Chapter Text
The inky darkness of space stretched out before the Star Destroyer, dotted only by the twinkling lights of stars. Each star was carefully examined by the Imperial captain looking out from her bridge, officers around her managing engine levels, navigation, communications. They knew what they were doing. They didn’t need her immediate attention. She almost smirked in pride. She knew she was far younger than a majority of the commanding officers in the Imperial Navy, and even more-so, she knew that the Impaler was a prime example of Palpatine’s war machine. Every man and woman knew exactly what their job was, and exactly how to do it - guided only slightly by the careful hand of their commanding officer. It was… thrilling.
Her ice-blue eyes swept across the expanse, regarding it steadily. She and her crew were used to long periods of time spent in space, travelling between outposts and providing support wherever they were called too. At this moment, however, she couldn’t deny the burrowing sense of… uneasiness? That was a feeling she didn’t experience often. It put her on an edge she rarely found herself on.
Her trance was suddenly broken when a light on the console started flashing, one of her officers tapping his screen and reading the message displayed. He glanced up at her, his expression as neutral as ever.
“Captain. We have a shuttle jumping out of hyperspace.”
True to his word, a small, gray shape appeared before the cruiser, as if out of nowhere. She recognized the Lambda -class ship, nodding to another of her officers to ask for clearance code. A few seconds passed before the confirmation of the codes beeped throughout the bridge.
“They’re clear, captain.”
“Permit them to board. And inform our passenger that I wish to speak with her at the earliest possible convenience.” The officer nodded again, forwarding her commands. The captain steadied herself again, turning her attention back to the stars. They would soon return to patrolling Palpatine’s galaxy, but for now, they would bear a special request from their Emperor’s gloved fist himself.
It wasn’t long until the doors behind her hissed open, signaling the arrival of their passenger. The captain turned on the heel of her boot, taking slow, methodical steps towards the figure standing on her bridge. She had to force herself not to react when she took in her features.
She was… a girl. No older than herself, she wagered. Wavy, jet-black hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders, framing a pale face. Gleaming amber eyes locked with ice-blue for a tense moment as the two presences weighed each other. The captain cleared her throat and extended a hand.
“You’re Lord Vader’s agent, I take it.”
The young woman carefully regarded the extended hand before taking it.
“I am.” The officer waited for some sort of introduction, and upon receiving none, cleared her throat again and continued.
“I am Captain Weiss Schnee. Welcome aboard the Impaler , ma’am.”
“You may dispense the pleasantries, Captain, thank you.” She responded in a soft, reserved voice as she gave a half smile that made Weiss’s spine prickle. “I look forward to travelling with you, if only for a couple days.”
“...Of course.” Weiss nodded, pulling her hand back and returning to her stiff, attentive stance. “If you’d like you can stay here on the bridge, otherwise I can have you led to your quarters…”
“I’m sorry, Captain, but I am indeed exhausted, and wish to retire.” The young woman smiled, a little more genuinely this time, if it weren’t for the feigned apologetic glance. “If you could spare a trooper or a droid to show me to my room…” Weiss glanced at a younger trooper, who nodded and started walking back towards the doors behind the mysterious passenger. Icy blue locked with amber for a few seconds longer before she gave a slight, polite bow and followed the stormtrooper off the deck, the door sliding shut behind her. Weiss’s eyes burned into the spot she had last seen her, slowly willing her stiff body to relax. She hadn’t even realized how tense she had become.
Only after the young woman had left did the captain realize the deafening silence of her bridge. She turned, seeing a dozen pairs of eyes on her. Nobody dared speak as Weiss scanned the room before briskly walking back towards her position at the forefront of the bridge.
“To Sullust. Let’s make our guest’s trip as short as possible.”
~~~ ~~~
Ruby Rose felt… at ease. She always did while tinkering, of course, but today she simply felt especially-so. She had been working on giving her engines another added kick with her astromech, the droid beeping cheerily from it’s port in the X-Wing starfighter.
“Go ahead and check diagnostics again, R4.” She called down, pulling dark goggles back down over her eyes. The droid beeped cheerfully, it’s probe twisting around in the socket embedded in her hull. The wiring in the exposed engine whined to life as the replaced current surged through the mechanics, casting a faint magenta glow over their surroundings and bringing a twinge of pride to the girl - until warning sirens came on in the cockpit, sparks shooting out of some of the cabling within the engine’s casing.
“T-Turn it off! Shut it down, it’s overcharged!” She shouted, covering her face from the shower of sparks and intense heat as she jammed a gloved hand in, fumbling around to secure the cabling and pull it back. The astromech below her ship squealed in panic, working as quickly as it could to shut down the current. Ruby sighed in relief as the engine whined back down, twisting the cabling ends around between her fingers, humming thoughtfully.
“Note to self: Put in a request for industrial cabling in the next shipment in.” She sighed to herself, wiping sweat off of her forehead and pulling her goggles back once more. As she took a break, sipping water from her canteen, she noticed a figure approaching her ship, clipped heels sounding out in the hangar as she scrolled through a data pad, platinum-blonde hair falling in front of her face. Ruby scrambled to right herself on her ship, snapping a salute as the woman finally looked up at her.
“C-Colonel Goodwitch!” She stammered, trying hard not to think about the fact that she was covered in grease and smelled like fuel and smoke. The colonel’s face betrayed nothing as she took a polite stance.
“Commander Rose. The general wants you to meet him in his office at the earliest possible convenience to discuss a series of defenses he wishes to put in place.” Goodwitch said, her stern voice commanding respect from the pilot. Ruby forced herself to nod, forcing her muscles to relax.
“A-Absolutely, colonel! I’ll hit the ‘fresher, and---”
“It’s of the utmost urgency.” The older woman cut in sharply. “I think he can stand the smell of a faulty engine for a few minutes.” She added, the corner of her mouth curling upwards in what Ruby could almost classify as a smile. The young officer nodded, saluting again.
“I’ll set my droid to run diagnostics and head right up.” Goodwitch nodded once more, tapping a few things into her datapad before spinning on her heal and leaving without another word. Ruby sighed, pulling her gloves from her hands and tossing them into the open cockpit of the T-65.
“Try to get this thing put back together, we’ll have to wait on those tune-ups until we get some more pieces in.” She said with a minor grumble. The astromech whistled cheerfully, launching itself up onto the hull to put the engine back together again as Ruby slid off the fighter, wiping her hands on her jumpsuit and exiting the hangar.
The base on Vatin-Ell was stirred up more than usual, armed patrols chatting amongst themselves as they made their way to exits, and technicians carrying boxes of armaments and mounts to various locations around the caverns that had been carved out and smoothed down into functional hallways, the side of the mountain excavated into the massive hangar that now housed a majority of their ships.
Ruby shuffled past a mass of officers and strategists, muttering quiet “excuse me”s as she went, finding herself out on the thin, durasteel walkway that bridged one part of the base to the next, a massive cavern stretching around her into darkness, the lights of the base barely reaching down the sheer drop. It always felt like her stomach dropped away from her whenever she set foot on this bridge in particular, but she quickly found her footing as she strode across it, her footsteps echoing out in the opening within the mountain. The durasteel door on the other side slid open as she approached, and she stepped in, thankful to be off the catwalk.
The hallways here were far quieter, primarily serving as barracks, with the infirmary nearby as well. She gave a half-wave to the handful of soldiers she recognized, heading in after their shifts or heading out to start one. Finally, she found a lift, keying in her code on the panel. The door slid open, allowing her entrance before sliding shut again, a hum rising up around her as the platform quickly shot up the shaft. She double checked that she looked as presentable as possible before standing at attention, the elevator slowly coming to a stop before the door before her slid open.
General Ozpin’s quarters were… intriguing to say the least. One of the few rooms in the base with a window, warm sunlight streamed into the room, casting a warm glow over the antiquities that the older man had collected over his life. Small, intricate mechanisms, lined with ticking gears, adorned his shelves, old books - not datapads, or holographic tomes, but real, paper books - lined a small, modest bookcase against the wall, and a display case showed off a variety of weapons, ranging from Clone Wars-era rifles to ancient, dirt-stained blades, locked behind strong, glass panes. In front of the wall, a silhouette cast in sunlight, was a large, dark, wooden desk, intricate carvings adorning it, like ancient hieroglyphics, telling some sort of ancient epic. Projecting from the center of the desk was a starmap, data seeming to show Imperial fleet movements and manuscripts, flickering back and forth to reveal Ozpin’s face, scrunched up in perplexion as he barely acknowledged the girl’s entrance.
“Commander Rose.” He said finally, seemingly bemused by Ruby’s refusal to step forward until invited. “Please, do come in.” He said, tapping a few buttons to stow away the projection once more. Ruby relaxed, stepping up to the desk and politely crossing her hands in front of her.
“General Ozpin.” She said, flashing a smile. “The colonel said you needed to speak with me?”
“I did.” He said, his voice seeming distant as always. The general rarely left his quarters these days, making appearances for major briefings, funerals, and the occasional commendation, and it was always a bit of a shock to see him again. His tousled, gray hair fell in locks in front of his face, dark glasses hiding his eyes from betraying any further emotions than required. His officer’s uniform was crisp, but faded, seemingly in need of a replacement. Despite the fact that his face was devoid of any wrinkles or blemishes, everyone knew he was far older than he seemed. A few of the A-Wing pilots had a running bet on just how old that was.
Now, however, his sharp, brown eyes were turned to her as he stood, hands steadying himself on the dark surface of his desk, reaching for his cane.
“I need you to take Silver Squadron to orbit this afternoon. A handful of freighters will assist you, carrying first-response satellites our engineers have been preparing. It shouldn’t take long, but we need as many space-efficient personnel in the air as possible to get them functional.”
Ruby nodded. “Of course, general. I can have my people ready as soon as you need.”
She hesitated before asking “I-If I may, why the extra security? I’ve been seeing people all over the base today gearing up as if we’re about to become a warzone.” The older man seemed to stifle a sigh, easing out from the desk and gripping a steaming cup of caf, slowly sipping from it as he turned to face the window, casting a shadow over the room.
“Miss Rose, to be completely honest… we could be.” He said finally. “The Empire has been doubling their efforts to uncover some of our more… hidden cells. Reports have been coming in of infiltrators. Sneak attacks. Our network is at a fragile point, with the High Command searching for a new base.” He glanced back over his shoulder, and flashed a half-smile, as if trying to put himself at ease as much as her. “It’s just a precaution.”
“Of course.” She smiled back, knowing that it hadn’t put anyone at ease whatsoever. “I’ll find the rest of Silver and get them in the air as soon as the freighters are ready.”
“Excellent. I appreciate your help in this matter, miss Rose.” He turned back to the horizon as the sun slowly continued its descent. “Also, I’d tell your squadron to keep their fighters ready for action. You never know what could happen with little-to-no notice these days.” Ruby nodded again, reminding herself again to look into that upgrade before the next mission.
“Is… there anything else, sir?”
“Nothing more for today, commander.” Ozpin said softly, his gaze unwavering from the window. “You can go about your duties as you please.” Ruby snapped an unseen salute before making her retreat from the office, looking at the general one last time before the turbolift’s door slid shut once more. All she saw of him was a rigid figure, pitch black against the sun, already lost in thought again. She kept that image in her mind as the lift descended back into the base, already reaching for her commlink to tell her squad to suit up. She knew that Ozpin wouldn’t say something like that if he hadn’t meant it.
She had to be ready for anything.