Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

Author's Note: There is a small bit of strong violence at the end of this chapter.

Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)

Chapter Eight: Wolf in the Fold, Part One

Location: Men's Quarters

Staring blankly at the ceiling from his lying position on the bunk, Aidan sat there, thinking about what Meia had told him earlier that day. She said that she'd heard about his suspicions concerning the Dread pilot Reika. She had told him that she had a dream in where a faceless female intruder killed several people, and almost her with a weapon she said she couldn't identify. The mere thought was disturbing, to say the least.

So that makes it all the more possible that this Reika is from Solaris or some other planet. But why in the hell does she seem so damn familiar?

He continued to contemplate on that until a loud snoring sound reached his ears. It was distracting, to say the least. He tried to think, but couldn't. He looked over to see that it was Bart. That moron is as annoying asleep as he is awake. He resisted the urge to pick up some random object and chuck it at him. He laid his head back on his bunk and closed his eyes, and it wasn't long before he was asleep.

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After going over the footage again and again, BC wasn't pleased. The footage was taken from a camera hidden in engineering, and it caught on tape the black and red haired Reika doing something at one of the terminals. Due to the angle of the camera, what she was doing couldn't be identified. BC didn't like what she saw.

So, why is she in engineering? BC thought. So this adds some credibility to what Aidan had said. Still, I wonder what she could be doing there.

After going over the footage a few more times, she came to a conclusion. It appears that she was stealing information concerning the Paksis Pragma, the three Dreads, the Vanguard, or the Vandreads, or perhaps all of it. Either that or she might be uploading something. BC couldn't tell from the footage.

"I'm going to have to inform the Captain about this," she said aloud, shutting down the data reading unit.

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After being called to the conference room, Aidan had been shown a camera clip that showed Reika in the engineering section, doing something at a terminal. Aside from the Captain and BC, Gascogne and Meia were also present. He stared at the screen, trying to pick out any detail that could give away what she was actually doing.

"So, what do you think she is doing?" Magno asked to anyone in general.

"I believe she was stealing information on the Paksis Pragma, and anything connected to it," BC said after a moment's silence.

"Perhaps," Aidan spoke up. "But, I don't think that was what she was doing."

"Then, what is she doing?" Gascogne asked, gesturing to the computer screen.

This time it was Meia who had answered. "She might have uploaded something, a virus of some kind."

"That is what I think," he said, nodding to Meia before looking back to the rest of them. "She most likely uploaded a delayed-action virus or remote-activated virus."

"So you're saying we should initiate a search of the Nirvana's computer to look for any possible infection," BC said in reply to Aidan's statement.

"Well, that is what I'd do," he said.

"So what do we do about Reika?" Meia interrupted.

"Now that you brought it up," Magno said. "I'd like to have a word with her."

"Is that wise, Captain?" BC protested.

"I'll have a couple of security personnel escort her here," Magno replied. "And Aidan can stay here as well, as it concerns him."

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A lone figure stood over the bed, reviewing the equipment laid out on it. The person known as Reika Kiyaga was dead, and her identity stolen. The person standing there had taken over her life to infiltrate the security measures the Mejalean pirates had put into place. The figure had no real name, and was an assassin. Her objective was to eliminate the late Prime Minister of Solaris' daughter. If necessary, she would kill anyone that got in her way. She had uploaded a virus that, when activated, would disable all functions onboard the Nirvana, effectively rendering the ship 'dead.' After completion of her objective, she would escape via one of the Dread fighters, and picked up by a friendly vessel.

There had been one slight problem, the pilot named Jennifer had come at the most inopportune time, while she was checking her equipment. After silencing her, she resumed her work. She went over the equipment laid out on the bed. There were several throwing knives, a few small daggers, a slightly larger dagger, and a Solaris Arms Needle Pistol. Time to get to work. She unzipped and removed her pilot suit, and put on a tight, sleeveless shirt intended to allow for unrestricted movement. Also a pair of leather pants made for the same purpose. She then donned a specially tailored jacket, one that had special slots and pockets to hold her weapons. After she was done with that, she laced the pair of boots she wore.

She then began to insert the knives into the slots in her sleeves, and two of the daggers in her boots. The third dagger she put in a sheath at the small of her back. After that, she picked up the needler, loaded it then charged it. This particular needle pistol, also known as a needler, fired several razor-sharp needle-like flechettes shaved from a block of ballistic polymer. There were also a few extra clips for the weapon lying on the bed. She inserted it into it's holster on the inside of the jacket just as she heard a knock on the door. She walked over to the door and pressed the stud, allowing it to open. She saw two security guards standing there, and then the brown-haired guard spoke up.

"Are you Reika Kiyaga?"

"Yes, that's me," she replied. "Is something wrong?"

"No, the Captain would like to have a word with you, that is all," the orange-red haired one replied.

"The Captain?" she asked innocently. "What does the Captain want with me?"

"If you would come with us, please," the brunette said.

"Alright," she said as she walked out of her room and into the corridor.

"This way," one of them gestured, as they took up positions behind her, their laser rings pointed at her.

Have they caught on to me? She casually put her hands in front of her as she walked and pressed a button on what appeared to be a watch. A slight change in plans.

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Barnette was walking down the corridor when she saw a pair from security escorting one of the Dread pilots. Her gaze met the Dread pilot's and she felt a shiver down her spine as they walked by each other. The pilot's eyes were cold, ice cold. She briefly looked back at the pilot, wondering why she had that look in her eyes. They were probably taking her to see the Captain, she thought, as they were headed away from the brig.

Little did she know what was going to happen next…

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Leaning against the conference room wall with his eyes half-closed, Aidan patiently waited for the guards to escort this Reika here. That probably wasn't even her real name, he thought. He stood there for a moment until memories of an explosion appeared in his mind. Then his mind shifted to Sakura's face, then back to the explosion. He remembered a minute before the explosion had occurred, when he crossed paths with a young woman in a blue and black jumpsuit. The woman had red and black hair, and he bolted up as soon as he realized it. With chilling certainty, he knew exactly what this woman was here for. She was going to assassinate Maria Shakov.

"Damn!" he cursed as he bolted up, drawing his gun in the process.

"What's wrong?" BC asked.

"Send some guards to protect Maria," he ordered her.

"But why-"

"I don't have time to explain! Just do it!" he shouted just as the power went out. "Damn, it's begun."

Anger started to seep into him, he had finally identified the person who had killed Sakura, and he was intent on stopping her and making her pay. He would make sure she bathed in her own blood for what she had done. The thought of vengeance burned in him as he moved on.

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Just as the power throughout the ship died, the guards stopped, evidently distracted by what had just happened. The assassin took advantage of this, doing an immediate about face, driving a fist into the stomach of the brunette, which was closer to her. She then dropped down, and with a sweeping kick to her legs, knocked the red-head onto her back. Just as the brunette doubled over with a gasp, she grabbed a hold of her and embraced her, pressing the barrel of the needler against her neck.

"Say farewell," she said as she squeezed the trigger.

The flechettes tore through her neck, shredding her vocal chords and throat before ripping out the back. She released her grip on the woman as blood poured from the wound, covering the floor with its dark color. The woman clutched at her throat in a futile attempt to stop the blood loss.

"Damn you!" the other one yelled as she got back to her feet and raised her arm to fire her laser ring. The assassin grabbed a hold of her arm and pushed it upward, sending the shot off its mark. She then struck the guard across the face with a pistol whip. The woman went down with a cry of pain.

"Just doing my job" the assassin said as she pointed the needler at the guard, who was now on her knees. She pulled the trigger twice, and watched the shots tear into the woman's face before she collapsed in a pool of her own blood, which was starting to mix with the other dead woman's.

She immediately moved away from her two victims. She headed for the location she believed Maria Shakov was located. It was time to locate and eliminate her target.

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Meanwhile, a lone man sat in the control seat of the shuttle he'd commandeered. He was waiting for a certain someone. He did not know why he was the one chosen to retrieve this person at a designated location away from prying eyes. He'd heard this person was a woman, and he didn't like to work with women, in fact, he hated them.

"Man, what is taking this woman so damn long?" he asked aloud as he leaned back in the pilot's chair, even though no one else was present in the small craft.

He decided that if she didn't get here soon, he'd just abandon her to her fate. He'd take some flak, but he'd rather do that than wait for this woman any longer.

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