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: (Recording) Greetings Mr. Animeaddiction. Your mission today, should you choose to accept it, is to write the next chapter of this fanfic to entertain the fans. Should the original creators of the characters in this story, approach you with legal technicalities, we shall disavow any knowledge of your existence and you will be on your own to disclaim ownership of said characters. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
italics: Thoughts
Tekkadread
Chapter 5
Vanguard Mission
The pirate vessel, now christened the Nirvana, was in orbit around a desert planet. On the bridge, the first officer and the captain watched the main monitor.
"This planet seems to be dead." Buzom said. "Although we are getting some energy readings from the surface. The readings also show that there are several structures that appear to be man-made. I think we should check this out."
Magno considered it. "Hmmm... our kitchen is running low on supplies. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to do this like old-fashioned pirates."
"Thank you, Captain." BC then turned to the bridge crew. "Begin monitoring the surface of the planet and atmospheric conditions. Let's determine the best time to send down a landing party."
"Roger."
Meanwhile, in the hanger where the three transformed Dreads were being stored, Slade was working on Pegas. The place was also where the leftover Vanguards were kept, ever since the male and female ships had merged into the Nirvana. At present, with the exception of the Tekkabot, the male mecha had been left in a state of disrepair and neglect. Parfet's teams had cannibalized a few of them for replacement components and raw materials.
Since the Tekkabot was a transformed Vanguard, Slade had no problems with maintaining and repairing his new partner, since the Tekkaman did have considerable expertise on such mecha during his stay on Tarak. As of now, he was busy making modifications to the control systems so Pegas would have better response time. With the machine having an artificial intelligence, it made decent company and didn't give any back talk like Pyoro.
"Pegas, would you please move your right arm? I need to get at that panel."
"Roger." The huge machine complied.
"They really work people hard around here, don't they?" Slade remarked as he began adjusting the servos. Between his duties with Gascogne's Register and as part of the Dread fighter support, the former son of Genma Saotome had very little free time. What leisure time that he did have was spent either working with Pegas or training in the gym.
As the voyage continued, the martial artist and Tekkaman wondered just what he was going to do, once Mejele and Tarak were warned and the threat was dealt with. He supposed that he'd just move on again. However, being with the females had given him a sense of belonging that he had never felt before. Granted, the majority of the all-woman personnel still treated him like a barely tolerated outsider, especially girls like Ukyo and Paiway, but a few had accepted him without any argument. People like the captain, Gascogne, and though he hated to admit it... Dita as well. In a way, the crew of the Nirvana was the closest thing he ever had to a family.
On that train of thought, Slade often wondered just where he had come from. The vague images that he saw in his dreams seemed to indicate that he had a mother and father. However, he felt a certain... anger whenever he thought about the bald man in white, though for the life of him, he couldn't remember why.
Slade was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to sense the presence of another. Dita smiled as she went up the boarding ramp and gave Mr. Alien a wink and blew him a kiss. Slade turned suddenly, accidentally tripped over a wrench, and fell flat on his back. He winced at being caught off-guard and made a note to step up in his martial arts training. He then looked up and his cheeks reddened as he found himself staring up Dita's miniskirt.
WHOA! He quickly averted his eyes.
Dita, being the naive girl that she was, didn't understand Slade's reaction as she simply stood there and asked, "Are you okay?"
He instantly got to his feet and backed away from her. Though Slade was familiar with the 'birds and the bees,' and all the mechanics involved, he was still very inexperienced with male-female relationships. Having no real contact with females in his first life wasn't saying much either. And what he saw under her skirt...
"I'm fine!" He blurted out. "I... guess I haven't been eating well lately... that's all."
The Tekkaman quickly closed up the Tekkabot's panel, swept up his toolbox, and was gone in a flash, leaving a confused Dread pilot.
The sick bay...
"Your pulse rate seems to be somewhat elevated from normal and you seem a bit... agitated." Duero remarked as he placed a series of cardiopulmonary sensors on various locations on Slade's face and chest. The Tekkaman was dressed only in his boxers as he sat on the examination table. The physician then began a systematic physical examination of his patient with practiced ease. However, when his hands came close to Slade's privates, his patient scrambled back a bit.
"Keep those hands to yourself!"
"I'm just examining you." The doctor said. "You seem very tense."
Slade sighed as he realized that Duero was only doing his job. "Well, I've been really busy lately. Working and fighting alongside the women takes a lot out of me. Somebody's got to protect them."
"So you're fighting to protect the females?" Duero asked with a bit of a knowing smile.
"Well, somebody's got to... I mean, I'm... stronger than they are... and they're... weak..." Slade paused as he considered his words. Just where did that 'females were weak' comment came from? He had just said it without thinking, as if by reflex. "Well... I'm not saying that they can't fight, 'cause they can and... aw, Hell! I don't know what I'm saying."
"Let's stop talking about the females." Duero suggested. At that moment, Paiway came up and pointed to the machine that Slade was hooked up to.
"What's this thing? A video game?"
"You've never seen a pulse monitor?" The physician was surprised to learn that the ship's nurse trainee was unfamiliar with basic medical equipment.
"What's it to you if I haven't?" The twelve-year-old gave Duero a kind of pout. "Anyway, all health problems can be fixed in the Jacuzzi."
"Jacuzzi?"
In the recreation center...
"Ah, space battle always damages my hair." Jura said as she lounged on a salon chair with a towel wrapped around her head. She was naked save for another towel wrapped about her body. Several attendants were massaging her legs and giving her a manicure and pedicure.
"Don't worry, Jura. We're here to revive your beauty." One of the attendants assured.
"I appreciate it. I don't feel like going into battle unless my hair is set just right."
Pyoro floated beside her with a puzzled expression. "Sometimes humans don't make any sense."
Jura then glanced over to the hot tub and saw Meia soaking in it. "Meia, are you trying to lose even more weight?"
"Excess body fat gets in the way of combat." The blue-haired girl replied simply.
"But you won't have any breasts left." Jura pointed out.
"Heh. Don't worry about me." Meia was not as concerned with maintaining her feminine appearance as her comrade was.
Meanwhile, at the ship's mess hall, Barnette was trying to decide what to eat as plates of food moved along a conveyor belt. She then reached for a plate that was marked with a tag of more than 800 calories. The platter was suddenly snatched away before she could touch it. She angrily looked over and saw Dita holding up her intended lunch.
"I think I'll take this one!"
"Dita! That's loaded with calories!"
"That's okay, Barnette. He said he wasn't eating right."
The Dread pilot wondered whom she was talking about.
BC nodded as she was given the latest information on the planet's surface. Several heat sources had been detected, though a sandstorm was preventing confirmation. However, she decided that it would be best to prepare for an excursion. Since the Dreads were not suited for atmospheric flight or terrestrial exploration, that left only one option...
"Attention all crew. We're going to investigate a planet. All pilots should immediately begin simulation training aboard the Vanguards."
"Say what? The women are actually going to try using those Van-Types?" Slade took on a thoughtful look. This should be interesting.
The hanger...
"Geez. I know that it's impossible to get to the surface with the Dreads. Even so, that doesn't mean that I have to LIKE using a man's Vanguard." Barnette gazed upon the male mecha with extreme distaste.
After months of being ignored, the machines were now being repaired and serviced by Parfet's engineering crews. Several of them were painted in outrageous patterns and colors. One particular pilot was looking at her scarlet pink mecha with eagerness.
"I don't really care if it's a Vanguard or not." Jura said. "Just so long as I can combine into something beautiful!" She knew that in a mission such as this, Slade would most definitely be included. He was the only one with any experience in piloting a Vanguard (ie: Pegas), and his Tekkaman form would have no problems with adapting to ground-based missions. That meant that she would have an excellent opportunity to combine with him.
At this time, Bart had decided to boast. "Hey there! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me! During my long career in the military academy, I endured hundreds of training missions. You could say-"
KLONK!
Bart was floored when an anti-gravity lift came down on top of him. The tech who was on it looked down and scolded, "What are you doing standing under the lift? We're busy, so try to stay out of the way!"
"Okay." Bart moaned.
Slade came into the hanger and winced as he saw the brightly decorated mecha. It was apparent that the females weren't taking this very seriously. He then looked over to where Pegas was and gasped. Dita was standing on a boarding ramp and brandishing a spray painter.
"HOLD ON! WAIT A SECOND!" Slade began racing toward his mecha. The thought of having his partner colored in kawaii colors made him feel very uncomfortable.
On the ramp, Dita aimed her instrument at the Tekkabot. "I'll make you clean and pretty, Pegas! I'm sure that Mr. Alien will like it!"
The Tekkabot cocked its head in puzzlement, then shrugged. As long as it did its function, it didn't matter what color it was. "Proceed."
Just as she fired off a stream of pink paint, Slade got between her and the Tekkabot. As a result, he was doused in the liquid.
"Aaaaaauuuggggghhh!"
"WOW! A PINK ALIEN! HOW CUTE!"
"She's nuts!"
A while later...
Slade, Duero, and Bart watched from the control center as Dita, Barnette, and Jura trained in the Vanguard simulators. Slade had cleaned off the paint and was currently watching the performance of the Vanguard trainees. It was soon apparent that the female pilots were unused to controlling the mecha in hand-to-hand, close-quarters combat. The women had been trained for long-distance assault and surprise attacks with Dreads. They specialized in maneuverability and needed a lot of space to operate. The Van-Type mecha were clearly more suited for male pilots, confined areas and the innate fighting instincts. Of course, there were exceptions. Barnette, who was totally against using the Bangattas, quickly mastered the machine. Go figure.
As the virtual Vanguards tripped and fell over each other, Jura became disgusted. "I've had enough! Why can't this machine move with more elegance? I'm out of here!" She quickly exited the simulator in a huff.
At the control center, Duero nodded as he watched the pulse monitors on each of the simulators.
"It looks like I'll be needed on the bridge." He then saw that one of simulators was relaying that its pilot was feeling agitation and extreme stress. Apparently, the best Dread pilot was the worst Vanguard combatant.
Meia slammed a fist on the simulator's side as it declared that the trial mission was a complete failure, and that she had been killed. Her breathing had become labored and shallow as she sat in the confined area of the cockpit. Sweat was beading off her forehead, as she became even angrier after her poor performance. Then her main monitor lit up.
"Are there medical overrides on Mejele?"
"What?"
Duero's expression became serious. "On Tarak, doctors are given the authority to ground pilots when they experience psychological stress, which can hamper their performance. Do you want that to happen?"
"Of course not!" Meia shot back.
"Then I suggest that you switch your monitor to all-fields. That should lessen the strain on your body."
"Keep your advice to yourself! I don't need any help, especially from a man! I'll be just fine, thank you very much!"
"Hmmm... how to use the ten-in-one knife shield... following the will of pilot... ah, simultaneously with the electron-pulse beam! I can do this!" Bart smiled as he looked up from the Bangatta instruction manual he had been reading.
"Whatever." Slade said, as he was about to get up from the chair he was sitting in. However, just as he turned to rise from his seat, his face collided into something soft and squishy. Gulping, Slade looked up to see his face was planted into a very ample amount of cleavage. He felt very uncomfortable as he looked up and quickly pulled his head back.
"Hello there." Jura said and she smiled down at the Tekkaman. "In the next battle, you will be combining with me! I hope you'll keep that in mind."
After she and Barnette left the training center, Slade squirmed a bit in his seat and swallowed hard. When she said the word combine, his thoughts were not about merging mecha.
Duero was getting more worried. After reading the data on all the Vanguard trainees, it was Meia's readouts that had the most disturbing results. She had exhibited signs of agitation, high stress levels, and most significantly... fear. There was no mistake about it. He had tried to talk to her about it, but the Dread leader had maintained that it was just fatigue and continued to ignore any advice or offers for help.
The good doctor had thought about exercising his right to declare Meia unfit for Vanguard duty. However, since he was on a female-dominated ship, his suggestions and opinions may not carry as much weight as they would on a ship from Tarak. Despite the fact that he was the head physician and surgeon on the Nirvana, (albeit he was the ONLY physician and surgeon), he was still considered by most of the crew as an unwanted, but necessary, male crewmember.
In the end, he decided to hold his peace.
A little later...
Slade munched down on the bento that Dita had given to him as they both sat in the Bio-Park of the ship. The young Dread pilot continued to smile happily as she gazed at her Mr. Alien.
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"It just makes me so happy to watch you." Dita replied cheerfully.
Slade gave Dita a funny look, then went back to wolfing down the food. He was going to need all the energy he could get for the next time he transformed. Though he could have simply eaten more of those God-awful pellet rations, he was more than eager to devour real food whenever possible. He had often wondered if this kind of behavior was either instinctual or had been ingrained into him.
Nearby, a certain someone began clicking pictures from behind a tree.
"Pai check!"
We now join Paiway as she is speaking to Jura. The voluptuous Dread pilot was currently taking a shower.
"... and there they were, having a nice little picnic. The thing is, he seemed completely under Dita's control. And it was all because of one little boxed lunch."
Jura smiled after hearing Paiway's report. "Hmmm, I see."
The kitchen...
"That's why I'm doing all this cooking?!" Barnette was quite irritated to learn why her partner Jura had requested that she cook up one of her special meals.
"It's so I can combine." Jura explained as she admired the polish on her nails. "You do love me when I'm beautiful, don't you Barnette?"
The Dread pilot let off an irritated sigh, then smiled evilly when she spotted a bottle of hot sauce. Without Jura noticing it, she began sprinkling a generous portion of the bottle's contents then added a few other choice spices to the filet mignon she was preparing.
"All right, I'm done."
"That's why I love you, Barnette. Let's go find him. I can't wait to see the look on his face!"
Neither can I. Barnette thought.
"So what do you want?" Slade asked with a bit of irritation as he was being dragged toward a table. He could have easily resisted, but had decided that it wouldn't hurt to go with the two Dread pilots.
Slade found himself being directed toward a table with several platters that were covered. As soon as he sat down, Jura lifted the lid and the aroma of food instantly caught the Tekkaman's attention.
"Whoa."
Jura smiled sweetly. "If you agree to combine with me, then you can eat it."
Slade sighed. There had to be a catch. "Fine then, I don't want it."
"Too bad, it's to die for." Jura shrugged as she waited for his response to the delicious smell from the filet mignon.
Slade's stomach rumbled a bit. Even though he had just eaten, he was still a bit hungry. His Tekkaman powers always required large amounts of food energy and it wouldn't hurt to stock up on extra reserves for the impending mission.
"Well... maybe just a little taste... but I'm not saying I'll do it."
Jura nodded as she nodded for him to sample the food. After that first bite, Slade would be twisted around her finger. Behind them, Barnette grinned. After one bite of that doctored food, Slade's taste buds would be totally obliterated.
However, what Barnette didn't know was that Slade was already aware that the food had been given a heavy dose of hot sauce and spices. His sense of smell was a bit more acute due to his Tekkaman abilities. He also had a way of countering the effects of those spices. Just as he placed a small piece of the steak into his mouth, he focused his ki into his tongue to withstand the spicy food. As a result, he felt no pain other than a slight tingle to his taste buds.
"Well?" Jura asked. "How is it?"
Slade shrugged as he chewed the morsel thoughtfully then swallowed. "Not bad. It's... a little bland, though. Do you got any hot sauce?"
Barnette's jaw dropped when she heard this. "WHAT?!"
Slade shrugged again. "I like my food a bit spicy."
"Give me that!" Barnette grabbed the fork out of his hand and used it to pick up another piece of the steak. She then shoved it into her mouth and that's when she felt her tongue ignited with pain. "WAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! WATER! WATER!"
Slade snickered a bit as he and Jura watched Barnette run off with her mouth on fire. Jura looked back to Slade in confusion as the Tekkaman shrugged for the third time.
"Was it something I said?"
It was then that BC's voice was heard on the intercom, stating that it was time for the Vanguard trainees and Slade to prepare to descend toward the planet.
"Oh well." Slade said as he stood up and left the rest of the meal. "No time to eat now." He then ran off toward the hanger where Pegas awaited him.
"Hey! Don't forget that you're supposed to combine with me!" Jura called after him.
"I didn't say that I would!" Slade called back.
A few minutes later, the Tekkabot launched from the Nirvana and sped toward the planet's atmosphere. It was soon followed by the special drop-ship, which had three of the Vanguards mounted on it. Inside the mecha were Dita, Jura, and Barnette (who happened to be sporting a pair of very puffy lips). At the helm of the drop-ship was Jura. Her gaze remained focused on Pegas.
"I won't let you get away that easily." Jura said fondly as she directed the ship to follow Slade's trajectory.
"Stop it! The only one who's going to combine with Mr. Alien is me!" Dita said over the com systems.
"You keep out of this!" Jura shot back.
Barnette shook her head. "Hopeless." She then rubbed her sore lips and wondered just how Slade could have withstood that food.
The Tekkabot and drop-ship made fiery reentry paths though the planet's atmosphere. As soon as they had passed through the clouds and cooled down, the drop-ship broke apart, letting its cargo experience freefall for a few seconds. The Vanguards deployed umbrella-like devices to float down toward the planet's surface. Pegas simply righted itself and fired its control thrusters to slow its own descent. Since it was larger than its counterparts, it was deemed too heavy for the umbrellas to work, so Parfet had installed braking thrusters. Its heavy armor plating also protected it from the heat of reentry.
Inside the Tekkabot, Slade watched the ground approach through the main monitor. He had decided to hold off transforming until he needed to, thereby conserving energy. Pegas caused a small sandstorm to be stirred up when it landed.
The other mecha soon touched down on the desert world and began looking about. They had landed amid several artificial structures, which resembled the ruins of some forgotten city.
On board the Nirvana...
"I'm too late!" Meia said as she ran toward her awaiting Vanguard. Pyoro floated up the girl.
"You're pushing yourself too hard. Don't you think that they will be fine? I'm sure they can get by without you."
"No!" Meia said while shaking her head. "I'm supposed to be responsible for all of them!" Even... Slade. She added silently.
"But the drop-ship was only meant to be used one-way. There aren't any others." The robot pointed out.
"What?"
On the planet's surface, the Vanguard team surveyed the seemingly desolate area. Placed off to one side were the umbrella-like devices, which also functioned like booster rockets for getting back up into orbit, once the mission was finished.
"Well this place is totally deserted. Nothing to get excited about." Jura commented.
Barnette agreed. "There was no need for Meia to come with us."
"Wow. Look at all this sand." Dita remarked.
Slade was unimpressed by the landscape. As he directed Pegas to follow the others, he noted that it was a bit sluggish.
I guess this is Pegas' first time on land. At that moment, the sensors registered a tap on the Tekkabot's shoulders. Slade winced as he saw who it was through the monitors.
Jura smiled seductively in her Vanguard. "Well now, shall we get on with it, hmmm?"
"You've GOT to be kidding! You want to do it now?!"
Pegas tilted its head in confusion. "Inquiry not understood. Please specify what 'it' means."
Dita's Vanguard came stomping up to them. "Hold on! The only one Mr. Alien is going to do it with is ME!"
"You keep out of this!" Jura shot back.
Slade hated to be treated like some sort of possession and decided to end the argument. "Will you both just knock it off?!"
With that, he fired up the Tekkabot's thrusters and took off. However, just as he gained about a hundred meters in altitude, a sensor caught the movement and shot out a beam of red light, which caught the Tekkabot in the back. Several dozen more devices let loose crisscrossing beams that formed a kind of lattice above the area where the Vanguards were, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the planet.
"What the Hell?!" Slade found that his control console was starting to short out as he and Pegas plummeted back down.
High above, a lone Vanguard came down through the clouds. Inside it, Meia piloted the mecha toward the landing coordinates of the other machines. She tried several times to raise her comrades on the communicator, but with no luck. As she headed down toward the surface, her machine began to shudder as a sandstorm suddenly appeared and caused intense turbulence.
On the bridge of the Nirvana, Duero became very concerned. The pulse monitors for each Vanguard pilot were showing elevated heart rates and increased respiration. When he saw Meia's readouts, he knew that they were in serious trouble.
"This is not good. Their pulse rates are increasing and they are showing signs of fear and disorientation. Something bad is happening down there."
BC immediately raised the Vanguards, but the communications links had become unstable. Their responses to her hails became fuzzy.
"We're... (squark)... trapped... (bzzzt!)..."
"Ahhhhhhh! Look... out!"
"The sand... is... (crackle)... attack..."
Buzom's expression turned to confusion. "The sand is attacking?"
Dita became a little more than shocked to see the sand start to move about on its own. As the sandstorm whipped about them, particles started to adhere to the surface of the Vanguards and spread across them like blobs. Servos became locked and other moving parts became jammed, making their movements even more sluggish.
"This sand is a little too freaky!"
Inside Pegas, Slade was getting angry. The sand was trying to pin down his robotic partner and it wouldn't be long before the Tekkabot was immobilized. He had to do something.
"TEKSETTER!"
Luckily, the top of the Tekkabot was still uncovered and the hatch opened up for the Tekkaman to burst out. As he landed beside his now inert partner, he gazed at it while trying to think of the best way to free Pegas. At that moment, Jura's mecha came up.
"Leave this to me!"
Activating the vent exhaust located on the front of her Vanguard, Jura directed the airflow to blow off the sand that was coating the Tekkabot. A minute later, the machine got back onto its feet.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Slade admitted.
Jura smiled as she said, "And for my reward, you know what I want."
The Tekkaman gave her a disgruntled snort. "Are you STILL hung up with that combining stuff?! Haven't you figured out yet that I can only combine with your Dreads? How the heck am I supposed to combine my armor with a Vanguard?"
The blonde's face then became both shocked and disappointed. "You're kidding! If I had known that, I never would have trained for this mission!"
Meia's mecha landed hard on the planet's surface. Her cockpit became dark as several systems went offline. Due to the storm, she had landed several hundred meters from where the others were. Her breathing became rapid and she was taking short gasps. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her forehead became sweaty and her eyes widened in terror.
She then heard Duero's voice on the comlink.
"Meia! Meia! Do you copy? Turn on your main monitor! Look as far away as you can!"
The Dread leader reached out with a trembling hand and pressed a switch. "He... should mind his own... damned business!"
As the monitor lit up and showed the sandy landscape, her breathing became calmer and her heart rate dropped a bit. However, her relief would prove to be temporary as she caught movement in the distance. Something was heading right for her.
"What's that?"
The Nirvana...
"Meia's mecha had disappeared from the sensors!"
BC acknowledged the bridge crewmember and tried to raise the others. "Barnette! Jura! Dita! Slade! Do you copy? Meia has disappeared! You have to find her!"
The landing group had received the message. However, the Vanguards and Tekkaman were too busy to respond. Just after they had freed themselves from the sand particles, a new threat suddenly appeared. Several mounds of the sand on the ground began to rise and take the form of the Vanguards. The Dread pilots were now putting their newly learned combat skills to the test. However, like the male trainees of the Ikazuchi, they too were inexperienced in such maneuvers, and were slowly being pushed back.
Dita struggled as on of the sand-shapes grappled with her mecha. She saw that the systems were being drained of their power.
"The sand is copying the Vanguard's systems! It's... almost as if the blood was being drained out of us!"
Fortunately for the group, Slade was quite familiar with such situations and promptly took charge. An instant after Dita engaged in combat, the sand-monster was slashed in half from behind by Slade's lance. Using his superior speed and maneuverability, the Tekkaman began flashing in and out of the groups of Sand-Vanguards and took out a few more, giving the Vanguards more room to fight. Patching into their communications arrays, he began giving orders.
"Don't let these things separate you! Watch each other's backs!"
Barnette growled. "I don't take orders from a man!"
However, Slade ignored her comments, as this was not the time for arguing. He ordered Pegas to take to the air and start strafing the enemy. The Tekkabot took off and began raining down cannon fire and laser bolts, causing the sand-creatures to scatter. As the enemy was forced back, Slade pressed the attack, while motioning for the others to follow behind him. He couldn't use his Voltekker, since his comrades were too close and would be caught in the blast. They would have to take out their enemies one by one. Then again, close-quarters combat was something that he excelled in.
"I'm right behind you, Mr. Alien!"
"What are you doing?!" Barnette shouted out.
Dita replied while fighting off another foe. "Mr. Alien is trying to help us!"
Barnette gritted her teeth as she saw Jura's Vanguard following Dita's. The blonde pilot added. "She's got a point, Barnette! We have to do this and Slade seems to be our best bet to getting out of here alive, so come on!"
The Dread pilot snarled a bit, but finally relented and followed after her comrades.
After a few minutes of nonstop fighting, the tide slowly began to turn. As the sand-Vanguards lessened in number, Slade raised Barnette. "Barnette, we can handle the rest here. Go look for Meia!"
"I told you that I don't take orders from a man!"
"Either take orders from a man, or lose your team leader! Your choice!"
Jura's friend growled, but realized that Slade was right. She then went off in search of her comrade.
"Run a full analysis!" BC commanded as communications with the landing party was reestablished.
Ezra nodded as she worked her console. She then brought the results on the monitor. "There seems to be some kind of device hidden underground that's controlling the sand."
"So this was some kind of trap left by our enemies, eh?" Magno commented as her eyes narrowed. "And with that force-field in place, our Vanguards are cut off. What's happening down there now?"
BC looked at the readouts and became a bit surprised. "The Vanguards are engaged in some kind of counter-attack."
"Who's leading them? Is it Barnette?" The captain had been informed that Barnette was the most proficient Vanguard pilot out of the four trainees.
BC shook her head. "No. She's gone to look for Meia. The one who's leading the attack is... Slade."
Meia shivered in fear as her Vanguard lay on its back, as the living sand was swallowing it up. As the strange substance coated her mecha and rendered her helpless, her body began to lock up and her breathing rate became shallower. Her heart rate became like a hummingbird's and she couldn't seem to calm down.
"W-W-What should I do? I'm... so scared..."
Just as her machine was completely engulfed by the sand, Barnette's mecha came onto the scene.
"MEIA!"
Barnette engaged the shovel extension of her Vanguard and tried to remove the sand that had trapped Meia. She couldn't use the vent exhaust as it was too clogged from the sandstorm and had suffered some damage during the battle.
Suddenly, Meia's sand-coated mecha got up and knocked Barnette's machine away. It rocketed upward to touch the force-field high above. This caused a loud alarm to ring out as several structures lit up and began pulsating.
"What's going on?" Magno demanded.
Ezra gasped as she read the readouts from the sudden power buildup from the planet's surface. "Some kind of auto-destruct sequence has been activated!"
Another crewmember confirmed this. "A countdown has begun... three hundred seconds to detonation!"
"Nirvana to landing party! Get out of there now!" BC cried out.
"We'd love to do that, but we're a little busy down here!" Slade said as he slashed another of the sand-creatures apart. He then turned and saw another coming at him. However, just as he was about to attack, Barnette's mecha came up from behind it.
"NO! STOP! THAT THING IS MEIA! THE SAND GOT HER AND IT'S CONTROLLING HER!"
Inside the mecha, the Dread Leader was in a state of catatonic shock and didn't seem to notice anything at all. She was suddenly jolted back to reality as her Vanguard was suddenly knocked onto its back. She then heard Slade's voice over the communicator.
"What the Hell are you doing in there? We don't have time for this!" The Tekkaman stood on the downed machine, and began using his lance to try and get the sand off. However, every time he cleared an area, the sand would simply cover it up.
"F-F-Forget about me... save yourselves..." Meia said weakly.
"Don't be so selfish!" Slade shot back. "Your reason for living may be to give me Hell, but I'd feel real crappy if I let you die in front my eyes!"
Damn! This isn't working! Slade couldn't ask Jura to blow off the sand as she had done before with Pegas. By this time, the sand had coated Meia's Vanguard in a layer that was too dense for such measures. He needed another way. It was then that he noticed a kind of storage tank nearby. His armor's sensors picked up a kind of gas that was at least sixty degrees colder than the outside temperature.
"One hundred and fifty seconds until detonation."
"Did you hear that?" Buzom cried out on the communicator.
"TELL ME SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW!" Slade shouted back as he hurled his lance at the storage tank. The structure exploded, unleashing its payload of freezing mist. The cloud of cooling vapors spread across the whole area, chilling everything in its path. At the same time, the force-field above them deactivated as the circuitry became frozen.
"What are you doing?! It's getting cold in here! I'm freezing!" Jura complained, then realized something. "Wait a minute...?" She looked through her monitor and saw that the sand-creature she had been fighting suddenly became stiff and brittle. It then broke apart into a pile of shards. The other enemies followed suit.
"You're so smart, Mr. Alien!"
Barnette hated to admit it, but it had been a good idea.
Slade nodded as he looked back toward Meia's Vanguard. The sand that was coating it cracked apart, allowing Meia to see daylight again.
Inside her machine, Meia took on a scowl. To think that she now owed a man her life. She tried to make her mecha move, but it would not respond. She looked at her readouts and saw that the sand had drained much of her power systems. There was no way that she could escape in time.
"It won't budge!"
Slade saw this and decided on the only course of action. There was no time to be delicate. Plowing his fist into the chest of the mecha, he tore open the canopy and stared down at the pilot, while extending out a hand.
"Come on!"
"What?"
"Right now, it doesn't matter between men and women! We don't have time to argue. If you don't want to die, then take my hand!"
"Thirty seconds!"
"PEGAS! Open up the cockpit!"
The Tekkabot came down beside its partner and opened up. Meia was immediately placed inside. At that moment, more of the sand-Vanguards began to form around them.
"GET GOING! ALL OF YOU!" Slade called out as he retrieved his lance and began fighting off the enemy. "I'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU! PEGAS! LAUNCH NOW!"
The Tekkabot acknowledged the command and promptly lifted off. The other Vanguards followed suit, using their booster units to achieve escape velocity. Dita looked back and saw that Slade had finished off the last of his opponents and was just starting to lift off.
However, the computer that controlled the sand decided that if it were going down, then it would take the Tekkaman with it. A huge shape emerged from the sand and formed a gigantic hand, which snared Slade's legs and began dragging him back down.
"Mr. Alien" Dita cried out, though it was too late for anyone to help. The Vanguards and Tekkabot were speeding away, just as the countdown reached zero.
Slade turned about and stared down at the thing that was trying to kill him.
I've had just about enough of you! His shoulder guards opened up and began focusing energy. His sensors located the master computer and then...
"VOLTEKKER!"
"Time's up."
On the bridge of the Nirvana, Magno and her crew watched with apprehension as the surface of the planet became covered with huge balls of orange-red explosions. Duero's medical monitors showed nothing but static. There was a foreboding silence on the bridge, as the pirates feared for the worst. Then a minute later, three of the five readouts for the landing party registered life signs as something burst out from the conflagrations that were ravaging the planet's surface.
"Three Vanguards and the Tekkabot are accounted for." Ezra said with a mixture of relief and concern.
"Only three?" Buzom said with apprehension. "Which ones?"
"I count Dita, Jura, and Barnette's Vanguards." Ezra replied.
"If the Tekkabot is there, then that means that Slade survived, and Meia is..." Buzom began.
"Hold on!" Duero interrupted as he received a new readout from Pegas. "I'm picking up a new set of life signs from the Tekkabot. Slade isn't on Pegas. It's Meia!"
"You mean... Meia is on the Tekkabot?"
Magno became a bit confused at the news. "If Meia is on the Tekkabot, then where's Slade?"
The answer to the captain's question was answered a moment later when another explosion rocked the planet's surface. This time however, the explosion was bright, emerald-white hue. A few moments later, the Tekkaman rocketed upward from the blast and joined the landing party as they headed toward the Nirvana.
Erza breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled. "All Vanguard pilots and Slade are safe and accounted for."
The rest of the bridge personnel let off collective sigh as well. It was then that one of the crewmembers announced that she had received some data from the investigation.
"Read it." Buzom ordered.
The girl became a little tense, but nodded. "Attention. This year's harvest includes red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, lymph products, etc. All blood products are in good condition. That's where the data ends."
The pirate captain and her first officer became uneasy at this news. It was apparent that the enemy wanted nothing more than to harvest the crew like vegetables. Whatever motives the aliens had, it was for certain that they were quite formidable.
In the hanger bay, the Vanguards were being put away, but Parfet had decided that they would have to be maintained from now on, in case they would be needed again. With the aliens now stepping up in their attacks and such, it was a very real possibility.
Dita and the other pilots sat off to one side. Meia watched with a bit of anger at Slade, as he worked on Pegas.
Being saved by someone is bad enough, but being rescued by a man is a disgrace. And of all the men in the universe, it HAD to be him!
On the boarding ramp, Slade was quite aware that Meia harbored some resentment toward him, but decided to let it go. He only did what he had to do to save everyone and that was it.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
"Pai check!"
Pyoro floated up behind Paiway and remarked, " I guess I'll never understand humans."
"What would be the point when you do?" Paiway asked.
"What's the point of what you're doing right now?"
"What a mean robot."
"Shut up."
Later...
"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Meia asked as she came into the conference room. She saw that Buzom and Duero were also present.
"Yes, Meia. There's something that I'd like to discuss with you. Please sit down."
The strong-willed girl became a bit tense as she suspected the reason why she had been summoned. "Captain, if it's about the mission..."
"That's exactly why I called for you." Magno said then took a deep breath. "This will be difficult for me to say... but I won't beat around the bush. As captain of this ship, my first priority is to the safety and well being of this crew. As such, I am expected to make some hard decisions." She then turned to Duero. "Doctor, what was your final analysis concerning this matter?"
The Nirvana's healer nodded as he addressed Meia. "I'm sorry to say this, but as the ship's head physician, I have to declare you as psychologically unfit to take part in any further Vanguard missions. It is my sad duty to permanently ground you from the Van-types."
"What?!" Meia shot up and slammed both hands on the conference table. She gave him a glare. "You can't say that! I lead all combat missions for this ship! Who are you to say of what I can or can't do?!"
"He happens to be our ship's doctor." Magno said sternly and motioned for the girl to sit, which Meia did reluctantly.
"Captain! You can't be serious about this! He doesn't have any authority on this ship and he's just a man!"
"On the contrary, Meia. I totally agree with him." The aged woman said. "And as I recall, I did make him, Bart, and Slade members of this crew for the duration of this voyage. His analysis of your behavior during that last mission coincides with something that I've suspected of you for some time."
"What are you talking about? I was just suffering from fatigue, that's all!"
Duero shook his head. "You showed signs of agitation, nervousness, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, and higher blood pressure. You became indecisive and distraught. At one point during the mission, your entire body locked up. Those symptoms only occurred when you got into the cockpit of a Vanguard. I also saw those readouts when you rode Pegas. You showed all the classic signs of claustrophobia. (1) It seems that you cannot stand confined spaces and you panicked inside the Vanguard's cockpit."
"Ridiculous!" Meia denied. "I'm not going to just sit here and listen to this nonsense! I pilot a Dread better than anyone else, so what makes you think that I would have trouble with a Vanguard?"
"Unlike a Van-Type, a Dread's cockpit is more open and spacious, so it's not surprising that you would feel more comfortable in a Dread."
"He's right." Magno said quietly.
"What? You're actually siding with this... this... man?!"
"It's not a question of whether the doctor is a man or a woman, Meia." Buzom stated firmly. "The fact is that he has far more medical training than anyone else on board this ship and he had raised a valid point, in which the safety of fellow crewmembers was affected. Your fear of closed spaces had endangered the others. In fact, Slade had to rescue you."
Meia became silent at this statement and angrily remembered how that male had saved her and gotten the others to safety. She had been upstaged again by the Tekkaman and now this male doctor was telling her that she was unfit for combat! Why couldn't those men just go away? Things had been fine until they came on board!
Magno noted the young girl's reaction. "Meia, do not think that we are turning against you. Far from it. We are only thinking about your safety, as well as the rest of the crew. You are an outstanding Dread pilot and commander. No one on this ship would dispute that. Therefore, you shall remain as the leader of the Dread squadrons. However, both Buzom and I agreed that we couldn't risk losing you if we were to send you out in a Vanguard again. Do you understand?"
Meia remained silent for a long time while considering her captain's words. Finally, with a sigh, she reluctantly nodded. "I can see how I'm not going to win this argument. Very well then. So we just won't use the Vanguards any more. This was just the only time."
Buzom shook her head. "I'm sorry to say this Meia, but the captain and I also agreed to keep the Vanguards as an alternative. We don't know what we'll encounter on our way back to Mejele and there may be situations in which the Vanguards will be needed. Therefore, we have decided to appoint a Vanguard squadron leader for any future missions."
"I see." Though Meia didn't like the idea of not being able to lead all combat missions, she understood that it was for the good of the crew. "So, will Barnette be taking over, or will it be Jura?"
Both captain and first officer glanced at each other with a slight bit of uneasiness. Then Magno spoke.
"Barnette did show considerable potential as a Vanguard pilot and Jura seemed to handle one well enough. However, we have already decided on the best candidate for the position. He showed exceptional leadership and control in a very tense situation."
"Then who is..." Meia's eyes widened as she realized something. "Wait a second! Did you say HE?! You don't mean that you're going to put HIM in charge of the Vanguard squadron, are you?!"
Slade's quarters...
"Now let me get this straight. You want ME to be the new Vanguard leader and take charge of all future Van-Type fighter missions?" Slade was in a state of shock. The women were asking him to lead them into battle?
"That's about the long and short of it." Magno replied.
"No offense, old woman... but are you finally becoming senile? I don't know anything about leading a group."
"You didn't have any problems with leading the landing party on that planet."
"I only took charge because I had to, not because I wanted to! Why don't you have Meia or Barnette be the new Vanguard leader?"
Magno shook her head. "I'm afraid that this is one type of combat mission that Meia is totally unsuited for. As for Barnette, she can pilot a Vanguard, but she doesn't have the kind of experience that you have."
"What do you mean?"
"You've shown that you're very experienced with hand-to-hand fighting and close-quarters combat. That is the specialty of the Vanguards, not the Dreads. Furthermore, your powers as a Tekkaman can only enhance the effectiveness of those machines, just as you had demonstrated today. You've shown compassion for a comrade, regardless of gender. I can't think of a better woman, er... man, uh, I mean person for the job."
Slade snorted a bit in disdain, then said, "Even if I did take the position, what makes you think that any of your crew would even listen to my orders, let alone follow them?"
"They will. They're a good crew and will do what is necessary to get the job done. I know them enough. So what is your answer?"
Slade paused for a while before answering. "I'll think about it."
The Tekkaman decided to ponder his decision in the hanger. When he arrived, he saw that the place was deserted, save for a certain someone that was sitting in her Dread's open cockpit. Without anything better to do, he walked up to it. He didn't bother to try and mask the sound of his approach, though if he wanted to, he could sneak up behind the girl without a sound.
Meia perked up from her brooding when she heard the footsteps of someone approaching. She looked down from her seat and frowned when she saw who it was.
"What are you doing here?" She asked irritably.
Slade shrugged as he stopped before the Dread and looked up. "Same reason why you're here, I guess, to think about a few things."
"Yeah right. You're just here to gloat, aren't you?" Meia shot back.
"I don't know what you're talking about and I certainly don't have anything to gloat about."
"Stop lying! You probably jumped for joy when you heard that I got kicked off the Vanguard squadron. By now, the captain has probably given command of all the Vanguard missions to you, right?"
"Well, she has offered me the position of Vanguard leader, but I haven't accepted it yet."
"What?"
Slade took a deep breath before continuing. "I really don't want the job, but it seems that the captain and the higher-ups want me to take it. I'm not much when it comes to teams, but for the time being, it looks like I have to work with everyone, and that includes you."
"I want nothing to do with you! I don't need anyone's help, and I especially don't need help from a man!"
"Gee... that's too bad." Slade said nonchalantly. "And here I thought we made an okay team so far."
"What are you talking about?!"
"Well, we did a pretty good job against that space urchin as Tekkadread Meia, remember? Neither of us could have defeated that thing alone. And even though you did screw up today, do you hear me laughing or gloating about it? Nope. All I did was save a comrade. I'm sure that you would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed, right?"
"W-W-What?!" Meia couldn't believe her ears. Slade was actually being humble? He wasn't showing any arrogance or cockiness?
"I've always been relying on myself. I never asked for anyone's help. I was proud of what I had accomplished and being independent. In a way... I guess that makes me like you, right?"
The Dread leader became shocked to hear this, and what even more shocking was the fact that Slade raised a good point. In this light, they were similar. They were both strong-willed and fiercely independent. They did what was necessary to get the job done and neither one was willing to back down from any challenge.
The Tekkaman was about to say something else, when a certain voice called out.
"Oh Mr. Alien!"
"Aw nuts! I gotta go!" Slade immediately ran off to leave Meia alone with her thoughts. And she had a lot of thinking to do.
To be continued...
Preview...
Dita: "WAAAAAHHH! This is really bad! Leader's been wounded and the bad aliens are pounding on us!"
Slade: "Keep your head on, Dita! We'll get through this somehow!"
Jura: "Umm…. Try this formation… no… this one… oh I don't know! What would Meia do!?"
Slade: "As we fight the enemy outside, Meia has a battle of her own in her heart. She must struggle to conquer the demons of her past."
Dita: "WHAT!? You mean she's possessed as well!?"
Slade: "Not those kinds of demons… Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'The Gauntlet'."
Meia: "Mother… I'm sorry…"
Author's notes
As you can see, the changes in this story in comparison to episode 5 of Vandread is significant as I wanted some more character interaction. I like Meia, Jura and Dita and I wanted Slade to have more scenes between these three as the series progresses. As to who gets him in the end, well that remains to be seen.
In chapter six, we'll see more about Meia's past and how Ranma/Slade deals with his new responsibilities.
(1) If you've seen episode five and six of Vandread, then one could understand how I came to the conclusion that Meia is claustrophobic. I saw a scene in which Meia was a young girl and was shoved into an extremely crowded space capsule. That was the last time she saw her mother (fahma), and I could imagine the stifling crowds and feeling of helplessness would cause a lot of childhood trauma. Did anyone notice that she had a spacious cockpit in her Dread and a big space window in her room? That would further indicate that she doesn't like closed areas. This would explain why she did so poorly as a Vanguard pilot.
Please read and review!