Chapter 1

Callsigns

Ruby Rose stepped off the bus along with her fellow pilots. Just a few days ago, after rigorous mental and physical examinations, they had been given their wings and were now being dropped off at Signal Airfield. From here, they would gather their crew and their aircraft before setting off to Beacon Air Force Base. A place they would call home for quite some time.

Ruby was dressed in tan slacks, black boots, a dark brown leather jacket adorned with various patches. Some required by regulation, but others were of her own choice and taste. Under the jacket was a dress shirt and tie, and around her neck was the only thing that distinguished her from the rest of the crowd. A crimson red scarf which flowed elegantly in the evening breeze.

She found her plane without too much trouble, the four engined beefy looking bomber was parked on the grass, the setting sun glinting off the windows of the cockpit. It had two turrets on either side of the nose, one on the top of the fuselage, another on the belly, two in the mid section of the fuselage, with the last being on the tail.

While she circled the plane, admiring its design, the rest of the crew arrived. They all shook hands and introduced themselves as a Ruby circled back around the plane to meet them.

"Are you the pilot?" A white haired girl wearing a light blue beret asked as she came into view.

"Yes siree." She replied.

"Lieutenant Weiss Schnee. Navigator." The girl said stiffening up.

"Take it easy Weiss. We're all friends here." Ruby said, patting her on the shoulder as she walked by. Their uniforms were identical, the same could be said for the rest of the crew, but they all had that one feature that made them stand out.

"Jaune?"

A boy with blonde hair turned and smiled.

"Ruby!" He exclaimed before the wind blew his orange scarf in his face.

Ruby chuckled as she walked over to talk to her friend.

"You my co-pilot?" She asked.

"That I am." He replied with a grin.

"Aaaand we're your waist gunners." A blonde haired girl said, stepping into the group with a black haired girl. Their uniforms were a bit different, they had leather pants as opposed to slacks. The blonde haired girl had a hat on with a flat bill, along with aviator sunglasses while the other girl wore the classic aviator cap and googles. Tied around the crook of her arm was a black bow, presumably for good luck.

"I'm Yang Xiao Long and this is Blake Belladonna." The blonde told her.

"Hello." The other girl said kindly.

"Nice to meet you both." Ruby told them, before turning to address the group.

"Everybody gather around!"

The crew circled up as introductions finished up.

"Lie Ren , I'll be in the Ball Turret." A young man told her.

His flight jacket had a green dragon on the back, and he wore a silver necklace with pink jewel pendant which he tucked into his jacket when he realized Ruby had noticed it.

"Nora Valkyrie, bombardier, reporting for duty!" A red headed girl exclaimed, jumping in front of Ruby. She had a band-aid over the bridge of her nose and bright pink earmuffs which she had resting on her neck at the moment.

Ruby giggled at her enthusiasm.

"At ease." She told her.

Another young man came up to her and waved.

"Sun Wukong, I'll be your tail gunner." He said, adjusting the goggles on his head. Sun also had a gold chain necklace, the pendant being a symbol that she didn't recognize at first.

She shook hands with him as a redhead dead girl skipped over, she wore a turtle neck under her aviator jacket and had a backpack slung over one shoulder.

"My name's Penny, your combat ready radio operator." She declared.

"Nice to meet you Penny." Ruby told her as someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned around to see a taller girl standing next to Jaune, the two had been talking earlier when they arrived. She had a beautiful golden headband in hair, most likely a family heirloom.

"Ruby, this is Pyrrha Nikos. She's the flight engineer and she'll be on top turret." Jaune explained.

"Jaune tells me your a very capable pilot." The young woman chimed in.

"Well I don't know about that-" Ruby replied.

"You were top of the class at Flight School." Jaune reminded her.

"True..." She muttered.

"Well, I look forward to working with you Ruby." Pyrrha said with an encouraging smile.

"Like wise." She replied before speaking to the group.

"Now that we're all acquainted, I think its time we settle something. Right here, right now. Callsigns."

Everyone sat down on the grass, although Weiss did so rather reluctantly. Not sure why they were lolly gagging when they should of been getting ready to make the trip to Beacon.

"Alright, how are we going to do this?" Ruby asked.

"Rank!" Yang suggested.

"Age!" Jaune exclaimed.

Ruby nodded, liking that idea.

"Ok, who's the youngest?"

Penny's hand shot up.

"Me!"

Sun chuckled.

"I've got one." He announced.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Chatterbox." He suggested.

"I sat next to her on the bus on the way over here...we had lengthy conversation. Plus she's the radio operator, so it makes sense."

The others nodded in agreement, liking the name. Penny knew better then to complain, so she remained silent.

"Alright, who's next?" Ruby asked.

Birthday dates were tossed around. They had all been born the same year, except for Penny, so it came down to months and days and it was eventually decided that Nora was next.

"I'd like to be called Lady Boop." She told the group.

Yang shook her head.

"We have to pick your callsign."

There was a minute of silence before Ren spoke up.

"Bullseye. First time she went up as a bombardier, she hit a cow with a practice bomb."

There were some laughs, and it was decided. Bullseye was the winner.

"Next!" Jaune exclaimed.

"That would be me." Ruby told him.

"Flower power." Pyrrha suggested.

"What about Jewels!?" Penny asked.

"Giggles." Yang added.

"I like that one!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Me too, I changed my mind! Giggles!" Penny shouted.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Red for short?" Weiss asked, but the rest of the crew was chanting Giggles.

Ruby, true to her nickname, was chuckling through it all.

"Oh alright, Giggles wins." Weiss conceded.

The crew cheered and moved onto the next person.

"I guess it's my turn." Sun said nervously.

"Pretty Boy." Blake suggested.

A chorus of OHHHHH's rose up from the rest of the group.

"Abs! I've seen him with his shirt off you guys it's unbelievable." Penny told them.

Sun blushed as the rest of the group laughed.

"No no, it's Kaboose. He's in tail. It only makes sense." Nora told them.

Everyone nodded, liking that one a bit better. Callsigns weren't exactly supposed to be a compliment.

"Kaboose it is!" Ruby declared.

"I'm next you guys." Yang told the crew.

Suggestions filled the air.

"Blondie!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Rapuzel." Ren chimed in.

"Goldilocks." Blake said.

A chorus of yeahs followed, and it was decided.

"My turn." Weiss said flatly.

"Icetea!" Penny shouted.

"Wah?"The group asked.

"She's seems cool, I bet she can be sweet when she wants to be." She explained

"I did grow up in the northern parts of Vale." Weiss muttered.

"Don't know about that last part." Sun muttered.

"Snow Angel." Jaune suggested.

Weiss locked eyes with the boy, debating whether or not to go over and slap him.

"Any objections? Other ideas?" Ruby asked.

Silence.

"Alrighty then, Snow Angel it is. Who's next?"

Blake raised her hand.

Everyone started thinking, this one would be tough.

"Belle?" Ruby suggested, referring to her last name.

"Oh I don't know, Bookworm?" Weiss muttered.

"She read all the time in basic training."

"Kitten!" Yang exclaimed, recalling a memory from their nights as bunk mates in the barracks at basic training.

"She makes this purring sound when she sleeps, so much cuter then snoring."

Blake's eyes widened at the sound of her new nickname. Something Penny only seemed to notice. Despite this, there were laughs all around and the group moved onto their next victim.

"My turn." Jaune said, eager to see what the group had in store for him,

"No need for anyone to say anything I've already got one. Vomit Boy." Ruby told her crew.

"This guy threw up on his orientation flight, right after takeoff on one of the nicest days of the year." She continued.

Yang burst out laughing, and the rest of the group joined in except for Pyrrha who was doing her best not to laugh. Weiss wasn't laughing, but for another reason.

"Wait, and he's the pilot?" She grumbled.

"Co pilot." Jaune corrected.

"Oh great, just great." Weiss scoffed.

"Alright team, let's move on." Ruby told them, calling their attention back to the task at hand.

"I think I'm next." Ren told her.

Soon the brain storming began.

"Pinocchio!" Yang suggested, earning her a few odd looks.

"'Cause of his name." She explained.

"Romeo, he'll have to call up to us from below the plane. Like how Romeo called up to Juliet." Nora suggested.

"I like that one better." Penny added.

"Alright fine." Yang replied.

"One more team." Ruby told them before looking to Pyrrha.

"Just so you all know this is my second tour. I don't know if it'll help you pick a nickname, but I just thought you should know." She explained.

"Sensei, we should call you Sensei." Sun concluded

"No no, Sempai. It can mean mentor or senior, but in this case both work!" Penny told the group.

"Sounds good." Jaune replied.

The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

"Alrighty then you guys, we have one more thing to do before we head off to Beacon!" Ruby said, standing up and walking to the nose of their aircraft. The rest of the crew got up and followed her.

"This beauty, this bouncing badass of a baby, needs a name. Suggestions?"

...

A.N- This is where you come in my dear readers! If you have an idea for a name, leave it in your review or PM me one. I'll pick my favorite and that will be the name of the bomber that carries the crew into battle! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Can't wait to read your feedback and answer any questions.

Until next time!

Wolf out!