Capítulo 1887: 117
Chapter 117
Chapter Text
"Well… that was simultaneously informative and a complete waste of time," Ironwood stated dryly as he met with Ozpin outside of the latter's office for once, frowning as he looked out from the private office on the flagship of the fleet he'd brought over, the window allowing him a clear view of the outer deck and the scenery beyond. "Miss Darcy doesn't seem to know anything about what transpired last night beyond the fact that she was talking with her team at one point, went to the bathroom, and then seemingly woke up in the CCT Tower. There's every chance that she's lying, but given that Specialist Wright has a lie detector Semblance, she's likely telling the truth."
"Indeed. Well, it seems our adversary is much more resourceful than we previously thought if they have the ability to use patsies and throwaway agents," Ozpin murmured, frowning as he joined Ironwood by the window as he held his cane in both hands, the point digging into the carpet as he leaned on it ever so slightly. "Have you found anything from the virus yet?"
"Unfortunately, yes. From what the lab techs could tell me with a completely quarantined disposable system, the virus was designed to completely wrest control of any system relying on Atlesian military technology and remotely hand that control to… somewhere. The control point hadn't been set yet by the time the virus was deployed," Ironwood answered as he turned slightly and leveled his gaze at Ozpin, deadly serious and frowning heavily as he raised his scroll and projected the data file for Ozpin to see. "Seems like they were planning on ripping control of the CCT network from us at some point… or, more worryingly, they were planning on taking control of the fleet from us. Whatever the case may be, Doctor Polendina's been a remarkable help in picking apart the virus, and we'll likely have a patch out on our systems and for the CCT within two or three weeks."
He paused, then turned fully to Ozpin. "I'm afraid we might have to cordon off the main tower for a bit while we work on that. Moreso than we already have, at least."
Ozpin hummed, not moving from where he was staring out of the window. "Hm. Yes… that does seem to be the most prudent option at the moment, doesn't it? Though adding more soldiers doesn't exactly seem to be the best way to guard the tower considering their established track record."
"No, that's why I've contacted Specialist Schnee and authorized the rapid deployment of the Ace Ops as well as several other Specialists last night. They'll be here within two weeks- could I ask you to spare a few of your trusted Huntsmen to guard the tower until then?" Ironwood asked, tilting his head ever so slightly as he spoke.
"I suppose there would be no other option, though I do hope you know that this is not an invitation to turn my school into one of your military garrisons, James," Ozpin admonished lightly, turning away from the window as he transferred the data on James' scroll to his with a light tap, reading over the report as he made his way back around the desk and sat down into the guest chair. It was, surprise surprise, much less comfortable than the one in his own office atop the main tower in Beacon, despite the fact that he didn't even have particularly comfortable chairs in his office. It kept people from falling asleep in them or staying past the end of a meeting.
Also his second office in the school's administrative building was much more comfortable. But he digressed.
"I'm aware, Oz. I'm trying not to increase security to the point that it leaves everyone paranoid and uncomfortable, but be that as it may- we only know the location of one of our enemy's bases, and we can't even attack it because of the sheer amount of grimm in the way and the fact that not even Qrow can get much closer to the entrance than a few blocks or so. Hell, the only reason why we'd even be able to go there in the first place is because of Qrow's niece, who he refuses to allow us to use for that purpose," Ironwood huffed, rubbing his temple as the stress of the last several weeks started to hit him- the White Fang rally gone wrong, the fact that Adam Taurus was about to die in prison and become a martyr, the fact that Roman Torchwick had willingly locked himself into a prison cell and refused to leave, Penny's continual refusal to come back into the fold of the Atlesian chain of command, Pietro's continual refusal to allow them to order her back into the chain of command, plus his just barely legal collusion with Ruby Rose… the fact that they knew where the White Fang and some of Salem's goons were but couldn't get to them, the ongoing threat of Spider trying to reach across more and more territory beyond the confines of Mistral's main city… ugh.
It wasn't even his Kingdom and he still felt like he was stretched thin trying to manage everything. At least all Atlas had was the constant and utter disdain from Mantle and the occasional grimm attack along the walls. Plus the ongoing separation between the Kingdom's upper and lower classes which was only intensified by the literal separation and elevation of the rich and powerful to their own stratum of society… plus Mistral's constant attempts to get Atlas to cede the land of Argoz back to their Kingdom, which would make them abandon and extremely important military foothold and the city and protected cultural remnants around that area…
Maybe Atlas wasn't so easy actually. It was just that, at the moment, somehow Vale was worse with immediate and more present threats to peace and stability. And not just because a bunch of faunus were rioting for their own civil rights again. He could at least understand that, even if he wished they wouldn't .
"Mmm," came Ozpin's rather dry, monotone response as he stood up and poured himself a cup of coffee from the machine in the corner, reaching into his jacket to flavor it with a frankly obscene amount of hot cocoa powder because the man hated bitter drinks. "I think it must be said that I object to treating a young girl of almost sixteen as a military asset- both Miss Rose and Miss Polendina. While it would be exceedingly easy to direct her towards clearing out Mountain Glenn, I refuse to do so unless she makes the informed decision to do so herself. She is already well aware of its existence at this point, and can make the choice for herself."
"And I'm telling you that it's frankly idiotic that we put so much stock into keeping Qrow appeased when his niece is training to be a Huntress, and is literally the lynchpin of us being able to take out Mountain Glenn- hell, if he wasn't so irrationally against us telling his kids to do anything, you could reclaim Mountain Glenn with the combined power of Penny's technology and Ruby's grimm abilities!" Ironwood stated almost aggressively, thumping one hand against his desk as his emotions began to get the better of him with how irrational it felt that Qrow was trying to not use some of the most powerful military assets they had in Beacon- some of the strongest fighters in a generation, a literal war machine, and a human girl who had somehow acquired the power of every nightmare that stalked the surface of the planet! Even with Ruby's newfound vulnerability to Salem's influence, as long as the witch wasn't there then there really wasn't anything that could stop the grimm girl from annihilating the monsters in her path, cleaning out the entire city and helping Vale actually expand again- not that he had any say in the matter. It was just a shame when there were so many resources that went underutilized in one way or another.
"I could. But then I would be forcing a young girl who shouldn't even have had to be in my school for another two years to join a conspiracy far older and far more dangerous than anything someone her age should have to face. Believe me, James. I know the utility of Miss Rose's abilities more than anyone other than her family and friends, and I could think of a thousand things she could be useful for… but I will not budge on this. As much as she could help immensely… I'd like her to keep living out her childhood as much as she possibly can… despite the situations surrounding her existence," Ozpin sighed, shaking his head as he took a sip from the paper cup he'd filled and frowned, then simply dumped the rest into the trash with a dissatisfied look on his face. "I must be going now- though I suppose you should know that Qrow has mentioned the idea to her. If she decides to take on the challenge of Mountain Glenn herself… it will be her choice. Not mine."
And with that, Ozpin left without another word.
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