Disclaimer: I repeat, I do not own Vandread, but all characters I created are my intellectual property.
A/N: I apologize for the extremely long wait on this one, but I couldn’t find the time, with my job and the holidays getting in the way. Well, I’ve finally found the time to complete this chapter, so enjoy!
Vandread: A Renewed War
Chapter Nine: Unforeseen Players
Location: HSS-67 Shuttlecraft
“What is it?!” Aidan said as he swiftly moved up to the cockpit.
“Take a look,” Meia replied as she brought up an image of a large, blocky warship, which was a dull green in color. He had seen a few pictures of just such a vessel, during his stay on the Nirvana.
“It’s a Tarak vessel, isn’t it?” he said, looking closer at the image.
“Yes,” Meia confirmed. “But why would it be all the way out here?”
“Have we been spotted yet?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “But if we stay on our current course, we will be.”
“How do you think they’d react to our presence?” he asked, taking a seat in the co-pilot’s chair.
“Under normal circumstances, I’d say they inquire as to why we were here,” she said after a second’s pause. “But, given Tarak’s recent actions, I’d say they’d consider us a possible hostile.”
“Well,” he said. “It looks like we’ll just have to try to avoid them. As we don’t know their purpose for being so far out here, it wouldn’t be wise to get involved, unless…”
“Unless they’re following the Nirvana,” she finished. “But that would mean…”
“We were being shadowed,” he concluded, taking another look at the ship. “They most likely know what we’re doing. Crap, looks like we’ve been spotted.”
Onscreen, two flashes that were Vanguards launched from the ship, rapidly closing with the shuttle. From their estimated speed, they would be within a hundred meters of the shuttle in less than a minute. Even though the shuttle was one of the latest high-speed models, its maneuverability was nowhere near that of a high-performance fighter or mecha. He had to think of something before they were shot down, if that’s what these Vanguards were planning to do. The Vanguards did stop near the shuttle, and Aidan noticed that the warship was now hailing them. Meia moved to pick up the headset, but Aidan motioned for her to hold off. Instead, he picked up the headset and received the communication.
“This is the Tarak Imperial Warship O-Bakemono. Identify yourself and state your purpose for being in this area.”
“This is Commander Aidan Mercer of the Solaris Defense Forces,” Aidan replied to the audacious warning. “I could ask you the same thing. You are only so far from the Solaris Republic System Border, and yet you sound like you claim all the space between here and your homeland.”
“This is Captain Kenichi Kinugau. I believe you are in no position to make such remarks, Commander,” the O-Bakemono’s Captain said. “We have more than enough firepower to wipe you from this existence.”
“I’m well aware of my position here, Captain,” Aidan responded, placing a condescending tone on the man’s rank. “But I’m not so sure you are fully aware of yours. You fire on this shuttlecraft, and it will be considered an act of war against the Solaris Republic.”
“Don’t think to take me so lightly, Commander,” Kinugau warned. “That won’t be necessary, as long as you accept my ‘invitation’ to come aboard the O-Bakemono.”
Both Vanguards leveled their weapons at the shuttle, showing that they would attack if he were to not accept. He was just a little more than pissed at this pompous ass of a ship captain. Who did that man think he was? They had no time to mess around with this bastard, but he knew something had to be done about that ship, or it would continue shadowing his command and the pirates. Seeing as how it was pointless to die out in space with no way of fighting back, he decided to ‘accept the invitation’.
“Very well, we accept your ‘invitation’,” he responded. But if anything happens to me or Meia, there will be no known power in this universe that will be able to save you.
“Why did you…?” Meia asked as he severed the commlink. “We don’t have the time for this.”
“I know,” he replied. “But what choice do we have, seeing as how this shuttle is not exactly equipped for combat. And besides, if we run, those machines out there will make sure we don’t get very far. We also have to find a way to make sure this ship can’t follow either the Nirvana or the Deimos. One way or another…”
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Location: Target Range in Training Area B, S.D.S. Deimos
Part of a soldier’s training was to learn how to operate various firearms. They would be trained to load, aim, and fire the weapon, as well as how to keep it clean and well-maintained. Even if the soldier was non-commissioned, or their primary role was some duty other than combat, they still had to at least learn to use a handgun. This was especially true for pilots. Every pilot, whether Striker or fighter, was required to carry a handgun or a laser pistol as a personal defense weapon. Although recently, one had the option of storing a sub-machinegun or similarly sized weapon in a special storage location placed underneath the cockpit seat.
That meant every pilot had to perform target practice, to make sure their aim was good if they ever needed to use the weapon. Mayura was no exception to this requirement. She walked up to one of the tables and put on the safety goggles and hearing protection. She picked up the Solaris Arms HG12 Automatic Pistol, checked it, and loaded a single twelve-round magazine into the handgrip. She flicked the safety off and pulled the slide back, loading the first round into the weapon. She lifted the weapon, taking aim at the target down the range. She then squeezed the trigger.
She repeated the action eleven more times, unloading the entire magazine into the target. Taking off the goggles and headgear for a second, she looked at her results. Several of her shots had managed to hit the upper torso of the target at various locations. A few of her shots hadn’t hit the human-shaped target, missing by only a few centimeters. Slightly dissatisfied with her results, she hit the button which would bring up a new target. She ejected the empty clip from the gun and loaded a fresh one. She was about to start up again when she heard the barking report of an automatic rifle further down the line. She leaned slightly out of the cubicle she was in and noticed a man not much older than her firing the rifle.
He was firing his weapon in single shots and short bursts, attaining better accuracy as well as conserving ammo. In effect, he was providing more effective fire than if he just unloaded the entire clip into the target. She could see that pretty much all of his shots had hit either the torso or the head. Whoever this guy was, he was a damn good shot. She immediately made the assumption that he was part of the ship’s marine complement, as she hadn’t seen him with the other pilots. He finally expended the last of his rifle’s ammo, and took the clip out of the gun and set it onto the table in front of him.
He noticed her looking him as he set the rifle down, and slightly embarrassed by being caught staring, she turned her attention back to her target practice. Why does he look familiar? She opened fire on the new target that replaced her old one. She continued until she expended the clip, and noticed that she did no better than the last time. She decided to stop for today, and she picked up the gun, as well as any spare ammo she had back to the front. She noticed that the man she saw earlier was no longer there, and returned the weapon and ammunition to the equipment locker. After that, she decided that she would head back to her quarters for a little while before she had to go back on duty. She made it a few steps out the door before she noticed that same man just finishing a conversation with another person. It was then that she just realized who he was.
“Long time no see,” she said to him.
He turned, apparently recognizing her voice. “Mayura?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” she replied.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he said
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Location: Corridor, Tarak Imperial Warship O-Bakemono
“Keep moving,” the guard commanded, not even bothering to keep the hatred out of his voice, jabbing the business-end of his rifle into Meia’s back, forcing her to move forward.
She thought about defying the man, or at least insulting him, but decided against it. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if she were executed. She just kept moving, keeping pace with Aidan, who also had a pair of restraints around his wrists. There was little doubt that they were being directed to the brig of this vessel, where they would be kept until Aidan or herself found a way off this ship.
After several seconds of being directed around, they finally arrived at the brig. The man behind her prodded her with the rifle again. “In here.”
She stepped into the cell a few seconds after Aidan. After they were in the cell, the soldier guarding Aidan lowered his weapon and punched in the lock code while the one guarding her still had his weapon trained on them. After the cell’s laser system activated, he lowered his weapon, and took up position guarding their cell. The other one did the same, both of them facing away from the cell. Aidan sat down on what passed for a bunk in the cell. Meia sat down beside him seconds later.
“What do we do now?” she asked him, careful not to raise her voice above a whisper.
“I’m thinking,” he replied, his voice the same level as hers. “But for now, we do nothing.”
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Location: Corridor outside Target Range, Training Area B, S.D.S. Deimos
Daniel Harwell was clearly surprised that the woman that just spoke to him was none other than Mayura. He hadn’t expected to see her, of all people, on this ship. Last he saw her, she was back on Solaris, and that was before the whole civil war broke out, over two years ago. Since then they’d lost touch, and he had no idea she’d joined the military. He assumed she had just recently graduated from military academy.
“Surprised?” she asked with a smirk on her face.
“A little,” he admitted. “Since when did you join the military?”
“When I became old enough,” she replied, with a little ice in her voice. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” he replied. He had expected a little hostility from her. When he left to join the military, they weren’t on good speaking terms. He noticed the crossed-swords over shield pin on her uniform. “You’re a pilot?”
“I pilot a Striker, yes,” she replied. “One of the several selected by Commander Mercer himself.”
Did that sound a little prideful? He just hoped that kind of attitude didn’t get her killed. He knew several soldiers who had that kind of attitude died needlessly or were quickly disheartened by the horrors of war.
“You with the marines?” she asked, bringing him out of his line of thought.
“Yes,” he replied, keeping his voice level. “Served aboard the Dauntless before being reassigned to this ship. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back on shift. See ya later, Mayura.”
“Same here, Daniel,” she responded, before turning and walking away.
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Location: Tarak Imperial Warship O-Bakemono.
Lieutenant Akira Shindoh walked at a brisk pace down one of the several corridors of the warship O-Bakemono. He had just recently learned of the fact that they had just acquired a couple of prisoners. One was a man from a planet he’d learned was called Solaris. The other was the female Dread Leader of the pirates. They were probably going to be interrogated before long, so he had to act quickly. The Tarak Empire had become too extreme in their current actions.
He understood the whole military response when that Dread took out the flagship Todoroki, but using it as an excuse to wage a genocidal war based solely on a biased hatred? That didn’t sit well with him, and he knew that the Prime Minister had some hidden agenda. Why else would he send a lone vessel to shadow the ship formerly known as the Ikazuchi? He still believed himself a full-blooded Tarakian, but the current actions taken by the nation he served had caused him to question where his loyalties lie. He wanted to change that, and he knew this was his only chance, so he kept moving…
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Location: Dita’s Room, Nirvana
Dita was worried. Worried about the situation back home. Worried that they wouldn’t get there in time. But most of all, she was worried about Hibiki. He had rarely wanted to be around her these past few days, but she knew he was preoccupied. The fact that Tarak had went to war, breaking the alliance they had forged to after defeating the Harvesters. And she’d learned they’d went to extremes, killing every last women at an outpost, showing no mercy. She could tell that the whole thing was tearing away at him, and desperately wanted to help him.
He had refused her help, isolating himself these last few days, mostly staying in his quarters or around his Vanguard. What she found different, was that he didn’t get mad at her, but just asked her to leave him alone for a while. He said he needed some time to himself. She decided to respect his request making only minimal contact with him. She just hoped that they got back home so they could put an end the cycle of hatred that seemed to engulf their two societies.
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Location: Hidden Asteroid Base, Tarak/Mejale Asteroid Field
Becker strode down the main corridor of the base, flanked by a couple of his men. He had a message to deliver to the commander of this base before they made their next move. He noticed the surprised looks of many of the Tarak personnel as they marched by. They made it to the command center a few minutes later, and he took satisfaction in the shocked look of the base’s commander as they barged in. They also nearly knocked over the lone unarmed guard on their way in.
“Commander Becker what an unpleasant surprise,” the base commander said after he regained his composure. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your ship, awaiting further orders?”
Becker almost didn’t reply to that comment. The base commander didn’t look like a commander, or even a soldier, for that matter. His skinny frame and hawkish nose made him look more like a politician than a true soldier. “Regarding that… I have already received my new orders.”
“New orders…?” the base commander wondered. “But I haven’t given you any orders yet.”
“I’m afraid these orders come from outside your jurisdiction, and they were very specific,” he said to the wimp of a commander.
“You have received no further orders,” the man said, sweat forming on his forehead. “So head back to your ship and wait there until I tell you otherwise.”
“Oh,” he replied. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I am here to carry out my new orders.”
The second he said that, the two soldiers flanking him unslung and raised their rifles, which were of Tarak origin, and opened fire. The guard, as well as the several operators in the room were gunned down quickly. The only Tarakian left alive was the commander, with a look of horror on his face.
“This is treason!” he cried. “I could have you executed for this!”
“Keep in mind,” Becker said, as the soldiers lowered their rifles. “I am a mercenary, a soldier-for-hire. And besides, how can it be treason if I no longer work for you?”
“You mercenary scum!” the commander shouted, of little help to him with the soundproof doors shut, sealing the room off from the rest of the base. “How could the Minister have ordered this?”
“Oh, he didn’t,” Becker said with a smirk, relishing in the man’s fear. “While he’s off fighting his little war, I’m here to cause a little hell in your backyard.”
“Did you do this because the women offered to pay you more?” the commander asked, his voice shaking with fear.
“My new employer is of no concern to you,” he replied. “But they were very specific in their orders.”
“And those would be?” the commander dared to ask.
Becker unbuttoned his holster and pulled out his handgun. He saw the man’s eyes grow wide with fear as he did so. The commander tried to turn and trigger the alarm. Halfway through his turn, half of his head was blown off, blood and brain matter splattering all over the console behind him. “To leave no evidence behind.”