Author's Notes
I'm sorry for how long this took, especially given how much of this is rehashed from the first version of this. I will... do another chapter soon. Promise.
She was going to kill them, it was only the first night and Megan was already plotting to kill her teammates. The sole female on team tossed around in her bed as she tried to tune out Leman's wolfish snoring and Lorgar's consistent muttering of prayers in his sleep. Eventually she just couldn't take it anymore and got out of bed to take a walk and hopefully calm down enough to the point of returning and not turning both the nosy boys into ice.
Megan didn't even care to be quiet and slammed the door behind her as she walked out of their room. The moonlight shone through the stained glass windows of Beacon as she walked down the halls. The classic gothic architecture of imperial building felt even more awe inspiring both in and without Beacon, and the young woman could at the least appreciate that she would be living here for the next four years. A time where she would have to fight, study, and live with a bunch of boys.
After the ceremony where they had been given that disconnected name, all the Aspirants were shown to their rooms and given a small tour of the castle. It was mostly to show where the classrooms were as Megan was sure that the bulk of the castle was not meant for teenagers. Team CLAR had spent the rest of the day moving in, which she liked to believe was made much harder by her teammates stubbornness. She as the only girl on the team required more of the floor space so she could quarter off said space but Leman and Corvus had taken exception to that. Lorgar had tried to play mediator but was quickly shoved aside, this sort of shut him down for the rest of the day.
Eventually they hadn't gotten a lot of unpacking done due to their arguing and eventually just got too tired to do anything but go to bed. Corvus was the first to give up and had sneaked away to his bed and hid in it while her and Leman kept barking at each other. There was just so many things about her partner that infuriated her, he was unkempt savage, a total moron, and had a dog stink that would not go away and those were just what first came to mind. It was only with the sun completely vanishing under the horizon that both ceased their bickering and retreated to their beds. But even so, Megan had not gotten a moment of sleep and so here she was.
"Is it too much to ask for some throne-blessed sleep? No? it's not like our four-year hell is starting tomorrow with a life threating surgery." They had been given their daily schedules and Megan was already missing her lazy studious academic lifestyle. At six in the morning they all were to report to the training field for morning exercises, which was set for three hours. Three entire hours of physical excurse that was designed to slowly grow more and more inhuman with every passing day. Then they were given an hour to shower and get breakfast in the Great Hall, Megan was thankful for that at least. Then the next five hours they had five different classes, then an hour for lunch and free time, then another four hours of combat training, and then dinner, then back to their rooms. It was a schedule made to craft the very best of humanity and turn them into super-humans.
But this was the life that she chose, the one that would end in her finding the answers she needed. Megan would not rest until she found the means to free her mother, and then obliterate all remnants of the monsters that had nearly taken her. She sighed and knew that this was the just the first step in a very long road. If she was going to suffer her teammates and this school than that was fine in the grand scheme of things.
The crimson haired young woman at some point found an unused terrace of the castle and found it had the most spectator view of the Forever Falls. She smiled as she leaned forward on the railing and noted there were a few perks of this life. It was almost like she was some princess in their castle, and she laughed at the mental image.
"Holy shit… you just laughed like an actual girl." Megan snapped her head to her side to see Corvus sitting on the railing next to her with a smirk on his face. "Couldn't sleep with the mutt and the alter boy chewing wood and reciting hymns?"
"No, but we both will have to adjust if we are to survive the next four years." She waved off his earlier comment, knowing that banter and friendly barbs were all a part of the team experience. She knew she could be… abrasive at times. And was smart enough to know when someone was genuinely being mean.
"Speak for yourself, I've slept through prison riots and gang battles… those two are nothing." Corvus chuckled back at her and she just pouted at her apparent loneness in difficulty trying to find sleep. After that the two remained silent as they just took in the view, even with them now being on the same team they had very little in common to speak about. As the moments passed by, Megan found herself not as comfortable with the, in her opinion awkward, silence.
Ruby lay back, completely naked, on the medical table. Understandably she was nervous. All around her were machines that looked more at home in a torture room than one for surgery. And she was pretty sure that they all had blood on them. And then the tanks… there were so many of them. All had various organs suspended in some kind of green liquid. Ruby turned her head, the only thing she could move, to the sound of the opening door.
"My my… what have we here… a child? Has Ozpin finally opened up to my requests to perform experiments on a younger stock." The man said, his voice high and very creepy from Ruby's opinion. He was dressed in white lab robes, long white hair but not like Weiss' slivery hair but more of a sickly bleached kind of white. His scared and clearly altered face turned to a frown when he checked the clipboard in his hand. "No… you're just that special case. Pity." He said before looking over Ruby, his frown never leaving his face even as he marked Ruby's stomach with a marker. "I have long since hypnotized that the younger the subject the better they will take to the Gene-Seed." He said before moving back to his workbench.
"Umm… if I may ask… what are you going to do? Because I'm not afired of needles… not one bit." Ruby lied, she was very scared of needles and was hoping that the straps keeping her down to the table were just some way of scaring the new Aspirants.
"I am going to cut you open and implant the first of the Gene-Seed… silly girl."
"Oh okay if that,,, What! Cut… Cut me open?!" Ruby yelled, giving the man a slight headache.
"We must they always be so noisy." He mumbled as he tied down a rope over Ruby's mouth. "Listen girl and listen well… I am going to cut from here…" One of the man's spider like augments extended and poked above her right breast. "… down to here." The metal appendage moved down to the base of the stomach where he had marked earlier. "This is what make's an Astartes an Astartes. Did you think it was your Aura or your skill with Dust? No, it is the Gene-Seed. Any fool can use Aura… but do not worry. This is but the first of sevreal implants that you will need to go through during your time here. I will not give any comfort in the ways like that it will get easier… it will not… or that you will come out unscathed. Only the strong deserve the power that only pain can bring." The man known throughout the Imperium as Fabius Bile, sculptor of the flesh, said as he made the first cut into Ruby's skin, ignoring the muffled screams that came from her… he had heard far louder.
Staring straight forward, she didn't make a sound, and she stood as upright as humanly possible. The sore achy feeling of her body still adjusting to the new thing inside her wasn't making easier. But Ruby kept at it, trying to be as still as a statue. As for the reason for this out of character moment, was because of what her dad said when she left for Beacon.
"Whatever you do… do not anger the Athletics Instructor." Her father's words repeated themselves over and over again as said Athletics Instructor, Angron Nuceria, Glared down at her. A sheer mountain of a man with rippling muscles covered in scars and even a few brands. His was face hard devoid of anything but an eternal scowl that only changed to match the degree of annoyed or angry he was at any given moment. The man's right eye twitched at the sight of the youngest Aspirant in Beacon history. She bit down on her lip as he leaned in closer.
"Your Summer's girl, right?" He asked, his voice graveled and deep. Ruby tried her best to not react to her mother's name.
"Yes… Mr. Athletics Instructor… sir." He continued to look Ruby over before nodding slightly and moving back. Ruby let out a very small breath as Angron returned to his walking inspection of the lined up Aspirants, all of them wearing matching athletic uniforms. Everything so far was not living up to her thought about what Beacon was going to be like. After the first day that they were given to get settled in their rooms and then the next three to recover from the first Gene-Seed implantation, they had drag themselves out to the training field for their first morning exercise.
"All right you baby faced weaklings! Welcome to your first day of Beacon." Angron boomed out as he carefully looked over each of the potential Astartes. "Every morning you will report here and we will start the day off with training exercises that hopefully will bring you to the peak of human possibility by the end of your first year. Next year will go past that but that's a year and it's highly likely that quite a few of you will either die or whine enough to your parents to get you transferred out." Angron said this last part just as he stopped at Weiss. "And let me tell you princess, if you think Gene-seed application is painful wait until we get to take them out." He chuckled.
"Are you trying to say that I'm not…" Weiss stopped when in a matter of a second Angron grabbed her shoulders, forced her to bend forward and promptly kneed her in the gut. All the air that had been in her lungs was gone and Wiess quickly doubled over onto the ground in pain.
"This isn't play time kids!" Angron roared as he cracked a few of his knuckles. "This is Beacon. In its shinning light we brake you down so that you can stand back up stronger and the best humanity has to offer. That means every Instructor here is allowed to do whatever the fuck we want to you all… well expect kill ya. That's the Commissar's job." Angron finished before focusing on the chuckling Megan. The next thing everyone knew Angron had slammed Megan's head into the ground. "I will not be showing any mercy You all get the dirt if I feel like it!" Angron yelled as he pulled Megan up by her hair before walking away once he dropped her on her feet.
Ruby couldn't believe what she was seeing, this was definitely not like Signal at all. The teachers at Signal would never harm a student. She watched Instructor Angron walk over to the sunken track ring. It seemed odd to Ruby, it was built down into the ground with at least ten feet high walls and there was a metal canopy over the ring with only a single gate to enter it. Though it looked like there was another hatch back further from the door, Ruby wondered what that could be for.
"Your very first exercise is one of my favorites. It's called the Snotling Run." At that a large cage of the Orknoid creatures was craned above the large opening above the starting point of the track field. "We will drop twelve of you in this ring and you will run from these little guys." Angron said as the cage connected to the opening and auto-latched on. "You will finish either when you have run fifty laps, twenty minutes have passed, or all of the Snotlings are dead. Teams…" Angron started listing off the first round of team that were to take the run. The line of students dissolved as the called team begrudgingly walked over to the track ring and the teams of the 'punished' Aspirants went to their teammates.
"Weiss are you okay?" Ruby asked her partner as she helped Weiss back on her feet. Yang and Blake joining the two as soon as they could.
"Yes, I'm fine." Weiss said trying not appear any more hurt than she was. She had years of experience faking what she was really feeling though it was never for anything as painful as being kneed by a monster like their teacher. "He just caught me off guard is all. But it's fine, it's what he's supposed to do."
"Just because he's supposed to do that doesn't mean he should like it so much." Yang grumbled loudly. "I mean come on, the guy could have seriously hurt you and all you did was call him on his bullshit…" Yang froze when the rest of her teammates faces turned pale. "… he's right behind me isn't he?" The terrifyingly deep chuckle was all the confirmation she needed. The next thing Yang heard was a small beep and then she felt something cold around her neck. She looked down and saw a metal collar, her partner recognizing immediately as an Aura suppression collar.
"I'm sure you can learn to appreciate my teaching methods when you're fighting off Snotlings without your Aura. At most the little psychos will do is bite and claw… and tear your hair out." Angron laughed as he returned back to the track ring. Ruby was expecting to see Yang go off and attack the Instructor for threating something like that but to her surprise and even more so Yang's… she didn't. Yang just looked confused, it wasn't that the normal rage wasn't there, it was, but it was the fact her Semblance wasn't activating. Her hair wasn't on fire and the normal power that flowed through her wasn't there.
"What the warp is this thing!" Yang screamed as she tried taking the collar off.
"It's an Aura Suppressing Collar." Surprising the three it was Weiss that answered. "My family's company developed them in order to help put down riots that happen at our mines. But they outlawed them soon after because the Ecclesiarchy said that suppressing Aura is affront to the God-Emperor. Enough people agreed and so the Imperium banned them. I heard rumors that they still used them in the Astartes schools, guess they were true."
"So what… my Aura is completely shut down?!" Yang scrambled to ask.
"Not completely." Team RWBY turned to see team CLAR walking over, the person who answered being Corvus. There was a smirk on the jailbird's face that Yang didn't really like but he seemed to have the fix she needed. "They are technically illegal but the Arbites in charge of prisons like to think that criminals are exempt from that ruling and so use them on prisoners who have Aura… or at those that they don't like."
"I'm guess you have experience with this thing then?" Yang tugged at the collar furiously. Corvus gave out a small tsk of confirmation and reached out to the collar. The blonde pulled away but after a look from former criminal she sighed and let him do whatever he was planning. With a small flick of his fingers, so fast that she didn't even feel them, the collar buzzed.
"The settings on the collar are a bit finicky, that's all I can do before the collar sends a signal back to its controller that they have been changed. But it's enough that superficial Aura can be used." Corvus explained as Yang began to feel her Aura drip back, a tiny amount compared to what she usually had. But she was sure it would be enough to protect her hair from the tiny menace that was coming.
"Thanks… I guess." Yang said more worried than angry as she stroked her precious hair. She didn't like Corvus but she did have to admit that he could be cool at times. Now if Ruby would just stop hanging around a former con like him then all would be so much better.
"You are sure good with those hands ain't ya?" Leman snickered causing most of the teens to groan, though Ruby and Lorgar both were confused as to why this seemed to a groan inducing comment. But thankfully anything else the feral boy wanted to say was put on hold at the sound of a lot of screaming and finally silence from the track ring. They all then turned back when they heard painful groans and saw team JNPR stumbling over to them ending in Jaune collapsing in front of them.
"If I never… see the color green again… it will be too soon." Jaune breathed out.
"That bad huh?" Corvus asked the exasperated team. JNPR all looked quite scratched up with their PE uniforms all torn up in places and small bite and claw marks were all over the skin that showed.
"It was a nightmare." Pyrrha answered, shocking everyone.
"The tiny horror… the tiny horror!" Jaune yelled out from the ground.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad… they may be quick but they sure are squishy." Nora happily chuckled, it was then that everyone noticed that Nora's hands were covered in green blood.
"Teams RWBY, MSTC, TSTL, you're up!" Angron was not hiding his excitement as he watched the three called teams walk over to the doors in the cage as a new batch of Snotlings were craned over to their opening. Team RWBY took their places as they waited for the sound of the starting gun. The second they heard it they bolted forward as the sound of high pitched screaming came roaring behind them. It took very little time for the little green balls of hyper active violence to catch up with the Aspirants as they were forbidden from amplifying their speed with their Aura, they were allowed to use it to protect themselves but the point of this was to build their strength and endurance and relying on their Aura too much defeated that goal. But unfortunately for Yang, she didn't even have the luxury of Aura protection due to the collar around her neck.
The Snotlings wasted no time in doing the one thing she feared they would do, go after her hair. It wasn't like it was a hard thing to do considering how much of it they had to grab. She was going to have to thank Corvus, as much as she didn't want to, again after all this because while the little bastards did pull and grab they never were able to tear any of her hair out. But it didn't make them any less annoying. And there seemed to be no end to the things, everyone she would throw into the wall, causing it to die with a splat sound, another two would just take its place.
Once she had crossed the fifty lap mark, Angron yelled out her name and one of the hatches opened up for her. a few of the Snotlings tried to follow her out but were quickly killed.
"Well done Miss. Xiao Long, with that you have beaten out Miss Valkyrie's kill count and will most likely be the highest for today." Angron said smiling as he noted it down on his data slate. Yang just stared back at him surprised. "I do hope that it won't take my encouragement again for you to beat said kill count tomorrow. Maybe by the end of your time here you might beat my record of killing over ninety three percent of the bastards alone." Yang just stared back at her hero, this was the man that was considered the rightful Primarch of the War Hounds Legion. He was known far and wide as the Red Angel for his combat prowess. He had been one of things she had been most excited for coming to Beacon, learning how to kick ass like no one else from the man that broke the back of countless foes of the Imperium.
"Thank you, sir." She said before giving a salute to the legendary berserker.
The next two hours were spent finishing off the rest of the teams and other forms of very brutal training. From basic weights and cardio training simply cranked up to insane levels, to more exotic means of working out the body that none of the Aspirants had heard of. This resulted in leaving all of them tired and very sweaty by the time for showers and breakfast.
"All right! You all stink." They all glared at the Instructor as he was the reason for said stink. "Hit the showers and get your grub, I'll see you all later tonight when we move to combat training." He said pointing to a single door with the word Showers hanging above it.
"Umm… Instructor?" One of the girls started. "Why is there only one door." The feeling of dreed and excitement at the implications of that question spread like wildfire through the ranks of the first year Aspirants.
"This is my favorite part of the year." Angron mumbled to himself as for the second time that day they all saw him smile. And only this one was a true one of enjoyment, but at their expenses "Beacon has coed showers."
"What!/No!/That's unfair!/YES!" He just smiled at the predictable reaction the female population gave him.
"Shut it!" The roar washed over them all silencing them all. "You are to be Astartes! Get over what petty mortal morals you had before you came here. When you are standing side by side with your brothers and sisters, facing down a Ork green tide or the hordes of Dameon Grimm of Chaos… you must have a unbreakable trust in each other. You must have a unbending will the likes of which won't be broken by silly immaturity and base feelings. Yes… you will be bare before your peers, but so will they. You are free to skip out on cleaning up, but know you are prohibited from doing so the rest of the day." With that Angron walked off, hiding the greater smirk of enjoyment he was feeling at all the teens being so self-conscious about their current situation. They were feelings that needed to be purged both to build trust among the ranks and to protect them from the machinations of the Ruinous Powers. The rate by which Astartes succumbed to Slaanesh before and after this policy of mixed bathed proved its worth.
Back with the Aspirants, groups of people were moving away and towards the showers. Some opting out and talking about ways to possible circumvent this with body spray or other stop gaps. Meanwhile the rest had been moved by Angron's speech or just sucked it up and went ahead anyway. Teams RWBY, JNRP, and CLAR all looked among themselves.
"I don't see what the big deal is, I bathed with my siblings for years and have no shame in my body. My mind and soul is as pure as ever and will continue to be so." Lorgar stated before walking off. Some envying his confident stride and complete unflappable reaction to this development. He was also followed by Leman who simply didn't give a shit who saw him naked and gave a flirty wink to the girls on his way out.
"As much as I hate to go along with this, there is no way on Remnant I'm stinking for the rest of the like some filthy uncivilized beastman." Weiss said before walking towards the door.
"I don't see what the big deal is me and Ren…" Nora's mouth was covered by said boy before he started dragging along to the showers with the first bit of red anyone had ever seen on his face. Everyone left turned to where Jaune had been standing and found it empty.
"Um… I should find Jaune." Pyrrha announced before walking off to the main building, her face also red with idea that at some point both her and Jaune would have to join their other two teammates.
"I am not giving that furry moron the satisfaction of seeing me naked… I would never hear the end of it." Megan said before angrily storming off back towards the Great Hall.
"I really don't care all that much if people see me naked." Blake said in perfect confidence that her bow was waterproof. People might think was weird of keeping the accessory on during a shower but she was sure that today people would have other things on their mind than why was the girl with a bow still wearing it? With that all that remained was Corvus, Ruby, and Yang.
"There is no way you are doing this." Yang said as she stepped in front of a Ruby.
"Yang… I'm going to have to at some point. I might as well get it over with now." Despite her words she was blushing madly but what Instructor Angron said made sense to her. They were here to become better. And part of that to Ruby meant become more confident in herself and this was part of it.
"She has a point you know." Yang glared at Corvus who she was surprised was still noticeable.
"Oh fuck you, your cheating Semblance makes this a walk in the park for you." Corvus responded with giving her the finger as he walked toward the showers.
"And here I was, going to offer to let Ruby use my Cheating Semblance because she's a bit to young to be ogled by the degens." Sticking his tongue out mockingly, he continued to slow walk and wait for Yang to grab him by his uniform and pull him back. Which she did and he totally let her.
"Explain."
"Yang I really don't think…"
"I can extend my Semblance onto more than myself. One gives me a mild headache, two, I'm puking, and three I pass out and it lasts for ten minutes after." Corvus explained knowing that Yang was going to ask him to do it to her as well. But he wanted to make damn sure that she knew it was either Ruby or her in this offer. There was no way he was puking his guts out every day for the both of them. Plus… he was a guy… he wanted to see what Yang had going on under clothes. "Pop."
And like that both Ruby and Corvus were gone from Yang's senses. She knew that she had been holding him by his collar but one second he was there and then next gone. The same for Ruby, she was gone from sight and all other senses. The brawler grumbled a bit, knowing that this is what she had wanted but still didn't like it. Then the reality caught up with her… that she was going to have to let all the guys in her class see her goods.
Ozpin looked out on to the still incoming masses of Aspirants as they came in after their morning exercises. A slight chuckle came up at the familiar sight of several of the Aspirants still in their training uniform, showing that they did not take their first coed shower. He looked down his right to see Angron still beaming with delight at the sight. While Ozpin did find the awkwardness a tad humorous he never understood why the Red Angel took so much enjoyment of it.
The headmaster currently was seated at the head of the Upper Staff table, where the actual Instructors and the key staff ate, it was a long vertical table that ran the width of the Hall. It was also elevated slightly above the rest of the tables. Below the Upper Staff table was the Lower Staff table, headed by Commissar Cain who was going over Angron's first report on the fitness of the first years. The rest that lined the lower table was the assistants and under-instructors. It was the job of the under-instructors to help the Instructors by helping with the work load that was presented by the mass amount of students. And then there was the eight tables that ran the length of the Great Hall where the students sat.
Next to Ozpin on his right was his Vice-Headmaster, Glenda Goodwitch who was currently enjoy her first meal of the new school year. Formerly a Captain of the Luna Wolves, there were few he trusted more with this school. Smart, insightful, and ever stern she was a key figure in the staff whom took on many of his own duties as he had to split his time between Beacon and… his other responsibility.
To his left was Master of the Grounds Veriliad, a former Tech-Priest who now worked to keep Beacon's building and many machines running smoothly he was currently just sitting next Ozpin as he didn't require food but still obeyed the rule that staff eats with the students. Occasionally he would consume food, though what he ate could hardly be called food.
Next to Glenda was Fabius Bile, Beacon's Chief Apothecary who was currently… play dissecting his omelet. Ozpin knew his habits, and his more darker tendencies but he felt this particular beast was best kept close at hand and happy with a few treats here and there.
To the left of Veriliad was Port, one of the main Instructors, it was he who taught the Aspirants about the various enemies of man, he was currently trying to engage Veriliad in conversion. Whether either of them even noticed the other when this happened was something of debate among the staff as Port could talk without noticing that Veriliad wasn't listening and Veriliad to engrossed in various tasks that kept most of his mind away.
The next to Fabius was Instructor Taldeer looking rather disgusted by the man sitting next to her, it was she who taught the subject of Dust and Aura as well as the Corrupting powers of the Grimm for later years. While it had been amusing for Ozpin to collect a member of the Aeldari for his school, it sure did have its share of challenges.
And next to Port was the both Instructor and Master of the Armory Gebren Silver, a retired Iron Hands Astartes, he was currently waiting for the morning's newspaper. It was so very rare for a Astartes to retire when it did not involve crippling or the request of someone like Ozpin where they could be better used off the frontline or in the Legion. But Gebren was one of them and only came to Beacon as a personal favor to Ozpin when the last Master of the Armory died.
Then to the right of Taldeer was Angron himself still smiling at the fact so many Aspirants were stinking up the Great Hall. Ozpin had to suppress a mischievous smile, he was sure that the coming days would be interesting to say the least for Angron.
After Gebren was Instructor Severus Agmman, another retired Astartes but this one from the Ultramarines, though there are many rumors that he in fact was ousted by the High Command of the Legion for reasons the man refuses to speak about. Ozpin was happy to give the man the job of teaching the ways of Imperial government if for no other reason than he hated to see the man reduced to such a sorry state.
Then finally last on his right side was Doctor Oobleck, teacher of history. He was currently looking out on to the sea of students wondering about their prospects. He was the sole mortal member of the upper staff, though no one would dare say he did not deserve his place. A Psyker of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and a respect mind of history, his respect was earned well.
"Extry! Extry! Gets yourz Newpaaperz!" Both Gorkiee and Morkadum shouted as they walked through the great Hall lugging behind them sacks full of Newspapers. "Er' you go Boss." Grunto said as he handed Ozpin the Imperium's most popular Newspaper, the Astropath. Named after the legendary beings that were said to have been able to speak to each other through their minds no matter what distance separated them. Telepathy was a known power of Psykers however it was very limited, so the idea of limitless mind speech across the world was a mythical idea.
"Thank you Gorkiee…" Ozpin said as he opened the paper.
"Anything good?" Glenda asked as she elegantly ate her morning meal.
"Front page story… excitement about our new crop of Aspirants. Normal for this time of year." Ozpin said before flipping to the next page. "In sports, Vale's Blood Ravens have beaten Altus' Black Templars in the last Blood Bowl game. And they apparently stole the other team's mascot before the game… as they normally do." Ozpin noticed that there were a few whoops and cheers from the student body, likely they found the sports page as well. "The Storm Wolves have announced that they have ended another successful hunt, ending with the head of a Beastman War Chief mounted on the Great Hall of the Fang." Ozpin was about to take other sip from his recaf but stopped when he saw a small article on the apparent rebellion in one of the Tau's colonies. That simply just didn't happen, it was no wonder it was such a small article likely the editor thought it might be just gossip but put it in there in case it was genuine.
Ozpin leaned back in her chair as he thought about this. The Damocles War had ended but that did not mean the Imperium and the Tau were friendly. The war had only ended because another Black Flood had erupted. The Tau were the newest foe to the Imperium and a strange one at that. Unlike the Grimm or the Orks, they didn't want to destroy Humanity. And unlike the pirates of the Dark Eldar, their desire for humans wasn't dripped with evil intent. But they weren't like Craftworld Eldar in that they were content to their established borders, the Tau were very clear in their intent towards the Imperium, subjugation or destruction.
But this new bit of information was intriguing to say the least. The Tau had highly advanced technology, advanced enough to make a Tech-Priest's mouth water. And yet it was hard to get your hands on it, it was all rigged to explode after a set amount of time so the Imperium wasn't able to get any working pieces during the war. Bit and bobs of ruined tech made for a few angry glares from the Tech-Priest. But if one of the Tau's colonies had rebelled… that might be a very interesting opportunity.
Once their Hour of breakfast was finished the new first year Aspirants gathered in one of the grand lecture halls. It was seven circles of descending rows of seats and desks ending in the floor where the Instructor stood ready, instead of the normal Blackboard there was a holo-projector ready to display anything the Instructor needed.
"Dust…" Taldeer said, her voice amplified so the whole hall could hear her. "… Used by the Imperium for many things, some more trivial than others."
Ruby listened as the Instructor continued on with her start of the year lecture. She looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Next to her was her partner, Weiss was dutifully taking notes even though much of what the Instructor was saying was very basic common knowledge as this was the very first day.
Then on her other side was her sister, who was currently hiding the game on her Scroll. Next to Yang was Blake who was still paying attention to the Instructor but not nearly as much as Weiss.
"I AM SKARBRAND! I SHALL CRUSH YOUR PATHETIC HUMAN HEAD!" Ruby and Yang looked up in shock at the freighting hologram screaming at them before it vanished.
"Miss Xiao Long, please pay attention." The Instructor scolded as Yang put away her Scroll, her face red from embarrassment. Ruby looked down to see Corvus and Leman chuckling at the expense of her sister's embarrassment. "Now if the rest of you will be a bit more attentive than Mr. Skarbrand will no longer be showing his ugly face again." Taldeer said before returning to her lecture.
Ruby sighed out of relief that she wasn't being scolded before returning to her wandering. Below her was team CLAR. Megan was taking notes but at a much more leisurely pace. Lorgar was eating everything up as expected as someone who likely did not find this to be common knowledge. Leman was staring at the ceiling, sometimes he would look over to his partner's notes but then would return his staring. Corvus was… he was really still, Ruby could tell that his eyes were open but… something in her gut told her he had gone back to sleep.
Ruby then looked up to the ring of desk above her team's to team JNPR. Jaune had a absent look in his eyes, like everything being said was just going over his head. Pyrrha was taking notes but she seemed to be taking doubles for some reason. Nora was clearly doodling and Ren was also taking notes at the same speed Megan was going at.
Ruby sunk back in her chair, this still wasn't what she was expecting out of Beacon. But then she sat back up, She was at Beacon! She was becoming an Astartes, not only that but she was the leader of her team. She wasn't going to let them down. Ruby took her pencil and quickly began taking notes. But… the topic were so boring, she knew all this stuff already, So Ruby followed Nora's example and began playing in her notebook.
"Ruby." Weiss said as she nudged Ruby. "Get back to work."
"Oh lighten up Weiss, this is easy stuff that even kids know." Ruby said before going back to her doodling ignoring the grunt of annoyance from Weiss.
"Welcome to the Beacon Armory." Gebren said to the following first year Aspirants, his voice booming over the whistling of steam escaping boilers, the sounds of sparks being cast from the generators, the clanking of cogs turning. So far this new batch of students were looking to be a good crop, or at least that's how he saw them. "This is where all the fun and deadly toys are kept and maintained. Over there we have the bolters…" Gebren smiled at the Ooos and ahs that came from the kids behind him. "And over there is the safe where we keep the Grav and Plasma guns." Once again he smiled at the excited reactions. "Now don't get ahead of yourselves. Those…" When he turned around he saw one of the Aspirants literally drooling over all the machinery and forges. "Umm…" The girl was quickly brought back to her senses by who he suspected was her partner. "Anyways…"
"You need to focus you dolt, I'm not having you…" Ruby stopped listening to Weiss's scolding as she returned her attention to the wonders that was the Beacon Armory.
"Is that a real Avenger Gatling Cannon!" Ruby screamed in her head as she spotted the Imperial Knight weapon hanging from the ceiling. "And are those Power Hammers!" Ruby once again screamed. "This is the greatest place ever!" Ruby yelled out for real before closing her mouth with her hands. Beads of sweat started forming as she felt every eye on her.
"Well thank you, I try my best." Gebren chuckled drawing the attention away from Ruby but form the glare of her partner. "Now I'm sure many of you have your own weapons that you made during your time in the Pre-Astartes Schools or made yourself at home or attained some other way. But Astartes use many different means of battle." Gebren said as he ended the tour at four suits of armor, all set up from smallest to largest. "When you as Aspirants go out on the battlefield or in certain combat practice matches you will be wearing this." Gebren motioned to the armor with the minimal amount of protection. It was a black body suit with plain gray plates set to allow maximum movement. "When you become full Astartes, you will be able to wear the more iconic Legionary armor." Gebren motioned to the third largest suit of armor. "Or the more flexible Huntsman armor, it may provide less protection but it allows for the more fast paced combat that you all are probably used to." He said nodding to the second largest armor. "And when you get to the vaulted Veteran status, you can take in to battle… the Terminator Armor." Gebren Said looking up at the hulking monstrosity that was the last set of armor. "On now we move on to the tanks and speeders…"
"The earliest record we have of the Necrontyr places their civilization well before the rise of the Aeldari Empire. And almost every source…" Dr. Oobleck continued his opening lecture as he zipped around only taking a few stops to take a sip of recaf from his thermos "…then about a thousand years before the first Eldar city established itself on their home continent of Ulthuan, the Necrontyr simply stopped expanding and even retreated back form their borders. Allowing for the exponential expansion of Aeldari, soon conflict between the two races ensued. The little known period of time the Aeldari recall as the War Of Heaven, eventually ended in the disappearance of Necrontyr and the complete ascension of the Aeldari Empire." Ruby continued to try and follow along the fast-paced Instructor.
"Umm… Instructor…" Someone asked before they were quickly corrected by Dr. Oobleck who was very protective of his Doctor status. "… uh… Doctor Oobleck, if the Necrontyr died off why should we learn about them now?" Even Ruby knew that was a stupid question.
"Because my dear boy we must understand them so we may hopefully not repeat their fate. By all we know, the Necrontyr were highly advance, even beginning to reach for the stars about some accounts left over in their ruins. Their technology making us by comparison but mare cavemen. If a civilization as advanced as they were could have fallen, what's to say ours can't." Dr. Oobleck said before continuing with his lecture.
The class just stared at the sleeping Instructor, who was already asleep by the time they all had filled into the hall. The words, Kiss Ass and Keep Quiet, up on the Holo-projector. This class was suppose to be about the inner workings of the Imperial Government. The idea that all you had to do was suck up to your higher ups wasn't not expected by most of the student body but they still expected to be taught a few things by a former Ultramarine.
It was about ten minutes into the Instructor's snoring that Corvus threw a massive paper ball at him. It hit the snoring man harmlessly, only causing him to grumble in annoyance. That started off a class wide competition to who could wake the man without leaving their seats. With teams working together… mostly.
"You three are not really going to go along with this circus, are you?" Weiss asked her fellow teammates as they started trading ideas on what they could throw.
"Well… yeah." Yang said confused as to what was the big deal.
"Ruby, please tell me you are not going to…"
"Incoming!" Ruby yelled as she used her hood to slingshot a ball of paper to the target. Ruby fell back in her chair disappointed that all she did was get a slight groan. "Aww… did you say something Weiss?"
"Grimm, Daemons, Orks, Pirates, Traitors, and now the Tau. The enemies of Humanity are many and powerful. But to me, they are but prey… ha ah… and you shall too upon becoming full Astartes." Ruby barely was able to stay awake through the bad joke. "Know the seven Kingdoms of humanity or more commonly called the seven Hive-Cities are safe havens from an otherwise treacherous world and it is only by the strength and will of the Imperium that anywhere outside of the Hive-Cities can be safe. We face many enemies that all would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces or do other things that are not polite to say in decent company. But that is where we as the Emperor's Angels of Death come in. Astartes. The greatest Humanity has to offer. That is what this school is going to do to you. And now… a story of one of my many exploits to showcase just that fact, I remember this one Ork warboss I fought…" Ruby watched with increasing confusion as to why this man was an Instructor. Daring to have a bit of fun, Ruby began doodling a cartoon Port much to irritation of her partner sitting next to her. And not reading her partner's mood, Ruby showed Weiss and added a little fart noise effect to go along with it, causing Yang to laugh… and Weiss to get even more upset. "Ahem…" Port said drawing their attention back to him. "… In the end the Ork Warboss was no match for my sheer tenacity. And I returned to my village with its head in my hand and my own head held high. Celebrated as a hero!" Port said before taking a bow that no one felt he needed. "The moral of the story…"
"Figure the warp out how Corvus can sleep with his eyes open?" Leman, Yang, and Jaune thought collectively.
"… A true Astartes must be honorable." Port said not noticing Ruby's continued antics. "A true Astartes must be righteous." Port continued not noticing the growing anger in one of his students. "A true Astartes must be strategic, wise, and above all else… the best of the very best! So who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"
"I do!" Weiss said, her hand raised before anyone could even react to the question.
"Is that so… then come down and prove it." Port said before tapping on the data-slate that had been sitting on the desk. A cage dropped from the ceiling and inside was a massive biting Squig. Weiss was allowed to make a quick run to change into Aspirant armor and to retrieve her weapon. The lecturing floor had been cleared by the time she got back with only her and the caged Squig.
"Go Weiss!" yang shouted in support.
"Fight well." Blake did so as well.
"Yeah! Represent Team RWBY."
"Get your head bitten off!" Weiss was able to ignore Megan's normal hostilely due to her current irritation with her partner.
"Ruby, I'm trying to focus." Weiss scolded her partner.
"Oh… sorry." Ruby said sinking back into her seat.
"Ready… begin!" Port said before tapping on his data-slate to open the cage. The Squig wasted no time in going after the closest thing it could see, Weiss. The angry ball of red meat and teeth quickly cobbled over to Weiss with a speed that few in the room was expecting considering its tiny legs.
It dove forward, gaping maw opened as far as its body would allow, in attempt to live up to its name as a Biting Squig. Weiss easily side stepped to stupid creature. It skidded across the floor, jumping back onto its feet it ran once again toward the heiress.
"Go Weiss!" Ruby yelled from the sidelines.
Weiss once again side stepped the attack but this time the Squid landed on the floor and quickly went for the girl's legs. Weiss jumped over lunge and skewered the Squig on her landing. It thrashed around her blade before finally dying.
"Excellent, but one defeated Squig does not an Astartes make." Port said before tapping on his data-slate causing five more cages to drop from the ceiling. With another tap the cages opened to five more Squigs. The first two were the quickest and were upon Weiss within seconds. Slinging the dead squig off Myrtenaster into the incoming two, distracting them as well as once they had stood back up they had begun fighting each other for eating rights of the dead Squig. Weiss focused on the three left as they began circling her. Their jaws snapping at her and their ridiculously long tongues licking their faces. The furthest one from her was the first one to jump but the second she sidestepped it another one jumped up and snatched Myrtenaster from her hand. The Squig running away with the blade… and it was now using it as its very own chew toy.
"Oh ho… now you've lost your weapon, what will you do now?" Port said as Weiss looked over the battlefield. Four of the Squigs remained, one of them had been killed by another and of the four that remained, two of them were distracted. Granted one of them was distracted with her weapon but still. One of the remaining Squigs made their leap, Weiss slid under it and applied one of her Glyphs to the creature's under side, speeding it up to the point it shot towards the wall causing it to spat. Weiss ignored the cheers from her team as she ran to her weapon, grabbing the hilt and kicking the Squig off the blade before freezing the impudent thing. Three down, two to go.
The last two circled her again, they weren't so much looking for an opening but waiting for the other to make a move so that they might be able to eat it. As creatures born out of Ork spores, shortsightedness and greed are inbreed. But it was Weiss who made the next move as she jumped into the air and using her glyphs bounced over one of the Squigs and formed a another Glyph under the closer of the two to launch it into the other. After the two had collided Weiss ran them both through much like the first.
"Bravo! Brav-o… it appears we are indeed in the presence of a true Astartes in training. And with that, I think I will dismiss you all for the day." The Instructor said before he began calling in cleaning Servitors. Weiss didn't even look back at her team as she left the lecture hall.
"I detect trouble is brewing in RWBY town." Leman joked just before leaving earshot of said team.
"Ruby is something wrong with Weiss?" Yang asked her sister.
"I don't know… I thought she did great." Ruby said, unbale to hide the confusion on her face. "Should I go talk to her?" The looks on her teammates face was all the answer she needed. "I will go talk to her." Ruby said before running after the heiress. "Weiss!" Ruby called out as she rounded a corner to face her partner. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?! You're supposed to be our leader and yet you seem too unable to take this place seriously!"
"What did I do?"
"That's just it, in all the classes you've done nothing but goof off. You heard what the Instructor said, we are to be the best. But if you can't handle what it means to be that then I think the position of leader should have gone to the person that had trained and studied for it. Ozpin made a mistake." Weiss said before leaving the defeated Ruby who was unable to find the words to counter her partner's argument.
"Hm… that didn't seem to go very well." Ruby turned around and saw the headmaster himself standing behind her.
"How did we not notice him?" Ruby thought before her mind returned to the gloom that Weiss had caused. "Is she right? Did you make a mistake?"
"Hmm… I rarely do. But, even the God Emperor made mistakes. It is human to do so. But the goal for everyone should be to learn when we make one and move past it. How can you say that I made a mistake in making you a leader if you haven't even tried to improve? It is a struggle every leader has to make at all times, to be a better inspiration for those they lead than the day before."
Corvus stared down at his burger. It was lunch time and he was sitting with the rest of his friends. It had seemed that Ruby and Weiss had made up or something because they both had returned to much more friendlier mood to each other. That was nice for him, what was on his mind now was something he had noticed with his first bite during breakfast but now after his first bite of his lunch burger he was sure something was off.
"Hey Corvus what's wrong with your food? Did they overcook it or something?" Ruby asked as she leaned over to inspect Corvus' meal. He always had some of the worst food out of all of them, he just ordered it that way.
"No… but they put something in it." Corvus said inquisitively.
"Really…" Yang said as she grabbed his burger and took a bite out of it. "… tastes great to me." Yang said ignoring Corvus' glare for stealing his food and Weiss' glare for her bad table manners.
"I think I agree with Corvus." Blake said as she too had been noticing a slight oddity with her meals. "I can't put my finger on it but there's something in the food I can't place."
"All food I have since arriving in Vale has tasted strange." Lorgar commented, it was better but at the same time worse than the food he and his family grew on their farm. There was certainly more of it but it tasted… off.
"Me too… but I don't care. Tastes too good for it to be bad." Nora added on and with Ren nodding in agreement it made four people.
"Uh! It also kinda tastes funny to me two!" Jaune yelled from the other table that he, Pyrrha and Megan were still banished to.
"Oh! I know what they tasting." Yang said as a lightbulb went off in her head. "You guys are tasting the chemicals they lace in the food that help grow ours bones. They start you off on a light version in the Pre-Astartes schools and you get used to it pretty fast."
"Lace chemicals." Corvus deadpanned and immediately looked at his food with a glare knowing that he was once again proven right.
Angron happily watched as the new batch of first years trudged through the mud field he had prepared. All of them weighed down with three bags that each weighed around fifty pound. They had been doing this for about an hour and they still weren't even close to the finish line.
"Come on maggots! You can do better than that!" Angron yelled before blowing his whistle. "This is nothing! By next semester I'll be setting off mines around you and you'll be missing the day were it just felt like I was trying to kill you." He added a nice evil chuckle to the end of that one.
"Sir?! Ruby asked as she apparently was the only person Angron had shown any favoritism despite his claim that he wouldn't. "… what does this have to do with combat training?" Ruby asked before falling flat on her face into the mud.
"Excellent question Miss Rose." She got a few glares from other Aspirants as they all were sure that if any other student that asked that would have been beaten in some painful way. "The normal means of combat that you all have shown is beat suited in assault teams. It is preferred that you learn this way of fighting early on because it takes the longest to master. However! Assault is not the only means of attack used by Astartes. On Orks, large numbers of Grimm or Beastmen, the World Eaters…" Angron spit on the ground at the mention of his most hated people. "… and many of the Dark Eldar, Assault is suicide or at the very least very stupid. That is why we have Tactical Squads AND Assault Squads. The Huntsman Armor can support the means of fighting you are currently used to. The Legionary armor will not. We need to get you all ready for the sheer weight of the Legionary armor. While the Gene-Seed Implants will be invaluable to operate the armor you still need to be strong enough to wear it!" Angron explained before returning to his gaze over the Aspirants.
"As a first day treat and incentive… those that complete the exercise will get out of the rest the remaining three hours. I'm sure many of you all are looking forward to a hot shower back in your rooms." Angron tried suppressing the laughter that was bubbling to the top as he watched the mad dash some of the kids were making. He sat back in his chair watching them all finish… the last one being the smallest and youngest of all the potential Astartes. Angron looked over to her waiting team as she neared the three quarters. While it was true that she might have been the fastest with her Semblance, like this morning it wasn't allowed, and her body was still years younger than what the training was meant for. "You three head to your room!" Angron barked out causing slight looks of shock from the three teens. They still left without argument.
Angron returned his focus back to the younger girl who was struggling to move with the huge weight on her. As much as he enjoyed having Summer's daughter earlier than scheduled, he knew that she was going to have a tougher time when it came to the physical training. Right now he was hoping that sicko's theory on younger the better when it came to the Gene-Seed was true as this girl was going to need the help. Then he saw her move a bit faster, and it seemed to shock her as much as it did him. He watched even closer as her pace quickened, it wasn't her Semblance but it still seemed strange. He watched her cheer in victory as she threw the weights off before dashing off the field.
Corvus dropped on to his bed more tired than he ever had been before.
"What took you so long?" Lorgar asked as he sat next to the bathroom door, Megan was currently using it. He was used to being filthy after a long hard day of work but Beacon had a knack for even tiring him out.
"I stayed back to cheer Ruby on." Corvus said after lifting his head from his blanket. "Where'd Leman go?"
"He went to the Armory, said he needed to sharpen his swords. However the look on his face was most… undignified. I believe he will be doing something shameful." Lorgar explained with a disapproving frown on his face. The God Emperor was challenging him, giving him a team filled with sinners.
"That furry moron is also a pervy man whore." Megan growled out as she slammed the door open and hit Lorgar in the face. Corvus buried his face once again in his bed as Megan walked to her section of the room to change out of the towel that currently covered her up. It had been hard fought but Megan eventually had been able to commandeer a third of the room for herself, it was now separated by stolen bed sheets that she had made Corvus steal for her use.
"Isn't a stereotype that all Wulfen naturally attract the opposite sex?!" Corvus yelled out so someone hear beyond his muffed voice. "I can kinda confirm it because there was this one Wulfen girl…"
"Enough." Megan said from her hidey-hole within their room. "I don't want to hear any more on the subject." Megan said as she walked out in her normal blue and gold PJs. "I just hope he doesn't get caught because I know it will somehow be blamed on us." Like the Emperor had heard them there was a knock on the door. "How many Thrones you want to bet that is the Commissar with Leman?"
"Take the bet!" They heard Commissar Cain yell from behind the door.
Codexa-Imperiumalius (Summery Edition)
By Roboute Guilliman
A Guide to the Imperium
Chapter Nine – Adeptus Ministorum
Formed by a veteran of the battle between the Forces of Order and Chaos at the end of the Age of Strife, the Temple of the Savior Emperor quickly grew into the speakers of the God-Emperor that they are this day. Founded in Holy Terra, the city that the Emperor first appeared, the cult would come to absorb the other groups that came to worship the Master of Mankind after the Age of Strife. Soon after, they became recognized by the High Lords and given the official moniker of Adeptus Ministorum or the Ecclesiarchy by many.
It is the duty of the priests of Holy Terra to keep humanity's soul ready and healthy. In their piety they find the strength to fight back against the Ruinous Powers and other more mundane threats. From the safety of the cities to the danger of the frontline the preachers of the God-Emperor can be found giving fiery zeal to citizens and soldiers alike. Forever it is the place of the Adeptus Ministorum to provide the light against the darkness in this world. To remind humanity of its birth right and the glory of the God Emperor and the chance he gave all of us that fateful day.
The modern day Ecclesiarchy spends its time performing its duty of maintaining the Imperium's soul and insuring that no heresy plants its roots in the people. Performing rites and blessing upon all that need them, preaching from the many holy texts to give inspiration and hope, as well as several charitable ventures such as caring for orphans and helping the needy. But even more importantly, it is through the Adeptus Ministorum that the threat of heresy is fought. Day after day the confessors and priests of the Imperium watch of any sign of deviation and threat. It is the duty of those closest to the soul of humanity to inform the… proper authorities of any danger.
However, the biggest thorn in the Ecclesiarchy's side is and has always been itself. Infighting over doctrine and dogma has plagued the organization since its beginning. The stance on the Aeldari and the Orks, the issue of its skirting the law by which it shall have no men under arms, and the possibility of if the God-Emperor ever returning? These and others have created an atmosphere where priests will fight each other almost as much as they fight Chaos. Not since the Reformer Sebastian Thor has one man been able to unify the entirety of the church of the God-Emperor. And it is unlikely to ever happen again.
Reviews
RonaldM40196867 - not as much as i used to love it. Enjoy all the smut that's made... some good fics out there. THe actual show? Not as much.
Inquisition77 the Tau are, not much else. The nids are just too OP for this world
Shinobi scribe of the kage - It's a little different. It's more geared just for attack and defense and only for Lorgar.