#the white fang lieutenant is getting repurposed | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the--regenerating--degenerate · 5 years ago

Text

Sol Invictus

Chapter Three: Escape From the Muninn

Blake didn’t know what she expected when she saw the Muninn from the viewing screen on the bridge of the shuttle as it traveled between the Red Claw and the Muninn. Maybe, she thought, the Muninn would be like the Union ships, haphazardly built with garishly painted markings from whatever world she had came from.

Maybe the Muninn would be like the Atlassians: clean, hard lines; polished until they gleamed in the void, their overly pompous commanders’ House sigils proudly displayed on their bows, next to the sigil of the Protectorate.

The Muninn, however, was none of those.

She hung there like a shadow in the void, a black specter. No lights other than the brief flash of landing guides. The hard projected lines of her railguns could only be seen in the flashes of passing starlight, which made the Muninn all the more intimidating.

Knowing those guns were there, but only seeing them for small flashes in the darkness of the void.

And inside that sleek shadow were dozens of pirates. Standing between her and a single Atlassian officer, who Blake had to rescue.

Well… just my luck. Blake sighed, as she schooled her emotions, creating a mask of stoic indifference, even as worry and nerves plagued at her. She needed to be calm. She needed to be collected.

“I can’t believe we are actually negotiating with these, humans,” the pilot, a tall Faunus with goat horns curling around his ears, bitterly grumbled from beneath his pale white Grimm Ursa mask. “We should wait for Brother-Commander Taurus Adam then take the ship and the prize for ourselves.”

“And risk it being shot,” the co-pilot, flattening her feathered plum, shot back. “I agree with you brother. It is humiliating, but we have very few other options.”

The pilot growled, but let the subject drop and soon the shuttle was drifting towards the hanger of the black ship.

“Muninn. This is the shuttle of the Red Claw. May we land?” The co-pilot radioed.

Several seconds passed. Blake forced down her panic, taking deep breaths. She would need to play her part flawlessly. Any hint that something was amiss, the pirates would stop the deal and her chance of avoiding war would have slipped through her fingers.

Even if the pirates tried to run, Adam would be arriving with the frigate Wilt and several more Raiders, nearly two hundred more White Fang in total. Not even a pirate such as Raven Branwen would want to face against those numbers.

And if Adam got a hold of the Schnee… Then war was inevitable.

Menagerie wouldn’t survive against Atlas. Blake’s mood was turning dark just at the thought of it, and that was before Blake even considered what she had seen at the very edge of Wild Space.

What she had seen of Adam’s newest ‘ally.’

She shuddered as though a cold wind had blown through the cockpit of the shuttle. No, Blake could not fail. She steeled her spine and donned the white Grimm mask that all White Fang wore.

“No answer Sister-Lieutenant,” The co-pilot reported. “Should I hail them again?”

“Hail them again,” Blake ordered, “If they don’t answer… Well… Then we are going to board them.”

The pilot turned in seat. “There’s only six of us the shuttle…”

Blake cut him off.

“We have the Red Claw who will be able to fire on the Muninn and keep them off-balance, as well as the element of surprise. We’re not going to try and take the ship, just get the Schnee and get out.” Blake allowed a savage smile to cross her lips. “Are you telling me that the White Fang aren’t worth a dozen pirates each? They’re used to fighting against the unarmed, the weak and defenseless.”

Both the pilot and copilot barked a harsh laugh at that, though it was cut short as the comms buzzed.

“Shuttle.” The voice was slightly distorted and crackled with static, but was clear enough. “This is the Muninn. You are allowed to land.”

“Finally,” the copilot scoffed as the pilot turned the shuttle towards the open hanger door.

The shuttle landed with a heavy thud, the void door slamming shut behind them as the hangar was quickly repressurized.

Blake had taken five of her White Fang aboard the shuttle with her, leaving only a bare skeleton crew aboard the Red Claw and all of them, including the pilot and co-pilot, stood lined up at the ramp. Blake wanted to make an impression.

The ramp lowered with a hiss from the hydraulics as Blake stepped onto the armoured plated deck of the Muninn, her security following after, weapons low, but readied.

Just in case.

Well, this is sure to build trust with our new partners, she pessimistically mulled as she entered the dimly lit hangar bay. There was no way in the Green Hell she was going anywhere aboard Branwen’s ship without some measure of protection.

To do otherwise was just asking for a knife in the back from these voidscum.

Speaking of Branwen, the Dread Pirate-Queen had come down to meet her guests personally.

Branwen was a tall woman, with dark, almost blood-red eyes and long black hair hanging down past her thin waist. She wore a short dark, crimson, almost blood red overcoat with a thin leather belt. Sheathed at her side was a short gladius sword. Perfectly suited for cutting and stabbing in an enclosed space.

And she had brought her own two tagalongs. Beside her was a short woman, her hair cropped close to her skull, with several tattoos and kill markings decorating her upper arms. The woman wore an arrogant smirk as she took in the sight of the White Fang. The woman’s arrogant, smug demeanor immediately invoked a healthy distaste in Blake.

The last, much to Blake’s surprise, was also a Faunus. A lizard? Maybe snake Faunus? Blake wasn’t exactly sure. The Faunus was almost the spitting image of Branwen, save for the scale ridges on her forehead, the slitted pupil lilac eyes and the long, lush, but wild blonde hair which also hung down past her waist.

“Captain Branwen Raven Ist Muninn,” Blake greeted the Pirate Queen with a respectful nod of her head, as she and her White Fang escort approached the three other women. She hesitated, “It is… A pleasure to finally meet you.”

Branwen smiled a little at that and returned the nod.

“Belladonna Blake I presume? You do not have to greet me like that. I’m just a pirate. We don’t tend to stand too much on ceremony.” Branwen was patronizingly polite.

The smug woman seemed to muffle a chuckle at that, while the blonde Faunus rolled her eyes in obvious boredom.

“I suppose you wish to see the prisoner? See that I’m not leading you on?”

Blake nodded. “I will need to send something back to my leader as proof. He will trust my word.”

Branwen raised a hand, indicating the blonde Faunus next to her. “Yang will take you to see her; however, I’m not going to allow more than one of you to leave this hanger. You must understand.”

Blake figured this was going to be an issue. Branwen was flexing; she wanted Blake and her White Fang escorted to understand who was in charge. Whose ship they were on. Which was fine, Blake had no desire to play the game of who was top dog.

Or top cat in Blake’s case.

All Blake wanted to do was get the prisoner and get out. And hopefully stop a full out war from breaking out in the Galaxy.

Simple desires really.

“That’s fine.” Blake shrugged, as she turned to Yang. “Lead the way,”

The Faunus woman hesitated for a second, as she seemed to wish to argue with Branwen but evidently decided it would have been a waste, as she gestured with a nod of her head for Blake to follow her.

The two travelled in relative silence for moments, through the narrow corridors, turning this way and that around the many sharp corners and turns. The Muninn, Blake, realised was not some repurposed freighter like Red Claw; she was a warship through and through.

The corners made excellent defensive positions, funnelling boarders into kill zones, and they also had the added bonus of confusing the enemy as they made their way past the critical locations; the engine room, the power generators, and the bridge. Blake considered herself to have a very good memory and an excellent sense of direction, but even she was having a difficult time remembering where they were going.

“How much longer?” Blake finally asked as she followed her guide down another short hall.

“Soon.” Yang answered in a flat monotone, turning down another corner.

“I didn’t know that Branwen had Faunus amongst her crew. What clan?” Blake asked her, curiosity finally getting the better of her.

"I’m not a Faunus,” Yang answered, voice dripping with bitterness without looking back.

“You are not? But you look like one.”

“Gene-tailoring.” Yang suddenly stopped and turned to face her, a sardonic smile on her lips, her hands waving in the air. “Vat edited and genefucked.”

Blake felt her temper rise. “Gene tailoring? So what are we now? Just a cast-off? A fashion statement?”

“Leave it, White Fang,” Yang warned, her hands clenched into fists.

“Why? Angry that some Faunus is annoyed because you thought of us as some fetish you could imitate,” Blake snapped back.

“Because it's none of your business. You really think I want to look like this?” There was a dull echoing thud, as Yang punched the armoured wall of the corridor. “Raven never really gave me much of a choice. And guess what? It turns out, screwing with someone’s as an adult has some pretty significant side effects.”

Yang jabbed her finger at Blake’s chest. “So don’t talk about what you don’t know White Fang.”

Blake hesitated and then nodded, dropping the subject.

Yang held her stare for a second longer, before turning on her heel. “This way.”

Blake followed her through several more turns before the came to a door flanked by two pirates armed with heavy shotguns.

The blonde punched in a code and the door slid open with a hiss.

Blake nearly gasped. Sitting there in her stained and tattered white uniform, was Weiss Schnee, The Heir Apparent of the Protectorate of Atlas.

The Schnee looked up as the light poured in. Though Blake’s eyes were hidden beneath her small white Grimm Mask, the two locked eyes. The prisoner’s eyes were a pale ice blue, filled with defiance, with hints of fear around their edges… Those eyes were almost enough for Blake to feel pity for her.

Almost.

The Schnee was still an Atlassian. And the scars they had left on Menagerie and the Faunus still ran deep.

No, Blake would not pity her. This wasn’t about pity. Or Atlas, or even completely about Menagerie. This was about the galaxy and the danger that was threatening to drown it in a tide of darkness.

“Well, there you go. One Heir Apparent of blah-blah, caged up and ready to go.” Yang’s tone dripped sarcasm as she shut the door. “Satisfied?”

Blake nodded. “So your captain was telling the truth.”

“Raven never lies.” Yang was bitter as she led Blake back to the hanger.

The trip back was just as disorienting as it had been on the way there.

Well… looks like I’m going to need the other White Fang. Blake silently cursed. She had been hoping for a quick infiltration and extraction. Now she was going to have to conduct a full boarding exercise with the five of her White Fang… Who she would then also have to get rid of.

Her plan was turning into a messy quagmire which she had little control over. True her original plan of infiltration did not offer a great deal more control. But it offered more than a running gunfight down those tight, maze-like corridors.

“Satisfied?” Branwen asked as Yang led Blake back into the hanger.

“I will confirm with Brother-Commander Taurus Adam, that you have Weiss Schnee,” Blake said, giving her a nod. “However… I must insist that myself and the White Fang I have with me, remain on this ship.”

“Not very trusting are you,” Branwen goaded, crossing her arms.

“No more than you are,” Blake replied evenly, her eyes catching sight of a dozen well-armed pirates emerging from the gloom in the hangar. “We will remain in our shuttle, until the rest of the White Fang arrive.”

Branwen smiled a viper’s grin. “Of course you are. But I’m going to keep the hangar guarded. For your own safety. You are after all my guests.”

Blake paused at that. Her stomach coiled. Raven had to suspected something. Had she seen through her already?

Blake took a breath. She needed to keep cool. Keep calm.

“Thank you Captain Branwen Raven Ist Muninn.” Blake bowed her head, inwardly cursing her rotten luck.

----------

Ruby nearly jumped in surprise as the door banged opened and Yang stormed into the room. Her features were pulled into a thunderous scowl and Ruby could have sworn she could feel the heat of her rage radiating off her sister.

"Yang?"

“The White Fang is here, Rubes. You ready?” Yang asked after she had taken a moment to calm herself.

Ruby glanced over at Crescent Rose now fully assembled. Several magazines, fully loaded, were laid out in neat order beside her precious rifle.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Ruby answered with a nod to her backpack by the door. Everything she had brought with her from the academy was packed away and ready to go.

“Good.” Yang seemed to hesitate as she looked over at Crescent Rose. “Ruby…”

Ruby smiled as she patted Yang’s shoulder. “Yang… I’ve travelled all over with dad on his old freighter. We lived on the edge of the frontier. I’m no stranger to gunfights. I can handle myself. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

The: I don’t need you to look out for me like you used to, went unsaid; but Ruby could tell Yang had heard it as clear as a thunderclap. There was a brief flash of pain in Yang’s eyes, which much to Ruby’s joy, quickly turned into a burning sisterly pride.

“Alright then. Let’s go over your plan one last time,” Yang said as she took a seat on her cot.

Ruby rolled her silver eyes but smiled. “Okay step one: Get the prisoner her weapons back. You will head down to the armoury, subdue the guard there, then come back here for me. Step two, we head down to the brig… fighting our way down there if we have to.”

“Getting the weapons shouldn’t be much of a problem. Gris, the armourer, likes me. A lot. If I can, I’ll try and get the explosives too… though no promises. If I do, I’ll plant some charges throughout the ship,” Yang added.

Ruby nodded. “Step three, rescue the ‘princess�� and book it to the hanger. Step four, take care of the White Fang.”

“That’s when I’ll detonate the explosives if we have ‘em,” Yang chimed in as she stood up and went to her locker, sliding several magazines for her pistol into belt.

Ruby nodded again, “Step five, take the White Fang shuttle back to the White Fang ship.”

“I’ve seen the readout on it. It looks like a small freighter. There shouldn’t be more than a dozen on her. Including the six on-board the Muninn right now,” Yang added, as she closed her now empty locker and slipped on her brown leather jacket.

“Which leads us to step six, we take the ship then Fold out of here,” Ruby finished as she picked up her loaded magazines and clipped them to her belt. “ You ready?”

Yang looked over at her sister, then gave a single nod, before punching her fist together. “ Always. Let’s do this.”

----------

The door to the armoury hissed open as Yang stepped inside. Rifles, shotguns, pistols and various blades decorated the inside of the locked cage. The smell of gun oil, the click of parts being taken apart, cleaned, then reassembled filled the still air. An older man, grey with age, heavyset, dressed in clothes stained with years of grease and cleaning lubes barely looked up to acknowledge her as Yang walked in.

“Yang.” The man grunted before turning back to his work.

“Hey Gris. You still got that Schnee’s weapon?” Yang asked as she approached the cage.

The man gestured with a grunt and a sideways nod of his head to the far table. Laying there was the rapier with basket hilt. Beside it was a slim, beautifully decorated pistol still in its white leather holster.

“Beautiful isn’t she.” Gris said admiringly, as he picked up the rapier and held it up to the light. “Vinbranium micro woven with nerosteel. Strong, supple, light as a feather. But capable of piercing anything short of full Atlassian Marine boarding plate and shield.”

Yang rolled her eyes, but kept quiet. She knew better than to interrupt Gris when it came to weapons. The old man could wax poetic for hours at a time, his eyes lighting up with pure joy as he rattled off calibres, stopping power, rates of fire, explosives, blade lengths, metal alloys and cutting potential.

If his poetics were interrupted, the stubborn old man would become sour and ill-tempered, which would make it that much more difficult to get anything out of him. So even though Yang was now on a schedule, it was easier just to let him talk.

“And this… Never in all my days did I think I would ever see one with my own eyes.” He pulled the slim pistol from its holster. “An Arma Gigas. Handcrafted by the pinnacle of Atlassian gunsmiths. Small, you wouldn’t think this thing was more than an over-engineered pea-shooter. But let me tell you, if less than half of the things I have heard about these are true… This is a man stopper. Not a great many things alive this piece couldn’t put down.”

Gris looked over at Yang and grinned at her bored expression; as he placed the pistol back into its holster. “I mean… Not as well as that cannon on your hip. But still she’ll do her job. And do it well.”

“Interesting and all.” Yang tried not to let urgency colour her tone, “but I’m not interested in a weapons lesson. I’m just here because I want them.”

Gris eyed her carefully as he leaned back. “Is that so? Well… I’m sorry to tell you that Vernal already claimed the rapier. The pistol is going to Raven. She wants it as a trophy."

"Well… I don't really care. I want them." Yang lowered her tone to a near whisper. Gris was probably the only friend Yang had on this ship, outside of her sister. She hoped he would catch her meaning.

"Vernal wanted the pistol too. Before Raven claimed it as a trophy.” Gris continued as though he hadn’t heard her, “Wanted it bad. Lucky for her I was here to set her straight. You see the Arma Gigas are gene-coded for the one she’s made for. If anyone else then the Schnee was to pull the trigger… well… they would have to get used to wiping their ass with the other hand.”

“Gris…” Yang warned, her temper slowly getting the better of her. “I need those weapons.”

Gris eyed her dispassionately. “And I can’t allow you to take them.”

“You aren’t going to be able to stop me.”

The man shrugged. “You can’t shoot me. If you do, everyone is going to know about it.”

Yang’s eyes widened as she caught his meaning. “So I am going to have to hit you. Put you down hard.”

“Probably break a few bones in the process.” Gris agreed.

“I… I’m sorry Gris.”

“Tear the cage door open when you do it,” he continued as though he hadn’t heard her. Shuffling tools around, placing them almost delicately back into the various toolboxes stacked around the armoury cage. “You’re more than strong enough.”

He paused, looked up at Yang. “Your sister... always gave me the creeps… Something’s not right about her, be careful. I’m sticking my head out for you with the Captain. I won't be around to help with her.”

“Ruby’s all I got left Gris.” Yang almost snarled, but managed to choke it back. “I burned too many bridges back home… And I’m nuking the ones here with an orbital strike.”

Yang reached up and grabbed the cage door, then ripped it from its hinges in one savage pull.

She looked down at Gris as he turned his back on her. “I’m sorry about this… I really am.”

Then Yang threw a haymaker into the side of his head. Gris did not even try to defend himself, merely curling up into a ball, as Yang rained heavy blows into his body.

-----

Bile rose up in Yang’s throat as she and Ruby raced down the claustrophobic corridor. She tried to drive the feeling of her fists smashing into a defenseless Gris, of bones snapping and the muffled screams of pain from her mind.

Gris was tough. He would be okay, she told herself; as the two sisters with Yang in the lead, charged down another hallway.

She began to slow down. They had been lucky so far, the two of them managing to avoid wandering pirates, but now they were coming up onto the brig. There would be guards and they were going to have to be dealt with.

As soon as Ruby or Yang fired, the ship would be alerted that something was happening in the lower decks. Yang guessed they would have only have a couple of minutes before Raven sent every pirate she could down there.

Probably less.

Raven was a suspicious woman. She’d probably think the White Fang was going to make a play of their own.

Getting to the hangar… That was going to be the interesting part.

Yang came to a stop, just before the corner to the brig. Ruby almost slammed into Yang as she too skidded to a halt, pressing her back against the wall.

“Alright… Just around here is the brig. Should only be two guards.” Yang whispered as she pulled Ember Celica from her holster. “I’ll move first to draw their fire. You cover me, got it?”

“Got it,” Ruby whispered back, as she brought Crescent Rose to a ready position, then tapped Yang on the shoulder to let her know she was ready.

Yang turned the corner, levelling her pistol as she did. The two guards looked up, eyes widening in surprise as they did. Ember Celica roared once, catching the first in the chest with a large, heavy slug.

The man’s chest exploded open, dropping to the ground in a wet splatter of meat and viscera. The second guard was fumbling to raise his shotgun when a three-round burst from Ruby, who must have stepped out with her, caught him the chest.

The guard collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

“Thought I said I would move first?” Yang asked as the two rushed to the door.

“You also said to cover you,” Ruby replied sweetly as she kicked the shotguns away from the guards’ bodies.

“Fair,” Yang grinned, as the door to the brig opened shedding light into the dark prison.

The Schnee glanced up as the light stung her eyes. Yang was already moving and with a powerful tug, she ripped the bars from the cell.

“Well… as promised here we are. Ruby give the Heir her weapons,” Yang said as she took cover inside the door. “Sorry princess we got to move, and move quick. Think you can keep up?”

“I can handle myself,” The Schnee snapped.

Yang risked a glance back, frowning slightly as the Schnee flinched when Ruby offered her the rapier and pistol, slapping Ruby’s hand away as she climbed to her feet.

Ruby for her part seemed unaffected by the rude gesture and merely shrugged.

“Alright we ready?” Ruby asked as she took cover across from Yang.

“Yeah…” Yang nodded, as she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

The Schnee glared at Ruby as she tested the draw in her rapier. “Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ruby apologised, as she held out her hand again. “I’m Ruby Rose. I’m here to rescue you.”

The Schnee looked down at the hand and shuddered slightly as though someone had offered something rather unrecognizable and offensive on a stick. Yang frowned and was about to reprimand the Schnee, when she caught Ruby’s eye and gentle shake of her head.

Time and place, Yang.

“Ahhh no worries.” Ruby giggled, “not everyone has an appreciation for the classics.”

Yang snorted. “You mean ancient vids that no one understands anymore.”

Ruby nodded as she led the way out of the brig. “That too.”

----------

“What is that?” One of the White Fang asked as klaxon alarms began to blast throughout the hanger.

A second later Blake’s sensitive ears picked up another sound. One she had sadly become very accustomed to over the past few years.

Gunfire.

“Someone’s shooting,” Blake answered as she grabbed her weapons from the locker. “Quick, get your weapons and get to cover. The pirates might think it’s us behind this and I don’t want unwelcome visitors thinking they can come and take our shuttle.”

While the other White Fang got to cover in the hold, Blake took a chance and ducked out from the shuttle. Keeping down and to the shadows, she made her way behind a large stack of crates.

She took a peek and cursed.

A dozen or so heavily armed pirates had gathered in the hangar, in preparation to storm and take the shuttle.

Suddenly the shipped bucked. The power died and red lights flashed as emergency lighting and secondary power sources came alive. The pirates scattered for the most part. Running to their station, to bring systems back online, preparing for what could be a boarding action.

And in doing so, only leaving a token force to watch the hanger and the White Fang.

If they do that could work out in my favour. Blake thought to herself as she kept herself low and made her way back to the shuttle hold. We kill enough of them here, we could make a break for the Schnee’s cell.

“Lights went out. What’s happening?” One of her Sister’s whispered from across the hold.

“Maybe Brother-Commander Taurus has arrived? Maybe he is leading a boarding party.”

Blake didn’t think so.

“Brother-Commander Taurus would have told me if he was planning something like this.” Blake whispered back, “now keep quiet and-”

The sound of gunfire outside interpreted Blake and the next thing she heard was booted feet running across the armoured decking of the black ship.

“Quick, let’s move. Come on princess keep up!” Someone loud and boisterous called.

Blake thought she recognised the voice of that not-Faunus vat freak, Tang, or Jang, whatever her name was, as she stormed up the shuttle ramp.

Behind her, two other pairs of feet followed close behind as three humans charged into the hold. One of whom was the Heir Apparent.

Blake leapt up, pistol levelled. Her five kin joining her. The three intruders, the blonde not-Faunus, a small brunette with red highlights and a long scarlet cape and of course, Weiss Schnee, the Heir Apparent, were surrounded and outgunned.

“Well… Shit.” The blonde grimaced as the three humans found themselves surrounded.

“Wonderful, from pirates to White Fang all in the span of less than ten minutes.” The Schnee complained as her pistol bounced from kin to kin. “Great job.”

“I should thank you for bringing us Weiss Schnee.” Blake smiled coldly beneath her mask as she stepped from cover. “You have done the White Fang a great service.”

Then she turned on her heel, levelling her pistol at one of her Brothers. The pistol barked, striking the White Fang in the head, sending him crashing down.

The White Fang sat there, stunned, as they struggled to process what had happened. Blake gunned down another, then another.

The three humans, not looking a gift horse in its mouth, raised their own weapons. In less than five seconds, all the White Fang lay dead, and three armed women were now pointing their weapons at Blake.

Blake shook her head. Taking off her mask she allowed amber eyes to meet silver, lilac and ice blue. “We don’t have time. Assuming you are responsible for those explosions, it won't take them long to get the ship back up to full power.”

“She’s right.” The silver-eyed girl with the red cape spoke up. Blake felt herself shivering uncomfortably as the girl got closer. There was something… off about the girl. Something Blake could not put a finger on.

Just a general feeling of offness.

"What do you suggest then?" The girl asked, lowering her rifle.

Blake shook off the feeling. "You were going to try and take Red Claw weren't you?"

All three nodded.

"Let me join you." Blake pushed, "you can tell them you took me hostage. There’s only four of them on board. We can take them, then escape.”

“Why should we trust you?” The Schnee interrupted. “You just murdered your friends, Faunus. Why?”

“We don’t have time for this.” Blake snapped back. “Either trust me or don’t. But I can help you.”

The Schnee opened her mouth to interject but was cut off by red cape.

“She’s right. We don’t have a choice. I can fly us.”

“Well… That went simpler than planned.” The blonde grinned cheekily as she pushed passed her to join the red-caped girl in the cockpit, leaving Blake alone with the Schnee.

“I don’t know what your plan is White Fang. But for now, it doesn’t matter. I will be watching you though.” The Schnee hissed as she went to join her allies.

The shuttle roared to life. A second later, the hanger boomed as the small railguns underneath it blasted open the void doors, shredding them like paper before the engines ignited and the shuttle blasted out into the void.

----------

Ruby grimaced as the last of the remaining White Fang was nearly blasted apart by a close-range shot from Yang’s pistol. It hadn’t taken much to get them to cooperate. The cat Faunus had told the truth., They now had a ship, courtesy of the White Fang.

Ruby ran to the cockpit and jumped into the pilot’s seat… And then froze.

She had never seen anything like this before. The shuttle was simple enough. Though somewhat unfamiliar, the controls were simple enough to figure out. These… These were a mess.

“What’s wrong Ruby?” Yang asked as she jumped into the co-pilot chair beside her.

Ruby looked up, panic welling in her chest. “Uhhh… Well… I think I found the flaw in our plan. I’m not entirely sure on how to fly this thing.”

“What!” the white-haired girl screeched behind them. “You can’t fly this?”

“I didn’t say that!” Ruby shot back defensively. “I said I’m not entirely sure on how to. I thought that after flying my dad’s old freighter and the fighter sims at the academy that this piece of junk would be similar, but…”

“My Gods… I’m going to die here,” Ms. Schnee loudly whispered to herself as she collapsed into another chair. “I’m going to die being blown to bits because some frontier bumpkin thought too much of herself.”

“Hey!”

“I don’t want to interrupt,” the Faunus called out. “But the Muninn is coming around on us. I got energy signatures spiking. She’s readying her main guns.”

“Aw...Fucking Void…” Yang snapped. “Where are the shields on this thing?”

Yang fumbled with several switches. While Ruby frantically pushed several more, suddenly the ship shook, tossing the four around as the Red Claw buckled from a heavy hit.

“Muninn just hit us!” The Faunus girl called from a screen in front of her. “Port side aft.”

“Never mind the shields, Yang. Just punch in the Fold coordinates!” Ruby yelled as she grabbed the control stick and opened the accelerator.

The White Fang ship hummed as the engines roared into life. The Red Claw took off, but the Muninn followed close behind.

“Muninn steadily gaining. Energy spiking. She’s going to fire,” The Faunus girl reported, fear slowly growing more apparent in her voice.

The Red Claw shook violently again. The four women could hear the hull twisting and groaning as the shot sheared the armoured plating.

“Grazing shot. Top deck. Port side.”

The ship shook again with another devastating blow. “Direct hit. Port side. Aft.”

Ruby’s eyes went wide as she realised what that meant. “They’re aiming for the Fold drive. Yang! We need those coordinates now!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Yang yelled back, “I need some time!”

“We don’t have time you blonde brute!” Ms. Schnee snarled, “White Fang, does this ship have a torpedo?”

Behind Ruby the cat Faunus looked up from her screen and nodded. “Several but only one loaded in a tube.”

“Dolt!” Ms. Schnee kicked Ruby’s chair to indicate that she was talking to her. “Get some distance, then bring us around. I was top in my torpedo class. I can hit Muninn.”

Ruby shook her head. “Muninn’s too fast. We won’t get enough space. Besides one torpedo? It would get picked off by the point defence before it came within a hundred kilometres... But we can buy us some time.”

She pulled the stick hard and Red Claw turned. Right into the teeth of Muninn. “Ms. Schnee get ready.”

“We’re little more than a dozen kilometres. It’s too short for an effective torpedo shot.” Ms. Schee snapped.

“We don’t need an effective shot. All we need is the radiation blindness.” Ruby shot back.

The Schnee paused. Then grinned. “A good plan. The name is Weiss by the way.”

“Ruby… But I already told you that…” Ruby grinned back, as she pushed Red Claw into her attack run.

Radiation blindness could happen rather often in space. It was when a burst of radiation hit your ship’s sensors; which would cause them to malfunction for a brief periods of time, leaving nothing but static and white noise on the viewing screens. It was something that could happen a number of ways: a bad solar wind, a nebula, a passing bit of space junk.

Or in the case of the Muninn when a fifty kiloton nuclear warhead got swatted out of space by numerous point defence weapons. Then detonated less than a few kilometres in front of your ship.

The effect would be like a flash-bang going off in a small room, as opposed to a steady degradation of system at war with constant reboots and scrubs. The sensors of Muninn would be flooded by dirty, polluted light and a backwash of harsh radiation, rendering her blind for several precious seconds.

The Red Claw did not escape through the maneuver unscathed, however. One last shot smashed into her prow; the spine of the ship rocked and cracked. Sparks jumped, fires were started and Ruby knew that the last shot had been a near fatal one. But they had blasted through and the Muninn was still blind.

“Yang! Please tell me you got something,” Ruby pleaded as the precious seconds her maneuver had bought them were spent.

“Yeah! Got it! Were good now! Ready to Fold on your mark!”

Ruby looked down at her watch. “All aboard Air Ruby. Folding in three, two, one. Mark.”

Space, time, gravity. Billions upon billions of kilometres were pulled into a singularity of space and time. Red Claw shot forward, bearing her precious cargo.

They were safe.

For now.

#RWBY #rwby fanfic #Yang #Ruby #Blake #Weiss

3 notes · View notes