Having just decided my course of action, I decided to go about researching some more general knowledge of this world: it seemed there were two more great kingdoms - those of Mistral and Vacuo. There was also a large island not under the jurisdiction of any kingdom; one lacking in resources but populated almost entirely by Faunus. The island of Menagerie.
That word, again - the library assistant had mentioned it, hadn't she? It seemed significant, so I looked up its meaning.
What I found was fascinating: an entire race of humanoids that possessed unique animal traits! Cursory examination revealed reproduction to be possible between different faunus, and between humans and faunus. A surprising prospect - the genetic difference that would result in animalistic appendages would have surely rendered reproduction between different types of Faunus impossible, I would have thought.
I suppose I thought wrong. The finer points of Faunus biology would have to be a subject for another day: it was fast approaching eleven and I still had to make my way to the enlistment office.
In a country on another continent…
Preferably, before it closes. I swallowed my pride and searched the poorly fashioned query "How to get to Atlas from Vale" - leading me to yet another surprising revelation:
Airships were the primary method of travel - the nomenclature was slightly misleading to me however: I had envisioned dirigibles, but the craft I found were very obviously rigid-hulled, heavier than air vessels. It was not the heavier than air flight that shocked me, of course, but the lack of wings - these were not [Aeroplanes].
Indeed, "ship" fit some of these craft far better - they were more reminiscent of floating naval vessels than traditional aircraft in their construction, and seemed to be able to carry much heavier loads, if seemingly at the cost of a great deal of speed. Though they seemed to lack prominent upthrust, leading me to wonder how exactly they stayed afloat.
The answer was not hard to find, and was another system shock: dust. Gravity dust, to be more specific. A crystalline substance that provides passive, natural lift, by way of inverting and magnifying the effect of gravitational forces upon itself. This effect, seemingly, is able to be controlled by the density of the "Aura" field surrounding it. This, combined with more familiar air-breathing jet engines (though notably burning other dust types and not hydrocarbons) and control surfaces allowed the airship to manoeuvre safely.
It seems I was finally getting the hang of the affairs of this world, now I just had to figure out what this "Aura" was…
They say overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer: they are right. Where I had been expecting some synonym for magnetic flux, I saw… soul energy. Not only a complex field of research, but a phenomena practically used to empower elite warriors, huntsmen, to fight back against the creatures of Grimm. I suppose that does explain the relative prosperity of the lands in the face of the nightmarish threat.
I once more found myself rubbing my head in frustration, and glancing at the time did nothing to dissipate that. I really had to get going if I wanted any chance of getting to Atlas today in good time.
Sighing, I made my final preparations and turned off the computer, heading down the stairs and out the front entrance back into the bustling cityscape - rigorously running over the directions I had just committed to memory
My destination? The Atlesian embassy. I'd need help securing passage to Solitas - and there was a good chance they'd help me if I plead my case. Better than showing up at the airship terminal penniless, at any rate.
I traversed the city of Vale with a newfound appreciation for its peculiarities. I noted the occasional dust shop, and I noticed how about one in every twelve or fifteen people sported some kind of animal trait: how I missed people walking around with tails hanging out was beyond me, but I'd have to chalk it up to stress.
After ten or so minutes of walking, I had the Atlesian embassy in my sight: it was a small building - at least in comparison to the giant three-storey office blocks that surrounded it. It had two floors, and the only exterior clue to its purpose was the Atlesian crest painted proudly on the front of the first floor. Its design stuck out poorly - a sleek rectangular concrete block among century old brick and mortar office space.
I strolled up to the door with purpose, entering the building. A middle-aged woman sat at the front desk filling a form in, and she met my eyes with surprise.
"Can I help you?" She started neutrally, clicking in her pen.
"I hope so." I replied, not sure what to expect. "I'm looking to enlist in the Atlesian military, but I don't have the means to travel to Atlas right now."
"Down on your luck?" She replied with the beginnings of a smile on her face.
"By no small amount." I said, sighing. "I'm hoping to change that."
"Well you're in luck: the Atlas military has a base right here in Vale." She chuckled, lightly. "They get a few recruits around here, and a transport ferries them to Atlas for training every week. There's one due today, if you're quick about it."
That caught my attention. "Where about?"
"Keep going down the road and head right at the junction. Keep going until you get to the industrial district, then head left. You should see it signposted from there."
"When does the airship leave?"
"No clue. My advice, if you're serious? High-tail it over there and sign your papers, stat."
I gave a good natured smirk at that. "Thanks, ma'am. Have a good day."
She smiled back. "Things will start to look up, if you put in the work. Take care."
I nodded, and gave a brief wave goodbye before turning around and heading out the door.
The Atlesian base was an ugly thing, all things considered. Chain link fences and HESCO-like barriers created a perimeter several football fields across, housing several barracks and airship-pads. Several watchtowers dotted the walls with heavy weapons mounted - the place was a fortress. Two soldiers in heavy looking armour stood at the front gate, waving a delivery truck through.
I followed in behind it, and the soldiers moved to block my passage.
"Hold it. State your business." The one on the left stated, coldly.
"I'm looking to enlist." I replied honestly, betraying none of my nervousness..
They looked at one another, as if conversing silently, and a few seconds later the one on the right spoke up. "Come with me. I'll take you to the office."
I followed the soldier into the base, sparing a quick glance around to see a couple of maintenance crews working on a bullhead. He led me into a small building on the outskirts of the facility, where a bored-looking man sat at a terminal, glancing up as we entered.
"Another one for the dropship?" He addressed the soldier, relieved for a momentary respite from his duties.
"Yeah, if he gets his papers signed in time." The soldier confirmed.
The quartermaster nodded, retrieving a stapled collection of forms from a drawer and handing it to me, along with a pen. "Fill this out, and keep it with you - you'll want to hand it in when you get to Fort Somnium, they'll issue you everything you need and assign you barracks there. I want my pen back, though."
"Right." I nodded, moving to an unoccupied desk at the other side of the room and reading through the form in its entirety, before filling it out cautiously - using the name I had decided upon earlier.
It didn't take too long, and before long, I found myself handing the pen back to the man at the front desk. He addressed the soldier who brought me in, who had stood guard at the entrance since my arrival "He's all done. Take him to the holding cell with the others."
I must have looked surprised, because the man chuckled. "Don't worry, since we turn all the criminals over to Vale here, it's a glorified waiting room. The airship will be here any minute, either way."
I nodded in understanding, before following the soldier out and into another building. He opened a metal-bar sliding door to a room of people sitting around on the floor, and ushered me in.
I stepped into the cell, sparing a brief glance to the others around as the door was shut behind me, before finding an empty corner to sit and wait in. The room was slightly damp, but clean, and the twelve or so occupants paused their idle chatter briefly as I entered, only to resume as soon as the door was shut behind me. Not inclined to join them, I resolved to sit in silence until the airship arrived.
And so I sat there…
And waited…
Boredom was an ugly thing - and the more I tried to still my mind the more it wandered. Eventually I got to looking at the people around me: most were unassuming, simply chatting amongst themselves to relieve their nerves, but one figure caught my eye. A boy - and I say a boy because he looked about seventeen and was as scrawny as anything, sitting in the opposite corner: all scowls and no smiles. I wouldn't have thought anything of it if it weren't for the extra pair of ears sticking out from his head, and I couldn't help but be reminded of that girl at the library. Looking at him more closely, they did look similar: brown hair, a narrow face, dark-brown eyes and a pair of prominent bunny-ears.
"The fuck are you staring at?" The lad shot me a venomous look, clearly put off by my musings.
I blinked at that, slightly remorseful at being caught. "You just reminded me of someone, that's all." I said calmly, trying to smooth things over.
"Yeah? Well whatever you're thinking, it's wrong."
I sighed and decided to look at the other half of the room for a while. Ennui comes for all, however, and it was not five minutes before the teen decided to re-engage me in conversation.
"Who did I even remind you of, anyway?" He said, not making eye contact, and trying to force a disinterested tone into his speech. It took me a while to realise he was addressing me.
"Just some girl working at the library today." I paused to gauge his reaction. "Figured you might be related or something."
"What, you think all rabbit faunus are related or something, is that it?" He scowled even harder, if that were possible. That gave me pause, and I spent a few seconds trying to figure out what to say to dig myself out of this hole.
I wouldn't get the chance, however, as after a few seconds, the boy broke into a sigh, and his expression mellowed somewhat. "But yeah, that would be my sister."
The conversation once again took a few seconds to start up again, and this time it was me who broke the silence. "She can't be too happy about her brother leaving home." I ventured, perhaps invasively.
"You don't know shit." He looked incensed at that. "Bet no-one gives a fuck that you're running off to Atlas, either."
I looked away, letting out a deep breath. He didn't know it, but he was more than accurate in his assessment - I had no one looking out for me in this world, and that fact was not a comforting one. I didn't even know what kind of person I was - how was I supposed to interact with people meaningfully when all the things that made me, me were all locked away in my head? And even if I did, there was no way I'd be able to tell the whole truth in a believable way. There'd always be a barrier between me and these people, and there was nothing I could do to change that.
Mercifully, the soldier came to lead us out not soon after our conversation had ended - leading us out into the facility and directing us up the ramp of a landed Atlesian dropship. It was, like all Atlesian craft, imbued with a futuristic minimalism, something that became all too obvious after I had strapped myself into an austere passenger seat and found myself pressed against the metal hull tightly.
The ride to Atlas was not a short one, and felt all the longer for my spending it in isolation. It had turned dark by the time we landed, and the dropship ramp opened up to a military sprawl not unlike the base in Vale, but much larger in scale. From the landing site, I could not clearly see the end of it in any direction.
"Welcome to Fort Somnium, cadets. Dismount the vehicle and remain here until an instructor comes to get you." I heard a voice over the speakers, slightly distorted.
We all complied, and it was only a few minutes until a mean-looking grey-haired man in an Atlesian BDU came to greet us.
"The Valean contingent, fashionably late as always…" He grumbled, mostly to himself before speaking up. "I am Drill Sergeant Argent. You will address me as Drill Sergeant. If I ask you a question, you will either respond with 'Yes Drill Sergeant' or 'No Drill Sergeant'. Understand?"
I joined in the chorus of "Yes Drill Sergeant." and the instructor nodded his head to the side in response.
"Good. Follow me."
He led us in single file to a much larger and well-stocked looking version of the quartermaster's office I saw in the Valean base. We were sent in one at a time to hand in our papers and collect our bags, before lining up again back outside. After about ten minutes, everyone had their bags, and DS Argent led us to an empty barrack.
"Listen up, cadets. When I call your last name, you will enter the barrack and place your bag on the bed I tell you. You will then stand in front of your bed. Understand?"
"Yes, Drill Sergeant." We parroted back.
"Good. Umber, bottom bunk. Azure, top bunk…" He said, pointing to the far beds on the left.
He continued in this fashion for several minutes, and I started to zone out when I heard my name called.
"Dunn, bottom bunk. Scarlatina, top bunk."
Ah, shit.