Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ ZoidDread ❯ Sand and Surprises ( Chapter 6 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Nirvana deals with some more issues and culture gaps. And now, they have to go on another mission, and the women don't like what their options are, namely in what to ride going down there.

Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Romance / Adventure | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 11.20.2005 | Updated On: 03.02.2007 | Pages: 35 | Words: 36.8K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed

ZoidDread

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< >: Thoughts

Chapter 5

Sand and Surprises

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

The Nirvana was cruising along the vast universe, intent on it's course to help defend Megele and Tarak from the new enemy that has sprung from an unknown planet, intent on attack both worlds. On the ship were representatives of the two worlds. The majority were all women from Megele, while barely a quarter were men from Tarak.

The called truce and integration of the crew had some mixed results. Bart Garsus had now been officially designated as the ship's navigator despite his awesome lack of training in the matter. Duero McFile and Dylan Krueger, both top medics from Tarak, had been assigned as medical personnel by the Captain for their extensive medical expertise.

Added to the crew were three siblings, Brandon Reinhart, Scott Reinhart, and Lance Reinhart. All three were great pilots of their unique machines they affectionately called Zoids. Apparently having never grown up in a single gender world, the three brothers were the unique aces in the hands of the pirates, with their natural talents and skills, plus the powers of their combat machines, and their talents at warfare were also a plus, as far as practical thinking was concerned.

However, not EVERYBODY liked these changes…

Paiway Underberg felt cheated of her position as chief medical officer of the newly named ship, and reluctantly became apprentice to both Duero and Dylan. She found herself at times challenging the doctors, and although she herself couldn't deny their skills and knowledge, she nevertheless was not all that appreciative of the whole deal. Plus she didn't like the idea of her best friend Dita always hanging out with Lance and his older siblings.

Barnette Orangello, Jura's closest friend was at the vanguard of the women who didn't understand nor trust the need for the men to be integrated to their crew. She had a dislike for men since being in the pirates, taking a chance at needling her male comrades at how better women were to men in many ways. She also took a big dislike to one of the Reinhart siblings, Scott as the middle brother had become somewhat a person of interest to Jura, after seeing the forms of ZoidDreads that can be formed between the fusion of Brandon and Lance's Zoids to the Paeksis enhanced Dreads of her comrades, namely Meia Gisborn and Dita Liebely. This seemed to make the tough girl somewhat…jealous and made her very wary whenever she and Scott would see each other.

Meia on the other hand was still willing to try and goad the eldest of the siblings to a match whenever possible. The aqua-haired girl defended herself, stating that their match was not completed and was officially a draw. Despite the truth that she would have lost hadn't the enemy arrived, she also maintained that she also had a great chance to defeat Brandon had the enemy NOT interfered. The leader of the Dreads still went on with her duties, but it was somewhat commonplace for the two to throw word barbs at each other.

But there were also others that accepted the changes…

Dita Liebely was ecstatic that there were men on the ship, and she called only Lance as Mr. Alien, while designating numbers to Lance's older siblings, while still calling them Mr. Alien. But the brothers knew for a solid fact that Dita had eyes only for Lance. Dita always listened whenever Brandon or Scott would talk to her and give some tips on how to snare their youngest brother. She loved being close to Lance and chasing him, along with seeing him smile when she offered him food.

Buzam or B.C trusted Brandon and his siblings, due to the facts that they were easy to approach and they were willing to trade ideas back and forth while being objective and precise. The three may had been young, but their minds and talents were hardened by many years of hard travels, making the sub commander see how talented these three were. This was also the fact that they were great combatants and she would be there to watch them as they spared with each other, as if she wanted to see what other skills they had.

Gascogne Rheingau, or Gasco was happy to listen to the three brothers when they would drop by to help the register out at times. Not to mention that she had found some people to play cards with! Brandon was good in the game along with Scott, Lance however didn't have all the skills as a card player, but he wasn't a quitter either. They were not as good with cards as the Register head was. But they were willing to play anytime with the strong but easy-going woman.

Magno also accepted the men, all of them for they needed all the help they could get. But it was nice to see the three brothers at work. Despite their serious attitude, they were very open about their feelings and were more than receptive to new ideas. Not to mention that since none of them had any of the propaganda concerning women, none of them were hostile towards any member of her crew…though they were also ready to defend themselves whenever they felt threatened.

All in all, it was a trying time for all parties involved, as most things one side took for granted as every-day life, was totally unknown and weird to the other side, and vice versa. It was culture-shock in space, but the real challenge was with the three siblings, since some of their habits would shock BOTH sides.

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

The Nirvana's food storage…

“Hmm…some carrots, some celery, a little extra chicken…” Lance said to himself as he gathered what he could from the cold storage room. He had been planning to join his brothers in the kitchen for some cooking, he was in the mood for some salad and fried chicken. But they also planned to include several others with them. Now if only he could find what he was looking for…

“Where's the olives….all right!” Lance cheered as he found the container. The olives were going to go great with the salad he had in mind. The youngest brother and his elder siblings never failed to celebrate this particular event in their journey as it was part of any guy's life.

It was time for…

Boy's Night!

This event is always something any guy would look forward too at any juncture of his life. The chance to either cook some food and set a party with some guys and maybe some female companions, but that was out of the question right now, or to go out and party in a club of a disco ball. Both of which were also out of the question. But that definitely didn't mean that they were out of options!

“Okay, now how am I supposed to…”

“MR. ALIEN!”

Lance turned around and was immediately tackled by a certain redhead who gleefully held him. He tried not to lose his hold over the box of olives he had taken when he lifted it in order not to spill it's contents.

“WHOA!.... HEY! DON'T JUST HUG ME WHEN I'VE GOT SOMETHING IN MY HANDS!”

Dita didn't care as she held Lance and snuggled even closer to Lance.

Lance gave a sigh as he then gently spoke to Dita. “Hey, you mind letting go? I've got to go and get these things to the kitchen.”

Dita nodded as she let go of Lance, she still was very interested in learning all about Lance, but she decided to lighten up a bit as she didn't want to make Lance all that angry at her. That was when she realized that Lance said something that she had heard that no man could ever know.

“You can cook Mr. Alien?!”

Lance was curious at the totally ecstatic look on the redhead's face as she took on the very curious cat look complete with large eyes. He felt a sweat-drop flow down his head as he gazed at the totally intrigued Dita.

“Yeah, I'm pretty good at it, you know. Why do you ask?”

“Well, the others always said that men were crude and very inferior, and couldn't cook even water.”

Lance gave a slight glare at the redhead. He had taken a great number of cooking lessons so it was very offending to him that someone said that men were inferior. He then discarded the idea, Dita was a kind-hearted girl and these were things she had heard and seen in propaganda films back on Megele. He knew that the perky girl was very open-minded or otherwise she would not be hanging out with him, his brothers, or the other men for that matter. He had to admit, she did surprise him on occasion.

“Exactly who told you those things?”

“The others in the ship, Barnette too, I've always heard that when I was back home. Do you really know how to cook Mr. Alien?” Dita asked eagerly.

Lance decided to indulge the redhead a bit. He grinned as he put his items on the cart and beckoned for the woman to follow him.

“Care to see for yourself?”

Dita had stars in her eyes! She was about to see her favorite alien do something cool!

“Sure!”

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

The women on the Nirvana were busy going about their duties. It was going to be a long trip before they would get home, so for now they were content with working on their stations. Plus they would gossip about men, sharing whatever stories they had heard in their youth and beyond.

Ezra was waling to her station when she spotted her young friend Dita Liebely walking beside the youngest of the Reinhart siblings, Lance. The young man was a kind hearted guy, and though he and Dita would not always get along, they were somewhat good friends.

“Hello Dita, hello Lance!”

The two smiled at the pregnant woman and walked up to her. Lance gave a respectful bow to the young mother to be and gave his congratulations at her becoming a mother. Ezra thanked the youngest brother and then spoke to Dita.

“I was wondering where you went Dita, you know I'm going to teach you how to knit soon, right?”

“Yes Ezra! I won't be late, I promise!” The redhead chirped happily as she and her close friend began to chat about what the bridge operator would be teaching the Dread pilot.

Lance realized that time was against him as it was time for the night out to begin. He then gave a smile to Dita and Ezra as he went to his cart.

“As much as it would sound somewhat disrespectful for me to say it, I don't exactly have the time to listen to you both since my brothers are waiting for me to arrive with my items. I hope you don't mind if I go ahead? You want to follow me still Dita?”

The redhead nodded. “I'll be right behind you in a moment Mr. Alien!”

“All right, I'll see you at the kitchen, bye Ezra.”

“Good bye Lance.” Ezra replied with a smile as the youngest brother walked away towards the galley of the Nirvana. That was when she spoke to Dita who seemed to look at the retreating form of Lance with a wistful eye.

“I think I'll wait for you when your done with what you want to do with Lance. Just remember to be there when I'm waiting for you, okay Dita?”

“Sure! I won't forget!” Dita said with a smile and a bow as she made a pirouette and followed Lance.

Ezra became a little curious and decided to call Dita and ask her young comrade what was going on between her and Lance.

“Why are you going to follow Lance into the kitchen Dita?”

Dita turned and replied with a smile and starry expression. “Mr. Alien's going to show me how he can cook!”

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

Dita sang happily as she went into the kitchen and began to smell the food being cooked by the three brothers. As she saw the three brothers, they were dressed in short t-shirts, pants and had aprons on their waists. Brandon then faced Dita and smiled at the buxom redhead.

“Hey Dita, can you call Duero, Dylan, and Bart to come in here to the kitchen? You can watch us while we cook, if you don't have anything else to do right now that is.”

“No worries Mr. Alien 2! Mr. Alien invited me here!” Dita said as she hugged Lance who was holding a bowl of vegetable slices.

“Did he now?” The two elder brothers said with a grin as they stared at Lance who blushed like crazy. The youngest sibling sighed as he finally pried Dita loose as she watched them cook the meals.

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

Later…

Duero, Dylan, and Bart walked their way to the cafeteria, having gotten Dita's call for them to come to the cafeteria under the three Reinhart siblings' request. The three men wondered just what the three men were doing there.

In the bridge, the girls were gossiping as usual, as Ezra sat on her station, that was when Magno noted something and spoke to the gentle bridge officer.

“Ezra, wasn't Dita supposed to be with you since you were going to teach her stitching today?”

“Yes, Captain, but she's going to the kitchen today with Lance Reinhart.”

“Oh?”

This got the attention of the crew on the bridge as they spoke to Ezra. Belvedere, one of the bridge crew members then asked Ezra what Dita was doing with one of the three brothers.

Ezra merely smiled and replied. “Oh, Lance said he and his brothers were going to show her how they cook.”

The reaction was…loud…

“THEY CAN COOK?!”

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

As the crew went towards the cafeteria, in the helm were several girls.

“Men who can cook? That's going to be interesting to see.” Jura remarked as she was with the leaders. Next to her was Barnette, Meia, Gascogne, and several other girls.

“Hah! There's no way those men can be better cooks that women! I bet they'll just make an absolute mess of the kitchen!” Barnette said with confidence as she followed her blonde friend. She knew in her mind that the men couldn't be able to cook anything good at all.

Meia didn't say much although she was rather curious on what she would be seeing.

As they arrived and opened the door, they were NOT greeted by the smell of burnt meat or whatnot, but instead they were greeted by wonderful smells and a sight none of them ever thought they would see in their life-times.

Lance was busy chopping some vegetables with a chef's knife and he was cutting them in precise amounts, almost as if he was born with the talent. Brandon was busy rolling in dough for bread while sprinkling some spices and choice flavorings on it. Scott was busy on the cooking pot, stirring it and the sounds of cooking oil heating filled the room.

“Hey! Jura, Leader, everyone, over here!”

The girls turned and spotted Dita who was watching the whole scene with excited eyes. Next to her were some completed dishes. On one plate there were some sliced fruits with cream, some baked fish, and some salads. Another plate had well cooked sausages and ham on it.

“Did you cook this Dita?” Meia asked as she spoke to the redhead.

Dita shook her head and pointed to the three siblings as they were deeply engrossed in their cooking. “No the good aliens did all the cooking!”

Barnette snorted and gave a smirk at the three brothers. “Yeah, sure they did. Maybe they just asked Dita to cook those and they just want to show off.”

Lance faced Barnette with a smug look as he got the vegetables and then tossed all the contents into the bowl without missing or spilling any of them…without breaking his gaze at Jura's long-time friend.

“Dita's been sitting there for the past hour, how do you suppose she could cook three dishes in that time-frame?”

Barnette gave a serious look at the youngest sibling and growled a bit in her throat. “Like you men can cook! The only thing you guys eat are pills.”

Brandon looked at her and laughed as he put the bread in the oven. “If you're trying to compare my brothers and me to the men of Tarak, then you're wasting time Barnette. We've been raised on a co-gender world, and we've traveled to more planets that have BOTH men and women on them, so we don't work in the same circles you people do.”

Scott smiled as he fished out the chicken from the pot and smelled it, and he gave a contented sigh as the smell told him they were now well cooked and ready for consumption. “Just because we've been soldiers all our lives, doesn't mean we don't know how to cook.”

“I don't believe you!” Barnette replied with a smirk.

All three brothers shook their heads and laughed even harder, making Barnette a little bit more steamed. “If you don't believe us, then taste some of the food we've already made. Tell us then if we're lying.”

The girls then decided to try and see if the men were telling the truth. As they tried some of the food that was already finished, they were shocked to find that all the food was well made and very tasty. Barnette was rendered speechless, Jura was intrigued, and Meia was surprised…along with all the others.

Duero, Dylan, and Bart were inside and were amazed at the skills the three siblings had show long before the women came in the room. Though none of them have yet tried the food made by the brothers, they were impressed and confused as the three went at it and began cooking.

Brandon finished and cleaned his hands and took out the now cooked bread with some mittens and sliced the bread once it was on the tray. The bread smelled of garlic and small amounts of pepper and herbs. He then got the sliced pieces into a basket and placed on the table and smirked as some of the women tasted the newly cooked bread. They were surprised as the bread tasted well, balancing all the ingredients placed in it. He then gazed at Meia, who tasted the food and then met his gaze. The two glared a bit longer until Meia looked away from him.

Scott finally finished arranging the chicken and placing them alongside the gravy he added as the dip for the food. He walked to the table, placed the food, and allowed some of the women to try some, he looked at them and met Jura who gave him a smile that made the middle brother somewhat nervous. The blonde however didn't notice and smiled even more as she saw the embarrassment on Scott's face. Barnette saw this and gave a warning glare at Scott.

Lance sighed as he finished his last salad dish after adding the olives he had taken out of the Nirvana's food storage bay. Once he placed them into the last salad. He then got to pack his share of the meals. Both he, Scott and Brandon then got all the dishes in the packs and decided to head for the Bio-Park. Normally they'd take their Ligers out of the base and into the field, with their food, head of to a secluded spot, or to the beach. They would invite their friends, fellow cadets for a night out, and when the affair was with the family, their mom and they would have a nice family picnic, just like the old days. But since they were in space, the Bio-Park would have to do.

“Hey, as much as we'd love to share to food, we do have a celebration for the boys tonight.” Brandon said as some of the girls looked disappointed as he and his siblings got the food packed away.

“Can I come with you Mr. Alien?” Dita asked nicely to Lance has he got the sodas and juice out.

Lance shook his head. “Sorry Dita, but this is a `Boy's Night' it wouldn't be that if we had some female company. But don't worry, you can join us next time, okay?”

Though feeling somewhat dejected, Dita nodded and smiled at Lance. “Promise?”

Lance nodded. “Promise.”

The three brothers then left with the three Talark men in tow, as the girls looked at them in silence.

Jura gave a smirk as she looked at the three siblings leave the room. <Scott, you're very interesting. I wonder what other secrets you have in you.> She was starting to see why Dita was becoming very interested in the three men.

Barnette saw the looks of interest Jura was giving off towards Scott and felt another stab of anger at the middle sibling, she quickly counted it off as merely her ingrained lessons about men from home, but there seemed to be something missing.

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

Magno was walking down the halls of the Nirvana with BC nearby, talking about many things they had to do once they made it back to Tarak and Megele space, one of which was the presence of the three Reinhart siblings.

“I wonder what will we do with them? I've already heard about them being very good cooks. I can't believe that they can cook food the way we do, but even better in some ways.” The silver-haired woman officer said to her elder superior.

“As far as I can tell, we'll all need to learn how to adapt with those three around. But I already feel like we can really trust them. After all, I did live at the time of men and women living together BC.”

Buzam nodded as she knew the elder Magno when she had started the pirates many years ago, back when she had been evicted from her home because of the vain and selfish attitudes of her fellow women on Megele. Magno was among the oldest females on Megele and her skills and knowledge far surpassed her age and physical condition since she was among the original crew of the Colonial Fleet.

Despite being older than the rest of the crew by nearly being a hundred years old, the aged female carried more wisdom and authority in the pirates, as she founded them. The pirates began as a group that was disgusted by the ways of the all female planet. The planet had to deal with massive consumption of resources and energy sources by those who wanted to compete with each other over even the most trivial of matters. Many of them were runaways, political dissidents, orphans, and others were young adventurous volunteers. Only the Captain was the woman who knew the real reason why the pirates were created, and it suited the sub commander fine.

The one thing that bothered her was the ease on the woman's acceptance of the men and namely the three siblings. But she knew she could trust Magno's judgment over the whole affair.

“True…but the rest of the crew don't seem to agree, even if they are pirates and have no longer any loyalty to Megele, they don't plan on being all that accepting of the men. Even more so with Brandon and his younger siblings.”

Magno nodded with a smirk. “I know, since they are not from Tarak, they don't act in the way our girls expect men in all senses to act. Meeting them must be putting the crew into the proverbial loop.” The aged woman chuckled at the thought.

Even BC couldn't help but chuckle as well, after she did though, she regained her serious demeanour. “I agree, I just hope that things don't escalate to the point that one misunderstanding will make this alliance even more fragile than it needs to be.”

“True…but I can say this much…the whole ship's gotten even more lively since those boys joined us. At least we won't be bored on the trip.”

Both women continued to discuss their plans as they made their way to the command bridge.

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

In the Bio-Park…

“Are you sure this is safe for consumption?” Duero asked as he looked at the plate of fried chicken complete with vegetable toppings and gravy dip handed to him by Brandon. The Tarak physician was looking at his plate as if he had been handed the strangest form of matter since his days in the Academy.

On the other side Dylan was also in the same boat as he also gazed that the plate in his hand that had some fish and garlic/spiced bread on it. He also had a perplexed look as he gazed at the food on his plate.

Bart refused to eat any of the food as he watched his older comrades just in case they were poisoned by what the brothers had cooked.

Brandon laughed at Duero's nervousness good-heartedly and gave the physician a look of reassurance.

“Don't worry, we're all fine since we've eaten, besides the stuff is food, not poison you know.” He said as he pointed to Scott and Lance as they were busy munching down on their own servings of food. Next to the men was an old style portable stereo which played some party music, as the men of Tarak looked at their companions they noted that the brothers would move in rhythm to the beat of the sounds coming from the system.

“What's that sound?' Dylan asked as he pointed at stereo as it played a song from a certain artist that the three brothers loved listened to a good deal.

“It's music, and if you guys want to know, it's a guy singing that song.” Lance said as he finished a chicken leg.

“Who?”

“Craig David, it's an old song that we picked up from one of our travels. Scott bought it during one of his forays back on our traveling days”

(I have a liking to Craig David's songs, he's among the many artists I like listening to when I'm having some down time here at the house.)

(Italic for lyrics)

On Friday (on Friday)
Time to party (time to party)
Let me see you swing and sway
Tell me are you with me?
Are you with me (X2)

“Are you saying men can sing?” Duero asked, this naturally made the three siblings look with surprise at the two of them.

“Of course men can sing! Anybody can sing you know… Why, don't you guys have any celebrations that involved singing or what?” lance asked as finished his glass of juice.

Dylan shook his head. “Not to my knowledge, the only celebrations we have is when we celebrate the birthdays of our leaders, we have parades, if we're lucky have some drinks, and watch other men display their physical prowess.”

The three brothers had large sweat-drops on the back of their heads as they recalled the shows they had seen pertaining to that particular celebration. And they thought seeing a bunch of guys parading like robots was weird at times…it made them happy as hell that they were not born on Tarak.

Friday, payday
Ready to do the things we love
We're gonna get out groove on
All night long
(Ho, Hey) Give it up now for the DJ (Uh huh, yeah)
And put your hands where my eyes can see
It may be raining but who cares about the weather? (Get up)
Cos when the heat is on we'll all be getting wetter (Stand up)
It's the start of the weekend
Don't waste no time
For tonight is your night

“What about you guys, how do you celebrate your world's parties?” Duero asked the siblings as he and Dylan decided to chow on the food since the smell was very much tempting them anyway.

“Well, the various forms of celebrations we have back where we come from have many forms. There's graduation day, boy's night, like the one we have right now, Prom night…” Scott said as he began to recall all the parties he and his siblings had ever been in.

“Since you all live in a co-gender planet, were there any women in those celebrations of yours?”

“Oh yeah, they celebrated right along side us men. Brandon, you recall the last Prom night we had back home on Zi?”

Brandon nodded with a smile as he recalled his last Prom before graduating. “Yeah, who was your date then?”

“I think it was Rena Blake.”

“Yeah, you lucky guy, you knew she was one of the most attractive brunettes in the whole section of the Wolf class right? I was surprised she was your date, considering you two were rivals on most field tests in our Zoids if I recall it right. Not to mention a lot of the other guys were trying to get her to be their date.”

“Yeah, she nearly out-ranked even you during exam day.” Scott laughed as he recalled his brother's scores were nearly eclipsed by his date at the prom. Rena was the only daughter of one of the senior generals from the Republic and was considered a military brat and Zoid nut since she loved Zoids more than guys, and if any guy wanted to take her out on a date, they'd have to beat her in a Zoid duel.

He was the only one who could equal her when it came to close combat, and they came out as good friends after a very heated duel a few years ago back on Zi. She accepted being his date at the prom though they didn't have that deep feelings for each other, but in the end she became his first kiss.

After some further prodding from Brandon and his siblings, both Duero and Dylan tried the food and were very surprised at how different the food was from what they normally ate back on their world. And as they got into the mood of the festive atmosphere, they were now bale to relax in a sense. They even listened more as the brothers began to chat about what their life was like on their world and how they had been, before being sent into their dimension.

However…fate had other ideas…

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

The Nirvana's bridge…

“Captain…it seems that have located the signal, and it's coming from the planet on the screen.” Belvedere reported as the rest of the bridge crew, who had come back and had resumed their duties in the bridge.

“I see…what's the planet's data?” The old woman asked as she went back to her chair as Buzam took on her usual location and listened into the data collection, and helped process it all into relevant streams of information.

“The atmosphere has a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, and mixture of natural gases that show that it can be inhabited by human life-forms. The planet however is the same in climate and geology as the men's home planet of Tarak. Deserts all around, there are some signs of water sources, but they are too far to be accurately determined.” Amarone reported as she continued to study the planet on her side of the console.

“The planet appears to be having several collections of ruins, namely those matching the patterns of cities, we've also detected heat sources and signs of former habitation, but there seems to be no signs of life-forms. Due to the heavy weather, we can't be totally accurate on the readings Captain. However the signal is located in the largest collection of ruins on the map, where there appears to be twelve hours of daylight left.” Belvedere reported as she scanned the planet's surface.

Buzam thought it over and spoke to the Captain. “From the looks of the planet, I'd say that most of the place is uninhabited now, we will need to recover supplies soon Captain, plus we may find more data on our enemy here.”

Magno nodded in agreement, the planet looked to be no longer inhabited, and there was the possibility that supplies would be found, plus data would certainly help on where they were. The data could be anything from normal star charts to any record of the unknown enemy, if they had other weapons apart from those Cube Fighters they had dealt with a few times. The old woman had a feeling that there was more to the Harvest than just attacking Megele and Tarak.

“Our kitchen will need to have some new supplies soon, and getting more information concerning our enemies will be helpful…namely with their Harvest plan. All right then…we will need to set up a landing squadron to the surface of the planet. However we have to consider the facts that the team will need to train in other machines for this operation BC.”

BC knew what Magno was implying. Despite the powerful advantage of the Dreads in terms of armour, fire-power, sensors, and manoeuvrability, they had weak-points, apart from the ones revealed by Brandon with his duel with Meia a few days before, they were designed by the Megele military for space combat ONLY and thus were unsuited at all for terrestrial warfare plus the gravity well would tear the massive fighter apart. The Megele military leaders and designer still however, considered the Dread to be their best weapon and thus didn't make the fighter combat viable on the surface of planets, leaving that to their ground troops. The pirates however couldn't afford that and thus had to choose a brand of machine that was by nature made for planetary warfare as well as space…though both women knew that the younger women would not like the idea.

“Understood Captain.”

The tall silver haired and bronze skinned woman then faced the rest of the bridge crew while giving her orders for the new operation. They were to track the weather conditions to determine the best time for the team to be deployed, make sure communications was well maintained, and lastly the installation of bio-sensor/trackers to keep sight of the team members. But Buzam knew that the activity was merely the bare ground work, the real challenge came with what the team had to pilot in the mission.

“All Dread pilots, please report to the simulation room for training in Vanguard combat operations.”

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

The announcement certainly got attention as the female pilots of the pirates were shocked and gave words of disappointment. They didn't want to use the Vanguards at all, but orders were orders. Several of the girls had their own opinions on the matter however as they were all selected into operational groups. The system was simple, the Dread pilots would test out the Vanguard simulations and the best pilots would form the team that would go to the planet and begin the operation.

Brandon and his siblings were also surprised by that statement as they were busy wrapping up the details of their night out while Duero, Bart, and Dylan went to their stations, they had seen the women use their Dreads and the idea of them using anything made by man seemed totally out of order…however, that certainly didn't mean that the brothers were going to ignore this new development as they knew that they would be part of this mission.

Due to the gravity generators installed into their respective Zoids, the brothers could enter and leave planets independently using the personal gravity fields made by them. Thus allowing them and their Zoids to literally walk and run on air…but they knew that even if they were at their best alone or as a trio, they knew they had to work with others on this kind of operation, and it had been a bit of a while since the whole trip began since they had been involved in a ground combat operation. They decided to check the systems of their respective Zoids first and then check just who they were going to work with.

Brandon knew however, that Meia Gisborn, being the leader of the Dread Squadrons on the ship would be part of the mission, he hoped that whatever chip the blue-haired girl had on men won't come in as a negative factor in this mission, the last thing he wanted was getting into another shouting match with Meia of all things.

< “Zarreke…” >

< “Yes Brandon?” > Came the reply of his Zoid in his mind via the Organoid Core's mental link with him

< “I'll be there to update any systems for our ground operations, after that I'll have to check just on who we need to work with on the ground mission, okay old friend?” >

< “Sure.” >

Brandon didn't need to look at both his younger siblings to know that they were going to do the same with their Ligers. That meant that they headed for the Hanger section where they had stored the Ligers, and where the Paeksis-enhanced Dreads were also being stored, alongside the rest of the Vanguards which were nearby.

The Vanguards were not used at all and were left alone, though they had been used as sources of spare parts by Parfet and her engineers from time to time. The Vanguards were finally ready to see action, though the brothers wondered as they arrived in the Hanger to check on their Ligers, if the females were up to the task.

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

In the Vanguard simulator room…later…

Apparently when they arrived in the simulation room, there were already only a small handful of cadets left for training, many of the Dread pilots lost first time out except a handful of them. Unlike the Dreads, the Vanguards were made exclusively to be used by male combatants, taking into account the inborn close combat talents of men, and with their basic weapons, it was very fitting that men were far more adept with them than the women were.

The other Dread pilots had already left when the three brothers came on the scene, and stood beside Duero and Dylan, both men were assigned to check the combat skills and possible candidacy of the few pilots left. The process was not too hard in a few ways, but was foreign territory for the women. They had been used to high speed attacks, hit and run strikes, and using their Dreads' long range weapon systems…this contributed to their weakness in close combat which was the pinnacle of the Vanguards' combat system, the other weapons were made for long range, but since this would be a quick mission by estimations by Buzam, the Vanguards were to stick to basic combat weaponry, so they had to learn how to fight in close combat.

The girls were struggling and the process would be rather taxing on many.

“Arrrrgggghhhh!!!” Jura shouted as she got out of the Vanguard's cockpit in a huff. “What is wrong with that machine?! Why can't it move more elegantly?! I'm leaving!”

The three brothers had seen her performance, and it was not too promising, but she did grasp the basic controls of a Vanguard quickly, and thus would be part of the mission, Barnette was also a good candidate, despite her dislike for the male machines, she actually showed a great amount of hidden skill and talent with it as she moved about a lot better than the others. Dita also showed promise, despite her own lack of Vanguard expertise. The brothers now knew that they were now part of their team and nodded.

“A small team's better than a whole army anyway.” Scott said as he looked at their test scores.

“Looks like we'll be needed in the bridge to give out reports then, we need to inform the Captain on who in the Dread pilots would be part of the team.” Duero said as he checked the crew names one more time. However Dylan wasn't leaving yet.

“We've got a problem to solve first Duero. Look.”

Both the Reinhart siblings and Duero looked at the monitor to see Meia's image in her Vanguard training, but unlike the rest, the blue-haired female looked withdrawn, panicky, and almost hyperventilating. Her scores showed that the best Dread pilot was now also the worst Vanguard pilot, all of them however saw something very disturbing on her readings…especially Brandon.

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

Meia slammed her fist on the inside of the cockpit in anger, frustration, and…fear as the last mission recording showed her being incinerated by enemy fire, declaring her dead and the mission a complete and utter failure. As she recovered slowly from the loss…it didn't take long for her to receive a communiqué from Duero and Dylan.

“Are there medical overrides on Megele?”

“What are you talking about?!” Meia asked crossly as she tried to calm down.

The looks on Duero and Dylan's faces were grim as the medic explained.

“On our world of Tarak, doctors like us have the authority from high command to ground pilots who have mental or psychological problems from piloting Vanguards, it's a normal procedure in our military, would you like us to have to ground you?”

“No!”

“Then have your monitor settings changed to full view, that should help lessen the strain on your body and combat performance, when you are ready, we'll restart the simulation.” Dylan said as the two of them signed off.

“Those two should mind their own business!!!” Meia gritted her teeth and growled as she tried to calm down…but that certainly didn't meant that she was going to be left alone yet.

“What is it now?!” Meia asked as she received an incoming communiqué, she expected it to be those two nosy doctors, but instead it was none other than the man she disliked the most...Brandon Reinhart, who looked very serious about something.

“I suggest you take their advice and not ignore it Meia, that advice might save your life, if you plan on going on this mission.”

“I don't need advice…from anyone, especially from men, and especially you Brandon.”

Brandon sighed and looked back at her, not losing his serious look. “Fine, but I saw the last phase of your performance when I was in here, and it wasn't very promising, I'll be watching the whole thing this time.”

Meia growled as she shut off her comm-link and went back on the mission.

Brandon was not in a good mood and studied Meia's performance intently. He felt that there was something totally wrong with the whole situation with Meia in the Vanguard simulator. He had a suspicion on what was breaking Meia's performance, and it could be just stress, but the results were not very good in convincing him that it was battle-fatigue…he had seen this before back on Zi, and that would mean that Meia would become a negative factor on this mission…this naturally prompted the squadron officer side of the eldest sibling as he and the others watched Meia perform a second time to begin evaluating the pros and cons of having the blue haired girl in the team.

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

Later…

Lance and Scott went back to the Vanguard Hanger and both siblings were disappointed at the sight of the coloured Vanguards, all in different shades and patterns, all of which were too…girly. They didn't mind the idea of decorating a machine of war to one's liking, but this showed them that the girls were treating the mission like some sort of social outing. The two brothers however were thankful that none tried to paint THEIR Zoids, but that certainly didn't mean that a certain someone wasn't going to try and do just that.

Lance had no warning when Dita suddenly glomped onto him, making him nearly lose his balance and fall flat on his face, much to the amusement of his elder brother.

“Hello Mr. Alien!!!” Dita said cheerfully as she hugged him, she found out it felt nice to be hugging the youngest of the Reinhart siblings for some reason, he felt and smelled nice to her even if she had never hugged a man before.

“Hey! Don't just suddenly leap onto my back! I'm not a pack mule-Godos you know!”

Dita was curious about that, and being the inquisitive redhead that she was…

“What's a Godos? Is it another type of alien?”

The younger brother sighed a bit as he began to explain just what is a Godos to the perky redhead who was listening intently and also smiling. Lance barely had time to finish when Dita grabbed him by the arm and showed him to her Vanguard, which she had coloured to match his eyes of all things…that kind of surprised the youngest sibling as he wondered if Dita was acting too much like a kid. He felt even more embarrassed when she showed a slightly crude drawing of him surrounded by little green men that she had plastered on the side of her Vanguard's cockpit, saying that she felt safer with him watching her.

<Well…I can be happy that at least she didn't try to colour my Liger Kail with any paint.> Lance said as she smiled cutely at him.

Scott shook his head with a smirk as he gazed at the two. He then sighed and was about to wander off and get a bite to eat, he looked a bit at the floor and headed for the door, he realized that he had collided into someone and they fell a bit towards the nearby wall. He looked down and realized what a mistake that was when he saw that the person he collided with was a woman and judging by her dress, the sword strapped to her thigh, and her…bust…it was a certain blonde woman.

He looked up and noted that he was right, he had just collided with Jura Basil Elden and they were near a wall with his left arm and hand near her head and his right rather close to the side of her thigh. He had done this reflexively to brace himself with his left arm and catch the person he collided with his right arm, but the wall did that for him…however, it put him and the gorgeous blonde in a bit of an awkward situation, since they were so close to one another.

“Uh…sorry, I wasn't meaning to…” He said as he moved away.

“My, aren't you taking the initiative.” Jura smiled a bit.

Scott could only come up with the most intelligent answer any man would ask in this situation.

“Huh?!”

Jura smirked. “I was going to ask you to remember to combine with me in the mission today. But I see you are willing. Don't forget to combine with me then, I'll be waiting!” Jura said with a sly tone and got away from Scott.

As soon as Scott saw Jura leave the room, he mentally slapped himself and tried to relax. When Jura had mentioned he would combine with her. His hormones wasted no time in trying to come up with images that had him combining with her…but certainly not with machines!!!!

<Arrrgggh!>

“You moron!! Now is NOT the time for this sort of thing!!! Her emerald haired friend would probably skin you alive if you tried that!”

Scott mumbled to himself as his body ached once more, along with a certain part of his male anatomy. He thanked God that nobody was nearby to see that happen, who knew what kind of chaos THAT would have caused on the ship?!

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

Elsewhere…in the kitchen…

Barnette was busy cooking up some fillet mignon to eat before the mission started. She had a craving for something nice to eat and hoped that Jura would be here soon for some lunch before the mission. She then wondered if Jura had been finally able to convince the middle sibling Scott to combine with her.

Barnette felt a bit of irritation at the thought of her best friend chasing after that male, and she didn't know why but the thought of Jura being with him made her feel rather…left out. She shook her head and focused on making the meals for both of them.

Jura arrived and smiled. “Hey Barnette, mmm, that smells good as always, almost done?”

Barnette nodded as the blonde took a seat and checked her hair, as she always did on her down time. The emerald haired woman noted the smile on her blonde friend's face and considering that she had been after a certain man, she had a sneaking suspicion…

“Did you have any difficulty convincing Scott to combine his Liger with your Vanguard today?”

Jura smiled warmly. “Not at all…in fact, he sounded VERY willing!” Jura laughed a bit at the humour of it. However Barnette didn't know why she felt a bit jealous at the idea of Jura combining with Scott, but why should she? It was only with their machines anyway.

She looked at the jar nearby and sighed in disappointment, making Jura curious at the sad sound her best friend made.

“Something wrong Barnette?”

“I was planning on putting some spices on the meat today, but the whole jar of bell peppers was nearly empty when I got in here…who would want to take so much pepper in one setting anyway?”

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

Medical Bay…

“AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!! IT BURNS!!!!” Bart said in great pain as he drank down a bottle of cold water. Dylan was looking at him with a curious eye as he handed yet another bottle of chilled water to the struggling Tarak cadet…who sported not just a pair of puffy red lips, but a rather enlarged tongue. The blonde cadet came in the Medical Bay screaming in pain, surprising the younger friend of Duero who was on his rounds in the Medical Bay. He had to restrain Bart and then check on him, which was when he handed Bart several bottles of chilled water.

“Why did you eat those things anyway Bart?” The medic asked in curiosity as he watched the blonde pilot open yet another bottle and chug down the contents of the bottle to calm his stomach.

“I thought…ugh…it was some of that fruit that…Brandon talked about.” Bart said as he downed the last contents. “I can't believe women eat that stuff and still live!!!” He shouted as he drank some more water from another water bottle. Apparently he had snuck in the kitchen and tried to find the storage area for what the women ate as a treat and mistook the bell peppers for small fruits called berries.

“Easy Bart...too much water and you'll get…”

Bart then ran to the nearby toilet and the sounds of him hurling were heard.

“...sick.”

The door to the Medical Bay opened and in came Dita, who had a tray of ice cream cones with ice cream on them. The Dread piloted decided to come by the Medical Bay just to say hello.

“Oh, hello Mr. Doctor.” Dita said cheerfully as she walked over to Dylan.

“Hello Dita, can I help you with anything?” Dylan asked as he faced the bubbly Dread pilot. Duero was still busy with other matters concerning Meia Gisborn when he left and handle his rounds in the Medical Bay. Since both he and Duero were Elites, it made sense that both of them were capable of piloting Vanguards, and thus Dylan asked to be part of the team, while Duero stayed behind to monitor them from the bridge.

“Nothing really, I just wanted to say hi and thank you for coming along with us on the mission.” The redhead smiled warmly, just as Bart got out of the rest-room.

Bart turned and then tried to cover his lips and tongue when he spotted Dita.

“Oh hello Mr. Navigator, are you all right? You're face looks a little bit off today.”

Bart panicked even more and replied. “Oh no…it's nothing really! I'm fine, thanks for asking.”

Dita then recalled the ice cream she had and took out a cone which was slightly melting and handed one to Bart.

“Care to have some of this then, it's really nice.”

Bart panicked even more and shook his head fervently. “Uhhh…n-n-n-no thanks! May-maybe some other time okay?” With that, the still in pain navigator of the Nirvana ran out of the Medical Bay like a bat out of hell…confusing the occupants even more.

“Men can be rather strange sometimes. I saw him taking some food from the jars and then drinking water like mad.” Ezra said as she came into the Medical Bay for a routine medical check-up, however she had a rather large number of sour dough bread in her hands.

“Hello Ezra, what are you doing with all that food anyway?” Dylan asked as he looked at the pregnant woman, who blushed a bit and replied.

“I just had this craving for something sour today, would you like some?” She said kindly, offering some of her food to both Dita and Dylan.

“It's all right Ezra, I think you're baby needs that more than me.” Dita said as she smiled at her close friend among the Bridge crew. Dylan had wondered about how come Ezra would eat so much food, that is until Brandon and his siblings told him that pregnant women would have strange cravings of food when their baby was growing, thus he too declined the food.

It was also when Lance came in, with a confused look on his face.

“Bart just ran past me as if he was being pursed by a hunting party after his head...plus he looked like his lips and tongue were on fire…anyone know what happened?” he asked as he sat down nearby.

“He ate something that apparently inflamed his tongue and taste buds, I'm not all that sure but he seemed to have been burned.” Dylan said as he took some of the ice cream Dita offered.

“Huh?”

“I saw him eating some of the bell peppers from a nearby jar in the kitchen earlier.” Ezra said with a smile as she chewed down on another sour dough bread roll. “He then ran out, and I wasn't very surprised, any person who ate that much bell pepper would have ran hard after the spiciness hits the senses.”

Lance grinned and began laughing hard at the thought.

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

In the Vanguard simulator/evaluation room…

Duero was in a rather tight bind. After comparing all the readouts and results of the various Vanguard trainees, Meia Gisborn's readouts were the most troubling of all. She exhibited high signs of agitation, stress, panic, and even more troubling…fear. There was no denying it or running around it. Meia was suffering from claustrophobia, and this would be a serious blow to her performance as a pilot of a Vanguard. He tried to reason with her and help her, but instead of listening to his advice as a medical officer, she rebuked him and said that it was merely fatigue and told him to mind his own business.

She did the same thing and rebuked Brandon who said that she would need to sit this one mission out for not just the sake and safety of the crew, including those who would be on the mission, but for her own sake and safety as well. But it had resulted in a face off between the two strong willed persons…with Meia walking out and calling Brandon a nosy person and a man who didn't know what he was talking about.

Duero thought about exercising his right as a medical officer to ground Meia from the operation since she was unfit to pilot a Vanguard, however, he knew that since he was on an all female ship, his authority would not carry the same weight as it would have on a male ship. Though he and the other men, including the Reinharts were part of the crew now, he knew that many women considered them as unwanted but necessary parts of the crew. Thus he, against his better judgment of the matter, allowed Meia to be allowed into the mission.

Brandon however highly disapproved the idea and knowing the eldest of the Reinharts, he had no doubt in his mind that the Zoid pilot was already addressing the problem to the officers, namely Buzam and Magno. He couldn't blame Brandon, after all, he was a soldier who watched out for those he was with, and even more so if his blood kin were part of the operation.

Duero just hoped that it wouldn't cause too much friction on the crew than what was needed right now.

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

In the bridge…

“What is it you wanted to discuss with me Brandon? Shouldn't you be getting ready to launch the ground sortie to the planet along with your siblings?” Magno asked as she was asked by the eldest of the Reinhart siblings. The old woman noted that from the way Brandon carried himself, this would be a serious matter.

“I have something to discuss, and that has to do with your Dread team leader.” The eldest sibling said as he faded both her and Buzam. He knew for a fact that what he was about to say would get him some serious flak from not just the pirates but from Meia as well. But he was thinking about the mission and how to best accomplish it with minimal loss, and the leader in him told him to report any possible dangers to the members of the mission and ensure that such things would not occur while on his watch, it was also the fact that his younger siblings were in the mission themselves that got him focused.

“Meia? What about her?”

“I don't believe that Meia being on the ground mission is a wise strategy Captain, she has the lowest score in the training simulations and her inability to pilot a Vanguard properly in combat even in virtual space will be placing her in a seriously difficult situation once real combat begins. It's not just that though…I think Meia will have difficulty in a Vanguard and that will place her and others in greater danger due to having a negative reaction when in a Vanguard's cockpit.”

Buzam and Magno wondered about the new information from Brandon. They were about to answer when the person in question came on the bridge…Meia was fuming mad as she glared deeply at Brandon who didn't flinch in the slightest, he had a suspicion she would find out sooner or later. But it DID gall him for her to find out now.

“Just what are you implying this time Brandon?!” Meia growled as she walked over and faced the eldest sibling with her fiery nature in full view.

“What I am implying is what I saw in your performance in the simulation exercises Meia Gisborn, and from what I saw, you're skills in a Vanguard are not up to what is needed for the operation, no matter how long or short it will be.” Brandon answered in full neutral authority as he looked back at Meia, keeping his temper reined in and focused on what he had to do.

“Who are you to tell me when I can or can't be in a mission?! You have not authority on this ship since you are NOT my commanding officer, and you are just a man!”

“I may be a man, and I may not have such authority, but I am doing this for the good of the mission, and in this case your own good. You're performance in a Vanguard is lacking and you have shown difficulty in the whole exercise due to a certain problem, which I am assuming you are quite aware of.”

Brandon WAS tempted to say claustrophobia, but knew that doing so would be asking for serious trouble and he didn't need that kind of a situation on his hands right now. Plus he was trying to be as diplomatic as possible, hoping that Meia was not THAT obstinate to just ignore the advice both he and Duero handed to her. He didn't want her to not just endanger her fellow crew-members and herself, but his siblings as well.

“You are so wrong…all I have is mere battle-fatigue, I will be fine on this mission, so mind your own business you nosy idiot!”

Before the discussion could go any further the rest of the crew who wisely stayed out of the discussion gave word that the time for landing on the surface of the desert was now. Meia was about to turn and head for the hanger, but her right hand was suddenly grabbed by Brandon in a painless but very strong grip…making her turn and glare at her captor.

Brandon however didn't care about her glare and spoke patiently…and perhaps a little imploringly to her as he walked forward, letting her hear him alone.

“You and I both KNOW that what you have is not mere battle-fatigue Meia, I am not stupid to not know what you're suffering from, I have seen others with that same condition and what were the results of having it and ignoring it constantly. For the sake of not just your fellow pirates but also of yourself…STAY. HERE.”

With that Brandon released his grip and walked to where his Liger was stationed. He hoped that he might be able to send the important message to Meia as he went to the hanger to meet up with the rest of the strike team. It was a fact that despite their differences he respected Meia as a fellow fighter, but he hoped that she won't let whatever it was that drove her to place her in grave danger along with the others in the ground mission.

Meia growled at Brandon mentally as she stared at his retreating form. How dare he manhandle her in such a way?! Who was he to tell what she could or couldn't do?! What does he know about her?! She shook her hand a bit to get feeling back to her appendage, she could still feel the warmth of Brandon's hand on her hand through the material of her uniform/body suit. She tried to forget the feeling of Brandon's grip on her…and the strange sensations she felt when she thought about it.

Magno watched the whole thing and sensed the sudden change in atmosphere between them when she saw Brandon grab Meia's arm and speak to her. They were close enough for her to catch a portion of their private conversation. She had her own suspicions on Meia's case, but kept it to herself. However she hoped that Meia would consider Brandon's advice.

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

Later…

The Ligers of the three siblings ran out of the Hanger's Launching Bay in their normal armour. The brothers decided to stick to normal armour instead of them using their respective custom CAS armour units. They expected this to be a quick mission, just like the pirates, but they took no changes and were making what adjustments they needed to deal with what was down there.

Behind them was the Vanguard drop ship, made for the deployment of the Vanguards. Jura's Vanguard was in her chosen colour of red and pink, Dita's was naturally in the same colour scheme when she showed it to Lance, Barnette was in her chosen scheme of purple and lavender, and finally Dylan's Vanguard was in it's normal grey scheme, but had the symbol of the Talark Medical Corps on it. All four Vanguards had to ride the drop ship since the Vanguards had to rely on umbrella like devices to accomplish both re-entry and exit on planets.

The devices were able to serve two functions, the first was when opened, they could act as heat shields in the atmosphere in the reversed position and as brakes when they were used in the normal position. When they needed to leave the planet, the devices when stripped of the metal shells that formed the umbrella would have powerful thrusters that could lift the Vanguards up the atmosphere and out into space where they could use their thrusters to manoeuvre in space.

Jura smiled as she guided the ship to follow Rikera's path as Scott's Zoid was running ahead of them. The blonde had no intention of losing track of her quarry and stayed on course.

“You are not getting away from me scot-free yet Scott.” (Pardon the pun)

The rest of the drop-ship crew merely shrugged their shoulders, though Barnette was not very happy to hear that come from Jura as she glared at the Liger and pilot in question through her Vanguard's sensors.

As the recon unit made their way down with their Zoid escorts, they were now being tracked by a sensor net that recorded their numbers and unit composition, in the surface a machine comes to life begins to activate what appears to be some sort of trap, all for the benefit of the incoming landing party.

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

In the Launching Bay…

“Damn! I'm too late!”

Meia gave a cry of frustration as she rushed in the Launching Bay for the Vanguards, next to her, in it's paddock was her chosen Vanguard, uncoloured and unadorned, totally showing her practical and simplistic tastes. As she looked about for an answer to her problem, she finds out that she has company…in the shape of a floating egg-shaped Navi-robot.

“You shouldn't be pushing yourself that hard, they can handle this mission well without your assistance, can't they?” Pyoro asked, citing the reasonable skills the others, namely Jura, Barnette, and Dita had shown in piloting Vanguards, compared to her at least

“No! I am the combat operations officer of the ship, I am responsible for every combat operation taken by my fellow pirates and that means I am responsible for them all down there…even the three of them.” She added reluctantly as she thought about Brandon and his two younger siblings.

The Navi-robot gave a sigh and shook it's form.

“Regardless, there is little you can do right now, the drop-ship was only designed for single entry only and there are not any spares left. If you try to take your Vanguard out on a drop, you might not survive the landing.” It insisted as it stared sadly at the Dread pilot leader.

Meia could only look on in disbelief at the Navi-robot as that fact was now revealed.

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

Nearing the planet's surface…

“Okay…we'll secure you ladies and gentlemen a landing zone once you drop in from the drop-ship. Meet up with us on the surface and watch yourselves…just because there's no activity certainly doesn't excuse you all from dropping your guard.”

Brandon replied as he and his siblings moved ahead of the drop-ship in their Ligers and moved in diamond formation ahead. The rest of the group could do little but follow the plan as they got ready to activate their breaking systems. As soon as the drop-ship's basic CPU was able to determine their current altitude, the CPU sent the release code to break apart and flash fry it's own systems to prevent any of it's data to be taken…it was standard combat policy for strike teams of the Tarak forces.

The Vanguards then activated their umbrella like devices and began their descent through the atmosphere, the pilots of the Vanguards were relieved to see the Zoids still in diamond formation in a nearby open area of the region they were sent to where the bridge crew have determined the best landing zone for them.

Barnette and the other women struggled a bit to control their descent, while Dylan appeared to be very much relaxed in his descent to the surface. The green haired girl decided to make a perfect landing to prove to the medic and to the three brothers that women were better, however she forgot a few important facts about what she was going to do.

The first was the fact that unlike her one day only training, Dylan was required by law as a citizen of his desert world to be already efficient in Vanguard combat operations and as such had MORE time to train and field test his own Vanguard piloting skills before being assigned to the Ikazuchi. Meaning that compared to her day's training, Dylan Krueger was MORE than capable as a Vanguard pilot and operator, and being a medic certainly didn't mean that all of his work was behind the Medical Bay…as in his Vanguard was a Tarak medical bag, complete with full medical resources and supplies.

The second was the fact that despite her recently revealed skills with the basics of Vanguards, Dylan had plenty of time to know both basic and advanced methods of the Vanguard's operational structure and functions, thus he knew how to use the Vanguard more effectively in battle and on non-combat operations as well.

The third and last fact was that this was her FIRST planetary operation in a Vanguard, and though it was a technical first for Dylan, he and many of his fellow men had already gained the needed experience in ground operations with mock drop-ship deployments in simulators and REAL-TIME drop-ship exercises. The men of Tarak stressed making essential skills an automatic reflex for ALL their fellow men, and those skills had helped them survive well in their harsh world

All three facts were brought to light as the Vanguards hit the surface. Since all three of them had no experience on how to operate on land, the women had some difficulty in landing effectively as soon as the sail-like parts that made the umbrella break off from the devices. Jura skidded and landed on the sand by the side, Dita managed not to land flat on her face, but landed on her Vanguard's knees as she placed aside her take off device. Barnette misjudged her own landing and ended up slamming her Vanguard into the face of a nearby sand-dune. She shook her head and turned her Vanguard to watch with anger and disdain, Dylan Krueger landed perfectly, Vanguard on it's feet and it's planetary escape device neatly strapped for use on the back pack. To further aggravate her the man's Vanguard walked over to her and he contacted her, his face concerned.

“Barnette, are you all right? You took quite the spill on that landing, any injuries?” The young medic asked, being the consummate medical officer that he was, like Duero.

The green-haired woman however didn't seem to notice or care about the man's questions as she guided her Vanguard up and moved away from Dylan's own in a rush. Dylan wondered if she was really all right and tried to follow her when Scott's Liger Rikera growls a few times at him, the Tarak medic was unsure about what the living machine was saying until Scott himself appears.

“Rikera said that she's not in the best of mood right now Dylan, it would be best that you leave her be. I know I would…”

“But she could be injured, I saw her take a serious landing despite the restraints she was wearing.” The medic insisted.

“I scanned her Vanguard, and so did Rikera, she's fine, the only injury she might have is something you can't cure, even with all your skills.”

“What's that?”

“Her pride most likely…listen, don't worry, she's fine, we've got a job to do though, so let's get to it.”

The Tarak male nodded as he went on with the others to locate any signs of life on the planet while they were there on the surface, if they found nothing, then they would leave this planet and continue on their journey.

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

The Nirvana…

“How many hours do they have left?” Buzam asked the bridge crew as they monitored the situation of the ground team on the planet's surface.

“At least nine more hours Commander.” Ezra replied as she worked hard and tried not to faint like the last time, when she had her pregnancy discovered.

Buzam nodded as she contacted the ground team via comm.-link.

“You all have seven hours of daylight left, if you can't find anything of value then leave as quickly as you can, if there is anything worth salvaging and sending down a ground team, then contact us and prepare to act as ground security.”

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

On the ground…

“Understood Commander.” Barnette replied as she moved her Vanguard around along with the others, her two female comrades were now already paired with a searching partner, namely Jura was working with Scott and Rikera, while Dita was working alongside Lance and Kail. Both teams were already doing their part while she was saddled with Dylan Krueger. The green-haired woman was not in the best of moods, not only due to the alliance they had made with the men that went against her upbringing. But she now had to work with one that had just made her look like a foolish school girl!

“Bad enough that we have to work alongside men…now I have to pilot their ugly machines and work with one!” She said silently as she could.

That was when Dylan's face appeared on her communication systems. He appeared to have his expression on neutral and spoke in a patient tone.

“I understand your dislike and reluctance to work with men Barnette, but there is nothing that can be done right now…we have to work together in order to get back to our respective worlds…personally I don't quite like the idea, but it has…”

“You've made you're point you stupid male! Stop talking and let's just get this done!”

In his Vanguard, Dylan was busy using his years in med school to keep him from verbally lashing out at Barnette. Her calling of him being a stupid male was by all rights uncalled for and under normal circumstances…in his mind anyway, she deserved to be given disciplinary sanction, but since the vast portion of the crew on the Nirvana were all women and men were the smaller minority, thus such an idea was out of the question. He kept his calm and went on with the mission.

Brandon had heard the exchange between the two due to his training in tapping communication systems back in the academy. He sighed mentally and hoped that nothing would occur to make this situation even worse. He then got into contact with his brothers.

“Any luck locating any survivors?”

“Not a thing brother…this entire planet looks deserted…not even sings of any indigenous animal life.” Scott reported in, just as Lance came on the communication system.

“Guys…I've got a really bad feeling about all this. This place feels worse than a desert…it's like a grave-yard here…there's nothing but wreckage and ruins.”

Scott nodded. “Lance is right Brandon, this entire situation just outright stinks…no sign of habitation…heck as far as Rikera and I can see…there are not even any signs of a fight, no wrecks from anything remotely that of war machines…this feels like a trap.”

Brandon thought it over and asked Zarreke…since his Organoid was the oldest and wisest of the group.

“What do you think Zarreke?”

<< I'm not all that sure myself…but I do agree with Scott and Lance's suspicions, this feels like a trap. >>

Brandon then spotted Dita as she seemed to be getting ready to use her Vanguard's thrusters.

“Dita? Where are you going?”

The redhead replied. “I'm going to take my Vanguard up to see if there are any other things we can see here.”

Jura's Vanguard then suddenly walked over to Scott's Liger and the blonde smiled warmly at Scott…who immediately blushed at the seductive look the blonde Dread pilot was giving him.

“I think that now is the right time for us to combine, don't you think so Scott?” The blonde asked seductively.

Both brothers couldn't help but laugh at the look of utter embarrassment on Scott's face at THAT comment, the blush was due to the double entendre in the statement, since he naturally heard combine and his male instincts placed that statement on the reverse.

“Aw hell you two… now is seriously not the time for this sort of thing!” Lance said in mock disgust.

Brandon also looked a bit disappointed. “Yeah, we're in the middle of a mission here! If you two WANT to combine do it somewhere else…better yet…get a room.”

“WILL YOU GUYS STOP THAT!!!” Scott said in utter embarrassment and then looked at Jura.

“Please stop talking about you and me…combining already, what are you trying to do?! Embarrass me to death?!”

Lance turned Kail around and when he used the Liger's built in magnifying sensors, he spotted a functional camera and it was pointed right at Dita as her Vanguard was now in the air…he then spotted what appeared to be a laser cannon and he realized that Dita might have done something wrong.

“DITA!! LOOK OUT!!!”

The warning came too late as the beam launched out and struck the Vanguard hard on the chest, but apparently was made to hinder movement instead of causing damage as the colored Vanguard was covered in arcs of electricity. Dita yelped in pain as her Vanguard went down, temporarily shut down it's systems.

Lance guided his Liger and used his Zoid to stop the falling Vanguard by cushioning the Tarak built war machine with his Zoid's body. Kail growled out in pain as the Vanguard slid down on the Liger's body, it was damaged…but it wasn't enough to incapacitate the Zoid in most ways.

Lance immediately got into contact with Dita and was relieved to see the redhead was all right and was moving about.

“You okay Dita?!”

Dita moaned as she shook her head, thankfully her body didn't suffer any broken bones from the impact due to the restraints in the cockpit. As soon as she heard Lance's voice she looked at Lance and smiled warmly.

“Thank you for saving me Mr. Alien!”

“You can save the thanks for later…you okay?”

“Yeah…what happened?”

The same question was in Jura, Barnette, and Dylan's mind, but that was soon answered as they all looked up to spot more lasers surrounding that area of the sky above them, all were now converging into a crisscross pattern, in moments the area of sky above them was now blockaded by lasers.

“We just walked into a trap…that's what happened!” Scott said as he looked about for any sign of hostile forces coming from the areas and ruins around.

That was when the weather seemed to pick it up a notch and come to life…sending waves of sand from the ground slamming into the ground forces.

“Sand-storm!”

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

The Nirvana's command bridge…

Duero, who had been assigned a position in the bridge to monitor the vital signs of the crew send down to the planet's surface suddenly noted an elevated increase in their reactions and vital signs, this only happened when something unexpected happened.

At that exact moment, the bridge crew were shocked as they detected a massive weather anomaly suddenly appear out of nowhere and blanket the area where the landing party were…along with their communications suddenly being jammed.

“Something is happening down there! They're in confusion and fear!”

Buzam acted quickly and ordered the crew on the bridge to calm down and focus on trying to raise the ground team, Celtic, Belvedere, Amarone and Ezra complied as best they could as they worked quickly to regain communications with the ground team, Buzam then tried to hail the ground forces that they had deployed on the planet's surface.

“Ground team…what is going on down there?”

“We…triggered…some sort…”

“Triggered what? Ground team, what have you activated?”

“Some…of trap! We can't…take off!”

“Look out!”

“What the?!”

Buzam tried to make sense of what was happening now as the images of the ground team began to break up in static.

“What's happening Ground team?”

“The…the sand…it's attacking us!!!”

Buzam suddenly spotted being calm and a drop of sweat flowed down her face as she looked at the situation in shock and surprise.

“The sand is attacking them?!”

That was also when Pyoro came on the screen and told her another bit of news…which was not a good thing at the right time.

“Meia's gone where?!”

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

“I am responsible for the missions on the ship…no way am I going to sit on the side-lines and do nothing!”

Meia said as she guided her Vanguard through the landing phase to the location of the landing party's coordinates. Despite Pyoro stating that it would have been far better that she remained on the Nirvana and let the ground team work on their own…her nature and long years as leader, plus her personality wouldn't let her and she took the chance to launch her Vanguard anyway…she didn't care about what Brandon might say should he find out as she used her breaking umbrella…however her fear of closed spaces was on and it got worse the very second as the weather slammed into her Vanguard as she tried to counter her fear and keep her vanguard level.

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

On the ground…

“Ahhhh!!!!”

“Damn it! What the heck is going on?!”

The Vanguards and the Zoids suddenly found themselves being hit not just by the sand in the sand-storm, but also by waves of sand that seemed to target them and them alone. The sand quickly got on the armor, joints and servos of the machines, causing them to seize up and stop moving. The sand however had a far more sinister ability connected to the fact that they somehow moved as if they were alive. As soon as they made contact with the Vanguards and Zoids, they began to spread and cover any section that wasn't covered.

Dita watched in fear as the scanners of her Vanguard indicated that her machine's power supply and information were being drained out, almost in the same fashion as a leech would suck out blood from whatever animal it came into contact with.

“The sand is draining the Vanguard of it's power supply and copying the systems…it's like having the blood drained out!”

Dita tried desperately to move her Vanguard and try to remove the sand off of her, as Lance and Kail tried to help her, but the Liger too was unable to help, just as it's other counter-parts had a hard time getting the sand off of themselves.

“Damn! The sand's copying Kail's systems as well!”

The youngest of the Reinhart siblings could tell that the sand was doing the same to his brothers' Ligers and the results were not too pleasant.

Brandon however wasn't going to give up and then re-routed a good and manageable portion of his Zoid's power, Zarreke then created an ion shock field that fried the sand into becoming brittle and with a few shakes broke the sand off, the eldest then went over to try and free his brothers.

“Leave this to me!”

Jura's Vanguard came out of nowhere, free of the sand and then directed her Vanguard's exhaust vents and reversed the air-flow, allowing the air to wipe off the sand from Scott's Zoid, Rikera then spoke telepathically with Zarreke and as soon as enough sand was blown off the Liger to allow it to stand, it used the ion strike field to turn the sand into nothing fused brittle pieces, once that was done, the Liger merely shook the shattered pieces off. Scott then turned and smiled thankfully at Jura.

“Nice move.”

“There is a way you can thank me you know, and you already what that is.” The blonde said seductively.

Scott could only shake his head in disbelief at the blonde.

“Are you STILL stuck up on all that combined transformation business? In case it escaped you're attention Jura Basil Elden, the only machine Rikera can combine with IS you're Dread. How is my Liger supposed to fuse with a Vanguard hen it was never meant to in the first place?”

The net result of that bit of truth was obvious as Jura went from being pleased to shocked…and then utter disappointment as she pouted and threw a tantrum.

“WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!”

“I kid you not.”

“Oh on! If I had known all that, I would have never trained for this mission!”

Scott then called to Jura, trying to calm her down, the last thing the middle sibling wanted was a hysterical female comrade in a fight, that was the last ANYONE needed at this point since they still had to find a way out of this trap before anything else happened.

“Jura! Calm down! You'll get you're chance soon enough, but right now we need to keep focused…who knows, we might just…”

The last words were not spoken as Dylan contacted all of them as he took out the halberd of his Vanguard, showing that he spotted hostile forces.

“We've got company!” Dylan said as the others then saw forms come out of the sand around them. As soon as they saw their enemies…the landing party couldn't believe what they were looking at.

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

SLAM!!!!

Meia's Vanguard smashed hard on the surface of the desert planet and got a face full of sand to boot, due to the weather surge, she was off target from the landing party and had no idea on what was happening. The landing had caused a power surge, forcing the Vanguard's CPU to shut down some system, plunging the cockpit into darkness…this naturally had a negative effect on the claustrophobia of the young woman as she began to breath faster, sweat and look more unfocused.

She however was broken out of her growing fear by an insistent beeping in her communication systems, since the back-up power packs were active at the time of the power surge. As soon as she managed to push away enough of her phobia to activate the comm system…Duero's voice then came on the line as he tried to call her and get her to focus.

“Meia! Meia, listen to me, turn on you're Vanguard's view screen and look as far away as you can!”

Meia did so…but her independent nature, pride, and dislike for men was still there.

“That man…should, mind his own…damned business, I don't need his or any man's help!”

As soon as she did what Duero suggested once the Vanguard's view-screen, her heart and breathing rates began to return to normal…however that feeling of calm was not meant to last as she spotted…a terrifying form

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

In the Nirvana…panic grew a bit more obvious as Amarone reported in fear that Meia's Vanguard transponder signal had just vanished from their scanners, and Duero's report of Meia's life-signs showing complete mental lock-down told Magno and Buzam that something had happened to Meia…something horrible enough to place the tough Dread Squadron leader in absolute shock.

Buzam wasted no time and got into contact with the ground team, despite Meia's breaking of protocol by not telling the crew of her departure, they could not afford to lose anyone in their crew to the enemy.

“Brandon! Scott, Lance! Dita, Dylan, Barnette, Jura! Do any of you copy? We've just lost Meia's transponder signal! She's on the planet and she is under attack! You have to go find her!”

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

The landing party got the message but were in the middle of a rather messy fight as they faced off with their foes…apparently the sand had gathered enough data on the Liger ZERO units and the Tarak Vanguards to create replicas of their own out of pure sand. The sand copies of both the Vanguards and Liger ZERO Zoids attacked at the ground party was forced to fight…but not before a certain member of their group had a comment to the message.

“SHE'S WHAT?!”

Brandon was in absolute shock and disbelief. He had specifically told the Captain and Commander not to allow Meia to participate in this mission due to her inherent trait of claustrophobia, not to mention he tried to reason with her also. He didn't plan on letting her get herself into trouble and put the others, including his brothers at risk with her poor Vanguard piloting skills and her fear of closed spaces, he saw her potential as a pilot and he respected that and losing it was a serious mistake…but now she had just jumped into this mess…and naturally he was not in a good mood about it.

He didn't have time to answer the question as the enemy came at them. Both he and his brothers and their Ligers were ready, just as the female pirates and their sole Tarak ally charged into the fray as they put their newly gained Vanguard combat skills to the test.

Unfortunately the pirates were woefully unprepared and poorly experienced in Vanguard warfare tactics to make any leeway on the matter as they were so used to flying Dreads, that they were unprepared for the basic hand to hand combat scenarios that the Vanguards were rudimentarily built for by their makers.

Dita was struggling with the first sand Vanguard she fought with and saw that like the sand-storm, the sand construct was also draining her Vanguard of it's power supply.

“No…it's draining my Vanguard of power! Help me please!”

A roar was the only thing she heard as she spotted Lance and his Liger ZERO smash right into the side of the Sand Vanguard and ripped it in half with both claws and teeth. Lance then faced off with a copy of Kail as both the original Liger ZERO and the sand Liger ZERO faced one another.

The Reinhart siblings were using their CAS armor systems with the exception of Lance due to several very important reasons, the first was that despite his Liger's ability to still move and the cooling systems he had, this was close quarters and having Kail overheat at the wrong time was to be avoided, the second was that his Panzer CAS was designed for long range bombardment and suppression fire…not close combat like Brandon's Jaeger CAS or Scott's Schneider CAS, and the last reason was the fact that his CAS' weapon system would hit his fellow comrades, thus he was the only one of them who was using his Liger's basic weapons and armor, but like his siblings had trained hard with both the CAS and basic armor.

Both Liger's clashed as the Sand Vanguard tried to use it's own claws and teeth to defeat Kail and Lance, but both Ultimate X Zoid and pilot were able to avoid the attacks and with a powerful tackle, knocked the sand copy down and Kail bit the throat…ripping the sand creature apart with both teeth and claws.

Lance then moved away and guided his Zoid to leap on the chest of another Sand Vanguard and rip it's face off with it's teeth and claws. He then guided his Zoid to move beside Dita's Vanguard as she called out her thanks to him via comm.-link.

“Thank you Mr. Alien!”

“That's all right, though I wish you'd stop calling me that, stay close and don't fall behind, you understand?”

“Yes!”

The three brothers and their Zoids leaped into the fray and ripped down more of their Sand Copies and that of the Vanguards, giving their team mates some breathing room. Dylan however didn't need too much help as his halberd sliced off the hands, arms, and heads of the Sand Vanguards and the heads and paws Sand Liger ZERO units that tried to attack him. Since he was more skilled with a Vanguard, he was very much a lot better trained in it's use than the others were.

“All of you…stay close to one another and don't let your guard down, don't let then attack you from behind and be on the move.” Brandon said as he and his brothers led the counter-attack.

“I don't take orders from any man!” Barnette shouted as she managed to punch the head off one Sand Vanguard.

Brandon however was on full combat leadership mode and as such, didn't care what Barnette said as he and his siblings attacked their foes…moving to an area that would afford good fighting room and maneuverability for all of them. They then called the others to follow their lead. This was where they were good at, close combat was what their Liger ZERO Zoids were made for, just like their old Blade Liger forms were.

“I'm right behind you Mr. Alien!” Dita called out as she followed all three Ligers into combat.

Barnette was shocked and angered at something she thought she would never see…a woman following a man's orders!

“Dita! What are you doing?!”

Dita replied while beating away a Sand Liger with her Vanguard's feet and fists. “ Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens are tying to help us!”

Jura then got into the comm.-link with Barnette and spoke to her close friend from Megele as she followed Dita's Vanguard.

“Barnette, we don't have the time to complain, Dita is right, Brandon and his siblings are the only ones who can help us right now and if we want to leave this place then we have to follow them! Now come on!”

Barnette growled in anger but relented as she followed them.

The fighting was fierce now as the Ultimate X Ligers took on the Sand Ligers and the Sand Vanguards, while they were supported by their Vanguard allies. The Ligers fought like real live beasts as they leaped, tore, and bit their foes, both Brandon and Scott used their CAS when the space and time permitted as they were now able to take down enough Sand Copies to force whatever controlled the sand to re-think it's attack plan.

Brandon used this chance to contact Barnette and give her the mission to find Meia.

“Barnette, use the coordinates of Meia's last known position and find her and take Dylan with you…we'll remain here and deal with them.”

Barnette glared at him. “I said I don't take orders from a man! And no way am I going to let some…!!!”

Brandon's eyes became frosty and his expression was one of barely suppressed anger. He already had enough problems to deal with…along with his anger and disgust at Meia for not listening to the truth and now getting into this mess. As a soldier and as of this moment the ground team leader, he was NOT in the mood for back-talk and insubordination and as such spoke in the most serious voice he could muster.

“Listen…we do NOT have the luxury of time to be arguing right now. Meia herself is in danger…so either you follow my orders on this mission or Meia is done for…do I make myself clear?!”

Barnette glared but couldn't argue as the way Brandon was looking at her told her than no matter how she felt at the moment…getting on the bad side of Brandon was not a very healthy idea, not t mention he was right, despite her dislike of him his orders made sense as losing Meia was something she didn't want to happen at all, so she and Dylan took off to find Meia.

Just as more Sand Vanguard and Sand Liger ZERO Zoids came out and attacked the others.

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

In the Nirvana…

“Run a full analysis on what is making the sand and weather react this way!” BC ordered as soon as communications was reestablished with the landing party, they needed to know just what the ground team was fighting with.

The bridge crew wasted no time and dedicated all of their resources and efforts to do what they could to find the culprit behind this sinister attack. Ezra then complied all of what they could learn from their scans on the main screen of the Nirvana's bridge. On the screen appeared to be some sort of robotic tick.

“It appears that the device on the screen is the one responsible for the sand acting this way Captain.”

“This must be a trap left behind by our enemies.” Magno said as she realized how they had fallen into this ambush and was not very happy with this mess and her actions. But she put that aside and focused on the task at hand. “And with that energy net over the area, our Vanguards will have no other way of escape. What's their status BC?”

Buzam studied the situation and was pleasantly surprised as the scans told her that the Vanguard were able to fight back. “The Vanguards are in the middle of what appears to be a counter-attack. The Liger ZERO Zoids are in the front and leading the strike.”

“Brandon and his brothers are leading them? What about Barnette?”

“She and Dylan went out to look for Meia.”

“I see…all we can hope for now is that they find a way out of this mess.”

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

In her Vanguard that was now being covered by sand, Meia's fears were closing in n her as her Vanguard began to lose power once more. He touched her sweat covered face as she breathed laboriously, and her body began to lock up in shock and panic, both her heart and breathing rates climbed in her fear and panic…she continued to speak incoherently as well…

“W-W-W-What…what…d…d…d…do I do? I…I'm so scared…help me…please…someone help me…”

It was at this point that two other Vanguards came on the scene…

Barnette was in a state of shock as she saw Meia's Vanguard being covered by sand and there seemed to be no movement at all from the down machine.

“MEIA!!!”

As Barnette rushed to the stricken machine and tried to remove the sands, Dylan tapped into the Vanguard's sensors and communications systems…when he saw Meia's vital signs and heard her incoherent mumbling… his fears, and that of both Duero and Brandon were realized…Meia had given into her phobia and unless she was freed from it she would be severely damaged in her mental state.

“This is not good…Meia's claustrophobia is beginning to go to the advanced stages…we have to snap her out of it before she suffers full mental collapse!”

Both Vanguard pilots then tried to remove the sand in unison, but both their exhaust vents had been too baldy clogged up to be of much help, plus they had been fighting and some damage had made the situation even more desperate.

Meia's fear however had reach critical mass and in a state of pure panic and hysteria, she reached out and punched her Vanguard's thrusters to full power, causing more damage to it's systems and she was struck down by another laser beam, and this one had even more dire consequences.

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

“Oh no…what now?!” Scott groaned as the entire area was suddenly filled with the sounds of sirens…and ever since their five year odyssey in this universe, they knew it was a bad sign.

Magno then contacted them all in the communiqué.

“Listen all of you! You have to evacuate from the planet now! Ezra and Buzam had located what appears to be a massive chain of bombs underground that has enough explosive energy yield to turn the entire surface of that planet into glass!”

“You all have three hundred seconds to evacuate! That is the exact time you have before the self destruct takes effect!”

Both Brandon and Lance glared at their brother.

“You just had to ask!”

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

The ground forces were still trying to find a way to break past the barrier that kept them trapped and fighting off the Sand Copies of their machines. Brandon and Zarreke just ripped off the legs of a Sand Vanguard when they spotted yet another one heading down towards them.

“That's it! I've had enough of you!”

But just as Zarreke poised to strike as Brandon controlled him to do…they spotted two more Vanguards appear behind the sand covered one, one they recognized as Barnette's and the other being Dylan's.

“DON'T ATTACK!!! IT'S MEIA, THE SAND'S TAKEN OVER HER VANGUARD!!!”

“What?!” Brandon asked in surprise, just as Dylan came in on the comm.-link.

“Meia's completely overcome with catatonic shock, Brandon! I can't seem to shake her out of it!!!”

“Great! That's it! I'll wake her up myself!”

In her Vanguard, Meia was completely catatonic…like a doll as she was completely seeped in her fear of closed spaces. However she was suddenly jarred as something massive slammed into her Vanguard, she would have ignored it due to her fear shocking her senses had she not heard a certain Zoid pilot's voice.

“Hey! Meia Gisborn, you had better get a grip on yourself, cause we do not have the time for this sort of thing!!!!”

“S-S-Stop! D-D-D-Don't worry about me…leave now… save yourselves!”

“What?! Quit acting like you're planning to be a martyr or you have a death wish or both damn it! I have never abandoned anyone in a mission for the past years of my life and despite this fracas I am not about to start now!”

Brandon knew that using his Liger's claws was out of the question and he knew that there was no time to ask Jura to come in and use her Vanguard's vents since she was in the middle of a fight. That was when he recalled using the same trick he had used to free himself from the sand that tried to engulf him and Zarreke. He then realized that until the Sand Copies were neutralized along with the barrier, they would be trapped. He then spotted what appeared to be a massive container tank structure. Running Zarreke's sensors on it, he found that the mixture to be several degrees colder than the outside environment and this would prove valuable in giving them enough time to escape the place they were on.

He quickly called Lance and orders him to activated his Panzer CAS and aim for the reactor on his mark. Lance wasted no time, trusting his eldest brother's judgment that had saved their lives for five years, activated his CAS Armor and aimed his Hybrid Cannons and waited…right in time with Brandon using a portion of Zarreke's power to create the ion field effect once more, the result was that the sand hardened, allowing the Zoid to break off portions of the sand…and that was the mark Lance waited for as he fired the Hybrid Cannons into the tank.

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

The Nirvana…

“150 seconds!”

“Did you hear that? Get out of there now!!!” Buzam said once more to the ground team as they continued to track the timer.

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

“Give us a bloody minute will you?!”

The group didn't have to wait long as the cold gases flooded the entire area of the battle-field. Jura complained briefly due to the sudden drop in temperature…her body caught off guard by the freezing temperatures…but then realized that it was actually a good thing as the Sand Vanguard she was fighting with earlier became solid fell apart. Along with the other Vanguard copies and the Liger ZERO Zoid copies. Along with that was the shut-down of the defensive barriers.

“Wow! You aliens are so smart!!” Dita cheered as she saw the results.

Even though it was yet another blow to her pride as a woman of Megele…Barnette admitted that the strategy of both Brandon and Lance was effective.

“No time to admire the handy work Dita! Get you're escape unit and move out now!” Scott replied as he and Rikera moved in and watched, just in case more Sand Copies appeared unexpectedly.

Barnette and the other then grabbed their rocket escape units and got ready.

Meia blinked as light made it's way into her cock-pit and she swore in anger and disbelief that she now owed Brandon her life three times now. The thought of that, plus all the times he stood her up made her very angry. She tried to get her Vanguard to move, only to discover that while she was in her catatonic state of shock, the Sand had drained her machine of all it's power.

“Damn it! My Vanguard's totally out of power it won't move!”

Brandon realized that there was no time to be delicate and he faced both his siblings and their Zoids.

“Escort the others out of here now! I'll catch up with you once I get this done!”

Both Lance and Scott shook their heads along with Rikera and Kail.

“No way brother…we all leave this place or we don't leave at all!”

Lance then called Dita on the comm.-link.

“Take off Dita! NOW!”

“But!”

“Don't argue with me! Go!”

Dita and the others knew that time was too short and despite her dislike of leaving Mr. Alien and his brothers behind, she activated her rocket escape unit and left along with Jura, Barnette, and Dylan.

Brandon was further angered, but wasted little time as he used Zarreke's teeth to rip open the upper torso of the vanguard, exposing Meia to the light as he opened his Liger's cockpit. He glared at Meia trying to rein in his temper at her actions this day.

“Get in!”

“What?”

“Right now…this is not the time to care if we are men or women Meia, if you don't plan on dying like this…get inside now!”

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

“Thirty seconds!!!”

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

Meia looked at Brandon…and made her choice.

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

In the Nirvana…

“Time's up.”

The second after Belvedere made that report, the timer hit zero and the crew of the Nirvana saw the entire surface of the planet covered in explosions as huge spheres of explosive energy covered the surface of the desert world…ripping it to pieces. With both communication systems offline and filled with static along with Duero's medical monitors showing static and no images as well…the pirates began to assume that the worst case scenario they had feared had come true…however their fears were defused and they were high spirits as the monitors of Duero's console came to life and showed that all of the ground team members were alive and all accounted for.

He checked and reported to both Magno and Buzam when they saw that Meia's Vanguard wasn't among them.

“Meia is inside Zarreke with Brandon…apparently she had to abandon her Vanguard due to it being drained of all it's power.”

“I see…how is she?”

“She's fine…certainly a lot better than when she was in both her Vanguard and the cockpit simulators. I am sorry Captain, I held my peace and so did Dylan on this matter but I can see that it was a mistake…”

“I understand…I had suspected something was wrong Meia for a while…and today has confirmed my suspicions to be true. I believe it is time I had a chat with her on this matter.”

They had no idea that in Zarreke's cockpit…Meia had just been given a warning n what expect.

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

In Zarreke's cockpit…

Brandon smiled in relief as he saw that everyone was safe and sound and even his passenger seemed fine…however his smile faded and a cold neutral look replaced it as he looked behind him.

“Are you all right Meia?”

No answer…

“Meia…didn't you hear me? I asked if you are all right?”

Meia didn't plan to answer him since she was still calming down after all that had happened and since she still was not going to trust Brandon and her wounded pride forbade her to let it slide…however she did answer him.

“I'm fine.” She said in a whisper.

“What was that?”

“I said I am fine Brandon Reinhart!” She said with a much louder tone of voice.

Brandon's response was cold and very neutral but she knew that she was going to be expecting a serious situation soon since she could sense a great deal of restraint in his tone.

“Good…because once we get back on the Nirvana…you and I are going to have a VERY important discussion.”

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

Once the pirates were able to read the information that they were able to gain about their foes, they realized just what kind of foes they were dealing with. The data was an announcement on what appeared to have been an acquisition list, but not of materials, resources, and equipment or even a trade in personnel…but in human organs and liquids. The list went on describing the collections of red blood cells, white blood cells, lymph products and all other blood products were in good condition…like a farmer's announcement of his yearly harvest.

They were shocked and disgusted…the enemy meant harvest in every meaning of the word…the aliens viewed human beings as nothing more than crops or livestock!!!

Whoever they were…they were very dangerous.

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

In the Nirvana's hanger…

Scott and Lance looked as the surviving Vanguards were placed aside, Parfait decided to keep the Vanguards as a reserve force, and since they didn't have the luxury of time and who knew what dangers would await them. With what they had experienced…should a ground mission be ever assembled they then would have a chance to even up the odds a bit…should it come to that.

The two brother however could tell that a storm was brewing the very second their eldest brother opened his cockpit and out came Meia, who apparently recovered and was planning to rest. The way Brandon `s eyes however were directed at Meia showed to them that there was going to be a storm all right…a storm of wills…and it seemed that Meia threw the first punch by walking away from Brandon…who naturally responded.

“Where do you think you are going?”

Meia looked back and glared. “What business is it of yours?”

Brandon got out of the cockpit and walked over to Meia, though he tried to keep his posture neutral his anger was radiating off of him. The others noticed what was about to happen and naturally began to react.

Dita held her hands together and hoped that Mr. Alien's big brother and Meia didn't fight one another.

Barnette hoped that this would be interesting, while Jura stood nearby, both friends were interested how this would play out between the two pilots.

Dylan knew this was going to be bad news and sent a communiqué to both Duero and the Captain.

“It IS my business. I did say that once we were on the Nirvana you and me are going to have a discussion…or did you just decide to conveniently forget that detail?”

Brandon and Meia were now face to face with one another near a large crate. Since Brandon was a head and a half taller than Meia it was a rather interesting sight as he glared at her while she was still very much glaring at him in return.

“No I haven't, but there is nothing for us to talk about Brandon so back off.”

Brandon didn't step aside however, forcing Meia to move back and look at him.

“There IS something for us to talk about Meia Gisborn…and that thing we are going to talk about now is why didn't you stay on the ship when I asked you to?”

“Who are you to tell me when I can go on a mission or not on this ship?! You are a prisoner and a man! You have no authority over me!”

“That is where you are wrong…I and my brothers have already been integrated into this crew officially by your Captain until we all get back to Tarak and Megele, and as a member of the crew of the Nirvana I distinctly told you that due to you're psychological condition, you were not fit to go on the Vanguard mission, and I even tried to tell you that when we were in the bridge…but you went down there…regardless of you're mental condition…and look what happened!”

“What mental condition are you blabbering about you thick-headed male?! I am merely suffering from fatigue and that is it!!!”

That however was a mistake and Brandon lashed out in anger…slamming his hand in a fist on the crate near the left side of Meia's head.

“Fatigue?!?! Meia Gisborn…I consider you a very skilled pilot and squadron leader, and an intelligent fighter…but how can someone of your skills, experience, and intelligence be utterly stupid?!?!”

“How dare you?!”

“I dare because you and I ALREADY know that fatigue is NOT what you have!? I was there when you were evaluated in the simulators in Vanguard training and I saw all of your symptoms remember? You were hyperventilating, having increased heart-rate, higher blood pressure, you were sweating, indecisive, you're reaction time dropped, and you were panicking, and when you were in that Vanguard in the mission…you were in a state of catatonic shock…I knew what would be the cause and that is why I tried to get you off the mission in the first place…because you would endanger yourself and others with that condition. Yet…you went down there regardless of those facts. I didn't say it before because I had hoped that you would be understanding of your condition to make the right call and stay out of the mission, and I tried to reason with you so to avoid putting you in a spot where you would be offended or embarrassed in front of the crew…but now I see that I was wrong!!!”

“You don't understand me at all…”

Brandon glared hard at Meia and replied evenly.

“You're right… I don't understand …I don't understand why someone of you're intelligence, skill and caliber would be willing to get herself killed to try and show that she is capable of. I don't know why you did what you did…and under normal circumstances I would have tried to understand you're reasons, motivation, and whatever happened to you in the past to make you do what you did.”

He then clenched his fist and placed in front of Meia showing just barely restrained anger at her.

“But after you went down there against advice from both the medics and me, and endangered yourself, you're fellow pirates, and MY siblings. I at this stage of all this DO NOT care!!! Understand one thing however…if you ever do something that reckless, foolish, and outright stupid again, and endanger yourself, you're fellow pirates, and MY siblings Meia Gisborn, then I will beat you to a bloody pulp myself!!”

With that, Brandon turned around and walked out of the hanger with barely restrained rage. Leaving the crew silent as they had never seen Brandon lose his anger before like that…the scene made even his face off with Meia before seem tame.

Scott and Lance followed their sibling since they knew that right now, they needed to help him cool his head. They understood why their brother was like that…none of the other women understood their past since despite their natures…they were still not willing to talk about their pasts with the crew.

Magno however had witnessed the entire exchange between Meia and Brandon…and as such she called Meia to the Conference Room.

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

Later…

“You asked to see me Captain?” Meia asked as she was in the Conference Room. She quickly had a suspicion that the reason why she was summoned to the Conference Room had to do with two things…one was the mission…and the other was the very powerful confrontation between her and Brandon Reinhart. Both were also connected since Duero and Dylan were also present.

“Yes…there is something that we must discuss of great importance.”

Meia knew what would happen and so decided to try and defend herself.

“Captain, if this is about what happened on the mission and between me and Brandon, then I…”

“You are right Meia, this does have something to do with both situations.” Magno then sighed after sitting down and looked at Meia square in the eye.

“I will not spend time whitewashing or trying to delay it, that is not in my nature Meia, and you and the others already know by now…this is a very difficult thing for me to speak of to you…due to you're years serving as the leader of the pirates' Dread Squadrons… but as the Captain of the ship, I have a responsibility to the safety and well being of the crew, and therefore have to make very important decisions.”

She then faced Duero and Dylan. “Doctors, what is you're opinion on this matter?”

Both the new healers of the Nirvana nodded and Duero spoke to Meia. “Both Dylan and I are sorry to say this, but as the acting physicians of the Nirvana, both of us have to declare you psychologically unfit for any more ground missions that involve the Vanguards. Thus it is our duty, sad as it is to ground you from any Vanguard related missions.”

Naturally Meia didn't take that very well.

“What nonsense are you talking about?!” Meia said in anger as she glared at both Duero and Dylan. “I happen to be the leader of all combat operations on this ship, you both have no authority on me or my position. What gives both of you the right to say what I can do or not?!”

“Both of them happen to be the doctors of this ship.” Magno said with a stern expression and tone telling the young woman to sit down and listen to what they had to say.

Meia sat down but was adamant in speaking.

“You can't be seriously agreeing to this Captain! Both of them have no authority on this ship and they are just men!”

“It doesn't matter now whether they are men or not Meia, what matters is that I very much agree with their statements. I have already stated this once, and I will state it now to make it clear, I have already officially placed them as part of the crew of this ship, along with Brandon and his brothers until this voyage is over…both their observations, and Brandon's words in the bridge before has convinced me of something I have suspected about you for a very long time now.”

“Don't tell me you believe that I have a condition that makes me unable to pilot a Vanguard, which is a lie! I am just suffering from fatigue!”

Dylan shook his head. “You suffered increased heart rate, increased breathing to the point of hyperventilation, you were agitated, had high blood pressure, you were indecisive and when you were on that planet…you were in a state of catatonic shock. These symptoms were also present in you during the Vanguard training simulators. We did not mention it before due to the fact that this would not sit well with the crew. But due to what had happened, we now state that you have claustrophobia, this is a dangerous situation when in the confines of the Vanguard due to the fact that you cannot stand closed spaces and you froze in the Vanguard's cockpit.”

“That's nothing but nonsense and I won't stand for it!” Meia replied. “I handle a Dread better than any of the other pilots in this ship! What makes you think I have trouble with a Vanguard?!”

“You're combat records in both the simulators and the real thing are proof of that fact Meia Gisborn.” Duero answered. “You don't have the symptoms in a Dread due to the fact that unlike a Vanguard's cockpit, a Dread's is more spacious, thus you are more comfortable in a Dread.”

“Both of them have very valid points Meia.” Magno said solemnly.

Meia was completely shocked.

“Captain…you can't be seriously agreeing with them…they…are…men!!!”

“I know they are men Meia, but they happen to have more medical training and as far as I have seen in their treatment of you're fellow pirates, are very capable doctors. Magno replied firmly. “And they have brought up very valid points…along with Brandon's own arguments. You're fear of closed spaces had not only put you at risk, but you're fellow pirates as well. Brandon and his siblings stayed behind to save you're life as you recall. He was angry at you because he already knew about you're symptoms and tried to reason with us and you to keep you out of the mission, and you went down there anyway, and put the whole landing party at risk.”

Meia fumed and glared once more at the men, but her anger was directed at Brandon most of all as she recalled how he rescued her and what happened afterwards, and now these doctors were telling her that she was not capable of piloting a Vanguard! These men had done nothing but make a mess of things! Why don't they mind their own business?! Things were a lot better off before they ever came on this ship and became part of the crew!

Magno noted Meia's reactions and replied. “Meia, we are not here to turn against you, you are no doubt a great Dread pilot and a outstanding leader, none of us here contest that, we are doing this because we are concerned with you're well being and that of the crew. That is why you are still the commander of the Dread Squadrons and nothing will change that, however, we have agreed that you will not be part of anymore Vanguard operations should it happen again. Do you understand?”

Meia was silent as she listened to the words the Captain spoke of and then replied. “I understand…I know I won't win this argument so that's all right by me. But this will be the only time we will be using the Vanguards.”

Magno and Buzam looked at her and sighed. What they would say next would certainly not sit well with Meia.

“That is still up for debate Meia…but yes, we will not use the Vanguards…however we will be needing a ground team to do any needed planetary explorations…and as such…we are placing Brandon and his siblings to be in charge of such operations from now on, due to their skills in ground warfare and their Zoids. It is up to him and his brothers if they are willing to train others to accompany them on such missions or they go by themselves…due to their skills and team-work.”

Meia looked at both women with shock once more.

“What did you say?! You're putting HIM and his siblings in charge of ground operations?!”

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

In the men's section…

“Captain…let me see if I get this right…you want me and my siblings to be in charge of any ground operations for the ship?!”

Brandon had managed to rein in his temper just a few minutes before, but now he was in shock at the blow handed to him and his brothers by the Captain.

“Yes…that's very much the long and short end of it. You will also have authority to train a small group of my crew to help you any operational requirements should you accept the job.”

“Why us?” Brandon asked bluntly.

“You three are about the best pilots in ground operations, you specialize in various fields with you're Ligers and their respective CAS. But you specialize in close quarters combat, and area of skill none of my crew know about when it involves machines…even Barnette who is capable as a Vanguard pilot along with Jura don't have the training and overall experience you have…and you all care for others, I can find no other…women, no, let me change that, men for the job.”

Brandon pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the Captain's image.

“Captain…I understand the situation and I see the need for such things, and I know how to lead a group, having been an officer. But are you absolutely sure that this will sit well with you're crew? Even if they already know we are not from Tarak, they still think that the rules of their…you're world towards men apply to us…what makes you so sure that they would follow our orders if we do decide to take the job?”

“They are a good crew…and are like my…daughters to me. They know that it needs to be done…but that will only happen if you are willing to train them in using Vanguards, though I suspect you're skills are more into Zoid Combat than Vanguard Combat.”

Brandon thought about it and looked at his brothers, Scott nodded and spoke.

“We could certainly do a lot to help them out…I don't see why we can't, plus we do have quite a supply of other tools with us…I think it's time we put them into use.”

“Lance?”

The younger brother nodded as well.

“Let's do that.”

Brandon looked down in thought at his brother's decisions and replied.

“We'll take the job.”

“Thank you.”

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

A while later…

Brandon left his room and walked around a bit, after making the decision and laying down some ground rules for the ground squadron. He then chatted with the elderly woman and decided to apologize for his display of anger since he knew that it was not a help to their current situation and the fragile peace between the men and women. Magno accepted his apology and then told him that maybe…just for today he could do the same for Meia, at first he protested, but Magno told him that Meia had some history and that was why she was like that, and he agreed, though a bit reluctantly. He made his way to the Hanger and then spotted Meia brooding near her Dread. He would have been able to sneak to her…but decided to let her know he was in the area anyway.

Meia turned from her brooding and glared at Brandon.

“What do you want? Are you here to gloat on how much of a fool you made me look in front of the Captain?”

“No, I came here to think.”

“Yeah right! You came here to gloat about you being assigned as the leader of the ground operations unit and I can't be part of it. You must be real happy now aren't you?”

Brandon sighed. “Yeah, I was given the job and I accepted it, but I did not come here to gloat about it to you, nor did I come here to gloat abut making a fool of you. One I took the job because it is needed. And the second is that I never intended to make you a fool in front of anyone…doing that goes against everything my parents taught me.”

He then faced Meia and spoke calmly. “Regardless of this animosity, I know that in order for this voyage to be successful we have to work together, that includes me working with you Meia.”

Meia glared. “Let's get one thing straight! I don't want anything to do with you! I don't need anyone's help, namely from a man like you since you threatened me!”

“I see…I think that would be a loss…we did a good job defeating that Urchin like vessel when you're Dread combined with my Liger.”

“What?!”

“Neither of us could win easily against that thing even if we tried, I know you did and so did I in my own way. And about that incident…I apologize.”

“What?” Meia was shocked at that, recalling the words Brandon had said in anger.

“My brothers chose to stay with me to help you. I know that I can trust them as they trust me…we had only each other to rely on for the past five years here in this universe before we ever boarded this ship and joined you're crew. But they know that I can rely on myself and I am very much an independent minded person, I have fought my own battles alone and the things I have accomplished by my own hands make me who I am…and they are just as the same as me. I lost my anger at you and no doubt put you in a bad light, and I apologize for that, you did not deserve to be treated like a fool.”

He then walked away but turned and replied.

“However, I meant what I said earlier. But I will say this…you might not know it…but I do respect you Meia…not just as a pilot, but as a person and as a woman. I don't know how you would take this…but I find strong-minded and independent women to be very attractive.”

As Brandon left, Meia was stunned at what he had just said…namely about her being…attractive! That came from a man…she should consider that comment as a lie!

But why then did she feel this slight warmth in her heart?

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

To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

To all readers of ZoidDread, I apologize for the long delay in updates for the past few days. This is the current updates and I hope that you can wait for me to make more changes to this story. This will be interesting as things are going to be a bit different as we progress even further with the story. The mission that will be in this chapter will come up later so be patient as action will be heading your way soon.

Bye!

P.S

I have never done a Boy's Night Out myself, so I hope I get this right. Any suggestions? If so, you all know the drill, review, comment, or email.

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Greetings…I am going to work in this story as I put GunDread SEED The Second Stage on hold for this length of time and work on this story until I made enough chapters.

If anyone is expecting a quick romance between Brandon and Meia, then I'm sorry, but that will not happen like that. I want both of them to butt heads and personalities until they learn to respect one another, and build on from there, that makes it more realistic and enjoyable.

Yes…Brandon was very angry…but do not forget that before they came into the Nirvana, he only had his siblings as his family for the past five years that they had been spending to look for their mother. And he promised his father that he would not only take care of himself, but his brothers and their mother a well, and all three of them have been looking for her for over five years.

And he is a man of his word, so it can be understood that he feels very hostile to people who would threaten them. He feels even more angry since he stayed behind to rescue Meia and his brothers stayed behind, he knew they promised the same thing to their dad as he did, but he is the eldest and they are his siblings and he put their lives in danger to save Meia…and it didn't have to come to that had she not tried to go to the surface of the planet.

The couple idea of them is not gone though…I still intend to follow through with pairing them together, but there will be some rather rough situations with both of them at first.

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

Hi there…Scott here…looks like we're all going to be squadron leaders now.

Yeah…you think the women would mind piloting those Zoids we have?

Maybe…they might take to them better than Vanguards Lance…the only thing now is to train them on how to pilot the Zoids in the first place!

Looks like we got our work cut out for us…then time to get to work!

Come on guys…we've got some ladies to train.

Scott and Lance: Coming Big Brother!

Next on ZoidDread…Chapter 6 Combat Training!

See you on the battle-field!!

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As you can see…the Nirvana will now have it's own terrestrial strike force, being led by Brandon and his siblings…but they will not be Vanguards! As you would recall, Brandon and his brothers once possessed a Whale King transport Zoid that they used to travel and when it was now longer a viable transport, they moved what they could to a section of the Ikazuchi…which is now part of the Nirvana.

You're all about to see some other Zoids in action!!! And these will be piloted by the women!!!

On the next chapter…it will be a filler to show how the women will do once they learn that they will be piloting not Vanguards…but Zoids. How will they do I wonder?

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