Chapter 5! Enjoy.

NASA — Conquistador I Launch
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"Alright, the Delta Heavy is all set up. Payload is inside fairing, systems checked and double-checked."

"Copy. I guess it is time to open the doors."

The Conquistador I, the pride of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's space exploration program, has been finalized; all the necessary programs and add-on equipment has been installed. Now, the entire system is rolling out of the VAB, high and proud. Lots of people are recording the exceptional launch. The work of tens of thousands of people throughout the country, sitting on the launchpad of the KSC.

Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for. Cameras are rolling. The launch is being broadcast live worldwide. It was but a moment for them as Ground Control began the final countdown.

"3, 2, 1, and lift-off for the Conquistador probe!"

The Delta Heavy's engines pushed it up all the while its red plume keeps it visible in the sky. Then, it began its eastward gravity turn to orbit. 86 seconds later and the side boosters are discarded. It was only for an extra moment before the core stage separated, and the second stage lights up to bring it to orbit. The fairing deploys, showing an experimental nuclear stage. Though nuclear fission engines are not new technology, this mission was the first time it was used.

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Planning: Months ago
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"I'm telling you, it is not going to work!" yelled one of the planners.

"What makes you think so?" said another. "We have barely brought the entire system to orbit for a test run, and yet, you are saying it won't work anyway?"

"Yes! Not only that, everyone else might think that it is just an oversized nuclear bomb—which it is."

"Ugh, you are clearly not getting the point! Chemical rockets, like hydrolox or hypergolic have immense power but lacks in endurance. They have not the capability to go into an orbit fit for a Lagrange intercept, let alone several orbital burns to attain orbit around it. Ion engines, on the other hand, have too little power that it could barely push a fully-loaded Shuttle a meter a second extra in any conceivable time."

"So? Why not plan two launches? Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Of course not! Two launches are very expensive if you ask me. Besides, we aren't sending a manned mission yet."

"Ugh, you know what? Fine! But I am telling you, if the rocket explodes at launch or fails to get to LEO, explain to those Koreans."

"Very well. Try me."

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Jennie's Apartment
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Summer Rose awoke to the sound of the alarm bell. After shutting it off, she got off the bed. She afterwards took a quick shower. After getting dressed, she went downstairs where she smelled something delicious.

"Oh, hey Summer." called out Jennie.

"Hey, Jennie, what's for breakfast?"

"Eggs and sausages. You like?"

"Umm... sure. Why not?"

After finishing her breakfast, she headed for the couch.

"I wonder what's on." she said, taking the remote and switching on the television. "Ooh! Jennie, come see!"

"Okay, no need to be so excite—oh my god it is the launch!"

They watched as the final countdown had announced liftoff. Summer was awestruck when she saw the vehicle just lift off effortlessly with possibly a very heavy cargo on top. The red plume also caught her attention. she watched and pondered if the craft even had enough to get to "orbit", as they called it. Then, she saw the side rockets just fall away, much to her surprise and shock. She and Jennie just continued to watch until hte camera shifted to the interstage. It was there she saw the first stage fall away, letting the smaller, but still powerful second stage fire its engines.

"Oh," she thought, "so that is why the cylinders are discarded."

She watched for a bit longer, eventually hearing the words, "We have achieved orbit."

"Cool! Now can we go?"

"Oh right!" Jennie nearly forgot that she was to take her on a tour of one of Lockheed Martin's facilities. "Let's get going."

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The Bells
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Both Jonathan and Kelly were there to watch the launch. They arrived pretty much the same time as the rocket rolled out.

"This will be exciting, yea?" Jonathan said.

"I know, right?" replied Kelly.

It was not even 10 minutes when they heard someone calling.

"Jonathan, Kelly, Ground Control needs you to join them." he said.

"Oh, dammit. Let's go Kelly."

"Aww..."

They went to follow the person to the car. They took off, getting to Ground Control in under 5 minutes.

Walking in, Kelly asked, "So, why are we needed here?"

"Hello, Kelly," said the lead controller. "My name is Gene Kranz II."

"Okay, Gene, why did you ask us here?" asked Jonathan.

"I was curious. As the first people to find the planet, I want to know more about it. And I thought, 'What better way to know than to ask the discoverers about it?'."

"Okay," Kelly began to report. "So, we know it is very similar to our planet; green and blue. Based on our instruments, we've also found a significant magnetic field, about 1.5 times as large as our own, as well as a new subset of compounds we've yet to analyze."

"Cool. Well, a second reason we called you is to train you guys how to use the ISRU NASA designed for Skylon, since you are among the first people to be setting foot."

"Eh?!" the Bells shouted in unison.

"Yeah, you'd need that since you'd most likely use the saltwater on the planet to fill the craft up."

Jonathan and Kelly looked at each other. This is going to be a long day for them.

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Remnant
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Ozpin is at Beacon Cliff, setting up the telescope and making sure not to step on his catapults.

"Well, this is tough night," he said to no one in particular, "but I guess it is time to scan the sky for anything... odd..."

He opened his scroll and activated the telescope.

"Okay, let's see here..."

~6 hours later~

"My goodness... all this time, I have found nothing. Well, I guess it is time to call off the—wait a second?"

On his scroll, he saw a tiny blue speck, about 60° from the sun.

"Interesting," he said as he zoomed in. "Wait, that is a planet. Amazing. Never thought I'd find—hold on."

He zooms in on the planet, revealing lots of greenery.

"And apparently, there is life on other planets." He begins to call Ironwood.

Meanwhile, in Atlas, things are looking a bit bleak. Ironwood has been called for an emergency in the intelligence room.

"Hey, hey, hey, what the hell is this about?" Ironwood asked.

"We received a transmission; not one of ours, or even anyone from Remnant."

"What? Let me see."

The people turned on the transmission. When the signal cleared, everyone was utterly star-struck. In front of them was a huge object, larger than anything they have seen besides the CCT's. It was a tall cylinder with 2 smaller ones on each side. The bottom half is orange, while the top half is white. An odd choice of colors for everyone.

Suddenly, the voice, from the transmission, began to call out numbers, apparently counting down.

"Hmm... I wonder..." said Ironwood under his breath.

"2, 1, and we have liftoff!"

By the time the voice said the word, the entire craft began to rise; the intensity of the sound was so great that the camera had to drown some out.

"Holy shit, what is that?!" said one of the people.

"Looks like a missile," replied Ironwood, "but it seems to large to be one. It is probably more than that."

They watched intently as the 'missile' soared skywards. After 86 seconds, the two smaller cylinders fell away, much to everyone's surprise.

"Probably to drop onto enemy territory, though I might be wrong," thought Ironwood as he continued to watch.

Then, the view switches to a different spot, near an apparently bell-shaped part inside some area, probably in the 'missile'. After a short while, the dull-colored part suddenly detaches. The bell-shaped part begins to expel something which makes it glow red hot in a matter of seconds. Whatever it is expelling, it is definitely something very hot.

Ironwood, finally putting two and two together, realized that it is not a missile, but an orbital rocket. Whoever sent this must know a great deal about how to get to space, with whatever resources they have.

He heard a ringing sound. "Must be my scroll. Excuse me, everyone," he said before leaving the room. "Huh, Ozpin." He answered the call.

"Hello, Ozpin, how are you doing?"

"Ironwood, I have incredible news."

"Yeah, I have news of my own, too."

"You wanna tell about it first?"

"No, no, no, you tell first."

"Ah, but I insist."

"Very well. We have managed to intercept a transmission, not from Remnant, but from somewhere we still cannot determine. I will send you the said transmission after this."

"Yeah, great. Now, I will tell you about mine. With the telescope you gave me, I was able to discover another planet. Apparently, it is capable of harboring life, as I saw large patches of green."

"I guess I can stop wondering. You can tell me about it next time, I got bigger problems."

"Okay, I understand. I have been up all night just stargazing."

"Yeah, you could use your rest."

"Thanks."

Ironwood closes the conversation. He returns to the room where everyone is practically speechless. Ironwood was about to question when he saw the reason. It was the craft, the bell-shaped part no longer expelling anything, but still going very fast and not dropping. He finally realized something: they have gotten to orbit.

AN: Ah, sorry for not posting. This chapter proved to be hard to write, considering that it had a very important event here. I guess I also thought I could put Remnant being able to watch the stream, though it wouldn't really be appropriate. But then, after all, this *is* an AU.

P.S. Russian is in Google Translate Format.