Previously on the Jedi and the Mandalorian...

"A safe and secure society." Ironwood repeated what the Emperor stated, "That is my dream for Remnant. The Empire, is the answer to Remnant's destruction."

"Your way! The old way no longer works! Look where your ideas have gotten us! You are too cautious and afraid to act on anything Oz! You never had the guts to stand up, and fight! But I do! I am fully aware that the Empire is unorthodox! But they are a necessary evil! I will don't whatever it takes to protect all of Remnant!"

"I know everything about you; your occupation, your talents, your strengths, and most of all your actions. As two of the Empire's most wanted criminals. All in part thanks to your droid accessing the CCT. When my military hacked your droid, we found many secrets that put together the puzzle that was our problem. Your Rebellion, a movement to bring the end of the Empire, a noble effort that I do respect. But your droid carries coordinates to a certain…base in the Yavin System."

"This isn't about the crew! Or our friends! Or our families! This is about us!" Sabine stated, "You and me!"

"Sabine…Not a day goes by, when I don't think about you. I…I thought I moved on, I thought I did. But my…my thoughts, my feelings changed. I got to know you, what you like, what you don't like. What makes you laugh, and so on. But at the same time, I changed."

"A kyber crystal…"

"I don't know…where to go on from here…But I can tell you this: I promise you, that I will find a way. A way to overcome my fear."

"Guys we have a situation!" Blake shouted as she got on comms, "ATLAS IS HERE!"

"...I'm sorry…"

"We're not letting her get captured!" Ruby insisted

"Ruby…" Hunter and the clones looked to see Ezra, now awake, approached the comm channel, "Don't go, it's too dangerous. The Bad Batch and I will find a way to get Sabine."

"...It's up to you now. The Gauntlet is the only ship we have with a working hyperdrive…go to the Yavin system and warn them. Find Hera and the others, and tell them I sent you."

Ironwood then ignited the hilt, a whistling sound was heard followed by a black black outlined by a white hue emitted from the hilt. Down on the base, Sabine was restrained and put onto a Manta, bound for the airship.

"...I love you..."

RWBY: The Jedi and the Mandalorian

Chapter 16 - The Greater Galaxy

Premise: While the Gauntlet stops to make repairs, the Rebels must answer one question: What do you fight for?"

Three Y-Wings bombers descended down from the skies over Yavin 4 before landing outside the massive Massassi temple the Rebel Alliance used as their base of operations. Hera got out of the main Y-Wing and met up with the two other pilots.

"Wedge, Hobby, well done." she said to them, "That supply run could've gone awry if you two hadn't defended the convoy."

"Thanks Captain." Hobby replied, "I better report to command, if you'll excuse me."

Hera nodded as she went to file her own report. This was her tenth mission so far since linking up with Rebel Command on Yavin. More missions than she's usually performed.

This was her new form of coping mechanism. Ezra and Sabine still haven't been found, and the Alliance Council was planning to end the search tomorrow.

"Hey General." Wedge said to her, pulling her from her thoughts, "Hera. Any luck with finding Ezra and Sabine?"

Hera sighed, she went on this mission to occupy herself from such a topic. But Hera knew there were fellow rebels who were as worried as she was.

Take Wedge for example; the guy was a cargo pilot before the Empire recruited him as a cadet at the infamous Skystrike Academy. Wedge initially enjoyed it, seeing it as an opportunity, but quickly became disillusioned with the Empire's methods. He and Hobbie defected to the Rebellion soon after with help from Sabine.

"No, still nothing." Hera replied, "And Command is ending the search tomorrow."

"Hey, don't give up hope." Wedge assured her, "Maybe something will turn up."

Hera smiled at Wedge's optimism, "Thanks, Wedge. Now you better report to Command on our mission."

Wedge saluted her, "Yes ma'am!"

"Hera!"

The Twi'lek turned around to see Zeb and Rex running up to her. At first, she assumed they were simply greeting her. But she was wrong, both the clone and lasat had worrying expressions on their faces. And what Rex said the minute he reach her set her off.

"It's Kanan…"

The trio ran up the ramp of the Ghost, up the ladder, and into Kanan's room. The Jedi Knight was on his knees as he held onto the side of his bunk. Tristan was at his side.

"Kanan!" Hera shouted as she ran over to him and helped him up.

"I heard him fall to the ground before finding him here." Tristan explained, "I sent Zeb and Rex to find you once you returned."

Hera nodded, "Thank you. Kanan, are you alright, love?"

The Jedi breathed slowly, trying to catch his breath, "Yeah, I-I'm alright."

"What happened?" Zeb asked, "The kid found you on the ground."

"I was meditating." Kanan explained as he stood up with Hera still holding him, "Trying to focus on the kids but…something was wrong."

Tristan grew nervous, "What? What happened?"

"I saw…a planet with a shattered moon?" he continued, "Surrounded in darkness?"

"A shattered moon?" Rex muttered

Just then, Hera's comlink went off, interrupting the conversation. Hera took it and answered.

"General, you're needed in the briefing room. Countess Wren has returned."

Hera looked up at everyone, then at Tristan. One thing rung in their heads.

The Countess didn't know.

"This is an outrage!" Ursa Wren slammed her fist on the holotable. Surrounding it were the members of the Alliance Council. Including Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, Tynnra Pamlo, Nower Jebel, and Vasp Vaspar.

"My daughter, the one your people restored to me, along with one of your Jedi are still missing, and you're choosing to abandon them!?"

"It wasn't our decision, Countess." Organa stated, giving off a light glare to the rest of the Council, minus Mon Mothma, "The rest of the Council outvoted us."

"We apologize for this Countess." Pamlo said to her in a professional tone, "But you must understand. We have limited resources that cannot be wasted on a galaxy-wide search."

Ursa scoffed, "So you would just let your manpower be short? I thought you rebels valued the lives of your peers."

Most of the council frowned at such an accusation, but Organa beat them to it, "I agree with the Countess. If we have limited resources at our disposal, shouldn't we have the decency to look for two of our best members, especially from that of General Syndulla's crew?"

Jebel quickly answered, "We are in no position to Senator! We come too far to simply conduct an operation! Phoenix destruction over Attollon proved we are in no position to conduct open war against the Empire. We must fortify our territories and build up our arsenal."

"Their contribution to the Rebellion will never be forgotten." Jaspar added, "Two missing rebel agents alone can't bring down the Empire."

Ursa growled as her hand silently reached for her blaster, but a firm hand grabbed it. She looked to see Tristan standing next to her. The look on his face said 'don't'. Standing behind him were Hera and Kanan.

Both Mon Mothma and Organa could only look on in sympathy and disappointment. Eventually the former spoke up, with sadness in her voice.

"The order still remains. The search for Lieutenant Commander Bridger and Sabine Wren, will end effective immediately tomorrow."

Ursa sighed before addressing the Council, "Very well, but I won't be surprised if my resources to you were suddenly cut off…"

Within the vast blue realm of hyperspace, the Gauntlet was flying away from Remnant and into the fringes of the Unknown region and the known galaxy. Why? Its crew had discovered that James Ironwood and the Atlas Military plan on using the remnants of a Separatist droid fleet to not only subjugate all of Remnant, but to also reverse engineer its tech to send a message to the Galactic Empire for its "protection". Not only that, but Ironwood also plans to use the two rebels, along with the location of the Rebel base in the Yavin system as leverage to gain the Empire's favor.

However, in the midst of fleeing the planet, Sabine stayed behind to allow the Gauntlet to escape; she was captured as a result by Ironwood's forces. Ezra on the other hand, opted to stay on Remnant to help gather what allies they still had. All in the hopes of forming a resistance against Atlas' impending takeover.

Now, all that were left were Team RWBY, JNPR, Omega, and Chopper, who were all pretty down to say the least…

…and trying to fix things…

"Electrical overload!" Omega shouted as she ran over to a console in the cockpit, "Chopper, seal those vents!"

The droid grumbled and did what he was told.

In the Gauntlet's common room, RWBY and JNPR sat in utter silence, save for the occasional spark from one of the ship's circuits. Ren sat with his arm in a makeshift sling and his shirt was torn, exposing his shoulder and injury.

The only one who wasn't sitting was Weiss. The heiress was pacing back and forth as her mind was working overload to process what had transpired, and she wasn't alone. Remnant, their home, under the thumb of a practical warmonger, and to make it worse a possible client to the Galactic Empire. Their home's ultimate fate was in their hands.

"Weiss." Ruby called out to her, "Slow down."

The heiress stopped abruptly and glared at her, "Slow down? Slow down!? Our home is under attack by an insane general with an army at his disposal, and you're telling me to slow down!?"

Yang stood up and decided to intervene, her eyes turning red in the process, "Stand down Weiss! We're all aware of the situation!"

"Well maybe we should focus on the situation!" Weiss retorted, "We're currently on board a spaceship that's heavily damaged, and with no backup!"

"Don't talk like that." said Ruby, "You heard Ezra: head to Yavin and find Hera."

As she said this, Omega and Chopper entered the room, "We'll we won't be going to Yavin anytime soon. The ship got hit hard when we fled Remnant. We'll have to land somewhere to make repairs."

"Where then" Jaune asked

Omega turned to the droid, "Chop."

Chopper grumbled before displaying the hologram of a planet with 2 moons in orbit.

"May I present to you all: the planet Batuu." Omega announced, "Located in the western reaches of the Outer Rim, near the fringes of the Unknown Regions. It was once a popular trade between the Unknown sectors and Wild Space, that was, until hyperspace routes opened up, and the planet was forgotten. The Empire only has a minor presence on Batuu, as it doesn't meet their standards. So they won't be a problem."

Chopper then removed the image as Omega continued, "Once we're done, we can head to the Yavin System."

"Which brings me to our next problem." Weiss interjected, "What are we gonna say to the rebels? Hey, your rebellion is in jeopardy. Can you help us please?"

"We'll figure that out when we get there." Ruby said to her, "But right now, let's get the ship fixed."

"I wonder what the rebels are doing now?" Jaune muttered

"ARUGH!"

Zeb threw a crate across the Ghost's cargo hold in anger over the Council's decision. Rex was leaning against the wall watching him.

"Feel better?" he asked dryly

Zeb heaved a bit in anger, "Yeah, a little."

"This is an insult to your friend and my daughter." Ursa growled, "How could your council agree to this?"

"They're thinking logically." Hera said to her, "They think two people are not equal to an army."

"So you agree with them?" Ursa questioned, to which Hera frowned at her

"Of course not." she replied, "Your daughter is like family to me as much as she is to you. I would risk my life to get them back."

"Even if we could, we still don't know where they are." Ursa stated

Tristan then remembered what happened earlier before he and the Ghost crew went to see Ursa talking down on the council, "Well, there's one thing…Kanan…"

The Jedi Knight folded his arms, knowing what Tristan was talking about.

"What?" Ursa muttered, "Does he know something?"

"A vision." Zeb answered, "Nothing else."

"Yeah, a planet with a shattered moon." Rex added, "But that doesn't really narrow our options down."

"There's more though." Kanan spoke up, "Something has happened to Sabine, something bad."

Ursa looked worried, "What? What happened?"

"I-I don't know." Kanan shrugged, "But Ezra is in pain over her for some reason. I felt tension between them before, but now…it's just pain. Ezra is in pain."

"Over her…" Tristan muttered

The Gauntlet had exited hyperspace finally as it arrived in the Batuu system. For the first time in their lives, RWBY and JNPR saw another planet for the first time.

At first glance, Batuu looked no different from Remnant. Green biomes surrounded by blue oceans. The only differences were that there appeared to be no deserts or tundras, like in Vacuo or Atlas. Lastly, Batuu had not one, but three moons in its orbit.

"Here we are, Batuu." Omega announced, "I'll see if we can land at Black Spire Outpost."

Soon, the Gauntlet entered the planet's atmosphere. Ruby and her friends felt the pressure of reentry; not a good feeling at all. Especially for Jaune, though he was managing through it.

Then their destination could be seen: Black Spire Outpost, the perfect place to lay low and make repairs. A small town surrounded by the lush forests of Batuu, complete with shipyards, salvage areas, and hangar bays.

Omega had the ship land in an open hangar, the landing gear made contact with the ground, sending a jolt through the ship. Omega then powered down all systems.

"Alright, how are we doing with credits?" she asked out loud

"Found as many as we could." Nora replied as she handed the young clone two handfuls of the galactic currency, "Had to sneak into Sabine's room to find extra, totally worth it."

"Hey guys, there's someone approaching the ship." Jaune announced as he looked out the cockpit's viewport. An alien creature of some kind with four arms.

"It's probably security." Omega replied, "Which is why we have the credits ready, so we can use his hangar."

Omega had the ship's ramp be lowered before they all exited the Gauntlet. The alien then approached with two of his arms behind his back while the other stroked his chin.

"Hmm, a Kom'rk-class fighter…" he muttered in amusement and with an impressed look, "Mandalorian, you will not find this on the market these days."

"We like to rent out this docking bay for the night." Omega said to him before handing him the credits Nora found, "I hope this will pay for it all."

The alien counted the credits the young clone gave him, "Yes, this will do. What exactly brings a party like you all to Batuu?"

Ruby, still surprised over the fact that she and her friends were on an alien planet, surprisingly spoke up, "Our ship just needs repairs, that's all."

The alien raised an eyebrow, "Really, well I hate to admit it, but that will cost extra. We don't exactly get visitors that often."

"That won't be necessary, we have the tools we need to fix our ship." Omega stated, "Just needed a place to do it."

"Oh very well then." the alien replied before he noticed the scourge marks all over the Gauntlet's hull, "Looks like your ship saw some action? Pirates I assume? Smugglers?"

The group didn't know what to say to the guy. But for the huntsmen, all eyes turned to Omega.

"...The Empire…" Omega muttered weakly

The alien simply nodded slowly, "I'm impressed then. It's not everyday someone survives a run-in with the Imperial fleet. All the refugees that are here proves it."

"Refugees?" Pyrrha questioned

"From planets across the galaxy, mostly the Outer Rim." the man explained, "The Empire deported thousands of lives off their worlds to use them for their own needs. Next thing you know, they start stripping the planet of their resources. Imperial bastards…they almost feel unstoppable. Hell, I know there are some of them that want to do the right thing, but not like this. At least Batuu is safe, no use in taking it. Their small base is enough for us."

The huntsmen felt a chill run down their spines at what the guy said. Would Remnant suffer a similar fate?

"Anyway, I shouldn't bother you all too much." he said to them, "I'll be in my office if you need anything."

Three hours had passed by since they arrived on Batuu. Omega and Chopper had done a systems check to see what had to be repaired. Unfortunately, it was a little more than they expected. So now they needed additional supplies.

Omega, Ruby and Jaune were the ones who planned on heading out. Ruby herself changed attire in order not to draw any attention. Her cape and hood were now gone. Replaced with a red jacket that stopped above the waist over a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up passed the forearms. Darks gray pants, a holster, and her signature boots.

Jaune's attire hadn't changed that much. Save for the fact that his chest armor and hoodie were replaced with an orange jacket.

"Alright, we'll head out and get what we need." Ruby said to them all, "You guys stay here."

"Sure…" Blake muttered weakly

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah we're fine." Yang answered in the same tone

Jaune and Ruby shrugged as they headed for the ramp. Omega on the other hand approached them, "Look, I know what you're all thinking, and I get it. We all know what's at stake."

"You heard what that guy said, Omega." Weiss retorted, "The Empire removed everyone and took their planet without even batting an eye. What makes you think that won't happen if we fail."

"Then we can't fail now, can we?" Omega said back, "I understand what you're all going through. Losing your home? Ezra lost Lothal, Sabine lost Mandalore, and I lost Kamino. But we still fight, because we know we can. We can bring hope to those who have none. That's what huntsmen do, right?"

"Yeah well, this isn't what a huntsmen does!" Blake retorted, "We didn't sign up for this!"

"Or did you?" Omega put it simply, "Why did you all become huntsmen now hmm? Ask yourselves this: What do you fight for?"

With that, Omega left them in their thoughts.

Both Ruby and Jaune were amazed at the sights around them. Batuu was in many ways similar to Remnant; crowded streets like Vale, flying ships like Atlas, etc. But there were many differences as well. Such as the fact that there were aliens each speaking in different languages, and the place seemed overcrowded rather than just crowded.

But something quickly caught their eyes from within the streets. Bystanders and random civilians quickly moved out of their way as the sound of light marching was heard. Emerging from the now open streets were a squad of white-armored figures marching in formation. Their helmets were similar to that of skulls, and they carried small rifles, similar in size to the blaster used by the battle droids on Remnant. The lead figure wore an orange pauldron on his shoulder.

"Omega…" Jaune muttered to the clone, "Are those-?"

"Yeah, those are stormtroopers." she said, cutting him off, "Come on, they won't be a problem as long as we keep to ourselves."

"The people don't seem to mind them." Ruby stated as she watched people simply gaze at the daily patron unit walk on by.

"That's because the Empire has no need for Batuu." said Omega, "And the people know that, they know if they keep the place like this, a Star Destroyer won't be in orbit anytime soon."

"I just hope we get back home." Ruby stated hopefully, "Qrow, Ozpin, Eli, Glynda...oh no Dad too."

Omega put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, we'll save them I promise."

Back on the Gauntlet, the rest of the crew were off doing their own thing. Weiss and Blake were playing holochess, Pyrrha and Nora were tending to Ren's wound, and Chopper was inspecting the ship's diagnostics.

It was then that Yang entered the common room, and glanced at her partner.

"Hey, Blake." she said to her, "Why do you think Omega asked us about being huntsmen? Asking what we fight for?"

Blake stopped looking at the holotable and faced her, "I…don't know. Everything seems like they're coming to an end."

"Yeah…Ironwood, the Empire, tha fact that life exists beyond Remnant. I guess we never actually took the time to…you know…accept it."

Yang then set her sights on Weiss, "Weiss, what do you think?"

The heiress thought for a moment before speaking, the others then joined in listening, "I think she...I wanted to honor my family's name, I mean it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a...moral gray area.

Blake snorted, "That's putting it lightly."

Weiss shot her friend a light glare, "Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right." Blake stated, revealing her reason, "I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone. I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I-...How can I undo so many years of hate?"

"You'll figure it out." Pyrrha assured her, "You're not one to back down from a challenge Blake."

"But I am!" Blake cried out, "I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away...But Sabine taught me not to run away…back in the mining facility. She told me how she overcame her fear…that means I can do the same."

Pyrrha then spoke up, "I just wanted to not be noticed. Just be normal…I know it may sound selfish. But-"

"It's not at all." Weiss stated, "I want to do the same remember."

"Ren and I have lived on our own for a while." Nora spoke up, "Help those who couldn't. A huntsmen seemed perfect."

"At least you all have something that drives you. I've just kinda of always, gone with the flow, y'know?" Yang stated, "And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that…"

Yang then thought of her sister, "I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today. She understands all of this more than anything. She wants to save the world. When she saw Ezra and Sabine, she saw herself."

"She's still a kid, Yang." Weiss stated

"She's two years younger, we're all kids." Blake retorted, "Hell, Ezra and Sabine kids as well. Look how long they're been fighting. We're now in the same predicament as they're in."

"It's our job." Pyrrha stated firmly, "We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second."

The Grimm were just one part of their job. White Fang, Bandits, all just part of the bigger picture. Anything, any threat, Remnant or beyond was their job to put down, no matter what. Ezra and Sabine did the same, they put what they wanted aside so others could be safe from the Empire. Now they had to do the same for Remnant.

The footsteps pulled them from their conversation, Ruby and the others had returned with what they needed.

"Ready?" Omega asked

Yang pumped her fists, "Let's do this."

For the rest of the night, the kids took turns repairing the ship, making sure it was at peak proficiency. Hyperdrives, weapons, scanners, life support, hull integrity, everything. When it was all done, the Gauntlet took off and left Batuu before jumping to hyperspace.

Hera stood in the doorframe of Sabine's room on the Ghost. She glanced at the artwork that adorned the walls and floors, even now she found herself mesmerized at the young Mando's work. She remembered being a little ticked off when she discovered her surrogate daughter's work on her ship. Next thing she knew, works of art were popping up in the common room, engine room, even Ezra and Zeb's bunk.

But now, something felt off about it all. Ezra and Sabine were still missing, and Command was ending their search in less than a few hours.

"Hey." Kanan said as he approached her, he had his mask off, which showed his pale blind eyes, "You ok?"

Hera looked at him and smiled sadly, "Just looking at all of her work. I remember when I found her painting here for the first time. But looking at it now…"

Hera's smile faded, as Kana put a hand on her shoulder, "Love, do you think we'll find them?"

"Honestly, I don't know." Kanan replied, "I can still feel them, their presence in the Force. But the pain Ezra is emitting is too much for me to get a clear understanding."

"What if they don't come back, Kanan?" Hera asked, "What if they're gone. I won't be able to forgive myself. I sent Ezra to get us help, and now both of them are gone. I don't even think I'll be able to look at her art anymore."

Kanan raised an eyebrow, "Are you suggesting we remove it?"

"I…" the Twi'lek stuttered before finding comfort in Kanan's arms, "I don't know…"

"Don't."

Kanan and Hera turned to see Ursa standing nearby, "When Sabine left us for the first time, I was furious at what she had done. I could not bear seeing her work in her room or in the house. I went as far as to order for them to be removed. It was the worst mistake I ever made in my life. Don't get rid of any of it. Remember her, remember him. I don't know the Force as well as you do Master Jedi, but I have faith they will return."

"Thank you, Countess." Hera thanked her

"I must leave now, my people need me." Ursa continued, "Tristan wishes to stay. I will stop him, if you wish to have him."

"We will, thank you." Kanan snawered kindly

"No, thank you, Master Jedi."

With that, Ursa left the Ghost, leaving Kanan and Hera to ponder. Ezra and Sabine were still out there, and they will return someday.

Little did they know, their ship was on its way…

Next on the Jedi and the Mandalorian...

Chapter 17 - The Rebellion