--MANGA TRANSLATIONS--
--TRIGUN MAXIMUM VOLUME 6, CHAPTER 6--
--"Seeds Voyaging to the Stars, A World Inside a Pod"--
Translated by sumire
Page 152
Knives sits alone in his control room.
Page 153
- Knives: Damn you, Conrad.
- You got me.
All information pertaining to the "hair-darkening effect" is completely protected.Knives: ....How could I have known?
Page 154
- Knives: So this means I can't go on
- using unlimited energy.
But...Page 155
Elsewhere, Elendira is playing solitaire (or perhaps doing fortune-telling with playing cards?). He's dressed plainly and not wearing any makeup.
- Elendira: Now then...
- does this mean things are going to get interesting? Or just the reverse?
- Elendira: To be sure...
- the "fountain of power" wasn't bottomless...
but...A gust of wind blows the cards away.
Page 156
- Elendira: ...back when he was showing off his power,
- humanity may have had a better chance for survival.
He won't be careless with it any more.Page 157
Elendira laughs.
- Elendira: Leave it to him! His appeal hasn't diminished one bit.
- I like this.
So the only card in the deck that can trump him is that younger brother.
Yes...
Won't that be nice. I've got my hopes pinned on you...
Vash the Stampede...Page 158
Meanwhile, Vash and Wolfwood are visiting the site of Knives' latest massacre.
Wolfwood: Hey, Tongari!
Vash is standing in front of an immense block that has been cleanly sliced in two.
Wolfwood: He says it's unstable over there. Come on!
Old guy: But, well...
Page 159
Old guy: ....Anyplace could collapse at any time, actually.
Wolfwood: So what, Gramps? We didn't pay you enough?
- Old guy: Yep.
- Considering that hundreds of people were killed and dismembered in this ship...
Basically, it's a restricted area.
If you don't pay extra, I'm leaving you here.Wolfwood has the old guy by his collar, fist raised.
Wolfwood: This isn't quite the same as money, but why don't you take some of these.
Old guy: That'll be plenty.
Vash: Whoa! Whoa! Wolfwood, what are you doing!!
The three of them are deeper inside the ship.
- Old guy: Over there.
- That's where the unidentified body and the beheaded Plant technician were.
Page 160
Vash experiences a vision of that moment, Knives about to kill the doctor (a.k.a. crew member Conrad, a.k.a. Revnant Buskus).
Page 161
Then Vash sees the dead Plant.
Page 162
Collage image of Vash and Knives, with a shadowy figure between them.
Vash: Tessla...
Page 163
Dozens of Project Seeds ships. Segue into flashback.
Page 164
Young Vash floats against the stars.
- Knives: Oh, there you are, Vash.
- It's all ready. Rem's waiting.
Page 165
Rem: Happy Birthday!
Vash and Knives stare at her, puzzled by the streamers and Rem's glasses-with-fake-nose-and-mustache. They're having a birthday party in the hologram room.
Knives: Rem, what _is_ that?
Rem: I made it. .....Is it strange?
Knives: No...
- Rem: You're supposed to have fun at times like these.
- Especially when you're living in outer space!
Page 166
Knives(?): But you seem kind of awkward.
Rem: Well, I guess... I'm not sure just what kind of expression I should have on my face.
She pauses.
Vash: Rem?
Vash (or maybe Knives): What's the matter?
Rem: Ah--nothing. I'm sorry.
- Rem: It's--sometimes I think to myself what an incredible year it's been...
- (She laughs sheepishly)
Sorry.Knives (smiling naturally, easily): It's been beyond all reason?
Rem: Hmmm, actually, I'd say it's been beyond all imagination.
Page 167
Knives(?): Thank you, Rem.
Vash(?) (thinks):.... for accepting us...
Rem: It feels like it's been no time at all...
Page 168
Flashback of Rem discovering the newborn Vash and Knives lying at the bottom of a Plant.
Page 169
- Rem: All in all, it's been a great year.
- It's like I got a shortcut to instantly becoming a mother.
- Vash? Knives? (narration): She smiled so kindly like that.
- But somehow, somewhere, her smile seemed sad.
Page 170
The immense cold-sleep chamber.
- Vash? Knives? (narration): In a sea of stars...
- In this giant manmade pod...
A world made up only of us, and the thousands of sleeping people.Vash and Knives are in the control room(?), looking at the files of the people on board.
Knives: You never get tired of this, do you.
Vash (smiling): Neither do you.
Page 171
Knives: I wonder what they're dreaming.
Vash: Aren't their brain waves stopped?
Knives: Oh. She's pretty.
They go down to the capsules to see the sleeping girl whose profile they just saw.
Knives: Hey... Vash?
Page 172
Knives: Do you think we can become friends with them?
Knives is smiling, but Vash looks troubled.
- Vash: Yeah...
- I think we'll have to put in a lot of effort, too.
Page 173
Knives sits alone in front of a video screen. He sees astronauts, and fighter planes, and refugees, and atomic bomb explosions...
- Knives (thinks): I know.
- Not everybody's like Rem--that much I know.
Page 174
Knives (thinks): But they're the ones who created us Plants.
Image of a Plant surrounded by a team of scientists.
Knives (thinks): I want to believe that they'll accept us.
Knives falls asleep in his chair. He looks troubled.
Page 175
Night on the ship.
Page 176
Rem is awakened by sirens and flashing signals.
Rem: This color--emergency level 2!?
Page 177
As she runs down the hall, Knives pops out.
Knives: Rem! What's wrong? Did something happen!?
- Rem: It looks like there was an error in the fleet's piloting system!
- You two stay in your room and buckle yourselves in!
Page 178
Rem reaches the control room.
Rem: The color has changed!? Level 3!?
- Computer: Now implementing phase one of the crisis evasion program.
- Obstacle detected.
Commencing recalculation of formation maintenence program in high-speed parallel flight mode.
- Rem: Okay! Do it!
- Automatic transition to emergency evasive phase in 180 seconds!
Page 179
- Rem: ......!
- ...Emergency level 3!?
Then the crew... They'll wake up!Vash and Knives sit tight in their room.
Page 180
In the crew-only wing of the ship, sleep capsules begin to open...
To be continued....
