VANDREAD: Army
By Norsehound

Disclaimer: Vandread is nothing of mine, unfortunately...

WARNING: There are may be SPOILERS in here for the second stage! You have been warned!

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Chapter 2:
Let's play Army

Vanguards were flying about shuttling larger supplies to the Nirvana as the Mission station was being evacuated.
In the main cargo room for what was once the Mejere ship, the Tarak Quartermaster was talking with Gasconge.
"We've secured almost the entire frozen stock of the Mission Station," Started the Tarak Quartermaster by the name of Jinn Tosei, "Ever had ice cream?"
"It's a favorite on Mejere." She answered and cocked her head.
The tall Quartermaster with brown hair and blue eyes asked, "Ever had chocolate?"
"Can't say I have..."
"Maybe I should introduce you some time." Replied the Quartermaster, "But anyway, we also managed to find something in the station that reminded me of you Mejere..."
Gasconge shifted weight, "That's an atomic warhead."
"We found it locked away in a storage locker." Said Jinn, "We don't know why this particular station has one, but nevertheless we put it on the list of things to transfer. Fortunately we have the detonator and warhead in separate containers..."
"You got your hands on a Nuke?" Gasconge repeated and looked at the Quartermaster, "We've never been able to make a successful nuke."
"I've heard. Tarak made some but you Mejere shot the later ones down..." Jinn replied.
Gasconge nodded then looked back at the roster, "Hmm...you have some Carbonated goods with you too..."
"Haha...Cola." Jinn laughed, "And root beer. A favorite of the staff that was here before they took off. Perfectly preserved, as well as some of the wine."
"You made off like bandits didn't you?"
"That's the initial impression when we landed here." Said Jinn, "I guess they don't call these Missions for nothing."
"Oh? How." Replied Gasconge, "I had the impression that this was for the Colony Missions."
"Nah, it's an old Earth thing." Said Jinn and turned to her, "Back before the colony ships left they had these places called Missions or churches where someone could stay and rest up. I guess that's why these old stations are called Missions..."
"Interesting..." Nodded Gasconge and looked back at the list, "What's Peanut-butter?"

On the Platform the Vanguards had landed.
At least five of them were already in the room with more coming. The Commander's personal Vanguard was too big to fit into any of the available slots...
"Hey Look out!" Cried Parfait as she yelled at a Tarak Technician, "Those warheads are dangerous!"
"SORRY!!!" Wailed the tech as he stopped the crane, "I can't understand any of this!?!?!"
A tech rushed to help him and Parfait sighed, "Shesh. These men are
troublesome..."

Barnette wasn't happy.
"And furthermore captain they're starting to wander secure areas of the ship! Three of them are already in Rege central!"
"They are co-originating the supplies Barnette." Spoke Magano, "Why are you so worried about the men?"
Barnette argued, "Because ever since we had those three it's been nonstop trouble! Especially with that man Hibiki-"
Then Shin entered and walked to the commander, "Am I interrupting anything?"
"No." Answered Magano, "Now what can I do for you young man?"
Shin added, "We have most of our supplies aboard your craft. I have left some of our special ordinance in the capable hands of your Quartermaster and engineer."
"Yes, the Nuclear warhead especially."
Shin stopped himself from asking how she knew and accepted that these Mejere were resourceful, "Yes, especially that. Anyway, my crew will confine themselves mostly to the men's part of the ship to keep them out of trouble. We've made our home in some of the old colony ship quarters...and we've moved some of the relics we found there to join up with the ones we found on the Mission."
"So we have a history buff..." Muttered Magano.
"I just want to see Tarak with all this," Shin went on, "I've always wondered about our past history...other than the nonsense 'we must win' crap and the 'no shame to Grand-pa.' Frankly I'd like to know why Mejere and Tarak are so different."
"Young man, there are answers and there are answers. Some you may not want to hear..." Magano said.
"I can understand." Nodded Shin.
Then a call came in and Jinn's face appeared on the monitor.
"Yes Jinn?"
"Excuse me sir, but we've managed to load up 80% of our equipment from the Mission. The men inquire what you would like to do with the station once we have completed transfer."
Shin took a moment to think before saying, "Keep it. I'm going back for one more visit before we leave...to leave something behind."
"Understood sir." Nodded Jinn and closed the transmission.
"Leave something?"
"Records to prove that we came here." Said Shin and shrugged, "Who knows, maybe eventually Mejere and Tarak will make up, defeat the harvesters, and start taking over what's left."
"What?" Barnette said, "Never! Mejere and Tarak will never be united!"
"I think they will." Said Shin, "There's hope. This ship is proof isn't it?"
Barnette didn't quite know what to say, but then frowned, "You men are guests and nothing more. If you were prisoners, you should be locked up. But remember that we run this ship-"
"And I don't dispute that." Shin said and then nodded forward, "But your Captain has hired our services, and since I'm happy to give them we're stuck together until we reach Tarak...or Mejere."
Barnette closed her mouth and went quiet.
"Hey, don't worry. There are some in my unit who would be all the more happier if we could just take the ship and lock you all up. But seeing that you women out-number us at least eight to one, we have to grin and bear it."
Then he looked distant, "But then again many of my men haven't seen a real woman until today...hell some of them went docile when they laid eyes on you."
"Is that so?" Cackled Magano, "Interesting thing men's hearts, either they're brave, scared, or turned to jelly."
"Pretty much." Said Shin and then went on, "Well that's it from my end. I'm heading back to the Mission, so please don't take off without me."
"We won't." smirked Magano, "After all, your men would be happy to detonate their nuclear warhead in your absence wouldn't they?"
"Strangely enough...yes they would. Until later Commander." Said Shin and left.
"Interesting man..." Smiled Magano, "Quite interesting indeed."
Barnette blinked as she looked at the door where he walked out.

"There..." Said Shin's voice as it echoed through the now-empty promenade.
Everything was frozen up again, even better in terms of condition to when they found it. Everything was closed, all the shops closed up, doors sealed, and areas frozen for preservation.
All that remained was the promenade, the docking clamp to the Nirvana, and the space between.
He had finished carving in the symbol of the 42nd special forces into the side of the core. Next to and around it were names.
He stood and looked at them all, the entire 42nd that had survived the trip to this station.
...And beside many of them were little crosses- signifying those who were not so lucky in their stay here.
"Hello everyone," He said to their spirits, "Well here we are, and we finally got a ride home now...looks like we weren't going to sit this one out after all."
He looked down at the plating, "I know how much it means to everyone that this place should be our home until we all die...we said something like that didn't we? But maybe...just maybe we can make it home and make this place better on the next time around. And hey, maybe in some hundred years or so this place could be home again for the lucky ones..."
He touched the insignia, and underneath it was the memory databank of their journey here, and the arrival of the Nirvana.
"Well people...looks like this is it."
He stood back and saluted the 183 names on the list, at the center of them was his own.
Then he finished his salute, turned and walked away, leaving the spirits of the dead to rest in peace.

The Nirvana shuddered as it undocked from the station and pulled away.
On the observation deck, the entire Male crew not aboard the Argo were present and saluting the station in their own way.
They had even lined up in rank and form standard to Tarak. Everyone was also in uniform, and all saluting.
From their vantage point, several women had come to watch this ceremony.
"I didn't know men could be so weird..." Said one.
"Maybe it's a religious thing or something..." Said another.
Jura, Barnette, Paiway, Meia and Dita were among those watching.
Jura sighed, "Men, what is with them anyway? It's just a big piece of junk..."
"Maybe it has significance to them..." Said Meia, "It was their home after all..."
"So many aliens..." Sighed Dita.
Paiway shrugged, "They're all strange If you ask me."
"Company!" Called Shin as he turned to the survivors.
Thirty-one of them were present. Sixteen-including himself, were pilots. The other fifteen were support technicians and quartermaster crews.
There were also eighteen aboard the sad hulk called the Argo.
Shin addressed them, "I know the station meant so much to us. We all promised never to forget the Conrads we left behind here...the same men that we fought with and fought for over this time of our exile. We won't forget the many lives we left behind around Mejere either- that probably fought to the Death rather than allow themselves to be captured by the enemy.
"But now we must make our way home- even if with the people we have come to
know as enemies. We must put aside our differences now to confront this new enemy that not only threatens us, but the entire human race in our corner of the galaxy. I can expect no less from each of you as we take on this new challenge of getting home. We may run into unexpected surprises, and even though our enemy may seem invincible, we are the most trained and most talented Tarak had to offer. Only this time our enemy is not Mejere, it is the aliens that have come to harvest us because of what we are- Men."
There was silence from the group as they stared back at their commander.
"And so I will expect no less then what we men can do. This ship has done a fine job against the enemy, so if they can do it so can we. So I challenge all of you to survive to Tarak, and to prove that we did not disappoint either Grand-Pa or the peoples of Earth who sent our colony ship out to space with the hope of our future. That is all, dismissed."
There was applause from the Tarak assembly and the women sighed.
"Well that's a man for you, giving a long speech..." Sighed Jura.
Barnette was a little moved by it though, "Amazing...he has a way with words..."
"Well anyway, as long as they don't have their faces in places where they don't belong I'm fine with it." Jura sighed as she started walking away.
"Me too." Barnette added as she walked away.
The other women watched the men until they dispersed, ready to begin their duty.

Once the Nirvana approached the edge of the asteroids sirens rang, "All pilots to launch status! We are coming up on enemy ships!"
"Roger!" Called the Dread pilots as they rushed to their ships.
In Rege central fighters slid along the glide catapult and were armed as they shot out into space.

Meanwhile on the platform there was a mixture of chaos and progression as the men climbed up into their Vanguards.
They checked their weapons, and the technicians at the launch cradles gave them the approval for launch.
Like the Ichazuchi at the battle that started the whole thing, the Vanguards slid back and into their launch catapults.
With the exception of Hibiki's Vanguard and several others that would be escorting Shin's larger Vanguard.
"Squadron!" He called as he left the Platform, "Everyone pair up and get set.
Remember where we left some surprises, because we'll need them. Argo, form up beside the Nirvana and give them cover fire. Group one, position yourselves along the Nirvana's hull and act as point defense. Group two, keep moving and set off our little surprises."
Acknowledgements came from the Vanguards as they started moving. The Dreads formed up around the Nirvana as they approached the formation.
Magano looked at the magnification screen at the distant star station.
"I'm registering several new types of energy signatures," Started Amarone, "Mostly Cubes, no flagships...some Fighters, and Pods...but I'm identifying several unique power signatures..."
"Shin, got any information about what we're looking at?"
Shin's face appeared on the monitor, "We're seeing at least three dozen Cube types, from what looks like two different fleets or elite levels or whatever. One set's red, the other green. We had a purple set around until around four weeks ago...they just disappeared."
"We can answer that later." Magano said, "What else?"
"Some of their pods and swift fighters are also present. They had some spike balls here too until the same time those purple guys left. Now they got some platform things in there with a set of three lasers on the top and bottom. They also have something that we've coined the 'Red Angel.'
Meia blinked, "It's the same configuration as last time."
Magano nodded, "We fought the Red Angel before. Any flagships?"
"Not within the past month. Big thing, and I have no idea why they didn't come to check us out."
"Huhr..." Muttered Magano, "Well whatever it is, we have to remove that station somehow."
"I've got an idea, but I need some help to pull it off." Said Shin and explained, "The main problem is what we don't know. Those Red Angels and spiral platforms are what can really get us, we can handle pretty much anything else."
"That's the problem, we can't." Replied Magano.
"...Well, let's improvise then." Said Shin as his mecha disappeared amongst the asteroids.
The Nirvana halted, just out of noticeable range from the outpost.
"grandpa bless us! I found the No-Dachi!"
"How bad?" Asked Shin.
Magano looked at one of the Operators and then at the screen as the blackened and pitted hull was displayed.
"Hardly looks flyable sir....I think those robot things got to her...there's no sign of life aboard..."
"Damn..." Sighed Shin, "Okay, Plan B. See if you can find anything we need for the Argo aboard. Team B, get set to spring the surprise for the natives."
"What's that boy doing now?" Magano asked.
"Nirvana, watch the fireworks. After we set this thing off we need you to go in there and start having fun. We'll handle the red angel, just focus on the station."
"Understood." Responded Meia, "All units prepare to move out on the signal."
"Roger!" They all chimed.
There was another momentary pause before Shin asked, "Hey Meia, you wanted to know what a Jack-in-the-box was?"
"...Yeah...?"
"Watch."
Several of the asteroids had small explosions on them as hidden latches blew off to expose missile racks and other assorted weapons.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Missiles blossomed from their hidden places among the rocks, streaking out into the harvester formation and detonating in massive explosion.
Next, several large rocks had rippling explosions before engines ignited and flew for the formation.
Pods turned but were too late as gargantuan rocks rammed into their formations and blew them out of the picture.
Cubes looked around in bewilderment as they had been ambushed, before a third wave of mines flowed into the area.
Stars blossomed as Mines were either blown up by the Cubes or exploded against them.
Then the Vanguards rushed in, followed by the Dreads.
Cubes turned and whirled as combined firepower rained in on the scene.
But the platforms started moving.
They were green discs with three nozzles on a mount above and below them. As they moved, these nozzles rotated and opened fire with pulse lasers.
"There!" Called Shin before his Vanguard started firing.
Dreads Jura and Barnette arrived and opened fire as they stuck the Platforms and blew them to kingdom come.
X Fighters whirled amidst the distraction-only to have more missiles corkscrew from some of the asteroids now arriving on the spot.
Shin started to think the battle was in their favor until the pods belched up some more cubes- both red and Green, "Nirvana we need to take out that station NOW."
"We got it already!" Called Hibiki, followed by a flash of light.
The Vanguard's cone head turned, "What the-!?"
Vandread Dita had finished forming and pointed it's lasers, "All right buddy, here it comes!"
Both blasts hit the station--only to frizzle against an energy shield.
"Huh?"
Then the Red angel came about and charged it's blasters.
"What!?"
But then the Argo barreled out of nowhere with both guns firing.
The Red Angel turned to address the new problem.
"What? Argo! Return to formation!" Ordered Shin.
But then the voice of the Argo's commander called, "Sir! Send our best regards to everyone on Tarak! All that could be were jettisoned and were headed for the Nirvana-
...Sir, VICTORY FOR GRAND-PA!!!!"
The Argo rammed itself against the Red Angel, Guns still shooting off as it's engines were overheating.
"What!!? NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Screamed Shin as both vessels rammed into the cylindrical harvester station.
The following explosion eclipsed not only the station but any harvesters and pods foolish enough to remain next to it as the explosion effectively ended the battle.
As the light from the burning station slowly died, Shin addressed the Mejere, "Do you Mejere know of sacrifice? You say we men are barbarians with nothing-good running for us, but have you ever seen Men disregard everything for the safety of others? And if so, do you women hold anything close enough to it?"
There was silence from the Dreads, Barnette in particular.
It was a known fact that Mejere typically didn't perform any sort of sacrifices on the battlefield- usually they fought until everyone was safe- or dead. The only suicidal mission was that against Tarak targets- usually for no return and no purpose other than harming the Tarak.
There had been no sacrifice for others.
Then Shin asked, "Is everyone all right?"
"Yes sir, no casualties...except...."
Shin sighed in his cockpit and touched the space between his eyes, "Argo, may you too follow the depths until you reach heaven."
Then he turned to other tasks at hand, "Squadron, can anything be found from the No-Dachi wreckage?"
"...Not much use now sir...I think the crews quarters and supply area went with the ammunition explosion. No...nothing left."
"Then it will be a memorial then, to all the ships we have lost." Sighed Shin and then ordered, "All Vanguards, head for home. Recover any escape pods left from the Argo and set the rest of the packages to defensive mode."
"Yes sir." Answered the pilots before sending a signal through the asteroid field to arm all the presents to target any enemy craft entering the area...especially around the Mission.
It was then that the Nirvana left, leaving behind the memories of so many lost...

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Well I hope that's good...Still working on other chapters. I have summaries for the second Stage, so maybe I can bumble my way through it....

Ah well. Still deciding what to do about Gundread...weather it be wrap-up the first stage or skip it and go to the second. Opinions?


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