Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread, the wonderful people at Gonzo do.

Author's Note: This is a notice that there is some strong violence in the first part of this chapter, primarily in Aidan's nightmare.

Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)

Chapter Five: The Demons Awaken

Location: Men's Quarters, Nirvana.

A dull gray mist rose from the forest floor, creating the illusion that one was floating among the clouds. Aidan knew not to fall to such thoughts. It had been raining on and off for the last three days, which was how long he had spent out here. It seemed to have stopped half an hour ago, and now it was very foggy, but not thick enough to hinder him in any way. It actually made what he was about to accomplish that much easier. The whole place looked like something to come from a ghost story, but Lieutenant Aidan Mercer did not believe in ghosts, yet he had the callsign 'Spectre.' What a nice little contradiction. He went over the briefing of this operation in his head once again.

Your objective is to eliminate a doctor that has been supplying aid and care to the enemy. He has spoken out against our government and openly supports the efforts of the E.D.A. He is currently at his vacation home in the depths of Blackwood Forest. You are to be inserted twenty-five kilometers from the location. There is a possible enemy presence, as the man is somewhat paranoid. Given your training, the guards should pose no threat to you. This is a black op, if you are captured, we will deny any knowledge of your existence.

From his position in what was now muddy ground, he stared intently through his electronic binoculars at the structure some several hundred meters in front of him. It was a typical house that somebody with a good deal of money could afford. He scoffed at the fact that the man could openly help the enemy, denounce his government, and live in such a house while there were several people who were more deserving of it. He noticed two pairs of soldiers, one patrolling the grounds, and the other on the roof. Lowering his binoculars, he pulled the SA54 Longbow Heavy Sniper Rifle from its 'drag-bag.' He then loaded the eight-round magazine, and pulled the bolt back, loading the first round into the firing chamber.

Lying prone in the mud, he focused the scope until he got a good view of the men on the roof. The rifle fired a heavy, eight millimeter slug that would guarantee a kill if he got a good shot. He zeroed on the man to the left. He steadied his breathing into a rhythm, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit the man almost instantly, blasting through his head and splattering blood over the man next to him. As the rifle was sound-suppressed, the guard didn't know where the shot had come from. Aidan adjusted his aim and fired again before the man could remove the horrified look from his face. The second shot tore through his body armor and out his back, eliciting a spray of blood before the guard fell backwards.

After putting the rifle back into its drag-bag, he got up and crept up to the house as stealthily as he possibly could. Once there, he snuck around the corner, behind the pair of guards that he'd spotted earlier. He silently drew his knife from its sheath at the small of his back. He silently moved closer to the guards, who were too busy talking about something to notice him. His arms snaked out and grabbed the one closest to him, gloved hand over his mouth while he thrust the knife into the man's back. The other guard realized too late what had just happened, and before he could raise his weapon, Aidan lashed out with the knife, slashing the man's throat and sending a spray of blood across the wall. The man fell to the ground, clutching his throat in a futile attempt to stop the rapid blood loss. Aidan stared at him impassively for a few seconds, and then wiped the blood off of his knife on the dead man's fatigues. He sheathed the knife and moved on.

"Hey! You there!" he heard someone shout behind him. He ducked down and to the left as bullets screamed by where he once stood. Raising his sound-suppressed submachine gun, he let loose a burst that took the man high in the chest, knocking him down. Seconds later, an alarm sounded.

"Shit!" he cursed as he kicked open the back door. He didn't care about stealth now, he had to reach his target before he got away. A couple of guards came running down the stairs. Aidan blasted one of them, causing him to tumble down the stairs, taking the other man with him on his way down. Before the dazed soldier could get a hold of himself, Aidan put a bullet through his head. He stepped over the dead men and rapidly climbed the stairs, intent on reaching the man's study, which was where he most likely was.

He stopped in front of the doors to the man's study, and emptied the SMG's clip into the door. He heard a thump on the other side of the doors, and blood pooled underneath the door. He quickly ejected the empty magazine and a loaded a fresh one. He kicked the doors open, to see his target standing behind his desk. He stepped over the dead soldier in front of him, his SMG lined up with his target.

"So, the Federation has sent one of their attack dogs to come and get rid of me?" the man asked sarcastically. Aidan ignored him, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that there was a woman holding a child who was on the verge of balling her eyes out, in this very room. What in the hell? What are they doing here? Noticing Aidan's distraction, the man pulled something from under his desk. Aidan noticed and pulled the trigger. The gun wouldn't fire, it was jammed. Damn!

A sharp crack split the air, and Aidan felt a sharp pain lance through his left arm. He chucked the jammed SMG as hard as he could, and it slammed into the doctor's face, breaking his nose. Stunned, the backed up and dropped his gun and reached for his face. Aidan drew his pistol and pulled the trigger several times. About five bullets slammed into the man, knocking him back. He fell over the chair behind his desk, and Aidan had no doubt that the man was dead. He had accomplished his objective, but something nagged at him.

He turned to the see the woman staring in horror at her dead husband, and her daughter was crying. There must be no witnesses, he heard his commander's voice say in his head. Gun still in hand, he walked over to where they were standing. He raised his gun, and the woman clutched her daughter all the tighter, knowing what was to come next. Aidan fought with his emotions and sense of morality, but in the end, his commander's nagging voice won out. The little girl, which was no more than six years old, looked up at him with scared, tear-filled eyes. He steeled his emotions into a hardened stoicism, and pulled the trigger…

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With a startled, choked cry, Aidan snapped awake. He was gasping for air, and his body was soaked with sweat. After a few seconds, he realized he wasn't even on Solaris, and he wasn't carrying out that damn mission. He brought his hand up to his face and wiped the sweat from it. Clad only in a pair of shorts, he got up off the bed and walked over to the mirror. He tapped the button on the sink that turned on the water. He let the cold water run for a minute before he splashed water over his face and chest. His image stared back at him through the mirror as water ran down his chest in rivulets, changing directions when they came into contact with one of several scars on his chest.

Most of those scars were the result of a razor whip, courtesy of his former commanding officer. He had received that punishment when an argument with his commander ended with Aidan breaking the man's nose. The cross-shaped scar on his face was also a result of that same punishment, although that one with a knife. His former commander had made it clear that there be no witnesses of his death, and that apparently included harmless women and children. He vowed never to kill an innocent person again, even if it meant breaking a direct order. He wouldn't do it again, because the face of the little girl haunted him.

I'm a soldier, not a damn murderer. With one arm, he leaned against the mirror, resting his head against its cool surface. A few seconds later he lifted his head and looked into the mirror once again. His steel gray eyes stared back at him, and he ran his other hand through his short, brown hair. In a vent for his anger, he drew his fist back and punched the wall next to the mirror. I'm already damned…

He checked his chronometer, and it read 0344 hours. There was no point in going back to sleep, so he decided he'd go take a shower. He walked over to the showers, and ten minutes later, he was dressed in some fresh clothes, and he'd decided he'd to take his mind off of these painful memories by walking around. He left the men's quarters, with everyone else still asleep, all but one other.

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The other person who couldn't sleep was Meia Gisborn. She was leaning on the railing overlooking the ship's garden, and it looked as though something was troubling her. The dream, no, nightmare, she had but an hour earlier had disturbed her. It involved some mysterious person that had killed several people, and almost killed her.

She was running to where she heard the screams. The main power on the Nirvana appeared to be off, leaving the corridors backlit in an eerie red. She came upon a pair of corpses, and both of them appeared to be security personnel. Both of them had been violently killed, and she felt the urge to vomit come to her. Fighting it down, she then heard the sound of what appeared to weapon discharges. Then she saw another corpse, and standing over it was a female figure with an unfamiliar weapon. The figure looked up at her, but her face was absent.

She raised her laser ring and tried to fire, but the figure was faster, and she felt a sharp, tearing pain in her left shoulder, and sending her flailing to the left. It felt as if several sharp needles had ripped into her shoulder at once. She screamed in pain, holding the heavily bleeding wound with her other hand as she slammed against the corridor wall. She looked up to see the figure, smiling, pointing the weapon at her head. There was nothing amusing in the smile. She tried to move out of the way, but then the figure fired…

Was it just a horrible nightmare, or was it a message, trying to tell her something? She would liked to have believed it to be nothing more than a bad dream, but her feelings, her instincts were telling her otherwise. Her current train of thought was interrupted as she noticed someone walking down on one of the garden's pathways. She looked a little closer, and she made it out to be a man, it was Aidan Mercer.

Now what is he doing here so early in the morning? He walked around for a few minutes, apparently doing nothing else, and then just sat down on a bench. She decided to find out why he was up, and maybe find out a little more about him, as well.

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Aidan just sat there, staring out into the vast star-filled sea known as space. In his hand, he held a pair of dog tags. They belonged to perhaps his closest friend, Sakura Nakayama. She had been in what could have only been described as a cowardly terrorist bombing. He had known her since he was twelve years old, and she had died a mere three years ago. His gaze fell down to the tags in his hand, and his grip tightened around them.

"Captain Mercer," a voice said off to his side. He put the tags back into his pocket, and looked over to see who it was. It was the sapphire-haired woman named Meia. She had addressed him by his rank, and he wasn't expecting that. "May I sit down?" He nodded and moved over, allowing her to take a seat.

"You don't have to be so formal," he said. "And besides, I don't hold any rank here. Just call me Aidan."

"On one condition," she replied. "Call me Meia."

"Deal."

There was an odd silence between them for a few moments. Then Meia spoke up. "I was wondering, when did Earth actually attack your home?"

"Well," he began. "It was about twelve years ago, I was only ten years old when it happened. Our initial defenses were overrun pretty quickly, and only when they were basically at our front door did we manage to put any form of a solid defense. They were relentless in their pursuit of us, and openly destroyed crippled vessels and fighters. I was on one of the civilian transports during their final attack. They managed to penetrate our last line of defense and starting attacking the transports. Both of my parents were killed in that final attack, when the hull of the ship was breached. I was rescued by one of the soldiers on board the ship."

She cringed slightly at his mention of the way his parents died. "What happened to the Earth fleet?"

"I don't know the exact reason, but they just ceased their attack and left the system," he said. "It was almost like someone was calling them off. A couple of years later, I volunteered for military service, and was sent to a training facility. From then on I've pretty much been a soldier all my life."

There was a painfully long silence after that, and then Meia suddenly stood up. "There's something I've got to do," she said. "And don't be late for the briefing later today," she said as she walked away.

"Understood," he said as he also stood up. He been told that there was going to be a briefing integrating the new recruits, and he was being integrated because he knew how to pilot a Striker. He also learned that this 'Dread squadron' was under her direct command. He didn't know why, but he felt more comfortable after talking to her, more so than most other people. He smiled.

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There was a slight shudder as the oddly colored shuttle settled onto it's landing gear. The shuttle had just landed in the cargo bay of the Nirvana. A few seconds later the ramp descended to the bay floor. Several people, all women, headed down the ramp. Reika Kiyaga was one of them. They were all graduates of the Dread Piloting class that were now boarding the Nirvana. She picked up the bag that contained her personal belongings, and began her descent down the ramp. She was one of those new Dread pilots meant to replace the losses during the Harvest War, as it was being called. Once she was on the bay floor, the Captain came up from the crowd formed behind her to greet the new pilots.

"I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the Nirvana," she said warmly. "More importantly, I'd like to welcome you to this family."

As the Captain continued her speech, Reika listened intently. She had been alone for a long time, and now she a home, a sense of belonging. As soon as she finished her speech, Magno greeted every single one of the pilots, including Reika, personally. Not long after they were to be told to what rooms they would be assigned.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Jennifer said off to her right. Jennifer was a lot more slender that Reika, who had an athletic frame. Jennifer had her long teal hair over one shoulder.

"Yes, it is," Reika replied, running a hand through her short black hair. What was distinct about her was a single lock of her hair was red.

They had become friends on their way over here. They both walked over to where the room assignments were posted. They apparently had rooms that were right next to each other. Jennifer turned to face Reika.

"It seems we're going to be neighbors," she said jokingly.

"Well, then, I'm going to go take a nap, the trip over here took it out of me," Reika said.

"Alright, I'm going to go get a bite to eat," Jennifer said. "See you later."

"Later," Reika replied, as she walked to her room. Once there, she tossed her bag onto the floor and plopped onto the bed. Not long after, she was asleep.

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