Chapter 7: Understanding One's Feelings

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

Vandread Ace

The Nirvana cruises through space without any surprise attacks by their enemy, which is good in the crew's opinion because they need this time to enjoy rest and relaxation.

Inside Dita's room, the redhead is currently busy sowing a cute alien pillow when she suddenly pokes her finger with the sowing needle. Paiway is with her since the young nurse had nothing better to do.

Dita cried, "Ow! That hurt!"

Paiway asked, "Hey Dita, are you making that for someone?" The red-haired Dread pilot places a hand on her cheek while smiling.

The redhead teased, "Maybe."

Paiway suggested, "Because if you are then you can give it to me!"

The Dread pilot pulled the pillow close to her, "No way! I'm making this for Mr. Alien!"

Paiway cried in her frog puppet's voice, "Barf out!" The Nirvana crew enjoy this period of calm in their own way like Belvedere telling a joke to Amarone and Ezra sleeping inside her bridge control console while Magno, BC and Snow look on.

BC said nonchalantly, "When we're not being attacked, things certainly get dull around here pretty quickly."

Magno stated in slight surprise, "I didn't know you were one for that military ballyhoo!"

BC looked at her superior, "I'm only talking about the crew's morale."

Magno returned the gaze with a smile, "Our business is pirating, BC. Sometimes, even pirates like us need to enjoy a little R&R."

Snow nodded, "She's right. Being tense all the time is not good for you, Buzam. You need to unwind from time to time." Once she's finished with the pillow, Dita runs toward the hanger in search of Hibiki and soon reaches the Vanguard.

She called out, "Mr. Alien!" Not hearing a response Dita looks around the entire hanger and soon stumbles across Nathan overseeing the final pieces of the B-1R being put into place, once the strategic bomber is complete they will start training 4 people to fly the thing.

He turned around to see Dita, "Hi, Dita. Looking for something?"

Dita nodded, "Yes I am. Have you seen Mr. Alien? I have a present for him."

Nathan looked at the pillow with a smile, "So I see. I believe he's training with Nagase at the moment so your best bet would be the gym." Dita thanked him and rushes off toward the gym as the leader of Razgriz Squadron shakes his head.

Nagase throws a spinning heel kick that Hibiki ducks and runs forward with a punch aimed at the young woman's toned stomach, fortunately Nagase catches it and throws the Vanguard pilot over her head and onto the mat opposite of her. Hibiki quickly gets to his feet and looks for an opening as his trainer remains in her combat stance which involved her bending her knees slightly, holding one arm up until it nearly lined up with her face while the other arm pointed diagonally toward her chest.

'He's come a long way since he first started.' She mentally evaluated over how long Hibiki has lasted against her.

Hibiki runs at her and Nagase throws a kick that he catches and trips Nagase's foot out from under her. Lying on her back, the young Osean blocks punches then locks Hibiki in some type of arm bar submission hold that he inevitably taps out to. Nagase releases the hold and they both stand up and bow.

Nagase commented, "That's enough for today. I'm impressed, Hibiki. You learn pretty quickly despite being hotheaded sometimes, Nathan was right about you. You do potential to be one hell of a pilot since you completed your flight training in just one month. A few more months under me and you will be handle yourself in hand to hand combat."

Hibiki flashed a cocky smirk, "Heh, of course! I'm a man after all!"

His trainer corrected, "An adolescent, not a man." Hibiki leaves the gym and heads for his quarters to grab stuff so that he can shower, however when he gets there he screams when he spots UFO stuff.

He wondered, "What in the world?" He spotted Dita sleeping in his bed so he cried, "Wake up!" The lovely redhead wipes the sleep from her eyes and upon seeing Hibiki, she jumps out of the bed and does a little ballerina spin.

Dita asked, "What do you think? It's all neat now, right?"

Hibiki replied, "Neat? What's so neat about this, huh?" When Dita shows him the alien pillow she gets kicked out.

Meia and Nagase are in the conference thinking up some new formations with the Dreads when they the door open up and both of them look to see the redhead.

Meia wondered, "Dita? What are you doing here?"

The young Dread pilot said gloomily, "Oh, hi Meia and Nagase." She then told them what happened, "Then he got really mean and kicked me out."

Meia started, "Dita, I'm really good with words and I certainly don't want to increase your curiosity but..."

The red-haired Dread pilot asked, "But what?"

Meia finished, "I think it's not right trying to force your way into somebody's heart when they are not ready."

Nagase threw in her two cents, "Dita, Hibiki comes from a world populated only by men and he's never had contact with the opposite sex before. It takes time for two people to get to know and understand each other. When Nathan, Grimm, Snow and myself visited Yuktobania for the first time, some soldiers of the country's military looked at us with wary stares because of what we did to them when the two countries fought each other. They felt that we'd stab them in the back when they least expected it. It took some convincing to let them know that we meant them no harm since the orchestrated war between our two countries was over. To make a long story short, Hibiki is still adjusting to being on a ship filled with a crew compose almost entirely of females." That didn't lift Dita's spirits, in fact it made her feel worse and walks down to the Nirvana's garden to throw rocks into the stream.

She screamed, "Why? Why? Why? I just want to know more about Mr. Alien." She sinks to her knees and Paiway snaps a picture.

The young nurse said, "I took a picture of you with this new aura camera that Parfet built. Dita, are you feeling depressed?"

Dita answered in a blank tone, "Isn't it obvious? It's like that time when I had a pet blue bird, I took real good care of it then it started to lose its energy and one day it died."

Paiway said, "Maybe the reason why it did was because you didn't give it some time to itself?"

Dita gasped, "So you're saying that I am doing the same thing to Mr. Alien?"

The young nurse spoke through her puppet, "Well, he did say that you were annoying."

Dita felt her heart sink, "I see." Sometime later, Meia tells Magno that she wants to try a new formation with the Dreads.

Magno said, "You and BC are cut from the same cloth, why don't you two try to relax a little?"

Meia stated, "With all due respect, the days of our planet's fate are rapidly diminishing."

The pirate leader sighed, "You're as stubborn as ever." Hibiki enters the meeting room ignoring Meia's comment of being late.

Jura asked, "Where's Dita?"

Hibiki replied, "What do I look like, her baby sitter?" The redhead enters the room and sits down.

Meia started, "Okay, now that everyone's here I am going to discuss the new formation I have come up with starting when Dita' Dread combines with..."

Dita interrupted, "No I am not because I won't combining with him anymore!" The announcement shocks everyone in the room including Razgriz Squadron.

Jura said in a teasing tone, "Uh-huh, I get it. You've started to become bored with Mr. Alien, haven't you?"

Dita shook her head, "No I figure out that he isn't happy with me." She looked at the blonde-haired woman, "So from now on you can combine with him, Jura." Jura blinks in surprise at what the redhead just said, this makes Hibiki panic a little.

Meia told her in a calm yet commanding voice, "Dita, I will not tolerate the mixing of private matters in this room. This isn't a game we are playing!" The situation worsens when Meia had to call out Dita's name a few times during the formation test.

Gascogne said, "Well, this is no good. The girl's mind is someplace else right now." Lunchtime comes around and everyone heads to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. That is when Jura notices something odd, Dita was sitting next to Meia and Nagase and Hibiki sits at a table by himself.

She said to Barnette, "You know, there's something weird going on."

Barnette looked to see what her friend meant and nodded, "You're right!"

Jura asked her, "You think this is my big chance?" Barnette struggles to find the answer and face faults when Jura starts to wickedly laugh.

Duero takes the seat to his right.

Hibiki cried, "What's the matter, doc? You can sit across from me, you know."

Duero said, "I believe that seat is reserved for Dita." He then advised in a doctor-like tone, "You should increase your calcium intake."

Hibiki fired back, "You should mind your own business."

"Aren't you going to eat?" Meia asked as she noticed that Dita didn't touch her food.

Dita declared, "I've decided that I am going to change!"

Nagase wondered, "Why do you wanna do that? I think you're fine the way you are now." Dita turns around to look at Hibiki, who immediately start wolfing down his food like there's no tomorrow!

Once lunch is over, Barnette finds herself sitting on a couch with Jura and Bart. The brunette can't help but feel what part the helmsman is going to play.

Bart asked, "So what is the reason why you brought me here?"

Jura said, "I have a favor to ask you. You see, Dita has been getting in my way lately so I think you should be her baby sitter and that way I can have Hibiki all to myself."

'Sometimes I'd love to know what is going on in that mind of yours, Jura.' Barnette thought.

Bart asked, "What's in it for me?"

Jura explained, "Think about it. The crew will start respecting you the way you deserve, you'll eat better quality food and be treated like royalty."

The helmsman wondered, "Royalty?" He thought up an image of himself being fanned by two lovely women and a mischievous smile formed on his face, "That doesn't sound half bad."

The blonde-haired Dread pilot said dreamily, "I wanna do it soon." She imagines Hibiki and herself sailing across the universe on a golden craft. The two start laughing at the plan.

Barnette sighed, "I can't keep up with them anymore." Hibiki returns to his room in the men's section, what he didn't expect is Nathan leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Hibiki asked, "What are you doing here, Nathan?"

Nathan replied, "I have been noticing that your relationship with Dita hasn't improved at all. Why is that?"

The Vanguard pilot said, "Well, she's just annoying. She barges into my room and hangs a whole bunch of UFO crap in it without my permission then she sleeps in my bed!"

The leader of Razgriz Squadron cried, "I think she's trying to be nice to you, that's all. Have you ever considered of hanging around with Dita?"

Hibiki snapped, "Why should I? All she does is yammering about aliens and doesn't bother calling me by my actual name! She's just damn annoying!" They hear a gasp behind them, both turn around to see the red-haired Dread pilot standing with a hurt look on her face. Nathan immediately suspects that she had heard everything before he can even take a step toward her, Dita runs down the hallway leaving a trail of tears in her wake.

Nathan sighed, "Nice one, Hibiki. Women, especially Dita, are more sensitive when it comes to emotion than us men. What you just did was hurt her feelings, kid."

The Vanguard pilot ran a hand through his hand, "Damn it, what am I supposed to do?"

Nathan suggested, "Apologizing would help. Cheering people up happens to be one of Dita's strengths and I find that commendable."

Hibiki said, "You certainly know a lot about relationships."

The 24-year old stared at the ceiling, "I've had my share of arguments with my parents when I was around your age. We sometimes said really hurtful things to one another like one time, my father came home so drunk that he and my mother got into a physical confrontation, they both said things that were really hurtful and that almost caused a divorce."

Hibiki blinked in shock, "Really? Did you have any brothers?"

Nathan shook his head, "No, I was an only child. Anyway, the next morning I was having breakfast when dad came down to the kitchen for some ibuprofen to treat the killer headache he received from the hangover last night. After swallowing a pair of them he asked where my mother was, I told him that she left to talk with a close friend she knew about thinking of a divorce. I told him where the address was since I went there a few times and he just took off leaving me in the house. It was nothing new since I've been alone in the house before when my parents had stuff to do like going out to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Later that day, father told mom that the reason why he was so drunk was that he was fired from his job as an aircraft mechanic for unknown reasons. This news devastated him to the point where he did the classic drink to forget routine where he consumed large amounts of alcohol to drown the memory. He loved working on airplanes including fighter jets. I firmly believe that apologizing will help strengthen the bond that's growing between you and Dita. Think about what I said, Hibiki. Don't make a mistake you cannot undo." The young Osean walks out of the quarters.

Gascogne is busy looking stuff over in Reg Central when she hears the door slide open, looking to her left she discovers that it's Hibiki. The young Tarak thought the place was deserted but when he spots the Reg leader, he turns around to leave.

Gascogne called out while holding up a deck of cards, "Hey, if you're bored you can hang out here for a while."

Hibiki somewhat smiled, "I guess it won't hurt for a little bit." After pulling up a chair to sit on, they start the game by drawing their starting hand.

Gascogne asked, "What happened to your partner? No, not your machine I mean Dita?"

The Vanguard pilot replied, "Why is she my partner?"

Gascogne shrugged, "You two seem to be a good combination to me."

Hibiki showed his hand, "Check this out, Three of a Kind."

Gascogne showed hers, "Full House." While they play cards, Dita looks through a telescope Parfet built in the Nirvana's garden. She's able to view a nebula where new stars are forming beneath the cloud of gas and dust.

Dita gasped, "Wow, it's so pretty!"

Parfet asked, "Do you like it?"

The redhead nodded, "It's amazing, Parfet. The stars are so close it feels like I can reach out and touch them! With this thing, I will able to discover new UFOs and aliens."

Hearing Dita sigh, Parfet asked, "Something wrong?"

Dita waved it her hands, "It's nothing!"

The lead engineer titled her head, "Did you get in a fight with Hibiki or something?" Dita proceeds to tell her the whole story.

She concluded, "I decided to stop being around him."

Parfet asked, "Why'd you do that?"

Dita sighed, "Mr. Alien thinks I'm a nuisance so I decided I got to stay away from him for his own good."

Her friend cried, "I see. I don't think he's a weakling in my opinion."

The red-haired Dread pilot admitted, "I wanted to know more about Mr. Alien. Parfet, is that a bad thing?"

Parfet told her, "When I get my hands on a new machine, I wanna know what makes it tick both inside and out. You love something you wanna know more about."

Dita asked in hope, "Love." A strange warmth creeps its way through her heart.

The lead engineer informed, "The scope was not the only I wanted to show you, Dita. I have something else if you're interested." She pulls over a portable computer and starts typing the constellation Virgo.

A female voice said, "Virgo, the faithful century year of this sign. If you are honest with your feelings you will have good luck."

Parfet smiled, "I added astrology and compatibility fortune to this."

Dita looked at her, "Compatibility?"

Parfet suggested, "Why don't you look up your compatibility with him? I downloaded all the information about everyone on this ship, all you have to do is type his name on the keypad." Dita types Hibiki's name in with nervousness and presses the enter key. Suddenly, the computer mysteriously short circuits and Dita collapses.

Panicking, Parfet takes her to the infirmary where Duero runs a diagnosis.

Duero informed, "She seems to be fine and I don't see any external injuries anywhere."

Parfet sighed in relief, "Thank goodness."

Duero asked Dita, "Have you ever collapsed like this before?"

Dita answered, "This is the first time it happened."

The Tarak doctor asked, "Do you remember how you felt before you passed out? If so, please tell me."

The redhead explained, "It was my heart, it felt like it was being pinched really hard. I couldn't breathe then felt confused. The next thing I knew, I was here."

Parfet twiddled her fingers, "I'm sorry, I never expected this to happen."

Dita shook her head, "That's alright, Parfet. I know you were just trying to cheer me up." They suddenly hear the computer behind them making a strange noise and Duero sighs in annoyance.

Parfet asked, "Something wrong?"

Duero answered, "There's nothing to worry about. This happens often I'm still trying to understand its behavior but I must confess, I'm not fully acclimated to it yet." Parfet decides to take a look at it and types on the keyboard.

She said, "What's this? The rudimentary circuits have been cut off from each other. Why didn't you tell me right away? This isn't a medical doctor's job!"

Duero frowned, "I apologize. I thought it'd be bad to tell you after every single battle." While Parfet is busy lecturing Duero, Dita returns to the garden and stares out the window.

'I felt that one day a UFO would come and take me to a place where I can be happy forever. I guess I truly felt that my wish came true but I don't care about that wish anymore, I just don't want Mr. Alien to hate me.' She thought.

All of a sudden, Harvest units and flights of Su-37 Terminators and MiG-21s come out of the beautiful background, prompting all Nirvana fighters to scramble and intercept them.

Meia noticed that one pilot is absent so she demanded, "Where's Jura? She supposed to be out here!"

Barnette placed a gloved hand over mouth, "Uh-oh!" Jura and Bart continue to drink alcohol.

Jura stated, "After I combine with him, a new Vandread will be created."

Bart said, "And I will be the new captain of the Nirvana." They both laugh hysterically afterward.

Back with the imminent battle, Meia said, "They're going to have a little chat with me later but right now, we must focus on the battle. Dita, I'm going to go with you and Hibiki."

Dita said hesitantly, "Sure."

Hibiki suddenly appeared on a monitor, "Hey, listen. I'm...uh...sorry about what I said earlier. Just keep being who you are." The apology certainly lifts Dita's spirits because the next thing they know, their machines combine to form Vandread Dita and head off to confront the enemy.

Inside the cockpit of his F-15E Strike Eagle, Blaze smiled, "Those two will make a great couple, I guarantee it."

Archer asked, "You knew that would happen, didn't you Captain?"

Blaze replied, "Those two like each other even if they do not know it. If all else fails, go with your gut. Squad, disperse and provide support to any allied aircraft if they ask for it." Razgriz Squadron head into the battle as well.

Blaze engages one of the Su-37s and the two start a game of cat and mouse, he executes a vector roll and lines up on the enemy's 6 o'clock for the new AIM-9X Sidewinder hearing the tone he fires. The heat seeking missile obliterates the Su-37 with deadly accuracy. He pulls a hard right turn when a MiG-21 fires its 30mm cannon and retaliates with the Vulcan Gatling cannon, downing the enemy aircraft with a few rounds. Another MiG-21 shoots its cannon the shells fly past the canopy and Blaze watches as the hostile flies past his 8 o'clock. He makes the MiG-21 pay for that with an AIM-120D AMRAAM.

Archer enters gun range and shoots his MiG-29 Fulcrum's 30mm, GSh-30-1 cannon at a pair of cube-types. He performs a barrel roll to avoid gunfire from an Su-37 and dives then fires an R-27AE that blows the Terminator to bits. Looking to his left, he spots a pair of MiG-21s arming a pair of K-13 Atoll heat seeking missiles to fire on Barnette. He readies two R-27AEs and when he gains a lock on, Archer fires them. The missiles scream towards their targets and score direct hits.

Barnette looked at the fireballs, "What? There were enemy fighters behind me?"

Archer replied, "Yes, there were. They were preparing to shoot heat seekers at you fortunately, I happened to spot them in time and destroyed them. A simple thank you would be nice."

Barnette said flatly, "Thank you, Archer."

'Not exactly the type of reaction I was hoping for but I guess it'll do.' Archer thought with a sweat drop.

The enemy put up a surprisingly hard fight but the Nirvana fighters are able to avoid their destruction.

A/N: Chapter 7 done.

Here, Nathan explains to Hibiki the consequences of hurting someone's feelings.

Archer saves Barnette from being shot down by a pair of MiG-21s.

The B-1R will be seeing combat shortly.

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Stay tuned for chapter 8.

Vader 23A