Dust and Echoes (RWBY/Halo)
Chapter 18: Shore Leave
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Vyraj, Volga System
City of Nova Moskva
May 8th, 2541, 0823 Hours (UNSC Military Calendar)
A sense of relief coursed through Qrow's veins as he and the rest of the Huntsmen delegation stepped off the Pelican onto their assigned landing pad. A cold wind brushed across his skin, but compared to the harsh bite of the Solitasian tundra or the lifeless chill of Khembalung's glassed wastelands it was outright pleasant. Warm smells were carried through the wind alongside the sounds of aircraft taking off, people walking about and going along their day, not to mention a plethora of conversations that were too numerous for him to keep track of. Not that he was particularly concerned with what the native people of this planet were talking about.
Instead, Qrow was focused more on today's venture into the colony's capital city. They had been on Vyraj for a little over a week, and only now were the UNSC permitting them to explore the colony on their own terms. Some UNSC personnel would be accompanying them, if only to ensure they don't get lost and so that the colonists could understand what they were saying, but otherwise they were free to go wherever they wanted. Before, the UNSC were essentially telling them where they could go and for how long, which quickly got annoying.
Beside him, he heard Robyn Hill take in a deep breath and release a content sigh. She then said, "You know, after going to Brothers know how many completely dead worlds, you actually come to miss the smell of smog."
Qrow glanced at her, which she noticed and smirked slightly at the attention. After a moment, Qrow shrugged then remarked, "Well, tells you people are alive if nothing else."
"Exactly my point," Robyn replied, flashing a smile towards Qrow and patting him on the shoulder before walking down the ramp.
Behind her, the rest of the delegation, along with a few people from the UNSC accompanying them on their shore leave, stepped out of the Pelican as well. Qrow stayed where he stood, only beginning to move again once everyone else had passed him. Together, the group walked through the spaceport, passing by the citizens of Vyraj who only spared at most a passing glance out of curiosity. Qrow took this moment to glance at the Faunus in their number. As per UNSC direction, all of the Faunus had their traits covered up. For most, like Abby and Sienna, it was easy. All it took was one of those fur caps with flaps on the side that covered the ears. A ushanka if he remembered the name right. Others had to take extra steps. Yuri Grammy was able to mostly get away with covering his feathered head with a ushanka as well, so long as he made sure to shave in the morning before they disembarked from the orbital space station they were currently staying in as the Midsummer Night was repaired. But that left his eyebrows exposed, which he had to cover with a pair of dark sunglasses. Thomas Cornell's goat legs were almost impossible to conceal, but they were able to cover them up and explain them away as an experimental type of prosthetic. That lie got Thomas quite a few looks of sympathy from people, especially from actual amputees, which only served to make the goat Faunus increasingly uncomfortable.
Gron Traekke was the worst off, as his entire body was covered in scales instead of skin. He was forced to don a skintight black layer to wear under his casual clothes along with gloves and a ski mask that left only his eyes exposed. Even they had to be covered with sunglasses. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't even know he was a Faunus at all. Despite Qrow understanding where the UNSC was coming from, and honestly thinking that Gron was an asshole, that didn't mean he liked what was going on. From the looks everyone else gave, only the Ace-Ops seemed perfectly accepting of this arrangement. The others ranged from disappointed to barely concealed rage.
Regardless, Qrow planned to include this little detail in his report for Ozpin, and he had no intention of mincing his words. That would also apply towards his description of the UNSC in general. If nothing else, he was going to be as honest as possible. Given what was at stake, he could afford nothing less.
"Alright, meet back here at 1700," Sergeant Johnson announced, lighting up his cigar and taking a few puffs. "Otherwise, you're free to go whatever you want. Just make sure you don't do anything rash. If you do, make sure you don't get caught."
The last sentence was said with a joking tone, which prompted a few of the Huntsmen and Huntresses to chuckle. Afterwards, they spared each other a few glances then they all split apart, going in their separate groups into different areas of the city. The Ace-Ops and the Happy Huntresses went north, likely heading towards the residential district. He couldn't help but notice, though, that the Ace-Ops didn't stay together for long, with Harriet breaking off to go explore something on her own accord. The White Fang, meanwhile, went south towards the large factories spewing hot steam into the air.
Qrow only had the faintest idea why each group chose their destinations. If he had to guess, the Happy Huntresses wanted to see how people lived in a UEG colony while the Ace-Ops wanted to keep an eye on them. While Commander Keyes had learned to trust the Happy Huntresses for the most part, they were still technically under arrest. For the White Fang, they might've been interested in seeing the more downtrodden areas of the city. Traditionally the industrial sectors of any city were among the poorest, and nothing he had seen so far went against that assumption.
That, more than anything, was the most surprising aspect of life in a UEG colony. For a space-faring civilization, on the surface it wasn't all that different from life on Remnant. Sure, behind the scenes things were definitely more advanced. The damn dumb AI that ran the city's infrastructure, while it annoyed the hell out of him and everyone else with its incessant messages, was proof of that. Plus the city was much more organized than anything on Remnant, undoubtedly due to it being planned from the very start. But there weren't any flying cars, holograms weren't all over the place, there weren't any robotic servants walking around. Things that Remnant was already starting to work on. Not to mention the fact that they still used bullets instead of lasers despite being in space for centuries. People were still talking to each other through phones or earbuds. If you didn't know any better, nothing really looked all that futuristic, by his standards at least. In fact, it looked kind of worn.
'Well, turns out those sci-fi movies were bullshit,' Qrow mused while stuffing his hands into his pant pockets. 'Going into space is just taking what we already got and tidying it up a bit.'
Something told him that Ruby and Yang would be disappointed. He, on the other hand, was perfectly fine with it. Certainly made things easier for him to understand and come to grips with. Besides, it made him feel a little more at ease when he compared Remnant to the UNSC and figured that, outside of space travel and a few other areas, like artificial intelligence, the UNSC wasn't all that much more advanced than they were. That feeling was quickly squashed by the realization that if Remnant and the UNSC were roughly on technological parity with each other, that meant the Covenant would steamroll them just as easily. Might even be easier since Remnant didn't have a presence in space whatsoever.
But Qrow couldn't let himself dwell on that for long. Instead, he kept up with the Vale team, which he saw was joined by Sergeant Johnson once again. Part of him wondered why the marine kept popping up in whatever he was doing, but the rest didn't particularly care. The man was agreeable to be around if nothing else.
"So, where do you guys want to go first?" Casper Marine asked the rest of the Vale group as they wandered the city's commercial district.
Around them, they saw people walking in and out of stores, restaurants, theatres and more. All of which were marked and named with signs, but they weren't written in any language Qrow could understand. He could barely understand English without his translator, and even less so for the written language outside of a few exceptions. But Cyrillic might as well be scrambled lines for as much as he was able to understand it. Luckily, Johnson appeared to be well versed on the local language, which might be the reason why he was sticking with them now that Qrow thought about it.
"Well, there's lots of places to go. Came here on shore leave once a few years back, so I know my way around town," Johnson replied, taking a few more puffs from his cigar. "There's a shopping center not too far from here with plenty of stores. Don't worry about paying for anything; the UNSC's opened a tab for you guys. If any of you are hungry, there's also plenty of restaurants that can whip up a good bite to eat. If you're in the mood for some entertainment, the local ballet troupe is renowned across human space."
"I wouldn't mind getting something to eat," Sepia said, scratching the top of his head through his ushanka. While Sepia wasn't a Faunus, out of a show of solidarity most of the other Huntsmen and Huntresses chose to wear one as well. Plus the colony was a bit chilly, and the fur kept their ears warm.
Thomas and Casper nodded approvingly at that statement. Qrow would've as well, but he had something different in mind. Something that he knew all of them, especially himself, desperately needed after what they went through.
"I say we hit the local bar," Qrow suggested, drawing everyone's attention. "I mean, how long has it been since any of us have had a good drink? After everything we saw, a few shots of this – what was it called, vodka? – sounds pretty good right about now."
The others looked at each other, then Thomas added, "I could go for a glass of whiskey."
"I'm more of a wine person," Casper replied, "but I'm not opposed to it."
"So long as they have good beer, I'm game," Sepia declared with a shrug, and Qrow clapped his gloved hands together decisively. Undoubtedly what they had seen and experienced on the glassed colonies influenced their decision. Plus, the UNSC forbade any of them from drinking while out in space as they were considered to be "on duty." As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
"Well, looks like we're all in agreement," Qrow announced with a nod. "I saw a place near here the other day."
"Are you certain it was a bar?" Sepia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Certainly smelled and sounded like one," Qrow answered. Sepia and the others looked at him for a moment, then shrugged in acceptance. The others did as well, and they started following Qrow towards the bar in question. Only Johnson stayed still, and a brief frown crossed his face. Then he smirked and crossed his arms across his chest and loudly coughed to draw everyone's attention.
"While having a beer certainly sounds pretty good right now," Johnson admitted with a conspiratorial smirk on his face that didn't quite sit right with Qrow, "isn't there something you're forgetting to do first, Branwen?"
Qrow raised an eyebrow in confusion, then admitted while spreading his arms apart slightly, "No, I don't think I am."
"So you don't remember promising to get your nieces souvenirs, then?"
Qrow's eyes widened as the subject of family was brought up, especially as the others turned to face him.
"You have nieces?" Casper asked in surprise.
"Two of them, actually. I met them when we picked Branwen up before we left Remnant," Johnson explained. "I believe one of them, Ruby if I remember correctly, practically ordered you to get her something from another planet so that she could show it off to her friends."
Qrow stared flatly at Johnson while clenching his fists, irritated at…whatever it was that the sergeant was trying to pull. Johnson recognized the expression immediately and only smiled wider in response, especially when the others looked at each other before going back to Qrow.
"Is this true, Branwen?" Thomas asked, and Qrow glanced at him. After a moment, he sighed and nodded.
"Yes, it is," Qrow reluctantly admitted, then shot a glare towards Johnson. "I don't see why you felt the need to bring it up though, Sergeant."
"All I'm saying is that we have nearly two months to get a drink before the Night finishes its repairs," Johnson pointed out with a smile on his face, then he spread his arms wide. "Isn't it more important, then, for you to get those girls' something nice before we get ourselves wasted?"
Qrow moved to protest, wanting to say that they had plenty of time to do that, only for Casper to quickly nod in agreement and add, "You're absolutely right, Johnson. I have family of my own as well, and they'd love to have something from here."
"I'm an only child, but I'm certain I can find something for my parents," Thomas added, and Sepia shrugged.
"Doesn't matter which way we go to me, but I wouldn't be opposed to doing some shopping," Sepia affirmed, and Johnson smiled while clapping his hands.
"Great! There's a shopping center not too far from here with hundreds of stores and options to choose from. Might take a while to go through everything, but I'm certain all of you will find something interesting," Johnson declared.
The others nodded in agreement, then the marine sergeant began to lead them away from the bar that Qrow had identified. Qrow stared at them with wide eyes, not quite sure what just happened. He then turned his head towards the bar. As he stared at it, he clicked his tongue and shook his head in consternation.
Then Johnson interrupted him by calling out, "Are you coming, Branwen?"
Knocking out of his musing, Qrow turned towards Johnson who was waving him over. The others were looking at him as well, and Qrow quickly ran through his options. On the one hand, he was free to do whatever he wanted so there wasn't anything Johnson could do if Qrow decided to get a few drinks first without them. On the other hand, it wouldn't reflect well on him now that everyone was watching. Plus something told him that Johnson might find other excuses to keep him from getting a drink, especially as the man matched his hard stare with one of his own.
Finally, Qrow relented and let out a sigh, then put his hands back into his pockets and walked after Johnson and the others. Johnson smiled victoriously, glad that his little push had worked. In any other circumstance, he would've gladly taken them up on the offer. Marines getting wasted on shore leave was a time honored tradition. But not this time. He liked to think that he was pretty good at reading people, so he was able to understand the real reason why Qrow Branwen wanted to go to a bar. His psyche evaluation made it clear that the man had alcoholic tendencies, which he was able to mostly keep under control. Branwen certainly seemed like he was able to keep himself functional, but having a bar be his first priority upon being let loose was somewhat concerning. While Johnson knew it wasn't his place to dictate Qrow's life choices for him, and he wouldn't be able to keep the Huntsman occupied for long, he at least had a responsibility to keep this outing from going too overboard.
Judging by the aside glances that Branwen was sending his way, he realized what Johnson's game now was. Johnson merely shrugged innocently in response.
Robyn Hill walked through the slightly snow-covered streets of Nova Moskva with the rest of her team in tow. In her hands was a warm, steaming cup of hot chocolate, which she eagerly sipped at as memories of similar events from her time in Mantle flowed through her mind. The thoughts of her hometown made her sigh. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so far away from Mantle, or Atlas in general, for months on end. Certainly never this far, but that went without saying. Regardless, anything that reminded her of home was welcome, especially given the true reason why they were there in the first place.
Seeing all those devastated worlds, stripped bare of life, haunted her. Almost every night she went to sleep, she couldn't help but imagine Mantle, Atlas, and all of Remnant in a similar state. From conversations with the rest of her team, she knew they felt the same. They found comfort in each other, along with the knowledge that what they learned now would better help Remnant prepare for what was to come. While she hadn't talked as much as she would've liked with the other kingdom's delegations, even the Ace-Ops who remained professionally distant in the best of cases, she figured they felt the same way she did. Especially after they went to Eridanus II, a message that was reinforced and strengthened each time they went to a new world. Each one might as well have been a punch to the gut, and by the time they got to Khembalung it was like the universe was kicking her when she was down.
After seeing so many dead worlds, Robyn nearly cried when they arrived at Vyraj. Simply seeing people walking around, going about their daily lives in a vibrant, thriving cityscape was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Still, she was able to maintain her composure, although she did have to tend to a more emotional Fiona who found it harder to compose herself. Once they did, they, along with the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses, settled into a normal routine for the next week or so. They'd wake up early in the morning, be taken by the UNSC to one of the major sections of the city such as the fusion plant, central AI processor, and more to understand how UEG cities operated. The tours were enlightening, even if there were still plenty of bits that weren't explained due to them being classified. Only now, though, was Robyn able to choose where she wanted to go, and she intended to exploit that to its fullest potential.
Her first stop was obvious from the start. They had seen how UEG cities were run. Now she wanted to see how people lived in them. With that in mind, the Happy Huntresses made their way straight towards the city's residential district.
"This place kind of looks like Mantle," Joanna remarked, swiveling her head around to take in the sights.
Looking at the architecture, Robyn could see what her teammate was talking about. There weren't very many single family homes, instead a bunch of brick and concrete tenement buildings that looked functional rather than appealing. A single glance was all it took to determine the purpose of the building, which helped since most of them looked downright identical. Of course, the residents living inside the buildings decorated their windows and balconies the best they could, often with potted plants, murals, and banners, but otherwise they looked very plain. Part of Robyn wondered if this sense of functionalism was indicative of all UEG colonies, or if this was just Vyraj's particular culture. Either way, she wouldn't pass any judgements until she got a more complete picture.
"Heh, you'd never see any Atlesian walking around in here," May joked, a slight smirk on her face.
Fiona pouted slightly, then she spoke up, "May, we're Atlesian."
"No, we're from Mantle, not Atlas," May clarified, then scoffed slightly. "Trust me. Most Atlesians would take one look at this place and deride it for being dirty and rundown then return to their overdesigned homes to maintain their superiority."
"That's not fair, and you know it," Fiona chastised her teammate. May stared at the sheep Faunus for a moment, then sighed and shook her head.
"Yeah," she mumbled, then crossed her arms. "Still, the people I knew wouldn't be caught dead in this place for any longer than they'd have to."
Robyn frowned sadly at her teammate. Out of all the Happy Huntresses, May had perhaps the most personal and negative experience with Atlas, and seeing Mantle continuously be forgotten by those who lived above them only reinforced those sentiments. Robyn could understand where May was coming from, and oftentimes even she felt anger and resentment at how self-centered her fellow countrymen could be. Still, although Robyn primarily focused on serving Mantle, that didn't mean she didn't care about those in Atlas.
"We need to stop thinking of each other as enemies," Robyn pointed out. "Especially now. If we keep biting each other's throats, we might as well be serving ourselves up to the Grimm and the Covenant on a silver platter. That's why we're here, remember? No let's stop griping about Atlas for the hundredth time and focus on Vyraj."
May and the other Happy Huntresses looked at Robyn for a moment, then they nodded in agreement.
"Sorry for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but overhear some of that," Private Jenkins spoke up, drawing the Huntresses' attention towards the marine. "Sounds like Mantle and Atlas don't get along all that much?"
"Sometimes," Robyn admitted with a quick nod. "Mantle used to be the kingdom's capital, then Atlas was founded and all the power and resources went to it, leaving us with the scraps. There's been resentment ever since."
"Yeesh," Jenkins winced, looking over his shoulder towards the group. He then added, "I'm an Outer Colony kid, so I get that. Grew up on Harvest, and when I was young I was always mad at what people had on Reach and other Inner Colonies that I didn't have. Seemed like we were ignored half the time. Still, I wasn't an Insurrectionist, so I joined up with the local militia when they started acting up in my home."
Robyn nodded, figuring where Jenkin's head was at. It sounded similar to her reasonings for becoming a Huntress. She then paused as the rest of Jenkin's sentence registered in her mind, especially the location.
"Wait," Joanna spoke up before Robyn or any of the others could, "Harvest? Isn't that…?"
"Where we met the Covenant? Yeah," Jenkins sadly answered, releasing a tired sigh. "I joined the militia shortly before the Brutes showed up. Lot of good that did."
Fiona frowned sadly, and underneath the flaps of her ushanka Robyn knew her ears were drooped. Fiona then said, "I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?" Jenkins asked in a slightly joking tone. He then conspiratorially narrowed his eyes and asked, "What, are you the reason why I've been a private for the past sixteen years?"
Joanna shot her head back slightly, then asked, "You've been stuck as a private for sixteen years? How have you not been promoted yet?"
Jenkins moved to answer, but Mendoza cheekily cut in and declared, "Well, if you believe the rumors, Jenkins here apparently messed with an admiral's wife one day and—"
"Oh, shut up, Mendoza!" Jenkins angrily protested, only for the rest of his squad mates to start laughing at his expense. Figuring that this must've been a recurring inside joke among the soldiers, and happy that the subject was being changed to a friendlier one, Robyn couldn't help but let out a small smirk as well. Joanna managed to maintain her composure while May smiled and rolled her eyes, while Fiona covered her mouth to contain her chuckle.
Robyn moved to say something else, only to stop when she noticed a familiar looking man wearing a sleeveless white, blue, and red uniform. His back was turned to her, looking at a building which proudly displayed the UNSC's logo which had dozens of people lining up in front of it. Recruitment posters were plastered on the building's walls, presenting the planet Earth in the black void of space with the words "Fight For Her" written on top. Others were more stylized, with red and black marines posed heroically in defensive postures. Through the windows were television monitors, allowing spectators to watch an anchorwoman give them the news of the day in a drab, functional office environment. But that wasn't what really caught her attention. Rather, it was the very familiar planet being displayed behind the woman on the screen, the only difference being what it looked like from space before the Covenant arrived.
"Jenkins, what is that?" Robyn asked, pointing to the building in question. She felt that she already knew the answer, but she wanted to make sure.
"Hm?" Jenkins hummed, stopping in place to turn towards her. When he saw what she was pointing at, he snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, that's just the recruitment office. With the war and all, we need all the soldiers we can get."
"Not that," Robyn clarified while shaking her head. "I'm talking about the fact that the reporter is seemingly talking about Khembalung."
"What?" Jenkins raised his eyebrow in confusion, then focused more on the television screen and the mountainous, snow-covered planet being talked about. After a moment, his eyes widened and he remarked, "Huh, that does look like Khembalung."
Robyn frowned, then began walking over towards the recruitment office. As she got closer, she started to hear what the reporter was talking about.
"…forces struck a decisive blow against a superior Covenant armada stationed at the planet Khembalung," the reporter declared, a stern expression on her face. "As many of you are aware, Khembalung was forced to evacuate when the Covenant attacked three years ago, and since then they have been using the planet as a staging ground to assault nearby human colonies and harass trade routes. Thanks to the decisive action by the UNSC, Covenant forces on both the ground and in space were completely eradicated. Friends and family who lost loved ones that day can rest easy knowing that they have been avenged with the Covenant's defeat."
Robyn frowned and scrunched her face, immediately recognizing what was going on. Around her, the rest of the Happy Huntresses frowned at the implications as well. The crowd of citizens began happily murmuring among each other, their Russian tongues being automatically translated into an almost robotic Vytalian. Unlike before, Robyn focused all of her attention on what they were saying. There were too many to single out individually, but the bits and pieces she did all spoke the same thing. That they were happy the Covenant was beaten, relieved over the fact that lost colonies were still being fought for.
"Hill," she heard a man speak up beside her. Turning her head to the left, Robyn saw that the man she had vaguely recognized was Clover Ebi, his team no where to be seen. He nodded at her, then turned towards the television monitor as more information regarding the battle was detailed. They couldn't understand the written words, but the implication was made all the same.
"They're lying about Khembalung," Robyn declared, frowning to herself while crossing her arms. A few curious glances came their way, but given how they were speaking in Vytalian none of the civilians could understand a word they were saying so they paid them no real heed.
"I wouldn't say they're lying," Clover countered. "Exaggerating, sure, but not lying."
"Really?" Robyn asked, raising an eyebrow towards Clover. Behind her, the marines with them awkwardly coughed into their fists while the rest of the Happy Huntresses continued to watch the news report with their undivided attention.
"Yes," Clover affirmed, glancing at her. "We fought superior Covenant forces at Khembalung and beat them. That isn't a lie."
"Those were pirates, not actual Covenant," Robyn pointed out, narrowing her eyes slightly.
"Pirates employed by the Covenant, paid to harass human supply lines."
"That's like saying bandits from Mistral are the same thing as Huntsmen coming out of Haven Academy. Even then, it was only two ships' worth with maybe a few hundred pirates. This reporter is making it sound like we beat an entire fleet."
"As I said, an exaggeration," Clover concluded, giving the Huntress a shrug. "I don't see why you're getting upset about this."
"I'm upset about it because they're lying," Robyn declared, pointing at the screen. "What happened at Khembalung wasn't some decisive battle to liberate the planet. It was us walking into a trap and nearly getting killed."
"True," Clover admitted with a nod, "but a single UNSC frigate going against two Covenant corvettes on its own and managing to destroy them both is still a victory to be commended regardless."
"And if that's all the reporter was saying, I'd be fine with it. But she isn't." Robyn frowned again and squinted her eyes at the screen. "More importantly, I'm upset at the fact that the UNSC is using us as propaganda to lie to their citizens."
"I don't appreciate that either," Clover replied, sadly nodding his head. "But we were on a UNSC ship, and we're still supposed to be secret for now, so I can understand why they're mixing us in with them. Also, I don't see this as propaganda."
"That's exactly what this is," Robyn countered, pointing at the Atlesian Specialist. "They're deliberately exaggerating and twisting the truth to push a false narrative, and they're using us to do it."
Robyn looked back at the monitor, watching as the reporter continued to talk about various successful operations against the Covenant, mostly defensive but with a few offensives thrown in. She frowned, knowing that the possibility of any true offensive operation was most likely a complete fabrication.
"They're making it look like they're beating the Covenant, or at least holding them off," Robyn whispered, a sad tone in her voice.
Clover was silent at first, a small frown on his face, then he grimly nodded and said, "Yes, they are."
"These people deserve to know the truth," Robyn said. "If the Covenant comes here…they'll crumble as every lie they've been told is exposed."
"As opposed to letting them live with the knowledge of just how close they are to extinction?" Clover rhetorically asked. "I know you, Robyn. You think that letting people know the truth about the war will make them rise up and stand strong in the face of adversity. That may work at first, but not forever. Eventually, knowing just how close they are to destruction, with no end in sight, will break them. They'll give up."
"So, what? Ignorance is bliss?" Robyn asked, placing her hand on her hip.
"I suppose you can call it that," Clover admitted with a shrug. "What the UNSC is doing, what you're calling propaganda, is what Atlas does when it comes to the Grimm. Downplay our losses while highlighting our successes. Keeps people's hopes up."
"I think you're doubting people too much," Robyn declared. "Yes, some would definitely give up, and it would cause problems in the short term. But I firmly believe that if the true threat was made known, most would throw everything into protecting themselves and their fellows, just like the soldiers on the frontlines already are. Better to know what to expect rather than be told everything's fine until a planet-killing fleet drops on your doorstep. That way you have a better chance of knowing what you need to do. More importantly, if they're willing to lie about something as important as the entire direction of the war, what else are the UNSC lying about?"
Robyn and Clover looked at each other, each with firm, determined expressions on their faces. Neither were willing to back down, even if they understood where the other was coming from. After a moment, Clover sighed and shook his head. He then replied, "I suppose there isn't anything we can do about it. This isn't Remnant, after all. We're just guests here."
Robyn stared at Clover for a moment, then turned back towards the now dispersing crowd. She remained silent, then nodded in reluctant agreement. Even if she understood why the UNSC was spreading their propaganda, and knew that there wasn't anything she could do at the moment against the practice, it still didn't sit right with her. She doubted it ever would. Right now, though, all she could do was keep doing what she was doing. Hopefully, her efforts would bear some fruit at the end of all this.
And there wouldn't be any of this 'they can't handle the truth' secret keeping bullshit on Remnant if she had anything to say about it.
Sienna Khan prowled the streets with her hands buried in her pockets and a perpetual frown on her face. Her eyes remained focused on her surroundings, namely the boxy warehouses next to enormous factories. There weren't very many people around, just a few stragglers coming into work late or a few individuals hanging around on street corners, but that was because most of them were inside the various buildings doing their jobs. During one of their many tours of the city, Sienna had seen how the UNSC manufactured everything. Compared to Remnant, it was far more automated, requiring less people to make even more than what Remnant's largest companies could produce. The benefits of having an interstellar economy, she supposed. More importantly, she had immediately noticed that working conditions appeared to be far greater than Remnant's, with tighter safety standards, better working hours, and from what she had been told better wages and benefits. On Remnant, mostly due to the growing influence of the profit-minded Schnee Dust Company, worker rights, especially those of the Faunus, had fallen by the wayside and there was no doubt in Sienna's mind that things would only grow worse as time went on. Already she had heard rumors of some mines being worked by prisoners, but she didn't have time to verify those rumors before she left the planet.
That wasn't the only thing she was focusing on, though. Sienna also couldn't help but notice the overabundance of UNSC propaganda. It was practically everywhere, from posters to advertisements on electronic billboards and even announcements over loudspeakers. The propaganda was really pushing hard towards recruitment of soldiers for the war effort, alongside loyalty to the UNSC as a whole. At first it was annoying, now it was growing almost oppressive.
"This is Grimm-shit," Gron complained, his voice muffled under the mask he was forced to wear.
"I mean, it's not that bad," Abby replied, a cheery tone in her voice. "Sure, it's not as nice as the rest of the city, but it's pleasant enough."
"Not that," Gron clarified, shaking his head then pointing at his mask. "I mean this. This, your hat, what they're making us do is Grimm-shit."
"Oh…" Abby mumbled, awkwardly looking away while scratching the back of her head.
"Mr. Traekke, please understand that the UNSC means no offense. This is simply a temporary security arrangement," their escort for the day, Agent Veronica Dare of the Office of Naval Intelligence, said in a diplomatic tone of voice. "Once relations have been normalized between our governments, I'm certain this will no longer be required."
"Yeah, sure. That's what they all say," Gron said grumpily, crossing his arms across his chest. Sienna glanced at her teammate then at the ONI agent, a slight frown on her face. At the same time, she couldn't help but notice that Dare's watchful gaze remained fixed on Gron, especially as he muttered under his breath about how they didn't need to be babysat.
She still hadn't forgotten the anger and humiliation she felt when the UNSC made their demands. Even if she understood on an intellectual level why they were doing it, and up until this point the UNSC had been extremely accommodating. But obviously those accommodations only stretched so far. None of her people had taken it well, but she refused to let the UNSC define her with this. She was a proud Faunus woman, and she wouldn't backdown from something so trivial.
"I think you need to lighten up, Gron," Abby advised.
"What, you're saying you're not upset with having to cover your ears?"
"I didn't say that," Abby replied, a slight frown on her face. "All I'm saying is that, at the end of the day, covering ourselves up isn't that big of a deal. Especially when none of these people have ever seen a Faunus before in their lives nor even know we exist in the first place."
"Agreed, but if this persists then we'll have issues," Yuri added, a flat tone in his voice.
"Oh, I'm sure it won't come to that," Abby dismissed with a slight wave of her hand.
"That remains to be seen," Yuri stated. "I should hope what we are never asked to do this again after this mission."
"As we've said numerous times before, we do not intend for this to be permanent," Dare once again diplomatically proclaimed.
Gron scoffed and rolled his eyes, clearly not believing her words. Sienna understood where his hostility was coming from. They had all been burned numerous times in the past by humans making deals with the Faunus only to renege on them when it suited their needs. It was a blatantly unfair chronicle of transactions that permeated across Remnant's history, and Gron had been burned more than the rest due to how extreme his Faunus characteristics were. Blending in was never an option, nor did others let acceptance be an option. It was no wonder that Gron had grown into being among the most provocative among their number, which made him an excellent fighter. At the same time, though, it left his diplomatic skills something to be desired. Part of Sienna wondered if bringing him along was a mistake, especially since it was his outburst on the bridge of the Midsummer Night which caused the UNSC to look at them in suspicion, but it wasn't as though the White Fang had a surplus of capable fighters to call upon. There weren't really any other options.
"Gron," Sienna said, drawing his attention to her. They stared at each other for a moment, then he shook his head and looked forward down the street. Otherwise, he didn't say anything else. Sienna stared at him for a few more moments, then turned back towards Lieutenant Dare with a few things in mind that she wanted to say.
"Lieutenant Dare," Sienna began, "please understand that this is a very sensitive matter for my people. Platitudes won't do much to alleviate our concerns. Unless the UNSC makes any accommodations for displaying who we are, we're going to continue having issues with this policy."
Dare was silent at first, then she nodded and replied, "I understand. While I can't promise anything, I'll extend your concerns up the chain of command. Other than that, there isn't anything I can do."
"Then until that shows actual results, this conversation is pointless," Sienna replied, then turned her attention back towards the street.
They were entering a more crowded section of the industrial district, with cars, trucks, and vans travelling down the busy streets while people walked in and out of convenience stores. She noticed that one section of the sidewalk opposite them was cordoned off by police tape, where officers were scrubbing a spray-painted insignia off the wall. It was dark red in color, depicting a hammer held up by a clenched fist over a ringed circle.
"What's that?" Abby asked, pointing to the symbol in question, although Sienna felt that she already knew the answer.
"That," Dare began, disgust easily heard in her voice, "is the symbol of the Worker's Liberation Party."
"Insurrectionists, you mean?" Yuri asked, and Dare nodded. He nodded back then focused his attention on the symbol, rubbing his hand across his clean chin. After a moment, he asked, "I take it they're a problem on Vyraj?"
"More a nuisance than anything," Dare admitted. "They're a neo-communist group that want to, in their words, liberate the planet and establish an independent, communist Vyrajian state."
"What's wrong with wanting to be independent?" Abby asked, raising an eyebrow but shooting her head back once Dare turned to look at her with an angered stare.
"Any legitimate point the Insurrection might've had about planetary autonomy is long gone at this point," Dare declared. "While the UNSC is out there risking their lives to defend humanity, the Insurrectionists continue to do everything in their power to make our efforts at holding the Covenant back harder. Just on Vyraj, the Worker's Liberation Party have raided warehouses of critically needed arms and munitions, sabotaged factories to prevent anything from being made, and on occasion have even assassinated government officials."
Abby winced, but Yuri merely narrowed his eyes slightly. He then asked, "Were they always like this?"
Dare stared at the Faunus for a moment, then shook her head and admitted, "No. At first, the Worker's Liberation Party mostly stuck to nonviolent protests like strikes and boycotts. They originally just wanted to improve worker conditions. It was only later when they turned violent and started pushing for independence."
"What changed?"
"The Insurrection began," Dare answered, a frown on her face. "It didn't start off violent. At first, it was mostly protests against the corruption, taxation, levies, and general heavy-handedness of the Colonial Military Administration, which was certainly valid. Some of their more reasonable demands were even being met. But extremists wanted more and took…drastic measures which made peace almost impossible. Before the Covenant showed up, we were on the verge of a civil war which might've led to the collapse of our entire interplanetary society."
"I sincerely doubt a civil war would've killed all of you," Gron scoffed. "And don't make it sound like the UNSC was the victim here. I've heard a few people around here talk about Far Isle, where you nuked a rebelling colony. Sounds to me like the UNSC just didn't want to lose any of their power and pushed people to the breaking point."
"We don't know what happened at Far Isle, only that it was a tragedy that shouldn't have happened. Even then, that makes it right for the Insurrectionists to nuke colonies multiple times?" Dare asked, raising an eyebrow at the members of the White Fang. "Or board UNSC ships and slaughter the entire crew? Or place bombs in the middle of crowded restaurants and blow them up, killing hundreds of civilians at a time just to make a statement? And that's only what they were doing before the war with the Covenant."
Dare raised a finger in emphasis. "Do you want to know what most Insurrectionist groups did when the Covenant arrived? Instead of doing the smart thing and joining with the UNSC to fight a common enemy, they chose to reach out to the Covenant with offers of an alliance and give them the location of human colonies and even attempt coups to make it easier for them, thinking that they could ally with the Covenant against a 'common enemy.' All they did was get dozens of human colonies glassed, with millions of people killed before they wised up, though most of them didn't survive their idiocy. Those who did either went underground or did the smart thing and signed up with the UNSC, which left only the extremists who would rather see their worlds burn than work with us to stave off human extinction."
Dare frowned and placed her hand on her hip, staring up at Gron with an unflinching gaze. She then remarked, "Don't mistake their words for their actions. The Worker's Liberation Party may claim to fight for everyone on Vyraj, but at the end of the day all they want is power for themselves. The UNSC and UEG isn't perfect, I'm not blind to that, and we share plenty of the blame for how bad things got. But the Insurrectionists were the ones who escalated matters and refused to back down. They do not deserve your sympathy. The ones left at least."
Gron stared back at Veronica Dare, and Sienna took the moment to look at the rest of her team. Abby had a sad frown on her face, suggesting that while she bemoaned the scale of the conflict in general she mostly aligned with Dare's point of view. Sienna knew this because Abby frequently sided with Ghira during their arguments over the direction of the White Fang, one that stressed moderation rather than retribution. Yuri was looking at Dare contemplatively, telling Sienna that he was trying his best to understand both sides of the conflict.
Sienna herself felt that Dare was being too biased in favor of the UNSC. The Insurrectionists weren't the ones in power, the UNSC was. As such, it was their responsibility to maintain stability, and when things fell apart the onus was on them. At the same time, though, she felt that the Insurrection was going too far. Going after purely military or government targets to make a statement was one thing, but deliberately targeting civilians or using weapons of mass destruction was inexcusable. There was a difference between freedom fighters and terrorists. It would be like sending a horde of Grimm into a Kingdom in the name of Faunus Rights. The only thing that would accomplish is further demonization of their cause, which appeared to be the exact thing that happened to them.
With Gron, though, it was harder for her to get a read. Clearly he sympathized more with the Insurrectionists, at least on principle, but she didn't know if Gron felt all of their actions were justified or, perhaps, not even far enough. She wasn't going to voice that concern here, though. Especially since the UNSC was already watching them like a hawk.
Before the standoff looked as though it would heat up any further, Abby coughed into her hand and said, "Let's keep going, shall we? I kind of want to look at one of the loading docks nearby. My parents were dockworkers, heh…"
She awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, her eyes closed and a smile crossing her lips. Sienna glanced at Abby then nodded in agreement, eager to move on from this as well. One by one, the rest of the group nodded or shrugged in acceptance, then Sienna took the lead and began leading them away. As they walked, a white van parked on the sidewalk nearby, but they paid it no heed as they passed it. Nearing the intersection, Dare waited for the Superintendent to activate the crosswalk. They waited patiently, not a single word passing between them.
Then Yuri tensed, and underneath his ushanka the feathers on his head stood up while his eyes briefly flashed bright blue. He shot his head back towards the white van, which Sienna noticed. Before she could ask what was wrong, Yuri shouted, "Get down!"
He tackled a surprised Dare to the ground, covering her body with his own while the rest of the Faunus dived away as well. A second later, a loud explosion ripped through the street, shattering glass and sending shards of metal and concrete flying in all directions. A few bounced off their Auras with enough force to make them wince in pain, but luckily nothing pierced. Their ears rung, however, and as they slowly picked themselves back up, they watched with horrified gazes as terrified civilians ran for their lives. The white van was no more, twisted and warped into a smoldering wreck. The cars nearby, both parked and those which had the unfortunate luck of passing by just as the car bomb went off, were destroyed as well. Dozens of mangled bodies lined the streets, with some still twitching and moaning as they clutched at bleeding wounds.
"Brothers…" Abby muttered, holding her hand to her mouth in abject horror while propping herself off the ground with her other arm. Then Dare pushed herself off of Yuri and rushed over to the epicenter, pulling out a silenced M6C pistol from a concealed holster on her thigh.
"Get them out of here, go!" Dare ordered to a squad of ODSTs who appeared out of nowhere.
The armored soldiers moved to shuffle them into an arriving black car, but Abby and Yuri were already on their feet and rushing past them after Dare. Any attempts at stopping them were futile, as the experienced Huntsman and Huntress were simply too fast and agile. Sienna and Gron were right after them, and it quickly became clear that the White Fang had no intention of leaving, especially once they began to assist the survivors in any way they could, ripping off parts of their clothes to make tourniquets for those who needed them. A few moments later, sirens could be heard as first responders moved in, followed by more explosions ringing across the city.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Dust and Echoes! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life.
The Huntsmen and Huntresses have finally experienced what life is like on a vibrant UNSC colony, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Especially as the Insurrection finally makes their presence known in this story. Before you ask, the fact that a bombing happened right where the White Fang was is just an in-story coincidence. As you can probably expect, next chapter is going to be dealing with the aftermath of this horrific terrorist attack.
To answer your guy's general questions, none of the main cast are becoming SPARTANs. That would involve them getting kidnapped by the UNSC, which obviously isn't something anyone wants. Besides, as shown during the fight against Haki Felt and Blue Team, Aura is more than capable enough for augmentation purposes.
Regarding my interpretation of General Ironwood, everything I'm doing is actually in line with how he was presented in the show. From the very beginning, General Ironwood was portrayed as a genuinely well-meaning man who had a very heavy-handed approach. One that emphasized the bigger picture destination rather than the smaller picture method to get there. To him, every problem was a nail to hit with his hammer, as in the Atlesian military. Before Volume 3, Ironwood was able to mostly keep his darker, more controlling and authoritative impulses in check, thanks in large part to Ozpin. But even then he honestly had a "my way or the highway" mentality, one where he thought he had all the answers and everyone else was either wrong or misguided. It's why he went behind Ozpin's back to create Penny and brought his army to Vale, then effectively stabbed Ozpin in the back once the Breach happened due to him thinking that Ozpin wasn't taking enough of a proactive approach. Then Volume 3 happened and not only was Ironwood largely to blame for how bad things got (his army was not only useless in stopping the disaster, it arguably made it worse when the robots got hacked), thus giving him PTSD, he was also cut off from all of his prior support network. This meant all he really had to deal with were the incredibly self-centered Atlesian elite, making him drive himself further and further into a corner as he separated himself from everyone except only those who were directly subordinate and loyal to him. Without Ozpin, Ironwood's authoritative impulses were left unchecked, and eventually spiraled out of control as he continued to hold the entire weight of the world on his shoulders, refusing to let anyone else share the burden even though they would gladly help because at that point he didn't trust anyone other than himself. As we saw in Volume 7 and 8, the villains were able to easily manipulate him, which led to everything he had been trying to protect falling because of him. Did RWBY and JNPR indirectly help push him along when they didn't tell him everything? Arguably, but it can also be argued that the end result would've been the same even had RWBY and JNPR been straight with him from the beginning. His issues were already there, and in the end they broke him. At the moment, though, Ironwood is in a much healthier state of mind. He's in his prime, essentially, but those aforementioned issues are still there. Thanks to Ozpin's presence, he's able to keep those impulses in check, but with the arrival of the UNSC things are obviously entirely different. He's not guaranteed to fall along the same path as he did in canon, not because I think it was done poorly (on the contrary, I loved how the canon show developed his arc, which in hindsight was obvious from the very beginning) but because the situation in this story is entirely different. In canon, Ironwood thought he was in a military/sci-fi story, when in actuality he was in a superhero story. Here, he is in a military/sci-fi story, so things might go differently for him.
Regarding mutual developments between the UNSC and Remnant, obviously those are coming. You guys will just have to wait and see how it all turns out.
Let us know what you guys think, and I hope you enjoy! Also, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated!