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Weiss had been dreading this day. She knew already that Führungsakademie des Atlas had accepted her. There was never any doubt - after all, just the donations Schnee Waffenfabrik AG made to Atlas would have guaranteed a second look - but seeing the acceptance letter arrive in the mail was just further confirmation that she was not in control of her own life. It did not matter to Father that she didn't want to join the Bundeswehr, that every time she walked into a room people stared and curated their words, fearful that they would say something wrong. It was no way to live. Weiss had to get away from this dreadfulness. She had to prove, if not for anyone else, then at least for herself, that she could do things on her own merit. She would not be able to accept a position in the Bundeswehr if it was built on the back of Father's name alone. Weiss could not dream of finding true, real success at Atlas if her father's shadow was cast over her. Besides, who would believe her when she said she had found success on her own accord? Who would believe her when she said her father did not dictate her life, when she had gone to the school he had selected, to the place he wanted to keep her? It was impossible to both be a Schnee and not have the family name forever tied to you. It was why, in secret and with Winter's help, she had sought out any alternative institution possible. She had found nearly every school in Europe would consider her, but also remained just as fearful of her father's word. Every commandant from the United Kingdom to Italy was well aware of Father's preferences, and nearly every European military had bought a Schnee weapons platform at some point. Not one was willing to take her in without Father's explicit approval. All, that is, except for Beacon. Beacon Military Academy, based in the United States, did not care who her father was. They barely cared who she was. Commandant Ozpin had personally written to her, formally accepting her to the ranks of Beacon. The only caveat was that she would be treated as a foreign student, and there was virtually no chance that she would be considered in the United States Army, unless of course she chose to become an American by way of military service. It was the only place she could go. Weiss saw little other option. Defying her father, Weiss had chosen to attend Beacon, despite the fact he argued strongly in favor of Atlas. And so, Weiss stood here at Flughafen Bremen, alone. Winter had promised to come by to say her farewells, but her duties must have caught up with her. Whitley cared little about where Weiss went. Mother was probably either drinking to forget her life, or somewhere in the south on business. And as Weiss already knew, Father had already disowned her. “Now boarding Flight 2705, Bremen to Munich International. Now boarding.”Weiss sighed, readjusting her grip on the massive bag that, for now, contained everything she would need. As a so-called “international student” she would not be beholden to the same rigid standards American-born Beacon cadets would be, which primarily meant in this case she had been given a list of what she needed to bring. Along with whatever personal effects she needed, she would have to bring several changes of plain clothing, various IDs and state documents, and a collection of items that made little sense to Weiss. She was soon on the way to Munich, with little more than a book for companionship as she waited to be delivered to California. She did not have much time for breakfast, and had to resort to whatever food Munich International offered. The loneliness was crippling, and she found herself having already finished her book twice by the time the next flight came. Eleven more hours of this. Maybe the only positive thing was that she would be able to get some sleep on the way to the United States. Weiss arrived at San Francisco International at roughly six o'clock in the evening, feeling very much out of place as she tried to find her way around. Her letter from Commandant Ozpin said that a member of his staff would be there to bring her to Beacon, but it did not say what they would look like. Weiss was vaguely familiar with the cut of American uniforms, since she often saw them around Wilhelmshaven when Father brought her out on business. Unfortunately, Weiss could not see anything in this sea of people. Where was the order? It seemed like every man, woman and child only thought for themselves, and their callous disregard for clarity and competence immediately began to stress her out. Lost in the confusion, Weiss wandered towards what she assumed to be the transport hub, searching for anything even vaguely familiar. “All international Beacon cadets,” somebody shouted in English, standing next to a group of camouflage-clad people. “Come to here! I say again, all international Beacon cadets, group up here!”Weiss followed the sound of the voice, spotting one of them clutching a sign with “Weiss Schnee, West Germany” written on it. This must have been the staff member her acceptance letter talked about. Other signs with names printed on them were here as well, with some in what Weiss recognized as Japanese.“Um, excuse me,” Weiss said, trying her best to remember her English schooling.The group of soldiers looked at her, and the one that seemed to be in charge looked her over, comparing her to a photograph they had. “You're Weiss Schnee?”“I am.” He nodded, striking something off on a clipboard he had. Probably her name – he must have kept a list of everyone who would be there. “Alright, we're gonna have to wait for a few more flights to come in. Hey, sergeant, hang around her, will you? Make sure she doesn't get lost.”The sergeant he referred to nodded, tucking his sign underneath his elbow and guiding Weiss to a waiting area. There, he had Weiss take a seat while he remained standing. “First time in California?” he asked, in German surprisingly enough.“Uh, yes,” she said, trying to hide her shock that he knew how to speak German. Barely even an accent, too.“You'll get used to it. I spent a year over in Germany, I think it was near Köln.”“Oh. I hope you enjoyed your time there.” The sergeant nodded curtly, scanning the area for more international cadets. “Yeah. It was a lovely place, honestly. Maybe I'll be back one of these days.”“Maybe.”Time seemed to go by, paradoxically slow and quickly. Before she knew it, they had been stuffed into a short bus and were on their way to California as the sun began to head below the horizon, sending streaks of brilliant red rays to the sky. By the time they had arrived on Beacon's campus itself, it was dark and the accompanying sergeants shouted a hurried mix of broken Japanese, Chinese and Spanish in a vague attempt to organize their new charges, shoving them into buildings Weiss barely caught the names of. “Hey, you!” another sergeant shouted, pointing to Weiss.“Me?”“What's your name?”Weiss again relayed her name, wondering how some of these people didn't already know. Right. She kicked herself mentally, that was the entire point of coming to Beacon, wasn't it? Because nobody knew who she was. She would have to get used to this.
“Alright Schnee, you're in Bravo Company now. Follow me, we're gonna learn you a thing or two.”
She was far from fluent in English, but… “learn you a thing?” That didn't seem right.“Um, excuse me sir-”Immediately, the sergeant whipped around, having taken offense to her words. “I'm not a sir,” he growled. “I'm a sergeant. Do they not have sergeants where you're from?”“Oh, uh, no, t-they do, sergeant, but-”“English, cadet,” he shot back. “This is not France, do you understand that?”Weiss blinked, confused. “Sergeant, I'm not from France, I'm-” “I do not care!” he yelled. “Stand at parade rest when I'm talking to you!”Parade rest? What did that mean? The blank look on her face must have clued him in that she didn't know what he was talking about, and so he gave her a short demonstration, saying they would “fix this” later. When she had transitioned acceptably to parade rest, the sergeant got in her face, his fingers straight and pointed like an arrow, as if he were about to karate chop her.“Listen here and listen well, cadet,” he said, keeping his hand pointed at her. “You are not going to be excused from anything just because you're from another country. Ignorance is not an excuse at Beacon. Do you understand that?”“Yes, sergeant!” The sergeant nodded, escorting her into a massive building and taking her up a few floors. In there, she was handed a piece of paper called her Knowledge sheet, a cadet codebook, forms for her to fill out, and numerous other items she saw no immediate use for. Basic drill was taught to her by the sergeant, including how to properly address sergeants, the company's First Sergeant (who she had not met) and officers. From there, she was also shown to her room, which was full of bags from her roommate. By now, the sergeant said, they were probably on their way back, and so Weiss was allowed to get herself settled in. Her roommate had already picked one of the beds, and so Weiss took the only option available to her. She had been out and about for nearly an entire day, and she felt disgusting. They had a shower here, a facility the sergeant encouraged her to use since there was no telling when she would get another chance. No better way to clear her head than a good, hot shower. As she showered, Weiss could hear the rest of her company doing… evidently something that made a lot of noise. Far too late, Weiss realized she had forgotten to pack soap. Ugh. Just something she would have to find later. Maybe her roommate had some. Not that she could check right now, anyway, not dripping wet like this. That, and rummaging through someone's bag while stark naked didn't much appeal to Weiss. The door to the shared room slammed shut as Weiss turned off the shower. She could hear people talking in the other room, but between the walls of the bathroom and the adjacent room, she couldn't pick out individual words. Having fully dried off, Weiss looked back down on the floor… and realized she had also forgotten to get fresh clothes from her bag as well. In the confusion and stress of trying to translate the sergeant, she had completely skipped that step. Weiss sighed, angry with herself. She was usually much, much better organized than this. Like before, she didn't look upon with favor the idea of stepping out in just a towel, going through her bag, and dressing in front of a complete stranger. What kind of impression would that give off? Perhaps her roommate would never know. Surely they had enough on their mind. Dressing in her old clothes, Weiss stepped out, flipping away still-wet strands of hair from her eyes until she could reach her brush. In their shared room, Weiss saw a girl with black hair that changed to red at the tips, cut short and neatly. She looked like she had been sweating ever since she got up this morning. Was this what was in store for Weiss tomorrow?“I suppose you're my roommate, then?” Weiss asked, causing the girl to turn around. Silver eyes, she noted. Interesting.Immediately, the girl smiled, extending a hand out to her. “I think so!” she said, her voice high-pitched and instantly grating to Weiss's ears. “I'm Ruby Rose! Nice to meet you!”Weiss took the handshake, nodding slightly. “Likewise. I suppose you already know who I am.” Ruby tilted her head slightly, confused. “Huh?”What? Weiss was sure her arrival would have been the talk of Beacon. Surely at least one of these sergeants or officers knew who she was, right? “Really? Weiss Schnee, heriess to Schnee Waffenfabrik AG? My family's company only produces 70% of the US military's arsenal.” Stupid, Weiss, stupid. Why did you have to share that much?“Oh,” she said. “I… don't think I knew that.”“Wow. I'm actually amazed.” Weiss heard footsteps from behind, and turned to see two more girls, one with blonde hair, the other stark black hair, both tied back in buns. The blonde-haired one smiled wide, running over to Ruby and practically tackling her, while the other just leaned against the door. What was going on?“Hey sis,” the blonde one said. “How're you doing? You get to talk to Dad?”
“Yeah, did you?”
“Yeah, he sounded a little shaken up, but I think he's good.”From her position at the door, the black-haired one smirked. “I didn't know we were allowed to bring our sisters.”“What can I say,” the blonde one said, shrugging. “Military runs in the family.” “Wait,” Ruby said. “We're all sharing a room together, right? Who are you? Where are you all from?”Well, it had to happen at some point. “Well, as I just explained to you,” Weiss replied, looking at Ruby first before the others. “I'm Weiss Schnee. I just got here from Germany.”“Blake Belladonna,” the black-haired one said. “Hawaii.”“Hey Weiss, I'm Yang Xiao Long, Cali born and raised!”
“I'm Ruby Rose. I'm so excited! We're going to do great together!”
Just as Ruby finished her declaration, three solid knocks came at the door. “Lights out! Stop talking and go to sleep!”Yang and Blake retreated to their room, and Ruby took up her bunk after changing into her sleeping clothes. Weiss did the same as swiftly as she could as well, trying to minimize how long she'd be exposed to her roommate. It's real now, Weiss thought as she got into bed. I'm really as far away from home as I can possibly be.