Sergeant Caliphaeron sprinted through the brush, his yellow power armor a blur through the trees. He and his squad had encountered the local beasts known as Grimm near to the fortifications they were constructing, and they had already given chase to their new targets. The ringing of bolters began to become clearer and clearer as he sped to where his brothers were currently fighting the beasts. Drawing his power sword, he sliced through two ursas who blocked his path, but not before receiving a few dents in his chest piece from the second Grimm's sucker punch. He had to admit, these things were worthy adversaries, but not much more time to waste, so he once again sprinted through the forest.

His interface chimed with brother Delphis' voice. "Brother, we have located the workers. They seem to be held hostage by the grimm nearby, if such a thing is possible.

Unusual. This is a new trick the monstrosities have up their sleeves. "Engage at will, prioritize the workers' safety, without them, the walls will not be able to be up in time!"

Immediately the sounds of bolter rounds rang out, and he finally caught up with his squad, just to see the amount of black and white bodies rushing towards them.

"Brother Caliphaeron, you have arrived in time for our purging of these monstrosities," responded devastator marine Delphis as he poured fire from his heavy bolter into the churning black wave, killing dozens, even hundreds with inhuman skill. Caliphaeron took out his combi bolter and began to fire into the horde as well, shooting around Assault marine Lucan, who was sawing through the hordes, his chainsword slickened with black ooze. Meanwhile, their designated marksman, Kelphid, was beheading multiple leader beasts from afar, his stalker boltgun popping head after head into liquid black confetti. They began to cut through the horde, and soon found the ruins of the village where the life signs were detected. They formed an oval formation and quickly grabbed as many injured menials and workers as they could, never stopping in their self-made bulletstorm. Only once all of the remaining survivors had been accounted for, did they begin to head to the LZ.

But the horde was unending, and soon they were to the dregs of their ammo.

"I'm out!", radioed Brother Kelphid, and now they began to quickly move backward, providing covering fire for Kelphid as he quickly radioed for artillery support.

"Read you loud and clear Lord Astartes, sending some aid to thin the hordes." The screaming of artillery shells began as the horde before them started to be turned into black oil and craters until the air was quiet once again. The marines took the chance to run to the LZ, hopping into the storm raven only after they had carefully placed the workers onto prepared beds and the medics began to stabilize them, the craft quickly gaining altitude and flying back to the foundations of the great project they were only just beginning. It was quiet once again, only the sounds of the craft and of the medical personnel doing their best to keep the menials stable were present.

Delphis turned back to his sergeant. "Brother, may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course Delphis, what is on your mind?"

The devastator seemed to be uncomfortable, if such a thing was possible. "What exactly are we supposed to do while the Inquisitor is stuck in Beacon?"

Caliphaeron frowned. He had expected Delphis to mature quickly, but he had only recently become a full astartes, and now he was asking unnecessary practicals.

"We will continue to construct the walls and foundations, we should not concern ourselves with the politicking and meandering the Inquisitor is most likely trying to wade through. Focus on our job, not what our superiors are doing, not unless they make a mistake."

Delphis didn't look satisfied with that answer, but he knew better than to question his sergeant. "Of course, forget my practical."

The storm raven finally came upon the project, and out the window, there were the foundations for the first Remnant Hive, incomplete, but still a formidable edifice for any grimm to attack.

"Weiss, how the heck are you so good at high gothic already?" Ruby couldn't figure out for the life of her how or what the basic vocabulary Richard assigned for his class even meant. It wasn't the grammar that made it so difficult for her, but the vocabulary was brutal.

Weiss huffed and turned to Ruby with frustration on her face. "I'm good with languages anyway, but even then, the amount of words we need to learn makes it difficult. I'm creating flashcards, something you should be doing as well."

Ruby pouted, she didn't want to learn languages, she wanted to get her hands on some of the cool weapons they had instead, but supposedly the government had made interaction impossible with the rest of the Imperium's forces. She wanted to learn more about their technology, and what guns they have, not some stupid language. She begrudgingly began to make flashcards, and started to study.

Meanwhile, Richard was currently on the roof of the teacher dorms, having climbed through his window and onto the red tiles. He pulled out a carton of lho-sticks, and lit one in his mouth, inhaling the blueish smoke deeply and staring out into the night sky of Beacon.

Why is arrogance so common anyways? Everywhere I go I see more and more people who act like they know everything they need. Remnant is no different. Ozpin, Port, their council, all people who act as if they know the answers to everything. Glynda and Oobleck are different, they know their imperfections, and yet they continue to demonstrate a deep understanding of many topics. Other than the adults, there's Weiss Schnee, who has talent, but that noble arrogance will be her shortcoming. The only one I see with great potential is Ruby. She may be a gun nut, but she's listening in class pretty well. Hopefully, she takes these lessons well, because I really do want to teach them how to survive in this shithole of a galaxy, but many of them are letting their arrogance or morality close their minds to my lessons.

Richard sighed, he was pondering the clear naivety of Remnant's people too much. They were unused to the sights and filth the rest of the galaxy offered in abundance. Why do people think they can avoid the death and suffering I have seen? It's everywhere. You can't avoid it forever. That was the only set of thoughts in his mind while his lho-stick whittled down to a stub. He exhaled the blue smoke and laid himself down on the tiles, the cold air irritating the deep scar over his right eye. The metal of his right arm was chilled by the air, and it made his shoulder ache. Most of the dorm windows were dark at this point, but there was one still bright on the side of the girls' dorms. Curious, he sat up, his right eye zooming in far beyond something a normal eye could do. Inside he saw team RWBY, with Weiss and Ruby clearly working on something, Blake reading what looked to be… smut? Yang was nowhere to be found, but he did see a set of clothes on her bed. She must be taking a shower then. His eye zoomed back out, and he climbed back into his own room, shutting the window behind him.

The room was neatly organized, with spare magazines and powerpacks sorted into ammo boxes on shelves. Literature lined the walls, many of it on topics that no normal Imperial citizen would be remotely interested in, and some also being historical records of different wars or crusades. There was a workbench he had set up for his augmetics, and on the table laid multiple custom parts for his arm, an in-built monofilament wire grappling hook attachment, extendable arm shielding plates for blocking heavy blows, and one more object. It clearly wasn't of human make and had the shape of what seemed to be a hammer. The green orb at its center radiated intense energy, and the sides were extended outwards, with a little needle of silver metal slotted into the top of the head. He grabbed his journal, and began to write his current entry, but something fell out of it. He picked it up with his metal digits. It was an old picture, with him and his daughter, Anastasia. Her grin was missing a few teeth, but her wide smile made up for it. Her hair was a shade of auburn brown, straight like her mother's, but the same color as his. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she hung from a younger and less tired version of himself. He wanted to go back to then, to hold his child once more in his arms, to show her the wonders of the galaxy, and to tell her stories of adventure and victory, her wide eyes glistening with excitement. The photo was stained with tears and had worn with age. How old was his baby girl now? How long ago did she join the Adeptus Sororitas? He didn't know anymore, but he wanted to remember so that he could somehow find her once again. He wanted to lift her up and spin her around. He wanted to raise her again, teach her the many lessons he had acquired since she grew up, and left him. He wanted to see her alive. His face was wet with tears he didn't know he was capable of anymore, and that shook him on this inside. Instead of moping with his teary face, he wiped them away, climbed into his bed, and slowly fell asleep.

Jaune Arc was sweating furiously as Pyhrra continued to force more and more exercises upon him, and he was nearing his limit. The night sky was blocked by the tree canopy above them, though they were in a park, he couldn't help but think they were out in the wilderness training together, alone, like partners.

"Good job, you can rest for a while."

Jaune wasn't turning the offer down, and he fell onto the ground, his chest heaving. He had cheated his way into Beacon, but now he felt that it had been the wrong idea to join the school now that he had to work so hard every day. Not that he didn't mind, to him, it was a way to work off his guilt for what he did to get here. Still, Pyhrra was a slave driver, and every bit of rest was a blessing straight from whatever god was watching.

"How… how much more… do I have to… do?" Squeaked Jaune in between breaths.

"You're our team leader after all. It should be obvious why I'm pushing you so hard. We're almost done anyway."

Jaune couldn't help but admire Pyhrra, she was strong, beautiful, talented, smart. She could do almost anything he couldn't, and yet, he was put as the team leader instead of her. Maybe this is her way of getting revenge? No, why would she put her own time and effort into helping me? Jaune couldn't wrap his head around why she would pay so much attention to him in the first place. He would never refuse it though, even if it were painful, he would brave all of it for her.

Pyhrra couldn't help but stare at Jaune's finer features. He was built like a weightlifter, and his face was handsome, yet seemingly innocent. A strange feeling stirred inside her amazonian heart, and she wasn't quite sure what it was. For all her strength and intelligence, she was hopeless in the realm of love and relationships, though she did not know that. And so they continued to train together for the rest of the night, each blind to the other's love for them.

"Alright class! Today is a special day, as I am going to hand each of your vocabulary quizzes back to you. And then we're going to be examining some basic Imperial organizations! I am still trying to get approval for basic technology, but we can continue on high gothic and Imperial government until then."

The class wasn't amused, most of all Ruby, who had joined the class just to see the weapons they brandished during her trial, and many others wanted to learn about Imperial tech, whether it was for personal or financial reasons, many saw the power of the weapons being built and used on the Imperium's heavily fortified plot of land, and were in fear and awe of it. Richard, feigning ignorance, began to hand back their quizzes to his students.

Ruby was considering quitting the class when she was handed back her quiz. She was staring at the circled F in bold red on her page. But Richard leaned in and whispered in her ear: "Stay after class, I'll talk more about how you can raise your grade and how we can work together to make your year a bit less stressful.", so she decided to listen to him.

Weiss leaned in and whispered in her ear after Richard moved on to the next group. "I got an 85, what did you get?"

Ruby, with a dead tone, whispered back with "I got a 36."

Weiss was laughing in her mind as she faked mild shock. Why do I even bother? She clearly failed even with my help, so why is she our team leader in the first place?

The class went on as usual, with Richard teaching them about the basics of the Astra Militarum, and the many regiments that made themselves famous. Ruby liked hearing about the Tanith 1st and only, but was saddened to hear that they all died hundreds of years ago. Weiss however was very interested in the Mordian Iron Guard, given her predisposition to the structure and order of Atlas. The lesson finally ended with a section dedicated to the Cadian Gate, one of the most important bastions in the galaxy. Then the students filed out, leaving Ruby alone with Richard, who was wearing spectacles and writing some documents.

Richard looked up, his scarred face forming a comfortable smile. "So, how do you propose we settle this problem?"

Ruby wasn't sure how she would raise her grade, and responded with an "I don't know."

"Alright, since you were the only one who didn't do so well, I can easily set some time aside to tutor you on high gothic. If you begin to struggle again, then we can arrange something to help you understand the content better."

Richard saw so much of his daughter in the young girl, that he really couldn't say no to her. She seemed to perk up, and they talked some more about how they could solve the issue. Eventually, they both decided that they would meet during the weekends and he would help her with whatever work in his class that is troubling her the most. Ruby walked out of the classroom, feeling a bit more confident that she could handle his class during the first semester.

"So," Said Magos Explorator Zrei of Mars, "What should we do about Remnant refusal to join the Imperium?"

Rogue Trader Wilhelm shook his head. "At the moment, all we can do is continue to prepare for whatever happens to us. I don't trust the Lord Inquisitor, but he has the right idea in trying diplomacy first. A war may be disasterous for our forces at the moment."

Captain Drysdal of the Lamenters' 3rd company had to agree. Given the forces they currently have, a war would ruin their chances of taking this world with minimal casualties, and could result in a perfect moment for an enemy to strike. "It is best if we continue to fortify and consolidate our power. There will come a time where we might need to defend ourselves."

"Cousin, is this a theoretical or a practical?", said Captain Hersham of the Imperial Fists' 6th company.

"A theoretical. Call it Lamenter luck if you must, but I feel that focusing on strengthening the hold on our territory will bear fruit later on."

Thoric was watching the conversation intimately. The former admiral had the younger captains of the navy vessels practically parroting his every word, and it only pissed off the old man. But now he was in control of the Navy vessels, just like his younger days. "What about this unique resource we've discovered? This so called dust?"

If the Magos had biological eyes still, his would be shining. "Yes! Such a wonderful resource, with untapped potential. The main problem is transporting it off world, as it loses it's potency, but recently we've been able to retain dust's power by putting it in stasis fields as it leaves the orbit of Remnant. As long as we continue to do that, we'll have plenty of unique resources to exploit. By the Omnissiah, the potential is limitless! However, the most dust we've found was inside the moon. Setting up a mining colony there would be essential to harvesting the most dust."

Thoric had to take a moment to digest the information. There was something unusual about this dust, like it was connected these feudals so called Semblances and Auras. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was fishy, but he decided to purposely ignore it for now. "How about we focus on settling our fortifications and then establish a mining base on the moon later?"

Zrei nodded, clearly content as long as the mining base was set up in the first place. He needed to call Richard, and quickly dialed the Inquisitor's frequency. The rogueish face of Richard then popped up on the screen.

"So, how have we gotten along so far? I've been busy trying to edge some of the students here at Beacon Academy closer to our own ideals, but so far they've been stubborn. I am sorry for not being able to join in on our meetings recently, so I might need to catch up on things."

The silence in the call told Richard everything he needed to know. They're not fans, that's for sure. We still need to work together, even with our obvious differences. I know I can count Thoric on my side, but everyone else is a bit on the untrustworthy side. My Inquisitorial authority means nothing when we're cut off from the rest of the galaxy. I'll have to make sure to play it safe, and gain respect, otherwise I am going to face many angry and powerful people. "Alright then, fill me in on the details."

The meeting went as expected, much debating on the use of dust and how to better control Remnant. Richard put in the information he had slowly gathered, and they began to deliberate on how best to approach their supposed quarantine that Vale forced upon them. No one could really figure out how to break the quarantine, but all of them agreed that the White Fang would need to be dealt with, which could go to ease relations with this death world. When the screens went black, Richard sat up from his desk and took a shower, cleaning himself and dressing in a pressed, white collared shirt and a deep crimson wool u-neck sweater, then put on khaki pants with a leather belt. He put on his best shoes and walked out of the door, taking his scroll and wallet with him, and locking the door behind him. Tonight, he had a date, and he wouldn't allow himself to miss it.

Author's Notes:

Hey! It's me again. Long chapter right? Well I plan to space things out, and I have an upcoming time skip to the start of volume 2. There will be a lot more progression and some other cool stuff I'll be working on. Make sure to leave your thoughts in a review if you want to!

- Lord Inquisitor Richard