DISCLAIMER: If you are reading this, give yourself a pat on the back for being meticulous.
Author's notes: Please review! If you're reading, give me an opinion. No need for name or anything. It's just going to take a minute or two, and honest feedback is greatly appreciated.
DJ Madcat: Fizzy? Would that be Fizzy 13? Funny how so many Vandread writers originate from the Philippines… I have never actually seen the movie 'Virus', so I can't compare between what they did there and what happened to Barnette, but I wouldn't use 'roboticize' as the word to describe it.
Seravy: About the attempt to focus on or 'write' Jura, one of the things I dislike most about the Vandread series is that Gonzo gives you almost no idea of the motivations or past of many characters, or even whether they have another, 'deeper' personality or not. The only character whose past I think was explored in real detail was Meia- and I believe that she could quite possibly be the most loved of Vandread's cast because people can identify with her more, or develop a stronger understanding of her persona.
I even doubt my portrayal of Jura due to the lack of information in the series- does she have a deeper side, or is she exactly what she appears to be on the surface? Questions like: 'where the f**k did Parfet come from?' or 'what was Dita's past like, aside from the fact that she was an orphan?' or 'what happened to Duero that erased his personality?' all could use answering. Dita, Duero, Parfet, Jura, Barnette, Paiway, Bart, BC, and Magno all have nothing but black holes in their history or background (for the most part), and I think that prevents people from really connecting with them. I, for one, would like to have those blanks filled in. If Gonzo wants to expound some more on Vandread, I believe a short series depicting the pasts of various characters would be very well received.
Renwar: Thanks for your consistent reviewing- it helps to know at least someone will read it! ;) As for what happened to Barnette, you'll have to keep reading- it won't be known till later!
Well, those remarks were overly long…again, this will NOT be a fairy tale- lots of primary characters dying can be expected. Anyone you don't like? Review and I might design an extra-special fate for him/her! Anyone you DO like? Review and you may spare them from a gruesome end! Note that I will not save everyone even if everyone on earth reviews- I might only make one or two exceptions.
Chapter 9
Meia spun to face Renard.
"What is that?!"
"I don't know, but this is trouble. Computer, patch me through to the bridge."
"This is the bridge, commander."
"Bragg, get me a full scan on that bogey now. Get the ship to a stop, too."
"Yes, sir!"
"Boss! Something's incoming at high speed!" Belvedere glanced up at their leader. The old woman craned her neck to look down at the girl, a frown creasing her features.
"BC, what is it?"
The sub commander was sitting in one of the operator's seats, running a scan, but the systems were starting to go haywire. She lurched forwards as the Nirvana suddenly went in the outer space equivalent of a nosedive.
"Bart! What are you doing?"
"Hey hey! Don't blame me, the ship's doing it by itself!"
BC slammed her hand down on the panel in front of her, opening a channel to engineering.
"Parfet! What's wrong now?"
"The Pexis! It's going crazy! I can't do anything about it!" The chief engineer turned around to see Pyoro wildly thrashing about behind her, spluttering nonsense. She could sense a panic behind the machine, though, and felt a tremor of fear run through her.
What's going on?
The incoming object was a humanoid-shaped machine, bearing an extraordinary resemblance to Hibiki's customized Pexis-Vanguard. Meia squinted at it carefully, seeing several differences- it was blockier, with spikes sprouting from shoulders and head. The golden parts had turned red, and the white sections were now black. As she looked more closely at the red portions, she saw that they seemed to pulse, and flare, as though lit from within by some kind of fire. A sudden recognition of that color made her recoil, and she turned to Renard, who was watching with a kind of shocked fascination.
"You have to do something. Help them somehow!"
He slowly took his gaze off the approaching machine and met her eyes.
"We can't. This ship has no interceptors, and the weapons mounted here are meant for naval combat, with craft of equal size."
The Dread leader turned back to the scene unfolding outside, feeling utterly helpless.
"Get the Dread pilots ready! Send them out as soon as possible!"
"We're being hampered by the Pexis' lack of cooperation! We're rerouting launch bays because it won't slow and allow for normal deployment!"
The bridge operators were shouting at each other and at BC as they feverishly attempted to bring up some form of defense. Things were not going well; with Meia, Jura, and Barnette not onboard and the casualties sustained by the earlier raid, the ship's Dread teams were crippled, lacking strong leaders. Bart could still neither slow nor stop the ship and Parfet was getting nothing out of her efforts to pull the Pexis under control. Meanwhile, their tenacious pursuer was drawing ever closer.
Putting on a sudden burst of speed, the machine shot forwards, impacting on the Nirvana's shields with a shower of sparks. Undaunted, it slammed both hands forward, bringing them into contact with the blue field. More blue lines ran out from its hands, spreading swiftly throughout the wall of energy. The blue suddenly changed into a blazing crimson, and the field melted away.
Parfait was desperately working the controls in engineering.
"This is impossible! It used the same energy signature as ours to get in and neutralize the defensive field? But that should only be possible with anything that is familiar with our Pexis' signature!"
Her eyes slowly shifted back to the screens that showed the thing outside. It looked so familiar…
"Could that be Hibiki's-"
She was cut off as it landed on the Nirvana's hull, one hand latching on and digging itself a handhold in the metal plating. It reached out with the other hand and dragged itself onwards, moving towards a certain section of the ship with terrifying precision. Reaching the spot it needed to be in, the Vanguard raised one hand. A blazing spear of crimson energy burst out of its wrist, coalescing into a blade. It pulled the arm back, then thrust it into the ship's hull, carving into it with surgical care.
Parfet stumbled back, slamming into a panel. That was the only thing that saved her; she turned and grabbed it to steady herself just as the crackling blade smashed into engineering. She held on for dear life as the sudden, sucking vacuum lifted anything loose and carried it out into the void, dragging out many of her coworkers. The chief engineer managed to turn her head, watching in horror as the machine grabbed the edges of the tear and yanked, pulling the metal apart and allowing its torso access into the engineering area. It turned its monstrous head towards the Pexis, seeming to glower at the blue orb through the protective glass.
She ducked her head and screamed as it brought one massive arm forwards, one spike on its forearm tearing into her leg. Blood gushed out in a dizzying rate, dragged out into the vacuum, and she fought to hang on as her muscles began losing strength. She managed to raise her head again, and saw that the Vanguard had slammed its hand into the Pexis chamber. Now, washes of energy were pouring between the two, the suit and the Pexis.
Parfet flinched as the Vanguard actually roared, as if it was in pain. She saw the effect that attempting to touch the Pexis Plagma was having on it; metal melted and ran, minor explosions tore out of its face and chest, and exposed cables and pseudo-muscles tore free and seemed to writhe as if suffering. Despite all this, though, the machine implacably forced itself onwards, enduring the Pexis' attempts to defend itself. One outstretched hand finally clamped down on the glowing blue core, and somewhere behind her, the woozy Parfet heard Pyoro scream shrilly. The effects of the contact were quite obviously visible on both parties; she saw the Vanguard's hand and arm jerk as crackling waves of azure lightning ran over it. The armor covering the machine's hand melted away, and fake muscles and support cables sizzled and fried. Below that, the machine's metal framework began to crack and buckle as the amount of power running through it scorched it through. The Pexis, meanwhile, was convulsing violently, black shadows running throughout its blue surface, crimson lightning flaring around it.
The Vanguard roared again, but this time there was a note of triumph mixed in with the bellow. The Pexis jerked and writhed again before one final blast tore through the room, ripping everything in the engineering area apart in a frenzy of destructive power. Parfet was hurled into the panel she'd been hanging on to with enough force to shred both her body and the panel. She was dead before she registered that final shockwave.
Meia stared in horror as a series of brilliant flares tore through space around the Nirvana, red and blue lightning rising in arcs and running across the hull in dazzling patterns. Suddenly, she was a girl again, watching helplessly as all she'd ever cared for disappeared before her. The effect was tripled when the computer turned the observation deck's walls opaque, deciding that the amount of light was too much for its human occupants to endure without damage. The sudden darkness reminded her of the cramped, claustrophobic confines of the refugee ship as the doors closed and it took off…
She started violently when she realized someone was shaking her hard. She came out of her private cocoon, seeing Renard in front of her. His hands were planted firmly on her shoulders, and he was shaking her like a rag doll. She reacted immediately, pushing his hands away and stumbling backwards, landing on her bottom. The blue-haired pilot realized she was panting, and sweat trickled down her forehead and into her face and eyes.
Renard stared down at the woman in front of him. She had the wide-eyed look of shock he'd seen so many times before in combat.
"Get a hold of yourself! This is no time for theatrics."
His voice was strict, harsh, full of authority, but he himself was rattled.
"Get up!"
She pushed herself back to her feet.
"What happened to it?"
Meia spun back to face outside, but saw nothing but a little floating debris and the eternal expanse of stars. The Stone Soldier glanced back at her.
"I don't know…it's gone."
Jura was aware that her throat was hoarse from shouting, but she couldn't remember a thing she'd said. Across the table from her, Conrad Kurtz watched the monitor with equal confusion.
The sickbay was a cacophony of voices. Kroeger was goggling at the screen, while Kyra, Hibiki, Paiway, and Dita all gabbled with each other, asking all sorts of inane questions and repeating what they'd seen countless times in shock. Gascogne looked equally dumbfounded, but wasn't talking, at least.
Two hours later, Kurtz had assembled his ranking subordinates, as well as the Nirvana crew contingent.
"What the fuck just happened? Varius, tell me you know what happened."
The technician just shrugged, unable to explain.
"Renard? Corbulo? Prentis? Any of you have any explanations?"
No response. The Colonel looked at the Nirvana crew, but they all shrugged or shook their heads as well.
"Alright, now what the hell do we do?"
Renard looked up.
"From information we got from the facility where we were backstabbed, there is another base that was readied for the express purpose of holding those things. That seems to be the best place to go if you want to continue with this."
"Ah, damn it. I suppose that we're in this too deep to back out now."
Magno groaned softly. Her head was pounding. A voice made her come more alert.
"Awake? Good…"