TEKKADREAD
Disclaimer: Vandread, Tekkaman Blade and Ranma 1/2 belong to their respective creators and no money is being made off this story using their characters.
: Thoughts
"": Telepathic communications
Chapter 13
Part 3
The Chosen Path
Where am I? The last thing I remember was being in the Sick Bay. Then all of a sudden, I'm here... wherever here is. Slade looked about as he was floating in an endless void of darkness. At first, he thought he was back in space again, but there were no stars, planets or any other heavenly bodies, and he was in his own clothes, instead of his armor. Another thing he noticed was that the void wasn't cold.
He then took a look at himself and saw that all the terrible wounds he had suffered from his battle with Saber were gone. His body was feeling no pain at all. In actuality, he wasn't feeling anything period. He caressed his face and arms and didn't feel a single thing. There was absolutely no sensation of touch whatsoever. Another oddity was that he wasn't breathing. He raised his hand to his mouth and could feel no breath. He placed his right index and middle fingers against his throat, then on his left wrist but couldn't detect a pulse. If he didn't have a heartbeat nor was he breathing then why was he still alive? Or was he alive?
His thoughts went back to his most recent memories, which were about his confrontation with the Tekkaman Saber. He had to admit that his opponent had totally overwhelmed him, and that he had been in no shape to take on such an adversary. Just where had he come from? His powers and abilities had mimicked his own. Slade winced as he remembered Saber's lance skewering him. If that was the case, then why didn't he have gaping holes in his chest and back? Then there was that strange weapon of his... what did he call it again?
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Flashback...
Slade: "VOLTEKKER!"
Saber: "ANTI-VOLTEKKER!"
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End of Flashback...
Those weird red beams had made a mockery of Slade's most powerful weapon and had shredded his armor like tinfoil. Then his recollections became blurry as he vaguely saw himself attaching to Gascogne's ship, then later lying on a gurney in the Nirvana's Sick Bay. Then he heard Dita scream out before he was enveloped into... nothingness.
So is that it? Am I dead? Is this the afterlife? Slade thought as he scanned his surroundings. Not much of an afterlife. For a time, he simply floated in one place, not knowing what to do. Then, he caught a flicker of light out of the corner of his left eye. He turned toward it and saw a pinprick of luminescence in the distance. Slade wondered what it was and decided to investigate. After all, he didn't have anything else to do.
He took one tentative step toward it and saw that the bright light seemed slightly closer. He looked down and saw that his feet were touching nothing, so how could he move by walking without any surface?
Heh. I guess when you're dead, then reality doesn't mean squat. Oh well. Giving a nonchalant shrug with his shoulders, he started making his way toward that light. For a long period of time, Slade thought of nothing, but reaching his goal. For some unknown reason, he could sense that it was calling to him. However, just as he neared the circle of radiance, he stopped and thought for a moment. Weren't you supposed to stay away from the light at the end of the tunnel? He shrugged again and decided that it didn't matter, considering the mortal wounds he had sustained. There was probably no way that Duero could have saved him, if he hadn't already declared him clinically deceased, (and as a matter of fact, he had a few hours ago).
Slade took one final moment of consideration and then stepped into the light.
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In the plane of the living...
Damn! I'm not good at this kind of thing. Barnette sighed as she continued to make her peace in front of Slade's body. After saying the words, I'm sorry' to it, (a phrase in which she rarely used), the Dread pilot found herself at a loss of what else to say. What more could she say to a person, in which she had treated badly, since the day he came aboard the Nirvana?
"Jura... won't speak to me... until I speak to you. I think it's crazy that I'm pouring out my soul to a dead person, but... I guess it's the thought that counts, right?" What am I doing?
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Somewhere else...
The Tekkaman in question thought it odd that he was suddenly thinking of Barnette, but he simply pushed that random thought aside and looked about. The place was familiar enough. It was the Paksis. He had been there several times in his dreams and once before his last battle with Saber. It was an unending sea of green-white light that moved like the surface of an ocean. There was a quiet, soothing hum and there was not another soul as far as he could see. For a long time, Slade made no sound as he simply basked in the peaceful and non-stressful environment.
Well... if this is what it's going to be like for the rest of eternity, then I suppose I should get used to it. I wonder if there's anyone else here?
As if answering Slade's unspoken question, a low-pitched voice suddenly resonated within his mind.
"Who are you?"
Slade's head jerked up as he looked about for the source of the voice. "Huh? Who's there?"
The voice replied. "I am here."
"Where?"
"I am here." The voice repeated.
Slade looked about again, but could see no one else. He then began thinking that he might have just imagined the voice, then shook his head. He had definitely heard someone. He called out. "Listen... I can't see where you are. If you can, give me some kind of signal so I can find you."
"I AM HERE." The voice stressed.
"Here? Where? I don't understand."
"YOU are here. I am here. WE are here."
The martial artist tried to make sense of the voice's cryptic message, but still could not understand. "Listen, I need you to be more specific. What do you mean you are here?"
"You are in I."
Slade's face took on a new look of puzzlement. "Huh? You're saying... I'm in you?"
"You are here. I am here. You are in I."
"Okay... so what you're saying is... you're this place, right?"
"I am here."
"All right... at least we got that cleared up." Slade took in the information, then asked, "So what's your name? What do I call this place... I mean, what do I call you?"
"I am here."
"Uhhh... okay, scratch that question. So, are you the one that called me here? Did you want to ask me something?"
The voice went back to its original question. "Who are you?"
"Who am I? Oh, well Gasco called me D-Boy, and Dita called me Mr. Alien, but I go by the name of Slade."
"Who are you?"
"Huh? I just told you, my name is Slade."
"Slade is not Slade. Who are you?"
"What do you mean I'm not me? Of course I'm Slade! I've been Slade as far back as I can remember!" The Tekkaman had begun to get a bit irritated at the voice.
"You are Slade, but Slade is not Slade."
"Will you cut that out and give me a straight answer?"
The voice paused for a moment, then replied. "Slade is not you, but YOU are Slade."
The Tekkaman considered the voice's response, then asked slowly, "So... what you are saying is that... my real name isn't Slade?"
"Correct."
Finally! A straight answer! "Okay, I'll give you that. I really don't know much about my past and I've been using the name Slade, since it's the only name I can remember. So... do you know who I am? If you do, then I'd like to know."
In an instant, the entire expanse of green-white light became flooded with images. However, they came at such speed and magnitude, that Slade wasn't able to keep up with all of them. He managed to catch glimpses of several scenes that appeared to be familiar as they rushed by him, but overall, it was just one big jumble.
Then finally, the series of images came to a halt on one particular scene. Slade became very interested as he gazed upon a picture of a gentle-looking young woman holding an infant. He recognized the woman from his own dreams, only this time, her image was clear and now he could see the child in her arms. The baby looked like a boy with raven hair, with blue-gray eyes and...
Hold on a minute! Slade took a closer look at the youngster and time seemed to stop as he made a startling discovery. That's... me. It's really me! That's how I was when I was young! If that's the case... then this... woman was my...
At that moment, the image winked out, leaving Slade alone again in the expanse of green-white nothingness.
"Hold on a minute! Was she really who I think she was? I need to know more about my past!"
The voice then said, "Past can wait, present cannot, future in line."
Damn! We're back to that nonsense again!
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The Nirvana...
Dita was still sniffling a bit when she finally decided that crying over Mr. Alien wasn't going to do any good. He wasn't coming back. She decided that she needed to get out of her room and go for a walk.
As she went through the door, she noticed right off that the attitude of the crew was different. Several of the residential areas were closed off and the hallways were emptier. Usually, Dita would pass by two or three crewmembers every minute or so, but now, she would only pass by one girl every ten minutes or longer. Those that she did meet were in a despairing mood. At first, she didn't think much of it, but as she continued on, the atmosphere became ever more dreary.
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That other place...
"Now wait a second! Why won't you show me any more?"
"Past can wait, will always be there. Present cannot wait and future is always arriving."
Slade became even more irritated at the voice of the Paksis. "What do you mean that the past can wait? I want to know my past now!"
"Past not important if present and future ignored."
"What are you talking about? All I got is my past! I don't have a present or future! I'm dead!"
"Slade who is not Slade still has present and future. Must take present and head toward future to learn past."
This caught the Tekkaman's attention. "Huh? What are you saying? Are you saying that I'm not dead yet?"
"Slade who is not Slade only gone because he thinks he is gone. Here knows this. Here and Slade BOTH know this."
At that moment, a line symbol of Slade's Tekkacrystal appeared on his forehead. At the same time, the entire area began glowing brighter. The former Saotome then started FEELING for the first time since he entered this place. He started to make the connection as he thought back to that time during the Paksis reactor implosion.
"Wait a minute... are you saying that you are somehow... connected to me from when those torpedoes hit? I remember feeling strange after the Nivana was formed. The Tekkaman Power System felt a bit off when I got my crystal back."
"Slade who is not Slade must return to present and future to learn past."
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Dita entered the bridge, but saw that everyone, including Magno and BC were in a state of despair. They didn't appear to care about anything. The life seemed to have been sucked out of all of them, and they were like soulless automatons. They didn't even register Dita's presence as each person simply gazed at her monitor. The red-haired pilot felt as if she was alone on the ship and she didn't like that feeling at all. Finally, she decided to do something about this.
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"Doctor! Please help me!"
Duero and Paiway turned to see Dita at the door to the Sick Bay.
"What is it Dita? What's wrong?" The physician asked.
"I need some medicine! Something to make all the others feel good again! Something to make the sadness go away!"
The healer gave the girl a sad smile and shook his head. "I'm sorry Dita, but I'm afraid there's no medicine for that."
"But what can I do to make everyone feel better?"
"There isn't anything that we can do!" Paiway replied bitterly. "It's all over! In three days, we're all going to die! What's the point of getting our hopes up? There's nothing left to hope for! Face it Dita, we're doomed!"
Dita became shocked to hear this from her childhood friend, then she ran off with new tears in her eyes.
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The other place...
"So what you're saying is that in order to learn about my past, I have to live in the present... and fight for my future? That's kind of hard to do when I'm dead, don't you think?"
"Slade who is not Slade had already begun his journey. He has only strayed off his chosen path. Now he only needs to be guided back."
"How the heck am I supposed to get back on track from being dead? Who's going to guide me back?"
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"Can everyone hear me?"
All over the ship, the crew stopped wallowing in their own sorrows as Dita's voice was heard on the ship's intercom.
"I know that lots of people think I'm stupid. I know that lots of people don't like my enthusiasm. But all I can be is enthusiastic, because no one else will. I've always been happy with everyone aboard this ship and I can't stand to see everybody like this."
In her room, Dita sobbed a bit, then gathered up her courage to continue on.
"I know that everybody is sad that Mr. Alien is gone. I was the saddest when he (sob)... died. Then I remembered how happy we all were when he was with us. I also remembered how much he cared for every one of us. Some of us may not agree, but he was always there for us. Even after we drove him away, he still cared for us. Now, we're all so sad and stopped thinking about the future. I don't think that Mr. Alien would want us to do that. He always thought about tomorrow and never gave up! HE NEVER GAVE UP!"
Slowly, a new strength began to fill in the hearts of those who had thought that the future could not be changed.
"That's why... that's why I'm NOT going to give up! Mr. Alien never gave up, so I'm not going to give up! If we all keep trying, then we CAN win! Mr. Alien taught us all to work together! He taught us all to CARE! Even though he's gone, that doesn't mean that we should give up! That doesn't mean that we should stop caring! That doesn't mean that we should stop LIVING!"
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Xian Pu nodded as she felt some new confidence in herself and her teammates.
Dita is right! The commander never gave up, even when things looked bad!
She decided to go to those who had given up and kick them out of their drunken stupor. They were going to fight like TRUE warriors! It was time to get busy!
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"Mr. Alien is with us, in all of our hearts! He always has been and he always will be!"
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Ukyo stood up and began shaking off her depression.
What am I doing, just moping around? My ancestor wouldn't have just sat around and waited to die. There's work to be done!
Her fingers started playing across her console as she began rearming the Dreads and Vanguards. Even if the odds were against them, she was going to make certain those Harvester bastards were going to pay dearly for messing with Magno's pirates. It was time to get busy.
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"Even if it seems hopeless, even if there's nothing left for us to do, we should live out our lives the way we want! Mr. Alien showed us that life is everyone's right. Men or women, to him it didn't matter! We all deserved to LIVE!"
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Meia smiled a bit as she tapped her communicator console, and signaled for the other Dread pilots to assemble, and start planning battle tactics. It was time to get busy.
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"We should fight not only for ourselves, but also for Mr. Alien... and our future!" (1)
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Parfat smiled as she turned toward her staff and began directing them in the engineering section. As some of the crew worked on the Paksis Reactor, the head engineer told others to begin restoring Pegas. Even though the Tekkaman was gone, she was going to finish what she had started. It was time to get busy.
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In the Sick Bay, Duero motioned for his nurse to begin prepping all the instruments and medical scanners. It seemed that they would soon become very busy.
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On the bridge, Magno smiled as she saw her bridge operators begin to show life again. Once more, the command center became active as the entire ship started to stir back to life. It seemed that Slade's influence was still with them, even if he was not. Things were going to get busy.
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Dita sniffled as she finished speaking and shut off the communicator. There was nothing more that she could say, though she was unaware of the effect her words had on the crew. As she stood up, she decided to see Slade's body one last time. Unknown to her, a small dot of blue light appeared on her forehead and took the shape of Slade's Tekkacrystal. It quickly flickered out as she emerged from her quarters. She was surprised to see the hallway no bustling with activity and wondered just what was going on. She then made a beeline to where Slade's body was.
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Meia didn't know why, but she suddenly felt the urge to go see Slade's body, before joining up with the other Dread pilots in the briefing room. She supposed that it was just to say her final farewells. On her forehead, a white dot of light appeared and took the shape of Slade's Tekkacrystal before fading away as she left her own quarters.
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Jura had decided to see if Barnette had gone to make her peace with Slade, before heading to the briefing room. On her own forehead, the same symbol as Meia and Dita's, appeared in red for a moment. The blonde pilot straightened herself up, wiped away the tears and exited her room.
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In the morgue of the Nirvana, Barnette had been silent ever since Dita had made her speech. She then looked down at Slade's body and shook her head while smiling. "You hear that Slade? Even now, she STILL calls you Mr. Alien. Go figure."
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The other place...
Slade was about to ask the Paksis presence another question when three new dots of light appeared in the distance. He wondered just what was going on and then noticed that each dot seemed to be moving toward each other. One dot was blue, the second was white and the third was red. They seemed to be converging on a single point some distance in front of him.
Is... this what that Paksis meant? Are these lights my guides back?
Since Slade didn't have anything to lose, he decided to go for it. He began running toward the point in which the three dots of light would intersect each other. Just as he was about to reach his destination, the three dots of lights came together and expanded into a man-sized, emerald shape that resembled his Tekkacrystal. Making one final leap of faith, he dove into it and everything became dark.
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"Do you know how much I hate Dita's enthusiasm? It always irritated me at how she could be so cheerful." Barnette remarked. "How could anyone be smiling all the time?" She let off a long sigh. "I always thought of her as nothing but a ditz... but, after hearing her now, I can't help but feel proud of her. And I think it was because of you, Slade. You... believed in her, even when others... like me, thought differently. You believed in everyone, didn't you? And I went and threw it all in your face. I guess I did deserve to be slapped. No wonder Jura won't speak to me now. I wouldn't want to have anything to do with someone like me, too. But... I'm going to try to make it up to her... and to you. You... deserved that much, Slade. And wherever you are now, I hope that... you'll... forgive me."
Just as she finished speaking and was about to leave the morgue, Slade's body suddenly began emitting an aura of emerald green. At the same time, Jura, Meia and Dita arrived on the scene and were in awe at the sight. Slade's body rose from the table and floated straight up in mid-air. His arms were held out at an angle from his sides, mimicking the shape of the Tekkacrystal. The pieces of the object in question also rose from the table and fused back together. The crystal hovered just above Slade's head. Then a voice was heard echoing throughout the ship.
"TEKSETTER!"
Slade's eyes snapped open as his body was engulfed in a brilliant corona of light. This caused Barnette to be knocked off her feet and she landed hard on her posterior. Meia, Jura and Dita got their first, close-up look at Slade's transformation. The clothes he was wearing disintegrated as lines of crimson appeared on his forehead and traveled down his muscular form. Sections of Radam armor appeared and began fusing to flesh and bone. His entire form became encased in metal as the Tekkacrystal was absorbed. Then the light dispersed, leaving only a seven-foot tall space warrior standing before the awestruck Dread pilots.
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In the engineering section, Parfat was knocked off her feet as Pegas was suddenly engulfed in a flash of light. Its battered and broken form straightened out, as its surfaces became smooth. Its missing arm suddenly regenerated itself, as the Tekkabot became whole again. Then, a few moments later, the light faded away, leaving a completely repaired Pegas.
"I didn't know you had installed a nanofiber self-repair system, Parfat." One of the engineers said.
The bespectacled girl shook her head. "I didn't."
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The engineers that were near the Paksis chamber were also taken by surprise as the power source suddenly flashed. It was as if new life had been infused into it. The Paksis Pragma hummed with power as systems that were formally dead came alive, heralding the return of an old friend.
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Barnette and the others were still speechless as Slade stood before them. Then, the Tekkaman triggered the process to return to his human form. His armor faded away and he stood fully clothed before Jura's friend. He knelt down in front of her, smiled, then leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the forehead. He backed off and said...
"Apology accepted."
This proved to be too much for Barnette.
THUD!
Slade looked down at the pilot after she had just fainted and then glanced up at the three girls standing at the entrance to the morgue.
"Was it something I said?"
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The entire ship shivered at the sound of one voice.
"MR. ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"
GLOMP!
Slade was bowled over as three females suddenly tackled him to the floor.
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On the enemy flagship...
Saber felt a strange sensation wash over him from within the regeneration tank. Something had just happened and the scarlet Tekkaman knew that something big was going to happen.
The great battle was on the horizon...
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A little while later...
The joyous atmosphere on the Nirvana rose to new heights as news of Slade's resurrection spread like wildfire. Dita refused to let go of her Mr. Alien and Slade was in danger of losing all circulation in his right arm. Presently, he was crowded on all sides by members of the Warrior Squadron, the Register and the Dread teams. He stood before Magno and BC on the bridge.
The old woman was close to shedding tears as she gazed upon the newly restored Tekkaman. Though there were a myriad of questions that she wanted to ask him, all she could say was...
"It's good to have you back, D-Boy."
The Tekkaman nodded. "It's good to be back and..." He turned to the girl who had his right arm in a vise-grip. "Would you mind letting go? I DO need that arm."
Dita shook her head as she gripped even tighter. Around them, several girls began glaring at her. Meia and Jura found themselves envious that Dita was so close to him. The Dread leader had already been embarrassed when she had impulsively glomped onto Slade, but she couldn't help herself. Seeing him return to life had given her heart wings, and she felt more alive being with him than she had ever been. Even though she had steadfastly denied it afterwards.
Slade sighed as he used his free arm to firmly, but gently pry Dita off him. "You can't pilot your Dread like this, and I'm going to need you and everyone else working together, if we're going to get out of this mess."
This announcement perked everyone's attention. The fact that Slade was back had given their morale a much-needed boost. Now he had a solution to their current predicament? They became all ears.
"You've thought of a way to defeat the enemy?" BC asked.
"I've... got an idea." Slade replied. "Meia and the others brought me up to date on the situation since I was... er, gone."
"So what is it?" The aged captain inquired.
"I... haven't worked out all the details yet, but let's just say that this plan is going to be a blast."
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An hour later in the briefing room...
"That's totally insane!" One of the Dread pilots comments as Slade outlined the main points of his plan on a holographic display.
The Tekkaman shrugged as he gestured to Pyoro. "According to the data, we're inside a gas giant with an unstable core. With enough energy output, we could cause a chain reaction and transform this planet into a small star. I'm pretty certain that the Harvesters won't be able to withstand the solar flares that will erupt from the star's creation. We can't beat them head-on, since they outnumber us by at least ten-to-one. In this way, we can take out nearly all of them and that flagship in one fell swoop."
"And what about us? Won't we get caught in those flares too?" A pilot from the Warrior Squadron asked.
"Timing is everything if this plan is to work." Slade replied. "Just before the core chain-reacts, we have to withdraw our forces out as quickly as possible. Therefore, we're going to only use a select number of Dreads to ignite the core."
Meia nodded as she continued with the briefing. "We're going to need at least twenty seconds to achieve our escape after the chain-reaction begins. Since my Tekkadread is the fastest, it's going to be part of the team to ignite the core, along with Dita and Barnette's fighters."
"What about the Harvester Fleet and that battleship? They're not going to sit around while we do this." Xian Pu asked.
"That's where you and Warrior Squadron come in." Slade explained. "Along with Jura, we're going to run some interference and keep them busy. It's going to be very close-quarters. The Vanguards and Tekkadread Jura are more suited for that kind of battle. Once that core ignites, get back to the Nirvana or get some distance ASAP until we're able to pick you up. Understood?"
Xian Pu and the other members under Slade's command saluted him, then headed off to prepare.
At that point, Meia turned to Slade and said, "There's just two details that you haven't addressed yet. We still have two of those fake Tekkadreads to deal with... and Saber."
"Yeah, I know. The way I see it, once we take out Saber, then the enemy fleet will lose their biggest advantage."
"This isn't just to settle a personal score, is it?" Meia asked.
Slade smiled a bit. "Well, I guess it is partially personal, but Saber is a big threat all by himself. We take him down and we should be able to deal with those remaining two Tekkadread clones. The rest will just fall into place after that." I hope. He addressed Parfat. "Before I left the Nirvana, you mentioned that you had been working on some modifications on Pegas, right?"
The head engineer nodded. "Yep. And now that Pegas has been restored, I can finish what I started! Believe me, when I'm through, the next time you and Saber go head-to-head, it'll be NO CONTEST!"
"So how long will it take?"
"About a day or so, I think. We'll work all through the night if we have to."
"All right then. We're going to need all the firepower we can muster. We've got less than two days to get ready."
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As the ship bustled with activity, Slade decided to keep himself occupied by helping out in the Register for a while. After changing into his tuxedo, he made his way into the supply station, where Gascogne and her staff warmly greeted him.
"Hello D-Boy."
"Hey there, Gasco."
"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Gascogne!"
"And remember, I'm not D-Boy, I'm Slade!"
The two stared each other down in mock anger, then both broke into peals of laughter. The head supplier patted him on the shoulder and led him to his station, which was beside Ukyo's.
"Shouldn't you be training to get ready for the battle?" The descendant of the original Ucchan asked as Slade began working the console.
The Tekkaman shrugged as he replied. "I've already got some sessions lined up with the Warrior Squadron, but they can wait until all the Vanguards are fully modified for the operation. Say, why don't you join us?"
"Huh? Who me?" Ukyo was bit surprised at being asked.
"Yeah. From what Xian Pu told me, you study some martial arts yourself. I could also tell by the way you moved."
"Well, yes I do know some stuff." The brown-haired girl admitted. "My family has its own fighting style, based on cooking our specialty okonomiyaki."
"I see. I look forward to seeing it. So you'll come to the sessions?"
The Register girl paused for a minute, then nodded. "Sure, why not? It'll give me a chance to get some practice and work off some stress."
"Great." Slade then snapped his fingers. "Hey, here's a thought. Why don't you become a Vanguard pilot? The squadron can use some extra members, and having some experience in the martial arts is always a plus."
"Well... I don't know. I mean, I do a lot of work here already." Ukyo the seventeenth was also a bit nervous at the thought of working more closely with him in battle, as well as in the supply depot.
"So do some of the other pilots." Slade said. "A few of them came from the Register as well as the Dread teams. Look, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything. If you don't want to join the Warrior Squadron, then that's all right. It's strictly on a volunteer basis."
The girl nodded. "After this is over, I'll think about it." She then went back to working her station.
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A while later, Slade finished off his assignments and logged off. He nodded to Ukyo as he prepared to leave. "Think you can make it to the gym after your shift? We'll probably keep on training until 2300 hours."
"I think so."
"Good, I'll see you then." Slade got up and headed toward the exit.
At that moment, Gascogne called out to him. "D-Boy! I hope you didn't forget our bet!"
Slade stopped for a moment to think. Then he snapped his fingers and nodded while calling back to her. "I haven't forgotten. After we kick the Harvesters' butts."
"What bet was that?" Ukyo asked.
The Tekkaman shrugged. "Gasco and me had a bet on a poker game a few days before I... died. I lost that bet and I've got to cook dinner for the Register staff."
"Really?" Ukyo then remembered something else she had wanted to know. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Where did you learn to cook okonomiyaki? I thought no one outside of my family knew how. You actually duplicated the Kuonji secret recipe last Christmas."
Slade shrugged again. "It's just something I picked up and experimented with during my travels. See you later Ucchan."
"See you then." Ukyo said as he exited the Register. Then she realized what he had called her. "Hey, wait a minute! How did you know my nickname?"
However, Slade was already gone.
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Why did I just call here that? Slade wondered as he walked down the hallway. He said had said it without thinking. However, it had just sounded right to call her Ucchan. He remembered back to when the doctor had said that Slade had mentioned that name several times in his sleep.
Slade then thought back to those images that the Paksis had shown to him. Though most of them had been blurs, he did remember a few scenes. One of them was an image of his younger self with another that looked like a child-version of Ukyo. He had not understood how that could be. He was pretty certain that he and Ukyo had never met, until after he had come aboard the Nirvana.
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On the enemy mothership, Saber finally emerged from the regeneration tank in a pool of gooey fluids. The Tekkaman's armor had been totally repaired, including the severe injury to his head. In a flash of crimson light, he reverted back to his human form. The armor faded away to reveal a slender, but muscular youth that appeared to be around his late teens to his early twenties. His skin was pale and his eyes had reddish pupils that had an evil glint to them. His hair was a lighter shade than Slade's raven locks, and in his right hand was a ruby-colored Tekkacrystal. Unlike Slade's, Saber's key to his transformation, had folding outer arms.
His body was beyond top, physical condition, but that was only because of the harvested organs his creators had given to him and the further enhancements due to the Tekkaman Power Process. His insides were not his own, and more than a dozen innocent humans, (some of which were children), had been slaughtered to provide the means to create the Tekkaman. Before his body had been recreated, he had been one of the lower classes of wretches that inhabited the few remaining cities that remained on Earth. When he had been offered the chance at receiving prime organs, he immediately volunteered for the experiment. In addition, he would receive great power and be elevated to a position of importance, as the servant of the Harvestors. The leaders had thought they had found the perfect weapon: powerful, merciless, and obedient. However, unknown to the masters of the Harvestors, Saber had his own ambitions.
During the process, which had transformed him into the brutal killing machine that he was now, Saber had secretly looked into the master database and learned of the biotechnology that he was being subjected to, including its history. The science had belonged to a race known as the Radam, and had eventually been taken by another alien race. The Radam had been made extinct and the conquerors later attacked the Earth during the Great Migration. While humankind had begun colonizing other worlds, including Tarak and Mejele, those that had remained on Earth managed to get a hold of Radam technology and adapt it for their use against the invaders. That evolved Radam technology would later be known... as Paksis. Only two prototypes were available at that time. The Earth defenders used one, while the other was taken aboard a colony ship known as the Ikazuchi.
Eventually, the Earth would be triumphant in defeating their adversaries, but at great cost. The victory ended in total genetic saturation of the citizens and in the end; the defenders became like the invaders. Now, survival and self-preservation became their only goal and to do so, they would take the organs of those who had managed to survive in the rigors of space. With their Paksis creating the Harvesting Fleet, there seemed to be nothing that could prevent them from succeeding.
Then the Tekkaman Slade appeared.
Now the Harvesters found themselves facing a most formidable obstacle. In turn, they would need a weapon of even greater power. Thus the Tekkaman Saber was born.
However, Saber had no intention of remaining as the lackey of the Harvesters. The Radam thirst for conquest was ingrained into his subconscious mind as soon as he had emerged from the Earth version of a Tekkapod. He had the power, so why should he use it in service of those lower than he? If it weren't for the obedience chip that they had implanted in his cerebral cortex, he would have annihilated the Earth leaders.
For now, Saber would bide his time, until his window of opportunity would arrive. At present, he was charged with the final defeat of the Nirvana and the harvest of its crew. The pirate vessel still had not emerged from the gas giant, but it was only a matter of time.
As he waited for the females to make their next move, his thoughts went back to his battle with the Tekkaman Slade. He snorted at how relatively easy it had been to destroy him. True Slade had dealt him a serious injury, but the crimson Tekkaman had obliterated his only rival with his Anti-Voltekker. There was no way that he could have survived.
In a way, Saber had been sorry to see him destroyed. With him gone, there were no other challenges. Collecting the organs from the other human worlds would be child's play to him. He and Slade had been two of a kind. They had been the only known Tekkamen in the entire universe, the last remaining legacies of the Radam Empire. In some twisted, bizarre way, it was if Saber had met a long-lost brother. However, there could only be ONE true Tekkaman, and only the strongest would survive. That was the law of nature and Saber intended to keep his title.
The red Tekkaman put those thoughts away for another time as he continued to keep vigil for his prey, the Nirvana.
----------
The Nirvana's gym...
WHOMP!
The Vanguard pilot groaned as her teammates helped her to her feet, after her commander had tossed her. Slade had wasted no time in starting up their training regimens again. They would need to be alert, with minds focused and their reflexes sharp, in what would be their most intense battle to date.
He had gone especially hard on those who had gotten themselves drunk, during their bouts of despair after his supposed death. It wasn't that he was punishing them, since he couldn't really blame them. He just wanted them to work off the booze in their blood. A good training session to raise their metabolisms and focus their ki would help burn out the alcohol in their systems. He wanted every one of them completely sober as soon as possible. That meant that they would have to sweat out every last drop of sake, wine and beer that they had guzzled.
Xian Pu nodded as she watched the squadron start shaping up. Her superior had begun with relatively simple calisthenics, then gradually upped the ante. It wasn't long before each girl was well on her way to regaining her edge. Toward the middle of the sessions, Slade was moving them near to black belt levels. She then noticed a newcomer entering the gym.
Slade stopped in his training to glance at the person who was standing at the doorway.
"Glad to see that you made it Ukyo. Come on in."
The heir to the Kuonji School of Okonomiyaki Combat nodded as she stepped forward. She was dressed in the traditional wear of her ancestor, which was dark leggings and a low-cut chef/gi combination outfit. Slung over one shoulder was her family's heirloom, which was a huge battle spatula. She also wore a bandolier of smaller throwing spatulas. She was the spitting image of Ukyo the first.
As Slade took in her appearance, he couldn't help but feel how familiar she looked. Though for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. He began getting images of her as a child, like the one he had seen in those images that the Paksis had shown him.
Putting those thoughts aside, he gestured for Ukyo to face off with him. "Okay Ukyo, let's see what you've got."
----------
Later...
Slade lay on his bed wide awake as the rest of the crew slept. It had been quite a day and tomorrow might well be his last. Then again, having already died once, he wasn't as apprehensive as he should be about facing off against the one who had killed him. At first, he had thought that he had been in a coma, but Duero assured him that he had been definitely deceased, albeit temporarily.
So now what? He actually traveled to the Great Beyond and back. He had been given a second lease on life, and the question was what he was going to do with it? He wasn't even sure how he had managed to come back. His thoughts drifted back to the time the Paksis had spoken to him and remembered its words.
----------
Flashback...
Paksis: "Slade who is not Slade has already begun his journey..."
End of flashback...
----------
My journey eh? Who would've thought that stowing away on the Ikazuchi would end up in a journey that included Harvesters, a ship full of women, a mutiny, then dying and coming back? I wasn't even expecting to stay so long in one place.
Slade turned to one side and continued to contemplate.
Now I wonder what I'm going to do after all of this is over? I suppose I'll just move on as always. The question is... do I want to?
The thought of eventually leaving the crew of the Nirvana wasn't as appealing as it had been several months ago. There were also those questions and mysteries about his past. He knew that it all had something to do with the Tekkaman Power System and the Paksis Pragma. It seemed that the best way to unravel his own history was to remain on the ship and follow this path to its conclusion. After that... well, he'd think of something.
He mentally nodded to himself that this would be his chosen path as he went to sleep. He would need all of his rest for the approaching conflict.
----------
The day of battle...
After two days of intense preparation, the crew of the Nirvana was as ready as it would ever be. Dread and Vanguard pilots began putting their machines through their final checks. The members of the Register were at their posts and the Engineering sections were set for any and all kinds of situations. In the Sick Bay, Duero and Paiway were all set to treat any injuries that might be incurred from the operation.
On the bridge, there was a tense atmosphere as the countdown had begun. In her command chair, Magno nodded to each of her bridge crew, then to her first officer. Bart was in the navigational well, ready to move the ship at a moment's notice. The sensors had read the gas giant's core reaching the peak of its energy curve, thereby making this time the most ideal for the relatively desperate gambit. The enemy fleet was still holding its position above the planet's ionosphere.
Now, the stage is set! Magno thought. The players are in place and the stagehands are ready. It's all up to the Dreads, the Vanguards... and D-Boy!
----------
The hanger...
Slade took a deep breath as he sat in the newly modified Pegas, as it prepared to launch with the other fighters. Parfat had finished with the new weapon system the day before, but she had no chance to test it. In theory, it would give the Slade the edge over Saber and his Anti-Voltekker. It seemed that it would get a trial by fire.
As the countdown was reaching zero, the main monitor of the cockpit lit up and displayed Dita's face.
"Mr. Alien?" The girl was somewhat apprehensive as she spoke. She had been giving Slade some space after he had come back from death, but now felt a great need to speak with him.
"What is it? I thought everything was explained..."
"No, it's not that." The young Dread pilot said. "I just wanted to ask you something else."
"What?"
"I... was wondering..." Dita began twiddling her fingers. "I was just wondering... if you could come to my room after this is all over."
"Uhhhh... can't this wait? We're about to..."
"No! I want you to promise me now!" Dita said more insistently.
Slade let off another sigh, then nodded. "Oh, all right, I suppose I could do that."
This brought a very bright smile to Dita's face. "I'll be waiting for you!" She then cut communications.
Slade shook his head, then remembered something else. He raised Barnette's fighter.
----------
"Barnette here." The brunette said then saw Slade on her monitor. "Oh, what can I do for you Slade?"
"Oh, I just wanted to wish you good luck and to tell you that there aren't any hard feelings." Slade replied.
"Thanks. That's... really nice of you."
Slade then grinned. "Oh and I expect to see you bright and early tomorrow at 0600 hours in the gym. Don't be late or I'll kick you out of bed and drag you there."
"Huh?" Barnette became confused as Slade signed off, then her monitor showed Xian Pu's smirking expression.
"Congratulations Barnette. You've just been selected to receive Slade's special training regimen."
"Say what?!"
At that moment, Magno signaled for the operation to begin.
----------
In the Earth flagship's main control center, Saber nodded as the sensors picked up several fighters heading toward his fleet's position.
So... they've finally decided to go out fighting, eh? I suppose that is better than just waiting for them to die. Though this STILL won't be much of a challenge.
He watched as several groups of Vanguards emerged from the clouds, along with one Dread. He recognized it as the fighter that formed the red, transformer Tekkadread. He was a bit puzzled that the other two Paksis-powered fighters had not emerged, nor did he see the remaining Dreads. Then he caught sight of a new object emerging from the electromagnetic storms. His eyes widened as an emerald-green light shot out from within it.
No! It can't be! I DESTROYED HIM!
----------
"TEKSETTER!"
Tekkaman Slade landed on Pegas' back and sped toward the enemy fleet with the Vanguards and Jura's Dread close behind. The Harvester flagship immediately reacted by launching multitudes of Cube Fighters, Seed Ships and Space Urchins. Space soon became lit with lasers, energized projectiles, explosions and missile trails. The Warrior Squadron spilt apart and began returning fire, using electron-pulse rifles and the new missile pods that Parfat's engineering crew had installed. They used their martial arts training and the bladed melee weapons at their disposal, whenever the enemy got too close. Jura's Dread provided long-range cover.
Slade and Meia's assessment had been correct. With the gas giant behind them and the Harvesters in front and on both sides of them, the overall battle area was limited, and the humanoid mecha were more suited for this kind of combat. However, that didn't mean that the Dreads didn't play pivotal role in the plan.
----------
Deep within the gas giant, three Dreads and the Nirvana neared the core of the unstable planet. Taking up positions around the core, Dita, Barnette and Meia began using their energy weapons to add more energy to it. Slowly but surely the center of the planet began to heat up.
----------
Slade looked about as he reduced several dozen Cube Fighters into recyclable scrap. The minor enemies were providing him with a bit of a warm-up before the main event...
"SLADE!"
The white Tekkaman looked up and saw his red counterpart diving toward him. Leaping off Pegas he charged toward his adversary and the rematch began.
----------
On the Nirvana's bridge...
"Sensors have confirmed that Tekkaman Slade has begun engaging Tekkaman Saber." Celtic announced.
Magno nodded as she watched the energy readouts of the planet's core continue to climb.
----------
"Look at that!" One of the Vanguard pilots said as the battle raged between the two cosmic warriors.
"Keep your mind focused on the mission!" Xian Pu scolded. "We have to draw the enemy closer to the planet, so they'll be destroyed when the solar flares start up! Slade will take care of Saber!" I hope that new weapon Parfat made will work. I don't think we could stand to lose him again.
----------
"I had thought I had destroyed you!" Saber said as he and his opponent exchanged several dozen swipes, slashes and parries with their lances. "How did you survive?"
"That's my little secret!" Slade retorted, though in actuality he wasn't certain.
"No matter! I defeated you before and I shall do so again!" The crimson Tekkaman tried a savage stab to Slade's face, but his foe turned his head to one side, narrowly evading the attack.
"Think again!" Slade retaliated with a spin kick, catching Saber in the side and knocking him back. "I wasn't feeling that great when we first met, but now I'm at the top of my game!"
Saber growled as he noticed that his adversary was indeed faster than he had been before. He let of a snarl and charged him again. He tried a ferocious assault with his lance, starting with a series of staccato stabs, followed by several slashes to the midsection. However, Slade dodged the first part of the attack, then parried the second half, knocking Saber's weapon out of his hands. The red Tekkaman kicked away Slade's lance and the two went at it hand to hand. Dozens of punches and kicks were exchanged in less than an eye blink. Soon the two had their hands locked with each other and their thrusters going at full throttle. Both were straining to the limit of his endurance.
"You can't beat me! I KNOW ALL OF YOUR MOVES!" Saber declared.
"You don't know SQUAT!" Slade replied as he suddenly cut his thrusters and pulled on his arms.
The sudden change in momentum, along with his thrusters going at full, caused Saber to shoot unexpectedly over his antagonist. Slade took advantage of this momentary upset to charge in with thrusters at maximum throttle, and land a hard punch to the crimson Tekkaman's head. This caused Saber to slam into several of his fleet's own Cube Fighters, destroying them in the process.
Slade's counterpart let of an enraged roar as he flew out of the remains of the fighters and charged his opponent again.
----------
The Nirvana's bridge...
"Planet core will reach critical mass in twelve minutes." Ezra proclaimed.
"Hurry up, D-Boy." Magno said softly.
----------
"Is that ALL you've got?" Slade taunted.
"Hardly!" Saber gritted as the each Tekkaman retrieved his weapon before going at it again.
They made several passes at each other, slashing and thrusting like crazy. Then Saber flew near a Cube Fighter and stabbed it through its midsection. Swinging it about, he launched the impromptu missile at his foe, hoping to distract him.
Slade made a downward swing with his weapon, slicing the fighter in half. At that moment, Saber came in with the point of his lance directed at Slade's heart. However, this time the former Saotome was faster and turned to evade the attack. As a result, the point missed his chest almost entirely and just grazed the left side of his torso.
The white Tekkaman winced a bit at the pain, but then swung his left leg about and caught his opponent in the head again. He followed through with a stab, which managed to puncture Saber's left shoulder.
The crimson warrior let off a howl of pain as he backed off before attacking again. Things were starting to get more intense.
----------
"We can't hold them off much longer, Xian!" One of the Vanguard pilots said as the Warrior Squadron were being pushed back toward the gas giant. Their rifles were almost depleted of their charges and they had long since exhausted their payloads of missiles. Now the enemy flagship had begun firing at them. Most of the girls under Slade's command were now reduced to hand-to-hand combat. Thankfully, the training they had received from the Nirvana's Tekkaman had let them fight on against the smaller enemies.
The Amazon nodded as she raised the Nirvana. "Captain, we're running out of time! How much longer before we can pull back?"
----------
The Nirvana's bridge...
"Estimated time to core chain-reaction now at seven minutes and fifty-three seconds." Ezra said.
Buzom raised Slade on communications. "Slade, we need your help to buy us some more time! You've got to finish off Saber NOW!"
----------
Slade acknowledged the message as he and his adversary continued to fight. As he parried Saber's latest attack, he signaled toward Pegas. The Tekkabot had been assisting the Warrior Squadron against the Harvester fighters. Now it broke off from the Vanguards and made a beeline toward its master.
Slade countered another series of Saber's attacks, then split his lance in half. Now armed with twin short swords, he began using one blade to parry the red Tekkaman's weapon, while delivering a ferocious array of cutting and stabbing motions. Three gashes appeared on Saber's midsection, just as Pegas arrived on the scene.
Saber roared in outrage as his opponent suddenly broke off his engagement, by kicking him in the gut, and then hopping onto the Tekkabot as it sped by.
"YOU COWARD! COME BACK AND FACE ME!"
Slade smirked behind his helmet as he gave him a very insulting gesture with a finger. He had to get Saber mad enough, so he'd be committed to one final attack. The Tekkabot made a tight U-turn and rammed hard into his foe. This caused the scarlet Tekkaman to go tumbling away.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Saber roared as his thrusters righted himself.
"SEND ME AN IOU!" Slade shot back as Pegas made another U-turn and then let loose with its lasers and cannons, showering the servant of the Harvesters with beams and shells. They were more of an annoyance than damaging, but they distracted him long enough for Slade to launch an energy cable at his target. The line wrapped around one of Saber's leg and that was when his opponent yanked hard and instructed Pegas to go full throttle into a swarm of enemy fighters.
Saber was dragged through the formations of Cube Fighters, smashing them to bits as he collided with them. Then the white Tekkaman added the final insult. He swung Saber around by the cable and slammed him into a Seed Ship, causing a massive explosion. As the Seed Ship went up in a ball of destruction, Slade raced away and prepared for Saber's retaliation.
"PEGAS! ACTIVATE ENERGY AMPLIFIERS! PREPARE TO FIRE!"
"Affirmative."
The arms of the Tekkabot repositioned themselves in front of Slade as power transfusion devices appeared. At the same time, handle grips appeared for Slade to grab hold of as his Voltekker units flipped up and began generating power.
----------
The engineering section of the Nirvana...
Parfat nodded as she and her staff watched the battle between the two Tekkamen on their monitor. The head engineer began explaining as the Tekkabot began its transformation.
"The new beam weapon will collect Slade's energy and add its own to it. The combined energies will be refocused into a more powerful beam! I call it... the Super-Voltekker!"
----------
Saber shot out of the debris of the Seed Ship and was seeing red. He caught sight of his antagonist charging at him on his Tekkabot. Well that suited Saber just fine. Let's see Slade withstand this!
"NOW YOU DIE! ANTI-VOLTEKKER!"
The gemstones on his torso glowed and let loose with murderous scarlet beams. Like snakes composed of light, they curved their way toward Slade, intent on annihilating him from the universe. However, that was when Slade gave his adversary the shock of his life.
"SUPER... VOLTEKKER!"
Pegas let loose with a massive power blast a hundred times more intense than his regular Voltekker. Anything that was caught in the beam's path was obliterated. Seed ships, Space Urchins and Cube Fighters were atomized in less than a nanosecond. The Anti-Voltekker beams were neutralized as soon as they made contact with it and Saber found that he was directly in the line of fire.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
The red Tekkaman tried to get away, but was engulfed in the beam as it continued on through the enemy fleet. More ships were reduced to their component molecules before the Super Voltekker hit the bow of the enemy flagship and blasted a huge hole in it. The entire craft shuddered violently, but remained relatively intact as its remaining fighters and escort ships concentrated on destroying the Nirvana's fighters.
----------
On the Nirvana were deafening cheers and whoops of joy.
"YES! GOOD-BYE SABER!"
"HE DID IT!"
"HE WON!"
"HE BEAT HIM!"
On the bridge Magno and BC smiled.
"Well done, D-Boy." The ancient woman said softly.
As the cheering died down, Ezra announced that the core would reach critical mass in five minutes and twenty seconds.
----------
"Slade, we could use a little help here!"
Slade acknowledged Jura's plea and sped toward her Dread fighter. Near the blonde pilot was the Warrior Squadron, who had been forced back almost to the edge of the planet's outer atmosphere. When he got in close enough, he jumped off Pegas and initiated the fusion process. Tekkadread Jura in its crab form put up its barrier, and shielded the Nivana's Vanguards from the assault of the enemy ships.
Inside the cockpit, Jura leaned over and planted a wet kiss on Slade's cheek.
"You were absolutely magnificent! Truly elegant!" She was about shower more praise on him, but then noticed that he didn't look so good. "Is... something the matter?"
Slade was panting a bit, and had a tired look about him as he replied. "It's... okay. I... think I overdid it a little with the Super-Voltekker. I'll be fine. Now let's maintain the shield until the Meia, Dita and Barnette are finished."
Jura nodded as she and Slade worked the controls of her Tekkadread. Outside the barrier, the enemy continued to mercilessly bombard them.
----------
The Nirvana's bridge...
"Estimated time for planet core chain-reaction now at four minutes and ten seconds." Ezra said.
"Tekkadread Jura is sustaining heavy damage." Celtic announced.
Hold on Slade... you too, Jura. Buzom thought.
----------
The planet's core...
"We're getting there! Keep on feeding it power!" Meia commanded.
"We can this! Mr. Alien beat the bad alien so it's no problem any more!"
"Don't get cocky and focus on your job!" Meia warned.
Dita gulped at her leader's stern expression, but then Barnette smiling face appeared on her other monitor.
"Dita... just do your best, okay?"
Dita brightened up and nodded. "Right!"
----------
"We can't hold up much longer!" Jura cried out as she saw that the barrier was weakening from the enemy's relentless pounding.
Slade winced as he tried to maintain the shield, but his battle with Saber had taken too much of his energy. When he looked at the holographic monitor, his confidence fell even lower.
"Damn! More trouble!"
The remaining two Tekkadreads were approaching their position. Apparently, they had been held in reserve. Now they were bearing down on them, and the Tekkaman doubted that Jura's Tekkadread shield could hold up against their power and the remaining enemy fleet. He decided that the Vanguards had done all that they could do, and raised the Warrior Squadron's second-in-command.
"Xian Pu! You and the others get back to the Nirvana!"
The Amazon shook her head. "No! We can't leave you and Jura alone to face those things!"
"THAT'S AN ORDER! DO AS I SAY!"
Xian Pu was about to protest further, but Slade opened up a section of the barrier that was nearest to the planet. The planet's gravity took hold of the Vanguards and pulled them into its atmosphere. With no weapons and everyone low on power, the Warrior Squadron pilots had no choice but to erect the shields of their Van-Types and return to the pirate vessel, leaving Jura and Slade to face off against the enemy.
----------
Jura shivered, as the barrier was about to give way under the murderous barrage of the two Tekkadread clones and the other ships. In seconds, they would be completely defenseless against them.
"It can't end this way! We're so close!" Jura cried as the last vestiges of their protection was about to fail.
"Damn! We can beat these fakes!" Slade gritted. "We just need more POWER!"
----------
In front of the Tekkadread, the Tekkabot acknowledged Slade's desire.
"Affirmative!"
It then sped toward the Tekkadread. A section in the bottom of the larger machine opened up. The Tekkabot entered the slot and triggered certain mechanisms.
----------
"What's happening?" Jura exclaimed as her seat suddenly began moving to a new position. Slade's chair also began moving as the insides of the cockpit underwent a new configuration.
----------
Tekkadread Jura immediately went into its second form, which was the tiger. However, the feline mecha then stood on its hind legs, while its front forelegs reconverted themselves and the paws became clawed hands. The knee joints of the hind limbs reversed themselves and formed humanoid legs. The entire Tekkadread became more armored as the jaws of the cat opened to reveal a face. The new machine now looked like some fierce cat warrior, complete with a cat's head cowl and tail. Tekkadread Jura had just become Tekkadread Jura X!
----------
"THIS IS SOOOOO AWESOME!" Jura said with glee as she was now sitting back-to-back with Slade. Both were now wearing technological visors, which were connected to the backs of their chairs and fed into a kind of virtual reality system. Each of their hands were on cybernetic control pads.
Slade was a bit put off at the Tekkadread's newest appearance, but at least it looked better than the tiger. He nodded to his partner and powered up the machine with his ki.
----------
Everyone on the Nirvana was now in a state of shock at what had just happened. The warrior Squadron, who had just entered the main hanger, all became jealous of Jura's latest Tekkadread form.
In the engineering section, all eyes were on Parfat, who was vigorously shaking her head.
"I DIDN'T KNOW IT COULD DO THAT!"
----------
The planet's core...
"WOW!" Dita exclaimed.
"Keep focused on the mission!" Meia reminded, though she too was feeling a bit awestruck.
Barnette shook her head. After today, Jura wasn't going to stop talking about her new 'elegance.'
----------
The enemy Tekkadreads took one long look at the newcomer, then opened fire. However, the new machine was just as agile if not more so than its pure feline form. As it deftly evaded each shot, its left arm began projecting a circular shield of energy, which started absorbing the blasts from the smaller Harvester ships. When it had taken in as much power as it could, the Tekkadread Jura X directed its shield at its doppelganger and let loose all of that collected power in a blast of destruction. The Copy Tekkadread Jura put up its own barrier, but it wasn't enough to protect it against the amplified feedback beam. The clone's barrier failed and the copy exploded, scattering its remains into space.
----------
"T-minus two minutes and counting..." Ezra announced.
However, it seemed that the bridge crew wasn't paying attention as their gazes were still fixed on what was occurring outside of the planet's atmosphere.
----------
The Copy Tekkdread Dita tried to aim its weapons at its opponent. However, Tekkadread Jura X had all the advantages of speed, agility, Slade's martial arts prowess, and one other thing that he had retained during his previous life as Ranma Saotome... though it was deeply buried in his suppressed memory. The claws of the machine began slashing away, ripping parts off the Tekkadread copy like a cat shredding a newspaper. Finally, the claws took an eerie light as it took a stance and prepared to strike.
Slade growled as he focused his power and...
"CAT... FIST... VOLTEKKER!"
A double-cross slash with both arms cut the enemy Tekkadread into quarters, which exploded and left nothing but the victorious fusion of Tekkaman, Vanguard and Dread.
At that moment, the gas giant rumbled as the chain-reaction had begun.
----------
"They did it!" Celtic declared as the energy readings of the planet's core went off the scale.
Magno began barking out commands. "Barnette! Get back to the Nirvana now! Meia, Dita, execute phase three of the operation! Bart! Get us out of here!"
"ROGER!" Everyone said, as the pirate vessel began moving away from the core.
----------
Slade nodded as he saw Meia and Dita's Dreads take up position near where Tekkadread Jura X was. He addressed the blonde pilot.
"It's time for us to separate."
"Aw, do we HAVE to?" Jura pouted.
----------
The enhanced Tekkadread glowed with a bright flare of light, then split apart into Jura's Dread and Slade riding Pegas again. Jura flew off to rendezvous with the Nirvana while Slade sped off to meet up with Meia. In an instant, the two combined to form the Dread leader's Dragon mecha, which used its claws to latch onto Dita's fighter and carry it out at top speed. Behind its wake was a huge solar flare from the newly formed star that had been the gas giant. Slade and Meia had planned to use to power of the solar prominence to wipe out the enemy battleship. By manipulating the energy output of the chain-reaction, they were able to direct one of the energy surges toward their target.
----------
"We're heading toward an asteroid field!" A bridge operator declared as the Nirvana sped through space with the Harvester ship in hot pursuit. Behind them, the star continued to spew out solar flares in all directions, including theirs! Much of the enemy fleet was incinerated and the flames were singing the ship's stern, putting Bart in the proverbial hot seat.
"YOW! HOT! HOT! HOT!"
Buzom immediately took up position in one of the navigational stations and orders all maneuvering thrusters to be switched to manual. She then began guiding the ship in relation to Bart's movements. With a little luck and some skilled flying, the pirate ship managed to avoid colliding with the oncoming chunks of rock and ice, as well as escape the solar flare.
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"Slade! What's wrong! We're slowing down!"
Meia became concerned as Slade fell a bit forward and trembled. His breathing had become somewhat irregular, and his skin had turned slightly pale.
"I'm... getting... tired..."
The aqua-haired girl realized that he was feeling the strain of having to fuse more than once and the battle with Saber had taken its toll. They had not figured on fatigue in their calculations. However, they were already committed in the attack run with the enemy flagship and there was no turning back. The solar flare behind them loomed ever closer, threatening to overtake them. Then Slade cried out.
"PEGAS... COMBINE!"
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The Tekkabot acknowledged its master's command and sped on an intercept course. Just as the Tekkadread was about to get fried, a section in the rear opened up and the Vanguard interlocked with it. The fusion caused a new transformation to take place as the wings took on a more feathery appearance and glowed with green flames. The talons which held Dita's dread became more curved, while the head took on a more avian appearance, complete with a crest and beak. The rear sprouted tail-like structures, which added to the machine's overall thrust. The new Tekkadread, now shaped like phoenix, suddenly burst forward in a fiery aura and pulled ahead of the solar flare.
"WOW! WOW! WOW!" Dita exclaimed as she looked up at Tekkadread Meia X from her cockpit. She then looked forward and saw that a few enemy ships were heading toward them to protect the flagship. However, Slade refocused his dwindling ki and quantum energy stores as the beak of the Tekkadread opened up.
"PHOENIX FLARE... VOLTEKKER!"
A gigantic fireball of quantum energy was launched, which obliterated the last of the enemy fighters and Seed ships. All that was left was the Earth battleship.
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"Dita... prepare for... stage four..."
Slade felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder inside the enhanced cockpit of Tekkadread
Meia X. He looked back and saw the Dread Leader giving him a small smile.
"Slade... be careful, and don't die on us!"
The Tekkaman gave her a smile back and said, "Been there, done that, moved on."
At that moment, Tekkadread Meia X spilt apart and Slade joined up with Dita's Dread, forming her Tekkadread. Slade was near unconsciousness and hoped that this would be ended with this next maneuver. As the solar flare raced toward them, the twin blade cannons detached from the Tekkadread's back and joined together to form a giant version of the Tekkaman's lance.
Using the power of the solar flare to propel the weapon, they ducked underneath the oncoming energy blast and let the double-bladed javelin fly. The projectile rocketed forward and slammed into the bow of the Earth mothership, piercing it through and through. The energy of the solar flare flowed into the ship and wreaked total havoc with its insides. Suddenly, the entire vessel was enveloped in one massive explosion.
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The crew of the Nirvana cheered as they watched what appeared to be the final end of the enemy. On the bridge, Magno and Buzom both agreed that it had been a job well done. However, the cheering suddenly stopped when something huge emerged from the center of the explosion.
"No, it can't be!"
"Those Earth forces are really tenacious." Magno remarked as she felt her blood run cold.
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"I can't believe this!" Slade growled as he saw that the enemy mothership had still survived that supposedly crippling blow. Behind them, another solar flare was racing up behind them. Pegas began heading toward them as well.
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"Dita! Slade, get out of there!" Magno cried out, but it was too late. The energy wave completely engulfed the Tekkadread and Tekkabot, causing it to disappear from the screens of the bridge.
In the navigational well, Bart moaned in despair.
"Stupid. None of this will mean anything if you die again."
However, the communicators began receiving a message in static.
"(Squark) Been there, done that! (Bzzt)"
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For the umpteenth time today, the crew was in shock as something burst out from the conflagration and streaked toward the damaged mothership. It looked like a giant armored knight with eight feathery wings, sword blades attached to each forearm and was colored a brilliant crystal blue. It was Tekkadread Dita X! Apparently, Pegas had managed to link up in that prominence.
Inside the cockpit, Slade and Dita were still sitting in their usual positions, but the consoles seemed to be made out of crystal. The Tekkaman gave his partner a smile, then cried out.
"TIME TO FINISH THIS!"
Dita nodded as they sped toward their target.
"I'll never gave up, because we made a promise!"
Slade's aura flared as he prepared to deliver the final attack. The Tekkadread folded up into a fetal position, with blades crossed in front of it and wings curled around it.
"WING-BLADE... VOLTEKKER!"
As the swords were thrust out in wide arcs, the wings spread out and released crescent arcs of power. The swords fired off a beam of power, which was enhanced by the blasts of the wings. The result was a blast that even the damaged enemy ship couldn't take. The attack engulfed the craft and finally, it was erased from existence in one massive eruption of power.
Inside the cockpit, Slade finally gave in to exhaustion.
"I'm... done."
He then fainted.
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Slade woke up inside Pegas' cockpit and wondered how he got there. The sensors told him that he was in the hanger and he decided to get out. However, as soon as he opened the cockpit, he was greeted by Dita and Jura...
"WELCOME BACK!" Both girls said.
"Huh?"
Behind them, was a crowd of girl who also chorused, "WELCOME BACK!"
Slade fell forward, only to be swept up in Jura's arms as she vigorously kissed him on the cheek.
"YOU WERE INCREDIBLE! I SIMPLY CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU SAVED US ALL!"
Slade was immediately pulled out of Jura's arms by Dita. "Hey! Keep your hands off Mr. Alien!"
This made Jura very irritated. "I was just thanking him for saving us all!"
At that point, Xian Pu began making her way toward them. "I want to thank the commander too!"
"Not before I do!" Ukyo said.
Dita shook her head while tightening her grip on Slade. "NO! MR. ALIEN HAS A PROMISE THAT HE HAS TO KEEP TO ME!"
"WHAT PROMISE?!" Jura, Ukyo and Xian Pu demanded.
At that moment, Pyoro began screaming out warnings. "IT'S NOT OVER YET!"
Slade pried himself from Dita's grip and asked, "What are you talking about?"
The little robot began displaying some images on his monitor. "I've just received some enemy transmissions! Earth has learned that we've destroyed one of their main ships and now they're sending the others to Mejele and Tarak!"
Jura gulped as she saw the display. "MY GOD! There's five more?"
This made the entire crew apprehensive. They had barely been able to defeat one ship. How were they going to deal with five?
Slade snorted, which caught everyone's attention. "What's with the long faces and gloom? So we've got to beat five more ships, big deal! We all knew that this wasn't going to be an easy trip. So why bother worrying about it? We've already chosen our path and we've taken the first few steps. So we might as well go the distance, right?" He smirked toward Dita.
The red-haired girl smiled and nodded. "Right!"
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"So we might as well go the distance, eh?" Magno chuckled as she spoke with her first mate. "Just when I thought that D-Boy couldn't surprise me any more."
BC nodded as she commanded the bridge crew to set a course for home.
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As the Nirvana sped off into hyperspace, a certain someone arose from the remnants of the mothership. The figure was battered, torn and almost dead, but his hatred for Slade had allowed him to survive. He was too weak to go after the Nirvana and could only send out a retrieval signal for his masters to come pick him up, if they hadn't already abandoned him for failing in his mission. Whatever the case may be, Saber knew that he and Slade would once again meet.
"This... isn't... over... Slade!"
END OF STAGE ONE!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Whoa! Was that EVER a long one! In any case, yes you read that last part right. This was only Stage One. Tekkadread the Second Stage is already in the works and I hope to have the first chapter finished by next month or so. As of now, this is the FOURTH story I've completed and I couldn't stop writing until I was done! In the second part, I'm going to get more into Ranma/Slade's past as he encounters new friends, new enemies and new adventures. Until then!
(1) For those of you who think that Dita is nothing but an airhead, I feel that she's just as deserving to end up with Slade as anyone else. After rewatching the fourth DVD of Vandread, I became inspired by the speech she had given to get the crew's spirit back up. Therefore, I decided to write her in the same way.