Saturday afternoon, Beacon library

Stella was sitting on a table, alone. In front of her were several books about Grimm Studies, Aura, Semblances and Faunus history, as well as a terminal to the CCTS. The girl was writing notes, flicking through various pages. With her Beacon uniform, she looked like any other student, but anyone reading her notes would quickly understand that she really isn't. Genetic drift models, genome re-sequencing theories, artificial growth serum… If any Beacon student read this, they'd look at her with wide eyes and confusion. Well, to be honest, even her instructor would probably be confused. She tried to combine stuff she'd learn and find a semblance of similarity with what Remnant had to offer. Eh, Semblance. If one thing in particular made absolutely no sense from a scientific point of view, it was that. Sometimes hereditary, sometimes random. More often than not, unique symptoms for each host. As Stella laid back with a sigh, looking into the ceiling, a familiar voice called out her name.

"Stella! Mind if I sit with you? What are you working on?"

Weiss stood a couple of feet from her, with a few school books of her own.

"Oh, sure, go ahead. I'm working on a side project. I'm trying to link Aura and Semblance to things I know."

"Aren't you supposed to keep these kind of things… secret?"

"I am. But I'm pretty sure anyone reading what I'm doing will just thing I'm making it all up."

"Can I see it?"

"Oh, sure. I don't think it'll make much sense to you, though."

After seeing Weiss's face, Stella knew she was right. Disappointed, the heiress gave her notebook back.

"Yeah. I see what you mean, now. How long have you been here?"

"Here? You mean the library? Uuhh…" Stella pulled her Scroll from her pocket and checked the time. "A few hours…"

"Do you want to join us for some tea when I'm done with these?" asked Weiss, waving at her own books. "Ruby won't stop talking about it, so I might as well bring good company to keep it bearable."

Stella chuckled at the thought, keeping her hand on her mouth to mitigate the sound. They were in a library, after all.

"Sure. I'm not really doing anything today, anyway."


Later that day, team RWBY's dorm

Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Stella were all sitting around in the room, each sipping from their tea cup. They were all in their casual outfit, or, combat dresses for two of them. And a bronze chest piece. Because why not. Stella stopped questioning her new friends' sense of fashion long ago.

"So, how did that exam go for you girls? I'm totally going for the resit session."

"Uuuhh, Ruby? I don't think you're supposed to be proud of that."

"I know, but it's stuff I never saw before, soooo, getting to the resit is almost as good as passing it."

"That test was quite difficult." said Pyrrha with a nod.

"Well… it was a multiple choice assessment. If you crammed the exam like I did, you'd be at least average, I'm sure of it."

"Easy for you to say that, you're always studying with Weiss!" retorqued Ruby, pouting.

Weiss sighed and put back her cup.

"Actually, she does most of the work on her own, and I'm already helping you plenty."

"Mph. How can you even learn all of that?"

"Ah. Old habits die hard, I guess…"


Two years ago, Federation's capital city of Neo Avalon, planet Deoria

Stella had always wanted to be a doctor, or a nurse. Her mother worked at the hospital, while her father was a simple store clerk. Her two younger brothers, Sam and Loyd, were wandering from future firemen to future engineers from day to day. The luxury of youth, her mother said. As for herself, Stella had graduated from high school with honors. She skipped a year in primary, so she was turning seventeen now. And she failed the exams for medical school. She learned the news back home, from an email and the official platform. With her biology major, anything too technical was out of her reach and she hated economics. And she really wanted to be a doctor, to help people. It was what her mom did, and every time her mom told her stories about her work, Stella's passion only burned harder.

Stella wandered in the streets on her way home, two bags full of groceries in her arms. She passed the bakery, the book store. All those landmarks that she knew she'd have to leave behind one day. When she passed a popular commercial alley, she spotted one of the Guard patrols. After the failed Maian coup, these were getting increasingly common. And then she heard the screeching of tires and the screams of people. She looked back into the alley, and where people used to hang out and talk, there was a car crash. Some people ran away, others just watched. And then she saw the three soldiers rush to the scene, trying to get the driver and the passengers out. That was the day that forged her future.

What Stella wanted above everything, was to feel useful. To make people's lives better. After failing the entrance exam for med school, she feared that dream would never come true. But after seeing the look of everyone in that street, she knew there was another way. It wouldn't exactly make her a doctor like her mom, but she knew that the Army could pay a tuition for medical studies. You would be forced to serve at least ten years, but you would be someone with medical experience afterward. Naturally, her parents weren't fond of the idea, and even threatened to disown her if she left. But she didn't really care. She knew, deep down, that it was an empty threat. And so, she filled the paperwork and left for boot camp. For the worse days of her life.


Several weeks later, Fort Kehning

The Army life, heavily romanticized by movies and other medias, was far from easy. Even in a time of relative peace, the training was exhausting. Basic training was twelve weeks, followed by a major for twenty-four weeks and minors for eight weeks each. All in all, that was roughly an entire year before leaving boot camp, and nearly no vacations in between. Several recruits had already given up, but Stella had her sights on that Combat Medical Expertise badge. She failed an exam once, she wouldn't fail another. Physical training was pushing her to her limits. Stella never really was fond of sports, and her grades showed. She almost always ended up below average, but compensated with theoretical subjects and marksmanship. The Deorian military was exclusively voluntary-based, and as such had a very high standard for its troops, both physical and intellectual. The fact that the Federation had far more population than the two rivalling nations was about the only thing keeping this policy viable, however. They knew that the Empire of Shilus had more advanced technology and the support of the Eastern Conglomerate. Tensions were high, but they had always been. That's what she always heard. From the news, from her parents, her grandparents, her instructors. If she remembered her history lessons, the Empire of Shilus was born two centuries ago from a breakaway colony from a near-livable planet. One of the only four humanity had ever found.

What amazed Stella was how, after thousands of years of evolution, humanity was still trying to kill itself at the first opportunity. Well, maybe not the first opportunity, but close enough. She was in her bunk, the barracks being far from insonorized enough to her taste. It was late in the night, but she could still hear the platoons exercising outside and the occasional vehicle passing through the base. She was glad that her unit wasn't outside tonight. She shuffled in her bunk, until she decided that she was comfortable enough. She didn't like it here, but she wasn't going to stay here much longer. She did well, surprisingly, and so, she got admitted into the medical course. If she did well there, then maybe she'd be transferred to the Medical Corps and follow the full course in college. A girl can dream, right?


Half a year later, ODS-12 station, Deoria high orbit

God, she hated space. The feeling of free float was sickening, and they'd been training there for weeks. Even if the station itself had artificial gravity, at a steady 0.6g, most of the exercises were about space warfare. And for her, it was also about zero-g first aid. On the float, bleeding was a death sentence. Without anything to keep blood on the wound, bandages and medical gel were vital. And in case of internal bleeding, well, the only hope is to reach a med-bay before it would be too late. As a field medic, her job was to stabilize and send the wounded back to wherever she was instructed to. A marine's job was to get things done, not wonder why. Even though, Stella wondered how did she end up here, fifty thousand kilometers from home, in a bubble of air and metal. She either pissed off or impressed her instructor back in Kehning, that was all she could gather.

Admittedly, it didn't really matter much. The Naval Infantry branch, or just marines for everyone else, was the branch that saw the most action in the last decades, which meant better career prospects and, well, more opportunities to save lives. She was in the final stage of her training as a soldier, but as a medical practitioner, her work was far from over. She'd have to keep studying and she'd have exams for at least the next two years, but it's what she wanted, so the thought was reassuring more than dreadful. Quite a few of her comrades were still thinking of her as the naive kind that thought she could play the hero at the first opportunity. Maybe they were right, she did thought she could be a hero. But she wasn't naive, far from it. In the coming days, they would all receive their first assignment. Most of them would ship out to every corner of the Federation, and would probably never see each other again. Stella was suddenly pulled from her day dreaming with the battle stations alarm rang throughout the station. A familiar voice echoed through the corridor and intercom.

"Attention platoon D! You rookies are to report on airlock seven in ten minutes, I repeat, platoon D to airlock seven in ten minutes!"

Ah, drill sergeant Jianhong, always straight to the point. Well, all of them were, but Jianhong never really seemed human. He never spent any time with anyone outside of his shifts. It's as if he left the station whenever he wasn't needed. Of course, that wasn't possible, as the station had very little in terms of air traffic. Stella didn't have time to daze off. After equipping her suit, checking the seals and running the basic diagnostics, she caught the rifle that Nate just threw at her.

Nate had been with her since day one. They even met in one of the recruitment center, although only he remembered that. He was a good friend, and, well, a bit more than that. Stella's had boyfriends and lovers before, her good looks and generous proportions made her rather popular in high school, one way or the other. None of those relationships really lasted longer than a few months, though. With Nate, it felt… different. The fact that it had to be in secret was one thing, yes, but there was also a bond that emerged from a year of intense training.

"Time to dance, Mercy." he said with a wink.

Stella nodded back and donned her helmet. The heads-up display came up in an instant, the blue interface displaying her suit's status, her team's, and her weapon's. She jogged all the way to airlock seven, just like the rest of her platoon. Twenty seven rookies, and more than half of them coming from the colonies. They all stood in front of Jianhong, ready for their mission.

"Rookies! Fifteen klicks from that airlock is a dummy ship. Your orders are to board it and seize control of it. Platoon E is already on-board and instructed to repel any invader. Yes, this does mean that you are on a blue-on-blue scenario. Both you and platoon E's performance will influence your final exercise next week. Good luck."

Jianhong stepped aside and punched a large button on the wall. The airlock's inner wall opened, and platoon D walked in, three rows of nine rookies in a perfect rectangle. The inner door closed, and the airlock cycled the air inside. Soon, all Stella could hear was her own breath and the radio chatter. Nate was her team leader, and his face appeared in the top right corner of her HUD.

"Okay team, our objective is right ahead. Looks fairly standard, team A's taking the port airlock, we're going for starboard. Team C's going for the hangar."

Everyone raised their fist to acknowledge, and fired their EVA pack. Their target was fifteen kilometers away. A long distance for infantry, but for spaceships, it was the common safety distance. The transit would take them only a few minutes of constant acceleration, followed by constant deceleration. The same that happened with anything in space, really. Once they reached their target, barely more than a few converted cargo containers welded together, the three squads diverged to their respective objectives. Shortly after everyone landed on the hull with their mag boots, a trio of blue flares emerged from the ship's belly. Stella's HUD flagged them as a threat, and Nate talked through the squad-only channel.

"Heat-seekers. Let's take 'em out quickly, they're probably just here to see what we're doing."

Their weapons weren't loaded with a hydrogen core, and their barrels were replaced by electronic laser emitters. In short, they were firing training rounds at everything. The three drones from platoon E were quickly disabled, but everyone could feel tiny vibrations through the ground. They were moving. In response, platoon D rushed to their designated breaching positions and stormed the place. Or they would have, if they didn't lose half of their numbers in the first dozen meters. Luckily for them, Nate had the brilliant idea of simply cutting through the walls to flank the crossroads, and it kinda worked well enough. When both platoons returned, Jianhong was waiting for them all at the briefing room. Both platoons had done well, apparently. To be fair, they did have a close win, with only three left standing.

"Well done, maggots. You may finally be worth the title of soldiers. That was one hell of a show. Your final exam will be on-board the St-Michel for platoon D, and the Novgorod for platoon E. Let me warn you, this will be a joint exam with the Space Force, but both exams are not taking place at the same time. Both ships will arrive here in four days, until then, I expect you to keep up the good work and make the Army proud. Have I made myself clear?"

"Sir! Yes sir!" yelled everyone.

"Good. Dismissed."

Before she could leave the room, however, the drill sergeant called her out, along with Nate and someone from platoon E. He spoke to her first.

"Congratulations, private Sternberg. Your performance is exemplary, keep it up and I'm putting you in for a promotion."

"Thank you, sir."

"I've seen your request for the Medical Corps. I'm afraid but that will not be possible. You're a good soldier, but you don't have what it takes to be an officer."

"I… yes sir!"

"Private Emerson, private Falkner, that was some very good thinking, if a bit reckless, Emerson. Your teams have found some good leaders. I'm recommending you both for a promotion as well."

He stepped back and saluted all three rookies.

"You three did very well on this station. Now live up to the expectations. Dismissed."


Destroyer Kashgar, Shilus-Federation border

Stella's been a field medic and doctor-in-training for the past three weeks on-board the Kashgar. Her direct superior officer, Sergeant James Chester, seemed rather satisfied of her performance. Nate and her broke up the day before they both embarked on their respective ships. Neither of them were really keen on keeping a long-distance relationship. She was a private first-class, now, which meant that she could order around almost two thirds of the entire ship's security team, if she wanted to. And, well, sometimes she had to do that to keep some of the boys off her for a moment. Her tutor, doctor Pozelri, was a Space Force lieutenant, but always preferred to be called doctor. She and Stella were among the reason why the infirmary was so popular. The other being, as expected, the dangers of serving on a warship. After three weeks, she was almost done with her advanced training, and the only thing that could change is to be recommended for the Medical Corps and Officer Course. Stella was walking through the dull corridors of the ship, ready to start her shift.

"Sternberg, come help me out with this one."

"On it, doctor!"

Doctor Pozelri was trying to scan a sailor, but the scanner needed someone over the controls and someone to monitor the results and the patient. It wasn't anything serious, like most things that happened on the ship. She learned a lot more on-board the Kashgar than back at camp, since there wasn't much action in space. She worked hard, spending as much time in the ship's library and virtual training center as possible. Even if she wasn't cut out for officer duties, perhaps her skills would take her into the Medical Corps anyway. She would probably never get to know.

It all happened so quickly. She was in the infirmary, taking care of the few injured scientists and technicians when the whole ship fluttered and trembled again. This time, the ship wasn't showing any restrain. She could feel each gun firing, the vibration reverberating through the hull like an earthquake. Stella rushed to one of the terminals and called Elena.

"Elena, what's going on? Who are we shooting?"

Elena appeared on the screen, joyful as always.

"Mmmh, a good question. Unknown drive signature, unknown capabilities. It seems Captain Robins doesn't like surprise parties."

The ship trembled and several red notifications popped up on the terminal. Elena continued, her smile was gone.

"Well, things are getting interesting."

Before Stella could ask anything more, the AI vanished, leaving the infirmary awfully silent. Stella was still wearing her armor, since she didn't stop by the armory on her way to the infirmary. Before long, boarders breached decks 4, 5 and 7. And then the order came in.

Abandon ship.

Her commanding officer asked her to leave the infirmary and join the rest of her squad in the hangar. Others tried the lifeboats, only to be killed on their way through the corridors. And then, as she reached the main corridor leading into the hangar, she and her group were thrown into the wall. Something happened, something really bad. Had the ship been cut in half? Did they lose that badly? Her armor saved her, unlike many others. She limped toward the hangar, and waited for Chester to give her orders. Next thing she knew, she was on a Raven, with a lieutenant that she only saw a couple of times and half a dozen scared sailors. It felt wong on so many levels to just leave everyone there. Maybe some of them were still alive, no one could know, and Elena wasn't responding to check on everyone's status. She tried so hard, and all the universe had to answer is a massive slap in the face and a middle finger so big it could hide the sun.


Present day, team RWBY's dorm

"So yeah, working hard's just been the usual for me. And to be honest, your Aura and Semblance thing is kinda fun to study."

Weiss chuckled and sipped some tea.

"I wouldn't go that far, but… yes, considering your past experience, I guess you could say that."

Pyrrha and Ruby remained still, Ruby trying not to cry and Pyrrha with an apologetic look in her eyes. The bronze-clad girl shook her head and smiled.

"Sooo, how did you and Nate… You know…"

Ah, back to girl talks, then. Stella smiled. She wouldn't enjoy this kind of luxury for long, if she was to believe the lieutenant...