AN: So I've possible made an AU...possibly. Anyway, I got this idea out of no where and had to write it. This story will not have a schedule like my others, this will just updated whenever. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: RWBY is a product of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. All characters are owned by Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC.
Chapter 1: Prelaunch Preconceptions
She sat and looked out through the large glass pane that made up the viewing window. The glass took the form of the fourth wall of the room she was sitting in, it was just about as big as the cargo containers that pass through the complex every now and then. She stared through it, observing and examining her metal chariot. There, sat upon the mobile launcher platform, was the Beacon, the rocket propelled vehicle that would take her out of the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space.
Technically, this was just a segment of her chariot; most of the vehicle was assembled in orbit, piece by piece sent up into space. This was the last part of the Beacon, the command capsule and atmospheric lander. It took the form of an elongated isosceles trapezoid, like a round wedge with a wide base and a narrow nose. Heat shielding on the underside of the spacecraft turned the belly a shade of black, as if it was made of coal, a hexagonal pattern carved into it. For a lander that doubled as aircraft, it did a splendid job of not looking as if it could fly; the craft barely had any wings. The edges thinned and became flatter as the moved outward from the center.
It's launch vehicle was a standard rocket, nicknamed by most as the Little Dragon. The launcher consists of three stages. First two solid rocket boosters will ignite, each weighing just over two-hundred metric tons and twenty-five meters long, burning for a little more than one hundred twenty seconds. Second, a liquid fuel engine will begin its burn one hundred seconds after launch, and will continue to burn for two hundred seconds, pushing itself into orbit. Third, a upper stage rocket designed for orbital insertions, with a burn time of nearly one hundred twenty seconds.
Resting her hands on pants of her cobalt jumpsuit, she did not allow herself to view anything but the spectacle that was the ship on the launch pad. The exterior of the craft wouldn't return to her view for about two years. It was waiting for her, calling out to her like a treasure among dirt. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising as she reset her jaw.
"Three days are going to be torture." A voice from behind spoke up, in a calm, almost whispering tone.
The sitting woman perked up, pushing her shoulders back as she turned to look at the voice's source. Another woman, clothed in a familiar blue jumpsuit, stood a few steps away. Her eyes were azure orbs that synced perfectly with her platinum white hair, converging into her offset ponytail that traveled down to her waist. And her petite face made her anything but unattractive, especially paired her small, cute smile.
"You know you're going to have to cut that ponytail. You must be Weiss." The sitting woman got up on her feet, speaking low and sounding tired.
Weiss stepped forward, arm extended "And you must be Blake."
The taller girl took a glimpse at the hand, swallowing before taking it in her own and shaking it; she reciprocated Weiss' smile, "You are correct."
Once their hands had retracted, an eerie silence inhabited the room. Neither of the two created eye contact, searching the room for anything that could resurface a conversation.
"Is that it?" Weiss nudged with her head, in the direction of the viewing window.
Blake spun on her heel join the other woman in watching the still rocket, "Yeah. That's our spacecraft, The Beacon."
"Well, it's much more than that." They shared a glance.
"Obviously. With the rest of it in orbit and the fact that it is the first spacecraft fitted with a capable alcubierre drive. It is much more than a normal craft." The brunette elaborated
Weiss shook her head, "That's not what I meant. This is going to set new records! The first all-female crew in space. The first people to travel out of our sun's SOI. First manned alcubierre drive flight. First to land on another habitable planet."
"The first faunus in space." Blake smirked with a sniffle, not removing her stare from the Beacon. She received a pat on the back from the woman standing beside her.
She swept her focus over to the shorter girl, "So, record setter, where are you from?"
"Atlas. I was born to the Schnee family," Blake's eyebrows shot up, "I know. The name gets a bad reputation...but I'm not like them. I've always had different views to the rest of my family, and they didn't like it," Weiss looked down at the floor, "Being raised, like that. To be forced to agree to things you disagreed with. It makes you an foreigner in your own home. The night sky became my only friend, it would listen to me, allow me speak. I found peace with the stars in the sky, so I wanted to explore them. Meet them."
"I guess," The brunette gazed back at the Beacon, "You'll get your wish"
Weiss twisted her foot to confront the other, "And what about you?"
Blake swallowed for a second time and scratched her neck, "We'd need a lot more than three days to get an organized summary."
"There they are, the chosen ladies." They both pivoted on their hip to meet a man in a white labcoat.
He looked to be in his late thirties, though the edges of his gelled hair turned grey; most likely from stress. The dark rings under his eyes pointed to a lack of sleep, his five o'clock shadow didn't shine much light on the subject either.
"Mr. Salvai" The astronauts acknowledged the scientist, rotating around to face him fully.
He performed a quick wave as he approach the two, "I hope you two had a nice chat to get to know each other. We don't usually have crew members meet for the first time a few days before launch, but Weiss was a hard character to find," Salvai produced a chuckle, but it faded to a serious tone, "Anyway, we have now two days and five hours till launch. I suggest that you both contact your families and say your goodbyes and such. You won't see them again for five years"
The woman nodded.
"Oh, and Weiss, come with me. We need to get that hair cut." Mr. Salvai added.
Blake snickered, "You two have fun. Salvai, I'm going to run the flight sim a few more times."
"Be my guest, Blake."
This was the fifth time she did the landing. Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw it was nearly midnight; someone should have gotten her by now. Blake continued the simulator anyway, she'd need all the practice she could get.
She thought about Salvai's words again, about contacting her family.
'You, get out! Now! Out! And never come back!' echoed in her mind, repeating over and over.
She tightened her grip on the joystick. Her breathing intensified as she grew angry, her entire body tightened as the simulator rocked the cockpit. A burning fire sparked inside her, hotter than the atmospheric reentry she was performing. Her hands became unsteady, shaking with the joystick in hand as she began to lose her composure.
Dangerous and deadly memories flooded back to her, sending fire to course through her veins. She let out a warcry as the replica spacecraft broke through the atmosphere; raising a hand, she flipped switches with such force she snapped the levers off. Tears stroked down her face as the airbreathing engines spun up, her anger turning to angst.
Blake suddenly froze; her jaw hanging loose as she gazed down at the controller. Something inside her made a connection. Her knuckles cracked as she choked the stick, and she punched it forward. The aircraft was sent into a nose dive. Alarms beeped and buzzed, flashing the cabin red and orange while she watched the digital ground approach. The altimeter dropping at hundreds of meters per second until impact.
She sat in the cockpit, still buckled in, and sobbed herself asleep.
"Blake? Blake, are you alright? Blake?" A woman's voice reverberated in Blake's head.
Groaning, she shook her head as she awoke, immediately spying her partner above her when she opened her eyes. She wiped her face down with her hands, scraping away the dried tears from her cheeks. Weiss stared down at the cockpit concerned.
The joystick was popped out of its socket, multiple switches were broke, and Blake looked as if she had cried a river. The multiple screens inside the cabin all displayed static and the message 'Landing Failed' in giant red letters.
Blake undid her harness, "I'm fine. I'm okay."
Weiss lowered her arm to help the female up and out of the simulator. The brunette ignored the gesture and pulled herself out, passing by her fellow aviator. Her boots clanked against the aluminium steps that led to the concrete floor; each step stirred concern within a certain pair of cerulean eyes.
After about a minute, Weiss let out a short sigh and took chase, sprinting down the stairs, "Blake! Wait!" The other woman was ascending stairs that connected to a skybridge. She jogged up the steps, attempting to gain on Blake.
Nearly halfway through the bridge, Blake was stopped in her tracks. A hand set on her shoulder turned her round to be meet its owner.
"What?" Blake spoke apathetically
Weiss raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean, what? Blake, what happened back there in the simulator?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
"Oh, right," The shorter female crossed her arms, "It doesn't concern me, especially when it seems to distress my copilot that I'm going to spending five years in the vacuum of space with."
Blake sighed, focus shifted to the window to her left, observing the morning sky, "Look, just go be with your family, like Salvai suggested."
"Sure. I will. Absolutely." The sarcastic remark caused the faunus' brows to furrow. Though before she raise any inquiries on the subject, Weiss had already made her leave. Blake was only able to think quietly to herself as she watched her descend into the Simulation Hall.
A steel spoon stirred a cup of tea. It had grown cold and was no longer in its prime. The spoon scooped up a portion of the liquid, only for it to turned and the beverage was poured back with the rest of it. The utensil was dropped to the side of the cup, generating a few clinks that captured the attention of a familiar woman.
Her annoyed countenance told the tea drinker that she seemed to be walking on thin ice.
"I'm not going to pry, Weiss." Blake started, looking up from her drink.
Weiss emitted nothing but silence, her fork twiddled in her salad.
"I asked you out here this morning...Because...I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier. I don't know you. I shouldn't be judging you."
"And I, you." Weiss gently set her fork down.
The brunette creaked up a smile and took a panoramic glance at the diner. Their appearance there granted them a few strange and awed looks from the people around. Two woman in blue jumpsuits with the Atlas Space Agency insignias sewed onto their shoulders and chests caught the public eye quite easily.
In recent years the public interest in space exploration had diminished greatly. When Blake and Weiss were young, about a third of the children asked would say they wanted to be a cosmonaut over a hunter. Now, the dream of soaring into the vacuum of space had become almost nonexistent.
Blake met her gaze with Weiss once more, "Just one more day. And we'll be piloting the most important space flight to date."
"Yes. We will," Weiss replied, "But…" She added with a sad nature
"But what?"
Weiss sighed with a shake of her head, "If only people cared anymore...This is an extremely important mission, but the biggest headline it received was a thirty second news story. The last mission to be televised was the lunar mission!"
Blake pushed her tea away, "I know. It is sad. I remember how many people were thrilled to watch the landing, I, myself was ecstatic. But now...no one seems to even bat an eye at space anymore."
"Maybe by the time we return, things will have changed…" Weiss letting a half smile creep onto her lips.
"Maybe...hopefully…"
I think I'll call it The Dark & The Light.
~Vox