Okay...I know it's been a long time. Well, more than a long time, but the wait is now over! The fourth chapter is officially out. First off, I want to thank dekuton for his suggestions on some Guard characters and secondly, I want to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter up, but I know none of you wanna listen to me talk, so with that out of the way,
ONTO THE STORY!
Knights of Vale 4
XXXX (Combat Class, One week later)
"Listen up, brats!" The grizzled veteran shouted as he paced the length of Beacon's combat arena. The eyes of his first group of trainees followed him with a mixture of caution and intrigue. "My name is Sergeant Vennator of the Valhallan 310th and I've been stuck with the unfortunate task of preparing you useless sacks of shit for what's out there in the real world!"
A few students recoiled in offense at the Sgt.'s harsh language. Others simply watched as the bald and scarred man glared at them. Standing behind him, with their weapons held at a low ready, Sister Superior Katherine and her squad gazed into the crowd, watching for any students that decided that Vennator's words weren't worth their time.
"As I'm sure most of you know, I'm not from this backwater hellhole that you people call a planet and I want nothing more than to bring His wrath to the Imperium's enemies, but the God-Emperor of Mankind has seen fit to send me here to protect this damn world!" Vennator stopped his pacing in the center of the arena and crossed his arms over his chest, his left hand tapping the metal of his bionic right arm. "Luckily, I do not find myself alone in this task! Standing behind me are some of the Emperor's most devout servants and you will all do your best to show them the respect that they deserve, otherwise, you might just end up with a bolt round through your skull!"
Stepping aside, Sgt. Vennator nodded to Sister Katherine as an invitation for her to speak. Returning the nod, Katherine stepped forward and bowed her head to the group of teens.
"As Sgt. Vennator already stated, I am Sister Superior Katherine of the Order of the Sacred Rose. With me is my squad, Sisters Genevieve, Leandra and Marianne." Katherine gestured toward the women, who nodded in greeting, before continuing. "We will be assessing your combat readiness in both armed and unarmed combat. We will take note of your strengths and weaknesses before assigning you to training groups."
A low murmur broke out amongst the class, some students shouting questions toward the Sister.
"Are our teams being broken up?"
"Why do we need extra training?"
"This is bullshit!"
The outbursts kept coming and the Imperials simply stood silent, waiting for the teens to calm down. After almost five minutes of random outbursts, the room became quiet once more.
"Your teams will not be disbanded and you will still participate in normal classes. These evaluations are to gauge where each of you stand as an individual, for a team is only as strong as its weakest member."
The murmurs broke out once more, the students now curious as to how they would rank with the Imperials. Katherine took note of how most of the students bore a look a determination while others were fearful. As she gazed over their faces, she paused as she saw the downcast look of the blonde knight, Jaune Arc. The red-haired girl from his team was trying to cheer him up, but the boy seemed to only become more depressed.
It was at this moment that Glynda Goodwitch stepped forward on the arena.
"Teams will be split amongst the Imperials to speed up the evaluation process." Goodwitch began listing off teams while assigning them to one of the Imperials. Teams RWBY and CRDL were assigned to Sister Katherine while Teams JNPR and another first year team were assigned to Sgt. Vennator.
"Alright, here's how this'll go, first thing's first, I don't wanna see the use of anyone's semblance!" Vennator held up finger quotes. "This test'll be pretty useless if you're all using some bullshit psyker powers. You'll each fight me in unarmed combat where I will evaluate your skill and technique. Afterwards, you'll be pitted against one of the Sisters for the armed portion since I don't trust any of you little shits to be able to hold back with your ranged attacks."
Jaune zoned out, glancing toward team RWBY and seeing the horrified expression on Ruby's face as she was no doubt informed she'd have to fight without her beloved scythe. He looked around at the other teams, all being informed of the rules of the test and watching the reactions of the students. Cardin seemed eager to prove himself in the unarmed portion, if the smirk on his face was anything to go by.
As for Jaune, he still couldn't get over the fact that the Imperials were there. As far as he'd been concerned, they'd only existed in grand tales his father had told him when he'd been younger. His eyes focused on the Sister Superior instructing RWBY and CRDL, taking in every detail of her form. Her hair was whiter than the purest snow and kept in pristine condition, a fact that wasn't shared by the rest of her. He could make out the faded scars marring her face as well as the chips of paint missing from her armor. Her gauntlets, which rested upon her hips bore signs of battle, the paint on the knuckles worn down from, what he could only assume, had been grueling melee combat.
"AM I BORING YOU, SHIT STAIN!?" Jaune was ripped from his musings as Sgt. Vennator appeared right in his face. His scars giving him an even more intimidating visage up close. "Congratulations maggot, you just volunteered to be first."
Vennator walked to the middle of their designated training area before taking up his fighting stance.
"Obviously you're a man of action since my instructions seemed to bore you, so let's go."
Jaune stood frozen, his eyes wide as the Imperial waited for him to step forward. With a heavy sigh, Jaune unclipped Crocea Mors and placed it on the ground at his feet before stepping forward and getting into a sloppy boxing stance.
Vennator wasted no time before charging forward and sending his right fist straight toward the Knight's face. Jaune was unprepared for the speed in which the Sgt. moved and ended up taking the punch straight to his nose. His head snapped back and he stumbled slightly until he felt someone grab the front of his armor and yank him forward. As his head shot forward, the metal fist of Vennator connected with his jaw, once again snapping his head back.
"Am I still boring you?" Vennator growled as he grabbed Jaune's arm and twisted his body, throwing the young knight over his shoulder and slamming him on the ground. The wind was knocked from Jaune's lungs and his vision blurred slightly. He tried to get up, but a hard impact to his ribs sent him rolling to the side.
"Get up!" Vennator shouted. "Your team's dying! Grimm are overrunning the city and you're the only one who can save them! Get the fuck up!"
Jaune once again tried to push himself up, the sergeant's words seeming to light a fire in him as he struggled to stand. Vennator watched as the young boy retook his boxing stance. Blood flowed from the boy's nose and his jaw was already forming a dark bruise, but he had to give him credit. The kid still stood up.
Jaune rushed forward, shouting a battle-cry to the heavens as he sent a sloppy haymaker at the Imperial. Vennator simply lifted his arm, blocking the attack with his metal limb before kicking the Knight's legs from beneath him. Jaune crashed onto his back once again, but this time he rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the follow up kick of the sergeant. Jaune lunged to his feet, catching Vennator off guard as he lunged forward and tackled the grizzled vet to the ground. The two combatants rolled across the floor for a moment before they came to a stop with Jaune straddling the sergeant's waist.
Believing he had the upper hand, the young knight allowed a small victorious smile to cross his face before it was brutally wiped off by his face getting smashed, courtesy of the sergeant's forehead.
Reeling from the head butt, Jaune lost focus and was quickly grabbed and flipped over onto his back, the sergeant rolling to be on top of Jaune.
"Ya got cocky, kid." Vennator growled out before starting to rain punches down onto the knight. The rest of JNPR watched in barely contained fury as their leader was mercilessly beaten, but just as they were about to intervene, a small buzzer sounded, signaling that the match was over. Vennator stood up and offered the young knight a hand up. Accepting the gesture, Jaune was pulled to his feet, having to grab on to the sergeant to avoid collapsing.
"Your form is shit, kid." Vennator started, causing Jaune to look down in shame. "But you've got spirit."
The Knight looked up in surprise, His marred and bloodied face meeting the smirking visage of the Sergeant.
"Congratulations, I've just decided to make you my personal mission."
Jaune allowed a hopeful smile to appear on his face.
"Get ready for the worst days of your life, maggot."
The smile disappeared instantly.
XXXX
Yang was pumped, really pumped. These Imperials, as they called themselves, wanted to see how they each faired in hand-to-hand combat. Well CQC is her specialty and she was more than determined to show these 'Sisters' what real fighting was all about.
Sure, Katherine was a good fighter, easily dispatching all of CRDL and the RWB of RWBY, but she was leagues above them when it came to brute strength and fighting prowess. Ruby, sad as she was to admit it, was completely useless without Crescent Rose and Weiss was in the same boat. Honestly, Blake was the only other girl in RWBY that stood a chance, but she was a Glass Cannon. Devastatingly effective, but a couple of solid hits and she was down for the count.
Finally, Yang was called forward. Sister Katherine smiled gently as she watched the younger blonde step into their training area, her eyes took in every detail of Yang Xiao-Long in a second. The girl was as feminine as they get. Her outfit was designed to show off every female asset she had, from her buxom chest to her long, toned legs and everything in between.
Either the girl was incredibly vain or she was smart enough to conceal her raw power beneath those assets, but judging from the cocky grin plastered across her face, it was definitely the former.
"Are you ready, Ms. Xiao-Long?" Katherine questioned, taking a loose grappling stance. Yang punched her fists together in front of her before taking her own stance.
"I was born ready."
"Then let us begin."
Yang rushed forward, planning to catch Katherine by surprise with a devastating one-two combo. Her left fist flew forward, carrying every ounce of strength she could put into a single hit. With luck, this fight would be over in a few more seconds.
Fate had other ideas.
Katherine swatted Yang's hand away, throwing the brawler off target and causing her to stumble. The Sister followed up with a haymaker into Yang's side before stepping away and preparing for the next rush. Yang recovered her balance and rubbed her ribs. A bruise was guaranteed to be there, but it was nothing her Aura couldn't handle. Retaking her stance, she rushed forward again being slightly more cautious, but still trying to maintain the offensive.
Katherine watched as Yang once more tried to bull-rush her. The girl relied on her brute strength to dominate fights. She was like an Ork in that mindset, a flaw that she would see eradicated. She blocked the wild punches thrown at her and took advantage of any openings she saw in the brawler's defenses. The fight lasted for several minutes with Yang rushing into the fray and Katherine sending her back in an ever worsening state.
Releasing a roar, Yang rushed in once again, rearing her fist back and launching it forward, but the Sister bolted to the side, avoiding the path of her fist and grabbing the extended limb in a vice-like grip. Before Yang could react, an armored knee planted itself in her stomach and she doubled over. Katherine then spun around behind the brawler, still holding her wrist and jammed Yang's arm behind her back before shoving her face-first into the floor of the arena. Driving her knee into Yang's lower back, Katherine effectively pinned the brawler beneath her.
"You're head-strong and overconfident. A fatal combination." Katherine summarized as Yang sat frozen in shock. "You no doubt have great strength, but you lack the mental discipline to put that strength to its best use."
With the shock finally wearing off, Yang began to struggle, attempting to free herself from the Sister's hold.
"I would advise you to stop, Ms. Xiao-Long. I have read of your Aura's healing abilities, but I very much doubt that you want me testing how far those abilities can go." Katherine emphasized her point by pushing Yang's arm further up her back, causing the blonde brawler to grit her teeth and groan in pain. The standoff lasted for a few tense moments as Yang continued to struggle and Katherine brought her arm closer to the breaking point.
"Alright! I yield!" Yang called out suddenly before her shoulder popped out of its socket. "You win."
Katherine released the young woman and stood up, offering a hand. Yang rolled over and sat up, looking at the offered hand for a moment before taking it and being helped to her feet.
"You fought well, but you rely too much on overpowering your opponent. Not everyone will fight on your terms, you must be able to adjust your strategy to conquer your foe." Katherine's motherly smile was back in place as she advised the brawler of her findings.
"Yeah, I got it." Yang huffed out as she turned away to walk back to her team. She barely managed to take a single step before she was spun back toward Katherine whose motherly smile was gone and had been replaced with pure, zealous rage.
"Do you, Ms. Xiao-Long?" Yang couldn't reply before the Sister's fist smashed into her face, snapping her head back and disorienting the girl. "Do you understand that your incompetence will get yourself killed?"
Katherine planted her next hit into Yang's stomach, once more causing her to double over. An armored knee came up to greet her, reversing her direction and sending her on her back.
"Are you so naive that you think you can go on as you are and everything will be fine? If I had been your enemy, you and your team would be dead!" Katherine's boot stomped down onto Yang's chest, winding the downed woman.
"Sister Katherine!" Goodwitch's voice drew the attention of everyone present. "I must insist you st-"
"Silence, Witch!" Katherine snarled out, cutting the professor off. All eyes focused in on Katherine as she held Yang below her boot heel.
"You children are the future protectors of this world and you treat this responsibility as though it were your right!" Katherine glared at every student around before continuing. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Most of you are useless without your weapons."
Katherine's gaze fell on Ruby and Weiss as she said this, causing the Reaper to drop her gaze and the Heiress to huff indignantly.
"The fact that your civilization lives behind walls in fear of these Grimm is appalling." Katherine began walking amongst the gathered students, many averting their eyes as her gaze found them. "Sgt. Vennator!"
"Ma'am!" Vennator stepped forward, his body going ramrod as he assumed the position of attention.
"What is the greatest honor a Guardsman can achieve?" Katherine asked as she stopped in front of team RWBY and CRDL.
"To fight and die for the Emperor, Ma'am!"
"And what happens to those who disagree with this?"
"Summary execution by the Regimental Commissar, Ma'am!"
"Does the Imperium hide behind walls?"
"No Ma'am!"
"Does the Guard retreat?"
"Never!"
"Will the Imperium ever allow an enemy to roam freely upon our soil?"
"We'd rather die!"
"Thank you, Sergeant." Katherine looked across the room, taking note of the downcast expressions of some students as well as the students whose gaze held nothing but anger. "Your world has been overrun by these Grimm since the dawn of your civilization. You're people were almost destroyed by this blight!"
The Sister took a deep breath before continuing.
"Your world is at war. A fact that many of you seem to overlook. Every day, Grimm run rampant across your lands while your civilization cowers in fear!" Katherine turned away from RWBY and CRDL, focusing her gaze upon Professor Goodwitch. "You call yourselves Hunters, but all I see is a group of naive children. You rely on your Aura to protect you and your Semblance to help you win, but take that away and what good are you?"
Katherine walked to Sgt. Vennator and stood beside him.
"In the Imperium of Man, billions of Guardsmen fight and die to defend the territories of the Imperium and they don't have Aura. They don't have special powers to help them when the situation gets tough. All they have is each other and faith that the God Emperor will see them through to the next day." Katherine stepped away, making the Aquila with her hands. "Your society is everything the Emperor tells us not to be, but He, in all His benevolence, still sent us to protect you and I'll be damned if I fail in that mission!"
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" Katherine's squad and Sgt. Vennator shouted. Katherine nodded in thanks before focusing her gaze back on the students.
"For your sakes, I hope you start training like your lives depend on it."
XXXX (Caxus, en route to Arcadia)
+Pilot, what is our ETA?+ Caxus questioned from the troop bay of the Stormraven.
+We are circling Arcadia now, Librarian. There are villagers watching us, but I have you to find a suitable location to set down within the town.+
+Acknowledged, hover above the courtyard and lower the front ramp. Once we have disembarked, secure a suitable landing sight and vox Sgt. Tellin with the coordinates. Instruct the Guard Valkyries to do the same.+
+Affirmative, Librarian.+ Caxus felt the Stormraven level out and decelerate as it approached the town center. Looking to Hammer squad, he received nods from each to notify him of their readiness. +Lowering ramp now, Librarian. Be advised, there are multiple villagers moving to intercept. They appear to be armed.+
+Thank you, Brother.+ Caxus closed the vox link with the pilot as he turned to face Hammer squad.
"A reasonable response from the locals, if I may be so bold." Tellin commented, gazing out over the town as the ramp opened completely. Already there was a large gathering of both Human and Faunus, watching the gleaming silver Stormraven hover above the open market in the court yard. People shielded their eyes as the down-draft from the gunship pushed against them. Looking to the left and right, The Iron Knights could see the Guardsman Valkyries hovering in a similar fashion as two ropes were thrown out either door for the Valhallans to drop down.
"Let us greet the locals, Sergeant." Caxus said before stepping forward and dropping from the ramp. The Librarian landed in a kneeling position, quickly followed by Hammer squad, who landed in similar fashions. Rising to their full height, the Space Marines peered across the gathering of locals, taking note of the Faunus amongst them. Caxus found it strange that the usual hatred and fury he would feel at the sight of mutants was absent as he took in the multiple different animal traits of these Faunus, allowing his mind to touch the thoughts of his brothers as well as the Guardsmen, he found them to be of the same mindset.
'Interesting.' Thought the Librarian before banishing the thoughts in favor of the mission. Stepping forward from his brothers, Caxus' attention was drawn to a group of females near the front of the local gathering. Their golden-blonde hair standing out in the crowd. The looks of recognition he saw in their eyes told him that they most likely had seen the books themselves.
"I am Librarian Caxus of the Iron Knights, 5th Company and I have come seeking the Arc family."
Caxus' helmet lenses never left the group he had seen earlier, he watched their reactions as he spoke their family name and smiled to himself when he saw the Arc matriarch usher her daughters behind her before stepping forward. If that hadn't been enough of a clue, the entire village gathering had turned their eyes upon the group of blonde women.
"W-What do you want with my family?" The older woman asked, her voice trembling as Caxus walked closer.
"Be at peace, we do not come seeking conflict." Caxus held up a hand, palm out in an attempt to placate the woman. "Your son informed us that your family possesses answers to-"
"Jaune?!" The oldest amongst the children stepped forward from behind her mother, being quickly followed by the rest. "You know Jaune?"
"When did you see him?"
"Where is he?"
"Is he okay?"
"Does he have a girlfriend?"
The questions came at a quick pace and left the Librarian on the back foot as he and his brothers stared at the young women in both confusion and shock. No one from the Imperium dared to speak to an Astartes in such a way. If he was being honest, he didn't actually know how to respond. Glancing to his left, he caught the gaze of Tellin, the newly promoted Sergeant glancing back and giving a slight shrug as response.
"Your brother is safe. He counts himself amongst the trainees of the Beacon Schola." Caxus mentally braced himself as he saw the eyes of the Arc family widen in shock, preparing himself for the next round of questions.
"Jaune's in Beacon?!"
"HOW?!"
"That idiot!"
"BE SILENT!" All eyes moved to see a large man with golden hair, cut short and eyes as blue as a glacier push through the crowd to stand next to the matriarch of the Arc family. "Please, My Lord, forgive them. They are young and foolish, not understanding the consequences of their actions."
The man bowed low, surprising the villagers and the Ac family.
"I am Alexander Arc, Patriarch to the Arc House and protector of the village of Arcadia." He remained bowed, bought quickly began gesturing to his family to follow suit with his hand. With mixtures of confusion and a new sense of worry, the Arc family followed suit, bowing low before the Librarian and his brothers. After a few moments, the remaining villagers of Arcadia followed suit. If Alexander, a man who'd stood before hordes of Grimm without batting an eye and whose family line had stood as stalwart defenders of their kingdom for generations deemed these massive figures worthy of such respect, who were they to argue.
"Rise, all of you." Caxus commanded, waiting for the gathering to stand upright once more before continuing. "We have only come seeking answers and do not wish for conflict."
Alexander seemed to deflate as he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding before reaching back to a bag hanging from his shoulder. Opening the flap and reaching inside, he brought forth two books that Caxus was quite familiar with.
"Please forgive my presumptions, My Lord, but I feel as though these books will answer your questions far better than I." Caxus stepped forward, taking the offered tomes from Alexander and passing them to Sergeant Tellin.
"I thank you, Arc, but I still have questions that I believe you will be more suited to answering. Is there a place where we might converse? Somewhere less…public?" Caxus looked at everyone gathered as he emphasized the last word and it was easy for Alexander to catch his meaning.
"Of course, My Lord, please, follow me." Alexander gestured for his family to walk ahead before following them through the crowd.
+Sergeant Tellin, have hammer squad patrol the perimeter of the village with the Guard. I do not wish to be disturbed by any…unforeseen complications.+
+Understood, Librarian.+ Tellin clicked off his vox before nodding to his squad. The remaining members of Hammer forming behind him as they moved to the outskirts of Arcadia. The Guard moving in different directions while the Valkyries and Stormraven took to the sky once more to begin circling outside of the village. Caxus watched for a moment before looking back to the Arc family, he looked down to the tomes in his hands, his free hand coming up to trace the Aquila proudly emblazoned on the cover. His mind raced for answers as to why these tomes were here. How did the Arc family know of them? How did they come into possession of these tomes? Why did the Emperor see fit to send their forces here?
So many questions, but not nearly enough answers. Not yet.
XXXX (The Silver Blade, Bridge)
"Shipmistress." Silvira sighed as she disconnected from her command throne, the odd feeling like that of condensing your consciousness into a small fragment of your own body. She turned to face the voice of her Navigator. Calixa's skittish demeanor had her wringing her hands in front of her with her head held low, her amber eyes only meeting Silvira's grey orbs for mere moments before looking back at the deck.
"Yes, Navigator?" Silvira spoke after a moment of silence form Calixa. "I trust you have a reason for interrupting me?"
"Please, Shipmistress, forgive me, but I was curious." Calixa forced her hands to her sides and looked Silvira in the eyes. "With there being no need for Warp travel, I was wondering if it would be possible to take a journey down to the planet."
"You wish to see this new world for yourself?" Silvira questioned, rolling her neck to undo some of the stiffness that had set in from sitting in her throne for so long.
"Y-yes, Shipmistress." Calixa's eyes fell to the deck once again. Silvira regarded the Navigator for a few moments, watching as the woman began to wilt under her gaze. It was no secret that Silvira and Calixa did not get along after an incident when Calixa was first assigned to the ship in which Silvira had needed to put down several maddened serfs who had been exposed to the Navigator's third eye.
"Hmm…" Silvira glanced to one of the screens around her command throne. It displayed information being sent from the ground forces as well as the progress of supplies being ferried down to the Guard. "I will speak with the Astartes and ask him when non-combatants will be permitted."
"Thank you, Shipmistress." Calixa's eyes seemed to brighten as a small smile began to take over her lips.
"Do not take my answer for kindness, Navigator." Silvira spoke, wiping the forming smile from Calixa's face. "Your presence here serves no purpose at this time and I would look forward to the day when I do not need to worry about your mutation costing the lives of more of my men."
"F-forgive me, Shipmistress." Calixa whispered, beginning to fidget with her hands once more.
"Return to your chambers, Navigator. I will call for you when I receive an answer." Silvira turned away, taking her seat upon her throne and shuddering as she began the connection process. She didn't notice when the Navigator left, her head hanging low as she disappeared into the stairwell that lead to her station.
Silvira instead allowed herself to take comfort in the increasingly familiar feeling of becoming one with the ship. She smiled as her eyes opened and she saw the vast expanse of space around her through the thousands of cameras along The Silver Blade's hull. She could feel the unease of the machine spirit within the Blade causing her to frown slightly. It was not afraid, no, the machine spirit had seen countless battles and had withstood thousands of years of war, but somehow, it seemed as though it were aware of her crew's situation and seemed to reflect the emotions of those that maintained and crewed her.
Silvira tried to steel her resolve, but there was no hiding her own feelings of trepidation. There was no going home, no rejoining the Iron Knights fleet and certainly no chance for proper repairs to the ship's hull and systems.
"Shipmistress." The call brought her attention back to the bridge, her vision changing to see through her organic eyes. "We're receiving scan data from the planet's satellite."
"What can you tell me?" Silvira questioned, focusing her eyes on the ship's sensors officer.
"There's nothing concrete as of yet." The man replied, but quickly continued when he saw Silvira's less than impressed expression. "But initial scans indicate metallic debris within the rock field."
"Natural deposits, no doubt." Silvira huffed, closing her eyes to spread her gaze back into space.
"Actually, Shipmistress, the metal is Ceramite and Adamantium." Silvira's eyes snapped open.
Alright, well there you have it. A bit of a filler, but none the less, I like it. This chapter was kind of a chance to give other characters their time in the lime light as well as set the tone for how things will be changing in Beacon now that the Imperials are around.
I know a few of you brought up concerns about the Imperial Knight and it's lack of cool enemies to fight, but don't worry cause that is planned out. Unfortunately, that means that for right now, the Knight isn't really gonna get to shine until later on. I really wanted to put her in this chapter, but I had to remind myself that there are actually other Imperial forces on the planet and not just the Laughing Queen (whose name will be explained in a later chapter). That being said, she will still be a part of the story and she will still kick ass, but just, kinda in the background until later.