Episode 1: Beacon

Ruby ran towards the cockpit, her heavy combat boots clanging against the metal fore passage of the ship. She hurriedly reloaded her rifle, pulling free the empty clip and discarding it lazily on the floor. The doors of the cockpit slid open, the familiar hiss alerting the pilot who sat with feet up on the main dashboard. "Ruby, back so soon, uh what's with the gun?"

"Jaune start the engines, get us off of the planet now", Jaune obeyed quickly, flicking a series of switches causing the engine to give a soft hum.

"Uh, ladies and gentlemen this is your pilot speaking, we are making a quick departure, so strap in."

"Jaune could you go a bit faster," Ruby's anxious tone revealing her nerves, "Please?"

"I'm going as fast as this thing can go, you were the one who bought an older model, these things aren't so good for the quick takeoff."

"I thought you were the one who had an appreciation for the classics?" Ruby retorted,

"Well, yeah, I mean this ship is a classic, but why do we have to get out of here so quickly anyway?" Jaune's hands moved deftly across the control board, the ship shuddering as it lifted off the ground. "Thought this was supposed to be a nice easy pick up."

"Yeah it was, but Yang kinda knew the guy, and they might have parted on bad terms. Something about a bar fight, and um, things escalated from there." Ruby turned as the doors hissed open behind her, Pyrrha stepping inside. "Everything's on board Captain, Juniors boys are trying to shoot us down though,"

"Don't you worry honey, I got this under control I doubt there little peashooters could even hit us when I'm behind the wheel." As Jaune finished his boasting the ship shot into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Jaune turned and smiled confidently at Pyrrha, his smile turning to a look of shock as the ship shook violently. "What was that!" Ruby cried out as she sat down in the co-pilot seat, Jaune looked worriedly at a display panel,

"looks like they have a little more than peashooters, they hit the right engine, we are losing dust quickly, must have hit a fuel line."

"I'm heading down there, Jaune get us off this rock and head for Atlas."

"Atlas! You crazy? That's the last place we wanna be heading with our 'special' cargo," Jaune's words were lost on Ruby, as she had already raced out of the cockpit. He looked confused, turning to Pyrrha for answers as she took Ruby's place in the co-pilot seat. "We need to find a doctor for Yang, she took a bad hit in the fight." Pyrrha looked worried, her voice only just holding up. Jaune sighed, "Don't worry about a thing honey, I will get us there in record time." Jaune smiled reassuringly at his wife, who managed to return the smile with less confidence.

Ruby bolted down the tight halls of her ship. She raced past the infirmary, only managing to glance inside to see Blake trying to stop the bleeding of Yang's wound. She pushed forward, determined to get Yang to a doctor. Finding a proper surgeon in the outer colonies would take too much time, it would be cheaper and attract less risk, but Yang would not be able to hold out for so long. Part of the risk of the current job was that the pick-up zone was on a planet not far from the edge of Confederate space. While all space was technically policed by the Confederation, the Feds only cared enough to heavily patrol the most valuable planets. The outer colonies were left to their own devices, as long as they paid whatever tribute was requested by the Confederates.

Ruby moved towards the end of the ship, climbing up into the inner workings of the propulsion systems. She crawled around, moving closer to the right engine of the ship. She could hear the damaged engine whine in complaint as Jaune throttled the ship towards atmosphere. She set about reconfiguring the fuel distribution, changing the flow of Dust as to prevent any going through the damaged fuel line. The output power of the engine would suffer, but at least they would have enough fuel to make it to Atlas. Hopefully it didn't impact the time it would take to get there by too much, for Yang's sake.

"Ruby we are about to leave atmosphere, are we good to go?" Jaune leaning into the microphone that sent his message out over the ships comm system. It took a few seconds but eventual Ruby responded, "All good down here... Just get us to Atlas as fast as you can." Jaune adjusted his loose fitting Hawaiian shirt, hand resting over the FTL controls. The stars came into view as they left the planet's surface, "twenty seconds until we are out of the planets orbit," Pyrrha sounding off and preparing for the jump. Jaune counted down in his head, waiting eagerly to punch it.

"We are clear", Jaune nodded and slammed down the throttle, the stars flashing brightly as the ship entered faster than light travel. Jaune felt the familiar feeling of FTL travel, the dizziness and slight nausea as his stomach did a quick flip. Just as quickly as the stars had disappeared, so did they return. Now however the view was dominated by a large planet, the lights of the cities visible from space, and the traffic of ships in orbit signified this planet as Atlas. "Jaune, I'm going to go down and help out Ruby and Yang. Can you get us down safely?"

"Psssh no problems, done it a million times." Pyrrha just smiled in response, grasping his hand reassuringly as she left. Jaune returned his focus to the planet, he was not the worst pilot ever, but he hated navigating the busy traffic and stupid laws of landing on such a heavily populated and regulated planets as Atlas.

Ruby hovered over the unconscious body of her sister. The small infirmary was crowded with the three of them, Blake, Pyrrha and Ruby all looking over Yang. They had almost got out of there without a scratch. Yang had been the first to react, she had recognised Junior a few seconds before he recognised her, so in classic Yang fashion she had shot first.

The fire fight had only lasted a few seconds, with Ruby and Pyrrha managing to get the cargo as Yang unleashed hell with her shotgun. It might not have been the best idea for Yang to instantly start shooting, Ruby would have liked to at least try and reason with them. However she had to trust Yang's intuition, it had gotten them out if a few tight places, even if her promiscuity had gotten into more tight spots. "I don't think we should move her, she might have some internal bleeding or something. I will try to keep her stable, you go and find a doctor." Ruby nodded, Blake was no doctor herself, but she knew a lot more than the rest of them. Ruby gave Blake a pat on the back as she left the infirmary, she was very close with Yang, and if she didn't make it, it would crush her. It would also crush Ruby, she had lost too many people, she could not lose Yang.

"Alright folks we are landing. Oh and it's raining, so, yeah, take an umbrella." Jaune's voice sounded over the Comms, his voice echoing in the quiet ship. Ruby sat on the stairs in the cargo bay, waiting for the doors to come down so she could go get Yang some help. She could hear someone walking along the ramparts that overlooked the cargo bay, "do you want me to come with you?" Pyrrha asked as she approached Ruby. Ruby just shook her head,

"You should contact Ren and tell him the delivery will be slightly late." Pyrrha nodded and trudged away, leaving Ruby to her thoughts.

The doors opened soon after, the sound and smell of rain filling the cargo bay. Ruby put on her coat, the dark red trench coat filling Ruby with confidence and determination. She raced out into the night, pushing through the small crowd of people making their way through the docking area. She ran past the various makeshift stalls that still ran into the night, the smell of exotic foods tempting her, but she remained focused and kept running for a medical facility. The main docks of Atlas were an interesting place, the only area where any poverty could be seen, the only area that didn't feel like a perfectly sterilised hospital.

Ruby eventual found a small clinic, it didn't look like much but it was the best that she could probably afford. She burst through the doors, head frantically searching for someone to help her. Eventually a receptionist appeared, "Hey I need a doctor my sister got shot and she need help!"

"Slow down honey, where's your sister?"

"Back on my ship, she needs help quick"

"I'm sorry dear but the only doctor on shift at the moment is out on a house call, he should be back soon though," Ruby slammed the receptionists desk in anger. She turned away from the stunned receptionist, sprinting out the door. There had to be another clinic somewhere. She ran through the doors, not seeing the person trying to get inside. They collided, both falling to the ground. "Watch where you're going you imbecile!" The White haired girl sat in the rain, her white suit soaked, blood streaming from her left eye. Ruby sprung up, "s-sorry I need to find my sister a doctor, if you're looking for one this clinic's doctor is out." With her words of courtesy done she pressed forward, running back into the rainy night. "Wait! I can help!" Ruby spun as the White haired girl ran over to her, "I'm a doctor take me to your sister and I can help." Ruby cocked her head in question, but took her hand and quickly pulled her along anyway.

Weiss followed the dark haired girl, constantly looking back to see if she had been followed. The cut over her eye burned like hell, she could feel the warm blood drip down her face as it was washed away by the rain. She looked again to see if they were followed, and this time saw a man in a white uniform. She sped up, now keeping pace with the girl in the maroon coat.

Ruby noticed the frantic look on the girls face, her constant checking behind them. They reached the ship, it's silver hull glistening in the rain, light trailing from the open cargo bay. Ruby pushed the girl inside, "the infirmary is down there, do what you can, I can deal with whoever is following you."

"H-how did you know?"

"I'm not blind; just go do your job."

Weiss stared at the strange girl as she moved towards the infirmary. She broke her stare and took in the sights of the ship as she ship was not the flashiest vessel she had ever been on, it looked dated and in need of a serious clean. She found the infirmary quickly, it was a very small room, but it looked in good repair and to be well stocked. Inside she found the patient, a striking girl with long blonde hair. Weiss did a quick inspection, finding the gunshot wound as well as a few fractured ribs. She set to work quickly, happy to have found something that could take her mind off of the events of the past few hours. Her hand traced along the newly forming scar over her left eye, "who are you?"

Weiss spun at the sound of the voice. A woman clad in black with long ebony hair strolled in, two cat ears on the top of her head.

Blake watched the short girl in white, she appeared skittish, and looked to have been wounded herself. "I-I'm a doctor, I was asked to take care of a girls sister," Blake studied her intensely, there was something familiar about her. "What's your name?" Blake asked,

"Weiss, now could I get back to helping this girl." Her tone returning to her usual commanding volume.

"Sorry for intruding," Blake's voice dripping with hostility and suspicion as she backed out of the room, certain to stay nearby. She sat in the small lounge area near the infirmary, her Faunus hearing trained on the Weiss, hand lazily resting on her pistol. She heard the sound of footsteps and turned towards Pyrrha as she entered the room. "Who's the doctor?"

"Don't know, she says her name is Weiss, and that Ruby asked her to take care of Yang,"

"Don't trust her?" Pyrrha raising her eyebrow inquisitively.

"Not sure, but if Ruby hired her than I'm sure she's alright. I can't help but get an odd feeling around her, as if I have seen her somewhere before."

"Keep an eye out, I'll find the captain,"

"She's in the cargo bay, sounds like we might have trouble," Pyrrha mover her head around, trying to pick up any sounds of fighting. She looked confusingly at Blake, who just pointed to her cat ears. She nodded and ran towards the cargo bay quickly.

"How can I help you gentlemen this evening?" Ruby stood with her hands clasped behind her back, rocking slowly on the heels of her feet. The two men stepped towards the ship, getting out of the rain. They wore white suits like the doctor she had just pulled inside, these men however appeared to be armed. "Move aside Miss we are after the woman you just brought in. Don't make this difficult, we work for her father and he is worried about her."

"Does he now? No worries then, I will go grab her in a second, she just has some work to do." One of the suits sighed,

"Sorry Mam but we are in a hurry, we can compensate you for any work that was interrupted." The man made a step forward, only to be blocked by Ruby's significantly smaller form.

"I'm really sorry but you are going to have to wait," Ruby's voice changing from the cheerful girl into a colder, more intimidating woman. The man sighed again, reaching into his suit coat, for what Ruby could only assume was a pistol. She lunged, sending a knee into the man's gut, then sending her elbow smashing into the bridge of his nose. The second man pulled forth his gun but was too slow to fire as Ruby leapt onto him, sending both of them tumbling into the rain. Ruby quickly put weight on the man's arm, trying to keep the gun pinned away from her. She looked back in time to see the other man recover from her blows, now raising his pistol to fire at her. He wasn't able to pull the trigger as sparks flew from his hand, his gun sent spinning off into the night. Pyrrha stood on ramparts overlooking the cargo bay, rifle trained on the two men in white suits. "Need a hand their captain?"

"Good timing, but I think I had it somewhat under control." Pyrrha smirked as she turned to aim at the man underneath Ruby. Ruby looked down at him and gave a knowing look, he grunted and let go of his pistol, which Ruby took into her hand. "I'm really sorry about this you know, but my sister is real hurt and that lady said she was a doctor. My mother always said that the key to everything was patience, if you could have waited for the doctor lady then none of this would have happened."

"You're in a heap of trouble girl," the man grumbled from his position on the wet ground. Ruby simply smiled, toting her new pistol.

"I have been in trouble for a long time now."

Weiss finished her operation, the little shrapnel left in the wound now gone, and her other minor injuries tended too. A wave of exhaustion hit her as she realised she hadn't slept in the last twenty four hours. It had been a crazy twenty four hours, her father's outburst, her new scar, her escape. It had been taxing, and now that the adrenaline was gone, she needed to sleep. She quickly cleaned her own wound, the cut over her eye had stopped bleeding and she could not be bothered to place a patch over it for healing, she needed both her eyes right now. She moved out of the infirmary, looking for the girl with red tipped hair. She wandered around the quiet ship, the sound of rain against the hull providing an ambient soundtrack to her meandering. While her first impression of the ship had been that it was fairly run down, her second inspection revealed that while it was an older ship, it was also very personalised. Little signs of life where present everywhere, signs that the ship was more of a home than a transport.

She eventually made her way to what appeared to be a larger living area, complete with a small kitchen and large dining table. Her hands absently traced over the polished wood, she felt a series of etchings in the table, various graffiti having been carved into the table. Names, places, jokes, all across the tables surface. "Hey there, uh, can I help you?" The voice startled Weiss and she turned to see a man standing in the doorway, scratching at his unkempt blonde hair. "Are you a passenger, didn't know we were picking up those."

"Uh, no I am a doctor, I was asked to take care of the blonde woman downstairs."

"Ah cool, how is she by the way, going to make a full recovery?" The man eased up and waltzed over to the kitchen, grabbing what looked to be some sort of biscuit.

"Yes, her wounds were not too bad, although if she was left without medical attention for too long then the injury might have been fatal. It was a fairly simple operation however, she should be up and about in a few days." The blonde man nodded lazily, chewing loudly on the biscuit. "Would you mind taking me to the girl with the red tipped hair, she was the one who hired me."

"Ruhby, thahts her nambe," the man finished his biscuit, crumbs falling over his tacky Hawaiian shirt. "Oh, she and Pyrrha went out to take care of something, should be back soon." He wiped down his shirt and took a step closer to Weiss, who immediately took a defensive stance. He outstretched his arm, "the name's Jaune, I fly this thing."

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Weiss," she said hesitantly as she slowly grasped his hand in a handshake.

"Well, you can relax here for a while, until the others get back, I'm sure they won't be long." With that Jaune strolled back to the cockpit, hands in the pockets of his baggy pants. Weiss watched him leave as she took a seat at the table, and waited for the others to return...

Weiss awoke suddenly as she was shaken lightly. Her eyes shot open and she stared into the silver eyes of Ruby. "Hey there sleepy head."

"O-oh, um, hi. Sorry, I was just a bit drowsy after the…" Ruby shrugged,

"Don't worry about it, least you could do is take a nap after helping Yang. Looks like she is good to go, Blake even admitted it was good work."

"Well, thanks, but it was no issue, I have seen my fair share of wounds before." Ruby raised an eyebrow at this,

"So you have seen a few gunshot wounds then, interesting." Ruby pulled up a chair and sat opposite Weiss, "How do you want to do payment, we don't have a lot of money but it might be enough to cover the job. Unless there was something else you needed." Weiss looked confused,

"Oh I don't need money, think of it as…charity?" she said weakly,

"Come on, I don't need any charity, and I would feel bad if you didn't get duly compensated." Weiss thought for a moment, she had plenty of money, heiress to one of the galaxies largest drug companies. Maybe she did need it though, she had run away from home, it was unlikely that she would be able to access any of her accounts. More than anything though, Weiss needed distance, her father would send more men, and she had no plans on going back. "Wait a second, what happened to the men that were following me?"

"Oh them, they had a bit of an accident, they won't be troubling you,"

"You killed them!"

"Hey hold on there, I didn't kill them. Just you now, knocked them out, uh, tied them up and left them in an alleyway dumpster." Ruby smiled sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"Oh, well then… I guess they won't be troubling me."

"Why were they after you anyway, they didn't look like Feds so I doubt your some kind of mass murderer or anything. You're not right?"

"No! I haven't killed anyone! How could you think that?" Ruby raised her hands defensively,

"Just making sure. Back to business though, as I said we have a little money we can pay you. Other than that I'm not sure, unless you needed a lift anywhere." Weiss mulled it over, they seemed like nice enough people, well, aside from the Faunus. "Actually, now that you mention it, I am in need of a transport."

"Brilliant, if you have anything to pick up might want to make it quick, we have a tight schedule."

"I don't, just show me to my quarters and I will stay out of your hair." Ruby shifted her chair back under the table, and gestured towards the guest quarters.

Two hours later the ship took off, leaving behind the big city world of Atlas. Ruby had gathered the crew in the dining area, all taking up their usual seat, this time with the edition of Weiss. "Everyone, by now I'm sure you have met Weiss. However if you haven't, this here is Weiss, she's the doctor that fixed up Yang and as payment we are giving her a ride."

"Where are we taking her?" Blake's inquisitive stare focused on the white haired girl. Ruby slightly quizzical as to the Faunus' obvious mistrust of the girl.

"Well, not quite sure, haven't bothered to ask."

"And pray tell why you have not asked?" Blake's glare now focusing on Ruby.

"Haven't seen the need to." Ruby matching Blake's glare, with a look that said, this is my ship. "Now back to business." Ruby's demeanour returning to its usual cheerfulness, "We are dropping over to Sanders, Ren's waiting for his supplies."

"You mean the ones we took off that arms dealer, boy that guy turned out to be a world of trouble," Jaune chimed in looking around expectantly at everyone, trying to inject some humour into the room. Instead he got a soft punch on the arm by Pyrrha, and the collective glare of annoyance from Ruby and Blake. Jaune looked to Pyrrha, who nodded in Weiss' direction. "Oh! I mean, yeah the, uh, food… dealer man… for the hungry people of Sanders." Ruby rested her forehead on her palm, sighing as she did so. Weiss did likewise, "what kind of ship am I on?"

"Beacon is a bit of a, transport, occasional smuggling, kind of ship." Ruby muttered very quietly,

"Beacon?"

"Every ship has a name Weiss." Weiss shrugged in response, Ruby clapping her hand together to refocus everyone. "Ren's going to join us too, said he has done all he can for Sanders. So from there we are heading over to Vale, got word that a few jobs might be available for folks like us. Weiss if you need anything feel free to ask anyone for help. With that all said and done, I'm going to get some shut eye."

Everyone dispersed all heading either to their bunks or to do some job or another. They were a strange bunch, that was clear in Weiss' mind, possibly even a dangerous bunch, but for the moment she was happy to be on board.