Hello! Thanks everybody for reading! Vandread is back on TV in our place,
and I'm so happy! It's a treat to watch First Stage again, already knowing
Second Stage information. I hope the pronouns are not confusing you. I'm
still trying to be on the safe side. I'd give away RK spoilers to anyone
who asks. The major Vandread spoiler, I would rather you watch for
yourself.
Okashira-Boss, top man. Aoshi's position in the Oniwabanshuu-wait, this isn't RK.
........
"Bart!! Just where in the galaxy are you taking us?" the okashira had to ask.
"Okashira, it seems that he's zig-zagging toward the nebula on our right," Ezra informed her.
"Nirvana to navigator, Nirvana to navigator!" Amarone screamed from her console. "Snap out of it, Bart!"
BC had a hand to her forehead as she shook her head.
"BART GARSUS!!" Hibiki tried from beside Ezra.
He popped up on the main screen, as if coming from a daze. "No need to shout, Hibiki! What do you want?"
"What nebula are you taking us to, Bart?" Hibiki asked.
"What nebula?"
"I've had it," BC declared.
She pressed a button, and withdrew the navigator from his virtual cockpit. In a second the Nirvana had ground to a halt, with its navigator sprawled on the entry deck. The vice-captain resolutely walked toward the navigator. In his shock he immediately rose to his feet in full attention. Soon she stood before him, face to face.
BC gave Bart a hard smack across one cheek.
Everyone froze in their places. The silence was equal to the outer space around them. The navigator held his cheek, and looked at the vice-captain with disbelief.
"Get back to work," BC ordered, turned her back on him, and resumed her post.
"Hai," Bart sulked, and jumped back into position.
In the rec room, the little scene was the only topic of discussion.
"Did Bart and the vice-captain have an argument we don't know about?" Jura inquired.
"Not possible," Amarone replied, "We've kept tabs on both of them all day since last night, and they haven't even gotten close to each other!"
"That's precisely the point," Barnette analyzed. "Maybe that's why they're not getting close to each other!"
"Why are you all even bothering about this?" Gascogne asked near the door. "It's very simple, my dears. Bart was very distracted, and was about to get us into a storm nebula. Any vice-captain in her right mind would take drastic action."
"But ours isn't just any vice-captain," Barnette harrumphed. Everyone else nodded.
"But why was Bart so distracted?" Dita provided a follow-up question.
"Aw, come on, Dita! Didn't you hear what Bart said to the vice-captain yesterday, and how she answered?" Misty replied.
"Yare-yare.." Gascogne muttered from her corner.
Meia had nothing to say to all this. She quietly listened to all the chatter, rather thankful they were chatting freely while she was around. Only a day before her birthday, and it was very unusual. Usually they brushed her off someplace else, away from the rec room and all the preparations. Now they were leaving her alone.
Instead, they did it today to BC.
When she appeared at the rec room for lunch, the girls one and all grew quiet. They looked at her top to bottom, and assessed each minute detail of her movements and demeanor.
The vice-captain did not bother to satisfy them with a word. BC entered, got her lunch, exited.
"Grumpy today, isn't she?" Dita noted.
"Hai, kero-kero!" Paiway answered.
The same was true in the male quarters.
"You've had your head in the clouds all morning, Bart!" Hibiki waved a finger at him. "What's the matter with you?"
"She smiled at me," he answered.
"The snow queen, smiled at you?!"
Bart nodded with a silly grin.
"So what?!"
"Have a heart, Hibiki!" Bart began. "I know what love is in Talark, and I've seen what love is in Meger. But this kind of feeling that I have right now, it's something neither our or their planet can compare! A woman, she sends a unique sensation to your brain. She's like you in genetic makeup, but she isn't. To win her affection is a totally exhilarating feeling! You know what I mean, Hibiki?....Hibiki?"
But Hibiki had folded his arms before him, crossed his legs and shut his eyes, in deep thought. After two minutes of silence, he spoke.
"It's an exhilarating feeling, alright. You feel the wind in your hair, and the thumping in your heart, as you run through the corridors, trying to stay away from those horrible hugs and kisses!"
"You're being sarcastic, Hibiki!" Bart protested.
"Try having Dita for a girlfriend!" Hibiki hissed.
"I agree with you, Bart," Duero added. "It makes me a better doctor to have Parfet nearby..."
"But, you, Bart, being in love makes you a scary navigator!!" Hibiki finished in exasperation.
"I agree."
The other male on the ship had once again appeared before them.
"I've asked Ezra to put the Nirvana on autopilot until after the party. I don't know about Bart, but I definitely don't want to die yet."
Bart reddened, and held his cheek again. Hibiki and Duero calmly nodded their heads.
"You're here, sir, because...?" Hibiki had to ask.
"Oh, yes. Could Bart have his next lesson here?"
If Hibiki could 'Oro', he would have done that at this point. "Come again, sir?"
"What lesson?" Bart asked.
"Dancing. Ballroom dancing," the platinum-haired officer answered.
"WHAT?!" Hibiki backed away.
"Of course, I could teach you and McFile as well. You do have ladies to impress, right?" he continued smugly. "Talark festival dances are not their notion of a romantic evening."
"Why not in your quarters?" Duero inquired.
"Because the women are expecting us there, and they have their surveillance cameras ready. There is a better chance not to be discovered if we practice here."
Duero shrugged. "No problem with me. It will be interesting, to say the least."
"Same here," Hibiki added, "As long as the girls don't see us!"
"I will make certain of that," the officer promised. "Eight o'clock tonight, then, Garsus. Get ready for a long night."
The three gentlemen watched the dark breeches and tank-top uniform disappear at the corner.
"Why is he being so nice?" Hibiki asked.
"Out of guilt?" Duero guessed. "Remorse?"
"No," the officer called out from the hall. "I don't want you gentlemen to make fools out of yourselves!"
"Fair enough," they sweatdropped.
Unfortunately, the platinum-haired officer was tailed.
"Misty to Parfet, Misty to Parfet. Get an audio link to the lower deck." The communications officer paged.
"There IS one, Misty!" Parfet answered.
"Well, get one to the male quarters. Something's coming up at eight tonight! And get a video cable too!"
"OK, I'll try, but the male quarters got flooded last week. All the lines there except for electricity are on the fritz."
"Thanks, Parfet! I'm going to Jura and Amarone next!"
.......
Watching First Stage over, I'm so glad that, even if that character was a turncoat, it's heart was totally on the side of the Nirvana crew. ^_^
Gundamhardcore-Thanks! I liked Gundam Wing best of all. For G I liked that French guy. ^^
Sabbie-I will finish this, I promise..heck, I've promised lots of times. Difficulty? Maybe.. ^^
Sir G-Thanks!
Megane-san_87-Thanks much! Yes, I'll keep them guessing!
Man-Thanks much!
Mister kungfu@SMKK-- Enough about the SARS, please. Being lovesick is a problem enough without a real virus! ^^
Cinderella_semantan-Yes, he'll be a gentleman. Thanks!
Alien freak?-One giant leap for mankind! Thanks!
Lord Mick-Thanks a lot!
Aoikachina_KWT-Thanks much!
Iudex Acerbus-Wow, arigatou gozaimashita! New guy? You don't know?! Or you know and you're just not letting on? ^^ If you really don't know, email me at ek_kaoru@yahoo.com and I'll give you the full spoiler. ^^ Thanks for reading!
Fanfic reader-Thank you!
Anon-Now, I update. Thanks!
The untalkative bunny-Yes, I finally updated. Thanks!
Wow! Lots of reviewers! Thanks a lot to everybody!
Okashira-Boss, top man. Aoshi's position in the Oniwabanshuu-wait, this isn't RK.
........
"Bart!! Just where in the galaxy are you taking us?" the okashira had to ask.
"Okashira, it seems that he's zig-zagging toward the nebula on our right," Ezra informed her.
"Nirvana to navigator, Nirvana to navigator!" Amarone screamed from her console. "Snap out of it, Bart!"
BC had a hand to her forehead as she shook her head.
"BART GARSUS!!" Hibiki tried from beside Ezra.
He popped up on the main screen, as if coming from a daze. "No need to shout, Hibiki! What do you want?"
"What nebula are you taking us to, Bart?" Hibiki asked.
"What nebula?"
"I've had it," BC declared.
She pressed a button, and withdrew the navigator from his virtual cockpit. In a second the Nirvana had ground to a halt, with its navigator sprawled on the entry deck. The vice-captain resolutely walked toward the navigator. In his shock he immediately rose to his feet in full attention. Soon she stood before him, face to face.
BC gave Bart a hard smack across one cheek.
Everyone froze in their places. The silence was equal to the outer space around them. The navigator held his cheek, and looked at the vice-captain with disbelief.
"Get back to work," BC ordered, turned her back on him, and resumed her post.
"Hai," Bart sulked, and jumped back into position.
In the rec room, the little scene was the only topic of discussion.
"Did Bart and the vice-captain have an argument we don't know about?" Jura inquired.
"Not possible," Amarone replied, "We've kept tabs on both of them all day since last night, and they haven't even gotten close to each other!"
"That's precisely the point," Barnette analyzed. "Maybe that's why they're not getting close to each other!"
"Why are you all even bothering about this?" Gascogne asked near the door. "It's very simple, my dears. Bart was very distracted, and was about to get us into a storm nebula. Any vice-captain in her right mind would take drastic action."
"But ours isn't just any vice-captain," Barnette harrumphed. Everyone else nodded.
"But why was Bart so distracted?" Dita provided a follow-up question.
"Aw, come on, Dita! Didn't you hear what Bart said to the vice-captain yesterday, and how she answered?" Misty replied.
"Yare-yare.." Gascogne muttered from her corner.
Meia had nothing to say to all this. She quietly listened to all the chatter, rather thankful they were chatting freely while she was around. Only a day before her birthday, and it was very unusual. Usually they brushed her off someplace else, away from the rec room and all the preparations. Now they were leaving her alone.
Instead, they did it today to BC.
When she appeared at the rec room for lunch, the girls one and all grew quiet. They looked at her top to bottom, and assessed each minute detail of her movements and demeanor.
The vice-captain did not bother to satisfy them with a word. BC entered, got her lunch, exited.
"Grumpy today, isn't she?" Dita noted.
"Hai, kero-kero!" Paiway answered.
The same was true in the male quarters.
"You've had your head in the clouds all morning, Bart!" Hibiki waved a finger at him. "What's the matter with you?"
"She smiled at me," he answered.
"The snow queen, smiled at you?!"
Bart nodded with a silly grin.
"So what?!"
"Have a heart, Hibiki!" Bart began. "I know what love is in Talark, and I've seen what love is in Meger. But this kind of feeling that I have right now, it's something neither our or their planet can compare! A woman, she sends a unique sensation to your brain. She's like you in genetic makeup, but she isn't. To win her affection is a totally exhilarating feeling! You know what I mean, Hibiki?....Hibiki?"
But Hibiki had folded his arms before him, crossed his legs and shut his eyes, in deep thought. After two minutes of silence, he spoke.
"It's an exhilarating feeling, alright. You feel the wind in your hair, and the thumping in your heart, as you run through the corridors, trying to stay away from those horrible hugs and kisses!"
"You're being sarcastic, Hibiki!" Bart protested.
"Try having Dita for a girlfriend!" Hibiki hissed.
"I agree with you, Bart," Duero added. "It makes me a better doctor to have Parfet nearby..."
"But, you, Bart, being in love makes you a scary navigator!!" Hibiki finished in exasperation.
"I agree."
The other male on the ship had once again appeared before them.
"I've asked Ezra to put the Nirvana on autopilot until after the party. I don't know about Bart, but I definitely don't want to die yet."
Bart reddened, and held his cheek again. Hibiki and Duero calmly nodded their heads.
"You're here, sir, because...?" Hibiki had to ask.
"Oh, yes. Could Bart have his next lesson here?"
If Hibiki could 'Oro', he would have done that at this point. "Come again, sir?"
"What lesson?" Bart asked.
"Dancing. Ballroom dancing," the platinum-haired officer answered.
"WHAT?!" Hibiki backed away.
"Of course, I could teach you and McFile as well. You do have ladies to impress, right?" he continued smugly. "Talark festival dances are not their notion of a romantic evening."
"Why not in your quarters?" Duero inquired.
"Because the women are expecting us there, and they have their surveillance cameras ready. There is a better chance not to be discovered if we practice here."
Duero shrugged. "No problem with me. It will be interesting, to say the least."
"Same here," Hibiki added, "As long as the girls don't see us!"
"I will make certain of that," the officer promised. "Eight o'clock tonight, then, Garsus. Get ready for a long night."
The three gentlemen watched the dark breeches and tank-top uniform disappear at the corner.
"Why is he being so nice?" Hibiki asked.
"Out of guilt?" Duero guessed. "Remorse?"
"No," the officer called out from the hall. "I don't want you gentlemen to make fools out of yourselves!"
"Fair enough," they sweatdropped.
Unfortunately, the platinum-haired officer was tailed.
"Misty to Parfet, Misty to Parfet. Get an audio link to the lower deck." The communications officer paged.
"There IS one, Misty!" Parfet answered.
"Well, get one to the male quarters. Something's coming up at eight tonight! And get a video cable too!"
"OK, I'll try, but the male quarters got flooded last week. All the lines there except for electricity are on the fritz."
"Thanks, Parfet! I'm going to Jura and Amarone next!"
.......
Watching First Stage over, I'm so glad that, even if that character was a turncoat, it's heart was totally on the side of the Nirvana crew. ^_^
Gundamhardcore-Thanks! I liked Gundam Wing best of all. For G I liked that French guy. ^^
Sabbie-I will finish this, I promise..heck, I've promised lots of times. Difficulty? Maybe.. ^^
Sir G-Thanks!
Megane-san_87-Thanks much! Yes, I'll keep them guessing!
Man-Thanks much!
Mister kungfu@SMKK-- Enough about the SARS, please. Being lovesick is a problem enough without a real virus! ^^
Cinderella_semantan-Yes, he'll be a gentleman. Thanks!
Alien freak?-One giant leap for mankind! Thanks!
Lord Mick-Thanks a lot!
Aoikachina_KWT-Thanks much!
Iudex Acerbus-Wow, arigatou gozaimashita! New guy? You don't know?! Or you know and you're just not letting on? ^^ If you really don't know, email me at ek_kaoru@yahoo.com and I'll give you the full spoiler. ^^ Thanks for reading!
Fanfic reader-Thank you!
Anon-Now, I update. Thanks!
The untalkative bunny-Yes, I finally updated. Thanks!
Wow! Lots of reviewers! Thanks a lot to everybody!