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: The Devil made me do it!

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 10

A Little Bit of Christmas Spirit

The homeworld of the Harvest Fleet...

Deep within the massive gears and framework of the once-beautiful planet, the leaders of the Harvest were getting agitated. Inside a vast complex, several shadowy figures watched a series of images on a large, holographic monitor. The screen depicted the exploits of a certain pirate vessel, its amazing Dread fighters, and one figure in particular. The images of the Tekkaman Slade were the most prominent of the recordings that had been transmitted back, after each encounter with the Mejele pirates and their Tarak allies.

"This will not do." One of the viewers stated.

"Indeed." Another replied. "This cannot continue. The Harvest is already behind schedule, due to the interference of this... Tekkaman."

"Yes, we have all seen the reports." A third added. "However, this Tekkaman has already shown to be quite an obstacle. We have already lost a considerable amount of resources and these individuals he is with, have proven to be very adaptable."

"Perhaps we should concentrate instead on the other planets in our Harvest operation?" Another leader suggested. "After all, we are only dealing with one small ship."

"One small ship with some very powerful weapons and a Tekkaman!" The first leader reminded. "You do recall the Radam?"

"Who has not?" The second leader replied. "After all, it was because of the Radam that we have the Paksis. The Radam were quite formidable."

The third individual then added an observation. "From all the preliminary scans from our drones of this Tekkaman, we can assume that he is of the same bio-technology as the Radam's. However, our scans also indicate that he has been in contact with the Paksis Pragma as well. Those strange fighters and that fusion process of theirs have also exhibited the effects of Paksis. That may be the key to their power."

"Very well then. We shall... how should we say it? Fight fire with fire."

It had been more than four months since the Nirvana had begun its long trek back to Mejele and Tarak space. Since that time, the crew had been trying to keep its morale up during the voyage and the constant alien attacks. Today, there was a blessed reprieve from the fighting as a special time of the year had arrived. The vessel became a flurry of activity as all the females began putting up lavish decorations. Currently, the ship was traveling along a course, which brought it near the path of a huge comet.

"Commander, do you think we can put up the view of the comet on the main monitor?"

BC nodded to her subordinate. "Go ahead." She then let off a tired sigh as she looked about the bridge. Dozens of crewmembers were milling about, putting up wreaths, tinsel, and other holiday decorations. It was always like this every Christmas Eve and the serious sub-commander saw it as a frivolous and meaningless activity. She had a large sweatdrop as the captain suddenly appeared, dressed in a Santa outfit.

"Well, we can't have Christmas without Santa Claus, right?" Magno said cheerfully as she greeted her crew.

The females thought it was so kawaii, but Buzom's sweatdrop only got bigger.

In the kitchen, Barnette was busy making a special Christmas cake for the feast as Jura and Dita helped out.

"You should put more chocolate crème." Jura advised. "Oh, and don't forget the powdered sugar."

Dita smacked her lips after sampling some leftover icing. "Yummy!"

However, she received a rap on the head as Jura glared down at her.

"Dita! I told you to watch the turkey!"

The younger pilot sighed while nodding. However, when she turned and saw that thick black smoke was coming out of the oven, she eeped and ran straight for the kitchen door.

"Dita! Come back here!"

Slade and the men watched the women in a state of confusion as they continued to put up decorations. The females were in a state of excitement that the Tarak males couldn't understand.

"What's going on?" Bart asked.

Pyoro nodded as he replied. "It's Christmas! Every year on December 24th, women celebrate this time."

Slade cocked his head to one side in thought then nodded. "Oh yeah. I remember something like that being practiced on some of the other planets I've visited."

"What's is this... Chistmas?" Duero asked.

"It's a festival!" Pyoro replied. "Didn't they have things like that on Tarak?"

Bart reluctantly replied. "Well... they did have something like that..." He shuddered a bit as he recalled the celebrations on his home planet, which were nothing more than military parading and shows of strength. "But they weren't exactly what one would call enjoyable."

The doctor nodded as he too found Tarak parties to be boring. He then addressed the Tekkaman. "What about you? Since you're not from Tarak, do you know anything about Christmas?"

The martial artist shrugged. "I have really... vague memories of snow and some kind of activity called 'trimming the tree.' I learned about Christmas from those other planets I've visited and I know some of the customs, though I'm not too sure if the women do the same stuff here..."

At that moment, the door opened, revealing a very perky Dread pilot.

"Ah hah! There you are!"

"Aw nuts!"

"Honest? You don't celebrate Christmas?" Dita asked as she, Pyoro, and the men walked together down a hallway.

Slade shrugged. "I was always on the move so I didn't have much time to stay for parties."

"Men lead such depressing lives." The robot remarked. "They have to miss out on things like a great feast and yummy desserts."

"That's one of the best parts." Dita agreed. "Barnette is making a special Christmas cake."

This of course, caught Slade's attention. Even though he was no longer Ranma Saotome, he still retained the Saotome stomach, plus the high-energy demands that the Tekkaman Power System required.

"Well... I suppose I could lend a hand."

The group entered a supply room, looking for decorations. The area had not been opened since the two ships had merged into the Nirvana. There was a considerable amount of dust and Slade noticed that a door was hidden behind a stack of boxes.

"Hey, check this out." He pointed to the door while moving some of the boxes out of the way. He gave the door a slight push and it squeaked open, revealing a very dusty room full of items that have not seen the light of day in over a century.

"Wow, what is all this stuff?" Dita asked as she peered inside.

Duero ran a finger over a desk and assessed the amount of dust on its surface. "It seems that we have stumbled upon a section of the Ikazuchi, during the Colonization Era."

"Colonization Era?" Bart asked.

"Yes. This ship used to be a part of a colony fleet from Earth, according to the captain, remember? From the looks of all this dust, I'd say that this part of the ship has been sealed off, since the time of the first generation."

As the group looked about at the hodgepodge of ancient texts, toys, furniture, and other miscellaneous items, Dita spied a small box that was covered with a blanket. She knelt down and began rummaging through the container. She pulled out a rectangular object and held it out for the others to see. It was an ancient VHS tape with the label entitled 'X-Mas with the Family.'

"What do you suppose this is?"

Slade gazed upon it, then nodded. He looked about and pointed to an ancient videocassette player. Hooking up the old device to an outlet and patching it into the monitor systems of the ship, he then popped in the cassette. However, he had also accidentally connected the player to all the comm systems. As a result, everyone saw the show.

In the ship's galley, the women stopped in their Christmas Eve preparations when a holographic screen appeared and showed a test pattern. The image was grainy and had static along the edges from years of degradation, but it was still clear enough for all to see.

The scene faded in on a quaint, Christmas setting. It showed a mother and her daughter sitting on a couch near a fireplace. Beside the family, was a lavishly decorated tree and in the background, stockings were hung. In the woman's arms was a small infant.

The women gave off 'oohs, 'aahs,' and 'how cute,' comments as they continued to watch what appeared to be a perfect family Christmas on Mejele. Then their expressions turned to absolute shock as a new character entered the scene and sat down beside them. The little girl let off a playful giggle and reached out to great... her father.

"N-No way!" Paiway gasped.

"It... can't be!" Barnette shook her head in denial.

"A man and... a woman?!" Jura didn't know why she suddenly had an image of herself and Slade in her mind, sitting together on the same couch in the video.

What was the most shocking part about the entire scene was that everyone in the video appeared so... happy.

"Amazing!" Dita exclaimed as she and the men continued to watch.

Floating nearby, Pyoro gazed upon the small infant in the woman's arms. "A small human... is just my size. A... baby..."

A little later in the sick bay...

"A MAN AND A WOMAN LIVING TOGETHER UNDER THE SAME ROOF?!" Bart was hysterical at what he had just seen. It was sacrilege!

"Here's a tranquilizer." Duero offered some pills to his companion, which Bart quickly snatched up and gulped down with a glass of water.

"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! IT'S ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!"

It was at that point that Slade dropped a bomb. "No it isn't."

Both men looked at him in disbelief.

The Tekkaman shrugged. "Aren't we doing that right now? We're men and we're living under the same roof with the women, aren't we?"

Bart swallowed hard as he tried to get his mouth to work to deny everything. Duero thought for a moment and said, "Well, technically that is true, but..."

"But what?" Slade interrupted. "There's nothing to get excited about. I've seen it happen hundreds of times. In fact... it's natural."

"No! It can't be natural!" Bart adamantly denied. "It can never happen on Tarak or Mejele!"

Slade snorted a bit. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, we're NOT on Tarak or Mejele, are we? And besides, who says that Tarak and Mejele are the only worlds that have humans living on it? I've seen dozens of planets, in which colonists from Earth have settled, and they still practice the old customs between men and women."

This caught the doctor's interest. "Hmmm, fascinating. I'd like to hear more about your travels."

Slade was about to oblige, but decided not to elaborate, considering Bart's agitated state. "Maybe later."

In Dita's bedroom...

"It's SO cool!" Dita sighed as she lay on her bed in seeming bliss. In her lap was a small box that was wrapped in green paper with a cartoon drawing of herself. On the top was a message that read, 'Do not open until midnight.'

On the bridge, Buzom tried to maintain a semblance of order among the crew, but it was a losing battle. The females were too excited to concentrate on their duties and the first officer knew that until the Christmas season was over, not much was going to be done. She let off another sigh as she sat down at a console and started scanning the surrounding areas, looking out for any sign of the enemy.

Slade was walking down the hall when his nose caught the slight scent of something that had been burned. He looked to his left and noted that he was near the galley. With little else to do until the party, he decided to investigate.

"It's no use! The turkey is ruined!" Barnette commented sadly as she stared at the blackened mass that would have been the main entrée of the feast. The appetizers, a few side dishes, and dessert had been prepared, but there was still a big gap in the Christmas menu, especially when it was meant to feed over one hundred and fifty crewmembers.

"Ooh, it's all Dita's fault!" Jura pouted. "She should have been watching it! Now there's no time to thaw out another one!"

"So what can we cook for the main course?"

"Why not just cook some more varied dishes?" Slade suggested. "A buffet-style dinner is always better for feeding large groups."

Both women turned to see Slade casually leaning against the door to the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest.

Barnette scowled at him. "Oh go away! We don't need any more problems!"

The Tekkaman cocked his head in slight puzzlement. Even after all he had done for the Nirvana and its crew, Barnette was still very hostile toward him. "Problems? I just heard that you didn't have anything for the main course and I thought I'd make some suggestions, maybe even help out with the cooking."

This caught both females' attention.

"You can cook? Yeah right." Barnette scoffed. "Since when can a man cook anything that isn't pill-shaped?"

Slade sighed while shaking his head. He began walking up to them. "In case you haven't heard, I'm NOT from Tarak. And what's so unbelievable about a man being able to cook?"

This perked Jura's interest. It seemed that she was learning something new about Slade every day, which made him even more intriguing. Maybe this was the reason why Dita was always pursuing him. "You can really cook?"

The martial artist shrugged. "Hey, I had to learn since I was always hopping planets. What, you thought I survived on those nutrition pills all this time?"

"Hmpf!" Barnette snorted. "I don't believe it! There's just no way a man could cook anything good!"

Slade shrugged again as he approached the kitchen counter and deftly picked up a carving knife. Without looking back at her, he put his hand on a head of lettuce and said with a little smile, "Well, I guess the best way to prove it, is to show you." He turned on the sink faucet. "HIYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

With that battle cry he washed the lettuce and tossed it into the air, followed by some cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and various other foodstuffs. Twirling the carving knife in one hand, he began using high-speed, precision strokes, cutting each vegetable like living Cuisinart. Before the food had a chance to fall a hundredth of the way down to the floor, they were neatly diced or sliced. A heartbeat later, Slade held out a large bowl and caught the food in perfect arrangements. The shredded lettuce made a neat base while the sliced cucumbers, and tomatoes made neat circular patterns, followed by the onions, radishes, pre-hardboiled eggs, parsley and so forth.

He repeated the process several times, giving a whole new meaning to the term 'tossed salad.' After completing the salads, without loss of momentum, he turned to the stove and fired it up, while flipping a wok onto the burner.

A few moments later and the wok was sizzling as meat, vegetables, and sauces were added in their correct proportions. His hands worked with remarkable dexterity as he prepared several dozen servings of stir-fry. Every time he finished, he'd flip the contents high into the air and toss a plate after them. The food would land onto the plate without a single drop spilled and the entire platter would land easily on the waiting dinner table, which would be wheeled out into the Bio-Park during the party.

Both Barnette and Jura stood with their mouths open as they watched Slade whip up a storm of culinary delights with the cooking implements. Every now and then, he'd throw in a flashy maneuver, making the process of food preparation even more entertaining. He'd twirl knives or juggle them back and forth. He'd hurl food high into the air and catch them in seemingly impossible positions. He'd balance several trays on his head, fingers, arms, and knees.

As the cooking show continued, the delicious aromas began to waft down the hall, attracting several new spectators, including two descendants of girls who would have been Ranma's fiancées.

Ukyo and Xian Pu had been carrying tree decorations when they both smelled the delicious food being prepared in the kitchen. Naturally assuming that it was Barnette's handiwork, they decided to stop and watch. They were quite surprised to see Slade doing all the work.

"How is he doing that?" Jura asked, as her eyes never left Slade's lean-muscled form.

Xian Pu, Ukyo, and all the rest of the girls who had stopped to watch were rendered speechless. A man was actually cooking?

Ukyo the XVII gasped when the Tekkaman started preparing something new. She instantly recognized the recipe as batter was being poured onto the grill.

"It can't be! Only my family knows the secrets of okonomiyaki!"

However, Slade was also knowledgeable in the ancient recipe of Japanese pizza. Though his memory of his former life as Ranma was mostly gone, he still retained certain memories of taste, as he had always loved Ucchan's cooking. After awakening from the Tekkapod and wandering about the cosmos, he had eventually come across a recipe that was similar to what he vaguely recalled. A few bouts of trial and error and he finally achieved the taste that he so faintly recollected. (1)

Flipping the pancake-shaped dough with a pair of spatulas, he easily filled platter after platter of Ucchan's specialty. After filling up the banquet table with various and succulent types of food including egg rolls, several noodle dishes, and soups, he finished up by twirling one final plate of food and threw it like a Frisbee at the opposite wall. The meal ricocheted off the wall, bounced off another, flipped high into the air and came down toward Barnette. The plate and food made three revolutions and was deftly caught by Slade, just after he made a neat flip over kitchen counter and landing before the astonished Dread pilot.

"Dinner is served." Slade said with a flourish as he placed the platter down with the rest of the food and left the kitchen.

The crowd of girls all began applauding at the show as Barnette stood in disbelief. Jura looked on him with new interest.

Near the back of the crowds, Ukyo sampled the okonomiyaki that Slade had made and her eyes became wider. That's my ancestor's recipe that's been handed down throughout the generations! She could only watch as the Tekkaman made his leave. How could HE know my family's secret? Unless he's... no, that's impossible! He couldn't be...?

Like BC, Meia was also not much when it came to celebrations. Her childhood, after her parent's scandal, had been hard and she didn't have many happy memories of celebrating Christmas and her birthday after that. Since joining up with Magno's pirates, she had been dedicating her time to her duties.

Currently, she had decided to patrol the area and was in the hanger where her Dread was stored. She noticed Gascogne and one of her staff trying to work in a spare seat into Dita's cockpit, but with little success. Apparently, the Dread was not meant for 'economy-sized' passengers.

Slade whistled a little ditty as he strolled though the hallways. It was an old tune that he had heard during his travels at this time of year. What was that song called again? Oh yes... Let It Snow. He then heard a small explosion coming from the Bio-Park. He ran to the area and saw that a large machine was smoking with Parfet standing beside an open panel.

"Me thinks me goofed!"

"What's going on, Parfet?" Slade asked as he walked toward the engineer. Buzom and a few others also came to the scene after hearing the device throw a fit.

The head engineer looked up and gave Slade a bit of a sheepish smile. "I'm trying to make it snow in time for the Christmas Parade."

One of the engineering staff came up to her and shook her head while showing the blueprints for the snowmaking machine. "I'm afraid that we blew out a couple of the relays, ma'am."

Parfet kept her spirits high. "Don't worry! I'll make it snow for Christmas!"

"But at this rate, we won't make it in time for the parade!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. Maybe... I should scrap it?"

Jura shook her head as she and Barnette came up to them. Jura's friend gave Slade a bit of a scowl. She didn't like being showed up twice. (2)

"I won't have it! It wouldn't be Christmas without snow or snow sculptures!" Jura stated with a pout.

Buzom sighed as she tried to suggest an alternative. "We'll be passing by that huge comet by midnight. That should satisfy everyone's desire for snow this year."

"But it wouldn't be the same!" One crewmember complained.

"Yes! We'll only be able to see it from inside the ship!" A girl named Celtic Midori added. She was wearing a huge bear costume and Slade often wondered why she would put on a klutzy costume that covered her entire body. As far as the Tekkaman could remember since coming aboard the Nirvana, he had never seen her face. It must be really hot under that suit.

He then decided to leave since he didn't know how to make snow and would only be getting in the way. He decided to go out and get some exercise.

Later...

Slade nodded as he rode on Pegas' back in his Tekkaman armor, and watched the comet streaking alongside him. The mass of ice was huge and was at least two miles in diameter, leaving a vast tail of vapor and debris. As he gazed upon the giant chunk of frozen water, his eyes caught a glimpse of something entering the comet's tail on the other side. He opted to investigate and directed the Tekkabot to enter the comet's tail as well. Just as they passed through a thick layer of ice, he saw some flashes of light occurring, and correctly guessed that there was some battle going on. He immediately changed course.

A little earlier...

In her Dread, Meia had been routinely patrolling the area when her sensors picked up some strange energy readings occurring within the comet's tail. She decided to investigate and dove through the icy layers to find... an ambush. Her fighter became entangled in a lattice of energy bands and was prevented from moving. She looked up from her cockpit and saw her captor.

The machine was a grotesque-looking thing and resembled an armored spider with a huge eye in its center. It had been programmed by its masters to observe the Nirvana and attack any of its unwary crew. The alien craft had set up a kind of solid energy web and had been lying in wait for any prey. Unfortunately for the Dread leader, the machine considered her entangled Dread like a fly caught in a spider's web.

At that moment, another flashed onto the scene. Meia's eyes widened as she saw Slade pass by her stricken craft. At the same time, the Tekkaman caught sight of her. Both said at the same time...

"What are you doing here?!"

"Mr. Alien!" Dita cried out as she went looking for Slade to give him her present. It was nearing midnight, but she had been unable to find him.

Slade was busy slicing away with his lance at the energy bands that held Meia's Dread captive. The Tekkabot was using its laser cannons to aid its master in freeing their comrade. The aqua-haired girl became more impatient as time wore on.

"Stop fooling around and get me out of here! Use that beam weapon of yours!"

The Tekkaman stopped what he was doing and cocked his head in annoyance. "You want me to use my Voltekker to get you out?"

"Yes!"

Slade replied in a sarcastic tone. "Oh sure. My Voltekker can destroy a mountain. I could use it to blast this energy net. Of course, you and your Dread would be atomized along with it! Sheesh!" He then went back to cutting with his weapon. At that moment, the armored spider began advancing on Slade.

However, the former Saotome simply turned and hurled his lance through the giant eye of his foe, causing it to stagger backward.

"Bug off! I'm busy!" He said as he sent out a line to retrieve his weapon.

Dita became even more worried as midnight was only a few minutes away. She still hadn't located Mr. Alien and the crew was counting down the minutes to midnight.

With one final slash, Slade freed Meia's Dread from its prison. As the craft maneuvered to get underway, the Tekkaman called for his robotic partner. Both Dread pilot and Tekkaman hightailed it out of there. However, the alien spider machine still did not want to give up. It began pursuing the two, but Slade decided to bring out the big guns. Turning about, his shoulder units opened up and...

"VOLTEKKER!"

Midnight...

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

KABOOM!

The head of the comet made a spectacular explosion, causing the ice particles to shower the Nirvana. To all those inside, it looked like...

"It's snowing outside!"

"It's so beautiful!"

"I wonder what happened?"

"Has anyone seen Meia or Slade?"

On the bridge, Buzom was also wondering what was going on, and where those two went. Her communications array then picked up two voices from somewhere near the comet's head.

"I think you overdid it!"

"Picky, picky, picky! I got rid of it, didn't I? I also cooked dinner and the crew got to see some snow for Christmas! What more do you want?!"

"Oh right. Like you planned that last one!"

"Yeesh! Maybe I should have just left you in that web? Merry Christmas anyway!"

Buzom shook her head while smiling. Those two may sometimes have their differences, but at least she knew that they were all right as they headed back to the Nirvana.

For the rest of the crew, Christmas came without a hitch and even the Tarak men became involved in the concept of gift-giving. Parfet managed to get her snow machine working, so it snowed not only outside of the ship, but inside as well. Duero had presented her with a painting of what he called the flow of white blood corpuscles, but in actuality, it looked like a picture of a blizzard. Jura received a fabulous diamond ring from Barnette, while Barnette received from Jura... a kiss. (That was it?) BC was quite surprised to be presented with a gift from Bart. Her present was the choicest pills from Garsus Foods, which were colored in red, green, and white. Oh well, it was the thought that counted, right?

Meia was a bit peeved that she now owed Slade her life... twice, although she had to admit that he was a pretty good cook. Before she knew it, she was on her third helping of his homemade egg rolls and okonomiyaki.

As for Slade...?

"Mr. Alien!" Dita cried out as she saw him exit the Tekkabot's cockpit in the hanger.

"Hmmm? Oh, hi." Slade greeted. He was pretty hungry and hoped there was still some food left at the banquet that he helped prepare.

"Here." Dita said as she held out the box she had been carrying. "I wanted you to open this at midnight!"

Slade took the box and looked at it. "Ah, thanks but you really didn't have to..."

"I wanted to!" Dita said with a smile, then looked at him intently, as if expecting something from him.

The martial artist found himself in a very awkward situation. Here she was, giving him a present, and he felt like a louse for not having anything for her in return. He looked about and saw some coal in a small bucket near the boarding ramp. Apparently, the hanger crews were planning to use the coal for eyes when they started building snowmen in the Bio-Park. He got an inspiration.

"Would you just close your eyes for a minute?"

Dita looked at the Tekkaman with a bit of puzzlement. "Why?"

"Just do it."

The redhead shrugged and closed her eyes. Slade quickly leapt down, grabbed a small lump of coal, and then began focusing his ki and quantum energy into it while squeezing. Using all the super-strength at his disposal and his energy manipulation powers to focus a good amount of heat into the substance, he triggered a reaction which rearranged the carbon structure. A minute later, he opened his hand and smiled at the finished product. He ran back up to the Tekkabot, took out the emergency toolkit, and fished out a length of string. Then, after a minute of preparation, he instructed Dita to open her eyes again.

The girl gasped in delight as she looked down and saw what was hanging from her neck. From a humble lump of coal and some string, Slade had fashioned a rough diamond pendant.

"Merry Christmas." Slade said as he leaned forward and gently kissed her on the forehead.

Dita gasped again as she felt his lips touch her skin, but then Slade pointed up to a certain decoration that was hanging above them. It was a green plant with white berries that was known as Mistletoe. He gave her a wave and headed out to join the banquet before the food was all gone.

Dita felt a warmth in her heart that she had never felt before as she watched him leave.

"Thank you... Mr... Slade."

Later...

Slade yawned as he entered his quarters. The feast had been good and he was ready to hit the sack. He then remembered that he still hadn't opened Dita's gift, which he still carried. He decided that now would be as good a time as any. With one pull, the lid popped off and out flew a toy flying saucer with a Santa Claus hat. An electronic voice that sounded like Dita's began wishing him a Merry Christmas then exploded into a cartoon figure of himself in a Santa Claus suit. However, she called it Santa Alien.

Figures. Oh well... I guess it's the thought that counts. Slade then prepared for bed.

On the bridge, Buzom and the captain were enjoying a glass of eggnog together before turning in.

"Well, we've made it through another year." The old woman commented, in which her first officer agreed. "We've seen a lot of things and been through many battles, but we can still count our blessings and be thankful."

"Yes." Buzom nodded. "And I must admit, that Slade is not quite what I expected. That was a wonderful dinner that he cooked for the crew."

The ancient woman smiled and chuckled. "Oh I knew that he was someone special, and not because of his powers. Though many of the crew won't admit it, he's already won all of our hearts and I sometimes wonder where we'd be without him."

"Yes."

The captain then finished off her eggnog. "In any case, I'm glad for this time of year in which we can forget our worries for at least one day."

Enjoy it while you can Magno, for on the Harvest Homeworld...

"Progress report."

"The project is well underway and we expect it to be completed within a week." The tech replied as he gestured to a large suspension chamber, which had a human figure floating within it.

"Excellent." One of the Harvest leaders replied. Behind him were his colleagues as they had decided to check on the status of their new project. "We will be sending one of the main ships to the Melanos system to oversee the skin collections. Our projections show that the Nirvana will be nearing that sector within a few days. I trust that the new countermeasures against the Tekkadreads will be ready by then?"

"Yes masters. Not only the Tekkadread countermeasures, but also our solution to the Tekkaman Slade problem. I believe that with all the data that we've collected, we can create a far superior weapon against him." The tech gestured to the chamber. "Although, it is costing us some very good human organs..." The tech looked on hungrily at the contents of the cylinder.

The tech's masters shook their heads and gave their underling a glare. The tech could look, but not touch. The leader who spoke walked up to the cylinder. "This will be a small price to pay. Once we have eliminated the threat of the Tekkaman, we shall be free to harvest once more. This will be the last battle of the Tekkaman Slade, for this shall be our weapon... our sword against the one whom opposes us. Therefore, we shall call it... Saber!"

To be continued...

Preview...

Slade: "I can't believe the position I'm in. Here I was, helping Dita cook, and all of a sudden, Barnette and crew come and try to arrest me for some stupid reason. Don't even give the courtesy of telling me what my imagined crime was."

Dita: "Hey stop! What're you doing to Mr. Alien!?"

Slade: "If this is how they're going to treat me, just because of my gender, then I'm leaving the Nirvana for good!"

Dita: "Mr. Alien! Come back!"

Slade: "I had a welcome respite after meeting the Melanos fleet as the crew were of both sexes and did not discriminate solely on gender. It wasn't to last, however, as suddenly the Harvesters attacked! Do I have any hopes of winning without combining? Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: ' A Place To Belong'. I must win…. I HAVE to win…. I can't lose what I have gained again…"

Author's Notes

Well, that takes care of the Christmas episode. The scenes regarding the Harvesters now hint at the connection between them and the Radam. There are only three more chapters to go! As for what's in that cylinder, you guessed it! Next chapter will deal with mutiny, and Slade's encounter with another race that the Earth wishes to harvest.

(1) Just remember that Slade used to be Ranma, and he had a real good memory when it came to food. That's one of the very few things that was retained after the Tekkaman Power process had changed him.

(2) The first time Barnette had gotten showed up was between ch.9 and 10 in the songfic, Believe It Or Not.

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