Disclaimer: I do not own Vandread or any of its characters. Whatever that you have not came across in this fiction is mine and mine only. But who cares anyway?

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Starry Eyed Surprise, Chapter 1

"Looking at the stars?" a deep intellectual voice broke the peaceful silence that hung in the artificially created air. Though she did not look it, beneath her calm and collected gaze held a startled pilot. Not even turning around to take a look at who was behind her, she just nodded her head, just slightly.

"I've never really seen anything so..."

"...anything so fascinating?" he chuckled, "when I was but a child in Talark, I would stay up every night and wonder why them seemed so small, yet in reality they are as big as they can imagine. Why they can seem so harmless and pretty when they are actually nasty meteorites that might strike us anytime without warning and cause total destruction, not mentioning devastation. But now that war has begun and we are trying so hard to survive, I have not been able to take the time off to sit back and watch these heavenly bodies sparkle in the night sky. Then again, we don't have a day sky either."

"What are you doing up so late anyway?" she asked, still wary of him.

"Same reason why you are here. To watch the stars."

She cut him at this point.

"I am not!" she protested, her voice containing more anger as it got louder. "I am merely having trouble getting to sleep." Though she knew that she was lying, she was still hoping that he would at least get a hint and leave her alone. Of course, he could not possibly be that stupid.

Never show your soft side. It will always be to your disadvantage.

The deep voice chuckled once more. He may not have been able to tell from her voice alone that she was lying but he had been studying her facial features for quite some time before he allowed his presence to be known. He knew that it was one bad move but it was only fair for her to know that he was there.

"But the amazed look on your face a couple of seconds ago says otherwise. And why the stars? There are a million other things that you could do to get to sleep. Perhaps you do not think that counting sheep helps but then you could be checking your vanguard and maintaining it. Or you could grab a glass of milk and fix something to eat...explore parts of Nirvana that you have never even noticed before..."

She bit her lip. Ok, he saw through it. It's no use denying it any longer. "You know what I'm here for. So you? I haven't seen you around here at this time of the night."

"Ah, that's because I was having trouble to sleep. So I just thought that I might come out tonight just to take a break. Well, that was long before I noticed a heavenly ice queen sitting all alone, gazing at the stars. If I knew that you were having trouble sleeping, I would have prescribed something for you." He replied, moving towards her and seating himself next to her curled up body. He could feel her tense up, before relaxing once more.

She gave a quiet laugh at the seriousness of his voice, joining him in his chuckling. "Ice queen? Was I ever that cold? And since when did I have a new alias?"

"Well, that's what you're known as, when you're not around...but for their safety and my freedom from the medical unit [meaning if she beats the other pilots up, he'll have to remain in the medical unit curing them]. And this way, it'll keep Nirvana safe from the harvest ships..."

"Bart..." she murmured softly, with a death tone in her voice, "he's going to be the first."

The deserted area rang with soft laughter.

"Say, this might be the first time that I ever have heard you laugh before. Or should I say, anyone."

Then she stood up and went back to her private quarters, leaving him alone. Alone with all but a puzzled expression on his face.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Damn him. Tricked me." And with a death glare in her eyes, she said, "Duero McFile. Be honored to die in the hands of Meia Gisborn."