Disclaimer: You know already.

Vandread: The Unknown Soldier

Chapter Ten: Decision

Location: Conference Room

"I knew it!" Aidan spat as he threw the needler onto the conference table. "She was from Solaris, I've used this type of weapon before. It fires several needle-like flechettes shaved from an advanced polymer block."

"So what does this mean? asked a grim-faced Magno Vivan.

"It means that the Solaris rebels know exactly where we are," Aidan replied. "After their bitch of an assassin doesn't report in, they'll probably come after us with most of their damn fleet."

"So what? I'm ready to take them on! They should be a hell of a lot easier than the Earth forces we've faced," Hibiki blurted out.

"Do you think they are that easy? They are not some automated fleet like the Earthers, they have some incredibly powerful ships as well as several squadrons of elite fighter pilots. It won't be anywhere near a cakewalk," Aidan shot back, glaring at Hibiki.

"So wha-"

"We need to come up with a plan," Meia said, interrupting Hibiki's reply.

"I agree," Aidan said, glancing over at Meia. "I have some knowledge on how they fight as well as their tactical and strategic abilities."

"So what you are saying that we are in danger of being attacked?" Magno asked.

"Isn't that already obvious? They sent an assassin, which means they know where we are. It's won't be too hard for them to just drop in on us," Aidan replied.

"It's all your fault!" Barnette accused Aidan. "We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you. Several people I knew died today because you and that woman had to be on this ship. You wouldn't know what it was like to lose several of your friends"

Pushed almost to the edge by his fight with the assassin and the fact that he didn't get to kill her. He managed to restrain his anger, until Barnette caused it to snap. He approached her in a few quick steps, and drew back his right fist and punched the wall next to her. The suddenness of the outburst startled her, causing her to jump, and even startled Jura, who was next to Barnette.

"Don't even begin to think that I don't know what losing friends feels like!" he yelled at her. "And that fucking bitch you killed earlier today took someone very important to me. I wanted nothing more than to kill her for taking Sakura from me."

He lowered his fist and turned around and started to leave the room. Barnette drew her gun and aimed it at his back, and clicked the safety off.

"Go ahead, because I considered myself dead three years ago, after the death of Sakura," he said without looking back and left the room.

Barnette lowered her gun and released her grip allowing the gun to fall to the floor with a clatter.

Meia stood there, surprised of Aidan's sudden outburst. She knew he and Barnette were not on the best of terms, and this only complicated matters. It was awkward, because she actually felt kind of sorry for Aidan. She knew what is was like losing someone who was important to you. She watched as he simply walked out, and the heard the words he said.

It was then that she noticed it. On the floor, was what appeared to be a necklace at first glance. As she walked closer, she noticed it was dog tags. At first she thought they were Aidan's, but when she bent down to pick them up. On them the name read, Sakura Nakayama, she turned them over and noticed a small piece of paper tucked away in them. She pulled it out and unfolded it. It was a picture, with a younger Aidan standing in the center with arm around a young woman with shoulder-length black hair. She noticed a few more people behind them in the picture. They were all wearing urban military fatigues.

But her eyes were focused on the young woman in the picture. She was about a head smaller than Aidan, and she had deep, green eyes. So this must have been Sakura…

Aidan slowly walked through the ship's garden, lost in thought. His argument with Barnette opened old wounds and painful memories from the Battle of Augusta. It was a city that was ruined by constant fighting. He lost several friends and comrades in that battle, and Sakura a few days after the bloodbath. The garden he was blindly walking through reminded him of the firefight in one of the several parks in Augusta. It took him back into that battle, rattling of automatic fire, the crack of and smell of lasers, and the ever so strong smell of blood and death..

"We need support fire, dammit!" yelled one soldier as fired several more rounds at the enemy. Several seconds later the tree that the soldier was using for cover was shattered by a grenade, filling him with shrapnel.

"Son of a bitch!" he heard someone yell before another explosion shook the ground. The overturned hulk of a hovercar he was using as cover was covered in dirt.

"I need help over here…" he another one of them yell before taking a laser bolt to the brain.

He glanced up and over at one of the burnt out buildings, and noticed a single soldier perched in one of the windows on the fourth floor.

"Sniper!" he yelled, as a few more ducked for cover. Another unlucky soldier lost half of his head when a searing laser bolt struck him in the head. The body fell right next to him, but he hardly noticed as he fired his assault rifle into the building window, hoping to hit the sniper.

The fighting had been like that for several days, extremely chaotic. With the amount of losses they received, the commander in charge ordered a complete withdrawal and then razed the city from orbit, turning the desolate, war-torn city to ash. He was torn from his flashback by a figure approaching from behind him.

"Do you mind if I join you," Meia asked, her voice a little sympathetic.

"No, I don't mind," he replied as she walked up next to him. He was now leaning against the railing overlooking the garden.

"I believe this belongs to you," she said as she handed him Sakura's dog tags.

"Thanks," he said weakly. "If you have this, then you must have seen the picture."

"Yes, I have," she replied, nodding.

"She was a friend… no she was more than a friend…" he said. "When I lost her, I felt I should've died that day as well. The assassin was the one that took her life among several others."

And with that, he told her how he met Sakura, their training together, the battle for Augusta, and of her death. At the very end of that, he was doing something he hadn't done since the day Sakura died, he was crying. Without another word, Meia embraced him in a hug that was meant to comfort him.

"Thanks," Aidan said.

Meanwhile, in the now almost empty conference room, the ship's Captain Magno Vivan as well as two others, were thinking about what they were going to do next.

"So what shall we do?" Magno asked her two subordinates, BC and Gascogne.

"If what Aidan says is true, then it would be best if we went on the move, to try to lose them," Gascogne suggested.

"True, but we will eventually be forced to face them, so I propose that we link up with the fleet that Aidan and Maria were supposed to rendezvous with and assist them in destroying this threat," BC countered.

"Do we even have proof that this fleet still even exists?" Gascogne asked BC.

"No, but I think it is a better alternative than to run with our tail between our legs," BC replied.

"Very well," Magno said. "We will attempt to find this fleet, and offer our assistance. They crossed the line when they sent an assassin disguised as a Dread pilot trainee. They will learn the price of dealing with pirates."

"Of course, we will need his help," BC said, referring to Aidan.

All across the Nirvana, monitors and video terminals came online with one word, LIVE. A few seconds later, the face of Magno Vivan appeared on the screen.

"Earlier today, an assassin attempted to take the life of Maria Shakov, the Prime Minister's daughter from Solaris. The assassin failed, but she took the lives of several of the crew and wounded others. This is a blatant act of war, and we will not take this lightly. We will try and locate the fleet that Maria and her bodyguard were originally supposed to rendezvous with. Once, we find them, we will assist them in destroying these fanatical soldiers who see Earth as their savior. They will no that we pirates are not ones to be trifled with. They brought it upon themselves."

The decision had been made.

Chapter Ten done. Let me know what you think. Your feedback is appreciated.