Chapter 1

Sitting in the back of the car, Ruby used the camera on her scroll to check her appearance...over and over again. She rarely wore makeup, but today she had gone all out. Even her clothes were special, her fanciest dress and platform shoes - no matter the occasion, heels were a bridge too far. She had let her hair grow a little longer than usual, and had it tied in a uncharacteristic ponytail, which was held in place by probably a little too much product. It was not a terribly long ride from her hotel to SDC headquarters, but long enough to give her time to get in her own head. It was just her first day of work, she already had the job, so there was no real reason to worry. But first impressions were important, and she wanted hers to be as good as possible. She normally would have taken the bus or subway, but she did not want to risk being late. Ruby was still unfamiliar with Atlas, and it would take time to get used to the transportation schedules, so for today she opted to secure a ride with the taxi service Ryde.

"You okay back there?" The driver asked. She was a rather pretty Faunus woman with furry fox ears. "You seem nervous."

"Oh uh...yeah, I'm fine." Ruby replied. "It's just my first day of work and I want to make a good impression."

"SDC yeah?" The driver inquired. Ruby nodded. "My brother works there, says it's pretty good. He only rarely gets shit for being a Faunus." Ruby did not quite know how to respond. "So, I take it you're new to Atlas?"

"Yeah, flew in two days ago, from Patch." Ruby answered.

"Patch...that's pretty out of the way." The driver noted. "How do you like the city so far?"

"It's...big." Ruby stated the obvious. "There are so many people, and everyone moves so fast...it's like another world."

"It takes some getting used to, but it's a great place." The driver encouraged. "There's a lot to do."

"Maybe too much to do." Ruby chuckled. "It's overwhelming."

The car pulled to a halt in front of a massive glass and steel building. The entrance was set back a ways from the street, with a large concrete fountain featuring a sculpture of the company's snowflake logo in the small courtyard the indent formed. "Here we are." The driver announced. "SDC HQ."

"Thanks." Ruby opened the door and started to get out, but sat back down. "Uh, will you be working later?"

"Yep, why?" The driver asked.

"Well, after work I'll need a ride back, and it'd be nice to have someone to show me where the fun hangouts are." Ruby explained.

"Sure, when you schedule the pickup, just ask for Vulpe." The driver instructed. Ruby started to get out once more. "Hey, don't forget your purse." Vulpe gestured to the back seat.

"Oh, yeah, that would've been bad." Ruby laughed nervously, snatching her purse and hopping out. "Thanks!"

Vulpe pulled away with a wave, leaving Ruby on the sidewalk in front of the SDC building. She took a deep breath and strode across the courtyard, reaching the entrance and a bank of metal detectors. Employees had their own entrance nearby that bypassed the checkpoint, a door operated with keycards. A tall, muscular man at one of the detectors waved Ruby through. It beeped as she passed, and the operator stopped her. "What do you have in your purse?"

"Uh...my wallet, keychain, chapstick, pepper spray, my scroll, some aspirin-" Ruby started.

"Any weapons?" The guard cut her off.

"Just the pepper spray." Ruby replied.

"Go on in, check in at the front desk." The guard instructed.

"Okay, thanks." Ruby smiled. The guard rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the detector as a Faunus man stepped through and set it off. The guard stopped the man, pulling him aside for a thorough screening.

Ruby entered the sprawling lobby. It was several stories tall, with a lavishly painted vaulted ceiling. She approached the front desk, which was manned by a trio of attendants. "How can I help you?" One asked as Ruby neared.

"Hi, I'm Ruby Rose." She introduced herself. "It's my first day of work."

"Okay Ms. Rose, you'll need to head to Human Resources." The attendant instructed. "It's straight down the end of that hallway." She pointed to one side of the lobby.

"Thanks." Ruby cheered. Nearly shaking with excitement, she walked down the hallway and through the door labeled 'HR', finding herself in a waiting room. A secretary at the desk at its far end looked up expectantly. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose. It's my first day."

"Okay, just a moment." The secretary began typing at her computer. She paused, a puzzled look on her face. "Oh...odd."

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, a twinge of panic in her heart.

"According to this, you're not scheduled to start for another month or so...but there is a note here, hold on." The secretary replied. Before Ruby could say anything to her, the secretary picked up her phone and punched in an extension. "Hello, this is Joan from HR. I have a Ms. Rose here, and her file requests I contact you." There was a pause. "Alright, I'll let her know." She hung up her phone. "Your project manager is coming down to see you. Hopefully she can sort this out."

"Yeah, I hope so." Ruby sighed, trying to remain as positive as possible. "I don't know if I can make it a month without a paycheck." Joan could offer little more than a sympathetic smile, and Ruby decided to take a seat in one of the chairs arrayed against the wall. She slid her scroll out of her purse and started looking through her emails to keep herself distracted.

Over the next few minutes, several people were in and out of the office. Ruby looked up the first few times the door opened, but by the fifth time she was completely ignoring it. The usual dull ache in her leg - the remnant of an old injury - began to spike into something more acute. It seemed whoever was coming to see her was not in much of a rush, or they had a long way to go. It was a gigantic building, and Ruby could see how it might take someone quite a while to traverse it. "Ms. Rose." A formal woman's voice grabbed Ruby's attention.

"That's me!" Ruby chirped, tossing her scroll back into her purse and standing. She found herself face to face with a tall redhead, hair tied in a neat ponytail.

"Hello Ms. Rose, I'm your project manager, Pyrrha Nikos." The woman introduced herself, extending her hand to shake. "You can call me Pyrrha."

"And you can call me Ruby." She took the offered hand and gave a firm handshake. She gestured to the desk. "She said my file says I'm not supposed to start for like a month…"

"Yes...it seems there's been some confusion." Pyrrha frowned. "The project you were hired to work on has been delayed. I tried to contact you. I got no answer on your cell, and when I called your home your mother said you'd already left."

"You called...shoot." Ruby groaned. "You must be that strange number...I knew I should've answered it. I just didn't recognize it-"

"It's partially my fault." Pyrrha interrupted. "I should have called you from the official line instead of my personal line, then maybe you would have recognized it."

"It...it doesn't really matter." Ruby said. "Why's the project delayed?"

"Well, the civilian robotics you're going to be working on and the military robots the company makes for the Atlesian military use the same platform." Pyrrha explained. "Due to some issues the robots were having in the field, we were forced to make design changes and retrofit the existing units. No only does that use the same facilities your project would use, but it shares much of the same manpower. Your project will have to wait until the current one is finished."

"Oh...can't I work on the current project?" Ruby asked.

"I'm afraid not." Pyrrha answered. "It's a military project, and the designs are classified, so only Atlesian citizens with Top Secret security clearances are allowed to work on them. Even I'm not authorized to do so. They've got me helping out in Faunus Outreach until the military production wraps up."

"I...isn't there anything I can do?" Ruby pressed. "I spent like all my money to fly out here, I don't even have an apartment yet, and I don't think I can go that long without a paycheck. I don't even have enough to fly back home, and I don't want my parents to have to pay for me-"

"Excuse me, Ms. Rose." Joan interrupted. Ruby and Pyrrha turned their attention to the secretary. "There is one job that just opened up, but I warn you, it's a very difficult one."

"I'll take anything." Ruby beseeched. "What is it?"

"Chairwoman Schnee's personal secretary...resigned...yesterday." Joan replied. "She'll need a new one. I warn you, it's a very demanding job."

"I don't care, I'll take it." Ruby declared.

"Alright." Joan nodded, a hint of pity on her face. "When can you start?"

"Right now." Ruby answered.

"I can introduce Ruby to Ms. Schnee." Pyrrha offered.

"Very well." Joan agreed. "Just come by at the end of the day, and I'll have a keycard for you."

"Working for the head of the company sounds so cool." Ruby cheered.

Pyrrha struggled to keep a straight face. "It's...something." She gestured for Ruby to follow, and the pair headed into the hall, Pyrrha leading Ruby to the elevators at the back of the lobby. "Do you have plans for after work?"

"No, why?" Ruby responded.

"Well, I'm going to be working with you eventually." Pyrrha explained. "I like to get to know everyone on my team. We can get something to eat, and properly introduce ourselves."

"Sounds great." Ruby agreed.

"Hopefully Weiss won't keep you too late." Pyrrha noted. The elevator arrived and the pair stepped in. Pyrrha swiped her keycard, then punched the button for the top floor. "She does usually leave more or less on time most days, and there shouldn't be much for you to do once she's gone home."

"I'm just going to be her secretary, how hard can it be?" Ruby chuckled.

"Ms. Schnee is...a demanding boss." Pyrrha chose her words carefully. "Lately in particular. She's fast paced, and expects everyone to keep up, with no mistakes."

Ruby was perceptive enough to realize she had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

After a lengthy ride, the elevator came to a halt on the top floor, a bing ringing as the door slid open. Pyrrha stepped off first with Ruby right behind. Immediately in front of them stood a wooden desk, presumably the one that would be Ruby's. A modern-looking office chair was tucked against it, and a rather new computer sat atop it, the company's snowflake logo bouncing around the otherwise black screen. Curiously, there was another screen, about the size of a tablet, facing away from the chair, toward the elevator.

As Pyrrha and Ruby neared the desk, the screen flashed on, displaying a cute, smiling chibi-style sprite of a ginger girl. It looked familiar to Ruby, but she could not quite place it. "Hello Ms. Nikos!" The sprite greeted in a modulated voice. Text on the screen accompanied the speech. "Are you here to meet with Ms. Schnee?" There was a short pause, and the sprite shifted to a quizzical look, a question mark over its head. "You don't seem to be on her schedule."

"Sorry for coming unannounced." Pyrrha apologized. She gestured toward Ruby. "I have a candidate for Ms. Schnee's new assistant, and I was hoping to introduce her." She looked back. "Ruby, this is Penny, the company's computerized assistant. Penny, this is-"

"Ruby Rose...I'm just bringing up your file." Penny cut in. "Your assignment has been approved by Human Resources. I will update your clearances. I have been acting as a temporary secretary for Ms. Schnee. I am well versed in scheduling, memo dictation, and call routing, but unfortunately my lack of a body renders me unable to make her coffee." The sprite changed to a laughing expression.

"Penny...so cool!" Ruby enthused. "This is the most advanced computerized interface I've ever seen." She paused. "Hey, when I take over as Ms. Schnee's secretary, can I still use your scheduling functions? You could probably help with organization too."

"Of course." Penny replied, her sprite returning to its smiling avatar once more. "I am here to assist all SDC employees."

Pyrrha chuckled. "Good to see you're already getting along. Now that introductions are out of the way, may we meet with Ms. Schnee?"

"I'm afraid Ms. Schnee is in the middle of an important phone call." Penny answered. "I will inform her of your presence when it is complete."

"Thank you." Pyrrha nodded. "I'll show Ms. Rose around until then."

"Sensational!" Penny chirped as her screen blinked off.

"Well...where to start…" Pyrrha thought aloud. "As you've probably guessed, this will be your desk. You'll get your network password when you pick up your keycard." She gestured toward a pair of ornate wooden doors past the desk. "That's Wei...Ms. Schnee's office. You probably guessed that too. Hmm…" Pyrrha looked around, then pointed to a small room beside the elevator. "That's the kitchen. There's a refrigerator, a microwave and a coffee maker. The Chairwoman takes her coffee with cream and three sugars, remember that."

"Cream and three sugars." Ruby repeated. "Got it."

"For her meals, if she orders out, you'll have to meet the delivery person in the lobby." Pyrrha explained. "If she's having food from the cafeteria, you'll have to get it from there." She gestured to a door on the other side of the elevator. "That's a bedroom, but I don't think it sees much use. Ms. Schnee heads home on time most nights. The next two doors are bathrooms, the first for her use only, the second for you and any guests."

"A private bathroom, fancy." Ruby commented.

"I once got a peek into her bathroom." Pyrrha whispered. "It's got gold fixtures, a full bath and shower. The other is pretty nice too, clean but less opulent."

"Sounds good." Ruby nodded.

"Excuse me." Penny interrupted, her screen flashing to life once more. "Ms. Schnee is ready to see you now."

"Thank you Penny." Pyrrha turned to Ruby with a smile. "Ready?"

Ruby nodded, smoothing her shirt and straightening her posture. "Anything I should keep in mind?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "Ms. Schnee is a stern but fair woman. So long as you don't offend her in some manner, you'll be fine. I'll talk to her first, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Pyrrha, I'm...just a little nervous." Ruby let out a little laugh.

Pyrrha lay a reassuring hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I've been there Ruby. Take a deep breath, and remember, you're here, you made it. Granted there was a little delay, but no matter what happens, the SDC will take care of you."

Ruby nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Exhaling, she already felt calmer, more focused. She smiled back at Pyrrha. "I'm ready."

Pyrrha approached the office door and knocked twice before pushing it open. Peeking her head through, she saw her tired superior rubbing the bridge of her nose, and smiled. "Rough call?" She asked, letting the door go as Ruby followed at a distance.

"Yet another complaint about Cardin." Weiss groaned. "I swear, I almost wish he would do something worthwhile so I am forced to fire the bloody idiot and be done with his bigotry."

"All in good time." Pyrrha met Weiss' gaze as she reached the desk, receiving a gentle smile in return.

"Penny mentioned a new assistant applicant?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, though the situation is more complex than that." Standing aside, Pyrrha revealed Ruby, standing a few steps away, hands clasped before her.

Ruby smiled, waving. "Hello Ms. Schnee, I am Ruby Rose." She greeted, calm and steady.

Weiss raised a brow. "Hello Ms. Rose." She turned, looking to Pyrrha in question.

"Ms. Rose was slated to work under me, but due to the robotics retrofit…" Pyrrha rolled her hand.

Weiss mouthed an affirmation. "I see, right. I apologize Ms. Rose, military contracts are among our most profitable, and often cause complications such as these."

"It's okay, I understand." Ruby nodded.

"Ms. Rose moved here from Patch...you have no relatives in Atlas correct?" Pyrrha asked.

"Not that I know of." Ruby replied. "My dad is from Mistral and my mom is from Patch. I'm staying in a hotel until I can find an apartment to rent."

"In the meantime she could fill in as your assistant." Pyrrha suggested.

"Hmm, do you have any prior experience as a secretary or personal assistant?" Weiss asked.

"No, I worked as a barista since I was a teenager, but I learned time management and organization during college." Ruby answered. "I'm willing to try my hardest to learn no matter what."

"That's fine, at least I know you'll make good coffee." Weiss joked. "You can start tomorrow, eight AM sharp. Pyrrha, can you handle the orientation?"

"Of course." Pyrrha confirmed.

"Thank you." Weiss stood, circling her desk to meet Ruby face-to-face. It was a surprise to learn she was half a head shorter than Ruby, who was used to being the shortest in the room. Ruby had seen Weiss in videos beforehand, appearing in interviews for the news, on talk shows, and in press conferences. She always seemed so tall, so calm and composed, perfect. It felt so strange to literally look down at her new boss after that, but Ruby felt no bigger for it. "Ms. Rose." Weiss greeted once more, offering her hand. Ruby shook it without a moment's hesitation. She was stronger than she looked too. "Welcome to the SDC."