Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread or any of its characters- Gonzo has the rights to them. Yes, they can sue me, but I don't think they'd bother.
Chapter 3: Indecision
Meia Gisborn stood in front of a viewing port, watching the form of the Nirvana sinking further into the distance. She turned away and halted suddenly, gripping a handrail and stiffening her body as another wave of nausea swept over her and her vision blurred. The head injury she'd suffered was apparently more serious than she'd first thought. Angrily, the blue-haired pilot pushed the thought away- in a time like this, she had no time to be indulging weaknesses.
Gritting her teeth, she walked into the small bridge of the supply ship, looking at the readouts. Gascogne was sitting in the pilot's chair, expertly guiding the ship after the tracking beacon's signal. Barnette was sitting in the other chair, keeping an eye on things. She had insisted on coming and bringing her Dread along as an escort, and Meia had been too tired to gainsay her. The Dread was currently being carried, secure in the clamps of the ship's arms. Barnette had to use one of the pirate space suits to go to and from the fighter, though.
Seeing she was not needed there, Meia turned away and walked into the small room that was serving as 'living quarters' for them- the pilots of the stolen machines, Gascogne, Barnette, and Paiway, who would have to serve as their medic. She saw Hibiki was lying back on his cot, snoring softly. Dita was perched beside him, ready to jump up and run to fetch whatever he needed if he woke up. The Vanguard pilot's injury had been sealed by Duero, but he was still in some pain. The Dread leader sighed quietly and walked down to her own cot, sinking onto it. Even the slight shift caused by her head hitting the pillow made a wash of pain come over her, and she lay still until it faded. Maybe she would let Paiway take a look at the injury… later. Meia wearily closed her eyes and was asleep in moments.
The sickbay doors on the mercenary ship hissed open as Renard walked inside, glancing around. He was immediately alerted to Kyra's location by a shout:
"Keep your hands where they belong, you old lecher!", which was immediately followed by a yelp of pain.
No emotion crossed his visage, but he let out a long-suffering sigh as he headed in the general direction the shout had come from, to find a smoldering Kyra sitting on an examination table, and the regular sickbay Medtech, a forty-something year old named Kroeger, wincing as he cradled his hand.
The Stone Soldier leaned against the wall beside the door to the examination room, studying his two subordinates.
"So how's the patient, doctor?"
Kroeger grinned wryly. "She'll live. A couple of nasty bruises, a split lip, and a severely damaged ego. Not to mention a very bad temper."
Kyra wrinkled her nose at him before turning to Renard, trying to defuse the storm she knew was coming.
"Well, uh…how are the vehicles we stole? I heard something happened down at the bay."
"They're fine. Don't try to change the subject. You know what I'm here about- orders were only for you to go in and take a look around, like any intelligence agent does. Instead you tried to capture them by yourself. You deserve those injuries, and a lot more, too. You would've been dead if she wanted to shoot you."
She snarled at him. "I know that, dad. What the hell is your problem? Don't act like it's such a big deal- we got what we were after, right?"
Renard pushed himself off the wall, suddenly seeming to grow several feet. His bionic eye locked on her, the red glow seeming to bore into her mind. Kyra shivered slightly and shrank under the baleful glare.
"I hate it when you do that…"
Without a word, the Captain walked out of the room, reappearing a few minutes later with a mop and bucket.
"Discipline is essential in an outfit like this, Kyra. Since it seems you don't have any, I'm relieving you. You still have to do something to earn your keep, though- and this is it." He hurled the cleaning implements at her, and she barely managed to catch both.
"Go over the whole ship. And I mean the WHOLE ship, not just the hallways- the dormitories, the armories, the bays, the bridge, Engineering- the only places you can skip are private quarters. If I catch you sleeping while any floor isn't so clean that I can see my face in it, you can spend the rest of the night in the brig."
He turned away and stalked out, leaving the frustrated girl staring at the mop. Kroeger grinned.
"As you're here, why don't you start with the sickbay?"
Conrad was seated in his desk chair, idly going over the day's supply report when Renard came in.
"How was she?"
"The same as ever. Headstrong, willful, and insubordinate. We can't use her as an intelligence asset anymore unless she gets her act together."
The Old Man raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? She's one of the best actors and sneaks we've got."
"Her reckless attitude endangers the success of every mission she goes on, as well as her own life. She needs some hard lessons."
"Apparently, she's not the only one."
Renard did not reply, but simply stood quietly, waiting for an explanation.
"Varius' techs were cleaning down the ship that was used in the raid when they found a tracking device. Our friends on the Nirvana aren't going to let us go easily."
"That's no problem- simply destroy the device and move the ship. They'll lose us."
"Maybe, but I don't think that's the best solution- they might just keep looking anyway."
Renard narrowed his remaining eye as Kurze's meaning reached him. "You mean ambush them?"
The Old Man nodded. "There's an asteroid belt nearby- we can move in there and plant the device on one of them as a lure. I want you to have a team ready to take them out when they arrive."
"There are other ways of-"
"Listen to me! In this business we can't afford to be leaving live enemies behind us! As long as they're following us, they're a threat! Do you understand?"
Renard matched his superior's glare with his own. "Yes."
Without another word, he marched out.
"Meia! Meia! Hey, wake up!"
"Ugnnn…"
Meia raised her head dazedly to see Jura peering down at her.
"Hey, are you alright? Maybe you should let someone take a look at that-"
"I'm fine. What is it?"
"Gascogne said that we're closing in on the signal. It seems they stopped for a while."
Meia nodded and picked herself up, swaying for a moment before moving away. Jura frowned after her.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Commander, they're moving closer- they've stopped."
Renard nodded. Just a shadow force then. He lifted the commlink.
"Varius, get moving."
"Alright, alright…" The technician gunned the engines of the smaller ship they'd taken, and moved off, carrying the beacon with him.
As could be expected, the pirate craft followed, entering the maze of floating rock. Renard waited.
"Commander, they've entered the kill zone."
The 'kill zone' was an area of space where all the heavy weapons platforms he'd brought had the most open range of fire. He knew he'd have to order them to shoot before the ship passed out of it.
"Commander? They're still going, Commander."
Renard gritted his teeth as he made his decision. Raising the comm., he gave the order.