Disclaimer: Vandread is the property of Gonzo.
Vandread: A Renewed War
Chapter Three: Hatred Renewed, Part One
Location: Urban Combat Training Area Two, Training Base Omega, Solaris
The sun was beginning to set, but that did little to stall the fierce combat taking place inside the abandoned town turned training area. As this was not a live-fire exercise, the two Strikers that were fighting were only using ‘paint’ rounds in their weapons. They were both moving from building to building, dodging most of each other’s shots. It was about thirty minutes into the exercise, and neither one showed signs of wanting to give in.
With sweat running down her brow, Corporal Mayura Asakura hid behind the wall of a ruined building. So far, she had taken very few hits, but neither had she scored many on her elusive opponent. This guy she was facing was good, and she surmised that he was a veteran of the last war. Ejecting the empty magazine from her machine’s rifle, she then loaded a fresh one. She’d have to end this soon, or she was going to run out of ammo.
There! She just got a contact on her sensors, but it disappeared just as quickly. Damn! That was the problem with fighting in an urban environment. Too many places for the enemy to hide, and too many metallic objects, making magres scanners pretty much useless. This had been a cat and mouse game for the last half hour, and she was getting tired of it. Then, without any warning, the wall of the building next to the one she was using for cover burst outward, raining steel beams and bricks onto the pavement below.
Her opponent had burst through the wall, and fired a long burst at her. She raised her machine’s left arm just in time to let most of the fire hit her shield. She returned fire, but most of it caught the edge of the building as her target moved behind it. She slowly walked her machine over to the building corner that her opponent had taken cover behind. She turned the corner rapidly, actively searching for him, her weapon at the ready. But to her surprise, her target wasn’t there. All of sudden her warning alarms sounded, and her sensors indicated a contact above her.
“Crap!” she cursed as she looked up and realized that he was coming down from the roof of the building. She backed up just enough to have him land right in front of her. She fired, peppering the left arm and shield of her opponent. And then, as her opponent charged forward, she continued to hold down on the firing trigger, unloading the entire clip into her opponent. She then felt a jarring impact as the opposing machine shouldered into her.
She was thrown around in her cockpit, with only the restraints to keep her in place. After regaining her focus, she noticed the other machine standing over her, the barrel of it’s rifle pointed directly at her machine’s head. It looked like she had just lost, but it was then she noticed the paint marks on the other Striker. Several of her shots had managed to score on his torso, and even a few on the head, indicating a kill. The exercise had ended in a close draw…
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Location: Hangar Three, Training Base Omega
After taking off her helmet, Mayura wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked up at her battered machine. It had taken quite a beating when the other machine rammed it, but it was still functional, though the techs were probably going to grumble about replacing some of the damaged armor plates. She glanced from her machine to the other one that just completed docking into it’s cradle. It was the machine that she’d fought against in the exercise. She then saw the other pilot exit his machine. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he looked over in her direction. After noticing her, he started walking towards her.
As he approached her, he took off his helmet. She noticed that he had short brown hair, and was quite handsome despite there being an X-shaped scar on the left side of his face. He extended his free hand towards her.
“You put up a good fight,” he said sincerely. “I thought I had you there, at the end.”
“Thanks,” she replied, accepting his handshake. “And you are?”
“Oh, sorry,” he apologized. “Aidan Mercer.”
“Name’s Mayura,” she said, returning the courtesy.
“Corporal Mayura Asakura,” he replied. “Unless I’m mistaken, you graduated at the top of your class, and are currently awaiting to be assigned to a unit.”
“Yes,” she replied warily. “I believe you have me at a disadvantage, sir.”
“Well,” Aidan said. “I’m here to give you your new assignment. I’m Commander Aidan Mercer, of the Solaris Special Forces, and you’re being assigned to my unit, the 13th Independent Operations Battalion.”
She was clearly surprised, and almost lost grip of her helmet. “Special Forces? I’m being assigned to the SSF?”
“Yes,” he replied. “Your skill as a pilot is why I chose you for this unit. I’m currently on a tight deadline for selecting qualified pilots, as the timetable for the unit’s first operation is in ten days.”
“When do I report in, sir?” she asked, mostly over her initial surprise.
“In three days,” he replied. “At the Solaria Spaceport. Once there, you will meet up will your fellow pilots, and head up into space to the warship we are being assigned to. You will receive further orders once you arrive at the spaceport.”
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Location: Tarakian Perimeter Defense Line
Without any prior warning, one of the Vanguards suddenly burst into a ball of flame, sending it’s appendages flying off in multiple directions. Before the other machines could react, something burst through the space previously occupied by that Vanguard. As soon as the stunned pilots regained their senses, they immediately started to pursue the unidentified target. The few that had managed to cut off the fast fighter weren’t so lucky. One was shot to pieces, and two were destroyed by missiles.
Upon hearing the intercepted communications between the startled Vanguard pilots, the pilot of the Dread smiled. Although no one could see it because of the pilot’s reflective helmet visor.
“What the hell was that thing!” one of them said.
“Damn, that thing that attacked us is a Dread!” another one called out.
“Why the hell are the women attacking us! I thought we ceased hostilities with them!”
“I don’t know!” the group commander said. “But we’ve got to take it out, now!”
“Not likely,” the Dread pilot replied, although no one heard him. “I don’t have time to waste on you small fries.”
And with that, he kicked the Dread into the highest speed it could go, easily distancing himself from the slower, mêlée-armed Vanguards. He had a bigger fish to fry…
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Location: Rear Hangar, Nirvana
Sitting in the cockpit of his gold Vanguard, Hibiki went over all of the systems to make sure his machine would be ready for any upcoming battle. He was in the middle of something when he heard footsteps across the gantry that led to the cockpit. A few seconds later the red-haired form of Dita showed up in front of him.
“Mr. Alien, what are you doing?” she asked in her always cheerful tone.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” he replied, but it came out a little harsher than he wanted it to.
She was somewhat startled by his tone, but recovered rather quickly. “Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” he replied, glancing away from her.
“You can tell me about it,” she said. “If you want to…”
“I told you,” he replied.” It’s nothing.”
“But-”
“Just leave me alone!” he said harshly.
Before he could say anything else, Dita suddenly burst into tears and ran away from him. He quickly got out of his cockpit, but by that time she was already gone.
“DAMMIT!” he yelled, slamming the side of his fist on the armor of his Vanguard. She was only concerned for him, and he’d wrongly chosen to vent his anger about the recent Earth fleet on her. It was hard enough for him not to tell her about it, but he’d been told to keep it secret, at least for now.
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Location: Tarak Flagship Todoroki
“Captain!” the sensor operator called.
“What is it?” the captain replied.
“Reports from the Perimeter Defense Squadron report that a lone Dread has broken through the line and is proceeding directly to the rear area!”
“A lone Dread?” he said, slightly puzzled. “What can the women hope to accomplish with just a single fighter?”
“What should we do, sir?” his second-in command asked.
“Have our Vanguard squadrons deploy,” he ordered. “Their orders are to take that Dread out before it causes any further damage.”
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Location: Corridor, Nirvana
“So, what was the meeting about?” Barnette asked Meia as she caught up to her.
“I’m not really allowed to say,” Meia replied as she continued walking.
“Why not?” Barnette asked.
“That was what they requested, anyways,” she said, then lowered her voice. “I’ll tell you, as long as you don’t tell anyone, under any circumstances.”
“Okay,” Barnette replied.
“They have located a large Earth fleet along the far edge of their border,” she said, her voice low, so as not to be overheard. “They requested that we help them with their mission to find out what the Earthlings are up to.”
She was shocked to hear that, but she hid most of her surprise. “Earth? I thought we were done with them?”
“Me too,” she replied. “I guess this eventually had to come to pass. From what I can tell, the Captain will make an announcement in the next week or so. So don’t tell anyone what I’ve told you until then.”
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Location: Tarak Fleet, Rear Area
He needed to end this, soon. As he penetrated their front line and made to the rear, the Vanguards and ships only increased in number, and so had the damage to his fighter. He had yet to locate his target, which intel said would be in the rear of the fleet.
“Just like intelligence to not be 100 percent accurate,” he muttered. “Now, where is it?”
After twenty seconds of searching, his target finally showed up on his scanners. The red wedge that represented a warship was tagged with the name ‘Todoroki’. According to his scanners, it was located the farthest from the rest of the fleet. So much like the cowards to hang back, away from the fighting.
Evading yet another attack from a Vanguard, he maneuvered his craft into the direction of the flagship. He rapidly closed with the massive vessel, avoiding the anti-aircraft fire from its point-defense weapons. Suddenly, something hit his fighter, causing to almost spin out of control. He kept a tight grip on the controls, and drove his fighter onward, intent on finishing this last task that had been assigned to him.
“No,” he said aloud, a grim smile on his face. “I will not fail this time. The Black Phoenix will rise once again…”
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Location: Tarak Flagship Todoroki
“Captain!” an alarmed crewman shouted. “That Dread appears to be directly heading for us!”
“All weapons, fire!” he commanded. “Take out that damn thing before it gets any closer!”
“Too late!” he heard someone say. He didn’t know who said it, as his attention was fully concentrated on the image of the fighter as it got closer to the view port. In those last few seconds, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Dread crashed through the bridge, crushing at least two crewmen before it exploded, instantly incinerating everyone else on the bridge. He could feel the intense heat wash over him, if only for a split second. Then he had no more feeling after that…
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What I meant was to pick up the pace of the storyline, and hopefully be able to upload more chapters ASAP, without rushing them