So it is done

Price of word

James recoiled as if struck, and Jonathan turned his gaze to Ozpin, trying to understand what it was that had made him suddenly decide to backstab his 'friend'.

Up to this point, Ozpin had already chosen his position, simultaneously showing both his silent opposition to Jonathan and his coalition and allowing events to unfold in a way that suited him. This turnaround, however, did not fit into what exactly Jonathan knew about Ozpin – with his passivity and willingness to influence events from the shadows, only directing them by subtle manipulation, committing the least amount of action possible.

Ozpin's single-minded decision, his support for Robyn, despite how unexpected his actions seemed to Robyn or Ghira herself, did not fit the picture Jonathan had outlined.

In other words...

Either Jonathan was wrong, or Ozpin was once again not who Jonathan thought he was, or something had happened that caused Ozpin to change his usual actions.

Jonathan turned his gaze to Aifal – could it be him? Aifal was a man full of mystery, Jonathan knew that he was influential, but the information about him was half hearsay and half out of reach, in sight but out of Jonathan's hand reach. And thanks to the RATS, Jonathan's hands could reach very, very far.

Could Ozpin have suddenly backed Jonathan because of Aifal's actions? Aifal tried to maintain a neutral stance by pointing out the weaknesses of any possible treaties between Mantle and Atlas. His actions contributed to tension in the negotiations between the two sides, but no more so than any discussion of a specific framework for implementing theoretical plans.

Did such a discussion carry with it something more? Something that caused Ozpin to make a move by intervening in what was going on? Maybe – but if so, then Jonathan lacked the experience or intelligence to see the secret plays between Aifal and Ozpin.

Jonathan's gaze caught the slightly sly squint of Aifal's eyes, causing him to inwardly note that Aifal's objections actually made some sense. Unfortunately, Jonathan himself could not decipher what he would get by his actions, nor what Ozpin had figured out.

And judging by Aifal's sly squint, he knew it.

Diplomacy – the ability to say one thing to make others hear another, or to say nothing at all.

James, meanwhile, with his last foothold knocked out from under him, turned a bewildered look to Ozpin, fully aware that he had become nothing more than a sacrificial lamb at this feast. Finding no purchase there, his frozen expression, between despair and childish resentment, glanced at Robyn as if hoping for a modicum of sympathy from his enemy in such an unjust world at least.

Ironwood was truly desperate to think that Robyn would have any sympathy for Atlas.

"On behalf of Mantle, I'm prepared to congratulate Vale for not forgetting, years later, what the Council system was supposed to be like." Robyn only viciously stabbed at the bottom of James's heart.

Jonathan literally saw the light fade in the General's eyes before he recoiled from the table as if he had been struck. His action caused the agents in his personal guard to tense, and all the other agents around him to tense in response.

Confused, like a lost child, James blinked a few times before the final realization of his fate hit him. The realization caused the already seemingly sickly general to age a dozen years in an instant, hunched over and lowering his gaze before he slowly, with final recognition, signed his own sentence with a nod.

I'm very sorry, General.

"In other words," Jonathan, having determined that General Ironwood had finally surrendered under the pressure of his entourage, stepped forward and finally consolidated the position of his coalition. "Mantle will remain Mantle, as it was before Atlas. And Atlas..."