USS Ra Cailum

2410, Federation Standard Calendar

The four Remnant natives were obviously rather surprised to no longer be in Vale.

And when Takeshi had taken them to a viewport to show them the planet Remnant below them, they were even more surprised.

"Wow."

"How… high are we?" Weiss asked. "Dust can't work in the upper atmosphere."

"We're 50000 kilometers above the surface of Remnant. Standard orbit over a peculiar M-Class planet. I'd have Ron explain, but my captain is busy. VERY busy."

"In short, you're in space," Everyone turned to see Jaden as he walked inside. "Girls, glad to see you… I know you have a lot of questions, so… we'll answer what we can." He took a seat. "Fire away."

"Why didn't you just… say hello?"

"Uh… we have a rule against that," Takeshi informed. "And Ron's… anal about the Prime Directive: you follow it until it gets in the way of getting the job done. Really, we weren't going to let anyone know we were here."

"But why?! Your stuff is so AWESOME!"

"Well, the Federation - the people who built this monster - don't want to share their tech with people who haven't already risen to space and developed FTL like they have," Jaden informed, "It usually leads to bad things whenever they do… "

"Bad?" Mark asked.

"Destroying themselves bad."

"Oh." The young man thought about it. "I can see that."

Yang didn't care about any of this. "Where is Blake?"

"Uh, this is where—"

"Where." Yang's eyes turned red. "Is." Her hair lit on fire. "SHE?!"

"Girl, you have no idea where you are." Cassie walked into the observation room, holding a PADD. "You're in space. Your aura is useless against direct energy weapons and we…" A force field went up around Yang. "Can contain you easily. So, either calm down or I beam you into space for about five seconds, then beam you into the brig. Which is made of materials as hard as my boyfriend's body."

"Boyfriend?"

"She's dating Ron," Takeshi replied.

"I can see how."

"Xiao Long, have you ever been without air? Without being underwater?"

"…No."

"You're going to get that feeling if you don't shut the fuck up. Until recently, I WAS this ship. I still have control over EVERY system, from life support to gravity to transporters! So—"

"Cassie…" Jaden groaned, glaring at the A.I. "Don't terrify the guests." He then looked back to Yang. "Apologies, Cassie is in a bad mood, and it's kinda connected to Ron and Blake… remember that virus we had to sterilize your gear from? Somehow some of Ron's blood got into Blake's eye, and it's affecting her body. Right now Ron is trying to help save Blake from getting worse."

"Is… she gonna be alright?" Ruby asked.

Jaden sighed. "Well… we have a 50/50 chance this will work," he informed, "but even if it does work… Blake won't be able to return to Remnant."

"And why the hell not?!" Yang shouted.

"Because it's not just a virus," he explained. "That's just what we called it… her condition… Ron's condition is much, much worse… "

He glanced to Cassie. "Could you pull up a hologram of a Borg Drone?" he asked.

Cassie nodded, snapping her fingers before a holographic image of a standard Drone appeared before them - surprising the others. "This… is what Ron used to be," he explained. "A Borg Drone… the Borg are a race of machine alien-zombies whose sole purpose is the assimilation of all life into their group-consciousness collective. Killing billions in their way, and capturing billions more to turn into these… Ron was captured, and turned into one, but thanks to his crew's efforts they were able to save him… but at a cost."

"I'll spare you the details, but 70% of his body is more machine than man now," he continued. "His blood is filled with small Nanoscopic machines called Nanoprobes, where - unless reprogrammed by him personally - will reproduce and continue their original programming - assimilate whatever lifeform unfortunate enough to have them inside them. The probes quickly start building machinery within someone's body, and replaces vital organs. Ron can't have his removed… and neither can Blake, since the Nanoprobes had already taken root within her body."

"Monty in heaven…" Mark muttered.

"So… you see the situation," Jaden stated. "If we were to let Blake go, we risk the chance of others getting infected, and putting your whole planet at risk, and I know you wouldn't want that. So she must stay here to keep your world safe… I know it's not what you want to hear, but that's that."

"But… She can't leave!"

"She has no choice. The Borg technology cannot be left behind in this universe."

Ruby shook her head. "No! She's staying here!"

"For fuck's sake, little girl, GROW UP! This is beyond your control! Actually… it's your fault to BEGIN with. You cut his back, so when his blood ended up inside her body, YOU caused this."

"Cassie—"

"Shut up, you… mean lady!"

Cassie scoffed. "You need to learn something, Rose: we've seen things that would make you whimper in fear. We've fought things that make the Grimm look trivial. You do not intimidate me. None of you do."

"Cassie!" Jaden shouted, glaring at her… and to his credit, actually caused Cassie to flinch at the glare. "Calm. The Fuck. Down!"

"It's her damn fault Ron's doing this! He's risking his damn life because of her-"

"YOU THINK SHE DOESN'T KNOW THAT?!" Jaden snapped, causing Cassie to step back at his roar. "Remember, one of her own teammates is in the same boat as Ron! I think she's suffering enough as is! Look… Ron will be fine, Blake will be fine, we just gotta have faith in the two."

Cassie was silenced, as Jaden turned his attention back to Ruby who was on the verge of tears. "Ruby… look, I know it hurts," he said. "But trust me… sometimes things happen that are just… out of our control. It doesn't mean you're weak or anything… all you can do, is learn to live with it… look, when Blake comes out of there, we can let her come down to Beacon, so long as we have Ron and some of the others around to prevent further… incidents, but when the Ra Cailum leaves Remnant, she will have to come with us… I'm sorry, I really am."

Screaming was heard within the dark halls. Blake had no idea where she was, only that things were very, VERY wrong.

"So long have I waited… and now I have my chance. We are the beginning. The end. The one who is many. We are the Borg, Blake Belladonna. And you are MINE."

The Faunus fled through the metal halls, finding nothing but screaming men and women, nothing but suffering.

"Why?" Blake screamed in fear and anguish. "What the fuck is going on?!"

"You're in your mind," Blake turned around, before spotting Pinkerton standing behind her. "Well, we're in your mind… you've been infected by nanoprobes from my bloodstream, and now you're being assimilated by the Borg Collective - if you want to live through this and maintain your individuality, listen up!"

"What… What are you—HOW are you—"

"Shut up and focus. Focus on me. Do NOT think about anything but me. I will explain when we're done dealing with the FUCKING WHORE!" He shouted down a corridor.

"How quant, Ronald." The very annoying, seductive voice replied, with a hint of annoyance. "You're still alive."

Ron scoffed. "Better than being your slave. Still can't find that code that produces your ass, but now that it's active, I'll just control-alt-delete your Borg ass, your majesty."

"You know as well as I… that you cannot kill the Borg." The voice said, as a feminine machine-like woman stepped down the halls. "She will just be the beginning… once I have her, and you… then I'll take your ship… your crew… the planet… and our collective will be reforged. Resistance is, as it always has been… futile. "

"Not today. Today, I fucking kill you once and for all."

"EKG readings have spiked. Brainwave activity has jumped 90%."

"He's slowing it down, meaning we can get to work." Rutia smiled that smile that so many people feared. "Jaden, get me the kit with the hand emblem on it."

"Hand?"

"Red, curved, kinda creepy-looking?"

Jaden found the kit, seeing that the emblem did, indeed, look like a stylized hand.

"What the hell's it mean?"

"Symbol of the Borg Collective."

"Okay," he grabbed the kit, handing it to Rutia. "So what's in the kit?"

"Highly specialized tools. I had to develop them to help Ron, so they might help Blake." She opened it, taking out a submolecular probe before removing part of Blake's top and gently stabbing it into her skin like a fetal needle over one of the larger implants. "I've got a connection. Jaden, access the console and run program Dominatus. Let's see how this Borg shit likes fucking with me NOW."

Inside the mental world of Blake's Borg-affected mind, the green halls seemed to flicker, barely showing more gentle walls, some even looking like home.

"Rutia, you magnificent bitch!"

The Queen screamed. "I will NOT be denied!"

Ron gave the Borg bitch the finger. "Kiss my ass, you cybernetic slut! Now… where did I put the CAD command… AHA!" He pulled out the digital/mental representation of the kill command.

Which just so happened to be an M202A1 FLASH launcher. "Time to die, bitch!"

Ron fired a rocket, but the Queen's representation dodged, and the 'rocket' hit a Borg-fied wall, vaporizing the malevolent programming/virus.

"Of course things can't be that easy." Ron muttered, dodging around return 'fire', allowing the kill-code to hit bad Borg… things.

Ron, of course, continued to spam rockets from the launcher.

Because who DOESN'T love rockets?

…Tanks, but they don't count.

"DIE, YOU BORG BITCH!"

"I SHALL NEVER DIE! I AM IMMORTAL! I AM BORG-"

A slash cut her off. "In the name of Monty, shut the fuck up."

Blake, armed with a mental and virtual representation of Gambol Shroud, let off a flurry of slashes against the Queen, chiping away at her virtual defenses.

"That's right, keep her occupied." Ron aimed the overkill weapon at the Queen, grinning madly. "FUCKING DIE!"

"A third brainwave pattern? That almost reminds me of the time where Tuvok had that parasite in his brain. Except I KNOW that has to be the bitch."

"Bitch?"

"The Borg are organized like an insect colony: drones, warriors…"

"With a queen at the apex." Jaden realized. "You're telling me that the queen bitch of the Borg is in Blake's head?"

"Probably in every Liberated Drone's head," Informed Rutia's red-haired assistant. "There's always a piece of dormant programming in every Drone we liberate. We're never able to analyze it, but I would bet that it's a piece of the Queen. Why she leaves it there, I have no clue."

The third reading began to fluctuate, but so did Blake's. "We need to pull the plug. Either the Queen's winning the war in there, or Ron's gone rocket-happy."

"…Rocket-happy?"

"Borg anti-virus takes the form of an M202 FLASH launcher."

Jaden grinned. "…I LOVE you guys! You're all CRAZY!"

"FUCKING DIE ALREADY! I have better things to do then fuck around with you!"

Blake growled. "Do I have to line up the shot for you, Pinkerton?!" Blake shifted Gambol into chain scythe form, and managed to wrap it around the Queen's form, pinning her in place. "SHOOT HER!"

Ron fired a full barrage of rockets, all hitting the queen bitch. "Bigger slut than Catherine." Ron muttered as the smoke cleared, revealing a utterly annihilated patch of code. "And she was a SLUT!"

"Huh?"

"Historical figure, don't expect you to get it." Ron sighed. "And thank god that's over with. I am just about DONE with dealing with her. Also, be prepared to wake up to some things that you didn't have before."

Blake sighed. "I know, I saw some of your memories. Right now, I'm prepared to face it. Let's go."

He fired another rocket into the code for good measure. "I hate that bitch."

"Just get out of my head."

Fifteen Minutes Later

Fleet Wardroom

"You know," Mark commented, looking down on Remnant again. "I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to this."

"Yeah…" Yang agreed, wrapping an arm around Ruby.

"I wonder what else this ship has." Weiss pondered. "From what I've been able to read, they're pretty advanced. FTL, immense power generation, moneyless economy…"

"Teleporters?" Yang cut in.

"Oh, what about antigravity technology?!" Ruby offered, exited. "Or—"

"If you want a comprehensive list, Ruby…" The entire group jumped to find Blake entering the room, wearing a blue jumpsuit of some kind. "You can ask me."

Ruby screamed, seeing the implants on the Faunus' face. "Blake!" She covered her gaping mouth. "I had no idea…"

"It's fine. Word of advice: NEVER have Captain Pinkerton inside your head."

"Why, is his mind worse?"

"Yang, he had half his brain scooped out and replaced with cybernetics while he was still awake. And I relived those experiences."

"I… I take it you picked up some of his memories while he was… helping you?" Weiss asked, even as she turned even paler than normal at the thought of what had happened to Ron.

"Yup."

"How are you feeling?" Yang asked.

"Like shit." She said in complete deadpan.

"You know?" Mark spoke up. "I'd like to meet these Borg." He grinned angrily, before RWBY's faces of horror could blossom fully. "So I can fuck their shit up."

"You and everyone else in the multiverse, brother." Jaden said as he and Takeshi entered the room.

"We first encountered them back in 2365 in our universe," Take explained. "And they made their first real push against us two years later. We've been fighting them ever since."

"What happened with the first encounter?" Yang asked.

"I don't know all the details of the 2365 encounter," Takeshi replied. "But in 2367, they abducted Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise-D, and… Cassie, can you show our guests recordings of the battle of Wolf-359?"

"Sure thing." Cassie stepped from out of nowhere. "If you would turn your attention to the big screen…"

They didn't need to watch the whole thing. "Stop it." Mark ordered, and the massacre stopped as the Saratoga died. "We get the picture." He fixed the Starfleeters with a stare. "I assume that doesn't happen anymore? 'Cause you wouldn't be here if it did."

"Took dumb luck, but we destroyed the Cube over Earth," Takeshi informed. "Took us over a year to clean up the debris. We managed to get Picard back, too. We've learned from that experience, meaning we have a bit of an easier time dealing with them these days, but the Borg have learned, too, and they've adapted a bit. It's a lot harder than it used to be to liberate Drones from the Collective - furthermore, with Picard, the only thing he had to keep from his assimilation process was the memories; hard to deal with sometimes, but nothing major, whereas currently… well, Ron and Blake are good examples."

"Come on, Blake can't have—"

"My liver is completely infested with implants, my lungs can reprocess Co2, my eyes and skin are no longer affected by UV radiation, and…" She walked over to an arms locker, removing a type-2 phaser before tossing it to Ruby.

"Shoot me."

"Uh…"

"Shoot. Me."

Ruby was a bit nervous about it, but she did as requested, figuring out the trigger and firing at Blake - only for the beam to stop harmlessly about a foot away from her.

"Ah, yes," Takeshi remarked. "Reactive shielding. Borg and ex-Borg alike are NOTORIOUS for that."

"What does that mean?" Yang asked.

"Apart from Assimilation, the Borg's main schtick is Adaptation," Takeshi explained. "Hit them with an energy weapon once, it works just fine. Hit them with it twice, the second strike is a bit less effective. Hit them enough times without remodulating the frequency of the weapon, they adapt to that frequency, and can block it without taking damage. And ex-Borg nowadays retain that Adaptation ability."

"Like your asshole of a—" ZAP! "OW!"

"I might not be the ship, but I can still make your day suck." Cassie threatened. "So shut up."

Takeshi backed away from the AI with the Improved Innovade body, muttering 'yandere' under his breath.

"So, in summary, Blake can never go back down to Remnant again?"

Jaden nodded. "Not without Starfleet supervision, no."

"Besides, Remnant's getting worse." Blake commented. "Anywhere else could be better."

"I agree with you wholeheartedly." Mark agreed.

"Really?" Weiss questioned. "And why is that?"

"Princess, I have lived in Remnant's underworld for seven years. This is a lot better."

Blake blinked. "Oh, FUCK. My parents. What am I going to tell them?"

Thirty Minutes Later

Ruby was a weapons nut.

This was well-known.

But the Ra Cailum held a database FULL of weapons that she'd never seen before. Seriously, how could she NOT at least try them?

And it looked like she wasn't the only one. Mark Thyler, the bounty hunter that had gotten pulled up with them, had descended on the new tech like a rabid dog.

Right now, the two of them, plus Weiss, were in a workshop of sorts, improving their weapons, as it seemed they weren't gonna be allowed back down on Remnant again.

"So, what do I want?" Mark muttered, flipping through specs on a PADD while Calamity sat before him. "Particle weapons would help so much on ammo consumption and deal with anyone near this level of tech."

"What about your blades?" Ruby asked, pointing at the design schematic for his weapon. "Against their shields, they wouldn't be able to do much if you were stuck in close combat."

He nodded. "Well, they do have monomolecular blades, but…" He fiddled with some controls. "If I make the particle weapons plasma-disruptors, I can have the punch at range, and if I need it, I can wrap the blades in that plasma to help burn through shields. Also helpful if I need to cauterize wounds."

"Very nice." Ruby said approvingly.

Mark smiled. "Why, thank you, Miss Rose. Your weapon is nice too."

Ruby blushed. "Just call me Ruby."

Weiss shook her head at her younger teammate's antics, and frowned slightly, too. She didn't like how close the two seemed to be getting…

"So, Miss Schnee," Mark said, breaking Weiss out of her thoughts with a start. "What are your thoughts about all of…" He waved indiscriminately at the window, which showed a breathtaking view of Remnant's night-side, and the kingdom of Mistral. "This?"

"Well, it's certainly surprising," Weiss replied. "I mean, we've never been able to achieve spaceflight because Dust stops working in the upper atmosphere. But to learn that there are people not just from outer space, but an entirely different universe… it's definitely an eye-opener."

"Well…" Mark rubbed the back of his head, hits of embarrassment showing on his cheeks. "I've always been a bit of sci-fi geek, Iwasafanfictionwriter," He mumbled, too fast for Weiss or Ruby to pick up, but she giggled nonetheless. "And multiverse theory was something that I sorta believed in."

"I see," Weiss replied. "Well… still, it's amazing all the same, and even though we're technically being forced to go along for the ride, I am somewhat looking forward to it." She sighed. "I just hope Winter understands…"

"Winter?" Ruby asked.

"My older sister," Weiss informed. "The only member of my family I'm really close to, and the only one I'm thinking of telling about this… Maybe my mother, as well, but I'm not as close to her as I am Winter…"

"Could be worse. You really could take your family with you. I think I saw a Riza Pinkerton on the crew manifest. Think that's the asshole's sister?"

"It's his sister." Weiss replied. "I don't think Pinkerton is a common name. What about you, Ruby?"

"Well, Yang's already here." The young readhead started. "I'd definitely tell Dad, and Uncle Qrow as well. What about you, Mark? Who'd you tell?"

The bounty hunter sighed and stared out at the planet below. "Nobody. I really don't have anyone to tell. No family, no real lovers…" Long-forgotten memories seemed to surface. "Nobody."

Ruby teared up, eeped, and, in a flurry of rose petals, gave the lone hunter a big hug. "I feel so sorry for you!" Chibi-style tears fell down her cheeks.

"Opoh!" Mark suddenly found himself unable to breathe. "Ruby," he wheezed. "Need… Air…"

As Ruby let go, profusely apologizing, Weiss frowned again.

She really didn't like how close they were getting…

"Man." Yang commented as she stared up at the Ra Calium's massive warp core. "That's impressive."

"Matter/antimatter reaction," Blake informed. "Makes Dust look like child's play. This thing powers everything on the ship, from life support to the warp engines. We are the most powerful ship in Starfleet for a reason."

"You say 'we.' " Yang shook her head. "You're acting like you're a part of the crew already."

"I am, Yang," Blake told her. "I can't stay anywhere without this ship nearby. I can't live a Huntress' life again. I'm accepting that."

"Come on, Blake."

"I can't go back to Remnant. Not without an escort. I won't be finishing my education at Beacon, either. I'll ask Captain Pinkerton to handle that for me: he might be an asshole, but he is the best combat teacher in Starfleet. Ask the crew: he taught them all after taking command of the original Ra Cailum."

"Not bad."

The two basked in the sound and light of the core for a moment.

"So… what's this about your parents?"

"They live on Menagerie. I stayed in the White Fang while they left. My father used to be their leader, but he stepped down. Maybe he saw where they were going. Doesn't really matter. I was an idiot."

"That's Pinkerton's influence talking."

"Doesn't stop it from being the truth. I was blind and stupid."

"But will you tell them?"

Blake sighed. "I'll tell them. Don't know if they'll accept me as I am or for what I did, but at least it'll provide closure."

That Night

Quarters assigned to Team RWBY - Ruby and Weiss' room

"Ruby, I… I wasn't really comfortable, seeing you glomp Mark earlier…" Weiss said.

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, tilting her head "Why not? I mean, he's like the only person I met so far who loves guns as much as I do! He even showed me this collection he has earlier! Snipers, SMG's, Hardlight Swords, all sorts of neat stuff!"

"Um, well…" Weiss began, blushing fiercely. "You… uhh… that is, I…" She sighed. "Oh, fuck it."

She then pushed Ruby against a wall, barely giving Ruby time to let out a startled gasp before she pressed their lips together. The Red-headed huntress's eyes widened in shock as her body tensed at the sudden kiss, her mind going numb in surprise. When she didn't return the kiss, Weiss's eyes widened in worry before she backed up.

"I-I'm so… sorr…" she sputtered, before turning around to run. When she did, Ruby's mind reorganized itself.

"Weiss, wait!"

"F-Forget it, I-" The Schnee heiress saw a flurry of rose petals, and when she blinked Ruby was standing in front of her, who then proceeded to mash her face into Weiss', and immediately resumed the kiss.

This time it was Weiss' eyes which widened in shock, but it only lasted a second as she returned the kiss, gently enfolding Ruby in her arms.

Eventually, reluctantly, their lips parted. "Ruby… I… I love you…" Weiss stated.

"I… I love you, too, Weiss…" Ruby said, with a bright red blush over her face. "I… I, uhh… geez, had like the biggest crush on you when we met, b-but I didn't think you'd like… um, like, well… a, uh… d-dust-brain like me… "

"I have to admit, I didn't, at first," Weiss informed. "You were a ditzy, sugar-crazed klutz… and you still are, mostly… but… well, over the past few months, I saw what you can do, and you've… grown on me, I guess… and I… I can't imagine life without you anymore…"

Ruby chuckled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah… and you're still kinda… well…"

"A snobbish, privileged brat who thinks she's better than everyone else?" Weiss asked with a small smirk.

"…I was just gonna say snobbish…"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

Ruby did just that.

"Frankly, sir, we don't know enough about this tech to really control it." Sonja told Ron. "Really, it's random chance."

"I'm sensing a but here."

"But, I do think I have studied 'that' technology enough to, at least, be able to communicate back to our universe."

"I want you to make DAMN sure you don't fuck this up. The last thing I want is for you to blow a hole in the multiverse. While I welcome any chance to beat the fuck out of Q, I'd rather he NOT appear. And get that new girl on it. Mari something or other."

"Copy that." Sonja paused. "With your permission, I'd like to do it down on the planet. Just incase something goes wrong, I don't want to blow up the ship and have you haunt my ass in the afterlife."

"Go ahead. Oh, and get Jaden to help you out. He should get a look at Iconian tech sometime, and now is as good a time as any."

The engineer just faintly blushed, before nodding and leaving the room without a word.

"I LOVE being right."

Ron was then bowled over by a black-haired blur. "Hi, Ronnie!"

"Oh, fucking hell, Cassie, don't do that!"

"I like surprising you. Now, you owe me something." She pulled him out of the room, giggling at future activities.

117Jorn: And there we have it! A new chapter and White Rose is in full effect!

Ron the True Fan: No more ducks. (Quack!) Oh god no. (Flees from AMX 40 flock)

Redemption's Avenger: Goddamn it Ron. You and your tanks…

117Jorn: Hang in there Ron! I'M BRINGING THE TIGERS! (Battalion of Tiger I Tanks roll after the AMXs)

RA: (Rains phaser fire) I am done with this! Everything DIES!

Takeshi Yamato: (Facepalms) Oy. Well, as Jorn said, White Rose is in full effect, and I'd imagine that Bumblebee isn't far behind. Next chapter, Ozpin gets informed of the situation, and we properly meet Larcei for the first time this go-around.

117Jorn; SO until next time…

Ja Ne!