Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ ZoidDread ❯ Battle of the Sexes ( Chapter 2 )

 

ZoidDread

 

Disclaimer: Zoids and VanDread aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them.

 

< >: Thoughts

 

Chapter 1

 

Battle of the Sexes

 

On the distant male dominated planet of Tarak, the Prime Minister and chief commander of the Tarak Space Fleet was finishing his speech before the graduating batch of cadets, as the video of another Tarak propaganda film finished. Behind him loomed the former colony ship now battle cruiser and flagship, the Ikazuchi.

 

The crowds gave a roaring ovation to the speech of the Prime Minister as they cheered him on. In the crowds near the front was a duo of longhaired individuals with a calm and totally collective demeanor about them. Their faces betrayed no emotion as they and the rest of the cadets continued to listen to the Prime Minister as he toped off the speech.

 

“We shall now go forth and reclaim our true place in the universe at last, by first wiping out the scourge of pirates that have the gall to harass our transports! Why mist we wait for the appointed time? Let us go forth now!"

 

The crowds cheered and applauded once more.

 

---------------

 

The Engineering Bay of the Ikazuchi…

 

The engineering staff of the Ikazuchi scrambled like mad to ready the ship for its unexpected early deployment into space. The engine room buzzed with serious activity like a beehive as the men moved about to accomplish their specific duties. Huge turbines turned and whined as the massive ship began to power up. The barracks began to fill up as the cadets and their officers, including their commander and his staff entered the Ikazuchi. In less than fifteen minutes, the ship was now ready to leave the planet as the Prime Minister and his command staff came into the main bridge.

 

Then the massive engines roared to life as they unleashed a huge blast of light, lifting the ship off the ground as it slowly began to gain altitude.

 

On the ground, near the launch site, an old man wiped the sweat from his brow as he gazed at the rising ship from the fields he was working on. As he watched the massive craft rise towards the heavens, he began to show a smile on his face as he felt a certain feeling that the Ikazuchi was about to be placed on the stage where it would change the fate of his home-planet, and that of the women of Mejele, as a certain trio of men were now onboard, he had met them, and felt that they would help the whole universe to a greater future, and he hoped that they would find the one they sought. A moment later he went back to work on the dry and almost desolate soil of Tarak.

 

----------------------

 

Deep in the bowels of the Ikazuchi…

 

The rumblings of the outside stirred three individuals from their study of a nearby Vanguard. The vibrations of the ship's launch had aroused them immediately as they quickly looked about the large room where they decided to take a nap. Only the indicator lights were on, though not providing enough illumination to brighten the room, there wasn't a single soul inside the room as Brandon and his brothers could see, they however weren't taking any chances, they got up and looked around.

 

“Got any idea what's going on?" Brandon asked.

 

Lance got up and headed for an observation porthole. He looked out and then looked back in surprise to his older siblings. “The ship's taking off."

 

Scott looked at his chronometer and looked a bit curious. “The ship's not supposed to take off another two hours."

 

“What made them launch early?" Lance asked a bit curiously.

 

“Something's not right.” Brandon said as he looked about. It was then that the ship began to rock even harder, making the three men lose their balance. And they were shook about a bit as the ship continued it's climb. They hit their heads and were knocked unconscious.

 

---------------------

 

Several hours later… over the orbit of Tarak…

 

The liftoff went on without any difficulties and the mighty battleship was now in synchronized orbit over the men's home-world, awaiting the arrival of its support fleet to join them in orbit. On board the craft's main meeting hall, the cadets of the Tarak Space Forces were enjoying themselves in the inauguration ceremonies as they all drank wine and conversed with one another.

 

“I can't wait to go into battle!"

 

“Neither can I! When do we see the Vanguards?"

 

“Those new Vanguard fighter will put those women in their places!"

 

“Say, after all this is over, do you want to make a kid?"

 

“A kid with you? That's not a bad idea."

 

As the conversations droned on, two young cadets by the names of Duero McFile and Dylan Krueger stood with two of their fellow cadets, drinking their own wine slowly to savor the taste. Drinks such as alcoholics were only given on special occasions and the longhaired men wanted to enjoy it.

 

“Hey Duero, Dylan. I hear that you two made it to the top of your class."

 

The longhaired men nodded as he simply took another sip of their wine.

 

“Yeah, you both done really well in the exams, you two would probably be assigned at headquarters." Another cadet commented to his fellow cadets.

 

“I hear that Duero left the position line of his submissions entry form totally blank and Dylan did the same, imagine that, top medics and officers leaving their entry positions blank." A third cadet said.

 

Just then another cadet carrying a box filled with food pellets in white and pink came walking up to them.

 

“Hey guys! Is everyone having a good time?"

 

The group turned and looked at the newcomer, who seemed totally out of place onboard a military ship; he didn't have the build of a cadet who endured the training of the military at all. He was a rather skinny individual with a shock of blond hair. His voice sounded whiney and seemed to be full of himself as he offered some of the men the nutrition pills he was carrying. He tried to sell the stuff to his fellow men, but they weren't going to bite

 

After he had gotten the cold shoulder from the men, the young man gave a look of defeat. He directed his attention to several other cadets and tried to sell the new pellets once more.

 

“Who was that guy?" One cadet asked.

 

“His father owns the Garsus Foods Cooperation. Let's put it this way. His family is in charge of keeping us fed, so let's leave it at that."

 

“Geez, I'm getting heartburn just by thinking about it." One cadet also said.

 

The other cadets laughed, except Duero and Dylan. Just then the lights went down as an announcer arrived and began addressing the assembled personnel of the Ikazuchi. The crowds directed their attention to a movie screen showing performance images of the Tarak military's latest tools in their war against the women, the Vanguard Fighter. The announcer then gave out a brief documentary on the newly created mecha.

 

“Stab! Pierce! And Slay! With these various tools and weapons, the Tsukumo VanType fighter is weapon unto itself! It is the frontline weapon of our military! Be it by sea, air, mountains, the plains, or in space! There is now terrain that our latest weapon can traverse! The new Vanguards are the new beacons of hope for out people! Let's all give a hand to our latest weapons!"

 

There was a standing ovation from the cadets as they all cheered for their latest tools of war against the women. Then the lights came back on and a section of the floor near the podium opened up. A large elevator platform rose up with more than two dozen completed Vanguards on It.

 

The applause and cheering stopped as the men saw… them.

 

-----------------

 

Earlier…

 

Brandon and his brothers were immediately roused from their bout of being shaken about as the floor on the storage room began to move. They all looked up and blinked as the roof opened, letting in a flash flood of light. They then felt the entire floor rise as the got on their feet.

 

“What's happening here?" Scott asked as he got up from his position on the Vanguard leg and placed on his pack.

 

Lance looked around as he put on his own pack and groaned as he recalled the layout of the chamber he and his siblings were in. “Damn! This is where the new Vanguards will be displayed to the cadets."

 

“I should have known. Damn it! Well, we might as well get ready." Brandon said as he and his brothers placed on their travel packs.

 

Once the platform reached the top, they found themselves staring back at a rather large crowd of military cadets.

 

This wasn't going to be a good day.

 

-----------------

 

“Who are those guys?"

 

“Look at them all! They're third class citizens."

 

“What are they doing onboard?"

 

“How the heck DID they get onboard?"

 

In the crowds closest to the platform, Duero and Dylan immediately assessed the three men. They both noted that the intruders were not like any third class citizen the two of them had ever seen before. They were all in excellent physical condition, with lean, but finely muscled forms. They're clothes were all well kept and clean, unlike the shabby garb that third class citizens usually wore. The first stranger wore what appeared to be a red short sleeved jacket with strange markings on the left side, a well kept body shirt in black color, black pants with woven shin guards, brown boots, and a pair of long hand gloves nearing his elbows. The second stranger wore a tunic of some rather smooth material in light red color, a sleeveless brown vest with the same odd markings and with clasps, red pants, black shoes, and also a pair of short gloves. The last stranger was wearing a deep blue body shirt, a sleeveless jacket with strange markings on the left side, gray pants, black boots, and finger-less gloves. The three men had intriguing eyes Duero and Dylan had ever seen before, the first had deep green eyes, the second had deep aquamarine blue eyes, and the last one had an impressive mixture of green and blue. The first stranger who was the tallest had his brown hair cropped sort but with a long braid on the left side of his face. The second stranger had his hair rather long and in a ponytail. The last man seemed to prefer his hair to be reaching the back of his shoulders. They each wore strange markings on their faces, making them look more rugged. Around their necks were ID tags that showed them to be third class citizens, but the young doctors had doubted them to really third class citizens. There was something about them…

 

Just then the security personnel began to approach the three strangers to arrest them. However, the three strangers didn't show any fear at the arrival of the armed guards, they showed instead that they had no intention of going away quietly as they dropped their backs and went totally defensive. The guards then attacked in one large group, hoping to overwhelm the men with sheer force of numbers. The cadets watched in the belief that these third class citizens would be easily subdued; Duero and Dylan had their doubts as the three prepared to fight.

 

Brandon and his siblings gave a growl as they faced the guards, normally they didn't plan on beating up people, but considering the fact that diplomacy was very much out of the question, it was going to mean that they had to escape.

 

All three men then took out what appeared to be cans which looked like those used in storing old sodas. They then pulled out pins that were near the cans. It was then that they tossed the cans towards the guards and hid next to the leg of one of the Vanguards. The cans turned out to be high powered explosives that blasted out massive sound, and a blast of magnesium white light, this blinded the guards and the cadets making the rest of them scream in pain. (*)

 

That was when the three men suddenly smashed their way past the guards, knocking the stunned guards aside.

 

As Duero and Dylan recovered from the effects of the explosive sound and light display, they realized that whoever those three men were. THEY were NOT from their military forces.

 

-----------------

 

“Of all the dumb luck!” Lance said with a growl as he and his brothers ran away from the Tarak guards. After their little escape, the ship's security personnel were now ordered to capture them, and if needed, with deadly force…which would no doubt be what he and his elder siblings were going to be greeted with anyway.

 

“Hey, there's no time to worry about it! The one thing we've got to worry about is how to get the heck out of here!” Scott replied as he was in the middle as his siblings ran through the corridors.

 

“Let's get to the Ligers and take that section we were planning to steal. But we'll have to hide until we can get out of here.” Brandon replied as he then guided his other siblings into the nearby storage room.

 

That was when they spotted an unexpected occupant.

 

The thing was a robot that appeared to locked into place by what appeared to be a form of gravity field generator, similar to what was in their Ligers and the other Zoids to allow movement in machines once used in ground warfare in the zero-gravity environment of space.

 

The egg-shaped machine was about the size of a small dog, and had a large projection screen of the top half with a small console underneath the lower rim and on the front. It was then that the thing woke up and faced the three siblings.

 

“Cell Unit 6 online…You are intruders. Activating defensive systems.”

 

The robot activated what appeared to be a laser defensive wall in a cell, and then unlocked what appeared to be some sort of taser weapon. Naturally this meant that it intended to shock the three into entering the cell.

 

“Enter the Cell and you will not be harmed.”

 

“Maybe we should…” The three brothers looked at each other questioningly…

 

The three of them then gave a simple answer to each other…

 

“Naahh…”

 

The three then began to dodge the incoming taser shots being fired at them by the small robot.

 

-----------------

 

On the main command bridge…

 

The Prime Minister was in a foul mood, ordering the Fleet to go ahead with their operation. He had been looking forward to the exhibition match, but those three stowaways spoiled everything! They however were going to regret the whole thing, as they would be shot after this was all over, and he would shoot them himself!!!

 

“Yes sir!" An aide replied as he saluted and went to fulfil the Commander's order. On the main view-screen, several other ships that formed the core of the Tarak Space Fleet's Response Forces were now moving into position to launch their first strike against the sworn enemies of their empire.

 

It was then that several lights decided to come streaking in…

 

-----------------

 

WHABOOM!

 

“What the?!" Brandon shouted as an explosion that slammed into the entire section of the ship rocked the storage area they were in. This caused the robot guard to lose its balance temporarily when it tried to stun Lance with a taser blast and smash into the power bars of the cell that it wanted to place the three brothers in, causing it to emit sounds of electronic pain as it short circuited and so did the grid. The laser bars weakened in intensity and became inactive.

 

“What the heck was that?" Scott said as he stood up along with his siblings.

 

“Take a look outside." Lance said as he glanced out of the porthole nearby. The others went there and they saw lances of lasers, cannon fire, and missile trails littered the void of space like a fireworks display gone totally off the bat.

 

“I should have known this would happen." Brandon said, as his brothers got the idea, though it wasn't what they had in mind, but a surprise attack by the women pirates was just the distraction they needed to get to their hidden transport.

 

“You think we should be in this?" Lance asked.

 

“No way, you know better than to involve yourself for such a stupid and totally meaningless war." Scott replied as they knew what was going on.

 

“Scot's got a point; this isn't our war in any way. Let's get ready to leave; our Ligers are itching to leave. Plus, we've got things to do." Brandon spoke as he got away from the port-hole

 

The three Zoid pilots exited the room calmly and took their bags which they had dropped when they dealt with the robot, they then peeked outside to see if there were other guards. Just as soon as they were about to leave, they took a look at the downed robot.

 

“B-bleep…beep…bip…"

 

The pilots felt pity for the mecha as it had been doing nothing more than it's assigned duties, and decided to take it with them. Maybe they could get it running soon and with some needed reprogramming, and their Ligers needed some company soon anyway, plus the data in the little robot might help them in their own quest. Their skills at electronics had deeply improved since their five-year search for their mother.

 

-----------------

 

On the main bridge…

 

The whole crew and staff of the Ikazuchi were in a total mess as they tried their best to identify their attackers.

 

It didn't take long for them to figure out that their greatest enemy had just arrived to give them a greeting card.

 

-----------------

 

In the vacuum of deep space, the sleek Dread fighters of the female pirates were having a blast as they were now running rings around their technologically inferior enemies. The slow moving turrets of the Tarak warships were never intended to handle such fast and agile targets, as such they often winded up hitting their own comrades, as the nimble Dread Fighters dodged the barrage.

 

However, the majority of the damage was inflicted by the pirates' Dread Fighters and their pilots as they strafed the escort ships and made their way towards the main target of their little raid, which was none other than the Ikazuchi. One after another, the ships were either destroyed or disabled, leaving the Ikazuchi to defend itself.

 

Some distance away from the battle, the main pirate vessel stood by and observed the situation. Though everyone onboard was ready to intervene, it seemed that the need to do so wasn't going to be followed, as the Dreads were able to handle the battle easily and keep it in their favor. On the Command Bridge, an extremely old woman in robes smiled as she and her second in command witnessed the one-sided battle. It seemed that today was their lucky day.

 

--------------------

 

The Tarak Command ship crew were in a major uproar as the Prime Minister gave the order to unleash the Vanguards. The second in command disagreed with the idea as many of the pilots were mere trainees and would stand no chance against their enemies. But his pleas were unheeded as the proud leader was in no mood to be humiliated further, for he would be humiliating his ancestor, Grandpa.

 

--------------------

 

The scramble order sounded throughout the battle cruiser causing every available cadet to hurry to the launch areas of the Vanguards. Some of the cadets boarded the Vanguards, which were still in the main hall. A speaker came to life.

 

“Switching to sub-zero gravity to deploy all Vanguards!"

 

Within a nano-second of the announcement, all the tables, chairs, and other items, which weren't nailed on the floor began to float into the air. Under one such table a certain heir to the Garsus Foods began to float into the air as well in a panic.

 

-----------------

 

“Sir! Some of the launching mechanisms are still not responding and are possibly offline!" another aide shouted.

 

“I don't care about that!" The Prime Minister roared. “Launch all the available Vanguards!"

 

-----------------

 

Emerging from certain areas of the Ikazuchi, several units of the humanoid battle suits were now in deployment and managed to arrive into the battle in space. However, with just raw recruits with limited battle experience outside of the simulators for pilots, the vaunted Vanguards were nothing more than totally animated debris compared to the Dreads. Some managed to grab hold of the female interceptors as they passed by, but with their lack of experience, the male pilots could do little to halt the raiding forces.

 

-----------------

 

“Eeek! What are these things?! They're getting in my way!" A Dread pilot screamed in surprise as two of the Vanguards pounded the top of her canopy.

 

The Dread team leader kept her focus and calm as she replied. “Don't worry about the Vanguards. Just remain concentrated on the enemy flagship."

 

“Roger!"

 

A trio of Dreads followed their commander as they made a strafing run at the Ikazuchi's undefended section. An area of the outer hull gave way to the attack and exploded, allowing the fighters to make their way into the stricken battleship.

 

-----------------

 

“Hull breach in sector five! Repeat! Hull breach in sector five!" A petty officer said in the intercom as he took his assault rifle and watched as the emergency containment systems sealed in the breach to preserve the air and stop it from escaping into space.

The fighters that got through barreled in the corridors and landed in the main cargo bay area. The canopies opened and out came their pilots who moved to secure the area for their allies. They were decked in formless space suits with monstrous facemasks/helms, designed specifically to frighten their male enemies.

 

-----------------

 

“All combat personnel, defend the Ikazuchi! All combat personnel, defend the Ikazuchi, remove the boarding party of the pirates!”

 

All combat personnel, including the ones who were chasing the Reinhart siblings rushed to defend their ship.

 

-----------------

 

Bart tumbled out of his latest hiding place, which incidentally happened to be the hollow base of the statue of Grand Pa. He cried out in total fear as he got a full view of his race's most feared enemies.

 

“THOSE MONSTERS ARE WOMEN?!"

 

It was then that another ship came barreling into the corridor through the hull breach at break neck speed. However, it became obvious that this one wasn't expertly piloted like the rest.

 

“AAAAHHHHHHH! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Bart screamed as he scrambled back into his hiding place, the ship flashed by him and decapitated the head off the statue. The cowardly cadet immediately poked his head out the hole like a comic jack-in-the-box.

 

-----------------

 

The Dread Fighter was careening out of control as it sped through the massive passageway…leading to the reactor room.

 

“AAAAAHHHHH! I CAN'T STOP!" The pilot cried in desperation as she found herself heading straight for a wall. With no other options, she fired her ship's cannon blasters.

 

-----------------

 

In the reactor room…

 

“That thing sure looks like a Zoid power core. It's almost as big as the core of an Ultrasaurus Type Zoid." Scott remarked as he spared another glance at the Paeksis. The three siblings had stowed their supplies in the far side of the ship, and near this area, meaning the a trip through the reactor room.

 

“I know it sure looks like that, but we don't happen to have the luxury of time to look at it." Brandon said as he moved forward.

 

Lance wanted to ask whether they would make it back with their Ligers in time… but then he saw…

 

“LOOK OUT!" Lance shouted as he spotted the wall near the reactor bulge and become molten… something was coming straight at them.

 

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!

 

Brandon and his brothers found themselves thrown in different directions as an explosion tore through the wall. Brandon was sent flying in one area, Scott was thrown in one direction, while Lance lost his grip on his bag, and the robot, as something massive just plowed through the bulkhead.

 

-----------------

 

At the Ikazuchi's main bridge…

 

“Minister! You mustn't do this!" The second in command pleaded as his commanding officer reached for a certain lever.

 

The commander of the now decimated Tarak Space Fleet shook his head as he grasped the lever. “We cannot run the risk of the pirates to take over the whole ship! I must at least save the new sections of the ship from their hands! Before we all lose everything, I will separate the old from the new!"

 

With that voice of conviction, the Prime Minister pushed the lever forward.

 

-----------------

 

All throughout the sections of the Ikazuchi, specially placed explosives detonated, effectively severing the new sections of the Ikazuchi from the old section. In the command barracks of the older vessel, the cadets looked on in shock and horror as they watched their commanding officer abandon them to their 'dire' fates under the hands of the women. The cadets named Duero Mcfile and Dylan Krueger however didn't show any emotion or fear for that matter, he knew that for all their talk of courage and bravery, the top brass were nothing more than hypocrites and fools. Unknown to them however, a section of the Ikazuchi didn't break free and remained with the older colony ship.

 

-----------------

 

Back at the Paeksis reactor chamber…

 

Lance groaned a bit as managed to regain his senses. He was lucky to have used his latent powers to direct himself to a safe area, and was able to avoid the full force of the blast. He hoped his brothers were all right. He opened his eyes to find himself being covered by something, he reached out with his hands, and suddenly found them brushing on something that was round, warm, and… rather supple.

 

“What the heck?!" <My God! Did I just touch a woman's…breasts?!>

 

He immediately pushed whatever was on top of him and scrambled back, willing an amount of energy to transform into a type of sword. He however relaxed and let the weapon vanish as he realizes that the figure was indeed that of a human woman who was in a type of space suit.

 

“WAIT!"

 

He didn't budge as he waited for the figure to remove its apparent disguise, as the stranger removed her helmet.

 

Dita Liebely was more excited than she had ever been in her life as she removed her helm. She shook free her long silky mane of crimson hair as her deep blue eyes twinkled at what or rather who she was looking at. On her head was some sort of decorative piece that resembled a tiara.

 

“Wow! It's a real live alien!"

 

Lance looked a bit dumb-founded as he gazed at his unexpected visitor for a few seconds. The woman was about the age of 16, at least two years younger than he was. Her skin showed a light cream complexion and her face showed her youthfulness, her hair was very long and there were two tails of hair framing the sides of her face. On her neck appeared to be a rough diamond pendant which was rather attractive to the eye, along with her own looks.

 

<She's…beautiful.> Lance thought as he felt a little embarrassed.

 

It was then that the words she spoke got to his attention.

 

< She thinks I'm a what?! >

 

“Hold it right there lady, I'm a human, not an alien! My name is Lance, Lance Reinhart!"

 

Dita paid no attention to Lance's words as she reached out with her hand and began to make some simple gestures with it. Lance wondered just what this girl was trying to do, so he decided to mimic her. The minute that was over the girl became even more excited.

 

“I did it! It worked! I made my first contact with a real alien!"

 

Lance shook his head. No doubt in his mind that this woman was a real ditz, but a real looker nevertheless. The youngest of the Reinhart brothers and an expert Zoid pilot quickly got up and began to look around.

 

< Where's that travel bag of mine? There! > He spotted his travel bag stuck on the other side of a catwalk, several long meters from where he and the girl were. He focused his powers and pointed his hand at the item.

 

Dita looked on in surprise and gazed at what the alien was pointing at, she spotted what appeared to be a bag of some type… which floated up and immediately sped into the alien's hands from several long meters away. Her eyes widened in awe as she smiled and applauded.

 

“WOW! Alien power is so amazing! Please do that again!"

 

Lance didn't have the time for any trick shows, he needed to get to his brothers and get to the secret transport they had placed in the old section of the colony ship. Picking up the robot near him and placing traveling back on his shoulders, he turned and faced the redhead and said one phrase. “Goodbye." As he moved to the next catwalk.

 

“Wait!" Dita cried out as she removed her spacesuit, revealing her to be wearing a long sleeved short jacket with pink lining at the sleeves, along with a tank top that hugged her chest and her bust, and displayed her well shaped figure. She also wore a short skirt reaching up to mid-thigh and lastly, cloth boots that reached the middle of her calves. She rummaged her spacesuit and took out her camera. “Wait up! I want to take a picture!"

 

-----------------

 

It didn't take much time before the pirates took over the old section of the ship. In the barracks, the men were being herded by the pirates at gunpoint as their sentries watched them head for the escape pods. As Duero and Max walked along, they began to listen in on the women's conversations as they all disrobed their heavy suits.

 

“I know that it's a disinfectant, but I don't think that I'll ever get used to the smell at all." Commented a tall blonde woman, her name was Jura Basil Elden or just plain Jura to her comrades and she was about twenty years old. She had a voluptuous figure that would have caught the attention of men back on the world of Zi making them drool. Her long, lush blonde hair reached all the way to her buttocks and thighs. She wore a dress, which showed every curve and swell of her body, and had a plunging neckline and had slits on the sides of the long skirt that revealed her marvelous legs from the side. She had deep green eyes, and her face was completely flawless. She however wasn't all just looks, as she had a fencing sword and in truth was second in command of the Dreads.

 

“Has anyone seen Dita?" Asked another woman by the name of Meia Gisborn, or just Meia. She was a tall girl though not as tall as her blonde comrade, and was at the age of nineteen. Her hair was light blue and cropped in a short boyish style. On the left side of her face was a strange metal circlet. She was also dressed in a form-fitting body suit with gray, white and black shades, which gave emphasis to her athletic figure and curves, which would make any man turn a full 180 degrees and gain creeks in their necks. However like Jura, she wasn't just a woman, as she in truth was the leader of the whole Dread teams.

 

“The last I saw of her, she went barreling through the bulkhead in that direction… ow!" Barnette shouted in pain as she glared at her comrade Paiway. Barnette Orangello was Jura's long time friend and wing-mate, like the blonde woman, she too had a lush figure and wore an outfit that had an open front, revealing the top areas of her bust's cleavage. She had her hair cropped short like her leader Meia, and her hair had a dark greenish color. Right now, she was being treated for a wound she had received during the infiltration. “Watch it Paiway! My skin's very delicate you know!" She fumed as she gazed at the wound she had received from the men's rifles when one of the rounds cut through her spacesuit, it stung with pain and she knew that there will be a scar afterwards when the wound completely healed. She became a bit distraught as her perfect skin was now permanently blemished.

 

“Just try to endure the pain." The young apprentice nurse replied in answer as she continued to add disinfectant to the wound. Nearby were other pirates who needed to be treated.

 

“Nurses are supposed to be a lot more sensitive to their patients you know." Barnette complained to Paiway as she winced again in pain.

 

“I am" Paiway assured. She was only eleven years old with long, dark purple hair that was tied in two odongos. She was the pirate's chief medical officer, though Duero and Dylan could easily tell that she wasn't that totally skilled with it. She had the promise, skill and talent, they could see that, but lacked the proper training and knowledge to better treat her patients effectively.

 

As the men were being herded into the escape pods, Meia went towards one of the holes in the walls. She then called out to Jura, who gave a sigh as she knew what this meant, they were going to have to look for Dita again, despite her skill and promise, the redhead was always going places she wasn't supposed to go.

 

-----------------

 

Meanwhile, on another part of the massive vessel, three more pirates arrived in the apparent sub-bridge of the Ikazuchi. After taking of their suits and helms, they explored the consoles.

 

“Oh my! I can't read a single word of this!" Ezra remarked as the screens only showed the language of the men of Tarak. She was a quiet and kind-hearted girl with brown hair and had a gentle demeanor. She's the perfect example of a housewife, which was also shown due to her manner of dress. She usually was part of the communications team on the bridge of their ship, but the first officer insisted that she accompany her and the chief engineer. Ezra had the look of a housewife, and her clothes reflected that.

 

“No problem!" Parfet said as she brought out a certain device. Parfet was the chief engineer of the pirates and was the leader of the engineering teams. She had large glasses that covered the shade of her eyes and had her dark brown hair tied up in two large braids. “I knew something like this might happen, so that's why I made this Inter- Pricko! This helps us translate all the languages we have into basic human dialects! I'll make one for you too commander…?" Parfet asked as she handed the device to Ezra.

 

However, Buzam A. Calessa or Buzam or just BC wasn't even interested as she casually began to download the data to their command ship. She was a tall and well formed woman with silver-blonde hair and was decked out in something that resembled high-tech version of a harem outfit. As she finished the downloading, she spoke into a communicator.

 

“Have all the men been immobilized? Good, then dump them."

 

“Huh? You already know how to read the language of the men?!" Parfet gasped.

 

“That's the elite for you." Ezra shrugged as she also went to work.

 

“Darn! And I worked so hard in making this thing too!" Parfet sighed.

 

(Don't worry she'll have some certain creatures to research on soon enough.)

 

-----------------

 

One of the guards immediately directed her attention to two certain males. “Hey! What are you two doing?"

 

Duero and Dylan Krueger totally ignored the pirate as they directed their attention to reaching into a locker and removing the medical trench coat given to them, as to all medical officers of the Tarak military.

 

“Get into the capsule now!" The pirate demanded as she got closer to the young doctors.

 

“There's plenty of time for that later." Duero replied as they turned to face the guard.

 

“Do as you're told or I'll shoot the both of you!" The pirate emphasized her point as she leveled her blaster rifle at him.

 

“My friend and I are no threat either to you or your friends." Dylan said simply as they gazed at Paiway and the rest of the girls injured. “We happen to be doctors. And you look like you're comrades need medical treatment."

 

This little announcement got the attention of the pirates. An expert physician was the one thing the female corsairs lacked and sorely needed, since Paiway was still an apprentice and new to the art of medicine. And to actually have two nearby was very fortunate. However, that fact didn't ease their apprehension to the prospect of a man touching them… let alone two men

 

-----------------

 

Back at the reactor room… a good distance away…

 

Brandon shook his head as he walked around, he had already recovered consciousness and went in search of his two younger brothers.

 

“Scott! Lance! Where are you?"

 

“Over here!"

 

Brandon immediately recognized his brother Scott's voice; he ran and found his brother walking out of a rather messy mixture of fallen poles and wires. Scott lifted the pipes without any difficulty as he met up with his oldest brother.

 

“Scot! You okay Bro?"

 

“Yeah, a little bit banged up, but no worse for wear."

 

“Thank goodness. We've got to look for Lance."

 

“No problems there Bro. Let's go." The two then went in search for their younger sibling.

 

*************

 

Elsewhere…

 

“Go away." Lance said simply as he went in search for his brothers while avoiding the over-excitable redhead who followed him.

 

“Wait! Let's just sit down and have a little chat!" Dita called out as she took some more pictures of Lance.

 

The young Zi pilot groaned. Any other time he wouldn't mind chatting with the buxom redhead, but right now wasn't the time. He and his brothers had a mission to accomplish and he needed to get out of the reactor room, and locate his siblings. He thought about using his energy to blast his way through, but with the reactor nearby that would have been hazardous. He decided to find an exit and meet up with his siblings and get to their transport. But it hadn't been easy since this woman was following him. He decided to keep moving and hope that the girl would take the hint and leave him be… though he admitted she was hot in that sexy garb.

 

“We're all really a peaceful race!"

 

< Oh sure you are. Brandon, Scott, where the heck are you all?!>

 

-----------------

 

Some distance away from the Ikazuchi, the new segments was now in orbit over Tarak. On the bridge, the Prime Minister's pride had taken a very strong beating at the moment. This was supposed to be his greatest moment, but the bloody female pirates had made a mockery of his Space Fleet. They were even letting their male prisoners escape in the pods. But the man wasn't fooled by their so-called act of mercy. However, he knew that he had a way to pay them back for this insult.

 

“Prepare to fire the space torpedo Murimasa!"

 

That command had a certain effect on the crew. “Minister, are you actually going to destroy the old section of the ship?" The first officer asked in shock and dismay.

 

The Prime Minister didn't reply to the inquiry as he thought angrily while glaring at the image of the old section of the ship. < I'd rather destroy it with my own hands than let it fall into the hands of those women! >

 

On the underbelly of the new section, a certain cylindrical object was lowered into place following the commander's order.

 

-----------------

 

Back at the old section…

 

Ezra gasped in horror as she detected the danger via the console's data readouts.

 

“There's a missile being locked in on our position!"

 

BC immediately relayed the message to her Captain. The aged woman replied.

 

“I see it. Losing such a ship would be a real shame, but let's get out of here!"

 

The order to evacuate the ship sounded throughout the hallways of the Ikazuchi, as the pirate ship made it's way to collect their crew, providing covering fire while moving to begin the evacuation.

 

Meanwhile, Duero had finished treating the last patient and so did Dylan, who's last patient happened to be Barnette.

 

“There, that should take good care of that." He secured the bandage on Barnette's arm and nodded with satisfaction. With extra medication, there wouldn't even be a single trace of a scar.

 

The young doctor then took the time he had earned to study Barnette with natural curiosity. Like most men of his home-planet, Dylan and his best buddy had never seen a woman in person before, and she looked quite different from what the propaganda films he had seen before.

 

However, Barnette had taken notice of him studying her and became extremely agitated by his look. “What? Do you find something interesting about me?"

 

“In all honesty… I do."

 

“Don't expect me to thank you!"

 

“I don't expect you to do so. Well, I guess it's time for me to leave now." Dylan said as he stood up and checked on his buddy who also got the same response from his last patient.

 

Behind them, Paiway was busy writing down all that she saw in her trusty notepad. Apparently she was recording who the girls were that Duero and Dylan were treating, btu the question was…why?

 

-----------------

 

The pirate ship arrived directly under the belly of the Ikazuchi and connected a boarding tube to it. The crew extraction commenced, but they didn't have the luxury of time on their side.

 

-----------------

 

“Isn't the missile ready yet?" The Prime Minister growled in obvious impatience.

 

“Sir, the missile is still in the process of fueling!"

 

“It has more than enough fuel! FIRE!"

 

At that command, the Murimasa was launched, followed by a secondary torpedo.

 

-----------------

 

“What's the status of the extraction, BC?" The pirate captain demanded from her second in command.

 

“Crew extraction is almost complete Captain." Buzam replied. “I'm the only one left of my team. Three under Meia's command haven't returned and reported in however."

 

“We'll let them return to their Dreads. Get back here on the double!"

 

“Roger!"

 

-----------------

 

Back at the reactor room…

 

“Where is she?!" Meia said in exasperation as she and Jura checked out the area of the reactor wall, where they found Dita's Dread.

 

“Well, at least we know she's here, at least her Dread is." Jura said as she checked the cockpit once more.

 

“But she's not in the cockpit. Where is she? She knows better than to wander on her own!"

 

“Maybe she's doing something's she's not suppose to also."

 

On the other side…

 

“Where the heck is he?" Brandon asked as they moved around looking for their young sibling.

 

“At least we can be sure he isn't injured and he's here." Scott said as he opened his eyes after trying to track down his youngest brother via psychic link.

 

“The question is… where in this morass is he?"

 

The two parties immediately got their answers…

 

“WHAT PART OF GO AWAY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

 

The minute they heard that, Brandon and Scott rushed down and headed to the sound, as they knew that to be Lance, though they were curious as to who he was shouting to.

 

Meia looked down the rails and spotted a strange man walking away from someone, that someone being a certain redhead…

 

“DITA!"

 

Jura looked down and gave an amused look to her commander. “See what I mean? She's chasing a man."

 

The women rushed down to catch up with their comrade.

 

Lance was reaching the limits of his patience with the buxom redhead. He tolerated her questions and prodding for too long, and he was ready to fire a chi bolt at the walls in his frustration. He then ran faster as he recognized the auras of his siblings.

 

Dita was a bit winded and groaned as she saw Lance run faster. “Wait up!"

 

Lance gave a sigh of relief as he met up with his siblings. “Where the heck have you guys been?"

 

“Where have we been? We've been looking for you, that where we've been!" Brandon said as he glared at his younger sibling.

 

Scott immediately caught his young brother in a headlock and began to rub his head. “What the heck were you doing?"

 

Lance broke from the grip and replied. “I've been looking for you two and avoiding someone."

 

“Really… like who?"

 

Dita turned around the corner and smiled as she got sight of Brandon and Scott.

 

'' WOW! MORE MR. ALIENS!"

 

Both Brandon and Scott looked at Dita… just as she clicked her camera.

 

FLASH!

 

“Ouch!"

 

“Turn off that light!"

 

When the older Reinharts got to look closely at Dita they immediately gave their youngest brother wolfish looks.

 

“My… you were being chased by that babe, eh?"

 

“All this time I thought that you were in trouble, now we find you being chased by such a hot looking woman. I wonder what dad and mom would…"

 

“HEY! It's not what you think!" Lance said as he tried not to blush and failed miserably.

 

Dita wondered why Mr. Alien was blushing so bad, and why the other Mr. Aliens were smiling. But she thought that her Mr. Alien looked rather…cute when he blushed.

 

“Dita!" The redhead turned and there was Meia and Jura. The Dread leader immediately reached her subordinate and grabbed her by the shoulders.

 

“Dita, what are you doing?! You know better than to wander all by yourself!"

 

“I'm sorry Meia." Dita said in apology as she took a last look of her first aliens.

 

Brandon looked at the other females and gave a curious expression at the other two, noticing the one with aqua blue hair. He began to admire the well formed features of the short-haired woman, and her appearance. He, however knew that now wasn't the time to be admiring the opposite sex, he turned and talked to his brothers. “We don't have the time for this little meeting; we've got to move now."

 

“Roger." Scott said as he looked at the women one more time, and noted the drop dead sexy blonde, and looked at her a bit more with admiration, before following his oldest brother. But he wasn't aware that the blonde was giving him a once over.

 

Lance nodded, more than eager to move, but he gave one more look at Dita before leaving.

 

Meia looked at the men, and looked in particular at the tallest who appeared to be the oldest of the three, and shook her head clear as small and strange feelings made themselves know to her, as she gestured for her team to leave.

 

Jura thought at the look of Scott. < Hmmm… not too bad for a man. He's got wide and strong looking shoulders. Not to mention…>. She then shook her head. Where did that train of thought come from? She was from Megele and all men were the enemy! < Why am I thinking these things?! I don't like men! >

 

-----------------

 

“All three accounted for. We're leaving the ship now on our Dreads!" Meia said on the communicator as she and her subordinates ran for their ships. However just as Meia and Jura's ships were lifting off. Dita found herself in a bit of a problem…

 

“OH NO! MY DREAD IS STUCK AND I CAN'T GET OUT!"

 

-----------------

 

It was right on the spot. When her Dread had blasted it's way to the reactor, the torn sections of the metal had grabbed hold on the front ends of the Dread, and with the front tightly wedged in the walls, the fighter was trapped. On the other side, the three Reinharts spotted the problem. They had to make a choice, either head for their transport and let the girl die, or…

 

They wiped that idea out of their mind, no matter how much time they would lose, they would never abandon the innocent and helpless, and this redhead hit the qualifications dead center. They powered up their energies and immediately unleashed tightly focused bolts of bio energy at the torn areas that held the Dread by it's twin booms and effectively freed the fighter.

 

In her cockpit, Dita gasped and smiled at the act of kindness the three aliens did and the display of their amazing powers. “Wow! You're all really COOL aliens! Thank You!" She said as she blew a flying kiss to Lance.

 

Lance simply shrugged, along with his siblings as they moved out of the area.

 

-----------------

 

Meia and Jura breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Dita's Dread move back from its place in the hole. Since they were at the other side, they had not witnessed how the ship got loose. Not that they had the time to think about it. They had just started their escape when they realized that they were out of time.

 

-----------------

 

The pirate ship…

 

“We can't avoid a direct hit!" One of the bridge crew said as she checked the variables on her console

 

“Hit or miss, it's our destiny." The old captain said as she braced for the worse.

 

---------------

 

On an `abandoned' section near the reactor housing certain mechanized beasts…

 

Brandon smiled as they arrived at the hidden transport in the Ikazuchi, he and his brothers were about to board their Ligers, when they were about to release the locks to their hidden transport… the missiles hit the ship, causing a massive explosion that engulfed both ships.

 

---------------

 

On the new section of the Ikazuchi…

 

“Minister! We're losing mass at a rapid rate!"

 

The commander nodded with satisfaction as he witnessed both ships engulfed into a type of vacuum and vanished from sight...

 

“I hope you all enjoy the taste of your defeat."

 

----------------

 

Brandon, Scott, and Lance found themselves falling into a massive sea of green-blue light. Their bodies felt as if the energies were seeping into their skin, somehow… boosting their own powers. The sensations were unlike anything they ever experienced, but were comforting and relaxing, instead of pain inducing and agonizing.

 

As they fell, they became aware that they weren't alone. Three others were falling with them, who they recognized as the women in the reactor room, as darkness was about to claim their vision once more, they each saw an image of the future they would embrace forever. The images were their Ligers, with their specialist armor and secondary armor, but the specialist armor looked different and more powerful than before. Then the last image they saw was a certain girl call out to Lance…

 

“MR. ALIEN!"

 

To be continued…

 

Hi, Scott here. Looks like my brothers and me have really gotten ourselves in one heck of a mess this time. We've just been swallowed by this blue-green stuff and we're looking at really odd images. Not to mention we're not alone in this little side trip.

 

No kidding… Lance here, It doesn't seem to be over yet though, We've just been sent to one new side of the universe and we're about to meet the so-called ' enemy of all men' namely the pirate leader… and to top things off we're being greeted by incoming unknown hostile forces!

 

So it seems that we'll have to put our search for our mom on hold… again.

 

Do we have to brother? (Lance and Scott asking Brandon.)

 

Yes we have to. Next up on ZoidDread

 

Chapter 2: Beasts of War. See you on the battlefield!

 

--------------------

 

Author's Notes:

 

To signify the separation of ZoidDread from Vandread is the introduction of Dylan Krueger, who happens to be Duero's best friend in the Academy. Dylan isn't the same as Duero as his hair doesn't cover part of his face like Duero does. But the new man has his own past… I'm not saying what it is yet, but you'll all know soon enough. (Dylan looks like a mature far taller version of Dou Maxwell from Gundam Wing and Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz minus the long ponytail.)