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: Vandread, Ranma 1/2 and Tekkaman Blade all belong to their respective creators and no money is being made off this piece of fiction.

italics: Thoughts

[" "]: Telepathic communication

Chapter 13 Part 2

Remembrance

Slade was dead.

The Nirvana's head physician had tried everything to revive his patient; CPR, chemical stimulants, defibrillation, electromagnetic brainwave pulsators, and whatever else his medical training and advanced Mejele technology could offer. However, nothing he could do would make Slade return to the land of the living.

Finally, after a full hour, he at last acknowledged that it was no use. With a heavy heart, Duero McFile pulled the cover over the downed warrior's face and declared him clinically deceased at 1730 hours. With reverence, he bowed his head in silence, in respect for a great fighter, and an even greater friend.

Slade's demise caused repercussions throughout the Nirvana's crew as the craft was amid heavy gravitational fields and electromagnetic storms deep within the gas giant. Outside of the ionosphere, the Earth Fleet waited patiently for the pirates to come out, if they ever did. If they chose to emerge from the raging storms of the gas giant, they would face the astronomical might of the Earth flagship and its escort fleet, as well as the Tekkaman who had defeated Slade; the merciless Saber. If the pirates opted to remain where they were, then they would be doomed to die from the intense gravitational fields and electromagnetic storms, once their power supplies were exhausted. As of now, the Nirvana only had enough energy to maintain its barrier for 72 hours.

There was a somber, despondent attitude among the females of Magno's crew. Each one tried to deal with the fact that Slade was gone and that it was very likely that she would join him in the Great Beyond in the next three days. A few were glad that he was gone, (due to their ingrained hatred of all men), but MOST of the crew members who had initially joined Barnette's side during the mutiny, now saw the error of their rash and impulsive actions. As a result, those who had renounced their childhood beliefs shunned Jura's friend. Duero and Bart were no longer persecuted on the basis of their gender. After all, what would be the point? They would all be dead soon.

Those who believed that the end was near had decided to throw caution to the wind and began abandoning their posts and duties. Several members of the Dread and Vanguard pilots went on alcoholic binges to try and drown their sorrows in wine. Others isolated themselves in their quarters and would refuse to come out for any reason. Thankfully, none had contemplated suicide... yet. A few girls in particular, were especially inconsolable...

"Mr Alien! (sob) Why did you... (sob) have to die?"

Dita was kneeling in the middle of her room with a small object clutched to her chest. It was the rough diamond pendant that Slade had fashioned out of a lump of coal for her Christmas present. Among her prized collection of 'alien' artifacts, it was her most cherished possession. After all, it came directly from a REAL alien.

To Dita, anything that did not come from her home planet of Mejele was considered as alien to the usually enthusiastic girl. The all-female world was so... ordinary to her. Ever since she was young, she had always looked to the stars and wondered just what was out there. Hearing about the so-called terrible 'men' only fueled her desire to venture forth into space. When she had joined up with the pirates, she knew that she had the perfect opportunity to see what the universe had to offer. She could still remember her First Contact...

Flashback...

Dita: "Wow! It's a real live alien!"

Slade: "Who are you calling an alien?!"

End of flashback...

Ever since that first encounter, she wanted nothing more than to learn all she could about Mr. Alien. She had never encountered a man before, and he was always showing new skills and amazing powers. As she spent more and more time with him, she had begun to have certain feelings about him that she didn't understand.

Why would her heart skip a beat every time she came near him? Why would she always feel like swooning whenever he was around? Why did she feel so weak, yet so strong, whenever he talked to her? She wanted to be just like him! She wanted to be with him, forever. Was it because... he had been part of her very soul?

Now that he was gone, an empty void in her very being had formed and it seemed that nothing could repair it. Her very spirit had been shattered along with Slade's Tekkacrystal.

The engineering section...

Parfet gazed at the broken remnants of the Tekkacrystal on her worktable. She had gathered up every last shard and fragment of the once mighty key to the Tekkaman Power Process. She had been working in vain to piece it back together, but had been unsuccessful. She still did not have a full understanding of Radam biotechnology or how Slade used his ki to control it. She had made several attempts to fuse the broken pieces together with welding tools, lasers, and plasma binders, but nothing worked. The broken Tekkacrystal rejected every process.

The head engineer sighed as she stood up and looked over to her OTHER failure. Well, technically Pegas wasn't really a failure. It was just so badly damaged that she had no hope of repairing it in time for the pirates' next and possibly, final confrontation with the enemy. If only it could be restored to its original state! Then Parfet could finish the modifications she had been working on and Slade could...

As soon as she thought about Slade, her head bowed down in sadness and depression. What would be the use? The Tekkabot would only allow Slade to be its controller and the new modifications she had planned were worthless without him. She began asking herself why she was wasting her time with trying to rebuild the Tekkacrystal, in the faint hope that she could figure out how the Tekkaman Power Process worked. Instead, she should be more concerned on how to get more power to the barrier and keep everyone aboard the Nirvana alive.

Then again, what would be the point in that? Eventually, the barrier would give out and the intense gravity fields would crush the crew, if the electromagnetic storms didn't reduce them to atomic particles first. And if they decide to face the enemy, Parfet didn't give very good odds of anyone escaping the Harvest.

The bespectacled girl had one bit of solace. When the end came, she would at least perish with all of her friends and... Duero.

When Parfet became among the first girls to actually form a friendship with the so-called 'enemy to all women,' many of her colleagues had thought that she had gone mad. However, with her natural curiosity and easy-going attitude, the head engineer had begun a movement toward acceptance and even trust between the genders. With the example of Slade and his relationships with the Register, the Dread and Vanguard teams, plus individuals such as Meia, Ukyo, Xian Pu, Jura, and of course, Dita, Parfet had found the prospect of men and women living together in harmony more than just a possibility. It had become a reality on the Nirvana.

However, that dream had died along with Slade, and it seemed that the mechanical genius had no more rabbits to pull out of her hat to save the crew this time.

The Register...

As her staff went about its duties, Gascogne had decided to spend some time alone in her office. As she sat in front of her console, she contemplated the deck of cards in her hands. She began thinking back to her games with the Tekkaman. Though he was one of the worst card players she had ever encountered, Slade had never once complained about constantly losing and was always happy to engage the head supplier in a few hands of Poker. Just about all the other girls wouldn't play against her, since the muscular woman was just too good with cards.

Now, she didn't have anyone to play against and she really missed having the hard-working D-Boy at the Register. She had been hoping to sample some more of his cooking, ever since he had helped prepare that Christmas feast. Gascogne smiled a bit as she also remembered how good he had looked in that tuxedo uniform. He had been efficient and the Register just wasn't the same without him. He was the only person on the Nirvana, in which she'd allow to call her Gasco.

Meia was extremely quiet as she sat in her room. Normally, this would not have been surprising as the Dread Leader was usually non-talkative unless she was giving orders. However, this silence was due to a much more profound reason. Her shoulder had been neatly bandaged up and Duero had assured her that she could still pilot her Dread against the enemy if she had to. However, like BC and the Captain, she too had realized the gravity of the situation they were now in. Their greatest tactical advantage against the Harvesters was gone. The second-in-command of their defenses was dead. Meia knew that they couldn't win with just Dreads and Vanguards. Morale was down and team spirit was just about nonexistent. However, like the tactician that she was, Meia tried to figure a way out of this. It was what Slade would have done. He never gave up and would always look for new options.

On that thought, the aqua-haired girl found herself smirking a bit. Here she was comparing herself to a man. It hadn't been that long go since she would have scoffed at the idea of a male even having any worth. However, that had all changed when Slade had arrived. She could still remember the time in which Slade had challenged her...

Flashback...

Slade: "Ah, ah! The warrior who loses her temper has already lost the battle."

Meia: "AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

End of flashback...

Meia's posterior still winced from that memory of being thrown across the hangar. Still, that event, along with those times on that desert world and in that asteroid field, made her realize the importance of relying on her teammates and to accept new ideas, even from men. She had let go of her pride and soon saw that Slade indeed had a lot to offer, along with the other men. The pirates wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without them.

Slade often appeared to Meia as an enigma. He most certainly wasn't from Tarak, and would frequently display talents and knowledge that someone from Mejele would have never expected from a man. The more she learned about him, the more her curiosity was aroused. Was he even human? All of her being told the Dread Leader that he was, and after seeing him die in front of her eyes, she knew that he had been mortal. Still, that did not explain how he could have such power and knowledge.

Meia shook her head as she tried to make sense out of it and why she was feeling so strongly about him. Just what was it about him that had caused her to be drawn toward him?

The Sick Bay...

Paiway was feeling sad, and she had good reason. After all, she had been the one who had inadvertently caused the series of events, which had led to Slade's death. She had not expected her little mistake to have such dire consequences. It's just that she was so angry when her best friend Dita seemed to be ignoring her to be with her 'Mr. Alien.' She had only wanted to get back at him for taking all of her friend's attention, especially on the anniversary of her joining Magno's pirates. However, that one error may very well have cost everyone's lives. She had later confessed to Jura when she had come to the Sick Bay.

The eleven-year-old girl fell even deeper in her depression. There was just no way out of this mess. They might as well give up all hope. They were finished... and she couldn't deny that she had played a key role in their eventual demise.

Ukyo the seventeenth sighed as she absently made some okonomiyaki on her grill. As she flipped the batter, her thoughts went back to the day in which Slade had saved her life. When he had prevented that stack of missiles from falling down on top of her, he had made the first crack in her wall of hate toward men.

Since the time of Ukyo the first, all the females of her line had been taught from the cradle to detest the opposite gender. They were the enemy and could not be trusted. They had no honor and were to be treated like the scum that they were. However, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to hate Slade after he had saved her life that day. In fact, she had grown to respect him, though for the life of her, she couldn't figure out how he could have known about her family's special recipe. She had been meaning to ask him, but now it was too late.

Xian Pu sweated as she finished her kata in the ship's gymnasium. She had been going through her training exercises nonstop since it was announced that the Warrior Squadron's commander had died in combat. According to her ancient Amazon heritage, there was no greater way to meet one's end, save for dying of old age, surrounded by many grandchildren.

The Amazon pilot was disappointed with several members of her squadron who had decided to throw in the towel and gone off either to get drunk or lock themselves in their quarters. It seemed that when Slade died, the cohesion and camaraderie of the group had died with him. That kind of attitude didn't set well with the warrior girl and she had been forced to take punitive measures against her fellow pilots for their lack of discipline. However, she couldn't stop them in their grief, and now about half the squadron was either physically or mentally unfit for battle. However, she couldn't really blame them. After Slade's death, she too had lost much of her will to go on. After all that they had been through together, all that they had learned from him, the fire of their group now seemed to have been reduced to a flicker.

They had been the first combat group to use the hated men's machines, which had been designed to be used against them. They were also the first to have a male leader. Despite their initial distaste and reluctance to follow a man's orders, they had eventually developed a bond of loyalty for him. He had always looked out for them. Though his training was intense and at times almost impossibly rough, they came to understand that he did it all for their sakes, to prepare them for the worst. He played no favorites and treated everyone the same. He would often drill the girls through hours and hours of grueling practice sessions until they all mastered the techniques and worked together as one. And the original Shampoo's descendant had to admit that it had worked. Before Slade had met his end, the Warrior Squadron had been forged into a force to be reckoned with and respected.

Now, the unthinkable had happened and the Tekkaman had been slain. Xian Pu had thought that he had been invincible, that no one could ever conquer him, either as himself or in his armor. However, she now knew that he had been mortal, and that he had... a human soul. He had not been the 'Mr. Alien' that Dita had made him out to be. He had not been the otherworldly war demon that he had appeared to be. In a way, it had been an object lesson for Xian and the other Vanguard pilots. No one was indestructible.

However, unlike some of the other mecha operators, she had not completely lost her faith. Slade had the utmost confidence in the squadron and in his second, right up to the time that he died. The Amazon had decided that she would continue on with what her commander had started. It would have been what he wanted her to do. She would keep on fighting the enemy, and if that meant that she would meet her end, then she'll do it in a blaze of glory. Despite being a man, Slade had shown the true Amazon spirit. Her ancestors would have been proud.

The Conference Room...

"Captain, you can't blame yourself for what happened." BC said as she and her superior spoke alone.

The aged woman let off a long and saddened sigh. "And why shouldn't I feel that this whole mess was my fault? I SHOULD have stopped the mutiny before it got out of hand! I'm the CAPTAIN... and yet I just let it happen. And now, here we are... trapped inside a gas giant with the Earth fleet waiting outside for us. We can't retreat, but at the same time, we can't just surrender. Either way... we'd be dead. If only I had stopped Slade from leaving, then getting himself killed to help us..."

"Captain, you can't start second-guessing yourself. What's done is done." Buzom emphasized. "We can't change the past. I am also experiencing the pain that you and everyone else on this ship is feeling. I want Slade to be back as much as the rest of the crew does, but we must accept the fact that he's gone now. We have to start planning to deal with our present situation as well as for our futures!"

"Our futures, eh?" The elderly woman gave her First Mate a sad smile. "And exactly what would you propose that we could do to deal with that flagship and fleet? We don't have the Tekkadreads any more. It's already been proven that the Dreads and Vanguards aren't enough by themselves, especially against that MONSTER out there, and I'm NOT talking about that Earth battleship."

The enemy flagship...

Deep within the bowels of the main craft, a certain figure was being slowly regenerated inside a large, cylindrical device. The individual was encased in crimson and brown armor. As Saber floated motionless in the amber-colored fluid, he began picking up cybernetic communications from his masters from Earth.

["You have done well, Saber. The accursed Tekkaman Slade has been destroyed."] One Earth leader commented.

As he continued to heal within the chamber, the Tekkaman replied arrogantly. ["Was there any doubt? I am after all, the greatest warrior in the universe!"]

["We do not care for that kind of tone, Saber."] Another Earth leader warned. ["Remember that WE were the ones who made you. Before we recreated your body, you were just another wretch from the lower cities, begging for replacement organs. We made you and we can just as easily BREAK you."]

["I... have not forgotten... MASTERS."] Saber gritted.

["See that you do not. Now, all that stand in the way of the Harvest are those female pirates and their two male allies."]

["They are nothing without Slade! I will obliterate them all, if they decide to come out of that gas giant."]

["We would prefer if you would not destroy a potential supply of fine organs and bodies. Kill them all if you desire, but make certain that their remains are still usable."]

["I am not a mere drone! I am Tekkaman Saber! I am-"]

["YOU are nothing but our servant!"] A third Earth leader interrupted. ["Or shall we remind you of your place?"]

A moment later, Saber began convulsing in agony as searing pain tore through his limbs and caused an intense stabbing sensation in his head. A minute later, the pain stopped and Saber stopped thrashing about. He took several deep breaths as another Earth leader continued.

["We did not give you the powers of a Tekkaman, without installing a failsafe, should you entertain any thoughts of defying us. You are ours to command. Never forget that."]

["Of course... MASTERS..."]

Back on the Nirvana...

WHAP!

Barnette was in a state of shock as she held her stinging right cheek. Jura had just slapped her!

"W-What was that for?!" The brunette asked. In all the years that the two had known each other, the blonde pilot had never raised a hand to her. Now, Jura was glaring at her as if Barnette had murdered her mother.

"I can't believe what you just said, Barnette. And I thought Meia was cold." Jura said with none of her usual vain attitude and self-centeredness. In fact, it was one of those rare times in which she was DEAD serious.

"W-What are you talking about? All I said was that now that useless jerk Slade is finally out of our lives-"

WHAP!

Barnette now found herself with both cheeks stinging.

"Take. That. Back!" Jura growled.

"What's the matter with you, Jura?" Barnette was in total confusion. "Why are you being so upset about some man? He was the enemy! He was-"

"What's the matter? I'll tell you what's the matter, dear Barnette." Jura replied in a sing-songlike yet mocking voice. "What's the matter is that I just found out that I love a heartless and vindictive person, that's what!"

"Huh?"

"Slade was a man, but he was MORE than that. In case you've forgotten, he did a lot for this ship. Even I could see that, but apparently, you didn't or you didn't want to admit all the good he had done."

"What are you talking about?"

"What I'm talking about is the way you're treating his very memory. At the very LEAST, you could give that memory some dignity! Slade deserved that much."

"Why should I?" Barnette shot back as her own anger had begun to rise. "He was nothing but trouble ever since he came aboard this ship! He ate too much, he became too bossy, and no one stood up to him except me! And thanks to him, we are all going to die! Why would I want to remember someone like that?"

Jura became silent, deadly silent, which caused Barnette's anger to drop. The Dread pilot always got nervous when her best friend was like this. Finally, Jura spoke in a tone that was devoid of emotion. "And people think that I'M shallow? What you just shown right now has put everything that I ever did to shame. And that's what I feel about you Barnette... absolute SHAME. Slade was a man, yes, but he was also a human being. He did what he could to help us, right up to the end. You can't blame him for what happened. I spoke to Paiway after he died and she told me the whole story. He and Dita were telling the truth. And I also realized that you used that opportunity, so you could turn everyone against him."

"W-What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that YOU Barnette, were jealous of him."

"Me? Jealous of a man? That's ridiculous!"

"Is it? I don't think so. I'd say that I'm dead right. Every time you challenged him, he met every test and exceeded it. He showed that he could sing, play music, that he could cook, and so on. And you know what? Not once did he ever gloat, and I think that was what irritated you the most."

"What?"

"That's right, Barnette. He NEVER gloated. You were always expecting him to rub it in every time he beat you, but he never did. And do you know why? It's because he respected you as a human being."

"I don't believe this!"

"Whether you believe me or not doesn't change that fact. Now the reason why I'm so ashamed of you right now, is because a 'shallow' person such as myself, saw all of that, but a smart person like you didn't. What's even more shameful is that even after I've explained it all to you, you still won't accept the truth."

"That's absurd!"

Jura sadly shook her head at her best friend's continual state of denial. Finally, after taking another long, hard look at her, she then responded with finality. "I was once like you, Barnette. I once hated all men, but Slade showed me that he wasn't at all like I believed men to be. He was the one man that I was proud to fight alongside with, and if you can't even accept the fact of how much he did for us, then there's no point in continuing this conversation. Now get out."

"What?"

"Until you think about what you did to him and make your own peace with him, then I don't want anything more to do with you! NOW GET OUT!"

After shoving Barnette out of her chambers, Jura locked the door and finally let all of her emotions loose. Tears flowed down her cheeks in rivers and collected in a small puddle on the floor. She had loved Barnette dearly and pushing her away had torn at her very soul. However, she could not stand to be with her after what she had done to Slade. She felt her heart being torn in different directions and she couldn't make sense of all of it. On one side was her long-standing devotion to Barnette. On the other side was her newfound admiration, respect, and perhaps something more for Slade... a man. Her thoughts wandered back to the kiss they had shared on Anpathos. Just what were those feelings she had experienced when their lips had touched? It had been similar to what she felt when she kissed Barnette, and yet it was so very different?

"I can't believe that she slapped me, then threw me out! More than half the crew won't speak to me! It's all Slade's fault!" Barnette sobbed as she sat in the Register's office with Gascogne.

The head supplier gave the Dread pilot a bit of a glare before sipping her tea. She then spoke in a quiet voice. "Actually, I don't blame Jura."

Barnette's head snapped up. "What?!"

The muscular woman nodded. "If she hadn't slapped you, then I WOULD have, after what happened to Slade. Here you are, blaming D-Boy for something that you brought upon yourself, and he hasn't been dead for more than three hours. That's low, Barnette... and cold."

The Dread pilot couldn't believe that she was hearing this. "Are you against me too? Are you taking the men's side?!"

Gascogne shrugged. "The side I'm taking is the side that I believe in, regardless of what gender it happens to be. Listen up, Barnette. D-Boy had never volunteered to be part of our crew, but he became one of us. He didn't have to go out and fight the enemy, but he did anyway. He didn't have to work in the Register, but he did. After that encounter with that Space Urchin, he didn't have to keep ON working here, but he did. He didn't WANT to be leader of the Vanguards, but he took command anyway. He didn't HAVE to cook us Christmas dinner, but he did! And do you know why he did all that? With all the power he had, he could have abandoned us at any time, but he didn't! I'll tell you why. It's because he BELIEVED in us!"

"He... believed in us?"

"That's right. It's as simple as that. He believed in all of us; men and women. And he saw that it could work! And when you started that mutiny, he began to lose faith in us."

"He... had faith in us?"

"That's right." Gascogne nodded. "The captain had the same thoughts as I did. Slade had stopped believing in the idea that men and women could work together. That is, until Xian Pu and the others brought him back. And during that last battle, he began believing in us again... right up to the end. Now tell me, do you honestly think that after all that, Slade is still to blame?"

Barnette became silent as she took in Gascogne's words. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowly stood up with her head bowed down. She then turned and left the office without a word.

The head supplier nodded as she watched the Dread pilot depart. As an expert card player, she had a lot of experience with reading facial expressions and body movements. She knew that certain people often put up fronts to hide their insecurities and doubts. Fronts such as Media's cold, calculating visage, Jura's vanity and hunger for fame, Dita's over-enthusiasm, and of course Barnette's outward toughness and hatred toward men. However, Slade had pierced those fronts and had caused a new kind of feeling within each of them. He had lent them his confidence and strength of will, and in turn, drew strength from them. Now that bond had been severed and the females were in a state of disarray without that seemingly symbiotic link that had made them stronger then they had ever been before. Once again, Gascogne wondered how one person could instill such strength in so many.

Barnette truly did not want to do this. However, the head supplier and Jura had been right on the mark. In order for her soul to move forward, she would have to deal with her past crimes. And so, she entered the chamber where Slade's body had been placed to await internment.

Among the pirates, death was not uncommon and those who had died during their voyages were usually given a burial in space, if they had not previously made arrangements to be buried on Mejele. Slade was no exception and his corpse was currently lying on a table with a sheet over it. After today, it would be place in a capsule-like coffin and launched into the void, to be returned to the cosmic space dust that all things came from.

She walked up to the body and stood in silence for a long time, gazing at the deceased Tekkaman. Off to one side were the broken pieces of his crystal, which would also be placed in his coffin along with his body. After a few minutes, she finally began making her peace with him.

"Slade... I don't know if you can hear me, but wherever you are now, I want you to know that... I'm so sorry."

Barnette was surprised to feel a tear beginning to trickle down her cheek, but paid it no mind. She was so intent on making her peace that she didn't notice that the fragments of the Tekkacrystal had begun to glow.

In the engineering section, another strange occurrence was taking place. Deep within the Paksis-infused circuits of the damaged Tekkabot, certain mechanisms began to activate. Pegas' eyes started to flicker with light.

Somewhere else, outside of the Universe...

Slade didn't know where he was, but it was so warm, yet dark. He felt no pain and it seemed that something was calling to him. He found himself being drawn to whatever was beckoning to him as he saw an even brighter light. The light was a brilliant green-white and seemed familiar...

With careful, measured steps, he began heading toward that light.

END OF PART TWO

Preview...

Slade: "I'm… dead…? If that's true, then how am I talking now? Plus, who is that talking to me? Are these… my memories…? Wait! I want to know more! Who am I? What do you mean my name's not Slade? If it's not, then what is my name? And I'm not really dead? How can I get back then? So many questions and not enough answers. I wonder how the others are doing? Huh? 3 lights? You want me to follow you? Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'The Chosen Path'. I have the will to live! I'll show proof of my existence! Your ass is mine, Saber!"

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