VANDREAD: Marooned

by touyatouya

-Discontinued-

4. Authentic Humanity

Ender presents…

==[A Vandread Fanfiction Series]==

As of two seconds ago, everything had been going well for Hibiki Tokai and his team. Gascogne had taken the repair bot and, through sheer good fortune, had managed to arrive just as the captive crew members of the Nirvana were being led out of the cavern by their beast like captors. As they had previously agreed upon, Gascogne had flown low over the group, making as much noise as possible, forcing the beasts to flee and giving the women a chance to escape. From their vantage point atop a nearby hill, Hibiki and the others had watched the captives running towards them through the thickening mist, and all that was left for them to do was to rush downwards and free them. A simple matter really, as they had hoped – everything was going according to plan.

Of course, that was two seconds ago.

"Gasco!" Hibiki exclaimed, as he watched Gascogne's craft crashed into the forest, smoke trailing behind it like the tail of a kite. The object that had knocked it off course paused for a moment, then shot two laser- like beams from its 'head' setting the nearby forest ablaze. Only with the fog temporarily burned away from its form did Hibiki realize that it was not another creature, but a machine shaped like a gigantic spider.

"What is that ?!?" Jura shuddered, pointing one graceful finger at the machine. "It's hideous!"

"It's a mecha!" Parfet shouted, eyes wide behind her thick glasses. "What in the world is a mechanoid doing out here?"

"Time enough for speculation later," Duero said, as he tightened his grip on his weapon. The Doctor then turned to Hibiki and said: "Whatever it is, it's a danger to the others – we'd best free them quickly."

Almost as if on cue, the spider mech turned its red gaze towards the fleeing captives, and burned a wide swath of ground that barely missed the women.

"Barnette!" Jura screamed, and before anyone could stop her, the blonde was running down the hill, her sword gleaming dangerously in the mist.

"Jura! Wait!" Hibiki shouted, but the blonde paid him no mind. "Damn woman," he whispered, as he knelt down and picked up both his own weapon, and a bundle of spares that they would use to arm those amongst the captives who still had the energy to fight. He then turned towards the others and swept his arm down towards their approaching crewmates. "Free them and arm them, then get to the rendezvous point! Move it!"

With that, the rescue team charged down the hill, moving almost as one mass, each brandishing a make-shift weapon cobbled together from the scattered junk and debris that had reclaimed from their battles in space. Hibiki led the charge, with Parfet and Duero close behind him, and tried not to let Jura get too far ahead of the main group. But the fog grew thicker the farther they descended, and soon he lost sight of her completely in the mist.

"Damnitall!" the boy cursed roundly, as he turned to Duero and Parfet, "with this level of visibility, we could pass within two feet of the others and never notice a thing…"

"Meia! Dita!" Parfet began to call out. "Anybody! Where are you?"

As her shouts seemed to echo in the rolling mists, they noticed eddies of movement to their right. "There they are!" the pig tailed engineer shouted, as she began to move towards the disturbance, where a dark figure could be seen moving towards her. But the shadow was too large, too quick to be one of the women – and before Hibiki could warn her away a hairy, taloned hand emerged from the fog, reaching for Parfet's throat.

"Get back!" Hibiki screamed, but it was too late – the hand closed swiftly around Parfet's neck, stifling the girls scream. She tried to pull away – and almost fell on her back when the entire hand came free, severed by a swing from Duero's 'scythe'.

"Incoming!" was all Hibiki had time to say before the rest of the creatures were upon them, tearing, clawing, biting with their teeth. For a split second, Hibiki stood paralyzed with fear, his mind reeling backwards to his first encounter with the beasts. That moment almost cost him his life – if Duero had not deflected a blow meant for him, catching letting the beast's claws rake his own arm when they would have otherwise disemboweled the boy where he stood. Reacting almost instinctively at the danger to his friend, Hibiki thrust forward, and felt his spear slide in and out of the creature with little resistance, sending the beast crashing to the ground. The doctor could only give him a brief nod before the next wave of attackers arrived - but this time, Hibiki was ready. The boy had little training in weaponry, and his injuries forced him to operate at less than his peak, but even with his left arm dangling almost uselessly at his side, the double bladed spear was an effective weapon in the boy's hands. Its edges were sharp enough to cut through reinforced steel, and it needed very little force behind it to decapitate the flesh and blood creatures who threw themselves before its deadly arc. Beside him Parfet was holding her own, trying to keep her distance but striking quick and efficiently with her wide bladed 'dagger' when an enemy got too close, or threatened the backs of her colleagues.

It was Duero however who carried the battle. His long hair whipping across his face as he fought with the effortless grace which could only come from years of training. His scythe was a blur, flickering in and out of the bodies of his enemies with the efficiency of a man who knew exactly where and how hard to hit. No move was wasted, each one flowing into the next in a deadly dance that soon left the three humans surrounded by the corpses of beasts.

Hibiki and Parfet stared at Duero in amazement, but the Doctor cut off their unspoken questions with a quick shake of his head. "We have no time," he began, as he proceeded deeper into the mist. Around them they could hear – though not see – the battles that ensued as their teammates encountered groups of the aliens. "It seems the beasts have decided to retake their captives – and us along with them. We cannot wait for the others – we must press on. If we do not hurry and arm the captives, they will be easy prey."

"I don't get it," Hibiki wondered aloud as he fell into place beside the other two as they ran forward, "The repair drone already sent them running – why would they come back? Unless… You don't think that mecha spider is helping them out do you?"

It was the engineer who answered. "They certainly don't look like a technological society to me," she said. "But it could have all been a huge set – up…"

"A set – up? For what?" Hibiki asked.

Before anyone could answer him however, the sounds of battle were pierced by a high – pitched scream of rage, from somewhere in their immediate vicinity, a scream which was followed immediately by the battle cries of a multitude of beasts.

"That was Barnette!" Parfet exclaimed, before pointing to their left. Already they could see a large concentration of beasts heading in that direction.

"Quickly," Duero said, as the three humans picked up the pace. "We don't have much time -!"

==[VANDREAD]==

Vandread: MAROONED

Chapter Four: Authentic Humanity

Disclaimer: While I own this fic, Gonzo owns Vandread. And here's to the hope that they make use of that ownership for a long time to come…

Timeline: This series takes place in-between the ending of the First Stage and the start of the Second Stage. Think of it as Stage 1.5 perhaps ^_^

==[VANDREAD]==

For Meia Gisborn, there was no worse emotion than that of helplessness.

Weakened as she was by her enforced blood loss, the Dread Leader found herself lagging behind her friends as they made their escape, one hand clutching the wound at her side. When they noticed that the blue haired girl was trailing the group, Paiway and Dita dropped back to help her, but she waved them off fiercely.

"Go on! If you wait for me, we'll all be in danger," she hissed at the girls. "I'll be fine… Move!"

Paiway needed little convincing, the young nurse already pushed to the limits of her endurance by their captivity, and by the arrival of the mechanical spider. Dita however, was another matter entirely. While the black haired girl ran ahead, the red head continued towards Meia.

"Dita, I told you to leave me be… that was an order," Meia said, but she stopped when she saw the determined look on Dita's face.

"Dita will not leave Leader behind!" she proclaimed, supporting Meia's body with her shoulder. "Leader has already done too much…"

Meia shook her head – further argument would just leave them both farther behind the main group. And though she hated to admit it, part of her was grateful for the help. "Alright," she conceded, "Let's go."

The two women trudged through the mist, which had grown so dense as to render their eyes almost useless. They relied on their other senses instead, and both strained their ears as they walked to try and give them some knowledge of their surroundings. They hoped that they would hear human voices, or the rustle of cloth against the bush, anything that would indicate the presence of the other captives, or better yet, the rescue party. Instead, what they heard were low growls and guttural roars – initially from a distance, but slowly moving closer to them as time wore on, until Meia was certain that they were right on top of them.

And then, all of a sudden… the noise stopped. The eerie silence was even more unnerving.

"Leader…" Dita began in a worried voice, but Meia shushed her with a finger to her lips. This was wrong… They were waiting for something.

And then they heard the voice, just as they saw the green haired figure coming towards them through the mist.

"Meia! Dita! Damnit, where are you two?"

Meia didn't stop to think, just broke free from Dita's grasp and rushed forward, ramming her shoulder into Barnette's gut and sending both women tumbling down into the grass, just as a whoosh of air marked the passage of something large pouncing upon the area where they had been standing just moments before.

"Meia what're you - " Barnette angrily began, but she stopped when she saw the feral looking beast hunched before them, just before it lunged at them, talons hungrily seeking their flesh.

"No!" they heard Dita shout from behind it, throwing her smaller frame against the massive bulk of the beast, in an effort to knock it off course. She succeeded to an extent, and the alien missed its intended targets, landing some three feet away from them. It turned swiftly, but the interval had given the two women enough time to get to their feet. Even with their hands firmly restrained behind their backs, both Barnette and Meia were well trained fighters, among the best on the ship. Weakened though they were, both had been waiting a long time to get back at their captors, and this passion fueled their muscles as they lashed out, with feet and shoulders and the weight of their bodies, to knock the beast senseless.

"You should have been more cautious," Meia, breathing heavily from exertion, admonished the green haired pilot as the latter delivered one final kick to the head of the beast. "It was fool hardy to come back here alone, shouting out your presence to all the world."

"Well excuse me for caring," Barnette answered, "Next time would you rather I just leave you to rot?"

"That's not what I…" Meia began, but stopped as soon as she heard the growls begin once more from all around them. In seconds six more of the beasts advanced from the mist, red eyes intent on the three women before them.

"Looks like he had friends…" Dita said. "What do we do now?"

Meia clenched her jaw in frustration. She turned to Barnette and shared a bleak look with the green haired pilot. This was a hopeless battle and they both knew it… hobbled as they were, they stood no chance against so many of the beasts. At the same time, both of them knew better than to mention this to Dita – the child was an unbending optimist. Besides, hopeless or not, there was only one thing to do in a situation like this one. The Dread Leader turned back at their impeccable enemies and forced a grim smile onto her face.

"We fight."

With that Meia launched herself at the first of the beasts, landing a hard kick against its face. The beast roared and stumbled backwards, but before she could follow through on her attack, one of its companions knocked her down with a viscous backhand. It loomed over her, about to attack when Barnette placed herself before her fallen friend.

"Oh no, you don't" the green haired pilot said, before snapping off a series of kicks that sent the beast staggering backwards – and forcing it to trip over Dita, who had crouched behind it just as Barnette had attacked. The three women held their own against the remaining beasts for awhile, but steadily found themselves being pushed further and further back – probably into a trap, Meia grimly thought. To her eye, it seemed that the aliens were holding themselves back, being careful not to unsheathe their claws, probably needing their 'sacrifices' to be alive.

"We can't keep getting pushed back," Meia said, at which point Barnette shook her head.

"I'm open to any ideas," the other girl said - just as a flash of black and blonde darted behind the nearest beast. With a sick gurgle, it collapsed, its head pierced by a sword blade that appeared suddenly between its eyes, and which was just as suddenly withdrawn. Two more of the aliens fell in a similar manner before they could fall back before the new threat.

"Bar-net-to," Jura chided, "Jura is disappointed in you - you _know_ how Jura hates to worry – and you've made me do nothing else these past few hours! For shame… you're going to give me wrinkles!" The tone contained Jura's usual mixture of glibness and arrogance, but the blonde's expression was one of happy relief, and tears were evident in her blue eyes.

"Jura!" her partner exclaimed, the smile on her face saying everything that they couldn't find the time to say. "Am I glad that you're here!"

"So what else is new?" the blonde asked with a smile, although she sniffled a bit as she said so. She then proceeded to cut through the restraints of the three women. "Jura is glad you're all safe," she said, to Dita and Meia.

"So am I," Meia answered with a tight smile, rubbing her wrists in an effort to get circulation back into them.

"What about Uchuujin-san," Dita asked immediately. "Is he –"

"The idiot is fine," Jura assured her, "He's with the rest of the rescue party – I just thought that Barnette had missed me too much already so I hurried down ahead of them."

"You sure got that right," Barnette said, and was on her was to give her partner a much needed hug when the beast came swinging down from the trees, one hand grasping a strong length of vine, the other reaching out to catch Jura by the waist. Before anyone could react, the beast was swinging back into the trees, growling a war cry while Jura's sword fell to the ground.

"Jura!!!" Barnette screamed, but her voice was soon drowned out by the roars of a dozen or more of the beasts, coming from all around them. The mists seemed to ripple, and from within its depths streamed a good ten or more of the creatures, running at breakneck speeds towards the three women.

"Barnette!" Meia shouted, pulling on her wrist. "We've got to move!"

The other girl was frantic with worry over Jura however, and pulled away from Meia's grip. "Jura!" Barnette screamed again, before turning towards the incoming beasts with eyes filled with hate. Picking up the blonde's sword, she rushed the beasts, brandishing the weapon high in the air. "Give Jura back to me!"

"Barnette!" Dita cried, and she and Meia rushed forward to help, just as the green haired pilot clashed with the first wave of aliens. The sword shined like a star in the darkness of the mist, coming down again and again against the flesh of the beasts, felling one, then two, then three of them. But there were too many, and a glancing blow to her head sent the green haired pilot tumbling to the earth, where she impacted hard upon a rock and lost consciousness, her eyes rolling back in her head. The beasts roared triumphantly, and one of them reached down to pick up their prize – when it suddenly realized it had no arms. Soon after, it had no life either as a spear entered its neck smoothly from behind, and it tumbled forward to reveal –

"Uchuujin-san!" Dita shouted in joy. Hibiki had a fierce look on his face as he fought off the other beasts with his spear, onehandedly for it seemed as if his left hand had been injured in a prior battle, stabbing and slashing in such a way that any alien that approached him was left with severe wounds. The boy was quickly followed by Parfet and Duero, each wielding their own weapons. The doctor stooped to pick up the fallen pilot while the other two held the beasts at bay, and then the three members of the rescue team hurried toward Meia and Dita's position. Dita immediately tackled Hibiki in a fierce hug, babbling all the while about how sorry she was and how glad she was, all at once. To his credit, Hibiki let the girl release all her pent up emotions, although his injuries caused him to visibly wince as her hug grew tighter.

"Hey! Easy on the ribs!" Hibiki finally said. "I'm fine okay? Though I won't be if you keep squeezing me woman!"

Dita jumped back with a small 'eep'. Meia meanwhile had approached the Doctor, who had laid out Barnette on the ground and was currently running several instruments along her body.

"Will she be okay Doctor," she asked Duero, without any preliminaries. She was glad to see her friends, but reunions could wait until they had safely resolved the present crisis.

The long haired man nodded his head. "She'll be fine – the blow merely knocked her senseless for awhile." He turned his penetrating gaze towards Meia. "Frankly, "I'm more worried about you."

Meia waved her hand in dismissal, but Parfet took hold of her arm. "We're serious Meia – it wasn't hard to calculate how much blood you lost in leaving a trail for us… We need to get you back to base as soon as possible."

Hibiki nodded. "You've got that right… That was some stunt you pulled Meia," he said, then _tsked_, "And you call _me_ reckless…"

She gave him a cool stare. "It was necessary at the time," she explained. "Besides, we have more pressing concerns right now – They have Jura."

Hibiki gave a start. "What do you mean they _have_ Jura?"

Parfet heaved a deep breath. "And I thought we were able to scare them away with the repair drone…"

"Seems they changed their minds," Duero said. "Looks like they're looking to take us prisoner once more…"

"Not merely prisoners," Meia corrected the doctor, her thoughts on the gruesome paintings displayed on the cavern walls, "We were captured to serve as sacrifices of some sort."

Dita nodded her assent. "We saw a picture of it too – they drew what they were planning." The red head paused for a moment. "Come to think of it, that spider that we saw - that was what we were supposed to be sacrificed _to_!"

"That doesn't make much sense," Hibiki said. "What use could it have for sacrifice? It's just a mecha."

"What god would have use for blood of any kind?" Duero replied. "What matters is what the creatures themselves believe – if they worship that machine, they may believe it to be 'angry' - and if so they will seek to appease it by sacrificing any of us that they can get their hands on."

Dita grew agitated at the man's words. "We have to hurry and rescue Jura! Dita will go search for her!"

Meia's eyes narrowed and she nodded. "I agree. We have no more time to waste." She began to move in the direction she had seen the beast take the blonde pilot when Hibiki's hand closed around her wrist.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hibiki asked. "You can't bleed half your life away and then expect to go traipsing about the jungle… Leave Jura to me and Dita."

Meia forced herself to let the boy finish before tearing her arm from his grasp. "I'm far from dead," she answered, "and as long as I remain so then I believe I can be of _some_ help." Before she continued she made a show of letting her cool gaze run over the boy from head to toe. "Besides, you're not exactly in top shape either."

The man and the woman glared at each other, oblivious to the encroaching sounds of their enemies.

"Um, guys?" Parfet interrupted. "I really think we should settle this issue elsewhere don't you?"

Neither of the two stubborn pilots was listening however. Hibiki shook his head in disgust. "You're going to have to give me a better reason than that."

"Since when do I have to answer to you?" she snapped, ignoring the dizziness that passed through her as her temper began to rise. _It's just my irritation_, she though to herself, _It's not weakness… Not at all…_ Brushing her doubts aside she rounded on him in tightly controlled fury. "How about this for a reason – You. Can't. Stop. Me."

"Will you listen to me for once you stubborn bi- "

"Enough!" Duero admonished the two of them in a voice loud enough to get their attention. The doctor turned to Hibiki first. "Since I'm the only qualified Doctor here, I think it's _my_ job to determine whether Meia is physically fit to continue or not." With that he turned his calculating gaze towards the blue haired girl. The doctor didn't have any medical instrument with him – at least not a technological one – and yet Meia couldn't help but feel that his eyes saw her every weakness, every cut, bruise and sore muscle. Silently she willed herself to health, willed him to let her do her duty. Jura had saved their lives a few short minutes ago, and Meia Gisborn always paid her debts.

Still, at the back of her mind Meia knew she was not in fighting condition. Thus it was some surprise that she realized that instead of pronouncing her unfit, Duero instead asked her if she felt she was up to the task.

"Yes," she replied, not hesitating for a moment. "I'm fine doctor."

Duero gave her a strange look and then he nodded. "I think she can make it," he said, overriding Hibiki's unspoken protest. He then produced three red capsules from one of the pockets of his long coat. "Here, take one of these pills now and bring the others along with you – they should help you replenish the blood you lost at a quicker rate. Take them whenever you need an energy boost."

The Dread Leader took the proffered medicines, and swallowed the first one without complaint, grateful to be allowed to join the hunt. As she pocketed the other two pills, Hibiki unwrapped a pair of the cobbled- together weapons that she had seen them using, handing one to Dita and the other to Meia. The blue haired girl's knees almost buckled when she took the 'axe' from Hibiki, and she struggled to hand it back to him without making her weakness obvious to her friends.

"I wouldn't be comfortable with a melee weapon," she lied. "Do we have anything else?"

At her words, Parfet slipped off an energy ring from her left hand and deposited it in Meia's palm. "Here," the engineer said. "I know you'd feel naked without one."

Meia gave the other woman a smile of genuine gratitude. "Thank you Parfet," she said, just as another roar echoed in the distance.

Duero looked from the mist shrouded jungle back to the prone form of Barnette before turning to the three pilots. "You three get moving," he said. "We'll stay here and cover Barnette while she recovers, then try to rendezvous with the others at the agreed upon site. We'll meet the four of you back there."

Hibiki nodded and gave the doctor a thumbs up sign. "I know the plan Duero – we'll be there."

"Are you guys going to be okay?" Dita asked in a worried tone.

Parfet waved her hand in a motion of dismissal. "Won't be a problem Dita- chan – you guys just go find Jura, we'll take care of this end."

Meia looked from one to the other, noting the determined set of their faces. She nodded briskly. "Good luck. To all of us."

With that she turned towards her two companions, and together they set off into the mist.

==[VANDREAD]==

Parfet had to raise her voice to be heard over the rising sound of the beasts approach.

"I was surprised that you let her go," she said to her partner. "I remember how concerned you were back at the ship… I'm no doctor, but Meia didn't look all that healthy to me…"

"That's because she isn't," Duero answered her calmly, as he took a step or two forward, putting himself directly in front of Barnette. "She's lost a lot of blood – it's amazing she can even stand."

The engineer's brow furrowed at his words, even as she assumed a position opposite his own, protecting his back with the downed pilot sandwiched between them as per their unspoken plan. It was strange how they seldom had to consult each other anymore when coming up with a course of action – they simply acted, and the other would know immediately what was required of him or her, almost as if in organic unity.

"So why did you let her go then? Won't that make things worse?"

With their backs turned to each other, Parfet couldn't see Duero's face, but his small sigh – a rare instance of emotion – was enough to let her know how frustrated he was feeling. "If she were anybody else I wouldn't have. But these past few months have taught me a thing or two about Meia – most notably the fact that she doesn't take well to being coddled. I think enforced inactivity – and her certain resistance to the idea – would be more of a stress to her system than practically any other alternative. The drugs I gave her won't replace the blood, but they'll prevent her system from going into shock. Hopefully we'll be able to get her back to the ship before her condition worsens." He paused then, as a particularly loud roar echoed across the air. He turned to Parfet and gave her a wry smile. "Besides, it's not like she'd be much safer with us anyway."

Despite everything, Parfet found herself grinning back at him. "I guess you're right there," she said, and she was surprised by how calm she sounded. Logically, her heart should be beating a hundred times a second by now. She was no fighter, and even though Duero had proven to be exceptionally talented in that department, the number of beasts that were converging on their position seemed to have tripled in the last few seconds, if the noise was any indication. And yet, the engineer found herself feeling strangely… calm.

"Hey Duero," she said in a low voice, her hands gripping her 'dagger', "I just want you to know that - " she continued, then stopped as she noticed something.

The noise had stopped.

"Get ready," Duero hissed, just as the mist cleared, and a dozen beasts poured across the forest towards them.

The next few seconds were a blur for the engineer, a series of slashes and thrusts, most made without even seeing her opponents clearly, just a swath of fur here, a shining talon there – it didn't matter where she attacked, her blade almost always connected with something, so thick was the press of beasts. If they had been trying to kill her she knew she would have perished within those first few moments – but the beasts wanted living sacrifices, not dead ones, and because of thus she was able to hold her own. She was aware that Duero was having an even harder time, for he was protecting her as well as himself, sometimes leaving his own back exposed to decapitate an enemy that Parfet had not spotted.

Together the pair fought valiantly against the seemingly endless waves of creatures… But soon, they began to tire. Their parries and thrusts came slower, with less force, and more and more of the enemies attacks breached their defenses. Duero was suffering from numerous cuts, his long coat already in tatters, while Parfet had a long gash down one leg, and she knew a bruise was forming from where one of the beasts had managed to strike her face. Her dagger, once so light in her hands, now felt as if it were weighed more than she did, and as she tried to slash it anew across the belly of a new enemy, another creature landed a blow to her arm that sent the weapon spiraling into the mist. Parfet hardly had time to shout Duero's name as beasts grabbed both her arms and began to haul her away – but the Doctor was beset on all sides, and though he struggled, he could not free himself in time to save her.

And then Barnette was there, her mouth open wide in a soundless scream of rage, Jura's sword whirling in deadly silver arcs that quickly cleared a space around them. Parfet's captors fell, as did a few of those who were engaging Duero, allowing the doctor to make short work of those that remained. Faced with a new threat the beasts fell back slightly, though still within visible range, snarling their displeasure while they circled the three humans.

"Barnette," Parfet gasped, trying to catch her breath, "You okay?"

The pilot nodded. "It will take a lot more than a lucky blow to keep me down for the count," she said. Then, in a worried voice: "Where's Jura?"

"Hibiki took Meia and Dita to go look for her," Duero answered, his eyes never leaving their foes. "Are you certain you're alright? No dizziness, double vision?"

"Don't worry about me Doctor," Barnette replied, her eyes narrowed. "If you want to worry, save it for _them_."

The beasts remained in their positions for a few moments more, a few making quick feints at the humans every now and then, but none actually launching an attack. Then suddenly one of the creatures drew itself to its full height, and cocked its head to one side, as if listening to something. It then barked out a word in the creatures guttural language, and, as quickly as they had come, they were gone, sending yips of fear floating back through the mist towards the humans ears.

The three looked around anxiously in the sudden silence.

"I don't like the looks of this," Parfet began, but before she could finish her sentence, her fears were realized as the mist parted before them to reveal the metal bulk of the spider mechanoid.

From up close it was apparent that the machine had seen better days. It was covered with bits and pieces of dirt and vegetation, burn marks on several of its sides. It was an old model, Parfet could tell that at once, and though it looked like it was functioning well, she doubted it was being maintained at full capacity. It's metal legs curved downwards to form sharp protrusions that served to anchor it upon the ground as it walked. While the legs gave it its spider – like appearance, this was not a uniform theme. Unlike a spider, the mecha had a 'neck', seemingly made of a series of extendable components, shortening and lengthening as it moved its head to and fro. The head itself was cyclopean, with the central 'eye' serving as the barrel of the laser that they had seen it use against the repair drone – a laser that was currently swinging in their direction.

"Scatter!" Barnette hissed, and the three of them broke off in different directions, just as a wave of heat assaulted the position where they had been standing moments before. While Duero and Barnette had moved away from the machine however, Parfet had intentionally tried to move closer to it. While the beasts had inspired fear in her, this was a machine – and though it was even deadlier, she had always been at ease with machines. It was clear that this mecha was connected tot he beasts somehow, and they wouldn't find anything out if they just kept running away.

"Parfet!" Duero called out, and despite their situation, she couldn't help but realize it was the first time he had called her by name.

"Stay out of its way," she shouted back, "I'm going in for a closer look!"

True to her words, the engineer managed to slip between the legs of the mecha as it advanced towards Duero and Barnette. As she did so, she saw some dangling cables, still sparking electricity. Seeing her chance, she leapt and grabbed a few of them with her insulated gloves, and used them as leverage to haul herself upward, using her legs to support her by pinning them against the spider-like limbs of the mecha. The effort strained her already tired arm muscles, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do much good unless she could get a hand on the body…

There! Some sort of access port by the looks of it– that was just what she needed. Laboriously, she pulled herself towards it, trying not to let the dizziness she was experiencing from her horizontal position and the spider's movements distract her from her goal. Luckily, her legs found a ridge on one of the limbs that could serve as some sort of support and wrapping her legs around it she was able to ease the pressure on her arms. She reached for the cover of the access port and gingerly opened it, revealing a tangle of wires and circuits that would have stumped practically any other crew member of the Nirvana. But Parfet had not become the Chief Engineer of the Nirvana for nothing, and she quickly made sense of the circuitry, and tried to find a way to halt the machine in its tracks. Soon enough, she found a wire that her experience told her would be connected to the power source, and without further ado she reached in, grasped it in her gloved hands and _pulled_.

Nothing happened.

Muttering under her breath about the lack of logic of whoever created the infernal machine, she began to pull at wires indiscriminately, sending sparks flying from the insides of the machine, heedless of their purpose. Her scientific mind was slightly annoyed at having to resort to such base methods, but what mattered was that she stop the machine, and if she had to use brute force to do so then so be it.

Finally she felt the machine stop, its front pair of legs seeming to pull inwards, unresponsive to its commands. In reaction the spider mech began to buck and shake, seemingly aware that the source of the damage was attached to its own body. Her legs alone were not enough to support Parfet in the face of such an effort, and with a yelp of fear the engineer found herself falling towards the ground.

Parfet landed hard, her body screaming protest as the hard, uneven ground impacted against her body. To top it off, her glasses had fallen away during her tumble and, when coupled with the mist, the engineer found that she couldn't see her own feet, much less anything else. As the mecha made sounds of protest above her, she frantically felt for her glasses, aware that the spider's thrashing legs could be upon her at any moment.

Then she felt a tug on her arm. "Come on," she heard Duero say, "We have to move, those legs are getting too close."

"My glasses - " Parfet began, but the doctor was insistent.

"There is no time!" he shouted, then without waiting for her assent, he scooped her up into his arms and ran as fast as he could away from the spider. Soon after they were joined by Barnette.

"Good job Parfet!" the pilot was saying, "That should slow it down for awhile - " she broke off suddenly as Parfet felt a wave of heat from nearby. In response she felt Duero drop to the ground, shielding her with his body.

"What's going on?" she asked, as she heard a buzzing sound, followed by another wave of heat.

"It seems you did more damage than we first thought," Duero informed her, "it seems to be malfunctioning. It's firing its laser randomly – the nearby forest is already aflame. We have to… Wait," he said then, as a humming noise became audible from within the mist. "What is that?"

Parfet sat up and squinted in the direction of the mecha, but all she saw was a dark blur within the gray mist. "I can't see it, what - "

Suddenly the humming intensified to a near deafening level, and Parfet could see a ball of fire heading straight for the mechanoid.

"Get down!" Duero shouted, and once more covered her body with his as a tremendous explosion rocked the area, heat and light emanating from the impact point in waves.

As her sense of hearing began to return to her, Parfet turned back towards the mecha. In its place was a smoking crater, the surroundings still engulfed in flame.

"What happened?" she asked. "What was that?"

There was a tense silence before Barnette answered. "Gasco-san… That was the repair drone…"

Parfet gasped in horror. "No… then Gasco-san…"

"Wait," Duero interrupted, "Over there…"

Duero pointed, and though the engineer could see nothing but a fuzzy shape, Barnette's joyful exclamation revealed their identities readily enough.

"Gasco-san! BC!"

Sure enough the two older women soon came into view, the Sub-Commander supporting a bedraggled looking Gascogne. As the two came closer however, Parfet could see that the taller woman had a broad smile on her face.

"Oy!" Gasco called out. "You kids alright?"

"We could ask you the same question," Duero replied. "That was foolhardy."

The woman merely shrugged. "Hey, when you're at center stage, you have to act out your role," then she smiled again. "Besides, one good turn deserves another doesn't it? He got what was coming to him." She turned to Parfet. "I am sorry about the drone though… You can have a rack of missiles as compensation."

Parfet laughed. "I'll hold you to that – just don't make a habit of crashing ships into the enemy ok? Gasco-san"

"Who me?" Gasco said innocently. Then, more severely: "And how many times do I have to remind you – the name is _Gascogne_."

Beside her, BC shook her silver hair. "Don't be so blasé about it," she chided, "If I hadn't been near your crash site, you might not have gotten out of that inferno alive."

"True, but you did and I did so all is well eh?" she replied. "Smile BC, we're going home…"

"That might be a bit more difficult than we had planned," Duero interjected, his arm indicating their surroundings. Slowly but steadily, beasts were gathering around the fiery remains of their 'god', each standing erect, each eerily silent. They came from all directions, and as they congregated, Parfet and the others had their first chance to see just how great their numbers were.

"There must be hundreds of them," Barnette whispered, "Thousands of them…"

"Let's not wait until we get an exact count," Gascogne said, her voice suddenly grim. "Back to the rendezvous point – quickly."

"But Jura and - "

"We won't do them any good if we're dead or captured," BC reminded the pilot, "If Hibiki is with them, then they know of the rendezvous as well. We'll have to look out for ourselves for awhile."

With those words the five humans began to move swiftly but silently away from the gathered beasts, Duero leading Parfet by the arm. As they moved away, the engineer couldn't resist taking one last look at the assembled creatures. She stared at them for a good long time, and wondered whether this was the last they would see of them. And then, she realized something:

They were staring back.

==[VANDREAD]==

From the start Meia, Dita and Hibiki had realized that their chances of tailing Jura and her captor was nil – they had no knowledge of how to track such a beast, no leads to go on, and the creature had a sizeable head start. As such, Dita had suggested that they not try to follow it at all – they knew where the sacrifice was going to be held, and if they headed in that general direction they should eventually run into Jura. Afterall, since the beasts wanted a live sacrifice, she should be safe until then. So they had made their way to the lone volcano which Dita remembered from the paintings the beasts had drawn on the walls… And judging by what they saw below them, their gamble had paid off.

"It's her all right," Hibiki said as he lowered the binoculars and handed them to Meia, "Looks like Jura was the only one they could get their hands on – thank God for small favors…"

The mist had begun to clear soon after they set out on their chase, and the clear air had become both a boon and a hindrance. While it made spotting Jura and their enemies much easier, it also caused their chances of being discovered to skyrocket proportionally. The three pilots were currently crouched behind some scattered rock beds, atop a slight rise that gave them a better view of the ground below.

Beneath their position they could see a large gathering of creatures, perhaps a hundred or so, gathered around what appeared to be a rough hewn stone altar, placed precariously atop a small outcropping of land that jutted towards the volcano, before dropping downwards steeply, forming a cliff. At the edge of the precipice were aligned a dozen or so beasts who looked somewhat different… Older somehow, each holding an implement of some sort. These older beasts were silent, while the rest seemed to be talking amongst themselves in their strange language. There was one other figure as well who was not intent on being _silent_…

"Let go of me you filthy, disgusting creatures!" Jura was shouting as she was manhandled towards the front of the gathering. "You're going to get your fleas in my beautiful hair!"

"Definitely Jura," Meia agreed wryly, as she handed the binoculars in turn to Dita. "They are much too many of them for us to use a frontal assault though…"

"Wasn't considering it anyway…" Hibiki said. "The best we can do is free Jura then escape."

Meia nodded, then gazed out at the beasts gathered around the altar. "Three phases then, distract the enemy, free Jura, then escape. I think I can handle the distraction with a well placed energy blast from my ring, assuming I hit one of their 'elders'. "

The red headed pilot joined in then, "Dita sees a gully that runs near the altar. Dita could hide there and then pop out and rescue Jura while their backs are turned!"

"I'll come with you," Hibiki volunteered, but after brightening for a moment, Dita shook her head.

"No, Uchuujin-san must stay with Leader," she said. "The bad aliens will be very angry when she shoots their old people, and they'll come after her for certain!"

"I thought we were going to be shooting from a distance?" the boy asked.

Meia shook her head. "Not that far away – the laser might not have enough power to punch through their thick hides unless we're fairly close." She looked at Hibiki directly then. "Don't worry about me, I can handle myself. What is important is that we rescue Jura, and having two of you don there will increase our chances of that."

"No way!" Dita objected loudly. "Leader is hurt, and she doesn't have a close – up weapon… Uchuujin-san needs to stand guard."

Hibiki looked torn, "But what about you?"

At this Dita gave a bright laugh, and despite everything, Hibiki felt his spirits lift a little, "Dita feels happy that you're concerned about her, but don't worry! Dita is _very_ healthy!" she said, and she twirled around in a little spin to prove it, displaying her body in a way that made the male feel distinctly odd for some reason. "See?" she giggled.

"Alright, we'll do it that way," Hibiki said, but Meia laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I told you, I'll be okay," the Dread Leader said, slight annoyance evident in her voice. "You can go guard Dita…"

Hibiki sighed. What was it with this woman? Why did she always try to make things difficult for herself. _Must be some sort of masochist thing_, he thought to himself. He had seen a few of those on Taraku. "Listen Meia, it's already been decided – unless you want to put this to a vote?"

"I vote that Hibiki stays with Leader!" Dita proudly proclaimed, and Hibiki motioned to the energetic girl with his hands.

"You see? You're outnumbered." He told a simmering Meia, before turning back to the creatures. Borrowing the binoculars from Dita he could see that Jura had been brought nearly to the altar. "We don't have much time," he said. "Now all we need is an escape plan..."

Dita had a thoughtful expression on her face. "The mountain… They think the mountain is holy right?"

The blue haired girl gave her a questioning glance. "From what we saw in the paintings, and the scene bellow us… Yes it seems that they think so."

The red haired girl's expression took on a far away look. "When Dita was a child, she remembers that the people she was with used to go to a holy place to… Well, they'd go _to_ it, but they'd never go really _near_ it. I think when a place is holy, it means that a lot of people gather around it, but no one really ever gets close…" She brightened at that point and her eyes focused once more on her companions. "Sooo Dita thinks, if we get near enough the mountain, they won't follow us!"

Meia thought it over for awhile, then nodded. "It could work… It would make sense for them to fear getting too close to the mountain. Otherwise why hold the sacrifice at this distance?"

"It's certainly better than the other alternatives," Hibiki agreed. "That mountain isn't all that far away, and I certainly don't give much for our chances of making it back to the rendezvous point with a hundred of those things howling for our blood…"

"It's decided then," the Dread Leader said. "Let's get going…"

Quickly but cautiously, the three humans made their way down the small hill. At the bottom, Dita split from the main group and headed for the gully while the remaining two pilots tried to find a decent vantage point for their shot. It took them a few minutes, but finally they found a spot on another small hill that was close enough for the beam to retain its power, while providing them with enough cover that they would not be seen unless the beasts were actively searching for them. Still, they were uncomfortably close to the main gathering of creatures, and Hibiki found himself relieved that he had chosen to stay with Meia.

Beneath them, Jura had reached the altar, and the beasts were tying her to it firmly despite her screams and struggles. Hibiki turned anxiously to Meia.

"How long are we going to wait?"

"As long as possible without risking her life," the girl replied. "We need to give Dita time to get into position. Besides, for this to be an effective distraction, it should take place in the middle of the ceremony."

Realizing the sense in her words, Hibiki bit back his impatience and settled down to wait. He had barely finished doing so however when one of the elders of the beasts approached the altar. It aced the other creatures and let out a loud roar, one which was echoed back at it by the others. Then, without any further ado, it unsheathed its talons and turned to Jura.

"So much for ceremony," Hibiki said, scrambling to his feet.

"Shit," was Meia's hissed reply as she readied her ring, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion. The beam flew straight and true, lancing through the elder's head just as he was about to slash Jura's throat, and in moments he had collapsed lifeless against the altar. There was a brief moment of stunned silence… And then –

As one, the beasts turned towards Meia and Hibiki.

This time, they cursed together.

The first few beasts charged up the hill to be met swiftly by the reinforced steel of Hibiki's double headed spear. Five or six fell to his attack before the first one gained a foothold – and then lost it immediately after when Meia blasted a hole though its throat. They continued to hold the beasts off with this strategy, Hibiki cutting a swath around them to give Meia the opportunity to aim and fire, but both of them knew it would last only so long as the beasts were unable to flank them, a situation that was swiftly changing.

"This doesn't look good," Hibiki gasped as he disemboweled another beast, one which had given him a nasty cut on his chest that had barely missed his throat, "They're not trying to take us prisoner anymore."

"Give me a second!" the girl replied, as she removed her ring and began to tinker with it.

"That's… about… all… I … can… give…" Hibiki said through gritted teeth as he tried to hold back another group of beasts, leaping back from one which had tried to pounce upon him.

"Done!" Meia crowed triumphantly, before she reared back her hand and with a grunt of exertion, threw her ring in the midst of the horde of beasts.

"What're you - " Hibiki asked before an explosion rocked the area, sending both beasts and pieces of beasts flying across the air.

"Overloaded it," Meia explained tersely as she grabbed his hand. "Let's get out of here while we can!"

Both pilots broke into a dead run for the edge of the cliff. As they approached they could see Dita and Jura waving at them to hurry before both girls leapt from the cliff, down towards the volcano.

Behind them the beasts had recovered, and with their elders roaring exhortations at them, the entire mass of creatures once again took off after the escaping pair, fangs bared and talons raking the air. They had almost reached them by the time Meia and Hibiki reached the cliff, but it was too late by then. Without a word, without hesitation, the two human jumped.

They landed hard but kept their balance, the cliff not having been all that high. Even then however, both of them watched with relief as the beasts roared their rage from the top of the cliff, but made no attempt to pursue them further.

"Looks like the plan worked," Hibiki said.

Meia nodded guardedly. "For now. We'd better move out before they change their minds…"

The forest seemed to continue a few feet beyond, and both pilots rushed to place themselves beneath its cover. As soon as they had entered into its shade, shouted greetings announced the presence of their companions. For the second time that day, Hibiki found himself engulfed in a fierce hug.

"Oh Uchuujin-san!" his red-headed captor exclaimed, "You're all right! Dita was so worried!"

"I won't be for long, if you keep this up," he managed to gasp out, "Leggo you crazy girl!"

Almost as soon as he did so however, he found himself in another trap, this time wedged between those increasingly familiar female chest mounds.

"Such bravery deserves a reward Jura thinks…" Jura said as she mashed him to herself. "For rescuing Jura, and more importantly, preventing her from getting even more filthy at the hands of those beasts, Jura hereby rewards you with - " she paused then for emphasis, and took a deep breath that put Hibiki's face in danger of implosion, "One kiss!"

Suddenly the boy found himself yanked out of his soft prison and back into the arms of a certain red – head. "No way!" Dita said. "Uchuujin-san will get his reward from Dita!"

"Why me?" Hibiki groaned, as he suddenly found himself thinking back fondly to being assaulted by beasts.

"All right, that's enough," Meia broke in at that point, "We're not in the clear yet. I think we need to make it as close to the mountain as we can before we let our guard down."

"I agree," Hibiki said hastily, taking advantage of the break in the tug of war to wiggle free of Dita's grasp. "We should probably rest a little while, then try to find a way back to the Nirvana. The sooner we get off this damned mudball, the better."

The three girls nodded in agreement, and Dita smiled. "Well, at least we're safe for the meantime right?"

Beside her Meia had a thoughtful expression on her face, and Hibiki knew her thoughts were returning to the spider mecha. "Let's just hope we're not replacing one danger for another," she said, as she looked up at the mountain that loomed in the distance…

==[VANDREAD]==

The four humans managed to cover most of the distance to the mountain before the fatigue from the past few hours began to catch up with them. Meia and Hibiki were in especially bad shape, both still on the mend from grievous injuries they had suffered in the first encounter with the beasts, and Meia struggling with the added burden of blood loss. Neither of them voiced a word of complaint, desperation, willpower and stubborn pride keeping them going when their bodies screamed they could go no further. There was a battle to be fought beyond their bodies, and as long as that was going on, they would not allow themselves to lose, or even to reveal, the battle within.

Dita however had been watching the two anxiously ever since they began their trek into the forest. These two were two of the most important people in her lives, and in the lives of all the crew of the Nirvana: Leader and Uchuujin-san had bailed them out of impossible situations many times over. As for Dita herself, she felt her contributions to the team were largely a result of the training and inspiration she received from these two. She had known from the start of their trek that both were hurt and were pushing the limits of their endurance, and she took it upon herself to make sure that no harm would come to her two friends. For this reason she kept her eyes peeled during their travels for a suitable place to rest.

Finally, when the two were in danger of collapsing in utter exhaustion, the four came across a clearing which – although giving them shade from the increasing heat of the planets sun – was suitably clear at ground level for them to stretch themselves out a bit. Moreover, as they approached, the sound of running water was evident nearby. Telling the others to wait – and instructing Jura to keep an eye on their two friends – she searched and found the source of the sound to be a fresh, gurgling stream not five meters from the clearing. Skipping happily she made her way back to the others.

"It's perfect!" she gushed, "We can get some rest here for now, and then later tonight we can try to move back towards the Nirvana!"

"Well, Jura wouldn't call it perfect," Jura began, daintily brushing dirt off her uniform, "I mean its humid and sticky and all these _bugs_, - " she began, but then broke off as Dita gave her a meaningful look. Dita rarely used 'the look', was rarely confrontational, but those who had been around the redhead long enough knew that unless it was a matter of grave importance, at this point it was usually best to let the girl get her way. Thus Jura blinked and finished with: "Um, but I mean – it's great! We should camp here right now!"

"But we have to… get away…" Meia managed to say, "The creatures…"

"They stopped at the cliff!" Dita reassured her, "Dita thinks they must have! Or they would have caught up to us by now…"

"We're not sure…" the Dread Leader continued, but Jura cut her off.

"Listen Meia, we're not going to make much headway as it is now anyway… You and Hibiki look like you can barely take three more steps."

Meia bristled at the thought that she might be 'weak'. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Really?" Jura asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why don't you ask Hibiki? I think he agrees with me…"

"Hibiki what do you - " Meia began, but the blue haired girl broke off when she saw their male companion.

Hibiki Tokai was already spread out on the ground, eyes closed and snoring lightly.

Dita knelt down beside him and stoked his sweat drenched hair. "Awww… poor Uchuujin-san…" she said. Then she giggled. "But he is rather cute when he is asleep isn't he?"

Jura rolled her eyes. "You _always_ find him cute Dita…"

Meia sighed, then sat down heavily on the grassy ground. "Well… I guess you may be right… But someone has to be on watch so that - "

Once more Jura waved her concerns away. "What do you take Jura for Meia? AN amateur? I've been a pirate longer than you have, so don't think I can't handle the posting of a watch." Then her tone softened as she cleared out a patch of grass for the other pilot to lay upon. "Now just get your rest… Dita and Jura will take the first two watches, and whichever amongst the two of you looks better by the time the third watch comes around will be the one we wake ok?"

"But I -" the weakened girl tried one last half-hearted protest.

"Sleep Meia," Jura said, and Dita nodded in enthusiastic agreement. Together the blonde and the redhead pushed the Dread Leader gently onto the ground, not leaving her side until they were sure that she was asleep. When they were sure that Meia was getting her rest, they walked some distance away from the two sleeping individuals.

Jura heaved a great sigh. "Jura honestly thinks that tackling the beasts would be less tiring than getting Meia to listen to reason," she said. "If she wasn't so strong, her suicidal tendencies would have meant the end of her by now…"

Dita shook her head in turn. "Dita understands – When Leader wants something sooo badly, she's willing to give up everything for it. Dita knows how she feels…"

With a smile and an arched eyebrow, Jura turned to her fellow pilot. "Do you now?" the blonde purred. "I wonder who makes you feel this way hmmm? Someone I know?"

Before she could control herself, Dita's eyes darted towards Hibiki, before darting away again and leaving her with an intense blush.

"Ohoho," Jura laughed. "You shouldn't be so shy… It's not like everybody else doesn't know…"

This of course merely made Dita blush harder.

Jura put her arm around the younger girl. "Here's what Jura will do – I will take the first watch, then you can take the second one. This way, you can wake Hibiki up for the next watch – he got more rest than Meia anyway – and then, before you turn in, you can have a little heart to heart! Isn't Jura so great?"

Dita paled. "Oh… Oh noooo… Dita couldn't… I mean, I can't…"

In response Jura just held out her hand. "Jura will hear no more of it. Jura takes first watch so that her beauty sleep will be uninterrupted afterwards. Otherwise, Jura will get wrinkles…"

"But -"

Suddenly the blonde loomed large in front of Dita, who let out a startled yelp.

"Diiitaaa," Jura intoned in a menacing voice, "Do you want to give Jura wrinkles?"

Knowing that this was a sensitive topic for the other pilot, Dita gulped and hastily answered in the negative. In response Jura nodded her head imperially and pointed towards the area where the others lay.

"Go then and sleep, that's a direct order!"

Sheepishly Dita returned to the two other pilots and lay on the ground. At first she thought she would have problems sleeping, what with her being anxious about their situation, the fate of the others, and what she would tell Uchuujin-san during their talk… But almost as soon as her head hit the ground, she was asleep.

Her slumber was deep and dreamless – thus it seemed as if no time at all had passed before Jura was gently shaking the redhead awake.

"Your turn Dita," Jura said as the other girl rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Jura needs her beauty sleep…"

"Y-yes," Dita said, stretching her arms out to work out the kinks in her muscles before standing up. Jura flopped herself down on the patch of grass that the other had just vacated.

"MMmmmm," the blonde purred. "Still warm… Now don't forget what we agreed to Dita, when you wake Hibiki, take a few minutes to talk with him okay?"

Dita gulped. "But Jura – he won't want to talk with me!"

"There are ways to make him willing…"

"Jura!"

The blonde sighed, then turned to look seriously at her friend. "Listen Dita," Jura said in a somber voice, "I know you always believe that things will turn out for the best, but right now we're in a difficult situation. In our line of work, there's always a chance that someone won't come back alive…" The older pilot paused for emphasis. "When Barnette was captured, all I could think of were the times I missed the chance to tell her how much I appreciated her, and how much I loved her… I think those same thoughts now, not knowing if I'll ever see her again…" She trailed off, her eyes far away for a moment, before refocusing on Dita. "All I'm saying is – the two of you have this night together… Make the most of it ok?"

It was quite a lot for the red head to absorb, but in her heart she knew that Jura spoke the truth. Dita took a deep breath and nodded to her friend.

"Good," the blonde replied, a smile on her face. She patted Dita on the cheek. "What would you all do without Jura?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer, she promptly turned over and closed her eyes. In seconds Jura began to snore.

Dita stifled a giggle. It was one of the worst kept secrets on the Nirvana that the poised, elegant Jura was a heavy snorer. Barnette had divulged that little tidbit after one of their frequent spats and sooner or later the rumor had taken a life of its own. No one ever said so to Jura's face however… It wouldn't be proper. Besides, Jura always had her sword within arms reach…

Dita's shift passed her by almost as quickly as her scant few hours of sleep. She had already made her mind after Jura's little speech that she would try to speak to Uchuujin-san when she woke him to replace her… But what would she say? She racked her brains for a safe topic they could discuss… Of course she knew what she _wanted_ to say, but she certainly couldn't tell him _that_… Could she? Was she even sure that was what she felt? Maybe she should ask someone first… But they were all asleep. She could wait till they got back to the Nirvana and – but no, Jura had said now was the time. And Dita agreed. Sort of. Oh a topic – she should think of a topic. He was interested in food – but would he like to hear about her cooking? Besides it might just make them hungry – Dita was getting hungry already actually. Stop! Focus… Think about what to say… Oh why did this have to be so _difficult_…

Before she knew it, the sun had reached and surpassed its apex, and had already progressed downwards quite a bit, indicating that her shift was over. Dita bit her lip, mulling over the possibility of not waking Uchuujin- san up until she had thought of something to say – but when ten minutes or so had passed with nary a thought going through her head, she realized that she'd never wake him at this rate. Reluctantly then, she reached out and nudged the boy awake.

Hibiki snorted once, then blinked his eyes open, lids still heavy from drowsiness. "Wha… wha…" he muttered, then focused bleary eyes on Dita.

"It's… I mean, Leader said we should take turns standing watch…"

He boy sighed, then nodded. "My turn now I guess huh?"

Dita nodded wordlessly, trying to think of something to say, but her thoughts always returned to those words she _couldn't_ say, and all that accomplished was to make her blush.

Hibiki stood up and yawned, cracking his neck from side to side and rubbing his arms gingerly to wake them up. "How long a shift? And who's next?"

"Around two hours," the girl answered, relieved that they were talking, but not really _talking_, "Then you wake Leader up for the last watch…"

The boy nodded. Fully awake now, he surveyed their surroundings while his good hand reached down and grasped his double headed spear. He twirled it around in his hands, then stifled another yawn,, before turning back to Dita.

"Alright, Hibiki Tokai is on the job," he said, giving her a rare smile. "You should get some rest too… The past few hours can't have been easy for you…"

The red head nodded mutely, her insides in turmoil. He was sending her to bed already! How could she start anything when she'd already been dismissed?

The boy himself provided the solution when he turned to see her still standing there, head down, a curious red flush on her cheeks. "Eh? Is there something on your mind?"

_If only you knew,_ Dita thought despondently, but she had to think of something to say, and fast. "Dita… Dita just wanted to thank you… You know, for coming to our rescue again…"

Hibiki grew a bit flustered at that, but waved the praise away. "Don't sweat it, I know you guys would have done the same thing…"

"We would have tried," Dita replied, "but we might have failed… Like Dita did when she tried to get you to safety from the bad aliens…"

It took awhile for the boy to understand what she was talking about but when he did he rounded on her, "Oh c'mon, I can't believe you still think that was your fault! There were hundreds of those nasties out there… It was amazing that you were able to get me that far! If it hadn't been for you and Meia. I don't think I would have made it alive…"

Dita brightened at that, a smile returning to her face as naturally as the planets spin, "Really? You think so?" She gave a happy little laugh. "Dita is always happy to help Uchuujin-san! If – if anything ever happened to you I…" she said, then trailed off. Dita looked at him with suddenly wide eyes. "Uchuujin-san…"

_Say it, say it!_

"Dita is… really glad you're ok…"

_That wasn't it…_

The boy gave her a thumbs up, "Hey! It would take a lot more than hairy aliens to get the best out of Hibiki Tokai y'know?"

Dita laughed, buoyed by his confidence. How could she help but be optimistic with Uchuujin-san there with her?

"Now, get some rest…" Hibiki said gently, "We have a long day yet ahead of us."

She nodded, and lay herself down on the ground. She knew that on some level, she'd failed to say what she truly wanted to… But Hibiki's confidence had restored her own, and if there was one thing Dita was sure of, it was that they would get out of this alive. And then there would be other days, other opportunities, to tell him… To tell him…

And then she was asleep.

==[VANDREAD]==

As with Dita, the hours passed quickly for Hibiki as he made his rounds around the makeshift camp. He'd learned that the forest and its small creatures were his friends, his co-watchers – whenever a silence blanketed the woods, he felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise and he began to look for intruders. Usually it would be a large predator of some kind, no threat to Hibiki and the others but certainly to the smaller animals around them, but in this way Hibiki was assured that he had a functional early warning device. His mind free of some of its anxiety, it was free to truly appreciate the abundance of life all around him. It was certainly a change from Taraku, and even from the artificial 'garden' that the women had built on their Pirate ship and which had carried over to the Nirvana. The plants on the ship were alive certainly, but they were cared for by humans, carefully sculpted into aesthetically pleasing patterns. Here, the animals and the vegetation lived and died through their own efforts, growing free and uncontrolled, their destiny manifestly of their own making. The boy was aware he was probably making too much of their natural growth, but still he found himself silently saluting them on their efforts. He understood the desire to make your own path.

Still, as fascinating as the planet's life had come to be for him, his eyes more often than not found themselves drawn back to his companions. It was hard to believe that not too long ago – he had considered them to be the worst sort of monsters, out to eat his liver. He smiled at the memory – for such a recent event it seemed like a lifetime ago. But then, quite a lot had changed since then… Many of them caused in no small way by the three women dozing before him.

Jura lay flat on her back, her arms positioned almost consciously atop her flat belly, the poised position ruined only by the earth shaking snores that arose from her sleeping figure. Hibiki had heard the rumors, but he had scarcely believed them – till now. If Barnette and Jura slept together often, then the noise bombardment was probably paltry to blame for the former's rather irritable disposition – he doubted she got more than two hours of sleep per night. In earlier days, Hibiki would have wasted no time tormenting the blonde about it, but as the months had passed, his respect for her had increased exponentially. She did have a tendency to whine a lot, and poke her nose into other people's business, and do all sorts of crazy things to attract attention – but she'd grown to be a responsible teammate, especially ever since that time when Meia had been incapacitated. She got the job done – not without a lot of griping, but he had seen in her lately that drive for victory that was slowly overcoming her tendency to get easily frustrated. He'd also seen how truly she cared for Barnette – despite the way she seemed to treat her. A complicated person was Jura, but certainly one he was proud to fly with.

Of course, this didn't mean she couldn't be annoying at times, and he carefully filed away the knowledge of her snoring for use at a future time, in case of an emergency.

Farther away from the blonde – much farther away actually – slept the two other women, one with red hair, the other with blue. The former had always been a bit of a mystery to him. Ever since they had met, Dita had seemed to take an instant liking to him, for some reason that neither of them could really explain. Part of it was curiosity he was sure, what with him being the first 'alien' she had ever met. However, she didn't hound Bart or Duero nearly as much as she hounded him – in fact, she hardly approached them at all. With him though, it was almost as if everywhere he turned the red head would be there, with some new food for him to try or with another invitation to come play in her room… He had to admit it got tiring at times – especially since he didn't know for the life of him what Dita wanted from him.

Still, though he was loath to show it, he wasn't entirely blind to how welcome Dita's attentions were at times. She really did seem to care for him, and many times she went out of her way to make sure that his need or wants were met. Although he didn't like being pampered, he appreciated the effort. And there was something about her, the way she smiled and laughed, the way she greeted with enthusiasm anything remotely positive, the way she believed in him, above all other… All these things kept him going, and inspired him in ways that he himself did not fully grasp.

In many ways, the same could be said for Meia as well – although it would be hard to find a pair as different as Dita and the Dread Leader, at least superficially. Where one was overly excitable, the other was cool as ice – sometimes overly so. Meia was driven, controlled, focused – traits that made her a terror on the battlefield but served her poorly in the realm of human interaction. While Dita had taken an instant liking to him, Meia had viewed him initially with a distrust that had later blossomed into antagonism. They'd had their share of fights, what with Meia being his nominal superior and given Hibiki's blatant lack of respect for authority.

Like it or not however, they had been forced together so often that gradually, they had each earned a great deal of respect in the eyes of the other. If Hibiki were in a dangerous situation, there was no one else he'd rather have at his back than Meia Gisborn, and he judged that she felt the same way. They seldom engaged in real conversation, and neither he nor Meia had been open about their pasts, but each recognized in the other a certain similarity, a synergy that granted them a clearer understanding of the inner life of the other. Meia had an uncanny knack of sensing when there was something wrong with Hibiki, and more often than not, she found the words to set him back on the right path.

_Even in her sleep she seems guarded,_ he though to himself as he looked upon her sleeping form. Her face had a slightly pinched look, almost as if she were concentrating on something. Whether it was her natural expression or from the pain of her body, Hibiki was still worried. He looked up and saw that the sun had covered approximately two hours worth of its arching path, and he looked back down at the sleeping girl. Unaware of his gaze Meia murmured restlessly and moved onto her right side.

He decided to let her sleep.

Not thirty minutes later however, he heard her scolding voice from behind him.

"You should have woken me… It's past the end of your shift."

He turned to find her standing behind him, still looking pale and ragged, but with eyes blazing with anger. _Obviously not a morning person…_ Without thinking, he responded in kind.

"Look I was just trying to do you a favor – you needed your rest."

She snorted. "Treating me like a child is doing me a favor?" she asked pointedly. "Please – don't patronize me. I know how much rest I need."

Hibiki felt his own ire rise. "What is it with you?" he asked, "Can't you have someone try to look after you for a change without blowing up? For your information, you don't have a monopoly on self – sacrifice! The rest of us are just as able to give of ourselves as you are Meia!"

For once, the girl looked a bit taken aback, but she recovered quickly. "Don't put words into my mouth, all I said was - "

"Was that I shouldn't inconvenience myself on your behalf, because that would be treating you like a child," Hibiki shook his head. "This from a woman who slits her wrists to leave a blood trail for the rescue team… I think some sort of double standard is at work here."

Meia had been ready to launch an angry retort, but something in his words must have struck a chord, for instead she took a deep, calming breath. "You're… right," she admitted reluctantly. Then she looked him in the eye and said, in a measured tone. "I apologize Hibiki."

"Apology accepted. There," he said, "That wasn't so hard was it?"

The Dread Leader shook her head. "Talk about double standard… I don't see you apologizing very often."

Hibiki grinned in reply. "That's because I don't make any mistakes."

Meia actually laughed at that, a melodious chuckle that Hibiki realized he had never heard before, and he told her so.

The blue haired pilot shook her head. "Most times… There's not all that much to laugh about," she said in a serious tone of voice. "And when there is, all I can think of is when an enemy will try to attack and take it away."

Such a cynical attitude, Hibiki thought to himself, or perhaps _guarded_ would once again be a better word. Her past must have been quite something to have caused her walls to go up so high. He placed a hand tentatively on her shoulder.

"Hey – we're here with you, don't forget," he said. "We're all fighting to keep that sort of happiness alive remember? We really are concerned about you… Sometimes, it's necessary to be treated like a child, if only because you've pushed yourself too hard. It's not that we think you're weak Meia… quite the opposite."

The girl nodded once, then took another deep breath. "That's a bit harder for me to accept than other people," she said, then gave him a small smile, "but I'm trying. It's just that my childhood wasn't really a time I like to remember – at least, not most of it."

Hibiki nodded. "So I heard…" he said, as he sat down on the ground, staring out at the forest while stifling a yawn. He actually felt more tired than he would have thought, but it was rare that Meia opened up like this, and he was genuinely interested. "Gasco says you had quite a few run ins with the law."

Meia's expression turned pensive. "That was the least of my troubles… There are certain situations from which jail can actually be a relief," she said. Her expression grew closed as she continued. "I was a different person then, and it was a long time ago… Dark times which I do not wish to return to."

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," Hibiki was fighting to keep awake, though most of what his friend said still registered.

The girl shook her head. "Maybe…" she said. "One of these days…"

She grew silent then, gazing out at the forest with tired yet alert eyes. And maybe she would have shared more of her life with Hibiki that day, and in fact she did turn to him after a while. But by then Hibiki was sound asleep, drooling like a baby on the forest floor. Meia stared at him for a long time before returning her gaze to the forest, and not without a certain confusion of thoughts and emotions…

==[VANDREAD]==

The entire floor which housed the Medical facilities of the Nirvana had been converted into a make-shift hospital, beds and medical instruments lining the corridors to accommodate the number of injured that had arrived with Gascogne and the others, four or so hours ago. They had been unaccountably lucky – with the exception of Dita, Meia, Jura and Hibiki, all the other crew members were alive and accounted for, though suffering from various degrees of injury. Most if not all were fatigued, while many others suffered lacerations or broken bones, while a few who were unlucky enough to cross the path of the mecha 'spider' had wound up in stable but critical condition. Magno Vivan thanked God as she wove her way through the scattered beds and pallets of the wounded, extending what comfort she could give with a touch, a word, a gesture. Yes… they were lucky indeed.

_Still,_ she reflected as she held the hand of one of her women as her wound was stitched painfully together, _it doesn't make this any easier…_

In addition to her anxiety over the many cuts and bruises of her extended family, there was the fate of the four missing pilots to worry about. Of all the people who could have gone missing in the raid, those four were perhaps the ones she had the most confidence in to find their way back intact. However conversely, those four were four of the most important people on the ship, and without them the Nirvana's chances would plummet to catastrophic levels. Most importantly, they were family, and each of those four was as dear to her heart as any child to his or her mother. So far however, sensory scans had shown no sign of the four, hindered as the scans were by a field of static probably caused by underlying minerals in the area of the volcano, though she had not ruled out artificial interference. With half the crew members tired and injured, Magno simply did not have enough able hands to risk another rescue mission, especially with no leads. Distasteful as it was to swallow, that meant that their only choice was to hunker down and wait, hoping that the four would find a way to evade the enemy and make it back home.

Eventually, after threading her way through the injured in the corridors, Magno made it to the entranceway to the medical room proper. There she caught sight of Paiway and Duero, both of whom were working at a brisk pace, alternating between one patient and another and administering just the right amount of medicine and treatment for each before handing the patient to a subordinate and moving to the next one in line. Behind them were laid out the three women in critical condition, machines monitoring their vital signs and ready to alert the doctor and the nurse to the slightest alteration. They both acknowledged the Boss' presence with a nod then got back to work, even Paiway which surprised Magno to no end.

"How are you two holding up?" she asked as she stepped into the room, placing a comforting arm on one of the patients.

"There have been a miraculous lack of grave injuries," Duero said, without glancing up from his instruments. Deftly he produced a swath of bandage from a storage cabinet and wrapped it around the arm of one of the injured, an Engineer who had volunteered for the rescue mission. "My main concern now would be a lack of medical supplies if this trend continues, although we have sufficient reserves for approximately a week or so."

"Well and good," Magno said, this time approaching Paiway and wiping away the beading sweat on the young girl's brow. "But I meant how _you two_ were doing, not the patients…"

Paiway took a deep breath as she stepped away from administering medication to a Dread Pilot from the original advance party, then turned tired but determined eyes towards Magno. "Well, it's really the patients that matter," the small girl replied. "As long as they need us, we'll find the strength to go on – don't worry about us Boss…"

_Well,_ the Boss thought approvingly to herself as the nurse returned to her work, _it looks like our youngest daughter is doing a little bit of growing up…_

Before she could voice out her thoughts however, a beep from a nearby console preceded the appearance of a concerned looking BC on the monitor.

"Boss," the usually unflappable Sub Commander intoned, "We have a problem."

"I'm on my way," Magno replied, wondering what could possibly go wrong now.

Minutes later she had her answer.

"What are they doing out there?" she asked after recovering her composure as BC panned the external views around the ship.

"Nothing so far," BC replied. "They seem to be taking positions – they're eerily silent and unmoving. When we were in captivity quite a lot of movement and what may be called communication amongst themselves was evident. Now… Nothing."

The Boss nodded. "And how many of them are we talking about here?"

It was Ezra who replied, a hand held protectively against her swollen belly. "Sensors are still not responding, but a conservative estimate would be around six hundred to one thousand in the area surrounding the ship."

"With more coming every minute," BC added grimly as the entire bridge looked out at the monitors with rising concern.

The beasts had followed them home.

==[VANDREAD]==

"I still don't understand why you want me to go somewhere else."

A sigh. "Are all men as dense as you or are you a special case?"

The four of them were standing knee deep in what appeared to be a fresh water pool. After Meia had woken them all up, they had proceeded towards the mountain, hoping that in doing so they could continue to discourage pursuit as well as acquire a vantage point from which to plan their route back to the Nirvana. Lacking any other viable path, they had followed the stream, which in turn had led them to the pool with the small waterfall where Jura and Hibiki were currently having an argument, one that had begun shortly after the three women had consulted together and asked Hibiki to leave.

"What are you trying to lose me in the forest or something?" Hibiki asked, exasperated. "We should be sticking together, not splitting up! What's gotten into you three?"

"It's not like that Uchuujin-san!" Dita protested, "It's just that we… well…" she started, then suddenly blushed furiously.

Jura scowled at her younger friend. "Is that all you're going to do? Stand there and blush? You were the one who was pushing for this whole privacy thing Dita! All Jura wants is a shower…"

Meia simply shook her head. "Forget it, he can join us if he wishes to."

With that Meia removed her tattered outer uniform, the tunic type jacket with the shoulder padding, leaving her clad only in the black and white standard jumpsuit for dread pilots. Hibiki watched her undress with a rising feeling of discomfort.

"Um…" he began, rather nervously, "Wha… What are you doing…"

"Taking off my clothes," Meia replied nonchalantly. "Then taking a bath. Now if you'll excuse me…"

The Dread Leader unzipped the back of her jumpsuit, revealing her smooth, pale …

Hibiki fled.

The boy didn't stop running until he was a good distance from the pool – almost up against the foot of the mountain - although still within shouting range in case anything went wrong. If asked, he would have been hard pressed to explain why the thought of naked women made him feel so… uncomfortable. The sight of Meia undressing had made strange twinges course throughout his body, and while not painful, they were decidedly strange. He wondered if the feeling would have been reciprocated had their positions been reversed, but then decided it probably wouldn't have been. No matter how many similarities they discovered between them, females were just… strange…

"Stupid women," he muttered to himself, as he walked, kicking a pile of loose rocks one by one to vent his frustration. Most of the projectiles landed with muffled sounds against the surrounding vegetation, with some crashing against the rock of the mountain.

One rock however, ricocheted with a distinctive *clink* - the sound of rock hitting metal.

Curious, Hibiki moved closer towards the mountain. The rockface looked solid as far as he could tell, nothing out of place – except for a section that was covered by debris from a long ago rockslide. Planting his weapon on the ground, the boy used his good hand to remove some of the scattered rock and found himself staring at the remains of a blast door, grimy from years of dirt covering but still recognizable. A little more searching revealed the rest of the frame, approximately human in height, and a wrecked keypad beside it. There was a hole in the doorway, large enough to crawl through, though Hibiki couldn't tell what had caused it. Peering into the darkness beyond, Hibiki could see parasteel walls forming a corridor, and the flicker of electric lights.

"Well, well… Look what we have here," he whistled, thinking back to the mechanical spider they had encountered, "Heh, it looks like some of our questions are about to get answers…"

Making a mental note of the place, Hibiki retrieved his weapon and hurried back to the pool. The girls would surely want to hear this… If they were lucky, they might even find a way to contact the Nirvana. Unfortunately, his mind was so wrapped up in his discovery however that he forgot certain important details…

"Hey guys!" he shouted, only to skid to a complete stop.

"Eeeeek!"

"What're you _doing_?!?"

"Make up your mind Hibiki…"

To his credit, Hibiki managed a full second of stunned silence before his senses overloaded, his brain overheated, and he fainted dead away.

A silence, then a sigh. "You know, if we'd only known the males would be so easily overcome, we could have won the war a long time ago…"

As soon as the girls had regained their clothing and Hibiki had regained consciousness, the four humans trooped to the site of the wrecked blast doors. After a brief discussion they had determined that the best course of action was to investigate the new area, hoping for answers and some means of communication with the Nirvana. So decided, the three women and one man crawled through the hole in the entrance, and emerged into the interior of the mountain.

Aside from the area nearest the destroyed entrance, the place seemed to have been fairly well maintained, lighting and ventilation acceptable if not nominal, with only a thin layer of dust coating the floors. It was evident from the entrance onward that the installation had been created by advanced technology of a race that was –if not human – then certainly of human proportions. Later on, they corrected that view – unless aliens had learned to use human letters and numbers, the place had been constructed by men and women like themselves, as evidenced by the signs and symbols that they found in various places, from serial numbers to labels for rooms. The place had obviously been well planned out, but of the inhabitants, they found no sign.

"Looks like no one's home," Jura said, after checking a room that had been labeled as '183AC – Third Class Quarters', "But whomever lived here sure was neat."

"Everyone's gone!" Dita said, after returning from a similar room, "At least in this part. And they didn't leave anything personal behind…"

Meia looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean by 'personal'?"

"You know," the red head explained, gesticulating with her hands, "Pictures of their family, books they read, little notes or flowers or toys… Nothing at all!"

"Hmm…" Jura mused. "So when they left, they were prepared to leave?"

"Or," Hibiki interjected, "They were never here in the first place. None of the living quarters looked as if they had ever been used. Even if you tried to bring everything with you, you'd still leave some sort of mark – but this place looks like it just rolled fresh out of a factory."

"Maybe they're just neat-freaks," Jura shrugged.

Meia's eyes narrowed. "We won't learn anything through speculation. Let's move on… And be careful."

Dita nodded. "Uh-huh… This place gives Dita the creeps…"

They pressed on, increasingly uneasy as Hibiki's hypothesis began to look more and more likely. The installation stretched for miles underneath the mountain, and they had taken advantage of the working elevators to reach the upper levels, but nowhere did they find any sign of human habitation. They came upon rooms stacked with equipment and supplies for both human and machine – materials that would be of great aid to the Nirvana when they returned – and yet none had been opened, moved, or so much as touched. One room contained stacks of uniforms, each with a different name stitched on a tag above the left breast. On top of the right breast was a logo that they were unfamiliar with, but the words written below labeled it loud and clear:

The United Earth Space Force.

"These… These are Earth uniforms!" Dita exclaimed. "We're in a base of the bad aliens!"

"Calm down Dita," Meia chided the younger girl. "There's been no sign of them so far. What interests me is the fact that the Earth actually has a human army – I'd half expected their force to consist solely of the robots we have encountered up till now."

"Well given the color scheme of these uniforms, its not surprising they're in hiding," Jura quipped. "I mean, gold and gray? Come on!"

Hibiki ignored the blonde. "Well we can't really jump to conclusions… After all this place could be hundreds of years old for all we know. This could be like ancient history for Earth now." He turned his back to the uniforms. "Let's go… maybe if we find the bridge, or command center of this place, we can get our answers."

The four resumed their search, this time using the elevators to take them straight to the top of the base. As soon as they emerged, they found themselves in what appeared to be a hangar for several dozen huge machines, all of the bays empty, save for one.

In a large alcove nearest to their position, they saw the spider mechanoid from the mornings assault. They leapt back in surprise, ready for battle, but it soon became apparent that the mechanoid was powered down. A smaller robot, not initially visible, had a hatch of the machine pried open and seemed to be initiating repairs.

"Is… Is that…" Jura asked.

Hibiki shook his head. "I don't know… It looks like they had room for a few dozen here. It could be a different one from the one we saw."

"I think I see a sign that points towards the command center," Meia said.

Leaving the mecha behind, the four trekked through a series of winding corridors before ascending a flight of stairs to a large room that was ringed by rows and rows of computer work stations. A larger computer, blinking lights exhibiting its activity, occupied a central place, atop a podium and set before a large view screen.

"Jackpot," Hibiki said as he led the others inside. Not wasting a moment, he took a seat in front of the main computer and began examining it for a power source.

"Can Uchuujin-san use this computer?" Dita asked.

"Hey!" he answered indignantly, "I wasn't always a hotshot pilot y'know! I used to be an engineer!"

"Wow!" Dita said, then raised her arms in delight. "Uchuujin-san can do anything!"

Jura however was less convinced. "Are you sure you're not going to set off some defense system or something equally stupid?"

"Bah! What do you know woman?" he answered. "Go fluff your hair or something."

He found the switch and activated the computer from standby mode. Immediately the screen lit up, followed by a blindingly fast screen of numbers and letters, moving faster than the eye could see.

"Well?" Jura prodded him, mindful of the shellshocked stare he was giving the screen, "Do your stuff Mr. Engineer…"

"Er… right," Hibiki said, not knowing in the least where to start, but he was saved when the gibberish finished running through the screen and was followed by a blinking prompt.

_That's more like it_, he thought to himself as his right hand flew across the keyboards, running diagnostics and getting a list of basic commands. Seconds later he had accessed what seemed to be the main screen:

QUERY:_

command list: OBJECTIVES/ HISTORY/ COMMUNICATIONS/ DEFENSE/ SENSORS/ OTHERS/

"Alright!" he whooped, "We're in… What should we start with?"

"Try 'objectives'," Meia suggested. "Let's see what this place is before we fiddle around with it."

QUERY: OBJECTIVES/_

file: OBJECTIVES Ver 2.6

text: Outpost C: To serve as observation unit over type 3 test subject humanoids in vicinity/:/ To maintain self sufficiency /:/To conceal existence of Outpost from outsiders/:/ To initiate threat response action against signs of cultural/intellectual/evolutionary maturity/:/ To maintain status quo level of culture/ intellect/ evolution /:/ To fulfill any further directives issued by Central Command

"I'm not sure I got that," Hibiki said.

"What does it mean when it says 'threat response'?" Jura asked, and Hibiki entered the question.

QUERY: SubQuery: Def/"threat response"

def: Authorized use of force against humanoids which exhibit traits beyond type 3 culure/intellect/evolution

"Man this computer is vague…" Hibiki grumbled.

"It probably assumes we already know all this terminology," Meia said, "Let's try to narrow it down."

QUERY: SubQuery: Def/"beyond type 3"

def: Exhibiting a widespread amount of cultural/intellectual/evolutionary traits above the norm, such as but not limited to: artwork, abstract language, agriculture, animal husbandry, specialized architecture and sub groups thereof… full list? Y/n_

"You mean it's supposed to hurt people who farm and paint?" Dita asked. "Dita doesn't understand why anyone would want to do that!"

"Wait a second," Hibiki said, "I think it's about time we saw just who we're talking about here…" The boy's fingers once more flew over the keyboard, and he called up an image of a 'type 3 test subject humanoid'. The resulting picture, of a pair of creatures, confirmed his suspicions.

"Those are… the hairy monster aliens!" Dita exclaimed.

"These machines… They've been intentionally keeping those creatures in a primitive mode of society?" Jura asked. "How?"

"Probably by destroying any 'tribe' or whatever that exhibits those taboo traits…" Hibiki said. "Sort of like censorship through murder, with a different goal and a much wider scope."

"But why?" Dita repeated. "Why would anyone do such a thing?"

"That's a good question. I think it's time to check the History logs Hibiki," Meia said, and Hibiki set to it at once.

QUERY: HISTORY/_

file:HISTORY archive 1.html

text: - 2963 AD Directive given to colonize planet designated T1- Alpha6, approximately 16.32 light years from Terra. Estimated travel time with Sub Space Drive: 1 year

Arrival on planet delayed due to subspace mishap. Many parts of the ships damaged, including Cryogenic Control. Time of delay approximately 3 years

2966 Arrival on planet. Conversion of shuttles into Outposts achieved through ships automatic functions. Due to prior malfunction, 99% of Cryogenic Pods fail to reinitialize. Amongst those who emerge from cryo- sleep is Doctor Emilio Wudrovich.

2967 Doctor Wudrovich acquires control over the Central Command Center

2967 Beginning of base level experimentation on first batch of colonists, numbering approximately thirty

2968 First batch of modified colonists successfully integrated into the wild and placed under observation. Testing on second batch begins – approximately five hundred individuals

2969 First instance of suppression of beyond type 3 level culture/intellect/evolution

- - more?_

As the words had scrolled along the screen, Hibiki had realized that Meia began to clutch his arm painfully. He turned to find the Dread Leader deathly pale, eyes wide in horror.

"Meia?" he asked. "What's the matter?"

"It's not possible…" she muttered, seemingly not hearing him.

"Leader? Do you understand all this?"

"Meia!" Jura scolded her. "Snap out of it! Now is hardly the time to zone out on us!"

That seemed to shake the blue haired girl out of her stupor. With a grim look on her face she turned to Hibiki. "Try to get it to display exactly what modifications were done to the colonists…"

Puzzled, but with a feeling of dread slowly rising from within him, Hibiki entered the appropriate commands.

QUERY: Define/Expound modificatins+colonists

file: Modifications.doc

text: - Enhancement/Augmentation of muscular tissue

Cranial Micronization/Selective Cauterization

Memory wipe

Hormonal Adjustment (resulting in increased aggressiveness, follicle growth…)

Beneath the listing were two pictures, obviously a before and after comparison. The latter was easily recognizable – they had just seen that pair described as a 'type 3 test subject humanoid'… It was a picture of two of the beasts they had so recently encountered. What drew their attention however was the first picture, the one of the subject _before_ modification…

It was the picture of a human male and a human female.

"I… don't… believe it…" Hibiki said, his words coming slowly as his mind reeled from the shock.

"The monster aliens…" Dita whispered. "They're like us too? People… just like us?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Jura exclaimed. "Jura for one has nothing in common with those hideous beasts!"

"But it's possible," Meia said somberly. "The technology to effect such changes has existed for years… But it would take someone both brilliant and twisted to use it in such a manner…"

"You mean this Doctor Wudrovich?" Hibiki asked.

"But why?" Dita asked again, "Why would he do this to people? Turn them into… into…"

The others grew silent. It seemed to Hibiki that Dita's plea was the only question that the computer would be unable to answer. Still, perhaps out of frustration and anger at the horrible crime that had been committed, he typed it out anyway.

QUERY: WHY?_

_

The screen remained blank for a good five minutes, and Hibiki was about to begin another line of inquiry when the screen blinked back to life.

Why?

Because on this planet, I am a God. And a God does whatever he likes – simply because he can.

Hibiki blinked at the screen as the others clustered closer.

"What's going on?" Jura asked. "Something's changed…"

"It's not talking like a computer anymore…" Dita said.

"Perhaps it isn't one anymore…" the boy replied, then returned to typing.

QUERY: Who are you?_

Come now… If you're intelligent enough to find this outpost, then you can certainly figure out who I am…

"It's playing games with us, whatever it is…" Jura said as she read the words on the screen. Almost as soon as she had finished, letters emerged on the screen of their own accord, without Hibiki having touched anything.

Everything is a game to a God… And everyone is merely a pawn…

You certainly have better things to do than play though… Especially if you want to save that magnificent ship of yours…

"The Nirvana?" Dita asked with concern, "What do you mean? What's wrong with the Nirvana?"

Meia motioned for the red haired girl to hush, "We have no reason to believe it has any information we are not privy to. And be careful what you say," she warned her companions. "It obviously has some sort of audio receptor placed nearby…"

Not to mention visual receptors, my doubting blue haired beauty…

But enough pleasantries. Perhaps you would be more trusting if I showed you?

As soon as the four companions had finished scanning the text, the screen blinked out and was replaced by what appeared to be a live aerial feed of a particular part of the planet. Zooming in, Hibiki and the others could see clearly the lake of mud where their ship had crash landed. At first nothing seemed amiss, but then the viewpoint panned out, and they could see the massed, silent forms of hundreds upon hundreds of the creatures they had thought to be beasts – the humans who had been genetically modified by some sick genius who had awakened before the rest of them.

"There must be thousands of them!" Jura gasped.

Hibiki too was shaken by the number of beasts – no, modified humans – that surrounded their home, but he recovered quickly. "For a god, you certainly aren't very bright," he told the computer, "Or did you really think that claws and fangs could penetrate the hull of a ship designed for faster than light speeds?"

The text returned briefly to the screen as the computer – or whoever was controlling it – answered Hibiki's jibe:

And for a callow youth, you seem to have an unwarranted confidence in your own abilities.

Did I ever say the type 3 humanoids were the problem? Perhaps you would be better served to take a closer look…

The picture returned to the screen, and Hibiki strained his eyes to see what the computer was talking about. He saw nothing at first, noticing only that the beasts were quiet and hardly moving… But once more the camera panned out, slowly – like a ringmaster unveiling his star performer – and in the distance, the four caught a glimpse of metal glinting in the late afternoon sunlight… From the eight mechanical legs of a spider mecha.

Ah… The X-52 Inhospitable Environment Defense and Exploration Droid… Quite the ingenious design. The claw like legs give it speed and traction on any solid surface, while the heavy armor and high powered S-Plasma Cannon give it offensive capabilities to die for.

It's a shame that your friends managed to wreck one of them… They're quite irreplaceable as you may expect. Not to worry though, I believe that its twenty – three other brothers will be more than enough to destroy your ship don't you agree? Y/n_

It was all Hibiki could do to keep from impaling the malevolent screen upon his spear, but a warning look from Meia stopped him cold. He knew what the Dread Leader was thinking – that no matter how smug or offensive the computer was, damaging it would achieve nothing. To the contrary, it would deprive them of information they would have had no access to otherwise – such as the fact that the Nirvana was about to be attacked. What they had to do was pump their opponent for as much information as they could – they could sort out the true form the false later – while making sure they divulged none of their own secrets. Like the fact that the Nirvana had seemingly no offensive weapons of its own, and the fact that it was lying immersed in a liquid bomb just waiting for a fuse…

"You've sorely underestimated us if you think you can take us on with a handful of spiders," Hibiki bluffed, "Then again, since you know absolutely nothing about us, or what we're capable of, that's not surprising."

The others seemed to catch on quickly. "That's right!" Dita exclaimed, "You can't beat our ultra-powerful weapons! We'll make you sorry you tangled with us!"

"Better heed the warning, whoever you are," Jura said, jumping on to the band wagon, "Because you're going to need something more than those horrid things when we come for your head."

Oh please… Do you think I am unaware of the chemical properties of your liquid prison? One well placed energy blast from an X-52 – or one of your own weapons – will leave your ship crippled or destroyed. You can cease your foolish posturings… I know that I hold all the cards…

It's ironic really… The X – 52's were originally sent out to destroy the tribe of humanoids who had rediscovered the capacity to create 'art' – the same ones who kidnapped your crew members in order to pacify their 'God of the Mountain'. Instead, when they saw your companions destroy one of their 'gods', they came to believe that you people would save them – break the cycle that they find themselves trapped in. They thought they could find protection by following your friends – but in the process all they have really done is seal the doom of both themselves, and their new 'saviors'…

So their enemy was aware of their predicament… At least he did not seem to be aware of the Nirvana's lack of offensive capability, nor was there any mention of the crippled sectors that grounded both the Vanguards and the Dreads. If so then maybe their encounter was an unfortunate accident rather than a planned ambush, but Hibiki was still unsure if he could rule out the possibility of the Earth having a hand in this, especially not after seeing the logo on those uniforms.

One thing Hibiki had become sure of however was the fact that they were not speaking to a machine. Only another living thing could exhibit the kind of twisted glee that their foe was showing, a perverted joy that shone through even the emotionless lines of text. Hibiki felt the rage that had been building within him fast approach a boiling point: to so callously speak of disposing of lives which he had already horrendously scarred – whoever this person was, Hibiki swore that he would make him pay.

Behind him, Meia seemed to feel the same way, for she finally broke her extended silence, and said in a voice as cold as death: "Think what you will – I tire of your games, and of this empty discussion. You can sit there and watch while we save our friends."

With that she motioned to the others, and swiftly turned around and began to walk away. As soon as she did so however, a siren split the air, and the main computer began to make strident beeping noises. New lines of text greeted them as they refocused their eyes on the screen:

You fools! You think you can make it there in time? You don't even know where you are! And even if you did – what could the three of you do? Nothing! Nothing!

Come back! I command you!!!

Below that line were several strings of technical gibberish, followed shortly by more coherent text, obviously having emerged when they turned back to the screen.

Your confidence is misplaced. On this planet, I am a God, and with a thought I could eliminate you and your ship in the space of an instant.

But let it not be said that I am not a kind and merciful God… As it stands your friends are doomed. But I will leave you a window of opportunity to showcase your heroism: Within the files of this computer is the abort frequency for the X – 52 droids. If you find it, it should be child's play to broadcast the frequency and delay your friends inevitable doom. The signal should be strong enough to cut through all that interference. Just remember though, that at times, the heavens are known for having a twisted sense of humor…

"Why don't I feel like jumping for joy just yet," Hibiki muttered to himself, suddenly wary, ready for the slightest hint of danger. Sure enough, something was amiss… The sound of metal upon metal shattering the silence of the abandoned base.

The sound of eight legs clattering upon the ground…

Of course, you'll have to contend with the one little X-52 who had to stay for repairs… He wants some revenge as well…But since he can't reach the ship in time for the party, I guess you four will have to do.

Have a nice day :-)

"Hibiki!" Meia shouted, taking Hibiki's spear from him as the sounds of the approaching mecha inched closer to their position, "Find that frequency! We'll hold it off!"

"I'm on it!" The boy said, leaping back into the seat. Once more his right hand danced across the keyboard, flitting from menu to menu, accessing files, bypassing safeguards…

The screech of metal announced the spider's arrival at the outside corridor, the mecha making room for its massive bulk through sheer force. He heard the hiss of doors closing as the three women worked to bar the mechanoid's path.

"Hurry Uchuujin-san!" he heard Dita shout, "It's coming!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he shouted back, his mind wrestling with a particularly knotty bit of code. The file was encrypted ten ways to tomorrow, and if he wanted to bypass the password, he needed to hack the program. Hibiki thought of himself as a fair hacker, but this was way beyond his league. Maybe if he had Pyoro with him… Or better yet, Parfet…

"It's here!" Jura shouted, "Get back!"

A wave of heat and the hiss of burning metal accompanied the spider's approach, as it burned its way through the obstacles the women had placed in its path. Hibiki heard the three women let loose a shouted battle cry before the sounds of battle reached his ears.

The system was too secure – they'd all be dead before he broke through the data barrier. What he needed was that password – but how was he going to find it? It could be anywhere… Anything…

PASSWORD: WUDROVICH_

ACCESS DENIED

PASSWORD: GOD_

ACCESS DENIED

_Damnit Hibiki!,_ the boy thought to himself, _think like a deranged megalomaniac with a twisted sense of humor! Think of a password!,_ before a scream caused him to turn involuntarily from the computer.

Behind him Dita was clutching her right arm, gritting her teeth from the pain caused by a near miss by the spider's cyclopean plasma weapon. The mecha moved in for the killing blow – but before it could do so, Jura was flying through the air, having launched herself from the shoulders of a crouched Meia, Hibiki's spear in hand and a cry of vengeance on her lips. With a might heave the blonde threw the weapon straight into the hatch which still lay open from the machine's repair. The spear entered the spider's body with a hiss and a spark, and soon after an explosion rocked the mecha, forcing it down to its knees, where it lay inert… for a full five seconds.

Then it rose again.

"Uchuujin-san…" Dita cried out as the mecha once more advanced on the three exhausted women.

Quickly Hibiki turned back to the work station, his face set in a rictus of determination. _It would *not* end this way…_

_A twisted sense of humor…_

PASSWORD: NONE_

ACCESS GRANTED. ABORT SEQUENCE INITIATED…

Hibiki leapt to his feet with an exclamation of joy, and turned in time to see the mechanoid raise its head as if listening to something, then power down.

"You did it!" Dita shouted, trying to get to her feet, but then clutching her injured arm in pain, "Owww…"

Jura and Meia helped the red head to her feet. "I think I've met my quota of close calls for the day," the blonde said with a sigh of relief. "These last few hours alone should earn me about three decades of utter peace – at the very least!"

Meia too let out a breath as most of the tension left her body. Then she looked straight at Hibiki, a tiny smile brightening up her tired face.

"Nice work."

He grinned in reply. "Nothing to it," he said in his cockiest tone of voice, before turning back to the console. "Now what say we get in touch with some long lost friends?"

==[VANDREAD]==

The peoples had long suffered under the grip of their might mountain gods. Not a season would go by when one of them was not snatched from their midst by the sharp talons of the gods, not a triumph completed without it being already wiped from memory, at least the memory of the earth. But the peoples had their own memories, ones kept in places where the gods could not reach, memories of their home in the distant lights, and their fall into the cold darkness. And though the people sacrificed and cowered before their gods, they kept these memories hidden in their secret places, where even the red light of the gods eye did not shine.

Yes the people had suffered, and suffered long. But such was the way of the world, and though there would be those at times who would begin anew a move to resist, such resistance was as much a part of the cycle as the violent deaths that soon followed. But though the physical evidence of their battles was erased and forgotten, the paintings they painted within themselves remained etched in their hearts.

And yet that morning, that dawn-beginning, had brought something new… Something unexpected. A god had fallen, beset by flames and ringed by the strange creatures that the peoples had seen as nothing more than sacrifice. Yet these creatures, smaller even than the peoples, had battles a god and bested it. Even more astonishing, these creatures with the powers of gods had seen their renditions of the earth's memories and had not destroyed them. These two factors gave the peoples something they had never known before:

Hope.

And so the peoples – calling to each other in the old ways, and spreading the news - had followed the creatures, back through the forest, until they reached the shining bright home of the new ones. When they had arrived, they immediately grew silent and ceased all movement – for they knew they were on holy ground.

Even when the mountain gods returned, many tens of them, the people did not move. If a few of them must be sacrificed so that the new ones would look favorably upon the peoples, then so be it. What mattered was that the peoples be saved, that their memories live on, not only within but without. The cycle had already dictated that the peoples lose their lives – if the new ones would not save them, no one would. This was their belief, this was their faith,

And their faith was rewarded.

As one the mountain gods ceased their movement, falling to the ground like sacrifices, with not a blow laid upon them. Forgetting for a moment the sanctity of the place, the peoples moved amongst their fallen masters, disbelieving, touching the cold dead things in all places, as if striving to believe they were real.

Then the doors of the silver dwelling opened, and the creatures began to descend, creatures of all sizes and shapes, of all hues…

And the peoples turned from the corpses of their old gods, and bowed before the new…

==[End of Chapter Four]==

Author's Note:

Whew… That was a long one wasn't it? Both in legth of text and in length of time to make it… The bad news is that school is almost here, so my pace might be even slower than before – yes, that is an unfortunate possibility ;p

The good news is, this was, in my opinion, the best chapter to date. Almost everything I wanted to be put in this series found a place in this chapter: good humor, hard hitting action, character interaction, a few surprises for the reader and a scene wher eMeia does a strip tease ^_^ Sorry if it sounds like I'm tooting my own horn here, but it's rare that I feel entirely at peace with a chapter, and this is one of those moments. 'Marooned' has been a remarkable experience for me to write, and because of that all my writing energy is currenlty focused on finishing this series - so the second bit of good news is: don't worry, I'll finish it. I won't leave you hanging :) I hope that you guys are having half as much fun reading this as I am writing it…

As usual, there are some little issues I want to expound upon or clarify from the chapter:

Meia's Bitchiness: Our favorite Dread Leader got a bit nasty in certain parts of this chapter, and at first this may seem at odds with my developing her character and maing her mature (which for Meia includes loosening up) – but considering her physical condition, and the desperate circumsstances, I think the occassional back slide is understandable. Besides, she had her moments in this chap didn't she? ^_^

Gasco's Irony: Just a quick note about that little comment Parfet makes to Gasco in that one scene… If you've watched the second stage, you know which one I'm talking about: Yes, I put it there intentionally ^_^

Parfet's heroism: I expect some people might be surprised at our Engineer's display of athletic heroism in putting down that Spider mecha, but really, that was a threat that was right up her alley. She may cower before the beasts, but against a mechanical monster, she's in her element. Think of it as being a writer confronted with the 'challenge' of writing a one page essay on what he did for summer :)

Duero's kick-assness: Nothing in the series states explictly that Duero would be a good fighter, but he just seems to have that aura. Remember in the first episode… the other graduates were heaping praises on him and wondering why he'd list himself as a doctor or scholar… Remember this is a military school, so Duero probably excelled in physical stuff as well as mental. Besides, he seems like the kind to have a mysterious past… And I will definitely bring that up in a later fic…

Ring: Again, there's no evidence that Meia's ring can be set to overload and used as a grenade, but most energy weapons have that function so what the hey? :)

No offense Nirvana: I won't spoil the later parts of the series anymore than I need to, but lets just say that Bart with Hair = No Weapons for the Nirvana … You know what I mean ^_^

Sparks: Again, this isn't a romance fic, but I did take pains to highlight a bit the relationship between Hibiki and Dita, and Hibiki and Meia… Don't expect any winner to come out in this fic (or for a long time to come) but as each fic is the foundation for my next one, be sure that developments here will be explored in future fics…

Well, that's it for now… The fifth chapter will be a bit more laid back than this one, but it will serve to set the stage for the slam bang finale in Chapter six. More interaction and plot development await you as well, so be sure to join me back here in about a month or so for the next installment of Vandread: MAROONED entitled – "Evolution". Watch for it!

And hey, telling me your comments and/or criticisms is one sure way to get me to write faster, and in any case are always appreciated :)

-Ender