RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 20

Jaune might not have been sure about a life in the military but the view up on Atlas was certainly something special. He took photos from every angle looking down over Mantle and sent them to his family and friends, sharing the astonishing sight of a whole civilisation living down below a chained, floating heap of rock turned military academy.

How the hell Atlas managed it, he didn't know, but everyone acted like it was a totally normal thing and it felt dumb to ask. It must have been expensive though, or everyone would be floating off the ground to protect them from terrestrial Grimm.

One downside was the constant crowds and noise. Atlas – at least the floating part, anyway – was sizeable, but also crowded, with both Atlas Academy for huntsmen and the traditional military, and also a lot of the command structure behind it. That was a lot of people to cram on one floating island and the surface of it was also a prime spot for fitness training and lounging under the sun, so that was especially packed.

Jaune gave way to yet another squad of soldiers jogging by chanting; it was the tenth he'd passed in the last two hours. There were also huntsman students doing displays and sparring with one another, and also uniformed men marching about talking or showing people around. It felt like he was the only person there who didn't have a purpose or somewhere to be, but that was probably just his nerves talking.

A quick buzz on his scroll heralded a message from Winter Schnee, commanding – or requesting, but firmly – that he attend to a meeting with General Ironwood. He wasn't sure why she wrote "attend a meeting" rather than "meet" but it must have been a military thing. Or a Schnee thing. It was a toss-up on which was the stricter environment to grow up in.

If there was one benefit of Atlas being a modern marvel, it was how mapped out the place was. He couldn't have gotten lost if he tried with all the signs and elevators, and soon found his way to Ironwood's office, to be accosted by two soldiers who frisked him for weapons before letting him in. He didn't have so much as a knife for self-defence, knowing it'd be useless if he had.

"Ah. Jaune Arc." General Ironwood looked tired but satisfied. He pointed to a chair across from his large, hulking desk. "Take a seat. Would you like a drink?"

"Water, please. What is this about, sir?"

"Nothing bad, I assure you. I just wanted to talk a little about the attack on the Schnee gala and pick your mind on the White Fang."

"The one that ran away?"

"Her and the rest." Ironwood brought him a glass of ice-cold water from the nearby cooler, then took his seat once more. He clicked a button and a screen behind him lit up, showing a 3D diagram of some gun-sword thing. "This is the weapon you were able to take from the terrorist."

"Is it? I didn't even recognise it."

In his defence it had been turned into a wireframe model in bright green, with notes all over it.

"Not a weapon's enthusiast, I take it."

"Not at all. My father is a huntsman and doesn't even use mechashift weapons. Well, not the weapon. His scabbard can transform into a shield and back again, but the sword doesn't do anything. He says he can trust the blade not to break but the same can't be said if he puts mechanisms and motors on it."

"Wise words. Mechashift weapons are a relatively new technological advancement, and valuable in moderation. We encourage our huntsmen to have redundancies here, however." He noted Jaune's confusion, adding, "It means to carry two weapons in case one breaks. Always have a backup. Good advice in real life as well. Where would you be if your guitar was damaged?"