "yes, but you will work for it like the rest of us. Just because I fast-tracked you here means you'll get special treatment, Winter,"

She cleared her throat and straightened her posture once more, "of course, Sir,"

The two remained in silence as the elevator descended to the main courtyard entrance. Just as the elevator slowed to a stop, Ironwood breathed heavily through his nose and faced winter, "inform Jacques I will be free at midday tomorrow, my office will be open,"

Winter snapped a salute and left as soon as the elevator doors opened, leaving Ironwood to make his way through the massive foyer himself. The elevator was one of two that led up to his office, the military wings and some spare classes, the foyer they came down to was the main hub to other sections of the Academy itself and select military departments.

The foyer held the elevators up on a half-circle platform accessible via a staircase and an inclined ramp up the side. He made his way down the centre of the stairs, students and soldiers of all kinds moved aside to let him pass as he strode by the reception desks that sat symmetrically on both sides of the foyer.

The automatic doors slid open as he approached and stepped out into the air of Atlas. The low, familiar humming of the Centurions that drifted through the skies filled his ears while a strong wind blew his coattails and hair around, removing any sense of tidiness about him. The wind blew clouds past the sun, occasionally casting the school grounds in darkness before they moved on while the odd snowflake fell from the sky.

He turned to his immediate right where pad four sat elevated by two stories.

He could see the odd bob of movement from the ground crews and guards over the lip.

By the time he was near the bottom of the stairs that led to the top, a Bullhead thundered overhead and entered the regular landing pattern that was mandated for all craft. When he was at the top of the stairs, the craft had completed its spiral and engaged its landing gear.

As soon as he was roughly ten metres away, he and anyone else who stood the same distance felt as if their very being was...smothered? Ironwood visibly shuddered at the unnatural… he couldn't describe it properly, just that it felt wrong. Almost like a part of his very soul was repressed or removed.

The doors to the Bullhead slid open before it had hit the ground, though the woman took it as an invitation to disembark and hit the pad with an audible, metallic thud.

Ironwood had to give her credit, she made for an impressive sight with her black armour that was accented with gold and silver, her two-toned cape-dark-red inside and black outside- and large ponytail that bled from mahogany red to black at the end, almost like fire and smoke. Both fluttered in the wind.

The use of the replacement joints on her jaw made some sense now, it held a large diamond-shaped mouthpiece, the bottom coming to a sharp point while the top was shaped so her dark green-almost black eyes could see before it continued to come to point at the top of her forehead.

As she stepped closer, his suspicions over the tattoos around her eyes were confirmed, they held texts of some type inside the thickly outlined shapes in dark-black ink, surprisingly visible against the woman's equally dark brown skin.

The only part of her ensemble that was of a singular colour was the dark-red gloves that came up to her elbows and studded leather straps that hung over her groin that were of the same colour as the gloves.

She was only a few steps away and he cleared his throat, "thank you for coming,"

She gave him a firm nod and made the sign for something to write on. Ironwood pulled his Scroll out and handed it to her with the 'notes' application open.

She spent all of five seconds typing then flipped it over for him to read, "I have tasks to complete and you are better than a Governor, let's make this quick,"

An eyebrow of his rose alongside the uneasy feeling. He pushed the feeling down, "what makes you think that?"

She began to type out her response but stopped for a brief moment, "You are military, I am skilled and the Captain was...rude to the Abhumans despite their help with defending the town,"

He hummed while his eyes narrowed, "I suggest we take this to my office," he held his left hand out as an indication for her to go first. She gave another nod and held his Scroll out for him as she passed, he took it and glanced at the Bullhead and took note of the relieved sigh the pilot gave once the Alexea was a good distance away.

He looked to everyone that was the same distance as the pilot, they all looked relieved she was gone while the ones that were near him shuffled or gave her dirty looks to her back. He gave those individuals a glare of his own and took note of their faces and the time before following.

He quickly sent a message to Ozpin informing the man that she had arrived.

He caught up with her halfway down the stairs, "welcome to Atlas Academy, I apologize for Captain Cordovin and her treatment of the Faunus," especially to the Belladonnas for fucks sake, they lead a grown and influential organisation, not a damn coffee shop!

Alexea glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and he couldn't help but shiver when he made contact with them. Her expression dropped minimally and she took a step away from him as he directed them back to the elevators.

So, her Semblance is like Qrow's, in the way that it has an area of effect?

But what use would a Semblance that causes an uncomfort in people be a use of? It would draw attention in stealth if people knew what to look for and she wasn't exactly subtle in any sense of the word. Only in direct combat would it be a use, even then it would be minimal.

As they marched through the foyer, the attention of those present was drawn. Whether it was due to the sight of her or her Semblance he couldn't necessarily tell, but the way what little of her face showed, it made her upset, so he guessed it was her Semblance.

His own body felt wrong as if it was slightly twisted, so he couldn't blame the students and soldiers for moving away from her, especially since it was gut instinct to draw your attention to her. Like your mind knew where the feeling was coming from.

She and Qrow would get along great, he sarcastically thought as they stepped into the elevator.

The ride was a short one but it felt as if it took an hour.

Ironwood led the two of them up the steps and into his office. Alright, let's see if she name-drops the new Spring Maiden…

He made his way over to where his whisky sat on the shelf, "would you like something to drink?"

He glanced at her and saw her shake her head so he went for some water instead. He took his glass of water and made his way to his desk. Instead of sitting in the chair, he rested his rear on the front and used his left arm to prop himself up.

He placed his glass on the desk to the right and pressed a button on his Scroll to lift only the holo-table up through the floor. While it was rising he configured its current function from his Scroll, "alright, anything you type will be projected for me to read,"

When she turned to the table he took note of the massive, blocky gun that was slung over her shoulder. He took a sip of water and continued, "now then, you said you had tasks to complete and I take it you think I'm the one to help you out. But before that, I would like to know who you are and why I should help you,"

She nodded after a moment from her place next to the table then typed, "I am searching for someone on this planet, if you help me I will help you. I already gave you my name."

He took another sip, "yes you did, but I would like to know more,"

Ironwood could swear he saw her roll her eyes slightly as she typed, "I am from a convent of the Silent Sisterhood, servant of the Emperor and the person I am looking for is important,"

"A child?" she shook her head at his suggestion.

"A woman."

And we're playing the same game. She knows. He thought.

He stood from his place, ignoring the almost physical weight coming from her, "I'm going to need more than that if you want my help finding this woman,"

Annoyance seeped off her body language as her fingers 'tapped' the holographic keyboard, "she is known as an Inquisitor Greyfax, easily identifiable by her cybernetic eye, armour resembling mine and her large hat,"

His mind stopped. That wasn't who he was expecting and the description wasn't a familiar one. Do I tell her of Celestine? No, I should discuss it with Ozpin first.

"I can't say I'm familiar with either the name or description, Alexea," he paused and chewed the inside of his lip as he debated with himself for a moment. Ozpin would rip him a new one, but it needed to be taken care of, "however, if you complete a task for me, i'll grant you some assistance in finding this Greyfax,"

"This depends what you're asking of me," she folded her arms over her chest and eyed him carefully.

He made his way over to the table, "There's a cult in Mistral, specifically," he made a map of Remnant appear and zoom into the kingdom of Mistral, "in the city of Wind Path located in Inheritors Cove,"

The location highlighted itself and images of multiple locations of the city sprung to life; a large port that housed what looked to be decrepit ships breaking down, walls that towered over the city and the city itself.

"The cult seems to be worshipping Grimm and not above murder amongst a great many other things," she blankly stared at him, "I'm not asking you to take them out, just get me an estimate of their numbers and influence in the underworld over there. You'll even have support from a First Lieutenant of mine,"

Alexea's stare lessened and she typed, "what kind of help would I get if I complete this?,"

The General sighed again, "as much as I can without drawing the attention of the Council, hell, you can even search for your person while there,"

She nodded in a way that said 'you have a point' then gave a firmer nod.

Ironwood gave a small smirk then straightened his collar, not noticing the smothering feeling lighten significantly, "alright, I appreciate your help"

He pressed a few commands and a transmission opened, a male's voice came over the speakers, "First Lieutenant Clover Ebi reporting,"

"Ebi, report to my office for an assignment immediately,"

"Copied, I'll be there asap," the transmission ended and Ironwood faced Alexea, "take this time to teach Ebi the bare essentials of sign language in preparation of the worst case,"

Kill multiple birds with one stone; learn her capabilities, learn more of the cult and test Ebi for promotion and possible slot in the new program… maybe even win her to our side

He knew that Celestine was known to this woman. The salute she made was enough for him, it resembled the bird on Celestine's armour too much, then there was the mention of a convent; this Celestine claimed to be a saint. The connection was there and he intended to milk it as much as possible.

If he could get Alexea to his side the new Spring may have more incentive to do so, making it a further victory.

A/N:

And the plot begins to move forward at a faster pace.

Bet you weren't expecting the end were you? Not only a SIster of Silence but also Greyfax? Hot damn!

Greyfax was a last-minute addition because I'm halfway through Our Martyred Lady and she's great; I love her dynamic with Celestine and hope to mimic the bitchy and very tsundere attitude she has to the Saint and literally anyone else…

Yes, Alexea is an OC, but she's an experiment born from 'what if' and to see if I can write a character who'll be a part of the main cast and make her feel 'alive' and likable.

Sure, there's Karma, Cobalt and Marie, but they're not MCs so it doesn't count really.

And she's also there for actual plot reasons as well; it may be visible if you think about it, but it's not hard to figure out. Her being a Pariah has its effect on the people of remnant slightly differently than that of the Imperium.

Poor Ironwood thinks that it'll be hard to get Celestine to his side so he's trying to win over her friend.

Oh, only if he, and Oz, knew it would be easier to just straight up ask… but where's the fun in that?

And wouldn't you say that Big E is being a little too nice by sending so much for Celestine? It's almost like it's a different person doing it...

Anyway, enough rambling onto reviews:

E: Qrow seems to be ignoring part of what she is saying, though to be fair we aren't seeing his point of view so I can't say for certain. It kind of contrasts with the idea that she would be a maiden if she has been alive for so long, so I figured it would raise some more obvious flags.

Only thing I found odd. Otherwise, awesome chapter.

I await more, as always.

I wish I could say that "it's because of Cel's perspective and she can't tell" and all that stuff, but it was an oversight on my part that I tried to fix with Ozpin's and Ironwood's conversation. I knew what I wanted Qrow to be doing but I simply forgot to write it. I'll aim to not repeat that mistake again in the future.

ViwerPetu: So far this has been one the more unique and well written RWBY cross-overs and seems to have quite a bit of potential. I hope read more soon.

I try to hold a standard to my writing, especially after finding so many cringe fics out there or ones that over-saturate the Crossover with 40k, I really don't want to create either of those scenarios. I hope it lives up to your expectations, especially since I have no experience in writing a proper story like this. I tried it once with the other thing on my account but I had no clue what I wanted so it died after 4000 words and poor planning.

Hopefully, this goes better in the long run.

Thanks for the support, the next chapter should be out sometime this week.