These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post them and make it easier to read. Just want to give his stuff the recognition it deserves.
I am scrunching both works into one story, maybe even adding something extra. Any new updates will be told here. Think of this as the "Remastered version". Welcoming new and old readers alike!
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 + Vandread + Tekkaman Blade = Fanfic + No lawsuits
italics: Thoughts
Chapter 3
It's Going to be a Long Trip
Somewhere out in the depths of the galaxy, a group of female pirates and their male captives were drifting in the star-studded void. The pirate vessel had been completely engulfed by the Ikazuchi's Paksis Pragma and the two vessels had become one. Inside the new vessel, the captain of the pirates, her second-in-command, and the Dread squadron leader were in conference.
"Continue with your report, BC." Magno said.
The first officer nodded as she began showing the latest reports on a holographic monitor. "Yes, Captain. The entire ship has been completely swallowed up by the crystals. The bridge, residential and engineering sections have been completely transformed. Fortunately, the Reg systems and the Dread Launch platforms were unaffected and we're installing the new data. It seems that the Paksis Pragma has finally reached its peak. The bridge has stopped sliding and is currently overlooking the ship's garden."
"And our position?" The captain inquired as she used a hand fan to cool herself down. The ship's environmental systems were not working properly at the moment and the average temperature was thirty degrees Celsius.
The holographic image changed as BC continued. "It's hard to believe, but we're in a completely different galaxy from our own. It will take approximately 270 days for us to return to our home system."
The aged woman sighed. "What did we do to deserve being swept across space?" She then addressed Meia. "And what have you to report?"
The blue-haired female nodded. "The three Dreads that were swallowed up and transformed by the Paksis, including mine, no longer fit on the regular Dread platforms. We've modified the cargo bay on the men's side of the ship and we're storing them there. While doing so, we made a few discoveries. It seems that this section of the ship hasn't been used for a long time. The circuits and cables are decayed and useless."
"I see. And what of our enemies?"
"I decided to send out a scouting party to the wreckage of that alien craft to see if we could get any data. Since we're short-handed, I asked for... volunteers."
"Volunteers?"
"Wow! Look at that! It's an Adamsky-type UFO! Did you see it, Ms. Gasco?"
Gascogne sighed as she sat behind Dita in her Dread. It was going to be a long investigation.
WHOOSH!
Slade winced as he stood in only his boxer shorts, while he was being sprayed down. Standing beside him were Duero Mcfile and Bart Garsus, as they too were in their underwear and were being put through the decontamination process. The fact that the women were using icy water wasn't helping.
Watching them from a monitor on the bridge, Magno and Buzom considered their prisoners.
"So these are the only men on board?"
Buzom nodded. "Yes, Captain. It appears that we will have to depend on them until we fully understand this ship."
"Yes." The old woman agreed as she recalled back to the time after the battle. When the enemy had been destroyed, the ship automatically went into standby mode and released Bart from the navigation well. "I had never seen anything like it. And that other one..." She shivered a bit as she recalled what Slade was capable of. The fact that the Tekkaman had let himself be put back into his cell indicated that things were stable, for now. However, Magno was quite aware that Slade could destroy them all at any time... that is, if he had his Tekkacrystal. The object that Buzom had impounded was being analyzed at this moment, but the pirate captain was still feeling a bit unnerved by all this.
The brig...
"It was so unnerving!" Bart whined as he tried to strike up a conversation with his fellow prisoners. Sitting in a corner of their cell, Slade was busy gulping down food pellets. Those things tasted awful, but as hungry as he was, he couldn't really complain. The last battle and that strange fusion with that girl's Dread had taken a lot out of him.
"One after another, my comrades fell all around me, until I was the only one left!" Bart Babbled on. "But I knew that I had to go on and retake the ship from the women. And now, fate has given me two able allies! What do you say?" He gazed upon Slade as he knew that his power would be more than enough to conquer the women.
The one who had been Ranma Saotome continued to ignore him while eating. A minute later, he polished off the tray and tossed it away. "Damn! That stuff really tastes like crap!"
Duero nodded. "Indeed, though that didn't stop you from eating enough pellets to feed an entire platoon for a week. You have quite an appetite."
Slade nodded. "The Tekkaman Power System makes my body hyper-metabolic and I burn up a lot of calories in battle. The transformation alone uses up a lot of energy."
"I see. However, that still doesn't explain how you got to be that way. So tell me, what kind of man turns himself into a machine? Are you some kind of secret weapon of Tarak?"
"No."
"Then what exactly are you?"
"I'm... human and...?"
"And...?"
"And that's all that I am. I'd tell you more, if I could, but I can't remember anything past that."
"You're saying that you don't remember how you got to be like that?"
"That's about the size of it."
Bart shrugged as he said, "Well, we can figure it out later. By the way, what was it with you fusing with that female ship?"
Slade glared at Bart. "None of your business. Would you mind shutting up now? There's enough hot air in here as it is!" He then emphasized his point by holding up a fist.
"Whoa! Take it easy!"
"Please try to forgive him." Duero soothed. "He's just uneasy and trying to keep calm with conversation."
Bart was impressed. "Hey. You're pretty sharp. No wonder you're one of the elite. So how about it? With my talking, your brain, and his muscle, we could beat these women!"
"Oh really? I'd like to hear how you're going to plan to do it."
Bart stiffened when he heard Buzom's voice. He slowly turned around and saw the first officer and two of her subordinates standing in front of the cell. He could only guess how long she had been standing there.
"So you haven't been able to find out anything about it?" Magno was speaking with the engineer Parfet on the communicator.
The girl with the oversized glasses shook her head as she glanced at the crystal that was under a molecular scanner. "The substance of this crystal is unidentifiable and it's not emitting any energies at all. I can't figure out anything else about it. It's as puzzling as the Paksis Pragma."
Magno thought about it. Hmmm, it seems that crystal by itself isn't anything special, though that male was able to use it somehow to transform and destroy the enemy. I've got a feeling that the answer may lie with that man, what was his name again? Oh yes, Slade.
She then told her chief engineer to continue working as she then switched over to another line. "Gascogne, how are you coming along with your investigation?"
In the engineering section...
"What's with the air conditioning? It's thirty degrees in here!" One of the crew complained via the communications.
"Don't complain! It's thirty-six in here!" Parfet replied as she turned to one of her subordinates. "So how's it going?"
The technician was busy struggling with the Navi robot, trying to hook up its systems to a console. However, the machine wasn't in a cooperative mood.
"Beep! Don't touch me!"
Meanwhile, in another section of the ship...
"As the valiant crew continued to work, Magno's family suddenly found themselves facing a new crisis."
"Hey! Hold that elevator!"
Paiway looked up from her diary and saw Barnette and Jura carrying various personal items in their arms. Due to the changes that had been made during the initial transformation of the two ships, several of the pirate crew had to relocate to new quarters.
"Slacking off again, Paiway?" Barnette said in an irritated tone.
"Instead of just sitting around, why don't you do something more important?" Jura said.
"I am doing something!" The apprentice nurse indicated to her diary, then held up a hand puppet in the shape of a frog, and spoke in a cartoon-like voice. "Barnette and Jura sure have a lot of stuff." She then looked at the toy as if she were speaking to it. "It's a good thing that our room wasn't changed so we don't have to move, right? Kero!"
"She's really pissing me off." Jura growled.
It was then that Barnette noticed that something was tied to Paiway's waist. "Hey, what's that rope for?"
Paiway then answered in her puppet's voice. "This is only a temporary elevator, so it won't be my fault if it falls. See you later. Kero!" The girl was then hoisted off the lift, leaving two Dread pilots in a state of shock.
"You're kidding right?! Paiway!"
Inside the wreckage of the alien craft...
The head supplier spoke through her suit's communicator. "Progress is pretty slow and things look extensive. We've got a lot of things to go through here. This doesn't look like any ship I've ever seen. In fact, this thing looks more like a factory than a ship."
"Wow! Look at that!" Dita exclaimed as she pointed at something. "Hey, Ms. Gasco! Can I go take a look around?"
"Absolutely not! We've got a job to do!" The older woman said as she flicked with her finger at Dita's helmet. In the vacuum of space, this push sent her flying backward.
"Whoa! I can't stop!"
The pirate captain chuckled as she signed off. "Very well then. I'll leave the investigation up to you, Gascogne."
She then made her chair turn about and ride down a rail, which lead to the main bridge. Waiting for her was Buzom and her captive Bart.
"Heh, heh. I hear that you wanted something from me." Bart said nervously.
The old woman nodded and pointed to the navigation well. "Yes. That thing. We haven't been able to operate it, so tell us how you did it."
"Er, yes of course. Given the circumstances, I have no choice." He held up his manacled hands, indicating to Buzom that he needed his hands free. The first officer complied and used the remote to release them. Bart then walked over to the well. "Now listen very carefully. This is a male ship, so therefore, only men can operate it. So I suppose it was fortunate that I was around. In fact, you could say that I'm indispensable to you and- errk!"
At that moment, the well flared and sucked the hapless man into it again.
Magno sighed and shook her head. "I really don't understand this system at all."
Inside the navigation well, Bart was once again surrounded by holographic images of the ship's outer environment.
"Okay... let's see here... uh..."
All of a sudden, the ship's systems and main drive came on line and the vessel leapt forward and began accelerate away from the alien wreckage. The sudden movement caught everyone off guard as the inertia dampeners were unable to keep up. Jura and Barnette were thrown off their feet in the elevator and their possessions went scattering all over the place.
Back on the bridge, the crew were unable to stop the ship.
"The system just booted up and we're on some unknown heading!"
"What in blazes did you do in there?!" Magno shouted to Bart.
His image appeared on the monitor as he shook his head. "Hold on! I didn't do anything!"
At the wreckage...
Gascogne nodded as she took out the data disk, in which she had downloaded all the data from a computer. "All right, I've finished copying the data. Let's get back to the ship."
"Roger." Dita nodded as she began using her suit's maneuvering thrusters to propel her toward the opening. However, when she got to it, she gasped to see that the ship was nowhere in sight.
The bridge...
"Ms. Gasco! Can you hear me? Ms. Gasco!" Ezra kept on trying to raise their comrades, but with no luck. The young woman was sweating profusely as her breathing became a bit more shallow. When Buzom ordered for marker beacons to be released, Ezra let off a gasp and collapsed to the floor.
Slade was dreaming again. He had begun to see faint images of those same people of his distant past, though he still did not recognize any of them. He wondered just why those same people had such meaning to him that he kept seeing them over and over again in his sleep. He began mumbling out names that he couldn't place. One name in particular was said several times.
"U... U-Ucchan..."
At that moment, he felt something warm press against his forehead and woke up. He let off a yelp when he saw that Duero's face was pressed up against him. He quickly backed off.
"What the heck are you doing?!"
"Taking your temperature." The physician said. Since his hands were bound by the manacles, he had to use other methods of gauging body temperature. "You were mumbling in your sleep. Who's Ucchan?"
"Ucchan?" Slade repeated in confusion. The name sounded familiar, but he just couldn't place it. "Is that what I said?"
"Several times actually. I thought you were feverish from the heat. So who IS this Ucchan?"
Slade could only shrug. "I don't know. Ucchan is... Ucchan, I guess."
At that moment, the first officer and two guards came up to the men's holding cell and addressed the young doctor.
"You're name is Duero, correct? It's your turn now."
As the guards shut down the energy grid, the second-in-command of the women glanced at where Slade was. At present, he was just sitting down and looking at nothing in particular. It appeared to all that he was totally harmless, but appearances can be deceiving. After seeing his transformation and the power he possessed in that state, Buzom was very cautious. However, she was certain that without his crystal, Slade presented no danger, or so she hoped.
In the navigation well, Bart shouted out as he saw just where was the ship was heading, which happened to be a nebula.
"We're going in there?! How do I stop?!"
The vessel dove headlong into the gaseous envelope of the nebula's outer ring. Various chunks of ice and debris smacked into the hull of the ship. Unfortunately for Bart, due to his link to the ship, whatever hit the hull would register as pain to him. A stray chunk of ice slammed into the top near the bow, which caused him to yelp out in pain. The hit was felt as a hit to his head and he was thrown back a bit.
"Will somebody raise the shields, please?!"
Bart wasn't the only one with problems. More than ninety percent of the ship's systems went offline. Jura and Barnette found themselves trapped inside the elevator, buried underneath their own possessions. They were in a precarious position as they were crowded with not only clothing and personal items, but also some firearms and live ammunition. Meia found out to her dismay that the Dread platforms were shut down, so she couldn't send out anyone to retrieve Dita and Gascogne.
In the sick bay, Duero looked over Ezra as she lay on the bed. Just then, the lights went off as power to the medical instruments was cut. With one lightning fast movement, he plucked the communicator out of an aide's holster, much to her displeasure.
"I'm trying to work on a patient here! Make power to the sick bay a top priority!"
In the engineering section, Parfet was exasperated. "I'd love to do that, but we've got our own problems here! I can't do much since I can't read men's language!"
Duero looked up at Buzom, who was standing nearby. "If I were there, I could read it."
The first officer shrugged. "Go right ahead."
Engineering...
"It's a man!" One of the engineering staff screamed.
Parfet simply glanced at Duero and nodded. "Oh, you're here. Good." She led the doctor over to the worktable where the Navi Robot was hooked up. "I can't do much with this data if I can't read it."
"It's just a Hi-type #6." Duero replied as he began reading the data. "So what were you trying to do here?"
Parfet began explaining to the physician that the Navi robot and the ship's Paksis were somehow linked. She had thought that the robot might make a good sensor. However, she hadn't been able to figure out the reason behind the ship's current condition.
Duero nodded. "According to this readout, there's a lot of built-up impurities, possibly due to the merging of the two ships."
"Maybe. So can you fix it?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm a doctor, not an engineer."
"That's no excuse! Everything that moves is alive! It's a doctor's job to fix all living things, right? That's what I always believe!"
The male doctor considered the feisty female before him. "You have a very interesting view about things."
As the vessel's lower half immersed itself into the nebula's outer rings, the engines shut themselves down. The ship was now moving forward on momentum alone.
"Engines have shut down, captain." The crew member said.
Magno sighed as she was currently being cooled by a portable fan and had a bag of ice over her head. "Just when I get the good news that we've stopped, we end up in a nebula." It was then that her fan suddenly shut itself off.
"Captain! Sensors indicate that a section of the ship is transforming again."
Outside of the hull, new crystal formations began to appear as the ship once again started to reshape itself.
"Curious." Deuro remarked as he read the information on the Navi robot's screen. "It seems that the ship is reacting to the nebula's composition."
Parfet considered the situation, then slammed one fist into the palm of her other hand. "That's it! The ship must be using the nebula to neutralize all the impurities!"
Duero couldn't help but agree. "It seems to be reacting just like a living thing."
Back at the alien wreckage...
"All I see are markers." Dita said as she looked through her binoculars.
"Something must have happened." Gascogne thought for a moment, then said, "Well, we're finished here, so let's get going."
"Roger."
Just as the two women began making their way back to Dita's Dread, the entire structure suddenly became alive as metal tendrils snaked out from its center and reached out for the nearest living thing, which happened to be the chief supplier. Before she knew it, Gascogne found herself being ensnared like a fly in a spider's web.
"Ms. Gasco, look out!"
ON the pirate vessel...
"Captain, I have an idea." Buzom said as she spoke to her superior through the communications systems. She was currently in the sub-bridge of the former Ikazuchi.
"Go ahead." Magno sighed as she continued to sit in the sweltering heat of the control room.
"Since we can't launch any Dreads, we are unable send any of our own crew to go look for Dita and Gascone. However..."
"However?" Magno inquired.
"However, the airlocks are still operational. It's a potential risk, but we could have that man go look for them." She then held up Slade's Tekkacrystal.
"Hmmm... not a bad idea, BC. All right. Explain the situation to him and see if he agrees to it."
"Thank you, Captain."
"By the way, BC. What are you doing in the men's section of the ship?"
"Just... fulfilling my duty as your first mate, Captain. Over."
The brig...
Slade sighed as he lay in the cell. Currently, he was wearing only his boxers and muscle shirt. It had gotten very hot. His hands were behind his head, which was resting on his jacket that he was using as a makeshift pillow. As he lay on the floor of the cell, he wondered just what he was going to do.
It wasn't as if he couldn't get out. He had more than enough power to smash out of his prison and escape the ship. It was just that he didn't know where to go. He was in unfamiliar and decidedly hostile territory. Even a Tekkaman had his limits. So where did that leave him? For the time being, he had decided to stay on the ship since it was a source of food and a place for him to rest, at least until they got back to Mejele or Tarak territory. Until then, he'd bide his time. In any case, the females didn't really have anything that could harm him. They may have his crystal, but he could retrieve that at any time.
It was then that he sensed the presence of someone approaching and looked toward the door. Buzom walked into the detention area and smirked as she saw Slade in his undergarments.
"Nice outfit."
"Whatever." Slade said nonchalantly as he began putting on his clothes. "So what do you want?"
"I've come... to ask a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"Two of our crew were left behind when this ship took off and came to this nebula. I would like you to go out and look for them."
"Is there something wrong with you sending out your own pilots for that?"
"Unfortunately, yes. We can't launch any of our Dreads. However, with your abilities, you could easily use one of our airlocks and go retrieve our two crew members." She then held up Slade's crystal. "I know that you need this to transform. We haven't been able to analyze it, but this is the source of your power, isn't it? Without it, you can't really do anything, can you?"
Slade chuckled a bit as he finished putting on his clothes. "You're half-right. I need it to transform." He then held up his right hand and focused his will. Buzom let off a startled gasp as the Tekkacrystal disappeared from her hand and reappeared in Slade's. "However, that doesn't mean that I'm powerless without it." The cosmic warrior then aimed his other hand with palm spread out. He let loose with a small but focused bolt of ki and quantum energy at the cell's lock, causing the bars to short-circuit. Slade casually stepped out and faced off against the pirate first officer.
Buzom's usual cool attitude was a bit shaken from the display. It was obvious that Slade could have reclaimed his property and escaped at any time. She now found herself facing off against a very irritated individual that could destroy the ship and everyone aboard in a heartbeat. Her instinct for self-preservation came to the fore as she raised her right hand to aim her laser-ring at him. However, Slade moved with far more speed and had her wrist in a viselike grip before she could bring her weapon to bear. She winced as he applied more pressure as a warning. Any tighter and her wrist would be pulped.
Slade glared at her and said in a low voice, "I could crush every bone in your wrist to powder, without even trying. I could destroy this entire ship and everyone on board without breaking a sweat, and I don't need to transform to do it. I could do all that, and there wouldn't be a thing that you or anyone else here could do to stop me." Slade paused for a long time, giving his words a chance to sink in. "However, I'm not going to do any of that. Instead, I'll go look for your comrades, because you asked so NICELY." He gave her a smirk before releasing her wrist and turning to exit the detention center.
Buzom rubbed her sore wrist, then raised her arm to aim her ring at him. However, that was when she noticed that something was absent from her index finger.
"Looking for this?" Slade did not even look back as he held up her ring, then used his thumb to flick it back toward her. The jewelry piece made a couple of light bounces on the floor before coming to a stop at the woman's feet.
Buzom could only stare at the ring for a long while. She had not even seen him remove her ring.
He's good. Could he be one of the elite?
At the alien wreckage...
"It's no use, Ms. Gasco!"
At the moment, the head supplier of the pirates was too concerned with her current predicament to remind Dita that her name was Gascogne. She was trapped in a kind of metal cage that kept her from moving. The young pilot had tried to cut her free, using the blasters on her suit, but the metal was too dense.
"I'll get the tools from the Dread!"
Gascogne shook her head. "Don't bother. Have you forgotten our mission? Someone has to get back to the ship with that data!"
"I can't just leave you here!" The young girl shook her head.
"Who said that you're leaving me here to rot? This isn't some third-rate soap opera! You can come back for me with more help, right? Now get going!"
Dita nodded reluctantly as she turned around and headed for her waiting fighter.
However, no sooner was she gone, the insides of the wreckage became alive again. Panels opened up, revealing more alien units. Gascogne began to have that sinking feeling.
In the nebula...
"Sensors are picking up a large object heading on a collision course with us. It appears to be an asteroid-sized chunk of ice."
"Did you hear that? Do something!" Magno cried out to the man who was in the navigational well.
However, Bart screamed out hysterically as he saw it and was of no help whatsoever.
In the engineering section...
"The input/output ratio is off." Duero remarked as he read the readouts.
"That's because there aren't enough link routes!" Parfet declared.
"But the existing ones can't take the strain."
"Don't give up! There HAS to be an answer!"
The physician thought for a moment, then decided to approach this problem in the way Parfet thought of it. If it was behaving like a living being, then perhaps his medical training would apply.
"How about a bypass? When there's a blocked artery, you simply need to make an alternate route to relieve congestion."
Parfet nodded. "A detour huh? Great idea!" She patted his shoulder in agreement. "You know... you wouldn't make a bad engineer!" She turned to her co-workers and began giving new orders. "Listen up, everybody! We're going to get busy!"
Duero looked down at his shoulder and contemplated her touch.
Back at the alien wreckage, Gascogne was quite amazed to see the alien units begin repairing their damaged mother ship, which confirmed her hypothesis that the vessel was actually one giant factory.
"They can regenerate under these conditions?"
It was then that she noticed something large and ominous making its way toward her. The machine looked like some gigantic bug, with many clawed appendages, and two large green eyes glaring right at her. It was a sure bet that the thing wasn't there to chat.
The chief supplier laughed nervously as she said, "Well... I guess I know what you want for dinner."
Out in space...
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH! NO!"
Dita was running for her life as several enemy units were in hot pursuit of her Dread. She had been using every evasion tactic that she could think of, but the alien fighters kept on chasing her.
"I REALLY HATE ALIENS WHO DON'T KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP!"
It was then that her sensors were picking up another blip heading toward her.
"From the front, too?!"
At that moment, her ship was rocked by a near-miss, which caused her to accidentally fire her Dread's blasters. Twin beams lanced out and caused a small explosion some distance away when they struck their target. However, when the burst of light faded away, a large blast of energy was fired back in return. This beam however, passed over Dita's Dread and destroyed her pursuers. It was at that moment that Dita was close enough to see who was out in front of her.
Slade was pissed. The shoulder-mounted Voltekker units lowered down as he angrily said, "HEY! IS THAT ANY WAY TO THANK A PERSON WHO CAME TO GET YOU?!" Even though Dita's weapons had no effect on his armor, it still ticked him off.
Dita however, was overjoyed to see Slade. "Mr. Alien! You came for me!" She then made her Dread speed toward him.
"Hold on! Wait a minute!" The Tekkaman put on his braking thrusters to decelerate, but as soon as the Dread was in close proximity, there was a bright flare of light. Tekkaman and Dread once again became the Tekkadread.
"Wow! What is all this?" Dita looked about in delight as she sat on Slade's lap in the cockpit.
"Hey! Will you stop moving around so much?" Slade did not like the way she was squirming around in his lap, which made a certain part of his anatomy become stimulated.
The young Dread pilot smiled warmly as she turned her head to face him. "I want you to know that I believed in you and I knew that you'd come to rescue me."
"I didn't come to save you!" Slade retorted angrily. "I... just went to look for you... that's all."
"Well thank you."
Gascogne definitely did not like her situation. The machine was cutting away at her restraints with absolute efficiency, but she knew that it was only doing so to get at her.
"You guys work pretty efficiently. I don't suppose you'd consider joining us?" The automaton's response was to extend a wicked-looking claw appendage. By now, the chief supplier was sweating. "So it's finally my turn, eh?"
However, before the arm could touch her, the machine was suddenly engulfed by something huge and metallic. It was instantly crushed as Gascogne looked up to see the Tekkadread.
"You guys put off saving me until the last instant, but I guess I couldn't have asked for a better screenplay ending."
The pirate ship's engineering room...
"We've managed to secure up to thirty-six bypasses!" Parfet declared. "How are things on your end?"
Duero closed up the Navi robot's panel. "I can't do any more back here. We'll have to make do with what we have now."
"The balance will be thrown completely off if there aren't enough link routes!"
"Do you know what doctors do in situations like this? We believe in the patient's will to live."
The female engineer smiled and nodded.
The gigantic mass of ice tumbled its way closer to the ship as the crew frantically worked to prevent disaster.
On the bridge, Magno mouth became a straight line as her aides continued to report.
"Distance is twelve hundred kilometers and closing..."
It looked like the end. Then the fan beside Magno turned itself back on.
"Huh?"
The aide cried out with joy. "The system just rebooted itself!"
Down in the engineering section, the Navi robot became active again, stood up and smartly saluted Duero and Parfet.
"Beep! I'm back in service!"
"Yes! We did it! We make a great team!" Parfet grasped Duero's hand, then suddenly blushed as she looked down at it.
Duero was also feeling somewhat... odd.
"HARD TO STARBOARD, THIRTY DEGREES!" Magno Vivian barked.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! IT'S TOO LATE!" Bart screamed as he braced himself for the end.
There was massive explosion in front of the ship but it wasn't the ice chunk colliding into the hull. When Bart opened his eyes, he saw that the asteroid had been vaporized. In its place, flying ahead of them was the Tekkadread.
"Hmpf! So he saves the day again!" Bart said with disdain.
Inside the Tekkadread's cockpit...
Man! Am I tired! Slade sighed as he lay back in the seat.
"See! I told you it was amazing!" Dita said excitedly as she bounced up and down on Slade's lap, incidentally making him even more agitated.
Beside them, in obvious discomfort, was Gascogne. "Yeah, yeah. So how about getting me out of here?"
Later that day, Magno and her first mate made a special announcement to everyone aboard the ship.
"We have deciphered the data that was salvaged from the alien ship. I want you all to look at this." Buzom turned on the main data feed to all the monitors on the ship, which depicted a strange-looking planet. "This is the enemy's home world. We don't know its exact location, but apparently, they possess some serious firepower. They seem to perceive our presence in their territory as an invasion and therefore, we expect more battles on our return flight to Mejele space."
The first officer continued with her briefing. "We have also learned that the enemy is planning a major operation, which calls for the total obliteration of our home world Mejele and the male planet of Tarak. For some unknown reason, a hostile force is intent on wiping out our two worlds."
Then the captain took over. "We are pirates and therefore are not bound to Mejele or Tarak. However, it would not be in our best interests for an unknown force to wipe out our potential 'customers.' Therefore, I intend to reach our home system before the enemy and inform both worlds of this crisis. In order for this mission to be successful, we must incorporate the men we have captured into our crew."
The bridge crew were the first to be shocked as Bart smiled smugly as he lay on the floor of the bridge.
"Heh. So you finally see it my way."
The old woman continued. "There are many things that we don't understand, such as this ship and that large machine." Plus our 'friend' Slade. Magno silently added before finishing her announcement. "However, I expect we shall learn more, one day at a time. That is all."
Just as she switched off the comlink, Ezra and Duero appeared on the bridge.
"I'm sorry about before." Ezra apologized. "I'll be returning to my station now."
"Did you find out the cause of her fever?" Buzom asked Duero.
"There seems to be some kind of parasitic organism feeding on my patient's body."
This immediately made Magno alarmed, but Ezra quickly shook her head while blushing.
"No! No! It's not that! You're wrong! It seems... I'm going to have a baby."
The bridge crew became very excited as they crowded around the mother-to-be.
"When in the world did you become a fahma?"
"So who's the ohma?"
Bart became very confused. "But I thought that babies were made in a factory."
The doctor pondered it for a moment. "Come to think of it, I have heard the rumor that females reproduced internally."
Ezra bowed to her captain. "Forgive me, Captain. I had been planning to tell you after the last raid on the men, but..."
Magno waved it off. "There's nothing to forgive, Ezra. I hope you have a healthy baby."
"C'mon Ezra! Who's the ohma?" A bridge member asked.
"What is that, exactly?" Duero asked with genuine interest. One of the reasons why he became a doctor, was because he had always been fascinated with the mysteries of female physiologies.
"The ohma is one who donates an egg and the fahma nurtures it in her womb. Don't you know anything?"
"This is the first time I've ever heard of it."
As they continued to converse, no one noticed Buzom as she edged her way toward a console and removed a small data disk.
"We certainly have our share of surprises, right BC?"
The first officer quickly turned her attention to her captain. "Er, yes Captain!"
"The whole crew better work as hard as they can, especially for the new life that will be joining us soon."
"This will indeed be a long trip." Buzom added.
Meanwhile...
"Jura?"
"Hmmm?"
"When do you think they'll get us out of this elevator?" Barnette sobbed.
"Somebody help us!"
Somewhere else...
Slade was walking down the hall on one of the upper layers of the new ship. He had more or less recovered from his experience of forming a Tekkadread for the second time.
What was with that weird machine anyway? And how did I even do that in the first place? Slade thought to himself as he looked down at his hand. Well whatever. It's powerful at least. Could be helpful in future fights.
"Somebody help us!"
Slade stopped in his thoughts as he heard the faint shouting. Following the sound, he zeroed in on an elevator door and pressed his ear against it. He could hear the shouting more clearly, confirming he was close.
Hey, that sounds like...
With his bare hands, Slade easily forced open the elevator doors and looked down the shaft. He then shouts out, "Hey! Someone down there?"
"Yes! We're stuck down here! Help us!"
"ABOUT TIME YOU GOT HERE! GET US OUT!"
"Okay okay, don't get your panties in a bunch!" said Slade.
Slade sees the cable and slid down it. The elevator was stuck between two floors and was several floors below where Slade entered the shaft. A few moments later, the martial artist arrived at Jura and Barnette's position as he stood on the rafters connected to the cable. He recognized the blonde woman as one of the other three girls he was with during the Paksis explosion. The other girl he didn't seem to recognize, but she gave him an unfriendly glare.
"Oh! You're that man with the space armor, aren't you?" asked Jura while she was still partially buried.
"Uh... yeah... I am..." replied Slade as he got a good view of Jura. He couldn't help but blush a little at the blonde's provocative dress as well as how big her... er... assets are. The fact her breasts were being forcefully pressed together due to her predicament didn't help. Shaking his head, he asked, "Can I give you ladies a lift?"
"A man!? What the hell are you doing here!?" asked Barnette angrily.
Slade gave the dark green-haired girl a look. "In case it slipped your attention, I'm here to get you two out."
Barnette seethed a bit. "There's no way I'm letting a man touch me in any way!"
"Then how do you suppose you're going to get out, huh? I don't suppose you got a rope among your stuff, do you?" Slade retorted.
Jura's friend could only grit her teeth, but had to admit he had a point. "Fine then! Get us out!"
"Since you asked so nicely..." said Slade as he crouched down and reached out to Jura as she was closest. "Give me your hand."
Jura managed to get one of her arms out from the pile and reached out to Slade's hand. Grasping it, Slade easily pulled Jura out from the debris then use his other hand to hold her by the waist to better support her. He got her to stand on the rafter and instructed the blonde to hold onto the cable while trying hard not to stare at her now that he got a good view of her whole body.
"Okay, NOW can you help me?" Barnette asked as she glared at Slade, a feeling of jealousy flooding her as she spotted Slade giving Jura a serious looking at. Barnette and Jura had been long-time friends so it was natural that the green-haired woman would feel jealous, but this feeling was even stronger now when Slade was looking at her blonde friend.
"Okay, give me your hands and I'll lift you out. Be careful not to struggle since you might hit those guns and ammunition down there, and God knows what'll happen if you do."
Jura watched as Slade lifted her friend up without injuring himself, she was amazed that this guy could carry Barnette that easily, and from a squatting position on the rafter. Whoever he is, he's really strong. If only she knew...
"Uh, Miss, if you're done staring at me, do you mind giving your friend a hand?" Slade asked as he looked at Jura.
"I wasn't staring!" Jura replied with a bit of a glare as she helped her friend Barnette up.
After getting Barnette up and telling her to hold onto the cable, Slade looked up the shaft where he left the open door.
"Okay, so now what, genius?" Barnette asked.
"It will be tricky, but I'm going to jump." replied Slade. He wouldn't dare to transform while in such closed spaces or when in close proximity to others. Slade then looked to Jura. "Excuse me, better hold on."
To Jura's surprise (and Barnette's anger), Slade suddenly scooped her up in his arms and jumped upwards. He began triangle-jumping against the shaft's walls to ascend towards the open elevator door at a fast pace. Finally, Slade jumped through the door and landed on the floor of the hall with his passenger in tow. Standing up, Slade looked down to see that Jura had her eyes shut and her arms looped around his neck. During the trip, she had reflexively clung to Slade.
"We're here. You all right?" asked Slade, getting Jura's attention as he sets her down.
"Uh... yeah..." replied Jura, then quickly let go of Slade once she realized what she was doing.
"Hold on. Gotta go get your friend next."
Slade turned and jumped down the shaft again. A few moments later, Jura could hear voices from down below.
"Don't you dare touch me!"
"Fine then. Climb on and hold on to me."
"Hey wai-AAAAAAAHHH!"
Slade was once again triangle-jumping up through the shaft and leaped through the open door with Barnette on his back with her arms looped around his neck, practically choking him.
"Hey, you can let go now." said Slade.
Hearing that, Barnette immediately got off of Slade as if she had been touching a large ant hill.
"You okay, Barnette?" asked Jura as she went to her friend.
"Yeah, just peachy..." replied Barnette.
Jura nodded that her friend is fine, then she ran up to Slade and hugged him, much to his surprise.
"Hey! What are you…?" said Slade.
Jura then released him and winked a bit. "Just saying thank you for saving Barnette and me."
"Uh, no problem." Slade said with him scratching the back of his head.
Barnette sighed and glared at Slade, then she grabbed her friend's hand and spoke to Jura. "I think you should take a bath, Jura."
"Why? I took a shower after the fighting."
"I know, but you might have gotten germs from holding that guy!" Just to be safe, I should take one, too.
Slade had no trouble hearing the conversation and he knew one thing. It was going to be an uphill battle to try and convince these women that he was NOT from Tarak. And from the looks of it, it was going to be a long uphill battle. (1)
To be continued...
Preview...
Meia: "I'm the leader of the Dread Squadron. I've always handled things in the past by myself, this time is no different. I'll show the Captain and everyone else that we don't need the assistance of men, especially HIM."
Bart: "You mean me?"
Meia: "Slade!"
Bart: "Oh…"
Meia: "He's nothing but a showoff. Perhaps a change in jobs will put him in his place!"
Slade: "What? What's with the apron!?"
Meia: "Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'Slade's New Partners'."
Slade: "I've got to wear this!?"
Gascogne: "D-Boy, smile smile!"
Slade: "That girl looks vaguely familiar…"
Author's notes
Well, now that I've seen the second DVD of Vandread, I've got a pretty good idea as to where this series is going to go. There will be more plot changes and such as I move forward with this fic. There will be more divergences as I write about Slade/Ranma's interactions with the all-female crew as well as the mysterious enemy.
The revisions so far are just to fill in a few gaps and so on, as well as correct a few spelling errors. The fourth chapter will have the most changes by far so stay tuned!
(1) An extra scene added in tribute to Freedom Guard and his story ZOIDDread.
Please read and review!