"How's is the search going, Ozpin?"
"Well enough. I'm forwarding the documents to you as we speak."
"So I see... Yang Xiao Long? The bounty hunter?"
"You've heard of her I take it."
"She's become quite famous, even among the core worlds. Destroyed a few pirate gangs, with only a single shi-... Of course! She has a Hunter, doesn't she?"
"It would seem she does. It only helps she's a skilled pilot already."
"Still, everything I've heard has her being rather brash and headstrong. The military life might not suit her."
"She's being placed in a contractor position, exempt from the usual hierarchy, and reporting directly to me. I plan on doing the same for everyone we find."
"And she knows about the Grimm?"
"Not yet. By the time she does find out, she won't be in much of a position to argue. If need be we have... other... ways of forcing her cooperation."
"Hm. And this other one. Blake Belladonna. She's a former member of the White Fang, according to this report."
"She is. She's also a very talented pilot, objectively speaking. When you consider that she's participated in raids against the Schnee Dust company and succeeded in destroying a number of their more important assets, you can hardly say she isn't skilled. It only helps further that she is also in possession of a Hunter."
"But her past affiliation won't be a problem? I doubt many of our military will be pleased."
"The report regarding her White Fang involvement is highly classified. On official documents, we have her being another contracted bounty hunter. She's already agreed to the deception herself."
"Good. Any others leads?"
"There are always other leads, Councilman. As it so happens, we've already discovered another Hunter pilot, on Yang's home-world, no less. We found her a few months ago, she's with my XO, being forced through a training program designed for her. I've also got a few favors I can call in, regarding one of the experimental Hunters that never reached mass production. Dubbed 'Myrtenaster'."
"Myrtenaster? And you've known about this Hunter for how long?"
"Quite awhile, in fact. There was never any need to go after it before, and without a reason we never would have gotten near it regardless."
"Ozpin, what could possibly keep government hands from reaching it?"
"Well, Councilman, the Schnees have it."
"... That would do it."
Immer Kalt System, above the Schnee Family Home-world
Ivory Throne, a massive Dreadnought-class capital ship boasting some of the most advanced weapons systems available and serving as the flagship of the Schnee Dust Company, was in orbit around a lonely, abnormally cool star. Only a single, perpetually frozen planet rotated in an almost perfect orbit around its meager source of heat. This system was the home of the Schnee Family, taken for its own through force of combat and kept within the family by use of politics. The planet below, sharing its name with that of the system itself, had been the first stepping stone of the Schnee Dust Company, having once been rich in the precious dust that fueled humanity through the stars. Now, it served only as a home for a few dozen people, all for the sake of one young woman. Years had gone by without any real change to the schedule. Awaken, clean up, breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, dinner, prepare for bed, sleep. This routine was seen through dutifully, day after day. Only one break from the monotony existed, the weekend hours when she was allowed, under strict supervision and even stricter teachers, to pilot the Schnee's greatest treasure.
Today, in front of her father, Weiss Schnee would prove herself worthy of piloting the machine herself, in open combat if necessary. She would prove she was capable of doing the family name proud, of owning the machine she had practiced so hard with, and perhaps fulfill a wish hidden deep within her own heart. Those thoughts, however, were for another time. Now, she sat silently within Myrtenaster, the elegant, metal-silver Hunter that bore only a single rotary cannon for fighter armament, waiting to begin. She knew, high above her, an opponent was already waiting, an automated defense weapon of some kind, standing in the path of her dreams. All she had to do was bust through, defeat it, and do so with the elegance, poise and excellence demanded of a Schnee. Time seemed to stretch further and further as she waited, and Weiss quickly found herself growing anxious. Would her father go back on his promise? Would he simply brush aside her desires and force her down whatever path he'd chosen? In answer, as if waiting for the moment her doubts started to surface, the signal came, a single burst of light in the skies above. Weiss stared, frozen in shock, before her mind was focused once again, hands grasping the twin control sticks and quickly sending her hurtling into the sky and the empty vastness of space beyond.
As soon as she'd left the planet's atmosphere, the chirp of warning came and she glanced down at the three-dimensional radar, a single speck of red on the very edges of her effective tracking range appearing. Her enemy. Her eyes quickly returned to the empty vastness, searching for the target as it grew closer with every passing moment. Then, in the distance, she could see it, growing in size until both Myrtenaster and the automated opponent halted in space, staring each other down in some odd form of staring contest. The thing before her appeared to be a massive knight, at least three times the size of her own, made to mimicry her own vessel's bipedal form, although it lacks the elegant curves her machine has. Before she can examine it any further, however, her computer chirps at her, and a video feed opens up to her left, revealing her father's stoic and time-worn face. A tense silence takes hold of both Schnees, neither quite willing to break the wall of ice that seems to form between them at every meeting, before her father's face somehow grows even more stern, and he finally speaks.
"Weiss."
"Yes, Father?"
"Do not disappoint me."
The feed is cut, and Weiss takes a deep breath, willing herself to ignore the slight stab of pain that shoots through her heart. She is a Schnee. She won't show weakness, not even when her own father barely notices her. Her gaze refocuses on the "knight" before her, even as her fingers tighten on the control sticks and Myrtenaster's cold, computerized voice informs her that it is time to begin.
"System switched to Combat Mode."
The hum of Myrtenaster's engines grew louder, and Weiss tensed, choosing to wait for her opponent to make the first move. Expectedly, the automated faux-Hunter waited only a few seconds before charging forward, unleashing a burst of fire from a hard-mounted machine gun on its shoulder. Weiss reacted instantly, jerking Myrtenaster to the side and back, hoping to gain some distance. Then she opened fire, round after round slamming home into the bulky and slow body of her opponent. What it lacked in agility, however, it made up for in armor, and it shrugged off the attacks with ease and charged again, peppering Weiss with gunfire as it did so. Weiss focused on dodging the incoming fire, and for a moment lost track of the machine she faced, only to find it suddenly in front of her, blade already swinging to connect with Myrtenaster and throw her backwards. The young woman growled in frustration, even as her computer stated only minimal damage, then righted her ship and stabbed at another switch, taking a deep breath to steady herself and her fraying nerves. In response to her command, Myrtenaster's engines revved themselves further, pumping more energy into the output, and she shot forwards, opening fire and beginning a 3-dimensional dance around her opponent, striking from every angle she could find in hopes of finding a chink in the armor. She had no such luck, and the machine before her shrugged off her attacks yet again before taking some blindingly fast swings and finishing with a powerful jab straight to the cockpit. Myrtenaster was once again thrown through the empty void, and inside, Weiss was thrown forward at the sudden change in direction, bashing her face painfully against the console. She saw the evidence of the damage before she felt it, the blood splatter against the console proof enough, and the pilot grimaced in bitter anger and pain. This would leave a scar, she was sure of it, and that would just be another disappointment to her father. But this, her piloting of Myrtenaster. This would not be! She would NOT fail at this.
Weiss steadied Myrtenaster, and before she'd even finished the action the ship was changing around her. The rotary cannon slid into its hiding place within the body, and to replace it was the left arm, or rather, a blade, sharp and gleaming under the light of the distant sun. At the same time, the core began to hum in anticipation, and the computer stated the most obvious fact it possibly could.
"System Switched to Hunter Mode. Semblance Core Activated."
The enemy was coming. Weiss flicked a small revolver like addition to her left control stick, and an internal auto-loader, something only Myrtenaster had ever had, pulled dust from a revolving chamber and injected it into the blade-arm, causing it to glow a bright, angry red. Even as the automaton she faced brought its sword crashing down to swing at her, Weiss' own blade came up to meet it, a swirling cascade of light bursting forth from the tip as the two weapons collided. Time seemed to hold still for a moment, then the unthinking robot's blade was forced back, opening it up to attack, and Weiss wasted little time in taking the opportunity. The auto-loader worked furiously, switching the red dust canister within the blade's housing with that of a light-blue, then Myrtenaster's blade was stabbed forward, projecting a burst of ice through the void to envelop the automaton's engines. It quickly took a swing in retaliation, likely trying to force Weiss back, but Myrtenaster simply "jumped" slightly above the attack and latched onto the blade, riding the swing until it was beside the enemy and the auto-loader once again switching out canisters. The blade glowed yellow, then Weiss shot forward, cutting twice in rapid succession, once at the seemingly forgotten(or more likely empty) machine gun, and the other sending the blade the automaton seemed to favor out into the void, forever lost. The automaton's engines flared, burning through the ice that engulfed them, and it charged again, swinging now with bare fists in a valiant attempt to destroy its enemy. Myrtenaster simply danced out-of-the-way, already loading another canister into place, and Weiss extended the machines free hand, spatial projectors targeting the area around her enemy easily. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and then her enemy's sensors went haywire, system trying to account for a sudden appearance of a gravitational anomaly. Weiss was quick to follow this with another burst of light-blue, this time sending out small "charges" that captured her opponent's body and held it, even as it's engines flared in a desperate attempt to avoid what was coming next.
Unfortunately, Weiss had no interest in showing mercy. Myrtenaster purged any remnants of the dust within the blade, then focused the unmodified energy of its Semblance Core, the blade suddenly glowing with intricate designs that quickly spread to the entire ship's body. Weiss held a pose for just a moment, letting that energy engulf her and her ship, then shot forward, bring the blade arm across in a devastating slash that left the machine opponent in two, before it disintegrated from the sheer energy discharged into it. Silence followed, and Weiss heard only the sound of the engines humming and her own heavy breathing. A moment later and she steadied her heart, quickly wiped as much of the blood from her eye as she could and opened a hailing channel to the capital ship she knew was not far off. Barely a second passed before the call was answered and once again her father's face stern face greeted her. For just a moment, a half of a second, Weiss could have sworn she saw a flicker of concern pass through her father's eyes, but it was gone, and she dismissed it as wishful thinking.
"I've won, Father."
"So I see."
"Your judgement?"
Silence reigned for a moment, and the Schnee Patriarch seemed to glance to the side at somebody with narrowed eyes. Then, with a huff of breath Weiss took as a sigh, her father made his judgement, a scowl finding its way onto his lips.
"Fine. Play your troublesome game if you must. But!" Weiss small smile of celebration froze in place, fear creeping back into her heart as her father's stern gaze fixed itself on her. "On one condition. You will serve, as a contracted pilot, under a colleague of mine. Is this understood?"
"Yes Father."
"Good. Get yourself ready. You and Myrtenaster leave immediately."
The call was ended, and as soon as the elder Schnee was out of sight Weiss let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into her chair. She had done it! She was, at least partly, free! Serving under another man, it seemed, but at least, at the very least, she had Myrtenaster. She had her ship, and no one in the world would take it from her. Not until she'd proven to the galaxy that she was deserving of the name Schnee. And not until, just once in her life, she'd seen her father smile at her in approval.
On board the Ivory Throne, seated at a desk within what served as his office, Albert Schnee removed his lingering finger from the control board, scowl softening into a small, sad smile. To think, after all those years that he'd hoped and prayed, his daughter was following the family tradition. He remembered his own, brief, time at the hands of that ship, but back then, it hadn't had a name. It was just another object in the Schnee family inheritance. If only...
"You know, it amazes me that you choose to act so coldly towards her, Albert."
The man's scowl returned, this time aimed at the man seated opposite him. Rear Admiral Ozpin simply sipped at his coffee as he stared blandly back, eyes showing only a hint of interest. Albert sighed and dropped his scowl, easing back into his chair in a unknowing imitation of his own daughter.
"I... I only did the best I could. I... I'm not used to... interacting... with children."
"Hm. And that means that you can treat her like she doesn't exist?"
"I'VE NEVER-... I've never treated her like she doesn't exist..."
"I think she'd say differently."
"I just... I wanted her to be able to live her life as she wanted. Not blindly follow our own family legacy. I wanted her to hate anything to do with me."
"And it seems she's chosen to do the exact opposite. I honestly can't begin to understand what made you think she'd want differently. She has both of her parent's blood in her, after all."
"That she does. Judging by the way she grows more beautiful every day, more her mother's than mine."
"She still doesn't know, does she?"
"... No. I... I can never find the chance."
"She'll find out someday. That the ship she now pilot's was named for the one parent she never met."
"And when that day comes, I'll tell her everything. For now though, use her as you must. But Ozpin, I swear to you, if she comes to any harm, I will devote every ounce of my power to destroying you in every way I can."
"I believe you. But I can't make promises I don't know if I can keep."
The Fringe, Patch System, Colony World Signal, Six Months Ago
"RUBY ROSE, YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW AND FINISH YOUR CHORES!"
The shout was heard throughout the small colony, and a number of faces broke out into wide smiles as a young teenager, signature red cloak billowing in the wind, sprinted through the center of town, arms filled with spare ship parts scrounged from who knows where. Behind her, waving a wooden ladle, was her father, although even without the extra load in his hands, he was already falling far behind. Eventually he simply gave up, slowing to a stop as Ruby darted through the meager crowds. The man sighed in defeat, even as a smile crept onto his lips. There was no way he was going to stay mad at the girl. A passerby smiled wider upon seeing the man, and jerked a thumb at the fleeing girl, a hint of contained laughter slipping into his voice.
"She at it again?"
"Yep. Keeps saying she's almost got it. Wish I knew what she was working on, but... Who knows with that one."
"Don't be too hard on her. You know how jealous she was when Yang came by last with that new ship of hers."
"Of course I do. Hell, I was jealous. And I'm not even a pilot. Wish she'd have picked less... bright... colors to paint her ship though. Might've made it easier to appreciate."
That brought a chuckle out of the other man, but Ruby's Father only stared off after his daughter. Truthfully, he was a little concerned, but in the end, he'd decided to trust her. Trust both of them, actually. He'd nearly fainted when Yang had announced she was going to be a bounty hunter, to help ease the burden on the small colony, and when Ruby started on this odd project of hers, he'd found himself awake on more than one late night, anxiously waiting for her return. But in the end, he doubted anything he could say would stop either of them. They had way too much of their mother's drive in them.
"If you could see them now, Summer..."
The man stood there a moment more, then sighed and turned back to head towards the house. He still had to make sure dinner got done, and a proper one. He swore Ruby would live off sweets if he let her, but what kind of father would he be if allowed that? He might think about baking some cookies though, if for no other purpose than bribing his daughter. If there was one thing that got her to do what he wanted, it was the promise of baked goods.
Ruby herself was out of the small town long before her own father made it back into the house, and she was hardly thinking of any delicious snacks. Instead, she was eagerly running through the woods that surrounded her home, intent on making it to her discovery. All her life Ruby had dreamed of being a pilot, becoming a hero of the stars, helping people in daring dogfights with pirates and maybe even Grimm! She'd been so enthusiastic that her Uncle Qrow had, secretly, given her piloting lessons for years, and though nobody really knew about it, she was certain she was at least as good as Yang by now. Which is why, a year ago, when Yang had dropped in piloting a Hunter she'd found somewhere(the details were a little fuzzy), Ruby had become rather dejected and forlorn. So much, in fact, that the young girl had lost all motivation to do much of anything. That was, of course, the time her uncle decided to intercede, happening to mention during one training session that perhaps a pilot might have hidden a Hunter ship among the ruins to the east of the colony. Just maybe.
Ruby, of course, had brightened at the thought considerably, and without a moment's hesitation had taken off in search of the hidden prize. Her Uncle had meant it as something to take the girl's mind off her jealousy. He hadn't meant for her to actually find one. And find one she did, within a mere two days of searching. It was luck that had her stumble upon the entrance, she'd been slowly losing hope in her search, and had kicked a rock in frustration, watching it sail through the air before disappearing into what looked like a mass of vines on the side of some abandoned ruins. From there, it was simple matter of pushing her own way through the plant-life and stumbling into the makeshift hanger within, a heavily damaged Hunter resting inside. Ruby had fainted from the sheer excitement, waking up later to find it was WAY past her curfew and returning home to a stern lecture paired with a week long grounding. Later, when she'd come back to examine it more closely, she'd found herself a little disappointed. The machine was smaller than Yang's, and slimmer as well, bearing no missiles and only a pair of rotary guns on either side. It did, however, seem to have slightly oversized engines, suggesting, much to Ruby's delight, that it was designed more for speed than sheer power. It didn't help its own case, however, by having an odd, seemingly pointless crescent like ridge protruding from the underbelly of the ship, forcing the vessel to tilt to the side as it rested on the ground. Regardless of its design, Ruby had thrown herself into the study of aircraft construction, particularly that of Hunters, absorbing as much information as she could on the subject, even as she worked to repair her treasure. She'd eventually discovered the reason for that odd ridge, a necessity for this particular spacecraft's Hunter form, and had practiced with it endlessly when she wasn't working on fixing up the machine. Now, a year later, she was certain that she was close to finishing. All that she needed to do was plug in the Semblance Core, and then, hopefully, absolutely everything would work properly.
Which is why today Ruby slipped once again into the hangar, arms full of spare parts, a goofy grin spreading across her face the moment her eyes settled on the ship she'd come to call Crescent Rose.
"I'M HOME, SWEETHEART!"
Ruby's voiced pierced the silence, but as always, the ship remained silent to the shouted greeting. The teenager hardly minded, however, instead dumping the parts in her arms into the cockpit and climbing in after them, already reaching over the seat to get another look at the compartment hidden inside. As she did so, the computer systems, already hooked into the repaired generator, started up, waiting patiently for a command. Ruby popped open the compartment's cover, frowned a moment at the gyroscope looking Semblance Core inside, then glanced over her shoulder at the console.
"Crescent Rose, run diagnostics for me, would ya?"
The ship's computer checked itself for damage, each system thoroughly scrubbed for anomalies or broken parts. The computer found nothing wrong save for one particularly necessary part, the Semblance Core being disconnected, and reported as much to the young pilot. Ruby frowned in annoyance, then turned her attention to the issue, grabbing a random part and setting herself to tinkering. Hours passed as Ruby tried this part or that, each one in turn being discarded with disgust, before eventually she stumbled upon the problem, entirely by accident. In a moment of annoyance, Ruby launched a cable bundle at the core, and instead of changing anything the part only tumbled behind the device, getting lost among the mass of wires that connected the core to the rest of the ship. Ruby sighed, then forced her small frame further into the compartment, digging around with her fingers in search of the thrown cables. In her search she found the lost part, and at the same time, found another mass of cables and wires, these ones frayed and damaged. Ruby stared a moment in disbelief, then quickly clambered back out and collected as many sets of wires as she could find before forcing her way back into the compartment. Then it became the monotonous task of unhooking and re-hooking cable set after cable set in search of one that fit properly. Soon, however, she found one that worked, and Ruby's hands shook with giddy excitement as she struggled to get each cable hooked in properly and fastened down. Not even a second after she'd finished, a sound very much like a loud beep was heard, and then the steadily growing sound of humming engines began to fill the girl's ears. Her grin was bright enough to outshine the sun, and she wiggled her way out of the compartment(careful to recollect all the failed bundles) and tossed all those spare parts she'd had inside the cockpit out onto the hangar floor. Then, with barely contained glee, she spoke the words she hoped would lead to her first actual usage of the Semblance Core.
"Crescent Rose, run diagnostics."
"... Diagnostic complete. No anomalies detected."
Ruby squealed, then quickly strapped herself in and took a deep breath to calm her shaking hands. Finally, after over a year, she'd be able to test every aspect of her very own ship. This had to be the greatest day of her life. The red-cloaked teen hesitated a moment, then she pulled the joysticks to angle her ship towards the sky and hit the metaphorical gas, sending Crescent Rose through the hole in the stone ceiling she'd created long ago. Then Ruby was amongst the clouds, performing acrobatic manuevers in celebration of her achievement. Eventually, after a few minutes of her personal party, Ruby stabilized the machine, and she soon brought herself to a standstill, hovering just above the clouds. Her heart was racing in her chest, adrenalin pumping through her veins. For a moment, she simply relished the view, then her thoughts turned to action. It was time, she thought, to test the Semblance Core. If everything was hooked in right, and Ruby had double checked everything over and over again day after day, then the Semblance Core of Crescent Rose seemed to hook into the propulsion systems. Ruby turned the ship away from the colony below and took off, pushing Crescent Rose to its max speed as she watched the trees below and clouds around her appear and disappear. She reached the opposite end of the planet quickly, and once again slowed herself to a halt as she considered her options. She had no idea what the core was going to do. It might be as good a time as any to see about going out into space. Then again, if something went wrong, she wouldn't be able t-
Ruby's thoughts were interrupted by a chirp from the computer, and she found her attention drawn to a number of blinking red dots that had appeared on her spherical radar, informing her that something was entering the atmosphere above her. The teen frowned slightly, trying to puzzle out who they might be. It couldn't be the merchant ships, they weren't do for another two months. Raiders avoided the place now that it was common knowledge that it was Yang's home. So what could possibly be coming? Ruby turned her gaze to the outside, gazing up at the place the objects were supposed to be appearing. She watched in stunned silence and growing horror as the burning halo from passing through the the layers of the atmosphere disappeared, revealing the black skin, bony armor and glowing red markings of humanities worst enemy. Even if she'd never seen one, Ruby knew what they were. All of humanity could have told you what they were, just from the description alone.
Grimm.
"System Switched to Combat Mode."
Ruby was drawn back to reality as the computer reported the change in its cold voice, and for a moment she stared blankly at the console. Combat mode? She was a teenager, she'd never even used the combat systems in anything even close to resembling real combat! What was she going to do against GRIMM!? Then it hit her, like a shuttle breaking the atmosphere, that the Grimm would devour every last human in the colony, and it was possible she was the only one that was capable of fighting them off, the Hunter having been designed to fight the things. Fear gave way quickly to determination. She had always wanted to be a hero, to defend the helpless. Now was her chance to protect her home. She wouldn't fail, not with so many lives on the line. Crescent Rose shot forward, accelerating to max speed within moments, and hurtled towards the slowly descending horde of Grimm. Rotary guns started spinning, ready to send rounds into the enemy, and as soon as Ruby was in range, they unleashed their fury, pounding the dozens of small, fighter sized Grimm with round after round. Unfortunately for her, the Grimm had an advantage against conventional ship weapons. The bony armor they bore on their flesh easily resisted the relatively small caliber rounds being pumped into them, but in a way, Ruby had accomplished her goal. The Grimm turned their focus from the world below, instead focusing on the enemy that dared attack them. They took off after the Hunter, organic "engines" propelling them through the air, intent on their new prey. Ruby flipped Crescent Rose and took off, hoping to lead them back into empty space, and they did follow, refusing to simply let her go. Ruby, for the first time in her life, saw the unfiltered stars of the universe as she broke the atmosphere of her home, but she hardly had time to appreciate the view, instead urging her ship to greater speeds in a desperate attempt to escape her pursuers. They wouldn't let up, however, and they quickly began to surround her on all sides, like wolves hunting a deer. Ruby felt herself begin to panic, and her hands tightened on the control sticks in an attempt to force herself to remain brave in the face of her imminent death.
Crescent Rose detected the situation around it, and began the needed change without question. Engines shifted places, the rotary cannons slid into hiding spots, and the ridge like piece detached itself, being grasped by the hand that formed around it. The ridge itself began expanding, forming itself into a deadly scythe crossed with a powerful cannon. Ruby blinked in surprise even as the control sticks in her hand detached from their usual position to form a single, solid control stick, then that computerized voice informed her of the change Ruby already knew had happened.
"System Switched to Hunter Mode."
One of the Grimm charged her suddenly, and Ruby reacted on instinct, pulling back on the control stick and throwing her weight back as well. The now bipedal ship flipped backwards, letting the Grimm pass by it, and then Ruby attacked, swinging the control stick like she was actually swinging the weapon itself. Crescent Rose mimicked the actions, scythe slicing through bony armor and black flesh alike, tearing the Grimm in half. The other Grimm began charging her as well, and Ruby began a desperate dance, dodging attack after attack while countering with ever more confident swings of her scythe. But even Ruby, with her preternatural instinct for piloting the Hunter, was quickly being overwhelmed, and she fought to somehow break free of the Grimm's steadily closing circular. No matter what she tried, however, she didn't have enough speed. Every attempt she made was quickly blocked by one of the Grimm, and on occasion, they even started to scratch and bite back against the machine that was killing them. Ruby's thoughts turned desperate, and she found herself wishing for more speed. If only she had more speed.
"I need more speed."
Ruby voiced her thoughts without realizing it, but Crescent Rose reacted all the same. It had heard its pilot's desire, and, fortunately, it could provide. It redirected power from the engines to the Semblance Core, starting the object spinning, and it began to hum as it produced its own unique ability. Ruby, too focused to notice anything else, was therefore caught by surprise when the Semblance Core reached its peak energy level and activated, seemingly slowing time around her. To her eyes, the pack of Grimm, the World below, the moon in orbit, all of it halted in its movement. She heard only the sound of her own breathing, at least until Crescent Rose had informed her of what had happened.
"Semblance Core Activated."
Ruby's answering grin could've outshone the sun. Whatever had happened, it was amazing, and she was going to take full advantage. She tried an experimental swing with the scythe, and watched it cleave through the enemy in her path. Then she was outside the unmoving encirclement, spinning back around to take in the remaining Grimm. Only thirty left, now. Shouldn't be too hard to take them all down with this weird ability going on. Crescent Rose's engines flared, and with semblance core active, hurled itself into the fray once again. The scythe began its deadly dance, this time against opponents who didn't even seem to notice what was happening to them, and Ruby, no longer under the pressure of desperation, remembered the high-powered cannon within the scythes frame and began to mix in attacks with that as well, testing to see the effects. She quickly began to throw off her attacks, but she had plenty of time to correct them, and found herself quickly beginning to enjoy her period of experimentation. She enjoyed her work so much, in fact, that she missed the beep of warning her computer gave her as another vessel came within sensor range.
While Ruby might have seen the event as everyone else slowing down, to the observer aboard the nearby military vessel, the Hunter ship had gone from above average speed to lightning fast in the span of a few moments. The ship had come within sensor range long before the smaller vessel's more limited sensor could even hope to pick it up, and had been recording the scene as soon as it had noticed it, since the beginning. Now the Hunter was carving its way through the enemies with reckless abandon, leaving devastated corpses in its wake. The officer tapped at a control panel, pausing the very scene she was seeing in front of her, then turned back the recording and played it again, this time much slower. With the Hunter slowed, the woman watched the combat again dispassionately, noting that whoever the pilot was, they were doing fairly well. There was some wasted movements here and there, some unnecessary uses of the engines, and the pilot clearly had no idea what to really do with the cannon that seemed to exist within the scythe, but all in all, a good grasp of the ship they were in. Nothing that couldn't be fixed with some intense training and stern guidance. All in all, a good find. Certainly more than Captain Glynda Goodwitch had expected to find. Finished with her assessment, Goodwitch turned back to the realtime footage to find the Hunter done with its task, having left the pack of Grimm in pieces floating about in the empty void. She paused a moment to observe the scene before ordering to her direct subordinates to bring them closer and to open up a hailing channel when they came within range. It was time to see what kind of pilot was the first to face and defeat the Grimm since humanities first expansion into the stars.
Author's Note- Well, there we have it. The prologue is out of the way, the redone trailer's are complete, and I think I have everything set up to being the main story. Mostly. Crescent Rose took me quite awhile to figure out how to change into a space ship, and I'm still not sure I'm quite satisfied with it... Well, we'll see how it goes.
As always, comments and reviews are much appreciated, and until next time, keep dreaming.