[DISCONTINUED] The Soldiers Of Remnant - (RWBY + Star Wars Crossover)

Chapter 23 - The Choice

Bold Font - Time/Location

Italic Font - Thoughts

The LAAT landed in the hangar bay of the Tranquility and the doors swung open. There were clones in all directions going about their business in the hangar. Some were moving supplies and performing maintenance while others were patrolling and training. Just as Qrow, Gree, Crane, and Glynda were about to head to the bridge, the alarm sounded battle stations aboard the ship. Glynda and Qrow looked toward Crane and Gree, who nodded at each other as if telling each other they knew what to do. Gree and Crane started sprinting toward the bridge while Qrow and Glynda followed. In about a minute, they arrived on the bridge. They could see the Republic starfighters, smoke, hordes of Grimm, and what was left of Ozpin's office from outside the triangular-shaped windows of the bridge. On the front of the bridge was a woman in a dark brown robe with some sort of decorative headpiece that covered all but her face. She had dark blue eyes, her lips were a blackish-purple, and her skin was a light shade of green with smaller, darker green diamonds on her chin. Officers were running about on the bridge doing their duties. The Tranquility shook a little here and there from the Grimm attacking the hull, but they were quickly dispatched by the ship's 32 laser turrets. The woman quickly took notice of the new arrivals on the bridge and made her way over to them, trying not to lose her balance when the ship shook yet again. Crane stepped forward to introduce his two companions.

Crane: "Master Luminara. These are my companions, Glynda and Qrow. They're natives of this world. It's good to see you again, despite the circumstances. "

Luminara: "Agreed. These are troubling times my child. Even more so when we cannot seem to remove a giant beast from the top of a tower."

Crane's eyes widened from what she said. He couldn't believe he forgot about the giant Grimm circling the top of Ozpin's tower...or what was left of it.

Crane: "Well...yeah...I might have forgotten to, erm...mention that."

Gree stepped forward and gave his assessment of the situation.

Gree: "Since that monster keeps spawning in more of the smaller buggers, it'll be hard to secure the school even with this ship's firepower and our resources. We're going to have to evacuate the city."

Glynda was shocked by this. She wasn't going to let her home be completely abandoned like Mountain Glenn was all those years ago.

Glynda: "Wait a minute! We can't just leave the city in the hands of the Grimm! We have to do something!"

Luminara turned to Glynda and asked her a question with a serious and slightly sarcastic tone of voice.

Luminara: "And what would you have us do?"

This took Glynda off guard. In her sudden leap of emotion, she failed to think of a plan to back her statement.

Luminara: "I understand and appreciate your willingness to fight for your home, but there is nothing more we can do here. The city is nearly destroyed, there are those creatures everywhere to be found, and then there's that giant monster circling the tower. Right now, we must do all we can to save what ever is left. My troops are already evacuating survivors with the help of...Atlas, I believe was the name?"

Crane: "That's correct Master."

Luminara: "So again. We must leave this place. Perhaps we'll return eventually."

Glynda thought about it for a moment. Luminara was right, but there was one thing she hadn't accounted for: not everyone was going to want to leave. Even during these circumstances, some people wouldn't feel comfortable leaving their homes to be destroyed. Glynda was one of these people.

Glynda: "I'm staying then."

Qrow looked at Glynda with a concerned and slightly surprised look.

Qrow: "Glynda, you can't be serious. You'll die if you stay..."

Glynda: "I can take care of myself Qrow. You of all people should know that."

Qrow sighed in defeat. It's not like he of all people was going to change her mind.

Qrow: "What the hell. Far be it for me to try to talk you out of it. Hey kiddo?"

Crane looked at Qrow with an eyebrow raised.

Crane: "Don't call me that."

Qrow: "Fine, just listen. I need you to do me a favor, okay?"

Glynda: "Wow, this is a first..."

Qrow: "Hey, shut up. Anyways, I need you to take Ruby and Yang to an island called Patch. It's just off the northwest shore of Vale."

Crane: "Why can't you do it?"

Qrow: "Because..."

Qrow sighed. It might as well be time the truth came out.

Qrow: "Do you remember before we went to the tower when I told you about the vault?"

Crane: "Vaguely."

Qrow: "Well, let me explain it this way then. The Grimm have a leader. Her name is Salem. She wants to take over the world essentially. She can't do that unless she has four ancient artifacts called relics. Each of these relics can only be unlocked by one of the seasonal maidens. The maidens have magic powers, similar to what you call the Force. When a maiden dies, the power goes to the last person the maiden thinks about or trusts a lot, and the person who gains the power has to be a woman and she has to be young. If none of these requirements are met, the power is assigned randomly. Cinder attacked the Fall Maiden, Amber. So we put Amber in stasis in the vault below the tower. Since Amber was going to die no matter what we tried, Ironwood helped us create a machine that would artificially give someone else the power. We chose Pyrrha for that, but obviously it didn't go as planned since Cinder has the power of the Fall Maiden now. Unfortunately, that means that Ozpin's most likely dead..."

Crane: "And you're going to finish the work he started. It makes sense why you need me to keep your nieces safe."

Qrow gave a simple nod of affirmation.

Qrow: "It's extremely important that NO ONE ELSE knows about this. The more people that know, the more people there are at risk. Don't tell anyone unless absolutely necessary."

Crane brought his hand up to his chin and thought for a moment.

Crane: "Alright, I'll do it."

One of the officers came up to Luminara and gave a report on the battle taking place.

Officer: "General, the evacuation is complete. All civilians who want to leave have been evacuated to the north and the west."

Luminara: "Very well. Recall all squadrons and get our troops back on board. And please have a transport take these two down to the city. After they've departed, set a course back to the core."

Officer: "Yes madam."

The officer saluted and escorted Glynda to the hangar. Crane stepped toward Luminara to indicate he had more to say.

Crane: "Master, I think it would be prudent if my regiment and I stayed on Remnant. They may not be fighting Separatists or live on a Republic world, but they need our help. That should be obvious by this point. All I ask is that we be sent a regular supply ship every two weeks. Despite our policy not to interfere in events that aren't our concern, by arriving at this planet we've already changed the course of events that would have happened if we weren't here."

Luminara thought about Crane's request for a moment before addressing her concerns.

Luminara: "I agree with your reasoning, but the council may not. They may not accept your request, but I will speak to them on your behalf. In the meantime, I will allow you to remain here with your regiment."

Crane smiled and gave a light bow to his superior.

Crane: "Thank you master."

Luminara: "Do remember that you are a Jedi first, not a soldier. It is common during a war for one to lose themselves to the dark."

Crane: "I understand Master...more than anyone."

Luminara: "Safe travels child. A ship is waiting for you in the hangar."