Chapter 1: A New Crew Member

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.

Vandread Ace: The Second Stage

Hibiki, Dita, Meia, Jura and Razgriz Squadron engage a Harvest fleet; the Ghosts of Razgriz flew in-between Vandread Dita and Meia's Dread.

Hibiki cried, "No way these fools are going to get us! They got another thing coming!" A series of flashes can be seen in the distance.

Jura asked, "Hey, what's that?" All of a sudden, a beam comes out of nowhere and severs Vandread Dita's left arm, its pilots scream in pain. Inside the machine's cockpit, Hibiki looks out to see Meia and Jura's Dread and Razgriz Squadron get struck by the beam.

Hibiki seethed, "Damn you!" He tries to fire the working back-mounted cannon but it fails. The shiny blue machine gets hit again and the Nirvana isn't spared either, one final hit destroys the Vandread.

Hibiki shoots up from the dream, he looks at his shoulder but doesn't see any injury. Sighing, he gets out of bed and puts on his orange and black jacket then leaves for the hanger.

In his room, Grimm also shoots up in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. He feels a pair of slender hands grip his shoulders causing him to whip his head to stare into the concerned eyes of Meia Gisborn, who was awoken by his scream. He ignores the fact that her breasts are exposed to him.

She said, "Grimm, what's wrong? You were tossing and turning in your sleep."

The 19-year old replied, "It was that dream I just had. Did it happen to you as well?" He saw her nod, "What does it mean?"

Meia shook her head, "I have no idea. It was just a dream, Grimm." She leans forward to kiss him before she exits the bed and stands up completely unashamed that her body was shown to him in all of its glory. After taking turns showering, they get dressed. Meia steps into her flight suit and zips it up followed by placing the circlet on. Grimm dons black jeans, blue T-shirt and black and white Nike shoes. They head for the hanger and meet up with the rest of Razgriz Squadron along the way.

In the hanger, Hibiki mumbled, "That light, what the heck was it?"

Dita called out, "Mr. Alien?" Hearing her voice, Hibiki snaps out of his trance and turns around to see the others with troubled looks on their faces.

He asked, "What are you guys doing here so early in the morning?"

'At least his attitude has changed somewhat.' Nathan thought over the tone of the Vanguard pilot's voice.

Meia spoke up, "It was trying to communicate with us. Sending us a message, at least that's what it felt to me."

Hibiki gasped, "Are you saying that you saw the same thing that I did?"

Dita replied, "So you saw it too, Mr. Alien?"

'Didn't she hear what he just said?' Grimm with a sweat drop.

Jura cried, "That's bone-chilling. I mean how can we have the same dream at once, that's really weird!" She places a hand on her forehand, feeling a headache coming on.

Meia explained, "All of us here share something in common. The modifications to the Dreads, Vanguard and the aircraft of Razgriz Squadron are the proof."

Jura added, "But that's still weird. Having a simultaneous dream like that...oh!" She stops when she feels her head throb painfully.

Dita asked in concerned, "Are you okay, Jura?"

The blonde-haired Dread pilot waved it off, "It's nothing, Dita. I'm going back to bed." Nathan spots Barnette shaking and walks up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder prompting the dark green-haired woman to look at him.

Nathan asked, "You okay?"

Barnette nodded, "I guess so, Blaze."

The 24-year old assured, "Call me Nathan when we're not in combat. You can talk to me or one of my wingmen if something's bothering ya, we'll help you."

Barnette smiled, "Thank you, Nathan." The Razgriz Squad leader watches her leave, hands on his hips. It seems he isn't the only one disturbed by the dream they all shared.

Hibiki walks through the hallway, his mind still focused on the dream.

'I know that it wasn't real but it felt like it was. Was it a dream or a foreshadowing of what's ahead of us?' He thought while holding his right arm.

Dita said, "Mr. Alien!" He stops when she runs to him.

He asked, "What do you want now?"

The redhead fiddled with her fingers in the long sleeves of her pajamas while blushing, "Well...I was wondering when you had time to come visit my room. You promised, remember?"

Hibiki blushed, "Dita! Take a look around us, we are currently in a war for our lives! You think I'd want to visit your room right now?"

Dita slowly walked forward, "But when then? Tomorrow? The day after?"

Hibiki replied nervously, "Sometime real soon, okay?"

The redhead offered, "Wait, Mr. Alien. Why don't we have breakfast together?"

The young Tarak looked over his shoulder, "I rather like to eat by myself." Meia looks at the pair smiling holding her chest and shoulder padding in one hand.

She then heard Paiway say, "And so another day begins. Dita chasing Hibiki." She pulled out her frog hand puppet, "I still can't believe she would want to chase a guy. It's really weird, ribbit."

Pyoro said, "Actually, it's quite normal behavior." He hiccups after that.

The young nurse pushed him down with a tick mark, "What do you think you're doing interrupting a lady like that? How rude! Wait a minute, I just heard you hiccup but you're a machine you can't hiccup." The robot proves her wrong when Pyoro hiccups again, knocking Paiway off her feet. Meia blinks in confusion.

Inside the conference, Magno, BC and Gascogne are having a meeting.

BC said, "We are approximately 90 days from Mejale, in regards to Operation Harvest where Earth plans to harness body parts as a source for new organs, our home world and the men's world of Tarak should realize the threat we are facing."

Magno asked sternly, "Understood but what happened to the communication pods we sent out earlier in our journey?"

BC replied, "They should have arrived at the two planets by now."

Gascogne added, "Seems pretty obvious that they're ignoring us."

The pirate captain assured, "I'm sure Tarak and Mejale won't ignore the message we've sent this time, not after they discover that Earth plans to take our reproductive organs."

That's when Parfet appeared on a monitor, "Parfet reporting."

Magno wondered, "Anything wrong, Parfet?"

The lead engineer nodded, "I'm afraid so. The Paksis has begun action up again but we don't know the cause of it."

Magno sighed, "Not this again."

BC speculated, "It must be reacting the same way it did when the male and female ships fused together."

Gascogne said, "It must feel the same way we do. Men and women are so different, we may never be able to understand each other." Sitting in the cockpit of his MiG-29 Fulcrum, Grimm listens to Fields of Hope on his aircraft's radio that he requested to be modified by Parfet. He listens to the song whenever he felt down. It helped calming him down.

The pilots of the B-1R strategic bomber hear the song echo throughout the hanger.

Akira asked, "What song is that?"

Emily shook her head, "No clue but it's sure beautiful." In the men's quarters, Bart hangs out with Duero and Nathan while eating some pills that his family's company makes on Tarak to ensure that the inhabitants get through hard work labor.

He said, "Women are weird. At first I thought they ate men's internal organs but after Snow revealed that they come from a planet where men and women co-existed, I see women in a different light."

Nathan looked at him, "That reminds me, how is your relationship coming with Jura, Bart?"

Bart sighed, "It's coming along fine but at the moment I just don't know what to do. Do you have any advise?"

Nathan said, "Just be there for her, my friend. You learn along the way."

The helmsman saw Duero reading a book, "Hm? What's that you are reading, doc?"

Duero held it up, "I found it in the storage room of the pioneer ship." He resumed reading the book titled 'Hello Baby,' "The baby's life begins when the seed, that's the father's sperm, is accepted by the female egg called an ovum. The two of them join to form a zygote which in turn develops into a fetus."

Bart looked at him strange founded, "You're really into that kind of stuff?"

Duero smirked, "I find it fascinating." The three turn in time to see Hibiki walk in and collapse onto his bed in exhaustion, Duero and Bart wonder what made the Vanguard pilot so fatigued like that.

Inside the women's bathroom, two crew members are busy powdering themselves.

The first one, a brunette, said, "It's amazing how things have changed over our journey. I mean eating with the men doesn't bother us anymore!"

Her friend, blonde, nodded, "Yeah, we thought they were barely human but then we found out that men and women originated from Earth and used to live under the same roof together. Get this, I was told by one of the Dread pilots that Grimm and Meia have become a couple."

The brunette tilted her head, "A married couple?"

The blonde giggled, "No, not that kind of couple. I also received word that Barnette has become a bit less hostile towards men, particularly Razgriz Squadron." Barnette enters the restroom to care of lady's business when she overheard them talking about her. While it's true that she had become less hostile towards the men, her Mejale bred distrust of them still remained.

Barnette walked by them, "A prison is a prisoner. Even though Razgriz Squadron are allies, most of the squad members are still men we can't go easy on them. We gotta show that we are the ones in charge."

The blonde-haired crew member panicked, "Do you think she'll start a riot? Should we tell the captain?"

Barnette snapped, "Oh, shut up you two! I'm not going to anything! Hmph!" Sarah looks at the B-1R strategic bomber. They still have 90 days left before they arrive at Mejale and Tarak to warn the two planets about the impending attack by the Harvesters. However, she realizes that as long as Razgriz Squadron and the Kestrel II were with them, they'll make it back alive.

Back at the men's quarters, Duero said, "You promised? You that you would go to Dita's room?"

Hibiki nodded, "Yeah, it just came out at the heat of the moment you know?"

Bart suggested, "So what's the big deal then? Go ahead and see her."

The young Tarak cried, "You go see her!"

The helmsman shook his head, "Uh-ah. You were the one who made the promise, pal not me."

Hibiki grunted, "You gotta be kidding me! Going to a woman's room? A real man would never do that!"

Duero corrected, "What real men do is keep their promises. You should have realized that by now."

The young pilot struggled to find his words, "It's not that I want to break the promise but..."

Duero asked, "But what?"

Bart urged, "Just spit it out."

Hibiki snapped with a blush on his face, "Look! If I go in there, what are we going to do in there? I mean what are we going to talk about, huh?"

Bart and Duero said in unison, "Good point."

Nathan spoke up, "I can imagine a few but showing you Dita's alien collection would be at the top of the list. I mean you have known each other for over a year now and yet you're still hesitant about what Dita's motives are. Come on, Hibiki show some backbone. Men and women on Earth got to know each through conversation and spending time together. Let's face it. Even though you don't admit it you like Dita, don't you? Spend time with her and then see how things go from there, Hibiki." The young lad runs a hand through his hair sighing heavily while reflecting on what Nathan said.

Duero stood, "Well, I'm off to check on Ezra. Later guys." Nathan decides to join him but stops when he sees Jura having some trouble getting to the infirmary.

He walked up to her, "You alright, Jura?"

Jura shook her head, "I'm afraid not. Can you help me get to the infirmary?"

Nathan nodded, "Sure." Inside the infirmary, Duero and Paiway look at the ultrasound of Ezra's fully developed baby.

Duero said, "This is the last month so they could separate at any time."

Ezra corrected, "Separate? We call it giving birth."

Paiway said, "So where do you want to have your baby, Ezra? We don't have the necessary equipment on board but consider we have a guy..."

Duero cleared his throat, "I'm a doctor and have gained enough knowledge about pregnancy." Jura and Nathan enter the room.

Jura requested, "Doctor, can I have something for my headache?" Her cheeks are flushed and beads of sweat were pouring down her face.

The young man asked, "What's wrong?"

The blonde-haired Dread pilot said, "It all started with that dream."

Duero blinked, "A dream? Come to think of it, Hibiki did mention the same thing and the Paksis also seems to acting strange. Can these two be connected somehow?"

Jura felt her head throb painfully for a second time and demanded, "My head's killing me! Can I please have some medicine?" She spotted Ezra and apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that."

Duero said, "Don't worry about it. Please, sit down. I'll see what I can find." Nathan helps the young woman sit and both stare at the ultrasound.

'It sucks that the normal way babies are born is obsolete in this time period.' Nathan thought.

Jura smiled, "Your baby's grown."

Nathan said, "Well, I'm off. Good luck on a safe delivery, Ezra. Take care of yourself. You as well, Jura. Bye."

Ezra smiled, "Good-bye and thank you, Nathan." She waves at him and so did Jura then the blonde spots the book that Duero was reading earlier.

In the Nirvana's garden, Grimm stares at the stars out of the observation window. He's lately been having second thoughts about whether or not he and his squad mates should return to their time period. They'd be pronounced dead because of the Belkan extremists activating the V2's self-destruct system that transported them here. Even if they returned to the year 2011, how will they explain how they survived the explosion? Another problem is that he believed Meia wouldn't take it about how he left her. If he brought her with them, will she adapt to their society that's totally different from this era's? He hears footsteps behind him.

Nathan said, "I had a feeling I'd find you here, Grimm."

Grimm greeted, "Hello, Captain."

The Razgriz Squad leader asked, "You're wondering if you want to return to our time period, aren't you?"

Grimm looked at him, "How did you..."

Nathan cut him off, "Come on, I have known you since your days in the Osean Air Force Academy. You are having second thoughts on whether you want to return to our time period, right?"

The brown-haired Osean sighed, "Yeah. Each day I feel more and more less interested in returning home. Now that I have someone to love it only reinforces the decision."

Nathan shrugged, "If that is what you desire then go for it, I won't stop you Grimm. I'm not your parent, after all."

Grimm asked, "What about you, Captain?"

His superior answered, "I have yet to make that decision, my friend." Inside the shooting room, Barnette and Snow shoot down targets to keep their marksmanship sharp. They momentarily stop firing to reload then resume shooting the targets.

Jura said all of a sudden, "You know, Barnette I want to have a baby." That announcement makes the two miss their final target.

Barnette exclaimed, "What? A baby?"

Jura smiled at her, "That's right."

The brunette turned to her, "And you want me to be the Ohma, Jura?"

Her blonde-haired friend shook her head, "No, think of what it would like to have a baby with one of the men?" Barnette blushed madly as Jura stood up, "That's what I want. Making a baby with a man's seed. Think about going back to Mejale with that news, Barnette. No Mejalian has every done it before! I would be the first one! I would be Mejale's greatest heroine!" She looks at Barnette with a sparkly happy face and floating hearts.

Barnette said, "That sounds like you. So this seed, where would you get it?" She's embarrassed by where this conversation is going.

Jura looked at Snow, "How about it, Snow? Will you give me your seed?"

Snow calmly stated, "Not interested. Listen Jura, having and raising a child is not like something you see on TV it's a difficult task. Besides, there are no guarantees that the baby will be a girl because there's the likelihood that it can turn out to be a boy as well." To Barnette's relief, the alarm goes off.

On the Nirvana's bridge, the radar picks up a signature and after an analysis, it's revealed to be an escape pod.

Ezra said, "I've got a life form signal, commander."

BC speculated, "It's possible that the pod escaped from the Harvesters. Blaze, Meia, don't engage unless you have to!"

Both pilots nodded, "Roger!" The fighters take off to retrieve the mysterious cargo while wondering what can be inside.

Gascogne secures the pod with the grappling arms under her delivery ship's belly by the time Hibiki arrives on the scene.

The Reg leader looked at her radar and said, "Perfect timing." A swarm of cube-types attacked the supply craft and Gascogne growled, "How the hell did they get under us so quickly?" The fighters commence battle with the enemy but notice that the hostiles were more advanced.

Barnette said, "They're a lot faster than the previous cube-types! Must be a new model!" The machines surprise the Nirvana crew by taking the pod.

Belvedere informed, "The enemy's retreating with the pod!"

BC asked in bewilderment, "What? You mean they are not after us?"

Magno smirked, "Well, this is certainly an unexpected twist. If that pod is so important to Earth that they are willing to ignore us then by all means we've got to get it back!" Blaze chases after the retreating pair but a formation of enemy Su-27 Flankers block his path so he orders Hibiki to get the pod.

Hibiki shouted, "That pod's ours! We found it first so give it back!" Two cube-types break off from the formation and attack him.

Meia destroyed them and said, "Hibiki, I think we should combine now! We'll get them that way!" As the two machine near one another, a beam comes out of nowhere and strikes in-between them, preventing Vandread Meia from forming.

Hibiki gasped, "What's that red light?"

"The pod! You have to retrieve the pod and return to the Nirvana with it!" Meia ordered as she struggled to reboot her Dread's frozen systems.

Blaze jinks right when one of the Flankers fire its GSh-30-1 cannon at him. Lethal 30mm shells fly past the F-15E Strike Eagle and Blaze pulls his jet up then turns it around to descend from 11 o'clock high, its M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon blazing. The rounds tear into the Su-27's body before the aircraft explodes in a fireball. The 3 remaining Flankers take aim at Blaze, intending on avenging their fallen comrade. Blaze evades a pair of R-27AE active-radar homing missiles then retaliates with AIM-120Ds.

The Kestrel II fires a broadside of her 14" guns at a Seed Ship and the enemy vessel blows up then the supercarrier's anti-air guns open fire on swarms of cube-types, trashing them one by one.

The B-1R weaves through anti-air fire of an enemy destroyer and drops Mark 84 bombs turning the ship into a blazing inferno. A minute later, the ammo depot catches fire setting off a massive explosion that rips the Harvest ship in half. Executing a right turn, the black strategic bomber heads over to its next target.

Hibiki finds himself being bombarded from all sides by cube-types, preventing him from reaching the pod.

He growled, "Get out of my way, you damn pests!" Hibiki spots Jura's Dread racing towards him and combines with his Vanguard to form Vandread Jura, securing the pod within its shield.

Jura flicked her hair, "Ta-da! Am I good or what?"

Hibiki said blankly, "Better late than ever, I guess." Jura scoots her chair closer to Hibiki's, a little too close.

The voluptuous blonde said, "Listen, Hibiki."

Hibiki replied nervously, "Yeah? What do you want, Jura?"

She cried seductively, "I want a baby. Will you give me what I need?" Hibiki's face turns red and sweat bullets.

He yelled, "Look! We're surrounded by the enemy at the moment! We don't have time to discuss things like that!" Jura laughs at the young pilot's outburst.

Meia ordered, "Hibiki, Jura, get the back to the Nirvana. The enemy appears to be in observation mode, meanwhile we'll..." She spots a new Harvest vessel emerging from the darkness of space like a ghost.

The sting ray-like vessel fires a red beam at Vandread Jura that's powerful enough to force the machine to separate. The Nirvana crew look on in shock at the display of power from Earth's new toy.

Archer sees another squad of cube-types regain the escape pod and he pursuits them, nearly acquiring a missile lock before he is forced to jink right when he hears the missile alert. Hibiki takes his place and follows them. 2 cube-types break off from the squad to attack when Dita comes to Hibiki's rescue. The machines combine to form Vandread Dita, the hostiles are destroyed and the escape pod secured in the firm grasp of the fused machine being careful not to crush the pod because it may contain valuable information about the Harvest fleet's movements.

Inside the Vandread's cockpit, Dita smirked, "That's what I am talking about!"

Meia came up on the monitor, "Save the celebration for later. Get back to the Nirvana now." Dita salutes the Dread leader and Meia smiles but it quickly fades when she saw the sting ray Harvest unit fire its cannon again, this time at Vandread Dita.

Edge asked, "Hibiki! Dita! Are you two alright? Come in!"

Hibiki grunted, "What was that?" Hibiki and Dita look at the sphere for the right arm and notice that it's flashing. The affected limb starts to deteriorate, changing from its normal shiny blue to a rusty red color. The pilots wonder if that dream they had was going to come true. The Nirvana gets pummeled by a barrage of lasers and missiles.

Bart screamed, "It never hurt this much before! I don't know how much more I can withstand! Hey engineering, what the hell's going on down there?"

Parfet answered, "That's what I would like to know. The Paksis is reacting almost like it's afraid of something!" Vandread Dita attempts to fire one of its back-mounted laser cannons and it powers up but goes dead without warning.

Hibiki growled, "What's going on here? Damn it!"

Dita cried, "It's just like before!" Dave Anderson commands the navigator to move the Kestrel II over to their location for a rescue operation.

Edge follows an Su-37 Terminator around the battlefield and fires a few rounds from the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon but the enemy barrel rolls so that the rounds scream by harmlessly. Putting some distance between her and the Terminator, Edge arms an AIM-9X Sidewinder. Once the Sidewinder tracks the heat signature of its target Edge pulls the trigger, sending the AIM-9X away. However, the Su-37 pops flares to direct the missile from its intended target. The enemy fighter executes a hard left turn that gets behind Edge for a missile lock and fires an R-27AE, prompting the female Osean pilot to take evasive action. After shaking the active-radar homing missile off her tail, Edge performs a somersault putting her F-15E Strike Eagle in perfect position for a missile lock. Switching to the AIM-120D AMRAAM Edge fires the missile and scores a direct hit on the Su-37 turning the enemy fighter into scrap metal.

Cube-types try to shoot down Swordsman but he displays impressive flying skills as he avoids each round from their lasers. Upon coming up behind their 6 o'clock he destroys the junk heaps with his MiG-29's GSh-30-1 cannon.

The sting ray Harvest vessel wraps a pair of tentacles around Vandread Dita and pulls it toward its mouth in preparation to harvest the pilots. The Kestrel II transforms into its battle mode but the tentacles are somehow to wrap around the supercarrier's massive arms, pulling it in as well but with difficulty due to the ship's immense size.

Jura said fearfully, "We're done for!"

Blaze replied, "Don't count Hibiki out, Jura. He doesn't quit."

Hibiki said, "Dreams may seem real when you're asleep but I'm not and the thing is that I'll never let you junk piles win! Never!" Vandread Dita and Kestrel II break free from their restraints. The Vandread cocks its laser cannons in time with the Kestrel II aiming its Proton Cannon. They both fire simultaneously and the Harvest unit explodes. The crew have once again dodged a bullet. Vandread Dita heads for the Nirvana with the escape pod in its grasp.

Meia sighed, "He's reckless but he gets the job done."

Blaze added, "Ah, but that's one reason why he has earned everyone's respect including me." Later that day, Parfet struggles to open the pod after 3 hours of frustration she's finally able to open it. The lid opens with a hiss of cold air, once it cleared the crew was able to see the pod's occupant.

It was a girl in her early teens, had blue hair tied into a ponytail, wore a yellow outfit and had triangular-shaped earrings.

Dita asked, "Is it an alien?"

Parfet shook her head, "Nope. She's every bit as human as you, Dita." Hibiki hops up and down to get a look because of his still-small height. With no alternative, he forces his way through the crowd until he suddenly looses his footing and his face crashes into the pod. He immediately pulls his face out before the girl opens her crimson red eyes and then all of a sudden her earring glows and out comes a yellow hologram of a shapeless creature.

Pyoro shrieked, "Did you see that?"

Hibiki asked, "What's that?"

The girl stared at him and said, "It's you. You saved me. Thank you, my lord prince." She envelops him in a hug.

Barnette started, "Lord..."

Jura finished, "Prince?" The hugging sparks jealousy in Dita.

Razgriz Squadron get a good chuckle from the sight.

Paiway giggled, "This is certainly getting interesting. A red circle check!"

'If this keeps up, the Nirvana will end up being overcrowded.' Snow thought.

A/N: Chapter 1 of Vandread Ace: The Second Stage done.

Here, Razgriz Squadron, Hibiki, Jura, Dita and Meia have the same dream and the Harvesters stepping their plans to harvest the crew and their allies.

Misty joins the crew.

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Stay tuned for chapter 2.

Vader 23A