So it is done

Summit

The premier summit of the modern world. The first international summit truly dedicated to solving a pressing geopolitical crisis affecting the entirety of Remnant. The subject of so many theories and discussions, rumors and speculations – anyone who has ever been at all interested in what is on the news has at least once imagined what such an event would actually be like.

Ozpin, for his part, did not need to imagine such a thing, after all, he was one of the organizers of the summit, using all his skills and knowledge of past lives to organize it. It's surprising how little things change, people still loves to broadcast how important they are by joining in one place to make it the most juicy target for any assassination attempt.

All the more so, formally speaking, Ozpin had an unambiguous, simple and clear reason for organizing the summit, to draw out each of his political opponents and allies for negotiations. One could see Ozpin's appearance as an attempt to protect his ally, the stubborn, unprepared, but ultimately reliable and aspiring General James Ironwood. Again, he's surprised by just how easy it is to manage public expectations, he's not doing that at all.

Even if he wanted to, the problem was that even Ozpin did not have the means, the ability and most importantly the motivation to defend him.

In agreement with general opinion, James Ironwood did represent the head of his 'faction', but in contradiction to the meaning of the word 'faction', that faction consisted solely of him alone. Ozpin and Lionheart in this case did not come to support James, but to pursue their own goals in the wake of the destruction of Atlas.

James is persistent, but he has no cards to play, all he can do is try to appeal to the kindness, what is there to be found, of his opponents and be stubborn to the last. But he has no strength to actually affect anything; in the end he will simply sign the summit's decision.

What comes next would be his last decree, forcibly resigning himself, along with depriving himself of all his ranks and honors – and then a dying will, marked with his last signature in this life. All before putting the final touches on his life with the harsh sound of his beloved revolver's gunshot.

I'm sorry, old friend, James.

Aifal was, however, an unknown variable. Ozpin was aware of the scope and resources he had, but his motivations were mysterious even to Ozpin. Aifal was a player more interested in trying to guess which side a thrown playing die would fall on than in whether he would lose or win on his bet. The main danger of such people was their unpredictability.

In Aifal's case, this unpredictability was reinforced by his incredibly vast resources and seemingly pervasive connections. If James could have had an ally, it was Aifal. Or perhaps Aifal simply came here for the purpose of enjoying the spectacle, not at all planning to negotiate. Whatever his motivation might be, he's a variable that seriously hinders the construction of any decent theories and hypotheses.

If only Ozpin could have reached Aifal in his private palace and finish him off early...

Quartz, on the other hand, is nothing special, a clever and powerful player perhaps, pursuing his own gain and seduced by visions of his own greatness and the creation of a beautiful society of the future. He is quite capable of putting his name in the history books of this era, but Ozpin has seen his kind in the past many times before, he already knows how that story would play out. Quartz would play his strong hand carefully, holding his best cards until the key moment, trying to maintain an apparent neutral and only 'accidentally' taking the side of the rebels at the end, disguised as 'concern for our common citizens'. If Jonathan's position begins to weaken, he will slowly and very secretly help them, but still trying to pass himself off as a protector of the common good of Atlas and Mantle'.