Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED (Redition) ❯ Quit calling me Mr. Alien! ( Chapter 7 )

GunDread SEED

 

Disclaimer: I own neither VanDread or Gundam SEED, I own this story though, so if any lawyers are nearby, don't try and ask for fees.

 

< >: Thoughts

 

Chapter 7

 

Quit calling me Mr. Alien!

 

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

 

Two weeks after the fierce battle at the asteroid field…

 

Dita smiled as she placed the finishing touches on the gift she had been working on and planning to give to her Mr. Alien. It was a pink pillow with a picture of a cute green alien with tentacles. She made this well, as her friend the pregnant bridge officer Ezra had spent a good amount of time before her pregnancy to teach the young Dread pilot how to be a seamstress, which worked well as Dita was a very good cook to boot. As soon as she finished she whistled a happy tune as she admired her work, she knew that Mr. Alien was going to love it, and also the patch. While she was busy, her best friend among her fellow pirates, Paiway watched with a bit of puzzlement.

 

“Are you planning on giving it to some guy, Dita?" The precocious eleven-year-old nurse asked her friend.

 

The moment that came out of her friend's mouth, Dita blushed a bit as she thought about Kyo.

 

“If it's not for anyone, then can you give it to me?" Paiway piped up hopefully.

 

Dita shook her head, while gleefully holding the present close to her chest. “No way! Sorry Pai, but I'm giving this one to Mr. Alien!"

 

Paiway frowned a bit, as she knew just who among the men Mr. Alien was and held up her frog puppet. “Barf! Kero!"

 

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

 

A few minutes later…

 

After a few more seconds, the happy-go-lucky girl entered the Hanger and went directly to where she knew Kyo would be found working. Her gift was clutched tightly to her chest. She was completely certain that the young Gundam pilot would love her new present for him. However, when she arrived to Freedom's paddock, which was near its support unit Liberty, which had it's own launching bay, and the transformed Dreads, she found no sign of the object of her growing affections. The cockpit of Freedom was open but it seemed that Kyo wasn't in the Hanger..

 

Dita then looked up and about and began to look about in the paddock.

 

“Mr. Alien! Mr. Alien! Where are you?”

 

The young Megele female looked about a bit more as she looked at Freedom.

 

Dita looked puzzled for a minute or two. “That's so strange. I was so sure that he was here working on his partner." She then decided to move around more so she could find Kyo, and left the Hanger.

 

Minutes later, a human head appeared behind Freedom's head.

 

“God, I thought she'd never leave." Kyo said in a rather irritated mood as he removed the camouflage blanket that he got from one of Freedom's storage compartments and began leaving his Gundam. Had Dita looked about more closely she would have seen him and then there would have been some problems. He was already reaching the limit of his patience with Dita and tried desperately to relax.

 

Kyo sighed and then recalled that there was going to be a training session on one area of the Nirvana and he was going to give a training session for the new Vanguard trainees.

 

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

 

On the bridge…

 

Buzam was getting restless by the second, as there had been no alien attacks for some time, over the past few days. The crew had been fighting another losing battle, but not with the aliens this time, their latest battle was how avoid falling asleep on their stations. The worst affected by this battle was none other than Ezra, as her state of pregnancy continued to grow. If she wasn't eating constantly to satisfy her deep cravings and to feed her growing daughter, then she would be sleeping like there was no tomorrow.

 

The first officer sighed, as sheer boredom threatened to overwhelm her. “It seems that when we're not under attack, things get rather dull and monotonous here. Perhaps we should get the crews into a few practice drills or…"

 

“I wasn't aware that you were into all that military ballyhoo BC." Magno remarked to her second in command.

 

“I'm only thinking of the safety and well-being of the crew, Captain, what would happen if the enemy attacked us while we're like this?"

 

“Our line of business is piracy, isn't it?"

 

“Well, that's true, but still…"

 

The old woman waved of her second in command's response. She knew that the crew deserved this break from all of their constant battles. However, if Buzam was getting bored, there just might be a good distraction…

 

“If you feel bored, then you can always head down to section T-11."

 

“Section T-11?"

 

“Yes, I recall that Kyo is down there now, training the Crusader Squadron and the new trainees, you assigned to him."

 

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

 

At the said section

 

WHAMM!

 

The female trainee groaned, as she lay on her back to the practice mat, like a sack of potatoes. “I'm done."

 

Kyo nodded as he reached out and helped the girl back to her feet. As she went to the other side where the other new trainees were sitting, the former counter-terrorist agent and Mobile Suit operator addressed them. Behind the first group were the more seasoned and experienced pilots, including their second in command Sara.

 

“Now then, did everyone see what Lara's mistake was? She overextended herself and was too slow in her recovery. A critical point in all battles, whether you have weapons or not is to never leave yourself open for a reprisal attack from your opponents."

 

Kyo had made in a point of constructing various types of hand-held weapons made of strong, hard rubber-like material which were made non-lethal for the trainees, so that they could earn an extra edge when using the weapons on their Vanguards, namely the melee class weapons. The weapons came in various forms, swords, staves, daggers, pole-arms, and the like. Kyo had infused armed battle techniques and unarmed techniques to help the pilots of the Crusader Squadron to be more effective in battle. He instilled those same principles in their simulator missions and combat exams.

 

“Just what does all this martial arts training have to do with piloting a Vanguard?" Another trainee asked the lead commander and instructor of her newly assigned unit.

 

Kyo nodded as he spoke. “Martial arts methods can be applied in many areas; it's not restricted solely for hand-to-hand combat or armed fighting. It instills focus and discipline, and helps in maintaining your composure in battle. Also, you all should be aware that the Vanguard was designed to take full advantage of the art of close quarters combat and therefore are solely designed to meet those parameters even when given rifles or missile pods. Therefore, when you learn the specifics on how to fight with your own body, then you can apply those lessons in operating your machine. Ask the more experienced Vanguard pilots behind you, and they will tell you that operating a Vanguard is just like moving your own body. The machine acts completely in that case as an extension of your own body."

 

The girls in the back all nodded, though some did so with a bit of reluctance.

 

The Gundam pilot explained further." Furthermore, martial arts is an excellent way of maintaining your health. Your reflexes, awareness, and response are sharpened, those skills are very important in this unit and could determine whether you survive the battle or not. These skills sometimes will be the only things that will aid you in combat. However, martial arts is also needed in battles where you will not have a weapon or your Vanguard and you need to defend yourself with only your bare hands. With the training in martial arts then you have something to fall back on."

 

The girls began whispering to themselves as Kyo went over to where five volunteers were standing. Two of the girls were armed with laser rings on heavy stun, while the other three were armed with melee weapons. One had a staff; the other had a pair of daggers, with the last volunteer wielding a sword.

 

At that point, Buzam walked in and stopped to watch Kyo as he prepared his next demonstration. She scanned the newest recruits for the Crusader Squadron. Each one was wearing white training uniforms, with cloth belts. She then was surprised to find Meia among the other trainees, and who was also wearing a training uniform. Apparently, the normally tough and independent Dread Leader decided to swallow her pride and attend the practice sessions with the Crusader Squadron. Due to her claustrophobia, she wasn't able to command a Vanguard, but Kyo had made it clear to everyone onboard the Nirvana that the sessions and classes were open to anyone willing to learn. BC then also spotted Duero as well. She reasoned that he was there to treat those who were injured during these trials, but then she also noted that he was also wearing the same training uniform.

 

“Now, with the cooperation of your fellow crewmembers, I will show you just how effective martial arts is when in a tight situation against multiple attackers. Even when not armed, a person with extensive knowledge of the fighting arts can overcome the odds stacked against him or her…." Kyo then astonished the spectators as he took out a white bolt of cloth from the sleeve of his own patented uniform, which resembled his normal clothes, but was pure white, minus the boots. “Even when he or she can't see the attackers." With those last words, he wrapped the cloth onto his eyes and was now plunged in total darkness.

 

He then stood in the midst of the five volunteers and with a motion, beckoning them to attack.

 

The girl behind him was armed with the daggers, she responded by thrusting out her weapons, but was amazed as she only struck thin air as Kyo moved swiftly behind her, as she turned he ducked and knocked her down with a leg sweep. The drop helped Kyo remove the daggers from her hands using a Judo grip to make her release her weapons, as he prepared for the next attack. That came as the one with the sword was also nearby and made a slash at his head; Kyo blocked with one dagger, and reversing the other one, lashed out with a punch-elbow strike combo, making the girl bend over. Placing her into position to be tossed in a shoulder Judo throw. The next attacker was one girl with a laser ring, she fired a blast at Kyo, but her shock grew as Jin dodged the beam by barely centimeters. And she then found herself facing Kyo as he came in with astounding speed and knocked her arm aside, making her unable to use her ring weapon. He dropped the daggers and quickly tossed the girl over him, but also removed her laser ring before she even left the mat. The girl with the staff also tried to attack, but Kyo flipped, sailing over her head and the moment he landed behind her, he tapped her shoulder. Making her turn and allowing him to rapidly disarm her of her weapon, and tossing her to the other girls that he had already taken down. The last girl with a laser ring fired two blasts, but was unable to hit Kyo as he ducked, Jin then knocked the girl over with an amazing move, that had him crouching down and attacked with a reverse handspring, totally catching his target off guard, knocking the girl back. Still holding the staff he had taken. Kyo then rapidly fired several blasts with the ring he had previously taken from one of the volunteers at the floored girls. The trainees stiffened up as the beams were dangerously close to them all. They looked in awe at their instructor as he removed the blindfold.

 

“You can pretty much guess that I could have killed any of you, if this ring wasn't on its heavy stun setting." He then turned to the other students. “I hope that all of you have learned something from the demonstration." He said seriously as he helped the trainees to their feet.

 

Meia, BC, and Duero were all impressed, along with the others watching.

 

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

 

Later…

 

The female trainees followed Kyo as they lead them through as series of katas, after which there would be a few mock battles between the students both on the mat and in the simulators to see if they grasped the ideas. Each girl mimicked their instructor's movements with varying degrees of accuracy and precision. Some were unsteady and out of rhythm, while there were others who followed every motion perfectly. They all were breathing into a steady rhythm and flow, taking in measured inches of breath and exhaling just as carefully.

 

Kyo began to give instructions to his students. "Remember, breathing correctly is just as important as going through these motions." Kyo instructed. "Focus on each breath you take in and make it flow in your body that will make your movements in harmony with…"

 

"MR. ALIEN!"

 

Kyo stopped and gritted his teeth in anger as soon as he heard that particular voice. The entire training unit, including Meia, and Duero turned to spot Dita on the doorway entrance, holding a pink pillow. Many of the girls were now sporting large sweat drops.

 

Kyo could only shake his head as his anger was simmering on the surface, while he pinched the bridge of his nose. It was going to be one of those days again.

 

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

 

At the Register…

 

"Well now, what brings you here, K?" The head supplier asked as she saw Kyo enter the room in his tuxedo uniform.

 

Kyo could do nothing more than just shake his head and sigh with exasperation. “I'll give you three guesses, but you'll need only one." He decided to take some time to work of his tension by hanging out at the Register.

 

"Ah." The muscular woman nodded in understanding as she had a pretty good idea who Kyo was talking about. "Dita again?"

 

Kyo nodded as he went down to accessing the computer console for any pending jobs, anything just to rest his tired and frustrated mind. “She came right up to the training hall with a pink pillow, called me out while I was in training session with the new recruits. Do you have any idea just how embarrassing it is to be called Mr. Alien when you're busy teaching a class?"

 

Gascogne chuckled a bit at that. “Well no, but I'll admit that Dita needs a bit of work on her sense of tact and delicacy."

 

"Just what do you mean by a BIT of work?" Kyo stressed out.

 

"All right, a lot of work." Gascogne admitted. “She just wants to show her appreciation for all the things you've done for us, that's all."

 

"That much I can understand, but I wish that she would back down a bit with her… enthusiasm. At the very least, she could call me by my real name, instead of Mr. Alien all the time." The Gundam pilot a bit as he checked the readouts. "There isn't anything for me to do?"

 

Gascogne smiled as she shook her head. "Sorry. All the staff is off-duty and we're very much ahead of schedule, thanks to you. You happen to be my most efficient stage hand."

 

"Thanks for the compliment." Kyo said as he walked away.

 

Gascogne then called out to him, as he was about to leave the Register. "Hold up. Since you've got some spare time on your hands, why not hang out with me?" Kyo turned and spotted the muscular woman holding a deck of cards.

 

Kyo gave the cards a slightly distrusting look, as he recalled in his past journeys that he was swindled a few times by some card players before. But he didn't consider those losses to be all that vital, and besides that, he could tell that Gasco had more skill in this kind of game than he did.

 

"What's wrong? You don't know how to play cards?" The muscular woman asked as she could tell that Kyo showed a little distrust and apprehension at the deck she had with her.

 

"No…not really. I'm… just a total klutz when cards come into play." He said as he recalled meeting more experienced players and he had little experience with this sort of game. He then turned to leave. “I really don't think that I'm that much of a challenge.

 

“Oh come now. Just a few friendly hands?" Gascogne insisted as she readied the deck.

 

Kyo sighed at that and nodded, hoping that he wasn't going to embarrass himself again and sat down on the table.

 

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

 

At the mess hall…

 

Dita sighed dejectedly as she and Meia sat together at the cafeteria. “He was so angry with me. I only wanted to give him a present." She then looked at the floor with sad eyes.

 

“Well… you have to admit one thing, that the time you picked to come barging in was the wrong time. He was busy teaching a class."

 

“I only wanted to make Mr. Alien happy." Dita pouted.

 

Meia now found herself in a rather unique and totally unfamiliar situation. Though her experience with interpersonal relationships wasn't the best, she didn't want to see Dita looking so downcast. On the other hand, she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Dita whenever the bubbly Dread pilot got close to Kyo. She also disapproved of the methods Jura was using to entice Kyo to combine with her.

 

The moment those thoughts of jealousy hit her mind, Meia wondered just where those thoughts have surfaced from. Why should she feel jealous whenever Dita chased Kyo, or when Jura used her feminine wiles on the Gundam pilot? He was just a man after all.

 

He's just a man… right?

 

“Dita…I'm not very good at these sorts of things, but I really think that you shouldn't try forcing your way into someone's heart like that."

 

The red-haired girl stiffened at those words. Was that true? Was she trying to force her way to somewhere where she wasn't wanted? That place being in Mr. Alien's heart?

 

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

 

Meanwhile…

 

“Two pair."

 

“Full house."

 

“Damn! Again?!"

 

Gascogne nodded as she reshuffled the cards in her hands. “You weren't kidding when you said that you weren't very good at cards. That's the tenth hand you've lost in a row."

 

Kyo sighed and nodded. “Yeah, well I don't have much in terms of love for this game, though I know a little bit of the basics. But I've never been any good with cards."

 

“True, but the good thing about this game is that it helps pass the time." Gascogne replied and placed the cards in front of them and dealt them out. Gascogne then directed her next question to Kyo. “By the way, are you going to talk to Dita?"

 

“What for?" Kyo asked as he looked at his new deck. He tried not to think about the redhead now, he was still a bit steamed at her anyway.

 

“Well, she made a mistake, but I don't think that you should stay mad at her just for what she did today." Gascogne answered as she took the cards and called.

 

“Who said anything about me being mad? I'm not even thinking about her now! Three of a Kind."

 

“Okay K, if you say so. Straight flush."

 

Kyo wasn't going to give up just yet. “One more time!"

 

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

 

After losing more than twenty-five hands in a row to Gascogne, Kyo had declared that he had enough and left the Register. He sighed as he recalled how nosy Gasco was on his relationship to Dita. He thought about it, as on why she was making it her business to know those things. Then he reminded himself that Dita was Gascogne's comrade so it was natural for her to be nosy about it. It was then that he got wind that Meia had called the Dread pilots and him and of course his other comrades for a strategy meeting.

 

As soon as he entered the room, he noted that Dita was absent, which made him curious and uneasy, as the redhead wasn't the type not to pay attention to the call, he walked to his seat while he looked at the assembled Dread pilots and his eye caught Jura giving him her new signature hungry look that sent slight shivers down his spine as he sat down.

 

Meia then directed her attention to Kyo. “Where's Dita?"

 

“How should I know?" Kyo replied, showing no indication of his own curiosity.

 

It was then that the person in question entered the room and took a seat. She looked up, but tore her gaze away from Kyo the moment she saw him. This made Kazuki more uneasy as the redhead didn't even stare at him.

 

“You're late." Meia scolded lightly.

 

“I'm sorry." Dita replied as she gazed down to her hands.

 

Kyo's uneasiness came back in full force. <What's gotten into her? That's not the Dita I know. Something's wrong here. >

 

Meia gave her subordinate a concerned look, then continued with her briefing. “We'll be practicing some new combat tactics alongside the Crusader Squadron. These tactics will involve the participation of Dita and Kyo and their…"

 

“No."

 

This caught everyone's attention as they turned to the young Dread pilot in question.

 

“Excuse me?" Meia asked in total puzzlement and concern.

 

“I'm… not going to combine with Mr. Alien any more. I always seem to make him so angry at me." Dita stood up, turned and faced Jura. “You can go ahead and combine with him.” And without another word, Dita left the room.

 

Jura was rendered speechless, Dita had just handed Kyo to her in a silver platter!

 

For the man in question, he was rendered speechless. Dita looked so subdued and drained. It seemed as if somehow all of her enthusiasm and vigor were completely drained out of her.

 

The silence of this turn of events was a bit staggering, until Meia had managed to get things back on track for the tactics meeting.

 

Jura smiled devilishly as she saw that her chance had finally arrived. Barnette spotted the look on her blonde friend's face and sighed.

 

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

 

“Leave me alone.” Kyo growled a bit as he tried of avoid a new pursuer, who happened to be none other than Jura Basil Elden, he planned to work out his stress at the gym of working on Freedom and Liberty, but Jura had been harping non-stop at him about the next time they were going to combine together.

 

“I just KNOW we're going to combine into something beautiful!”

 

“Knock it off! Just because that UFO-loving girl doesn't want to do it anymore doesn't mean that I'm going to do it with you!”

 

Kyo paused and immediately winced as he realized the unintentional meaning to that particular statement. <Smooth Kyo, real smooth. > A brief erotic thought shot into his mind, along with a VERY detailed image of Jura without her clothes on, which he immediately suppressed before it got even more descriptive. Sometimes, knowing the truth about men and women while being on a ship filled to the brim with very attractive females (Dita and Meia included) made the young man VERY uneasy.

 

“Hey! I'm not done with you yet!” Jura called out as Kyo increased his pace and quickly disappeared around a corner. The blonde pilot rounded the corner two seconds later to find…the hallway empty.

 

<Huh? Where did he go to?> Jura asked herself. The twenty year old pilot wondered as she looked about for the man she planned to combine with. She looked about once more and decided to check the gym and see if he was there.

 

As soon as the voluptuous blonde left the corridor, Kyo sighed. He then loosened his grip on a set of pipes that he reached when he leaped up. He didn't know where he had learned the skills of evasion and concealment, but he was immensely thankful when they came into play in avoiding people. He landed on the corridor without a sound. And once he stood up, he knew that Jura would be there at the gym waiting for him, with that in mind, he immediately turned around and headed to another direction.

 

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

 

At the Bio-Park…

 

Dita sat down on the ground, trying to hold back her tears, as she was now alone in the park, gazing at the river of water. She made her decision and resolved to stay away from her Mr. Alien, no matter how much her heart seemed to ache if she did so. Her depression and building frustration then made her begin to toss pebbles at the river/pool.

 

< Why? Why? I only wanted to make him happy! No matter what I do, he never seems to completely like anything I do. What have I been doing wrong? >

 

The young girl's thoughts went back to the time of her childhood; it was then that she recalled being given a pet Blue Jay. She doted on it, and gave all the best care that she could, and despite that, the poor bird died shortly after she had gotten it. That image got her to thinking.

 

< Am I caring too much? Will Mr. Alien become like that Blue Jay? > The moment that thought came to her mind, Dita stiffened like a solid board of wood at the image showing Kyo lying dead on the floor, and it sent a deep shiver down her whole body. She could never handle the thought of him ending like that. Her heart would break to pieces if that should happen. < What can I do? What should I do? >

 

“Well, I should have known I'd find you here."

 

Dita turned and saw Gascogne standing behind her.

 

“Oh, Miss Gasco."

 

“How many times have I told you before, it's Gascogne!" The head supply officer stressed as she sat next to the young redhead.

 

“Sorry." Dita apologized. “So what are you doing here?"

 

“Oh, I thought I'd check up on you to see how you're doing. I'd wager that you were thinking about K."

 

“K?"

 

Gascogne smirked a bit. “That's Kyo's nick-name on occasion. I've made it my way to get back at him for calling me Gasco all the time."

 

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

 

Kyo gave a rather dark look to his latest visitor. “What do you want? If you're here to say something annoying, then I'll re-program you into thinking you're a dog."

 

Pyoro found itself treading on very dangerous ground, as Kyo looked ready to do what he promised, having seen how fast, strong, and quick Kyo was made the normally sassy robot walk around him very carefully. It had arrived at a rather unfortunate time, as Kyo was busy contemplating his next move, while the pillow Dita made was in his hands. The young Gundam pilot wasn't in the mood to be disturbed by anyone now. But the robot decided to ask.

 

“I came to ask if you're feeling lonely. That's all." Pyoro said as if floated near the exit… a good distance away from the irate space warrior.

 

“Whether I feel lonely or not isn't your business. Now get out of my sight!" Kyo said in slightly shouting tone as he clenched the pillow tighter.

 

Pyoro knew that if it wanted to remain a functioning machine, now was the best time to leave. Which it did quickly as it didn't really want to stay a moment longer.

 

Kyo sighed a bit as he went back to brooding, having removed a bit of his tension.

 

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

 

Meanwhile…

 

“What do you want from me?” Bart asked Jura as they were in the blonde Dread pilot's quarters.

 

“I need you to help me with something important.” Jura replied seductively as she poured the helmsman of the Nirvana a glass of wine. One thing she learned that wine a s a good way to loosen a man up.

 

“What sort of help do you want from me?” Like all men of Talark, Bart was distrustful and suspicious of women and knew that they were sneaky and devious creatures.

 

“Well, I need to combine with Kyo and his Freedom Gundam.”

 

“So, what's that got to do with me?”

 

“Well… if you can help me, then I will help you.” Jura purred as she began explaining her idea. “You know that I want to combine with Kyo, but he doesn't seem to be in the mood to cooperate. Now if a certain someone were to convince him to combine his machine with my Dread, then I could help him gain more respect in the Nirvana.”

 

“Really?” Bart became interested. The respect that he was currently being given by the crew was barely enough to fill a thimble and was only given to bacteria.

 

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

 

Back at the park…

 

Dita sighed and then put on a new face. “I want to change so that Mr. Alien will like me more."

 

Gascogne shook her head in disagreement. “Why on earth would you want to do that? You're fine the way you already are."

 

“But Mr. Alien always seems to get so angry and avoids me all the time. He thanks me sometimes, but most of the time he gets mad."

 

“Well, you should remember that every person is completely different and it naturally takes time for people to get to know each other."

 

“But I've seen Parfet and the doctor get along real well and that didn't take all that long." Dita had seen both Parfet and Duero frequently get together to solve various problems, whether medical or mechanical.

 

“Well that's true. But some relationships take longer than others to mature and grow. In any case, the best piece of advice I can give you is to stay the way you are. I'm positive that it'll all work out for the best."

 

Gascogne got up to leave and then gave Dita some more parting advice. “I'm sure K will come around. It might help a bit if you stop calling him Mr. Alien. He's a good guy with a kind heart, though he's one of the worst card players I've ever seen."

 

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

 

Kyo sighed once more as he finally got a large percent of his thoughts organized. He was still in his room and still brooding on his next move. His gaze then went to the pillow in his hands. He then thought back on that time at the training area and how he acted in front of Dita when she interrupted his training session. True enough that she chose a bad time to come barging in, but he didn't have to be so hard on her for something like that. He scolded and yelled at her for always disturbing him at all the wrong times. And when Dita left with tears in her eyes, part of his heart wanted to shatter like glass. He didn't want to see a girl cry, even more so when he was the reason behind her tears.

 

He looked at the pillow and decided to do something about this mess he was in.

 

<What the heck…I'd better talk to her and straighten this mess up.>

 

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

 

At the park…

 

Kyo sighed as he gazed at a certain person sitting near the river/pool. He was going to hope for the best, as he didn't have much in terms of choice, he then walked towards Dita, catching her attention and making her stand.

 

"Mr. Alien?" Dita asked as she turned and saw Kyo.

 

Kyo nodded as he approached her. "Hello."

 

Dita began to tremble and the young warrior noted that she was slowly backing away from him, probably to avoid his supposed anger. But now, Kyo had no reason to be angry with the young redhead; however he had reason to ask forgiveness.

 

"Hold on. I… just want to talk to you, that's all." Kyo held up a hand in a calming gesture.

 

Dita stopped and gave him a puzzled look. This was the first time in her knowing the young Gundam pilot that he asked her to stay. She also had never seen him so… humble. Dita began to think.

 

< What's wrong with Mr. Alien? Is he all right? >

 

Kyo took a deep breath to calm himself. Talking to women wasn't always his strong point, especially about rather sensitive matters. He also could tell that Dita was wondering whether he was fine. No doubt that this was the first time he had ever asked her to stay. "I'm here to say sorry for yelling at you before. And I'd like to say thanks for the pillow, that's the first time someone's given me something."

 

Dita took these words in and felt her heart lift up from it's depression, and she smiled her usual enthusiastic smile as she also felt her spirit become lighter.

 

<She does look very attractive when she smiles. > Kyo noted mentally and then gestured for her to sit with him.

 

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

 

The two talked quietly as they gazed at the vast curtain of stars through the observation window. Dita began asking multitudes of questions about him and his travels, Kazuki decided to accommodate her but made it a point not to mention his parents or where he really came from… at least not yet. Dita listened to his answers intently and became very excited after hearing that there were other human worlds out there, and also real alien races.

 

"Wow! That is so neat! You've been to all these places?"

 

The young man nodded. "That's true. There are a lot of worlds out there that were colonized by humans, besides your home world Megele, and Duero and Bart's home of Talark. Usually I stay for a few weeks to even two months, then once I've done what I could there, I'd move on."

 

"What are those worlds like?"

 

"There's one world we came to known as Terra Nova. It was a semi-desert planet with a lot of human inhabitants, but they had machines that were similar to the Vanguards called Gears."

 

“Gears?"

 

"Yeah, that's the name. Those machines were designed to fight wars, but now there are tournaments to stop the possibility of wars being fought between the South and North. The South has it's team the Shadow Dragons, while the North has their team the Vanguard of Justice. I've had a great deal of encounters with them for a while. The Dragons aren't bad, but the Vanguard cheat so many times you could make a collection of encyclopedia books on them for every trick they used. They lost to the Dragons most of the time, thanks to the leader Marcus, who happens to be a kid.”

 

"Wow! Where else did you go to?" Dita asked.

 

"I also came to this world that resembles the Old West of Earth, last I heard. There was a guy there who was so destructive that every inhabitant on the place put a bounty on his head so huge that he's got every bounty hunter on his tail. The guy's name was Vash, and from my personal thoughts, he's a total dope, but he's got a good heart and he's got a deadly skill with his weapon, though his antics gave Meryl a ton of headaches and paper-work.”

 

"Wow! Where else?"

 

"Well… there was another world known as Terra 2. It's like Talark since there are only men, but unlike the guys on Talark, the guys on Terra don't see women as monsters, in fact they built robots looking like women, calling them `Marionettes.' The guy I stayed with is named Otaru, and he's got three Marionettes, the first was Lime, the next was Cherry, and the last was Blood-berry. The weird thing is, the three of them were not like normal Marionettes, they each had circuits called `maiden circuits' that make them act like real women, not like machines. When I left, Otaru was getting ready to meet Lime, Cherry, and Blood-berry after they were converted into human females thanks to Lorelei."

 

"That's so awesome, though I'd really like to see more aliens!"

 

Kazuki gave his companion a bit of a whimsical and amused smile. "You really are crazy about aliens aren't you? Well there were some alien worlds we visited. One of them is Cybertron."

 

“Cybertron?"

 

"Yes, that world belongs to the Transformers, machines with minds of their own or known as living machines. The Transformers used to be slaves, but over the years they developed emotions like we humans do. So they rebelled against their masters and became free and later fought against those fellow Transformers who were evil. They could become cars, animals, planes, you name it."

 

"Wow!"

 

"The next world or worlds I visited were Aiur and Shakuras, these planets are inhabited by the same race known as the Protoss."

 

"Protoss? Who are they?"

 

"They are a very old and ancient race of warrior beings; they could live almost up to at least ten thousand years or even more."

 

“Really?!"

 

“Yes, I've made good friends with many of them when I helped them out during their wars with their enemies."

 

As Dita continued to listen about the exploits of Kyo and his travels, she began to feel more relaxed and her perky personality returned. As she learned more about Mr. Alien, she began to feel something stirring within her heart and soul. It was a warm and very delightful feeling and she felt as if she had a very spiritual connection with him, and it grew every time she gazed at him.

 

Kyo also felt something strong yet gentle pull at his heart for the young woman close to him. It felt as if no matter what would happen, Dita was someone he could never hate or forget, but maybe…

 

As they continued to converse, neither noticed that they were edging closer to one another. Kyo turned his gaze to the side and looked deeply at Dita, while she on the other hand stared deeply into the sapphire-amelyst depths of his eyes. As for Kyo, he found the twinkle in Dita's deep blue eyes to very cute. He reached out unconsciously and placed his hand on her cheek. Dita's reaction was feeling a faint rush of heat in her face and she felt even more excited as they drew closer. Both felt each other's warm and fresh breath tickle their skin, as Kyo found himself looking at Dita's lips, with her looking also at his own as they drew closer… and closer… until…

 

It was then that the near romantic scene between them was broken when the alarm went off, causing the two of them to look out of the observation window.

 

“Oh no! It's the really BAD aliens!"

 

Kyo sighed as he got up. < Damn pests! You just had to show up at the wrong time. > "Oh well, back to the battle."

 

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

 

The Nirvana's Dreads and the Vanguards that were already in combat position as they got ready for this next bout, many of the new Vanguard pilots itching to put their skills to the test. At the head of the Dread formation, Meia began making a role call of all her comrades and found someone missing.

 

"Where's Jura?"

 

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

 

Speaking of whom…

 

Jura and Bart were still drinking it up and were now roaring drunk.

 

“(Hick!) When I combine…I will have the most beautiful form!” Jura said giddily

 

Bart was likewise in the same state.

 

“And I…I (Hick!) will be the new Captain of the Nirvana!” He said completely stoned.

 

The two looked at each other with big drunken smiles, and continued to laugh.

 

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

 

Launching out of the nearest Vanguard launching system, Kyo arrived in Freedom, just as Dita's Dread came in to announce its arrival with the other Dreads.

 

“Ready to go?" Kazuki asked Dita as they prepared to fight.

 

"I'm ready Mr. Alien!" Dita nodded.

 

“I wonder just when you are going to stop calling me by that name."

 

Dita paused for a moment and blushed a bit. "I'm sorry."

 

"I see, but what are you sorry for?" Kyo asked as he tried not to chuckle, as Dita looked even cuter with her cheeks nearing the same yet light color of her hair.

 

"It's just that… I've never been able to call you by any other name."

 

< I see… since I'm the first man she ever met, then that means that she wants to know all about me until she gets the courage to say my name. Okay then. > Kyo thought as he decided on something. "Okay then, I'll wait as soon as you're ready to call me by my real name, you can still call me Mr. Alien."

 

Dita smiled. “Really?!"

 

"Yes." Kyo replied. And with those words, the two merged their machines together into GunDread Dita and charged forward to face the enemy.

 

To be continued…

 

Author's notes:

 

Okay, I'll admit that this ending might be a bit lame, but my mind was running out of ideas. I also expanded the interaction everyone, from Kyo and Dita, all the way to Meia, and lastly to Jura. The warning I made before is now in effect, but these are just teasers, until we get to the serious parts, besides I wanted a change from all the fighting anyway, and this work is a close to heart warming and stimulating as I can get. Next we'll be dealing with a certain double-crossing and trouble-making traitor/trader. Guess who he is? I'm not telling though. I've already mentioned Heavy Gear, Trigun, Saber Marionette, Transformers, and StarCraft, anything else.