Ironwood stepped out of the briefing room. He'd just told a room full of sailors some of the darkest secrets on Remnant. He needed them to be aware, because they were going to be the ones putting themselves at risk just to get his team to the Relic. The captain, his executive officer, the navigational officers, weapons officers, communications officers, engineers, they all needed to know. Shortly, they would then share that knowledge with the entire crew of the submarine. Everyone down to the cook needed to know, because sailors couldn't keep secrets from other sailors. Not that they were bad at keeping secrets, no they would die before they told a living soul outside their crew. But among their own crew, they were brothers, and they couldn't look each other in the eye if there were important secrets being kept. The captain could, but that was part of the burden of command. He'd decided to forgo placing that burden on the captain's shoulders this time.

Now that he'd disclosed all the relevant information, about the Relics, about Jinn, and about Salem, he'd left Jinn to explain the details of their mission. He had some misgivings about what he had to do next, but it would be necessary. Sailors were a superstitious type when left unchecked, and that wasn't to say his men were unchecked, but there was always some truth behind superstitions. It wasn't like he had any right to say that the tales of sea monsters were unfounded, especially after everything he'd just told them. One of those superstitions, however, would directly affect the moods of his mission specialists. The stigma against women on sailing ships went away a long time ago, but it had reared its head again when these deep sea war vessels became a thing. Naturally, he understood the issue with men and women being cooped up together for months on end in a metal tube without so much as fresh air. If all that came of it was unwanted pregnancies, it would be a stroke of luck.

It turned out, however, that most of the people he wanted on the mission were women, and the entire crew of the submarine were men. It wasn't the greatest mix he could think of, but he had a contingency. No one would like it, but it was most likely necessary. He approached the group he'd brought, minus Jinn who was occupied, and took a deep breath before letting them know the bad news. "Qrow, I'm going to be asking you to take over in Atlas again. We could be gone a bit longer this time, though."

Qrow sighed. "Of course. Well, who do I have to live without this time?"

"It's not all bad news for you. Clover, I'd like you to send two of the Ace Ops with us, for official field training for the new candidates. The rest of your team will be heading back to Atlas with Qrow."

"How's Marrow and Harriet?" Clover suggested, then noticed Harriet's apprehensive glare. "Or... Marrow and Elm?" Harriet looked relieved. Elm looked alarmed.

"Oh, so you're taking Ruby and Blake this time?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess I'm okay with staying behind a second time in a row." She shrugged and gave a smile that said she'd bear it.

Ironwood corrected her. "Ruby and Blake, as well as Miss Perpetua, will be working with the Ace Operatives on the mission, learning from them. They'll be too busy for much of anything else, so I need you, Yang, and Weiss, to act as Jinn's guard for this mission."

"Oh... that's okay too, I guess." Yang accepted it just as well, though she did look over her shoulder at the huge submarine, eyeing it with concern.

"Don't worry." Weiss put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "I'll teach you everything there is to know about caring for your Jinn. When to feed her, how much water to give her, when to change her bedding."

"She's not a gerbil. I'm pretty sure she's not a gerbil." Yang looked to Ruby for confirmation. "Jinn isn't a gerbil, right?"

Ruby just shrugged. "I never checked."

"And that leaves... you." Ironwood turned to the Happy Huntresses, who were standing off to one side with Raven and Pelka not far off. "Since none of you are part of my military, I can't exactly make this an order, and if you decide to reject my request, you'll be on the first airship back to Mantle. No questions asked. But you won't be near the top of the list next time I need someone for a mission-"

"We'll do it." Robyn interrupted. "No offence, but I still don't trust you a lot. All of... this." She motioned to the dock around them. "And everything you have told us, it goes a long way, really it does. This could be just the thing we need to build some real trust between us. Right, ladies?"

"I don't like the looks of the submarine."

"I get seasick on long voyages. I won't even be able to throw up over the railing."

"Why would we accept a mission from Ironwood if we don't even know what we're going to be doing?"

"Like I said." Robyn said, struggling to keep a straight face with her team's complaints being aired behind her back. "Just the thing we need."

"Okay, so how deep are we going?" Pelka asked, standing among the Happy Huntresses like she was one of them. The way the rest of them were acting with her in their midst, it did seem like they'd readily accepted her. Ironwood was curious, and concerned, to see if they'd somehow do the same with Raven. Pelka pushed her point further. "If we were going somewhere on land, you'd have a battleship or something, but this... how deep are we going?"

"That is... more a concern for the crew of the ship, not her passengers, but Jinn tells me it's more than twice as deep as any submersible has gone before. Almost eighteen thousand feet." There was a round of gasps of shock, and he was pretty sure he heard the first half of a pretty hefty curse from Weiss before it was covered up with her hand. "The Nautilus has the ability to get us down to three thousand on its own, before we need to stop and increase the internal air pressure enough to counteract the external water pressure. It will take us about a day to do that once we're there, and then we will go down another eight thousand and repeat the process so we can go the final seven thousand. Make no mistake, we are going into the abyss, but we will come back again."

"With the right technology, in time, you'll discover just how deep the ocean really is." Jinn said, coming out of the briefing room. "The command crew is ready to set out once we're on board."

"Okay... I'm still unclear on where I stand." Raven spoke up, trying to act casual yet annoyed.

Ironwood pointed to the submarine. "You can stand in there, or you can stand on the airship and go back to Mantle." He motioned in the direction of the elevator that would take her back to the landing pad if she decided to go back. "I do have a role for you on the mission. It's the same offer as I gave Miss Hill."

"Fair enough. See you later, brother." Raven waved to Qrow and headed for the submarine. "Let's get going. It sounds like there's a long journey ahead of us."

Everyone else was gravitating towards the submarine, and encountering crew members who were guiding them on where to go and what to do. Ironwood approached Qrow and Clover for one last word before they set out. He held up his scroll. "I'll transfer permissions to you now."

"Are you sure about this? I kind of gave away some important information last time. You're not upset? You sure Clover wouldn't be better?" Still, Qrow held up his scroll.

Ironwood went ahead with the transfer anyway. "No, I still trust you. Nothing bad has happened yet with Miss Hill. If it makes you feel any better, I'll stop trusting you if she kills me on this mission."

"Alright. Be sure to let me know when she does that."

"I will. Take care of my city while I'm away." Ironwood traded a salute with Clover, then turned and headed to join the others on the Nautilus. He climbed up the stairs to the boarding ramp and found himself stopped right behind May Marigold and Fiona Thyme. The other Happy Huntresses were a bit further ahead, separated by a few sailors who were boarding late. The single-file line was held up by the rate at which people were able to enter the Nautilus. There were two hatches for entry, but everyone was being funneled in through the main access hatch. The forward hatch wasn't usually for boarding. He spotted the captain standing next to the main hatch and called over to him. "Captain, how long before we embark?"

Hollering back, the captain answered. "Twenty minutes, sir! Longer if you say so!"

Twenty minutes should work out, at the rate they were boarding. "Carry on!" Now all he had to do was get on board and make sure the women were separated from the crew. That was far from the thing he was most looking forward to doing, but it was a reasonable precaution. Robyn probably wouldn't take it well, and there would most likely be resistance from Raven. He anticipated complaints from Yang and even Elm, but he didn't expect any serious consequences. Weiss might be disappointed as well, but that was about it.

May looked over her shoulder at the general, her eyes showing a stabbing mistrust. "You still haven't told us what we're doing. We know about all the magic stuff, and we know how deep we're going, but that doesn't explain the team. Why are we even doing this? What is the mission?"

"Once we're onboard and in the secure conference room, Jinn will explain the mission details. Then we work on a plan of action." He answered succinctly. He hoped that would be enough for now, but it seemed that was too high a hope.

She scowled at him. "I'd have liked to know what we're doing before we can't turn back. The only reason I'm going along right now is because Robyn agreed to it. And believe me, I'm giving her an earful about how quickly she agreed." She turned away from him, waving a finger in the air at him and talking loud enough that Robyn looked back from her place in the line. She seemed like a pleasant person.

The boarding continued, and Ironwood found himself at the end of the line, climbing down just behind May and Fiona. A sailor climbed in and closed the hatch behind him, sealing them all in the huge ship. It was actually a lot brighter inside than he expected, well lit even compared to his office. He knew that it was supposedly not dark inside the ship, from the reports, but he'd expected a bit darker. The smell was just as salty as it was outside, the air filled with the smell of the sea, but in here it mixed with the scent of metal. Not rusting metal, thankfully, just clean shining metal, and a lot of it. This would be a new experience for him, being underwater for several days on end. Northern expeditions were a thing of his younger days, for sure, but he had done them before. He could feel he was excited for the new experience, as well as apprehensive.

"Sir, this way." The captain of the submarine squeezed past him and led him to the conference room. "We'll seal you up in just a moment, once you're sure everyone is here."

He looked around the room. The sailors had done a good job of making sure the room was prepared for them, and he was sure they'd done just as much to make sure the sleeping quarters were ready for the Nautilus' passengers. He had had to make sure there were guards on duty, both to escort any passengers if they wanted to move around the interior of the ship, and to make sure none of the sailors entered the passenger area. This wasn't any real security issue, and he was sure the women on board could wipe the floor with these sailors, but he just didn't want temptation to cause anything that would give him a headache.

It looked like everyone was in the room, though, so Ironwood gave the captain a firm nod. "Thank you for accepting the mission, Captain. Let me introduce you. You can't have us imposing upon your hospitality without even knowing your name." He turned to the assembled Huntsmen and Huntresses, mostly the latter, and gave the captain his introduction. "This is Captain Nemo. His XO is Commander Dorian. We're in his territory right now, and in his care, so I expect all of you to follow his orders when he gives them. His primary objective is our safety, so respond without hesitation and try not to make him dislike you."

Captain Nemo gave a curt salute, then folded his hands behind his back. "There will be two men just outside this hatch at all times. If you need anything, just pop your head out and tell them. If they can't do it, it can't be done. I'm going to leave you to your preparing your mission while we get underway, but first I can answer any questions you might have really quickly."

Ruby's hand shot up. "What's an XO?"

"Executive Officer." Weiss answered for him.

"But 'executive' starts with an 'e'..."

"EO can be misheard." Nemo explained. "I don't want my crew thinking I'm trying to be hip and cool when I actually need the attention of my second in command. Is that everything?"

"I think it is. Thank you, Captain." Ironwood said in a tone that told the rest of them not to ask anything else. The two commanding officers traded a salute, the captain gave the room a slight bow, and then he left, closing the door behind him. They all listened silently as the wheel on the outside of the door was turned, sealing them all inside. Ironwood turned to the room. "Jinn, start the briefing."