Disclaimer: Vandread belongs to Gonzo. All music lyrics copyright to their original owners.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)
Chapter Eleven: Tactics
Location: Men's Gym, Nirvana.
It's taken me all of my anger
And taken me all of my hate
To learn how my life came together
Releasing the demons again
(Releasing the Demons- Godsmack)
It seems this was one of only a few ways to release his anger. Aidan repeatedly hammered the bag hard enough for it to strain its mount on the ceiling. He slammed his gloved fists into the bag, not even considering letting up. He was trying the banish most of the memories from the past few days. Those few days had been mostly hell, with several painful memories resurfacing. The most painful memory was the death of Sakura.
A loud, roaring sound, followed a split second later by an incredible wall of force. Being knocked off of his feet, the searing pain along his arm. Seeing Sakura lying on the ground, seeing her blood on his hands, watching her life fade away while she was in his arms. Screaming her name, then falling unconscious moments later. He had survived, while she had died. It wasn't fair! Even after avenging her death, none of the pain he felt went away. All because of that damn bitch of an assassin. She took Sakura from me…
He stopped his assault on the bag and slammed his fist into the wall next to it. He fought to control his emotions, because he was determined to show no weakness to these pirates. Why am I always haunted by these painful memories? He punched the wall again, ignoring the pain that lanced up and down his arm. She's been gone for years now, and there is nothing I can do to bring her back. I never got to tell her…
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he yelled as he hit the wall yet again, then dropped his arms and clenched his fists. "Sakura…"
It took a few moments for him to realize that something was beeping. Focusing himself, he looked over and noticed it was his wrist communicator. He walked over, picked it up and activated it.
"Aidan here," he said into it as he wiped the sweat from his face.
"You are needed in the tactical briefing room," BC said.
"I'll be there in fifteen," he replied, then shut it off, not waiting for a response. Tossing it back onto the bench, he picked up a towel and headed for the showers.
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Sitting alone in her darkened room, Maria brooded over what had happened just two days ago. She was sitting on her bed, with her legs drawn up to her chest. She had believed it was all her fault, all her fault. Yesterday she had found out that one of the pilots had gotten into an argument with Aidan, and had also blamed her. If it weren't for her, all of those people would have lived instead of died. She grimly wished the assassin would have killed her, so she wouldn't have to deal with all of this. She brought her head up when she heard a knock at her door. She managed to compose herself.
"Who is it?" she asked weakly.
"It's me, Dita," came the reply. "May I come in?"
"I'd like to be left alone, if you don't mind," she replied.
"But…" Dita said.
"I said I want to be left alone!" Maria said sharply, raising her voice. "Now go away!"
Once she was fairly certain Dita had left, she resumed her sulking.
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Hibiki sat in the open cockpit of his Vanguard, his partner. He was performing maintenance, and getting ready for the upcoming fight against the E.D.A. He knew he'd to be ready for anything, so he wouldn't leave anything to chance. He had never fought and killed an actual human being in close-combat, in or out of his Vanguard. He thoroughly checked over every system, making sure he did not miss a thing. He knew he'd be ready.
"These people gave up their humanity when they sided with Earth," he said bitterly.
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After looking over the tactical simulation program for perhaps the twentieth time, it was beginning to tire her out. Or that is what Meia had thought. She was trying to devise a plan to combat the E.D.A. forces, and the information from Aidan had proven helpful. It consisted of tactics and equipment specifications for certain vessels and fighters. But she still felt some part of the plan wasn't perfect. She was beginning to find it hard to focus, for drowsiness was starting to set in.
She rubbed her eyes, and glanced at her wrist chronometer. From what it displayed, it was well past midnight. She assumed that almost everyone was asleep, exempting a few. She rested her gaze back onto the monitor, intent on completing the battle plan. For a second she forgot she wasn't alone in the room, as someone walked up behind her. She turned her head to look, and noticed Aidan, holding two steaming mugs in his hands.
"Thought you could use this," he said as handed her one of the mugs of tea.
"Thanks," she said in reply as she accepted the mug, and then took a sip of the warm liquid.
"Looks like a sound strategy," he said as he looked over the plan.
"Still need to work out a few bugs," she admitted.
"Back on Solaris, when I commanded a special ops team, I had to help come up with operational planning," he said, glancing up from the screen. "But nowhere near this scale."
"Special ops?" she asked, showing a little interest.
"Yeah, special operations," he replied. "Soldiers trained to perform specialized missions where normal troops couldn't, or wouldn't be practical. Such operations include infiltration, rescue and extraction, search and destroy, and elimination of key targets."
"Elimination of key targets," she said. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Yes, it does," he replied, anger creeping slightly into his voice. "Assassination."
"Did you…" she paused, not sure whether or not to go further.
"Once," he replied bitterly. "And I still remember it, even though I don't want to."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to…"
"Sorry about what?" he said as he looked her in the eye. "It was in the past, there's no need to be."
For several long moments, an awkward silence dragged on. Almost without realizing it, they were both staring at each other. After realizing it, she looked away the same time he did, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing.
"Well, I guess I'll let you finish up here," he said as he exited the room after another painfully long minute.
What is this feeling? She was puzzled at the feeling she was now having. She had never had such a feeling before. Am I actually feeling an attraction towards him? Is it even possible?
She contemplated this awkward feeling as she stood there, now the only one in the room.
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What is it about her that reminds me of Sakura? As he walked down the darkened corridor, he contemplated on that particular thought. It had bugging him since the first time he'd met her on the Artemis. Was it her looks? Her personality? Sure, Meia had an attractive figure, he admitted that much. It's not her hair, as Sakura's was shoulder-length and black, a stark contrast to Meia's sapphire blue. They were both of similar height, but that was not it. As he stopped in front of his room, it suddenly hit him. It was her eyes! She had the same strong, striking green eyes as Sakura.
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Sitting in his Captain's Chair, Gunter Argust repeatedly tapped his finger on the armrest. He was in command of a task force that was sent to hunt down the S.D.S. Artemis, the heretic vessel which contained the heretic leader's daughter. He grinned to himself as he remembered the death of the Prime Minister, a fitting end for the bastard. At the same time he cursed the soldiers that failed to kill his daughter.
He was the Captain of the E.D.A battle cruiser Indomitable, one of the few Invincible Class vessels created. He was in overall command of six other vessels. Those vessels included three Intrepid Class destroyers, two Essex Class frigates, and a Hunter Class Patrol Ship. Last he had known, the Artemis had gone off course and was rumored to be somewhere in this system. He was determined to find that ship, no matter what it took.
"Report contacts," he ordered the sensor operator.
"Negative on contacts, sir," the operator replied.
"Damn," he muttered as he continued tapping his finger on the chair's arm.
The silence dragged on for the next twenty minutes, and Gunter was beginning to lose his patience. It was only interrupted by the beeping sounds coming from the computer terminals. Then, without warning, the sensor operator reported a contact.
"Contact, we have unknown vessel approximately one thousand kilometers in front of the fleet."
"Is it the Artemis?" he queried.
"Negative, sir," the operator replied. "It does not match the specifications of an Essex Class. It doesn't match any known vessel in our databanks."
"Magnify the image," Argust commanded. A few seconds later the image of a large silver ship appeared on the display screen. It had a large upper section connected to a smaller one, and appeared to have extensions that appeared to be arms on either side. It was an elegant ship, one that was intended for battle.
The ship looked familiar, he pondered. A few moments later he figured out exactly what it was. It was the infamous Mejalean ship that defeated the Earth forces at various points across the galaxy. It was named the Nirvana, if he could recall correctly. Now here was something more important than finding the Artemis.
"Battle stations! General quarters!" he bellowed, then shifted to another series of commands. "Charge the laser batteries, load the missile tubes, and notify the rest of the fleet. We are going into battle."
"Sir?" one of the techs replied, unsure of the command.
"I gave you an order! I expect it to be carried out!"
He barely acknowledged the tech's reply as he intently watched the vessel in front of him. In the name of Earth, I will make you pay for your crimes, you heretics.
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"An unidentified fleet has just appeared dead ahead of our location!" Belvedere fairly shouted.
"Who are they!" BC asked.
"They match the identification of the E.D.A.," Amarone replied.
"How many are there?" Magno asked.
"I count at least seven ships, and almost a hundred fighter craft," Bel stated, unable to conceal her surprise.
"Damn," BC muttered. "Meia?"
"Here," came back Meia's reply as she showed up on screen.
"Mobilize the Dread Teams, we have multiple incoming hostiles with the markings of the E.D.A."
"Understood," Meia replied as she cut the connection.
It had begun.
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