Chapter 10
Hey readers, I'm back with the next chapter of the story. Sorry it took so long, I had a scene that I couldn't quite get out properly, even now I think it could definintely be better, plus I needed to review the 'Recruiting Samara' mission and find a way to change it to add Ruby and Weiss to the mix, Also this will be part 1 of the recruitment mission. Now two important things I'm gonna do in particular for this chapter:
1) I've recently got a 'complaint' about the ranking conflict between Ruby and Shepard, Ruby being a General of the Valian army as well as a professional huntress and John being a Spectre of the Council and a Commander in the Alliance. And as a side note of this, the possibility of PTSD because of the war against Cinder's forces for team RWBY, as they were practically in the center of it the entire time.
2) The third 'World of Remnant' video released by Rooster Teeth, which brings about some very important changes.
So to explain the first one, Ruby is indeed a higher ranking due to Commander ranking being equal to Colonel, which is lower than General. However, due to the fact that Ruby was only a General of the Valian army, which in this story, is much different and not as technologically advanced as the Earth Systems Alliance, or the rest of the galaxy, they would be considered a somewhat primitive army compared the rest of the galaxy, despite their achievements. Add on the fact that team RWBY has no space training, and they are still new to the galaxy as a whole, the ranking of Remnant would be moot beyond its atmosphere since they would be considered trainees for Space combat(they'll get their first semi-space combat experience on the Collectors Ship in the future).
Now as for the possible PTSD, everyone overcomes stress in different ways. Some people work, some prefer solitude, and others find a hobby to distract themselves from the memories. Now, Blake would be the least likely to suffer from it, as she has her life in the White Fang both before and after their turn to violence, so she is used to being a part of an armed force, and having a difficult life due to being a Faunus, but she never really took part in any major fights, only heists and stealth-oriented missions so it's really hard to tell. Yang is simpler, as a thrill seeker, and a woman protecting her younger sister, she would be least likely to suffer from it, especially since Ruby is perfectly fine, minus her missing eye. Weiss, she would be least likely to suffer from PTSD as she has seen much of the 'war' from her childhood, just because she's related to a major target of the White Fang. Now Ruby, due to her innocence, she would be the first, or possibly only to suffer from PTSD, however, she would probably channel the frustrations, fear, and such into her obsession over weapons, her love of sweets(which is actually proven to calm someone who is angry or scared down[or so I heard from a science channel, can't remember which one, it was a while back when I heard it]) and her childish antics in order to release the built up stress.
Now for the second, I will not spoil the video but I will point out one thing that was mentioned, Dust loses its power once it leaves the atmosphere of Remnant. Luckily the two episodes, chapters 6 and 7 of RWBY have given me an idea on how to explain Dust working outside of Remnant. So if you have not seen RWBY vol. 3 chapters 6 & 7, then you will not understand what will be said in the chapter when it is explained.
Now, onto the story(and this will probably be the longest Chapter of the story because of the explanations going to occur and then the recruitment of Samara).
Disclaimer: I do NOT own RWBY(R.I.P. Monty Oum, you'll live forever in the hearts and minds of your fans) nor do I own Mass Effect.
"Harbinger"
"Comms/EDI speaking"
"Speech"
'Thought'
Ruby was standing in Mordin's lab, as the Salarian studied the dust crystals provided by Weiss. He had tried charging his just awakened aura into the Dust crystal when Ruby went wide-eyed and snatched the crystal from his hand, confusing him. He looked at the crimsonette in confusion,
"Might I ask why you took the crystal?" Ruby seemed to sweat slightly and shook her head,
"I was just thinking maybe you should get used to your aura before trying to activate a Dust crystal." Ruby smiled as brightly as she could, despite her somewhat obvious nervousness. Mordin noted this but nodded, as he could tell she was being honest about him needing to learn to control his aura properly.
'Still, most curious. She seemed to grow nervous when I attempted to activate the Frost Dust crystal, why? Dangerous? That was the reason for her presence, fear for my failure? No no no, she knows Failure is just as important as success, so what is it?' Mordin watched as the woman leave the lab.
Ruby ran to Weiss's room and closed the door,
"Weiss, I forgot something important when Mordin asked for a bit of Dust!" Weiss turned and set her Myrtenaster, which she had been polishing, down,
"What happened?"
"Weiss, do I really need to tell you? We're not on Remnant, so Dust won't work, aside from for us because of the you-know-what." Weiss went wide-eyed and slapped her forehead,
"Dust damn it, how could I forget that?! I'm just so used to using Dust as well as... 'that'... that I completely forgot about the properties of Dust after coming to this place."
"We need to get Yang and Blake and warn them not to let anyone else try to use any Dust."
"You go let Yang know, and I'll tell Blake. Remember Ruby, this information is- "
"Classified, I know. We can't let the info on us get out, who knows what will happen if it does." Weiss nodded and the RW of the team RWBY left the room, not noticing Weiss's scroll lying open on the bed.
With Ruby...
Ruby rushes up to the Yeoman, Kelly Chambers, who just walked from the dining area. Kelly was a cheerful gingerhaired woman who was almost as peppy as Ruby. Ruby looked around,
"Excuse me, Kelly. Do you know where Yang is?" Kelly turned to face Ruby and smiled,
"She just went down to the shuttle bay, I believe she said she was practicing her martial arts skills."
"Thanks!" Ruby was a blur as she ran into the elevator and began hitting the button over and over and over again. Kelly raised an eyebrow as she saw that Ruby was obviously worried about something, Weiss walked by from her room and into the side room, where her teammate, Blake, if she recalled, was staying. The elevator door closed as Kelly frowned slightly, seeing a stern expression on Weiss' face. Obviously Weiss and Ruby were on some sort of mission, so to speak, and it involved their teammates.
Blake's room...
Weiss entered the room and locked the door,
"Blake, we've got a slight issue." Blake looked up from her Scroll, the mobile book displayed on the screen,
"What is it?" Weiss held up the Dust crystal,
"Our Dust." Blake raised an eyebrow for a moment, before her eyes widened very slightly,
"Oh Monty above. Dust doesn't work outside of Remnant's atmosphere. Except for when we use it. I completely forgot with the war and then getting transported to Illium via Ruby's Semblance." Weiss nodded,
"Ruby almost blew that cover out of the water. She's going to find Yang to let her know right now." Blake nodded, as she looked at her hand, before her eyes released a flame-like aura which receded a moment after,
"To think it's been over 3 years since we obtained these abilities." Weiss crossed her arms and nodded, as she began releasing an aura of ice, which also recended after a moment,
"Yes. I never imagined the Maidens were real, not until we gained these abilities. Now we're the newest generation of Maidens. We need to be careful." Blake nodded as the two sat down and began talking.
With Yang...
Yang and John were sparring. Yang smirked as she ducked a punch and threw her fist at John's exposed side. However, the man smirked and twisted, avoiding the punch before he kicked at Yang, who simply caught the kick. Yang tossed John, who landed and rolled back onto his feet. John smirked before a red blur crashed into Yang and she and Ruby vanished in a blur of rose petals before appearing on the otherside of the shuttle bay. Yang shook her head and looked at Ruby,
"Ruby, what the hell?"
"Yang! Have you tried showing anyone how to use Dust?" Yang blinked and shook her head,
"No, why?"
"Good, just don't do it, we're not on Remnant after all." Yang looked confused before her eyes went wide and she slapped her forehead just like Weiss did earlier,
"Agh, how could I forget! Dust d- mphh!"
"Yang, we don't need shouting, remember, the fact that we can use 'that' to use Dust outside Remnant's atmosphere, well, that's classified by the headmasters and the other Hunters of our little group." Yang nodded and sighed behind Ruby's hand, which was taken off after Yang nodded,
"Yea, I know."
"Not even John can know, Yang." Yang blinked and looked down slightly before nodding,
"Yea, I know. But I do want to tell him, he should know about me, about us and the abilities we have. He might not have noticed, but I used my Summer Maiden abilities when we went to recruit Okeer." Ruby went wide-eyed,
"What did you do?" Yang shrugged,
"I enhanced my natural semblance and made an unstable ball of fire within a big mech, and launched a burst of fire at it, making it explode." Ruby smirked,
"I'll bet you turned away to try and look like a bad ass." Yang laughed,
"I didn't 'try' I was a bad ass, after all, the cool people don't look at explosions..."
'Oh no, not again.' Yang smirked,
"...they blow shit up and just walk away." Yang finished in a sing-song voice(A/N: that's a reference to the youtube channel: SkyVsGaming, one of the GTA V mod showcases he did. I thought it sounded like something Yang would say XD) Ruby groaned,
"Dust dammit Yang." Yang just laughed,
"Look, just remember, not to let anyone use any Dust, got it?" Yang nodded,
"Don't worry sis, I know. It's beyond classified, Uncle Qrow told us right after Ozpin and Ironwood, remember?" Ruby nods and she runs back to the elevator,
"Oh, and meet up in Blake's room when your done here, we've got a few other things to discuss as well, got it?" Yang nods,
"Yea, I got it sis."
"Good, don't be late!" Yang walked back over to John after giving Ruby a thumbs up. John looked at Yang with a raised eyebrow,
"What was that about?" Yang smiled a bit nervously,
"Ah, you don't need to worry about it, just letting me know about a meeting for team RWBY, covering some personal stuff, nothing to be worried about." John raised an eyebrow before sighing and nodding,
"Very well, just remember, if there's anything you need to get off your chest, just let me know, okay?" Yang smirked,
"Why John, you're quite forward, aren't you?" John blinked before blushing a bit as Yang crossed her arms under her bust and he pushed Yang's shoulder,
"Shut up Yang, I'm being serious." Yang let the smirk fall and sigh,
"Yea, I know, but there are things I CAN'T talk about, highly classified information that my team knows. We can only share this information if we have no other choice." John crossed his arms and nodded,
"I see. Well don't worry, I won't push for anything you're not allowed to tell me, and I won't let anyone else push you for information either, if more for their safety than the information's safety." John smirked as he finished what he was saying, making Yang laugh and nod. The two got back into their sparring stances and started another round.
An hour later, Blake's room...
Yang walked into the room to see Ruby, Blake, and Weiss sitting next to the window looking at the stars.
"Hey guys, you aren't all 'star-struck' are ya?" Yang snickered as the trio groaned and Weiss facepalmed. Yang closed the door behind her and locked it before looking around at her teammates,
"So, we're gonna discuss 'that', am I right?" Ruby and Weiss nodded. Weiss walked forward and put her hands on her hips and had her usual Ice Queen scowl on her face,
"Ruby told us what you told her, you're lucky you only enhanced the fire aspect of your semblance and not used 'it' outright, otherwise there would be a LOT of questions that we would be forced to answer." Yang rubbed the back of her head and had a sheepish expression,
"Yea, I know Weiss. But really, that Jedore woman was pissing me off, thinking that... YMIR mech was it? Yea, that thing was strong enough to beat me. It wasn't even half the size of the Paladin we destroyed in our first year at Beacon. Plus she was a bitch who grated on our ears the entire time until John shut her up." Weiss crossed her arms,
"It doesn't matter, you need to be careful, the existance of the Maidens was kept a secret for centuries, and for good reasons as well, we need to continue that because if word got out of our abilities, we'd be targeted for the rest of our lives, whether by those who want to use us, by those who would consider us goddesses or some such nonsense, or by those like Cinder." Everyone grimaced at the mention of the brilliant yet unstable woman. Yang sighed and nodded before she looked down, Blake in particular was most anxious, because when she took the power Cinder had stolen she had recieved a part of Cinder's aura, luckily she kept it in check and eventually managed to control it, gaining a portion of Cinder's own Semblance, Fire Dust manipulation.
"I know we're not supposed to reveal it, but honestly, I think we should let John know at the very least." Weiss was wide-eyed,
"Why would we do that?"
"Weiss, he's the one guiding us throughout the galaxy, helping us find our home! And-"
"You're falling in love with him. So you wouldn't be able to stand holding such a secret from him." Everyone looked at Blake and back at Yang, who simply nodded. Weiss sighed and looked to Ruby,
"Ruby, you're the highest ranking individual here. Even above Shepard, so it's your choice if we tell him or not." Ruby looked down, her one eye blank as she considered her options. After a few tense moments of silence, Ruby spoke,
"No. At least, not yet, we'll only tell if we have no other choice, so we aren't going to say anything right now. Maybe in the future we can share with him and whomever he trusts the most, but right now, we can't." Yang sighed and nodded,
"But still, we need to find a way to explain why Dust doesn't work for anyone else outside of Remnant's atmosphere. Any ideas?" Everyone began to think for a convincing explanation when they were interrupted,
"Excuse me. Mordin would like to discuss something if you're not busy." Everyone looked up at the speaker.
Weiss' room, a few minutes after Weiss and Ruby left...
Mordin walked into Weiss' room as he looked around for the white haired woman. He saw she wasn't there and was about to leave when he noticed Weiss' Scroll laying on her bed, open and active. He was curious about the device. Such a small and thin device and yet capable of expanding far beyond it's expected size parameter. He noticed that on the screen, was a list. He walked up to the list and glanced casually. He was about to leave when he noticed something that caught his eye. It was apparently a video on Dust. His curiosity got the better of him and he tapped the icon, making the screen brighten for a moment before it dimmed and the video began playing. As the video progressed, Mordin began taking notes on his Omnitool. However, near the midway point of the video, Mordin made an unexpected discovery. Remnant had not successfully made an attempt at space travel because of one simple fact. Dust loses it's unique powers as it leaves the atmosphere of Remnant.
Mordin stared at the video in surprise when he suddenly remembered Ruby's behavior before. It seemed she remembered that, but why hide it from the crew? It made no sense because they couldn't...
'Wait, Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Yang can all activate Dust, yet we cannot? Is it because they are natives of Remnant? No, otherwise the video would have stated so, this Dust must be connected to the planet in some way. So why can these four activate it?' Mordin closed the video and placed the Scroll exactly as it was before leaving,
'They must have had a good reason for the deception, or possbly they forgot? They were in a war before their unusual arrival, so, highly likely reason for forgeting this detail. However, something doesn't add up...' Mordin left the room, almost entirely unseen and he saw Ruby leavinging into the elevator and heading to Blake's room. Mordin raised a brow before thinking and walking to the dining area to get himself some food before going back to his lab.
At the same time Yang arrived at Blake's room, in Mordin's lab...
Mordin was sitting in his lab looking over the recordings of the samples of Dust he had and was surprised to see that the energy of the crystals matched Ruby and Weiss.
'Hmm, most curious, seems that Ruby and Weiss are the only ones to truly use Dust, or perhaps Blake and Yang do too. Unknown, but curious.' Mordin looked up,
"EDI, please contact Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss. Have something to discuss."
"Of course Prof. Solus, I will contact them immediately." Mordin nodded, his black eyes blinking a few times,
"Thank you."
A few moments later in Mordin's lab...
Mordin sat at his computer and typed as he usually does when the door opened and Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss entered the room. THeir expressions were careful and slightly cautious. Weiss crossed her arms,
"What do you need Mordin?" Mordin looked up and finished his typing before turning the computer off and facing the group,
"Was simply curious. When I went to Ms. Schnee's room-"
"Don't call me that, just call me Weiss." Mordin blinked and nodded,
"As I was saying, when I entered her room, I was looking to question why Ruby took away a sample of Dust she originally wanted me to try and activate, when I saw Weiss'... Scroll was it? It was lying open and on a video application. I grew curious and clicked the file labeled 'Dust'." By this point Weiss was wide-eyed, and Ruby had her face in her palms,
"Dust damn it."
"I'm simply curious as to why Dust works for you and no one else off of your planet." Blake shifted, drawing Mordin's attention,
"Mordin, listen, you're crossing into highly classified territory. We can only divulge this information if we have no choice, alright? It's not something to be shared lightly and those who know must be sworn to secrecy, to never share the information with anyone, without the permission of those the secret is about or those who are the guardians of the secret." Mordin adopted a thinking posture,
"What were to happen should this secret be let out?" Yang took over, an expression of seriousness on her face,
"Let's put it this way, before this was a secret, everyone knew and many people attacked the predecesors for control of this secret. Lots of people died and many of those who succeeded went down in legends as terrible villians." Mordin looked surprised, and Yang shrugged,
"Yea, this secret is practically ancient. It was made a secret and allowed to fade into legend, one of many many fairy tales. However, this one, is one of only three that is true, the rest are just fairy tales."
"And what are the three that are true?" Yang shook her head and crossed her arms,
"Nope, until Rubes here gives the word, this secret, will remain a secret. She is technically our commanding officer. She's even higher ranked than John." Mordin blinked and nodded,
"I see. Very well. You may go." Blake narrowed her eyes,
"Before we do, you must swear not to mention the video to anyone, not John nor your council members." Mordin nodded,
"Of course. As a former STG, I know the value of having important secrets. This will not be spoken of to another without Ms. Rose's permission." Ruby simply nodded. Mordin watched as the four women left the room quickly.
"Excuse me, Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee, please meet Commander Shepard in the airlock. He is going ashore to seek out Samara." Ruby and Weiss looked up and then at each other before nodding,
"Got it."
"We'll be there in a few moments, we need to prepare for the mission first."
"I will let Commander Shepard know." Ruby and Weiss thanked EDI and left the room.
Security point, Illium, a few minutes later...
John, Weiss, and Ruby looked around a small market place before making their way to the security 'room' on the right side. John, Weiss, and Ruby walked up to the Asari officer who turned to face them,
"Can help you with something?" John stepped ahead of his two companions,
"I'm looking for an Asari warrior by the name of Samara." The Asari blinked and looked surprised,
"Wait. Why? Do you have a problem or... Did she kill someone already?" Weiss and Ruby blinked and looked at each other before looking back at the Asari. John held his hands out in a pacifying manner,
"Relax, I just need to speak with her." The Asari nodded,
"Good. Samara is the first justicar I've seen on Illium. If I'm lucky, things will stay peaceful. She went to the commercial spaceport a few hours ago. If you want to get there, the pedestal on the balcony will summon a cab." The Asari looked a bit nervous and leaned forward slightly and spoke a bit softer,
"Just be polite when you meet her. Justicars embody our highest laws, and they usually stay in asari space. As a result, she's not used to dealing with aliens. If she killed an Asari, we'd understand why. A human? Big political shit storm just waiting to happen. I mean, your kind can't even figure out your own religion, how could you possibly understand how a Justicar's code works?" Ruby nodded,
"Makes sense to me. So let's try and be polite, alright guys?" Weiss laughed a bit,
"Of course you dunce. As a member of the Schnee family, I have been taught how to speak with even the most noble of dignitaries, I'm sure it is similar for the Asari race as well." The Asari officer nodded and John nodded,
"Thanks for the information." She nodded and got back to work,
"Good luck." John nodded and left with Ruby and Weiss not too far behind. After catching a skycar to the commercial spaceport, the group saw a Volus being escourted by two Turians. An Asari detective walked up and began questioning the Volus. From what the trio could hear, a murder had taken place very recently. They entered the station and walked over to the Asari who was talking to the Volus from before. John stepped forward as the detective looked the trio over,
"Nice weapons, try not to use them in my district. What can I do for you?" John sat in the chair opposite the detective,
"I'm looking for an Asari warrior named Samara."
"If you've got a score to settle with Samara, take it elsewhere. I've got more than enough trouble here already." John shook her head and Weiss crossed her arms,
"I need to recruit her for a mission, then we'll be on our way." The detective seemed skeptical but shrugged slightly,
"Justicars usually work alone, but they are drawn to impossible causes." Ruby snorted,
"Yea, we've got that covered alright."
"Well, if you're getting her out of my district, I'll get you to her ASAP. She's at the crime scene, just down the back alley along the side of the building." John raised an eyebrow,
"You just let her into the crime scene?"
"She's a Justicar, as a cop, I'm authorized to work with her as best as I can. Plus she's been doing this longer than both of our life spans combined. She knows how to take care of herself." Weiss raised an eyebrow,
"Why so eager to see her leave?"
"My boss wants me to detain her. They're worried she'll cause some kind of cross-species incident. Her Justicar Code won't let her be taken into custody. If I try, she'll have to kill me. I've no interest in dying, so if you lure her away with some big nole cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'll be thrilled to help you." Ruby raised her visible eyebrow,
"Your superiors are sending you to certain death for no good reason. You should be in the right to disobey this order." John snorted and,
"If Garrus was here, he'd probably make a smart ass remark to what you said Ruby." Ruby snickered and even Weiss smirked,
"Yea, probably, it's about, what, two time a day?"
"Most of the time I'm not being stupid. I can't say the same for the detective's superiors."
"The name's Anaya, and I'm a cop, I know my duty. I've been ordered to detain her and I will, unless I can get her to leave my district first." John nodded and stood up,
"I have to go." Anaya nodded,
"Good luck." John, Ruby and Weiss nodded and headed to the crime scene. The asari let the trio in and they made their way back. Ruby and John pulled their weapons out, Crescent Rose in it's sniper rifle form, and Weiss kept her hand on Myrtenaster's hilt. As the trio made their way through the alleyway, they came across a few Blue Suns members and three LOKI mechs. Weiss readied herself, hand on her weapon and nodded to Ruby, who returned it and placed a hand on John's shoulder and nodded towards some cover. John was curious so he allowed Ruby to lead him to some cover. The two watched Weiss walk out in plain view of the mercs. The mercs spotted her and aimed at her, but before they could do anything, Weiss drew her Myrtenaster and readied herself in the blink of an eye before she shot forward like a bullet and ran he sword through the first LOKI mech, making ice explode from it, piercing the other two and bringing down the barrier of the Eclipse Vanguard some.
Weiss twirled elegantly around a biotic blast as she seemed to dance around the asari. John was in awe as was the Asari, shocked that a human was able to move with such unnatural grace. The Eclipse merc became afraid when every shot missed and her biotic blasts were rendered useless because of Weiss' agility and swiftness. Suddenly Weiss bent in a way that looked uncomfortable to dodge a biotic blast and she swept her blade at the asari's legs, cutting a few tendons before she twisted and pierced the Asari's skull and froze her entirely, her sword glowing a light blue color, showing she was using Frost Dust. The trio made their way to the end and saw a door surrounded by the same police 'tape'. They entered and an Eclipse merc came flying. Before she could hit the wall, Weiss put up a few small glyphs that grabbed the Asari by the arms, legs, and around the mid-torso area.
The trio looked at where the merc came flying from and saw Samara herself, standing in front of another Eclipse merc.
Well, there's chapter 10-1 I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and again, sorry for the late update. I plan to update more often, but that'll depend on how busy I am with work and my other stories, since I do need to continue them. Also, check my profile for my challenges and my latest poll concerning a future story.
Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter, and again, I hope you enjoyed this one,
Darkus_Cyril