Disclaimer: I don’t own Vandread.
A/N: Heh, thought I forgot about this one, did ya? No way in hell. With real life getting in the way, as well as my urge to work on my other Vandread fic, my time for this one had been cut down. I’m going to try and change that. Anyways, I apologize for my damned lack of attention on this one.
The Perfect Weapon
Chapter Three: New Orders
Location: Infirmary, Nirvana
“That is very peculiar,” Duero said to himself as he looked over the results of the detailed medical scans for the young man that was found drifting in space. Even though the currently nameless, amnesiac man had a prosthetic arm and cybernetic eye, that was not what he was talking about. He would have to eventually tell the Captain about this discovery. Before he could go any further with his report, Parfet’s image showed up on screen.
“Any luck breaking the code?” he asked. After examining the pod the man came in, they had found out that it contained some kind of computer terminal. Parfet was currently in the process of trying to acquire information from it, to find out exactly who this man was and where he was from. But it was heavily encrypted, making it extremely difficult to access it.
“Not yet,” she replied. “This thing seems to be secure. I’ve tried just about everything, and no luck at all.”
“It would seem that whoever created it didn’t want just anyone to open it,” he commented.
“It would seem so,” she replied, scratching her head in frustration. “I’ll let you know if I’m able to access it.”
“Alright,” he replied before he cut the communication. There is something strange about that man, that’s for sure…
--
Location: Rear Hangar, Nirvana
“That was quite a show you put on for everyone,” Meia said as Nikolai disembarked from his machine.
“Yeah,” he replied. “The performance level of this machine is much higher than a standard Vanguard, but I’m not normally that flashy whenever I’m in actual combat. I take combat very seriously.”
“After seeing your performance,” Meia said. “I’m glad we’re on the same side.”
That comment got a smile from him. “As am I. I saw you in action against the Earth invasion fleet. I wouldn’t want to fight against you either.”
He couldn’t say exactly why, but he actually liked and respected this woman. For some odd reason, he knew he could trust her to watch his back in battle. He just hoped that combat would not be too soon, even though he was ready for it. He just wasn’t sure that some of his men were completely ready.
--
Location: Rear Hangar, Nirvana
Despite two hours of trying to access the computer console that was built into the pod, Parfet was having little luck trying to get past the locked system. Whoever had installed this was good, very good. The Commander had made it clear to her that it not be hooked directly to the ship’s computer system, just in case it housed a virus. So far she hadn’t found any virus or other possibly harmful program. She was just about to take a break, when something caught her eye.
“What’s this?” she said as she noticed something peculiar on the terminal that was hooked up to the pod. She made sure it wasn’t harmful before she started to access it. To her surprise, it didn’t have much of a lock to it. She had it open in less than two minutes. She read the information on as it came onto the screen:
Accessing C.A.F. Personnel Data File…
Name: Erickson, Reinhardt
Age: 19
Identification Number: CV-60676
Rank: Sergeant
Division: 16th Special Combat Division, 2nd Battalion
Service History: Access Denied
Level A Authorization or higher required…
There was no way she could get any further, but at least this was enough information to identify who this man was. She picked up her communicator. The captain needed to be informed of this immediately.
--
Location: Captain’s Quarters, Nirvana
“You’re certain?” Magno asked upon hearing what Parfet had reported to her.
“The man’s name is Reinhardt Erickson, and according to the data, he is, or was, a soldier. I’ll forward the data to you.”
“Good work, Parfet,” she said, complimenting the engineer for uncovering the data. She then cut the connection, and opened up another. “BC, I’d like to speak with you, report the briefing room in five minutes.”
“Understood, Captain,” BC replied.
“Finally,” she said to herself. “A piece of information about that mysterious young man.”
--
Location: Captain’s Meeting Room, Nirvana
“So,” BC said after reviewing the data on the man from the escape pod. “We finally have some solid data as to who he is.”
“But still, there is still a lot we have yet to figure out about him,” Magno said.
“That’s true,” BC replied. “Like what does C.A.F. stand for?”
“Well,” Magno said. “That’s something that we’ll most likely find out in time.”
“Do you think we should inform him, inform Reinhardt? BC asked.
“Yes, I think we should,” Magno replied.
“Captain,” Ezra interrupted via commlink from the bridge. “You have an incoming communication from the leaders of Tarak and Mejale.”
“Relay it here,” Magno replied.
“Yes, Captain,” Ezra complied.
--
Location: Corridor, Nirvana
My first real assignment, and it has to be here, of all places… Erik Schwartz thought as he strode down the corridor. Because of his high scores, he graduated top of his class and was personally selected for this assignment. He knew they were going to see some combat action, as one doesn’t create special forces units for the mere fun of it. But he thought he was going to be assigned to a Tarak warship, but the unit he was in was sent to the Nirvana, the female pirate ship. He didn’t realize that they were going to actually reinforce the pirates’ already formidable battle forces.
He had witnessed the pirates’ actions against the Harvesters when they invaded the system. Who hadn’t? He had heard what they said during that battle, and watched as several different military forces joined them in defeating the assault force. For the first time, the nations of Tarak and Mejale had set aside their differences and worked together for a common goal, the preservation and protection of humankind. He supposed that it was coming, an allied force of the best from both nations taking the battle to the Harvesters. At least, that’s what he thought they were going to do. Once they got going, that is…
“Hey, Schwartz!” he heard Neo call as he came up from behind. “The Lieutenant wants all of us to assemble in the pilot briefing room, ASAP.”
“Thanks,” he replied, then followed Neo. This is going to be one interesting assignment, that’s for sure…
--
Location: Pilot Briefing Room, Nirvana
It took less than five minutes for most of the pilots to shuffle into the briefing room, with a few stragglers coming in a few seconds later. As soon as all the pilots were accounted for, Meia began explaining why they’d been summoned. “Just twenty minutes ago, the Captain received a priority transmission from both of our nations’ leaders. You all have been called here because in that communication are orders that concern us. Lieutenant Rayder will explain them.” Normally, she would have went on and explained them herself, but she just wanted to see how Nikolai could handle briefing the pilots.”
With a nod to her, he started to explain. “The first of these orders is the integration of both the Dread Teams and my squad, melding both units into a single, cohesive force. As such, we have come up with a series of training exercises for that exact purpose.” Meia could hear some muttered complaints, but kept quiet.
He continued, after a slight pause. “The second order we have received concerns everyone on the ship, but you will be the first group to hear it. The Captain will inform the rest of the crew at a later time. In a little under a week, we are to mobilize for a long-range reconnaissance mission in several of the outlying systems, to check for possible Harvester activity.”
As if on cue, Meia dimmed the lights and brought up a star map on the screen behind them. It showed several star systems surrounding the Tarak/Mejale system, which was in the center. It also displayed a series of arrowed lines that obviously meant some sort of course or route. Nikolai took a laser pointer and went through the whole process of explaining the route they were going to take.
“There you have it,” he said, finishing the explanation. “Any questions concerning either the mission or the orders?”
One of the Dread pilots raised her hand. He acknowledged her, and she continued. “How long will this mission take?”
“If we leave on schedule, and there are no unexpected delays, approximately three and a half months,” he answered. “Yes, Corporal Frost?”
“Are we going to be the only group performing this recon?” the cold-eyed pilot asked.
“Yes,” Nikolai replied immediately. “Although the higher-ups are currently working on creating an allied task force to assist us in the off chance we need help or encounter heavy opposition.”
“Any more questions?” he asked, and when there were none, he turned to Meia. “Is there anything you would like to add?”
“The first of the integration exercises will commence tomorrow at 0900 hours,” she said, informing the pilots. “That is all, you are dismissed.”
After most of the pilots had filed out, she turned to Nikolai. “You handled that well.”
“One of the primary jobs of a unit commander is to quickly figure out a way to assess a situation and explain a plan,” he replied. “And thanks for the compliment.”
Any further conversation was interrupted by Hibiki walking up to them. Dita seemed to follow in his wake, falling in not too far behind him.
“Anything wrong?” Meia asked.
“No,” Hibiki replied. “I just wanted to talk to you about the recon mission, if you don’t mind.”
--
Location: Infirmary, Nirvana
He was getting quite annoyed, that was for sure. This little girl with the frog puppet who called herself Paiway was getting on his nerves with her constant questions, most of which he was unable to answer. He was just about to yell at her when someone came into the infirmary, and to the foot of his bed. He turned, and noticed it was the old woman that he’d seen earlier.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said as way of acknowledgment.
“While you were resting in here,” the old woman said. “My head engineer managed to find out a few things about you, Reinhardt.”
“Reinhardt?” he asked, his attention focused solely on her. “Is that my name?”
“Yes, you’re name is Reinhardt Erickson,” she answered. “And from the information we gathered, you are, or were, a soldier in the CAF, whatever that is.”
“Soldier?” he pondered, and then when he heard CAF, a sharp pain shot through his head. He clutched his head in pain as he bent over, and several images of when he was younger flashed through his mind. He was in some kind of facility, and then it flashed to him using firearms, then what appeared to be hand-to-hand combat with someone three times his age. Then it flashed to the image of several others like him, before he passed out from the pain…
--
After a long hiatus, I have managed to focus more of my attention on this fic. I plan on updating it far more often, so expect this story to continue. Let me know what you think so far.