"So that's a mission station?" BC asked seeing the space station in front of the ship, "I never thought I'd see one".
The captain looked to her subordinate, "During the Terraforming days they really prospered as relay bases and resupply stations. Now those days are long past and whatever's left is just waiting for us to take it".
A salvage team was sent to the station to gather what they could, the team consisted of Meia as the group leader, Dita, Hibiki, Barnette, Jura, Pyoro and Cipher who didn't really seem to care what was going on.
"Meia here we've reached the central chamber. We're going to look around and get what we can".
"Roger Meia" BC replied from the Nirvana, "Be careful down there".
The salvage team went to work gathering everything that looked like it would still work except Cipher who walked away from the rest of the group and up a deck before returning to the main chamber.
Leaning against the railing, she looked down at everyone as they continued salvaging.
Last night Cipher had a dream, a dream of when she first became a mercenary going by the name Cipher and the callsign of Galm.
After faking her death, Cipher fled from Yuktobonia by stowing away on a 747. Sneaking out to the runway through the luggage carousel Cipher sabotaged the breaks of one of the fuel trucks and used that has cover to sneak onto the plane while the workers were distracted.
Carrying only a large military duffle bag with her she quickly threw it into the compartment and climbed in after it before burying herself under the luggage waiting for the plane to take off.
After the fuel truck was dealt with things were clear on the runway, with all passenger luggage finally loaded, the plane finally started rolling forward before taking off.
Many long and dreary hours later, the plane finally landed and Cipher patiently waited for her chance to sneak out without being seen. Sneaking out of the plane she bolted across the runway taking cover if she needed to eventually reaching the end and sneaking around the fence line.
She was now in the country of Belka and ready to begin her new life…of course she had to start it first.
It was purely by chance that she became a mercenary, something she never thought she'd do. At first she cut her hair short and wore loose men's clothing to try and conceal her gender as best she could and for a while it worked.
Walking back from a movie one night, Cipher spotted a small gang trying to rob an elderly couple and she immediately snapped. Quickly sneaking up behind the thugs, she placed one of them in a violent headlock and took his gun shooting the leader in his shoulder causing him to drop his own gun.
The third member of the group immediately turned around and shot at Cipher, unaware that his fellow thug was between them and ended up killing him, something Cipher cared little about. With the thug she had restrained set for the reaper; she pushed him forward and stepped in behind him as he fell on his friend.
Grabbing the thug's hand, Cipher twisted his wrist and drove her index and middle fingers behind his collarbone. Hooking her fingers behind the bone she pulled forward snapping the bone out of position and causing intense pain along with it.
The thug screamed in pain as the collarbone was snapped allowing Cipher time to finish him off with a single, but vicious straight punch to the head.
With all of the thugs incapacitated, Cipher took the guns away from them and dropped them into a nearby storm drain before fleeing not even giving the elderly couple time to thank her.
Cipher ran for a few blocks before slowing down to avoid suspicion. She had run further away from her apartment and had to double back, but her night was about to get even more violent when she noticed that someone was following her.
She first noticed the man when she stopped running and clocked him again when she turned through an alley to cut past a shopping district. This man was good at tailing someone, he kept an inconsistent distance with her, but was always had a visual on her. Finally getting tired of it Cipher made one last turn into an empty alleyway and climbed onto a dumpster before lifting herself onto the ledge of a nearby window.
The bald man that was following her turned into the alley and looked around for her before cautiously proceeding into the alley itself.
Once he was a few feet in Cipher dropped down to attack him, but the man jumped forward and spun around to face her.
Her ambush failed, but Cipher wasn't about to give up that easily she charged at the person following her and threw a punch that he easily avoided before retaliating.
The bald man ducked to the side before jabbing at Cipher's stomach, but Cipher stepped forward and got inside his curve and jabbed her open hand into his throat stunning him long enough for her to hit him several times, but eventually he countered her.
He slapped away one of her punches before blocking the other and curling his arm around it to trap it before pulling Cipher toward him and kneeing her in the stomach. After he hit her he threw her against a wall and tried to hit her with a jumping side kick, but Cipher dived out of the way and kicked him in the back of his knee causing him to fall under his own weight.
Her stalker was now down on one knee and Cipher took the opportunity to finish him off, but this was only a feign.
Cipher tried to punch him, but he slapped it away with a swift swing of his arm that flew just as fast as the punch itself. Trying to hit him again her second strike failed the same way and the stalker grinned at her in a taunting manner.
Cipher fell for the taunt and tried to hit him with a flurry of strikes each of them failed as he slapped them away before holding his arms out to block the final two and then wrapping his arms around hers and pulling Cipher into a head but.
Cipher stumbled back and the stalker jumped up hooked his arm around her torso and pushed her against the wall before kneeing her in the stomach and dropping his elbow against her back as she hunched over.
Cipher fell to her knees gasping in pain just before her assailant wrapped his arm around her neck and dragged her to her feet.
"Just relax mate" he said in an English sounding accent, "This is all over now just relax and give in".
Cipher kept struggling only forcing the man to tighten his grip. The man leaned his head in closer to Cipher's ear and told her once more to stop struggling.
In one last act of desperation, Cipher quickly grabbed the man by the top of his head and dropped to her knees dragging his head down with her and forcing his chin to smash into her shoulder making him stumble back.
Cipher jumped back to her feet and slammed the man's head against the dumpster before punching him in his kidney and then hooking him in the stomach before kneeing him in the same place and then spinning around to kick him in the chest.
The man once again countered her, at the last possible second he grabbed her foot and pushed it back forcing Cipher off balance, giving him a chance to get behind her. Grabbing Cipher by the back of her neck, the man placed his fingers and thumb against the nerve centers at the back base of Cipher's neck and forced her to her knees as he squeezed tighter and tighter causing her intense pain.
"Now are you going to calm down?" he asked her "Or does this have to get worse".
Cipher furious, not only did she lose, but now she was completely helpless against this person and whatever he intended to do with her and for the first time in her life she was afraid, terrified of what might happen to her.
She had never felt this kind of fear before and knowing that she couldn't fight back any longer made it worse. Without even realizing it she begged him to stop in her normal voice which surprised the man, but he didn't lessen his grip.
"Ah" he exclaimed, "A Shelia huh?" he asked sounding completely surprised.
Cipher tried to take a steady breath, couldn't stop shaking, "Let me go" she told him.
The man quickly let go of her and stepped back as Cipher crawled forward before turning around and resting against the wall.
"Where'd a Shelia like you learn to fight like that?" he asked her.
"I took classes during my senior year in high school" Cipher told him.
"Figures" the man answered, "You can't just pick up moves like that. Clearly you dedicated yourself to learning them, Muay Thai right?" he asked her and Cipher nodded. The man continued to stare down at her and finally introduced himself, "The name's Jimmy Vanderwall".
"What do you want from me?" Cipher asked him.
Jimmy was hurt, but had a pleased smile on his face, "I saw what you did back there to those lowlifes. It got me curious about you so I followed after you and even let you notice me".
"Let me notice you?" Cipher wondered.
Jimmy nodded, "Aye, if I didn't want you to see me Shelia you wouldn't have. I followed after you hoping you would take a stand against me. I have to admit for a while there I was beginning to wonder if you were going to call me out or keep trying to lose me".
"So why were you following me?" Cipher asked him.
Jimmy kept smiling as if he was really happy, "I wanted to see how good you were" he told her, "The way you dealt with those thugs showed some skill and training so I wanted to see just how good you were" he stopped to pull a box of cigarettes from his pocket and placed one in the corner of his mouth before lighting it, "And after seeing you in action I have to say you're someone I could use in my crew".
"I don't run with gangs" Cipher told him with a violent tone.
"Don't insult me by comparing me to those lowlifes" Jimmy told her, "I'm a mercenary and I want you to join my team" he gripped his cigarette between his fingers and pointed at Cipher, "We could use someone like you, we bring in quite a bit of money and live some good lives".
"What kind of mercenary?" Cipher asked him.
"We mostly do security jobs for corporations and private citizens who are willing to pay enough. Occasionally we're even hired by the military for a job they don't want to use their people on".
Jimmy dropped his cigarette to the ground and stepped on it to rub it out and stepped over to Cipher who dropped back into a defensive stance even though she was backed to a wall.
"If you're interested you can find us at this address" he told her before dropping a card at her feet, "Just drop my name at the door and they'll let you in".
After that the mercenary began walking away, but stopped and looked back at Cipher, "Will you be able to make it back to your place alright?" he asked her.
"I'll be fine" Cipher told him after getting to her feet.
Jimmy smiled one last time before walking off expressing his wish to hear a desirable answer from her soon.
After he was gone Cipher reached down and picked up the card he dropped and read the address on it before looking up and returning home.
The next night Cipher made her way to the address and found two guys outside a steel door who immediately looked at her and told her she was lost.
"Out of my way" Cipher said as she approached the door forcing the two guards to act.
"I'm looking for Vanderwall" she told them in a threatening voice, "Now get out of my way or I'll kill both of you".
Cipher pushed her way past both of them and knocked on the door. Once the doorman slid open the slot in the door he looked at Cipher and then closed it before opening the door and letting her in.
"Good to see you again Shelia" the doorman said…it was Vanderwall. After he closed the door behind them he told another man to watch the door as he opened a doorway leading underground, "Let's go introduce you to the rest of the team".
That night started Cipher on her path as a mercenary a night she would never forget.
"I'm surprised the captain still remembers this station" Dita said as she spun around to look at everything.
"Officially it's called a Mission" Pyoro told her.
"Cut the chatter you two" Meia told them, "We've got work to do here so let's not waste anymore time".
"You call this work?" Pyoro asked her, "All you're doing is looting the place".
"Then call it gathering abandoned assets" Cipher called from the balcony above them, "There's no one else around to use them so that means its fair game".
"What are you doing up there?" Meia asked her.
"Keeping look out" Cipher responded in an emotionless tone, "We can't just assume we're alone here".
Meia knew she had a point and returned to work checking various pieces of equipment before discarding or adding it to their salvage.
Cipher continued to watch them from above before noticing something fly by in the shadows above her, "Like I said" she muttered before calling down to them, "There's someone else here fan out and be on guard".
The salvage team spread out and began searching for whatever Cipher saw, Hibiki saw something from the corner of his eye and took off in the same direction.
"I know it came this way" Hibiki said after stopping in one of the corridors.
"Should we have gone off alone?" Pyoro asked him.
"We can cover more ground if we split up" Hibiki told the NAVI bot before something big and furry dropped down in front of them.
"What the heck is that thing?" the young pilot wondered when he saw the furry creature smiling at him before it suddenly lunged forward and grabbed hold of Pyoro, licking the helpless machine as it screamed.
"Knock it off Utan" a strong male voice said from behind Hibiki.
Hibiki quickly turned around to see a tall man dressed in strange tribal clothing with some kind of paint on his face and a red eye patch covering his right eye.
"You're a man!" Hibiki gasped, "Did you come here to save us?" he asked taking a single step toward the man before he pulled a gun.
Hibiki froze when he saw the barrel of the gun aimed at his forehead. The man smirked before darting around Hibiki and wrenching his arm behind his back before crouching down and using the young pilot as a shield as he stared at the person in front of them.
Meia was attempting to sneak up on the man armed with her laser ring, but the man sensed her presence and placed Hibiki between them.
"You're a woman" the man noted after seeing Meia.
"What about it?" Meia asked him.
The man quickly stood up and released Hibiki, "I have a policy against killing women" he told her before hearing the distinct sounds of steel sliding against steel and the hammer of a gun clicking back.
He smiled as he tilted his hand and released his gun, "Well it seems you have me surrounded".
Jura was behind him with her rapier aimed at a vital spot in the man's neck and Barnette armed with her pistol.
"What's a man doing here?" Jura wondered as Barnette took his gun.
"Are you some kind of gang?" the man asked them.
"We prefer to be called pirates" Meia told him.
"Even that little lady over there?" the man asked looking at Hibiki.
"Hey I'm a guy buster!" Hibiki yelled.
The man was silent for a second before he began laughing, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh its just…you gotta admit it's real easy to mistake you for a girl since…your such a cute little thing".
Hibiki glared at that man until Dita began screaming behind them, the furry animal the man had called Utan was licking Dita's leg as the red haired pilot screamed, "I'm not a lollipop".
The man pointed his thumb over to Dita and Utan silently asking Meia if he may put a stop to it. Keeping her weapon trained on him Meia nodded and allowed him to break it up.
"Alright Utan that'll be enough out of you" he said as he picked up the animal which smiled at him in an apologetic way. "In case you haven't noticed I'm in trouble and you're over here being useless". He smiled as he took Pyoro from Utan and yelled, "Now!" before turning around and throwing the NAVI bot at Meia hitting her in the head.
"Damn you!" Barnette growled as she took aim at the man, but Utan jumped on her head and knocked her down before reclaiming Pyoro.
Jura stepped forward and swung her rapier at the man who jumped into a back flip avoiding the sword before escaping.
"Get back here you snake!" Hibiki yelled as the man fled.
The station began shaking as the man ran away, outside several large objects were launched from the station and massive guns revealed themselves from inside the station, all of them targeting the Nirvana.
"All hands prepare for battle!" BC ordered from the bridge.
The large objects fired from the station began ejecting strange square shaped machine which immediately began advancing toward the Nirvana firing upon the ship. The salvage team inside the station returned to their ships and launched into battle everyone except Cipher.
"Hey where's Cipher?" Jura asked when she realized the F-15 wasn't with them.
"Is she still on the station?" Meia wondered.
"We can't go back for her now" Hibiki told them, "We have to deal with the enemy first then we can go save her".
Pixy's voice came over the radios, "This is Galm 2 I'm taking off".
Meia contacted him, "Pixy, Cipher hasn't left the station yet I'm sure she can handle herself so for now our priority is to protect the Nirvana".
Pixy was silent for a second as he absorbed what Meia told him, "Galm 2 roger".
It didn't take long for the battle to erupt into a small war zone, dreads and these hostile machines surrounded the combat area.
"Galm 2 splash one" Pixy yelled after scoring a kill.
"Mr. Alien!" Dita called out, "Let's combine now".
Hibiki declined the offer, speeding past both Dita and Meia with the Vanguard's battleaxe active, swiftly striking down two enemies before a third attacked him causing him to lose his weapon.
"Dammit, these bastards aren't going to beat me" the raven haired teen growled, trying to push the enemy back.
"So?" Jura asked him seductively.
"So what?" Hibiki fired back oblivious to her tone.
"Why don't we combine now?" the blonde pilot asked him.
"Yeah no" Hibiki said to her before the enemy pushing against him was destroyed by Pixy.
"Cipher is leaving the station" Aramone announced, "She's moving in to engage the closest enemy formation now. There's also a second ship taking off from the station as well, one I can't identify".
"Dita, Hibiki" Cipher said over the radio, "Combine your fighters and destroy the station, those things have got to be controlled by a system somewhere on the station. If we sever the link they'll shut down".
"Tch, fine" Hibiki said before flying towards Dita.
Once again a bright light engulfed both fighters and left behind the giant Vandread which destroyed the station in a single blast from its shoulder mounted cannons and just like Cipher guessed, the remaining hostiles all shut down and began drifting through space.
"What a waste" the captain sighed after watching the station get destroyed.
"Hey that's my line!" a male voice said to her before an image of the man they encountered on the station appeared. "One of those things damaged my engine because I wanted to be nice and help you ladies out. What do you plan on doing about it?"
"Who do you think you're talking to?" Magno asked him, "We're pirates and we never asked for your help to begin with".
"Is that so?" the man asked her before holding up Pyoro, "Well I guess I'll just sell this little guy and see if I make enough to repair my ship then".
"Oh no!" Dita cried, "We left Pyoro behind!"
The captain sighed, "We've got no choice, come on board then".
The man's tone quickly changed, "Righty oh!" he said giving her the sign for ok, "And maybe while I'm there we can do a little business".
When the radio link was turned off, BC looked to her captain, "Is this wise captain? We know nothing about this man he could turn out to be a threat".
"Pyoro is one of our crew BC" Magno told her, "We can't just abandon him and besides if that man tries anything funny we'll simply relieve him of all of his worldly possessions".
Down in the docking bay, the man's ship landed and a ramp extended allowing him and the animal he called Utan to get off, once on board he noticed Hibiki and Dita to the side and tossed them Pyoro before casually turning his attention to all the armed guards in front of him, "My this ship certainly has a lot of lovely young ladies on it".
He showed no signs of hesitation or fear of the women regardless of the weapons they had trained on him. The man moved through the crowd of women handing small cards to them as he introduced himself, "The name's Rabat businessman and trader, pleased to meet you". He noticed Jura and Cipher standing off in the corner, "Oh you're that lovely lady with the saber" he said before holding a card out for here, "Here why don't you take one as a memento".
"I don't want one" Jura said immediately withdrawing from the man.
Cipher placed her hand on Jura's shoulder and gently pulled her back as she stepped over to the man who called himself Rabat, "You're coming with me to see the captain, hands where I can see them and you walk in front of me the whole time".
Rabat noticed she had a gun pointed at him and knew it was best to not provoke or disobey her and calmly agreed to meet Magno on the bridge.
As Rabat started walking, Cipher stopped next to Jura and whispered, "Have someone search his ship".
Escorting Rabat to the bridge where the captain was waiting, Cipher stayed a constant six steps behind him remaining well outside arm's reach and well within her reaction time if he tried anything.
"So tell me" Rabat began as the elevator opened, "How many people have you killed?"
Cipher's expression didn't change, but Rabat could tell he struck a note with his inquiry. Cipher tossed him a pair of the same handcuffs BC used on Pixy and the other men when they first arrived on the Nirvana, "Put them on" she told him.
Rabat smiled at her as he slid his hands into the cuffs, "So?" he asked her, "How many? That ice cold glare in your eyes. That's a look that only comes from someone who's killed more than once".
Cipher told him to get on the elevator and remain quiet as they moved up to the bridge despite Rabat trying to get a response out of her.
The elevator opened once again and Rabat stepped off the elevator following Cipher's directions and staying ahead of her. Entering the bridge, Cipher heard Pixy call to her, "Yo Buddy, still alive?"
"Ah so you're here" the captain said to Rabat who was now standing in front of her.
"Well I didn't have much of a choice now did I?" Rabat smiled as he looked over at Cipher who still had her gun trained on him.
"Permission to shoot him?" Cipher asked the captain, "We have Pyoro back on the ship so there's no need to keep him alive now".
"Now now Cipher" Magno hummed, "There's no need to be so rude to our guest now is there?"
"Cipher?" Rabat hummed, "So that's your name?"
Cipher didn't answer and her expression remained a mixture of hostile and threatening, Rabat decided to return his attention to the captain, "So I noticed that most of your crew are women".
"Indeed" Magno told him, "The men you've seen are prisoners of war. We come from Mejere they come from Tarak".
"Really?" Rabat wondered as he began looking around the captain's console, "Do you treat all of prisoners so casually?" he asked her, "Last time I checked a prisoner isn't allowed to roam freely".
Magno explained it to him, "They have they're uses and have proven quite capable many times so I've allowed them a bit of freedom on board".
"So what about this guy?" he asked nodding his head toward Pixy.
"Pixy is one of the best pilots I've ever seen, he along with Cipher here assist the dread teams in defending the ship if we ever fall under attack".
"I see" Rabat said.
"So what is it you want from us?" Magno asked him.
"Oh nothing really" Rabat answered, "My engines were damaged so I just wanted to come aboard to make the repairs and maybe do a little business with you while I'm here" he held his hand up in the ok gesture, "I guess you could call me a trader of sorts. I've got a lot of things I've salvaged from a lot of places. You might find something useful in my wares".
"So you're a con man" Cipher said, "The casual stance under duress, the flashy way of talking…Both signs of a con artist".
"Cipher" Magno said looking over to the mercenary pilot, "You're overstepping your bounds".
Cipher holstered her Five Seven, "Understood. I'll take my leave then".
After Cipher left, Magno looked back at Rabat, "Understand this young man. I've no intention of being friendly. If it does turn out that you're up to something you won't make it off this ship alive".
"Righty right" Rabat replied with an unconcerned smile, "Now that that's all settled where would be a good place for me to start my repairs and set up my shop while I'm at it".
"I'll have BC show you where you'll be staying for your visit" the captain told him, "I have a business matter to discuss with Pixy so if you'll excuse us".
BC walked over to Rabat and told him to follow her, leaving the hangar with the obvious con artist.
"You sure you don't just want us to get rid of him?" Pixy asked her, "I know you can tell he's up to something".
"He has his own agenda that much is certain" Magno said before looking at a deck of tarot cards and pulling the top card out, "The Hermit huh? An outsider, a mystery, someone who is not to be trusted".
"It doesn't matter if he's the Hermit, the Chariot or the Devil" Pixy said to her, "I'm pretty sure a bullet works on him all the same".
"That reminds me actually" Magno said, looking up to him, "You and Cipher are getting along now it seems".
Pixy lowered his head to the side, "I think she's finally starting to trust me again".
"Well that's good" Magno told him, "Allies can't cooperate if they don't trust each other…here" she handed him two envelops and a small box, "Yours and Cipher's pay for today and a little something extra to show my gratitude".
Pixy thanked the aged pirate before taking his leave from the bridge. After he left Magno sighed, "Those two have gone through Hell and they both still have a long way to go before they make it out".
"Captain?" Belvedere asked her accidentally overhearing what she said.
"Oh it's nothing my dear" the captain smiled, "I wonder how long it will be before those two realize the truth".
Not long after Pixy left, BC returned to the bridge and immediately expressed her concern about Rabat, but the captain dismissed her worries even though she agreed with them.
Pixy wandered past the hangar and heard both Rabat's and Cipher's voices inside and hid behind the door as he peeked in to survey the scene.
"There are no signs of damage anywhere on your ship" Cipher told the conman.
"I was able to finish the repairs faster than expected" Rabat told her as he walked closer.
"Don't play me for a fool" Cipher said, "There are no signs of recent damage or repairs, you just wanted to dock with our ship so you could achieve something, so what is your plan? And don't try to lie to me again".
Rabat smiled as he gently grabbed Cipher's chin, "Maybe I just wanted to see you again. After our little encounter on the station back there maybe I'm just interested in you is all".
Cipher only gave him a smirk as a response before Rabat noticed something was off, "That smell…" he muttered, "Righty right" he said taking his hand off Cipher's chin, "Maybe we'll take a rain check on that".
"Glad you saw reason" Cipher said before pulling her Five Seven away from his kidney and holstering it.
Rabat maintained his cool expression as he quickly left leaving Cipher alone and Pixy free to enter without worry, "Why didn't you just shoot him?" Pixy asked her.
"Captain's orders" Cipher told him as she looked back at Rabat's ship, "I still say it's a better idea to just kill him and be done with it nothing good can come from associating with him".
"Yeah about that" Pixy said, "What did he mean by your little encounter on the station?"
Cipher looked up to Rabat's ship, "After he escaped from Meia and the rest of the group, I cut him off in one of the passage ways".
Rabat was sprinting down one of the corridors of the mission station just as the station rocked and its alarm began wailing. "Looks like its time to leave" the conman said to himself before Cipher swept out in front of him and clotheslined him to the floor.
Rabat quickly scrambled back to his feet and turned around, landing his eyes on Cipher, "My my" he hummed, "Another beautiful lady out to get me".
Cipher immediately attacked him again throwing a right hook as a feign before whipping around into a half turn for a straight kick to his left shin to knock him off balance.
Rabat fell for it, but quickly rolled to the side and got back up, remaining defensive as Cipher continued to attack him.
Rabat was no amateur, clearly he had been in fights before, he easily dodged most of Cipher's strikes and continued to stay defensive until Utan showed up with a flash grenade to blind Cipher and allow Rabat to escape.
After the grenade went off, Cipher backed herself into a corner, steeling her senses so she could react if something happened, but all she heard was Rabat's voice, "Well it's been fun, but I've got to run. You might want to do the same, be a shame if anything happened to such a beautiful girl like yourself".
Pixy had a comical shocked look on his face, "He's begging you to kill him isn't he?"
"Maybe" Cipher responded before she realized something and turned around, "I know why he wanted to come on board".
"What?" Pixy asked her.
"Remember when we first got here?" Cipher asked him, "When we first saw the Vanguard combine with Dita's dread. To anyone outside the Nirvana's crew that would be something unusual and someone like this Rabat is bound t o try and look into it".
"Then he's in the Vanguard hangar" Pixy concluded to which Cipher nodded. Pixy quickly turned around and started leaving the hangar, "Dammit if he steels the Vanguard".
"He won't get the chance" Cipher told him, "Hibiki always does maintenance on it when he's frustrated and chances are Dita's there with him. Neither of them will just stand by and let him take it without a fight".
"Too bad neither of them would be able to stand up to him" Pixy told her as they entered the elevator.
"Which is why we're going to stop him" Cipher said as the doors closed.
In the Vanguard hangar, Dita was standing in front of the Vanguard with her arms out trying to stop Rabat from getting any closer to it.
"What's the problem?" Rabat asked her smoothly, "All I'm going to do is take a quick peek".
"No!" Dita cried, shaking her head.
Rabat's face then darkened, "Step aside. What are you to him anyway? I'm positive that when he thinks of you it's not in any special kind of way. Or more precisely he thinks of all women as enemies".
Rabat leaned in closer to kiss her, but thankfully Hibiki arrived in time and yelled at the con artist to get away from her.
"And just when it was getting good" Rabat said as he looked down at Hibiki, "You're a snotty boy you know that".
"Who are you calling a boy?" Hibiki yelled at him, "Is that one eye of yours working right?"
"Sure is" Rabat told him as pointed to his eye and then took off the eyepiece covering his other, "So is this one!" he smiled.
Hibiki growled, "Its makes me sick to my stomach to think that someone like you is a man same as me. Just get the hell out of here already!"
"And what if I don't want to?" Rabat asked him.
"Then I'll throw you out myself" Hibiki growled at him.
"Interesting" Rabat said as he jumped off the Vanguard's platform and down to Hibiki.
Hibiki snapped at the conman's mocking expression and charged at him, but Rabat merely smiled as his eyepiece emitted a blinding light stopping the young pilot in his tracks long enough for Rabat to knee him in the stomach.
Hibiki groaned as he fell to his knees, "You cheater".
"What's that?" Rabat asked him scratching the inside of his ear, "Sorry my ears aren't working so good" he grabbed Hibiki by his head and lifted him off the ground, "I don't know who put those ideas into your head, but if you're going to challenge me don't do it with someone else's words".
Rabat reared his fist back and dropped Hibiki at the same time throwing his arm forward and punching Hibiki in the face, sending the young pilot flying back. Hibiki slowly got back up as Rabat continued to taunt him.
"Gotta say" Rabat began, "There's nothing funnier than a clueless know it all trying to act tough. No matter how much they try to hide it the truth always comes out and you're no exception".
"Shut your mouth!" Hibiki growled charging at him again, but Rabat sidestepped him and grabbed the back of his head before slamming it to the floor, "Men who are truly strong pick their own words to standby and fight with…against a million proverbs" Rabat began hitting Hibiki again and again as he continued to lecture him in being a man.
"A single word from your heart will always win in the end".
Hibiki fell at Rabat's feet and Dita cried out for it to all end, distracting Rabat allowing Hibiki to bite at his leg.
Rabat screamed as the boy's teeth sank into his leg, "Get off me you brat" he yelled in rage as he kicked Hibiki's head forcing him off.
"That's it" the conman said as he got up just as Dita rushed to Hibiki, "Get out of the way" he yelled to the redhead as he kicked her to the side and then stepped on Hibiki's head, "I'm going to finish you right now!"
Just as Rabat began crushing Hibiki's skull someone wrapped their arm around his neck from behind and pulled back pulling him down in an inverted headlock backbreaker.
When Rabat's back made contact with his attack's the conman stumbled before turning around only to be met by a swift roundhouse kick to the side of his head knocking him to the floor.
Rabat quickly shook his head to clear his vision before setting his eyes on the one who attacked him, it was Cipher.
Cipher was now standing between Rabat and Hibiki, set in a fighting stance and glaring death at the conman, "Get up" she told him.
Rabat smiled at her as he got to his feet, "Well now things are getting a little heated it seems".
Cipher ran over to him and ducked to the side to avoid Rabat's punch before countering with a kick to the back of his knee making him fall and then kicking him in his chest, but Rabat caught the second kick and pushed her away from him with his full strength, "So this is how its going to be huh?" he asked her, "Then come on show me what you've got".
Cipher sprinted over to him again and quickly held up her left arm to block Rabat's left hook before she wrapped her arm around his and jerked it up restraining him and allowing her to slam her fist into his chest, taking the wind out of him.
After her fist made contact with his chest, Cipher moved her free hand behind his head and jerked his restrained arm up once more before she twisted and threw him to the side.
Rabat immediately got back up, he was definitely resilient, but the fight was still long from over. Catching another one of Cipher's kicks aimed at his torso, Rabat smiled at her only to see Cipher jumped with her other leg and kick him in the back of the head.
Once she landed on the ground, Cipher rolled away from Rabat and got back to her feet and charged at Rabat landing a vicious uppercut against him before she whipped around and slammed her elbow into his jaw before turning back the other way slamming the back of her hand against the side of his head.
Rabat stumbled to the side, leaving him completely open for Cipher now as he tried to maintain his footing.
Cipher rushed over to him and kicked out the side of his knee making him fall before hitting him with a flurry of punches to his torso and ending her assault with a swift turn around and landing a hard kick to his chest sending him back.
While Rabat was beating up Hibiki a large crowd of the crew began gathering at the hangar door, including Meia, Jura and Barnette, but now everyone was in a shocked silence as they watched Cipher tear her way through the conman.
"How many times did she just hit him?" Jura asked Meia and Barnette after seeing Cipher's flurry of punches, "I could barely see her arms moving, is it even possible for someone to move that fast?"
Cipher watched Rabat fly into the hangar wall and slide down into a sitting position, "Its time for you to leave" Cipher told him as she turned around and started walking away from him.
Rabat was in a rage, he was humiliated by Hibiki biting him and then he was utterly beaten by Cipher. Slowly Rabat got up, his rage and adrenaline forming a tunnel vision on Cipher alone as he began running over to her.
Sensing the threat against her, Cipher spun around removing her red blazer jacket in a single motion and throwing it at Rabat as a distraction before running over to him and hitting him with another uppercut before spinning around and slamming her elbow into his jaw again and then spinning back and kicking the side of his knee out to make him fall to one knee.
Cipher dove her arm under Rabat's and wrapped around it before placing her hand against the back of his shoulder and pushing him down while her arm wrapped around his pulled it up instead, immediately bringing her knee up to meet Rabat's face Cipher stepped back as the conman stumbled away from her and fell back into a sitting position.
Rabat was holding his hand across his face, a large amount of blood dripping through his fingers and under his palm, Cipher clearly broke his nose with that last knee.
Seeing that Cipher now had her gun aimed at him, Rabat knew it was time for him to leave and admitted his defeat.
Rabat left with Pixy and Meia escorting him back to his ship and took off from the Nirvana, but not before using a remote to sabotage the ship's engines so they couldn't follow him.
The captain growled from the bridge as she watched him get away, "You got us this time" she sneered, "But next time you won't be so lucky".
It was truly a traumatic day for everyone, especially Hibiki and Dita.
That night Hibiki sat alone in the garden section talking to Meia who was on the balcony above him, "You shouldn't worry about it" Meia told him, "In the end he was just a con artist, everything he said was just a bunch of nonsense".
"No" Hibiki said gloomily, "It's my own fault…Even if everything he said was lies he was right about one thing. I don't have any words to call my own and if he really wanted to he could have killed me at any time…I don't mean this in a bad way or anything, but being saved by a woman…I don't know why it just doesn't sit right with me. I always thought that I was strong enough to protect this ship and everyone on it, but in the end I wasn't even strong enough to protect myself…what kind of man am I?"
Hibiki looked up at the canopy and into space, "When I do finally get up on my own stage, I wonder what kind of lines would come out? I'm looking forward to that day, but at the same time…I'm a little bit scared. I'm kinda afraid that my play would be a comedy".
"It doesn't matter how silly the lines may sound" Meia told him, "If they're truly coming from the heart then no one will laugh. Or at the very least I wouldn't. You said it yourself when you saved me didn't you?" she asked him, "You said man or woman it doesn't matter, for right now we're all in this together and we'll have to rely on each other to survive. So if any of us ever encounter something we can't handle alone it shouldn't be a problem if we need to ask someone else for help…it seems you and I still have a lot to learn in that area".
Meia's final words sounded regretful as she walked away leaving Hibiki to his own thoughts.
In the hangar, Pixy and Cipher were drinking whine and talking once again after a long day they could finally relax a bit.
"I'm going to be honest Cipher" Pixy said, "I'm surprised you didn't kill him".
"I let him live so he could learn his lesson" Cipher told him, "Also he can take that story to anyone else he meets, to let them know what happens if they get in my way".
Pixy had never seen Cipher engage someone in full hand to hand combat before; he was impressed at her skills and even a little frightened if she ever decided to turn them against him.
"Larry!" Cipher barked at him, "I'm up here" she said pointing at her face.
Pixy was so caught up in his own thoughts he didn't realize that his eyes were aimed directly at Cipher's breasts and his face turned red, "Sorry I didn't mean to…"
Cipher set her glass down and got up, the lighting was dim, but Pixy could swear that he saw her blushing a little, "I think I'm going to call it a night. See you in the morning" she said before leaving the hangar.
After Cipher left, Pixy looked over to their fighters in the back of the hangar, "The one person I enjoy spending time with and when she leaves I feel lonely…back then after I first learned that Cipher was really a woman I made the joke to myself that I'd ask her out, but now…Do I really feel that way about her?"
A/N.
And Vandread Zero is finally updated. I'll admit that I was busy with school for most of my time and at other times I was just at a loss for what to do, but its finally here.
The chapter title is actually a reference to the captain's reading of Rabat as The Hermit and her reading of Cipher back in chapter 4 The Queen of Swords.