Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Shadows of the Force. Enjoy the 3000-word chapter. I don't own RWBY and Star Wars. Monty Oum, Lucas Films and Rooster Teeth do.
(Vale, dock areas, Remnant 4:30 PM November 12th.)
Blake turned to him as he slowly regained his senses. The blasts of the cannons had almost knocked him unconscious, but they did not kill him. Lerek could still sense the force enough to tell that it was Blake who approached him. She was the one whose signature he was most familiar within the force.
"Ow…" Lerek stated, unsure of what to think, his senses starting to slowly return to him a few moments later. "Damn, that thing is stronger than any droid I've scrapped," Lerek muttered, unsure what to believe at the moment.
He heard the whistling of missiles, he heard them whistling in his direction as he began to draw the force in towards himself, eager to get back into the fight. The whistling exploded as the sound of a blade slicing clean through the metal was heard, Lerek chuckled with amusement. He knew it was Blake, it could only have been her. The others were quite preoccupied and only Blake would come and protect him if only for the sole purpose of yelling at him later.
"You idiot." Lerek heard from Blake stated, causing the Arkanian to smirk under the pain he currently felt.
"Ah, so I'm not dead yet," Lerek stated as he cracked his knuckles while he started to stand up. "Is this what you went up to huntress school for?" Lerek questioned as the Arkanian started to think of what happen.
"Just shut up," Blake stated to which the Arkanian chuckled, wrenching out his arm as he called upon the force once more.
He felt his lightsaber enter his grip once more, igniting in a haze of blue light. An Atlesian war mech inside the grasp of the White Fang? Then there were a thousand questions, all needing to be told to him.
But they could wait, the Arkanian needed to help his newfound friends vanish from this mech, unsure what the best course of action was. There were FAR more questions he could ask, but there was for another time.
"That stab I gave it damaged it; the pilot wouldn't have damaged it so much if it hadn't been like that," Lerek stated as he brushed the dust from his Jedi robes. "Meaning the Paladin isn't resistant to it. I'll try and take down it as best I can." Lerek added with a sigh.
Blake looked at the Arkanian while he rushed forward, slower than before, but still just as determined to put an end to this thing.
"LEREK!" Blake yelled, furious over how reckless the Arkanian was at the end of the day. "You have to be kidding me," Blake added, more done with this than she had any right to.
'We need a plan, brute force isn't going to work, and the Paladin is still much too fast to land a good hit. I need to take out one of its legs and make sure it can't avoid any of our hits.' Lerek thought to himself as he rolled through another barrage of blasts.
"Lerek!" Ruby yelled before Lerek spun, dodging the paladin's attempt to punch him. "Ladybug!" Ruby yelled, causing the Arkanian to raise an eyebrow at this.
'This planet becomes weirder and more curious every day I'm here.' Lerek thought as he landed upon the Paladin's arm, eager to throw himself at this machine.
The paladin flung itself backwards again, taking the Arkanian with it as he flipped into the air. Lerek watched the paladin turn only to greet the others at the moment.
"Wha…" Roman said before noticing a flash of light rip through the air.
The mech's other arm ripped apart as both Ruby and Blake landed in a crouch, both looking at the mech as the limb shattered into metal bits. Lerek landed in a crouch as both looked at him.
"Well, now it can't punch anything." Lerek joked as the paladin began to fire more missiles, trying to kill the entire group.
Lerek leapt forward, trying to somersault through the missiles as he shook his head. The paladin barely had any weapons to try and kill them meaning they had an advantage.
"Great, now I still have to break this thing," Lerek muttered, wishing he had to put up with politicians then being thrown around by a giant war mech. "Ok then, let's finish this," Lerek added while he cracked his knuckles.
"He is the stupidest general ever," Blake added as she joined in his rush.
Weiss hummed before deciding to use her semblance and gain an advantage, she was cut off by the others. Ruby lunged forward with Yang, both propelling themselves forward with the recoil of their weapons. Weiss sighed and unleashed a group of glyphs in front of her friends which propped them like rockets.
"Crap," Roman said before he leapt backwards to dodge Lerek's strike only for Blake to kick off his shoulder towards the mech. "So, it's going to be one of those days?" Roman questioned while he sighed.
Blake slammed into the mech with enough force to make it stumble back a step. Ruby's scythe went next, slicing into its leg, cutting through some of the metal as well. Then Yang smashed into the paladin's cockpit with the force of a bullet.
The mech crunched inwards, being thrown back as it rolled along the ground, breaking into thousands of pieces of scrap as it dismantled itself with the speed of its throw.
Roman rolled out of the mech, landing in a crouch as Lerek and RWBY all landed in front of them. Lerek looked at the mecha's remains, curious now about its construction.
"Do you know how expensive that was?" Roman questioned as Lerek crossed his arms.
"No, but you're not very good at using it," Lerek said before he rolled his eyes. "I think it's time you go," Lerek added as he started to walk forward once more.
Roman rolled his eyes and lifted his cane, prepared to fight the entire team himself if need be. He had already fought one, what was 3 more and their little friend?
It was then Lerek was forced to leap back as he looked at the woman who dropped down to pause his path. He watched as Roman looked with an interest of them.
"Gentleman, ladies, and ice queen," Roman said while Lerek lunged forward alongside Yang. "Neo, if you would?" Roman asked the petite girl who stood in front of him at the moment.
It was at the moment before Lerek struck that he noticed something, he couldn't see in the infrared spectrum as his species could. Lerek and Yang smashed into the duo with the force of rockets. Lerek blinked as glass rained down on them like drops of snow.
'An illusion? So that's semblance, I suppose?' Lerek thought as he watched the illusion shatter.
Then it was followed by engines as he turned to notice bullhead taking off with Roman and the girl aboard. Lerek blinked and focused on the force. Roman's smug smirk turned into confusion as the Bullhead paused slightly.
RWBY blinked as they watched Lerek extending his fingers towards the craft, pausing its retreat into space as the Arkanian started to pull it back.
"Can someone… Please, stop them?" Lerek questioned as he strained, trying to stop their ascent into the sky. "This isn't as easy as it looks," Lerek stated, trying to concentrate on pausing the craft with the force.
Yang and Ruby both fired several rounds from their weapons as Roman blinked unsure of what had happened. This kid was far more than he expected. Roman raised his cane only for the blasts to knock him off balance, unsure what was happening.
Lerek continued to strain himself, he had lifted heavy objects before, but never one that was trying to run away at full blast. Lerek felt himself grunt in pain, his injuries from the blast from before were catching up to him. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer, pain-wracked his frame as he grunted, straining to keep the duo from escaping.
"Weiss?" Blake questioned as Weiss nodded, slamming her rapier into the ground, summoning several glyphs which fired out icicles.
"Can someone please break the damn engines?" Lerek asked as Roman ducked and dodged the icicles while Neo simply deflected them with her umbrella.
Roman turned and fired a shot at the Arkanian, forcing Lerek to release his grip. The engines sparked before the sound of new turbines started to flood the air. The Bullhead retreated into the sky, the engines chasing after them a moment later.
"General!" Lerek heard over his comlink while he looked up to see a pair of Y-Wings and a pair of LAATs arriving.
He blinked as the Y-Wings rushed after the malfunctioning craft, their guns firing blasts that would cut through the armour like butter. Lerek had a feeling they'd be cut down before they reached the city limits. Lerek felt his energy slowly start to flow back into the rest of his body. The Arkanian dropped to his knees as the LAATs spun around, deploying 2 platoons of 307th clones.
The soldiers swept their blasters around as Lerek turned off his lightsaber while he started to think.
"Uh, we might want to leave," Ruby added as the Jedi general started to speak to the group of soldiers.
"Lockdown the area," Lerek ordered to the group of clones before pointing a finger towards the scrap. "And someone checks that paladin for intel. I need to talk with General Ironwood when we get back to the city." Lerek added, pausing to cross his arms and look around.
Blake looked at the Arkanian as the republic troops started to lock down the area. Lerek looked at her, curious as he hummed and looked upwards at the sky.
"Blake, I assume your friends might know who the man in the paladin was?" Lerek questioned, pausing to think about the next move.
"You mean Roman Torchwick?" Weiss questioned as the clones started to dig into the scrap, looking for anything useful. "We've met him before, he's a local criminal," Weiss added to which Blake spoke up.
"Who's working with the White Fang," Blake added, a twinge of anger and disgust present in her tone.
"And now the White Fang have their hands on military technology by now?" Lerek questioned, looking at the rest of the battlefield. "Well, now me and General Ironwood are going to need to talk. The White Fang are like the Separatists, they are organized and well equipped if they could pull something like that off." Lerek added, crossing his arms as he started to reflect on this.
"General?" One of the clones asked as he walked over to Lerek while saluting. "We've gotten civilians en route, Atlas military as well. Seems your fight kicked up more commotion than just alerting us." The clone reported to which Lerek started to think, curious as to what the next move was.
If the military came? Then he and General Ironwood were having issues. Lerek didn't have any hatred for the general, but he was VASTLY angry that they were arguing while there was an issue like a group of disgruntled Faunus with military technology.
"I think we should stay and explain the situation to the authorities," Weiss added, gaining a hum from Yang a moment later.
"I'll stay here, they need a witness anyway." Blake put in as both Ruby and Yang shared a look.
"You sure?" Yang asked as she started to look around, knowing they'd be here soon.
"Yes," Blake said before Weiss nodded, Lerek gestured to the gunship. "I and Weiss will stay here and explain things to the police. You should head back, they get suspicious if we all were found here." Blake added before the duo nodded and boarded the gunship.
"You know they're going to be asking a LOT of military questions when it comes down to it, right?" Lerek questioned, rubbing at his temples a few minutes later. "There's going to be a lot of arguing and accusations, just like there's always been," Lerek stated, aware of there that there was going to be plenty of issues.
Blake and Weiss nodded, aware of these issues, but always were curious when it comes down to it. Lerek said nothing but gained a slight smile, happy about the company he kept at the moment. Lerek was curious about the rest of the city if they had soldiers like this.
"Has there been any incursions in the rest of the city?" Lerek questioned which got a shake of the head from the soldier a moment later. "Then keep the rest of the location secure. Let's make sure that something else when it comes down to it." Lerek pointed out as he started, rubbing his head at the moment.
Still? While he had time to focus on it? Lerek had to keep his eye on the prize. The droids were more numerous, and he doubted the White Fang wanted an all-out war with the republic or its allies.
He was interrupted by several sleek white dropships dropping into the space. 2 of them dropped to the ground, deploying Atlesian soldiers who spread out, sweeping their rifles at the clones who formed a line as well. Lerek shook his head as General Ironwood and Headmaster Ozpin emerged from one of the dropships. Lerek turned his face an unmasked seal of emotion.
"General Zun." Ironwood put in, holding his hands behind his back. "I see your busy looking over Atlesian technology," Ironwood added, gesturing to the remains of the paladin.
Lerek remained unmoved, knowing exactly what to say at the moment. He cleared his throat to speak.
"General Ironwood," Lerek responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Would you like to tell me why there's stolen Atlesian technology then? This Paladin seemed to have found its way out of your command then, mind telling me how that happened then?" Lerek questioned as he looked at his and Ironwood's men who were busy looking over the rest of the wreckage at the scene.
Both Weiss and Blake looked at the two generals. Lerek crossed his arms over his chest, curious as to what the man would do. He sighed, thinking of how hard this was without the politics of war.
"The White Fang have gotten bolder if they're attacking our convoys." Ironwood put in as Lerek turned, looking at the mech. "I'll fill you in on the details in exchange for your account of events," Ironwood stated, gaining a nod from the Arkanian Jedi knight.
"And the remains of possible convoys?" Lerek questioned, gesturing towards the pile of scrap. "My men just pursued a transport carrying Roman Torchwick," Lerek stated, gaining a sigh from Ironwood.
"I'm going to take that look on your face to assume you're familiar with him like Ms. Belladonna and Schnee," Lerek stated, uncrossing his arms.
"He led an assault on an SDC cargo vessel with the White Fang," Ironwood said before turning to Blake. "Ms. Belladonna and Ms. Schnee probably told you everything else, correct? This rise in attacks on Vale is why I've arrived with my fleet." Ironwood added as Lerek hummed.
"And not because of my forces occupying Vale at the moment?" Lerek questioned, raising his eyebrow and rubbing at his temples. "If we're done fighting over military might? Maybe we can focus on fighting our enemies? Whoever Roman is? I know he has a personal history with RWBY, which means he's been in Vale for some time. I'm going to guess he's not behind all this, though." Lerek added as a Nu-Class shuttle landed to pick the group up.
"You think he's being manipulated by someone?" Blake asked, blinking in surprise.
"I believe me, and General Zun can both agree on that," Ironwood added, walking towards the scrap. "Roman Torchwick is a known criminal. A man like that wouldn't come into the limelight so publicly and risk everyone being against him. The White Fang also wouldn't be working with a human without a good reason, there's a bigger play going on here, it's just not that visible." Ironwood put in as Lerek nodded.
"Then we should put ourselves into figuring out another move together before they strike once more," Lerek added as he sighed, cracking and looking around this area. "Besides? I need to tell the council and figure out where the next attack comes from." Lerek added beginning to board the shuttle as Weiss and Blake joined him.
"And if the White Fang are supporting the separatists, general?" Lerek heard from Ironwood as he paused.
"I'm not using lethal force on anyone yet, general," Lerek added before turning to Blake. "But if push comes to shove? I'll keep my eye on them. We should still focus on the enemy, not each other." Lerek added, knowing what came next was going to determine a lot of the battle on this planet.
There was too much to think about as he pondered the next plan. Lerek was going to point out the next moment. There was too much of a battle not to be wary of.
He watched Blake hum, putting herself into her sight a moment. She was curious as to the next thought in his head. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show both Lerek and Blake talking and setting up Burning the Candle. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter is 900-6500 words. Ruby 900-1200 Monday, Yang 900-1500 Thursday. Weiss and a Destiny crossover are going to be 800 Monday, Cinder 900-1200 Friday, Elm 1200 Saturday alongside Raven 1200 Saturday. Penny 900-1500 Tuesday, Emerald 1500 Friday, Neo 1500 Wednesday and such and Pyrrha 900-1500 Saturday alongside Winter 900-1500 Saturday.