Well, I'm back with another chapter in the volume 3 finally of Remnant Unleashed and I'll tell you right now, things are really starting to heat up. Now, I'm sure many of you are expecting me to stick to canon when it comes to Pyrrha's fate, but I can assure you that will not be the case as I have already said, but it's still one chapter away.
Now, for those who have watched the Bad Batch series, I cannot believe what I have witnessed in the first two episodes. I won't spoil anything though, but let me tell you all this much, a certain clone appears in the second episode, one that Rex met on a certain planet.
Now, onto the reviews.
42: I know what you mean, I'm also surprised about the fact they had inhibitor chips in their heads. Thanks for the kind words.
Monster King: Thanks.
Jack Smith1: Trust me, the rebellion will be sending a fleet to engage the imperial forces. You work on three stories! I'm the kind of person who likes to work on one story at a time, so I don't get the content I'm writing mixed up with another story, but damn you working on three stories at once, I could never do that.
Spartan-626: Thank you. Now I'm not sure about what will happen to Adam, but I can promise you he will get his ass kicked.
Luffy L Deathwalker: Whatever the case with Salem going after those with Silver Eyes, it will be interesting to find out if that theory is true or not. If that's the case, why did the Gods keep it a secret from Ozma/Ozpin?
OldGlory: You to man, you to.
Darth Cody: Thanks.
Galen Marek, the guest: Thanks man.
Alright, lets get this chapter started. Disclaimers are the same as before, please enjoy.
Chapter 40: Call to Arms
High above the outer rim planet of Nelvaan, a rebel fleet consisting of EF-76 escort frigates, CR-90 corvettes and MC-80 Star Cruisers orbited the planet searching for any signs of imperial activity in the outer rim. General Kota stared out into the vastness of space from the bridge of the Salvation while crewmembers monitored the sector for any signs of imperial activity.
Following the success of their actions on Naboo, the Rebellion saw an increase in support from various senators and other rebel groups, scoring several victories against the Empire. But with their success came something of concern, rebel intelligence had intercepted numerous imperial transmissions indicating that the Empire was amassing a massive fleet for an invasion of a planet. Believing that the Empire was planning to invade a planet that supported the rebellion, Rebel high command dispatched multiple fleets into the outer rim, ensuring that if one of them detected imperial activity, they would be able to alert the other fleets.
Kota and his fleet were the furthest away from base, deep within the Outer Rim and the farthest from any sectors of imperial activity. Just as a squadron of X-Wings returned from their patrol, a member of the bridge crew rushed up to the general. "General, we've intercepted an encrypted imperial transmission from the unknown regions. It's from Starkiller!" the crewmen exclaimed.
This got Kota's attention and followed the crewmen to the communications center and listened to the transmission. "Contact command and relay the transmission to them at once." He ordered. The crewmen did so and moments later, the holographic forms of Bail and Mon Mothma appeared. "Forgive the intrusion senators, but we've received a transmission from Starkiller on imperial channels, it appears the Empire's target was Remnant and is currently attacking it. They'll need reinforcements, I suggest we dispatch the fleets we sent out and move to assist Galen immediately. We owe it to the boy for helping us." He suggested.
Both Mon Mothma and Bail looked to each other for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Alert the other fleets, tell then to prepare for battle. May the Force be with you, General." Bail instructed, before he and Mon Mothma's forms vanished.
"You heard him! Alert the other fleets and transmit the coordinates to Remnant at once! Refuel, repair and rearm all fighters in the hanger bay! Prepare the tanks and gunships for immediate combat and have the men ready themselves for battle! Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace!" Kota shouted to the crew of the Salvation, who did as they were instructed while also sending the coordinates of the planet being besieged by the Empire to Halberton and the other fleets. The other fleets confirmed the message and within seconds, Kota and his fleet jumped to hyperspace, ready for battle.
Back on Remnant, airborne Grimm along with White Fang and Imperial fighters soared over the harbor, as Aegis class vessels of the Vale Navy sent up a barrage of anti-aircraft fire downing multiple hostiles with a barrage of bullets, VLS missiles and radar-directed guns, covering the retreat of air buses and bullheads carrying civilians and the teams that decided to save their own lives.
Despite the amount of anti-aircraft fire, the enemy outnumbered the ships a hundred-to-one, especially when several TIE Bombers came in for a bombing run, dropping proton bombs on the ships sending them and their crews to a watery grave. The crews of the sunken ships were avenged when Kit and several clone fighters destroyed the bombers with a hail of laser fire.
Kit spotted a group of three TIE fighters flying through the city and gave chase, zig-zagging through the city downing them with his fighters' cannons along with several Grimm before three White Fang SE-21's managed to get on his six o'clock, firing their 23mm cannons at him. Banking hard left and low to the ground, Kit flew in between a building that was too narrow for the enemy fighters to pass through, but just wide enough for his fighter to pass through. The fighters chasing him slammed into the buildings, exploding into balls of fire before Kit gave chase after a few TIE fighters and destroying them before climbing to a higher altitude.
As he continued to fly through the city, he looked up and spotted a massive swarm of enemy fighters and he was about to fly right into them. Quickly, he dived down towards the ground to avoid running into the swarm of fighters. As he dived down, he spotted an ARC-170 with three enemy controlled S33's on its tail. "R6, push the engines to maximum power immediately." He instructed his copilot who did as they were told and gave chase.
The pilots of the ARC-170 continued to zig-zag between the enemy cannon fire as their shields began to recharge. "We got three on our tail!" the gunner shouted before their sensors picked up another fighter, that they couldn't make out properly. "Now four!"
"Take them out!" the pilot shouted. The gunner was quick to open up with the ARC's tail gun, but the pilots of enemy fighters were quick to evade the shots from the ARC fighter, but not from Kit who managed to get on their tail and shot them all down. "Good shooting!" the pilot praised.
"It wasn't me." The gunner answered before they saw the one who downed the fighters. "General Fisto!" they exclaimed.
Meanwhile, the Wyvern that came out of Mountain Glenn flew past the hijacked Atlas Airship, where inside the massive ship, Ruby cut down the imperial stormtroopers that got in her way as she continued towards the bridge. Her borrowed green blade sliced through enemy after enemy, using the training and techniques she learned from Galen, Obi-Wan and Plo. As she continued towards the bridge, an annoyed Roman Torchwick saw through one of the security camera's who was coming his way and decided to take things into his own hands, grabbed his club and walked towards the top of the airship.
Back outside Beacon's dining hall, Blake backed away from the shattered window, staring at the sight of her old partner in horror. "Running away again? Is that what you've become, my love? A coward?" Adam taunted.
"Why are you doing this?" Blake demanded.
Adam scoffed. "You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" he reminded his old partner, stomping on the downed Atlas student's chest. "Consider this… the spark." Drawing his sword Adam was poised to stab the student in front of a horrified Blake, who quickly charged into the dining hall in a flash, clashing her blade with Adam's and pushing him away from the student.
"I'm… not… running." She declared with narrowed eyes.
"You will." Adam promised, kicking her away and knocking her to the floor. A nearby Creep ran towards Blake, only for Adam to shot the Grimm. "But not before you suffer for your betrayal, my love." He added with a smile and walked towards a downed Blake.
Back in the city at the Vale Railroad central station, the largest of the evacuation points clone forces were beginning to falter as the overwhelming numbers of Grimm continued towards the evac point, drawn to the negative emotions of the evacuating people. At the front of the defense was Fordo himself. "Sector 4 needs reinforcements, we are being overrun! Repeat, we are being…" Fordo shouted into the commlink as an Ursa killed one of his brothers.
Fordo was quick to raise his rifle and kill the creature before bashing a Beowolf with the butt of his weapon jabbing its barrel into the gut and emptied his blasters power pack. Throwing the empty blaster at another Grimm, he pulled out one of his pistols and killed the Grimm before scooping up the fallen blaster rifle and fired both weapons, killing dozens of Grimm. "Fall back! Fall back! Fall back!" he shouted just as Aayla arrived.
"Hold your positions! Hold your positions!" she shouted, slashing through the Grimm with her blade before she was joined by Serra, Junior, the twins and Zett. More Grimm arrived as Kit came in for a strafing run with his fighters' cannons, jumping out of the cockpit igniting both his lightsaber and the lightsaber of his former Padawan, Nadar. "Master Fisto!" Aayla shouted.
Kit understood and joined his fellow Jedi, using the force to push the Grimm back a bit but more kept coming. Looking at the horde of Grimm, Aayla gave the order for the men to attack. The four Jedi charged towards the Grimm, slashing them to pieces while the troopers and ex-White Fang members fired at the Grimm. Blaster fire ripped through the Grimm while Hellcats flew overhead, firing their cannons and dropping bombs onto the Grimm, continuing to hold the line against overwhelming number of Grimm.
As for the students and soldiers defending Beacon, things weren't going well for them. Velvet groaned as she struggled to get back to her feet, only to get knocked back down when Coco bumped into her who was knocked away from a White Fang controlled Paladin. Neon and Reese dodged and weaved between groups of students fighting against the Grimm and imperial forces. The rest of Team ABRN surrounded a Griffon, attacking it with bullets and fireballs as Bolin knocked a stormtrooper aside. Reese blasted several troopers with her newly acquired blaster rifle. Sun and Neptune struggled to hold back an enemy paladin while Ren and Nora decimated another group of Stormtroopers.
March and his long thought to be dead sister, Alice stood back-to-back firing their blasters at both groups of hostiles and in Alice's case, slashed her foes with her Vibrosword. Her semblance caused many stormtroopers to become confused and ended up hitting some of their own allies. Those that weren't affected by her semblance were taken down by her younger brother, who for the first time in many years, wasn't acting as reckless as usual.
Rex and his brothers continued to hold off the enemy with blaster fire as Yatsuhashi fought another Griffon as Fox dashed over a pile of robot parts. Two Creeps rushed as Flynt who used his trumpet to send the first one flying, while Neon and Reese froze the legs of another White Fang Paladin's leg. Weiss then arrived, charging in at the Paladin but got swatted away by the arm of the machine. Yatushashi attempted to hold back the Paladin's fist with his sword, but was quickly overpowered and knocked back as the Paladin turned towards a distracted Ren. Nora spotted this and pushed Ren out of the way, taking the hit instead.
"Uh, this is bad!" Neptune stated as he and Coco fired their weapons at the Paladin, but their rounds didn't even phase the machine.
"Well, I guess now's a better time than any. Velvet!" Coco said, turning to her teammate.
"Really?" Velvet asked excitedly.
"Just make them count." Coco added.
(I May Fall starts)
Velvet nodded and walked towards the enemy forces, much to Weiss's surprise who protested, stating that Velvet would get hurt. But Coco assured Weiss that Velvet had it covered.
Holding out her hand, Velvet's camera glowed forming a scythe that was an exact solid-light copy of Crescent Rose. Velvet leapt into the air, dodging the cannon fire from the paladins imitating Ruby's overhead spin and descended, slashing at the paladin.
A solid-light copy of Weiss's weapon replaced the scythe which Velvet use to deflect the Paladin's punches and landed a few blows before she pushed the Paladin back with an Ember Celica imitation. She landed a few blows before she slid under the machine's fists, using a Gambol Shroud copy and its string to trip the mech over, moving onto the second mech by lopping off its hand and jabbing it in the head with the blade.
Before the downed Paladin could react, holographic bullets peppered the machine thanks to a copy of Coco's weapon, Gainduja. The mech, upon getting back to its feet moved forwards before Velvet switched to Sun's Nun-chucks to counter a blow, landing another few hit's including a downward blow from a copy of Nora's hammer.
The first Paladin soon attempted to recover, but Velvet immediately copied Penny's weapon leaping of the second Paladin, slicing its legs before blasting it at full power. However, the first Paladin sucker punched Velvet, sending her skidding from the blow and landing on her back. At the sight of this, Coco unloaded her weapon onto the Paladin to no avail, followed by Neptune, Rose, Arthur, Nadir and Reese, but the barrage of fire had little effect as the Paladin loomed over Velvet.
Furious, Weiss rushed past the others, instinctively using a summoning glyph, confusing her. Getting in between Velvet and the Paladin, the massive mech was about to bring its fist down on the two, forcing Weiss to raise both her rapier and Vibroblade defensively, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. To her surprise, she heard a thud and discovered that she had summoned the arm and sword of the Arma Gigas she fought a long time ago, blocking the fist and bisecting the machine in half. She took a brief look at her summoning before a camera flash from a smiling Velvet surprised her.
Before anyone could take a breath, another advanced Paladin rushed from around the corner, charging at them. "You have got to be kidding me!" Sun complained as everyone readied their weapons.
(End song)
Before the Paladin got into range, a barrage of rockets from above slammed into the Paladin, destroying it and killing the enemies directly near the explosion. Everyone looked up and watched as dozens and dozens of Gauntlet fighters pulled up from a dive as Nite-Owl warriors landed on the ground, opening up with their blasters. "I knew they would arrive!" Alice exclaimed as she and her brother arrived.
"A Mandalorian never abandon one of their own, even foundlings." Bo-Katan replied. "Besides, it isn't just Mandalorian's arriving." She added.
(The Resistance starts)
Up in space, much to the surprise of Admiral Ozzel and the rest of the imperial fleet, a massive Rebel fleet dropped out of hyperspace. The fleet not only consisted of the ships belonging to the Salvation fleet, but light, medium and heavy class cruisers, destroyers, corvettes, frigates, assault ships, the captured Star Destroyers, restored Venator's and various support craft.
Once the ships dropped out of hyperspace, Kota and Halberton ordered all pilots to scramble. Red, Gold and Skull squadrons were to escort the gunships and landing craft down to the surface while Green and Blue squadrons along with the Espada team would engage the imperial fleet. "All craft, engage the Empire and defend this planet. All data regarding enemy craft and the creatures of Grimm have been sent to your droids. May the Force be with us." Kota spoke to the entire fleet over the commlink, boarding one of the LAAT's in the Salvations hanger, which powered up and exited the hanger, joining the massive formation of gunships that were carrying both troops and armor down to the surface.
X-Wing, Z-95, V-Wing, Y-Wing, R-22 Spearheads, R-41 Starchaser's, Cutlass-9, H-60 Tempest, BTS-A2, ARC-170's and N-1 starfighters and bombers launched from the rebel ships, heading towards their specific objectives and quickly began to engage the imperial forces, just as Plo and his squadron of Wolf-Pack ARC-170's broke through the atmosphere.
(End song)
A Rebel Venator dropped out of hyperspace directly in the path of an Imperial Star Destroyer which rammed the nose of the cruiser much to Plo's shock. Breaking off from the rest of the squadron, Plo raced towards the damaged ship which had just launched all of its X-Wings. Landing in the hanger, Plo was greeted by a Rebel Marine Captain. "Master Jedi, the ship is lost." They explained.
"Then it is time to get a new one." Plo stated as the damaged cruiser drifted over an enemy ship, firing its turbo lasers at the and taking out one of the enemy turbo lasers as the compliment of Rebel Marines, all dressed in zero-g environment equipment, armed with DH-17 blaster rifles and rocket launchers stood at attention as they and Plo stood at one of the airlocks which started to open.
The vast reaches of space appeared before them as the enemy ship drew nearer and neared before Plo gave the order. "Attack!" he shouted and leapt out of the ship, followed by the marines who used their jetpacks to propel them towards the ship as Plo ignited his lightsaber.
The Rebel Marines landed on the ship and opened up with their weapons as Plo sliced a hole through the ships hull, creating an opening that he promptly jumped through followed by several marines and landed in one of the ships hallways, catching the stormtroopers off guard as he and the marines made their way to the bridge.
Outside the ship, several marines fired their rocket launchers at the ships turbo lasers that were swatting down their comrades like flies and forcing them to take cover.
That all changed when Plo and the marines burst into the bridge, killed the crew and took control of the ships weapon system, turning it against their allies and boosting the moral of the marines outside the ship who followed suit and made their way into the ship.
Back down on Remnant, The Galm Team, Garuda Team, Happy Huntresses and their three mercenary allies had returned to the air after replenishing their ammo and missiles. As they soared over Vale, Greg and Boris were shot down when several of the Mutant Grimm emerged from below, firing their powerful lasers and killing both pilots. "Damn it! We've got those Manti-like things on our tail!" Rick cursed, jinking hard to the right to avoid getting slammed by a projectile. "I really hate these things."
"Don't we all?" Cipher questioned sarcastically, breaking hard and getting behind a Mutant before unleashing a burst of 20mm cannon fire, blowing the Grimm into bits of metal and flesh. "If we had known that Hamilton was an imperial agent, we would have known to double check every plane for sabotage, maybe even checked the background on those guys that were actually imperial soldiers."
"Can't change the past. All we can do is focus on the here and now. We've got to hold out until the evacuation is complete." Neo reminded the others.
"Countess is right. We've got work too do!" Robyn exclaimed as enemy fighters streaked towards them approaching gun range. Just seconds before the enemy fighters were about to fire, a barrage of red laser fire from above destroyed numerous enemy fighters, forcing the others to break off their attack and scatter. All pilots looked up as X-Wings and other rebel fighters streaked in from above, raining deadly laser fire on the enemy fighters.
"Red Leader to Galm 1 and Garuda 1, reinforcements have arrived. We'll provide assistance, just tell us what we need to do!" Garven's voice said over the commlink in the fighters of the Garuda and Galm teams.
"Trigger to Red Leader! Imperial fighters and Grimm are targeting the transports carrying civilians out of the kingdom! Be mindful, those large metal bug-like creatures have laser cannons imbedded into them and multiple Sentinel and Sabre fighters are being piloted by imperial forces that managed to sneak their way into the military. White Fang F4's and SE-21's fighters are also taking part in the attack. Protect the transports. Gold Leader, provide close air-support for the forces on the ground, be advised this will be a danger-close fire mission, clone bombers and strike-fighters will provide support." He instructed the rebel pilots, his aircraft shuddering as fire from below exploded around him.
"Gold Leader to Garuda 1, we copy. Target data has been received and we are proceeding towards our objectives now. Skull squadron is escorting friendly dropships down to the surface now! Let's show the Empire our resolve!" Gold Leader replied before he and his squadron broke off and headed towards the areas that needed air-support the most. The X-Wings of Red Squadron stayed close by to the nine planes as rebel gunships and dropships arrived, reinforcing the defenders.
(Raise your Flag, starts)
A Rebel LAAT launched strafed multiple imperial forces with its cannons as it came in for a landing and unloaded all of the rebel soldiers onboard at the central train station, followed by the other gunships in the squadron before they headed back into the air to assist with close air-support.
Rebel troopers of various species, like Wookie's, Twi'lek's, Rodian's and Humans ran up to the front lines, joining the already dwindling clone soldiers, firing back at the imperial forces and Grimm with their blaster rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, bowcasters and heavy blaster rifles while medics tended to the wounded.
More gunships arrived, these ones dropping off AAC-1 speeder tanks, TX-130's and their own walkers which promptly fired all their weapons at the incoming enemy armor. Ros, the Wookie friend of Trigger and Neo picked up a fallen Z-6 rotary blaster from a dead clone and with a roar of courage, laid down covering fire as several of his brothers along with the ex-White Fang members risked their lives and rescued wounded Atlas soldiers that were left for dead by their own comrades out of fear.
As the wounded were pulled back clone blaze troopers, wearing a new type of armor equipped with a powerful missile launcher on its left shoulder, a claw on its left hand and a powerful anti-personal laser cannon salvaged from several damaged LAAT's on its right hand, swooped down from above firing their cannons down at the enemy, followed by jet troopers equipped with DC-15A's and DC-15S's. Blaster rained down on the hostile forces, killing dozens of them and boasting the moral of the defenders in the city.
In another part of the city, Rebel gunships and Hellcats cleared a path for rebel armor down below, following the smoke where several transports were shot down, leaving the survivors stranded in the middle of a Grimm horde. Sergeant Johnson, commanders Bacara, Jet, Ace and Stagger along with their own forces speed towards the smoke with their buggies and turbo tanks, running over any Grimm that were foolish enough to get in their way before they arrived at the location of the downed transports and formed a circle around the transports, positioning themselves directly in front of the Grimm. "Set up a field of fire and let these ugly bastards have it!" Johnson shouted as machine gun and laser fire roared through the city, ripping through the Grimm like they were tissue paper while the survivors from the downed transports were loaded into the turbo tanks.
One turbo tank took a hit when a Mutant swooped in and fired at the stationary transport, disabling its drive train. Thankfully, Tukson in his Hellcat gunned down the airborne insect Grimm as it came in for another pass. Other Hellcats made diving passes on the ground-based Grimm, dropping bombs while their turret gunners unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the Mutants that turned their attention towards the Hellcats. Several Hellcats were shot down by the airborne Grimm while Nevermore's and Griffons made several ramming attempts at the vessels.
Diving down low to the ground and several feet over the horde of Grimm, Tukson pushed his Hellcat's engines to full-power in an attempt to outrun the enemies on his tail while Danny, his gunner kept his fingers on the triggers of the dual-machine gun turret. Four Mutants were downed but one of them scored a hit on the Hellcats left engine, forcing Tukson to shut it down, reducing their speed. Luckily for them, a Nite-Owl Gauntlet fighter swooped down and downed the Mutant Grimm, saving Tukson and Danny from death.
At Beacon, Rebel soldiers lead by Kota himself formed up with Cody, Rex, Hunter and their brothers who were just about on their last legs. Unleashing a powerful blast from the Force, Kota slashed through several Grimm and Stormtroopers with his blade as Rebel Vanguards fired their rocket launchers at several Imperial tanks that were about to fire upon the students. Veteran members of his militia unleashed a torrent of blaster fire from their repeating blaster cannons while troopers armed with Stun Batons and blast cannons engaged the Grimm and imperial forces that got close to them, clearing a path towards the students.
To those like Sun, Neptune and Coco they were confused as too where these reinforcements came from, but it became clear to them that they were allies and were grateful for the assistance, especially from those that looked like a type of Faunus they never saw before. "Push these enemies back men! For the Republic!" Kota shouted.
"FOR THE REPUBLIC!" the rebel soldiers shouted in their native languages as the tide of the battle slowly began to turn in their favor.
(End song)
Back in the air, Mickey launched two of his XLAA's towards two imperial piloted SE-29's, turning both of them into flaming fireballs that crashed into the structure of an imperial cruiser, making its shields flicker from the hit. Turbo laser fire bracketed his Scimitar as he banked one-hundred and eighty degrees to the left to avoid slamming into the enemy ship. "Hey! Garuda Team! I could use some backup here!" he shouted urgently as three TIE fighters appeared behind him, trying to shoot him down.
Much to his surprise and relief, a red and white S35 dived in from behind the enemy fighters and downed them with a burst of cannon fire. "This is Starkiller! I've got your back Mickey!" Galen shouted over the commlink, forming up alongside Mickey with the Garuda and Galm teams on his wings.
"Alright, we've got the Demon Lord with us! Let's kick some ass!" Mickey exclaimed, getting back into the fight. Galen followed suit as did the other teams. "Any squadrons that need to go back for resupply better do it now! We'll hold them off as long as possible!" he shouted into the radio.
Skeleton, Gargoyle, Strider, Cyclops, Golem, Warwolf and Mage squadrons complied with the orders that Mickey gave and headed back to the nearest airfield for resupply while the remaining fighter squadrons, Team SDOW, Captain Bartlett, PJ, the Happy Huntresses, Gelb Team and Juniors boys along with the rebel and clone fighters continued to engage the Imperial forces. "Time to dance with the angels!" Neo exclaimed, once more diving into the furball over the city.
(Mighty Wings starts)
The massive formation of rebel and Remnant fighters streaked towards the city as the night sky lit up as an imperial ship exploded over the ocean and crashed into the water after being bombarded by proton bombs dropped by rebel and clone bombers.
"Ghost Eye to all craft! Split into pairs of two or four and engage the enemy fighters! Provide support for our ground forces! We may have additional reinforcements, but we still have to provide protection for the transports. We've got to buy them more time!" Ghost Eye shouted over the radio as the massive formation of fighters and interceptors broke off and engaged the empire and Grimm forces.
As expected, the Garuda and Galm Teams formed a four-man flight as did the Happy Huntresses. A formation of about two dozen TIE fighters streaked towards one of the trains that was starting to leave the train station, coming in for a strafing run. Diving after the incoming fighters, the eight fighters closed the gap between them and the enemy fighters, waited for target lock and fired two long-range or medium-range missiles that tracked the TIE fighters, slamming into the fighters and turning them into flaming wrecks as the train began to pick up speed.
The TIE fighters that weren't shot down broke off from their strafing run and turned to engage their attackers. "Split tactical! Engage them in pairs of two!" Robyn shouted from her cockpit, forming up with Fiona as the others did as they were instructed. Getting behind one of the remaining enemy fighters, Robyn lined up her gunsights on the fighter and pulled the trigger, spitting out dozens of 20mm shells into the enemy craft which exploded in mid-air. "Splash one!" she confirmed over the radio as the second fighter was downed by one of Fiona's missiles.
May and Johanna both downed a fighter with their guns, but soon began to take fire from behind them as two TIE fighters stuck to them like glue, not wanting to break their lock. Both Happy Huntresses executed every evasive maneuver they knew, desperately trying to shake the enemy fighters on their tails to no avail. Thankfully, their pursuers were gunned down by the Galm Team's twin hybrid cannons.
"Let's earn our pay, buddy! Time to kick ass and take names!" Larry exclaimed casually to Cipher, pulling their Daggers into a climb before they dived down on a formation of Mutant's, firing four long-range missiles each at the creatures of Grimm which upon impact exploded and dissipated into black mist upon death. "Splash 4!" Larry announced before he and his wing-man pulled up from their dive, leveled off and targeted several TIE fighters going after Johnson's forces. "Cipher! We've only got two long-range missiles left! Hit those fighters and switch to guns! Let's save our remaining missiles for later!"
"Galm 1 copies!" Cipher replied, arming his two-remaining long-range, locked onto his targets and pressed the fire button, as did Pixy. Four long-range missiles streaked towards the enemy craft, destroying them despite the imperial pilot's best efforts to shake the missiles. Four fighters turned into fireballs as the wreckage crashed into an empty building. "Looks like we've still got the touch!" he quipped.
Not all the pilots were so lucky. An X-Wing had a TIE fighter hot on its tail, trying desperately to shake the fighter on its tail, but to no avail as the imperial fighter killed the rebel pilot who crashed into the city, skidding through a pack of Grimm. Other rebel pilots made the mistake of evading right into the path of a swarm of airborne Grimm, killing themselves and a few Grimm in the process.
Pilots such as Biggs Darklighter and Wedge Antilles were able to keep both the Grimm and Imperials on their toes as they downed airborne hostile after hostile, both avenging their comrades and protecting those trying to escape. "Red 3 to Red 2! Fighters coming in at point oh-three from high. Let's take them down!" Biggs shouted over the commlink to Wedge. Wedge agreed and both pilots turned their fighters in the direction of the enemy craft, firing their four KX9 laser cannons as the enemy fighters flew into their path. The several imperial fighters exploded in mid-air after taking heavy damage while some of them spun to the ground below, crashed and exploded. Both X-Wing pilots then formed up with Garven and the rest of Red Squadron as they continue to engage the enemy.
A salvo of XMA6, XLAA and XMAA's from Warwolf Squadron, Team SDOW, Mickey, Dante, the Gelb Team and PJ slammed into dozens of enemy fighters and Grimm, creating a massive series of explosions that lit up the night sky all across the city. Having expanded all their long-range missiles Team SDOW and the Gelb Team went in for close range gun kills, firing their twin 30mm's in short controlled-bursts to keep themselves from using all of their ammo.
Sarah and Wyn led three enemy fighters directly into the path of Oliva and Dominque's gunsights, riddling the enemy craft with bullets while the Gelb Team launched a couple of QAAM's at the fighters they missed. One missile slammed into one fighter while the second one slammed into a Mutant that was on the tail of a Clone ARC-170. Both airborne units exploded in a massive explosion of metal and flesh.
The Garuda Team, Rick and Neo launched all of their long and medium range missiles at a swarm of Mutants, Nevermores and Griffons, killing dozens of the creatures of darkness, but left them with only short-range missiles. "Lets dance, you scum bags!" Neo challenged, switching from lasers to bullets and raked an enemy SE-29 with gunfire, sending the aircraft into a death role before it slammed into an imperial walker. "Splash one." She confirmed, before turning into the cannon fire from a Mutant and getting on its six before her cannons ripped that creature to shreds. "Splash two."
Cannon fire from above zipped past her cockpit as multiple White Fang F4's streaked from above and getting behind her, positioning themselves for a missile shot. While the White Fang Wasps were fast, her Strike Dagger was faster and could easily outrun them, but instead of outrunning them, Neo slammed on the brakes allowing the enemy fighters to overshoot her before she launched one of her short-range missiles at one aircraft before downing the second with her guns. Both White Fang aircraft exploded in massive fireballs before she pulled up to avoid having the wreckage slam into her. "Splash four!" she confirmed.
Rick heard his adoptive sister confirm her kills as he launched his final missile into an enemy craft, leaving him with only his cannon. Undaunted by his lack of firepower, Rick banked hard left getting behind one of the enemy SE-31's trailing him, lining up his gunsights on the enemy plane and pulled the trigger. A single pull sent dozens of cannon rounds into the enemy fighter, which trailed smoke before it trailed smoke and turned away from the city. "Looks like someone is turning tail. No point in fighting with a damaged aircraft!" he observed just as cannon fire slammed into his plain and draining his shields by twenty-percent. Craning his neck, Rick spotted an enemy plane pursuing him. "Shit! I got an SE-35 on my tail and this pilot is an ace!" he called out.
"I'm more than just an ace!" the familiar voice of Hamilton said over the radio. "All of you are fools if you think you can defeat the Empire! We are the government that emerged from the ashes of the Republic after the Jedi betrayal. Those who serve with the surviving Jedi are traitors to the Empire and will be eliminated! Don't get in my way!" he growled, firing his planes twin cannons at Rick. Breaking hard left, Trigger dodged the shots trying to get on Hamilton's six o'clock only for Hamilton to slam on his planes breaks and kept himself on Rick's tail.
"What's the point of all this, Hamilton? Why would your empire invade Remnant? What do you have to gain from all this?" Rick demanded.
"You and your planet have made yourselves enemies of the Empire. You attacked and killed my fellow soldiers on Naboo, Geonosis, Tatooine, Dathomir and Mandalore! People like you are the ones who bring chaos to the galaxy and interfere with the Empire's goal of peace! You, those dogs of war they call the Galm Team and everyone else who flock and follow the ideals of the rebellion must be eliminated if we are to achieve peace!" Hamilton shouted before firing all of his missiles at Trigger.
R5 wined in alarm as the missiles tracked the F14 as Rick dived for the city below, flying past several Nevermores which several of the missiles slammed into, killing the Grimm. "Quit your preaching, pretty boy. Your empire is nothing more than a dictatorship ruled by a man who fanned the flames of wars long before the Clone War!" Rick snarled. "Your Empire is nothing but a bunch of bullies who believe that killing civilians will cause people to lose faith in the rebellion and follow your government in fear! Doesn't that bother you in the slightest!?" he demanded.
"The end justifies the means! That's all that matters!" Hamilton snarled as he stayed glued to Triggers rear, firing his cannons whenever the F14 flew into his gunsights.
"That's the problem with you and your Empire! You can't tell the difference between friend and foe! Terror is not your friend!" Rick spat, weaving in and out to avoid getting riddled with cannon fire. "You want to know something, Hamilton? People have been starting to call me three strikes because if anyone tries to kill me, their down and out in three moves!" he stated, slamming on his brakes and flew past Hamilton, getting into gun range and fired. A five second burst of high-explosive 20mm rounds slammed into Hamilton's plane, which trailed smoke. "Do me a favor when you get to the other side, tell the special operation squadrons that have already died that it isn't just the Demon Lord you have to fear, but Three Strikes as well!" he spat as Hamilton's plane went into a death roll and slammed into the ground with a massive explosion.
"Starkiller to Trigger! Nice work. That's one less enemy to worry about! Hope you don't mind that I'm using your S35, but the S30 I was given took some damage." Galen radioed to Rick.
"Trigger to Starkiller. Don't worry about it. It's all good." Rick replied and witnessed Galen launching all of his long-range missiles at several imperial fighters, turning them into fireballs. 'I see why they call him the Demon Lord. He's unstoppable.' Rick thought before he turned back to the ongoing fight.
(End song)
Back on the airship, Ruby finally made it to the now empty bridge of the ship and was about to look for a way to turn the weapon system on the imperial forces when a shot slammed into her back, sending her flying through the bridges window and out onto the deck. Slowing herself down with the force, Ruby turned to the shooter who was none other than Roman himself. "Little Red, little Red, you are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren'tcha?" he asked mockingly.
"What are you doing!? Without these ships, the Grimm and Empire will destroy everything!" she exclaimed.
"That's the plan!" Roman revealed, trying to shoot Ruby again only to have his shots deflected by Ruby's borrowed weapon. "So, you've got one of those fancy glowing sticks as well? Well, it seems a lot has happened while I was locked up." He observed just as appearing beside him were several imperial soldiers, called Terror Troopers one of which fired at Ruby with its stun blaster, stunning her for a few seconds while another trooper rushed in with its durasteel talon's, causing Ruby's aura to flicker.
"So, you've joined forces with Cinder and the Empire? What do you get out of it!?" Ruby demanded, blocking a series of stun blaster bolts that another trooper fired at her.
"You're asking the wrong questions, Red! It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose!" Roman corrected. "I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take. Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em! And like the old saying goes, 'If you can't beat 'em- join 'em!" he added. Just seconds later, several of the terror troopers were hit by a blaster fire from behind. Both Ruby and Roman turned to see a figure in battered Mandalorian armor with a carbine pointed at the troopers. "What!? You are betraying your employer? I thought a bounty-hunter like you would do your job no matter what!" Roman groaned.
Boba Fett said nothing and just rocketed away from the airship and onto the Slave 1, leaving a confused Roman behind while Ruby took advantage of the confusion and used her semblance, dashing in a flurry of rose petals and cut the terror troopers down, leaving only Roman left. "I don't care what you say! We will stop them and I will stop you! BET ON THAT!" Ruby declared and charged at top speed towards Roman, who brought his club up to try and block the attack only to have his weapon destroyed by Ruby's blade.
"You know what, Red. You got spirit. But this is the real world!" Roman spat, using the butt end of his destroyed cane to send Ruby back a few feet. "The real world doesn't care about spirit!" he added, as Ruby kicked him in the knee, losing his balance as he prepared for a downward strike. "You wanna be a hero!? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!" he ranted, unaware that an Alpha Griffon was drawn towards him by his negativity of his rant. "As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat, and survive!" readying himself for a final overhead swing, the Alpha Griffon appeared from behind and was about to swallow the master criminal whole had timely blaster bolt from Alpha-17 on a gunship not downed the Griffon, distracting Roman long enough for Ruby to stab her blade right through the criminals chest, killing him since his aura was broken.
"GET ON! HURRY!" Alpha shouted as Ironwood's command ship began to lose altitude. Quickly, Ruby dashed into the gunship as the ship dropped rapidly. However, a piece of the downed ship hit the Gunship's engine, forcing the gunship to land on a rooftop in Vale, where Galen met up with them. "I think its best that we get back to Beacon as quick as possible." The ARC-Trooper suggested, which the other two agreed.
In another part of the city, Goodwitch used her riding crop to knock back a few Creeps while Qrow sliced and blasted a couple of Stormtroopers with his own weapon, the Harbinger. Nearby, Cardin giddily knocked back an Ursa with his mace, but was soon held at blaster point by a few Stormtroopers. Suddenly, the troopers were hit by blaster fire as a squadron of clone troopers and Rebel soldiers arrived, shooting down or cutting down any imperial soldiers in their path as Ironwood, who not only somehow managed to survive his crash his damaged uniform revealed the right half of his body was cybernetic and fired at the troopers with his revolver, Due Process, using it as a club to hit the last trooper that tried to get the drop on him.
"This area's secure! We need to-" he began just as Qrow changed his weapon into its scythe mode, charging towards Ironwood who thought Qrow was going after him, because of his expression that appeared to be an angered one. Ironwood tried to stop Qrow, only to realize at the last second that Qrow was going after a large Griffon lunging at the General, which was sliced in two.
"You idiot. I know you didn't do this." Qrow scoffed, allowing Ironwood to relax and sigh, lowering his head and putting a hand to his forehead, while Glynda placed a hand on his shoulder. "So, what now, General?" Qrow asked.
"Someone's done the impossible and managed to get past my fleet. And that enormous Grimm seems to fixated on the school. Glynda, form up with the local Huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in Vale. We need to evacuate Beacon. Qrow, I'm leaving that to you and my men. I still need to get to my ship." Ironwood instructed, before he turned to the clone and rebel soldiers. "As for all of you, take your forces and leave the planet. We can handle the empire on our own and don't need help from those working with the person responsible for bringing your enemy to our planet!" he snarled, indicating that he was now starting to blame Galen for the imperial invasion.
Before anyone could say anything in protest, they all heard a noise and turned to see Ironwood's ship slowly nosediving to the ground, with Qrow joking it won't be much of a walk for the General as the Atlesian Knights still fighting powered down.
Back at Beacon in the courtyard, the students, soldiers and Master Kota continued to engage the enemy forces which still included on Atlas Paladin still under White Fang control. As the mech charged towards them, electricity arced across the machine, powering it down, collapsed and slid to a stop in front of them. "Hm. That went better than expected." Sun stated.
"It's not over yet." Kota told the Monkey Faunus before he sensed something and dashed towards the dining hall. As he did, Weiss doubled over, exhausted and fell into Arthur's waiting arms, catching her breath.
"Weiss!" Yang shouted as she and Ahsoka ran over to Weiss in concern. "You're okay! Have you heard from Ruby?" she asked. Weiss shook her head and when Yang asked about Blake, the Schnee Heiress pointed in the direction that Blake ran in where the Alpha and White Fang went in. Yang then told Weiss to look for Ruby while she went after Blake, the heiress giving Yang a thumbs up. As for Ahsoka, she sensed a presence familiar to her and dashed in its general direction.
As this was going on, below the fighting and deep in the vault, Ozpin, Jaune and Pyrrha stepped out of the elevator sprinted down the corridor towards the Aura Transfer machine. Jaune was confused by the machine and the comatose girl inside, but Ozpin didn't answer his question as Pyrrha who was assured that once this was complete, Amber would be given to the Rebellion for medical treatment, got into the second pod, allowing Ozpin to power up the machine taking a close look at Jaune who stood behind them with his borrowed Lightsaber ignited and at the ready.
Back in the burning dining hall, Adam stood over a downed Blake as she stared at her former comrade. "This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?" Adam questioned with fury.
"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" she replied raising her sword into its folding sickle mode and fire a shot at Adam who blocked it with his sword.
"What you want is impossible!" Adam snarled, sheathing his sword and backhanded Blake across the face, knocking her over. "But I understand because all I want is you, Blake." He continued, kicking Blake's sickle out of her hand and knocking her over once again. "And as I set out upon this world to deliver the justice that mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love." He added, both he and Blake hearing Yang calling out for Blake as an explosive shot sent a White Fang member flying back. "Starting with her." he said sadistically.
Back down in the vault, the machine powered up and as Amber's aura transferred into Pyrrha, the invincible girl screamed in agony, making Jaune become concerned with the wellbeing of his teammate but kept his guard up as the transfer continued. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the glass of Amber's pod, striking her in the chest. Amber gasps as her eyes open before they begin to close again as the machine beeped in alarm. Both Jaune and Ozpin both looked in horror as Cinder stood in the corridor behind them with an obsidian bow in her hand, lowering it as a tiny smirk creeped across her face.
The worst was yet to come as both of them heard the deep breathing of Darth Vader walked out of the shadows from behind Cinder, his gaze fixated on Jaune's borrowed Lightsaber.
Meanwhile, Adam drew his sword and stabbed it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip, causing her to shriek in pain. The cry caught the attention of Yang, Kota and an unseen Fulcrum. As Adam stood upright, he pulled his sword from Blake's body and turned to see Yang. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" she shouted.
"No… please…" Blake whispered, reaching out helplessly but it did no good. All she could do was watch in horror as Adam sheathed his sword with a smile as Yang screamed and her eyes turned red as a burst of flame erupted from her, leaping towards Adam with her fist drawn back and tears in her eyes. A swift draw from Adam's sword swung through the air ay Yang as his semblance activated, cleaving off the lower part of Yang's right arm who started to lose consciousness, yellow Aura splattering on the floor from her wound, laying completely helpless on the floor. "
Back in the Vault, Amber struggled to breath before her whole body went limp and the orange glow being transferred to Pyrrha was sent back to Amber, before it shattered the glass in its way, and entered Cinder's body, the murderer glowing, floating and gaining long trails of flame around her eyes as orange energy swirled around her. Jaune was tempted to charge at Cinder, but refrained himself from doing so as Cinder launched a fireball at Jaune who on instinct raised his shield and blocked the blast, only to be sent backwards and land on his back.
Seeing her teammate in pain, Pyrrha used her semblance to rip the pod's door off its hinges, throwing it at Cinder and Vader, the later of who sliced the door in two with his own lightsaber. Pyrrha was quick to leap out of the pod and rushed to Jaune's side, calling her weapon and shield back to her with her semblance just as Ozpin ordered the two of them to leave and find someone, adding that the tower cannot fall. Pyrrha hesitated for a moment, but did as she was told, scooping up Jaune and ran away.
As Cinder descended to the floor and watched them leave, but Vader was quick to go after them. Her still glowing for a moment before she turned her attention to Ozpin. "This whole time… right beneath our feet. She was right about you. Such arrogance." Cinder told Ozpin who turned his cane in his grips, staring hard at Cinder.
Back in the burning dining hall, Adam walked to Yang's body swing his sword out to the side and flicking the blood from its blade as Blake through herself between them with a determined stare. "Why must you hurt me, Blake?" Adam asked with frown, ready to kill them both with one swing but before he could take a swing, he was pushed back into a wrecked table by none other than Kota himself who glared at the monster.
"The only one who has been hurt, are these two." Kota declared, pulling his lightsaber out and igniting it. "All of this is nothing compared to what the Empire will do to your people, when they betray you. You enjoy the killing, the suffering and everything else that Human's endure, you are more monster than man." He said with disgust.
"Human's either don't deserve to live or should serve their true masters. If there are those of my kind who don't see it that way, they will die alongside them." Adam answered, noticing several rebel medics retrieving Yang and Blake, much to his anger and was about to charge when Fulcrum emerged from her hiding place and landed a hard kick to Adam's back. "Well, well, well. This is quite an eventful night. I get to take out Fulcrum and a Jedi. Killing you two will be most enjoyable." He snickered and drew his sword.
"You will not succeed." Fulcrum declared, igniting her own lightsaber and stood side by side with Kota, ready for a tough battle.
And Chapter complete. If you all haven't figured out some of the Star Wars material, I used for this and the last chapter, no big deal. I think you'll figure out.
And now the Rebellion has arrived, Hamilton and Roman is dead, but Amber is dead and Yang lost an arm. Sure, much like the canon of the show, but next chapter will be completely different.
So, I saw the first three Bad Batch episodes and I have to say, I am really surprised at what I saw. I am glad that some of the Bad Batch didn't follow Order 66, but I'm surprised about Omega. I think when they created her, the writers must have read a few fanfictions or something.
Anyway, before I forget, the SE-35 if I hadn't already mentioned it, is the MIG-35. Hardpoints are the same, but the cannon armament is improved for the sake of the story. Also, for those of you who are fans of the Gundam series, which mobile suit/Gundam would be a good Gunpla choice for a certain Cul-de-sac trio to use in GBN? Possible story idea it is.
Anyway, please read and review and I'll see you all next time. Also, before I forget in the words of the Chadwick Boseman/ T'challa; STAR WARS FOREVER!