Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ Vandread: MAROONED ❯ Shackled ( Chapter 3 )

Ender presents…

==[A Vandread Fanfiction Series]==

 

They had been travelling for only a few hours, but for Meia it had seemed like a lifetime.

Their captors had quickly proven themselves to be more than mere animals. If that had not been made obvious by the cunning tactics they had used to overwhelm the better armed, better trained pirates of the Nirvana, it immediately became apparent when they were stripped of anything that their enemies had witnessed could be used as a weapon. While Barnette had raised quite a ruckus at having her precious guns so casually tossed aside, what Meia had found to be more distressing was the destruction of their communications equipment - without those they would not only be unable to contact the Nirvana, but the others would be hard pressed to pinpoint their location. Even then however, the Dread Leader found some relief in the idea that the creatures had some modicum of intelligence - that meant that there was some purpose in their capture beyond territoriality or satisfying hunger. That at least meant that they were not to be killed and devoured right then and there. This gave Meia and the crew some much needed time - time they would need to plan an escape, or await a rescue, but both options had their own share of problems…

After they had been stripped of their weapons, each of the women had their limbs tied together with lengths of sturdy vine, after which each was slung over the shoulder of a separate creature. The beasts preferred means of travel seemed to be leaping amongst the tree tops at breakneck speeds, but thankfully, those that had been assigned to the prisoners had so far stuck to running along the ground. Still, it was rough going, and hardly comfortable for the women, especially since many of them - Meia included - had been wounded during the fight. Needless to say, their mode of transport made planning and communication almost an impossibility. The blue haired girl did not know whether or not it was coincidence or part of some master plan, but from her position at the back of one of the beasts, she had been unable to even make eye contact with any but a few of the other members of the scout team.

One of the those she had seen had been Dita. Meia had felt a sharp pain in her chest when she had seen the red - headed girl in the grasp of their captors. She had been hoping that she had been able to divert the animals long enough for Hibiki and Dita to flee, but obviously Meia had not been good enough - and it seemed as if Hibiki would pay the price. When she had seen Dita, the girl had been in tears, shouting, almost raving to be released, to be allowed to go rescue Uchuujin-san, to keep him from drowning in the river. Meia had been unable to talk to her before their respective captors had bounded apart, but the Dread Leader had heard enough to surmise that the man had somehow fallen out of Dita's grasp and had tumbled into the river. That piece of information left Meia with little hope that anyone would be left to report to the Nirvana on the nature of their foes. With all the members of the advanced party dead or captured, Hibiki and Dita had been their only chance for swift contact with the Nirvana, but even if Hibiki survived the drop, Meia didn't know if his wounded body had the strength to make it down the river alive… And without information, the `rescuers' would be as unprepared for the beasts as they themselves had been.

_Is that the only reason you're worried about him?_ asked a small voice in the back of her mind. _Because it decreases the chance of rescue? How cold can you get, Meia Gisborn?_

The blue haired girl viscously thrust those thoughts aside. There would be time for worry and guilt later - in the meantime she _had_ to be cool and objective, otherwise they were all dead. This was not to say that Meia had no confidence in the abilities of her fellow captives - far from it. It was entirely possible that the Sub - Commander or Barnette or any one of the others would be able to put together a workable plan for escape. But Meia had never allowed herself to get used to the idea of depending on others - if she herself couldn't come up with a way to escape, then she wouldn't delude herself into hoping that someone else would do the job for her. And while she had yet to come across an idea that would lead to their freedom, she had realized that there was one thing she _could_ do to make things a bit easier for the rescue team…

As her thoughts drifted, Meia realized that the flow of blood from the deep gash at her side had slowed to a trickle. Immediately the Dread Leader began to apply as much pressure as she could to the wound, a difficult task while trussed up in the rope-like vines, but eventually she was able to coax more of the crimson ichor to flow from the wound in her side. Her blood left reddish stains on the forest floor as they passed, not very noticeable in some places, more concentrated when her captor stopped to rest. It was a tactic she had used before, if only sparingly, and if Gascogne kept her head about her, it would make tracking them down much easier for their rescuers.

Meia hissed as a wave of dizziness engulfed her as the creature took an especially high leap. It looked like the beast was beginning to hurry. Her body's exertions - not to mention the blood loss - left her feeling weak and drained, but it was the only way she could think of to help. Dita, Barnette, BC and the others… They were not just crew mates to her. As Meia had painfully come to realize during their trip, the crew of the Nirvana were her friends… They were her family. She would keep them safe.

Even if it killed her.

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

Vandread: MAROONED

Chapter Three: Shackled

Disclaimer: While I own this fic, Gonzo owns Vandread. And here's to the hope that they make use of that ownership for a long time to come…

Timeline: This series takes place in-between the ending of the First Stage and the start of the Second Stage. Think of it as Stage 1.5 perhaps ^_^

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

The doctor raised his head expectantly as soon as the monitor blinked to life, revealing a worried looking Parfet.

“Did you find him?” Duero asked the Chief Engineer.

She nodded. “I called as soon as I could - have a look.”

With that she stepped back and allowed the view to zoom forward until it was focused on a small, bandaged figure sitting in front of a Bangatta, tapping furiously into a fidgeting Piyoro-kun.

“He just rushed in,” The pig tailed girl continued, “wouldn't listen to me or anybody else when we tried to get him to go back to the clinic - and since I didn't want to risk using force I decided to call you instead.” The camera zoomed out and Parfet came into view once more. “What's wrong with him doctor?” she asked in an anxious voice. “What's wrong with Hibiki?”

Duero could think of several dozen things off hand. If Gasco and her team had not taken the river route on her way towards the last recorded location of the advance party, then Duero doubted they would have found Hibiki alive. The boy had suffered so many bruises and lacerations that it was a miracle he was alive, much less walking around. His ribs were cracked in at least three places, his left arm fractured, and he had several nasty cuts down his back. While Duero had counted it as a positive sign when the boy had regained consciousness shortly after he had been brought to the infirmary, Hibiki had been extremely agitated from the moment he opened his eyes. The boy had described what happened tersely, saying only that they had been ambushed by a pack of animals, immensely strong and fast who had managed to decimate most of the team. When asked what had happened to the others, the boy could only shake his head, a look of pain and guilt on his face. Soon after, Hibiki had grown increasingly restless, and Duero had left to acquire a sedative - only to find that his patient had fled as soon as the doctor had left the room. It was probably that thoughtless action - and not Hibiki's physical condition - that had moved Parfet to ask her question.

“He's afraid,” Duero said, in answer to Parfet's question.

“Hmmm? Are you serious?” the Engineer paused. “He looks more angry than scared to me…”

“Fear isn't exactly a trait that a man would willingly reveal,” Duero replied. “Whatever it was that attacked the scouting team was obviously more than human - and it managed to beat him so thoroughly that he feels he can't beat it without the help of the Bangatta.”

“But we can't use the Bangatta!” Parfet protested. “We'd have to dig through hundreds of meters of mud!”

Duero allowed himself a small smile. “He's never allowed the `impossible' to stop him before…”

The Engineer crossed her arms. “This is different. I'm not saying that there's no way out of this mess, but whatever that way is, it won't involve the Vanguards or the Dreads.”

“I'm sure he knows that as well as you or I - and that's what's causing the fear. The fear that there is nothing he can do to save the others.”

Parfet paused, then turned back to the small form of Hibiki. “You can tell all this just from looking at him?”

Again, Duero allowed himself a small smile. “I know Hibiki, and I know the culture that produced him. There is little a man fears more than being helpless in the face of an enemy…”
Just then, there was the sound of a doorway opening in the Engine room, and soon Jura walked into the view of the monitor.

“Oh good, you found him,” the blond stated. “Jura was getting tired of looking. If he's well enough to go running around the halls then the Boss wants to see him - the strategy meeting is about to start.”

Parfet shook her head. “He won't budge - I've been trying , believe me.”

Jura looked towards the boy, then tossed her long blonde mane. “Hmph. Obviously Parfet lacks Jura's charms. I'll take care of that male.”

With that the girl walked purposefully towards the Bangatta, high heeled shoes making clicking noises on the parasteel floor.

The Chief Engineer blinked, then turned back to Duero. “Somehow, I don't think that was a good idea…”

The long haired male nodded. “Agreed - I doubt her `charms' will be very effective.” Then he paused. “But I do know _someone_ he will listen to,” he continued as he punched another number into the computer…

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

“I'm telling you its impossible *pyoro*!”

Hibiki wasn't listening - that particular protest from the Navi-bot had been uttered so often in the space of the last few minutes that it had been relegated to background noise. Hibiki spat out a curse then punched in a set of new calculations.

“How about if we - ” he began, but Pyro-kun cut him off in mid sentence.

“I'm telling you it's impossible *pyoro*!” the robot repeated. “There's no way that we can get the Bangatta to the surface without igniting the peroxy compounds in he mud *pyoro*!”

“Don't tell me its impossible!” Hibiki cried out, grabbing the robot with his one good hand and shaking it ferociously. “You've told me that before and you were wrong! Now make it wor - yow!” he cried out, as Pyoro let an electric current course through the boys body. Breaking free the navi-robot scampered away from Hibiki.

“We can't waste time on this *pyoro*,” the robot stated. “We have to find a way to rescue the others without the Bangatta *pyoro*!”

“There is no other choice!” the boy shouted, before he noticed that Pyoro was scampering away from him. “Get back here you tin-plated onion!” Hibiki cried out as he stood up to give chase - before being confronted with a pair of familiar female protrusions. He raised his eyes until they locked with Jura's green orbs.

“What do you want?” he hissed, aware of the pain his broken ribs were causing him every second that he remained standing. “Get out of my way!”

For a moment he thought he saw a look of concern pass the blonde's beautiful features, but it was gone as soon as he saw it, replaced by her usual haughty smile. She gave a disdainful sniff and tilted her head towards him. “Jura doesn't like losing - nor does she like feeling worried.”

Hibiki furrowed his brow. What was she getting at? “Why are you telling this to _me_?”

“I thought you might be feeling the same way,” she explained. She waved her hands towards the Bangatta. “Fixating on impossible schemes is not going to solve anyone's problems. The strategy meeting is about to start - we can think of what to do there. Come along,” she finished, turning to go without waiting to see if he would follow.

“You don't get it - We need my partner!” Hibiki shouted, his feet rooted in place. He closed his eyes as images of the battle washed over him… The ease with which the creatures moved, the murderous power behind their blows. It had reminded him painfully of his beating at the hands of Rabat, except it was even more humiliating. He had thought he would be ready for a physical confrontation - he had been training with Meia ever since that day, and he had thought he was improving. And yet this time, he had done even worse than before - he couldn't hurt them, couldn't even touch them, those… creatures…“You don't know what we're facing…”

“Eh?” Jura stopped, then turned to him with a puzzled look. “Of course we don't know what we're facing - that's why we need you down at the meeting, to tell us in detail.”

Hibiki growled his frustration. “Are you even listening to what I'm saying? We need the Bangatta! We can't win without it!”
“Oh come on,” Jura hissed. “You can't be this stupid. You _know_ that we can't move the Vanguards or Dreads out of the hangar!”

“If we can't do that then we can't win either! And that means that the others are as good as dead - if they aren't dead already!”

A tense silence descended between the two at the sound of Hibiki's words, neither being able to meet the others eye. As such neither of them saw the fear etched on the others face - the fear and the guilt. It was almost as if neither of them had truly considered the possibility of the others already being dead, and that Hibiki's ill chosen words had brought that chance closer to reality. Along with this came the nagging thought that, if their fears were true, each was in some way responsible.

The girl was the first to break the heavy silence. “You…” she began, in a quiet voice. “You are not the Hibiki that Jura knows. The Hibiki I know would never say something like that. You sound like you're one of the people from Anpatos - the ones who just give up…”

Hibiki made no attempt to reply, his eyes turned determinedly away from the girl, until he heard another voice speak to her.

“That's enough Jura,” Gascogne said, as she approached the pilot from behind, and1 placed a gentle arm on her shoulder. “I'll take it from here… You should head to the briefing room. The meeting is about to begin.”

Jura stared helplessly at Gascogne for an instant, then glared at Hibiki, an intense look in her eyes. “Jura doesn't fight losing battles… We'll win this with or without you,” she stated, before turning on her heels and leaving the engine room, leaving Hibiki alone with Gascogne.

After an awkward moment or two of silence, Hibiki spoke. “Are you going to try to give me a pep talk too?” he asked tartly.

Gascogne made no reply - at least not verbally. In response to his question though, she took an intimidating looking sledge hammer from one of the tool racks that the mechanics used. Without a glance towards Hibiki she moved towards the Bangatta. The boy's brow creased, mystified as to what she thought she was doing - mystified that is, until she stopped right in front of his `partner' and raised the hammer high.

“Wha - No!” he shouted, but at that point it was too late. With a loud cry, the tall woman brought the hammer down hard on the right elbow of his mech, chipping off a sharp shard of metal and sending it hurtling to the ground near Hibiki's feet. Stunned, the boy rushed forward and grabbed the hammer away from Gascogne. The Register Officer offered no resistance, and merely stood with a small smile on her face as Hibiki rounded on her furiously.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?”

Gasco looked at him with wide eyes, her obviously feigned innocence infuriating Hibiki all the more. “Well, I figured that since you're of no use to anyone until you admit the impossibility of this irrational desire to use your Vanguard, I might be able to convince you if I disassembled it in front of your eyes.”

“You're insane!” He screamed, after a few seconds of spluttering incoherently.

“No more than you are,” she retorted evenly. “Using the Vanguard for a rescue operation is impossible and you know it.”

“But you - ” he began, but she cut him off with an upraised palm.

“It's impossible,” she repeated, with an air of finality. “Anyone with two brain cells could have figured that out, and I'm sure you have at least three, so there's no use pretending that you don't believe it.”

Faced with her calm authority, Hibiki found that he was at a loss for words. She was right - he had known it to be impossible, almost from the beginning. But without that impossible hope, he had no choice but to face the alternative. And that alternative was something that was too hard for him to contemplate… The strength seemed to flow out of his body at that point and he sat down heavily on the floor.

“Then we can't win,” he stated flatly. “There's nothing that I - that we can do about it.”

Gasco sighed. “You're fond of jumping to conclusions aren't you? There's not much of a connection between our capability to use the machines and our ability to rescue the others. Whatever it was that attacked you and the others Hibiki, they were only animals…”

Hibiki shook his head. “They were more than that - I could tell. They weren't merely strong - they were smart, cunning…”

“Do you think that all that separates us from animals is our intelligence?” the tall woman interrupted. “On Mejerr, we were taught that what separates women from other forms of life was that we alone could plan ahead, could adapt to changing situations - that we alone had the power to make our own future.” She gave the dejected boy before her a penetrating look. “I'm sure that holds for men as well. But if you're going to just give up right now, then it doesn't matter if you're smarter than they are - you'd be nothing more than an animal as well.”

“That's so easy for you to say!” Hibiki lashed out, rising to his feet. “You weren't there, you don't know how it felt - I was helpless before them. I couldn't - couldn't stop them or hurt them or… I couldn't do anything! I might as well not have been there! You can want and hope to change the future, but unless you have the power to do so, then your will isn't worth anything!”
Gascogne remained silent as Hibiki ranted, the barest expression of sympathy showing on her face. When she spoke however, her words were harsh and cutting. “And where do you expect to find that power? In something else? In a machine? I thought more highly of you than that,” she said. She waved her hand disdainfully towards the Bangatta before them. “You're too dependent on this thing. Even if you call it your `partner', its really just a chunk of metal. We've been battling the Earth forces for quite a while now, and I'll tell you this: If the power with which we've overcome them in the past lay solely in these machines, we'd all be long dead.”

Hibiki gave no answer, refusing to look into the woman's eyes. Finally the Register Officer shook her head in disgust and turned to walk away. But before she started moving, she left him a parting shot. “This journey won't last forever you know… I pity what will happen to you when we return home, and you face problems that can't be solved by an energy blast or a sharp sword. You say you want to save them, and yet you sit around there waiting for something else to do your work for you. That was the last thing I expected from someone who once told us all to `walk the walk'…”

With those words, she began to walk away from the boy. A short time later, Hibiki heard the doors swish open, then close again, and he realized he was alone again - alone with his thoughts, his fears and his guilt. He hated being like this - Gascogne was right, he was a pitiful sight. He'd though those days had come to an end when he'd unwittingly acquired the Bangatta, when he'd discovered that he _could_ make a difference, that for the first time in his life, it mattered that he was there. The feeling of power had been intoxicating at the start, and in hindsight he realized that he had been so drunk with the feeling that he had been rather obnoxious about it. Come to think of it, it was Gasco-san who had set him straight then as well, showing him that it was not him alone who won their victories, but all of them working together.

It was ironic that this time, she had come to convince him that he could do so much when he thought he could do nothing. Then again, it made a certain amount of sense - `working together' meant he had to do his part as well - especially when so many of the others couldn't do their share. He thought of Dita and Meia, of BC, Barnette and the others who he barely knew, but who had all worked so hard to make sure they survived until this point. He had to do his part - to make sure that all their efforts had not been in vain.

The question was - how?

At that moment he noticed something shiny on the ground by his foot. It was the piece of armor that Gasco had chipped off when she had hammered his Bangatta. Thinking to take it as a reminder of their little talk, he reached down to pick it up - and let out a yell as he came back with a bloody hand. The shard had scratched him even before he had begun to apply pressure on it - the edge was that sharp. If only he'd had something like that when…

Hibiki blinked, then a smile began to form on his face. Maybe, just maybe, the machines would be of some help after all…

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

The meeting was already underway by the time Gascogne arrived at the conference room, but all discussion stopped as she entered, the fact that she had come alone not being lost on anyone.

“No luck?” Magno asked, as the tall woman took her seat at the table.

“Oh I don't know,” the Register Officer said, her `toothpick' firmly gripped in her mouth. “He's not the type to brood for very long… He'll come around soon, just give him time.”

“We don't have time!” Jura suddenly burst out. “Barnette and the others are in danger! We have to leave as soon as possible - who knows what's being done to them! Every second we waste here - ”

“Is a second that we use to prepare ourselves so that we don't end up merely giving them more captives,” the Boss finished for her. She gave the blond a sympathetic look. “I know you're worried about them, and that you feel guilty for not having gone with them, but you wouldn't have made much difference.” Jura turned away in response, her eyes moistening. “In any case, nothing can happen without a plan, and that's why I've gathered all of us here.” She looked around at the others - Jura, Gascogne and Duero. Parfet had said she was on her way, but was just finishing a final check on the condition of the Pexis.

“How can we make a plan if we don't know anything about the enemy?” Jura asked, “Hibiki is the only one who encountered them, and its not like he's being very helpful…”

“Actually, he's already told us about as much as he could,” Magno replied. “He described the attackers as basically hairy beasts shaped like men, with skin that was almost like armor, and teeth that seemed closer to fangs than anything else. What he didn't tell us can be deduced from his wounds, which is why I asked the doctor to join us today,” she said, nodding towards where Duero was seated. It felt a bit odd to have a man present during a planning session, but more and more the women were beginning to feel a growing bond with their male counterparts - not just as shipmates but as friends.

Duero calmly nodded and began his exposition. “Hibiki suffered quite a few injuries, but these can basically be divided into two broad categories - those that resulted from impact with a blunt object, say a fist or the ground, and lacerations that are a result of being slashed by a sharp object. We can tell from the latter type that the beasts possessed claws of around two inches in length, and the wounds show that there was a considerable amount of force behind these blows as well. Whatever these creatures are, they are powerful - exceeding the theoretical limits of men or women, at least as far as I know.”

Gascogne sighed. “And that's probably not the worst of it. From what Hibiki told me these things are smart as well.”

“It doesn't matter how strong or smart they are - they're not going to be having Jura's Barnette for dinner!” The blonde Dread Pilot shook her head. “Jura doesn't see what the problem is… We have an entire armory of energy weapons - we just arm ourselves, get out there and blast anything that gets in our way. It's simple!”

Magno shook her head. Maybe Jura was more like Barnette than she had thought - that certainly sounded like something the trigger happy Dread pilot would have said. However before she could rein in Jura's blood thirsty thoughts, somebody else beat her to the punch.

“That won't work,” Hibiki said as he and Parfet entered the room, carrying several wrapped bundles in their hands. “For one thing those lasers are hard to use in close range - and at the speed with which those monsters move, most of the fighting is going to take place face to hairy face. Secondly, energy weapons run out of power all too quickly - and if that first attack was any indication, we'd run out of ammo before we had even killed half of the beasts.”

“Glad you chose to join us,” Gasco said, her voice non-chalant, but Magno could see the hint of pride in the younger woman's eyes.

“You're late,” was all Magno allowed herself to say, though she too was proud of the boy. Another hurdle overcome on his way to adulthood she thought to herself. “I take it you have a better suggestion?”

Hibiki smiled. “As a matter of fact…” he gestured to Parfet and the two of them laid their bundles on the table, unwrapping them to reveal what appeared to be a plastic bowl and a set of primitive swords and spears, cobbled together for the most part from various scraps of metal attached to a handle of some sort, often times merely a pole made of plaster or wood.

“This is your great idea?” Jura asked, a look of distaste on her face.

“We need to have close combat weapons,” Hibiki explained. “For one thing, they don't require reloading, and they'll be more effective than lasers when push comes to shove. Besides, from the little I remember, unless the beasts got hit in the head, they hardly seemed to feel the beams.”

“Hmm…” Duero mused. “I've seen a similar thing occur in some of the more barbaric arena games on Taraku. If the area of effect is too small relative to the mass of the target, its possible to shrug off an energy blast, especially when in a state of rage. The intense heat instantly cauterizes the wound so the bleeding is non-existent and it is possible for the nerve endings to be charred, dulling the pain to an extent.”

“Jura still doesn't see how these things will do any better,” Jura said. “I mean, they don't look like they can be used more than a couple of times before falling apart.”

This time it was Parfet who answered. “Well, we didn't have time to weld the materials together yet, but I can assure you they can be effective. Watch this,” she said, nodding towards Hibiki.

At that signal the boy took the plastic bowl from the table with his one good arm. It was one of the bowls that they commonly used for eating - made out of reinforced plastic, a fairly hard material which made it easier to store foods at varying temperatures. Without another word, Parfet picked up a random weapon from the pile - a contraption roughly shaped like an axe - and brought its `head' down almost gently on the bowl. It passed through it like a hot knife through butter, with seemingly no resistance, and even less effort on Parfet's part.

“And I'm not even all that strong either,” Parfet said happily while the others gaped.

“Ok… I think an explanation would be nice right about now,” Gascogne said, her eyes wide.

“It's quite simple really…” the Chief Engineer explained, adjusting her thick, circular glasses. “We scavenged these parts from the junkpile - you know, the one where we store parts damaged during battles, or the scraps we remove during repairs. For the most part, the pieces there were made using materials built to withstand both the harshness of space and attacks from high powered energy weapons such as those found on the Dreads. As such it would be difficult to find a tougher material - and it was surprisingly easy to find pieces that were the right shape or carried the right edge to be used as weapons. All that was left to be done was to attach them to something that one could hold without cutting herself and voila,” Parfet grinned. “Instant implement of death.”

“Interesting,” Duero said, experimentally hefting one of the improvised weapons in his hand. “These would certainly be useful to have during hand to hand combat…” The doctor turned his calm gaze towards Hibiki. “But will it be enough? If your initial encounter was any indication, the beasts will probably outnumber us greatly - will these weapons be enough to turn the tide?”

Hibiki's face took on a thoughtful look. “I've been giving that some thought as well… We'd need some sort of diversion, something that would draw them away… Or maybe frighten them away. That was how the Sub - Commander had us lure out some of the larger animals during the hunt - by making so much noise that it would run right into our trap. We've got to find a way to reduce the number of animals in the area before we attempt the rescue - once we do that, these weapons should help us take care of the rest.”

“Are you sure about that?” Jura asked. “It takes a little more skill to wield a sword than shoot a gun - Jura should know. It took me years of practice to become the excellent swordsman I am now - and we don't have the luxury of time. Without training, the weapons will not make all that big a difference…”

“Oh I dunno,” Gascogne said. “You needed your training Jura because you were either fighting a n opponent who had a sword herself, or worse, a distance weapon - advantages which the beasts won't have. If these weapons that Hibiki and Parfet have cooked up are as sharp as they seem to be, then all that would really be required of the rescue team would be the ability to swing - sort of like chopping wood.”

“So how do we frighten the creatures away in the first place?” Magno asked, breaking into the discussion.

“Well, noise seemed to work pretty well, at least for the smaller beasts,” Hibiki said. He turned to Parfet. “Do we have any ships at all that can be launched _without_ blasting the Nirvana into pieces?”
The engineer shared a look with Gascogne. “Well,” the pigtailed girl replied. “the repair drones are kept in a separate hanger than the Dreads or the Vanguards - none of them sustained any major damage from the attack and I think at least some of them lie above the mud line. It should be possible for us to use those…”

“Except that those things can't travel all that far from the ship,” Gascogne added. “They're made for extra-atmospheric repairs, not for extended voyages, and thus they don't really carry all that much fuel, nor are they speedy, in any sense of the word. Likewise, they weren't made to hold more than one person at a time, so it would be impractical to use them as transports if that's what you're thinking…”

Hibiki shook his head. “I was thinking more along the lines of a distraction,” the boy grinned. “Heh, I doubt they've had much exposure to repair drones here on this little mudball…”

“I could probably cobble together some extension tanks,” Parfet mused. “Only for around two or three of the drones mind you, but still…”

The discussion continued in this vein for several minutes, with the men and women of the Nirvana honing Hibiki's innovative but vague plan into something workable, each one citing possible difficulties or proposing possible solutions. Despite the urgency of their situation, Magno found herself smiling at the sight of her crew, her family, working together. The Boss had full confidence in her crews ability to bounce back from failure and defeat - but it was always uplifting to see it actually happening before her, to see her faith concretized and her expectations fulfilled. This was the crew that had repulsed the Earth forces for so long, against almost insurmountable odds - full of intensity, teamwork, and an indomitable spirit. Wherever BC and the others were, Magno hoped those same characteristics burned hot within them… Now if only they could figure out how to track them down…

The answer to that question came sooner than she expected, when her monitor blinked open to reveal the face of the leader of the initial search party that they had sent out, a petite red head named Sera. The image was blurred and occasionally interrupted by static, but enough of the girls words got through that Magno was able to understand her.

“Bo -*hiss* This is *hiss* -ra reporting fro - *hiss* site…”

“You've reached the Nirvana Sera,” Magno responded, as the others crowded in behind her in order to see the flickering screen. “Are you girls alright?”

“*hiss* are fi- *hiss* oss…” the girl replied, in between breaks of static.

Parfet made an inquisitive noise, and the Boss nodded at her to go ahead. “Sera, this is Parfet,.” The pig tailed Engineer began, “can you hear us? You're breaking up over here… Is there anything wrong with the equipment?”

The red headed girl shook her head. “I can bar- *hiss* make you ou - *hiss* *hiss*- equipment checks out, must *hiss* something in the surroundings ca- *hiss* -terference.”

“Did she just say that there was interference from somewhere?” Hibiki asked Parfet, but it was Gascogne who answered.

“Some planets have certain natural minerals in the ground or particles in the air that interfere with certain types of frequencies - those were the ones that were useful as pirate hideouts,” she said with a grin. “This place might be one of them.”

“But when we were there we had no problems getting in touch with the Nirvana,” Hibiki protested. “I don't think those minerals just move around by themselves…”

“True,” Gasco answered. “That is strange…” but before they could pursue that line of questioning further, their attention was drawn back to the monitor, where Sera was showing them the site of the ambush. It was evident from the damage to the surrounding foliage that a fierce struggle had taken place - but although there was plenty of broken equipment lying around, there was no sign of any bodies, living or dead.

“Is there no sign of the advance party?” the Boss asked, her hands gripping the arm rests tightly. “Of anyone?”

“Negat-*hiss*” the scout replied. “Not a one. *hiss* response from comm *hiss* either, tracking beacons dis *hiss*.”

Magno pursed her lips. “There's something wrong with this picture…” she whispered, her brow furrowing, “I just can't figure out what…”

“The machines,” Duero said simply.

“Come again Doctor?”

“The machines,” he repeated, his hand on his chin as he looked intently at the screen. “Why wreck the machines?”

The others looked at each other. “Well,” Hibiki answered. “They did see some of them being used as weapons - it wouldn't take much of a stretch for them to want to destroy the things. Besides, like I told you - these things are smart…”

“Maybe even smarter,” Duero said, before turning to the monitor. “I hope you can understand me, but I need you to tell me if there's any piece of equipment left untouched at the site…”

The man had to repeat his question a few times before Sera understood it completely, but once she did she began to shake her head. “*hiss* -ot a one,” she said. “Eve- *hiss* been totaled…”

“That clinches it,” Duero said. “These creatures obviously know at least what a machine looks like - the destruction was purposeful and planned out.”

“That could explain why the tracking beacons in their comm links haven't been working,” Parfet said. “The beasts must have taken them away somehow…”

“But how could they?” Jura asked in exasperation. “They're just animals right? The scanner didn't detect any technological structures on the planet at all!”

“That doesn't mean that there aren't any,” Duero said under his breath, before raising his voice. “Whatever the case, its clear we're not merely dealing with `intelligent animals' here… We'd best be cautious.”

At that point Sera called their attention back to the screen. They could see the petite girl listening to a report from one of her squad members, who showed her a reading from an instrument she carried at her belt. Sera sighed, then nodded, before turning to the others with a grim expression on her face.

“We *hiss* -ve found a way *hiss* track them down…” the red head said.

“Did you just say you can track them down?” Jura asked. “Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and do it so Jura can rescue them!”

“If she discovered how to find them, why doesn't she look so thrilled?” Hibiki whispered to Magno, but the old woman had a sinking feeling she knew why…

“*hiss* -eia's blood al- *hiss* sent scouts to *hiss* -llow *hiss* north for at least a kilometer and *hiss*-tinues…”

“What? What was that?” Hibiki asked. “I didn't quite catch that… Did she say there was some sort of trail?” he looked around, and the surprise on his face as he saw the expressions of the women was evident. Even Jura had become subdued. “Hey! What's wrong with you guys? Has it escaped your notice that this is _good_ news?”

“Meia's blood.” The Boss said.

“Excuse me?” Hibiki said, a puzzled look on his face.

“Meia's leaving us a trail of her blood as a means of tracking them down,” Magno said angrily, her hands clenching into fists. “That stupid girl…”

“What do you mean a `trail of blood?'” Hibiki asked, his eyes widening. “That's insane! She'll be killing herself!”

Magno shook her head. “She probably thinks that it would be a good trade… She's pulled this stunt once before…”

“I can't believe she'd waste her strength on something so ineffective,” Duero interposed. “Barring the use of an animal sensitive to the scent, it would be impossible to track her using her blood trail - especially since in this case she's bleeding into the soil, which should absorb all traces of it within a few hours.”

“Whether it's effective or not is hardly the point Duero!” Hibiki snarled, but Gasco held out a hand.

“Let me explain this one,” Gasco said to the Boss, before turning to the men. “When Meia was growing up, she was often in trouble with the authorities. She was jailed numerous times - and Mejerr has ways of ensuring that their prisoners cannot escape. One such method is by injecting a particular chemical compound into the blood of the inmate, a compound which emits a specific amount of low level radiation that can quickly be picked up on a special scanner.” She turned back to the screen. “Though its been years since she was injected, traces of that compound are still present in Meia's blood, and its that residue which will lead us to them, whether or not we can actually see the traces of blood. Meia knows that they have no means of contacting us - this is her way of lighting a path.”

“I see,” Duero said, before turning to Hibiki. “In that case, we had best put this plan of yours into motion immediately - if Meia's suffered injuries, and she loses too much blood, her chances of recovery will be slim.”

The boy nodded. “And it would be just like that stupid girl to keep herself bleeding until they stopped moving - regardless of what it would do to her,” he cursed once under his breath, then stood up. “Let's move!”

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

“How is she?” BC asked, as she crawled towards the corner where Dita had Meia cradled in her arms, while Paiway tried to bind the blue haired girls wound.

The young nurse shook her head. “The bandage stopped the blood flow temporarily, but… But she's already lost a lot of blood. I don't even know how she managed to stay conscious for so long…”

Dita bit her lip. “Leader…” she whispered to the unconscious Dread Leader. “You should have told us you were hurt! We would have… We could have…”

From her position as lookout, Barnette gave a snort. “Would have what? Helped her? Escaped? Died trying? Get real Dita…”

“But we could have done something!” the other girl insisted.

“Can't you stop being so naïve, even in a situation such as this?” Barnette snapped. “There was nothing we could have done! Stop being so stupid!”

“Stop it , both of you,” BC ordered. “This is not the time for this. Meia aggravated her wound deliberately - and if both of you would stop for a minute and think, then you'd know she did it for a reason. Now - if you two want to help, then I suggest you both quiet down.”

The two pilots fell silent at those words. Dita hated it when the green haired girl got angry - she hated it when people started shouting and Barnette had quite the healthy pair of lungs. But more than that, she hated it because Barnette always got so negative, and that just wasn't right. No matter how bleak the situation, there just _had_ to be a way out… Dita couldn't believe that her friend still didn't have that faith. They had been in worse situations before - and they'd always won hadn't they? But then… Uchuujin-san had always been there to help them. The girl felt tears come to her eyes at the thought of Hibiki… She was so worried about him, but he _had_ to be alright, he had to be! For his sake, she couldn't give up!

“Don't… Cry… Dita,” she heard from below her, and she opened her eyes to see Meia looking up at her. “Barnette doesn't mean those things… Just her way of coping…”

“Leader!” Dita shouted, and the others drew closer. “You're awake!”

Barnette came closer., her harsh features softening. “Good to have you back Meia…”

Meia gave her a wan nod and tried to rise, but Paiway gently pushed her back.

“You can't stand yet Meia, you're weak right now from blood loss…” the young girl said. “Try not to move ok? Otherwise you might reopen the wound…”

“I'll be fine…” the blue haired girl said. “And I might have to reopen it later anyway if - ”

“No!” Paiway said in a firm tone. “Absolutely not! You'll die if you loose any more blood Meia!”

Meia was about to protest but BC cut in. “There's no need for it anymore - I think we've stopped, if only for tonight.” The Sub - Commander gestured to the makeshift cage of bamboo and vine that had served as their prison since they had been herded there by their captors, roughly an hour or so ago. Dita had been one of the first to arrive, and she had seen the monster aliens fashioning it from the surroundings. They had worked fast and with skill - Dita thought that the monster aliens were much smarter than they looked. Eventually all of the members of the advanced party were brought into the cage, and while all of them were still alive, many were injured, if none quite as badly as Meia.

“Where are we?” Meia asked, as she took a look around.

BC shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. It seems clear though, that they have taken us captive for some purpose that requires us to be alive - for how much longer, I have no clue.”

“Aren't they going to eat us?” asked a scared voice from amongst the other girls.

“Perhaps,” BC answered. “Although why keep us alive for so long if that was their only intention?”

“Maybe they want to season us first,” said another voice, which prompted a fearful groan form amongst some of the other women.

“That's enough of that talk!” Barnette snapped. “Who cares why they caught us? What matters is that we're not dead yet, and if they think we're just going to lie back and die then they've got another thing coming!”

Just then, they heard a sound fast approaching, a rumble that they had come to realize was some sort of speech on the part of the monster aliens. “Keep it down - they're coming!” she said and the women - with the exception of Dita and Paiway who clustered around Meia - scattered, not wanting it to be too apparent that they had been communicating with each other. Without discussion, they had already decided to treat the beasts as an intelligent enemy…

In moments, a doorway appeared, and four of the monster aliens stepped inside. Though Dita was able to see that each was subtly different from the other, all shared a few common characteristics. For one thing, each was over seven feet tall, and massively muscled, with sharp talons at the end of both fingers and toes. Aside from this however, and the fact that they were covered in vast quantities of hair that seemed closer to shaggy fur than anything else, the creatures proportions were very similar to the women - or more specifically, to the men. Dita squashed that thought - she knew now that men and women were the same, so it was wrong of her to think that these bad monster aliens had any relation to Uchuujin-san and the others.

The four aliens surveyed the cage for a moment, their gazes passing each of the captives as if to ensure that all were present. Apparently satisfied, the beasts reached for the nearest of the women - one of the Dread Pilots - and pushed her none too gently towards the exit. Dita was about to move to help her, but she was stopped short by a firm grip on her shoulder. The red headed girl turned to see BC giving her a small shake of the head - the Sub - Commander already had Barnette in a similar grip.

“We can't win if all we do is react,” the silver haired woman whispered, “Watch them… And learn.”

With those words, she released the two younger girls, and after helping Meia to her feet, they took their place amongst the others as one by one they were herded towards the door. One all of them had been gathered in the semblance of a line, their hands were bound once again and the beasts began to walk them forward. Night had fallen on the planet, and the air was full of the cries of strange animals, all the more ominous in the near total shadow cast by the forest canopy.

The beasts moved along swiftly, apparently needing no more light than that which was provided by their own red eyes or white fangs. Gradually, the forest around them began to thin, and the women soon found themselves heading up a rocky incline, the leaves above them parting as the trees came fewer and farther between, leaving them exposed to the clear night sky. To their right, the ground sloped sharply downwards, into what appeared to be a fertile valley, where the vegetation was even more dense, if possible. Looming above them from beyond the valley, maybe a good hundred or so kilometers away, was a huge, cone shaped mountain - probably a volcano if what Dita remembered from her lessons was correct. As they passed it, Dita noticed that the monster aliens all seemed to be making some sort of gesture towards the mountain, or at the very least, kept their eyes averted from it. Dita turned behind her to where BC was trying to support Meia from behind, and both of the women gave her a look of acknowledgement - they had noticed the strange actions as well.

Soon, the group reached a steep rockface, fronted by numerous dead trees and scattered debris, and their captors brought them to a stop. A dozen or so of the beasts moved forwards and quickly but stealthily began to clear away the obstructions, until Dita could see the uneven mouth of a cave, one which lead deeper into the rock. One of the beasts - this one even larger than its companions - stepped forward and growled a few times into the cave mouth. A few seconds later, an answering rumble was heard from within the cave, and a group of three beasts emerged from the cavern, and engaged the large monster alien into what was apparently a conversation. To Dita, it reminded her of the hideouts she and the other pirates had across the system, especially the smaller ones they kept on planet. It was standard fare really - concealing the entrance, posting guards, exchanging passwords - everything characteristic of a pirate hideout - except these were beasts, and not women.

“Yes, it seems that way” BC said, once Dita had relayed her opinion. Their guards seemed to have relaxed a bit now that they were near their `home' and this allowed Dita to confer with her nearer companions without raising an alarm. “They obviously have some organizational structure here - with any luck they're taking us to their leader and we might have a chance to try some form of communication.”

“But how?” Dita asked. “Dita doesn't think they speak the same language…”

“We'll just have to wait and see,” Meia said. The blue haired Dread Leader was very pale, but otherwise seemed to be holding up. “What I'm wondering about now though is that if this is some sort of hideout, then what are they hiding from?”

That was all they had time for before the monster aliens began moving them once more, this time into the cave. The cavern was spacious for the women, seeing as how it was large enough for the beasts, and seemed to be composed of only a single route, with no forks or branches. At first, the women found themselves depending on the painful shoves of their captors to prevent them from bumping into the rock, but once they had traveled a few minutes, a subtle blue-green light began to fill the cavern, emanating from the walls themselves. Dita tried to get a closer look as they passed - it seemed to be a kind of plant, but she couldn't really tell for sure…

After what seemed like an hour of travelling, the `corridor' abruptly opened up into a sizeable cavern, about the size of the Dread hangar. There was light in this room, but instead of coming from the walls, they came from pieces of wood suspended around the room, `torches' which had a concentration of the moss-like plant on one end. The reason for this became clearer as they passed close to the walls. Dita heard a few gasps from those who were ahead of her in the line, but she didn't know what it was they were reacting to until she herself got a first hand look.

“Paintings!” she gasped, “The walls are full of paintings!”

Indeed, instead of being covered in the moss, the cavern walls were decorated with floor-to-ceiling pictures: of the beasts on the move, fighting strange creatures, even fighting amongst themselves. The quality of the paintings was scarcely more than those of a child, yet still they were recognizable. Dita wasn't able to get a good look at them as they were quickly herded through one cavern after another of the primitive artworks, but the sheer number of them overwhelmed her. There was one particular scene that she saw over and over again though, always painted to the left of the exit leading to the next cavern: in it, a group of the beasts was being massacred by what appeared to be a massive gray spider, with lines of fire stretching from its eyes. The way the spider was drawn always seemed… different from the way the other creatures Dita had seen on the walls, but she couldn't quite place it. Whatever the spider thing was, it was obviously one of the monster aliens deadliest foes… But somehow, Dita was quite certain that it would be no friend to the crew of the Nirvana either.

Their journey through the caverns of art seemed to go on for hours, but at one point they entered the next cavern only to be stopped, then forced to seat themselves in the middle of the enclosure. Unlike the other caverns they had passed through, the walls of this one were mostly blank, though they could already see some scenes on one of them.

“What's going on here Sub-Commander?” Dita heard Barnette asked as soon as all of them had been forced to the ground. “Why bring us all the way here? To what purpose?”

BC sighed. “I'd like to say I knew, but this new twist has me more confused than ever. The only things I could make out from their paintings was the fact that whatever these things are, they have a warrior culture - but how this relates to a cavern of paintings and our capture, I have no idea. Our best bet is still to wait and see.”

The green haired Dread pilot hissed her displeasure. “If we wait any longer we might end up dead!”
“And if we try our luck now then we'll _surely_ be dead,” The older woman replied calmly. “You're always in too much of a hurry Barnette - people who rush seldom get anywhere.”

“But… But what are we going to do?” Dita heard Paiway ask. “How are we going to escape? There are so many of them!” The fear was evident in the young girl's voice…These past few hours could not have been easy for the nurse - Dita had been Paiway's friend almost since they met, and she knew that though the girl was brave, she had a tendency to give up when things got bad - their present predicament probably seemed hopeless to her. Dita fought against her binding and managed to place herself in a position where she could see her friends face. She knew that the Sub-commander wouldn't be able to give a good answer yet - though she was sure it was only a matter of time. Right now though, she had to find a way to keep her friend from falling apart…

“Paiway,” Dita said, “What do you think of these paintings?”

“Huh?” the blue haired girl asked in confusion, “What does that have to do with anything Dita?”

“Uhm, well…” the red head began, “I'm sure that the pictures on the walls can tell us something about the bad aliens neh? But, since Dita is stupid, I don't think I can tell what they are very well,” she paused for a moment, then smiled. “You know that right Paiway? Remember, you used to get so mad when I couldn't understand the drawings in the notebook you showed me? I thought your drawing of Varoa was an apple!”

Dita heard Barnette sight in exasperation at her words, but a few moments later she heard what she was waiting for - the sound of laughter, albeit weak, from Paiway. “I remember that,” the younger girl answered. “And I was so proud of that picture too!”

Talk amongst the women ceased as a group of beasts encircled the captives. One by one they were made to stand up while a few of the monster aliens - who somehow seemed older to Dita, and who sported a sort of headdress as ornamentation - walked around them, peering at every corner of their bodies, their clothes, their faces. Adhering to BC's unspoken command, none of them resisted, although it was obvious that some, like Barnette, felt violated by the attention. During her `turn', however, Dita could sense no malice from the aliens. If anything, their aura seemed merely curious… and maybe a touch sad even. After they had finished examining all the women, they had them sit down again in a group while the headdress wearing aliens moved towards the wall. A hush seemed to descend upon the cavern as the group of aliens stood in front of the blank wall, while the rest of the creatures cleared a space around them, all while raptly gazing at the smaller gathering.

And then, the aliens began to paint.

They used tools that were similar to the `torches' on the walls, except on a smaller scale and each with a different color. As they swiped one across the face of the wall, a swath of color would appear, glowing on its own power for a while before it lost its light, leaving the color behind. The strokes of the aliens were quick, measured, as if they were following invisible contours engraved on the wall itself. The aliens worked in concert, each filling in one color completely before moving to another, almost dancing amongst themselves as their strokes slowly coalesced into a single image. It took time, but eventually the picture became clear - and the women realized that they recognized it.

“Barnette!” Dita exclaimed. “They're painting Barnette!”

It wasn't a very good likeness, and the face mostly consisted of two dots and a slash, but the shape of the body marked it as a woman, and the colors made it obvious that it was the green haired Dread Pilot.

“What's going on…?” Barnette wondered aloud, even as the creatures continued to work on her picture, but nobody answered. The women watched the `painters' work, as if in a trance, unwilling to take their eyes off the unreal sight. However the work was slow and methodical, and by the time the creatures had finished only around half of the portraits, most of the women were asleep, tired from their long journey. Dita tried to stay awake, but the stress of the forced march, as well as her worry over Hibiki, simply wore her down. In the end, she tried to settle herself as comfortably as her restraints would allow, closed her eyes, and let the darkness grant her rest…

 

She was awakened, what seemed to her a scant few seconds later, by an urgent whisper. “Dita…” she heard Paiway's voice hiss, the fear once more saturating her tone, “Dita, wake up! Wake up!”

“Wha - wha…” the red head mumbled, trying confusedly to stretch her arms before remembering her restraints. With that harsh reminder of their situation, she found herself coming awake. “What's the matter Paiway? What's wrong?”

“To your right - the painting! Look!”

Dita turned to the wall and saw that the painting was complete. All the captives had been faithfully represented on the `canvas' of rock, each standing straight and erect, positioned one after the other like manikins. Dita paused to gawk at her own painting for a moment before she began to scan the painting for whatever it was that caused her friend to get so upset.

“Paiway, Dita doesn't see what - ”

And then she realized she had only seen part of what had been done the previous night. By the time she had seen the entire picture she was as agitated as the young nurse.

Further to the left of their `portraits' was a depiction of the volcano they had passed on their way to the cave. In the scene the sun was rising on the horizon, and the beasts were gathered around what appeared to Dita to be some sort of table…

On top of which was painted, in all its gory detail, an image of Barnette being torn apart by a gigantic gray spider…

Dita stared at the image for a long time before the sound of the Sub-Commander's voice snapped her out of it. “Wake those who are still asleep…” she commanded, “I think we know all that we need to know…”

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

“And you say you saw the beasts enter the cave?”

“Yes. Definitely. I kept as far away as possible but the distance was easily covered by the scope.”

Hibiki nodded to Sera as she finished her report, his good hand anxiously fidgeting with his makeshift weapon - a double headed spear. As he and the second rescue team had made their way from the Nirvana, he had asked Sera and her squad to move ahead, tracking Meia's blood signature and sending them detailed reports that allowed the second team to follow. Roughly four hours ago, Sera and her squad had reported that the blood trail had stopped. Hibiki and the others had feared for the worst, but Duero - who had accompanied them - reassured the team that it was highly unlikely that Meia could have died from blood loss by that point, though she would be severely weakened and in need of treatment. While Hibiki and the others were moving towards Sera's position, Hibiki had decided to send them out further, in an effort to pick up the trail. It had been a risky move, but if they lost the beasts in this forest, they would have little chance of being able to track them down in time. They had searched for hours in vain, but as Hibiki and the others had neared the rendezvous point, Sera had reported that she had been able to spy one of the beasts entering a nearby cavern. Close to the entrance had been what appeared to be an artificial construction made of vines and wood, which they took to be a sign that captives of some sort had been held - an encouraging sign, for otherwise they had no way of knowing if this band of beasts were the ones who held Dita, Meia and the others.

Hibiki turned to face the other members of the `planning committee' who had come with him for the rescue attempt. Jura, Duero and Parfet were there, along with Gascogne who had been in charge of piloting the repair drone, which they had set down a distance away from their `camp', in order to minimize the chances of discovery.

“Well,” he asked them, “What do you guys think?”

“You have to ask?” Jura said, shaking her long blonde hair, one hand gripping her sword. “We know where Barnette and the others are - what are we standing around here for? Jura doesn't like being out in the cold with all these bugs…”

“I don't think it would be advisable for us to raid the cavern,” Duero said. It was odd to see the Doctor with a weapon, but somehow, it just seemed… `right'. He didn't look at all awkward handling the weapon he had chosen, which Hibiki would have roughly described as a jagged scythe. “We don't know how many of them are holed up in there, nor how extensive those caverns are. The cage Sera found implies that they are being kept alive for some purpose, but I don't doubt they would be harmed if we attacked. It might be suicide both for us and for them.”

“Not everyone works according to your logic Doctor,” Jura said. “What if they were only being kept alive long enough to be brought to the cavern so they could be cooked before being eaten? Or what if the monsters use cages as decorations? Every good soldier knows enough to take advantage of any opening Doctor… Maybe you should leave the tactics to us front liners neh?”
“Stop that Jura,” Parfet said, causing the blond to blink in surprise at the vehemence in her tone. The Engineer had originally wanted a club for a weapon, but they had all agreed that an edged weapon would be more effective. To this end, the engineer had taken a particularly sharp piece of metal and turned it into a wide bladed dagger. “We're all front line soldiers now, and there's no reason for us not to be cautious. We won't do them any good if we get killed.”

“Well we should at least send someone inside to scout out the area then!” Jura said.

“That might be difficult,” Duero said. “These creatures we can assume have senses beyond our own, or at the very least are much more familiar with the territory. It would be risky to send someone in alone.”

“If you didn't want to take risks you should have stayed back at the ship!”
“Jura!” Parfet shouted. “That's enough!”

“Yare yare,” Gascogne interrupted them, “We had a decent plan formulated back at the Nirvana - what say we stick to it?” She turned to Hibiki. “I can use the drone to make some noise around the cave entrance, and if these things are as smart as we think, they'll have sentries out there who'll hear me nice and clear. If that doesn't sent them out running, we'll send someone in to take a look. Is that a good enough compromise for everyone?”

“I think so,” Hibiki said, as the others silently nodded their heads, though not without an exchange of glares between Jura and Parfet.

“Alright then, let's get this show on the road,” Gasco said. The tall woman raised her eyes to the horizon and gave a worried glance towards what appeared to be swiftly gathering fog. “I don't want to know what other surprises this place has in store for us…”

 

==[VANDREAD]==

 

Barnette shot a hairy beast full in the face with her Beretta, before turning around and riddling another with rounds from her AK - 47 - or at least that was how she imagined it. Her gory fantasies were the only thing keeping her from screaming out her frustration and leaping at their foes, and damned be the consequences. A good hour or so after their rude awakening, the captive women were nearing the exit, and their plans for escape still seemed to be long shots. They had realized in their quick discussion just before departure that in truth their range of options for an escape planned were horribly limited. They had decided to wait until they approached the volcano once more, and, when the beasts were distracted by the site of their `holy mountain', BC and Barnette would attempt to attack their captors. This would serve as a signal for them to scatter in different directions, hopefully confusing their enemies. In the event that the beasts once more tried to divide them and transport them on their shoulders, the break out would begin immediately. Separate in that way, they knew they had no chance of escape.

As they neared the entrance - Barnette could tell because of the steady decrease of the `light moss' along the walls of the cavern - the pilot began to feel the first whiffs of fog. The fog intensified the closer they got to the entrance, and the green haired girl allowed the beginnings of a smile to form on her face. Perhaps things were going their way after all…

The last of the women were about to cross the threshold when Barnette heard a faint humming in the air. The sound intensified until it was a dull roar in her ears, and soon she felt a wave of air send the fog rolling against her as a large object swooped across their position, sending many of the beasts cowering to the ground. The girl shielded her eyes as best she could, but then she opened them wide as she recognized the sound of Gascogne's voice, amplified through the speakers of the repair drone.

“Calvary is here ladies! They're coming from directly ahead of you, so move in that direction! Go!”

With that the repair drone made an about face and buzzed low over them once more, its mechanical arms clacking as loud as they could, while Gascogne was screaming all sort of gibberish to heighten the noise. Sure enough, the first reaction of the beasts was to scatter, leaving the women unguarded for what seemed like the first time in ages.

“Go!” BC shouted, but none of them needed the prodding, heading straight forward as fast as they could, their arms still strapped to their sides. Barnette let out a fierce cry of joy - they were going to make it!

It was about that point that she heard another sound, a low, viscous humming. And this time, it wasn't coming from the repair bot.

Barnette turned in time to see a massive shape slam into Gascogne's craft sending it careening towards the forest, smoke trailing behind it . The new shape paused for a moment, before two beams of red hot energy shot out from its head, charring the forest where the bot had crashed and sending the trees up in flames. Apparently unsatisfied whipped its head around, causing the fog to swirl in its wake. In that second when the mist swirled around it, Barnette focused her gaze on the intruder -

And found herself gazing into the eyes of a massive, heavily armed, mechanical spider.

The God of the Mountain had come to play.

 

==[End of Chapter Three]==

 

Author's Note:

 

Some things:

 

Duero fight scene: Sorry, couldn't fit it in this one - wait till next chapter, and I promise I'll do it right :)

 

Meia and Dita: Both are heroic in their own ways in this chapter… I hope everyone caught that much from their actions. Though admittedly more of a Meia fan, I've always liked Dita for who she was, and both are integral to Vandread. Now for those of you clamoring for Hibiki to be paired with one or the other - don't hold your breath for anything blatant. Nobody gets paired up in MAROONED (like I said this fic is part of a larger whole) - though certain sparks will fly next chapter ;p

 

Meia as Ex-Convict; it just made sense considering what we know of her past - it doesn't look like she hung around with reputable people. I've also always viewed the Mejerr government as very `Big Brother-ish' (Or Big Sisterish in their case) and the tracers in the blood just fit in too well with what I wanted to do. Also, expect me to delve into the ghosts of Meia's past even more in future fics…

 

Parfet and Jura: Well the last shots of the second stage had Parfet pretty pissed at Blondie - just thought I'd start the antagonism a bit early to spice things up later ^_^ As for Jura being bitchy - well, she can be when things don't go her way. Remember when she had a headache and snapped at Duero? I can imagine she'd get more snippy with Barnette's life on the line…

 

Hibiki: I think Duero summed it up pretty well - the reason why Hibiki pulls a Shinji in this episode is because the beasts handed him his ass on a platter, despite his training (remember Lessons of the Body? I told you this was in the same universe ;p) and he was unable to protect the women, or even affect the outcome, in any way. Waaay back in episode 2, Hibiki acted this way as well because he believed he was helpless, and though he's improved since then, he's been forced to realize that most of them have been won from within the mech. And with the mechs out of commission for the meantime, it leaves him open for a relapse. Of course, Gasco took care of that in a hurry. ;p

 

That's it for now! As usual comments, criticicms and correspondence is more than welcome. We've just passed the halfway mark and it would be nice to know how things have been developing so far… Next chapter begins with some fights, and then some less stressful character interaction… But don't expect the absence of tension to last long. For at the end of the next chapter, we'll see just how the planet and the beasts are linked to the larger tapestry of the Vandread series - and an evil that even Earth would consider best left forgotten… Oh, and don't forget the fan service ^_~ Next Up: Vandread Chapter Four: Authentic Humanity. Wait for it!

 

Sorry no Omake! Maybe I'll add it next time…