Fan Fiction / Zoids Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ ZoidDread ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 14 )

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: I do not own Zoids or VanDread, and of the associated toys, media, characters, mecha, and others in either series.

Chapter 12

Betrayal

<“ ”>: Organoid language

< >: Thoughts

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

The Nirvana was currently cruising along the pathway of stars as they made their way towards Tarak and Megele. So far there had been no encounters with the Harvesters as of late and that was very much a good thing as the crew were taking it a bit easier, though they still kept a vigil just in case they were suddenly attacked when they least expected it.

However, things were pretty much different as a certain duo was busy raiding the refrigerator.

“All I need now are some carrots…hmmm, all right! I found them Mr. Alien!!!”

“Good…now could you explain to me why I'm you're pack mule today?”

Lance was currently balancing a number of boxes in his arms as he accompanied the redhead. He had been in the Zoid Hanger with his brothers doing routine maintenance when the redhead came towards him and asked his help on some sort of meal. He was somewhat surprised as to why Dita would ask for his help, as Dita was a great cook already. But being the gentleman that he was raised to be by his parents, he didn't ask too many questions and followed her to the kitchen supply room,

“I'm sorry, but I want to keep it a secret, I'll tell you later once it's over, okay?'

Dita wished she didn't have to hide the special occasion from her Mr. Alien, but she wanted to surprise her friend Paiway, today was the anniversary of their being friends and she wanted to make a wonderful meal for her young friend and to show that no matter how many times she was with Lance and his siblings, Paiway was always her friend…the problem was, she had to keep it a secret from her until the time was right to surprise Paiway.

“What are you two doing in here?”

Dita turned as she spotted none other than the nurse in question as Paiway looked at the two of them with very suspicious looks. She had hoped that the entrance of herself and Lance was not seen but it seemed that Paiway had spotted them.

“Um, I was just coming in here to cook something wonderful for lunch today. It doesn't concern you Pai, so please don't bother us.”

Paiway looked on with disappointment, but perked up quickly as she decided to ask if Dita still recalled what today was. In truth, Dita already knew, but she wanted to keep her actions a secret from her friend in order to make it a surprise for Paiway.

“Do you know what day it is today Dita?”

“Today? I think today is Thursday if I remember it right.”

“Anything else about today?”

“Hmm…sorry Paiway, I just can't seem to recall. Come Mr. Alien, we need to get to the kitchen to get the food ready!”

As Dita left the area, Lance groaned and followed her, all the while spoke in a very tired and slightly annoyed tone.

“All right, all right, but when we get there, you are telling me exactly what's all this about.”

The two left the area, leaving behind a saddened young girl.

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

In the Zoid Hanger…

Brandon and Scott were currently working with some brand new weapon designs for the Zoids and also spending some time making the proper modifications on their Zoids' weapon systems and get them back to operational status for any and all emergencies…recently, the brothers decided to test their battle strategies with each other and their fellow Zoid pilots. As the eldest brother finished the test results, he and his middle sibling decided to ride their Zoids for a minute and run some tests on them to see their performances.

“How's you're targeting systems Zarreke?”

Brandon asked his Zoid as he ran a calibration test on the weapon systems of his Zoid, namely in the long range to medium range weapons, being the Vulcan guns. Despite using a fast and high velocity style of combat, the elder brother knew how important it was to engage foes at a distance as well as his middle brother.

< “ Just about enough, though we might need to have higher grade ammunition very soon.”>

Scott also did the same with Rikera and the Zoid also told it's pilot, master, and friend that it's own ranged weapon systems were very much in the green and was ready for battle. Scott then spoke to his elder brother about another matter that should be addressed.

“Do you think that these new plans can be made by Parfet and her crew bro?”

Brandon shrugged his shoulders and replied to his brother's question.

“That's entirely up to them, they have more than enough to work with and we don't exactly have the time ourselves to design them, not with the Harvesters hounding us every chance they get. Besides, you know that only the other Zoids will be able to use them.”

“True…wait a minute…where's Lance?”

“He's supposed to be helping Dita out with something in the kitchen, don't know exactly what it is but it seems to me that the young redhead has got something as some sort of surprise for someone on the ship. Don't know who it is though.”

“Suppose we find out?”

“Right, not like we have a lot to do right now. Zarreke, power down for a bit and be ready just in case.”

< “I understand.”>

“Rikera…you know the drill.”

< “Understood…”>

Both Ultimate X Zoids powered down for a while and were still ready to reactivate just in case their masters needed their help. But for now, the Zoids felt that as soon as the trip was over, the brothers would find their own ship and go off to find their mother out there in the universe…the news that Zoids were seen on other worlds buoyed the spirits of the siblings as that meant that there were others from Zi…and it made it clear that their mother must be out there.

As they made their way to the kitchen, it was there that they spotted Dita and Lance moving towards the kitchen, and much to their amusement, they noted that it seemed that the redhead had chosen their younger brother as today's pack mule for whatever excursion she had done…which, according to the boxes their brother was carrying, had something to do with cooking.

The brothers were about to greet their little brother and his companion when they noted that their brother had missed a step and suddenly began to lose his balance and his grip on the boxes. They quickly tried to warn their brother, but they were too late as Lance fell through a door near him with a hard landing.

“LANCE!!!”

The brothers rushed to their brother and found him dazed but very much unharmed and that was a relief to the two of them. They then saw him shake his head and move to sit up a bit after his unexpected mistake with the food cartons and boxes.

“You okay little brother?”

Brandon asked Lance opened his eyes to look at the two of them. Lance groaned a bit and shook his head a bit more and replied.

“Apart from being a bit embarrassed for tripping, I'm just fine.”

It was then when they looked around the room, they found themselves looking at a room full of various costumes and disguises, they had never been to this part of the Nirvana before, and considering the sheer size of the ship, it was very much understandable that they were not able to see this place at all. However it was then that they noted that they were not the only ones in this place…as a certain costume wearing bridge member was staring at them with wide eyes…

And in her undergarments no less.

Celtic was busy changing her costumes when she heard the crash and naturally froze when the dust settled to allow her to spot Lance on the floor a bit gazed, and then the arrival of his elder siblings made her even more stunned…and now they were looking at her…in her bra and panties no less…so naturally she reacted…

And so were they as they tried to calm her down…

“Whoa…calm down! This was an accident!!! We didn't mean to…”

“PERVERTS!!!!”

SLAP!!!! (3x)

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

In the kitchen…

“Geez…we already said it was an accident…she didn't have to slap us…”

“Well….we can't really blame Celtic for going ballistic on us, we did see her in her undergarments and any normal woman would freak in that situation. Even if there was no way in the entire world we were doing it intentionally.”

Scott said to Lance as he, Brandon, and their little brother were in the kitchen, bearing the marks of Celtic's hands on their cheeks when the women just rushed up to them and slapped each of them really hard. The brothers moved away from her as the door closed and once more spoke apologies to Celtic as they left, hoping that the young woman would calm down.

“Celtic did that to you all?”

Dita inquired as she was busy cooking the food that she had brought along with her, and it was also there, before learning from the three brothers why they had red hand marks on their cheeks.

“Pretty much…we understand why she was really angry and why she reacted the way she did. I just hope she accepts the apology and doesn't blow the whole thing out of proportion. That's the last thing we need.”

Brandon replied as he touched the area that was still red and he commented to Dita about another thing as well.

“I got to admit though, Celtic hits pretty hard.”

“You said it.”

“Yeah, no kidding, that blow still stung.”

Dita nodded as she was still busy cooking the food and replied about Celtic…she knew that neither the brothers meant to do that and she knew that Celtic was her friend after all and she hoped that Celtic would forgive the aliens for the accident that happened between her and the three alien brothers.

“Don't worry, I'm sure Celtic has already forgotten that, she's not the type to carry grudges.”

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

Dita had no idea how wrong she was about that…

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

In the Harvester world…

“So will the weapons be enough to defeat the Ligers in combat along with their pilots?”

The Harvester leadership watched as the new weapons they had been able to make were being stored in the ship that had been sent out to face the Nirvana in the last known location it was sighted. They were very eager to see if their newly crafted weapons were enough to finally crush the pirates and their brand of defiance to their goal of the Harvest.

“They have proven to be more than capable in their own right in combat, and will be more than ready to defeat the Ligers, their weapons are more than enough for such things after all. The data that we were able to acquire will prove to be the key.”

The Harvesters looked once more as they were eager to see just how effective their newest toys were in the battle. It would be the final nail in the Nirvana's coffin as they knew that their own Zoids were more than ready to go toe to toe with the three Ligers and their CAS Armor. They had expended a great deal of effort and time to construct these behemoths and weeks of field testing, costing them not just precious resources…but time as well.

However, that certainly doesn't mean that everyone in their outfit was all agreeing with such a move.

“I am still unsure about this. The newly developed units are still in their test phases and while they are powerful, they are horrendously expensive and if there is the off chance they are defeated in combat, this could very well be a serious blow to our investments into their construction and programming.”

“It cannot be helped, with the situation as it is, we must silence the Nirvana and their Zoids as soon as we can, they may be in the test phases still, but they are more than ready for a fight when it boils down to that. How long before can engage the Nirvana?”

“At least several hours at most…the newly deployed fleet carrying our latest weapons will be entering the relay gate in an hour or so…once they do, they will be ready to inflict their true power on the Zoids the pirates have before them…namely their Ultimate X Ligers.”

“How goes the Melanos Harvest?”

“The fleet will be reaching their home planet in hours, we merely have to wait and receive the reports.”

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

Back on the Nirvana…

“This is so bloody unfair!”

Bart sulked in the Medical Bay as he sat on the bed while Duero and Dylan were busy working on some important research files, along with their usual work loads in the Medical Bay. The two friends had heard this all before and ignored Bart who continued to whine about how long it had been for them to be on the Nirvana…which by definition was also their ship.

“We've all been on this ship for nearly months now and I still don't get any form of respect!”

Back on Tarak, he had been a person of considerable rank and prestige, due to the that fact that he was the heir of the Garsus Foods Corporation, but here on the Nirvana, he was treated like he was nothing but dirt and taken little notice of by the crew. Never mind the fact that out of all of them, he was the only navigator and the only one capable of flying the ship and moving it about. Without him, the ship would do nothing but endlessly drift in space…but do the women even acknowledge that? No they didn't…the only men they seemed to respect were none other than the three Reinhart siblings.

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

In the newly established Harvester Fleet, that comprised of large numbers of Cube Fighters, Seed Ships, Space Urchins and one massive ship that resembled a sea cucumber…the newly developed weapons of the Harvester Council were kept in massive hangers and there were swarms of drones that resemble smaller Cube Fighters that were moving about around them and seemed to be helping in keeping them in good operational condition and also to keep their weapon systems in good shape. The machines were able to move a little, but were contained in the Hangers and they growled a bit as they were itching for a battle.

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

Back in the Nirvana's Medical Bay…

“So what should I do to get some decent respect around here?”

Duero and Dylan looked at one another and wondered just what they would be able to say to their Tarak comrade since they were hoping that he would focus more on doing his duties than worrying about his status in the ship. They understood Bart's frustration and the reason he felt very much frustrated at how he was treated and seen by the crew. So they decided to use a story to tell the Navigator on what he could try to get more recognition from the crew. Duero was naturally the one who told Bart the story…Bart listened and he had an idea in his head and nodded…showing he understood the idea of the story and got up to leave.

As Bart left the room, Dylan turned and faced his friend Duero.

“Are you sure that he got the meaning of the story Duero? For all we know, he might do something that could very well be considered…inappropriate.”

Duero thought about it and had to agree with Dylan that things might get out of hand if Bart took things the wrong way…which the blonde navigator was known to do on more than one occasion and that was the last thing they wanted to happen at this stage of the journey.

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

Later…at the kitchen…

“Okay…no wonder you were trying to keep our little foray in the storage room a secret.”

Lance said as he and his brothers were looking at Dita as she went on preparing her surprise meal for Paiway. She didn't like keeping secrets from her long-time friend and she hoped that by the time Paiway figured it out, then she could really surprise her best friend.

As she placed a few more touches to the meal, she decided to reach for the next thing to add to the cooking meal and that was onions. The brothers currently busied themselves with other matters, letting Dita cook the meal she intended to hand over to her best friend.

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

In the bridge…

Ezra, Belvedere, Amarone, Buzam, and Magno looked on in shock as they witnessed something that made them wish that they didn't let the person into the bridge. The elderly women could only gape and the silver haired woman stare as the person they and the others were all looking at was none other than Bart Garsus…while that normally wasn't a new thing…it was now since Bart was wearing a dress…and a long wig.

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

In one of the meeting halls…

Barnette, Jura, Meia, and several other members of the Nirvana crew were currently lounging about, taking the time to relax. Jura made a comment about things being quiet for a change, while Meia merely shrugged as she was reading an electronic PDA style book, along with them were members of the Zoid squadron, including their leaders, Kara, Mia, and Rin. They then looked to see Celtic moving into the room, while holding her giant bear costume…and since it was the first time they has seen her without the large and apparently uncomfortable costume, they made their surprise rather obvious.

“Well now…it's about time you decided to get out of that stuffy bear costume Celtic, what's the reason you've been wearing that stuffy thing anyway?”

Celtic however recalled what had happened to her and quickly explained exactly why she was always wearing the costume in the bridge when she was on duty.

“I was wearing so avoid the men! I don't want to be breathing the same air as them, let alone let any part of my body touch them!”

Kara shook her head and spoke.

“What's the big deal? They have been working with us for a long time now and they are not that bad…and they certainly don't act the way we used to hear about from back.”

“That's what you think!”

Celtic shot back as she recalled what had happened previously between her and the three Reinhart siblings…never mind the fact that neither of them intended to peep at her.

“Just a minute ago, three of them were peeping at me! They were Brandon, Scott, and Lance!”

This go the attention of several women as they began to have doubts about allowing the men onboard the ship…one particular woman began to see and opportunity for a chance at payback on her mind.

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

Meanwhile in the kitchen

Lance and the other Reinharts noticed that Dita's eyes were welling up with moisture. While they had nursed their injurie4s…the brothers let Dita do what she wanted to do at the moment

“Dita are you all right?"

“Is something wrong?"

“Why are you crying so suddenly?"

The three men stood forward and walked to Dita, hoping that she didn't accidentally cut herself.

“No, nothing's wrong. It's just these onions." Dita insisted as she wiped her eyes clear of the moisture. On the counter were some diced onions. Apparently chopping the onions had caused Dita to shed tears. However, the men and the Dread pilot weren't aware that they were being watched.

**********

A few minutes before…

Paiway had been feeling a bit left out, ever since Dita had been spending more time with Lance and the other Reinharts, and less time with her. Before they had encountered the men, she and Dita had been the closest of friends and the young apprentice nurse had always been by her side. Today was supposed to be their special time together, since today was the anniversary that she and Dita had joined up with the pirates. Apparently, Dita had forgotten about it all. All she seemed to care about was her time with Mr. Alien, and his brothers.

She decided to go and look for her best friend, but as soon as she got to the galley, she saw something that made her temper boil. There was Dita, crying while she was facing Brandon, Scott, and Lance! Before she even had time to think the reason for this, she whipped out her mini camcorder and recorded the whole scene, without even saying her trademarked phrase ' Pai Check!'

Just as Brandon and the others along with Dita noticed her, she quickly rushed out of the galley and down the hall.

Brandon and his two brothers looked at where Paiway had disappeared, and then Lance addressed Dita. “What was that all about?"

“I don't know." The redhead replied as she went back to rubbing her eyes. “Wow, these onions are really strong!"

Lance strode forward.

“Here, let me help you out."

He took the knife, and with such speed and flawless accuracy cut the onions, that there was no time for tears.

“Wow! That was so amazing Mr. Alien! You have got to teach me how to do that!"

“Oh, it's easy…just made sure not to be too close to the onions when you cut them and don't wipe your hands on your face either…the liquid from the onions are the ones that make the eyes water."

**********

Back at the recreation hall…

“I'm telling you that we shouldn't allow those men to move around so freely!" Celtic said with a strong amount of resolution.

“Oh, what's the big deal about it?" Meia commented. She had spent her time listening to the other girls as the debate about the men began to heat up slowly. “So they saw you in your underwear. I'm sure that they had not meant to do that. That's nothing to be so uptight about, Celtic."

“How would you feel if they saw YOU in you bra and panties!?" Celtic shot back in answer.

Meia's cheeks blushed up a bit as she had an image of herself in her underwear in front of Jin, never mind the others. She shook her head clear of that thought and replied. “Still, you're blowing this small incident way out of proportion. I'm positive that…"

“Celtic's right!" Paiway exclaimed as she entered the hall. Everyone turned to her as she turned on a monitor and slipped in a video disk. “Men are vile! Look at this!" She said as she displayed what she had recorded earlier. “See? Those men made Dita cry!"

The video elicited a number of gasps among the women, as those females who were still unsure of the men, immediately began to take sides.

“How horrible!"

“That's totally unforgivable!"

“You and Dita were the best of friends until those MEN showed up, namely that young one!"

“They all should be punished!"

Meia shook her head again as she then got up from her seat and tried her best to diffuse the situation before it got worse. Now wasn't the time for this sort of thing to happen, with the aliens soon to be stepping up their attacks. Besides…there was no way Lance would willingly hurt Dita of all people, she could tell that the two had gotten along better than they had done in the past.

“Now hold on a moment here! Let's not go out and make conclusions here!"

“Men are nothing but scum!"

“We should have kept the lot of them locked up!"

“Why did we ever take them onboard in the first place?"

The Dread leader raised her hands up in and effort to quell the dissent among the crew and try to make some sense of what the video did not show. The last thing she wanted was for the crew to overreact without getting all the details right on what exactly had happened.

“Settle down and think this over! This isn't going to get us anywhere fast!"

It was then that Barnette sensed this to be the perfect chance she had been waiting for. Her hostility against Brandon, Scott, and Lance, along with the other men in general had never wavered since the journey had begun and now, to her, it was now time for payback for all those times, the Sorcerer-Knights had showed her up. “You're right about that Meia. Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

Meia sighed in relief. “Well, I'm happy to know someone's listening to reason…"

“It's time to take action!"

“What?"

Barnette then began to rally to women who were against the males. “Listen up, everyone! The men onboard this ship have not been under control for too long and I say that the time has come to put a stop to this!"

“YEAH!" several girls shouted in unison.

“Are we going to let the men do as they please?"

“NO!"

 

“I say that we throw all of them back into the brig where they really belong! This is a female ship and the men have no place on it, right?"

“YEAH!"

Meia developed a rather large sweatdrop. She wondered how all this grew out of control in such an instant. She wasn't the only one. Several members of Zoid pilots who were under the brothers' command, including their commanding officers Kara, Mia, and Rin didn't agree with Barnette's plans.

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

At the bridge…

“What? There's a mutiny?" Magno exclaimed when she had received news from Dita.

BC's brows furrowed when she heard the news. Why did this thing happen now? The Nirvana was halfway back to Megele and Talark space and the last thing needed onboard was a breakdown in the ranks of the pilots. “What's caused all this Dita?"

Dita then gave the captain and the commander an abridged version of the events that triggered the whole mess. BC looked on, totally confused by what she and the captain heard. “They started a mutiny, all because of that?"

However, some of the bridge crew, namely Belvedere and Amarone who were monitoring the communications, began to take sides quickly.

“I always knew that men were nothing but trouble!"

“They all should be thrown back in the brig!"

“Who needs men anyway?"

“Oh my! Why are they all so angry with Jin, Tanaki, and Kazuki?" Ezra exclaimed.

“They didn't do anything wrong."

Magno developed a large sweatdrop as she watched the events unfold. Things were rapidly getting out of hand.

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

Back at the galley…

“Perfect! Paiway will be so happy when she tries this meal!" Dita said as she clasped her hands and looked down at her handiwork. With the help of Lance and his elder siblings, she had prepared a special anniversary meal for her best friend to celebrate her first year with the pirates.

“I bet she will be happy to have that for a surprise."

Lance commented, but immediately turned with Brandon and Scott, as their combined danger senses were on high alert as the kitchen doors opened to reveal several members of the crew wearing full space suits and aiming blasters… at them. In the leading position of the group was Barnette, who was aiming an old style handgun.

“DON'T ANY OF YOU MALES MOVE!" She commanded.

“Uh… what are you getting at?" Scott asked, stepping forward, along with Brandon and Lance. They were not sure what was going on but their military trained senses were on full alert…their minds already calculating the risks and avenues of escape and evasion.

“What's going on here?" Dita asked. She didn't like the looks they others were giving Mr. Alien and his friends.

“What's going on here, Dita, is that we're going to put all the men where they really belong… in the brig!"

“What the heck for? We haven't done anything wrong."

Lance said, totally confused as to why this was happening. Then a thought clicked into his mind.

“Look, if it's about what happened before this morning, we can explain…"

“Don't you hand us any excuses, you perverts!"

Barnette said while gesturing with her handgun. “All men are the enemy and they all should be in the brig being the enemy!!"

“Now hold it right there Barnette! We don't know just what the HELL has gotten the hold of all of you, but I can tell you all that we're NOT the enemy here!" Kazuki said with conviction.

“Save your excuses!" Another girl cried out. “We all saw how vile you men really are! You all made Dita cry!"

“No they didn't!" Dita said as she pointed to the dish on the table. “I was cutting onions for the anniversary meal for Paiway, and the odors of the onions made me cry, not the good aliens. In fact they helped me make this meal for Pai!"

Behind Barnette, Paiway gasped as she now realized that she made an impulsive and rash error. She suddenly had the urge to find the largest rock to hide under. However, Barnette wasn't going to back down on her stance and plans for payback.

“There's no point in protecting these scum, Dita! They're all men, and all men are the enemy!"

She then gestured to Brandon, Scott, and Lance.

“Now you three either come quietly or…"

She trailed off, letting the three men fill in the blanks.

The three brothers looked at the women before them and frowned…they could tell that this was a heat of the moment decision and they looked at Paiway who was frightened due to the glares they gave her…however…they couldn't fault her for her actions…but Barnette on the other hand was a different matter…they could see that she was totally adamant in the whole affair and there was no way to try and reason with any of them at this point and time…however…they were not without plans

“I see that there's no way for me and my friends to try to talk some sense into any of you, is there now?"

Brandon said in a deadly tone, as he and his brothers went into battle-stances, Lance then gently motioned for Dita to stand aside. The three of them then changed… gone was their normal friendly and simple looks, they were now wearing their battle looks, grim, deadly and defiant.

“However, if you really think that we'll go to the brig for a crime that we had never committed… then you're all sadly mistaken, Barnette, if you or any of your little lynch mob want us, then you'll have to come here and get us. We're not going to go down that easily."

Brandon said in a tone showing that he wasn't going to give either mercy or quarter.

Barnette snorted as she motioned for the crowd to train their laser blasters at the three Zoid pilots. However, she then noticed that several of them weren't obeying her commands. She saw that the Zoid squadron pilots and a few of the Register girls were actually frowning at her, not at Brandon, Scott, and Lance

“What's the matter with you all? Are you all afraid of three men? Go get them!"

One of the girls sheepishly replied, while she tried not to show her uneasiness at the dark gazes they were all receiving from the three men.

"Well… it's not that we're totally afraid, Barnette. At least… not entirely. It's just that… well; they all have done so much for all of us. I mean Brandon's saved Meia's life at least several times and they all got us out of that really tight ambush back at that asteroid field, especially Lance since he came up with the plan. Then, they all cooked those wonderful Christmas dishes for all of us…"

“They… are the commanders of the Zoid Squadrons."

Kara stated, and Mia and Rin nodded.

Several members of the Angel Squadron nodded in agreement with their second in command. They all had grown to respect and trust their commanders. They were harsh taskmasters when it came to their training sessions, but they were all fair, and they never placed any of them in danger and into any hardship that they themselves couldn't handle. Not only that, they had to admit that, if it hadn't been for Brandon, Scott, and Lance, they would have never become an elite part of the defense of the Nirvana, namely for ground missions.

Brandon and his two siblings felt themselves smile at the loyalty being showed to them, even so, this made things more difficult and painful for them as they addressed those who still believed in them.

“We appreciate your faith in us, we all do. But, from the looks of things, the majority seems to be totally bent on disposing us, so it would be in the best interests of everyone involved, that my brothers and I will leave for a while so you all can cool down and think this whole mess through. "

The three of them took one step forward, but Barnette then blocked their paths while pointing the muzzle of her handgun at Brandon's face.

“HOLD IT! You three aren't going anywhere but to the brig!"

The other women who still were on Barnette's side aimed their blasters. But Barnette had made a horrible error in that moment when she threatened the three siblings. She had forgotten that all three brothers had psychic links to their Zoids and the Zoids would react quite badly to any attempt at harming their masters.

And sure enough…three loud metallic roars reverberated all throughout the Nirvana and warnings were heard all over the place.

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

In the bridge…

“What the heck is going on?!”

Magno asked as she tried to recover her wits when the massive roars were heard…the beastly roars had chilled her blood and just about everyone else in the Nirvana at the rage that seemed to fill the very air when those roars were heard. It didn't take long for her and the bridge crew including Buzam to get their answers.

“This is Parfait here in the Hanger Bay! The Ligers have activated and are roaring and going berserk for some reason…they are arming up their power systems and appear to be getting ready to fight!!!”

Buzam gulped and knew what that meant…and so did Magno…they both knew that since the Zoids were living machines that had a unique tie to their respective masters and pilots, they would sense if their masters were in danger and she recalled how they reacted when the crew had threatened them with weapons before.

“Get me in touch with the crew now!”

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

Back in the kitchen…

The roars had frightened the group with Barnette greatly and they panicked and even Barnette…forgetting her plans directed her attention away from the three siblings…that was enough time for the brothers to quickly react and attack.

The three brothers quickly moved forward, before Barnette and the others under her command could react. Their respective weapons were suddenly pulled away from them and they were now disarmed, and when they looked…they were shocked. Brandon aimed Barnette's hand gun right at her face, while Scott and Lance held two laser rifles and the rest were already too far away for the women to reach in time. Brandon gave a deep and rather unfriendly smile.

“Now who's the one who's going to the brig?"

Barnette's eyes widened as she saw the weapon she had in Brandon's hands…it had been taken out of her hand so quickly she had no time to sense or react to the removal…having been distracted by the roars of the Ligers.

The other women gasped as they also realized that they were now weapon-less and while their suits did have built in lasers…their laser rifles were mow powerful and were rather lethal at the range they were in

But before things could get out of hand and the Zoids would start rampaging inside the Hanger Bay…Magno's voice and face appeared in the COM system.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!!! EVERYONE IN THE NIRVANA STAND DOWN!!!”

The three brothers never glanced at Magno's face…showing their full focus on Barnette and her little posse. The elderly woman then spoke to the three brothers as diplomatically as she could.

“Brandon, Scott, Lance…please call off your Zoids…”

The three men didn't respond and then briefly blinked…but in that moment…the roars and the sounds of loud metallic footsteps which were heard all over the place suddenly ceased and it seemed that the Zoids had calmed down…it didn't take long for Parfait to relay the good news that Rikera, Zarreke, and Kail were now calm and not enraged…and just in time as well…the three Ligers had powered up their weapons and armor and were ready to fight.

Brandon then spoke to Barnette coldly.

“Let's make one thing clear…my brothers stopped our Zoids because there are good people here on this ship…don't make the mistake of trying this again.”

Barnette merely glared back at them.

Magno nodded and spoke sternly.

“I want everyone involved in this mutiny to report to me in the Conference Room immediately.”

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

Later…

Magno sighed and spoke to the people before her…

“I can't believe that this would happen in all my years of being Captain…all because of a misunderstanding…”

Before her and Buzam were the three Reinhart siblings…Dita, Jura, Meia, Barnette, Paiway, Kara, Mia, and Rin, along with several other members of the Beast Squadron, and those who sided with Barnette…Buzam sighed looked at Barnette and spoke sternly.

“Barnette…would you explain why you were willing to jeopardize the entire ship through a misunderstanding? You know full well how the Ligers would react if any harm came to their pilots…it was both foolish and dangerous trying to threaten Brandon and his brothers…what would have happened if you had gone too far and the three Ligers would have gone hostile on us?”

“But Commander, they have always been causing trouble here on the ship, and we've let them have free reign for far too long! They're supposed to be prisoners for Grandma's sake!”

Magno replied.

“Need I remind you Barnette that neither are Brandon and his siblings are from Tarak, our home world's rules towards men do NOT apply to them, and I have given my consent to have them as part of this crew? And as far as I have seen and heard…the three brothers who you are after have NOT caused any trouble worthy of this lynching.”

Barnette gritted her teeth at this and was about to speak before Brandon spoke.

“Permission to speak Captain Magno?”

Barnette was about to retort when she was silenced by a glare from Buzam and Magno nodded to Brandon.

“Go ahead Brandon.”

“My brothers and I have decided to take a leave of absence from the Nirvana until things here settle down. If we remain here and things have not settled down…then it will be a very dangerous mess to deal with. Until heads cool off and some semblance of order is returned to the ship, we can't remain here…”

Meia, Jura, Dita, Kara, Rin, and Mia looked at the three brothers with shock…they were willing to leave the Nirvana?!

“You all don't have to leave Brandon…you all can remain on the ship until this issue has been resolved peacefully and things are worked out.”

“We're aware of that Captain…but after this event…we're not going to chance a possible schism in the ranks of your crew by remaining here. Once things have calmed down and things have been worked out, then we'll come back and take care of things…we can't have the Harvesters catch us like this at the moment…the sooner these issues are resolved…then all the better for all of us.”

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

Later…

In the bridge…

“Captain, the Ligers have all arrived at the Launch Catapult and have activated their launch protocols and are now leaving the Zoid Hanger!"

Magno sighed as she contacted Brandon and his brothers as soon as they were on the screen she tried once more to plead with them to remain for the time being.

“Brandon…you and your brothers don't have to leave now…this can be solved and we need you here…”

“I know…but this is a matter that has to be solved soon…just make sure that Duero, Dylan, and Bart are unharmed and fairly treated until the situation is resolved Captain…we'll be right back there once things have calmed down.”

“So there's nothing I can do to convince you three to stay for now?”

“Don't worry…we'll be around.”

With that the three brothers took off from the Nirvana for the time being…allowing the women to try and sort things out for themselves on where they stood in this whole men are the enemy mess. They decided to go on ahead and merely explore for the time being…but before they left the Nirvana…the eldest of the brothers decided to let Kara, Mia, and Rin to take command of the Zoid pilots until they came back to handle this mess.

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

Some time later…

Brandon sighed as he and his brothers were currently moving about in deep space in their Ligers through the unending tapestry of stars as they sped towards… nothing and nowhere. They never realized just how lonely it was to travel space, until now. Their previous journeys were all covered in battles, constantly moving from place to place, and none of them ever formed any relationships that were long term. But now…

The three siblings couldn't help but think about the fun times they had with the crew of the Nirvana.

Brandon missed trading word barbs with Meia and being in her company even when they would be arguing with one another about one thing or another, along with playing cards with Gascogne…along with chatting with Parfait on occasion and hanging out with the men of Tarak…heck he'd even chat with Bart if for a moment.

Scott missed being in the Nirvana…and despite his still existing uncertainty…he found himself missing the rather amorous actions of one certain blonde Dread pilot and also being with her…Jura was attractive after all and if things were not so delicate…he, well for the time being he put that aside. He also missed having the usual card games with Gascogne and wondered just how she was handling the whole thing.

Lance missed Dita and wondered how the perky redhead was doing at this very moment when they had left the Nirvana on this trip. He hoped that she was going to be all right when they did get back as soon as things settled down around the Nirvana at the moment. Things between him and Dita had gotten better over the weeks and he didn't want that to all had been for nothing.

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

Back at the Nirvana…

Magno sighed as she listened into the newest reports from BC about the rest of the crew at the moment. The Nirvana was currently divided into three factions…one was with Barnette on the fact that the men were the enemy and they wanted the men under lock and key for the time being and were composed of several groups of Dread pilots and some of the security and Register crew who were not all that keen on having men onboard.

The other faction comprised of Kara, Mia, and Rin, along with the whole of the Zoid Squadron pilots, and others who had gone to see men as valuable members of the crew and that placing them in prison was a mistake…namely the Reinhart siblings. The Zoid pilots were supported by several of the Dread pilots who owed their lives to the Reinharts', others from the Register crew and several of the security….so it was even at the moment.

The other faction wasn't really a faction at the moment…Parfait and her crews were not keen on taking sides and focused on running the ship. The elderly Captain sighed at all this and wondered at how this would turn out. She had put her foot down when it counted and halted the mutiny before it went too far and had the two larger groups try and sort things out peacefully and the men who were left on the Nirvana were not harmed but were under her protection at the moment and were in their quarters at the time being.

But the mutiny…despite being halted before it got out of hand had already left it's mark on the ship…with Bart under house arrest so to speak…there was no way to steer or guide the ship. The Navigation Well had adapted to Bart specifically and would not accept anyone else to be inside of it…some volunteers from either group who tried to use the Navigation Well were rejected or were thrown out rather roughly by the system. Parfait was asked to find an alternate means of piloting the ship.

With Duero and Dylan in house arrest as well…medical treatment was not the same anymore as Paiway found herself swamped with the two Tarak men's patients…she found herself overwhelmed as she tried to measure up her treatment to the same methods of treatment the two medics gave when they served as the doctors on the Nirvana. And the young girl found herself wishing that this whole mess had not happened and that she should have been more careful in her antics.

The elderly woman sighed as she was counting on the small blessing that no violent actions had been taken and thankfully the discussions had been civil for the time being. She made it clear that there would be no violence towards the men and each other until the issues were worked out by those on either side of the argument. The whole Nirvana crew were like a family to the elderly woman and she wanted them to decide for themselves on this matter and she hoped that when this died down…they would all see reason and work together with the men…their survival depended greatly on them working with one another.

She looked to the stars and hoped that Brandon and his siblings were all right and she hoped that when things were settled down…they would be contacted to come back to the ship.

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

Back in deep space…

“You think they've calmed down yet?”

Lance asked his siblings through the communication systems in Kail as his Liger was currently in it's CAS armor…while Rikera and Zarreke were in their own respective armor systems. The three had wandered for at least three standard hours now and they had lost their signal to the Nirvana's comm. grid…but they were not worried at the moment as they knew how to get back.

“Not really sure bro…but we'll find out soon enough when we get into contact with them…but let's let them cool off for a while.”

Scott replied as he scanned the area with Brandon in the lead.

“I can't believe Barnette! What the hell crawled up her ass all of a sudden?!”

Lance swore as he was not happy with the whole mutiny thing that had happened a few hours ago…they had done a lot for the crew of the Nirvana and this was how Barnette repaid them…by treating them like they were the enemy…after all that they had done…it made his blood boil in rage at how that woman acted…all because of a misunderstanding and getting a large portion of the Nirvana's female crew to act this way!

“Easy Lance…letting your temper get the best of you is not going to help…after all there was a chance that sooner or later…something bad would happen and today was the day…like Mom said…no sense crying over spilled milk now that it's spilled.”

Lance growled a bit and sighed as he calmed himself and looked as his brother Scott.

“Yeah…I know…but it certainly is not going to be easy to forget…that woman really needs to get her act straight…”

However…it was then that their Ligers suddenly moved out of the way…making them loose control of their comrades…however, they were not angered as they knew that their Ligers' senses were far better than their own and they saw energy beams come right at them from the void of space.

Zarreke and his Liger Organoid comrades roared and tensed themselves…as they and their pilots got ready to face the latest attackers….and soon enough…the ships came to view and they were surprised…

And for good reason…the ships were of an unknown design and class and seemed to be quite different from the ships that they had seen…and from the shape of the ships before them…they were clearly neither Tarak nor Megele nor even Harvester of origin and design. There were smaller ships and larger ones…all telling the three brothers that before them was a rather large fleet and they spotted the fighters and they were certainly not those of the Harvesters…they were not Cube Fighters and unlike the Harvester units that came from a Seed Ship…these fighters came out from the ships themselves.

“Who the heck?!”

“They certainly are not Harvesters that's for sure…”

“Keep cool guys…let's not do anything rash.”

Brandon spoke and it was then that Zarreke spoke to him via telepathic link.

<”I'm picking up an incoming communiqué from what appears to be the fleet's flagship. And I can tell that it's not matching the signal frequency used by the Harvesters.”>

“Have you translated it Zarreke?”

<“Yes…and so have Rikera and Kail…we're translating it now to the speakers and communication systems.”>

And sure enough the three brothers were now bale to hear the voices of their new arrivals in this sector of space and it was then that they were able to hear a human voice…and it was certainly great to hear another person's voice…even if the tone and words were that of a rather serious person…quite possibly a high ranking military official and also a man.

“Attention unknown forces…we are the Melanos Anti-Earth Defense Fleet. From which planet do you all come from?”

The brothers were surprised and Brandon decided to speak for his brothers.

“You've got a lot of guts….asking that kind of question AFTER trying to blow us out of the damn universe and into atoms.”

“Tell me…do you and your fellow soldiers work for the Harvesters?”

That question was more than enough to get a rather violent reaction from the three Zoid pilots as Lance wasted no time and activated his communications and tapped into the com-link frequency of the officer and the youngest of the siblings let it all out.

“DO WE LOOK LIKE A BAND OF FREAKING CUBE FIGHTERS TO YOU?! Listen here! We've just been forced to abandon the place we had been calling home for the last few months all because of a blasted misunderstanding that was blown WAY out of proportion!!! And then you tried to turn us into wrecks BEFORE even getting a visual confirmation if we WERE Harvesters!!! We've been fighting those bastards for the last few months and we've seen what they do to other human worlds and you have the gall to think we're with them!!!!”

Lance was fuming mad and so were his siblings but Scott quickly calmed Lance down with a few words.

“Easy little brother…keep your cool.”

Brandon was calmer now and spoke.

“Listen sir…we're not with the Harvesters and we're not the enemy…so what are you going to do now? You've got two choices…either accept the fact that we're not with the Harvesters and we're on the good guys side…or shoot at us and you'll be in for a hell of a fight.”

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

Later…

“You have to apologize us for our rather hasty and unprovoked response…we've been at war with the Harvesters for quite some time now and with them cutting off communications with other civilizations for a long time we had no idea who was on the side of the human race and who was on their side.”

The three brothers looked about the command bridge of the ship and faced the bridge crew and the apparent Captain and his officers…the one thing that struck the three siblings was the fact that the crew were both men and women and unlike the women back on the Nirvana the crew before them at the moment seemed to be very much familiar and comfortable with each other…just like the crews they had encountered both in their home world and within the other worlds that they had visited in their travels…it did their hearts good to see co-gender cooperation and trust for once…not that the Nirvana was always against them of course.

Brandon nodded and Lance replied.

“That's all right…and I am sorry for acting like that before you sir…it was uncalled for.”

“That's all right young man…you had every right to be angry…My name is Derrick…Captain Derrick Holbrooke of the Melanos command cruiser Bastion…and you are?”

“My name is Lance…Lance Reinhart and these are my older brothers Brandon and Scott Reinhart.”

The Captain looked at them with some surprise and saw the same features in the three men in various degrees and he had to admit that they were certainly an interesting bunch and were truly siblings in many ways. He however knew that while it was good for him and his crews to finally meet fellow humans after such a long time of having no communications with any other humans that were part of the ancestral fleet, there was a matter at hand that he had to deal with.

“It's a pleasure to be meeting you all…but as much as I am happy to meet fellow human beings, I have to be ready for the soon to come Harvester forces heading our way.”

That got the attention of the brothers and Brandon spoke for himself and his brothers. These were fellow human beings and having fought the Harvesters, they knew what the score was at the moment…if they were going to face a Harvester force soon…they were going to do what they could to help…but that was when Scott had a thought and the middle brother spoke.

“By the way Captain…have you ever encountered other Zoids like ours?”

“Excuse me…what are Zoids?”

“That's the name our combat units have…as you can see, we pilot machines that are modeled after animals and each has unique abilities and functions…there are others like our Zoids…though ours are rather unique for a reason we can't tell you yet…but it is very important to us if you have any information at all.”

The captain thought about it and then punched up his console and looked through the military database of his world's archives and he searched carefully and saw the looks of anxiety and hope in the brothers…making him very much aware that whatever data he could give them was very much appreciated and he finally found a file that had mention of such animal like machines.

“Yes we have….apparently there were reports from one of our patrol ships that they had encountered what appeared to be a rather large ship that was in the area…they were greeted by a black, gold, navy blue and silver cat like machine that they had no idea about…before they fired…they were given an SOS signal from the machine and when they guided the machine into their Hanger Bay, they met a woman who asked for help with supplies and equipment…the military forces detained her for a few days and when she was shown to not be a threat she was given supplies for her ship and she left the system…this report was two to three months old…before the Harvesters began to attack us so it was placed away.”

The brothers were quickly interested by the news and Brandon spoke…hoping against hope that what they had heard was good news…namely news about their mother…but he kept calm and as soon as he was assured that there was nothing else...he tentatively asked the Captain the question he had asked so many times but never got the answer he and his siblings had hoped for.

“Is there any record on the woman's name Captain?”

“Yes…her name is…Mara…Mara Reinhart…the same last name you three have…do you know her?”

The news floored the siblings as they realized what that meant…they were unable to speak for a few minutes and then they looked at each other and to the shock of the bridge crew…the three brothers began to laugh…laugh and cry…they broke down and they were shouting in utter joy and hugging each other.

“SHE'S ALIVE!!!”

“OH GOD….AFTER SO LONG…”

“YES!!!!!”

“THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!”

The bridge crew looked on and the three brothers were still in high spirits at the news…it seemed that the news of this Mara person had been something like a miracle to the three brothers…Brandon managed to wipe the tears of joy from his face and he coughed a bit and decided to explain.

“We…we know her very well Captain…she's our mother…we've been searching for her for nearly five whole years. Please…where did she go? Do you have any idea?”

Later…

The brothers were still elated and ecstatic…even more so since they had now been able to plot their mother's course from the data that the Captain and provided them. The Captain gave a smile as Brandon explained things to them and while he and his crew were stunned that he and his brothers were from another dimension…it didn't take long for them prove to them that they were telling the truth. The data they had been given by the Melanos crew and their use of the data that they themselves had on hand had allowed them to finally get a bearing on where their mother's path was…and it amazed them greatly…

She was heading for the system where Talark and Megele were located…and it would take at least another five to eight months for her to arrive due to the need to repair and re-supply her ship as apparently like them…their mother had found ways to gather supplies and other needed things by working…and no doubt had saved enough money to purchase a ship to help her travel…that told them that she had no doubt had to salvage what she could and either dump or sell the rest of the parts. The data from the people of Melanos was months old…but it did their hearts good to know that they were going to find her soon enough.

For the time being…they and their Zoids were happy that they finally had news about Mara and that buoyed the three brothers greatly…but they still felt some pain as they missed the crew of the Nirvana.

“Hey there.”

The brothers turned and spotted a young woman who had short blue hair who was carrying a tray filled with four containers with straws that immediately told them that the containers were for carrying drinking liquids. The three Reinhart siblings and their Ligers looked at her and she was a bit surprised to see the beast like machines look at her and they growled a bit and Brandon replied.

“Don't be frightened, they were curious on who you are…uh…”

“Sera…my name's Seran, I'm one of the mechanics here on the ship. I heard about you three from the others in the crew…are you guys really from another dimension?”

“Oh yeah…it's kind of obvious isn't it?”

“I guess…I have never seen machines like them before…living machines that is…not like those AI controlled Harvester units. Can you tell me how you all got here? I would really love to hear the story.”

Lance, Scott and Brandon looked at each other and thought it over…they got this far…so why not? Scott nodded as he began to tell their story to their new companion.

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

Back at the Nirvana…

“You want to go and look for Brandon and his siblings?”

Magno asked as Meia appeared in the comm.-systems, she had been busy getting the latest reports on how things were doing with the mutiny and was thankful that some things were being resolved as more of the crew were settling things in peacefully though Barnette was still not giving up…but at least things were a bit more peaceful.

“Yes Captain.”

Magno wondered what was Meia planning as this was the very first time she had asked this from her of all people. The elderly Captain smiled and decided to see if she could find out what other reason meia had to look for the siblings, though she knew that they could contact the brothers when they could.

“Care to explain to me why you want them back here Meia?”

“They are the leaders of one of our best groups in terms of ship defense and their Zoids are the only ones we can have with us to form the ZoidDreads…our best advantage against the Harvesters when it comes to that level.”

“I see…so is this only on the area of tactical edge Meia?”

“Well…I guess there is…”

It was then that Dita appeared in the comm.-system and gave her own take on Meia's request.

“We have to find Mr. Alien and his brothers!”

Magno smiled…aware on how affectionate Dita was with lance and his siblings, but before she could say anything…the women who were on Barnette's side began to negatively speak about that idea on bringing the siblings back on the ship. They were also against the men being part of the crew…even though they needed Duero and Dylan's expertise in medical treatment and they admitted that Bart was a far better choice for navigation.

“No way…we don't have to bring them back!”

“Yeah! We're better off without them on the ship!”

“They're the enemy!”

“Says you!”

The screen was then filled by several more women but they were on the side of the men instead…many of them on the faction that supported the men and even those who considered the Tarak men as important for the trip home to Megele… and they considered that such an act of imprisoning the men was a mistake and something that should not be done for any reason.

“The men are needed on this ship!”

“They've already done a lot for us for the past few months; we can't just throw them in prison!”

“That's right…the men are not the enemy here! The Harvesters are!”

The two factions squared off again and made Magno sigh at that as she looked on and so did BC, they hoped that when they could finally find the three brothers and bring them back to the ship that things were discussed peacefully and the mess was resolved…they and Gascogne knew how valuable and important the men were in this situation they were in and the elderly Captain sighed once more as she thought of how to diffuse this mess. And while progress seemed to be going on…it was still in doubt.

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

In the area sealed off for the men…

Duero and Dylan looked as Parfait walked into the room and she was carrying several boxes of food to them, Bart eyed them warily and ignored the head engineer as she handed the boxes to Duero and Dylan…the two men knew Parfait well enough to know she was not one to take sides and accepted the food given to them by the spunky head engineer.

“Here…I figured these would be helpful for you all while you're here.”

Duero and Dylan had to admit that the food was nice, rather different and somewhat similar to the food that they had sampled with Brandon and his siblings in past times. And they made their feelings known as they ate the food before them at the moment. Outside there were guards in the section, a small number of them were on Barnette's side…while the others were comprised of members from the Zoid Squadron that Brandon and his siblings led in combat. The two factions were not fighting at least and things were civil for the moment.

“The food is certainly nice…I can see why Brandon and his siblings prefer this over pills.”

Bart snorted and replied.

“Don't get too comfortable with that you two…for all you know, the food you're both eating could be your last…you can't trust any woman now…after all this!”

The head engineer winced at that statement and both Duero and Dylan gave Bart warning glares that made the blonde navigator remain silent for a moment and Duero turned to speak to Parfait.

“Sorry about that Parfait…but things are rather confusing right now. I know you're not the kind to harm anyone so don't worry. I have to ask…how are things in the Nirvana right now…ever since we were sent here, we haven't been told what is going on.”

“Duero's right…what exactly has been going on Parfait?”

Parfait nodded and spoke to the three men so she could better explain the situation.

“Well, right now the others in the Nirvana are divided…one side is thinking we don't need the help of…well you all and Brandon and his siblings. The other side are those who support men and they think that such an act of imprisoning you all is a mistake…at the moment the Captain and the Commander are trying to resolve the situation peacefully and some headway is being done, the Captain put her foot down at that moment to keep the mutiny from going out of proportion.”

“And as to why you're all under house arrest…it was Brandon and his brothers who suggested that they leave to help the crew think over their feelings and thoughts on the matter, they also asked the Captain that you be all here instead of the prison section so you would not be placed in harm's way… the Captain allowed both sides to air their opinions and to also find ways to make peace…she's really trying her best to ease things right now and it hasn't been easy at all at the moment.”

“I see…so what do you think of all this Parfait?”

Parfait looked at Duero while Dylan and Bart looked on.

The head engineer shook her head a bit and replied.

“I honestly think this whole mutiny is a mistake! Paiway's being swamped by the patients coming in and she can't handle that many people by herself, we really need you both there to help treat all the patients as the injuries are mounting! And there's no way I can make a device in time to tap into the Navigation Well to allow us to control the Nirvana…Bart's the only one who can interface after all and no matter how many times I tried, the Navigation Well would just reject it.”

“Hmph…goes to show that we're needed on the ship…but do the other women listen…No they don't…shows how devious, inconsiderate and heartless women are…at least back home when we have skills and abilities that are needed…we're treated better!”

The two friends glared at Bart but they can't blame him for his words…since in hindsight they did make sense in a way. But they knew that things were not so simple…they learned that much from Brandon and his siblings. Duero saw how sad Parfait was and an urge to comfort the distraught woman hit him…he was confused at first at this and wondered where had those feelings come from…but placed that aside and spoke.

“Don't worry Parfait, at least there are those among your crew who understand it better…so I have to ask…who's side are you on?”

Parfait scratched her head and replied.

“Um…those of us in Engineering are trying to stay out of the matter as neutrals…after all we're in charge of keeping the ship running and taking sides isn't what we do.”

“You're not getting it…I asked who's side are YOU on.”

Parfait looked at Duero and smiled a bit as she pointed at the empty box of food that Duero had with him at the moment and replied as she got up.

“You already know that Duero… and just so you all know…I know that Kara, Mia, and Rin have gone out to look for Brandon and his siblings.”

As the head engineer left…Duero smiled and so did Dylan…Bart however was not happy and replied.

“Why the heck did it have to be like this?! We've done what we could to help these women in the first place and now here we are in prison again! All because of those three guys!!!”

Dylan snorted and replied.

“From I can understand they didn't have any choice at the moment…they left for all our sakes to this mess can be straightened out. It's harsh…but it was the best option since if Brandon and his brothers stayed…the situation would have been worse…”

“It is worse!”

“No…if they had stayed then things would have become violent…and who knew how things would have turned out…it was a shame that the most vital people in this alliance would be the ones who gave themselves up to save it.”

“What?”

“Bart…you KNOW that Brandon and his siblings are not from our world or our own dimension for that matter, they don't see things the way we do on Tarak. They saw that in order for us to make it back home to our home system we all had to work together. They knew that to make it back men and women had to unite in order for us all to get home.”

“A lot of good that did us…”

Duero then spoke out his take on the situation as well.

“It did us a lot of good! In the time I spent with the brothers they helped me understand things that you, Dylan, and I would have never found out on our own if they were not around. The three brothers helped men and women work as one because where they came from the men and women in their world worked as one in order to survive and thrive…and they have. They told me about the wars that their world was plagued with and who were the heroes, both men AND women who fought to protect that world of theirs. They accomplished things that they could not have accomplished had they worked alone…and Brandon and his siblings brought that same lesson here on the ship.”

“What?”

“They worked hard to help us understand women and they also did their best to help the women understand us…by all rights they could have left us alone to our fates all those months ago. With their skills and their Zoids they could have left easily…but they decided to stay…doing that because to them it was the right thing to do. Look at how far we've gone ever since that incident back on the Ikazuchi. With Paiway around to help us get used to using Megele technology we would have been unused to healing the women who are different from us many ways. The ZoidDreads have helped us out of so many risky situations that we would have been defeated a long time ago and more…the brothers showed us that everyone here on the Nirvana was needed.”

Dylan nodded and spoke as well.

“You might think that you're not getting respect…but the brothers see you as a part of the crew and they know how important your role is in the ship and so do the other women who are supporting us at the moment, they all know that you are the only one who can navigate the ship and the brothers know that very well. They showed us that men and women when united could do things they could not do alone…so is it their fault still?”

“I…I guess not…”

“So let's hope that this mess here on the Nirvana works itself out and hope that the ones who went out to find Brandon and his brothers succeed.”

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

Speaking of which…

“Are you sure this is a good idea Kara?”

Kara looked over the systems of her Zoid as she and several members of the Beast Squadron were currently on the move away from the Nirvana…they had volunteered to scout ahead before the Captain and to alert the Harvesters for any possible encounter with the Harvesters…they had another motive however as they planned to find their commanders and if they could…convince the siblings to come back to the ship and help ease the tensions among the crew at the moment. She was not alone as Rin and Mia were coming along as well…all three sub commanders of the Beast Squadron were of the same mind set at the moment to find their commanders…they respected the brothers too much to let them be alone in the universe.

“Oh yes I am.”

“But we're going to get some real flak from the others, namely Barnette when she finds out about this…she's still stuck up on her stance after all…”

“Hmph! At this point and time I would rather kiss a lizard on the lips than worry about Barnette…she's completely wrong in her plans to arrest Brandon, Scott, and Lance!”

“Kara is right, I personally prefer that we have everyone back on the Nirvana, namely Brandon and his siblings. We need their help to win against the Harvesters.”

Mia nodded in agreement with both Kara and Rin and she spoke to the other Zoid pilots who were with them at the moment.

“You all don't have to come here with us either…you can go back…”

“No way!”

“We're going to find the Commanders and bring them right back!”

“Barnette can get mad and rant at us all she likes…but we know we're doing the right thing!”

Mira, Kara and Rin smiled at the and they also gave the orders to move out and scan for the three Ligers…but they were suddenly picking up other signals and turned to see none other than meia, Jura, and Dita's Dread who were now pulling up them and Kara looked to see none other than Meia as the Dread squadron leader spoke to the Zoid commander.

“Kara, what are you and your forces doing out here from the Nirvana?”

The leader of the Zoid squadron replied.

“I should be asking you the very same question Meia…but since you asked first I'll answer you...we're going to look for our commanders and their Ligers…and I'm willing to bet that's the very same reason you three are out here.”

“No we're not…we're merely out here to conduct recon work in order to make sure the Harvesters don't suddenly get the drop on us.”

Kara snorted at that…and so did Mia and Rin….they had a feeling it was more than that. And Dita's comment was more than enough to help confirm their suspicions.

“”We're going to find Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens!”

“Dita!”

The three Zoid pilots snorted and smirked a bit…if there was one thing they knew about the perky redhead…she was not the kind to lie about anything and if she said that they were out there for the same reasons that they were as well so there was no sense in hiding the whole thing now for Meia.

“At least we know why Dita is out here…though that's no surprise…so why are YOU out here Meia?”

Meia sighed and knew that there was no denying the fact that the truth was already out…though she would not admit the fact that Brandon and his siblings were important to them, and Brandon was important as well…

“I'm out here so I can help convince Brandon and his siblings that they are needed back on the ship and they're needed to help calm down the crisis before it gets totally out of hand. They're needed and so are the ZoidDreads…”

Mia and the others were not convinced and Rin made that rather obvious…

“Is THAT the only reason?”

“I...I don't know what you mean…”

“Really…I heard about that…”

“Heard WHAT?”

“Oh nothing…we'll talk about that later.”

Meia already KNEW what Rin said…though she had hoped that it never came out…as she recalled being kissed on the cheek by Brandon during Christmas time, she had not forgotten that and while a part of her wanted to beat the living tar out of Brandon for kissing her like that…she felt this twinge of warmth in her heart and why was that…she had NO idea…but she was not going to admit that she wanted to see Brandon again.

Mia then spoke to Jura.

“Now that we know Meia and Dita's reason…what's yours Jura?”

Jura replied with a smile.

“It's rather obvious isn't it…I can't be beautiful if I don't combine with him.”

“Hmmm…and what about Barnette?”

“I love Barnette very much…but this is one thing that I can't agree with her. I will try and talk to her about this and settle thing…besides… Brandon and his brothers are too interesting and fun to let go…especially Scott.”

Jura then thought about the time on Anpathos and how things turned out on that planet.

The combined crew quickly moved out with the Dreads taking the lead while the Zoids, which included a Lightning Saix, a Blade Liger, several Shield Ligers and a Command Wolf followed behind…the pilots of the machines with their own reasons for finding the brothers.

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

Back with the people of Melanos…

“Yuck!”

“Augh!”

“Phhhfff!”

The three Reinhart siblings were not happy the very second they tried the drinks that were handed to them by Sera as they tasted rather horrible to the three men, they had recently finished telling Sera all about themselves and how they had survived in this universe for the past five years. The young engineer had to admit that she was impressed and at first disbelieving but after gazing at the Zoids and some of the brothers' energy manipulation abilities, she was willing to give them the benefit of a doubt. The three Ligers growled softly a bit in amusement from the sound of it while their pilots gave them a slight glare and they placed away the drinks.

“What is this stuff?!”

Brandon spoke as Sera's life partner a young man carrying the same drink container came towards them and they were surprised to find out that he was the very same guy who fired the salvo at them before. The man, named Rico replied to Brandon's question on the concern of the drink.

“That's what we normally drink back on Melanos, I've drank it for as long as I can remember and since you three aren't from around here, you're reactions are understandable.”

“That still doesn't answer the question you know…”

“It's a vitamin drink…mostly vitamin C, it's good for the skin…”

The sad tone of Sera quickly told the brothers just what the Harvesters wanted with the people of Melanos and that made them even more sick to the core on how utterly insane the Harvesters are in the core.

“Let us guess…the Harvesters want your skins?”

“Yes…”

Rico answered as he hugged Seran who gave a distraught look.

Lance growled and so did Kail…while Brandon pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Scott said nothing but the tightening of his fists and his jaw line were more than enough to tell the others how he felt about this information, Zarreke and Rikera also growled in anger and while Sera and Rico had no idea what the Ligers were actually saying they understood that they shared the same anger as their masters did.

Brandon then spoke as he looked at the two Melanos people.

“That figures as much…do you happen to have a star chart?”

Seran nodded and she punched in the right access codes for the brothers to access the mainframes and then they watched as Scott typed in the data into the laptop that he had with him and then connected a nearby access cable he had with him and plugged in one end into the laptop and the other was already plugged into his Liger. Rikera was already logged into the Melanos data network core so the Zoid would help it's master on the mission Scott had in mind.

“What are you doing?”

Seran asked and so did Rico…Scott replied as he continued with his work.

“Trying to pinpoint the exact number of worlds that the Harvesters have already visited in their organ hunts…if we could narrow down the path the Harvesters took to each world…we could very well find out just where the Harvesters have come from…that way…if possible we can trace their home-world and take the fight right in their back yard.”

The brother seemed intent on his work and saw several planets and knew that each world had already been hit by the Harvesters…the only exception was Anpathos but he was not in the mood to think about what he had seen on that world before, namely a certain female religious leader that they would rather forget.

“These worlds have been hit for a reason..the Harvesters targeted specific organs of the human body for their work..one was hit for blood cells, the Harvesters had a hell of a surprise for us there, there's also Anpathos..bad place that one despite the looks. Then there's the data we had from Rabat, some mercenary scum that we dealt with before…his data showed Tarak and Megele were next for the sex organs..nasty thought that one…”

“By the way…you worked with another group before?”

Lance nodded.

“Yeah…but we're away for a while due to some misunderstanding and we left in order to clear things out…we'll talk about that later…here are other worlds that got hit and are about to be hit…hold on…something's awfully familiar about this…”

Brandon and Scott noticed that as well and they looked at the maps and with a mental command to their Ligers, they were able to get the data that they had been able to hack from Rabat's data cube and when the maps matched and there was no discrepancy in the data…the three brothers were enraged and so were the Zoids. This got Seran's attention and Rico's as well as the three brothers spoke the same name.

“Rabat…”

“Who's this Rabat character? You three sound like you know him.”

“Oh we know him all right…he's a cheap trader who sells bootleg junk and faulty supplies to other people whom he swindles out of their hard earned money. The guy's nothing but a louse, sneak, and a worthless slime ball…but there's a new word that we can attach to this space trash.”

The two watched as the brothers gathered up the information and Seran asked as the brothers moved on to face the Captain of the Melanos Fleet.

“What do you mean by a new name?”

“Traitor to the whole human race.”

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

Later…

The bridge crew were utterly silent and the Captain of the Melanos Fleet spoke in a slow and shocked tone.

“I…this is…I can't believe this is all real…”

Brandon and his siblings understood the Captain's reaction as this was a bit much…but the evidence didn't lie and considering Rabat's slimy reputation and his track record…it was very much possible for someone like him to be truly a traitor to the human race. It made sense in a way considering his supposed trader status and the kind of material he dealt with, along with his dealings with others.

“Oh it's very real Captain. The data doesn't lie…”

“I know...this Rabat is a thief and scoundrel, he had done the same things you describe when he came to our colonies but we never realized that he was actually a spy for the Harvesters…to think he would turn on his fellow humans…”

“It makes sense though, he would come there and sell his bootleg junk and then gather all the credits he can store and then relay all the data he had gathered on the planet's defenses and the people there to the Harvesters…and hours or days later after he leaves…the Harvesters show up and harvest the place.”

“I see…I still can't believe that one man like him, scoundrel that he is…would willingly do this monstrous act.”

“He's done his `trading' before…ever heard of Fulmar and Galvain Prime?”

The Captain nodded and replied.

“Those worlds are gone…the harvesters came there and slaughtered the people there for their nerves and intestines…the worlds you mentioned are grave worlds now.”

The brothers were stunned by that announcement and they couldn't help but put two and two together and realized just what had happened. They knew now that the worlds full of people they had saved no less than several months ago had been destroyed…all because of Rabat…the swore they were going to find him and kill him when they got the chance.

However, the alarms of the ship came online and the brothers turned and recognized the shapes of Cube Fighters and Seed Ships…the Harvesters have arrived…but what they brought along made the brothers feel fear and they were now thinking that what they were about to face would deny them the chance to every see their mother again…

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

They had no idea what was going to await them back at the Nirvana…for at this moment…

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

The Nirvana bridge…

“Captain…I'm picking up some Harvester signals!”

The bridge crew got to attention at that bit of news as they began to scan the area before them…while Bart was needed to pilot the ship, the bridge crew were still able to use the scanners on the Nirvana to track the areas around them. Though the ship was still somewhat divided as the mutiny had done, they quickly placed that aside when the word of the Harvesters was issued.

Buzam quickly took her usual position near the Captain and was all business, they had not gained any news from Meia's forces for a bit as she and several of the Dreads had gone out to look for the three brothers despite the protests of those who were on Barnette's side…along with several members of the Beast Squadron that Brandon and his brothers have founded.

“How many?”

Belvedere delivered the news as she and the others did the scanning of the signals and trying to determine just who was it that the Harvester forces were fighting with at the very moment before them, the sooner they knew what was going on, the quicker they can get a response team mounted for combat.

“I could at least three dozen of the Cube Fighters…but something is very wrong here Captain…”

“What do you mean?”

“They seem to be attacking something…or someone is attacking them…”

Magno and Buzam looked at one another and wondered just what they were going to do with this situation on their hands. The mutiny was simmering and seemed to be under control at the moment but there was still some work that had to be done in order to smooth things out with the rest of the crew…and now there were signs of the Harvesters coming nearby…but if the Harvesters were under attack…then whoever was attacking them…then they could very well not abandon the people in question.

“How far are the Harvesters?”

“They appear to be chasing the unknown ship to our direction…they should be in visual range…now!”

The Bridge crew and the Captain looked on and then to their surprise…they saw a small freighter, near the size of Gascogne's shuttle the Dreki, being attacked by the Harvesters but the Freighter was apparently well armored and rather fast as it was able to avoid the attacks of the Cube Fighters. The freighter suddenly stopped and Magno and the others gasped as they thought that they were going to watch a fellow human get Harvested…that was one thing none of them were in the mood to see as Magno gave the order…

“Have the Dreads launch now!”

The Nirvana was filled with alarms as the crew got ready to respond to the threat before them and to help their fellow human. The Dread pilots rushed to their Dreads, and so did members of the Zoid Squadrons… but then bridge crew were surprised when the freighter opened it's cargo doors and out from the doors leaped…

A Zoid!

“What the?!”

The bridge crew looked on and so did every crew member of the Nirvana as the Zoid landed right into the Harvester forces and began to attack them head on. They had thought that there would not be other Zoids out there with the exception of the ones they had on hand at the moment. But it seemed that their thoughts were wrong.

The Zoid was none other than a Blade Liger…and to their surprise it seemed to be in the color scheme of deep navy blue, black and gun metal grey…with the usual orange-gold tinted cockpit. The Zoid seemed to be under the hands of a very skilled pilot as the Zoid unleashed several accurate bursts of it's ranged weapons and then scattered the Harvesters and it quickly leaped in with it's claws, teeth and blades as several more Cube Fighters were dealt with and while some of them were able to escape and fire at the Blade Liger, the pilot was able to maneuver the Zoid to avoid their attacks and then defeated them…

Magno looked at it all and she couldn't help but see some elements in the pilot's fighting style that seemed very familiar to her for some reason…Buzam thought so too and spoke out her opinion as she couldn't help but see so many traits the made her realize something.

“Captain…I don't know if you've noticed it…but the pilot seems to be as skilled as Brandon and his siblings.”

“I have BC…but I don't know who that person is…the person might very well be one of the people that Brandon and his brothers know of who was with them from the ships that they were onboard nearly five years ago. But what amazes me is that I see elements of the brothers' fighting styles in this pilot.”

Buzam agreed and soon enough the battle ended and the Harvester Cube Fighters were all now destroyed. The Liger turned towards them and was tense…it was a serious situation for everyone as they had no idea on whether this new arrival was on their side…it was then that Buzam had an idea.

“Captain…we have the communications frequencies of the Zoids we have in our ship…we could use them to talk to the pilot.”

“Go ahead.”

Buzam nodded to Belvedere and the others and they quickly typed in the codes and as soon as the blonde leader of the bridge crew gave her nod to show that the change in communication frequencies was complete…Magno activated the communications and sure enough…they got an image.

The pilot turned out to be a woman with deep brown hair and had light skin tone and was certainly an attractive sort…however the details that got the attention of the crew of the Nirvana was that she was dressed in a style similar to the Reinhart siblings. The woman gave the crew a very serious look and spoke in a voice that while soft was filled with authority.

“I don't know how you managed to hack into my Zoid's data-system and communications but since you are human and not like the things that ambushed me, I'm guessing your not the enemy.”

“We're not…I am Captain Magno Vivian of the Nirvana and the Megele pirates.”

“Pirates huh? Well then, don't think I'll let you have what cargo I have left on my ship…it isn't much but I am not going to let you take it!”

“Calm down stranger…we're not here to raid your ship…we've got problems of our own at the moment…so who are you?”

“Hmm…no harm in telling you who I am since I know you already…the name's Mara...Mara Reinhart, pleasure to meet you.”

The bridge crew were stunned and so was just about everyone else in the Nirvana as the woman said her name…the most affected were naturally BC and Magno as they had no idea how did this relative unknown have the very same name as that of Brandon and his siblings. Ezra was the first to comment on such a thing being said.

“Oh my…”

Mara looked at them in a very confused manner and the woman spoke once more.

“What's the matter…you all sound like you saw a ghost or something.”

Magno thought it over and decided to ask.

“Did you just say that you're last name is Reinhart Mara?”

Mara nodded but she was even more confused at that question and made that evidently clear in her next question.

“Yes…my last name is Reinhart, what's so odd about that?”

Magno and Buzam looked at each other and wondered just what was going on until Belvedere decided to speak.

“You have the last name of the three men were on this ship!”

The second that was spoken, a change happened to the woman as her eyes widened and she was appearing to be in shock…as if hearing about Brandon and his siblings had done something to her that seemed totally off. She didn't say a word but in a few moments she spoke once more in a rather unsteady but serious tone.

“Three men? Were their first names Brandon, Scott, and Lance?”

Magno nodded and that was enough to make the woman gasp out in shock, and then there was utter relief and joy in her face…as if the names of the Reinhart siblings made her feel more happy than anything that the women knew of back on their world. In a matter of moments the women seemed ready to cry and she began to ask breathlessly.

“Where…where are they?! Are they onboard?!”

Buzam and Magno were surprised at the sudden change in Mara Reinhart's voice…she looked hopeful, anxious, and more. They had no idea what was going on and why was it this woman who apparently had the same last name of Brandon and his brothers seemed so eager to see them. Then the Captain had a feeling…a feeling that she knew would sound outlandish before the crew but to her…it would explain the way the woman was acting.

“Mara…are you related to Brandon and his brothers?”

“Yes…more than you can imagine Captain Magno…Brandon, Scott, and Lance…they are my sons…I am their mother. Where are my sons Captain? I've been searching for them for five long years…where are they?!”

The crew members of the Nirvana, from the Bridge crew to the Engineering teams were all shocked to hear that announcement as the woman before them waited for an answer…Magno and Buzam were helpless at the moment as they had not gotten word from the brothers ever since they had left the Nirvana…and now they had nothing to tell Mara on what was the fate of her sons. Magno thought it over and replied…

“You're sons have left the ship and we've been searching for them…if it is all right…we would like you to come onboard and await any word of them.”

Mara nodded…hoping to finally see her long lost children after five long years of wandering…

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

Back in deep space…

The small band of pirates were busy moving through the area of space where Brandon and his siblings were last seen and heard from. The group were very concerned about the lack of signals coming from the brothers and they were hoping to find them soon as there was a great feeling of worry in them…however…they were relieved when they picked up three distress beacons and quickly made their way to the source…

As soon as they arrived on the scene…they were shocked and horrified to see massive destruction all over the place…there were unknown ships that appeared to have faced a massive force that dwarfed their own forces…the sight of large numbers of totally destroyed Cube Fighters and Seed Ships told them that the people who apparently were human had fought with the Harvesters and seemed to have inflicted massive losses…

“What happened here?”

Jura asked as she scanned the area…hoping to locate any trace of Brandon and his siblings in this area…she found it hard to believe that Scott and his brothers were in this mess of a battle field.

“Looks as if the Harvesters tried to fight the people who apparently owned these ships…they certainly are not on the Harvesters' side…but are you sure that this is where the signals came from?”

“Positive…but where are?”

“Oh no! Mr. Alien!!!”

The others turned when they heard Dita gasp out in fear and shock and they soon joined the redhead as they saw the sight before them…

The Ligers piloted by the Reinharts were badly damaged as sections of their armor were charred and broken and there were arcs of energy that flowed out like blood and the women couldn't help but feel great fear at the sight of the once mighty Ligers badly damaged the way they were at the moment…the Ligers were in their CAS Armor and they were barely moving…

“No…”

“My Goddess...”

“What happened?!”

Dita was in great panic and she quickly managed to get a signal from Kail and activated the communication systems to try and get a response from Lance.

“Mr. Alien! Mr. Alien! Can you hear me?! It's Dita! Are you all right?!”

Jura couldn't help herself as she also managed to contact Rikera and spoke to the Liger and it's pilot.

“Scott! Are you all right?! Scott, Can you hear me?!”

Meia felt a great deal of worry and she activated her own communication systems and called out to Brandon and Zarreke.

“Brandon! Are you all right?!”

It was then that the Ligers got up and seemed to come to life and they limped over towards the rescue party and the brothers responded…with Brandon speaking first.

“Meia…good to hear your voice…”

Meia didn't know why but she felt more than relief that Brandon had answered her call and her heart ached as she se saw his face on her screen, and though he was bloody, he was very much alive and still there.

Dita felt great relief as Lance also spoke to her.

“Dita….good to see you again…”

The redhead was utterly relieved to see her Mr. Alien alive and safe, though he looked badly injured to say the least.

“Jura…my God…you're here…”

Jura nodded as she felt relief fill her as Scott's face was there before her…and though her heart ached for some unknown reason to see him badly hurt…she was happy he was still alive.

Meia wasted no time and so did Kara, Mia, and Rin as they all surrounded the three stricken Ligers and they quickly made an escort force to bring the three brothers home to the Nirvana…inside their Ligers…the brothers felt utter relief that the pirates came to their rescue…they had a LOT to tell Magno once they were back on the ship…

They were unaware of what awaited them when they got there.

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

To be continued…

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

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the delays…had a LOT of things on my mind for the time being. But at least this chapter is finished and ready for full reading. I hope to have new chapters for this fic soon and the same thing for the other stories that I know are still unfinished. ZoidDread is reaching the end and let's hope that things will work out for all in the story.

I had actually planned to have Mara appear at the sequel to the story of ZoidDread…but decided to add her early in the story in order to have more interesting situations develop on the Nirvana…namely in the sense of relationships…how will Dita, Meia, and Jura react when they learn the truth from Mara that she is the mother of the three Zoid pilots…and how will the brothers react when they are reunited with their mother after 5 long years?

That remains to be seen! See you in the next chapter!