Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ GunDread SEED- The Second Stage ❯ Part 4 Beginning of the journey... ( Chapter 14 )

GunDread SEED- The Second Stage

 

Disclaimer: Let me guess…disclaimer? Okay. I herby state I have no ownership in the mentioned shows…which are Gundam SEED and VanDread… I hope that clears it up.

 

Chapter 6

 

Part 4

 

Beginning of the journey…

 

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

 

“What's going on in there?!” Magno asked as the bridge crew tried to re-establish communications with the insertion team. They had seen the beams they had `fired' hit the Dreads and the Infinite-Freedom Gundam…just before they were engulfed by the combined assault of all the Earth's Gundams.

 

They had no idea what had just happened and assumed anything except the worst case scenario.

 

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

 

In the bowels of the Harvester battle-ship…

 

The whole battle-field was frozen in time…in literal terms as on one side were the new Gundams of Earth…The Devastator, Hell-Fire, Wyvern, and the Behemoth Gundams… and on the other was the I-Freedom Gundam piloted by the young Ultimate Coordinator Kyo who flew on the side of the Nirvana pirates…and the Dreads turned Gundams of the three young women, Dita Liebely, Meia Gisborn, and Jura Basil Elden…all three pirates of the same ship…and people who were very dear to the still amnesia affected Gundam pilot.

 

Barnette and Pyoro were in awe at the sight…

 

Kyo was in awe as well as he looked at the transformed Dreads of the three women…wondering how did this happen. But he quickly put that aside as he realized they were still in the fight with the Earth Gundams.

 

The three women on the other hand were in awe at the changes of their machines…

 

Dita was in awe as she looked at the still unchanged cockpit of her new Gundam. She felt as if despite her Dread becoming a Mobile Suit it still felt the same as before when she first boarded her Dread when it was made for her in the factory of the pirate base. Like the blue-jay she had as a little girl back on Megele, she dotted on it and despite her lack of some of the finer points in advanced Dread maintenance, she too good care of her fighter. She took even greater care when it was now able to fuse with Kyo's Gundam and tried to do her best in learning the finer points in repairing her Dread. The comfort was still there and she felt safe as if it was the same as when Kyo would fuse his Gundam with her Dread, and he would be beside her. It was as if her Mr. Alien had given a part of himself to her, to watch over her and protect her as she ran her hands on the controls

 

Meia was relieved as the cockpit still retained the spacious design of her Dread. Despite her best efforts to surpass her still existing claustrophobia, it still plagued her though at a slightly lesser degree due to her making peace with her family and her past, plus her desire to help Kyo in the many battles they would no doubt face together. She too had supervised the construction of her Dread and its design before it was affected by the Paeksis. She, despite her business like attitude admired the design of her speedy Dread and for a moment wasn't totally happy with the changes the Paeksis had done before, but was thankful for the immense tactical edge it gave in speed, manoeuvrability and response to the tightest of battles. And she was happy for the power it had when it fused with Kyo's Gundam. She felt as if even though he wasn't physically there with her…he was with her no matter what.

 

Jura likewise as her fellow pilots was in awe at the changes to her beloved Dread. Like her fellow pirates she too had taken a deep interest in the construction of her Dread. Red being one of her favorite colours was the reason her Dread was designed as such. She ran her hands on the cockpit for a few seconds to feel if there had been some serious changes to the systems and was happy not to find too many that would be too hard for her to use. She too felt as if Kyo was right with her and all around her in her new machine. It felt the same when he himself was in the cockpit in their GunDread and it comforted Jura in some way.

 

The four Gundams of Earth were still stunned beyond belief; their CPUs trying to determine the reasons for this sudden change…there were now FOUR Paeksis powered Gundams in the side of the pirates?! How did this happen?!

 

The Behemoth however wasted no time and aimed its full arsenals at the converted Dreads. They were still vulnerable and their pilots were still not as talented as the Gundam pilot of the Infinite-Freedom. Despite the records of the three women having gained considerable experience in fighting with Mobile Suits…those were only from the Vanguards of the all male planet of Talark…a Gundam with it's design and power, plus it's unique systems however were different in a great degree of aspects.

 

Kyo spotted the incoming Gundam and realized it was going to unleash its full arsenal on the three women.

 

“ALL OF YOU!!! MOVE!!!”

 

The gigantic Gundam of the Earth reverted to it's combat mode and unleashed a massive barrage of weapons fire at the four Gundams, but the full force of the hits were aimed at the new Mobile Suits…take them out, and their side would still have the edge over the pirates.

 

As it fired its beam weapons, Kyo spotted the attacks and quickly aimed to protect the three women and their Gundams, using his own Mobile Suit as a shield. The Infinite-Freedom used both wings to shield itself and the three other Gundams behind it. The explosion of energy waves was great and light seemed to engulf the Gundam that used its own form to protect its companion machines.

 

The Behemoth wasted no time and fired another barrage. Despite the immense protection afforded by the I-Freedom's crystal feathers against beam and ballistic attacks…it couldn't survive a concerted barrage all at once.

 

However the beam fire was bulging and moving…towards the Gundam of Earth! As it halted its beam fire in shock, it quickly reverted to its normal mode and activated it's deflectors on the forearms…

 

Just in time as the I-Freedom appeared from the rapidly dissipating energy…its wings opening up…to reveal it holding both beam sabers in a descending cross slash!

 

“TAKE THIS!!!” Kyo shouted as he was once more in Seed mode…

 

The smaller Gundam slammed both beam sabers right into the left forearm's deflector shield…and went full throttle. The Gundam may not have the mass….but it certainly had more than enough power to rocket it and its far larger opponent out through the hole the Nirvana clone had enlarged.

 

This left Dita, Jura, and Meia in their now converted Dreads/Gundams to face off with the three other Gundams of Earth.

 

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

 

The Nirvana…

 

“I'm picking up a massive amount of energy coming out from the insertion point!”

 

Celtic never got the chance to identify it as they watched the form of the Behemoth suddenly appear out of the hole…scattering the combined numbers of units in the area…the Dreads and Vanguards of their teams and the forces of the Harvesters.

 

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

 

The Behemoth Gundam's CPU was very desperate to rate how much power the Gundam it was fighting with was radiating…it certainly was that of the Paeksis…but far stronger than it had emitted in the previous battle.

 

It managed to finally over-power the Gundam and send it flying back. It wasted little time and fired its finger cannons…intent on crushing its deadly adversary in one fell swoop. The I-Freedom however didn't stand idle…it suddenly dodged the incoming beams amazingly fast, and fired its rail-guns at full forces. The shots slammed into the Behemoth Gundam, causing some damage…it them charged at full power its beam sabers prepared to slash into the gigantic Mobile Suit.

 

The Behemoth dodged, but not before getting slashed in the mid-section by the beam sabers. The Paeksis enhanced Gundam jetted away and while upside down activated its plasma cannons and rail-guns, firing a concerted barrage at the Behemoth that it managed to deflect.

 

The I-Freedom righted itself and now faced off with its gigantic counterpart…just like the biblical David faced Goliath in the field of battle

 

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

 

In the bowels of the Harvester battleship the three Gundams of Earth decided to deploy a few GunDread clones in reserve to hold off the new Gundams in order for them to determine the strength and combat capacity of the new Gundam pilots, plus their CPU's were armed with a virus filter that allowed them to function even as the virus began snaking it's way throughout the fleet.

 

They had files on the Dread pilots. While the silver Gundam's pilot was by far the most talented of the pilots with Dread combat and served at the capacity of the commander of all the pirates' Dread squadrons, she was reported to be deficient in Mobile Suit warfare and would be a good first target. The red Gundam's pilot was considered to be mid-tier in combat level with Dreads and was the supporting leader, though she had little leadership experience as the records of their forces' asteroid ambush nearly a year ago could attest to it…but they also said that she had some considerable skills with a Mobile Suit. The blue Gundam's pilot was in comparison the weakest of the pilots in terms of flying her Dread, but her skills in piloting a Mobile Suit were somewhat better than her leader's.

 

Unfortunately for Meia, Dita, and Jura, their opponents had been designed by some of the foremost designers of Earth using the ancient designs of Gundam units and upgrading them very quickly. Not to mention the facts that... they had no experience with a Gundam…and they have not yet faced a Gundam opponent in single combat. The only good news was that the Nirvana clone was being affected by the virus and wasn't attacking them…however that didn't make things any easier for the three women.

 

“WHOA!!! HOW DO I FLY THIS?!” Dita yelped as her Gundam rocketed around like a dragonfly pumped with a mix of steroids, stimulants, and adrenaline boosters. Despite the engines being the same as her Dread's, her new Gundam's engines were far greater in power and thrust. Though the cockpit was the same as her Dread's the controls were altered to suit that of a Mobile Suit. The redhead was used to her Dread flying with just a touch of the control spheres, but with the alterations to the systems, what she had taken as an easy course had just been placed upside down and she was at a loss how to manoeuvre her new mecha properly. Plus there were two extra problems…this was the first time she had fought in space with a Gundam instead of a Dread…and even if she had prior combat experience with Mobile Suits…it was with a Vanguard, not anything as complex as a Gundam.

 

The good thing that came out of the flying she was in was the fact that coupled with it and the Gundam's powerful thrust rate made it hard to hit the novice Gundam pilot. The combine forces found it hard to hit her and she jetted about and they even had hit each other when she streaked past them. Dita however panicked as she was about to slam into a clone of GunDread Jura which intended to slam into her, and her Gundam threat sensors warned her of the clone of her GunDread preparing to fire once more.

 

“AAAAHHHH!!!” Dita touched the spheres of her cockpit and much to her shock the Gundam she flew halted in mid flight and suddenly rocketed upwards…this made the GunDread clone of Jura take the full blast and exploded like a rotten melon.

 

Dita then tried to recall the lessons she had taken with flying her Vanguard and hoped that those would apply. She touched the spheres once more and carefully made the gestures on them. To her relief, the Gundam responded and she was able to turn and move accordingly her Gundam as she would have her Vanguard back on the two missions that required her to learn how to do so in the first place, as she now got back into the fight, but she knew that she had to be careful. She then aimed at the nest of GunDread clones which also engaged Jura and Meia.

 

“HANG ON! HERE I COME!”

 

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

 

Jura was busy as she too found out that the best way to operate her new mecha was to convert her understanding of Dread manipulation controls to that of the Vanguard. It took her a while longer than Dita did since she was so used to Dreads and had only been in a Vanguard twice in her career. She had hoped now to forget them and get back to piloting her beloved Dread, but now she was happy she didn't unlearn those lessons as she avoided more attacks from some GunDread clones.

 

Meia had the same problems as her two comrades. But in her case she had little training and field experience in the art of Mobile Suit control and manipulation and that placed in a serious bind. However to off-set her deficiency in practical experience she did have the talent to learn quickly and on occasion, in very tight spots when it came to that point. That plus her desire to succeed and win in any venture made her the best pilot of the Dread fighter in the pirate group…and now it would help her well. She recalled some of the basic controls of a Vanguard and with that began to avoid the incoming barrages of weapons-fire

 

However the three of them had little combat experience still with their Gundams' weaponry in deep space and had to learn quickly if they wanted to survive.

 

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

 

Meia began by accessing her weapons inventory and realized that she had some basic armaments to work with. She then guided her Gundam to take out its holstered beam rifle. The weapon was in a single version form, unlike Kyo's double beam rifle but it was a powerful add-on to any Mobile Suit as far as she herself had seen when Kyo would use his Gundam's double beam rifle in combat. She then checked out what she had for defensive options and activated her shield.

 

On the left forearm of her Gundam appeared a collapsible shield…totally similar to that of Kyo's own collapsible shield. That shield in question was lost when Kyo's Gundam evolved into the Infinite-Freedom, yet it was replaced by improved Prominence Phase Shift Armour, upgraded manoeuvrability, improved reaction time, and its wings could do the very same thing as a shield. In her Gundam's case, it had gained the shield for defensive purposes, and since it was collapsible, she didn't need to carry it in and out of combat.

 

The shield deflected several attacks from the GunDread clones, several salvos from some GunDread Dita clones were repelled by the shield and allowed Meia to, block, dodge and fire back at the fighters. It was a little harder since all she had to do was aim and shoot her Dreads cannons, but no she had to consider how to angle her Gundam for the right firing angle while on the move and aiming right. She was able to hit several targets as she went on with her in the field training. Several GunDread Dita clones were hit and had lost a few limbs, and another got shot right in the head resulting in it being destroyed. Meia then decided to use her Gundam's speed which was the same as her GunDread…and began to move at much faster pace as she learned quickly on how to use her Gundam's beam rifle on the move. She then realized that she couldn't rely on the beam rifle alone as one of the GunDread clones charged at her with it's arm blade at the ready. She blocks with the shield and has no choice but to holster the rifle. She then had to be on the defensive as the clone pounded away at her shield… but she didn't plan on being hemmed in forever.

 

“Damn! Take this!”

 

Meia blocked the next attack and then used her shield to parry the next blow and sent a powerful left hook right into the side of the clone…

 

CCCCCLLLLLLAAAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!!

 

In human terms that would have been a haymaker right in the jaw, and anybody hit like that would have either a dislocated jaw or a broken one…or lose a good number of teeth from the blow. The GunDread clone was lucky to not have all three as it was send rocketing backwards from the blow. Meia then recalled some of the combat moves she learned as a child on the mean streets, and learning some Megele military martial arts as a pirate. Since she recalled some of the basic movements on the Vanguard and discovered the same principles applied to her Gundam, she took advantage of it.

 

Her Gundam charged and landed another punch in the clone's chest and then she connected with a side-kick using her Gundam's left leg, the power was enough to send the clone slamming into a clone of her GunDread and the second clone exploded. Meia then turned and spotted another clone charging at her with the shoulder cannon being used in the same way Kyo and Dita would use the GunDread's shoulder cannons as a sword on more than one occasion. She then recalled that she had weapons similar to Kyo's beam sabers on her Gundam's hip, she reached and pulled one out. The weapon was ornately engraved, making it look like a ceremonial handle for a sword. Meia activated it and it's energy blade came out…but it wasn't straight, but more curved and sharper…like a Japanese Katana…

 

Meia had no time to study her Gundam's melee weapon as she used it to block the incoming strike. The impact send her Gundam and her opponent rocketing to the floor. As the two mecha tried to over-power each other, the clone went all out on it's thrusters, intent on running over the newly modelled silver Gundam.

 

Meia gritted her teeth as she struggled with her opponent. The clone also sent another punch at her and she was barely able to use her still extended shield to block the punch. They kept on at it, tearing up the floor until Meia's Gundam slammed into the wall. The clone got up and got ready to open fire once it jetted back.

 

Meia shook her head clear from the impact and the jarring sensation and spotted it just in time to move her Gundam out of the way and with sheer will, was able to jam her beam katana right into the gut of the clone. Meia then pulled the weapon away and jetted off the floor as her opponent exploded behind her.

 

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

 

Jura gritted her own teeth as she tried to dodge the incoming strafing runs from the clone of Meia's GunDread. Her Gundam's Prominence Phase Shift Armour took most of the hits, but the blonde still had a hard time with her Gundam as she had never fought in space with a Mobile Suit before.

 

She also checked her Gundam's weapon inventory and decided to use her new anti-ship swords. She took out the weapons, ignited their beam edges, and waited for it…and quickly sliced off the left wing of one GunDread Meia clone, sending the avian mecha crashing and burning into the wall. But she knew that it wasn't going to be a lucky day since she seemed to have no ranged weaponry of her own. And that worried her as two of her GunDread's clones moved in towards her. She then checked one more and found out that she did have some ranged offensive weaponry.

 

As the two clones closed in she jetted forward and pressed a switch in her cockpit, and on the lower parts of the diamond shaped shields came a set of gatling guns. She pressed the trigger and in conjunction with her also newly discovered shoulder mounted laser cannons, the weapons unleashed a barrage of weapons fire. The gatling guns were like rail-guns on full automatic as they blasted the GunDread clones with hyper-magnetic rounds, and the shoulder guns was firing solid plasma rounds. The weaponry caught the two clones off-guard and one got shredded to pieces, and one was able to shield itself but barely as it was badly hit before and the shield it used was not fully powered and fell to the barrage.

 

A GunDread Dita clone tried to blindside Jura and the blonde was barely able to activate the shield of her Gundam. The diamond-like shield first expanded and absorbed the energy and fired it right back, ripping away the GunDread clone's shoulder cannon. Jura replied by using her Gundam's anti-ship swords to slice off the arms of her opponent. As the GunDread clone tried to escape, Jura used her shoulder cannons to shred her opponent. But Jura had to put away the swords as another GunDread Meia clone struck. She then found another option to use. She pulled out two extra hidden cylinders from a compartment on the hips of her Gundam and pulled out what appeared to be beam sabers, but she checked them out and found another option with them.

 

Once she activated them, the beam blades expanded and became even longer and more flexible. The GunDread clone strafed at Jura's Gundam once more, and the blonde escaped and then lashed outwards to the retreating clone…that was when the reason for the beam blades expanding became clear…the long energy blades lashed out and wrapped around the legs of the GunDread Meia clone and held for a few seconds, causing the avian mecha to scream in pain. It was able to get free…but not before the energy blade ripped off it's legs.

 

The beam sabers of Jura's Gundam had become beam whips! (*)

 

Jura may not have much experience with her Gundam's beam sabers and certainly not in the new configuration…but there WAS a first time for everything. She then lashed out her second beam whip and grabbed another GunDread Dita clone and ripped away it's left leg. Then she lashed on her other beam whip and tore off the right arm. She then decided to lash away on her target, and the intensity of the beam whips' energy slashed apart portions of the GunDread clone until it exploded into sliced debris.

 

While the weapons in their secondary mode were something else, Jura had to revert them back to their normal beam saber mode since she was being attacked at a range where the beam whips if used could also catch her in the path of their energy waves.

 

Jura had one advantage over her other comrades and even Barnette, she knew how to use a sword. Having been the fencing champion in her school for nearly two years before joining up with the pirates, made the blonde VERY good in sword-play. The thin rapier she carried wasn't for the sake of beauty. It had been a gift from her fencing master who told her ohma and fahma that their daughter was by far the best when it came to using the rapier and on occasion was good with both rapier and long dagger in sparring matches.

 

Jura placed her past skills to bear as she crossed blades with her beam sabers with a GunDread Dita clone that tried to use it's bladed forearm like a sword, even more so when it extended the blade.

 

<Draw your enemy into a pattern, know how she fights, how she uses her sword…> Jura thought about all her lessons and used them in this fight. The GunDread was given some combat training and programming but it seemed to be a pure novice when compared to the Megele woman who used swords a lot back in her high-school days.

 

Jura used the training to block and parry with her right beam saber. She knew that taking too long was a bad idea, but if she made a mistake and left an opening, there was no doubt in the blonde's mind the robot would take full advantage of it.

 

It took only a few parries and envelopes before Jura struck hard, the GunDread clone`s weapon as blocked and it left an opening quickly exploited by the blonde and she slid her Gundam's beam saber right through the sections least protected by the armour plating, just like a warrior armed with a rapier would by-pass an armoured warrior's defences by aiming at weak points in the armour to hit the vulnerable sections and vital areas.

 

The beam saber appeared at the middle of the chest area of the GunDread, Jura then drew out her beam saber and used her other to slash off the head of the clone. The clone fell away from the blonde who went back into the fight as more enemies came at her and her comrades.

 

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

 

Dita was engaged in a duel of ranged weaponry as she took out her Gundams own double beam rifle and began trading fire with another clone of Jura's GunDread. Her weapons were not able to totally penetrate the shield, but that didn't stop the redhead from finding out what she could do to take out the bad aliens who would try and hurt her comrades and her Mr. Alien.

 

She had to find a way of blocking the incoming fire of the GunDread clone…and found it…

 

<Hmmm…I hope that whatever part Mr. Alien placed in her by his power can help me….ahh, this should do it!>

 

The Gundam then lifted it's left forearm and the energy collector on it's fore-arm suddenly glowed and created a large semi diamond-like energy barrier that instantly cancelled out the beam fired by the GunDread clone. The GunDread clone continued to fire but it could not break the shield.

 

Dita then took out her beam rifles and hit the clone when it tried desperately to break the shield with more fire. It then activated it's own shield but Dita then discovered another option and activated it. Her Gundam then combined it's beam rifles. The right beam rifle combined it's barrel to the rear of the left beam rifle. The outward rifle's barrel moved forward to accommodate the introduction of the second rifle's barrel and power pack…the second rifle's butt-stock then extended to give balance for the now combined weapon. Dita locked on her newly made weapon and aimed at the GunDread clone. (**)

 

<I hope this works!>

 

The beam fired by the combined beam rifle was far more powerful than the beam bolts fired by the rifle when it was separated, the weapon was deadly but Dita wasn't totally prepared for the still unfixed recoil of the combined beam rifle that was now officially a powerful beam cannon. Therefore the larger and more powerful beam missed the GunDread clone, but that certainly didn't mean that it was not able to do anything. The beam's powerful energy scrambled the shield of the GunDread clone and made the thing go down faster than a dropped sack of potatoes…but the beam missed completely anyway.

 

Dita was shocked… How could she miss that target?!

 

But in reality the shot didn't entirely miss as it tore off the wing from a GunDread clone, and sheered off the arm of another GunDread clone of hers. But the beam went out…

 

So where exactly did it go?

 

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

 

Outside…

 

“Sara! Look out!” Mai shouted as she aimed her pulse rifle at a few Cub Fighters about to blind-side her fellow pilot. Suddenly a powerful green beam of destructive energy engulfed the cube Fighters that came right at the Elsman girl. That beam didn't stop there though, it thrashed to bits even more Cube Fighters as some had attempted to attack the strike team. The Cube Fighters stopped their attack…and naturally the pirates bushwhacked them hard for losing their focus.

 

“Thanks…but how the heck did your pulse rifle do that?”

 

“It wasn't me…I didn't even pull the trigger.”

 

The beam however did more than just wipe out more Cube Fighters…

 

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

 

“Damn!” Kyo, who still was in SEED mode said as he moved away from another barrage of weapons fire from the Behemoth Gundam. The thing was tough, no doubts there. He had managed to cause some considerable damage, but the Gundam's powerful defensive shields made it hard as hell for him to bypass it's defences easily. It was then that he spotted the lance of pure green energy heading for them.

 

“Hmm I can use that…”

 

Kyo did just that as he streaked backwards a bit, and this worked well to his advantage as the Behemoth closed in to take him out…but it moved forward…just enough for the beam to be see…the AI controlled Gundam brought up it's energy shield to block the blast and Kyo quickly attacked…

 

Placing his Gundam to full tilt speed, the Ultimate Coordinator took out his anti-ship swords and once they were combined, he tossed them like a boomerang and they struck right where he wanted them to…right in the middle portion of the Behemoth's left arm…severing the limb above the elbow. The I-Freedom Gundam then retrieved the combined weapon and placed them back on the racks and took out his beam rifle and began to pepper the Gundam which was able to deflect the massive beam aiming for it. But now with one limb missing, the gigantic Gundam knew now that things were going to be even harder from now on.

 

The two war machines once more went into combat as they fired their weaponry, intent on crushing each other…

 

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

 

Back in the Harvester battle-ship…

 

The virus was still playing merry hell on the system of the ship but it still needed four more minutes to totally infect the Harvester Fleet. In the mean time the fight was still going on…

 

However that was also the time the three other Earth built Gundams would get involved. The CPU of each Gundam had determined that the women were learning how to use their own machines at a considerable rate that if given training to further their budding talents, the new Gundams and their pilots would become an even greater threat to the Harvest…just in par with Kyo and his own Paeksis powered Gundam.

 

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

 

(This is where we have another song from the Gundam SEED series, here's a clue of the artist…he and his band are famous in Rurouni Kenshin.)

 

Italic (Japanese): Song Lyrics

Italic (English Translations): Song Lyrics

 

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

 

(As the music begins to play, the three girls have been able to force back a good number of the GunDread clones, but the clones have received the order to back away as the three Earth Gundams take to the offensive.)

 

Dita spotted the incoming blaster shots and was able to once more use her Gundam's fore-arm mounted shield as the Devastator engaged her Gundam. It became a duel of gunners as the Megele girl fought back with her Gundam's beam rifle while using her shield, and the Devastator using it's own beam shield blocked her shots while blasting away with it's shoulder cannons and beam bazooka.

 

yasashii sono yubi ga owari ni fureru toki

ima dake kimi dake shinjite mo iin darou?

When those soft fingers reach in the end,

Only now, only you, won't that be all you can believe in?

 

Meia used her Gundam's shield to block several blasts from the Wyvern Gundam's ranged weaponry and even blocked the fired beam spear head that would have impaled her Gundam if she didn't use the shield to block the released beam edged weapon. The weapon was retracted by it's owner and the Wyvern charged, Meia used both her shield and beam katana to block the Wyvern's attacks. Both Gundams fired their weapons at the time as they jetted back, causing a miniature star to be born from the combined energy, both jetted away as they began trading weapons fire at one another, while moving at a high speed pace.

 

dare mo ga kuzureteku negai wo motome sugite

jibun ga ochite yuku basho wo sagashiteru

Everyone is breaking down, searching too long for a wish

You're looking for a place where you can land

 

Jura slammed one of her Gundam's anti-ship swords into the Hell-Fire Gundam, only to have it blocked by one of the Earth Gundam's shield arms. Jura once more moved aside as the Gundam retaliated with a powerful overhead slash with it's anti-ship scythe, along with it was the plasma flame that followed. The Gundam owned by Earth then allowed it's back-pack to be active and it fired several weapons at Jura. The first was from the spear-like protrusions of the shields…turning out to be high impact/armour piercing lances, a built in beam cannon, and a pair or rail-guns. The spears bounced away from Jura's Gundam thanks to the P. Phase Shift, she dodged the rail-gun rounds and used her shield to absorb and reflect the beam cannon blot…but instead of evading it's returning blast, the Hell-Fire used it's shields, that seemed to have some shimmering effect on it as the beam was sent away. Both Gundams then once more fought with one another as the blond attacked with both anti-ship swords and the Earth Gundam retaliated with it's scythe.

 

kizutsukete yureru shika dekinai

zawameku omoi ga bokura no shinjitsu nara

Wounded, unable to stop shaking

If these murmuring feelings are indeed our reality

 

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

 

Kyo scored another blow, this time slicing off the barrels of the beam cannons on the back of the Behemoth Gundam. And following it up with a powerful blasted of all his concerted ranged weaponry at the last beam shield of the giant Gundam, once he halted the barrage from ALL of his guns, he followed up with a powerful blow from one of his anti-ship swords. The shield buckled and the energy began to crack as the massive blast followed by a concerted blow began to short out the shield's power system…

 

A few seconds later…the last fore-arm shield of the Behemoth Gundam collapsed and Kyo destroyed the shield emitter, he then ripped away his Gundam's anti-ship sword and then plunged both it and another beam saber right into the eyes of the Behemoth…denying it the ability to see and use any…or in this case practically ALL of it's ranged weaponry.

 

The I-Freedom jetted back as the Behemoth began to fire it's last weapons wildly in the hopes of hitting him. The damage to the right fore-arm was high and coupled with the incessant firing naturally overloaded the arm and it too exploded.

 

<Now it's time for some serious payback!> Kyo thought as he dodged the shots coming from the Behemoth's chest and mouth cannons as the giant flailed about like a blind drunkard.

 

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

 

All three pairs of Gundam continued to fight, the girls however still had to deal with their lack of field experience, plus they had to make some adjustments to their Gundams since they were still somewhat new to this.

 

Meia opened her Gundam's wings and went on a full attack using her beam rifle as she and her Gundam opponent, the Wyvern Gundam kept on fighting each other. The Megele girl was used to high speed dodge battles, but in this case her Gundam opponent was just as good, each shot that normally would hit their marks were dodged by the nimble Gundam of Earth…which had converted to it's Dragon mode and charged at Meia, firing it's mouth cannon, Meia dodged the attacks and quickly rocketed upwards to avoid the transformed Gundam's beam edged wings as it tried to do the same thing it had nearly don to Kyo on her. She then blocked with her shield as it's beam spear which served as the tail tip launched out to skewer her. She barely dodged the attack and had to quickly adjust her Gundam's speed so she wouldn't crash into the nearby wall.

 

<Damn! Looks like I'll still need to get used to flying a Gundam...I'd better ask Kyo for some tips and methods.>

 

kowareau kara ugokenai

sabishii hane kasanete

We break each other down till we can't even move

Our solitary wings overlapped,

 

Dita fired her beam rifles and then used her Gundam's abdominal cannon to try and hit her Gundam opponent. The Gundam blocked with it's shield, and fired back and she also blocked the shots with her own shield. So far it was a very close tie, until Dita realized that the best way was for her to get closer since from what she had seen, the Earth Gundam relied only on ranged weaponry and had no close-combat skills or weapons of it's own. She checked and realized she would have the same weapons as The Gundam of her Mr. Alien had…she then found the weapons and her Gundam pulled out a beam saber and charged at the Devastator. The Gundam of Earth blocked the beam strike but it could not fight back with it's normal weapons since they were all for ranged combat. Dita tried to make a slash with her beam saber, but the Devastator Gundam escaped and began to fire once more it's full arsenals…making the girl panic and move aside.

 

<Oh! I really need Mr. Alien to teach me how to do this right!>

 

deau hikari no nai jidai no

mabishisa wo misete

We've not encountered the light;

Reveal the glare this age gives off

 

Jura likewise was having a tough time…though her opponent was using a pole-arm weapon, it certainly was no slouch in combat as it parried away her anti-ship swords. She then realized that she would have to sue her beam sabers since they were easier to control in tight combat than an anti-ship sword. She placed the swords aside and took out her beam sabers…and went at it. Moving as she did in the fencing ring in the past Jura methodically worked on the movements to try and counter the defensive power of the Hell-Fire. She however knew that she had to hurry, her injuries certainly weren't going to fade away as the pain-killers began to wear off. She aimed a hard thrust at the Gundam of Earth but had her weapon deflected, and she also blocked an incoming overhead slash from the scythe of the Hell-Fire.

 

<Damn! This is harder than I thought! Looks like I'll have to review my fencing skills and get Kyo to teach me how to pilot my Gundam better!!>

 

kanashii me no mama de kuchizukete shimau tabi

motto zutto motto sotto mamoreru ki ga shita

With eyes filled with sadness, with each kiss

Growing greater, growing softer, I felt I'd be protected

 

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

 

The Nirvana…

 

“Captain…the virus is kicking in!” Misty reported happily. “I'm getting a lot sensor readings showing massive shut-downs and malfunctions throughout the Harvester fleet!”

 

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

 

Out in space the effects of the virus became even stronger as hordes of Cube Fighters began to freeze and become immobile. Even the behemoth battle-ships armed with Mirage Colloid began to shut down. The pirates were in target board heaven as they began to take out Harvester units left and right!

 

Cube Fighters were turned into wrecks, Seed ships were blasted and torn to oblivion by both Dreads and Vanguards, and Urchin ships were also reduced to scrap.

 

Bart got into the act as he fired the Nirvana's guns at full tilt, turning clouds of Harvester units into floating debris. The targets seemed free for all and the pirates were going to do all they could to inflict as much damage to the Harvester battle-group as they could.

 

At that point Kyo and his Gundam were nearly finished with their little battle with the now blinded Behemoth Gundam.

 

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

 

The Nirvana clone apparently had resisted the virus as it continued to fight back, Barnette and Pyoro could do little as they watched the fight while keeping the attention of the Nirvana clone on them and Liberty. They however got some good hits in as the clone couldn't fight back as effectively.

 

“I hope the others can hold on!” Pyoro chirped.

 

“You and me both!” Barnette said as she strafed the struggling Nirvana clone, but kept her distance from the gigantic unit.

 

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

 

kokoro shika dakishimeru mono no nai

kodoku no tochuu de miushinau sekai ga aru

A heart without even one thing to hold on to

En route to solitude, there is a world losing sight

 

“Take this!”

 

Dita shouted as she combined her Gundam's beam rifles and fired another powerful blast at the Devastator. Unlike her previous experience with her combined beam cannon…this shot hit the target. The blast was so strong that it literally bathed the Devastator in the energy blast. The Devastator held but it's shield's beam shield emitter was also fried and needed serious repairs.

 

The Gundam retaliated and fired it's weapons, but Dita once more blocked it with her fore-arm shield. She then moved away as the Devastator used it's grenade launchers. The explosions were powerful and the explosive needles jarred the redhead, making her lose her grip with her beam cannon. She saw the Devastator Gundam get ready to aim. She panicked and got her Gundam up and then used her Gundam's rail-guns and abdomen cannon. Suddenly her Gundam's wings detached and were replaced by wings of pure light…

 

The detached parts, eight in total suddenly aimed right at the Devastator and fired out beam bolts, totally catching the Earth Gundam off-guard. The blasts hit it hard, and some parts of it were blown off, it also had to lose it's beam bazooka as the weapon was destroyed by a few beam bolts.

 

Dita was overjoyed! Her Gundam had the same wing weapons as her Mr. Alien's!!! (***)

 

She then retrieved her beam cannon and made them revert back to beam rifle form.

 

Meia on the other hand was still learning on the fly…her beam katana blocked the beam spear of the Wyvern…and she left it on both hands with her Gundam's left fore-arm shield retracted. The Wyvern back away and launched the beam spear, making Meia quickly dodged the attack and was about move when one of the heat whips that Kyo didn't sever on his first bout with the Wyvern Gundam lashed out and grabbed her Gundam by the neck. The Wyvern then activated it's claws, intending to tear the Gundam apart once it had reeled it in the Paeksis powered Gundam.

 

“Oh no you don't!!!”

 

Meia brought up her shield in time and blocked the claws, while reversing her beam katana and severing the heat whip and moving away before the Wyvern could use it's now returning spear. Once more relying on what she had learned as a street thug in her younger years. Meia launched a hard kick to the thigh of the Wyvern Gundam and followed it with a knee to the gut. The Wyvern jetted backwards to recover…

 

Meia ten retracted her shield once more and used her Gundam's other beam katana and delivered two powerful strikes. One sliced to two the beam speared the Wyvern and the other tore into the shoulder of the Wyvern.

 

The Wyvern jetted away and Meia took the time to rest a bit from the fighting, she was tired and this was one kind of battle she wasn't all the experienced in.

 

Jura likewise knew that she had to got something fast, the bandages on her body were beginning to show some red on them, and pain began to flow in her once more…this told her that the pain-killers were beginning to wear off.

 

She had to do something fast to make this Hell-Fire Gundam go away and be defeated since she may not have the strength to handle all this. That was when a daring plan came into her mind. She had seen Kyo do that before when he first crossed beam blades with the first Dominion Gundam…she only hoped that it would work.

 

The Hell-Fire Gundam was suddenly confused as the red Gundam began to list down and seemed the move in an erratic pattern. The Gundam then recalled that the pilot had suffered grievous injuries in a previous encounter. The CPU then determined at this point this would be the best chance it had to finish this battle.

 

Jura waited with an expression of pain as her injuries began to throb even harder…but she held on and waited as the Dominion closed in…intent on using it's heavy scythe to cut her Gundam into two pieces with another diagonal overhead slash. There were small droplets of her blood floating in the cockpit, showing that some of her wounds had opened during the fighting…but she sucked up the pain and focused on taking out her target.

 

The Hell-Fire then sent down it's anti-ship scythe, and just as it makes it's half-way descent, the blonde then uses her Gundam's shield on the right…blocking the descending scythe in the middle, she then captured the blade of the scythe, and with a quickness that showed her skill with the sword…Jura plunged her left beam saber right into the side of the Hell-Fire, right in the left abdominal region. The impact caused the beam blade to apparently skewer the Death-like Gundam of Earth. The machine however was not hit in too many vital areas as it jetted away, despite that it was severely damaged.

 

Jura groaned a bit as she moved to where Dita and Meia were heading in their respective Gundams.

 

<It hurts…but I've got to hold on!>

 

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

 

“Jura! Are you all right?!” Meia called in as she was worried about the state of her blonde comrade, she had scanned the life-signs of both Dita and Jura previously after wounding the Wyvern. She panicked a bit seeing some crimson blobs flying about that she had no difficulty recognizing as blood.

 

“I'll be fine…but we've got to get out fast…the medicine is wearing off.”

 

“Yeah! I'm really exhausted too leader!” Dita said as she began to pant.

 

Meia knew that to be true…she too was very tired from the fighting since this had been the first time she had ever fought in a Mobile Suit and even more so against a Gundam opponent.

 

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

 

BOOM!!!

 

All six Gundams looked to the side as something smashed it's way through the side of the ship's bowels…

 

The three girls cheered as they spotted Kyo's Gundam riding on top of the battered form of the Behemoth Gundam as it's feathers returned to it's wings. The smaller Gundam had just jammed it's beam sabers right into the chest of the gigantic Gundam…which looked like hell had been where it had gone…there were massive rends and tears on it's body, the energy it had was seeping out from wounds in the super-structure. And it wasn't completely fighting back.

 

The three Gundams of Earth were watching silently as their enormous comrade had just been slain by the powerful I-Freedom. If the three Mobile Suits had pilots, human, pilots they would have been shocked and dismayed that a giant war-machine could have been defeated by something far smaller than it.

 

The giant Gundam slammed into the main computer node and merely lay there like an impaled corpse as Kyo's Gundam pulled away. It then jetted back to where the three Gundams of the Nirvana were…as the torn and defeated hulk shut down and exploded in a good number of places until it was nothing now but a junk-pile.

 

kawareru koto ga kowaku naru

fukai kodou no saki ni

Things that can change grow frightening

In the deep pulsation that lies ahead

 

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

 

“Are you all okay?” Kyo called in as he checked on Jura, Meia, and Dita.

 

“I'm fine…somehow.” Meia said in relief as she faced Kyo.

 

“I'm still conscious…but we need to move no sense staying here.” Jura replied in a pained voice.

 

“I'm really exhausted Mr. Alien…” Dita replied as she spoke to Kyo.

 

Kyo was worried about them, they were tired and exhausted from the intensive fighting they all had to do. Jura's wounds were getting worse and he didn't need to know what would happen if she didn't get some proper medical treatment soon. Meia and Dita hadn't been able to rest as well and have been fighting Gundam opponents and they were very much novices to zero-gravity Mobile Suit warfare…

 

He then made the signal for them all to clear out of the area as the virus had just frozen the Nirvana clone.

 

“All right…we clear out now!”

 

The four Gundams, the Dread, and the ATCISS immediately moved out as the virus also made the power-plant of the Harvester battle-ship go to critical overload, resulting in a massive systems crash.

 

The three other Gundams would have pursued them, but they had taken some hits and their designers needed them back at Earth intact for more updates and needed repairs…something to do with new models to be developed. Since they didn't rely on the CPU of the Harvester battle-ship for all of their combat data, they were very much capable of working on their own. The same thing could be said of the defeated Behemoth but it's damage level was too high for it to be salvaged and rebuilt.

 

But that certainly didn't mean that this would be the last time they would cross blades with the Nirvana crew.

 

Besides…they did have a back-up plan…

 

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

 

Inside the Nirvana clone…another system came back online as it secretly began to reactivate previously infected systems.

 

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

 

As they made their out of the ship, the rest of the strike fell in step with Kyo and his Gundam, though they were surprised to see three new Gundams flying side by side with the lead Gundam…

 

They weren't the only ones either…

 

“Barnette? What's going one…are those Gundams salvage from…” Magno asked as she and BC raised the green-haired Dread pilot.

 

:No they are ours!”

 

“Ours…what do you mean?”

 

That was when they detected a massive power pulse and the rest of the crew were in shock when the Nirvana clone suddenly appeared. They were also surprised when the forces from the other Harvester ships armed with Mirage Colloid had also come online.

 

“What is going on?! I thought the virus had no taken effect?” Buzam asked as she watched humongous clone suddenly get ready to fight them.

 

“Commander…the clone of the Nirvana apparently is armed with an independent CPU to help coordinate battles. The virus defeated the CPU of the Harvester battle-ship that lead the whole fleet, but the Harvesters have installed a back-up command system in the clone's own CPU. We just detected command and control patterns coming from the clone!” Belvedere reported as the Nirvana clone began to be congregated by the now awakened mass of fighters.

 

kawasu honoo ni egakareta

eien ga mieru

Painted in the exchanged flames, I can see eternity

 

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

 

Kyo and the others groaned as it seemed that the Harvesters were STILL not intending to lose. The Gundam pilot knew that most of their forces were too few still to take on them whole Harvester force, and even with the defeat of the Behemoth Gundam, the Nirvana clone was still a serious threat to consider and wasn't an opponent any warrior would offer a chance to be struck by in the back.

 

He however had a load of concerns…and decided to deal with them.

 

“Bart, get ready to fire into the waves of Cube Fighters the second they start to approach en-mass!”

 

“Roger!”

 

“Sara, Mai…the rest of you and the Dread pilots head back to the Nirvana, and escort Dita, Meia, and Jura to the ship, they need to rest and re-supply.”

 

Kyo then took out his Gundam's beam rifles and got ready to fight once more, he however doubted he could win this fight easily. The Behemoth Gundam gave him a serious challenge and the Nirvana clone was nearly three to six times the size of the gigantic Gundam he had just defeated…plus all those Cube Fighters are not going to let him get closer, plus the Seed ships were another serious consideration, and lastly the reactivated Harvester battle-ships. The Liberty would be a serious help, but it had now depleted it's stores of missiles and had it's beam weaponry…despite that Kyo could tell he was going to need some VERY serious weaponry to defeat all of that.

 

As he jetted towards the enemy, the three Paeksis powered Gundams began to follow him and the Liberty, the pilots of each machine still intent on not letting Kyo go alone in the fight.

 

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

 

“Meia! Get back to the ship, you too Dita, Jura! All of you are still exhausted from the fight, and your injuries haven't healed yet Jura!” Sara said fervently as she tried to stand in the path of all three war machines. The Gundams were very deadly and intimidating, but she had her orders from Kyo, no matter how much she too wanted to help Kyo win the fight.

 

“Don't worry…we'll be fine.”

 

With that…all three Gundams jetted away from the others and were now streaking towards Kyo's Gundam and his Liberty unit.

 

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

 

(The music reaches a high point here as the four Gundams and the ATCISS began to fly in a diamond-like fashion.)

 

kowareau kara ugokenai

sabishii hane kasanete

We break each other down till we can't even move

Our solitary wings overlapped,

 

“What are you doing this time?!” Kyo said in shock as he spotted the three other Gundams of the former Dread pilots suddenly fly alongside him. Dita in front of him, Jura and Meia on either side. He didn't want them even more injured as Jura had been before.

 

“We're going to help you Mr. Alien!” Dita chirped in as she spoke to him via com-link.

 

“You're not serious?! All of you should be resting!!”

 

“Yeah well…leaving you alone against all of them wasn't what we wanted to see Kyo, you should know that.” Jura replied…

 

“Jura?! I don't have the time to b arguing about this!!! Get back to the Nirvana and rest!!!”

 

“Sorry…but I won't do that, not until you are with us.” The blonde merely replied as she guided her Gundam beside Kyo's I-Freedom.

 

“We don't plan on losing you Kyo, so we're going to fight together.” Meia replied as she guided her Gundam to be closer to the I-Freedom.

 

Kyo wanted to reason with them that what they would do would be a suicidal gesture…and he didn't want them to lose their lives over this. But hen something seemed to tell him to trust them…and then he noted a set of incoming data on his OS. He accessed it and found something that he had missed during the fighting…it had something to do with the I-Freedom Gundam combining with the three Dreads and the Liberty unit.

 

<How can I combine with the Dreads when they have become Gundams anyway?> But then Kyo read some combat data concerning the converted units of the three women.

 

He then figured that they had nothing left to lose from this fight and got into contact with the three Dread pilots.

 

“Is there anything on your units that can allow you all to convert them back into Dreads?”

 

All three girls wondered what Kyo meant by that and then decided to check their Gundam's OS and found out a hidden option that seemed to only appear when they were flying in this kind of formation. They didn't know hat this would do but if it would help them win this battle then they might as well use it.

 

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

 

The pirates and even the Harvesters were stunned as the three Gundams around Kyo's began to glow once more and suddenly revert back to Dread form. Suddenly the three jewels that appeared from the Dreads to receive the beam fired by the Nirvana reappeared, but this time the beam didn't come from the Nirvana…but from the Infinite-Freedom…

 

The beam bounced from the Gundam's forehead and hit the jewel on Dita's Dread and then the beam split to hit the jewels on Jura and Meia's Dreads and then on the back where the Liberty was…it too revealed a jewel that absorbed both beams.

 

The five machines suddenly glowed deep white and began to converge…

 

In moments a massive glowing form appeared where the five machines were and in the few seconds out came a massive mecha that dwarfed even the Behemoth Gundam!!

 

It hag glowing green joints and pure silver armour, with red and blue high-lights in several areas, plus it seemed to possess a powerful form of the I-Freedom's Prominence Phase Shift Armour. There were six wings behind it that glowed deep blue and green with massive amounts of pure Paeksis energy radiating from it. He blisters on Jura's Gundam were there as well, scattered on the fore-arms and the shins of the massive Gundam-like weapon. The design favoured Kyo's Gundam but incorporated all the features of the GunDreads, their Alpha forms, and their new Gundam forms as well. On the hips were the beam sabers that would have passed for battle-ships and there were sections that seemed like knives were strapped on the gigantic machine! The whole new machine resembled a legendary angel known in the Bible as the Seraphim…the ultimate angel!!!

 

The newly formed GunDread spread it's wings as if in defiance to the assembled fleet of the Harvesters who were struck dumb by what they were seeing.

 

deau hikari no nai jidai no

mabushisa dake

We've not encountered the light,

Only the glare this age gives off

 

 

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

 

“WOW!!! This is SO COOL!!!” Dita said as she was once more on her Mr. Alien's lap. The cockpit of their newly formed Super GunDread was like a miniature command bridge like that of the Nirvana. Jura was there near the cockpit where Dita and Kyo were, in her own cockpit, controlling a special combat system that resembled the old version of Belvedere and Amarone's stations in their old pirate vessel. The same with Meia…as she too was in awe along with Jura as they gazed at their new weapon.

 

“The whole system's changed…” Meia said in awe as she ran her hands on the machine's cockpit

 

“Mine too…who would have though this would happen?” Jura said as she looked at her own section of the new Gundam.

 

Kyo however wasted little time admiring the view as he activated the OS of the newly made Gundam unit he and the others were piloting. He found that it had a wide array of weaponry and defensive capacities that he knew would be put to a serious test once they would engage the enemy. And it seemed that time was now…as the Nirvana clone came at them, it's chest cannon priming up and getting ready to fire.

 

“No time for some admiration! We've got incoming!!!”

 

In that very moment, in a split scene of all four characters, the girls and Kyo went in simultaneous SEED mode and then responded.

 

The giant Gundam suddenly raised it's left arm and the blisters suddenly bathed the Gundam's arm in a haze of blue-green light. The massive energy sphere was then swatted by the left arm like a rubber ball and sent slamming back into the Harvester forces who were caught off guard.

 

Hundreds of still recovering Cube Fighters were ionized in a moment when they were hit by the deflected ball as it detonated in their midst, Cube Fighters weren't the only ones though as hordes of Seed ships were also reduced to scrap along with the Urchin ships in the area. The shock-wave was enormous and the blast even knocked back the Nirvana clone.

 

The Nirvana clone recovered and unleashed a massive barrage from it's other weaponry intent on finishing off the Super GunDread it was now facing. The shots from the cannons of the Nirvana clone equalled the numbers of plasma bolts fired by the original Nirvana.

 

The formed GunDread merely took out it's beam sabers which were huge and began to charge right at the beams…and began to block them and deflect with the beam sabers, as the beams came close, the Gundam flicked it's beam sabers in the proper angles to block the beams and sent them scattering all over the place… the Nirvana clone then unleashed it's own anti-ship swords, ignited the beam edges and leaped forward, intending to slash the new GunDread to pieces!

 

The Super GunDread didn't wait as it was guided by it's four pilots and the two slammed with their melee weapons at each other, their thrusters going at full tilt to end the fight quickly and effectively.

 

kawareru chikara osorenai

fukai kodou no saki ni

I don't fear the power to change

In the deep pulsation that lies ahead

 

 

For a moment no one on either side moved as both behemoth machines struggled to overpower each other. The Nirvana clone pushed hard with it's anti-ship swords…while the combined Super GunDread fought back with it's beam sabers.

 

The fight came to a full head as they both forced each other back, and the Nirvana clone once more tried to slice off the head of the Super GunDread with it's two anti-ship swords. The Super GunDread however recovered and slammed one of it's Giant beam sabers right into the stomach area of the Nirvana clone…

 

The huge beam blade tore through the enemy unit like it had only thin paper as armour and it appeared from behind the Nirvana clone and then was withdrawn as the Harvester weapon backed away like a wounded warrior.

 

The Super GunDread backed away too as it watched the Harvester ships with the exception of the virus infected one…and the only Kyo had disabled before converge and support their wounded commander, they also began to unload all available ordinance, along with their Cube Fighter squadrons and the rest of their now devastated fleet. The wounded Nirvana clone also charged up it's full arsenals once more and opened fire…

 

The Super GunDread however didn't charge but dodged each shot coming from the Harvester fleet and in a few moments, the feathers of it's wings broke free and in a nano-second they too became massive beam cannons…totalling a staggering hundred and fifty in all!!!

 

In that instant, all the massive feather cannons unloaded their full attack, swarming beam fire all over the Harvester fleet…

 

kawasu honoo yo egakareta

unmei ni todoke

Painted in the exchanged flames

Carry out your destiny

 

(The song begins to fade away…)

 

In less than a few seconds the whole Harvester fleet, including their Nirvana clone had been totally crushed. The Harvester battle-ships that completely functional were turned in rubble by the massive blasts, Cube Fighters were turned into ions…and many more ships of the Harvesters became burning wrecks.

 

The Super GunDread glowed and returned to the three Dreads which reverted to Gundam form, the I-Freedom, and the Liberty units as they were picked up by the Nirvana and their fellow pirates

 

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

 

A day later…

 

Kyo walked into the Medical Bay in his normal clothes, this was the second time he came into the medical facility of the Nirvana to check on the condition of the three women who were very close to him.

 

It had been a heck of a reception when they along with the ATCISS were picked up by Sara and the members of the Crusader Squadron. The engineers went to work in storing all four of the Gundams in the available paddocks while they were all gently taken out of their cockpits and placed on stretchers since they were exhausted beyond belief. Jura was taken to the medical facility for treatment and she along with Meia and Dita were taken in to recover from their very fierce bout.

 

The pirates took the time to repair their forces and the Nirvana and recover their supplies by salvaging what they could from the still existing wrecks of the Harvester ships and units that were still out there. As soon as he was able, Kyo helped in the efforts.

 

The only ship of the Harvesters they could at some case repair was the one Kyo had disabled in the pervious times of fighting. The Harvester battle-ship was still salvageable and Parfet and her teams decided to get what they could from the wreck. Kyo also requested that they re-program and rebuilt the Harvester battle-ship.

 

When asked why, he figured that the ship would act as undeniable evidence to the people of the colonies of the true existence of the Harvesters and when they get to Talark and Megele, the ship would do the same thing, to get the men of Talark and the women of Megele to see that the threat they had ignored was very real. The Harvester ship WAS a retro-fitted model so it would still have all the data concerning the Harvesters' operations in the universe and could show records of the many planets already hit by the Harvesters and what else they had planned for the human race…it was no doubt that the Harvester ship would also have data on their plan to strike at Talark and Megele.

 

As it stood the Nirvana was moving through space on full alert. The Dreads and Vanguards were fully deployed, Barnette had been placed in overall command of the Dreads as she piloted her fighter. Barnette wasn't all that prepared to handle the responsibility of Dread squadron commander, but she was more than willing to help the crew so she took the job. Sara and Mai along with all the girls in Kyo's Crusader Squadron

 

Parfet and her crew were in two teams, one stayed on the Nirvana to take good care of the ship, while the other with the assistance of the Register and some of the Crusader Squadron would be in the Harvester battle-ship to initiate the repairs, right now they had deleted the Harvester ship's old CPU program and were now on the process of creating a new Operation System to replace the one created for the Harvester battle-ship. Kyo also stated that the ship would be invaluable as a forwards scout so they can avoid another ambush like the one they had left behind. Plus it's weaponry would be a good training system for the three girls who now piloted Paeksis powered Gundams like he did. The Harvesters will no doubt make newer weaponry in his mind, but they would not get rid of their basic weapons.

 

“How are they doing?” Kyo asked the two medics.

 

Duero nodded as he picked up a data-pad. “They are going to wake up in a few hours from now, they were exhausted from all the fighting and needed to rest. Jura had been fully healed and is resting well. We've also taken some gene samples from them and we've found something…interesting.”

 

Kyo was curious as well and decided to watch as the Talark doctor revealed several strands of DNA, and when he read their profiles he found the profiles to be that of Dita, Meia, and Jura.

 

“What's this about Duero?”

 

“We've run some tests on all the crew for any medical problems, it's normal procedure, but just yesterday when I brought them here for treatment I ran into something interesting…” The medic then high-lighted certain areas of the DNA strands of the girls.

 

“These DNA strands define certain characteristics in a person, namely mental reaction time, physical recovery time, and the learning curve. Now look at this…”

 

Another set of DNA profiles were shown to be that of the three girls, but was nearly a year old…the same time he had been in the Ikazuchi when the Paeksis first sent them half-way to the farthest side of the galaxy.

 

“I'm going to start the time-line advancement program so the two DNA profiles would become one to show what has been happening to the girls since the first time the Paeksis sent us to the other side of the universe…notice anything Kyo?”

 

Kyo looked at the strands and wondered what Duero was pointing at…that is until he noted that the overall effectiveness of the genes' respective influences on the girls began to dramatically improve as the two sets DNA profiles merged to form one set.

 

“The DNA's been evolving throughout the entire time.”

 

“Correct, My brother and I ran this over and over for the past twenty four hours and found that for the past many months their DNA has been affected by the Paeksis energies which they and you were exposed to when the Paeksis sent us here. Apparently the energy continued to evolve their DNA in these parameters as time passed, namely when they fused their Dreads with your Gundam…since both your Gundam and their respective Dreads apparently have Paeksis power cores. The energy emitted by the fusion process seems to spur on the evolution of their genes all the way up to now.”

 

“I see…would that explain how they… have SEED mode the way I have it?”

 

“Possibly…however there will be one explanation for their gift. The Paeksis did infuse their genes with energy and would have triggered an evolution to improve their capabilities as pilots, but to gain SEED mode would be far harder since the gift was VERY rare, and as far is I can see, only you, Kouji Asuka, and his sister Maia have it. And according to the database of the old times, it was said that VERY few could ever have the ability to have it, in that sense the Paeksis would need a template to work on, in this case a genetic template for the SEED ability to give it to the girls. They would have to exposed to the SEED Mode in some way or reason.”

 

“So what do you think is the reason?”

 

“You Kyo…let me show you.” Duero replied as he punched up another DNA profile, and Kyo had no problem recognizing it to be his. Duero then high-lighted the same DNA codes that showed Kyo's own abilities. The two looked silently as the numbers of his DNA's gifts…matched that of the three girls.

 

“Are you saying that the Paeksis somehow gave them my SEED ability?”

 

“That's possible, apparently when you all were exposed to the Paeksis it had detected your SEED ability and somehow infused the girls with it. Apparently that was for the best as the SEED mode they have gained played a serious addition to their survival in more than one occasion.”

 

“Yeah…I guess so now that you put it that way. But they're going to need some serious training if they need to use that talent properly. Upgrading their Gundams' OS will also have to be part of the lessons I'll have to give as well. Plus it seems that I'll have to work closely with them to make them far more effective pilots when we meet up with the Harvesters.”

 

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

 

Speaking of whom…

 

The Harvester Council was in an uproar!!!

 

“THE OPERATION FAILED!!!”

 

“HOW COULD THEY HAVE WIPED OUT FOUR BATTLE-SHIPS?!”

 

“HOW COULD THE NIRVANA DEFEAT FIVE BATTLE-SHIPS, OUR CLONE AND FOUR NEW GUNDAMS?!”

 

“THEY HAVE NEW GUNDAMS AS WELL!!!”:

 

“WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!”

 

The leader of the Harvester Council allowed his subordinates to bicker and argue among themselves, while he waited for the reports from the chief technician on the recovered Gundams. He had a load of plans to off-set the disaster of the operation that he had green-lighted. The defeat of their fleet and the lose of nearly all their deployed battle-ships was a serious morale blow to the survivors of Earth…but for him, it was different. The defeat further ensured his suspicions of the identity of the Gundam pilot that aided the Nirvana ever since the first encounter of their forces with the Megele pirates and their male allies. Plus it meant that now he was sure of the full potential of the Paeksis…or a considerable portion of the crystal reactor's powers. Besides it had done a lot for him and now it was time to reveal the true power of the Paeksis…and his own.

 

He then called the attention of his followers as he began to speak.

 

“The failure of the Operation was no fault of anyone of the Council. The reason is that we have neglected to use the full power of the Paeksis that we possess. Our fleets are numerous and deadly, that cannot be denied, but the power of the Infinite-Freedom and the newly converted Gundams of the pirates have shown to us that numbers alone will no longer be enough to win this war. We will now have to create our on Paeksis powered Gundams. The field data we have gathered has shown this. The other worlds have no heard of this Gundam's power and have intensified their rebellious natures towards us.”

 

The Harvester Council realized that was a serious cold truth. Their weapons had for many years inspired fear and obedience in many of their targeted worlds, but now with the arrival of the I-Freedom and it's amazing powers due to the Paeksis, the resistance had ignited a full rebellion. Their previously constructed Gundams were deadly and powerful…but they didn't have the over-all evolving power of the Infinite-Freedom Gundam. Their previous victory over the Gundam and it's pilot long ago, they now realized was only possible due to the extensive damage and injuries suffered by both Gundam and pilot. But now they were on the top on combat ability.

 

Their newly constructed Gundams held the field due to them being new models but they would not be able to equally match the next time. They were now being re-built and some of the techs planned some new design and weapon concepts to be tested.

 

“Shall we delete the design plans and start over?” One asked their leader.

 

“No, the designs of the Gundams we have made…the Dominion, it's variants, the Hell-Fire, Wyvern, Devastator, and the Behemoth Gundams have proven that they are still deadly tools in combat. But to truly defeat the I-Freedom…we must have a Gundam that has the same power as the I-Freedom and have the same power of the Paeksis as well.”

 

He then turned to the chide technician. “How long will it be before you can find a way for the Paeksis to be able to evolve a Gundam to match the power of the I-Freedom?”

 

“It will take a few days to work out all the variables, my lord. But it can be done, we have to merely remove some of the power restraints on the Gundams…not to mention create a container for the Paeksis power-plant and then influence the evolution of the Gundam slowly to ensure that all the features can be properly installed into it.”

 

“While I appreciate the intricacies of weapons designs, I asked for the time table you require creating the Gundam. How long?”

 

“At the least…three to four weeks, provided the designs we have can accept and meld properly with the Paeksis core.”

 

“Then you will have all the resources needed to do so. In the mean time we shall continue our Harvesting operations, and still hold off the Nirvana before it reaches Talark and Megele…the reports we have received state that the pirates will meet up with bands of the resistance and this will be a problem. As far as possible, ambush attacks will still be done and if needed a fleet will try and hold off the Nirvana and the resistance forces.”

 

“Yes, we also have completed the creation of a brand new AI CPU to use all the combat data…” The head technician began to state what he had in mind but suddenly the leader stopped him.

 

“No…AI weapons will stand no chance against the I-Freedom. You have already seen how many AI units we have sent against the Gundam and they have all failed to kill the machine and it's pilot in every combat engagement so far. This proves that we have to equalize not only in weapons, technology, armour, and systems…but in control as well.”

 

“So what do you intend to do leader?” Another Council member asked.

 

The leader merely smiled. “The pilot for the new Paeksis Gundam we will create will not be an AI unit…”

 

“…but me.”

 

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

 

In the Medical Bay of the Nirvana…a few hours later…

 

Meia, Dita, and Jura were busy eating some food, they had been exhausted for a day and had not eaten any solid food for the whole day being only fed by nutrient supplementary fluid. They were hungry as can be and dug in.

 

Jura still watched what she was eating since she didn't want to ruin her figure at all, but she still ate hard as possible. She was so hungry…the whole battle the day before had exhausted her. As soon as she finished she sighed and rested a bit as she felt her full stomach, she then felt the bandages on her, and thanked all her home-world's goddesses that her wounds didn't become even more serious than before. She also hoped that when she and Kyo would meet soon he wouldn't be too mad at her for getting out of medical treatment to help him.

 

She also thought about the fact that her Dread had no become a Gundam, and what it would mean…maybe Kyo would work more closely with her. She couldn't help but smile a bit at the idea of being much closer to the soon to be father of her children. She smiled even more with a blush as she began to think up a few ways to get him alone with her in the Hanger…

 

Meia also dug into her meal, yet retained her discipline and dignity, despite her stomach roaring at her to eat every scrap of food on her plate. Her energy reserves were badly depleted from the nearly unending cycle of battle she had been in the previous day. As she recalled her battle with the Wyvern Gundam she began to think.

 

After running through the whole battle, she realized that she had won only through sheer luck…and though that was good in some situations, she knew better than to think it would help her a second time. She was going to have to learn how to fight in a Gundam, and the only experienced teacher on Gundam controls was Kyo…he would have to teach her a whole new way of piloting a war machine. Her days as a Dread pilot were not totally gone, but in order to match up with the ever evolving weaponry of the Harvesters, she would have to be re-trained…though the idea of her working even closer to Kyo had a very strong appeal to her. The idea of her spending time with Kyo beside her, learning the way on manipulating the controls of her new Gundam would be…maybe it would be like…and she could…

 

Meia nearly chocked on some water she was drinking and managed to hold and control herself from blushing fiercely as memories of the seating arrangement of her GunDread, with Kyo nearby came to mind…but this time she had rather…indecent ideas about the seating arrangements.

 

Dita was also busy running the idea of working even closer with her Mr. Alien in her mind. She relished the idea on her working even closer to Kyo now that this had happened. As she finished her food she began wondering about what the events before meant. She loved her Dread and a part of her didn't like the idea of giving up her own Dread, but she then recalled that somehow the good Paeksis had made it stronger, and it felt that Kyo was there always with her. She smiled and wondered what she could learn if Kyo was with her…

 

She also felt her heart beat faster and some warmth flow in her cheeks as she began to imagine working with Kyo, just like what they did when she sat on his lap…and for some reason she began to wish she was back there…

 

All three women turned in unison as the door to their room opened and in came Kyo, wearing his normal clothes, but had taken off his jacket and now only had a shirt on.

 

The girls were startled when they saw Kyo, but his presence was always welcome top them… And they liked what they saw…

 

Kyo mentally slapped himself the very second he walked in the room and their eyes were on him. He could see the heat in them and he had a rather accurate (or he hoped he did) idea on why he was being studied like a bug under a microscope.

 

<Just my luck…oh well…>

 

“Now that you ladies have eaten, how are you doing?”

 

The girls blinked a bit and responded to the Gundam pilot's question.

 

“I'm fine…but I was very hungry when I woke up Mr. Alien!”

 

“Same here…but I'm fine and my wounds are all healed.”

 

“The fight was exhausting but I'm also fine…how long did we stay here in the Medical Bay?”

 

Kyo nodded as the question came from Meia. “You three were here for a day.”

 

The three girls were surprised by that bit of information. “A whole DAY?!”

 

Kyo nodded. “You don't have to worry about it. The rest of the crew are handling things just fine. I had a chat with the Captain a few hours ago and she agreed you three need to have some R&R…and she made sure I'm the one responsible for giving you that.”

 

<How in the heck did I let Grandma ever talk me into this?>

 

“What does that mean?” Jura asked, though she smiled at what that meant…

 

“It means that while your respective R&R periods are on, I'm going to be the one to tend to you. Don't get any bright ideas though; I'm just going to make sure you all will be all right. After the battle you three were nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion. Once you're all better, you can return to active roster duty…”

 

The three girls however blushed at the thought of Kyo being their caretaker…they began wondering what that would mean…

 

Jura began smiling at the thought…

 

Meia blushed at the idea…

 

Dita also blushed and smiled…

 

Kyo mentally slapped his forehead yet again...he didn't have to be a genius to see the looks the girls had on their faces. His hormones once more got involved as images of a VERY indecent nature began to run in his brain…but like before he controlled himself and went back to business.

 

“Okay…there is something I do need to talk to you three about though…and it's very important.”

 

The girls all stopped their fantasies…BEFORE they became too descriptive and waited for Kyo to explain what he wanted to say.

 

“All right. Now have you all been experiencing…”

 

The young man explained a lot of things, namely on their sudden spiking of abilities for some reason, whenever he was in danger and they were nearby. The girls listened intently and when Kyo asked them the last question, they each nodded in answer…

 

“So you see a seed suddenly appear in front of you when you saw me in danger before My Gundam became the I-Freedom?”

 

All three girls nodded. He then sighed and spoke.

 

“Then I guess my suspicions and the work both Max and Duero did were on the money.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Yeah, Mr. Alien…. Does this have anything to do with that seed like thing we keep seeing?”

 

“Is this a bad thing to happen, because we saw this seed a lot and we were able to save you so many times.”

 

Kyo merely smiled and replied. “You have gained something from the Paeksis and from me…and that is my ability to go into SEED mode.”

 

“SEED mode?” The three girls were filled with questions. Kyo expected that and replied.

 

“The best way to explain is to show you.”

 

With that he triggered his own SEED mode and then saw the seed appear and explode in it's kaleidoscope of colours and lights. His eyes glowed a bit and when he looked at the three women they were astonished.

 

“That's the same seed we saw when we saw you in danger and we wanted to help you!” they simultaneously shouted.

 

He then spent a few minutes explaining what the SEED mode of the Superior Evolutionary Element Destined Factor or Mode was and what it had done to them. He also explained what Duero had theorized on how they had acquired it.

 

Dita, Jura, and Meia were in awe, even more so when they learned that the Paeksis had given a literal part of Kyo to them to help them protect him when they needed to the most. Kyo then told them that he would be teaching them how to use it effectively and they were more than eager to learn. This also made them very happy that they were THAT bonded to him…

 

Kyo however felt a bit unnerved when they smiled at the idea of being nearly genetically close to him through the SEED mode. He just realized that they now had an even greater reason to be close to him and he could tell that they liked that idea for some reason.

 

<There goes my privacy…>

 

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

 

Back on Earth…

 

The Harvester leader looked at the images of the weapons development factory. On one side were new Dominion Gundam models being built, the three new Gundams were being repaired and data was being gathered to plan new ideas and models to be tested.

 

He however had his eyes on a nearby hanger where a new frame was being built…and a fragment of the Paeksis of Earth was about to be installed…unlike the blue-green glow of the Paeksis of the Nirvana…this one was different…

 

It was blood red and beat like an evil heart made of pure stone.

 

He smiled and looked at the monitor in his room. In the screen were the DNA codes of Kyo and another, and yet another…and they all had one word beneath them…

 

MATCH…

 

He smirked as a picture appeared of Kyo and he smiled even more…a very sadistic smile.

 

“All these years I never thought I'd see your face again…but you did have a bad habit of surviving things that would have killed any normal man…but it made sense… that you'd survive, even after all this time…”

 

He then faced the window outside and smirked…

 

“After all…YOU are HIS son.”

 

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

 

To be continued…

 

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

 

Author's notes:

 

This chapter is officially completed. Though this chapter is short, I guess I need to cut down a bit so I can get more room in my work. Hope you readers don't mind…

 

The girls now learn where they got their new ability…what will they do now that Kyo will be their personal trainer for the next few days? And how will their relationships with Kyo bloom?

 

And it seems that the Harvester leader is going to lead the Harvesters this time. What new weapon will the Harvester make with their Paeksis to defeat Kyo and his Gundam?

 

Why would the leader want to fight Kyo? And why…does he seem to know who Kyo's father is? Does he KNOW who Kyo really is? And HOW does he know?

 

More on that soon…in the mean time I'll be off working in school.

 

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

 

(*) Got inspired by the rarely seen weapon in Star Wars, (except in the comic books) the light-whip used by the Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya. Not that Jura is evil or anything…but the new weapons certainly gives her a more serious persona.

 

(**) Inspired by the Strike Freedom's beam rifles that can form into one weapon…namely a high powered beam cannon. Just so everybody knows…only Dita's Gundam can combine it's beam rifles in this fashion…Kyo's Gundam can't do that with it's own beam rifles even if it was based on the Strike Freedom and the Gundam Wing ZERO.

 

(***) Based also on the Super DRAGOON system of the Strike Freedom.

 

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

 

I got to thinking on the weapon Jura carried. On some information sites there was one comment that Jura used the sword, which by what I've seen is a rapier, to shave her legs…SHAVE HER LEGS WITH A RAPIER?! I was insulted and shocked by that comment/description.

 

Let me explain the reaction…

 

I'm a sword enthusiast and the idea of anybody, least of all a woman, using a three foot long, razor-sharp rapier to shave her legs is down right crazy! I know that in some parts in other countries, guys use axes or other things to shave their beards, but a woman using a sword to shave her legs is just plain weird!

 

So why not make Jura not carry the sword for show…but make her a mistress of it instead? She knows how to use it in this chapter, and that knowledge will certainly come in handy. I meant to post that fact in the chapter when Jura was using a Vanguard and it's sword to fight with, but the idea flew away from me. So now I decided to post it here, plus her knowledge will be very useful much later in the story as she will use her Gundam more often.

 

Hope that clears it up.

 

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

 

I told you the Super GunDread idea wasn't gone, but they would mean some trade-offs. The first is that although they will still have the capacity to form the GunDreads they can't form the Alpha versions anymore, also they can't fuse the Gundams with each other…that would be too complicated. They can only combine their five machines to create the Super GunDread if the three girls return the Gundams back into Dread form. Plus the transformation can only be done if the Liberty unit is with them.

 

The reason for the transformation from Dread to Gundam in the case of Dita, Meia, and Jura's Dreads is that in the later chapters they will be targeted more frequently since the Harvesters are now more than ever wanting to end the Nirvana and they will be using newer and deadlier weapons in the future, so it would naturally make sense that they will need an edge to equalize against certain foes, they had nearly been crushed by the Devastator, Hell-Fire, and Wyvern Gundams, and that means that in Dread form they would be in serious trouble if they fought a Gundam opponent alone. So what better way than to have a Gundam of your own to equalize?

 

In the Gundam universe, there ARE people who have defeated Mobile Suits using Mobile Armour, namely Mwu La Flaga in Gundam SEED. But that won't happen too often here in GunDread SEED since there were nearly no Gundams in existence before, until Kyo appeared with his Gundam, and with that, out came the Dominion, the Shinobi, the Kunoichi, The Morpheous, the SwitchBlade, the Templar, the Devastator, Hell-Fire, and Wyvern Gundams. The end result would be that Kyo's Gundam was the first to be ever seen in the series and that would play another valuable role in the coming chapters as it's now a race between the good guys and bad guys to create a Gundam that can gain ultimate victory.

 

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

 

Song is titled `Ignited' and sung by TM Revolution, if you guys don't know him, he sang `Heart of the Sword' for Rurouni Kenshin, he sang `Invoke' for Gundam SEED, `Meteor' for Gundam SEED as well, `Zips' for Gundam SEED, `Crosswise' for Sengoku Basara, `Vestige' for Gundam SEED Destiny, “Web of Night” for Spider Man 2 (both in Japanese and English versions). He's known as the singer for heroes in Japanese anime…and I can say this much, the description suits him pretty good.

 

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

 

Oh yeah…more hints on the way…Just so you guys reading should know…we are now getting close to the…more physically intimate parts of the story so you all don't have to wait long for the NC-17 stuff to come on the stage.

 

If you guys have any ideas (and I KNOW that you do) on how the scenes should be made, then send me a review or email on the said idea… no worries on details…be very and I mean very, descriptive on them.

 

However, I stress that there will be NO dark themes on this, if I get them, I will kick them out very quickly.

 

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

 

More reviews please!!!