Eleventh Legion warship: Blade of Terra. 25th expeditionary fleet.
The training cages of the Blade of Terra were remarkably empty save for two occupants, both circled each other in one of the dueling cages bare from the waste up and bore similar features. The first and seemingly older of the two had a long gaunt face, it sported a goatee of blond hair. His right eye was the mechanical red of a bionic with a scar running from the top of his head to just below his cheekbone, a sharp contrast to the unblemished lilac of his left eye. His body was crisscrossed with scars even the pieces of plasteel that made up his left arm; another parting gift from the greenskins of the now compliment world of Elentil four.
His opponent was younger and wasn't as marked by battle but he had his fair share. His eyes were an equal shade of lilac and his lips were spread in a feral smile.
"First or third Bolvar?"
"Have you ever known any of us to stop at one old man?" Solan smiled at that.
"Third Blood it is boy." Bolvar gave a grunt in acknowledgement.
The fight began in earnest. The two tranhumens went at each other with the same ferocity and stubbornness that destroyed alien empires and rebellious civilizations alike. They punched, blocked and dodged for three minutes before first blood was spilled; then Solan's augmenting arm did a cross punch in Bolvar's jaw with enough force that it almost broke. He stumbled back, eyes red; Solan let him and he spot out bloody flem. The fight continued in earnest, jab, block, dodge Bolvar stepped back just in time preventing a strike at his midriff and saw his chance. He charged toward flaming into Solan elbow first and into the training cage's edge as he felt Solan's ribs crack. Solan reacted quickly seeing both his hands together into the back of Bolvar's neck sending him to the ground. But the two were forced to halt when the training room's vox cages crackled into life.
"Legion Master Solan. Your presence is requested, we have received a communication from the war council." The vox died after the speaker finished. And Solan helped Bolvar to his feet; they would resume this later.
"No rest for the weary." Solan remarked.
"You can say that again; that's the twelfth deployment we've received in the last month and our numbers are hardly what they once were." He was right, though the Eleventh legion had fought and earned many honors during the Crusade it was not without cost. The Rangdan Xenocides alone nearly drove them to extinction with only a mere six thousand brothers surviving the conflict; out of thirty thousand they had when it began
The two left the cages and after putting on their power armor arrived at the Blade of Terra's command bridge without further delay. It was a well maintained maelstrom of activity, crewmen ether worked vigorously at their stations or quickly passed on data slates and other material to where it was needed, most didn't notice legion master's entrance at first.
"Ship Master Judis." The shipmaster turned to face the Space Marine at the mention of his name. He slim built and blank faced, always a man of little humor his face was bald save for a intrinsic tattoo design at the back of his head.
"Legion master." He saluted with the sign of the Aquila.
"We have received an astropathic communication from the war council, the master of the quire has given me a transcription of the report." Judis replied presenting a data slate to the captain, which solan took in his gauntleted hand. After reading he gave a small grumble.
"Well? What are orders this time old man? Bolvar asked
"Save your taunts for later boy. The reports are confirmed shipmaster?" Solan replied grimly.
"I just had them verified before you arrived there are scattered reports of an Ork invasion on the Agri world of Auros."
"Then we have little time, plot a course at full speed, every second we waste is another we don't have. Bolvar gather the other captains, I will brief you and the others in one hour, no exceptions and have our men ready for combat before we arrive."
"What companies will be deploying?"
"If these reports are correct we will need all of them."
Remnant: Beacon academy: Monday morning, Initiation day.
It wasn't even six AM when the professors woke everyone up. The sky was dark with only the slightest tellings of dawn on the horizon and every single soul that was sleeping in the main hall did not enjoy the early wake up. They groaned through tired mouths and half lidded eyes wishing to go back into the bliss of sleep; well most of them. Yang woke up refreshed for the day with no symptom of fatigue or sign of being tired. Most of the others payed her no mind too worried and stressed of their own initiations. Everyone had a total of five minutes to freshen up in the bathrooms and shower if necessary, afterwords they were escorted to the cafeteria for breakfast where Yang managed to find Ruby munching on more pancakes then should be humanly possible to eat; at least that wouldn't change from their home routine.
"Well at least this place didn't take your appetite?"
"I'd say so, though everyone else would probably be thankful for some sleep." Ruby said before continuing to shove food into her mouth."
"You know eating that fast may get you to choke you know that?"
"Yeah but's it's the only way I was ever able to get food at the house. You and mom are animals when you eat." Ruby said as she pointed her fork at Yang meanwhile Blake came and sat next to them, setting her own tray on the table. Her hair a somewhat unkempt mess that barely controlled and concealed by her bow.
"Yessh, bad morning?" Yang asked.
"It's not even morning yet." Blake replied
"It technically is four in the morning."
"Don't be a smart ass Yang." Ruby said Yang our up her hands with a smile as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"fine fine I'll reel it in. Got to wonder what their up to though." Yang tilted her head to the nearby security staff."
"I heard some of them talking earlier, apparently their sending people in groups to initiation. They apparently have a larger group then usual hence the early morning." Yang shook her head
"Doesn't seem like the best idea, most of the people in here look like they can barely stand, let alone dear with a day's worth of seminar's, tests and final entrance exams."
"I don't think it's going to be that type of initiation." Ruby commented.
"You think so?" Yang replied Ruby gestured to her ear, Yang took the cue. It was hard to hear over the clamor of voices but she could make out something outside, it was like… propellers?
"Air ships?"
"heard them earlier, they may try and take us off campus."
"What are you two talking about? I don't hear any airships." Blake replied which caused the two to freeze for a moment.
"Well I… saw them on our way here."
"We all came from the hall and I didn't see anything."
"Well I did." Yang replied raising her hand with her usual smile. Blake look at the two for a moment.
"Okay then." Blake replied, her voice giving showing Yang some signs of doubt. They would need to be careful in the future.
"So say your right and their were airships, where would they be taking us?"
"Emerald Forest? Five minute trip by airship." Yang suggested.
"But also fifteen minutes on foot. Why waste the fuel, mabye security for initiation? If they are there at all." Blake countered giving voice to her doubt. Ruby followed the conversation in silence but stayed otherwise silent content to watch her sister and friend go back and forth; until she saw a black feather fall on the table.
It fell without sound or notice, stem as sharp as a blade and feathers as black as the pit. More fell silently making a trail which Ruby followed with her eyes to a glass statue unusually stationed at the center of the cafeteria. Each piece a perfect mirror reflecting whatever looked in, she was a figure of elegance near immaculate in form. Wind picked up and dark shadows crossed the room just out sight like nightmarish phantoms, Ruby tried to follow their movements taking her eyes off the statue for just a moment; just long enough to hear the sound of pierced glass. Turning back to the statue to find a black feather piercing her body from the back of her shoulder causing the bladed stem which now poked out of the statue's front to be covered in blood. It flowed inside the statue a macabre simulacrum of the human body.
Ruby felt she could hear something just out of her hearing, voices, screams.
"Ruby." She looked around dazed, soon screams were joined by growls, roars and the howling of beasts. It hard to keep track of the sifting shapes around her. A screech followed, loud, clear and ringing in her head.
"Rubes?"
She turned back to the statue on instinct, it's face contorted in agony and horror and then shattered in a spray of blood as another feather pierced her stomach and the was drowned in a shrieking, silent scream!
"Ruby!" Yang shook her back to awareness. Her head ached like a massive bell tolled in her head.
"You alright?" Blake asked.
"I'm fine, just tired."
"Figures you were out of it for a good five minutes. Didn't even react when I tried to swipe your pancakes." Yang replied before taking a bite of said pancakes right before the scream of a whistle overtook the air. The source was an armed security officer dressed in the green and black uniform of the Valion army easily identified by the twin axe sigil on his shoulder.
In addition to this was the white sigil of a tower with a star hovering above it marking him as the Valion 23rd "The Warrior's Guard." Known for their renowned service in the Great War as the personal regiment and later elevated to the guard of Vale's last king till the end of the Great War. Supposedly they were the best of Vale's army but now they were reduced to school security staff.
"Such a waste." Yang muttered before the officer spoke up his voice hard and solid like a wall forcing down any argument or question before it began.
"Alright I'll say this once! You will all go to your lockers and retrieve your weapons, outside of each locker room is a member of the security staff. You will go to one, doesn't matter which one for further instructions. Anyone who has not done this in the next hour is immediately marked failure for initiation and will not be allowed to this school; no exception!" He waited a moment after he finished eyeing all of the students in front of him his gazed passed them each one by one analyzing. It was cold and uncaring and Ruby didn't like it, there was something wrong with it.
The captain left then without a word with all the regal military discipline of a veteran and the students were let out.
"This place is nuts. I swear it has better security then the council forum." Blake remarked
"You don't say." Yang replied before turning to her sister.
"You ready for this?"
"I am…"
"You sure?"
"I've gotten this far, can't go back now." Yang smiled at that.
"Keep talking like that and I'll keep thinking your not a kid anymore."
"I'm not though."
"Not to me, cmon the sooner this is done the sooner we can take it easy for a bit at least."
Beacon Academy Armory: Weapon's locker room 032
Jaune was a nervous wreck, lack of sleep compounded by humiliation over his bunny onesie had made for an already terrible start to the day. The constant stares from the security staff he passed by only made him more anxious, every thought dominated by conspiracy and fear. Did they know he faked his transcripts? What would they do, he heard stories of the last time a student was found to be in the academy under false pretenses, some say he was let out of the forest to be killed by grim, others say he was lashed like how deserters during the Great War were punished.
These could very much have been rumor, nothing was confirmed but then again those who entered falsely and were found out were never seen; the forger who made his transcripts told him as such.
"Take my advise boy, walk away cause if you get caught you ain't coming out and my ass will be in the fire." Why the hell didn't he listen?
The locker room was already packed when he arrived, men and women scrambling to get their equipment before the deadline and a few were even shoved to the ground in the rampage which wasn't stopped despite the security staff. His locker was in a corner that was slightly less packed. Though that meant little, it nearly meant he had some room to breathe.
His armor was a welcome relief it's armored covering provided some comfort of home, and reminded him of the stories his grandfather told him of the Great War. Crocea Mors was grasped easily enough thanks to practice with the shield in its compact form killing any hindrance normally caused by such a compact area. He squeezed his way back out of the armory room lines of initiates were trying to get in, the deadline driving them into a frenzy. A woman in the uniform of the Warrior's guard with a matching beret stood just outside with a scroll in her gloved hands. She wore an expression of stone as she spoke to each student in turn the latest one rubbing his neck as he left carrying a mace in his other hand.
"Name?"
"Um Uh Jaune Arc." Well he wasn't nervous at all, the officer's stare which was expressionless as stone changed as he said his last name she turned to her scroll and typed his name, then stared back at him for a moment.
"Arm out, this will sting." She took out a holstered ejection gun.
"Um sure, so what do we do now do we go to the courtyard or ahh." Jaune yelped in surprise as she unceremoniously ejected something into his arm.
"Your set, go to the landing area, you'll be briefed there. Go to Bullhead twelve, next." Jaune didn't have the opportunity to argue after the next student moved up to the officer, shoving him out of the way. What followed was a stumbling walk through the crowd to the landing it seemed he was one of the first arrivals that were trickling in; not one went for bullhead twelve. Jaume sat inside the Bullhead having his legs hand from the craft's door.
"Oh hey, first one of the day." Jayne jumped at the voice and turned. An old man at the door way to the cockpit, rough faced and clean shaven he wore pilot fatigues with the white tower patch stitched to his front and his belt held a holstered sidearm. He seemed amused at Jaune's reaction.
"Take it easy, I won't bite what's your name kid."
"Janus Arc." He replied with a shaky breath.
"Arc? As in Tiberius Arc, Valion general and second to the Warrior king?" Jaune nodded.
"The same, I guess. He was a general though the other stuff I don't know."
"Well then, you can call me Mac I'll be your pilot for the initiation. I actually did meet Tiberius just before he retired. Good man, as tough and damn honorable as the stories."
"I wouldn't know to be honest, he never really spoke of his military life, save the usual slip up after we finished training.
"Ah the old man trained you. Nice to know he's still around and kicking. I'm guessing he's proud of you for earning your way in here."
"He… yeah he's very proud." The pressure of the lie copulating with stress made for a bad combination Mac must of noticed cause he immediately gave Jaume some space.
"Sorry if I'm overbearing you, just Tiberius is a bit of a legend around here. Hey how about I give you a rundown for initiation, not supposed to do it till the others arrive but I can bend the rules a bit out of respect for your old man." Jaume nodded
"That would be great." Mad seeing the invitation sat on one of the chairs inside the bulkhead, before taking out a cigar to smoke.
"Alright so you know that barrier fence that keeps most of the more dangerous grim out of the forest areas surrounding the school and vale. Well I'll be dropping you eight miles past that. Each of you will be dropped alone and have to make your way to a ruin around eight miles northward." Mac proceeded to lite his cigar as Jaume processed the information.
"Aren't those forests crawling with ancient Grimm. Why would they let mere trainees out in that area?"
"Honestly kid I'm under orders not to answer that question but you'll probably figure it out afterword. So anyway your alone once your dropped off but the first person you make eye contact with becomes your partner for the next four years, so stay together reach the ruins you'll find twenty two different artifacts doesn't matter which one you choose but you need to take one. With me so far?"
"Yeah, go the ruins, get the artifact simple enough. But doesn't twenty two seem like a small number for this many initiates." Mac shrugged.
"We have multiple proving grounds in use, but you are right honestly your not all expected to pass." Jaune felt Mac was about to add something else yet he stayed silent. He continued on.
"Anyway once you get the artifact you need to start making your way south toward the barrier fence, it should take you about a day or so to make it, the gate will be open for six hours after words it'll be reactivated.
"What if we're stuck on the other side when it reactivates?"
"Well then your considered failed and you'll need to make your way another forty miles through Grimm infested jungle to the nearest road and make your way back to vale from there." Jaume grimaced there was no way he would make it five let alone forty miles of jungle. He could already feel his nerves acting up, these next few days would hell.
Beacon Academy Clocktower: Headmaster's office.
Preparations for initiation had started four hours earlier. Three hours earlier the students deadline for preparation was given by commander Merex Kayne and since then there had been roughly one hundred and fifty brawls between initiates across campus and half as many assaults from students trying to get on to the Bullhead's more quickly. It was going exactly as Ozpin had predicted, it was obvious not all the initiates would make it and with the enemy being as strong as she was he needed to be certain the best were trained as huntsman.
"So anyone of interest so far?" Ozpin asked to the assembled staff, Glynda stepped forward first using her scroll to bring up a massive projection of aspiring students.
"Well firstly we have our obvious candidates, Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose." Glynda brought both their profiles into focus.
"Now Xiao Long's application was indeed a surprise, it was quite unexpected."
"Not to mention a welcome opportunity to finish our research on her." Merex remarked.
"You know very well we can not do so. As much as I agree, our bargain keeps Xiao Long out of our reach. Miss Rose however is another matter."
"Do we have any other evidence to confirm our suspicions?" Asked Ozpin.
"None as of yet." Replied Glynda
"Then for now we will make no move, we should confirm before dedicating to any action, however keep surveillance on them. Who else?" Merex tapped on his own scroll bringing another into focus. Including vids from the Arena's and fighting lite of Mistral
"The Invincible Girl. Pyrrha Nikos. Champion of Mistral, quite the celebrity some of the security staff had to break a mob up who was surrounding her. Semblance is polarity from what we can tell, though her family seems to keep that a tightly kept secret. Skill wise she's already one of our better fighters but personality wise… she needs work."
"Oh?"
"She's too nice, very apologetic and saying sorry for everything. We could break that Maybe make her more aggressive she could be one of our best hunters."
"Hmm, she had Red Hair, reminds me of those paintings of the Dukes of Ministral."
"From what we can tell there is no relation. But we haven't really looked."
"Well no matter, I will leave that part of her training to you." Ozpin waved the profile away as the next two appeared side by side. The first was make with long black hair with a pink streak wearing a green and black tailcoat, his was expressionless almost like it was dead. The second was a female ginger smiling madly with wearing a black vest underneath which was a sleeveless top.
"Lie Ren and Nora Valkerye originally from the village of Kuroyuri located outside the kingdom of Ministral. Officially the village was destroyed in a Grimm attack.
"And unofficially."
"Cult of the bountiful Serpent. At least a radical faction of it. Shame that what few remnants of faith remain are so… barbaric."
"Serpent? If memory serves it was not the serpent but the Crow that dominated the faith in Ministral till after the Great War anyway." Glynda nodded in response.
"There were some sects of the Serpent present this one probably escaped the great purge after the war's end."
"Mr. Ren did give official testimony regarding the cult's actions but they were… misplaced I can send you a copy within the day."
"Do so, his history with the Cult could be a useful tool in the years to come. What of Miss Valkerye?"
"She's the hammer to his scalpel very eccentric goes where he does. Wouldn't take much to nudge her in any direction all we would need to worry about is Ren. Once he's under control we will have her." Merex remarked.
"Very Well then, also begin investigations into that particular sect, last thing I need an unknown element in the game. What of our two polar opposites?" Ozpin taped some controls on his console to reveal two other trainees.
"Weiss Schnee currently the heir of Jacques Schnee, though that may change, our contacts report he was not exactly thrilled with his daughter's decision to attend beacon."
"He's not the only one, I fully expected her to go to Atlas myself. Oh well our plans for her do not change, if we play this right we may have a stern hold on the dust markets in the future, and keep it out of Salem's hands."
"Jacques will ask we transfer her back to Atlas. You know that."
"Let the rat think it's a lion for a little while, if he proves to bothersome feel free to cause him problems. That should keep him in line. What of Miss Belladonna?"
"Well she's the daughter of the Chief of Menagerie but her resume is pretty colored. According to our spies in the Fang she was Taurus's second."
"The Wrath Bull? His group is well known, never thought her to be a follower of the faith?"
"From what we could tell she's not, in fact I dare say it's why she left, the Faunus of menagerie have never been fond of it. In fact I dare say they are sternly opposed."
"You mentioned former White Fang, what else can you tell me."
"She a ghost and a damned scary one at that, primarily responsible for the assassination of twenty three Schnee Dust Company officials and high ranking personnel and believed to be responsible for many acts of sabotage."
"Another arrow in our quiver then. It truly is a year of opportunities for us then. Any others I should know of?"
"None so far but if anyone else comes to mind I'll inform you…" Merex stopped when his scroll blinked red from an incoming message. He opened the scroll and began reading scowling as time went on.
"Is there a problem?" asked Ozpin.
"Someone snuck in." Merex pulled out one file.
"Jaume Arc, transcripts are forged. I'll have some men bring him in."
"Arc… as in Tiberius?"
"The very same."
"Let him go." Merex looked at Ozpin in surprise.
"Tiberius' name still holds much weight in your ranks I will not have his eye on me at this time."
"My officers are loyal, Tiberius is a craven, too soft hearted to make a move against us."
"Your officers are loyal your lower ranks are another matter. They don't know any other story then he retired a hero. Besides if he survives he will make a good hostage at least in name."
"As you wish." Merex didn't agree, but he dared not speak more of his doubts allowed.
"Good." The bells of the tower rung a morose tone the deadline had just passed. Ozpin got up from his chair and turned to the window watching the Bullhead's fly to their intended drop points as the office's holographic projector switched to a map view with each imitate showed by the trackers injected into them earlier. Within a day at the very least half of the students that left would not be coming back.
Author's note: Okay so I finally got this chapter, sorry the wait was so long I had a few things happening IRL but since I'm now stuck at home for the most part I can hopefully write more often. please feel free to review and like and above all stay safe.