Disclaimer: Come on, you guys already know what this is for.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)
Chapter Sixteen: Ambushed
Location: Uncharted System, Approaching Planet.
This was getting frustrating, that was for sure. He checked his sensors for what appeared, to him, the fifteenth time in as many minutes, and still found nothing, other than that large blue-green planet off to his left. Briefly, he recalled how he'd seen pictures of Earth, back before the Earthers' stupidity contaminated it. In many ways, this planet was very similar, and he had no idea if anyone had settled on it.
"And to think, this is what Earth looked like before," he said absent-mindedly.
"Did you say something?" Meia asked, as he had forgotten that his comm system was still active.
"Nothing," he replied, glancing down at the monitor. "Just thinking out loud. Did you locate anything yet?"
"No, but it is possible that they are using the planet to hide their presence," Meia said.
"Possible," he replied, then noticed something briefly on his scanners. "I just got something! Wait, it disappeared."
"I saw it too," Meia replied. "It was there one second, then vanished."
"Something isn't right," he said. "We should return to the ship."
"Not yet," Meia replied. "I still think- Incoming!"
As Aidan saw the rapidly approaching beams of light, he knew all along that they were walking straight into a trap. They had been ambushed…
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"Captain! Both Meia's Dread and the remaining Striker are not onboard the ship. We can't find Meia or Aidan Mercer, either," Celtic Midori reported.
"This isn't good," Magno said to herself. This was slightly disturbing, to say the least. The Dread Team Leader and the one who knows how to fight the E.D.A. are both missing. Chances are Meia went out to recon, as she had done that before. Aidan probably just tagged along. When they return, I'm going to have a talk with both of them.
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This wasn't good, that was for certain. Within moments of them nearing the planet, they had come under attack from a lone warship. First, they were fired upon by the capitol class weapons, the laser cannons intended for anti-ship combat. It was then that a squadron of fighters launched from that same ship, and were now engaging them. Meia tried to get a message out to the Nirvana, but so far, she was only getting static.
"Damn," she muttered. "They're jamming communications!"
"Yeah, I kinda noticed that," he replied as he took a shot at a passing fighter. Ejecting the magazine from his now empty rifle, he took another off the hip armor and slammed into place on the top of the weapon. "But short-range comms seem to be okay. What do you propose we do?"
"We need to get back to the Nir- Ahhhhh!" her reply ended in a yell of surprise as a ruby-colored beam hit the right-side of her Dread, melting, then almost completely vaporizing the entire right wing. Part of the cockpit seemed to explode, sending a shower of sparks all over. She gasped in pain as she felt something slash into her right arm. She fought to keep control of her Dread, but was failing due the loss of balance and the fact that she was being pulled in by the planet's gravity. It wasn't long before the heat overwhelmed her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.
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I need to be strong, if I don't, more people that I care about will die. That was the thought on Maria Shakov's mind as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, in nothing but her undergarments. Her image stared back at her, her blue eyes fixed with determination. She also thought about what both Aidan and later, Ezra, had said to her.
"You need to be strong, if nothing else, for the memory of your father."
"But you are not a coward, you are strong. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here today."
Yes, she would become strong, she would stand up against her fears. If not for her sake, for the sake of the others. And for that, she needed to change, become a new person. She set the scissors that were in her hands on the edge of the sink. She then ran her right hand through her now short hair. Her violet hair was just short of reaching her neck.
"I'm going to change," she told herself silently before she left the bathroom.
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"Damn!" he cursed as he saw Meia's fighter first take the hit from a laser blast, and watched it plummet into that planet's atmosphere. If she doesn't return, those pirates will kill me. Then again, if I'm not careful, these bastards will.
He was cut off by another fighter that was heading straight for him. Not this again! He had no desire to have another collision with a suicidal fighter pilot, so he unloaded the entire rifle into the craft. He then engaged the machine's thrusters to shoot him up above the careening fighter. He reached behind and grabbed the vibrosword sheathed on the Striker's back. He kicked the thrusters on, and immediately made a heading towards the planet, on a similar trajectory that her damaged fighter took when it entered the atmosphere.
He was then intercepted by yet another fighter, this time from behind. With only seconds to spare, he decelerated enough to where fighter would easily catch up. At the last second, he shot his thrusters up just enough to where the feet of his machine connected with the fighter. Using his shield, he slammed the tip of it into the craft, and then shoved the sword straight into the engine of the craft. As quickly as he 'stepped' on the fighter, he was off of it. And the fighter plummeted into the atmosphere, exploding in it.
"I don't have time for this!" he fairly yelled as the alarm in his cockpit went off, warning of a missile lock. He engaged the thrusters once more, this time angling towards the ever-encroaching planet. Placing the shield in front of him, he charged straight into the planet's atmosphere. The missiles exploded prematurely, thanks to the intense heat. As the heat was starting to become unbearable, sweat ran down into his eyes, and he shook his head vehemently. Suddenly, an image of Sakura appeared in his mind, then was superimposed by an image of Meia.
"Not again! I won't let it happen again!" he yelled as he charged deeper into the atmosphere, damning the heat that threatened to burn him alive.
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Grinning with satisfaction, Arturo Mehtan, Captain of the E.D.A. Warship Avenger, leaned back in his command chair. He was pleased with the outcome as he'd watched the fighter, then the Striker, of all things, plummet into the atmosphere. He knew those heretics would send a recon team, and he had set up a trap for them. His ship was detached from the rest of the task force, giving him a somewhat independent command. Now all that was left was to recover the survivors, if there were any.
"You are to notify the commander of the ground forces, have him send an armed recovery team down to the planet's surface," he ordered a bridge crewman. "They are to take those pilots prisoner, if they are alive. Also, he is to recover the damaged Mejalean fighter, if possible."
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"Aidan… let's just forget about everything… except each other…"
Slowly, consciousness returned to Aidan, who was staring face down. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was looking down, and that the restraints were the only thing preventing him from falling flat on his face. He then thought back to when he'd first heard those words. Sakura had said them on their last night together, and they were the last significant words that night as well.
Bringing himself back to the present, he tried the controls, tried to get the machine to move, to no avail. Muttering a curse, he undid the straps, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Then he remembered that his injuries hadn't completely healed. As he landed on the cockpit hatch, he realized that he had to find Meia, and see if she was alright. He reached up behind the cockpit seat and grabbed a rucksack, he then grabbed a first aid kit, a canteen and a few other provisions, and put them in the rucksack.
He then reached under the seat and withdrew a sub-machinegun. He checked the gun to make sure it worked, then loaded a fresh clip into it. Slinging the rucksack over one shoulder, and the SMG over the other, he grabbed hold of the emergency release switch, and pulled. The hatch underneath his feet gave way as it was blown off by explosive bolts. He found himself staring into the depths of a jungle.
"Damn, this is going to be harder than I thought," he said upon seeing how vast this jungle really was. He checked his wrist computer, which was the length of about half of his forearm. It indicated that was a large mass of metal about four and a half kilometers northwest of his current location. Chances are that was where Meia had crashed.
"I don't quite know what you mean, Sakura," he said, referring to her comment about someone else in his life. "But I'm not going to let her die."
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Her vision hazy, Meia woke up to a biting pain in her right arm. She immediately grabbed hold of her injured arm, trying to stop the blood loss by applying pressure to the wound. She gritted her teeth against the ensuing pain that resulted from her touch. She looked at the cockpit of her Dread, which was damaged and shut down.
"Where am I?" she asked aloud, looking around. It was then that she noticed the patter of raindrops on the canopy. She realized that she must have crash-landed on the planet.
She then heard a hollow thud on the top of her Dread, as something either fell on it or climbed onto it. Fear started to grip her, as it could be someone or something with hostile intent, and with her injured arm, she couldn't fight back very well. She then heard tapping on the canopy, and she looked up to see Aidan, standing over the cockpit, motioning her to open it. She then reached over and tapped the stud that would open the cockpit. It didn't do anything. She tried again, and this time it budged, but didn't open completely. It was then that Aidan attempted to open it.
After a few moments of struggle, he managed to open it enough to let her slip out. When he did that, a strong gust of hot, humid air found its way into the cockpit, despite the fact that it was raining outside. The air also had a smell that she couldn't quite identify, although it was a smell she didn't like.
"You alright?" he asked as he held out his hand.
"Yeah," she replied as she accepted his hand.
"Right," he muttered as he pulled her out of the cockpit. His tone suggested that he only half-believed her. That and the fact that her right arm and left hand were covered in blood. "You're wounded."
"What gave it away?" she asked dryly, as she was clearly not in a very good mood.
He proceeded to help her get off the Dread and under the remaining wing, to get out of the rain. She sat down on the ground, leaning against the hull of her Dread for support. He crouched down in front of her. "Let me take a look at that."
"It… it's nothing," she replied. "Just a scratch."
"And what will I tell your comrades back on that ship," he said, smiling to take away any offense. "That you ended up dying because of a mere 'scratch'?"
"If you put it that way," she replied as she took off her glove and ring, rolled up the sleeve, wincing in pain as she pulled it up over the wound.
He reached into the bag that was slung over his shoulder, pulling out a first aid kit. He then opened the kit and started to get to work on her wound. She looked away the entire time, not wanting to watch him tending to her wound. First, he cleaned the wound, then injected an anesthetic into her arm, to help numb the pain. Finally, he applied a pressure bandage over the wound. "There, finished."
"Thanks," she replied, flexing her arm. "You came prepared."
"Always be prepared," he said, as if quoting something. "That axiom was drilled into me ever since I started military training. And besides, basic first aid is a training requirement."
Saying nothing more, she leaned her head back against her Dread, staring out into the rain. Briefly, she wondered why he was being so kind to her, even though he acted somewhat detached or cold to the others on board the Nirvana. She thought about asking him, but decided against it. One more thought plagued her mind.
What am I going to do now?
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Pretty much halfway done. I need to get this completed, so I can get on with a few other fanfics I have planned, including the sequel