Chapter 2: Enemy Engaged

Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.

Vandread Ace

On the other side of the galaxy, the wormhole appears and shoots the pirate's ship and the old section of the Ikazuchi out.

On the bridge the space pirate captain asked, "This certainly doesn't look like the afterlife. Where are we?"

One of the bridge operators said, "I'll check." Suddenly, the bridge is rocked as tentacle-like crystals emerge from the old section of the Tarak flagship and starts pulling the space pirate ship up and any nearby space debris towards it.

The captain wondered, "What the hell's going on? Is the crystal trying to eat the ship or something?" In the engine room, Jura moans as she starts to regain consciousness and brings herself up to a sitting position. Meia shakes the cob webs loose as she too wakes up.

She gasped, "Dita! Where are you?"

The redhead waved, "Hi, over here. Something beep and then vroom! Oh wow, alien powers are amazing!" Happy that her team is okay, Meia surveys the surrounding area. Everywhere she turned to, crystals covered the interior.

Close by, the Ghosts of Razgriz start to come to.

Nathan gets to his feet first and turns around to see his wingmen sitting up.

He asked, "You three okay?"

Snow replied, "I'm fine. Where are we? More importantly how did we survive that explosion?"

Grimm replied, "Maybe an angel's watching over us. Hey, aren't we forgetting something?" Nathan inspects his g-suit. There are a few tears here and there and his helmet sustained some damage but neither he or his squad mates received any injuries.

Looking around, he spots their fighter jets encased in a crystal cocoon, protecting them from any harm. Upon returning his gaze to the squad he discovers that Nagase isn't with them! The three men start searching the massive room for her.

Back on the bridge, the aged pirate leader asked, "Hey Gascogne, do you think you can detach us?"

The Reg leader appeared on a monitor, "The laser's having no effect and it's only a matter of time before this place suffers the same fate that the rest of the ship is experiencing."

BC showed up on a separate monitor, "The corrosion is starting to spread here as well."

Parfet joined in, "The engine's dead so we aren't going anywhere."

The pirate leader sighed irritably, "I guess we'll have to get rid of it at the source. I'm going up! BC, Parfet, come with me!" They take a shuttle to the engine room and upon landing, a ramp extends for its passengers to disembark, looking around as they walk down. They are soon greeted by the Dread leader.

Meia said, "I'm sorry you had to come all this way, Captain."

The aged woman shook her head, "There's no need to apologize, Meia. I wanted to see this with my own eyes." She spots Hibiki.

Meia told her, "This is the man Dita was chasing."

Her superior said, "It's been a long time since I last saw a man. Were their faces really this funny looking?" The group hear a moan coming from their right and Meia readies her laser ring as she walks over to the direction the noise came from. Upon arrival, she sees a pilot clad in a green g-suit and helmet. On the suit's sleeve was an emblem the Dread leader never saw before. Kneeling down, she places 2 fingers on the pilot's neck and finds a pulse.

Meia looked to the others, "Hey, I found someone over here!" The others arrive as Meia checks for any further injuries and finds none.

BC asked, "Who's that, Meia?"

The blue-haired woman answered, "Appears to be one of the pilots that helped us get through that blockade during our raid on the Tarak flagship." Curiosity suddenly grabs a hold of her and Meia carefully removes the helmet to reveal the pilot's face.

Parfet gasped, "It's a woman!" Footsteps get Meia's attention and she swiftly points her laser ring at the source and sees 3 additional pilots coming toward them with two of them holding up their hands.

Nathan stepped forward, "I take it that you are their leader, ma'am?"

The pirate leader nodded, "That's correct. My name is Magno Vivan, I'm the captain of the Mejale space pirates."

Nathan saluted, "I'm Nathan Brooks. I go by the callsign 'Blaze.'" Seeing that Nathan is from the military, she returns the salute.

Meia said, "You were the ones that helped us get through the Vanguard blockade. Why did you do that?"

Nathan answered, "We were being attacked by those Vanguards, I believe that's what they are if I recall correctly. Sorry, my memory is still a little bit fuzzy after that explosion. Anyway, since we were considered hostile we decided to help you guys out. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the old saying goes."

Nagase moaned, "Nathan..."

The Razgriz Squad leader spotted his squad mate, "Nagase!"

Magno raised an eyebrow, "Is this woman a part of your group?"

Nathan nodded, "Yes, she's one of my wingmen. Care I go see her?" Magno stepped aside to allow him to reach his wife's location and he went to one knee, "Nagase, are you alright?"

Nagase looked at him through blurry eyes, "Nathan? Is that you? Why is everything so dizzy?"

Her husband held up two fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up, dear?"

Nagase tried to focus, "I can't tell, it's hard to see right now."

Nathan concluded, "You have a minor concussion." He turned around to face Magno, "If you help Nagase to the infirmary for some pain killers, we will not harm you or your crew. You have my word." Even though she can't see his face, Magno can tell that he is being honest.

She said, "Very well. I promise we will take care of Nagase. However, we have to take you and your other wingmen to the brig for the time being." The 3 male pilots nod and hand over their Beretta M9A1 pistols. Female guards place hand restraints on them.

In the brig, Hibiki bunks his head after waking up from a hallucination or dream. He looks around to see the laser grid on.

He sulked, "Oh man, looks like I'm behind bars again. Is fate conspiring against me or what?"

A voice said, "So you're finally awake."

Hibiki gasped, "Who's there?"

The voice belonged to a young man with long black hair that stopped at the small of his back while covering the right side of his face, blue eyes, tanned skin and had an air of calmness around him. His attire was composed of a sleeveless black bodysuit covered by a Tarak doctor jacket.

He introduced himself, "My name's Duero McFile. Do you have a name too, Mr. Third Class Citizen?"

Hibiki glared at him, "Don't make fun of me! My name's Hibiki Tokai and I am not just some third class citizen!"

Duero smirked, "You're the one who made all the commotion during the ceremony. How did you manage to sneak in?"

The young Tarak said, "There's certainly a lot of questions today. Anyway..." Before he can answer that question he spots the white robot coming online.

It said, "Pyoro! Where am I? Who am I?"

Hibiki stared at it with a dead-panned look on his face, "You've changed a bit, haven't you?"

Nathan said, "Hello there." The two turn their heads toward the Osean.

Duero asked, "Who are you?"

Nathan informed, "A new addition to the brig along with my two wingmen behind me."

Inside the decontamination shower, Barnette pounded on the glass, "Paiway! Let us out, we're freezing!"

The nurse said, "Not until the male germs are gone. Even under circumstances like this, I do not lose my cool."

In the brig, Hibiki asked Pyoro with a bit of annoyance, "Want me to fix you up or something?"

The machine flared its arms up and down while yelling, "Don't make fun of me! I'm not broken!" BC, a few armed guards and Nagase stand before them, making Hibiki back up in fear.

He shrieked, "Women! What do you want? What are you planning to do with me?"

BC told him, "Calm down. This is the safest place for you at the moment."

Hibiki sneered, "You say that but your real intention is to eat my guts!" BC looks at him with confusion while the two guards giggle.

One of them cried, "He believes it!"

BC smirked, "Well before any of that happens, come with us." The laser bars deactivate and the men start following their captors to the interrogation room. Hibiki looks at one of the guard's butt. Of course, living on an all-male planet with no females around, this would be totally alien to him.

He wondered, "What's this?"

Nathan warned, "I wouldn't do that, kid. You won't like the end result of it." Hibiki fails to heed it and touches the woman's butt, the guard glares at him and then gives him the hardest slap she can muster leaving an imprint on the fool's cheek. They arrive at the interrogation room to see Magno already waiting.

Snow said, "You should've heeded Nathan's warning." A door opens up, allowing Meia to enter pointing her laser ring behind Bart's neck to prevent him from trying anything stupid.

He laughed, "Hello, comrades."

Magno said, "Found another one I see."

Meia nodded, "Yes. I found him hiding inside a memorial statue."

The pirate leader stated in disappointment, "I was expecting prisoners but they're just kids."

Pyoro hopped over to her, "Interrogation time! I'll tell you everything!"

Magno smiled, "My, my, a Navi-robot and this one is still functioning. How nostalgic!"

Nathan looked at his wife, "How's your head feeling, dear? Feeling any better?"

Nagase nodded, "Yes, at least for the time being." She heads over until she is standing by his side.

Magno said, "Now that I think about it, I still haven't found out what all of your names are or where you come from." Nathan, Grimm and Marcus Snow stand up and remove their helmets, revealing their faces.

Nathan informed her, "I suppose introductions are in order. Okay. My name is Nathan Brooks, callsign Blaze and leader of my air squadron. The man to my left is Marcus Snow he goes by the name Swordsman during battle, the young lad to my right is Hans Grimm, callsign Archer and you have already met my wife Kei Nagase Brooks. We hail from the Osean Federation. Together, we are Razgriz Squadron but you can call us the Demons or Ghosts of Razgriz." An audible gasp was heard, "I take it you've heard of us?"

Meia stated, "I was told stories about you, a legendary fighter squadron that struck terror into the hearts of their enemies. However, it's said that there was a third original pilot named Chopper but I don't see him among you."

Nagase said in a low voice, "That's because he was shot down during a mission."

Duero started, "I'm afraid I am lost here."

Hibiki finished, "This is a man's ship, isn't it?"

Magno informed them, "It used to be one. You didn't know? This ship was once part of a colonization fleet that left a planet called Earth to seek out new worlds, this of course, was way before any of your fathers were born. But you cowardly grandfather separated this part of the ship and ran away into the darkness of night!"

Pyoro added, "They overhauled the battleship and added residential quarters."

Magno concluded, "And now we find ourselves back on this battleship. This is our business, you know so we'll gladly take the ship but the problem is what are we supposed to do with you guys?"

Meia suggested, "We should get rid of them. Things are already unstable enough!" The aged pirate captain tells her not to be so hasty, saying that they should carefully consider how they want to cook the prisoners up and licked her lips. The sight of it made Hibiki and Bart's face turn blue while sweating bullets with the fear of being eaten. However, Nathan and his wingmen are unfazed.

Snow said, "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you actually believe in that crap, I have seen military propaganda cheesier than that."

Magno said, "Beside our Osean friends here, you say the long-haired one's a doctor but what about the other?"

Meia responded, "He's an attacker." Hibiki was about to retort when Bart jabbed him in the ribs as the Dread leader went on, "I happened to saw him climb into an enemy power suit."

Ezra came over the communicator, "We got company approaching!"

BC asked, "Is it male reinforcements?"

Dita said ecstatically, "It's a UFO!" The enemy commences their attack on the immobile ship, causing it to shake.

Meia ran out the door, "Dread teams are moving out!" The shaking becomes so strong that pieces of the ceiling in the interrogation room crack and fall onto a guard, trapping her beneath rubble.

The second one said, "Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

Duero barked, "No! Don't move her!" He jumped over the couch and the guard aimed her laser ring at him, "Don't worry, I'm a doctor. I just want to see my patient."

Seeing this, Bart concocted a plan, "Well captain, I believe we could help each other out here. I happen to be a navigator."

Magno titled her head, "Oh really?"

Pyoro said, "Warning! This guy is trying to pull something."

The pirate leader glared at him, "Be quiet, you! What are you proposing, young one?"

Bart explained, "I say we call for a temporary truce."

Magno stated, "Okay, you got yourself a deal. However, I am not being chummy you will still be treated like a prisoner. You hear me?"

The blonde-haired Tarak chuckled nervously, "Okay." Razgriz Squadron, being quiet since the introduction, decide to offer their assistance as well. BC presses a button on her remote and the hand restraints fall off, they sprint towards the hanger quickly putting the helmets back on.

Meia meets up with Jura and Dita and together they look at their Dreads.

Jura blinked, "Are these ours?"

Dita gasped, "Wow!"

Getting into the cockpit, Meia placed her hands onto the control spheres, "It looks like the controls haven't changed much. How about you two?"

Jura answered, "I think I can fly this."

Dita said in happiness, "It seems that they have powered up! This is so cool!"

Meia advised, "Don't let it get to your heads." They fly out to enter combat with the unknown hostiles.

The attackers were shaped like cubes with little arms and legs.

Meia pulls up behind a cube-type's tail and shoots her Dread's rapid-firing lasers at it and the machine blows up. She next pulls a high G left turn to evade enemy fire.

She winced from the turn, "The controls respond differently."

Jura showed up on a monitor, "One thing I can say is that these aren't men."

Dita stated angrily, "It's obvious that these are really bad aliens!" A bunch of cube-types cross Meia's line of sight.

She wondered with mild curiosity, "What are those things? Are they really aliens?" Inside the changing ship, Magno and Bart arrive at the bridge Bart currently didn't have the hand restraints on.

Magno said, "Show us what you can do, great navigator." She pushes him forward and Bart cautiously approaches a strange pool of aqua green liquid.

He looked at it, "What in the world?"

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you do not know how to use it?" She asked him, beginning to wonder if she made the wrong decision.

Bart chuckled, "Heh, it's not that. This is just a secret weapon of our military." He screams as the liquid grabs a hold of his leg and pulls him in.

Magno stated with wide eyes, "My goodness! That's some kind of secret weapon."

Pyoro nodded, "He doesn't know how to use it!" Opening his eyes, Bart finds himself in a sphere that offers a 360 degree view of the battlefield.

When he moves his arm, the ship responds to the movement.

Inside the hanger, the Ghosts of Razgriz finish doing a systems check of their fighters and line up making sure to keep some distance between each other. Checking the weapons layout, they discover that their aircraft are armed with medium-range air-to-air missiles.

Nathan said, "Bridge, this is Blaze of Razgriz Squadron. Requesting clearance for takeoff."

A black-haired bridge bunny named Amarone said, "Roger that, Blaze. You are cleared for takeoff, good hunting out there." The afterburners propel the fighter jets out of the hanger and into the fray.

Meia hears her cockpit warning system blaring and looks to her right spotting an Su-27 Flanker from her 4 o'clock. It fires an R-27AE active-radar homing missile, forcing her to take evasive action the missile follows her everywhere she turns to. Another missile warning tells her that a second Su-27 has unleashed an R-27AE of its own from 11 o'clock high. Meia pulls a hard left turn, using every ounce of piloting experience she possesses to shake the projectiles off she spots a pair of cube-types in front of her and leads the missiles to them. Her silver Dread speeds past them and the hostiles are destroyed unfortunately for her, the Flankers are automatically right on her tail.

She said, "Captain, we could use some help out here!"

Magno told her, "Sit tight. Reinforcements are on the way."

Meia wondered, "Reinforcements?" A radar warning alerts her that the Su-27 Flankers are gaining another missile lock. The blue-haired woman sees 2 specs of light appear out of the dark background of space they're soon revealed to be AIM-120D AMRAAM missiles, they scream past her at Mach 4 and obliterate the enemy aircraft. An F-15E Strike Eagle flies overhead.

Jura cried, "Those are our reinforcements?"

Swordsman said, "Razgriz Squadron at your service!"

Blaze ordered, "Squad, disperse and engage the cube-shaped things and Su-27s."

Archer replied, "Roger that, Captain." Archer chases a Flanker around and fires an AIM-9 Sidewinder that rips the enemy craft to shreds. Looking to his 3 o'clock, he sees Hibiki's Vanguard trying to perform Thunder Punch that the young Tarak boasted out. Of course, nothing dramatic happened in fact quite the opposite, his machine gets pummeled by enemy fire from all directions. Archer brings his MiG-29 over and fires 4 R-27AEs at the attackers. Hibiki feels his machine stop taking damage and he stares out of the cockpit window to his left and spots Archer pulling up alongside him.

Hibiki said fiercely, "What'd you do that for, huh? I could have handled that on my own! Go find your own targets!"

Blaze told him over the radio, "Uh-huh, sure. Listen Hibiki, showing off makes you a big fat target. Archer, make sure he doesn't gets himself killed."

Archer nodded, "Yes, sir! Okay, Hibiki if you wanna fight to live another day then I suggest you follow Blaze's advise because he's someone you do not want to anger."

Hibiki asked, "He has a short temper?"

The young Osean pilot shook his head, "No but he can be down right scary if you piss him off enough, I witnessed it myself. While we were returning to our cars after attending Chopper's funeral, some man made a remark about Chopper actually wanting to be shot down. You should've seen the look on the Captain's face, it was so red in rage that you could see the veins in his head throbbing what happened next still haunts me to this day. Blaze beat the man so bad that he looked he'd been hit by a semi-truck and virtually both of his legs were shattered beyond repair. He wounded up having to have artificial legs. From that point on, I vowed to make sure that it didn't happen to me." Hibiki becomes as white as a ghost from Archer's story. He feels a chill run down his spine when he pictures himself being on the receiving end of Blaze's fury.

Blaze's F-15E Strike Eagle approaches gun range behind a cube-type and fires his M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon, turning the enemy into pieces of burning shrapnel that bounce off the canopy. He jinks right when he hears the missile warning, the R-27AE keeps up with him despite Blaze releasing chaff in hoping to confuse the missile's radar, spotting an Su-27 in front of him he flies towards it. The enemy Flanker notices the black jet coming at it and starts approaching it head-on and arms a heat seeking missile but then the Strike Eagle pulls up sharply in full afterburner and the Su-27 is destroyed by the R-27AE. The Razgriz Squadron leader doesn't relax because more radar homing missiles are fired at him, to top it off three additional Flankers are the ones who fired them hoping that at least one of the missiles will hit home. The F-15E Strike Eagle takes evasive action once again trying to shake them off, Blaze releases the last of his chaff but it has little effect on the R-27AEs. He pulls up and over a nearby asteroid so that the giant hunk of rock absorbed the projectiles, blowing bits of the asteroid off in the process. With no chaff left, Blaze will have to use the Strike Eagle's speed, agility and maneuverability in order to survive. His HUD picks up Edge's jet coming to his location for assistance. 2 of the Flankers break off to engage the new target leaving Blaze to deal with the enemy flight lead.

Edge sees the white and blue coloring of the hostile aircraft closing in from her 12 o'clock and challenges the pair, lighting up the afterburners. Nearing gun range, she fires the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon on the Su-27 to the right and the second craft breaks left and she gives chase. Gaining a lock, Edge fires a Sidewinder but her opponent pops flares to direct the AIM-9 away, in response to this she switches to the AIM-120D AMRAAM. The young woman keeps up with the Su-27 until the cursor box turns red.

She called out, "Edge, Fox Three!" The AIM-120D zeroes in and is able to blow off the Flanker's left wing the violent swinging tears the rest of the craft apart.

Archer keeps hostiles away from Hibiki on Blaze's order until he sees a formation of cube-types heading for Jura's Dread, making him to decide whether to stay with Hibiki to ensure his safety or break off to save Jura. Risking a scolding from Blaze later, he decides to separate from the Vanguard pilot.

An alarm warns Jura after she just scored a kill, informing her that more enemies are closing in on her 6 o'clock. She knew that she was trapped if she turned right, the cube-types to her left would turn to engage and if she turned right, the ones to her left right would automatically have a lock on her. A swarm of AIM-120Ds annihilate some of the cube-types and causing the others to scatter in panic. Jura takes this opportunity to retaliate opening fire at the nearest target then goes after the next one.

The crew on the ship's bridge watch Razgriz Squadron display their fearsome skills.

Ezra said, "Oh my, look at them go."

Amarone nodded, "Yeah, I am beginning to see why the Demons of Razgriz were feared by their enemies. They fight with the ferocity of a demon." And it's not just them who are taking notice of this, the Dread pilots are witnessing it too.

Swordsman shoots a Sidewinder at a cube-type and executes a hard right turn to avoid enemy gunfire then retaliates with his MiG-29's 30mm GSh-30-1 cannon, downing the cube-type that shot at him. A warning alarm tells him that an Su-27 is coming in from 11 o'clock high. The Flanker aims its own GSh-30-1 cannon intending on trashing his aircraft, Swordsman executes a somersault that brings him behind the enemy's tail and unloads some more rounds into the target.

Blaze sees a red button to his left, he looks at it curiously since it wasn't there before. He presses the button and a message shows up on the HUD saying, "Transformation to battle mode engaged." Blaze looks at it in confusion wondering what that meant then he feels his aircraft produce a thud.

The F-15E Strike Eagle pulls vertically up and hatches open up in-between the engines allowing them to extend out, taking on the form of humanoid legs and the turbine blades retract then descend into a little hole that gets covered by a slide-in casing. A pair of humanoid feet come out and unfold before the legs turn around to face the front and move up until they stop below the air intakes, arms emerge from the wings and they connect to a series of latches that hold them on both sides of the aircraft's nose, the nose itself pulls up slightly, points laterally forward and then moves downward where it comes into contact with a magnetic clamp, a robot head slides up with a V-shaped crest mounted on the middle of the forehead, a second, smaller V-shaped crest stood above the main one. For weaponry, the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon disengages from its covering and hovers over the F-15E Strike Eagle's right hand then a body for the Gatling cannon materializes, extending from the barrels to the end and finishing with a handle equipped with a trigger. A pair of .50 caliber machine guns mounted inside the head and a QAAM missile launcher that can fire up to 5 missiles at a time rested on the left forearm.

With the transformation now complete, the Strike Eagle's forest green eyes light up.

Hearing the missile warning, Blaze whips his F-15E around and uses the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon to shoot the missiles down. Tracking the origin of them back to the owners, which are a squad of hostile Su-27s Blaze readies the QAAM missile launcher, a series of missile locks appear and start locking onto the enemies once all of them turn red Blaze pulls the trigger. 5 Quick Maneuver Air-to-Air Missiles scream through space at Mach 4 and make quick work of the targets.

Turning around, he sees Dita's Dread approaching Hibiki's Vanguard with cube-types right behind it.

He heard Meia say, "Dita, what are you doing? Pull back!"

Dita said, "Don't worry, Mr. Alien will protect us!" When the blue craft nears the Vanguard, they are engulfed by a fireball.

On the Ikazuchi's bridge, BC sighed, "I guess our miracle didn't happen."

Magno regretfully cried, "Looks like we will have to abandon ship."

Edge informed, "Wait a minute! I think I see something coming out of the fireball!" And Edge was right.

A robotic hand emerges and crushes the metal near it. The fireball dissipates to reveal a huge humanoid robot donning knight-like characteristics glowing red-hot from the heat but as it cooled, its true color was revealed to be a shiny blue. Huge laser cannons rested against its back, bladed gauntlets mounted the forearms and a horn protruded from the forehead.

Magno asked, "What is that? Is that another secret weapon of the men?"

BC blinked in astonishment, "Unbelievable. Is this a real miracle?" The blue robot speeds toward the Seed Ship and uses its hands to open it up, it next deploys its laser cannons. They charge up and then fire all the way out to the other side. It retreats to a safe distance before the Seed Ship explodes.

Razgriz Squadron form up again and Blaze changes his F-15E Strike Eagle into its jet form again.

Swordsman whistled, "Wow. That blue robot just took out that Seed Ship in one shot of its laser cannons. That thing packs some serious firepower!"

Edge nodded, "Indeed." Inside the new robot, Hibiki wakes up to find himself in sort some of futuristic-looking cockpit.

He cried, "Looks like I survived." He feels a weight on his lap, the young Tarak looks down to see Dita sitting on his lap with a sleepy expression on her cute face.

She said almost tiredly, "I knew Mr. Alien would protect us."

Hibiki wondered, "This is the proof of my existence? Is it?"

Meia ordered, "All aircraft return to the ship. I repeat, all aircraft return to the ship." The aircraft head for the Ikazuchi. As it neared, the new robot defused back into Dita's Dread and the Vanguard.

Upon exiting their machines, the men are escorted back to the brig.

Grimm asked, "Hey Captain, how did your aircraft transform like that?"

Nathan replied, "I saw a red button to my left, I was curious on what it would do because it wasn't there before so I pressed it. What you saw was the end result of it. If my gut feeling is right then that means that your aircraft have the same thing. That battle mode could be very useful in any ground battles that we might have."

Grimm apologized, "I also want to say that I'm sorry about disobeying your order to protect Hibiki, it's just that the red Dread was in trouble and I had to go help."

Nathan smiled, "There's no need to apologize to me, Grimm. You were helping out a comrade in trouble. I am not mad about it." The 19-year old sighs in relief after hearing that.

A/N: Chapter 2 done.

Here, the Nirvana crew survived their first battle plus got to see why Razgriz Squadron are legendary. I also decides to give the MiG-29s and F-15E Strike Eagles a robot form for like any ground battles.

To this day, Vandread remains as one of the best anime ever.

Read and review.

Stay tuned for chapter 3.

Vader 23A