Disclaimer: Vandread is owned by Gonzo, all fan-created characters, equipment, vehicles, etcetera, belong to me.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier
Chapter Twenty-Four: Preparation
Location: Briefing Room, Nirvana
Jura, having been in command in Meia’s absence, went over the plan with Hibiki, Barnette, Dita, and all of the other surviving Dread pilots. She wished Meia were here, because she’d know how to explain this, after all she was the Dread Team’s Leader. But ever since her disappearance, she’d had been thrust into command, because someone had to lead them. She took a breath and prepared to explain.
“Alright, the plan they sent to us is rather straight-forward, once we complete the two-week trip to their home planet, Solaris, their fleet will engage the defenders while we have a more specialized mission. We are assigned the role to destroy the S.D.S Indomitable, the ship equipped with the Paksis Nullification Device,” she said.
They’d all been briefed earlier on the device, but they already knew what it could do. She continued to explain.
“While they are engaged, we are to punch through their lines and destroy or at the very least cripple the Indomitable,” she said, bringing up a map simulation of how the attack should go.
“We will begin to run simulations, so everyone report to the simulators,” she said.
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Meia managed to duck just a laser bolt lanced over her head. If she had been a second too slow, the laser would’ve killed her. That wouldn’t happen here, for this was a training exercise. She wore a special sensor suit that would let her know if she’d taken any hits. The exercise’s goal was for her to take out Aidan, who was her opponent. If she took a hit in the chest or head, the exercise would end, if she took a hit on any of her limbs, the suit would immobilize them, effectively crippling her ability to move.
She crouched behind the cover of a large rock as a few more laser bolts lanced over her head. She tightened her grip on the laser rifle and glanced through her close-fitting helmet. She returned fire, not sure of his location, and not caring, because she knew she was pinned down. She needed to get to a better position, and firing in his general direction might get him to lower his head enough for her to get in a position where she can threaten him. She took a deep breath and bolted out from behind the rock…
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Maria sat in the chair facing Admiral Alexander Graff’s desk. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable, but she couldn’t determine if it was the Admiral’s presence or the chair. The Admiral placed the hardcopy report he was looking on the desk and looked up at her.
“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” he asked.
“Well, I ask for permission to go back aboard the Nirvana,” she replied.
He sat there for a moment looking her in the eyes. “Out of the question.”
“Why not?” she asked, suppressing her irritation.
“Because your safety is of prime importance,” he said. “So you will stay on this ship.”
“If I may say so…” she said. “This ship will be in the thick of battle once we get to Solaris, so how can you say this is a safe place to be? And besides, I‘ve gotten used to living there, and what little personal possessions I have are also on the Nirvana.”
After several long seconds, Alexander Graff replied. “Alright, I’ll arrange for a shuttle to take you over there in half an hour.”
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Meia reflexively pulled the trigger on her laser rifle, sending a laser bolt straight at Aidan. It grazed his left arm, which was good but not good enough. He took cover behind a fake rock wall, and her other shots hit the wall. Suddenly, Aidan dove out from behind his cover in sideways roll and snapped off several shots. One managed to hit her right arm, causing a slight jolt as the suit made the arm go limp. The next shot hit her in the shoulder, knocking her onto her butt as her rifle fell to the ground. She looked up to only to stare straight into a rifle barrel. Aidan had beaten her, she failed.
Aidan lowered his rifle and signaled for an end to the exercise. He held out his hand, and she took it and he pulled her to her feet. He took off his helmet and ran his hand through his hair, which she noticed had grown a little longer since she first saw him.
“Good job,” he said. “Not many have done as good against a trained soldier as you have.”
Once she could move her arm again, she took off her own helmet. “Thanks.”
She followed him out of the training area and into the locker room, which to her surprise, both men and women had to share it. Aidan had explained to her that was pretty much common on all ships in the Solaris military. He reached down into what appeared to be a cooler and pulled out two bottles of water. He tossed one to her, and opened his and took a swig of it.
“It won’t be long now,” he said. “Before we make the jump into the Solaris system.”
“What is a jump?” she asked.
“Let me put it this way: It’s when the specialized drives on this ship literally tear a hole in the fabric of reality and hurls the ship several light years in the matter of a couple of seconds,” he replied.
Suddenly a beeping noise filled the room. Aidan lifted up his wrist communicator and spoke into it. “Mercer here.”
“Major, report to the tactical briefing room in ten minutes, Colonel Albrecht’s voice said through the comm. “You are to plan combat exercises with Sergeant Kemp,” he said, naming the other team’s leader.
“Understood,” he replied, then shut off the communicator. “Well, so much for a break?”
Meia chuckled lightly. “It would seem so.”
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Aidan walked into the briefing room and noticed Colonel Albrecht and Sergeant Kemp look up from the holographic map display. He barely had enough time to take a quick shower and change into a fresh uniform. He tossed a quick salute and walked over to the display.
“Major Aidan Mercer reporting as ordered, sir,” he said.
“Drop the formalities, Major,” Albrecht said bluntly, but not harshly. “We were going over the terrain in which you will be deployed.”
“Alright,” he replied, and looked down at the map. It was the same map he’d seen before, but was compressed into a smaller area, and in the center of the map was a large circle that denoted their LZ, or landing zone.
“There is a slight change in plans,’ Albrecht said. “Instead of deploying from the Whirlwind, you will deploy from the Avenger.”
“May I ask why?” Aidan said.
“It is because they still believe the Avenger is one of theirs. We received a message from the rebels that indicated that they should return to defend Solaris from a possible imminent attack,” Albrecht answered.
“Makes sense,” Aidan said. “It’ll be easier to get past their defenses.”
“We also received a coded message from the Dauntless, they have rendezvoused with the Mejalean pirate ship that your friend is from. In about a week they will make it to Solaris, where we are to rendezvous and join them in the assault that will liberate our planet from those fanatics,” Albrecht said.
Sergeant Kemp, who’d remained quiet until now, finally spoke up. “So, when do we begin the transfer over to the Avenger?”
“Tomorrow at 1400 hours,” Albrecht replied. “You are to select and prepare your gear for transport over there, and you will jump into the Solaris system two days before the attack will commence. Inform your teams of this. That is all, dismissed.”
“Yes, sir!” both men said in unison and exited the room.
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It is only a matter of time now, Hibiki thought. Three days left until they were going to emerge from the nebula just outside the Solaris system. He had been waiting to pay them back for both defeats they’d handed the Nirvana. Well, not again. This time they had the backing of an entire fleet, and they had the express mission of taking out the ship that had caused them so much trouble.
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“What’s this all about, Major?” Julia asked as she entered the room.
“We are going to move over to the Avenger,” he replied. “We will be using the captured ship to get past their defenses to make our insertion.”
“Okay, now let’s go over equipment selection.” Aidan said. “Marks, you and Akida will be using the Falke light scout armor, as you are the scout/sniper element. Meia, you will also be using it, as it is the easiest to operate and not very cumbersome.” Aidan looked over to the rest of his men. “Steiner, Hawkins, Deveroux, and I will use the Soldat combat armor. Kemp‘s team will be equipped similarly. Weapons are mostly personal preference, though there is several things that are required, like a lot of explosives.”
“Leave that to me,” Nick Hawkins, his team’s explosives expert said with a feral grin. Aidan had later found out that his brother, Scott, was a fighter pilot that died in an earlier battle.
“Ja, when do make the transfer, Major?” Steiner, who was of Germanic descent, asked.
“Tomorrow at 1400,” Aidan replied. “It’s about time we paid these bastards back.”
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Chapter Twenty-Four finished. Let me know what you think.