Chapitre 730: 73
Chapter 73:
Day 2:
Truth be told, it was hard for Ruby to acclimate to the luxurious amenities of the Atlas Imperial. Everything about the beds, from the mattresses to the sheets laid upon them, probably cost more than Ruby would see in over a year of accumulated stipends from Beacon. Maybe, as a professional Huntress, taking several high-paying bounty missions in a row, she might see enough money to outfit a bed like this, after a few months of work. But it would take a ridiculous amount of effort to do so, especially when such money could be spent on much better things. It was so ridiculously lavish so as to render even her family's quarters in the Royal Palace of Onmyo as downright monastic by comparison. Given that, sleeping in such a soft, luxurious mattress, with such crisp and smooth sheets, would have been hard to deal with, under most circumstances.
But Ruby found herself not minding in the slightest, mostly because, to her, being able to sleep in Jaune's arms was the greatest luxury of all. It was nothing short of amazing how comfortable it felt to sleep being held by someone so dear to her. What was more, she was both surprised and discomfited by how deeply she'd slept in such a state. It was enough to worry her that sleeping with Jaune would prompt her to drop her guard too much, which might be a serious hinderance, should they take any missions where they had to sleep out in the wilderness.
But for now, in the confines of a safe and secure hotel, Ruby was glad that she was able to enjoy the experience for all it was worth, made even better by Weiss' approval. And so Ruby had gone to bed, relishing the experience of pressing her back up against Jaune's ever more chiseled and defined chest and stomach, with the feeling of his arms wrapped around her front. The only tricky bit had been acclimating herself to the feeling of a certain...other...part of Jaune's, one that had grown both in size and hardness upon contact with her behind, contact with which prompted Ruby to resist the urge to rub her thighs together, and press back against it. Experiencing that feeling, before she and Jaune had managed to drop off, had left her appreciating the reason why Weiss wanted to limit Ruby and Jaune's opportunities to sleep together, even if she debated the wisdom of it.
On one hand, Ruby could certainly understand Weiss' intent, the desire to keep them from crossing the line too soon, by limiting the opportunities for provocation and temptation. On the other hand, Ruby wondered if that only made each opportunity she and Jaune had to sleep together all the more tempting to them, whereas doing so on a more frequent and regular basis would allow them to become accustomed to the practice, which might lead to the contact between them becoming less...stimulating. Ruby couldn't be sure. But for now, she decided it was best to defer to Weiss, one of those occasions where being older probably made one a better judge of such things.
When she'd dropped off, Ruby had been slightly worried that she would sleep through their wakeup call. Getting aboard the ship on time, at four-thirty, would necessitate waking up early enough to make room for their morning routines, including breakfast, while making space in their schedule for transit back to the docks. As such, they had set their wakeup time at the ungodly time of three-thirty. Normally, Ruby wouldn't have had too much issue with waking up so early, even if it was earlier than even she was used to, since it would be well before the sun started rise. Having trained herself to sleep; while maintaining an awareness of her surroundings, and spring straight into wakefulness at the first sign of a threat; had accustomed her to wake up whenever she was required to, regardless of the hour. However, the comfort of drifting off in Jaune's arms had left Ruby wondering if it might induce her to lower her sleeping guard too much.
However, she found she needn't have worried. When the alarm she'd set on her scroll sounded in the morning, Ruby's eyes snapped open, and she began to rouse herself, her movements prompting Jaune to stir behind her.
"It time?" he asked blearily, as Ruby pulled, reluctantly, out of his hold, and slipped out from beneath the covers.
"Yep," Ruby replied.
With a groan, Jaune forced himself to sit up, yawning and smacking his lips.
"Try not to fall back asleep," Ruby urged him, heading out and moving to the next-door bedroom, where she'd deposited her things, before having been given permission to spend the night with Jaune.
If there was one major advantage to their arrangement, it was that they each had their own bathroom to use to freshen up in the morning, as well as their own bedrooms to get dressed in, which greatly streamlined the process of going through their morning toilette, giving them more time for other things, like breakfast.
Normally, it was far too early for the hotel's staff to have the kitchens up and running for their morning room service. However, Winter had come through for them there as well, making arrangements with the management to have someone prepare their meals in anticipation of their early departure. As a truly high-class establishment, the Atlas Imperial was able to accommodate even the most unreasonable of arrangements...for an extra cost, of course, which Winter was, no doubt, willing to lay on the SDC.
The caveat was that they'd needed to make their selections the night before, so that they didn't slow things up, when they rose in the morning. But that wasn't too much trouble. Ruby was washed and ready to greet the staff, when they showed up with the trolley of breakfast food, helping them to set the dining table in the living room of the suite. By the time the staff rolled the empty trolley back out, the rest of RASP were emerging, fresh and ready, from their own rooms.
They ate quietly, Ruby tucking into her breakfast of strawberry-covered waffles with an almost frantic eagerness. This would be their best meal for the next several days. While eating in the mess hall of the freighter would be well above the level of having to subsist on trail rations and forage in the wilderness, there was no way they could produce anything on the level of this breakfast.
After breakfast, they got their luggage, being careful to adhere to Winter's stipulation of one case (or pack, in Ruby's case) each, leaving whatever was leftover in their rooms for the staff to see to, and send back to Beacon. For her part, Ruby didn't actually need to leave anything behind, having already packed as she normally would for the road. It helped that, not needing Dust, she had room aplenty. Jaune was surprisingly well-prepared as well, having gone on multiple camping trips with his family. Pyrrha had a bit more difficulty, but applied what they'd learned in their survival courses well enough. Naturally, Weiss had it the hardest, mainly because she was troubled by how much room she needed to make for the extra supply of Dust she needed to bring along.
Still, they arrived at the hotel lobby on time, early even. Winter was already there, a suitcase of her own resting on the floor behind her. She scrutinized them all with critical eyes, before giving a single nod of approval. "Good. It would appear that you are all able to follow instructions. I hope that you didn't leave anything you might have needed behind."
Ruby would have found the remark annoyingly patronizing, but noted that Winter mostly seemed to be speaking to herself, and making a clinical assessment of the situation, rather than talking down to them.
They took the same limo that they'd ridden to the hotel, going the other way this time, of course. They arrived at the docks with time to spare. The freighter was already there, its gangplank down and waiting for them. RASP and Winter wasted no time hurrying aboard, Ruby noting that the crew were currently going over everything, making sure that the cargo was secure, and checking for any signs of problems with the hull or engines.
Winter took them up to the bridge, where she introduced them all to the captain. The man seemed pretty much the embodiment of what Ruby had come to expect from anyone related to the SDC. He was crisp and professional, cleanly shaven and immaculately groomed, despite doing what was probably a fairly stressful and difficult job. His uniform was just as crisp and immaculate, looking like it had come fresh from the cleaners. It made Ruby wonder just how the man would look by the time they reached the end of their journey.
He looked them over with eyes every bit as critical as Winter's, though Ruby could sense a much greater degree of skepticism from him. It was clear that he wasn't trained to assess the ability of Huntsmen and Huntresses, the way Winter had been. His experience was all in dealing with the ship, the sea, and everything that came with it. So he only saw a group of teenagers, assigned to an Atlesian Specialist. His attitude was one of subdued dismissiveness, which he kept tamped down, probably to avoid drawing Winter's ire.
Still, he detailed a crew member to guide them to their assigned quarters onboard the ship. RASP was given a single cabin, with four bunks. Winter had a cabin of her own, of course. They set about stowing their luggage, then settled in to discuss what they would be doing.
"We'll want to stay out of the crew's way," said Weiss. "But, besides the pirates, we'll also probably need to be on hand to deal with any seaborne Grimm that might come after the ship."
"That probably won't be a major issue," noted Pyrrha. "I suspect that the ship's own armaments are more than capable of handling anything but the largest such Grimm."
"Probably," agreed Weiss, her expression souring. "But I wouldn't put it past the captain to order us to fight instead, if only because it will save the SDC money on ammunition. Since we're on a mission, there's only a standard fee, set to the danger-level, so they don't need to worry about any ammo that we use, while fighting off the Grimm."
"We'll need to set watches," said Ruby. "Whether it's the Grimm or the pirates, they could come at any time, day or night. So we need to make sure we have a steady rotation."
"True," agreed Weiss, pinching her chin thoughtfully. "I bet the pirates would probably attack under the cover of darkness. We should adjust our own hours accordingly."
Ruby shook her head. "If they can arrange it, they'll definitely attack during the day."
"They will?" asked Pyrrha, giving Ruby a surprised look.
Ruby nodded. "I've seen pirate attacks before. Shipboard combat is treacherous enough, when you can see what you're doing. Unless the entire crew is faunus, there's no way they'd run the extra risk that would come with trying to board and take a ship in the middle of the night, not out on the open sea, away from any extra light-sources."
"Makes sense," said Jaune. "If Winter's theory about them having a submarine is right, then they don't need the cover of night to get close."
"But that doesn't mean that they won't attack at night, if they feel it's the best opportunity," Ruby added, nodding to Weiss. "And, of course, the Grimm won't care what time of day it is. So it's best for all of us to be up during the day, then set watches during the night." She sighed. "We're gonna be doing a lot of sitting and waiting though. It's gonna be pretty boring."
"Boring would be best though," said Pyrrha.
Weiss sighed. "Still, I hope the pirates do show up."
"Yeah, it would be good to deal with them and be done with it," said Jaune.
"More than that," said Weiss bitterly. "Father made it clear. If the pirates don't attack us this time, he intends to have us return to Atlas and repeat the process until they do. I would much rather only go through this mission once."
"He can do that?" asked Pyrrha incredulously.
Her skepticism was understandable. It was clear that Jacques had pushed his luck, badgering Beacon into assigning them this mission in the first place. Forcing them to take it over, again and again, should the pirates not attack, seemed like an abuse that not even Ozpin and Ironwood would tolerate, no matter how severe the threat of Jacques cutting Vale off from most of its Dust supply would be.
Weiss glowered sourly at the wall. "It would count as an extension," she explained. "Since we would be able to return and rearm at Soyuz each time we restarted, the conditions of the mission allow for an extension of up to an extra month, if necessary."
"Although Winter can keep punishing the SDC by setting us up at those fancy digs every time," added Ruby with a giggle, drawing smiles from everyone else in the room.
Silently, Ruby hoped that they were able to deal with the pirates the first time through as well, if only so that they could put a stop to what these thieves were doing. Given that the pirates were destroying almost every ship they took, there was little question of what happened to the crew. Ruby wanted to stop them, if only to put an end to the pain and death they left in their wake.
Unfortunately, the first few days were bound to be fairly boring. If the pirates were going to attack, it would be when they were well away from the shores of Solitas, probably as far out at sea as possible, in order to maximize the time they had before any reinforcements summoned by the ship's distress call could reach them.
The ship departed on schedule. By the time the sun had risen, the coast of Solitas had already faded into a dark blur behind them, while the ocean spread outward in undulating waves of choppy blue in all directions. By the time noon came around, they would be out of sight of land altogether.
At first, Ruby's concern was Jaune. Already prone to motion sickness, when traveling by air, she was a bit worried that he would be incapacitated by seasickness before long, even if his Aura was able to mitigate the effects of such ailments. Fortunately, the more gradual undulations of a ship appeared to have less of an effect on him than the kind that resulted from airship travel, so Jaune acclimated fairly well to their new situation.
The biggest issue was wrestling with boredom. Hours away from land, with only a mostly featureless expanse of blue stretching out around them, there was little to see or do. Unlike the crew they didn't have much in the way of active duties to keep them occupied. Instead, they were positioned around the upper decks, keeping an eye out for any signs of Grimm or the pirates, though the ship's radar would pick up signs of the former well before they might appear in sight to the students' eyes.
It was somewhat disturbing then that Grimm attacks were unpleasantly frequent. It had only been a few minutes past noon when the first pack of Sahuagin tried to clamber aboard. A little later in the afternoon, a mid-sized Kraken made its own attempt. Other Grimm approached throughout the day.
While RASP fought off any Grimm that tried to climb aboard the vessel, Ruby was pleased to see that the captain was making use of the ship's guns to deal with the Grimm when he could. She later learned that her worries had been well-founded, and he had been planning on leaning heavily on RASP to do most of the fighting, allowing him to save on the expense of ammunition (with the insinuation that he'd been pressured from above to do so). However, Winter had quickly put her foot down, emphasizing that RASP was here to deal with the pirates, and that they needed to conserve their strength as much as possible.
The frequency of attacks was certainly inordinate. Listening discretely to the crew led the students to learn that Grimm usually attacked once or twice a day, if they attacked at all. In fact, it was not unheard of for a ship to go its entire run without encountering a Grimm, seagoing Grimm apparently being the most infrequent.
It wasn't hard to understand why though. The tension in the air was palpable, after all. The pirates had already hit numerous ships before, and always escaping with impunity. Everyone, from the captain down, was simmering in a stew of anxiety, each of them wondering if they would be next, if their ship would be the latest one to not make it into port. Not even the presence of Academy students and an Atlesian Specialist onboard could do much to mitigate the undercurrent of fear that ran throughout the entire vessel. Naturally, the constant negativity was like a perpetual lure to the Grimm.
Still, at the end of the day, boredom remained the greatest enemy of all. The members of RASP did their best to cope, passing their time in idle conversation, even as they tried to keep an eye out for danger. They played a few basic games, including card games and video games. They also read books that they'd downloaded on their scrolls, in anticipation of just such a prolonged trip.
They also did some routine exercises, mainly to keep their bodies limber, in anticipation of needing to spring into action. However, they did their best to avoid exercising too strenuously. Nothing would be worse than the pirates suddenly attacking, only for one or more of them to be incapacitated from being worn out by heavy training, though some of them did a better job of coping with that than others.
"What did you think you were doing?" admonished Ruby, pulling the sheets of the bunk over a panting and groaning Weiss.
"I need to master it," said Weiss, before groaning again. "You saw, Ruby. It takes forever for me to Summon anything."
"I know," said Ruby. "But you keep disrupting it by rushing. You need to go through the process in order, just like you did at the hotel."
"But that takes so long," Weiss protested.
"And it will, for a while," said Ruby. "That's how it works, Weiss. You learn a technique by breaking it down into its basic parts, and performing them in sequence. The more you practice, the easier it gets to compress that sequence down, as you get more familiar with it. But you can't try to just skip over the sequence entirely."
"Okay," said Weiss. "Then that's what I'll do, next time."
"No," said Ruby firmly.
"Huh?" Weiss blinked, staring up at Ruby in confusion.
"You aren't going to be practicing Summoning," Ruby told her firmly, "not while we're onboard this ship."
"B-but..." Weiss began.
"No," said Ruby. "Regular exercise can be draining enough. But Summoning is a Manifestation technique, and each time you practice it, you spend a healthy chunk of your Aura. You barely got three tries before you were tapped out this time."
"But that makes it even more important for me to-" Weiss began to protest.
"Not while we're on mission," admonished Ruby, placing a hand on Weiss' forehead, and exerting some pressure to keep her from sitting up. It didn't take much at all, a sign of just how badly Weiss had overextended herself. "Think about it, Weiss! If the pirates attacked right now, which they very well could, what would you be doing?"
Weiss wanted to protest, to say that she'd fight them. But the state of her body was too weak for her to go through with it. Her limbs felt like they'd been cast in lead, and her head ached something fierce.
"Get it?" pressed Ruby. "You're in no shape to fight, right now. You'd be nothing but a liability. That's the consequence of you pushing your limits when we don't have that luxury. It's one thing to push yourself like that, when we're safe at Beacon. But out here, we can't afford to take those kinds of risks."
"But what will Winter think?" asked Weiss.
"That you're a boob who doesn't prioritize properly," replied Ruby. "I know that she wouldn't approve of you pushing yourself to the edge like this, when we need to conserve our strength for the enemy. If she did approve, she wouldn't be worthy of your respect as a Specialist."
Weiss sighed in disappointment. "But I just got it," she moaned. "I finally performed a successful Summoning."
"I know," said Ruby, smiling ruefully. "And, when we get back to Beacon, you can train on it all you want. But not now. Understand?"
With another shuddering sigh, Weiss nodded, acknowledging her defeat.
"Good," said Ruby. "Now get some rest. You're going to have the first watch tonight."
With a tired sigh, Weiss closed her eyes and slipped away. Ruby helped her with a gentle pulse of Aura to ease the migraine that had come from Weiss overextending her own Aura. Standing up, she turned to see Jaune, leaning in the doorway.
"Pretty weird to see you being the one to tell Weiss off for being reckless," Jaune noted, after Ruby had shut the door to their cabin.
"That was stupid of her," grumbled Ruby. "I think it's because her sister's here. She's desperate to impress Winter, by showing that she can Summon now."
"Really?" asked Jaune.
"Well, I'm pretty sure of it," said Ruby. "She and Winter went off to have their little sisterly reunion at the hotel. Then, that evening, Weiss is suddenly staying up late, desperately trying to master a skill I don't think she's tried to touch, while she's been at Beacon at least, not when we can see her."
Ever since they had decided that Jaune's own training no longer needed to be constantly supervised, each of them had done plenty of training on their own. So there was no telling what Weiss had been working on, during those times. But Ruby got the impression that attempts to Summon had not been it, at least, not with any frequency, given the manner with which Weiss had talked down about her ability to do so, the previous night. Ruby got the impression that Weiss had grown so tired of constant failures that she had unconsciously shied away from practicing Summoning at all.
"And now, thanks to you, she's actually managed to do it," said Jaune. "So now she's rushing to do it well enough that she can show off for Winter."
Ruby nodded. "But yeah, now is not the time for it."
"You trained on your own trips, right?" asked Jaune.
"Yes, but that was different," said Ruby. "Those were excursions for training. And either Kyo-nii, Sasame-nee, or both of them, were with me on any of those, save for the last one. So I was free to work myself until I melted into a puddle of goo, because I knew that they wouldn't let any Grimm close to me. Heck, if Kyo-nii was there, we didn't need to worry about the Grimm at all."
"Makes sense," mused Jaune idly. "Hopefully, her pride won't be too stung by having you scold her like that."
"Better me than Winter," said Ruby. "Weiss would be devastated if she got told off like that by her."
"No doubt," agreed Jaune. "You really think Winter would disapprove."
"I sure hope so," said Ruby. "'Cause it is pretty stupid to push yourself like that, when you're on a mission where the bad guys could attack at any time. We can't afford to have Weiss laid up like that, right now."
"It'll be fine," said Jaune, taking her hand, and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's only the first day. The pirates probably won't attack until we're farther out."
"But we can't count on that," said Ruby. "People like that are all about doing the unexpected. They might decide to attack now because they know they're expected to attack later on."
Abruptly, Jaune stopped. Ruby took a couple more steps before the realization caught up with her. Before she could turn, Jaune had moved behind her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her up against his chest, hugging her from behind. "Take it easy," he said, his voice a soothing whisper into her ear. "You're not going to be any good either, if you wear yourself into a frazzle by worrying."
Ruby's first impulse was to protest. But the feeling of Jaune holding her was too soothing. And he was right too. That realization prompted her to lean back into the embrace with a happy sigh. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Anything for you," Jaune replied, leaning his head forward, so that he could kiss her cheek. "Remember, we're a team, so you don't need to do all the worrying, okay?"
"All right," said Ruby, taking a breath to wash the rest of her tension away. He really is the best partner ever.
When night fell, they settled into their cabin. As Ruby had promised, Weiss had the first watch. That had certainly been for the best. Having barely woken up in time for dinner, Weiss wasn't feeling all that sleepy, when the time for them to go to bed came around. Per their plans, each one of them spent their watch on the upper deck, watching the sea for any signs of Grimm or pirate attacks. It appeared that the exhaustion most of the crew felt allowed them to sleep, which cut down on the negativity drawing the Grimm. The ship's guns remained silent throughout the night.
Morning arrived without fanfare. Ruby, who'd taken the final watch, roused the others. They had access to the ship's facilities, including a small shower and bathroom in their cabin. However, the limitation of resources, particularly fresh water, limited the amount of time they could spend in the shower.
"Ugh, I already can't wait to get off this tub," Weiss grumbled as they made their way into the mess hall for breakfast.
"If you think this is bad, wait until we get our first wilderness mission," replied Ruby with a teasing grin. "If you're lucky, you might find a stream or lake to provide water to wash off with. But you can't actually bathe, 'cause the last thing you want is for a Grimm to come on you when you're buck naked."
"I imagine that feels uncomfortable," noted Pyrrha.
"Eh, you get used to it," said Ruby with a shrug, as they took their trays with their humble meals to an empty table. "In the wilderness, there's so many other smells around that you don't really realize how ripe you're getting. It's only when you get back to civilization that you start to notice."
"That sounds disgusting," muttered Weiss.
"Well, that's what you signed up for," Ruby pointed out.
Weiss groaned, nearly planting her face into her breakfast. Then the sharp click of heels reached their ears. Winter appeared in the doorway, the sight of her making Weiss sit bolt-upright. A few moments later, after collecting her own breakfast, Winter joined the group at their table.
"It would seem that our first night of travel has passed without incident," Winter observed.
Weiss threw an inquisitive look to Ruby, and Ruby responded with the tiniest shake of her head, indicating that she had not told Winter about the stunt Weiss had pulled the previous day.
They ate in silence, before taking their trays to the dishwashers. From there, they made their way out to the deck for another day to be spent, looking out for any sign of the pirates.
"Ms. Rose...a moment of your time, please," said Winter, the click of her heels broadcasting her approach to Ruby, well before her request did.
"Yes?" asked Ruby. There was no reason for her to disagree, after all. Time was something they had an excess of, until either Grimm or pirates appeared.
"It is my understanding that you have been providing my sister...supplementary...instruction," said Winter, regarding Ruby with a stern expression, the set of her lips only a slight twitch away from becoming an outright frown.
"Yes, her and my other friends," said Ruby, fighting back a frown of her own, not certain of the vague sense of emotion she was getting from Winter's Aura.
"I see," said Winter, turning to stare out over the railings of the upper deck, which wrapped around the bridge. "You are teaching Weiss and the others what you have learned from the Mibu."
Ruby jolted at the mention. The fact that she had been trained by the Mibu was largely under wraps...or not officially acknowledged, at least. Ozpin had warned her against broadcasting that fact, as well as the existence of the clan itself publicly. But Winter apparently knew already.
"J-just the basics," said Ruby, turning to look out over the water as well. "That's all I'm really qualified to teach."
"And you believe there to be merit in such lessons?" asked Winter.
Ruby bristled silently at the manifest skepticism in the Specialist's voice. "I do," she answered flatly.
"And just what merit is there in such antiquated techniques?" wondered Winter.
"They aren't antiquated," Ruby replied intently, a spark of anger appearing in her voice. "Yes, the basis for them has been passed down for generations, within the clan, but each generation takes what they are taught, and refines it. To the Mibu, developing the arts of using Aura isn't some kind of arcane tradition. It's every bit as much a science as anything you might do with Dust."
"And yet...even though the Mibu have access to Dust, they choose to ignore its potential," said Winter.
"If it works for them, then that's fine," said Ruby. "They've gotten by just fine without using it for thousands of years. As far as they're concerned, the Grimm are nothing more than pests."
That wasn't entirely true. If there was one thing that the outside world had that the Mibu-or Sora, rather-coveted, it was the CCT, the ability to communicate across the width and breadth of their Kingdoms nigh instantaneously. While the Shadowalkers of Sora's Imperial Guard were excellent couriers, never failing to deliver their missives, even their impressive speed was still practically a snail's pace, compared to the lightning-fast method the CCT afforded.
"And what do they think of the other Kingdoms?" asked Winter.
Ruby frowned. "Not much," said Ruby. "Though, that's mostly out of a lack of interest than anything else." If there was one thing she truly disliked about the Mibu Clan, it was their insular nature. Even if she'd fostered a greater appreciation for outsiders and the outside world amongst her classmates, and her small circle of friends there, it would take years more of such work to make such a change amongst the general population, and some of them would never give up their stubborn insistence on the Mibu's superiority.
"So they do not worry about the pace at which technological advancement has increased?" pressed Winter.
Ruby turned her gaze to the older woman now, noting the firm set in Winter's jaw. "Thinking of planning another 'expedition'?" she asked.
"I am not," said Winter. "But Father has championed the idea many times. General Ironwood will not allow such a measure to pass, so long as he maintains his hold on both his Council seats. But Father gains support with each effort. The upperclass, including powerful financial backers of many aspiring Council candidates, are coming to see things his way. If the General should lose his hold over one or both of the Council seats, then the tide would turn. Even if he is Commander in Chief of the military, General Ironwood would have to bow to the will of the Council, if they ordered an expedition."
"It would be a disaster," Ruby replied frankly. "You might think that Atlas has come a long way, since the last time. But you haven't come nearly far enough."
"What makes you so confident of that?" asked Winter.
"How many Specialists does the Atlesian military have?" asked Ruby.
"There are presently thirty-seven active Specialists," replied Winter.
The complete integration of Atlas' Council, military, and Academy was a more recent development, under General Ironwood. While the number of Academy graduates entering the military was increasing with each successive year, it was still a program that was just beginning to gain ground.
"By that measure, the Mibu have almost ten-times that," Ruby replied.
Winter's jaw dropped.
"The kind of training you get from Combat School and Huntsman Academies, minus using Dust and advanced tech, is military training for the Mibu," Ruby informed her. "The Mibu don't have Huntsmen, because the members of their military practically are Huntsmen. And that's just the rank-and-file."
Sure, members of the military who were of Winter's caliber, if Ruby went by her senses' assessment of the woman, were a good bit rarer. By Ruby's assessment, Winter would probably place somewhere in the mid or upper-tier of the Mibu Clan's military ranks. However, even the lowest ranking member of the Mibu's military would be able to give her a decent fight, at least. A group of three or more, working as a team...And all of that was without factoring what would happen if the Goyosei fought...or the Taishiro.
Of course, it didn't mean anything if Winter didn't believe her. Ruby wouldn't have put it past the woman to think she was making all this up, or exaggerating, or simply assessing the Mibu's strength through rose-colored glasses. Winter's control was sufficient to keep her thoughts to herself, preventing Ruby from gleaning more than just a basic impression by reading the fluctuations of her Aura.
"An interesting claim," said Winter finally. "It's certainly one to consider."
"Every member of the Mibu has their Aura unlocked from birth," said Ruby. "They spend their entire lives honing it. A tiny portion of them learn to use their Aura for combat, but that still puts them well ahead of any Kingdom."
Winter frowned, thinking about the kind of issues that would arise if every member of the Kingdoms had their Auras unlocked. For the majority of them, it would be of little to no use. There being no point in learning to control and use their Auras in any capacity, because they would not be going into work as Huntsmen or Huntresses. It seemed like a silly notion.
But, then again, if the Mibu had truly explored Aura to the extent that Ruby stated, then, just as was the case with Dust in the Kingdoms, perhaps usage of Aura had expanded to encompass facets of everyday life for the Mibu. It was hard to imagine that. But she supposed it was possible.
"Do you...object to me teaching Weiss Aura-techniques?" asked Ruby, looking straight at Winter.
"I...do not," said Winter after a moment. "I have doubts as to their efficacy. But I have no right to exert any authority over what Weiss does with her time at Beacon. The results shall have to speak for themselves."
Oh, they will, thought Ruby, thinking about Weiss' first successful Summoning.
"Is that all then?" she asked out loud.
"For now," said Winter. "Weiss has expressed a great deal of confidence in your ability, Ms. Rose. I hope you do not disappoint me." With that, she turned and walked away.
Ruby frowned, watching Winter go. She got the impression that Weiss' sister's questions had been as much a test of her disposition as they were an interrogation into just whether or not the Aura-techniques Weiss was learning were effective. What had initially seemed as an arrogant Atlesian's inquiry about the means of the 'primitive' Mibu might well actually have been Winter's effort to assess Ruby's capability as a leader. What Winter truly made of her, Ruby couldn't say.
"I'm sorry about that," said Weiss, stepping out onto the deck from the bridge, where she'd been going over a chart of their course. "My sister can be...stringent."
"I'm not sure that's the word I would use," mused Ruby, not sure what word she would use. Winter Schnee was not someone that she could easily put into a box, however much Ruby would have liked to simply categorize the woman, and file her impression of Winter away under a simple label.
"Winter doesn't support Father's ambitions," said Weiss.
"I figured as much," said Ruby. She glanced at Weiss. "Notice anything interesting about our course?"
"No," breathed Weiss, leaning over the rail. "It's not as though I can pick out a point and say that that's where we're most likely to be attacked. At this point, the best we can say is that it'll be somewhere out there..." She waved her right arm in a vague, sweeping gesture, encompassing the expanse of blue that spread out before them. "I'm just bored. I need something to do, since I can't practice my Summoning."
"Well...you can't practice that specifically," said Ruby, rolling her eyes upward thoughtfully. "But...there is something that you can practice, which will allow you to prep for it."
"What?" asked Weiss desperately.
"Do you remember the steps I had you go through, to get the Summon to work?" asked Ruby.
Weiss nodded. "Temper, Suppression, Projection; just like we always do in regular..." Weiss' voice trailed off.
Ruby grinned at her. "That's right. "Even my techniques have their basis in that sequence. Temper is something that you should have going pretty much constantly by now. But Suppression, then building to Projection; that's something you can actually practice."
"What good does that do?" asked Weiss.
"How long do you think it took for you to Summon that Knight, the other night?" asked Ruby.
Weiss frowned. The process had taken well over a minute, even following Ruby's instructions.
"In order for any technique to be useable in battle, you have to compress those steps way down," said Ruby. "A second, or less, is what you should be aiming for."
"So then...?" prodded Weiss, waiting to hear what Ruby wanted her to do.
"Start with your Temper," said Ruby. "Then use Suppression. From there, build up for your Projection. But, instead of actually using Projection, just relax back into Temper. That way you don't go blowing away chunks of your Aura reserve with each repetition."
"Okay," said Weiss.
"Just keep working with that," said Ruby. "Going fast shouldn't be your intent though. Going smooth should. By doing it right, and continuing to do it right, you'll gradually start to do it faster. There's no way to rush it, except to just practice it as much as you can."
"Well...I'll have plenty of time, I suppose," said Weiss.
Time they certainly had. Ruby and Weiss retired to a clear portion of the ship's deck, where Jaune and Pyrrha joined them. Once there, they began to train in the basic Aura exercises Ruby had taught them. To keep from expending their Aura before the enemy attacked, they avoided Projection, with Ruby schooling Pyrrha and Jaune in Flow. Meanwhile, Weiss practiced the Temper-Suppression-release sequence Ruby had instructed her in.
At the same time, Ruby had Weiss concentrate on the image of her Summons. "When it comes to techniques, a clear image is always going to be one of the most important things," Ruby told her. "If you're going to give shape to your Aura, you need to know exactly what shape you're giving it."
They kept at it throughout the entire day. Ruby could sense Winter watching them, though, as always, she had a hard time figuring out what Weiss' sister made of this. But having this shared activity between them helped the day to go by faster.
The night passed uneventfully again, carrying them into the third day of their voyage. Once again, save for the occasional attack by Grimm, everything was relatively quiet. None of the attacking Grimm were at a level where the ship's guns had been unable to deal with them, so there had been little for RASP to do. As a focusing exercise, Ruby had them practice through the next Grimm attack, focusing even over the thunder of the ship's cannons. Only if they were specifically called to battle would they be permitted to abandon their training.
By the fourth day, they were almost halfway through their voyage. Ruby awoke to an irritating sensation, like a prickling at the back of her neck. It hovered about like a persistent itch, making her uneasy. Worse, it threatened to shorten her temper. Ruby had to work to maintain her self-control. Fortunately, there wasn't anything that really bothered her, save for Winter's continued observation, which she'd already resigned herself to.
It wasn't until after lunch, with the strange sensation bothering her throughout that entire day, that Ruby finally clued into what she was feeling. They were being watched. This wasn't the sensation of Winter's observation, dispassionate and neutral. This was a malicious sensation. They were being watched by someone who intended them harm. The reason it had taken Ruby so long to realize it was because she was not the singular focus of this observation. Whoever was watching them was watching the ship and its crew as a whole, of which Ruby constituted only a tiny part.
With a small gasp, she broke off looking over her friends' training, and instead made her way to the railing, which allowed her to look over the side of the ship, and directly into the sea below.
I can feel it, she thought, reaching out through her Extension into the water below, looking for any trace of the source of the malice that was now silently shadowing them. They're there.
This wasn't a Grimm. They were out of the direct reach of Ruby's Extension, but she could still feel their intent resonating through her Aura. It was the product of other Auras, humans and faunus. Considering what they already knew, it all made perfect sense.
"What is it?" asked Winter, coming to see what had Ruby looking over the railing.
"They're down there," said Ruby, "the pirates."
"That is the theory," said Winter.
"No!" snapped Ruby, turning to glare at Winter. "They're down there right now! They're stalking us from below."
"How can you tell?" asked Winter warily.
"I can feel it," said Ruby, turning her gaze back to the sea washing past below. "I can't be sure how far, but...they're below...and a little ways behind."
Winter frowned, and Ruby could sense her skepticism easily. "And yet there hasn't been the slightest sign on radar or sonar," she pointed out.
"If what you've said about the other ships they've hit is true, then that's to be expected," said Ruby. "They've always gotten close enough to attack and board without being picked up. Radar and sonar are pretty much useless in this situation."
"You're right about that," admitted Winter. "That being the case, if they truly are following us right now, then why are they not attacking yet?"
"They're watching us," said Ruby. "They're gathering information, making sure of things like our course and disposition. Maybe they're collecting data to make sure this isn't a lure or a trap. All I know for sure is that they're just tailing us for now."
To her surprise, Ruby sensed Winter's skepticism fading. "If that is the case, then would you be aware of when they are about to attack?" she asked.
"I'd have an idea," said Ruby. "But it's tricky without knowing much about them or their vehicle. I don't know how short the interval between me sensing the change and them actually launching their attack will be."
"A minute, possibly more, at least," said Winter. "They are planning an attack. But they are aiming to board and capture for cargo. They won't want to risk anything that might lead to damaging the cargo, or setting it off. Therefore, they will not attack from underwater, with torpedoes. Instead, the very first thing they will do is surface. From there, I assume they will use some kind of mechanism to facilitate the boarding itself. Perhaps their submarine is equipped with personnel catapults."
"What are those?" asked Ruby.
"They are similar to the mechanisms that were used to launch you, during your Initiation," explained Winter. "If a vessel is carrying Aura-enabled individuals, it's one of the best ways to deliver them to a target."
"Okay," said Ruby. "If that's the case, then there's probably time to get the warning out then."
Winter's eyes narrowed. "Then please continue to monitor the situation. If you believe they are about to attack, inform me, and we will immediately have the crew secure themselves."
"Understood," said Ruby, feeling reminded of her first time at sea.
She couldn't help but wonder why Winter was willing to believe her so readily about this. Perhaps Winter was just being cautious. If it just turned out to be Ruby's imagination, then they could discount it and continue on, with nothing really being affected. The situation was uncertain enough that Winter was apparently unwilling to discount any potential indicators of an incoming attack. It was a strict professionalism centered around her duty. Ruby admired that.
The pirates continued to stalk them for the remainder of the day. Ruby had informed her friends about was going on, warning them to ready themselves. It was difficult for any of them to sleep that night. But they managed. Ruby carefully maintained her awareness, even with her eyes closed, something she had perfected in the time she'd spent traveling the awareness.
There was a brief debate about whether or not to call in the military for reinforcements. A single call could have Atlesian airships within striking distance in just a few hours. Of course, that was assuming the pirates didn't attack before then. The main concern though, was that the appearance of military craft would scare the pirates off, and force RASP and Winter to start over. Therefore, it was decided to issue the military a notification, and then have them wait at a substantial distance, before moving in.
When her turn came to take watch, Ruby didn't leave the cabin. Instead, she sat back on her bunk, leaning her back against the wall, and closed her eyes, falling into the sensation of her Aura, monitoring the scrutiny and intent of the pirates. As the last hours of the night passed into morning, Ruby's eyes shot open.
She could sense it, the subtle shift in their intent. The pirates were about to strike. "They're coming!"
Immediately, she sprang into action, shaking her teammates awake. They roused without protest, realizing the only reason Ruby would awaken them so roughly. Quickly, they gathered their weapons and equipment. Weiss rushed to Winter's cabin to fetch her, while Ruby went to notify the captain.
The man was far more skeptical than Winter, dismissing Ruby's assertions with a contemptuous sneer, clearly seeing her methods as nothing more than fantasy. It wasn't until Winter arrived on the bridge and delivered a clear order that the captain finally took action, ordering all crew bellow-decks. As the men scurried about atop the deck, making one last check to ensure that everything was secure, Ruby and her friends looked on anxiously.
"What are they waiting for?" asked Weiss. At this point, it had been nearly fifteen minutes since Ruby had roused them.
Ruby's eyes shifted up to the eastern horizon, which was gradually beginning lighten as day approached. "Dawn," she said. "They're going to attack with the sun at their backs."
Jaune frowned. "So they'll be coming up on the left-"
"Port," Weiss corrected him.
"But he's not here," said Jaune.
The sound of Weiss' hand against her face stood out starkly over the faint crash of waves against the hull. "Not the teacher, you dunce! Port, as in the port-side. That's the name for the left side of the ship."
"Oh..." said Jaune. "Why don't they just call it the left side?"
"Um, I think we can go over that later," said Pyrrha with a nervous grin, as she tried to calm Weiss down. "Anyway, yes, I think that's correct. If they want to attack with the rising sun at their backs, they'll be coming up on the port-side of the ship."
"We'll have to be careful," said Ruby. "Try to keep from looking into the sun as it comes up. Jaune, you're going to be guarding the main hatch into the crew quarters."
"Got it," said Jaune.
"Weiss, take the bow section," added Ruby.
"Understood," said Weiss, moving towards her assigned position.
"Pyrrha, hold the midsection."
"All right," said Pyrrha, barely needing to move, seeing as they were standing near the center anyway.
"Where are you gonna be?" asked Jaune.
Ruby thought back to her first experience with a pirate raid. "The bridge," she said.
A few minutes later, the sun crested the horizon. Out at sea, there was nothing to obstruct it, so its light felt incredibly intense as it washed over the sea and ship. RASP and Winter waited. From her position by the bridge, Ruby looked out over the railings, peering down into the sea below.
A massive shadow began to ascend upwards, out of the depths.
"They're surfacing!" Ruby announced to her teammates over their scrolls.
Looking down again, Ruby found herself biting back a scream. A white shape was set against the black, in the unmistakable form of a face. Her first impulse was to think that it was a massive Grimm. However, the skull lacked the glowing red eyes characteristic of the monsters. Instead, black pits leered out over the grinning teeth of what was, unmistakably, a giant human skull. The sight of that leering face rushing up at them made a thrill of fear shoot through Ruby's heart.
It took her an extra second to realize that it was probably intentional on the part of whoever had painted that ghastly decoration on the front and top of the submersible, making it the first thing people would see as it rushed for the surface. It was a sight that would send less-well-trained people into a panic.
The skull rushed upwards at the front of the black mass of the submersible itself. A second later, it exploded out of the water with a roar, its elongated, yet gracefully tapering bow projecting upwards into the air, more than half of the widening body of the vehicle trailing behind it. Finally, its momentum petered out, and it tipped forward, crashing back down in a manner reminiscent of a breaching whale, throwing up waves of spray that forced Ruby to shield herself with her cloak. From farther down the freighter's deck, she could hear Weiss' cry of consternation, while Pyrrha and Jaune held up their shields to ward off the worst of the spray as well.
The helmsman of the submarine had judged things to a nicety, bringing the submarine roaring up from the depths right alongside the freighter, matching their speeds perfectly. The two vessels now ran side-by-side. The tiniest mistake, and the submarine would have come up against their hull, which would have been disastrous for both ships.
A seam appeared along the front section of the dorsal surface, splitting the painted skull in two. The halves of the hull slid apart from one another, before sliding back, revealing an internal deck. On that deck, Ruby could see figures standing on familiar-looking squares. Sure enough, a series of faint hisses erupted, and the squares of metal revealed themselves to be catapults, launching the pirates up into graceful arcs that carried them up and over, onto the freighter's deck. As they rose, their bodies were silhouetted against the rising sun. Had Ruby and the others not been aware that this had been their plan, they might have been caught by the move, and blinded as the pirates landed amongst them. However, RASP were ready.
The pirates landed on the deck with shouted battlecries, brandishing their weapons. The battle was joined.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone