Chapter Text
Chapter 1: The Last Remnants of a Startling Discovery
In the deep, dark sky of the cosmos, billions of stars align the sky in a shower of lights. Within those little balls of light are galaxies that are teaming with planets out in the far reaches of space.
Although some celestial bodies cannot sustain life, such as dwarf planets or gigantic gas giants filled with deadly toxins, there are a rare few that hold the keys to evolution and serve as the building blocks of biological matter.
The wonders of life...
Some lifeforms evolve to become greater than others, passing on knowledge to the next generation thanks to their genetics and breeding potential, having their offspring become more knowledgeable than others.
However, sometimes that knowledge comes at a cost, whether it's justified or not. This often leads to suffering among individuals and species, resulting from their own arrogance. Consequently, it dooms those species to an untimely demise, whether through a slow and painful extinction or the catastrophic consequences of war, all stemming from that extensive knowledge.
One such race is now facing a tragic fate. Their people are on the brink of extinction due to a plague affecting their intelligent, sentient beings. If they do not address this issue urgently, their end will be imminent within the coming years.
But all is not lost. As said before, the newer generation can learn from this error and correct their mistake.
With their space-faring technology, we find our crew of brave heroines searching for answers to their problems in the vast reaches of space.
And luck would have it... that their salvation comes in an unsuspecting way...
(The Physi System, Neblus Sector)
A Metallic, dull crimson ship was floating away, its thrusters humming their way across the silent, inky blackness of this part of space.
She was called The Animus, a military experimental research ship showing off the intellectual prowess of the Faunus people and how far their engineering has come throughout the years.
It is designed for swift hit-and-run tactics in combat, equipped with powerful proton cannons capable of devastating any ship's hull. Additionally, it carries a lethal array of Hydra-Class missiles that can reduce any enemy to a molten pile of slag upon impact with these incendiary payloads.
This formidable vessel was equipped with an array of impressive features, including a cloaking device that enabled quick and precise surgical bombing runs. This capability allowed it to inflict significant damage while effortlessly disappearing from sight. Additionally, its turbine engines were designed to outmaneuver any space cruiser in the vastness of space. It also featured state-of-the-art targeting systems that could easily lock onto nearby heat signatures.
She was a deadly thing of beauty alright.
There was some charm to her as well, as one of the crew put a well-known animal species that was native to their planet. A grizzly-looking feline creature with dark purple fur, a primal-looking beast that looks to be the size of a small car, with ivory white colored tusks curled up in the shape of a ram's horns, with sharp, razor-like teeth, shown in an angry roar to anyone who saw it.
The medium-sized ship was ready for any kind of conflict that came their way when it came to a space battle. Animus was fast, mobile, and ready for a dogfight or tussle when push came to shove.
However...this time the deadly ship wasn't here for battle or destruction.
It was here for research and recon.
"Status report, Lieutenant?" The leader, a tanned woman in black body armor with red stripes, demanded in a firm tone. Her bobbed hair framed her face, and her tiger-like ears and striped tail added to her distinctive faunus appearance. Her golden orange eyes radiated wisdom and authority unmatched by others around her.
This was Admiral Sienna Kahn, the leader of this mission and a high-ranking officer of the Faunus Prime Space Force Military.
"Well, I found our planet when we entered this system, Sin." The orange-haired girl with cat ears replied, wearing a white bodysuit intricately designed with pink and light blue colors. The modest suit did little to conceal her C-cup figure, giving it an alluring appearance.
"I checked the navigation computer a couple of times to confirm, and this should be it—Remnant Alpha is located at the exact coordinates I just entered in this part of the Physi System." The planet in question, Remnant Alpha, was supposed to be an emerald-green jewel, a standard for all healthy vegetation that thriving planets aspire to.
"Are you sure you read the System chart right, Lieutenant Neon?" Sienna asked as she looked outside at what was supposed to be a beautiful planet, full of fertile greenery and abundant water that would nourish the ecosystems they inhabited. "Because this seems..."
"Wrong," Sienna said, raising an eyebrow as she gazed out the window. Instead of the expected emerald green and cerulean blue, she saw a planetoid painted in shades of crimson, dull dark brown, and black. The planet appeared to be rife with magnetic storms on its surface in various areas, along with what seemed to be a vast expanse of lava in place of the waters shown in the study holograms.
"Well, fearless leader, this is what we got." Neon replied, leaning back into her chair, tapping her thigh, "I didn't move the planet anywhere and made a wrong jump if that's what you're insinuating..." With a cheeky grin plastered on her face, she smiled back at her CO.
Only to meet a stark frown from the Tiger Faunus woman. "Cute," Sienna said, her voice devoid of any joking tone.
Putting her hands up in surrender after Sienna gave the girl a little glare for the stupid joke. "L-Look, you know me, Kahn, I'm usually on the ball when it comes to hitting my space jump targets. If I'm not, then what's the point of the shining light of Faunus Prime going to one of the most prestigious pilot academies throughout the known galaxy?" Neon said, trying to defend herself.
The woman in charge only shook her head at that response, listening to reason. "No...you're right. These are the correct hyperspace jump coordinates, it's just...strange to see a planet that was supposed to thrive and perhaps have sentient life and become a more technological marvel just becoming something like this." Long ago, the Faunus race watched the Remnant people grow into inventors on their own merit. The elders told the Faunus researchers not to interfere with the growth of the Remnant species. But only watch them for statistics and for their potential growth as intelligent beings.
When Sienna studied up on this race, she had to admit that they were quite bold people—a little on the haughty and dim-witted side, with cockiness to boot.
She had to give them credit, though, when their cockiness evolved into genuine confidence in their ability to create and innovate new inventions. The captain acknowledged that they were approaching Tier One intelligence and technology in the galaxy, a remarkable achievement not seen before from more primitive species.
If they had more time, perhaps they could have reached the second intellectual tier of technology, reaching the stars in their own more primitive space-faring ships and rockets, and could have potentially made it off of Remnant Prime to create more colonies of their own.
But from the looks of things, it seems that would be all for naught. Their once-beautiful homeworld now appears to be nothing but a barren wasteland of ash and dust.
It's truly disappointing; they had the potential to be the key to solving her people's pressing crisis.
Oh well... can't cry over spilled milk.
"I wonder what happened down there..." Sienna said aloud, her curiosity piqued as she wondered what happened to the inhabitants who used to call this place home. There were no known archived logs to explain what happened. It could have been anything that ended their race.
"Perhaps the probe approach will give us some answers." Sienna's tiger ears twitched at the suggestion. She turned to see the two other Faunus accompanying her on this mission. "We might uncover some secret history that is currently eluding us about this planet."
The speaker was a dark-haired, feline woman with golden honey-colored eyes and cute cat ears adorned with white tufts of fur at the tips of the dark triangles, and with a fluffy black tail on the back end of her nicely shaped rear. She was wearing the same style of armor as Sienna, but instead of red, her color stripes were a dark purple.
This was Blake Belladonna, Xenoarchaeologist and enjoyer of history and literature, along with a rising officer in the military, thanks to her leadership in space conflicts against certain campaigns like the Arachnia Wars and the Space Elf Elfar Conflict that ended up victorious, thanks to her strategic thinking and cunning prowess, thus the reason she had shot up to the rank of Captain.
Some in the Faunus upper brass think that Belladonna didn't deserve the promotions that she did, saying it was because of nepotism and that both her respected parents were part of the upper crust of Faunus society, with her father being a major politician in the Faunus Prime government and her mother being a retired officer in the SFM (Space Force Military).
However, Sienna has seen Blake take control of situations firsthand. The woman doesn't sit on her laurels, nor does she act like a pompous ass when told to do her duty to protect Faunus Prime. So in her eyes, whoever is trying to push her down is the real idiot, as she saw a woman doing her job with poise and efficiency for her planet and people.
The other woman was not a feline Faunus like the rest of the crew; she identified as a Rabbit Faunus. Her hair was a light chestnut brown, and she had two long, adorable rabbit ears atop her head. Her chocolate brown eyes complemented her beautiful face. She wore the same type of armor as her comrades, but in a different color—hers was a dark coffee brown with gold stripes as accents.
Sergeant Velvet Scarlatina is a Xenobiologist and a member of the Faunus military. Her expertise is crucial for this mission, as her knowledge of alien biology will assist the Faunus people during their time of population crisis. Although she may not be as well-known as Blake and Sienna, if they succeed in their mission and provide help to their home world, the Faunus will celebrate her as a savior in one of their darkest hours.
What a thrilling way to rattle the nerves of the most timid crew member with such intense pressure, right?
"Sergeant Velvet, Captain Blake." Sienna addressed both of them as they came to see the planet's status for themselves in the cockpit. "Good to see you up and about from your cryosleep."
"We've had plenty of time to stretch our legs and set up our stations and equipment in the designated rooms. Had to help Velvet with her cleaning tools thanks to a certain... slip-up." The black cat faunus woman looked at the sergeant with an amused smile at Velvet's expense.
That reaction caused the bunny girl to rub her head in embarrassment from the situation that occurred prior, and a raised eyebrow from Admiral Sienna.
"Dare I ask what the issue was?" The tiger woman asked.
"T-The Captain had to help me with some more sensitive equipment. T-The cord of the Plasma Cutter tripped me up, and it was starting to tangle me up." The rabbit girl laughed to try and break the ice, hoping not to make a complete twat out of herself in front of two high-ranking officers.
"A-And I-I probably wasn't paying attention when I was trying to set up my Biometric Vital Scanner, as my head smacked it pretty hard," Velvet muttered in shame, hoping no one would hear the rest of her falling to the floor and eating dirt. Though the shiner of a bruise on the side of her head was clear to everyone, the woman couldn't help but rub the tender area a little. "Probably...should have looked on the floor before moving such important equipment." The rabbit girl finished, pushing her two index fingers together, with an embarrassing blush starting to form on her face.
After a couple of seconds, she heard snickering from the pilot chair of the ship before hearing the loud cackling from the more carefree Lieutenant Neon, making Velvet's cheeks even more crimson like one of the Infertomato Plants on Faunus Prime, as the girl just laughed up her clumsy mistake.
"H-How...How did you not see that... Oh my Anima..." Neon started kicking her legs in her seat, as she laughed away, tears starting to prick at her eyes as Velvet's comedic mistake was making her day. "It's hanging...in front of you...oh my spleen." Neon is holding her sides now in laughter, her feline ears twitching and tail animated as it wiggles around like a Gaius Mealworm.
"Ahem...to be fair...Velvet was quite engrossed with her...research." Blake couldn't help but snort out after her last comment, "It could have happened to anyone." Blake said quickly, trying to salvage the situation and regain her professionalism in front of Admiral Sienna.
The resulting comments had Sienna look at Blake with her own amused smile, silently messaging her like: "Is this true?". Only to get a nod to confirm the story from the raven-haired captain, the silence of the room deafening, other than the laughter from the pilot.
Honestly, Velvet wished the floor of the ship would have just swallowed her up and sent her out into the vacuum of space.
"Well, Sergeant, I hope you will be a bit more vigilant of your surroundings the next time you come into conflict." The admiral smirked as she added her two cents to the little joke.
The fact that even her superior officers were taking a piss out of her caused Velvet to groan in defeat, though she was ready to smack the shit out of Blake, which would not scream maturity in her eyes, so she decided to let the whole joke play out as a sort of cruel humbling. "Yes, ma'am." Dramatically bowing her head as little rain clouds hung over her head.
"On a serious note for a moment. As for your idea, Captain Belladonna, I have considered the possibility of using the drone probes." Sienna said as she went over to one of the computers to examine the grey robotic marvel. "The scanning sensors on our Tracer Mark II are indeed capable of detecting traces of biomatter, even though the planet is a barren rock," Sienna informed the other two, having the holo projector show off the specs to both Blake and Velvet.
"If that's the case, then let me get started and shoot some out there," Neon told the other three, pushing some buttons to activate the drones.
"Hold on for a second, Lieutenant," Sienna said, prompting the salmon-haired pilot to pause. "While following protocol might seem correct, we could be wasting our time by just checking for hazards on Remnant Alpha." For once, Sienna was trying to be practical rather than simply following orders. "Additionally, if we lose the drones due to the magnetic storm, they could be destroyed or have their signals scrambled and fried, leaving them ready for the scrap yard," Sienna concluded her explanation for everyone around her. "The last thing we need is for our expensive and limited drones to be left on the planet, turning to rust on a dead world."
The last thing that the military budget needed was to spend more needless credits on something that could be prevented; it almost reminded her of the failure that was the Railgun Cannon experiment and which went down.
Billions of credits just going up in smoke thanks to that shit show of an accident, just like how the weapon did.
"So what you're saying is to just leave and go to one of our next planet targets?" Neon asked as her pink tail flickered and her feline ears stood up in surprise on her head from the suggestion of the Admiral.
"That's exactly what I am saying, Lieutenant." Sienna said, "We didn't expect Remnant Alpha to be nothing but a red rock, and yet it is. Therefore, we don't need to risk losing our equipment and going back to Faunus Prime or finding some Junker merchant in the middle of this quadrant to find a half-decent scavenger drone. Which I have a feeling would only be Helios class or Ravager class." That statement caused Blake and Neon to shudder as they remembered those kinds of dreaded scout drones.
Interacting with the Faunus computing systems was far from a pleasant experience, especially when it came to the notorious Ravager class drones. Their complexity and quirks made them anything but user-friendly, creating a challenging landscape for anyone trying to control their systems. Plus, they were known around the galaxy as being the cheap type of machine that would malfunction after a couple of usages.
Though the Helios-class drones were even worse than the Ravager's! Considering that one wrong press of a command button would cause the blasted robots to explode.
While all signs point to just leaving this dead planet being a good decision, the voice of Captain Blake spoke up to make a different claim.
"Admiral, we cannot let this extraordinary opportunity slip away. It gives us a rare chance to uncover the mysteries of this lost race," Blake suggested, her passion for history shining through. "They might have insights that we, as Faunus, are missing. Perhaps they hold the key to our solutions down there. If we ignore this chance and walk away, we will remain ignorant and never discover what could be."
"Be that as it may, Captain Belladonna, it's too much of a risk for our equipment," Sienna said. "One wrong search on this hazardous planet, and we could lose our drones, leaving us to search blindly on other worlds with more potential." Sienna pulled out a tablet and displayed images of several other planets that were on the space forces' radar, including one that resembled a dark green gem and another that was light blue. "Perhaps if we act quickly, we could move on to a more promising planet like Talos V or Aerosium?" Sienna suggested, hoping to steer Blake away from this lost cause.
Despite this setback, her passion for Xenohistory continued to ignite like an unquenchable flame, drawing her deeper into its fascinating depths.
"But we can't just pass this up! The discovery could be right under our feet on this rock, and just because it's barren, you're willing to leave?" Blake couldn't believe her superior's audacity. This could be one of the few times to find a lost civilization with intelligence that could rival their own and many other space-faring species, and they were going to leave?
Preposterous...
"Hey, Sin...you know those other planets that you referenced are kind of...you know, tough to get to at the moment." Neon tried to tell her superior in a sheepish tone. "And they kinda aren't viable to jump to at the moment..."
The tiger faunus turned so sharply towards Neon that she thought she would have gotten whiplash. Golden piercing eyes looked at the pilot so sharply she thought it was a Beam Sabre sword sawing through her.
"Could you elaborate on that, please?" The tone is straightforward, without any hint of humor.
"W-Well...this may have been a recent report from Faunus High Command, but Talos V at the moment is a Space Pirate hot zone." The orange-haired feline girl said, chuckling nervously as she saw her commanding officer's mood plummet from her confident smile to a more angered visage.
"And you couldn't tell me this sooner!" Sienna was clenching her fist now, ready to sock the pilot for this...recent development.
"S-Sorry, ma'am!" Neon apologized, fearing for her life at the moment. "But when you were discussing leaving this Sector, I had to check to make sure our coordinates and hyper jump lanes would be safe for travel." The cat girl's tail flickered fast, showing her nervousness at the situation with her commanding officer. "Turns out Talos V has been turned into a hot zone for the Reptilican Space Pirates." Neon referred to the blue anthromorphic space gekkos; nasty pieces of work they were. Only caring about pillaging and destroying. Sienna gritted her teeth upon referencing those beasts.
Space savages, it would be great to wipe out those bastards, but with what their pilot said, it would probably be more than just a stray ship for those scale heads.
"Agh... fine. Then what is the status of Aerosium?" Looking at the holographic map of the sky-blue planet, she hoped to hear some good news about it.
Neon frowned with disappointment as she typed on her hypercomputer, delivering only bad news to her commanding officer.
"Unfortunately...The Space Elves got to the planet first for a complete takeover of that planet, plus the space around it..." Neon announced.
"Damnit!" The news burned Sienna more than the news about Talos V being in pirate space. The tiger faunus women knew that those damn elves would pearl clutch that world thanks to its natural environment, as well as their lust for conquest when it came to different planets.
If she and her crew of four were caught attacking them and searching on Aerosium, then she'd cause a galactic incident that could lead to a full-scale war with their two kinds.
That was something Sienna absolutely wanted to avoid, as those long-eared tree huggers were the closest help they could ask for if Project: Faunus Rebirth were to fail.
"Hmmm...seems we are in a bit of a situation here, Admiral Kahn," Blake spoke up with a hint of sass in her tone, seeing her superior officer's plan go up in smoke.
"Unless you are certain about the locations you want to search and can ensure there's no risk involved, I cannot approve the drops. Until we have more information, we will continue to adhere to the order to leave this planet alone." Sienna concluded, her voice firm. Blake, taken aback by Sienna's decision, lowered her head in defeat, still puzzled by the situation.
However, the admiral's tone softened a bit more after telling the captain off. "I know this is because of your passion for Xenohistory, Blake, but you cannot let your interests get in the way of the true mission." Sienna was trying to get the other woman back on track. "Our people need Project Faunus Rebirth to be successful; we need to find another race to help us out from the goodness of their hearts that is compatible with us."
The tanned woman clapped her shoulder, trying to be supportive. "We won't go to those other planets, but perhaps we can find somewhere else that is perhaps a safer gamble, maybe they'll have an archive or treasure trove of logs that you could busy yourself with," Sienna said.
Blake backed down and looked away with a click of her tongue, not wanting to start anything more with her superior.
All of that promise of Remnant Alpha, just to get tossed aside like some piece of garbage. Blake knew that Sienna was trying to get her back down and forget about this planet, but she just couldn't. Not from this mysterious case.
There had to be some way to convince Admiral Kahn to reconsider her choice. The treasured ancient logs, or dare she say the future of their Faunus race's salvation could be down there for Anima's sake, and the admiral could be clueless about it this whole time, just because the planet is barren.
'Sometimes another girl's trash is another's treasure...' Blake thought, she couldn't be the only one who saw the potential here in Remnant Alpha; perhaps one of the others here could plead their case to give the drones a shot.
Luckily, the answer to Blake's prayers came in the form of a certain chocolate brown lupine girl as she cleared her throat to get everyone's attention on the deck.
"Permission to speak freely, Admiral?" Sergeant Velvet said to her. Sienna looked at the rabbit girl in question with a raised eyebrow in curiosity about what she had to say.
"Granted, Velvet, proceed."
"Well...perhaps Captain Blake has a point about using the drones," Velvet explained. Causing Blake to look at her fellow faunus comrade in surprise, she didn't think the Xenobiologist would agree to her statement.
"Care to explain why, Ms. Scarlatina?" Sienna Kahn asked.
"Well... the current drones we have in our ranks are powerful enough to resist magnetic storms thanks to the metal plating we have upgraded to, thanks to the electronic stabilizers that are inside of them." Velvet explained, "They are now fully resistant to being pulled apart by the magnetic waves that are part of the planet's magnetic storm."
"Hmmm..." Sienna hummed, "That does take some pressure off the electrical parts and components. But the fact remains that it could be a waste of time sending them to the planet and coming up empty-handed."
"Not to worry, Admiral Kahn. Our electromagnetic sensors can make quick scans of the outer atmosphere. It could practically search to see if there is a point or any kind of life that is worth searching for." Velvet said, "If the drones don't find anything, then they will send a signal to our ship to signify that their scans came up negative and return to us without risk."
"Ok. But what if they do find something that's still alive planet-side?"
"Well...that's when they will go into their primary routine." The rabbit woman was admitted to her CO.
The response got an irritated growl out of Sienna.
"But!" Velvet replied before Sienna got angered once more. "The signal or electrical pulse will most likely be shrunk down to the point where it's strongest when they find the point of interest or the electric anomaly." Velvet continued. "If they track down their location, then it should be pretty simple to find whatever source is causing them to flock towards that area." The rabbit woman took a deep breath after that explanation.
"Hmmm..." Sienna's face showed conflict as the options were now given to her. It was still her call, but now that Scarlatina had told her about the drones' usage...
Well, it seemed like it's worth a shot. But she wasn't completely convinced that this plan could be foolproof without the risks.
Though she wasn't a complete tight ass as an admiral, she could show her strict side once in a while. However, in this case, perhaps a different approach to decision-making could be the way to resolve this conflict.
"Alright... let's take a vote on this matter, and perhaps we can be diplomatic on this." Sienna caved. "If you get more than half the vote, then we'll send the drones. But if not, then we head to the next planet." The tanned tiger faunus woman said. "Are we all in agreement?"
"Yes, Admiral!" They all said without hesitation.
"Very good. I will go first and cast my vote to decline the scouting of Remnant Alpha." Sienna confirmed, "Captain Belladonna, what say you?"
"I say we investigate the planet with the drones," Blake said, putting her hand up to cast her vote, her black feline tail wagging back and forth like a coiled snake on their planet.
Sienna turned her attention to the rabbit faunus girl. "Velvet, what is your decision?"
"I..." Velvet hesitated at first, looking down to think before her chocolate brown eyes caught Blake's honey golden orbs. Seeing her fellow faunus, she gave off an invisible plea. Hoping she made the right choice in this matter.
"I say we should scout the planet," Velvet said, her voice filled with confidence in her choice, though it didn't stop her cotton ball tail on her backside from stopping the nervous twitches here and there.
"Alright. That's 2 to 1 now..." Sienna then turned toward the final one of their team. "It's all down to your vote now, Lieutenant." Neon could feel the pressure of her choice. She knew in her gut that she should always follow her superior officer when it came to a decision. Sienna Kahn is a respected woman after all.
However, something in her wild heart yearned for something different that day. As she looked at both Blake and Velvet, their arms raised to indicate their desire to give it a try, she noticed that their expressions were stoic, a result of their Space Force training. Yet, their eyes told a different story to Neon.
It screamed, 'Please help us, ' as they hoped that their reasoning would get to the pilot.
Neon gave the pair a wink before she turned her attention back to the tiger faunus woman.
"Sorry, Chief... I'm going to have to go with the crowd on this one," she said, giving a defeated smile. "Hope there aren't any hard feelings, Sienna," the orange cat girl added, smirking at the tanned woman.
"None at all, Lieutenant," Sienna replied with a brief smile before turning back to the other two. "Alright, the decision has been made. Neon, launch the pods, and we'll wait for their response data from the outer atmosphere." With the order given, she began to walk away.
"Right away, Admiral," Neon said, as she clicked some buttons on her console to begin the sequence. "Beginning activation sequence." After announcing that, the pilot turned the nob and pressed the button to send the Tracer Mark II's off. The Animus slightly shifted as the machines were popped out from the underside of the ship.
After a few seconds, Blake and Velvet noticed two white, sparkling drones becoming smaller as they moved away to carry out their programmed tasks. They headed toward the crimson rock, which was surrounded by floating debris, resembling a lone asteroid or the typical scrap left behind by the former inhabitants of Remnant Prime's trashed satellites.
Sienna glanced back at the window before continuing on her way, but paused to give Velvet and Blake a stern look with her golden eyes.
"I hope for all of our sakes that you are correct and we find something down there on the planet," Sienna said, before going toward the metallic door, planning on contacting Faunus Prime's High Command for an update on their status, and then, after that, get some well-needed stress out by going into the training room for some virtual sparring.
"Yes, ma'am, I hope we find what we are looking for as well," Blake said, before the Admiral made her way out of the command deck.
Velvet let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, her hand to her chest as she composed herself. "Well... that was a bit tense there."
"Yeah, I understand what you mean," Blake says to Velvet. "Sienna can be quite intimidating," Blake recalls all the times she has sparred against the tiger woman. It's clear that Sienna is not someone to be taken lightly in combat; she has most certainly earned her stripes and then some, and in she didn't mean the stripes on her body.
"Regardless," Blake continued. "The easy part is out of the way; now comes the difficult part."
Patience was essential at this point. Typically, it took the Ravagers a few days to complete their scans of an entire planet; in most cases, it would take no more than a week. The duration depended on the size of the world, or if Anima forbade it, if it was a Super Planet.
Fortunately, given the scope and shape of Remnant Prime, they should have an answer soon—within two to three days at a minimum. If it takes a full week, it likely means there was nothing significant to discover. Which would be a bummer in her eyes, not finding any more info on Remnant Alpha.
But Blake knew better...she had a gut feeling that those damn bots would find something, and they better find something good.
Otherwise, they would be wasting time and credits.
Especially her; the last thing she wanted to do was waste time when there was historical research to be done with other, unknown planets out there.
"Well, Velvet, I'll be in my quarters researching logs about this species' architecture and whatever logs I can find in our outdated data cubes," Blake said to the rabbit faunus as she started backpedaling toward the door.
"Wait a second, Captain Blake... I could us-"
"If you need any more assistance with your tools, please try and see if there are any more...capable hands available, as this is very crucial information that I will be focusing on. Yes, very crucial indeed." Blake continued on as she quickly reached the door, the metal opening up on time.
"Blake, please, this could be important for both of us for the mission..." Velvet sounded concerned as she really needed to collaborate to be perhaps more effective.
But the black cat faunus just waved off that fear, "No worries here, I'm sure you can get someone." Blake's yellow eyes were looking toward the on-spot pilot. "To help you set up the rest of your equipment. Well, I'm heading off now, have fun!" And with that, the captain had disappeared like a shadow on the wall.
Velvet couldn't help the sigh escaping her lips, along with hanging her head in defeat. "Guess I got to continue setting up my station and tools." Remembering needing to set up her chemical kit, along with her different microscopes and beakers at her disposal.
Perhaps if they couldn't find any live species on the planet, then perhaps some of the soil will be fertile on the land below...
"Oh great... I forgot I still need to set up my Biomatter Vital Scanner." The rabbit girl moaned aloud, remembering that she had just come from her lab with Blake, just to report to Ms. Sienna.
But before she could complain any further, she felt a hand clap her shoulder and saw the colorful visage of Neon Katt in her vision next to her.
"Ah, don't sweat it, Carrot Cake!, I can help you out with that techno, whatever you have to do." Neon reaffirmed.
"Really? You'll help me?"
"Of course, that's what comrades in arms do. They help each other when they are needed." Marching toward the door with her.
"But what about the ship? Shouldn't you be watching and monitoring if any other contacts come? What if we get spotted by pirates and attacked?" Velvet said with a worried tone, looking back at the navigation console that the girl was just manning.
But Neon waved the comment off and smiled at the bunny girl. "Nothing to worry about, I decided to put the Animus in not only auto-cruise mode, but in stealth mode as well. That way, no one can see us while we are floating here in the system, and at the same time, we aren't wasting our fuel or tiring out my girl's engines. " Neon explained.
"Though just in case, I did have our alert system on standby, just in case, that way it'll let all of us know that there might be something that came out of hyperspace." The orange cat girl said with a smile, patting Velvet on the shoulder. "Like I said, with all of these systems set into place, nothing is gonna surprise our crew. So don't sweat it, Velv, you're in good hands with Mama Katt here helping you out!" Pointing her thumb towards herself.
"Well, I think that's good to hear, I guess." Velvet's tone turned confident once more after her fellow soldier reassured her worries.
"Besides, we're gonna be waiting for the green light from those probes to do anything." Neon said, "If I were up in the navigation seat for this wait, I'd be bored outta my skull just looking at darkness all damn week." The cat girl's tail is swinging like a slow pendulum. "Hell, if anything, I'd probably be in the cafeteria stuffing my face, or getting a good workout in like Admiral Kahn is right now," Neon said.
"But since you said you needed help and since Blakey doesn't want to help you, I could definitely help since I've got nothing else better to do than just play games on my data pad or take a nap."
"Ok... then sure you can help me set up my Biomatter Scanner." Both of the women headed toward the door and were on their way to the lab area that Velvet had set up.
"Well, if it's some extra hands you need, then I'm your girl." Neon reaffirmed before chuckling.
"Though I probably won't be able to help with any kind of tech speak or calculations on your scanner, though." She scratched her head in a nervous tic.
"But if you need some strength or lifting, then I'm all in!" The lieutenant was trying not to discourage Velvet.
"Oh no, nothing like that. I just need help with how heavy it is," Velvet told her. "And perhaps a little wiring work here and there. Is that okay with you?"
"Eh...that seems easy enough. I need to learn some new skills anyway." Neon shrugs off the other task as they both leave the navigation room.
Thus, the wait began for the crew of The Animus, hoping to find something of interest on the planet of Remnant Alpha.
The first day for the Tracer drones came up empty as they checked the southern part of the world, where the electromagnetic storms were the least turbulent when getting close to the planet. As the group of faunus ladies went to check the status after the end of the first cycle on the planet.
There didn't seem to be anything noteworthy in their findings, as was expected on the crew's first day of checking a planet for any signs of life, much less one that was a dead planet now.
Thus, in their spare time, the Tracers continued their scan run of the planet, and the ladies did as they pleased as they waited for any news.
The majority of the time, the ladies kept to their own devices for certain instances, as Blake kept to her quarters to continue her history studies for Remnant Alpha.
Along with some...spicy tomes that she was able to sneak on board in case she got tired of gazing at data logs of the planet that she hadn't studied over already.
Velvet had also come by to do some comparison notes, as both were studying the Remnant Alpha for different interests. While Blake was fascinated by the culture of the Remnamites, Velvet was different.
The rabbit faunus girl was intrigued not only by the potential intelligent species found in the data cubes, like the cat faunus girl, but also by the wildlife described on the planet. It resembled the biomes and ecosystems they were familiar with back home. Except that, compared to the landmass that they had, Remnant Alpha was comprised of sixty-five percent ocean and other bodies of water like lakes and rivers, while the rest was made of snowy mountainous regions, flat grasslands, forested hilly areas, and humid jungle areas in the southern areas of the planet.
The wildlife that inhabited the land was predominantly aquatic, featuring unusual creatures that dominated the seabeds. One such predator was a giant squid-like monster, regarded as one of the primary apex predators, known for its sharp tendrils that it used to stab and capture prey such as fish and other tough marine cephalopods. Another notable inhabitant was a large aquatic mammal called the Basilosaurus. This creature, while resembling a reptile, displayed characteristics similar to a whale, distinguishing it from other species. Like the squid-like monster, the Basilosaurus was also a dominant apex predator, ruling the seas and oceans of Remnant Alpha.
Of course, there were land-based creatures that were exotic and bizarre; the more Velvet explored their habitats and natures. One such creature was called a Slagtoth, a gentle giant of a herbivore in the habitats of the jungle rainforests and other arboreal regions. Along with a few other predators that were dangerous to the land, like the deadly Azuroros, which were a mixture of what appeared to be a sloth and a bear with an extremely dense hide or scales along its back.
Velvet shuddered at the sight of a creature that resembled a lagomorph, just like her. The Lagombi was not her favorite creature, as it gave Rabbit Faunus like her a bad name.
The fauna of the planet wasn't too unusual, though there were some exceptions. Some plants can be quite dangerous if approached carelessly, as they contain poisonous substances that could potentially harm members of their species due to the chemical makeup of certain compounds.
Sure, there were some dangerous plants on Faunus Prime, but nothing that some anti-serums and antidotes wouldn't fix up. However, that was not the case for the people on Remnant Alpha, as some of their species had been logged and examined to fall victim to these plants.
Although...Velvet read from the observers that some of these organisms from Remnant weren't very bright in messing with these toxic plants, as they blatantly disregarded their own safety.
However, the deadly side effects of certain plants were documented, revealing a grim reality that left a lasting impact.
One example that she observed was quite brutal. The plant, dubbed 'The Breath Taker,' had thorns that injected a blue-colored venom upon contact. When a person touched those thorns, the venom would enter their body.
What followed next could only be described as horrific, as the person scratched at their neck, desperately gasping for air, as she noted that it only took them ten minutes to turn into this gasping, desperate mess of a person.
The effect that was described was like a person's throat tubes closing the main pathways of an organism in only a few seconds, causing total asphyxiation and suffocation of the victim. Within a couple of minutes, the person that Velvet saw struggling had passed away, with their cold corpse on the ground for all to see.
Another poison from a different plant named 'Deathmaker' would start to liquefy their organs as they continued to choke on their own blood, causing pain and suffering until their very death as they melt in a pool of their ichor.
Velvet couldn't help but shudder at the coldness of that last computer log; nature was truly terrifying when you least expected it, regardless of the unforgiving lifeforms that were once on the planet. Velvet couldn't help but be fascinated by the countless logs of plants, animals, and other creatures that once roamed this treasured world.
Which makes it all the more depressing to see this life all around her snuffed out and no longer around, thanks to mysterious circumstances.
She hoped that the probes would soon discover something—ideally, a sign of life on the barren rock. The strange disappearance needed an explanation, and perhaps they could locate a laboratory or research center that contained informative logs.
After the second and third days yielded no valuable finds, the crew of four began to feel increasingly discouraged about their search on Remnant Alpha. They were following their standard routine aboard the ship, which included typical physical training (PT) in the ship's workout room. When Sienna and Neon weren't performing their primary responsibilities as the ship's pilot and commander, respectively, they typically spent their time at the gym, working out to maintain peak physical condition. Alternatively, they could be found in the Virtual Reality Holographic Room (VRH), where they engage in combat simulations for the moment.
The tigress woman's choices were to go against unfavorable odds in certain scenarios that were cataloged from older footage of combat. During the times when the Faunus people struggled to win conflicts on different planets, they were often unprepared or unfamiliar with them.
Sienna wasn't paranoid about finding herself in impossible situations. In fact, as the admiral had revealed, she thrived on the challenge of fighting for her life. She enjoyed testing herself in struggles that seemed insurmountable. The odds of facing a crushing defeat or clawing her way to victory excited her tiger genes, making her feel truly alive and showing the other ladies on board that their CO still had a purpose on the battlefield.
Neon was different from her commanding officer; she preferred flight simulator combat over hand-to-hand fighting. She thrived in deep space battles, executing various maneuvers and engaging in one-on-one dogfights against ships of similar design to the Anima.
For Neon, this type of simulation was her true element; she constantly challenged herself as a space pilot to prove her training was more than just talk.
As the crew moved onto day four, the probes were still in functioning condition near the atmosphere. However, their search had still come up negative in finding anything on Remnant's surface.
The group of four Faunus women was just about to recall the two Tracer Mark II drones, as it seemed like Velvet's and Blake's plan of staying was coming up empty right now. With it being day four on the planet itself since the broken moon had rotated, nothing special or any notification from the probes had alerted them to discovery. Despite Blake and Velvet's initial confidence in vouching for the planet's authenticity, even the two women were starting to lose hope.
However, it wasn't until the middle of the fifth day that they finally got something interesting on one of the radars of the Tracer drones.
(Cockpit of The Anima, 2:00 PM)
Neon was conducting her routine checkup in the pilot seat, ensuring that the ship was maintaining its cloaking field. She was also monitoring the fuel usage for the engines, along with performing other necessary maintenance duties.
Before she got to checking the not really important checks, like the storage in the cargo bay and the energy count for their weapon systems, the sudden beeping of one of the terminals on one of the holographic tables caught her attention.
"Alright, let's see what's going on over..."The Orange cat girl gasped in surprise, her teal eyes widened in shock as she saw what was responding to the ship.
One of the Tracer drones finally responded with a positive electromagnetic reading on Remnant Alpha.
Neon's furry ears twitched in excitement as the red dot pulsed, showing that the location on the planet was on one of the bigger landmasses that were still put together and not breaking off, thanks to the plates of the planet's crust not shifting.
The pilot quickly pressed the intercom button to share the good news with the rest of the crew.
"Attention, everyone! We've just received positive contact with one of our drones on the planet. Get to the bridge immediately, double time!" Neon announced to the entire crew, informing them of the discovery.
In about thirty minutes, all the other faunus women were dressed in their exploration space armor, ready to deploy as they made their way back toward the bridge. Sienna was the first to arrive, followed by Blake and Velvet, not long after her arrival on the bridge.
"Status report, Lieutenant," Sienna said, her golden orbs gleaming in her usual serious, no-nonsense look. But if the others noticed the tone in her voice, it almost sounded like she was excited to hear something back. "What did the Tracer MK II have for us?"
"Well, Sin, it looks like one of our Tracer drones has detected a high frequency of electromagnetic waves in the central part of the planet." Neon activated the map, displaying a holographic representation of the land below. The other three observed that the Tracer drone's location was near the largest landmass on the planet, nearly the size of their largest continent, Phoenix. "One of the drones got a closer look and checked that it wasn't part of the magnetic storm in the atmosphere, circulating constantly." Everyone gasped in surprise as the chances of finding something worthwhile increased.
"How's the accuracy on the reading?" Sienna's expression went back to her normal, serious expression after hearing that news from her lieutenant.
"The scanner said it was an eighty-five percent chance, and the strongest reading is coming from a sort of mountainous, cavernous terrain that was known as 'Mt. Glenn', as the Remnamite's called it." Neon informed.
"Eighty-five percent, huh?" Sienna considered the options; those were a majority of good odds for finding something on the planet. Something that could help them with their people's problem was slim. But regardless, they had been waiting for a couple of days, and the last thing they wanted to do was come up empty-handed and waste time for all of their troubles here.
"What is your order, Sienna?" Captain Blake pipped up, stepping towards her superior officer, Velvet following a second afterwards to show the gumption and drive to continue with their search.
The tiger faunus woman's tail flickered for a second, honeyed eyes scanning the two eager faunus women. It only took a few seconds before she let out a deep breath and looked at the black cat and the brown rabbit.
"Get suited up and ready the scout ship. All three of us are heading down for deployment and recon." The dark-haired woman ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!" The two saluted, their voices revealing more excitement as they realized they were going through with the operation.
"Take any equipment you need for your respective fields, along with some light weapons such as Proton Pistols and an Energy Saber—nothing too extravagant," Sienna advised. Both Velvet and Blake nodded in agreement. "I'll be on the mission in case you need backup or additional firepower beyond your standard pistols. We don't want to take any chances on this desolate rock." Sienna had many options, including the Slice Spreader, a weapon that fires sharp shards of plasma glass, and the reliable, but extremely deadly Proton Pulse Rifle.
"That would be wise," Velvet piped up, "Blake and I will be a bit busy trying to find a source to these readings, or perhaps we will find some data files thanks to these EM anomalies. So we will probably be busy with our search and will be vulnerable for the time being." The brown bunny girl admitted, sure, she could shoot her way out of some conflicts, but in her mind, she wasn't the best fighter around in her group of four.
'Speak for yourself...' Blake thought to herself. The raven-haired cat woman was skilled in combat, thanks to some 'special' training from her two exes. Those two were either stubborn or completely oblivious, failing to read the room in any situation.
But one thing was for sure, they knew how to teach faunus girls like her to kick some ass.
"I'll be busy trying to uncover any tomes or data left behind by the former lifeforms—any historic knowledge we lack. I'm determined to find it." The black cat faunus said, her black tail wiggling in anticipation, black triangles twitching on top of her head. "Though having you watch our back, Admiral Sienna, will definitely make me rest easy, making landfall on Remnant Alpha's harsh environment," Blake admitted.
With all of that said, Kahn only nodded and said her final words to her two recon troops. "Alright then, head down to your respective quarters and pack up. You have your orders, and you know what to do. It's time to find that powerful signal, and see if we can save our people, is that understood?" Sienna announced.
"Yes, Admiral!" Blake and Velvet saluted one more time before heading out of the bridge and toward their respective departments.
Sienna turned toward the only other person on the bridge to address her presence, "Neon, stay on The Anima and wait for us to come back aboard the ship. Lower our girl here to a safe distance to the surface. Keep the engines warm, because once we contact you and get back aboard the scouting ship, we'll be getting off this death ball first thing."
"You got it, Sien," Neon did a lazy salute. "But don't you think you're being a little quick with this recon, boss? Shouldn't we take some more caution with this mission?" The orange cat girl questioned, tilting her head in confusion.
"No." The tanned woman said with no hesitation. "Whatever this reading is, it'll probably be the only thing that's worthwhile on the planet. Once we are done searching, whether we come up with something useful or come up empty-handed, we will leave for another viable system. We have wasted enough time with this potential of Remnant Alpha." With that said, Sienna Kahn turned toward the exit and walked toward the door, already in her space combat gear and about to head down toward the hangar area.
"Understood, Admiral, good hunting down there, and come back in one piece," Neon said with encouragement.
Her response was a thumbs-up from the respected woman, showing her pilot that there would be nothing to worry about.
"Don't worry, Lieutenant; this mission will be a textbook success before you know it." With that, Sienna left the orange cat faunus woman and quickly made her way to the elevator. The doors opened, and she quickly pressed the button labeled 'Hangar Bay,' which housed not only their small scout ships and fighters, but also their armor and weapons. The armory and ammunition were also located nearby.
"Just in and out—what's the worst that could happen?" Little did she know the bizarre finds that she and her team would encounter during this quick expedition.