Chapter 12
Monday Blues
Jaune slapped ineffectively at the clock on the bedside table by his mattress on the bottom of the bunk bed. Blearily he looked up and realised it was not the clock but the intercom speaker attached to their room. Looking at the digital numbers he wanted to groan it was quarter to four. The same idiot who was using the intercom had also switched on the emergency light next to the intercom. He sat up knowing they had to go to the gym for their mandatory session. He was about to climb from the bed when a set of legs and feet came into his point of view. Pyrrha slid from the mattress up above unwittingly giving Jaune a show as she did not notice her nightgown riding up as she slid from the top bunk
The brief vision of black lace was enough to wake Jaune up fully. Pyrrha was unaware of her motions as she drowsily moved to her dresser rubbing her stomach and lifted her nightdress over her head. She froze as she looked into the mirror and noticed Jaune was watching her change. Jaune hurriedly got up and turned to face a smirking Nora sitting on top of her mattress
"Morning Fearless Leader, wide awake and raring to go? Or are we just taking in the sights today?" She asked
She dropped from her bed and now Jaune had competing images in his head black lace versus a small set printed with cartoon sloths and a small boob tube. He looked down and noticed Ren was still asleep despite the noise of the recording over the intercom, looking closer he saw a set of earplugs. He was about to reach and shake Ren awake when Nora grabbed his hand and spun him to face her
"It is best to wake him from a distance, Renny can be a bit unpredictable if woken suddenly." She cautioned
"Nora could you please put on some pants?" Jaune said trying to look at a spot over her shoulder
"Can do Fearless Leader." Nora grinned at him
"Are you going to do it?" Jaune asked when she did not move
"After you wake up Renny." She replied
Ren spluttered awake as a jug of water was thrown over him by a grinning Nora. She then very unsubtly put her hands on her hips drawing attention to what she was wearing.
Jaune got dressed in his gym clothes and left the room after placing his school uniform in his gym bag and grabbing his bookcase. Pyrrha was waiting outside, she blushed furiously as he came out. He rubbed the back of his neck
"Sorry Pyrrha, I did not mean to see you like that." He said apologetically
" No need to apologise it was an accident." Pyrrha replied rapidly
She placed a hand on his shoulder
" It was not as if your were staring or leering, besides it was likely to happen at some point. And did miss Branwen not warn us about the lack of privacy in the field." She said hurriedly, keeping her blush
"I guess she did, see you at the Gym?" Jaune said
She let go and he moved towards the stairs. He was out of earshot when she spoke again softly
"And I really don't mind that you looked."
Jaune may not have heard but three others did
Horror was written large on several faces as they were handed the meals dictated by their new diets. When Ruby had tried to protest using the puppy dog eyes as a second method of attack she was firmly informed to take up it with assistant headmistress Goodwitch. Glumly she walked back to the table holding her tray
"How am I supposed to eat all of this?" Weiss remarked looking at her full plate
"Problem Weissy?" Yang asked starting her meal
"Breakfast is supposed to be a light meal." Weiss replied
Yang put her knive and fork down
"Weiss, with the amount of exercise our new regiment dictates you will need all that protein and nutrients unless you want to land up in the sick bay. Right know the instructors are more worried about building muscles than our weight." She said
"She is right. Despite preferring a lighter breakfast myself, we all will need the extra nutrients if we are to keep at peak efficiency." April added
Hina caught Ruby as she tried to steal April's carton of milk.
"You had your own." She said sternly
"But I need milk to grow." Ruby protested
"You have everything you need on the plate before you" Hina said moving her teams milk out of reach
Both Ren and Jaune were holding onto Nora to stop her from charging the service trays holding stacks of pancakes, while truing to eat with one hand. Pyrrha was not looking up from her plate, glaring at the cartons of fruit juice and milk before her, every once in a while she would throw longing glances to the urns at the counter holding coffee. Caffeine and sugar having been banned from all of their diets. Blake was angrily stabbing her food, her book having been confiscated by their Student Advisor, who had stated that Blake had to become more sociable and reading at the table prevented that.
They knew they were in for a rough class as Professor Peach ambushed them at the door and led most of them to the front benches in Dust studies. Jaune and the sisters were directed to a class next door where they were introduced to Yatsuhachi Daichi, their tutor on the subject of Dust and its uses. They could hear Yang and Nora's cry of dismay as the rest of the class were given the favourite gift of displeased teachers, the infamous pop quiz.
None were happy campers as the class ended. Jaune and the sister were weighed down by primers that Yatsu said they would have to have worked through in their next lesson in three days. Weiss was in shock, the teacher had corrected her, A Schnee, in how dust was to be processed and told in no uncertain terms she had a lot to learn about dust. As for the rest, the pop quiz was brutal.
The day was further going down the drain as they were given a lecture by Ooobleck on respecting the tradition and cultures and its symbols. There had been muted snickering as he slowly and clearly added a section on the importance on respecting statues and yes flagpoles.
Goodwitch met the class at the doors to the combat studies hall and instructed them to go and change into their gym clothes. She led the way to one of the few dance studios the school had in the arts section. They were met by Ariana Blackstone, a former student, a top huntress and lead dancer for the Vale Ballet Society. When asked why they were there Goodwitch blandly informed them that the class had to improve on their stamina flexibility and dexterity.
Many a scoff had been heard and a few wondering mutters of how could prancing around achieve that was heard. Instead of coming down hard on that Goodwitch had merely smiled and sat down adjusting her glasses
The entire class was ready to beg for the pain and suffering to stop halfway into the class. So called fit Hunters and Huntresses were strewn across the studio floor, all breathing harshly and with muscles screaming in protest. A few started crying when they dimly heard Goodwitch confirming that yes Friday was ideal for another session.
Lunch again was a shock to the system for many with four vegetables a piece of red meat and jugs of water being what they were served. Again sugar and caffeine was conspicuous in its absence. Weiss had turned pale and started shaking when she received instruction form her sister to ensure she was available for a discussion at seventeen hundred sharp, Valean time.
It was with relief that they left for Science and Mathematics class after lunch. Classes completed they plodded back to the dorms. Ruby and Yang froze in place as they spotted two men seated in the communal sitting area. One well built and blonde sitting up straight in his chair, fingers drumming on the armrest, the second they should have smelt coming up the stairs. This man was slouched in his chair, a flask in one hand
"Firecracker, Shorty." The second man greeted the frozen sisters
" Hi uncle crow…Dad." Ruby said, her voice breaking
" How are classes?" Qrow asked
"Good! We are learning lots of stuff." Ruby yelped
"Like pole dancing?" Qrow smirked
The sister looked at each other
"Ruby started it. I tried to stop her." Yang cried out, jumping behind Ruby for cover
Taiyang stood up, a neutral expression upon his face. Both Ruby and Yang blanched and swallowed deeply. He looked towards the remaining students
"Now might be a good time to go and study in your rooms." He suggested firmly
The next moment his personal space was well and truly invaded by a cat girl, she was twirling her brown hair around a finger and giving him a sultry look
"Mister, will you spank me too? I have been a very bad kitty." Yara purred at him
Yara yelped as her ear was firmly gripped by Hina who was using said appendage to pull her away from the now uncomfortable and confused Huntsman. The rest thought they heard the other man mutter something about blonde bastards having all the luck
"What is up with you today, First you try to seduce that Yatsu boy and now you are hitting on our friends father." Hina scolded
Yara was now being escorted to their room by Katya and Hina. Jaune looked to his fellow team leader
"You holding up okay?" He asked
"Yeah I am." April said false cheerily
Jaune steered her to the corner of the room and sat her down in an armchair and sat down opposite her
"Let us try that again. I can see you are not fine. Coralling those three is a full time job, add to that being a team leader and the course work and training. And to add to that your sister is obviously karked off with you."
"Karked?" April asked
"Sorry, I mean pissed off or should that be hacked off." Jaune replied
April sighed
"It just seems as if they are pushing my buttons just because they can, and it is not just my sister, my parents are giving me a hard time too. Image is everything to them, Mother is on all these social bodies and father is running for district representative. It is always Peach this, Peach that. Peach was the youngest professor at Beacon and you are barely passing hunters training. Your antics can derail my campaign" April ranted
"They want you to be a copy of your sister." Jaune stated
"Yes." She said softly
"Then it is their loss for not seeing what I and my sisters are seeing. April we have not known you for long but I can already say that which I have seen is very impressive. You are resilient and tough, I have yet to hear you complain about anything the instructors are putting us through, you are clever and can easily keep up. You are kind and gentle, I have seen how you go out of your way to help my sisters. You may not be an accomplished dancer but you have a nice voice and once coaxed out of your shell a very fun person. This world does not need another professor Peach or whatever your parents want you to be. What it does need is you and what you will grow into." Jaune said
He leaned forward and took her hands and squeezed them gently
"The reason the girls are pushing your buttons is to see where you fit into our pride, it is a Yuki thing. They will needle you till they get a reaction and once they have your measure they will not let you go or be the worst enemy you will ever have. Though considering how softly they are pushing you, you are already pride in their minds. So chin up and give back double what they give you." Jaune said
"Thank you." Aprild said softly
"The least I can do for my pride mate. More importantly sit them down and get to know them and them you and then tell them what you expect of them in your position as team leader and explain why. You can be a team leader as well as their friend."
Jaune let go of her hands
"And if you need someone to talk to or rant to, I am here." Jaune offered
"Thank you."
"Now go get them little tiger."
"You know from anyone else I would say that is rather racist. But I guess your outlook is more faunus than human with how you were raised."
"Faunus, human are just labels, at the end of the day we are only people."
"If only everyone believed that." April said
Jaune looked at his watch and over to the far side of the room where the blonde male was impatiently waiting for the two of them to leave the common area, for a moment Jaune was tempted to stay where he was and not so subtly let the man know he will not be told what to do in his own space. That impulse died when he saw the pleading looks on the faces of Ruby and Yang. He stood up and moved to his room
"Yang, Ruby, Shout if you need help and remember you are both now legal adults and did not break any laws." He said before partially closing the door
Pyrrha was standing close to the door and had observed the exchange, Nor was she the only one to stand close. Jaune had noticed that the doors to RWBY and KHYA was alsonot fully closed as was the door to the Students Advisors room
"Was that wise?" She asked timidly
"I probably could have phrased it better but nothing I said was untrue. All of us became legal adultswhen we entered the academy. You can notexpect us to be adults only at some random whim. Especially if none of us did anything illegal. Sure we had a party and got out of hand but nothing was damaged and no one was injured or killed. Added to that we also had the instructors give us a rough time as punishment." Jaune stated firmly and loudly
Taiyang flexed his fingers as he heard the statement by the blonde boy as he was certain was the boy's attention. He took a few deep breaths to contain his simmering anger. He felt Qrow grab his shoulder and drag him away from where the girls were seated before he was pushed into the bathroom and Qrow closed the door behind them. Qrow extended his flask to Taiyang
"Take a sip and cool down. The kid is right, both of them are adults now." Qrow said blocking the door with his body
"How dare that…" Tai started
"He dares because he wants to protect the girls, I know you Tai. At some point you would stop listening to the girls and try to drag them home or try and give them punishment." Qrow stated
"As their father I have the fullest right…"
"No, you do not. Yang is seventeen and almost a full grown woman. She is well and truly capable of looking after herself and make her own decisions. Ruby was emancipated when she was enrolled. And not only has she Yang to look after her, it seems she has friends who do as well."
"As their father I know better than them and also how to look after them." Tai snapped
"Like you did after Summer died and Yang had to look after her little sister?" Qrow asked
Taiyang stepped back, anger draining from his face
"Low blow, Qrow." He barked
"Yes it was, it was also the truth. Neither of us were the best roll models at that time."
"You mean me." Taiyang said with a sigh
"No, both of us. And for us to punish them for stuff we did as students would be rather hypocritical."
"So what next?"
"We go and lecture them about making better choices and let them know we are there for them when they screw up again."
Qrow steeled himself and pushed his flask back into his pocket without drinking from it
"Then I will need your help as I introduce you to a young lady that should have been raised alongside the girls and try to connect to her."
Nora was stubbornly crossing her arms aunder her ample chest and refused t look at the rest of her team and the weapons laid before her on the firing range bench.
"No, I will not give up my hammer, and you can not make me." She said with pout
Unknown to them Wilkes and Colt had activated the security system in the range and was monitoring the converstion. Jaune gently took hold of Nora and led her to the chairs set there for thse waiting for their turn. He sat her down and hand handed her a caffeine and sugar free drink. He waited patiently till she eventually looked at him
"Nora, tell me about Magnhild." Jaune invited her
"She is the best, grenades for long range and I can smash grimm legs with her." Nora stated stubbornly
" Not denying that, but why a hammer? What made you chose a hammer instead of say a sword and shield" Jaune asked
"Kuroyuri." Nora answered shortly
Jaune noticed Ren's eyes tightening at that as well as seeing him tense up before he activated his semblance and became as stoic as ever
"I am sorry I don't understand. Who or what is Kuroyri?" Jaune probed
"The village we stayed in before we started travelling." Ren stated shortly
Jaune realised there was more to it but decided to leave it for later. He placed his hands on Nora's knees
"Nora no one is asking you to discard Magnhild. She like her wielder is unique and very strong. All I want with this is to let you choice another way for when you can not use her as she should be used." Jaune said placatingly
"I can always use her effectively." Nora remained stubborn, looking down
"Can you use her in caves and can you say for certain that the explosions could not collapse the roof of the caverns or can you use her in really confined spaces?" Jaune countered
He gently lifted her hanging head with one hand and looked her in the eyes
"Nora, we all have weak spots in our fighting. And that is what we are trying to eliminate with this extra training. Me I have always been a gunman, now I have to learn to fight with a sword. I do not like it but I understand why. The same is for Ren and Pyrrha, the only one good at very close range is Ren but Stormflower is weak against armoured enemies and the larger the range the worse it gets. Milo is good for all ranges but also lacks the firepower. Magnhild has got power for sure but she is a an offensive weapon and can not be used for close support missions and lets face it as students that is we will likely be assigned to do, protect the civilians as the older Hunters fight."
"I guess." Nora said reluctantly
"Think of it as not using her on enemies not worthy of her, and I promise if we can break legs and blow things up you will be the first I call on. Also it is a good idea to know how each of our weapons work in case the owner can not do maintenance on it. " Jaune said solemnly
Nora slowly got up and walked over to where Jaune's DC17 was lying in the short rifle configuration next to his blaster. She reluctantly lifted the weapon and aimed downrange
Pyrrha was rubbing her shoulder and handed the rifle in the sniper configuration over to Ren
"It certainly has more kick than Milo. Even in short rifle form." She said
"I have noticed that too. Considering the composition of the dust inside the cartridges I would have expected more recoil. Not that I actually know much of dust." Jaune replied
"The dust is not pure fire dust. It is mixed from crushing low and medium grade fire dust and whatever dust you want to use to create the effect you want." Nora interrupted
"And why not use higher grade dust?" Jaune asked
"Cost. Even with lower grade dust, a hunters most costly expense is ammunition which is probably one of the reasons most weapons have a secondary mide. And the prices are rising on that too." Ren spoke up
Nora picked up one of the expended magazines
"I am guessing whatever you use has the same problems and worse you can not easily get more ammunition." She said.
"True, at some point I and the girls will have to take a trip and get more ammunition." Jaune said rubbing his neck
"To the lost Kingdom?" Nora asked excitedly
" No, to Vale, we left a stash at the Fort Freedom warehouse. Maybe at years end will we have to go deeper."
"Can me and Renny and Pyr Pyr go with when you do?" Nora asked
"Would you not rather spent time with your families?" Jaune asked
Ren placed a hand on Nora's shoulder
"After Kuroyuri we no longer have a home or family." Ren said
"Shit , I am so sorry." Jaune blurted out
Ren shook his head but Nora reached out and grasped Jaune's shoulder
"No need to apologise it has been several years, and from what I read you and the sisters know what it is to be without a family and clan." Nora replied
"If I may ask, why come here when you found out your first family is alive?" Ren asked
Jaune rubbed his neck harder
"It is confusing on so many levels. Sure they are family but I can not remember a thing. They want to reconnect and are actually in Vale, but Juniper Arc is undergoing treatment at mental health facility as are the rest of the family. Losing the youngest in that slaver raid had done a lot of damage and it was started by my disappearance as a young child. It all came to a head when we brought the youngest back." Jaune explained
"How did you find out you are related?" Pyrrha asked
"The doctor ran several blood tests and one of them was a DNA test. With us not being part of Vale we did not have all the inoculations and they needed to check that we were not carrying new diseases, We were actually planning on moving on back to the wilds and try to find another clan when the truth came out." Jaune answered
"And we decided to let Jaune reconnect with his human family in stead of going back." Yara finished
Jaune and the other looked up as their sister teamjoined them. He looked to the side at Yara as she was still in normal clothes but the other three were in armour
" Does your armour fit April?" He asked
"A bit loose but we can fix that." Yara nodded in answer
"So you want to go and collect the spare set we stashed with the ammunition then." Jaune deduced
"Yes, as well as the spare DC17 and blaster. April has agreed to the upgrade as long her ear lights are blue." Katya said, her voice slightly metallic as it came from her helmet
"Seriously, why did you guys never say you had all these upgrades in your armour?" April asked
"Like what?" Nora asked
"Night vision, thermal vision, Something that lets you see electronic and electricity, a navigation system and I think there is probably more in here I have yet to find." April said excitedly
She was waving her arms around and clenching her hands. Jaune grabbed her arms and pointed it up towards the ceiling. He was just in time as she triggered the blades in the vambraces by accident
"Oops." April said sheepishly
"Carefull kitten." Yara chuckled
Ren looked to Nora
"No Nora, we are not asking Jaune if he has more spare sets. Armour is not like a pencil you can just loan, it is very expensive I am sure." He said firmly
"Actually we have enough for you three as well." Katya said
"We were going to offer you the option." Hina added
"Thank you but I already have armour." Pyrrha demurred
Yara chuckled
"Honey, that is not armour. All it is good for is, is showing of your bust, ass and legs. Your shield gives you more protection than the entire set of clothing you have. Whoever decided that is armour watched to many fantasy stories."
"She is right. Though you can keep yours for teasing Jaune, he sure seems to like it. Though lose the underwear if you are going to tease him like that, or better yet get some really lacy and see through numbers." Katya added
Jaune muttered under his breath as he looked away and Pyrrha put a fire truck to shame with her blush. This was not helped by the other six snickering at them
Wilkes switched of the security monitors and recorders
" I am really starting to wonder about that hidden kingdom and those wandering clans." He said
"Just how far ahead are they if they are willing to sell or trade technology to wandering tribes that we have only started looking at." Colt nodded
"I took a closer look at their armour when they were in class, they have some sort of locking system in place, though it looked as if it were mass produced. Their weapons were also mass produced." Wilkes admitted
Colt shifted in his chair and pointed to the monitors
"Who do you think is going to crack first Peach or Bart?" He asked
"Bart for sure. Peach is currently too pissed off with her sister to think straight and with her abandoning their family robes for team armour is going to worsen it especially if she too is going to play up the cat angle the sisters armour has going on. Her old man is going to flip about that" Wilkes answered
"I can see that, Oz is about ready to pull her in and read her the riot act. Seems she was riding April hard in class and afterwards and some people overheard it." Colt said tapping his fingers on the table
"For such a clever woman, she sure can do stupid things." Wilkes replied
" I suggest we get Tsune to go have a word with her before she learns of her sister getting armour." Colt said
Wilkes burned the fie to a disc and handed it over
" Better hurry then, you know how quickly rumours can run in this place and how twisted they can get." He said
"You mean like the one of Arc knocking out Xio Long and Branwen for threatening his harem because they were planning to pull his pregnant girlfriends from Beacon. Or the one of Lie running a gambling den in the boiler rooms with Valkyrie as his enforcer." Colt snickered
"Kids. Everyone knows the speakeasy is in the old forges and machine shop." Wilkes laughed
They were making their way back as a group from the armoury towards the dormitories when Ren peeled off from the group. Hina looked towards him
"Where are you going?" She asked
Ren pointed towards the cliffs from where they were launched from
"A meditation group is held up there, I have been going when I have the time."
"Got space for more people?" Hina asked
"Sure Yatsuhachi said it was open for all." Ren shrugged
"Yatsu is there?" Yara perked up
"No you are not going to make a nuisance of yourself." Hina said sternly
Katya grabbed hold of Yara
"Me and April got her, go on ahead and connect with the presence." She said
Jaune looked to the rest of his team
"You guys want to go as well?" He asked
"I have never really tried it before. But I would like to try" Pyrrha admitted
"Not for me, apparently I am too disruptive." Nora said
"Then can you help Katya and April wrangle Yara? She is likely to be a handful." Jaune asked
"What is up with her, she is normally less active." Nora asked
Jaune blushed slightly
"Let us just say she is going through a normal biological process and is likely to be a little hormonal." He said trying to be delicate
"Oh so she is on the rag." Nora said blithely as she walked off
Yatsuhachi greeted Ren with a half bow as they reached the spot overlooking the Emerald Forrest. Though the forest was failing to live up to its name with large sections still showing the damage from the recent forest fire that had gutted it. Looking closely one could see the Grimm skulking back to the forest. A distance away a group of fifth years had set up a sniper perch and was using the opportunity to practise their marksmanship. In consideration of the meditation group they were using silencers.
" Greetings newcomers, you are welcome." He greeted them in his deep bass voice
He waved them to join one of the circles that had been set up already. Ren pointed to the smaller circle
"That one is for the newcomers not fully used to meditation." He said
Pyrrha looked out over the forest.
"Should we not move closer to the academy it feels kind of exposed up here." She said
"That is why we have the fifth years and their perch. They get to practice and we can meditate in peace." Yatsuhachi broke in
Hina moved to an open spot beside Ren and got into the lotus position. Jaune and Pyrrha made their way to the smaller circle. They nodded to the bunny girl already seated there. Jaune extended a hand to her after they sat down
"Jaune Arc and my partner Pyrrha Nikos." He introduced them
"Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina." The bunny girl said shyly
Jaune turned to Pyrrha
"What do you know of mediation?" He asked
"That you are supposed to be clear your mind and breathe deeply." Pyrrha replied sheepishly
"Sure if you are a master. Meditation at it is core is purely for relaxing body mind and soul, yes controlled breathing is a part of itm for newcomers and the not so experienced either two things happen if they try and clear their heads. They get frustrated and achieve nothing or fall asleep. The second one being preferred. Now as a newcomer I would suggest thinking of the peacefull place you know and visualise it and think of nothing else but that place. Close your eyes, breathe in hold your breath and release it. And just keep doing that, and if you fall asleep don't worry you have not failed. After all the intention is to relax." Jaune explained
Jaune took Pyrrha hand and placed it in his extending her fingers till she rested one on his pulse point, before shifting loser and letting his knee touch hers
"You should be able to feel my pulse it will slow down as we meditate and you should be able to feel the vibrations of my breathing. Just think of your silent place and try to copy my breathing."
"Jaune… Can I join you two, I am still struggling to adjust to meditation." Velvet asked
"Sure." Jaune replied
They shifted to form a triangle and Jaune let Velvet take his other hand. Pyrrha extended her free hand to Velvet to complete the circuit. Yatsuhachi leaned over to Ren and whispered
"An unusual technique, it will be interesting to see if it helps them." He said
"That is the way we were taught." Hina spoke from their side
Hina lost herself in her breathing and start reaching out in the presence and felt those around her. In her mind she started seeing the others as the luminous beings the Jedi always talked about. This surprised her as she had not been able to see others that clearly before. Yatsuhachi and Ren being the clerest of the figures around her.
She felt something stir in the Force, to her mind it felt as if a wall was collapsing and three bright figures burst into her view and she could hear the Force singing in and through them. Her eyes snapped open and she blinked as she looked at the triangle
The three were a kaleidoscope of colours, red, gold and brown flickered between them from their connecting auras, and overhead a blue layer was forming. She noticed as the three slowly started raising from the ground. The song of the Force turned excultant.
"Fuck me running." Ren muttered looking on at the sight
"Indeed, brother, indeed." Yatsuhachi stated
Rendill. The Sarlacs Maw tavern
Vader moved through the front doors of the very shot up building. He ignored the piles of bodies on the ground both civilian and stormtrooper. He did pause for a moment as he saw the shot up blob on a destroyed lift platform. The Hut looked like it had received at leatd six full ammo clips. He moved forward to the corner where a person in a set of armour that was not white was tending to a blaster wound sustained by a grey clad woman. He noticed that Cpatain Dallors had had her uniform sleeve cut open and the armoured figure was spraying the graze wound with bacta.
"I thought I was clear I wanted this search to be discrete." Vader spoke behind the armoured woman
She put the bacta down and applied a dressing before turning around. She pointed to a grey clad body by the door.
"Then if that idiot was still alive he could have explained this clusterkriff to you. I told him and the troopers to stay back and let me make contact. He then decided and I quote " The Empire does not bow to the whims of criminals" end quote and ordered the troopers to affect a mass arrest. One of the retards decided to go down fighting and well this is the result." She said
Vader studied her for a moment, the harsh breathing the only sound in the room
"Did you at least learn something useful?" He demanded
"Not yet." She stated
She motioned for a set of troopers to bring forth one of the few survivors from the gang. The prisoner was a severely beaten Duros
"From what my guild records told me this one was Minasa's senior thug. If there is any useful knowledge here this one will have it. The only one who would have known more was Minasa but as you can see she is not in a position to answer any questions unless you have a Force technique to make the dead speak."
She paused and pointed to what had been the Hutts computer terminal
"I will see if I can retrieve any information but I doubt I will find anything. Your troopers shot the kriff out of it. The hookers and dancers might also be worth questioning, they might have overheard something usefull."
"Would you trust a prostitute with any information?" The officer who had followed Vader in spoke
The man was dressed in ISB uniform
"No, but males will spout of about how important they are when getting their dicks sucked or hoping to get it sucked. So a pretty girl with a nice set of tits and the hint of getting blown will get the average male telling you sensitive information quicker than you can torture it out of them." The woman replied
The woman and Vader turned and faced upwards at the same time. The ISb officer was speaking but was ignored by the two in favour of whatever drew their attention.
The woman was the first to recover.
"He is getting stronger." She said
Vader moved to the door
"Report to me when you have any useful information."
Keira waited for several minutes before being let into the lair of Vader. Vader was kneeling in front of a hologram of a cloaked figure. The figure turned to face her
"This is your hunter my apprentice?" The figure spoke
"Yes, my master." Vader replied
The figure studied her intently
"How curious, a force sensitive bounty hunter and a Mandalorian to boot. For your sake my apprentice I hope she is more stable than Aura Singh." The figure spoke after a while
Keira suppressed a shudder
"Should I come back and report later?" She asked
"Proceed Hunter Wren." The figure spoke
She shrugged
"No name had docked here and delivered the parts and supplies as he had been contracted to. However he was not solely in service to the garrison. Record indicated that he left with a Rodian and was taken to Minasa along with a crate with unknown contents. Returning to the docks he took another load from a ship now identified as a Zygerran slaver. From footage retrieved from the covert cameras the cargo appeared to be cubes of some sort. Interrogation of the enforcer revealed that the cubes were disguised stasis pods due to be sent to Jabba the Hutt. The slaver ship was found in low orbit a few days later, the crew dead." She reported
She paused before speaking
"From what the port authority found their airlocks were overridded and the crew was introduced to the pleasures of depressurization. Minasa posted a bounty on Noname when he failed to deliver his cargo. Last point seen was Agamar where he and his crew defeated several bounty hunter teams trying to board his ship." She concluded
Keira started pacing
"From one of the longest lasting dancers slash companions I learned that Noname was forced to start working for Minasa to save one of his crew. She mentioned that Noname had two demands. No slaves and no spice. I would think once he found his cargo was slaves he decided to not complete the delivery. The bounty on him and his crew is unusual." She said
"Unusual how?" Vader asked
"It specifies dead and is higher than one posted for a smuggler that dropped his load and ran. The enforcer suggested the reason was that Noname carried a second cargo that was meant as a way to kill Jabba. He suspects Minasa and the Zygerran had made a deal to eliminate Jabba. Minasa steps up to the big throne and the Zygerran gets a set of carbonite statues."
Vader looked around at her.
"Carbonite statues? Could the vermin not come up with something more original."
Keira crossed her arms
"Actually the statues exists. The statues were of Zygerran slavers encased in carbonite by one of the true Revans followers and given to the Hutt of the time as payment." She said
This brought the attention of both Sith up to full
"The true Revan?" Vader asked
"Yes the true Revan was a female and not a male as the Jedi and the Republic had been telling everyone."
Keira twisted her head in curiosity
"Are you telling me you have full access to the Jedi archives and had not bothered going through it." She stated
"All the records I have read said Revan was male." Vader said
"Then I suggest you access the chamber of secrets and find the truth for yourself." Keira replied
"What is this chamber of secrets?" Palpatine demanded
"The personal records of the grand Masters are kept in an archive behind the hall of Learning. Every Grand Masters notes are kept there and with that all the secrets they were privy to. The ones regarding Revan and the truth around her will be in the records of Vandar Tokare assuming Vrook Lamar had not tried to purge the knowledge." Keira explained
"And you know of this how?" Palpatine demanded
"The one who encased the Zygerrans in carbonite was an ancestor of mine." Keira replied
"Why were you in the hall of Learning?" Palpatine asked
"To scrub all of the latest mentions of my people from the databases. I can only assume my sisters have succeeded in erasing the records in the Senate buildings and the Royal Library on Alderan and The halls of records on Chandrilla."
"And why would you erase that knowledge?" Vader questioned
Keira shrugged
"My people has been actively staying out of the affairs of the Republic since the founding of our clans. Inevitably we had run into Jedi and Sith in the past. My mother having run into Kenobi and Windu at different times. As force sensitives we have no wish to be drawn into the Sith Jedi pissing contest, all we want is to be left in peace and as long as records of our existence exist we can be tracked. With it gone there is no record and anything I know is now obsolete, assuming I am not blowing smoke up your vent ports with tales of a hidden force community."
She looked to the two
"Traditionally we would not work for either side but right now I have very little choice in the matter." She stated bluntly
"So you do not believe in the Dark or the Light?" Palpatine asked
"We do, but we also believe that both sides are full of bastards that can not be trusted as our history has shown us repeatedly. For us we follow the true Resol'Nar and try to maintain the Balance. In terms of Force use we are closer to the Bendu than anyone else but we still maintain our distance from them as well."
She cleared her throat
"Getting back to Noname I suggest we try the planet of his crews families to see if they know something. Noname will not be hiding there or any place we know he has history with. Your bigger problem is how did he break through the blocks on him and how did he trigger the awakenings of the other two and how is it that he is seeming to be feeling stronger in the Force since the last time he registered on it."
Palpatine turned to Vader
" I expect results my apprentice do not disappoint me."
The hologram shut down and Vader got to his feet
"Where is the families of his crew?"
"Arkaxia. Just so you know you are likely to sense several force sensitives in that system." Keira replied
"Another hidden community?" Vader asked
Keira snorted
"Hardly. The Yuki have very few force sensitives, however their ability to use it has never truly developed. In terms of power the old Jedi initiates would be able to defeat the strongest Yuki force user without breaking a sweat. They can sense it and a few can levitate items and that is the extent of their abilities."
"I will give the orders, return to your room."
Keira looked to the bed where her minder was currently recuperating from the graze she took
"How are you feeling captain?" She asked as she started to take of her armour
"My friends and family call me Amy" Dallors replied
"And what brought this change about." Keira asked
"It changed when you stepped in front of a bolt for me. Thank you." Amy replied
Keira looked towards the bed Amy was lying atop. She was currently dressed in a bodysuit and had her red hair undone.
"Okay Amy, how are you feeling?"
"Better thank you." Amy replied
Amy looked at Keira
"You know there is something I want to know." Amy stated
"Sure. What is it?" Keira replied
"When you were brought before Vader and The Inquisitor you were sure it had been at least two months that you had been in captivity. From your records I noted you were kept sedated in the bacta tanks for a long while and kept in a sensory deprivation cells between your escape attempts and fed low protein meals deliberately. So how did you know?"
Keira smirked
"My dear Amy. It takes me two to three months average to go from fully shaven to full bush. That is how I knew."