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Jaune sat up on the bed when he felt the ship shudder slightly, Neo tossing a ball against a wall turning to look at him, "It's a docking reaction, we're fine."

"A docking reaction?" He asked quietly, rolling over and hopping off the bed. "The whole ship shook, are you sure it was just a normal thing?"

"You've never been on a military airship like this one, Jaune." She said hopping up when he did and watching him lace up his boots. "Frigates like this one are only meant to support larger ships in combat. Some dock for travel, others have to dock with fuel ships in flight to refuel."

"You… know a lot about military ships." He observed, raising an eyebrow at her. She mirrored the action and he smiled, "Like, a surprising amount."

"Cinder told me to learn about the Atlesian Navy's naval doctrines in preparation for her plan's final stages." She shrugged lightly, stretching her arms over her head in a way that drew Jaune's eyes, which amused her the way she'd wanted he could sense. He opened his mouth and she added, "She didn't tell me why or what it was for, no."

"She never seems to, I'm noticing. She always keeps things to herself whenever she can, and it is kind of aggravating." Neo hopped onto the bed, crawling on all fours towards him for affection, and he sighed. "Can't, Neo. Cinder is coming with… someone I don't know yet. I can sense it."

"Of fucking course she is… She always messes up my fun. I hate that bitch so much I can literally feel it." Neo pouted, laying her head in his lap instead while he played with her hair idly and smiled.

"I know you do." He tapped his head indicatively, the girl curling up beside him languidly while he toyed with her hair. "I can feel it too, you know. Big part of the whole 'mind reading' thing I have, annoying as it can be."

"I love your Semblance." She said back, turning her head to smile up at him. "It's great in bed, you always know what I want you to do." She sent another thought at him, turning her rear towards him more fully as she did, and raised an eyebrow at him.

The door opened with a muted hiss and thud as it retracted away, and Cinder cocked her hip at him as his hand slid down her back almost on its own, fingers touching the edge of her pants before he caught himself.

"Am I interrupting something?" It was said as a joke, or what passed from her as one, he knew she wouldn't care. "I hate to drag you away, of course, but we have to discuss our plans for tomorrow." "If we don't, people under us could die. Valuable assets wasted." "You can come back to your whore later, when we're finished."

She snarled at her from his lap, and Jaune spoke for her, "Girlfriend, Cinder. Girlfriend. Not whore, I really wish you'd stop insulting her for no reason." She sat up next to him, pouting heavily. She was a needy girlfriend, that was certain. Cinder opened his mouth, but Jaune spoke over her, "I know you have a reason, but I mean a good one. And no, 'not liking her' isn't a good reason as far as I'm concerned."

"Unfortunate that I think it is, then." She said simply, shrugging as though it didn't bother her in the slightest either way. Which it didn't, to be fair, but Jaune didn't really consider that a positive thing. "Now get up, we've a meeting to attend." "And if you want any say in what we do, you'd best be in attendance."

"Fine, fine." He grunted, standing up and picking Crocea Mors off the table beside the bed, the only two pieces of furniture in the spartan room aside from a large dresser officers probably used to store their uniforms. Sliding the belt into the loops of his pants, he talked to Cinder, "How much do the others at the meeting know about me?"

"About you? Only that you're a powerful ally, loyal to our mistress, who is here to ensure that everything goes smoothly and to prevent traitors arising in our ranks." She smiled cockily at him, "I handled what they were told, and when. Your first duty, I may as well tell you now, is to suss out any threats to our integrity in the people boarding this ship. If anyone fails to test as loyal, Neo is here. She will serve as your right hand, an executioner as well as your bodyguard." "Whore or not, she's potent enough for both these roles."

"I don't like you volunteering her for your dirty jobs, Cinder." He groused, the girl mirroring his thoughts. Cinder raised an eyebrow, and he spoke again, "She'll do what you ask, if I determine it's needed, but next time just ask first. Okay?"

"Very well." She said, aggravation rolling off of her for a moment before she sighed. "Just come along when you're ready, Jaune." "Don't make me come and get you, I will be very displeased if that happens." "And remember, you're making an impression on these people, so be punctual and be intimidating." "As intimidating as you can be at least…"

"I'll try my best." He said honestly, the older woman rolling her eyes and leaving the room. He was quiet for a long second before he sighed, "Why do I feel like she's going to try and kill me at some point?"

"Because you're a loose end and a rogue element, not under her control, authority or even influence outside Salem's palace." Neo offered quickly, pulling him back into a sitting position on the bed and crawling into his lap to straddle him and snuggle her face into the crook of his neck. Not a sexual position for them, Neo simply liked being held and coddled like this. "At the castle or palace or… whatever the hell I should call it, she trains you. Influences you and how you think like a teacher can, and in a way where you can't tell."

"Because I can't read her mind." He added, wrapping his arms around her and holding her the way he knew she wanted. "Makes sense, from what I've sensed of her already. She likes control, and power, and she has no control or power over me."

"She could kill you if she wanted."

"No she can't." He argued, shaking his head lightly, "She needs Salem's order to do that, and unless I do something to earn her anger then Cinder won't get that."

Neo nodded, her chin brushing along his neck, and he sighed contentedly. Glad to just sit right now, his arms wrapped around her and her legs wrapped around him. Their meeting was a rough one, even she acknowledged that, but he saw something good in her. Deep down, where no one could look. He just hoped his friends would agree, or at least accept, that reason when he offered it to them.

Sensing her reluctance, she pulled away from him slightly, "You should probably get going now, Jaune. You don't want to be late if this is as important if Cider is implying." He nodded and she tilted her head to the side cutely, "Want me to come with you? She didn't say I couldn't, and I am kind of your bodyguard, even if you do screw me pretty often."

"You probably should, at least to make an appearance as my terrifying bodyguard, whether I spread your legs or not." He leaned in to nip her ear playfully and she giggled mutely, smiling at him with twinkling mismatched eyes. "Do you want to, or would you prefer to just hang out here?"

"I'll do whatever you tell me to,Jaune~" She teased, pressing her chest against him gently and squeezing her legs around his waist. He almost blushed, but managed to choke it down at the last second, and she pouted. "That used to work on you."

"Yeah, and then I spent several nights bending you over things." Jaune countered, running one of his hands up her back to hold her against him with his forearm while his hand gripped the back of her neck possessively so he could lean in to steal a, for them at least, chaste kiss.

He lifted her up and turned, laying her on the bed and pushing away gently, and she pouted, "You can't tease a girl like that and just leave it, Jaune. It's very rude of you."

As tempted as he was, and as much as he knew she wanted his attention, he simply shook his head and sighed, "Later, Neo. We'll have time to spend together tonight, maybe even just after the meeting."

"Fine." She sighed, sitting up and stretching, "Probably going to get a shower while you're out then. If you come back and I'm still in there-"

"I'll join you." He finished for her, turning and heading for the door. "Later."

Outside his room, the halls were just as empty as before, aside from the droids going about their tasks soundlessly aside from their metal footfalls. It only then occurred to him that Cinder hadn't actually told him where to go, and he sighed. She always did that, neglecting to offer him information on where the damned meetings were being held, and it was honestly beginning to become infuriating rather than just annoying.

Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mind. First he felt the frustration and disappointment from Neo, which he felt as mad at Cinder for as he felt bad for himself. Then he felt something surprising to him nearby. A dull sort of intelligence, rudimentary to the extreme like the Grimm's had been except without that innate bloodlust he'd sensed. Like the Grimm, this felt directed and guided, like something was controlling him. He spent a few moments standing there until he'd narrowed down on one and pointed at it. When he opened his eyes, he blinked in surprise.

One of the drones. He could sense the drones, admittedly weakly and very probably only because it was the only thing around, nearby. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes again and extended his range, ignoring the minds he felt a few dozen yards in front of him. The other ship probably wasn't where the meeting was, Cinder would want to keep to her own ship. She was prideful like that.

Finding about six minds, he focused on each in turn until he found Cinder's. Annoyed, angry, bored and somehow hungry all at once, he'd recognize her 'mental footprint' in a crowd of hundreds. Making his way there only took a few minutes, and several sets of stairs to descend. Once he reached the proper level on the ship, he just went towards where eh sensed her until he found the right room.

"Jaune, glad you made it." She said, smiling politely at him as he stepped into the room. The room looked like a conference room, long with a plain square table in the middle of the room. One chair rested at each end of the table with three on the longer sides, most of the latter seats occupied by the other people in the room, all in White Fang uniforms. "I see Neo didn't wish to come with you?" "A shame. A bodyguard isn't worth much when she's too far away to guard the body."

"My bodyguard seemed unnecessary among allies." He said simply, stepping in and allowing the door to close behind him. "I felt it better to keep her rested rather than waste her time in a meeting of all things. Neo becoming bored might be... Unhealthy for some people."

"Is that a threat, kid?" The man on Cinder's right asked, crossing his arms and chuckling. "It's adorable that you think you can threaten me, kid." "Still, if Cinder listens to him and gives him enough credit to treat him as her second…"

Jaune chuckled quietly and took his seat at the head of the table, ignoring the man and addressing Cinder, "If you want, I can get her."

"No, it's fine." She dismissed easily, the man next to her visibly bristling - especially to Jaune's senses - at being ignored. "She'll need her energy soon, after all. Our plans are extensive" "Don't push it too hard, Jaune, we need these people if we don't want our ship to fall from the sky. You're Human, if you disrespect them too much they'll assume you're a racist and refuse to work with us."

"On to the first order of business then." The large man said, standing to address the room as a whole. "First, payment for the fuel and resources you need to continue to Mountain Glenn, as well as for the recruits and warriors that are needed there."

The first five hours of meeting, it turned out, weren't about any plans at all. Instead, it was finances, organization, and other logistical concerns Jaune knew absolutely nothing about. After that, though, Cinder turned to the slight woman on her other side, "And our plans in Mountain Glenn? How are they faring?" Hopefully Roman didn't take a vacation while I was away…" "I remember we were slightly behind schedule when I was forced to leave?"

"We're only as far behind as we were previously, ma'am. Your Human is doing a perfectly adequate job." "Even if his racist insults aggravate everyone involved." "We should be able to enact the Breach relatively on schedule, if nothing bad should happen." The woman was small, and her voice quiet, but he sensed respect for her from everyone at the table except Cinder.

But Cinder didn't really respect anyone, so that was normal.

He couldn't quite tell what kind of Faunus she was, but when he looked, he noticed that despite their climate here - warmer than normal, thanks to the warm winds sweeping between Anima and Vale's Kingdom along the coast - she wore sleeves that covered her arms and long pants. Her mask also covered her mouth, even though most White Fang masks didn't, instead only covering the eyes and nose for the most part, and hers also wrapped further around her head to actually cover her ears. Her dark hair covered the rest, but he could see a hint of cloth covering the lower part of her head and her neck as well.

Why on Remnant was she covered head to toe?

Ignoring it, he looked at Cinder, "What is 'the Breach', Cinder?"

She glared at him for a split second, displeased by the implied challenge in his voice, before schooling herself and speaking politely, "Our plan to weaken Ozpin's hold in Vale, and take defenders away from Beacon and instead into Vale proper. More important, however, are our plans for tomorrow."

"Which are?" He asked nervously, not liking the apprehension he fell from Cinder of all people. She was never apprehensive about anything, really, and he almost asked why he felt her nervousness when he remembered the people in the room.

"First we must deplete Atlas' forces and supplies on Sanus, and strain them until they are thinly spread enough that they begin to rely on almost entirely droid forces in their outermost forts and bases." She said, folding her hands on the table, "This battlegroup consists of our frigate, two refuelling corvettes, a troop transport vessel and a single scout corvette. We will be using it to eliminate fortifications surrounding Vale to achieve our ends." "We can't use the Grimm either, they have to think the White Fang is acting alone for our plan to work. We need a response to terrorists, not a Grimm incursion." "Tomorrow is our first attack, on Fort Kindle, north of Vale."

"I thought we were headed to Mountain Glenn." He asked lowly, eyes hard. "You didn't tell me we'd be fighting Atlesian soldiers on the way, Cinder."

"I'm telling you now. The rest of today will, of course, be yours to do with as you please. Tomorrow is the first of many battles to come for you." "And you will do as I say in each of them, Jaune, or pay the price for it. Don't forget your pets back at the castle." "I trust there is no issue?" She asked coyly, smiling and cocking her head to the side.

"None at all." He growled out, smiling despite himself. "I look forward to it, in fact."

Which was true. He was thoroughly looking forward to seeing if Cinder and Salem held up to their deal, even if everything else was… terrifying.

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So, an entirely Jaune-centric in-between. After this is posted I am diving straight into the next chapter, but attaching this to the combat chapter felt like a bad idea. Sorry for the short chapter on that account. I also tried to do some building up of characters and the world a touch, so let me know how that went. Thanks for reading.

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[Archive Entry 20976] - Atlesian Air Corps Doctrines - Frigates - Light/Medium Frigate Refueling and Resupplying

Due to the nature of the Atlesian Air Corps, colloquially referred to as the navy, being the main military force for all the Kingdoms in regards to expeditionary forces patrolling into Grimmlands across Remnant, between Kingdoms and around trade and transport routes, there are almost hundreds of varying ship designs aside from the most commonly seen 'ships of the line' type vessels, from destroyers down to frigates and back up to cruisers and carriers.

Light frigates are not referred to as 'light' due to reasons of role or equipment, but instead due to their duties. A 'light' frigate model is typically less armored and armed than a 'medium' variant, even of the same class, but that doesn't change its definition. A heavier armed and armored Richter class - used for short range patrols and transport duties - would be referred to as a light frigate, due to its role and the complement issued to it to facilitate the role.

Both frigate classes however are unable to function on their own for periods extending beyond seven days. As a result, they will often either fly in a fleet formation or between set points for refueling and resupplying ammunition, food, water, etc. Where possible, forward bases, fortresses and even villages with attached garrisons can and are used for the role.

However, due to the nature of constructions beyond the walls of the Kingdoms, most fleets rely on air forces for the commonly, smaller corvettes complimented by a frigate compliment or a fighter escort themselves served the role.

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