Vandread GA: The Second Stage
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 7: Roar of the Phoenix (Part 1)
April 20th 3818 AD; 2:30 pm (1430 hours)
No one could believe it, Gascogne was gone, dead, or possibly KIA. For a nearly a minute, everyone felt so numb. They were soon brought out of reality as the Harvesters continued their assault on the Nirvana and its defenders.
"Gasco! Gasco, please respond!" Ezra shouted from her station.
"Gasco's ship isn't responding!" Belvedere said seconds later.
Out on the battlefield, the battle was even worse shape; half of the Vanguards were now out of action and had to retreat and the Dreads weren't faring any better. Seeing the odds were now stacked against them, Arthur mentally kicked himself and issued an order to all forces still active.
"All forces retreat! I repeat! All units; mobile suits, Dreads, and other forces including Gundams please retreat and fall back to the Nirvana now! That's an order everyone now!" Arthur shouted from his Gundam.
Brian hearing the order fired several flares from his Gundam to signal retreat and everyone was starting to fall back to the Nirvana just as the Harvester copy of the Nirvana emerged out of the side of the Harvester Battleship it was driven into.
Despite Arthur's order, not everyone was going to listen to his order and Hibiki was doing just that. Hibiki attempted to fly Vandread Meia towards the fire, but it separated into the two machines Hibiki and Meia each piloted for some mysterious reason.
"Damn it! I'm going to destroy them all!" Hibiki shouted as he foolishly headed towards the enemy forces.
Just before he could get any farther, Barnette's Gundam in mobile suit mode along with Arthur's Gundam and Brian's Gundam stopped him any further towards the enemy.
"What the hell? Don't get in my way!" Hibiki shouted.
"That's enough out of you Private Tokai! I gave the order to fall back! Gascogne is now clearly Missing-in-action or has been Killed-in-action right now!" Arthur shouted with no sign of patience in his voice.
"Listen to your commanding officer Private Tokai! Gascogne wouldn't want you to waste your life! What did we tell you about letting your emotions control your actions on the battlefield? If you keep this attitude of yours up, you will be stripped of you pilot status and grounded permanently for the remainder of the voyage, do you want that to happen maggot!?" Brian asked.
"Hibiki, listen to your superiors now and fall back!" Barnette shouted.
Just as Brian grabbed Hibiki's Gundam/Vanguard and began to pull him back towards the Nirvana with Barnette following him as Arthur went on ahead, a sudden jolt came over Hibiki, Arthur, Brian, Dita, Meia, Jura, and Bella even though she was far away that all of them shrugged it off quickly.
A few minutes later after Arthur boarded the Nirvana, the ship all of a sudden boosted up and fled with the remaining defenders of the Nirvana following suit while at the same time, Bart was for some reason ejected from the Navigational Well and landed on his rear while a few crew members ended up getting the same treatment as well including Arthur.
"What just happened? Why did you get out?" Belvedere asked.
"I don't know! All of a sudden before I could react, I was suddenly thrown out of the Navigational Well and now the ship is flying without me at the helm! I swear on my Alpha and Omega!" Bart shouted.
Ezra nearby was repeatedly, but vainly calling out to Gascogne to try to raise her on the communications line when Arthur came onto the bridge still clad in his pilot suit holding his helmet feeling that he needed to tell Magno the news of Gascogne's death himself.
Arthur then saw what Ezra was doing and walked over to her station that with one quick motion, he shut off the communications line she was operating a bit rather coldly before he looked at her and spoke to the bridge operator.
"Ezra I'm sorry, but that's enough out of you. It is sadly clear from what is shown that Gascogne is for now considered possibly KIA right now. You've done enough which I admire, but you need to let it go and can you tell Buzam to bring a pair of handcuffs and a pair of security guards with me to the Hanger bay please? Hibiki needs some time to think about his foolish idea to charge headfirst into the enemy forces while being in an illogical state of mind."
Ezra after getting over the coldness of Arthur replied, "Very well then, I'll have Buzam have the things you need."
"Actually, its Squadron Leader Hanson ma'am. Address me by rank okay, get it right." Arthur said in the same emotionless tone.
"KIA or MIA?" Belvedere, Celtic, and Amarone asked at once together.
Buzam explained, "KIA means Killed-in-action and MIA means Missing-in-action. Gascogne may the first one of the two military terms Arthur has just used now."
"I'm detecting a large, high density gas nebula right in front of our path captain…" Belvedere said.
"Confirmed, we're entering the nebula right now. It's affecting our systems heavily captain." Amarone said seconds later.
Meanwhile outside, Brian continued to pull Hibiki while doing a fighting retreat at the same time with everyone else which after a few moments; everyone was back on the Nirvana.
"Lieutenant De Gras here, all Vanguards or mobile suits including the Gundams have been retrieved. No KIA's, but we got some wounded…" Brian said.
"Meia here, all Dreads have been retrieved. BC, I'm so sorry about Gascogne…" Meia said in a sad tone.
"Don't be Meia, war is war. Things like this sadly happen all the time like what happened not very long ago…" Brian said seconds later.
"Meia, don't beat yourself up, all of us here are not happy with what happened out there. Please get some rest for now…" Magno said softly.
"Right captain…." Meia replied as the line was cut.
In her Dread/Gundam Meia could only curse herself and spoke out loud within the cockpit as for her, Gascogne's death affected her greatly as she felt that everything so far to help herself become a better leader was fruitless.
"I thought I had gotten stronger, but I still have not. Dammit!"
Inside the Hanger bay, Meia got out her Dread/Gundam and saw Arthur walk over to Hibiki's machine which seconds later, a pair of security guards came in with a pair of handcuffs came up to where he was at, opened the cockpit, pulled Hibiki out, cuffed him, and ordered the guards to take him to his room with Brian following after him.
Across the ship, everyone was in deep sadness as Gascogne's "death" was told to all. After putting Hibiki in his room, Arthur then turned and slammed his left fist into a wall not denting it rapidity.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck it all to Hell! After all of the training we've done, after all of the battle experience we've gained, in the end Gascogne was lost!" Arthur shouted.
Eventually, he calmed down and looked at Hibiki and spoke, "Private Tokai, what the hell were you thinking? Trying to take on the enemy on your own? Do you have a death wish or something?"
"Squadron Leader Hanson is correct, what were you thinking? I'm just as pissed and devastated as you with Gascogne being gone, but at least I kept my head in the game and not letting my personal emotions get in the way!" Brian shouted.
"Sirs, what did you want me to do? Run away?" Hibiki asked.
"When the odds are stacked against you unfavorably in certain situations yes, we didn't want to waste or lose more lives so, I gave the order to fall back. You're lucky you're not in the military or the self-defense forces because you would've received a court-marital and possibly been kicked out due to your recent actions out there. Now if you'll excuse Brian and I here, we have wounded to check on and while we're gone, you got a lot to think about and until you do, you will not be allowed to fly unless Magno says otherwise." Arthur said.
As both Arthur and Brian were walking towards the Medical bay, on the bridge, Magno and Buzam were feeling the same sadness as the rest of the crew and Buzam made it known as she soon spoke while she stood near the captain.
"As foreseen sadly, Gascogne's death has affected the crew greatly. The deaths of those close to you both family and friends alike are something I can never fully understand."
"I know how you feel BC, but however Gascogne left one final gift to us and that gift is an opening in the huge Harvester ship. She gave us one more shot at the Harvester ship and its attack force which we should take before the hole is patched up." Magno said.
Just then, Parfet contacted the bridge and after collecting her thoughts from grieving for Gascogne to the current battle at hand, she then spoke up to Magno about an idea to help win the battle at hand.
"Captain, I've been listening to what you have just said and I have a possible idea about exploiting the hole in the Harvester ship to our advantage."
"We're all ears young lady." Magno said.
Down in the Medical bay, Barnette sat on a stool next to the injured Jura as the blonde pilot recovered. She still felt like she could've taken on the enemy, but at the same time felt like she was worth nothing despite her recent improvement in combat experience.
"I didn't get even once last chance to say goodbye or sorry to her before she died. I felt like I was virtually powerless to save her even with the Gundam I now have. I couldn't even prevent you Jura from getting hurt." Barnette said as she cried near Jura while she spoke.
"There was nothing you could've done Barnette, even us men can't do everything and death is no stranger to us even Terrain Prime." Brian said as he walked in with Arthur behind him.
Barnette did briefly glare at Arthur because of his inability to save Gascogne, but was stopped by Jura who put her hand on her face rubbing it to reassure her that even he couldn't have done anything himself.
Jura then spoke making an odd request to Brian and Barnette, "Could you two leave Arthur and me alone for a bit please? Oh, and Barnette, you're stronger than you are and that's the type of friend that Jura admires and trusts."
Nodding, both Brian and Barnette left leaving Arthur and Jura alone with each other. Sitting down on the very same stool Barnette had sat on, Arthur had his head low to the ground because for a leader like him, this set of defeats was taking its toll on him and Jura noticed this as well as he soon spoke up in a somber tone.
"I'm an idiot, what kind of leader am I? If I lose my allies close to me like Gascogne? I've failed, as a leader, a pilot, a super solider, and as a friend because what kind of person am I like I said if the ones I care about like my old boyhood friends Rolf and Victor get hurt or killed or better yet, I get strong only to lose my mentor and one of Terrain Prime's Self-Defense Forces?"
It was then that Arthur heard a bit of crying followed by a hand grabbing his chin and turning his head towards Jura who slapped him hard on the left part of his face that left a bit of a red mark on his check making him snap out of his slump to look at Jura.
"You big dumbass idiot!" Jura shouted.
Arthur was taken aback by this remark as Jura continued to speak, "Do you honestly believe that I blame you for what happened out there and what happened at the Halo station/colony? Arthur, in all of my time knowing you, you don't let defeat control you rather, you learn to stronger and wiser. When I was lying in this bed during that second battle out there, thinking of you kept me calm and the way you commanded everyone to retreat is something I love and admire about you."
Arthur then looked at Jura despite her injured state and next thing he knew was that Jura pulled his face to her and kissed him on the lips despite the fact that her bed sheet partially fell off exposing her breasts. This surprised him as he returned the kiss and after about a minute, it ended and Arthur looked at Jura after she covered herself up again.
"Now then, can you forgive yourself? I know I want to have a family someday with you, but I must realize the facts about what you've been saying to me; we're at war and we can't risk any female getting pregnant and risk losing the unborn child that I want to be of your blood and of my blood as well. I admit I wanted a baby to be famous, but now it's something bigger than that for I want it to be born between our love for each other. Swear to me that next time you suffer defeat, you'll not mop, but rather will learn and become an even stronger leader." Jura said.
"I will and I swear." Arthur said with a polite nod.
Nodding, Arthur then proceeded to leave when Jura grabbed his left hand and turning around, he saw Jura wanted him to stay by her side while he planned the counter-attack which Arthur thought it wouldn't mind planning with Jura near him.
"Arthur, I have one thing to say to you…" Jura said from her bed.
"Yeah, what is it?" Arthur asked.
Jura took a deep breath and spoke while blushing, "I…I…. I love…I LOVE YOU Arthur! And I mean it with every bit of my being."
This shocked him and he fainted in comical fashion which prompted Duero to pick up and place him on a spare bed which Jura was reassured he just fainted from shock and would be okay while Paiway laughed her ass off at the sight. He woke up and resumed work with a new feeling in his mind; Jura had just confessed to him that she was in love with him and it made him more determined to defeat the Harvesters outside.
In the Register, Hibiki walked in after being let out of his cell by Magno's orders and walked up to the table where he and Gascogne were playing cards. After reaching the table, a small puppet alien popped up and started to say smile which did annoy Hibiki a bit as Dita appeared from under the table.
"What are you doing?" Hibiki asked.
"Just trying to make you smile and not feel bad about Gasco's death Mr. Alien…" Dita said somberly.
"Why is that?" Hibiki asked while getting annoyed.
As she began to talk, Dita had flashbacks to when the district she lived in lost power when she was just a kid and everyone was sad and somehow, she made people smile in one shape or another.
"Well, when I was a little kid, the power went out in the living district I lived in. everyone was so sad and were glum that I just started to do random stuff and next thing I know, everyone started to smile again and plus, it's just I don't know how to portray a sad expression that easily because it has nothing to do with being apathetic, but rather I believe that Miss Gasco wouldn't want everyone to be in a somber mood and would rather see us triumph in the end no matter what happens." Dita said.
"Okay I guess." Hibiki said.
"I'm pretty sure that Gascogne would admire your efforts because Lilo and William would've done the same if either one of them were here." Brian said nearby.
He walked in and was about to speak again when footsteps were heard and when all three turned around, Barnette appeared in the doorway of the Register. Before she could speak or Hibiki could, Brian stepped up and prevented a conflict from breaking out which was what his late father Xavier De Gras taught him; if something happened that was out of your control, you shouldn't be blaming things or events because it'll do nothing good.
"Look Barnette, us guys aren't superhuman and Hibiki you should've known after what you were taught that if only bark, your bite will be weak if don't back up your words with strong actions okay. I don't think Gascogne would want either one of you two acting like this besides we will triumph, but the solution will present itself when we least expect it am I right?" Brian asked.
"You are so right Mr. Dragon Alien I mean, uh Lieutenant Brian De Gras." Dita said as she slammed her hands on the table in front of her.
Just then, the clock started to tick and the alarm went off seconds later whom Hibiki thought back to the card game before the battle which Gascogne told him when it was his turn to show her his hand which gave Hibiki an idea.
"Hey Brian sir, could you get everyone gathered for a meeting? Because I'm getting an idea…" Hibiki said.
Meanwhile in the Engineering bay, one of Parfet's coworkers noticed the red spots on the Paksis disappeared for some reason while in the medical bay; Duero had just finished reading Bart's ID information so he could treat Bart.
"Would you hurry up with treating me please Doc?" Bart asked.
"Hold on for a second Bart. Hibiki, what are you really?" Duero said as he gave back Bart his ID card and held Hibiki's ID in front of him curiously.
Far away on the TPSDNS Solaris, Bella was still baffled at the OS of her Gundam because for the second time in a row today, it acted crazy which none of the mechanics were able to figure it out. On top of that, she got a headache today, but it ended quickly which she concluded had to do with her connection to the Paksis.
"I just hope Brian and Arthur are okay because something tells me that they're endanger and if I warp to them randomly, I'll have to have huge explanation to my sister or my commanding officer afterwards," Bella thought mentally.
Back on the Nirvana, Buzam and Arthur walked into the room where Hibiki requested those who could still fight or help to meet. Arthur earlier didn't want to leave Jura, but she told him to go while she recovered as he had done enough for her already by giving a tiny bit of his blood to help her recover the blood loss that happened to her earlier.
"Hey, what took you two so long? I've got a plan to stop that enemy mothership for good…" Hibiki said with a smirk.
"How may I ask?" Buzam asked.
Misty smiled and pulled out the familiar message pod that had the virus that crippled the ship not long ago and spoke up to everyone present.
"With this little guy of course, using the very virus that shut down the Paksis against the enemy."
"Okay, if you got a plan everyone. I take it all preparations have been completed?" Arthur asked.
"Yes sir, all we have to do is have Pyoro go in and plant the virus inside the enemy mothership." Misty said as she pointed at Pyoro who held Miranda on his back.
Pyoro didn't like the idea and spoke up, "Wait what!? I'm not leaving Pyoro-2!"
Brian just walked up to Pyoro and smacked him while telling him one thing, "First of all, her name is not Pyoro 2 dumbass! And secondly, if I hear you call her Pyoro 2 again, I'll throw you out into deep space without a second thought!"
Everyone laughed at this and the meeting went underway. Buzam then asked something specifically, "From what I'm hearing is that you're going to go and take Pyoro in and have him up load the virus by having him access the enemy ship's systems directly. Sounds crazy and how are you going to get in?"
"I agree with BC, in order for us to get in that mammoth ship, we have to first get past all of the number of Harvester forces defending the ship." Arthur said.
"Don't you worry; I've been cooking up something for a good amount of time in case we had a battle situation like this! It's called Panic…" Parfet said.
"Um panic what now?" Dita and Barnette asked at once in confusion.
As it was being equipped to Barnette's Gundam in mobile armor mode, Parfet explained the device, "You see, the enemy forces are machines and that they operate from a distance by any mothership in any given area. So, by cutting off their communications, it will by us time to get in and plant the virus, but I can only cut them off for a brief period of time. It however should be more than enough to get in. I also took the liberty of installing a backup one on the Pan Gundam as well."
"Nice, using the same thing that needed Ezra's baby to unlock to defeat them? I like it..." Brian said.
Barnette looked at Dita and nodded before she spoke, "Leave it up to Julian and I!"
"All right then, let's get going!" Hibiki shouted with pride.
Everyone then launched with the exception of Jura who Arthur warned her not to launch in her current shape. The Nirvana with its energy shields up Inside the Pan Gundam, Pyoro was crying a bit of leaving Ezra's baby when Hibiki got on the communications line to shut him up.
"Hey! Stop crying okay! It's really annoying!" Hibiki shouted.
"Cut the chatter, we got work to do." Arthur said calmly.
On the bridge, Buzam asked Parfet about the special surprise against the Harvesters, "Parfet how's the main gun and the program?"
"Good to go commander, the Paksis is about seventy percent restored so, we can use it now!" Parfet said.
As Bart ran to the Navigational Well to steer the Nirvana, he shouted one thing as he leapt into the Navigational Well with the intent of helping to win the battle as the rest of his comrades.
"All right then, let's get rocking!"
"Wow! Everyone is so optimistic now!" Misty said.
"Young lady, sometimes it's better to look up no matter what because it's better, than to back down because you're sad. We're still here and we still have our lives…" Magno said with hope.
Outside, the Dreads, Vanguards, and the Gundams moved out slowly out of the gas nebula and were now out in space where the Harvesters were waiting for them. Time was limited as both Hibiki and Arthur knew that they only had a narrow window before the hole in the Harvester Battleship was patched up.
For the heroes were about to strike back…for Gascogne….
*To be Continued in Part 2*
A/N: Here is the end of Part one of this chapter.
R & R to tell me what you all think, but no flames for they shall be banished to the moon by Princess Celestia or to the sun by Princess Luna.
Bye now everyone…