Prologue 2: The Battle of Magellas

Disclaimer: Still not much Vandread though I don't own it

Two huge harvester battle cubes have spearheaded the harvester assault on Shelney and the Magellans.

The enormous battle cubes moved closer towards the Magellans makeshift wall. Shelney saw his disrupter artillery was having no effect. "The armor is too thick, change the beam frequency!" But it was too late, one box opened its front hatch revealing enormous cannon which incinerated the artillery, wall and dug an enormous trench straight through the city. Shelney, told is communication officers to call for a full retreat into the war-torn city as the drones began to swarm through the gaping hole in the wall. Shelney heard an explosion behind him as he ran and turned to see a pillar of fire where the enemy battle cube once stood. Shelney stared as he saw the markings the bomber squadron overhead, they were Sonorans the enemies of Magellas for the past hundred years.

Shelney had made his way to the rear command post and saw his officers in an intense discussion. "What's going on?" he interrupted. A young Ypo Strategos answered him, "A Sonoran fleet has engaged the Harvesters attacking our planet. Their leader wishes to speak to you, Strategos."

Shelney turned on the view screen and met his Sonoran counterpart, a silver bearded, middle aged man in a military uniform. The Sonoran sneered at Alexis, "Magellan, we sent our entire fleet here to protect you, however we want you to surrender and join the Sonoran Confederacy in return for our aid." Alexis was stunned, Magellas had been at war with the Confederacy for years and now they were being forced to surrender to it or face the wrath of Earth. Shelney realized that there was no choice in the matter.

"We will join the Confederacy but we want full political rights."

"You drive a hard bargain Magellan but we will induct you as a Confederate Planet." Shelney heard another voice over the screen explain to the Sonoran that an immense enemy warship had been detected before he disconnected and so Shelney gave his orders, "Soldiers, we cannot let the Sonorans outdo us over our home planet. Scramble all ships into space! Let's show them what we're made of!"

In Space over Magellan a lone transport from the independent planet Gaestus has caught up to the Planet Demolisher as it fled the Gasti to destroy Magellan.

Ariston sat nervously preparing for his first combat mission. He had trained for his entire life for this moment along with every other male on Gaestus. That was just the way it was for the Gasti the men were the warriors while the women were everything from leaders to factory workers. Ariston was proud to be among the greatest warriors in all the universe.

Ariston was roused from his thoughts when the ship attached itself to the demolisher. Ambriorix the mission leader gathered the Gasti together for the ritual. Ariston chanted with the others. "Onward men of Gaestus, Sons of brave fathers, raise-up your arms, look bravely forward, without fear for your lives! Always, everything, for our country and people! I will know no fear, feel no pain and only know victory!" Together they each pulled free a metal needle and jabbed it directly into their hearts.

The entrance opened and the seven Gasti ran forward into the enemy ship. Defensive turrets activated firing searing bolts of energy at the Gasti. Ariston ran with his brethren through the ship to the control room, then one man fell, a hole burnt straight through is head. A turret fired directly at Ariston but he was able to block it with his arm feeling nothing as the drugs coursed through his veins. However the Gasti's bodies were beginning to fall through sheer destruction, the man in front of Ariston's armor was pierced and several bolts to the lungs finished him off and others were falling all around him. Ariston made a turn and forced his way through a doorway, he was through, he had reached the control room. Back in the ship's long corridor the delayed bombs connected to the Gastis' life signs began to explode shaking the entire ship. Ariston turned to see if anyone else had made it and saw Ambriorix limp through the doorway bleeding from the dozens of holes in his body. They made their way around to a throne-like control station controlled by a pale, young woman. Ariston heard a faint voice in his mind but he felt the drugs pulse and the voice disappeared. The woman's face tensed with anger and Ariston and the other man were thrown backwards. The other man lost consciousness but Ariston found himself impaled on a pipe. He thought back to the ritual, to his heroic father and all he had learned through his training. The Earthling looked stunned as he pulled himself up from the pipe, blood and intestines gushing from the gaping hole in his stomach, lifted his hand and let fly a small dagger, which made its way directly into the Earthling's heart.

Ariston's sight dimmed and he died with a smile on his face.

Shelney breathed a sigh of relief, the threat to his home world was ended but the war was not over. The Sonorans, Magellans and the Gasti had joined forces against the Earth menace creating the Coalition of Allied Systems known more simply as just the Coalition.