Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or anything that references other anime, manga, movies, video games, and comics; they all belong to their respective owners and creators including Gonzo. I do own the things I created; enough said.
Chapter 3: Guardian Angels
January 19th 3818 AD; 11:30 am (1130 hours)
It had been a week since the birth of Ezra's baby which after thinking about several names, Ezra with Brian's blessing named her baby Miranda Kahlua Veil. Ezra wanted with Brian's permission to honor the memory of his mother who was killed in the Valentine colony tragedy.
Today however, things were very different, as the Nirvana had come across a planet, which at first barely could support life, but upon Arthur and Brian's investigation of the surface, the crew saw another atrocity of the Harvesters at work.
Three days later, Duero was making an entry into his journal summoning up the planet while just then; he heard the same recorded voice that had played on Anpathos months ago being broadcasted to the planet via several Vanguards and strong link-up devices.
"Duero McFile's medical log entry. It has been 3 days since the Nirvana had arrived at this planet and several personal have landed on this world. On this planet, every living creature including the humans on this planet is severely sick, barely clinging to life. It is very clear from the get go that this planet has been intentionally polluted by artificial means and not natural means. In other words, it is the work of our enemies the Harvesters. Even the water, air, and food are poisoned so badly we had to bring our own food to avoid sickness. Even though the crew has taken or is taking preventive measures to escape the infection, these people have been sick since birth. Sadly, our best medical treatments work only to downplay their sickness and anxiety. As a human being not just a doctor, no one here or anywhere should suffer like this. As long as I live, I will never, ever forgive these monsters known as the Harvesters for this because these people have the right to live and to exist, something that the Harvesters shouldn't take away from anyone." Duero said as he wrote with anger in his soul.
The settlement that Duero was expressing was felt by several other crew members including the three Terrain Prime Gundam pilots. All three of them felt sorrow and pity for ever last individual young and old, male and female, and of all race types.
Brian felt rage at what the Harvesters had done to this world because he had already meet orphans who had lost their parents some time ago. The crew who were on the planet had to take vaccinations to avoid getting sick including Brian himself along with Arthur and Bella likewise.
While Bella was trying to tell some stories to try to lift the spirits of the children of this world, Parfet was trying to work on a way to help the people of this planet whatever way she could.
"Geez, this isn't good at all because it could be impossible without terraforming the planet completely. We got to keep trying to find a way to help this world." Parfet said as she worked.
Parfet then pulled out her communicator to talk to Vandread Jura which was forming a shield to protect the world in case the Harvesters did decide to show up and cause a mess.
"Vandread Jura, how are things going up there?" Parfet asked to the mecha in orbit.
"So far nothing, everything looks good." Hibiki said calmly.
"Good, I'm going to conduct some experiments, so maintain your position over." Parfet said.
Hibiki nodded and replied, "Roger that, over and out."
"Hey Hibiki." Jura said seductively after the transmission ended.
Jura pretty much did very little in the Vandread Jura other than painting her nails which was a bit trivial in Bella's eyes and tired another attempt to get a man's seed this time it was Hibiki because Arthur said no along with the other men though Hibiki had a gut feeling that Jura was going to try again sometime.
"What is it?" Hibiki asked nervously.
Jura smiled and spoke to the Tarak youth while making some very rather suggestive moves on Hibiki as the pair worked above the planet much to Hibiki's utter confusion as this was alien to him.
"You do realize anything that happens in this cockpit only happens between us and us alone right?" Jura asked.
Hibiki rolled his eyes and replied, "Yeah I figured you would try to get my precious bodily fluid from me Jura, but the answer is no and I mean it because didn't Arthur tell you already and the rest of the crew that it is now hard enough that we're taking care of Miranda and the last thing we need is another baby that'll drain key and vital supplies for the Nirvana."
"Oh come on Hibiki, I've gotten interested in men recently including Arthur your mentor or one of them." Jura said seductively.
"Stay away from me please!" Hibiki shouted while tying to move away from Jura.
Just then Misty came on the contacted the Vandread, "Hey old lady! What do you think you're doing!?"
Jura didn't take to kindly to the remark and replied, "Old Lady!? Who are you calling me an old lady!?"
"Leave Mr. Alien alone Jura!" Dita shouted seconds later.
Jura just merely shut off the communications line and tired another move; seduction which she hoped would work because the one department she was skilled in was good looks.
So with one quick move, Jura got Hibiki to look at her and she flashed him with her breasts which appeared to work before Hibiki snapped out of it and tried to resist the voluptuous blonde Mejere woman.
Jura wasn't about to give up on Hibiki as she was about to pull out other methods to get Hibiki's seed including stripping nude when all of a sudden, Arthur came on to stop this pointless endeavor.
"Okay you two, enough with the crazy antics because we got a mission here and Jura, Hibiki, there is going to be a long talk about your actions today." Arthur said "And before you ask, I heard everything along with the rest of the crew because of your antics turned on the communications systems; audio only for pretty much everyone to hear which I recorded by the way thanks to Paiway."
"Oh, my, gosh you mean it?" Jura asked nervously.
"Um sir, are you sure?" Hibiki asked.
"Pretty much in a nutshell," Arthur replied stoically.
This caused both Hibiki and Jura to blush a deep shade of red because of this revelation and it was made worse when Arthur said that Paiway made a recording of the acts herself. With said, everyone got back to work.
Back on the surface of the planet, Magno, Gascogne, and Pyoro stood with a couple residents of the planet including what was the leader near a field of pod-like caskets as one was sealed up while a wooden doll-like figurine was taken and held by an attendant.
"Now then, let's return the body to the soil so the person can rest in peace." Magno said somberly.
The leader that was dressed in a brown and dull gold outfit looked at the pirate leader with his gray eyes and shook his head sadly as he told her why the planet's residents couldn't do that.
"We can't do that because the Earth comes to pick up the coffins periodically using a transport that is on top of a mountain nearby." The chieftain said sadly.
The leader of the sickened planet gestured to the said transport that was on top of a mountain nearby that was linked to a station where the containers or caskets were loaded for the Harvesters to collect for their own ends.
"You mean, you folks can't even bury your own dead including your own children? What the hell is that about anyway? I take it has to do with those Harvesters." Arthur said from his Gundam near the group.
"Sadly, that's the rule of the planet around here." The leader of the planet said somberly.
This angered the Fujin Gundam pilot and he spoke, "You know what, time you folks regained your independence from those monsters."
"Arthur, what are you-"
Magno didn't finish as Arthur flew his Gundam where the ship the people of the planet placed their dead to be taken by the Harvesters as Magno watched on wondering what he was about to do.
"Before you do any vandalism around here, did you look at the place where these people place the dolls of themselves." Magno asked.
"I did and it sickens me, Bella, Brian, and pretty much anyone from the Nirvana because these people know they're going to die which these people just accept it like nothing, well then at least they should be allowed to bury their dead and not have only a mere doll no offense be the only thing to remember their loved one by. These people deserve the right to live their lives normally and not as lab rats ma'am." Arthur said sternly.
After saying that, Arthur took out his Gundam's two plasma katana sabers and before anyone could blink, he sliced it up and after pushing it over the plateau where after it landed in an empty field, it exploded.
This act caught everyone on the surface's attention including Duero who was continuing to write in his journal about how the people of the planet were not even allowed to bury their loved ones, but rather the only thing they could remember them by was a doll that the dying person made before death.
Rather than get reprimanded or jeered, the people of the planet cheered at the destruction of the container ship along with the pirates on the surface including his teammates.
Seconds later, he cut up the rail line that would've linked the container ship to the building where the dead were placed which then all of a sudden, the Vulcan and Calypso Gundams appeared and after the people got away from it, all three Gundams destroyed the area-device where the dead would be placed for their trip to the now destroyed container ship together finally destroying the power the Harvesters had on this planet.
"Yeah, demolition derby baby!" Brian shouted cheerfully.
"This ought to show the Harvesters that their reign on this planet is over and that these people are now free." Arthur said while looking out to the horizon.
Meanwhile, Duero was writing in his medical journal when he heard laughter coming from nearby and looked. Bart was entertaining a little girl eight-years old named Shirley wearing a hospital gown who despite being sick was listening to Bart's tall-tales though sadly she'd was doom to die in a few days.
"With that incident, the men's ship the Ikazuchi and the women's ship the Red Pearl fused together. We then encountered an unknown enemy! There, I came up with a plan." Bart said cheerfully.
"What was the plan?" Shirley asked.
"I plan only I could've come up with…we jumped across space!" Bart exclaimed.
Just then, Bella arrived in the entrance to where Bart, Shirley, and Duero were and was about to intervene when Arthur and Brian stopped her because even though Bart was exaggerating things, giving the golden-harried and hazel-eyed girl hope was better than nothing.
"Shirley, what do you think it's like to jump across space?" Bart asked the ill girl in a serene matter.
"Um does it hurt?" Shirley asked curiously.
"No, not at all because you'd be surprised!" replied Bart.
Shirley just spoke only one thing, "Whoa."
"Yeah, I guess that's a pretty common response right?" Bart asked.
Nearby, the three Terrain Prime Gundam pilots were joined by Gascogne, Barnette, and Pyoro who watched Bart entertain Shirley with his tall-tails. Even though Pyoro spoke mostly in a normal human speech, he'd occasionally used Pyoro when he was finished speaking.
"We're the ones who are actually surprised-Pyoro." Pyoro said.
"But, it's hard to get angry at someone when they're boasting that shamelessly." Gascogne said.
Barnette then spoke up as she looked at the scene between the two as for her, this was very touching on her heart strings despite her now relaxing views between the two genders.
"I can't help, but feel sorry for that girl Gascogne…I heard that she's been in this isolation unit since she was born." Barnette said.
"I guess we'll just have to let his boasting go for this one time," Gascogne said quietly.
Nearby while Pyoro felt sorrow for the people of the polluted world, Duero put in a request for additional medical supplies when Paiway came up to him with her usual hand/bag frog puppet.
"I sent a request for more supplies, they should be here by tomorrow morning." Duero said.
"Will the people get better when the supplies arrive?" Paiway said "I feel very sorry for them doc."
"I know that Paiway and we're doing our best, but-"
Duero didn't finish his train of thought when Bart came into the room where he and Paiway were in to speak of an idea to help the planet's residents including Shirley he talked to just now.
"Hey um…I just had an idea, why don't we take these people with us back to Tarak, Mejere, and Terrain Prime?" Bart asked.
Brian walked in and spoke, "I'm sorry Bart as much as we'd love to do that we can't because we don't have enough supplies to take all of these people on the Nirvana. Also, they wouldn't survive the long voyage back to any of those worlds including Terrain Prime Bart."
"He's correct on that Bart and sorry to disappoint you." Duero said.
Bart pretended to be okay and spoke, "Oh, of course we can't do that. Sorry for bothering you guys and I'll see you all later then…"
Bart then left and several hours later Bart was sitting in a tent reading a bunch of books on ways he hoped would give him the answer to helping the people of the polluted planet his way.
Mango looked on as Arthur was about to head out to patrol for enemy activity in the area with Bella and Brian which all three stopped to look on with the elderly captain.
"I don't get it why he's still trying to find a way despite the current circumstances." Brain said.
"That's probably because for him, a child dying this young isn't something he's dealt with before as my mom told my sister and I heartbreaking stories of infants and children dying young especially the former only hours after birth including one twin living while the other didn't. She's repeatedly told us it never gets easy trust me, but I love that he's trying so give him some credit where it's due." Bella said.
Brian then left with Bella following seconds later while Arthur looked before going to his Gundam to scout the rest of the planet while Julian and their squad mates. One thing was clear in his mind that this made the Holocaust of WWII look like a tea party, but was just as bad as this planet's situation.
High above, Vandread Jura was trying again to terra-form the planet while shielding it at the same time with no success for trying duel duties which was monitored by Misty and Dita on the Nirvana.
Misty wore a blue and light blue sleeveless outfit with pink bow tie along with gray and white boots courtesy of the pirates and a few accessories so she has something else to wear.
"This is the fifth time already today." Misty said.
Dita contacted Hibiki to see how he was doing, "Mr. Alien, are you doing okay?"
"Don't worry about a thing. This is nothing." Hibiki said.
Jura then appeared on the screen and spoke, "I can't handle this anymore."
"Grrr…that old hag again!" Misty shouted.
Dita could only mutter Mr. Alien before Arthur appeared on the screen of the Vandread clearly annoyed with Jura's lack of motivation and decided to talk to the blonde pilot to get her refocused on the task at hand.
"Hey Jura, WE'RE ON A MISSION HERE! So, go to the complaints department later! Or better yet, I'll fly over to the Vandread, attach an air lock, and climb in the cockpit to cut your hair!" Arthur said sternly.
"Alright already sheesh, don't need to be such a prick." Jura grumbled.
On the bridge, Meia and Buzam continued to monitor the activity above and below the planet when Meia asked Buzam if Hibiki and Jura were okay much to the XO of the Nirvana's surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Buzam asked.
"Even though it's only temporary, Vandread Jura's been covering the planet for a long time. All day in fact that it's now 6:50 pm." Meia said.
"Well according to Parfet, it depends on the mood of the Paksis and the stamina of both Jura and that boy Hibiki." Buzam said.
Meia nodded before she replied, "I've heard that this planet's environment was altered by changing the data in the Paksis. Though commander, I ask myself what the Paksis real is."
"Same here as well because until recently, it was thought of as only an ideal energy source though at times, it seems to almost have a mind of its own almost like its actually alive or something." Buzam replied.
Everyone shifted with each other as evening fell and by the next morning, the same old song and dance continued as the Nirvana and its allies tried their best to help the people of the polluted world. In the same Medical Ward established on the surface of the planet, Bart once again was going to pay a visit to Shirley.
Bart noticed as he knocked that Shirley was creating something and hid it from him for a reason. After the door opened, Bart decided to ask what the young girl was up to.
"Shirley, what are you hiding?" Bart asked.
"Nothing." Shirley replied nervously.
Bart entered and walked over to Shirley's bedside and she greeted him, "Good morning older brother."
"Why can't you show me what you were working on? I thought we were friends?" Bart asked.
Shirley looked down a bit before speaking, "I guess you're right and promise me not to laugh at it okay?"
Bart nodded and Shirley pulled the bed sheet off her lap and it showed a doll version of Bart himself incomplete. Bart said nothing before he asked if it was him and Shirley confirmed it.
"Yes it's true Bart. It's a doll of you. I'm not that good at this so, I kind of was a bit embarrassed…So what do you think?" Shirley asked.
Bart nodded and replied, "It's okay but, it doesn't have any hair."
"Don't worry, I'll put it on later." Shirley said while holding a bit of fabric for the hair.
"Great, just be sure to make it as handsome as I am okay? And in return, I'll grant you any wish." Bart said "Just say the word for whatever you want me to do for you Miss Shirley."
Shirley fumbled with words while Bart was trying to reassure her that he would do what she asked him to do and found an answer to Bart's question as the Tarak helmsman waited patiently.
"Then…um, I would like to climb on the roof of that dome outside of my room here." Shirley said pointing to a nearby building.
Bart looked and saw that it was the same building where the dolls of the dead were kept ironically before she spoke again, "I've always wanted to go outside and see the world from there at least once. The only sky you can see from here behind this window is all gray which is not fun."
"Alright I got it then now, I'll take you there." Bart said.
"Really? You would do that?" Shirley asked.
"Yes, yes I would but in return, you have to promise me that you'll go through whatever treatment you'll be given by the medical staff even if it's painful okay?" Bart replied.
Shirley nodded before she spoke, "You got it! Oh and yeah one thing, there's a place I've been having some trouble with on your doll."
Then suddenly, Shirley winced in pain which panicked Bart and he called out for help right away with no hesitation even though Shirley tired to dismiss the concerns as if the pain she was going through wasn't a big deal, but her pain got worse scaring Bart.
"Duero! Come quick! She needs help!" Bart shouted.
A few hours later around 12:50 pm, Shirley stabilized for now and outside of the Medical tent, Parfat and her team with the help from Brian and Pyoro were trying another attempt to terra-form the planet.
"Samp-system is ready and operational Parfet." Brian said with an engineer near him.
"Okay, let's try this again and hopefully it'll work." Parfet said.
"Roger firing it up now." Pyoro said.
Both Pyoro and the engineer next to him pressed a series of buttons that launched a device into the atmosphere in another attempt to terra-form the planet. A few hours would tell if it'd work or not.
Meanwhile, while all three Terrain Prime Gundam pilots had just gotten their usual physical exam by Duero completed and Duero went back to monitoring Shirley's vital signs. Eventually, Bart joined him clearly concerned about Shirley which, appeared to be unusual for a man of Tarak as a person from an all-male world wouldn't care for a female let alone a female child.
"How is she doc?" Bart asked.
"She's stabilized for now Bart." Duero said calmly.
Bart didn't like that answer and spoke up, "What do you mean for now!?"
"It means sadly, we can't fully cure her Bart. I wish that we could, but we can't because although we can keep her alive, her body is already weakened by the illness that she has." Duero replied.
"Then use my body! I'll let you use any part! Anything to save her doc!" Bart shouted vainly.
"Bart! As much as noble as the gesture is, that's not going to help unfortunately. Please understand that." Duero said.
Bart just looked dejected and spoke to Duero as he felt like he'd just been shot down as for him, saving that kid even though she was a female would make his day and be a beacon of hope for the planet.
"Shirley…she listened to my stories with joy, carefully and closely without even blinking or missing a beat. For the first time in my life, I've made someone happy doc. Shirley is…a…very important person to me." Bart said.
Bella walking by peered into the room that Duero and Bart were in before leaving to go another round of patrols with her Vanguard squadron though inside of her mind she knew when Shirley would pass away as she grimly knew, it would devastate him. One thing bothered her though, she'd never dated the guy and yet there was a part of him that told her that he'd still has something to prove to her.
Putting those aside, she went out on patrol to ensure the Harvesters would never get anywhere near the planet while Arthur maintained an air presence around the facility while Brian guarded the Nirvana while she'd and her squad would patrol the planet.
Several hours later around 4:58 pm, Duero had just finished his round of checks with his patients including Shirley when Barnette came in through the front doors of the facility clearly looking for him.
"Doctor! Where are you?" Barnette said.
"What's wrong now?" Duero asked.
Gascogne then came in with a pregnant woman and spoke, "We found this pregnant woman collapsed on the way here doctor. She won't even respond to us which is serious."
"Taker her to the operating room right away!" Duero shouted.
Once there, Duero used a device to scan the subject to see what was wrong with her and he spoke up after he examined her for a few moments after the women brought her to the place.
"She's pregnant and the delivery time is very close." Duero said.
"It's just like that, we keep finding sick people everywhere we go and turn to." Gascogne said nearby.
"On the other hand, it's harder to find people here that aren't sick at all. If my theory is correct and holds water, a child born in a non-polluted environment would be safe from contamination or sickness." Duero replied.
While Gascogne and Barnette looked at each other trying to figure out with Duero on his theory outside, the terra-forming attempt was met with another failure much to the frustration of Brian, Pyoro, Parfat, and Parfet's Engineering team.
"Dammit, it's not working at all." Parfet grumbled.
"Same over here too as well." A fellow engineer near a device said.
Parfet signed a bit before speaking, "Well, it is an ambitious attempt to transform the whole planet into a livable planet."
"Well then, I guess we're a little conceited Parfet. If could do this flawlessly, we would've solved the various problems that could be solved on Mejere a long time ago." Gascogne said nearby.
"Is there a way we can isolate the hospital from the pollution of this planet Parfet?" Barnette asked.
"Why is that Barnette?" Parfet asked.
Barnette spoke again while looking at Parfet with a sympathetic look, "A baby is going to be born very soon. Duero said that the people on this planet get sick because they come in contact with the deadly atmosphere at birth."
"So in other words, as long as the baby doesn't come in contact with the planet's atmosphere, the baby will be okay and healthy." Parfet said.
"But Parfat, there isn't enough Paksis to go around." Both Pyoro and Brian said.
Parfet clinched her right fist before speaking, "I don't give a damm if we only have enough Paksis for just one bed, one is better than none and it'll give these people a bit of hope for once. We must secure a space for the new baby!"
"Roger that ma'am!" Brian and Pyoro shouted.
"Alright then, let's get to it because we'll need all the help we can get! Barnette, Gascogne help me out okay!" Parfet shouted.
High up in space, Vandread Jura was still maintaining its post above the planet while Hibiki and Jura were trying to not get bored with the task at hand. Arthur on the other hand was patrolling near them with his Vanguard squadron along with Bella trying to keep them both focused and not bored at the same time.
"Keeping them focused is harder than looks Arthur." Bella grumbled.
"No kidding, even the story of my sister and I trying three different hot peppers in both puree and jam form isn't cutting it." Arthur said.
Hibiki inside the Vandread on the other hand just moaned, "I can't take much more of this any longer."
Jura then fell on him clearly in the same mindset as he was which freaked him out considerably as the voluptuous blonde Mejere woman was really annoying with her attitude and spoke to her once she got her upright again.
"What do you think you're doing woman!?" Hibiki shouted.
"I'm tired okay! What's wrong with that?" Jura asked.
Before the two could think, the Vandread's radar/sensors came to life to alert them that the Harvesters had arrived to collect the dead and also the remaining people on the planet which upon hearing it from Hibiki, Arthur and Bella ordered everyone to battle stations right away with no hesitation or wasting a second.
"Holy crap! It's the enemy! They've come here!" Hibiki shouted.
"No…not now! At a time like this! This is the last thing we need when we're trying to help the people on the planet below!" Jura said seconds later.
After both of them got into a battle mind setting, Jura couldn't help but complain on how annoying the Harvesters were at a time like now while Hibiki on the other hand wasn't too bothered.
"This great for once because I was getting tired of doing this boring job this blonde lady and I were given so we're heading out now!" Hibiki said.
"Hold on there, Jura and Hibiki you can't move the Vandread because we need to prevent an invasion of the planet." Gascogne said via communications line.
"Dammit!" Hibiki shouted.
Back on the planet, Bart sat near Shirley's bed almost like she was his child even though Shirley wasn't his. His thoughts on Shirley were interrupted by two pairs of footsteps and upon turning around it was Gascogne and Barnette.
"Bart, we need to leave now because the enemy is here and we have to return to the Nirvana." Gascogne said sadly with Barnette near her.
"But, I can't just leave here." Bart said.
"Both of us understand that completely Bart, but the Nirvana can't move without you at its helm." Barnette said.
After muttering Shirley's name one more time vowing to protect her Bart stood up, looked at Barnette and Gascogne and spoke, "Let's roll."
Up in space, the battle was about to start and Meia issued an order to Dita, "Dita, until Barnette arrives on the battlefield, I want you to lead Dread B-team. Can you handle it?"
"Yes leader of course! Since Mr. Alien isn't here and Jura can't help, I have to work even harder than before!" Dita shouted.
"Alright then everyone, follow Bella and I. We'll target the enemy mothership while Arthur hangs back with his Vanguard squad to defend Vandread Jura." Meia replied.
While the battle was about to get started, back down on the planet, Duero and Paiway were busy trying to ensure that the woman who was going to give birth would have her baby be born healthy from the toxic environment. Paiway got concerned about the woman and alerted Duero.
"Don't worry, it won't be born that quickly and besides, I need you to measure the interval of the pain for me please." Duero said.
"I gotcha doctor sorry, Duero." Paiway replied.
After Paiway turned her attention back to the mother-to-be, Duero contacted Parfet's group on the progress outside.
"Parfat, how's everything going on outside?" Duero asked.
"We're almost done thanks to a big part by Brian and his prime Vanguard team. We won't have time to test it out, but I'll try to make something useful happen in due time doctor." Parfet replied.
Meanwhile in space, the battle waged on in defense for the planet as Meia gave an order to her comrades with her, "Those with me go straight through and hit the mother ship while Bella's forces will provide support."
After getting a sharp roger, Meia and Bella's forces attack the Harvester ship, but to their annoyance, the improved Cube Fighters were preventing them from laying one scratch on the ship while keeping them occupied.
"Damm, they're getting smarter." Meia grumbled.
"Well then, what was your first clue Sherlock?" Bella asked sarcastically.
On the Vandread, Hibiki and Jura heard the communications of the battle going on which a report of Dread C-team unable to get to the main ship and the enemy breaking their formation along with Bella's team.
As the battle started to unfold, Hibiki noticed Jura resting near him after complaining on how not to approach an enemy ship and he spoke up to the voluptuous blonde Mejere woman.
"Hey now! Now's not the time to rest now!" Hibiki shouted.
Jura looking up merely spoke one thing after getting up to face Hibiki clearly tired and not in the mood to talk to Hibiki let alone fight the battle right now much to Hibiki's anger.
"I'm sorry but, I'm at my limit." Jura said.
The Vandread the shock after being hit by a group of Cube Fighters that had broken past Arthur's group though they were thankfully taken care of by Dita, Arthur, and the Vanguards led by Julian to provide some relief for the Vandread though the machine was being put to its absolute limit as the people on the Nirvana's bridge were noticing.
"Vandread Jura's shield is dangerously unstable now!" Amorone shouted.
"The condition isn't looking good commander!" Celtic said in a nurse outfit seconds later.
Back inside in the Vandread, Jura was tired and for some reason unable to continue the battle while Bella and Arthur had to order their prime Vanguard teams to retreat due to damage and order the reserve teams to deploy.
"Dammit I'm beginning to lose-"
Hibiki didn't finish when Arthur appeared to calm him down and try to get Jura back up as the blonde voluptuous Mejere was still looking like she had way too many drinks at the bar.
"Hibiki calm down that's an order. Besides, reinforcements are on the way now and tell Jura that she should learn that everyone shouldn't give up wily and we're still going to discuss the little stunt between you two." Arthur said.
After the line was cut, the Vandread was hit again and allowed a small part of the shield to fade, but allowed both a wreaked Cube Fighter and something else through the gap.
Arthur right away contacted Brian to alert those on the ground about what was going to hit them. Seconds later, Brian boarded his Gundam while his teammates boarded their Vanguards and went to intercept the two objects leaving Parfet and her engineering team to finish the work.
Down on the surface, the destroyed Cube Fighter was easily destroyed by Brian and his Vanguard team while the unknown Harvester unit emerged out of its pod which based on its function, it was very likely designed should the collecting of bodies on the planet ran into trouble.
Nearby while the battle went on, Shirley had regained enough strength to wake up, hear the battle going on outside, and looked around to wonder where Bart was at.
"Big Brother, where are you?" Shirley asked.
Shirley then saw the doll she was making for Bart and spoke as she tried to reach it despite her strength draining away as her life was fading away bit by very painful bit
"Oh yeah I….remember now….I….have to finish…the…..doll…for…big….bro…ther…"
Shirley however sadly, ran out of strength and collapsed onto her bed while pulling on the cloth that had a pin cushion and the incomplete doll of Bart which alerted Duero and Paiway nearby.
"What's going on now?" Paiway asked.
"It's coming from Shirley's room and tell the captain to come help with the pregnancy while I'll deal with what's wrong with Shirley." Duero said.
"Okay doctor." Paiway replied quickly.
Meanwhile, the unknown Harvester unit had transformed into a massive ugly creature that looked like a cross between a gorilla and an alligator. Though the creature repulsed a few of the women, Brian didn't look afraid and charged onward.
"These people have suffered enough like being treated like lab animals and not being allowed to bury their dead, I WILL NOT LET YOU MONSTERS HAVE YOUR WAY!" Brian shouted.
The other Vanguards with him stood stunned as he ran forward dodging a downward punch before sidestepping it and using both arm blades courtesy of the Paksis before utilizing his Kung Fu and other Martial Arts he learned before his parents died which they had him take so he could defend himself which was paying off big time.
"Very impressive, who knew he was very skilled like this." Natalie said while watching.
"No kidding. He must teach us those types of moves sometime." Parfet replied as she was watching the fight.
He wasn't done yet which after making a brief mental note thanking his parents, he then ran around it before using the arm blades along with the foot blades to stab and climb up the monster Harvester unit before using the blades in a scissor fashion to decapitate the unit before stabbing the neck area decapitating it and stabbing the CPU core to destroy it completely.
"Piece of useless tin trash." Brian said as he was landing in front of the destroyed unit.
Back above, the Dread and Vanguard teams were having their work cut out for them as the enemy ship got closer to the planet faster for some reason which wasn't good.
"Damm those Bastards, they're doing as they please because we got our hands full." Hibiki grumbled.
Jura woke up and saw the enemy ship get closer and spoke only one thing to express her deadpan attitude at the moment which Hibiki found irritating while Arthur who checked in on them
"The enemy ship is getting closer." Hibiki said.
The enemy ship opened up and was trying the same move on the Vandread just like it did on Anpathos when Dita was almost sucked up when just then at the same time, Bella appeared and was grabbing her to get her away from the ship when Dita came too close to her when another bright flash appeared which instigated another Gundread fusion.
The new unit looked like it had the appearance of a normal centaur, but the top humanoid part looked like a nuclear reactor stack with two arms on the upper part while the horse part had eight legs instead of four. Everyone saw the weird as hell Gundread which was to be called Gundread Dita C mode.
Inside the cockpit, Dita and Bella regained their bearings in the new cockpit which both of them standing up, but facing opposite directions in a panoramic, liner seat-style cockpit.
"Whoa, this is strange Miss. Bella." Dita said.
"We can ask later because we got a battle to win." Bella said seconds later.
While both pilots activated the new Gundread and started to fight which they began to dent and damage the ship much to the relief of everyone, but still it wasn't enough though at what appeared to be at the last second, the ship tried the same technique which missiles fired from out of the blue then forced the mouth the shut up again.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Jura." Barnette said as she appeared.
"Now you know what it feels like to be back stage Jura which are you okay Jura?" Gascogne asked seconds later.
While Jura cheered at Barnette and Gascogne appearing, Hibiki in exasperation at Jura finally seemed to be back in the swing of things which after Arthur was informed, he did a quick facepalm with his left hand before returning to defending the Vandread with his Vanguard teammates and Bella's Vanguard team due to the Gundread forming.
"So you finally came after all! Anyway, how are we going to defeat that monstrous thing just by playing defense?" Hibiki asked.
Just then Bart's voice came on all of the communications lines with a spirit and vigor that none of them had seen before which surprised many including Hibiki himself as this was new from Bart.
"Don't worry Hibiki and everyone, I won't let anyone of them get any closer to the planet!" Bart shouted.
Bart inside the Navigational Well took a firm stance which he then spoke again after the Harvester ship shook off the Gundread, but it was more damaged thanks to Dita and Bella.
"No matter what happens to me, I WILL NOT MOVE FROM THIS SPOT!" Bart shouted.
"What the heck? Did something happen to him?" Hibiki asked to himself confused.
As the Harvesters continued their assault, Bart inside his mind reached for a way to defend Shirley's home planet as did Bella and Dita inside of the Gundread.
"To you monstrous demons, it may be just another expendable life, but everyone here is fighting to just live! Shirley! As I do my best to defend and protect your home, you must do your very best as well no matter what! Fight…Fight…Fight!" Bart shouted mentally.
As Bart shouted a fiery speech in his mind, Duero down below on the planet was doing his very best to save Shirley while inside the Gundread, Bella had the same thought in mind as Bart as she too reached out to unleash what she hoped this Gundread had to offer as did Dita.
"I won't let you guys continue to do as you please with these civilians!" All three shouted at the same time like magic.
Then sections of the Nirvana opened up to reveal not only missiles, but also a pair of cannons at the ends of the arm sections, the forward top section, and the forward bottom section though it was on the very bottom while at the same time, the Gundread folded itself up into a ball and positioned itself in front of the Nirvana like a pinball charging energy as it spun rapidly.
"What is going on there?" Brian asked.
After locking on the targets, Dita, Bella, and Bart had only one message to send to the Harvesters and it would be loud and clear that it could've been written down for future generations.
"GET THE HELL OF THIS PLANET YOU DEMONIC EVIL MONSTERS!" Bella, Dita, and Bart shouted together.
The Gundread then fired like a battleship round while Bart fired the cannons and the missiles at the same time all aiming for the Harvesters which freaked out everyone in the firing rage at first which Hibiki made it clear.
"Hey! We're in the way!" Hibiki shouted as Jura sat freaked out.
To everyone's surprise, the shots and missiles missed and went around the allied units destroying every single Harvester machine while heading towards the main ship along with the folded up Gundread though Dita was worrying she'd get sick from this.
"What are those things?" Buzam asked watching from the Nirvana's bridge.
"Holy (censored)! What was that just now?" Misty asked.
"What a convenient set of weaponry." Ezra said nearby.
Jura inside the Vandread in disbelief just muttered one thing as the destruction went on against the Harvesters that was slowly, but surely turning the tide of the battle in a great way.
"What are those things?" Jura asked.
"Heh, heh, heh, looks like he finally manned up for once and another Gundread has been added to our arsenal." Hibiki said.
Within seconds, the shots and the missiles hit the Harvester ship seriously damaging the ship which the final blow came from the Gundread which hit the ship and driving itself into the ship and destroying it from the inside while Bart's shots finally ended the ship for good.
The Gundread reappeared and unfolded itself while the Nirvana's weapons stopped firing and thus the battle ended in favor of the Nirvana forces. For everyone, freedom would survive on the planet.
On the ground, night had fallen and the sound of a newborn baby's cry broke the silent night. Both the baby and its mother were both in a special dome-tent comfortably.
"It's all okay now because the baby has been born nice and healthy." Paiway said.
Nearby Parfet spoke good news as well, "We're all okay here too because the force field is stable."
Just then, the elderly man who Magno spoke to earlier walked up to Parfet's group which Magno was a part of appearing wanting to say something to the pirates present.
"I don't know how my people and I can repay all of you folks." The leader said.
"Um, we did nothing sir because we couldn't help clean the whole planet up from all of this pollution. Not to mention, we couldn't do more than what we could for the mother and her baby." Parfet replied referring to the high-tech tent.
"No now, this is more than enough from what we can see. You have done something very meaningful. You of all people have created a beacon of life in this terrible wasteland and have given us light in this once-dark and sad place. A light called hope which sure it may not be large now, but in time we will give birth to our new children from that sanctuary that has been built here." The leader said.
Then the old man paused imagining the planet slowly bit by bit being restored to a lush, beautiful planet that everyone else from the Nirvana imagined as well as this was a well earned victory.
"With those healthy children born healthy and whole, little by little and piece by piece, they will spread the seeds of life and one day in the future, we'll make this planet a lush and green planet once again as it was before. Although sadly, many of us won't live to see that happen, this light of hope will be passed down from generation to generation in the years to come. It is all thanks to all of you people who have come here we say thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!" The leader said in joy.
"Thank you." Parfat said while crying a bit.
Behind her, Bella, Bart, and Arthur were going to tell Shirley the good news that they won which to mostly Bart's surprise, Brian was waiting for him and he had a few tears streaming down his face.
"What's wrong? I need to tell Shirley we won!" Bart said.
Brian said nothing as he escorted the three to where Shirley's room was and to Bart's surprise, the medical equipment was off and Shirley was silent not moving or breathing. The three Gundam pilots let Bart in first before they followed suit.
"What's wrong doc? It's awfully quiet around here isn't it?" Bart said.
Duero said nothing as Bart walked over to the medical device that kept Shirley alive while Brian told Bella and Arthur what had happened which Bart didn't know yet; Shirley had passed away just as the battle was ending.
"The machine has stopped working as well…stop fooling around doc there must be an error right?" Bart asked again oblivious to the truth.
Bart walked over to Shirley's bedside hoping this was all a joke meant to pull his leg not knowing that nothing was what it seemed to the Tarak helmsman of the Nirvana while the three Gundam pilots stood nearby.
"Hey there Shirley…open your eyes please…I got more stories to tell…" Bart said.
"Bart!" Arthur, Bella, and Brian shouted together.
"She did her very best until the end to live, but sadly I couldn't save her life. I'm sorry Bart, so sorry." Duero said as he came into the room.
Bart looked at them including Duero and was about to yell at them, but his feet touched something and upon looking, it was the incomplete doll that Shirley never got to finish that struck him in his heart like never before.
The Tarak youth said nothing as he picked up the doll and left quietly to be alone. The Gundam pilots stayed as Duero placed the sheet over Shirley's body before they left with the doctor.
Once outside while everyone was preparing to leave, Bella found Bart sitting by himself near the facility and walked to him which she was then joined by Magno. Bella got to Bart first, got on one knee, and spoke loud enough to talk to him.
"Bart, I'm so sorry. We did our very best to protect her." Bella said.
"The young lady is right young man. Is this the very first time a young man from Tarak like you has seen someone die?" Magno asked, "It's hard isn't it young man? It's very sad young boy. I should've done this…I should've done that…the only thing that goes through your mind is regret. The only real thing we can do for us living is to remember those who've passed on is to keep them in our hearts and minds. Bart, you now carry on that young girl's life along with your own now."
"She's right Bart; your life isn't your own now! Bart, look up with your head held high and cherish those memories and start living for her!" Bella said with determination.
"For what? I'll ever did was make up stories about me being a hero when in reality it was you guys who did a lot of the work!" Bart shouted with sorrow.
"Regardless if she knew your stories were true or false you did something for her. You made her smile, you made her laugh, and mostly important of all gave her hope. Hope Bart, is the one thing we fight for when everything we know is gone. Don't worry; a man crying isn't anything to be ashamed of Bart because I've seen other guys cry before coming to the Nirvana as it means they're human like women including myself." Bella said sympathetically.
"She's right young man, cry as much as you like and don't hold back." Magno said gently.
With that told to him, Bart just let out the floods of emotions with both females helping him while nearby, Brian and Arthur looked on before the elderly man who they've spoken to earlier walked up to the duo and wanted to say something.
"I wish to thank you two for defending the village from that monster." The elderly man said calmly.
"Really, it was Brian who did all the work while his Vanguard comrades took positions to cover the facility and by the way, we never got you name or the name of this planet." Arthur said.
"Ti's okay as you gave us hope for the future and gave us freedom from those monsters. Also, the name of this planet is one is called Aurora and my name is John Grayson." The elderly man said.
After shaking his hand, both pilots nodded and left to board their Gundam units which Bella followed suit after getting Bart to the shuttle with Magno's help. After burying the dead supposed to be picked up along with Shirley, the Nirvana was ready to leave the planet codenamed Aurora.
"All units have been retrieved Commander, we're ready to head out now." Celtic said.
Just then Bart arrived on the bridge, but this time he was wearing the doll Shirley made around his neck like pendant while all of his hair was shaved off. Nobody said anything as Bart made his way to the Navigational Well and jumped everyone got their bearings back, Magno spoke to Bart an order.
"Full speed ahead to the Tarak and Mejere system." Magno said.
"Full speed ahead to the Tarak and Mejere system, aye captain." Bart replied in a confident voice.
With that said, the Nirvana sped away to its destination; the Tarak and Mejere system. In another part of the ship, Jura and Hibiki were getting lectured about their little stunt in the Vandread's cockpit by Arthur, Brian, and Bella even though Hibiki was getting less of the heat due to his training by the three.
After the lecture was done, Jura caught up to Arthur while he was starting a report on the planet the Nirvana had just visited and was annoyed with his ignorance of her, but that ended after he finished it ten minutes later.
"I still want to have a baby though after all of this." Jura said.
"Look Jura, listen to me very closely. One; we don't have enough resources for another child as Ezra's child is hard enough on our supplies as it is, two; you'd risk both yourself and the unborn baby in battle, three; you should only want a child only when the person you're asking to have a child is ready and willing along with dealing with all of the expenses of raising a kid which last time I recalled costs a few hundred thousand dollars. If you do want to be with me, you need to straighten up and mature up otherwise, you'll get everyone around you killed because you put your trivial matters ahead of everyone else's lives. One last thing, war is hell Jura...war is hell..." Arthur said stoically.
Far away, on the TPSDNS Lunar, the last of the mobile suits were being retrieved when the Raijin Gundam came in battered and damaged with the other Gundams coming in through their states of damage were lighter. Observing from the bridge, Captain Nigel Wu looked on and just pinched the budge of his nose before ordering the ship to return to base.
"This isn't looking good." Captain Wu said.
"I know what you're saying, if we don't find an edge soon, we're all dead including Tarak and Mejere." Ashley replied somberly.
Even further away, Arthur's favorite cousin Harold Hanson in a modified stealth Solaris-class assault ship finished up his latest Tier 1 operation against Tarak and as soon as everyone was out of ear shot, he spoke.
"Arthur, Bella, Brian. Where ever you guys are, come back right now! We need everyone working together now more than ever." Harold said to himself while he signed.
For everyone, if Tarak and Mejere didn't stop, Humanity would be doomed…but those who are fighting against the Harvesters knew that Humanity and Freedom were worth fighting for and for the Nirvana, where they stopped at next would further show why the Harvester needed to be stopped for the sake of the Spark of Life to never burn out no matter what…
A/N: Another chapter bites the dust…
Also, a few have done the Discord-Q thing bit and I'll take a shot at that, but I won't show it because I want it to be a surprise.
The Gundread is a fusion of the Pacific Rim Jaeger Cherno Alpha and the Norse Mythology horse Sleipnir combined which is good for anti-ship combat on certain levels.
Now, would you kindly Read and Review to tell me what you think and no flames for if flames are seen, they shall be destroyed; only constructive criticism is allowed.
Bye now…