33 Objective

I sat idly by the side of the room, doing my best to be unobtrusive. On the stage, a man was giving a speech about the airship, but I probably knew more about the thing then he did, so I only listened with half an ear.

"—We at the Schnee Dust Company are proud to present the next level of aerial transportation—the White Whale!" He said and it was the ship that dramatically broke through the clouds that drew my attention. And though I'd seen pictures of its constructions, diagrams…it was still a sight to behold. It was sleek, lacking any of the blocky, semi-rectangular look of most airships, and done mostly in white but for the Schnee symbol on its belly. There was a massive viewing window at the front which I assumed was for VIP seating, letting them see the sky and stars. Along either upper side were three long rows of circular windows that looked tiny compared to the tremendous size of the rest of the construct, like dots poked on the sides with a needle. The lower half of the ship was blank and smooth, a massive compartment for anything and everything else it would be transporting. On the back end, beneath the stabilizers, was an enormous energy converter facing the jet at the curve of its belly.

With the retractable stand pulled in, it looked, more than anything, like a giant flying whale. It made people look like ants next to it due to its size and I could believe that one day, decades in the future, machines like this might enable regular contact between the Kingdoms. That someday you might be able to just buy a ticket, get on, and be in Atlas a few days later. Even a single ship like this could transport over a thousand and a half people and enormous amounts of materials. Given a few decades to refine the design…granted, this one had taken a long time to build, but…

I wondered if I'd be alive to see the world machines like these could one day make.

I wondered if what I was doing now was standing in the way of that future. What would happen to this project because of my actions today? Would my actions here put a halt to the project?

Almost certainly not. If anything, once they saw what I could do—maybe even in response to it—they would probably invest in it even further.

"A miracle of innovation, made possible only by through the tireless work of Remnant's greatest minds, the White Whale is a symbol of unity and cooperation between the Kingdoms—and the first in a long of new ties between the peoples of our world. A sign that though we live far from each other, we stand together!"

Which didn't mean I wasn't going to piss of a lot of people by doing this.

Making one last run through the sky above the courtyard, the White Whale withdrew slightly to hover slowly to the ground, a hatch opening to release the massive robotic leg it used for a stand. Landing vertically on the massive space that had been emptied for it, I saw an enormous set of hydraulic stairs approach the vehicle, along with trucks that had their backs also set on lifts. Despite that, they'd need to use the system built into its stand to assist in loading and unloading it was so massive.

I looked around the room for a moment, scanning faces and the information above their heads. I had to suppress a sigh at the sight but began to draw away regardless. If things went well, it'd never come to a real fight. And if it did…

Well, let's hope it didn't come to that. If it did, we'd just have to improvise.

"But before we proceed, a few words from our guests of honor," The presenter's voice made me pause and give a quiet sigh, not really surprised. We'd discussed it in the planning after the possibility of their presence had come up. There hadn't been anything official, of course, because they couldn't very well advertise their presence at a given location in advanced, now could they? Not when there was the very real possibility of an assassination attempt or something to that effect being prepared if given time.

But we'd considered it and had eventually agreed that there was a pretty good chance of them making an appearance—after all, despite the risks, both of them had a great deal of investment in this project and even more to benefit from it if all went well. And even with the potential dangers…

Well, even if I had a history list President Schnee's, I'd feel pretty safe standing between Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood. He stood between them, his usual guards absent, as if daring someone to try something—which, in fairness, no one in their right mind would. Even Adam hadn't suggested picking that fight.

Still…it was unfortunate. I didn't know if the CEO himself would participate in the test flight—given the potential risks, I assumed not—but this was going to make things harder. I still doubted anyone was prepared for what I was going to do, but I was sure there were measures in place to keep the company president safe. Given what he had to go through, I'm sure paranoia got to be a way of life.

For better or worse, I empathized, which was why I wasn't caught off-guard by this situation—and had measures in place.

"Thank you, Kai," Schnee said as he took his place on stage with the general by his side, leaving Ozpin on the ground. I opened my scroll and snapped a picture of them before sending a message to Adam and Blake with it attached. Schnee gave a cool, easy smile as he brushed white hair back, looking calm. "But truly, without James and the brilliant minds of Remnant, none of this would have been possible. In the end, what am I but—"

And then I walked away, not waiting to listen to the rest. I saw several other people with scrolls open as well as several news reporters; if I wanted, I could probably catch the rest online later. In fact, I'd probably be able to catch my theft online later, too. People would probably be talking about me for weeks, especially on the forums and stuff.

I wondered what they would say. I guess I'd find out.

I slipped inside and headed towards the changing rooms, drawing a bag out of my Inventory and switching my hat for a company version. There was two others inside, older men who paused in putting on their Uniforms to look at me oddly. I just nodded back confidently, though.

"Cornelius, Lionel," I nodded, dropping the bag on a bench and unzipping it to withdraw my own uniform, a spare stolen several days. I paid no attention to the men as I stripped off my shirt and pants and got dressed. I saw them go back to changing as well and stretched slightly.

The thing about companies—groups, really—is that they tend to be big. A lot of the time in movies or show, a guard will see a character, disguised or not, and instantly know he doesn't belong. But I'd be shocked if there was anyone in any company who could remember everyone employed by it off the top of their heads. At school, I have several different classes of twenty to forty students and I bet most of them wouldn't know the names of more than five or ten others if you put them on the spot, tops.

And why would they? Most of them never talk to each other, don't hang out, and have little reason to interact. Nobody remembers everyone in their group because they have no real reason to do so and I couldn't imagine companies being any different. And for a project like this where the Schnee had to draw upon over a hundred people for the loading and preparations alone, memorizing everyone you work with is just unfeasible.

So if someone comes into the changing room confidently, looking completely unworried, and takes out your uniform, who are you to say he doesn't belong there? Especially when he's wearing a Schnee Company hat and uses your name.

That last part's especially important. Names are powerful things. I'm not talking about anything to do with Aura or whatever; I'm just talking about basic social interaction. Have you ever had someone come up to you and use your name when you had no idea who they were? Whether they were classmates or whatever else, that's awkward. It means they know you, that they remembered your name, but you didn't bother doing the same. It's weird to find yourself in that position and it's like, hey, you could ask, but that's the same as admitting you forgot them completely.

Most people don't want to do that. They'll just avoid the subject entirely or else subtly try to steer you into mentioning it yourself. Cornelius and Lionel, named such by the signs above their heads, didn't break that trend.

"You gonna watch the trip after?" I said, finishing my stretch.

"Yeah," Lionel said after a beat. "Me and the Mrs. You?"

"Thinking about it," I replied. "Probably gonna turn in early and catch the end, you know? Maybe watch the highlights later."

"You think it will make it okay?" Cornelius said. "Lot of Grimm in that part of Vytal. Especially in the mountains and the desert…"

"Probably won't even go near them," I said honestly and then clarified. "You figure it's basically a straight line to Mistral if you go over the sea, right? I figured that's what they'd probably do; stay high enough to avoid the squids and fishes, fly fast enough to avoid the birds."

"Could be," He mused. "Yeah, probably. I might try to catch the end too, then. Probably be pretty boring over the water, huh?"

"Hey, let's hope for boring, right?" I smiled. "It's gonna be a passenger ship someday. And if I was in that thing, well, I wouldn't mind a boring trip, you know?"

Lionel snort.

"Have a good one, guys," I finished, picking up my bag and heading out first. No one gave me a second glance as I headed out towards the trucks around the White Whale and I alternatively nodded or waved as I passed my fellows by. I went straight towards the truck who's back was slowly rising, peered up at it, and then tapped one of the metal parts with a finger.

"Summon Elemental," I said and saw a flash of Crocea Mors in my reflection before he was gone, rising up quickly. There wasn't much he could do in the forest except enhance my gauntlets, but here in the city…

I saw the raised truck connect with the lift system the White Whale used, creating a bridge for the Yellow Death, and then jerk slightly. I walked over to the truck's open window.

"Hey, Carlo, I think something's wrong," I said to the man frowning at his control. "I'm gonna head up and check, okay?"

Carlo grunted, tapping a few buttons.

I walked into the ship I was planning to steal through the front entrance and nobody so much as twitched.

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