I might revise this later on, but please read! I haven't submitted anything recently because of some computer problems, but now I have school as well so don't expect new chapters too often; oh, and since then, my normal writing document has been canceled for my using, so if this submission looks funny (format and the like) that's why. Please read and enjoy!
Chapter 9
Hives and Stingers
They flew for a good two days, not having a bit of trouble getting through the magnetic storm (thanks to Parfet's installment of the Paksis Sphere, which boosted the shields to the point that they shattered any rocks smaller than the Pod), and so far they had encountered no more enemies. The mood in the Pod was still a bit morbid, but with each passing day everyone began to feel better, even Mindona once she woke up after her eight hour 'nap'.
It was hard to stay happy though, since there was practically nothing to do. Kahlua kept on requesting help in the unpacking of crates, but only Pyoro volunteered his time. Everyone else was 'busy'.
Genikuro worked on his Vanguard and flew it out every now and then just to goof off, Jurani was occupied with fixing up the Dreads as best he could, Liewa helped him when he couldn't figure something out and read the rest of the time, and Mindona enjoyed kicking back and sleeping when she wasn't busy doing something like helping with dinner.
"Pyoro-2 shouldn't work so hard," Pyoro whimpered, carrying two boxes as she took one. It was luck for them that the majority of their newfound belongings were organized into easily managed boxes, else Kahlua would be forced to drag everyone down into that container by their ears.
"I'm fine," Kahlua sighed, some sweat beading on her brow. She had begun working when she woke up, like she had since they became stranded on the Pod, and it was now almost time for dinner; which she would have to make.
She went into one of the two bedrooms. Everyone had agreed that the women would share one, and the men would have the other. The three boxes were brought into the room and set aside at the foot of the bed.
"Phew!" she breathed, flopping down onto the mattress. She and Mindona shared that bed, while Liewa thought it nice to have one of her own from the sickbay in a corner; bolted down for a precaution.
"I'm very concerned..." Pyoro whimpered, sitting on the bed next to her, gripping his toes with his small fingers.
She laughed. "I'm fine, Pyoro, nothing's wrong," she reassured.
"Beep... PYORO," he chirped his name.
She smiled and sat up, opening the box she had carried in. She expected something like sheets or a pillow, due to its lightness, and was surprised to see only a small package.
As she looked at it, it seemed to glow. Her hand picked it up and slowly unwrapped it. Inside was a necklace with a golden chain and what seemed to be a heart-shaped ruby pendant.
"Pretty," she commented, unclasping it and putting it around her neck. She stood and observed herself in a mirror secured tightly on the wall. She really liked it. It went well with her blue kimono.
"Attention!" Jurnai called over the intercoms. "There has been an enemy sighting! All units dispatch!"
"What!" Kahlua gasped, head whipping around. "A... A fight! Now!"
"Pyoro-2 mustn't go!" the little robot demanded.
"Pyoro, you know I have to."
"NO!" he cried, following her out to the Depart room.
"Stay here!" she ordered, shoving him out of the way of the closing trap door as she scrambled down the linking tube into her Dread. It took but a moment for the link to raise and she was nervously off.
The dense storm was still around them, boiling in its rage as bolts of lightning flew out from random areas.
"Everyone take caution out there," Jurani warned, watching the tumbling rocks and electricity. "Set shields to a minimum of eighty percent." He gave them a range of setting because of his inability to completely finish repairs.
"All right!" she heard Genikuro cry as he flew out. He had to switch containers since they spend an hour gathering the flying boxes when he first went back out. Mindona was already flying, detached from the Pod, and Liewa was still boarding. "Let's do this!" he finished.
"We're gunna kick their butts!" Liewa giggled as she launched.
Kahlua felt a bit better, hearing their confidence, then looked ahead. ... She couldn't see any enemies.
"All of them appear to be minion-husks," Jurani informed them, having a scanner locked onto the enemies. "There are three, so watch out!" When he cut out she saw two of them slowly appear ahead, just visible enough to distinguish their mouths open with a pucker; from them came cubes of minions.
"This aught to be fun, right Gen?" Liewa asked, but there was no response as his Vanguard shot ahead and out of sight through the gray haze of the storm. It was obvious that he was off to dig out that third husk.
"Well, let's get to it!" Mindona encourage. The minions broke apart and the fight began.
Despite the team's willingness to fight, Kahlua glanced at the images of her companions and saw some confusion. The Dreads had been in storage for a very long time, and as a result, there were no missiles or bullets.
"I have modified the weaponry on the Dreads," Jurani informed them all. "Kahlua, yours still shoots as it use to. Liewa, there is..."
He continued to explain, and to sum it up, he had actually changed the weapon launchers to be compatible with the Paksis Spheres. So, when Liewa bent the large lens on her Dread and fired, she created a magnified and focused Paksis laser. Mindona fired blue bullets, but without modifications they would remain as bullets and not complete lasers, and nasty ones at that.
"This is a piece of cake!" Liewa boasted as she flew, mincing her opponents.
Kahlua was stressing as she flew, blasting almost anything that shot in front of her as she stressed to maneuver around the meteors. There was suddenly a quake as one of the minions slammed into her Dread from behind, and more rushed at her.
"Oh, no you don't!" Mindona cried teasingly, shooting some to bits. Kahlua blasted ahead and lost the rest. "Don't stay idle too long," her friend called as she went off again to be visually lost.
Kahlua thanked her, but it was only a few moments later before Liewa yelled 'watch out!'
Kahlua, still flying, was slammed into by yet another minion, which ricochet and drifted, too damaged to function.
"Why the hell did that thing go kamikaze!" Genikuro demanded, popping out from behind a rock; he had probably watched it on scanner. He was already done with a batch and flying over to the rest. The third husk followed him and released another group of minions. Genikuro was all too willing to veer off for it once more.
When Kahlua's Dread stopped shaking she sighed, then cried out when yet another thing hit her. She looked back and saw an actual husk biting the back end of her Dread.
"What the...!" Mindona gasped, glancing quickly back.
"Oh no, Kahlua!" Liewa cried out as the husk bit harder.
Kahlua became terrified as she heard her Dread breaking apart.
"Hey!" Genikuro yelled, popping out of the storm and assailing the husk. "Quit lollygagging and get this thing off!"
"Kahlua, do something!" Jurani yelled. At that her hand suddenly flew for a certain switch...
"Damn it, why are they so focused on her!" Genikuro cursed, stabbing the husk repeatedly. He had finally made a hole, and he smirked with some success. Then the inside turned to a brilliant blue and he was stunned still. Kahlua had revved her engines onto the husks body, and within two seconds it blew up. Genikuro went flying back as she shot forward.
"He has a point," Mindona commented, concentrating on the battle as best she could as Genikuro went flipping past her. "They do seem to be targeting Kahlu."
"She's Pyoro-2!" came Pyoro's voice over the intercom, and there was some griping on the other end as Jurani shoved him away. "All units," he began, having control again over the intercom. "Mind Kahlua. For whatever reason the enemy has targeted her! We cannot let their plans come about!"
"ROGER," everyone replied, and with that their first formation was placed under Jurani's guidance.
It worked for a little while, about a minute, but the enemy soon created another plan.
Kahlua flew along, Mindona and Liewa sticking close by and guarding her while all three shot anything they could, and Jurani updated them on enemy positions. The last two husks spat out more cubes of minions and then even more, and these broke apart and swarmed around the party of three in a circle; nearly enough to block out their already limited view.
"I can't locate you," Jurani informed, his voice crackling over the intercom from some disturbance. "Try to... KSSSH ... may... K-KSSSH ... break out... KSSSH..."
"What!" Liewa called back, but there was no answer. Mindona resumed her shooting, but the minions had their bodies turned so the flat faced inwards, creating around them a circle that buzzed with energy and movement; which was probably what caused the bad connection. It reminded Kahlua of a hive.
Mindona's shots reflected off their surrounding walls and flew here and there within the 'hive'. Liewa received one, Mindona another, and Kahlua, being in the middle, got four. One hit her starboard side, while the others aimed for below. She was pushed slightly out of the center, going up, and when this happened the hive was purposely broken apart. Kahlua, like the others, began to shoot at the separated minions. Kahlua had to stop when they formed a shield in front of her.
"Kahlu! Watch out!" Mindona warned, and Kahlua quickly tried to back away. Her Dread rammed into another wall of minions, and the buzzing continued.
They were in closer contact with her now, and as the noise continued her monitors and systems began to malfunction.
"What do I do!" Kahlua asked aloud, seeking an answer. She was terrified.
"Get her out of there!" Genikuro snapped, having flown back. He soon had his hands full. Liewa and Mindona wanted to break through, but Jurani warned that doing so could injure Kahlua. "Dammit," Genikuro cursed, and he broke away from his multiple rivals and flew at the circle, dodging rocks along the way.
He landed on them, not even making them shift under his Vanguard's feet, and began to hack away with his sword.
"Min, Liewa, cover him!" Jurani ordered.
"Stupid things!" he cried as he dismembered them. Some were beginning to fall off, short-circuiting, and he yet again felt successful as a gap appeared. "All of you die!"
"Hey, behind you!" Mindona cried.
Genikuro looked to see a meteor flying at him and cursed. He had to jump away. More minions replaced the ones he had already damaged.
"Dammit!" he yelled, landing again and resuming his aggravated foray.
He was beginning to make some sort of dent when three fell away before him. He was surprised as something hit him from behind. He was flung inside. It was more enemies coming to fill in the gap that shoved him in. What they didn't expect was a brilliant burst of energy.
Jurani had to look away, shielding his eyes. When the light subsided his attention returned and he gasped.
"Holy Mother!" Mindona cried, turning her Dread around. The light was subsiding and the haze began to clear, revealing a gigantic form.
"EEK!" Liewa shrieked. "It's a wasp!"
"What the hell!"
"What... What is this?" Kahlua whined, looking around. She was in a cockpit with two separate monitors shaded red and with a consol the size of herself before her. Between the two monitors was a screen where Genikuro automatically appeared, and he looked thoroughly pissed.
"Kahlua," Jurani called, another screen appearing. "You've made a Vandread!"
"... What?" she asked, looking around again. "But... but I don't wanna be in here!"
"Try and work with it. Your position is in the head, right between the eyes, and Gen..."
"Dammit! Why am I in its ass!"
"Well, technically it's called the..."
"I don't care what it's called, it's still an ass!"
Genikuro was sitting in an azure room and in full view of the blue crystal stinger. He had no consol in front of him, and only one monitor. He noticed this before the Puragu, which were all inserted. "What the hell is this, some kind of joke!"
"Calm down..."
"You calm down! Hey, are we gunna move or what!" he demanded, and Kahlua flinched.
"I move it!"
"You seem to have plenty of buttons to push and levers to pull! Go on, hit something!"
"But..."
"Come on!"
She nervously flipped a switch and from one of the six legs there shot barbs, dicing some of the minions which came sailing for them.
"Nice," Genikuro said, a tad harshly. "Now do something else!"
She pushed a button and the wings became stiff. Some smaller ones lit up, and she pressed them. Through the veins of the wings flowed a mixing of blue and red energy. The wings began to glow. They filled to the point of resonating. Suddenly it all shot out in energy beams. They went fifty feet, which isn't much compared to the Vandread, then fragmented into smaller beams. It kept breaking off until there was a literal shell of missile power around them, then it dispersed as it went on.
"Better! This is pretty cool!" Genikuro laughed. When the light cleared there was nothing left but the Dreads and the Pod; which had been positioned nearby so as to miss being shot. "Ho yeah! Who's the...!"
"Way to go Kahlu!" Mindona cheered, a look of adoration on her face.
"Kahlu, that was amazing!" Liewa giggled, circling the humungous Vandread-Wasp. "And it's so pretty! Well, as pretty as a wasp could be! All red and blue, and those wings are like glass! I don't like its eyes though, they look like embers. They're a little scary and..."
"What!" Genikuro protested. He couldn't believe that he was being left out. He flung out an arm, arguing, and the Vandread-Wasp abruptly moved that way.
"So you're indeed the one responsible for movement!" Jurani laughed, even when Genikuro began to curse him.
"Okay, I'm ready to go back to the simple Dread," Kahlua murmured, and at that they broke apart.
"Pyoro-2! Come back! ... Get away from my consol! ... Bring Pyoro-2 back! Pyoro-2 should NEVER be in danger!"
Later that evening Kahlua made dinner. Everyone pitched in, even Jurani. Everyone but Genikuro, who had decided to keep to himself for the evening. It was natural to have the majority of their conversation on the Vandread-Wasp.
"It's kind of odd," Jurani mentioned.
"What is?" Mindona inquired, helping him kneed some dough for bread; it would be for breakfast the next day.
"That Vandread. If it was Hibiki's and Dita's old machines, shouldn't it have turned into the blue giant?"
"Dunno," she replied.
"Oh, that's pretty Kahlu! Where'd you get it?" Liewa cried.
Kahlua had been absentmindedly fingering her new necklace. "Hm? Oh, it was in one of those boxes... I've been wondering, do you think they came from some unknown colonization room?"'
No one made a reply for quite some time.
"It's unlikely," Jurani answered.
"What's unlikely?" Liewa asked, having forgotten the question.
"That a room big enough to store that much stuff would exist unknowingly on the Nirvana. It's been lived in for nearly twenty-two years, they couldn't have missed anything. ...What're you thinking on?"
He was addressing Mindona, and she looked up. "Hmm... I was wondering about the Dreads. Do you think I could combine with him? And Liewa and maybe even all of us together?"
"It's plausible," he replied. "Still, I don't think any Vandreads will turn out like our parent's. Something has happened, and there are even different pilots now, so maybe that's why they're new..."
Again they thought in silence as they prepared the meal.
"Man, this sucks!" Genikuro muttered to himself as he lay looking up in bed. "To think that I actually made a Vandread and I can't even shoot anything with it..."
How was it? Please tell me in a review! I would very much like to hear what you have to say about it! (Please!) : ) Hope you found it humorous too!