VanStalker

by DarkBlade the Damned

This is a crossover of Vandread and the DeathStalker novels by Simon R Green. Chapter 9. Tensions amongst the crew reach boiling point causing Hibiki and Tam to flee the Nirvana.

8. VanStalker Chapter 6: Battles in the Voi...

Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread or DeathStalker.
Vandread belongs to Studio Gonzo.
DeathStalker belongs to Simon R Green.

Well its finally ready. I'm sorry it took so long but many events conspired to keep me from writing.
Buying a house, moving in, work.
Visiting the States, coming home, more work.

But enough already I know proudly present

Vanstalker Chapter 5: Battles in the Void. Battles in the mind

Magno Vivian made her way slowly down the corridors of the Nirvana towards the Sickbay. The steady tap, tap of her cane rang out through the silence of the corridors.
It was late in the 3rd watch. What could be considered "night" time on the Nirvana. Most of the crew, other than those on watch, were asleep. Magno normally would have been at this time too. But there was a meeting that she felt needed to take place. One which she did not want the rest of the crew around to see, if she could avoid it.

The one she sought was likely to be asleep at this time and after what he had gone through on the planet below Magno regretted the need to wake him. But it was necessary. 'Well' she thought 'at least this should give her an opportunity to surprise him.

Magno walked into the sickbay. The doors quietly opening and closing behind her. She stared at the vacant cots looking for the figure she sought. Finally she headed for a cot in the corner, surrounded by curtains. Reaching up a hand she pulled back the curtains, and jerked back in surprise.

Tamorsap knelt at the foot of the cot. He was fully dressed and just finishing tying the final pair of laces on his boots. When he heard Magno he jerked up in surprise, looking as guilty as a caught burglar. But then his face relaxed slightly.

"Captain. For a minute I thought you were Duero."

"Indeed. And what do you think our good Doctor would have said if he had found you obviously about to sneak out of the sickbay without his permission?"

Tamorasp grinned as he stood up. "He probably would have made good on his threat to tie me to the bed to make sure I got some rest."

Magno's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Tie you down. I thought he'd at least try to sedate you first."

"He already tried that."

Tam noticed Magno's eyes widen in surprise and decided to elaborate further.
"I'm pretty sure he slipped some mild sleeping tablets into my food at dinner. That's probably why I only just woke up. It's also why he must have thought that it was safe to leave me here and return to the men's quarters for some rest. I think he needed it. I gave him quite a run around this afternoon, as you may have heard."

Magno nodded. Courtesy of Paiway most of the ship had heard about the incident by now. When Hibiki had half carried, half dragged Tam into the sickbay after the battle on the planet Duero had taken one look at him before ordering the emergency table cleared and hurrying the semi conscious Tam straight to it. Tam has made very little protest when he was placed on the table and subjected to almost every medical test it was capable of performing. However his reaction had been very different when Duero had started contemplating a course of treatment.

The doctor had determined that Tam's sickness and his weakened state was a direct result of his use of the boost. Or more specifically a result of him using the boost before his body had been able to fully recover from his last use. As a result his body was consuming itself even faster than the last time, as damage that had not had time to fully heal was compounded by the boost's ravenous hunger for energy.

Duero had stated out loud that he thought that the organs that provided the boost might be dangerous and had talked about looking at ways to removing them.

To say this out loud had been a mistake.

The moment the words were out of Duero's mouth Tam had violently jerked upright. He had pulled and strained against his bonds, succeeding in half freeing himself, all the while screaming abuse at Duero for what he meant to do.

It had taken the combined strength of Duero, Paiway, Hibiki and two hastily called security guards to restrain him. Even then they had only been able to do so after Duero had sworn to Tam on his physician's oath that he would make no attempt to remove the boost organs without Tams consent.

After that Tam had finally settled down and allowed himself to be sedated. Tam had lain under sedation for the next day and a half while Duero monitored his progress. But he had found nothing. Tam's physical wounds had already healed by the end of the first night, but his body was still weak and appeared dangerously exhausted. But Duero could do nothing about that other than order his patient to rest and recover his strength.

'An order' thought Magno. 'That he is apparently already disobeying."

Tam smiled at her ruefully. "Well I was feeling restless. I've always hated spending long periods in bed. It makes me feel useless. I thought I would just take a quick walk around the corridors to stretch my legs."

"And I suppose you intend to return to your bed after you've finished with your little walk?" asked Magno knowingly.

Tam looked embarrassed. "Well I thought that if it turns out that I'm well enough to walk around I may as well return to my quarters. After all I don't want to be needlessly filling up the sickbay."

"The sickbay is hardly full. And for you to use it is hardly needless." Said Magno grimly. "When Duero asked me to talk to you Tam I thought that he was being overly cautious, but now I think it may be necessary."

"What may be necessary." Asked Tam, now concerned.

Magno sighed heavily. "Duero asked me to remove you from the Vanguard operations. To restrict you to light duties until you have fully recovered."

"WHAT!" yelled Tam angrily. "He has no right to ask that!"

"He has every right" retorted Magno. "He is the Doctor on this ship. The welfare of the crew are his concern. Particularly when they appear incapable of taking care of themselves."

Tam quietened and looked concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Duero says that the reason that you became so sick after combat was because you used the Boost again."

Tam nodded.

Magno shook her head and continued. "That is the second time that you have used it and the second time that you have nearly died from it."

Tam immediately protested. "But that's not due to the Boost itself. The first time it was due to the wounds I received. The second time the reason I fell ill was because I still hadn't recovered from the last time."

"And yet here you are. Once again hauling yourself out of bed without giving your body the rest it needs. I would expect behaviour like this from an irresponsible child but not from you!"

Tam jerked as if he had been slapped in the face. Then his expression changed. Always before when in here presence he had been polite and impassive. Even when baited by Meia he had not lost that calm. He had lost it now.
His face was suffused with anger. His lips were pulled back slightly showing his teeth. But his eyes were where it showed the most. They blazed with anger. But at the centre of that anger was a deadly calm. Like a sword in the centre of a furnace.

He took a single step towards here. His entire body radiating threat. Magno involuntarily took a step backwards. She had never been afraid of Tam. At her age there was little in life that scared her anymore. But she could not remember the last time she had seen such a promise of death and violence radiating from another human being, and she felt a tingle of fear run down her spine at the sight of him.

"Maybe" she thought to herself. "This wasn't such a good idea after all."

She was just about to call for security in the certain knowledge that they would arrive too late to do any good. When just as suddenly as the threat had arrived it disappeared.

After that first step Tam stopped himself. Closing his eyes he bent over and took several deep breaths. His body shuddered visibly as he grappled with his emotions. After a few moments he stood up and faced her. Once again his body appeared calm. His eyes did not, but they were also no longer clouded by anger.

"I am sorry captain. You are right it was remiss of me to try to leave my hospital bed when I was not yet fully recovered. I will not attempt to do so again until Duero gives me permission."

Magno blinked rapidly surprised by the sudden change. A moment ago Tam had appeared ready to kill her for a seemingly minor criticism. Now he was back to his normal self.

"What was that about Tam?"

Tam flushed and bowed his head. "I'm sorry captain I lost my temper. I have no excuse and can only ask your forgiveness."

Magno smiled reassuringly. "Since no harm was done my forgiveness is freely given. But your action still worries me Tam. Meia, Barnette and other members of the crew have tried to get a rise out of you and you have barely frowned at them. Now such a small comment almost threw you into a rage. Why? Is it an effect of the Boost?"

Tam moved back and leaned back against the edge of his bed. For a moment he was silent. Then face still downcast he began to speak.
"No or at least not directly. The boost has made me more tired and irritable than usual and my adrenaline levels are still higher than normal. But that's not what set me off. To tell you the truth I was just thinking about something from my past and your comment set me off."

Magno looked thoughtful. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Tam started to shake his head in a negative. But then slowly almost reluctantly he stopped and nodded.

Magno moved forward and settled herself comfortably in a nearby seat. Tam sat sitting there for a long moment. Mango was just about to ask what was wrong when he finally started to speak.

"I told you earlier that I was a Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy." He looked up and Magno nodded slightly.
"What I didn't tell you was why. You see my family has always served the empire as part of its armed forces. For generations beyond count going back before the recorded history of the empire itself we have served. Sometimes our roles have differed. Sometimes we have served as soldiers, sometimes as commanders. Sometimes in the Fleet, other times in the Marines. But always we have had that tradition of service. We are not alone in this. Almost every family on New Nepalla has a similar tradition. And over the generations far too many of us have died from that tradition. New Nepalla is quite an old planet. Despite that it remains fairly sparsely populated. The reason being that far too many of its young men and women die in service before they can return home to raise a family.

"But the.." Magno spoke involuntarily.
Tam raised his head to look at her. "But then why do we persist in that tradition?" She nodded.

Tam leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "You know I asked my Grandfather that question myself once. He responded with a question of his own.

"Do you know what the difference between a Soldier and a Warrior is Tamorasp?" he asked me.
"A Warrior fights for his own gain, for his own causes. A Soldier fights for those who cannot fight for themselves. Our people have always had great skill in War. But with that strength come's a responsibility. It is a skill that can always too easily be turned to great evil. To avoid that we pledge that gift to the service of others."

"I remember asking him then why didn't we just stop fighting at all. Why didn't we just ignore that gift? That was one of the few times he was really angry with me. I still remember the look in his eyes when he looked at me and it still chills me.

"Because it is a gift that has been given to us" he said. "And to ignore that gift or not to use it would be a greater crime than to abuse it. Too many people are born into the world helpless with no power to defend themselves. Thanks to your blood and your training that will never be so. But that comes with a price, the responsibility to serve others. Be thankful. Many go through life uncertain of what their path is, of what they are meant to do. You do not have that burden, your life was decided for you."

Tam was silent for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. Then he continued.
"The last few weeks have been hard for me. At first when I arrived I didn't know anything more than my name. But now that I have some of my memories I almost wish I did not. They just make the world I am in now feel stranger and make me feel out of place. Now I worry that I will never be able to return. Never be able to see the faces of those I remember again. And that worries me to the depths of my heart."

Magno was shocked. She could see the raw emotion on Tam's face. The anguish and the fear. It was a side of him she had never seen before. One she had not known existed. It made her feel better to know that despite all the strange mysteries about their new guest he was at least in one way completely human.

Tam looked at her and smiled slightly. "But the one thing that I have held on to while I have been here is that tradition. That was the real reason that I asked to be allowed to work on the Vanguards. Being able to fight, to take service. It gives me a link to my past. It allows me to think that no matter how far away from home I am I am still fulfilling my duty. If not to the empire than at least to my people and my family. So when you said that I was being irresponsible Captain. Well I kind of took it the wrong way." He smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean it that way." Replied Magno.

Tam smiled back at her. "I know that captain. I'm sorry that I almost lost control of myself back there. But to answer your question, it's not the boost that has been making me edgy. This was something else. I don't think it was just the effects of the boost that made me sick this time."

Magno nodded. "Yes it's interesting that you should mention that. Parfait has been looking at the Vanguards since they came back from the planet. What she found has intrigued her mightily."

Magno looked over at Tam to see his face had taken on a guarded look. She got up and began to walk over to the spot where he sat as she continued to speak.

"Parfait found that each of the Vanguards that went down there had been altered. In most of them the changes were relatively minor. But minor as those changes were they went far beyond what a simple program should have done. Parfait says that the changes that happened to the Vanguards would have required at least a team of techs working for several hours to install. That was if any of them had understood how to make one of these 'static shields' which none of them did. Parfait was very curious to know how those changes might have happened."

Tam blew out his breath in a long sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. "I assume from that comment that you think that I had something to do with it."

"Didn't you?"

"Yes. Yes I did. But if you want me to tell you what I did or how I did it, then unfortunately you will be disappointed because I have no idea."

"Why don't you try telling me what happened at least."

Tam sighed again but nodded.
"It was when the sand was attacking us the first time. I remember struggling. Trying to do anything to escape as it sucked the power out of my Vanguard. And I remember the frustration and anger I felt when I realised that there was nothing that I could do. That was when it happened. I felt something click in my mind as if I had triggered something. And suddenly I it was as if I could feel the Vanguard, feel what I needed to do to save myself. And acting completely on instinct that's what I did."

Tam turned to look at Magno. The old woman had a pensive look on her face.
"From what you are telling me it sounds like you willed those changes to happen and they did."

"That's pretty much it" agreed Tam. "I don't blame you if you have a hard time believing it Captain. I have a hard time believing it and I did it!" He sighed and rubbed his face again.
"And it would not surprise me if you were worried that I may be a risk to the crew. I worry about it myself."

Magno looked surprised. "You do? Why?"

Tam shook his head helplessly.
"Because none of this makes any sense. Me being here makes no sense. These things I can do make no sense. I have never heard of a human being able to do things like this. It makes me wonder what I am."

"You are a member of my crew." Said Magno. "You became that the moment you agreed to help us. And you will be that until you decide to leave.

Tam looked up at her and smiled.
"Thank you for that Captain." Then his smile turned serious. "But you really shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep."

"What do you mean by that?"

Tam waved his hand in the air. "There are still gaps in my memory. But each time they are filled I change a little more. What if I remember something that changes me further? Something that makes me a danger to the crew?"

Magno smiled. "So far Tam you have been more dangerous to our enemies than you have to the crew. Although there are probably some on the ship who would disagree." The last was said with a smile to let him know she was joking. Tam managed to respond with a wan smile of his own.

"Besides," continued Magno. "It's not like you have had any memories that might suggest that you may be an enemy to us is it." The last was said jokingly but Magno smile suddenly turned serious as she saw the troubled look on Tam's face.

"Is it?" She asked again more seriously.

Tam grimaced before responding. "There was one memory I had a while ago. At the time I thought it might indicate that I was working with the enemies that are now attacking us."

He hurriedly clarified as he saw the shocked look on Magno's face. "But I don't think that anymore. The subsequent memories I have seen show me that what I originally thought was wrong."

Magno did not look completely satisfied. "Would you mind telling me of the memory of which you speak?"

Tam sighed deeply. Then he related to her his memory. First the history of the AI's of Shub. The artificial intelligences made by man who had become mankind's greatest enemy. Then later his memory of the massive room filled with strange structures made out of metal and crystal. Shaped into forms and patterns that seemed to make no sense to his mind. Of the blue steel robot that had been his guide, teacher and friend. A robot which he now realised had been nothing more that an avatar, a physical representation of the AI's.

Magno waited until he had finished before questioning what he had said. "I can see how might have thought that this Blue metal robot might me linked to the Harvesters. But why do you think that this is no longer a possibility?"

"Because," replied Tam. "The AI's may once have been mankind's official enemies, but that was a long time ago. In my time they were a trusted friend and ally of the empire. They lived by a creed. "All that lives is holy." The Shub that I know of would sooner destroy themselves than seek to kill other sentients."

Magno look a bit doubtful at this. "That seems like rather a different story from what you were telling me earlier. How did this change come about?"

"It happened just after the great rebellion when…" suddenly Tams voice faded away.

Magno looked up and was shocked to see Tam clutching his head, eyes tightened in concentration.

"Tam what's wrong?"

He looked at her something like panic in his eyes.
"I can't remember!"

Magno looked confused. "Bit you said yourself your memories still have gaps."

"NO!" yelled Tam. "I mean I cannot remember the name."

"What name?"

"The name of the leader. The leader of the great rebellion. The one for whom the entire rebellion was named. The one who saved the empire. Who brought the AI's to true sentience and ended the war. His name is remembered by all. His exploits are legendary. I know this. But I cannot remember his name or any of the things that he did!"

"Is that important?"

Tam looked at her strangely. "Yes! I mean I don't know. I mean I think it is. There is something about that name, something important. I feel if I could just remember it then everything else would fall into place. But I cannot remember." The last was said with a moan of anguish.

Magno sighed. This was getting her nowhere. Besides she already had all the answers she had expected to get from this meeting. And a few new questions besides. On that basis she could judge herself content.

"Well don't worry yourself about it Tam. Some of your memories have returned. I am sure that the rest will also return in time."

After a moment Tam stopped clutching his head and nodded in reluctant agreement.

Magno nodded satisfied. "Now I want you to get back to sleep. For the next week you are officially on light duties until you recover."

Tam raised his head to protest but Magno cut him off.

"You cannot fight to the best of your ability if you are still exhausted. If you can rest for a week then I will allow you back into your Vanguard not before. That's an order."

Tam finally nodded reluctantly in acceptance.

"Good night young man." Said Magno as she turned to go.

"Good night Captain." responded Tam before he turned to return to bed.
…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Elsewhere on the Nirvana one of the techs in the engineering room was watching a monitor with a confused look on her face. For the last few minutes there had been some strange fluctuations in the Plexis. They had been very small, nothing like what had happened when the landing party had been sent down to the planet. But they were unusual nonetheless. She was contemplating calling Parfait when just as soon as the fluctuations started they stopped. Not wanting to wake the chief engineer this late at night the tech decided to ignore it. And soon after, she forgot about it entirely.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

The rest of the week passed remarkably quickly. Although he was consigned to light duties Tam was able to convince Duero to allow him to work on maintenance for the Vanguards. Hibiki was of course happy to see him again and the two split their time between continuing to work on their respective machines and training in sword fighting.

The Vanguard bay soon became a refuge for the both of them. Hibiki from the attentions of Dita, Tam from the questions of Parfait. The bushy haired engineer had attempted to question Tam at every opportunity as to what had happened down on the planet. His answers that he had no idea had not dissuaded her. Fortunately Parfait's duties as engineer kept her too occupied to question him as much as she would like. And Tam and Hibiki soon learned to grab meals from the register and eat them down in the hanger to avoid unwelcome attention. After his first exposure to women's food Hibiki had taken to it with the enthusiasm that only a true convert could show. As for Tam he was pleased to be eating something other than those disgusting food pellets. He was also pleased that the food was better than the Navy issue ration that was the last food he could remember eating, although he was disappointed that the food seemed to lack spice.

So all in all the week passed very quietly, until it was almost over. ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meia hurried down the corridor to the conference room. She had been running simulations in the pilot's ready room and had lost track of time. Now she was almost late for the meeting that the Boss had called. This only added to the aggravation that had been building for the last week.

What had happened on the desert planet still haunted her. Firstly that she had let her own weakness overcome her and secondly that she had been saved from that weakness by a man. Thankfully she had been able to avoid him for the last couple of days.

This thought was still foremost in her mid when she entered the conference room and saw who was gathered inside.

Magno as always was seated at the head of the table. Also seated were BC, Gascognue and Parfait. The heads of the various groups that made up the ships crew. Meia representing the Dread pilots should have been the last. But today another was also seated.

Meia jerked to a halt in shock as Tam turned his chair to face her as she entered the door.

At her entrance Magno looked up. "Ahh Meia. Good you're here. Please take a seat so we can get started."

Meia grimaced and took her seat, which unfortunately for her was seated just next to Tam. "What's he doing here." She asked as she seated herself."

"I asked Tam here because of his previous experience with deep space travel. I thought he might be able to offer some advice about the decision we now face. BC?"

The subcommander stood up and nodded. At a motion from her hand the display at the head of the table changed to show a star system. The system was fairly small, with only one large planet and a number of smaller ones. However the system was densely packed with asteroids. And there was something strange about the main planet. It looked like something had bitten a huge chunk out of it.

"As you can see." Said BC. "The main planet of the system is only partially intact. We suspect that at some time in the distant past a massive comet or asteroid collided with the planet, cracking its core. We also assume that this is what caused the asteroid field. That field is now our dilemma. This system sits on the least time course of our return home. The asteroid fields will make our progress slow but with careful manoeuvring we should still be able to clear them within a week. The alternative is to try to circle around the edge of the field and that could take a month or more."

"So that's the situation we're in." Commented Magno as BC finished. "Do we go around or do we go through. Comments?"

Several of the women appeared about to speak but Tam beat them all to it.
"Go around captain, don't chance it."

They turned to look at him in surprise. Magno curiously.
"Any particular reason for that Tam?"

The former Lieutenant pointed to the viewscreen from where he sat. "In the Imperial fleet systems like this were often described as 'Bad lands'. Such places are known haunts for smuggles, pirates and other things that don't want to be found. An asteroid field like that is also the perfect spot for an ambush. The asteroids will force the Nirvana to move slowly. We would be vulnerable to attack."

"The dreads can take care of any threat before it gets to the Nirvana." Responded Meia hotly. Once again she felt her annoyance rising. What he had said made sense, she knew it. But that only served to aggravate her more. 'What is it about this man' she thought 'why does the affect me so.' She still remembered how she had felt when she had seen him collapse after the mission to the desert world. Before she had felt nothing but anger that he a man had saved her. Then when she had seen him injured she had felt concern. A concern that had only faded when she had heard that he was recovering. Not knowing the reason for that concern irritated her. But not as much as the calm way he appeared to respond to all of her outbursts.

"The dreads have shown that they can effectively defend the Nirvana in open space. But fighting within an asteroid field is a different environment. And if we do encounter an enemy and they have experience operating in the fields then your pilots will be at a disadvantage."

Meia was about to retort again but Magno silenced her. "Enough you two. Thank you for your input. Parfait, Gascognue any comments?"

Parfait responded first. "Well if we go through the field we may come across some deposits of metals or fuels that we can stop to mine. Some of our raw materials stockpiles are starting to get low and this might give us an opportunity to stock up."

"Likewise supplies are my main concern Boss." Responded Gascognue her trademark toothpick between her teeth. "The supply situation is still holding up pretty well, but there is a limit to our stores of munitions, not to mention food and amenities. With that in mind I'm in favour of anything that gets us home sooner."

Magno nodded as she absorbed what they had said. For a moment she sat there thinking, running the beads she carried absently through one hand as the others watched. Finally she came to a decision.

"Ok we'll try heading through the field. But Meia. I want you to keep a group of Dreads out there at all times. We need to be constantly on our guard. That's all, I'll see you later."

Taking this as a dismissal, Tam quickly got up and left. Parfait appeared about to chase after him but then stopped to walk with Gascognue. Meia was just about to leave when Magno called out to her.

"Meia."

She stopped and turned. "Yes Boss?"

"I know it's hard to have the men on board. Particularly this one which we know so little about. But don't let that distrust blind you to what he says. Wherever he comes from he has experience that's worth listening to."

"I know that boss. I agree that most of what he says makes sense. Its just that.."

"It's just that?" asked Magno curiously.

"Nothing." Said Meia shaking her head. "It won't interfere with my ability to do my job. And with that she walked out.

Leaving Magno pondering her final words. 'Now what do you suppose she could have meant by that?'

Elsewhere Meia stopped and touched the visor she always wore before jerking her hand away angrily. 'No' she thought. 'I am strong because I rely on myself. I will always rely on myself. I made that decision a long time ago.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

That thought still haunted her later that week as she sat in the cockpit of her Dread.
For the last three days the Nirvana had been moving through the asteroid field. And so far they had found precisely nothing. No sign of the enemy but also no sign of anything they could use.

That in itself was odd. With a system so thick in asteroids they should have found some ore deposits that were usable. But so far nothing worth the effort of refining. It was almost as if something or someone had already removed all of the viable deposits. But if that was true where were they?

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Come on Tam. Let's go get some food!" Hibiki's voice startled Tam as he sat in the cockpit of his Vanguard. Parfaits techs had restored the machine to its pristine state following the battle on the desert world. They had also made some improvements. Mounting a small gattling cannon on the left arm to give the machine some long range fire power. Tam was a little dubious as to how effective it would be. The gun was of a small calibre and only had a single drum mag of ammo. He really didn't feel like carrying more. Visions of a single stray shot from a harvester hitting the spare mags kept flashing through his mind. Still it was nice to have something to shoot back with.

"In a minute little brother I just want to check on something."

"Come on Tam. What are you waiting for? They're serving something called "Peskatore" today and I really want to try it." Called Hibiki as he stuck his head into the cockpit to see what was keeping him.

Looking over Tam's shoulder Hibiki saw that he had linked into the Dread CAC(1) and was monitoring the escort wing currently outside.

"Huh? You're watching the women and that crazy blue haired one at that! Why's this so important?"

Tam sighed. "They're just about to do a shift change little brother As soon as they're done we'll go grab something." As Tam spoke the four dreads started to move back towards the Nirvana on a landing approach. Meia's in the rear.

"Ok but why do you wanna watch the shift change?"

Tam made an expression of annoyance.
"Its not the shift change itself. It's that during the change there's a gap between the old fighters returning and the new ones launching. That makes it the perfect time for.."

Before Tam could finish the sentence a red light started blinking on the sensor panel.
Tam looked up sharply.
"Enemy contact! Get to your partner little brother. Lunch will have to wait." Hibiki rushed to obey as Tam started bringing his Vanguard on line.
Throughout the Nirvana alarms started to ring out, calling the crew to battle stations and the dread pilots to their ships.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge Magno's chair move through the door from her ready room to its bridge station.

"What have we got?"

BC turned to respond.

"Single enemy contact. Currently moving away from us."

"Hmm. Unlike them to run. They must be up to something. Hold the dreads in close after they launch. This could be a trap."

No sooner had she finished speaking then the viewscreen showed the icon of a single Dread moving to engage the harvester ship.

"What! Who's that."

BC spun around.
"Meia. Pull back towards the Nirvana. Wait for the other dreads!"

"There's only one of them." Came back Meia's voice. "I can take care of it on my own. It could be a scout. Better if we take care of it before it can report back."

BC continued to call her back, but the Dread leader continued to chase after the fleeing Harvester ship.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

In the cockpit of her dread Meia leaned forward over her controls. Her Dread was fast. Optimised for speed and manoeuvrability over armour or firepower, and she could wield it with an artist's skill. She was steadily closing in on her target. Suddenly she dodged around a large asteroid and got her first clear look at it. That should have been enough to tell her that something was different.

Rather than the usual cube fighters, this enemy ship looked like a giant X with a large engine extending from the centre. She was temporarily surprised by this but then regained her focus.

'There's only one of them. I can take care of it by myself."

She focused on her targeting computer as the ship came within range. But suddenly just as she locked on, the ship started to accelerate. Afterburners blazing it moved itself out of range. Cursing Meia moved to follow. Grimly trying to reacquire her lock. She was so focused on the task at hand she did not notice the other one until the warning screamed in her ears.

"Meia! There's one behind you. Look out!"

Her head jerking up in shock, Meia looked up just in time to see another of the X ships diving down towards her.

Frantically she jerked her controls and fired her after burners trying to avoid the attack. She did not succeed.

A line of fire from the ship struck her Dread on the left side. Shields failed under a direct hit at point blank range. Meia felt her dread buck like a wounded beast under the impact of the hits. Frantically she tried to bring the dread back under control. Then an explosion went off right by her head and she lost consciousness.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge the reports were hastily called back and forth.

"Dread teams A and B are away. Team C is launching now."

"Register reports a delay with the delivery ship. Ten minutes before its ready."

"Leader's Dread has been hit!"

Magno and BC instantly jerked in shock.

"What!"

"Report status." Yelled BC.

"Dread is intact but no power readings it's been disabled!"

"No communication from the pilot. Vital signs are fluctuating."

"Damn." Said BC. "She won't survive the ten minutes it will take to get the delivery ship out to her."

"Captain!" Tams face suddenly appeared on the bridge view screen.
"Let us try!"

"Are you sure you can do it?" asked Magno

Tam's image shrugged.

"It works in the simulators, only one way to find out if it will work for real."

Magno nodded. "Ok get out there and bring her back."

Tams image nodded sharply before he cut the connection.

Moments later.

"Both Vanguards have cleared the hanger currently closing on Leader's Dread." …………………………………………………………………………………………..

Tams Vanguard had undergone another significant change while on the planet. In addition to the static shield, it was now equipped with a powerful set of thrusters. It was those thrusters that had allowed Tam to tow Meia and Barnette into orbit in the same way that Hibiki had towed Jura and Dita. So Tams Vanguard was now at least able to move and fight in space. However, that didn't make it any better armoured. Or make it able to keep up with the speeds the Dreads and their opponents were using.

Tam ducked and weaved his Vanguard in between the asteroids as he moved in on Meia's position. It was turning into a total shit fight out here. There were far more than two of those strange new enemy fighters out there and they were currently flying rings around the Dreads.

All of the pilots had by now had some experience with flying though the asteroids. But it was still dangerous flying and the chances of collision were high. The pilots often had to pull up sharply as they twisted and turned to avoid groups of floating rocks. The enemy on the other hand seemed to fly through the dense field like fish in the sea.

'They have the home ground advantage' thought Tam. 'They know the terrain and they are using it against us.' His thoughts were cut short by a call from Hibiki.

"Come on Tam. Hurry up and lets get the woman back to the ship so we can get back into the fight."

Hibiki's Vanguard was surging ahead. Moving on the least distance path to where Meia's crippled Dread now hung in space.

As he watched Tam could see one of the enemies X fighters moving in.
"Hibiki three o'clock high. Watch out."

"Huh?" confused Hibiki stopped his Vanguard and turned to stare back at Tam.
This turned out to be the right thing to do as a line of cannon blasts suddenly lit up the space he had been about to occupy. The X fighter flashed past, a Dread in hot pursuit.
Tam used the momentary break to move up to Hibiki's Vanguard. Together they started to move off.

"What did you mean about three o'clock? That's not for another three hours?"

In his cockpit Tam rolled his eyes in annoyance. The kid had so much to learn.
"I'll tell you later little brother. For now let's focus on the task at hand. There she is."

Meia's dread was now directly ahead of them. It spun lazily in space amongst the rocks. Up close Tam could see that the damage was not extensive, but it was serious. The X fighter had hit Meia's dread just over the main engine. She was very lucky. Just a little bit more damage and there wouldn't be a ship left. Cautiously he looked over the cockpit checking for further damage. What he saw wasn't good. The cockpit canopy was cracked. The interior was filled with smoke. Even if she was still alive, she might not survive for long if they didn't get her back soon.

"Ok little brother. Just as we practised."

Moving carefully the two Vanguards took up positions along side the fuselage and gripped the wings in their arms. Hibiki had complained when they had originally practised this manoeuvre in the simulators. Tam had just shrugged and responded that they never knew when they might need it. Well today it was proving its worth.

"Ok little brother. On the count of three. One. Two. THREE!" As one the two vanguards fired their thrusters and began to push. The Dread resisted for a moment. Then it began to move. As it picked up acceleration Tam and Hibiki called out to one another. Angling their thrust to bring them back towards the Nirvana.

Now came the most dangerous part of the operation. Even with two of them together they could not equal the normal acceleration of a Vanguard. Let alone a Dread. With Meia's Dread so much dead weight they were effectively a big slow moving target. Something that it did not take the harvesters long to realise.

"Push down!" Yelled Tam.
Instantly he and Hibiki angled their thrusters upwards. Spinning Meia's dread up and around. A split second later flashes of tracer fire shot through the spot they had occupied.

"Tam this isn't going to work!" yelled Hibiki.

Tam looked around desperately. "Head for the gap between those two big rocks. That should give us some cover."

Together they angled the Dread through the relatively narrow gap. They were almost through when Hibiki screamed a warning. "Tam look out!"

Tam looked up. An X fighter was diving straight for them. Tam looked around. There was no room to manoeuvre. If they tried they would crush Meia's Dread. But if they stayed put they would be an easy target. Only one thing to do.

In his cockpit Tam pulled a control. Lifting his Vanguards left arm he targeted the X fighter and let loose with a spray of fire from the gattling cannon. The X fighter broke off its attack and swerved. As it swept past them Tam continued to fire. Running a stream of bullets along its fuselage.

"YEAH. Way to go Tam!" crowed Hibiki.

"No" broke in Tam's voice. "There's no reason to celebrate little brother."

"But you hit him." Responded Hibiki confused.

"Yes and it did precisely nothing. The bullets on this gun aren't heavy enough to penetrate whatever kind of armour that things got. That means it knows I'm not a threat and it'll be coming back to finish the job."

True to Tams word the X-Fighter began to circle back. They could see it coming in for another run. Could see its cannons charge up as it prepared to fire. When suddenly it exploded in a massive fireball and a Dread swooped through the space it had just been in.

"Thanks" Tam called out on an open channel.

A tart female voice answered back. "Don't thank me Man, I was just settling a debt. We're even now. Now hurry up and get Meia back to the ship!"

Tam nodded. "Ok Barnette. But once again thanks." "Bridge this is Tam. We are bringing Meia's dread into the lower launch bay. Her cockpit is cracked. Recommend you have a medical crew on hand just in case."

"The doctor is standing by. Just hurry up and get back here."

"Confirmed." Replied Tam.

He and Hibiki succeeded in getting Meia's dread back to the hanger without further incident.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

In the Hanger the two Vanguards carefully laid the Dread to rest against the bay floor. Once the Dread was Hibiki immediately set off to rejoin the fight while secured Tam docked his Vanguard and moved to help with Meia's dread. He had already seen that his weapons could do no further good in the fight out there. Time to see if he could do any good in here.

As he made his way over to Meia's Dread he noticed that a group of techs were struggling with the cockpit canopy. One of them he recognised from his time on the repair teams as Louise. "Louise. What's the problem?" The female tech turned to stare at him.

"Oh Tam. The emergency buckles on the cockpit canopy have locked in place. We can't get them loose!"

"Crap!" Tam looked around frantically. Rushing over to his vanguards hanger he came back with his now famous hammer and a long metal pole.

With Louis's help he held the pole steady against the canopy crack with one hand while he used another to wield the hammer. When the pole was sufficiently wedged in he got all the available techs to pull on it. It took 5 of them in total but finally the locks gave way and the canopy jerked free.

There was no time for celebrations though. Duero raced to the now open canopy, took one look inside and started screaming orders.
…………………………………………………………………………………………

Meia lay on a crash cart as it moved rapidly through the corridors of the Nirvana. A clear oxygen mask covered her face. Her eyes though open were glazed and unseeing and her left temple was a mass of blood. As he moved beside the cart Duero catalogued a list of further injuries.

"Surface wound on the head and ruptured spleen. She also has about five bone fractures."

"Stupid." Muttered Tam as he pushed the cart. "Why did you have to be so rash."

The cart raced through the main doors of the infirmary. Other injured patients hastened to get out f the way.

"Clear the treatment bed!" yelled Duero as they rushed to the critical section.

Paiway the young nurse gasped in surprise before hurrying to obey.

Quickly the two prepped Meia for treatment. Hurrying her under the medical machines of the treatment bed. Paiway's training under Duero now paying off . The two now moving together as an effective team. So focused were they that they barely even noticed when Meia's ever present black visor was swept off her head to fall to the floor.

Bending Tam carefully picked it up and put it on a nearby table. As he did so he heard Meia cry out faintly. "Mo…ther."

He turned in surprised. Only to be almost knocked off his feet as an explosion rocked the ship.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Outside the battle was not going well for the crew of the Nirvana.
The new X fighters of the enemy were wreaking havoc among the dread squadrons. These new enemies were different than any that they had encountered before. The fighters worked together in seemingly well coordinated attacks. Drawing Dreads into ambushes as they ducked and weaved between the asteroids. Which was more than could be said for the Dreads.

"A team switch to formation Alpha. B team umm." Before Jura could decide on her next order a volley of shots shook her dread distracting her.

Enemy fighters took advantage of the distraction, firing on the Dread formations forcing the ships to take evasive action and scatter. But many of them were too close together and had no clear idea of where they should be going. As a result there were many near misses and a few collisions.

"Keep it together Jura. The formations are all over the place!" Yelled Barnette over the comm. channel.

"I know I know" said the Blonde a look of near panic on her face. "But.." Once again any further response was cut off by a blast of enemy fire.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meanwhile the Nirvana was fairing almost as badly as the dread teams. Unable to manoeuvre due to the depth of the field the ship was forced to remain almost motionless. With the dreads ineffective the ship had to rely more and more on its defence shields for its protection. Those shields were tough but not invulnerable. And the enemy was gradually wearing them down.
Just then another full strength blast from one of X fighters struck the shields, causing them to flare brightly.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

The bridge was a scene of barely organised chaos as reports flooded in and the bridge techs desperately tried to deal with them.

"First rear shield is down!"

"They're concentrating their attack on the bottom hull!"

The main viewscreen was also lit up with communications from the Dread teams as they tied organise themselves.

"Team C back to formation." Yelled one pilot

"Where is everyone?" asked another

"Who the hell's leading?" yet another demanded.

"Need some help here!"

Watching the chaos of the communications BC scowled in frustration.
"To think they would have a fighter organisation system." She thought.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Down in the Register, Gascognue's crew was also having difficulties. With the flood of repair and ammunition orders that were being sent, the staff found themselves overwhelmed. Panic began to ensue, but the head supplier kept a cool head and called for their attention.

"Easy girls. Panicking isn't going to help us win this one. Well, let's hear it."

The staff gave a simultaneous wave and replied, "Smile! Smile!"

"Carry on."

………………………………………………………………………………………

In space groups of enemy fighters continued to make strafing runs at the Nirvana. The Dreads to disorganised to counteract them. The ships shields flared and pulsed as they tried to deflect the energy directed at them.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

In his piloting chamber Bart had an excellent view of what was happening around the ship. Unfortunately this was not a benefit.

"Shit!. Go away. Go away." He screamed in panic.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Back on the bridge more reports flooded in.

"Enemy main force has split it two!"

'Three more dreads disabled!"

"The defence line won't hold!"

"We can't get to Gasco's delivery"

"Delivery failed!"

'I can't get in!"

"Why isn't there a better shield on these fighters?"

Without Meia's guidance the Dreads were failing. The well coordinated efficiency that had been a major strength against the enemy's superior numbers was gone. To make matters worse the enemy was showing a degree of coordination that they had never seen before. And more and more of them were continuing to arrive.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

In the sickbay, Duero monitored Meia's condition.
"Paiway suppress the decrease in oxygen saturation!" The young nurse leapt to obey.
"Stabilising the heart and lung functions is our top priority." Continued Duero before he looked down and grimaced. "Then we'll have to try and do something about the Plexis shard embedded in her head."

"What did you say Doc? That wound in her head is a Plexis shard?" Duero turned to see Tam still standing near the treatment bed.

"Yes." Replied the doctor. "You've heard how the Plexis modified some of the Dreads and Hibiki's Vanguard?"

Tam nodded briefly and Duero continued.

"The Plexis seemed to infuse the machines with a part of itself. When her ship was hit a portion of that part must have been hit. Leaving the result you see here." Then Duero looked at Tam curiously. "What are you still doing here?"

Tam shrugged. "My Vanguard's not equipped for the fight out there. I'd just be a target. I thought I'd see if you needed any help. I do have training in battlefield medicine."

Duero nodded. "Ok, can you.." Whatever the doctor was about to say was cut off as another explosion rocked the ship. This one was severe. The whole ship shuddered. Such was the force of the impact that the three in the emergency room had to struggle to keep their balance. Grabbing onto the treatment bed to keep from falling.

Tam's right hand managed to grab the edge of the bed. But his left, unbalanced, was over extended and instead of hitting the edge of the bed it came down on the injured side of Meia's head.

For a split second Tam felt a tingling in his left hand. Then the tingling surged and a force like an electric current surged up his hand to explode in the back of his head.

For a moment Tam had a feeling of weightlessness. As if he was hanging suspended in mid air. All around he could see an expanse of emerald and white light that pulsed with energy. But he barely had time to experience this before he felt his consciousness swept away again to end up somewhere else.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meia had not always been as she now was. The tough and taciturn Dread leader had once been a very different person.

The, for want of a better term, Masculine one of her parents, her Fahma had been a prominent celebrity on Majere. A large intimidating red haired woman. Her other parent, her Ohma had been a scientist. A small quiet woman, it was from her Meia got her blue hair and slight build but little else.

Meia's parents had been deeply involved in a project to speed the terraforming of Majere. Of the two worlds in the system occupied by the Men and the Women, Tarak was the marginally more habitable of the two. Humans could survive there although the existence was bleak. But Majere, beautiful though it was, was incapable of supporting human life without extensive terraforming. The air was breathable, if barely. But the planet had nothing to sustain or create the kind of environment that humans found pleasant. The current terraforming plans were long term. It would take up to a hundred years for there effects to even begin to show.
The project that Meia's parents were involved in promised to change that.

The project generated a lot of media attention. Meia's Fahma was often called to interviews and to receptions to promote the project. Meia's Ohma disliked such gatherings choose to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. But Meia being a child loved the attention and in the way of children began to favour her Fahma who brought it and distain her Ohma who avoided it.

For several years things went well. Money for the project flooded in. Meia and her parents lived well and because of her parents Meia became something of a celebrity herself. It was during these times that Meia received two of the few personal belongings she held onto. One was a music box, given to her by her Ohma one Christmas. The other was the black half visor that she almost always wore.
But the good times were not altogether good for Meia. Used to attention and the good things in life she became a spoiled child, used to getting her way. Things became much worse after the accident.

A massive explosion occurred at the site of the project. Meia remembered being awoken by the roar of the explosion. Of seeing her parents staring aghast at the sky lit red by fire coming from the project site. Her Ohma had gone out to see what had happened. Promising to be back soon. But she had never returned.

Later the allegations had come. Evidence of bribes between the project company and the engineering contractors had been uncovered. Angry crowds people who wanted explanations of what had happened came to their home wanting to see Meia's Fahma. But her Fahma was not there, and it was left to her quiet Ohma who had always been afraid of large groups to deal with them. But that was not the end of the disaster.

Only days after the first accident another occurred. This one commenced a chain reaction that threatened to destroy the entire on planet colony.
Rescue ships from the Majere orbital habitats were quickly dispatched. But with only hours to prepare they were too few to evacuate all the colonists. Instead all the children were hurried to the available transports.

Meia remembered the huge crowds of people. All desperate to get on the already overcrowded transport. Meia remembered trying frantically to fight were way through the crowds. Not to board the ship as so many were trying to do. But to go back to the crowd to where here Ohma stood.

"Mom. Mom. Let's go together Mom." She had screamed. Frantic to go back to her once despised Ohma. Frantic not to loose the one remaining constant in a world that had changed so utterly from what it had been only a few short days ago.
She remembered seeing her mother standing there amongst the crowds. How she had seen her smile sadly and shake her head.

"No. I'll stay too!" Meia had yelled. But it was too late. The press of the crowds kept her back as the door sealed in front of her. And the ship took off, barely escaping the blast of the explosion that utterly destroyed the on world colony. Leaving the women of Majere no home but their habitats in space.

All this Tam now knew. Knew it because he had seen it through Meia's eyes. Through her own memories. Somehow by touching the Plexis shard he had formed a mental bond with Meia's mind, through which he was now experiencing images of her past. Was that because that was what she was now thinking about or was there another reason?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Out in space things were getting worse. The Harvester fighters were striking at the Dread squadrons and the Nirvana with impudity. The women couldn't seem to organise to mount an effective defence.

Barnette cursed as she put her fighter in a tight roll. Barely avoiding colliding with a team mate as they both tried to avoid the fire of a Harvester fighter.

'We can't get an opening like this' she thought to herself.

"Jura. Jura!"

"Stop asking me!" screamed the Blonde in frustration from her cockpit. As the second most senior Dread pilot the task of leader fell to her. But she could not do it. She had tried to be like Meia, but nothing was working.

Meanwhile Hibiki was trying to get himself into the fight.
"Ora. Ora. Ora!" he chanted as he dodged between the asteroids, knocking the smaller ones out of the way with the arms of his Vanguard.
Looking around he quickly dodged aside as Dreads and Harvester X fights flashed around him.

Hibiki sighed with frustration. He had tried to engage the Harvester fighters but they were just too fast. He had no guns to shoot with and even with the training he had received from Tam the things just moved too fast to hit.

In resignation he realised that if he really wanted to be effective out here he had no choice. Reluctantly he keyed the comm. channel.

"Hey! UFO girl. We're uniting."

In her cockpit Dita jerked in shock. Pleased but surprised.
"Huh Ok."

Swiftly Hibiki moved his Vanguard towards her Dread. As they neared one another there was a bright flash of light. When it faded the massive Blue and yellow Vandread was left. Swiftly Hibiki started the combined machine heading for the closest X fighter. With the Vandread's superior power they rapidly closed on the machine.
Hibiki grinned in anticipation as he started to target the fighter. 'Payback time' He thought as he locked onto the fighter.

But then just as the Vandread's cannons were moving into firing position the Harvester fighter jerked upwards. Revealing the huge asteroid directly in their path. Hibiki jerked back in surprise. Luckily Dita, with a Dread pilot's instinct was able to jerk them out of the way at the last moment. Still it had been a close thing.

"Damn." Yelled Hibiki in frustration. "I still can't catch it.
Just then a familiar red Dread flew past having observed the whole thing.

"What. Is this all you've got after talking big" called Jura scathingly.

"Shut up! You can't even lead properly." retorted Hibiki.

In her cockpit Jura's eyes widened in Anger. "What! I don't have to take that from a Man!"

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge BC listened to the continuing argument as well as the other comm. traffic.

"We have too much delivery order. We can't take them all."

"Report!"

"I can't say anything now!"

"It seems that we've depended too much on Meia's leadership." Commented BC out loud. "We've neglected the training of the sub leader."

"She'd the one that didn't do it." Responded Magno.
BC turned to face the captain in surprise.
"She avoided contact with other people any more than necessary" continued Magno.
"She felt that she couldn't depend on others. I thought something like this might happen from the first day I picked her up." Mused Magno as she thought back remembering how Meia had been in those days.

If she had known she might have been very surprised to realise that at that moment she and Tam were both remembering the same part of Meia's life.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

After the accident the fame and celebrity status that she had once loved became a curse. Everywhere she went people recognised her as the child of the two that were now blamed for the terraforming accident that had cost so many lives. In polite society not matter where she went she could not avoid the stigmata of that incident. So as she grew older she avoided that society.

As she grew older she associated herself more and more with the outcasts of Majere. The gangs and the thugs that made their homes in the lower levels. The refuse sections of the habitats. After a time she realised that she had nothing left to loose, and so she lost her fear of death. This served as an advantage in the hard society of the gangs. Physically pain served to lesion the emotional pain that was a constant part of her. She learned to fight in a hard school where her lack of fear and her anger served her well. Enabling her to beat opponents older and stronger than herself.

She found companionship of a kind with the gangs. She found comfort for her pain in drink, drugs and pleasures of the flesh. But it was essentially a meaningless existence a life without purpose. No matter how hard she fought, the thrill of victory never lasted. No matter how much she drank or what she took the pain always returned. And although she sought solace in the arms of several lovers none of them could give her what she needed. What she had lost. And what was worse she blamed herself for what she felt. That led to her current state of mind

Tam felt her thoughts as her memories faded.

'I don't need anything important. Because if you have something important you are weak. I want to be strong. Whatever happens I don't want to hurt at all. I want strength.'

Then her thoughts changed, became filled with pain.

'But it's still not enough. Even after all I have done I can still be hurt. I can still feel that pain. I don't want to live. I don't want to live if it means always having to endure that!

Suddenly the pain peaked. Tam could feel it. Feel the anguish feel the raw emotion. He could feel it pushing him out of her mind. But in the time before he was forced out he was able to sense one final thought through the mental link.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

In the sick room Tam suddenly opened his eyes and gasped. Stunned by the intensity of what he had experienced. Looking down he saw he was still standing by the treatment table. His hand still on Meia's head. Quickly he snatched it away.

At the motion Duero suddenly turned around in surprise. 'Tam!"

"Duero." Tam replied groggily. "What happened."

"That's what I was hoping you could tell me! The moment you touched Meia's head you went into some kind of trance. I couldn't wake you, couldn't even move you. What the hell is going on?"

Tam shook his head trying to clear it. "No time for that now. What's Meia's condition?"

Duero automatically turned away and started to report. "I've treated the spleen and set the fractures. Her heart and lungs are now working normally. Physically she appears to be out of danger. But despite this.."

"Her brain waves are deteriorating. She's dying."

Duero jerked round in surprise. "Yes. The Plexis piece that entered is causing some kind of negative reaction. Its eroding her brain cells and the damage is accelerating."

"She's falling into despair. She's giving up the will to live."

Once again Duero jerked in surprise and turned towards Tam determined to ask him how he knew. But before he got the chance the medical monitor started beeping, signalling a further deterioration in Meia's condition.
Duero turned immediately to Meia. "Hang on. You must live!" he yelled at her.

'But she can't hear you' thought Tam. 'Not that way.' And an idea started to form in his mind.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Elsewhere on the ship techs and register staff were frantically trying to repair and rearm the dreads. Frustrated by the lack of success so far BC had recalled all of the Dreads to the Nirvana to rearm and reorganise.

This left the Harvester fighter's free reign to attack the Nirvana and the ship was now being hit with increasing frequency. So far the shields were holding, but only because all non essential power was being redirected to them. And there was a limit to how long they could last.

In the register Jura sat in a corner huddled over in despair.

"I can't do it. I can't do what Meia does."

"Stop being conceited." Said another voice.

Jura looked up in surprise to see Gascognue. "No ones expecting you to replace Meia." She continued. "That means its ok for you to relax and depend on others."

Jura's eyes widened in surprise.

"Take a look around you." Said Gascognue pointing around the register.

Jura saw pilots putting in their orders, register girls hard at work. Elsewhere register girls helped tend to the wounded pilots, while other pilots gathered to discuss tactics.

"You don't have to push yourself to do something you can't.. Its ok to let them know what you can do an what you cant. After that everyone can help you out."

Jura nodded her head. Thankful for the older woman's advice. Meanwhile outside the Nirvana Hibiki and Dita were still huddled in the Vandread which was currently clinging to the hull.

"Shit this is frustrating." Said Hibiki as another blast of fire struck the shields.

"Will leader die.." said Dita suddenly. Hibiki looked up I surprise.
Dita continued. "If that happens…" Hibiki suddenly interrupted her.

"My Granpa used to say. Even if you think and worry about something an answer doesn't always present itself. What's important is that you can laugh with a sigh of relief at the end." Hibiki paused and turned towards Dita.
"Leave her to Duero. What's important now is that we protect the ship that has the treatment room. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah' said Dita. "Thanks Mr Alien!" At this Hibiki became red faced and turned away.
"She'd probably have said that anyway."

Just then a communication screen activated and Jura's voice rang out.

"Listen up everyone. We're changing the frequencies on the energy shields and our beam cannons. Match the pattern that's been sent to you. If we do that we can at least prevent our being hurt by each others fire."

At this Hibiki's eyes lit up and an idea occurred to him. "Yeah that's it!"

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Outside the bombardment continued. A Harvester X fighter came in on a long strafing run. A sustained burst from its main cannon was finally able to temporarily penetrate the weakened shields, striking the Nirvana's port spontoon.

On the bridge damage reports flooded in.

"Port side damaged. The ship is listing to one side!"

"Area 6 to 9 hit. Power is down."

BC slammed the edge of a console in frustration. More reports poured through.

"Plexis level is…"

"Shield power has dropped again."

"Dread team support ready yet?"

Suddenly Hibiki's voice broke through over the comm. channel.

"There's no use struggling like that."

The woman on the bridge turned to the main screen in surprise.

"I have an idea!"

They listened while he explained it. Magno's opinion of it was succinct.

"You want to die?"

"Heh." Smirked Hibiki. "Stop joking I don't care for a double suicide with women. And besides I haven't tasted the Peskatore yet."

Magno smiled. "If this goes well I'll let you eat until you die.

"Yeah!" responded Hibiki. "If I'm going to die anyway's, I'd rather die like that."

Magno and BC exchanged a smile at the kid's attitude, this was soon interrupted with another call.

"Captain this is Tam I need to talk to you!"

Magno looked at Tams image.

"Oho and what have you been up to?"

"No time to explain. I need your memories of Meia."

"What?" asked Magno thoroughly confused.

"I need you to repeat memories of her. Recent ones, positive ones. Memories starting from the time she joined you."

"Tam how important is this, if you hadn't noticed we're busy at the moment."

Tam lowered his voice. "For Meia its life and death."

Looking into his eyes Magno could see the conviction in them, the seriousness.
Nodding she turned briefly.

"BC take over." Before turning back to Tam and telling him what she remembered.
………………………………………………………………………………………..

Back in the sickbay Tam cut the connection. What Magno had told him had been fairly brief, but it would be enough. He hoped. Steeling himself he turned towards the treatment bed. To his knowledge he had never before done what he was about to attempt.

Mind healing was fairly new in the Empire from what he remembered. The use of an Esper to heal people's minds. The means was not new. Espers had been around for hundreds of years. It was just that until recently 'normals' had not trusted espers enough to let them into their minds. To Tam's knowledge he had not been an esper when he had served with the fleet. Hell there wasn't even a trace of it in his ancestry. But then again before he hadn't had the boost either.

He didn't claim to understand what was happening. But he knew, knew with an absolute certainty that if he touched Meia again he could re-establish that mental link. And he knew that if he used it he had a chance of saving her, where as if he didn't she was sure to die. Put that way there really wasn't a choice.

So moving quietly he brought himself to the head of the treatment bed and before Duero could stop him, once again brought his hand to her wound.
……………………………………………………………………………………….

This time there was no pause. Once second he was standing in the medical room, the next he found himself in the midst of Meia's memories.

He saw her lying on a bed. Crying in despair as a music box played in the background.

"I .. I don't want to live." He heard her say in her mind. "Somebody ..just.."

Feeling there was not a moment to lose. He reached inside himself. Forcing himself to recall what Magno had said to him. Then with a supreme effort of will he forced those memories out into Meia's mind.

"You've really been spoiled by your family." Rang out Magno's voice. Cutting through the despair and self pity.

The scene shifted as Tam forced Meia into another memory.

He saw here looking up at Magno through Hazy eyes.

"You're depending on someone else for you life and death?" asked Magno "If you plan to die anyway's I'll prepare the place for you."

That said she threw an object at Meia which she caught between her cupped hands. Which when she opened them was revealed to be a laser ring. The signature weapon of the pirates.

From there flashes of her life with the pirates sped by, most too fast to follow. Tam instead focussed on the words Magno had said.

"From then on she learned the job to death. She was talented from the start too. Soon she learned how to pilot the dread. Meia! Don't die you haven't won your stake yet."

Then suddenly the memories ended. Tam found himself retched away. But he did not return to his body but was taken to another part of Meia's mind. …………………………………………………………………………………………

In space the preparations for Hibiki's plan were almost complete. The dreads had formed themselves up within the protection of the Nirvana's shields. Waiting for the signal.

"Well I'm beginning to get hungry." Said Hibiki "So let's take them out in one shot."

………………………………………………………………………………………..

In medical Duero was staring at the scene before him. Tam stood there, his hand on Meia's head. His eyes were closed and he was apparently doing nothing. But he could not be woken or moved. What's more Meia's brain degradation had slowed. Duero had no idea what Tam was doing or how. But for want of a better idea he would trust the mysterious man, for now.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

In space the X fighters of the Harvesters had gathered themselves in a formation. All twelve of them moved in perfect synchrony. First as a cross, then as a diamond. It was obvious that they were aiming to combine their firepower in an error to overwhelm the Nirvana. Under than concentrated power the shields would not be able to survive for long. But hopefully they would survive long enough.

Suddenly the harvester's formation condensed into a single point. From that ponit beams of red energy flew to impact against the shields. Striking them with a constant barrage. Across the Nirvana lights flickered as the engines struggled desperately to meet the strain.

In the piloting chamber Bart cried out in pain. Through his link to the ship he could feel the heat of the beams. "Ouch. Not yet?"

"Not yet." Said Hibiki

On the scanners the Harvester ships could be seen closing on the Nirvana.

"Just a little more." Said Hibiki

The bombardment was unrelenting. Here and there portions of the shield gave way, letting the beams through. It was only by luck that none struck the ship itself.

"Shields have been knocked back to level three." Reported a bridge tech.

"Distance 1200." Reported another.

In the Vandread Hibiki's eyes stayed focussed on the target. It wasn't just the X fighters now. A seed ship, probably their home base and waves of cube fighters had also joined the attack. The enemy was bringing all its forces in foe the kill.

"Distance 900!"

"Now!" yelled Hibiki.

Instantly the Dreads surged forward firing with everything they had as they charged outward. Coming from behind the protection of the screen the enemy had no idea they were there. The enemy were charging straight for the Nirvana, as the dreads fired many of the fighters and cubes were destroyed before they had a chance to evade. But even so only a fraction of the enemy force was destroyed.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meia suddenly felt a jerk in her mind. Images from her past flashed before her.

"Meia be strong." Said her Fahma

"Forgive Fahma" said her Ohma

"No I'll stay too." She heard herself cry as the ships doors closed cutting of her last view of her Ohma.

"Why are you closing your mind off so much." Asked a memory of Magno.

"I don't need anything precious." She heard herself say.

"You should take it easy." Said a memory of Bart.

And the last memory the most unexpected. "We never leave our people behind!" said the voice of Tam as he reached out to her.

Suddenly Meia was aware of something in her mind. "Why are you.." was all she had time to ask before she felt herself swept away again.

She felt herself lying, curled in a ball in a field of long grass that blew gently in the breeze under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. From somewhere the sound of her music box carried through. The music that her Ohma had told her was from the song "It's a wonderful world'. A song from old earth.
'Finally' she thought. 'I can rest'

………………………………………………………………………………………….

At that moment all of Meia's medical monitors suddenly flatlined.

"Meia!" Yelled Paiway in anguish.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

In space the Vandread containing Hibiki and Dita charged forward straight into the teeth of the enemy fire. The Vandread's arms were raised before it, attempting to ward off the incoming blasts. They were partly successful, but they were also becoming red with heat as more and more blasts struck the machine.

In the cockpit Dita cried out. "I can't take any more of this!"

"Don't give up so easily!" yelled Hibiki. Shocked Dita turned to look at him.

"The funs just starting." He said to her as he smiled. "Let's go!" Suddenly the Vanguard extended its arms. The massive pylons that formed its main weapons slid down from the shoulders to link with the gauntlet blades on its arms. For a second the mighty machine hung there crackling with energy as it charged itself. And then with a sudden burst it let that energy go.

Massive beams of energy flew out to strike not the enemy machines, but the Dread fighters in their prearranged places. Upon contact with each Dreads shields the beams refracted Breaking into numerous smaller beams. The number of beams continued to increase as the shots ricochet among the propositioned Dreads. Until a massive cylinder of destructive energy made up of thousands of crisscrossing beams cut through the space before the Nirvana. Destroying everything in its path. Asteroids, cube fighters, X-Fighters and even the giant seed ship that has spawned them. Nothing withstood the destructive power that had been unleashed. Nothing except the Dread's whose shields had been modulated to fit the frequency of the beams.

………………………………………………………………………………………….
On the bridge BC looked out in shock.
"What the…? To use our own fighters as reflectors!"

"Pretty impressive for a man's shallow wit." Commented Magno.
"Maybe the new one is a good influence on him. Speaking of which what is he doing?"

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Meia saw images of her mother flash before her eyes.

"Mom is.."

"A weak person. I don't have the courage to go out like Fahma or you." Said her mothers voice.

"No!" yelled Meia. "Mom wasn't weak. I was the weak one. I didn't have the courage to find out about people's feelings. I was scared to expose myself. I was afraid of being disliked."

Looking up Meia saw the image of her Ohma moving away. Moving towards a bright shining light.

"No!" she yelled as she got up and ran towards the image. "No Mom wait!"

"Meia." Came the voice of her mother. "This is not your place child. It's not yet time. Go back. Go back to where you belong. Where people rely on you!"

"No! Wait Mom. I have to tell you something." Yelled Meia as she ran towards the light.

"Meia. You are a kind child with a strong heart. It's ok to stop blaming yourself. You must go back. Open your heart to others. Its ok you will see me again. But now you must go back."

"No. Mom!" Meia yelled as she threw herself towards the light, regardless of the warning.

Then a pair of strong hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her backwards.
Shocked she fought and twisted in the grip. But she could not break loose. Finally she twisted to face her assailant and gasped in shock.

It was Tam. The man stood there looking utterly exhausted. His face was pale and he was breathing shallowly. Blood ran down from his nose coating the front of his shirt. But although he looked nearly dead, his face was locked in a grimace of concentration and determination shone in his eyes.

"Let me go." Yelled Meia as she fought. "I need to get to the light, I need to see my mother!"

"No!" Yelled Tam through gritted teeth.

"Why? Yelled Meia. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm trying to save your life." Yelled Tam angrily as he pulled her back. "If you reach the light you will die!"

Meia turned to face him in shock. "But I have to see my mother. I have to tell her something."

Tams face softened. "And you will. You will see her again. But not yet. Not yet. Now please let me take you back. Where there are people who care for you. Where there are people that need you. Where we all need you." The last was said softly barely more than a whisper.

Meia realised that Tam was utterly exhausted. That if she tried hard enough she could break away from him and go to her mother. But his very appearance gave her pause. As did Magno's words from earlier. So she surrendered and allowed him to draw her back.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

She woke up to bright lights shinning in her eyes. Suddenly Paiway's tearful face stood in front of the light.

"Good Meia." Said Paiway in a tearful voice. "You came back."

Meia smiled. "What a face you have." She said. Reaching up she gasped in shock to find her visor gone, but then found it lying by her side.

As she reached out to touch it she caught a glimpse of Duero leading away Tam in another part of the infirmary. Although the glance was brief she had time to see the bright red blood that covered Tam's front.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Later that night Meia walked through the cafeteria. The lights were dimmed, which in a way seemed fitting given that the place looked like a battle field.

The tables, chairs and even the floors were covered with the remains of a truly massive feast and with the forms of sleeping crewmembers.

Jura and Barnette lay fast asleep. Sitting against the wall, leaning on each other. Hibiki lay fast asleep at his chair. A bottle for a pillow. A truly impressive number of plates stacked around him. Across from him Dita lay asleep with her hands on her arms. Bit as Meia walked around she noticed that the one she was looking for was not there.

"Everyone did well." Came Magno's voice suddenly.

Meia looked up in surprise. "Boss"

"Isn't it mysterious. He's the complete opposite of you. This totally open idiot." Said Magno as she covered Hibiki with his jacket.
"Before anyone knew it he was one of us. However the other one, he's much more like you."

"Tam you mean?" asked Meia.

"Mm Hmm" responded Magno. "Duero tells me that he performed another fancy trick. Brought you back from the brink."

Meia nodded uncomfortably.

"Makes me wonder what he'll do next." Said Magno wistfully. She turned to Meia.
"Were you looking for him? Do you want to know where he is?"

"No boss its ok. I think I know." Said Meia as she started to move towards the door.

"Meia!" said Magno as she left. Meia stopped and turned to look at her questioningly.
'Isn't it about time you forgave yourself?"

Meia stood there for a moment. Then slightly, but firmly she nodded and left.

………………………………………………………………………………………

She found Tam in the Plexis chamber. Standing on one of the metal walkways that surrounded the giant crystal. Quietly she made her way towards him. She stopped surprised when he spoke out without turning to look at her.

"Hello Meia."

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"How did you know I was here?" He responded without turning around.

She nodded slowly and moved forward to stand near him. For a while they stood there in silence. Tam was the first to break it.

"I'm sorry." He said, still not turning to face her.

She turned to look at him surprised. "For what?"

"For what I did to you."

"You're sorry you saved my life?"

"What! No." Finally in his shock he turned to face her. "I'm sorry that I entered your mind; saw your memories without your permission. That was unforgivable."

Meia looked confused. "You did what you did to save my life. I know that. What you saw I did not want to share with anyone, but neither did I really want to die."

Tam turned to look at her surprised. "You're not angry?"

Meia looked away. "No. I'm not happy about it. But I'm not angry with you. Although I wish you didn't know my weakness."

Now Tam looked confused. "What do you mean?"

She turned to look at him slightly angry. "Come on. You saw what I did to myself. The way I acted. After that how can you not consider me weak?"

Tam surprised her by laughing softly. "You. Weak? Meia you're one of the strongest people I have ever met."

She turned to him angrily convinced he was mocking her. But when she looked in his eyes she saw only sincerity. "How can you say that?" she asked disbelieving. "After I let myself feel like that, after I let that affect me so."

"That just shows you are a human being." Responded Tam. "Feeling pain doesn't make you weak Meia. Pain s part of life. It's a sign of strength that we can bear the weight of great pain and still go on. You have suffered more in your life than many have, yet you have not let it crush you. You have built yourself up again. If that is not strength I don't know what is."

Meia was silent for a minute while she absorbed his words. "And what I did on the desert planet. Was that strength too?"

Tam shrugged. "You chose to face your fears head on. You did not conquer them, but you didn't give in. That's all a man can be expected to do."

"I'm not a man." Said Meia tartly.

Tam's looked up and flushed. "Sorry, figure of speech." He apologised smiling ruefully.

Meia let it pass. For a while they stood in a companionable silence. This time it was Meia that broke it.

"Why were you ashamed that you looked into my mind?"

Tam let his breath out slowly. "In the empire there were very strict laws concerning telepaths. Those able to read another's thoughts. One of the cardial ones was never to enter another's mind without permission. It was considered a grave offence to break those laws."

Meia snorted. "As I said before you doing what you did saved my life. Are you ashamed of that?"

Tam was quiet for a while before he responded. When he did hid voice was low. "No but I am worried that being able to do that may mean that I am no longer human."

Meia frowned confused at the unfamiliar word. Then decided it must mean a certain kind of man. "Well don't worry about that. As far as I am concerned you are still definitely a man."

Tam looked at her confused for a moment. Then he smiled. For a while then stood there, staring at the Plexis. Finally Meia turned to go.

As she drew away she stopped and turned. "Tam."

He turned surprised. That was the first time she had called him by his name.

She hesitated, and then spoke. "Thank you for saving my life. Both today, and before."

He smiled then saluted her. Fist to heart as he bowed his head. "It was my pleasure Meia."

She nodded and turned to move away while he turned back to stare at the Plexis.

He could feel her moving away in his mind. Could feel where she was on the ship. Just like she had been able to sense and find him. As a result of the mental connection they had shared they could now feel each others presence. By mutual unspoken agreement they had decided not to discuss that.

He did not know what the mental link was. If it would fade. If it was permanent or if it would (scary thought) grow stronger. But that was a concern for another day. Today he was focused on the Plexis. The giant crystal energy source hung before him, full of secrets. It had brought him here, it had helped him change, just as it had changed the ship, the Dreads and Hibiki's Vanguard and it was changing him further. But how or why he had no idea. He also suspected that it was suppressing portions of his memory. It was the only reason he could think of that would explain why he could not remember certain things. Yet he could do nothing about it. After all how do you threaten a rock that is also the power source of the ship you are travelling on? But at the same time he was becoming both more aware and less susceptible to it. When he had first arrived he had been unable to look at it without falling into a trance. Now, he had been staring at it for the last few hours with no effect. It gave him hope for the future.

"Keep your secrets for the moment." He said out loud. "But do not doubt that one day, I will have them from you."

As he turned to go a sight caught his eye. A strand of the outer crystals of the Plexis hung within arms length of the gantry on which he walked. On the strand he saw three small crystals that glowed with an inner light. Curious moved over to them and reached out. They seemed to drop into his hand of their own violation. He almost dropped them in shock.

Warily he considered them. Somehow he knew without doubt what they were. 'Power Crystals' he thought. But what for? Suddenly he felt a touch on his mind, feather light and swiftly gone. But its message remained. "For the tools of your trade." And then he knew.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Whoa. Another Huge chapter, I've got to stop doing this.

Seriously though if you review can you let me know if you prefer long chapters or short chapters? I tend to write long ones but that also means they often take a while to get out.

You may notice that this differs a little from the episode differs a little from the Anime episode. Main reason for that is to my mind it never was explained how they got Meia back on the Nirvana after her fighter was hit. Also I needed to change a few things to get it flowing properly and create the interaction between Tam and Meia.

Next chapter will hopefully be out within a month, until then please read and review.

The more reviews I get the faster I will write.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

(1) CAC Combat Air Control