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: Yeah, yeah, I know! Tekkaman Blade, Ranma 1/2 and Vandread don't belong to me, so lay off the lawsuits, okay?

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 18 Part 3

Survival of the Fittest

The Engineering Section of the Nirvana...

There's GOT to be a way through that shield! I just know it!

The head engineer of the pirate vessel had been working nonstop for two days, ever since they had lost contact with the Vanguard landing party. She had been trying without success to penetrate the energy barrier that surrounded the planet below. However, she had been unable to scan the shield and couldn't even determine if Duero or the others were still alive on the surface.

Time was running out for her as the captain and her first officer had given her a deadline.

A few hours ago...

"What? We can't just abandon them!" Parfet protested as Magno had announced a time limit for her to get through Saber's energy barrier, or at the very least, determine whether or not the Vanguard landing party was alive... or dead.

"None of us like the idea any more than you do." Magno said as she, Buzom, and Gascogne were in the Conference Room with the bespectacled mechanical genius. "However, we are faced with a crisis. I have the safety of the crew to consider and our mission to warn our world and Tarak of the impending Harvest from the Earth. Furthermore, if we remain in orbit too long, then we put ourselves in danger."

"What do you mean?"

Buzom took up the explanations. "Despite the high amounts of EM interference, we have begun picking up energy signatures approaching this system... Harvester signatures."

"The enemy is coming here?"

"We had Xian Pu's squadron do a recon on the outer edges of this solar system. The EM interference is less intense out there. They began picking up something on their long-range sensors, using the new tachyon transceivers that you had installed. The signals are faint, but we've confirmed that they are from the Earth. We've estimated their strength to be at least twenty Seed Ships, a dozen Sea Urchins, heaven only knows how many Cube Fighters... and one flagship."

Parfet shuddered at the thought at encountering another of those behemoths.

"They're heading toward our position, albeit at a slow rate. They're probably having as much trouble navigating as we did because of all the asteroid fields we passed to get to here. The closer they get to this solar system, the more intense the EM interference becomes, so we're hoping that we will be harder to pinpoint. We estimate they will be within scanner range in forty-eight hours."

"Two days? But... I need more time! We've only just started to determine the outer wavelengths of the barrier! It'll take at least a day to pinpoint the power source and another two to come up with a countermeasure strong enough to get through the shield and destroy it!"

"By that time, the enemy will be on top of us, if not sooner." Buzom reminded. "Remember how reduced our defensive capabilities are at the moment? The Dreads cannot operate with all this interference and we don't have Slade. The Warrior Squadron is an effective force, but Xian Pu's team can't do it alone, especially against an Earth battle cruiser."

"We're stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place." Gascogne remarked. "I have all the girls in the Register who can pilot Vanguards on standby, plus some of the Dread pilots. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. We may have to consider... retreat."

"Captain, we can't just leave Duero and the others on that planet!"

"And NONE of us have any intention of doing so, unless there is no other option." Magno said. "However, if you cannot get through that barrier and get to our people before the Harvesters come, then..." The aged women's voice trailed off as she sighed deeply. Sometimes being the captain was a HEAVY burden.

Present time...

Parfet steeled her resolve as she continued to ponder the problem.

Hold on Duero! I'll find some way to get you and the others out of there! I promise! We still haven't gotten to know each other much. There's still so much I want to learn about you!

Down on the planet...

"I've... never been asked to talk about myself before. Are you sure you want to know more about me?" The doctor said as he and Barnette sat in their tent. Outside, the sandstorm raged on.

Barnette gave the doctor a smile and nodded. "It's... not like we have anything else to do in this sandstorm and... well, I'd like to know more about the man who saved my life five times."

"Six, but who's counting?" Duero corrected with a slight smile. "Well, if you truly want to know, I suppose my story starts at the Genesis Foundation."

"Genesis Foundation?"

"To put it simply, it was one of the birthing factories."

"Birthing factories?"

The physician nodded as he explained. "Yes. You see, unlike the women of Mejele, the men of Tarak reproduce by more artificial means. When two consenting fathers decide to have a child, they donate their genetic material, or 'seeds' to be spliced together in facilities called birthing factories. The Genesis Foundation was the first birthing facility to be established when Tarak was founded. The genetic material from couples were gestated in artificial matrices and grown to term. Once properly formed, the babies were then given to one father or both to be raised."

"You mean... you were... assembled, like a machine?" Barnette was a bit unnerved to hear this. Though she had strived to be tough and independent, she didn't like the idea of being born without the warmth of a mother's arms.

Duero shrugged. "I suppose you could put it that way, though I have no memory of being born myself. Since men are not... ah, anatomically suited to give birth as you females are, this process of modified cloning was our most viable solution to propagating our race."

"I see." Barnette then changed the subject. "So what about your ohma and fahma? What were they like?"

"Well, my Prime and Second were quite dissimilar."

"Excuse me? What's a Prime and Second?"

"In your terms, they were my ohma and fahma, respectively. The Prime was the first father, in which I would take his family name. He was considered the head of the household and the one who made all the important decisions. It was he who primarily raised me, hence the term 'prime.' The Second was simply my other father, and he could also take part in raising me, though Seconds do have the option of sharing their seed with others."

"Huh?"

"We are a very open society when it comes to choosing... mates. It is our belief that all children of Tarak belong to the population as a whole. Any man can be both a Prime AND a Second. It's sort of like Mejele, in which any woman can be an ohma or a fahma."

"So, this Prime was the one who mostly raised you?"

"Yes. His name was Tensen McFile and he was the one who taught me all I know about surviving in the wilderness. If fact, if it weren't for him, I would have never been able to complete my Spirit Trial."

"What's that?"

"It happened when I was seven years old. It was an experience, which had changed my life."

Meanwhile, at the other camp...

Dita couldn't sleep. Not only was she worried about her missing comrades, but also Mr. Alien was insistent that she and Jura stay on the other side of the tent. Apparently, he didn't want a repeat performance of what happened the night before.

Lying nearby, but making certain that both girls were not close enough to clamp onto him in their sleep again, the Tekkaman continued to gaze up at the roof of the tent. It had been a hard day with very little to show for it. Well, not quite as they had found an abundant source of water... mostly by accident.

Flashback...

Dita gritted her teeth as she pulled out the last component that she could salvage from her ruined Vanguard. With Pegas being the only mecha that was still functional, they would need all the spare parts that they could get. The power pack that she had extracted would provide the Tekkabot with an additional source of energy, thereby increasing its range and allowing Slade to search for Duero and Barnette longer. So far, Slade could only scout as far as forty kilometers from their camp before Pegas' power cells gave out and had to recharge for two hours, before continuing. The Tekkaman was unable to transform, and therefore couldn't go much further. It was just as well, since their food supply was limited and his Radam-derived powers used up tremendous amounts of energy.

As the redhead dragged the heavy power pack back to camp, she began wondering if her comrades on the Nirvana had abandoned them. She shook her head as she banished that thought from her mind. As long as she maintained her faith in Mr. Alien and her fellow pirates, she would continue to press on. Nothing was going to get her down...

"WHOA!"

It was at that moment that the ground gave way beneath her.

Jura and Slade were already running out of the camp when they heard Dita's startled cry. By the time they reached the spot, the Dread pilot was nowhere in sight.

The blonde Mejele female looked about as she held her Tarak assault rifle at the ready. Her appearance was a bit ragged without the luxuries of the Nirvana and her usual applications of cosmetics, but she had reluctantly accepted the fact that survival took precedent over vanity. Although it made her feel better when Slade assured her that she still looked beautiful anyhow.

"Where's Dita?" She asked as she scanned the area.

"I'm not sure." Slade said carefully as he too surveyed the last place where the redhead had been.

"You... don't suppose that those ugly sandworms had...?" Jura gulped as she thought of what might have happened to her comrade. They had encountered those horrid things early on, but Slade had made short work of them with his ki bolts. Since then, they were always careful as to where they stepped.

"No... I don't think so." The Tekkaman replied, as he saw no indication of a struggle or any of the telltale signs of a sandworm attack. He then gestured to the power pack, which was partially buried in the sand.

Jura cautiously walked over to it. "Well, if it wasn't a sandworm, then where is she... EEEEEEEEEEEK!"

Just as she came close to the power pack, she suddenly dropped straight down and vanished.

"Jura!" Slade rushed over, and just as he came to the same spot, he also felt the ground give way under his feet and he was swallowed up by the desert sands. He heard the distinctive sound of hinges as a door that was hidden beneath the sand had opened under his weight. He felt himself falling down some kind of open area. A moment later he heard a splash.

SPLASH?

Turning about in his fall, he saw something shimmering below. He righted himself and used a ki bolt to propel himself to what appeared to be a cavern wall. He managed to rebound off another wall, which gave off a metallic sound as he ricocheted off of it. Twisting and turning, he then came down onto a ledge and stared in amazement.

In the center of a huge reservoir of water were two Mejele females, joyously splashing about... in their birthday suits. Both girls had taken off their sweat-drenched outfits and were enjoying the cool liquid as they frolicked about, splashing each other in wild abandonment.

It was then that they noticed Slade standing nearby, with his back turned and blushing furiously.

"Hey Mr. Alien! Come on in! The water's great!" Dita waved.

"Can you believe it? All of this water was right under our noses!" Jura exclaimed.

Slade was barely listening as he tried to keep HIS nose from gushing out blood. All he could think of was how the water slid off their nubile bodies and that reminded him of that time in the Nirvana's bath area.

Both girls giggled as they saw how nervous and agitated the normally tough and disciplined Tekkaman was.

"Oh come on, Mr. Alien! It's okay! Come join us!"

"Yes." Jura said seductively as she stood up in the waist-high water and bent over a bit. "There's no need to be shy. It wouldn't be the FIRST time we've seen you without your clothes. And you've already seen us, so..."

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!

End of flashback...

Apparently, Dita had stumbled onto an underground water reservoir, most likely belonging to the people who had lived on this planet, before the Harvesters had taken them. As a result, the three had enough water to sustain them for at least six months. Jura was especially ecstatic at being able to get herself clean for the first time since being stranded on this world.

Well, water's not a problem any more, but I still can't help but think of how Duero and Barnette are doing.

Speaking of whom...

"So what was this... Spirit Trial?" Barnette asked.

"I suppose the Spirit Trial could be thought of as a test of manhood." Duero replied. "You see, during the founding of Tarak, the original eight men who had landed on the planet were not exactly prepared to handle the harsh climates and desert wilderness. Water was extremely limited and they would have all perished, were it not for the actions of our leader... Grand Pa."

"Hmmm..." Barnette was a bit irritated to hear that name, as all women on Mejele were conditioned from birth to despise the supreme leader of the men's world. However, she kept her opinions to herself as she indicated for Duero to continue.

"Well, according to the story, Grand Pa went out alone into the wilderness to find water for his comrades. It is said that he traveled one hundred miles through the desert, braving the predators and the dangers of dehydration. He was near dying when he came upon a canyon, which is now known as Grand Pa's Pass. It was there that he found the hidden spring which saved his life. He then brought the water back to the other seven men, saving them as well. From where the Ikazuchi had crashed, the capital city of Telleron was created and our civilization was born."

"That's... interesting, but... what does all that have to do with this Spirit Trial?"

"Well you see, my family was poor. My Prime and Second were low-level officials and barely able to eke out a living as Second-Class Citizens. The only ones who had less than we did were Third-Class citizens and not by much. One way to improve one's ranking is to endure the harsh military training of the academy as a low-ranking soldier and work your way up. Another way is to PAY your way up. Very rarely does anyone who starts at the bottom in the military, ever achieve a rank of appreciable status, and not too many people have enough wealth to buy their way into First Class. However, with the right political connections, one could boost one's status to First Class. They were considered the elite and strongest of our population, and therefore received the best education, the best medical treatment and so on. If you had someone in the higher ranks, then you were almost guaranteed a promotion to First Class."

"I take it, your... parents didn't have such connections?"

"Correct. When I was born, my Prime had determined that I was not going to live like he did. He wanted better things for me. However, neither he nor my Second had the prestige or wealth to assure me of a better life. I would have to work for it. However, there was just one other way for me to become a First-Class citizen... and that was the Spirit Trial. Essentially, it's a tradition in which one had to duplicate Grand Pa's hundred-mile journey through the desert to the hidden oasis at Grand Pa's Pass. I would be given only one day's ration of water, as well as a two-week ration of food pills, which was the same amount that he had taken. He was only armed with a knife, so I too would be given only a knife. There was one more stipulation. The Spirit Trial can only be done... if you are eight years old or less."

"WHAT?! They make children go off by themselves into the desert?!" Barnette became horrified at the thought of sending children off into the harsh desert, just so they could have a chance of improving their position in society. It was barbaric!

"They don't force a boy to take the Spirit Trial." The doctor corrected. "It's by choice. It is the belief that if a child can do what Grand Pa did, then he is worthy of being a First Class Citizen."

"So you did it?"

"I was scared, I'll admit to it. If it weren't for my Prime, I wouldn't be here now."

"What's your Prime like?"

"You could call him... eccentric. He isn't like most men on Tarak. For one thing, he NEVER believed all of those propaganda stories about women being the monsters that sucked out a man's innards and such. It was because of this that he and my Second were frequently at odds with each other before they decided to create a child together. You see, my Second was part of the propaganda ministry, while my Prime was a survivalist instructor. Tensen McFile never believed in anything unless he could see and touch it."

"A survivalist and an officer of the propaganda ministry?"

"Well, what can I say? Opposites can attract. However, I never knew my Second since he died... one month before I was released from the Genesis Foundation and given to my Prime."

"I'm... sorry."

"It's all right. Since I had never met him, I never developed any feelings for him. Tensen McFile was the only father that I knew while growing up."

"What... happened to your Second?"

"He had been attacked by a Shelari and he died from his wounds."

"What's a Shelari?"

"It's... kind of like what you had encountered."

Barnette gulped. "You mean... like a giant sandworm?"

Duero nodded. "On Tarak, there's a very fierce species of giant carnivorous worm that can grow as large as twenty meters long and three meters in diameter. The ones you faced must have either been smaller distant cousins or weren't fully grown yet. Like the Shelari, those sandworms weren't very fast and it seemed that they preferred to ambush their prey by hiding in the sand. When I saw those unnatural mounds and patterns of sand, I suspected that something was in there. However, unlike the worms I destroyed, the Shelari happen to be MORE dangerous."

"More dangerous?!" Barnette repeated incredulously. There was something more deadly than those horrors?

"Since Shelari are not very fast, they prefer to hide in the sand or around rock formations, waiting to strike at any prey. Instead of using paralysis tentacles to capture their meals, they instead spit caustic acid, disabling their prey and making their food easier to digest. The acid is also used as a defensive weapon. They possess large mandibles to capture their prey and crush whatever life is left in them. They have dense scales all around their heads and upper portions of their bodies, like protective armor, making them highly resistant to the heat of the sun and small arms fire. Your pistol and submachine gun wouldn't have made a dent in them."

Barnette gulped again. Her prized antique collection of firearms would have been useless against the predators of Tarak.

"However, they're not unstoppable." The physician amended. "Tarak rifle shots can pierce their scales and if you use incendiary or high explosive ammunition, you can ignite their acidic body fluids. Once you get through that thick hide, they're quite vulnerable to fire. You can also try going for their softer lower underbellies or wound them in the tail regions where the scales aren't as thick. Most of the time, they keep those areas underneath the ground for protection. And my Prime had shown me how to kill a Shelari with just a knife. That knowledge saved my life during my Spirit Trial."

Flashback to when Duero was seven years old...

We see a young Duero making his way slowly through the hot desert terrain. He is around one twentieth of the way toward his goal to Grand Pa's Pass. In one hand was a stick of about five feet in length, which he used as a walking aid. He was wearing a bandanna about his head, a loose-fitting tunic, pants, and thick-soled boots. It was the hottest part of the day and already the boy's water supply was at half, which he carried in a large canteen that was in a kind of shoulder pack, along with his pill rations and a few other supplies.

However, the youth smiled as he came across a patch of green cactus-like plants. On Tarak, they were called Singossa Plants. Where there was green vegetation, there was water. According to his Prime, after removing the spiny needles and opening up the tough outer coating, the plant's water-rich insides would make a refreshing meal and hydrate his body. And the best way to remove the spines was by fire.

After slicing off several clusters of the prickly plants with his knife, he gathered up some brush for tinder to start a fire. Though he had a set of matches in his pocket, he decided to save them for emergencies and instead rely on the knowledge that his Prime had imparted to him. His father had spent several weeks training his offspring to prepare him for the Spirit Trial.

Looking about, he didn't see any pieces of flint or anything else that he could use to ignite the brush. He didn't want to use any of his precious matches and began pondering the problem as the hot sun continued to burn down on the desert.

Snapping his fingers, he reached into his shoulder pack and pulled out a set of binoculars. Each Spirit Trial candidate was given the same equipment that Grand Pa had taken along with him during his journey. As young Duero unscrewed the lenses off, he thought back to McFile Survival Rule Number One.

Don't dwell over what you don't have, and work with what you do have.

Using the two curved lenses together to form a magnifying glass, he briefly looked up at the sun, then nodded as he focused its rays onto the brush he had collected. The light was directed into a tight beam that soon ignited the wood. When the flame was large enough, he began adding more wood for fuel and then the prickly plants. The Singossa spines began burning away as the boy waited in anticipation. When enough of the cactus branches were burned, he put out the fire by throwing sand on it, then began slicing open the plant's charred outside to get at its fleshy insides. He smiled as he dug into it and was rewarded with moist, green sustenance. The taste was quite different from the usual pills he ate for breakfast, lunch, and supper, but as his father had told him, foods came in many forms and not just in pills. It was just that with Tarak being such a barren wasteland, condensing the nutrients into pills was by far the easiest solution and required no preparation. Pills could last for years in storage and quite frankly, they were one of the few kinds of food on Tarak that didn't bite back. Like any other world, nature's primary law still stood. It was eat or be eaten.

One predator in particular was intent on fulfilling that law with Duero in its sights. Buried beneath sands a little more than fifty feet away, was one of the deadliest beasts on the planet. The Shelari was a juvenile, no more than fifteen feet long. However, its mandibles were fully-grown and were capable of severing a man's head clean off his shoulders. Its acid sacs were primed and ready for use, though it could only spew out a few short streams before having to replenish its supply. It had been waiting for over an hour, observing the boy with its beady eyes poking out from beneath the sands.

The armored worm had been watching the boy for a while, biding its time. It had been hoping that the small human would come within striking range, but the prey wasn't cooperating. Furthermore, when he had started that awful thing called fire, the worm became even more edgy. Though its thick, upper hide was heat-resistant, the Shelari didn't care to be any hotter than it already was. So it waited, and waited, and waited.

Finally, when Duero put out the fire and began eating the Singossa plants, the Shelari decided that it wasn't going to wait any longer. If the food wasn't going to come to it, then it would go to the food. The worm hadn't eaten for months and who knows when another meal would show up. It then began slowly sliding through the sands like an eel swimming through water. Gradually, it closed the gap between itself and Tensen McFile's son, and when it came within twelve feet of the unsuspecting boy, it tensed up its body... and lunged.

End of flashback...

"What happened?" Barnette asked as she eagerly leaned forward to hear the rest of Duero's encounter with the Shelari.

"I was just finishing up the Singossa, when I heard a sliding noise behind me and rolled to my left. The Shelari released a stream of acid that just barely grazed my right shoulder, though it felt as if my skin was melting. The worm grabbed onto my right leg, about halfway between the ankle and the knee with its mandibles. It would have bitten off my leg, if I hadn't jammed my walking stick into its head, just below and between the eyes. There's a nerve cluster to a sensory organ in that area that isn't as armored as the rest of its head. Hitting it with enough force causes it to reflexively open its mandibles. I managed to scramble away, but not far enough for it to give up."

"So then what?"

"The worm lunged again and spewed out another stream of acid. I managed to deflect most of the stream with my knife, but some of it spattered onto my legs, causing me more pain and slowing me down. The worm was suddenly on top of me, and was trying to bite my head off. It was about ready to dissolve me with more acid as it opened its mouth. That's when I jammed my knife into its mouth and pushed the blade through its skull and into its brain."

Barnette felt the urge to throw up as she imagined the image of a young Duero fighting for his life against the Shelari. She managed not to lose it and was grateful that she hadn't eaten anything.

"I'm not certain if it was the blade or the acid that was on it that killed the worm, but as my Prime told me, the Shelari may have tough scales on the outside, but not on the inside."

Barnette took a deep gulp, then asked, "So... you fought and killed the thing... with just a knife?"

"Don't believe me?" Duero took off his trenchcoat and showed her an ugly mass of scar tissue on the back of his right shoulder, which indicated where the Shelari's acid had burned him. He then bent down to roll up his right pant leg. There on his shin was a jagged scar, which showed where the beast's mandibles had clamped onto him.

"My experience with the Shelari had validated the second of the McFile Survival Rules: Nature is rarely, if EVER kind."

Barnette was rendered speechless. Unlike her own childhood, in which she had the loving attention of both parents and a stable environment, Duero's near-death encounter during his early years would have left any girl from Mejele shaken and probably traumatized for life.

"And... even after that, you still went on with the Spirit Trial?"

Duero nodded. "After killing the thing and tending to my wounds, I realized that Nature had given me a boon to help me on my journey to Grand Pa's Pass."

"How could being attacked by a Shelari be a boon?"

"McFile's Third Rule of Survival." The doctor reminded.

Flashback...

Young Duero assessed his handiwork. His new headgear was hideous, but it would give him added protection against the sun. After decapitating the sandworm and emptying out the contents of the upper skull, the youth had made a crude hat. The hard carapace was an excellent barrier against the blistering heat of the sun. No matter how bad it looked and smelly to boot, the layer of heat-resistant scales would absorb and deflect much of the harmful rays, keeping his own head cooler. He had also managed to tear off and clean a good portion of its upper scaly hide, in which he fashioned into a crude poncho for more protection against the sun and from dust storms.

His own knife's blade had snapped off soon after he had cut off the hide and head. Duero assumed that the beast's acid had weakened it. Now he was without a cutting tool and a means to defend himself. He then noticed the mandibles from the worm's remnants and nodded. Grabbing hold of his walking stick, and using the remaining edge to his ruined knife, he set about removing the sharp protrusions from the dead animal's lower jaw.

Five minutes later, he finished tying one of the mandibles to one end of his walking stick, which now doubled as a primitive spear. The other mandible was to be used as a cutting tool as he wrapped the rounded end with a piece of hide, making a handle. The outer jaws of a Shelari were composed of a kind of crystallized cartilage with trace metals mixed in, making them as hard as diamond. This allowed them to slice through flesh, bone, tendons, wood, and even some lesser metals. Very few animals on Tarak could survive being in the grip of those fearsome jaws. Duero considered himself lucky that the Shelari that attacked him hadn't gotten a good grip on his leg. If it had, then Tensen McFile's heir would have become one foot shorter, literally.

As the afternoon wore on, Duero decided to rest for a while and let his wounds heal some more before continuing on. Though he had just consumed a large amount of Singossa plants thereby quenching his thirst, his stomach was still not satisfied, and he would need all the energy he could get for the remainder of his journey. He considered the food pills in his shoulder pack, but then gazed at the carcass of the Shelari.

Hmmm... now what did my Prime say about food being in more than just pills?

End of Flashback...

Barnette turned white and trembled as she realized what Duero had decided to do with the Shelari. She was already feeling a bit queasy after hearing how Duero had skinned the beast and used parts of it as tools and clothing. But he really didn't...?

"You mean... you...?"

Duero shrugged. "Well, I couldn't let it go to waste. The top portion was inedible, but my Prime had told me that the lower half was quite filling. There was enough meat to sustain me for the rest of my Spirit Trial. And when you roast it just right, Shelari tastes a lot like that meat that you call pork."

Barnette grimaced and began regretting ever asking about Duero's past.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you've never handled raw meat when you're preparing a meal."

"That's... different!" The Dread pilot protested.

"How? You had to have gotten that meat from somewhere."

Barnette couldn't deny that fact. On Mejele, they had farms that not only grew crops, but also raised livestock via cloning. However, most farming was done mechanically and the women rarely had to do any of the dirty work. Everything was neatly packaged and prepared by the time it reached the markets. Then her eyes widened in realization as Duero's words came back to her. "Wait a minute! Did you say roast, as in cook? You can actually COOK?!"

"I don't see what so surprising about that. Slade can cook." Duero pointed out.

"I KNOW he can cook, but he's not from Tarak! Are you saying the men from your planet can cook?! I thought they only ate pills."

"Well, some of us can prepare comestibles, though it usually doesn't involve more than heating, boiling, or roasting over an open fire." Duero admitted. "Tarak isn't very abundant when it comes to food. It's far easier for us to consume pills, rather than use up energy and time to prepare a meal. However, my Prime had learned to live off Nature. In doing so, he created Number Four of the Mcfile Survival Rules."

"What's that?"

"Always keep an open mind. Don't ever limit your ways of thinking. He imparted all of his knowledge to me, so that I would always have an alternative. That's why I was able to change my diet from pills to the food on the Nirvana so easily. I've eaten both pills and solid food, so it didn't matter to me."

"So, you can really cook?" Barnette was still in a state of disbelief.

"Well, I'm nowhere near Slade's caliber of culinary skills... or yours."

The offhand remark and unintentional compliment made the girl's cheeks slightly pink.

"However, I've been taking lessons from Slade and he's says I'm getting better. He started teaching me about soufflés and says that I have quite a talent for them."

"Maybe I should try it someday." Barnette suggested with a slight smile.

The Tarak physician smiled as he lay down for the night. "We better get some sleep. We're going to have to find some more water and it's best if we're well-rested."

"Wait, you haven't told me about the rest of your Spirit Trial and everything else about you."

"In time, Barnette... in time..." He replied quietly as he faded off to sleep.

The next morning...

Barnette slowly opened her eyes as the light of the first sun began filtering through the open front flap of the tent. She heard nothing but gentle breezes, indicating that the sandstorm had long since died down. She was about to rise and prepare for the day when she felt something skittering across her ample chest. Her eyes widened as she stared at a brown hairy mass of legs, fur, and fangs. What was even more unnerving was that the thing was staring back at her!

The alien desert spider was about the size of a man's fist and had ten, spindly legs supporting a rectangular, two-segmented body. Its beady eyes, all five of them, glittered as it made its way across her cleavage, then stopped over her collarbone. It seemed to be focused on the pulsating veins of her throat and the Dread pilot became VERY nervous as it showed its fangs, which glistened with moisture. She was about to scream as the spider tensed up and was about to pounce on her neck.

FFFFFFFFFTTTTTTT! THOK! THUNK! SQUIRCH!

In less than half a heartbeat, a flash of silver came down at an angle from above. The spider suddenly disappeared from the female's line of sight and she then heard a soft impact beside her, followed by the sound of something being punctured.

Barnette immediately sat up and screamed as she looked about. Her right hand went to her throat to feel for any sign of a bite or blood. Finding none, she let off a sigh of relief, then eeped as she saw that the spider was now impaled in the head with a small bladed instrument. The creature twitched about on the ground for a few moments before becoming still and died.

Barnette had thought that nothing could make her as scared as she was with that sandworm, but being almost bitten by a grotesque spider came close. She then noticed that she was not alone and turned to the tent entrance.

Duero looked at her with concern. "Are you all right?"

Jura's friend swallowed hard and nodded without saying a word.

The healer smiled. "Good. Now would you mind handing me back my scalpel?"

At that point, Barnette fainted.

Later...

"Where did you learn to throw knives like that?" The Mejele girl asked as she followed Duero across the sands. She was now wearing the combat boots that he had given to her as well as using the Tarak sunblock. The lotion smelled bad, but it did ward off a good amount of the suns' heat. The shoes were oversized, but were well-padded and kept her feet from burning up.

"Oh, just another skill that I developed during my youth." The surgeon replied nonchalantly.

"You've got good aim." Barnette admitted with a bit of reluctance and awe at the same time. "You hit that spider's head dead center."

"I had a lot of practice during my Spirit Trial and my days at the academy. I had gotten so proficient at throwing sharp objects and slicing my targets, that my colleagues gave me the nickname of Razor."

"Razor?"

"That was me. Duero 'Razor' McFile, the only med-school trainee that could perform an initial incision from fifty paces away." He chuckled a bit at the memories. Oh to be carefree and foolish again...

The Mejele pirate was a bit surprised to learn that even the seemingly drab men of Tarak were capable of having some kind of fun. Since the Christmas party, she had believed that the men had led boring, dismal lives. Her perceptions about the male gender had been changing the longer she was with Duero. She became even more confused than ever as her childhood hatred of men continued to erode. Were the teachings of the Supreme Lady Grand Ma wrong?

"You were fortunate that spider hadn't bitten you. It was poisonous." Duero remarked.

Barnette's attention returned to the present. "How did you know that thing was poisonous?"

"When I pulled my scalpel out of its head, I saw the poison on the blade. Its smell and color indicated that it contained toxins that were similar to Sand Stalker venom."

"What's a Sand Stalker?"

Duero smirked. "The Sand Stalker is another delightful native of Tarak. It's a very nasty species of desert spider with a bite that can kill a full-grown man in two hours. It's not very pleasant when you slowly and painfully slip into cardiac arrest."

The brunette gulped a bit as she remembered how close that creature had been to her jugular. "Did... you ever encounter those things?"

"Oh yes. I came across several of them during my Spirit Trial. They make nice, crunchy snacks when you roast them over a fire."

Meanwhile, up in space...

Saber became even more impatient. At this rate, Slade may find a way to escape his desert prison before the crimson Tekkaman was fully healed. The former lackey of the Harvesters knew that Slade held the key to the penultimate form of the Tekkaman Power System.

Saber decided to risk it all by using up his own stores of energy to speed up his recovery. It would cause him great pain in the long run, but the red Tekkaman felt that it would be worth it. Furthermore, he still had a back-up plan to destroy Slade, should he be unable to gain the secret.

The suspension capsule began to glow as Slade's rival prepared to do battle with him once again.

The Nirvana...

"Meia, you're going to wear a hole in the floor." Misty said as she watched the Dread leader pace the length of the hanger yet again.

It had been over two days since the pirates had lost contact with their comrades. Two long and agonizing days of not knowing what happened to them, when that blasted barrier mysteriously appeared and prevented them from landing or even scanning the planet's surface. The aqua-haired Mejele female found herself stuck on the sidelines, a position that she did not care for.

She had been on combat standby for almost forty-eight hours since the disappearance of the landing party, but due to her claustrophobia, she was unable to pilot one of the remaining Vanguards. Furthermore, the Dreads were badly hampered with the heavy EM interference fields still affecting communication and navigational systems. The large swarms of debris and meteoroids also limited maneuvering space, and the Van-Types were more suited to such confined areas. The Warrior Squadron was on its own.

Meia had been hoping that Parfet would come up with a solution to the Dreads' problems, so she could join Ukyo and Xian Pu out in space. Unfortunately, all of the engineering staff were concentrating on overcoming the barrier. There was no time to refit the Dreads with the proper shielding to deal with the disruptive fields. Also, with the Harvesters approaching their position, Magno couldn't risk all of her crew in a pitched battle with an enemy that was both relentless and merciless. If they could not retrieve the landing party and retreat from the area before the enemy arrived, then their journey may come to a tragic end.

"I can't stand this!" Meia complained as she continued to walk back and forth.

"Well, there's really nothing that you can do." Misty said. "You can't use your Dread and you can't pilot a Vanguard. I wish I could fly either one but I don't have the training."

The Mejele girl sighed in irritation. The concept of being totally useless was both unfamiliar and unwanted. She needed to do SOMETHING about this situation. And the thought of Slade being alone down on the planet with Jura and Dita was unsettling as well.

Over the course of the long journey back to Mejele and Tarak, Meia had come to admire and respect the Tekkaman and all he had to offer. From a strategic standpoint, Slade was the linchpin to their survival against the Harvesters. They wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without him! From a personal standpoint, Slade was...

The strong-willed girl shook her head. She was not going to be distracted by some silly emotions, especially during this period of crisis. However, whenever she thought about Dita cuddling up to Slade, or Jura using her feminine wiles on him, she had to stifle sudden, unexplained urges to pull out their hair. She continued to pace in silence as time wore on.

There was only one thing that she could take comfort in. Though the Van-Types were able to operate in this area, they were only good for reconnaissance and temporary defense. They lacked the overall firepower of the Dreads, which was crucial against the enemy should the Harvesters appear.

The Sick Bay...

Paiway was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Before Duero had become the head doctor, the young nurse trainee had treated three, perhaps four patients at a time, and usually she'd send them to the Jacuzzi to recover. After the Tarak man had taken over, the pirates had realized that his medical expertise was far more reliable and had come to depend on him for all of their health problems.

Now with the doctor missing, the twelve-year-old was back to where she was before. Only this time, the patients were coming to the Sick Bay in larger numbers and each were expecting her to give them the same kind of treatment that Duero had provided for them. With only marginal training so far from him, Paiway soon found herself overwhelmed and wishing that he would return.

Out in space, Xian Pu sighed as she and her wingmate Ukyo patrolled one of the outer sectors. The ranks of the Warrior Squadron were spread out too thin for her taste, but the pirates had no choice. After detecting the Harvester signals, the Bangattas were the first, last, and only line of defense for the Nirvana. There would be no Dread backup, should the enemy suddenly appear.

The Amazon hoped that the enemy would not show up until after Slade and the others had returned. Heck, she hoped that the Harvesters wouldn't show up at all. However, wishful thinking was not going to make the situation any better. All she could do was keep scanning and keep the faith, that her intended ohma to her children was still alive.

In her own Vanguard, Ukyo shared similar thoughts.

Back on the planet's surface...

"Mr. Alien! Come look what we've found!"

Slade shook his head as he prepared to board Pegas to go search for Duero and Barnette. "Can't it wait until after I come back? Pegas' power stores won't last long and I know that Doc and Barnette are out there... somewhere. I don't have much time to search before the Tekkabot energy is depleted and it has to recharge. With reduced navigational systems and nearly no sensors, I'm going to be flying almost blind out there."

"I think you should take a look at what we found." Jura said as she took hold of an arm and began pulling him away from the Tekkabot. "It may help us FIND Duero and Barnette."

Slade sighed then nodded as he saw the determined look in their eyes. "Okay... just for a minute, then I HAVE to go look for them. So where is it?"

"Over there." Dita said as she grabbed hold of his other arm and pointed to something in the distance.

Slade tried to pull away from them, then stopped as he saw a glint of metal. He squinted his eyes and focused on the object. It was spire-shaped and seemed to jut out from beneath the sands. Whatever it was, he was certain that it had not been there the previous day.

"What is that?"

A few minutes later...

Slade and the girls stood in front of what appeared to be a long-range, planetary transceiver and sensor array. Apparently, the structure had been buried beneath the sands and had gone unnoticed for who knew how long. The Tekkaman surmised that it had gotten uncovered during the sandstorm.

"When did you girls come across this thing?"

"When we went to get water from that reservoir we found." Dita replied. "It was just standing here and we think that it belonged to the people who lived here, just like that giant underground water tank."

"Makes sense." Slade admitted then noticed that the large apparatus had some thick corroded cables running from its base and led to another large dune. Slade followed the cables and when he came to the mound, he focused his ki. Rearing his arms back with palms spread, he quickly brought them forward and clapped his hands together. A sudden blast of condensed wind was summoned, which blew away the sand, revealing what was buried underneath.

"Handy little trick." Jura remarked.

"Wow! You've got to teach me how to do that!" Dita chirped.

Slade shrugged his shoulders, then his eyes widened as he saw what had been uncovered. On the ground was a large metal plate... and on top of it was a hatch.

Several hours later, in the desert...

Barnette knew that they weren't going to last long if they didn't find more water. Due to her injuries and the fact that she was unused to this kind of climate, she was using up more water than Duero. The doctor made no complaints however. Complaining about what they didn't have would serve no real purpose and make the situation worse. He agreed that she needed more water than he did, and as a doctor, his patient's welfare was above his own. It wasn't the first time he went for hours in the desert without quenching his thirst.

However, despite their predicament, the healer maintained that they would find more water. Recalling from the geographical layout of the areas between themselves and the mesa, Duero knew that some hidden sources of water were nearby. His confidence grew as he sighted some green vegetation, which was a sure sign that the life-giving liquid was around. The only real trick was to get at it.

Barnette gasped as she realized that her canteen was empty. She gave her companion a guilt-ridden expression and looked as if she was about to cry. "I'm... so sorry, Duero. I didn't mean to drink it all. I was just so..."

"It's all right, Barnette. Don't think about it. We can fill our canteens here."

"What?"

"Look here." He went over to a large, cactus-like plant that was about as tall as he was. Kneeling down, he unslung his rifle and pressed a switch, causing the bayonet to be ejected from its housing. The six-inch blade became a small dagger as he used it to dig into the ground near the plant's base. "This plant has to have a store of water, most likely near its roots, in order to have grown this large." He cut away at the tough, outer layers and sure enough, some cloudy liquid began dripping out.

"Water!" Barnette cried out.

Taking out a small package of chemical/bacterial test strips from his medical bag, he assessed the water's purity and composition and nodded. "Not exactly like that fancy bottled water on the Nirvana, but it's safe to drink. Give me your canteen."

Barnette gratefully handed Duero her water container.

A little while later...

"Duero?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say... that I'm glad that you're here with me. Male or female, I'm... proud that you're the Nirvana's doctor."

"Uh... thank you."

"And... to make up for everything that I said and done to you, when we get back to the Nirvana, I'm going to cook you the BEST meal in the galaxy!"

"I'll be looking forward to it." He then added with a teasing grin, "Just so long as you don't try to burn my lips by adding too much hot sauce."

Barnette's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know about that?" (1)

Duero merely smiled and said nothing.

Streaking across the desert skies at better than 500 mph, the Tekkabot scanned for human life signs. Inside the cockpit, Slade smiled as his robotic partner was operating at near-peak performance. Thanks to the new additions to its system, which included an energy-field adapter, sensor-boosters, and highly efficient solar power cells, the Tekkaman was confident that he would find his missing comrades. He could only hope that they had managed to survive alone in the desert for over two days.

It had been very fortunate that Dita and Jura had come across that underground bunker and communications station. To their surprise, they found a large amount of electronic equipment in decent condition, and most importantly, insulated and adapted to the EM interference. The former inhabitants had been well equipped to deal with the solar flare activity of their three suns. Unfortunately for them, they had not been prepared for the Harvesters.

After spending an hour and a half figuring out the machinery and refitting Pegas with the new equipment, Slade had been searching the desert north of the mesa. Back at the bunker, Jura and Dita were trying to figure out how to operate the planetary transceiver consoles in the hopes of contacting the Nirvana. The barrier that surrounded the planet prevented normal communication frequencies from getting through, but with a little luck and some tweaking of the controls, the girls were certain that they could transmit a message through.

At that moment, Pegas' sensors began registering the telltale signs of human life forms, plus several other non-human readings. It also began picking up energy discharges and violent explosions occurring some fifty miles north of his present position, and close by the human life readings. He immediately opened up the throttle and headed for them.

Barnette knew that this was the end. The good doctor had done all that he could to keep her alive. She would be grateful to him for the rest of her life... all five minutes of it.

It had been their bad luck to come across more those sandworms. This time however, the two of them were surrounded and running low on ammunition. The worms the doctor had destroyed before were juveniles compared to the monsters they faced now. The huge predators were twice as large and had thicker hides, making them more resistant to penetration by their rifle bullets. The two had been using AP/HE settings and had been firing nonstop.

The Dread pilot gritted her teeth as her weapon clicked on empty. She reached down toward her belt for another magazine, but found none. She steeled herself to fight to the bitter end as she activated the bayonet to her weapon. A minute later, Duero's rifle also expended its last round. He too took a defensive posture and readied the blade on his firearm.

The worms, sensing that their intended meals were now defenseless, began to advance toward them. In the lead was an enormous worm that readied its paralysis tentacles for the final attack.

Standing side-to-side, both combatants tensed up and said what they believed to be their final words.

"Duero?"

"Yes, Barnette?"

"Thank you... for everything. May the Great Mother Spirit of Mejele smile upon your soul in the Afterlife."

The doctor turned to look at her with a bit of a puzzled look. It was strange for a Mejele woman to give a man from Tarak that kind of touching farewell. What was even more unprecedented was Barnette's next action.

With neither any hesitation nor feelings of revulsion, she reached up, placed her right hand behind his head, brought it down... and became the first Mejele woman to kiss a Tarak man!

The normally intelligent and rational physician was struck DUMB as their lips touched. Though this was hardly the time for such an act, he couldn't bring himself to pull away. If he were to die now, he would have died... happy.

At that moment, the lead worm lunged toward them and...

KABOOM!

The head of the sandworm exploded into a ball of flame as something struck it from above. The other worms went scattering as a deadly rain of energy bolts and projectiles rained down upon them.

Both Duero and Barnette broke away from each other and looked up. Pegas screamed down toward the sandworms, letting loose with a murderous barrage of laser and cannon blasts. Huge clouds of dust were thrown up as the carnivorous creatures were reduced to smoking piles of ash. Thirty seconds later and the Paksis-enhanced Vanguard came to a soft landing some twenty feet from the pair. Its cockpit opened up to reveal...

"SLADE!" Barnette and Duero cried out as they began running toward the Tekkabot.

In space, Saber's suspension capsule glowed even brighter as the crimson warrior was nearing the end of his recuperation process.

Later...

Barnette sighed in contentment as she washed off the dirt and grime she had accumulated over the last two days. She hadn't truly realized how much she had taken for granted the simplest of pleasures, until she was without them. A separate area for bathing and washing purposes had been set up and diverted a portion of the water storage reserves.

Her best friend Jura was overjoyed to be reunited with her, but she pointed out that her Barnette had gotten 'stinky.' However, the brunette smiled and laughed a bit, surprising the others. She responded, by saying that one can either save water and live smelly, or waste water and be a clean corpse. Behind her, Duero couldn't help but smile.

As she continued to clean her body, she realized that in her haste to get clean, she had neglected to bring something to dry herself off. All she had were her clothes, which were hanging nearby. Not wanting to get them wet nor put them on until they were washed, she began wondering what to do about this dilemma.

Luckily for her, someone was still looking out for her. She heard footsteps approaching the bathing area and ducked down into the water up to her neck. She sighed in relief when she saw who it was.

"Barnette? Are you still in here? I've brought you a towel. You left so quickly to wash up that you forgot to take one with you."

The Dread pilot smiled... and stood up.

"Thank you. I was just wondering what I was going to use to dry myself."

Duero then got a good look at her and suddenly felt hot and uneasy.

Barnette's figure was slimmer, firmer, and more athletic than Jura's. She wasn't quite as... bouncy as the blonde pilot, but she certainly wasn't deficient in the bosom department. Her hips were curved and accentuated her slender legs very nicely. And the way that water beaded and dripped down her pale skin made her so... enticing.

The doctor immediately turned his back to her as his cheeks took on a reddish tinge. His shoulders bunched up a bit and he felt himself at a loss over his reaction to Barnette's nakedness. He was puzzled as to why he was reacting this way to her and why certain parts of his body had begun to get stimulated.

"Duero? What's... wrong?"

"Ah... well, it... I... should have respected your right to privacy and... ah, I should have knocked... and, well..."

Duero became even more flustered, making Barnette more confused. "What are you talking about? We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Ah... yes, we are."

"Then why are you turning away from me? Is it because you're embarrassed to see me naked?"

"Ah, er... that's... I mean, it's improper and..."

"This isn't the first time you've seen me without my clothes." Barnette reminded him. After all, he had performed physical checkups on nearly all of crew of the Nirvana, including herself. During those examinations, he had never once batted an eye at the various female bodies. Why was this different?

"Yes, well... those were... necessary exams... to assess health and... well, I... I'll just leave this towel here and let you finish your bath, all right?"

Without another word, the doctor quickly laid out the towel near the water's edge and exited, leaving a confused and slightly insulted Barnette.

Just when I thought I was beginning to understand you, Duero Mcfile...

"I... can't explain it, Slade." Duero said as he described his encounter with Barnette. "I HAVE seen Barnette without her clothes before. I could tell you her measurements, her temperature, her weight, (though she told me not to tell anyone), the location of every distinctive marking on her skin, her hair texture, and even when she's..."

"She's what?" The Tekkaman inquired, though he had a hunch as to what Duero was implying.

"The term is having her... menstrual period." He said the last part in a very quiet voice.

"Oh, that time of the month, right?"

"You know about that?"

"Hey, I've been around, remember?"

"Ah, of course. However, I find myself... it's hard to describe. When I saw her in the bath, all I could think of was how... beautiful she was. That... can't be right. A woman isn't supposed to be beautiful, is she?"

"Who says?" Slade said with a shrug. "Men and women can both be beautiful. It all depends on the opinion of the person."

Duero shook his head in disbelief. "But... how can this be? When I saw her all wet and... just standing there, I felt this... urge to hold her close to me and..."

"Rip off your own clothes?"

"Yes! Exactly! It felt as if some... force within me was... compelling me. It was unfamiliar... yet it felt... instinctive, as if I had known about it my whole life."

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that."

"What was that feeling Slade? Is it even right for me to be experiencing it?"

The Tekkaman became silent for a long time. Finally he responded. "Hmmmm, I'm... not really sure if I'm the right guy to answer that, since I've been fighting those urges for a long time myself. Cold showers aren't working as well as they used to and lately, I've been REALLY tempted to jump on some girls' bones."

"You want to cause injuries?"

"Sorry, it's just an expression. I keep forgetting that you're from Tarak and these feelings you're experiencing must really be scaring you. You were raised in a society that believed that women were monsters. However, when you found out that they weren't monsters, everything that you had thought was true was thrown out the window, right?"

"More or less." Duero admitted.

"So now that you don't have those beliefs to fall back on, you're wondering why your body is reacting the way it is, right? Well, I can only say that it's because that ancient instinct is now making itself known to you."

"Instinct? What instinct?"

"On Tarak, that instinct had been repressed since the day you were born. However, now that you are living on a ship full of females, and I can only imagine what happened between you and Barnette out in that desert, I'm guessing that instinct is trying to make up for lost time."

"What instinct are you talking about?" The physician asked.

Slade sighed as he realized that he was going to have to blunt. "What I'm talking about is that ancient instinct between men and women. How else did they produce babies back in the old days?"

Duero looked as if he was going to have a stroke. "What? Are you saying that what I'm feeling for Barnette is because... of an urge... to... procreate?" He barely managed to say the last word.

"Well, in a word... yeah."

THUD!

Slade looked down at the now unconscious man.

He took that better than I thought.

Saber chuckled as he burst free from the suspension capsule. It had cost him a great deal of his own personal reserves of energy, but now he was ready. It was time to settle things between himself and Slade... permanently.

In the bunker...

Dita frowned as she tried another frequency on her console. However, this proved to be no successful than the last hundred attempts. Along with Jura, she had been trying to get through the barrier in order to contact the Nirvana, but so far, they had been getting nothing but static. The energy shield was just too layered with various energy wavelengths to adapt to.

At that point, both Duero and Slade came to the room after the Tekkaman had revived the healer.

"Any luck?" Slade asked.

Both girls shook their heads. Jura was especially irritated that help was so close, yet there was no apparent way to get it. The sensors had faintly picked up the presence of the Nirvana in orbit, but the communication frequencies couldn't penetrate the shield in order to contact the Mejele pirates.

"The Nirvana is up there, of that we're sure, but we can't signal to them or let them know that we're still alive down here." Jura pouted. "If it weren't for that damned barrier, we'd be out of here by now!"

Duero began missing the presence of the brilliant engineer Parfet. The plucky electronics genius would have figured out a solution to their dilemma. His mind started to wander and for some odd reason, he began mentally comparing the physical differences between Barnette and Parfet. He wondered why he was suddenly imagining Parfet in Barnette's clothes and Barnette in Parfet's.

It was then that he became inspired, as he once again applied his medical knowledge to engineering concepts.

"You say that the sensors are picking up the Nirvana, correct?"

"Just barely." Jura replied. "That barrier and all the interference from those three suns block just about every other kind of sensor transmissions. We were just lucky this sensor array had a tachyon transmitter, though we're only getting a faint pulse at best."

"Then, if the sensor transmission is getting through, then why not piggyback a message onto it?"

"Piggyback?"

"It's what I learned in medical cloning genetics at the Tarak Academy. When manipulating the genetic code of a person, a set of instructions in the form of amino acids can be transported into the genome, using mitochondrial RNA as carriers. Do you think you can add a message and send it through the sensor transmissions?"

Jura began to comprehend the physician's meaning. So... when the Nirvana detects that they are being scanned, then they'll also catch the message with it?"

"Yes, that's about the long and short of it."

"Hmmm... that could work."

"Wow. You're really smart, Mr. Doctor!" Dita remarked while clapping her hands.

Slade nodded. "Good thinking, Doc." He turned to Jura. "Think you can do it?"

"I'll... give it a try. I haven't had much experience with this sort of thing, but I think I can tag on a short message per cycle."

"Good." Slade then addressed Dita. "While she's working on that, we need to find the generator that's supplying power to that barrier. Even if we do manage to contact the Nirvana, we're still going to need to take out that shield in order to escape. Saber said that it was hidden somewhere on this planet. I'm willing to bet that it's somewhere near where we encountered him."

"You got it!" The redhead acknowledged as she began scanning the area around them.

"How are we going to escape?" Duero inquired. "We can't all fit in Pegas' cockpit. Are we going to have to wait until the Nirvana sends some more Vanguards or the Landing Craft down to retrieve us?"

"If we could get the barrier down now, then I would just wait for the captain and the others to come get us." Slade admitted. "However, there's still Saber to consider and I have a feeling that he'll show up again and soon, probably with another nasty surprise for us. He went through a lot of trouble to lure me here and prevent me from transforming. He's not the type who'd give up so easily and it wouldn't be unlike him to have a contingency plan if he failed to get what he wanted. We may have to leave this planet as soon as we are able, regardless of whether or not the Nirvana will be able to find us. Luckily, we came across something else in this bunker that may just get us off this rock."

"What is it?" A feminine voice asked.

Both men glanced over their shoulder and saw a clean and clothed Barnette entering the room. Duero blushed a bit at the sight of her, before composing himself.

"Follow me." Slade gestured as he exited, leaving the Dita and Jura to their work.

In another chamber...

"Are these, what I think they are?" Barnette asked as she and Duero gazed upon four cylindrical-shaped capsules that were mounted on technological ramps. Each ramp was aimed upward toward a set of exit doors in the ceiling. Every craft was equipped with a set of powerful thruster units mounted on the sides and back. Inside was a seat for one with navigational instruments and controls.

Slade nodded. "According to the data files, these are planetary escape pods which can send a person past the orbit of this world in less than two minutes. It wasn't exactly a smooth ride, but they weren't meant for deep space travel. They were meant for one-time use and afterwards, the survivors would have been picked up by cruisers that were in orbit. Apparently, they were intended to be used to flee this world when the Harvesters invaded. They're all in good-working order and their fuel tanks are full. Unfortunately for the people who had been stationed here, they never got a chance to use these pods to escape the Harvest."

"But, what good will these pods be to us?" Duero inquired. "We'll hit Saber's barrier before we get into orbit."

"That's why I'm having Dita trying to locate the barrier's power supply and Jura contact the Nirvana. I have a plan, though it's a big gamble. If Jura is able to contact the Nirvana, then she can instruct them to be waiting for the pods when you all launch. By that time, Dita will have located the barrier's power source. I know that Saber will return and he certainly won't let us just escape this planet. You'd all be sitting ducks in these pods once we find and destroy the barrier's generator. Hopefully, with the barrier down, I'll be able to transform and keep him busy long enough for all of you to get away."

"But, what about you?" Duero asked with concern. Barnette also became tense.

"Don't worry about me. I'll have Pegas to back me up. This is the only thing I could think of and I hope it works."

At that moment, the three heard an excited squeal of joy from down the hall. Jura had just made contact with the Nirvana.

The bridge of the Nirvana...

"What? You've just received a message from the Landing Party?" Magno asked as she spoke to Parfet on the main monitor.

"Yes, Captain!" The bespectacled girl replied happily. "We received a faint sensor pulse from the planet and there was a brief, encoded message tagged onto it. It read as follows: Five alive, Jura. Respond 5 degrees port."

"Respond five degrees port?" Buzom repeated in puzzlement. "What did she mean by that?"

"I think she means for the Nirvana to move to port five degrees from our position." Parfet suggested. "Since we can't transmit a reply back to them, they want us to move five degrees to signal that we received their message. They're somehow able to scan our position."

"All right then. Bart, five degrees to port." Magno barked.

"Roger." The bald man replied in his Navigation Well.

On the planet's surface, Jura nodded as she tracked the Nirvana. She then began sending a series of pulses, each with a brief message, explaining Slade's plan.

On the other side of the console, Dita gasped as she picked up an object that was coming down toward the planet's surface at an alarming rate. When she realized what, or rather who it was, she felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

Using the bunker's intercom system, she contacted Slade.

Slade felt his hopes plummeting as he was informed of the dire news. "What? Saber's coming here? Have you found the generator yet?"

"No. I need more time." Dita replied.

"Keep looking for that generator! I'll try to stall him!"

"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Duero asked.

Slade shook his head. "I'm sorry but none of you would last a second against Saber. What I want you all to do is launch as soon as that barrier is down."

"But Dita hasn't found the generator yet." Barnette said.

"She will! I KNOW she will!"

With those words, Slade raced off to get Pegas.

High above in the skies, Saber streaked down toward the planet's sandy surface, eager to finish his business with Slade and end their conflict, once and for all. Ever since his creation, the red Tekkaman felt as if he was nothing more than a carbon copy of his greatest adversary. The leaders of Earth hated Slade, but they still talked about his power, his battle prowess, and that he was the most powerful weapon. As for Saber, he was considered no more than a lackey, a joke, a dismal failure from the start to be used and then thrown away.

Well, he'd show them and everyone else! Once he had gotten the secret of achieving the penultimate state, then he would have the last laugh. He would show that he was the best of the best and woe to anyone who stood in his way!

Slade gritted his teeth as he rode inside Pegas to meet the enemy. Though the Tekkabot was formidable against the Harvesters, it was only marginally better than the other Vanguards as compared to a true Tekkaman. If only there was some way that he could transform, but that damned dampening field was preventing him from doing so.

Slade frowned as he picked up Saber on his sensors. Steeling himself for the battle, he armed all of Pegas' weaponry, took aim, and fired.

Saber chuckled as he saw his foe fire at him.

"Well now, what do we have here? Why it's a little tin Tekkaman."

He simply dodged each of his shots as he decided to toy with his foe for a while. Making zigzag patterns that would have torn a Dread to pieces, he outmaneuvered the Tekkabot with relative ease, appearing behind it in less than a second. With one mighty punch of his armored fist, he caused the machine to go plummeting downward. His thrusters propelled him down after it.

Inside the cockpit, Slade fought to maintain control. He knew that Saber could have destroyed him instantly and was only allowing him to live because of the secret Slade possessed. However, the former Saotome refused to go down without a fight. Activating his Tekkabot's braking thrusters to slow his descent, he then inverted the mecha to face toward Saber and let loose with another barrage of laser fire. He then regained control of his fall and redirected the machine to take evasive actions.

Above him, Saber chuckled. "You are only delaying the inevitable Slade. I'm going to open up that Vanguard like a can of beans. Here's my can opener."

The red cosmic warrior came flying at him with lance held out at the ready. The bladed weapon would have cut the Tekkabot in half if Slade hadn't acted quickly and reversed his robotic friend's direction. The point of Saber's lance skidded across the left side of the Tekkabot, but the machine managed to hold together and jet away to get more fighting room.

Saber pursued after it. "What's the matter, Slade? Don't you like my company?"

Inside Pegas, Slade growled as he was forced to retreat. Saber's taunts were starting to get to him, and he wanted dearly to shut his mouth. However, without his Tekkaman powers, he couldn't do much but stall for time. If only there was some way for him to transform! However, that damned dampening field interfered with his body's energy and Saber's armor was shielding him from its effects..."

Shielding? Wait a minute! That could work! Slade began to fire everything he had at Saber, in order to distract him long enough to instigate his most desperate gamble.

Saber didn't even bother to evade the barrage and let the shots bounce off his armor. He figured that this was Slade's last-ditch, though ultimately futile, effort to destroy him. He became enveloped in a gigantic ball of explosions and light as Pegas expended all of its ammunition and ordinance. However, Saber appeared and hovered in the air, with not a single scratch on him. The Tekkabot's guns went silent as Saber let off cruel laugh.

"Are you quite done, Slade? I certainly hope so, because I have grown very bored of this." He thrust out his lance in front of him. "Now why don't you just give me what I want to know and I MIGHT just spare you and those weaklings that are hiding below in that bunker?"

Slade didn't even bother to wonder how Saber knew that Duero and the others were in the bunker. This was the moment of truth as he made his crystal appear and activated certain systems in Pegas.

"Nothing to say?" Saber taunted as he prepared to charge. "Well then, I think it's time we finished this!"

"My sentiments exactly." Slade gritted. "TEKSETTER!"

Saber had just begun moving forward when the Tekkabot suddenly flared with light and energy. This caused the red Tekkaman to back off as the machine trembled. It appeared as if it was going to shake itself apart as the power within struggled to escape. Then, after few seconds, the top hatch flipped out and out rocketed...

"What the Hell?! You can't- OOF!"

Tekkaman Slade slammed his fist into his foe's face, and then brought out his lance.

Saber jetted backward from the blow and hovered some fifty feet from his opponent... who was fully now transformed!

"Impossible! It can't be! You're a Tekkaman again! But how!? You can't transform with the dampening field still active on this planet!"

"You're almost right." Slade shot back. "I can't transform on this world with that dampening field... so I figured that I needed to be shielded from it. Therefore, I transformed INSIDE of Pegas. Thanks to its insulation against disruptive energies, I wasn't hampered by your barrier! Now it's an even fight!"

Saber let off a roar of rage as he charged at his foe with murder in his eyes.

Back at the bunker...

"Come on, Dita! You've got to find that generator!" Jura said as she continued to send messages to the Nirvana. High above them, the pirate vessel was moving in position to retrieve their crewmembers.

"I've almost got it!" Dita replied as she began zeroing in on the barrier's power source.

In the other chamber, Duero and Barnette were readying the escape capsules.

"THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LAST TIME WE'RE GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME!" Slade shouted as he parried Saber's thrust, then countered with his own.

"I AGREE!" Saber retorted as he retaliated with several fast slashes. He then made an adjustment to his weapon, causing an extra set of blades to appear perpendicular to the haft. He threw it at his adversary like a deadly discus.

Slade managed to deflect the weapon as he knew that he couldn't risk any breach to his armor. That would expose him to the disruptive energies of the barrier. He then made a tight turn in midair and slashed at Saber's midsection. The point of his lance just barely grazed the enemy Tekkaman's armor, but the damage had been done.

Saber winced as the barrier's energies began to seep into his insides. However, he ignored the pain and countered with a thrust to Slade's chest. The white Tekkaman swerved to avoid it, but the point of his lance nicked his right shoulder, also exposing him to the disruptive power of the shield.

Both Tekkamen darted back and forth like maddened hornets, trying to deliver a crippling blow to his adversary. Knowing that he was running out of time, Slade made another desperate gamble. He let himself become wide open as he came about toward Saber again. His red counterpart took the bait and charged in toward his chest. At the last moment, Slade twisted about and Saber's lanced pierced into his left shoulder, below the epaulet, making a considerable hole in the armor. This was quite painful, but Slade knew that he had his foe right where he wanted him.

Slade broke his lance in two and used one half to drive it into Slade's helmet. The red Tekkaman screamed in absolute pain as he was sent crashing down toward the ground. Not wanting to take any chances, Slade bit back the agony he was feeling, opened his Voltekker Units and fired!

"VOLTEKKER!"

The beam caught Saber before he was able to power up his Anti-Voltekker. He was slammed hard into the ground and a huge explosion tore up the surface of the desert. A few moments later, the blast died down, leaving a very deep crater in the sands.

Slade quickly removed Saber's lance from his shoulder and jetted down to the center of the depression. Fighting off the effects of the dampening field, he then looked down at his beaten foe.

Saber was in more agony as his ruined armor was no longer any protection against the disruptive energies. He had no choice but to transform back into his human form. The injuries he had sustained carried over in the transformation and it was apparent that Saber would not last long.

"You... beat me." Saber grumbled as he lay dying in the center of the crater. "But... I will not die... alone!" He then reached behind his back and pulled out a small device that looked like a pocket pager. "If... I can't have the secret... then NO ONE WILL!" He pressed the button while giving Slade a sneer.

"What's that?" Slade demanded as he held out his weapon.

"A little... insurance." Saber said, while still sneering. "Did you know that the inhabitants of this planet had developed... a Doomsday Device to use against... the Harvesters? They never got... to use it, but I found out about it when I... came to this world. In... the center of this planet... is a device they referred to as the ANNIHILATION PROJECT. I've just activated it. In ten minutes, everything on this world will be turned to nothingness as the... weapon detonates a series of anti-matter bombs that can destroy... everything... including Tekkaman Armor!"

"What?!" Slade began to have flashbacks of a similar situation, early on in the Nirvana's journey (2)

"You've got... nine minutes and thirty seconds...to live. And with that barrier still active, you can't escape! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"DAMN YOU!" Slade signaled for Pegas to pick him up as the countdown continued. Getting inside the cockpit, he immediately transformed back into his human form to keep the barrier's dampening field from injuring him further. Though his body ached from the wounds he received, he ignored the pain and contacted Dita on the enhanced communicator.

"WHAT?! THIS PLANET IS GOING TO EXPLODE?!" Dita cried out as she heard the news.

Inside Pegas, Slade nodded. "We've got nine minutes before this entire world becomes space dust! We've got to get out of here now! Tell me you've found where the generator is!"

Dita began transmitting the coordinates of the hidden power source.

Slade growled as he realized that it was quite a distance off. Pegas had sustained some damage during its battle with Saber and was reduced in speed. Mentally calculating the time it would take to reach the generator, he began giving his final instructions. "Give me about five minutes to destroy the generator, then get into those escape pods!"

"But we can't leave without you, Mr. Alien!"

"Do as I say!" Slade said as he cut communications and told Pegas to head for the generator coordinates.

The Nirvana...

"What? The planet's going to self-detonate?!" Buzom exclaimed.

Amarone nodded as she read Jura's message. "Planet destruction in 8 min 30s. Pickup coordinates 010012."

Magno nodded as she told Bart to head for that point in orbit.

Eight minutes to detonation...

Inside the bunker, Duero and Barnette began programming the escape pods with the coordinates. Due to limited power supplies, each pod would have to be launched one at a time. Once they were in orbit, they would begin transmitting a homing beacon for the Nirvana to pick up.

The ground beneath them began to tremble and quake as the planet began to die.

Seven minutes and ten seconds to detonation...

Slade nodded as Pegas was approaching the coordinates that Dita had given to him. His sensors had begun to pick up a high amount of energy being transmitted towards the sky. Landing his Vanguard near a stone arch formation (ironically, it was the same one that Duero and Barnette had camped beside the night before), he began directing his scanners for the generators exact location. One minute and twenty seconds later, he found it to be buried some forty meters below ground. There was just one problem though. He had expended all of his Tekkabot's ammunition and ordinance fighting Saber. How was he going to destroy the generator?

Seeing that he had no choice and that it was going to be very painful and exhaust his remaining strength, he made his crystal reappear.

"TEKSETTER!"

Five minutes and twenty seconds left...

"Dita! Get into the pod!" Duero commanded as he pulled her toward the first of the escape capsules.

"No! I won't leave without Mr. Alien!" Dita shook her head as she tried to pull away from him. Suddenly, her body went limp and sagged into unconsciousness in the doctor's arms.

"I'm sorry, Dita." Duero apologized as he placed the unconscious girl into the pod and closed the hatch.

"What happened?" Jura asked.

The doctor gave the blonde a bit of a sheepish look as he showed her a small hypodermic needle. "Sedative. She'll come around in a few minutes after she takes off." He then ran to the console and started the launching sequence. A minute later, the launch doors opened up and the ramp moved into position.

Though it strained him to do so, Slade transformed again and emerged from Pegas. Taking careful aim, he powered up and fired.

"VOLTEKKER!"

The green-white blast of quantum and ki punched through the sands and obliterated the generator in one massive eruption.

In orbit...

"Captain! The barrier is down!" Ezra announced happily.

To everyone's amazement, the projectors which had kept them away from planet suddenly deactivated and became dormant. The barrier disappeared, thereby giving the pirates full access to the planet. At that moment, the sensors picked up a launch signature below them.

Magno immediately contacted the Warrior Squadron to prepare to pick up the escape pods.

Four minutes, thirty seconds...

After receiving a message from Slade that the generator had been destroyed, Duero punched in the launch code. Dita's escape capsule was sent hurtling into the sky like a silver bullet fired from a gun.

Back at the bunker, Duero pointed to the second capsule as he prepared to launch it after Dita's. Jura nodded as she jumped into it and strapped herself in. As the hatch closed and sealed itself, the doctor sent it off. The golden-haired pilot was pushed back into her seat as the capsule was propelled skyward.

After sending out the second of the four modules, he then told Barnette to board hers. He assured her that his pod will automatically launch ten seconds after hers did. The brunette nodded and began heading toward her means of leaving this world. Suddenly, the entire bunker shook as the planet went into another one of its death throes. A large steel support beam was torn free from its foundations and began falling toward the Dread pilot.

"LOOK OUT!"

Duero managed to get to her and pull her back. The huge girder came down in front of her, crushing the escape pod. Barnette winced as a heavy fragment of ceiling came down and struck her left shoulder, causing it to dislocate.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Duero and the girl fell backward and ended up sprawled on the floor. Quickly checking her arm, the doctor saw that had no time to be delicate. Using a pressure point technique that he had learned from Slade, he deadened the nerves in her upper arm and set the limb back into place. Barnette winced at the slight discomfort, but was grateful that it wasn't as painful as she thought it would be. However, she saw that her means of escape had been destroyed.

Her face took on a shocked expression as she felt something sharp pierce into her right arm. Her body immediately became limp and it felt as if she had been paralyzed by a sandworm again. She looked up questioningly at Duero, who smiled down at her as he showed her a syringe.

"Don't worry. It's just a temporary muscle relaxant. You'll be able to move again in a few minutes." He then picked her up and carried her to the last escape pod.

"W-W-What are you doing?" Barnette became horrified as she was being placed into the pod and strapped down. "NO! You can't!"

Duero leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead. "This is the last escape pod and I told you before, my patient's safety comes before mine. I believe in my doctor's oath. Godspeed, Barnette Orangello." He then closed the hatch and ran back to the launch controls.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! DUERO! YOU CAN'T...!"

However, her protests were drowned out by the roar of the escape pod's thrusters. Tears streamed down her face as she was sent upward after her comrades.

As he watched the pod become a distant dot into the sky, the Tarak man let off a sad sigh. I'm sorry, Captain. I'm afraid that I can't keep my promise to return to the Nirvana.

Three minutes and counting...

Slade nodded as he saw another of the escape pods take to the sky. The Tekkaman was riding his robotic partner's back as he headed towards the bunker. He had to make certain that everyone had escaped before fleeing the planet himself. However, as time ticked away, he wondered why the fourth pod hadn't launched yet. As the deadline neared the two-minute mark, he told Pegas to scan for life signs in the bunker. He was alarmed to hear that one person was still there!

The Nirvana...

"Xian Pu and Ukyo have reported that they have retrieved two more of the escape pods." Ezra announced.

"That only makes three." BC said with concern. "Jura's message said that there were four. Where's the last one and Pegas?"

Amarone announced that there was only one minute left...

Duero decided that since his time was almost up, he would say his final prayers and...

"DOC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

The doctor looked up and saw the Tekkaman come through the launch doors, with Pegas behind him.

"Slade! I though you were-"

"NEVER MIND THAT NOW! THIS PLANET IS GOING TO BLOW IN THIRTY SECONDS! GET INTO PEGAS NOW!"

The Tekkabot opened up its cockpit as it landed in front of the healer.

A few seconds later, both Tekkaman and Tekkabot were streaking off into the sky. However, as the planet began going into its final phase of destruction, both knew that it was going to be close. As the timer reached zero, the main anti-matter charges were set off and the desert world became a spherical mass of chaos and explosions.

On the Nirvana's observation deck, Barnette cried out as she watched the world die. She was currently leaning against Jura and Meia as the paralysis to her muscles had not yet worn off. Many of the crew was also present on the observation deck.

The planet was then enveloped in a tremendous burst of light and was totally destroyed. All that was left were some fragments of planetary debris, which were deflected off the Nirvana's shields.

There were several long, tense moments of silence on the ship as everyone on board waited for news on the fate of their missing crew members. Seconds ticked by, which stretched into long, agonizing minutes. With absolutely no sign of the Tekkaman, Pegas, or the physician, the worst had to be assumed.

"They... didn't make it..." Jura choked.

"NO! MR. ALIEN!"

Barnette began to cry again as she whispered one name. "Duero..."

Then at that moment a familiar voice was heard over the intercom.

"Slade to Nirvana. Slade to Nirvana. Request permission to come aboard!"

Everyone crowded in the hanger as a battered and ragged Tekkaman and his Vanguard landed. Slade transformed back into his human form and fell to his knees. He was immediately hugged on all sides by Jura, Misty, Ukyo, Xian Pu, and of course, Dita. Meia stood close by and was also secretly glad that Slade was back.

"Slade! Where's Duero?" Barnette demanded as she approached. By this time, she had full control of her limbs.

The space warrior smiled as Pegas' cockpit opened up and out stepped...

"DUERO!"

"Hello Barnette, I- OOOFFF!"

To the shock of everyone there, the former man-hating Mejele girl tackled the physician to the floor and gripped him tightly. She was crying her heart out as she continued to squeeze.

"Barnette... urk... I can't... breathe... ack!"

"Shut up."

"Barnette?"

"Just... shut up, you stupid... man!"

Behind her, Parfet was in a state of total disbelief as she saw Duero in the arms of another woman! She found herself in a flustered state as Barnette continued to embrace the doctor.

In the background, Magno smiled at the scene as her second-in-command looked on in confusion.

"Heh, heh. Well now... I have a feeling that things are going to get more interesting in the near-future."

Later...

"Mr. Alien?"

Jura, Meia, and Dita found Slade looking out of the observation deck at the remains of the desert world as the Nirvana resumed its journey home.

"Slade? What wrong?" Jura asked as she noticed that he was brooding again.

Slade didn't seem to notice them as he continued to stare out into space.

"What is it, Mr. Alien?"

After a long while, he replied without facing them. "I was thinking... about Saber."

"Saber? He's dead." Jura said with confidence. "There's NO way he could have survived that explosion."

"If I managed to escape it, what makes you think he didn't? He IS a Tekkaman."

That one simple statement left the blonde speechless as Slade continued to gaze at the star-studded void.

In the Sick Bay...

Duero sighed in contentment as he was once again back in his element. Getting back to his Spirit Trial roots had been enlightening, but it was the Sick Bay where he felt the most comfortable.

Paiway had been overjoyed to see him again. Apparently, she wasn't used to dealing with so many patients for a long period of time. The growing workload and responsibility had almost overwhelmed her. Then there were all those crewmembers who came in with trivial health problems such as hangnails, broken nails, and such. She now had a greater appreciation for Duero's expertise and discipline.

As the doctor began going over the medical logs of the current cases, the door to the Sick Bay opened up and in stepped Barnette, pushing a cart with a couple of covered dishes.

"Barnette. Do you have medical problems that you'd like me to look at?"

The Dread pilot shook her head as she lifted the lid off one of the plates, revealing an exquisite filet mignon. "No, I came here to serve your dinner. I promised you the best meal in the galaxy, remember?" She then presented him with a red bottle. "Would you like some hot sauce?"

Duero couldn't help but laugh at the joke, in which Barnette joined in.

Outside of the Sick Bay and watching from around a corner, a certain somebody with glasses looked on with moisture in her eyes.

"Duero..."

To be continued...

Preview...

Slade: "With the ordeal with Saber finally behind us, I was hoping things would quiet down, but it was just too much to ask for. A couple of the girls seem to be a little more determined than before to get my attention. I know I should be flattered, but this is just a bit too much."

Duero: "This is bad… if the people of Tarak and Mejele continue to reproduce in this manner, we'll all eventually die out."

Magno: "Do not worry, the answer to natural pro-creation is in Slade, though it'll be interesting to see how he'll go about doing it."

Slade: "Hmmm? What's the Captain thinking? I somehow have a bad feeling about this… Jura? What're you…? Meia? Is that… you? And Dita…? Next time, on TekkaDread Remastered: 'New Revelations'. Damn… the cold showers aren't working as good as they used to…"

Author's Notes

Whew! And with this part, chapter five draws to a close. As for the relationship between Barnette and Duero, I feel that having just Parfet in the picture was too easy. Besides, I like Duero and I think he's cool. In addition to all the other girls after Slade, I thought why not have a couple more triangles develop? That makes the story more interesting!

I think I'll be taking a break from this fic for now and concentrate on working on the others.

(1) Back in ch.5 of the First Stage

(2) See (1)

Please read and review!