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.

11. VanStalker Chapter 9: Boiling Point

Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread or DeathStalker.

Vandread belongs to Studio Gonzo.

DeathStalker belongs to Simon R Green.

Vanstalker Chapter 9: Boiling Point

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In an ill lit storeroom. Somewhere on the Nirvana, the dull hum of cooling systems was sudden disturbed by another sound. First the sharp click of stiletto booted feet, followed by two pairs of duller, heavier thuds. Finally another noise joined the disturbance. This time the voice of a young girl.

"And this, and this and this." Said Dita as she moved from cooler to cooler in the little used room. She knelt down by another cooler. As she opened it there was a sharp hiss as air escaped from and rushed to fill the vacuum sealed container.

"Oh and I'll need some of this too!" said the Redhead as she gazed down at the containers contents.

"Hey!" said a dull weary voice behind her.

Dita glanced back over her shoulder to see the form of Hibiki standing behind her clutching another container with a long suffering expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry it'sits heavy right?" said the Red head in apology.

Hibiki flushed. Embarrassed and unwilling to admit to any weakness in front of a woman.

"What? No this isn't heavy at all."

Dita smiled back at him.

"That's just what I expected from you Mr Alien. Her take this too." Said Dita as she held out the container she had just pulled out of the refrigeration unit. As she did so another voice interrupted her.

"Well if his isn't heavy then these certainly are. Please tell me we're nearly finished?"

The voice came from what looked like a moving stack of boxes. Tam stood behind Hibiki, but unlike the younger man he was carrying so many boxes that it was impossible to see his face around the stack he was carrying.

"Oh Mr Tam. Yes now we have everything we need for.."

"For what?" Interrupted another voice. "What are you guys doing?"

Dita and Hibiki looked around, while behind them the box stack oriented itself towards the sound of the voice. Through a gap in one of the nearby shelves Dita and Hibiki could see Paiway, the Nirvana's nurse peering at them suspiciously.

Dita started visibly and looked flustered.

"Not.. not much." She said haltingly.

"Its nothing really."

"Hmm how suspicious." Said Paiway

"Look this has nothing to do with you Paiway." Snapped Dita "So don't bother us."

The young nurse looked stunned and a little hurt by this outburst. Particularly as it was coming from Dita. Then after a moment she seemed to rally herself and looked at Dita again smiling.

"Hey do you know what day today is?"

"Huh? Today?" said Dita in apparent confusion. "What is it?"

Paiway's eyes narrowed again and she dropped away out of sight.

Tam and Hibiki watched this exchange in confusion. Their confusion only deepened when Dita started to laugh quietly to herself.

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Meanwhile on the Bridge Parfait stood starring into the eyepiece of a large telescope.

"I can see it!" the Nirvana's chief engineer suddenly shouted out loud.

"I've waited so long for this day!"

"If you can see Mejere through that telescope then how far have we come on our journey back?" Asked Magno from her command chair.

"Umm about half way?" said Parfait uncertainly as she turned around to stare at her Captain.

"Our message pods should be reaching the mother planet about now then." Said BC from her duty station."

Unless the Harvest has already started there and everyone is already dead was the unspoken thought that went through everyone's mind.

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Meanwhile in her quarters Paiway was busy shooting darts at her collection of photos of Hibiki and Dita.

'I can't believe this' she thought to herself. "Dita and I used to be such good friends. But since those men came on board she spends all her time chasing after that short one. I can't believe she even forgot about what today meant for me."

Paiway sighed deeply, then she got up and left her room. Somehow she just didn't feel like being alone right now. Time to see what the rest of the crew were doing.

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Meanwhile Dita and her little troop were walking through the corridors of the crew quarters of the Nirvana.

"Mr Alien, Mr Tam please hurry up." Called the red head as she turned to stare at the two men who were slowly following her down the corridor.

Hibiki was staggering around as he attempted to carry a stack of three large and precariously balanced containers. Further behind him Tam was slowly making his way down the corridor. Almost invisible behind a stack of 5 containers that almost completely obscured his body.

"We're coming, we're coming. Geeze you're really bossy today." Complained Hibiki

"I'm going on ahead." Called out Dita as she disappeared around a corridor. As Hibiki craned his neck around the stack he was carrying to look at her he noticed that a nearby door was partially open. Curious he paused to look inside as he passed.

This fairly innocent action was to have unforseen consequences.

Peering through the door Hibiki was greeted to the sight of a Female crewmember as she shed a bulky bear suit and stood wearing nothing but her undergarments.

Shocked by this unexpected sight, and yet for some reason strangely drawn to it Hibiki continued to stare.

Unfortunately Tam was unaware of this and he continued to proceed blissfully unaware that Hibiki had stopped. What's more, hearing Dita's call and wishing to be free of his heavy burden Tam had sped up his progress down the corridor. Both men where heavily laden and precariously balanced with the weight of the containers they bore. So it was perhaps unsurprising that the fairly gentle collision between the two sent both men crashing to the floor and their respective burdens flying through the air.

What was unfortunate was that one of the thrown burdens managed to collide with the door entry button causing the door to obediently slide all the way open.

So it was that the female crew member, still wearing nothing but her undergarments, turned around to see two men lying prone in the hallway outside her quarters, both of them gazing up at her after her soft scream of surprise.

The scream that followed could be heard throughout most of the corridors of the Nirvana and seemed to penetrate into the silence of space beyond.

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Later Dita and the two men finally managed to get the containers safely delivered to the ships galley and Dita was busily making use of the contents.

"We have to hurry." Said Dita as she stood busily peeling onions. "Paiway is defiantly beginning to suspect something. Mr Alien could you please pass me that bowl over there?"

"I refuse." Said Hibiki from where he sat cross legged on top of two of the containers. His stoic look of denial was somewhat ruined by the large frilly apron that he was wearing over his clothes.

"I am not your servant!"

"Why are you angry now?" asked Dita

"Is it about the apron? You shouldn't be it suits you."

Hibiki suddenly hunched over in embarrassment. "No that has nothing to do with it!"

Dita smiled and went back to peeling onions. "After you helped me I was going to make you a really delicious Hamburger. It's too bad that you don't want too."

Hibiki seemed to shudder for several minutes as if struggling with himself. Then he leaned over and handed her the bowl.

From where he stood watching in the corner Tam smiled. 'Smart girl' he thought. 'She's already found the best way through a man's pride. His stomach'.

Suddenly Tam looked up as he noticed that Dita was about to start cutting up the onions that she had peeled.

"Here Dita let me do that." Said the Older man.

Dita turned over to look at him. "Mr Tam are you sure you know how?"

Tam smiled at her. 'Trust me Dita, if there's one thing I do know its how to use a blade."

With that he picked up the large cutting knife the Red head had been about to use and positioned himself over the cutting board.

He held the blade over the peeled onions and made one slow precise cut. Then suddenly the knife in his hands seemed to blur. His hands moved over the peeled onions rapidly, first in lengthwise then side to side. He moved so fast the Dita could barely see the knife move. In what seemed like moments he was done and a pile of finely chopped onion was all that remained on the board.

Dita looked up at him tears from the onions filling her wide eyes. "Wow Mr Tam what else can you do?"

It was at that moment that unbeknownst to the others Paiway chose to take a photo of Tam and Dita. All of them, even the men were so used to the sound of the camera by now that they barely even noticed it. It was unfortunate that they did not consider what that photo may have looked at to someone else. Dita standing before Tam with tears in her eyes as Tam stood before her a large knife held upright in his hands.

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Meanwhile in one of the crew lounges a tension that had gradually been rising over weeks now simmered just below boiling point. All it needed was a final spark to send it over the edge. The spark was not long in coming.

"I can't take it anymore." Yelled Celtic as she stood before the others in the lounge. The green haired girl was still clad only in her underwear but he had her bear suit clutched before her.

"On so you finally decided to take that thing off." Said Jura. "You look better without it you know."

Celtic when on as if she hadn't spoken. "Are we just going to let the men roam around free now? With no one watching them? Just now I caught two men peeping into my room. Who's to say what else they'll do if we just let them wander around."

Celtic's comment triggered a stir among the assembled women.

"What!"

"You're kidding."

"No way!"

"I told you they couldn't be trusted!"

"This is what happens when we leave men free on the ship!"

Celtic held up the bear head of the costume as she spoke again.

"The only reason I wore this in the first place was to protect myself from contact with the men. I can't stand breathing the same air as the men anymore!"

At one time this may have been dismissed by the others. But after the tension of the last few weeks and after seeing what Tam was capable of at close hand Celtics words merely gave voice to a feeling that had been building among many of the women had been feeling for a long time.

"She's right, what have we been thinking sharing our ship with men."

"They're our enemies, we can't ever forget that!"

"All men our evil. Remember Rabat. He seemed nice at first but then his true colour s as a man."

"And what about that newcomer Tam? We let him go around unguarded we even let min carry weapons! But we've all seen what he's capable of!"

From her seat Meia looked around in alarm. She and the Boss had been hoping that the crew's fear of Tam's new abilities would die down in a time. But from the looks of things something had reignited the anti male sentiment on the ship and the crew's fear of Tam was only adding fuel to the fire. She had to act quickly to calm things down before they got out of hand.

Unfortunately she was too late.

"Hey everyone look at the picture I just took!" called out Paiway.

"I was just up in the Galley and one of the men made Dita cry!"

The assembled crew turned to look at the photo then they gasped in shock.

"What's the man doing with that knife?"

"It looks like he's threatening her!"

"But why would he do that?"

"Look at her why else would she be crying?"

"Everyone settle down!" Yelled out Meia.

The crew turned to stare at the Dread leader as she stood up.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this. Let's check the security camera in the galley. I'm sure it will show that Dita is alright."

Meia moved over to a computer console and tabbed a few controls. Moments latter a picture of the Galley sprang onto the viewscreen. The crew all crowded around to look, then they frowned in Puzzlement. Dita was standing with her back to a wall of the galley, in her hands she held a cutting board up beside her head. They had a moment to focus on it before a large cutting knife suddenly flew across the room and imbedded itself into the cutting board with a quiver.

Moments later the women could see Tam stride across the room and jerked the knife out of the cutting board in Dita's now trembling hands.

Meia was frozen. Too shocked by what she had seen to speak. But someone else was not. Reaching over Barnette turned off the viewscreen. Instantly every eye turned to her.

"This is what we get for trusting men!" she said. "Dita has been the friendliest of all of us towards the men and look how they repay her. By Terrorising her!

Are we going to stand for this?"

"NO!" Yelled back the assembled crewmembers

"I propose we take back our ship from the men. Who's with me?"

A roar of voices answered her.

Meia watched as Barnette started passing orders among the crew members. What was happening worried her deeply but she knew that there was nothing she could do. What was happening was like an avalanche. Once it has started there was no way to stop it until it had run its course.

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At that same moment the senior command crew were discussing how to deal with the rising tensions on the ship.

"It's become so messy huh?" Said Magno "I guess we can't leave it alone."

"Frankly I'm surprised things went so well for so long." Said Gascognue. "Just asking our girls to deal with Men would have been a big issue. To ask them to do it while under constant attack by these Harvesters is just too much. It was inevitable the tensions would start to rise."

"It's not a big problem." Said BC. "The mother planet is nearby. All we have to do is channel the crew's efforts towards getting back. That should take care of the tension."

"Hmm I'm not sure about that BC. Focusing on getting home may only make them worried about if the Harvesters have already struck there. If there is a home for us to go back to. No I think this problem is more urgent then we previously thought. We have to do something before one of the girls gets it in their heads to take action on their own and …" Suddenly Magno's words were interrupted as the sound of booted feet echoed in the hallways.

"What's that sound?"

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Meanwhile in the Galley Tam reached over and jerked the knife he had just thrown out of the cutting board held in Dita's now quivering hands.

He looked down at the girl concerned.

"Dita? Are you ok?"

The girl looked at him wide eyed and then broke into a brilliant smile.

"Wow Mr Tam that was amazing. Do it again. Do it again."

Tam smiled and shook his head.

"No Dita. I shouldn't have let you talk me into doing it the first time. Once is enough."

The redhead looked disappointed. "But why?"

"Because it's dangerous Dita. If I missed or made a mistake I could hurt you badly."

The redhead looked up at him her eyes full of trust.

"But you wouldn't make a mistake Mr Tam."

Tam barked a short laugh. "Even so I'd prefer not to take the risk. Besides don't you owe Hibiki a hamburger now?"

Dita's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh yes Dita forgot. Dita better hurry or Mr Alien will be cross."

Tam smiled as he watched the petite little redhead hurry into the kitchen and start work. He hadn't been keen on helping when Dita had come to the men's quarters earlier that morning. But if he had refused then Hibiki would have refused so he had agreed to help Dita with her 'project' for Paiway's embarkation day.

How he was glad that he had. Over the last few weeks he had not realised how much he had missed this. The simple interaction with other people among the crew. It did his heart good to see that no matter what had happened Dita still liked and trusted him. It gave him hope that eventually the rest of the crew would also come to trust him.

So it was with a smile on his face that Tam settled down into a chair beside Hibiki.

The younger man turned to look at him as he sat down.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"What throw knives?" asked Tam

Hibiki nodded.

"My Grandfather taught me. It was a reward for completing a lesson. He used to make me stand straight with my back to a wall and throw knives at me."

Hibiki looked at him incredulously. "Why did he do that?"

Tam smiled crookedly. "To teach me not to flinch. Once I stopped flinching when he threw the knives he taught me how to throw. By that time I no longer really cared about learning. I was just glad not to be used as target practise anymore. The old mans eyesight was starting to go towards the end. Some of those throws came a little too close for comfort."

Hibiki looked at him for a long moment. "That.. that's not going to be part of my training too is it?"

Tam looked over at him and laughed. "No little brother. I'm certain we can come up with some other way to teach you not to flinch. Although it's not so much of a problem for you as it was for me."

Hibiki looked relieved. Then the two men both turned around as Dita brought over two plates. Hibiki immediately tucked in.

"Hmm" he said between mouthfuls. "This hamburger is great!"

Tam smiled as he watched Hibiki attack his food with gusto. He felt better than he had in days. Not that he was sick or physically unwell. His body remained unnaturally healthy. No rather it was a something else from which he had been suffering, something that could best be described as a sickness of the soul.

Ever since he had recalled the fate of his homeworld. The fate of his people he had been overcome with a sense of guilt. Of shame. Guilt that he still lived while the majority of his people were now dead. Shame that he had not been there to prevent it, to take vengeance on their killers or at the very least to share their fate.

It was those feelings of shame and guilt that had driven him to isolate himself from the rest of the crew. It was those feelings that had caused him to revel in his fight with Rabat. To revel in the pain that he had allowed himself to receive in the hope that physical pain would however briefly, block out the pain he felt in his soul.

He had been falling. Trapped in a prison he himself had crafted of his own twisted feelings. Becoming the creature that he saw himself as. As something to be reviled and scorned. But no more. The old lady had seen to that.

Tam smiled, this time bittersweetly as he recalled his conversation with the captain.

The lady was wise, with the wisdom that only those who had lived a long and hard life could possess. She had seen what he had been doing to himself, as Meia had. But unlike Meia she had known just what to do about it.

Tam smiled again, this time ruefully. As he took in the sight of Hibiki, his mouth crammed full of food, and Dita who hovered over him his smile broadened. And as he took in the scene the weight in his soul lessened a little more.

Yes the old lady had been right. Whatever had happened to his people, it was in the past. He could not change it. But here and now, with the people aboard this ship he could ensure that history did not repeat itself. These people had taken him and he owed them his help. And, he owed it to himself to ensure that what had happened to his homeworld did not happen to the new home he was making here.

It would be difficult. The gulf he had created between himself and the rest of the crew was wide. It would take both time and effort on his part to breach it. But he was not alone, others still accepted him. The old Lady, Gascognue, Dita, Hibiki and Meia. Her most of all. He was confident that with those ones behind him he would eventually be able to bridge the gulf with the rest of the crew. It was not yet insurmountable.

And with this cheerful thought Tam turned his full attention to the meal that Dita had prepared for him. He had barely brought the first bite of it up to his mouth when he found out how wrong he was.

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A sudden 'swish' of sound indicated the opening of the galleys doors. This sound was so normal that no one paid it any mind. What was unusual was the tramp of heavily booted feet that followed it.

Dita, Hibiki and Tam looked up curious as to the strange sound. What they saw caused them all to start in surprise.

Standing just inside the door in a rough crescent was a phalanx of female crewmen. All were dressed in the bulky spacesuits favoured by the women of Majere. All of them were armed and without fail there weapons were pointed at the only two men in the room.

Before the three could react to the utterly unexpected sight a short spacesuited figure spoke out in a voice that was unmistakably Paiway's.

"Dita you aren't allowed to talk to the men anymore!"

"What! What are you saying?" asked the red head in surprise, while the men were too stunned to even respond.

"You find the company of a man more precious than that of a friend right? You Traitor!"

Now it was Dita's turn to stare in shock at the unexpected accusation.

Hibiki and Tam were still thinking about how to respond to this when a taller figure pushed its way to the front of the Phalanx of women. Unlike the others who carried standard issue Laser rifles this one was armed with an odd looking pistol. With a start Tam realised that it resembled an old style projectile weapon. The mystery was explained when he heard Barnette's voice speak out though her suits speakers.

"The crew have come to a decision. No more will we allow ourselves to be polluted and endangered by the presence of Men! It has been decided that you are too dangerous to be allowed to roam free on the ship!"

Tam frowned as he heard this. He knew that his actions on the water planet had caused some unease amongst the crew. And his actions towards the other crewmembers over the last few weeks had hardly helped things. But he was still surprised by the strength of the women's reaction. Composing his feature he tried to calm the situation.

"Barnette what's all this about. None of the men on the ship have endangered any of the women."

At this Barnette turned and pointed her pistol at him.

"Liar! Just minutes ago you threw a knife at Dita's head! Don't bother trying to deny it we all saw you. If you are willing to do that against Dita who knows what you would be willing to do against the rest of us. We are not going to take the risk, you have shown how dangerous you are! You are all going to be locked up for the safety of the crew."

Tam groaned softly and raised his hands to his head. Of everything that had happened on the ship while he had been here that had to have seen that. Now it all made sense. He could see how that action could be misinterpreted by those who were unaware of all the details surrounding it. These women had no way of knowing that he had just been preforming a trick for Dita's amusement.

Still the news was not all bad. It meant that the women were doing this based on a mistaken assumption. In time this could be corrected. Even if it meant they would be locked up for a time, it would only be a short inconvenience.

Unfortunately not everyone felt the same way.

"Stop talking crap! There's no way I'm going to be locked up in a cage again!"

Yelling Hibiki leapt to his feet and made as if to run straight through the blocking women and through the door.

"Hibiki No!" Yelled Tam as he desperately leapt after the younger man to try and stop him. Tam had had a lot of experience around soldiers. He had learnt how to read a persons mood by his body language alone. He could tell that the women were on edge. Nervous, probably of him. They had all seen what he was capable of and were doubtless ready to shoot at a moments notice rather than allow him to get close to them. If Hibiki tried to run through them there was a very good chance that they would shoot him.

Moving so fast he appeared to be boost assisted, Tam surged to his feet and raced after Hibiki. He caught up to the struggling youth and grabbed hold of him, lifting him against his chest to take his feet off the ground. Hibiki kicked and struggled, but Tam held him fast. It may have ended there if not for a number of unfortunate events.

It was unfortunate that Hibiki had elected to run through the women to try to escape. It was unfortunate that the path he had chosen lay almost directly through where Barnette was standing. It was unfortunate that Barnette had a taste for old fashioned pre colonisation projectile weapons rather than the lasers used by the rest of the crew. And it was very unfortunate that the particular automatic pistol that she was holding was long overdue for a regular maintenance and that its trigger mechanism had worn thin.

Just as Tam started to talk to Hibiki to try and calm him down the chatter of voices in the galley was suddenly pierced by a deafening 'BANG'. In the confines of the galley it echoed like the breaking of the world. The air was suddenly filled with the arid stench of gunpowder, and a thin trail of smoke could be seen coming from the barrel of the gun in Barnette's hand as the dying echoes of the gunshot were pierced by the ringing 'Ping' of a spent brass cartridge hitting the floor.

Hibiki suddenly felt Tam's grip loosen. As his feet met the floor he turned around to face the older man. But the angry words he had been about to speak suddenly fled when he looked at Tams face. Tam's eyes were wide, an expression of extreme puzzlement on his face. Above his eyes, on his forehead a small circle of red could be seen. As Hibiki watched the red grew, as blood began to trickle from the bullets entry whole and down Tam's face. Tam reached up to wipe away the blood. He stared down at the red mark on his hand as if uncomprehending. Then he turned to stare at Hibiki, his face still full of confusion and puzzlement. Before he collapsed on his back to the hard metal floor of the galley. As he lay there a curtain of red spread out from behind his fallen head, belying the nature of the wound that had seemed so small.

For a long moment no one moved. All stood transfixed in shock. Unable to believe the scene now before them. Then Hibiki acted.

"Tam? TAM!" He yelled as he fell to his knees beside the older mans body. Desperately shaking him. Trying to find some sign of life. But there was nothing. Tam's body was still. The warmth already beginning to leach out of it.

Behind Tam's body Dita stood transfixed. Softly she stared to ask the other crewwomen. "Why? Why?"

Now the women turned to stare at Barnette seeking instructions, direction. But Barnette also stood transfixed, the pistol shaking in her hand.

She did not like the men. She disliked Tam most of all. But if asked she could honestly have said that she never intended to harm any of them. And now one lay dead at her feet, the smoking gun in her hand.

The other crewwomen looked at one another confused. On one had any idea what to do. Hibiki gave them an answer.

"You Bitch! You killed him!" All thoughts of training of technique were forgotten as Hibiki threw himself at Barnette, determined to make her pay for the death of his friend.

He never even got close. While they might have been shocked the crewwomen were trained pirates. Their bodies knew what to do even if their brains did not. As soon as Hibiki started to move towards Barnette one stepped forward with her rifle reversed and buttstroked him in the gut. As Hibiki folded over clenching at his belly in pain, two more moved forward to grab his arms, forcing them behind his back and holding them there. When they were done they looked up at Barnette.

"What should we do with him now?"

Barnette finally recovered and turned to reply. "Take him down to the brig and lock him in with the others. We'll decide what to do with them later."

"What should we do with the body of the other one?" asked another crewwoman who was standing over Tam's corpse.

Barnette had already turned away. She did not want to think about what she had done. Best to get rid of any reminders of it.

"Toss it out the airlock. There's nothing else we can do." She said as she walked towards the door.

The two crewwomen with Hibiki followed here dragging the struggling man with them.

A little surprised by the coldness in Barnette's voice, the crewwoman who had asked what to do with Tam turned to stare at his body. Almost despite herself she felt sad and a little guilty. Despite the fact that he had been a man he had helped the crew, had fought on their behalf. And he had done some things that had made him appear extraordinary. More than just a mere man. But now it seemed that he was just a man after all. No harder to kill than any other. So with a kind of melancholy she turned to stare down at his face.

Then her eyes widened in shock.

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At the same time in engineering Parfait suddenly turned around in shock.

Power levels over the ship were suddenly dropping. It wasn't by enough to endanger the ship, the overall drop was only about 5. But that still represented a lot of power.

"What's wrong with the Plexis." She called out. "The power levels are dropping!"

"It's not the Plexis chief." Called another of the engineering crew. "Its power output is still stable, something's draining the power before it can get to the ship."

"WHAT?" called out Parfait in shock. The Plexis was tied directly into the ships systems, it sat at the core of the ship. There were no power relays to the Plexis that did not run through the ship. So how could something be draining the Plexis's power before it even got to the ship?

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It was the blood. The blood that covered the floor behind Tam's head. Where once it had slowly spread, a dark stain on the floor where he fell, now it was moving again. Moving back into him. Slowly at first then faster and faster like a building avalanche the blood retreated back towards Tam's body. The crewwoman stared in shock. Unable to move or even speak. Finally the blood was gone, all that remained was the perfect circle of red that stood out on Tam's brow where the bullet had entered. As she watched the flesh around it clenched and pulsed. Until finally a small dark grey shape ejected from the wound and rolled slowly down his face. She watched the wound heal behind it. Gone as if it had never been. Then the bullet hit the floor. It made barely more sound than a that of a dropped pin. But as if it had been a signal Tam's eyes flew open. The crewwoman had a moment to stare into flat vacant gaze that came from his hard brown eyes and then Tamorasp Naghanashar exploded into action.

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His knees drew up and then with a sudden heave of his entire body he sprang to his feet. Before the crewwomen could even begin to react he was upon them. His fists and legs flying in a series of short but brutal blows that sent the women flying across the room. Only then did he turn towards the door and let out his battle cry.

"SHANDRAKOR!"

In the corridor Barnette and the others paused. They heard the sounds of fists striking flesh and turned their heads curiously. Then they heard Tam's battle cry echo through the corridor and felt a sudden stab of fear. Even forewarned they reacted too late. They were only just beginning to respond when suddenly he was upon them. A brown shape moving so fast he was little more than a blur. He swept into the corridor and made straight for the guards holding Hibiki. The guards started to draw their weapons but by then he was upon them. He pivoted on one leg as he delivered a kick to one, a punch to the other. The hits sent them sprawling to the ground. Pausing only to pick up Hibiki and tuck him under his arm Tam continued on. Straight at Barnette.

The Dread pilot was raising her gun in one hand, in the other she was trying to draw a small knife in case Tam came in close. Neither helped her any. Tam didn't even pause. Instead as he passed her he simply reached out with his other hand and grabbed her face. With a firm shove powered by his own strength and the force of his momentum he sent her crashing to her back against the cold unyielding metal of the deck. Then he continued on his way moving down the corridors of the ship so fast it was hard for the eye to follow.

For a moment Barnette lay prone. Stunned by the blow that had sent her to the deck. Then slowly she reached for the communicator at her belt.

"Alert! Tam and Hibiki have escaped! All security teams be on alert. And whatever you do, don't let them get near the Hangar bays!"

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Meanwhile Hibiki was trying hard to come to terms with what had just happened. One minute the women had been leading him to the brig after having killed Tam right in front of him. Then next Tam had come pelting down the corridor, grabbed him and carried him off like he was a sack of beans.

Twisting his head around he turned to Tam to ask what the hell was going on. But when he saw the other mans eyes something stopped him. The eyes were, strange. Curiously vacant. Tam's eyes were always guarded. It was always difficult to know what he was thinking. But now there was an absence in them. As if something vital was missing. But the eyes also gleamed with purpose, as if all of what was left was utterly focused on a single task to the exclusion of all else.

Unwilling to question Tam in his current state Hibiki tried to work out where he was taking him. With a start he realised that the corridors that Tam was choosing all lay on the most direct path to the lower hangar where the Vanguards and the Plexis enhanced Dreads were stored. If Tam was intending to escape the ship that seemed like the best place to go. Their vanguards were the only kinds of ships either of the men knew how to fly. But the hangar was almost at the other end of the ship from where they were. There was almost no chance they would be able to get there without being...

"You there! Halt!" Cried out a female voice.

Hibiki looked up. Twenty meters away he could see a security team of five women blocking the corridor ahead. All wore spacesuits and held Laser rifles in their hands. Hibiki's head slumped in defeat. From this distance there was no way they could get to them before they were shot. Now they would either have to stop and surrender or turn around and try another way. However Tam did neither.

He charged.

Hibiki screamed in protest as Tam ran directly at the waiting women, all the while still holding him firmly under his arm. The women looked stunned for a second, as if unable to believe anyone would be foolish enough to charge a prepared position. They sighted down their rifles and prepared to fire.

Tam had barely made it a third of the way down the corridor when the women prepared to fire. But that was what he had been waiting for. In the instant before the group pressed the firing studs on their rifles Tam suddenly leap upward and sideways. As he jumped he also spun his body so that landed feet first against the left hand wall of the corridor. His feet only made contact with its surface for an instant. But that was all he needed.

In that instant he leapt again this time throwing himself at the ceiling of the corridor. He repeated the manoeuvre twice more, leaping from the ceiling directly over the heads of the security detail and then finally rebounding off the right hand wall of the corridor and using the momentum from that rebound to leap around the corner of the corridor out of sight of the security team.

To the women his movements were no more than a blur. Just before they fired they saw him leap to their right, causing all of their shots to miss and spend themselves harmlessly against the metal of the corridor. As they desperately shifted their aim all they saw was a brown, black and orange blur passover their heads. Some of the fastest of them even managed to turn around in time to see that blur ricochet down the corridor and round the corner out of sight. But none were fast enough to get off a shot in that time.

For a moment the five women just stood their blinking as their minds struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. Then slowly their leader reached for her communicator to reluctantly let Barnette know that the men had gotten away.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Barnette slammed her fist against a counter in frustration as the news from the squad leader reached her. All the other security teams had been sent to guard other areas or approach routes to the bays. There was no one else between the men and the lower hangar! And if they got to that hangar there was no telling how much damage they could do with their Vanguards.

Quickly she reached fro her communicator. "Celtic this is Barnette. The men are heading for the lower hangar. Seal it off immediately. We can't allow them to get to their Vanguards!"

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meanwhile Hibiki was struggling not to be sick. Tam's speed combined with his impromptu acrobatics was having a really bad effect on his stomach, particularly on the meal that he had wolfed down bare minutes ago. His stomach received another jolt when Tam suddenly slammed to a halt.

For a few minutes Hibiki was focussed on controlling his churning guts. Then he looked up and realised where they were. They were standing before the main entrance to the hangar. But the normally automatic doors were now shut fast against them. Hibiki watched as Tam slammed his fist repeatedly against the door open control to no effect. 'The women must have activated the emergency overrides to force shut the bay doors' he realised. 'Maybe I can override the command'. He turned to Tam to tell him his idea when suddenly a voice burst out from the speakers over the door control.

"Men, the hangar bay has been sealed. You have no chance to escape. Get down on the floor with your hands up or the first security team to reach you will shoot you on sight!"

But Tam had a different idea. Hibiki watched as he reached behind his back and pulled out the oddly bent knife that he always carried. His 'Kukri'. Tam usually left his other weapons and armour in his Vanguard. But the kukri never left his side. As he watched Hibiki saw the blade suddenly glow blue around the edges. The sign that its monofilament field had been activated.

Tam knelt down the Kukri gripped tightly in his right hand. Then he plunged the blade point first into the door, just where the bulkhead met the floor. The blade entered the metal like a hot knife entering butter, there was almost no resistance. Quickly Tam moved the blade upward and finally around and down, cutting a wide hole in the door. As soon as Tam had finished cutting he reached out and pushed at the door. Almost immediately the cut section fell outward to land with a thundering crash inside the bay. All in all the door had held them up for perhaps 30 seconds. Now they were in the Vanguard bay.

Without pausing Tam started running through the Bay. As they approached his partner Hibiki started to think of something to say to stop Tam. But before he could speak Tam's grip suddenly loosened and he found himself dumped to the floor in from of his partner. Hibiki started to complain at the rough treatment, then he looked up into Tam's eyes. They were cold, vacant. Like something essential had been removed from them. But their gaze was iron hard. In a quick abrupt motion Tam pointed at Hibiki's cream and gold Vanguard and then turned away and started to walk towards the Black and Silver machine he had claimed as his own.

Hibiki got the message.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Minutes later one of the Bridge crew detected two fast moving objects suddenly leave the Nirvana, moving in the opposite direction to its current course.

"Id's confirmed. It's the Vanguards, the men have escaped!"

From her place on the bridge BC sighed deeply. Everything had happened so fast. One minute the Captain, Gascognue and herself had been discussing how to deal with the rising tensions among the crew. The next they had emerged to find that those tensions had already reached boiling point and the crew under Barnette had taken matters into their own hands. Now they were in a potentially disastrous situation. Without the two men they their ability to defend themselves would be severely hampered. She could only hope that she could talk the two men back aboard.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Hibiki jerked in his cockpit as BC's face suddenly appeared on one of his screens.

"Tam, Hibiki, what are you doing. Please return to the Nirvana at once."

But Hibiki was having none of it.

"I'm not going back to the cellar again! Goodbye!" He shouted as he increased the power to his Vanguards thrusters. Behind him Tam's Vanguard did the same. Silently following as he had done since they left the hangar.

Back on the Nirvana's bridge Magno frowned and shook her head. Beside her BC continued to try to contact Tam, hoping to appeal to the older mans sense of duty. But the image of Tam on the view screen ignored her completely. Nevertheless she kept trying until both of the Vanguards passed out of communications range. While the Nirvana, unable to change course without its pilot at the helm, continued on its way.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

In the dread bay, Meia smacked her palm against a bulkhead as she watched Duero and Bart being escorted into a cell on a nearby monitor.

Last she had heard, Tam and Hibiki had been able to reach their Vanguards and escape the ship. But this was hardly good news. If they had been captured then there was at least the possibility that this whole mess could have been sorted out. As things were now it was becoming increasingly unlikely the two men would be able to rejoin the Nirvana.

"This is not the time for this." Said Meia to herself. "Just when we should be standing together we are tearing each other apart."

One action in particular hurt more than she cared to admit. Pressing a button she watched the two Vanguards until they disappeared out of range.

'Tam why did you run off like that?' She thought to herself as unfamiliar emotions assaulted her heart. Suddenly a voice pierced her thoughts.

"Leader!"

Meia turned to see Dita run into the bay. Her eyes widened in surprise. The redhead was breathing heavily, her eyes were wide in shock and she appeared to be trembling.

"Dita what's wrong? What happened?"

In a shuddering voice Dita told her. About the events that had taken place in the Galley, all of them.

As she listened Meia felt her own eyes widen in shock. And with fear. Suddenly the likelihood that they would see the two men again, already slim, now seemed non existent.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

A few hours later, now far away the two Vanguards could be seen flying through space. Hibiki's was in the lead. Tam's flying slightly behind.

In his cockpit Hibiki stared at the image of Tam's machine and frowned.

He had tried numerous times to contact Tam since their escape from the Nirvana. But he had received no reply at all from the other man.

That was worrying. Escaping through space with Tam as a companion was one thing. Escaping with this mindless zombie that Tam seemed to have become was quite another. Still confused Hibiki let his mind wander over the sudden turn of events that had lead to their desperate escape.

'What happened?' He though to himself. 'What made them so angry all of a sudden?"

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a low groan coming over the communications channel.

"Tam! Tam are you there? Tam its Hibiki can you hear me?"

He head another groan and then to his intense relief a familiar voice.

"Hibiki? What happened little brother? How did I get in my Vanguard? And why are we flying alone in space?" Tam's voice sounded groggy, like he was just waking up from a deep sleep, but at least he sounded aware.

"What's the last thing that you remember?" Asked Hibiki.

"We were in the Galley." Said Tam. "Then suddenly some of the women burst in with spacesuits and guns. Barnette had a gun pointed at me and then…" His voice suddenly trailed off. "She shot me." Said Tam finally his voice full of disbelief.

"Yes." Said Hibiki. "Do you remember what happened after that?"

"Yes but its weird, like a dream. I can remember what happened but it doesn't feel like I was the one doing it. Very surreal."

Then Hibiki asked the question he had been bursting to ask.

"But Tam how did you manage to do that. I mean she shot you in the head! How did you survive that?"

Tam sighed deeply. "I honestly don't know little brother. It must be another one of my abilities, but I've never had such a serious wound heal so quickly before. I guess…" Suddenly Tam's voice broke off. He felt something at the edge of his senses. A sensation akin to the hairs on his neck standing on end, but subtly different. Something was out there.

"Hibiki break right. Evade!" Yelled Tam as he suddenly plunged his Vanguard into a series of desperate twists and turns.

"What?" Hibiki yelled in surprise as he watched Tam's random manoeuvres. He was about to ask the other man what the hell he was doing when suddenly an alarm sounded through his vanguards systems. Instinctively Hibiki sent his Vanguard into a series of evasion manoeuvres, similar to Tam's. Just in time.

For the space around them was suddenly lit up by the deadly flashes of heavy laser beams. They were under attack.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Both Tam and Hibiki ducked and weaved. Moving their Vanguards in an intricate dance that they were both now long used to. But they were not used to avoiding this volume of fire. Tam, his senses still feeling supernaturally acute, managed to successfully keep his Vanguard out of the beams. Hibiki wasn't so lucky. As he desperately rolled his Vanguard trying to avoid the beams one of them caught him a glancing blow on the Vanguards right pauldron. Armour and machinery melted and fused under the force of the beam and Hibiki screamed in pain as he felt pain flash through his own arm.

But the pain also awakened his determination. Bringing his Vanguard to a halt Hibiki twisted it in space and then sent it charging ahead at full speed. Directly at the unknown attackers.

"Hibiki wait!" yelled Tam, but it was useless, so cursing under his breath Tam sent his own Vanguard in pursuit of Hibiki's reckless charge.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Close by, in a brightly lit control room a number of people worked feverishly at a series of computer terminals.

"Hurry up with the identification!" called out a voice.

"Captain these units are not in the database. We have no record of them being encountered before."

Suddenly a female voice cried out. "Captain, I'm picking up individual human life signs from each of the contacts!"

"What?" Responded the first voice.

……………………………………………………………………………………

Meanwhile Hibiki continued his headlong charge. Ducking and weaving between the beams as he closed in on the attackers.

Behind him Tam desperately tried to keep up and dodge the incoming fire at the same time.

As they got closer, they could finally make out the shape of their attackers.

A number of sleek ships filled the voice before them. Like a pod of whales in space. Amongst the swarm of larger capital ships could be made out the smaller shapes of gunboats and fighters.

Tam tried to assess the ships as they got closer. There were at least a dozen f the bigger ships and who knew how many fighters out there. Given what little they had seen of their capabilities so far there was no way that he and Hibiki could take on all of them alone.

Hibiki however appeared to feel differently.

"Come on! Come on. Put the up!" he yelled.

Before Tam could berate him another face appeared on their view screen's. That of an unfamiliar man in a strange cockpit.

"Who are you?" asked the newcomer. "Why are you trespassing in this area?"

"We're travellers." Interjected Tam quickly before Hibiki could speak.

"We were unaware that this area of space was claimed by someone. IF we are trespassing we apologise."

The figure frowned. "Travellers? Where are you from?"

Tam was trying to form a diplomatic reply when Hibiki burst out. "We're from Taraaku. Got a problem with that?"

"Taraaku?" said the figure in surprise.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meanwhile on the Nirvana. Things were slowly reverting to a more normal state. Most of the crew had returned back to their regular duty stations with the exception of the men who were still locked up.

Magno was busy sorting through the mess of events that had led to the almost mutiny. She was just getting Dita's version of the events that had taken place in the galley.

The old lady leaned back with a deep sigh as she heard the last of it.

"Aahhh so that's what happened. Well we definitely have a problem."

"Boss!" called Dita over the view screen imploringly in her childish hope that the captain would be able to make everything right.

Suddenly Meia interjected. "Boss if you authorise it shall I mount a search to go and find them?"

Magno and BC looked at each other in surprise. There would have been a time when Meia would have been the last one they expected to show concern some missing men. Even if they were part of the crew.

Magno waited a minute before responding.

"Prep your dread team for a long range search. Be ready to head out on my order."

Meia nodded in reply and cut the comm..

"Are you sure that's wise Boss?" asked BC. "Tensions are still pretty high. Until we get everyone calmed down I don't think anyone's going to react well to the news that we're sending people out to search for the missing men."

"I know." Replied Magno. "But it will keep her busy for a while. And regardless of what the crew thinks we need the men back. We are going to be too vulnerable without them."

BC nodded then stood thinking for a moment. Finally she spoke.

"What about what Dita said, about what happened to Tam? If she's right about what he did.."

Magno raised a hand stopping her from speaking further

"We don't know what happened there for certain. There was plenty of confusion at the time. It may have been that people mistook what they saw or saw things that didn't really happen."

"And if what they saw really did happen?" Asked BC

"We'll deal with that later." But deep down she found the news disturbing as BC had.

'Tamorasp Naghanashar' she thought. 'What are you?'

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Meanwhile Tam and Hibiki were being escorted to the Bridge of the flagship of the fleet they had encountered.

Tam had been a little suspicious when the commander of the fleet said that he wanted to speak to them in person. Part of him thought it was just a ploy to capture them and their ships intact. But the commander had offered to help repair HIbiki's Vanguard and give them some supplies, which they desperately needed.

HE had also permitted them to come armed which clinched the deal for Tam.

So it was they stood on the elevator platform that had raised them to the bridge. Flanked by two security officers in brightly coloured baggy flight suits. Hibiki as always wearing his orange and black workers gear. And Tam dressed in his black body armour. Sword at his back and disrupter at his side.

As they arrived at the bridge Hibiki looked around curiously. The bridge was like a vast dome. Through it they could see out into the space around them, easily noting the other ships in the fleet close by.

It was dotted with computer terminals comprised of two side by side workstations occupied by two people. Something appeared odd about the arrangement but he couldn't put his finger on it. Then it struck him.

Every workstation was occupied by a man and a woman. In each case a man and a woman were working side by side. The unfamiliar sight struck him speechless.

Suddenly he noticed that his gaze was being returned by the people all over the bridge.

"What?" He asked. "Why are you all looked at us like that?" He called defensively

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Tam standing beside him.

"Settle down little brother. I'm sure that they are just curious about us. As we are about them." He said turning to face an older man who occupied a single workstation at the centre of the bridge."

The older man smiled at them.

"Please excuse us for the rough treatment you received at our hands. But with the Harvesters approaching we have been very nervous of any ships entering our area of space."

Tam cocked his head at the man. The same fleet commander they had spoked to earlier

"You know of the Harvesters?"

"Yes, we have heard of them from survivors from other worlds that managed to reach us. We decided not to wait for them to come and take us so we have built these ships to act as a defensive line. We will fight to the last to protect out people."

Tam was quietly impressed. These people were far different from the sheep like folk they had met on Anpatos. These people looked ready to make a fight of it. Although he noted from their appearance and that of their ships, they were obviously fairly inexperienced at war.

Suddenly Hibiki spoke out. "Defensive line? But being passive is a mistake! You should attack them before they can attack you!" Hibiki fell silent as Tam's hand dropped to his shoulder again.

"Yes little brother, but being on the defensive has certain advantages. You know the area and can use that to your advantage. Besides you can only take the fight to an enemy when you know where he is and space is a big place."

Hibiki looked at Tam grumpily but subsided. Meanwhile the commander gave Tam a calculating look.

"It sounds like you have some experience with fighting?" he said.

Tam shrugged. "I served in my worlds military. We're only here because an accident left us stranded in deep space. We're both a long way from home."

"I see." Said the commander. "Our world had no military before the harvester threat became known to us. We have largely been making this up as we go along. I was wondering would you.."

"Id be happy to share any information we have on the Harvesters weapons and tactics with you. If you are willing I might also be able to provide some advice on how you can mount the most effective defence."

"Excellent, it seems that we have much to discuss then."

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Some time later Hibiki stood before his partner in one of the ships hangar bays. Tam was still meeting with the commander and the other captains of the fleet. They had been talking for hours and eventually Hibiki had gotten bored and said that he was going to go and check on his partner.

He stared at the scored and breached armour on its left arm and lifted his own hand to feel the small cut that mirrored it on his own arm. Was the injury just a coincidence? Or was it something more.

A sudden voice behind him made him turn.

"You first." Said a female voice behind him

Hibiki turned to see a young woman in a light purple jump suit coming towards him with some kind of spray can in her hand.

"Show me your arm." She said and then without waiting for him to comply, moved closer and took a hold of his injured arm.

"Hey what are you doing." Called out Hibiki in surprise. In his experience it was almost known for a woman to willingly touch a man, other than to inflict harm. Even his time among the pirates had done little to lessen this.

But the woman just took it all in her stride. "It's ok." She said. "Just leave it to me, ok?" She smiled reassuringly as she spoke. Then she started to spray his wound with the can in her hand.

Hibiki stared at her. Unsure what to make of her actions. Then he winced as he felt biting cold where the spray had touched his arm. But then after a few moments the bite of the cold subsided and the pain from the wound was gone.

"I'm Seran by the way." Said the woman. "I'm the ships mechanic. What's your name?"

"H .. Hibiki." He said after a while.

For several more minutes he just watched as Seran worked on bandaging his arm. Hibiki didn't know what to make of the caring and open way that the mechanic had acted with him. Never in his life had he experienced any thing like it. Certainly not on the pirates ship. Not even on Taraaku. He found her presence calming, peaceful in a way he had never known before.

"There that should do it." Seran said as she made the final knot in the bandage on his arm. "Hmm aren't you going to say thank you?" she asked as she smiled at him.

Hibiki looked at her in surprise then reddened in embarrassment. After a moment he managed to stutter out a quick. "Thanks."

But Seran showed no signs of being offended. She just laughed and said. "You're welcome."

Suddenly another voice interrupted them.

"Pilot is the wound on your arm ok?" Hibiki turned to see the face of the man that had originally hailed them. Although now he was standing right before him.

"Leader" called Seran in greeting.

"It's nothing serious." Replied Hibiki "Just this."

The other pilot smiled. "I'm sorry about what we did. We'll also repair that damage to your mecha immediately."

"I'll help out too." Said Hibiki. "No one knows my Partner like I do."

The pilot smiled and nodded.

"Well before that then." Said Seran as she picked up two drink bulbs "Lets take a break. Here drink this it's a speciality of mine"

She handed one of the bulbs to Hibiki and then moved to stand next to the pilot.

Hibiki looked at the drink bulb then stared at the male pilot confused.

"Go ahead and drink." He said. "Although I can't guarantee the taste will be to your liking."

"Hey!" said Seran indignantly. "Here you need to drink too!" And so saying she reached out and took hold of one of the pilot's hands, placing the drink bulb firmly within it.

Hibiki stared at the two in surprise. Never before had he seen such easy familiarity between a man and a woman. A strange through began to form in his mind.

"Hey are you guys, are you always together? Men and women I mean."

The other two looked at him in surprise.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asked the pilot "We're brother and sister, we've been together since birth."

That response raised more questions than it answered. Hibiki absently took a sip of the drink as he tried to think things through. It provoked a reaction that derailed his train of though completely.

"Ack" He spluttered and than spat out a mouthful of the drink he had been taking in surprise. "What is this?" he asked looking down at the drink he held.

"It's a mix of vitamin B and C. It's good for your skin." Said Seran.

"For the skin?" said Hibiki in surprise.

"Yeah." Responded the pilot. "On Melanos it has always been our custom to take very good care of our skin. It was only recently we learned that that was what the Harvesters were after. They're coming to collect our skins."

Hibiki was about to ask about this further when suddenly an alarm started blaring throughout the ship. He looked up in surprise. Seran and the pilot also looked up in shock.

"They're finally here." Said the pilot.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge Tam had spent the last few hours in conference with the fleet commander and the other captains of the Melanos fleet. He had gone over all the information he had about the Harvesters with them. Their weaponry and tactics. They had been familiar with most of the Harvester machines that he had described. But they had lacked very little data about their tactics or how best to counter them.

Tam had tried them in as best he could, trying to apply information from his own experiences to capabilities that they described their own ships as possessing.

But even as he did so he felt a twinge of despair. Although these people had made a great effort to build and man this fleet. Although they stood here now willing to give their lives to defend their home. Part of him knew that it would not be enough.

To put it simply they were too new at this. They had little or no experience with war. Particularly against an enemy as ruthless and adaptive as the harvesters.

Some of the designs for their ships and weapons weren't bad. But they lacked the knowledge at how to build machines that would be able to stand up the crucible of battle. The bridge he was standing on was a classic example. It offered the crew a great view of the space outside the ship. But it also made an incredibly tempting target. A strike against the bridge was likely to cripple the ship and he didn't want to think about how quickly this fleet would go down once the harvesters realised that weakness and focussed on it.

Tam sighed deeply as he rubbed his eyes. He had been jotting down ideas into a data pad he had borrowed. The good news was that much of the combat capability of the ships in the fleet could be vastly improved with just a few major modifications. The bad news was that he did not think that there would be time to implement those modifications. As if responding to his thought a sudden alarm sounded out over the bridge.

"Captain we're reading a massive object moving towards Melanos. It's the Harvesters They're here!"

"All ships to Battle stations!" Yelled out the fleet commander.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

In space a massive object slowly made its way towards the waiting Melanos fleet. It was vaguely cylindrical, shaped like a sea urchin, but running lights ran down its length and it throbbed with power.

Suddenly from its sides dozens of smaller shapes started to detach themselves and move forwards ahead of the main vessel. As they got closer they could be identified as Harvester seed ships. Hundreds of them.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

In the Hangar bay Hibiki stared in shock at the image of the massive ship from where he had hacked into the bridge terminal.

"What.. What is that?" he asked in shock. "That's the first time I've seen something that big."

Seran looked over his shoulder. Her gaze now fixed and determined.

"We're only heard about them but it looks like the description of one of the Harvesters main capital ships. They're supposed to be very tough."

"You guys intend to fight that thing?" he asked.

"If we don't fight we'll only be harvested." Replied Seran. "Until that happens we'll never give up trying to survive.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge of the flagship the fleet commander gave the order to engage.

"Fire cannons." He yelled.

Instantly the ships of the fleet opened up with their main batteries. Massive beams of incandescent light crossed the void to impact against the oncoming seed ships.

At the same time fighters from the Melanos fleet moved forwards around the corridors of fire laid down by their mother ships to engage the incoming cube fighters.

Individual fighters dived at waves of on coming cubes. Letting fly with cannons and missiles. Many cube fighters were taken out by their attacks, but as they passed through the cube formations many of the Melanos fighters were also destroyed by the swarming mass of cubes.

On the bridge of the flagship Tam cursed as he saw the losses the fighter waves were suffering.

"They're getting to close!" he said out loud.

The fleet commander looked at him questioningly.

"They're getting to close to the cube formations when they attack. The harvester cube fighters are built primarily for close range attacks. Tell your people to keep in formations and break off their runs before they pass through the cube formations."

The commander frowned but then nodded and began to pass orders to the fighter squadrons. Tam turned back to the tactical plot. As he watched he saw the fighters break away and start to obey the new orders. Their kill ratios started to improve, but for many it was already too late.

Elsewhere one of the fleet's destroyers suddenly bucked then exploded as it was overwhelmed by a swarm of cube fighters. As he watched the plot Tam saw another group of cube fighters make a run at another destroyer. Its guns took out several of the attackers. But not enough. Suddenly the Cubes halted just before the hull of the destroyer. Tam watched smaller blips detach themselves from the cubes and impact against the hull of the ship.

'Missiles?' he thought 'or'.

"Commander we're getting reports from some of the ships in the fleet. Harvester machines have some how gotten aboard the ships. They're attacking the crew members!"

'Damn' thought Tam. 'Breaching pods!'

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Aboard several of the ships in the fleet explosions suddenly ripped through corridors adjacent to the hull as the breaching pods impacted. When the smoke from the explosions cleared it was often to reveal a farm more terrifying sight. Phalanxes of Harvester machines marching into the ship. Desperately crew members tried to hold them back with whatever weapons they had at hand. But it was useless. The machines were armoured against all but the heaviest weapons and they marched forward without pause. Any defender, who was unable to get out of their way, was added to the Harvest.

………………………………………………………………………………………

On the bridge of the flagship the reports of the bridge crew grew increasingly alarmed.

"Enemy to starboard. Concentrate fire!"

"Armour is breaking!"

"Enemy breaching pod detected! It's heading for the bridge!"

This caused even the fleet commander to look around in shock. Moments latter a wall at the back of the bridge blew inwards. From the smoke and the dust a troop of blood red Harvester machines marched forward.

Some of those on the bridge gaped in shock. Others reached for weapons with shaking hands or trembled in fear. But one charged forward yelling his battle cry.

"SHANDRAKOR." Tam met the harvester machines head on, swinging he great sword in two hands. The boost thundered through his system and armour that had stood up to bullets and low level energy fire was sliced and shattered under the force of that blade and the fury of the man who wielded it.

Minutes latter it was all over and the bridge crew stared in shock of a very different kind as they watched Tam sheath his sword in the baldric across his back as he stood in a pile of shattered harvester machine parts.

Turning Tam walked over to the captain and held something out to him. The man flinched before he realised that it was only the data pad Tam had borrowed earlier.

"Here" he said. "I've put down everything I could think of that might help improve your chances against the Harvesters. Most of it can't be done now. But if we survive this battle we might get a chance. Speaking of which, you have to tighten up this formation. Your ships are too spread out. They're so far apart they can't support each other effectively. That's why the cubes are getting through your defences so easily."

Intimidated as he was the fleet commander was by no means a weak man. He found his voice and protested.

"But if we tighten our formations we'll limit our offensive firepower. Too many of our ships will be in each others way!"

"Yes." Replied Tam. "But they will also survive longer and might have the opportunity to knock out more of those seed ships before they get taken down. In any case it's your decision commander. I've done all I can here. Time for me to get to my Vanguard and take this fight to the enemy."

So saying Tam strode over to the elevator and pressed the button for the hangar bay.

"Luck be with you warrior." Said the commander as Tam disappeared out of sight. Tam saluted, fist to chest in reply.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Meanwhile in the hangar bay, Seran and Hibiki were desperately trying to fix the damage to Hibiki's Vanguard so that he could join the battle.

Finally Hibiki closed the panel he was working on.

"This sides finished." He said "I'm heading out!"

"Wait." Called Seran. "I just have a little more to finish here."

"I will definitely get this done in time." Said Seran apparently to herself, here eyes full of determination.

Hibiki could only stare at her in admiration. "There done!" she suddenly called out.

"Thanks for waiting, you're ready for launch." She said as she gave him a thumbs up.

"Give it your best!"

"Leave it to me!" said Hibiki as he scrambled to get inside the cockpit. That action saved his life. No sooner had he entered the sheltered confines of the cockpit then there was a massive explosion in the hangar bay. Shrapnel flew across the bay and a thick cloud of smoke filled it.

For a moment Hibiki could only stare in shock, then he started to call out his voice near panic.

"Seran? SERAN!"

He yelled as he searched the bay for her. Willing her to still be alive. She was bit only barely.

He finally found her battered body amidst a clutch of broken machinery. He knelt by her hoping that she was ok. But he already knew that she was not. Her body was blackened and burned. Some of her limbs were at odd angles and worst of all several large pieces of metal were protruding from her torso.

Nevertheless he knelt over her, willing her to wake up. "Hey hang on." He yelled as he tried to check for a pulse. And surprisingly when she felt his touch she turned to face him. But when she did so her eyes were glazed.

"Every..Everyone." She said in a voice that was little more than a whisper.

"I wonder if everyone's ok." Then she shuddered and her eyes closed for the last time.

Hibiki stared down at her body. Disbelief etched on his face.

"You.. You're joking right? It's a joke right" He all but pleaded with the body. But the body that had once been Seran made no response

That was how Tam found him as he ran through the hangar bay calling his name. Sitting hunched over the body of a woman who had in such a short space of time become a friend. Unshed tears in his eyes.

"Hibiki." Yelled Tam as he grabbed his shoulder. "Little brother com on we have to go."

"She died." Said Hibiki numbly. "Just like that, so easily she died. After I had only just met her."

Tam looked down in despair. This was likely the first death that the lad had seen and he had no time to deal with it the way he would have liked to. They needed to get out there or they were all dead. But it already sounded like Hibiki was falling into shock. So the only thing to do was to shock him back out of it.

Tam suddenly grabbed Hibiki by the shoulders and jerked him to his feet before him. His body was as limp as a rag dolls. It was only Tam's grip that kept him upright. Tam leaned in close to stare into his face.

"Hibiki listen to me. She's gone, there is nothing you can do about that now. All we can do is try and make sure that her death had some meaning. She volunteered to be here because she wanted to protect her world from the harvesters. We cant bring her back but we can help make sure that that happens. We can help protect her world and we can make them pay for what they did to her."

For several long moments Hibiki made no response. As if Tam's words had not reached him. Then he let out a harsh broken whisper.

"Make them pay… for what they did. Yess"

Suddenly he jerked out of Tam's hands and set off for his Vanguard at a run. He moved so fast that even with his longer legs Tam had to struggle to keep up.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

In space the battle was becoming more and more desperate. Despite their new tactics the Melanos fighter groups were still being whittled down by the Harvester cube fighters. And there was a lot more of the cube fighters.

Despite their new formation the capital ships were also taking a beating. They were now in close formation each ship having others above it or at its sides. This let them provide far more supporting fire to each of the other ships in the formation. But they needed it. The cube fighters were now making their attack runs in waves and despite the increase in their defensive capabilities. The cubes were still getting through.

On the bridge crewmembers cried out in alarm as another explosion rocked the flagship.

"Don't Falter." Called out the voice of the commander. Still strong without a trace of fear or doubt. "Show them our will"

And so they did. Despite the damage they had suffered. Despite the increasing attacks that came against them not one of the ships in the fleet turned away. They held their course and continued firing at their enemies.

Suddenly two stops of light shot away from the command ship and headed for the middle of the battle. S they got closer the shape of two Vanguards could be made out. One Black and one Gold.

………………………………………………………………………………………

In his Vanguard Hibiki continued to repeat a sentence like a mantra.

"That simple. That simple."

Then as he approached the swarming cube fighters his mantra turned into a battle cry.

"That Simple to DIE!" he cried out in a voice of mixed pain and anguish. As he did so he engaged his Vanguards weapons unsheathing one of its two swords and then turning and slashing at the nearest cube fighter. Cutting it in two. But he did not stop there. He kept going, plunging himself into the mist of the cubes. Hacking and slashing with his blades. And they fell before him, like wheat before a scythe. And as he fought he continued to yell in what was half a battle cry and half a scream of pain.

In his own Vanguard Tam winced as he saw Hibiki move. He recognised what had happened to the younger man. He was berserk. His grief and his rage had pushed him over the edge. There was nothing for it now, but to let him ride out the grief and try to keep him alive while he did so. So drawing his Vanguards blade Tam plunged into the fray to help his little brother.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

They moved together in a deadly dance. Hibiki all rage and fury, charging straight at the thickest concentrations of the enemy. Tam icy concentration and skill, followed at his side and tried to protect him from any threats he could not see. And together they were unstoppable. Cube after cube fell under their relentless onslaught. So much so that many of the cubes were forced to break off their assault on the Melanos fleet and focus their attention on the new threat. But this just gave Hibiki more targets on which to vent his rage.

On the bridge of the command ship the commander noticed a sudden lessening in the enemies attack. He looked at the tac plot and saw the carnage the two Vanguards were wreaking in the centre of the enemy attack. Which gave them an opening.

"Those two." He said. "Quickly everyone follow the two newcomers. Punch a hole in their fleet so we can strike at the capital ship."

Around the fleet captains moved to obey. The remaining ships, little over half what there had once been closed their formation and pushed forward. Fight at the heart of the harvester force.

But this was a mistake.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

As the Melanos fleet drew closer the Harvester ship suddenly pulsed with power. Incandescent light shone against its hull for a brief moment and then burst forth.

In his vanguard Tam felt the sudden build up of power. It touched a thread in his mind. It was familiar and yet it was not for a moment he felt something tingle in the back of his mind as a memory long buried stirred. But then his instincts reasserted themselves and he threw his vanguard into a desperate roll. Just in time to narrowly avoid a massive blast of energy that flew from the Harvester ship to crash against on of the ships of the Melanos fleet.

For a moment the ship was bathed in white light. Like a halo. But them the moment passed and when it did the ship was simply gone. Nothing of it remained. It had been completely destroyed.

Hibiki turned to stare in shock at the sudden destruction behind him. His eyes were locked on the fiery explosion of what he knew moments before had been another ship. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice the Cube fighter coming straight at him.

"Look Out!" Yelled Tam as he rushed to intercept the oncoming fighter. Spearing it neatly threw the centre with his Vanguards sword he tossed hit away over his shoulder. Causing it to explode some distance away.

"Little brother are you alright?" called Tam his voice worried.

"All those people. All that death." Said Hibiki. "Just like with Seran. It can't happen any more. I Won't let It Happen Any more! YAAAAAHHHH"

And with a massive cry he hurled himself directly at the oncoming Harvester ship. Directly into the Path of its guns.

"Hibiki NOOO!" Yelled Tam as the cream and Gold Vanguard made its suicidal run. And then cursing Tam sent his black and silver straight after it.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

The bridge of the flagship was a sea of chaos. Fires and smoke from damaged circuits made it hard to breath.

The commander coughed as he tried to drawn air into his lungs.

"What's our status?"

"We're down to nine ships and all of them are damaged. There's no way we can survive even a couple of more hits like that last one!"

Briefly the commander wondered why no one had ever told hi, about the Harvester ships main weapon. A moment later the obvious answer came to him. Because no one had ever survived it.

"What about those two newcomers where are they?" he asked.

"At the moment they're.. they're heading straight for the Harvester capital ship!"

"What!" Yelled the commander as he turned to stare at the oncoming ship in shock.

………………………………………………………………………………………

In space Tam's Vanguard was slowly catching up to Hibiki's. It shouldn't have been possible. Tam's was just a stock standard Taraaku Vanguard. It had never been upgraded by the Plexis like Hibiki's had. But nevertheless Tam willed his machine to go faster. And somehow it responded.

But even as he caught up with Hibiki he felt it would be too late. Deep, deep in the back of his mind. Behind the back brain, behind his subconscious. He could feel the Harvester ship gathering power for another blast. Even as he reached Hibiki, even as he grabbed his vanguard with the arms of his own he felt the Harvester ship fire. Felt the oncoming energy wave that was headed straight at them and knew that it would destroy them utterly.

In the least seconds before it struck Tam twisted in space. Putting his vanguard between Hibiki's and the blast even though he knew it would do no good.

Then he felt the blast hit. In milliseconds he felt the barest wave, the front of its storm strike his Vanguard. He felt metal and machinery melt and buckle under the force of the blast. Felt the pain of it as it were affecting his own flesh and blood. And in that moment driven by desperation, by desire, by duty and fuelled by pain and passion he plunged at that hidden area that deep dark area in his mind. And dived in deeper than he ever had before.

Down and down he plunged. Beyond barriers he had never dared to test, rivers he had never dared to cross. He sensed much down their. Memories and knowledge. Clues to his past that he desperately wanted to know, but he had no time for that now. Down and down he plunged until he found it. A deep reservoir of power. Like a silent ocean in the back of his mind. He knew that it was his, knew that there was very little that he could not do with it. But his time was short and so he acted on instinct, gathered up as much of that power as he could and channelled it.

In the moments before the beam from the Harvester ship struck the two vanguards. In the nanoseconds between when the front of its wave was already striking the two machines and when the main wave struck. Something happened.

A portal was opened and a wall was breached. A like was made between the materially universe and something far different. And from that doorway emerged a tidal wave of power.

It burst forth, untameable and unstoppable. It Collided with the beam from the harvester ship and ate it whole. Adding its power and its fury to into own. Then it followed the beam back to its source. The surge of power struck the harvester ship with the force of a directed supernova. Armour and hull plates vaporised instantly under the force of the beam. It continued down the length of the ship. Such was its force that the shockwave did not even have time to shake the ship apart before its parts were vaporised. Even when the ships destruction was complete the wave's fury was not spent. It travelled onwards for light years through the gulf of space until finally its fury exhausted itself deep in the cold blackness between the stars.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

On the bridge of the Melanos flagship the crew could only stare in shock. One minute the Harvester ship had been bearing down on them and they had been preparing them selves to die under the fury of its main gun. Seconds later in a flash of light beyond anything they had seen before. The harvester ship and most of the seed ships were simply gone.

The fleet commander was the first to come to his senses. "Tactical, is there any sign of our two new friends?"

"No sir I can pick up no trace of them?" Said the crewman after a moment.

"Sir," asked a crew woman hesitantly. "What do we do now?"

"Contact all ships and remaining fighters. There are still cubes and seed ships out there. This fight isn't over until we take them all out. Now get to it."

Relieved for the orders the crew rushed to obey. In a very short space of time the remaining harvester ships were destroyed. They had appeared remarkably clumsy. Lacking the coordination they usually possessed. Perhaps the loss of their flagship had destabilised them.

Meanwhile the fleet commander sat and brooded. Although he wasn't sure how he was certain that that strange man, Tam had had something to do with the destruction of the Harvester ship. In a way the whole idea was preposterous. But if someone had told him he had seen someone take down a score of harvester machines with only a sword he would have called that preposterous. But he had seen it with his own eyes.

The commander sighed deeply. Melanos was safe for the moment now. But it was not due to his people. No it was due to two strangers that they had only just met. Who had apparently given their lives for a planet they had never even seen.

Reaching over the commander picked up the data pad that Tam had left behind. He would take this back to Melanos. He would ensure that the fleet was rebuilt using the knowledge that man had given them. And he would also ensure that this story however fantastic it was became known. Because Melanos had a debt to pay now. And if it could not pay it to the man it could at least pay it to his people.

Briefly the commander wondered if somehow Tam had survived the blast, then he dismissed the notion. No nothing human could have survived that.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

But Tam was no longer merely human. At the same time that he unleashed the blast that destroyed the Harvester ship he had reached out again. He had been weak then, at the end of his strength. Almost all his power and his concentration were focused on directing the force he had summoned. But the one he wished to contact was not far away so very little effort was required.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

In the engineering room of the Nirvana for the second time that day Parfait looked up in shock. Once again the energy from the Plexis was fluctuating. But this time it was doing more than merely fluctuating. All power to the rest of the ship was abruptly cut off.

"Parfait what's going on? Powers down all over the ship!"

"I know. It's the Plexis it's diverting all of its power."

"It's what! What's it doing with it?"

"I don't know it looks like its." The words suddenly died in her throat. "Oh great Grandma."

"What! What is it doing?"

"It's pulsing, like when it dropped us here or when Tam appeared on board."

………………………………………………………………………………………

Seconds later the pulses of the Plexis reached a crescendo and the gathered power was released in a massive discharge.

Moments latter the bridge crew would detect an object appear so close as to literally be on top of the Nirvana.

The shape of two battered Vanguards, Locked together. One so burned and battered as to be hardly recognisable.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

End of Chapter

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Well that was a long time in coming.

I wish to apologise to everyone who was waiting for this chapter. You have had to wait a long time. Much longer than I would have liked.

The problem was that whenever I found the time to sit down and write I just found that for whatever reason it wasn't working. I didn't feel what I was writing was up to the standard I wanted for this chapter. So I kept waiting until I felt more inspired.

I hope you feel it was worth the wait.

To answer a question from mannyaf1. How old is Tam? Lets just say that he is far older than he looks. The Empires Civil was only the first war he fought in.

As for him moving up in ranks. Progression in the navy was very slow prior to the war. After the Khrishnaar campaign, well let's just say that his official rank no longer really meant much. But that is something that will be revealed later on.

I apologise for the cliffhanger. Bear in mind I intended to leave on an even worse one but thought that would be better kept for the next chapter.

Expect the next chapter sooner than it took me to write this one. That I feel I can fairly safely promise.