RWBY||Return of the Riftwalker

Chapter 12: Prospect

3rd Person POV

Hyperjump

"Are we there yet?" Cole groaned, slumping in his seat and shifting uneasily as his eyes darted around the room.

Looks like he's nervous, Sincline noted, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye. In all honesty, he couldn't blame him. From the implications of Mira and Jace, their jobs as 'scouts' were borderline suicidal.

"We'll get there when we get there," Jace replied, tilting his hat down to cover his face with his arms crossed over his chest. Evidently, he was used to missions like the one they were going on... but he was tense.

He's scared, Sincline realized, taking note of the other teen's posture and the way his fingers shifted and the way he repositioned himself every few minutes. It was a position he had seen many Huntresses and Huntsmen adopt on the rare times they traveled beyond Beacon City's borders. Restless... but what part of this mission is he afraid of?

"Monsters, Abyssal forces, traps, diseases, black holes, rifts to alternate realities...."

Monsters I can understand, Sincline thought, glancing out the vibrating window at the passing streaks of hyperjump. Hell, even he felt a shiver down his spine whenever he recalled his battles against the Apathy, the Nuckelavee... and the Nightmare. I can understand HER forces as well... but the rifts to alternate realities... as far as he knew, only he had the ability to open rifts and travel between realities.

Then again, the planets we're 'scouting' are leftovers from Her forces... so does that mean one of the Generals can open rifts? It was possible... but it was also possible that it could have been the work of an Abyssal. But how is that possible? Sincline wondered, frowning as he tried to figure out how non-trans-reality mechs could possibly open a rift. As far as I know, only Voltron and I can do that, and Voltron only could because of—

"Don't listen to mister grumpy," Mira chided, elbowing Jace while breaking Sincline out of his thoughts. "We've been scavenging planets ever since the Abyssal Empire first rose to power, so we have to travel pretty far in order to find un-scouted planets."

Sincline nodded, Cole doing the same. "Makes sense." We've been traveling for around an hour though... we should have reached the edge of the star system, right? he thought. Then again, after giving the Eclector-class ships a quick scan, he realized that their technology was far outclassed by the Galra's. Just then, a thought occurred to him. How powerful were Kuroi's forces if they were stronger than the Galra? Would Remnant even have a chance?

Just then, an alert sounded throughout the ship, drawing everyone's attention to the paned viewport as a shudder ran through the ship. "Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen," Post's voice called. "We're coming out of hyperjump."

"Looks like we've got ourselves a prospect," Mira commented.

The ship shuddered... and the flowing streams of hyperjump faded back into twisting streams of light that melted into stars. With a sharp crack, they exited hyperjump and found themselves drifting several miles above a planet... a planet split neatly in half, as though by a giant razorblade.

Sincline's mouth went dry, and he stood, absentmindedly breaking the 'seatbelt' as he got up and crossed to the main viewport, his boots clicking sharply against the metal floor. Stopping at the edge, he stared out at the broken planet, watching as multiple ships of unknown make drifted past, each wreckage split neatly in half.

"Welcome to Sector 62," Jace muttered as he came up beside them.

Eyes wide, Cole could only stare at the planet's Remnants, horrified. "What... what happened to this place?" he asked, flinching as half of a small fighter bounced off the ship's hull.