Bit of a filler/slow chapter this time. Hope it's good.

Ex Vytal – Day Eight

Day two of Beacon Platoon rest period...

Camp Castle, physical training yard...

"It's all me; hold on to my breath, like it's the last one I've got left. From the sidewalk to the stars, I'm never gonna settle!"

The music blared from Yang's earpieces as she went through her repetitions on the bench, lifting upwards of fifty kilograms. While the weight wasn't anything impressive, it was more than enough to ensure that she'd be able to carry and fire a fully loaded Minimi light machinegun in battle.

Yang had been enjoying Vytal so far; the first few missions were always the easier ones, focusing more on getting personnel into the deployment mindset than on actual war fighting. After the first week, the missions would get longer and more complex, typically lasting upwards of a full day or two and utilising a combination of units. She reflected on the three missions that the platoon had been tasked with so far: the foot patrol in a seemingly friendly town, the vehicle-mounted patrol between two small outposts ahead of a larger supply convoy, and playing the role of the enemy during the assault of a fuel storage area. All fairly simple missions for this kind of exercise.

Seven years in the Army; one tour to Menagerie with the peacekeepers, one previous Exercise Vytal deployment, a year-long exchange with the Mistralian Marines, and currently waiting for acceptance to attend Ranger training. Yang would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about becoming Commando-qualified. She knew she had the base requirements and recommendations to attend, but once she got there she was on her own. Short of the tier one Omega Unit, Army Commandos were considered some of the best soldiers in the Army. Commandos were given advanced training in all aspects of warfare; everything from infantry tactics and weapon employment, to airborne and seaborne warfare and unconventional warfare disciplines. That was coupled with the chance of being selected to join the 1st or 2nd Commando Regiment.

Being a Commando-qualified soldier posted in a regular unit was alright by Yang, she could put those skills to use within her current posting. But a full-time Commando position was her dream. Sure, it meant that she'd have to leave Ruby and her squad, but it meant a wider range of mission types and more chances to see action. She'd read the stories penned by retired Commando operators and was instantly drawn in by the kinds of odds they would face when dropping into battle. Her goal was to be a Commando by the time she retired, however long that may be.

She just hoped that her family would be okay with it. Yang's last true family really only consisted of three people: her sister and team leader Ruby, her father Taiyang and her distant uncle Qrow. Yang never met her own mother; having abandoned her and Taiyang shortly after her birth. It was only after her seventh birthday she realised that she looked nothing like her 'mother' Summer. When she asked the question, both Summer and her father froze and hesitated in answering.

She learnt that Summer wasn't her real mother and was told what her real mother had done. From this moment forward, Summer gave even more love and care towards Yang to make up for what her mother had done. Even with her younger sister Ruby in the home, Yang always felt like Summer was her real mom.

When she died overseas, Yang made up her mind and decided to join the Army, if nothing else but to honour Summer's memory. On many occasions, she had taught Yang the importance for looking out for others. What better way than to server her nation and protect them. Sure, it meant having to leave home and leave her little sister behind, but Summer had to do the same as well. Now, serving with her sister in Summer's old unit, Yang felt at home.

She had no doubt that Summer would be extremely proud of her. Yang just wondered if her own mother would feel the same.

Beacon One-One's quarters...

"And if I do what you demand, you'll let me understand. You're gonna hold me to your word. And if I sell myself away, I'll have no debt to pay. I'm gonna get what I deserve!"

Sergeant Jaune Arc could be considered a model soldier, but if you asked the members of his family you would get remarks that he was a 'failure' and a 'disappointment'. The name 'Arc' can be traced back through a long list of decorated military officers, each holding some kind of important status during their time in service. But it was one key word that left Jaune as a disappointment to his family: Officer. Jaune had been raised in a military family; his father a retired Admiral assigned to Fleet Training Command; his grandfather was a Wing Commander, responsible for leading one of the bomber squadrons nearing the end of the Great War; his father before him a Major General in charge of an Army Division at the outbreak of the Great War.

All of these men were officers. Jaune was not; he was a lowly Sergeant, low in the totem pole when compared to men like his ancestors. He was expected to join one of the major military academies, and graduate to an officer rank like all of the male Arcs before him. Yet, he broke tradition and enlisted instead; citing that it's the men at the very front who risk their lives for the fight that win, not the men in the back that sit in their armchairs giving orders from an armoured bunker in total safety.

It was little surprise that his father did not show up at the ceremony held after he had graduated from Basic. Still, Jaune was determined to prove his father wrong. He didn't need an officer to succeed; he had the potential and the drive to do extremely well as a grunt. Right now, he could say that he had. Jaune had realised shortly after his first posting at a regular infantry regiment that officers only did so much when it came to actual warfare. Sure, they lead the regiments and the platoons into the fight. But the Non-Commissioned Officers, the NCOs; they were the ones to actually lead the fight.

When he met his first team leader, he was surprised to find that he knew about the Arc name and legacy. But he didn't give Jaune any preferential treatment; if anything, he worked him harder because of the legacy that he had to follow. And it was for that reason why Jaune had enlisted in the first place. He wanted to work and work hard at what he did, not sit around and push papers. It was only a few years before he had reached the rank of Corporal and was classified as a Junior NCO. He was a leader in a sense, mentoring the younger and less-experienced soldiers that came to his team.

Upon being promoted to Sergeant, he was transferred to the 11th Airborne's second platoon and was assigned as Assistant Team Leader to Team One. Working with Staff Sergeant Chris Wedge, the team's previous leader before he was injured and subsequently discharged, Jaune grew to be a powerful yet respected Senior NCO. As an ATL, he was expected to take command of at least half the team if needed, or the full team should the Team Leader be incapacitated during battle. Sergeant Wedge would often give command of the team over to Jaune, allowing the younger man to truly experience what it was like to be a leader.

When Wedge retired, the team had expected Jaune to fill the slot. Instead, a newly promoted Sergeant by the name of Ruby Rose had been rotated in. At first, Jaune was resentful towards the 'new guy'. But after a few days of working with her, his mindset changed from that of resentment to that of a mentor. Whenever he saw Ruby, he saw himself; a potential leader that needed some guidance. And provide guidance he did. He helped Ruby grow into a very effective team leader, much like SSGT Wedge did with himself. When it was time for Jaune to be rotated to a new platoon to take up a Team Leader role, he turned it down, content with being Ruby's ATL for as long as he needed.

If only his father could see what kind of a leader he was now.

Camp medical facility...

"You can't bring me down. Already had my life turned upside down. I ride a downward spiral round and round. But I keep flying, I keep fighting. You won't ever bring me down."

Schnee. Ask any person on the street what that name means to them and they'll invariably mention one of the many companies or organisations that the Schnee family own. Schnee products were used all over the world in many different facets of day-to-day life: Fire-fighters utilised Schnee-designed breathing apparatus whenever they ran into a burning building; Schnee-built scanners detect illicit objects at border checkpoints and ports; the 'Vale Hunters' football team wear jerseys embroidered with the Schnee logo and wear Schnee protection at their matches. Schnee was also one of the primary contractors for the Vale Armed Forces; their high-quality armaments and vehicles utilised across all three branches.

But if you asked any member of Beacon One-One, they would always reply with this: "Oh, you're talking about the Ice Queen."

Corporal Weiss Schnee was the eldest daughter and child of the current CEO and Owner of Schnee Technologies, one Maxwell Schnee. From an early age, Mr Schnee had provided his daughter Weiss with the best education money could buy, paying for enrolments at various high-level academies around the world: all with the intention of grooming her to take over the company when he would retire. From the way Weiss was going in all of her classes, it could be assumed that she would have no problem taking over when she was at the right age. Look closer however, and then one could see that something was off with Weiss. While she performed well and passed all of her assessments and testing with flying colours, it was clear that she lacked true motivation in what she was doing. It was as if her heart was not in her work.

That changed one after being introduced to a pair of Army Combat Lifesavers, who told her that being one was considered one of the harder jobs in the military. After a few more questions, Weiss asked the inevitable.

"Why is it hard?" The two soldiers shared a look, as if to say 'Who's going to tell her?' The older of the two sat Weiss down and answered.

"It's hard because it's one of the few jobs where you can still fail after you give it everything you've got. A soldier can still die in your hands even after you've treated every wound on his body. When that happens, you always think about what else you could've done; even if you know for a fact that there wasn't anything else you could do. That's why it's hard." The raw emotion in the soldier's voice was enough to light a spark in Weiss's heart.

After that enounter, Weiss said something her father and mother that would change her life completely.

"Father, mother... I want to join the Army."

Six years later, Weiss now served as a Combat Lifesaver with the 11th Airborne. Enlisting did come at a cost though. The entire time leading to her eighteenth birthday, her parents tried their hardest to convince Weiss out of enlisting. They told her the horror stories of warfare, shown her the gruesome images of wounded and dead soldiers after a grizzly fire fight, even going as far as threatening to disown her if she enlisted. None of this swayed her course, and when she came home with her signed enlistment papers and a hopeful smile on her face, she found her belongings packed into suitcases sitting by the front door. Upon asking her parents why they were there in the first place, she was told that while they couldn't risk their public appearance and disowner her legally, they would do the next best thing and cut ties with her.

Weiss was gutted, to say the least. While she hadn't shown it very often, she really loved her parents and did thank them for what they did for her while growing up. But this turn of events changed her perception on what her parents were like. In her mind, parents were supposed to be supportive of their children regardless of what they did. Her parents willingly shunned her because of her choice to join up and help other people. She grew cold to her parents as a result, resenting anything that had to do with them at all. Anything except her younger sister Winter though. All throughout basic training and her career in the Army, Weiss kept in touch with Winter in secret: the former writing about her exploits and adventures in training and with her team members, the latter writing about family affairs and other news regarding their parents.

The separation from her parents was still a touchy subject for Weiss, and even alluding to them would cause her attitude to run cold for the rest of the day. Shortly after she had joined the 11th, she received a letter from her sister. Opening it in front of her team out of excitement, she quickly turned cold after reading that it was from her parents. They had discovered the stash of letters Winter kept under her bed, and were appalled to find her still in contact, threatening to do the same they did to her with Winter if Weiss didn't stop writing. This enraged Weiss to the point where her team members, including then-Corporal Yang Xiao Long, had to physically restrain her from launching a small-scale raid on her home.

After sharing her past with her team and the rest of her platoon, they opted on penning a response to her parents. Weiss was worried about how her parents would react to what they wrote, but her fears were quickly dashed when she received another reply from her sister. She wrote that her parents had backed off and would no longer interfere with their contact.

For the first time in years, Weiss now felt like she was part of a family.

Songs used for each segment:

Yang: Never Settle - Rob Bailey and the Hustle Standard

Jaune: All For Nothing - Linkin Park with Page Hamilton

Weiss: Hater - Korn