So, here we have chapter two of the story. It was nice to see that there is some interest in this kind of crossover story. Let's see if the new chapter can live up to that.
It would seem that I have to address one thing though, which had been mentioned in the reviews. Ruby is not meant to replace Luke she has her own plot that happens alongside the original story. She will be present for some major events though. And no, Ruby isn't more powerful than Luke. Obi-Wan's comment about her being a beacon of light in the darkness was not meant to indicate that she is some godlike super Jedi Mary-Sue. She just uses the Force at all times, which makes her rather easy to detect for nearby Sith. And she is a rather pure character, so she is more inclined towards the Light side, which makes her stand out even more.
But sadly there won't be anything like a Lightsaber Scythe. I've looked for anything similar, but there had been no mention of a Lightsaber with a curved blade. Curved hilts, yes, but not the blades. Of course, there had been a so-called Lightwhips, who worked similar to Lightsabers, but that required several smaller crystals and it should be hard enough for Ruby and friends to get their hands on normal sized crystals. So making a Scythe with a Lightsaber blade is not entirely impossible, but not really feasible in this story.
But of course, there are methods to strengthen Crescent Rose to be able to withstand Lightsaber attacks. Ther is the Cortosis-Weave, which makes it possible for a normal blade to keep up with a Lightsaber, but that is also rather rare at the time of the Empire. Not as difficult to get as a crystal, though. Oh well, I will see what I can do. But do let me know what you would prefer. Something akin to a Lightwhip or a strengthened Crescent Rose.
Alright, let's go on with the chapter. Weiss makes her first appearance...
She couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much her body had begged her for rest, she couldn't find sleep. Maybe it was the tiny cabin she had been given on the ship. Sparsely furnished, no windows and only the one exit opposite of the bed. Or maybe it was because the room was entirely too white, too clean. Almost like her family's new accommodations on Coruscant.
A mirthless chuckle escaped her. Despite her name, despite her reputation, she had started to loathe the color white and the chill of the winter.
But no, she knew exactly why she couldn't sleep. It was the hum of the ship, as it traversed the stars through Hyperspace. It somehow unsettles her, keeps her mind alert even when it doesn't need to. It was even tugging on her Aura, this unseen force that seemed to prod her defenses.
She groaned in annoyance, as she sat up on the bed. Rest wouldn't come and all she had achieved by retiring to this room was annoying herself further. No, Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, wasn't a happy person at the moment.
It was these moments of supposed rest, where her mind began to wander. Just how had her life gone so wrong in just a few years? The Empire had started the changes, but her father had finished them. The Emperor's newest lackey. The slaver. The Dust merchant. The white-haired fool. She had heard many more names for her father, both on Coruscant, where her family resides now, and on Alderaan.
Alderaan. The only good thing that had ever come from her father's servitude to the monsters who had enslaved their world was this one planet. It was her chance at freedom. A freedom she had given up on when her father had dragged her back to Atlas after Beacon and Remnant had fallen to the Empire.
Oh, the foolish old man. Her father considered it a chance and privilege to have his daughter study under the much respected Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan. Little could he have known that he had sent his defiant daughter right into the waiting arms of the rebellion.
She stood up from the bed and stretched her weary limbs. Sleep would have to wait. Soon they would arrive at whatever place Princess Leia had decided to take their precious cargo to. Weiss wasn't entirely sure what the princess' great hope really is, but after their narrow escape above Scarif, the Schnee heiress was sure that the Empire wouldn't hesitate to hunt them down. And this time, they wouldn't be able to escape with a slap on the wrist for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. This time Princess' Leia's actions would bring dire consequences for all of them.
The ship shook violently, as it left Hyperspace, nearly knocking Weiss off her feet. Something wasn't right. No, something was terribly wrong. Had they already arrived? She wasn't sure how much time she had spent in this barren room, but the way the ship had exited Hyperspace was far too violent to have been voluntary.
She was quick to leave her room and find the princess. Outside, the princess' guards were running about, seemingly aimless in such a small ship, but all in the greatest hurry of their lives, as the alarm blared incessantly. Such an annoying sound it was as if someone had recorded the battle cry of a Nevermore only to play it an endless loop.
Weiss' frown only grew, as the gravity of the situation began to weigh down on her. The princess wouldn't be spared. And neither would she. Her father wasn't nearly as influential as he likes to think and this was definitely far above his political pull. No, if there was to be any hope of survival, they would have to find it on their own.
She found Leia on the bridge of the ship, where the princess listened to the ramblings of Captain Antilles.
"We have reached the orbit above Tatooine, highness, but the Empire is here as well," the captain told Leia, his face marred deeply by a sorrowful frown. "Please, you must leave the ship with an escape pod at once, or else I fear for your very life."
"I can't just abandon everyone else here to their fate and..." the princess stopped suddenly, as she saw Weiss standing at the entrance of the bridge. "Good, you are here."
"Princess," Weiss greeted with a small nod of her head. "We are in trouble, I take it." In her mind, Weiss added the word 'again'. Somehow Leia Organa was prone to end up in trouble, almost as bad as a certain former team leader she knew.
"More than that," growled Captain Antilles. "A Star Destroyer is closing in on us and the rest of the system is swarming with Imperials. We have no chance to escape. The princess must leave this ship before the Empire can destroy it. They wouldn't dare to harm her once she has reached a major settlement on the planet. The public backlash would be devastating to them."
"If you truly believe that, you are a fool," Weiss replied coldly. "That ship, if it is the same one that has taken down Admiral Raddus ship above Scarif, then nothing will keep them from just executing us all, Princess Leia included. Vader and his attack dog had been on that ship and we all know that they do not understand the concept of mercy and restraint."
"Preposterous, her highness is a member of the Imperial Senate, they wouldn't dare to..."
"They would," Leia agreed, "Weiss is correct. But my life is not the most important cargo of this ship. The plans of the Empire's new superweapon must reach the rebel command or everything will have been for nothing."
"Captain, the Star Destroyer has captured us with its tractor beam. We are being pulled in," one of the pilots yelled.
The cold feeling of dread beset Weiss once more. No turning back, no escape. Was this to be her last stand? After all, she had seen and done? One final fight, without even a chance to see the remainders of her former team ever reunited again? Without ever finding her sister? She sighed deeply, as she tried to remove the doubts from her mind. Despite her father's cowardice and all he had done to muddy the family name, she was still a Schnee and the Schnees' never back down.
"All hands abandon ship," the captain ordered. But Leia didn't comply, "Highness, please, you must escape while there is still a chance."
"The time is up," Weiss muttered.
Through the small windows of the bridge, they could see the first escape pods leave the ship. But they didn't get far. None of them escaped the canons of the nearing Star Destroyer. And even if they had, the system was swarming with TIE Fighters.
"Princess, I do fear that we will have to go down fighting, regrettable as that may be," Weiss told Leia, as her hand grasped the hilt of her sword. Myrtenaster hung at her side, ready to be used. Not that it would do her any good against the likes of Vader.
"Captain, have your remaining men prepare for battle," Leia ordered.
Antilles saluted quickly before he ran off to reorganize his men into a somewhat stable fighting force. All of them knew that they stood no chance, but little resistance is better than none at all.
"What about the plans?" Weiss asked, "You said something about plans for a new superweapon."
Leia nodded, as pulled as small data card from her white robes. "They need to get to the surface. There is someone down there who can deliver them to my father. I can only hope that this Obi-Wan Kenobi will realize the importance of this..."
"Obi-Wan Kenobi? The old Jedi General?"
"You know him?" Leia asked.
"No, not personally. But my partner, Ruby, she is searching for that man. On your father's orders," Weiss muttered. Her eyes wandered towards the small windows of the bridge and the dust ball outside. Tatooine. Is Ruby down there? So close, yet so distant. Maybe it was for the better that she wasn't here with them. No reason to lose even more members of Team RWBY on this day. To Vader no less… That she would die against the same enemy as Yang… she would never have thought it possible...
The planet outside disappeared from view, as the ship was finally pulled into the belly of the Star Destroyer, removing any hope of escape, no matter how fleeting it might have been.
"Weiss, I need to get these plans off the ship. Can you buy me some more time?"
"Can I?" Weiss replied, a confident smirk on her lips.
"Weiss!" the princess scolded, expecting a real answer.
Weiss chuckled, "I will give them a frigid welcome. Go, but don't expect too much."
"Thank you, Weiss… And I'm sorry, for dragging you into this mess. This has never been your fight and..."
"Just get going, you dolt. We can mourn each other later," Weiss said before she walked off.
She hadn't seen the fond smile and the look of deep regret that followed onto the princess' face. They may have known each other for barely a year, but it was enough. Enough to find a kinship with each other. Neither would want the other to die, but both we willing to make the sacrifice if need be.
Weiss quickly arrived at the place where the crew got ready for their last stand. Less than twenty men were left. Two or three more with Captain Antilles who, stubborn as he is, went off to find and guard the princess.
Weiss took a deep breath, as she tried to muster all the strength and courage she had left in her. She shrugged off the heavy outer robes of her diplomat getup, leaving her arms bare, as she pulled Myrtenaster from its place.
With confidence bordering on death-defying arrogance, she walked past the men and towards the forefront of their makeshift defenses. The men said nothing, not that she would have listened.
The enemy was about to break through the bulkhead that separated the two ships, as Weiss raised her weapon. In her head, she repeated all the motions. Perfected in countless hours of hard training. Once more she would fight. Not the Grimm, as she had been trained to do, but the Empire and its forces of evil. One last time.
Time seemed to slow as the enemies troops finally broke through and stormed into the narrow corridor. Blaster shots rained down on Weiss and the men behind her, but she shrugged it off. She wouldn't back down. Instead, she charged towards the soldiers. Her Aura would be able to shrug off some hits. Not many, but enough to get close enough to fight them. They still hurt though, each and every hit she suffered felt like a searing hot iron got pressed against her naked skin.
The enemy's Storm Troopers had clearly not expected someone to engage them in close combat and were taken by surprise when the white blur suddenly appeared between them cut them down. Chaos reigned amongst the first wave of troopers, as some even pushed back into the Star Destroyer to escape Weiss' reach.
Myrtenaster, her faithful blade, cut through their armor with relative ease. Built to overcome the thick skin of the most dangerous Grimm, the thin armor of the Empire's soldiers offered almost no resistance at all.
When the last attacker of the first wave fell under her onslaught, the Schnee heiress used her glyphs to push herself back towards her own allies. The men around her could only look at her in awe and some even in fear, as she stood before them.
What a sight she must be, Weiss thought grimly. In her white clothes, with her white hair and cold blue eyes, she must truly look like the Ice Queen her friends had always liked to call her. Back in the old days, at Beacon, when the world had still made sense. A lifetime ago.
She looked down at herself and saw that her clothing was slightly scorched in some places. The shirt and the trousers, far too white in the beginning, were no blackened in some places. But the skin beneath hurt badly, but it was still unblemished. Her Aura had protected her from the worst, but it wouldn't be able to take any more hits before collapsing.
"So uncultured," she muttered, as she tried to brush off some of the perceived dirt on her clothes. Not that it was any use. The outfit was ruined. She wouldn't mourn it. The diplomat getup she had been given to fit in with the Princess' entourage wasn't even her style.
"And now they will learn true fear," she chuckled darkly, as she knelt down, Myrtenaster stabbed into a glyph beneath her feet. Winter's last lesson. The last thing her sister had taught her before she had disappeared in the chaos of the invasion. Summoning.
She had learned to fear the Grimm as a child, now it was the Empire's turn to fear them as well. A white Beowolf arose from her glyph, just as the Storm Troopers returned for their next attack wave. The imperial soldiers had not expected to find a monster waiting for them.
The Beowolf roared loudly before it charged and tore through the enemies ranks.
There was a morbid fascination in watching her own creating tearing other human beings to shreds. Weiss didn't know why, but she just couldn't look the other way. She wondered what this would say about her mental health. She hadn't been overly fond of killing when she had been at Beacon, but now… Everything has changed.
The first Beowolf died eventually, after taking enough hits from the enemies blasters. She knew that the Empire was using the Grimm on Remnant to test their weapons and bloody their special forces these days, but it was obvious that the run of the mill blaster rifle was not as effective as these soldiers would have liked.
Weiss summoned another, but the Storm Troopers fell back again. The men behind her began to cheer, encouraged by her single-handedly beating back two assaults. But she knew that she was nearing her limit. One more, at best. This was taking more of her strength than she had expected. And she was no fool, she knew that in an open field she wouldn't have lasted nearly as long against such a numerous enemy. They could send another hundred assaults and there would still be enough soldiers left for another two or three hundred attacks to follow.
She sent her Summon forward, to attack the enemy on their ship for once, but the moment it had reached the destroyed bulkhead, it was thrown back by an invisible force.
"ENOUGH!" a foreboding voice shouted. Sinister, metallic, yet strangely familiar. Where had she heard it before?
She got her answer moments later when instead of another wave of Storm Troopers, only one figure entered the ship. Clad in a dark armor of varying shades of black and silver, this new enemy was clearly not a run of the mill soldier.
"Oh no..." Weiss exclaimed as she saw the face of the attacker… or rather the lack thereof. All she could stare at was the bone white helmet, fashioned to look like a Grimm Dragon. "Draconis..."
The men behind her were shaking with fear. The only thing worse than Draconis would have been Vader himself, but the apprentice was enough to strike fear into her enemies hearts.
Yet Weiss only felt anger as she saw this foe. A former student of Beacon. Maybe even one of her friends or acquaintances, hidden behind a grotesque mask. The traitor who had helped to destroy everything they had known.
"Well done, Ice Queen. Never thought that you would have it in you, this kind of carnage," Draconis chuckled darkly.
Weiss' Beowolf attacked Draconis, even without its mistress' command, but it didn't get far. Cut into pieces, by the twin Lightsabers of the Sith apprentice. The crimson blades of Draconis' weapons seemed to shimmer and dance, not entirely stable, yet contained in their form.
"Playtime is over," Draconis announced before she attacked. Fast. Frighteningly so.
Weiss tried to parry the first strike, but her waning strength made that impossible. Myrtenaster was turned into scrap metal in an instant and Weiss braced herself for the pain of dismemberment that would follow. It never came. She was hit with the blunt force of Draconis' attack. Yet it wasn't the Lightsabers that struck her, but a mighty kick that against her chest sent her flying backward until she hit the wall at the other end of the corridor with enough strength to nearly knocking her out.
She clung to her consciousness, but as she heard the anguished cries of the rebels, the last of her strength was failing her. The last she saw was Draconis kneeling right before her, watching her, as she lost her fight and her eyes closed against her will.
"Don't worry, Ice Queen, you and I are going to have a great time, just as we had at Beacon," Draconis chuckled, as Weiss drifted off.
Ruby watched quietly, as the old Jedi disappeared in the crowd of the cantina, leaving her alone to keep an eye on Luke Skywalker, the boy Kenobi had been so keen on picking up as well. She wasn't entirely sure why, though. But if the Jedi said that the boy is important, she wouldn't argue, especially not in the situation they were in.
She was worried. Greatly so. Luke had been a nice boy at first. A bit odd, perhaps, but she wasn't really one who should point out other people's flaws. She had plenty of them herself… But after all that had happened, Luke was quieter now. More somber. Understandable, after he had lost his family in an imperial attack on his home.
Somehow Ruby felt at least partially responsible for that. Not for the attack, but for the deaths of Luke's aunt and uncle. Old Ben had to postpone his plans to pick up Luke because of her. The old Jedi had insisted that they couldn't go unless she had gained some form of control over her powers.
She wasn't even sure how she had done it. But according to the old man, she was constantly using the Force in some way. Only after some experimentation, she had realized that he had meant her Aura. Shutting it down was… difficult. And unpleasant. She had grown so accustomed to her constant protection, that suppressing it made her feel naked and vulnerable. But they had to hide from the Sith nearby, so there was no choice.
But the time she had needed to learn this, was the time they had lost. In the end, Luke came to them, not the other way round. He came with two Droids in tow. Luke was safe, but his family paid the price.
"Now look at this pretty little thing in our cantina."
Ruby almost shuddered, as she heard the slimy voice behind her. She hoped that whoever it was, he wasn't talking about her. But as she turned around to have a look, she saw two thugs standing nearby. One was an alien of a species she hadn't seen before, the other looked like a pig Faunus caught in a grease fire. And both openly leered at her. Or at least she supposed that the alien leered, she wasn't sure how to tell.
"Hey there, pretty one, why don't we go somewhere more quiet, to get better acquainted?" the pig suggested, a lecherous grin spreading on his face.
"She's not interested," Luke interjected, as he pushed himself between Ruby and the thugs.
Ruby smiled a bit at the sweet gesture, but she also groaned, as Luke was now in her way. Should the thugs try anything, she could have easily taught them some manners, but now the farm boy was in her way.
"You better watch yourself, boy," the pig growled.
Ruby watched the scene with growing agitation, as the alien behind the pig seemed rather antsy. She had heard more than one warning about seedy cantinas and the ever existing chance to get shot in the back by some angry or drunk idiot. She had a feeling that those thugs were both angry and drunk, not to mention that both openly carried their blasters on their belts.
The alien behind the pig growled something Ruby couldn't understand, but the pig was quick to translate, "He doesn't like you," the pig told Luke.
"That's a pity," Luke told him before he tried to turn away. But the pig grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn back.
"I don't like you either! You better..."
The pig didn't get to finish. Ruby was sure that the situation would escalate, so she intervened. She pushed past Luke, Crescent Rose already in hand and in its rifle form. Before the pig could utter another word, he was thrown across the cantina, after getting hit point blank by a shot.
The entire cantina fell silent, all eyes now resting upon the young woman with the large red rifle in her hands.
"And that is the only way I would ever touch his kind," Ruby stated, her voice chipper, as she put her weapon away again. The message had been sent and now the vast majority of the patrons around her felt the sudden urge to increase the distance to her. Many decided to leave the cantina entirely.
Luke looked at her, his face showing a mixture of surprise and shock. It did make her feel a tad bit uncomfortable, to be honest.
"What?" she asked him.
"You just shot that guy with a giant rifle!"
"Oh please, it was only a stun shot. He'll be fine," she said, as she looked where the pig had landed. The thug was lying, unconscious, between several tables. His alien friend was nowhere to be seen. "Probably," she added, looking a tad bit more skeptical. He wasn't dead, that's what counts.
"You're insane," Luke muttered before he chuckled.
Moments later Obi-Wan returned. He didn't look pleased. His stern frown reminded her of Professor Goodwitch on one of her bad days, so she did what she would have done at Beacon. She smiled and pretended nothing had happened.
The old man's gaze remained hard and unyielding.
"I didn't do it..." she began, "I mean it was an accident," but her words did not sway the Jedi. "He made me do it," she pointed at Luke deciding that surely the boy would be able to stand against the disappointed grandfatherly face of old Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Wait, what?" Luke said, a shocked look on his face.
Obi-Wan watched them both, his gaze stern before he sighed and shook his head. "Come, I've found us a pilot who will take us to Alderaan," he told them.
Before Ruby could say anything, he had grabbed her by the shoulders and gently pushed her towards one of the booths on the other side of the cantina. It was obvious that the old Jedi didn't want to give her another chance to cause trouble, even if that meant that he had to keep an eye on her at all times.
Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, as they reached the booth, where two very familiar figures sat. She saw the hairy giant first. Chewbacca, the Wookie. She would have to remember this. Wookie… it sounded like something to eat… now she was hungry. But then her eyes met those of Captain Solo, who looked at her in absolute disbelief.
"Oh great, it's you again," the smuggler muttered dejectedly.
"You know each other?" Obi-Wan inquired.
Ruby nodded, grinning widely, "Captain Solo was the one who brought me to Tatooine. And if I remember correctly, you promised to take me wherever I want without charging me full."
"That offer was off the table the moment you left my ship," Solo shot back before he groaned in annoyance. He obviously wasn't the happiest person at that moment.
"A discount won't be necessary," Obi-Wan assured, "All we need is a safe passage for us three and two Droids to Alderaan."
"No cargo?" Solo asked.
Obi-Wan shook his head, "Only passengers."
Solo seemed to contemplate the offer for some moments. Ruby knew that he wasn't exactly fond of passengers on his ship. He was very possessive of it, similar to Ruby's own possessiveness when it comes to Crescent Rose.
"Can his ship even get through the blockade around the planet?" Luke asked, "My friends and I have seen the battle from an observatory, the system must be crawling with Imperials right now."
"Can we outrun them? Listen, boy, my ship is the fastest in the whole sector and..."
"And it is armed enough to shake off the fighter patrols until we can escape into Hyperspace," Ruby finished before she continued to ramble about the weapons she had seen on the Millenium Falcon.
All the while Captain Solo looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. "Just how comes she knows more about our weapons than you do?" The smuggler asked his hairy companion. The Wookie only shrugged.
Ruby laugh in embarrassment, as she realized that she had just proven once more how much of a weapon's nerd she really is. "I was kinda bored during our trip and… got acquainted with the ship?"
"Was that a question or a statement?" Luke wondered.
"It doesn't matter," Obi-Wan said, a hint of finality in his voice. "Your ship can take us to Alderaan and we can pay you. So are you taking us or not?"
Solo seemed to be in deep thought again before he nodded. "Fine. Red hood here knows where to find my ship. I need to tie up some loose ends, then I will join you. Don't be late or I will be leaving without you."
Weiss' head throbbed painfully, as she finally regained consciousness. She dizzy and disoriented, as she opened her eyes. She quickly closed them again, as she had stared directly into a blinding light. Another flash of searing pain shot through her skull.
Only belatedly she realized that she was floating. Not because of a lack of gravity, though. She was floating in a tank, filled to the brim with a clear liquid, her mouth an nose covered by a breathing mask. Bacta, she realized. The way her skin was tingling, especially around her old scars and wounds, left no doubt about that. For some reason, she had been put into a Bacta tank. Why?
The battle… her breath nearly hitched, as she remembered it. The ship, the rebels… Princess Leia… What had happened since then? She remembered fighting the Imperial boarding party, then Draconis arrived… after that everything went black.
No, not black. Blank. As if all that happened after had been erased. She tried to remember anything, but it was as if she was staring at a blank page. Had something else happened since then?
She opened her eyes again, slower this time, to allow them to adapt to the light in the room. It was as sterile as only a medical facility could be, with polished tables and bare walls. There was absolutely nothing in the room but the Bacta tank, two tables, and a control terminal.
Why was she here? Surely the Empire wouldn't care enough to have her nursed back to health, not after she had obviously joined the Rebels. So who else? For a moment she entertained the faint hope that she might have gotten rescued during her little beauty sleep. She was aware that there are traitors even among the Imperial Officers, so maybe one of them had her smuggled out…
Before he mind could conjure up any more hopeful scenarios, the only door of the room open with a hiss and a man dressed in a white medical uniform entered. An imperial uniform. She could only watch with growing dread, as the man begun working at the console. He didn't look at her, he didn't speak. He only pushed buttons on the console, while reading the data provided by the machine.
This wasn't good. For some reason, the Imperials had decided that she was worth more while being alive. Was this the plot of an overeager Admiral who tries to gain leverage on her father? The fool would soon learn that being the heir of Jacques Schnee doesn't mean a thing to the man. Not when he still had a spare. Her father would sooner see her killed than to give in to any demands.
But somehow she couldn't imagine that this was the true reason for her survival. Draconis had been the one to capture her, and the damn woman had likely handed her over to Darth Vader. Neither of the two Sith would need her to control the Schnee Dust Company. So why was she still alive? Why was she inside a Bacta tank and not in some cold cell, slowly bleeding to death?
Finally, the man turned towards her, his dark eyes widening as he saw that she was awake and watching him.
Why was he surprised to see her awake? Had her wounds been so severe?
The man stepped closer to the tank and watched her intently. He even walked around, so he could see her from every possible angle before he returned to the console. Not even once did he address her. Maybe he was forbidden from talking to her?
"My lady, the girl has woken up," he said. Weiss was surprised at first before she realized that the console must have some sort of communicator installed. The man got an answer, but Weiss couldn't understand it. "No, my lady, it would appear that her wounds have healed. There are no more signs of damage visible."
No signs of damage visible, Weiss repeated in her head. So her wounds must have been rather severe. Her headache seemed to be the last remaining after-effect of those injuries.
"As you say, my lady. I will have her removed from the tank immediately," the man continued.
My lady… there was only one person in the Empire that an imperial officer would address like this. Draconis. So she was also on this… ship? Station? Planet? Where was she?
The man didn't say anything else and it appeared that his conversation with Draconis had come to an end. Instead, he continued his work on the console.
Moments later two Droids entered the room. Weiss recognized the models immediately. Medical droids of the newest generation. Her family had bought several of them after her mother's drinking habit had become a hazard to her health. Quick, efficient, and absolutely trustworthy. The droids hadn't been cheap, but they were the reason why her mother's dark secret had never left the halls of the Schnee mansion.
And now two medical droids were here to assist her. One of them placed some towels on the table before both of them approached the Bacta tank. They opened the hatch at the top of the tank, so she could get out and assisted her as she climbed down onto the cold floor of the room.
Only now she realized that she was almost naked. Only a thin white sports bra and equally white shorts covered preserved the barest hint of her modesty. She would have expected the imperial officer in the room to openly leer at her, as so many of his colleagues had done when she had worn vastly more clothes. But he didn't. He barely even spared her a glance, as the droids began to dry her hair and body.
"Probably has seen enough already while I was out," she mumbled to herself.
Her hair was still wet and clung to her back when the door opened again. A sudden coldness made Weiss shiver, though she was sure that it wasn't because of the open door. No, it was the person who had entered. She would recognize that helmet anywhere. Draconis had come to her. And if even half of the rumors are true, Weiss' headache would be the least of her troubles.
"Out," Draconis commanded, "All of you." Her voice sounded mechanical through the mask, but again Weiss couldn't help herself but wonder where she had heard it before. She knew the Sith Lady had been a student at Beacon, but which one? Who had betrayed them?
The officer saluted wordlessly before he quickly fled the room. The droids followed at a much more sedated pace. But only when they were gone and the door of the room was shut once more, Draconis moved.
She walked over to the console and pressed a few buttons.
"So, now we have all the privacy we need," Draconis said, "No more unwanted interruptions."
Weiss could only stare at the woman. For the first time ever, Weiss saw Draconis without her usual armor. Beneath the bulky protection, she hid some impressive curves. She could only wonder why the Sith Lady decided to wear such a bulky armor, it must surely slow her down quite a bit and didn't look entirely comfortable. Especially for someone of her stature.
"See something you like," Draconis said suggestively. Weiss was sure, had it not been for the mask, she could see a wide smirk on the woman's face. "Anyhoo, how are you feeling, Ice Queen?"
Weiss frowned at the nickname. Only her friends had called her that and the way Draconis said it, it sounded almost… affectionate?
"My head is throbbing and I'm feeling dreadfully cold. Some clothes and an extensive explanation would be most welcome," Weiss said. She tried to sound as snobbish and arrogant as the other social climbers on Coruscant, to be every inch the aloof heiress of the Schnee Dust Company that she was supposed to be. If she was to die here, she wouldn't give Draconis the satisfaction of seeing her submit in any way.
Draconis chuckled mirthlessly, "That is to be expected. After Vader had been done with your… interrogation, we weren't sure you would make it. You've been out cold for two days."
"Two days..." Weiss breathed. And Vader was responsible? But what interrogation, she couldn't remember a thing… "What happened to the others? The princess, most of all."
"That rebel scum is down in her cell," Draconis growled, "Lord Bucket was on his way to interrogate her as well, but I don't know if he is done yet."
"And the others?"
"There are no others," Draconis replied coldly.
The sheer hatred in Draconis voice was only amplified by the metallic edge the helmet added to her every word. It made Weiss wonder, why Draconis was here, talking to her almost amicably when she so clearly loathes the very existence of the rebels. She even sounded… worried about her well being only moments ago.
"What happens now?" Weiss asked. "To the princess, and to me?"
"They have already issued a death warrant for the princess," Draconis told her simply, "She won't see the end of the week. In fact, she's only alive because Vader and Tarkin want something from her."
"And..."
"You are not to be harmed. I've seen to that. All that was needed was a small blood sample and a message to the Emperor. I will take you back to Coruscant, once Tarkin has finished his big show. The bastard has planned something big and terrible with his technological nightmare. I will never understand why the Emperor has such faith in the man," Draconis muttered, as she shook her head. "But you will be quite safe."
"So you will return me to my family?"
Most unexpected. Weiss could only wonder what role her blood had played in all of this or why Draconis was so intent on protecting their ship had been boarded, she had been sure that she would die. She had been ready to die. At least she had tried to tell herself that. And now she was about to get away with a slap on the wrist? After what she had done? There was truly no justice in the Empire.
"You will not be returned to your family, no," Draconis began, "You have been officially chosen to assist the Emperor, as his new student. Congratulations."
Student? This made absolutely no sense at all. What was going on here?
"Any more questions before I call for someone who will attend to your needs?" Draconis asked.
Yes. Thousands of questions. There was so much she didn't know, so many questions that remain unanswered. But one was pushed forward, demanding an answer. Now, not later.
"Who are you? Who is hiding behind that mask?"
Draconis, who had already been on the way back to the console, stopped mid-stride and turned around again. Weiss could hear a long sigh before the woman placed a hand on her Grimm like helmet and pulled it off.
Long golden hair tumbled down Draconis back, as she revealed her pale face. Two very familiar eyes now stared at Weiss, who was struck speechless. Those eyes… now blood red, but usually they were a different color…
"What? No witty comment, Ice Queen? Jeez, you look as if you've seen a ghost," Draconis drawled. This time her smirk was visible. Such a familiar sight.
Weiss breathing nearly stopped, completely in shock, before she stumbled back and fell. She landed hard on the ground, not that she would have realized it. Instead, she could only breath, almost inaudibly, "Yang… how?"
A/N: That's all for now.
So, the big reveal so early in the story. Draconis true identity wasn't meant to be the big secret, at least not like Vader being Luke's old man. It will take some time before the rest of Yang's former friends find out about her new job, but ultimately they have to know that it is her. An unknown traitor is nice ans shiny, but a friend and family member on the other side of the fence... Ruby will have a hard time coming to terms with that.
And why is Yang with the Sith? The reasons why she has switched sides and joined the Empire will be revealed later in the story, so no spoilers here except that Ruby plays a big role in that. But I've chosen Yang to be the Sith of the group because she fits the bill. Of all the characters in RWBY, Yang is one of the most passionate and emotionally volatile. She can find a place for herself in the Sith teachings, unlike Ruby or Jaune. But being a Sith doesn't mean that you have to be a genocidal maniac, so don't expect Yang to go around wiping out whole species any time soon. Being Sith is a philosophy, not the mandate to be the biggest douche you can be.
Alright, that's all for today.