A/N: Apologies for the hiccup in the schedule, but I can honestly say that writing is a lot easier now that BoB is over. The aftermath recover will take a few chapters, but it's really nice being able to take a break from the high-octane action that I packed into the climax of the last arc. Now we get to see XCOM do what they do best.

Act Two

The First Step

"Commander."

Van Doorn quietly sighed, put on his best face, and turned to face Bailey, "Yes, Councilman?"

"Are there any… issues with the Operation?"

Shit.

"Beg your pardon, sir. What gave you that impression?"

"Commander, you don't get very far in my… profession without learning how to read nonverbals." He gestured at Van Doorn's full crew of officers and specialists working in the Temple Ship's Mission Control, "Your team hides it well, but… they are panicking."

Van Doorn so desperately wanted to lie to the Councilman, to feed him some excuse about information they'd received from the Central Officer, or a made-up snag that had his people on high alert. Anything that wouldn't make XCOM look incompetent, or give the Council a reason to accuse Bradford of playing with fire by using the relay (and that the Temple Ship should therefore be confiscated and examined by the Council's science teams). But Van Doorn and Bradford had asked for openness from these people, dared Bailey to take the all-important first step by personally touring the Temple Ship, and the councilman obliged without a second thought. If anyone earned the right to the truth, it was Bailey.

"You deserve more credit than I have offered you thus far." Van Doorn admitted, "My apologies, sir. Yes, we are having an issue. All channels that we had open with our Strike Teams have gone dark."

"… All channels?"

Van Doorn nodded, "Comms, video feeds, soldier biometrics. Gone."

"I won't insult your competence, Commander, by asking if you've tried to… re-establish contact with our operatives."

Van Doorn wondered if the Councilman's use of 'our' implied that the Council viewed XCOM and its operatives as 'theirs,' or if Bailey viewed himself as part of XCOM. The Field Commander gestured to the operators manning all stations in Mission Control, "We haven't stopped trying, Councilman, though I fear it's a futile effort. The Hyperwave Relay's behavior changed dramatically moments before we lost contact."

"Explain."

"After we originally built it, the relay remained relatively inert." The Field Commander explained, "For weeks it stayed like this, and a lot of us wondered if it was actually going to do anything. Finally, something did trigger it to… well, I suppose 'activate' would be the most appropriate word for what happened. As the techs who were on duty that day describe it, the thing lit up like a Christmas tree and looked like it was going to fly apart with how fast it was spinning. Within moments after activation, we first encountered our first guests from Remnant."

"Team RWBY."

"Correct, sir."

"And now it has reverted to its… original configuration." Bailey guessed.

"Correct, sir."

Bailey went quiet for a minute, and Van Doorn returned his attention to his console as updates and reports continued to stream in about XCOM's latest problem.

"Then I suppose we have some work to do, Commander."

And here is where the conversation could go one of two ways. Would Van Doorn have to deal with the Bailey that Bradford had worried about? Or the Bailey that had surprised XCOM over the last few days? "With respect, Councilman, we are already working on the issue."

"As well you should. I meant that we, the Council, have work to do. To… support XCOM in its hour of need the way it supported us in ours. If you will come with me, Commander, I believe we have a… call to make. I am confident that the Council will authorize the commitment of any and all… resources necessary to help you resolve this matter as efficiently as possible."

Score one for Good Bailey. "… Thank you, sir."

"You will have… complete control over the operation, of course. These are your people who are trapped on another world. Your friends and… allies, who have shed their blood alongside yours, who require your aid. For me to stand in the way of that and try to assume control of the situation would be... ill-advised."

For the first time in the last hour, Van Doorn cracked a smile, "Your decision is greatly appreciated, Councilman. Follow me, sir, and I'll take you to the Situation Room immediately."

"Outpost Two, this is Six-Beta returning to base. We have another batch of survivors in tow."

"Six-Beta, this is Outpost Two. Our spotters have been tracking you for about five minutes now, and have seen no activity on your tail. Welcome back."

The situation became both better and worse for Bradford in the hours following the chaos. The hyperwave link between Earth and Remnant remained completely broken, and all of his repeated attempts to contact the Temple Ship met with failure. However, the huntsmen and strike teams had successfully cleared out all the Grimm contacts in the Safe Zone and set up a solid perimeter that protected all avenues leading into the population center. The Jaegers and their teams were posted to the rooftops of the taller buildings in the area to provide a commanding view and clear line of fire at any hordes that might attempt an assault. Engineers set up barricades at choke points while XCOM squads worked with huntsmen teams to provide a rapid response ground force that could mobilize at the first warning from the Jaegers.

Fonseca's survivor group arrived thirty minutes later, bringing with them a host of tired soldiers, huntsmen, and civilians. More than that, though, they brought supplies. As they traveled from the Fairgrounds to the established Safe Zone, operatives identified and picked up useful equipment and materials that were left abandoned in the mayhem of the battle. While technically theft, the huntsmen and civilians quickly agreed with the wisdom in these actions. After all, saving lives and coordinating an effective response now was more important than making sure some shop or hotel still had their blankets and electronics when their employees returned days (or weeks) later. Looters who stole for personal gain was one thing, but taking and repurposing equipment to help those in dire need was another matter entirely.

Vahlen's plan to restore short-range communications with the Odin worked, thanks to the help of a few of XCOM's more technical operatives. Bradford was once again able to radio his strike teams as they worked to secure Vale and its citizens. The signal was weak, unfortunately, and despite her efforts to push the range further, the Doctor could only provide coverage over a section of the city. That meant that any sorties Bradford dispatched to look for more survivors would be unable to call for backup, and that the teams sent to the academy during the fighting were on their own until XCOM and the huntsmen regained control of the city.

"No operative casualties to report, sir. The Grimm are still out there, but it looks like they've lost whatever coordination they had during the battle. No big ones, either."

"Four-Alpha returning via Outpost Three, sir. We're reporting the same situation as Six-Beta. We've got a couple more wounded civilians that'll need attention, though."

Or after the energy column broke the CCTS tower. Perhaps it disrupted something in their physiology that had allowed them to act as a hive mind? Bradford didn't know, but maybe he could ask Vahlen if she'd examined enough data from Terran Grimm to form a decent hypothesis. For now, though, at least he didn't have to worry about losing more personnel to the Grimm during the mop-up. After several months of dealing with Grimm after the war, the standard fare of Beowolves and Boarbatusks should be easy for them to handle.

The energy blast itself, however, concerned him. While the color may have been a fluke, the purple hue was way too similar to that of the hyperwave portal for him to discount it as mere coincidence. If it was indeed related to XCOM's interplanetary link, then Vahlen was going to have a lot of work ahead of her. In Bradford's experience, system hiccups never had catastrophic side effects like blowing up a tower. Complete system failures, on the other hand, did.

More mixed news came in the arrival of Dr. Shen and Annette. The comms lit up the moment they flew into the safe zone.

"It's Shen! Whoever is looking after Lily, haul ass and get her into the plaza ASAP."

"Get a Medic, too. Annette looks fine, but Shen's pilot is in bad shape."

Bradford was already in the main square when Shen landed and unfastened himself from his pilot. The two shook hands, and the Chief Engineer didn't have to wait long for a small voice to cry out behind him, "DAD!"

Dr. Shen whipped around at the sound of his daughter, and Bradford had to hold his friend steady as the elderly Engineer almost lost the strength to stand when he saw her standing next to a watchful Ruby. Lily dashed towards her father, threw her arms around him, and buried her face in his chest while Bradford caught Ruby's eye. His Captain had stuck to Lily like glue ever since the hairy extraction op. Bradford couldn't really blame her: the idea of Ruby explaining to her favorite engineer that she had lost his only daughter put knots in Bradford's stomach just thinking about it.

"Dad!" She repeated, her voice muffled by her father's jacket, "Dad, I'm so sorry. I… I didn't mean to… It was an… I…"

Shen wrapped his arms around his daughter and quietly shushed her, "It doesn't matter, Lily. I didn't lose you."

"Way I heard it, she was an allstar for the group of survivors she ended up with." Bradford added, "She saw our MECs airdrop into the city and convinced the others to follow her. Figured out a way to contact us by radio and fended off a Grimm attack with weapons she improvised to buy time for Strike Three to extract them."

Dr. Shen raised an eyebrow at Bradford. "Of course she did. She's my daughter, after all."

"It was Ruby who brought the team in to save me, though." Lily said as she finally took a step back from her dad, "All of my tricks and gadgets wouldn't have mattered if it wasn't for her."

"Of course she did," Dr. Shen said with a smile, "She's my guardian angel, after all."

"Sir." Annette said from Bradford's left. He picked up on her tone and excused himself from the Shen family reunion. They walked down the main thoroughfare of the Safe Zone and passed by several busy centers of activity on their way to the makeshift Mission Control. Medics moved in and out of one damaged storefront that had a large red cross spray painted above the door. Some carried new supplies brought in from scouting parties while others carried people. Unfortunately, with access to XCOM's supply of advanced equipment effectively cut off, the infirmary's staff had to resort to more conventional methods of healing while they reserved their medikits for operatives in dire need of emergency care. A MEC stood guard at the doorway, and an Engineer would occasionally step out to refill a supply of medikits from the MEC's Restoration Module before returning inside to give the kits back to the Medics.

A large intersection packed with people and crates saw operatives and Atlas personnel distributing supplies like food and blankets to civilians both scared and confused. Bradford had pulled some of his operatives to work with a couple of huntsmen teams on trying to get all of the displaced people identified and sorted. A lot of mothers, fathers, and siblings were trying to reconnect with their friends and loved ones who had been separated in the mayhem, such as Lily's friend from the crashed shuttle. XCOM's efforts enjoyed some success already, but the 'Disconnected' list was growing faster than it was shrinking as a lot of people waited in line to be added to the database. Even so, the confidence and comfort of the men and women orchestrating the search effort helped assuage the fear and panic in the crowd and ensured the process remained orderly.

Bradford noticed Weiss moving among the survivors, offering words of comfort as well as rations. He'd seen her earlier, too, spending as much time as necessary to help each person that she approached before moving on to the next lost soul that could use a friendly smile and a show of unity. The stories he'd heard about her family (some from Weiss herself) painted an entirely different portrait than the gentle woman currently helping an elderly couple wash the blood and grime from their faces..

He arrived with Annette at Mission Control: a couple of tables and light fortifications set up in front of a hotel lobby next to the towering Odin. Engineers, both Terran and Remnant, worked to hack together equipment that could be used for comms, mapping, and an array of other emergency response tools. Personnel unpacked and sorted equipment as search and rescue teams returned with more supplies for XCOM to disseminate among the lost and confused civilians.

After a cheerful greeting from Penny, the duo stepped inside the lobby for some privacy, and Bradford turned to face the Major. "Report."

"We encountered an agent of whoever was behind this attack during our op in Ozpin's office." Annette said, "Might have even been the mastermind herself."

That explained why Annette returned with only one pilot and no huntsmen. He had hoped that Jaune and Pyrrha had stayed behind to help locate and rescue more trapped survivors at the academy, but the way Annette spoke of this agent didn't sit well with Bradford. "Was she dealt with?"

Annette shook her head, "Unknown, sir. She killed Deuces with one shot, and you saw Freebird's condition when we flew in. Took us way longer to get here than it should have because we had to stabilize his wound and rest often. Arkos stayed behind to deny her free access to Ozpin's terminal and give us the opportunity to escape."

"Shit…" Bradford sighed, "Did you learn anything about her before you left?"

"Negative, sir. Only that she was determined to stop an outbound message that Shen was putting together with Ares intended to comfort and inspire the people of Remnant."

So these agents of chaos wanted to keep the people scared. That was pretty obvious after the Amity stunt, but at least Bradford had more direct confirmation now. "Anything else to report, Major? We have no eyes on Beacon at the moment, and so I have no idea what the status is of the personnel we deployed there."

"I didn't see anyone else from RWBY, JNPR, or our strike teams, sir. I do know that Shrike and Hammertime were with us at the CCTS tower before we split up at Ozpin's request, but I don't know anything about their situation after that."

"I might have an idea." Bradford said, remembering his trip with Ozpin to the vast corridors beneath the tower. Hopefully they were deep enough underground to miss the blast that rocked Vale. Otherwise, that wasn't an excavation the Central Officer wasn't looking forward to. "If we don't hear anything soon, we'll put together a sortie to recover them. Sabretooth and BFG were dispatched from here, though, so their team should be able to find their way back without comms. And if they've got wounded and are unable to move, at least the Grimm threat is starting to become a non-issue."

"Sir?"

"Intel from our scouting parties into the city are showing a sharp decrease in Grimm activity." Bradford explained, "They're still out there, but scattered and uncoordinated. And with almost zero sightings of bigger targets like Deathstalkers or Beringels, they might even be slowly fading back into the shadows."

For a second time, Annette shook her head. "Ah… that's not quite right. During our flight here, we saw a lot of Grimm movement towards Beacon. They might not be concentrating in Vale like they were a couple of hours ago, but it's not because they're dispersing into the wilds. Something is drawing them towards the academy. Not just the smaller contacts, either: we saw a column of elephants advancing on Beacon."

So literally the exact opposite of what Bradford had hoped. "In that case, the rescue operation of our Beacon teams just got a lot trickier."

Pyrrha's eyes fluttered open as a cool breeze crossed over her face. She stared into the night sky while working to regain her bearings. No sounds of gunfire, Grimm, or fighting to be heard, so she was safe, at least for the time being. The air smelled faintly of ash and strongly of dust (the mundane kind), and so while Pyrrha determined that a lot of buildings had collapsed or been destroyed, there wasn't much danger of fire spreading and causing further damage. As she looked up, Pyrrha saw the silhouette of Beacon tower above her and winced at the memory of her battle with Jaune and that woman. While she managed to survive, the fact that the woman had managed to almost best her unnerved Pyrrha. She knew that there was no shortage of powerful people with ill intentions on Remnant, but if they had combat skills on par with her…

Well, Pyrrha was alive, and had somehow survived a fall from the top of the tower. It would explain why she could neither feel nor move anything but her head at the moment. Since she hadn't become a late-night snack for some roving Grimm while passed out, Pyrrha figured she had some time to spare while her body worked to regain control of its functions. She heard rustling just outside of her peripheral vision as metal clinked on metal.

"Jaune?" She asked, "Jaune, is that you?"

The groan that answered definitely belonged to her partner.

"Easy, Jaune. We fell from the tower, so you should take a moment to make sure nothing is broken before you try to move it."

Jaune grunted an affirmative, and Pyrrha waited for a minute before she heard him answer, "Toes are fine, fingers are fine, neck is fine… looks like I'm fine."

"I must have fallen funny, since I can't move anything below my neck at the moment." Pyrrha said with a hint of jealousy.

"Don't think that's it." Jaune said, and Pyrrha heard him slowly pick himself up, "I still had some of my Aura to soften the fall. I think you were running on empty."

"Well I hope it comes back soon. I really don't enjoy feeling vulnerable like this."

Jaune's head came into view, and Pyrrha could make out his comforting smile in the darkness as he knelt down by her side. "Well that's why you've got me, isn't it? You saved my life on our first day at Beacon, so it's only fair that I return the favor."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes as Jaune sat her up, planted his shield into the ground and propped her back against it. "You returned that favor long ago when you agreed to be my partner. Besides, we've saved each other more times than I can count in the time between then and now."

"Shhh. Details." Her partner said as he removed the greaves and boots protecting her legs. He rubbed his hands together to warm them up, then got to work rubbing her calves and thighs. "Feel anything yet?"

"No." Pyrrha answered, and worry started to creep into her stomach, "No, I don't feel anything at all."

Jaune frowned, then reached into his pocket. "Lemme check your Aura… uhhh, nope. That's not gonna happen." He pulled out the corpse of his scroll, and winced at the frayed wires barely holding the pieces together.

"Try mine. It should be in the pouch on my hip." Pyrrha offered. "I'd get it for you myself, but…"

Her partner nodded without answering, and Pyrrha suffered the mild embarrassment of Jaune having to roll her slightly to get at the pouch in question. He pulled out her scroll (intact, thankfully), and started tapping on the panel. Thankfully, they had agreed to set up the biometric locks on their scrolls to recognize each other. Pyrrha really didn't want to have Jaune flopping her lifeless hand around to unlock her scroll.

"Hmm. Yeah, it looks like your Aura is already replenishing. It's not much at the moment, but should be enough…?"

Clearly not. Pyrrha took a steady breath and tried to focus on something, anything else. "We should get out of here. The tower might be unstable, and I don't want to be around if it collapses."

Jaune nodded. He re-clothed her legs, pulled his shield out of the ground, and gently laid Pyrrha back down in the dirt while he put away her scroll in his pocket and collected his things. "Yeah, you're right. I got a 'no signal' on Nora and Ren when I was checking our team's status, by the way, so they're not in scroll-to-scroll range. Alright, eeaaaasy does it."

With all the attentive care Pyrrha had come to expect from Jaune, he picked her up in his arms, angled so that she leaned forward slightly with her head resting on his shoulder.

"Maybe they finished whatever they were doing with Ozpin, and the three of them have regrouped with Bradford?" Pyrrha suggested.

Jaune nodded, "That would be nice. As for us, I hope we find someone to regroup with. I'm not a fan of flying blind like this."

The two of them traveled in silence as Jaune slowly carried Pyrrha through the streets and walkways of Beacon. Griffons and Nevermores still flew overhead, though they didn't seem as agitated up as they were when Dr. Shen's group first arrived at the school. Now, they glided almost lazily, and perched atop some of the taller buildings available. Once or twice, they heard the sound of crumbling architecture as a Giant Nevermore tried to land at the top of the shattered tower and caused more of the damaged concrete to break away and fall to the streets below. Progress halted on more than one occasion when Jaune heard a pack of terrestrial Grimm roaming the campus a block or two away. He'd crouch in a dark corner, seat Pyrrha in the shadows, and rest a hand on Crocea Mors as he watched which way the monsters decided to wander.

"Guess there's still some people holed up at the school." He whispered as he picked up Pyrrha after their third encounter, "You'd think they all would have either left or been rescued by now."

"Evidently not." Pyrrha answered, then something caught her eye. "Hey, that smoke over there… is that the sabotaged comm station?"

Jaune glanced in the direction of Pyrrha's gaze and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it is. Bradford said he dispatched a team to investigate. Do you think they're still there?"

"Can't hurt to check." Pyrrha said, "Doesn't look like it's drawing the Grimm, though so maybe nobody's home."

"That, or they're keeping their emotions in check. Let's go find out."

Nora and Ren waited for ten minutes after the energy pulse died down before they dared venture down the hallway to figure out how they could leave the underground fortress. With the elevator shaft destroyed (and now likely a giant, gaping hole), Ren hoped that the purple blast had provided some change to the landscape that might make their ascent easier. As he walked down the hallway with his partner, Ren noticed that Nora was unusually quiet.

"Nora?"

His lifelong friend glanced over, and Ren could see the shell shock in her eyes as she answered with a flat "Hmm?"

"Is… everything alright?" Ren asked, though he already knew the answer.

Nora returned her stare towards the hallway ahead and shrugged. The two continued to walk in silence while Ren waited for an answer. Eventually, Nora quietly answered, "Not really."

Ren quietly slipped his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. "Then we'll make it alright."

"How?" Nora asked, though Ren noticed a little bit of emotion returning to her tone, "Ozpin's gone, the tower's been… I don't know what, and we have no idea what's going on with everyone else. How do we make this alright?"

"By putting one foot in front of the other." Ren replied, "Just like you're doing right now."

"I guess so." Nora sighed.

Ren was hopeful that he could get his partner's head back in the right place by the time they reached the elevator shaft, but the gutteral scream that echoed through the hallway from seemingly all directions shattered that idea. Nora froze, and Ren winced as her hold on his hand became a death grip. The hall shuddered as the voice roared again, this time with intelligible words.

"YOU BIIIIIIIIIITCH!"

The two huntsmen exchanged looks, Ren's concerned and Nora's terrified, and they quickly moved away from the center of the hallway and hugged one of the walls. Maybe that outburst was a one-time thing, and they could get back to escaping after… whatever had spoken decided to move on.

"WE HAD AN AGREEMENT, AND THIS IS HOW YOU HONOR IT?!"

Nope. He (for the voice was definitely male) wasn't quite finished screaming.

"Nora." Ren whispered, "We have to keep moving. Let's stick to the wall and get out of here as fast as we can. Maybe they haven't noticed us yet, or we're not what they're looking for."

Nora nodded wordlessly and let Ren pull her along as he forged ahead. The angry voice, however, seemed perfectly content to continue spouting profanity and rage regardless.

"FOR YEARS UPON FUCKING YEARS I TRUSTED YOU. I TRUSTED YOU BECAUSE HE TRUSTED YOU. HE BEGGED THE OTHERS TO SEE IN YOU WHAT HE DID. AND YOU REPAY HIS KINDNESS WITH TREACHERY?"

"Who is that?" Nora squeaked.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's us he's mad at. C'mon, we're almost at the shaft."

The only bright side Ren could see in this turn of events was that the presence of danger had reawakened Nora's fight-or-flight senses and caused her to move with purpose. The voice died down for a bit, and Ren wondered if it had finished screaming. Up ahead, he saw the rubble of the elevator shaft.

"WHY DON'T YOU ANSWER ME, YOU GODDAMN WITCH? DON'T HAVE THE GUTS TO SPEAK UP NOW THAT YOUR BETRAYAL IS COMPLETE?"

One the one hand, the energy blast did indeed change the landscape of the elevator shaft. On the other, the gaping hole in the middle of the rock pile was not the kind of change Ren had hoped for. An ominous red glow only made the situation look even worse. He slowly climbed around the detritus to look for something, anything, that would help with the ascent (or even make it possible). When Nora slipped and sent a few rocks tumbling down into the central hole, the two huntsmen froze. The voice spoke again, only this time it wasn't screaming.

"… Or do you send me agents instead? An offering perhaps, so that I might take out my rage on something that isn't you? How completely and utterly predictable."

Ren's pulse quickened as he realized that time was running out for a way up. The sound of mechanical whirring below only served to reinforce his observation.

"I suppose I haven't murdered anything in a long time. Who knows? Might do me some good to just… get it out of my system."

The cable was completely gone, vaporised in the blast. The walls had apparently melted and re-solidified into smooth slag, so trying to use handholds to climb didn't look possible, either.

"But isn't that what you want me to do? Maybe these are just some more loose ends of yours, and you're hoping that I'm just a convenient solution to your problems. So why should I trust you? After all, Father did, and look where that got him."

Nora and Ren exchanged glances as the voice continued to mull over their fate.

"… Yes, I quite like the idea of spitting in your face, you vile, wretched old hag. As for you, interlopers… I suggest standing clear of the hole."

The floor shuddered beneath the two huntsmen, and they slowly stepped away from the center of the shaft. A loud bang echoed from below, followed by a large chain bursting into the room and rattling upwards into the expansive darkness. A dull thud rumbled back down to Nora and Ren, and they watched the chain line go taut. They stared at it in disbelief for a few seconds, and the voice seemed to notice their hesitance to make use of his offering.

"I don't really care whether you want to live or die," He mused, "But I suggest you make up your minds quickly before I change mine. I suspect that will happen in… oh, I don't know… four minutes, thirty-seven seconds, and eighty-two milliseconds. Oh, why not make it eighty-three milliseconds? I'm feeling generous."

"Let's go." Ren whispered, and he leapt up onto the chain. If it was a trap, they were dead. But if they didn't at least give it a shot, it sounded like they were dead anyway.

"Ta ta, my little thieves! And say hello to the snake for me. I'm sure she'll be surprised to see you again."

"Central, this is Outpost One. We have contacts on the perimeter, heading towards the perimeter. They appear human."

Bradford hadn't sortied any parties to the north in the last hour, and Two-Alpha had already returned with more medical supplies and wounded civilians from a local clinic. Were people just finding the Safe Zone on their own now? If they were able-bodied, then they might be useful in expanding the perimeter and securing more of the city. Even though Grimm contacts hadn't been sighted for a long time, Bradford had no intention of taking chances and getting caught flat-footed if the reports were incorrect.

"Getting a closer look, sir… the colors appear to be Atlesian. One-Five is attempting to hail."

More security personnel? Bradford didn't know how many Ironwood had deployed in Vale for the festival, but his best guess was somewhere around 'a fleet's worth.' The thought reminded Bradford of Lily's intel that she overheard Atlesian chatter about more aerial reinforcements. The fighter wing did eventually arrive, but far too late to help with the dragon issue, and so Bradford's scouts watched as the squadron landed somewhere else in the city, likely to help establish their own defensive perimeter. That suited the Central Officer just fine: a lot of people in the city could use some serious help, not just those in the commercial district with XCOM.

"Sir, you're going to want to be at the northern barricade for this. It's the General himself."

… Interesting.

"General Ironwood?" Bradford asked out loud, mostly for the benefit of Goodwitch and Branwen who looked up from across the Mission Control tables with raised eyebrows, "I'll be there."

The trio walked briskly through the Safe Zone, flanked by Annette and Otter, as they prepared to greet the incoming delegation.

"So Jimmy's back, huh?"

Glynda didn't even bother to look at Qrow as she answered, "It seems you have a pair of functioning ears, Qrow. Congratulations."

"What do you think he wants?" Annette mused.

Bradford had a few guesses. "Probably wants to have his personnel back, or he's checking in to make sure we're not trying to make some sort of power play in the wake of disaster."

"Right, the whole trust thing. I've forgotten how long he can hold a grudge."

"No you haven't, Qrow."

They reached the barricades and waited as an escort of operatives and huntsmen guided Ironwood's group to the perimeter. One of the first things Bradford noticed was that Weiss's sister was at the General's side. He recalled during the Fairgrounds debrief that Weiss mentioned Winter leaving to rejoin Ironwood once she determined that the civilians were safe. The two parties locked eyes and stared at each other from a short distance. Before any of the security personnel could start to wonder about any feelings of hostility between both factions, Bradford stepped forward and offered a salute to his guest.

"General Ironwood. It's good to see that you've come through the catastrophe in one piece."

The General nodded, "At ease."

No return of pleasantries. It seemed like Ironwood was miffed about something, judging by the his curt tone of voice, though Bradford wasn't really in the mood to play games and try to figure out what he'd done in the eyes of his associate.

Might as well return the favor. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"You can start by explaining to me what your purpose is here, Captain."

"You mean besides helping all the people trapped in the Grimm-infested Market District?" Qrow asked.

"That is the duty of my security detail, Qrow." Ironwood answered, casting a quick glare at the slouching huntsman before returning his attention to Bradford, "The Recon Division's supposed duty was to sniff out danger before it grew into an outbreak. Or did your orders change again?"

So professional jealousy, then? Or perhaps Ironwood was unhappy about being deceived with regards to the nature of XCOM. Either way, Bradford reminded himself that he still needed to be diplomatic.

"It's a big city." Bradford countered, "Although I don't doubt for a second that your people are going to great lengths to help those in need, you can't be everywhere at once. We are simply trying to help where we can in support of Atlas's efforts to contain the damage."

Ironwood made a point to look at the barricades, the armed guards, and finally up at the building where Outpost One kept watch with its Jaeger before commenting, "So an impressively-armed team of scouts shows up out of nowhere right when the fighting starts and decides to establish a defensible base of operations in the fallout while being able to claim it's 'for the people.' You'll forgive my hesitancy to believe your story, Captain."

"So you think what I have done, providing a perimeter to detect and respond to any Grimm incursions, is more sinister than leaving these people to die?" Why was the General being purposefully obtuse? "If you'd like, I could give you a tour of our operations so you can see for yourself that our goals here are strictly altruistic."

Even Goodwitch seemed annoyed at Ironwood's tone. "I can appreciate a healthy sense of caution, General, but perhaps you should remind yourself that Ozpin trusts this man."

"And where is our omniscient friend, if I may ask?" Ironwood said. When nobody answered, he continued, "You'll find no argument from me that Ozpin has done some great things, Glynda, but he's not as infallible as you or Qrow seem to think."

With Qrow quietly growling on one side and Annette psychically asking him if she had permission to suckerpunch the General, Bradford sighed. "Neither of us will be very productive if we continue to stand here arguing, General. Perhaps it would be best if we at least agree to cooperate for the time being, and you can state your purpose for coming here so that we may better accommodate you." It took all of his willpower to not add, 'For the people.'

Thankfully, Ironwood decided to agree with Bradford's suggestion. "I came to advise you that Atlas is starting to stage evacuation efforts for the citizens of the other kingdoms, as well as Valeans who fear for their safety by remaining here with the Grimm occupation."

"I will relay the information to the people under our care as soon as we are done here." Bradford answered, "I'm sure that a lot of these people want nothing more than to safely make their way home. We will organize and provide armed escorts for those ready to evacuate."

"I'm certain that the personnel I have stationed here will have little trouble protecting the civilians as they travel." Ironwood looked the Central Officer in the eye once more, and Bradford wondered what new complaint Ironwood might have for him now, "There is one more thing we need to address, however. Doctor Polendina-"

"-would like his daughter back now that the tournament is over and the fighting has stopped." Bradford finished. He almost forgot about the agreement. "Are you aware that she went rogue the same time the rest of your mechanized forces did?"

Ironwood nodded. "Doctor Polendina is, yes. He is rather protective of Penny, and has access to her vital systems at all times to be sure of her safety. Everything that transpired on the Colosseum, he saw firsthand."

Bradford's heart skipped a beat. Everything?

The General's eyes narrowed, as if to answer, 'Everything.'

"It was rather… interesting when he told me the details, actually." Ironwood continued, "He was surprised to discover that you had taken his generous gift to Ozpin and installed her into a Paladin-class mech."

Bradford wanted to believe that Dr. Polendina hadn't seen the hyperwave portal, but he had to assume the worst. Which meant that he had to likewise assume that Ironwood was possibly withholding that particular detail as leverage over Bradford.

"From what I've seen of Penny's abilities when using her own body, I'm not sure sure why Doctor Polendina is surprised to see her installed in another heavy weapons platform." The Central Officer stepped aside and gestured for Ironwood to enter the Safe Zone, "But you are absolutely right that the Doctor deserves to have a reunion with his daughter. If you'll come with me, we can make the arrangements for her return to Atlas."

"I'll radio ahead to let Mission Control know that you're coming." Fonseca said with a salute, "Take care, Central. General."

Bradford returned the salute and left with Ironwood's delegation for the center of the Safe Zone.