Putting the Puzzle Together

Fort Bragg

General Gunther sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He'd been in another long distance conference with General Collins of the Marines, General Hu of the Air Force, and Admiral Kelly of the Navy, with himself as the representative of the Army. As the highest ranking officers of their respective branches, they'd been hard at work administrating their underlings, and most recently had been discussing Operation Shield of Freedom, the offensive action into the city of Vale in order to secure it from the Grimm. At one point Admiral Kelly had brought in Professor Ozpin to give them information about the city and their mutual enemy. On paper the plan should do well; armor from the Marines pushing in from the south, aerial insertions from the Army using Naval air assets to follow, and then air support from the Navy and Air Force for the mop up. He couldn't help but be worried about his men though, the, "No plan survives contact with the enemy," maxim was a well known one, and for good reason. His musings were interrupted by an aide calling his attention to another matter.

En Route to Beacon

Private Crawford checked his M4 as he soared over the ground in a Blackhawk. The 82nd was one of the few groups mobilized for offensive action into the city. From what command had told them, the giant tower making up most of facility there were targeting, some sort of university for special forces soldiers from what he understood, was vital to the communications infrastructure for the whole city. He was part of a force tasked with securing the building and its immediate vicinity, then forming up defenses in anticipation of reinforcements from a tank platoon, a Ranger company, some of their other brothers from the 82nd, and some of the same local special forces. There was apparently some sort of dragon version of the Gimm things that was spawning more of them as it flew in addition to attracting other Grimm to its location. The Navy had promised air support within the next thirty minutes so its days were numbered. Until that time the 508th would have to cope.

When they were finally at the large tower, Captain Hernandez spoke up on the coms.

"Alright everyone, expect contact immediately after landing. Because we're not fighting traditional opposition we're abandoning traditional fire and maneuver tactics. I want us all to move as one cohesive force with machine gunners placed around key points of the perimeter; suppressive fire might not work on these things but the volume of fire the MGs put out will still be important for making sure we're not overwhelmed." With that the hellis landed and the soldiers work. Crawford spotted two of the things charging right at his squad so he took aim and quickly gunned them down. Hitting these things wasn't particularly difficult, it was the numbers that were the problem. Just as the Captain instructed, the force made a steady advance towards the tower, their formation more reminiscent of the Napoleonic or Civil Wars than anything recent as they laid down a steady stream of lead at anything that so much as looked at them funny. A squad posted up by an impressive looking statue and another to hold up by a set of pillars with orders to thin the Grimm forces and to fall back as soon as they might be overrun while the rest of the group continued to the building. Fighting was stiff as another squad broke off to make an MG nest in a pile of rubble and two more broke off to secure a destroyed wall to the south. The main group, now at the building's main entrance, stopped to form up around Captain Hernandez. "As you can see we've been slowly peeling off squads to act as independent strong points. Command's current theory is that as long as we can keep the enemy's strength unfocused, we should have a much easier time holding, all squads broken off from the main group will be joining us if they are overwhelmed. Now then, Lieutenant James, take two squads and establish firing positions from the upper floors. Sargent Cassel, take a squad and help James and Barkley clear the interior of any hostiles they come across. The rest of you, I want a nice defensive perimeter with overlapping fields of fire. Our Ranger buddies have already fortified this position somewhat so it should be easy to identify good fields of fire."

Crawford went off with his James, his Lt, and whistled as he entered the facility. Private Thomas, his closest friend in the squad, gestured to the ceiling with his SAW. "They've got quite the grasp on architecture, don't they?" Crawford nodded in agreement.

"Ya, looks more like a college or a cathedral than a training facility. The locals seem to have a taste for the finer things."

"Can it you two, don't want to attract any hostiles do ya?"

"Yes sir sergeant."

As the group moved through they encountered a handful of Grimm making a mess of the interior, but they were able to deal with them quickly. At one point they finally found a staircase and were on their way to what had to be the windows along the front of the building. When they arrived at their target, Crawford bashed open the glass with the butt of his rifle and Thomas peeked out with his SAW. The men below were busy firing at the Grimm, and he spotted Hernandez shouting orders in the center. James activated his radio.

"Sir! We've secure the second floor, Cassel's squad is returning now. Over."

"Roger that, you are clear to open fire on any hostiles. Over." James nodded at Thomas, who then unleashed his weapon onto the Grimm below. The other men joined in as well, firing from the destroyed windows. In addition to the gunfire and snarling that created the din of battle, an occasional explosion marking the discharge of a grenade or shoulder fired rocket. Things were going well until a giant black mass in the sky made itself known.

In an infirmary at Naval Station Norfolk

Captain Stuart patted the hand of the motionless form of Private Scott. He was softly breathing, asleep from the recent surgery to remove the arrow in his back. Stuart then looked to the bed on his other side. Corporal Nicholas had sustained second and third degree burns and a concussion, but he would be fine. The constant beep of the machines monitoring their vitals assured him that his men were well past any risk of death, the doctors had even told him they would both be fit for duty once they recovered. Stuart was about to get up when he heard someone enter the room. He looked up to see Professor Ozpin, walking towards one of the beds on the far side of the room. It held a blond girl in what had to be her late teens, maybe early twenties, that had suffered a severed right arm. Ozpin walked over to her and scanned her with worried eyes before he finally spoke.

"You're people vex me, Captain Stuart." Briefly aghast at the sudden statement, Stuart took a moment to form a response."

"I wouldn't know why Professor. There doesn't seem to be much difference between us."

Ozpin had by that point walked up to Stuart and pulled up a chair and sat in it.

"It's not any cultural differences that confuse me, we share much in common in that regard. It is the nature of your existence that confuses me: you're past, your ideology, your technology. I've just been meeting with your Admiral; tell me, have your superiors told you about Aura? I've explained it to several of your leaders but I was wondering how far down the chain it had traveled."

"I don't rightly know Professor."

"Please, just Ozpin is fine. In that case, allow me to explain. Do you know what a soul is Captain?" Stuart exhaled sharply while he gathered his thoughts.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's like a non-physical form of the self. I don't believe in them myself, but a lot of people back on Earth, and here even, believe that they persist once someone dies, and that this soul is what the person is when they go on to the afterlife they happen to believe in." Ozpin nodded.

"So in your own understanding, a soul is of more religious and spiritual significance?"

"That's a safe assumption, ya."

"It very much the same and different here on Remnant. We actually have souls, but not in a religious sense. We still have religions as well, but our souls exist independent of them, though they are significant within the religions. I can say with such certainty that we have souls Captain, because we can actually see them in action. Individuals such as myself have their Aura activated." Stuart nodded; he had overheard conversations among the students that evacuated with them mentioning such. "On one level, we do share a similar definition of souls, they are non-physical form of the self that will reflect their owner's personality and experiences, though, as far as we can tell, a soul is extinguished once it's owner passes on. Aura is directly based off of one's soul. A common definition on Remnant is that it is the physical manifestation of the soul that will act at the behest of its owner to protect them from harm or to more actively to directly influence the world around them in what we call a Semblance; I believe you witnessed such with that contemptible woman throwing fire at you and your men." Stuart nodded.

"So an aura would be like a sort of guardian for their user while a Semblance is a special power or ability?"

"Yes, exactly. I bring all this up Captain Stuart, because I want to try something, with your permission of course. I want to try to activate your aura." Stuart went silent for a moment, not sure what to think of all of this. He'd been an atheist most of his life so all this talk of souls was going to be a cause for some serious introspection.

"As long as nothing bad would happen if you do so then go ahead." Ozpin stood and clapped his hand together. He then placed one hand on Stuart's forehead.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." He stood back, placing both his hands on the top of his cane. Stuart turned his palms back and forth, trying to see if anything was different. He had felt a momentary rush of energy, as if he was being fueled by adrenaline, but it faded moments after Ozpin had broken contact.

"Was anything supposed to happen?"

"Normally a pulse of aura would resound once it is activated, I feared as much. No such pulse can occur because it seems that you don't have an aura. This can only mean one thing: you don't have a soul." Stuart didn't know whether to be indifferent, saddened, or outraged, being called soulless is quite the insult.

"Thank you for trusting me Captain. However, you've simply helped me confirm a greater fear." Stuart scratched the back of his head.

"Ya, no problem Ozpin. So, what is this fear I confirmed?" By this point Ozpin was back in his seat, his brow scrunched in thought.

"For that I'll have to give you a small history lesson. From as far as we can remember, Humanity, our Humanity at least, has been at threat from the forces of Grimm. Early in our history, we were on the brink of extinction, only being saved by our discovery and of utilization of dust, a substance that to this day is quintessential for the operating of our civilization. I won't go too far into detail on it yet at least, but it's basically the energy of Remnant and it embodies the elements: fire, air, water, and so forth." He was about to continue but Stuart held up his hand to interject.

"Wait, fire, air, and water? What do you consider the elements to be?" Ozpin looked confused at this.

"The energies of the world; others would be earth, lightning, and ice, but there are more. Why do you ask?"

"The concept of elements exists in our world too, but your definition fits one from our world that's been obsolete for a few thousand years now." Ozpin scratched his chin with a hand.

"Interesting, more questions to ask, but later, we're getting off track. So the Grimm. Just barely Humanity survived them and still we are at constant threat of extinction, and its been like this for thousands of years. And this is where we get to the heart of the problem: every living thing on Remnant has a soul, every tree, bird, flower, and man, woman, child, with one major exception, and I believe you've been well acquainted with it by now Captain Stuart."

"The Grimm…"

"Yes, and that is exactly why it is a problem that your people don't have souls, at least not in our sense. Once word gets out, and it surely will, a great deal of hostility will be imbibed within the populace. How can we trust something that shares a trait with our ancient enemy? We have a… history of prejudice, particularly against a subgroup of Humanity called the Faunus. I'm sure you've recognized them by the animal features."

"Ya, they were a bit strange, such things only exist in fiction back on Earth. A lot of the men thought they were cute though. Other than that we don't think much of them."

"That is good to hear. Here, it is much different. Faunus are a persecuted minority. While a lot of the cities have legal equality, racism is very much a problem on Remnant."

"I don't think we're one to judge Ozpin. You've seen how some of my men have darker skin pigment? Subject to massive persecution and structural racism 'bout fifty years ago. Even now, you'll find someone every now and then that's a racist against them."

"It seems establishing prejudices is a very Human trait, but alas." Ozpin stood up. "Thank you very much for the conversation Captain, it was extremely enlightening. I've got another meeting with your superiors." Stuart gave a brief wave from his seat.

"Ya, take care Ozpin."