TEKKADREAD
Disclaimer: Mine is not to question why.
: Thoughts
Chapter
12 Storms of Rage
"Here. You left something behind out there." Rabat said. He gestured to the severely damaged Tekkabot, as it was being lowered to the hanger floor. His simian partner Utan had gone off in search of her favorite plaything Pyoro.
The massive machine made a thunderous noise as it was laid down. All around the machine, the Dread pilots and the Warrior Squadron watched intently. The female techs, with Parfat in the lead, quickly began converging on it, assessing structural damage and taking energy readings.
"Whoa! What happened to it?" Parfat gasped. She and the others couldn't believe that the Vanguard had taken so much punishment and was still operational. Aside from its missing arm, Pegas was still relatively intact. The girls then jumped back as the hatch to the cockpit hissed open, The servos creaked and groaned as the panel swung up to expose the occupant. It was then that a snarl was heard.
"RABAT! YOU RAT BASTARD! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
The trader turned to see an injured Slade standing on Pegas' chest. He smirked as he took in the Tekkaman's appearance. He was barely able to keep himself upright and his left arm clutched at his right side. He had numerous cuts and bruises all over his body and it looked like he was in serious pain. Blood was seeping from a head wound. Seeing Slade in pain gave great pleasure to Rabat as he smirked at him. He then began taunting him.
"Well now. Is that any way to thank the man who just saved your life? I would think that..."
"AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" Slade roared and thrust out his right hand with the palm spread out.
A ball of ki appeared and blasted forth, catching everyone, especially Rabat by surprise. The ki bolt slammed into his chest, breaking two ribs in the process and caused a very nasty burn. Rabat found himself flying backward and hit the bulkhead behind him, causing a human-size depression in its surface. He let off a strangled gurgle and his eyes were wide with shock at what had just happened. How did that punk do that? Didn't he need to transform to shoot energy?
In the crowds, the females gasped in wonder, awe and fear.
Jura gulped a bit after the display. "He can do that?!"
"What was... that?" Meia asked.
Dita let off a delighted noise and clapped her hands as she recognized what Slade had done. She remembered how he had used that power to free her trapped Dread during the time they had first met. "Wow! Mr. Alien used his secret alien power!"
"You KNEW he could DO that?!" Jura exclaimed.
"That's why it's called a 'secret' power." Dita replied as-a-matter-of-factly.
Rabat gasped as he tried to take in air, but his bruised lungs were having a bit of trouble expanding within the confines of his ribcage. He felt a stab of pain shoot through the top part of his torso. Then, in a blink of an eye, Slade was suddenly in front of him. Apparently, anger and adrenaline were giving the Tekkaman enough strength to begin dishing out high amounts of hurt.
Slade slammed a fist into his gut, causing him to double over. One knee to the chin made the con man snap back up. Another fist nearly dislocated the jaw, and made a couple of teeth get knocked out. A follow-up spin kick to the face and Rabat was hitting the wall again.
Since he wasn't completely recovered from his last bout with the Harvesters, Slade's endurance was down and he couldn't continue smacking Rabat around. Instead, he opted for clamping down a hand on the traitor's throat. With some effort, he hoisted him up and Rabat found himself dangling a few feet off the floor of the hanger. He gripped both hands on Slade's arm, trying to make him let go, but the space warrior's grip was close to squeezing his windpipe to the diameter of a straw.
"You filthy traitor." Slade growled dangerously. "You're nothing but a liar, and a total waste of genetic material."
"I... urk... saved... ugh..."
"Like HELL!" Slade shot back. "I was still conscious when you aimed your ship's guns at me. You weren't trying to save me. You wanted to finish me off. As far as I'm concerned..." He gestured with his head at Xian Pu's group. "... they saved me, not you. I saw you picking through the wreckage of those ships like the vulture that you are. Those ships had been full of good people whose lives YOU sold out!"
"I... don't know... argh... ack... what you're talking about!"
"The HELL you don't! You're the reason why the Harvesters have been raiding all the human worlds in this sector!"
At this point, their conversation began to catch the pirates' interest. Meia then asked a question.
"What do you mean, Slade?"
Slade let off another growl before replying. "Oh, didn't you know? Rabat has been working for the Harvesters. He sold out the entire human race, by relaying information about each human world that he had encountered. That also includes information about this ship and everyone aboard, plus data about Mejele and Tarak."
There was a collective gasp among the females as the Tekkaman addressed Rabat. "Don't bother trying to deny it. I brought back enough proof to expose you for the stinking traitor that you are."
Rabat managed to sneer at Slade and chuckle, though it hurt him to do so. He spat at him. Droplets of saliva and blood hit Slade's cheek as he continued to sneer. "Heh. Well now that my little secret is out, what are you going to do about it? Knock me off? It doesn't matter now. Before I found you, I received a message from my customers, the Harvesters. They're on their way here."
This announcement caused another collective gasp to be heard among the females. Slade was tempted. Oh he was VERY tempted to rip that arrogant smile off his face and then reduce all of his bones to powder. However, now was not the time.
Rabat was thrown to one side and slammed hard into a wall. The trader slipped down into unconsciousness as Slade turned and limped toward the hanger exit. However, several dozen women, aiming their rifles at him then blocked him. His anger was raised a few notches as Barnette stepped up in front and held up her gun at his face.
"HOLD IT! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
Slade growled. So that girl was still on her 'all men were the enemy' kick, eh? Well, he didn't have time for this. "Out of my way, Barnette. I got a few things to talk with your Captain. Now step aside, unless you want that gun shoved up where the sun doesn't shine!"
However, just as he was about to let loose with another ki blast, several members of the Warrior Squadron took up positions behind him and aimed their own weapons at Barnette's group.
"Xian Pu! What are you doing?" Barnette demanded.
The Amazon glared at her. "I should ask you the same thing! You heard Rabat, didn't you? The enemy is coming! We have to get ready to fight THEM, not each other!"
"It's just another lie by the men! You can't trust any man!"
"Wrong." Xian insisted. "What we can't trust are these stupid ideals of yours! Slade is on OUR side! Don't you see that?"
Both sides were ready to open fire, but then a voice was heard over the PA system.
"STOP THIS! ALL OF YOU!"
The girls stiffened when they heard Magno's commanding voice. However, no one made a move to lower her weapons. Each was wary that the other might shoot if she let her guard down.
"THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER TO ALL OF YOU! PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN!" Magno shouted.
Slowly, but surely, each girl lowered her rifle, laser ring and so on. When everyone had holstered her weapon, there was a collective drop in overall tension. Then Magno spoke once more, this time addressing the Tekkaman. "Slade... report to the bridge."
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The bridge...
"D-Boy... you look like Hell." Magno commented as she looked over his bruised and battered form. She could tell that he was running on sheer willpower alone as he stood in front of her.
Slade said nothing for a long moment, then snorted. "I've been put through Hell since this morning. Considering what happened today, I don't know why I'm even bothering to tell you this, but I guess you deserve to hear it."
"What happened to you Slade?" Buzom asked. "Did you encounter the enemy?"
"Yeah... and I got my ass handed to me."
Both women became alarmed at hearing this. Slade was considered formidable, even without combining with the Dreads. For something to have done this to him meant...
Slade sighed then continued on. "I never claimed that I was unbeatable..."
----------
Flashback to a few hours ago...
Slade's blood grew cold as he saw what appeared on the bridge's main monitor of the Melanos ship. It was big... REAL big.
"What the Hell is that?!"
"One of the enemy flagships." The Melanos captain replied as the fleet began preparing for all-out war.
"ONE of the enemy flagships?" Slade couldn't get over the size of that thing and here the captain was telling him that there were more?
The commander of the vessel nodded. "Our long-range surveillance teams have been tracking the movements of the Harvesters ever since they entered this part of the galaxy. They've spotted up to three flagships so far and it is possible that there's more."
And one isn't enough? Slade thought as he took in the monster's appearance. The thing measured at least nine miles in length and was shaped like some giant sea cucumber. On its sides were rows and rows of ships, which resembled the one that Tekkadread Dita had destroyed during that fateful first encounter. On its bow was a glowing, inverted Y-pattern. Flying escort for the behemoth were hundreds of thousands of Cube Fighters and Space Urchins. Slade had the abilities of a Tekkaman, but against that much raw firepower, he also knew of his limits. The Melanos Fleet would not be able to stand up against them and even if he was still with the Nirvana, Slade wasn't certain if the Tekkadreads would be able to win against this many enemies. For the first time in a very long while, Slade was thinking that discretion was the better part of valor.
"Captain... I think it would be best if we withdrew."
"We cannot." The captain said solemnly.
"Why not? I'm no battle tactician but I can tell that you're taking on more than you can handle, even with this many ships."
"It's not that we don't know that we're outmatched, it's just that there isn't anything or anyone left to defend our planet. We're the first, last... and only line of defense for Melanos."
At that moment, the enemy began opening fire.
Almost immediately, the Anti-Earth Defense Fleet returned fire with volley after volley of lasers, particle beams and missiles. The star-studded background became plastered with explosions and debris. Fighters swarmed out like maddened wasps as their human pilots threw everything they had at the enemy. However, despite the destructive forces being unleashed by the Melanos Fleet, the Harvesters kept on coming, totally ignorant of the losses they were sustaining. They were unfeeling machines, absolutely merciless, carrying out their programmed orders and letting nothing stand in their way.
----------
Slade frowned as he watched the valiant Melanos fighters do whatever they could to push the enemy back, but it was a losing battle. The Cube Fighters were already breaking through their defensive lines and several cruisers were being invaded. One could only imagine the chaos and horror being wrought on those vessels as their crews were being 'harvested' for their skin.
Finally, he couldn't take it any more. He had to do something. He bolted from the bridge and made his way to the hanger where Pegas awaited. As he entered the area, a huge explosion rocked the ship. Walls were blown out and the floor trembled as flames started appearing. The cruiser's internal fire-suppression systems kicked in, dousing the hanger with foam. As Slade made his way toward the Tekkabot, he caught sight of an inert form lying nearby. He ran toward the prone figure and knelt down to find a mortally wounded Seran.
"Hold on, Seran! I'll get you out of here! You'll be all right!"
However, the engineer knew that this was the end as she felt her life's blood trickle away. She had just completed the repairs on Pegas when the explosion had occurred. Flying debris had punctured her chest and her sight was fading. She smiled up at Slade briefly, then... died.
Slade felt as if a part of himself had died with her, then his expression became one devoid of emotion. His whole body trembled with anguish and rage. After all he had been through. After everything that he had lost, then gained, now lost again...
Finally, he snapped.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Blinded by tears in his eyes, Slade raced to the nearest airlock. As soon as the door closed, he made his crystal appear.
"TEKSETTER!"
---------
The Melanos captain frowned as he looked at the tactical display. His fleet was being torn apart. The Cube Fighters by themselves were cutting down squadron after squadron of his planet's best pilots and more than half of the cruisers had been invaded. To make matters worse, the main enemy flagship was laying down an endless stream of laser and cannon fire, obliterating several cruisers in the process. To the left of his command vessel, a cruiser suddenly exploded just minutes after the enemy had boarded it. The commander of the fleet assumed that the crew of that ship had decided to auto-destruct and take their enemies with them. He shook his head in sadness at their valiant, yet ultimately futile act. At this rate, the Anti-Earth Defense Fleet would be annihilated, and Melanos would be left completely at the mercy of the Harvesters.
In minutes, the fleet was being pushed back and whittled down to barely more than a dozen capital spacecraft. The fleet commander shook his head resignedly. It looked like they had done nothing more than delay the inevitable. They were doomed.
Just then, one of his bridge officers shouted out that a huge energy surge had just been detected from within one of their airlocks. A flash of emerald light shot past the bridge and the crew all gazed in amazement and wonder. The main viewscreen zoomed in on the figure as he went through his astonishing metamorphosis.
"It's him. The rumors were true!" The Melanos captain exclaimed. The exploits of a strange being that fought the Harvesters in powerful armor, had reached even the distant planet of Melanos. And now they were having their first glimpse of the Tekkaman Slade.
----------
Out in space, Slade's body was stripped of its clothes as alien metal appeared and fused with his flesh. In a bright flare of luminescence, the transformation completed itself and the space warrior wasted no time in tearing into the enemy.
TRANSFORMING TO TEKKA-BATTLE MODE!
Once again his form altered itself into a more dynamic shape and in a nimbus of power, he sped through the swarms of Cube Fighters, obliterating them by the dozens. The human pilots found the pressure being eased off of them as their enemies were being eliminated in seconds.
A few seconds later, another foe of the Harvesters shot out into the void. Pegas raced towards its master as he continued to wreak havoc among the Harvester forces. The Vanguard began undergoing its own transformation as it made a beeline toward the Tekkaman. It began elongating its fuselage and compressing its form into a more dynamic configuration. Once Slade caught sight of it, he made a flip and landed on its back. The two were surrounded by a corona of power and became a comet of utter destruction. Several of the Seed Ships and Space Urchins were blown to pieces as it sped toward the main flagship.
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The crews of the Melanos Fleet watched in awe, as one man was causing more damage to the Harvesters than they had done since the enemy had entered their sector. The lead ship's commander felt his resolve return as he communicated with the remaining cruisers to follow Slade's lead. The ships began concentrating their firepower on the main flagship and its fighter escorts.
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The Tekkaman charged headlong into another formation of Cube Fighters, slashing them apart with his lance while Pegas was laying down an unending barrage of laser and cannon shots. With the Melanos Fleet backing him, space became even more littered with Harvester debris. In minutes, the flagship's escorts were cut down as the enraged Slade refused to let anything or anyone get in his way. He ignored the countless hits on his armor as the main force of the Harvester fleet concentrated on eliminating their greatest threat. Radam armor was unbelievably strong, but it wasn't indestructible. The direct hits began to add up, pushing the armor's structural integrity to its limits. Cracks and dents started to appear on his upper torso, but Slade pressed on. Under his feet, Pegas sustained very heavy damage but continued to carry its master as far as it could take him.
When a stray shot struck the haft of his lance, the weapon broke in two and the pieces went flying off into the vacuum of space. However, Slade paid it no mind as he streaked toward the bow of the enemy flagship. Behind him, the remaining Melanos fleet and the fighters continued to lay down a withering salvo, giving Slade a clear path to his target.
However, that was when the flagship began opening fire with everything it had. Particle beams and energy torpedoes came in massive waves, and Slade soon found himself being pushed back. Several of those attacks struck hard in his chest and he realized that he might have bitten off more than he could chew. A Tekkaman, though very powerful, had his limits and Slade was quickly reaching his breaking point. However, he stubbornly refused to back down. His Tekkabot's thrusters let loose at full throttle, trying to move him forward, but the relentless barrage continued.
When Slade saw that the inverted Y-pattern on the bow of the ship begin glowing, he knew that his Melanos allies wouldn't survive the attack. His shoulder units lifted up as he raised the lead ship's communications.
"GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"
Just then, the Harvester flagship let loose with a beam of power, that would have caused a star to go nova. At the same time, Slade channeled every last bit of energy he had into his own counter-blast.
"VOLTEKKER!"
The quantum and ki blast hit the larger and stronger Harvester beam head-on. However, as powerful as Slade's attack was, it wasn't enough to stop the flagship's attack... at least not entirely. A large portion of the flagship's beam was deflected away from the surviving Melanos ships, but the remainder engulfed the Tekkaman and his robotic partner. Slade's armor buckled under the strain as he felt his entire body scream in agony.
The Tekkabot's armor was also strained to its limit as it was sent tumbling through space. Debris from the battle pelted its surface and part of a Cube Fighter slammed into its right side, shearing off an arm.
However, Slade's attack had not totally missed its target. A part of Slade's Voltekker beam lanced toward the enemy flagship. Despite its thick armor, the energy tore through and caused a chain reaction to occur inside. Small explosions began occurring inside the behemoth, crippling several systems. The entire craft shook as its insides were being ravaged. Though it was still relatively intact, it had suffered considerable damage. The main computer of the ship began assessing the situation. Though it seemed that its main enemy had been vanquished, in its current state and its escort fleet devastated, the flagship could not complete its mission to harvest the people of Melanos... for now. Repairs would be needed and that would take some time. The flagship decided that harvesting could wait for a while until more fighters could be manufactured and energy stores were replenished. After all, without Tekkaman Slade, the Melanos people had no other way to stand against it, right?
----------
Aboard the main ship of the Melanos Anti-Earth Defense Fleet, the captain and his crew watched in total amazement. The enemy flagship... was withdrawing! For the first time since this terrible war had begun, the human side was the victor and it was all because of one extraordinary man. A man who had seemingly gave his life so that others may live to fight another day.
"Have you found him? Is our savior still out there?"
The officer that was manning the sensors shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry sir. I've contacted the other ships and we've done a full sensor sweep of the battle area. There's a lot of energy interference out there, but... there's no sign of him. Most likely, he was vaporized."
The captain's expression turned from hope to resignation. He had wanted to take Slade back to Melanos and ask him to fight alongside their forces, but it seemed that the Tekkaman had decided on martyrdom. So be it. At least he had bought the people of Melanos some time to prepare for the Harvester's next attack. His example of courage and self-sacrifice would be the inspiration for his people to continue fighting.
After recalling their fighters and taking in whatever could be salvaged, the Melanos Fleet, numbering fifteen cruisers in all, turned for home.
----------
Floating among the derelict hulks of Cube Fighters, Space Urchins, Seed Ships and Melanos cruisers, was the broken and almost non-functional form of the Tekkabot. Inside its cockpit was its bruised, bloody, battered... and beaten pilot. In the instant before he had been totally engulfed by the enemy flagship's attack, Pegas had managed to reach Slade and get him inside of it. With the added protection, he had survived the conflagration but just barely. The strain and damage he had sustained had caused him to revert back to his human form. Pegas had also been emitting a kind of cloaking field to hide Slade's bio-signals so that the Harvesters would not detect him, thereby making them believe that he had been totally obliterated in the blast.
With the flagship now gone, Pegas then dropped the cloaking field and activated its distress signal. It had hoped that the Melanos people would pick it up and come to rescue its master, but with so much energy interference, the signal was not received by them. With nearly all of its systems down, including communications and propulsion, it could only watch helplessly as the Anti-Earth Defense Fleet warped back to its home. It would take several hours before the energy emissions were low enough for the signal to get through. Until then, Pegas would do whatever was necessary to keep Slade alive.
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End of flashback...
"I don't know how long I floated out there, but if weren't for Pegas and the Warrior Squadron..." Slade let his voice trail off, then let off a tired sigh. "In any case, Captain, I think that you should know that this ship is next, along with your home planet and the men's, according to what Rabat said."
"I... see." Magno was very concerned. Slade had been defeated... he had actually been defeated! If the enemy had that kind of firepower plus more of those flagships, then it was more imperative than ever to get back to Mejele and warn both it and the male planet of Tarak. Only a united effort would be able to stand up against the invaders. Magno also knew in her heart that Slade was the key to the enemy's defeat. After all, he had managed to stop, albeit temporarily, an enemy flagship. With the power of the Tekkadreads and the Nirvana's crew working together, they would be able to overcome any obstacle.
However, there was still the problem of the mutiny, as well as the fact that the Nirvana was currently without its navigator and chief physician. Still, she had to ask.
"So D-Boy... do you think we can win?"
Slade frowned at her. "What do you mean WE? In case you've forgotten, I'm considered the enemy, remember?"
At that point, several crewmembers appeared on the bridge and aimed their blaster rifles at him. Magno winced, as she was about to order them to lower their weapons and stop this nonsense. This was definitely not the time!
However, Slade shook his head to her as he raised his hands in a non-threatening manner. "It's not your fault, Captain. I'm not holding you responsible for any of this." He resignedly held out his hands to them, which they immediately cuffed as he was led away.
As they watched him being taken away, Buzom and the Captain became even more worried.
"I've... never seen Slade act this way. He didn't even try to resist. It's as if the battle with that flagship had broken him." The First Officer remarked.
"I think it's more than that, BC." Magno said. "I think... Slade has lost his faith."
"His faith?"
"Yes. I think that the events of this day had caused Slade to lose faith... in himself, in us... and in the human race."
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Back on the Harvester's World...
"What? One of our flagships encountered the Tekkaman Slade?" One of the leaders said as he read the report.
"What happened?" Another leader asked.
The tech nodded. "Apparently, during the operation to gather the Melanos people for their skin, the force we sent to eliminate their defenses encountered the Tekkaman. It suffered considerable losses and had to withdraw."
"And the Tekkaman?"
"Missing and believed to have been destroyed. It seems that he was no match for the flagship's overall firepower. Apparently, we no longer have need of those countermeasures we developed to combat him and the Tekkadreads."
"DO NOT assume anything." The head of the Harvester leaders warned. "If that Tekkaman was able to temporarily halt a flagship on his own, then we cannot afford any mistakes at this point. His demise has not been verified, so therefore, we must assume that he is still alive." He then asked the tech another question. "Are the countermeasures and that special project ready?"
"Yes sir."
"Then have them sent to destroy the Nirvana. If the Tekkaman Slade is still alive, then we shall defeat him and the Nirvana in one stroke."
----------
Somewhere near the sector where the Nirvana was in, another flagship just received orders to move out. Deep within it, in specialized hangers, the countermeasures to the Tekkadreads were being made ready for battle. One countermeasure in particular was anticipating the moment in which it would face off against Slade. Its name was Saber.
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The Nirvana...
"But Commander, we need you!" Xian Pu pleaded as she stood in front of the cell in which Slade had been put in. The two guards who were assigned to watching him looked on with disdain.
However, the Tekkaman didn't seem to be listening as he sat in a cross-legged position and focused on speeding up his healing. Behind him, Duero and Bart listened to their conversation. Laying on the cot and still unconscious was Rabat.
"Commander!" The Amazon cried out.
Finally, after a long moment of silence, Slade responded, but did not face her. "Don't call me that. I relinquished that position to you, remember Xian Pu? It's what you wanted when the Vanguard squadron was formed, right?"
"Why are you talking nonsense? YOU are the leader of the Vanguards! You're the one that we follow! Do you realize what we risked to find you? A lot of our friends resent us now, because we believed in you, and we still do!"
"Then you wasted your time." Slade said quietly.
"What?"
Slade took a deep breath. "I believed in this ship. I believed in everyone. Now... I don't believe in any of that anymore. In fact... I'm not too sure that I believe in myself."
"Commander!"
"The Warrior Squadron is yours, Xian Pu." Slade said with finality in his tone. "Though I am grateful to you for saving me, things have changed. I can't go back into battle with you now. Think of what might happen if I did. Half of the crew will not accept my help, Duero or Bart's. In fact, a lot of them hate me. Our getting involved would only make things worse and endanger everyone. Every time I get involved... people get hurt, or even worse." In his mind was Seran's expression before she had died. "You're the leader of the Vanguards now, so LEAD them. I... know that you'll do a good job."
Xian Pu couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was if she was talking to an entirely different person. What had happened to him? Seeing that she wouldn't be able to pierce the shell that Slade had erected over him, at least for now, the Amazon nodded her head and gave him a salute before leaving. She quickly hid her face from him so that he wouldn't see the tears that was starting to appear.
Slade was left alone with his thoughts as his body continued to heal.
----------
In the cafeteria, Barnette was having another rally against accepting help from the men and asserting the women's independence.
"We can win without the men! We don't need the help of the men! We didn't need them before they came aboard this ship and we don't need them now!"
As her followers cheered her on, in the rear of the crowds, Gascogne shook her head.
Fools. This is NOT going to work! They're blinded by pride and not thinking with their heads. They've closed their hearts to everything. The head supplier gazed at Barnette as she went on and on about the evils of men and how they had tainted their once pure, female society. She sadly shook her head. The Dread pilot reminded her of those propaganda films from Tarak and Mejele.
Seeing that trying to talk some sense into them would be useless, she decided to hold her peace.
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Out in space...
Meia was worried and her concerns were well founded. Though Slade had returned, the rift in the Nirvana's crew was still there. The ones that refused any help from the men were at odds with those who believed in the males. The ship was still a sitting duck without Bart at the controls and any injured crewmember would be left at the not-so-tender mercies of Paiway's medical skills.
With the information that the captain had given to her, Meia had decided that it would be prudent to be on the lookout for enemy activity. That was why she and a few of her subordinates were patrolling the surrounding areas in their Dreads. She prayed that they would not be attacked before the problems on the ship could be resolved. However, that was when Fate decided to deal them a very bad hand. Meia's long-range sensors went off as they picked up the approach of something huge.
Oh no! Meia knew that this was it as she signaled for her wing-mates to follow her back to the Nirvana. Mutiny or not, the pirates would need to get ready for what might well be the most intense fight of their lives.
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The bridge...
Parfat coughed as another circuit relay blew up in her face. She had been trying without success to access the control mechanisms, which Bart used to guide the ship. However, the navigation well was spitting out any probing device that was inserted into it, and overloaded any attempt to bypass its interface controls. Apparently, it would accept no other navigator but Bart.
The head engineer would have preferred spending her time with the modifications she had planned for Pegas, instead of this futile exercise. The navigation well was attuned to Bart's biorhythms and several volunteers had already been forcibly ejected when they tried to enter it. However, with Pegas currently out of commission, the enemy forces nearby, and the other females unwilling to let Bart out of his cell, the brown-haired girl had no choice but try to find a way to move the ship.
At that point, Dita came up to her and asked her to fix up 'Mr. Alien's' partner.
"Please? Pretty please?"
Parfat sighed as she reached for a circuit clamp. "I'd like to help, Dita. Really I would, but I can't! Everyone wants me to get this ship moving without Bart, and if they see me repairing Slade's Vanguard, then they'll start calling ME a traitor."
"But Mr. Alien NEEDS his partner!"
"I know that, but I can't do anything about it! In any case, Pegas is way too damaged right now and it would take at least two days of nonstop work, just to get its basic systems back online!" This news caused Dita to become disheartened. However, Parfat pointed to her toolbox without facing her and said, "Can you do me a favor? Can you bring my toolbox back to the hanger? I won't be NEEDING it for until tomorrow."
The young Dread pilot smiled at the underlying meaning of the engineer's words and swept up the toolbox. "Thank you so much Parfat!"
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Later...
"Oh dear! This is a LOT different than a Dread!" Dita whined as she tried to work at one of Pegas' terminals. Unlike her fighter, the Vanguard was suited more for hand-to-hand combat with its configuration, and its Paksis-enhanced circuitry was far more intricate than conventional wiring. The young pilot realized that she had taken on a task that was far beyond her capabilities. She knew how to diagnose problems and make basic repairs on a Dread, but fixing Pegas was way out of her league.
"I can't believe that you'd go through all this trouble for a man."
Dita stopped in her attempts to repair Pegas when she heard the voice. She came out from underneath the Tekkabot's front cowling and smiled up at her friend. "Paiway, what are you doing here?"
The little nurse became a bit nervous as she bowed her head, twiddled her fingers, and said in a very quiet voice, "I... came here to say... that I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"You know... for causing all of this. It was my fault. I didn't know that you were crying because of those onions and... I was... jealous about how much time you spent with Slade and..." The little girl's eyes began welling up as she tried to hold back her tears.
Dita found herself feeling a bit of anger, then went right back to smiling at her friend. "I know that you didn't mean for all this to happen Paiway. You don't have to say sorry to me."
"I... don't?"
"Of course not! We're friends, silly! We'll always be friends!" Dita replied as her cheerfulness came back at full blast. "But I think that you need to say sorry to Mr. Alien."
Paiway winced. Eating crow was not what she wanted to do, but Dita was right. Every now and then, Dita's air-headedness disappeared and she would show signs of great wisdom. Still, she had to ask her friend a few things.
"Why is it that you chase after him so much?"
Dita smiled as she went back to work on Pegas. "Because he's Mr. Alien!"
"Huh?"
"I know it sounds strange, but even though he's a man, I want to do whatever I can to help him. It's how I feel about him. When you care about someone like that, then you should do everything you can to make that person happy, because it makes you happy to see that person happy, right?"
Paiway smiled a bit while shaking her head. She then held up her frog puppet. "I guess there's no use in fighting it. Kero, kero!"
It was at that moment that the general alarm went off. The enemy... had arrived.
----------
"LEAVE ME ALONE! GO AWAY!" Pyoro cried out as he tried desperately to get away from his unwanted admirer.
However, Utan was still hot on the machine's heels as she continued to pursue him through the halls of the ship, heading toward the bridge.
----------
The brig...
There wasn't much that Duero could do for Rabat. Aside from assessing that he was in no danger of dying, though he was going to be feeling substantial pain when he came to, the doctor turned his attention to Slade's injuries. Without the medical supplies of the sick bay, the physician couldn't do much for the Tekkaman. However, he became very fascinated at the self-healing process that Slade was using recuperate. Cuts healed at a rate far faster than normal and bruises were gradually fading away. It was then that the three men heard the general quarters alarm. Their guards hurried off to respond to the imminent enemy attack, leaving their captives to fend for themselves.
"What's going on?" Bart wondered though he and his two compatriots had a good idea what was happening.
Slade stopped in his self-healing and went toward the brig's porthole. He saw small streaks of light, which he knew, were the vapor trails of the Dreads and Vanguards as they were launching to meet the enemy. However, if his last encounter was any indication, then this could well be the crew's final battle.
Duero got up and joined him to watch the coming battle.
"So... do you think they stand a chance... with just Dreads and Vanguards?"
Slade shook his head. He wasn't going to lie. "No. They don't stand a chance. But... it's their decision."
"So you're not going out to help?"
"They don't want my help." The Tekkaman replied sadly. "I don't know if I could help. I'm still not fully recovered from my last battle. Even if I were, I don't know if the Tekkadreads could stop THAT." He gestured to the huge flagship that was just appearing in the distance. Swarming around it were several small clouds, which were hundreds of squadrons of Cube Fighters, Seed Ships and Space Urchins. The enemy fleet stopped some distance from where the Nirvana was.
"Is that the same flagship that you fought from before?" Duero asked.
Slade squinted a bit, then shook his head. "No... it's not. I managed to blast a pretty big hole, in the bow of the one I fought with the people of Melanos. I doubt it could have repaired something like that so fast. I think its another one. The commander of the Melanos Fleet did mention that there were more of them."
----------
Meia was on edge and she knew it. As the Dreads launched and lined up behind her, she noticed that the Warrior Squadron was also deploying. She felt a bit disheartened when she saw that the Tekkabot was not among them. She observed Xian Pu's mecha in the lead and realized that for this battle, the pirates could not rely on Slade's power to give them an edge. And they needed that edge, especially when they were about to engage a flagship and so many fighters.
Inside her Vanguard, Xian Pu readied herself and her command for battle. The Tarak machines were now equipped with new electron-pulse rifles to give them added range and firepower. They had also been given extra armor plating to withstand several direct hits. However, the enhancements did not boost the morale of the once proud Warrior Squadron. Their leader was not going to fight with them. Several of the pilots had protested when Xian Pu had given them the bad news, but it was too late now to do anything about it. They were committed.
----------
In the Register, Gascogne nodded as her staff went about its business and filled out orders for the Dread and Vanguard pilots. However, the atmosphere wasn't the same. With Slade and the other men in the brig, there was a lot of tension among the stagehands.
She became a bit angered when she saw Barnette enter and thrust out her request for her Dread. She quickly hid her expression as she looked down at the keycard.
"I need this order filled out now!" The Dread pilot said with some irritation. Jura had been ignoring her since Slade had returned and Barnette's temper had begun to boil.
The head supplier gave the younger girl a bit of a glare before smirking at her. "Remember Barnette."
"Remember what?" Barnette asked with irritation.
"Smile... smile!"
The Dread pilot gritted her teeth in a snarl, then forced herself to smile, before Gascogne took her keycard and authorized the order.
----------
Once the Dreads had all gotten into formation, Meia began making her final checks and raised all the pilots on communications.
"We'll attack in Delta formation. Jura, you will lead group two and cover the Nirvana."
The blonde pilot nodded, then asked the Dread leader. "Do you think we can do it, with just Dreads and Vanguards?"
Meia didn't have an answer as she simply said, "Keep on your guard and good luck."
"Just so you know, Meia. I don't like losing battles."
"Neither do I."
----------
On the Nirvana's bridge...
BOOM!
"This is impossible!" Parfat said as her face was now smudged and her hair was frazzled. After her thirtieth attempt to access the navigation well's controls, she about ready to say to heck with it all.
"Should I get Bart up here?" Magno asked. As soon as the question was voiced, it was immediately shot down by several of the bridge crew.
"NO! We have to win this fight without the men!"
"We don't need them!"
"Men are nothing but slime!"
Ezra kept silent, as she knew that her support of the men would only make things worse.
The pirate captain shook her head sadly. Why couldn't they see that Slade and the others were essential to their survival? Perhaps, it was time for her to put her foot down and...
At that moment, Pyoro came barging into the bridge, followed by Utan. He flitted about, screaming out cries for help as the simian continued to pursue him.
Parfat then got inspired at the Navi robot's appearance. She quickly grabbed hold of him as he passed by and brought him to the navigation well.
"Perfect timing! I could use you!"
"Huh?" The little machine became puzzled as he was being hooked up.
"Pyoro should be able to interface with the navigational systems!" The female engineer then punched in a few codes and became ecstatic when Pyoro began accessing the navigational well's main systems. However, when saw him jerking about erratically, she began to fear that the data was just too much for his memory banks to store. Suddenly, Pyoro became stiff, then his eyes glowed a bright yellow as he levitated high above the bridge. Then he spoke, but not in his voice.
"RESISTANCE... IS FUTILE." (1)
"What's going on Parfat?" Magno asked as she and the rest of the pirate crew listened. All the communication channels were picking up that same voice. The men in the brig also listened.
"I think... it's the enemy." Parfat replied as she looked at her instruments' readouts. "They... must be using Pyoro to communicate with us." She then gazed at the image of the flagship on the main monitor.
The ancient woman nodded as she replied back to the voice. "Who are you?"
The voice answered. "WE ARE FROM THE PLANET KNOWN AS EARTH."
"Earth? The same world where our ancestors came from? That can't be! If you're from Earth, then why have you been hunting us?"
"WE ARE THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN RACE. YOUR ORGANS WILL KEEP US ALIVE FOR MANY MORE YEARS TO COME AND WE THANK YOU FOR THEM. WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT IS IRRELEVANT. YOU SHALL BE HARVESTED TO ENSURE OUR EXISTENCE."
With those words, Pyoro let off a small puff of smoke and clattered onto the floor of the bridge.
----------
Among the pirates and their male captives, absolute shock reigned supreme.
----------
The Dread Forces...
"The same... We all came from the same planet... even... Mr. Alien..."
----------
The Register...
"Our enemies are from Earth?" Gascogne gasped.
----------
The brig...
"It... can't be." Bart said in disbelief. "We're being hunted... by the Earth?"
"It's all true."
The men turned and saw that Rabat had finally regained consciousness and was sitting up. It was apparent to them that he was in considerable pain. However, he still maintained that irritating smug look as he began explaining.
"The so-called aliens that you've been fighting all this time are actually from the same planet that we all came from... Earth. About a century ago, humans set out from Earth to colonize other worlds and to escape from an enemy that was attacking the planet at the time."
"What enemy was that?" Duero inquired.
Rabat shrugged as he got up. "Not too sure about that. All I know is that the Earthlings managed to win against them, but are now after the organs of those who had colonized other planets. We're all just spare parts to them."
"And what is your part in all this?" Bart demanded.
"Didn't Slade tell you? I happen to an informant for Earth. In addition to the things that I sell, I also gather information about each planet I visit and relay the data back to Earth. That's how I make a living. You can think of each world like a farm and I'm considered as the farmer. Everyone is killed and their organs are used to sustain the survivors on Earth. As far they're concerned, you have no choice in the matter."
"WHAT?! YOU SOLD US OUT?!" Bart exclaimed.
Rabat shrugged again. "So what if I did? What are you going to do? Knock me off?"
The traitor would REALLY regret saying that again as Slade let off an enraged snarl and thrust his right hand out.
WHABOOM!
The ki bolt smashed into Rabat's chest, nearly killing him, while breaking five more ribs. He went tumbling down in a mangled heap. That was when Slade came up to him, hauled him up with one hand on Rabat's throat and glared at him.
"Listen up, you stinking traitor. From now on, I don't even consider you as a human being. You're nothing but an inhuman parasite. I should finish you off right now and save us all any further grief, but that won't solve the problems that you caused for the entire human race! However, I promise you that the next time we meet, I WILL SEND YOU TO HELL!"
With that, he tossed Rabat away like a rag doll, knocking him out again, then fired off another ki blast at the brig's laser bars. The entire front of the cell short-circuited, which allowed the men to escape. However, the question was... where could they go?
Duero called out to the former heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. "Slade... where are you going?"
Slade stopped before reaching the brig's exit. "Isn't it obvious?"
"I thought you said that they won't accept your help."
"Maybe so." The Tekkaman agreed as he made his crystal appear. "But something about what that scum said made me think."
"About what?"
He paused for a moment, then responded. "He said that we don't have a choice in the matter. Meaning that our opinions, our thoughts, our hopes and our dreams aren't important, that they don't matter! Well I say they are important! We all have a right to lead our own lives! We have a right to our own existence! The Earth may deny us that right, but I'm not going to accept that! I may not know who I really am. I may not know where I came from. But I DO know that I exist! And I won't let anyone take that away from me! I'm going to show proof of my existence!"
With those words, he started running to the nearest airlock.
Duero considered his words, then nodded. "Sounds good to me." It was time to show proof of his own existence by doing what he did best. He immediately headed toward the sick bay. Bart soon followed afterwards and began making his way toward the bridge.
As for Rabat, he came around a minute later and painfully began making his way toward where his ship was docked. He also recalled his orangutan partner and once she was aboard, he disconnected from the Nirvana. Like a dog with his tail between his legs, he fled the scene, not wanting to get involved in the pirate's struggle for their lives.
----------
Slade ran at full tilt as he headed toward an airlock that was near the Paksis Reactor Room. However, just as he passed by it, the door suddenly slid open and a bright, blue-white light engulfed him.
----------
Out in space, the battle had begun...
The Dreads and Vanguards scattered themselves among the multitudes of enemy fighters as they fought for their very survival. The Nirvana had managed to raise its shields, but without navigation, it began to drift toward a gaseous giant. As it listed toward the planet, shots from the enemy fighters and the Earth flagship continuously bombarded it.
In her Dread, Meia was pushing herself to limit, as Cube Fighters beset her on all sides. The squadrons under her command were being whittled down as an unending wave of enemy craft kept on coming at them. The squadrons under Jura's command were trying their best to defend the Nirvana, but they couldn't be everywhere at once. Seed Ships and Space Urchins began mercilessly firing volley after volley of beams and projectiles at the pirate vessel. With the ship unable to move on its own, the pirates found themselves caught in the gravity field of the gas giant. The craft began listing dangerously toward it.
Xian Pu and her Vanguards fought valiantly to stay in formation and give support to the Dreads and the Nirvana. However, even with their new weaponry and added armor, the humanoid mecha were seriously outnumbered. Several of the pilots had been forced to abandon their machines when they became too damaged. Those that did eject had to hope and wait for Gascone to come by and pick them up in her delivery shuttle, before the Harvesters found them. So far, the head supplier had managed to retrieve every one of them.
The pirates became even more desperate when the enemy flagship began advancing on the Nirvana. More Seed Ships and Space Urchins were released from its sides to bolster the multitudes of Cube Fighters that were engaging the defenders. It seemed that the Nirvana's crew had finally run out of luck.
----------
The Paksis Reactor...
"What's going on?! What's happening?!" Slade shouted as he looked about. However all he could see was an endless sea of green-white light. His body felt as if it was on fire as various images passed by at high speed. Some of the images he recognized as places and people that he knew of, while others didn't make sense at all. One scene showed himself as a young boy, walking about on all fours and acting like a cat. Another scene showed him fighting against some portly, bald man with glasses on top of some poles. More scenes, both familiar and unfamiliar flashed by until finally, he saw a silhouette of a figure in what appeared to be Tekkaman armor. At first, he thought it was of himself, but the image was a bit larger and bulkier.
Finally, Slade growled as he shouted out.
"I don't what you're trying to do, but don't try to stop me!" Then, as suddenly as it began, it all ceased and Slade found himself outside of the reactor room. Shaking his head to clear it, he continued on his way to the airlock.
----------
In the engineering room, Parfat cried out as one of her engineering staff was pinned under a large piece of bulkhead, that had fallen on top of her, when the ship shuddered from another direct hit. Immediately, Parfat and few other co-workers tried to lift the heavy object off of the girl's legs, but were unable to move the massive hunk of metal. They needed more muscle.
Then suddenly, the bulkhead seemed lighter as one end began to rise. The head engineer was surprised to see Duero at her side and straining to lift the heavy weight. When the debris was high enough off the floor, another of Parfat's staff ran to the injured girl and pulled her clear.
"Deuro, what are you...?" Parfat began, but the physician interrupted her as he dropped his load and began physically examining his unconscious patient.
"Hmmm, hairline fracture along the tibia and probably some torn ligaments. She got some bad cuts along her right calf and a probable concussion." He turned to her and said. "Get me some straight pieces of wood or metal and any kind of fabric. I'm going to have to stop the bleeding and improvise a splint!"
"But..."
"No backtalk to your doctor! Move! The quicker we get her into sick bay, the better!"
Parfat couldn't help but smile as she motioned for some others to assist him.
----------
The bridge...
"Have no fear! Your navigator is here!" Bart said as he made a grand entrance into the bridge.
Magno gave irritated, but smiling expression at the blonde man. "Hmpf! You're late!"
"Sorry." Bart replied sheepishly as he ran over to the navigational well and jumped in.
All at once, the main drive controls became active as the Nirvana began slowing down its fall toward the gas giant.
----------
The airlock...
"TEKSETTER!"
----------
"MR. ALIEN, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Dita was having a hard time of fighting off her attackers, as they seemed to be endless. For every Cube Fighter that was destroyed, three more would take its place. There appeared to be no hope as the Dreads and the Vanguards were being overwhelmed. Then Dita caught a flash of emerald green shooting out from the Nirvana's underbelly. She knew immediately who it was and felt new strength of will. Other members of the Dread and Vanguard teams also knew as well.
"He's back!"
"Commander!"
"It's about time!"
"All right!"
"Go get 'em!"
"YAHOO!"
"MR. ALIEN!"
Slade immediately shifted to his Tekka-Battle Mode and flew straight through several Cube Fighter formations. Since they were so many of them, every pass he made obliterated the enemy by the dozens. When he had taken out more than a hundred fighters, he went back to his normal configuration and brought out his lance. His movements were somewhat sluggish, as he had not yet totally recovered from his injuries. Fortunately, he had a loyal team of Vanguards to back him up.
Xian Pu took out three fighters that tried to blindside her leader. Then she and several other members of the Warrior Squadron took up formation behind the Tekkaman. Gascogne's supply ship flew above them, allowing those who had been taken out of the battle to see their commander back in action.
In the cockpit of the vessel, Gascogne smiled as she raised Slade on her communicator.
"Welcome back D-Boy."
The Tekkaman gave her a sharp salute then signaled his group into a flanking action. The Warrior Squadron pilots acknowledged his command and peeled off, shooting down more Cube Fighters and giving the Dreads some fighting room. As for Slade, he headed toward the Nirvana to aid Jura in the defense of the ship. Meia and Dita followed him in so that they could be close enough to combine when necessary.
The blonde Dread pilot was ecstatic when she picked up Slade on her sensors. She began racing toward him and was all set to combine. Though she didn't care for the crab, its force-field would be very welcomed at this point.
However, just as Slade came in close enough to initiate the fusion process, Jura's Dread was struck from behind by a large energy burst from the Earth flagship and was sent spinning away from Tekkaman.
What the...?! Jura frantically went about trying to regain control of her fighter, but was prevented from getting closer to Slade as more Cube Fighters converged on her and the other two Dreads. Slade was also attacked en masse as the enemy flagship continued to advance on the Nirvana's position. Then the front bow opened up to let loose the Harvesters' latest weapons.
Look at that! Dita cried out as strange craft emerged from the ship. It was then that the pirates got their first look at the Earth's countermeasures to the Tekkadreads.
It... can't be! Meia shook her head in disbelief.
----------
Impossible! They've actually managed to copy the Tekkadreads?! Buzom exclaimed.
Magno knew that things were about to get serious.
----------
Slade stared in total shock as the new machines came into view. The copy to Tekkadread Dita looked more menacing than the original, and mounted a single, huge blaster cannon over one shoulder. It was also equipped with energy blades on the forearms. The clone to Meia's Tekkadread was almost all black and looked more avian than dragon. It flapped its wings like a living thing as it took a position to Copy Tekkadread Dita's left. On its right, a grotesque version to Tekkadread Jura appeared. It looked like a cross between Jura's Dread and its crab form, but it had a had a huge pincer in the front that made it resemble a giant beetle.
How ugly!
They're copies?
Ewww! I don't like this!
In an instant, the Copy Tekkadreads attacked and took on their non-transformed counterparts. Meia found that despite her Dread's exceptional speed, Copy Tekkadread Meia was running rings around her, and taking pot shots at her with every pass. Jura couldn't get though her doppelganger's force-fields, even at point-blank range. As for Dita, her Dreads weaponry was no match for her double's overall firepower. The other Dreads and Vanguards were too busy with other enemy fighters and flagship to assist them, which left only Slade who could help.
However, as he raced toward Dita to combine and help fight off those fakes, a red beam of energy fired from the flagship. The shot grazed the Tekkaman in the shoulder, but to Slade, it felt as if that part of his body was on fire. Despite the protection offered by his armor, he screamed in agony. He had never felt pain like this before. When he looked down at his shoulder, he saw that the metal had become charred and chipped. What could have caused that kind of damage with just a glancing shot? Looking in the direction in which the shot was fired, he got his answer. His heart stopped momentarily as he saw... him.
The figure was roughly his height and was wearing armor that was similar to his own, but was colored a dark brown and crimson. It had more sharper edges and appeared far more insidious. He stood on what looked like a technological manta ray. In his right hand was a double-bladed lance and on his torso were several gemlike protrusions. His very presence radiated an evil aura that made a shiver run down Slade's back. This was not just a copy. He could sense that this... was a REAL Tekkaman.
----------
Dita gasped as she got a glimpse of the newcomer while dodging her double. All the females and their male crewmembers were in a state of total disbelief.
THE BAD ALIENS... HAVE COPIED MR. ALIEN!
----------
Magno shook her head with her mouth open. Today was certainly a day that she would not soon forget, though she wished she would.
They... can even make copies of Slade? Buzom gasped.
The ancient woman shook her head again. No BC. THAT abomination... is no copy.
The first officer became very alarmed at this. Then WHAT is it?
It's Slade's worst nightmare.
----------
Who are you?! Slade demanded as he faced off against what would prove to be his greatest challenge.
The enemy Tekkaman was silent for a long while, then finally, it spoke in a cold, cruel tone. I am... Saber! NOW DIE!
With that, Tekkaman Saber charged toward Slade with his weapon thrust out in front of him. Slade barely had time to bring up his own lance to counter. The two exchanged dozens of slashes and thrusts in heartbeats, then began darting about the area of space like a pair of fireflies that were hopped up on drugs. The Nirvana's Tekkaman managed to block every attack that was thrown at him, save for one. Since he was still feeling the injuries he had received from his last battle with the Harvesters, his reaction time and strength were down. A wicked thrust to his heart was barely evaded, but Slade was not fast enough to avoid injury. Saber's weapon raked Slade's chest armor and tore a gash across its surface. The former Saotome bit down on the pain, backed off and got some distance between himself and his opponent.
Saber merely hovered in place and held out his lance. First blood... is mine!
Slade winced as he saw a streak of crimson on the tip of Saber's weapon. He shakily got into a ready stance and said, Don't matter... who draws first blood. Only who... draws... the last.
The two stared each other down for one long and agonizing moment. Then they charged at each other again.
To be concluded...
Author's Notes
Yeah, yeah, I know. You all hate me for leaving you hanging like this, but this chapter had been getting TOO long and this was the perfect place to leave off and prepare for the final chapter of Tekkadread. In the final chapter, Slade and Saber will go all out to see who is top Tekkaman and the crew of the Nirvana will have to set aside their differences and work together to get out of this mess! See you there!
(1) I couldn't resist that little quip after watching Star Trek Voyager last night.