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: Don't blame me, I'm just the writer!

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 8

A Punk with a Punch

The pirate vessel floated near an ancient space station which had been used during the colonization era. The old stations were called Missions and they had been temporary havens for weary travelers and merchant vessels. However, this particular Mission was abandoned and had been nothing more than a derelict hulk by the time the Nirvana came across it. However, the captain had decided to send an exploration and salvage team to the station in the hopes of finding more data on their alien pursuers. At the very least, the females could get a hold of spare parts and supplies.

Currently, Meia, Jura, Barnette, Dita, Slade, Pegas, and Pyoro were aboard the Mission.

Inside the station, Meia was busy removing components from a computer console. Floating nearby was Pyoro.

"What are you doing?" The robot asked innocently.

"What does it look like?" The girl replied angrily.

"It looks like you are looting this place."

"It's not looting!"

"It looks like looting to me."

"Well it's not!"

"Then what do you call it?"

"We're just... salvaging raw material, that's all! It's not like this stuff belongs to anyone, so we're just making use of it, that's all!"

"Oh. Well why didn't you say so?" The robot asked as it floated off to join the others in the search for more material. It soon joined up with Slade as he was busy exploring an old storage facility.

As Slade wandered about, he began to feel something, just on the edge of his enhanced sense of perception. It wasn't anything dangerous, but he felt as if he was being watched. His body tensed up a bit as he readied himself for anything. At that moment, Pyoro came up to him.

"What's wrong, Slade?" The robot asked.

"Something's... not right." The Tekkaman began as he looked about his surroundings. His eyes then glanced up and saw something move about in the rafters and support beams above them. He glimpsed a shadow rush across a beam and reacted. "THERE!"

Raising a hand, he let loose with a quick blast of ki which shot out and blasted the support beam. The shadow darted away and then came down to the floor. The explosion caught the attention of the other pirates and they started running toward the source of the disturbance.

"It's a... chimp?" Slade said.

In actuality, it was an orangutan that was wearing a kind of white dress. Apparently, it was a female. She made some funny noises as she gazed upon the Tekkaman, then let off a happy whoop when it saw Pyoro. In a flash, she rushed at the robot, swept it up and began licking it affectionately. Understandably, the robot was not pleased with the sudden act of slobbering adoration.

"ACK! HELP! SLADE! HELP ME!"

Slade was still in a state of confusion when his senses then picked up another presence. This time, he did feel a sensation of danger as he whirled about in a ready stance. That was when he saw... him.

The man was tall, taller than he was, and had more muscle mass. He was built more along the lines of a body builder, as compared to Slade's gymnastic form. He had a kind of technological eye-patch over his right eye and two green stripes of face paint marking his left cheek. His dark brown hair was slicked back, except for a one long tress that hung out in front, just above a jewel on his forehead. He wore clothes that were reminiscent of the native American people and seemed to carry himself with a confidence that mirrored the Tekkaman's. However, it was coupled with a kind of sneakiness that made Slade feel uneasy.

The stranger didn't even seem to notice Slade and he gazed at the simian that was pawing the Nirvana's mascot. In a deep, voice, he called out to the ape. "Utan!"

The orangutan looked up and nodded to her master. She ran up to his side, with Pyoro in her arms.

"What's that you've got there?" The man asked his ape companion.

Utan smiled as she held up the now drenched Pyoro.

The stranger took on a nasty smile as he assessed his new property. "Well, now... I'd say that this thing would fetch us some fast cash... once we strip it down of course."

Utan shook her head and held Pyro close to her.

At this point, Slade decided to come to Pyoro's rescue. "Put him down!"

The man looked back to Slade. "Excuse me?"

"I said... put him down!"

The man gazed down at his opponent and snorted a bit. Slade looked a lot younger than he actually was. Though he appeared as a teenager between the ages of seventeen and eighteen, he was actually over five hundred years old, due to the time he had spent in the Tekkapod. Furthermore, his frame didn't really look like it belonged to a fighter and the stranger decided that Slade was nothing more than a cocky little punk. He was bigger and stronger than this small fry.

"Well?" Slade demanded as he shifted his stance a bit.

The man snorted again and said, "Hey, it's finders-keepers. Utan found him, so that makes him mine. Why should I listen to a snot-nosed punk?"

"What did you call me?" Slade felt his temper rise a bit at the punk reference. However, he was quite familiar with such tactics. Often an enemy would insult his opponent to get him to lose his temper and become more careless. It was after all, a standard tactic in the Anything Goes. Slade wasn't going to fall for it.

"So you don't like what I just called you?" The man taunted a bit. "Well, then..." He then got into a ready stance of his own. "Why don't you come over here and teach me some manners?" He gave Slade a smug grin. "If you can."

Slade assessed his opponent's stance. Hmmm, he's got some experience. He's probably a street fighter and wouldn't hesitate to cheat. He made note of whatever weapons the man had on him. He caught a glimpse of a boot knife, as well as a holster.

"Well come on." The stranger taunted. "If you can beat me, then I'll take back what I just called you and give you this robot too."

Slade weighed his options. It wasn't that he could not defeat this man. With his skills and powers, the Tekkaman could easily obliterate him. However, there was Pyoro to think of. The robot was annoying, but it was an ally and a part of the Nirvana's crew, so he had to take its safety into account.

At that moment, the others came onto the scene.

"Mr. Alien!"

Slade glanced over his shoulder and saw Dita and Meia running up to him. On the other side, Jura and Barnette also ran towards them. With that slight distraction, the stranger took advantage of his situation. Quickly snatching Pyoro, he threw it toward Slade's head. However, the Tekkaman sensed the danger, then ducked. Pyoro went sailing over his head and ended up hitting someone else. Meia went sprawling as the mechanical mascot hit her in the face.

The stranger then lunged at Slade while drawing his knife. Taking a hostage would give him a bit of an edge and since Slade was the closest...

However, the former Saotome wasn't going to be anyone's hostage. Just as the man reached out to grab him, Slade swerved to avoid the arm then shot a rabbit punch to the man's throat. He didn't put much force into the blow, but no matter how strong a person was, a hit in that area always hurt.

The stranger gasped as he suddenly felt himself choking for air. His grip on his knife loosened and the weapon was knocked away by Slade's follow-up kick. Grabbing the still extended arm, Slade tossed the man over his shoulder and slammed him to the floor, causing him to make a dull, metallic clang.

The stranger was about to get up and attack again, but a laser beam shot out and burned a hole in the floor just a few inches from the right side of his face. That stopped him cold.

"DON'T MOVE!" Meia warned as she held her laser-ring at the ready.

The stranger saw that he was in a very bad spot. Meia was in perfect position to end his life with one shot. Jura and Barnette came up to back up their comrade. He glanced over to where Slade was standing and scowled at being thrown by that punk. He just got lucky. He then raised his hands in a non-threatening gesture. He also nodded to Utan, signaling to her that she should not try to attack.

"Now who are you? What are you doing here?" Meia demanded.

The man shrugged as he replied. "The name's Rabat, and I suppose I'm here for the same reasons you are."

Slade suddenly stiffened when he heard the name. It sounded familiar, as he was sure that he had come across the name before. He tried to recall where he had heard of the name during his planet-hopping days, before he had joined up with Magno's crew.

"What are you talking about?" Meia asked.

"You're here to loot this abandoned Mission, just like I am, right?" Rabat responded.

Pyoro floated up to Meia. "I thought you said that this was just salvage?"

Meia was about to retort to the machine, when there was a sudden explosion which rocked the entire station. Meia then received a message from Buzom, informing her that they were now under attack by the enemy.

Outside of the Mission, the Nirvana's Dread teams were already fighting the groups of Cube Fighters that had just suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. As the battle began to get intense, several dots of light shot from the space station. Meia and the other Dread pilots had quickly scrambled to aid their comrades, leaving their prisoner and his simian companion to fend for themselves.

In the station, Rabat saw this as an excellent opportunity to make his escape. He motioned for Utan to follow him to their ship, which was docked in a hangar bay on the other side of the station. As they ran toward their vessel, Rabat smiled as he saw what was in Utan's arms. In their haste to join the battle, they had forgotten something.

As Rabat guided his ship out of the hangar, he was greeted by a storm of lasers and missile trails as the pirates and their opponents exchanged fire. His ship's scanners then picked up some new type of alien fighters that came out of the Mission and headed toward the Nirvana. The trader shrugged. It seemed as if he wasn't surprised by the arrival of the newest weapon in the aliens' arsenal. What appeared next took him completely off guard.

A flash of emerald light caught his attention and his eyes widened as he beheld the punk that had thrown him undergo a startling transformation. His body was stripped of clothes, then that light suddenly became armor which fused to his body. Another flash of light was seen and Slade was then darting about the enemy forces, cutting them to pieces with a bladed weapon. A strange machine then burst from the station to join up with the Tekkaman. The mecha didn't fit any profile in Rabat's tactical computer, though it resembled the Vanguards of the planet Tarak. It began transforming as it neared its partner.

The Tekkaman and Tekkabot came together and were engulfed in a blinding aura of power which turned them into a comet of destruction. They plowed through the enemy like a bull through a China shop. After making several passes through the alien ranks and lessening their numbers, the Tekkaman leapt off Pegas and continued to tear into the enemy.

As Rabat watched in awe, his devious mind began to work. This could prove to be very profitable...

As Slade polished off his latest targets, he found himself being continually pestered by a couple of Dread pilots. Jura's fighter came alongside of him.

"Well now, shall we combine, my little Tekkaman?"

"NO WAY!" Dita cried out as she cut in front of Jura. Slade couldn't stop his forward momentum in time and the two became Tekkadread Dita.

"HEY! HE WAS MINE!" The blonde pilot shouted out.

Dita responded by giving her the Japanese Red Eye. "You snooze, you lose!"

"I WON'T FORGET THIS!"

Slade sighed and decided that as long as he was in control of the Tekkadread's awesome firepower, he may as well take out the source of the new enemy craft. Swinging the huge shoulder cannons into position, he aimed, then focused his powers into the systems.

The cannons let loose with twin beams of destruction, which merged together and formed one massive wave that obliterated the entire space station. All that was left were a few scraps of debris.

Rabat's jaw dropped to his console. Then he grinned even more evilly. I think I just hit the mother lode.

It was then that his ship rocked from some explosions. Looking at his tactical scanners, he saw that he was surrounded by the remaining enemy fighters.

"Oop chee!" Utan pleaded as she looked at her partner with soulful eyes.

"Oh all right. Go ahead." Rabat said with a sigh.

The ape happily went off to a section behind the pilot's cabin. A minute later, a hatch on top of Rabat's craft opened up and a monstrous-looking mecha emerged. Inside it, Utan smiled as she held out two manipulators and pressed the firing mechanisms.

The machine let loose with a murderous storm of missiles, bullets, cannon, and laser shots at the swarms of alien craft. The enemy ships were blown apart as the simian fired with glee. For two minutes, she continued shooting at anything that moved, chopping the enemy to pieces. Finally, she let off a contented sigh and relaxed as the arms of the mecha lowered.

On the bridge, Rabat let off an irritated growl as he saw that Utan had once again exhausted the ship's ordinance and ammunition.

Damn! There goes last week's profits!

A few minutes later, the bridge of the Nirvana made contact with the other vessel as Magno came face to face with Rabat. Beside her were her first officer, Dita, and Slade.

"Thanks to you guys, my ship received some engine damage!" Rabat complained.

"And you're expecting us to help you?" Magno asked.

"I should think so." Rabat said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Magno snorted at the audacity of the man. "We're pirates and we only look out for ourselves."

Rabat smirked while shrugging, then held up something. "Oh well. I guess that means that I can keep this, right?"

Dita gasped as she saw that in their hurry to fight the enemy, they had forgotten about Pyoro.

Magno sighed as she nodded. "He is part of our crew." She then addressed Rabat. "Very well then, you may come aboard."

Rabat... I know I've heard that name before. Just where was it? Slade thought as he watched the so-called trader peddle his wares to the other members of the female crew. His apparent charm and the glittery trinkets that he offered for sale took in many of the females. He also hinted that he knew about the relationships between men and women, which made him seem even more intriguing to the female pirates. Even the levelheaded Parfet couldn't resist Rabat's apparent generosity, when he gave her a power coupling that was supposed to dramatically increase the Paksis' energy output. Paiway tried to impress the trader by using the free samples of make-up, but Rabat said for her to wait another five years.

At that point, Meia walked up to Slade's side with the same suspicious expression on her face. She was a bit disgusted at how some of her own comrades were fawning over the newcomer.

"I don't trust him." She said simply.

Slade snorted a bit. "For once... I agree. There's just something about him that turns my stomach. I think he knows more about our enemy than he's letting on. I mean, he wasn't too surprised or concerned when we were attacked. I'd trust him about as far as I could throw him."

Meia allowed herself a slight smile. "That would be quite a distance."

Slade chuckled a bit. "It would be. But aside from that, I know I've heard his name somewhere before."

"You have?"

"Yeah. Like I told Dita, I did a lot of planet hopping before ending up on the Ikazuchi, and I know that..." It was then that Slade swore-snapped his fingers. "That's it! I remember now! Zervin!"

"Huh?"

Slade didn't bother to explain as he saw that Rabat had disappeared. He then went off looking for him.

Rabat shook himself a bit as he came to where the three transformed Dreads and Vanguards were stored. He had just encountered Buzom as he went to check on his ship. Though the first officer was very attractive, there was just something about her that was... off.

As he entered the area, he smiled as he spied the Tekkabot, which was currently dormant as it recharged its power cells. The trader had a hunch that the mecha was related to the power that he had witnessed earlier. However, as he approached it, someone was present to block his path.

Slade had just come onto the scene when he witnessed Dita barring Rabat's way to Pegas.

"No! This is Mr. Alien's partner!" Dita said while shaking her head and spreading her arms out wide.

"Aw, c'mon! I just want to have a look at it." Rabat said in his smoothest tone.

"No!"

"Not even one little peek?" Rabat smiled as he leaned forward and brought his face close to hers.

Slade felt a twinge of anger at the trader. He didn't like people like Rabat, and Dita was just too pure and innocent to be near such a person. Just as Rabat was about to kiss her, he called out to her.

"HEY!"

Dita was snapped back to reality as she glanced over to the hangar entrance and saw Slade.

"Mr. Alien!"

Slade nodded, not at all annoyed at the 'Mr. Alien' name, this time. "You'd better stay away from him. You'll never know what kind of disease you can pick up from space vermin."

Rabat turned to face his rival, then snorted at the 'vermin' reference. "Oh? And who are you to tell her who she should associate with, punk?"

Slade was not at all affected by Rabat's attempt to rile him. "Let's just say that I think she could do way better than a walking compost heap like you."

"Ooh... is that a threat or a challenge?"

"Take it as you please." Slade shrugged as he began walking toward him. "Do you remember a planet called Zervin?"

Rabat cocked his head in mock thought, then shrugged. "That sounds... vaguely familiar. I might have done business there."

"Bullshit!" Slade growled as he stopped to within ten feet of the trader. "You sold one of their colonies an experimental water purifier and nearly half of their population got sick from bacterial contamination!"

Rabat shrugged again. "Hey. I sold it to them cheap. They got what they paid for."

"What they paid for was a STOLEN item!" Slade shot back. "That purifier had come from a manufacturing plant on Talana, and the engineers hadn't worked out all bugs in the filtration system before you took it. I guess your conscience was on vacation when you offered it to that colony, knowing full well that people could have died. It was a lucky thing that I came along and helped them find a source of fresh water before they all became diseased! But it didn't matter to you, did it? All you cared about was lining your pockets with the hard-earned money of a poor planet!"

By this time, several of the Nirvana crew came to the scene, including Meia, Jura, Barnette, and some members of the Warrior Squadron.

"Hmpf! Don't go telling me how to run my own business." Rabat didn't like Slade's attitude, then saw that this was an opportune moment for profit. "I just make the best deals that I can to eke out a living. And right now, I see a very good chance of doubling my profit margins."

"What are you talking about?"

Rabat gestured to Pegas. "I like this machine. I think that it would make a very tidy sum, once I have its systems analyzed. However, I know that you would never sell it, so how about I suggest a kind of challenge?"

"Challenge?"

"Yes. We never did get to have our little fight back at the Mission, and I wondered just how much I could pound on a punk like you. So how's about it? If I win, then I get this machine."

"And if I win?"

Rabat smirked confidently. There was just no way this punk could beat him. "If by some miracle you beat me, then I'll give you some information that you might find interesting."

"Like what?"

"Oh, like some data about the aliens that you're fighting against, plus a few other little tidbits. Interested?"

Slade considered the scum in front of him. It was obvious that he knew more about the aliens than he was telling and new data about them would be welcomed. However, Rabat was someone that one should keep on his guard about. It was very likely that he was going to cheat. With a slow nod, the Tekkaman went into a battle stance. "You're on."

Sucker. Rabat thought as he was looking forward to selling Pegas to the highest bidder. However, he was about to learn not to count his chickens before they hatched.

A quiet silence fell over the hangar.

"Shouldn't we stop this, Captain?" Buzom asked as she and the rest of the bridge crew watched the main monitor at the scene that was unfolding.

Magno paused for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I think that this may be an opportunity for us to learn a few things. Not just about our enemy, but also about Slade."

The two faced each other off, neither one of them moving an inch since the gauntlet had been thrown down. Their eyes locked with each other as each combatant waited for the other to make a move. Deciding to end the stalemate, Slade charged forward and cocked back a fist.

Rabat smirked. His opponent talked a big fight, but he was nothing more than a reckless amateur. He immediately countered by shifting his weight to the left and drew his right knee up, fully expecting it to slam into Slade's chest. However, he hit... empty air?

Before he knew it, Slade had somehow ended up on his left side. The Tekkaman had feinted one way, then changed direction so fast that Rabat had not caught the movement until it was too late. Just as he turned his head, his face was introduced to a five-knuckle sandwich.

THWACK!

Rabat felt as if a sledgehammer had hit him, as he was sent flying back more than fifteen feet. He hit the hangar deck hard on his back and skidded another six feet before coming to rest. The front of his face throbbed with pain, and when he reached up to touch it, he felt even more pain shooting up between his eyes. A large purple bruise was forming as a trickle of blood ran down to his chin. That one punch by itself had broken his nose. His eyes furrowed in anger as he looked up at Slade. The martial artist wasn't even feeling any sting in his fist.

Damn! Since when could a snot-nosed punk hit that hard?!

The crowds of females gasped after seeing Slade floor a man that was bigger and weighed more than he did. The members of the Warrior Squadron looked on with interest. They had always suspected that he went easier on them during their training sessions, and they wanted to see just what their leader was capable of.

Slade remained standing with his arm extended and his fist held out. Then slowly, he resumed a neutral stance with his hands behind his back. He simply waited for Rabat to stagger to his feet.

"Why you little shit!" Rabat cursed as he tensed up to attack.

Slade shrugged as he made a 'come here' gesture with his right index finger, daring him to attack. "Well?"

Rabat became even more infuriated at this punk's attitude and lack of being intimidated as he charged in and threw a punch at Slade's head. However, Slade's head simply shifted to the right, causing the fist to miss by scant millimeters.

"Too slow."

Rabat followed through with several fast jabs and uppercuts, but the Tekkaman moved with such precision and speed that each attack was dodged by only the tiniest of fractions. Slade didn't even move from the spot he was standing on as he swerved, twisted, turned, and leaned out of the way of each attempt to hit him. Then he attacked.

WHOMP!

Rabat was so focused on trying to hit Slade, that he was totally unprepared when his opponent slammed a fist into his solar plexus, driving the breath out of him. He doubled over and then was knocked back up after Slade brought up a knee to connect with Rabat's chin. Just as he came back up, the cosmic warrior hopped up and delivered a reverse spin-kick. The foot connected with the trader's right cheek with a wet crack and Rabat was sent flying again, this time landing twenty feet away.

Meia was more than impressed. It was no wonder that Slade had thrown her so easily and defeated Xian Pu. Apparently, he wasn't too dependent on his powers as a Tekkaman. She also suspected that he was still holding back. Dita was also in awe at Mr. Alien and wondered if he could teach her how to do that.

By now, Rabat was enraged as he got up for a second time. He had thought he had this fight in the bag, but the punk had already broken his nose and cheek. He decided to change tactics as Slade began slowly advancing on him.

"If this is all you're capable of," Slade said. "then you'd better give up now. There's only so much that I can do to your face."

Keep coming and talking, you little smart-ass. Just a little closer... Rabat tensed up as Slade closed the distance between them. When he got to within striking distance, the eye that was under the trader's eye patch twitched, activating a hidden trigger.

The eye patch instantly let loose with a flare of light which caught Slade off guard for a moment. As he turned away to shield his eyes, Rabat was on his feet and charging forward. He cocked back a fist and threw it forward. In the instant before it hit Slade, some green-white lines appeared on the Tekkaman's face. When the fist made solid contact, Rabat felt an instant of satisfaction. Then...

CRACK!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!"

Slade simply turned his cheek to dilute the force of the blow, then faced at his opponent again. Rabat was now clutching at his injured left hand. Aside from a minor bruise forming on his cheek, the Tekkaman had suffered no damage. In the instant before the fist had impacted, his Tekkacircuits had instinctively powered up and made that area of Slade's face as hard as steel.

"What's the matter, Rabat? Crying over a broken hand? Don't worry. You're going to have a lot more to cry about." Slade continued walking up to him. With one hand, he grabbed Rabat by the front of his tunic and hoisted him up off the floor of the hangar as easily as if he were lifting a rag doll. His eyes took on a dangerous glint as he glared at his adversary. "By the way, that was your only free shot."

Slade then kicked him hard in the gut, then slammed him into a nearby wall, making a slight depression in the metal alloys. He let the scumbag slide down to the floor and stepped back a bit. "A lot of kids got sick from that piece of crap that you sold on Zervin. Now the fair thing would be to demand a refund. But since you've probably already spent what you cheated out of those people, I guess the only thing to do is to take it out of your pathetic hide."

Rabat gritted his teeth as he staggered to his feet. His body was in pain like he had never felt before. That bastard was going to pay for this! At that moment, his right hand slipped into a pocket on his vest, then pulled something out.

"MR. ALIEN! WATCH OUT!"

Time seemed to slow down to a snail's pace as Dita ran to get between Slade and Rabat. Slade saw the glint of a muzzle and reacted, moving forward to push the girl out of the way before Rabat fired the small blaster that he had in his hand. A pencil thin beam of light lanced out, aimed directly for Slade's heart. However, he managed to twist out of the way and the beam struck through his right shoulder. However, Dita also screamed out as the beam pierced through her own shoulder as well.

"DITA!" Meia cried out as she and Jura ran to help their fallen comrade. The others who were watching immediately went into a state of shock.

As Slade saw Dita go down, something within him snapped. Dita had always been a pain and somewhat of a nuisance, but the Tekkaman had gotten used to her constant presence and always-cheerful attitude. Without a second thought, she had tried to save him and was hurt because of it. At that point, the normally disciplined Slade lost it.

"YOU... RAT BASTARD!"

Before Rabat could even blink, Slade was in front of him. He tried to bring his weapon to bear, but Slade's right hand immediately clamped onto it and applied pressure. Both the weapon and Rabat's hand were crushed as the sound of popping metal, snapping plastic, and the mangling of bone and tendons were heard. Rabat screamed out again, but his cry of pain was cut short as his opponent slammed a fist into his gut again.

WHOMP!

"YOU HURT HER!"

He then twisted the arm he was holding and sent a hard strike to the shoulder joint, causing a loud pop to be heard when the arm bone was forced from its socket. Rabat screamed out again.

YOU SCUM!"

Slade delivered three more hits to the abdomen, making the trader cough up blood. Then he let loose with a flurry of punches and kicks, causing even more bones to buckle and break as Rabat was introduced to a new level of pain. He then thrust out with an open palm and slammed the con artist into the wall again. The man's body made an even deeper impression this time and a loud crack was heard. Rabat now found himself pinned to the wall and at Slade's mercy.

Slade wanted to kill this man. He would feel absolutely no remorse if he were to end this scumbag's life. However, just as he cocked back his other hand and balled it up into a fist, he heard a voice of reason.

"SLADE!"

The Tekkaman stopped as he looked over his shoulder and saw the captain and her first officer standing at the hangar entrance.

"It's over, Slade. You've won, and Dita will be all right. There's no point in continuing this." The aged woman stated.

The martial artist felt some of the anger beginning to fade, as control started to reassert himself. He let off a final growl and removed his hand from Rabat's chest, letting him drop to the floor in a broken heap. Seeing that the man was still conscious, he said, "I've won. Now, about that information? Or should I just pick it off your corpse?"

Rabat snarled at the punk, but reached into another hidden pocket, fumbled around, then took out an information module. It was hard for him with the current state of his hands. He weakly threw it on the floor at Slade's feet.

"Damn you! Here... take it!" Rabat spat out. Droplets of blood also shot from his mouth and stained the floor of the hangar.

Slade picked up the cube, then glared back down at the man he had nearly killed. "Two minutes."

"W-W-What?" Rabat gasped.

"You've got exactly two minutes to haul your stinking carcass off this ship. If you're not off this ship by that time, then I'll kick it out the nearest airlock."

The con man tried to get to his feet, but his injuries made that task impossible. It was a lucky thing that Utan came about while she chased Pyoro. When she saw her master in such a shape, she immediately abandoned her pursuit and came to his side. Using her to brace himself, Rabat started limping toward the exit. Before he departed, he scowled back at Slade.

"I won't forget this, you little punk!"

"I won't let you forget." Slade replied.

Rabat snorted. "Hah! You talk big, but you're just using someone else's words."

That final barb stirred something in Slade as the man and his ape left the Nirvana.

A few minutes later...

"Captain, don't go after him." Slade warned. "He's not worth it."

However, Slade's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Magno had ordered the Nirvana to begin pursuing the trader and rob him of everything he had. They were pirates after all. However, just as they were about to catch up to him, the ship's engine core suddenly let off an explosion, causing the vessel to drop out of hyperspace.

In the engineering section, Parfet started cursing as she realized that the power coupling that Rabat had given to her was nothing more than bootleg junk. The ship would require major repairs and by the time Parfet's crew had the engines back online, Rabat would be long gone.

Later that night, Slade sat alone in the Bio-Park, watching the large pool before him and contemplating a few things. The information cube had been given to Parfet, but since it was encoded, it would take some time to decipher the data stored on it.

"Mr. Alien?"

Slade didn't answer Dita as he continued to stare at the water.

The young Dread pilot went to him and stopped just behind him. Slade looked over his shoulder and nodded at her bandaged shoulder.

"Are you okay? How's the shoulder?"

The redhead nodded as she replied. "The doctor said that my shoulder is going to be a bit stiff for a few days, but it'll be all right. Though... I'm going to have a scar."

Slade shook his head as he stood up and faced her. Reaching out with a hand and placing it gently on her injured shoulder, he began summoning up his aura. "No, I don't think that you'd look good with a scar. Here."

Dita's eyes widened as Slade fed his ki into her body and the throbbing pain that she had been feeling faded away. A minute later, he let his aura power down, then with a deft movement of the hand, he removed the bindings to Dita's shoulder. The girl looked down and gasped as she saw warm, unblemished skin.

"Wow! That was amazing! You're really cool, Mr. Alien! Thank you!"

Slade shrugged as he tossed the bandages away. "It was something that I picked up during my wanderings. I can heal some physical damage to a person's body using my ki. It takes a bit out of me, but it was worth it."

She then gazed at Slade's own shoulder, which had also been treated by Duero. "What about you?"

"Nah. I decided to let it heal by itself and keep the scar... as a reminder."

He then sighed as turned around and went back to gazing out at the artificial lake.

"Mr. Alien? What do you mean?"

Slade sighed again. He had really wanted to be alone, but he also felt the need to talk to someone. "Rabat was scum, but he was right about one thing."

"Huh?"

The Tekkaman paused for a long time, then responded. "I am using other people's words. I don't have any words to say for myself, because... I don't know myself. I can't remember if I had any family, I don't have any memories of growing up... heck, I don't even know when my birthday is or how old I am. All I know is that I am Slade. But... even that doesn't sound totally right. Just who am I? How did I get these powers? Where did I learn to fight? Who taught me? It... seems like I'm living someone else's life, yet I know that it's mine. I... just don't know."

Out in space...

Rabat gritted his teeth as he read the scanner's readout. The profits he had made from trading with the pirates wouldn't cover half the cost of healing his injuries. He had been set back... a LOT!

His injuries included a broken nose (in two places), a fractured cheek, dislocated right shoulder, five broken metacarpals in his right hand, three in his left, three broken ribs on his left side, and two fractured on his right. His right arm had also sustained a hairline crack along the ulna. There was some internal damage to his spleen. He had suffered a fractured left femur after being slammed into the wall of the Nirvana's hangar. It would take him at least three months to recover, despite the advanced medical equipment that he had bought, cheated, and stolen from others.

"That little... PUNK is going to pay for this!" Rabat swore as he went for some painkillers.

When Parfet finally decoded Rabat's data cube, what she read on it made her shiver. The aliens were indeed after them and were intent on harvesting their vital organs. What they had found on that desert world was only the tip of the iceberg. Several other human worlds were targeted, including Mejele and Tarak. For the male and female planets, it was their reproductive organs that they were after. The enemy considered the entire human race as nothing more than a crop to be harvested.

The engineer swallowed hard as she prepared to give her report to the captain.

To be continued...

Preview...

Jura:: "Hello! Jura Basil Elden here, and today we shall see MY TekkaDread form! I just know it will be elegant!"

Slade: "I don't care, just as long as it's useful."

Jura: "WHAT!? NO! This ugly thing CAN'T possibly be mine! It can't!"

Slade: "How the hell do you work this thing!? At the same time, we've got to deal with a planet that's basically lost its will to live. Whatever, we're not going to be made a part of it!"

Jura: "I wanted something elegant…"

Slade: "Are you STILL harping on about that at a time like this!?"

Jura: "Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'Jura's Magnificent Form?'."

Slade: "Come on, Jura, we've got to stop them!"

Jura: "It doesn't matter…. I can't fight in something so ugly… huh? Slade? What're you- mmmph!"

Author's notes

Well, as expected, Rabat didn't come out of this as well as he did in Vandread. Personally, I hate him and I feel that he got off too easy in the original series. As I stated before, there will be some major changes in Tekkadread as compared to Vandread. As for what I have planned next, well wait and see!

Please read and review!