Time for a new chapter!

Quick note- I want to get this out of the way before we get too far into the story and people start asking about it.

This story is focused on team RWBY, Ozpin (kinda), the imperials, and several other characters I won't reveal just yet (don't worry, they're not OCs).

I know some people are going to be disappointed when I say this, but who the story won't focus on is team JNPR. Yes, that includes Jaune.

The reason Jaune isn't going to be a main character (or even a side character) is because I have an admittedly irrational hatred of Jaune Arc, and I fear that if I include him in any significant manner my anger might leak onto the page. I've never liked reading unnecessary character bashing and I imagine most others don't either.

Maybe later on, when I'm a more experienced writer and can trust myself to rein in my personal opinions I might do something with him, but for now… yea. Jaune is not going to really be in this story. At most he's going to get a cameo. With literally thousands of other stories to choose from, surviving one without him shouldn't be too hard.

Now, if you're a star wars focused-fan and have absolutely no knowledge or interest in Jaune Arc (or just don't care either way) then please ignore the above and enjoy the chapter!

Center of newly discovered nebula, designated "Solum"

Unidentified system

Star Destroyer- Grey Wolf

Bridge

"Entering visual range now sir."

"Very well. Let us see what we're dealing with."

Even with a quick glance, the planet easily confirmed what their long-range sensors had shown them. It was a continental-class world, covered in greens, browns, and blues. The continents themselves were rather varied, both in shape and biomes.

After regarding the now revealed planet, Thrawn's gaze turned to the shattered moon.

'How peculiar'

"Tell me, is the state of the moon having any abnormal effects on the planet?"

The sensor officer looked down at his console, before frowning and shaking his head.

"It's difficult to tell sir, the readings are still all over the place. The planet's gravitational field appears to be relativity standard, just a bit lighter than we're used to. However, there are some areas where gravity appears to be warped, for lack of better term. Likewise, the moon's not behaving at all like it's supposed to.

Thrawn raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"It's too close. The moon should be barreling towards the planet as we speak, but it's not. Same thing with the chucks of the moon. They should have been pulled towards the planet the second they broke off from the moon. But they haven't been."

The officer shook his head in surrender.

"I don't get it. Despite all logic and scientific reasoning, the planet and its moon seem to be in a perfectly stable orbit."

While his distressed sensor officer attempted to rationalize the situation, Thrawn continued to regard the planet before him. While doing so however, something on the dark side of the planet (the side currently going through its night cycle) caught his eye. Lights. Not just any lights, lights from a city. Quickly widening his area of examination, he discovered multiple areas defined with artificial lights and cities.

Turning to the poor man, Thrawn interrupted his tirade.

"Lieutenant Rone, while I'm sure the gravitational anomalies are worthy of investigation- and rest assured they will be investigated- I am more interested in the presence of what appears to be a civilization on said planet. Please, focus."

With discipline reasserted, the lieutenant nodded before refocusing on his display.

"Apologies sir. As for the cities, yes, I am detecting a multitude of them scattered across the planet. In fact…," he frowned. "A moment sir."

He fiddled with his console for a moment, before grinning to himself.

"There you are," he muttered.

Turning towards Thrawn again, he continued his report.

"While the disturbingly large amount of abnormal readings disguised them at first, I've narrowed the signal enough to detect what appears to be a world-wide communications network."

Thrawn once again arched an eyebrow.

"A communications network? I see no satellites in orbit, so I assume they are using an alternate method?"

The Lieutenant quickly nodded, "Yes sir. Instead of the satellites most species use, this network is being maintained via various towers scattered across the planet. That's one of the reason we didn't immediately detect the network. Such methods are only used by societies whom have just discovered radio-based communication networks. And even then, such methods are often short-lived, as most civilizations often discover space travel shortly thereafter, where they then switch to the far more preferable satellites. For some reason or another, this society didn't, though I cannot guess as to why not."

The bridge was silent as Thrawn contemplated that information. He himself came up with a number of theories, but would have to gain more information until he could verify their validity.

Once again speaking to the lieutenant, he spoke, "Can you access this network?"

The lieutenant winced.

"No sir. Or, more specifically, not yet. It's simply too foreign. Give our analysts a couple days and they could decode it, but right now it's just gibberish."

Thrawn gave a slight nod.

"Then that will be our first priority. And other discoveries of note?"

"Actually yes, just one more sir."

"Oh?"

"Well, the communications network doesn't seem to be being used everywhere. Despite there being several hundred cities scattered across the planet, only a few dozen are actually using the network, and only four of them have an extremely strong connection. I've taken the liberty of conducting high-intensity scans of several of the cities not using the network, and have instead found rubble. If this trend holds true, then that means a disturbingly large amount of the planet's settlements are actually ruins."

"Hmm, more questions in need of answers."

Turning, he directed his next question towards the senior bridge analyst.

"The lieutenant has informed me that that analyzing the network would take a significant amount of time. Exactly how long do you believe doing so would require?"

Said analyst quickly glanced at his datapad, "Two to three days. Four if remaining undetected is an absolute priority."

"And if you had a direct connection with a port of access?"

The analyst's eyes widened, before seeming to contemplate the idea.

"Fifteen minutes, if that. The connection would have to remain constant though."

"That much of a difference?"

"Yes sir. Normally it wouldn't matter if one has a direct connection or not, mainly because you'd still have to get through the encryption. However this network doesn't seem to have any encryption, or at least not a very good one. The only reason it'd take so long in our case is because we're trying to remain undetected, so we can only grab small amounts of data, snippets if you will, then piece it all together. But if we had a direct connection to the full network, we could just download it all with no fear of detection."

Thrawn nodded, seemingly contemplating something. "Very well."

Reaching down he tapped his comlink.

"Sergeant Kingpin, have your squad prep for combat, and then meet me in my ready room."

The comlink crackled in response, "On my way sir."

Turn back to the bridge crew, he spoke, "In the meantime, continue to gather as much information as you can. There are many questions that need answering, and time is not a resource I approve of wasting. I want a comprehensive report on everything we know about this planet on my desk within the hour. If my assistance is required I will be in my ready room."

With that he began striding towards the door.

Then he paused, before glancing back.

"And someone get me the status of the Admonitor."

"This place gives me the creeps."

ET-4476, more commonly known as "Bles", glanced behind him at ET-4344. Despite the trooper's admission, no one could tell that he was feeling any unease; the faceless, stark white helmet gave nothing away. Indeed, the other Stormtrooper was as almost as still as a droid as he warily scanned the decrepit corridor they were exploring. And decrepit it was. The walls were dented and rusted. Various slabs of metal had peeled away, forming jagged edges, with sparking circuits and piping exposed. The groaning of metal continually echoed throughout the station. And to top off the disturbing vibe, the constant power fluctuations was causing the lights to continuously flicker.

"Seriously, this place is dead."

"Cut the chatter and focus! We've got a job to do."

Even as he acknowledged ET-332 (or sergeant Linch, as the men called him) and refocused on the task at hand, Bles couldn't help but agree with 4476. Ever since they had boarded this station, a general feeling of shear emptiness had followed the 3,000 strong regiment of troops tasked with seizing it. It felt less like they were boarding a deserted station, and more like they were entering a tomb.

So it was understandable that some of the men were on edge.

Still, like Linch said, they had a job to do, and it'd take a lot more than creepy hallways to scare away imperial Stormtroopers.

And so, they continued moving forward, carefully checking every nook and cranny they came across.

"Hold up, what's that up ahead?"

The squad turned, shining their lights at a conspicuously large hump further down the corridor.

Sergeant Linch gestured, "Golin, Bles, check it out."

Bles advanced alongside the other trooper, E-11 blasters prepped to fire at a moment's notice. However, once they actually reach the mysterious bulk, they relaxed.

"Just another of those droids, sir."

Linch nodded.

"Alright squad, keep moving."

As the rest of the squad moved to catch up, Bles examined their discovery. They had come across a multitude of these droids, and, much like the others, this one was little more than scrap metal.

The droid was fairly large and undoubtedly strange looking. A bit taller than the average man, its main body looked like a right-side up oval, supported by four spindly legs. A short, stubby barrel near its top denoted the presence of a blaster, though Bles doubted it still worked after all this time.

Like all the droids they had encountered throughout the station, it was extremely damaged, with exposed circuitry and jagged tears in its chassis. One aspect that was markedly out of place was the thick, inky veins running throughout the machine, though what purpose they'd serve was beyond him.

As the rest of the squad caught up, they continued forward. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the thumping of their boots on the metal floor, intermixed with the occasional groans of the station.

Their peace was mercilessly interrupted as blaster fire sounded throughout the corridor. The moment the first shot was heard, they turned and aimed at the far door, where the sound was originating from.

One of the troopers asked what they were all thinking, "Anyone got contact?"

Another answered, "Negative, must be one of the other teams. Sergeagent, orders-"

Linch, who was fiddling with his comlink, snaped, "Quiet! I'm trying to get in contact with command!"

The blaster fire continued to sound out, even seeming to escalate in intensity.

Linch briefly looked up, before turning his attention back to the comlink.

"Command, this is Victor-1, do you re-"

He was interrupted by a strained shout through the transmission.

"This is Madic squad, we been engaged by unknown hostiles. Multiple casualties. Requesting permission to pull back!"

Command's voice responded, "Understood Madic squad, fall back to point 09 in sector 2 and hold position. Harlo squad, move to rendezvous and support. All teams, be advised, confirmed hostile presence in sector 3, proceed with caution and-"

Command's response was promptly drowned out as more blaster fire erupted, this time from another direction.

"Arvec squad reporting! We've encountered hostiles. Pulling back to point 07, requesting support!"

"Roger Arvec squad, reinforcements are on the way. Victor squad, move to support Arvec."

At that, Linch straightened, "That's us men! Nearest route to Arvec?"

One of the other Stormtroopers motioned behind them.

"There was a side corridor a ways back. It should lead us right next to point 07."

"That will do. Troops, move out!"

With the order given, Bles and the rest of the troopers and began heading back the way they came. They had only gone a few steps though, when a dreadful bang sounded out behind them, loud enough to be heard through the constant sounds of blaster fire.

Confused, they turned back around -just in time to see the far corridor's door get ripped off its hinges and hurl towards them.

Linch's eyes widened, "Scatter!"

The troopers dove to the side, attempting to get out of the way of flying slab of metal. With the same goal, Bles dropped down, flattening himself to the floor as much as he could.

He felt his mouth dry in terror as it arced just a few inches above his head.

With a resounding crash it slammed into the floor, before sliding to a stop with a horrid grinding of metal.

Bles glanced up and looked at his fellow troopers. Amazingly, none of the group was harmed, though some were regarding the door with, what was possibly muted shock (those helmets really were great at concealing facial expressions). However, their relief was short lived, as their attention was immediately redirected towards the far corridor when a horrific screech echoed towards them.

There, standing where the door used to be was a group of droids. The machines (presumably what had tossed the door at them) was arguably the creepiest group of droids Bles had ever seen. They vaguely looked like all the other droids they had come across, except for seemingly random pieces of metal and other junk hanging off them. In fact, Bles was having trouble telling if those extra pieces were even connected. An inky black mist seemed to cover much of the droid's features.

Any further observation was interrupted as the droids once again unleashed a piercing electronic screech, and, as one, charged.

"FIRE!" screamed Linch.

The droids surged forward, a tide of jagged metal and rusted claws. A tide that all but lurched back as 12 streams of pinpoint-accurate laser fire slammed into it. Individual droids exploded in showers of molten metal and sparks. Within seconds, over a dozen were turned to scrap metal, their parts being scattered along the floor.

Bles found himself shooting down targets as fast as he could fire. He didn't even need to aim. There were so many droids coming towards them it was virtually impossible to miss. Even with the intense casualties, the droid horde was still pushing forward, slowly gaining ground through sheer numbers.

Evidentially, Linch seemed to realize the same thing.

With an angry snarl, he called his next order, "Troopers! Fighting retreat! We need to find a more defensible location!"

While the troopers offered no verbal response, they nevertheless began following the order, slowly walking backwards while keeping up a constant stream of fire.

With yet another droid exploding into sparks under his fire, Bles happened to glace down, getting a good look at some of the droid's carcasses. When a droid went down, the black mist that had previously obscured most of it would dissipate. With the droid's body no longer hidden he noticed that each of the droids had inky black veins scattered across its form.

'Wait, inky black veins?'

His eyes widened just as the squad's worst fears were realized. The droid that they had passed by just several minutes before, the one Bles himself had pronounced safe, activated with a warbling scream. And as they had yet to pass it, it was still behind them. Just as Bles turned around and tried to shout a warning, the droid was already attacking.

One of its four legs lashed out in a wide sweeping motion, immediately knocking three troopers off their feet. It next action was a downward thrust, two of its claw-like legs goring one of the downed troopers. The poor trooper in question screamed as his stomach was all but nailed to the floor. The trooper tried to reach up and grasp the droid, only for a brutal crack to sound out as the droid ripped its legs out of the trooper, taking a good chunk of his intestines with them. With a final gasping breath, the trooper slumped to the ground, unmoving.

At this point Bles was turned around, and was trying to aim at the crazed droid. Realizing the danger, said droid charged him, with blood dripping from its legs and spewing a maddened electronic warble. In an instant the droid slammed into him, knocking him off his feet. The impact had knocked the breath out of his chest and the blaster out of his hand, and so, with a victorious warble, the droid raised its legs for a final blow.

…Only for its body to explode as at least 4 separate laser bolts hit it – courtesy from the rest of his squad. As the charred chassis slumped to the ground, Bles felt firm hand grip his shoulder. With one hand hauling him to his feet, and the other still firing his SE-14r towards the horde, sergeant Linch looked furious, glaring at said horde with a disgusted grimace.

Despite his current attitude, when he spared a quick glance towards Bles he simply commented, "The empire has little use for corpses trooper. But if you drop your blaster again, I will find one. Get back to it."

With that, he refocused his efforts on the horde.

Quickly scrambling towards where his blaster lay, he grasped it and turned towards the horde, once again firing as fast as he could press the trigger. However, when he saw how close the horde had gotten, his eyes widened for what felt like the hundredth time.

The lull in firing created thanks to the ambushing droid had allowed the rest of the horde to close a significant amount of distance. Whereas before, the horde was being kept a steady 100 or so feet away, now they were a mere 20. Worse, the loss of one of the troopers was already having a pronounced effect, meaning that even with the field of fire being recreated; the droids were still closing in significantly faster than they had been.

With a muttered curse Linch realized the same.

"Squad, retreat! We're pull back!"

The words were barely out of his mouth before the troopers began sprinting in the other direction. Linch waited till the last trooper had passed him before spitting a curse at the droids and doing the same.

Bles's heart thumped in his chest as ran rest what remained of Victor squad. Several troopers spared a few moments to turn around fire behind them in the hopes of gaining a few more precious seconds. One trooper even grasped one of the grenades on his belt. Giving a warning shout of "grenade!" he prepped to throw it, only to stop because of Linch's furious shouting.

"No, this station's barely holding together! You'd kill us all!"

"Then what's our orders?!"

"Keep running! I'm trying to get in contact with command!"

The trooper in question looked at his grenade, before shaking his head and muttering.

"Kriff it all."

Stuffing the grenade back into his belt, he turned and ran to catch up with the rest of the squad.

After ensuring said trooper hadn't kill them all, Linch began furiously shouting into his comlink.

"Command, this is Victor squad! We are unable to reinforce Arvec. We've encountered significant hostile forces and are being forced to pull back! Requesting orders!"

Thanks to the roar of maddened warbles, tearing metal and blaster fire drowning it out, Bles was unable to hear command's response. However, judging by how Linch's face grimaced, its wasn't good.

One of the other troopers seemed to notice his expression as well.

"Sir, what's wrong?"

Linch scowled, "We need to double time it back to the hanger bay."

"Sir?"

"All teams have encountered these abominations. Current forces have been deemed insufficient to take the station. All squads are to fall back to the nearest hanger, where we are to hold until reinforcements arrive from the Admonitor. Unfortunatelysome squads were forced to retreat before us -meaning there might be droids between us and the hanger."

The trooper paused, considering the ramifications.

"So we're surrounded."

It was less of a question and more of a confirmation. Still Linch felt the need to correct it.

"I said we might be surrounded. The retreat order only came a couple minutes ago. With luck there should only be a few droids in our way."

Bles sighed,

'…Great.'

Deep in the bowls of the former- Rakatan station, an entity watched.

But not just any entity, it was the entity.

The heart of the swarm, the alpha of the pack, the head of the snake.

The Ancient.

It had been part of a group of inheritors that had been summoned here millennia ago. It, like all the others, had emerged out of the endless sea, through holes in the very fabric of reality itself, into what would become their new nest.

The fleshlings/prey waiting for them had tried to command them, to control them.

They failed.

The ensuing carnage insured every last fleshling/prey in the metal nest/box/structure was devoured.

Their pain was euphoria after an eternity of madness.

Irritatingly though, despite their complete and utter failure, the fleshlings/prey were not as weak as the inheritors had assumed. Of the hundreds of inheritors that had been summoned, only the Ancient survived.

And so, with both the fleshlings/prey and its kin slayed, the scion took the nest/box/structure as its own, subsuming the metal to its will, as was its right.

Its instants drove it to kill, to devour, as was demanded by the endless sea and the queen. It raged when the nest/box/structure was revealed to be immobile. Its purpose! Its birthright! Denied!

The rage would never abate, but in time it realized. Its purpose had not been denied, it had merely been delayed. More fleshlings/prey would come, as was the nature of this hateful reality/dimension/lie. Instead it would hone its rage, preparing for the day it would once more taste the blood of fleshlings/prey.

And so, still shimmering in rage, it waited, spawning brood/children and growing stronger all the while.

And now, millennia later, its patience was rewarded. More metal, more fleshlings, more blood.

But in order to spill the most blood, it needed a good trap. The metal nest/box/structure itself was the bait; the difficulty was in keeping its younger brood/children from attacking too early. Its trap had almost worked precisely as it wanted. The fleshlings/prey had been drawn in as planned, but the brood/children attacked too early. Instead of being overwhelmed and slaughtered, the fleshlings/prey managed to run, and were now gathering in its openings/doors/cracks.

No matter. They would die all the same. A single thought sent the remainder of its brood/children to complete the task/hunt/purpose.

As it continued to observe, a sensation/message ran across it metal. The entity swiftly turned its attention outward to its eyes/alarms/feelers. More metal was approaching, filled with more fleshlings/prey.

If the entity had the ability to frown, it would have.

Its current brood/children were more than significant enough to overwhelm the fleshlings/prey currently present, but any more would put the task/hunt/purpose at risk.

Unacceptable.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a matter of seconds, the power fluctuations that had been a constant since the station's discovery stabilized in a matter of seconds. Immediately defense turrets all across the station came online and simultaneously unleashed a barrage of plasma fire. To give credit to the approaching Sentinel pilots and their Tie escorts, their surprise barely lasted a second before they reacted. The Sentinels immediately dove in an attempt to evade the wall of lasers, while the Ties scattered, using their famous maneuverability in a mindboggling series of twists, turns, and rolls.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. They were simply too close to evade all the shots screaming towards them. In the course of a few seconds, many of the Ties detonated in burning flashes of light, only a few having managed to escape death with their fancy maneuvers. One particularly brave Tie took an extremely risky chance and dove towards the station, miraculously disappearing into one of its many hangers. However, despite diving as fast as they could, the Sentinels were far less luck. Of the thirty Sentinel-class shuttles, only twelve survived the initial barrage. Three more were destroyed by subsequent shots, leaving the last nine to turn and limp away.

There would be no reinforcements for the troopers on the station.

I think I need to do some slight clarification. I said this story will take place in Legends continuity, and that's true. It very much takes place in Legends. However, by that same token, it is not wholly Legends. Despite the majority of legends being awesome, there were some aspects of it that were kinda ridiculous.

So I'm primarily going for middle-end legends, not stupidly high-end legends. Think Timothy Zahn levels.

Similarly, there's going to be some AU elements. For instance, I might switch out some of the more silly or confusing elements of legends for their canon counterparts. Nothing major, a few characters some general ease of life stuff.

Finally, the only really significate change I'm making from legends is the level of plot armor the Rebellion/New Republic constantly benefited from. As well as that damned idiot ball the Empire had glued to their hand. My goal is to make it so neither side are comprised entirely of morons.

This is war. Victories are earned, not given.

Likewise, the RWBY-verse is slightly AU as well. Though I didn't post it for a while, I originally thought up and started writing this story a while ago, as in, back in volume 4. As such, the Salem/Ozpin backstory is completely different than canon. Because there was no backstory at the time, I had to create one.

Now, other than what I've mentioned above, everything should be unchanged from normal canon.

EDIT: fixed scene breaks