"Are you ready, Ruby?" Weiss asked from behind her.
Ruby turned to look at Weiss, who was standing at the entrance to Ruby's quarters. Both were wearing their full dress uniforms, the black-and-gold seeming to shimmer in the ship's interior lighting.
"Yeah," Ruby replied. "Just a little nervous is all."
"Don't worry, you'll be fine."
"It's just... This is a huge step for me. For both of us," Ruby said as she shuffled her feet a little. "Less than a year in the navy and I'm already a captain, and we're both being promoted two ranks."
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, you deserved to be a captain right out of the academy," Weiss replied as she rubbed Ruby's shoulder reassuringly. "As for me, I'm just glad to be able to go with you."
"Thanks, Weiss," Ruby replied as she gazed into Weiss' ice-blue eyes.
"So, shall we go ahead and get this done?" Weiss asked.
"Kiss for luck?" Ruby asked with a grin.
"Fine," Weiss replied, rolling her eyes even as she smiled and pulled Ruby into a brief, but warm kiss. "Better?"
"Better," Ruby replied as she smiled as well.
Both officers walked out of Ruby's room and started hold hands as they walked down the empty corridors. The ship was eerily silent. Only the main reactor was still running with the ship sitting docked at the Vale shipyards, and even that was only running at the minimum required power to keep the ship able to power quickly in the event of an emergency. Ruby and Weiss eventually arrived at an elevator, and they stepped inside.
"Hangar deck," Ruby called, and the elevator started its descent.
Ruby reached over and gripped Weiss' hand. After several seconds, the elevator slid into a smooth stop, and the doors hissed open. Outside the doors, there were two long lines of the officers and crew of the Beacon. As Ruby and Weiss stepped out of the elevator, everyone snapped to attention. Both Weiss and Ruby walked down to a podium that had been put up at the end of the hangar with Admiral Qrow standing at the top. When they finally reached the podium, both officers stood at attention.
"Lieutenant Commander Rose, Lieutenant Schnee," Admiral Qrow said, "stand at ease."
Ruby and Weiss relaxed their stances and wrapped their hands behind their backs.
"You are both excellent examples of naval officers, and it is my honor to award both of you with rank fitting you capabilities. Lieutenant Commander Rose, please step forward." Ruby did as she was asked, and stood at attention. "Lieutenant Commander Rose, you are an skilled pilot, a brilliant officer, and a fine leader. These are qualities that make for some of the best captains in the Navy. So, with that in mind, I hereby award you with the rank of Captain, and, effective immediately, you are assigned to the captain's post of the R.F.S. Vale."
Ruby saluted as her uncle removed her previous rank insignia from her shoulder and replaced it with her captain's insignia.
"Thank you, sir," Ruby replied with a smile.
"Lieutenant Schnee, step forward," Admiral Qrow said, and Weiss stepped up next to Ruby and stood at attention. "Lieutenant Schnee, you are a skilled pilot, a clever officer, and your support is absolutely invaluable to your superiors officers. Those qualities make for an fine executive officer. As a result, you are hereby awarded the rank of Commander, and, effective immediately, I hereby transfer you to the R.F.S. Vale to serve as the Executive Officer to Captain Rose."
Now it was Weiss' turn to salute, as she was given her new insignia.
"Thank you, sir," Weiss said.
"Captain Rose, Commander Schnee, your ship is standing by in dock four. Report to your posts, and stand by for orders," Admiral Qrow said.
"Yes, sir!" Both officers replied, as they saluted and walked away.
"Captain on deck!" came a shout from Ruby's left as she and Weiss set foot on the bridge of the R.F.S Vale for the first time.
Ruby looked around and saw every single member of the ship's bridge crew standing attention. The bridge was well lit, with every console arranged in a circular fashion around the large central table that housed the hologram projector for the tactical display. The bridge itself was a shimmering white and well-lit, with broad panoramic windows giving an excellent view of the space around the ship. The ship was massive, over five kilometers in length, with the front three-quarters of the ship being almost like a sword's blade in shape. Near the back were two large, angular protrusions that housed the ship's hangars, and the back was cube-shaped with four large nacelles mounted to the edges. Along the top of the ship were five massive railgun turrets with three on the bottom. Three of the top mounted railguns, and two of the bottom turrets were mounted on the front of the ship, with the remaining two top and one one bottom turrets were mounted in the back. Between the two hangars was a tower that stood about half the ship's width in height, that housed the bridge, where the Ruby and Weiss had just arrived. The two officers looked at each other. With a nod, both officers walked to the tactical display.
"At ease," Ruby called. She tapped a control on the side of the display, and activated the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen," she called, "Officers and crew, this is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard the R.F.S. Vale. I will keep this brief, because I know you all have duties to get to, with this being a freshly commissioned warship. You are the finest crew in the navy, on board the finest warship in the navy. That is a lot to live up to, but I know for a fact that you will live up to it. This is the day we've waited for. Good luck to you all."
"Nice speech, Ruby," Weiss commented.
"Thanks Weiss," Ruby replied. "So now we're just waiting for orders?"
"From Qrow, yes," Weiss said. "Hopefully he'll be here soon."
"Admiral on deck!" one of the marines at the entrance to the bridge called.
"Speaking of," Weiss said as she and Ruby snapped to attention and looked at the entrance.
"As you were," Admiral Qrow said as he walked over to Ruby and Weiss. "Ladies, are you ready for us to begin the shakedown cruise?"
Ruby nodded. "Yes sir."
"Very well," Admiral Qrow said. "Order a jump to the Vega sector."
"Yes, sir," Ruby said before she turned to the helm station. "Helm, commence jump to Vega three," Ruby then tapped the intercom button once again. "Attention all hands, this is the captain, stand by for jump." There was a brief silence. "Jump!"
Ruby felt herself practically being pulled apart as the phase drive activated. After a brief flash outside of the main window, the shining blue-and-green orb of Remnant was replaced by the dull light-brown of the desert world that was Vega three.
"Ruby, order the ship to orbit the moon," Admiral Qrow said.
"Aye, sir," Ruby said. "Helm, bring us to the moon, cruising speed."
"Aye, ma'am, cruising speed," the helm officer, a young man with a set of gray wolf ears, who looked like he had just completed training at the academy, replied as he tapped several commands into his console.
The ship lurched ever so slightly as the main engines activated. The thrusters flared a brilliant blue as they slowly started to push the massive ship forward.
"Wow, those engines pack quite a punch!" Ruby quipped.
"Well considering they need to push your thick head, I'm not surprised," Weiss replied with a smirk.
"Come on Weiss, really?" Ruby whined.
"If you two are finished, we've arrived in orbit," Qrow interrupted.
"Helm, maintain orbit," Ruby called, and she felt herself getting pulled slightly forward as the ship slowed to a stop. "So, what's first?"
"Bring the ship into a north-south orbit," Admiral Qrow replied.
"Yes, sir. Helm, turn ninety-degrees up and adjust orbit to compensate."
"Ay, ma'am, adjusting orbit."
The ship's nacelles rotated and fired again at the same time the maneuvering thrusters placed around the ship activated, pushing the ship and causing it to move towards the moon's north pole, leaving the moon sitting peacefully outside the left side of the ship.
"Good. Bring the ship into the asteroid field here," Admiral Qrow said as he indicated a spot within the holographic tactical display.
"Helm, turn forty degrees to starboard, thirty degrees down," Ruby called.
The ship's hull groaned slightly as it started to turn once again. When the massive vessel was finally in position, the main engines fired again, pushing the ship to its destination.
"Now," Admiral Qrow said, "there are four decommissioned ships in the asteroid field. A destroyer, a cruiser, a battleship, and a carrier. Your orders are to destroy them."
"Aye, sir," Ruby said.
"What's our ETA?" Weiss asked.
"About two more minutes, ma'am," the helmsman called.
"Good," Weiss replied.
The ship slid silently through space, its blue-and-white hull shimmering from the light of the Vega system's sun.
"That's strange," Ruby commented, looking at the tactical display as they approached the asteroid field. "You said there were four target ships, but I can only see one," Ruby then looked up to Weiss. "Sound yellow alert"
Weiss nodded as she tapped the intercom button. "Attention all hands, this is the X.O, yellow alert all hands to stations, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."
The bridge intercom started to make a low buzz, and crew began to file on and off as they went to their stations. The ship's hull briefly shimmered a faint blue color as the shields activated, and a number of panels on the outside of the hull began to pull back, revealing a number of smaller particle cannons and other weapons.
"All stations report ready for action ma'am," Weiss said,as she looked up at Ruby. "Shields are up, and weapons can be powered at a moments notice."
"Helm, take us into the asteroid field," Ruby called.
"Aye, aye, taking us in."
The ship rumbled forward, the shields briefly shimmering each time they shrugged off an asteroid impact. Suddenly, the ship rocked as it took multiple direct hits from something much more than asteroids.
"Damage report!" Weiss yelled.
"Forward shields are down to ninety-five percent!" the chief of engineering, a young woman with long, black hair tied into a ponytail that wrapped around her shoulder. "No damage other than that."
"What hit us?" Ruby called.
"Looks like a pirate cruiser," Weiss said as she studied the image of the opposing ship on the display.
"Why didn't we detect it earlier?"
"Could have been running low-emissions," the chief engineer called. "Our sensors are primarily designed to detect heat signatures."
"Sound red alert and bring us in to engage," Ruby called as she looked back at Admiral Qrow, who simply gave her a nod.
"Aye, Ruby," Weiss said as she tapped the intercom button again. "All hands, this is the X.O, red alert, all hands to battle-stations, red alert, all hands to battle-stations. This is not a drill. Attention on the flight deck, scramble all fighters."
Outside, dozens of small shapes began to dart away from the ship as the fighters launched. The massive form oft he Vale moved in close to the pirate cruiser, which was nearly a fifth of the size of the mighty dreadnought.
"Do we have a firing solution yet?" Ruby called.
"Yes, ma'am," the young man sitting at the gunnery station called.
"Good. Open fire on the pirate cruiser."
"Particle batteries two through seventeen, this is the XO, open fire. Sending target coordinates now," Weiss called.
Space around the ship lit up as a series of small blue bursts sped away from the ship. The pirate cruiser's shields shimmered a brilliant red as the particle cannon shots slammed into them. The pirate cruiser replied with a handful of particle gun blasts of its own, causing the Vale's shields to flare slightly as they impacted. Slowly, the pirate ship started to turn away from the Vale as it fired its main engines.
"Captain, looks like they're trying to get away!" one of the other bridge officers on the Vale yelled.
"Full ahead, pursuit course!" Ruby called.
The Vale's engines flared as it turned to pursue the pirate cruiser. Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and the pirate cruiser vanished.
"Where did they go?" Weiss shouted.
"Looks like they jumped to the border, ma'am. They could be attempting to make it into Terran space."
"Stand by to jump us to their position," Ruby said. "Weiss, get the fighters back aboard. As soon as they're back within our jump envelope, get us to the border to intercept the pirates."
"Attention all fighters, this is the X.O," Weiss said, "Return to base immediately, repeat, return to base immediately."
After what felt like an hour, Weiss spoke up again. "All fighters are within our jump envelope, Ruby, we can jump at any time."
"Helm, jump now!" Ruby called.
There was a brilliant flash, and the asteroid field and planet vanished from space, replaced by an empty starfield. Ruby looked at the tactical display, searching for where the Pirate cruiser was.
"Shit," she muttered. "They're about to cross the border! Railguns, do you have a shot?"
"Not yet, ma'am," the intercom blared. "It'll be another couple of seconds before we can get a bead on them!"
Ruby could only watch as the pirate ship slid across the red wall on the tactical display that represented the Remnant Federation and Terran Imperium's shared border. Suddenly, there was a series of bright flashes, and twenty new ships appeared on the tactical display. Without warning, every single ships that had just jumped in opened fire on the pirate ship. Autocannons, railguns, and particle beam cannons cleaved through the pirate's shields, and ripped the hull open before they had a chance to react. After only a couple seconds of fire, the pirate cruiser began to quickly and silently fall apart under the barrages of fire that had been unleashed upon it. Ruby and Weiss could only stand in awe of the power that had just been displayed.
"Ma'am, incoming transmission!" the ship's communications officer called.
"Put it through," Ruby said as she shook out the surprise from watching the pirate cruiser getting torn apart.
"Attention, Remnant Federation ship," a voice boomed throughout the bridge, "This is Fleet Admiral Lucas Williams of the U.S.C. Athena. Stand down immediately."
"Athena, this is Captain Rose of the R.F.S. Vale," Ruby called. "That ship you destroyed had Remnant citizens on board. You can't seriously expect-"
"Ruby, allow me," Admiral Qrow said. "Williams? This is Admiral Qrow, are you there?"
"Yes. I wasn't aware you were on board that ship," Admiral Williams replied.
"Is there any way I can convince you to release the pirate ship's black box? There have been some Remnant naval ships participating in pirate raids here, and I'd like to see if they have any intel."
The bridge was silent for a minute. "That will be fine, Qrow," Admiral Williams finally replied. "We'll bring it over on board a shuttle as soon as we finish copying all of the data off of it."
"Very well," Admiral Qrow said as he cut off communication with the Athena.
"Sir, that black box could have something valuable!" Weiss said.
"Trust me, Commander," Qrow replied. "As it is, them returning the box to us is a sign of good faith on their part. Legally speaking, according to the Remnant-Earth treaty, they could have simply taken the box and left without another word."
"But, sir-"
"Let it go, Commander Schnee."
Weiss sighed. "Yes, sir."
"They'll probably be done in a few minutes," Admiral Qrow said. "Ruby, Weiss, I want the two of you there with me."
"Aye, sir," both officers replied.
Ruby stared at the massive, blocky, shuttle as it slowly touched down in the hangar of the R.F.S. Vale. The doors hissed open, and two people, both fully covered in gleaming black armor, stepped out with rifles in hand. Following them was a young woman with long, rust-colored hair tied into a ponytail with her bangs swept to the right side of her face, and piercing gray eyes. Following her was a young man with short, brown hair, brown eyes, a thin build, and a gaze that seemed to read your every move. Both of the unarmored figures wore white-and-blue uniforms, standing in stark contrast to the dark blues and blacks of the Remnant naval uniforms that Ruby and Weiss wore. Ruby could tell just by looking at them that they were definitely a force you would want to have on your side in a battle.
"Admiral Qrow," the man said. "How come you haven't retired yet?"
"I've told you, Williams," Admiral Qrow replied. "The day I retire is the day the ship falls out from under me."
"And who else is this with you?" Admiral Williams asked.
"Ah, apologies," Admiral Qrow said. "Admiral Williams, this is Commander Weiss Schnee, X.O. of the Vale, and my niece, Captain Ruby Rose, commanding officer of the Vale. Commander Schnee, Ruby, this is Fleet Admiral Lucas Williams, commander of the United Space Command navy."
"Captain Rose, Commander Schnee," the other Admiral replied. "this is Commander Anna Carter, X.O. of the Athena."
"So, do you have the black box?" Admiral Qrow asked.
"Right aboard the shuttle," Admiral Williams replied as he turned to the two armored figures. "You two, go get the black box."
The both saluted and stepped back inside the shuttle.
"So, I don't suppose you have some time to catch up a little?" Admiral Qrow asked.
"Unfortunately, no," Admiral Williams responded. "There have been a number of pirate raids coming from the border near the artifact, and I want to make sure that they're isolated incidents and not part of something bigger."
"Oh well. Perhaps next time then."
"Stay safe out there, Qrow," Admiral Williams said as he started to walk back to the shuttle while the two soldiers set the black box on the deck.
"You too, Williams," Qrow replied.
Summer Rose walked up to the Captain's quarters on board the R.F.S. Haven and reached over to the console, but stopped herself as she heard Commodore Ironwood speaking to someone inside.
"Commander, Cinder wants us to join her and the rest of the fleet at the artifact by the end of the week. Can you get me a list of everyone who disagrees with our plans to eliminate the Terran Imperium before the end of the day?"
"Aye, sir," a voice belonging to Commander Mercury Black replied.
Summer started to run through the corridors until she finally got to her quarters. The door hissed open as she tapped the console, and she walked inside and locked the door. She activated her personal console.
"Computer, access all recent communications," she said quickly.
A long list appeared on the screen, and Summer started to scroll through until she finally came to one entry that was merely labeled as 'REDACTED.' She tapped the option on the screen that said play, and listened closely.
"Commodore," a Woman's voice said. "I want you to join the fleet that has gathered a the artifact before the week is done."
"Yes, ma'am," Ironwood's voice replied. "What do you want me to do with anyone who might oppose us?"
"Eliminate them. By any means necessary," the woman replied.
"Very well."
"I am sending you the plans so that you may look over them, just to confirm that the military will not be able to truly respond to our efforts."
Summer stared at the screen for a few moments. She tapped the download button on the console. When then download finished Summer started in disbelief at the screen.
"I need to warn Qrow," she muttered.
Before she could open up a communications channel, however, there was a loud bang on her door.
"Lieutenant Commander Rose, open the door!" whoever was on the other side yelled. "You are under arrest for the crime of treason!"
A/N: And the plot thickens! Don't worry, I won't let the whole Summer Rose being arrested thing drag on for too long. I personally hate it when stuff like that in TV shows gets dragged out when it could very easily have been handled with only a couple of episodes. Anyway, since I haven't quite covered it yet, let me give you all a quick rundown of how ships are classed in this universe:
Fighter: Small, darty craft designed to engage bombers, gunships, and other fighters (all ships frigate-size and larger have at least one squadron of fighters)
Bomber: Larger, slower small craft carrying torpedoes and other ordinance to destroy capital ships
Gunship: Basically a boarding craft. Carries a squad of troops to do whatever it is they're going to do.
Corvette/Flak Frigate: anti-fighter ships. Lots of small, fast-firing, weapons
Frigate: Small fast warships designed for hit-and-run attacks
Destroyer: Larger and better armed than a frigate. Typically the leader of "wolf-packs" of 3-4 frigates.
Cruiser: The poor, bloody infantry of the fleet. Designed to engage in stand-up fights with other ships
Battleship: Larger, tougher, and better armed than cruisers.
Carrier: Bigger than a battleship, but not as capable in a direct fight. Instead designed to use its fighters and bombers while it stays back.
Battle-Carrier: Carries almost as much firepower as a battleship, while having nearly the carrying capacity of a carrier. The R.F.S. Beacon and R.F.S. Haven belong here.
Dreadnought: Biggest ship in the fleet. Has sufficient firepower to level a small moon, and has more fighters than a carrier. This is the R.F.S. Vale, and U.S.C. Athena
There we go! Thanks for reading everyone! Stay tuned for the next chapter of Lone White Rose, and remember to check out my two new fanfics: The Path We Walk, and The Rose Guardian!