Author's Headnote: Nothing to say here!
The Ruby of Cerberus: Batarian Cruiser: Privateer Termination
Ruby Rose:
Health: Minorly Shaken (Still stressed over the incident, but not enough to inhibit combat)
Aura Status: 100%
Semblance: Petal Burst
Weapons: Crescent Rose (Only need her)
Credits: 2,532
Party Relations
- Weiss Schnee: Element Zero's dust like properties may be enough to compensate for the lack of dust in the Milky Way
- Blake Belladonna: Performance enhancing crystal. Blake's combat efficiency has improved for sure.
End of Main Character status report
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:00, Storage room
The batarian cruiser was being docked on Adek. Which means it was a perfect time to break in and take out the batarian captain without having to worry about space issues. How did they get here? Well, that's a complex story in of itself. Esi revealed the location of the cruiser with her computer skills, in which Haedvin had docked the ship somewhere discreet. By discreet, it's actually in the middle of the forest near the docking bay the cruiser is kept.
The storage room here is quite large and filled with various junk and cages. No less, the three of them need to get to the captain of this vessel and take him out. There was no one guarding the place, likely because all the cages were empty. The various boxes have various symbols and pictures on them, indicating the contents on them. Quite useful, whether it be for the owners of the crates or for thieves stealing them. And chances are, the boxes do not rightfully belong to the crew of this ship.
Without any guards, Ruby and her team can go through the storage room and plan the infiltration with ease. Ruby had looked around for any entrances to the rest of the ship. There was the large door, in which was quite a big 'no' for stealth. However, Ruby does notice a somewhat larger vent than in the Blue Suns base.
So... that may seem like a good idea to go through. She looks at the vent, but her teammates look at her.
"You want us... to go through the vent again?" Weiss asked.
"Would you rather have us go through the door?" Blake counter asked.
"You know how long it took me to clean my hair? 3 HOURS! WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE A SHIP WITH SHOWERS!?"
"Keep your voice down, do you want them to hear us?"
"Oh ya... still, I'm not going through the vents again."
Blake sighed.
"We're going through the vent, guys. Let's not debate on this!" Ruby retorted.
The vent was quite high-up. So, they had to move some stuff in the storage unit to have them climb up. Though, Weiss refused to climb up. So, it's only Ruby and Blake that is up the makeshift climb pile. Ruby also had to use her scythe to cut the vent grate open for them to crawl in... it seems like everything's going to plan...
"No no, I'm not going through another vent!" Weiss retorted.
"So, go through the door." Blake retorted.
"Fine!" Weiss said as she went through the front door.
Ruby had facepalmed and sighed. "There's no arguing with her, is there?" she retorted.
"We didn't even try." Blake stated.
"It'd be a waste of energy and time at this point, and right now we need both critically."
"Fair."
Well, guess everything can't go right after all... No less, Ruby and Blake had begun crawling through the vents as Weiss had gone through the front door. Chances are that Weiss is gonna get caught more than Ruby and Blake. And she just needs to contact Esi.
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:05, Vents
Vents, as expected were a tight fit. Weiss could crawl through here without much effort. The vents were quite dark so Ruby could barely see in them, she had Blake help her guide her way through the vents without bumping into some holes. Sometimes there is light from the shafts, but it isn't enough to light up the entire thing. Blake and Ruby were a bit larger so they're squeezing through. Ruby had contacted Esi to get schematics of the vents. Ruby was waiting for a couple of minutes...
"Going through the vents? Smart." Esi stated.
"Best way to avoid detection, and this one is large enough for Blake to fit." Ruby said.
"So... where's Weiss?"
"She decided not to go this way."
"Well, why not?"
"She did not like it the last time she was inside a vent."
"I wouldn't blame her; I wouldn't want to be in the vents either."
"Neither do us, but here we are."
"Anyways... Let me just upload a map."
A couple more minutes have passed. A map has been uploaded and they have a precise location to where the captain's quarters would be. Ruby and Blake began to crawl the path toward the captain's quarters, though they had made some wrong turns so now they have to go around the long way.
However, Ruby is curious about what Weiss is up to, though.
Character Change: Ruby Rose - Weiss Schnee
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:05, Back Corridors
Guess the camo colors were a good choice, after all. Since she tends to blend in with the walls quite well. Though, no sign of the guards, thus far... the cruiser seems empty. Which just means Weiss could just walk around the area without much problem.
The corridors look dull and dread in design. More dread than the design of the cordavire. One would expect security showing around in case of a break-in... but nope, guess Weiss is wrong. It could mean that someone else has gotten there first, which is highly unlikely. But that seems unlikely, given there is not a single stain of blood or a dead body in the entire building. It's either that, or the guards know they're planning to get here ahead of time and planning an ambush. Either way, the lack of visible security makes Weiss more scared than if the place was heavily packed with guards. Because she feels like there is something going on.
Being that there's no one around, she had relaxed and went more toward a less sneaky walking position. She'll go attempt stealth again once she hears someone's coming. One would expect there would be patrols, especially since it is daytime on this side of the planet. However, Weiss is proven wrong here.
Out of curiosity, Weiss calls Esi.
"Oh hey, I was just done talking to Ruby." Esi stated.
"Quick question, where is everyone?"
"I don't know, I tried to identify their locations, but it appears the entire ship is empty."
"The entire ship? That means I can skip this whole stealth thing and go to the captain directly."
"Wait, no I suggest you remain cautious, they could be cloaked."
"That implies they're planning an ambush on their own ship. Which would mean they'd be expecting us."
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"As do I." Weiss said, ending the call.
She continues to head on off with caution in mind. She wonders what Ruby and Blake are up to, though.
Character Change: Weiss Schnee - Ruby Rose
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:18, Vents
Ruby and Blake had continued walking through the vents. Though, Ruby wanted to check up on Esi. Throughout all the holes and areas in the cruiser vents, she did not see a single crewmate. Not an engineer, a soldier, officer, no one. The entire ship had appeared empty. And she wanted to know why that was the case. So, she called up her omni-tool to contact Esi.
"Hey, Esi." Ruby said.
"Ya?" Esi asked.
"Where is the crew?" Ruby asked.
"The cameras don't have infared on them, so I can't tell if they're using a cloaking device or not." Esi said.
"Cloaking device?"
"Ya, didn't you remember? I installed cloaking devices on your omni tool for stealth usage."
"Oh. So, you're telling me, they could all be on the ship, invisible?"
"Likely. But one thing for sure is that the captain is on board in the quarters."
"As expected, So... where is everyone else?"
"Either cloaked or absent. Either way, keep your guard up."
"Right." Ruby said, proceeding on her way to the objective. "Hey, Blake?"
"Ya?" Blake asked.
"Can I borrow that crystal of yours?" Ruby asked.
"Why do you need it?" Blake asked.
"I want to rush through the vents without my aura going down."
"That's going to make a lot of noise and alert everyone. And even with a regenerating aura, you may get overwhelmed easily."
"Oh, fair. So... how does it work?"
"I don't know."
There are few things Ruby hates, and one of them is unexplained functions of strange objects. She's irritated by the fact that this crystal makes her powerful. So, she had went to ask to borrow it again... only to not find her. guess she took another route. Which is weird, considering the path to the captain is highlighted on the map on her omnitool. No matter, she can continue on on her own. Weiss is likely sweating bullets by now.
Yet again, who could blame her? This whole situation is quite innerving. She tried calling Blake on her Omnitool... no response. Ruby's scroll is dead so chances are Blake's is too. She'll have to find Blake after the captain is dealt with. She can have Weiss carry him to the ship.
Ruby had continued to crawl in the vents until she saw a light. From the map Esi told her, she'd be directly below the captain's quarters. Taking the advantage, she had jumped down.
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:49, Captain's Quarters
Surprisingly, the captain's quarters is not that refined. It actually looks like a room one would see in the rest of the ship. Dull grey flooring and walls. A simple bed, no decorations. Though, there is a desk with a chair, which is currently occupied by the captain. The chair is specifically a spinning chair.
Ruby had jumped down from the vents. The captain is directly behind her. Blake had given her a call... which is not a good time for these sorts of things.
"Blake, Now's not a good time, I'm in the captain's quarters." Ruby stated.
"About that. We need to head back." Blake said, with caution.
"Why is that?"
"I have found the crew."
"You... what?"
"All of them are dead. It turns out someone else got here before us."
"What? How and Why?"
"I don't know, but we need to abandon the mission. I think you're heading for a trap."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm going to go investigate things cautiously."
Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose and turned the chair facing towards Ruby. The Batarian Captain which Ruby was looking for was already dead. Shot in the head, the scenery was described as nauseous as Ruby is seeing the dead body. The whole thing is making her queasy.
Ruby was shocked. Well... beyond shocked. She was trying her best to remain her cool after seeing something this gruesome. Ruby had folded her scythe and had left the room before a trap would trigger. The first thing she's doing is finding Weiss. But first, she called Blake again.
"Ya?" Blake asked.
"Why did you split up from me?" Ruby asked.
"The whole no security thing was suspicious so I went to investigate why."
"But where did you go?"
"There was a vent on the left so I jumped down and closed it."
"You had me worried."
Ruby sighed. Things are looking bad, and already she knows there's something up. Ruby had decided to leave before she could get ambushed. She had exited the captain's quarters.
Batarian Cruiser, December 23, 2174, 0:55, Ship Corridors
Ruby was running through the halls of the ship as fast as she could, trying to outrun any ambush that will come toward her. But who would know about this task ahead of time? Cerberus? Why would they send them to a trap if they are working for them, that makes no sense! Perhaps there's a tracking device on the ship, but how would they know where they're heading ahead of time?
Thinking about this gives her a headache, it makes no sense.
She had run into Weiss, who was wandering around...
"Huh? Ruby? Why are you running?" Weiss asked.
"No time to explain, we have to get out of here." Ruby said, grabbing Weiss as fast as she could, and using her semblance to further escape from the ship.
Though, that quickly changed as the aforementioned ambush has gotten to them. Eclipse mercenaries all line up and surround Ruby and Weiss. Ruby had looked confused.
"Got ya, ya twerps. Think you could take our ship?" The mercenary asked.
"We're not in your ship." Ruby stated.
"We're talking about the Cordavire."
"Oh. Wait, how do you know we'd be here."
"We have audio comms attached to all of our ships."
"Didn't he revert everything to the original settings?"
"We have the original comms also memorized."
"Oh. So... you took on a fleet of batarian pirates for an ambush?"
"Yes."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just shoot us down from space?" Weiss asked.
"We still want the ship." The Mercenary stated.
"I'm jus saying, you've put way too much effort in trying to kill us."
"That, and you did our job for us." Ruby said.
"Your job?" the Mercenary asked.
Blake had then shot the mercenary from the back of the head, killing him.
"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed. "Why did you do that?"
"So, so that's how you wanna play it, huh?" Another mercenary said, firing a round at Ruby, it was fired at the head. But Ruby's aura managed to tank it.
The mercenary looked shocked. "Huh? That was a plasma bolt to the head, you should be dead!" The mercenary exclaimed.
"Yes, but we won't go down easily." Ruby said with confidence. Guess she'll get her answer later.
The three of them went and attacked the mercenaries. With said mercenaries opening fire on them. Ruby had unfolded Crescent Rose and began slashing. Though, she hesitates to bring a fatal blow and merely incapacitates them as she began slashing left and right. Focusing on one direction, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings and was attacking from the back. she had once again returned to attacking. Wave after wave, it appears they are met with a mere endless army. Though, now they have to deal with biotic soldiers and biotic swordswomen. Weiss and Blake seemed overwhelmed, Ruby had gone to try and save her teammates, only for a straight bolt to catch Ruby off-guard, her aura tanking it and depleted.
She had collapsed on the floor, seeing Weiss and Blake struggle. The soldiers simply ignore Ruby simply assuming that the stray shot had killed her. Though, her head had started to hurt after her aura broke. Something that has never happened before when her aura broke... and then suddenly, Ruby had blacked out.
She had woken up sometime later... though, it would appear that Weiss and Blake are gone. And there is an array of Eclipse soldier remains lying around. And there's... Ember Celicia, lying in pieces...
"Yang... no..." Ruby said solemnly.
Author's Footnote: And that's the end of act 1. Let me know what you think, I'm sorry that I haven't updated quicker, I got distracted by stuff. However, I won't keep the story down so I'll just post this and see you when I get back to the story.