3

Watching Winter leave the office, I shook my head, I think that I would say something like I hate to see her leave, but love the way she goes, as her hips swayed, hips she clearly inherited from her mother, making my other part, the body's residual part of me shook...

I had a hard time seeing Winter Schnee as a desirable woman, as one part saw her as a young woman I wouldn't hate to be in a relationship with, and another part was telling me how wrong it was, when if things went a little differently, Winter would be mine daughter...

Still, this was probably my first change in this world, as the moment I ended my talk with Jacques, or rather, told him of the danger of threatening Atlas's lifeblood, that Dust is, I called Winter to my office, thankfully, she was at that time on break, which was why she could answer my call quickly.

I let Winter have a day off to acclimatize to her new role and prepare herself for her future tasks. What I didn't tell her was that I needed time to think, too, especially my next moves right now I needed to go through all operations, and the task's the Atlas military was going through, as with the new knowledge and experience from Earth, combined with experience and familiarity that James, or now me, has, there were a lot of changes to be made, and I'm not sure I could do them all before the cannon started...

That, and my personality disorder I have from the merge, making me think of myself as the man before on Earth, and James Ironwood from Remnant, it wasn't any battle of wills or spirits as Ozpin had, I do not have any lingering thoughts that didn't belong to new me, but it still made me think of myself in bigger number...

"What a mess." Shaking my head, I sat back behind my desk, the uncomfortable chair, making me remember that Ironwood or I ordered for it to be such, as there wasn't pleasure in the workplace. The hardness of the chair just reminded me that this was duty, not leisure.

"Let's see, the first thing I need to look into..." Frowning, my fingers typed the multiple secret folders locked behind the highest security walls, and I would be proud of them if I didn't know how flawed and paper-thin they truly were.

Watts, and how that name made my blood boil, the traitor, a coward, and opportunistic petty fool, whose ego could rival Jacques's own...

...

It seemed my merger left me with some opinions on many people...

"I need to raise cyber security and upgrade CCTs." The point in my favor was that as the sole holder of any military power in the Atlas, and wasn't that just speaking of shortsightedness, im able to change many things with just a few words or orders.

Seeking into my memories, I know that Atlas military actually had a cyber defense team. The problem is that most of the team members were rejects or just those who wanted cushy and unimportant or hide from complicated jobs, as there wasn't a true example of cyber warfare in Remnant, making everybody underestimate its importance.

The part of me that belonged to Ironwood, I could feel that if he knew how laziness cost them most of their losses, he would despair at his decision not to pursue it deeper, but...

Now that I had the chance, I could make something out of it, and once I have fully built a team in cyber warfare, I can seek how to improve CCT's security.

One name from my Earth life jumped into my mind, making me type into the computer name of a certain Terra Cotta-Arc, and from what my terminal found, a CCT technician and talented young woman with excellent work ethics and a strong sense of right and wrong from what I could gather from the reports on her and my Earth memories, and freshly from her maternity leave.

I had a lot of such people, those who were loyal or had a strong sense of right and wrong, and yet, she was the sole one I knew wouldn't ever betray the cause, at least not until some of her family or those she loves are threatened.

Typing a quick message for a new work opportunity, I looked into other's personal folders as if any lock was opened to me.

The names of promising personnel and people were being noted, just like the names of those where I saw some strange irregularities.

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"Sir? Sir?" My eyes left the screen as they rested on the woman who came into my office, the name already jumping into my mind.

"Yes, Moon." My, or Ironwood's personal secretary, a hard-working woman in the middle of her middle-age, and with husband and child who should by now just joining the Atlas Academy.

"It's already night, Sir. I came to report my end of shift for today." And truly, as my eyes traveled to the windows, I realized she was right. I didn't notice when the light in the room changed from natural to artificial one, so much that I was absorbed in my work.

"Then I bid you good night and thank you for another day of hard work." Moon frowned as a helpless smile rested on her face.

"You again wish to work overtime, don't you, sir? I wish that you, too, could take one day off just to rest." Even if she was younger than me, the thought of her being a mother hen made its way into my head.

"Do not worry, today I will take it easy." Moon just gave me a helpless and sad smile as she closed the doors behind her, making me breathe out.

It was...

Not exactly hard, but I needed to be careful how I dealt with people who knew Ironwood personally, or I risk becoming the target of suspicion.

But, the fruits of my hard labor paid off, as the list of names was a hundred and still counting big...

So many talents, hidden or just without an opportunity to shine, no matter how Ironwood fought against it, there was just this practice of blatant favoritism and nepotism that promoted either incompetent or mediocre people into positions of power, as those with talent stayed in a grunt work...

Ironwood fought it, promoting those he saw as talented, creating his own little army, and it still was too small.

I thought differently. If I wanted to save this floating island, I needed to save it first from within before I looked outside, for if I looked outside first, then I risked that once my eyes fell back again on the Atlas, it would be already too late...

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"Doctor, it is good to see you." My voice, so usually strict and stern, mellowed down into one you wouldn't expect from a man like myself.

And yet, the person I spoke to didn't show any surprise.

"General, how good to see you too. What brings you there, it's not-" Before Pietro could continue, I shook my head.

"No, even if I wish to know how the project P.E.N.N.Y advances, no, the reason for my visit is more complicated." Pietro finally looked at me, honestly looked at me.

"...Are you alright, general?" How?

No, Pietro is a genius. Of course, he would pick any small change or difference.

"Yes... You can say... I'm better than ever, and yet, I'm still troubled, but I do not wish to bore you with my personal dilemmas. There, this is why I came to you." Finishing up my speech, I gave Pietro my Scroll, making him blink at me in surprise, and yet he still nodded and took it from me as he read, and with each second, his eyes widened slightly.

"That... Would be truly a lot of work if you truly wish to pursue it." Pietro carefully said, making me nod, yes...

It was, but if I didn't wish for the iron chain to break, I needed to start with the weakest link.

"Yes. But it is necessary, and I wish for you to cooperate on this with my newly made cyber security team." I watched how Pietro mulled over my words, his automatic wheelchair moving him to the side of the wall where I knew a hidden room rested behind in.

"You know that I'm in the finishing process, James. I can't... I can't leave her like this, and I must finish her." Pietro finally said, dropping the honorifics and calling me in the way he called me before I became general.

The minor quirk of lips on my face couldn't hide how I missed it...

Just Ozpin called me by name these days, and yet, each time he called me such, there was something wrong. Now that I'm merged, I know what...

He was treating me like a child, like he treats everybody, so blindly believing he is better than others. Now that I remember all the times he called me by name, I couldn't help but inwardly shudder...

But another part of me seethed in rage at the behavior he was treating me and all others...

"And you can, now, even with bigger financial support and better materials, as long as you move and her into our facility." Pietro frowned.

"This isn't another play of yours where you want to take hold of her and program her to do your bidding." Pietro sharply asked, and I shook my head. I wouldn't lie, such ideas were raised in my head, but as quickly they came, as quickly I squashed them.

"No, she... Penny will be as you desire. She will be treated as... A normal child, she truly would by, but at the same time, you know we need to make sure that she is protected..." Pietro wanted to object, as there wasn't anything too dangerous for him right now, and I understood him, I truly did...

And so, I broke one of Ozpin's circle rules and gave Pietro a paper with information about Salem and this so-called shadow war, just like information of Watts being alive and turncoat...

I didn't enjoy the way Pietro paled...