Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED- The Second Stage ❯ Part 2- Journey of Life ( Chapter 6 )

GunDread SEED- The Second Stage

 

Chapter 5

 

Part 2

 

Journey of Life

 

< >: Thoughts

 

<< >>: Computer Language

 

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

 

The Nirvana…

 

“Is there any way we can break through that barrier?” Magno asked as the pirate ship made it's way on the newly updated auto pilot, while gliding on the surface.

 

“Nothing that we can see.” Ezra replied as she and the rest of the bridge crew, scanned the shield covering the world, and prevented their escape. “The readouts show that there just seems to be no way we can penetrate the barrier from the inside, just the same when we attacked it outside. We can't scan beyond it due to all the interference, plus the scanners will only work at a maximum of twenty miles. We were lucky that Kyo was able to contact us and inform us of what they found. I can't even begin to guess where the power generator for the barrier is located. It could be anywhere on the planet.”

 

BC then summarized her report. “None of our pilots and crew were injured by the gravity trap…with the exception of Bart. He's already in good hands with Paiway, and recovering nicely, according to Paiway, he'll be up in about a few days.”

 

“Let's hope that he is, before the Harvesters are right on top of us.” Magno said solemnly.

 

BC merely nodded as she went on with her report. “The Vanguard pilots are being quickly trained in ground warfare tactics, and they are getting there, but they don't have the overall experience of, Dita, Jura, and Barnette when they had their first taste of ground warfare, and without Kyo to train them in his own experience, they had to improvise. Sara and Mai are working around the clock to condition their squad-mates on whatever Vanguard terrestrial operation tactics they can find. But to be on the safe side, we can ill afford any of them being out of the Nirvana. Kyo had told us that the main command computer has various combat bases in the areas, and they will be after us soon, we were lucky to have escaped before they came after us.”

 

The pirate captain sighed as she considered the options they all had. For over four hours, they had been trying to contact their comrades below, but with no success, at least long term success. They had been able to establish contact with Kyo who told them that everyone in the landing team was safe, and told them all that he could find about the trap they were in before they lost contact with him. In addition to blocking access to the planet's surface, the barrier also interfered with communication and scanning frequencies, making it impossible for the Nirvana's crew to neither locate their comrades' precise location in the Northern Hemisphere nor maintain a long term communication fix. They were happy to know that they were alive, and they vowed that they would all leave together.

 

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

 

Engineering Bay…

 

“Parfet, you really should take some rest.” Chief said to the spunky head engineer as she handed her boss a cup of tea.

 

Parfet waved away the tea as she ran data figures in her console. “I know, but there HAS to be a way to break that shield!” She said with conviction, she and the rest of the Engineering crew was working overtime to try and break the power of the shield. They also had been able to reconfigure the gravity generators of the Nirvana and update the auto-pilot to home in on the Landing Party's last known coordinates. But Kyo had said that they would have to be on the move if they wanted to escape this death trap.

 

“I know, but we can't find it out if we don't rest a bit.” Chief begged.

 

“I know, but we don't have the luxury of that! I can't rest until Duero is safe!” Parfet answered as she waved the tea away once more.

 

“What was that?”

 

Parfet blushed a bit as she realized her slip of the tongue, it buoyed her heart to know that Duero was alive, but it never helped matters that he would have been killed before. Despite Duero being able to handle himself quite well, Parfet can't help but feel in her being this desire to never rest until he was safe.

 

“Uh…nothing. But we can't afford to lose anybody in the crew now. Not since we're getting closer to home and we need everyone here to win this war with Earth.”

 

“But ma'am, the barrier looks nearly impenetrable.” Chief answered. “It's power levels are the same as GunDread Jura's, and the only thing we know that can break such a barrier is something under the same power-wave length, it would be too long to try and devise a weapon that can replicate the effects of the GunDread process. And it won't work since the Dreads can't fly out here. We can't produce that kind of power, since we don't know how the Paeksis works nor do we understand it.”

 

Parfet nodded. “I know that…”

 

“And firing at it continuously is pointless too. That barrier just absorb and fire back the blasts at us, with ten times the intensity.”

 

Parfet nodded and yet worked harder to gain more data on the barrier.

 

< Duero…Please don't give up!>

 

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

 

The planet's surface…

 

< I give up! >

 

Duero sighed with frustration, controlled frustration that is, as he realized that his efforts to make a compass were out of the question and doomed to fail. The principle was easy to grasp and he had the tools to make the device. He had taken a large needle from his medical kit and magnetized it with a powerful magnetic coupling from his Vanguard's wrecked form. He also had constructed a container and direction marker, using the lenses of the eye sensors of his wrecked mecha, and also a small plastic puncher and cork. Once he got the device assembled, however, the needle went in all directions, once he tried it out, telling him that the magnetic fields on the planet were erratic and unreliable in trying to determine direction. He disassembled the device and placed the items back into his jacket pocket.

 

Kyo arrived along with Max and Aleck, they had already set up camp near the area where their battle had been.

 

Duero turned and faced the others.

 

“Any luck with that compass Duero?” Kyo asked.

 

Duero shook his head and pointed all around them. “The entire' planet's magnetic fields are all messed up by the EM radiation from the suns, and the polarity of the magnetic poles in this place isn't the least bit helpful either. With the exception of Max's Gundam and your own Infinite-Freedom, all other forms of technology are worthless, unless they were designed for this kind of world.”

 

Kyo nodded at that assessment. “I can't believe anybody could even live here. Talark's not all that bad, but this is…” He then gave an apologetic look to Duero and his fellow men. “No offense meant to you guys though.”

 

Max and Aleck shook their heads and looked around the rapidly darkening world. “Considering the situation, I'd say that you are right, Talark is a lot better off than this.” Aleck said calmly as he cradled his assault rifle.

 

“Come on guys, let's get back to the camp, we're going to have to come up with some plans before we move about during the day.” Kyo said as they got back to the camp.

 

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

 

Later….

 

“What are you getting Kyo?” Jura asked as she looked at the Gundam pilot and wondered what he was getting. She and her comrades were currently near a large campfire. Behind them were four large tents, in which Kyo, Duero, Aleck, and Max had built from salvaged materials from the burned out wreckages of the Vanguards and parachutes the two girls used when they ejected as the Vanguards had overheated. Duero's own Vanguard had been depleted of power and unfortunately was devoid of any recharging options. Barnette's own Vanguard was damaged and could not fight in full efficiency. Standing nearby were Infinite-Freedom and the new Gundam being used by Max. Their camp was surrounded with large stones and parts of the destroyed enemy units that helped keep the wind from throwing sand at them and shielded the fire, and also acted as a first measure of defense.

 

All three girls were impressed, though Barnette managed to hide that fact, with Kyo, Aleck, Max, and Duero's camping skills, in which they constructed shelters and built a large campfire within twenty minutes, ensuring that they had decent protection from the cold desert night. The Gundam pilot from Earth didn't know where he learned how to survive in the open, but he was eternally thankful for the extensive survival training he had taken from his past life and his travels, which helped him immensely when he traveled from planet to planet. Duero also was happy that he had recalled all the survival lessons he too had been taught as a kid by his first father, he also didn't mind as he munched on his own food which were pills, along with Max and Aleck.

 

Kyo got down from his Gundam and took out several packs of what appeared to be food and distributed them to the others.

 

“Here, these are some rations I have with me. I kept them in a special storage locker in Infinite-Freedom. They're not much, and they are among the last I have, but they'll have to do until we can get more food and water.”

 

As they got the rations, they looked at the food. There was some dried meat, preserved vegetables, and some protein bars made in semi-hard gel, along with some stored water. The girls took into the food, and despite the dryness of some of the food they dug into the meals. The meat and vegetables, along with the protein bars would be eaten and the water would be taken.

 

Once the meal was finished, Kyo then began to speak to them about the situation.

 

“The situation is bad, the Nirvana's been able to recover, but she's on auto-pilot and Bart's still under Medical Bay. He took a hell of a beating from fighting the gravity net trap and the planetary reentry. They have been able to modify the Nirvana for flight in the atmosphere, due to it's being part colony ship. But our problem is that we are too far to for them to get here in time, and it's too risky for us to remain here, we've got very few supplies, the enemy might come back and time's against us.”

 

“So what are we going to do?” Jura asked in dread, Dita tried to keep her spirits up, but had a hard time doing that. Barnette also was afraid, but wasn't about to admit to that.

 

Max interjected with a bit of a smile as he began to explain some details.

 

“The supplies won't be too much of an issue. Before we came to you guys, we buried a supply cache on our way here. We made the supply cache at least half a day's worth of travel from here. There's enough water and food in the cache for at least four to five days, a week, if well rationed. Plus there's some spare power packs if you need them.”

 

Barnette snorted a bit. “You sound like you really planned this.”

 

Max gave a bit of a grin. “Aleck and me are fighting all alone here Miss Barnette, we HAVE to have supplies well away from the enemy, but close enough to reach without being caught.”

 

Aleck then gave out a map, and it had directions to various points in the Northern Hemisphere. “The area we're in has at least a few supply centers and at least four to six cities that are underground. Plus there are some unoccupied outposts and communication centers in the area. We can get what we may need, but some of the locations are guarded by the computer AI center that coordinates ground, space, and air operations. Most of the sites have been touched and it's possible that a good number of salvageable material isn't available. The rest of the larger cities are in the Western and Southern Hemisphere. But they can be a problem since a considerable fraction of the enemy is stationed in the area. As far as we can figure there are ten medium to large scale bases in the area in and near the territories.”

 

Kyo nodded a bit. “You guys sound like you really know this world. But this really makes me curious. You guys know Duero and you have the insignia of Talark soldiers, but how did you guys get this far from Talark anyway?”

 

Duero nodded as he began to explain a bit more. “I've known these two for a very long time. They were with me when I was still back in the Academy on Talark, before my graduation and assignment on the Ikazuchi. Aleck Koubayashi here happens to be one of the Vanguard test-pilots, and is a combat instructor in the school, both in the Capital City and the rest of the branch Academies.”

 

Aleck nodded. “Yes, I taught Duero and many others how to fight, but Duero is the best student I had since he was still in his adolescent days. He's got a cool head, level thinking, and isn't reckless. Not like some of the other students. I thought I was losing a deadly asset when he took up being a doctor. But as far as I can see, he's a great bone-saw and STILL a bad-ass pilot. Damn, I must be getting old for being a little lax, letting Duero outshine me like I'm the rookie, and he's the professional. You took out more enemy units than me, and it WAS your first live combat mission.”

 

Duero chuckled a bit. “Come on Gunny, you are the professional. You first test piloted the Vanguard, remember?”

 

“Yeah. And got the scars to prove it too, I got this trying to escape a defective Vanguard model, lucky to make it out too. At least those bone-headed engineers finally fixed that problem!” Aleck answered as he rolled up his sleeve and showed some long but jagged scars. Dita, Jura, and Barnette shuddered a bit at the scars, and wondered why the men didn't seem all that worried about such bad injuries.

 

“So you're Duero's Vanguard and combat instructor? What about you Max?” Kyo asked the younger man.

 

“I worked with Duero in the Academy, but he was a year ahead of me and left, I got to graduate months after he disappeared. I thought he had died, but I knew that old Duo here wouldn't go out without a fight. He's got both brains and brawn, and he's really lucky, having been in all those fights, back when we were kids.”

 

“You and Duero are childhood friends?”

 

“No. My full name is Max McFile.”

 

“McFile? So that means…”

 

Duero nodded as he put his arm on Max's shoulder. “Kyo, Dita, Jura, Barnette. I'd like you to meet my younger brother. Max McFile.”

 

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

 

In the command center…

 

The computer was still busy gathering data and decided to check the combat reports concerning it's prey. Once it began accessing the data profiles, it went on to check on the condition of the rest of it's standing forces.

 

<<Attack teams 10, 17, 9, 11, and 4 have been totally destroyed. Preparing to order secondary replacements.>>

 

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

 

With the Landing Party…

 

“You're…brothers?” Kyo asked in surprise. He had never learned from Duero that he had any siblings. All the time Duero spent on the Nirvana, he hardly talked about his life back on his home-land.

 

Duero nodded. “Max was born one year after I was, so yes we are brothers. But Max had been assigned to another city on Talark when he was still in his eighth year of age, I was nine at the time. We only met briefly when I graduated from the Academy in the Capital City, and he too was about to graduate some two months after me. That's why he was never on the Ikazuchi when it took off. He had to return to his own Academy to finish his semester, and pass the soldier exams.”

 

“After you graduated you and Aleck were in a mission?” Kyo asked Max. “If you did, then how did you get here, so far away from Talark?”

 

“Yes, we were part of a mission but we are the last survivors of an experiment gone bad. That experiment was the reason we got stranded here.”

 

Aleck then took out a list of names. “These are the names of the men that were part of the 58th Tactical Recon Wing, the unit that I and Max belonged to. How we got here was due to the fact that Talark scientists had tried to use a fragment of the Paeksis in an attempt to create an artificial gateway using the idea of folding space and time. We were to field test it. But then we were caught off guard when a Megele cruiser came at us. The attack was sudden, and unexpected. The crew in our cruiser activated the crystal and gate without any preparation. The crystal opened a gateway, but it engulfed the ship and the Megele cruiser too.”

 

“We were all sent to a random coordinate along with the rest of the crew of the Megele cruiser. And we landed here. Many of us died when our ship crashed, and when we came to the Megele vessel, we found out that many of them were badly injured and others were dead. Max and I restrained the others when they tried to attack, and we took care to treat the wounded Megele women. It took all our diplomacy to try and restrain all the others from both sides to try and kill each other, we even had to lie, saying that we drugging the women to get information. But finally, after several months, things began to settle down, but at a price. The computer that powered the whole army here hunted us, both men and women. So both sides had no choice but to work together. While we were here, we learned that this planet had both men and women as inhabitants. We all did our best to survive, but all of the others weren't so lucky. We… we did our best to try and honor them, so we preserved them using the medical tools on this planet, making sure that those butchering devils don't find them. I doubted any of the women wanted to die here, so we promised them that if we could, we'd try and have them sent back to their planet. Ever since then, neither Max nor I will ever believe what the government will say about women.”

 

He then handed a list of names and some pictures to Jura. “These belong to the women that were from Megele. The last thing they wanted if they didn't make it was to be buried on Megele. If it's not too much trouble, I hope that you have room in that ship for all the bodies demanding burial. It's the least we could do for them all. They became…our friends. We want to honor them that way.”

 

Barnette was surprised, along with Dita and Jura. These men had done all they could to restrain their own men from killing women from their world. They had lived with women, in a world that resembled their own, and there were enemies hunting them. In a way it resembled the first time the Captain made that announcement of the men being part of the crew. But they were lucky, the people here were not.

 

Max nodded in agreement. “I decided to no longer trust the ministry of information when I lived with the women for some months here. It was there that we learned that men and women could work together. But it happened when…well. To be honest things haven't been the same in Talark since the whole Ikazuchi incident, before and after we left. And that's the reason how we got here in the first place.”

 

Duero and the others looked concerned as Max and Aleck took on very serious looks.

 

“What are you talking about? Did the planets get the message pods that were sent?” Kyo said, He had been told the in the beginning, Magno had ordered the deployment of two message pods. Once for Megele, and the other for Talark and from the sound of it, the purpose of warning them of the Harvest had failed.

 

Aleck looked curiously at the others. “Message pods? There was never any mention of messages on the public database, nor in the public address net.” He snorted angrily though, and sighed. “But then again, the government will do anything to hide the things that went totally wrong, and make it seem that they had managed to make it out.”

 

Max nodded sadly. “Aleck's right, if you guys sent a message pod, then chances are the message was ignored and twisted around by the propaganda ministry. They were good at that, and they always will be.”

 

Dita, Jura, and Barnette were surprised. The two new men sounded like they had some issues with their own world. And that didn't make sense to the three girls.

 

Kyo looked at the grave looks of Max and Aleck. He felt that something very bad had happened back on Talark.

 

“What happened on Talark?”

 

Max looked at Aleck, and when the older man nodded in what appeared to be consent, the younger brother of Duero began to tell the story.

 

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

 

Max's words…

 

“When the disaster concerning the Expedition Fleet reached Talark, there was total public outrage, and the Prime Minister reviled the Megele pirates for the `cowardly' attack they initiated on them and not standing to fight. He began saying that countless numbers of men were butchered and given no quarter. Even normal engineers with no combat experience were burned alive when the Ikazuchi was boarded. Wounded men were denied medical treatment. Those who were able to escape the `massacre of Talark's children' were apparently, in his words, injected with toxins that made them insane and unable to discern the fact that they were poisoned by the women and were to be turned loose by the Megele to try and weaken Talark from within.”

 

“The whole mess ignited a nearly simultaneous riot in many cities, not just the capital as many men bayed for the Megele world to pay for the deaths of the young men on the Expedition Fleet. The riots grew into such great intensity, that it was only quelled when Grand-Pa himself appeared to placate the others through public address. Once order was restored, he instituted a quick increase in all industries to mass produce Vanguards. The military leaders began amassing all the able bodied men they could find and press them into military service. Some of the `conscripts' had even been threatened to join, but that was rare, very rare. Many of the men were more than ready to fight, and despite the fact that none of them had ever met women before or even set foot in a combat zone.”

 

“The `survivors' of the Expedition Fleet came forward and began to recount their… `horror stories' They said that many of their comrades were gutted alive and their livers were eaten, and their organs were passed around by the Megele, some were even used to de-fame statues of Grand-Pa. The whole reception halls and the rest of the ship had been bathed in blood, and the rest of the bodies had been left to rot until the stench was overwhelming. Those that somehow were able to live from being disemboweled were supposedly tossed into space to die. And they, who were allowed to leave the whole mess were injected with neural toxin to drive them mad. It was only through their training, and love for Talark, and loyalty to Grand-Pa that allowed them to fight the madness.”

 

“Ever since then…Talark is in a state of totally livid hatred towards Megele. The more zealous ones swore that they will go back, and this time, before they would meet their own end, they'll make sure that all of Megele will be nothing but ruins. And the propaganda ministry is having a total field day fanning the flames. Talark was only in a state of cold war, but now…the planet's in a total planetary wide state of blood lust, and the few who question the government are afraid to even walk out at night, in fear of being punished as `corrupted' men, traitors to Grand-Pa. Some were taken to prison, to write confessions, and some were…even executed, without even being able to defend themselves in court. Me and Aleck, among with others, namely from the 58th are those who question the government, and it's by only denying it in public that we gain our freedom, no matter how hollow it feels sometimes.”

 

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

 

Aleck sighed as Max finished the tale. “All the men that are loyal to the government back home are totally determined to win this war, and the whole Ikazuchi incident has turned that determination into planet-wide insanity. The whole thing got blown out of proportion and there's no way that anyone, inside Talark or outside of it is going to reach out and change it easily. It won't be long before our planet's military does launch a full-scale invasion. And they won't care how many lives they lose, and will NOT care how many people they kill on Megele, innocent or guilty.”

 

Dita and the other girls were silent about the implications. They realized how volatile the situation was. They didn't know that their score all those months ago would be twisted so far that the men would no longer listen to reason and were now totally committed to war.

 

“But it's so wrong!” Jura said with conviction. “None of the men we managed to capture were ever hurt or killed in the attack. All we did after we took the ship months ago was put them all in the escape pods and release them. We didn't do a single thing to them! And now they still want to have a war with us?!”

 

Kyo sighed at that. “It's what isolationism does to people Jura, they can become so used to an idea, that if their ideals are threatened, they'll do anything and everything to twist the truth around and to mask what happened, and kill all those they perceive as the enemy, even their own kin.”

 

“Mr. Alien…what do you mean?” Dita asked in dread.

 

“The reason that it got to this point is that foolish argument that happened over one hundred years ago. I'm not all that sure about the history of Megele and Talark, but if at some point, both sides should have made up and dropped their pride, the new generations that would precede them wouldn't be in this kind of a mess. They are now stuck in the belief that their side is right, they won't even try to find the truth that there is more out there than what they see and believe. Both don't even try to make some form of communication with each other, that they forgot that they are both parts of the human race. Now they are willing to institute extreme measures to win a war that is totally useless, all on the basis of gender. Somebody HAS to stop it and try to bring them together so there's a chance for peace between genders.”

 

Barnette fumed silently, but not anymore and decided to speak. “Kyo, I know that it's the truth, but you can't expect both sides to just kiss and make up. We were able to do that on the Nirvana, only because we were out here and on our own, and we had to do it to survive. What you're asking the people of my home, Dita, Jura's and all those in the Nirvana to just drop everything and start from scratch! It's not that simple, you know that don't you? I don't think the men in Talark or their government would agree to that idea either!”

 

Kyo nodded. “I can't argue with that Barnette, and you are right, I know that me asking an entire civilization to change their way of thinking is near to impossible. But we HAVE to try, we need to break this wall between your world and that of Duero, Bart, Max, and Aleck. If we don't, then who will stand against the Harvesters when they strike? You know it yourself that when men and women work together, then nothing in this world is not impossible.”

 

Barnette snorted. “I know that, and I really do. But I doubt you, Duero, Max, Bart, or Aleck can just go to Megele and present that idea. Knowing my planet's military methods they'd kill you or any of these men before any of you can set even one hair on Megele.”

 

“And if the person, that presented the idea of men and women working together on Megele WASN'T a man, what then?”

 

Barnette was confused at that statement. Kyo then decided to explain.” What if the one who would present the idea was one of the crew on the Nirvana, what then?”

 

“You're nuts!” Barnette said in anger. “We happen to be pirates, and we're not even liked on our own planet. They'd throw us in jail than even listen to us. And that's just in the pretext that we're renegades from their life-style. The woman who even tries to suggest that men and women should work together is more than crazy, she's practically going to the execution block like a lamb to the slaughter!!”

 

“Barnette…” Jura began to speak as she tried to placate her friend.

 

Barnette sighed a bit as she faced Jura. “I'm not going to start another mess or mutiny Jura. I just want to say that it's not going to be that simple. Things aren't that simple anymore. Kyo, I'm already trying to tolerate you men on the Nirvana, and you all did many things that deserve credit, and you and I are already no longer enemies. But to ask one of my crew-mates to risk her life in Megele to try and teach them something that they will consider heresy the very second they hear of it is indeed suicidal. I just don't like the idea, the whole thing started out as necessity and it became important in the Nirvana, but only on the Nirvana, as it's NOT going to be easy to teach on Megele or in Talark for that matter, and that's that.”

 

Barnette sat down as she finished, and once she had drank some water, she went into a tent, and went to sleep.

 

The rest of the camp was silent as they also knew the truth of Barnette's words. The green-haired girl was right. It was going to be a real up-hill battle to try and make Talark and Megele work as one against the Harvesters. But they also knew the truth in Kyo's words, no matter what, they HAD to do it, for if they didn't do anything to stem the gap between the desert planet and the water world…

 

Then there would be no way they could win against the whole might of the Harvester Armada without allies.

 

“I'll do it Mr. Alien!” Dita cried with the grim expression. “I want all of us to beat those bad aliens! I don't care what they say back on my home, we HAVE to work together for our future!”

 

Kyo looked at Dita's expression and smiled a bit. He knew that Dita was a woman who meant her words. But he knew that Barnette was right, Dita was running the risk of being banished from her planet forever. He didn't plan on Dita losing her home, and he would never allow anyone he cared about lose everything for an ideal, no matter how noble and necessary it was.

 

“I understand that Dita. Don't worry, we'll find a way to make things right for all our worlds. You and Jura get some sleep, I'll take first watch tonight.”

 

“Do you think we can do it? Make both Talark and Megele…work together?” Jura asked Kyo honestly with some tears in her eyes.

 

“We can do it Jura, I know that we can. You get some sleep too.”

 

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

 

Later…

 

Kyo sighed as he sat on one of the rocks that outlined the camp. He had his rifle with him, plus some spare magazines and some special grenades. He also looked at the camp where the others were resting. He then heard a sound and was tensed up, but then recognized the person.

 

“What is it Duero?”

 

Duero came out of the shadows and sat next to Kyo. “How did you know it was me?”

 

“You have a unique stride when you walk, not to mention…well, I just knew.”

 

“How?” Duero asked curiously.

 

“I…can't explain it, but lately, I've been feeling kind of different, very different.” Kyo said as he scanned the outside world. Their fire was still alive, and he was using special glow rods to see in the camp.

 

“You mean, your sensitivity is growing, along with your physical and mental faculties?” Duero asked. He had been working with Kyo on his suddenly evolving abilities ever since they began to spike up from the time of his first death, and his Gundam's sudden transformation. He had been able to discern that whatever had happened to Kyo in both those instances has done something to his abilities. He was able to sense Dita more accurately for the past few days, before they were trapped here, along with the other girls. His physical and mental abilities had grown powerful, being able to move faster and be stronger than ever before. He was able to discern the emotional situations of some of the crew, and lately, his senses of sight, hearing, taste and touch have sharpened even more, that nearly nothing escaped his attention.

 

And despite how ludicrous it sounded to him, he theorized that Kyo had somehow, some way developed…telepathic and psychic abilities.

 

“Yeah, you remember when I told you one time about my SEED ability?”

 

“You mean the Superior Evolutionary Element Destined factor that somehow you could control when you enter combat? Yes, I remember that, though you don't seem to recall how and why you have it, and why you can wield it the way you do, correct? You told me that it is in your genes, and it's a part of you.”

 

“Yes, and that's true. But somehow it's evolving and so am I, the normal effects are still there when it is awakened, my physical reflexes and reaction time are sharper now. But now…I think that I'm able to sense things even better than before. You remember when we were in that mesa….and I touched that blood stain?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Kyo then began to tell Duero about what he had seen when he had touched that blood-stain, and what he felt at the time, and what he had seen and heard when he walked with them into the mesa.

 

“I know it sounds crazy, but I could hear voices, faint but present. I thought I was hallucinating, but then…I touched that blood-stain. And suddenly I felt my mind and body sever themselves from each other. Then I saw what had happened there before we came. And well…you know the rest.”

 

Duero was silent. After a minute of silent observation, he spoke.

 

“You may be right, I think that whenever you invoke that genetic gift you have, your body needed to evolve to suit the changes that trait places on your physiological state, along with your psychological state as well, I'm not saying that your going crazy Kyo, but I think that you had somehow been able to gain a sensory perception that borders on something I've heard about in my days in the Academy.”

 

“What's that?”

 

“It's called…telepathy. Telepathy is a kind of trait in a person that allows him or her to sense things far beyond the range of the normal physical senses possessed by people that don't have this trait. You didn't show it before nor did I tell you or anyone else on the Nirvana, but I have to tell you this now, whenever you would have your medical check-up I noticed subtle changes in you genetic cellular structure, whenever I took blood samples. I thought that you were getting sick from some unknown ailment. But when I ran the scanners on your samples and your tissue, there seemed to be no hidden flaws in your genes whatsoever. So that's my take on what may be happening to you. You're evolving, and another fact is you've been exposed to the Paeksis before, all those months ago. I think that the Paeksis' powerful effects on machines could also be done on people, that's why you seem to be evolving at a much faster rate than others as normal humans need to evolve every generation or so to suit their world and situation. The Paeksis must have influenced your biological evolution and made you able to evolve faster than any of us. And your SEED ability is helping to do just that.”

 

Kyo was silent at this. Though on the surface it sounded way too close to a bad science-fiction movie, Duero's take on his growing abilities made some sense. He knew that his body had been exposed to the Paeksis, when the Ikazuchi was boarded by the pirates all those months ago. But he didn't tell Duero, at least not yet, that he felt that he somehow had been exposed to the Paeksis BEFORE he had ever been in the Ikazuchi. But for now he decided to stock those thoughts away.

 

“We'll need to find some way to get into contact with the Nirvana, not to mention try and find some way off the planet. We need to do something tomorrow so we can be ready for what other surprises this world has for us.”

 

Duero nodded, as he got into his tent and went to sleep. Kyo stayed awake for a few more hours before he too hit the sack for the night.

 

They had to prepare for new enemies.

 

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

 

Back on Earth…

 

The Harvester Council was still in debate on the actions needed to deal with the Harvest and that of the Nirvana when an aide came to them bearing news.

 

“Leader.”

 

The Supreme leader of Earth looked at his subordinate and gave a look of irritation. “This had better be some good news, what is it?”

 

“The trap we set up in the Beta Sector has been sprung, Master. The computer has been able to capture a ship and it's crew, and it is in the process of gathering the crew's organs.”

 

The leader nodded. “Very well, no doubt the support and retrieval fleet is on it's way. Leave the room and report to us it's latest harvest.”

 

“My Master, It's…more complicated than that.”

 

“You are starting to waste precious time. MY precious time and that of this Council, make it quick before I decide to have YOU broken down for spare parts.”

 

“Forgive me, but the ship's name is of great significance to the Council here.” The aide said in growing fear.

 

“Any ship's name is not of great significance! You are wasting our time! We are in discussion on what to do about the Nirvana!” Another leader said in anger as they went back on the question in hand.

 

“That is just it, Masters. The ship that our trap has been able to capture IS the Nirvana.”

 

That statement immediately garnered ALL the attention of the Council. The Leader of the Council gave a very hard look to the aide, making the former human cringe at his look of fury and anticipation.

 

“Is this data authentic, do you have ABSOLUTE confirmation that the ship IS the Nirvana?”

 

“Unquestioningly Master, We have ran all the database in our possession on all known ships in our archives, and it's profile absolutely matches that of the Nirvana. The land assault forces have sent in this data footage concerning the ship's landing team sent to the surface. As you can see in this, it is of no doubt that the ship is the Nirvana.”

 

The aide loaded in a record disk into a nearby slot and the screens in front of the Council came online. And in those moments they saw the faces of Kyo, Duero, and Barnette, then they saw the hated images of Infinite-Freedom and the Vanguards fighting against the ground forces.

 

Once the video feed was over the entire Earth Council was in an uproar!

 

“WE HAVE THEM!”

 

“WE SHOULD TAKE THIS CHANCE!”

 

“Shall we harvest them?

 

“HARVEST THEM?! NO! DESTROY THEM!”

 

“SILENCE!!”

 

The rest of the Council halted their debate as they looked at their leader. The leader nodded as he decided on what their course of action was to be.

 

“Have a secondary Fleet dispatched to the Beta Sector. Inform our AI agent in the planet to hold the Nirvana in it's clutches until the secondary fleet will arrive…with our latest weapons.”

 

The Council nodded at this, but with some reluctance. The Devastator, Hell-Fire, and Wyvern models had to go through some final tests and it would be a sad waste of investment if they were destroyed in their first encounter with the Nirvana while only partially constructed and armed.

 

“The second fleet will make absolutely sure that the Nirvana will have NO chance of escape. We WILL destroy the Nirvana, and this time, NOTHING CAN SAVE THEM.”

 

As the other leaders began coordinating the strike, none of them noted their leader looking at the images he had downloaded into his console.

 

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

 

The next day…

 

Nirvana Medical Bay…

 

“How are you Bart?”

 

Bart Garsus looked up from the side and saw the Captain of the Nirvana paying him a visit. He had been able to have a break while in the Medical Bay, but he wanted to get back in the saddle so he was itching to get back to the Navigation Well.

 

“I'm all right Captain. A little banged up still, but nothing a little rest can cure!”

 

Magno nodded with a grin at the young man. She had watched the young man turn from a coward, to a full-blooded hero. He had endured such pain to make it this far. Before he had met Kyo, and learned to work with women, she had no doubt that Bart would never have the courage to be able to make this far in their journey and he would never be able to grow up. She then got a serious expression as she began to tell Bart about what they had learned from Kyo from his last transmission last night.

 

Bart nodded with a grim expression, but he changed to his normal goofy expression later. “No sweat Captain, we've made it out of tougher scrapes than this. I'll get better and give it all that I've got! We're going to win, I just know it!”

 

One thing Magno had learned in her time with the men. They always put faith in what they had and what they could do, and it took a good deal to keep them down once they were roused. This drive was, in her mind, allowed the men of Talark to survive for so long. She had spent time learning about Talark culture from Duero, and speaking to Kyo about his time among Bart and Duero's people.

 

Though Talark too had flaws, such as poor food, technology, medical science, weaponry, and technological edges that her world enjoyed, she knew one thing. They had endured life in this kind of world for three generations, though they could have died out, their will and natural toughness made them far better suited in desert life and warfare than any woman she knew from Megele. Megele women had never experienced even a tenth of what men of the desert had to live in. Limited water, food, shelter, resources, deadly predators left and right, harsh wastelands as far as the eye could see, sweltering hot sun, death in every corner, and many more. These factors would have broken lesser men and women to the core. But the men of Talark were hardened by this and never bowed down to their harsh home-land, instead they learned to be self-reliant and well skilled in many forms of survival in the desert world, to live off a world that would break anyone from her planet, they knew the values of learning basic skills over and over again until they were ingrained in their minds, they discarded any vanities so they could live, and they valued survival over appearance. They valued time and resources and wasted nothing in trivial pursuits, they were also well versed to make due with what they have and waste no time lamenting over what they lacked.

 

She wasn't condemning Megele, her home, or her people. No, Magno knew that the men had become better suited for this world than any member of her crew. They may not be able to have the best ships, weapons, medical equipment, food, entertainment, and the like… But if a woman of Megele would try and say that she could beat a man of Talark in the desert, then Magno had no doubt in her mind that the woman would be the one to give in. In this perspective, she decided to ask Bart if he knew Duero's brother Max and Aleck.

 

Bart nodded with a smile as he heard the names of Aleck and Max. “You mean… `Stitch' Max McFile is here, and Aleck `Gunny' Koubayashi are here? I've heard of Max, he's a good doctor, one the best in the South cities, last I heard before meeting up with you all is that he turned down an instructor's commission in the school, and the same deal with Duero, Duero never signed his position sheet, and now it seems that his younger brother did the same. Don't worry about that part of his skills, Max is a solid medic and combat pilot.”

 

“What about the other one? `Gunny' as you called him?”

 

Bart nodded. “Gunny is one the renowned combat instructors of Vanguards in the school back on Talark. He was among the very first test pilots, and due to his recommendations and reports, the Vanguards were designed to allow safety in the pilot's ejection should the Vanguard be badly damaged. He's the top instructor in terrestrial combat tactics, and survival training in the desert. We all call him Gunny, since he's got no bones in gunning down in a mock mission any guy who doesn't perform well or messes up, so he doesn't play favorites. That makes him very popular to great students and a bane to the poor ones, though he's not harsh unless you really irritate him.”

 

Magno nodded as she was now able to know all that she needed to know. Before she left, she told Paiway to allow Bart to move about a bit until he was totally healed. They had to make some plans soon.

 

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

 

Early, the next day…

 

“So what's the plan?” Aleck asked as he warmed up for a bit of exercise with the men who needed to warm up for their day of travel. He, Max, Duero, and Kyo had awakened already to get everything set up.

 

“First off, we'll need to get to the supply cache and get what we need. Then we'll have to split up into two parties, One will have to make it to a supply base and get whatever materials we may need, while the other heads off to a nearby communications bunker, where we'll try and regain communications with the Nirvana. It's a safe bet that most of the communication equipment here on the surface was designed for serviceability in this desert world. Once we get in contact with the Nirvana, we'll try and coordinate a strike on the main command center and try to take out the power supply for the shield. If we can do that, we can then locate a means of escape from the planet with all the crew.” Kyo said as he took in some stretching exercises.

 

“That's going to be hard, though the launching the ship part may be possible if we can secure one of the Lancer Platforms.” Aleck mentioned

 

“Lancer Platform?” Duero asked his old mentor.

 

“That's the term for the gravity field launching system of this world. Essentially, it creates a gravity well that can help a ship launch without boosters as the field it generates allows the ship to ignore the gravity well of the planet. It's the reverse of the gravity cannon used to snare ships by the Harvesters. That makes it a prime target for anybody trying to escape. The reason we never attempted it before is that there's way too many enemies guarding them. As far as we could learn, there are four Lancer Platforms, but three of them are heavily defended, and the last one is defended not just by the planet's AI army, but by a nest of automated defensive stations, and two bases.”

 

“Hmmm, that's going to be tough, but I believe we can still find a way, all we have to do now is to wait for the right time. But not to the point that the Harvesters will be right on top of us.” Kyo said as they all began to train.

 

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

 

At that moment, Barnette awoke and emerged slowly from the tent. She was glad to be feeling a blessed absence of pain, due to Duero and Max's skills, though she didn't want to admit it. At that moment, she noticed a series of movement, flickering just outside of the makeshift shelter. As she peeked out from behind the entrance, her eyes widened as she beheld Kyo and the other men exercising.

 

Throughout almost all of her life, she had steadfastly believed that men were uncouth, clumsy, and crude creatures that didn't have a concept about subtlety and grace as women did. Of course, she had been proven wrong time and time again, when Kyo started demonstrating his inner skills, such as singing, playing music, and even COOKING! Now she was being treated to the astonishing sight of three men from Talark moving with…elegance.

 

Barnette became mesmerized, as she followed each Duero, Max, and Aleck's movements as they continued to go through the normal morning exercises. They each had lean and well-toned forms which were like that of a predatory cat's, swift and fluid, yet hinting at great raw power, hidden and ready to be unleashed. Their punches and kicks were similar to the way Kyo fought on occasion, so it was easy for the Megele woman to know that the men had been training for a long time, and had no problem adapting to the Gundam pilot's training style. And it became apparent that they were all quick studies, as they mimicked all the complex attack and defensive patterns used by the young Yamato. She noted that they were doing everything with their eyes closed. What caught her attention every now and then was a slightly white haze of the cool desert air, highlighting their forms as the light of the first sun came, which was the first red giant.

 

The Dread pilot's heartbeat began to increase in rhythm and she wondered why…she liked looking at each of the men, as her eyes drifted to Duero and Max, moving in such fluid motions. She angrily fought down those strange and unsettling feelings. This wasn't how a woman of Megele should act! The very concept of a man being even remotely attractive to a female was ludicrous! On her home planet, she would have been branded as insane for even thinking such a thing. Let alone thinking about it on two men!

 

However, she didn't do anything, but continued to watch them, not uttering a word; for the fear of doing so would disrupt the elegance of the scene. Had she looked to the side of her tent, she would have realized that she wasn't alone.

 

Dita had seen Mr. Alien perform his exercises before onboard the Nirvana. But with the sun proving the background light, she felt her heart beat faster and her body got warmer as she gazed at the object of her affections.

 

Jura smiled as she looked at every move made by Kyo, she looked as she noted the power that was skimming the surface of his well-toned form. She felt her heart beat faster and her body began to warm up as she gazed at her intended ohma.

 

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

 

Later…

 

“Okay, that should do it.” Kyo said as he and the others got ready to head for the supply cache, and then towards their separate primary objectives. Kyo had decided to go for the communications bunker, outlined by Max and Aleck's map, while Duero, his brother and instructor would head to a supply base and gather what they can, after which they would meet up with Kyo to make their next move.

 

It made sense that Dita and Jura wanted to go with Kyo, but it was a bit of a surprise for the others when Barnette decided to travel with Duero, Max, and Aleck.

 

“You sure you want to join us? Our journey is a lot longer than what the others are going to do. The supply base is over at least three days more than…” Max began to say. But Barnette apparently wasn't in the mood to listen…

 

“Of course I'm sure! You don't think I can do it?” Barnette fumed as she took a spare rifle from their own supply cache, along with some spare magazines.

 

“I'm not saying that. But…”

 

“But nothing! I'm coming along so at least I can be able to see what this world is like. I can't imagine how you men can survive out here.”

 

Jura walked over to Barnette and whispered to her. “I need to talk to you.”

 

Barnette nodded and went aside. Once they were alone from the group, the blonde looked at her long-time friend.

 

“Barnette, why are you suddenly so adamant in joining them? You could join us and…”

 

“I want to see how these guys managed to live this long. Besides that, I want to prove that…”

 

Jura stared at Barnette for a while. “I get the feeling there's more to this than just plain sight-seeing, though what sights are there in this world I have no idea. Is there something else here that I should be aware of?”

 

Barnette shook her head. “No! I want to do this, to prove that we can be strong too. We can be as strong in this world as they are.”

 

“You want to prove that women are stronger?” Jura then spotted Barnette gazing at both Duero and Max, and then a curious idea came into mind. “Or you want to be close to Duero and his brother?”

 

Barnette looked at Jura with a shocked eye. “Jura! What makes you think that?!” She wasn't aware that for some reason, she had a slight tinge in her cheeks.

 

Jura caught on to this and couldn't help but snicker.

 

“Why are you laughing?!”

 

“Nothing, but I suddenly get the feeling that you are showing an interest to the men, namely Duero and Max.” Jura then grinned a bit. “You do realize that Parfet won't like that, as she is already set with Duero. Max however is still unavailable, and since he's just as good as his elder brother, I won't be surprised if you are showing an interest in him. I guess you can join the club then.”

 

Barnette's cheeks took an even darker tinge of red, most of which were from embarrassment. “WHAT are you saying?!”

 

Jura grinned mischievously. “I'm saying that you've gotten to like Duero, and Max, with each of them saving your life you know. I think you might even begin to like them.”

 

Barnette gave a growl at her best friend's teasing. “Now you're exaggerating Jura. I don't like men whatsoever! Especially either of those two!”

 

“That might change, much sooner than you think, Barnette. If it happens, then tell me about it.” Jura said with a smile as she left Barnette fuming a bit more.

 

Barnette tried to control her embarrassment. Sure, Duero had saved her life, and Max had done the same, and they do have a quality that she didn't think was bad. But there was no way in this entire universe she would try and like men! She will still hold onto her beliefs that men were still the enemy no matter what happened. She felt her resolution return at her conviction and got her supplies ready.

 

But why was it that a tiny feeling of self-doubt entered her mind at the thought?

 

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

 

Half a day later…

 

Jura and Dita gulped down one water bottle each to quench their thirst as they took what they could find from the supply cache. They arrived in Infinite-Freedom's hands as the Gundam glided over the sands, and it had been the hottest part of the day.

 

Since Barnette's own Vanguard was not available, the short-tempered girl had to hitch a ride, with Duero's Vanguard's hands as well, since it would be impossible to hold her in the cockpit as it was only a single occupant design. Max and Aleck's mecha had the same design, though the Freedom style Gundam named the Templar Gundam could allow and extra passenger if needed. The Megele girl took over another bottle of water as they got the food they needed to survive as soon as they reached their objectives.

 

“Okay…we're going to split up and make it to our specific objectives. But be careful in where you go during the day and night, it's not just the AI units we have to watch out for.” Kyo said as they gathered what they needed from the supply cache.

 

Barnette soundlessly nodded as she got some spare rations and began to eat, along with the others, as Kyo checked his communication systems to re-establish contact with the Nirvana…if possible.

 

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

 

The Nirvana…

 

“Meia, are you all right?” Misty asked the blue-haired Megele girl as the Dread leader paced in the briefing room, with a look of worry on her face. The normally calm leader of the Dreads had been sleeping very lightly, as she moved about looking at the latest data concerning the Landing Party.

 

“I can't stand it anymore! I want to do SOMETHING, before I go crazy!” Meia fumed as she looked at the command table once more to the last known coordinates of Kyo's transmission. She was worried sick, and although she would never admit it to anybody, she didn't sleep well worrying over the others' safety, namely that of Kyo.

 

Misty sighed. “I know how you feel, and so does everybody else. I wish I could go out there and find my Prince Charming in either a Dread or a Vanguard. But I don't know how to pilot either. You can't do anything either as the Dreads were never built for planetary warfare.”

 

Meia didn't answer that as she continued to pace. She was getting very worried, and for good reason, over the months that Kyo had been in their forces, she had gone to admire the young Gundam pilot. He had been a great leader of the Vanguards, and he really did his best to help men and women bridge their differences. He was the linchpin of their current victories over the Harvesters, and so were the other men. They all would have never gotten far without their help.

 

On her own side, Meia couldn't help but feel that Kyo was…

 

Meia shook her head a bit. This was no time for her emotions to run away with her. She had to remain analytical and objective, or else they would be in real danger. However, every time she thought of either Dita cuddling close to Kyo, or Jura using her seduction tactics on the hapless pilot, she couldn't help but feel two set of urges, one was to walk up to Kyo and do the same things, no matter how shameless they may be, and the other was to walk up to Dita and Jura and pull out their hair. She didn't want to admit it, even to herself, but her feelings of admiration for Kyo were growing, and despite her denials, it was clear that she wasn't the only one with those feelings. She knew that Dita and Jura had deep feelings for Kyo, though she didn't always like it, but part of her told her that despite them being long-time friends and companions, she wasn't going to be denied the chance to know more about the Gundam pilot who became a facet of her life.

 

Misty was in the same boat, she had admired Kyo for rescuing her, and he was very handsome. But it went to more than just his looks, Misty liked him because out of all the people on the ship, he was the only one who understood her, and how she saw things. He also was very kind hearted and brave. And from the looks of things, he was very well mannered, though she could bet ten to one, he had a heck of a hard time being in a ship full of drop dead gorgeous, hot as hell, sexy women, her top rivals Dita and Jura included. She was amazed that he had never made the moves on any of them, and she could tell that Meia also had an interest, a growing interest in Kyo. She felt that she would have to work tooth and nail to take Kyo's affections, but she was more than up for the job.

 

It was then that Meia got a call from the Bridge.

 

“What is it?” Meia nearly snapped as she listened in.

 

“Meia, are you all right? You sounded so upset all of a sudden.” It was Ezra's voice that was over the communicator.

 

Meia realized that she had burst out her frustration at the gentle bridge officer and quickly made an apology. “I'm sorry Ezra, I've just been…”

 

“Worried about the others, including Kyo?”

 

Meia nodded. “Yes, I'm really worried.”

 

“Well, we've got some good news. We've gotten into contact with Kyo and the others. And it seems that through Parfet's tinkering with the systems, we've been able to boost the longevity of the signal this time.”

 

Meia wasted no time as she went to the Bridge. If there was any chance to see Kyo and know that he was fine and safe, she was going to take it.

 

“Wait for me!” Misty called out.

 

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

 

“What's your status Kyo?” BC asked as she and the rest of the crew listened in to the young pilot.

 

“We've gotten to a nearby supply cache, buried by…Max, and Aleck. We're…planning to separate…and get to a communications bunker…a few…from here. Barnette…Duero…ax…and Aleck will go to a…base nearby, and get more supplies….Once we're done here…we'll try and find a way…to get the shield…down.”

 

“Boost more power to the receiver! We've got to keep communications up as long as possible!” Magno said with conviction as she wanted to hear the rest of Kyo's message.

 

Meia got into the Bridge and had to restrain herself from busting through to the communication systems. She knew that they could ill afford to break and lose power to the communication systems, but she had to restrain not just her urge to talk to Kyo, but to hear his voice and talk to him.

 

“According to what Max and Aleck told us, there are several ship launching platforms in the area and the other Hemisphere regions. Three are too heavily guarded for a frontal assault. And one is only considerably defended….They appear to be the only…off the planet, we have to try and…one of them…if we can get off…before…Fleet's on top of us.”

 

“What's happening?” Meia asked Belvedere.

 

“The EM wave emissions are getting stronger, we HAVE to cut power, or else we might give away our position to the enemy.”

 

“Kyo…we'll try and do our best to find you.” Magno said as she talked to the young pilot. “Once you've gotten to the communications bunker, we'll try and isolate the location of the enemy command center.”

 

“Understood… We need to…communications now. The enemy…might track our…location. Call back in a few…days. Kyo out.”

 

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

 

Back where the Landing party was…

 

Kyo sighed as he cut the communication link with the Nirvana. He had to re-program some of the OS settings to boost the signal to reach the Nirvana, and maintain contact with the pirates. He had to make some choices, and one of them included knowing the location of the least defended Lancer Platform for their escape. He then decided to worry about that later, once they got their supplies they had to move fast, despite his masking the signal, he knew that the AI army would be hunting them all like blood-hounds after a fox. But this was one fox that had no intention of being a trophy…ever. Especially when the fox was going to be skinned alive and dissected by sadists like the Harvesters.

 

He got out of his Gundam and went over to the team. The girls were resting, sweating and all three of them looked like they would have sun-burn soon.

 

<No surprise here.> Kyo thought, none of the girls had any training on how to survive in this desert world, and unless they learned some things, then it wasn't going to be the least bit peachy when they moved on.

 

He went over to Dita and Jura, who thankfully were still in their vanguard flight-suits.

 

“You two okay?”

 

“No Mr. Alien, it's so hot out here!” Dita whined as she splashed some of the water from the bottle on her face.

 

“The sun on Megele's not so bad, but this is terrible! I feel like a roasted chicken!” Jura whined as she tried to cool off.

 

“I hate this! What I wouldn't give for an ice cool shower right now!” Barnette fumed as she tried to hide from the sun.

 

Kyo sighed and decided to get some things to try and help the girls deal with the heat. But he knew better, they were almost finished with the supplies being stored. And now they had to be on the move.

 

He then turned to the other men and called them over. “Okay guys, we've got to make some snap decisions.”

 

They talked it over and Kyo decided that they had to move while the day lasted. Though that meant that he and the men would have to make room, there was no way to girls would try and survive the heat, until they got used to it. And that was going to take too long.

 

It was time to squeeze in to every space available…and that meant only one thing…

 

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

 

With Kyo's unit…

 

“Ah thank god! The AC here's a lot better than what we had to deal with outside!” Jura said as she sat on a section of the cockpit. She then turned to face Kyo and smirked seductively. “I like this choice you made, though it's bit cramped.”

 

Dita fumed a bit. “Jura! Can't you see that see that Mr. Alien is trying to pilot his Gundam?! And don't move about! It's cool but cramped in here already! Though it's like in my GunDread.”

 

“What was that?!” Jura glared at Dita.

 

“You heard me!” Dita glared back.

 

Kyo sighed as he tried to concentrate as he flew to the communications bunker, or far enough so they won't have to travel further until they got there. Unfortunately he had to worry about two things right now. One was how he should try and keep Dita and Jura from fighting, and the other was how to keep his still existing male urges from going into riot mode. The two girls were able to fit into his Gundam's cockpit, since it was rather large, but the space constraints forced Jura and Dita to sit on opposite sides of the cockpit, and that was very distressing for three reasons.

 

The first was that BOTH Jura and Dita were on either side of him, and they were less then a foot and a half from his face, it would be so easy for either of them to turn and face him, and if they decided to kiss him, there was nothing stopping them.

 

The second was that their well-formed bodies were seen on either side and their…assets were in full view of him. Though they were not wearing their normal garb which was torture enough for the full-blooded male, the body-suits had no problem showing their curves and swells to his eyes. To add to it, his arms were over their legs and it took all his willpower not to let his hormones force him to run his hands over the areas in question, since it would be easy for him to feel their long legs, stomach, the lower areas of their breasts, which were in full view of him, and their…private areas (smile, wink).

 

And the last reason is that every time they moved their bodies, then their assets would `bounce' along with them, in front of him and that was torture enough. But it was even more so as they would be stimulating a certain part of his male anatomy. It was bad enough when Dita was on his lap, Meia was behind him, and Jura in front of him. But with both the redhead babe, and the blonde bombshell on him and on either side…he felt that he deserved a platinum medal for controlling his basic instincts for so long. Though as it was, he felt that he would also be needing a straight-jacket soon as the torture went on.

 

He hoped that this wouldn't be permanent. But his rational side spoke otherwise.

 

As he tried to pilot the Infinite-Freedom, he wondered what was happening with the other team.

 

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

 

In the other team…

 

“This is one tight fit! Didn't you have a bigger set of space in here?” Barnette gripped as she sat next Max. The Megele girl went against taking another ride in the hands of the Vanguard piloted by Duero, and decided to hitch a ride with Max.

 

Max sighed a bit as he went on further. “It won't be long, Kyo and us decided to move as fast as we can all day, we'll stop when we reach the out-skirts of the base, or when night arrives on us.”

 

Barnette merely shrugged as she watched the view. Though there was a part of her wandering why she started to like looking at men. Before getting onboard the Templar Gundam of Max McFile, a part of her began cataloging the differences between the brothers. Apart from hair style, Duero's right side of his face was covered by hair, while his brother Max had his hair in a long ponytail and braid in front, the two brothers had the same looks, but their attitudes were somewhat different. While Duero spoke with professional courtesy, Max spoke with a voice that had seen a lot and felt a lot as well. And that made her wonder what the younger McFile had done and gone through while here on this desert planet.

 

“Are you all right Miss Barnette?”

 

Barnette then realized that she had been staring at the younger brother of Duero McFile. And the look he gave her, one of curiosity had brought her back to her senses. She then gave a scowl at Max.

 

“What are you asking? Of course I'm fine! And don't call me MISS! I'm not that old you know!”

 

“I am sorry about that, I just wanted to be polite, and I never meant to offend you.”

 

“Fine, just forget it!”

 

Barnette fumed silently, but couldn't help herself as a tinge of embarrassment flooded her cheeks. Why the heck was she suddenly doing this?! Men are NOT attractive! They were definitely NOT attractive! She must be going crazy to even think that!

 

Though a part of her doubted her convictions, as that very same part had to admit, that the two men's features were well formed.

 

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

 

Later…as night fell…

 

Kyo and the others had setup camp near an large ridge of stone that gave protection from the cold winds, and Kyo had already set up the camp-fire to ward off predators, and he had conditioned his Gundam to be able to survive in the desert even more, though he could do nothing to update the communication systems.

 

Dita and Jura grimaced as they gazed at their dinner. They had not been able to eat and their hunger had been gnawing at them for some time. They were happy that Kyo had decided to stop for the night and they were now only a day and a half from the communications bunker. They decided to eat what they brought, but their hungry stomachs had not yet adjusted to rations, namely…

 

“You really want us to eat these too?” Jura said with a look of distaste as she gazed at her plate. The normal rations were easy to deal with, but the rest comprised of none other than Talark ration pills. She may not have eaten one of these, but she distrusted the food anyway.

 

“Ewww!” Dita winced as she recalled the last time she had tried eating one of these things. She hated the taste and hoped that she wouldn't have try another one.

 

Kyo sighed as he also took the meals on his plate. The rations were a mix of normal ration food and nutrition pills, but he had no complaint. The girls however, as he could see, were not used to living only on dried and set food, as they were quite used to eating cooked food with all the trappings.

 

“I know that you two hate the stuff, and to tell you the truth, I'm no fan of nutrition pills either, I never could completely tolerate their taste or lack of it. But you all will need the energy once we get to the bunker. Besides that, we'll also have to search around for more food and water sources soon. So we'll have to eat these for now, unless we catch something out here tonight.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Jura asked as she stared at her plate with disgust.

 

“I know for a fact that there are creatures that live here on the desert, and they are mostly predatory, but the rest can be eaten. I just hope that the trap I had set up will catch something, at least something edible that is…”

 

At that instant, they all heard a large snapping sound, plus a deep roar. Both girls tensed with their rifles at hand, and so did Kyo while he scanned the area with his senses, but he then smiled as he realized what the sound meant and motioned the girls to relax. He walked out with sword drawn and walked off in the direction of the noise.

 

“What is it, Mr. Alien?” Dita inquired.

 

Kyo merely nodded as he went on. “I'm not all that sure yet, but I can tell you to put those rations away for a while. I think that what I thought about decided to accommodate us.”

 

The two girls were in states of puzzlement, but followed Kyo's advice, and they were glad to place back the pills and other rations in the containers. A minute later, they heard a somewhat wet sound, and a cry of animalistic anguish, they then heard Kyo give a cry of satisfaction.

 

“Now this will really do well. The right age and size too.”

 

“What is that?” Jura asked.

 

Kyo laughed as he answered. “Dinner.”

 

“Really?!” The girls exclaimed as they went forward to see what the Gundam pilot had caught. ANYTHING was better than those awful Talark food pills.

 

That was when Kyo stepped aside and displayed his catch. The creature he caught was a fusion of an old world nearly full-grown cow, but with the mix of an alien iguana. The creature had both fur and scales and had three long tails, ending with a set of powerful looking spikes. It was big, but not too big, nearly the size of an adolescent horse or cow. It's head had a single horn on top and was nearly severed from it's body by what appeared to be Kyo's Katana. The head had long teeth on the fringes of it's mouth and they looked like spades. The eyes looked up to the night sky in death. (*)

 

The results were…easy to predict.

 

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKK!!!!& #8221;

 

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

 

“I am NOT EATING that…thing!” Jura fumed for umpteenth time as she, and Dita watched Kyo roast a large part of the oversized reptile/cow like creature on a spit over the fire. Kyo had only taken parts of the alien desert bull that they could manage, and the rest was thrown away.

 

Dita was also a bit squeamish as she watched in morbid fascination. She had handled raw meat before, but this was something else…

 

“Suit yourselves. You can go back to the pills and other rations if you like. I on the other hand am in the mood for some old fashioned barbecued steaks and ribs, though some sauce would be nice.” Kyo said as he went back and hummed to himself, as he prepared the meat. After killing the beast with a single blow to the neck with his sword and gutting the creature of it's innards, he had begun cooking the thing's meat, namely a hind-quarter and a side of ribs. “However, you all should be aware that you don't have the option of being choosy. Besides, it isn't like I haven't done this stuff before, and when you cook it just right, the meat's really good.”

 

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

 

Ten minutes later…

 

“You sure neither of you don't want some? This stuff really tastes great.” Jin asked as he wolfed down large chunk sized portions of the animal meat.

 

Dita couldn't bring herself to answer as she watched Kyo eat. She couldn't believe that Mr. Alien was eating that…thing….and enjoying it.

 

As for Jura, she had her back turned and managed not to throw up at the sight. Although she had gotten very hungry at this point, her pride refused to let her give in to her natural urges either to eat the alien beast or the pills and rations.

 

“How…can you DO that?!”

 

Kyo knew that her question was directed at him, so he answered. “What? You mean eat? That's pretty easy. You open your mouth, put in the food, chew and swallow. Do that many times, then your stomach quits gripping about it.” He chuckled a bit, though he knew that Jura wasn't in the mood for humor.

 

“That isn't what I meant!” Jura said with great indignation as she turned about and faced Kyo. She was beginning to wonder why she even considered him for the ohma of her children.

 

Kyo's expression softened as he knew that Jura was in no mood for jokes. “Yeah, I know. I was trying to make you laugh a little and lighten the mood, but I guess I'm not all that good with an audience or as a comedian. In answer to the question, I'm merely following nature's rules; and take it from me; nature can be real cruel.”

 

“What do you mean, Mr. Alien?” Dita asked Kyo.

 

“I mean that if you stayed away from civilization and all of it's trappings for a long time, sooner or later, nature will strip you bare and expose you for who and what you really are. It's something that's very hard to resist, but you can work with it, instead of fighting it, if you are willing. I will not lie to both of you. Let's face the situation we're in, we can't escape this planet because the Vanguards are totaled, and that blasted barrier is still cutting us off from escape. The planet's whole AI army is under the employ of the Harvesters and hunting us along with the Nirvana. The communications systems of my Gundam are hampered by the jamming fields, and we can't track the Nirvana either, plus if we don't get out of here in less than a week, then the Harvester Fleet stationed nearby will be right on top of us. It makes it even worse that the only way or ways of this planet are heavily guarded, and our standing forces are pretty thin. Apart from me, Duero, Max, Aleck, you, Barnette and Jura, none of the Crusader Squadron have any experience in desert or planetary combat tactics, and we're the only ones with the combat experience. And we are severely limited in weapons and firepower.”

 

“Then we're doomed! It's all over! We're all going to die here! Without any technology, we're as good as dead!” Jura cried with fear and sorrow coating her voice, along with the shivering of her body due to her fear. A moment later, she ran off into the darkness.

 

“JURA! GET BACK HERE!” Kyo cried out as he followed her. He turned and addressed Dita. “Stay here, and try to eat the food, I know that it won't be bad for you…Trust me.”

 

Dita looked at Kyo's sapphire-amelyst eyes, and she could tell that Kyo wouldn't lie to her, he had never lied to anyone before in his entire life. She looked at the meat on the plate that he had set for her, along with Jura's own plate, taking in the smell, and decided…why not?

 

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

 

“GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Jura said half-sobbing as she continued to run.

 

However, the Gundam pilot was faster than she was, and had no problem catching up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. “JURA! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!”

 

“NO, LET GO OF ME!”

 

The blonde Dread pilot continued to struggle, trying to free herself from his grip. However, since Kyo was far stronger than any normal human male, her attempts were worthless. However, that didn't make her give up easily.

 

“Jura, calm down and listen!”

 

“NO! THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO SAY! THERE'S NO HOPE! I'D RATHER DIE FAST THAN ROT SLOWLY IN THIS HELL!”

 

“We're not dead yet, Jura. Now will you please calm down and let me…”

 

“NO! LET ME GO! JUST LET ME DIE NOW AND…”

 

Kyo wasted no time as he turned Jura around and held her, and before the Gundam pilot could resist the idea, he kissed her once more.

 

“MMMM….”

 

Jura was shocked into silence, but unlike the first time when she was caught by surprise by Kyo, part of her fear, and something deeper made her respond. Before she could stop herself, she gripped Kyo even tighter and took in the fact that he was holding her. The fear made her want to deepen the kiss and hold Kyo and pray that he would never leave her side, no matter what. Her body once more became weak and strong at the same time, as feelings she felt before with Kyo flowed in every fiber of her being.

 

Nearly a minute passed as they then separated. Jura looked very flushed and embarrassed as she gazed at Kyo. Though Kyo tired to look calm, he was very much affected by what he had unintentionally done (yeah, sure (^_~) ), as he tried to resist the call of his hormones as his body was VERY aware of the feel of the blonde's curves and soft warmth to his own. Once he was able (barely able by the way) to get his bearings, he spoke in a firm tone of voice to Jura.

 

“Listen to me Jura. Just because I said that things are bleak, doesn't mean that you shouldn't think that death is your only way out, because I know that we can win this!”

 

“W-W-What?”

 

Kyo sighed as he finally quelled his male emotions. “Listen…I will never give up in the hope that we can escape, that's why I still have my wits and my belief in myself and others, and that includes you.”

 

“M-Me?”

 

“Yes, I'm not going to lie to you. When we first met, I thought that you were nothing more than a selfish, vain, egotistical, fame-hungry woman. The times you tried to seduce me just for the sake of fame was the first indication.”

 

Jura felt a twinge of anger rise in her, but then Kyo softened his words…

 

“However, in all the time we've traveled and fought together, I know that you are strong, dependable when things become bleak, and you're beautiful, both on the outside, and inside, only a blind and dumb person wouldn't notice those qualities. I know that you may act high and mighty at times, but you do things like that when you're insecure, and that's okay, nobody's meant to be perfect. And I'll be damned if I left you and the others to suffer, I know that you're scared now. It's a natural thing, but you can't let that stop you if you want to live. I'm still afraid, but whenever I feel fear, instead of entertaining my fear, I put it aside because I know that it's normal.”

 

“It…is?”

 

The Gundam pilot nodded as he spoke a bit longer to her. “Of course. Believe it or not, I was very scared when I was in a place like this on my long travels in space, and it was only through my vaguely recalled but never forgotten training that I survived, and that pushed me forward in the other worlds I've been to, along with what I learned since then. You're scared since you're not with the things that you take for granted. Believe me, I know. When I was still a free-lancer, I had to do things that went against what normal people were used to, and only Freedom was my companion. Long before we hooked up with you all and the Nirvana, I had to make due without a lot of things when I traveled in this universe, especially in partially inhabited worlds with a LOT of hostile enemies. However, that never stopped me from keeping alive.”

 

“They didn't?”

 

“Oh yeah, and I'm very sure you, and Dita can get through this as well. I have survived all this time, and I believe in my heart that you can make it through this too. If I didn't have the belief in anything and anybody, including myself, I would have fervently dropped the idea of bringing you, Dita, and Barnette on this mission. You are strong, Jura, I know it and I can feel it. You can make it through all this. I'll be right here to teach you what you need to know.”

 

“You will?”

 

“When have I ever lied to you Jura Basil Elden?” Kyo asked in a teasing tone.

 

Jura sighed and nodded. “No, you never did, not even once, I guess that you don't know how to lie.”

 

Kyo smirked a bit as they walked back to the camp. “Now that's where you're wrong, I can lie like anybody, but tell me, why would a guy like me, lie to a beautiful lady like you?”

 

Jura blushed a bit. “Thanks.” She didn't know why she felt like a bashful school-girl. She had grown up with many of her fellow women calling her beautiful, but she had never heard a man call her that. Before she ever met Kyo, she would have considered a comment like that from a man as a complete farce. But not anymore, however…it made her heart beat faster that it was Kyo and only Kyo who called her beautiful.

 

Kyo then took a serious expression as he led Jura back. “You're more than welcome. However, I will have to warn you. It's not going to be EASY to survive out here. In order to survive out here, there will be instances that you'll have to do things that you might not want to, things you have to accept, and some things you have to give up, in order to make it out of here. Do you understand me?”

 

“You mean…like eating that…thing?” Jura shuddered a bit.

 

Kyo nodded. “First rule you'll learn out here in the wild, is the rule of eat to live, or die and be eaten. I won't force the meat or those pills and rations down your throat, but keep in mind that food's very scarce in a place like this. We were all lucky that trap of mine caught the cow creature you know. Food's the second precious thing in the desert, the first is, well, water, and even the most distasteful things can be the difference between dying today or living to see tomorrow.”

 

“I…understand.”

 

“That's good…let's go back to the camp.”

 

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

 

As the couple made it back to the campsite, Jura was amazed to see Dita munching away happily on a plate filled with the cow-like meat beside her was another filled plate.

 

The redhead smiled brightly from her seat. “Hey Mr. Alien! You were right! It DOES taste like beef! Jura, should have some!”

 

Barnette's friend blanched a little as Dita handed her the plate, but she thought back to what Kyo had told her. And after being given a reassuring smile by her object of affection, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to try. Gingerly, she reached out, picked up some morsels, gazed at the cooked meat for some time, then after making a silent prayer, popped the meat into her mouth and began to chew.

 

Jura was very surprised when the flavor hit her taste buds. The meat DID taste like beef, with a sharp but very appealing aftertaste. It was moist, but totally tasty in it's natural fluids, and the meat was well cooked and tender. After swallowing the first morsel, she took the plate and began consuming another morsel, followed by another, then another. Before Jura knew it, she had eaten her entire plate of meat within five minutes.

 

Kyo nodded in approval, the girls were going to make it. Though he was curious about one thing…

 

What about sleeping arrangements?

 

He nodded when he recalled that he stored a pair of the tents they made before in Infinite-Freedom's storage locker and went to his Gundam to retrieve the stored tents… that was when he realized he made a big mistake…

 

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

 

Later that night…

 

<WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S SANE IN THE UNIVERSE DID I EVER AGREE TO THIS?!>

 

Kyo swore to himself in anger and utter embarrassment as he tried to stop his urge to move. When he realized that he had forgotten to pack a spare tent with him. He realized that he would have to stay in the only tent that was available. And that meant more close contact with Jura and Dita!

 

As if being in his Gundam's cockpit with them on either side wasn't enough torture enough!

 

When the two girls found out that he had no spare tent to sleep in, they immediately asked him if he could sleep with them. It took all of his mental discipline to resist the erotic picture THAT idea put in his head. He tried to excuse himself by saying that he'll sleep in the cockpit, though he knew that it would be really cramped and he'd be aching from it, it was far better than having two sleeping females, and god only knows what could happen at that, near him! However, it seemed that both Jura and Dita caught on with the idea and pleaded with him to sleep with them. He tried to resist, but his pleas and excuses were unanswered as Dita gave the dread Sad Puppy Dog eyes on him, with a really cute pleading expression, plus Jura giving him her most seductive smile and begged him to sleep with them instead of in the cockpit. And before he could reign in his mouth, his male urges kicked in and well…

 

Here he was…

 

Kyo winced but totally resisted the idea of squirming as he knew that even a little movement would be a bad idea, as Dita snuggled up to him and moaned softly in her sleep. The Gundam pilot's male body was scorched by the heat of the buxom redhead's proximity to him, and the feel of her gorgeous, soft, well curved, and feminine body to the right side of his hard and male body was driving him crazy! And her very cute face was merely inches from his right side, it would have been a ludicrously easy thing for Dita to move forward and kiss him if he moved to the right! It didn't help matters that another hot woman was beside him!

 

Jura snuggled up to him and moaned in her slumber and Kyo knew that squirming would really get him into trouble! The Gundam pilot's male instincts were in a riot as the warmth of the voluptuous blonde's proximity to him and the feel of her well formed, soft and totally female body on the left side of his own hard, muscled male form was going to drive him insane! And her flawless face was merely inches from his left side, their lips, if he turned to face her would be merely an inch and a half from one another!

 

And to really add to the fires in his blood and loins, the scents of both Jura and Dita permeated the air around him, and he was no fool when he could smell them, they smelled very…tempting!

 

Kyo decided that a single platinum medal wasn't going to be nearly enough! He'd need a crate of those medals to congratulate himself if he ever made it out of this form of sensual torture! Plus he was going to need nearly a half dozen straight jackets to restrain himself before he lost all his moral pretenses and let his hormones take over!

 

Despite the fact that there was a large fire outside, and a pair of salvaged small heater units inside the tent, the two females still moved towards the closest source of heat, namely the hard muscled body of their sole male companion.

 

Jura smiled in her sleep as he lifted her leg and placed it on Kyo's legs and began to slid her shapely appendage over Kyo's own. She then leaned even closer as her lips came to Kyo's left ear and her lips were only half a millimeter from Kyo's ear. Her voice then came out in a sleepy, seductive tone as she spoke in her sleep.

 

“Mmmmm…hard, warm…”

 

She moved closer as her curvaceous, soft form closed on Kyo until not even a hair could pass between them. Kyo felt her breasts on his arm as she came even closer, and her scent was choking his nose. But if he thought that it was only going to be Jura, he was wrong.

 

Dita likewise was smiling in her sleep as she came closer. Likewise she also came too close, and before Kyo could do anything, she draped her arm over his chest, and when he DID turn…

 

“Mmmm…”

 

It turned out that Dita had also leaned forward, and now Kyo found himself kissing the redhead. Despite the fact that she was sleeping, the innocent redhead kissed back. She seemed to be following something she had only dreamed about as she kissed him gently but warmly.

 

Kyo tried his best not to scream as his hormones ran up to every section of his brain and body. He immediately winced as he realized that his male body was violently reacting to his stimulation as his body, along with a certain male appendage (you KNOW what I'm talking about) as THAT began to make it's presence known. Kyo tried not to move as considering the proximity of the girls to his body made the idea even worse.

 

Dita moved back in her sleep and licked her lips lightly, making Kyo swear silently as that innocent action made him shiver to the very roots of his composure as she too draped her leg over his.

 

“Mmmm…Mr. Alien!”

 

Kyo felt his eyes bug out as Dita spoke her nickname for him, the innocent tone, coupled with a tone of bliss made him even more painfully aware of his still growing and unsatisfied arousal.

 

< GOD DAMN IT! THIS CAN'T GET ANY WORSE!! COULD IT?!>

 

As if in answer to his unspoken question, he realized that both girls came even closer, until they were literally nose to nose with him. That was when he saw their hands run over his body, he tried desperately to restrain himself, but then he saw their hands making their way to the south of his body, and it was only a matter of time before they would touch his already aroused…

 

< DAMN IT! THIS IS WORSE! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!>

“AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!”

 

If Kyo could see this scene in another way, one thing became apparent to him. It looks like it was going to be a VERY long night.

 

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

 

Elsewhere…

 

Barnette was still in a state of agitation while in her tent, insisting that she stay alone, and her current state had something to do with what happened earlier at night. When the team she was in had rested for the night near another high ridge of stones. She had to watch the men take off their upper garments to take advantage of the cool winds to set up camp. It was here that she got introduced to the full form of the male body.

 

And before she could do anything about it, her mind when back to what she had seen.

 

Flashback…

 

“Damn! Thank god the suns are going down and the air's cooler.” Barnette said as she got to looking at the setting suns, with the various hues of color from the stars coating the desert sands, the place didn't look all that bad.

 

“Don't get too comfortable Barnette.” Duero said as he got out of his Vanguard. “The winds aren't going to be very gentle for long, and when there's such a storm in this area, a sand-storm might be forming up soon.”

 

Barnette turned to face Duero who was nearby. “What makes you so sure that there's a sand-storm heading this way?”

 

“The winds in the desert normally pick-up during the night, thought the same thing can happen during the day. The winds can reach speeds up to thirty to fifty kilometers an hour, depending on the heat and weather conditions. We'll need to set up camp near that ridge for protection.”

 

Barnette sighed a bit as they hauled their gear, while Max and Aleck set up their mecha in the same spot. Once that was done, Duero, Max and Aleck got down to the task of protecting their mecha from the sand-storm. But that was when they took advantage of the cool winds and took off the upper half of their clothes.

 

Barnette had already finished stowing her gear when she turned towards the three men. And when she looked, she couldn't help but gasp silently as she saw for the first time, a trio half naked men, or in reality, she had eyes only on two of them.

 

Duero's form was tall, tanned, lean, but well muscled, there were some scars on his back and shoulders, but they didn't seem to be bothering the Talark medic. Though Barnette hated the thought of scars, she didn't seem to think that they were ugly on Duero…rather they emphasized the muscle structure of the young man, the scars made him look…more…mature than most. The young man's form was that of lean gymnast and body-builder, not too bulky and over-massed, not too lean and thin either. But a marriage of both, and a VERY perfect marriage of both, his arms were lean as well, but had strong muscles, and so did his broad shoulders. From arms to lower torso, Duero McFile had strong-well built muscles in every aspect.

 

Barnette felt her body suddenly heat up a bit, so she tried to look away, but saw Max next…

 

Max's form was the same of his brother, but he had slightly larger, but no less strong muscles from arms, shoulders, and back. His form excluded the same balance as his elder brother. And like Duero, he too had scars, marks from fights, injuries and some looked like weapon marks. Max also had the same mature, experienced aura of his brother, but it was mixed with a strong taint of painful knowledge and first hand experience. He was also blessed with broad shoulders, and also a tall, lean, and tanned form. From top to bottom, Barnette realized that Max was a really well built man.

 

She began to get both angry and confused as she tried to control these strange feelings in her body. She shook her head and looked at the two brothers, right in the face!

 

Duero had finally parted the hair that covered the left side of his face…revealing smooth tanned skin. His eyes were totally revealed and it turned out that he had deep amber eyes, almost like copper. His face had sharp angular cheek bones, strong but not too hard definition, and they had a somewhat sleepy look, though he had a sharp analytical and focused look as well, and that caught Barnette's attention of various occasions, though on said occasions, she denied it. On normal women, the looks would have been considered…odd and out of place. But on Duero…it looked just right on him.

 

Max had no hair covering his face, except for the braid, so Barnette had no trouble looking at him. He had the same facial definition of his elder brother, but his amber eyes were of a lighter, but no less intense shade. He too showed knowledge, but his face showed a sense of sadness and pain that Barnette couldn't help but feel a bit closer too…as if she could relate to the younger brother. Max was in one word to Barnette's mind…attractive.

 

And before she could stop her unintended examination of the two McFile siblings, she went lower.

 

The two men were just as well built in the front of their upper bodies, as well as the back. Barnette could help herself but notice the lean but well sculptured muscles on the chest and lower abdominal regions. The two men were strong looking, and it was no surprise that they had the strength as she saw them lift out various supplies from their mecha with no problem, though sweat dripped over them, and to Barnette, the sweat gave a sleek and wet look to their muscular forms, making her unable to look away, despite a part of her saying to do just that.

 

This went on for over three to eight minutes until Barnette was awakened from her unintended observation of the two brothers by three things. He cool winds becoming colder, the lowering of light, and Aleck's calling of her attention.

 

“Barnette, you okay?”

 

Barnette looked at the older man who had put on his upper garment as the cool winds picked up speed. She nodded a bit and went back to her normal response to men, with a scowl.

 

“Yeah, what do you mean about that?”

 

Aleck nodded. “Nothing at all, though you had better get there with Duero and Max while they set up camp.”

 

Barnette nodded with a scowl. “Fine!”

 

Unknown to Barnette…

 

Aleck gave a bit of a smirk as he had been observing Barnette while the green-haired girl had been observing the two McFile siblings. “If she knew that I was able to tell why she was looking at Max and Duero in that particular fashion. She'd probably slap me and try to kill me.”

 

Aleck then gave a sad look to Max, knowing something about the younger brother's experience in this desert world.

 

“Just like she did…”

 

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

 

End of Flashback…

 

<Damn it! Why am I suddenly thinking about them?! AND LIKE THAT?!>

 

Barnette sighed in frustration as she tried to sleep after they all had eaten, but every time she tried to close her eyes, she began seeing Duero and Max in her mind's eye. And she felt her body begin to tingle as her imagination began to run away with her.

 

As Barnette began to get a sense of relief as her mind began to stop wondering about it, she then went to sleep. But it was then that the images came back. Though this time she began to wonder why she saw herself touching either of the two men…

 

“What the heck is wrong with me?!”

 

Barnette then recalled what Jura had told her that she was beginning to like the men. She then violently decided to forget the idea. Though she had to admit, she owed them both an apology. Duero saved her life in the mesa, and if Max didn't stop that single Desert Fang unit, it would have destroyed her Vanguard, along with her. She made up her mind to thank them for what they did for her, and apologize for being a little dense.

 

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

 

What she wasn't aware was that the two men in question were also thinking about her…

 

Duero sighed as he tried to go to sleep, but his mind was pre-occupied by several things. One was on how the others were doing, having since been unable to contact Kyo and the others. He second was on how the Nirvana and the crew were doing, and was Paiway using what he had taught her to the best of her abilities. And the last was Barnette…

 

In the Nirvana's medical bay, he had examined many females and had seen them without their clothes on, including Barnette and Parfet. However, he had remained professional and showed no reaction to their naked bodies, as he treated them all for injuries and illnesses. Now it was…different. He wasn't thinking about being a doctor, as he thought about most of Barnette's good points, along with her form.

 

He couldn't help but…admire the softer and gentler lines of her face, unlike the hardened visages of his fellow men on Talark. She seemed so…different from what he had thought about women. Her green hair was in a man-style choice of cut, but it suited her well, and her face was at the least in Duero's frame of mind, without flaw. His thoughts strayed back to when he had treated her wounds and he marveled at the light milky-white complexion of her skin. For the men on his home world, many of them were tanned, due to the harsh rays of the sun.

 

He then thought of Parfet, her form was lithe and very slender, much like the builds of the other women. She wasn't as…well…well-featured as the girls. To some eyes, Parfet's appearance was plain and ordinary, with her hair in her signature braids, and her over-shaped glasses. But he saw a beauty that was hidden on many occasions. And in his mind, Parfet had a great aura of attractiveness that was merely waiting to be unleashed.

 

Duero shook his head a little. Just why exactly was he feeling this way for the two women? Barnette and Parfet were very different, for one thing, Barnette had been hostile to him since he and his comrades came onboard the Nirvana, but he couldn't help but notice the fire in her eyes and admire her stubborn will. If not for her gender, her tough-as-nails attitude would have been welcome on his home world of Talark. Parfet on the other hand was open-minded and friendly, and she became is mechanical equal on the Nirvana. Both had been somewhat ambassadors of their own cultures and worlds, same as he and Bart were…in a sense.

 

<Just what is it about females that fascinates me so much? And why Barnette and Parfet? Is this what Kyo meant about the ancient practices of relationships between men and women? Is it even right for me to THINK of Barnette and even PARFET in this fashion? And why am I feeling this…strange sensation when I look at either of them like this? I wonder… Is this feeling going to last? >

 

Max thought along the same lines, but for another reason. He had been trapped with women before, but unlike his brother, he only had half of his brother's beliefs about women. Though he agreed with the men of his planet, he also agreed with his brother that they should at the very least try to find out more of their world's so-called enemy. Throughout that period, he had been at odds with his sibling about the beliefs, but after being stuck in this world for over nearly a year, and with a crew of women, he felt that he could now patch those differences. He then felt his mind's eye got to Barnette.

 

He too had been able to see most of Barnette's attributes, and had to admit one thing, the girl was…attractive. He, like his brother couldn't help but…admire the softer and gentler lines of her face, unlike the hardened visages of his fellow men on Talark. She defied every description of women on his desert home. Her face and appearance was at the least in Max's frame of mind, without flaw. His thoughts strayed back to when he had treated her wounds and he marveled at the light milky-white complexion of her skin. For the men on his home world, many of them were tanned, due to the harsh rays of the sun, including his own and that of his companions.

 

He too began to develop certain feelings for the short-tempered girl. However, unlike his brother…he had experienced them before…during his exile here on this desolate and hostile world. And he wasn't alone…for the girl that he had these feelings for…felt them towards him too.

 

But it was already too late for them to try and explore those feelings. They still were in the younger McFile, and for reasons he still didn't understand at time, they were coming back….for…

 

Both halted their train of thoughts and went to sleep.

 

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

 

The next day…

 

Kyo was totally silent as he checked the gear they had as they were about to reach the communications bunker. After what happened last night, he was not in the mood to face either the girls.

 

“Aw, c'mon Mr. Alien! We SAID we were sorry!” Dita pleaded as Kyo continued to work in silence. His back was turned to her, and to Jura. However, a part of her loved the idea of the fact that she had kissed Mr. Alien, though she wanted to see what he had been thinking when she did that. The only thing she didn't like is that she wasn't awake to do it.

 

“How was I supposed to know that I was doing THAT?” Jura asked as she tried to plead with Kyo, though she was grinning from ear to ear to herself as she realized that she had nearly gotten Kyo to give her his seed.

 

Kyo sighed and got to turn and face both Jura and Dita

 

“I told you before Dita, I don't want to talk about last night! Please, don't think I'm being harsh on you, but try not to do that again. You too Jura, I'm not going to do another repeat performance of what happened, but did you girls take stock of what we have to work with?”

 

Jura nodded. “We've gotten all the survival gear from the stuff we salvaged from both our Vanguards and the supply cache. We've got enough survival gear and medical gear for a good number of days at the least.”

 

“What about food and water?”

 

Dita continued. “Well…if you count the pills as food, we've got enough for over seven to ten days worth. As for water, we've got enough for three days, from the supply cache. Plus the leftover meat of that creature you caught Mr. Alien, we've got enough meat to last a good fifteen hours.”

 

“You will be able to cook a few more of that alien creature for us tonight, right?” She asked Kyo. “You could find us some more water too, won't you?”

 

Kyo was a little bit surprised at the fact that Jura was now willing to consume an alien cow creature, considering that last night she wouldn't even look at one. Kyo nodded a bit. “I can try that and catch another tonight, but you two don't need to eat too much of it, we've got enough left over, but you both should be prepared to chow on those pills and the rations. I know the stuff might taste terrible to you girls, but believe me, eating those will be a LOT better than slowly starving to death and being eaten by something else. The men of Talark had that as their staple meals, and they're just fine eating that.

 

“What about water?” Dita asked.

 

“Well…I've gone some checking about with Infinite-Freedom's bio-scanners and I've found some green plants, meaning there's a hidden spring nearby or further. Before we all left, Duero and I did some preliminary scans on the surface and found that there are a good number of hidden springs and oasis scattered all over the area we're stuck in. But they'll take at least half a day on foot, and that's our current target before we finish and get to the communications bunker.”

 

“We don't have to!” Jura insisted. “We've got Infinite-Freedom with us and it could fly us to the springs!”

 

“Whoa! I hate to disappoint you Jura, but that's out of the question.” Kyo answered. “I did some full systems checks on my Gundam, and although it's still at 100% operational capacity, we can't risk using the Gundam for the trip. The EM interference is messing up the navigational systems, operating systems, and sensors, though the Neutron Jammer Canceller is busy filtering them out, and we still have them. We will still be flying partly blind all over the desert looking for the springs. Then there's the barrier that the AI system had set up all over the planet. The dampening field's causing up some fluctuations in Infinite-Freedom's power and relay networks. Until then, Infinite-Freedom will need to be updated with some filtering software for the systems and OS before my Gundam's good for a longer battle. Plus, I won't be surprised if the AI will be using aerial surveillance systems to find us, and being in the Gundam can make things harder. Thankfully, the supplies I had for some time will finally come in handy.”

 

“What do you mean?” Dita asked.

 

“I went to this planet named Hyrian 4, the locals there are masters in stealth and camouflage. After I dealt with some of their problems, including a raid by some agents of an unknown force, they came in peace and handed me some items. Some of these included an electronic/photographic camouflage tarp, I'll use it to cover Infinite-Freedom and hide both it's appearance and electrical emissions from the enemy.”

 

Kyo then unwrapped from a small storage locker/box he had with him, a mesh style blanket. He then spread it out until it became a massive tarp and it was wide and large enough to cover a Dread. He then removed a small strip from the top of the tarp and stepped back. To the two girls' amazement the tarp changed from the normal dull gray color, into the color of the sand dunes all around them. (**)

 

“Whoa! That is COOL!” Jura gushed as she looked at it. If it hadn't been for a small red strip on the edges, she would have thought the tarp wasn't even there along with the Gundam.

 

“Yeah! You have so many NEAT things Mr. Alien!”

 

“The virtue of being prepared, Dita.” Kyo smiled as he then began to climb over his Gundam with powerful, but graceful leaps, carrying the tarp, and began covering the Gundam quickly. While he had been in the Nirvana, he had improved his training to include near to impossible gymnastic moves that defied normal physical limits on occasion. Kyo's rapidly evolving genes and physical attributes gave him a fierce edge, which he knew that with time and training, he could master them to the fullest.

 

Once he was done, he went back to the locker and removed three more items. Once he did so he opened them and they became similar to ponchos that flowed like liquid sand, effectively copying the movements of the desert world's environment.

 

“WOW!” Dita and Jura said with amazed eyes.

 

“These are some special camouflage ponchos I got from Hyrian as well. These ponchos have the ability to meld with the surrounding environment. These will come in handy since we'll need to walk to get the water. We then move back here and get to the communications bunker. I've handed the some of these also to Barnette, Max, Duero, and Aleck. These not only hide you from observers, but they are hard to penetrate, and are non-heat absorbent, that'll keep you cool while we travel, since you two don't want to use the flight-suits, these will help you deal with the heat. ”

 

“Do you think they'll be all right?” The redhead inquired as she and Jura got on the ponchos. Both girls had decided to wear their normal clothes, despite the fact that those didn't offer much protection. Kyo didn't hold it against them, but gave them some protective sun-block from Talark. Though the stuff smelled bad, Jura and Dita followed Kyo's advice to use the lotion, since it really protected them from the harmful rays, especially in areas of their body where the poncho couldn't cover. They knew that they could trust Kyo, and he would never lie or leave them.

 

“Of course they're all right!” Jura said confidently. “If I know Barnette, then she's probably half way to the supply base right now. She's tough and she's not the type of person to allow a little desert to stop her.”

 

“Well…I think that Duero, Aleck and Max have got a better chance at surviving out there than Barnette, I'm not insulting your friend's skills or determination or anything Jura, but…” Kyo began.

 

“What do you mean Mr. Alien?”

 

“What do you mean about that Kyo?” Jura asked, with curiosity. Before she would have been angry at anybody belittling Barnette. But she knew Kyo had a reason for saying things.

 

Kyo paused before speaking. “It's not because Duero, Max, and Aleck are men that I believe that they'll survive. It's because of the fact that what they all have endured all their lives. Just think about it. We're speaking about three people who've been born and raised in a world just as hostile, if not more so than this one. Duero, Max, and Aleck's ancestors were not as technologically supplied when they came to Talark and founded their home. They don't have the comforts that you girls on Megele take for granted and enjoy. They had to rely on what they had brought with them and their own innate survival instincts. Judging from what I've learned on Talark first hand, they did an excellent job for over three generations. Their technology may not be as advanced, nor is their food tastier as you girls have, but they have endured EVERYTHING that their world has thrown against them. Trust me, they are all survivors and I'm very sure they'll look out for Barnette.”

 

<Though I have a feeling that Barnette's not going to like it very much. > Kyo thought as he still knew that despite her change of attitude, Barnette STILL had her pride. He only hoped that she will give it up soon.

 

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

 

Sure enough…nearly half a day from the supply base…

 

“WHAT DO YOU ALL MEAN I CAN'T WASH UP?!”

 

Barnette had been all set to apologize for all the two siblings had done when her traveling companions dropped that bombshell on her. All of them were now normally clothed and were getting ready to set out into the desert.

 

Duero shook his head as he stowed away the precious canteens of water into his pack. “I'm sorry Barnette, but we've got to conserve as much water as we can, at least until we can find some more. We can ill-afford to waste any water right now.” It was nearing mid morning, and the temperature was going all the way past the eighties. The tents had been quickly and efficiently taken down and formed into a small bundle on the three men's backs. Slung over Duero's shoulder was his rifle and medical satchel. All the men had already worn their ponchos, given to them by Kyo during their retrieval of the supplies.

 

Max and Aleck had already hidden their mecha since it would be better that they secured the supply base, and then bring the mecha there, as to avoid enemy scanners. They also knew that some supply bases had sleeper traps nearby, and from bloody encounters with the said traps, they were NOT in the mood to face the traps.

 

“But I always take a shower in the morning!” The green-haired and violet eyed female complained. “In this heat, I'm going to sweat and…smell!” She said that last word with a hushed, angry tone.

 

The medical officer shrugged his shoulders as he asked. “And your point being?”

 

“My point? I'm not supposed to smell! I won't stand for having body odor!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Why? Because…it's not…right! Back on Megele, you can't go around sweating and smelling too! You'd be laughed at and jeered for hours upon hours! Don't you men take any baths on Talark or something?!”

 

“Of course we do. But water's a precious resource to us back home, we only take short showers to wash the dirt off. We don't have the luxuries like your…what were they again? Ah, yes, we don't have things like Jacuzzis or steam baths. To us, getting clean is simply washing the dirt off. When there's water shortages, then we ration our supplies to only drinking and medicinal purposes. In any case, I should remind you you're not on Megele anymore, and in this world and climate sweating and body odor are unavoidable.”

 

“I'm aware of that, but…”

 

“But what? Are you afraid of offending people with your smell?” Aleck asked as he got his own gear.

 

“Well, yes…”

 

Max walked over with a serious look, along with his own gear. “You don't need to worry about that Barnette. There's nobody else here except me, my brother, and our old instructor, and all of us are used to things such as that. I'll be honest with you right now, as a doctor like my brother, I've personally smelled things a GREAT deal worse than just sweaty bodies.” Max paused for a few moments before checking his gear one last time.

 

“Back home we have a very effective saying. `You can save your water and be ALIVE, or waste and be clean and DEAD.' I'm certain that going on without a bath for several days won't kill you immediately, and is a lot better than being clean and dead. That's the same things that we told the women, and well…” Max then trailed off as the others, including Barnette saw a line of pain enter the younger McFile's face.

 

“Anyway… It's a lot better that you get rid of those ideas about wasting water right now since that can be done later, when we find water here. No doubt there should be a supply of water there.” Max then said as he then reached and took on his poncho's hood. He then handed another poncho to Barnette.

 

“What's this for?”

 

“Kyo handed it to us. He knows that we'll all need this while we're walking in the desert. In this kind of heat, it's best to keep your head covered at all times, plus avoiding the hot sands and stinging wind. Sunstroke, blisters, and burns from super-heated sand and high winds are nothing to joke about.”

 

After the men had finished suiting up for the journey, Duero looked to a direction and so did the men. “We'd better get on the move. It's not a good idea to be out in the open like this. The sooner we get to our destination, the safer we are.”

 

Barnette growled a bit and instead of wearing the poncho, merely draped on her shoulders, without securing it tightly. She hefted her own pack on her back, and then slung her rifle over her right shoulder before following the men's

 

“Why can't we use the mecha and keep going until we get there?”

 

“Two reasons.” Max replied without looking back.

 

“Which are?” The Megele girl pressed.

 

“One, we have to maintain absolute stealth while we're out here. The AI army has regular patrols, and after that battle at the mesa yesterday, it won't be a surprise if the patrols are much larger and better armed. Since we're only armed with three mecha, we'll need to avoid being caught, since despite having our mecha units with us, we can't hold off a mixed patrol, even more so if they contact more patrols on us. The second is that since we need to avoid them we'll need to be as inconspicuous as possible. So to avoid alerting the patrols, we have to be going on foot. The AI army will not travel at night due to lack solid power supplies. Since the units of our enemy all use solar power cells, they have to recharge their forces with the power surplus at night. The suns' EM waves, coupled with the magnetic polarities, and radioactive pulses from space make it hard for their forces to be all that effective despite them being conditioned to withstand all the irregularities here, so the units burn up their energy on patrols, and have to return to base and recharge. That's why we have to avoid traveling with the mecha units. We can acquire our mechs once we've been able to avoid their patrols, plus we've installed special beacons so we can find them.”

 

Barnette hated to admit it, but she couldn't argue with Max's reasoning, as it all made sense. “So how do you know which way it is to the supply base? It all looks the same to me in every direction and you don't have any navigational computers or even a compass!”

 

Max sighed a bit “A compass is useless on this planet since the magnetic fields are too unstable. Duero's already tried making one, and we've tried that before. Besides, the EM interference has made any other navigational instruments useless. Fortunately, we all took a bearing reading when we crashed here all those months ago, and I know that we need to head in that direction to get to the supply base. The maps we've made helped us all while we were here.”

 

“How do you even know that you're heading for the base?!”

 

The younger man replied. “We've been there before, and we've always made sure to recall as much as we can. Our maps have been based on this world's geographical data. Plus the suns always rise at the north, and the supply base is at the northwest. So it makes sense we'd head in that direction and head in a western direction. Right?”

 

Barnette was struck dumb with his simple and straightforward answer.

 

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

 

After a few hours later…

 

Barnette was NOT IN A GOOD MOOD and she had wasted little time in making her displeasure know to either Max or Duero.

 

It was hot, but she couldn't do anything about it. She was sweating and smelling bad, but she couldn't do anything about that either. Her deodorant and anti-perspirant had been in left behind in her ruined Vanguard and were destroyed. She was starting to develop sunburn and the men warned her that her regular clothes left too much of her body exposed to the harsh rays of the five suns, and she found that it was true, she knew that she should have worn the poncho when Max told her to, but said to him it was too big and made her look like she had a burlap sack as clothes, plus it was lost in the environment when it was blown away by the winds. Duero had offered her some Talark sun block lotion, but the prideful and stubborn girl refused to take it. She stated that it smelled bad and looked like black tar, never mind the fact that she didn't smell like roses at the moment. Plus the burns she got from the stinging sands that struck her made her even more uncomfortable.

 

Her feet were aching as her boots were never designed for long distance hiking, the soles and sides were thin, which allowed the heat of the sand to be partly transmitted through. This also meant that any sharp foreign objects, more importantly fangs, claws, and stingers would have no trouble piercing those boots. Many men on Talark have died because of being stung or bitten by poisonous desert dwellers that were able to penetrate their footwear. As a rule, good solid, durable boots were a must for such a harsh wilderness. And the flight suit also had strong built-in boot like features, and that was among the things Barnette had discarded early on.

 

Duero knew that he, his brother, and his old mentor had a spare pair of combat boots of such design with thick soles that Barnette could have used if she decided to drop the suit. They were oversized for her slender feet, but stuffing the extra spaces with cotton and gauze would fix the problem with no difficulty. But the girl refused them. She said she'd rather burn her feet than wear that unfashionable, ungainly, and heavy footgear. At the rate she was going, Barnette won't HAVE any feet to stand by the end of the day. The two medics were ready to treat the blisters she was no doubt going to receive.

 

The elder McFile physician was often mystified at the obsession that females have with enhancing their own appearances and prestige, at the cost of common sense. Granted that some applications of make-up made them look more pleasant to look at, but one could only take vanity so high before it became more trouble than it was worth. Duero had talked to Gascogne, and the head supplier had related to them the same story she had told to Kyo, as to why the Megele pirates were first formed. Like Kyo, Duero couldn't understand why someone would want the most beautiful garden at the expense of so much precious power and water. So much in fact that an entire residential area was taken out of service, leaving the occupants with no homes.

 

Now he was getting a good look of Megele mentality in Barnette, when she refused the practical sun block, poncho, and boots, simply because they were ugly to her. He also suspected that it was out of pride as well as to why she refused help from him, being a man. Apparently she wanted to show that she was just as tough as he was.

 

Her spirit was admirable, but totally blinded by her pride and way of thinking. That much Duero could tell. Already her pace was slowing down and he could tell her feet were sore. She was just not used to this kind of environment or terrain.

 

Max also sighed as he gazed at the determined young woman. Over his own months of exposure to women since being stranded on this world, he had also seen the mentality of Megele in the women that were stuck with him and his comrades as well. He recalled how confused he had been when he heard about how much resources the women wasted on things that made little to no sense to him. So much for so little and so trivial to the need to live in this universe. He also recalled how he had tried to defend his world's culture against the women, and he recalled how hard it had been to convince women the value of conserving supplies.

 

The mentality of the women he had been with had caused a great deal of friction in the initial months of the exile he and the others had endured. But though it took a long time, they all learned about what was truly important, but sadly it was already too late. Namely for her…

 

Max shook his head as he moved on, he knew that they would arrive soon to the base.

 

As the two made their way past several sand dunes and the ground began to level off, they spotted the base.

 

It looked like a normal stone out-cropping, but there was a gate and it would only take them a few minutes to use the special over-ride keys that Max and Aleck had taken. As the base came in sight, they all began to pick up the pace. The base was underground, so as to avoid possible detection by others, unless they knew about this world's ways well.

 

Suddenly, Max stopped as he spotted something suspicious in front of them, he then surveyed the area of the ground some ten meters in front of them all. There were some slight, but odd-shaped mounds that piled out in front of them, not to mention that there were some depressions that seemed to indicate something. Aleck and Duero also saw them and decided to halt.

 

“What now?” Barnette asked irritably. Things couldn't possibly get any worse than it already was. She was tired and sweating, and in a very angry mood.

 

“Hmmm…” The younger brother said as he checked the area again, and them motioned them to follow him.

 

“Where are we going? I thought we were going to go straight to the base's entrance?”

 

“We are, but there's something about this area that bothers me. I'll tell you why once we've circled around and found the secondary entrance…”

 

“Oh! We don't have the time for this!” The impatient girl snapped as she moved on ahead. “You said that the faster we get the supplies, the better! Well I'm not going to take the long way around!”

 

The second she stomped forward, the three men immediately spotted a few of the mounds beginning to move, as if in response to Barnette's movements. When Max spotted something poking out of the sand… an eye and a set of limbs in the shape of claws, he knew that they were in trouble! Wasting no time, he dropped his backpack and got out his assault rifle and shouted out while running towards Barnette.

 

“BARNETTE!”

 

CLICK!

 

“WHAT DO YOU…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

 

A high pitched roar was heard, as a massive reptilian beast erupted from the sands and lunged at the young Megele female. Barnette backed off, but the weight of her backpack and gear made her top heavy, she stumbled backward, and fell on her bottom. In that instant her fear paralyzed her and didn't even think about the rifle she had with her.

 

The thing was hideous. It looked like a massive single-eyed snake with a maw of massive teeth. It had a set of frontal limbs with claws that looked like scythes. The more terrifying part was that it looked cybernetic as sections of it's body appeared to be mechanical. It then reared back and was about to take Barnette down with either it's teeth or scythe-claws. (***)

 

Barnette was about to scream even more when a form appeared and began shooting at the creature. It was Max, he wasted little time as he blasted a few bullets into the creature's one eye. The bio-cybernetic beast roared as it's head was hit by several HE/AP shots, and a second later, the creature's head blew up.

 

Max then turned and helped Barnette to her feet, while giving her a glare. “What the heck were you thinking?!”

 

Barnette was able recover from the shock when another creature suddenly burst behind her and Max, intending to take them out. Max saw this and without any hesitation moved Barnette aside to safety… nearly getting killed in the process.

 

“AAAAHHH!!”

 

Barnette turned at the sound of agony and saw one of the creature's claws piercing Max McFile on the left shoulder. Apparently he had dodged the claw intent on piercing Barnette on the back, but he was a bit slow and got the claw into his shoulder. Barnette screamed as she saw the sight.

 

Gunfire rang behind her as Aleck and Duero fired at the creature. The shots had caused the limb that held Max to fall off in a gory mix of organic bone and circuits, making the creature scream in pain, before being reduced to shredded meat and metal by the combine gunfire.

 

Barnette saw Max stagger forward, despite his wound and the claw that was still in his shoulder ….it was there she realized that if he didn't move her out of the way, she would have been killed by the creature's claws. She rushed up to Max and tried to help him to his feet.

 

“Get out of here Barnette!” Max shouted as he was still in pain, blood had come out from his wound and drenched Barnette's arm, but she didn't seem to care.

 

“No!”

 

The two turned as they heard more roars as three more of the horrors attacked from behind. Max pushed Barnette aside and killed one of the horrors, but not before the creature slashed at his chest, making the younger McFile stagger back in pain as blood once more flowed out of a long wound on his chest.

 

“MAX!” Barnette shouted in horror, along with her was the screams of Duero and Aleck.

 

Duero and Aleck continued to open fire at the creatures and take out the ones that escaped from the sands. They continued to fire to ensure that there would be no more of the serpentine horrors. The creatures gave harsh cries as they were destroyed, in regular intervals, both Duero and Aleck changed magazines when they ran out of bullets. Barnette however didn't notice as she tried to help the wounded man who was still alive, but was bleeding badly. The Megele girl was in tears as she tried her best to help the man that saved her life twice, nearly losing his own in the process in front of her.

 

With a final parting shot, the last of the vile creatures was blown to gory pieces. The medic and combat instructor stood there, silent for a moment, intently scanning if more of the creatures were nearby and aiming their rifles rifle. When no sign was seen, they quickly got to both Barnette and Max as they got their injured comrade to the base. Once they got there, they over-rode the security protocols of the base and rushed to try and save the injured Max.

 

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

 

Much later…

 

Duero nodded as he assessed his brother's condition. It had taken him several hours, but he was finally able to stabilize his brother's vital signs. Currently, the younger man was in a special medical unit and was asleep. The thing resembled a high-tech bed but had a glass casing to cover the body, except the head. The device covered his brother in a vat of special medical fluid that began to ease away the pain his brother was in. They were lucky to have found the medical station when they came in. Duero immediately went to treating his brother, and told Barnette to help Aleck, but the Megele girl refused and wanted to help, and help she did. With her help, he was able to keep his brother from going into internal bleeding and trauma. He sighed as he had another person to deal with as he stepped out of the medical station.

 

Barnette was outside of the medical station, sitting in silence. He had treated her burns, and blisters with some soothing salves. Her sun-burn was treated with the lotion and most of the other injuries were easy to treat, plus he knew that she hated scars, so his treatments allowed him to make sure that there would be no marks. However, until Max was fully healed of his wounds, they had to stay for a day and a half. Aleck knew that what they fought with was called a sleeper trap. The creatures were designed from the creatures that were native to the desert and had been changed to act as traps by the AI forces, when they were killed, they had sent a signal to their master…the AI entity of the planet's AI army of their location, and in less than two and a half days, the enemy would be on top of them.

 

Currently, they were all in the base. The base had come complete with what they needed, medical supplies, weapons, convoy trucks of the hover type, power packs, spare parts, living quarters, a well stocked cafeteria, hangers, a repair bay and their own communications center. The desert winds outside were blowing gently, but Duero knew that those were signs of a fierce sandstorm, from all his experience back home.

 

He looked at Barnette, with her knees brought up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around them. She was trembling slightly and her head was bowed down. Ever since her encounter with the cybernetic behemoth desert snakes, Barnette was silent and felt…humbled for the first time in her life. It was as if the attacks were a wake-up call of sorts. The reality of her situation was drilled into her in the most frightening way possible, and she was totally unprepared for it. Her tough girl appearance was stripped away and revealed the frightened and unsure side of her personality. She had never felt so helpless as she had a few hours ago. In her mind, she could still see the hideous cybernetic creature impaling her with it's claws and doing only the gods knew what to her, and she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. If it hadn't been for Max running to her aid and his excellent shooting skills, she would have been dead.

 

But he nearly paid a high price for rescuing her, and the price was his life. Duero and Aleck also saved her, and if it wasn't for them Max and her would be dead.

 

“Barnette?”

 

The girl was snapped out of her reverie as she looked at the man nearby and gazing at her with a very concerned expression. The Megele girl couldn't figure out this man. He was a living enigma, just like Kyo was. On the very day they met, she had treated him with extreme rudeness, and yet he cared for her safety and well being like his longtime friend. Not once did he ever utter a harsh word at her. He had treated her with the same respect that he showed to everyone on the Nirvana. He saved her life and never asked for anything in return.

 

She then thought of his brother Max. Like his elder brother, the younger McFile was a mystery to her. When she had met the younger McFile, she thought that he would be the polar opposite of his brother. But she was wrong, he didn't speak harshly to her even when she still made some bad comments about men like him, and his world. He showed patience towards her, and offered to help her…despite her denials. He treated her with the same respect his brother showed her. And he nearly died saving her.

 

Why? Why didn't any of them act the way a man from Talark was supposed to act? They were supposed to be crude, stupid, ignorant savages, inferior in all ways to women. That's what she had always believed. She had eventually discounted Kyo from that stereotype, as he was never born on Talark. However, both Duero and Max were born and raised on that world of men, so why didn't either of them fit into that category? Until recently, Bart Garsus fit that profile with no problems.

 

Both brothers were intelligent and their knowledge of medicine would be considered top notch on Megele. They both reflected discipline and refinement, with a mix of street savvy. Their minds were logical, but also flexible as well. There was no doubt of their courage in battle, which was a far outcry from the belief that all men were cowards. However her mind's eye went back to Max and what he had done for her, ever since they met, and his nearly dying to save her.

 

“Barnette?” The elder brother asked again, trying to get her attention. It seemed that her mind was a billion light-years away.

 

Finally, she responded with the quietest of whispers. “Why?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Tell me why.” She said in a stronger voice.

 

“Why what?” Duero became confused with her cryptic question.

 

Barnette lifted her head and her eyes shimmered with moisture. The Talark medic was shocked to see the normally tough Dread pilot in the verge of shedding…tears?

 

“After all that I've done to you…after everything I've ever said about men and you…and what…I…did and said to Max…and what…happened…to your brother…because of me.” At that point, she was unable to hold back a lone tear that flowed down her cheek. “…why do you still consider me…as someone you would risk your life to save? To even take care of and heal? Why do you consider me…as…a person worth saving…. After…I nearly…got your…own…brother…killed?” At that point her voice was starting to crack.

 

Duero caught on to her meaning and did not answer for a long while. After a few minutes of silence, aside from the howling wind currents outside the base as it began to build up, he finally replied. “I think of you as a person to be saved and called a friend…since for all the time we were together…Neither me or my brother have never considered you…as an enemy.”

 

The simplicity of the answer struck a chord deep in Barnette's soul as she was shaken to the core. Then she reacted…

 

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”