Author's notes: Well, if you're reading this, then that means that you can spare time for me, right? Oh, yeah, BC is a guy, right? Well, since this occurs before that is discovered, his pronoun will be She, her, and woman related. Thanks to Spiritblade for the advice! I will have a backbone for this one. Thanks also to Swordskill for your advice! I really need a lot of it. This chapter is kind of odd… well, as far as the conversation between the three Pexis goes. I guess there's nothing more to say but enjoy! Thanks again to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri for quotes and technological inspiration. Some people might go OOC, so… ah, what am I saying? Just read it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread, nor the Second Stage. There, I said what I should be saying.
Chapter 3: ConfrontationsBridge, EHS Seiryu, Penetration Point 1, Arcadian Border Ice Clouds
Wednesday, 1956 hours, EST…
She stared at the holographic statistics display, her body giving off a red glow due to the great power of the Pexis that pulsated in rhythm with her heart. Fully dressed in red clothing, her dirty blond hair stretched past her shoulders up to her waist. This was the time of victory. This was for her nephew, Lim. He was on his way to the Tarak-Mejeele system to ensure harvest and prevent the evolution of the said system's technologies to match that of the foe she was facing now.
They never will. Three Mother Ships, a Planet Destroyer that Lim was in command of, add the history of conflict between the system's two planets, their lack of cooperation, and Lim's commanding skills, and you had the seeds to sow the most abundant field for the harvest. Whilst Lim did his part of service for the Earth, Lady Morgana Vyle, in all of her glory, would do hers as well.
This enemy was different. Unlike the Tarak-Mejeele forces that relied on their own 100 years worth of research, the Arcadians' research was always in the golden age status due to the incredible 'God-inspired' knowledge and breakthrough capabilities of the Pexis they held. Just like us… then again, even Earth was not able to acquire the technology needed to control singularities in a hundred years.
The holographic screen showed detailed statuses of each Mother Ship that was deployed. Ten percent deployed already… and the planet destroyers? Three percent. She looked down at the other nine people who were operating the other parts of the ship that the super computer didn't already handle. They too had the power of Earth's crimson Pexis infused with their bodies, minds, and souls.
That was when she felt her gut twitch. That always happened whenever she felt danger. It was a sort of… intuition. "Ready the Grand Apocalypse Cannons, Raiden."
"Aye, milady." Replied dark haired gunner. Raiden had always wanted to destroy something, but it was never called upon him to do so. This was the Seiryu's, no, a Capital Ship's first ever attack operation.
"Mara, prepare the Hyper Fusion Cannon and set its intensity to Star Birth." This was the Seiryu's secret weapon, and Mara Tykolvski was assigned to control it. If the Arcadians used singularities, dead stars in laymen's terms, then they used the Hyper Fusion Cannon to force any available particles together, causing fusion—the process that gives birth to a star—to occur almost immediately, igniting anything that got too close, and doing any damage that stars were known to cause. Its lifespan would alas, only live up to two to three minutes or so, although its existence would end in a dramatic supernova that destroyed anything within a light-year's radius.
"Aye, Lady." Said the scarlet haired Kazakh-descendant, "Do you want to end this at once? I am certain that a thousand Mother Ships and thirty Planet Destroyers are more than enough to destroy such meddlers as the Arcadians eventually."
"It's not that…" the leader replied, "I just have a bad feeling about not being fully prepared."
"I see."
"Adams," she called on the black helmsman, "Set the ship to enter firing range of the Planet Arcadia Romano within an hour. The rest of you, continue your work." The response was a series of "Ayes" and "Rogers," as the vast warship propelled itself through the millions of lumps of ice ranging in size from that of a jackstone to a kilometer large or greater.
Location Unknown
Time Unknown…
Hibiki stared outwards, confused at why three colors alternately flashed in all around him. Blue—the color he was most familiar with—Red—the color that has been coming out more often these days—Green—entirely new to him—they flashed in this succession repeatedly. What's going on, here? Each of the colors exhibited unto him a different mode of emotion. The blue, unlike its original curiosity, had changed into uncertainty. The green was calling out to the former in great concern for it, and fear of the red. The red was surging with great anger for both of them.
The green spoke first, lime green to be precise, "Come to me, my sibling. We must huddle together to be strong; to fight the enemy that nears us as we speak." It sounded like it was a young girl.
"Go ahead," the blue stated, ushering Hibiki to answer the first, "Give the answer. The choice is yours, friend."
"Still talking to lesser beings are you?" piped the red with the voice of a raging lion. "They are of no importance to us. Why befriend them?"
"Silence!" retorted the green, "Let him speak. A friend of Plagma is a friend of mine. I eagerly await your answer, carbon-based composition."
"Well uh…" Hibiki didn't exactly feel good being called a carbon-based composition. He straightened up, "Why should I make the decision anyway!? You guys are the ones talking to each other, not me!"
"Is it that hard to talk to three of us, Hibiki Tokai? You already converse with my self casually, what difference does it make with three of us?" the blue said, sounding warmer than it usually was… friendlier than its commonly cold and inquisitive attitude.
"He is probably stunned by us. We are what we are, mortal. Do not interfere with our affairs. You have no right to even be here! Plagma! Why did you drag this poor excuse for a sentient existence into our conversation!? He is wasting our time!" the red was obviously irritated at Hibiki's presence.
"Will you mute yourself for once, and accept the fact that there is a carbon-based life form attending this meeting!?" The green shouted, "Do not mind him. His contact with the Earth has closed his mind to new things and caused the appearance of anxiety and irritability in his usually calm persona."
"Alright! Alright! Sheesh!" He began to think hard, pouring out everything he knew that had anything to do with this decision, anything at all.
"Know this, Hibiki Tokai." The blue uttered, "This decision is not just for you, but for our other friends as well. This is for our future." Hibiki remained silent, cupping his chin in his hand.
"Face it, Plagma." The red said, matter-of-factly, "He and his kind cannot decide his future on his own, which is why the Earth, under my guidance, shall decide it for the rest of the carbons in this dimension."
"Do not be a fool. Terrana-Markaysis has given the three of us permission to explore this dimension, not dictate its fate." The green replied.
"Fine! I'm—We're going!" Hibiki had finally concluded that the best thing to do was go with it.
"Indeed, Hibiki. I concur with your choice. The time of revelation will soon be upon us." The blue said.
"You know what? This is nothing but foolishness, Plagma." The red insisted, "Resistance is futile against us. Do you want to know why I side with Earth? Because it is the seed that allowed the life of the universe to proliferate."
"Just because you side with the Mother world does not mean anything. The technology of the faction depends not on the faction's history, but how we devote ourselves to aiding that faction!" the green answered.
The surrounding
color changed to blue. Just as it was about to speak its mind, however, it
began to throb as though it was suffering from a seizure of some sort… Hibiki
wondered why, "Hey, what's going on!?"
"Plagma is experiencing a period of second sight. This usually occurs when the Pexis meet with each other in this fashion." The red explained, "To tell you the truth, it's more like opening a window into the future and…" it paused for a while, "Judging from what he sees, the battle will be in favor of my side."
"So what are you saying?" Hibiki began to see what the three beings have been observing for sometime now. Chaos, people screaming for their lives, death of the populous, and many more scenes of a negative theme.
The worst of them, however, was yet to come. Just as he had begun to turn away from all this, a ship appeared, the Nirvana, protected by its small force of Dreads and his Vanguard. The Earth's forces began to close in on it. Super Vandread was formed and fought valiantly, but five Mother Ships and two Planet Destroyers were too much to handle. That, along with a dozen of Earth's stealth fighters or more led to the eventual destruction of Super Vandread by means of a kamikaze-brained Nirvana look-alike, caused the downfall of Nirvana due to a simultaneous outburst from the Mother Ships' and Planet Destroyers' main guns.
Only then did several Arcadian Battle Cruisers escorted by a throng of their fighters arrive to lay waste to the Earth's vessels. "This can't be happening! You're kidding me, right?" silence, "You've gotta be kidding me! This catastrophe happening is some kind of joke, right!?" more silence, "Hey! Answer me!"
"It can happen, and will happen," uttered the green, "That is the second sight of the Pexis. This manner of sight, however, shows an uncertain prospect. Thus, the future can be altered by the choices made in the present. This was a result of the Plagma insisting on standing alone. It can be prevented if you join us. Remember what the farmer told his children when they could not break the bundle of sticks: United we stand; divided we crumble."
"You haven't changed at all, Omega," said the red, "Always trying to win them over using parables. You disgust me."
"You don't act too charmingly yourself, big brother." The green replied flatly.
"Ha! That does not matter. The vision has been seen. That is what has been expected to fruit from this conversation. What was unprecedented, however, was that it was Plagma who saw into the future." The red bloated out, "As far as I am concerned, this meeting is over!"
Hibiki lost his ground and fell backwards, blacking out.
The Nirvana, Battleship Hangar 12 of the ACS McDread, Defense Line 15, High Orbit over Arcadia Romano
Friday, 1250 hours, NST…
Magno Vivan stared outside. There was nothing much to see, though. It was just a plain old hangar in a large vessel; one that was designed to store spacecraft the size of Tarak's Battleships or Mejeele's Cruisers. In front of her stood BC, probably thinking of a way to get out. The four technicians' posts were occupied, although Belvedere, Amarone, Celtic, and Ezra were unconscious, Kahlua being cradled by Pyoro who was there for the time being.
She could still remember vividly the events that occurred within the past hour…
The blast door began to groan as though a great amount of pressure were being exerted on it. Dents eventually began to form on its surface as the corners and sides peeled themselves off its hinges. This continued slowly until the blast door was reduced to a crumpled ball the size of a mungbean.
Like everybody else who knew not the nature of the enemy, she expected a heavily armed strike force to storm in. BC cracked her whip in anticipation of the enemy attack. Nothing? Her question was answered when Ezra collapsed due to an electric shock that came from nowhere. After that, the other three technicians blacked out as well. The entrance to the Navigation room gleamed in blue as it literally kicked out the melon-head helmsman. He too was hit with a round of electricity as he dropped to the floor, unconscious.
BC stood there on the ready. "I wouldn't do something like that if I were you." came a voice from out of nowhere. This startled her somewhat, but what was even more startling was that five figures appeared from out of nowhere in front of her, "That's right, we're commandeering this ship."
"Who are you supposed to be?" Magno asked the armored intruders.
"That's Top Secret," came the reply, "Brooks! Carlson! Take the controls and pilot this thing into the McDread! Hack it if necessary."
Two of his men reacted to the order, proceeding to the tech posts, expertly maneuvering the vessel towards the large Arcadian Frigate.
"So, the Arcadians are double-crossing us. First they give clearance to pass, then they send a group of stalkers into our ship and hijack it." Magno sounded as though she were intimidating them.
"Listen, lady. Orders are orders. We just follow them. If you wanna complain, talk to the Colonel."
"Things happen so quickly these days that the old hardly notice them going by." She sighed, "Don't you think so, BC?"
"Of course."
"I wonder where fate would lead us to this time…"
ACS Demeter, Ceres Battle Group Flagship, Wormhole En Route to Arcadia Romano
Friday, 1505 hours, AST…
Vice-Admiral Charles Gisborn eased off on the command chair. Elena was still not on the bridge. Wormhole space was always twisted and confusing, so he had the shutters close down on all of the view ports. He heard the stories of people who dared to look outside whenever their ship was in a wormhole. They ended up vomiting for the next ten minutes or so.
"Vice-Admiral, sir." A techie said, "We have an incoming transmission from Thanatos Battle Group's Flagship, the Hades. It's Fleet Admiral Talmadge." Thanatos Battle Group was another of the five units of the Sarkaeder Division, designated for stealth and atmospheric penetration. It consisted of a thousand Battle Cruisers equipped with cloaking devices, and heat shields, along with innumerable Stealth-Class Strike Fighters and Drop Ships.
The backbone of this faction was a hundred thousand Crusader Battle Suits for atmospheric penetration. Protected with Battleship Armor Class Pexanium and level six reflector shields that caused most energy-based projectiles to simply ricochet off, it rendered most enemy weapons useless. Armed with the latest Battle Suit weaponry such as Plasma Blades equipped on both arms, which projected themselves from the wrist-bound blade generators, dual shoulder-mounted Rail Guns for massive long-range strikes, fully automatic Gauss Rifles for mid-range combat, Plasma cannons, and multi-missile packs, they were the most advanced known mech suits in existence.
Unlike most Gauss weaponry, which fired single depleted uranium slugs that pierced most armor and shields, an FA Gauss Rifle had a much higher rate of fire, which treated slug as an automatic rifle bullet. Rail Guns, on the other hand, used electromagnetism to hurl massive bullets at hypersonic speeds that tore through most Battleships and still managed to heavily damage the next one in line. Multi-missile packs, on the other hand, to put it simply, were what the McDread used to destroy the duplicate Vandread Meia.
"Patch it through, then."
"Yes sir." Fleet Admiral Robert Ashton Talmadge appeared on the main screen.
"What can I do for you, Rob?" Gisborn asked the cream haired officer.
"I heard you were headed for Arcadia Romano, so I got a good luck charm for you to take." He replied.
"What sort of 'good luck charm'?"
"How's about five Cruiser' worth of Crusaders to be placed under your command for the time being?"
Was he hearing things? One Thanatos Battle Cruiser housed at least a hundred Crusaders, and he was giving them five Cruisers' worth? That meant they now had 500 of the best mechs crafted by the army. Either he was very generous, or he was just plain bored.
"Why thank, you Rob. I don't know what to say."
"Say nothing of it, Charlie. Where's Elena?"
"In her quarters."
"I see." The Admiral of the Fleet paused for a moment, "In that case, I had best be going, now. The minister only gave me permission to deliver them, and no more." As his image vanished, five new blips appeared on the scanners. The Thanatos Cruisers have joined the ranks of their own Battle Group to tackle the enemy.
"Sir, we're coming up on Arcadia Romano." A technician announced.
"Very well, then. Once we exit the wormhole, order all vessels to deploy Strike Fighters and power up their weapon systems." He said. This was going to be another messy campaign. He just had to face it. There were going to be casualties. People were going to die.
"I believe that's my call, Gisborn." Durleinon said as she came through the door, fully dressed.
"Of course," he replied, "Your call, ma'am."
"Ensign, open a channel to the entire fleet." She ordered.
"Channel is now open, Admiral. Any thing you want to say?"
"Attention, all Battle Cruisers. This is your Fleet Admiral speaking. Upon exiting the wormhole, I want all Strike Fighters deployed, all weapon systems operational, and all shields up. We shall split into two groups. Admiral Kilmer with the second division will take the Night Zone, while the first division and I will defend the Day Zone. Engage in tactics seen best by your commanding officers to be effective. Handle the enemy with care and ensure the Earth forces do not touch the planet. Aid the defense forces present. Crusaders will stay here and reinforce the first division. That is all." She signed off, adrenalin pumping through her blood. That was always the case during any major conflict.
"Now what?"
"It's nothing. Ready the Parabola. Launch all Strike Fighters and Singularity Interceptors."
"Affirmative."
End of Chap3
QUOTE OF THE DAY—TOPIC: A TACTICAL ADVISORY
"If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: If it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it."
—Sun Tzu
"The Art of War," Datalinks, ALPHA CENTAURI
Author's Notes: Sorry if this was somewhat short for what I usually write. I'm suffering from writer's block right now, so please help with more ideas! Thanks to everybody who's been reviewing me!