Chapter 15
Dawn over Remnant and new beginnings
Pyrrha felt as if she had just fallen asleep when she was roughly shaken awake. Blearily she opened her eyes and looked into the light above her. She was the last one to wake amid the group that had fallen asleep amid the mattresses piled on the floor. The rest of the rooms occupants were moving around silently
"What is going on?" She asked yawning
"We have places to be and things to show you. But we have to be there while it is still dark" Hina said
Pyrrha looked to the bedside table that had been dumped in one corner and noticed that the LED lights of the clock said one. She followed Nora from the room back to theirs. Both Jaune and Ren was awake, the boys left the room to let them get changed. She routed through her drawer to get clean clothes.
"Remember sexy underwear and low hanging and tight clothes." Nora needled her a bit
Pyrhha blushed as she remembered the teasing she had received the previous evening from the other girls. She also remembered the innuendo and "advice" she had been subjected to.
The eight slipped from the dormitory rooms and made their way to the bullhead docks, ignoring the bullhead terminals they stepped onto the platform where the rarely used cable cars were standing by. The door closed behind them and the tedious journey began. She slumped on the seat and leaned against Jaune. Within moments she was lightly snoring.
The second time she was woken was a lot more gently and she followed her group where a minibus stood parked, in the poor light of a street lamp she made out the name inscribed on the side. Fort Freedom supply company. Half of the seats were taken by blonde haired girls. The front seat monopolized by a heavily pregnant woman and another blonde woman. Jaune cleared his throat
"Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, April. This is my human family. In the front we have Saphron and her wife Terra. Behind them is Sapphire, Lavender and Jade. Hazel Sable and Coral in third and in the back we have Mari, her friends Violet and Jade. They will be joining us today for our little trip."
Yara,Katya and Hina scrambled in and pulled the youngest three onto their laps. Jaune nodded to the front
"Our driver is mister Brian Greengrass and his daughter Monica."
"Good everyone knows everyone now, now get in we are wasting night." Greengrass grumbled
"Don't mind him, he is missing his junkyard." Monica stated
There was light activity as they entered the dock area. Greengrass parked outside the largest warehouse carrying the Fort Freedom supply company logo
"Send a message when you are ready and the guy I know will trip the power to this section of the docks."
The Arc sisters and their friends swarmed through the door to the warehouse and the four Remnant natives could hear the patter of their feet as they ran inside. Sapphron was holding onto Terra and guiding her.
"I am pregnant not fragile." Terra grumbled half heartedly
"Jaune. you sure this is safe?" Saphron asked ignoring her wife
"Safer than the thing we had been riding in. Or don't you trust the family doctor." Hina said soothingly
The four academy students stopped in shock on stepping into the warehouse. A large form stood barely lit under two spotlights. The object was nearly covering the available space of the warehouse. What was clear that was that it was not native to Remnant.
"Come On! Hurry up!" Mari and Violet called
Both girls were standing on a ramp backlit by an open square that light was streaming from.
"You know where the bridge is." Jaune called back
He turned to his friends
"Could you help Hina and Yara with opening the main doors and the dock doors." He asked
"Sure Jauney, but why open all the main doors?" Nora asked
"The first ones is to get out and the dock doors is so that we do not set the warehouse on fire. Burning down a steel structure is not something I want to explain." Jaune replied
The three Huntresses stood entranced in front of the plexiglass windows of the cockpit. Currently the Bantha was in high atmosphere over Remnant and they were being treated to a sight none below had seen. A gradual pink light rapidly turning brighter filled the cockpit as they approached the rising sun. The deck tilted and they were taken through the upper levels and into the blackness of space. Looking towards the planet they could see the sun highlighting the planet before they moved deeper into the black
Ren had taken a look for a few minutes before returning to his seat in the lounge. Jaune had noticed the not so subtle looks of anger on the faces of his feline sisters at his action. He also had noticed a slump in Nora's shoulders as Ren had ignored the hand that had been extended to him by the excitable girl.
He turned his attention back to his station and the girl seated in his lap acting as his student
"Trainee pilot Arc, what is our position?" He asked
Mari looked at the controls and frowned in though for a moment
"Half a parsec from atmosphere." She said
"Is it safe to go to full sublight?" Jaune asked
"No Pilot Arc, minimum safe distance is one parsec." She replied
"Then I suggest we slow down a bit, trainee navigator Fox are we receiving any transmissions?"
Violet looked over the terminal and to Hina before confirming
"No Pilot Arc, no space transmissions, surface transmissions only, none directed to us."
"I am missing my student." Katya grumped
"We will get you another. Right know he is with his family and new brother." Jaune said
" Howare the Greens differentiating between the two Colin's?" Hina asked
"Colin Black has petitioned for a name change now that he had been removed from his parents and taken in by the Greens. He wants to be called Jaune now." Monica informed them
Monica was currently seated in the jump seat by the door, she was looking relaxed
"I actually surprised to see you here this morning, I thought you would be back teaching already." Hina remarked
Monica rubbed an antler
" I am no longer employed by the school. The woman who took my place was employed with a full time contract instead of a part time contract as she should have been till I had been confirmed dead. And since the salaries and school maintenance is paid by Vale the governer can not interfere till the year is done" Monica replied
"Let me guess. She is human and knows the headmaster?" Jaune asked
"Right in one. I have been hired by your father as a personal tutor to his daughters and as an assistant to his office in the meantime. Both the headmaster and his friend has been informed that their contracts would not be renewed and they will have to return to Vale." Monica answered
Monica crossed her arms
"Your father is already looking for a new headmaster for the school that is when he is not dealing with his and your mother's therapy sessions. That is one of the reasons he asked you to take care of your sisters today. They have a long session planned at the hospital. Jade and Violet came up with doctor Hopps since he was asked to come in and attend as well."
Monica grinned
"Not that these two were not begging their parents to let them see Mari. Though I think being crew on a certain ship also played a big part."
"And your grandfather? What is he doing in Vale. I thought he hated the place" Katya asked
"The old grump decided that he will leave his junkyard and help me ride herd on the Arc girls in this cesspit of a city, his own words."
Monica looked out the viewport and sighed
"I did not realise how much I missed being out here till now." She said
Jaune helped Mari turn the ship and set a course for the moon. Skirting the edges they approached the dark side of the moon where they had landed the Green Dawn. The three girls hissed in surprise on seeing the larger ship. Hina took over control of the communicatiosn centre and send a pulse message to the Dawn. A large light appeared as a hatch pulled back. The blue magnetic containment shield making a beacon for them to approach.
There was the usual moment of hesitation as they pushed through the containment shield. The Bantha settled down on the deck with a slight bump. Hina unbuckled herself and whistled to draw the attention of the girls by the window
"Right you three, grab Ren and the Arc girls and follow Monica to the medbay of the Dawn. I will meet you there once I have lured TD25 of the Bantha. All of you need a thorough medical examination and inoculations."
Pyrrha looked to Jaune as he was going through the shutdown sequences
"Not arguing with the ship doctor, Me and Katya will join you there once we refuelled and caught up with LA1D2. Yara will not leave her beloved engine room for the next several hours, by now she and Jade are most likely covered in oils and deep into the engine spaces."
Jaune, Pyrrha and Hina stood in line on the sparring matts in the lightsaber training room. To one side Jaune's holocron was standing on a plinth the holographic form of Jacarda being displayed. The plinth was of a tool used to both recharge the batteries contained in a holocron as well as allowing the Gatekeeper to be visible without having to be unlocked by a Force signature. A three armed, bipedal droid stood before the trio, lines of training lightsabers were spread out between them. All three kept shooting glances at the construction room visible over the droids shoulder.
In the corner of the room there was feature not commonly seen in the traditional training halls, a line of transmitters were transmitting holograms. The figures in the holograms going through the various katas of the different styles of lightsaber training. The droid gave an electronic version of a cough and the three gave it their full attention
"The lightsaber is both the symbol and the tool of the Jedi. Countless generations had made this tool recognisable to the galaxy. As with most technologies the lightsaber too had evolved from a rudimentary tool to the elegant weapons it is today." The droid spoke
The droid tilted its head and a hologram appeared on the ground between it and the trio. It showed three figures carrying single bladed lightsabers, the blades yellow, green and blue
"By tradition the Jedi had been divided in three classes. The Gaurdian characterised by the blue blade, they placed emphasis on combat training. The Sentinel , the green blade, they were the scholars of the force studying and refining the knowledge had of the force as well as being investigators. And finally the Consular class, carriers of the yellow blades. The diplomats and advisors in matters of the Force to the Republic and the governments they were assigned to. However it is not a hard and fast rule to judge a class by the colour of the wielders blade, history has tales of many wielders carrying different colour blades."
The hologram rose to eye level and changed to a lightsaber hilt which in turn dissembled itself to demonstrate the core components, The components faded away to leave a crystal hanging in the air
"The heart of the lightsaber and the focus through which the force user connects to his weapon through the Force. The crystal is normally Adagan or Khyber, though any crystal the force user attunes too can be used as a focusing crystal, assuming the crystal is robust enough to handle the power being focused through it. A malfunctioning crystal can be as dangerous as incorrect construction or poorly aligned components in the construction of the lightsaber."
The hologram dropped to floor level again and the figures reappeared. This time there were several more. One with single blade, another with twin blades. Another with a normal blade and a Shoto saber. The usual staff saber was next and then the more unusual variety. The pike type, shoto blades, the lightwhip and a few more esoteric versions
"As you can see the nature of the energy based blade can vary greatly and user has to decide which suits the being most."
The hologram switched off and the droid pointed to the line of training sabers on the ground
"Before you are variants of the different type if hilts in use, again experimentation and user preference plays a large role in the final construction. I urge you to examine the types of lightsaber and hilts before you to help you in choosing the nature of the tools you will built"
Jaune raised a hand
"Teacher, I have read about duel phase sabers but could not found any explanation of what they are. Also I have read that in the past lightsabers had been constructed with multiple crystals." He stated
An new hologram appeared of a standard blade that was lit up
"A duel phase lightsaber is a lightsaber blade with a variable length with a. The standard blade is a one hundred and thirty to one hundred and fifty centimetres in length."
The image shifted and the blade length increased nearly double the length and also changed coliyr
" As you can see a longer blade is possible by changing the settings on the emitter. This comes with drawback unless catered to by draining the battery that supplies power to your blade a lot quicker. To this units knowledge the only regular users of duel phase lightsabers are the Halcoyn family. As for multi crystal lightsabers it is still possible to utilise additional crystals but the user has to be truly connected to the crystals and changes are required to the crystal chamber of the lightsaber to accommodate for that, it has been found to be easier to construct the tool with one crystal only."
The droid stepped back and of the sparring mat.
"Please examine and practice with the weapons before you."
The droid spun around and returned to its docking station by the construction bench. The hologram of the holocron shifted
"Students a moment. What the Teacher has not mentioned and is nit aware of is that a Jedi must first connect to the crystal in use, or in some cases crystals. Do not be blinded by choosing a crystal purely on what you perceive your class should be. Examine all and choose wisely.
Jaune and Pyrrha found themselves to be most comfortable with the traditional single blade and hilts. Hina found herself drawn to duel wield Shoto blades. Under the urging and supervision they moved through the first style Shii- Cho to get used to using a weightless blade and confirm their choices. Hina having more experience thanks to her basic training while a kitten pulled ahead and was given a tutorial by a trainer droid in the Shii- Cho version of Jar Krai, the blade user style.
All three were drilled till exhaustion in the first style by both trainer droids and the holocron. Only when nearly unable to remain standing were they allowed into the construction room to peruse the racks of assembled crystals. Curiously enough Pyrrha was drawn to a green crystal, she blushed in pleased embarrasment when Jaune joked that she just had to find a crystal that matched her eyes. Moments later she got to return the comment when Jaune was drawn to a blue crystal. Hina picked a large diamond, two purple crystals and a stygium crystal. The first and last having been locked into sealed cases and only unlocked when the cases moved towards her as she made her choices.
April would till her dying day refuse to acknowledge that she had jumped from foot to foot like an excited toddler as Yara was operating the presses to manufacture her armour. Her was a nice and soothing camouflage pattern in varies shades of green, Nora had no such qualms in doing so and proudly danced around the room once she had been fitted with hers, the shocking pink with Yellow lightning bolts imprinted on the pauldrons eye hurting in so many way. Ren had settled on a black set but had refused to have a helmet crafted.
Nora was most unhappy that her request for Tazers to be fitted in one gauntlet was vehemently vetoed by all present. The next trail endured was when they were moved to where the clone trooper weapons had been stored to get them their own DC17s. Nora had taken one look at one of the rotary blasters and could not be dissuaded to take a DC17. Escalating the matter to a distracted Jaune in the training room had her receiving one. Both Yara and Katya had reservations about this but could not dispute that the extra firepower could be beneficial.
Nora had insisted on photos being taken of her new look. She proudly posed with the rotary blaster cradled in her arms. Duel grenade belts across her hips. Thigh holsters holding two DL 44's and Magnhild attached to her back by a magplate. Of course the wristblades had been kept deployed at the time.
Yara looked down as Jade, the young bunny not the blonde, plucked on her sleeve. The younger ones had taken the opportunity to explore the ship under the supervision of several repaired droids.
"Miss Yara, why are there bullheads on the ship? I thought only us used them?" She asked
"Bullheads? We do not have bullheads up here. There only carriers we had listed was the walkers." Yara replied confused
"There is three and one very broken one in the hold on the far side." Jade informed her
"Show me." Yara said
Jaune and Hina joined them as they were assessing the LAATI's found in the third hold. Looking at the cargo manisfest again it showed that area should have been empty, yet there were three fully functional ships and one severely damaged version that was under repair. He shook his head and looked at Yara and Katya in surprise.
"We are already pushing our covers by supplying the others with our weapons and now you want to take one of these down as well. Even better you want us to take it to Beacon with us." He said
"We thought about that and we have a perfect excuse to cover for it. As you said we will be drawing attention by outfitting our friends, so why not get a decent vehicle in as well."
Yara pointed to the damaged craft
"That one would be ideal, the fusion engine had been removed and a hydrogen engine had been installed. So we are not taking a chance to put highly advanced tech in a position to be seen or copied."
"Why does it have a hydrogen engine?" Hina asked
"The clones and equipment were going to Felucia. The rulers of Felucia refused for advanced technology that could damage the eco system to be deployed, not that the Seps cared when they set up shop." Katya explained
Yara pointed to the craft.
"Give me a few helpers and two or three droids and I can have it running optimally in a few hours. By leaving it looking scuffed we can claim the tribe got several old models in trade in exchange for the location of a large mineral deposit the tribe had allegedly found. I can fit it out with poorly patched plates to sell the image more and fit it with basic heavy weapons. You said it yourself using bullheads were risky as none of them carry weapons or are even armoured."
Katya looked over the craft lost in thought
" That is another thing I don't understand about Remnant. Atlas has a standing Army and several cruiser craft. But no medium sized craft carry weapons." She said
"It is a clause in the peace accords from the Great War, no nation shall weaponize any vehicle that can be used to carry civilians. It took nearly a year of negotiations for the kingdoms to agree for trains and ocean capable ships to be allowed to carry heavy weapons against grim attacks." April said
"Again something that does not make sense at all." Hina pointed out
"Are we not going to cause and incident should we take a weaponised vehicle into Beacon." Pyrrha pointed out
April frowned
"Not really, if I remember the changes to the original accords correctly Huntsman vehicles are excempted from this rule. Let me check our History book, the entire treaty is written in the addendum section." She said
She was led back to the Bantha by SCD3 and she returned half an hour later. She was lost in the book, reading as she walked. Reading glasses perched on her nose
" I was both right and wrong. Huntsman vehicles are exempt from the prohibition on arming vehicles as are police vehicles, the change was not brought in with the change for ships and trains. The newest addendum was made four years after the treaty had been modified for trains and ships. It does not say anything in regards to flight capable craft, and by treaty all kingdoms as are allowed only three heavy defensive vehicles for defence of the main cities from Grim attack only. Something Atlas is clearly in breach off."
"So legally a grey area and open for interpretation." Katya pointed out
Jaune sighed
"You know what? Go for it, what is one more lie that can blow up in our faces. However if this goes to kark, I reserve the right to say I told you so."
He held up a hand to stop the celebration that Nora And Yara were about to begin.
"Just make sure no one can access the databanks, physical codes only and no remote access and add a protocol to wipe the system should someone try to hack or force entry, hell ad a self destruct as well."
"Will do Jauney." Nora said happily
"At least this way we can take more ammunition to Beacon and store it without having to return to the Bantha for resupply." Katya pointed out
Pyrrha found Jaune on the observation deck. He was seated on a bench looking into space. Several empty planters lined the room as well as dry fountains set between the planters.
"Sorry am I bothering you?" Pyrrha asked from the doorway
"No come on in." Jaune said with a small smile
She walked into the room barely lit by wall mounted mini lights
"What is the purpose of this room." She asked
"I think they were planning on making a small version of the room of a thousand fountains for meditation purposes." Jaune said
"That sounds lovely." Pyrrha remarked
"I have seen holorecordings of the real room. It must have been magnificent in reality." Jaune replied
Pyrrha sat down next to him and looked out as well
"I do not think I could ever get used to this view." She said softly.
Jaune pulled out his scroll and opened his music app. Soft music started playing and Pyrrha leaned against him. On a whim he stood up and extended a hand to her
"May I have this dance?" He asked
Pyrhha gladly took his hand and let him pull her up. They started swaying to the music and moved closer to the other. Jaun came to a stop and placed a finger under his chin and tilted her head up. He inched his face closer
The first kiss was soft in chaste. Jaune pulled back and waited for her reaction. Pyrrha got a beautiful smile on her face and reached closer, their second and subsequent kisses were more intense and got progressively more passionate. No words were needed in the moment as they were feeling the others emotions in the force.
"Yes! Finally!" Katya cheered and threw her hands in the air
"Gross!" Jade, Mari and Violet protested
"That's my baby brother." Saphron cheered
She and the rest were in the bridge and had been spying on the duo from the security station terminal. Nora turned to face Yara, hand extended
"Pay up. I told you Fearless leader would be the one to make the first move." She said with a smirk
"You also said that would only be in the next month or so." Yara crossed her arms
"I do not recall on putting specific dates on the bet only that Jaune will be the first to make a move." Nora countered
"I do not have Lien on me, I will give it to you at Beacon." Yara capitulated
"One week then I charge interest and Magnhild visits you legs." Nora warned
"Don't you trust me?" Yara objected
"When it comes to Lien and my pancakes I trust no one." Nora said
"Somehow that makes a lot of sense." Tara said to Saphron
Tara's expression changed and she stood up
"Oh dear." She said
The coverall she was dressed in became drenched at the pant section. Hina was at her side in a moment.
"When did your contractions start?" Hina demanded
"At lunch time, I think." Terra replied
Hina pointed to the medical cupboard
"Get me the hoverchair. Katya contact TD25 to get a bed ready in the medbay and prep a station. Yara, go get our new couple and contact the Arc's on the surface and tell them to stand by. Kids stay with Monica, Nora, Ren… where the hell is Ren?"
"Meditating on the Bantha." Sable replied
"Never mind then. Nora help Monica." Hina snapped
The students and the Arc kids were strung out in aline in front of the medbay doors, the only ones Hina had allowed into the room was herself, the patient, Saphron and TD25. Jaune was pacing up and down the passage. Of all his sisters he had grown the closest to Saphron and Terra during the time before they had moved up to access Beacon. Sable, Coral and Hazel were holding datapads in their laps and the holographic forms of their parents and uncle were on top of it.
"Why is it taking so long?" He muttered
"Jaune it has only been an hour. It can take much longer." Yara said, her head on April's shoulder
Jaune sat down next to Pyrrha and she took his hand and gave it a squeeze trying to be discrete. Seeing the knowing smirks around her she realised she had failed, however she found herself not caring and moved their joined hands to her lap
Time dragged on slowly. The youngest finding willing laps for their weary heads, and soft snores and mumbles filled the passageways. They jerked awake as the doors opened and a beaming Saphron, dressed in yellow oversmock appeared
"It is a boy and a girl." She announced loudly and happily
The group scrambled to their feet
"I thought she was only expecting one." Sapphire exclaimed
"So did we. Seems she hid very well." Saphron beamed
"Can we see them and Terra?!" Jaune demanded
Hina came out, dressed in a green smock
"Not now. Terra is still in the bacta tank, TD and myself decided on a C section as the most optimal. And the babies are sleeping under the UV lamps. I will allow visitation in a few hours. In the meantime return to the bunkrooms or the Bantha and get some sleep"
She pointed to the datapads in the younger ones hands.
"You three I will allow a quick peak as you can not be here. Jonathan I suggest you phone the hospital quickly and pretend to have an urgent message for Juniper. Claim it was a home delivery."
Glynda Goodwitch was beyond done with the day. She was seated beside Ozpin as they were flying back from Signal Academy on the headmasters personal bullhead. They had flown to Patch to meet up with the teachers there to review the potential students for next years intake.
They had barely been close to Vale when they were diverted to the dock area.
The docks had been well lit up, burning wreckage was strewn over the docks and in the water from a bull head. Broken and burning dust containers filled the area. Fire trucks were in abundance as were ambulances. The last two were outnumbered by police vehicles. The stobing blue and red lights adding to the confusion.
Finding the cause of the diversion did not take long as the police officers happily pointed them to a transported vehicle in which four of her students and one visiting student had been placed in and handcuffed. Luckilly this had been done before the press had arrived and the identities of the students had been contained.
Leaving Ozpin to deal with the irate dockmaster and Deputy commissioner she went to the transport. She looked into the back and confirmed the identities.
"And you thought we were destructive." A voice spoke behind her
She turned and faced the speaker. The woman was dressed in a suit and overcoat, her face cast in shadow by a fedora hat. When she walked there was a distinct limp
"Miss Mori, it has been a long time."
"Detective Mori, actually, your students had caused quite a mess and a lot of paperwork."
"Something the students tend to do. As you should know having caused a lot yourself." Goodwitch replied
"We are missing one though. Petite, red hair, dressed rather old fashioned. Sound familiar." Mori asked
"Not that I can recall. Do you have any more information on the missing student?"
"Not from the few Fang that are still conscious." Mori shrugged
Mori lit a cigarette as they waited for Ozpin to finish up. He came over with the commissioner
"We can take them back to Beacon. They have been released into our custody. We will deal with them there" Ozpin said tersely
Goodwitch looked to the transporter. From the corner of her eyes she saw a White Fang member being gagged and cable tied before a black bag was pulled over his head.
"Detective Mori, can I ask you for a favour." Goodwitch said with a savage smile
She kept the smile on her face as she looked at the four students that had been secured in the seats of the bullhead. All four were squirming in their seats. In addition to being handcuffed with cable ties, they had their ankles tied as well. She could them moving their heads around in the heavy black bags their hearing muffled, the gags preventing them form calling out.
"Really Glynda is this really necessary?" Ozpin asked
From the tone of his voice she could tell he found it somewhat amusing too. The co pilot exited the cockpit holding a headset and microphone set
"Sir, we have a craft asking permission to enter Beacon's airspace. They need your direct permission."
"Atlas?" Ozpin asked
"No, look to starboard."
They looked out and saw an unknown vehicle in line with them. Ozpin slipped the headset on
"Unknown craft. This is is headmaster Ozpin. State the reason you wish to enter Beacon's airspace."
" Sir we kind of missed the bullheads and don't want to be late for class tommorow."
"Miss Valkyrie?"
"Yes, sir. Jaune Jaune and the sisters also need a space for their airship, someone tried to break into the warehouse they were keeping it in, that is why we missed the last flight. So we thought the safest place for it would be Beacon. So… Can we take it in and land?"