Chapter 31: "The Kelvin Incident" Pt. 4
Woohoo, new chapter! No new things happening for me, though I am finally free of classes for the semester, yay! On with the reviews!
Fyr RedNight: Glad you liked it, I hope this next one is the same.
heathheath9998: I think there's already a reaction story that touches on this. Jaune, as Itachi, goes and kills a clan of I think Huntsmen after saying goodbye to his team and puts on a version of the Anbu uniform. The twist here was that it was a possible future rather than a different universe. I can't remember the name, but it's the first chapter (or the second if there's a prologue).
Alexdel27: Oh no, we still have this and at least one more chapter to go!
thegermankaiserreich: Ooh, that sounds cool. I'll definitely check it out when I can!
X3runner: Ryujin will show up eventually. And who says he's not wearing her colors now? As for the movies, not enough time unfortunately since there's this chapter and at least one more for this universe. So I got a sort of Holiday episode planned instead (even though it's the wrong season according to the show itself).
DdraigTheDemon: Happy you enjoyed it. Sorry, but I have no idea what MTG is. I tried looking it up, is it the card game? I'm looking up songs for it, but there's no official ones that I could find, and some of the songs I did look into sound like Metal songs to be honest. Also, who's this G.O.D.? Again, not familiar with the game.
TheMostEnhancedAI101010110: Don't know how I can. I mean, I am trying to get a Death Battle between Joker-Jaune & Sweet Tooth-Ozpin (2 guesses on who's Calypso in his universe), so we'll see how that goes. But I don't know where to even start on this idea of yours, sorry.
ragnarockthis00: Sorry, but I don't do JoJo. Not a fan of the anime unfortunately.
Guest: Already in the works, but it won't be for a while.
Lonely Boy: I have, and it was one of the best fanfic stories I've ever read. I don't think I'll be doing do a reaction of it though. At some point I will bring Jaune into the Nexus. At first it will be like that, however that will only last until he knows about his past and his possible futures. That's the main reason why I had Jaune replace Ichigo from Bleach, and showing possible futures, in the first place. Jaune will know that even though there are powerful versions of himself, he can still say that he also has power (which means that he won't be thinking his friends/allies/potential lovers would be better off replacing him with one of them). And he'll know that in the possible futures, the other versions are still him but with different choices made (so he won't think they are in love with an entirely different Jaune altogether). Elemental Swordsman Jaune had a very different past than the version that's viewing him, while the pasts of my 'Possible Jaunes' are mostly the same with one or two deviations that in the grand scheme of things doesn't change his present/future all that much. Hope that answers your questions.
ParadoxTheory374: While he will be like that at first, it won't last very long once he sees what he can do by looking into his past/possible futures (and being told what he did/may do), especially with people like Cinder and Raven trying to toughen him up to be more assertive/powerful. Then there's his children. They will help Jaune become more confident in himself since they are living proof that he can be more than what he currently is. Imagine, for instance, how he'd feel after being told by one of his professors (and possible wife) that he saved a baby girl from the Grimm and later adopted her (and this was basically a few hours after being rejected by Weiss in the prologue).
XXX777: The orbs are in the shape of a marble, not too big but not too small, and inside a casing that's in the shape of a book. The rectangle hole was meant to be the way for the book to be inserted. In any case, the orbs no longer have the casings and are now placed on the screen itself rather than the hole. Sorry about the confusion.
And done. Man, thank you all for your well-wishing, really appreciate the support you guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter folks. Now enough of this, the show must go on!
Disclaimer in the prologue.
After giving everyone a few minutes to calm themselves, Jack resumed the showing.
In the years since what was now dubbed 'The Kelvin Incident', Starfleet and the Federation underwent many changes. Thanks to scans the Kelvin got of the enemy ship and some reverse-engineering efforts, the overall technological level across the entire coalition jumped up several notches in years instead of decades. This was done more out of fear of the Romulans and the advanced technology they were believed to have, but after tense diplomatic exchanges that almost led to full-scale war several times, and some discreet spying thrown in, the Federation couldn't find any evidence that the Romulan Star Empire had any access to that kind of technology.
James nodded, "Well, at least our deaths helped the Federation to advance." He smiled a bit, "And I'm glad that this attack didn't immediately spark a war." He thought of the others in the Atlassian Council who would've been frothing at the mouth and demanding a massive response.
Saphron nodded, "Yep. If an Arcadian vessel had been attacked unprovoked like that, many of the Elders would've demanded immediate retribution." Robin and Altani nodded, while many people shuddered at that, remembering how attacking just three Arcs had directly led to several of their deaths.
The White Fang were really glad that they never sought out any Arc ships, otherwise they probably wouldn't last a week afterwards. 'Not with an unknown number of our ranks being spies for the Arcs, or are Arcs themselves, to report on our bases.'
It was concluded after several years of passionate debates that the Romulans involved in the Kelvin Incident were entirely independent of the Star Empire and acting alone. So, one of the Federation's rare incidences of true lust for war, since the final Great War that devastated Remnant two hundred years ago, had to be forcefully quelled.
Weiss blinked in horror, "I'm sorry, what? When did this happen?"
A few talked in fear at the news of a Second Great War, asking if this was before or after they began colonizing worlds, or who was the instigators of this new conflict. Jack cleared his throat and began to explain. "Alright, so first off, this war happened before Remnant invented the Warp Drive." A few sighed in relief, thinking that with Humanity and Faunus not so spread out across the stars that the death toll wouldn't be so bad. "And it led to the deaths of nearly a third of the population." Everyone paled, staring at the god in horror at those numbers. Some asked how it happened, but he shook his head with a frown. "No one really knows for sure how it began. Some believe that some people in Atlas were trying to exert its power over the other Kingdoms, others say it was Humans trying to once more persecute Faunus." (1) He shrugged, ignoring the Faunus scowling and those from Atlas gulping. "In either case, it resulted in a 6-year long conflict that saw the deaths of millions. Jump forward a few decades after the war, and they invented the Warp Drive, and found out that they're not alone in the universe. This would unite the world and the creation of the government 'United Remnant'. Awful name I know." (2) Jack said, with a sigh at the end as several facepalmed at the name the politicians came up with for the unified government of Remnant before the founding of the Federation.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Roman groaned as he massaged his temple. "Those pencil pushers couldn't have picked a better name than that?" Many nodded at this, not liking how it sounded. 'Unified Remains' basically.
Which was rather fortunate for the Star Empire, since they had never actually seen what an angered Federation looks like. Because their primary mission was peaceful exploration to understand the universe around them, most other alien governments assumed that the Federation was soft and weak.
Everyone nodded, feeling that the Federation would be a force to be reckoned with if poked enough times. 'After all, you don't poke a sleeping dragon.'
Because of the actions of James Ironwood and Jaune Arc, Starfleet now considered good ship captains to truly embody all the ideals of fearless exploration and courage under fire the organization stood for. Those ideals cannot just be trained into a person, instead only brought out in a few select individuals; so they pushed through changes that would ensure future ship designs would have more options available for a captain and their officers to survive to command another day. The most prominent example was the new 'Kelvin pods' built into each future ship's bridge; they were advanced, extremely durable, escape pods that allowed the captain and his officers to escape at any time when they felt their tasks were complete, instead of helplessly remaining on board to die needless deaths.
James sighed, "That would've been nice to have back then." He cocks his head to the side, "Hmm, I wonder. Winter, Penny." He said, turning to the two. "Sir?" "Be sure to make a note of this. I want to make sure if something like these 'Kelvin Pods' is feasible for our own fleets." He wants to know if these were possible, and if so, how expensive it would be to build them 'Replacing experienced bridge crews is not easy after all'. The two give a crisped salute and started to write down the idea as well as possible costs for R&D and deployment.
Saphron wanted to do the same, but she felt that the Arcadian fleet was just not equipped to implement this idea. 'We really need to replace those panels for the new cells faster.' (3)
James and Jaune's selfless sacrifices also had the effect of encouraging almost every person across the Federation who heard the story of their sacrifice to join. Starfleet's recruitment skyrocketed as an entire new generation immediately signed up to prove their worth.
James puffed his chest in pride. "That is a good legacy to leave behind, inspiring the next generation in such a way." The older Huntsmen nodded, thinking the same thing. 'My other would undoubtably be proud to see his death inspiring those in his government to better themselves, and for so many too. I wonder if Mr. Arc's other would feel the same?' Something told him that while not his intention, he'd be proud of this news as well.
The biggest change resulting from the Kelvin Incident was that they were able to engineer more powerful warp cores, advanced computer systems, stronger & more efficient weapons, and better shielding that allowed them to change how they design and build ships from that point onward. Instead of being limited in scale by their older technologies, they were able to build bigger and better. Incidentally, one of the first to feel the effects of this new doctrine was the new line of starships: the Constitution class. Ships of this class would go on to make up the backbone of Starfleet for the next fifty years, with the most famous example of this class, the USS Enterprise, standing out the most. But that was a topic for another time.
People were amazed by all the new technologies being introduced to the Federation.
"Quite impressive." Ozpin remarks, thinking that these new systems would certainly make it interesting for the Federation moving forward. And like everyone else, he was curious about the Enterprise. 'Why does that ship fill me with so much pride?' He wasn't the only one to think that. A few blondes felt nothing but pride filling them as they heard the name of the ship.
Twenty-two years later
On Remnant, in the countryside outside of Argus, a lone man was walking up a long dirt path cutting through lush green grass away from his hovercar that he came in only a moment ago. He was wearing a version of the Starfleet uniform, with a coat and dress shirt that's hugging his built, a pair of dark blue pants, dress shoes polished 'till it shined, and an addition of a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun away out of his eyes, so no one could tell who this was. In front of him, where the path was leading to, was a small and very cozy-looking farmhouse surrounded by a large farmland peppered with many droids and machines checking over the crops. It is a beautiful sunny day, but would soon change to a cool and crisp evening.
The profession of farming had changed a lot over the centuries. Now, any aspiring 'farmer' could now just invest in some droids and other automated machines for very quick and efficient farming which eliminated the need for Human and Faunus workers to be up at the crack of dawn and do backbreaking work until dusk. These days it was a nice and rewarding nine-to-five job, and the owners simply had to keep track of their operations and occasionally check the crops by hand to be even remotely successful.
The Faunus felt relieved that their people weren't doing such heavy labor like this anymore. Penny though was a bit upset to see the robots doing it without any thoughts of payment for them. 'Why is it always us robots that have to do everything for free?' She thought with a frown.
Ruby looked to her friend, and seeing her frown, went to give her a hug. Penny immediately cheered up, and with an "Aww, Ruby" hugged her back.
'I wonder if I should go into farming, or at least winemaking. It seems to be a favorite profession for any Starfleet officer to retire to.' the man mused to himself with a wry smirk as he glanced around the farm. As the view closed in on the person's face, and the hat no longer obscuring his features as he looked around, the audience immediately recognized him, even if he had grown older.
Nora blushed as she looked at the face of her boyfriend filling out the tight uniform, and grinned as she held a blushing Ren close. Why is he blushing you may ask? Well it might be that as she's holding him, one of her hands is slowly feeling up his ass. "Mmm, mama likes." As she says this, her hand squeezes his buns, causing him to squeak a bit.
Pyrrha is chuckling a bit nervously as she tries to ignore her team, while Nora's parents are looking on in happiness and pride.
Starfleet Captain Lie Ren, now with slight wrinkles around his lips and some gray in his hair along the sides, he was looking very distinguished for his age.
Coco wolf whistled at the sight, much to Velvet's mortification, while Winter nodded at the man's dignified look.
Yang grinned and gave a slow clap, "Good job, Nora, caught yourself a fine catch."
Frigga nodded, "Very good dear, although…" She hugged her big bear of a husband, tracing a few circles on his broad chest. "Not as fine as your father I feel." Odin laughed as he tensed his muscles as a way to show off.
Nora stood up and bowed, "Ah thank you. Yes, my other really does have great taste." She sat back down with a giggle as her friends clapped, and pulled an embarrassed Ren close again.
He happened to be in the area when he took a large group of Starfleet cadets on a field trip from Vale to Argus to tour a nearby shipbuilding yard. When he allowed his students to go out on a night of fun, he decided to make a quick stop to visit an old friend.
He let out an exasperated sigh at the thought of some of his rowdier students possibly making trouble tonight; and he thought Nora was hard to handle back when they were younger.
Nora giggled as Ren sighed in slight exasperation.
'Though, she is still quite energetic even in our fifties.' Ren chucked to himself. The couple were enjoying some sort of a second 'newlyweds' phase in their happy marriage, since he was now working from home for the foreseeable future instead of long assignments in space (Nora: "Ooh, I wonder what that means~?").
His previous command, the USS Yorktown, one of the last of the old ship designs, was decommissioned a few months ago. His exploits on his two separate five-year assignments out in deep space, the last one as Captain, made him one of the most well-known and beloved officers currently in service, and Starfleet were all too happy to award him command of their fleet's latest crown jewel upon its completed construction. In the meantime, they asked him to pass his knowledge and experience on to a new generation of cadets, and he was glad to accept.
Ozpin nods, "Very admirable, accepting to train the next generation."
Glynda hums in agreement, "I do feel like you'd make a wonderful teacher." She glanced at a grinning Nora, "You certainly have the patience for it at the very least."
Ren bows his head to the two as best he could from Nora's hug, a bit proud that they think so highly of him.
As a result, he had taken a cushy position as an instructor at Starfleet Headquarter in Vale for the next two years while awaiting his new ship, thereby keeping him much closer to home. This also had the effect of making his beautiful wife quite happy these days; being empty nesters with their two children grown up and moved out, they were now fully enjoying the benefits of having an entire house to themselves.
Frigga and Nora squealed at the news. "I have 2 grand/babies!" The two shouts in happiness. Odin got up and pulled Nora and Ren for a great big hug while laughing in merriment, his wife joining soon after. "Congratulations my little princess!"
Yang grinned at the scene, but she did grumble a bit that Nora's pops was so accepting that his daughter had children of her own. 'Why can't my old man be that happy?' She looked at Summer. 'At least mom was excited.'
As a teacher, he was strict but fair, and always made sure to encourage each and every one of his students to do their best no matter what field they study. What made students and peers admire him more was he never took his fame and position for granted. He was always studying new ideas and concepts, learning about more nuances of command from other Captains and Admirals, keeping up with new advances in science and research, and learning in-depth about new alien cultures the Federation encountered over the years.
The students and teachers nodded at the man's work ethic, glad that he takes his job seriously.
Whenever he had been asked why he was still pushing himself to be better even when he was already known as one of the most exemplary Captains out there, his answer was always the same.
"Because I know my friend would've done the same. He would never be satisfied unless he was the best he could be, end even then would work harder to be better."
His friends sighed knowing he was right.
James scratched his chin as he pondered for a bit. 'If Mr. Arc is as dedicated as his other, and if Ozpin's right about his strategic mind, then maybe…' "Oz-" "Not happening," his friend shook his head with a smirk. "He's perfectly happy training to be a normal Huntsman."
'Damnit.' James and Winter thought. The man wanting to recruit Mr. Arc for Atlas, believing him to be an invaluable asset to their military; meanwhile, Winter wanted to see if the young man was truly a genius in strategy or if his plan for fighting off those Grimm to rescue little Alice was just a fluke. 'Well, I could always train the young man myself if need be.' A small smirk was shown as she began to plan a little surprise visit to Beacon. 'After all, I always did intend to visit my little sister more often, and if I just so happen to run into the young man while he's training… Well, a few private lessonswouldn't be so bad now would it?' A small blush tinted her pale cheeks before she composed herself.
Pyrrha, Yang, and a few others felt a shiver run down their spines. 'Homewrecker Detector senses tingling!'
Ren smiled sadly at the memory of his old friend. 'Am I doing enough, Jaune? Have I fully earned this chance at life you gave me yet?' ("I'm sure Jaune thinks you're doing a great job so far Ren." "Thanks Ruby.")
He had been so lost in thought he was almost shocked to find himself already standing ten meters from the farmhouse. He shook himself out of his somber thoughts about Jaune, especially considering who he was planning to see in a moment. He let out a sigh and smoothed down his coat to look somewhat presentable. He also absentmindedly noted an old-fashioned electric motorcycle parked near the front steps, thinking it belonged to the homeowner considering her love of anything fast on wheels.
Yang grinned, now knowing who owns the farm. "Hehe, nice wheels." She didn't know if life as a farmer would be a life for her, but with droids doing most of the work, it couldn't be that hard. To the side, Penny felt a bit offended for some reason. 'And it would mean more time for my family.' She thought.
Pyrrha meanwhile tilted her head to the side, remembering when Jaune said he could always be a farmer or something that night on the roof. 'Huh, what are the odds?'
Before he even took another step, he was surprised to hear raised voices coming from the house.
"When you invited me over to celebrate my graduation, this isn't what I was expecting, mom!" a young man's voice spoke in annoyance.
"Ryujin! Wait! I just wanted us to sit down and talk!" a woman's voice cried in alarm.
The house's front door banged open to reveal a young blond man glaring back over his shoulder at someone still inside the house as he pulled his black leather jacket on with harsh motions. Ren had to hold back a gasp, it was like looking at a carbon copy of a young Jaune during the Academy.
Yang blinked, not expecting to see her grown up son so soon, nor the hurt feelings from seeing her son looking so angry at her. 'That's no doubt my voice… what did I do for my baby boy to be so pissed off at me?'
This young man, apparently Ryujin Arc, was as tall as his father had been, and he was fit and well-built underneath his tight black shirt and blue jeans. In addition, his short but styled blond hair, piercing light blue eyes, and handsome face that combined the best features of both his parents would make him the dream of many women, and few men. However, his current bad mood would turn away everyone at this moment.
A few of the girls blushed as Yang smiled a bit. "That's my boy, he's gonna be such a heartthrob." And now said girls felt disgusted. Even Ruby forgot that was her nephew. 'Ewww, now I need brain bleach.'
The children all looked in awe at how their little brother looked to their dad. 'Wait, is it little brother or big brother?' They thought at the same time, then shrugged it off. 'Eh, I came first, he's little to me.'
"Really? What were you expecting me to say when you began questioning me on my future like it was some damn interrogation!?" he growled back as he hopped down the porch steps, completely oblivious to Ren's presence a mere few meters away.
Yang flinched at the tone her son was using, wondering where he'd gotten that attitude from. 'Where did I go wrong?'
Raven and Qrow raised an eyebrow, both thinking he must have gotten his anger issues from their side of the family.
Robin chuckled, "Little bro's got balls, eh Altani?" Her sister sighed as she massaged her temple. Neither of them knowing where he gets this anger from, but were reminded of how Robin usually acts when pissed.
"That wasn't an interrogation, and you know it! I'm just worried about what you want to do with your life now that you're out of school, Ryu."
Ren's attention was drawn to a beautiful mature-looking blond woman, dressed in a tight t-shirt and fleece sweatpants, stomping out the front door with a frustrated expression.
Mercury whistled at the image of the woman; while Tai, Yang, and Summer blinked at how similar she looks to Raven.
With only barely visible wrinkles on the corners of her fiery lilac eyes and plump lips, gorgeously long & wild golden blond hair tied up in a high ponytail, an incredibly fit & curvy body, and lightly tanned skin still as unblemished as it ever was, Yang Arc had certainly aged like fine wine over the years.
Robin and Altani were confused. "Mom?" "Auntie Raven?"
Raven looked to her daughter and niece, "Yes?"
As Yang was checking her future self out, she didn't hear what was being said.
Robin looked at her, then back to the screen, then back again. "Why does she look-"
In fact, Ren wasn't afraid to admit she was as beautiful as Nora.
Like a reflex action, Nora threw a powerful punch towards Yang, who took it to the cheek. *Whap!* "OW! WHAT THE SHIT NORA!?" "Oh Oum, I'm so sorry Yang!"
The commotion caused Robin to look at what was happening, forgetting what it was she was trying to ask as Yang was covering her face and spitting curses from the pain.
Well, actually he would be quite terrified of voicing this to his wife, because she would do everything possible to remind him she was the only beautiful woman for him. He didn't wish to have his pelvis crushed, thank you very much.
Nora turned to the screen to nod at her other's actions. "I will make sure to remind you of that, mister." She said before going back to apologizing for punching Yang's face.
"I already have a job lined up. I told you that!" Ryujin shot back as he hopped on the parked motorcycle.
"Oh yeah, you're going to take the home construction industry by storm with your brand-new astrophysics engineering degree?" Yang returned flatly with a disbelieving expression as she crossed arms under her impressive bust. That made Ryujin pause.
Yang groaned. "Oww. Also," she looked to the screen with disappointment, "that is such a waste of your talent sweetie." She then remembered that she had Aura and immediately used it to dull the pain. "Fucking hell, you got a mean swing Nora." She rubbed her cheek, but was no longer feeling the same pain as before.
"It was the only field that actually challenged me at that college." he muttered quietly. Yang sighed as she stepped down off the porch, both Arcs still oblivious to Ren's silent presence. The man himself would've tried to announce himself by now, but the atmosphere was way too heavy for him to do that yet.
"Ryujin...we both know you're much smarter and more capable than this, and I don't understand why you don't want to apply yourself more." Yang said as she spread her arms out. "You can achieve anything you put your mind to, and I know you can be so much better than you are right now." She drops her arms as she looks to her son with sadness. "But you seem to be content with keeping yourself completely grounded and going nowhere in life, and I don't want that." Yang pleaded softly as she stepped closer to her son.
The parents nodded at the speech, knowing the feeling of wanting their children to be successful in life.
Ryujin could only glance down in silence at the helmet he was holding in his hands, contemplating her words. Yang had to say the wrong thing at the worst possible moment, though.
"Your father wouldn't have wanted this for you, either."
Yang facepalmed, "Bad thing to say other me."
That was enough for Ryujin to show the fiery temper he inherited from his mother when he snapped to her with his eyes narrowed in anger.
"And maybe that's the problem, mom! How can we know what he'd want when he hasn't been around all my life!? How the hell am I supposed to live up to his memory when I'm always in his damn shadow!?" he growled back, making Yang flinch back with a heartbroken expression. Frustrated and hating himself for hurting his mother's feelings, Ryujin just put on his helmet and sped off the driveway to disappear down the road. (Emerald: "Well, that sucked.") His mother watched silently with a dejected expression for a moment and was about to go back into the house, before Ren finally made himself known with a cleared throat.
"Yang, I guess this is an awkward time to visit?" he spoke quietly. Startled, Yang snapped into her old training as chief of security and reached for a nonexistent pistol at her hip, before she finally realized who was talking.
The older Huntsmen were impressed by her reaction time, even though they could clearly see that she hadn't been in active service for a few years.
"Damn it, Ren! You're lucky I like you well enough." she sighed in relief. Ren rose an eyebrow.
"I'm glad you're retired from Starfleet, otherwise I'd have been vaporized by now." he joked lightly as he stepped closer to exchange hugs with the shorter blonde.
"I'm glad too." Nora said with an innocent smile as she held Ren protectively, "Wouldn't want the hassle of trying to pick up his sprinkled ashes all over that farm for the next few days." She then muttered in a dangerous tone. "Or digging a hole for the body."
Yang shivered in fear, not knowing what she said in that last part, but knew that it wouldn't end well for her.
"More like stunned, I never leave my phaser on lethal. You'd have been fine." Yang shot back with a weak smile, her mind still on the argument with her son.
"Hehe, yeah, Ren would've been fine Nora, see?" Yang chuckled nervously as she tried to calm the bomber down. Nora nodded, accepting her words and setting a now pale Ren down.
"I just happened to be in town with some cadets to tour that ship they're building here, and I thought it'd be a good idea to finally see you again after so long. However, if this is a bad time, we can get together some other time." Ren offered in an understanding tone. Yang shook her head with a bitter smirk.
"I made a big meal for me and Ryu tonight, but you saw what happened just now. It'd suck to have the food I prepared go to waste, so how about we catch up over dinner?"
Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, Ryujin lets out a frustrated sigh with a scowl as he parked his bike atop a grassy knoll overlooking the vast farmlands around Argus. In the distant horizon, he could see the massive agricultural processing plants located in the city that reached high into the sky, where they prepared countless shipments of crops for export to other member worlds of the Federation.
Many looked at the marvel of engineering with awe.
"Damn, now that's impressive." Coco remarks, her partner nodding in agreement.
James whistles in appreciation. "Now that is some feat of engineering, and no Dust to help stabilize it too."
Penny was already wanting to know how they made that thing. "I wonder how many worlds one of those plants can support."
He took off his helmet and leaned forward on his bike, gazing longingly up at the dark and star filled sky.
It wasn't that he didn't have any idea on what he wanted to do with his life. He knew exactly what he yearned to do, and that was to go out into space and explore the universe. To boldly go where no one had gone before and all that jazz, like his parents did when they enlisted. That was all he ever wanted to do since the first time he heard about Starfleet and their mission of exploration.
The mothers cooed at the young man. Even Raven grinned, seeing her grandson wanting to be like his parents. 'Just like my scrappy little princess.' She inwardly cooed as she held her Robin close.
Yang felt a wave of pride. "Wow, my son wants to be like his parents when he grows up." She grinned, hugging a Ruby that's turning a bit too blue like a pillow as she squealed in happiness.
Winter Weiss, and Whitley were a bit pissed off though. They didn't want to be like their father, and seeing this made them hate the man even more. 'Why couldn't father be like Jaune/Mr. Arc?'
Willow grimaced, 'Thank goodness my babies never tried to emulate Jacques or myself all that much.' She didn't know what she'd do if her children took up drinking or became like that monster she called a husband.
What soured it for him was that he had to live his entire life being told by countless strangers about how great his father was; that he'd grow up to be just like Jaune Arc. 'I just know they're looking forward to having their impossibly high expectations thrust upon me once I joined the Academy.' He didn't even keep his school friends for long after he realized their motives for approaching the son of a hero.
Many grimaced at the shit he had to live with. His half-sisters and aunt were wishing to go over there and kick all the asses.
Maria shook her head, "If the young man wanted to be an officer of Starfleet, then he was welcomed to it." She narrowed her eyes, "But to put this amount of pressure on him for the actions of his father is despicable." Klein nodded in agreement, remembering the pressure his charges had to deal with growing up.
Hazel growled, remembering his sister, and how Oz led her to her death. He took a deep breath, reminding himself of his interaction with her to calm down.
Yang wanted to take a page out of Nora's handbook and break those assholes' legs.
Raven scowled at how her grandson was being used like that. "Good riddance, he didn't need those pathetic leaches anyway." She said as Robin nodded, the little girl flipping off the screen to express what she thought of those weaklings. Raven knew that if the Tribe existed in some form there, that they'd certainly accept him with open arms. 'After all, survival is the name of the game, and my grandson is clearly strong enough if motivated.'
Pyrrha, Weiss, and to a certain extent Blake felt a sort of kinship with the young man. The former for her fame being the reason why she didn't have many true friends 'till she entered Beacon. The latter two thinking of how people were expecting great things from them simply due to their family name.
What made everyone who knew him feel worse was that Jaune would never have wanted that for his son, he wouldn't any of his children to be expected to succeed just because of who he was.
The more those faceless people spoke to him about their idealized vision of his dad, the more he resented having those expectations laid upon him. It didn't help that his mother did her best to tell him every single thing about his father, including all his flaws and just how ordinary he was in everyday life. She always said he was just a good man who had to do an extraordinary feat, because no one else could at the time. Just a few minutes of being Captain of a doomed ship and his heroic actions against those Romulans didn't immediately make Jaune an untouchable figure to his son. To him, his father had been just as ordinary as him, and would rather have been alive and well with his family than deliberately run off and heroically sacrifice himself like most people seemed to believe.
Saphron nodded. "He would never wish to leave his family like that if he had a choice."
Yang frowned a bit, knowing that her Jaune sounded just like this one. 'Is he walking the same path as his other? Will he also die protecting people?' She felt scared because in their line of work it was possible, even probable. But then she remembered how Jaune literally came back from the dead to protect his grandparents in that one horrible future, and thought better of it. 'No, he's way too stubborn to just go out like that.'
That's why he was being defensive about his life choices, and holding himself back. He knew going out there meant taking on those crushing expectations of filling his father's impossibly large shoes, and having to deal with being told what his father would've done by countless people who have never even met the man. Most importantly, he was truly terrified of disappointing his mother if he couldn't make it in Starfleet. That was the one thing that truly held him back.
Ruby cooed, "Don't think like that sweetie, no matter what your mom will always be proud of you." Yang nodded, and Summer & Tai grinned with pride.
Ryujin also didn't want to worry her too much. While his mon never said anything bad against enlisting whenever the topic was brought up, serving in Starfleet led to her beloved husband's death, and he wasn't sure he wanted to risk putting her through that again if he somehow died out there one day.
The sisters flinched. "Ooh, yeah." Yang said, rubbing the back of her neck. She could still remember the day Summer died, and how it nearly destroyed their family. She sighed, "Well, if he decides to join or not, I won't stand in his way." She said with conviction.
Remembering his mother's hurt expression from their argument made him growl, and he shook his head. "I need a drink." he grumbled as he grabbed his helmet to put it on.
Qrow nodded, "That's my grandnephew." He says as he lifts his flask in salute, meanwhile Yang blushed in embarrassment as getting a drink to calm down would've been her choice. 'Well, that and beating the tar out of someone'.
Raven sighed, 'That's my grandson.'
Winter scowled at the drunk, "I cannot believe- wait, what am I saying? Of course you would encourage this behavior." Qrow waved her off as he grunted. "I don't have to listen to your crazy, if the kid needs to get a drink to feel better, I'd say let him."
Winter grits her teeth, "What he needs is to clear his head with some meditation or deep breathing exercises, not wasting away under a bottle. Especially since he needs to drive home later." The man just shrugged, infuriating her even more.
Back at the Arc Farmhouse
Yang and Ren had just finished their meal, and were now filling the dining room with warm laughter as they exchanged stories while taking sips from their beer bottles.
"So...there I was, standing in the doorway completely stunned at seeing Ryu in his bed with two beautiful alien girls he knew from school. The only thing I could think of was to say the most mother-like thing ever." Yang was mildly pantomiming as she told her story. Ren chuckled lightly as he took a small sip.
Yang fist pumped as she cheered, "Yeah, that's my boy!"
Whitley looks at her with a bewildered look on his face. "Are you serious? You're not mad that your son has fornicated with two strangers at once?"
Yang just laughed. "Oh hell no, I'm pissed. But I can at least say I was right: my boy's a real ladies man!" As she continued laughing, her team facepalmed, while some of her other friends felt a bit uncomfortable as they tried to forget how they reacted seeing him for the first time.
"I know this one, Nora said this plenty of times to our kids." he retorted, then the adults pointed at each other over the table with wide grins.
""Well, what do you have to say for yourself, young man?!'" they said at the same time, and snickered for a moment (Yang: "See, I totally would've said that if I ever caught him doing something like that!"). Yang then continued with a smirk.
"Instead of looking embarrassed or guilty, he just showed me the most innocent expression possible with his face squished between two naked pairs of breasts, and answered without missing a beat that he was helping foster inter-species relations like his school encouraged."
Tai and Qrow felt a massive amount of pride for the young man, each wiping a manly tear. Even Summer and Raven were impressed, if slightly disappointed for the former, that their grandson managed to score two hotties at the same time, and alien hotties at that. 'That's my grandson!'
Saphron just sighed as she heard the lame excuse, "It sounds like one of dad's old lines." Terra giggled as she hugged her wife.
The teachers looked on in disappointment, not happy of knowing the young man's wild libido. No one saw how Ozpin quickly looked away to wipe a tear away.
Nora and Coco laughed, holding twin thumbs ups for his achievement, while their partners tried to rein them in.
Salem tilted her head, feeling so much pride right now that she was left extremely confused. 'Seriously, where do I continuously get these feelings from?'
Mercury crossed his arms and grumbled with a scowl, thinking on how blondes got all the luck as Emerald and her children laughed at his misery.
They laughed again, before Ren calmed down enough to speak.
"So, did you ground him?"
"Oh definitely, but I was so impressed with his glib response and the ability to bag two hot alien girls, one Orion and one Deltan, at the same time that I cut his punishment down to only a month."
Yang nodded, "Yep, I'd have done the same thing."
Ren rose an impressed eyebrow. Orion and Deltan females were considered two of the most attractive humanoid alien species in the Federation. In particular, Deltans had to take vows of celibacy if they wanted to serve in Starfleet, because their well-known sexual prowess were enough to sway many interactions with other alien races to go any way they wanted.
Roman quirked an eyebrow, "Hey Jack?" "Yo." "Can you show us what a Deltan and Orion look like?" The god shrugged, "Sure."
The image briefly switched to show a picture of a random female Orion and Deltan in various poses. As soon as the picture was shown, the reactions were predictable.
Mercury, Tyrian, and Roman threw a fit. "Oh that is bullshit!"
Coco and Nora catcalled while Yang looked on with wide eyes. "My son got it on with two of those hotties? That's ma boy!"
Tai, Qrow, and the children gave a standing ovation as they cheered on the boy's accomplishment. Salem and Ozpin were just able to stop themselves from doing the same.
Most of the men gave a nod of respect to the boy.
Blake blinked, "How was he still able to answer Yang after going at it with two of those species?" Her question gave the young man's family a whole new meaning to the word Pride. And for the men to be even more impressed.
"I'm surprised he wasn't a gibbering slave to them by that point." (Roman: "I wouldn't mind that fate.")
Yang chuckled proudly. "He could charm the pants off a Vulcan woman if given a chance."
Ren nodded with a grin. "I'd believe that. Jaune's charms with your friendly personality would be a devastating combination in your son."
Yang outright cackled as she stood up doing a heroic pose. "To all the fathers of the universe, I give you this one warning: Better keep your daughters at home, 'cause my boy's on the prowl!" 'Our son will be unstoppable!'
Ruby tried getting her sister back to her seat as she felt embarrassed by her actions. "Yang stop!" "Never!"
Yang leaned back in her chair with a fond expression at the memory of Jaune. Lately, it didn't hurt anymore to think of him. She missed him dearly, but it had been long enough, and she had somewhat moved on. As if reading her mind, Ren glanced at several pictures on the walls of the dining room.
"I'm glad to see you have managed to find more happiness after what happened." he noted as he saw a picture of Yang hugging a pretty bunny-eared brunette rather intimately. Yang glanced fondly at another picture of her kissing a blushing Velvet on the cheek.
Said girls blushed as they looked at the picture of their other selves. They looked at each other… And shrugged. Not much of a reaction, but with what they've already seen so far with Yang's son, this was a bit underwhelming for them.
Not so for Mercury who had a slight nosebleed at the potential. Neo saw this and rolled her eyes, then reached over to punch him in the nose. As the assassin cursed up a storm while holding his now gushing nose, Lucy giggled as she gave her mom a thumbs up.
"It started out with us comforting each other after what happened, but we became best friends over the years. It was a long road to where we are right now though, since Velvet did marry someone else who didn't work out in the end, and I dated a few others over the years. Until Velvet, Ryu hated each and every person coming onto me with a passion. Somehow, he could tell they all had ulterior motives for me, and were basically trying to take Jaune's place in our lives as if to prove they were better than him."
Yang and Summer cooed at the boy protecting his mommy. "D'aww, that's so cute~."
The other children nodded with a determined look in their eyes, knowing they would've done the same thing. Their own mothers grinned as they hugged their little angels.
Ren shook his head. "No one can just take another's place; especially Jaune's."
"Exactly. The last guy I was considering dating got Ryujin so pissed when he overheard the bastard mentioning to one of his friends on the comm that he would 'make me' forget about Jaune." (Yang: "Alright who's the dead man?!")
Ren scowled deeply at that.
Yang nodded. "I know. Though, instead of doing the sensible thing and come right to me so I can throw that asshole out the front door, he stole the bastard's super-rare vintage car that he drove over to try to impress me, led the cops on a chase, and drove it right off a cliff."
Coco, Roman, Nora, Emerald, and Neo all laughed, wishing they could see the look that guy's face when he realized his prized car was at the bottom of the cliff.
Tai and Summer grinned as they puffed their chests in pride. "That's my grandson."
Winter and Weiss sighed at the carelessness of this messed up family while Whitley was looking at them like they were insane.
Yang sighed exasperatedly at the memory. She couldn't care one bit about the car but Ryujin had nearly killed himself in that stunt, so she grounded him for months. He was also lucky he was thirteen and thus a minor, otherwise he'd have been in serious trouble (Winter: "Exactly what happened if he was a bit older." Qrow: "It would've been worth it!"). The aftermath was still a nightmare to deal with and she had a good feeling Starfleet discreetly nudged a few elbows in the background to smooth things over as a favor to her for her years of service and Jaune's memory. Despite all that, she was secretly happy her son loved her enough to ensure she wouldn't have her heart, still fragile after Jaune's death, broken again.
Raven chuckled as she shook her head. 'That's what you get for fucking with a Branwen, let alone an Arc.' She smirked as Robin, and even Altani much to Sienna's embarrassment, pointed at the screen and laughed.
Ren smiled softly. "And I guess over the years of close friendship, you and Miss Scarlatina realized one day you two make each other happy."
The blonde nodded happily.
"She also knew she could never take Jaune's place. Instead, she created a new one in our lives and treated Ryujin more like a good friend rather than a stepson. It was also the first time he's ever approved of anyone dating me, so I took it seriously with her and I'm glad. We have no interest in marrying, but she's been living with us for five years now." She said fondly, before sighing. "She should've been here with us tonight to celebrate Ryu's graduation, but as a doctor specializing in rare diseases, she was called to the Vega colony for an emergency case."
Yang went over and gave Velvet a light hug. "Thanks for being there Vel." The older student chuckled and hugged her back, "Think nothing of it Yang, what're friends for?"
"That's too bad; it would've been a pleasure to speak with her too. Though, that would've made my dropping in on you tonight more awkward than it already was." Ren said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Thank the Pillars for small mercies." Yang chuckled sarcastically as she took another sip from her beer.
Saph frowned. 'Wait, so she knows about the Pillars, and yet Jaune still thanked the Brothers? How does that make sense?!'
"I'm sorry to ask, Yang, but was what I saw earlier a common occurrence?" Ren wasn't sure if this was a one-off thing, but somehow he felt that it wasn't.
The blonde was silent at the question for a long moment, and just when he was about to apologize for prying, she finally spoke. "Yeah. I know Starfleet has been keeping an eye on him in hopes of recruiting him, what with his father being who he was. So, you already know from public records where he went to school." she pointed out with a neutral expression.
James, Oz, Hazel, and Glynda scowled at this. They didn't like how the government was keeping tabs on a young man for later recruitment based on his father's actions rather than his own.
Yang had her eyes blazing red as she went back to her seat. "Are those assholes spying on my son?!"
Ren, seeing no reason to be defensive about it, nodded. "Yes. He went to J. Archer Academy, and we know he scored top marks in his grades and physical attributes each and every year he was there." he stated. That school was one of the most prestigious in the Federation, drawing the best and brightest from many different alien species across the entire coalition. It was said to be arguably on the same level as the equally famous Vulcan Science Academy.
"Now that is incredible." Glynda said with an impressed tone as Oz nodded. "Indeed, no wonder his mother thought he was squandering his potential. A shame he isn't with us, I would gladly offer him a position at Beacon."
James glared, "Oh no you don't Ozpin. You already have his parents, you're not taking this one, he's going to attend Atlas."
As the two men glared at each other, their subordinates facepalmed at their behavior.
"So, you know my son is a smart and capable young man, and he can only continue to improve. I know he can do anything, and make a difference wherever he goes. If one day he decided to become the president of the Federation, I wouldn't be surprised when -not if- he achieves that. Unspeakably proud, but not surprised." Yang explained with pride evident in her tone for her son. ("That's my boy!")
"Based on what I heard earlier, you feel he is squandering his true potential."
The mother nods, "Yep. Do you know when the first time he told me his 'dream of building houses around Remnant' for a living?"
"I'm sure you'd tell me."
"Exactly two weeks ago, when he told me he'd accepted a job offer to do that."
Saph chuckled nervously, "Actually, that does sound like what a few Arcs did in the past." Her chuckle got a bit more nervous when everyone turned to her with deadpanned expressions.
Yang shook her head, "My family is full of weirdoes."
"What do you think he actually wants to do?"
Yang smiled sadly as she glanced out a nearby window at a small hill with a lone tree on it in the distance. The sun was setting behind it. Ren followed her gaze.
"I find him out there looking up at the stars in the sky. I occasionally come across him sitting on his bike outside the shipyard, staring at the starships being built. I'm his mother, so I know he dreams of exploring space. His expression was the exact same that Jaune had whenever he spoke about it back when we were in the Academy." (Terra: "Like father, like son.")
"So why hasn't he done anything about it?" Ren was surprised, and Yang let out an annoyed sigh.
"He's sick and tired of constantly being compared to his father. He doesn't want to deal with people trying to mold him into the man's clone and would rather avoid it in any way he could, even if it meant abandoning his dreams. I know almost everyone he meets is thinking he would turn out like his father, and no one is expecting him to be just himself and make his own mark in history. It hurts, because I know he will exceed those expectations and announce to the galaxy that Ryujin Arc, not Jaune reborn, has arrived." She said with an amused grin at the idea of just what her stubborn and hotheaded son would do to achieve that.
Many of the boy's family nodded, feeling the same as his mother.
Ren nodded with a small smile. "Sounds like he has the skills to do that. So why hasn't he?"
Yang looked down. "There's only one person I know he's afraid of disappointing: Me." ("He can never disappoint me!")
The man nods with a sigh, "Yep, that'd do it. I've only seen him for a brief moment, and I can already tell he regards you highly."
"I know, and I should be telling him to be his own person. I would never want him to be exactly like his dad. If Jaune was alive, he'd feel the same. We'd want him to be Ryujin Arc." Yang smiled a bit, as those who knew him in the audience nodded their heads.
"And you haven't told him this why?" Ren's tone wasn't accusing, just curious.
"While I want to think of myself as the best and most badass mom ever, I hate the idea of my son leaving for space and not coming home for years until he retires decades later. So, I think I just let things be as it is for as long as possible so he can stay here with me." She finishes her beer with one last chug. "I know it's selfish, and I know he's meant to be out there, sitting in a Captain's chair, but I won't be able to see him anymore." Yang said with a guilty expression as she twiddles her thumbs together.
Tai sighed, "That's exactly how I felt when you two went off to Beacon." He said, looking at his daughters as they blinked in surprise. "And it got worse when Ruby got accepted." Ozpin flinched. "I thought I had two more years to spend time with my youngest."
Ruby and Yang hugged him, "Aw dad." Tai smiled as they enjoyed a nice family hug.
The Schnee's looked at the family moment with jealousy, knowing Jacques was never the kind of man they're seeing right now.
Ren nodded consolingly. "I understand. Being parents ourselves, Nora was quite beside herself with grief for a couple weeks when our kids moved out to begin their own lives."
Nora pouted, "But I don't want my babies to leave the nest~." As she said this, Ren only chuckled and hugged her close.
"Don't worry Nora, I'm sure they'll visit us every weekend." Nora grinned, hiding a light dusting of her cheeks as she "Booped" his nose.
"Yeah, but even I can tell that it's time to let go. He'll never be completely happy being stuck here any longer. He and I will talk about this." Yang declared, firmly resolved in her decision now. Ren nodded in agreement, wondering if he'd be seeing Ryujin in his classroom soon enough. 'Now wouldn't that be something?'
Ren hummed, actually liking the idea of teaching his brother's children. A few of the other teachers also wouldn't mind teaching a keen mind such as this young man.
A chirp interrupted the pleasant silence between the two adults, and Ren rolled his eyes as he grabbed his comm off his belt. He had a good hunch his cadets were getting into trouble right now.
Glynda sighed in exhaustion, "Oh how I feel your pain." The other teachers nodded, each knowing a few students in their classes that would be raising all kinds of headaches.
Yang, Nora, and Coco felt like apologizing to no one for no reason.
"Lie Ren here." he answered neutrality, while Yang snickered.
"Captain Lie." she whispered with a shit-eating grin, even mispronouncing his given name on purpose ("Really Yang?" "Oh come on, you had to have seen this coming eventually!"). Ren's eyebrow twitched; occasionally he really was glad for Starfleet's preference of using rank and surname only in most introductions.
"Captain, you'd better get over to the Crow Bar. There's a possible disturbance brewing between a local man and Cardin's group." a female voice, familiar to the audience, spoke.
"Those idiots don't know when to leave well enough alone." another familiar voice huffed in annoyance.
"Hey, it's us Weiss!" Ruby shouts as she hugs her now annoyed partner.
Blake had an eye twitch. "And of course it's Cardin, and his team no doubt, who's stirring up trouble." She growls as most of the students scowled at the name.
Oz and Glynda sighed in disappointment.
The Faunus narrowed their eyes. The level of venom Blake used when saying that person's name made the newbies frown in anger, just knowing this guy was a prick.
Yang felt anger rise up inside as she looked at her team. "My son just went to get a drink. You don't think-?" She growled.
Weiss, getting Ruby off of her, nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised Yang."
"I'm gonna kill those little shits."
Summer frowned. "Now sweetie, don't talk like that." She said, much to her children's shock. She smiled and said sweetly, "Killing them right off the bat is too good for them. It's more fun to main them first. Make them suffer for harassing my grandbaby." Yang and Ruby looked at their mom with loving respect.
Everyone else felt a shiver. The mothers though puffed their chests out, 'No one would dare touch a hair on my grandbabies and live!' They all thought with righteous anger.
"And what did I say about not getting into trouble tonight, Cadets Rose and Schnee?" Ren muttered tiredly. Meanwhile, Yang was having a bad feeling that she knew who this 'local man' was. There was an adorable squeak when Ruby Rose stuttered in embarrassment on the other end at the admonishment.
And with that, the atmosphere was broken as a few laughed at the noise, while Summer cooed and cuddled am embarrassed Ruby. "Oh Ruby, that's sooo cute~!" "Moooomm!"
Weiss, Whitley, and Winter sat up straight with eyes forward. Then blinked as they realized that they weren't the ones in trouble.
"U-um, sorry Captain, but this guy was flirting with Blake, and Cardin and his boys took exception. So far, they're exchanging words, but it looks like it could go off any moment-!" Ruby tried to explain, before the sound of a fist hitting flesh came through the call.
"Oh shi-!" and "Stop this, you dolts!" were the two female cadets' last words before the call ended.
"My baby!" Yang shouts as she gets up from her seat. "Those little fuckers! I'm gonna break their hands!"
Before she could do more than that, her team dogpiled on her to stop her from going on a rampage.
As Blake helped restrain her partner, she blushed, thanking the gods that Yang ignored how her other was being flirted by possibly her son. 'Don't know if she'd be proud of him, or punch me if she did notice.'
"Damn it." Ren cursed as he rose out of his seat. "Sorry, but I need to beam site-to-site from here, if it's alright with you." (Roman: "The hell's 'beam' mean?")
"Go for it; just don't forget your ride later. Also, I have a good feeling that 'local man' is Ryu. He normally goes to that bar when he's upset." Yang warned, a slight worry in her tone. ("Don't just sit there me! Get out there and show them the anger of Mamma Yang!")
"I'll make sure he gets back to you in one piece if he's there, but you know you can come with me just in case." Ren offered as he typed in a message on his comm to the local transporter hub. Yang looked like she wanted to come along, but shook her head.
"As much as I want to, I know myself well enough that I'd turn into the meanest mama bear ever and kick everyone's ass if I find them ganging up on my son; I'd just make the situation worse. I know you'll get it under control easy enough, Captain Ren." she conceded with a smile, showing her confidence in Ren by using his title. ("Damn right I will! Let me go Ruby, my baby needs meeee!")
"Isn't it supposed to be Captain Lie?" he shot back with a good-natured smirk just as he tapped down on the last button and the light of a transporter beam began to surround him. Yang shrugged.
"I was kidding, but if you insist…" she teased, laughing loudly upon seeing an annoyed grimace on Ren's face just as he disappeared in a whirl of beautiful white light accompanied by a soft ethereal-sounding whine.
As Yang was recovering the body tackle, and trying to get out of the headlock Ruby now had on her, the others were awed by the sight of a working teleporter not created by Aura.
Raven shrugged as she crossed her arms with a bored expression. "Eh, not impressed. I can do that too." Robin and Altani blinked as they came back to earth (or the Nexus), and looked at her in shock. "Wait what?"
END
And done. Holy hell, you guys worked fast with the gift giving! Anyway, another chapter done. Hopefully only one chapter left before this franchise is over. Now I just need to show them a nice universe now where there's no worries before the gift giving (do NOT take those words seriously, no talking lions people!).
List of current Jaune's children in the Nexus:
Neo: Lucy
Emerald: Peridot & Garnet
Vernal: Amber
Raven: Robin
Sienna: Altani
Glynda: Alice
1. It actually started when some people from Atlas' higher echelon were being prejudiced against Faunus settlements in various regions and trying to get them to leave for Menagerie so that Human settlers sponsored by them can move in, however, a lot of people mistook this as the actual government wanting to expand southward into the other Kingdoms and claim those regions.
2. I wasn't all that impressed when I found out the name of Earth's government. However, replacing Earth with Remnant just made it sound worse in my opinion, hence why everyone shitting on the title. While Unified Earth isn't the best, it still sounds like an actual government where people can be proud to serve under. Unified Remnant on the other hand? I'd be surprised if anyone took it seriously.
3. I will explain what kind of ships the Arcs have in their fleet at a later time.