Darkest Nights: a RWBY Story

Chapter 38: the Troubles the of War

Ghira looked up from his charts as Jason entered.
The two were in one of the offices that connected to the castle's war room. Since the two had begun working together, Jason had granted Ghira full access to the office whenever he needed, as well as any of the Royal Army's resources.
"How are the troop placements doing?"
Jason said, indicating Ghira's Scroll, which lay on the table, currently displaying a military map of Atlas.
"Quite well."
Ghira said, turning the Scroll around for Jason to see.
"Dispirit 3 more moderately large Grimm attacks on Atlas, there has been no loss of troops, human or Faunus.
"Good."
Jason said, moving slightly closer for a better look.
Not just good,
Ghira thought to himself as he watched Jason examine the map of Atlas.
Despite his young age and lack of experience in command, Jason had proved to be a brilliant traction. More than once his orders for a defensive squad to defend certain parts of a village or city had saved numerous lives.
Days earlier, he had split the formation of the Atlas defense team from the normal 4 divisions of 60 down to 5 divisions of 48. Using the fifth team, the defense squads were able to catch the oncoming wave of Grimm completely off guard.
"Any traces of Salem?"
Jason asked.
Ghira ran a hand through his beard as he shook his head.
"We had thought she would be where the concentration of Grimm was heaviest, but apparently not. But each day there seem to be more and more Grimm."
Jason's eyes darted across the screen as he switched to a map of Vacuo.
"All areas have enough soldiers?"
He asked, momentarily glancing up at Ghira.
The older man nodded slowly.
"Yes. Well, almost."
Jason stopped examining the map of Vacuo and looked at Ghira.
"Currently, the only troops available to defend Menagerie are the ones we have here."
Ghira said.
"That's only 117 soldiers plus 30 total royal guards with military training. Not a lot when it comes to defending a whole island."
Jason nodded.
"That thought had crossed my mind as well. But we can't risk moving any of the current units right now."
Ghira sighed tiredly as he sat down in his chair behind the desk.
"We need soldiers, people who would give their lives if necessary to defend this island, but also ones skilled in combat. There are plenty of civilians here who would gladly fight to defend their home I'm sure, but most lack the training required to work together as a unit."
There was a long silence as the both thought.
Then, after a few minutes had passed, Jason spoke.
"I think I've got an idea of where we can get more troops."
Ghira looked over at him.
"Where?"
Jason took a deep breath.
"You're... not going to like this."