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.
(Venator Class Cruiser, Trailblazer, Remnant 12:30 PM November 12th.)
The LAAT landed in the hanger of the cruiser with far more soldiers greeting them than possible. Lerek smiled at the Clones.
"Nice to see security is all alert." Lerek joked to his soldiers before he cleared his throat. "Please tell the captain to get us to orbit and prepare for new orders. I'll be in my room if anyone here needs me." Lerek ordered before he exited the craft and slowly started to walk across the room.
He was far more bothered by the rest of Vale now. A simple ambush that had hit them the second they had come. Someone had told them, or the White Fang had better intel than he expected. He wished to find out how they had done so, yet a better investigation may simply bother them.
'If they had the type of control that they showed? Then they are more dangerous than the CIS. Battle Droids are a lot of things, intelligent to that degree isn't one of them. Their army hadn't exactly made any ambushes on the planet either which means they're either planning for reinforcements to hammer Vale or they are stranded here and waiting for a better angle for attack.' Lerek mentally stated to himself as he heard footsteps behind him.
Blake. He had forgotten the Faunus had followed him onto the exploration of the city and she still had the satchel on her shoulder which held the books that they needed, and he had wanted at the second. She stared at the Arkanian who had been simply pondering what to do when he returned to his room.
Still? There was a lot on their plate and a lot that needed to be done before too long. She tapped at her lips and seemed to be deep in thought at something.
"We shouldn't be bothered for a while. They're probably still sweeping the city to see what happened next." Blake heard from Lerek as he sighed and pushed the button for the turbo lift as they waited for it to descend towards them.
She nodded and tapped on the walls in front of her. The doors in front of them opened as they seemed to be rather slow to open as they slowly screeched open. The Faunus and Arkanian entered as he tapped the controls to head towards the bridge.
It had simply been too long for anything of note to jot down. it was certainly a lot to process, yet he held his breath as to what to tell the council. What was there to say anyway? A band of native soldiers had simply laid waste to them and brushed their forces aside. It had been a lot on his mind when it came to it, and he didn't wish to press the rest of his lc. The enemy wasn't one to surrender and neither was he or his forces.
Yet he wondered what their goal was now. if they wanted respect and peace? They wouldn't be trying to handle certain things. He had a lot more to do as of the second. He had a lot more when it came down to it. He had a lot more to study and try to make sense of what had come next.
Still? He had a lot more on his plate. This was far too insane for him to handle as of now. What was the White Fang after? How many troops did they station in Vale? What was their next move?
It was clear to him that they had sent a scouting team to find Blake or someone. There was to be some reason they had located both coming to the Trailblazer. Someone had to have seen them.
He sighed and realized he'd need to put together another meeting with General Ironwood. It was so much better when he had fun slicing battle droids to pieces, flying around the galaxy behind the controls of a Delta-7 Starfighter, saving the galaxy with another Jedi.
Yet here he was. On a new world with new rules and behaviors that constantly astounded him. He pondered if there was some sort of destiny behind him being sent to this place as of now. It certainly explained some things if he was.
'I need to report to Master Yoda. He'd make more sense of all this than me. Comes with being centuries older than any Arkanian could hope to be.' Lerek mentally stated before he frowned to himself.
Far too much was placed on this, far too much was in his hands for one in his life. It wasn't as if he shunned this role if that was what was needed of him, but this destiny seemed far more suited for someone such as Master Yoda or Master Skywalker. Why had it been placed on his shoulders so far?
He decided to push these questions to the back of his mind for now. The sooner it became easier to focus on this. He had a lot more to do when it came down to it. He was a lot more focused on how to do it when he considered it.
Still? There were more things to do when it came down to it was honestly interesting as of now to be handling it properly. He gazed at one of the datapads which came from an hourly report from one of the clones down in Vale. He remembered that there were still problems with his men such as trying to set up proper bases and being supplied without needing to go through dozens of hoops.
"There's only so much that can be done without bothering people and rubbing them the wrong way," Lerek stated while he sighed to himself before he rolled his eyes. "I don't know what will come next if we don't establish a proper presence on Remnant. The fleet will eventually run out of supplies without a way to fuel them and equip them." Lerek added before he seemed to cross his arms and pondered what to do when he considered it.
He was a lot more bemused by Blake as well when he turned his attention to her. She had been on his mind as of now. Still? The Faunus seemed to be in their crosshairs dozens of times.
'She was a member; did she know something that could destroy the entire group? Blackmail that made her an interest to capture. They seem to be devoting a few resources to Blake over everyone else. It certainly seemed as if they want her silenced as soon as possible. I'll ask her when she's ready to answer. At least it wasn't at the dance where they'd be able to start taking people, hostage. There's a disaster waiting to happen in that if I'm 100% sure.' Lerek stated before he took a seat next to the desk and began to ponder certain things.
"General?" Lerek heard from the comlink next to him. "We've swept the area. There's some equipment we think you and General Yoda may be interested in." The clone on the other end stated.
"Can you send it to the outpost, please?" Lerek questioned to which there was a small delay. "How are you and the others holding up, trooper? The increased droid patrols around Vale can't be doing anyone any good." Lerek added before he sighed and leaned backward in his chair.
"As good as I can, sir. Commander Drifter isn't exactly worried about the clankers. This many soldiers in one place? It's scaring people. I'll send a team to take what we found to the outpost and let you know when it arrives, sir." The Clone reported before he dropped off the radio.
Lerek sighed and started to wonder what was to come next. General Ironwood was sure to use this to try and push for better defenses. The fact that they already had hundreds of soldiers and warships guarding Vale wasn't lost on the Arkanian. They had too many guns pointed in too many directions and not once did they seem to need to fire them at anyone or anything. It had become a nightmare to him. He returned his attention to the White Fang at the second. The Faunus terrorists were a factor he nor the Republic understood. They were already fighting a war against far too many droids to count, another army fighting them was the last thing the Republic needed.
He pushed those thoughts to the side for the moment and began to focus upon the idea if they had wanted them dead in such a manner? It wasn't hard to simply shoot down their gunship and kill them both. No, someone wanted Blake and they weren't too picky in if she was banged up badly. He wouldn't place guards around Blake, not only would it set off the wrong idea and she'd probably be dead set against it, but it'd only make her a bigger target if people knew she was too much of a bullseye to pass up.
That left his need to find other options to deal with this. Perhaps a talk with Professor Ozpin would help at the second. It had been a lot more interesting to see how the Professor seemed to know some things that bothered him despite his best efforts. He knew something that was going on and it seemed as if it was common knowledge at the time for him to be aware. Lerek decided to head out tomorrow.
"Knowing them? General Ironwood probably has the entire city locked down, a small garrison coming everything I touched, and is probably trying to find a way to get more from the Republic." Lerek stated while he seemed to sigh and roll his eyes to himself. "As much as I love the republic? We need to stop bothering with trying to skirt the line. Not everyone wants to be our friend and we need to accept that." Lerek stated while he crossed his arms.
He slowly pushed himself from his chair and towards the door, only stopping to pull his datapad into his hand as he went. This had been far too interesting for him.
"I still need to check on Blake and see what's up with her," Lerek said before he sighed and rolled his eyes to himself. "There's been so much on my plate, and this is the only thing I can handle. I'll check in with Drifter and them when we don't have platoons of soldiers busy running around not knowing what the hell is going on." Lerek stated before he crossed his arms.
He slowly made his way towards the door and pondered how to best discuss things with General Ironwood. He was glad that the man hadn't decided to go to war with the Republic. The Arkanian still knew that they were at an impasse. Master Obi-Wan was a better negotiator than he and he believed he was also somewhat of a better general.
"Ok, check on Blake, report to Master Yoda. Order a new resupply from command and prepare for something to happen that I have no real idea how to counter." Lerek said before he sighed to himself and seemed to rub at his temples in annoyance.
He pressed the button to the door and was greeted by Blake. The Faunus seemed surprised to see the Arkanian as he was to see her. She also seemed to be dressed in her pajamas which told him she had gone back to her quarters by the time they returned. How she was on this level was not something that he wished to discuss.
"Blake?" Lerek said which got a nod from the Faunus. "Hey… I was coming to see you. Ask what is going on. I mean, the White Fang at the library seemed to be part of a bigger plan we didn't understand." Lerek stated to which Blake raised a finger to her lips as she seemed to stare at him.
"I think I might know why," Blake said before she sighed. "Ruby kind of found out I went with you. She's been blowing my scroll up. So has Yang. It's mostly been, Yang." Blake added with a sigh as she rubbed at her eyes.
"And?" Lerek questioned as he rubbed at his eyes with a little more interest. "That's how people are when it comes down to it. Are you ok?" Lerek stated before he seemed to point out the flaws in her argument.
This left Blake either shocked or not at all seeming to care as she marched past him. The Faunus seemed far more thrown off than by this as she seemed to turn on her heel. Lerek only rolled his eyes and slowly walked across the room.
"You know, there are about 4 or 5 different planning areas on the Trailblazer we could have talked at." Blake heard what Lerek said while he rolled his eyes. "There is also the fact I'm not dressed in my pajamas, kinda just got back 2 minutes ago. How did you get here as of the second?" Lerek said while he pondered what to do next.
She spun on her heel and gazed at him while she crossed her arms and then slowly started to tap her fingers on her arms. Lerek only raised an eyebrow before he seemed to slowly cross his arms.
"Give me 2 minutes and we're talking, alright? I have 2-3 different military meetings to do as of now." Lerek said to which Blake nodded before she seemed to be interested. "You, ok? I expected you to be sleeping or something and I didn't want to bug you." Lerek said as he slipped into the refresher room of his quarters and sighed.
"I didn't want to talk about the dance," Blake stated before she cracked her fingers. "There's a lot more on the mind as of the second," Blake said while she slowly sat down on the bed.
"You hate the dance, huh?" Lerek asked through the door before Lerek raised his eyebrow which the woman. "I'm not a fan of dances either, but I thought you'd like to be going. Get your mind off everything in the last few weeks." Lerek said before the door slid open.
Lerek slowly crossed the room dressed in a pair of white tunic pants and a shirt which seemed to deliberately contrast with her black clothes. Lerek sat down on the edge of the bed away from the Faunus so nobody had been able to say something odd.
"Not when the White Fang show up, not when they destroy the rest of Vale. I left because they started to get more extreme." Blake stated before she crossed her legs under her. "How often do Jedi take a day off?" Blake questioned before she seemed to become more tired of a few seconds.
He had been interested in how she had been honest. There was more on their plate than it seemed to be. She had been pressing him past what he had been used to. Lerek wished to know more about the Faunus than it appeared.
"Often enough if I'm honest. Even Jedi need vacations after enough missions." Lerek said before he crossed his arms and seemed to point towards her. "Honestly? There are more people in this world on vacation than people fighting back home. War seems to be what everyone is pushing for besides the politicians back home. It isn't exactly the best thing to be handling at the moment." Lerek said while he crossed his arms.
"Some people don't have time to take vacations," Blake said to which Lerek chuckled.
"Ah, so the great Blake Belladonna, defender of Vale is telling me she's always on the job?" Lerek questioned with a raised eyebrow. "That I find almost impossible to believe if I'm not lying. There's always a reason to take it easy. Trust me, I didn't start this war as the general I am, leading soldiers into the fires and constantly cracking jokes. Not this way at least. It's not the easiest path to walk when your knee is deep in doubt." Lerek said before he sighed.
"You think it's a good idea to be celebrating with all these battles going on across Vale?" Blake questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"No, but I think you shouldn't try to let it drag you down like that. The sooner you do that? The easier they win. Nobody can fight at their best if they're constantly stressing over things." Lerek said while he leaned backward.
"Trust me, am I nervous about screwing up? Yeah, I got a peace treaty to help negotiate, soldiers to lead in a place I don't know, constantly make sure the security we have isn't terrifying people." Lerek added before sighing. "Being a Jedi means being a peacekeeper. It isn't easy to be a peacekeeper when the entire planet is scared of you. I'm also worried the Separatists will team up with the White Fang. A bunch of misguided revolutionaries with dozens of disposable battle droids marching on Vale? Yeah, I'll be blunt. I don't see the odds being exactly in our favor if I'm honest. Not really." Lerek said as Blake crossed her legs under her.
It had been obvious that there was something odd between the duo, yet he couldn't place his finger on it.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that each chapter will be longer and such. The next chapter will begin the next arc and will set up the main plot and villains at the second. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show both Blake and Lerek starting to become romantically chosen at the time. The next chapter is also 900-6500 words. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!