RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

68. Flight of the Hyperion

This chapter is dedicated to my Uncle Jerry, 1933-2018.

Chapter 67: Flight of the Hyperion

After her latest meeting with the Vacuoan Council had concluded, Headmistress Luna Aria made her way to a spacious meeting room located not far away from her office which was where she would receive important guests visiting Shade. Upon reaching the finely-crafted wooden doors guarded by a pair of Vacuo Rangers armed with assault rifles, she patiently waited for her identify to be verified through her personal security keycard and accepted their salutes before pushing open the doors of the room.

The meeting room had enough space and furniture for an entire board of company directors to sit in comfortably around a huge mahogany table with advanced holographic and computer functions. Framed pictures of Shade Academy throughout history and its faculty hung at regular intervals along one wall, interspersed by tall curved pillars which held up a vaulted ceiling that wouldn't look out of place in a cathedral. The opposite wall had a long, curved balcony that could be accessed through another pair of wooden doors with beautifully-colored glass panes that would sparkle in different variations of colors, such as the way it shone in the currently setting sun.

Standing at the table's left-hand side were the representatives from Vacuo's military forces, Commander Thomas Strider of the Vacuo Rangers and Captain-General Canis Bailey of the elite Desert Guard. Strider was clad in a desert-themed uniform with his brown face showing a mostly calm expression, his brown eyes were earnest and had a bit of youthful exuberance that hadn't been stamped out of him from the harsh training of the Vacuoan armed forces. At his waist was sheathed a short sword with a curved pommel while on his right thigh was a holster that contained a customized silver and grey-colored pistol with an extended magazine compartment.

The Captain-General of the Desert Guard looked like a slab of solid muscle carved in the figure of a Mexican Wolf Faunus, his coarse and serious-looking face as merciless as the harsh sands of Vacuo itself. Standing at least a full head above Strider, the muscular Faunus was fully clad in a suit of pitted beige brown-colored armor plates and thick protective clothing not unlike the pilots of the Desert Guard who specialize in driving the Sand Speeders to traverse through the sand dunes. Sporting a cropped dome of greying-brown hair and stern steel-grey eyes, as well as a visible scar that stretched from his right eye sloping sharply downwards to his chin, he looked every inch a fierce warrior with his personal scoped rifle hanging by a thick strap to his back and a long ceremonial sword sheathed at the right side of his waist. Being the man in charge of the Desert Guard, Canis also had his own hand-picked squad from the 104th Battalion that made up the majority of the elite military forces of Vacuo known as the Wolfpack, comprising of highly-trained human and Faunus soldiers with incredibly versatile skills suitable for a wide variety of combat situations. He gave a polite nod in the headmistress's direction which she returned.

At the right-hand side of the table stood a pair of Remnant Knights of the Relentless Crusaders Legion of Vacuo, Fire Walker and Flame Weaver. The Knight Vanguard was clad in the heavy detailed plates of Aegis armor once more, his double-bladed sword and shield mag-locked at his back while his ornate helmet betrayed not a single shred of emotion behind the face-plate. Beside him was the assigned prognosticator of the detachment, clad in similar plates of gunmetal-grey with red trim while a brown hooded cloak hung from his shoulders. While the latter Knight was seemingly armed with a force staff that had a red Dust Crystal embedded at its top, at both sides of his waist were sheathed a pair of curved swords that could be easily drawn whenever necessary. While the headmistress of Shade hadn't witnessed the prognosticator fight personally, she didn't doubt that he was quite a intimidating warrior as well.

Heliosia Ainea, or 'Adara Aenia', as she was known to others not privy to certain truths about her, stood alongside Fire Walker clothed in her usual Huntress wear with her weapon Flameguard attached to its special holster at her back, while crossing her fingerless glove adorned with orange sigils-clad hands in front of her reddish-brown inner-shirt while having a relatively neutral expression on her tanned face. The small colored beads attached to both braids at either side of her face sparkled a little in the lights of the meeting room, and a soft rattling echoed through the silence as she turned her head to greet Luna politely as well.

Luna suppressed a small and barely noticeable frown when she noticed that her assistant Cedric wasn't there, but she remembered that he had informed her through a text message that he still had some paperwork to sort out before coming to the meeting, and so made a mental note to herself to remind him on the essential points later at another time.

"Thank you all for coming, please be seated." Luna gestured and everyone present took their seats, with Strider and Canis placing their own helmets on the smooth surface of the table. Fire Walker and Flame Weaver, however, did not remove theirs and remained silent with their respective helmets looking in the headmistress's direction as she sat down.

After mentally savoring a brief few moments of silence, she looked around the meeting room at the assembled individuals and spoke again, "Gentlemen, you may now provide me with updates on any situations relevant to the defense of Vacuo."

Canis nodded and reached out with a gauntleted hand to insert his scroll into a slot at the side of the table he was sitting, and a detailed hologram of the capital of Vacuo and its exterior surroundings beyond the Kingdom's thick walls was projected above the huge table that dominated most of the room. Luna especially noticed the variety of different-colored icons scattered throughout the vast city and its borders, which included sections of desert and jungles, no doubt marking the various positions of active Huntsmen and Huntress Teams, Desert Guard rapid-response units, and Vacuo Ranger squads currently in the field.

"What you are seeing now, Headmistress Aria, are the current dispositions of the Kingdom's armed forces and every active Hunter as of the past few hours. From what information we have gathered so far on the borders of the capital, so far there's been little changes to the occasional encounters with small packs of Grimm that were easily dealt with," Canis spoke in his gruff voice as he gestured with a couple of fingers at the image of the hologram above the table, "There have also been no problems so far with the various tribes that have been moving around the desert areas on their usual migratory patterns in and out of the walls."

"I see. Please continue to monitor the Kingdom's borders and should there be any changes in Grimm incursions or unusual activity among the desert tribes, inform me immediately." Luna nodded once in the direction of the Desert Guard Captain-General and turned her attention to Commander Strider, "What's the situation so far with the operations regarding the suppression of the Black Vipers' gang?"

"Headmistress Luna, with all due respect, there's no need to trouble yourself with the suppression of local unrest." Commander Strider replied calmly, "The Vacuo Ranger squads deployed around the capital and throughout the Kingdom have been chasing down several important leads based on the information that Adara recovered and provided us with. Many of their illegal operations, drug dens, gambling rooms and erm… massage parlors have been raided and a number of their associates have been arrested as well."

"And what about the remaining members who have gone to ground?" Luna asked carefully.

"After interrogating a number of Black Vipers who presumably made up their gang's leadership structure, we have managed to isolate and narrow down the areas where the remaining cells within the Kingdom. I have already assigned increased Vacuo Ranger patrols in those affected districts with additional backup ready on the wings should any of those cells surface again once more." Strider told them.

Luna's second question came easily, "How many members of the Black Vipers have the Vacuo Rangers arrested so far?"

"Around three hundred and forty-nine, over the course of roughly two weeks. About half of their number, I believe." The Vacuo Ranger Commander informed her after glancing at a report from his scroll, "A significant number came from a series of raid conducted around the capital, and most of them have charges that included assault, drugs peddling, extortion, illegal gambling, prostitution and even a few isolated cases of slavery. With more arrests coming in the following days, the Kingdom should see a drop in gang activity after seeing what had happened to the most powerful underworld gang in Vacuo."

The headmistress glanced at 'Adara' whose lips curved a little upward at the unintentional mention of her efforts in taking down the Black Vipers gang, before focusing her dark blue eyes back at Commander Strider and said, "Thank you for the update, and please continue with your commendable efforts in keeping the safety and security of the capital's streets."

"You can be assured of that, Headmistress Luna Aria." Commander Strider inclined his head politely, "The Huntsman your friend Ozpin sent us, Branwen, believes he has a lead on something but he insists to investigate alone right now."

"Qrow Branwen is a maverick, but one I believe we can trust," The raven-haired headmistress said as she looked back to the hologram hovering above the table and addressed everybody present once more, "After speaking with the rest of the Vacuo Council on behalf of General Ironwood, the council members have reluctantly agreed to allow a small Atlesian military presence to enter Vacuo, but they have been diverted to one of the outlying Vacuo Ranger military bases instead of the capital to avoid any… unwanted incidents. Due to the Atlas Fleet recalling most of their military forces to the northern Kingdom from their postings, he can only spare a single battleship and its accompanying support airships under the command of Captain Samson."

"How long would they be here?" Canis posed the question, "And do they have the necessary permission to operate on Vacuoan soil?"

"To answer your question, Captain-General, Captain Samson and his second-in-command Lieutenant Ellis of the battleship Allegiance will be operating from their borrowed Vacuo Ranger outpost for the next few weeks until further notice." Luna answered evenly, "And yes, I have already cleared the necessary paperwork with the Vacuoan authorities for them to operate within the Kingdom and provide assistance should the need arises for us to request their help. Since Captain Samson's battleship is carrying a sizable quick reaction force on board, they could possibly be the only assistance Atlas can send us at the moment."

"Understood, Headmistress." The Desert Guard wolf Faunus gave a nod, "I'll make sure the Desert Guard rapid-response units and Vacuo Ranger squads coordinate with them effectively when they arrive at the outpost."

"Of course. I'm sure you will handle those matters with due diligence." Luna replied with a small smile, "I will send the relevant information to you and Commander Strider shortly after the meeting."

A knock on the doors of the meeting room attracted everyone's attention, and they all turned to see the doors unlock and admitted a rather breathless Cedric who bowed apologetically while wiping sweat away from his forehead while clutching some files in his other arm, "My apologies for being late, Headmistress Luna. I just finished the paperwork for the latest batch of council meetings and I made my way here as soon as I was able."

"It's no problem Cedric." Luna inclined her head and gestured her assistant towards an empty seat beside Commander Strider and Captain-General Canis, "Please take a seat. I will bring you up to speed on what you missed later."

As Luna's brown-haired assistant sat down the headmistress knotted her hands together and looked at the stern visage of the wolf Faunus Canis once more, "Is there anything else that requires my attention?"

Strider and Canis shared a concerned look with each other before the Desert Guard Captain-General tapped a couple of buttons on the screen of his personal scroll, and the hologram showing the capital of Vacuo and its desert surroundings pulled back to a bird's eye view showing the endless sea of sand dunes and mountain ranges surrounding the walled city. Then a section of the image magnified and several images depicting something, or more accurately some huge things moving through the desert dunes appeared on the hologram.

"Oh Oum… are those Sanus Deathworms?" Luna turned her head towards the source of the voice and found that it was 'Adara' who had spoken, a not-so-subtle hint of dread in her voice.

"Captain-General, what am I looking at?" Luna asked as the knuckles of her knotted fingers tightened slightly while her lips drew into a straight, grim line as her expression turned deadly serious. She looked at the Deathworms, with one being absolutely huge, as long as a tower or a crane, while the smaller, more average-sized Deathworms appeared to be a big as a semi-truck.

"Your guest is correct, headmistress." Canis gestured at the images of the aforementioned Grimm on the hologram, "These images were taken by a Desert Guard rapid-response unit during their extended patrols out in the deserts. While there have been sightings of Sanus Deathworms among the desert tribes, such a large type of Grimm is rarely encountered as its high level threat made its kind an open target for legions of Hunters to band together and attack them, so there aren't that many left, and it only ever attacks when it senses high amounts of fear due to its huge size, so some superstitions and legends that have sprung up about them."

"This particular Sanus Deathworms is unique," Commander Strider pointed towards the largest one on the screen, a massive Deathworm burrowing out of the sand dunes and opening its mouth like a blooming flower, revealing endless rows of sharp teeth that no doubt assisted it to travel through the desert environment easily, "It has shown to have gathered dozens of other Deathworms as it moved through the deserts, and its projected path through the deserts seems erratic at best. Thankfully, the desert tribes have seen it from afar and hence given it a wide berth, but a couple of people who strayed too close weren't so lucky."

"That's an Elder Grimm." A careful voice came from Luna's right, and she turned to see Fire Walker gesturing plainly at the image of the huge Grimm. When the headmistress nodded the Knight Vanguard inclined his helmet and continued, "Or more accurately, it's a Grimm that grew enough to become one. There was one like this long ago, known among my Order as the Sand Devourer and its capabilities were terrifying enough to warrant my Order to strike against the monster."

"My Gods…" Strider swallowed visibly, "You warriors actually fought against something like that?"

"A long time ago, the Relentless Crusaders enacted a major mission to kill the Sand Devourer." Fire Walker steepled his fingers as he spoke, the red lenses of his helmet glinting a little, "After suffering… significant losses, they managed to lure it into the mountains and kill it with a powerful supply of explosives. While the Sand Devourer is long dead, it appears to have a successor."

"Commander Strider, can you plot a course from where this new Sand Devourer was first spotted to the latest sighting?" Headmistress Luna requested and the Vacuo Ranger Commander tapped on the screen of his scroll, and the images vanished except for that of the Sand Devourer, before small red circles began to appear on the map of Vacuo and its surroundings. A few seconds later the circles were joined by red arrows depicting the projected course the Elder Grimm would take.

The result was unnerving to say the least: The predicted course of the Sand Devourer and its accompanying hordes skirted dangerously close to the borders of the capital.

"That… that can't be good." Cedric murmured to himself as he stared intently at the image of the Sand Devourer and its projected course throughout the continent.

"Agreed." Luna murmured softly, her dark blue eyes taking in every detail

"How long before the Sand Devourer reaches the outskirts of the capital?" 'Adara' asked sharply, making everyone look at her.

"Given its current course and speed, I would say…" Strider made his calculations and double-checked it, "…four or five days, tops. Probably less if I am going realistically."

"Then time is not a luxury we have, if it somehow reaches the borders," Luna stated, "Any deviation from its intended path will more than likely cause catastrophic damage to the Kingdom's walls and the smaller outskirt settlements outside the walls."

"Then shouldn't we be evacuating the inhabitants of those settlements?" The Summer Maiden put forward, "They could be right in the path of the Sand Devourer for all we know!"

"How fast can you draw up a proper evacuation plan?" Luna turned towards Strider and Canis, "I will speak with the rest of the Vacuo Council to allow them sanctuary within the capital's walls until either the Sand Devourer and the rest of the horde pass by harmlessly or we deal with them ourselves."

"The Vacuo Rangers can send out squads on their Bullheads." Strider replied, "However, the main problem would be the desert tribes as they would most likely be on the move, so we don't know where they would be at the moment."

"We can handle informing the tribes." Flame Weaver gestured with his gauntleted hands, "The Relentless Crusaders know the travel paths throughout the desert well,"

"If that is the fastest way to get those civilians in the outlying settlements ready for evacuation and diverting the desert tribes from the path of the Sand Devourer, then I will approve this plan." Luna agreed with a nod, before looking to Strider, "How many Rangers are you delegating for the task?"

"I will send as many as I can," Strider promised before looking to Fire Walker, "Can you provide the information you have on their movements so we can keep up with them?"

"We will send it to you shortly," The Knight Vanguard promised before he turned to Flame Weaver, "Inform the other Knights to assemble later in the briefing room. I will inform them of the recent developments and their accompanying orders."

"As you command," The Prognosticator tapped the side of his helmet and began to speak in low tones, presumably transmitting orders through an encrypted communication channel to the other Knights patrolling Shade Academy and its surroundings from the shadows.

"Since everyone knows their appointed tasks, I suppose we can call this meeting to an end." Luna said as she stood up, with everyone else standing up as well and the hologram vanishing in the air above the meeting table. Commander Strider and Captain-General Canis both picked up their helmets and saluted her respectfully before taking their leave, followed shortly by Fire Walker, Flame Weaver and 'Adara'.

After informing Cedric of what he missed and dismissing him, Luna sat back down and pinched her temples with two fingers in an effort to make sure that she didn't fall prey to any headaches or migraines in the days to come. Between her duties on the Council and handling of other matters relating to the overall running of an Academy, there hadn't been much time for her to rest or relax at all.

Nonetheless, she made do with whatever she had at the moment and hoped that it was enough to tide her over for the time being, since even though she was a Guardian of Remnant she was nevertheless still human, and she knew her limits.

She looked out of the window to the courtyard and the city beyond to remind her of what she had to protect; not just Remnant, but Vacuo, its people, and her students. Luna knew that there would eventually be a time she would need to go beyond those limits, and she couldn't shake the feeling that such a time would be coming soon enough.

---

Emerald glanced over to Ilia as she kept watching the concealed entrance to the secret tunnel underneath Shade to make sure they hadn't been detected. The thief and the Red Fang operative had just finished a stealth-recon mission to take note of the Academy's overall layout, the best paths to use to traverse through undetected, and the times when the majority of the hallways were empty.

Ilia hadn't been exaggerating about the heightened security. In fact, it was probably tighter than she had initially reported, with additional patrols of Vacuo Rangers roaming about the school, and they were also authorized to stop any students and request to examine their I.D. cards. They had even seen a couple of Desert Guards standing sentinel outside the hallways leading to the faculty facilities and the headmistress's office, armed and armored in brown-grey plates while their nearly emotionless helmets seemed to be watching any and every direction.

The heightened security was definitely a big problem, but thankfully their lives have been made slightly easier thanks to the advantages they were given by Salem's spy on the inside. According to Ante, the agent had been operating from within Shade Academy for quite some time, and the information he had provided for the other associates working for Salem had also been indispensable as well. In spite of herself, Emerald couldn't help but wonder if the spy could have been among the hooded figures that were present at the meeting Salem had called for many months ago.

Gesturing for Ilia to keep a look-out, the thief took out her scroll and quickly contacted Tyrian. To her relief and disgust, he answered right away.

"I've been waiting to hear from you two, anything new to report?" The assassin asked.

"The security has increased slightly, especially around the tower where the Maiden is staying. It seems they might know something's up." Emerald told him.

"Hmm…" Tyrian grunted, "We expected heavy security, so it's nothing we can't handle."

"Are you sure the spy hasn't double-crossed us? He could still be loyal to Aria and is playing the part of a 'triple agent'." The thief suggested as she glanced at Ilia who shrugged.

"Oh no, no, no, no," Tyrian dismissed, and Emerald could imagine him waving an admonishing finger, "Mistress Salem knows how to pick her spies carefully. This prick wouldn't dare to play us unless he has a death wish. You met with him, correct?"

"Kinda, he hid himself behind a door in the underground service tunnels. After exchanging a trust password he slipped us the pass key to a secret passage and told us where it was and how to enter it, as well as times when there won't be a Vacuo Ranger guard patrol in that area, so we should we able to sneak into the tower easily." Emerald reported quickly

Apparently the tower campanile the Summer Maiden was currently residing in had a secret passageway that would allow her to escape in case of an emergency, and hardly anyone knew about it so it was no wonder Luna put her up there. However, the same passageway could also be used by Salem's agents to enter the tower residence relatively undetected.

"Good, good! I'll report to my goddess that we can make our strike once everything is in place. Get back to the base with the information you've found out so we can all go over the plan and make sure it's ready. Ante's about to return from filling Madame Viper on the details she'll need to know and Anansi is gathering up the Grimm even as we speak, he even as an Elder one coming, so this is perfect timing." The scorpion-human hybrid laughed with glee.

"Tyrian, why should we continue to wait?" Emerald asked, "Shouldn't we attack now, with you and Thorn coming over to our position and the four of us could make our move on the Summer Maiden ahead of schedule?"

"No way!" Tyrian retorted, "We are launching a huge assault on Vacuo as well, and the Summer Maiden has to be a part of that. If we were to take her earlier and somehow fail, Aria, the knights, the Desert Guards and the Rangers would scour the entire city and hunt us down. We can't risk blowing our cover until the time is right, is that understood?"

There was no mistaking the uncharacteristic seriousness in his voice. And given what whispers Emerald had heard about the psychotic assassin, Emerald knew she would not want to cross Tyrian if she could help it. So she shared a look with Ilia looked up from checking her personal weapon before replying, "Understood, it was just a suggestion."

"Well, forget about it. Hurry back now so we can finish our preparations, and make sure no one saw you leaving. See you later, chocolate beauties." He said in a mocking tone before Emerald ended the call.

" 'Chocolate beauties?' " Ilia repeated with a disgusted look on her face.

"Ugh! Why did we have to get stuck with the freak of all people?!" Emerald wondered aloud with a groan as they kept walking down the dark tunnel.

"You tell me, Sustrai. He's such a creep and a psycho that I can't even stand two seconds in his presence." Ilia agreed as she walked beside Cinder's disciple, "But I still don't know why Salem put him of all individuals in charge of the Red Fang…"

"Compared to him, Cinder's practically a saint!" Emerald gestured expressively, "You have no idea how much I want to put a bullet between those insane eyes of his!"

"Same here. I really hope he's among the casualties when this battle is over." Ilia voiced in agreement, earning an approving smile from Emerald.

---

Ozpin and Glynda stood in front of an idling Transport ship which was currently docked but ready to take flight once the word was given, as they observed the collective members of Team Beacon emerging from the school grounds and making their way towards the docking bay located at the far side of the impressive cliff that overlooked the secondary dock for water vessels.

Ruby and Blake wore the same outfits they wore previously on the White Fang mission, with the silver-eyed girl wearing red-soled black boots which contained four straps and buckles apiece while the rest of her legs were covered by dark, thigh-high stockings reached to a few inches below the hem of her combat skirt, which sported a black ammo belt around her waist which held the magnetic clip for Crescent Rose and its ammo, and her upper body sported a white high-neck décolletage blouse with short sleeves and brown-studded wristbands on her arms in addition to an overbust corset with a red strip holding it in place. Her signature red cloak, which flowed over her shoulders, had a singular clip on the right shoulder in the shape of her emblem.

Blake wore thigh-high black boots with gold-colored edging around the top with a white belt across her waist and over black fitted pants, and a sleeveless black crop-top covered her torso but bared her midriff to the world and barely covered Adam's scar on her left abdomen. The Cat Faunus also donned a stylish and long white tailcoat with dark grey lining, while her crop top had rectangular and diamond-shaped cut-outs over the neckline. A diagonal strap traveled across her torso that contained a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe Gambol Shroud, and her left boot had an additional belt wrapped twice around the thigh. Each boot bore her emblem in white on the outer side of her thigh, and white pouches are attached to both sides of her waist.

Yang, who was guiding her motorcycle Bumblebee alongside her, was clad in a dark-beige tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging which was unzipped halfway to show an inner orange crop-top and her exposed belly, while her hands and arms were covered by a pair of black fingerless gloves. The coat had darker brown short sleeves and sported a thick collar that completely encircled her neck with two long gold-trimmed rectangular tails and dark brown pants. A light-brown belt wrapped around her waist and over the tails of her coat, displaying two pieces of brown material trimmed in gold attached to it, with the first covered from her left hip to the back of the belt and then folded over the belt itself, and the second attached from the right hip and almost around to the other piece of material. She also wore nearly knee-length brown boots with gold caps on the heel and toe, and both caps were attached to a gold strap across the front of her ankles, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the pair of boots, a single small buckled strap on the upper outside of her boots, and a purple bandana tied around her left knee.

Weiss wore a dark blue dress which was covered by a white jacket, and near her collar was a large sapphire broach that has a trio of pendants dangling from it over her chest. The sleeves of her dress were cut off at the elbows and she also wore a white combat skirt with a pale blue hem, while her legs were covered in elegant lace-topped white stockings with dark blue shoes covering her feet. A white ribbon was wrapped multiple times around her waist, along with a white pouch presumably to carry additional Dust vials for Myrtenaster.

Team SSSN wore their normal outfits, since they were already perfect for Vacuo's environment they saw no need to change them, with the exception of Neptune who wore a maroon button-up dress shirt along with new black combat boots and an additional ammo belt around his waist. Team CFVY mostly wore their normal clothes as well, though Velvet had donned brown protective boots with thicker spaulders and vambraces along with short pant and shirt sleeves while Coco was bringing along a duffel bag of outfits to wear on the mission so she could decide later.

Penny wore her usual outfit with the exception of a longer skirt that reached her upper thighs with a green trim, seeing no reason to change as with the exception of extreme conditions normal climate variations tended not to bother her as she had been tested to be reasonably durable in most environmental conditions. Her mobile repair bay 'The Toolbox' followed behind her obediently by moving with small wheels on its underside, the green lines that decorated its top and sides glowing gently like any other electronic device.

Ren wore calf-high open-toed sandals which was met with white pants and a black sleeveless turtleneck that covered his torso which also had red tassel ropes tied on his flanks. His inner clothing was covered in turn by his long, dark-green, sleeveless tailcoat. His arms were also clad with pink-to-black detached sleeves that ran from his middle-finger to his forearms which ended in metal armbands.

Nora wore a white, short-sleeved shirt that had a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, while the sleeves ended near her wrists and almost met her matching pink fingerless gloves on each hand. She also wore a navy-blue and green-lined bomber jacket with her emblem on the back, while her shirt met with her pink skirt which started at the waist and ends mid-thigh. Her feet were covered by pink socks and calf-length white boots with pink laces, displaying her emblem on their soles. She was also clad in some armor plates that begins in the middle of the shoulder and neck, and ends by the waist.

Pyrrha wore the customized brown, gold and red armor her parents had gifted her some months ago with some additional personal modifications to further suit her fighting style, while Jaune was clad in his usual jeans with two belts, one to hold up his pants while the other was a Dust ammunition belt with brown pouches, and dark brown laced boots. He retained his black short-sleeved hoodie but he wore a modified white chestplate which covered a bit more of his upper abdomen trimmed with gold lining and similarly-colored bracers. He also wore black gloves with gold-colored metal armor plates over his fingers, and a red sash wrapped around his waist in the same style as his partner.

The headmaster raised an eyebrow at the heavy case the Guardians of the Aura Crystal seemed to be carrying, already knowing what was inside of it. While he didn't know why they were bringing it along with them, Ozpin guessed it would have something to do with meeting the Summer Maiden.

"You've kept good time." Glynda voiced approvingly, before gesturing to the open ramp of the transport, "As much of the staff is busy with their usual duties, I'm afraid no teacher will be able to accompany you, but given your histories we think you'll manage on your own for a day or so. Come along and board the ship, students, it's time we departed."

The students all nodded their assent, and as they began embarking up the ramp Ruby spoke up, "I guess Sharp Strike's already inside?"

"That I am, Ruby." The most recent teammate of Team Beacon answered as he appeared from the side of the transport's interior. He looked fixedly at Bumblebee as Yang wheeled it up the ramp by the hand-grips, Sun helping to push it from behind, "That's an impressive looking bike, Yang." He commented, a trace of approval in his voice.

Yang smirked and patted her ride lovingly, "I know she is, so where's yours?"

"I'll show you, and you can park your bike beside it." He replied as they got the bike up the ramp, and Sharp Strike then led Yang to the cargo area where their bikes would be properly secured for the short trip with cargo straps hanging from the metallic walls on either side of the motorcycles.

Ozpin turned and faced Jaune and Pyrrha to say, "Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos, if I'm not mistaken, I see that you're taking the Aura Crystal along."

They both nodded, and Jaune spoke up, "We are, we don't want to leave it alone for too long so we don't feel like we're shirking from our duties as its guardians. Besides, the security around Shade Academy is going to be tight already so it wouldn't hurt to bring it along."

"Besides, Heliosia did wish to see the Aura Crystal for herself. We might not get another opportunity for this, so I don't think it would hurt. Besides, the crystal will never leave our protection unless Headmistress Luna places it in one of her vaults for us." Pyrrha added with a small reassuring smile.

Ozpin nodded, "Very well, I trust your judgment on this. And if any threat arises, it will be safe inside of Shade's vaults, as you said. Besides, your real transport will have a small vault to keep the relic hidden like your room does."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, surprised.

"Erm, headmaster… what kind of ship are we taking to Vacuo?" Ruby asked from the top of the ramp.

Ozpin allowed himself a smile and replied, "The sooner we leave for Fort Lakeford, the sooner you'll find out."

With that, they boarded the ship and the ramp closed behind them so transport could begin to take off

As the ship's engines began powering up and everyone took their seats, Yang followed Sharp Strike to the middle section of the aircraft where passengers would store their luggage.

She was about to ask Sharp Strike a question, but it died in her throat upon spotting his customized motorcycle secured against the wall. Her lilac eyes widened as she took in the bike's silver-black with dark blue highlights color scheme with evident admiration, from its wide tires to its complex engine design and even its built-in weapons Yang could tell the bike was nothing to scoff at. She couldn't even recognize some of the mechanical components that could be seen on Sharp Strike's motorcycle, never mind those she wasn't aware of.

"Impressed?" The young knight asked, and there was just a slight hint of smugness in his voice.

Yang glanced at him, the competitive fire in her eyes lightning up, "It's a real beauty all right, but don't let it go to your head, shining knight. Bumblebee might not be as fancy, but she has it where it counts." The blonde brawler said proudly.

"I don't doubt that; your bike looks quite sleek and eye-catching as well." Sharp Strike replied.

"Wait till you see it in action." Yang said confidently before glancing at Sharp Strike's ride, "Still it has been a while since I have upgraded her…"

"Then perhaps that is something we can do after the mission." Sharp Strike offered before helping Yang secure Bumblebee to the opposite wall.

"By the way, what's your bike's name?" She looked up at the Remnant Knight who answered after securing the final strap.

"Swift Wing. It already bore that name before it came into my possession." Sharp Strike answered as they began walking back to join the others.

The transport soon rose off the docks and into the air before departing in the direction of Fort Lakeford some miles to the north-west. The engine note rose slightly, and inertia caused everyone's harnesses to tighten.

"So, have you heard from Uncle Qrow yet?" Ruby asked Ozpin as she sat across from him.

"I have, Miss Rose. He called me earlier today to provide an update on his current findings, and informed me that he had found a promising lead to Damien Ante. With any luck he will track down the criminal, and depending on the developing situation he might even enlist your help." Ozpin told the students as he placed his cane on his lap.

"Never a dull moment." Coco commented as she crossed her arms and leaned back

"Except when we're in school." Sun added, getting a few smirks and giggles from his friends.

"Well, as long as our uncle's doing okay…" Yang said with a shrug as she sat down between Ruby and Blake.

"Ruby, I have a question to ask you." Penny told her friend.

"Yeah Penny?" Ruby turned her head towards the android girl.

"Why do you think the Spring Maiden attempted such a desperate ploy? While I understand she cares about her fellow Maiden, she is also putting herself at risk from enemy attack. And what if her Knight protectors and the Guardians had refused to let her go and instead place her in strict protective custody?" The orange-haired humanoid posed.

"Well… I can't really answer that for myself since I haven't met her yet, but I think I do understand why she's risking her own life for her friend; because when you really care about someone, you'd do anything to help them, especially when their life is in danger, no matter how risky or dangerous it is." Ruby told her.

"It's like how we risked our lives to rescue you from the Atlesian military, or when we attacked Cinder's headquarters in Haven to save Ruby and Jaune." Weiss reminded Penny, "That could have very easily gone wrong but if we hadn't taken a chance this would most probably be a much darker world right now."

"That's an accurate summary of it," voiced Blake, "Sometimes you just have to go with your heart, do what you think is right even if it doesn't make any sense."

The android girl nodded her head, "I see. So the Spring Maiden attempted a bound-to-fail escape plan devoid of rationality, all to prove how much she would go to save someone very important to her. I know that there are times when logic doesn't apply to situations when emotions are involved, but this still gives me much to think about."

"That's your problem, Pen! Sometimes you can't think through a situation based on logic, you have to go with your feelings. If Sun didn't go with his feelings, we probably wouldn't have been able to find Blake and rescue her from Kane way back when she went off on her own to track down Claudandus." Yang pointed out.

"Hmm… being a human and/or a Faunus honestly sounds quite confusing." Penny eventually commented.

"It can be." Glynda remarked dryly.

"So Pyrrha, from what we were told this Spring Maiden girl is kind of a wild and free-spirited right?" Coco asked the female Spartan.

"That's the impression I got from Amethyst when I interacted with her. It seems your statement's accurate." Pyrrha replied.

"And what's the name of the Summer Maiden again? We should know the basics about these Maidens if we're to be protecting them." Ren commented from beside Nora.

"Yes, what's she like?" Velvet asked with curiosity.

"She's a wonderful girl with a kind heart, and she's apparently quite well-informed as well since she had studied enough of Remnant's legends to know about the existence of the Aura Crystal, which is one of the reasons we decided to bring the crystal along. Her name is Heliosia," Pyrrha announced to them.

As her latest words left her mouth, Pyrrha noticed Sharp Strike's helmet turned abruptly in her direction as he spoke, and there was a sharp intake of breath that everyone noticed.

"What was that name again?" Sharp Strike asked calmly.

Pyrrha frowned a little, "The Summer Maiden's name is Heliosia."

Ruby glanced over to him and asked, "Is there something wrong, Sharp Strike? You okay?"

After a moment of silence Sharp Strike appeared to recover, reaching up to adjust his helmet before saying "Yes, I'm fine. It's just… I once knew someone named Heliosia."

"Really?" Pyrrha asked, her eyes widening with surprise.

"Huh, that's odd since it's not exactly a common name." Ren pointed out.

"There was a bloke named Helios on the pirate ship when I was a young kid, he fell overboard and got eaten by sharks." Scarlet commented.

"Thanks for the input there, red." Sage murmured to his partner.

"So who was the Heliosia you knew?" Ruby asked her armored friend.

Sharp Strike sighed and said, "A close friend from another lifetime. One I haven't seen in a very long time."

"Well, maybe it's the same Heliosia." Nora suggested lightly.

"Why not? Crazier coincidences have happened to us." Yang remarked with a shrug.

Sharp Strike nodded absently and said "Yes, but still it's probably a different person altogether. No matter."

Everyone decided to drop the topic for the time being, with Glynda and Ozpin continuing to brief the group on the details of their mission. But all the same, the Knight Errant couldn't help but notice the inquisitive and curious glance from Ozpin as the ship flew through the sky over Vale.

---

"Task Force Omega, Commander Central, glad to see you all again." General Ironwood's hologram greeted to the people inside of the briefing room aboard the Retribution as it cruised through the snowy landscape of Solitas, hidden from view by its sophisticated stealth systems.

Central and his team of Omega Troopers all stood at attention inside of said room, all clad in their armor-plated suits, as the group had just wrapped up a small scouting mission of determining if the rumors of a Red Fang sleeper in the vicinity were true, but no such luck.

"General Ironwood. Wasn't expecting you to summon us again so soon, sir." Central saluted the Atlesian general smartly, "Sorry to report that those rumors were a bust. Nothing from the Red Fang."

"Knowing that those zealots are losing footholds in the kingdom is still good news. Exemplary work, Central." Ironwood said as he fixed Central with a careful look, "I've seen the results of your team's various operations and they have performed just as commendably."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir." Central gave a nod and gestured to his team who all stood behind him, their armored limbs and backs straight while their eyes were locked securely forward, "I wouldn't have accomplished those missions without the combined efforts of my team."

"I see." Ironwood acknowledged Central's modesty and continued, "I have new orders for Task Force Omega. Due to recent developments and fresh intelligence, the Task Force is hereby ordered to drop all current operations and make best speed to the Mistral capital."

"Yes sir." Central gave his acknowledgement, "May I inquire as to the reason why we are deployed to Mistral?"

"Specialist Schnee has recently tracked down a vital lead linking to a dangerous individual that Atlas Military High Command wants to take into custody at all costs. Due to the strained resources of the Atlas Fleet and S.W.O.R.D. branch in protecting all of Remnant, including our own Kingdom, I can't spare any more troops to send to her." Ironwood explained, turning his gaze to the gathered Omega Troopers, "However, she has requested that I send some much-needed support from the S.W.O.R.D. branch since the mission she's undertaking has a rather sensitive element to it, and since Task Force Omega is the only team with its own Strike Corvette that's available at the moment, I've chosen to give you this particular mission."

The Atlesian general noticed the stunned expression of Central's face had appeared for a split-second when Specialist Schnee was mentioned, but it soon vanished as his usual poker-like countenance swiftly reasserted itself once more.

"Orders acknowledged, sir." The Commander of Task Force Omega saluted Ironwood again, "My team and I will immediately change course and make best speed for Mistral then."

"Good luck, Commander." Ironwood said.

"Yes sir." Central nodded his head, "Thank you sir."

"And one last thing…" Ironwood locked eyes directly with the Task Force Commander, "I expect you to fully cooperate with Specialist Schnee during the mission and maintain a professional behavior at all times. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Central replied as his superior's hologram vanished and he turned to face the members of his personal team, "You heard the general. We have our orders, so let's get to work."

A loud chorus of "Yes, Commander" answered him as Raider, Jammer, Javelin, Shocker, Invictus and Fieros all saluted and then filed out of the briefing room back to whatever duties occupied their attention, except for Javelin who waited for the rest to go before the door to the briefing room whispered shut and he turned to look at Central.

"Of all the missions Ironwood could have given us, he chooses to give you the one with Specialist Schnee?" The sniper Omega trooper crossed his arms as he leaned against the nearest wall in a nonchalant manner.

"I know what you're thinking, Javelin… but orders are still orders." Central glared at his personal helmet as he turned it over in his hands.

"Look, I know you and that white-haired girl have some history way back in the Academy, but shouldn't you… you know… try and patch things up with her?" His fellow teammate gestured with one hand, "I mean, almost everyone at the Academy knew that there was something going on between the two of you."

Central looked up and fixed his closest teammate with a chilly glare, "Whatever happened in the past is still in the past, Javelin. I'm sure she's already gotten over me and what had happened between us, and I doubt our relationship have anything left to salvage after so many years apart."

Javelin held up both hands in a placating gesture, "Okay, I'm only just saying. No need to go all 'Great War' on me, Commander."

"For the sake of our friendship, Javelin… I advise you not to speak of this again." Central turned his helmet to face the front and looked at the emotionless faceplate which reflected a little of his face back at him, "But your empathy is much appreciated."

"I understand. I'll take my leave." Javelin saluted him smartly before turning to leave the briefing room as the door slide itself open, "You coming?"

"Just give me a couple of minutes. I need to collect my thoughts." Central allowed a small smile to appear on his lips, "I will join the rest of you later."

"Whatever you say, Commander." Central's friend replied as the briefing room's door slid shut once more, cutting off his view of the Task Force's Commander.

Central sat down in a chair next to a communications console and placed one hand over his face before muttering one word: "Damn."

---

It wasn't long before the transport reached Fort Lakeford, an average-sized military base built near a large, curved and rather beautiful lake which gave the facility its name. Situated on top of a natural plateau that was nestled between a couple of large hills, it was one of the well-known locations that served the Valean army well during the various wars. The western side of the base offered a wonderful view that of the forests that spanned its idyllic surroundings and the expanse of azure lake in the distance.

The compound was made up of about twenty buildings painted green and ochre scattered around the interior, with the main command center sitting in the middle of the complex and easily identifiable by the series of complex-looking communication equipment visible on its roof. Half a dozen barracks were placed in front of it towards the right along with four garages intended for vehicles flanking the far right wall of the base. Four huge hangars for airship storage and repairs stood at the front with a watchtower close behind and several large landing platforms arranged in a linear row in front of them. There was a mess hall at the lower right side section of the command center, and to the left was a long-range communications building with a slim tower sticking out of it. On the left side of the command center was a sizable armory, along with a trio of generators and a maintenance shed. An infirmary was not too far off, and beyond the barracks was a large building that served as a training center to hone and maintain the skills of the soldiers.

Looking through the view-port set into the metal walls of the transport airship, Ruby could see the small figures of sentries standing at watch-posts around the base, neatly parked rows of heavy battle tanks and ground vehicles moving between the various buildings with supplies and passengers, and various army personnel attending to the Bullheads and other airships that occupied the other landing platforms.

"Wow! It's such a beautiful lake!" She exclaimed while taking in the view of the lake from above.

"At least the soldiers living here get a nice view while they're stationed here." Pyrrha remarked as she admired the lake, remembering how much fun she had playing with her mother by the lakesides when she was young.

"I'll say," Velvet agreed as she snapped a photo with her scroll.

"Not the most impressive though, given what Atlas has to offer, but it looks reliable enough." Weiss commented as the airship began to descend to an empty landing platform where small intermittent lights flashed around its entire length and a Valean soldier holding signal lights was directing them.

Upon settling down on the landing platform, everyone got up from their seats and gathered their belongings and weapons for the trip, with Yang and Sharp Strike going to retrieve their bikes. When the ramp of the transport airship dropped fully Team Beacon was greeted by the sight of Councilman Henry approaching the disembarking group with a friendly face, escorted by a pair of Valean soldiers armed with assault rifles.

"Good timing, Ozpin. Your transport has just appeared on the base's radar and should be here shortly." Henry told them as he shook Ozpin's hand firmly.

"Excellent. It's nice to see Ross is as dependable as ever." Ozpin mentioned.

"So I guess Mr. Ross is our pilot again?" Ruby asked the Headmaster.

"Yes indeed, after all he has been through with you all, Robert has practically been assigned to your group." Glynda confirmed with a small nod, "Not to mention he was also recommended by Qrow."

"And I guess that's his first name," Ruby noted, "We really need to get more familiar with him."

"So, where is this mystery ship?" Yang asked as she held her hand over her eyes and looked out into the cloudy, near-twilight sky.

All of a sudden, Blake and Velvet's ears twitched and their heads turned towards the north-east, the Rabbit Faunus wincing as her ears lowered.

"It's coming," The Black Cat Faunus said as her ears twitched a few more times, with Sun, Yang, Ruby and Nora all resisting the urge to comment on how cute they found it.

"Oh, I almost forgot that you have sensitive ears," Weiss remarked to her teammate as she looked to where Blake was gazing at but she didn't see anything approaching Fort Lakeford from the west.

"I guess our ship is cloaked, huh?" Neptune muttered.

"That's correct, Mr. Vasilias." Ozpin confirmed as the sounds of an incoming aircraft got closer.

"We might want to clear the platform." Glynda suggested and everyone dutifully followed her off the landing zone to get out of the way.

Everyone's heads looked upwards as they heard the thunderous roar of incredibly powerful thrusters firing and filling the air, forcing some of them to cover their ears like Velvet had, only to see an impressive-looking, futuristic aircraft de-cloaking in the sky above the fort as it descended majestically towards the blinking lights of a landing platform designated for cargo carrier airships located at the center of the base.

The ship was a thing of spectacular beauty from bow to stern, sunlight glinting off its smooth matte black armor plating with grey highlights which covered every inch of its expansive form. Easily over five-hundred feet in length, and a massive wingspan of a hundred feet on each side like the wings of an enormous bird of prey. While it descended on four huge, main vectorable VTOL engines that were clearly top-of-the-line Dust-powered boosters to provide the necessary thrust and maneuverability it needed to fly through the skies, the assembled members of Team Beacon noticed there were also several other regular horizontal thrusters which flared to balance the advanced aircraft while at the back was a pair of tall vertical stabilizers curving gracefully upwards towards the end of the aircraft. Finally, its various wheeled landing gear extended from its underside to touch the grey concrete surface of the landing pad.

It had the overall impression of a deadly hawk when looked at from the top, and looked like a cross between an Atlesian supersonic stealth fighter and a huge carrier airship fused into one sleek and aerodynamic command-and-control high-tech aircraft. Everything about its angular exterior spoke about utilitarian military efficiency since it was built by the finest scientists and aircraft engineers of the Atlesian military's Science and Technology Division and furnished completely by the extensive resources of the Schnee Dust Company for the exclusive use of Team Beacon. It practically looked like it could carry an army of Huntsmen and Huntresses effortlessly, and provide them with all the necessary resources and support for extended missions away from the Kingdoms.

Its armaments were not to be dismissed, at least the ones that could be seen. In addition to two dust-missile arrays at each side of its wing fairings, there were also four retractable armored multi-barreled cannon turrets divided into two sets at the junction of between its wings and its upper fuselage which were obviously capable of anti-air defense. Lining the lower fuselage and chassis were the barrels of additional turrets which were also retractable and capable of both manned and automatic-targeting combat. Finally, the twin gatling-cannons mounted to the front underside of the fuselage presumably allowed the ship to strike back at enemies while employing its VTOL capabilities.

Once the roar of the thrusters and engines of the massive airship had lowered, Ozpin gestured to it with a free hand and said, "Team Beacon… meet your new aerial transport, the Mobile Airborne Command Ship Hyperion One."

"Whoa." That was the response of several members of the group such as Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Neptune could say. The others were stunned into silence by the sight of the imposing ship, or chose to remain silent.

"I have seen many Atlesian airships before, but this is definitely among the most impressive." Weiss remarked as she admired the vessel.

"To say the least." Pyrrha agreed before glancing at Ozpin and saying, "I take it the name Hyperion One means it's the first of its kind?"

"Once again, you are correct Miss Nikos. This is only the first in what will likely be a long line of airborne command ships, as there are others already in production for the Atlesian military. I took the liberty of speaking with General Ironwood to arrange things so that this particular ship could be used by Team Beacon for long term deployment or far away missions." The silver-haired headmaster elaborated.

"Pretty sweet!" Sun whooped as Hyperion One's engines finished powering down.

"I can't believe you went through all that trouble for us, sir." Blake said to Ozpin as she looked at him.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all, Miss Belladonna. Besides, the engineers behind Hyperion One did want it's first mission to be special, and considering this group is undertaking a mission involving the Maidens, I can't imagine a more special use for it. This ship will serve you well, Team Beacon." Ozpin told his students, a brief hint of pride evident in his voice.

"How fast is it?" Yang inquired as she glanced at the gleaming surface of the hull.

"I'm not sure in terms of specific miles-per-hour, but from what General Ironwood told us, it can easily obtain supersonic speed at full power, while also capable of cruising at sub-sonic speed if necessary." Glynda mentioned to them.

"Holy crud, and they're givin' this to us just like that?" Scarlet questioned, looking stunned.

"Sure looks like it, red." Sage chuckled with a smirk on his face.

"Oh this is gonna be great!" Yang proclaimed, pumping her mechanical fist up into the air as the main ramp of Hyperion One began to lower.

"I don't doubt that." Sharp Strike voiced quietly, sharing a knowing nod with Yang.

"So who else will be on the ship besides us?" Coco posed to Ozpin and Glynda, "Like, who will be piloting this?"

"Yeah, I don't think you'd expect us to run the ship by ourselves, right?" Neptune added, scratching his hair with one hand.

"The ship is fully automated, but it has a crew of two people," Glynda told the students, "You're already familiar with Robert, or as you know him as Lieutenant Ross. There's also a co-pilot who serves as a navigator and communications operator, and if I'm not mistaken I believe Miss Polendina might be familiar with her."

"I do?" Penny said, a bit confused as the ramp met the concrete of the landing pad.

Two figures emerged from entrance of the ship at the top of the ramp, which led into open cargo bay of the airship. Team Beacon could identify from their outfits that that the two were the pilots of the Hyperion One and recognized the familiar form of the man on the left, the Valean military pilot Robert Ross, easily identified with his buzz-cut graying brown hair and neatly trimmed beard though he was now wearing the white flight-suit of Atlesian forces, with the three gold bars signifying his rank on both shoulders instead of his usual Valean uniform. He nodded at Team Beacon and gave them a polite smile, but two members of the team didn't really notice, more preoccupied with the female figure beside him.

Ruby, and especially Penny, were surprised to see none other than Ciel Soleil with her brown skin and short navy-blue hair. It was unmistakably her, right down to the familiar blue beret and the gold markings on her forehead. Ciel's usually emotionless face remained stoic, but the corners of her mouth twitched a fraction upwards as she saw Penny among Team Beacon a few meters from the bottom of the ramp, clearly glad to see her former partner again. She was also wearing the same type of flight uniform like Ross, albeit one with some blue highlights in some places with the rank of a Lieutenant displayed on her shoulders. Despite being in her flight-suit, Ciel was also armed as her pilot clothing sported two pistol holsters which were connected by magnetic clips at either side of her waist.

"Ciel?" Penny asked, stunned.

"Hello Penny, my apologies that it has been so long but we've both been busy." Ciel told her old partner as she and Ross stepped down the ramp.

"You know this girl?" Nora tilted her head as she looked between Penny and Ciel.

"Yes, she used to be my partner in Team MAPS," Penny elaborated, "You might recall she fought with me in the team rounds of the Vytal Tournament."

"Yeah, I remember you. Long time no see, huh?" Ruby greeted Penny's former partner.

"Indeed." Ciel said simply.

"Still the quiet type, huh?" Ruby guessed, which earned her a small nod from the girl.

"So what're you doing here? You part of the ship's crew?" Sun asked her.

"Yes I am. After the fallout of the Vytal disaster, our team was split up since I was no longer assigned to keep an eye on Penny. While our teammates returned to Atlas Academy, I decided to return to my original goal of studying to be a Specialist of the Special Operatives Unit." Ciel explained.

"So if you're still training to be a Specialist, what are you doing here? Weiss questioned.

"Due to my excellent performance on the flight simulators and serving as an assistant to high-ranking Atlesian officers on airships, I have learned enough about them to become efficiently capable of helping to operate one. And given my history with Penny, General Ironwood decided it best that I be assigned to not only aid my former partner in her new missions, but to gain expertise on a new type of airship as well." Ciel elaborated calmly.

"Really, so what would you be doing?" Weiss inquired.

"I can assist Mr. Ross in flying the Hyperion One, as well as operate the various other functions such as the navigation and communication systems. To be as efficient as I can be, I have learned to be quite the multi-tasker and I hope my assistance will serve you all well." Ciel told Team Beacon as Penny took a step forward.

"Well, whatever the reason, I am so glad to have you back, friend Ciel!" The android girl declared as she suddenly hugged Ciel, who reacted by seizing up and her face gaining a rather awkward expression.

"And I am glad to be with you as well, Penny." Ciel said woodenly. Despite her awkwardness, it was clear that she was somewhat glad to be back with her old partner.

"I guess you're gonna have to get used to Penny hugs again." Ruby joked lightly as a grinning Penny gently released Ciel from her hug.

"So Robert, how was the flight over here?" Ozpin asked Ross.

"Smooth flying, boss. This baby handles pretty well for a new ship, but I suspect teething troubles will show up at some point, but for now I'm just happy to be flying something advanced like this. Besides, it's not everyday an average joe like me gets to pilot a new top-of-the-line ship." Ross told Ozpin before he looked back into the ship's open doorway.

Ciel saw Ross look in her direction and something unspoken passed between them both, and the co-pilot turned back to Penny and said, "Doctor Polendina sent his best wishes, Penny. And there's something else for you..."

"Ooh, a surprise?" Penny beamed, "What is it?"

Ross and Ciel's heads turned back towards the top of the ramp just as a third figure appeared through the doorway, a person Team Beacon had never seen before, although the thick armor plates of black, steely grey accents and blue highlights brought to mind the elite special operations troops of the Atlesian military. The masculine, but slim looking individual stood taller than both Ross and Ciel, and wore a heavily-modified helmet that enclosed his head completely with a smooth face-plate at the front. Some of the blue components scattered across his body and limbs seemed to glow a little not unlike that of Penny's which was were green. Ruby noticed the initials 'Mark VI' along with the emblem of the Atlas on the top right of his chest-plate, along with the insignia of Task Force Omega boldly-displayed on his upper right shoulder-plate. He stood with his gauntleted hands loose by his sides, while his black and grey armored helmet scanned the members of Team Beacon before alighting on Penny, who he specifically gave a small nod of greeting.

The armored figure walked down the ramp, thick boots producing thudding sounds until he was a small distance away from the android girl whose neural processors were operating at peak efficiency to process the thoughts circulating within her own CPU.

Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Velvet, and some of the others noticed the surprised expression on Penny's face, her green eyes widened slightly, her mouth dropping open a little to form an 'O' of astonishment. It was clear that she doesn't quite know how to react to the newcomer, and there was certainly something about his bearing that seemed to give the impression that he wasn't human nor Faunus.

"Wait, who is that?" Sun crossed his arms, looking to Sage who shrugged.

"Don't have a clue." Neptune said with a shrug of his own.

"Penny, are you okay?" Ruby asked, concerned.

The orange-haired android glanced at her friend and replied, "I… I am not sure, Ruby. There's something about him that is... familiar to me, but I lack sufficient information to know who he is."

Ciel gestured with a hand towards the tall Atlesian trooper clad in custom armor, "Would you like me to introduce you to each other?"

"That will not be necessary, co-pilot Soleil. I can handle the appropriate introductions myself." The armored figure said in a clearly synthesized male voice through his modified helmet, "Salutations, Penny Polendina."

"Salutations to you as well!" Penny piped up as she brought up her hand in a salute to mirror the one given to her by seemingly daunting individual, "May I ask who you are?"

"My designation is ETAM6 - 01NL, although my given name by Dr. Polendina is N1CK3L." The armored soldier said smoothly, "I am pleased to finally meet you in person, Penny."

He extended a gauntleted hand towards Penny who reached out and shook hesitantly but politely.

"N1CK3L?" Ruby quipped as she rubbed her head, "What kind of name is that? Wait, you mentioned it was your given name. So that means you're…" Penny began, only for N1CK3L to cut her off.

"Perhaps Dr. Polendina's recording can provide some answers for you." He said as he brought up his right arm, on which a complex Tacpad was attached to the gauntlet and tapped the blue screen there. There was a soft beep, and almost immediately a small hologram of Dr. Polendina flashed into existence, his hands clasped in front of his lab coat and a kind smile on his bearded face.

"Greetings, my dearest Penny." Dr. Polendina's hologram spoke, "If you are seeing this recording of mine it means that you have met your 'brother', N1CK3L in person. I apologize that I can't be there personally to introduce you to each other, so I hope this personal message will suffice. N1CK3L is an Enhanced Tactical Android I helped create for the Atlesian military, but like you I have chosen to give him a unique personality of his own in order to distinguish him from a mere machine. You will also find that N1CK3L also has quite a few tricks up his sleeve as well. I hope the two of you can accept each other, since you are, in a sense, siblings. I look forward to seeing you both back in Atlas if time allows it, and good luck to the both of you in your endeavors, Penny and N1CK3L. You both will always be within my thoughts."

The scientist's hologram disappeared and N1CK3L's armored helmet's retracted to show the smooth synthetic skin of the android's face and his subtly glowing blue eyes that bore irises similar to Penny's which looked like a shutter of a camera. He then gave her a warm friendly smile, or what passed for one, and noticed that her own face had brightened considerably, and that she pulled off a smile much better than he had.

"So, I am no longer the world's only synthetic person?" Penny felt herself grinning as she processed the new information, "I am so happy that I can meet you, my little brother N1CK3L!" With that she jumped forwards and hugged the taller male android, who initially had a perplexed expression on his face before gently embracing his smaller female sibling.

"Little brother?" He repeated, unsure

"I guess this is surprise day." Coco chuckled as she watched the scene unfold, "We get a new teammate, then we get a new ship, and now we learn that robo-girl here has a brother?"

"When did this happen? And why didn't any of us know about him, especially Penny?" Ruby questioned with wide eyes.

"Unless my ears are failing me, that is what I believe we all heard from Dr. Polendina's message." Ozpin answered.

It was a couple of long seconds later before Penny released herself from N1CK3L, who turned to look at the entirety of Team Beacon and said, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Team Beacon. I have also heard quite a few things about your various exploits as well."

"So… what do we call you, exactly?" Weiss inquired.

"As I stated earlier, I was given the designation ETAM6 - 01NL, also known as Enhanced Tactical Android Mark VI – 01 N1CK3L." Penny's brother answered, "To make things much simpler, just call me N1CK3L."

"Yeah, I think we'll go with N1CK3L" Jaune quipped.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sage chuckled.

"So N1CK3L's thoroughly programmed for combat?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes." Ciel replied, "From what I know, he has been programmed thoroughly to serve in the Atlesian military forces and he's clearly stronger, faster and far more durable than any other Atlesian Knight model in the field."

"Well, you sure look like you can kick some serious butt even without that armor." Neptune said to the android, "No offense to you, Sharp Strike."

"None taken, Vasilias." The knight errant answered.

"Well, now you're just making me blush, Neptune Vasilias of Team SSSN." N1CK3L shook his helmeted head a little, "But your compliment is nonetheless appreciated."

"So you've got feelings like Penny?" Sun asked him.

"I do actually, thanks to my advanced personality construct programmed by my creator Dr. Polendina." N1CK3L looked at the monkey boy and tapped at the side of his helmet for emphasis, "If I am not wrong, I actually carry the brain of a human watchmaker."

"What?" Sun's blue eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious?"

"No, Sun Wukong." N1CK3L replied in a deadpan voice, "Not at all."

There was an awkward silence which descended between Faunus and Android before N1CK3L winked one of his blue eyes at Sun, "I am actually joking, if you did not know." With that his human-like face shifted into something resembling a good-humored smile.

Knowing that they'd been fooled, it wasn't long before polite laughter rippled through the assembled members of Team Beacon, and even Sharp Strike gave a quiet chuckle.

"He got you there, Sun!" Neptune nudged his team leader.

"Yeah, yeah…it won't happen again." The monkey boy waved his hand with a little embarrassment.

"So, can we get a good look around Hyperion One? If we're gonna be traveling in it, we might as well know our way around." Yang suggested to Ciel.

"You have a point there. Fortunately, I know my way around well enough to provide an adequate tour." The co-pilot agreed.

"You may go ahead, Team Beacon. We have some matters to discuss with Councilman Henry." Ozpin permitted as he and Glynda turned to face the Valean Councilman while Ross approached them.

"Is there a place Sharp Strike and me can place our bikes?" Yang asked Ciel as she gestured to Bumblebee and Swift Wing.

Ciel nodded again, but she briefly eyed the armored figure of Sharp Strike for a moment as though appraising him, "Yes, you can keep them in the main staging area on the first level. Follow me." She instructed.

Everyone began following Ciel up the ramp to begin the tour of the ship, but Penny and N1CK3L didn't make a move. They both stood still and kept looking at one another, as if waiting for the other to continue the conversation.

"Penny? N1CK3L? Aren't you guys coming?" Ruby asked, turning around and walking backwards up the ramp.

"Would it be all right if I stayed behind for a while? I think my little brother and I have some things to discuss." Penny said to her best friend.

"And the title of 'little brother' is undoubtedly one of those." N1CK3L mentioned with one eyebrow raised.

Ruby suppressed a laugh before waving at them and saying, "Okay, I guess you can catch up later then!."

Penny waved goodbye to her friends as they entered the ship before turning back to her fellow android.

"So N1CK3L, how long have you been online?" She asked a little hesitantly.

"About seven months and two weeks, according to my internal chronometer. Well, two years if one were to count my early prototypes that I resided in the Special Research Robotics Branch before Dr. Polendina upgraded my central processors and personality construct. Before that I was much more of an unfeeling machine than I am now," N1CK3L told her, "And about this 'little brother' designation…"

"Why would you object to it?" Penny asked, tilting her head, "Counting my original body, I have been fully online for about three years, four months, one week and three days, so it would seem that I am definitely older than you by a decent margin."

"That is logical, but I was designed to be physically older than you are by our creator Dr. Polendina. From what I understand, you have been built to resemble a sixteen-year-old human female while I have been designed to be at least twenty-two years of age, therefore I am older than you in terms of our outlook." N1CK3L pointed out.

"While that may be true, but I was still designed and built far earlier than you were. So if we were to go by this logically, I am still the big sister and you the little brother." Penny argued in a friendly, chipper tone of voice, while raising a finger to illustrate her point.

N1CK3L considered what she had said for a moment, before nodding in agreement, "I understand your logic, Penny, though I may find it a little… disappointing to be designated as the younger of us."

"Oh," Penny's smile dropped a little, "Well, I hope I did not hurt your feelings."

"No, you did not Penny. I just find it… strange. Besides, I do not know if I have feelings that can be hurt." N1CK3L told his sibling.

"Well, I know I have feelings. Even if I am a synthetic, I have been through enough in my life so far and have experienced enough emotions to know that my personal feelings are real, and if mine are then I am sure yours are as well. After all, we were both created by Dr. Polendina right?" Penny replied.

"I see your point, but I admit I have not had the same emotional experiences you have, sister. I must admit in that field you are much farther along than I am, having personally interacted with a variety of different and unique individuals." N1CK3L gestured with one hand as an indication to the departed Team Beacon.

"Then maybe I can help you with that." Penny offered kindly, "And my friends can become your friends and help you as well. I doubt I would be the same person I am today of not for my friends like Ruby."

"Friends…" N1CK3L voiced thoughtfully, "I must admit I do not have what one would classify as friends, more like acquaintances or teammates given who I have encountered in the Atlesian military forces. I supposed that if I am to become more like a proper person, then learning from you would be a great help."

Penny smiled and replied, "I would be more than happy to do so, my brother!" She leaped forward and hugged him again.

The taller android didn't quite know what to make of these things known as 'hugs', since he had only seen a few occasions of Atlesian civilians performing such an affectionate gesture. The most contact he had with Dr. Polendina himself was a couple of meaningful handshakes, although such gestures weren't as enthusiastic as what Penny had done with her intense hugs.

A few seconds later Penny drew back and said, "I supposed our creator told you about me already?"

"Yes, he did. Dr. Polendina would often speak about you while making adjustments to my body." N1CK3L answered her, and tapped his chestplate for emphasis, "And I also know of certain encounters you have been involved in the Kingdom of Vale; like the time when you fought together with Ruby at the Vale Port against a criminal known as Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, and your battles during the Vytal Festival."

"Well, since you know so much about me… why don't you tell me about yourself, little brother?" Penny offered as she sat down on the gently slanted ramp, and patted the spot next to her for N1CK3L to sit on, "Perhaps you have some interesting experiences of your own that you would want to share with me?"

"Well, I do have a few." N1CK3L managed a small smile as he complied and slowly lowered himself to sit next to her, resting his gauntleted hands on his knees, "I hope you enjoy them as much as I do to yours."

And so he began to tell her his story.

---

"Hyperion One was designed and built to be the first of many Hyperion-Class ships by the FutureTech Corporation under the orders of General Ironwood as a suitable way for the Atlesian military to quickly respond to any dangers threatening the four Kingdoms or any place on Remnant; so this means that ships like it will be assigned to the military's top strike forces who have distinguished themselves in terms of their performance records. From what I was told, Headmaster Ozpin convinced General Ironwood to allow the lead ship Hyperion One to be used by you all for its first official mission." Ciel told the members of Team Beacon as she led them through the first level of the ship.

"How many of the Hyperion-Class ships are there so far?" Weiss posed the first question.

"From what General Ironwood told me, there was only six made so far." Ciel replied, and gestured to their surroundings, "This ship is the very first out of the half-dozen in existence."

"Man, do I feel lucky." Neptune remarked as he admired the overall structure of the vessel as they exited the staging area, where Bumblebee and Swift Wing were being stored in their respective clamps alongside the slightly larger bulk of a pair of Atlesian Nomad All-Terrain Armored Personnel Carriers.

"You should. It was designed by the finest minds of the FutureTech Corporation working together with the S.D.C. Research and Development Division. This Mobile Airborne Command Ship will be your primary transport and mobile command center for missions around Remnant. It possesses a wide variety of capabilities, including enough supplies to last for all four teams out in the field as well as providing emergency backup supplies whenever necessary. Due to its state-of-the-art flight systems, the ship is capable of staying airborne for five weeks if long deployment is required, and also allows for an impressive flight range before refueling becomes necessary." Ciel exposited.

"Wow, so Ross wasn't kidding when he said this ship was top-of-the-line." Coco quipped.

"Yeah, is it appropriate for us to be using this ship?" Velvet wondered as she looked around, "I mean, shouldn't it be used by the Atlesian Specialist teams like that Task Force Omega we saw during the mission to Vacuo?"

"Perhaps that would be a more practical use for it, but since Task Force Omega already has their own transport and if General Ironwood didn't think this group's performance qualifies them for a transport ship of their own he wouldn't have agreed with Headmaster Ozpin. Now, besides the staging area, this level is also made up of the main cargo holds for supplies and an engineering and maintenance lab for the vehicles." The co-pilot pointed at the different places with her fingers.

"An engineering lab? Wow, this ship really does have everything." Jaune said, obviously quite impressed.

"What are those things?" Scarlet asked, pointing to the large vehicles not far away from them; six-wheeled armored personnel carriers decked in similar colors as the Hyperion One, were modified versions of the more heavily armed and armored versions used by the Atlesian military. Protected on all sides by thick armor plates and armed with a primary twin-barreled main turret as well as side Vulcan machine-guns for armaments,

"Those are Atlesian Nomad All-Terrain Armored Personnel Carriers. Heavily armed and armored combat vehicles, each of them can carry a couple of Huntsmen teams on board while providing them with defensive and offensive options. The driving and weapon controls have also been adjusted significantly by the Atlesian scientists to make them easier for those inexperienced to pilot them." Ciel explained.

"And the inexperienced ones would be us." Blake guessed correctly, confirmed by a nod from Ciel.

"So what else does this ship have? I would love to find out what this big beast can do." Yang said eagerly.

"Well, I suppose I could show you the engine room before going to the upper levels." Ciel mentioned before leading them down the reinforced steel-plated hallway of the ship and into the cargo room where they walked up a wide metallic staircase onto the second level.

"This is the primary entrance to the engine room." Ciel said as she led them over to a large metal doorway that looked thick enough to withstand an explosion. She slid her personal I.D. card through the scanner which promptly flashed green, granting entrance, and led them into Hyperion One's engine room, allowing the members of Team Beacon lay their eyes on the advanced technologies that made up the aircraft's impressive engines from the safety of the gantries around its circumference.

"Other than its powerful dust-powered generator engines which allow the ship to reach supersonic speeds at maximum thrust, the Hyperion One also has a series of backup engines non-reliant on dust in the event of a shortage or lack of the fuel material. Due to its VTOL abilities and a set of 'air-brakes', the ship is also capable of performing what would otherwise be dangerous moves for lesser ships without stalling such as performing a full mid-air stop before changing directions into a new flight plan." Ciel said before leading them out of the engine room and allowing it to lock behind them, "In addition, this ship also possesses an array of devastating armaments that makes it a dangerous opponent to be reckoned with by enemy ships."

"Ooh, it's about time we got to the weapons!" Ruby said excitedly with a big grin on her face, "What do we have?"

"Altogether, Hyperion One has two dust-powered missile arrays with six Multiple Independently Targeted missiles each underneath either wing, four retractable armored multi-barreled cannon turrets divided into two sets at the junction of between the wings and its upper fuselage for anti-air defense. For offensive strikes on the ground, we have options in the form of a series of twenty retractable gunner turrets within the main chassis and a twin-gatling cannons mounted to the front underside of the fuselage." Ciel explained.

"So that means if we come across any Grimm hordes along the way, we can just blow 'em away without the usual hassle," Sun commented, intrigued.

"Okay, I think I'm in love with this ship!" Ruby said, throwing up her hands and getting Weiss to roll her eyes.

Ciel ignored Ruby and addressed Sun with "Indeed, now please follow me to the rest of the second level so that you may see the rest of the ship." Ciel said as she guided the group over the catwalks overlooking the cargo hold to a door at the far side, before adding, "This isn't the only way, in case you were wondering. There are two elevators and another staircase near to the ship's stern."

The group filed neatly into the second level of the ship, with Nora asking curiously, "So… what's on this floor?"

"This is primarily the living area." Ciel began speaking again, "Hyperion One has a total of four main cabins for its passengers to rest and recuperate in comfortably during transit. Each cabin has the necessary accommodation to hold one team, and on the next level there are six smaller cabins towards the front for crew members and guests. There are also two bathrooms with four cubicles each, with the one on the port side of the ship for men while the one on the starboard side is for women." Ciel helpfully pointed to where both bathrooms were as they passed them.

"Let's not get them mixed up." Yang joked which got some smirks and chuckles from the other members of Team Beacon as they arrived at an intersection between the four main cabin rooms.

"Yes, let's not since there are still rules to be followed on this ship." Ciel agreed before continuing, "Towards the back of this level is a secure holding room known as 'The Vault', which is essentially an interrogation room with walls made of silicon-carbide titanium alloy, very resilient."

"Interrogation?" Velvet repeated, her brown eyes widening.

"Makes sense, this bird was meant for military purposes after all," Coco noted, "Plus it might come in handy for us one day, like the time we did have to interrogate that White Fang punk back in Vacuo. Who's to say something like that won't happen again?"

"A fair point, Adell." Agreed Sharp Strike.

"The Vault, as well as the armored storage rooms below, can also be ejected from the ship during emergency situations that endanger the safety of the crew, such as to prevent a prisoner or precious and/or dangerous cargo from falling into enemy hands, or to prevent life endangerment in the events of a toxic leak. The designers took everything into account." Ciel said evenly.

"Sure seems that way," Blake remarked.

"So why don't we avoid storing our belongings in one of those storerooms, just in case something goes wrong and we lose them forever?" Yatsuhashi suggested, getting a chorus of agreements from the others.

"Actually, there are storage lockers beside the bunk beds in each of the cabin rooms for your personal items. I would advise you all only to use the storage room to store any items that are of the utmost importance." Ciel added, to which everyone nodded in acknowledgement.

"May I inquire what's that room at the front for?" Ren asked, pointing to a spacious-looking windowed room at the front of the level. Ciel nodded and led them into the aforementioned room and almost everyone gawked at the well-appointed lounge area, with two large sofas facing a table made of near-transparent glass and bright veined marble, a vast television screen on one wall with surround-sound capabilities, several comfortable-looking chairs scattered around the place, and stools in front of a counter that separated the lounge from the kitchen. There was also a nice-looking bar with an accompanying transparent display of presumably alcoholic drinks set opposite the counter and close to a transparent view-port gallery that seemingly looked fragile but was instead built with plexiglass armored with a hardened metallic alloy compound.

"This is the commons lounge and the kitchen area, for rest and recreational purposes and meals. It can also be turned into an extended briefing room whenever necessary, as it has a number of wall-mounted system consoles for strategic operations." Ciel informed them.

"And it also has a really nice bar," Neptune walked over and looked at all the different bottles of alcoholic drinks and ice-making machine, "I take it we're not allowed to touch them?"

"No, those drinks are locked with a secure keycard that the Flight Captain has, and they are reserved for guests. Besides, I doubt most of you are at the proper age to drink anyway." Ciel said and gestured at the kitchen, "However, I am sure the kitchen has plenty of beverages more suited to your liking."

"I think we better keep Uncle Qrow away from this level if he ever comes on board." Ruby whispered over to Yang who snickered and nodded.

"Is that big window in the gallery a good idea? Seems like a well-placed shot from enemy fire could shatter it." Jaune pointed out as he surveyed the room, while everyone decided to drop their stuff in the lounge for the time being but still keep their personal weapons at hand. Due to their roles as the current Guardians of the Aura Crystal, Jaune and Pyrrha still carried the case with the sacred crystal with them.

"There's no need to worry, Arc," Ciel dismissed with a wave of her gloved hand, "In case of combat situations, the gallery window is automatically sealed off by a reinforced armor shield. And that also applies to the other viewing apertures in the cabin rooms as well."

"Co-pilot, I do have a question." Sharp Strike inquired and Ciel turned her attention to him, "May I ask what purpose that sizable room behind the top left cabin serves?"

"That would be the computer database systems room, as well as where the EVA Core is." Ciel elaborated.

"EVA?" Ruby repeated, "What's that?"

"Electronic Versatile Agent." Ciel answered as she walked over to the lounge's main table and tapped it's transparent surface, upon which a simple hologram flashed up above it spelling out the said name, "A pseudo-Artificial Intelligence designed for battle interface and data analysis by the Atlas military. It can assist operational teams in the field by tracking their status and monitor critical information such as radar scans and communications content, and also handle rudimentary operations such as exchange of communication access codes and protocol. I will speak more on Hyperion One's computer systems later."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Ruby clasped her hands together, "Is EVA something like Penny?"

"No, it's nowhere near her level of what one would consider sentience. It's main role is mainly coordinating and processing information gathered in the field, in addition to monitoring combat situations and statuses." Ciel added, "It also assists pilots when flying Hyperion One by analyzing the topography of the surrounding areas and providing the best places to land or take off from. In case of any emergencies, it can also help to engage autopilot to perform evasive maneuvers and take control of the Hyperion One's wide range of automated weaponry as well."

"That's convenient." Sharp Strike mentioned, "Are there other EVA units within the other Atlesian airships?"

"Despite their extremely useful capabilities, they are very limited in number and are typically only assigned to high-ranking army commanders, base commanders and Specialists whose missions and positions are of the extreme strategic importance," The beret-wearing co-pilot answered, "While I don't know how General Ironwood managed to secure one for Team Beacon, he must have spoken with Dr. Polendina since he did have some input on it."

Ciel then led them through a side door that led to another staircase which she took a lead in going up, and bringing them to the third level of the ship.

"Level Three is the main floor of the Hyperion One. Directly across from us is the infirmary, we have more than enough medical supplies and the ship also has an automated medical system that can tend to wounds sustained in the event of an injury, no matter its level of seriousness. Up to four patients can be treated at once in each of the medical cubicles, and each individual cubicle can also be sealed off in emergency situations as well to undergo sanitation procedures." Ciel said, pointing to the sterile room behind the thick glass windows and a metal door, "There is also a main medical dispensary area for minor treatments at the forefront of the four cubicles, and may I ask who has the most medical experience of all present here?"

The members of Team Beacon look at each other, before Ren raised a hand, "That would be me, since I know some advanced first aid treatments and possess some medicinal knowledge as well."

Ciel nodded in his direction, "Should there be a time we require additional medical assistance on board, I hope you would be up to the job."

"Oh, there's no need to worry!" Nora said happily as she leaned on her partner, "Renny here is the best medic we could ever ask for!" Ren gave a small smile and patted her on the head in return, warmly accepting the compliment.

"And what're the other three rooms?" Sun asked as he gestured towards them, one situated behind the infirmary and the other two in front.

"The room with the glass doors is the research and analysis room where a number of top-end scientific equipment resides. It would be useful if you need to conduct any modifications to your Dust-based weapons or to analyze anything that you have recovered from places around Remnant. The one with the warning labels on both sides of the walls and reinforced doors located behind the infirmary is the armory, it's fully stocked with a variety of spare weapon parts and various types of Dust ammunition for your weapons. It also has a workshop with construction and repair benches where you can perform weapon maintenance and restock on whatever you need before and after missions." Ciel explained, and added, "It also has a fabricator machine, an advanced piece of Atlesian technology that can produce nearly any weapon part you require as long as you have the relevant components."

"Oh, they're just spoiling us now. I can't wait to get a look at that room!" Ruby squealed excitedly.

"At least wait until after the tour." Weiss remarked to her partner before asking Ciel, "So what is the other room?"

"That is the ship's Command and Combat Information Center, which houses highly advanced communications and tactical operations systems, including a powerful computer system that can connect to the Atlesian military's operational databases, as well as any other secure databases and resources from the other Kingdoms. EVA's capabilities can also be accessed here, where it can not only remotely control the ship's weaponry, but can also establish secure communication connections with any of the Kingdoms' communication systems to allow for coordination of multiple Huntsmen teams. It also possesses a holographic table with a strategic operations console that can combine data from external cameras and a plethora of other sensory equipment to generate a highly accurate real-time three-dimensional image of any location's surface down to street level and even the interiors of buildings through extended frequency-mapping." Ciel continued her explanation.

"I presume the Command Center has its own internal database?" Sharp Strike quietly asked.

"Yes. Hyperion One's computer systems, while capable of receiving information from any of the Kingdoms, has its own internal database which stores all relevant information that you will collect from your encounters and missions, stored on a separate data line individual from the other Kingdoms' databases." Ciel elaborated, and then added, "The system also has maps to aid in navigations and that place is also where the generator for the cloaking system is stored."

"Yeah, we noticed the ship's cloaking abilities when you came in. What can you tell us about that?" Pyrrha asked.

"This is a new type of cloaking device, made through the cooperation of FutureTech Corporation and the S.D.C. research and development division. They've managed to give Hyperion One a fully functional cloaking system, which could allow the aircraft to pass through swarms of airborne Grimm unseen and breach enemy airspace undetected. Should the cloaking system be compromised or falter, Hyperion One can compensate by flying under the radar." The dark-skinned girl told them.

"Hmm, I recall my father mentioning something about a project with FutureTech, it's good to know my family's company is still doing good." Weiss voiced.

Ciel nodded before saying, "At the front of the ship is the cockpit with all the necessary operating systems, including the ability to activate the cloaking system, increase or decrease engine power, fire the missile arrays and operate the twin-gatling guns below the cockpit. Towards the back is what would normally be the Commander's personal office and quarters, which Flight Captain Ross has essentially commandeered for himself."

She shook her head for a brief moment, "And the entrances to several of the ship's turrets are placed on the left and right side of this level, but the top is where most of them are, please follow me."

She led them back to the staircase and up to the fourth and final level of Hyperion One.

"This is the top level, the Dorsal Surface Landing Bay which allows for docking and detaching of other aircrafts with mounts and access panels for passenger transfer. We can take two Bullheads at once at the most, in case we need to transport a prisoner, extra troops, or civilians in need of evacuation. We also have a much smaller secondary ship already docked on the dorsal surface, called Hyperion Minor." Ciel said, gesturing and directing the attention of Team Beacon's members to where the smaller airship was through the skylight panel, which was a heavily modified and equally technologically advanced Avenger gunship.

"Wow, it certainly looks quite impressive on its own as well." Jaune complimented, and Ciel nodded in agreement.

"The Hyperion Minor can carry two teams along with two pilots, and it can also be remote-controlled by the EVA on board Hyperion One whenever required. It also possesses unique flight capabilities thanks to its unique wing design which contains turbine fans and the same type of Dust booster engines used by the main vessel, along with a smaller cloaking device as well. In terms of armaments, it has two gatling guns mounted on the underside of the transport gunship, along with retractable missile arrays on either wing for both ground and aerial combat."

"So who'll pilot Minor?" Fox asked.

"I can take over piloting duties, since Flight Captain Ross flies the Hyperion One." Ciel replied, before turning to gesture to several entrance ports for the ship's many weapons, "The rest of the turrets, especially the anti-air ones, are accessible from here."

"So, what do you think guys?" Jaune asked the other members of Team Beacon.

"This thing is awesome!" Ruby declared.

"You got that right, sis. We could do some serious damage to Cinder and her Grimm buddies with this baby." Yang agreed heartily

"Heck, with this thing we might be able to actually beat them." Neptune voiced with a smile.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Blake cut in, "While it certainly looks impressive, we might want to actually see it in action before we try to use it to take our enemies head on."

"Good point, Blake. While this ship is one sweet ride, we still have a mission to do." Coco reminded everyone.

"Right, how long until we take off?" Pyrrha asked Ciel.

"Not long, I imagine. Once Captain Ross finishes his conversation with Headmaster Ozpin and the others we'll be performing the usual pre-flight checks followed by take-off." The Specialist-in-training suggested as she walked back to the staircase, "I'll inform you all through the intercom once Hyperion One is ready for departure. In the meantime, you all should probably take the time to pick out your cabins while you can." What she said was something everyone present took to heart immediately.

One even more so than the others.

Using her speedy Semblance, Ruby darted past everyone and disappeared down the staircase, leaving a whirlwind of red rose petals in her wake. Ciel caught one petal as it fluttered down and gently shook her head.

"Is she usually like this?" She asked as the others began to follow her down the stairs back to the second level.

"Sometimes, but she has calmed down slightly since I first met her, but it's nice that she can still be this energetic, considering what she's been through." Weiss said with a small smile on her lips, which was also something Yang, Blake, Sun, and Team JNPR all shared.

"Hey, Ciel? Professor Ozpin said that one of the cabins had a secret compartment in it, that true?" Jaune asked her.

"Yes. I believe it was a last-minute addition at his request which General Ironwood approved." Ciel confirmed.

"Okay, good. We'll have to take that one. We have something with us that needs safekeeping." Pyrrha told her as she lifted up the case they had been carrying and the dark-skinned girl nodded understandingly.

They re-entered the second level and saw that Ruby had already claimed the cabin on the upper right for her team. "Okay, we get this one!" She said before pressing the panel on the side which opened the doorway and poked her head into the room, giving off a whistle as she saw the inside of it.

Each cabin had two bunks with comfortable mattresses, pillows and blankets on either side of the room not unlike those of Beacon Academy's with accompanying storage lockers, and there was also with a table and four chairs set in the middle beneath an armored aperture that provided a nice view of the ship's surroundings while in flight, as well as a number of electric outlets to charge up their personal scrolls, and a couple of safety pamphlets set into a small alcove beside the cabin's door. Bright illumination came in the form of a quartet of rectangular-shaped lights set into the ceiling, and the automatic cabin doors can open and close with barely any sound at all.

The remaining members of Team Beacon, with the exception of Penny, arrived at an intersection between the four cabins, with two open doorways on either side.

Weiss, Yang, and Blake all gathered around her to look into the room, the four teenagers surveyed it carefully while Teams CFVY and SSSN went to claim their own rooms as well. Ciel directed Team JNPR to their specialized room while Sharp Strike walked back to the lounge to acquaint himself with the ship's features.

"Well, I have to admit this does look rather homely, but I've had far worse." Blake remarked as they walked in, remembering the places she would sleep when she was part of the Fang.

"I don't think I have, but I suppose it's acceptable," Weiss said as she looked around, not overly impressed by the living conditions.

"While it may not be our door room, I'm sure it'll feel like a home away from home away from home after a while." Ruby stated cheerfully as she climbed up the ladder to the top bunk.

"What does that mean?" Weiss asked as she looked up at silver-eyed girl who flopped onto the mattress of the top bunk.

"Well, Beacon is our home away from home, so this ship is a home away from that." Ruby explained simply as she tossed herself onto her back and added, "This feels way better than I expected it to!"

"Sure does, Rubes!" Yang agreed after flopping down to the bottom bunk on the right.

Weiss sat down on the bunk underneath Ruby and noted that the bed did indeed feel rather nice, since the entire ship was created with the advanced technology of the Kingdom of Atlas, and said, "Well, no point in complaining I suppose, although I'd feel happier if I have the top bunk."

"First come, first serve!" Ruby's head popped out from above Weiss's head, and she smiled, "Besides, I love sleeping on the top!"

Weiss was about to argue but then she thought the better of it and instead smiled back, "Well… I guess I can let this go, you are the leader."

"Thanks, Weiss-Cream!" Ruby teased, making Weiss blush a bit at the nickname.

Across from them Team JNPR settled into their own room, and with Ciel's help they discovered the hidden compartment to store the Aura Crystal was right beneath the upper half of the left bunk bed, which Jaune and Pyrrha were taking.

After they placed it inside of the small compartment, Jaune quickly took advantage of the situation and laid down on the lower bunk mattress, taking a load off his feet and enjoying the soft bed, "Oh, that's the stuff!"

Pyrrha, who was still kneeling on the floor keeping her belongings in her own locker, giggled and asked, "Tired, love?"

"Uh… a bit, but I'm happy to finally get to lay down. Long day." Jaune said to her, as he moved to stand up only for his partner to suddenly sit on his lap and hug him. The blonde knight smiled and leaned his head into her neck.

"You're right, it has been quite a long day. And I thought telling everyone about the two prophecies was going to be the end of it." She admitted.

"It's never that easy. Well, at least everyone took it well enough." Jaune said.

"I'm still not entirely convinced." Ren voiced as he sat down on the bottom right bunk while avoiding Nora's legs kicking back and forth as they hung over the top, "Some of those connections seem a little strange to me, strenuous even. What does the tale of Mulan have that actually concerns me?"

"Well, Mulan was a woman who disguised herself as a man, and you have pink eyes and a pink stripe in your hair, which is kind of girly, and you're also unusually good at cooking for a boy. But other than that, you're pretty manly, Renny!" Nora told him as her head looked upside down at him from the top bunk.

Ren shook his head a little and replied, "Thank you, Nora."

"I didn't mean anything bad by it, but when you look at it carefully it could mean something." Nora defended.

"True, but Ren has a point. We don't know much about the poem Sage is supposedly similar to, and we have to also consider why Fox and Yatsuhashi aren't similar to any known tale, and what some of the details of those stories could mean for us. If Achilles was killed by an arrow to his heel and I was merely immobilized by it and managed to survive, what other differences could there be?" Pyrrha pondered aloud.

"And then there's the question of why Coco and I are based on people who actually existed," Jaune added, "We might never know. And then there's the other prophecy with the son of the dragon and the daughter of the phoenix… when it comes to stuff like prophecies and relics, it tends to get very confusing."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, "Well, hopefully we'll get the answers someday."

"Well, who knows? Maybe we will!" Nora nodded as she jumped off her bunk and landed on the cabin's carpeted floor, "I gotta use the bathroom, excuse me for a moment." She said as she took her leave.

As she walked towards the starboard bathroom for women, she passed Yatsuhashi who was speaking to Ciel, "Yes, do you have a footrest or something similar? I'm afraid the bunks here, while agreeable, seems to be a bit short for someone of my stature." He said to her.

Ciel thought for a moment and replied, "I think there's a spare in the cargo hold."

Nora suppressed a laugh at the mental image of Yatsuhashi struggling to sleep in a bunk half his size as she made her way into the ladies' bathroom.

Said bathroom was sizable enough, with four toilet cubicles and opposite them were four sinks with cabinets below filled with hygiene and cleaning supplies while above the sinks was one long mirror running across the length of the room, and a large shower area hidden behind an opaque glass scrolling door.

"Now this is one fancy bathroom for an airship." Nora remarked as she went inside one of the cubicles.

Across from the women's bathroom, Neptune was surveying the men's bathroom which was very much the same as the ladies with the exception of two urinals replacing two of the toilet stalls.

The bluenette gazed at the shower area and made a clicking sound with his tongue as Yatsuhashi came in after him.

"Is there something wrong, Neptune?" The samurai asked him.

"Uh, no… Yatsuhashi, nothing really… except that are they really expecting us to shower together?" Neptune wondered.

"Not all at once, obviously. Though I can't imagine it hurting for us to take showers in pairs to save time and water." Yatsuhashi remarked.

"You really think that's necessary?" Neptune asked.

"Why would it bother you? From what I have seen Sun and Sage both go around bare-chested for the most part, and I doubt a team of the same gender hasn't seem something of each other at least once." Yatsuhashi mentioned.

Neptune sighed and nodded, "Good point, I just kinda find it curious why the ship was designed it this way."

"In a military life, or any combat-based profession, there are times when privacy isn't exactly a necessity." Yatsuhashi said as he glanced around the bathroom before asking, "Um, I know you're hydrophobic, but does that extend to…"

"Showers? Heck no!" Neptune denied with a laugh, "Just oceans, lakes, big rivers, and stuff like that."

Yatsuhashi nodded and bid the bluenette a goodbye before taking his leave.

A few minutes later, Ciel called Ruby, Jaune, Sun and Coco together at the main hallway of the crew cabins, along with Sharp Strike who had returned from the lounge area. They all waited patiently for her to explain anything else she missed out (which was highly unlikely given her personality) before she asked them, "I understand that Headmaster Ozpin has already briefed you on the mission?"

"Yeah, back at Beacon and on the way here." Jaune confirmed, and the others nodded.

"He filled us in on the details of the mission, what we're going to do, who we're protecting, where we'll be, and what we may go up against." Coco told her.

"Very well, after we take off I want you all to report to the Command and Combat Information Center so I can issue you security clearance I.D. cards so you will be allowed access to other areas of Hyperion One. And report to the room at the appointed time, punctually." Ciel added firmly.

"That won't be a problem, Ciel." Jaune replied and Ruby nodded.

"We'll definitely be there on time." Sun gave Ciel a smirk.

"Don't worry, we'll all be there." Coco added while Sharp Strike simply gave a nod of his helmeted head.

Ciel nodded and continued, "So for the meantime everyone within Team Beacon can only access the current standard facilities at Level Two at the moment."

"Understood, and thank you very much Ciel." Ruby said as she shook hands with the co-pilot.

"You're welcome." The dark-skinned girl replied before turning and walking up the staircase in the direction of the cockpit.

The armored form of Sharp Strike turned to leave as well, but after hearing his name being called he turned back to see Ruby standing a short distance away from him, "So where are you staying, Sharp Strike?"

"Ciel has assigned me to set up in one of the six smaller cabin rooms on the next level." The Remnant Knight replied, "You can find me on the rightmost cabin beside the cabin room, farthest from the cockpit."

"Good to know." Jaune replied and Ruby smiled, "We can come and find you anytime if we have any pressing questions or to discuss anything important?"

"As long as it's not when I'm occupied with my own matters or meditating, I'll try my best to accommodate you." Sharp Strike answered congenially.

"Thanks, Sharp Strike." Jaune said as he smiled at the silver-blue armored knight.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I also have to settle in." Sharp Strike bowed a little before turning to walk up the stairs towards the crew and guest cabins.

A few minutes later, Ciel's voice came over the intercom and announced, "Your attention please, Team Beacon, you might want to report to the staging area. Headmaster Ozpin and Fort Lakeford's flight control are giving us the green light to leave, so you might want to take this chance to say your farewells."

Everyone heeded her word and used the staircase to head down to the first level to bid their goodbyes to Ozpin, Glynda and Henry. Sure enough the three Guardians stood a short distance in front of the ramp of the Hyperion One while Penny and N1CK3L awaited the others inside of the ship.

"About time we got moving," Ross informed the collection of assorted students as he walked up the ramp into the staging area of the ship, "Once you say your goodbyes we're heading off to Vacuo."

They all nodded understandingly and moved forward a little to face their teaching mentors.

"This is where we part ways for the time being, Team Beacon," Ozpin began, "The safety of the Maidens will not be a burden you will have to bear alone, but it is also a task I am sure you will carry out capably and admirably."

"Despite everything that has happened and the rumors of trouble, we ultimately do not know what other dangers you may face in the western Kingdom, if any, so be prepared for anything." Glynda instructed them.

"Understood, Professor Goodwitch." Coco said with a firm nod and a serious look upon her face.

"Anything or anyone tries to make a move on the Maidens, we'll make sure they're sorry." Sun vowed as he slammed his fingerless-gloved hands together as though wanting a challenge.

"Whatever the dangers we face, we'll do our best to overcome them." Jaune added for his team.

"You can always count on me and N1CK3L, we are combat ready!" Penny chirped with a wide grin, while her brother android merely nodded.

"You have my oath as a Knight that I will fight together with this team to protect the Maidens till my final breath." Sharp Strike said solemnly.

"We won't let you down. We promise." Ruby swore boldly with a smile on her face.

"I know that none of you will. We're quite confident that you'll do Beacon proud and help keep the Maidens safe. Good luck." Ozpin wished them with a small smile on his lips.

"And be safe." Glynda added as she looked to her students with a caring and trusting expression in her green eyes.

"We will, Professor Goodwitch." Weiss assured the blonde combat instructor.

"Very well, we won't hold you up any longer. Good luck, young Hunters." Ozpin bid them finally. He looked over to Sharp Strike who was standing with Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrha, and the representative of the Knight Order politely bowed his helmet-covered head and placed his gauntleted fist over his chest-plate to the leader of the Guardians of Remnant. While other members of Team Beacon waved their hands, Yatsuhashi merely bowed in polite respect whereas N1CK3L simply stood still as though at attention.

Ross waited a few seconds more before he pressed a button on the bulkhead wall's control panel and the ramp began to pull up once more.

The silver-haired headmaster never took his eyes off his students until the ramp blocked them from sight and sealed with a final echoing clank.

"I hope we're not making a mistake." He said to Glynda quietly.

"The fact that you're questioning yourself shows how much you have changed, Ozpin. If anything happens, they won't be alone, not with Luna and the Relentless Crusaders there to fight with them." Glynda told him as they followed Henry off of the platform, while the sounds of Hyperion One's powerful Dust booster engines grew in volumes behind them.

"And don't forget, they'll be receiving some additional help as well." Henry commented as he looked at them both, "I have received an update from Wind Runner of the Eternal Warriors Knight Legion, and they're about to set off for Vacuo as well."

"That's reassuring to hear." Ozpin admitted with a nod.

Henry laid a comforting land on Ozpin's shoulder, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but you should have more faith in your students, Ozpin. You and the rest of the faculty of Beacon have taught them well."

The silver-haired headmaster thought about it for a moment, before he looked back at the Valean Councilman and replied, "I should, and I did."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Henry answered with a smile.

Inside of the ship, Ross took the elevator up to the third level and quickly proceeded into the cockpit, where he took main pilot's seat next to Ciel in front of the semicircle of sophisticated navigation controls and retrieved and placed the high-tech looking pilot helmet that allowed him to better interface with the Hyperion One on his head, while his hands settled on the joystick and the holographic keyboard as he mentally ran through the motions of performing his usual systems check.

"Ready?" He asked as the visor of his pilot helmet slid shut over his eyes as complicated holographic overlays began to appear one after another over his vision, along with a myriad of other essential information relating to the various systems of the Mobile Airborne Command Ship.

"Ready, Flight Captain. All systems are go and the main engines are powering up and running at optimal level. Our flight plan have been cleared by Fort Lakeford Air Control as well." Ciel reported as she flipped switches and pressed buttons, before swiping away some blue and green holograms in front of her with her gloved fingers.

"Good," Ross said with a nod before turning on the intercom and announcing, "This is Flight Captain Ross speaking; for those who want to get a good look of our lift off, you might want to head for the lounge area, and get a good grip of your seats while doing so." He advised before he began running through the final few items of the pre-flight systems check.

Sure enough, everyone did gather in the lounge as the ship's advanced engines began powering up, making the deck of the futuristic-looking vessel subtly vibrate.

"I have been on enough airships to know powerful engines when I feel them, and these are definitely exceptionally well-engineered." Weiss commented as she placed her hand on the wall to steady herself, feeling the walls subtly hum due to the power of the engines.

"No surprise there,Atlas' tech is the most advanced in the world, after all." Neptune commented.

Ruby looked out the window, and sure enough, she and everyone near her saw the ground of the landing platform falling away as the powerful VTOL engines of the Hyperion One and its regular horizontal thrusters lifted it high into the late afternoon sky even as its wheeled landing gear retracted into the belly of the aircraft. The remaining army personnel scattered around the Valean military base watched in awe and amazement, some even lifting their hands to shield their eyes as they witness the huge airship turn smoothly westwards as its engines changed direction effortlessly.

Ruby could still see Ozpin and the others, watching from a safe distance away, and Ruby decided to give the aging Headmaster one final wave goodbye, and smiled when she saw him return it.

The ground moved farther and farther away, and then with a deafening roar, the Mobile Airborne Command Ship shot off into the red and orange-colored horizon, leaving the tall greenery around Fort Lakeford waving slightly with the aftermath of its departure. A split-second later, Hyperion One disappeared into the skies of Remnant as its built-in cloaking technology activated, as though rendered invisible by a magician's trick.

And so Team Beacon embarked on their journey to Vacuo.

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader

Check out new art of Ashe from DeviantArt artist ADSouto!

And so Penny has met her brother and Ciel has returned after a very long absence. The Hyperion One was something Relentless Crusader had in his head for a very long time, and he finally got to let it out, so I hope you all like this new ship, as it's going to be around for a while.

This chapter was meant to be longer, but we decided to save some scenes for the next chapter, plus this was getting a bit long. I hope you guys won't mind me for going on a break for a few days so I can attend the funeral and grieve

If you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.