Chapter 33
Shape of things to come
Amelia Dallors came from a very middle class family on Coruscant. Well situated on the upper mid levels of the megapolis that was the planet. Her parents made a living running a group of successful supermarkets catering to the upwards mobile and the middle class civil servants of governments that maintained embassies, the Senate and planetary government and the multitude of mega corporations and smaller companies that called Coruscant home.
They attributed their success to hard work and working within the system, careful not too offend the government who issued the necessary licences to trade or its civil servants who were their customers. They too had dreams of greater riches and moving higher. To that end they spend well on education and marrying their children off with the children of their partners and creating more stores in the towers. Keeping business in the family and the family of their partners ensured that the business thrived. It had worked with their other children and it would work with Amelia too. She was the right age to be married and a partner had a son the right age.
Ignoring the fact that Amelia had shown no interest in their business or showed any outwards sign of being attracted to either gender, spending times on studies and staying out of the social limelight. The groom to be on the other hand lived for the social scene and had no inclination of stopping instead of going bigger and better than before, as his arrest record showed. On being told of their good fortune and their impending nuptials both had the same thought, Run.
He had run for the lower levels and tried living the live of a swoop biker, believing it to be a live of alcohol, spice and loose women. Amelia signed on for the Naval training core. She had successfully convinced her parents, and the family of her groom to be, that serving an enlistment would look good to any bearucrat reviewing documents relating to the business or if they were extremely fortunate lead to a direct opportunity to take the business offworld as a licensed seller to Empire outposts. She had added that the time she spent being enlisted would be time for her groom to be to get his wild side under control or for him to be rehabilitated should it be required. She had barely managed to convince them. Once she had stepped through the door of the Academy she swore she would not even consider going back to that life. Here she would take control of her life and fail or succeed, it would be on her terms. She would be more than a trophy wife and glorified store manager, especially to a wastrel as a husband.
She was not naïve enough to believe the Empire would be all sunshine, borealis lights and rosy sunsets. Though she had hoped that it would be better than the corrupt mess that was Coruscant and Senate governance, she believed working from within would help set up a fair and effective government. It would take hard work and years of effort to eradicate that which had gone before, maybe even more years than what she had.
She had worked hard to achieve her rank, despite the inherent bias against female officers in the Emperor's armed forces. A throwback to the old boys club that was the Grand Republic Army, a behaviour that had transferred to the new Imperial Navy. Either your were a human male and or you knew somebody important who could pull strings for you. She had been proud as she had been approached for a special project. Being headhunted by the master and commander of the vessel you served on could be the stepping stone she had needed to rise higher in rank. That she managed that without being part of the elite or their chosen or sleeping her way to a position was another thing she was proud of
Now she was watching it all go down in flames. Once her ward had been thrown in the brig, her own usefulness came to an end. Sure she had been praised by her nominal senior for doing well on her assignment. The tone of voice and the blandness of the praise warned her, as did the fact that she was told to relax pending reassignment. That it was done by a pre recorded message was another sure sign. And having it being played to you by a stormtrooper holding up a datapad was the equivelant of being jettisoned out the airlock. She almost did not pay attention as she was instructed to purge her terminal of all data in regards to her latest and now obviously assignment.
She was under no delusions the entire ship would soon know judging from the fact that the junior officers not bothering to hide their smirks as they were busy securing Keira's personal effects. What little there was of it. That others had been sent to do it showed she was no longer trusted.
"That is mine." Amelia spoke up
The officer holding the pyramid like object that Keira had received on Arkaxis looked at her
"That is my personal property." Amelia repeated
"What is it?" The officer asked impertinently
"A weight to keep flimsies from being dislodged and a decoration for my workstation." Amelia replied
The officer handed it over with a disinterested shrug before he closed the crate they had brought into the room and he and his fellow junior officer left the room with the stormtroopers carrying the crate. Amelia sat down on the bed lost in thought, turning the pyramid over in her hand repeatedly.
Days later she found herself at the corner table of the junior officers mess. This table hidden behind a large potted plant was the designated table for the disgraced. It would have been an ideal table for those in covert relationships to have a meal in relative privacy, were it not the for the two tables in front of the planter. One contained what in school would have been the social climbers group. Those willing to sleep with anything just to be seen as popular and successful. The so called in crowd. Here it was for those looking to advance as high as possible on their backs and then marry to someone likely to rise higher.
"I should have paid more attention to Kallus, made him notice me. That man is going places." One bemoaned her lot
"That he is, practically killing of a species and clearing a planet a day after arriving at a new assignment. It shows he is not lacking ambition, and the one who gets him will go as high as he." Another agreed, avarice thick in her voice
" That alone will make up for his dour appearance, I have heard he has been congratulated by the Emperor and is to be Yularens prime student." A third gossiped
"Really where did you hear that?" The first scoffed
"I am blowing one of the ISB junior agents, man can not keep his mouth shut once I am on my knees before him." The third tittered
"None of them can honey." The second giggled
Amelai dropped her utensil in her half eaten meal, all of her minimal appetite deciding to had broken that the Lasat rebellion had been crushed. Only the non aligned press had called it genocide, though that was quickly denied and access to the alternate channels had been revoked. Amelia was inclined to believe the alternate news more now than she would have before
She pushed her plate to the middle of the table to be collected by a cleaner and was getting ready to stand up to exit the room, ready for the silent scrutiny all her movements evoked and as she was sure gossiping once she was out of sight, when the door to the mess opened. Silence descended as the Inquisitor and his juniors entered the mess and made their way to the serving counters. Those in line quickly making space. This brought a reaction from the second table. The one claimed by the ISB.
"I don't know why Yularen wants us to monitor the interrogation sessions of the five in the high security detention room. They walk in torture them into unconcioussnes and then walk out. That is it, no questioning no attempts to divide them among themselves, nothing." One groused
"The Mando might know something, but from what I hear two are locals and the other two smugglers hiding from the Huts. What really gets me is why we are holding on to the other eight, and why are the Inquisitors so interested in the five." Another one said
"Then squeeze one of them dry and find out." A third replied boredly "Yularen wants them untouched for some reason." The first replied
"The commander must have his reasons. Considering the time he spends with one of them they must be useful somehow." A fourth replied
"I just wish they would tell us when shore leave starts, we have been stuck here for months now." The first one said
"Yeas, shore leave on a barely industrial world, how interesting." The third replied drily
" As long as there is women, who cares." The first said
"True some of them look quite exotic. Not something you will marry but will do for a quick fuck." The second said
"You just want to be able to say you screwed an animal woman and did not get covered in fur." The fourth scoffed
"Maybe but at least I am not the one looking at the underage ones." The second snapped back
" If there is grass on the pitch play ball." The fourth replied
"And if there isn't flip it over and play in the mud." The third said jokingly
Amelia left the room in disgust, she did not look behind her as the expected silence descended on her departure, The Inquisitor looked at her retreating back a thoughtful expression on his face.
Ghira Belladona was staring out of the window of the room he and Kali had been allocated after their arrival on the ship into space. He saw multiple blue flashes that he now knew marked the arrival of ships from the vast reaches beyond Remnant. As far as he could see the total outside of Remnant's athmosphere was six of the dagger shaped craft, though they were smaller than the one he was on, the smaller the ships the larger the number became of the amount of them present. Feeling Kali embrace him he shifted and pulled her to his front and rubbed her back
" If you told me a month ago we would be in space I would have told you lay of the catnip. Now here we are." He said
" What do they want with us?" Kali asked
"That is the question, and I fear we may not like the answer. For now all we can do is cooperate and endure." Ghira replied
"I believe we should speak to the Arc's." Kali said
"Why them?" Ghira asked
"I have been observing them, both of them as well as Ozpin and Ironwood know more than what we are being shown. Ozpin and Ironwood are cautious, they are completely distrustful though they hide it well, also they are afraid." Kali said
Ghira took a moment to process that statement. Due to her personality people frequently dismissed her as an airhead follower but Kali had a gift for reading people. That and her hidden intelligence led to her being underestimated often at the others party peril. She was the brain behind many of the White Fang's success when they were in charge. She was the first to see the plot to oust them from the Fang, they could have countered it but she had convinced him that the welfare of Menagerie was more important than the organization they could no longer fully control. Due to her machinations they had been able and hold control of Menagerie and maintain a safe haven for Faunus despite the Albain brothers attempts to undermine them. A thought struck him
"The son is the key." He said
Kali looked up at him, trying to figure out the shift in Ghira's thought process. Not only a compassionate orator and hard working man, he was capable of making connections and solutions to problems that she at times had a hard time following
"The son had been presumed dead, then he returned from the lost Kingdom no one has heard of and had been unable to locate. Along with Faunus with more than two non human features" Ghira continued
"Where are you going with this?" Kali asked
"The same son that had been taken as prisoner by our new arrivals. The faunus with him are not faunus, there never was a lost kingdom." Ghira said
"But the boy was born on Remnant as were they. The Arc family dates back to the last king." Kali countered
"And he disappeared and was presumed dead following a Grim attack on a settlement when barely older than a toddler. The only one to have survived in a settlement of two hundred souls." Ghira replied
"You know you are starting to sound like the Vale Enquirer." Kali said
"Yet here we are on a spaceship, something that has been called impossible." Ghira responded
"So you are thinking the boy and the girls with him were a scouting party?" Kali asked
"I think they were taken by surprise as much as we were. I had wondered why that group of students tried to run when the ship showed up. Now I
think I know. And that is what I think the Arc's know." Ghira answered
Kali broke from his embrace and taking his hand led him to the door.
"I think we need to speak to our neighbours. Now more than before."
Derrick looked closely again at the footage that had been displayed on the television news. A joint briefing had been held by the various Council leaders along with their council members standing in the background, he ignored the messages being read by the leaders. The usual calls to remain calm, statements that their leaders had the situation in hand, cooperate with the new arrivals. Jonathan and Juniper had been at the edge of the group, he looked closer at his brother's fidgeting hands. No, not fidgeting. Sign language. More particularly the sign language their uncle had taught them, the language in use by the Fort Freedom militia when speaking was too dangerous. Two repeated messages. Danger Hide, prepare to fall back.
Derrick looked up from the monitor he had been watching and placed the lapscroll on the table and gave his full attention to the Director seated opposite him in the dining room of the Continental. The only people in sight was her security detail. The absence of staff easily explained as the hotel was an asset to the agency and not just as means to filter unexplained income.
" The analyst was right, it was a message. He was warning us to stay hidden and to prepare to flee. Nor was he the only one to try and send covert messages" Derrick confirmed
"Who else did you spot doing that?" The Director asked
He pointed to the screen
"Kali Belladonna. She kept playing with her ears and running her fingers through her hair randomly. For a person that is well used to press interviews acting like it is the first time before a camera. Not buying it. She follows a pattern if you look closely enough. The question is who is she trying to communicate with? Her daughter is at Beacon and as far as we know they are still in blackout."
"Sienna Khan and her most loyal have gone of the grid. The Albain brothers had seemingly taken control of the White Fang according to our sources." The Director said
"She is setting them up to die. From what we know our visitors will not allow dissent once they feel secure enough in their occupation they will go after the Fang. I am guessing it is part of why they seized control of the police department and government offices quickly."
The Director took a sip from her glass of wine
"We need to know what is going on in Beacon. I am sending you in with a teamto try and make contact with the faculty. I believe you are quite familiar with several of them." She said
"Of course, are we just establishing a line of communication at this time?" Derrick replied
"For now yes. See if one of them can relay the footage to Belladona's daughter, it is a long shot but maybe she will translate the message."
"Do we have any information as to why the students are being held at Beacon?" Derrick asked
"Apart from hostages to ensure the behaviour of the headmasters, no. Both DEI And DGO are thinking along the line of conscription of the students. The four students who tried to fight only managed to highlight that Aura negates their stun weapons, we also know that those with unlocked Aura is more powerfull than those without Aura, a force multiplier if you will. " The Director answered
Qrow looked out of the window of the cheap hotel room he had rented close to the bullhead docks. A van bearing the logo of a well known exterminator had drawn up to the docks and was now being surrounded by the white armoured troopers. He grabbed his binoculars and looked closer. He knew one of the exterminators, only the last time he had seen the man was in Vacuo and the man had been in a mercenary company. Shifting to his bird form he decided to investigate closer.
Derrick leaned back against the truck and lowered his cap over his eyes pretending to prepare for a nap. At the front of the truck old Benson was still arguing with a stormtrooper with an orange decal on his armour. The cable car came to a stop and a grey uniform came striding over. Benson turned his attention to the grey uniform.
"Finally someone in charge." Benson growled out
"All civilians have been instructed to remain indoors, why are you here?" Grey uniform snapped
"Job order from department of Health. Beacon is overdue for its annual fumigation and rodent inspection and extermination if needed, we currently have the Vale government contract for extermination and fumigation." Benson handed over a stack of documents
The officer looked blankly at the stack of paper he had been handed. Benson sighed
"Listen. Beacon is usually filled with rats and bats. Both needs to be exterminated as they carry disease. The job is usually done while everyone is on break and the place is empty. If you don't believe me ask the school doctor as she is the one that requested fumigation, the request is on page four. They already had an outbreak of meningitis. If we don't get to work you will have another outbreak and brothers help us if it is rabies or bubonic plague. Both of those are carried by rats and bats."
"We have droids for cleaning up and disease control."
"Sure you have, but can these droids tell you where to look for nests and more importantly can they tell the difference between a rat and a rattacat" Benson replied
Derrick pushed up from the van and approached the officer
" The difference is one is a sub type of grim and almost indistinguishable from a rat. Why don't one of us go up there with you and you can check our story. We show you a nest while someone confirms the paperwork. No need to go into the main building I am certain we will find a nest in the bullhead terminal." Derrick suggested
Derrick pointed to a black box attached to the building
"Even better, over there you can see a bait trap, one of the things we use to kill rodents when an active fumigation is not needed. Have one of your droids do whatever it does and it will tell you that it contains a lethal poison" He said
Derrick lifted his hands
"Listen I know you are doing your job, just check the facts and pass it up the line, that way you are safe." He said.
Derrick and Benson walked back to the truck and stood there waiting as the officer was talking to a device in his fist. Minutes later an dome shaped robot made is appearance from the cable cars and approached the black box. Extending a length of steel it probed the box and moments later started squeeling urgently. This led to Benson going up to the upper level with the officer. An hour passed before Benson returned
"Right you lazy bastards, load up and let us go and kill some things."
They lugged their gear to the cable car and started the ascend, At the top they were greeted by more grey uniforms the one if front looked older and carried more insignia. Benson approached him with Derrick a few paces to his rear. The officer looked down his nose at them. He vaguely waved at the equipment being stacked outside the cable car doors
"How long is this going to take?" He demanded
"Depends on the size of the infestation." Benson replied, spitting to the side
The officer stepped back fastidiously making sure to be outside the splash zone, shooting a glare at Benson. Benson rubbed his bald head
"I know you want us gone quickly. How about we do it this way. My guys split up go with a bunch of your men and check the traps, Once we know what we are looking at we can give you a better idea."
"Boss, how about I take the hanger building over there, I was here last time and that place is the hardest to work in." Derrick suggested stepping forward
"That is the place with all the plants in it is it not?" Benson rubbed his chin
"Yes that is the one. Last time we caught five cane rats in there, stupid woman in charge kept them there as food for the Mistral blackadder she has in there." Derrick answered
"No way am I going in there with one of those things loose." Garfield said
"I take this blackadder is dangerous then?" A junior officer demanded
"Deadliest snake on Remnant, combination venom. Neurotoxic and heamotoxic. It paralysis you and then you bleed out as the venom stops coagulation." Derrick replied
"And the fuckers breed faster than rats. If left unattended one quickly becomes ten especially if there are not predators to keep their numbers down" Benson said
Derrick looked to the senior officer
"Actually now that I think about it, it would be best if we take that woman in with us. Some of the plants in there are poisonous too." He said
Qrow landed on one of the cases and one of the troopers stepped forward to brush him off. Derrick decided to up the ante. He pointed to Qrow.
"That is a crow, a carrion eater. They start hanging around a place is a sure sign you have something dead around here somewhere. That and they love catching rats." He said
Moody was summoned and she led the way with Derrick on her heels, a junior officer and four troopers following them. At the door Derrick stopped
"I need to check the outside traps first." He told the officer
Under cover of opening the bait trap he pulled a packet from inside his coverall and emptied it into his gloved hands. Before turning around he staffed the plastic inside his coverall. He lifted his hand to show the contents to the officer.
"Rat scat, they emptied the bait trap. You definitely have an infestation in this building. Though this one is easy to clean out." He said
"Explain." The officer demanded
"I go to the supply packs and grab two canisters of poison and a hose set. I come back and me and teach go up the ladder and she unlocks the controls to the air conditioner room. I connect a hose and a canister to the air conditioner and I pump organo phosphate into the room. Two hours later anything breathing in there is dead, Another four and it is safe to go in there. You can come up as well if you want but I think your boys will be a bit to heavy, that ladder is not very strong." Derrick said
Moody opened the roof access door and stepped in. Derrick followed her in. The officer had a trooper walk around the building checking for another ladder before he had allowed them up. Derrick came out and pulled up the canisters by a rope he had attached prior to climbing the ladder.
Once completely out of sight he pulled Anastasia in closer and kissed her hard and urgently
"How are you doing?" He asked
"Holding on. What is news from outside?" She asked
"The Councils are in talks of them, no one from the public is allowed to go anywhere that is not for getting food or medical attention. Government is being run by skeleton staff. You would not believe how many bribes it took to get the papers to bullshit my way in here."
Anastasia kissed him again before grinning at him
"Did I ever tell you what my semblance is?" She asked
"No. I do not believe you told me."
"It allows me hyper focus to read body language. I am a walking talking lie detector and I know you are not a banker." She said
"Well, fuck." Derrick said
"Not quite yet. So the truth quickly before they decide to check on us." Anastasia said
"I work for a Vale intelligence agency. We need to know what is going on in here, my bosses fear they plan to use the students in some way." Derrick answered
He paused and grinned
"Also I wanted to see how my girlfriend is doing. Two birds one stone."
"Smooth talk will not work either. Your boss is right the last days have been filled with assessments of the students and constant propaganda. If not for your nephew and the girls we would not know better, they are making it look real attractive to enlist." Anastasia said
"Have any enlisted?" Derrick asked
"Not yet, but it is inevitable. The only ones I know that is not likely to flip are the ones that were at Serenity and the Faunus heavy teams. Since they only see humans they are sceptical, plus some have reported hearing some disparaging remarks about them" She said
Derrick reached into his coverall and handed her a tiny scroll.
"It is currently switched of, battery is not great but should be good for several hours. I will phone you in two days what time is best?" He said urgently
"Lights out are at twenty hundred . Say at nineteen hundred, that is when the students make the most noise. I am guessing you are waithing two days in case they check for signals coming in and out especially after having non Empire staff on site." She said
Qrow had fluttered in through an air vent and resumed human form. He stepped into view.
"If you need another line of communication, I can help." He said
"Branwen. How did you get in here?" Anastasia demanded
"I have my ways. Can you tell me how my daughter and nieces are doing?" Qrow replied
" They are doing as good as they can. Caught some attention today from the officer in charge." Anastasia replied
"How?" Qrow asked
"Yang mouthed off at one of them. Demanded to know when JNPR, CFVY and KHYA are being returned as well as SSSN. Peach got them out of sight as quickly as she could. Cameron has been spotted moving around at night on her floor, we managed to convince the officers it is part of her duties as floor supervisor." Anastasia answered
"Shit, tell them from me and their father to lay low." Qrow replied
Derrick went to the door and came back.
"Time is up. We need to go." He said
"Do you have plans for extracting the children?" Qrow asked
"Not yet, we need more information." Derrick replied
Anastasia grabbed Qrows hand and wrote a series of numbers on it
"Access code to the survival equipment locker. There will be ropes and harnesses in there. If we break out we will need to climb down the cliff." She said
"I will do what I can. Now I suggest you find a place to hide that scroll and get going. I can hear someone climbing up." Qrow replied
Qrow stepped back to his hiding place and turned into his bird form. He heard Arc and Moody pretend to bicker as they left the room and closed the door. He waited patiently, the air filled with the hissing of the canisters attached to the airconditioner. The door opened and a black uniform stormed in. The man diligently searched the room before leaving the room on finding nothing. Qrow hopped to the airvent and flew down. Arc and Moody were standing to the side under cover of several troopers. A trooper was opening the door and jumped back as several rats came scurrying past.
Derrick looked the black uniformed officer straight in the face. They had barely made it out to the ladder when one of the black uniforms had reached the top
"Thank you for making exterminating the vermin so much harder, now are you going to let the blackadders out too?" He said angrily
"I thought your poison would have killed the animals." The grey uniformed officer stated
"It takes time to fill the air in a space this large and get to work. Now thanks to the door being opened a lot of it will have dissipated. By the way your man needs to go and get washed down for exposure to organo phosphate. Unless you want to watch him die after shitting himself." Derrick replied
"How does this poison work?" The black uniform demanded
"It suppresses your nervous system, particularly the sympathetic nervous system. Your body shuts down as your nervous system shuts down. We only have one known antidote to it and you need constant large doses of it to flush it from your system." Moody replied in Derrick's place
Blaster fire filled the air. The troopers were firing on the fleeing rats and missing, pockmarking the pathway and grass. Derrick whistled shortly and got the officers attention
"Can I get back to work now?" He asked
Tsune noticed that Anastasia was sitting gingerly and had returned from her excursion walking with a slight limp. She shifted closer
"Are you okay? Did something happen? Do you need help?" She asked softly, concern prominent in her voice
"Hold on to that for me, I think I may be given a thorough search soon." Anastasia said softly, takin her hand and pressing an object in it
Tsune slipped the object in her pocket and leaned back in her chair pretending to pay attention to the propaganda being espoused. Moments later Anastasia was escorted from the room, one of the few female officers they had seen so far part of the group.
Anastasia was returned shortly before the current indoctrination session ended. Tsune was back in the infirmary and going through her store room when she checked her pocket and noted the item was a scroll. Hearing noise from the front she found Peach waiting on her sitting on a bed rubbing her head as if she had a headache. Going through the motions of doing a basic examination for the benefit of the troopers by the door she leaned closer
"Anastasia said you have something of hers. She also said you might want to wash your hands." Peach said
"Did she say why I should wash my hands?" Tsune asked
"She said she hid it where no man has gone before, I believe you can figure that out for yourself." Peach said with an impish smile
Tsune grimaced shortly before proceeding pretending to administer treatment to her friend, feeling the urge to immediately wash her hands
"Did she say where she got it?" She asked
"She only said we are no longer alone, she also said get ready to run." Peach replied
Tsune walked to the drug cupboard and brought out a multicoloured packet marked paracetomol, unlike the name on the label the packet it contained multivitamins . It was one of the ways they used to discreetly get pregnancy medication to a student that wished to have her condition concealed for as long as possible. She handed the packet over
"That should do the trick, unless your conditions worsens I want you back for a follow up examination tomorrow morning."
Peach just glowered for a moment at her friend before taking the packet, fully aware of the procedure of hiding the vitamins that way. The scroll was now tucked into Peach's shirt pocket.