Chapter 4: A Lesson of Teamwork
Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread or the Ace Combat series.
Vandread Ace
Nathan wakes up from a relaxing sleep, he looks down to see his wife sleeping soundly with an arm wrapped around his chest. He gently removes it without waking her and steps out of the bed and goes to the bathroom to relieve himself then looks in the mirror to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He decides to head for the gym to work out. Nathan exits the bathroom and puts on a pair of shorts, sleeveless white T-shirt, shoes and a red sports bottle he keeps with him.
The door to the room opens, allowing him to exit. During his journey to the kitchen to fill up his sports bottle he spots some of the female crew heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. For reasons unknown to them, the sight of seeing Nathan's athletic body causes their cheeks to heat up including Barnette.
'He looks handsome. Wait a minute! What am I saying? He's a man, our sworn enemy! I shouldn't be thinking like this!' She thought as the brunette fought to get rid of the blush.
Arriving at the kitchen, Nathan opens the freezer and places some ice cubes in the sports bottle then adds water from the kitchen sink the ice makes a cracking sound upon coming into contact with it. Once the bottle is filled to the brim, he shuts the faucet off and closes the lid to the sports bottle. He heads for the gym. When he arrives there, he sees Grimm on a treadmill set at a walking pace.
The young pilot notices his superior and stops the machine.
He smiled, "Hello, Captain. What are you doing here?"
Nathan replied, "Felt like working out to start the day off. When did you get here?"
Grimm answered, "An hour ago." Nathan puts his sports bottle near the wall and stretches before walking over to the bench press.
He places about three 45 pound weights on both sides of the bar then secures the clamps to ensure that none of the weights fall off. He next lays on the bench and pulls the bar off the holding rack, Grimm stands behind it as a spotter. Nathan starts lifting the bar up and down, counting each time it goes up. Once he reaches 100, Grimm helps him place the bar back on the holding rack. Nathan next proceeds to lift 75 pound dumbbells to the count of 150 then does 200 sit-ups, 100 pull-ups, 120 leg presses and 100 push-ups then finishes the workout with running on the treadmill. After stepping off, the leader of Razgriz Squadron grabs his red sports bottle, pulls the suction part up and squeezes the bottle making water come out and Nathan swallows the liquid then sits on the floor to rest.
Nagase moans as she opens her brown eyes. Sitting up, she discovers that Nathan isn't there so she assumes that he woke up a bit earlier. After doing the morning routine like showering and changing into a black T-shirt and navy blue jeans, the 24-year old puts on her favorite black and white Adidas shoes. Stepping out of the room, she heads for the cafeteria. Along the way she spots Dita getting kicked out of the men's bathroom.
She asked, "Why can't I stay and watch?"
Hibiki retorted, "How can I go when you're there? Ever heard of privacy?"
Nagase walked over, "Hey, Dita. What's going on here?"
Dita looked at her, "I just wanted to see the tube between his legs."
Nagase frowned in confusion, "Where'd you hear that?"
The redhead explained, "Belvedere and a fellow crew member were talking about it. They said that men had some sort of tube stuck in-between their legs." It didn't take a genius to figure out what Dita's referring to, "Have you seen it, Nagase?"
Nagase blushed heavily, "Huh? N-no, I haven't seen it but I did study about the human body in school when I was a kid."
Dita asked excitingly, "What does it look like?"
The blush on the young Osean woman's deepened if it was possible, "Well...you see...I...I can't tell you, sorry. You're still too young, Dita. When you are a little older you will find out." She quickly walks away before the redhead could bombard her with more questions. The blush on her face lightens then fades much to her relief.
Elsewhere, Parfet is asking for new names to re-christen the ship.
Barnette stared at one of them, "What's this? The 'Nirvana'? That's corny if you ask me."
Parfet said, "The commander suggested that one."
Jura asked, "How are you able to keep track of all these?"
The engineer replied, "I just install them into my friend Pyoro here."
Jura blinked, "Pyoro?"
The named robot stated, "It was Parfet who named me. Isn't it wonderful?" Barnette types in Jura's name suggestion for the ship before the duo leave.
Nathan and Grimm leave the gym and return to their respective rooms to shower and change into casual clothing.
Arriving at the cafeteria, they see the majority of the crew now eating breakfast including Nagase and Snow.
Nathan chooses eggs, 2 strips of bacon, sausage, a piece of toast and coffee for his meal while Grimm selects a bowl of strawberry flavored oatmeal, an orange and milk.
They sit at the table their squad mates are at then start eating while chatting.
In the men's part of the ship, Buzam finishes adjusting a pair of message pods when Magno contacts her.
She asked, "How are the pods coming, BC?"
The platinum-haired woman replied, "They're ready to be launched at any time."
Magno observed the second, "Why is there another pod?"
BC answered, "This one's meant for Tarak, captain. I felt that it was fair to have the men's planet be informed as well."
Magno nodded, "Hm, I see. Launch them." BC obediently sends the pods out into space but after gaining some short distance, they suddenly explode and the culprits are revealed. The aged pirate leader orders her crew to battle stations. The Dread pilots hear the announcement and run to the hanger with the Ghosts of Razgriz not far behind them.
Meia sees Dita standing there like she was staring into space.
She asked, "What are you doing just standing there, Dita? Didn't you hear the alarm? Get into your Dread!"
The redhead said, "It's just that Mr. Alien came here and flew right out of the hanger! Just like that, whoosh!" She spins like a ballerina to prove it.
Jura raised an eyebrow, "You mean he's out there already?" Hopping into his F-15E Strike Eagle, Nathan activates his radio to hear the battle happening.
Out in space, Hibiki battles a group of cube-types that have been detected on the ship's radar.
His Vanguard's sword easily takes care of one then the other. 2 cube-types surround the Vanguard on both sides and then crash into it in a kamikaze attack. Once the smoke clears, the yellow and gray machine sits Indian-style amongst the wreckage unharmed.
Hibiki said to the crew, "How do you like that? Was that impressive enough for ya?" He lets out a cocky laugh.
He lands in the hanger and emerges from the cockpit, looking down he spots Dita standing a few feet away from an obviously fuming Meia.
He asked, "I suppose this is where you congratulate me?"
Meia spoke with unrestrained anger, "Don't be so conceited. You put all of us in danger with that little stunt you pulled, you are to act on my direct orders." Which is true. Yesterday, Hibiki was assigned under Meia's command but the fool never co-operated with others during a space battle, that can have fatal consequences.
Hibiki hopped down, "Ha, what are you so worked up about? You can't let a little danger bother you, not that it matters. You got me to protect you." He flexes his bicep in a display of arrogance.
Meia snorted, "Hmph, small dogs always bark the loudest." Razgriz Squadron watches the verbal showdown from the sidelines.
The young Tarak was open mouthed before he fired back, "That may be true but it's better than not being able to bark at all."
Meia cried, "Except you're not the one who's barking, it's just your machine."
Hibiki glared at her, "You looking for trouble with me?"
'Meia has this in the bag.' Snow thought.
The Dread leader leaned forward slightly, "What's the matter, can't handle the truth?"
Hibiki fired back, "Who died and made you king? Who do you think you are?"
Meia informed, "You're our prisoner!"
The Vanguard pilot said, "Yeah but don't forget that your prisoner saved your butts!" Dita sighs as the two exchange insults.
Nathan yelled, "Enough! Both of you!" The others turned to his direction as he walked forward until he was face to face with Hibiki, "You do have potential to be the greatest pilot of this generation, Hibiki. However, you should consider yourself lucky that was just a recon team sent to study this ship's performance and stuff. Had that been an actual attack and you were out there all by yourself with no one to rescue you, you wouldn't last 5 seconds if you came under enemy fire. Another thing you lack is strategy, kid. Rushing head-on into battle without a plan is another way of getting yourself killed. Team work is also critical to any mission. You need people to watch your back in case you are in a situation you can't get out of on your own. Perhaps a transfer to a different unit will help you." He turns around to depart from the hanger.
Grimm added, "He's right, you know. Team work is the key to mission success not to mention survival. In fact it weren't for the Captain, neither me, Nagase or Snow would be here." On the bridge, Meia and Nathan express their opinion about Hibiki.
Meia said, "Hibiki is too dangerous, captain! He needs to learn that working together is the only way to survive."
Magno thought about it, "Hm, I guess you have a point there. Alright, I will have him transferred elsewhere."
Meia smiled, "Thank you, captain."
Nathan threw in his two cents, "Magno, I'd like to train the boy."
Magno titled her head, "Really? Please explain."
The Osean informed, "He does have talent as a pilot however, he is brash and doesn't think with his head. I have seen rookies from my home world that think rationally and co-operate with wingmen they are assigned to. Besides that, he doesn't have any combat training. It's not just dogfights he needs to worry about there may come a time where the enemy boards this ship and we have to engage them in close quarters combat. I will help him in his simulation training while Nagase teaches him hand-to-hand combat. This way, he'll be prepared to deal with any situation." Looking into his eyes Magno can tell that Nathan spoke truthfully and admission about Hibiki's potential.
The pirate nodded, "Very well, Nathan. You have my permission to train him."
Nathan saluted her, "Thank you, Magno." Meia watches him depart the bridge a part of her had to admit that Nathan knows about team work, given the fact that he is the leader of a fighter squadron.
The Osean sets off to find where Hibiki's been transferred to. He soon reaches Reg Central and the door slides open to reveal the interior, when Nathan spots the Vanguard pilot wearing one of the stagehand outfits he gets a good laugh out of it.
Hibiki growled, "Don't laugh, idiot! I look stupid in this outfit!"
Gascogne smirked, "If you are going to be a member of Reg you have to look the part. The captain said that you needed a lesson in team work and I am the person to do that."
Nathan asked, "What exactly do you do?"
The Red leader answered, "We resupply the Dreads during battle and register orders from the pilot, the other thing we do is sort out supplies here. Come with me to the back, I want to show you something." The two follow her and she shows them a holographic image of a city on Mejale.
Hibiki said, "So this is the women's planet? Kind of gaudy, don't you think?"
Gascogne explained, "Sure do. It's a real clean and beautiful place but I hate how everything's super efficient. Mejale is a place where the people are friendly to each other and having a great time but looks can be deceiving. Most of the women on Mejale love being show offs. They waste energy on stupid things like competing with their neighbors over who has a better garden. Because of this one of our living units had to be shut down, our captain had nowhere to go so she started up this pirate gig. For pirates like us there is no difference between men and women, that's why we spared your lives. If you came face to face with the Mejalian Army, you would've been dead before you could beg for mercy." Hibiki gulped at the thought then the women pushed him, "Listen up, the number 1 rule around here is that we all got to work to eat. You can complain all you want but before you do, make sure your work's done."
The young Tarak wondered, "What is it exactly that I'm supposed to do?"
Gascogne handed him a mop, "Make sure to smile while working." Hibiki grumbles something incoherent as he left.
Nathan turned to look at the Reg leader, "So Gascogne, have you been able to figure out what kind of strategic bomber Nagase found?"
The tall woman said, "According to the data it had, it appears to be a B-1R." The leader of Razgriz Squadron theorizes that the B-1R must have secretly been under construction by North Osea Grunder Industries at the time and most likely transported to the Waldreich Mountains for completion when the V2 MIRV missiles self-destructed and was transported by the blast to a different sector above Tarak.
Nathan cried, "Hm, I've seen its schematics a few times. It's the proposed upgraded replacement of the B-1B Lancer. It's said to be outfitted with advanced radars, air-to-air missiles and Pratt & Whitney F119 engines. Existing external hard points would be upgraded, allowing it to carry multiple conventional weapons and increasing its overall load out. For defense against enemy air attack, the B-1R would be outfitted with Advanced Electronically Scanned Array or AESA for short. Some existing hard points would be modified to carry air-to-air missiles. Its top speed is Mach 2.2 but the combat range would be reduced by 20%. It would use this top speed to escape unfavorable air-to-air encounters if need be. It would have a total of 4 crew members: A pilot, co-pilot, offensive and defensive systems officer."
Gascogne whistled, "Wow, that's something. I guess we can consider ourselves lucky that we obtained the first and perhaps only one produced. The enemy was most likely going to use it against us in future battles. The craft is about 40% complete. Unfortunately, our resources are limited at this time so I don't think the B-1R will be flying any time soon."
Nathan proposed, "What about using the leftovers of enemy targets that survive a battle?"
The Reg leader nodded, "That's a nice idea. Plus, it can be a neat project for our engineers to work on." Nathan leaves the room.
Snow arrives at the target practice room and upon entering sees Barnette shooting targets, she seems to be completely unaware of his presence.
He called out, "Hello there." His voice made the dark green-haired woman miss her last target.
Turning around, she sneered, "What are you doing here, male?" Despite the tone of hostility in her voice, Snow pulls out his M9A1 pistol and resets the target machine.
After a countdown of 3, the targets pop up and Snow proceeds to shoot them down with exact precision. His face is perfectly calm as the number of targets gradually drops, eventually all of them are gone.
Barnette asked, "How do you that?"
Snow smirked, "You think flight training was the only thing I had in the Osean Air Force Academy? I also received both combat training and marksman training in case I get shot down over enemy terrain." He blows the smoke off the barrel then places it back in the holster in time to hear the alarm sound.
The ship's radar picks a single unidentified craft approaching. It's soon revealed to be a sphere.
Gascogne ultimately had to restrain Hibiki in the chair at Reg Central.
Razgriz Squadron enter their respective planes and start the systems check, after completing it they line up and take off one by one. The Dreads quickly follow.
On the bridge, Belvedere said, "The sphere has maintained its position."
Down at Reg, Hibiki asked, "What's it waiting for?" As soon as the main Dreads appear, the sphere begins to move and tentacles come out then change into jagged spikes. The sight of them spooks the pilots.
Jura wondered, "A s-sea urchin? Are we seriously going to fight that thing?"
Meia informed her sternly, "Just calm down, Jura. Dread teams, check your positions and commence the attack!" The Dreads open fire on the sea urchin but the needles absorb the blows.
Jura wondered, "Those needles block our shots. Now what?" Meia silently thinks of a plan.
The jagged spikes on the sea urchin straighten all of a sudden and are launched at the Dreads, forcing them to take evasive action.
Razgriz Squadron engages a formation of MiG-31 Foxhounds. Blaze orders them to split into groups of 2 and authorizes the use of special weapons.
The Foxhounds mirrors the action and split into groups of 2 as well.
The leading MiG-31 lines Blaze up for its R-77 medium range, radar homing air-to-air missile. Blaze hears the radar warning and jinks right to break the lock the enemy's trying to obtain, after shaking it off he gets on the target's 6 o'clock and readies a Sidewinder.
Once the tone became loud he called out, "Blaze, Fox Two!" The MiG-31 pops flares to direct the heat seeking missile away then turns around to fire its GSh-6-23, 23mm cannon at him. The F-15E Strike Eagle pulls hard to the left and retaliates with the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon that tears the Foxhounds to pieces. The missile warning blares inside the cockpit making Blaze release chaff to confuse a pair long-range R-37 missiles but the R-37's radar isn't easily confused by the chaff and continue closing the distance. The F-15E Strike Eagle changes into its robot form and shoots the missiles down then quickly changes back to jet mode.
Edge struggles to shake off a persistent MiG-31 of her own but the Foxhound refuses to be denied of a kill. It fires an R-77 and Edge swiftly takes evasive action, popping flares to direct the missile away from aircraft, pulling around on the enemy's tail she readies an AIM-120D AMRAAM. She gains a lock and fires, the active radar homing missile screams toward the target and is able to damage on one of its engines leaving a smoke trail behind it. Entering gun range, the 24-year old shoots the M61 Vulcan Gatling cannon the rounds make quick work of the target. She releases a sigh of relief but Edge reminds herself that the battle's not over and engages additional hostiles.
Archer executes a barrel roll to avoid gunfire from a pair of MiG-31s on his 6 o'clock. Performing a somersault, his MiG-29 is in perfect position for the GSh-30-1 cannon. One of the Foxhounds' left wing gets torn off by the rounds and soon explodes. He pulls a hard right turn when the missile warning sounds and the projectile turns out to be one of the sea urchin's spikes. The object slices the second MiG-31 clean through.
Watching the Dreads fight the sea urchin, Swordsman asked, "Blaze, that sea urchin is causing the Dreads some trouble. Should we concentrate our firepower on it?"
Blaze responded, "Yeah but make the last of your special weapons count because we don't have that many left." The Ghosts of Razgriz form up and speed toward the main battle.
Barnette avoids a spike being directed at her.
She said, "Damn, that thing is too fast! I can't get a missile lock on it! To make matters worse, those spikes are replenished before our missiles can inflict any structural damage!"
Dita contacted Meia, "Hey Meia, let's get Mr. Alien out here!"
Meia replied, "No, he's a man."
The redhead whined, "But he's a good alien!"
The blue-haired woman said, "I told you already about relying on others. This is our battle, we fight on our own!" Blaze watches her Dread weave through barrage of spikes.
Edge asked, "What is she doing?"
Meia stated, "We can do this. I don't need a man's help!"
Blaze shook his head, "She's letting her pride cloud her judgment. That can have disastrous results." His HUD reveals to him that a group of Su-34s have joined the fight and one of them is closing in on Meia's 7 o'clock low. He fires his last AIM-120D at it and the aircraft explodes while the sea urchin rams into the ship with its jagged spikes.
Inside Reg Central, Hibiki complained, "Come on, get me out of these!" He gets his wish when Gascogne presses the button on a device and the hand restraints drop from his body.
She told him, "Come with me. It's time for you to know what we stagehands do." They board the Reg supply ship and Hibiki is thrown into his seat from the sudden acceleration as the ship takes off. Its grappling arms underneath it secure the Dreads and the resupply commences. The sea urchin heads toward the supply ship but Gascogne uses the vessel's armored top to absorb the blow.
Hibiki asked, "So this is what stagehands do?"
Gascogne replied, "I told you we don't just work behind the scenes. So do you finally believe me now?" The resupply soon reached 100%, "Delivery complete. Give them hell, girls." The Dreads head back into battle.
Hibiki noticed something on the ship's monitor, "Hey, there's still one thing left."
The Reg leader said, "Well, it would be a shame to have it brought out here so why don't you go ahead and use it?" The door to one of the supply crates opens and the Vanguard takes off.
Another Su-34 gains a lock for the R-27AE and Blaze pulls a hard right to shake off the lock and pulls on the target's 6 o'clock, downing it with a Sidewinder. Looking to his left, Blaze can see both Meia's Dread and Hibiki's Vanguard combine.
The end result was a silver colored Vandread that resembled a dragon.
Inside the Vandread's cockpit, the two pilots start to come around.
Hibiki finds himself sitting on Meia's lap when his back comes into contact with her breasts, startling both of them.
Hibiki asked, "What are you doing?"
Meia fired back, "What the heck are you doing in here? I never asked for your help so get off me!"
The young Tarak said, "If I could, I would've!" Vandread Meia gets hit by a volley of spikes forcing the pilots to put their differences aside for the time being. The machine weaves through a second barrage with amazing speed.
Jura said with envy, "Meia is so lucky!" Vandread Meia speeds over the sea urchin just as the target unleashes its spike attack. An arc of green energy surrounds the Vandread's head and the machine races toward the sea urchin at top speed and plows through it like a javelin then emerges from the other side. Its eyes glow as the sea urchin explodes. The pilots breath heavily.
Hibiki said, "Man, it's a really big mess out there."
Meia replied, "I agree. Do you understand now? You can't win every battle with just your Vanguard out there."
The young Tarak shot back, "The same thing goes for you and your Dread, don't you think?" Meia doesn't reply but she silently knows Hibiki has a point.
The pilots return to the ship.
Dita pouted, "This is unfair! Mr. Alien was only to combine with me!"
Jura said, "You know if the Vanguard combined with me, my Dread might become something elegant too. Awesome!"
Later that day, the time finally comes to re-christen.
Magno asked, "The ship's name?"
Parfet nodded through Pyoro, "Uh-huh. We've compiled a list of names and we'd like you to choose one."
The pirate leader smiled, "You want me to choose?"
The leader engineer said, "Just as long as you pick a real fancy one." Pyoro shows Magno the list of name until one catches her interest.
She said, "Hm, the 'Nirvana.' Not a bad suggestion, who's idea was it?"
Pyoro told her, "It was the commander's idea."
Magno concluded, "Then it's decided. From this day forward, this ship will be called the Nirvana." Hibiki walks toward the men's quarters exhausted and sits on his makeshift bed. Bart offers a pellet from a box but Hibiki doesn't feel like eating one then Dita comes in, flicks it away and offers him a boxed lunch. Pyoro had to make the boy chew the food and upon swallowing, Hibiki instantly likes it due to the comically satisfied look on his face.
He asked, "What is this stuff?"
Dita wondered, "You like it?" He snatched it from her and munched down as she pleaded, "Mr. Alien, from now on will you combine with me? Please?"
Hibiki said, "Stop calling me Mr. Alien, would you? It's annoying." The group hear footsteps and look at the entrance to see Nathan standing there.
Duero asked, "What brings you here, Nathan?"
Nathan replied, "I'm here for Hibiki. I hope you enjoyed that meal, kid because you're going to need every ounce of energy. Starting right now, Nagase and I will be training you."
Hibiki wondered, "Training? What for?"
The young Osean explained, "You have talent to be the greatest pilot of this generation but you're recklessness and lack of planning can get you killed, there also may come a time where you have to face an enemy in hand-to-hand combat and you have to be prepared in case that happens. I will you help further develop your piloting skills while Nagase teaches you how to defend yourself in a fist fight with the enemy." His observed the young lad's attire, "You won't survive 5 minutes without overheating in that. So put these on instead." He throws Hibiki a pair of gym shorts and a tank top along with a pair of shoes.
Hibiki whined, "My training begins now? Come on, we just got done battling a sea urchin for crying out loud!"
Nathan crossed his arms, "It'll be worth it in the long run, Hibiki. Change into those clothes and follow me toward the simulation room. Dita, come out here with me so Hibiki can change." The stern look he gives her told Dita not to argue so the redhead did what he told her.
A moment later, Hibiki emerges wearing the training gear. He follows Nathan to the simulation hanger, along the way he looks out one of the windows to see a new pair of message pods being launched, one bound for Tarak and the other for Mejale. All the crew can do is pray for the pods to reach their destination intact.
Hibiki succeeds in passing the simulation but now came the physical training with Nagase.
Arriving at the gym, he sees the female pilot standing on a thick pad in the middle of the room, she wore running shorts and sports bra.
Hibiki pointed at her, "That woman is my trainer?"
Nathan said, "Don't let her attractive appearance fool you, Hibiki. Nagase can fight when she has to. Don't worry, she will start with teaching you the basics of fighting then you will move on from there." He sits on a bench on the opposite side of the pad, planning on watching the training session roll out.
After teaching him the basic moves and submission holds, Nagase starts the fighting part.
She throws a kick that Hibiki instinctively blocks, he cockily grins at her but Nagase uses her other leg for a roundhouse kick that Hibiki fails to react in time and the impact sends him landing on his back.
He sat up, "Hey, you cheated!"
Nagase informed, "Rule number 1, never get cocky." Witnessing him getting to his feet, she unleashed a barrage of punches that forces Hibiki to cover.
Nathan said, "Don't just defend, try countering as well!" Hibiki tries to throw a kick as a counter but Nagase blocks it with her leg. The session continues for an hour or so and Nathan notices that Hibiki is steadily getting the hang of it but it'll still be a while before the Vanguard pilot can hold his own against him or anyone else.
Hibiki's currently passed out from exhaustion. He was able to drink some water, wash up and change into his regular clothes before passing out. Nathan carries him back to the men's section of the Nirvana, he gently places Hibiki on the bed. The young lad will be sleeping well tonight.
The two decide that sleep sounds good to them so they walk down the hall, Nagase wraps her arms around her husband's and laid her head on his shoulder. Meia walks toward their location and the three pass by one another the Dread leader stops and turns around when she sees Nagase affectionately hugging Nathan's arm and resting her head against his shoulder. Of course, none of the crew including Meia knew that the two Oseans are married. Meia resumes heading to her destination but not before taking one last look at the couple.
A/N: Chapter 4 done.
The crew has got their hands on a B-1R strategic bomber. As mentioned above, it's a proposed replacement for the B-1B Lancer.
Nathan and Nagase have taken it upon themselves to train Hibiki in both piloting and hand-to-hand combat. His relationship with Razgriz Squadron will change as the story progresses.
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Stay tuned for chapter 5.
Vader 23A