A/N: I'm having a rather fun time writing this fic, though I do have many other things to attend to...most especially these days when school's starting (this week actually) :-) so please bear with me if updates don't come often.
Hm...SHOUT-OUTS!!! Thanks to the following:
anon. - Feedback is always welcome! If you don't wanna give a name, that's all right. I don't bite, though. I'm just kind of annoying sometimes. Thanks lots! :-) I'll try to update as frequently as I can.
Stelok - Glad to be hearing criticism (critiques, I mean) from you. That light that Jai saw...it was supposed to be the effect somewhat of the time machine of those who brought him to the future...just a little more on that in a later chapter. Anyways, glad also you're reading the story, and I hope you're enjoying as well. :-) I hope that I can be able to live up to your expectations. :-)
enIIgma-chan - I'm delighted to hear that people think the story's going fine...I'm kind of playing things by ear as I go along...or something like that. Anyways, I liked your story on that Hibiki wedding. F-U-N-N-Y!!! :-) I hope to read more of your works as well. Hope you also like the continuations of this fic.
And that's that. This chapter's rather long...it's got 3 different scenarios in it...title makes it self-explanatory...ah, just read it anyway. :-) Well, enjoy!
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CHAPTER 2
Crossed Paths
'Everything's so quiet...' Dita Liebely thought distractedly as she traversed the ship's corridors, going nowhere in particular.
Their pirate ship was currently on a course to Mejale. It had been some time since their last visit home, and some of the crew was getting more than a little homesick. Fortunately, their stern but generally good-natured leader Magno Vivan, who everyone called "Boss", agreed this time; perhaps she too missed the place.
But due to a recent increase in Tarak activity and several dangerous radioactive storms in the area, as well as a temporary and very uncharacteristic aversion for further trouble, the women had to detour from their normal (though not very usual) route. It would take an additional two months to reach Mejale, but they didn't seem to mind; the important thing was that they were finally going to take a much-needed break.
"Now that we're going home, I thought everyone would be in more cheerful spirits..." Dita said to herself, absentmindedly straying strands of long, red hair from her face. The 16-year old Dread apprentice-pilot wasn't one to sit still and keep silent for extended periods of time, and always sought companionship. Though rather bored, it was somehow relaxing knowing that there wasn't anything chasing them at the moment and that everybody else was safe. That was all she usually needed to be happy.
The ship was considerably less bustling than usual. Lethargy had finally sunk in, as well as a sense of boredom now that they had gone through more exciting ventures in the past. The prospect of returning to Mejale seemed to brighten the atmosphere a bit, but it only did so much; an air of inactivity still plagued the area.
'I guess I'll just see how everyone else is doing...' Dita concluded, skipping through the vacant corridors.
She arrived at one of the rooms in the crew's quarters and, recognizing it was Jura's, knocked tentatively. A voice from inside told her to wait for a second. Soon, the door was opened and the room's owner warmly greeted her.
20-year old Jura Basil Elden was one of the senior Dread pilots. Though her rather proud attitude was somewhat of a contrast to Dita's more innocent one, the two were actually quite close friends. Save for some petty disputes on occasion, there was very little unfriendliness among the entire crew; everyone worked well with everyone else. Camaraderie and unity had gone even beyond the battlefield.
"And what brings you here today?" Jura asked when they had both stepped into the room.
"Well, actually," the younger girl fidgeted as she spoke nonstop, "I just wanted to see how everyone is doing. We're going to Mejale now, after a long time, and it's really nice to be returning after all this time. And I was wondering why everyone is still gloomy and all, even if we're going back to Mejale now..."
Her companion flicked her long, blonde hair. "Oh, Dita...always the worrier, are we? Usually I'd advise you to not bother the others and to just stop worrying, but I have to agree with you now...everyone looks just so out of energy lately."
"You see? What can we do? Will everyone just be sad until we reach Mejale? I don't want that to happen..." Dita was on the verge of tears now.
"Hey, hey, calm down..." the other laughed nervously. It wasn't easy dealing with Dita. "Here's what...since it's you asking, I'll just tell you to do what you usually do, and what you do best." She said with a wink.
"What's that?" Dita replied, clearly puzzled.
Jura sighed just a bit. "You be the one to lift their spirits. You're always spreading cheer around just by your presence, and even I have to say that you're usually successful at it."
Dita's face now brightened. "Really? You're right! Thanks!" She exclaimed, hugging the older girl. Maybe dealing with her wasn't so hard after all.
"Yeah, yeah, alright," Jura said, almost being strangled by Dita, "but I'd rather that you do not bother Meia for now...you know how cranky, not to mention annoying, she could get when she's really not in the mood."
"Yeah...leader could sometimes be really stubborn...cooped up in her room. Even I couldn't talk to her," Dita's face was beginning to wrinkle again.
"Well, Dita," Jura hastily said when she noticed, "you should be getting along now. I'm sure the others will need some cheering up. I'm alright now here."
"Yeah! I can't let them go home in bad spirits. Thanks, Jura!" Dita said as she bounded up and out the door. Her change in emotion was so fast, it was almost scary. Jura let out a relieved sigh after she had left.
'It's up to me now...' Dita thought determinedly, as she walked from room to room, smiling and chattering to the other crew members. Her idea seemed to be working, as most of them did become livelier after she had talked with them.
She reached another door at the far end of the corridor, and stopped just before her fingers reached the metal coating.
Her mind argued. 'This is leader's room...Meia's room. I guess I shouldn't bother her for a while...but I can't just leave her alone and do nothing...but what if she doesn't want to be bothered...' After several seconds of contemplation, she decided and knocked firmly on the door.
"Um...leader? May I come in...?" she asked tentatively, at the same time making sure that anyone inside would be able to hear.
The door swung open to reveal the 19-year old leader of the Dread squad of the pirates. Her blue shoulder-length hair was neat, as was her sparsely-decorated room. She said nothing, but her stoic, questioning look was not unnoticed by Dita.
"Well..." she was even more nervous than when with Jura. Meia wasn't one to socialize much, though she was certainly reliable whenever needed. Smart, an efficient leader and skillful in combat and in handling a Dread, she was highly respected by the entire crew. Dita looked up to her all the more.
"...well, I was just trying to get everyone's spirits up since the whole place is so gloomy and all, and, well, maybe if you don't want to talk to anyone right now, I'll understand, and..." Dita was talking even faster, closing her eyes just in case something nasty was going to happen.
She was interrupted by Meia's voice, firm, yet reassuring at the same time. "No need to get so upset, Dita."
The younger girl slowly opened her eyes. Relief flooded in when she saw Meia's slightly smiling face.
"It's so like you...I was sort of expecting you'd do something like this. I'll bet Jura put you up to it, am I right?"
"Well, yes..." Dita laughed a bit, now her usual, bubbly self.
"Although I don't find it so surprising that everyone's so lethargic...it's been some time since anything exciting has happened around here. Maybe they're just saving up their energy for when we get to Mejale."
"Yeah...that's what most of them told me. It has been some time since something big happened...but still..."
"...you can't leave things as they are." Meia finished for her. "Like I said, that's so like you. Well, I can't stop you from doing what you want to, especially when you're not doing anything wrong. I'm fine here, though. Good luck..." she said as she stepped back inside and closed the door.
'That went well...' Dita thought, now feeling less worried, '...now to continue my duty of cheering up the depressed...or bored.'
She found Barnette Orangello, another Dread pilot, and Gascogne Rheingau, the ship's weapons and supplies officer, at the mess hall, absorbed in a game of cards.
'Well, at least there are places where it's less sad...' Dita thought, quickly motioning 'hi' to them before moving on.
Passing by the ship's engine room, she saw Parfet Balblair, the chief engineer, busy tinkering with the machinery.
"Yep...hmmmm...everything fine...oh, hi Dita!" She said as she noticed the redhead. "What brings you here?"
"Just seeing if everyone's doing alright," she replied cheerfully.
Parfet laughed and adjusted her round glasses. "The usual, I see. Well, I'm doing great here! Not a single hint of malfunction in our engines. At this rate, we'll be at Mejale faster than it takes an atom to split!"
"Er...yeah..." Dita wasn't all that good with brainy stuff, and agreed that there was no further problem here.
Walking on, she reached the ship's sick bay. Paiway Underburg, the 11-year old nurse, was, rather uncharacteristically, busy arranging the supply of medicines in a cabinet.
"Hello, Pai!" Dita chimed, startling the young nurse.
"I'm at it! I'm at it! I'm..." she stammered, working even faster, venturing a look at the door in the process. She seemed rather relieved that it was Dita at the door. "Oh, it's you, Dita. I though it was Gasco again. She keeps pestering me to fix up here..."
"And now you're hard at work, I see. So that's why you're not running around taking pictures and 'Pai check'-ing anyone."
"Yeah, yeah. Once I'm done here, that Gasco can't get at me anymore. How about you? What're you up and about for?"
"Oh, just checking if everyone's doing fine..."
Pai shrugged. "You do that all the time. Anyway, I want to finish this quickly so I'll have more time for myself later."
"Yeah, I guess. See 'ya!" Dita called back as she began walking away.
Her last stop was the control room. It was there she found the Boss Magno Vivan, the sub-commander Buzam Calessa (or B.C.), the ship's main bridge crew and Dita's closest friend Ezra Vieil, and the three ship operators Amarone Slaintheav, Balvedere Coco, and Celtic Midori. Everyone was seated and quiet, almost as if they were all sleeping, and Celtic was wearing her usual 'anti-Tarak' teddy-bear suit, which Dita gave a small snicker at.
She had not gone three steps inside when a loud beeping sounded from one of the control panels. Everyone jumped up from their positions, including Dita.
"What the..." B.C. began.
"Boss," Ezra shouted over the noise, "there are two ships located about 1500 kilometers from our current location."
"Two? What kind?" Magno asked.
Belvedere replied, "One of them is the new Tarak ship our technical division informed us about. It is currently moving in our direction. The other...is unidentified...and stationary at the moment."
"A new Tarak ship and an unidentified one...? What are the chances of combat?" Magno's voice was calm despite the situation.
"Rather high...the Tarak ship is armed and no doubt is carrying numerous Vanguards. The other seems to have little fighting capability," Amarone answered.
"Then...it would be a good time to get some exercise, wouldn't it, B.C.?" Boss said, a grin creeping to her face.
"I believe it would, Boss," B.C. replied similarly, before making an announcement that all pilots and engineers were to report to the bridge immediately.
"You're already here, Dita..." Magno turned and looked at the apprentice-pilot, the grin still on her face, "you will be joining this mission, understood?"
"Y...yes!" Dita answered, fully aware that this event was sure to awaken the crew from lethargy. She just hoped that the end wouldn't turn out to be anywhere near tragic.
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Their ship had arrived at the outer borders of the Mejale base. There were hundreds of enemy warships waiting; vigilant sentries.
But they didn't know what they were up against. Pitiful...they did not stand a chance...
The Ikazchi had reached the final checkpoint and did not stop. Immediately, the sentinels deployed their clusters of dreads, the small Mejale dogfighters, further outnumbering the intruders.
It would all be in vain...they shouldn't try so hard...
The Tarak ship also deployed its fighter vessels, the vanguards. One by one, they flew out and into formation. The last to be deployed was bright gold, a stark contrast to the silver coating of the others, and flew to the very front.
This was his vanguard. This was his power. This was his proof.
As if on cue, the dreads rushed forward in attack, moving systematically; very coordinated, as if controlled by only one mind.
But he was better. He could beat them all, no matter how many there were.
He pushed his vanguard forward and into the oncoming dreads. Weapons at hand, he began slashing at them, dodging laser fire all the while. Two by two they fell to his blades, which moved quickly, brutally, and without error.
Nobody can beat him. He wasn't weak...he wasn't going to lose...
It was all over in a minute. Not one single ship, not even the mighty Ikazuchi, was spared of total destruction, except for his own vanguard. Even though his companions had met the same fate as the enemy, he didn't mind. He was still alive.
He had won...through his own power. Finally, he had done it...
At that moment, a loud beeping noise blared into his ears.
Hibiki Tokai fell out of the bunk and onto the hard floor. "Ouch..." he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, as well as the sore spot where he hit his head.
'What was with that dream...it seemed so real...wish it was true, though...'
"Attention, all pilots. Please proceed to the hangar and prepare for vanguard launch. We have detected one Mejale ship at 1500 kilometers and approaching fast, and one other unidentified craft in the same sector. Repeat..."
He stood at once when understanding of the announcement finally dawned upon him. It was only this early, but the time had finally come! His eyes glimmered with excitement as he hurriedly scrambled out of the room...
--------------------
The man pushed a button and the machine whirred to life. Jai closed his eyes and simply trusted their words that he would indeed be fine.
At first, all was darkness. And then, after a few seconds, he saw...more like he sensed...people, places and events. Not in any particular order, but it seemed that he "knew" which came after what, though it was hard to tell what century, what exact dates, the records depicted, as there was no indication whatsoever. Mentally shrugging the notion off, he sat and witnessed as history unfolded in his brain, though there wasn't much of it. And then, after about a minute, everything went black again.
Slowly, he took the headpiece off and handed it to the man.
"So..." the man said, taking the headpiece from him, "now you understand?"
Jai looked stunned. "I'll bet one of those would help tremendously in medical class..."
He almost dropped the device.
"Heheh...sorry, couldn't resist...sorry, sorry," Jai apologized quickly, seeing the strange expressions on his companions' faces. "Seriously though, it was quite...surprising! It even bewildered my wildest expectations. I really didn't quite understand some parts of it...there was so much going on and so many things didn't make sense. But I think that basically, with the advent of such advanced technology, people have gone to faraway reaches of space, expanding territories on suitable planets. However, there was still a lot of unrest and conflicts, and several cataclysmic wars have finally brought about man's quasi-downfall. Is that...correct?"
"Well, it's a start...but there's more to..."
--CRASH--
She was interrupted by a loud noise and the sudden trembling of the ship.
"Could that be...the Earth fleet? Have they found us?!" The man shouted, panic in his voice.