Disclaimer: I don't own Vandread.

A/N

This story is entirely fan-made and fictional. Any acts that you might find offensive, disgusting, inhuman, wrong or just don't like, we are not liable for. You are reading this story of your own free will and not being forced, if you don't like something we are not forcing you to stay and read it. Please leave the page and re-frame from reading the chapter and or story. All Copyrighted Characters belong to their respective owners. We don't claim anything that is not our own creation and are merely using them for fan made material.

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ACT II

The Hunt For Nirvana

"Life is not fair. If life were fair, the universe would be a much simpler place. It's not fair, and by that logic, neither are you. No matter what you think, life is fair because you make it not fair for others." - Unknown Pilot to Barnette.

Chapter 10

Avalanche felt nervous as he stood in the dimly lit room. Normally he was fine with this. It was standard procedure for him. After any operation he would have to do this. But this wasn't a normal one. He had seen something that could be an impending all out attack.

This was a serious event and not something he normally dealt with. This would be the first time he'd ever done something like this.

To that end, he could see Mori sitting in the center of three chairs. She was speaking with a fellow pilot, Rag, if he remembered correctly, about something that most likely connected to how he was found.

To her left was Richard, who was also speaking with a pilot, who kept his helmet on and didn't wear a callsign. Richard looked worried and the pilot kept glancing in his direction. When Richard would glance his way, the man would suddenly look to the pilot and nod silently.

To her right was another woman, this one rather young looking, holding a tablet and typing away on it, most likely pulling up all the information that was needed for this meeting. But occasionally, she would look in his direction, her red eyes narrowing as if to judge him.

"Avalanche," Richard finally motioned for the unknown pilot to back off as the center of the table lit up and showed an image of the red cubes that he'd seen. "Before we begin, I trust you understand that this situation is very touchy. Any information you provide that is proven false will reflect badly on you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Richard motioned the cube and let it become active. It was part of a fight he had against the thing. It was destroyed, but as the halos of debris began to spew out, the image froze. "According to the footage you took from your fight, this thing doesn't have a pilot. Can you confirm this?"

"Yes. The machines didn't have any pilots."

"And the humans in this scene?" The debris was gone, replaced with different, yet familiar hull debris, and a few floating bodies. "You're onboard computers reported this as pilots and members of a prototype ship that was deployed to that area. Can you confirm this?"

"Yes. According to the IFF, the bodies were reported at crew members of the ship Two For Flinching. I did find escape pods that were ripped open. Not blasted. All intact and purposely ripped open."

"Ripped open?" Mori asked, sounding confused by this.

"Yes." Avalanche sat up further in his chair. He typed on the keyboard he was provided and began flipping through images on his tablet until he found what he was looking for. "What I did find odd was that all of the bodies had their brains removed."

Mori looked at the screen in confusion while the red eyed girl looked away from the scene. "Any survivors?"

"No."

Mori deflated a little, sitting further down in her chair. Rag looked down at her and then to him before saying, "Was there anything else noteworthy concerning these things?"

Now he was done with the grilling. "They're fast, can read our comms, but can't detect something without power. Shutting down our systems managed to cloak us. They will focus more heavily on trying to get us out of the machine rather than destroying it unless they need to. Also, the red machines are deployed large carriers that look like dumplings."

The red eyed woman nodded as if that made sense. Avalanche stared her down for a moment before he looked to Richard and the unknown pilot. The pilot looked to the red eyed woman before he nodded and whispered something to Richard.

"I see." His voice was low before he turned to Mori. "Mori, I think we're done here."

"No. We're not." Richard leaned back in his chair and then shut his eyes. Mori gave a gentle nod to the red eyed woman. She typed something on the tablet and brought up a previous report on these machines. Barnette's name was tagged on it. "These things have been seen before. One, Barnette Orengello, reported seeing machines like this. These things have now been seen twice. Once by us, and another by a ward of the state. We also need to speak about you leaving behind Team Viper."

Avalanche felt guilt run through him. Yes. That was a choice he didn't want to make. Report was they never returned. He didn't doubt that they were dead. It hurt thinking about them being gone, but even more since Lightning was confirmed dead as well.

"I support him in leaving them behind. We have the communication logs. He didn't get a chance to debate this." Richard defended. "According to the logs, Angel left first and made it clear what she was doing. Viper followed and confirmed that he needed to leave."

"That changes nothing!"

"The information we got is allowing us to formulate a plan against an unknown enemy."

Mori shut her eyes, her face twisted into a look of unbridled fury. "Even so. We still need to make it clear that these things are very much real. Avalanche might be innocent for leaving two fellow pilots to die fighting these things while he ran away. This isn't the first time this has happened."

"What happened with Frost, Dusk, and Point Break. While Dusk was his leader and made it clear to leave, this is not something that we can ignore anymore."

"Are you suggesting that the title of Flight Leader should have gone to Shamrock?" Avalanche asked, his face red with rage. He'd heard this all before. It was his shame. The thing he lived with and didn't want to be reminded of anymore. Dusk was beyond his control. But Frost and Point Break were. "I never wanted the position, and neither did Shamrock. But we were the only ones that could take it. And giving us a new member to act as our leader was always out of the question."

"We understand that, Avalanche. This is not part of the report. Mori, this conversation is dropped." Mori looked ready to explode, but the unknown pilot leaned forward, his black mirrored visor gaining a red glow on the left side of the helmet. She reluctantly conceded to the point. "As for Barnette, we can review her report after this. But for the time being, this meeting is over. Avalanche, thank you for making it back and getting this information to us."

Avalanche gave a short nod before rising on shaky feet. He was helped outside the room by the Rag and walked carefully to the waiting car that Shamrock was in. The door was opened and Avalanche climbed in with help. Once he was strapped in, Rag shut the door and returned to the meeting.

Shamrock started driving in silence. Avalanche stared out the window in depression. The drive was in complete silence until they got to his home. He helped his Flight Leader get inside and made sure he was sitting down in his living room before he got him some water to drink.

When he returned, Avalanche finally confessed. "We lost Lightning."

Shamrock put the water in his hand and sat down in a small chair in front of him. "I figured." Avalanche flinched. "Not going to ask how I figured it out?" He shook his head. "I'll leave it to you to tell the others."

Avalanche wasn't slow, and he wasn't stupid either. But in the time it took him to realize what Shamrock knew and wasn't talking about, Shamrock had already left. He sighed explosively, his hand going to his face as he realized the trouble they were most likely in.

(-)

Sky Kid shut the door with a scowl on his face. "How is it you can't get a job like this?" His tone wasn't one of displeasure, but curiosity.

Barnette shrugged. No matter what she did, she couldn't get a job. It was rather infuriating. What few jobs she had been applying for were just not working out for her. She was a foreigner. Not trained in their technology. Had a touchy background that no one wanted to be a part of.

If her colony she lived in back home hadn't run out of power and was shut down, she would have never joined Magno's Pirate crew. It wasn't a bad life with them, but it was seriously causing her problems here. Hindsight was twenty-twenty.

"Because no one wants to hire a former pirate."

"Maybe you should start - Oh, I don't know! - not telling people that."

Barnette shrugged. Yeah, she could avoid telling people that part of her life. But it was how she got all of her skills. She wouldn't tell them if they didn't, but they usually asked where she got her skills from.

"Oh well. It's not like we got much for jobs around here. Hey, if all else fails, I'm sure we could get you in as a pilot. You clearly got the talent for it."

"Yeah. Doubt they'd let me do that. Probably think I'd just go and run off as soon as I get in the air again." Sky Kid nodded reluctantly to that. It was doubtful they'd let her back in the air in any official capacity. Nice thought though. "Like the thought though."

"I'm sure they could have you as a part of logistics. We do need more people in that department. I'm fairly certain that with your skills you could keep it in better condition than it is right now. Not saying it's bad, but I've seen your resume. So, I don't know why they won't hire you."

"Pretty sure it's part of the pirate thing."

Sky Kid rolled his eyes and looked at the field of golden millet. For Barnette, it was her first time coming out here. Seeing it up close for the first time was different. It gave her a new perspective on what she was seeing and allowed her to understand just what made this world different.

Mejarre didn't have rolling fields like. The closest thing one might consider were the carefully constructed hills and creaks that lined the outer edges of the cities. Even if the natural beauty was eventually uprooted by their growing population, if one looked hard enough, you might just find some piece to call your own.

Barnette never saw that natural beauty. It was long gone by the time she was old enough to move around and explore the world. Magno had photos of places long gone of natural beauty. She remembered one of a small log cabin nestled down between two hills and next to a small creek. If you were lucky you might find fish in the creek or even a pair of birds dancing in the air.

But those were just stories to a photo. This was real. She could touch the millet, feel the real warmth of the sun on her flesh, the smell of freshly tilled soil and cut grass. This was perfect. Natural beauty. Not artificial.

She longed for the rest of her crew to be here. To see this, to feel it, to hear it. This was perfect.

Sky Kid moved to her side, his hand running through his hair. He had skipped out on wearing a jacket, instead wearing a plain white shirt and blue jeans. In one hand he held a hat, and in the other he held out his phone, a sly smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"We'll laugh about this one day." He raised the phone and snapped a photo, his face an inch away from her. She nearly recoiled in shock until she saw her face. The photo had been taken quickly enough to capture her still gazing out at the fields, a look of resting beauty on her face, while he sported a big smile, his eyes near tightly shut. "Not bad. You look good."

"Next time…" She stopped when she saw the photo again. He was smiling at it and making it his home screen. Their technology was an interesting thing. His phone hardly seemed that complex. She'd seen Trig's a few times. It had apps and other folders on it, but he didn't have any of that.

He put his phone away and continued looking out over the field, his hands in his pockets as he breathed in the fresh air.

Barnette felt her heart begin to flutter and she felt her face heat up. Her mind raced from thought to thought, trying to beat down what she was feeling. He was a man, and yet, she felt something with him. A sense of belonging.

She did the only logical thing she could do at that moment; she looked in the direction of the field, her eyes focusing on the people that were working. Her heart didn't stop fluttering as her face continued to heat up.

"...Yes…?" He was waiting on her retort.

Barnette stammered for a moment, her face finally going neutral as she slowly turned to face him. "Don't take a photo of me without my approval."

He laughed nervously. "That's why I said we'll laugh about this later." His hands in his pockets, he gave her a smile and turned back to the car to leave. "Come on. Let's get you home. We have a game tomorrow. We can also go visit a few other places if you want to see other job opportunities."

Barnette furrowed her brow in thought. She didn't want to. But she had to if she wanted to have a chance at a normal life here.

She looked back one more time to the field before returning to the car. Sky Kid joined her after a few more seconds of gazing out at it.

(-)

Richard scowled into the drink as he looked over the reports from Barnette and Avalanche on the machines they fought. No. He didn't like this. This was the worst possible outcome out of all projected outcomes.

He looked up from his desk when the door to his office opened. His escort to the meeting stepped in, his helmet still on. As the door shut behind him, Richard spied a girl leaning against the far wall fiddling with her pilot uniform. She was ravishing, but too young for him.

"I'm open to ideas."

The pilot looked back at the door that had shut and then to the man in front of him. A small glow erupted between them and a tetrahedron blinked into existence. "Apologies, but I've been going over the reports." It's voice was heavily accented in old English. The thing twirled as it spoke, sending ripples along the surface of its form. "The information is inconclusive. We simply don't have enough to go on any offensive against the Harvest Fleet or Earth."

Richard sat back in his chair. The pilot blinked behind his visor. "How is it we don't have enough information. I thought we did? Wasn't that the point of the operation ten years ago?"

The pilot spoke. "We have any idea, but to do it would require a lot of faith in many people." His voice was calm with a slight tint of old English. "LISK, if you would."

"LISK..." Richard spat the name. "Who allows AI to create their own names? Should have a talk with that group again."

The AI was undeterred by the tone and brought up a ship between them. "My plan is two fold and a race against time. With our current resources, technology, and allies-"

"-Which is none…"

"-we don't stand a chance against there might. Moving all of the people to another world is also out of the question. We don't have enough ships or resources. With the amount of time we have before they arrive, finding a world and moving everyone wouldn't suffice."

"Yes. I've seen the projected time-line. Get on with it."

"Instead, we seek out help in the form of Nirvana."

Richard sat up straight. "I'll get the paperwork to send out a crew and have them escort the ship back. But one ship will not make a difference in this battle."

"That is not my plan. My plan is to utilize the last remaining Phoenix-class carrier, a crew with Barnette Orengello, and find their ship. By our understanding, her ship should be getting close to their homeworld. If we give chase and can catch up to them, and persuade both worlds to assist us."

Richard leaned back against his chair in thought. "You're asking me to give up our last Phoenix for a chance at… what? Hoping against hope to somehow get to this ship, wrangle them into our mess, get both worlds to work together and come help us when they have a threat barreling down on them?"

"A backup plan is also being formed to minimize loss of life." The pilot finally spoke, his voice urgent.

"Ten year we've been working towards this. And all our plans are now resting on a ship of pirates. Forgive me if I seem unhappy by this." Richard released an irritably hiss.

"I don't think we have many options remaining, sir." The pilot leaned forward, his knuckles resting against the hard oak surface of his desk. A rare wood here. Not many people had oak. So putting his gloved knuckles on the wood could be considered a slap in the face to the owner. "If we do this right, we can make it so that the most dangerous threat we face are pirates."

Richard looked away for a moment. Too much had been sacrificed already. The world had enough dead heroes. It didn't need anymore. And sending out a team to wrestle with monsters like that was a career ender. He worked hard to get to this point in his life, and he wasn't going to blow it on a group of pirates. There had to be another way.

The door opened and Mori stepped in, her face a mask as she stood with her hands resting on her cane. The pilot didn't turn to face her. Richard stood up, his eyes dark as the woman stared at the unknown pilot for a long moment, as if considering something with him before she cleared her throat and regarded Richard with a cold stare.

"I wish to discuss these things more thoroughly with you, Richard." The man leaned back in his chair, his eyes hard. The pilot vacated that area, his AI going with him. "Thursday, stay." The pilot blinked behind his visor before nodding and standing at attention. "This threat is bigger than us. I've been speaking with the council. They are wanting to send out Barnette and a crew to retrieve her ship and ask for assistance in this matter."

"You disclosed something like this to them?" Richard asked carefully. Mori nodded, holding his gaze. Richard held no doubt she could end him. Not just from a career point of view, but a physical one. "Why?"

"The world will need to know of this threat."

"No! You do that, and you will cause riots. People will go crazy. Our world has enough problems. It doesn't need anymore." He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes tightly shut. The previous talks now sound more reasonable than ever. "I have an idea already. I was working on it, with Thursday."

Mori regarded the pilot again as he nodded when a hand was motioned towards his form. "We wish to use our remaining Phoenix-class carrier and send it out with Barnette and a crew to try and work some trade out. We give them back their pilot, help them out, and then see if we can get them to return the favor."

"We have a remaining Phoenix-class?" Her tone was calm and even. Richard held her gaze as he gave a small nod. "All while making allies with a world as backwards as theirs?" Now, both males were cautious. "I don't like it. Too many risks."

"We don't have a lot of options, Ma'am." Richard, for once in five years, sounded defeated. Mori didn't flinch to his tone. The man even looked as defeated as he sounded. No, he wasn't defeated, just unhappy. "If we go down this route, which I personally think is the only option we have, we run into the risk of them not getting back in time."

"In which case, our world will burn."

Richard gave another slow nod. The pilot turned to the door and shut his eyes. "We don't have any other options. We can't move everyone in time. We need another world, a place to start fresh."

"Or see if we can trick them." Mori pointed out. "Grab everyone, leave the planet until they pass us by, then come back like nothing."

Richard shut his eyes tightly. Yes, that thought had crossed his mind. And… it had crossed other worlds' minds as well. "That won't work. They deploy drones to the planet. As soon as they find any form of human life, they return and snuff it out."

Mori's gaze hardened. The air grew cold around them as the fear of his words finally sank in to both men. "How long have you known?"

Richard furrowed his brow and turned slowly to the pilot. Thursday stood behind Mori, his visor now lower as if he were glaring down on her diminutive form, while his right hand slowly moved towards the revolver at his side.

"Leave us." Richard's voice was calm as he got up from his desk and stepped around it. Thursday took his hand away from the gun, but remained where he was. "Now!" The tone was enough to send a shiver of fear down Mori's spine. Thursday inhaled deeply as if he were thinking better on the subject before taking the hint and leaving.

"Now," Richard sat down on his oak desk, a sign of things to come, as now held all the power, "Let me fill you in on the threat we're facing."

(-)

"Damn it!" Barnette threw her cards on the table as laughter sounded around it. Trig chuckled and nearly fell out of the wooden chair she was in while Sky Kid and Shamrock banged their fists on it table and laughed uncontrollably. Hound fell from his seat and hit the floor hard. Avalanche and Riptide remained stone-faced as Shamrock pulled in the winnings. "How are you this lucky? Did he rig it?"

"How do you rig a card game?" Sky Kid asked. Trig shrugged as he looked to the lucky winner, "We took his shirt off! He ain't stashing cards. And if he is, I sure as hell wanna wash my hands and burn this table of mine." He looked long and hard at his friend for a moment. "And burn that chair he's in."

Hound laughed harder from his spot on the floor before Trig kicked him in the side. He coughed, but continued to laugh even after it started to finally die down. It took another minute before he settled down, taking his chair again, still laughing as he did.

"Next hand?" Avalanche asked once the laughing man had calmed down enough. The group gave murmurs of agreement as he started to shuffle the deck. He dealt the cards and slowly started to look at his hand. An ace and a nine. He liked that. "Shamrock," He looked at his friend. The shirtless man gave a shake of his head, a smile creeping at the side of his lips. "If you pull another twenty-one out of your ass; I'm hitting you."

"Ain't got it this time."

"That's a lie and we know it." Sky Kid looked at his hand and sighed. "Can I go ahead and just throw my chips at him? He's gonna be the one to win."

Hound chuckled and flipped his cards over. "Twenty-one." He did a jig in his chair. The others sighed while rolling their eyes. A few muttered curses. "Can we change the game?"

"I gotta question." Barnette tossed her cards to Shamrock when he took them from Trig and Sky Kid. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around some of these callsigns you guys have." She jerked a thumb to Trig and Shamrock. "I get their names. Trig is just short for Trigger Happy, and she explained it to me. While Shamrock is just a lucky person."

"Devil," Riptide grunted. She cracked her neck as she leaned back in the chair. "He's a Lucky Devil. Not just lucky. But a Lucky Devil."

"Preach it!"

"I'll hit him for you." Trig reached around and cuffed him on the back of the head for his outburst and boasting.

"But," Barnette finally resumed speaking, her eyes glued to the others. "I don't get your names."

Riptide and Hound looked to one another, both looking mildly amused. Avalanche got up and walked to the fridge to get something to drink. He came back with three beers. He gave one to Shamrock and the other Riptide as the woman started having a whispered conversation with her fellow pilot. Hound looked to Barnette and then to Riptide. The woman shook her head. He smiled. She sighed and turned away from him. "Well," he snatched the beer from Riptides' hands before she could open it. She mouthed something that was hard to make out as she turned away from them. "I can tell you the story of how I got mine."

"And you'll lie about it!" Riptide accused, taking back her beer and hastily chugging it.

"I will not!"

"Yes, you will!"

"No, I won't."

"You always do!"

Hound licked his lips, a wide smile forming. Riptide sighed and turned away from him again. He looked to Barnette, pointing at her. "I'll tell you the story. It's the truth. I swears it!"

"Swears it?" Sky Kid repeated the words. He looked to the others. "We all know your full of shit. You spin yarn like a fish drinks water."

"That makes no sense to me."

"Cause you ain't educated enough." Trig looked flustered, but decided to let him tell his story.

Hound scratched at the crown for a moment while he looked the female pirate over. She looked confused by what was going on, but contempt enough to take an answer from him. He sighed. "Alright," he began, making sure to look in the direction of Riptide before continuing. "I was seventeen at the time. We were in Flight School. Military training. Our class had just gotten through with four hours of simulated combat. I killed the entire class."

"You did not," Riptide said with a deep scowl. "He was the first one shot down three times in a row. Stupid, finally learned to dodge missiles after the instructor screamed in his face for twenty minutes."

Grumbling, Hound looked around for support and found none. "Anyways… We were three weeks out and still doing all these simulation flights. Learning how to work together. That kind of stuff. Easy stuff. At the end of the day, there was to be this big match between our class and the other class that was being held by another instructor. They do this to make us better. And so, the instructors can have bragging rights."

Avalanche put his beer on the table and shook his head. "They do it to make us learn how to work together as a team," he corrected. Barnette nodded in understanding. "They want us to learn from our mistakes, get closer, work together as a squadron, and adjust to things on the battlefield. In this story, the other class won. I'll spoil that right now." Hound spread his arms wide as a gesture of disbelief. "Continue."

Hound slapped his arms to his side, shaking his head as he did. "You're a real buzz kill, you know that?" Avalanche said nothing. "Anywho. We were waiting for our next instructor to show up. Nice guy. I actually liked him a lot. He was out sick today or on a job. Not sure. But the instructor they got for us was from the field. Had shot down eight pirates in the last year alone. Big numbers for us. So, since she was back in town, they asked her to come fill in for a bit. And she did." He bit his lower lip as his eyes glazed over. He looked blissful for a moment then continued. "She walked through the door and if I'm lying, I'm dying, was the most beautiful woman I ever laid eyes on. She had blond hair, green eyes, a little scar running under her left eye, and the nicest pair of tits I had ever seen."

Riptide leaned forward, sticking him with her thumb as she did, "And he never saw her naked either," she added, smiling when her friend gave her a bewildered look. "I'm not lying. He fantasizes about everything and everyone."

Hound stuck his tongue out and sat up straight in his chair. "She starts calling out our names. Now, our desks are single use and in a straight line of four rows. I'm at the front of row three. I know when she's getting to me. She just finished calling Riptide and then it was my turn. Before she called my name, I gave the loudest wolf whistle I had ever given. And it gives her pause."

"I should point out that this was a dare created by Shamrock, otherwise the whole thing is just lost," Trig pointed out. She smiled when her shirtless friend had the decency to look ashamed.

Hound laughed when the lucky man looked his way. "That part I did leave out. I will admit to that." He leaned forward, staring at Barnette as the young pirate eyed him suspiciously. "So, the instructor pauses when I do this. The whole class starts laughing."

"Excuse you?" Avalanche snapped. "I did not laugh. If anything, I snickered because I knew you were getting in trouble, which meant we were all suffering, and it meant more time in the simulator. Which," he looked to Trig, "meant more time shooting your dumb ass down for points."

"Team kills didn't count!"

"Counted for me!" Trig exclaimed in real joy.

"You were always on the other team." Shamrock told her. He pointed to Trig as he spoke to Barnette. "The other class was short a few students. Some just couldn't take the pressure and bailed. So, naturally, a random selection would happen where they could snatch up two or three of us for that class. It was also common for them to make us work with random classmates as well."

Hound sighed, shaking his head and then put it on the table. "The instructor looks at me for a long time. Probably five… ten seconds." He sat up as he pointed to Barnette. "Then, instead of calling my name, looks dead in the eye and says, "Hound Dog, check!" before moving through the class to continue roll call. And from that point onward, I have been called Hound."

"Wow," Barnette leaned forward, her eyes full of mischief and faked interest in his story. "That's the most inspiring story I've ever heard. I like the fact that you were truthful and didn't once need to have someone correct you. Makes you sound like a man of real honor."

"He ain't!" The group said together.

Hound grumbled a curse. "I'm honorable,"

"You shot Trig in the back!" Sky Kid reminded. Hound looked ready to defend himself when Sky Kid turned to Barnette, his odd yellow eyes lightning up with joy, "We went to go play paintball one day. Made rules and stuff. Keep it clean. This jackass decided, when it was just him and Trigg left, to shoot her in the back while getting ready for a showdown like in the old westers. Turn ten paces and fire. I hadn't even called for them to take their second step before he turned and unloaded into her back."

"You said turn and shoot!"

"I said no such thing!" He hissed, his arms flailing as he jumped on the chair. "I have more honor in my pinky than you do in your whole damn body, Hound!"

"He's got you there," Riptide said. She got up from her chair, cracking her back as she did. "I can't stand sitting for so long. Excuse me while I stretch."

"Can I ogle you?"

Barnette tossed one of the plastic chips at Hound's head, hitting him right between the eyes. "Anyone ever put a collar on him?"

"Frost did once," Avalanche told her. "Funny moment for sure."

The team became somber for a moment. Their silence worried Barnette. But it soon passed.

A knock at the door caused Barnette to jump. Sky Kid got up, grumbling as he walked to the door. Avalanche watched him disappear around the corner. "This late at night. Gotta wonder if we should leave."

"Sky Kid? Getting a partner? Doubtful. We're good." Shamrock got an elbow to the gut for his joke. "I mean no ill intent to the kid. But you gotta admit that his luck with the ladies is a little on the bad side." He took a long pull from his beer before adding, "And we're at Trig's house, not his."

Barnette said nothing. Sky Kid was an interesting person. Yes, he took a photo of her without her approval, but he wasn't rude, not like Hibiki, a wasn't a gossip queen like Bart, and was rather open about his life, unlike Duerro. Sky Kid did keep a few things close to the chest. She'd seen that much with him. He never took the pendant off or was willing to show anyone the contents of it. Same with the book he wrote in.

Thinking back on the last two weeks since she got here, Barnette realized that their world and its people weren't that different from her own. The Men were certainly trying on her part. What few she was normally around were interesting, but she felt safer with people like Trig and Riptide. Even the Captain of Almighty April was someone she liked now, even though they'd only spoken three times.

Osmium was a unique world with a lot of different types of people. No two people spoke the same. Riptide always gave off a sort of intelligent vibe, like she was smarter than you, but never wanted you to know it while Hound Dog was quick to talk without thinking things through and someone that could make a simple task sound monumental.

There weren't a lot of people from Nirvana she could place with them. Avalanche might have been the only one to remind her of anyone, and the closest person was Meia. Both could come off as mysterious people, but when you were down, they'd help and provide words of comfort that no one else might. Avalanche might not have said much in her short time with them, but she always took him for someone that was willing to help if asked.

Sadly, she was still getting used to everything in their world.

No weapons. No fancy clothing. It was hard. Her meals were the only thing she looked forward to. She got to cook. It was nice. Relaxing even. But it wasn't a firing range. It wasn't nice clothes or nice long soaks in a jacuzzi. And Trig wasn't Jura. Try as she might, Jura was Jura. And Trig was Trig. Trig wasn't bad, but she wasn't her best friend. And that was what she missed. How were they doing? Were they okay? Did they give up on her?

I would have given up on me at this point.

She leaned back against the chair; her eyes half closed as the alcohol began to finally set in. She could feel the darkness creeping in around the corners of her vision. Like pools of inky black that was just waiting for her mind to lapse and her guard to drop before consuming her whole. The only thing keeping it back was her image she wanted to keep before them. She wouldn't pass out or excuse herself from their presence unless it was to use the bathroom or get another beer. She'd seen what they did to Shamrock when he passed out before the others.

Sky Kid returned, his posture a little straighter and his eyes fully sober. That sobered the other pilots up, but not quick enough to see a man with brown hair cropped short and a military dress come around the corner.

"Lieutenant Pool?" Avalanche stood at attention and gave a salute. The others followed, confused as well.

"As you were." Pool looked at the table and then smiled at Shamrock. "Winning?"

"Always." He sat down, grabbing his beer and finishing it.

Avalanche rolled his eyes as Richard chuckled. "Good to see you in high spirits. Barnette, nice to see you again. Haven't seen you since we docked those few weeks ago. How's your injuries?"

"Better."

"Good to hear." He looked to the team and pulled a brown leather folder out from under his arm. He took Sky Kids' seat as he opened the folder. "What I'm about to tell you is currently classified. My orders are to speak to each of you. Before we begin; you need to understand that this information cannot and will not be spoken about to anyone else. Is that clear."

The squad looked between themselves before giving nods.

"As you know, two days ago we got Avalanche back from an operation. The nature of his mission is tied to this topic." Avalanche turned away as he rubbed an arm, his eyes shut in thought as Pool continued. "According to the data pulled from Avalanche's craft, we have confirmed the existence of aliens. The nature of their intent is unknown, but we know they are hostile towards us. As such, a mission is in the works to send a team to try and find a way to stop them."

He handed out some documents to the squad. Barnette watched them look them over before they turned them over, each one looking to the other before slumping in their chairs.

"The threat we didn't want to believe was out there is out there. And now," he looked to Barnette, his tired eyes suddenly looking betrayed and worried, "they are coming for us. Barnette, I know our government didn't want to send you back to your people. But the truth is that we didn't want to believe in the idea of some space monster that was harvesting our bodies for something."

"And now what? You want me to help you fight them."

"You can be mad at the government for thinking that you were nothing but a crazy woman. Don't be angry with me. I'm giving you a chance to get home. That's why I'm here."

"Bullshit!" Hound declared with a snarl. "Like hell they're going to get a team to take her back! Her ship has to be billions of miles away at this point. And you want to get a team together to drop her off? No team is going to agree to that!"

"He's somewhat right." Sky Kid looked over the document for a moment longer. "Plus, if they attacked us, that means they're close to us. They know where we are. They'll need everyone. Every single person on deck to fight this battle. If whatever hit those two Destroyer Class ships could sink them, lord knows we're not ready for them. They wouldn't be able to send a team out to take her home."

The Lieutenant smiled a knowing smile. Avalanche put his documents down, nodding with his eyes closed. "What does Mori have on a ship?"

Hound looked over the documents again before his eyes went wide. "They want us?"

"This is why we say you ain't educated," Sky Kid joked, but his face became serious. "What about a crew? I doubt the crew of Almighty April will willingly go along with this. It's borderline suicide. And a lot of us would be leaving loved ones behind."

"When the road we follow has extinction as a dead end, all options are considered. Even suicide ones." He shut the folder, his eyes growing heavy with guilt. "The Government thinks that if we can get in contact with her ship, help them with their problems, they would request that they turn around and help us."

"How long until whatever hit Missouri and Second Chance hits us?" Trig asked.

Richard put both hands on the folder, his eyes closed. "Six months, if they keep their current pace. And that's supposing they can't go faster or run into more opposition. Worst case scenario is eight months."

The squadron felt a deep pain in their chests. It was fear. They'd all felt it, but somehow it felt more real this time than it had any other time. Like being exposed to something new and foreign. Would it hurt? Would it taste good? Is it hot? That pain, that unknown knowable thing was the pressure they felt. The fear of an unknown future with a timeline presented to them where death was the certain outcome.

Barnette got to her feet, her eyes watering as she looked them over. "How long till we leave?" she finally asked. She was happy, and yet, sad. This world, an innocent one at that, was being targeted as well. It made sense, but it felt wrong to her. Like this world shouldn't be targeted. What did they have to offer? What body part could they want from them? It wasn't fair.

"We have a Phoenix-class carrier that is being refitted for this operation-"

"A Phoenix-class?" Shamrock sat up straight, his eyes wide. "We don't have anymore? That line died out – what – four years ago? No more ships of that class remain."

"I wish that were the case." Pool leaned back in his chair. "This ship is being given the designation Hopewell. It will be ready in a week. During that time, we'll have a second ship – cargo carrier – load up with other items. From your testimony, they're looking for supplies to get home. We find your ship, give them the supplies, and assist in dealing with whatever problems you run across on your way home."

"What about the rest of the fleet?" Riptide finally asked. "Not saying we would make that great of a difference if we threw ourselves at whatever it was that took those two ships out, but let's be real here. We get there, help them get home, and then deal with whatever shit comes their way, we then have to make sure they follow us back to hopefully beat whatever is here back. And that's supposing we get there and back in time for this to even matter."

"A lot of the people that will be going have family here. I know. But this is bigger than us. Whatever this Harvest Fleet is, if it really is as fearsome as we're led to believe, we can't let them go unimpeded. I'm not saying we'll make a difference. I'm saying we have to at least try."

"Trying is the first step towards failure." Hound got up, beer in hand. "I'm in." He finished off his beer and offered up a smile.

"Seriously?" Barnette asked. "There's no telling if we'll make it back to my ship or my people in time for any of this to matter. We might not even find them. And they could already be destroyed. Not that I'm wanting either of those options to be true, but it's a very real thing that can happen. And you'll be leaving behind your family."

Hound gave a hearty laugh. "Oh, come on. Overwhelming odds with little to no chance for success? How can I resist."

"Barnette," Trig grabbed her hands and gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll get you to your people. You can count on us. All of us." She gestured to the table. "We have the third biggest class of a ship we have."

"Even if said class shouldn't exist anymore," Avalanche added. He stood at attention. The air became electric. "Near a week until launch. If you have anything you guys wanna do before we head out, you got some time."

"Your machines will be loaded on Hopewell." Richard looked them over. "I'll be seeing you all again soon. In the meantime; have fun. Live life to the fullest. I'll see you all later." He grabbed the file and left. Sky Kid saw him out.

Sky Kid returned after seeing him out. He looked the squad over and then laughed, his arms resting on his hip. "You know what this means, right?" Shamrock leaned back in his chair, cracking his back. Riptide chewed on her lip. "We need to party harder."

Laughing, Riptide looked around, "Sounds good. Not like we're not going to be doing that two days before launch."

They all laughed. Avalanche even joined in on the laughter. "I wish that could be true, but sadly," his eyes landed on Barnette, "we need more information on what we're up against. Pool, am I correct in assuming that she'll be speaking to other teams about what we're up against?"

"Yes. Your team will be accompanying her on all her trips. Since this is moving fast, her first speech will be tomorrow."

"Understood."

"Don't I have a say in this?" Barnette asked, sounding more alive then she ever had.

All the fears Barnette held were washed away for that night. She didn't remember much of it, but she was happy. These people, these strangers, were going to help her get home. Help them fight against an impossible enemy. She felt a sense of power swell within her.

Pride.

She was happy to have them as friends. Even if they were mostly men.