Disclaimer: Vandread belongs to Gonzo.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier
Chapter Twenty-One: Interlude
Location: S.D.S Whirlwind, Main Hangar
Not too long after the shuttle settled onto its landing gear, the rear hatch opened up to allow several powered armored soldiers to exit the craft. There were also two others, but they were not wearing the black, heavy armor. Aidan was one of the others, and he felt comfortable now that he was back on a familiar ship. He looked over to the far left and noticed a few techs working on a damaged Striker, a casualty of the recent battle.
“Hey, Mercer!” Julia said over the sounds of the repairs being carried out.
“What is it?” he asked as he walked over to her.
“I just got finished with speaking with the Colonel, he would like to speak with you and as well as her,” she said, gesturing to Meia.
“Right now?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Alright,” he said, and before she could ask. “Don’t worry, I’ll find it.”
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After Meia had got off the cramped shuttle, she stretched her sore muscles. Apparently they didn’t design those things with comfort in mind, she thought bitterly. She then heard the woman named Julia call Aidan over. As they were talking about something, she looked around. There were several people moving about, mostly technicians, from what she saw. No one apparently paid much attention to her, as they had work to do. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aidan walk up to her.
“What did she say?” she asked.
“My commanding officer would like to have a word with me… and you as well,” he said.
“Well, let’s not keep him waiting, then,” she said.
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Aidan walked up to the door and knocked on it a couple of times. After a few seconds, he heard the reply “Enter.” He depressed the button that opened the door and walked into the office, quickly followed by Meia.
“Reporting as ordered, sir,” he said flatly as he raised his right arm in a salute.
“Ah, Captain Aidan Mercer, it’s good to see you,” Colonel Karl Albrecht said as he returned the salute and stood up. He was a tall, muscular man with a square jaw. As in he was in his early forties, his brush-cut black hair was streaked with gray, and his eyes were steel gray, just like Aidan’s. He also had a long, crescent-shaped scar running from right under his right eye to his jaw. “At ease.”
“And you too, Colonel,” as he assumed the ‘at ease’ position. This commander he actually liked, unlike his previous commander who was ‘dismissed’ from the Defense Force.
“And you are?” he said, looking over at Meia.
“Meia Gisborn,” she replied as she moved up next to Aidan. “I am from Mejale.”
“Mejale…” he said, stroking his chin in thought, then he lowered his hand. “By any chance are you one of the ones that halted the Earth forces’ advance?”
“I lead the squadron that spearheaded the attack,” she replied.
He nodded and turned back to Aidan. “Where have you been all this time?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Well, that’s a long story, sir,” Aidan replied.
“I have time,” the Colonel countered.
Aidan let out a breath and began to explain it to his commander.
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Major Owens stood on the bridge of the pirate vessel, stunned by the recent information he’d just been told. The Artemis was destroyed and her entire crew dead. Only Maria and the special forces soldier acting as her temporary bodyguard made it out alive. She’d told him that the soldier, a one Captain Aidan Mercer, armed the crippled vessel’s self-destruct system to prevent the ship from falling into enemy hands. And he’d been told about the assassination attempt, where a lone rebel assassin masquerading as one of the ship’s crew attempted to kill her, but failed. She’d told them about their contact with the rebels, and the following battle that led them to hide in the same nebula the SDF was currently using to hide their presence from their Earth-loving enemy. Boy, was he going to have to file one hell of a report on this.
“Corporal, head back to the shuttle and get a message back to the Admiral, tell him that we have located the late Prime Minister’s daughter, Maria Shakov,” he ordered one of his troopers.
“Yes, sir,” the trooper replied as he bolted off the bridge and towards the hangar.
“So, if what you’re telling me is true,” he said, turning back to the old woman who identified herself as Magno Vivan, Captain, of this ship, which she called Nirvana. “Then you and I…”
“Are not enemies,” Magno finished. “We found those two on the crippled Artemis, and let them stay on board the Nirvana. “Several of our crew died or were wounded by the cowardly assassin, so we decided to search and link up with your fleet, but apparently your enemy found us first.”
“It looks like you’re going to have to speak with Admiral Graff, the commander of the remnants of our fleet,” he said. “I’ll have to let him know first.”
“Alright,” Magno replied.
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Daniel Harwell sat on the edge of the operating table while the long-haired doctor named Duero worked on removing the bullet from his arm. He glanced over to the table where his helmet, weapon, and top half of his combat suit lay. He then looked over at the woman who put this bullet into him. She was standing over in the corner, the holster at her side unbuttoned and he hand down near the weapon in it.
“I told you, I’m no threat to you anymore, we’re on the same side,” he said, glancing down at her holstered pistol.
“How do I know that for sure?” she asked sarcastically.
“Come on, I’m wounded and unarmed, what can I do to you?” he asked back. He grunted in pain as the doctor removed the blood-covered bullet and tossed it into a tray. The doctor then grabbed some bandage and started to apply them.
Just then somebody walked into the infirmary, and Daniel recognized it as Private Rawlins, the man he’d ordered to go on without him. He held the helmet with his left hand and his rifle was slung over his shoulder. “It’s good to see that you’re alright.”
“It was just a scratch,” Daniel replied instantly. “Why are you here?” he asked out of curiosity as Duero finished applying the bandage.
“The Major had a talk with the Captain of this ship, and we just received word from the Admiral to stand down, they’re not our enemies,” he said, running his free hand through his somewhat unruly, short blonde hair. “Also, you’re not going to believe this, but the Prime Minister’s daughter was on board this ship.”
“No way,” he replied, hardly believing it.
“Yeah, just what I thought till I saw her with my own eyes,” Rawlins said.
“Ahem,” he heard the woman speak. She’d been ignored since Rawlins arrived.
“Oh, sorry, my name is David Rawlins, I was part of Daniel’s squad,” he said as he turned to face her. He turned back to face Daniel. “We’ve been ordered to return to the Dauntless,” he said, naming the command vessel for the Solaris fleet.
“Alright, David, go on ahead, I need to get my gear,” he said as he got up off of the table. “Thanks,” he said the doctor.
“I was just doing my job,” Duero replied.
He went over and put his gear back on. It took him a few moments, as he had a little trouble with his injured arm. Once he finished snapping the armor into place, he picked up his helmet and rifle. As he reached the door, he turned to the woman.
“I didn’t catch your name,” he said.
“Barnette, my name’s Barnette Orangello,” she replied.
“Nice to meet you, Barnette,” he said, then walked out.
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Meia followed behind Julia at a casual pace. She had been dismissed from Colonel Albrecht’s office, for it wasn‘t necessary for her to be there at the current time. From what she knew, this Julia was one of the soldiers in Aidan’s squad. They stopped in front of a door, which looked the same as the others.
“You’ll be bunking with me,” Julia said.
“Alright,” she replied.
Julia had short blonde hair and a tanned complexion, also, she looked a lot different when out of the powered armor she wore. She held out her hand to Meia. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Julia,” she said as she shook her hand.
“You’re going to have to fit in a little more around here, there’s a jumpsuit in the locker, you can wear it after you get cleaned up,” she said.
“Thanks,” Meia replied. She really did need a shower, after spending several hours in a muggy jungle.
She walked into the room, noticing that didn’t really have many personal effects. It was rather Spartan. There were a couple of bunks, as it was typical for crewmates to share rooms on a military vessel. She took off the top part of her suit and tossed onto her bunk as well as the black piece of jewelry that her mother gave her and her laser ring.. She then unzipped her pilot suit and took it off. She walked over to the shower and stepped in and closed the door. She then turned on the warm water to let wash away the dirt and grime, as well as her worries.
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