PROLOGUE
Shortly after the destruction of the Big Boy and its accompanying Earth fleet, Hibiki, Dita, Meia, Jura and the rest of the crew of the Nirvana were assigned to form a Search And Destroy unit.
They routinely patrolled the outermost fringes of the Mejale-Tarok system, crushing every Earth vessel they came across, no matter how innocent it seemed.
It was the perfect job for the perfect crew - until one day, something happened that would change the lives of more than three trillion people... and fifty billion who weren't quite people any more...
EPISODE 1: REFUGEE
"Damn it! Where the heck do they all come from?!? How many did Earth build, anyways?" yelled Hibiki as he cut through another cube.
The Nirvana was under attack once again, this time by only one mothership - but it was enough. Dita, Meia and the rest of the Dread pilots were doing their best to keep the cubes at bay while Hibiki and the Nirvana attacked the mothership.
So far the plan wasn't working... the cubes seemed to know their intentions and ignored the Dreads entirely, focusing instead on the Vanguard and the Nirvana.
"Ah, get out of the way already!!!" Bart yelled as he fired a salvo at the cubes, demolishing several of them and clearing a path for Hibiki to get at the Earth fleet mothership.
"Dita, let's combine now and show those bastards what we're made of!" said Hibiki as he headed in toward the Earth ship.
"Okay," replied Dita, and broke from formation to join him. The two then combined to form Vandread Dita.
"Alright then, let's do it!" yelled Hibiki, and they proceeded on toward the mothership. Once in range, the massive beam cannons mounted on the back of Vandread Dita swiveled upward and forward to aim at the Earth fleet mothership, then charged up as Hibiki searched for the best spot to hit.
"Right... There!!" he shouted, and fired the cannons, blasting a hole in the side of the ship with one shot.
"Wow, this thing gets stronger and stronger every day," Dita remarked as they prepared to enter the Earth fleet mothership. "I don't think we've ever blown a hole in one of these in just one shot before."
"Ah, it's just a... what the hell?" Hibiki trailed off as the entire mothership exploded suddenly, leaving a cloud of debris drifting aimlessly about.
"Hibiki, Dita, head back to the Nirvana now. We've finished off the last of the cubes," said Meia. Speechless with surprise, the Dread squadron and Vandread Dita returned to the Nirvana, anxious to discuss what might have been the cause of the destruction of the mothership.
"Whatever it is," Hibiki said with a glint in his eye, "it better not mess with us, or it'll be sorry."
"Maybe," replied Meia, "and maybe we'll be the ones who are sorry."
Back on board the Nirvana, people were asking questions no one could answer: Who - or what - was it? Why? How? No one knew the answers to these questions, which only made matters worse. Several had ideas, but no one was really sure what to think.
"Calm down, just calm down, everyone," said the Captain, "There's nothing to worry about. Whatever blew up that Earth ship obviously doesn't like Earth, so they - or it - are probably friendly. There's no need to raise such a fuss." Reassured somewhat by their captain's words, the crew settled down and returned to their normal activities.
Hibiki went to the bay to fix up his Vanguard. Dita followed him quietly, then watched as he lovingly polished the Van with infinite care.
"We really showed them, didn't we, partner?" he mumbled as he cleaned. "...and if that other thing - whatever it is - gets in our way, we'll teach it a lesson, won't we?" he added.
Dita crept up as he polished and cleaned the Van. She slipped up next to him, then said "Hi! I thought I might find you here!" suddenly, causing him to slip and fall.
"Ah! Oh, it's YOU. What do you want?" he said, frowning slightly.
Dita faltered for a moment, then spoke.
"Well, you haven't kept your promise yet. I just wanted to see if you would come to my room this afternoon."
Hibiki grimaced. "Oohh... today? Why the heck today? Why not tomorrow?"
"Because you ALWAYS say that, Mister Alien!" Dita said despairingly.
He spluttered, "Well, but, I have stuff to do today. And quit calling me Mister Alien."
She smiled brightly. "But Hibiki, you know I say it because I love you. Otherwise I'd never call you that."
Hibiki blushed furiously. "... Yeah, I know... I guess I don't mind you calling me that, but could you please call me Hibiki more often?"
"Oh, of course I will... but will you please come to my room today, Hibiki? Please? It'd mean so much to me..." she begged relentlessly.
Hibiki finally gave in and sighed, "Oh, what the heck, I might as well. If it's that important to you, then I'll come."
Dita was ecstatic. "Oh, THANK YOU, Mister Alien! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" she bubbled, then grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek.
His face, neck and ears turned a bright red as he stuttered, "Wha... Who... Why... Uhhh," fainted, and slumped to the floor. She giggled quietly, then headed for her room to wait.
"An unidentified object is approaching at high speed, Commander," reported the helm. "Distance is only 800 meters."
"How did they get so close without us detecting them on radar?!?" cried BC, then paused as a thought dawned on her. "I'll bet this is the thing that blew up the Earth fleet mothership!"
"Hush, now, settle down," the Captain ordered quietly. "We've never lost to anyone or anything before. Besides, we don't even know if it's hostile yet or not... plus if it IS the cause of that mothership's destruction, there's a good chance that we can negotiate a peaceful alliance with it."
"As usual, you are right, Captain," BC sighed. "I just hope it IS peaceful." She turned to the main screen and addressed the crew. "Attention, we have an unidentified object approaching at high speed. Prepare to rendezvous with it.
"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to antagonize it. Do not fire unless fired upon. Attempt contact as soon as possible. And finally, be prepared to escort it to the docking bay if necessary. Those are your orders."
"All right people, you heard the lady... let's move!" barked Meia. "All Dread teams, form a convoy. Hibiki, Dita, Jura and I will take the lead. Barnette, you cover the rear in case this is some sort of setup. On the double, all of you!"
"Roger," replied the pilots, and quickly headed for the bay to prepare for flight.
Along the way, Hibiki passed Dita, who simply winked and smiled at him. "Ah nuts," he groaned as he rounded a corner, nearly knocking Barnette over. "Oh! I'm sorry, are you ok?" he asked as she regained her balance.
"I'm fine, thanks. It's ok." She looked at him quizzically as they walked side by side towards the bay. "What's the matter with you?"
Hibiki scratched his head uncomfortably and said, "W-e-l-l... Dita wanted me to come to her room today... and she begged and begged until I couldn't say no... so I... I, uh... I promised her that I would." He stared at the floor.
"But Hibiki, that's wonderful!" Barnette exclaimed. "I think you and Dita would make a great couple." A faint red color began creeping up Hibiki's neck and into his cheeks.
"Well, I, uh, I gotta go. Got some work to do on my partner before we leave. Uh, see ya!" he called, and ran down the hall. Barnette smiled and watched as he disappeared down the corridor, then frowned slightly.
"Dita has Hibiki, and Jura and I have each other... but who does Meia have? Misty has Meia to look up to as a sister of sorts, but Meia still doesn't have anyone to be there for her." She thought long and hard as she walked to the bay.
"It's just not fair. Meia shouldn't be alone. I wish I could do something." And with that, she entered the bay in preparation for their departure.
Hibiki, Dita, Meia and Jura dashed out of the Nirvana's docking bay and headed toward the spacecraft that had shown up so unexpectedly. As they drew closer, they were able to see what it was.
"Why... why, it looks like a Vanguard, Hibiki!" Dita exclaimed. "I mean, well, sort of."
"What is it?" wondered Meia, staring at the oddly shaped mech in front of them. "I've never seen anything like it before. Look at the claws it has, and those... those... EYES... they're so... strange looking."
"Well if you ask me, I say it looks horribly ugly, and evil too," declared Jura.
"Who the heck would want to pilot a thing like that?" spluttered Hibiki. "That's no Vanguard, that's a different kind of mech... but you'd never catch me piloting one of those, not in a million years."
"A million years is a long time," a voice said dryly over the comm link, "and I have a feeling you'd change your mind if you ever got a good look at it."
"It's the mech's pilot, he's contacting us," Barnette spoke up, "but I'll be danged if I know how he got the frequency for our comm link, not to mention how he bypassed our security scrambler."
"Oh, that was easy," the voice replied. "I have a scanner. All I had to do was locate the band you were using, then switch on my decryptor and voila! Here we speak."
"Who the hell are you?" Hibiki bristled, "and what right do you have to butt in on our conversation, anyway?"
"Relax," the voice said calmly. "You will find out who I am soon enough. Suffice it to say that I am a man, and I am not from Earth. As for my rights to interrupt and intercept any communications you might be sending or receiving, in the first place, there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
"More importantly, however, if you knew what I've gone through in the past decade and a half, I'm sure you would agree that I have every right in the world to do so."
"Excuse me," interjected Meia, "but what exactly are you planning to do now? It seems that if you would provide at least a minimal amount of information, we might be able to assist you in some way."
"That is a most reasonable and logical conclusion," spoke the voice, "and I would be more than happy to provide the information you request. My name is Richard, and I am a refugee on the run. A fleet of Earth vessels is en route to the planet I have come from and will arrive there shortly.
"I decided to search for help, since there was no way we could face them alone... so I started looking for you. I heard all about you from a trader named Rabat who said he knew you."
"Oh, he knows us all right," Hibiki muttered.
"Well, my purpose in coming was to recruit you, if possible, to help fight off the Earth fleet, or at least make a valiant last stand," the voice continued, "so if it's not too much to ask, I would like to see your captain about this."
"All right then," Meia said resolutely, "follow us and you can speak to her in person."
"Thank you very much. I appreciate your help," the voice finished, then broke the comm link.
Meia smiled and murmured, "the pleasure was all mine," then turned and led the fleet back to the Nirvana to meet their unexpected guest.
Meia climbed out of her Dread and walked towards Richard's mech. Now that she was up close and in the light, she saw that it wasn't quite as ugly or wicked looking as she had thought.
In fact, there was a certain beauty and style to it... you could see it in the slender, solid legs, the graceful curves, and the simple yet intrinsic design.
As she stood there gazing at the mech, a hatch opened in the back and a person began climbing out and down. He was wearing a gunmetal grey jumpsuit with black boots, black gloves, a black scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, a pack on his back and a black visored helmet. As he reached the floor, he removed his pack and gloves.
She walked over to meet him and got there just as he took off his helmet. He looked up at her and she saw that he had big brown eyes and thick brown hair.
"You must be the chief pilot I was talking to," he said politely, his brown eyes boring into her aquamarine ones.
"Yes, I am," Meia faltered slightly, "and I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Meia Gisborn. It's good to meet you."
"it's good to meet you too, Miss Gisborn. My full name is Richard Forrest, but everyone calls me Rick."
She blushed. "You don't have to call me Miss Gisborn, you know. I'm only nineteen, probably younger than you are."
Rick smiled and asked, "How old do you think I am?"
Meia thought for a moment, then said, "Hmmm... twenty-two... no, twenty-one."
At that, Rick laughed and said, "Twenty-one? Nowhere close. I'm eighteen."
Meia's eyebrows shot up as she said, "Really! That's interesting. We'll have to talk more later and find out more about each other, Richard."
Rick smiled. "Oh, come on, call me Rick, please. I insist."
"Ok, but on one condition."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"
She looked into his eyes and said, "Call me Meia. Please."
He nodded. "Deal."
Meia looked around suddenly and realized that half of the Dread pilots were watching them. "Well, I'll take you to the captain now," she said, blushing slightly as she and Rick walked out of the bay together.
Watching closely from the other side of the bay, Barnette smiled and said to herself, "At last."
"So how long have you been fighting the Earth fleets?" Meia asked Rick as they stepped into the elevator.
"Oh, I've been fighting them since I was eight," he replied. "You see, I've had a score to settle with them for a long time now. When I was five, the home world I lived on, Nesaki, was attacked by an armada from Earth. My people fought as well as they could, but they were severely outnumbered.
"Even so, they did their best. A fleet of warships was sent to stall the Earthships while the homeworld was evacuating. I was on a transport ship at the time with my parents.
"Fortunately, I was an only child, so they had less worries about missing family members. Sadly, we encountered a detachment of ships the Earth fleet had sent to guard the perimeter. We had underestimated their tactical abilities, and it cost us dearly. They attacked us mercilessly, tearing gaping holes in the side of the ship.
"My father put me in an escape pod and jettisoned it so it would appear to be damaged, useless and empty. As I floated away a large energy beam tore through the section where he had been standing, vaporizing him instantly. My mother was sucked out into space through the hole.
"When the remaining transport ships arrived to pick up survivors, they said that I pointed toward the debris field left by the Earth ships and said, 'They will pay. I will make them pay.' I have never been able to forget the carnage that I saw that day, or the countless lives that were sacrificed to save others like me.
"Now whenever I am fighting the Earth, I see my parents dying before my eyes again, and every blow I strike is for them. I know that fighting and destroying the Earth ships won't bring back my father and my mother. I just don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else."
Meia stood quietly, not knowing what to say. Rick stared blankly at the ceiling.
"He's been through so much, and yet he doesn't complain, or let any of it affect him. How could anyone be so strong?" Meia wondered silently.
Suddenly Rick said, "You know, it's odd, but for some time now I haven't really loved anyone. I've pretty much just gotten along by myself. It's not that there has never been anyone to love, or that no one has ever loved me. I've just felt like I've needed to be alone, I suppose. I'm not even sure if I can love anymore."
Meia was startled to feel tears pricking at her eyes, although she wasn't sure what was causing them. She quickly gained control of herself, then said to him, "Perhaps you aren't ready to love just yet."
She looked at the floor and continued. "Many people have the same problem. But even if you never love anyone else, just remember that there will always be someone who loves you." She looked up to see him staring at her with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I will remember. You can be sure of that." he said and smiled at her.
Meia felt her heart leap in her chest just as the elevator door opened. Struggling to keep her voice steady she said, "Here you are... the captain is sitting right over there." and pointed towards the captain.
"Oh?" he said, and raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You're not going to stay and listen?"
Meia suddenly felt very giddy and woozy. "N-No, I have some things to do, but you can call me back up here if you need anything."
Rick looked at her closely. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little flushed."
She put a hand to her head and said, "I... I'm okay... just a little tired, I guess."
"All right then... I hope you aren't sick or anything. Thank you for the escort."
She smiled weakly. "No problem. Let me know when to come and I'll show you to your quarters."
"Thanks." He waved, then turned and headed towards the captain.
Meia got back onto the elevator, then said to herself as she descended, "Why am I feeling this way? I don't understand..."
When the elevator finally stopped and she stepped out, she was still trying to figure out just what it was that she was feeling. "Maybe I AM sick." she sighed, and headed towards her room to rest.
Meia awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door and looked up to see Rick standing in the doorway.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she jumped up, "You should have called me. You didn't have to come down all by yourself."
"No, that's ok," he said, "I had no trouble at all getting here, thanks to a polite young lady who said she worked in the armory. She was very helpful.
"I told her that I appreciated the offer and that there was no need for assistance, but she was very insistent. I let her show me the way here because I didn't want her to feel like I was brushing her off."
"Oh, that would be Barnette," Meia told him, musing to herself, "Now why would Barnette be so willing to help Rick find my room?" She shook her head and turned towards the door. "Well Rick, if you're ready, I'll show you to your room now."
"Thank you very much. You know, this is a wonderful ship." Rick commented. "Everyone seems so friendly and cheerful and nice..." He paused. "It reminds me of Nesaki..."
His voice trailed off as he stared out the window, then caught himself. "I'm sorry. I was just reminescing. One of my favorite pastimes - at least, when I'm not busy. Now then, about that room."
"Ah, yes. Just follow me and I'll show you the quickest and easiest way there. I'm sure you'll find it to your liking."
"So I take it you're feeling better now?" Rick asked as they left the room.
"Oh, certainly. Much better, thank you." Meia replied, smiling shyly. "I must have been tired, I guess."
They walked toward the elevator down the hall side by side.
"I want to thank you for your hospitality," Rick said suddenly. "I'm not used to being accepted and befriended by people as readily as you and your shipmates have done. Most people keep a wall between themselves and me, even after they take me aboard. I think it may have something to do with Hermes."
"Hermes?" Meia said, somewhat confusedly.
"My mech - Hermes, a Mercurius Class 1, Type A fighter."
"Oh." she said, then continued, "Perhaps... but I think the real reason you're not accepted is the fact that people's fear of the unknown often controls their actions and words. It's not you, or your mech. It's their own suspicious nature."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Rick replied, then said, "I never did show you Hermes, did I?"
Meia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, you didn't, but that's ok. You can show it to me later." She stopped as they reached a door. "Here is your room. If you need anything, you know where to find me." She smiled as she stepped back into the hall, then walked quickly to the elevator.
"..." Rick said to himself as she disappeared down the hall. "I don't think I've known anyone as nice as her since... " His voice trailed off, and he stared out his window, deep in thought.
Hibiki trudged wearily down the hall towards Dita's room, mumbling to himself all the way. "Man, why did I ever have to go and make that stupid promise to her in the first place anyways? I don't know what to do or what to say." He shook his head. "Damn it all..."
He paused as he reached her room, then sighed resignedly and walked through the door. As he entered the room, he was surprised to find Dita sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, crying softly.
"Uh... Dita?" Hibiki asked uncertainly.
"Oh-" Dita jumped up quickly and wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned to Hibiki. "H-hi..." she said, and smiled weakly.
"Are you ok?" he asked with concern.
"Uh, sure. I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?"
She turned to the window, her eyes brimming with tears, and bit her lip as with great effort she struggled to stem the flood she knew would come if she let so much as a single tear escape.
Hibiki walked to her side and softly asked, "What is it? You can tell me."
"It- it's my parents. I- I- " she stammered, then suddenly turned to Hibiki and burst into tears.
He caught her as she crumpled to the floor and put his arm around her.
"What happened to your parents?" he asked gravely.
After a few moments, Dita turned to him and sobbed quietly, "They d-disappeared during the ev-vacuation of th-the sector we l-lived in when I was y-younger. W-we were se-separated on the w-way to the sh-ship. I ha-haven't seen them s-since."
Hibiki sat in silence as Dita lay her head on his shoulder and continued to cry. Suddenly he spoke up. "You shouldn't hold all of this in, you know. You'll end up killing yourself with stress."
She looked at him and wiped her eyes. "I d-didn't want to m-make anyone else s-sad... I th-thought it would b-be better this w-way."
Hibiki took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Dita, listen to me. This isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world for me to say..." He paused and scratched his head uncomfortably.
" ...but I... well... I love you, Dita, and I don't want to see you do this to yourself." He looked out the window and continued. "It does hurt me to see you so sad - but it's better than holding it in and having to deal with it alone. At least I can help you deal with it."
Dita, who had been listening carefully to Hibiki's confession, threw her arms around his neck and cried, "Oh, Hibiki... I don't know what to say..."
Hibiki put his arms around her and turned toward the window and reassured her, "That's ok... I think I know what you're thinking anyways."
"What's that?" Dita asked.
"'Thank you'," he said with a smile.
Dita smiled back, then looked out the window with him... and together they watched the stars streak by in the blackness of space as they both thought of memories that they had buried beneath the years.
-- Whew! I didn't think that I would ever finish this episode. It isn't quite what I had in mind when I started writing it, but it did turn out better than I had expected it to be (which of course is only my opinion; yours may be different).
Regardless, the next episode, entitled "Angel of Death", should be better, both in content and structure.
Many thanks to squallwis04 for the helpful tips he provided. By the way, I'm always open to constructive criticism, so please leave reviews.
Extra thanks go to author Usarea, a good friend of mine, without whom this story would not exist. She introduced me to the Vandread series, and it is highly unlikely that I would have discovered it on my own.
The character Rick Forrest and his mech Hermes are my own creations; everything else belongs to Takeshi Mori, Gonzo/Media Factory and G.D.H., and as such I lay claim to nothing but Rick and Hermes.
Now that I have that little disclaimer thing out of the way, I can tell you a few things about Episode Two. "Angel of Death" picks up where "Refugee" leaves off. There will be a lot more combat with the Earth ships, in which Rick gets involved. Disaster results, but the ending is not what you might expect.
There won't be as much one-on-one interaction between Dita and Hibiki. However, the relationship between Rick and Meia will continue to evolve, as will be demonstrated in a spectacular combat sequence.
That's all I'm going to tell you. I don't want to spoil the story (or the plot!). I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. See you in Episode Two.
- Rick
Shortly after the destruction of the Big Boy and its accompanying Earth fleet, Hibiki, Dita, Meia, Jura and the rest of the crew of the Nirvana were assigned to form a Search And Destroy unit.
They routinely patrolled the outermost fringes of the Mejale-Tarok system, crushing every Earth vessel they came across, no matter how innocent it seemed.
It was the perfect job for the perfect crew - until one day, something happened that would change the lives of more than three trillion people... and fifty billion who weren't quite people any more...
EPISODE 1: REFUGEE
"Damn it! Where the heck do they all come from?!? How many did Earth build, anyways?" yelled Hibiki as he cut through another cube.
The Nirvana was under attack once again, this time by only one mothership - but it was enough. Dita, Meia and the rest of the Dread pilots were doing their best to keep the cubes at bay while Hibiki and the Nirvana attacked the mothership.
So far the plan wasn't working... the cubes seemed to know their intentions and ignored the Dreads entirely, focusing instead on the Vanguard and the Nirvana.
"Ah, get out of the way already!!!" Bart yelled as he fired a salvo at the cubes, demolishing several of them and clearing a path for Hibiki to get at the Earth fleet mothership.
"Dita, let's combine now and show those bastards what we're made of!" said Hibiki as he headed in toward the Earth ship.
"Okay," replied Dita, and broke from formation to join him. The two then combined to form Vandread Dita.
"Alright then, let's do it!" yelled Hibiki, and they proceeded on toward the mothership. Once in range, the massive beam cannons mounted on the back of Vandread Dita swiveled upward and forward to aim at the Earth fleet mothership, then charged up as Hibiki searched for the best spot to hit.
"Right... There!!" he shouted, and fired the cannons, blasting a hole in the side of the ship with one shot.
"Wow, this thing gets stronger and stronger every day," Dita remarked as they prepared to enter the Earth fleet mothership. "I don't think we've ever blown a hole in one of these in just one shot before."
"Ah, it's just a... what the hell?" Hibiki trailed off as the entire mothership exploded suddenly, leaving a cloud of debris drifting aimlessly about.
"Hibiki, Dita, head back to the Nirvana now. We've finished off the last of the cubes," said Meia. Speechless with surprise, the Dread squadron and Vandread Dita returned to the Nirvana, anxious to discuss what might have been the cause of the destruction of the mothership.
"Whatever it is," Hibiki said with a glint in his eye, "it better not mess with us, or it'll be sorry."
"Maybe," replied Meia, "and maybe we'll be the ones who are sorry."
Back on board the Nirvana, people were asking questions no one could answer: Who - or what - was it? Why? How? No one knew the answers to these questions, which only made matters worse. Several had ideas, but no one was really sure what to think.
"Calm down, just calm down, everyone," said the Captain, "There's nothing to worry about. Whatever blew up that Earth ship obviously doesn't like Earth, so they - or it - are probably friendly. There's no need to raise such a fuss." Reassured somewhat by their captain's words, the crew settled down and returned to their normal activities.
Hibiki went to the bay to fix up his Vanguard. Dita followed him quietly, then watched as he lovingly polished the Van with infinite care.
"We really showed them, didn't we, partner?" he mumbled as he cleaned. "...and if that other thing - whatever it is - gets in our way, we'll teach it a lesson, won't we?" he added.
Dita crept up as he polished and cleaned the Van. She slipped up next to him, then said "Hi! I thought I might find you here!" suddenly, causing him to slip and fall.
"Ah! Oh, it's YOU. What do you want?" he said, frowning slightly.
Dita faltered for a moment, then spoke.
"Well, you haven't kept your promise yet. I just wanted to see if you would come to my room this afternoon."
Hibiki grimaced. "Oohh... today? Why the heck today? Why not tomorrow?"
"Because you ALWAYS say that, Mister Alien!" Dita said despairingly.
He spluttered, "Well, but, I have stuff to do today. And quit calling me Mister Alien."
She smiled brightly. "But Hibiki, you know I say it because I love you. Otherwise I'd never call you that."
Hibiki blushed furiously. "... Yeah, I know... I guess I don't mind you calling me that, but could you please call me Hibiki more often?"
"Oh, of course I will... but will you please come to my room today, Hibiki? Please? It'd mean so much to me..." she begged relentlessly.
Hibiki finally gave in and sighed, "Oh, what the heck, I might as well. If it's that important to you, then I'll come."
Dita was ecstatic. "Oh, THANK YOU, Mister Alien! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" she bubbled, then grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek.
His face, neck and ears turned a bright red as he stuttered, "Wha... Who... Why... Uhhh," fainted, and slumped to the floor. She giggled quietly, then headed for her room to wait.
"An unidentified object is approaching at high speed, Commander," reported the helm. "Distance is only 800 meters."
"How did they get so close without us detecting them on radar?!?" cried BC, then paused as a thought dawned on her. "I'll bet this is the thing that blew up the Earth fleet mothership!"
"Hush, now, settle down," the Captain ordered quietly. "We've never lost to anyone or anything before. Besides, we don't even know if it's hostile yet or not... plus if it IS the cause of that mothership's destruction, there's a good chance that we can negotiate a peaceful alliance with it."
"As usual, you are right, Captain," BC sighed. "I just hope it IS peaceful." She turned to the main screen and addressed the crew. "Attention, we have an unidentified object approaching at high speed. Prepare to rendezvous with it.
"UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to antagonize it. Do not fire unless fired upon. Attempt contact as soon as possible. And finally, be prepared to escort it to the docking bay if necessary. Those are your orders."
"All right people, you heard the lady... let's move!" barked Meia. "All Dread teams, form a convoy. Hibiki, Dita, Jura and I will take the lead. Barnette, you cover the rear in case this is some sort of setup. On the double, all of you!"
"Roger," replied the pilots, and quickly headed for the bay to prepare for flight.
Along the way, Hibiki passed Dita, who simply winked and smiled at him. "Ah nuts," he groaned as he rounded a corner, nearly knocking Barnette over. "Oh! I'm sorry, are you ok?" he asked as she regained her balance.
"I'm fine, thanks. It's ok." She looked at him quizzically as they walked side by side towards the bay. "What's the matter with you?"
Hibiki scratched his head uncomfortably and said, "W-e-l-l... Dita wanted me to come to her room today... and she begged and begged until I couldn't say no... so I... I, uh... I promised her that I would." He stared at the floor.
"But Hibiki, that's wonderful!" Barnette exclaimed. "I think you and Dita would make a great couple." A faint red color began creeping up Hibiki's neck and into his cheeks.
"Well, I, uh, I gotta go. Got some work to do on my partner before we leave. Uh, see ya!" he called, and ran down the hall. Barnette smiled and watched as he disappeared down the corridor, then frowned slightly.
"Dita has Hibiki, and Jura and I have each other... but who does Meia have? Misty has Meia to look up to as a sister of sorts, but Meia still doesn't have anyone to be there for her." She thought long and hard as she walked to the bay.
"It's just not fair. Meia shouldn't be alone. I wish I could do something." And with that, she entered the bay in preparation for their departure.
Hibiki, Dita, Meia and Jura dashed out of the Nirvana's docking bay and headed toward the spacecraft that had shown up so unexpectedly. As they drew closer, they were able to see what it was.
"Why... why, it looks like a Vanguard, Hibiki!" Dita exclaimed. "I mean, well, sort of."
"What is it?" wondered Meia, staring at the oddly shaped mech in front of them. "I've never seen anything like it before. Look at the claws it has, and those... those... EYES... they're so... strange looking."
"Well if you ask me, I say it looks horribly ugly, and evil too," declared Jura.
"Who the heck would want to pilot a thing like that?" spluttered Hibiki. "That's no Vanguard, that's a different kind of mech... but you'd never catch me piloting one of those, not in a million years."
"A million years is a long time," a voice said dryly over the comm link, "and I have a feeling you'd change your mind if you ever got a good look at it."
"It's the mech's pilot, he's contacting us," Barnette spoke up, "but I'll be danged if I know how he got the frequency for our comm link, not to mention how he bypassed our security scrambler."
"Oh, that was easy," the voice replied. "I have a scanner. All I had to do was locate the band you were using, then switch on my decryptor and voila! Here we speak."
"Who the hell are you?" Hibiki bristled, "and what right do you have to butt in on our conversation, anyway?"
"Relax," the voice said calmly. "You will find out who I am soon enough. Suffice it to say that I am a man, and I am not from Earth. As for my rights to interrupt and intercept any communications you might be sending or receiving, in the first place, there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
"More importantly, however, if you knew what I've gone through in the past decade and a half, I'm sure you would agree that I have every right in the world to do so."
"Excuse me," interjected Meia, "but what exactly are you planning to do now? It seems that if you would provide at least a minimal amount of information, we might be able to assist you in some way."
"That is a most reasonable and logical conclusion," spoke the voice, "and I would be more than happy to provide the information you request. My name is Richard, and I am a refugee on the run. A fleet of Earth vessels is en route to the planet I have come from and will arrive there shortly.
"I decided to search for help, since there was no way we could face them alone... so I started looking for you. I heard all about you from a trader named Rabat who said he knew you."
"Oh, he knows us all right," Hibiki muttered.
"Well, my purpose in coming was to recruit you, if possible, to help fight off the Earth fleet, or at least make a valiant last stand," the voice continued, "so if it's not too much to ask, I would like to see your captain about this."
"All right then," Meia said resolutely, "follow us and you can speak to her in person."
"Thank you very much. I appreciate your help," the voice finished, then broke the comm link.
Meia smiled and murmured, "the pleasure was all mine," then turned and led the fleet back to the Nirvana to meet their unexpected guest.
Meia climbed out of her Dread and walked towards Richard's mech. Now that she was up close and in the light, she saw that it wasn't quite as ugly or wicked looking as she had thought.
In fact, there was a certain beauty and style to it... you could see it in the slender, solid legs, the graceful curves, and the simple yet intrinsic design.
As she stood there gazing at the mech, a hatch opened in the back and a person began climbing out and down. He was wearing a gunmetal grey jumpsuit with black boots, black gloves, a black scarf wrapped loosely around his neck, a pack on his back and a black visored helmet. As he reached the floor, he removed his pack and gloves.
She walked over to meet him and got there just as he took off his helmet. He looked up at her and she saw that he had big brown eyes and thick brown hair.
"You must be the chief pilot I was talking to," he said politely, his brown eyes boring into her aquamarine ones.
"Yes, I am," Meia faltered slightly, "and I don't believe I've introduced myself. I'm Meia Gisborn. It's good to meet you."
"it's good to meet you too, Miss Gisborn. My full name is Richard Forrest, but everyone calls me Rick."
She blushed. "You don't have to call me Miss Gisborn, you know. I'm only nineteen, probably younger than you are."
Rick smiled and asked, "How old do you think I am?"
Meia thought for a moment, then said, "Hmmm... twenty-two... no, twenty-one."
At that, Rick laughed and said, "Twenty-one? Nowhere close. I'm eighteen."
Meia's eyebrows shot up as she said, "Really! That's interesting. We'll have to talk more later and find out more about each other, Richard."
Rick smiled. "Oh, come on, call me Rick, please. I insist."
"Ok, but on one condition."
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"
She looked into his eyes and said, "Call me Meia. Please."
He nodded. "Deal."
Meia looked around suddenly and realized that half of the Dread pilots were watching them. "Well, I'll take you to the captain now," she said, blushing slightly as she and Rick walked out of the bay together.
Watching closely from the other side of the bay, Barnette smiled and said to herself, "At last."
"So how long have you been fighting the Earth fleets?" Meia asked Rick as they stepped into the elevator.
"Oh, I've been fighting them since I was eight," he replied. "You see, I've had a score to settle with them for a long time now. When I was five, the home world I lived on, Nesaki, was attacked by an armada from Earth. My people fought as well as they could, but they were severely outnumbered.
"Even so, they did their best. A fleet of warships was sent to stall the Earthships while the homeworld was evacuating. I was on a transport ship at the time with my parents.
"Fortunately, I was an only child, so they had less worries about missing family members. Sadly, we encountered a detachment of ships the Earth fleet had sent to guard the perimeter. We had underestimated their tactical abilities, and it cost us dearly. They attacked us mercilessly, tearing gaping holes in the side of the ship.
"My father put me in an escape pod and jettisoned it so it would appear to be damaged, useless and empty. As I floated away a large energy beam tore through the section where he had been standing, vaporizing him instantly. My mother was sucked out into space through the hole.
"When the remaining transport ships arrived to pick up survivors, they said that I pointed toward the debris field left by the Earth ships and said, 'They will pay. I will make them pay.' I have never been able to forget the carnage that I saw that day, or the countless lives that were sacrificed to save others like me.
"Now whenever I am fighting the Earth, I see my parents dying before my eyes again, and every blow I strike is for them. I know that fighting and destroying the Earth ships won't bring back my father and my mother. I just don't want what happened to me to happen to anyone else."
Meia stood quietly, not knowing what to say. Rick stared blankly at the ceiling.
"He's been through so much, and yet he doesn't complain, or let any of it affect him. How could anyone be so strong?" Meia wondered silently.
Suddenly Rick said, "You know, it's odd, but for some time now I haven't really loved anyone. I've pretty much just gotten along by myself. It's not that there has never been anyone to love, or that no one has ever loved me. I've just felt like I've needed to be alone, I suppose. I'm not even sure if I can love anymore."
Meia was startled to feel tears pricking at her eyes, although she wasn't sure what was causing them. She quickly gained control of herself, then said to him, "Perhaps you aren't ready to love just yet."
She looked at the floor and continued. "Many people have the same problem. But even if you never love anyone else, just remember that there will always be someone who loves you." She looked up to see him staring at her with a thoughtful look on his face.
"I will remember. You can be sure of that." he said and smiled at her.
Meia felt her heart leap in her chest just as the elevator door opened. Struggling to keep her voice steady she said, "Here you are... the captain is sitting right over there." and pointed towards the captain.
"Oh?" he said, and raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You're not going to stay and listen?"
Meia suddenly felt very giddy and woozy. "N-No, I have some things to do, but you can call me back up here if you need anything."
Rick looked at her closely. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little flushed."
She put a hand to her head and said, "I... I'm okay... just a little tired, I guess."
"All right then... I hope you aren't sick or anything. Thank you for the escort."
She smiled weakly. "No problem. Let me know when to come and I'll show you to your quarters."
"Thanks." He waved, then turned and headed towards the captain.
Meia got back onto the elevator, then said to herself as she descended, "Why am I feeling this way? I don't understand..."
When the elevator finally stopped and she stepped out, she was still trying to figure out just what it was that she was feeling. "Maybe I AM sick." she sighed, and headed towards her room to rest.
Meia awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door and looked up to see Rick standing in the doorway.
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she jumped up, "You should have called me. You didn't have to come down all by yourself."
"No, that's ok," he said, "I had no trouble at all getting here, thanks to a polite young lady who said she worked in the armory. She was very helpful.
"I told her that I appreciated the offer and that there was no need for assistance, but she was very insistent. I let her show me the way here because I didn't want her to feel like I was brushing her off."
"Oh, that would be Barnette," Meia told him, musing to herself, "Now why would Barnette be so willing to help Rick find my room?" She shook her head and turned towards the door. "Well Rick, if you're ready, I'll show you to your room now."
"Thank you very much. You know, this is a wonderful ship." Rick commented. "Everyone seems so friendly and cheerful and nice..." He paused. "It reminds me of Nesaki..."
His voice trailed off as he stared out the window, then caught himself. "I'm sorry. I was just reminescing. One of my favorite pastimes - at least, when I'm not busy. Now then, about that room."
"Ah, yes. Just follow me and I'll show you the quickest and easiest way there. I'm sure you'll find it to your liking."
"So I take it you're feeling better now?" Rick asked as they left the room.
"Oh, certainly. Much better, thank you." Meia replied, smiling shyly. "I must have been tired, I guess."
They walked toward the elevator down the hall side by side.
"I want to thank you for your hospitality," Rick said suddenly. "I'm not used to being accepted and befriended by people as readily as you and your shipmates have done. Most people keep a wall between themselves and me, even after they take me aboard. I think it may have something to do with Hermes."
"Hermes?" Meia said, somewhat confusedly.
"My mech - Hermes, a Mercurius Class 1, Type A fighter."
"Oh." she said, then continued, "Perhaps... but I think the real reason you're not accepted is the fact that people's fear of the unknown often controls their actions and words. It's not you, or your mech. It's their own suspicious nature."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Rick replied, then said, "I never did show you Hermes, did I?"
Meia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, you didn't, but that's ok. You can show it to me later." She stopped as they reached a door. "Here is your room. If you need anything, you know where to find me." She smiled as she stepped back into the hall, then walked quickly to the elevator.
"..." Rick said to himself as she disappeared down the hall. "I don't think I've known anyone as nice as her since... " His voice trailed off, and he stared out his window, deep in thought.
Hibiki trudged wearily down the hall towards Dita's room, mumbling to himself all the way. "Man, why did I ever have to go and make that stupid promise to her in the first place anyways? I don't know what to do or what to say." He shook his head. "Damn it all..."
He paused as he reached her room, then sighed resignedly and walked through the door. As he entered the room, he was surprised to find Dita sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, crying softly.
"Uh... Dita?" Hibiki asked uncertainly.
"Oh-" Dita jumped up quickly and wiped the tears from her eyes, then turned to Hibiki. "H-hi..." she said, and smiled weakly.
"Are you ok?" he asked with concern.
"Uh, sure. I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?"
She turned to the window, her eyes brimming with tears, and bit her lip as with great effort she struggled to stem the flood she knew would come if she let so much as a single tear escape.
Hibiki walked to her side and softly asked, "What is it? You can tell me."
"It- it's my parents. I- I- " she stammered, then suddenly turned to Hibiki and burst into tears.
He caught her as she crumpled to the floor and put his arm around her.
"What happened to your parents?" he asked gravely.
After a few moments, Dita turned to him and sobbed quietly, "They d-disappeared during the ev-vacuation of th-the sector we l-lived in when I was y-younger. W-we were se-separated on the w-way to the sh-ship. I ha-haven't seen them s-since."
Hibiki sat in silence as Dita lay her head on his shoulder and continued to cry. Suddenly he spoke up. "You shouldn't hold all of this in, you know. You'll end up killing yourself with stress."
She looked at him and wiped her eyes. "I d-didn't want to m-make anyone else s-sad... I th-thought it would b-be better this w-way."
Hibiki took her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Dita, listen to me. This isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world for me to say..." He paused and scratched his head uncomfortably.
" ...but I... well... I love you, Dita, and I don't want to see you do this to yourself." He looked out the window and continued. "It does hurt me to see you so sad - but it's better than holding it in and having to deal with it alone. At least I can help you deal with it."
Dita, who had been listening carefully to Hibiki's confession, threw her arms around his neck and cried, "Oh, Hibiki... I don't know what to say..."
Hibiki put his arms around her and turned toward the window and reassured her, "That's ok... I think I know what you're thinking anyways."
"What's that?" Dita asked.
"'Thank you'," he said with a smile.
Dita smiled back, then looked out the window with him... and together they watched the stars streak by in the blackness of space as they both thought of memories that they had buried beneath the years.
-- Whew! I didn't think that I would ever finish this episode. It isn't quite what I had in mind when I started writing it, but it did turn out better than I had expected it to be (which of course is only my opinion; yours may be different).
Regardless, the next episode, entitled "Angel of Death", should be better, both in content and structure.
Many thanks to squallwis04 for the helpful tips he provided. By the way, I'm always open to constructive criticism, so please leave reviews.
Extra thanks go to author Usarea, a good friend of mine, without whom this story would not exist. She introduced me to the Vandread series, and it is highly unlikely that I would have discovered it on my own.
The character Rick Forrest and his mech Hermes are my own creations; everything else belongs to Takeshi Mori, Gonzo/Media Factory and G.D.H., and as such I lay claim to nothing but Rick and Hermes.
Now that I have that little disclaimer thing out of the way, I can tell you a few things about Episode Two. "Angel of Death" picks up where "Refugee" leaves off. There will be a lot more combat with the Earth ships, in which Rick gets involved. Disaster results, but the ending is not what you might expect.
There won't be as much one-on-one interaction between Dita and Hibiki. However, the relationship between Rick and Meia will continue to evolve, as will be demonstrated in a spectacular combat sequence.
That's all I'm going to tell you. I don't want to spoil the story (or the plot!). I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. See you in Episode Two.
- Rick