Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread.
Vandread: A Renewed War
Chapter One: A New Command
Location: Solaris Military Headquarters, Lt. General Karl Albrecht’s Office
“What?” Aidan said in surprise, hardly believing what he was hearing. “But why-”
“If you’ll let me explain,” Albrecht said, interrupting him. “Our long-range scouts have spotted what appears to be possible Harvester activity.”
“Earther activity?” Aidan said, not wanting to believe it. “Where? And why after all this time?”
“From what our scouts have identified, they appear to have little interest in us at this point,” Albrecht went on. “But we cannot be completely sure. That is where you come in.”
“You want me in command of a new unit to further investigate Earth’s activities, sir?” he said after a moment.
“Pretty much, Captain,” Albrecht nodded, confirming as to why Aidan was being given command of a new unit. “But from now on, your rank will be that of Commander, so as not to conflict with the Captain of the ship you’ll be on.”
“Wait a minute, sir,” he said. “I’m being assigned to a warship?”
“Even though the Captain of the ship technically outranks you, you will have overall command authority for this operation,” Albrecht explained, and handed him a datapad. “And it’s a new class, the Deimos Class Destroyer Carrier.”
He looked over the data pad, detailing the general outline of the ship. It looked different from of the vessels currently used by the SDF. It had a sleeker, more menacing appearance, but still looked well-armed. The most peculiar thing he noticed was it that it was a carrier, even though it was the size of a destroyer. And not a single fighter craft was present onboard the vessel, meaning one thing: it carried Striker combat mecha. It even had hangars specifically designed for them, as well as a catapult launch system.
“So,” he said after he read the pad. “I’m going to command a unit of Strikers?”
“Yes,” Albrecht replied. “As well as a contingent of marines trained for zero-g and ground combat, as well as boarding operations. Along with the new ship, you’ll be getting some new gear as well.”
Aidan looked back down at the data pad in his hand. He brought up a list of the equipment he was receiving. All of it was pretty advanced, upgraded Strikers, as well as the prototype he had ‘recovered’ from the EDA. Along with that, several suits of powered armor, including the Geist stealth type armor. Rounding it out was some newly developed infantry weapons systems. What, were they expecting his new unit to wage a full-scale war?
“A few other things,” Albrecht said. “As this is an independent operation performed by an independent unit, it will consist of personnel you select. The ship‘s crew and captain have already been assigned, along with it’s contingent of marines, so it‘s just primarily pilots you will be selecting. You will receive more specific orders once you have your unit formed.”
Aidan took the list, and gave it a glance. He didn’t know what to say. This was a lot to swallow, that was for sure. Selecting his own personnel? That was sure a lot responsibility to just throw onto his shoulders. He wasn’t even sure he wanted this new command, he wasn’t sure that he’d have a choice in the matter. The next few weeks were going to be hell, that was for sure.
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Location: Corridor, Nirvana
“So, what happened between you two?” Misty asked.
“What do you mean?” Meia replied.
“You know what I mean,” Misty replied back. “Between you and that soldier, Aidan, when you both were stranded.”
“Oh, that,” she said. “Nothing really, why do you ask?”
“Nothing? Don’t give me that,” Misty said. “I know something happened. You like him, don’t you?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Meia replied. “What in the world gave you that idea?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Misty said with an innocent tone. “The fact that you two were alone, for a prolonged period of time.”
“We were being chased by hostile soldiers at the time,” she replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s some work I have to finish up.”
As soon as Meia departed, Misty smiled. “You don’t fool me, dear sister.”
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Location: Solaria Military Base, Outskirts of Solaria
As Damon walked into the briefing room, he noticed that all of the surviving members of his team were present, sans Aidan. Even Cameron, the only survivor of the ill-fated Ghost Team on the last operation, was here. Hawkins noticed his entrance and spoke up.
“Hey, Hunter,” Hawkins said. “You know the reason for this muster call?”
“No Hawkins, I don’t,” he replied as he took the open seat next to Hawkins. “I was just told to report here at 0200.”
A few minutes later, the doors slid open, and Damon recognized immediately who it was that entered. It was Aidan. He noted that something different about him. Instead of the Captain’s bars that he normally wore, he had on the rank pin of a Commander.
“What’s this about, Commander?” he asked, placing emphasis on Aidan’s new rank.
“So, you noticed,” Aidan replied, turning his attention to Damon. “I’ll explain that in a minute.”
“I know you all are wondering why I summoned you here,” Aidan started off. “And to make a long story short, is I have been given command of a new unit under Lt. General Karl Albrecht order.”
That started off several comments from the gathered soldiers in the room. Aidan waited till it died down to continue. “I have called you all here because I have been given some freedom in the personnel to be chosen for this unit. I would like you all in this new unit.”
“Are these orders?” Damon asked.
“They could be, but, no,” Aidan replied levelly. “This is purely volunteer. I’m letting you decide.”
“Count me in, Boss,” Hawkins said almost immediately.
Cameron was the next to volunteer, followed by Akida and Julia Marks. Damon was the only one not saying anything.
“Well, Damon?” Aidan asked him.
“Of course,” he replied after a few seconds.
“Good,” Aidan said. “Now we can get down to the details.”
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Location: Hangar, Nirvana
“That feels much better,” Hibiki commented after getting off the shuttle. He was glad to get back to a familiar place, and out of that damnable cold weather. He was tired of freezing his ass off down there.
“Come on, Mr. Alien!” Dita called to him as she ran down the ramp. “I’ll make you something nice and warm to eat!”
“Sounds good,” he replied. He started his walk down the ramp, fiddling with the small box that was in his pocket.
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Location: Briefing Room, Military Base on outskirts of Solaria.
Aidan had expected as much when he’d said it. It was something they would be concerned about. He knew he was concerned about it.
“Are you sure about that, sir?” Cameron asked. “Earther activity?”
“Yes,” Aidan replied without hesitation. “I found out directly from the Lieutenant General himself. He told me that our long-range scouts have located what appears to be separate Harvester fleets moving around out beyond this system. They apparently are showing little interest in Solaris at the time, as they were reported heading away from this system.”
“That is this unit’s primary objective,” Aidan said. “We are to monitor and determine the size, as well as the intention, of the Harvester fleet. Due to the nature of this assignment, you are going to be piloting Strikers. The reason for this is that you have had cross-training on them, and that’s the only way to fight the Earthers if we face them. Any objections?”
When he saw that there were none, he continued. “You will receive more specific orders when I get them. Also, everything I’ve said relating to the Earthers is not to leave this room. Understood?”
He received a chorus of ‘yes sirs’ in reply.
“Dismissed,” he said.
As they got up to leave, Aidan stopped Damon. “Mind holding up a minute?”
“Sure,” Damon replied.
“I’d like your help selecting more pilots,” he said.
“First, I’d like to ask you something,” Damon replied. “Why are you having us pilot Strikers? That’s not quite our field of expertise.”
“I know,” he replied. “But it was the only way to get you guys into the unit. The entire contingent of infantry has already been selected, along with the ship’s crew. And besides, piloting Strikers isn’t the only thing we’re going to do.”
“Wait a minute,” Damon said. “You’re going to pilot one as well?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “I’m not the type of commander that just likes to sit back and watch.”
“So, when do I start?” Damon said, referring back to pilot selection.
“In a few days,” he replied. “But there’s someplace I need to go first. And I’d like your presence.”
“Sure,” Damon replied. “Where to?”
“We’re going to talk to some pirates,” he said.
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Location: Captain’s Meeting Room, Nirvana
“So, Aidan’s coming up here,” Magno said after she’d been informed by BC. “And he has something important to talk about, I take it?”
“Yes, but he said he couldn’t say anything more specific until he got up here in person,” BC answered.
“It must be important, then,” she said. “If he can’t broadcast it, even on a secure frequency. So, when did he say he would arrive?” she asked.
“About 1500 hours tomorrow,” BC replied. “And he’s bringing along another military officer, as well.”
“Well, I’ll guess we’ll just have to wait and see why this visit is important,” she said aloud.
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Location: Tarakian Prime Minister’s Office
Standing in front of the window in his office, the Prime Minister of Tarak watched as a group of military cadets were running through their marching drills. A few seconds later, there was a knock at his door.
“Enter,” he said, not taking his eyes off the cadets.
The person entered and stood at attention, waiting to be acknowledged.
“So,” he said as he turned around, facing the new head of the Special Information Bureau. “Is everything in order?”
“Yes, Minister,” the man said, holding out a document. “Preparations are almost complete.”
“Good,” he replied as he took the document and briefly read over it. “When will the plan commence?”
“In about a week, Minister,” the nondescript man answered.
“Finally,” he said. It is then that everything will change…
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Sorry for the delay, but my computer was being a real bitch. But, no problems now. Hopefully I’ll have the next chapter up sooner.