And one day, the creatures of Grimm arrived.

There was no warning, just the sudden presence of the deadly creatures.

Humanity was forced to fight. And lose.

When Dust was discovered, for a brief moment we believed we could fight back and retake our world. That was foolish hope of desperate people.

The Grimm kept taking our land. To the point the land wasn't ours, but theirs.

We made the most difficult decision ever.

We left the world that once was our home.

Now we live in space, between the fragmented moon and the planet, far from the Grimm.

Four gigantic space colonies. The Remnant Colonies.

Mistral, Vacuo, Atlas, Vale.

Two million people confined in what is no more than metallic tubes. Calling this living is a severe overstatement. We are surviving. Hope is nothing but a meaningless word.

Except maybe for one person…

…

"Ozpin, that is ridiculous. He just graduated from the Spacy Officer's Academy; he is in no way fit to be captain of his own ship, especially this one!"

The exasperated voice belonged to James Ironwood, general of the colonial armed forces. The armed forces were responsible for both the internal security of the four colonies and their accessory space stations, as it were responsible for expeditions to the moon and the world below to harvest resources. The moon had very little of useful resources except for Dust, even after they used a nuclear bomb to open it like an egg. So he was responsible to send people down the world below to get whatever they could, despite the planet being filled with monsters. Even after the development of the Hunter mobile armors it was the most dangerous job in the colonies. Only 10% of all Hunter operators would reach old age. Being responsible for them didn't help Ironwood to develop patience.

"He is the top of his class, the best student we ever had and have his heart in the right place."

Admiral Tenryuu argued back. She was responsible for the Spacy fleet and training the pilots and officers of those, and while in theory under Ironwood command, she wasn't one to listen to his orders if they didn't made sense to her. Her left eye was now bionic, after losing it in a botched mission, and was a reminder to her that not all orders should be followed and that those above you don't know everything.

"And he just graduated. Not that this mission makes any sense to begin with. We are wasting resources AND lives with it."

"Now, calm down you two. We have discussed this very matter so many times before that discussing it now is irrelevant. The FTLRSS-7 is fully operational and tested. This project might be the only hope for everyone. The colonies can't expand fast enough, resource gathering is too dangerous. We need a place to live, a planet."

Ozpin, director of project Beacon, spoke in a conciliatory manner. Despite his young appearance, he was one of the most respected people around the colonies, both due to his success as a Hunter operator and as an academic genius. He sipped his coffee as he looked once again at the files displayed in his holo-screen. After more than twenty years, his biggest project, his biggest hope was ready.

"And you think he will be the one to find it? We have no idea what is outside there, Ozpin!" Ironwood kept protesting, both hands on the table. "He barely passed the test to be a licensed Hunter operator.

"No, he didn't, but a good ship captain doesn't need to be a good fighter, Jimmy, no matter how much you think otherwise. I saw my unfair share of great Hunters turned officials dying in their first command mission and taking down good people with them. Miles will keep everyone safe AND complete the mission." Tenryuu stated in an angry but confident tone.

"We should use those resources to take back the planet we have!"

"We don't have a planet, Jimmy. The Grimm has it, 10 billion of them! Even if people at R&D give you the damned super weapon you think we need, they trashed the planet so badly it needs terraforming, at least a 100 years to it. And there is no guarantee the Grimm will kept inexistent when we don't know what created them to begin with!" Tenryuu growled again, her little patience also non-existent by now.

"Do you two believe in that lunatic's theory? Oobleck might be a top researcher with Grimm, but his theory about those monsters being of extraterrestrial origin…"

"And what do we know, James? Only that Grimm exists and nothing we tried to get rid of them until now worked. I agree the theory is a big 'if', but then this project could kill two birds with one stone. If we find a new world to live in, we can move everyone there. And IF the theory is correct and the FTLRSS-7 stumbles upon evidence of the Grimm having alien origin, it could help us to develop a weapon to get rid of them." Ozpin reassured and everyone calmed down.

"Then let me choose a captain with experience, a crew with the capacity…" Ozpin raised his hand prompting the general to stop talking.

"James, we need everyone with experience here. As you said, there are too many 'ifs' here, and as you said, we can't waste resources, especially human resources in what even I admit it is just a speck of hope. But the competency of the chosen captain is attested by Admiral Tenryuu, and she is yet to make a mistake about her indications."

"There is always a first time, Ozpin." The director sighed and drank a bit of his spiked coffee again.

"James, what exactly are we discussing here? How exactly this mission affects the colonies?"

"Hope is a dangerous thing, Ozpin; we both know that, you probably better than me as you still hope too much. I don't want the people of the Remnant Colonies to put faith in this project of yours just to have it crushed when it fails."

"IF it fails. Besides, I am making no promises to them, no one is. This IS a shot in the dark, and what we are doing is exploring a possibility. One that I think is worth exploring."

"Very well, do as you wish. But if people question your choices of crew, I won't interfere on your behalf." With that Ironwood left the room, and both Tenryuu and the director left out a relieved sigh.

"Ozzy, you saw Oobleck's data like I saw, and even if I am not the most academically gifted, even I know that his theory is not a big 'if', it isn't even a small 'if'. Miles will do everything in his power to succeed in this mission." Ozpin nodded in agreement before once again checking their captain file. The director didn't need a warrior, he needed a leader with the heart in the right place, and that boy seemed to be the right one.

Not that James Ironwood was the only one to think otherwise, as the two figures stomped into Ozpin's office, making the two people inside sigh in annoyance. In front of them were colonial counselor Henry Winchester and his son Cardin.

"Ozpin! I demand to know why my son was not selected to be captain of your little ship!" The older Winchester yelled, while his son gave a smug smile. Ozpin spent a moment to sip on his coffee. Today was going to be one of those days.

"Yeah, I am better than that Arc scrub in every single way." Cardin stated, and if Tenryuu could speak, she would remember the boy that the only thing he was slightly better than her candidate was in Hunter operations, but he was worse, greatly worse, in basically all other aspects.

"Counselor, this is a very dangerous mission, one where we can't spend valuable personal away from the colonies. We decided that your son is more valuable here, manning a Hunter and defending the supply excursions to the planet. Besides, your son is a Marine, not a Spacy officer." Ozpin lied, knowing very well Cardin was severely under qualified to receive any command.

"Ah, I see, yes, yes. But of course my son is up on the list for a promotion since this Arc fellow will be absent…"

"Certainly." Ozpin said, knowing very well that with the limited supply of soldiers, it was a question of time before Cardin would hit a higher patent… If he survived long enough; and both Tenryuu and the director didn't have high expectations.

"Good. Well, let's just hope he doesn't fuck this up, Ozpin. A lot of money was spent on your project." Ozpin could only hope those two would go away soon.

"Excuse me?"

At the door was Jaune Arc, Lieutenant Commander of the Remnant Colonial Spacy. The tall blonde boy was wearing his uniform, and looked confused seeing the people there. He expected Admiral Tenryuu, but certainly he didn't expectnor wanted to meet Cardin Winchester and his father there. The former was a bully and an asshole, the later a bureaucrat that gave himself too much importance. Jaune certainly didn't want to deal with those two.

"Ah, Lieutenant Arc, I was expecting for you. We have an important thing to discuss and the Winchesters were about to leave." Ozpin said taking the opportunity to get rid of the two undesirable guests.

"Yes, of course. Excuse us." The older Winchester said as he walked out, but Cardin shoved his shoulder on Jaune on his way out.

"Loser." He whispered, but that didn't escape Tenryuu. Not only did she have a bionic eye, she also had enhancements for her hearing installed.

"2nd Sergeant Winchester, did you just disrespect a superior officer in front of me?" She growled, and Cardin cringed. He forgot she could hear him.

"No ma'am." He said and his father turned around.

"Excuse us admiral, we have things to do." With that he pulled his idiot of a son away and as the door closed, the admiral turned to the lieutenant.

"Miles, you need to pull rank more often, send that imbecile to clean some latrines."

"I would rather pull rank to have him out of the Armed Forces, ma'am. But I know even someone like him has his uses when we are so limited in personal. With luck, he will be useful as cannon fodder." Jaune commented, and Tenryuu laughed, while Ozpin just sipped his coffee.

"Lt. Arc, I would refrain of desiring misfortune to anyone, for more deserving they are of it." Jaune nodded and blushed a little due to the embarrassment. "Lieutenant, what do you know about project Beacon?"

"Faster-than-light spaceship development, with the intention of exploring the galaxy and to find a suitable planet for us to colonize. Since the development of the warp Dust engine, seven ships have being developed and now the seventh one is finished as a fully operational ship." Jaune resumed, and Ozpin nodded.

"The FTLRSS-7 is the ship that will start the mission of finding those planets. And of course, there is a secondary mission, one I am telling you in confidentiality. Are you aware of the External Origin Theory?" Jaune nodded, not aware of what Oobleck's controversial theory had to do with him. "The secondary mission of the FTLRSS-7 is to find the origin of the creatures of Grimm and a way to defeat it." There was a moment of silence as Jaune absorbed the information. "And you were selected by Admiral Tenryuu and me to be the captain of such ship and mission."

"Me, sir?" Jaune asked in surprised, receiving positive nods of the two other present. "Sir, mind if I ask why."

"Miles, you are best student I have seen to come out from spacy, period. We could send some experienced captain but old people have bad habits due to seeing too much bad things. You are young, so you have a future ahead of yourself. And I know you want to do the best you can for the colonies. I won't lie to you, Miles. We are pretty much in a hopeless situation with the Grimm. This is a war we can't win, not like this." Tenryuu stated, and Jaune felt his blood cooling down. He knew the situation was dire, but it has always been like this.

"The colonies capacity to recycle our resources are limited, the capacity of acquiring new resources is dangerous and not enough to compensate. In a hundred years, the colonies will collapse if we don't fix this situation, Lieutenant. We have but two options: get rid of the Grimm, a mission we have failed to achieve in the last thousand years, or find a new place to call home." Ozpin declared, and Jaune understood the gravity of the situation.

"Listen, Miles, you aren't the best Hunter operator. Wasting your talent and sending you to fight Grimm would be a mistake. And I would rather have you doing something significant than commanding a transport ship or sending you as cannon fodder with Winchester." Jaune tried to process that information. He always wanted to do something for the colonies as his family have being doing for generations. He understood he was barely able to fight, but to be given command of a mission of such importance…

"Lt. Arc, I won't lie to you, the chances of this mission succeeding in any of its fronts are slim, but Tenryuu convinced me you are our best chance to see it through. I have made many mistakes in my life, Lieutenant, but I don't believe this to be one." Ozpin stated, and Jaune couldn't help but feel a little pride.

"Sir, who else is going in this mission?" He asked, now interested. If the choices were losing his life in battle and maybe do a little difference or a chance to do a real one, he was tempted to accept the offer.

"We have a hundred volunteers, maybe a little more. I would rather you choose from them instead of recruiting people against their will." Ozpin explained, surprising Jaune.

"Sir, are you saying I will be responsible to choose?"

"Yes. It will be your ship, Lieutenant. And better you have a crew you can trust and rely on than a bunch of strangers that would rather not be there."

"You don't have to accept right away, the mission is supposed to launch in a month, so I think we can wait a week for you to decide. Remember, there is a bigger chance of you never see this place again than succeeding, but I believe if anyone in the Spacy can pull this trick, it is you, Miles."

"I accept." He said after a few moments thinking. "I will do my best to be worth your trust."

"Excellent. Here are the files you will need to read. Your crew will be fourteen people tops, I know it is not a lot but that is an exploration mission, so I don't expect you to wage war against aliens or something. I will wait for your crew selection by next week." Ozpin said as he gave Jaune a black scroll with the classified information.

"You can still change your mind, Miles. Read the file and think really hard about it." Tenryuu than surprised him by giving him a sisterly hug. "I am proud of you, Captain Jaune 'Miles' Arc. Now, go tell your family. If they don't kill you, I will see you tomorrow to show you your ship."

…

The Arc family was unusual by a series of factors.

First, it was a traditional family of heroes, with every generation providing at least one noteworthy hero to the colonies, even before they were created. Second, it was a big family due to a trick Jaune's parents used. Most couples were allowed one child and any extra ones were up to obtaining government licenses. But both Michael and Sara were geneticists, and using the excuse of creating better humans, they received the license to create seven girls using advanced technology, and that was how Jaune had seven sisters.

Maika, Mia, Micaela, Chia, Savannah, Dia and Noir were clones, using the most perfect DNA extracted from their parents, and a little bit of splicing here and there. That made all of them super genius and their geniality improved the life conditions of the colonies so much that all the Arc family were considered heroes, with the exception of Jaune, the younger and only natural child of the Arc scientists. With such a family, it was no surprise he wanted to do whatever he could to be of use for the colonies.

His sisters couldn't be more proud of him right now.

"I knew you could do it, bro!" Dia said as she hugged him together with his other sisters. They all were blondes with one eye blue and another green, and all had Faunus cat ears, something the Arcs justified as needed to improve their abilities. Jaune suspected it was to give the Faunus people heroes of their own after their troubled story and relationship with the humans.

"Mia will go with you!" His other sister commented.

"I… can't… breath!" he complained and the seven of them let him go. "Thanks, girls. I will do my very best."

"Son, I still think this is a bad idea. The chances of you returning are really not very compelling." Michael said in a stern tone. Jaune nodded in agreement.

"I know, Director Ozpin and the Admiral left it very clear. But look at our… house." Jaune pointed to the incredible small space the ten of them had to share. "If I succeed, we will have a real house, with real bedrooms like those in the historical archives. We will be able to eat as much as we want instead of how much we are allowed. Not only us, everyone in Remnant."

"Jaune, if this is about our family legacy, you don't need to do this. I don't want to see you dying early like your great-grandparent or so many others before." Sara said, and Jaune smiled.

"Mom, I am not doing this expecting to die. I am doing this because I want to live. Not just survive, but live!" He justified, and Michael patted his shoulder.

"Son, if it was up to me, you wouldn't go. But you are an adult, a Spacy captain. Just promise me you won't try to be a hero. Self-sacrifice might sound cool on books, but I would see you back to us in defeat than receiving a medal in your name." Michael said and Jaune hugged his father.

"Dad, mom, sisters… you all are my everything. I promise to do whatever I can to come back here. And we all know Arcs never go back with their word." And after that, he almost died when they all jumped to hug him.

…

Jaune was finally able to read the information in the small office in their apartment, and started with his ship.

It was a 400 meter long, 50 meter wide, 25 meter in the tallest height ship, akin to a battle cruiser. The reason the ship was that big despite carrying only a crew of fourteen was the need to have its own recycling plant for food and water, and since the mission had no real time to be finished, there was the possibility of people being born inside it. Ozpin provided a list of a hundred planets for them to visit, all in the three years of range for the travel and provided a time frame of at least five years to just check them out without a hitch. And if those planets were found unsuitable, they were supposed to keep going. So there was a real possibility of the crew to increase during that time.

Another reason for the size is carrying the Hunter power armors, the brand new Paladin class recently developed. Even Jaune would receive a custom one. The ship was armed to the teeth, with two front cannons, two rear cannons and much more small weaponry. While Ozpin hoped the trips to be peaceful, it was worth to be prepared, apparently. The ship also had something called Positronic Embedded Neural Network Interface, and according to the description was some type of advanced computer program to help the crew with their activities. It was made by Mia, so Jaune would ask his sister about it later.

He moved to the crew list. A total of 108 volunteers, and he immediately cut his seven sisters off it, knowing they weren't even allowed to leave the colonies. Again, Mia might have put them there with her incredible hacking skills. Jaune knew he needed a first officer, and he wanted someone who could help him keeping the crew under control as well as himself, so a name popped up in his mind, and she was there in the volunteer list. Commander Glynda Goodwitch, 35 years old, his old combat instructor. She was always a strict follower of the rules, and that was good for Jaune. Older officers would be compelled to take him off the captain's job using the rules on their favor, but Glynda would never do that for personal gain as she was a protocol nut. So he immediately added her as first officer.

Now he needed a medical officer, someone competent and that could act as a counselor for the crew and luck was on his side again. Dr. Shen Verd, age classified for some reason, volunteered, the wolf Faunus woman being both a great medical, surgeon and counseling doctor. With those two positions out of the way, Jaune decided to be bold, and cut of the list anyone five years older than him. He knew if the crew was all made of people too much older than him they would have trouble following his orders. Unfortunately that cut at least 60 people offthe list.

On the positive side, seeing familiar faces became easier. 2nd Lieutenant Lie Ren, software engineer, friend from combat school, same age as Jaune, 21. The boy wasn't a talker, but was trustworthy and competent. But with him there was always 1st Sergeant Nora Valkyrie, hardware engineer. The girl was always on a sugar high, but excelled in fixing stuff. The two together were a perfect engineering team, the only downside being the crazy nature of the girl. Jaune recruited them both anyway.

Now, only one other familiar face, much to Jaune's surprise. Major Pyrrha Nikos, 21, Marine. She was mostly famous due to her participation in competitions, and was more of a celebrity than a soldier, despite her service sheet also showing many achievements on the battlefield prior to her raise to fame. Jaune wondered why someone like her would want to go on a trip with big possibility of no-return, yet he decided to recruit her to be his field commander.

Now he needed to find the other positions, and looked at the qualifications of the people on his list. He found one Petty Officer Neptune Vasilias, helmsman and navigator, his file showing some reports of misconduct, especially with the opposite gender, and associated with him Chief Petty Officer Sun Wukong, gunner, Faunus, with a propensity to deliver pranks. While both had their skills praised, their behavior get their COs lots of headache. Jaune decided to save those poor COs and recruited the duo. Maybe Cmdr. Goodwitch would fix them, and also their antics would keep her out of his back.

He found a Gunnery Sergeant Coco Adel, 22 years old, gunner and Marine, great stats on battle, slight tendency to use unorthodox methods, never leaving a soldier behind. The mission was unorthodox, so better had an unorthodox soldier too, Jaune thought. Associated with her was Staff Sergeant Velvet Scarlatina, Faunus, also 22. Her file described her as a model officer, great Hunter operator, and as a field medical officer with many commendations under her belt. Interest in exobiology could be helpful too. Jaune took them both. Dr. Verd would appreciate having another medical officer with her.

Now he needed to define his assault team, so we looked at the Marines. Not many volunteered, and not to his surprise Winchester was not there, nor his usual squad, which Jaune laughed at. Of course he would stay back in the relative safety of the colonies. But beside him was one Warrant Officer Blake Belladonna, 21, infiltration expert, Faunus. Her service record showed many successful missions but no commendations, probably because her CO was an infamous Faunus hater. Faunus were created a few hundred years prior to be better soldiers, but even their augmented abilities failed to defeat the Grimm, and when they started to reproduce naturally, their demands for equal treatment create a huge chasm between them and the humans, one that was still to be fully fixed. Jaune both recruited her and demanded her to be promoted to 2nd lieutenant rank, the rank her file showed him she should have by now.

Then he was surprised by one 1st Lieutenant Weiss Schnee, 21. The Schnee Dust Company was famous AND infamous for providing most of the Dust used by the colonies, but questionable work ethics covered by the government's need of a constant supply of Dust made the company less than liked by many people, even in the Spacy. That girl could have a life of princess provided by her rich father, yet wanted to risk her life with them all. Jaune recruited her.

1st Lieutenant Yang Xiao Long, 21, troublemaker and hot head. Her mother participated in the test of the FTLRSS-5, but that ship simply disappeared after warping, twenty one years ago, meaning they never really met. Jaune wondered if she was volunteering thinking they would, in the big empty space, found what happened to her mother, and if he would put such person in his ship. But something in her eyes told him to do it.

Lastly, he found something unusual. Captain Ruby Rose of the Marine Corps, 19, half-sister to Lt. Yang Xiao Long. Many commendations, called a prodigy, leadership skills tested in the field, well behaved as long as kept away from her sister, weird thing to write on a file. A prodigy… Maybe she could help keeping Yang in line, maybe they would destroy the ship. But she had those innocent naïve silver eyes, even for someone that probably saw more death than Jaune ever had. Well, every ship needed a mascot.

Jaune relaxed with his job done. Including him, fourteen crew members. He would probably meet them sooner than later, if things worked as expected, though Jaune had a gut feeling that wouldn't be the case here. He would spend the next day touring his ship, and as sleep start catching on him, he turned the scroll off and returned to the room he shared with his seven sisters, all of them already sleeping. He would miss all of them, despite all hell and dresses they forced upon him. But he steeled his will, knowing everything was for them, for all of the people in the colonies.

Better hit the sack. Tomorrow will be a loooooong day.

…

A.N.: I actually had this AU story idea while trying to sleep. It is heavily inspired by old shows lie UchuuSenkan Yamato and Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. I am really happy in how this story is developing, so I hope you enjoy it too. ^^