I don't own Vandread.
A/N
I would first like to say that I didn't do the episode where Hibiki meets Oosa and the others on the strange planet, because I've only seen the episode once, and because I can't find it anywhere and because I didn't want to screw it up. For those of you that were looking forward to it, I'm sorry. That was a good episode, but I can't find it to get the facts straight on it, so I'm not doing it. So this chapter takes place just after they've hit the mines.
Chapter 13 To see what others could not.
THIS IS THE TARAAKU EMPIRE FLAGSHIP TODOROKI. CEASE YOUR COURSE AND SAY THE PASSWORD. YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES TO RESPOND. OR FACE THE CONSQUENCES. YOU NOW SEE THE CONSQUENCES.
"We've emerged in Taraaku space." Celtic stated.
"Taraaku built these mines years ago." Bart whispered from inside the helm.
"Some welcome home party if you ask me." Maya snapped.
"Bart, you wouldn't by any chance know who these mines were for would you?" Magno asked.
"Pirates." He muttered.
"Well, you three better do something. Spit up the password so we can move on through." Magno ordered.
"I wish I could, but I'm a doctor training under another. I don't have the right status for the password either." Duerro stated sadly.
"Same here; I'm just a midshipmen, only seniors and above know the password." Bart added.
"Can't we just go out and smash them?" Hibiki asked as his face appeared on screen.
"No, we'll need them to repeal the Earth Forces." Magno told him. Hibiki looked away from the screen, almost as if to hidE something. "Dale, Maya, can you hack them?" Magno questioned.
"Unfortuantly, no we can not." Maya stated. "They appear to be voice enabled by a certain users. I can not hack this in the amount of time it has given." Maya stated while pointing to the clock on screen that read two minutes and was now slowly counting down.
NO PASSWORD RECEIVED. COMMENCING COUNTDOWN.
The clock instantly began counting down. Ezra announced how long they had. BC had sweat running down her face as the countdown reached one minute and thirty seconds. Rain was on the bridge with Barnette at his side, holding on to him and Jura. Maya and Dale started working as fast as they could to stop it from happening as the mines began to glow red. Hibiki sat in his cockpit as he stared out at Dita as she waited for a miracle in her Dread.
"No, I wanna go see my house! I wanna go see my family!" Paiway cried as she broke down into tears. She began wiping her face to clear away the tears, but it was no use. She couldn't stop from crying. To her surprise, Kero and Kit both appeared in front of her with a familiar voice talking for both of them.
"Don't get sad, we'll find a way through this." Duerro told her. Paiway smiled as she grabbed hold of Kit and Kero.
9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0
"My name is Uragasemi Temeni. Rank: Commander in Chief of Intelligence Section. The password is K, A, N ,O, E zero, zero, three, one. Begin attestation."
Everyone stared at where the voice came from as the ship slowly began heading through the mine field that had opening up for them. The voice came from BC, but it was a mans voice. BC looked down at the ground in shame as she pressed a button on her control panel.
"We have an intruder on the bridge." Temeni whispered.
"Who is this…" the voice on the other end asked. BC grimaced as she Magno repeated her order.
"You… you knew?" BC wheeled around with her eyes full of shock. Rain growled at BC or Temeni while walking over to her. "I'm guessing you knew who I was, didn't you?" Rain picked him up by his collar.
"For the record, I've known all along whom you were." He growled while throwing him into the wall. "And I was the one to tell her who you were. I never forget a scent, especially yours." He finished as he stormed off. He stopped at the door, looking down at the ground. "If you turn me in, I'll have my real family kill this entire planet." BC nodded as she stood up for the guards that came in. Rain growled again as he stormed out.
The two guards bound BC and lead her down the corridor towards the brig. She took one last look at Bart as he exited the navigation chamber. He looked disappointed, but she played it off as nothing as the door closed.
(-)
The men, say for Rain, all stared at the new 'comrade' behind the laser bars. They were for once happy that they were on the outside looking in, rather than it being the other way around. Bart just stared at her with confusion in his eyes. Rain huffed, earning him another look of confusion from Hibiki before he looked back at BC.
"Were relations that bad between them?" Hibiki demanded to know.
"Yes. After Alex's people destroyed the military station we had in orbit, and the attack on the supply depot, we knew that open war was finally going to happen. Odd that the women didn't want to start a war, yet they had better fighters than what we had. All we have is better weaponry."
"How did they… make you… a woman?" Duerro inquired.
"A special 'Forbidden Gene' in the body made me who I am."
"The 'X' Chromosome, Doc." Rain snorted. Duerro nodded as he understood. "I am all woman, but what they did to me is something not even I'm certain of. I can't say for sure, but that's all I know. I was designed this way to go undercover to gather any kind of information I could for Taraaku."
"Now you know what betrayal feels like, eh Hibiki?" Rain inquired after watching Hibiki's reaction to her words. He knew that Hibiki was feeling completely betrayed at the moment, and he decided to not push his buttons for the time being. "What will happen to Magno?" Rain finally asked.
"It just depends on how she handles the information of the Harvesters to the leader of the women." BC replied.
"What about these stupid bastards?" Rain inquired further.
"These "Bastards" as you call them, happen to be your people as well." BC snapped. Rain walked over to her cell while his while pulling out his sword. He motioned to the key pad with an evil glint in his eye. "They are your people as well."
"I have no relations to any of these bastards anymore. I cut those years ago when they tried to make me kill my 'enemy'." Rain snapped. "I will not go back to that hell hole. I'd rather die." He turned away while walking towards another cell. "If you try to have them take me back, I'll kill anyone that tries to get in my way." He seethed before walking into the cell. The three remaining men sighed as they walked off.
(-)
The Mejarru troopers quickly began rounding up as many women as they could find. The men had cut a deal with the women, allowing them to get the women so long as they left their men alive. They promised them a safe journey home with no attacks so long as they didn't find a single dead male. The women were more than happy to comply to these demands and quickly started rounding up everyone they could. Meia and Paiway were caught in the hallway, forced to the ground and cuffed. Barnette and Jura were caught in the registry room, though Barnette intended to be caught after setting up a password on the controls. Parfait and Dita were caught in the kitchen, and then dragged off to the last ship to be transported away. Dita was screaming Hibiki's name as the ship flew away.
The one place the women didn't check was the Reactor Room, where the three men, and Pyoro, were sitting on the railing, looking out at the giant Pexis.
"This is where we all meet." Duerro mussed. Hibiki nodded sadly while Bart just stared out at the blue crystal. "This is where we discovered the truth behind what happened on Taraaku, about women, and men. We learned that we could live together, and yet not it might be torn down."
"What do you thinks going to Rain?" Hibiki whispered.
"He's a man, and supposing BC doesn't say anything about him being from Taraaku, I'm certain they'll let him leave here with everything." Duerro told him.
"This sucks." Dale growled as he appeared with Maya beside him.
"My thoughts exactly." Duerro said.
"I'm a member of the first generation." Hibiki whispered.
Duerro nodded while saying, "Yes you are."
"I should be able to change the outcome of this. All I need to do is convince them that I am. Then this whole thing can be avoided." Hibiki boasted.
"You don't say, that would be very helpful in a time like this." Maya said.
"In any case, I'm not going to lose!" Hibiki clinched his fist tightly.
"That's what I thought." Duerro placed an arm on Hibiki's shoulder. Hibiki smiled as he thought it was some kind of brotherly guester. In a flash, chemicals ran through his body. Hibiki's world became blurry as he fought off the drugs, but in the end, they won. Hibiki hit the floor hard. Duerro smiled as he picked him up and threw him over the ledge. The Pexis glowed bright blue for a few seconds before returning to normal. "So long as they don't know he's here, we have a shot." Duerro stated.
"And the Pexis will keep him safe." Pyoro added. Pyoro floated over to Dale and Maya. "What are we going to do?" Pyoro inquired.
Bart grabbed him by the head while screaming, "You just stay here and play dead!" while attempting to hurt the little robot.
"Once Rain has been let out, he's going to pull us from the ship, and head home. He has no place in this world here. He will return to where he feels is right." Maya told them.
"And you intend to follow him?" Bart asked.
"We're Lunar Colony property; we can't stay with the like's o them." Dale answered. "In any case, this will be the last time we see each other, so have un and don't die when the enemy shows up." Dale flickered away.
"My best wishes to you all." Maya flickered away.
(-)
No sooner had the Mejarru forces left the ship, the Taraaku forces boarded it. The first place they hit was brig, knowing full well where BC would be. The men shot the locks on the pads to release the men. Rain made sure to play nice, showing them that he wasn't a threat. Rain was thankful that Parfait had repaired his Hallow Gram Generator as best she could. He was able to hide his features, but she didn't know how long it would last.
"I'm surprised they didn't eat your livers." A man said.
"I think they had enough to eat." Duerro said.
The men began praising them for surviving for so long with the women as BC walked up. The men saluted her as she walked over to the men checking Rain over. "This one was hired by the Mejarru Pirates to get them here safely. He has a fleet waiting for him in the Magnetic Storm. He has been instructed to bring back all of his gear." The men nodded as they released Rain.
"Come this way, we'll lead you to your things." A man motioned for him to follow.
"Like you know where my stuff is." Rain huffed as he shoved the man out of the way to walk out of the room.
"Pay no mind to him. The women were nice to him for some reason. They gave him his own special room." BC commented. The men gasped while glaring at the door.
The men followed BC as she left the brig, though Bart made sure to kick Pyoro as he left. As they walked through the confines of the ship, they ran back into Rain, though this time he was carrying his backpack and was making his way to the hanger.
"Where do you think you're going, traitor?" One of the men hissed. In a flash, Rain dropped his bags, pinned the man to the wall, and his sword in hand, ready to kill anyone that got in his way.
"I'm heading to the hanger to get my machine to leave this stupid hell hole. Get in my way, and I'll kill you." He hissed as he sheathed his sword. The man watched him leave with fear in his eyes.
(-)
Meia stared at the Nirvana from her position in one of he many transport pods with sad eyes. She watched as the pod that was holding the Taraaku men left the ship after the Infinite Justice shot out of the hanger, heading straight for Magnetic Storm. Meia sighed as she looked over at Barnette that had watched him leave. She knew how she felt at the moment, because she was feeling the same way. Meia rubbed the necklace that was once Alex's with sad eyes.
"Are you worried?" Magno asked Meia.
Meia looked over at Magno with a slightly stunned expression. She sighed again as she looked back out at where the Justice had last been seen. "I was just thinking… about what Hibiki or Rain would say at a time like this."
Magno chuckled. "Don't worry about it to much; it's not your style." Meia nodded sadly as she looked back out the window to where the Justice had been.
Come back to us… please. Please come back to us… Otouto.
(-)
"What the hell?" Hibiki grunted as the drugs began to wear off. "They must have framed me." Hibiki stood up while shaking his grogginess away. Hibiki realized that he was inside the Pexis again. Parts of it had small specks of red to them, signaling that it was afraid. "Big brothers' coming, isn't he?" He whispered. The blue crystal seemed to brighten as a reply. "Don't worry, because I… am not going to lose." Hibiki shouted. The once red areas quickly changed back to blue and Hibiki suddenly found himself staring at the Pexis from the outside.
"You're awake." Pyoro gasped.
"Pyoro, what are you doing here?"
"I was left to baby sit the ship while everyone else was away. The men came and got the men a few hours ago, and Rain has gone back to his colony with Maya, Dale, and his machine."
"Alright then, let's see about getting this thing started so we can go rescue them. I don't care if I have to fight both Mejarru and Taraaku." Hibiki began walking towards the bridge.
"Wait, Barnette put a security code to prevent the men from having their way with the weapons on the ship." Hibiki stopped cold as he sank to his knees. "I'm sorry, but I don't know the password. I just figured I should state that before you asked."
"Damn her! To damn sneaky." He muttered with a grin.
(-)
Jura's pink little book went crashing to the ground. A yell of disgust followed it as it landed. "Burn it! Burn it immediately!" A woman ordered.
"Wait, you can't be serious?" Jura gasped.
"Silence Miss Elden, you witch!" The judge snapped. Jura looked at her pink book with sad eyes as it was picked up and burned before her. "Admit it, you're a witch!" The judge pointed a finger at her. "You are all witches for spreading rumors of a so called "Harvest" and for working with men."
"We only worked with one to make sure we got home. His people only wanted to make sure we got home." Magno interrupted her before she could continue.
"You are still sentenced to prison for spreading lies about this "Harvest"." She snapped back.
"We really didn't know about that." Magno replied. "His people have been at war with a group calling themselves that, and have watched as countless worlds like our own have been consumed by this minus for their body parts."
"What goes on outside our world is none of our concern." She seethed.
Misty was sitting next to Dita with a large scowl on her face. She eyed the reaction of those around them, seeing that they didn't know anything about the Harvest. She leaned over to Dita to whisper, "I don't think these people have been told about it," before continuing to look at their reaction.
"So it would seem." Meia whispered. Misty looked at her with a slightly shocked expression.
"What are we going to do?" Misty whispered.
"There's nothing we can do." Barnette replied.
"I here by order that all of Magno Vidan's Pirate crew, be thrown in prison for life!" The Judge roared. Everyone looked back at the woman's hate filled eyes. "This court is adjourned." She slowly began to walk away.
"You don't understand anything!" The Judge stopped to turn and glare at Dita what was being held back by two guards. Parfait began worrying as the guards threatened her. "You think we're lying?! We're not! The Harvest is right around the corner. If you do this, then there won't be anything to stop them from succeeding in their goals to rob us of OUR body parts! You say we're the blind ones, I say it's you that is blind! If you don't open them soon, we'll be lost forever!" Dita cried.
The Judge looked at her with stunned eyes before turning away. "Court is already augured." She whispered while walking away.
Dita fell back into her chair, crying over her failed attempt to change hearts. A pair of hands slowly grabbed hers. "Don't worry Dita, you did good." Misty whispered into her ear. "That was beautiful."
"You think?" Dita sobbed.
"Yes."
(-)
The men were treated no better. After being back home for only three hours, they were instantly thrown into prison to be "Reeducated". This "Reeducation" was being held in an underground facility where their idea of "Reeducating" them was to use whips on Bart while Duerro was forced to watch from the sidelines.
"Say it!" Growled the guard as his whip cracked over Bart's skin again. Bart cried out in pain as his skin was ripped off with each new lashing he received. "Damn it! Say it! Say it!" The man yelled again as his whip continued to pull off Bart's skin.
"Bart…" Duerro grumbled while trying to look away.
"Come on, all you have to say is three little words." His guard cooed. "Say it! Say "Hail Lord Grandpa" and you two will be free." He cooed. "If you were a real man, you'd save your fellow man, wouldn't you?" Duerro glared at the man. "I see the women have brainwashed you quite well. Don't worry; we'll have you fixed in no time."
"You're wrong…" Duerro gasped. "It's only through working with women that I have found my reason to live." The man spat at him while readying his whip. "It's only though them that I've found an interest in life."
"I'll show your body some interest in life!" The man yelled as he was about to bring down his whip.
The door to the chamber opened up, stopping the two men cold in their tracks. Temeni walked into the room with a scowl on his face. "How's the debriefing coming along?" He asked.
"Not good. They've been thoroughly tainted by the women." The whip wielding man said. Bart glared at her from behind his guard that said that. Temeni just walked over towards them.
"Come to betray another part of your history?" Duerro snarled. The man hit Duerro in the face with the handle of his whip.
Temeni just raised a brow while walking over to Bart. Bart was stripped of his shirt, and covered with cuts and bruises. "My feelings for you will never change." He hissed. "I'll admit it, that I fell in love with you when you were a woman!"
Temeni just smiled as she held his hand out. "Give me the whip." He ordered. The man near Bart did so with a smile. "Now, watch closely. THIS IS HOW YOU USE A WHIP!" He stated. Bart closed his eyes as he awaited the pain to course through his body again. Two loud cracks were heard a few seconds later, followed by three loud thumps, the last one being the guard she disposed of at the door. Bart opened one eye after feeling no pain. The two guards lay on the ground and out cold. "I don't why they would give me another medal. I have enough on my chest as it is." He threw the new medal away while walking back to Bart. He pressed his voice chip with a smile. "I love you too, Bart." She whispered. Bart smiled as the voice of the woman he loved came back to him. BC kissed him on the lips, much to her, and Bart's, enjoyment. "Come, Hibiki is waiting." She told them while releasing them.
(-)
Magno and her crew walked through the prison hallways with sad expression. Meia had already had a few people throw items at her, since she had been in her a few times in her past. The others had a few items thrown at them, but nothing to serious. As they slowly got the open cells, a woman asked, "Hey, you're Magno Vidan, aren't you?" while gripping her cell bars. Magno smiled and nodded in reply. "It is you!" She cried. Women began screaming for her to take them with her. Saying that they wanted to help out in anyway they could. Everyone began smiling at the sight while the guards began trying to calm everyone down.
As soon as they women were calmed down, Magno and her crew were thrown into their cells with an added kick to Meia's backside. Meia glared at the guard, as she said, "Teme!" The guard spun around, not understand what she just said. "Look it up!" She seethed. The woman walked away and was soon patrolling the cells. She made sure to keep an eye on Meia, since she knew just what she was capable of.
The guards continued to smile at the captured pirate crew, that was until the sirens began blaring loudly. The women were now in a panic attack as they were shot by their own weapons, knocked out by shadowy figures, and had most of their fighters disabled and left floating in space. The guards that were patrolling the cells quickly began heading for the door to help, but as soon as they got to them, they were knocked out by laser blasts, in stormed several people wearing Mejarru Trooper gear. Two of them stopped in front of Magno and pulled their masks off.
"Greetings Captain." One of them said.
"Who are they?" Misty questioned.
"They're the ranking officers that we left behind! That's Rebecca!" Dita yelled with a large grin on her face. The pirate crew was quickly released, along side with everyone in the cells, all screaming for joy.
"Rebecca!" Ezra called. Rebecca walked in front of Ezra with a smile as she held up Kahlua. "Kahlua, this is your Ouma. Say hi." She said with a large smile.
Magno walked up to them with a grin. "Captain, we need to get out of here! Let's head back to the Paraiso, and head back to the hideout."
"No. We're taking back our ship. It's totally out of this world." Magno told her with a large grin.
(-)
A space shuttle took off from the Taraaku surface, heading straight for the Nirvana.
(-)
The pirate crew was met with a large fleet that was doing everything they could to defend their ship. The pirate crew was outnumbered, but not out classed. The Dread pilots were able to take out about five fighters without having any problems, but the only problem was keeping them away from the Paraiso. Meia, Barnette, Dita, Jura, Ezra, and Magno all watched from the Bridge next to Rebecca that was ordering the pilots to hurry up. No matter how hard they tried, the men seemed to be able to outwit them at every turn. The men were using numbers, rather than skill. That was their weakness, but they kept coming at them, no matter how many of them were killed.
"This isn't good." Meia said. "At this rate, we won't be able to make it to the Nirvana. Captain, we need to pull back for now."
"No, we can do it." Rebecca stated. "We can beat them. I know we can." She whispered.
"I agree with Rebecca." Magno said with a grin. Meia and Barnette looked at her with confused, but fearful eyes as they looked back out at the battlefield. So far, they had only lost one Dread pilot, but one was too many in their terms. Things still seemed to be looking bad since the men had three Father Ships guarding the Nirvana. One of them was the Todoroki, making things rather difficult.
The women all began screaming for the Paraiso to move away. The crew all gasped in fear as a single Vanguard appeared in front of the bridge with an energy lance. Everyone turned away as the mech pushed his weapon forward. A small explosion filled their ears, causing them to turn back. What they saw was one of the strangest sights to that of the Paraiso crew. A red mech, that could only be identified as the Infinite Justice was in front of them while the Vanguard was left floating without its arms or head.
"Rain…" Meia whispered.
"…came back…" Barnette added.
"…to help us!" Dita finished. Dale appeared in front of the crew, stunning everyone but the Nirvana crew. "Dale!" Dita cried.
"What's up toots?" Dale asked with his perverted grin. "Looks like you got yourself in some serious shit. You want us to help you out?" Dale stated as he looked around the bridge for a few seconds.
"Dale, you can use the letter F now." Dita gasped.
"Yeah, numb nuts finally fixed me. I guess I have this little episode to think since he got some free time to finally do so without having something to interrupt him." He gestured Barnette with his thumb.
"Yes. We would like some help, and what the hell was that supposed to mean." Barnette snapped while glaring at the AI. Dale just raised his hands before flickering away, and then returning.
"He said he was going to help you without even being told to." Dale moaned.
"Um… Captain, what is that?" Rebecca motioned Dale.
"He's a very good friend of that pilot. He's rude, but he's the smartest AI of the four AI's." Magno answered before turning to face Dale. "I take it that Maya is still with him at the moment." Dale nodded. "Okay then, take control of the ship until we reach the Nirvana. Try to get us out of this alive." She told him.
"Yes, ma'am." He nodded while connecting himself to the ships systems.
(-)
The green eyes of the Justice had yet to move from the three ships that loomed in the distance. For those that were now close enough to see the machine, they began freaking out, screaming that Red Demon had come back. Rain had set his radio to all channel broadcast and receiving, to listen to what everyone was saying. He wasn't too surprised at the size of force he was up against, but he was more surprised at what he was hearing. Hew knew everything that happened over Taraaku, and as to what they were saying, was what had him totally confused. Pushing the thought from his mind, he pushed forward on his controls while targeting the heads and arms of all the enemy mechs that were in his field of fire. Ten units went down when he pulled the trigger.
"This is hard for you, isn't it?" Maya asked. She appeared beside him, staring at the force before them.
"No, I just don't want to kill them. I don't mind fighting them. But fighting them without killing them isn't something I was trained on how to do." He replied. He pushed forward on his controls to send the Justice straight at the fleet. "I will make them see with opened eyes before this day ends." He declared. Maya nodded as she disappeared.
The Dread teams all began hanging back as the red mech went barreling towards the three male ships, slicing anything that dared to get in his way apart. The pilots had never expected to be saved by an unknown machine, let alone a man. They figured they'd watch his actions from the side line while he dealt with the Taraaku forces. As Rain approached the first Father Ship, he suddenly stopped and pointed his rifle at the bridge of it. The men all stopped as his voice came over the net.
"This is Project Epsilon, ID tag 1290845. I am the pilot for Lunar Colony X108999. My name is Rain Epsilon Switchfoot, pilot of the ZGMF X19A Infinite Justice. I hear by order you all to stand down." Rain stated.
Everyone stopped to wait for their orders. Everyone could hear the men on the ships screaming out orders to see if that was true. When the information came back, the Vanguards took aim at Rain. Rain smiled as the enemy decided to take him down, rather than shoot down the pirates.
"If you really are the Epsilon Project, where have you been?" A voice asked.
Rain smiled as his face appeared on the Paraiso and three male ships. His features were visible again, stunning the man that had been pinned to the wall by him. "Do you think I'd tell someone like you?" Rain replied.
"Open…"
"If you order your men to fire at me… or the pirate ship that is only trying to take back what is rightfully theirs, I'll kill you." Rain interrupted the man. The man could be heard growling.
"Stand down." The man ordered.
"A real man shows no fear in battle. For you to order your men to stand down, just to protect your own life, is really pathetic." Rain said. He could hear the man growling. "You are going to allow the women to take back their ship, and head back to their place. If you fail to allow this, I'll start killing everyone here."
"Never mind, shoot that ship down!" All the Vanguards began heading for the Paraiso. Rain growled and spun around, firing as he went, disabling everything that was within rang. He blasted off, surprisingly getting in front of the men before they could get within striking distance of the ship.
"I will not let you kill them." Rain had attained an icy tone to his voice. Meia and Barnette gasped at his sudden change. They had never heard him sound so cold in their lives. The men didn't seem to care as they tried to get around him. Every time they did, they would get disabled by Rain's rifle. "I'll say it again; I will not let you kill them." Rain repeated.
"You've been tainted by the women!" Some of the pilots yelled. Rain quickly shot them down while more and more men began yelling at him, saying he wasn't a true man.
Rain just started laughing, surprising everyone at that point. His laughter was one of the last things anyone expected. "You think I'm blind?" Rain laughed. "I have seen far more things than you could imagine. I've seen the kindness of a real sibling that truly cares for another. I've felt the warmth of a woman's touch. I've even slept with one. You call me blind because I'm helping them? I say you're blind for not seeing what truly could be."
"What are you talking about? Everyone knows that women are evil monsters that kill during the night. They never fight far, and they used us in the past." The male growled.
Rain started laughing again. "Let me make this clear." Rain's eyes and voice iced over. "You can not hate someone because they point a finger or say so. If you do that, then you might as well just stop living. That's the wrong thing to do. You need to find a reason to hate that person on your own. You only hate them because you don't understand them, because someone said so. I found my reason for hating certain people on that ship and now I don't mind being with them because I found reason to like them."
(-)
"He's talking about you two." Meia laughed as she pointed to Jura and Barnette. Jura just turned away with a loud "Hmph" while Barnette went red in the face over his choice of words about feeling a woman's touch.
(-)
Rain had stopped after telling the men that he wouldn't allow them to kill the crew again, and was now just waiting for the men to make another stupid mistake. The men however, were waiting for Rain to do something stupid. Surprisingly, the stand still had been interrupted by Magno ordering Dale to push forward towards their ship. The men instantly went back on the attack, and Rain went back to disabling them. Dale forced the ship through a series of barrel rolls to avoid the Father Ships' weaponry, something that Rain quickly disabled when he got within rang. Once the Paraiso was behind the enemy, Rain began taking out the thrusters on the three Flag Ships. Rain released his jet pack to let it crash through the first ships' thrusters before heading to the second.
"Rain, we need help!" Magno yelled over the radio. Rain quickly changed course while leaving his jet pack on a collision course with the second Flag Ships' thrusters. Rain quickly shot down the fighters and went back to pick up his pack. Once he was attached to it again, he watched the men fire off two large missiles as a last attempt since Maya had taken control of the pack to disable the last Flag Ship's thrusters.
"Evade them!" The Dread pilots began yelling as they attempted to shoot them down. The missiles took no damage as they continued to head on course towards the Paraiso. Rain aimed his rifle and began firing at the missiles. The missiles still took no damage. Rain appeared in front of the missiles to try and block them. Rain instantly lost control of his machine as Maya took control. He pulled out the beam boomerang and threw it towards the missiles. A loud explosion took place a few seconds later, signaling that it worked. The men slumped down in their chairs as they saw the Paraiso and Justice unharmed.
"I will not let you kill Kobito or Meia-nee-chan!" Rain yelled as he fired at the remaining men that dared to test their luck against him. The men stopped their attacks as the Paraiso docked with the Nirvana and let is troops back into it. Rain smiled from inside his machine as he went into guard mode to stop anything that dared to get near the ship.
(-)
The doors to the dry dock opened up to reveal Hibiki sitting a on a box, eating the lunch that Dita had made for him before she was arrested. He licked his fingers as he said, "This stuff isn't half bad even when it's cold" with a grin on his face.
Pyoro went whizzing by Dita as she said, "Mr. Alien, you weren't supposed to eat the whole thing," with a big smile on her face.
"Can't fight on an empty stomach." He replied.
"Don't worry; I'll make you something better." Dita chanted as she ran down to the kitchen.
"Even in the middle of combat…" Hibiki moaned as Barnette walked over to him. "Hey, we're sitting ducks out here! We need to get this thing moving before those idiots attempt to board us. Unlock the damn security code."
"Oh, you don't know it?" Barnette began punching in a few letters on her PDA. "The password is quite simple." She showed him the password. "Smile." She said.
The lights quickly began turning on, giving life to the ship again. Everyone quickly ran to their posts while those that didn't have anything to really do, meaning the pilots, took a slower pace. Meia stopped in front of Hibiki. "Are you ready?" She questioned.
"Yeah." Hibiki said with a nod.
(-)
The bridge bunnies all got back to their posts while checking the systems of the ship. Once they gave the all clear, they prepared to receive the pod that was coming from behind the disabled Taraaku ships.
"Well, what a day." Magno said with a grin. "Captured, judged, thrown in jail, meeting old friends, and taking back our ship. What a life this is turning out to be." She mussed.
A few minutes later, in walked Bart with a salute. "Bart Garsuss, reporting as ordered." He said with a smile.
"My goodness Bart, what did they do to you?" Magno asked, as she looked at all the red lipstick marks on his face. Bart rubbed the back of his head while stuttering a few words before he just pointed to the door way. A small strand of silver could be seen. Bart ran to the helm to connect himself to the ship again. "I don't remember re-leaving you of your post. Or is my age starting to catch up to me?" Magno said.
Temeni flinched under her gaze as she walked back out with a stunned expression. "You're not angry at me?" she asked.
"To forgive or to blame? I'm correct in assuming you came back to us as Bosom, yes?" BC nodded slowly. "Very well, but however, could you go back to that sweet little tone of yours. You almost broke poor Bart's heart with that other one." She said.
BC nodded and quickly pressed her jewel again, changing her voice back to the female tone. Ezra smiled as BC walked up to her station. "Commander, your orders?"
BC nodded as she threw her Taraaku uniform away. "All Nirvana crew, prepare to bust through the Taraaku fleet to head back to the hideout. Ezra, get a connection to Rebecca. Celtic, tell me about the ships' status." BC continued to bark out orders as they began heading for their hideout. Rain was still outside, shooting anything that dared to get near the ships.
(-)
The Nirvana docked with the side of their hideout which was in the asteroid field between Taraaku and Mejarru. The whole thing was nothing more than one big asteroid that was lined with secret passages, quarters, kitchens, and one meeting room. Everyone was in the hanger, waiting for Rain to leave his machine. Barnette was standing beside Meia with a grin on her face as the hatch opened up. Dale appeared beside Meia, shaking his head.
"He took no damage." Varoa said. Meia nodded as she watched Rain walk over to them with a huge grin on his face. His features were still visible, causing a few of the women to arm themselves with weapons.
"Welcome back." Dita greeted as she gave him a hug. Rain returned the hug with a smile on his face Barnette approached him.
"Nice to know that prison didn't change you too much." Rain joked. Barnette shook her head at his words while placing an arm around his waist to bring him closer to her so she could kiss him. The women of the Paraiso crew were speechless. "Nice to see you missed me just as much as I missed you." He joked.
"Shut up…" Barnette told him as she placed another kiss on him.
Meia shook her head while wrapping both of her arms around their necks. "You two can have fun later. Captain's asked us to rest up for tomorrows meeting. That means no funny business." Meia pointed to Rain. Rain just smiled as he and Barnette walked off, hand in hand. Alex, I wish you were here.