Temple Turmoil - II

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Cinder stalked around the massive machine as it sank to a sparking knee and shuddered. It watched her, and the Grimm she still had with her, as she paced around it. But it couldn't stand again, not with the front half of its knee blown to pieces. It raised an arm and hers matched it, a bolt of fire launching from just above her palm and impacting its fist like a missile. A second followed, taking it in the shoulder and hurling it to the side as her Grimm surged forward. They'd be slaughtered en masse, and she doubted any would survive, but by now she had omre on the way to replace them.

And besides, she just needed the machine out of the way.

She raised a hand to annihilate the last door in her way like she had the rest of them, but blinked when they slid open of their own accord.

"Finally giving in?" She mused, pacing forward and into the hall with the fire at her side. "You could have saved me the trouble if you were going to do that…"

Then again, she'd barely broken a sweat until the veritable army of robots got involved. But then she'd just sent the Grimm to their fiery demise. They weren't worth much aside from holding a line, of course, but her fire made them so much more useful. Even if using her pilfered power made her want to scream for the pain of it...

Another hallway lead her to another door that slid open as she approached, beyond which was… A library.

"All of that…" She murmured, turning and looking around the brightly lit, text-packed room. "A fortress, a hundred soldiers and a thousand robots, all to protect some library?"

"This is The Archive, not some library, and I would thank you not to call it such ever again." An obviously synthesised voice snapped, making her flinch back towards the door and bring her arms up, fire crawling along their length. The stranger chuckled and then sighed, "Now, now, there's no need for fire in what is a library, Miss. Or would your master be happy if you torched what they sent you to capture?"

"Tch." She sighed and forced the flames to die. Then flicked them and summoned a pair of wicked blades instead.

"Well that's…" The voice sighed, "Fair, I suppose."

"As fair as you're going to get, at any rate." She answered loudly, still searching for the voice's owner.

She could see shelves and desks and, when she paced to the side, she could see down the aisles, too. The desks were empty, too, aside from a still machine standing to the side of one of them. It wasn't moving, though. Instead, it had its arm crossed over its chest and its hands on its shoulders, with its chin resting on its metal chest. Its plating looked solid, and it was large enough to pose a threat. But she couldn't see any weapons on it...

Snarling, she paced past it and demanded, "Why don't you come out so we can talk already?"

"Why do I have a feeling we wouldn't be doing a lot of talking?"

"Because you're a sharp one." She smiled, "Maybe smart enough to give your better what she wants?"

"Why would I do that?" The voice chuckled, "Even assuming you were my better."

"It would save me some time."

"Perhaps it would." The voice answered, "But I have little interest in saving you any time, Miss. Or in allowing you to do any more damage to my precious Archives, though I'm sure you fancy them as your Archives now. Don't you?"

"Not mine, no." She answered honestly as a handful of Grimm approached the door. It sealed suddenly and, though she heard their claws on its other side, she knew the Grimm wouldn't be able to get through to help her. Not in time to actually accomplish anything, at least. "But my Mistress wants this library, and sent me to get it. So, if you don't want to die, you might want to cooperate."

"Oh, killing me would be an interesting trick for her to pull."

"She's fairly good at interesting things." Cinder nodded, pacing up one of the aisles to check the other end for anyone hiding from her. No one was there, unfortunately, so she paced back down another aisle. "Once again, I'm offering you a rare thing. The chance to get away from me with your life is not something that comes easily."

"Oh, many people try to get away from you, do they?"

"Oh, you have no idea." She smirked, "And few of them manage it, too."

"Oh, you did not think that through, did you?"

"Think what through?" She paused and blinked, and then scowled and snarled in one smooth motion, fire wreathing her hand, "Oh yes, do annoy the woman that enjoys throwing fire about. In the Archive you are trying to avoid being scorched."

"I doubt your master would enjoy that." The voice taunted her back, "So I will make this very simple. The Archive is an exchange. If you want to take, you must give."

"An exchange?" She murmured after a quiet moment, before she asked, "...How much do you know about Grimm anatomy?"

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"I just can't believe you have the authority to arrest me..." Jaune said once the General had arrived to summarily release him. Ruby had taken the opportunity to slip away to go and meet up with a friend of hers she'd apparently run into on Ironwood's battleship, which left the two of them to walk the halls alone. "I just feel like that isn't… Something you're meant to be able to do."

"Strictly speaking, it isn't something I'm able to do." Ironwood answered, striding along beside him with long, purposeful strides and a steely gaze for any soldiers that paid them any mind at all. "Officially speaking, you were in the custody of Beacon Academy's security. Headmistress Goodwitch is the head of it, and due in no small part to your friend's present situation, she agreed to grant me holding power over you."

"Is that legal?"

"Maybe." The older man chuckled, "I don't actually know for sure. And frankly, I don't care."

"You don't?" Jaune blinked, eyebrows rising at the not so good implications behind him not caring if what he did was legal or not.

"Laws exist to serve man, and the Kingdoms." Ironwood explained shortly, "What good are laws and regulations if they stop me saving a Kingdom? Or a young man that is trying to do the same?"

"That's… Fair enough, I guess." Honestly, the more he talked to the General, the more he felt like he'd have made a good Sith in another lifetime. Maybe even a Revanite, though Jaune wanted a bit more time with him before he made that judgement. Getting back on track, he explained, "I did my best with Blake, General, and managed to touch her mind."

"I thought as much." Ironwood hummed and then snapped sharply, "Report, then. We have a few minutes."

"A few minutes until...?"

"One thing at a time, Arc." General Ironwood answered coldly, turning to pay a nod to a guard who snapped off a salute as they passed by. "Tell me what I need to know and then when we get where we're going, you'll find out what you need to know, too."

"Alright, I guess…" Even if it did feel like Ironwood was treating her like one of his soldiers now, which definitely dug at a sore spot she didn't know she had. Menagerie would be in an uproar if they found out she was being treated like-

"Ugh." He choked as his legs locked up, and would have fallen if the General hadn't swept around to catch him with an arm.

"Arc?" He asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Head rush..." He grunted through the headache, forcing his thoughts to realign back into proper order. As the nausea and headache faded away, he sighed and stood on his own admittedly shaky legs. Ironwood let him go once he was steady enough and Jaune explained, "When I tried to help Blake, I did something I wasn't trained to. So my head… Isn't exactly on right, right now."

"Do you need more rest?"

"No." He shook his head, "It's… Just an aftershock."

"Are you certain, Arc?" The General asked quietly, "Because I need to know you're capable before I commit you to the field. With my men, no less."

"I'm alright, General Ironwood, just… Catching my breath." He blinked as he realized what the man had said and cocked his head. "Wait, you want to put me out in the field? With your men? Why? What happened?"

"Nothing good…" Ironwood sighed and straightened, then looked around to make sure no one was listening. When he was satisfied no one was paying them any mind, mostly because anyone who was hustled away when he turned that cold glare glare on them, he sighed and waved for Jaune to follow him. "News came down a short while ago about a massive Grimm assault on the fort around the Archive's entrance. Communications were lost quickly after the report came in, and never returned, so I sent scouts to investigate."

"And?"

"And the fort is gone, Arc. Down to the last man, woman and drone, from the scout reports." Ironwood growled quietly, rage rolling off him in veritable tidal waves. "Annihilated, and swarmed by the Grimm. Grimm that until now avoided the site like it was plagued, which makes the entire thing smell of foul play."

"You mean…"

"Salem's made another move, and we need to answer her." Ironwood nodded as they reached a plain door that slid open on a briefing room populated solely by Ruby's agitated looking uncle and a more cheerful looking man that stood as they stepped into the room. Ironwood gestured at him and said, "Whether you've met or not, let's do this properly. Arc, this is Specialist Clover Ebi, head of my Ace-Ops."

"I'm…" He started to say 'familiar', but then he couldn't tell if he really was, or if someone else had been and now he was confused. Instead, he played it safe and offered a hand, "Arc. Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls of the tongue and my father says the ladies love it."

"Does he now?" The Specialist laughed, shaking his head formally. "Specialist Ebi. Pleasure to officially meet you."

"Qrow Branwen." The surly Huntsman added from the corner of the room, waving a hand while the other fished a flask out of his pocket. "If we're done, I'd like to get to work, assumin' nobody minds."

"He's sloshed." Clover explained when Jaune gave him a look. Motioning for him to take one of the rows of seats, the Specialist explained, "I went out to find him and happened to run into him at one of the local drinking holes."

"Shit luck on my part…"

"Or good luck on mine." Clover offered with a smile as he turned to the general. "Whenever you're ready, Sir."

"You've all already heard how this started, with an unexpected, cataclysmic attack by the Grimm on the fort." Ironwood started simply, pacing to the front of the room so he could meet all three of their gazes. To Qrow and Jaune, he said, "Specialist Ebi and my Ace-Ops are cleared to know about Salem. Arc, what do you know about her?"

"That she exists." He answered quietly, "Ozpin was… Less than forthcoming about any real details. Mostly, he just focused on the Relics and the Maidens, because that was the issue at hand."

"Then I'll only give the relevant details, and send a proper file to each of you." Ironwood nodded, "In brief, she can control the Grimm. Direct them. And given that until now the monsters have avoided the Archive location, it stands to reason that Salem is involved. To that end I am moving this ship to the location."

"You want to take the Archive back?"

"Yes, I do, Mister Arc." Ironwood nodded, pacing across the front of the room slowly while he went on. "We'd only begun to trade for research materials in the Archive and tap its reserves. Already, we have information on kinetic defenses that would stop rounds from impacting. And advanced weapons systems that wouldn't even use Dust, assuming the Archive contains the information needed to manufacture the ammunition."

"You mean… Blasters?"

"If by that you mean the directed energy weapons the drones use, then yes." Ironwood nodded, smiling thinly, "Plans for their manufacture were found in the Archive. It isn't a guaranteed advancement yet, but the find is promising."

"Enough for the Atlas Council to approve an attack." Qrow growled, suntering over and falling into a seat with a sour expression on his face. "Right?"

"Enough that they will do." Ironwood nodded with a knowing little smile, "I hold two seats on the Council, and Councilman Sleet started the briefing out on my side. So the vote is guaranteed no matter what happens."

Jaune was pretty sure democracies weren't supposed to work like that, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he asked, "What's the plan then?"

"Several wings of bombers and gunships will annihilate the area." Ironwood started simply, an overhead map springing to holographic life on the wall behind him. It was an old picture of the fort before it was attacked, but Jaune supposed it still did its job. "Once resistance in the area has been suppressed, mechanized infantry will be deployed to screen our advance."

"Wair," Qrow grunted, "ous advance?"

"Our." Ironwood nodded, "I will be leading the Ace-Ops, along with Mister Arc, into the Archive to make contact with the Curator personally."

"Jimmy, I'm not sure that's a very good-"

"My ship, my operation, my orders." Ironwood cut the drunk off with a single raised hand. Then he smiled and gave the Huntsman a look, "I'll be leaving you to hold the entrance with your niece and her new friend."

"New friend?" Clover blinked beside him, suddenly straightening and asking, "Sir, you mean-"

"She was very happy to have made a friend, yes, and Ruby was happy to help when I explained that she'd be going into combat." Ironwood nodded, turning back to Qrow and asking, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate you letting Penny eliminate a few targets on her own so we can get the combat data."

"Wait, wait, wait," Qrow suddenly rasped, "You mean the little ginger?!"

"I do." Ironwood nodded, "Moving on, once we secure the Archive, I would like Mister Arc to liaise with the Curator directly. We have items for trade…"

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Penny's lasers lashed out in bright streaks of green from over her shoulders, carving long lines into the target armor on the other side of her private room. It took a few seconds, but after a moment she was done and stepped back with a smile. Turning, she watched her new friend bounce on her heels in the mostly empty room before zipping over to the still-hot metal.

"I can't believe you're so good with those you can write my name, Penny!" The young huntress crowed excitedly, looking at the cooling letters Penny had etched onto the metal. "Like, I've seen precision, but that was dead on. How do you do that?!"

"Advanced targeting systems." She answered simply, holding up a hand and calling the blades to hover around it in a demonstration. "As well as enhanced tactile controls wired directly into my hand and finger servos."

"That's so cool!" And suddenly, the young Huntress was at her side, holding up Penny's other hand and running her fingers along the back of Penny's hand. "Oh, it feels like a normal Human hand, too. I mean, a bit cold, but… Wow!"

"T-That is part of an advanced research program meant to develop better prosthetics for soldiers and Hunters who lose limbs in the field." She stammered, registering and dismissing a dozen anomalous sensations in the back of her head and along her hand. She ordered a diagnostic of her hand's tactile sensors for later, though.

She was not supposed to feel static charges like that…

"Oh, I wish I could get a targeting system like that installed in my baby." Ruby sighed, letting her hand go and turning to Penny with a sheepish smile. "But, uh, I don't think I'd wanna trade my hand out to get it."

"You should certainly not!" Penny asserted more loudly than she'd meant to, "Your hands are perfect just how they are!"

"Um…" Ruby blinked and flushed, "Thanks?"

"You are most welcome, Friend!" Penny smiled as her door opened and a pair of drones came in, carrying the couch she'd ordered as her first piece of actual furniture. Until now, the room had been a formality to preserve her cover, so it was essentially empty aside from her charging pod.

But that was not polite for her guest!

Speaking to the pair of drones she said, "You may leave that against the back wall!"

"Affirmative, Miss Polendina." One said as they marched it over and set it down. Straightening it added, quietly, "Status update- Time to arrival is half an hour."

"Understood!" She smiled, turning to Ruby and asking, "Would you like to see my propulsion technology?"

"Propulsion…?" Smiling, Penny inverted her blades in quartet formations and used the directed plasma propellant to lift herself into the air. Cheering, Ruby flashed around her and rattled off technical questions while Penny smiled.

Smile and tried to ignore the tingles she felt whenever Ruby looked at her with those wide, awed eyes of hers.

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Gun Blade 2021 :

Doesn't it just? Lol.

Blaze 1992 :

I mean, it is Ironwood. Abusing the systems around him to get what he wants is kinda his schtick.

Argus456 :

The issue is what he did, and assisting in the field isn't going to entail any of that. So I see little reason Irondaddy wouldn't allow it. Also, he, uh, kind of only has limited say. Seeing as Jaune is the one that understands all the stuff they need to be handling and what not, Jaune almost has to be there.

Spartan 100007 :

But of course! Lol.