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: Tekkaman Blade, Ranma 1/2 and Vandread belong to their respective creators, so go bother them!

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 15

Baby Blues

"According to the pod's medical files, her name is Misty Corwell and she's fourteen years old." Duero announced as he and several of the Nirvana's crew stood in the Sick Bay.

"Correction." Paiway interrupted as she held up her frog hand puppet. "She's fourteen, plus 63 standard years in cryonic suspension, making her a total of seventy-seven-years-old! Kero!"

"I stand corrected." Duero smiled as he looked down at his patient and noted that she was starting to come around.

Misty slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on a bed in some kind of medical facility. There was a large group of people surrounding where she lay. As her vision began to clear, her earrings let off a golden light and projected that same blob-like figure from before.

The projection made some inquiring noises, which Misty replied, "It's all right, Q-Chan." She then sat up, then began shivering. "I'm cold."

The doctor placed a blanket over her shoulders. "You're still feeling the effects of cryonic hibernation. It will take some time for your body to warm up back to normal levels."

As soon as she turned her head and got a good look at the physician's face, Misty immediately smiled. "Wow! You're really handsome!"

The Tarak healer became a bit confused at the statement and didn't know how to reply to the compliment. "Uh..."

At that point, a thought clicked in Bart's mind. "Hey! You lived during the time when men and women were together, right?"

"What are you, some kind of idiot?" Misty asked in an irritated tone.

Slade chuckled a bit as Bart became deflated at being called an idiot. Then the Tekkaman became nervous when Misty began giving him a funny look.

"Hey, what's his name?" She asked the doctor as she pointed to Slade.

"Oh." Duero snapped himself back to reality as he replied. "If you don't mean Bart, then I suppose you mean Slade."

Misty took on a very lovelorn expression and let off a sigh. "Slade. What a wonderful name! Slade and Misty, sounds really good!"

This development immediately made Dita quite agitated. Why was this stranger giving Mr. Alien such funny looks?

Oh boy! I don't like the way this is going! Though it was true that Slade had been feeling the hormone effects of his body's reaction toward females, he wasn't certain that getting into any kind of involvement with this girl was a good idea. Especially since some of the other girls in the Sick Bay were giving the newcomer the so-called Evil Eye. Among them were Dita, Jura, Xian Pu, Ukyo, Meia... Hold on a second! Meia?!

It was true. For some unexplainable reason, Meia found herself immediately disliking the girl as Misty continued to direct her goo-goo eyes at the Nirvana's second-in-command for defense. Why do I feel like tearing out this girl's hair? She thought to herself.

Misty, seemingly ignorant of the glares, continued to sigh at her 'Prince Charming.' "You know... I've always been a firm believer in love at first sight! You know... like the Red String of Fate! Well... don't just stand there! Come closer to Misty!" The projection of Q-Chan first elongated itself like a piece of string, then reshaped into a heart. This made Pyoro become agitated.

"NO!" Dita cried out as she placed herself between Misty and Mr. Alien. She spread out her arms while shaking her head. "What are you talking about?! Red is the color of BAD aliens!"

The two girls glared at each other as tensions rose to new heights.

"Uh... can't we all just get along?" Slade said, trying to diffuse the situation, but it seemed that no one heard him.

Misty gave everyone who was staring at her with confusion or jealousy a funny look, then addressed Duero. "Hey, is she his girlfriend or something?"

The good doctor became even more puzzled. "Girlfriend? I'm... not familiar with the term."

"What? Are you really serious?" Misty noticed all the expressions of confusion and non-comprehension, and then addressed the hologram on her shoulder. "Q-Chan, these people are really weird!"

"You're the one who's weird!" Jura said.

Slade gently pushed Dita aside and walked up to Misty. "Please, don't think that we're being insulting or anything. You see, just about everyone on board came from planets that either had all men or all women. So it's not too surprising that their ways of thinking are different to what you're used to."

"You mean... you're...?"

"Oh no! I'm not from Tarak or Mejele! I don't really know where I'm from, but I know about that kind of... stuff." Whoops! Wrong thing to say. Slade became more tense as Misty started to lean closer.

"So... if you don't HAVE a girlfriend then..."

"NO! STAY AWAY FROM MR. ALIEN!" Dita shouted out and she glomped onto Slade's right arm and began pulling him away.

"YOW! WATCH IT!" Slade winced as he was still feeling the effects of his last major battle.

Behind them, Jura took on an introspective look. Hmmm... so Slade KNOWS about that kind of thing. Interesting...

In the back of the crowd, Paiway wrote in her little notebook. "Things are getting really interesting! Pai Check!"

Later...

"Well, this day is certainly full of surprises." Magno remarked as she and her first officer headed toward the Sick Bay.

"Indeed. So what do you think is stored in this information module?" Buzom asked as she held up a cylinder, which had been found in the suspension capsule.

"Why don't we ask our guest?"

The two women entered the medical facility to find Duero administering some sedatives to the patient in question.

"So how is our visitor today, Doctor?" The captain asked.

Duero nodded. "She's recovering fine from her long hibernation, but it will be some time before her body fully stabilizes. Right now, she's resting for a while."

"So I guess that means that we'll have to decode this information module ourselves." BC commented as she looked down at it.

"It's so unfair!" Dita pouted as she and Ezra sat in the cafeteria. "They've just met and she's already hugging him!"

Ezra moved about in her seat as she tried to soothe her distraught friend. "I'm sure that it's nothing to be upset about. After all, put yourself in her position. She wakes up one day and finds herself being surrounded by a group of unknown people. She has no one that she can turn to, except for Slade."

"Why Mr. Alien?"

"Well... I suppose it's because he's the only one who understands her. After all, he seems to know about what it was like between men and women. And he has been to other planets."

"It's still not fair!"

The Engineering Section...

"Okay, here we go." Parfet nodded as she inserted the information cylinder into the decoder, which was also hooked up to Pyoro. It had been the same device which she had used to read the information on Rabat's data cube, after Slade had pounded it out of him. The machine was one of the Engineer's best inventions. Modeled after her prototype Inter-pricko, the apparatus was able to unscramble the most sophisticated of codes and languages by using universal communication concepts and comparing them to those stored in the Nirvana's database. Since the cylinder that Misty had with her most likely came from Earth, it was a simple matter to program the system with common Terran algorithms and such. She didn't expect any problems. Behind her, Buzom watched with interest.

The Cafeteria...

"I still think it's unfair." Dita continued to pout. She began wishing that she were back to chasing Mr. Alien again, but after that business with the Earth battleship, Slade had made her promise to stop.

"Give it some time." Ezra soothed. "I'm sure that Slade will… ERK!" The young bridge officer suddenly started gasping and clutching at her enlarged belly.

"Ezra! What's wrong?" Dita immediately came to her friend's side.

"My… water… broke… the… baby!"

Slade sighed as he exited the Register. Just what was he going to do? He had been thinking about those looks that new girl had given him, plus the reactions of the other crewmembers. He felt as if he was sitting on a time bomb that was set to go off soon.

Yeesh! What else could happen today?

As if in answer to his question, he heard Dita's voice as she called out to him.

"Mr. Alien! We need your help!"

Slade was snapped out of his thoughts as he looked up and saw the Dread pilot struggling with Ezra leaning against her. He immediately rushed to their side while contacting the Sick Bay on his personal communicator.

As soon as Duero received the message, he immediately ordered Paiway to begin prepping the Emergency Room as he started rereading the contents of his instruction manual, (the How-To book). However, a minute later, the lights suddenly turned off, along with every other piece of equipment in the Sick Bay.

"What's going on?" Buzom demanded as she and the engineer found themselves totally in the dark. They had just inserted the data module into the decoder, when Pyoro let off some warning sounds, then suddenly shut down. This in turn caused a chain reaction to occur within the ship's main systems and everything except life support, communications, and a few other key functions, were deactivated.

Parfet immediately began running diagnostics using some portable instruments that ran on their own power cells. She gasped as she looked at the readouts. "Oh no! That information module had been booby-trapped with some kind of computer virus! It's caused total shutdown on nearly all of the Nirvana's power grids! We're basically dead in space!"

The First Officer knew that without power, they were defenseless and if the enemy should attack…

"What's going on?" Slade cried out as the elevator that he, Dita, and Ezra had been riding suddenly stopped between floors. The emergency lights activated, bathing the small chamber in a dim blue light. On the floor of the elevator, Ezra let off another cry of pain as she had begun to go into labor. Kneeling behind her and cradling her head was Dita.

"Duero! Can you hear me?" Slade said to his communicator.

The doctor replied, though it was a very faint signal. "Slade! Where is Ezra?"

"She's with me and the UFO girl! We're in the elevator south of the Sick Bay and it just stopped between deck four and five! We're trapped in here!"

"Parfet just informed me that a computer virus has been released into the Nirvana's power grids and nearly all of the systems have been shut down. What's the condition on Ezra?"

"Not good! I think she's going into labor. She said that her water just broke and I think her contractions are getting shorter! Looks like that baby wants out!"

In the Sick Bay, Duero was surprised to hear Slade talk as if he knew about baby delivery. "You know how to do this?"

"HEY! You don't go hopping around planets that still do it the old ways without picking up something!" Slade shouted back then realized that now was not the time to panic. "I know… some of it… but I never really… DONE IT!"

"Well it looks like you're going to have to do it, D-Boy."

Both Duero and Slade were surprised to hear Magno's voice. The captain had been listening on their conversation and decided to give a helping hand.

"SAY WHAT?!" The Tekkaman cried out in shock. He's a martial artist and a cosmic warrior, not a midwife!

"Slade doesn't have the medical expertise!" Duero protested.

"And how many babies have YOU delivered, Doctor?" The old woman countered, then addressed the trapped Tekkaman. "D-Boy, I know this is going to be difficult for you, but right now, you don't have a choice! Besides, since you already know some things, then it shouldn't be too hard and I'll help walk you through it."

"Can you use your powers to get Dita and Ezra out of the elevator?" Duero asked, suggesting an alternative.

"No!" Buzom interjected as she communicated from the Engineering section. "According to the ship's diagnostics, that elevator won't hold for very long and any further stress would cause it to fall down the shaft!"

In the elevator, Slade gritted his teeth. BC was right. He couldn't use a ki bolt to blast his way out, and transforming to his Tekkaman form in such a confined area would endanger both females. At the moment, the most pressing concern was Ezra's child.

It looked like Slade was about to undergo his most challenging ordeal yet…

It was at that moment that the enemy decided to attack.

WHABOOOM!

The Nirvana shuddered as several Harvester Cube Fighters came out from the void and began firing at it. Without their long-range sensors, the pirates had been unable to detect their enemy's approach. And with the Dread Fighter Catapult also non-operational, they couldn't launch a counterstrike. Shields were down, which meant that the ship was totally defenseless!

The elevator…

Slade gritted his teeth as he took off his jacket and folded it into a makeshift cushion. Placing it on the floor in front of Ezra, he took a deep breath and made eye contact with the mother-to-be.

"Okay, Ezra… are you ready?"

The young girl gasped as her contractions became shorter, but managed to nod. Kneeling behind her was Dita as she was supporting her comrade's back. The redhead gave Slade a reassuring smile as she held up her communicator to him.

"Okay, Doc, Grandma! Talk me through this!"

The Sick Bay…

"Slade, how far are Ezra's contractions?"

"Uh… I think she had her last one about two… maybe two-and-half minutes ago." Slade replied.

"That's it. She's going into labor. You should be seeing some fluid coming from Ezra. That's the amniotic fluid that will help the baby pass through the birth canal."

At that point, Magno's voice cut in. "You can forget all that scientific jargon, Doctor. This is something that one must experience firsthand." She then spoke to Slade. "D-Boy! Spread her legs apart and get ready to…"

"I think I got that part figured out!" Slade interrupted as he said a silent prayer and got down to business. The elevator shook violently with each hit as the attack continued.

On the bridge, Magno couldn't help but smile. For a man, D-Boy certainly was well versed in these kinds of things. Another man from Tarak, save for the doctor, would have fainted at the sight of natural birth.

In the Register, Gascogne was running her staff ragged, literally. Without power, the Nirvana couldn't launch any fighters to deal with the enemy attack. So they had to improvise.

Some of her staff had been thinking of losing weight, so the Head Supplier had them running on treadmills and going on exercise bicycles which were connected up to the main power grid. The girls panted and sweated as they used raw muscle power to generate enough energy for the Fighter Catapult to work.

Down in the hangar, Barnette, Meia, and the other Dread Pilots, along with the Warrior Squadron prepared to take off. Since the Vanguards could launch without a catapult, Xian Pu led her team through the large hangar bay and out into space after getting the main doors opened up. The so-called 'manual launch' simply consisted of the humanoid mecha running out and jumping into the void. Once in space, they powered up their thrusters and engaged the enemy, thereby demonstrating once again, the versatility of the formally hated men's machines.

At this time, Barnette was wishing she were piloting a Vanguard as the process of launching Dreads was taking far too long. One by one, the Dread pilots were sent out into space, as they came together in formation and joined their comrades in the Van-Types. By the time Barnette was shooting down her first opponent of the day, Xian Pu and her wingmates had already racked up an impressive kill ratio.

"I… I… can't… do this!" Ezra screamed as the pain increased. Her body was in absolute agony as her breathing became shorter and her contraction rate increased.

"Yes you can!" Slade said, as he was about to receive a newborn life.

Ezra shook her head as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I… I… can't! I'm… I'm scared!"

"It's okay, Ezra. I'm scared, too!" Slade admitted as he could see the first signs of the baby emerging.

"You're scared, Mr. Alien?" Dita said in surprise. She didn't think Slade was scared of anything.

Slade gave both girls a whimsical smile. "It's been my experience that fearing nothing is for idiots. If you're not afraid of anything, then that can get you killed real quick. I learned that the hard way with Saber and the Harvesters. Being scared is natural and it helps keep you alive sometimes. But listen to me, Ezra. This is what you wanted, right? This is the reason why you got the seed. You want this more than anything, right?"

Ezra sniffled back her tears and nodded, before letting off another gasp.

Slade gave her another reassuring smile. "Being scared is okay, as long as you don't let it keep you from doing what needs to be done! And you need to do this! That baby needs you and I need you to help me! Are you ready? We're almost there!"

Ezra nodded again. "T-Thank you, Slade!" She then resumed pushing.

Out in space, Meia and her Dreads darted about as they continued to engage the enemy units. The Dread Leader knew that they had to win this engagement and quickly. Gascogne couldn't launch her supply shuttle to rearm the Dreads and the Van-Types were getting low on ammunition. Most of the Warrior Squadron was now reduced to melee weapons.

Just then, she saw that two large capital ships were heading straight for the Nirvana. She contacted her squadrons to begin attacking the two Seed Ships.

Xian Pu also noted the approach of the two vessels and ordered her team to do whatever they could to slow their approach. Releasing the last of her missiles at one of the ships, she then took out her Vanguard's Polearm and charged in. Several others followed her, wishing for the appearance of their commander, Slade.

Slade however, had his hands full, literally. The baby was almost out as he urged Ezra for one final push.

Just then, the ship was rocked to one side, then to another.

Meia gasped as she and the others witnessed the two Seed Ships launch some metal tendrils at the Nirvana. Each metallic strand pierced an arm of the pirate vessel. Now using the tendrils as towlines, the Seed Ships then began towing the Nirvana away.

Both Dread and Vanguard leaders immediately commanded their teams to attack the tendrils as freeing the Nirvana became top priority. The mecha fighters began chopping away with their bladed weapons while the sleek Dreads fired with everything they had.

However, it seemed that nothing could stop the enemy from finally claiming victory. That is until…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Slade let off a sigh of relief as Ezra's baby girl took in her first breath of air and cried out. He just managed not to faint at the sight of the newborn. A minute later and Ezra pushed out the after-birth remnants, including the umbilical cord and the placenta.

At that moment, Pyoro suddenly came back online as his monitor displayed the phrase 'password accepted.' All systems on the ship had begun to function normally again, with the exception of the shields, due to the fact that there were two Seed Ships with their tendrils piercing the hull. Then the Nirvana shuddered again as several Cube Fighters scored a direct hit on the section that was near where Slade and the others were trapped in the elevator.

The elevator shook and then an awful grinding noise was heard as the braking mechanisms, which kept the group from plummeting down the shaft, gave out. With a final lurch, the elevator began to fall.

Inside, Slade gritted his teeth as he felt the sudden drop. Damn! No choice now! Quickly wrapping Ezra's child in his jacket and handing it to her, he then shouted out to both women. "GRAB ON TO ME!"

Raising both arms up with the palms spread, he powered up his inner energy and fired off a short blast of ki and quantum energy. The top of the elevator was blown clear off, as he reached out and used one arm to bring Dita close to him and the other to Ezra. The new mother was clutching her daughter close to her chest as Slade took a deep breath… then jumped straight up.

Powerful leg muscles propelled the four up and out of the elevator like a rocket. The car was sent hurtling down from the force of reaction as Slade and his passengers went the other way. As he reached the apex of his jump, he managed to direct his trajectory toward one of the walls of the shaft. Just as he had done with Jura and Barnette in the past, Slade used the surface to rebound off, triangle-jumped to the opposite wall, then bounced off that side, up to the door to Deck Four. Knowing that he only had one shot at getting it right, he extended his right leg out and kicked.

KA-WHANG!

The elevator doors exploded outward as Slade went into a tuck-and-roll, using his body to cushion the impact and protect the girls, as they landed on the hard on the floor in a tangled mess. A moment later, a thunderous crash was heard from the open shaft as the elevator hit the bottom.

Slade let off a sigh of relief as he slowly disentangled himself from the others.

"Hey, is everyone okay?"

"I… I'm all right." Ezra said slowly as she checked the precious bundle in her arms. The baby let off a loud cry, but she saw no injuries to her child.

Dita shook her head to clear it, then gave Slade one her smiles as she looked down at Ezra and her baby. Seeing that they were fine, she nodded. "We're okay! That was amazing, Mr. Alien!"

Slade was so relieved at hearing this that he didn't even bother to remind the redhead not call him Mr. Alien. At that point, he heard a familiar and annoying voice.

"DON'T WORRY! PYORO WILL SAVE PYORO 2!"

The Tekkaman frowned as he saw the annoying automaton rushing toward them. Behind it was the doctor and Paiway.

"You think you can handle things here?" Slade asked Dita as he got up and made his Tekkacrystal appear.

The redhead nodded as the Tekkaman began running toward the nearest airlock.

Out in space, Meia led her fighter squadron in a concentrated assault on one of the Seed Ships. The attack focused on cutting the Nirvana free of the metal tendril that was attached to it. The line was finally severed, freeing the pirate vessel from one of its captors. However, that was when the Dread Leader realized that her fighter and the others were almost completely out of ordinance and ammunition. She was about to lose hope when she caught a flash of emerald light coming out from the Nirvana, which was followed by another object from the main hanger bay. At the same time, the Nirvana's maneuvering thrusters starting firing as it tried to pull away from the enemy ships.

"Sorry I'm late!" The Tekkaman called out as he landed on the Tekkabot's back and sped toward the nearest Dread, which was Jura's. "I had my hands full delivering Ezra's baby. Both are doing fine!"

The pilots of both the Vanguards and the Dreads began cheering at the news as the Tekkaman and Jura's Dread began fusing together. Tekkadread Jura immediately assumed its tiger form and raced toward the remaining Seed Ship, which was still attached to the Nirvana.

Inside Tekkadread Jura, Slade focused his energies into the instruments and aimed for his target.

"TIGER CLAW… VOLTEKKER!"

With one swipe from its claws, the tiger mecha cut the last remaining tether, thereby freeing the pirate craft completely.

"Yes! That was absolutely perfect!" Jura exclaimed.

"Let's finish this off!" Slade cried out was he saw that both Earth ships and their escorts were still pressing their attack against the Nirvana. "PEGAS… COMBINE!"

The Tekkabot acknowledged the order and flew toward the Tekkadread. In seconds, the machine merged and initiated the third transformation of Jura's fighter, forming a cat-humanoid mecha. Tekkadread Jura X got between the enemy and the Nirvana and raised its shield arm. The energy barrier it produced began absorbing all incoming shots from the Cube-Types. When it reached its limit, the barrier let loose with a feedback blast, obliterating all the lesser foes in one shot. Then its claws began emitting massive amounts of energy waves as it let loose with its ultimate attack.

"CAT FIST… VOLTEKKER!"

The two Seed Ships were sliced in half, then exploded moments later, thereby ending the conflict.

Later…

"What? You mean that the password was a baby's cry?" Magno asked as she had just been given Parfet's analysis.

"Yes." BC nodded. "Apparently, Ezra's baby saved us all from the virus. That capsule was programmed to respond to a certain audio frequency, specifically that of a baby's voice."

"So you're now able to read the information on that capsule?"

"Yes. I was about to play it."

"Have it playing on all communications. I want the entire crew to hear this." Magno ordered.

Everyone on board the Nirvana stopped what he or she was doing as view screens appeared and began relaying the message. They depicted an image of a laboratory and two people. One of them was an aging, balding man with a kind of technological monocle and a beard. The second person was a woman with long brown hair and was wearing a kind of metal visor. The visuals were somewhat grainy, but everyone could see it overall. Then the man spoke.

"I apologize for the trouble we may have inadvertently caused to you, but it was my belief that the cry of a baby was a sure sign of a flourishing human civilization. We are from the Earth, or rather… what is left of our homeworld. To fully understand the situation that you are now facing, I feel that reviewing our planet's history is in order."

The screens then depicted an image of a blue-white planet with a kind of ring floating around it.

"This is what our planet Earth looked like, more than a century ago. Around it, you see the structure that we had named the Orbital Space Ring. It had been intended to be a kind of launching station for when humankind would begin colonizing other planets. It had also been intended as a line of defense against hostile invaders. Despite having suffered countless wars on Earth, humankind still had its sights set on the stars."

The woman nodded as she took over the explanations. "However, that was not to be, for when the Earth was finally ready to take its first voyages into space, it fell under attack by an unknown and extremely powerful alien race."

The scenes now depicted the Earth under attack by the same forces that had wiped out the Radam. The planet and the surrounding space became littered with ships, debris, and explosions as Earth's fleets were decimated.

"We fought them for as long as we could, but it cost us nearly 90 to 95% of the planet's population. Near the end of the war, the survivors were left with two options: continue to battle or flee our Earth. During that time, a new energy source was discovered after some freedom fighters had captured an alien battlecruiser. It seemed that we were not the only race in which the aliens had battled. They had taken a new kind of technology from another race that was known as… the Radam. The technology was referred to as… the TEKKAMAN POWER SYSTEM."

This immediately got Slade's attention. He had heard the name of Radam several times before during his travels. His gaze became fixated on the view screen as the man took up the explanation again.

All through the ship, the women gasped in total shock as everyone began thinking of Slade. Was he a part of the Earth forces that were after their body parts?

"Using this new power source, which we later renamed Paksis Pragma, we were able to create a fleet of transport ships in order for the survivors to flee into space, in the hopes to colonize other worlds and preserve the human race. Those that stayed behind used a second Paksis prototype to continue the fight against our alien enemies. We won… however, victory came with a terrible price."

The woman nodded. "Our alien adversaries were only concerned with survival and saw us as nothing but food. However, after defeating our enemies, we became LIKE them. After losing contact with the colony ships, the remainder of Earth's dwindling populace fell into despair, thinking that they were the last vestiges of the human race. Eventually, they fell into a state of madness. Now see our once-beautiful world as it is now."

The scene changed to display and image of a dark world surrounded by machinery. Slade became even more shocked as he recognized it was the very same place in which he had awakened from the Tekkapod.

It… can't be! If… that's the Earth, then… I'm…

The man spoke once again. "The Orbital Space Ring is now a cage of gears and machinery. Our natural satellite Luna has been engulfed within it. Within that cage, the few surviving humans have set up cities in which to live, for the surface of the Earth is no longer capable of supporting us. The insides are like giant washing machines with constant acidic storms and very small landmasses. Because of this environment, humans have reached a genetic saturation point in which we could no longer evolve. As a result, no children can be born on Earth."

This news brought even more shock to the crew of the Nirvana. Ezra became especially nervous as she held her baby close to her chest.

"Cloning has also failed as we are now at an evolutionary dead end." The man continued. "Then finally, the need for self-preservation, just like the alien enemies we had defeated, became all-encompassing. The idea to use the organs of those who had survived in space was instigated. The people of Earth had long-since lost their sense of morals and are now only concerned with survival, at the cost of everyone else's lives. Using their Paksis Pragma, they had constructed a fleet of automated machines, to efficiently harvest the humans who had set up colonies on other worlds, without mercy. The leaders of Earth are even trying to fully understand the Tekkaman System, so they may achieve absolute power."

The man shook his head sadly as he finished up his explanations. "I do not know how we came to this madness, but I feel that this will only lead to the final destruction of our once-proud race. For those of you who have received this message, I implore you to resist all attempts to harvest you. You are truly the hope for humanity and our torch to the future!"

Magno nodded as the message ended. "Let it be known that we have received your message and we shall continue to fight on." She then turned to her first officer. "BC, it is now more imperative than ever that we warn Mejele and Tarak of this danger. We must do everything in our power to ensure a bright future…" She thought about Ezra's baby and added. "A future in which that new life can grow in peace."

Buzom solemnly nodded as she instructed Bart to resume the trip back to their home system.

Slade wandered the hallways of the ship, not particularly caring on his destination. His mind was a billion light years away as he considered all that he had just learned.

I'm… from Earth! For so long, I've wondered just where I came from, and now I find out that I'm from the same place as our enemies are from! I… can't believe that they have the Tekkaman Power System! Then again, that could explain Saber. Does this mean… that I'm one of them? No! That's not possible! This is all so confusing! Just when I learn one answer, I end up with a hundred more questions! Who and what am I? What does it all mean?

"D-Boy."

Slade's head came up when he heard Magno and turned around. He assumed that he was so preoccupied, that he didn't notice the old woman coming behind him. "Oh… hello Captain."

"I've been looking for you. I've called for you several times on the intercom, but you never responded."

"Sorry about that, Grandma. I've been… thinking about a lot of things..."

"Yes, I guessed that you would be, considering what we've learned about our enemies, and about you. If you're worried about the crew becoming hostile against you because of that message about the Tekkaman Power System and the Earth, then don't be. We may not have all the answers about you, Slade, but after what we've all been through, we all know that you are NOT the enemy, but our friend."

The Tekkaman gave her a small smile. "Thanks. That does make me feel a little better."

"Good. Oh yes, I wanted to tell you that Ezra would like to see you in the Sick Bay, concerning her child."

"Huh? Is something wrong with the baby?" He became concerned, and began to think that the escape from the elevator had hurt the innocent child.

Magno waved off his fears. "The baby is doing fine. Ezra told me that she wanted to see you now. It seemed to be something of great importance."

The Sick Bay…

"It's sooooo cute!" Dita remarked as she and Pyoro gazed upon the sleeping child. Lying beside her was Ezra as she was recovering from childbirth. "So what are you going to name her?" Dita asked.

"Her name is Pyoro 2!" The robot said enthusiastically.

"No way! That's not cute! Especially for a girl!"

"The decision has already been made!" Pyoro maintained.

"We should ask the captain on a name!" Dita interjected.

"Pyoro 2! Pyoro 2! Pyoro 2!"

Ezra gave the robot a gentle smile, but shook her head. "I'm sorry Pyoro-chan, but I did tell you before that I would choose a name for her. I never said that it would be Pyoro 2."

"Of course her name is Pyoro 2!" The automaton said. "What else could it be?"

At that moment, Slade came into the room.

"Uh… hi." Slade was a bit nervous as he saw the mother and child.

"Hello Slade. I'm glad you came." Ezra greeted.

"Hey Mr. Alien! You want to help us pick a name for Ezra's baby?" Dita asked.

"She already has a name!" Pyoro argued. "It's Pyoro 2!"

The Tekkaman frowned at the indignant little machine and said in a firm tone, "I think that Ezra is the only one who has the right to name the baby. After all, she belongs to her and YOU had nothing to do with the baby's creation."

Pyoro was about to argue further. He then got the message and backed down when Slade held up a fist, and powered some of his ki into it. The robot knew that Slade could reduce him to scrap in an instant.

He then lowered his fist and started smiling at the new mother. "So Ezra? What name have you chosen?"

The gentle bridge officer smiled back as she replied. "I've decided…"

"Pyoro 2, right?"

Both glared down at the machine, which made it go silent.

Ezra continued. "As I was about to say, that I've decided to let you name my daughter."

The former Saotome was totally taken by surprise by this. "Me?"

Ezra nodded while Dita smiled. "You saved my life, Dita's, and my baby. You helped bring my little girl into this world. I can't think of a better way to thank you than to have my daughter grow up with the name that you've chosen."

"I… don't know what to say. I'm… honored."

Ezra nodded. "So what will be my daughter's name?"

Slade took on an introspective look as he tried to recall every name for a girl that he could think of. For a moment, he thought about naming the baby Seran, in honor of that kind Melanos engineer who died during a Harvester attack, but then decided to choose something else. In the back of his mind, another name seemed to call out to him. It was a name that he had often heard in his dreams, though he had no real recollection of it. He had often suspected that the name had something to do with his long lost past. He smiled as he bent down over the baby's bed.

"So you've chosen the name of Pyoro 2, right…?"

CLANG! WHUMP!

Pyoro circuits became glitched after Slade used an index finger and flicked the annoying little machine away. It was now lying on the other side of the Sick Bay, with its main screen showing static and giving off some electronic moans of pain.

"Beep! Sqwark! Bzzzt! Bleep! Error!"

Slade addressed the little one in a quiet voice. "Your name will be… Nodoka."

The name brought a smile to the baby's face as she continued to sleep.

At that moment, Misty came in, dressed in a simple nightgown.

"Hello everybody."

Ezra nodded. "Oh hello. And how are you today?"

The young girl nodded as she replied. "I'm feeling fine, thank you. Congratulations on the baby. " She then grinned as she immediately went over to Slade. "I just heard that you named the baby Nodoka. That's really nice."

"Uh… yeah."

"So what name will you give for our baby?"

"HUH?! SAY WHAT?!"

"You're so darn cute when you get like that!" Misty reached up, brought Slade's head down to her and kissed him full on the lips.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dita was in a state of total shock as their lips touched. Mr. Alien belonged to her!

Misty licked her lips as she pulled back, leaving an equally shocked Slade. "Mmmmmm… vanilla! My favorite!" She then reached up to kiss him again.

WHOOOOOOOOSH!

Slade left a huge dust trail as he left the Sick Bay at supersonic speed.

Nearby, a certain someone clicked her camera.

"Pai Check!"

Later…

Duero frowned as he saw the results of his initial analysis come up on the computer's monitor. He had hoped that his suspicions would prove incorrect, but instead they were dead on. He began running a series of additional calculations on his findings, but their results came up the same. He shook his head as he saw the final projections.

Not good! Not good at all! This is very disturbing. I need to do some more tests, but if they turn out to be the same as the first one, then the future of both Mejele and Tarak is in jeopardy.

The Bridge…

Magno smiled as she was just informed on the name of Ezra's baby.

Nodoka, eh? Now THAT is a name in which I haven't heard of in a long, long time. I wonder where D-Boy heard of that name?

To be continued…

Preview...

Slade: "Now this is a surprise, Bart finally grew a backbone from his sheer determination to protect Shirley, a little girl he befriended on a planet victimized by the Earth. Her death became a wake-up call for him and is now taking his role as ship's navigator and gunner seriously, though it'll take time to get used to his new look…"

Jura: "Finally! It's about time we're able to kick back and relax after all that fighting!"

Dita: "Huh? What's that on the ground?"

Slade: "Ahh…. Now this really hits the spot…"

Girls: "Oh my God, Slade's bathing!"

Jura: "This is a great opportunity!"

Dita: "No! Wait! You can't!"

Meia: "Please, we must handle this in a more professional manner…"

Dita & Jura: "Yeah right! You want to see him just as bad as we do!"

Meia: "T-th-th-that's not true!"

Slade: "Hmmm? What's that noise? Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'The Difference Between Men and Women'. Huh!? Girls!? What're you- HEY! DON'T COME HERE!"

Author's Notes

Well that finishes off the second chapter. From here on out, the series is going to take several twists and diversions from the original Vandread the Second Stage. I also have some new surprises waiting in the next couple of episodes, as well as some new characters, thanks to a few of my reader's suggestions. Who's going to get Slade in the end? Well, that's still all up in the air.

See you next time!

Please read and review!