Chapter 9
Settling in
Lie Ren thankfully sank down on his mediation mat in the corner of the teams new room and sighed in relief that the day was over. He frowned as he heard banging and dragging noises coming from the room to their side, with long practise and experience he was able to shunt the irritation at being interrupted away and ignored the was about to start his meditation session when Jaune sat down opposite him
"Mind if I join you?" Jaune asked
Ren merely waved a hand in acknowledgement and Jaune assumed his position. The two immersed themselves into their meditation and did not stir as there was aknock on their door. Pyrrha being the closest to the door went and opened the door revealing a highly irritated fourth year at the door.
"Can I help you?" Pyrrha asked politely
"Yes, you can start by telling me why your group did not attend the mandatory floor meeting?" The fourth year boy demanded
"I am sorry. Did we miss a meeting?" Pyrrha replied
"Obviously." The boy drawled
"How was this communicated?" Nora demanded behind Pyrrha
"A message was sent by the Beacon Scroll network."The boy stated
Nora snorted
"There is your answer. Ren and I are yet to receive Scrolls. Don't know if our fearless leader knows how to use one or has one and Pyrrha's is probably set to ignore unknown numbers." Nora stated flatly
Nora gently pushed Pyrrha away from the door
"So if you have something important to say, say it now or let us rest in peace." Nora said crossing her arms
"There are several notices that you have to be made aware off…" He started
"Which will be covered in their induction tomorrow morning which will be done by me, the Student Advisor for this floor. Now I believe you are the advisor for the first floor and have no reason to be harassing students on the fourth floor about meetings you have no authority to call." A new voice spoke behind him
The boy spun around and faced the girl who was negligently leaning against the wall and unlit cigarette in her mouth. Crew cut black hair, red eyes, a decent sized bust barely contained by a t shirt and leather jacket combination, twin pistols holstered on her leather pants covered thighs
"Branwen." He acknowledged her stiffly
"Why are you still here?" She asked lighting her cigarette
"Smoking is forbidden in the dormitories." He snapped out
"Go read the rule book again if you are going to try and quote it. Smoking is strongly discouraged. The only places it is actively forbidden is the armoury and the laboratories. And again why are you still here or do I need to throw you down the stairs?"
The boy huffed and pranced off. The girl looked at Nora and gave her a thumbs up
"Good going there, short stuff. Names Cameron Branwen, come to me if that little shit tries something again. Apart from the professors I am the only one you have to listen to, or whoever I designate if I am not available."
"Did you say Branwen?" A voice asked
Cameron turned to face the new voice. A blonde and a short black haired girl stood there luggage around them or in their arms
"Yeah, what of it?" Cameron asked
"You know Raven Branwen?"The blonde asked
"Supposedly my aunt, team member of STRQ. Sister of the bastard who knocked up my mother and ran away." Cameron replied
"Uncle Qrow is not a bastard." Shorty exclaimed
"Would not know. Never met the bastard." Cameron shrugged
Cameron kicked of from the wall and ashed her cigarette onto the carpet
"Floor meeting tomorrow at six, don't fully unpack yet room allocations may change." She said
Cameron paused and pointed to the closed door
"And tell the idiots in there what is going on and that they will be held responsible for any damages."
Ruby noticed Yangs hair starting to light up as she studied the girl walking away
"Come on Yang, we will call uncle Qrow and have him come sort this out. No need to get into a fight now." Ruby tried to defuse the situation
Nora watched Ruby shepherd her sister away and decided to honour the older girls request and pass on the message. She knocked on the adjacent door and her jaw dropped as a barely dressed Hina opened the door.
"Nya, how can I help?" Hina asked
"Floor meeting at six, don't unpack yet." Nora stammered out.
"Thank you." Hina said
Nora turned red as Hina turned around, the t back panties slung low due to her tail.
"Who is at the door?" Nora heard from inside the door
"Jaune's teammate, Nora." Hina called back
"Let her come in, we can have a girls night and go get Pyrrha."
Hina ignored the stares as she stride down the hallway and dragged a furiously blushing Pyrrha and Nora into her room. Ren looked up briefly from his mediation matt to the door
"There is no rescuing them. All we can do is hope they return sane." Jaune said, his eyes closed
Qrow was appreciatively staring at the waitress as she delivered another round to his table. Sverealempty glasses littered his table, a stark contrast to the single half filled plate of food with them. He pulled out his scrollas it started playing an annoying tune his youngest niece had loaded along with a photo of her nearly hugging a corgi to death
"Miss me already?" He asked with a rare smile, feeling pleasantly buzzed
"Uncle Qrow, do we have any cousins?" Ruby asked softly
"Not that I know off, why this sudden question?" Qrow asked puzzled
"There is a girl here that claims to be your daughter." Ruby replied
Qrow knocked his drink over and was sober in an instant
"Sorry, can you repeat that Rubes? I could have sworn you said there is a girl who says she is my daughter." He said
"She did. She has your hair and eye colour as well." Ruby replied
"Hold on I will be right there." Qrow jumped up, dropping several cards on the table.
He rushed out of the pub and moved to the closest alley, moments later a crow emerged and flapping its wings furiously made its way to Beacon
Yang was sitting next to her as Ruby closed her scroll down. She was still on edge.
"What did he say?" Yang asked
"He said he is on his way." Ruby replied
The smell ofa drifted over to Ozpin, warning him he was no longer alone. He looked up as his best operative stormed over to his desk
"Qrow?" He querried
"What is this about a girl claiming to be my daughter." Qrow demanded
"Cameron Branwen is your daughter." Ozpin calmly stated
Qrow rocked back on his feet.
"How?"
"You see when a man and a women get naked into a bed and the man inserts…" Ozpin started
"Damn it! How can she be mine I have always been carefull especially with my semblance." Qrow slammed a fist onto the desk
" Obviously not careful enough. The moment I had a chance I ran her DNA, she is yours." Ozpin replied
"Then why did you not tell me?" Qrow demanded
"Because you told me after Summers death never to tell you if something like this happens and made me swear an oath to that effect." Ozpin stated softly
Qrow dropped into a chair and pulled out his flask. He paused before putting it away. He leaned forwards and placed his face in his palms.
Ozpin took a sip of his now cold coffee.
"She is the team leader of team BROW, an all girls teams like your nieces. She is also the only human on that team. A good fighter but better at academics than you ever were. She also has a penchant for practical jokes and pranks. Due to this Glynda was most resistant to me making her Student Advisor."
Qrow looked up. Ozpin manipulated the inbuilt terminal in his desk and a file appeared above it. He got up from his chair.
"Close the file and shut down the system when you are done." Ozpin said walking to the elevator to go down to the level holding the faculties rooms
Cameron looked over the four first year teams she had been allocated. The girls of team KHYA were likely the ones to cause the most trouble, JNPR next on the list as half of the team and their leader had already befriended that team. Team RWBY was an implosion looking to happen, honestly how that Belladona girl thought she could hide who and what she is from the Schnee was beyond her. Team RASP her last team was virtual non entities to the other three and she was sorry to say the most likely to be scrubbed or wiped out once the monthly Grim clearance operations started. She leaned back and her chair and lifted up the booklet that all of them had received
"This is the general guidelines of what is expected of each and every student." She said before flicking it into the nearest trashcan
For a moment both Beladona and Schnee started moving to save the book from its fate. Xio Long, Valkyrie and the three sisters looked happy at the clear dismissal the movement signified. Cameron looked over the rest. Arc Ren Miller looked guarded as, Rose looked lostas did the remaining four.
"Beacon is a combat academy. Here you are trained not only to fight Grim but also human and Faunus. That little booklet is only there to keep the department of education happy. If you have a problem with another student, talk it out or fight it out. As long as no one winds up in the ICU or the morgue, the professors will not care. The dress code you are expected to follow once again is purely to keep outsiders happy. As long as you look respectable the professors will not care. However Academics is something they do care about and you will be expected to maintain an average of seventy percent in all subjects." Cameron stated
She looked over to JNPR and KHYA.
"Remedial classes will be given to you and as a dispensation your average is dropped to sixty percent for this year. Weapons and armour are to be kept in the lockers close to combat class and may only be removed for classes maintenance or when of academy grounds, you are allowed to keep a side arm or a small edged weapon on you at all times. Breakfast will be served between six and eight. Classes start from eight thirty till thirteen hundred and resume from fourteen hundred till fifteen thirty, thereafter the rest of the day and night is yours. Dinner is between seventeen hundred and twenty hundred. Weekends you can sign out and are required to be back in time for class on Mondays. Library hours start at eight till twenty two hundred hours. You will receive your schedules later."
Cameron pointed to the far end of the hallway.
"Rooms eleven to fourteen will be yours, you will share the little kitchenette and eating area between the rooms as well as the communal bathroom. It will be your responsibility to keep it clean yourselves. For laundry the basement has machines available, again your own responsibility."
"Why are we sharing a bathroom? Surely as women we are entitled to a separate washroom. And surely the academy has cleaning staff" The Schnee looked horrified
Cameron frowned at the girl
"That is one of the many things you will have to get used to. In the field there are no separate bathrooms or dressing cubicles. At one point or another you will see another in the buff and they you. So get used to it, as for cleaning again there are no servants while on deployment. And do not think for one moment the others will do it for you. You are part of a team and you will pull your weight." Cameron said sternly
Cameron lifted a finger
"You are expected to show respect for one another or you can pack your bags and go home now."
Cameron leaned forward
"That brings up the next a month you all will participate in Grimm cullings alongside the older years and experienced and licensed Hunters. This is not a school assignment and screwing around will see either you or others hurt or killed. So look to the people around you and realise that they may not be around you for the next four years. There will be team changes forced by injuries and casualties. The training wheels are off kiddies. Now go pack your shit in your rooms and meet back here for the guided tour starting with the mess hall for breakfast. Then it is of to the quartermaster to get you issued with school uniforms and bedding materials. Stores are next for your schools supplies and the other supplies you will need. Following that you will be having equipment evaluation with the Quartermaster and Armourer to ensure your equipment is up to standard."
Cameron paused
"Part of that evaluation will be practical combat, a big part will be to see what you need to focus on in combat training or if your weapon is truly suited to you. It may happen that the professors will decide to replace your weapon with something more suitable or decide that you will need to be retrained. It rarely happens but the risk is there."
The ten teams were sitting outside the weapons range and armoury waiting for the instructors to open the doors to the armoury and start the assessment. The door finally opened and Goodwitch strode out a clipboard in hand
" Teams KHYA and JNPR please step in." She said briskly
They followed the professor into the cavernous building. On one end the standard shooting range setup had been prepared. Further along was an open space where the surface was pockmarked and charred. Goodwitch consulted her clipboard
"Arc and Ichirus please step up to the firing range as all four of you are using the same equipment it would be easier to do a bulk evaluation."
Two men were lounging chairs close to the range. One had grease deeply imbedded in his hands, burn marks covered his arm. Taking a guess this was the master of the Armoury and weapons workshop. This suspicion was further enhanced by the sturdy clothing and protective gear he wore. To the side of the building a group of four and fifth year students were seated. The second man was dressed in what looked like a uniform. The first stood up, muscles rippling as he moved.
" I am Forge Master Wilkes. In the workshop and armoury my word is law. Do you all understand that."
"Yes, sir." Jaune replied for them
The man pointed to the table close to them and they unholstered their side arms and ejected the power cells and safed the weapons before doing the same with their DC17's and placed the attachments alongside their weapons.
"Who told you to safe the weapons?" Wikes grunted
"No one had to. You never leave a loaded weapon unsecured." Katya replied stiffly
Wilkes nodded and hefted a DC17 up
"I understand these are modular. Medium range assault rifle, sniper rifle and grenade launchers. That correct?" He grunted
"Yes." Yara replied
"And all of them share the same features. The same for your side arms." He asked for clarity
"That is correct
Wilkes pointed to the range. He pointed to Hina
"Show us what you got then. Start with your side arms and work your way up. Leave the grenade launcher for last."
"One moment." The second man spoke
He pointed to the bandoleer that Hina had slung around her hips
"Those grenades, girly?" He asked
"They are."
"Ok, what types?" The man asked
Hina placed the belt on the table
"The ones with the red stripe are thermal detonators, fire based grenades. The green stripes are concussion and stun grenades. The rippled ones are fragmentation grenades, the silver stripe are for disabling mechanical devices, the blue are ice and glue grenades for containment," She explained
She went on to fire her weapons in the standard and sniper configuration and the men took notes. For the grenade launcher and the grenades a water filled tank was produced. Hina shook her head and pointed to the blue and silver grenades.
"If you want us to show their efficiency the water will not work. You will need a target of some sort."
"Go ahead and show the others while we source targets for the other two." The second man spoke
Water splashed as the grenade launcher exploded the tank and shredded the container. The men took notes and the students dragged a second tank in place. The thermal detonator vaporated half of the water as it blew. The stun grenades gave the usual crump and a much more muted water sprout. The door to the armoury opened and two bipedal robots came marching out and stood by the damaged water tanks. Hina armed the ECM grenade and chucked it underhanded at them. Blue lightning ran along their frames and the air was filled with electronic screechin before the robots imploded on themselves.
Hina looked to the two men
"The last one requires a live target I am afraid. They are completely non lethal though" She said
"Weaver, front and centre." Wilkes barked
A fourth year stepped up and glowed silver as he activated his aura.
"Here, Kitty Kitty." He said mockingly
Hina merely twisted her head and shrugged before throwing the last grenade. Blue mist enveloped the man. He was both frozen in place and glued to the floor as he finally stopped rolling after the grenade blew
"How long do that effect last." The second man asked
"Fifteen minutes, give or take." Hina shrugged
Wilkes motioned Jaune closer.
"Now tell me about your armour." He demanded
" It is a metal alloy gives protection against both ranged and short ranged attacks."
Jaune deployed the blades in the vambraces
"For close quarter combat." He explained
Wilkes walked around him before lashing out with a kick. Jaune barely moved or acknowledged the kick
"Oh I forgot. It is lined with inserts that absorb kinetic impacts." Jaune added
"Your helmets?" Wilkes asked
"Short range communicators built in that are linked, fifteen minutes air supply in case we need to swim or seal the helmets and torches and night vision." Jaune listed of.
The second man circled him
"Range you have covered, a bit more than most but how are you at close quarter fighting."
" Got some training in that." Jaune admitted.
The man pointed to four of the older students and motioned them to come closer. The four squared of against the first years
"Simple rules, You fight till you get knocked down, no using those fancy blades or any other weapon." Wilkes ordered.
Behind them Goodwitch stepped closer to start taking notes.
Katya moved first and lashed out at her opponent. She ducked under the returning blow and danced around her opponent striking whenever she saw an opening. She was behind her opponent before she jumped on her back and took her in a choke hold. She held on till the student tapped against her arm. Goodwitch took her notes.
"Miss Ichiru, why did you decide to go for a choke hold?" She asked
"Don't know much about how she fights or all this aura stuff and decided to end it early. As for the chokehold, you cant fight if you cant breath and no amount of shielding will help if you cant breath." Katya replied
The four finished and watched the other four going through their assessment. Katya frowned as she assessed April.
"We need to get her armour and a ranged weapon. She is good at close quarters but she is a sitting mynock otherwise, her hand to hand fighting style needs a lot of work." She said
"Agreed. She is fast but she lacks strength." Hina nodded
Jaune looked to his team and waited for the girls to give their assesment
"Nora has strength moderate speed nut her style seems to revolve on hitting and nothing else. Ren is more balanced and precise but his guns lack power, Pyrrha seems the most settled but her style is too flashy, she leaves a lot of openings." Hina said thoughtfully
"Nora's grenades need more firepower and she needs to lose the smoke it only obscures her vision, and yes she needs to learn a close quarter style. I agree Ren is balanced but his fighting lacks emotion and thus strength and his weapons need to be upgraded. Pyrrha seems like she is putting on a show." Yara pointed out
"She was a tournament fighter, showmanship is expected." Jaune replied
"True but her armour needs to go, it gives a great show but no protection. Her weapons and shield can stay, she has a good combination there." Katya said
Goodwitch had slipped in behind them and took notes of their criticism and found that she agreed with a lot of it. She made a note to hear the critique the rest of the team and the team leader had on their leader and her squadmates
Yang was getting concerned as Ruby ignored her plate of cookies and morosely sipped on her milk. Of the four of them Ruby had received the most critique, mostly about her unarmed combat style. It was pointed rather firmly to her that if she was unarmed she was helpless. Ruby's statement that she would not relinquish her weapon in a fight was disproven in a one sided fight with a fourth year that had manged to disarm her and then spent ten minutes beating her up and down the assessment area.
She was not the only casualty. Yang was wincing as her aura was working to repair the bruises she had received when she was repeatedly shot by a fifth year carrying an updated version of a Thompson Gun, the infamous Valean typewriter. Her aura was shattered before she could evenget close to the shooter. Blake had been electrocuted. As for Weiss she had been engaged ii very close quarters and had the stuffing beaten out of her. Her fencing style and use of glyphs being negated.
There were some sympathetic looks as the first years had dragged their tired and bruised bodies into the mess hall. She was certain she had seen some exchanging Lien between each other. Her Scroll beeped as she received a message and soon the hall filled with noise as the first years all received electronic mail. She grimaced as she read the report from the Forge Master and Goodwitch, the first combat class was likely to be very brutal
Ozpin was at the head of the table as the staff assembled for the start of semester meeting. Ozpin nodded to Tsune opening the meeting
"How are things on the medical front?" He asked
"Fully stocked and ready to go. Second to fifth years have completed their medicals and for the most part are fit and ready for training and classes." Tsune reported
"Care to elaborate on the for the most part?" Goodwitch asked
"The usual summer holiday slacking of, nothing some strenuous PT classes wont fix. We have detected four early pregnancies and I will call them in discretely, which is better than last year as we had eleven at the start of semester. The first years are due for their examinations at the end of the school day tomorrow." Tsune replied
Ozpin took several notes
"On the academic side?" He asked
"Ready in all departments." Goodwitch reported
Wilkes shifted in his seat
"Armoury is stocked and we have sufficient dust and materials for normal functioning. I have my reservations about the first years, I believe they should be given more training before using them on the culling missions. We are likely to lose up to half of them." He said bluntly
Ozpin put down his pen and gave the man his full attention. Wilkes passes several stacks of paper around the table.
"We are looking at retraining seven in this year alone, another thirteen will have to have their weapons reforged. Their general combat skills are mediocre at best, at this point I will only field four teams and even then I have serious reservations about doing so." Wilkes said
"Which teams are those?" Port asked
"Teams SLOW, JNPR, KHYA and RWBY. Only SLOW are at adequate level and will be able to be effective. I would partner SLOW with two third year teams for guidance and mentoring and they should be fine."
Ozpin started playing with is cup
"Break it down for us." He ordered
Wilkes opened his report
"Page four RWBY. Ruby Rose does well at range and with her scythe does fairly well at medium range. She get target fixated when operating at long range and becomes vulnerable because of that. However she is helpless without her weapon, her aura holds out well against a beating and that is all I can say about that. Yang Xio Long, good close range fighter, however she relies on her semblance too much. It has made her arrogant about taking damage amd she gets too emotional. Her gauntlets gives her close to mid medium range but are highly inefficient the further the range from close quarters. Blake Belladona has moderate aura strength and is more of an ambush fighter, good spatial awareness. Vulnerable to long range attacks.
Weiss Schnee technical fighter, no long range capabilities and her attacks are too time consuming. Her glyphs make her versatile but it takes too long to set up, also she has a low aura threshold. All four needs to think more about protection than their clothing appearance " Wilkes said
"Glynda, Remington. Do you concur?" Ozpin asked
"We do." Remington stated
Wilkes looked to Peach
"Team KHYA. I am sorry to say that your sister is the weak link there. She lacks strength with her attacks. She moves fast enough in combat but her blows does very little damage. And she needs to work on her stamina as well, she tires too quickly for someone that depends on rapid attacks. She is good with blades but her aura is not strong enough to be able to take multiple hits and that is crucial with her style."
"Her teammates have noticed that as well and will likely try to help her there." Glynda said
"The three sisters fight better as a team than individuals. Hina is the better close quarter fighter. Their armour is durable and their weapons effective. Their downfall is that they are more defensive fighters and lack the aggression typical of a Hunter, however I believe they will quickly learn that. I would let them be for a while and see if they evolve by themselves before stepping in." Colt spoke up
Wilkes turned the page over
"Team JNPR. Like the sisters Mister Arc is fairly covered in all areas. His close quarter combat skills need attention. He seems to be unable to decide between two styles and this hampers him, I would suggest he be taught bladework as he has the aura reserves for that type of combat, maybe have Miss Miller and Nikos give him some lessons. Miss Nikos needs to learn she is no longer a tournament fighter. She may be able to handle all her opponents but she leaves too many openings and her armour is good for showing of only, her weapons are good and cover all the ranges adequately but she needs to be able to hit harder with her rifle, though I don't know how to improve her firepower. Her weapons is too specialised for any real improvements. Mister Ren is proficient in the southern Mistrali combat style and has excellent aura control. However he is too rigid, his technique is textbook. Any one familiar with the style will be able to match and overwhelm him in time, his weapon lacks firepower too . Miss Valkyrie needs to be taught control and an actual fighting style. She has the energy and speed and aura reserves needed but she has no real style except for hit and hit harder. With her weapon she has enough firepower but she blinds herself with the smoke her grenades release and like miss Rose she has no close quarter fighting style" Wilkes summed up
Ozpin stood up an started pacing
"Recommendations?" He asked
"Have a long hard talk with all of them and pair them with older teams for mentoring and schedule them for extra training over the weekends." Colt stated
"That may be problematic. Misters Arc and Ren and Misses Ichiru and Valkyrie are already scheduled for remedial classes due to their fragment ed schooling and for that matter I would suggest miss Rose joins them as she is two years behind the rest of her year group." Oobleck pointed out
Ozpin stroked his chin
"Half day classes on Saturday, mornings for theory and academics and afternoons for practical classes. One weekend a month and Sundays off. We will hold of on the mentoring teams till we have a better grasp on who will be best suited." Ozpin decided
Imperial Centre (Formerly Coruscant)
Beings scattered as a black figure followed by a platoon of stormtroopers walked towards the private office of Emperor Palpatine. Stormtroopers assigned to guard duty snapped to attention as the figure strode past, paying them no attention. The silence of the area only disturbed by the soft footsteps on the opulent carpets and the harsh mechanical tones of the figures respirator
Red cloaked figures stepped forward as he approached his destination. The stormtroopers behind him came to a full stop and stayed at attention as he brushed past the red cloacked figures and entered the gloomily lit throne room. He dropped to his knee and waited for the figure on the throne to acknowledge him
The grey cloaked figure rose from his throne and walked down the stairs to approach the kneeling figure.
"There has been a shift in the Force." Palpatine spoke as he walked
"I have felt it. My Master." The black clad figure kept looking down
"A triple awakening, a very rare event." Palpatine said thoughtfully
The other figure shifted. Palpatine looked at his servant
"Do you disagree?" He stated maliciously
"The first felt more like a binding breaking and the other two were awakenings." The Servant gave his opinion
Palpatine stopped and thought of it
"There are not many that have been bound that are still alive." Palpatine pointed out
"The presence is familiar to me. It is the Cripple, Jaune Noname. The signature was very distinct." The servant spoke
"You believe the binding breaking triggered the awakenings." Palpatine stated
"I do, My Master."
Palpatine ascended the stairs to his throne and sat down
"Then your orders are clear Darth Vader. Find him and bring him before me as well as those he awakened. Alive and unharmed."
Darth Vader rose
"It will be as you ordered, Master."
