Updated Chapter Notes: Just added a few things here and there, and the Backstep clock too. That's about all. Don't worry, though. I'm still working on the second chapter. It's much longer than what I first thought. The reason it's going to take some more time is because I've been sick for the past week and have just started working a few days ago.
Author's Notes: Okay, so this is a Crossover with one of my favorite sci-fi shows: Seven Days. For those of you who watch AXN, you might know what it is. For those who don't, well… this fic might answer a few questions. Progress on WotT has been discontinued indefinitely, until I think of some good ideas. Please help me you guys! Oh, yeah, before I forget, please review.
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread. It belongs to GONZO. Seven Days doesn't belong to me either. Ownership of the said series goes to Christopher and Zachary Crowe.
Seven Days
By DJ Madcat
Prologue: Time Line, Tragedy Line, and Backstep Line
Betelgeuse's Rock, Tarak-Mejeele Interplanetary Asteroid Belt
Aug. 15th, Colonial Year No. 30
Zen and his high council associates sat across the table from the women. A very long table at that. The two partners in life had come to renew their vows that they had made on that day they were wed. When was the last time they did that? Long before the colonial fleet had even left the Earth. That was hell of a long time. This time around, they were celebrating their anniversary as leaders, and thus did so by making an agreement between their worlds.
"So, Anli," the aging patriarch started, "My council has proposed we start a treaty that would ensure mutual cooperation between out worlds. It's your vote."
Zen's wife and Mejeelian counterpart shook her head, "My council has voted too many 'nays'. It won't do. My proposal is that we start a joint venture between our two worlds to ensure protection of the star system…" she noticed her judicator motioning her hand in a corkscrew manner, "A discreet and top secret joint venture," she corrected herself, "Consisting of ten thousand of our most trusted personnel each."
GrandPa excused himself from the table shortly to consult with the Tarakian High Council, "So, gentlemen, basically, Anli wants us to found a covert organization based on a joint venture between our two worlds, combining our technologies for great advancement, all to be used for protecting the star system."
"What's with all the secrecy?" the Prime Minister inquired, "We could end struggles between our two nations with your idea easy! If only those blasted women weren't so paranoid and objective of our purposes, we could become a stellar empire in no time!"
"A wise man once said, 'What cannot be seen may be the best protection of all, for if the public does not know about it, neither will the enemy.' Perhaps this principle is what Anli and her staff are thinking of," said a bearded first generation member in a turban named Danel.
"Quite possibly, Danel… but then again, they could just be suspicious of our actions. After all, women will be women no matter what we do and I might as well stay at war if it is under those terms," said another first generation member by the name of Horzion.
"I can go with that proposal," Jin interrupted, taking a bite out of the chocolate bar given to him by the female receptionist as 'compliments of the facility', "As long as we can give our own terms."
"Make the conclusion, people. Personally, to make diplomatic conditions go for better, I vote yea." Zen ended. The Prime Minister voted nay, grumbling something about 'paranoid bitches' or something like that. Danel threw a yea at the table without thinking twice. His philosophical side got the best of him. Horzion's suspicions of the women were made evident as he voted nay. It was a stalemate with Jin as the deciding voter.
"Why don't you propose our terms to them, brother? I won't vote until I am assured that we have a say in this." Jin said finally.
"So be it." Zen returned to the table and discussed this with the women. A nod from Anli told him that his point had been taken and accepted.
Jin had great plans for this organization, and on seeing confirmation of consideration of their terms, proceeded to the table.
"Speak your mind, Jin. What terms are we talking about here?" Anli inquired.
"All members are to treat each other according to rank and equally as humans in that organization. Diplomatic immunity is to be given to them. They are also to be provided with special badges as a symbol of their organization that places them above every law enforcement and military group."
GrandMa consulted with her people first, and returned to the table saying, "We agree."
"Then it's settled. My vote is yea." With that, Jin returned to his station.
"The decision has been made, Anli." Zen said as he sat at the table again, "The voting was three to two. We accept this proposal."
"Very well then." She thought for a while, "Where are we to place the main facility?"
"Somewhere on this asteroid belt; neutral territory, in order to represent the unbiased values of the organization." Zen decided, "Now for a name for it…"
"Stellar Security Agency." The woman across the table replied, "We have considered this long ago."
"I see. Very well then, Anli. The Stellar Security Agency it will be…" Therefore, it was on this memorable date that the Stellar Security Agency, a covert joint effort between Tarak and Mejeele, was founded, designated directives of which are to ensure total security of the star system from all outsiders.
Timeline for Project Backstep
C.Y. No. 47- It was this year that an unidentified spacecraft penetrated the magnetic storm that sheathed the star system and crashed somewhere in the asteroid belt. SSA agents located it a few days later on an unnamed asteroid with a 10km diameter, thus coining it 'Roswell.' Advanced technologies, alien transcripts, recordings, and black boxes were discovered along with several functioning parts for what could only be described as a mechanical sphere of some sort. SSA operatives brought it back to Betelgeuse's Rock, which was, by that time the SSA headquarters facility.
C.Y. No. 50- Alien Transcripts concerning the 'sphere' have been translated, it being unraveled to be some sort of prototype time device. Independent research on sphere has begun, along with localization of sphere Operating Systems, Motherboards, Hard Drives, Display Systems, and Fuel Cells. Never Never Land is founded on Blackroot Prime for the sole purpose of sphere research, development, and future operations, assigned to which was a 2000 man and woman employee body.
C.Y. No. 63- Research and localization of the sphere has been completed, however, original sphere suffered from system crash causing its own destruction.
C.Y. No. 67- Sphere replicated exactly according to original design, and refitted with power regulation device. Testing begins with Lemark Izaki as first test pilot. Sphere goes back in time indefinitely, Izaki is lost.
C.Y. No. 71- Sphere replaced and refitted with additional survival gear along with SPS (Stellar Positioning System). Testing continues with Eric Johnson as second test pilot. Sphere is destroyed in system overload and Johnson is rushed to infirmary with critical injuries.
C.Y. No. 76- Fourth Sphere is built along with up-to-date OS and survival gear. Neia Stromberg selected as third test pilot. First successful backstep made and assassination of GrandPa is undone.
C.Y. No. 80- Stromberg is killed in crossfire between Mejeelian and Tarakian Naval forces and is replaced by Kimuel Shizuka. 30th recorded backstep is made; Mejeelian Judicator's death by choking on pizza is undone.
C.Y. No. 89- Shizuka quits, complaining about 'low paycheck' or something like that. Prior to that, sphere is destroyed in an explosion during a maintenance session.
C.Y. 97- Sphere is rebuilt to meet 'perfect' qualifications of the SSA panel and is refitted with new survival equipment as soon as they are completed. Frank B. Parker is recruited for the backstep program and replaces Shizuka. C.Y. 97 is also recorded to have the most backstep events in Never Never Land history.
C.Y. 100- Ikazuchi launched; Magno Pirates attack. Backstep to undo event is disapproved by SSA higher-ups panel. Reasons concern that they have a Tarakian government agent implanted into Magno's Pirate group whose cover they did not want to blow.
Nirvana, Tarak-Mejeele System Floating Mine Field
Present Date, C.Y. 101
"Boss, we have a problem." Belvedere reported.
"What is it?"
"We've arrived at the Tarakian defense post. It's their last line of defense. They've left floating mines!"
Hibiki's image appeared on main screen, cocky as usual, "Let me at 'em. We'll cut our way through without breaking a sweat!"
"No!" came the strict and aggressive reply of the aged pirate leader, "This mine field will help protect the system by stranding the Harvest forces that will arrive someday!" she was sure that the harvest fleet would arrive sooner or later, and four mother ships would be disastrous.
"Then what do you want us to do!? They're going to kill us!" the Vanguard pilot retorted.
"Stand down, Hibiki! That's an order!" the vid-window closed, Hibiki fading out with an exasperated expression on his face.
A monotone and robotic recording was given out, "This is the Tarak automated defense line. To those who are passing, provide us with your distinction codes or we shall open fire." A preset timer appeared on main screen.
"Distinction codes, eh?" the only three men on the ship appeared on main screen a moment later, "Boys, do you have any distinction codes?" she asked them.
"Distinction codes are only for senior officers," Bart whined, "and we're just cadets, so there's nothing we can do!" Damn, I wish I asked my granddad about those codes! He thought to himself, as he stayed in his post, powerless to do anything about the problem.
"I'm sorry. I don't have them either." Duero stated calmly.
"Don't look at me." Hibiki piped.
"No Distinction Codes have been transmitted. Commencing attack in 300 seconds." The timer began to count, 300 seconds decreasing a number lower with each passing moment. Magno noticed her second in command, Buzam A. Calesa, tense at this predicament they were in right now. The silver haired vice-commander was struggling to decide…
"180 seconds to attack, Boss!" Celtic piped in.
"Boss, we've received word from Parfet. She says she's thought of a way to jam the mines." Amarone reported.
"That's good." She began to contemplate on other ways to take care of this situation in case Parfet's method failed.
***
Parfet typed furiously on the keyboard, bringing up a cross-section of a mine, the tracking core glowing a fiery red. "What are you doing?" Duero asked her.
"If we can't destroy the whole mine, I'll just try to sabotage the tracking system instead." She returned to attempting this feat.
"You know what," he said, her attention turning to him shortly, "For some reason, I feel less anxious when I'm with you."
"Really?" she answered, "You seem to be quieter when you're happy."
"I am honored to be examined." A smile appeared on his face, causing the bespectacled engineer to blush slightly just before she returned to her work in sabotaging the mines' tracking systems.
***
Back on the bridge, things were getting bad, very bad. All other methods attempted to stop the impeding destruction of the ship so far have failed, and the only other available option to stop the mines from ending their journey prematurely besides sabotaging their TS, was to use the Tarakian distinction codes they didn't have.
"Ten seconds until attack, Boss," a panicked Belvedere shouted frantically. Magno gritted her teeth as beads of sweat began to decorate her forehead. There was no way they were going to get out of this fix unless a miracle occurred. Then again, their journey was loaded with miracles, the very first being the Pexis remodeling the ship, and modifying the Dreads and Vanguard to become compatible with each other.
Buzam Calesa… no, Uragasumi Tenmei, struggled to decide whether or not to reveal his true identity. I mustn't jeopardize the mission, he thought as his hand fell short of grasping his voice modulator.
"Attack commencing in two seconds…"
The mission is the top priority. I mustn't do this. He knew he was lying to himself, and that survival was the only thing he could attempt to accomplish.
"One second…"
His hand reached out but missed the modulator by just a few millimeters, too little time to react. He reached out yet again, the green ornament turning red just as the counter reached zero, "No communication received. Commencing attack." The automated voice stated. A split second to act, a split second that wasn't used wisely as the mines closed in on the pirate ship and utterly destroyed, vaporized, desecrated, annihilated, and obliterated it.
***
Never Never Land, Blackroot Prime, Interplanetary Asteroid Belt
A few days later…
Bradley Talmadge played the video recording. On it, was Nirvana getting creamed by the mine field that the Tarakians had placed to protect the area, "This footage was taken by SSA external cameras that monitor that area of the star system."
Frank Parker reclined on the chair he was using, placing his booted feet on the maple conference table. "So what? It's the old compartment of the Tarakian Flagship Ikazuchi that Magno's pirates hijacked last year. That's no big deal. In fact, we should be happy that they're dead. Why in the hell are we backstepping anyway?"
"Cool it, Frank." Craig Donovan hooted, "What's gotten you so pissed anyway?" He had been Frank's best friend since he could ever remember, his memories having him in all of them.
"Okay," the chrononaut replied, "This is how it goes: I was talking to GrandPa, reminiscing the time I foiled his assassination, when Ramsey here barges into my room and drags me over to the Mtg. Facility."
"GrandPa had been assassinated twice before you joined the backstep program, Parker." The Chief of security, Nathan Ramsey piped in his usual obnoxious hillbilly accent, "So don't think you can brag to us about that. Now straighten yourself up and listen to what the boss has to say."
"All of you calm down." The Backstep program director made known, "The reason we are backstepping this time was the same reason that the SSA panel disapproved a backstep when the Ikazuchi was hijacked last year." He pushed a key on the display controls, the video recording being replaced by a before/after picture, a middle aged Tarakian officer under 'Before', and a silver haired woman with a whip under 'After'. "Gentlemen, meet Commander Uragasumi Tenmei, elite member of the Tarakian Secret Service. He was assigned a mission to infiltrate the ranks of Magno Vivan's pirates and has been very successful in doing so until the incident occurred."
"Let me guess," Parker butted, "The reason you're showing us this before/after image is to show how he looks now, right?" he made the sex appeal gesture while whistling, "I must say, he passes for a Grade A bona fide female. How'd he get those done?"
"Can the crap, Parker." By this time, Ramsey was a hydrogen bomb ready to detonate, and his flush red face was proof of that.
All Talmadge could do was grin, his white beard causing him to slightly resemble Santa Claus, "Anyway, for the past three years, he has been feeding information to the Tarakian Government about Magno Vivan's pirates, not to mention female lifestyles." He paused shortly, "Last year, however, after the Ikazuchi hijacking, he has stopped feeding information about women. Instead, a few months ago, Tarak and Mejeele have received data from him concerning a covert operation started by an unknown enemy against all colonial planets within a million light-year radius of their planet codenamed 'Harvest'."
"But what are they harvesting?" Donovan inquired, his imagination acting up about the issue.
"We don't know. Our agents in the two governments said that GrandMa and GrandPa had deleted the information before they could get their hands on it."
"And an enemy we don't know, we cannot protect the star system against." A fifth figure spoke up. He was Doctor Isaac Mentnor, one of the scientists who helped work on the original sphere and has been with the backstep project since the UFO's discovery.
"Exactly," Talmadge agreed, "Agent Tenmei had knowledge about the Harvest that we don't. The SSA unanimously voted that you backstep and bring him with Magno's pirates and the Ikazuchi's old section back here to NNL. Oh, by the way, Frank, his alias is Buzam A. Calesa and is currently Magno Vivan's second-in-command. Your parameters are to try not to blow his cover, rouse any suspicion with the pirates, and of course, SOP: Do not mention anything about Project: Backstep."
"Hey, I'm cool. But how in the hell are we supposed to get past those space mines?"
"That's what this is for." Dr. Mentnor handed the chrononaut a recorder. "Recorded on this are Dr. Talmadge's SSA distinction codes. This should be more than enough to get you through the minefield. Once that is accomplished, give us a Conundrum call and we'll send an escort fleet to bring you and the ship back to NNL."
"Let me try that," Parker snagged the device from the aging man's hand and pushed the play button.
A few seconds of static, and finally, a familiar voice spoke in monotone, "The Tarak-Mejeele Stellar Security Agreement, Project Backstep Division, Bradley H. Talmadge, Rank Director, Distinction Codes: Taurus-19153542. Commence Identification." The recording ended abruptly as Parker pushed the stop button. The rewind button followed, the tape making a friction-loaded sound as the magnetic material did a backstep of its own.
***
The three people proceeded down the walkway towards the sphere's hangar. One was recognizable as Parker in a space suit, Talmadge on his left, and a bespectacled man in a wheelchair, Dr. John Ballard, another Sphere researcher and member of Team Backstep, on his right.
"Remember, Frank," Talmadge said, "You'll arrive in the magnetic storm the day they break through into the minefield. You have to gain the pirates' trust in order to get onto the bridge and transmit my Distinction Codes to allow passage."
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot," Dr. Ballard was the very forgetful type of person who just didn't quite have any time to think about anything at all except those upgrades he made to the sphere depending on the mission. "I had the team add three extra layers of titanium-adamantine plating to the hull in order to keep it safe when you enter the magnetic storm. That ought to keep the sphere from malfunctioning from getting one of its vital structures damaged."
"Got it," Parker replied as he climbed the stairs leading to the ball-shaped vehicle, the dark blue light of the room and the sparks from final maintenance checks illuminating the threesome's faces.
He closed down his visor as he stepped into the Sphere, strapping himself into the cockpit, hands grasping the one joystick after he flicked a few switches to activate the device.
"Reactor at 80 percent, stand by." Came the announcement from Dr. Olga Vukavitch who operated the control room. A virtual wireframe of the sphere connected to chronofluctuation ports was loosed onto the six lock-on points arranged like a hexagon's corners, blinking green with the lock signal.
Parker seized the joystick as the Russian scientist announced, "Reactor at 100 percent. Engage." He slapped the green ignition button with all his might, taking hold of the joystick again, trying to keep the ports onto the lock-on points in order to disrupt the space-time continuum.
Blue and purple energies thrashed about around the sphere prior to the bulbous time machine vanishing from the balustraded maintenance catwalk's grasp, launching itself through the tear in the delicate fabric of time and space.
The Computer began to count the days backward from Friday 0600 hours…
Thursday…
Wednesday…
Tuesday…
He struggled through gritted teeth to keep the ports in place, which was necessary if he were to jump back in time, as the vehicle advanced through the time tunnel, rocking in all directions as it did. Images flashed through his mind in reverse play, like a movie going through the rewind process.
Monday…
Sunday…
Saturday…
The video clip about Ikazuchi's old part being destroyed instead showed an explosion crunching into a solid star ship, mines retreating from it and moving towards their assigned places. Talmadge's voice recording played backwards, and sounded like it was on fast-forward.
Friday, 2359 hours…
Friday, 1159 hours…
Friday, 0800 hours…
The pressure took its toll as Frank, still holding onto the joystick and struggling to keep the ports in proper place, shouted what could only be recognized as, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" This trailed off as he exited the tear in the time-space continuum and materialized within some sort of verdant energy shield of what his sphere computers deducted to be coming from that strange crimson crustacean-like vehicle at Protection Level 84. Looks like I won't be needing those extra plates anymore. Thanks anyway, Ballard.
He opened his eyes to see that he was staring at a blue-silver star ship with four compartments protruding from a central core point. Checking the chronometer, he was satisfied to see it read, Friday, 0600 hours. Right on time again, and the magnetic storm only confirmed his suspicions. It was the old part of the Ikazuchi… Look's like I've found our backstep objective… he thought as he switched on the com-link to NNL, "This is Conundrum. We have a backstep situation."
End of Prologue
Author's Notes: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Couldn't think of anything else to put in. I'll be continuing work on this for the time being. Another one shot is coming up soon. Actually, I'm already done, but Fizzy's friend, Dogma, says that he can add a little spice to it, so I won't be posting it anytime before June. Please review this one, and no flames, please! Kids are very emotional!