CHAPTER 25: ESCAPE FROM MARS

Right after the Empress depressed the ignite button, elsewhere in the engineering chamber,
Misty, Dita, Meia, Hibiki and the rest heard the roar of flames from The Furnace.

"That was too close," breathed the UFO otaku.

"You two got outa there just in time," said Meia, "before you ran into some hot spot."

"An' how," said a breathless Hibiki, who guzzled a bottle of water before regaining his breath,
then added, "Let's get the heck outa here."

And get the heck they did, for with the XEW depleted, there was an uproar throughout Sector 27, with an exodus of reformed PSE staff, some having shootouts with the loyal criminal PSE staff, yet,
the en masse ocean of defectors, all jumping in their Diamantes and taking off for who knows where continued at a steady stream, many of them, to the Empress' chagrin, taking off in their Diamantes,
and evading the enemy ships and firepower; among them, in the midst of the confusion, Admiral Xaltocan Chimali and Rear Admiral Ilyo Eos, piloting their own Diamantes as they flew with a handful of other defectors en route to the Hohenzollern, followed by the Vandread team; now, given the current circumstances at hand, one would think the PSE carrier forces and the loyal remains of their personnel along with those in Sector 27 would get wise and train their weapons upon the escapees and you may be right...but they didn't count without reckoning on the timely arrival of The Cornerstone Empire's fleet, their carriers and Mantas tearing across the sky like gangbusters, all of which was noticed by the Vandread team, as Hibiki's MP3 player played Bryan Adams' I Wanna Be Your Underwear.

"Och," said Norton, "hoorah for the red, white and blooey of The Cornerstone Empire-you can count on them to stave off any would be attempts from the PSE."

"Let's just get our butts back safe where we belong," said the Van pilot, "before we wind up on the casualty list."

"Not quite," said a nonplussed Meia, "we've got to fight our way through that mess and give our allies time to take off into space and calculate a trajectory for the lightspeed jump to Earth."

"Gascogne's orders?" said Cara.

"And the Empress Vanna's," replied Tsitra.

"Must we?" said Dita.

"We most definitely must," said Misty. "You can't finish a job when it's half butted."

"Half butted?" said Nathan.

"Go figure," said Andrew.

And fight through the Vandread team did, blasting at the enemy engines of the Diamantes,
their pilots ejecting to safety within their control pods, changing from one Vandread to another, Meia first, then Dita, Cara, Misty, Tsitra and Gie Bele; it took time, but only when the Hohenzollern and the CE fleet were safe in Mars orbit, the War Machine Synthesis and the carrier and Manta fleet dealing with much of the enemy bulk, were Hibiki & Co. able to board the former PSE flagship, along with the many defectors, before they were able to make the jump into lightspeed to Earth.

In contrast to the roomy chamber he had in the Nirvana, Hibiki's new apartment, once a suite for one of the Empress' high officials, was even roomier, with all his knick knacks, TV and furniture all around, even as the Hohenzollern hurtled through hyperspace en route to Earth. Right now, after having recovered from one of his cough syrup trips, the Van pilot had a lot of pondering to think of,
as to what could be done to save the dying mechanized and diseased Earth once the PSE were put away for good...but then, maybe the wizards of The Cornerstone Empire, for all their high tech reputation, could try to heal the planet, maybe terraform it...

Already the hothead's thoughts, after another broadcast of Animals Close Up, With A Wide Angled Lens, were nonplussed by the defection of not only Xaltocan and Ilyo, but also a handful of reformed PSE personnel, increasing the crew quota four times larger than before, considering the Hohenzollern had been their ship as well, so it was a sort of welcome home for them. For that matter, would the Admiral and the Rear Admiral be a big help to them, just as the General and the Major had? One thing was sure: the Empress' inner court of officers was shrinking down gradually to the point where even Ms. Pereira, to quote Gascogne, "didn't have a leg to stand on." Right now, a knock on the door followed with the said Gascogne saying, "Hey, Van superstar, got any bell peppers and beef?"

Coming from his reverie, the mechanic got up and opened the door, welcoming in the current head of the Vandread crew (and it was hard to imagine that she had once been the Nirvana's supply shop head), who said, "I got some time to pass before we finally reach Earth." From there, the lucky Van pilot rounded up some bell peppers and beef, stir fried them with soy sauce while Gascogne did the salad, and with a unopened bottle of Dom Perigon that had been left over from Hibiki and Jura's wedding, the two were feasting.

"I didn't wish to mention it to you till the time was right," said the current head of the Vandread crew, "but your mistake and run in with the PSE, leading to you almost getting burnt to a crisp,
not to mention your omnipresent arrognace, was unforgivable."

"No one's perfect," said Hibiki, a bit annoyed as he was near finishing his food. "Didn't you say it's human to make a mistake? So I had a rotten day."

"Which is why a lot of stage plays get booed by the audience and critics, because the cast gets so wrapped up in so many mistakes and hotheaded ego trips. I thought I told you not to get so bad tempered all the time and so lost in yourself-and didn't I tell you smile? It's one of the reasons you lost at all my card games," said an equally testy Gascogne.

"So what else is new?" shot back the hothead who calmed down and added, "You can't blame me for what I've been through, losin' Jura, windin' up comatose and nearly fried in a furnace and such..."

"Is that why you still taking those cough syrup trips?" said the officer, "And why you first smoked in the first place?"

"You know any other way to keep my troubles at a safe distance?" said the mechanic, who finished his meal and was near finished with the last of the Dom Perignon.

Her face falling a bit, Gascogne said matter of factly, "Now that I thnk of it...I would too, when it came to losing my sister in the tragedy so long ago...Meia told you that, didn't she?"

"Good guess," replied a sobered Van pilot, sobered because of the said Dom Perignon. "So what of the planet Earth? Given the video we saw of what it looks like now, it's going to be a challenge."

"And no doubt, it'll be the same as before," replied the Vandread crew leader, "only now, it'll be much worse, no doubt swarming with thousands of PSE armadas, as well as all those remaining Harvest ships and such, most likely reactivated by their Empress creator, given the current circumstances at hand-and you can bet your bottom ingot Ms. Pereira's pulling out the stops for what she's got in mind."

Whistling, Hibiki said, "That sucks. If there's way too many of those Harvesters and such, we'd just a bunch of winnin' losers in the end."

"Not when you got The Cornerstone Empire on your side," stated Gascogne, a sly grin on her face,
"along with the Melanus, all the other people, as well as the forces of Taraak and Mejere, everyone that fought in the first war against The Harvest-along with a few other surprises on the side."

Draining the last of his Dom Perignon, his spirits revived, and not because of the champagne, the hothead said, "'Bout time! Things were gettin' borin' since that raid on La Placa."

"They were, eh?" said the Vandread head. "Well...I don't blame you...things hadn't been the same since Jura..."

"Jura...," said the Van pilot glumly. "But...Jura is gone now..."

"So's Barnette, Magno, B. C.," said Gascogne, the bluster from her voice depleted. "and my sister.
Like I said, combat losses were my responsibility. But...what the hey? It's that Pereira's fault they're deceased. Anyhow, soon as we arrive, you'd best get your brain factory for some of your battle plans-
we'll meet up with Misty, the General, the Major the Admiral and the Rear Admiral for V-E Day...
Victory Earth Day, that is."

Even so, Hibiki couldn't help but think back to the dream he once had in which he and Jura were in the city of Dredge. And what was it she had once said to him then in that same dream? "You will always be the best beau I've got..."

Again, the Empress was livid. And again she was with what remained of her loyal (if loyal was the word for it) court, only all that remained were General Sibilant, Major Sarabande and Brigadier General Tarkus, pacing the council chamber floor of the Kurzester while she spoke, "So we're on our way?"

"We've just started the jump into hyperspace to Earth a second ago," replied Tzitziili. "I wager the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire will get a head start there, but we'll be ready for them."

"In any case," said Pereira, "the tide's set to turn, once I reactivate my Harvest creations; when all is said and done, what remains of the dissidents that were bested by my Harvesters can be reprocessed into clone bio mech creations straightaway...for that matter..."

Turning to the council table, the Empress placed a chrome green colored laptop computer with the PSE logo on it, turned it on, then for the next few seconds, entered a sequence of key types, clicked on a few tabs, then said, "It's all set just as it was years ago...if our fleet doesn't wipe out our adversaries, my Harvest creations will."

"All too easy," said Orinda. "So you turned your Harvesters back on? That should be a shock for the likes of those jokers. Yet I can't help but wonder if who can say the same thing's likely to happen again, that the Vandread team may triumph over all we got like they did before?"

"Not when you consider the fact," said Brittany, " that we got a second Apocalypse Engine under constuction even now for the better part."

"As in the one located in our main Imperial Palace Base in what was once San Francisco?" said Sarah.

"Quite right," said the PSE ruler, "and boy will it be a bleedin' surprise for those L7 sods, when they show up in a false sense of complacency and overconfidence, only to discover the hard way, that when the time is right, the weapon will be complete-and fully armed and operational, with the Pyxis installed. Well,
that, along with the fact I programmed the Harvester fleet to hide behind the Earth's moon, till called for, combined with the fact the Earth is protected by the omnisheild system, projected by the twelve satellites circling it."

"But the Vandread team," said the Major, "wiped out The Pyxis when they sabotaged the first Engine."

"True," said the Empress darkly, "but they wiped out A Pyxis, not THE Pyxis-OK, they got rid of The Green Pyxis, but I just happened to have a spare Pyxis I created with shards of the other past Pyxises I had created for years, a hybrid Pyxis I had worked on, known as The Rainbow Pyxis, which will power our new Engine;
once it's finished, only it will be 1200 times stronger and larger than the others. Soon those that oppose our lot will be crushed along with their allies...it's seen the end of Hibiki and Dita and soon it will be the finish for the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire and their ilk as well, whichever comes first." Then turning to Sgt. Isa Yo Jo, Governor Geraldine Wright and the Emerald Guard for the Sector 27 XEW plant and sheild and defense systems, she added, "You were well trained in your work, but not trained well in staving off a handful of L7 dissidents, that you all allowed to slip through your fingers-such is the price of failure, ladies..."

Just as she did before to the evil Jiggy Jiggy Juddin on Ganymede, Brittany gestured, summoning six globes, the daggers in each one, arranged in their hexagon pattern, then spun for some time, before the said globes vanished, the ring of daggers exploding outward and the blades impaling the afformentioned Emerald Guard, Yo Jo and Wright, littering the floor with corpses.

Even before coming out from hyperspace, even after all that effort, what the Vandread crew and The Cornerstone Empire saw was as expected, just like in the video they found years ago, that the Earth was still polluted with poison gas, steel gears, machines, steel webbing and framing-and thousands and thousands of PSE Minotaur class carriers,
in addition to the equally thousands of Harvesters, all orbiting the planet. For Hibiki & Co., who were up in the Hohenzollern's bridge tower, viewing the whole machination through the windows, were dismayed at such a pitiful, if not a pathetic sight.

"Boy," said Bart from his helm ops section, "I've seen some bad sights before, but that is the baddest."

"Pitiful, just pitiful," said a glum Cara. "Looks like the whole planet went slum."

"And it may stay a slum," said Misty, "unless we can clean and terraform it."

"But first," said Hibiki, "we've got to get those PSE punks and all those remaining Harvesters-but I never saw so many of them-they're swarming everywhere!"

"The thing is," said Meia, "CAN the combined effort of our group, The Cornerstone Empire, and the other allies stand a chance against all that? When we fought off The Harvest years ago at Tarrak and Mejere, that was one thing, but what we're up against now is even larger than before."

"Supposing we do wipe out and route the enemy to get past and reach the Earth," said Dita, "what happens next?"

"The fact there's a main city base," said Tsitra, "protected from the current enviorment of the Earth-the Imperial Palace Base, located in what used to be America, specifically in what was formerly San Francisco, California. But even if we did get past the fleet-and no one other than the PSE ever did-there's still the matter of the twelve sattellite projectors ringing around in Earth orbit, projecting a sheild over the whole planet that anything can't penetrate."

"Worst of all," added Gie Bele, behind that fleet is a ring of sattelite mines similar to the ones that protected the Olympus Mons base, only much larger and much more deadlier, along with all that poison pollutions in the sky."

"More of those mines?" moaned Montgomery. "Och, we canna stand a chance against that."

"Aye, but we got to all the same, laddie," said Norton. "a lot of lads and lassies will be countin' on the likes of ourselves to reclaim what was ours centuries ago."

"Aye indeed," agreed Nathan, "so let's do it for those we left behind and vice versa-and our wives."

"Hoot mon," said Andrew, "but how?"

"Good question...," said a thoughtful Gascogne, "how indeed...? Today's one time we've got to meld all our brainpower as one-take on one matter at a time, locate some weakpoint in their works just like we did before, and take it out, your department, Hibiki, if we want the first hit of the season."

"Before anyone starts thinking," spoke Admiral Xaltocan, "consider a few facts that only we knew; you may not know it, but in the Imperal base, is a second Apocalypse Engine also under construction, powered by a new hybrid Pyxis that the Empress worked on for the better part of a decade-something from the scraps of other Pyxises she had."

"A second Apocalypse engine?" said a jolted Hibiki. "Great flyin' dog do! *%#$^&!"

"Not to mention a new Pyxis," said Meia. "And those new mines? It'd be total suicide for even our Vandreads to take those out, unless there was a way to do it."

Turning to the digital map table, Rear Admiral Eos called up a general map of the Earth with the PSE and Harvest fleets, the sheild projectors and mines, in orbit relation with each other and stated, "So far, the first perimeter is the first wave of the carrier fleet, mixed in with some Harvesters, followed with the sheild projecting satellites, then the second wave, then the minefield, which only the Empress can turn off to make safe to traverse it safely, by remote control." Then pointing to where the orbital protectors were, the Rear Admiral added, "Since the PSE uses a side by side wave of ships scattered across to wipe out a wide area, the best bet would be to arrange our fleet in a V formation to dive a wedge through the first wave and make a hole, then arrange for The Cornerstone Empire to supply a diversion move while the rest takes out thse sheild satellites."

"Wait," said Nathan, holding up his hand, "allow me and my brothers to fly out there and knock out those satellites, I mean, you helped out our own, so we'll help you."

"But can you pilot a Diamante?" said a doubtful Gascogne.

"Aye," replied Montgomery. "Right now, we'll do what ever it takes to put away that Empress for good after what she did to our wives."

"Do I sense deja vu somewhere along the lines of that saying?" said Norton.

"Hoot mon," said Andrew. "Then again, I could be mistaken."

Already deep in thought, Hibiki glanced at the map table, saying, "That gives me a thought...and a new battle plan..."

"You're right," muttered Meia, "Get on with it, Never Say Die Tokai, what's your plan?"

After a minute of thought, the Van pilot began pointing to key spots on the map as he spoke, "Like Nate said, he and his brothers Mac Neil can fly in Diamantes and take out those orbital sheild projectors, while the Vandread team contend with the first PSE wave of carriers, fightercraft and some Harvest drones, with The Cornerstone Empire mopping up the rest of the mess, then after the sheild is down, we can take out the mines, wearing sunglasses to protect ourselves from the light mines while we blast a path through that minefield with the rest of you for cover, then when we land, we'll figure out a way to get in that base and take out the new Engine and dethrone Ms. Pereira."

"What do you think, Gasco?" said Dita. "It sounds brilliant."

"Brilliant indeed," said the new Vandread crew head, "but must I tell you it's GASCOGNE!" Then to the Tarrakan hothead, she added, "You see? You can come up with a winning stage play in record time."

"It just might work," said Tsitra, "only one concern: supposing we do succeed, what happens then once inside that base?
I'ts got a thick ganutlet of death deailing Emerald Guard shock troops guarding not only the Engine installation, but also the central control core where the Empress directs her general work there-you sure can't take on a whole army like that."

"Worse still," added Gie Bele, "there's way too many XEW plants to take out, counting the one in the base, let along all the outposts and carriers in the remaining fleet...unless there's a way to do so..."

"Maybe." said Gascogne. "You said the Empress uses a computer to broadcast video bulletins, right? So what if we could hack into that thing and broadcast a fake bulletin, saying the PSE was on the losing end of the war, after we knock out the Palace XEW plant? Everyone else seeing that would think they had lost and cut some slack, to make our job a bit easier."

"It just might work...," said the Admiral, "and we know where the terminal for that bulletin computer is located-in the Empress' central office chambers, on her desk."

Even while the Vandread team and the rest got ready, the surprise came out from lightspeed to rendezvous with them-the fleet from Tarrak and Mejere, the Melanus and all the other allies that had fought The Harvest in the old days, as Dita called it-
and emerging fri lightspeed were several other Conerstone Empire War Machines, in addition to the Synthesis. All were lined up and in phalanx array, with Lord Granpa and Lady Granma leading their respective fleets, as were all the other leaders as Gascogne was in communique with the Lord and Lady.

"Today is a great day for sure," Lord Granpa was saying, "as such, we're counting on everyone to put the PSE away for good and reclaim the Earth."

"There can be no margin for mistakes," added Lady Granma. "Undoubtely, the PSE will pull out all the stops in ensuring our efforts will be our last, given the fact that many of those we loved died because of the PSE-and for what they did to the Earth."

"Not to worry," said the new Vandread head. "As long as we play our parts right and remamber to smile, no worries. I got a few aces up the sleeve, even if it may be house rules for the moment. The first hit of the season is now and we'll do what it takes to reach alle stelle, right up to the stars."

"Then do what it takes as our other allies will...," said Lord Granpa.

"...to ensure our show is a hit," said Lady Granma. "May the ship of good fortune be with us."

Even as the fleet of manowars, gun ships, tankers, carriers, capital ships (the Hohenzollern included), fightercraft, all respectively belonging to the Tarrak and Mejere forces, the Melanus, The Cornerstone Empire, et al, were gearing up and arranging in a V formation from within the Hohenzollern's cavern like hangars, activity was abuzz with the Diamante, Vandread and Macneil crews getting ready, fueling their ships and preparing for take off, Hibiki doing last second checks in his Van, while his MP3 player played Sammy Hagar's Mashed Tequila,
before Gascogne came on the comm saying, "Make it big, all of you, and remember to smile, got it? Wait for the brothers Mac neil to take out those sheild projector sattellites, then give those PSE bastards a shellacking they'll never forget! Stand by to launch on Meia's order, speaking of which, you take it from here."

"Roger," said Meia who directed her words to the team, saying, "Soon as the brothers Macneil wipe out those shelid satellites, we'll take out a chunk of enemy Diamantes, carriers and a lot of those mines. Got your sunglasses on against those light mines?"

"YUP!" chorused the other Vandread team members.

"OK, let's launch!" barked the Vandread head, "but I say again, don't kill anyone, not even the enemy-just crash the party and get to know our hostess!"

"ROGER!" came the reply before the Vandread team took off, streaking through the zero atmosphere of space, followed by some Diamantes,
four of which now belonged to the brothers Macneil, one of which, Norton, said to Hibiki & Co., "Good luck, lad and lassies, and godspeed."

"Right back at you," said Hibiki, "and be careful...! It's unlikely those PSE punks will play for keeps."

After peeling off from the rest of the fleet, the brothers formed a diamond formation, flying to the first of the projector satellites, Montgomery saying, "Och, we got a lot of space to cover, so let's cover that space with a lot of PSE trash."

"Dinna it sound tough for you?" said Nathan.

"All too easy," said Norton, "but let's stay on our guard; those projectors may be mines in their own right."

"Aye," said Andrew. "Let's do it for our wives and people we lost, and give those PSE devil lassies a shellileigh shellackin-one an' all!"

And the brothers did just that, blasting point blank at each satellite, one at a time, in an orbital speed streak, till they came round the other side of the planet, wiping out the last of the satellites,while the rest of the fleet covered them from any enemy nearby.

From within the Hohenzollern bridge, Amarone reported to her post to Admiral Chmali, "Our scans say the sheild is down."

Hearing that, Xaltocan said to Gascogne, "They've done it-the sheild is down."

"Our first hit of the season indeed," agreed the Vandread head, before turning to an open mike and said, "All ships, start the raid!"

From within the C.E.W.M. Synthesis, the Empress Vanna muttered, "Now the key to a new order can begin..." To her officers, she ordered, "It's time-pass to word to begin the raid!"

Even as the allied fleet launched into action, their weapons blazed and fightercraft catapulted into the fray, the PSE and Harvest was doing the same, deploying fightercraft and engaging their weapons, and even while the brothers Macneil were taking down the sheild satellites, the Vandread team was already in close combat with the enemy fleet, dodging, blasting and evading Harvest drones and Diamantes as well as Harvest capital ships and PSE Minotaur class carriers, wiping out their weapons, and hitting the engines, causing the enemy Diamante pilots to eject from their ships-in their control pods, that is. Oh, and did we mention all that was done with the team using Omega Vandread, a much larger form of Super Vandread, that had the look of a 50 foot tall ninja?

"Watch your buttsey," said Cara, "there's a silo bay of PSE missiles."

"Careful of that crossfire," said Tsitra.

"Missile ahead!" said Gie Bele

"Heads up, group, we got a problem!" said Misty

With crises like those, Omega Vandread dealt with them with no effort, woth extra support from the defector piloted Diamantes and their other allies helping out. Once, Hibiki called out, "OK you &^$#&* PSE punks, you smell like dog buns, so we're takin' you to the vet's! ZAMMO! TOAST!"

Slamming down on a switch, Hibiki triggered Omega Vandread's newest weapon, a Fusion Blade, styled after his Van's standard sword, which sliced off the whole cluster of radar, tracking and communications antennae off the top of one carrier's bridge tower. Another time, the giant ninja machine shot out a series of scattered phaserbolts that seeked out a wave of missiles and finished them off in one hit.

"Skwappo," said Meia. "Right on the old bazoo."

"Now you're talkin' the talk," declared Hibiki. "Beats smokin' cigarettes anytime."

"I could've told you that," said a noncomittal Dita.

At that moment, Gascogne came on the comm: "All ships, start the raid!"

"It's time," said Meia. "Split up and we'll take on those mines and such, one at a time, so let's get our sunglasses on."

"ROGER!" chorused the rest of the tean before donning their shades, confident their other allies would cover for them. For Hibiki Tokai, however, his mind wasn't just on sweeping aside the enemy and landing on the Earth for the first time...it was wondering how to deal with the Empress Pereira...after seeing what she could do with her marksmanship, inventing creations like The Harvest an weapons, and using her lethal sorceress power...how would he and the rest of the Vandread defeat her without getting bested in the process, after seeing what happened to Rabat, the Electric Boogaloos and Jura...was there some kind of weak spot, an Achilles heel Pereira had? Right now, the hothead turned his attention to the action juat as one of the light mines nearby flashed out its concentrated light on the team, then went out.

"You all right?" said Misty.

"Yup," replied the Van pilot. "Good thing we had those sunglasses otherwise, we would've been stuck with canes and readin' Braille for good. How bout the rest of you?"

"We're all safe with the rest of our eyesight intact," said Meia, "well, let's haul BUT-TOCKS, and point blank wipe out those mines while we charge."

"Wait," said Dita, "you ain't thinkin' of haulin' BUT-TOCKS down a minefield?"

"Why, youse think it looks tough to youse?" said Cara.

"After what we've been through," said Gie Bele, "it should be a cinch-one crisis like that won't make any difference."

"We know how to key a path through through the field," added Tsitra, "only we'll make it easier for the benefit of the rest of the flett-sneak up on each mine and blast it."

"And I say we run roughshod thorugh the field for a new path, here and now!" decared Hibiki.

"Why not?" said Meia. "That would be the end to a perfect day. LET'S DO IT!"

"ROGER!" said the other women of the team; as it turned out, the Van pilot known as Hibiki Tokai had a stradedgy in mind: Omega Vandread using its new omnidirectional weaponry while running head on into the minefield, blasting them in their path on the way. And it worked, the giant Vandread charging into the field, mine after mine exploding under the Omega's firepower, till a lot of scattered junk was all that remained of the mines.

"They've done it-not bad for a handful of amateurs," said Governor Mallory Tradei, to her daughter Vanna.

"Naturally," said The Cornerstone Empire Empees before she turned to a comm and said, "Vanna to Gascogne, do you copy?"

"We saw it," said the supply leader turned Vandread crew head. "Now the real fun starts, and with it, a chance to put on an act those PSE punks won't forget."

But even as the rest of the allied fleet were engaging in what could be billed as "the greatest battle of the century," seven miles be hind the fleet, the Empress' carrier fleet came out from lightspeed, the Kurzerster leading and the said PSE ruler was up in the birdge tower when she and the rest saw what was happening.

"'Cor...!" said Pereira. "It's impossible!"

"No," said General Sarah Sibilant, "it's a battle-a battle in which our fleet is getting whomped."

"But how?" said Major Tzitziili Sarabande. "With our global shielding systems and the minefield in place?"

"Only one reason," said Officer Baht, a brunette that looked like Mildred Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. "I checked the power scan readings for the satellite sheild projectors and the mines; they no longer register as functional."

"Is that a bloody joke?" demanded Brittany. "Check again."

After running some computer based diagnostics and checking a screen that showed the last of some onscreen icons fading off the screen, Baht replied,
"There go the last of our mines-and they know how to sabotage the sheilds! #%*$^&! They've got an answer for nearly everything! Curse them!"

"But they're no match for your sorceress power, if not the second engine in the palace base-so far...," said Brigadier Orinda Tarkus.

"True...," agreed the Empress, "so far they haven't discovered the secret of my great power...but for how long? We'll post a heavier guard of our Emerald Guard to protect the engine's cryogenic plants with additional battallions over the rest of the other crucial spots of our weapon, as well as the Rainbow Pyxis, not to mention the power and XEW plants, thus ensuring history from the Vandread team DOESN'T repeat itself like it did before.
And the rest of the fleet? Let's spring the trap on them."

With that in mind, the PSE ruler whipped out her laptop computer and after entering several sequential sequences into its keyboard, said, "I just call the Harvest fleet the was hiding behind the moon to come out from behind and sneak up behind the dissidents' fleet-had no idea there'd be many War Machine, Tarrakan, Mejerian, Melanus and so forth allies-and take them without warning, thus pincering them twixt a rock and a herd place in effect. Prepare for landing at The Palace Base."

In a second, a vast fleet of Harvest ships, one of which was the cannon ship that once had a boy child that had confronted Hibiki, came from behind the Earth's mon, traveling at full speed, their target, the allied fleet.

Onboard the Synthesis, its was diffent matter, when the Empress Vanna spoke, "My CTI senses detected a thought...that the PSE Empress launched a wave of Harvesters from behind the moon to take our allies by surprise."

From her tracking station, Weg Balderon said, "Tracking contacts verify it, Your Illustrious, we've got thousands of Harvest ships coming on behind."

Turning back to the comm, the CE Empress said, "Vanna to Gascogne, Vanna to Gascogne, you'd best beware, there's way too many Harvest ships coming in behind you and our ilk; seems they were hidden behind the moon till now."

Onboard the Hohenzollern, at that moment, Celtic said, "Miss Gasco! We're detecting at 400 GR, countless Harvesters from behind!"

Turning to the window, as well as the telescreens, the said Gascogne and the bridge crew could see thousands of Harvest ships, their weapons, fightercraft and main cannons powering up-only now not only wwere there way too many to fight (or so it seemed), but they were pincering the allies twixt them and the rest of the enemy fleet ahead of them.

"It's a trap...!" breathed Admiral Xaltocan.

As always, however, Gascogne was nonplussed by it all, saying to the Admiral, "Admiral, take the conn-and tell Parfet and Duero to meet me in the hangar."

Up ahead, was one of the carriers that was in the path of the Vandread team, now joined by the brothers Macneil, Nathan calling out, "Need any help?"

"Absolutely," said the Van pilot. "Time we settle a lot of scores for what Ms. Pereira did, especially to our old home planet..."

"Right now, there's a few roadblocks to contend with," said Major Taltli. "Ready for Vandread Gie Bele?"

"Just point me the way," said the hothead, before gunning his Van and engaging with Gie Bele's Diamante, resulting in the transformation of a green armored turtle-Vandread Gie Bele, in which the Major and the mechanic sat side by side, heading for the nearest carrier.

"Careful!" said Taltli. "That carrier's launching its missiles!"

"Then let's see if it'll be a hit or a missile," said the hothead, slamming his fist on a switch; the steel Vandread turtle's mouth opened and belched out a stream of green fire which streaked across the top of the carrier, and the missile silo section, just as the silos were opening; the blast not only took out the silos, they took out the missiles that had launched out, along with half the base of the bridge tower, with no one in the ship harmed.

"Right on the old bazoo!" declared Hibiki. "You PSE punks, pack your trunks and SCRAM!"

At that moment, Gascogne's ship, with the said Vandread head, Parfet an Duero with her, pulled up along side Vandread Gie Bele and the G-gal said, "Brilliant piece of acting there, but here come the critics from behind-countless Harveters and fighters coming from behind the moon, ready to pincer our fleet against the fleet up ahead."

Upon looking back, the Vandread team, along with the brothers Macneil could see the Harvest fighters getting ready to engage, while the cannons of the Harvest ships were gearing up, readytopen fire on the whole kit and caboodle.

"Oh, great!" moaned Misty. "there's no way we can repel forepower oh such magnitude! We'll need more than help!"

"Help is on the way," came a new voice on the comm, that of the Empress Vamma.

Turning to her mother Mallory, Vanna, who had in on hand, a handgrip with two thick cables from its bottom and a red button from the top, said, "Status of The Megga Cannons?"

"Fully powered," replied the Governor.

"Truning to a comm, The Empress spoke, "To all War Machines-make your turn at once in the direction of the those Harvesters from behind, and hurry-they're getting ready to use their cannons and launch their fighters at the same time!"

One by one, like a world globe turning on its axis, each War Machine turned till it was facing the powering up Harvest sneak attack, till they were facing the enemy, as was a 40 foot wide crater in the bottomost part of the planetoid section of each C.E.W.M.; deep within each crater however, mounted from the underside of the crater ceiling,
a huge muzzle covered in cables and heat sink like ridges-the planet destroying Megga Cannon.

"All War Machines rotated and locked on target," said Ganeral Jessica Per.

Directing half her words to the War Machines and half to her crew, Vanna spoke, "Fire at will."

Deep within each War Machine, in each of The Megga Cannon's central control sections, staffers were moving sliders, pulling levers, pushing buttons and entering sequences on a computer keyboard-and then Vanna, and others like her, onboard their respective War Machines, sharply depressed the red buttons on their grips; each Megga cannon pulsed out a blue white bolt of concentrated firepower that swept the part of spce, incinerating all the Harvesters-just as their cannos had a chnace to open fire-and their drones, till all that remained of them were shards of twist and burnt steel.

"Yaaaaay!" chirped Dita. "Good old Cornerstone Empire! They always come to the rescue!"

"With our allies keeping the rest of the enemy occupied," stated Gascogne, "we can be occupied with our two step key to victory that me, Misty, Duero, Parfet, the General and the Major worked out beforehand. Next stop, the planet Earth-and don't forget you enviorments suits."

On that note, Gascogne, the Vandread team and the brothers Macneil streaked past and through the barrier of the enemy Pereira Star Empire fleet, and so on, to Earth.

At last...The Vandread team finally make it to Earth, but will they be able to pull through the lethal enviorment of their first home planet? How will they infiltrate The Palace Base and stop that second Apocalypse Engine from its completion, much less its schance to decimate their Vandread allies? Can they turn the rest of the PSE against their ruler by turning off those XEW plants? And even if they did all that, can they take on the Empress Brittany, despite that great power and damage she can do? Did i leavey tyhing out? Nope, I think I covered it all.

-a440

Next: Chapter 26: Prince (Hibiki) & The Revolution