Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED- The Second Stage ❯ Part 1- Fallen Paradise ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The Nirvana moves on towards Megele and Talark. Kyo is happy that men and women are now working together, though there are still some who dislike the idea.

But on a mission that resembled a prior mission, the value of the men on the Nirvana is about to be shown to the women, and the stakes in the game of survival are about to get even higher!

Anime/Manga: Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 07.24.2005 | Updated On: 08.05.2005 | Pages: 32 | Words: 32.8K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed

GunDread SEED- The Second Stage

Chapter 5- Part 1

Fallen Paradise

< >: Thoughts

<< >>: Computer language

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

The Cafeteria…

It's been a busy day, over five days had passed since the Nirvana had docked and traded supplies and information with Delta 6, in exchange they helped the residents in their defense of their home.

And it seemed that Kyo was in a more festive mood than most people…

“All right, who ordered the steamed potatoes with vegetables and smoked beef?”

“Me!”

Kyo was doing another one of his duties, and that was being a cook and waiter for the women on his off time from piloting Infinite-Freedom, and leading the Vanguards in defense of the Nirvana. And the women he was serving, was none other than members of his squadron, they loved his cooking, just as they loved the food being cooked by their fellow pirates in the kitchens, including Barnette. But the image of Kyo cooking for them made them feel a little pride. Of course the image of Kyo in nothing but a white sleeveless shirt, black pants, and a pink-apron made them want to laugh, along with some other strange emotions as Kyo's slender but muscular build was shown by his clothes.

“Mr. Alien!”

Kyo sighed a bit after giving the order he made as he looked at the entrance and spotted the perky Dread pilot who waved at him. She then rushed up to the counter, and hugged him.

“Whoa! Hey…Dita, I'm still cooking here!”

“Oops! Sorry!” Dita said as she released Kyo, but part of her wanted to hold onto Kyo, as she felt the hard muscles on Kyo's shoulders and back. “Do you…?”

“My Prince Charming!” Misty said as she too rushed into the cafeteria and without any finesse reached out and kissed Kyo on the cheek, making Kyo blush…and a certain redhead rather…angry.

“HEY! LEAVE MR. ALIEN ALONE!!!”

“OH YEAH?! MAKE ME!!”

Misty and Dita glared at each other, and the situation in front of Kyo became rather tense. So like any normal man, Kyo got out of the kitchen and got between Dita and Misty.

“Look, you two stop that right now. For my sake, okay?” Kyo slightly pleaded as he made both girls look at him and gave them a stern glare.

Dita felt a bit bad at making Kyo rather angry, and apologized. “I'm sorry.”

Misty sighed and nodded. “I'm sorry too.”

Kyo smiled and then went back into the kitchen. “All right, now what do you want Dita?”

“I'll have anything you make Mr. Alien!” Dita said with a warm smile and with a sugary tone of appreciation.

Not to be outdone, despite her promise not to fight for now with Dita, Misty gave a smile and spoke with a tone coated to the core with sugar. “Everything you make is delicious Kyo.”

Kyo felt a little bit embarrassed at the looks of love struck adoration from the two girls and decided to get to work. In a span of ten to fifteen minutes, he made a meal of scrambled eggs, ham, corn-bits, and soup for Misty, while he made a meal of bacon, brownies, toast, and waffles for Dita.

As he watched the two move away with their meals, he could still tell that the two were still going at it as he could see them still have dagger looks at each other. He sighed as he went back to the foods.

“Hello Kyo.”

Kyo sighed as he looked back and spotted none other than Jura who was smiling hungrily, and he knew that it was NOT just the food she was smiling about.

“What is it Jura?”

Jura grinned mischievously as she leaned forward, showing her ample bust at Kyo once more, and like any normal man his age, Kyo blushed a deep red as he went to take Jura's order of food for today.

“You know me Kyo, I'll have my usual break-fast.”

“All right…give me a minute.” Kyo said with a sigh as he went to work.

Once he was done, he checked the rest of the room, and he spotted Meia, who had taken break-fast earlier with the rest of his team in the Mobile Suit department. He already noted the looks of anger and jealousy being shown to Jura by two certain girls, and along with anybody else in eye distance and he could have sworn that Meia was glaring a bit at Jura. But in general, everyone was happy and enjoying the meals.

Kyo sighed as he watched everyone in the cafeteria, it was hard for him to believe, but over two months ago, half of the women there wanted him gone or imprisoned during that ridiculous mutiny Barnette had started, and the other half wanted him to stay and be with them. The changes were already there, Bart and Duero were no longer being treated with suspicion, and the women had grown more and more tolerant of men, namely with them, being the only men on the ship. When the idea of men and women working together would have been a heresy on either Megele or Talark, the idea flourished in the Nirvana, and the alliance that had been shaky and easy to break became solid and strong, this idea will be all that they have in order to beat the Harvesters and their automated fleets.

Though Kyo knew one thing…not EVERYBODY liked the idea.

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

"Will you just hurry up?" Barnette griped as she sat on the examination table in her underwear. Beside her, young Duero McFile, the head physician (The ONLY qualified physician onboard the Nirvana) on the Nirvana, was calmly giving the Dread pilot her regular checkup.

Jura's best friend was in a more irritated mood than usual especially when she was around men. Though she had more or less, buried the hatchet between her and Kyo and had grown to tolerate the presence of the opposite gender, she still held true to her beliefs that men were still the enemy, and that the situation in the Nirvana was only temporary, but was a necessary measure. There was also the fact that Jura was still chasing Kyo in her growing attempts to have a baby with a man's seed, namely that of the Gundam pilot. As a result, Barnette had been feeling a bit neglected to say the least.

However, with the way things were on the Nirvana, she couldn't do anything else but accept the presence of the men. Bart was a needed part of the ship's navigation and to fire the Nirvana's weapon systems. Kyo was essential as the leader of the Crusader Squadron, as a pilot for his Gundam, and as part of the GunDreads. As for Duero…well, it was better than returning to Paiway's not so tender-loving-care, though her skills have improved under Duero's tutelage.

"I'm almost done." The good medic said as he took out his stethoscope, placed the listening ends to his ears, and placed the front probe on Barnette's chest, just above her left breast. The cold metal made the green-haired girl shiver a bit, but what unnerved her more was the fact that his hand was close…very close to her breast. She swallowed slightly as he instructed her to take in several deep breaths while he moved the probe about.

"W-What are you doing?"

Duero looked at Barnette, a little bit confused by her question and replied. "I'm just examining your heart and breathing rates, that's all."

The Dread pilot gestured with her head at a machine that was nearby. "Why don't you use one of those things…what did you call them, the Pulse Meter? You used it the last time I was here."

Duero nodded but offered a slight smile as he replied. "True, I could have used that, but I saw no reason to waste power on some basic field exams that I can do with my own hands. Technology is a wonderful thing and is greatly needed in the medical field, but I've learned that relying too much on it can sometimes be a hindrance in one's work. A good doctor should always be able to perform his duties regardless of what tools he has or doesn't have. That was the prime lesson at the Academy, and at Med School. At times, I prefer a more hands-on approach to doing things."

"Ridiculous!" Barnette scoffed. "Why bother having technology if you don't use it?"

"I never said anything about me being adverse to technology." He corrected as he logged the data concerning Barnette's pulse and breathing rate, then logged all of it into the console. "I use technology when the need calls for it, but I also like to keep my options open. I, along with every soldier and citizen on Talark, were taught that we need to rely on our own personal skills first and foremost. Technology can break down and become unreliable, so we always have something to fall back on. At times, those skills can be the difference between living and dying."

The Megele woman snorted a bit at the Doctor's naiveté. "Hmpf! No wonder Talark is so far behind Megele."

"Excuse me?"

The Dread pilot shrugged her shoulders. "No offense, but if that's the way things are done on Talark, then it's a miracle that you men have even made it into space. Look at us. We women of Megele have the best that technology has to offer. And we're always improving on it. We have the better hospitals, the better food centers, the better living quarters, the better spacecraft, and let's face it, the better weapons. In just about all things, our way of life is a lot better than that dreary existence on Talark. I don't know how all of you EVEN lived eating those awful tasting pills!"

"Well, that's your own opinion, I suppose." Replied Duero as he finished his log work for today. As a medic he had been trained to be unbiased when dealing with patients. He wasn't an expert in politics nor did he ever have the interest in entering that maelstrom of confusing ideals, and his training and actual experience, made him realize that having an open mind was the best way to survive and handle certain things. Though a part of him, being a man of Talark made him bristle slightly at Barnette's words. He found it somewhat odd that Barnette would heap praise on the wonders of technology, considering her hobby, more like obsession with collecting antique firearms and her interest in close quarters combat, which was totally similar to the Talark Military's way of thinking. However, he kept his peace.

"It's not just my opinion. It's just a fact. And that's why women are always going to be better!" Barnette replied smugly as she began to put her clothes back on. "Are you done now?"

The Talark male replied with a nod as he finished entering the final data on Barnette's examination. As the short tempered girl left the Medical Bay, he couldn't help but admire the smooth, graceful lines of her figure, and how that contrasted to her personality. Women to him, as his time here on the Nirvana were like bundles of extremes, one moment they can be kind and very gentle. And the next moment they could become fierce and uncontrollable beings, sometimes for reasons that bordered to downright confusing in the mind of the Talark medic's mind, (namely the mutiny over Dita's tears). They weren't like the horrible innard-sucking monsters that the propaganda ministry had shown him and his fellow Talark comrades in films, but women were just plain difficult to place in cohesive terms. They were mysteries that Duero just loved to try and solve.

Unlike the crude, yet simplistic and straightforward, all male planet that he descended from, women had many nuances and quirks in their society that mystified and fascinated the accomplished healer. When he first encountered the so-called 'enemy' he took an immediate interest in studying up close the females he met. The irony of the situation for Duero, it was Barnette that interested him the most, along with Parfet.

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

Flashback…

"There…that should do it." Duero said as he finished bandaging Barnette's arm, then gazed at her form for a very long time.

"What? What are you looking at me for? Do you find something interesting about me?" Barnette asked in annoyance.

"Yes…I do find something interesting." Duero answered as he mentally catalogued all that he noted on Barnette, namely anatomical structure differences and similarities of her appearance and that of the other women he had been treating. <Interesting. Except for some…variances in the chest and abdominal regions, they're generally human…like men. >

"Well don't expect any thanks from me!" The Dread pilot snapped back.

"I don't…I suppose I'll leave now."

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

End of Flashback…

Since that time and the creation of the Nirvana, Duero found himself in a rather unique situation. As the only skilled medical and surgical expert onboard the vessel, he had been given the opportunity of gaining valuable information about women and their society. At present, he had nearly examined all of Magno's crew, and had seen his own fair share of…(cough), feminine attributes (*). The process in which they reproduced, the birth of Ezra's little daughter Lacus and what he had learned from Kyo, along with Misty about the ancient practices of procreation between genders, only fueled his desire to learn as much as he could about the opposite sex.

Of course, he had made friends with some females onboard the Nirvana who were very much as open-minded as he was. Duero had made a strong friendly relationship with the plucky head engineer Parfet, whose way of considering machines as living things always intrigued him. Magno, Gascogne, and Buzam were always willing to listen to the both of them with their opinions and suggestions, but he felt like the First Mate was hiding something. BC always refused to be examined and always seemed to be avoiding the other women when not at duty.

However there were also women who still resented the presence of him and his fellow male comrades onboard the pirate vessel, Barnette, naturally at the helm. Her latest remarks clearly stated her irritation over the entire affair of men and women working together. Duero sighed a bit as he decided that now wasn't the time to dwell too much on these things, checking his chronometer, he discovered that it was time to end his shift. Signaling for Paiway to take over the Medical Bay for the next three hours, he logged off on his console and decided to meet up with Parfet at the Engineering Bay and after they worked on their patient, the Paeksis, he would meet up with Kyo, who would also end his shift in the cafeteria.

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

Engineering Bay… an hour and a half later.

"That's it…a little more…There! How's that Duero?" Parfet asked over her console as she and the other medical officer of the Nirvana was busy working with their personal patient, the Paeksis.

Duero nodded as he checked his console. "That should do it Parfet."

Parfet nodded as walked over to her medical counterpart onboard the Nirvana, and got down to looking at the Talark doctor.

She took note of his appearance, while he was in his normal Talark uniform, minus the trench coat. He was tall all right, but that didn't bother the short girl all that much. She had to admit that Duero McFile was totally different. Being open-minded all her life she had to admit that he didn't in the very least look like a cowardly person, he had great courage under fire, as their first encounter with a Harvester battleship proved. Not to mention that there was…

Parfet turned around quickly as she faced a nearby console and pretended to work, while hiding her face, which had a pink tinge for some unknown reason. She had been feeling this way, since, the very day they met and held hands in the Engineering Room all those months ago.

Duero looked at Parfet, who had unzipped her jumpsuit, and was wearing a black tank-top. He had to admit that hanging around the spunky Megele engineer had been…rather interesting to say the least. He then noted that she seemed tense, and sure enough, he heard her groan.

"Owww, I wish that I could take a little break, my body's aching!"

"Where exactly?"

Parfet turned and found her facing Duero who can a concerned gleam in his eyes, at least the one not covered by hair, he happened to be rather close to her. She then placed her arms on her shoulders. "I've gotten some muscles cramps here, and they ache a lot right now."

"Hmm, you've been working non-stop for three hours, no wonder you're body's sore. Maybe I can fix that."

"How?"

"I'm knowledgeable in physical therapy, maybe I can use that to relieve the muscular tension."

Parfet suddenly got the idea. "Y-You mean…a massage?"

Duero nodded. "If that's what you women call it…yes, a massage."

"Uh…sure."

Parfet sat on a box, while Duero got behind her and then got his hands on her shoulders, and began to tenderly massage Parfet's muscles.

Parfet moaned a little, mentally, as the knots in her muscles began to loosen, under Duero's firm but gentle ministrations. She sighed a little as Duero continued to work on her muscles.

"Mmm, that feels…nice."

"Good, I take it you're feeling better?" Duero asked.

"Yeah, can you do it a little bit harder?"

"Sure."

As Duero mounted the pressure gently, Parfet sighed as she began to feel very relaxed, she rarely got to be massaged, since she always worked in the Engineering Bay, not to mention that she only relied on sleep for comfort. It felt real nice to have someone massage her, even more so if it was Duero doing the work…

Parfet then felt a warm tingle sashay it's way down her spine, as sudden images of Duero, massaging every part of her body…

She gasped a little, as she felt a wave of embarrassment and surprise flow through her, she however, couldn't deny that part of her wondered what would happen if Duero DID get his hands on her whole body.

Sadly that little daydream was removed as Duero moved away, making Parfet wonder why did he stop, she saw Duero checking his chrono-meter and took his trench coat from the table.

"I'm sorry Parfet, but I have to go somewhere." Duero said in apology.

"It's all right. I'll see you later Duero."

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

Duero sighed a little as he made his way to where Kyo waiting for him. He, still wanted to learn more about the nuances and quirks of the female gender, and it was a little surprising that Parfet was the one that interested him apart from Barnette, though part of him wondered why it felt a little wrong for him to be thinking of the two women

Ever since becoming a prisoner of the pirates, before becoming a crewmember, he was intrigued with the bespectacled, spirited, and feisty woman that he worked with in those first months of the journey. She always showed an open mind when they would meet, and that worked well with his own open-minded policy when approaching problems. Considering that, she was his only female friend onboard the Nirvana, though Gascogne and Magno were also as open minded as he was, though he still couldn't help but feel that the First Mate Buzam was hiding something.

Either way, it was always a learning experience for him. And he loved to learn all that he could.

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

Kyo nodded as he spotted the latest arrival to the cafeteria's kitchen. "Hey Duero, you're right on time." he chirped.

Duero nodded back to him. "I wouldn't miss these lessons for anything."

The Gundam pilot nodded as he took out several holographic projector units, which he always carried with them in his backpack. The holographs stored in the units, contained, very accurate, detailed diagrams of the human body, and indicated various areas of anatomy.

"I've thinking along the lines of the extremities and some anesthetic and stun techniques. There no doubt will be times in which you may not have sedatives and painkillers with you, and some of the techniques can be used for defensive maneuvers. You should recall that you have to use the shiatsu training for medical and defense purposes Duero. I'm NOT going to like it if you try killing people with it.”

“I understand.”

" Okay, I'll guide you through the various shiatsu points and show you how much pressure is needed to use each one and what are the effects, and afterwards…We'll get down to the basics and advanced methods, of deep frying, boiling, spices, and food sampling." Kyo replied as he pointed to the clean pans, pots and ingredients with a grin.

Duero chuckled a bit. In addition to pressure point manipulation training, plus several lessons concerning armed and unarmed combat, the Mobile Suit pilot gave the Talark man several special crash-courses in cooking.

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

At the Nirvana's Command Bridge…

"Are you certain that it's an old Colony frequency?" BC asked as Amarone reported that she picked up a distress call.

The young dark-skinned woman nodded. "I'm positive. It matches up to the one we're using. It's coming from a planet that's about half a parsec from our present course. I'm getting a lot of interference, but it seems that they're under attack from…the Harvesters.

Magno thought her options over. Although she and her crew were pirates, they couldn't turn their backs on a plea for help, especially when the enemy of all humanity was involved. Even after taking their needed supplies and made an alliance with the people of Delta 6, it certainly would be beneficial to make more alliances with other human worlds, in preparation for inevitable invasion of the Harvesters and the soon to come war.

After deliberating for a few more minutes, she nodded to Buzam who immediately called in Kyo and Duero, as she made her decision.

"Plot a course for that planet."

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

In a secret command center…a massive computer terminal was online.

<< Decoy signal has been answered. Activating combat protocol 0-17-09-X.>>

The computer began accessing it's database archives. The images depicted a massive number unknown combat units and a selection of combat bases, that seemed to be all over the planet's surface. Once the data had been collected and all the standing forces and combat assets were called into combat standby, the computer began sending out a signal to a certain planet, and to a nearby command fleet, hidden over several days to a week of travel from the planet that emitted the signal.

The decoy signal HAD been answered…by the Nirvana!

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

Later…

Kyo, along with Duero nodded to Magno as soon as they entered the bridge. Magno had asked for their presence in the bridge as the Nirvana had achieved orbit around a planet. The Talark male was immediately reminded of his desert home world as he saw it on the view-screen.

"Are you sure that this is the right planet?" Magno asked as she, Amarone, and the rest of the bridge crew gazed at the desolate and VERY unfriendly-looking sphere on the main monitor. The world had a nitrogen/oxygen-based atmosphere that could support human and other Terran life forms, but most of the surface was completely desert, as it made a circular orbit around five suns; a pair of red giants, two white dwarves, and a modest yellow star. There some large oceans on the planet, but the world, for the most part, life on that world would have to suffer extremely hot days, and extremely cold nights. There were various amounts of space debris that floated nearby, limiting the Nirvana's movements. The massive numbers of meteors and meteorites, and other space debris, contained considerable numbers of radioactive metals and isotopes. And to make things real complicated, the four suns were always unleashing massive EM interference due to the solar storm activity that released massive solar flares. This condition made the ship's sensors, and communication networks far less then reliable, which was a bad thing.

"Yes, Captain." Amarone answered. "The EM interference is making it very difficult to get the distress signal's exact location, but it's definitely coming from that planet."

Magno was more than suspicious, as was the First Officer. It wasn't the first time the pirates had stumbled headfirst into an ambush. And the situation was more than familiar to them as they had done the same thing several months ago.

"Is there any sign of the Harvesters?" BC asked.

Ezra shook her head in answer. "Even though the interference has reduced the range of our sensors, I'm not picking up any signals from nearby enemy ships. However, I am detecting faint ion trails that do match up with Cube Fighters and Seed Ships, they're very recent."

"It's a big possibility that the Harvesters have already finished their dirty work and left." Kyo speculated.

"Or maybe, they could be just waiting around to DO their dirty work, on US." Magno countered as her suspicions rose steadily. "I don't like this one bit. Sensors and communications are hampered because of all the outside interference and we don't even have any confirmation that anyone's alive down there."

At that moment, Amarone received a weak communiqué on her console. "Captain! We're being hailed! It's definitely coming from the planet's surface, near the Northern Hemisphere. I'll try to clear the interference."

All those present listened in as a voice filtered in.

"Help! Please! (crackle) Life-support sys…(pop)…breaking down. Can't hold on…for long! (zzzzzt)…Twelve survivors…(snap)…escaped somehow…Harvest…(bzzzt)…for the name of human….life….Help us!"

Amarone shook her head sadly as the transmission went dead. "I couldn't hold on to the message, Captain. However, I've managed to detect some faint life signs. They're human."

"There's been no sign of the Harvesters from the recon team's original scan either when they were deployed, Captain, none of them encountered any Cube Fighters either. But they have found debris that are Cube Fighters and also those of the planet's apparent defense fleets around the planet's orbit…So it's possible that the transmission we've received is authentic." Belvedere said as she checked the database and ran all the information into her console.

"So the Harvesters have been here recently." Buzam stated as she turned to the Captain. "If that transmission is from survivors from the Harvest, then we can't leave them there to die, besides that, they survived the Harvest, then perhaps they can provide us with more information about our enemies."

The ancient woman nodded as she decided that the risks were worth it. She turned to Kyo. “Looks like you're going on a ground operation. Be careful Kyo.”

The former Yamato nodded as he turned to assemble the ground team for the mission, and the landing teams. It seems that the Vanguards would be needed once more.

Especially since the environment was totally not suited for Dreads, since the electromagnetic interference would be dangerous to the sensors and navigation systems of the Megele interceptors.

"I'll be coming along in this mission, Captain." Duero announced. That caught Kyo's attention, as the Gundam pilot was about to leave the bridge.

"Oh?" Magno responded in surprise. "And why would you want to take on a potentially dangerous mission?"

"I am a doctor, Captain. If there are any survivors on that planet, they will need immediate medical attention. Being from Talark, I am quite familiar with the climate and environment of that desert world. Furthermore I am very proficient with piloting a Vanguard."

"You?" Both the Captain, and the First Officer said in surprise.

Duero shrugged, and replied. "As a First Class Citizen of Talark and a member of the military, I have been given training in mecha-controls. I am familiar with most of the inner workings of the standard Van-type combat frame and…" He briefly glanced at Kyo. "I'm certain that Kyo can vouch that I'm qualified."

Both women turned to Kyo with questioning glances. The Mobile Suit pilot gave a lopsided smile and nodded. During the off-hours, Kyo along with the physician had been spending hours in the Vanguard combat simulator units and the one Kyo had customized for his own use, and was impressed with the Talark medic's performance records and results. He was surprised when Duero came to him during a training simulation with the Crusader Squadron, and asked to participate, and did very well. The pilot of the Infinite-Freedom had been impressed with Duero's skills with the Vanguards. "Yes. Duero's certified, and he's also proven himself as an excellent hand to hand combatant. I intended to make him a reserve pilot for the Crusader Squadron." Kyo answered. The Coordinator of old Earth walked back to Duero and shook his hand. "Good to have you onboard, Doc."

"I'm not all that sure that it's such a good idea." BC stated with concern. "You do realize that Duero is our ONLY qualified physician. We can't afford to lose him and…"

Duero held up a hand, cutting off the silver-haired woman. "I assure you that I WILL be back to resume our medical duties here on the Nirvana. At this moment, those survivors will need my help, and Paiway will be able to handle things until I return, she HAS gotten better you know."

"I'll make certain he will make it back here to the Nirvana safe and sound." Kyo reassured the crew.

Magno considered the man from Talark for a long time before finally giving her consent.

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

Later, at the Vanguard Hanger…

"WHAT?! HE'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE LANDING PARTY?! HE CAN PILOT VANGUARDS?!"

Barnette was more than angered when she had been selected to be part of the landing team, due to her previous experience in the first Vanguard mission (**). Along with Jura, Dita, she was to be part of the landing team for the planet's surface. Barnette groaned as she just realized, she was going to be stuck with not one, but TWO men! And not just any men. The first had the physical and mental skill to rival a large number of her planet's best soldiers and pilots and the second came from the planet of Megele's most hated enemy.

At first Sara, Mai, and the rest of the Crusader Squadron protested the idea of them not being part of the landing party when Kyo informed them. Since the Dreads were rendered useless, due to the high EM interference and the fact that their maneuverability capacity was limited in the swarms of meteoroids and space debris, Kyo decided to deploy the Vanguards in setting up defensive lines and patrol the area while he, Infinite-Freedom went on the surface with the rest of the landing team. There was also the fact that Jura, Dita, and Barnette were the only female Vanguard pilots with the needed combat experience in controlling the mecha on a planetary surface. And there was the fact that Duero knew how to handle and pilot a Vanguard on land as he had taken the training.

Though the facts irritated the female Vanguard operators, they still did their duties and prepared to guard the Nirvana until their leaders returned safe and sound. Recently, Parfet had equipped the humanoid mecha with new power packs to increase their range. Therefore allowing the machines to maintain operations for extended periods of time as they defended the pirate ship from any surprise attacks from the Harvesters.

"Mr. Doctor is coming with us?" Dita asked as she began putting on the new bodysuit that the Register created for all Vanguard pilots. The suits were made of an extremely durable special material that was impact-absorbent which molded to their figures. They were colored gray and were extremely lightweight.

"That's what Kyo said." Jura replied as she zipped up the front of her suit, and admired herself in front of the nearby full-length mirror. "Hmm, gray's not one of my favorite colors, but I just LOVE the boots." The suit easily molded to her lush curves like second skin.

"Will someone tell me, why we HAVE to wear these suits?" Barnette gripped as she got on her own uniform.

"They're designed for your own safety."

The three girls turned and spotted Duero and Kyo walking towards them. Kyo was in his uniform and held his helmet in his hand, while Duero was in one of the bodysuits, but had his uniform over the suit, and his trench coat. In the hands of the Talark medic was a large black satchel bag, which contained his medical and survival gear.

"What do you mean for our safety?" Barnette demanded.

Duero tapped the suit he wore. "These new bodysuits are made with special material designed to lessen the force of impact on your bodies. I asked Gascogne and Parfet to make these suits when several members of the Crusader Squadron were injured in battles with the Harvesters, due to being jostled around in the their mecha cockpits after receiving hits. Restraints in the Vanguards are not enough. The suits happen to be great protection against extreme cold, punctures, and excessive moisture. Aside from the space suits the Dread pilots wear, your regular wardrobes aren't…exactly appropriate for certain battle situations and don't provide enough protection. Furthermore, the space suits you use are too bulky and clumsy for manipulating Vanguard controls, which require fine hand manipulation and control. I spoke to Kyo and he agreed to have the suits made."

"Hmpf!" Barnette fumed as she zipped the front of the suit she was now assigned to wear, she then glared at Kyo. "So, how come you aren't wearing a suit?"

"Infinite-Freedom has a lot more padding than standard Vanguards or any Mobile Suit type, and besides my uniform is actually made from the same material as the suits you ladies have. The uniform I have is a specially made combat/utility/survival uniform body-suit that I had adapted from my older uniform. It's durable, stain resistant, impact-absorbent, repels all dirt and odor causing molecules, and lasts for quite a while longer than normal cloth, plus the padding and body armor comes in very handy. Parfet used my uniform as a template to create those suits that you're all wearing. The sooner we get moving the better. So no time like the present, let's go.”

Dita nodded as she ran to her own patented Vanguard, which she had decorated deep blue with little green alien designs on it, after blowing a kiss to Kyo. Jura blew Kyo another kiss as she headed off to her own, that she colored pink and red..

Barnette growled a bit, as she made her way to her own mecha, but not before turning and glaring at Duero. "It's bad enough that I have to take orders from a man again, so don't get in my way! I'm not going to baby-sit anyone, especially a man. If you get into trouble, then don't expect me to go out and save your butt!" She then stomped off and got ready to board her mecha.

Duero planned on replying to her remark when he felt a restraining hand on his shoulder. He turned to spot Kyo, who had a reassuring smile while shaking his head.

"Don't let her temper get under your skin, Duero. It's just her way of covering her own insecurities. She may act tough and a become a pain in the neck, but deep down, she's a good person, she's just not all that inclined to show that side of herself."

Duero nodded with a chuckle as he nodded in agreement. "I know, that's what I think also."

"You do?"

"Yes. I've often suspected that her abrasive exterior actually hides something a more…well, now isn't the exact time to talk about such things."

"Right, let's go."

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

"I hope that everything's going to be okay.” Parfet said nervously as she paced the room of the engineering bay in a slight fit of worry about Duero.

Chief, Parfet's second in command of the Engineering Bay watched her superior pace nervously, she had been like this when the announcement of the team roster was given, namely when Duero's name was involved. Though she wouldn't say a word to embarrass her leader, Chief and the others in the Engineering Bay had been betting on when Parfet would try and ask the man out on a date. They had come to respect Duero as despite being the medical profession, he had the same talent with machines.

“I'm sure they'll be fine. They might not be there long, an hour or two at the most, so they will be home before you know it.”

Though it was meant to reassure Parfet, the speech did little to stop the bespectacled engineer from pacing.

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

"I hope I'm not making a big mistake, BC." Magno said as she watched the drop-ship approach the desert planet. She recalled the fear the crew had when the mission they had several months ago had happened.

"So do I, but we have to trust them all, to make it through. They made it out before." BC answered as she too recalled the trap they had fallen into.

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

"Why can't I come along?" Misty said with a slight pout, as she and Meia watched the Vanguard drop-ship, and the Infinite-Freedom depart from the Nirvana. Both girls were watching everything from the observation deck.

"You're not qualified to pilot a Vanguard." Meia answered <And neither am I. > she added with a sullen tone as she knew that she wasn't part of this mission due to her claustrophobia, and she couldn't be out in her Dread due to the high EM interference and dense clouds of debris. For the first time since joining Magno's crew, she had been placed in the role of spectator.

"That redhead and that blonde bimbo had better not try and steal MY Prince Charming!” Misty fumed with Q-Chan speaking in the same tones and mood.

Meia's eyes took on a slightly hard look as she hoped for once that her claustrophobia didn't exist in her so she could at least be in a landing mission, though a small voice in her head stated that she only wanted to make sure that neither Jura and Dita, or even Misty would try and get TOO close to Kyo.

Meia shook her head at those thoughts as she watched the monitor.

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

As the Vanguards and Infinite-Freedom broke through the atmosphere and began to make their way to the source of the distress signal, the computer AI watched in patient analytical anticipation through the monitors. It wasn't going to take any longer.

Once the drop-ship and the Gundam were now deploying, the computer began making other plans…namely concerning the Nirvana and the rest of the pirate crew.

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

Barnette gritted her teeth as she fought the high winds of the atmosphere while controlling her fall towards the planet's surface. With the same umbrella-like devices as before, the mecha all made their way down. Jura's friend spotted Duero's Vanguard making a perfect descent with professional-like precision, which made the Megele female, feel extremely irritated. Determined not to be outdone by Duero, Barnette attempted to make her landing a perfect one. However, in her haste and anger, she misjudged the distance between her Vanguard and the ground. One foot of her machine struck an outcropping of stone and this caused her mecha to go tumbling face first into the sand.

Barnette was bounced around the cockpit of her Vanguard a bit before coming to a full stop. As she righted her Vanguard to a standing position, she noticed that her body wasn't feeling the least bit sore and realized with an irritated sigh, that the new suit she was wearing had cushioned the impact. <Damn! The man just HAD to be right. >

At that moment, Duero's white and red mecha landed easily beside her own. On the chest was the name and the emblem of the Talark Medical Unit. It walked up to Barnette. Duero then got into contact with Barnette.

"Are you all right Barnette? Do you need any medical aid? You took one serious fall back there. Did the suit do it's job?"

Annoyed that he made a perfect landing, and even showing concern for her own well-being, Barnette simply turned her machine's back on Duero's mecha and began to stomp off to where the other Vanguards and the lone Paeksis-enhanced Gundam were approaching.

In his own mecha, Duero sighed at the stubborn woman, he knew that this was going to be a LONG mission.

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

The Nirvana's bridge…

"Are we still in contact with the landing party?" Buzam asked. "How's communications?"

Amarone and the rest of the bridge crew were still at it. "Communications are still pretty garbled up, but we are able to track the team's locations at any time through the special locator beacons in the Vanguards."

"Good." The First Officer nodded as she got into contact with the patrol teams. "Sara, have any of your teams sighted the enemy?"

Out in space, flying in her Vanguard, the pilot shook her head. "None of my teams have seen the enemy and all the EM interference out here's making our own sensors unreliable. All this debris makes movement here a real challenge. It's a good thing that the Van-Types are smaller than the Dreads. No way Meia and her squadrons are flying through this morass. We'll notify you if we all see anything."

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

A while later on the planet's surface…

"This must be the place." Kyo answered as he and the rest of the Nirvana landing party arrived before a large derelict man-made structure, which was built into the side of one massive mesa. They were able to track the signal to this specific location. There was just one unfortunate detail. The Vanguards were too large to fit into the main entrance…his Gundam included.

"Well, I guess that mean's we're on foot from here." Kyo said simply as he had the sensors on Infinite-Freedom do some preliminary scans of the environment around them all. The readouts said that the air's very much breathable and though the temperature was a full 110 degrees Fahrenheit, it was tolerable enough for the team to walk in.

"Why can't we just smash our way in?" Barnette gripped impatiently as she wanted this rescue mission to be finished.

Before Kyo could answer that somewhat rhetorical question. Duero beat him to it. "Structural integrity analysis of the interior shows instability, so such an action will make the whole structure collapse, killing the survivors inside. My sensors are picking up faint human life signatures. This is a RESCUE mission, after all. Kyo's right. We'll have to disembark and go in ourselves. I'm also picking up some echoing signatures, meaning that there are large caverns as well. If there are any survivors, then that probably means that they were hiding to escape the Harvesters."

Infinite-Freedom turned to face Dita, Jura's machines. "You two will be on guard duty, while, me, Duero, and Barnette go in and search the caverns."

"HEY! SINCE WHEN DID WE HAVE TO TAKE ORDERS FROM YOU?" Barnette fumed in outrage.

< Here we go again. > "Since the Captain made m the leader of the Vanguards and all missions of this type. And I never wanted this job in the first place. Now we can stand here and argue until the power packs for the Vanguards run dry, or we can go down there and get those people out of here and be back at the Nirvana as quickly as we can, or would you prefer to have the deaths of those people on your neck?" Kyo said with a strained tone, since he didn't want to have an argument so early in this mission, namely with Barnette.

Barnette barely managed to rein in her temper as she wordlessly opened her Vanguard's hatch and made her mecha kneel down so she could disembark. She took along with her an old FAMAS submachine gun with several slides of ammunition from her collection of antique firearms. She carried with her a small survival kit with rations and other pieces of equipment.

Duero followed suit and emerged from his own Vanguard with two medical kits in hand, one his own Talark on and a Megele designed one, filled with the best that Megele technology had to offer. As he prepared to join the others, he took note that the instruments needed to have a check. So the Talark youth did a quick routine check of all the vital equipment, and became concerned when he saw that the calibrations were off slightly. <Hmm…they were all working fine when we still in the Nirvana. It must be from all the EM interference from all the solar activity. This might become a problem. > When he heard his name being called, he mentally put his thoughts and concerns on the matter on the back burner for a while and walked towards Kyo, and Barnette. On his shoulder, he had a Talark assault rifle with a retractable bayonet. The same weapon was all standard issue to all Talark soldiers and was standard equipment in the Vanguards.

Barnette eyed the weapons with slight interest, as she knew that all Talark firearms were still based on the principle of projectile weaponry. After all, the wound that Duero had patched up during the attack on the Ikazuchi had been from a rifle round penetrating her space suit. She then directed her attention to the Talark Doctor with a slightly sarcastic tone. "Do you know how to use that?"

Duero shrugged. "I've been considered a fair shot at the Academy, though I haven't used one since I came onboard the Nirvana. I might be rusty a bit, but I can manage."

Barnette snorted with disdain as she and Duero went to Kyo who was waiting for them join him, he too had his sword, hand-gun with several clips, and an assault rifle.

"But why can't we go with you, Mr. Alien?" Dita pouted.

"Yeah, why do we have to be the ones on boring guard duty?" Jura asked with disappointment.

"We can't risk all of us getting into trouble, if this IS a trap." The Gundam pilot explained. "You will be our backups if things go bad. If you don't hear from any of us in thirty minutes, then come in and get us. If things get too extreme then return to the Nirvana, and no arguments."

With that, the former Earthling, the Talark medic, and Barnette went through the small opening and began to explore the structure.

Unknown to them, they crossed over a near invisible beam of light, and that triggered a nearby camera to begin a diagnostic…on them! And on Dita and Jura as well! Once the diagnostic on them was done the data was fed towards the main computer console…hidden somewhere on the planet.

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

The computer then began accessing the latest data concerning the visitors it managed to attract…namely their biological data along with their anatomical graphs.

<<Subject 01>>

<<Male>>

<<Constitution: 99.5%>>

<<Biological Functions: Optimal Performance>>

<<Respiration Rate: Normal>>

<<Hand/Eye Coordination: Normal>>

<<Circulation Rate: Normal>>

<<Genome Stability Ratio: 100%>>

<<Cerebral Function Rate: Normal>>

<<Organ Viability: 100%>>

<<Biological Anomalies: None>>

<<Conclusion: Subject is viable for Harvest>>

*****

<<Subject 02>>

<<Female>>

<<Constitution: 99.5%>>

<<Biological Functions: Optimal Performance>>

<<Respiration Rate: Normal>>

<<Hand/Eye Coordination: Normal>>

<<Circulation Rate: Normal>>

<<Genome Stability Ratio: 100%>>

<<Cerebral Function Rate: Normal>>

<<Organ Viability: 100%>>

<<Biological Anomalies: None>>

<<Conclusion: Subject is viable for Harvest>>

*****

<<Subject 03>>

<<Male>>

<<Constitution: 100%>>

<<Biological Functions: Beyond Optimal Performance>>

<<Respiration Rate: Above Normal>>

<<Hand/Eye Coordination: Above Normal>>

<<Circulation Rate: Above Normal>>

<<Genome Stability Ratio: 200%>>

<<Cerebral Function Rate: Above Normal>>

<<Organ Viability: 200%>>

<<Biological Anomalies: None>>

<<Conclusion: Subject is extremely desirable for Harvest>>

*****

<<Subject 04>>

<<Female>>

<<Constitution: 99.5%>>

<<Biological Functions: Optimal Performance>>

<<Respiration Rate: Normal>>

<<Hand/Eye Coordination: Normal>>

<<Circulation Rate: Normal>>

<<Genome Stability Ratio: 100%>>

<<Cerebral Function Rate: Normal>>

<<Organ Viability: 100%>>

<<Biological Anomalies: None>>

<<Conclusion: Subject is viable for Harvest>>

*****

<<Subject 05>>

<<Female>>

<<Constitution: 99.5%>>

<<Biological Functions: Optimal Performance>>

<<Respiration Rate: Normal>>

<<Hand/Eye Coordination: Normal>>

<<Circulation Rate: Normal>>

<<Genome Stability Ratio: 100%>>

<<Cerebral Function Rate: Normal>>

<<Organ Viability: 100%>>

<<Biological Anomalies: None>>

<<Conclusion: Subject is viable for Harvest>>

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

The computer then activated a command that allowed several sensors hidden in the asteroid belt to begin it's data scans on the pirate vessel and it's crew. It then began analyzing ALL the remaining crew and even those that were in space patrol on the Vanguards. Once it was done…it decided what to do with the pirates.

<< All subjects are desirable and viable for Harvest. Initiating communication protocol 06-90-14-2-H.>>

The computer then activated a pair of powerful transmitters to be opened from a hidden communications node in an asteroid in the debris belt, the first transmitter was aimed towards the former Terran Home-world.

Earth…

And the second aimed to another area…to it's allied support fleet, which began making it's way to the planet's system.

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

Fifteen minutes later…

"These caverns go on forever!" Barnette complained as she, and the two men continued deeper into the mesa's interior. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Duero, and Kyo became more annoyed as they found themselves wandering about in the maze of stalagmites, stalactites, and many more rock formations. The further they went into the caverns the more uneasy they became. The medic was using hand-held scanners to track where they were and where the survivors were. However, the further they went from the other members of their landing party, the weaker their homing beacons became. To add to the problem, there were amounts of ores and crystals that emitted strange and disruptive energy waves that continued to interfere with the equipment.

< This is not good. We've been searching for quite a while now, and there's something blocking our ability to sense anything around us, and there's no sign of the survivors. >

Kyo thought as he continued to look further. However… there was a strange feeling in him, he had felt it the very moment he entered this mesa/facility, there was something tugging at the boundaries of his perception. It felt like…there were people here, people that should have been here, but were not. There were…voices, voices, but with no speakers, like they were there…but not there as well. Kyo tried to concentrate on the task of finding survivors, but this feeling was really getting stronger, and to make it really problematic… the feeling of something really wrong was still…

"We've got something!" Duero said as he pointed to a nearby cavern. "Life signs are the strongest in there! We're already picking up vital signs."

"How many?" Kyo asked.

"Just four." Duero said with worry.

"Four? But the message said that there were twelve survivors." Barnette interjected.

"It could be possible that that other nine are possibly dead." Duero, then added. "Or they could be somewhere else, this is one big place, you know."

"Well, at least we can help those four. Come on!" Kyo said as he went ahead and waved for the others to follow him into the cavern.

The three of them ran towards the source of that signal and soon found themselves in a huge space and were facing a vertical wall with a massive computer terminal…But there were no survivors…only deep brown stains in various areas.

Kyo knew what they were…blood.

“What's going on?! Where are the people?!” Barnette asked as she looked about in confusion.

Duero was also confused as he ran the scanner all over the room, the medic began even more confused as the scanner kept on saying that there were people in the area.

“This doesn't make any sense. The scanner says that there are people here. But there's no one. Kyo…?”

Kyo was facing one of the blood-stains and he placed his fingers on the brown stain and a feeling of disorientation hit him, and in just the same speed, the feeling faded. Suddenly, he found himself in a strange haze of misty light, and the haze faded and he was back in the room, but the blood stains were not dried…but fresh and wet.... He looked for Barnette and Duero but they weren't there…Instead he found himself surrounded by other people, fighting and treating the wounded, people who appeared to be in insane desperation. He looked and spotted the computer terminal being cursed at by one of the people in what appeared to be a combat uniform, who was bleeding and shouting in pain and rage. He looked at the screen of the terminal and saw a phrase that chilled him.

<<All current subjects are to be taken for Harvest.>>

He then heard a phrase that chilled him even more.

“TRAP!!!”

Barnette and Duero were getting nervous as they saw Kyo seemingly looking at the dried blood as if he was a statue. He suddenly got up, and quickly accessed the computer terminal and in a matter of minutes, using his Coordinator skills and that of his computer engineering skills, Kyo bypassed all the computer's security protocols and read the data.

They were shocked as he suddenly took out his sword and tore up the terminal's console in a fit of rage, and began shooting the computer once he sheathed the sword.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! HAVE YOU GONE NUTS?!” Barnette said as she covered her ears.

Kyo turned and quickly changed the magazine of his rifle, Barnette was about the get more irritated when she saw the look of shocked betrayal.

“We are getting out of here! RIGHT NOW!”

“But what about the people Kyo, we can't just leave…” Duero began to protest, but Kyo shock his head sadly.

“Sorry to say this Duero, but there were never any people here to begin with!”

"What are you saying?" Barnette asked as she looked at the Gundam pilot in utter confusion.

"What do you mean?" Duero asked edgily as he slowly began to grasp what Kyo was saying.

“The reason the scanner's been telling us that there were people, but there's nobody here, is that someone…or something made it BELIEVE that there were people here. There was nobody here at all. This was all an elaborate setup!”

"But we received a transmission from…" Duero began.

Kyo shook his head. "What we received was merely a recording the last words of a group of people, just before they were killed and their bodies broken apart by the Harvesters. And it was VERY effective…"

“WHAT?!”

“The computer database said that this planet's been visited by several vessels, before we came here…months ago. And the program that sent us that recorded transmission…was made by the Harvesters.”

“No…” Barnette said in shock as she began to grasp what was going on.

"So this was a trap after all." Duero said as he got the idea.

“Yeah, the Harvesters gutted this world already, and took over the planet's communication networks to lure unsuspecting ships to this planet. They modified the communication signals and protocols, and made the computer in the planet's main command center act as a fisherman would. They send out the signal and wait for anyone to take the bait…and we took it, hook…line…and SINKER!”

“But we can just lift off…” Barnette began…

“We're too late…the computer's activated the rest of it's combat protocols. We're not the only targets this time! They've got the Nirvana in mind, and there's a Harvester Battle Fleet heading this way! They'll be here in a week and a half and the Earth's been told that we've been captured!”

“Oh no!”

Kyo and the others realized the ramifications as the Nirvana would have no way to get the information in time, they faced the door and began to run back. But that was when panels began opening all over the other areas of the room and out came several humanoid machines, that appeared to be armed with an array of weapons…all of which were surgical!

And the door had closed behind the number of automated surgical mecha.

The trap has just been sprung!

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

The computer logged in that the trap had just been activated, however, it didn't realize that the third subject was able to discern what the trap was. But either way, the they were not going to escape long. It then went to work on it's plan for the Nirvana.

<<Accessing…>>

****

<<Data accessed. Activating communications dampening field. Initiate combat protocol 09-76-12-49-X. Activate Iron Wall planetary shield…>>

<<Unleash Chimera defensive drone battalions…Cloud formation Alpha.>>

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

The Nirvana…

"Captain! Commander! I'm reading a pair massive high frequency energy pulses being emitted from the planet." Belvedere called out.

"Can you pinpoint the sources and where they're being directed?" Buzam asked.

Before the blonde girl could answer, several dozen meteoroids and other masses of debris suddenly began to converge around the planet. The pirates were caught by surprise as the masses made a net like pattern around the desert world like a swarm of piranha. Once they all reached their apparent target areas, each mass emitted lines of pure light energy…forming a massive energy cage which surrounded the planet.

"What the heck is that?" Magno demanded to know.

Ezra quickly began to scan the power fields with her sensors and had the answer ten seconds later. “There seems to be an elaborately constructed barrier around the planet. Those meteorites and other space debris were armed with specially made emitters, and powerful thrusters installed in them.”

“How did we miss them?” BC asked.

“Because of all the outside interference from the solar flares and the huge amounts of background radiation, that's why our sensors didn't detect any of them.” Celtic replied

“Oh no! Captain! I've lost all communications with the Landing Team!” Belvedere cried.

“WHAT?!” Magno and Buzam gasped in unison.

“Those emitters are also creating a massive dampening field all over the planet. All communications and homing signals have been completely severed!”

“Can we make an attempt to break the barrier?” Buzam asked.

Ezra gasped as she did some extra scanning and checked the energy readouts on the trap the secret Harvester controlled computer had created. “Oh my! The energy emitters are emitting enough energy to deflect all the firepower of the entire Megele Space Fleets. It's in par with the barrier of GunDread Jura! And those emitters have a self regenerating power supply, I don't think even our cannon banks at full power can break through it.”

Magno thought about it for a second and decided to chance it, raising Bart at the Navigation Well. “Bart, activate the cannon banks to full power and try to punch a hole in that barrier. Try and lock in on one of the meteoroids! Maybe if we take out one, then the rest will power down.”

“Roger Captain.” Bart answered as he engaged his personal targeting computer and powered up his cannons, he locked in on one to the space rocks near the Northern Hemisphere of the desert world. Once he did that, he unleashed a barrage of plasma-based particle beams at the target, as the beams looped towards the target, everyone hoped it would work.

However the hopes that they all had were dashed, as just before the beams could collide with the target in question, the meteorite glowed for a brief second and absorbed all the beams like a sponge taking in water, without the shield's integrity being compromised. Then to everyone's shock and horror, the target decided to target them! The emitters glowed with power, and unleashed one powerful, concentrated shot of particle energy, ten times more powerful than the blasts unleashed by the Nirvana.

“YYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” Bart cried out as he managed to get the Nirvana to narrowly dodge the incoming fire. He took some breaths to try and calm his heart and get his thoughts back on track. Once he did so, he called in. “Sorry, Captain, but from the looks of it, trying to hit those space rocks is like shooting lights at a mirror…except the mirror's reflection's even worse!”

Magno frowned as she realized that a direct attack on the energy net was out of the list of options. But if she was thinking that the shield was their only problem, she was going to be seriously disappointed.

“Captain! This is Sara! We've got company!”

Magno got in touch with the second in command of the Crusader Squadron. “What is it Sara?”

“I don't know, one minute we were not picking up anything, but now we're under attack by some unknown attack units!”

“Harvesters?”

“Negative! They're not Cube Fighters, but appear to be similar to our Dreads, but they are smaller and can run rings around the debris, and appear to be well protected from all the EM interference. They caught us by surprise, but we're lucky the power packs and the extra armor really came in for us! But they keep on coming!”

Magno gritted her teeth as she realized that they had just walked right into a trap. They had no choice but to fight, the only thing she could hope for was that the landing party was safe, and they could attempt a rescue.

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

Sara and Mai fought with all their skills, along with the other Vanguard pilots as their adversaries went at it.

The new fighters resembled Dreads, but appeared to be able to deploy what appeared to be remote-controlled gun pods in a group of four per fighter. This allowed them to attack in multiple angles at once. To add to that, they appeared to have been specially designed for this combat environment, moving quickly behind the debris and taking shots at the Nirvana's Vanguard units. (*)

Though that would have been devastating to the Vanguard pilots, they had the advantage as they could destroy the pods at the pods needed to be in a stable position when firing. Plus they had gained more than enough experience in dealing with attacks like this.

Like Magno and the others, Sara and Mai hoped that the landing party was safe for them to attempt a rescue.

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

Right now however, the landing party was anything but safe…

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

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The sounds of gunfire filled the entire chamber as piles of bodies began to fill the floor. These bodies however weren't human at all. They were robotic in nature.

Kyo, Duero and Barnette continued to fire on their enemy as the body count rose. The machines bled whitish fluid as the bullets from the weapons tore through them. But Kyo and the other two knew some things. One they could only hold off the enemy as long as they had bullets, and those were running dry. Two, they were in a chamber and they would soon run out of room to move. And the last was the fact that no matter how many they took out, more seemed to keep on coming.

“Damn it! We've got to get out of here!” Kyo said as he changed his rifle's bullet clip. He then took out his pistol and emptied several slugs in the heads of three of the surgical mecha, knocking them out. He knew that if they didn't move soon, they'd be cut off. And they were not going to be alone in that. Before he totaled the computer, he knew that several attack teams were heading this way.

“But they just keep on coming!” Barnette said as she reloaded her submachine gun with a fresh clip.

“Don't look now, but they are trying to separate us from each other!” Duero said as he spotted groups of the robots began to move at him and his comrades. He quickly reloaded his rifle with a fresh clip.

Duero's observation was right on the money. The robot's CPU units determined that the only way they could harvest their prey was if they were separated and herded to the back of the walls.

Duero was being isolated along with Kyo, but Kyo was far from helpless. Due to his gene back-ground, his training, and the enhancements to his body by the Paeksis, Kyo quickly evened up the odds, switching to his martial arts training and his sword. He began breaking down more mechanical units with his weapon and his fist, once ten were demolished, he took up his rifle and began blasting on the rest.

Duero was able to take out a great number of his own foes, but one had been armed with a beam edged bone saw and before it was destroyed, it swung down it's surgical tool, apparently, planning to literally dissect the young man from shoulder to groin.

The medic however, thought fast enough and held up his rifle while leaning backwards. The edge of the medical robot's weapon cut into the side of the rifle, but the rifle managed to remain intact. However, the force of the blow caused the Talark male to be sent sprawling to the side, Duero found himself sent a full ten feet away, landing on his back and making it another ten feet until stopping.

Barnette, still firing at her own batch of targets. However, she soon found herself nearing the walls, and in a moment later, Barnette found her weapon empty of rounds in the clip, and before she could reload another clip, one of the robots struck with a fusion scalpel, the weapon was cut into two, rendering the submachine gun useless.

Barnette moved back, while reaching for her trusty sidearm weapon, an ancient Calico pistol. However, the rest of the robots merely moved on, totally intent on their mission, daring her to fire, and fire she did. She started shooting and shooting. However, when the gun's slide came forward, she knew that she was out of bullets, but more of the mechanical zombie-like medical robots kept on coming as she found herself surrounded. It was then that Jura's longtime friend knew what fear was. She moved back a few more steps, but she stumbled as her left foot fell into a small crevice. The young woman fell down and landed hard on her posterior. Barnette winced in pain as sharp sensations shot up her leg from her ankle. But, she still tried to get some distance from the robots as they closed in.

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

Duero cleared the ringing sounds in his head and spotted that Barnette was in grave danger. Duero suffered a small gash on the right temple next to his right ear, but time was against him worrying about the wounds. He looked at his rifle and spotted that despite the outer casing was torn by the weapons of the medical robots, the inner mechanisms and barrel were very much intact, and that made the rifle still functional. He picked up his weapons and got to his feet.

The Talark standard assault rifle, the Broad-sword Mark II, was based on combinations from several combat rifle designs from older, yet time tested and proven models, some dating back to the 20th to 21st centuries, namely the CAR-15, HK G36, and the Enfield Assault rifle. It was built to be rugged and reliable, and could work in every environment available, but worked it's best in desert territory. It was relatively easy to maintain, and could be mass-produced with limited cost on labor and resources. At the front of the rifle was a retractable, tempered neo-carbonite-steel alloy blade, which was used, in close-quarters combat. The gun fired a wide array of ammunition types from it's clips, it could use a selection of ammunition specially tailored for a specific purpose. Some choices were tracers (TR), incendiary (IN) high explosive (HE), armor-piercing (AP), and lastly an AP/HE mix.

Duero knew that all of the settings were enough to handle the robots, but he had to act quickly, if he was to save Barnette as they were closing in and even if he destroyed them, one would still be able to kill her. Kyo was busy fighting with the last batch and if he turned his attention away, he would be killed. Looking up, he spotted a huge trio of stalactites, which were aimed right at the group closing in on the helpless Megele girl. Taking several correct calculations and deciding that the risk of a cave-in was worth it. he switched the selector to the AP/HE settings and began firing.

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

Barnette closed her eyes as the mecha surgeons closed in, to do their bloody work on her while she was still alive. It was then that a massive crash happened in front of her. She opened her eyes and found the surgical drones buried in tons of stone from the roof. Apparently Duero had shot the roof down on her attackers.

Barnette realized that Duero had saved her life and she watched as the medic reached her despite some blood flowing down his eyes and ear.

“Duero…I”

“No time to talk, where are you hit?”

“No wounds, but I think my ankle's sprained.”

Duero nodded and quickly deadened the pain with a shiatsu point, and took the precaution of placing some counter-infection cream from his medical kit. He had reverted to using his Talark medical kit as he had no choice but to ditch the Megele kit for two reasons, one it was rendered worthless by the radiation, and two, one of the surgical drones had crushed it to pieces with it's feet when they appeared out of nowhere.

Kyo sighed and quickly got out from a hidden pack in his uniform a block of explosive. Barnette cringed at the look of the explosive material. It resembled C-4 made in the old world, but was colored green and blue, and was in two sections.

“What are you doing?!”

Kyo looked at the door. “Simple, I'm blowing this place sky-high. I'm going to make sure that nobody else will be lured here by the Harvesters.”

“How? You don't have a detonator.” Duero asked as he pointed to the block of putty-like material.

“This stuff's a little something that I got when I was still out there wandering in the universe. The explosive works in two ways. The green is the chemical primer, and the blue is the main explosive. This stuff's more powerful than a roomful of nitro-glycerin, TNT Mrk.10, Neo Syntax, and a truck-full of Type-4 detonation-cord. If I mix them they go boom in a few minutes, depending on the size of the combined explosive.”

Kyo then took out two pebble-sized balls of the explosive and then melded them together. Quickly he ran back as the door was blown outwards to the junk pile in a span of two minutes. Kyo then quickly turned to Duero and Barnette.

“You two get out of here and meet up with Dita and Jura. If I'm not out in ten minutes…You get out of here.”

“You can't be serious!” Barnette said as she placed her arm around Duero's shoulders.

Then more panels came open as more drones came out, intent on butchering the three Nirvana crew members.

“I AM SERIOUS! MOVE!” Kyo said as he faced the robots and began streaming out more bullet fire and resorted to his sword.

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

Duero realized another fact as panels also began to open near the entrance, as more surgical drones began making their way towards them. He saw Kyo battle it out with the enemy as he switched from sword to rifle, he however needed to get Barnette out of the area.

“Are we just going to leave him?” Barnette asked as she leaned on Duero.

“I wish we didn't have to, but Kyo didn't give us all much choice.” Duero answered. “I personally don't want to leave him behind, but none of us can be of any help at this point you are injured and my patient's well being is high priority for me as a doctor. The best we can do now is to make it out of here to our Vanguards. With Dita, Jura, and our Vanguards, we might be able to help Kyo battle those monsters and…”

“Look out!” Barnette shouted as she spotted three surgical drones appear and approaching them.

Duero quickly aimed his rifle and blasted the three medical drones right between the eyes with some HE rounds. He quickly realized that they had to move fast. He quickly got Barnette and carried her in his arms and quickly began to high-tail it out of there now.

“HEY?! What are you doing?!”

“Don't argue now, we have to move. I'll carry you until we can get out of here.”

Barnette wanted to argue, but her practical side told her to quit arguing, though she wondered why it felt a bit nice to be close to a man's hard chest.

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

Outside of the mesa…

“What's going on?” Jura asked as she and Dita heard what sounded like gunfire.

“Over there!” Dita cried as she gestured with her Vanguard's hand towards the entrance. They were quite shocked to see Barnette being carried by Duero. But they and the two were going to be even more surprised at what was going to happen next.

Had the two girls been in Infinite-Freedom's cockpit, they would have noticed that despite the fact that the pilot wasn't in there, the Gundam's OS began activating itself automatically, and systems that normally needed Kyo to operate them began activating without any handler.

“What the?!” Barnette commented as the Freedom suddenly activated it's P.P.S Armor and with amazing finesse with a beam saber despite having no pilot, the Gundam began tearing through the mesa with surgical precision.

The girls and the Talark medic watched in shock and awe as the Gundam quickly tore through the mesa without making it collapse at all.

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

Kyo bashed the last drone with a power kick to the skull, ripping the head clean off, and finishing it with a strong sword swipe, severing the thing from crotch to gizzard. He then combined both explosives and threw it at the remains of the computer terminal.

But before he could high-tail it out of there, more drones came to face him. And his rifle was already down to it's last two clips and his last pistol mag only had six bullets left. And there were more of the drones than bullets.

“Okay, this is not good.” Kyo had used his SEED ability before during the battle and amazingly he noticed that his reaction time had really hit the roof. But he doubted that it would be enough for this mess.

He was shocked then to suddenly see a beam saber slam into the crowd of drones and turned them all into melted goop. He looked and spotted his Gundam nearby.

Not one to waste time nor look a gift just for the sake of the wrapper, Kyo quickly rushed to his Gundam and took a ride up the cockpit and got into the Gundam, finding the systems online, Kyo wasted little time as he had set the explosive to detonate in seven minutes.

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

On the ground…

“DITA! WAIT!” Jura cried out as Dita's Vanguard moved towards the mesa. In addiction to the new power packs, Parfet's engineering teams had also added to the humanoid mecha jet pods for flight on planetary surfaces, and better maneuvering powers in space. They didn't have the power to escape a planet's gravity center, and still needed to rely on their umbrella booster units to achieve escape velocity and enter orbit. Only the Infinite-Freedom was quite capable of that, thanks to it's Paeksis enhanced systems.

“I'm going to find Mr. Alien!” Dita replied as she rushed up to the mesa. But she didn't have to wait long as the Infinite-Freedom blasted out of the mesa.

“Mr. Alien! Are you all right?”

“I'm fine, but we've got to move, the explosive I left behind will destroy the mesa.”

Dita and Jura, along with Duero and Barnette who had boarded their Vanguards jetted alongside Freedom and escaped. In the exact time, the mesa was blasted to complete smithereens.

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

A few seconds later…

Kyo and the others were recovering as Kyo spoke to Dita.

“Are you telling me that my Gundam just suddenly powered up and…moved?”

“Yes. We were shocked when it suddenly went online and move Mr. Alien. Did you use some kind of secret alien power?” Dita asked with excitement.

Kyo thought about that. Lately, though he never mentioned it to others, he had been feeling a strange, faint sensation whenever he boarded his Gundam. Almost as if he was not alone whenever his Gundam and him were fighting as one, ever since it had become Infinite-Freedom. In fact, on several occasions, he DID feel as if he had become one with his machine and with the presence apparently inhabiting his Gundam, there was nothing threatening with the presence, instead he felt that it was…VERY familiar.

“Mr. Alien?”

Kyo shock his head and responded to Dita. “It's nothing but you and the others have to know what I, Duero, and Barnette found out in that mesa.”

Kyo then told them of the elaborate trap of the Harvesters, and the fact that they and everyone had walked blindly right into it. Naturally, both Jura and Dita were horrified.

“What?! The bad aliens had been here?!”

Kyo nodded. “Not only that, they apparently are attacking the Nirvana right now, they hijacked this planet's orbital defense fleet and are hitting back on the Nirvana..”

“Then what are waiting here for?! We've got to get back up there!” Barnette said as she had been treated by Duero.

“That's not going to happen anytime soon. Apparently, they have taken over the planet's defensive shield as well, and it's online. If we try to jet out, the shield would fry us. To add to that, there's an attack group heading our way, along with others, all of which were the original war-machines of the former inhabitants and the other victims. The only choice we have is to fight and find a way to disable that shield. The terminal said that the main command center is somewhere on this planet.”

It was then that Jura's Vanguard had picked up incoming signals, despite the EM interference and the communication dampening field's effects. “Oh no, there seems to be some units heading our way!”

The landing party quickly got into combat mode. Kyo activated his Gundam's beam arsenals and began locking in, though it frustrated him that part of his sensory equipment was being gummed up by the electromagnetic interference, but he still had command of his combat systems and the HiMAT. He and the rest of the now trapped landing party got ready to fight.

Then the unknown units came over the last few dunes and came closer into view. Kyo however, having far better visual sensors, despite some of the strong interference, than the Vanguards could spot the two targets.

One had resembled a Vanguard, but apparently was designed differently. It had a shield melded to it's left arm, plus in it's right was a shell firing assault rifle. It looked sleeker, but as he focused his sensors to highest settings, he was able to see that it didn't seem delicate. It was decked in sand-like color schemed armor, apparently to blend better with the vast desert world, and what appeared to be some sort of smaller combat sword, and considering the condition of the armor and that of the sword, this unit had apparently seen a GREAT deal of action. But it wasn't this machine that gained Kyo's fascination…rather, it was the mecha that was next to it!

The design of the mecha next to the one Kyo had identified, DID NOT appear as that of the Vanguard, rather it was different and amazingly, looked VERY familiar, though he couldn't place it.

It had the same look as that of Kouji's Shinobi Gundam, but was designed to resemble another Gundam type that Kyo had never seen before in his journey, but felt as if he HAD seen it before. It was decked in the same color scheme of Infinite-Freedom, white, red, and blue. It had the same collapsible rail guns, and appeared to be armed with beam sabers. It had a combat shield but it wasn't designed to be retractable, and it seemed to be armed with a standard (at least to Kyo) beam rifle. It had wings on the back which were a pair.

It was then that Kyo realized which Gundam type this new Gundam model resembled.

His own Freedom Gundam!

“What the?!” Jura said out loud as she finally was able to recognize the mecha coming towards them. Was she seeing things, or was this some new trick of the Harvesters?

“It's…Kyo's Gundam?!” Barnette asked in shock as she also spotted the Gundam type.

“How is this possible, There should be only one Gundam under Kyo's command.” Duero said as he too was in total confusion.

“It looks like Mr. Alien's Gundam. But why does it have only two wings?” Dita asked as she too caught sight of the Gundam and it's Vanguard like partner.

It was then the landing party got an incoming communiqué…from the Freedom Gundam look alike.

“Hello…Can you hear me?”

The image was garbled, but Kyo and the others were able to see the person calling them. It was a man who had the same tan as Duero. He also had well chiseled features, and had a smooth angular face. He had his black hair in what appeared to be a pony-tail and there was a pig-tail braid on the right side of his face, he seemed to be very much a living person, not like those zombie-like medical drones that the Harvesters had hotwired into mechanical butchers.

It was then that the others got a surprise as Duero suddenly spoke to their new visitor.

“Max….? MAX?! Is that you?!”

The man in the communiqué suddenly looked shocked as he too apparently recognized Duero.

“Duero…? DUERO?!...In the name of Grand-Pa! You're alive! Aleck! You're not going to believe this! It's Duero! He's alive!”

Another man appeared in another communiqué. He had grey-black hair in a simple disarray style and he appeared to be around his late twenties, or early thirties, with a face that showed a great deal of knowledge and was as chiseled as both Duero and his companion. He also gave a look of surprise, very pleasant surprise.

“By the Gods! It IS young Duero. I thought that you were dead!”

“Aleck? I can't believe it! You're here too?!” Duero asked in shock as he too apparently recognized the other man in the other mecha.

Kyo and the others were confused. Apparently the two new comers were men from Talark, just like Duero and Bart, but the real puzzle was, how did they get all the way here?

Kyo then spoke to Duero. “I know that this is a great surprise to you Duero, seeing other men here from you're world, but you might want to tell me who these guys are?”

The man named Max shook his head as he heard Kyo's words. “I guess that can wait my friend, whoever you may be. The enemy's already on their way here. We can do the introductions later.”

Max had a point, in less than two minutes, the others detected incoming signals. The turned and faced their incoming enemies.

There seemed to be a mixture of attackers. Some were like Dreads, but were apparently designed for atmospheric flight, flying top cover for the rest of the ground forces.

The other elements of the attack groups were more like Mobile Suits. One such variant was massively built and had a set of dual heavy beam cannons on it's shoulders, cannons on it's wrists along with a artillery style cannon on the back, and lastly, missile packs on it's forearms. It appeared to be slow and very poor in maneuverability, but it apparently was designed for good defensive armor, firepower and durability.

The second model was more of the lines of the a quadruped-style Mobile Suit, it totally resembled the secondary form of Maia Asuka's Kunoichi Gundam. It ran like a dog or cat in the desert world with the same speed and grace. It appeared to have something that resembled a double edged beam saber in it's mouth, and had a double style beam cannon mounted on it's back.

Max got into contact with the rest of the Nirvana landing party and began to explain to composition of the incoming attack forces.

“Those fighters in the air are called Sky Strikers. They act as air support for ground excursions, and are armed with gattling cannons on the nose and some all purpose heavy missile launchers. The beast-like mecha units are called Desert Fangs, they're always accompanying those slower models. They've got double beam blade emitters in the mouth, and what seems to be double beam cannons on the backs. They can be a real problem, but they can be beaten once you can take them by surprise. The slower models are called the Ogres. They can go on normal walking mode, and they can switch to tread mode to be like humanoid tanks. They are slow, but they can take a serious beating. None of them have pilots, they have cockpits for humans, but now they're all AI controlled dolls.”

“Thanks my friend.” Kyo said as he and the others, along with the new allies. “You're going to fight with us?”

“You bet!”

The Vanguards, Gundams, and the new combat model mecha got ready as the enemy came into range.

The landing party charged into battle as the enemy closed in.

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

Meanwhile…

BOOM!

“Forward shields have been hit!” Belvedere said as the reported the incoming damage on the Nirvana.

“Are they holding?” BC asked as she coordinated the Nirvana's counter attack against their adversaries in space. The Vanguards had to retreat and hold defensive lines around the Nirvana to ensure the safety of the pirate vessel as the battle intensified in deep space.

Magno gritted her teeth, she was not happy that she and the others had fallen into this trap so easily, but then again, she did make this mistake before, and now she learned from it. But she pushed aside her concerns and focused on getting the landing team and her crew out safely.

Outside…

Sara and Mai were fighting in tandem as they managed to evade more blasts from the attack units, and those remote gun pods. The Crusaders had to close in on the Nirvana as despite their skills and experience, they were sadly outnumbered and hampered by the EM interference. Right now the Nirvana had to close in to the planet but avoiding the shield as they were apparently being herded by the attack units., but they were not going down without a fight as Bart blasted away with the Nirvana's guns, while avoiding the Vanguards in his line of fire.

Little did they all realize that they were not fighting OUT of the trap, But they were about to dive nose first INTO it…

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

The computer watched the ground and space battles with an interest. Apparently these new victims were more powerful than it's previous prey. It made them all the more valuable to be taken alive, their organs and anything else of value was too good to lose. That was the reason it herded the Vanguards closer to the Nirvana. It had every intention of catching EVERY member of the Nirvana crew, and now the ship was in it's reach.

<< Activate Lancer Gravity Net Cannon battery at Sectors 7 to 10. Target the main space ship. Remove shield section at quadrant Beta, location of ship target.>>

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

A set of powerful transmitter dishes appeared in another mesa, and another from the farther section of the planet. They began aiming themselves at a section of space…right at the Nirvana.

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

Magno and the others were surprised when the fighters that were attacking them suddenly broke the attack and vanished back into the hidden areas of the asteroid field. Others thought that the battle was over and they could go back to try and find a way to rescue the trapped landing party.

Magno however didn't buy it, something was totally wrong with this setup.

“Captain! Commander! A section of the shield has been deactivated!” Celtic said as she read the power readings of the defensive field drop.

“Is there any sign of the Landing Party?” BC asked.

Ezra shook her head. “The shield is down, but the EM interference is getting even worse. None of us can locate the landing party at all.”

Buzam turned to the old leader of the pirate crew. “Captain, this might be our chance, we could send down a rescue squad and…”

Magno shook her head.

BC was confused. “Why Captain? We can go down there and…”

“I know, but this is too easy, and why did those fighters just break away, even if they were being wilted away, they had us pinned near the shield, and now a section of the shield is open? Something isn't right, I can feel it in my bones.”

BC wanted to argue. But then she realized that Magno was right, something was surely wrong.

And sure enough…

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

The computer finished it's final coordinate check and calculations. It now was ready to…shall we say…reel in the catch of the day.

<< Activate Lancer Gravity Net.>>

The dishes then fired out a massive wave of net-like energy…straight at the Nirvana.

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

The Bridge…

“Captain! I'm reading a massive gravity field growing and aiming…at us!” Amarone said in shock and fear. They had just recalled all the Vanguards to reload and refuel when they had detected the incoming waves of gravity energy.

Magno realized, and so did Buzam, what was the sudden retreat of the enemy fighters, they HAD been herded to the shield. To be captured by the planet's powerful defensive systems.

“All crews brace for impact!”

The warning came just in time for the crew to brace for the incoming attack. Nevertheless the blow was very hard on the Nirvana. The net wrapped around the ship and began to squeeze the ship like a can in a vice. Crew-members were jostled around as the ship shuddered from the impact.

And it was now being reeled in, like a fish into a basket…

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

In the Navigation well…

“DAMN IT! ARGH! IT'S CRUSHING ME! MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T MOVE!” Bart said in pain and shock as he felt like the same can in the vice.

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

The computer gave a slight calculation and determined to guide the Nirvana to a place on the planet where it could soon be secured by it's military assets, and the masters would be able to receive their latest catch of `biological' parts.

<<Set trajectory coordinates to quadrant Elipsion in the Western Hemisphere. Prepare to coordinate ground and air teams to secure latest target, and begin harvesting operations.>>

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

On the ground…

Beam bolts, missiles and gunfire reigned supreme as the landing party and their unexpected but not unwelcome guests began bashing the living daylights out of the enemy. Kyo was already in SEED mode and was busy turning any incoming attacker into metallic mulch. He Dita, and Jura took over one section of the battle, while Barnette, Duero, Max and Aleck were mixing it up with the enemies on the rear.

Dita and Jura had been merely novices before when piloting a Vanguard, during their first taste of mecha combat. Now they were able to hold their own. And like the Vanguard pilots, were thankful that Parfet had installed stronger armor, spare power packs, and jet boosters into their own Vanguards.

Kyo was able to hold his own against many of the Desert Fang mecha units, and actually was bashing the living daylights out of the mecha. He then activated a new feature of his Gundam once he locked on his HiMAT lock-on system on more of the incoming units.

The Infinite-Freedom activated it's still existing plasma cannons and rail-guns, along with it's beam rifle and assault guns, but it suddenly opened it's wings and the crystal feathers suddenly broke free from their crystal settings and became metallic.

“HERE WE GO!”

The Freedom suddenly blasted out a storm of plasma, rail-gun, beam and solid projectile fire. And this time the solid feathers detached from the wings and then began flying all around the battle-filed and began blasting out high-grade energy beams that shredded any target within blasting range! The Infinite-Freedom now had the ability to turn it's feathers into interdependent high-energy output beam cannons, and there were over 50 of the feather-like beam cannons!(**)

The incoming reinforcements had no time to handle this surprise and were reduced into nothing but burning scrap. Allowing Kyo to go at what was left, shredding several Ogres in one pass with his anti-ship swords and beam sabers, and energy darts.

“Wow!” Dita cried in awe as she saw what Kyo and Infinite-Freedom had done. Jura likewise was impressed, but both turned to face their foes, and before they knew it they were about to get overwhelmed.

Kyo saw that as well and went to help, that was when his sensors detected a powerful spike in Dita and Jura's abilities.

Dita and Jura once more went into SEED mode as they felt their reflexes and senses become even higher and stronger. Once they did so, they were able to push their Vanguards to the ultimate limits of their design. Dodging so many incoming strikes and blasts from their enemies, both Megele girls found themselves able to shoot down artillery shells and missiles with unnerving accuracy. And they were able to fight better with their built-in combat weapons as they faced off with the rest of the foes, almost as if they could read and predict their foes' movements and intentions before they were even attempted!

Kyo watched in amazement as the two girls bashed their enemies with such deadly combat precision, and when he had done a bio-scan he noticed what had happened, and then recalled that fateful day when he had seen their previous spike of abilities, along with Meia, and he vaguely recalled seeing a manifestation of a SEED in each of their eyes.

< No way…Dita, Meia, and Jura…all have SEED mode! But how?>>

Kyo shelved those thoughts aside as the battle intensified.

On the other side Barnette and the other men were busy fighting it out. The Megele girl may have hated the mecha of the men. But like before she was able to handle one as if it had been her own Dread. Despite this however, she was still angry as Duero and the two other men were just as deadly or more than her. She had defeated s considerable number of enemy units, but the three Talark men were literally bagging in the kills.

Duero fought the same way as he worked in the Nirvana's medical bay, cool-headed, professional, precise, and quick to modify an approach. He was piling up the foes like dominos as he shot with his rifle effectively and with precision and engaged the closest foes with his Vanguard's sword. Apparently the medic had seen enough battles of Kyo using his Gundam's beam sabers and new anti-ship swords, plus his own training as a First-Class citizen, and his session with Kyo on armed combat to be able to handle his melee weapon. His movements with the blade were swift, precise, and accurate to the last detail as the number of destroyed foes could attest to that.

Max as well was no slouch in the department. His use of his own Gundam's beam sabers, as he fought with both sabers in hand was just as deadly. His movements were the same, but was a balance of power-blows, and quick but accurate strikes. He had also learned how to use the HiMAT of his won Gundam to it's best limits, quickly reducing a squadron of the Sky Strikers into burning hulks as well as several Desert Fang and Ogre units. He also was winning his own battles effectively with beam arsenals and beam sabers.

Aleck was no fool as well, he was also piling up the punishment. His own methods were fierce and powerful, but instead of striking needlessly and wasting energy whenever his enemies would be too close for the rifle to use, his sword would tale it's place and cut the foes down, he fought with a sharp instinct that sourly reminded Barnette of the fact that despite her inherent talents with a Vanguard, she was still a novice compared to the men as the mecha was designed to suit both their psyche and combat preference.

In Vanguard combat, these men were far better than her. And that made her want to prove herself even more as a better to men, but like before she didn't know that pride, placed above common sense was a fool's choice, as one of the Desert Fangs came in and used it's beam saber, severing the right arm of her Vanguard.

“Argh!” Barnette cried out as she was able to dodge the attack, but now had no way to use her rifle. The Desert Fang was about to attack, but then it was hit on the side by a rifle blast, and then was dissected by a beam saber.

“Hey, what the heck were you thinking over there? You should be aware of all your surroundings.”

Barnette gritted her teeth she spotted the new man, Max, called to her, giving her a reprimand.

“Shut up!”

Max gave her a curious look, and then gave a look of surprise. “A woman? In a Vanguard?”

“What's it to you?”

Max didn't respond as he then turned tossed a beam saber right into the eye of a nearby Ogre that tried to attack from the rear. He then turned and faced Barnette. “You are not going to be able to fight right now, let us handle this.”

“No way! I can still fight!”

“No you can't, your Vanguard's right arm is gone, so you can't hold your rifle the same way, let alone use the Vanguard's melee weapons. Sit this one out, or you'll be killed.”

Barnette was about to give another retort, but Max wasted little time to argue with her and dragged her Vanguard away and went back into the fight.

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

Out in space… and halfway into the atmosphere…

The Nirvana was now being dragged towards the planet and past the defensive shield. The ship began to face reentry and was starting to heat up. Inside the command bridge, the crew tried desperately to escape this trap.

“Parfet, can we escape the gravity net?” BC asked, while trying not to fall on the floor.

“Negative! The power output is too high. If we tried to fight back, the gravity net, the gravity well of the planet, plus our own force would rip the ship apart! The engines' safety lines are already hitting redlines. Captain, we have to shut-down the systems and prepare to land.”

Magno nodded, but then Belvedere and the rest of the bridge crew were able to locate the source of the gravity net. Once the coordinates were locked in, Magno got into contact with Bart.

“Bart! We've located the source of the gravity pulse. Take it out before we crash!”

In the navigation well, Bart was feeling great pain from the heat of reentry and the pressure of the gravity net. But he pushed it aside, he had people to rescue and lives to protect, so this was going to be his one chance to save them.

“Roger Captain!”

He locked-in and began powering up targeting sensors and power banks for the weapons. But his pain was really getting to him as burns appeared over him, along with medium bruises in blue-black color. Arcs of energy surged in the Navigation Well and also electrocuted Bart like a man being tortured.

“The pain! I can…barely lock on! AAAHHH!”

BC and the others could see the pain the young cadet was in. Unlike them he was linked to the ship and whatever pain and injury the ship suffered, he suffered it as well, but he was human and the injuries to him could become very fatal. They had long realized that Bart was their only way of getting home, but he was a person, not a robot, and he was placing his life on the line, as he had done many times as the navigator/pilot of the ship. He needed help, and they were now the only ones who could give it to him. In a way, they owed him that.

“You can do it Bart, just concentrate.” Ezra said as she tried her best to give her support to the young cadet who's life was on the line.

“Come on Bart, You have to do this, and you CAN do it!” Belvedere said.

“Take your time Bart, take your time.” Celtic said carefully, hoping that her words could give the cadet the strength to rescue them.

“We have faith in you Bart, you can take the shot, we know you can!” Belvedere urged Bart on.

Magno and Buzam offered a great deal of support then.

“Bart…” Magno began. “When you offered that idea of us working together to survive all those months ago, I knew that you offered it to try and weasel your way out of trouble. But now I realize that your offer was the same one that got us all this far, and now we have the power to defy the enemy that wants to wipe us out. You've done something that you should be proud of, you in your own way, like Kyo allowed us the chance to allow men and women work together, if you didn't offer that, then we could have never made it this far, because you opened the first peek of the door to the possibility. You may have been a coward before, but you have more courage than most people, being linked to the Nirvana, and every injury the ship suffered, you suffered even more through it, and those injuries, in human terms would have killed lesser people, but despite that, you kept at it. You have grown into a real man, and I am proud to say that you are a son any father would be proud to have. And Talark and your leaders, including Grand-Pa will no doubt be proud of you.”

Buzam nodded she gave Bart a smile. “Bart, you have, whether you know it or not earned the respect of a good portion of the crew on the Nirvana. None of us were able to move the ship no matter what we did; only you could. And despite truly being inexperienced in it, you were able to make it on your own. And you have matured into a great navigator and a great person, I can see that, and everyone here can see it now. You have the strength to win this new fight, and you can do it. You don't just have our faith, but our support, and our respect Bart Garsus. Kyo told us that it was all that you wanted when you were here, and we are giving it to you now. You can do this Bart. WE know you can do this.”

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

Navigation Well…

Bart felt like he wanted to cry. Kyo was right, and so was Duero, everyone relied on him to make it back home. But he still wanted respect from the crew and it gnawed at him at times when it wasn't being given to him. But he went on, hoping to one day be recognized, though he began to forget about it. Now, he had gotten his wish and it made him whole. Despite his pain, he now found the strength to take the shot to save the crew along with the strength he gained from his brief but strong friendship with Shirley. He grinned back at the bridge-crew despite several bruises on his face and some blood coming from his wounds, along with the burns and the still existing pain.

“Don't worry, this pain is nothing! I can do this!” (***)

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

On the ground…

As the battle died down with the Landing team, the enemy had been totally devastated, and the team and their new allies were now in the process of resting. It was then that Duero pointed to the sky and they spotted the Nirvana coming in.

“Oh my god!” Dita, Jura, and Barnette said in horror as the ship apparently was about to plummet on the other side of the desert.

Kyo however saw that the Nirvana's guns were aimed in the area that was apparently where the gravity net system that had taken other ships to this death trap, but he also knew that the ship was badly damaged, namely Bart would be in severe condition. It all rested on the Navigator to make it out.

“Come on Bart, I know you can do it. You can win this.”

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

Bart bit back the pain and finally locked in the target. He grinned a bit as the Nirvana's targeting computer gave the all clear.

“TAKE THIS!”

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

The beams fired by the Nirvana lanced downwards, ironically being guided and pushed even faster by the same gravity net that held them. In an instant the nest of gravity dishes were turned into rubble by the blast. The Gravity net failed and the Nirvana was freed.

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

Bart wasted no time as he began accessing the Nirvana's database, and despite his injuries, was able to activate the braking thrusters to decelerate the ship as he had done enough research on the Nirvana's systems, despite the increase of his burns. He bit all the pain back to save the crew. He was a man and this Ship's navigator he wasn't going to stop until this war with the Harvesters was over…and they were going to be the winners, he was going to see to that, for the crew, for himself, his world, his people, for Shirley…and for all humanity.

The Paeksis then glowed in pure color as it suddenly bathed the Nirvana in crystals once more, slowing the descend of the ship even more, until the ship landed a couple hundred meters above the land.

The Nirvana was scarred but safe…All because of Bart Garsus…

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

The Bridge…

Magno and the others gathered to the Navigation well as it gently released Bart. The teen looked like he had been to hell and back. Despite his uniform's apparent lack of damage, there was blood on it, and the bruises on his face were there, along with burns in his arms and hands, these were his red badges of courage and in the eyes of the crew, he truly earned them.

Paiway and several crew-members rushed over and began to check Bart. Paiway scanned the unconscious man and gave a sigh of happiness when the crew feared that Bart was grievously injured.

“He's going to be okay, his vitals are still good, I'll do my best to heal him up with all the resources I have in the Medical Bay. The injuries are bad, but they will heal, I promise.”

“Do your best Paiway.” Magno said as she looked at Bart with a respectful eye. “He's earned this rest, and I guess he deserves to be recognized here now.”

Bart opened his eyes and saw the smiling faces of the bridge crew, Belvedere, Ezra, Celtic, Amarone, BC, and Magno. He smiled back as he tried to rise.

Magno gently placed her hand on Bart making sure she didn't harm the teen navigator. “No Bart, not this time, this time we'll take care of you. You've earned it without question.”

The Bridge crew all gave Bart cheers and praise.

“I knew he could take that shot!”

“He did it!”

“He totally blew up the enemy trap without a miss!”

While the other girls cheered. Ezra came up with Lacus in her arms and spoke to Bart. “You saved everyone today Bart, including my daughter, I am so proud of you. You rest now. Lacus, Bart saved you along with you mother and everyone today, you should thank him.”

Bart watched, nearly in tears as Lacus smiled brightly and asked him to hug her with her hands. Despite the pain of his bruises and burns he allowed the child to hug him. He felt her heartbeat and saw her happy innocent smile, and felt pride…immeasurable pride in what he had done. He then gently handed the little baby back to her mother. BC walked up to him and gave him a warm smile and nod.

“You did an excellent job Bart, now you need to rest, you're a hero now.”

Bart nodded. “I will, but I'll be back, to find the others…and win this war. You have my oath as a Man, Captain.”

Magno nodded with a smile as she hugged the young man, careful not to injure him. The crew still cheered Bart as he was wheeled out of the Bridge on a gurney with several medical instruments being attached to him.

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

Bart was being wheeled to the Medical Bay, but the halls that surrounded him were filled by the Nirvana's crew, all cheering him and giving his words of support. This went on until he arrived in the Medical Bay. Bart was happy that he had earned this respect, with his own hands, and he vowed to live up to his name and what he had done and earned with his own hands, no matter what the Harvesters would do.

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

Had the computer been human, it would have been fuming mad, but it decided to halt it's attacks for now, there was no way for it's prey to escape…so why worry, it decided to rebuild most of it's loses and take it's time. The Nirvana was trapped, there was no escape.

Was there…?

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

As night came…

The Landing Team was busy making camp for the night, as the five suns of the desert world began to set, Kyo looked towards the area where the Nirvana had landed. He hoped that the ship would still be safe out in this desolate wilderness. However, he knew that the team couldn't afford to attempt a rescue. He had already told Dita, Jura, Barnette, and Duero to gather whatever supplies they could get from the Vanguards, the Megele females' Vanguard units were not going to be of better use as Dita and Jura's had been pushed to the point that their internal circuits were fried, and Barnette's was also damaged as well. They needed to build shelter soon, before the temperature dropped and the cold desert night began.

Kyo had spoken to the Nirvana as they were able to regain communications with the Nirvana, he had told the others that the ship was safe, and told them about what Bart had done. Now they had to deal with the desert world. He had been in Talark before and he knew, along with the three other men, Duero, Max, and Aleck, of the dangers that haunted the wastelands. They were now going to have to help the women survive this war and the greatest challenge of all. The game of survival of the fittest…and he and the men knew one thing.

The game had begun…

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

To be continued…

Author's Notes…

This is the end of Chapter 5- Part-1- Fallen Paradise. As you all can see, the situation of the Nirvana is desperate to say the least, they're trapped on the desert planet, with the planet's entire automated army after them, intent on capturing them and handing them to the Harvesters. And now two new men are joining their ranks in the war against Earth. And Kyo and the others are making even more discoveries. What will they discover as they fight in this hostile world, where everything is dying to kill them? Who are the new men, why are two men from Talark out here in the universe, and how come Duero knows them? Can the women survive in this world with the help of the men? Will they all find a way out of the trap as they had done before, or will this be the final curtain for the Nirvana?

Stay tuned for Chapter 5- Part-2- Journey of Life!

(*) The fighters that attacked the Nirvana may sound familiar, and well they should be. Those models are none other than descendants of the Moebius Zero Mobile Armor formerly piloted by Mwu La Fllaga, I recommend others to check it out in a mecha website to know it's full combat specks.

(**) The Strike Freedom is Kira's new Gundam after his Gundam Freedom gets totaled by Shin in the original Gundam SEED sequel Destiny. The new Freedom happens to be armed with the same DRAGOON system as the Legend and Providence Gundams in both first and sequel series. So it would make sense that since the Infinite Freedom is a fusion of the Strike Freedom Gundam Model and that of the Wing ZERO Custom, (though they have nothing in common, series and design-wise, only in appearance), it too would have a feature to the Strike Freedom…but there will be more…a great deal more to the Gundam since becoming the Infinite model, not to mention it's new telepathic link with Kyo, that too will be explored.

(***) Bart certainly has matured to become even stronger and tougher than ever, and now he's a hero on the Nirvana. I wanted to give Bart some more credit for being the navigator of the Nirvana, being the one that suffers the injuries of the ship as well during battle, I think that fact is wasted by Gonzo as they still made Bart look like a coward, they gave him backbone back in episode 3 with his friendship with Shirley, but I decided to take one step further in that part.

As all can see, Chapter 5-Part-1 is complete, and I will begin work on the Part 2 soon. If anyone likes to offer me suggestions to make the second part more interesting I await comments and ideas from ALL readers. But the ideas HAVE to make sense.

Thank You!