CHAPTER 20: HOMETOWN MANNERS

"We…we've emerged in Talark space?"

"Talark built these mines a long time ago…it's a wonder I was able to stop in time!" Bart howled.

"What do you mean, Bart!?" BC growled.

"These mines were meant to keep any outsiders from landing on the far side of the planet. Mejale is also in view, but the mines were meant for…." Bart gulped.

"Meant for who? Magno grimaced.

"Pirates."

"Well , let's get to it! Don't one of you guys have the password!?!?!" Magno 's heart was giving way again.

"I'm afraid not…we're only midshipmen! Only the senior officers know it!" Bart moaned, hands on his head.

"I'm afraid I don't have it either. I'm a first class citizen, but still a doctor under another doctor," Duerro shook his head as he stood behind Paiway.

"I don't, that's for sure." Hibiki sat in the Golden Vanguard's cockpit, "Why don't I go out there and just bust a way through?"

"NO!" Magno yelled. "We need these minefields to slow Earth's forces down!"

NO PASSWORD RECEIVED. COUNTDOWN COMMENCES

A counter appeared on the screen, counting down from three minutes. To everyone's horror, the guns began priming and the mines glowed red, ready to explode. Sweat ran down BC's brow as Ezra began the countdown. Paiway was crying, uncontrollably wiping her eyes.

"I wanted to go home! I wanted to see my house again!" she wept. To her surprise, Kero started talking with a familiar voice.

"Of course you'll see it, Kero- Kero! " Duerro' s hand was holding the frog puppet, with his other arm around Paiway. She smiled and hugged the doctor, holding him tight. She wasn't the only one with fear in her eyes. Down below, Pyoro clutched Karu as tightly as he could. Parfait was with her crew, wishing Duerro could be there in their last moments together. Barnet and Jura were holding each other, as were Ed and Meia on the bridge. Dita was running to the Vanguard hangar while BC swallowed and looked around, seeing fear in everyone's faces. Even Bart was weeping, wishing he had asked his grandfather about this earlier. BC gritted her teeth as Ezra reached the critical part of the countdown.

"9…8…7…6…5….4….3….2….1…"

"My name is Uragasemi Temeni. Rank: Commander in Chief of Intelligence Section. The password is K, A, N ,O, E zero, zero, three, one. Begin attestation."

That was not the voice of the sub commander. Yet it came from BC's lips. The computer voice responded with a positive sounding click, and then a human voice came over the speakers.

"Well done, keep up the good work, Commander. "

"Ezra, leave a marker here. Security, send two members to the bridge. We have a spy."

"Who is this?" a voice on the other end asked. BC grimaced, knowing that it wasn't the female voice of the Vice-Commander.

Magno repeated the order and nodded at BC.

"You…you knew all this time?" BC wheeled around, seeing the look in Magno' s eyes.

"I suspected. Then Bart showed me who you actually were. It was after Lunar 21."

Bart slowly rose out of his blue halo. He had a serious look on his pale face, but didn't even blink at BC. He walked towards her and looked her in the eye.

"I'm not as stupid as I look, BC. I knew from that moment you got a little too drunk. Seems I can control my alcohol better than you. You told me everything. And I mean everything. Your identity, your mission and even your real name. I've known for a long time. But I don't care. You're still BC the sub commander to me. The one I fell in love with.."

"Bart…I…"

"I still love you , all the same. Whoever or whatever you are," Bart turned his back to BC. "At least that's what I thought."

BC clenched her fists, shaking her head. Two crew members came on the bridge to restrain her ,in which she offered little resistance. Ed and Meia looked helplessly at their vice commander as she was led out of her own domain.

"I never thought that technology was possible….." Ed stared at BC.

"Quite surprising, isn't it?" BC sardonically remarked.

Meia had to shake Ed out of his trance. She thought Ed's cyborg guise was crazy enough, but BC as a man…? Tough girl she was, that was too difficult to swallow.

"Edward, my boy," Magno called. "Will you step in her shoes for a moment? I'm quite used to having a man in second command now."

Ed looked at Meia and shrugged , approaching the vice-commander's seat.

"No, not yet." she grinned. Ed looked at Meia again, not understanding the commander's words. "Just take this password," she typed something into BC's console from her own, and Ed read the password to confirm it.

"Before I go…I want to say that…though it wasn't very long, I feel proud to have served under your banner, Magno Vidan! I wouldn't trade this…for the universe." BC solemnly declared at the bridge doors.

"And I over you, Bosom. But rules are rules. Take her to the brig!"

The two crew members bound Bosom in handcuffs and slowly led her to the brig where Ed and the Men had been imprisoned a while back. Hibiki, passing by Bosom and seeing her red voice changer was stunned cold. Never had he felt so betrayed by Talark!


The men (barring Bart) were all in the brig, eyeing this new 'comrade' behind the laser bars with curious eyes. BC lay there, a sly smile on his face and not the slightest hint of aggravation.

"Were relations that bad?" Hibiki demanded to know.

"Yes. They had deteriorated to the point of attritional warfare. Talark had more weaponry, Mejale the better fighters. I was sent as a deep undercover unit."

"How did they, you know…make you a 'woman'?" Ed wondered.

"It's what they called a 'forbidden gene' in men. As Bart might tell you, physically I'm all woman. This treatment made me like the way I am."

"The X chromosome. I see. And now I know why we're all here- we had a man vouching for us all along."

"You're not really a man, either. Only your memories are of this officer person, right?"

"Best of both, I guess." BC allowed himself a little giggle.

The ship then rocked, with alarms ringing in every corridor.

"What's going on?" Ed called over his cyborg comm.

"It's the Talark military! They're taking this ship! They've cut some deal with the Mejale fleet that'll evacuate the women! Hurry! You must escape!" Celtic responded.

"Plan, anyone…?" Ed looked around.

All over the ship, Mejale troopers came and forcibly arrested all the crew members they could find, regardless of rank or age. Pyoro lay dead on the floor, hiding in fear of capture , knowing that Karu was safely in Ezra's arms. Paiway and Meia were surprised in a hallway, cuffed and forced down on their chins. Dita and Parfait were captured in the kitchen while several troopers stormed the bridge. The men were nowhere in the brig when the troopers came. Pretty soon, all the crew of the Nirvana were herded into small ships the detached from the Nirvana and headed back to Mejale. Dita was yelling Hibiki' s name as the guards dragged her to the last pod. She was yelling so loud that a rifle butt was needed to knock her into submission.

The one place the troopers did not search was the reactor core. The four men with Pyoro sat there, musing over the large green globe that was Pegasus and its little yellow companion.

"Ah, this is where we all met. Barring you, of course, Edward." Duerro took control. "Here we learned of man, and of woman. Of life in its fullest. And here it might all end."

" What are the Talark going to do with us?" Ed asked, looking worryingly at the Mejale ships through a window port.

"Nothing. We are male, after all. Even the robot."

"I'm a member of the first generation, right?" Hibiki raised his fist.

Duerro nodded. "Yes, you are."

"Well, then I can just take this to Gramps, and then the can talk to the Seven Old Men! Bart, why don't you help me with your father? Bart?"

Bart was silent, looking out at the approaching Talark fleet.

"He's usually the loudest! What's your problem, man?" Hibiki moaned. But Bart didn't respond.

"At any rate, I won't lose!" Hibiki made a defiant stance. Duerro smiled and put his hand on Hibiki' s shoulder.

"That's what I thought."

Hibiki, thinking it was some sort of brotherly gesture reached out to Duerro. Duerro pulled out his right hand from his pocket quickly and in a flash, chemicals surged through Hibiki' s body and the world became blurry. The fuzzy shapes of Duerro and Ed standing over him with smiles was the last thing he saw.

Ed lifted the unconscious Hibiki and threw him straight into the Pegasus core, which swallowed him whole, shielding him from any form of detection. Bart still looked out the window, but Pyoro was hyperventilating.

"Why or how did you do that?"

"He doesn't belong here, plain and simple. He's got a job to do." Duerro coldly stated.

"Stage 2 then." Bart reluctantly turned away from the window sill. I'm afraid it might hurt."

"That's what we have to bear. The values we'll bring are more important than any blood we lose. Our men have to learn."

No sooner had the Mejale ships made a mad dash back to their planet that the pod-shaped Talark cruisers appeared on the scene. Bart, Duerro ,Ed and BC were 'freed' from their cells by cream-uniformed soldiers, with Commander Temeni getting the highest greeting.

"So, they didn't eat your liver then?" a soldier joked.

"They had enough to eat." Duerro replied.

"You, you're a Lunarian colonial? Don't worry, there's a small Lunar fleet here by coincidence. We'll get you to your fleet in no time," they noticed Ed, "Sergeant! Take another man and escort this man to his ships with another pod! We're taking custody of these citizens for the time being!"

The sergeant saluted, and Ed was helped up and led out by two men. He looked out a window, seeing the faint thrusters of the Mejale ships. A single thought came through his mind

Take care, blue eyes.

The pod ships towed the Nirvana using Lunarian photon cables, placing the ship in the public space dock it was stolen from exactly a year ago. The men returned to a heroes ' welcome, though Grandpa ordered a thorough debriefing. Temeni himself was to be awarded a bevy of medals for 'heroic service' by the High General of Talark' s army, in a ceremony broadcast to even Mejale. Meanwhile, the small fleet of Lunarian ships hovered in the sky, silent specks in the night . One figure, his hands twitching, watched from the bridge of his ship.

The Mejale welcome was not so well. The pirates were all put to trial, including little baby Karu, who cried all throughout the tribunal. Jura was condemned for her pink book of pregnancy, Barnet and Gascgone for desertion and the others for simply being cohorts of men. The raven-eyed judge pronounced the guilty verdict with very little hesitation. In no time the pirates of Magno Vidan were whisked from the tomb-like tribunal chamber into the less friendly surroundings of a prison carrier bay. Dita and Jura had to hold Ezra steady, even volunteering to hold the baby. Barnet was slumped in a corner, beaten down by savage guards. Meia and Paiway stood beside a sitting Magno, her ancient eyes closed for the time being.

"Are you disturbed, child?" she asked Meia.

"I'm just wondering what Ed would say at a time like this…." Meia flipped her hair back, revealing one of Ed's silver earrings on her ear, shining bright against the darkness of the cramped cabin. She gently stroked it with her fingers, closing her eyes.

"You'll see him again, don't worry," Magno said without smiling. "He'll come back for the other earring, at least."

Meia managed a faint smile, but she looked out the small port window. Her home planet , all blue and green loomed before her. But she wasn't going there. She was going to an asteroid prison she knew too well from past experience. None of the others had ever been incarcerated in there. In her thug days, Meia would be paraded in front of the other prisoners and jeered at, even having things thrown at her. More than ever she wished a certain two Vanguards would break everyone out.

"What the heck?" Hibiki rubbed his behind. "Those bastards…."

He looked up and saw that the green Pegasus was showing signs of red.

"You're afraid big brother's coming? Humph. I'm not!"

The Pegasus flashed brightly in response, eliminating the red specks. Hibiki was left outside, with the yellow Pegasus chirping beside him. To his surprise, Pyoro floated beside him.

"Hello-pyoro! I played dead as the doctor told me to. Now we can get around to moving the ship!"

"Where is everyone? "

"Talark or Mejale. Ed's probably on his way home by now…"

"Well, let's head to engineering."

The men weren't too welcome after their latest remarks, one day after being hailed as freed prisoners of Mejale, now they were traitors to Talark. Duerro and Bart were arrested for their comments regarding women, which they had tried to forward to the Seven Old Men. Billboards and posters declared that McPhail and Garsuss would be 're-educated' to Talark standards. The Garsuss family was shocked, pleading to no avail for Bart's release. His uncles, in particular were adamant that Bart was innocent, caught up in the war between the two planets.

The actual re-education was performed in a forgotten chamber deep below the presidential palace, with Bart being cruelly tortured by a gleeful whip wielding officer. Duerro was forced to watch. All they had to do was utter 'Hail Grandpa'. Instead, Duerro kept on saying 'women are beautiful. I have never felt more alive than around them' . Bart's screams only strengthened his will, making the whipmaster frustrated, going for more pain with each stroke. The true pain, however was deeper than any whip could create. A pain couldn't be healed by even his freedom. A familiar figure walked into the room, with flowing silver hair and shiny medals, coupled with a sadistic smile.

"How's the debriefing going?" Temeni asked, grinning at Duerro.

"They're stubborn, sir. They can't say two simple words!"

"Give me the whip, I'll show you guys how to make full use of a whip!" Temeni took the leather device, already stained with Bart's blood.

"Go on, I don't care!" Bart seethed, " It won't change the way I felt about you when you were a woman!" He did not blink, facing Temeni with fire in his eyes. Duerro had never seen him like this before.

"I see you've got another reward for betraying your history."

Temeni ignored him and walked up to Bart, seeing eye to eye with his former shipmate. His eyes softened, and a soft whisper came from Temeni' s lips.

"I love you too."

In seconds, the leather whip knocked out all four of the guards. A fallen body outside made it five, having being stunned earlier. Bart was crying, unable to wipe the tears as his hands were chained to the ceiling. BC softly wiped the tears with her hand, gazing softly into his eyes. She pressed the red button on her neck, changing it to green.

"Let's go home," the voice Bart loved so much whispered.

BC took his chin in her hands and kissed him fully on the lips, feeling the warmth in his body slowly build up. She felt him kiss her back, a sign of his devotion to her. He was still crying when she undid his chains, embracing her with his weakened arms. She released Duerro' s chains and slung the weakened Bart over her shoulder.

"Hibiki is waiting for us. Let's go!"

A pod soon launched from the spaceport.

The pirates were hounded through an already crowded prison, with women hooting and howling at the new arrivals. But one prisoner recognized Magno and called out her name. Others realize who just walked into their prison and started cheering. Dita looked around to see many doing likewise. Magno halted and looked at the prisoner who recognized her.

"I am Magno Vidan. These are my pirates."

Many prisoners ran to their doors asking to join the pirates, despite the guards' warnings. Jura beamed proudly, echoing her self-labeled status of 'pirate of freedom'.

"Seems we have a lot of supporters here," Gascgone remarked.

"The perfect place to start changing the world!" Dita declared, raising her wrists.

All of a sudden, alarms sounded and the prison itself rocked. Alerts were sounded, and guards frantically ran about, only to be stunned by their own weapons. Women dressed as Mejale troopers stormed the compound, shooting open the cell doors. Three came up to Magno and removed their hoods. It was Rebecca , Varoa and another of the veterans who had joined Magno' s cause on board the Paraiso , the sister ship of Magno' s original flagship.

"Long time no see, old lady!" Varoa hailed her leader.

Rebecca ran towards Ezra, who was holding Karu up for her Ouma to see. Rebecca smiled, saying hello to little Karu , the face of a proud mother being hers for now. Outside, the prison authorities were scrambling as the Paraiso' s forces destroyed barrier after barrier of the prison walls. The prisoners streamed into the ship as it lay docked in the station hold, before the sleek green starship pulled away, a true smash and grab job.

The Nirvana was also under attack, from unrecognized mecha and cloaked Lunarian ships. The ship was blasted off its moorings, cast adrift. No Vanguards were downed, as the unknown mecha stunned any pursuing Vanguards long enough to make their escape. The Lunarian fleet, having taken its quarry ,left almost immediately, the Talark ships reluctant to follow for fear of damaging the Ikazuchin. The figure presiding over the men's arrival smiled, motioning for the fleet to leave. Strangely, the ship moved by itself, even if intel repeatedly assured the commanders that the entire premises was searched and double searched. The klaxons sounded again as the Paraiso was detected rendezvousing with the Nirvana and its small escort. Mejale and Talark ships maintained a safe distance, not knowing what to do.

Hibiki sat alone on a box, eating a cold lunch Dita had prepared for him. He had a somewhat flushed look when the crew of the Nirvana re-boarded their ship. The ship was directing its own will, locking him and Pyoro out of the systems.

"What's the password?" he asked.

"It's easy, didn't you figure it out?" Gascgone smiled, producing her palmtop.

"Smile, smile!" she chimed, typing in the word gleefully. Lights came back on and machines hummed again. Crew members hustled back to their stations, though the pilots and Magno were still standing.

"Meia?" Barnet called her, but her attention was elsewhere.

"Hey, I'm here… looking at that cute butt of yours." Ed's voice came out over the speakers. Meia looked up to see a camera focusing in and out on her.

"Are you pulling that nursery stunt again, Edward?" Magno grinned.

"Was a darn good idea of Duerro' s, wasn't it? Give the two Talark boys some of his sedative, send them off home in their own pod and jack myself into the system! Where is the good doctor, anyway?"

"Get back in your body already!" Meia laughed.

"The ship won't move until we pick up that pod from Talark that's approaching," Magno shrugged, "That's what Celtic is telling me on the PA system, anyway."

"Be right back!" Ed sang, his voice cut off by a sharp crack of static.

The Talark pod docked into the bay, with its three passengers running back to their positions. The one at the rear briskly walked ,rather than running. The bridge doors hissed open, letting Bart Garsuss in. He stood to attention in front of Magno, dressed again in his uniform.

"Bart Garsuss , returning to duty!" he saluted.

"What did they do to you, Bartholomew?" Magno frowned, looking at all the red lipstick marks on his face.

"Oh…um…er…I think she's the one that can explain." He pointed to the open doorway, with a single silver-haired figure leaning on the doorframe.

"Why are you standing there?" Magno cast an eye at BC. She clenched her fists, unable to step forward or backward. To BC, the world was right there between her feet and everything else was nowhere to be.

"I don't remember you resigning as my vice-commander. Or am I finally getting old?"

"I…I…" BC looked at the Boss with a mixture of elation and pride.

"And keep your voice this time. You plain broke poor Bart's heart with that bossa nova tone of yours," Magno looked at Bart," but I see you fixed that problem." BC looked at Bart, who was still standing firm on his helm circle, smiling lovingly at her.


"And you were worried. Bosom the vice-commander, worried?" he grinned.

"Bart…darling…THE HELM!"

He slipped into the Pegasus chamber, reconnecting with the system and moving the ship forward, away from the encircling fleets. The Nirvana and Paraiso dodged blockades, avoiding minefields and defense turrets. Some ships gave chase, but gave up after Rebecca's fighters shot their tails off in warning. The two ships passed through asteroid belts that encircled Mejale, Bart being surprisingly confident in his movements. It was as if he treated the Nirvana as a Dread of his own.

"Here we are, the hideout." Magno got up. "That was fast, even by pirate standards. Being judged, thrown into prison, escaping, stealing back the ship and meeting old pals again. My, this life is long and wonderful indeed."

The pirates' hideout was nothing more than a humble asteroid from the outside, but inside, it was labyrinth of tunnels, docking bays, living quarters and other sections the pirates were not bothered enough to explain. Rebecca and Magno agreed that there should be a day's rest, but that matters would be discussed in the morning. Thus the pilots were free to wander around the base, taking a well-earned rest. Duerro and Bart were taken to medics to be checked up, though Bart insisted he was alright. BC scolded him, saying the whip scars were still on his body and could be infected. He took off his shirt to show that there were no whip marks, to the doctors' surprise. Duerro was covered in them, but Bart's skin was smoother than a newborn's. His bald plate was smoother than ever and his blue eyes were round and healthy. It was as if he was glowing. Giving BC a sly look, he shrugged and put his shirt back on.

"See you in the morning…I need some sleep!" he yawned, walking towards the hallway.

BC wanted to stop him, but Duerro brushed her outstretched hand aside.

"I want to tell you and Magno something about Bart- he's almost as strange as Hibiki-" Duerro flinched as one of his bandages tore open. Celtic and BC held him up as he swooned from his wounds.

"We'll hear about it in the morning, doctor. Right now, you need a doctor," Magno turned her back , letting BC and Celtic carry Duerro out.

"Wow, it's been a year….a year since we embarked on this weird journey," Barnet lamented, gazing at the asteroids around the hideout.

"A year for some. But too short a time for me," Ed stood behind her along with Meia, Hibiki, Jura and Gascgone.

Barnet turned around and sighed," It's not over yet. We still have Earth to deal with. " she shook her head, folding her arms.

"Who knows what they have out there? We're counting on our worlds to cooperate to help us, but it seems we're all humanity has left."

"Don't forget, President Marshall is assembling the Lunar Fleet. That'll arrive in no time, I can tell you that," Meia reminded Barnet.

"If they attack tomorrow…"Jura closed her eyes, "Ed's pals can pick up our corpses."

Ed had a grim look on his face. He knew Jura was right and simply nodded. They all looked outside at the stars and asteroids, wishing for a thousand ships to be there instead. Space said nothing to them, only replying with the odd comet of hope. That's all they had- a comet. There was no way two pirate ships could battle the might of the Harvester fleet, no matter how brave the Magno Vidan pirates were. Hibiki had said it took two Melanos fleets to destroy one mothership- what chance did the Paraiso and the Nirvana have?

"Hello, everyone!" Dita cheerfully came in with a tray of chocolate cookies. But her smile quickly disappeared when she saw everyone's mood," Er…is something wrong?"

"Dita…" Meia looked at her, life gone from her face.

The ever-cheerful Dita was struck dumb by Meia' s response, dropping her tray of cookies. Trembling, she held on to the wall with her hands shaking. Hibiki came in with a pitcher of milk, his eyes full of gusto. He too , saw the look in everyone's eyes but didn't drop anything.

"You're not thinking of quitting, are you? No, no! "

"No we're not!" Barnet answered, "Just…just thinking how we can get more power to beat the Harvesters….right now, we're just seven combinations of Vandread and a mighty big ship, plus Delivery and fighters. How will that stand up against thousands of those egg ships?"

"I don't care!" Hibiki waved his free hand, "as long as we live, we have to fight them! I saw what they wanted , on…on that planet! "

"I wish my people were here," Ed wistfully looked at the asteroid belts, "They might tell us something about our mecha we've been overlooking. I have this feeling, just a little hunch we haven't seen everything yet."

"What we can see is a good night's sleep. We'll need it tomorrow at the meeting." Meia decided. With that, she and Ed walked out of the room.

"Wait! Are you two in the same room?!" Barnet and Jura stood aghast. There was no response from either of them, as Ed put his arm around Meia' s waist going through the door.

Dita chuckled, "Kinda reminds me of our promise, doesn't it, Hibiki?"

"Huh?" Hibiki almost dropped the pitcher of milk.

"To play in my room?" she innocently blinked.

Hibiki shoved the milk to Jura and ran out the corridor as fast as possible, leaving Dita scratching her head in bewilderment. She the realized that he was running away and gave chase. Gascgone sighed and walked out, hands raised in surrender.

"It's just us again, Miss Elde, " Barnet mumbled through cookie chomps "Mm… …needs some mint."

"Yeah…just us…me, you and whoever you're waiting for."

Barnet turned, looking at Jura, " Wha- what are you saying?"

"Your face lit up when Meia mentioned the Lunar Colonies…it's him, isn't it?"

Barnet munched on another cookie, "Have no idea who you're talking about."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Err…too much spice."

"No need to hide it, Barnet. It's not like we're…you know. But you are my friend. And friends don't keep secrets. I'll tell you one. I always knew Robert Marshall was after you. I was just fooling myself, thinking he was mistaken instead. Goddess help me, Barnet…I'm jealous. Jealous of you, jealous of Dita , jealous of Meia. Why am I the only one without a man? Am I not the one who wants a baby?"

"Remember what Ed said to you at the gas giant?"

"Nobody's in love with me?"

"You're not in love with anyone. Me neither…but I'll admit. Hanging around these men has made me…curious. There, secret replied to." Barnet winked and nudged Jura. "We'll find you a man someday, Jura Basil Elde."

"I never thought I'd hear those words all my life!" Jura laughed," A year ago, I would have shot you for that!"

"You would have shot the man first!" Barnet laughed, embracing her old friend. They laughed for what seemed like an eternity, for a while immune to the cares of the universe. Then reality struck as the tears began to flow. Still , they held each other close and refused to let go. Tonight may be the last night they would see each other alive. Jura figured that was what Meia and Ed were thinking, leaving early.

"Lucky them…"she murmured to herself.