AN: Hello everyone,
Sorry for the long wait I've been occupied with schoolwork and the other stories I'm working on not to mention got a bit of writer's block when it came to this chapter and how to start and end it. I also had another poll asking what story I should update the most with this one winning the majority so starting from now after every 2-3 chapters of this story my other stories will receive an update.
Remember I write these at my own pace since I have schoolwork and stuff and I want to make sure I did a great job with the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of either property. Star Wars is owned by Disney and RWBY by Roosterteeth.
Warning: This story will be rated M due to mentions of underage drinking, prostitution, slavery, drugs, crime syndicates, graphic violence, and such. Reader discretion is advised.
Speech Patterns:
"Regular speech and dialogue"
"Thoughts"
"(Alien speech)"
Cue the Star Wars title theme!
Update: Just added a few things
"Easy isn't always simple"- SWCW S2 E11: Lightsaber Lost
STAR WARS: RWBY CHRONICLES
CHAPTER VI: The Journey to Remnant
The journey continues!
After a quick detour on the desert planet of Cantonica, Jaune and his companions explored the corporate world in order to give the children good memories and stock up on fuel and supplies for the trip ahead of them.
The trip hit a snag when a collector named Flaxen Ickver attempted to purchase Oum, and resorted to bribing police officers to steal him for his collection causing Jaune and the others to leave the planet earlier than expected.
After their daring escape, Jaune and his company now officially begin their journey to the mysterious world of Remnant, the homeworld of the children...
The children probably would've spent the rest of their time watching the travel through hyperspace without getting bored had they not started showing signs of tiredness in their eyes.
"Are you guys tired?" Jaune asked as he looked at their tired faces and suddenly blush as they attempted to deny the obvious.
"N-No no we're fine, sir," Jeremiah assured, but not a moment later the boy let out a yawn, quickly shutting his mouth with a blush of embarrassment blooming on his face as he looked away.
Pretty sure every one of the kids began to yawn and rub their tired eyes. Jaune let out a small laugh as they too were embarrassed to admit they were getting exhausted as well and wanted rest.
B-But we want to see space some more," Selena pleaded as she also let out a yawn of her own, exhaustion present in her eyes.
Jaune smiled as he stood up from his seat.
"It's not good to stay up late." He lightly chastised the group, "You guys need to rest otherwise you won't be able to grow big and strong."
"Do you have extra room?" Ebon asked curiously.
"There are a few cabins in the hallway you guys could use. They have bunk beds in them so two could be in one room, though one of you is gonna sleep alone. Is that alright?" Jaune asked, worried that neither one of them would want to sleep by themselves.
"I'll sleep alone if that's okay." Iris offered, as Jaune nodded in acknowledgment of her decision.
"Alright then, I'll show you where the bathroom is and then show you to your rooms."
One by one the children filed out of the cockpit, following behind the captain as he directed them to the refresher, showing them what knobs are for hot or cold water, where the soap dispenser was, and how the toilet worked, assuring them that it wasn't complicated as they worried it would be since in space things could get weird. A claim that Jaune agreed with.
"D-Do you have any extra toothbrushes?" Oliver asked, "My mommy always said to brush my teeth before bed."
Jaune smiled at the boy.
"I'll see if there are any spares in the medbay." He assured, heading to the door of the medical room of his ship.
"Ah Jaune, I take it things didn't go so well due to our hasty exit?" Sila assumed as she floated over to him.
"You could say that. Some sleemo collector tried to steal Oum for his 'precious collection of Clone War artifacts' and bribed some cops to help him when I refused." Jaune said indignantly before letting out a tired sigh.
"By any chance do we have any extra toothbrushes? The kids want some so they can brush their teeth before they go to bed."
Sila's violet photoreceptors brightened at the mention of the kids.
"We should have some spares lying around. How are they doing by the way with this...adjustment?" she asked, hovering over to a cabinet as she removed and pushed aside various medical supplies to find what Jaune wanted.
"Alright, considering what happened. They love space and can't wait to see their families again. By the time we finish eating breakfast tomorrow we should be arriving at their planet," he informed the grey and yellow medic droid who handed him five clear disposable toothbrushes.
"Thanks, Sila."
"No problem Jaune Also send the kids back in here so I can check on their wounds," Sila informed as
Jaune returned to the hallway and to the refresher, handing each child a toothbrush.
"I have some toothpaste in the mirror cabinet called Sparklax in a blue tube with a green cap and after that go meet with Sila so she can see if your bandages need to be changed. I'll be setting up your rooms," He told the children who nodded in agreement before one by one each of them had a turn in the bathroom as Jaune headed into the closest cabin room.
The room was a dull lifeless grey with two beds built into the walls of the cabin with enough space for and two indents into the side of each bed that allowed its occupants to place books, small drinks, and other knick-knacks to give it their own personal flair. The room also had enough space for two separate closets on opposite ends and a small desk area. Each room, other than the captain's quarters, followed the same layout.
Originally the ship was owned by a crew of smugglers on Nar Shaddaa whose captain had bet the ship in a game of high-stakes sabacc when he was drunk. He remembered how devastated and angry he was when Jaune won the ship and to his credit, Jaune also felt some shame over the game as well since he had discreetly used the Force to have his competitor make a bad play allowing Jaune to win the game. But considering the position he was in at the time he really had no choice in the matter and the guy also had a pretty rude attitude to those around him believing himself to be the best smuggler in the galaxy, so Jaune soon got over it, especially when he started making deliveries for Sangria to earn some credits ensuring his survival much to his displeasure.
Jaune covered each bed with a white sheet before putting a white pillow down and draping the grey blanket over it. Seeing that his work was done in that room he swiftly went to the next cabin room and performed the same process and after that set out the one bed Iris would use in her cabin.
For some reason, he felt some strange connection to the girl, but couldn't exactly place why he felt it. Perhaps it had to do with her strength in the Force compared to the other children. Speaking of which the children said before that the people on their planet could use various abilities to strengthen themselves among other things. So how come the planet they came from was never discovered? Surely a planet that was home to a group of individuals as strong in the Force as the kids were would've been found eons ago during one of the countless colonization periods and expeditions some of which were led by Jedi.
"Guess I'll figure out that answer when I get there." he thought as he finished setting out the bed.
He entered the medical bay as he saw Sila wrapping one of Iris's arms up in more bandages as the other children seemed to have a fresh new set as well to help leave no scars or damage left by the Zygerrians.
"Tomorrow morning see me as soon as you can so I can see if you need more medicine," Sila said in a calm, comforting voice, as she finished bandaging up her arm.
"Okay," Iris responded as she got off the table and joined the others who were wearing the pajamas Jaune had bought for them on Cantonica as well as their extra clothes since he didn't have any spare clothing that would fit them.
"You kids ready to get some sleep?" Jaune asked.
"C-Can you tell us a bedtime story?" Iris interjected as both she and the others held looks of hope, practically begging him to tell them a fairy tale from the farthest reaches of space.
Jaune stood still, surprised by what she had asked of him. He didn't know many stories that kids would enjoy, and given that they were unfamiliar with space would undoubtedly not know them or what he was trying to describe.
"Are you sure you want a story?"
A series of frantic nodding gave him his answer.
"Perhaps I should tell them something. It may help them sleep better," he thought as an idea came to mind on what he could tell them.
"Alright then, Gather around the table." he sighed as he made his way to the living room area of the ship.
The kids immediately took their seats at the table eagerly waiting for his story.
"I'm gonna tell you a story of light and darkness. Are you ready?"
A small chorus of "Yes, please." was heard as Jaune took a deep breath.
"A long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away…"
Jaune slowly draped the grey blanket over Iris, tucking her into the bed as he did with other kids making sure they were comfortable in the beds.
He didn't know why but he felt at ease when around her like how members of a family are at ease with each other during times of distress and hardship. Heck, he could without a doubt pass as her older brother if he tried. He immediately shook the thought out of his head, giving Iris one last look before leaving her room.
With the kids now sleeping in the cabins, Jaune went toward the little workshop area he made in one of the rooms in the back. It wasn't much. Just a small stool in front of a worktable that had various tools for welding, cutting, and such on the back panel and had a set of drawers filled with various spare parts.
He mainly used it for adjusting his blasters, and fixing Arf, Oum, and Sila should they start to malfunction or get damaged while on a smuggler run.
Jaune pulled out the widest draw in front of him that had many scraps and metal pieces he salvaged from the aftermath on Felucia as well as mechanical parts he picked up from his travels but those weren't the thing he was looking for.
What he was looking for was an eleven-inch metal cylinder with a leather grip, a small dial on the side with a button, and a ring on the bottom to clip onto his belt.
This was his lightsaber. An elegant weapon from a more civilized age. A time before the Empire and the Republic was still instated as the main galactic government.
The tool that brought his crystal life, deepened his connection to the Force and Jedi, helped him win battles against the Separatists, and save the lives of his men and civilians on numerous occasions.
He pulled the weapon out of the drawer, examining its condition. The metal coloring of the hilt had lost its radiant shine, becoming a dull grey steel color. When he first built his lightsaber he swore to keep it at his side at all times and keep it well-maintained and functional by performing cleanings or adding improvements whenever necessary. But with the death of the order and the Empire hunting any remaining Jedi he was forced to abandon that promise in favor of his survival.
He laid the two power dampeners on the table; one to merge with his lightsaber the other a spare in the event the other one failed or to be used in another project.
He pulled the weapon apart, careful not to fray the circuitry, crush the focusing crystals, or damage the power gate, and took out the various tools he planned to use to make sure his lightsaber could ignite once more.
After an hour of dismantling, welding, and making sure everything lined up properly Jaune removed his kyber crystal from his necklace and inserted it into the crystal chamber of the blade before putting the pieces back together. The result of the merge between the power dampener and his lightsaber could have looked better. Due to the length and bulk of the dampener, the hilt of his lightsaber wasn't as sleek as it previously was with the length increasing a quarter inch than what it usually was and a small vent was in the side to allow any excess heat to be let out so as not to overheat the other circuitry.
Jaune picked up the weapon, slowly feeling its newfound weight as he got up from his chair and began trying out the weapon in a series of lightsaber stances from Makashi to Djem So, twirling the weapon around in his hand adjusting to the weight.
After a few moments, he stopped holding the blade in front of him with the emitter pointed upward.
"Here goes nothing." Jaune breathed as he pressed the button on the side and a familiar hissing noise was heard as a blue blade crackled to life.
Jaune analyzed the plasma blade seeing that it was stable for the most part with a few sparks and crackles here and there.
Now all that remained was to test it against something solid.
Using the Force, he telekinetically pulled a spare sheet of metal he had lying around and held it in midair in front of him. He raised the blade and with one swift slash the laser sword cut through the metal with a painful hiss as the severed pieces of the metal clattered onto the ground with searing red marks where the sword had cleaved through glowing brightly.
Jaune examined his weapon again.
"Still needs some improvement," Jaune muttered to himself as the blade continued to spark before he retracted the blue blade with a high-pitched hiss. It appears the dampener had managed to perform its duty to an extent helping keep his blade stable for the most part, although he would still need to find new materials to help keep it from shorting out and prevent it from frying the inner workings of the weapon. But for now, his lightsaber once again had some life in it.
Jaune clipped the lightsaber to his belt as he moved onto the next order of business: checking the inventory.
After his escapes from both Zygerria and Cantonica and making sure the children were alright he never did get the chance to properly inspect the cargo and with Sangria no longer an option to bring the weapons too perhaps, he could find some pirates or another buyer to take them off his hands.
He opened every container examining the makes and models of each blaster that scumbag Fero had wanted to deliver to Sangria along with a plethora of ammunition and explosives which made up of most of the crates while four of the other boxes contained military-grade shield generators that appeared capable of taking quite a bombardment and still hold up. How that child slaving Zygerrian was able to get his hands on such equipment was a mystery.
A yawn escaped his mouth as Jaune started to feel the exhaustion of today's events catch up with him.
"Think I should get some rest. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day." Jaune said aloud as he shut each crate ensuring that they wouldn't get damaged. He quickly went to the refresher to shower to clean himself of the sweat from working on his lightsaber, said goodnight to the others as he went into his room to finally end this day.
"Please don't let me have another vision," he begged the Force, praying for things to be easier for him as he put his lightsaber on his nightstand and got into bed, feeling his eyes become heavy before finally falling to sleep.
"AAAHHH!"
Jaune's eyes shot open as he heard the sound of screaming from one of the other rooms and threw off his blanket to see what had happened.
"What's going on!" he thought frantically, quickly putting on a pair of pants and rushed out of his room upon hearing the scream.
By the sounds of it, it came from Iris's room. He burst into the room seeing that the blonde girl was curled up in a ball in the corner of the bed shivering, even though there was heat in the room. Upon closer inspection she was covered head to toe in a cold sweat, holding the blanket as tightly as possible as if all the heat in the room was gone and tears were apparent in her sapphire blue eyes.
"What happened?" Jaune asked as he approached her, though by the looks of it he already knew the answer to the question.
"I-I had a n-n-nightmare," she squeaked out in her shaky voice.
"It's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of now," Jaune soothed as he sat on her bed and wrapped an arm around her trembling body which she leaned into. Sure enough her body felt ice-cold to the touch.
"The p-p-purple p-people (*hiccup*) were t-there h-hurti-(*hiccup*) ing m-me," she hiccupped into his shoulder as he pulled her closer into the hug, "A-And m-my f-family t-thi (*hiccup*) nk I-I'm g-gone like m-my brother!"
"It's okay everything will be alright now. The bad people won't hurt you anymore," he said softly, as he felt her emotions exude off her. Fear, grief, and even her anger at those who took her from her family. Emotions he had a first-hand experience with when he was in the same situation as her in the past.
If she continued on like this there was a possibility that she could start projecting her feelings into the Force and allow the Sith Lord employed by the Empire to find them like how a man uses the stars to travel around and if they were found who knows what the Sith Lord would do to the kids. Would he kill them and preserve the Rule of Two or would he turn them into his dark disciples as Count Dooku had during the Clone Wars and countless Sith before him? Either way, he wouldn't let these children fall to the Dark Side without a fight to the death even if his skills with his lightsaber were rusty.
Jaune opened himself up to the Force using it to calm the twelve-year-old girl down before she ended up letting her emotion project into the Force.
"Don't be afraid. I know exactly what you all are going through. I know for a fact that your family is looking for you just how I know the families of the others are looking for them as well," he assured her, as Iris's sobs and hiccups slowly died down as her emotions began to settle down, "Remember I promised to protect you all until you are all brought home." he reaffirmed.
"T-T-Thank you," she whispered as she slowly started to feel warm again.
Jaune continued holding her close to him, like a brother calming down his little sister, making sure she received as much comfort as possible until she felt like she could go back to bed or at least get something to eat since it was technically morning. The silence between the two was shattered when a hungry roar came from her stomach, begging for nourishment.
"Was that you or did we pick up a hungry animal along the way?" Jaune asked as Iris let out a little giggle at the joke.
"No, it came from you." she fired back with a little smile on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Now, now you shouldn't lie," Jaune smirked, wagging his finger back and forth in front of her as she had a cute pouch on her face.
"I should get breakfast ready anyway, the others will be up soon." Jaune smiled, "Would you like something to eat too little miss stomach growls?"
Iris gave another cute pout before giving a slight nod, following him into the galley curious what he planned to make for breakfast.
~Scene Cut~
(Oppressor-Zygerrian Space)
A second Star Destroyer known as the Devastator stood by the Oppressor as a small Imperial shuttle flew out of the underbelly of the ship and flew into the docking bay of the Oppressor where Admiral Grakkus awaited with a platoon of white armored stormtroopers standing at attention in two single-file lines ready to welcome the emperor's enforcers as the shuttle landed in front of them and the boarding ramped was lowered. Almost immediately the sound of heavy mechanical breathing filled the room, sending chills down the spine of every Imperial officer and soldier standing at attention.
*Kuuuhhh Kerrrr* *Kuuuhhh Kerrrr* *Kuuuhhh Kerrrr*
The breathing, if it could be called that, was sharp and artificial like a man using a respirator to breathe, but instead of the air passing into their body, it sounded like it was being forced into the damaged lungs like a form of torture. Despite this, the breathing carried an air of respect, authority, and above all else intimidation.
Every single organic being had their eyes focused on the source of the raspy inhalation, even Grakkus wasn't immune it's effect as he stared at what could best be described as a black knight with a long ebony cloak draped around his shoulders, a control panel on his chest, and a triangular mouthpiece attached to a black helmet with crimson lenses over where the eyes would be. A small black and silver cylinder was clipped to his belt, swaying as the dark entity approached him with three other dark armored beings following behind.
This was Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine's right hand, and his personal enforcer. An order spoken from him was to be considered spoken from the Emperor himself even though he held no official rank within the Imperial Army or Navy, yet he still commanded them even having the 501st Legion renamed Vader's Fist. Many officers in the Empire believed he was a droid of some sort designed to protect the Emperor and assassinate any who opposed his will. Others believed he was a bounty hunter or soldier from the Clone Wars fitted with cybernetic enhancements, while another group believed him a former Jedi that pledged his loyalty to the Emperor which Grakkus considered a rumor.
Vader had a reputation for being a cold, demanding, and ruthless commander who didn't tolerate failure of any kind and that did fail him were either punished severely or executed by Vader himself for their incompetence. Needless to say, many officers dreaded having to work under him out of fear that their work wouldn't be enough and they too would be killed.
Grakkus let out a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for the encounter.
"Lord Vader, welcome to the Oppressor," the admiral greeted as Vader reached him.
"Admiral Grakkus," he said in a monotone voice that exuded complete control and terror, "I assume you know why I am here," he responded making his way with the other dark-clad enforcers behind him.
One was a large reptilian humanoid Grakkus easily identified as a Transdoshan with dark red scales for skin, three claws instead of fingers, and sickly yellow eyes with black markings and tattoos stretched across his face and arms. The second individual was a reptilian humanoid that was slimmer in appearance with sunken cheekbones, ugly green scaly skin, and wore a slim black helmet with a red visor that covered half of her face which he realized was a Clawdite, while the last of Vader's guard was far different from the other two with fiery red skin, pointed ears, and most noticeably two curved black horns protruding from his skull, Grakkus immediately knew that he was a Devaronian.
"Indeed I do my Lord, however, I was under the assumption that only you would be present." Grakkus let out as Vader stopped in his tracks and stared at him with judgment.
"The Emperor deemed it necessary for the Inquisitors to accompany me and assist in tracking down this Jedi you claim to have found. " Vader said as he continued his stride to the lifts with the Inquisitors following close behind, giving Grakkus irate looks.
"Err...Yes my lord." Grakkus said, trying to keep pace with Vader until the lift doors closed as the lift traveled upwards toward the bridge.
"About a day ago a Corellian YT-2000 freighter known as the Comet entered the sector requesting permission to land on the planet's surface," Grakkus started, "Shortly afterward a report came from Captain Scarr that the crew of the ship was involved in a firefight on the landing platforms below and when he attempted to intervene both he and his men were thrown backward by some invisible force and the crew escaped."
Grakkus let out a huff of air before continuing.
"Shortly after their encounter with the suspect, I attempted to intercept the ship with squadrons of fighters and cannon fire but they were...easily avoided." he bit out still bitter about the escape. A small ding sounded off as the lift opened revealing the command deck as they all stepped out.
"After investigating the incident two Zygerrians were found alive whereas four other Zygerrians were found dead. It appears there was an altercation between the two over shipments causing the fight to break out. Thankfully the Zygerrian in charge of the shipment is alive and is currently in the brig at this very moment. Unfortunately, he has been...uncooperative." he finished.
"Where is the prisoner?" Vader demanded as Grakkus flinched in response.
"He is currently in detention block A cell-17," he informed the cybernetic Sith Lord, as he turned around to acknowledge the three beings behind him.
"11th Brother," Vader spoke out as he stood at attention as the Transdoshan Inquisitor approached him.
"You will accompany me in retrieving whatever information the Zygerrian has. 12th Sister. 13th Brother." Vader went on as a smaller, slimmer figure approached wearing a slim helmet with a red visor along with another red humanoid being with two horns he identified as a Devarian, "You both shall stay here and get whatever information you can from the officers and consoles. I want to know every detail of the encounter."
"As you command Lord Vader," the 13th Brother responded as both he and the 12th Sister went to ask the Imperial officers to see if any information was missing from his report.
"S-Surely that isn't necessary Lord Vader," Grakkus began, "I've left nothing important out." he reasoned to the dark monolith.
Vader turned around swiftly, glaring harshly at the admiral who recoiled in return at his quick movement and the heat behind his mask boring through into his very soul.
"Then you should have no objections to my methods," he stated as he left with the 11th Brother in tow heading down toward the brig to interrogate the Zygerrian.
Grakkus looked around seeing some of his officers looking at him, one of which was Ratcliffe who had a barely noticeable smug look tugging at his mouth as the 12th Sister approached him.
"You are Officer Paris Ratcliffe, yes?" she asked with her helmet making her voice sound robotic
"Indeed I am. How may I be of assistance?"
"I wish to know everything that transpired here during the Jedi's escape from Zygerria," she said in a raspy voice.
"Very well, what would you like to know? He asked with a small smile seeing his commanding officer glare at him with rage but unable to do anything about it lest he invoke Vader's wrath.
Meanwhile, Vader and the 11th Brother had managed to reach the cell the Zygerrian prisoner called Fero D'Nar was held on as the troopers opened the door for them to enter, before closing it once again.
"Who are you?" Fero asked, seeing both black beings enter his cell one of which looked like Death itself.
"Fero D'Nar," Vader said in his cold monotone, ignoring his question while his voice somehow managed to convey anger making the Zygerrian nervous, "You have information the Empire desires on a criminal on the run suspected of being a Jedi. You will tell us everything you know or else suffer the consequences."
"W-W-What do you want to k-know?" he asked fearfully, unable to keep his eyes off of the intimidating figure.
"You can start by telling me what this Jedi look like and why you came into conflict with him," Vader demanded, using his voice to further terrify the criminal.
"H-He's name is Jaune!" Fero confessed as he was filled with fear of what would happen to him if he didn't cooperate with Vader, "He's a human male with white skin, yellow hair, and blue eyes! He was a smuggler who worked for a friend of mine we were doing business with but freaked out when we tried to have him smuggle slaves off world!"
Fero knew he was probably throwing Sangria under the hover bus, but right now he didn't care. He preferred to survive and prosper and was willing to do anything to make sure his heart was still beating at the end of the day. Hell he helped staged some of the pirate attacks on her ships every now and then and then make an extra profit selling the stolen weapons back to her along with some extra supplies
"What is his last name?" Vader ordered crossing his arms.
"I-I don't know! I never learned his last name, just his first!" Fero panicked.
"Is that all you know?" Vader questioned sensing Fero's fear and knew that he knew more than what he was letting on.
He clenched his right hand into a fist leaving a space between his black-gloved index finger and thumb as Fero suddenly felt something around his neck like a hand trying to crush his windpipe, which was impossible since neither of his interrogators were physically strangling him. Then he slowly felt his body start to levitate above the floor making his gasping more ragged and desperate.
"I shall ask once more. Is that all you know?" Vader repeated as his index finger twitched closer together.
"I-hrrgk-I- know whe-wher-hrk-where he-hrrgg is headed!" Fero choked out as he clawed at his throat and fell to the floor with a thud, gasping for breath when he was released from the grip.
"Where?"
"He planned to return the slaves to the homeworld called Remnant. It is deep in the Unknown Regions and I can provide coordinates to reach the planet and help you navigate through the region." Fero said in between breaths as he looked up into the eyes of Vader.
"The Empire does not need your assistance. You will provide the coordinates or you will die."
"There...There is a nebula that the planet is hidden in. I...I can help you navigate through it so the ship...isn't destroyed in it." he coughed out.
A tense silence filled the air as Fero wondered if Vader still planned to kill him or would take him up on his offer and let him help navigate. There truly was a strange nebula cloud the planet was located behind which he found strange, but he never really questioned it. The planet was a good source of slaves so why would he care?
"Very well. You will assist the Empire in locating this planet. Any attempts to disrupt our efforts, misguide us or resort to using this journey to gather more slaves will result in your demise. Am I understood?"
"Y-Y-Yes," Fero stuttered.
"We are done here," Vader said making his way to the door as he and the 11th Brother exited the cell leaving Fero alone.
"I will return to my ship and inform the Emperor of this unforeseen event and how he wishes we proceed. You will return to the bridge and await further instructions," Vader ordered.
"Will he truly be of use to usss Lord Vader?" the 11th Brother asked in a slithery voice as he followed the Sith Lord through the hallways of the ship.
"For now." stated Vader, "When his usefulness comes to an end execute him."
The Transdoshan Inquisitor acknowledged the order as he made his way to the bridge, getting excited over the idea of running his claws through the Zygerrian's stomach.
~Scene Cut~
(Shining Arch- Wild Space)
The tantalizing smell of bantha bacon filled the air as Jaune flipped the strip of meat over to cook the other side as he also had some green eggs and ham cooking as well while the children, after having Sila check their wounds, all sat around the table, eager to eat what Jaune was making for breakfast.
As the meat finished cooking Jaune took the pan off the stove as he used a pair of tongs to put the stripes of meat onto a plate before putting the pan into the sink and carrying the plate over to the table. Upon setting it down they immediately reached out to take their own piece to consume alongside their breakfast, finding the taste to be out of this world.
"Easy now," Jaune chuckled, "I have enough for everyone."
"Sorry," Ebon apologized as he tore into a piece of green ham, "It tastes really good."
"Well I'm glad you all like my cooking," Jaune smiled as he took his seat and poured a glass of blue milk as he took some bantha bacon for his own and dug in, savoring every taste of it.
"It tastes like meat back home," Jeremiah commented as he cut into his green ham and ate the piece of dark green flesh, "I thought it wasn't gonna be good."
"Yeah it looked rotten but it tastes nice," Selena added on taking a bite out of her strip of bacon.
"Well eat up we still have a few more hours left until you're all back home," Jaune said, smiling as he heard their cheers.
"I can't wait to tell my parents I went to space," Jeremiah said.
"No one's gonna believe us," Oliver pointed out, "If Atlas couldn't reach space then how do we explain we could?"
"Atlas is the city that floats, right?" Jaune asked as Oliver nodded.
"How does it float?" he inquired. Floating cities were nothing new to him, but he was curious about how a city could be advanced enough to float in the air, but not find a way to reach past the sky and toward the final frontier.
"My parents said it uses gravity Dust to float in the sky," Oliver stated.
"So this Dust can also affect gravity too. Sounds interesting," Jaune thought as he continued to ask his next question.
"You said before you lived in a place called Mantle and that Atlas floats above it right?"
"Yeah."
"What's it like?"
"Not great," Oliver said miserably, "Atlas is where a lot of rich people live. Mantle isn't."
"Must be like Coruscant," Jaune mused recalling how the entire planet was pretty much one big city, with thousands of different levels and trillions of people living in every nook and cranny and how the lower one went the more crime-ridden and slum-like they became while those who lived on the higher levels were influential businessmen, politicians, traders, and such.
"My parents have a small store that not people go to," Oliver continued, "We never could buy things we wanted, eat as much food, and it was very cold all the time."
"So it's in a cold part of the world?" Jaune questioned as Oliver nodded again. Jaune then shifted his gaze to the other children.
"What about you guys? Where did you live and what was it like?"
Ebon was the first to speak.
"I live in Kuo Kuana on Menagerie," he said, "It's a small city with a lot of wood buildings and people like me," Ebon finished the last part by wiggling his wolf ears, "My mom and dad said the Faunus were put there because humans hate us. They joined others to try and help make things better between Faunus and humans."
Jaune smiled at that
"Well, your parents are doing the right thing by trying to stop inequality. What about you Selena?"
"I live in a city called Argus in the Mistral. It's not as cold as Mantle but it is still chilly. With nice houses and stuff," the cat-tailed girl explained as Jaune nodded and moved his head to look at Jeremiah who started to speak.
"I live in the City of Vacuo. It's nothing but sun and sand with large walls and some new buildings, but nothing really great." he glumly stated, "My family only live there because we don't have enough money to leave, but we have friends there that help."
Jaune nodded before turning to Iris.
"What about you?"
"I live in a town in Vale called Domaine. It's a nice place and there are good people there. My family has a big house since I have six other sisters. Actually one of my sisters lives in Argus," Iris said happily before her face turned into a frown, "I found out we had a brother but he disappeared a while ago. I never even got to meet him."
Jaune nodded in understanding giving Iris a sympathizing look, knowing her pain and that of her family's. The pain of loss was something that never truly went away with time. Even if it was someone he never knew and was never close with in the first place the feeling of loss was still there stinging his heart over and over again.
"I'm sorry for the pain you all have gone through. I lost my family when I was young too by the same people so I know exactly what you all are going through," he said as he finished the last of his green eggs and ham, "In time you will be able to get past the trauma and you'll have the support of your friends and family to help you overcome it and make you better people." he said as the children listened to him speak.
"You guys will be able to live out your dreams and become whatever you want to be. Like...um….what were those hunters you said before?" Jaune asked, drawing a blank on the name of the group of people she thought he was a part of.
"You mean Huntsmen?" Iris asked.
"Yeah that," Jaune said until he realized something, "What you said they hunted monsters, right?"
"Right."
"What sort of monsters?"
"They hunt black monsters called Grimm," she explained, "They look like wild animals but they attack people."
"...I see," Jaune could only respond as he recalled the shadowy monsters that tormented his visions.
"...And you guys use this Dust to fight them, right?"
All nodded.
"We use different types of Dust to power lots of stuff like the stove and refrigerator," she told him.
Before Jaune could ask he felt the ship begin to slightly rumble as the intercom crackled on.
"Uh sir, You might want to come see this?" Oum yelled as he felt the ship rumble once more. Jaune stood up from the table and bolted toward the cockpit where he saw both Oum and Arf panicking as they tried to figure out what was happening.
"What's going on?"
"Unknown sir! Systems indicate that we are headed into a nebula!"
What!" he yelled as he took his seat and grabbed the steering controls. Nebulas were dangerous space anomalies that even some of the galaxy's most seasoned pilots had difficulty flying through due to the amount of swirling cosmic dust, interstellar gases, and even the gravity interfering with their line of sight, and ability to keep the ship stable. To fly through them was the equivalent of driving through a thick multicolored fog in an old rickety ship. Not to mention there were other dangers that could be hidden in the cosmogonic vapor from collapsing or forming stars, asteroid fields, and mass graveyards of starships whose captains and crew were unable to safely journey through the mist and suffered the ultimate price.
Heck, there were even certain animal species that dwelled in the starry clouds that could make the journey difficult like the neebray Ahsoka told him about when she went on a mission to stop the Separatist Dreadnought called the Malevolence from destroying a medical station with her master.
Jaune grabbed the lightspeed lever as he tried to pull it down to bring them out of hyperspace only for the handle to remain in its place, unable to move and keeping them in hyperspace.
"Blast it!" Jaune swore as he pounded on the console hoping to get the lever unstuck, but it still refused to budge even an inch no matter how hard he tried pulling on it.
"Oh kriff!" he yelled again, futilely pulling at the handle before giving up, "We'll have to hope that nothing is in our way! Oum put as much power as you can into the shields!"
The droid carried out the order pressing a few buttons as the readout of the ship showed that the shields were maxed out and just in time as a glimmering gold and dusky purple light shone into the cockpit as the cluster pulled them closer and closer, overtaking the familiar blue of hyperspace with its own colors.
Jaune struggled as he reached toward the intercom.
"Everyone find cover!" he shouted as he heard the sounds of cabin doors being opened and shut and felt the fear of the children rising.
"Dammit, I didn't come all this way just to be ripped apart by a blasted nebula!" Jaune yelled internally as his hands reached the controls, "I promised to bring those kids back and that's what I'm gonna do!"
Suddenly he felt forced back into his chair along with Oum whose slim arms were having trouble reaching the controls like him while Arf was pushed up against the wall of the cockpit uttering binary swears as he tried to hold on for dear life as the Shining Arch was rocked by the gravity of the cosmic storm. Jaune was fairly certain he saw shadows within the nebula hyperspace tunnel most of which he could barely make out where various pieces of ships from their engines to wings, although one particularly large shadow came dangerously close to them, like a large beast with a sharp-pointed snout turning to face him.
Another pulse rocked his ship as he felt the ship go even faster than it usually went pushing him deeper into his chair. Not only did his ship increase in speed, but he felt his entire body tingling as if he just discovered his Force sensitivity and was being overwhelmed by it.
Jaune covered his eyes from the shining glare of the gold-purple nebula as he saw flashes of his previous visions and past memories come back to haunt him all at once.
"Sto...Stop...i-it pl-please!" he begged the Force as he recalled everything both good...
"Jaune welcome to the Jedi Order," He heard his Aayla say.
"The names Commander Bly welcome to the 327th Star Corps, kid," he heard his old friend and fellow commander say when he first joined up with the 327th.
"I'm Master Skywalker's padawan, Ahsoka Tano," an orange-skinned Togruta woman introduced herself to him.
And the bad...
"You live to serve!" a Zygerrian yelled brandishing an electro whip.
"Chase! Noooooo!" he shouted as he saw a white and yellow armored clone trooper get shot in the chest by a commando droid.
"Get the Jedi!" his platoon of clones chanted as they turned their weapons on him and opened fire, forcing Jaune to flee for his life as he ran into a rancor cave. The same rancor that cut his back and threw him off a cliff near the edge of a waterfall.
These memories among others replayed in his mind like a broken holorecording, until an image of two beings he'd never seen before entered his mind. One was completely covered in golden light with the pointed antlers of a deer, branching out while another was oozing the dark amethyst light with more curved and segmented horns arching backward before the tip curved up. Whatever these beings were they appeared to be watching him, before dissipating into the galactic fog.
"The brightest of lights are a beacon of hope in the darkest of times," he heard a heavenly disembodied voice echo.
"What...is…this?" was the last question on his mind before he fell into unconsciousness as, yet another flash of light overtook the cockpit and temporarily disabling his droid companions.
"-une! Ja-kzt-une! Jaune!" he heard Oum call out to him as he slowly regained consciousness seeing the battle droid also coming back online in his chair.
"Uuuggghhh...Wha-What...What was that?" he asked deliriously, slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings and the current situation they were in.
"What was what sir?" Oum asked as Jaune rubbed his head.
"Uggghhh...never mind, what's happening right now?" he questioned as he heard the warning system continuously beeping as it did during the trip into the nebula.
Oum checked the console.
"It appears we're on a collision course with an asteroid!"
Jaune's eyes widened as he tried to pull down on the hyperspace lever again, this time the handle yielded to the pressure and went down, sending the ship out of hyperspace and back into regular space…. right in front of a large asteroid.
Jaune grabbed the steering and moved them upwards causing the ship to ascend up and over the floating rock before it had a chance to crash into them.
"Okay this isn't good," Jaune remarked as he noticed that they had just gotten out into an asteroid field.
"Oum get the guns ready! We might need to blast some out of the way! Arf, divert power to the shields and weapon systems!" he commanded.
"Roger, roger," Oum replied as Arf responded with his own bleeps of understanding as they carried out the orders.
Another space rock flew into their path as Oum blasted it into chunks flying in different directions as Jaune carefully maneuvered through the asteroid field, like a fish swimming through a treacherous river filled with jagged obstacles with barely enough space to fit through.
He performed every evasive action he could to make sure none of the cosmic crags smashed into his ship, not only to not worry the children but so he wouldn't have to worry about repairs later on when bringing them home.
A particularly large asteroid stood between him and the planet the children came from, but due to the sheer size of the boulder, he wouldn't have enough time to go around it so he did the next best thing.
"Guys we're about to do something crazy. Arf get the other turrets online and have them directed at the one in front of us," he ordered as Arf plugged into the console and made all turrets point in the same direction at the front of the ship.
"Open fire!" he shouted, pressing a few buttons as two missiles were launched out of the front of the ship making their way toward the asteroid as Jaune, Arf, and Oum opened fire with the combined might of the turrets.
The asteroid split into various pieces of debris while Jaune and his crew continued right through the rock until they were in the clear.
Jaune breathed a sigh of relief as leaned back in his chair from the heart-pounding action.
"Captain," he heard Oum say, "Please don't do that again."
"No promises," Jaune smirked as he saw the planet in front of them and froze.
Right in their line of sight was a single planet covered with five large landmasses on its surface, each depicting a different biome from deserts, mountains, forests, swamps, frozen tundras, and even a continent covered in darkness.
This was the exact same planet he had been seeing in his nightmares for the past few days.
This was Remnant.
"Are...Are you kay Jaune?" Oum asked seeing his expression.
Jaune shook his head.
"That's the same planet I've been seeing in my dreams," he revealed.
This caught the droid off guard.
"Are-Are you sure?"
Jaune nodded as he stared at the planet in front of him.
"I wish it wasn't," he whispered to himself as he tapped the intercom, "Everyone I know you're probably scared right now from the bumpy ride, but I thought you should know...we are at Remnant. I think you should let Sila do one last check-up on you before I take you down to your families."
Jaune heard a series of cheers coming from the back as he sensed that their fear and anxiety was dropping in favor of raising their happiness, watching as he saw a piece of moonrock spiral toward the planet's atmosphere spiraling into a meteor as it descended toward the planet's surface.
Jaune breathed deeply.
"I'll go see if they're ready, mind taking over for me?"
Oum nodded.
"Thanks, Oum."
And with that Jaune got up from his seat to help with the children's departure.
Far on the surface on Remnant lay a small island the residents called Patch as two teenage girls watched the starry night sky in their backward.
"Ooh! Ooh! Yang look! I think I see a shooting star!" a girl wearing black and red clothing and bright red hood excitedly said as her sliver eyes spotted the streak and pointed at it for her blonde sister to see it as well.
"I see it, Ruby," she responded, giggling at her little sister's excitement.
"Quick make a wish before it goes away," Ruby shouted as she closed her eyes and began to think of her wish.
"Jeez alright, alright," Yang smiled as she too did the same thing.
"I wish to become the greatest Huntress in the history of ever like mom!" Ruby internally screamed at the stars.
"I wish I know what my mom was like," Yang thought, before shifting her mind to her sister
"So what did you wish for?"
"Yang you know I can't tell you that or it won't come true!" Ruby pouted, cutely glaring at her older sister who laughed at her expense.
"Girls," a male voice called out to them, "Come on inside it's getting late."
"Coming Dad," Ruby replied as she sped into the house leaving a trail of red rose petals in her wake with her sister following behind.
Meanwhile, a girl dressed in a white dress with cold blue eyes entered her hotel room planning to use it until the next semester came and she could attend the academy as a busboy pushed a luggage carrier into her room and set them on her bed.
"Will that be all Ms. Schnee?"
"Indeed it will. Thank you for your service she," she replied in a dignified tone giving the man ten Lien.
As he left Wiess stared out the window at the radiant lights dotting the black sky, sighting a streak.
"A shooting star? I haven't seen one in a while," she mused, "Perhaps I should make a wish...for old time's sake."
"I wish to be independent from my father and show everyone I'm more than a name," she wished out loud as the same streak passed over a lady with a black bow and black and white clothing and amber eyes.
"Never thought I'd see one again," she thought, "Well...might as well make a wish. I wish for people not to judge me for being a Faunus to show the world that we could live in peace." she hoped as the beam went over the heads of two other teens, one with orange hair, turquoise eyes, a pink skirt, and a bubbly persona while her counterpart had short black hair with a small streak of pink in it, magenta eyes, wore green clothing and was much more composed.
"Ooh! Renny look a shooting star!" she cheered, as her best friend directed his gaze at the night sky and gave a small smile.
"I see it, Nora, I see it." he smiled.
"Come on let's make a wish! We haven't seen one in a looooong long time," Nora pleaded looking into Ren's eyes.
"Alright," Ren sighed.
"I wish I could be together-together with Ren," Nora prayed.
"I wish I could keep Nora and my future allies safe from harm," Ren thought as the star continued onward.
At the same time a young lady with fiery red hair, emerald green eyes, finished making sure she had everything set from her armor, clothing, weapons, and ammunition in her luggage as she brought them down to the car carrying her to the airport so she could become a Huntress.
"Pyrrha, you're going to be late," a gentle female voice called to her from downstairs.
"Coming mother."
Pyrrha lifted the last of her bags as she headed downstairs to see her mother waiting for her with a red sash in her hands as her mother wrapped it around her waist fixing it to make sure it didn't fall off, Taking one last look at her before giving her a proud smile.
"I-I'm ready to go now, mother," Pyrrha said as tears came to her eyes as she wished her mother goodbye.
"I'm going to miss you my little champion," she said in a choked-up voice, hugging her daughter who returned the favor before she went off.
"Be safe."
"I will Mom...g-goodbye," she cried as she let go only to be held tighter by her mother.
"Don't say goodbye...I hate goodbyes," she let out before finally releasing her daughter.
"Then I'll see you soon in time for the Winter Solstice," she smiled, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.
"O-Okay," her mother said, "Just be safe and remember you are more than your ability to fight."
"I-I know Mom. I will see you soon." Pyrrha said before getting into the car. She gave one last look at her mom, giving her a gentle wave before she was out of sight.
She dried her eyes as she looked skyward to see a shooting star passing by. She smiled as she recalled the times she wished on them in the past when she was a child with her parents before her father's passing.
Deciding to relieve old memories she made her own wish.
"I wish to have friends who don't put me on a pedestal as many others in the past have," she hoped as the star disappeared from her line of sight. A smile graced her lips as she wondered what the future had destined for her.
AN: Yeah, this chapter took a lot of time for me to get an idea of what I wanted to do with it from dialogue to how I wanted to end it, but now that it's out of the way we're finally going to start picking up the pace now. Jaune seems to have run into something very strange, and the Empire has picked up his scent.
I apologize again for not being able to release this sooner, with my writer's block and all that, but I feel happy with how it is especially with the end.
Next chapter Jaune brings the kids home and has a run-in with a certain someone.
I'm also going to be doing a few Q&A segments from now on, so onward!
Q&A:
HelpingHand: You're just gonna have to wait and see what I plan to do with them.
NainTarlow: Thanks! I didn't really feel that it was my best chapter so far but I'm glad you like it!
tylerbmotter: Don't worry bro I got you.
8-bit pirate: Yup pretty soon Jaune is gonna be interacting with the rest of the characters in the story and help them out in time.
That's all for now and remember the Force will be with you always...