Disclaimer: Why me?

< >: Thoughts

Chapter 4

Slade's New Partners

One of the ladies rooms...

"Did you hear the latest rumors? I heard that men have some strange tube 
stuck between their legs."

"No way! Are you sure that it's not some kind of antennae? Gross!"

"I wonder if it makes it hard for them to walk?"

Dita listened closely to her comrades as they discussed the latest gossip 
about men. She then glanced at herself and noted that she didn't have such 
an appendage. She then decided to find out for herself if the rumor was true 
about Mr. Alien.

----------

"What... ARE you doing?" Slade asked in annoyance as he had been preparing 
to drop his pants in front of the toilet.

Dita said nothing at she simply watched with a twinkle in her eyes and a 
smile on her face.

In a flash, Slade zipped up his pants, grasped Dita by the collar and hauled 
her out of the men's restroom. The female found herself planted outside as 
Slade slammed the door behind him.

"But why can't I watch?"

"I can't go with somebody watching!"

----------

In the sick bay...

"Peculiar... this organ doesn't even exist in a man's physiology." Duero 
said as he watched the computer display of the gestating baby within Ezra.

"It's called the uterus."

"A reproductive organ... most interesting."

As she lay on the bed, the female began explaining. "I wanted to have a 
baby, so I decided to carry the seed."

"What's the seed?"

"It's when an ohma donates an egg and has it spliced with the genes of the 
fahma. Then it is implanted into the fahma's womb to be nurtured. Where I 
come from, anyone who wants to be a fahma, can be one."

"Hmmm... so that means I can be one?"

Ezra developed a sweatdrop as she tried to think of a way to explain.

----------

Meanwhile, the chief engineer Parfat was holding a contest for a new name 
for the ship, since everyone agreed that the name Ikazuchi was a lousy 
choice. All the crew would contribute and the winner would win a year's 
worth of food coupons that could be redeemed at the Trapeza. With the Navi 
robot, now being called Pyoro, logging in all the suggestions, Parfat would 
later give the list to the captain for her to choose. One of the suggestions 
was the name Nivana, which was BC's idea. Parfat hoped that the captain 
wouldn't choose that one.

----------

Buzom had just been inserting a data disk into a message pod when she was 
suddenly contacted by the Captain.

"BC, is everything ready?"

"Er, yes Captain!"

"Why are there two pods?"

"Well... this second one is for Tarak. I thought it would be prudent to warn 
the men as well."

Magno considered her first officer for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. 
Launch the pods."

Twin cylindrical objects shot out of the bottom of the ship and sped their 
way toward their distant destinations. However, they only managed to make a 
few hundred kilometers before suddenly being engulfed in an explosion. An 
instant later, a quartet of enemy fighters came onto the scene.

----------

"RED ALERT! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!"

Alarms went off all around the ship as Dread pilots began scrambling. Their 
current record for rapid deployment stood at forty-nine seconds. Meia and 
Jura were already running for their Dread fighters when they saw Dita 
standing near her own ship.

"Dita, what are you waiting for? Board your Dread!" Meia cried out.

Dita made a pirouette as she stated the reason why she was still standing 
around. "It was Mr. Alien! He changed and flew right out of here! WHOOSH! He 
was SO fast!"

"What? He's out there already?!" Jura exclaimed. They had only gotten the 
order to scramble just fifteen seconds ago.

Then just as suddenly as it started, the battle alert was over as the alarms 
stopped. A minute later, the three pilots saw a tall figure fly into the 
hanger. The Tekkaman landed in front of them and instantly transformed back 
into Slade. He casually tossed his Tekkacrystal into the air and deftly 
caught it again.

"Hmmm, four fighters... not even a decent warm-up. Hardly worth 
transforming."

Meia felt her anger rising at being upstaged by this... man! "JUST WHAT DID 
YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!"

The former Saotome shrugged as he replied. "I thought it was my duty to 
protect the ship."

"You went out there without authorization!" "Considering that any further 
delay would have put the ship in danger, I assumed that the faster the 
threat was dealt with, the better. I'm only trying to lend my support as 
part of this crew. I figure that I saved you a lot of fuel, ammunition and 
energy."

"We don't need your help! And you're not part of this crew! Have you 
forgotten that you're still a prisoner?"

Slade cocked his head in thought, then said, "My memory must be slipping 
then. As I recall, your Captain did state that myself, the good doctor and 
the... navigator, were to be part of this ship's crew for the duration of 
this voyage."

"Don't give me that! You're just a showoff! You're nothing without that 
crystal!"

"Oh... is that a challenge?" Slade smiled at her as he made his crystal 
disappear. He couldn't help but admire her fiery spirit. She had potential 
and the heart of a true fighter. However, he would not back down from 
anything or anyone. It was just the way he was.

Meia's temper was hitting its boiling point as she glared at his smirk. It 
was bad enough that men were now serving alongside them, but this man 
absolutely infuriated her! And now he was daring her!

"Ah, ah!" Slade wagged a finger at her. "The warrior who loses her temper 
has already lost the battle."

That final quip made the normally level-headed Dread Leader lose her 
control. "AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Meia then swung with her fist, intent on 
knocking Slade's head off.

However, the former heir to the Anything Goes reacted with inhuman speed. He 
simply sidestepped her punch, grabbed hold of her extended arm, and with a 
simple throw, flipped her like a flapjack. Meia found herself being thrown a 
dozen feet before landing painfully hard on her bottom.

Both Jura and Dita were shocked at seeing their leader so casually tossed.

Slade shrugged as he said, "She attacked me first. THAT was self-defense." 
Without another word, he walked out of the hanger deck.

Dita looked at Jura. "Mr. Alien... has a point."

----------

The bridge...

"He's a danger to this ship and crew morale!" Meia complained to her 
commander. Apparently, her ego had been bruised along with her posterior. 
She would not be shown up by that... that MAN!

"I take it that you do not approve of the new additions to our crew?" Magno 
Vivian asked.

"That's putting it mildly... captain. He doesn't follow orders, he's 
absolutely reckless and he's so... so... infuriating!"

"I see. Well... I'll admit that he is difficult to work with, but he has 
done us a couple of favors. Furthermore, his power is quite an asset, 
especially in our current situation. However, if you truly believe that he 
is detrimental to the operation of the Dread crews, then perhaps he might 
agree to a reassignment of duties?"

Meia felt a sense of accomplishment and smugness as she nodded. She'd show 
that MAN his place!

----------

The sick bay...

"You really shouldn't have angered the Dread team leader." Duero warned as 
he had Slade lie down on the examination table in his underwear. "We all 
have to work together on this ship."

The martial artist sighed. "Yeah... well, that girl... what's her name 
again?" Slade asked.

"Meia."

"Yeah, Meia. She's got a lot of spirit, and potential, but her attitude just 
rubbed me the wrong way. I never did care much for authority types."

Duero nodded in understanding as he looked at the medical monitor. 
"Curious."

"What?"

"All anatomical data has come up with nothing special. There are no foreign 
organisms or mechanisms. All extremities show nothing unusual. Heart and 
respiration rates are good, with all vital functions showing stable 
conditions. You're perfectly... normal."

"That's supposed to be a good thing, isn't it?"

"Well, technically speaking yes, but I had been hoping to find out the 
source your powers and how you are able to transform. However, I can't seem 
to find anything out of the ordinary about you."

Slade simply shrugged as he sat up. "Don't lose any sleep over it, Doc. I 
couldn't tell you how I got to be this way, even if I wanted to, because I 
don't know myself. All I remember is waking up one day and I suddenly have 
these powers."

"So you don't remember anything prior to this... awakening?"

"Well..." Slade thought back to those strange images that he had been having 
lately when he was sleeping. "I do get some burry images in my head from 
time to time... and I think they may have something to do with the time when 
I was little, but..." He shook his head sadly. "It's no use. I can't clearly 
remember anything further than that."

"It could be a kind of self-induced amnesia." The medic suggested. "Perhaps 
they could be a set of traumatic memories that you are repressing. Maybe 
something horrible happened to you while you were growing up, and you 
decided to shut out those memories."

Slade absently stroked the scar on his face, though he didn't realize it. 
"I... think that may be a part of it. One of those images was about... being 
in the dark and... seeing lots of... red eyes..." Duero's patient paused for 
a moment. "I... do remember waking up screaming sometimes after seeing that 
image."

It was then that Meia came into the sick bay with a smug look on her face 
and a computer pad in her hands.

The Teknoman had a feeling that he wasn't going to like what she was going 
to say to him.

----------

Duero wasn't the only person that was mystified about Slade's abilities. In 
the engineering section, Parfat was still trying to determine how the 
Tekkaman Power System worked. She had spent the last two hours staring at 
the data that she had collected from her analysis of Slade's crystal. The 
information made no sense and she couldn't even begin to guess as to how 
that crystal was the key to his transforming into a force of mind-boggling 
power.

The only bit of information that made any sense was that the crystal seemed 
to be somewhat similar to the Paksis, which also left her stumped. However, 
the female had no intention of giving up. There just had to be an answer! If 
she could somehow duplicate the Tekkaman process, then that would give the 
space pirates a tremendous edge in fighting ability.

As she pondered about the mysteries of Slade's powers, she had decided to 
check up on a few unexplored areas on the men's side of the ship. As she 
wandered about the hanger where Meia, Dita and Jura's fighters were stored, 
she came across a large room that was near the Paksis reactor room. She 
opened up a door and saw that the entire place was flooded with crystal. In 
the far corner, she then spotted a large object that was halfway buried in 
Paksis.

----------

The Reg System...

<THIS is where I'll be working now? > Slade thought as he stepped into the 
ship's supply depot. Everyone was dressed in white and red waitress outfits.

Gascogne has just finished giving her staff the daily orders when she 
noticed the Teknoman.

"Ah yes! The new arrival! Girls, what's our motto?"

"SMILE! SMILE!" The girls said in unison as they simultaneously gave him a 
wave.

Slade wondered just what he was getting into.

----------

"You've GOT to be kidding!" Slade said as he found himself dressed in the 
uniform of Gascogne's staff. The frilly apron and skirt may look good on the 
slim and curvaceous females, but on a man's frame... (Just use your 
imagination, ugh!)

Gascogne smiled as she took in the appearance of the newest addition to her 
staff. "There. Now you are truly one of the stagehands."

"Stagehands?"

The head supplier nodded. "That's right. It's our job to make certain that 
all supply orders are filled... with a smile of course. Don't think that the 
actors are on their own up on the stage."

Slade was still in a state of shock and embarrassment over what he was 
wearing when the head supplier came up to him. He growled a bit, but 
Gascogne shook her head.

"You'd best remember our motto here. Smile, smile!"

Slade's snarl turned up into a very forced smile as he just barely kept his 
temper in check.

The supervisor nodded as she held out a hand. "Oh, and I'll be taking that 
crystal of yours. After all, you won't be needing it here. Don't worry, I'll 
keep it safe."

Slade was about to argue, but decided that it would be pointless. Besides, 
it wasn't as if he couldn't take it back when he needed to. With one flick 
of a hand, he made his crystal appear and deftly tossed it to her.

Gascogne caught it and then motioned for Slade to follow her.

----------

Somewhere else on the ship...

"What is all this?" Dita asked as she and Pyoro explored the men's section 
of the ship. She was still very much interested in learning all she could 
about Mr. Alien. They had come across one of the food storage rooms and were 
now gazing upon huge mounds of nutrition pellets.

"This is where the men kept their food supplies." The Navi robot explained. 
"One pellet is enough for three hundred hours of labor."

Dita picked up a pellet and nibbled on it. She immediately grimaced at the 
pellet's foul taste and spat it out. "Ewwwww! Mr. Alien actually eats 
this?!"

"Well..." The robot replied slowly. "From what I heard, Slade doesn't care 
for the taste either, but this was all there was to eat on Tarak."

At that point, Dita smiled as she got an idea to get closer to Mr. Alien.

----------

The Reg System...

Though he didn't like the idea of working in a skirt, Slade had to admit 
that Gascogne ran a very efficient operation. The members of her team were 
professional, though they kept on giving those annoying smiles. However, his 
assignments were even more demeaning than what he had back on Tarak. He had 
been demoted from being a cosmic space warrior to scrubbing toilets and 
mopping floors. He was now a glorified janitor.

<Oh yeah. I can understand why Meia was so happy when I got reassigned. 
She's probably gloating right now.>

Though Slade was quite capable of simply ignoring the reassignment, he had 
realized that causing discord on the ship would be detrimental to the moral 
of the crew and he really didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him. 
They were all just doing their jobs, after all. Though he REALLY hated the 
dress uniform of the Reg System.

Gascogne noted Slade's scowl and decided to have a little chat with him.

"Well now, it seems that someone doesn't remember our motto."

"Hmmm?" Slade turned from where he was currently scrubbing the Launching 
Bay.

"Smile, smile."

Slade would only growl in response. It was then that Gascogne gestured for 
him to follow her. She had something to show him.

----------

"Don't start thinking that this job isn't as important as going out to fight 
the enemy." The head supplier said as she and Slade stood in a small 
projection viewing room. "We all have to do our part to keep this ship going 
and keep everyone alive. Don't think that we have it easy down here."

"Whatever." Slade said without even turning to face her.

Gascogne noted Slade's lack of interest and reached over to press a button. 
"Take a look at this."

A holographic image appeared on a viewer which caught the Tekkaman's 
attention. He saw the planet Mejele and what looked like one of its 
residential areas. As the images continued to play, Gascogne began 
explaining.

"This is our home planet Mejele. On the outside, it seems to be a beautiful 
and peaceful place. However, appearances can be deceiving. The people of 
Mejele are more concerned with their appearances than practicality. They 
constantly waste precious energy on trivial pursuits, like who has the 
better garden. Often, these personal contests often get in the way of what 
needs to be done. One time, there was a huge energy consumption and as a 
result... one of the residential units had to be shut down."

Slade nodded as he saw an image of a housing complex become dark. Gascogne 
continued explaining.

"Our captain had lost her home when that happened and that's when she 
started this pirate gig. It was perfect for those who had no other place to 
go. In piracy, there was no difference between male and female. Everyone had 
to work hard, but everyone shared in the rewards. Don't think that only 
certain people reaped the benefits while others did all the work."

Slade remained silent, but could understand where this conversation was 
going. He could respect the head supplier's views, which were perfectly 
valid. No one should be forced out of his or her home, due to the 
foolishness of one's neighbors.

"You know, you should consider yourself lucky. If it had been the Mejele 
military that had attacked the men that time, then you would have been dead 
before you even got to say mercy."

"I doubt that." Slade replied simply.

Gascogne gazed upon him and thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose 
that would be true in your case, but not everyone is highly trained in 
combat and blessed with super-powers."

"Still... I can see what you're trying to tell me." The Teknoman admitted as 
he exited the room.

Gascogne smiled a bit as she watched him leave.

----------

Gradually, Slade became very familiar with the workings of the Register and 
found it to be... a refreshing change of pace from the life of constant 
combat that had been his life. Though he was forced to sit out a few of the 
battles that followed, he still worked hard, and in some cases, he proved to 
be extremely useful...

----------

A week after Slade had joined the Reg Syatem...

"Look out!"

The girls were scrambling for cover when the anti-gravity field failed and 
the huge payload of missiles started falling. They had been moving the 
ordinance to one of the loading bays when the lifter malfunctioned. The rack 
of ordinance that was being moved shifted and began heading downward.

A young member of Gascogne's staff, a pretty girl with long brown hair, 
screamed after she tripped and saw that the missiles were plummeting toward 
her. She knew that she was going to die, either from being crushed under 
tons of ordinance or when the weapons exploded when they hit the floor.

However, that disaster was narrowly averted when someone dropped his mop and 
rushed toward her. In a heartbeat, Slade raised his arms and caught the huge 
rack of missiles, stopping them from hitting the girl that was sprawled of 
loading bay. However, even his superhuman strength was strained to the limit 
and he knew that he couldn't hold up thirty tons of ordinance for more than 
a few seconds. Both arms were full, he was badly unbalanced and he couldn't 
transform to his much stronger form as a Tekkaman.

"H-H-HELP HER!" Slade gritted as the load trembled in his arms. "I can't 
hold... this... up!"

The stunned staff were shocked back to normal as two girls rushed in and 
pulled their comrade out of harm's way. A moment later, Slade set down the 
heavy weight, which made a dull clang on the metal floor. Fortunately, the 
missiles were not armed and did not detonate.

Slade collapsed to his knees and groaned as his arms cried out in agony. 
Gascogne quickly went to him and knelt down.

"Are you all right?"

Slade nodded as he looked up and gave her a weak, lopsided grin. "N...No 
problem. After all... we... gotta keep smiling... right?"

The muscular woman couldn't help but laugh at that one as she helped him up.

Nearby, the girl that Slade had saved continued to gaze at him while being 
tended by a co-worker with a first aid kit. However, the young girl did not 
appear at all thankful toward her rescuer. In fact, she gave Slade a 
deliberate scowl as she openly showed her hatred of men.

Gascogne hoped that this would not cause more conflict.

----------

Later...

"Here. I thought you might like to take a break for a while." Gascogne said 
as she handed him a glass of orange liquid.

Slade nodded as he took the offered drink and sat down near the main 
console. "Thanks."

"I have to admit, you're a very hard and efficient worker... for a man."

"Sort of a backhanded compliment, but I'll take it." Slade replied 
nonchalantly as he drained the glass in one swallow. "So how's that girl I 
saved?"

"Ukyo's doing fine, thanks to you."

At the mention of that name, Slade stiffened and his heart skipped a beat. 
The head supplier noted his sudden change in expression and became 
intrigued. So far, all she had only seen him either with a cool, nonchalant 
expression or with a scowl.

"Is... something wrong?"

Slade was quiet for a long time before answering. "Did... you say her name 
was Ukyo?"

"Yes. Do you know her?"

"No... I've never met her before today... but that name seems... familiar."

The head supplier nodded. "She's a very dedicated worker, though her hatred 
of men is a little more extreme than what most of the crew feel."

"Oh?"

Gasogne nodded. "Yes. From the day she joined up with us, she's made no 
effort to curb that hatred. She totally despises men."

Slade shrugged as he finished his drink. "So what? I thought that all women 
of Mejele hated men. No offense to anyone on this ship."

"None taken. However, it's not because of the propaganda films and such, 
which makes her so angry toward men."

"So... what's the reason, if I might ask?"

"She never tells me the exact details, but she stated that it was men who 
caused a lot of pain to a distant ancestor of hers. She had been taught from 
the day she born to hate all men, though the reason behind it has faded over 
a long time. I don't think she even KNOWS the real reason for her hatred."

"Sounds kind of stupid to be raised to hate a person without knowing the 
reason."

"On that, I'll agree."

----------

Ukyo Kuonji the seventeenth, the direct descendant of the original Ucchan, 
continued to glare at the hated male who was now a part of the Reg System.

For the last five hundred years, the females of the Kuonji clan had always 
hated the opposite gender. Ever since the original Ukyo had been disgraced, 
the females of the family line had always viewed men as untrustworthy and 
useless.

Though the original Ukyo's honor had been satisfied with the apparent death 
of Ranma Saotome, she had sworn off men and marriage completely, so that she 
would never again be hurt. She had embraced her femininity, but totally 
rejected anything that had to do with men. Since that time of betrayal, the 
women of her line had been reproducing through artificial insemination or in 
vitro fertilization. Whenever a male child was born, it would be given up 
for adoption. During the time of space colonization and the founding of 
Mejele, the Kuonji women happily embraced the newest method of asexual 
reproduction, thereby ensuring that no men would ever be born to soil their 
proud lineage.

Little did the present Ukyo know, was that the man who had unintentionally 
broken her ancestor's honor was alive and living on the pirate vessel!

----------

A couple more weeks would pass and the ship's crew soon fell into a normal 
routine. Slade found that working in the Reg System was quite relaxing and 
was a way of escaping from that crazy UFO girl. It was that he didn't like 
Dita, but her constantly calling him Mr. Alien had been getting annoying.

During this time, the Nirvana had been attacked by the aliens, but they were 
merely small skirmishes at best and the Dread teams had no problems in 
beating them back. Meia became even more confident that Slade's power as a 
Tekkaman wasn't needed. However, that would soon change...

----------

Engineering...

"This is what you've been working on for the last couple of weeks?" Gascogne 
asked as she looked over Parfat's latest project. "That's a LOT of firepower 
for just one machine."

"Yep!" The bespectacled girl nodded as she closed a panel. "The captain and 
commander both agreed that the last few attacks from the enemy were just 
probing missions; like they were trying to figure out our strengths, 
weaknesses and battle tactics. So they asked me to come up with something to 
give the Dreads an edge. I modified this machine to act as a support 
vehicle."

"But... this thing looks like..." Gascogne continued to stare at the huge 
machine.

The engineer shrugged. "Hey, it was the only source of spare material I 
could work with. All the other available parts and resources were reserved 
for Dread maintenance and repair."

"What gave you the idea to use it?"

The head engineer began explaining. "Well, for one thing, we've already seen 
how effective using the power of the Paksis can be against the aliens. This 
particular machine was near the Paksis reactor when we got transported away, 
and when our ship merged with the Ikazuchi. It got transformed like Dita, 
Meia and Jura's Dreads. It's also giving off low-level energy emissions 
that's similar to the Paksis and to Slade's crystal."

"You mean this?" The head supplier took out Slade's possession.

"How did you get it?"

The older woman shrugged. "Since he's working in the Reg System and isn't 
fighting, I'm... holding onto it for safekeeping. Never mind that now. What 
did you mean that this thing is like the Paksis? I thought the reports said 
that it didn't give off any energy."

"Well, the preliminary reports showed nothing, but when I looked at a 
subatomic scan of its molecular structure, it showed that this crystal gave 
off a wavelength that was linked to the Paksis." It was then that she 
snapped her fingers. "Hey, wait a second! Let me have that crystal for a 
minute. I want to try something."

Gascogne cocked her head in puzzlement, then handed the engineer the 
crystal. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Take a look at this." Parfat pointed to a certain set of circuit relays 
which were infused with crystals derived from the Paksis. "Up until now, I 
haven't been able to get a response out of this machine's central processors 
and vital circuitry, because of all that Paksis crystal. The mechanisms and 
relays are functioning normally, but it seems to reject all attempts at 
controlling it. Now let's see what happens if I do this." She then held 
Slade's Tekkacrystal close to the circuit panel, which immediately came to 
life and started humming with power. When she pulled it back, it went dead. 
When she repeated the experiment of bringing the crystal close, then pulling 
it back, the panel turned on and off accordingly.

"Well, that's interesting. So what you're saying is that this thing won't 
work unless someone is holding the crystal."

"No... not quite." Parfat shook her head in thought. "This experiment proves 
my theory. This machine is responding to the crystal, since they seem to be 
on the same wavelength, but in order to control it, we would need someone 
who is also linked to the Paksis."

Gascogne thought back to what had happened that day when the Paksis had 
imploded and merged the two ships. "As I recall, Meia, Dita and Jura were 
near the Paksis and their Dreads were transformed. Would they be able to 
control it?"

Parfat shook her head again. "No. I already had them down here, and not one 
of them could make this thing respond to their commands."

It was then that the head supplier put two and two together. "So that leaves 
only Bart and... Slade."

"Well, you can also scratch Bart off the candidate list since I've had him 
down here too. The only likely person who could control this new weapon is 
Slade."

"Slade?"

"That's about the long and short of it. The fact that this thing is 
responding to HIS crystal makes him the only possibility."

"So the bottom line is that this machine could give us the edge we need, but 
it can only be used by Slade."

"Mind you, this all just theory. I can't guarantee one hundred percent that 
it would even work and..."

WHABOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

The hanger shuddered and nearly caused the two women to fall to the floor.

----------

"Enemy attack!"

Magno nodded as she and her bridge crew prepared for the assault. All 
through the ship, the crew were at their battle stations as the Dread pilots 
raced to their fighters. In thirty seconds, squadrons of Dreads were taking 
up positions in front of the Nirvana to confront the enemy. After all of her 
previous encounters with the enemy, the Dread Leader was confident that she 
and her comrades would be able to defeat this new threat without the help of 
males, especially Slade.

The enemy consisted of several dozen of those strange-looking fighters, 
which the pirates had dubbed as Cube-Types, and one very large machine that 
was a spherical mass of globes. The alien formation maintained a fixed 
distance from the pirates, as if they were waiting for the women to make the 
first move.

On the bridge,  Magno ordered Bart to direct the ship into some evasive 
maneuvers, which the helmsman did readily, (since his specialty was running 
away). However, for every move the ship made, the large machine and its 
escort fighters matched, keeping the distance between them constant. After a 
few more futile attempts, the two forces halted and faced each other off.

----------

The Reg System...

"They're just standing there." Slade commented as he and the rest of the 
crew watched on the monitors. <I've got a bad feeling about this.> Normally, 
he would have just gone out as a Tekkaman and destroyed the enemy, but since 
he had been reassigned, he couldn't do anything but watch. It wasn't as if 
he couldn't disobey, but he respected Gascogne and the captain enough.

Then all of a sudden the enemy attacked.

----------

Meia immediately put her Dread squadron into the fray. The nimble pirate 
ships darted about, blowing a few of the Cube-Types to pieces while trying 
to engage the main machine. However, the strange craft was impossibly fast 
for its size and evaded the first wave. Then the globes on its surface began 
to rotate and extended large purple tendrils, making its appearance seem 
like a ...

"Sea urchin? How disgusting!" Jura commented as she put her Dread in a 
strafing run against it. She was followed by Barnette who launched a barrage 
of missiles at it. However, the spines began jagged and started rotating 
even faster. The projectiles were easily deflected and exploded harmlessly 
away from the main body.

"No good! We can't get close enough to it for a clear shot!" Barnette 
declared.

Then the spines of the main ship became straight and were suddenly launched 
like oversized darts. A few of the Dreads were hit and put out of action. 
Meia thought that this was her chance and ordered her teams to attack. 
However, the machine simply extended more spines and began spinning them 
again, evading the next barrage of missiles.

"Damn!" Meia swore as she evaded a few of the Cube Types that were 
protecting their main system.

"Let's get Mr. Alien out here!" Dita called in through her communicator.

"NO! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RELYING ON OTHERS? WE DON'T NEED HIS HELP! 
HE'S A MAN AND THE ENEMY! WE CAN DO THIS ON OUR OWN!"

Though Meia was confident in her own ability and that of the other Dread 
Pilots, she was letting her pride override her better judgment.

----------

The Reg System...

Slade shook his head. "Not good."

Gascogne had to agree. With the Cube-Types running interference and the 
Dreads unable to get clear hits on the large alien craft, it seemed that 
pirates were fighting a losing battle. She looked at the tactical display 
and saw that several more of the fighters were put out of action. It 
wouldn't be long before the enemy would begin their assault on the pirate 
ship.

"They're not going to last long." Slade said.

"Oh? And what would you suggest?" Gascogne asked.

The Tekkaman nodded and replied. "It's obvious that the enemy knows that the 
Dread Fighters are very effective with long and medium-range attacks, so 
they've got those fighters out there to keep them busy. Those spines are 
also preventing their missiles from getting close. I'd say that the best way 
to win is to get up close and personal with that thing."

"Getting up close with all those fighters and spines shooting out of it? 
Sounds pretty dangerous."

It was at that moment that the Reg System began receiving delivery orders as 
several of the Dread Fighters were running low on ordinance and ammunition.

----------

The bridge...

"It appears that the enemy has adapted to our current battle tactics." BC 
remarked with a frown. She too had been watching the tactical display and 
the Dread teams had been whittled down to half their number. Several of the 
Cube-Types were getting through the defense lines and attacking the ship 
itself.

Magno nodded. "Yes. It's as we thought. I thought that those last few 
battles were too easy. So they were probing for our strengths and 
weaknesses. They know how we react and they've learned how to counter us. 
Well then, let's give them something that they don't know about yet." She 
then contacted the engineering section. "Parfat, is that new weapon ready 
yet?"

The engineer shook her head as she responded. "Captain, you're not really 
thinking of using it now, are you?"

It was then that the ship shuddered violently. The large alien craft had 
broken though the defense lines and was now using its spines to attack the 
pirate vessel. That one pass alone had caused major structural damage to the 
port arm of the ship, as the spines raked the hull. Bart let off a scream as 
he felt pain shoot up his left arm and a large gash appeared. The cybernetic 
link between himself and the ship was still active.

"We don't really have a choice, Parfat! The Dreads can't hold out for much 
longer and we don't have any other options. Is it ready or not?"

"It's completed, but it's totally untested!" Parfat responded. "And besides, 
we don't have a pilot for it!"

At that moment, Gascogne cut into the communications. "Oh yes we do."

"What?" Magno asked.

The head supplier nodded and winked. "Have Parfat load it onto my ship. I 
have a few deliveries to make anyway. I'm sure that D-Boy will be able to 
handle it."

"D-Boy?" Both the captain and the engineer said in confusion.

----------

The Dreki, Gascongne's supply ship, deteched from the main vessel and flew 
toward the battle zone. It resembled a large ladybug and was heavily armored 
and had several grappling arms located on its undersides. As four Dreads 
flew toward it, the arms extended themselves and grabbed hold of them, 
bringing them closer so that new armaments could be loaded onto the 
fighters.

On the main bridge of the Dreki, Gascogne sat with Slade and watched the 
procedures.

"Okay, we're going to get this done in forty seconds, tops. Let's do it all 
in one go."

Slade nodded as he worked at his console and systematically loaded each 
Dread with new missiles and weaponry. The head supplier nodded as she 
watched the Tekkaman's efficiency.

Less than a minute later the fighters were ready for combat again.

"I'm so full!" Dita said happily.

"Give 'em Hell, girls." Gascogne said as they launched.

As Slade watched them go, he shook his head. "Not that I'm saying that being 
a stagehand isn't important, but we need to change tactics. Unless they come 
up with something better than wasting their shots on that thing, then it 
wouldn't matter how many times they reload."

Gascogne nodded. "I couldn't agree more. However, the reloaded Dreads should 
be able to buy us some time."

"Huh?"

She then gestured to the display. "That's the reason why we brought this."

The Tekkaman noted that one of the cargo bays was still loaded. "Hey, you 
still got one more delivery."

"That's right." She then handed Slade his crystal back. "That's our latest 
weapon against the enemy, but only you can use it. Parfat called it a 
Tekkabot. It's voice-activated so you'd better make your commands loud and 
clear. Give 'em Hell with it, D-Boy."

"D-Boy?"

"D as in dangerous, since that's what you are when you're out there."

The former Saotome smirked as he began running for the cargo bay. "All 
right... Ms. Gasco."

"It's Gascogne!"

----------

Slade stared at the thing. So this was their new weapon?

The machine had formally been one of the Vanguards until it had been 
transformed by the Paksis. Parfat had modified it and it was now ten feet 
taller than its counterparts, with added armor and more firepower. He saw 
that a geometric crystal shape was mounted on the front chest armor and 
noticed that it was similar to his own crystal. Holding up his possession to 
it, the machine began to activate and humm with power.

<Okay... let's see if it works.> Slade then voiced out his first command.

"TEKKABOT, POWER ON!"

The machine spoke back in reply as it sensed the link it had with its pilot.

"Affirmative."

The modified Vanguard opened up in front, revealing the cockpit. Slade could 
feel a kind of pull from it and immediately jumped into it. The hatch closed 
up as grappling arms maneuvered the machine toward the cargo doors.

On the Dreki's bridge, Gascogne activated the doors to open.

"Initiating launch sequence... Tekkabot away!"

----------

"What is that?" Jura gasped as she saw something new enter the fray.

"It looks like a Vanguard." Dita remarked.

In her own Dread, Meia gritted her teeth. <No! It can't be him!>

----------

Within the new Tekkabot, Slade found out that he could control it as if it 
was his own body. He soon got the hang of piloting it. The machine was less 
maneuverable than his own Tekkaman form, but the heavy armor and massive 
firepower made up for it. He began directing the Tekkabot to attack the 
Cube-Types, thereby drawing them off so the Dreads could concentrate on 
battling the main alien craft. The machine began launching a murderous storm 
of missiles and blaster fire, mowing the enemy down. As he pressed the 
attack, he looked through the display monitors and nodded. As the Cube-Types 
were being dispatched, the Dreads were now concentrating their attacks on 
the larger machine. The huge sea urchin had to stop attacking the pirate 
vessel to deal with the fighters.

However, it still proved to be difficult to damage as it continued to evade 
the females shots.

Slade knew that he had to help them out and destroying the Cube-Types was 
taking too long. He had to get out there.

"TEKSETTER!"

----------

To all those who were watching, the Tekkabot suddenly glowed with an emerald 
light, then suddenly, the top of the machine opened up and something shot 
out of it.

"Mr. Alien!" Dita cried out happily.

The Tekkaman made a neat flip and landed on the back of the Tekkabot. Slade 
then realized that he was still linked to his new partner as it responded to 
his mental commands to charge at the remaining Cube-Types. Bringing out his 
lance, he began spinning it like a propeller, deflecting enemy fire. Then 
his shoulder blasters opened up.

"VOLTEKKER!"

A huge beam of emerald-white light was released, atomizing most of the enemy 
fighters. He then directed the Tekkabot to charge at the main alien craft.

The giant sea urchin evaded its Dread pursuers and focused its attention 
toward its newest adversary.

Slade leapt off the Tekkabot and activated his alternate form.

<TEKKAMAN BATTLE-MODE!>

However, to everyone else's surprise, the Tekkabot acknowledged its master.

"Affirmative"

It also began transforming. New wing projections emerged from its back as 
its arms swung into its body. The legs produced a new type of thruster units 
and Slade found himself pulled toward the machine again. When the Tekkaman 
landed on the Tekkabot's back again, the two began to produce a combined 
aura which turned them into a huge comet, that streaked across space and 
headed toward the enemy. All of the remaining Cube-Types were blown away as 
Tekkaman and Tekkabot hurtled by, leaving energy shockwaves that reduced 
them to useless scrap.

----------

"That's some new weapon, Parfat." Gascogne commented through the 
communicator.

"But I didn't build it to do that!" Parfat said as she watched in shock.

----------

The sea urchin launched a barrage of its spines at the Tekkaman, but the 
projectiles disintegrated as soon as they made contact with his combined 
aura. It seemed as if the machine would be destroyed as soon it collided 
with him. However, at the last moment, the craft severed to the right, 
causing Slade to harmlessly pass by.

<Damn, that thing's faster than me!>

Meia saw this as an opportunity and ordered her team to attack while the 
alien machine was distracted. However, that was when it grew more spines and 
launched them, causing the Dreads to scatter once again.

As Slade turned about to make another pass at his foe, Dita's fighter 
flashed onto the scene.

"Mr. Alien! Let's combine!"

The gigantic sea urchin had other ideas though as it launched another 
barrage. Meia's Dread flew in to intercept.

"Dita, watch out!"

Meia's Dread took the hits and was sent speeding out of control. At the same 
time, Slade was also knocked off his perch on the Tekkabot and sent flying. 
The Tekkabot immediately became disoriented without its pilot and was 
nothing more than a floating, technological mass.

As if by fate or pure luck, both Dread and Tekkaman came close enough to 
each other as both individuals voiced out the same desire to overcome the 
enemy.

"There's no way..." Meia shouted out.

"... I'm going to let this thing beat me!" Slade declared.

It was then that they both came together and became a new force. Meia's 
Dread immediately swallowed up the Tekkaman and began shifting its form. The 
entire craft flipped itself over and extended twin appendages that resembled 
the talons of a predatory bird. The front part of the fuselage extended 
itself even further, forming a serpentine head with tusks. The new mecha 
hovered in space, ready for combat.

----------

"What?!" Dita was shocked.

"Did you see that?" Barnette exclaimed.

"It's SO cool!" Jura declared as she saw that Meia's fighter was now some 
kind of Dragon-type mecha.

On the pirate vessel, the bridge crew was also in awe.

"That guy sure has a lot of tricks up his sleeve." Bart said.

----------

Inside the cockpit of the new fighter...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Meia glared at Slade as she found 
herself in a very undignified position. The cockpit of the new Tekkadread 
had her sitting in a kind of a reclining position, with Slade in front of 
her in a hunched-over position.

"WHAT...?!" Slade once again found himself in his regular clothes and in a 
very embarrassing situation.

"I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP, SO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"I DIDN'T WANT TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE SO..."

At that moment that the Tekkadread shuddered as it was hit by the enemy 
craft. Slade immediately put his anger aside and grabbed at a set of 
controls in front of him. The Tekkadread came alive with his touch as he 
glared over his shoulders to his unexpected co-pilot.

"We don't have time to argue, so work with me or we won't be able to chew 
each other out later!"

Meia gritted her teeth, but nodded in agreement as she began operating the 
foot pedals and the controls on either side of her chair.

----------

The Tekkadread started darting about after the enemy with an acceleration 
that made the other Dread fighters look like slugs.

"That acceleration is impossible!" Barnette declared.

"Meia is SO lucky!" Jura said as she watched the machine wistfully.

----------

Tekkadread Meia, (as it would later be called), ran circles around its foe 
and the giant sea urchin launched every spine it had against its elusive 
opponent. However, the machine totally missed its target as it flashed out 
of sight and reappeared behind it.

Inside the cockpit of the Tekkadread, both Slade and Meia voiced out their 
anticipation.

"This is exactly..." Slade said.

"... what I've been waiting for!" Meia declared.

It was then that Slade's aura flared and was fed into the Tekkadread's main 
systems. The entire craft became surrounded with power as it flashed forward 
like a comet.

"DRAGON... VOLTEKKER!"

The enemy craft was pierced though its center as the Tekkadread rammed clear 
through it. A moment later, it exploded into fragments and smaller spheres 
were scattered all. The battle was over.

Inside the now dormant Tekkadread, Meia and Slade were completely exhausted.

"Whew! That was... a total mess." Slade said as he leaned against the 
console.

"I... never thought we'd agree on the same thing." Meia comented, then 
added. "Now do you see? You can't win every battle with just that armor of 
yours."

Slade had to agree, though he also said, "And I suppose you were doing any 
better with just your Dreads?"

Meia didn't answer, since Slade did raise a point.

----------

"That's so unfair!" Dita pouted as she and the rest of the Dread Teams 
headed back to their ship. "Mr. Alien was only supposed to combine with me!"

In her own fighter, Jura began to consider a few things. "Hey... that could 
mean that I could combine to form something elegant too..."

----------

Later...

"The ship's name? You want me to decide?" Magno asked.

Parfat nodded as Pyoro began displaying the suggestions on his monitor. "All 
the crew contributed and we want you to pick one."

"You sure you don't mind?"

"Just pick out a real cool one!"

A name flashed by and Magno considered it. "Hmmm... the Nirvana. Not a bad 
suggestion. Who came up with that one?"

"It was the commander's idea." Pyoro replied.

"Fine then. From now on, this ship will be called the Nirvana."

In the engineering room, Parfat lowered her head in defeat. "I knew it." 
After turning off communications, she looked back to the Tekkabot, which was 
undergoing repairs and being rearmed. Beside her was Gascogne.

"I've got to admit, for a trial by fire, this thing didn't do too badly."

Parfat nodded, though she was still a bit puzzled. "I can see that a few 
improvements can be made, though I never knew this thing could transform. I 
didn't even consider the possibility that it would develop an artificial 
intelligence like Pyoro. Do you think that it had something to do with the 
Paksis or its contact with Slade?"

"Could be both. By the way, what are you going to call this new Vanguard?"

Parfat looked back up to her creation, then snapped her fingers in 
inspiration. "I'll use the name that I suggested in our contest. I wanted 
the ship's name to be Pegasus."

"Pegasus?"

"Yeah. In some old myths that I read, Pegasus was a horse with wings. Slade 
is the only one who can 'ride' it, so it seems fitting, don't you think? For 
short, I'll call it Pegas!" She called up to the huge machine. "You hear 
that? From now on, your name will be Pegas!"

The machine's head cocked to one side, as if in thought, then nodded. "I am 
Pegas!"

----------

Later...

"Wow! This stuff sure beats the pellets I've been eating." Slade said as he 
sampled the food that Dita had cooked for him. He had used up a lot energy 
during the battle and he gobbled up the food within seconds.

"Mr. Alien, will you promise that you'll only combine with me?" Dita asked 
while giving him the dreaded Sad Puppy Dog eyes.

"Will you stop calling me Mr. Alien?" Slade was getting very annoyed by the 
reference though he welcomed Dita's company. She was only the few people who 
didn't think he was some kind of monster.

----------

The Register, two days later...

"So Ms. Gasco, I take it that... man won't be working here any more?" Ukyo 
asked, with a bit of hope in her voice.

"It's Gascogne." The head supplier reminded her. "And in answer to your 
question, no I don't think so. Apparently, he wasn't meant to be part of the 
stagehands." She let off a small sigh. Though he was a man, Gascogne had to 
admit that he was one of the most efficient and hard-working members of her 
staff.

It was at that moment that the main door to the Register opened up. The 
entire staff turned to see who it was and gasped.

It was Slade, but he was now dressed in a masculine version of the standard 
uniform. The skirt and blouse had been altered into a white tuxedo with red 
lapels on the vest with pink highlights. He wore a fashionable black bow tie 
and the cuffs on his sleeves were elaborately decorated. He looked like a 
high-class waiter from a very elegant restaurant and the new attire made him 
appear very handsome. Many of the girls didn't know what to make of the 
strange feelings they were experiencing at that moment.

The staff and their supervisor continued to gape in disbelief as Slade 
casually strolled over to Gascogne. He gave her a curt nod of his head and 
noted her surprise. "Miss Gasco. Have you already forgotten?" He flashed her 
a grin. "Smile, smile."

Gascogne found her voice as she shook herself back to reality. "D-Boy... 
I... thought that you..."

"Quit? Not really. I figured that when I'm not in combat, I can pull my 
weight on this ship by helping you out here." He then gestured to his 
wardrobe. "Though, I hope you don't mind my alterations to the uniform. My 
legs just don't look good in a skirt."

Gascogne could only chuckle as she nodded. "Just so long as you keep it 
clean. Oh and by the way, it's not Gasco, it's Gascogne."

"Certainly, and remember, it's Slade, not D-Boy."

The two gazed at each other for a very long time as the rest of the Register 
waited. Finally, the head supplier nodded.

"Welcome back... D-Boy."

"Good to be back... Miss Gasco."

The two then burst into peals of laughter.

----------

On the bridge...

"So those spheres will mask the two message pods?" Magno asked.

Parfat nodded. "They've been coded with the enemy's recognition frequencies 
so they won't be destroyed.

"Very well then. Launch the pods."

The twin canisters were then sent on their merry, but the crew still had 
their doubts.

"Even if they receive our message, there's no guarantee that anyone will 
listen." Parfat remarked.

"Wish for it Parfat." BC said. "That's all we can do."


To be continued...

Author's notes

That takes care of the revisions and the fourth chapter to this story. After 
watching the entire Tekkaman Blade series, I decided to use the Japanese 
terms except for the name of Slade. As for Vandread, it will mostly be using 
the English references. In any case, I hope you liked my inclusion of Pegas 
and the introduction of one of Ukyo's descendants. There will be more 
changes and surprise in store, so stay tuned!
