Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-10380701-20150808021719/@comment-25266931-20151215230947

173.17.22.10 wrote: Well let's think about it for a bit on why Winter could be a villain. Atlas is known for their millitary, robots, airships, and all sorts of tech like the Comm towers from vol 2. As a result I'd wager that they must have a top of the line security system for all of that, one that has likely never been broken given that Remnent has been at peace for so long. Which begs the question: where the heck did Cinder get a virus that can infiltate such a system? Given Winter's rank as a Specialist she potentonally can access all clasified Atlesian military information including the security system.

Then there's her connection to the Schnee Dust. Even though she may not be on good term with her father she still has ties to the company. After all the Schnee Dust Company is responsible for developing most if not all of Atlas's tech, including the Atlesian Paladins. Transporting dangerous cargo like that is clasified from what we have come to understand from Winter, and yet the White Fang have been able to get their hands on them. Someone is likely leaking when, where and how they are transported; who better then a Schnee? She could have also been the one responsible for the dissappearances family friends and the executions of board members that Weiss mentioned; perhaps to keep them from revealing what ever evil deeds she has commited.

She also seems to be part of the Inner Circle, but only to an extant. She knows about their enemies; that they're in Vale, but when it comes the Maidens (or at leas the Fall Maident)the group leaves her in the dark. There's a good chance she knows about the Maidens or ( given the Schnee's mysterious genetic Semblence and the fact the original Winter Maiden looks like a Schnee) might actually be one, and is playing it safe by remaining at arms length and not  letting the Inner Circle catch on to her. I like where you're going with this. She did pop in and out of town saying she was "transporting" soldiers or mechs or something. She could've been. But who's to say she didn't also slide a few things Cinder's way. She could've hooked Torch up with the Paladin too. She said the RWBY team wouldn't be able to beat non-prototype Paladins. Maybe their use was a test (with the WFs as the guinea pig) before finding out if the finished Paladins would be better for the villains.