Nate huffed as he finished downing a cup of West Coast "Coffee" and set the mug down. Shaking his head at the taste before looking out to the balcony of his temporary quarters.
Down below him were NCR and Minutemen hard at work with last minute details for the meetings.
In the air seven Airships hovered still, three from the NCR, Four from the ROC.
Today was the day, the Big meeting that would dictate the future of both the Wasteland and the World of Remnant.
They had spent the night planning, rewriting, and debating how it would all go. Contingencies were set in place and security was briefed on what to do if the worst occurred.
Mary had her little plan B, only to be used should the situation grow so tense.
Still, they wouldn't have needed to spent most of the night rewriting plans if Mary hadn't told them what Remnant used for currency.
Paper Slips, called Lien, a fiat currency.
Sure the Wasteland standard is the bottlecap, but that's backed by a potable water quantity of 30 caps per litre.
The NCR used paper back money backed by a gold standard (thanks to Six) while the STN utilize a mixture of NCR and Cap based currency.
Alas, both the ROC and the NMCG used the Cap standard.
The ROC was trying to move past it, create their own gold backed currency, but none of them were as old as the NCR.
Nate shook his head and huffed, it would be difficult to find a proper standard of exchange. 'What can we do? ask how much a bottle of water cost?' he bemused before turning away from the balcony. A key point was getting things to work out, they can't start trading if no one knows how much something is worth. He placed the mug in the sink and grabbed his day wear, preparing for what would be the most stressful day in a long line of stressful days.
Gevo Don had to swallow his heart as he stood stiff. Sienna had given himself and several others a mission to gather information during the meeting with the people of this Wasteland.
There remained one issue.
Menagerie lacked a formal airfleet, only possessing a few airships and boats.
So the Bellahdonnas had accepted a ride with one of the other fleets.
The Vale fleet.
The Airship of Beacon's representatives, including the Head Master himself.
Gevo had never faced against any huntsmen or huntressess, but he'd heard stories from his brothers and sisters of how nightmarish fighting them are. Now he and his fellows were trapped in a ship with one of the most prolific Huntsmen in Vale's history.
It was a small mercy that Ozpin had requested a private talk with the Bellahdonnas.
Just being in the presence of Ozpin was akin to being trapped under a hydraulic press. Like he knew why they were here, that he was daring them to try anything.
He had no interest in finding out what would happen if they tried to harm him, he didn't want to know.
Ironwood tensed as the fleet got closer too their destination.
The expedition hadn't sent any reports back, he could only hope that they were still alive.
He had to be cautious though, his semblance had been running for the last two days non stop. Parts of his mind venturing to darker places when his attention slipped.
The risk of the expedition being held captive, threats of destruction at the hands of their weapons.
No, they seemed civilized enough.
"Sir, a naval vessel is hailing the fleet, they're with the NCR." One of the bridge officers spoke up, dragging Ironwood away from his spiral.
"On screen." Ironwood instructed.
"This is the NCR vessel Buckeye heading the escort fleet meant to guide our otherworldly guests, please identify?" The other side of the comms stated.
"This is general Ironwood, heading the fleet of Remnant representatives, we read you Buckeye." Ironwood responded.
"Clear, follow us as we head for Outpost Vigilance." Buckeye called out.
Ironwood watched as the fleet of ships washed over the ocean beneath their fleet. "Follow them." he instructed.
Mary had to hold herself still as she watched the Remnant fleet arrive. Small airships, various designs reminiscent of Vertibirds and actual boats with wings, descended onto the airstrip.
Six was loudly chuckling as her eye twitched.
"Quite the view isn't it?" Six rested as Mary just snapped her stack of files. She gave him a side glance and gave him a so so gesture.
"None of those small ships compare to a proper Vertibird." She quipped back.
Six raised his sunglasses as the first of the airships landed. People began filing out, staying within their respective groups. They could see NCR rangers and Minutemen walking up to act as escort.
"Still, its impressive." Nate spoke up as he joined them.
"Yeah..." Mary said with an eye roll.
"It will be a real pain in the ass to get this done." Redhawk chimed in.
The three of them turned to the NCR president as he shot them a small nod.
"The fun is about to began folks." he joked with a half grimace. "Now then, let's get to the table before they arrive." Redhawk said calmly.
"Indeed, it will be a night to remember." Another voice spoke up. A man dressed in a baggy blouse with a studded leather chest piece over top stepped forward.
"Glad to see you made it Rimor." Six spoke up.
Mary just looked at the man, here to represent the Legio Unum. A "reformed" Legion led by the man known as Populi Regis. If it wasn't for both Six and Redhawk vouching for the man and his intentions, she would have shot him on sight.
Those stories told of Legion atrocities left a vivid picture in her mind, one she hopes to never see in person.
Mary took one last glance at the Remnant fleet, now face to face with the small Wasteland fleet. "Alright, let's get this out of the way." She said. Turning away from the display in the sky and joining the others as they wandered to the meeting area.
Ghira Bellahdonna had to suck in a breath as he followed the other dignitaries. Between the meeting with Ozpin earlier and having to spent the next several hours in a meeting with people from a Wasteland, it was going to be stressful.
He was careful, ensuring to stay as far away from the representatives of Atlas and Minstral as he could. Sure, he had guards from Menagerie and a few voluteers from the more moderate White Fang members, but this place was armed to the teeth.
He could see guards, turrets, the small fleet of naval vessels and those airships.
It was like stepping into a long term frontier town. built to last, armed for anything from Grimm too bandits.
He was pulled out of his musing as the Ranger escorting them stopped and turned ninety degrees. He let out a sharp whistle as two individuals in heavy armor stepped forward. "They'll be guiding you all from this point forward, don't cause trouble." The ranger warned before one of the armored troopers stepped forward.
The armored trooper looked them over, then turned to the other one. A hydraulic hiss echoed out before a door opened behind them. Ghira could hear whispers fly through the groups.
"Just through here, they've been waiting." The Trooper stated before returning to his post across from the other.
Ghira looked to the other groups, the hesitance on their faces. So he stepped forward, his guards following suit. Travelling down the corridor, taking note of the lower light levels and cold solid walls.
He could hear the other groups follow after them.
On the other end of the tunnel was a spacious room with a two large tables and several chairs. One was empty, the other not so much.
From right to left was five groups.
First was led by a man with blonde hair and green eyes, faint scars running down his neck and bags under his eyes. Too his left was a pair of well dressed twins, one guy and one girl, both with ginger hair and blue eyes. Just past them was a man with a stetson and a fine dress suit. On the right was a scrawny man dressed in a simple shirt and pants with blue eyes and brown hair. Farther right was clearly a general, four medals across his lapel and a metal two head bear on his hat. Just behind them stood several Rangers and a man with no skin just behind the blonde man.
Second was led by a man dressed in a stetson and Duster with his eyes covered by aviators. To his right was a shocking figure, some kind of green humanoid who towered over almost everyone else. Just right of the large Mutant was a man with blonde hair dressed in a plain labcoat. On the left was a man dressed in armor more advanced than the guards outside the door, two floating ball? robots hovered behind them. A pair of machines with thin arms and Boxy bodies stood far back alongside two armored individuals and another man with no skin.
Third was a man in studded leather over a baggy tunic. While he sat alone there stood several individuals in armor of leather and metal.
Fourth was led by a woman, brown haired and bearing tired green eyes, dressed in a simple brown suit. To her left sat a pair of military figures, one in armor while the other had simple garb. On her right sat a woman in a labcoat with black hair. Several armored individuals stood behind them, the armor appearing more advanced than any seen before, alongside an even larger Mutant than the one sitting at the table.
Fifth was headed by a man with black hair and blue eyes wearing a mix of an old military coat with more modern combat armor. On his left was a trio of men dressed in coats similar too the leader. On the right was by far the strangest of them all, a robot with grey skin and several "wounds" who looked almost human. Just behind them stood a group of men dressed in a more armored form of the uniform alongside a much smaller Mutant and a woman with a paperboy cap on who was taking notes.
these were some of the strangest groups he had ever seen.
Eyes darted every which way as the representatives took their seats at the other table. Nate could tell that many of them were shocked at what they saw. Be it Super Mutants like Marcus or Strong, or the few Ghouls present at the meeting. He could tell that some of them were just shocked seeing their choice of dress.
It was rather interesting, seeing all those people dressed for various environments. How the people of Menagerie seemed to be putting as much distance between themselves and the representatives from Atlas and Minstral.
Redhawk loudly cleared his throat, getting the attention of the Remnant representatives as they took their seats.
"Now, on behalf of those present, I thank you all for accepting our invitation to this meeting." Redhawk began. "I am Abraham Redhawk, acting president of the New California Republic, too my left are the Crasny Twins representing the Crimson Caravan Company." Redhawk paused before he gestured too the twins. "On my right is Dylan Nelson representing the Gun Runners Manufacturing Company and General Morgan of the NCR Army Corps." He looked back at them as Dylan leaned forward.
There was an awkward silence before the man leading Atlas leaned forward. "On behalf of Remnant, I thank you for inviting us, I am General Ironwood representing Atlas, her Military and her Huntsmen Academy." Ironwood adjusted his suit and straightened his back. "Joining me are Enard Tilly representing the Schnee Dust Company." He stopped while gesturing to the suited man on his right. "And... Robyn Hill representing Mantle." He said while shifting to the white haired woman on his left.
A small gesture was made to continue introductions.
"The name's Six, just Six. Leader of the Sovereign Territories of Nevada." Six said. Nate's eyes narrowed as he saw the grey haired man from Vale flinch as his eyes locked on Six. "To my right is Marcus representing the Unified Wasteland Party and Arcade Gannon representing rhe Followers of the Apocalypse." Six paused as murmurs echoed through the crowds.
"On my right is-" "Just call me the Storyteller, I'm a historian who has been called here to explain the history of the Wasteland." The Storyteller cut Six off. A series of beeps were let out by Ed-E and Edna.
"That's just Ed-E and Edna, they say hello." Six translated with a calm expression.
Silence followed once again, before the Minstral representative leaned forward. "I am Waylend Utaro, representing the Kingdom of Mantle." He said calmly. "Too my right is...
'This is going to be a long day.' Nate thought to himself.
'Such a strange collection of individuals?' Ozpin mused to himself as representatives filed out of the room with the discussions wrapping up for the day. The people of the Wasteland, all the nations born from its ruins, were all very unique.
They had their own reasons, some similar to Remnant's own, others far removed.
One of the largest arguments was the value of currency. As absurd as bottlecaps as money appeared, the reasons for such a thing were sound.
15 caps per 500 ML of water, 20 Lien for a bottle of water. 15 caps equals 20 Lien, that was Ms. Mary's reasoning to end the arguments when the discussion had reached three hours.
They let the argument rest after that.
Of course, various other deals were made, many of which were quite interesting.
Horses for Brahmin, various fine species of Colts being traded for some kind of two headed cow.
Apparently horses were slowly going extinct in the Wasteland, while Brahmin were hardy enough to survive in even deserts for a time.
The NCR offered five hundred horses for five hundred Brahmin, with Nevada even throwing in some big horners (a type of Mutanted goat that grew even larger than Brahmin but we're far more aggressive) for some extra colts sent their way.
Ahh... Nevada.
The moment he heard the voice of this Six, he had to hold himself still. It was so earily similar to Jaune Arc, his lost student, but it could not be him. Six was well into his mid twenties, Jaune is seventeen and had only been missing for a few months.
"Excuse me, Ozpin was it?" A voice pulled Ozpin from his musings. Turning to see who was talking to him, he found a large green chest less than a feet from his face, belonging to Marcus.
"Yes, how can I help you?" he inquired.
"I understand that Vale has many laws against discrimination, I would like to review a few propositions for Mutant rights that'll be in the treaty and wish for you to join me?" Marcus inquired.
"Of course, I can do so in a few minutes." Ozpin replied.
"Thank you, I'll be in room forty five with a few others for the discussion." Marcus said before walking away.
'A most interesting place indeed.' Ozpin mused as he watched the large Super Mutant walk away.