Something something soldiering. Now, for those who are confused as to why there's suddenly another ship being added to the fleet, allow me to explain. While I was already in the midst of writing the mid chapters, I was approached by a fellow by ComparedDread12 who introduced me to the idea of his OC (his own unit in tow), and after careful consideration, I added him into the story. Now before anyone else panics, I WILL elaborate on what I told the OC's owner, he will hardly impact the current plans for the story.
I do not at the moment plan to give him roles other than what I have planned.
You may ask, does this warrant you to make your own OCs be requested into the story? No. This is a one-off thing that I do not intend to repeat. If I do accept, expect very MINOR interactions with the main cast.
Oh and no, certainly NO pairings in this fic.
That much is final. I save that for Through Flanders, Portugal, and Spain No More's rewrite.
With that out of the way, let us get this fic on the road yes?
Chapter 13: RSD Creed
1 Month after the Aurek Corps Expedition Fleet's disappearance...
"I understand the risks Mandalorian, but you are simply the closest and best-equipped ship to handle the investigation," a GAR Scientist pleaded but was cut off by his contact.
"You don't exactly convince me otherwise," he deadpanned, "Ever since the Aurek Corps went missing, the Naval Command has restricted any form of investigation missions."
The goggled scientist sighed, but pleaded once more, "But you must understand such a phenomenon is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study!"
The Mandalorian's helmet conveyed no emotion, but one could already tell that his usual patience was running out. Fortunately, his clone liaison officer. a man dressed in red and gray, BARC Captain armor, stepped in, getting the attention of the two men.
"With all due respect Doctor, but these orders come from the very top. We simply cannot investigate the sector you're desiring," he explained.
The Scientist was about to give up when he finally thought of one last thing, "We will pay you handsomely! Research such as this could turn up a sizable profit! If you help us with the investigation and research, we will give you 35% of the reward money we receive!"
The Clone Commander was about to decline when the Mandalorian spoke up, "I'll take it from here Stagger, thank you," he then referred to the Scientist on the holo table who looked in curiosity to see if the money would make him move, "That's a rather bold foot you're stepping on Doctor. How are you sure your research can turn up a profit of significance?"
"I have contacts in certain institutions who are interested in the same research, I am sure I can acquire the funds you desire if you help us!"
The Mandalorian looked at his Clone Commander who shook his head, "45%, nonnegotiable."
The Scientist gave an enthusiastic yes as he began to make arrangements. The Mando shook his head as he looked towards the Commander, "Get the data ready and jump to those coordinates. Disable our link to the Naval command."
"But sir, we would be going AWOL if we go against these orders," the trooper known as Stagger protested.
"I know, but those funds are something this ship needs badly. Ever since those Venator IIs showed up, Fleet Command never thought to spare us any parts or funds to upgrade, so we'll just have to acquire them ourselves," the Mandalorian replied as he left the bridge.
Commander Stagger sighed as he began to carry out his orders, "I have a feeling that we'll be regretting this soon."
…
The RSD Creed jumped out of hyperspace, entering the new system that the Scientists informed them about. Clone naval officers looked out the bridge to see what was outside; lo and behold, they found it. A wormhole that does not seem to pull in any objects. Officers began to use their scanners to gather data on the phenomenon and determine what is happening here.
The Mandalorian looked at the wormhole as if to study it. It was a captivating sight, yet one that promised certain disaster if one was not to be careful.
"Sir, we're maintaining a safe distance from the wormhole, but I suggest we only do a quick stop and leave the sector," Stagger reported as he approached his leader.
The Mando crossed his arms, "We're risking a lot for this mission, so we may as well make the most out of it."
"Sir, I think we'll have more problems than just funding when we do get back."
"Leave it to me Stagger, leave it to me."
As the RSD Creed continued its mission, a ping went off on a console.
The officer manning it checked twice before approaching his petty officer. The superior nodded and he called out for the higher officers, "Sir! The wormhole's pull is beginning to increase. Shall I send orders to get away?"
Commander Stagger nodded, "Let's get underway, we don't want to overstay our welcome."
"Yes sir!" the bridge crew replied, but before they could move anything else, a jolt shook the ship.
"We're pulled sir!" a crew officer cried.
The Mandalorian looked out the bridge again and could see the ship begin to list at a terrible angle. Sirens blared as the ship began to sustain heavy damage, with armor plates tearing off the old destroyer. Across the ship, men in red and gray armor panicked as they tried to make sense of what was going on. An airborne officer peaked out of his quarters as he noticed the ship's sudden change of status. Pilots and technicians ran across the hangars as they tried to secure any ship they could get their hands on. Clone Marines made their way to the ship's passenger bay as they tried to maintain order amongst the chaos.
Back on the bridge, the Naval Crew looked in terror as they got closer and closer to the wormhole that would be their demise. Many had cried as they embraced their brothers, while some tried to do anything to preserve the ship.
The Mandalorian, realizing the mistake he made, began to recite a creed.
"Strength is life... Honor is life... Loyalty is life... and Death is life... This is the way..."
Then darkness.
Aurek Corps Expeditionary Fleet, Remnant System
"Attention Republic Star Destroyer- *fitzzzz* This is- *brrrizzz* of the 5th Fleet, Aurek Corps. Identify you- *krak* or you WILL be boarded!" a voice echoed as Commander Stagger got up from his unconscious state. He looked up and saw many of the bridge crew were alive, but hurt as they were all slumped on the ground.
Some were unlucky as pools of red blood dripped into the Bridge's pits. The Commander turned to another side and saw his Mandalorian leader slumped against a wall. He began to crawl towards him but felt pain in doing so. Upon looking at his leg, he found himself trapped under a lamp that fell from the ceiling.
"Argh... karkin' luck..." he cursed as he tried to push the lamp off, but he was too weak after suffering more injuries. He was too focused on his pain that he failed to notice the ship lunge forward. Suddenly, he felt his trapped leg get free as he looked up to see none other than his Mandalorian leader, struggling, but managing as he set the debris aside. He once again laid down against a wall as he sighed, "This was my fault... I shouldn't have taken that risk..."
"..." Stagger couldn't say anything as he tended to his wounded leg. Just then, a clanging noise sounded off, now alerting the two conscious leaders.
"You hear that sir?" the Commander asked as he grabbed his pistol.
"Ngh... yeah... let's hope they're friendly... any words on our troops?"
"Nah, I don't think any of them are up yet. A lot of the crew were tossed around," Stagger sighed as he eyed the bridge door.
Just then, a hissing noise filled the room as the Mandalorian and the Commander looked at their would-be boarders. To their confusion, they found themselves face to face with familiar armor. It was a squad of 5th Fleet Marines, and among them was a Clone Naval Lieutenant who eyed the two men with a bewildered look.
"Erm..." he stuttered as the two lowered their blasters, "Would you like to identify yourselves?"
…
Admiral Vaux looked over the multitude of patients that were suddenly thrust aboard his ship as medical staff and droids worked tirelessly to relieve their brothers from their pain. A Marine officer stood behind him as he began to report, "Admiral, Lieutenant Nelson has completed his rounds on the new ship."
"And?' the aged officer asked as he turned towards the Marine.
"Well, it's a Venator-class designated under the 8th Fleet. Designation is RSD Creed, commanded by a Mandalorian under the name of Eadraas Marr."
"Mandalorian you say?" Vaux pondered as he looked at the Mandalorian, who was having his arm checked by a medic on one side of the medbay. He then turned to the Marine officer, "Major Church, get the rest of the active crew identified and processed before we return them to their ship. I shall talk to our guests here, and inform Field Marshal Azure of this development."
"Aye sir," Church replied before marching off.
The Admiral then entered the medbay proper where several of the 5th Fleet Marines were on guard. Upon seeing them, the sergeant of the Marines yelled "Admiral on deck! Marines, present arms!" As the loyal marines of the Fleet saluted their superior, Vaux returned the gesture as the men stood back on guard.
He then eyed the armored Mandalorian who approached him before speaking, "I must thank you for your assistance Admiral..."
"Vaux, James Vaux."
"Vaux, thank you," he continued, "Give my men a few hours to recover and we'll be on our way back to Coruscant."
"Commander Marr, are you aware of which fleet you're in?" Vaux asked, raising an eyebrow.
Eadraas Marr shook his head, now curious as to where he was going with this.
"I figured as much," the Admiral said, "Commander Marr, you are currently within the presence of the entirety of the Aurek Corps' expeditionary fleet. The same one that went missing a month or so ago."
"What?" the Mando thought as he gave Vaux a disbelieving look, "The Aurek Corps... so you weren't destroyed..."
"Hardly... well, everything except our Navicomputer and comms array, a problem you now share with us..." the last part seemed more deadpanned than it should.
Beacon Cafeteria, Beacon Academy
"Go! Go! Go!"
"Lock the area down!"
"Cover! Take cover!"
"Holy shit was that fucking Xiao Long who just flew from the roof?!"
"Holy shit where's Goodwitch?!"
Azure couldn't help but sigh as he watched the men of Toro Company set themselves up on the doors of Beacon's cafeteria. Some had clean armor on, but one could notice several of the men sporting different colors. "It's not paint..." the Marshal thought as he watched a trooper, who happened to be Gus, groan while he tried to remove the stains of ketchup that got on his armor.
Yes, of all things to stain his men's armor, it was an assortment of food mesh, courtesy of the ongoing food fight by both teams RWBY and JNPR. The men who were inside the cafeteria earlier had to evacuate to regroup and reform. Now that he was here, Azure felt that he should've worn his armor instead of his white coat.
"Sir, the shields from the Marines are here," Captain Sixers reported, as he and a few men began distributing durasteel blast shields to some of the Guardsmen.
The Marshal nodded "Very good, now prepare to storm in on my command."
"Yes sir! BULLS! PREPARE TO BREACH!"
"RAAGH!"
Then, a shout from the Marshal finally sent them charging "Toro Company! Charge!"
Doors were kicked open as the 501st Toro Company stormed into the room, the Guardsmen with shields taking the brunt of the force of flying food. The sight of the cafeteria reminded the men of a brutal battlefield, and some were quite impressed. At the end of the hall stood a triumphant Ruby Rose as she cheered at her victory.
It was short-lived however when she saw the Beacon Security Forces set themselves up at the doors, an amused Azure overlooking the mess that her team and JNPR have created. The fear grew when a furious Miss Goodwitch stormed past the troopers before using her semblance to fix the cafeteria up.
All 7 of them stood still in anticipation when Yang Xiao Long burst through the ceiling, destroying yet another table. All rational fear was forgotten as the teenagers laughed at the mess they created.
Before Goodwitch or Azure could even say anything, the Headmaster entered with a smile.
"Calm down, it's quite alright," he said
"They're supposed to be the guardians of the world," Goodwitch sighed.
"And they will be, but at the moment they are still young children, so why not let them play the part."
The Headmaster sipped his coffee before he turned to leave "Besides, it's not a role they'll be playing forever."
"Do I still send them to detention then?" Azure asked, his men still giving the two teams amused looks.
Ozpin looked at the Marshal and smiled before leaving the hall.
"That does not answer my question at all," deadpanned the Marshal as he looked at the teenagers.
Just then, Captain Murray ran into the room "Sir, we have a message from the Indie."
...
Commander Moris, Captains Sixers, and Murray sat across from the Field Marshal's desk as Azure tapped away at a communication console.
"Did the Admiral say anything about what the commotion is all about?" he asked as he began to dial a new comm line.
Murray shook his head, "No sir, it was Major Church who contacted me. He just told me that the Admiral needed to contact you."
The holoprojector soon came alive as the symbol of the Open Circle Fleet showed itself. Then, a familiar voice spoke up, "Greetings sir, I have a message from the Admiral, he wishes you back on the ship."
Azure raised an eyebrow, "Does he mean now IRIS?"
"He does sir," replied the Marshal's AI, "There's been a development up there and the Admiral thinks you should come up and see for yourself."
"Very well, I'll be there in a few minutes, thank you IRIS."
The AI flickered before ending the transmission. The 4 officers were then left to discuss the new turn of events.
"Commander Moris, arrange a gunship for us to take. Murray, Sixers, you two stay here and resume as usual," Azure ordered as he stood up from his chair.
The officers nodded as they left the office, and in walked Glynda, an uncertain look on her face.
"Ah, Glynda, what can I help you with?"
The Deputy Headmistress adjusted her glasses as she replied "I am here to tell you in advance that in a few minutes, we shall be receiving guests from Atlas."
"Ironwood's coming?"
The silence was an answer enough, as Azure nodded while he began to make for the door, "Well, I'll be sure to be ready for him."
"And where are you going?" Goodwitch asked as she followed the Marshal.
"Above, there's been a development. Kindly pass on my regards to Ozpin."
Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose. Leave it to her to be the messenger again. Still, she may as well do it since the Marshal's problem seems to have procured a sudden urgency.
RSD Independence, Remnant System
"Guards, present arms!" yelled Captain Tavish as he and his company received Field Marshal Azure as he stepped off the gunship. Dusting himself off, he looked towards the Clone Captain, "At ease."
He then walked off as 4 Marines escorted him up towards the bridge. The trip was short as they walked quickly, with men passing by only able to offer a quick salute to Azure as he passed by. Not many words were spoken until he finally reached the Bridge, with a marine announcing his arrival.
Several officers saluted him, with Azure saluting back. Finally, he was approached by Admiral Vaux "Welcome back Garreth."
"Vaux, good to see you, now what's this thing you were talking about."
The Admiral began to lead him further into the bridge. Upon seeing the window, he found himself staring at the sight of a battered Venator-class Star Destroyer.
"What..."
"She just arrived a few minutes ago," Vaux explained, "We boarded her and found her crew, some died."
"And their hyperspace data?"
"Gone just like us."
"Damn..."
"Would you like to meet the new Commander?" the Admiral asked.
Azure nodded as he allowed himself to be led by the Admiral towards the latter's office. The Marshal couldn't help but notice that his Naval counterpart had a rather grim look on his face. The two soon reached the office which opened to reveal two more individuals inside.
"A Mandalorian," Azure observed.
"Field Marshal Azure," the Mandalorian noted as he looked at him with curiosity.
"Gentlemen, if we can continue our discussion," Vaux said as he sat back down in his seat.
"And what exactly were you discussing?" the Marshal asked
The Mandalorian soon spoke up, "The Admiral refuses me and my men to land on the surface to repair the ship. I'm hoping you would be more reasonable."
"You're going be disappointed then," Azure replied, "I have no intention of allowing more forces on the planet's surface less the secret of our existence is revealed."
The Mandalorian scoffed, "And you expect me to make the repairs in the vacuum of space?"
"You can make do, I'll even lend you some of my men to do it."
This did not satisfy the Mandalorian one bit as he tried to dig deeper, "Then what would you have us do while we're idle? Run simulations? Train?"
"Hmm... yes," the Marshal replied casually, not budging.
"And if I decide to ignore your orders and go planetside?"
The Clone Commander next to the Mandalorian gawked at the implications. Admiral Vaux gave the Mandalorian a disapproving look while Azure... chuckled.
"Then forgive me if you suddenly find your entire crew slapped in irons and your ship taken," the Marshal laughed as he stood up from his seat.
"Forgive us, sir, we're just a bit on edge after what happened," the Clone Commander said, his tone pleading to the Mandalorian to not make it any worse.
The Marshal looked at the Commander, "And what's your name?"
"Stagger sir, I serve under Commander Eadraas Marr," he replied while he also pointed toward the Mandalorian.
Eadraas gave Stagger a look, while Azure nodded, "Very well Stagger, you're dismissed. I'll talk to your Commander here." The Clone saluted before leaving the 3 men back to the discussion. Vaux soon pulled out a bottle and some glasses, "Gentlemen, would you like something to drink? I have a vintage Corellian if you fancy." The Marshal smiled as he took a glass, "I haven't had any Corellian drinks in months, I most certainly would like one."
As Vaux poured the Field Marshal a drink, Eadraas soon spoke up, "I have a feeling you have a proposition for me to take."
"You assume correct," Azure replied while taking a sip of his drink.
"Will you tell me what it is?" the Mandalorian asked.
"I will, right now," the Marshal stated as he put his glass down, "Here's what I'll offer. I am in need of someone who can do wetwork on the planet below."
This certainly irked Eadraas as he asked, "What's the job?"
I think this is the most rushed work I've done for this fic so far and I'm not proud of it. Especially since I tried to push this while I was high on fever. I'll most certainly try to do better since I'll be back on my plan. This part was a very loose adaption that I want to avoid as much as possible. But now that we have this out of the way, we shall soon be back on track.
A bit of heads up, I also have another story coming out, but it's not the rewrite of my first story. This will be something different, but until then, I'll be getting off, so stay frosty because that's soldiering.