TRIGUN
Volume 2, Chapter 2
Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action by: Yasuhiro Nightow
Translation by: Shadowslash
For translator’s notes and disclaimers see
Trigun Volume
1.0.
Drop me a line; C ‘n C, or flame, doesn’t matter.
I’ll read which I chose. ~.^
Byakko@blademail.net
-32-33-
TRIGUN #9 Then, Between the Wasteland and Sky…
-34-
a few short minutes after the duel for permission to stop the
"Flourish" (being able to stop it is turning out to be
a completely different beast), Vash is again up and moving,
apparently now having been convinced to take care of his own
wounds. whether or not he stays concerned about them is another
story…
Vash- You okay, Kaito?
Kaito- That's my line. It's a wonder you can move at all, what
with that huge hole in your gut. Your nerves do work,
don't they?
Vash- Hey, where'd that question come from?
Voice- WHA~~AT??! So you're saying we're gonna die by explosion
or fall, whichever comes first?!
Vash- owwww~~~ My side's starting to hurt again…
right?
Kaito- liar.
-35-
Crewman 1- What's the boiler's condition?
Crewman 2- The speed is still overheating it. It's become too
dangerous to go into the engineering room without protective
suits.
Crewman 1- Then the only thing we can do is to open the internal
pressure valve manually-
Crewman 2- There is a slight problem with that.
Crewman 1- ?!
Crewman 2- The extreme heat has started to pervade the entire
system. It's started to push the heat-generating plant towards
overload…
Vash takes particular notice at that, calm face instantly
twisting into a mask of displeasure.
Vash- //thinking// that's gonna get bad…
Crewman 1- That means wherever we decide to cut off the flow, the
backwash is going to hit the plant? The shock'd kill it.
Kaito starts to pull out his copy of the
"Flourish's" blueprints, something running through his
mind, perhaps a plan to stop the ship…
-36-
…but one of the Crewmen sees this and instantly snatches
the paper out of Kaito's hands, dumping it on the floor. his eyes
widen as he realizes just what it is.
Jerk Crewman- DAMN it!! You even had something like this ready?
Damn it!!
incredibly ticked off, and likely also blowing off stress from
the situation, the Crewman starts stomping on the prints, cursing
a blue streak…
-37-
…until his foot hits flesh instead of paper. Kaito put
his fist between the irate Crewman and his only
"keepsake" from his father. there is a tense moment of
silence as the Jerk Crewman looks pointedly at Kaito, and Kaito
pointedly does NOT look at the Jerk Crewman.
Jerk Crewman- I…will NEVER forget watching Raitsu get
killed. Right in front of me! You keep your damn traitor hands
out of this. We'll be the ones to stop this ship!
-38-
Vash kneels by the still silent boy, lending a little bit of
support and sympathy by his presence alone.
Vash- …… Kaito…
Kaito- I know… I've got to pay the price for what I've
done…
light winks off a few crystalline droplets, the only evidence
of emotion that slips from Kaito's eyes. Vash's expression
hardens and he looks up at the gathered Crewmen, not pleased in
the least.
Vash- You sure you can stop this thing?
Jerk Crewman- With everything running on an open throttle right
now, trying a full-brake is too dangerous. It'd completely
destroy the hull. Then no one would be getting back to any town,
let alone the one we're bound for. No matter what the higher-ups
decide to do, cutting off the engine's power absolutely must be
done first.
-39-
Vash- What are you going to do about the "plant"?
Jerk Crewman- Even though we have no choice but to rely on that
relic of a past world for our survival, it can easily be said
that we don't understand it's current condition at all. Will it
hold? Won't it? All we really know is that it is an unbelievably
delicate object.
Vash- Aha. I get it. In different words; all you're going to do
is watch the willful little girl, hm?
something in Vash's tone of voice, and the look in his eyes
gives the hint that maybe that is NOT such a good idea…
Jerk Crewman- ……? What, you've got a better idea?
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~~~~
-40-
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAA~~~~
the unearthly keening echoes through the whole ship, but only
a few know what it really means.
Kaito- That "voice"….
"Plant" - a thing which produces. Water. Ultraviolet
rays. Oxygen. Depending on the amount of electricity fed to them,
they can even overcome the laws of physics and produce more
physical and tangible objects. Moreover ---
Engineer- We've lost control! The plant has gone out of control!!
-41-
inside the huge glass lightbulb, the figure of a woman amidst
masses of feathers start to become visible…
Engineer- … Incredible!! For it to have animated itself this
far….
It is the biggest "black box" out of everything
considered Lost Technology.
Engineer- The inner creature's angel-form is clearly visible!
In appearance, they look like the Messengers of God. If one of
them dies, it means the death of all living things that depend on
it.
a jolt rocks the ship, knocking everyone but Vash off their feet…
Crewman 2- We accelerated?!
Crewman 1- This is crazy! We'll get ripped to pieces!
-42-
the plant-angel unfurls herself into full glory, long
"feathers" sprouting out vaguely wing-like from her
back, where the pudgy bodies of baby plant-angels are budding.
huge red eyes are open wide in the pretty face, more feathers
framing it like hair. stupefied engineers stand gawping by the
rare spectacle, unsure of what to do. footsteps clang up the
metal stairs to the angel's bulb, and suddenly Vash is there,
pressed against the glass.
Engineer- Who are you?!
Vash shoots a sharp glance over his shoulder.
-43-
Vash- She can only hold for another 4 minutes! Do something!
Engineer- Just what are you planning on doing?!
-44-
a heart pulses strongly, goaded by anger. the plant angel
continues to scream her displeasure, voice keening high. Vash
gently places his fingers and forehead on the glass bulb encasing
the enraged being, gazing quietly into her red eyes.
Vash- You're magnificent. Sibling.
the heart begins to slow and the unearthly howl dies away, the
angel shifting her focus to Our Calm Hero. slower and slower
pulses the heart, until…
-45-
pi------------------
…it stops completely. the plant angel stares raptly up at
Vash's peaceful face, her long, boneless fingers resting against
the glass directly across from his.
-46-
Crewman- WHAT?! It's gone into suspended animation?!
Crewman- I haven't the first clue what just happened, but the
plant's movement has completely stopped. From what we can tell,
that man's breathing and heart rate came to a standstill at the
same moment.
-47-
on one side, peace has been achieved. the plant is no longer
in danger of exploding. unfortunately, in another section of the
ship, things are still far from back in control.
Jerk Crewman- So we've only got another four minutes then?
Polite Crewman- Yes.
outside the engine room, the obnoxious crewman and a few of
his cohorts from earlier are hurriedly donning protective suits
that look awfully like standard fireman's bunkers.
Jerk Crewman- This is our last chance then. We have to bring this
thing to a halt or else!
scalding hot air whooshes out of the opened door to the engine
room, and the lot of them rush in.
Bridge Crewman- Remaining distance to the Point of No Return---
4,500 yarz!
working quickly, the crewmen set to the bolted shut door to
the ship's internal mechanisms. in cooler sections, Kaito listens
worriedly to the steady countdown…
4000 yarz
-48-
bolts clatter to the metal deck…
3500 yarz
the door is hauled open, even hotter air spilling out. elsewhere,
Meryl and Millie listen and wait.
3000
Jerk Crewman- Where the hell is that lever?!
2500
Polite Crewman- Hey, what's this? It almost looks like a tunnel…
is that it?
…all the way at the end of that narrow space between
red-hot pipes and grates and tubing is the lever…
Jerk Crewman- WHAT?!
in the ballroom, the passengers sit and listen tensely.
Jerk Crewman- Damn it, there's no way any of us will fit past all
those pipes!
1800
Jerk Crewman- Think. Damnit, think!
-49-
1500
from seemingly out of nowhere, Kaito surges over the crewman's
shoulder…
-50-
…his small body able to squirm through the
"tunnel", the bunkers protecting him from most of the
heat. …most, but not all. surrounding the lever itself are
the most superheated of all the pipes. carefully stretching
around them Kaito can only curl the tips of his fingers over the
lever, not nearly enough of a grip to budge the stubborn thing.
-51-
gritting his teeth, Kaito pushes forward against the pipes,
screaming as the superheat burns through his bunkers. but he gets
a good grasp on the lever, and pulls.
-52-53-
with a reluctant thunk, it turns. somewhere on the hull of the
"Flourish" a hatch pops open, pent-up steam escaping in
a rush.
Bridge Crewman- Pressure abruptly dropping. Power completely
stopped. FULL BRAKE!!
screeching louder than a whole pack of banshees, the
"Flourish's" brakes engage, its speed plummeting. but
will it be enough?
Bridge Crewman- No good! We're too la----
-54-
hollering a war-whoop at the top of his lungs, BDN brings the
Bad Lad Gang's lead roadster (think cross between a Mack truck
and a Sherman tank…) even with the front of the
"Flourish", cutting hard into it from the side…
-55-
metal flies everywhere, the sound of its tortured twisting
ricocheting off the canyon walls in a shrieking cacophony…
-56-
…and Kaito abruptly wakes up, white bandages swathing his
chest. Our Cheery Hero greets him with a warm smile, a bandage
around his head. this can safely be taken as a sign that no, the
"Flourish" did not fall off Enora Cliff. …either
that, or the afterlife looks way to much like the present-life.
just how did that (comparatively) dinky roadster of BDN's manage
to bring that runaway sand steamer to a halt in time? well, the
canyon leading up to the cliff is now quite a bit wider than it
used to be…
-57-
…almost half of the "Flourish" is buried into
the canyon walls. afew of its front wheels dangle over the edge,
but the rest of it is safely on solid ground.
-58-
Kaito- Where'd you get that?
he looks at the white wrapping around Vash's forehead.
…just after the wreck…
the "Flourish" may not have sustained that much damage,
but BDN's roadster is one thoroughly mangled mass of metal. how
anyone survived to haul themselves out of it, I have no idea, but
survive they did. Vash leans out of one of the lower doorways, a
wide grin plastered on his face.
Vash- BDN! Great job! Thanks a whole bun---
ZING
…geez. a bullet graze is one heck of a "your
welcome"…
-59-
Vash's grin turns decidedly watery as a very serious, grumpy
BDN stares him down.
BDN- Don't get me wrong. I was just paying up my end of our deal.
Next time, I won't be so nice. Your head'll be mine.
present…
Kaito- …… That's not surprising.
Vash- He strutted off even more arrogantly than he came.
the two leave the quiet of the infirmary and wade into the sea of
people bustling about, fixing all the damage.
Vash- That was about 4 hours ago. It should be getting close to
dawn now.
-60-61-
just after, actually. desolation it may be, but when it
stretches out to infinity, painted all colors by the rising of
the suns it has a sort of unique, stark beauty. both Vash and
Kaito are content to simply sit on the hull for a little and
watch. amoment later, Kaito begins to sing a little melody to
himself…
-62-
…one that get's Vash's attention very quickly.
Vash- Oi, that song…
Kaito- Well excuse me for singing an old song. I think it's a
good one.
Vash- uh…yeah. Right, sure. It's a good song.
and he means it too. more surprised than offended, he lapses
into silence.
Vash- //thinking// Who would have thought it…
-63-
Vash- //thinking// She really, really loved that song.
for a moment, the image of Rem's kind, smiling face hangs in
the air…
-64-65-
Vash- //thinking// Maybe, this is what it means for people to
"keep on living". Surely, this is what she believed
when she traded her life for everyone else's!
of course, we must remember that this is Vash. ghough he is
known to remain serious for extended periods of time, this isn't
one of them.
Vash- It… it almost makes me cry!
not being privy to what goes on in Our Sentimental Hero's
head, Kaito naturally thinks that a comment on his singing
ability. blushing furiously, he heaves one of his shoes at Vash.
Kaito- Don't make fun of me, you jerk!
-66-
Three hours later, the sand steamer "Flourish" was
finally sighted by the caravan. It arrived in May City two days
later than scheduled. Though the name of "Vash the
Stampede" can be found listed among those considered highly
involved in the incident, it's said that by the time the
authorities swept through the ship, he was nowhere to be found.
Then, Between the Wasteland and Sky…/END
Continued in Volume 2, Chapter 3