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Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)

Epilogue: Aftermath

Location: Nirvana, Currently in orbit around Solaris.

It was over. The final battle for control of the planet called Solaris was finally over. The battle had been close, but with the crippling of their flagship and the destruction of the other ship of the same class, the will of the E.D.A. had been broken. All that remained was to mop up any resistance left, and to see to repairs and the wounded.

At least, that was what she was told on her way towards the Nirvana. Even though it was pretty much over, still one thought worried her. It was about Aidan. What happened to him? Did he make it out alive? She certainly hoped so, because she wanted to figure out just what these feelings meant.

She opened the canopy of her Dread and started to make her way down to the hangar floor. Before she knew it, she was literally tackled by Misty only seconds after touching the floor. She looked at Misty, who had tears welling up in her eyes. "Dear Sister, I'm glad you're alright!"

"I missed you, too, Misty," she said, putting a hand on Misty's head to comfort her.

"And just where have you been?" Jura huffed. "You just go off and force me to be the one in charge for a huge operation."

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she got up. "It's a long story…"

"What is that you're wearing?" Barnette asked. "I've never seen it before."

"Oh," she said, glancing down at her current attire. "I believe it's called a sensor suit."

Before anyone else could say anything, Maria walked up to her. "Where's Aidan? I thought he was with you."

"I was shot down while doing simple reconnaissance," she started off. "He decided to come along of his own free will, despite being injured. We were stranded on some planet, then captured by EDA soldiers not long after."

"You were captured?" Maria said in disbelief.

"Yeah," she replied. "But soon after that an SDF warship attacked and captured the ship on which we were being held."

She then continued by telling them the rest of what she and Aidan had been through, although omitting some of the more personal details.

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Checking his sensors once again, Thomas 'Eagle-Eye' Ingram reported that there currently was no hostile movement in his search area. He was part of a two-man Striker team that was currently babysitting a rescue and recovery ship. He was still quite young, being only twenty-two, but he had seen some of the hardest fighting in this so-called 'civil war'. He had been wounded during an earlier battle, depriving him the use if his left eye. Due to the need of pilots, and because he still wanted to serve in the military, the medics had replaced his ruined eye with a bionic one.

Due to the replacement eye's cold and lifeless look, as well as his excellent gunnery skill, was the reason he had received the nickname. He continued to check his sensors, still not finding anything threatening.

"All clear here," his partner, Natalie, reported. "What about you, Tom?"

"Same here," he echoed. "It's quiet…"

As soon as he said that, a seemingly dead fighter activated it's thrusters, speeding away as fast as it could. The fighter registered as hostile on his IFF. He turned his fighter just see it speed off in the direction of the Mejalean ship. He started his pursuit of the bandit.

"Natalie, you guard the transport," he said. "I'll take of this."

"Roger," came her reply.

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Meia stood on the bridge, in the middle of explaining herself to the Captain and Commander when an alarmed shout rang out across the bridge.

"Captain!" Belvedere reported. "Enemy fighter approaching!"

Just then, an anger-filled shout wounded through the comm-line. It was a male voice, presumably the pilot of that fighter. "You heretics can all just DIE!"

"Captain, I think he intends to ram us!" Amarone said as the image of the rapidly approaching fighter appeared onscreen.

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Already in pursuit of the fighter, Thomas Ingram was having trouble keeping up, due to the fact that the fighter was built primarily for speed, whereas his machine was built for general combat. The fighter was on a straight course for the Mejalean ship, and from the broadcast from it's pilot, appeared hellbent on ramming it. He started to take aim, and once he got a lock, his finger started to tighten on the firing trigger.

Only to have it blocked by another rapid target that suddenly entered his field of fire. It looked like Striker, and it attacked the fighter with an automatic rifle. A series of shells hammered the fighter, causing it to spin off course, only to crash into debris from a destroyed warship. The unknown Striker slowed to a stop, and turned to face him.

"Identify yourself," he commanded the unknown soldier. From the look of it, it wasn't like any Striker he'd ever seen. It had a far more menacing look to it, and it didn't even register on his IFF.

"Hold your fire, soldier," the pilot said. "I am Captain Aidan Mercer. I'm with the Special Forces, 4th Detachment."

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As the communications channel that the two soldiers were using wasn't readily available to the crew of the Nirvana, they had no idea of who the pilot of this new Striker was. After a few seconds, the Striker flew towards the Nirvana, and stopped within several hundred meters of the bridge. The comm system came to life as the pilot spoke up, and his image came up onto the screen.

"Permission to come aboard?" the pilot asked, and Magno knew who the pilot was even though his face was partially masked by the helmet he was wearing.

When she glanced over at Meia, she saw an emotion from her that she tried to hide, but failed miserably. She had never seen Meia act like that, and she immediately suspected that something had happened between the two of them in their absence from the Nirvana. She turned back to the pilot's image.

"Permission granted."

"Thank you, Captain," he replied.

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Meia was one of the first into the hangar after Aidan's Striker had just kneeled. She was relieved that he was alive. When she had left, there was no apparent way for him to escape, as he was being surrounded by a large amount of enemy soldiers. And she also knew that he had set off the explosives, because she had heard a faint roar a few seconds after she had escaped. He had found a way out of there.

There was a hiss as the cockpit situated in the chest of the humanoid machine opened. Dressed in a black and red flight suit, Aidan climbed out of the cockpit and jumped down to the deck. He stood there for a few seconds, then took off his helmet. She briefly recalled when she had first seen his face, after he took off his helmet on the Artemis. He walked through the small crowd of people until he stood less than a meter away.

"I told you," was the only thing he said, but she understood its meaning. A few others that heard what he had said had slightly puzzled looks on their faces.

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"Dammit, I hate ceremonies," Aidan muttered as he buttoned the collar on his dress uniform.

"Aidan," Damon said as he shut his locker. "There's something I've wanted to ask you."

"Shoot," he replied.

"Why did you stay behind back there?" Damon asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked, glancing over at Damon.

"You know what I mean," Damon said. "Why did you stay behind while you ordered the rest of us to evac? Was it for that woman? What made you decide to do that for someone who isn't even part of your nation?"

"Well, I'm not totally sure," he replied as he made sure the saber was securely fastened to his belt. He then made his way out of the locker room, pausing briefly in the doorway. "But she seems to be a lot like Sakura."

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To describe her as nervous would be an understatement. Maria tried to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do in just a few minutes. In a surprising and unorthodox move, she had been chosen to lead the nation that her father did before his death. The future of this war-torn nation would be up to her. She could already feel the responsibility weighing down on her. She did not know how to exactly go through with this, but she knew that she needed to. If not for her, then for the people she was going to lead.

"It's almost time," an attendant informed her.

"Thank you," she replied. "I'm almost ready."

In a few minutes she would be giving her speech, and she would be as ready as she could ever be. Even though, she still had a serious case of butterflies in her stomach. Her speech would be broadcast all over the planet, as well as to a large group of people in the newly repaired space station. This space station was named after the founder of the planet Solaris, Gloria. It was also to be a ceremony to honor the soldiers, primarily to those who died fighting for their nation. Once she received word, she composed herself and walked out onto the stage.

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"So, she decided to rename the Solaris Federation to the Solaris Republic," Damon said. "Who'd knew she pull that one?"

"Still, I thought that was a good idea," Aidan replied. "It'll help foster unity and pride during the rebuilding of this nation."

"Hey, Aidan," Meia called as she walked up to the both of them as they were looking out one of the station view ports.

"Well," Damon said after he saw her approach. "I've got something to do, I'll see you later."

Damon left as Meia walked up to where Aidan was standing. They both stood there for several long seconds before either of them spoke up.

"So, what happens now?" Meia asked.

"What do you mean?" he responded.

"Well…" she said, trailing off.

"Chances are I might be reassigned," he said. "As they are completely reorganizing the military structure. But for now, I'm on something of a vacation. Why, are you leaving?"

"No," she replied. "At least not right away. The Captain never did specify when we were going to leave."

"Well," he said, looking down at his home planet below. "If you aren't leaving right away, would you to make a little trip down to the planet? There's a few things I gotta do."

"I don't see why not," she replied.

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The sky was set in a dull gray overcast, but Aidan was used to it. For at least half the year, the sky always seemed to be on the verge of rain. Although rain was very unlikely at this time of year. Even though it was early September, according to the calendar, it was winter. On Solaris, the seasons were different, and winter was a few months early than what was the norm on Earth, before that planet drastically changed.

As a result, he was forced to wear a jacket. Meia, who had accompanied him, wore similar attire. She wasn't wearing her pilot uniform, but instead was wearing clothes that used to belong to Sakura. In fact, that was the reason he was here, to visit her, to visit Sakura. He stepped up to the grave marker that had her name on it.

"Hey, Sakura," he said in a soft voice, something normally unlike him. "It's been three years, and I apologize for not visiting you a little more often."

He laid a hand on her marker, and it felt old to the touch, even though his gloved hand. "You were the first person I truly cared about, and gave my life any meaning at all. When you were taken from me, I thought I had nothing left to live for. I was wrong."

He struggled with his emotions for a few seconds, then regained his composure. "You taught me one thing, to never give up, even when things go terribly wrong. I have to go, but rest assured, I'll never forget you or the time we spent together." He placed the flowers he was carrying down in front of her grave. "Happy Birthday, Sakura." He then drew himself up, with perfect military precision, and saluted.

Just then, he looked up into the sky, and saw tiny white flakes slowly float down from the sky. It had started to snow. He smiled, then glanced back down to see Meia , also looking up at the snow starting to fall.

"Let's go," he said.

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Glancing over the information on the computer screen in front of him, he couldn't help but find the information useful. "So, they are away from here, and probably won't get back for at least another month. I could use that to my advantage."

"It seems it is time to enact the plan," he said, bringing up even more information.

The Prime Minister of Tarak smiled. It will all begin very soon…

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Finally finished. Let me know what you think. Now I can concentrate on The Perfect Weapon and the sequel to this story.