Ironwood stepped out of his office and started making his way to the medical wing of Atlas Academy to meet with Jinn. Along the way, he bumped into Ruby Rose. He gave her a knowing nod as they stepped out of each other's way, then continued on his way. He was aware that she was following him at a safe distance. She must have been coming to see him again, which was a little odd with how much time they'd already spent in the same room today. She didn't seem to have anything particularly on her mind, since she was staying conspicuously quiet, but that was fine. She might have caught on to the direction he was headed and wanted to join him for his conversation with Jinn. That was also just fine. She had earned at least that, and she probably also felt the need to continue her protection detail of Jinn past the end of the mission. He wasn't inclined to stop her, considering Jinn's value.

He reached the entrance to the medical wing just as his scroll beeped, telling him he was getting a call from someone. He opened it up, seeing who was calling him. It wasn't really someone he was looking forward to talking to. He answered the call. "Jacques. What is it."

The frankly irritating man's voice grated on Ironwood's nerves. "I heard you'd gotten back from whatever excursion took you away from us for a full week. You would not believe how rude your adjutant was to me when I called him."

He knew he trusted Qrow for a good reason. "I probably would. Qrow is not known for his tact. Just his capabilities."

"Maybe he has tact, actually. He told me not to call him again, and I found myself complying rather happily." If only, Ironwood thought, he could be granted the same privilege. Jacques continued. "But enough about him. I'm going to be hosting an event of sorts as part of my election campaign. I'd appreciate it if you were there."

That was just great. He wanted nothing less than to be at another Schnee party. The rich socialites who were the usual partygoers at these events were the exact sort that caused all the worst and most mindless parts of his job to be so incredibly loathsome. It was the kind of event where he wished so dearly he could get away with acting more like someone along the lines of Nora Valkyrie and just throw food at the gaudy expensive clothing being paraded around. Obviously, he would never, but it gave him a thought. If he had to go, and considering Jacques Schnee's influence he pretty much had to go if he was invited, he could at least bring some people along that could possibly make the whole thing more tolerable. He doubted Ruby would be able to survive the experience, and it was equally doubtable that everyone else would survive if he brought Blake or Yang. Weiss probably didn't want to be anywhere near that house if her father was in it, and he had no intention of asking her to.

The Ace Ops weren't really the party types, and Penny would be lonely and miserable. However, he did have some interesting options besides all of them. Firstly, he would be inviting Qrow. Jacques did not seem to take well to Qrow, so it was the perfect opportunity to have them meet face to face. Second, if she was feeling up to it, Jinn could use a social life, even if this was literally the worst first experience one could ask for. Finally, he would ask along Qrow's sister. Something just told him it would be a good idea, and the fallout might even ruin Jacques electoral prospects. He really shouldn't have been planning the downfall of someone's political career, but between Jacques Schnee and Robyn Hill, he'd take someone who genuinely cared about helping others over a greedy monopolist any day.

He sighed, having already selected his strike team. "I'll be there, but I hope you don't expect it to equal a campaign endorsement. I'm staying neutral on the election."

"Completely understandable, General. I expect to see you there." And just like that, he hung up.

Shaking his head in dismay and putting the scroll back in his pocket, the general turned to Ruby, who had been patiently waiting. "I don't suppose you'd be able to disguise yourself as me and take my place at that party, would you?" At first, Ruby looked alarmed that he would even suggest that. Then she seemed to mull it over in her head before shrugging dubiously. He waved it off. "Just wishful thinking. I won't subject you to the horror." He continued walking.

It occurred to him that Ruby really wasn't a talkative girl. She talked a lot when she talked, but from what he'd seen, she was more comfortable not talking. When someone spoke to her, she was hyper, but that was mostly just nervous energy. Without any real reason to strike up a conversation, she didn't actually say a lot. Aside from that, he'd come to the realization that she was, frankly, a lot like him. She wasn't from any sort of rich home, and worked hard to get as good as she was. She put her all into what she loved to do, which was protect the people that were important to her. It was admirable that, seemingly, everyone in the world was important to her. With her recent induction into the Specialist training program, and how well Ozpin trusted her, it was beginning to look, at least in Ironwood's eyes, like Ruby Rose may well be one of the top candidates for his eventual successor as Atlas Academy's headmaster. She would, of course, have to stick around that long, as he didn't intend to pass along that role any time soon, but she was very near the top of a really short list.

Besides that, she was surprisingly organized. It didn't look like it to the untrained eye, and her style of organization drove people like Weiss Schnee up the wall, and Ruby herself sometimes lost her place, but the organization skills were there. Proper practice and simply age would grow that ability into something rather incredible. Also with age, she would become more sturdy, and those nerves would go away, or at least she'd be able to control them. He could imagine a school run by someone like her. Careful fine tuning to each student's curriculum, extensive training missions, and an emphasis on creativity in the battlefield. It would be very different from the rigid style he had for teaching, on the surface, but the core would be the same. He made sure each of his students and soldiers was able to utilize their own abilities and weapon fighting styles as effectively as possible while maintaining maximum discipline. It looked chaotic in the results at times, but even someone as visually wild as Neon Katt was ordered and structured behind their entire personal combat doctrine. Never miss a beat.

Under someone like Ruby, it would be the same, but different. The structure would be there, focused around accentuating the individual abilities, and with the open mind to see things others would miss. The sheer ingenuity she could inspire and teach, once she was experienced enough to be a teacher, would be invaluable. No one he had ever seen truly compared to what he'd already witnessed Ruby pulling off. She had a coherent battle doctrine that he'd been working out, to try and learn from her, and there was a lot to learn. No two situations had the same answer for her, so she answered them all differently, and the results were profound. Naturally, she didn't enjoy a perfect success rate, but she had done better than just about anyone else, especially at her age. By the end of her Specialist training, by the time she could be added to the ranks of the Ace Ops proper, if her improvement continued on its present course, she would have long surpassed all of the others who were a part of the Ace Ops program, and quite possibly Ironwood himself. She wasn't there yet, not nearly, but she could be before anyone was ready for it. He was glad she was on his side.

Approaching the door to the room Jinn was staying in, he turned to Ruby again. "I need to talk to Jinn about our next mission. I'd like you to stay out here and make sure no one disturbs us. I won't be long." She saluted smartly, and he saluted back. With that, he entered the room.

Jinn was just sitting up when he walked in, closing the door behind him. She looked him up and down. "Sir, is that... you?"

"Of course it is. Why?" If Jinn had to ask, either her checkup had scrambled her mind a lot worse than they'd feared, or something else was interfering with her ability to think and concentrate.

She shook her head. "There's someone else... who's outside the room, right now?"

"Ruby. She's guarding the door. I came here to talk about the next Re-"

"Sir, stop! Something's not right!"

Something wasn't right. Something was very wrong, and he needed to figure out what very quickly. Jinn was confused, visibly so. She wasn't sure that he was him, and she didn't know who was standing just outside. There had to be a reason, something or someone who was not what they ought to be. He ran his mind back through everything that had happened since he left his office. The call with Jacques, something there. Was the event a trap, a trick of some sort? No, nothing was out of place there. Everything about that was disgustingly normal. He walked with Ruby, but he'd let himself get caught up in his ruminations, imagining an Atlas run by Ruby Rose. If something off had passed him by while he was distracted by that thought, he could have missed it. Everything was normal that he could remember. He asked Ruby to make sure no one would overhear him talking with Jinn about the Relics, and they shared a salute. There was nothing out of place.

Nothing he could remember was out of place.

Nothing was out of place.

Her salute was perfect.

Textbook. Accurate. Proper. Atlesian.

Not Ruby.

His firearm was in his hand in an instant as he turned and opened the door, aiming the gun right at the back of the head of whoever it was that tried to pass themselves off as Ruby. She turned to look at him, and for a split second those big silver eyes that were so often filled with wonder and excitement once again filled up, but this time with confusion and worry, and fear. What if he was wrong? What if the squeeze of the trigger would end the life of the girl whose future he had just been planning out? What if she was just who she appeared to be?

A single instant of hesitation was all it took. His opponent had moved. He couldn't see how, but he sensed it, and reflexively pulled the trigger. With the loud crack of the firearm discharge, Ruby's body shattered into shards that fell to the ground. Now he could see clearly, and she was standing several meters down the hallway from him, a pink parasol held open between them. That parasol was obviously more than just fragile fabric. It had to be what had protected her from the powerful bullet which would otherwise have taken her head off.

She flashed him a grin over the top of the parasol. He saw her eyes change color, one pink and one brown. Her hair was divided the same way. He'd heard about this woman from Team RWBY. Her name was Neopolitan, and she was a cohort of Roman Torchwick. She was the one who had gotten aboard one of his ships and set Torchwick free during the fall of Beacon. That obviously made it personal, but he didn't want to charge into the fight. He wasn't sure how far her illusory powers extended. She could have already moved and he might never know it. She could have already gotten behind him. He needed help in this fight.

"Jinn, get up! I need your help!"

She got up as ordered, but cautioned him. "I can't tell what is and isn't an illusion, sir! I'm afraid I'm more of a hindrance than a help, and I don't have my weapon either!"

"Where is it?"

"It's in the vault with the Ace Ops."

"You have your scroll. Call Ruby and let her know the situation." Just as he said that, Neo stepped back and bolted to the right, dashing down a hallway and out of sight. He ran after her, calling back to Jinn. "It's Neopolitan! I'm in pursuit!"

Fumbling with her scroll again, Jinn opened it up and called Ruby like she'd been told. "Ruby! Ironwood is chasing Neopolitan now! She was here!"

"O-okay! We're close by! We'll back him up!"

"Be careful! She was disguised as you!"

"That's just great. Well, we'll deal with her! Don't worry about it!"

As the connection cut off, Jinn sat back down on her bed. She let out a distressed sigh. "Too late. I'm worried about it."