The large freighter Miló was nearing the end of it's long journey from the dust mines of the Atlas system, to the Vale system. On it's bridge a tall redhead stood behind the ships young pilot "Alright Miss Rose, drop us out of hyperspace." Captain Nikos ordered. "Yes ma'am" the pilot said as slowed the enormous vessel down.
As the ship came to a halt, the blurred lines of stars that were usually visible while in hyperspace were replaced by the still burning wreck of another freighter. Captain Nikos gasped "Lieutenant Ren, scan that ship for any signs of life, Lieutenant Valkyrie boost shields to maximum!" she shouted to her crew. "Yes ma'am" they both replied, before quickly complying.
A blonde man approached the captain "What do you think did this?" he asked, she shook her head "I don't know Jaune, but it can't be go..." Before she could finish Lieutenant Ren interrupted "Captain, we have life signs but not from that ship, there's another ship hidden behind it." As he said that a heavily armed battleship, with the Schnee Dust Cartel logo appeared from behind the damaged ship.
Jaune returned to his station "Captain, they're hailing us" Jaune said. The Captain nodded "Put them through" she ordered, with that the view of the ships vanished. In its place a woman with white hair and a scar over her eye appeared, she said "This is Captain Schnee of the SDC Battleship Myrtenaster, surrender your cargo or we will come and take it from you" she snarled. "I'm afraid I can't allow that Captain Schnee" Captain Nikos replied calmly. A smile crept onto the white haired woman's face "I'm glad you said that, now we get to kill you. My people will be there shortly so I'd start praying if I were you" she said before vanishing again.
"Captain, I can get us out of here" the young pilot insisted, But the Captain sighed and said "We could try that, but they would follow us and we can't outrun them. You four should head to the escape pods, and I'll scuttle the ship." The girl turned to her "With all due respect captain, we can't just destroy this ship and all the dust. We could all just leave and let them take it." Captain Nikos shook her head "I'm sorry but we can't let the SDC get hold of our cargo, and I can't let you die for it. So I'm ordering you all off my ship right now" she snapped at the her crew.
Lieutenants Ren and Valkyrie complied with the order and headed for the escape pods, but Jaune and the pilot stayed in place "I'm not leaving you Pyrrha, I'd rather die with you than live without you" Jaune said as tears ran down his face. She sighed "Alright, you can stay but I want everyone else off." The pilot stood up from her seat "But Capta…" she started only to be interrupted by Pyrrha shouting at her "No but's just get out of here!" The pilot tried to formulate a response but it was too late, multiple explosions rocked the ship as the Battleship opened fire. The shields were pierced and the escape pods destroyed, killing the two Lieutenants.
The Captain, Jaune, and The Pilot all dropped to their knees, overwhelmed by the sudden deaths of Lieutenants Ren and Valkyrie. But they didn't have time to mourn, a troop transport had docked with them and they could hear their assailants approaching. The Captain drew her sidearm and took cover by the door, Jaune did the same and took cover on the opposite The Captain.
The Pilot had left her sidearm in her quarters, so she just threw herself behind her seat as the attackers reached the door to the bridge. She could hear hushed voices outside, and then the door flying across the room at her. Taking a peak at what was happening, she saw a blonde woman towering over Jaune as he lay on the floor. The Captain was lying on the floor behind them, pointing her sidearm at the intruder. But, before she could fire a black haired woman kicked it out of her hand "You, really shouldn't have done that" the black haired woman said maliciously as she pulled out a knife.
The blonde woman picked Jaune up by his throat "Come on you pussy, fight back." she said as she started to squeeze. Jaune kicked at her and tied to punch her but it was futile. She laughed "Nice try" she said as she drew her own sidearm, pointed at his head and fired. His brains splatter on her and the wall, and she let his lifeless body drop to the floor. While that was happening, the black haired woman was on top of the Captain fighting for control of the knife. She had it aimed at the Captain's chest was pushing it down with both hands, while the Captain was using all of her strength to push the knife away. When the gun went off she stopped fighting, she shouted "Jaune!" as the blade slid between her ribs and pierced her heart.
The two women turned to face the Pilot's seat "Hmm, I think we may have a little friend hiding behind that" said the black haired woman, the blonde cracked her knuckles and approached the seat "Come on out, we won't hurt you… Much" she said sadistically. The pilot jumped to her feet with her arms raised "Please don't, you can have the dust. I swear I won't tell anyone about this" she begged. The blonde laughed "We don't need your permission to take it, and we don't care if anyone knows about this. So, you don't really have a leg to stand on I'm afraid, but I guess it takes balls to try to bargain with the one who just killed your friend in cold blood." The pilot back away, terrified of the blonde. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" the blonde asked, in a surprisingly friendly manner "Ruby...Ruby Rose" the pilot stuttered out.
The blonde's jaw dropped "Daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long?" she asked. The question caught Ruby off guard "Yeah, why?" she answered, the blonde gasped "Because, I'm your half-sister." she responded. Ruby's eyes widened "That's impossible, Dad said you were dead." she said not entirely sure who to believe. The blonde shook her head "No, he just wishes that mom and I didn't exist. I'm Yang Branwen, used to be Yang Xiao Long" she said. The black haired woman approached them "So this is the sister you've been talking about?" she questioned Yang. "Yeah Blake, this is her" Yang replied.
"What are you going to do with me now?" Ruby asked. Yang sighed "Well, you can either come with us and we can hope that Weiss is willing to be merciful, or we can leave you here to either starve of potentially get picked up by another ship. It's your call" she said. Ruby considered her options, she didn't really want to go with these people. But she didn't want to be left adrift on her own, and she was spurred on by curiosity about Yang. She was about to give her answer when a masked man entered the room "Commander Branwen, Lieutenant Belladonna we have finished transferring the dust. It's time to go" he said before leaving. Blake followed him out "Don't be long Yang" she called back to the blonde. "Well Ruby, are you coming?" Yang asked, Ruby nodded "Alright, I'll come with you" she replied. Yang headed back to the troop transport, her half-sister following close behind.
When they reached the transport, it was full of heavily armed soldiers. They were confused by Ruby's presence "Commander, why have you brought her with you?" one of them asked. Blake snapped at him "Don't question your superiors Winchester!" The soldier snarled at her "I'm your superior you stupid animal." Blake slashed his throat "Does anybody else have a problem with my race?" she asked angrily. They all shook their heads, fearing for their live "Good, because the next time someone does, I'm going to make their death a lot slower than his." Yang said as she boarded the transport.
"Respectfully Commander, I have a question" said one of the soldiers nervously. Yang looked at him "Go ahead Vasilias" she urged him, "We normally don't take captives, what changed?" he asked hesitantly. Yang nodded "Since you asked nicely, unlike Winchester. I'll dignify you with an answer. This is Ruby, my half-sister. So, if any of you even look at her the wrong way, I will eject you from an airlock. Got it." the soldiers understood that their commander always stood by her threats. "Understood Commander" they all replied.
The transport took off on the short flight back to the mothership, which was close by for the dust transfer. As they left her ship behind, Ruby wondered what she had just got herself into. Would Weiss be merciful? Was this really her sister? What would happen to her now? Her first question would be answered very soon as the transport landed in a hanger on board the battleship.
When the doors opened and she got her first view of the ship from the inside, Ruby was in awe. There were all kinds of small spacecraft, fighters, bombers, transports and there were people all over the place. She stayed close to Yang as they exited the transport, many of the people in the hangar were staring at her. Yang noticed this and shouted at them "Nothing to see here, now get back to work!" and they all obeyed her.
"Excuse me Commander, what should we do with the body?" asked one of the soldiers. She shrugged "Just put it down a garbage shoot where it belongs." she ordered. Then turning to Blake she said "If anyone else gives you trouble, let me know." Blake nodded "Are we taking her to see Weiss?" she asked gesturing to Ruby. Yang sighed "We have to, as much as I want to keep her here. It's the Captain's decision." Yang looked back at Ruby "Follow us, don't touch anything, and don't talk to anyone. We're taking you to the bridge to see the Captain. Ruby gulped, then followed Yang and Blake out of the hangar.
After navigating a maze of corridors, the three of them reached the entrance to the bridge. Yang turned to her half-sister "Now, we're about to see the Captain. So, there are a few things you need to know. First, you will kneel before her. Second, you only speak when spoken to. Third, you will address her as ma'am. And Lastly, don't ever question her authority." she explained. Ruby nodded but didn't speak, taking that as her understanding Yang walked onto the bridge.
The bridge was much larger than it had been on Ruby's ship and there were a lot of people working at various stations. In the center of the room was the captain's chair, which at that point was facing away from the door. A woman with short brown hair stood by the chair, she turned around when she heard the door open before saying something to the chair's occupant. When she did this, the chair turned to face the door. There sat the Captain Schnee with a confused but annoyed look on her face. Blake and Yang saluted her and then she spoke "Another job well done, as usual Commander. But why have you brought this girl aboard my ship? You're answer better be good." Ruby knelt down before Yang responded "Ma'am I understand that we usually don't take prisoners, and I assure you I had no intention of doing so when we first boarded the vessel. However, I made the call to spare this girl when it was revealed that she is my half-sister. That being said, I will not hesitate to execute her myself should you command it."
The Captain sat in silence for a moment, before speaking "I see, well I shall speak to the girl before I make my decision." she then stood up and approached Ruby. "What is your name?" she asked "My name is Ruby Rose ma'am" answered Ruby. The Captain nodded "I see you can respect authority. Tell me, what was your role on that ship?" she asked, impressed by the girl for addressing her correctly. "I was the pilot ma'am" Ruby replied. "Did you have any influence over your captain's decision?" The Captain asked. "No ma'am, I begged he to surrender to you but she refused ma'am" The Captain nodded "Final question, choose your answer wisely. What is your opinion of the Faunus?" Without hesitation Ruby said "They are equal to human's ma'am." Ruby was terrified of how the Captain would react to her answer, but the Captain didn't order Yang to execute her. She smiled and said "Welcome aboard Miss Rose, you now have a very important choice to make. You can either be dropped off next time we dock and live a normal life, or you can join my crew. Which do you choose?"
Ruby thought for a moment, did she want to go back to trying to make it through life on her own. Or did she want to serve on a ship where she was surrounded by people with the same goals as her, and she could be with her long lost sister. The answer was an easy one "Ma'am, I would like to join your crew." the Captain smiled again "Please stand. You already seem to be a capable pilot, so you will serve as a pilot. You are now, the reserve pilot for this ship. But once you have been evaluated and trained you will also be expected to fill the role of a fighter, bomber, or transport pilot. Is that understood Miss Rose?" Ruby saluted "Yes ma'am" she said. The Captain nodded "Lieutenant Belladonna will escort you to your quarters and familiarize you with the ship. Dismissed." she said. Blake and Ruby saluted before exiting the bridge.
As they made their way through the ship Blake turned to Ruby "Were you being honest there? What you said about the Faunus or was that just because of what I did to that guy on the transport?" she asked "Of course I was being honest. Why would anyone have a problem with them?" Ruby asked confused by the question. Blake smiled "You're just like your sister in that respect. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. When were in public areas of the ship you have refer to your superiors as sir or ma'am. But in private you can just talk to them normally as long as you have their permission." Ruby nodded "Oh, yeah. Sorry ma'am, I'll keep that in mind."
They stopped off on the way, for Ruby to get her uniform. She had to stand in a scanner that took her measurements and then a machine dispensed a uniform of the correct size for her. "I've never seen a uniform dispenser before ma'am." Ruby said, Blake nodded "That's because it's unique to SDC vessels, nobody else has them as far as we know."
They soon arrived at the sleeping quarters, Blake pointed to Ruby's room and said "Since you aren't an officer you don't get a room to yourself. So, I'm afraid you will be sharing with two other crew members. I'll leave you to get to know your roommates, someone will come and get you when you are needed again." Ruby said "Yes ma'am" as Blake headed off down the corridor. Unsure of the proper etiquette for entering sleeping quarters for the first time, Ruby knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door was opened by a brown haired girl with the marks of a Chameleon Faunus. The girl looked Ruby up and down, noticing the uniform she was carrying "Hmm, I'm guessing you just got recruited from the ship we just hit" she said. Ruby nodded "Yeah I was, I'm your new roommate Ruby" she said extending a hand to the girl. They shook hands and the girl smiled "I'm Ilia, please come in" she said as she stepped to the side. As she entered, Ruby saw that the room had three bunks, three lockers, a small bathroom, and not much else. There was a girl with pink, brown and white hair sitting on the bottom bunk, she was looking at Ruby so she could see that the girl had one brown iris and one pink iris.
"Neo, this is Ruby. Ruby this is Neo" Neo waved at Ruby and Ruby waved back. "Neo here is mute, but she's one hell of a fighter." Ilia explained, getting a wink from Neo. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you Neo, I'm your new roommate" Ruby said, Neo winked at her too. "Your on the top bunk by the way Ruby, and you get the locker on the right." Ilia said.
"Is there somewhere for me to change into my uniform?" Ruby asked, hoping she wouldn't have to change in front of Ilia and Neo. Unfortunately for her, Ilia laughed and said "Sorry Ruby, I'm afraid you're going to have to do it here. But don't worry you'll get used to it." Ruby sighed "Oh well" she said before stripping down to her underwear. "Looking good" Ilia joked, making Ruby blush as she got dressed again.
"So, what do you guys do here?" Ruby asked once she was fully dressed. "I'm a explosives expert and an engineer. So I'm either fixing things on the ship, preparing munitions, tagging along on bombing missions, and occasionally helping out on transports. Neo, is a close combat specialist and a gunner. So she's either assisting with raids, playing bodyguard to officers, operating one of the ships point defense weapons, or in some cases operating the turrets on bombers and transports. What about you?" Ilia said. "I'm a pilot. Well, I'm the reserve pilot for this ship, and once I've been assessed. I'll be flying fighters, bombers, and transports." Ilia nodded
"I'm guessing you were the pilot of that last ship" Ilia said. "Yeah I was. The pilot and only survivor." Ruby replied. This confused Ilia so she asked "I've never seen them spare anyone after a raid, let alone recruit them. What's so special about you?" Ruby sighed "Well, after the rest of the crew died. I was trapped on the bridge with no weapon and no way out. Commander Branwen and Lieutenant Belladonna were about to kill me, but it turns out that the Commander is my half-sister. So they spared me and brought me aboard." she explained. Ilia was shocked "That's a hell of a story, guess I have to be extra nice to you so the Commander doesn't kill me." Ruby shook her head "Don't worry about that, I'm your equal and I don't want special treatment." Ilia and Neo both smiled at her. Ilia said "In that case, welcome to the crew Ruby."