Coruscant was bigger than Ruby imagined, dirtier too. Well, at least from the atmosphere it looked that way. She stared out of the viewport with wide eyes. It was hard to believe that she was here and not back on Patch or Vale! Ruby didn't believe Commandant Ozpin when he told her that she was going to be transferred to the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant! Only the best cadets were admitted, and only the best of the best would make it to graduation. It made her nervous, but the RIA offered the best education for aspiring naval cadets, so it was worth the risk!
"Whatcha starin at sis?" Ruby felt someone grab onto her shoulder. She relaxed upon hearing the familiar voice, ignoring the initial instinct to punch first and ask questions later. Ruby caught a glimpse of a certain blonde, who wrapped their much larger arms around her.
"Yaaaang!" Ruby groaned as she tried pushing her sister away. "Don't do that, these uniforms are already itchy." She stuck a slim finger into her uniform's collar, pulling it away from her throat. Normally, Ruby wore her uniform in a way that was much more comfortable for a cadet on the engineering track. Commandant Ozpin was pretty relaxed when it came to the cadets under his command, but the Royal Academy was a completely different beast! She had rules to follow now.
"You'll get used to it." Yang's grip on Ruby's shoulder tightened as she pressed their cheeks together to stare out the viewing port. "I can't believe my little sister's coming with me to the Royal Imperial Academy!" She said that last part loudly, which earned them a few glares from the other passengers across the aisle.
"Don't say that too loud!" Ruby blushed as she kept her eyes focused on the growing planet. It was a bit embarrassing since she was going to be younger than everyone else. Yang was already in her last year of classes, while Ruby had been in the middle of her second until something she'd rather not talk about happened. "I don't want to draw too much attention to myself."
Thankfully they were on a civilian passenger ship, and not a military transport. Otherwise, a superior officer would've wandered over to shush her. Instead, the mix of Academy staff, bureaucrats, and a few other potential classmates all seemed to ignore them.
"Why not?" Yang released her hold on Ruby and relaxed in her seat. Their cadet uniform looked better on Yang than it did on Ruby. Admittedly, that wasn't saying much, Yang could make a sack look great and had done so at least once back on their farm. Dad was still mad she wore that to their village fashion show and won first place. "Just relax sis, everyone should know that you're the nexu's knees."
"But I don't want to be the nexu's knees." Ruby groaned, resting her head against the viewing port. "I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."
Yang crossed her arms and gave Ruby an unbelieving smirk. The only difference in their uniforms being the patches that sat on the side of their shoulders. Yang's left shoulder held the patch of the Stormtrooper Corp, while Ruby's had that of the Imperial Navy.
"Yeah, that's not happening, especially after you saved that-" Yang was interrupted by Ruby covering her sister's mouth with her smaller hands. The older girl kept speaking, her voice muffled until she licked Ruby's hand.
"Ewwwww!" Ruby quickly withdrew her hand, wiping it on Yang's pants. "And I thought we agreed that we weren't going to talk about that!"
Yang gave her a shrug. "Just trying to cheer you up. I can feel your anxiety from here. I know you miss your classmates."
Ruby stared at her for a few seconds, until she finally broke and sighed. "Yeah, I'm just nervous. Do you know how many people drop out of the RIA every year? Two-thirds of the class! That's right, I looked at the numbers, and I hate normal math!"
Ruby just wanted to protect others, and by signing up with the Navy, she could be a hero, just like mom was! The galaxy didn't need another Clone War, and there were loads of pirates and rebels that preyed on innocents, but in order to even be able to do any of that, she needed to graduate school first.
"You'll be fine." Yang waved her off, her lilac eyes filled with kindness like always. "You were one of the smartest cadets in Beacon."
Vale hosted the Beacon Military Academy, and served as a base for the Navy in the Mid-Rim. It wasn't as big or famous as Caridia, Corellia, or Eriadu, but they did the job of protecting the space lanes from pirates and terrorists. The Navy was so cool! The walkers the Army and Stormtroopers used weren't as exciting.
"No, I'm not." Ruby looked away, staring at the other countless ships that were surrounding Coruscant. She even spotted a Secutor! Those were rare! Her silver eyes lit up. Even if her classes were going to be hard, Ruby was finally going to be able to step foot on a Star Destroyer! That was going to be so much fun! If she got lucky, she might even be able to see a Super Star Destroyer, the pride of the fleet.
Yang's arm suddenly wrapped itself around Ruby's neck, putting her into a chokehold.
"N-No!" Ruby tried releasing her sister's grip, but the taller girl was much stronger. "Y-You buckethead! You're going to mess up my uniform!" She needed it to be up to regulations for once! Ruby had even taken the step of getting a new one just because the old one had some incredibly tough stains the laundry droids couldn't get out.
"Not until you calm down!" Yang's grip never lessened, even if she did give Ruby enough room to breathe. This was so embarrassing, they must've been drawing a lot of attention!
"I am calm! You're the one causing issues." One of Ruby's hands went from Yang's arm to her armpit. Bingo! Ruby's fingers started to scratch hard enough to be felt through her uniform.
"Ha-he-he-stop that!" Yang started to giggle, releasing Ruby from the chokehold. It took her a few seconds to catch her breath.
"Our classmates are going to be a bunch of fancy pantsy cadets," Ruby said with a shiver going down her spine. "We need to be on our best behavior, or we'll end up getting expelled!"
Yang hummed to herself as she stared into the blank space between her headrest and the row in front of them. She stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity but was actually just a few minutes.
"Whatever happens, I'll be there right by your side." Yang winked. "If somebody messed with you, then they're messing with me." She flexed her bicep at the same time.
Still, it made Ruby smile, knowing that her sister had her back. Everything would be fine, and if she worked hard enough, graduation was going to be a breeze.
"Thanks, Dad."
"Don't make me put you in a chokehold again."
Coruscant's surface was breathtaking, in an unnatural sort of way. It looked like an entire city covered the surface of the planet, with airspeeders racing everywhere in their respective lanes. Thankfully, the Academy had sent a large airspeeder to take them straight to the main building. A dozen other cadets were already there waiting to leave, none of them a familiar face. Nobody gave the two of them a glance. At least Yang allowed her to grab a window seat so she could get a better view of their home for the next year or so.
"There's no natural vegetation," Ruby mumbled, her silver eyes taking in the view of the countless buildings that jutted out into the sky. It looked peaceful, not ravaged by pirates like Patch had been, before the Empire came and brought order to the chaos of their section in the outer rim.
"We shall reach the Royal Imperial Academy in less than five minutes." The droid pilot announced over the intercom, exciting Ruby's fellow cadets, including Yang who decided to jump seats while she wasn't looking. She was talking to another Stormtrooper cadet. Yang was skilled in making new friends, being able to put anyone at ease, unlike Ruby. The silver eyed girl puffed her cheeks full of air. Was Yang trying to find an excuse to ditch her? How rude.
She preferred messing with the hyperdrive of a cruiser than talking to actual people. Machines were simple, they did what they were advertised, no more, no less. Taking ships apart and putting them back together was more fun than target practice. Hopefully, she'd be able to mess with some old Clone Wars equipment at the Academy, just the thought of it made her giddy.
This was going to be so much fun!
The Royal Imperial Academy came into view not even four minutes later, leaving Ruby breathless. It was enormous, dwarfing Beacon back on Vale, and from her viewport, Ruby could even spot the Imperial Palace off in the distance! That was so cool! Ruby felt the airspeeder lurch as it approached to land. Her stomach dropped, and it wasn't because of the gravitational forces. She was starting to feel nervous again. What if she didn't make any friends? What if her bunkmates didn't like her?
What if fails her exams and is kicked out?! What if-
"I will put you in a chokehold again if you don't relax." Ruby felt Yang whisper in her ear. She must've been done with her new friend since she returned to her spot next to Ruby.
"I'll change your conditioner when you're not looking," Ruby whispered back with a small smile. Yang hated it when people messed with her hair products, not that she'd probably have any once they settled into their new quarters.
"I hate you." Yang's eyes briefly turned red before returning to their normal lilac. She really needed to take anger management classes, especially if she was going to be a Stormtrooper, the elite peacekeepers of the galaxy! They were so cool, always being calm under fire and protecting innocent people from pirates and terrorists.
"I love you too sis." Ruby teased. She'd won this round.
Their airspeeder soon landed on a busy platform filled with a half dozen others just like it. Ruby took a breath as their transport came to a stop, and the doors opened to a magnificent view of the Academy.
"Time to face the music." Yang grinned as she stood up, grabbing her helmet and bag that contained the few items they were allowed to bring. It wasn't too much, some spare uniforms, a holo or two, and toiletries.
"Yup!" Ruby followed her example, with her own much lighter bag. The rest of their belongings were still being shipped and would arrive later, once they were settled in hopefully.
It took a few minutes of waiting since some of the other cadets decided to loiter in the airspeeder instead of exiting as fast as they were supposed to, but in the end, Ruby took her first steps on Coruscant. She took a deep breath of the heavily filtered, fresh air. Now that felt great.
"Third-year transfers, form up!" Someone in the landing zone started shouting. Ruby flinched and scanned the area for the source. Yang found it before she did.
"Over here!" Yang grabbed Ruby's elbow, dragging her in the direction of the voice, who kept yelling. It was a tall man in a green uniform with one of the bushiest mustaches Ruby had ever seen. He was holding a datapad in his gloved hands. A shorter girl wearing a cadet uniform stood next to him at attention, with white hair tied up in a bun. She gave everyone who passed by a disinterested look as if they were beneath her.
"She looks like she's rich. I wonder if she's able to afford a doctor to get that stick out of her ass. Yang mumbled just low enough for only Ruby to hear. A handful of cadets were already forming a line in front of the officer.
"Language!" Ruby shrugged as she joined the line, with Yang standing behind her. She didn't know enough about the white-haired girl to have an opinion, though she did look serious with the way she glared at the other cadets.
It took another five minutes for her to reach the front of the line. It felt like an eternity to her.
"Name?" The officer, a lieutenant judging by the rank insignia plate on his chest, asked. He looked bored.
"Cadet Ruby Rose, sir!" Ruby answered, standing at attention and straightening her back. She spotted the white-haired girl rolling her eyes. Why? Was it her accent? Did Yang wrinkle her uniform? Was she about to be sent back for a minor uniform violation?
"Cadet Rose." The Lieutenant pressed a few buttons on his datapad, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Ah, I see it now. Transferred from the Beacon Military Academy in Vale."
"Yes sir." Ruby didn't allow herself to relax. She needed to make a good first impression.
"Young aren't you, it's wonderful seeing young people like you signing up to defend our glorious Empire." The Lieutenant continued in a droll tone, indicating he'd seen it all before. "Welcome to the Royal Imperial Academy, Cadet Rose."
"Thank you, sir!" Ruby gave him a salute right out of the handbook, crisp, precise, efficient.
"Join the cadets to your right until we're ready to move out." His eyes briefly turned towards the parallel row of cadets in front of the white-haired cadet. "Dismissed."
"Sir yes sir." Ruby gave him another salute and marched towards the back of the line.
"Name." The Lieutenant's voice was still loud enough to be heard the further Ruby walked away. She stood behind a taller tanned cadet, his hair a light brown. He didn't spare her a second look.
"Cadet Yang Xiao-Long." Ruby heard Yang respond. She tuned out the rest of their conversation and tried her best to look as professional as possible. So far everything was going well. Yang joined her in line a few seconds later, with a lazy grin on her face.
"I think the Senior Cadet is trying to check me out, she kept glaring at me." Yang took her spot behind Ruby.
"Probably because your hair is too long, and out of regulation." Ruby pointed out, doing her best to keep her voice low. Her own hair was cut short, just barely past her chin, black with the very tips being a dark red.
"Nobody's touching the hair." Yang crossed her arms over her chest. They'd been lucky Commandant Ozpin was so lax, but now it just looked like that was going to backfire on them.
Ruby was about to respond when someone interrupted her.
"All cadets are to be silent until we're ready to move out." The white-haired girl spoke up, her voice loud and firm. She sounded the way she looked. Even from her spot in the line, Ruby could tell she was being glared at.
The old Lieutenant finished with the last cadet in the line next to them. About a dozen cadets, including Ruby and Yang, stood in a straight line. "At ease Senior Cadet Schnee."
Senior Cadet Schnee gave him a curt salute and relaxed her posture, it was barely noticeable. She took a step back as the Lieutenant took her place.
"As you are all transfers from other academies around the galaxy, we, the staff here at the Royal Imperial Academy expect all of you to perform to our standards." The Lieutenant said seriously. "You all are the Empire's future leaders, do not disappoint us."
No pressure right? Ruby swallowed the saliva that had built up in her mouth when she wasn't paying attention.
"Senior Cadet Schnee here will be your guide today." He motioned his datapad towards the white-haired girl. She looked annoyed as if this was all beneath her. "You're all third-years aren't you, soon to graduate and be commissioned in whatever track you have chosen, so the normal orientation shall be foregone. Does anyone have any issues with that?"
"Sir, no sir!" The dozen cadets said in unison. Ruby was disappointed, she liked orientation, it gave her time to take a small nap before the school year began.
"Good." The old man turned to Senior Cadet Schnee. "I leave them in your hands, Senior Cadet. Dismissed!"
Everyone gave a crisp salute. The Lieutenant gave them a nod and turned walking away from their spot on the edge of the landing platform.
"Commandant Deenlark has requested to meet all third-year transfers before giving out rooming assignments." Senior Cadet Schnee started speaking the moment he was out of earshot. Her neutral expression turned into a more obvious glare. "All of you are to be on your best behavior, is that understood?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Everyone answered together. Ruby could literally feel the tension that was in the air. There wasn't going to be hazing right? Would the cadets that've been here since their first year treat them differently?
Senior Cadet Schnee narrowed her eyes and spun on her heel, facing towards the Academy's main tower. "All cadets fall in on me."
They did as commanded.
Senior Cadet Schnee led them inside the Academy proper, standing beside their column to ensure that nobody wandered off or made their line look crooked. She took beside Ruby for a few minutes before moving back towards the front of the line, allowing the dark-haired girl to get a good look at the patch on her shoulder. Apparently, Senior Cadet Schnee was on track to graduate as a Naval officer, which made the Lieutenant leaving them in her care make all the more sense. It was practice for her future.
"Is it me, or are people staring at us?" Ruby whispered just loud enough for Yang to hear, hopefully. The halls of the Royal Imperial Academy were full of cadets in identical uniforms, yet that did little to stop them from standing out. Their line earned them plenty of attention, and judging by the way a few older cadets stared at them, they already knew some details about their arrival.
"It's just you," Yang whispered back. "Most of them just look like rich kids, which means they're not as good as us. You'll be fine." Dad always did say that skills were more useful than connections.
"If you say so." Ruby grumbled, closing her mouth just in time for Senior Cadet Schnee to give her a stern glare. Oops, she must've heard their conversation.
"Halt." Cadet Schnee said loudly. She approached one of the doors they had stopped by and pressed a button on the datapad. "Inside, now."
Nobody protested as they all filled in, with Ruby avoiding her gaze as she passed by the shorter cadet. It didn't work as well as she had hoped for. There were no chairs in the room the new transfers were corralled into, just a lone desk with an older man sitting behind it. He was bald, save for his bushy eyebrows and beard that was neatly trimmed. He gave them all a neutral stare, with his hands pressed together.
"Commandant Deenlark, sir." Senior Cadet Schnee brushed past the cadet at the end of the line. She gave the commandant a salute and stood at attention. "The third-year transfer students, as you requested, sir."
Commandant Deenlark looked nothing like Ozpin, aside from their silver hair. His light blue eyes revealed nothing as he ignored Cadet Schnee, instead scanning each and every person in the room.
"Dismissed Cadet Schnee." Commandant Deenlark's voice was solid, and deep, it didn't match his face. "You may take the rest of the day off, classes won't begin until the end of the week."
"Thank you, sir." Cadet Schnee gave him one final salute, before confidently striding out of the room, leaving the dozen students alone with the Commandant. It made Ruby even more nervous, especially since he stopped speaking and stared at them for the next few minutes. Her heart dropped when his eyes landed on her.
"Less than two-thirds of the current first years will make it to graduation." Commandant Deenlark spoke up. He stood up, walking towards the front of his desk. "Those rates come from students that have trained, and are used to the way the Royal Imperial Academy operates."
At least Yang was here, that did make Ruby feel a little bit better.
"Looking at the twelve of you, I'm sure only two or three of you will graduate as officers of the Empire." Commandant Deenlark said coldly. "The Royal Imperial Academy produces the finest officers in the galaxy, no matter what your former academies may have claimed."
His eyes were fixated on Ruby. "There shall be no special treatment, regardless of your circumstances. All of you are expected to perform to the same level as our own third-years, if you don't, then you shall be expelled from the Academy. Is that understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" Ruby said loudly along with her fellow cadets. Yang was louder, nearly turning Ruby deaf.
"You have one standard year to make it to graduation, do not disappoint me." The Commandant returned to his desk. "See Commander Harn in the office across the hallway for your rooming assignments. Dismissed."
Finally! Ruby turned to leave when just a few words froze her midstep.
"Cadet Rose, stay behind for a few minutes." Commandant Deenlark just had to say that cursed sentence. The rest of the cadets hurried out of the office, except for Yang who gave her a concerned look. A dozen quick eyebrow signals managed to get her to follow their fellow transfers. Ruby marched back to the middle of the room and stood at attention.
"Ozpin's letter of recommendation isn't an easy one to earn." Commandant Deenlark's expression never changed. "Especially for someone so young."
"Thank you, sir." Ruby almost squeaked.
"That's not a compliment." Deenlark's voice hardened. "Your age will only put a target on your back. The cadets here come from powerful and influential families from around the Core Worlds. Your presence is an insult to all of them, not even they can skip an entire year as easily as you have."
The pit in Ruby's stomach started to grow, but she did her best to harden her resolve. "Why are you telling me all of this, sir?"
What happened to no special treatment?
"It's a courtesy to your former commandant." Deenlark rubbed his hands together. "I owe him a favor. You won't be getting any help from me, if you piss off the son or daughter of a senatorial family, you're on your own."
"Understood, sir." Even if it didn't do much, a warning was still nice.
"Now get out of here, I have work to do." Commandant Deenlark dismissed her with a wave of his hand, turning his attention back to the datapad that sat on his desk. She gave him one last salute and left the room.
Ruby definitely wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight.
"He really said all of that?" Yang raised an eyebrow while Ruby avoided her gaze and stared at the datapad that had her room number.
"I wouldn't be telling you if it wasn't true." Ruby snarked back. It wasn't that hard to believe was it?
"Either way, it doesn't matter. I'll always have your back sis." Yang gave her a thumbs-up with a large smile. Welp, at least Ruby had at least one person in her corner who meant well, even if that person was her sister.
"Thanks, Yang." Ruby returned her smile, the duo pausing at the intersection of two hallways. A few cadets walked around them, shooting the two nasty glares. Her smile dropped. "It looks like my bunk is that way." She pointed towards the right.
Yang raised her datapad with a sigh. "And mine is down there." She pointed towards the left.
Ruby hated that they weren't going to be bunking together, but she had to be brave now.
"See you around, sis?" It took all of Ruby's self-control not to pull Yang into a tight hug.
"Yeah, I'll see you between classes and the mess hall." Yang winked. "And you better let me know if someone's messing with you."
Classic Yang. "I will."
The two parted ways with one last look over their shoulders. At least without Yang's bright hair, Ruby wouldn't attract as much attention.
"Bunk Delta-Five." Ruby was on one of the residential floors, where countless rooms housed all three years of the Academy. Hopefully, she had nice bunkmates, otherwise the entire year was going to be much harder than it already was. At least she wasn't going to get lost with the datapad in her hands, it was going to take her straight to her new room. Even if this new place was probably more populated then her hometown.
Just about four more doors down. Sneaking past a group of cadets that were loitering in the hallway, Ruby finally arrived. She took a deep breath, pressed the button that opened the door, causing it to slide open, and walked in.
"Cadet Ruby Rose reporting for duty!" Ruby quickly said with a salute to no one in particular. She hadn't noticed when she first walked in, but only a single occupant was in the room.
Sapphire blue eyes stared at her in surprise, until they turned into a sharp glare. Sitting on the bottom bed of the bunk closest to the door was Senior Cadet Schnee, still in uniform.
"What are you doing here?" Cadet Schnee asked, anger easily visible on her pale face. Yeah, that wasn't a good start or a great first impression.
This year was going to be so much fun…
A/N
Welcome to my first RWBY crossover that isn't a Weissikai, it also happens to have the longest single chapter I have ever written. I'm honestly shocked I managed to write this much.
Much thanks to Night Stalker and Mamba King Ghidorah who are betas for the story, and helped bounce ideas and storylines. This story likely would've taken months if not years to see the light of day if it wasn't for them.