Takeshi Mori and GONZO own all characters mentioned and such. I lay claim to nothing aside from the situations they are placed into.
A/N: Takes place immediately after the 2nd Stage.
And I have no idea what the woman's planet is called. There are numerous and countless spellings and translations…so I'm sticking with Mejeru, which seems to be what the English dubs place, it as.
Good things come to those who wait.
Growth of a Nation
Chapter 3: Elimination
Hibiki looked at the 'roster' he'd completed of the people he'd recently interviewed. He'd already informed all of them to be at the same area the day after tomorrow for additional testing.
He glanced up at the calendar hanging on the back of the door and sighed. It had only been two days, but they were going to be there a while longer. Hibiki wanted to get away from everything on Tarak. He would've preferred to be back on the ship with everyone else. That train of thought brought him to think of the remaining first generation. They'd be woken up a day before the rest of them would leave, and accompany them on an additional ship back to the Nirvana. Instead of a simple population increase of fifteen men, hundreds more would be joining them. Although it was a risk, since all of them wouldn't be of sound health or be prepared for extensive travel, it was necessary. Most of the doctors had figured they would sleep through the entire trip, and take an additional three days of recuperation before being able to perform normally.
So much was being placed on their shoulders once again, as they were deemed heroes by both planets. Now, they were the testing grounds for a future that had seemed unlikely if they had asked anyone not more than two months earlier.
It made Hibiki pause to think for moment if they were doing things too quickly. It seemed as if everything was rushed. It also made him wonder if the old geezers knew something that they didn't.
Hibiki shook his head and looked at the clock. After they'd cleaned up whatever was left of the interviews and eating, everyone had left and gone separate ways. That was almost four hours ago. It was nearing ten at night now, which made Hibiki wince.
He got up and slowly began to take off his orange vest before lying down. His hadn't hit the pillow for more than a few seconds before the young man was embraced by sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day seemed to fly by. Since none of the crew had anything else better to do, they stayed most of the day to help B.C. and the personnel at the platform prepare for what would take place tomorrow.
This also included a small lunch made of the previous day's leftovers.
They all arrived at the platform at roughly ten in the morning, and left close towards six at night. It had been a long day, but not without its funny situations. Hibiki had somehow managed to get his cast caught in one of the security nets that held the heavier things on the floor. As a result, the young man was stuck there for a while before they could figure out exactly where he was stuck and how he managed to get into that situation in the first place. Hibiki had stayed in a foul mood for most of the afternoon before finding out about the leftover food. His disposition immediately brightened after hearing that.
Another situation was just as funny, as Bart someone got one of the land vehicle replacement tires, which were stacked near the side room doorway, stuck on his head. Everyone had laughed about it and claimed it was because of his big head and overzealous attitude that caused the tire to stay that way. Needless to say, Bart, too, wasn't in the best of moods for the rest of the day. And he had no doubt that one of the girls would run back to the ship and gossip about it.
And toward the end of the day, Dita had somehow managed to get buried underneath several large boxes of replacement parts for the bangatas. It had taken everyone a little under thirty minutes to finally dig her out.
After everything ended though, the men seemed to be slightly winded, as they did most of the physical work. Everyone went back, conversed for a while and simply collapsed in their respective rooms.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hibiki once again jerked upward as his slumber was quickly cut short. He put his hand to his sweaty forward and sighed. The strange dream once again prominent in his thoughts.
Although, this time he could see what Dita's captors were wearing: off duty army fatigues. He shook his head and sighed as he glanced at the clock. The little indigo letters stood out among the darkness of the room, showing 6:37 a.m.
He had to be back at the 3rd AD compound in another two odd hours. Everything was already set and ready for the interviewees, but last minute adjustments and double checking everything would occur.
Hibiki sighed once again and slowly put his head back on the pillow. He simply stared at the ceiling wondering why the dream appeared once again. At first, he thought it was simply a nightmare, and him being silly. But it still had an unnerving feel to it.
But now…he wasn't so sure. He'd heard of things called premonitions before, and he'd even had one courtesy of his interaction with the paksis reactor on the Nirvana. However, that dream had been slightly tinted with a bluish-green color; the one that he just had was slightly tinted…red…
Hibiki put his hand out in front of his to see it was still trembling slightly, and he still had sweaty palms. Hibiki flexed his hand slightly, and then clenched it into a fist.
Whatever this was, he'd be damned before he let it scare him for no reason. After all, fear only limited his potential and controlled his thoughts; and that was something he didn't want to happen.
He slowly got up and headed towards the restroom. He'd take a nice relaxing shower, and then think about preparations for the day ahead.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hibiki arrived at his prearranged place at his determined time to find no one there. It seemed that nobody was around, not even his third appendage seemed to be present.
He looked around the compound for a while, but soon stopped. He scratched his head and looked around his current position. He hadn't even seen the personnel that worked in the platform normally. He was getting more and more confused as he walked back into the center and heard noises coming from one of the back rooms.
Hibiki's eyebrow rose slightly and he turned to walk towards the door. The noises got louder and louder as he got closer to the door. He stopped before opening it and listened in. He could hear slightly muffled female voices coming from the other side.
He hit the automatic control for the door and it opened with little effort. As he looked in, he could see several of the female pilots he recognized from being on the Nirvana, only the looked slightly different. He noticed some were in various states of undress while they continued to chatter. Hibiki simply stared in at the girls until one of them finally noticed him and screamed. It was rather loud, but it wasn't the ear-shattering scream took place during his 'accident' with Celtic.
All the ladies turned quickly to see Hibiki at the door and started screaming at him to get away. It took a few minutes for him to get pulled out of his stupor, but he quickly ran after he saw the anger in all of their eyes.
Hibiki heard the door close as he got about thirty feet away from the door, but didn't stop running until he tripped on his own feet and slid face first across the smooth floor. His cast had a small friction affect though, and he soon slid to a stop before a pair of booted feet.
He looked up slightly to see B.C. standing with a grin on her face. He just lowered his head back to the floor and heaved a sigh before getting up slowly.
"Forgive me Hibiki; it seems I forgot to tell you about the other pilots that would be accompanying us during this phase. They wanted to change into something more fitting before the others came and the tests began."
Hibiki mumbling something inaudible before grunting and nodding his head, "Whatever."
"Did it seem that they were almost done with their changing?"
Hibiki snapped his head up, "How the hell should I know! I don't know anything about the way they dress or even why they do it! It all seems so pointless…"
B.C. shook her head and sighed, "You still have much to learn."
Hibiki growled slightly and turned away. It was just then that he realized that B.C. was using the female voice modifier, and not using the masculine voice of Uragasumi Tenmei like usual. He figured it was because this time, he would be dealing with both men and women at the same time. That and the men would need to get used to the voice 'B.C.' used on the ship.
He'd never really thought of the commander as a man, even after his true identity was revealed. B.C. was still the normal commander that had been with all of them through good times and bad.
Hibiki heard a few voices mingling together off in the distance and looked around B.C. to see that his comrades, as well as Dita, Jura, Barnette, and Gascogne were making their way to where he and the commander were.
Hibiki cursed under his breath for a moment and sighed as he realized he must have been early if they were just arriving. He shrugged it off and sighed again as everyone came together and left for the back room for a short meeting before the final preparations and checks were made.
As they turned and started walking to the back room, he saw the other door open and the group of female pilots walk towards the meeting room as well.
Among them, he could easily recognize Meia and Valore, as well as a blonde named Cindy, and a brunette named Maya plus a few others. Valore was glaring at him, and the others were looking away from him; but he could see an odd expression on Meia's face as she glanced at him before she quickly looked away.
Things were going to get far more interesting from here…as well as complicated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Alright, the current interview is to see how the new candidates will possibly interact with the crew, in addition to their skills and knowledge. Gascogne will take any mechanic oriented candidates, as well as those who know the details of storage and taking inventory. Duero, you'll be in charge of anyone who may know or practice medicine. Parfet, you'll be taking any engineers. Hibiki and the pilots will be going head on in a scrim match versus any bangata pilots there might be. Understood?"
Everyone nodded; at least things were being assigned into groups they were comfortable with.
"Alright then, everyone get to your designated area and prepare for their arrival. Time will be of the essence in this matter. When we've met and decided on capable candidates, we'll be heading out in three days. Pack your things, say your good-byes and meet at the shuttle bay we arrived in. That's all. Now get to work!"
Everyone scrambled and quickly began to set things up and double check for any mistakes that might've occurred.
As a full hour passed, candidates began to show up. Some even showed up a bit earlier to get a full grasp on things before the interviews and tests began.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So…" the green haired Reg headmistress leaned forward, "You do stock inventory and handle certain special orders?"
The grey haired individual in front of her nodded, "As you heard, ma'am. I know my way around a storage facility if I'm shown one."
Gasco grinned, clenching the small metal rod in her teeth, "That may be fairly interesting then. We need good hands and experience in our weapon facility. I trust you may be able to help?"
The young man nodded and looked into her green eyes with his light brown ones, "Yes ma'am."
"That's what I like to hear Brent. Now to move on to your competition…" Gascogne's eyes started scrolling through the list of the other fourteen candidates she had.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duero looked at his sole candidate. He was a tall man with a short buzz cut with dark brown hair and eyes.
"So…tell me again why you would like to join us."
The man nodded, "Seeing the broadcast and hearing what the women spoke of has intrigued me. I had always wanted to be able to study a woman to see what they were truly like. They seem like such fascinating creatures."
Duero smirked, "Well then Alexi, it seems you have the same curiosity that I did when we first met the women. That is excellent. However, are you willing to submit to a higher authority? Myself, as well as a few ranking officers will have rank over you."
"No problem, sir. I don't mind. After all, you know more and have experienced more. It would be an interesting venture from my standpoint."
Duero nodded, "I see. It seems you have the qualities necessary to join, but you've had to be confirmed by the others as well.
Alexi nodded, "So it's a group decision?"
"Indeed it is."
"I see…"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Parfet wasn't having such good luck on her end. Several of the men had never seen anything like what she was showing them, and it was confusing them as well.
They couldn't even read what was on the screen half the time.
Parfet had seen several of the men that seemed to just give up and storm out, but a select few had stuck around and actually tried to make sense of what she was showing them. Out of the original dozen candidates that Parfet had tested, only four remained. And three of them were classified as 'third-class.'
It struck Parfet as odd that the higher classes would just give up and walk out so easily, but that was understandable. Things were a lot more difficult than they had expected.
As Parfet looked at the four men, she glanced done at the chart she had received and quickly read over the information it showed.
She raised an eyebrow as she continued to watch the men tinker with their assignments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hibiki and the pilots had begun their scrim match as soon as their candidates had arrived, and had been locked in battle since then.
The training sims were altered to allow each side a fair amount of leeway, a sort of handicap. As it stood, from the original ten dread pilots plus Hibiki, only five remained; and out of the original eight vanguard pilots, three remained. And things weren't getting easy. Barnette, Valore and Jura all watched from their vantage point outside the sim, as they had been causalities. The five men that had been knocked out were all cheering for their last teammates that still remained locked in battle.
Hibiki and Meia were both getting a run for their money, as the remaining pilots had shown they were excellent in teamwork and masters of coordinated attacks. Meia turned to give an order to Dita, at her right hand, when she saw the simulated dread instantly torn to pieces by two of the vanguards. The third was laying sniper fire from a distance, and managed to cripple another dread.
"Hibiki, take point with the remaining two flanking your position, try to distract them while I slip away and blind side them."
"Roger," replied three voices.
As Meia broke formation and swerved in-between fire from the ranged unit, Hibiki advanced towards the two melee units with the remaining two dreads. As they got closer, the crippled dread was picked off by the sniper.
Hibiki turned his attention on the unit wielding dual claws and pulled a sword. The dread following him broke off and began to shoot at the sniper. As the dread got close, the third vanguard came from her left and was about to attack, but was stopped dead in its tracks as Meia scored a blow that caused the units defeat. Both dreads turned on the sniper, to see him making a hasty retreat. They quickly pursued and stopped him with little effort.
Meia turned to ask Hibiki how he was doing, only to be rewarded with a clawed fist impacting the cockpit of her dread. A red message that read 'Kill' flashed on her screen. She sighed and stepped out of the sim chair and made her way to her pilots. She looked at the screen on the sim console and saw that the remaining vanguard was chasing after the dread of Cindy. She was trying to avoid as many attacks and keep her distance, but was failing at it.
Finally, after a game of cat and mouse, the vanguard managed to damage her right wing, and then destroyed the last dread. A cheer rose among the men gathered around the sims, as well as clapping and whistling.
As Cindy walked out, her head was bowed in defeat. Meia turned to look at the man who had defeated her, as well as several others.
A tall, blonde haired man stepped out of the sim chair and smiled at the group gathered around him. He waved to everyone and made his way back to his companions.
"Heh, showoff."
Meia turned around to see Hibiki with left arm in its sling and his right arm crossing his chest.
"If I was at normal strength, I could've taken him easily."
Meia rolled her eyes and just shook her head, "Maybe, and maybe he was just that good."
"Whatever…" Hibiki grunted as he walked away, Dita following in his steps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the day drew to a close, only eighteen candidates remained still at the platform. A greater deal that left mainly consisted of the engineer and inventory sections. All eight vanguard pilots had stayed, as well as Duero's only candidate, the four engineers that Parfet was left with and five of the storage and inventory clerks that were under Gascogne.
Hibiki was surprised to see that several people he knew were still among the ranks of the possible candidates. Bart could also see a few of his friends in the ranks. Duero, however, was left with only one contact, which he expected. The brain washing many of the men received had been too far along for things to change easily.
B.C. also looked mildly surprised as she looked at the thinned ranks. There were fewer candidates that passed the second interview and test than had been expected.
"All of you, state your name, military rank if necessary, as well as current position. Starting from the left end and moving down to the right. You first," B.C. pointed at the grey haired young man.
He stepped forward, "Brent Casona. Inventory and special assignments clerk. Rank: Sergeant." The sergeant was fairly short, but possessed determined light brown eyes. He wasn't built, but still had some muscle tone to him.
The next man stepped forward and spoke with a heavy accent, " Ivan Malkov. Parts storage and inventory. Rank: Corporal." Corporal Malkov was a well built man. His short black hair and shining red eyes revealed true strength.
Next up was a small man that wasn't built at all and had no muscle tone, his messy brown hair and dark blue eyes matched well, "Alex Ratigan. Parts mechanic. Rank: Third-class citizen."
Another man, similar to Alex's build stepped up. His black hair was hidden under a white bandana and his yellow eyes gave him an odd look, "Ian Shanks. Also parts mechanic and third-class citizen."
A lanky young man stepped forward next. His green hair set in a crew cut and his grey eyes seemed slightly bleary, "Ryan Beltac. Same as the other two."
"Keith Shentz. Mechanical engineer. Rank: Lieutenant." The tall young man had slicked back red hair and razor sharp green eyes.
Two men stepped forward next, both looked exactly alike. The only differences between them were one had shorter hair and one wore a cap. They're odd orange hair was well kept and their black eyes made them look a little freaky. "I'm Kyle Gerthan and my brother is Nathan." Nathan took over, "We're both bangata gear storage specialists." They both finished with, "Rank: Gunnery Sergeant."
A short, but very well built young man stepped up next. His spiked brown hair and purple eyes suited him well, "Louis Vanwell. Heavy duty machinery inventory and storage. Rank: Colonel."
"Alexi Robichaux. Medical technician. Rank: Lieutenant." The tall man stated. His very short brown hair suited him, and his dark brown eyes shown with curiosity and eagerness.
B.C. had nodded at each man in acknowledgement of their cooperation. She turned to look at the eight remaining candidates to notice three of them were chatting quietly. She knew that they were all pilots, which wouldn't really make a difference in the long run. They were to participate in the project, and since no more battles were expected, they weren't really needed.
"You three, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us?"
The group leader, it seemed, looked at the commander and smiled, "No sir, just a friendly little chat before we divulge our secrets."
He looked down the line to notice that everyone else was slightly ahead of them, "Oh, and I guess it's our turn. Very well then!"
The tall man with long dirty blonde hair in a pony tail and long bangs that frame his face stepped up, his light blue eyes contrasted very well with his hair, "Andrei Jameson. People call me Dre, James or AJ for short; long names are too formal." Saying that he could see Gascogne grimace and raise an eyebrow, "Bangata pilot. Rank: Brigadier General."
The young man on his right stepped forward. He was rather short and somewhat plump, but he didn't seem to mind. His messy red hair and blue-green eyes gave off the feeling of someone always alert of his surroundings, "Shaun Tyler. Also a bangata pilot. Rank: Colonel."
The young man that was next was medium height with slicked back black hair and brown eyes making him look normal. "Henry Servana. Same as my friends. Rank: Lieutenant Colonel."
B.C. raised an eyebrow as she listened to and watched the latest candidates. They were all friends who seemed perfectly in sync with each other and completely relaxed. The others, aside from Alexi, had shown a fair bit of tension and nervousness. B.C. was pulled from her thoughts as the line continued.
A dark skinned young man stepped up next. He seemed to possess darker skin than Hibiki and looked to be of oriental descent. His black hair and eyes only reaffirmed that fact, "Kris Jihn. Bangata pilot. Rank: First Lieutenant."
Another dark skinned young man stepped up, but his was more midnight black than just tanned. He had no hair and kept a small black beard and mustache. His blue eyes looked odd on his face, like an eyesore. "Dezi Robinson. Bangata pilot. Rank: Second Lieutenant."
The last three looked rather uncomfortable compared to the others. It was obvious that they weren't in the same unit as the previous five men, and were fairly nervous about it. B.C. noticed this and spoke.
"You last three, if you are having any second thoughts about leaving, you may. It isn't necessary for you to be here if you don't wish to be."
Two nodded and immediately made a hasty retreat. The one that stayed stared off with wide eyes at his companions. After hearing someone clear their throat, he turned back around and swallowed before stepping up.
He was a rather small young man, with short, messy blue hair and orange eyes. He looked like an oddity more than anything, but still wasn't bad to look at. "Tyler Jenson. Bangata pilot. Rank: Captain."
The other bangata pilots stared at him, which caused him to flinch and back away slightly. It was then that another person spoke out.
"Hey, you're a captain eh? Must be pretty good out there if you got that rank. I'll look forward to seeing you in action." Many of the people turned to see that Andrei was speaking to his slightly unnerved comrade with a smile.
The blue haired young man managed a nervous smile back before turning back to B.C. Since the introductions were complete, everyone was at attention and awaiting orders.
B.C. looked back at Jura to see that the blonde was busily taking down names and looking at certain men that she might want to take. B.C. took that as a good sign.
"Alright, we were originally going to only take fifteen men, but since there are sixteen candidates left, we will take all of you. You have shown the most dedication and open mindedness in the population. I congratulate you for becoming a part of this project."
All of them saluted, "Sir!"
"At ease." All of them fell into more relaxed positions, "There's no need to be formal around any of the crew aside from those higher rank than yourself and under certain situations. This is a laid back crew who likes to have a bit of fun."
All of them nodded and seemed to go into casual stances and relax even more. B.C. noticed this and smiled.
"Now that the warnings are out of the way, I have one thing left to tell you. You each will have three days to prepare and pack anything you might need. You will be sharing quarters with one of your comrades next to you, and the room assignments are yet to be known. Get to know each other and have fun. After all, you are the first men aside from Duero, Hibiki and Bart to take place in something like this in three generations. Any questions?"
"Uhhh…sir? You haven't told us where to meet up at." Brent spoke a bit reluctantly.
"Ah, so I didn't. You are to arrive at the fifth shuttle bay on the west wing of the military compound to be transported. You have three days, as said before. You will also be accompanied by the remaining first generation still in cold sleep."
All of the men in front of B.C. stared at her, and the whispering quickly began. Things like "Impossible!" and "I wonder if it's true…" could be heard.
"Enough! They will not be aboard the ship, as you will. They are to remain in base and interact with the females there in order to relax some tension. You need not be worried; they are normal people, just like the rest of you. They're simply a long way from home, both in place and time. Treat them with respect."
The rest nodded, "Any other questions?"
The silence that followed was uneasy, but tolerable.
"Very well. You're all dismissed! Meet back at the shuttle bay at noon and no later."
The men saluted and most of them split and headed different ways. B.C. noticed that five of the bangata pilots were still together, laughing and talking normally. She had a feeling that those five would have the biggest influence on the rest of the crew.
B.C. turned around to the others present, "Any of you that wish to go back to the ship, may do so. Those that wish to stay, stay with your female comrades and try to stay out of trouble."
B.C. turned and left, leaving the rest of them to stare at each other. Hibiki grunted and stretched slightly and turned to walk off. Both Duero and Bart nodded and followed suit. Both were also fairly surprised when Dita failed to tag along with Hibiki as he made his way out.
Duero turned his head slightly and noticed that all the females were talking rather quietly, but he could easily see they were excited.
Small laughs and squeals followed the men as they left the military platform.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two days seemed to fly by quickly. There wasn't really anything to do after the interviews took place, so both the men and women just hung out.
Dita was still busy hanging on Hibiki while the rest watched and laughed at his reactions. It seemed that some things would never change.
It came as a surprise to some as they noticed that Duero and Parfet were together a great deal as well. Soon, the gossip going around, both on ground and ship, was that there were two couples present on the Nirvana. One was obvious, but the other, not so much.
Things seemed to continue at a slow, yet fast, pace until the end of the second day arrived. Everyone was heading back to their rooms when something occurred that no one had suspected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dita was sitting in her room alone. Normally, there were others in there with her, but they seemed to be out at the moment.
She could hear several sets of footsteps outside, and just assumed it was the new guard that was taking over. After Hibiki's stunt, they'd placed guard at each of the doors. After a few moments, she could hear hushed whispering and laughing. She wondered if they were telling jokes.
After a few minutes, she could also hear another door opening and more footsteps. She could hear Hibiki mumble something about the guards moving, but it quickly stopped.
"What are you…Hey! What the hell do you think-"
Dita could easily hear the growling tone in Hibiki's voice and could hear his yelling. After his abrupt ending, she could hear a rather loud thumping sound.
Dita immediately ran to the door and tried to open it, but found it was locked from the outside via an override code. She began to get extremely worried as she heard the footsteps move off away from the doors. Just as she started pounding her fists against the door, the override code was released with a beeping sound and she rushed outside.
She moved to Hibiki's room and noticed the door was still slightly open. She looked inside and saw nothing of the young man. She turned and slipped on a liquid substance that was on the floor. From what she could see, it was a mixture of blood and something else.
Her eyes widened and she quickly got up and ran to where the commander was staying. She continually pounded on the door yelling for her commander before the door finally opened.
B.C. could see that Dita was extremely distraught and already crying over something. She figured it was another fight between Dita and Hibiki, but something seemed wrong.
Dita dove into B.C. and began to cry outright and kept asking 'Why?'
After a few minutes, B.C. calmed the girl enough to get one sentence out of her and notice the small blood stain on her right hand.
"They took Hibiki!"
A/N: Well, chapter 3 down. Took a while, but was it worth it? More fun to come later.
Until later!
