Gathering intel about your enemy? That's soldiering!

Chapter 12: Revelations and Acceptance

Vale's Economic District, Vale

Before he was appointed Field Marshal, Garreth Azure was a Colonel, then a Marshal Commander, then a General. However, this was only his official record.

Unofficially, he also served the Republic through other means. These other means was the infamous Black Right Hand of the Republic, otherwise known as the Republic Security Bureau or the RSB. This infamous organization was formed during the Clone Wars by GAR Command to commit espionage and perform counter-espionage. His service here, while relatively small, gave Azure a lot of information and knowledge in the world of espionage.

After leaving the Bureau to pursue his career as a General, the now Marshal never knew that he would once again use his skills in investigating the surfacing threats of the White Fang. But he was a Marshal who had entire SF units at his beck and call, why can't they handle it for him?

"You can't exactly send Besh-6 to a crime scene with the police around 24/7 can you?" he thought bitterly as he felt his bullhead land as he and another squad of Toro Company hopped off.

"Excuse me, sir. I heard someone from Beacon was coming to the scene, but I need to see some ID," an officer stated as Azure marched forward with his men behind him.

Azure promptly pulled out his scroll showing his license, "Garreth Azure, Chief of Security." He then moved past the officer who nodded at colleagues to raise the yellow tape. The officers then raised the yellow tape to allow the men of the BSF through. Azure surveyed the area for a moment before his eyes landed on a person who seems to be the main investigator. The latter also seemed to notice the Marshal as he approached him and his men.

"You must be the one they sent from Beacon, Detective Burns, VPD," the detective greeted as he extended his hand for a greeting.

Azure returned the gesture "Professor Garreth Azure, Beacon Security Forces."

"Pardon me Professor, but you guys look like you're from Atlas."

"Ah," the Marshal nodded, "We get that quite a lot, but no. My men and I are not from Atlas."

The Detective nodded as he lead Azure deeper into the crime scene while the Marshal signaled his men to spread out and secure the scene's perimeter. As the two men began to discuss the scene, a small black mark caught Azure's attention. "Detective," he asked, "who do you think would've done this?

"Beats me, but Burns and I did notice one thing," another detective said as he followed the two, "Detective Heyman, VPD. Now the thing we noticed about these robberies is that they always leave the money."

"Interesting find, and what faction do you think could need such a supply of dust? You did mention in a report that this was the second robbery this week correct?" Azure asked as he eyed the small black mark even closer.

"With this much dust being stolen, I reckon it's an army that's getting supplied," Burns stated, "You know, like the White Fang. Right Heyman?"

His partner scoffed "I say we still don't get paid enough."

Azure couldn't help but sigh inwardly "The pride of Vale's Police Department you are?"

"Humph! The White Fang, have those degenerates no shame? First, they hit the SDC supply lines, and now small-time dust shops?" a familiar voice scoffed loudly. Deciding that he'd seen enough, for now, the Marshal left the Dust Store's interior where he saw his men watching Team RWBY's member in a small argument.

"The members of the White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Azure heard Blake protest, "They're a group of misguided Faunus."

"They want to wipe humanity off the planet!"

Blake crossed her arms "Then they are very misguided."

A Guardsman looked at the Marshal and explained "They've been at it for a few minutes already sir, we're wondering if we should stop them or not." Azure nodded "Stay here, I'll take care of it." The Guardsman saluted before returning to his earlier orders.

As the Marshal approached, he decided to make himself known, clearing his throat "Ahem! Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna, while I believe we all have a right to debate, I think with the way you two are going at it, it may very well turn into a brawl." The WB of RWBY soon stopped upon hearing their approaching Professor who continued "Now, I must urge you to keep your opinions to yourselves."

Weiss, still feeling self-righteous spoke up "Of course Professor, but I am simply saying that those Faunus know nothing else but to lie, cheat, and steal-"

"Miss Schnee."

This finally snapped her back as she immediately kept her mouth shut. Before anyone else could say anything, a cry was heard "HEY! STOP THAT FAUNUS!"

Azure, the squad of troopers, and team RWBY looked at the source towards the docks. "Guards! To me!" the Marshal cried as the clones left the crime scene to investigate the new matter. The said matter was a blonde monkey Faunus who was currently on top of a lamp post arguing with the sailors.

"ID him," Azure ordered as a trooper with a datapad began to flip through a database. He soon found it as he began to explain "Sun Wukong, student of Haven Academy and leader of team SSSN. Apparently, he wasn't due to be here for another week or so."

"Hmph... teenagers are going to be the death of me..." Azure muttered as he began to raise his voice "SUN WUKONG! DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Sun immediately looked towards the Chief of Security and his men with rifles at the ready "Who's asking?!"

"Professor Garreth Azure, Beacon Academy!"

"Shit!"

The monkey Faunus soon booked it as he tried to leap over the Guardsmen of Toro Company, but the squad's sergeant was a step ahead of him as he aimed his rifle's cable attachment and fired. His aim was true as the cable found its mark around Sun's leg, tripping him. "Well done Sergeant," Azure said as he walked over to the Faunus student, "Now that wasn't really smart, was it? Detention with Miss Goodwitch every day until your team gets here got it?"

He could barely hear Sun reply with a muffled affirmative before two of his Guardsmen hoisted him up. The Sergeant of the squad began to remove the cable he fired while Azure approached the two detectives who were now inquiring about what had happened, "Student issue, here's compensation from Beacon for the trouble." He then tossed several Lien towards Detective Burns before he made eye contact with Team RWBY who stared at the scene before them.

"Problem?" he asked to which the students shook their heads. Azure looked at Sun who was now dusting himself off "Off you go, and stay out of trouble you hear?!"

The monkey Faunus soon nodded as he dashed away, muttering his luck. Team RWBY decided to go after him as they dashed behind. This soon left Azure to think about the White Fang for a hot minute.

2 Weeks Ago...

Headmaster Ozpin's Office, Beacon

"This attack was not planned Ozpin, but there was certainly a good reason behind it," Azure explained as he paced back and forth.

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee "That may be the case, but what could be the reason?"

"Good question," the Marshal said as he placed a picture of a collar on the Headmaster's desk, "This is what Sergeant Gambit recovered from the Ursa Major that Mister Arc killed."

"And how is the Sergeant?"

A sigh was heard "A lot of the bullets were stopped by the armor, but some of them hit the body glove. He'll be under med leave for a few days at best, a month at worst."

Ozpin gave his ally a sympathetic smile "If it's any comfort, I wish him the best for his recovery, now what's so peculiar about this collar?"

Azure then pointed to a symbol "The White Fang, they collared an Ursa Major without getting themselves killed," he allowed himself to take a deep breath to calm himself down, "Something is being planned, and I am not sure if Ironwood's forces are equipped properly to handle such an attack."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Headmaster, how do you think the people of Remnant would react to foreign aid?"

Present...

Beacon Academy, Vale

"Alright platoon, it's been a while since we've done this but after some convincing with Professor Goodwitch, we managed to reserve this arena for our bayonet combat practice," Loch explained as his troopers began to cheer.

"Woo!"

"Finally!"

"It's been ages since I fought someone good!"

"You're the best LT!"

The platoon officer smiled "Thank you, I know. Now settle down boys while I arrange you in to your sections..."

Members of the Toro Company's first platoon grinned in anticipation as they awaited their chance in facing each other in combat. Loch soon called out two names from Ord Squad "Jest and Slick, rifles ready. You're our first match for the day. Do me proud boys!"

The two stood up as the rest of the men gave them room in the arena. The Lieutenant pulled out his blaster as he explained the rules "Right, the first one to yield is declared a winner. Anything besides actually killing each other is fair game. The loser is pulling a double guard shift with the 3rd and 4th platoons."

Jest made sure his helmet was fixed properly as he placed his rifle in a port arms position as he readied himself. Slick on the other hand cracked his neck to prepare to fight.

"You start on the blaster's fire," Loch explained as he raised his pistol in the air, "Ready... charge bayonets!"

"RAGH!" the two men yelled as they pointed their bayonets at one another.

The LT's blaster fired, signaling the start of the spar. The two clones charged one another as they raised their weapon to try and stab one another. Slick went for a stab towards Jest's gut, but his opponent blocked downwards as he pushed the stab away before trying to make a swing at Slick who jumped back to avoid the attack. The two then clashed their rifles with one another as they tried to use raw strength to gain an advantage to no avail.

As the two men continued their fight, entering the arena was the white-coated Marshal Azure who looked at the spectacle before them. "Quite the display Loch, how long has it been since they sparred against one another?"

"About a month already sir," Loch replied.

"A month already..." Azure pondered as he watched the two troopers of Toro brawl.

Jest had finally broken the deadlock as he shoved harder, making Slick lose balance and topple to the floor, his rifle cluttering away from his reach. Looking at the business end of his opponent, Slick sighed "Guess you got me Jest... nice footwork by the way!" Then suddenly with renewed vigor, he kicked Jest's legs, making him lose his footing and allowing Slick to get back up and pummel him with a flurry of kicks and punches. The sudden attack caught Jest off guard as he tried to counter, but the renewed assault kept him on the defensive. Slick finally slowed down, and Jest caught an opening as he thrust forward again. Unfortunately, this was a trap as Slick sidestepped, grabbing Jest's rifle, and pulling him into a chokehold.

Slick allowed himself a smile "It's been years since I fought Commander Cody and Captain Rex back then, and circumstances may be different this time around, by no means do I let myself get rusty. Now yield brother."

Jest finally tapped out "Alright! I yield!" and he was soon released as he found himself gasping for air.

"Damn!"

"Guess you still got it Slick!"

"Did you see that?!"

The troopers began to cheer and jeer as the two men from Ord Squad returned to their group. They met the proud smile of their acting leader Killdane as he offered them a pat on the back "Good job you two, and Slick, I'm sure Sarge would be proud of that move."

"Slick?" a voice asked as the men from Ord Squad watched Field Marshal Azure approach them. "You're the same Slick from Christophsis are you not?"

"Uh..." the former disgraced trooper stumbled "Yes sir... that was me..."

Azure nodded slowly "Hm... you certainly went places. Started in the 212th before being imprisoned and was due for termination if it wasn't for the Trooper's Rights Act. You were then given parole to serve in the 501st under Torrent Company before applying for a transfer to the Guards Regiment and managed to pass Toro Trials. Interesting record indeed, and what do you have planned once your parole is over?"

"I honestly don't know sir," Slick admitted, "I thought I wanted to get out of the military gig as soon as possible, but times are different now."

"Well, the Jedi are better commanders than the first round right?" Azure joked earning a couple of chuckles from the platoon as Loch continued to look for new fighters.

Slick nodded "Guess so, but I don't see much of them these days."

"Another time perhaps, until then let's go about the day yes?"

Then a loud thud was heard as the doors opened to reveal Captain Sixers "Sir! There's a problem! We have a runner!"

Azure looked up in surprise, now wondering what the commotion was all about

…

"You're saying Miss Belladonna is a member of the White Fang?" the Marshal asked as he continued to write down on a notepad what Wiess Schnee was saying. The Heiress huffed as she continued her tirade "She was right under our noses! A filthy Faunus scoundrel who was probably trying to kill me!"

"Right... how far is that stick up your- Ahem! Focus Garreth, we still need information."

The small voice of Ruby Rose began to ask "M-mister Azure, what will you do once you find Blake?" Azure stared at the leader of RWBY and also took note of the concern on Yang's face.

"Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, Miss Xiao Long, follow me to my office, we will discuss it further there," he ordered before turning to a trooper, "Lock the campus down, bring out all the platoons. I want the Marines on the airship docks, no one leaves the campus tonight."

"Yes sir! Right away!"

The Marshal then lead the students to his office and while they continued to walk, orders for the Beacon Security Forces were carried out as sergeants called for their men, sharpshooters were calling in at every minute and troopers began marching up and down the halls of Beacon.

"This seems too much even for a Beacon student," Ruby thought as she heard the loud engines of a gunship fly over. It wasn't long before Azure and the remainder of RWBY arrived at the office area where an angry Miss Goodwitch waited for them, while Captain Sixers stood by the doors.

"Great, she looks absolutely chirpy tonight," the Marshal grumbled as he was confronted by the legendary disciplinarian of Beacon. She pointed her riding crop towards him as she launched her own flurry of questions "A full lockdown before curfew?! What has gotten into you, Azure? I have half the mind to toss you into the air right now!"

Azure shook his head "But you won't because I have a good reason for this whole lockdown. Miss Belladonna has gone on the run from her team and I think you already know her current circumstances with a certain rights activist group."

"But a gunship?"

"None of your aircraft were available for flight," he continued, "Those flood lights will come in handy in the search, but if she leaves the full perimeter, we may have to contact the authorities."

For the first time in months, the girls of RWBY had to flinch as they heard THE Glynda Goodwitch curse while Azure looked towards the Toro's Captain.

"We had eyes on her by the docks, but Captain Murray reports that she gave them the slip on the returning bullheads to Vale," Sixers reported but winced internally as he saw the Marshal's unpleased face, "Get the sky on the line after I'm done with these three."

"Yes sir!"

"And tell all forces to stand down, we've caused enough panic as it is."

"Yes sir! Very good sir!"

With that, Sixers left to carry out the new set of orders given. Azure then turned to the 3 girls of RWBY and motioned for them to follow him. Glynda looked at him as he mouthed "Racism, Schnee, Talk."

She nodded as she decided to leave as well to quell the sudden panic that the BSF gave stirred.

RW_Y soon found themselves in the Chief of Security's office as he motioned for them to take a seat, "Now, you have questions and I have answers so you may ask away."

Weiss was the first to ask "Did you know about her background sir?"

Azure nodded, "Yes we did Miss Schnee, and there is a damned good reason for her being here." He then took out his scroll and showed her a report format that the Heiress was all too familiar with.

"An SDC report?" she asked as she read it carefully.

"Miss Schnee, what does the report say?" the white-coated professor asked as he clasped sat down on his chair. Surveying the report, she replied "A White Fang attack was conducted on Train 8847 that was making a transit along the Forever Fall Forest. The Schnee Dust Company lost 1/4 of the shipment due to the attack, no crewmembers were harmed in the incident."

"Would you like to know why it didn't seem like a big loss?" Azure asked to which Weiss nodded. He obliged as he explained, "It was because of the actions of Miss Belladonna as she left the White Fang."

"WHAT?!"

Azure had to shake his head in disappointment as he continued, "After the attack, she came into contact with Headmaster Ozpin about her defection and has since fed us intel on major White Fang outposts within the vicinity of Beacon. Now, Miss Schnee, I am very well aware of your history with the White Fang, but I urge you to wake up and realize that the White Fang does not speak for all the Faunus."

Finally, Ruby Rose decided to ask another question while her partner pondered what she was told, "Mister Azure if I can ask again, what will you do when you find Blake?"

The Marshal sighed "Bring her back to your team, maybe get you four a team counseling, but if Miss Schnee decides that she would rather die than team up with a Faunus, then we may have to look at other arrangements."

"And those arrangements are?" Yang asked, with growing fear. Her fears were well-founded as Azure answered "One of them would be to disband team RWBY altogether." This brought the sisters a great shock upon hearing this. Weiss looked even more shocked as Azure stood up and looked out the window, "Since she most likely went to Vale, I cannot send any of Beacon's Security Forces to try and search. Hence I now have this task for you, find Blake and bring her back, that is unless you three cannot accept her. If that's the case, then those other arrangements will be made."

The girls kept silent as they thought hard but Azure had other things to attend to, "Miss Rose, take your team back to your dorm. All three of you think about what you want with your team. Good evening."

Ruby nodded as she, Yang, and Weiss left the office. No sooner did they leave did Captain Sixers enter with a commlink in his hand.

"The Admiral and Commander are on the line sir," he reported as he handed over the comm to Azure.

"Ah Garreth, I see you decided to call, do you need another unit on the ground?" asked Vaux.

"Yes, I do Admiral, is Foxtrot 9 available?" Azure replied.

A pause was taken but was short-lived as the Admiral came back, "They are Garreth, you would like them on the surface?"

"Yes, and I want Moris to be there with them."

"Ah... very well. ETA will be 20 minutes as Moris will be passing down new orders for his absence on board. Anything else?"

"Ah yes, I'd like some speeder bikes down here. Foxtrot 9 will be needing them."

Vale Industrial District, Vale

The streets of Vale were busy as people went about their day. Cars honked at traffic and people were cussing each other out at even the most minor inconvenience.

"Hey! Watch it, pal! I'm walkin' here!" a jaywalker yelled as he banged his hand on a cab's hood.

"Hey fuck you dipshit!" the cab driver yelled as he honked his horn.

"Up yours you son of a bitch, don't ever talk to me that way, get outta here!"

Normal as far as Southern Vale was concerned. Amidst the usual commotion, a sudden blur sped past the cars at incredible speed with several more following suit. On them were strange armored men in dark blue and white. One would have to note that to speed past and avoid hitting anything was incredibly difficult for the average person, but Captain Hound was certainly not the average person. In fact, he was beyond the average as he was the leader of ARC Trooper Squad Foxtrot 9.

He and his force of 11 rode on the standard-issue BARC speeder bike with 4 of the troopers mounted on BARC's sidecar variant. Tagging along this crew was none other than the Marshal Commander of the 501st, Moris.

"Foxtrot Actual, still no sign of her?" a clone operator advisor asked through the squad's comms channel.

Hound tapped his helmet's comm and replied "Negative Golf Shed, still no sign. Her scroll's most likely turned off or gone."

"How about sat images? Maybe our eyes in the sky got something," added Moris as he swerved to avoid a slower car.

"We'll take you up on that, Commander," the advisor replied before signing off.

As the speeder group made another turn on the streets, the ARC Captain decided to start small talk, "So Moris, how's the Kingdome of Vale? It's no Coruscant but I think it looks nice."

"Hound, you prefer anything over Coruscant," the Marshal Commander snarked earning a couple of chuckles from the members of Foxtrot 9.

The former Coruscant Guardsman replied, "No shame in that Moris."

"That much is fair," he replied, "Anyways, the city's nice and all, but I don't think I'm quite alright with the whole situation of the Grimm."

Hound grunted in agreement as they continued along. After a few more turns, the operations advisor soon returned with news, "Foxtrot Actual, Commander Moris, we have a possible visual along the docks. We count two individuals, one blonde, and one ravenette. They look like they're waiting on something, you might be able to catch up in 3 minutes."

"Roger that Golf Shed, Foxtrot Actual copies all. Moving to the 10-20, over and out," Hound replied as he signaled his men to follow him. Commander Moris followed behind as the group of speeders went down the road.

Somewhere in the skies near Vale's seas, a flight of 3 LAAT gunships flew low, well above the ranges of any Vale radar. Inside them were members of Toro Company's 3rd and 4th platoons, bayonets fixed and sharpened. Their current commanding officer was none other than Captain Sixers as he was listening in on the new orders from Golf Shed. A few seconds later, he would reply with an affirmative to his comm before releasing new orders for the pilots "Captain Styles, mark Foxtrot 9's coordinates and engage on my command."

"Copy that BG Actual, standing by with weapons hot," the gunship's pilot replied.

…

Elsewhere in the streets of Vale were the remaining members of RWBY as they tried to call out for their missing teammate. To their horror, they saw several fast-moving objects being mounted by what the girls could make out as men armored similarly to those of the Beacon Security Force. Time was now of the essence as they all tried to call out, with one of them being an exception.

"This is pointless," Weiss huffed as she turned to see if there was any sign of their Faunus teammate, "If we keep yelling she'll just keep running."

Her partner gave her a disappointed look "I don't see you trying to help."

"Perhaps the police found her."

"Ugh," the Reaper groaned as she ignored the comment as she and her sister tried to continue, with the latter giving the Heiress an angry look, "How 'bout we hear her side of the story first?"

The Heiress could only mutter "The only thing you might realize was that I was right all along-"

"And I think Weiss looks lovely this afternoon!" a familiar voice said, catching the girls off guard.

"Penny, what are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

The ginger girl replied with a smile, "I was just wandering the streets when I stumbled into you. So what are you guys up to?"

"Well, we're kinda looking for our friend Blake," Yang answered, "You didn't happen to see her did you?"

"Oh! The Faunus girl? No, I didn't see her, but I'll try and help," Penny offered.

"Uh that's very nice of you Penny, but I think my team and I got this in the bag right guys- huh?" Ruby began, but upon looking behind her, she found her teammates gone. She swore that a tumbleweed bounced past them as Penny said, "That's weird, do you also see a tumbleweed friend Ruby?"

…

As the Reaper and the Ginger decided to try and find their partner, Yang and Weiss continued their part of the search. They tried various stores to see if any of them have spotted their resident Cat Faunus. Their latest attempt was a café that did happen to serve Blake but did not have anything else on her besides the fact that she WAS there.

"Thanks," Yang told the café staff as she and Weiss walked out the door. Turning to the Heiress who still held a look of anger, she sighed, "I have a feeling that when we do find her, you won't even care."

Weiss scowled in reply, "Of course, I'll care! It's just that... what if I'm right? What if she IS an active member of the Fang? You saw it in her eyes Yang, and you know there's more to her than what meets the eyes."

Before Yang could muster a reply, the Heiress continued, "You should at least be suspicious, the innocent never run."

With that, she marched off as she tried another store to see if they found Blake. Muttering to herself, Yang followed suit.

"Yeah, I'm suspicious of what she meant alright, but at least I still wanna keep this team."

Vale Shipping Docks, Vale

Usually, docks like the one in Vale were bustling with activity such as workers moving shipments, sailors manning their ships or security keeping everything in order. Apparently, this isn't the case as it felt like a graveyard here remarked Sun Wukong as he crept up near his temporary accomplice Blake Belladonna.

"Miss anything?" he asked as he laid down on the roof.

The Cat Faunus shook her head "No, the dock workers unloaded the last shipment, and then they were ushered out by security."

The blonde tossed Blake a green apple, "Here, stole you some food."

"Do you always break the law at any given chance?" she asked.

He laughed, "Nah, I didn't really steal. Just did the kind lady a favor in return. You Vale folk have it better than Mistral, and weren't you in the White Fang? Same group who now wants to kill anyone who's not a Faunus?"

A glare came his way as he smiled cheekily, but the silence was suddenly stopped when the engines of a bullhead made themselves known. Upon landing, the ramp dropped, and much to Blake's horror, she found her fears were well-founded as the familiar uniforms of the White Fang came out.

"No..."

Sun gave her a look of sympathy, "Sorry man, but it's them and they don't look friendly at all."

Deep down, Blake knew that it was them, but she tried her hardest to deny that fact until now. Before she could say anything else, however, a voice yelled out.

"What's the hold up there?! Do you know how much it cost me to bribe the entire docks to vacate so we can pull this off?"

Lo and behold, Roman Torchwick stepped out of the bullhead as he shouted more orders for the White Fang. It didn't make sense... why would the Fang work with him of all people? She was going to get to the bottom of this. Dashing towards the Master Thief, she held him in a chokehold as she cut him off mid-curse.

"What in the fu- Oh son of a bi-"

"NOBODY MOVE!"

She was ignored as rifles and swords of the White Fang grunts were brandished and pointed toward her. Her captive began to speak "Hey what's the hostilities miss? We're just doing a bit of dust acquisition here."

"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum!?"

"Scum? Once, yes, but now? Be more creative, lady," thought Roman as he remained still.

"Oh girlie, didn't you hear the news? The White Fang and I are in a mutually beneficial partnership together," the Thief scoffed.

Blake held the blade closer to his throat "Tell me what your planning or else I end this little operation you have here..."

Then, a series of hums sounded off as multiple bullheads flew over the docks, filled to the brim with White Fang grunts as they deployed their passengers, significantly outnumbering her. Just then, she felt herself get thrown off the ground as an explosion rocked the floor. Looking up to her former hostage, she saw him twirl his cane as he laughed, "Well, I wouldn't call the operation little..."

Several Fang grunts were suddenly on the ground as Sun Wukong jumped from his hiding spot.

"Do you always rush without backup?" he asked as he went back to back with Blake, as she sighed, not deigning him a reply.

The two Faunus hunters-in-training found themselves in a stand-off against the additional White Fang grunts and Roman Torchwick.

Before anyone could do anything, a loud humming was heard. Everyone looked confused as they tried to find the source. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for long as the dock's gates busted open as several fast-moving hovercrafts shot their way in, their riders firing at any White Fang grunt, blue lasers flashing, killing the poor Faunus who couldn't keep a solid line of fire.

Roman Torchwick found himself pinned as he tried to make sense of who just arrived. Most of his forces were now too busy to handle the teenagers, leaving him to handle them. The first attack was thrown by Blake as she tried to slice into him, but only to be parried as he countered, keeping her back. The two combatants then exchanged several blows with Roman enjoying the advantage as his experience helped him counter anything the girl could throw at him.

She then backed off as Sun took her place, making unpredictable blows, keeping Roman on his toes more than Blake could. However, Roman Torchwick did not gain his reputation as a master thief for nothing, as he began to block attack after attack, any bullet being stopped by his cane. Then, he found himself getting flung back and flat on his ass as Blake struck him from nowhere, making some considerable distance between them.

Groaning, the Master Thief glared at the two Faunus who readied themselves to continue the fight, but he had other ideas as he fired his cane towards a crane hook, severing it and causing the container it was hoisting to fall. This separated the two teens, with Sun finding himself at the Thief's mercy as he now faced with the business end of Torchwick's cane.

"HEY!" yet another voice yelled, gaining attention from Roman. Standing there, was none other than Ruby Rose as she flexed her weapon.

"Kids are just right around the corner are they?" he muttered but wised up when he found an opening. He fired his cane, but before he could pull the trigger, he fell to the ground as one of the armored men passed him, punching the Thief in the gut.

"Roman Torchwick, under the authority invested in us by the Kingdome of Vale, you are under arrest," the man declared as he dismounted, aiming his pistol towards the criminal.

The Thief shook his head as he found himself surrounded by the armored men who were armed with all kinds of guns. He looked up to the sky and groaned as he found his air support being torn to bits by the arrival of three strange craft. A tirade of lasers and missiles attacked anything that was White Fang, and it's doors opened up, revealing more soldiers with rifles and bayonets.

"So you Atlas folk finally decided to step in huh?" Roman scoffed, but the barrel of a pistol kept his mouth shut as its owner answered "You're gonna wish it was Atlas who caught you."

"Huh?"

…

ARC Troopers were bred and trained to be the best of the best, the elite. Hound did not intend to prove the definition wrong when he and his troops attacked the White Fang's operational area. Speeders ran down anyone who got in the way while the blasters took care of anyone who tried to get up close and personal to the riders. After some time, Foxtrot 9 dismounted when Hound attacked Roman Torchwick, and soon, he and his troopers moved the criminal closer to the center of the docks. Foxtrot 9 did not need to worry about the White Fang no longer as they have long been dispatched by the reinforcements from Toro Company. The fight between the two was nothing short of slaughter as bayonets and blaster fire put the Faunus grunts on the retreat. Any bullheads were sent on the run as their LAAT gunships wreaked havoc on them before they landed and unloaded their cargo of Toro Guardsmen.

With the Thief now at their mercy, he was slowly approached by the ARC Squad but suddenly they recoiled when a small figure landed between them and Torchwick.

"Ah Neo, about time you arrived," Roman said as he smiled while he picked up his cane. The smaller figure, now known as Neo smiled back as she flexed her pink umbrella before winking at the troopers. One of the men swore they saw her change eye colors.

"BLAST HIM!" Hound ordered as Foxtrot 9 pulled their triggers, sending a spray of bolts towards the two, but they would not hit their mark as the two shattered into pieces.

Then, a bullhead launched from the docks, and Hound cursed as he saw no one other than Roman Torchwick fly away with his partner in crime waving at them before they closed the door.

"Haar'chak!" the ARC Captain swore.

Commander Moris walked up behind him "It's no use Hound, we'll get him another time."

Hound nodded as he holstered his pistol, "Yeah I hear, we'll be exfiling now. See you back at base."

Moris nodded as he waved the ARC Troopers goodbye while they mounted their BARC speeders.

"Commander Moris, it's good to see you," someone said who revealed themselves to be Captain Sixers who saluted his ranking superior.

The Marshal Commander smiled back as he returned the salute, "Ah, Sixers, it's been a month now. I hope your company isn't slacking anytime soon, Colonel Maitland won't be pleased if he found out."

"Toro's still sharp as ever," the Captain replied who then turned his eyes towards Blake who stood there as she watched the scene unfold, "Belladonna, a surprise to see you here."

"Blake! OhmygodyourehereImsogladyourealivepleasecomebackorelseourteamwillgetdisbandedpleasepleaseplease!" Ruby yelled as she squeezed Blake into a tight hug. The Cat Faunus had to tap her several times as she felt her lungs become void of oxygen.

Moris looked towards Sixers who shrugged, "Teenagers. They're an interesting bunch," he then shouted towards the two huntresses, "Oi! Belladonna! Rose! You're gonna want to speak to the Headmaster and Professor Azure.

The two girls gulped at the implications.

Headmaster's Office, Beacon Academy

"So ladies, have you reached a decision yet?" Ozpin asked as the four girls of RWBY looked down as they anticipated any other words from the Headmaster or the Chief of Beacon's Security who stood behind the former, arms crossed as he waited for the girls to answer.

"Headmaster... I talked to Blake when we met her back at the docks, and I believe..." Weiss said as she looked at all the occupants of the room. Ruby had a face of worry, as did Yang, while Blake looked at her in wonder while she waited.

"I believe... that you will find no reason to disband team RWBY as I am willing to work with Blake as I have come to realize that I viewed the Faunus in a rather negative light, but this is not just. This mistake is something that I aim to rectify, not just for the sake of team RWBY, but because it is the right thing to do," the Heiress stated.

The Headmaster and the rest of team RWBY smiled, and Weiss smiled back.

Ozpin then spoke up, "Wonderful speech Miss Schnee. I think that merits your team to rest now."

"Indeed," Azure adds, "Now off you go now. Classes begin at 9'o clock, don't want to catch you late again."

The girls left hurriedly, expressing their gratitude as the elevator doors closed. The Marshal couldn't help but shake his head in amusement "Ah... teenagers, and I thought Jedi learners were bad."

"Well, they are filled with more hormones than what your Jedi have," Ozpin joked, eliciting a laugh from Azure.

"Good one, Ozpin. Ha ha! Good one!" he laughed.

RSD Independence, Remnant System

Admiral Vaux sat in his office as he once again signed off the latest reports from the Naval crew. It has been well over a month and so since the Aurek Corps Expeditionary Fleet became stuck and missing in this unknown system. The engineers of the ships tried their hardest to try and establish contact but to no avail. Any Naval technicians tried to recover any travel data, but those too were well and truly gone.

Whatever the pirates they fought used, was very dangerous and James Vaux fully intended to warn the Grand Navy of the Republic about this threat. However, his thoughts were forced back when his comm flashed. The signal was calling him to the bridge and it seemed to be urgent. He left his office as he moved past marines and crewmen who saluted him as they passed by.

The Admiral arrived at the command bridge shortly which alerted the crew when a 5th Fleet Marine shouted "ATTENTION! ADMIRAL ON DECK!"

The crew saluted immediately as the Admiral saluted in return and motioned for them to proceed. A clone naval officer approached him and reported "Sir, I apologize for the sudden notice, but our scanners are picking up something."

"What is it, Lieutenant Nelson? Another ship?" Vaux asked as he eyed the scanner the officer referred to.

Nelson nodded, "Yes sir, but the ship seems to be moving erratically. She's coming out of hyperspace at a crawl's pace, is what I mean sir."

The Admiral's eyes looked in suspicion as he continued to ask, "And can we identify what ship is it?"

"At the moment, no sir."

"Lieutenant Nelson, the ship seems to be coming out of hyperspace now, we're getting a better ID... it's a Venator-class," a crewman announced, earning him a stare from his superiors.

"A Venator-class? Not the Venator IIs?" Nelson asked.

The crewman affirmed as he refocused his scanner. Vaux, Nelson and the rest of the ship's present officers looked towards the window where they anticipated the arrival of the ship.

Then, a flash happened.

My fingers are screaming at me, but the last chapter of Volume 1 is now out! I hope you fellas enjoy it as much as I suffered. I'll take a break for now as I try to focus on more IRL stuff.

Next chapter will be covering the mystery ship so stay frosty till that happens because that's soldiering!