A/N: Oh wow it's been literally AGES! Life hasn't been getting any easier, but I have a bit of a break. Let's hope we can hang in there. Here's an update for anyone reading this.

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CHAPTER 18

Interlude

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"Now that everybody is accounted for, perhaps we can begin," Magno said. 'Everybody' referred to Meia, Jai, Dita, Hibiki, Jura, Barnette, Gascogne, B.C., Parfet, Duero and the bridge crew...yes, including Bart.

Parfet pressed a button at the main console, and a picture of the enemy mothership in their last skirmish appeared. "Firstly, I would like to both congratulate and thank everyone regarding the course of events during our last battle; no lives were lost," at this, she gave a meaningful look to Jai and Meia. "Afterwards, we were able to collect a few of their fighter vessels for analysis. Information extraction wasn't that difficult, really; most of their software and memory remained intact despite being shut-off after that enormous blast. Anyway, based on the latent programming, it seemed all of the drones – and all of their craft for that matter – were connected to a single command source, thereby rendering all their data open to us to freely download and analyze, which we..."

Magno audibly cleared her throat. At this, the Mejale mechanic gave a start. "Oh! Sorry...got a little excited there. Long story short, we can confirm that the un-piloted crafts we encountered some time ago are neither Tarak nor Mejale; their origin is the planet called 'Earth', and their objective is something known as a 'harvest'."

'Harvest...? Now where have I...' Jai looked uneasy, then interjected. "Wait...Earth, you say?"

"Yes, wasn't that the home planet you were talking about some time ago?" Meia nodded to him.

Jai shrugged, "Yeah, it is, but I don't really know in this time...come to think of it, none of you have mentioned what Earth is now at all. Though I...think I've heard something recently..." he knocked on his forehead a few times. "I...argh, I can't remember."

"That's okay," Parfet continued, "data extraction is still on-going; we should have more to go on in a bit."

"Like what that 'harvest' is supposed to be?" B.C. asked, some worry in her stern voice. "I don't like the sound of it."

"Actually, that's the next thing I'd want to discuss," the mechanic's expression darkened. She then pressed a button on the display control, and images from the enemy database flashed for all to see. "If you don't like how it sounds, then you're going to hate how it looks like. I'm sorry if it's a bit graphic."

What seemed to be people of different kinds...young, old...gruesome mutilations, dismembered body parts; herded, killed and handled like animals by fearsome cybernetic constructs – usually by force and always with no shred of sympathy.

Everyone was dumbstruck. Jura visibly fought off vomiting right then and there. Dita hid her face in Hibiki's shirt, even as he was too horrified to react. Duero wordlessly approached Parfet and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The others merely stared with stunned expressions.

"What the f..." Jai cursed under his breath.

"Apparently," Parfet had now closed the on-screen display, "the 'harvest' refers to literally harvesting...humans, it seems...from other planets for the Earth's needs."

Ezra spoke in a hushed tone, "Then...if we hadn't won that last battle..." Her voice trailed off but everyone knew what she meant.

Parfet nodded, "Which is why I'm just really, really thankful to everyone."

Jai was still staring up at the screen. "So there are people even on planets other than Tarak and Mejale?"

Magno answered. "Of course. Although we are only yet aware of places that have been inhabited by either Tarak or Mejale."

"And what about Earth?" He pressed.

"That...is something we do not know." The pirate leader shook her head slowly. "But it does appear that these monstrosities are able to locate humans even on other planets, and that there are indeed places where innocent folk are treated this way. It is something we, and even the whole of both Tarak and Mejale, just cannot ignore."

A moment of silence passed, and then Meia said, "So...what is our course of action?"

Magno intervened. "It is clear that we survived the last encounter not by our planning, but by a stroke of good fortune...or fate." She then motioned to Parfet. "If I recall, there were new developments with our arsenal?"

The mechanic instantly cheered up. "Oh, yes! This is really awesome stuff!" She then activated the display again, this time showing pictures and schematics of the combined Vanguard-Dread machines. "Okay, so here's the thing...I suppose you all know the fusion of Jai's Vanguard with Meia's Dread, and the same thing with Hibiki's Vanguard and Dita's Dread."

"Yeah, how did that happen, actually?" Gascogne asked. She and her squad had seen the least of the extraordinary events, being almost overwhelmed with support and repair of the other ships. "Never knew Vanguards and Dreads could do that trick."

"Oh, it's not a trick!" Parfet was brimming with excitement. "Remember when the Ikazuchi fused with our ship to form this one we now call Nirvana, there was this really big flash of light? The only other ships that were nearby then were the Dreads of Dita, Meia and Jura, as well as the two Vanguards we have now."

"So you're saying that whatever combined the two huge ships...also granted those others the ability to fuse as well?" B.C. asked.

Parfet nodded. "And the fusion is always between a Vanguard and a Dread."

Dita chimed in, "Me and Mr. Alien were practicing yesterday, and we were able to do it again like in the battle!"

Jura bawled, "My fusion ship with Hibiki looked terrible! I'd rather just go alone!"

"Mine and the other Dreads couldn't manage anything like that...not that I really wanted it to," Barnette somehow didn't sound all that pleased.

Magno spoke, "Though the question still remains...how exactly?"

"Well...to tell the truth, I have absolutely no idea yet..." Parfet answered sheepishly. "But then again, I believe it has something to do with the Pexis Pragma we now have, which is in very good working order, I might add. The most important thing is that we now have a vast improvement in firepower. And speaking of which..." Everyone then seemed to turn to face Jai.

He shrugged. "So I suppose we're going to try doing fusion with my Vanguard, then?"

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A/N: I am still alive! Actually I've been able to write quite a bit of what happens next, but it's still largely unfinished. This chapter was really short, I know, but it's to let whoever still follows this story to know that it's not dead yet! Hopefully I can get the continuation done soon...