First of all, I want to clarify that this is a fanfic adaptation work mixing with the pulp comics series "Captain Future", from1940 Edmond Hamilton and the Japanese anime version from 1979. The main characters have been replaced by their equivalent from oh my goddess and the two universes have been mixed even if the shading remains about 75% of that of the original novels by Hamilton. This is a work of adaptation, modernization (at 1940, it starts to date a little) and a merge with the oh my goddess universe. Some chapters have been adapted and their fate and the role of some characters have been changed. I think I did a pretty good job overall and hope you will enjoy reading it. Besides Edmond Hamilton, I particularly thank Kosuke Fujishima for his work "oh my goddess." For this fanfic I want to explain that nothing would have been possible without the beta reading of Nena Camadera and the, I therefore thank them with all my heart. I also thank all those who worked on the series "Captain Flam", which is the French adaptation of the anime series "Captain Future" inspired by the work of Hamilton.
01) The Space Emperor.
Somewhere in the distant future, very distant . The time Keiichi and the goddesses is finish since a long time. Humanity has reached the stars and meet aliens peoples. But what happened to the Gods and Demons? What link is there between the Morisato Keiichi and the goddesses of the 20th century and the "Captain Keiichi" and his family of this future?
This story begins at the General Headquarters of Interstellar Government. The woman, sitting at her ebony desk, was worried. She was facing the large window that revealed the amazing peaks of the city lit by the moon. She shuddered at the thought of what was happening right now.
Sayoko Mishima, the youngest person who ever sat on the chair of the Presidency of the Government of the Earth. She governs all mankind since the death of James Carthew, her predecessor, former boss, mentor and friend. She paused. Remembering the era, which seemed so near and yet so far, where she took her job here in the morning as her assistant and helped him to better fulfill this function.
Everything had changed in the two years since he'd been taken by the apoplexy crisis.
As the vice president, she automatically took his place by the time new elections were held. Elections that she had won single-handedly. Her handling of the crisis with the Zoreens during her short mandate allowed her to show the image of a dynamic young woman, competent and charismatic able to fulfill the Supreme function. The people trusted her and was carrying them to the best of this task with all the integrity that allowed the world of politics.
She was no stranger to bad days, there'd been an increase in them ever since a large amount of alarming reports from Deneph had begun to pile up on her desk. However, today made the others look mild in comparison.
She reflected on a significant problem that preoccupied for some time.
"He is late. The spacecraft of Deneph has already returned from his last mission and I am still waiting for Gan-chan" she said.
"You called for me, Ma'am?" Asked her secretary, Sora Hasegawa, as the woman entered her office.
Sora has worked for Sayoko for some time now, and an informal friendship and a certain respect has formed between the two women.
"Oh, excuse me, I was thinking aloud. We still have no news of Gan-chan?"
"Not yet".
"That's not like him. As you know, he is one of our best agents. You know the 7 th planet in the 16 th solar system in the galaxy?"
"Yes. This is Deneph, which is inhabited by a primitive civilization if I'm not mistaken." Sora said.
"You're not wrong, but we found all kinds of bizarre events and we sent Gan-chan to investigate at the request of General Lind." Explained the president, lighting a cigarette to calm her nerves.
This is when a horrible scream came from the hallway.
""What was that? Did you hear that?" Exclaimed Sayoko.
"Wait, I'll see." Sora immediately rushed to see what was going on.
Upon opening the door, a huge man covered with hair, like a Neanderthal, rushed into the office, wearing nothing but a torn animal skin.
Sora could do nothing except cringe at the repulsive being.
The creature stopped directly in front of the office of Sayoko.
"Who are you? What is happening?" She exclaimed while preparing to operate a laser mechanism installed in her office for protection.
The rat-man made no Gesture, instead attempting to speak. Unfortunately, his vocal cords could not articulate any words Sayoko could understand.
"But ... You are?! IMPOSSIBLE !" Sayoko was surprised she recognized the monster.
"The Emperor ... Space." The shaggy giant grunted.
"It's amazing. A monkey who speaks." Sora was surprised.
"Emperor...Space?" The President parroted, uncertain she understood what the rat-man was saying.
"De-evolution…of the Species." Added the "rat" who seemed to calm down as he handed a letter to Sayoko with a trembling hand, before collapsing, struck in the back. The guards of the President intervened and had fired their guns anesthetics.
"Take this rat…uh…this… MAN to the infirmary and ensure that he receives the best care." President immediately ordered.
The guards withdrew, taking the man-rat without really understanding what had happened.
"You think the monster is Gan-chan?" Sora asked.
"Yes, I'm absolutely certain. It wore his outfit and I recognized his eyes. I told you he is the best agent in our solar system. This must be what is happening on the planet Deneph. It seems that Humans are becoming apes. They devolve without explanation. Those most affected degenerate past the ape until the time humanity were only rodents"
Sayoko then opened the envelope that Gan-chan had handed handed her some minutes earlier.
"It has only been twenty-four hours, but I can feel the change happening very quickly. I fear I will be unable to speak or think clearly soon. I was touched by a de-evolution device on Deneph several days ago. I need to return to Earth to warn the President of what I have learned before I become completely inhuman".
"I learned that on Deneph the contagion is caused by a mysterious figure called the Emperor of Space. I do not know if he is Human or Denephean. How it spreads the risk, I do not know, but it is a power that secretly affects the Humans there. I did not feel anything coming until I noted my own thoughts growing hazy, almost bestial at times."
"Cannot write much now... hard to hold a pencil... did not dare leave my cabin... have so changed... my brain becomes heavy... would have liked to learn more... "
The letter was finished.
The first reports about the infection came from Deneph, weeks before. On this beautiful planet, amidst its largely unexplored vast jungles and huge oceans, flourished a considerably-sized Human colony. Centered around the capital, Jovopolis, there were a dozen small cities of Humans; primarily composed of miners and loggers
From one of these colonial cities close to Jovopolis, came an amazing report. Humans were transformed into beasts! Humans, were inexplicably transformed into monkeys like animals, their bodies and becoming every day more like simple cattle. A terrifying flashback of human evolution! They were the victims of an atavism, a biological downgrade that made them fall from the ladder of evolution.
The President had trouble believing the first reports. However more soon followed the initial reports, leading to multiple cases of de-evolution. Already hundreds of Humans had fallen prey to this terrible metamorphosis. The settlers were beginning to panic.
Sayoko had sent scientists, specialists in global medicine to fight this terrible disease. But they had been unable to stop the cases of atavism or even to learn their cause. And the secret agent of the Planetary Police had learned nothing either. Gan-chan, their best agent, had only discovered that the damage was caused by a third party.
"He spoke of an "Space Emperor". Probably a code name for some mafia bosses, potential terrorist ... . Or Gan -chan not thinking clearly. We must do something if not the Earth and all the planets of the Confederation may be affected by this scourge and the existence of the entire human race could be at stake."
For a moment, the President fell silent, immersed in her thoughts.
Taking a deep breath of her cigarette, Sayoko made a decision.
"You have to call Captain Keiichi."
Whenever Sayoko thought about "Captain Keiichi", she could not be taken seriously, it was too... fanciful.
Captain Keiichi… his real name, Keiichi Morisato. The savior of the galaxy, serving humanity and living proof that heroes exist outside of fiction, proving that anything in the universe is possible… even the most uh…. Childish?
Sayoko could not believe it, even today. When the image of "Captain Keiichi" appeared in her mind, she was feeling herself like a child again and thought of the adventures of cartoon superheroes.
It is true that in that time, young men barely adult could occupy important positions and perform amazing feats, such as becoming President of humankind before age 30, but there were still some reasonable limits... that Captain Keiichi crossed constantly.
The President recalled her first meeting with the boy. Normally, she would have seen a very ordinary teenager with thick eyebrows that would surely have trouble finding a girlfriend. However, as he'd aided her in preventing a serious diplomatic crisis with the Denovuleans, she'd come to view him in a more positive light.
At the time, Sayoko had just come into office as the new President. Her first act of business was to visit the various planets under the Galactic Confederation.
Unfortunately, when she was visiting a Denovula moon for an important business summit involving a free trade policy with Earth, her ship encountered a bad storm and was then ransacked by pirates. The bandits had been hired by one of her political opponents (now in prison), her personal secret service, despite being well trained, had been caught off-guard by the four heavily-armed vessels, thus leading to a hostage situation.
The kidnapping was short-lived however. Less than two days later, as she tried to negotiate with his captors, a ship had passed nearby.
The pirates had seen the vessel as easy prey to capture and plunder. They'd mocked the seemingly harmless ship before taking out its engines and boarding them.
The rescue was fast, in all honesty. Let's just say that when Sayoko saw this young man in his space suit into her cell, neutralize the guards in a few moments and get to safety, it was the biggest surprise of her life.
That General Lind has launched a rescue operation to deliver her was perfectly normal of course, but she expected to see a military squad, not a single young man who was not even 20 years old, accompanied by a silver girl robot and a top model with brown skin and white hair.
She was even more surprised when she was mounted in the "Space Goddess" to discover that the boy who had rescued her was not working for the General or any government office.
Only this part of the history of captain was classified top secret. The rest of his adventures were however notorious.
Everyone had heard of Keiichi. Where all kinds of problems such as hostage taking, terrorism, piracy etc ... space. raged, the Captain would appear, like an old television hero of the 20th century, he and his strange family would "neutralize the threat", "save the innocent", and "restore order".
In short, Captain Keiichi and his sisters seemed straight out of a Wednesday morning anime, or that of a big budget movie.
Yet they did exist.
After the rescue of the President, his legend had spread quickly. At first, many simply believed it was a political scene setting or an urban legend spread by the media.
When he was officially awarded the "Space Cross", the highest honor that can be bestowed for bravery, people could finally see the face of the "hero".
Everyone was as surprised as had been the President and there disbelief only increased. People expected to see some sort of soldier with at least thirty years of experience at their back, with a classic squad. When they saw the slightly smaller than average teenager with his bushy eyebrows and his family, nobody believed. It was simply impossible that such a young had actually been able to accomplish the feats attributed to him.
This kind of thing could not happen in the real world. And yet...
Many had attempted to prove him for a fake. Keiichi had been invited to demonstrate his talents in all kinds of TV shows. Whether in sports or scientific disciplines, he had demonstrated that he was as smart and capable as he claimed.
Another striking feature of the boy was his private life. When he was not trying to solve a serious problem in the galaxy, he spent his time in his base on the moon, where he devoted himself to improving his "Beemerlem", a small vessel of planetary exploration and especially the "Space goddess", his starship, with his three "sisters", Megumi, Urd, Skuld.
His other leisure was to participate in shuttle races. The asteroid belt near Jupiter was very popular for that. The captain, under a false name, could often be found participating.
When it was finally accepted that, against all odds, that a boy both extraordinary and yet so ordinary did exist, and was not a myth, it was euphoria.
"Captain Keiichi" became a model for the whole of humanity. He was living proof of what each can potentially accomplish.
He now had his picture on the packets of cornflakes, his life was part of history courses in schools, there was even talk of producing a film of his exploits.
Now, the children adored him and the girls swooned thinking about his "irresistible charm" (he had not). The clothes he wore most of the time was a flexible spacesuit. Brown arms and legs with a white chest. The only distinctive signs were the 'K' on his belt and the large, light blue circle on the right side of his chest.
The rest of his team was equally disconcerting.
First was Urd, the shapeshifter. A creature created through genetic manipulation that had the appearance of a young woman with brown skin and white hair. She always dressed in a 'relaxed' style.
Then came Skuld. A female robot slightly taller than Urd. Pilot of the "Space goddess" and technical expert with superhuman strength…and rather pretty, despite her appearance of a gray, metallic robot. The soft metal which composed her body, and her hair, gave her a perfect human appearance, except for color and some obvious mechanical parts. You could find her "cute" without being able to ignore that she was entirely artificial.
She wore no clothes to speak of, but the different paintings affixed to her body created the illusion of clothing, preventing others from seeing her as 'naked'.
Finally, the strangest member: Professor Megumi.
It was actually the brain of the greatest biologist and astrophysicist who disappeared 19 years ago. Although very young at the time a serious accident forced her to transfer her brain in a small floating vehicle with a mechanical arm. So far no one saw her as a robot, the top of the small vehicle being fitted with a round TV screen that reflected Megumi's brain. It definitely could be a transparent dome for us to see the brain directly, but to expose his brain matter to sunlight would have been suicidal. The TV screen was used to maintain the illusion.
To this was added Banpei, a little robot 50 centimeters high, and Sigel, a protoplasmic life form with metamorphic abilities even greater than those of Urd, but whose intelligence did not exceed that of a two-year old child.
The captain had his detractors, however. General Lind was the first.
Lind was a woman barely older than the President, hair cut short and dyed purple (this was in no way unusual at that time).
Indeed, the armed forces chief Human did not like the kind a 'lone wolf' who was accountable to no one and could do as he pleased without any control. However, above all, she hated the idea that the Captain Keiichi was able to solve situations so effectively with only his team to rely on when it came to situations of a military matter.
Having said that, Sayoko remember a conversation she once had with General Lind.
"Madam President, allow me to advise you not to call on Captain Keiichi. We still have highly effective security forces." She'd told the general.
Sayoko agreed with Lind in principle but had to accept the facts, namely that Captain Keiichi was often the best solution to various threats she met during his term.
Returning to the present, Sayoko weighed these words with the current situation.
"This disaster is the work of a enemy and no a natural plague. I'm going to call the Captain and instruct the General to take any action otherwise. Hopefully this story will not go away."
Sayoko was the only one able to liaise from her office with Keiichi, whose house was established in a secret place (For safety reasons) on the far side of the moon.
Moments after receiving the signal. A ship took off from the base in question, bearing within the greatest hero of the galaxy.
The evening progressed. By nightfall, the concern of the President and her secretary was rising.
"The captain is late. Yet he travels faster than light. He should already be here. I'm starting to worry." Commented Sora.
"But no, no. He is always very punctual. He should be here any second now, don't worry." Said Sayoko.
"It would be useless anyways. I'm here."
Keiichi had arrived, discreetly without being noticed, as usual.
"My sisters are handling the paperwork. Take this opportunity to explain why you called for me.".
The president spent the rest of the night explaining the situation to the boy, to submit all reports in its possession and to provide all the information, and other accreditations he would need for his mission
"What will you do Captain?" Asked the president after completing her presentation.
"I'll go directly to Deneph after retrieving my sisters, it's always the first thing I do when I come here." Keiichi said.
"Despite their many…unique qualities, you certainly have a strange family."
"No doubt, but it is what has made me what I am today."
"And all of mankind can only rejoice."
"Well, I think we've finished the conversation. I'll get Urd and Megumi and then head off to Deneph. I'll start with Urd, as she can be really hard to snag from the bar," said Keiichi, leaving the President's office.
Indeed. Urd's binge drinking was legendary. The shapeshifter considered the station bar like best. Especially since it was inside the President's own headquarters. She could find alcohol in extremely high quality.
Her game was then to find someone who would offer her drinks. Of course, she could pay for herself as Keiichi's team wasn't suffering financially. However, she found it much more fun to take the appearance of a beautiful, unknown woman and seduce someone at the bar, such as a handsome boy or perhaps get invited to share a drink. It was much more fun than drinking at the counter alone, the glasses piling up one by one by herself.
Note that by her unique constitution, Urd could not get a hangover unless she wished it. Her creators, her parents, had endowed her with this ability when they'd created her.
If the boy was kind it was not uncommon for Urd to be…generous. An adventurous night, with everyone always remembering the "beautiful stranger" they'd encountered, particularly after receiving the fabled "Urd Kiss" that would never be forgotten.
Today, however, Urd had not sought a drinking buddy. Instead she found herself testing a new blue liquor that was growing fashionable in the more trendy bars. Therefore, it was not quite as difficult to retrieve her from the bar.
In contrast, Skuld was already in the "Space Goddess", as she rarely left. She did not like leaving her "baby" unattended. The robot-girl actually saw the ship as a full member of her family.
"It's a spaceship, a machine, and I'm a robot. So it is normal there is like a bond between "her" and me." She explained.
She knew every corner of the ship, which was normal, firstly because her electronic brain had a perfect memory, and secondly, because it was herself who had physically manufactured the ship. Certainly, she had realized the plans with Megumi, but Skuld had wanted to make the assembly of the whole ship herself. A human would have been completely unable, of course.
Megumi for its part, could not indulge in physical pleasure since the death of her body. Since she had been forced to transfer her brain into a small mechanical vehicle floating in the air, she no longer felt such desires, even though she would have been indulging it.
She therefore devoted herself to scientific research and to peruse the newly made top secret updates on the government science network which always had some sort of interesting activity.
After Keiichi has recovered his two sisters, they headed for the "Space Goddess", along the way joining with Skuld, who was waiting for them. They also met a young child.
"What? Is that Captain Keiichi? It is! And there, that brain floating in the small vehicle is Professor Megumi, and there is Skuld, the girl robot and finally the one who can change appearances at will, Urd!" Cried the boy, rushing to hug his idol with all the innocence of youth.
Keiichi narrowly dodged the boy, thinking him just a child running about without paying attention to where he was going, like all children his age.
"Pay attention boy, you risk hurting yourself if you do not watch where you're going," Urd said kindly
"No, wait. My name is Sentaro Kawanishi, but my friends call me Sen. I want to accompany you."
Keiichi well understood the child's reasoning. After all, he too was once a child who'd loved heroic idols and had wanted to become one himself. He'd succeeded after years of effort, though the maturity gained came at the cost of his parent's death. It had made him understand that the destiny of a young 'hero' was one full of responsibility and loneliness and many other things unenviable.
Keiichi Morisato was a hero certainly, but above all he was responsible. What fool would have really taken this naive child in his ship, considering all the dangers he would face? Certainly not him anyway.
"Listen boy. What you say makes me very happy. But life is not a game. You want to join me? You want to live as a "great adventure"? I understand. The first thing to do is... Grow. Study hard at school, earn a degree, and gain experience….Come back to me in 10 years. If you follow my advice well, then I promise you I'll consider your request. If I'm still alive of course.
The child, however, like all children would not be discouraged so easily. He then took out a kind of yoyo and launched it towards an apple located about twenty meters away, cutting its stem and knocking it to the ground.
"Beautiful display of accuracy. My compliments. However, it does not change what I just said. I know it may seem distasteful to you but when you're older and you think on this again, you'll see that I was right." Said Keiichi.
"But I..."
Keiichi, who did not have the time to talk for hours with the child, lifted him off the ground and set him a few meters away on a container stack, deciding to leave him there to meditate for a little while.
"Time to head to Deneph" he declared to his three "women" crew.
Before leaving, Urd turned his gaze to the child, giving him a blink and blowing him a little kiss from afar.
"Come back in 10 years so I can buy you a drink. I promise." She said before turning back to the boy.
"He must not believe that I will be discouraged like that," said Sentaro.
A few minutes later the ship "Space Goddess" took off under the gaze of the President.
While commanding the takeoff maneuver to pass the Earth's atmosphere to interstellar space, The Captain noticed something.
"You look troubled" Megumi noticed.
"No... It's probably nothing," he replied.
A few minutes later, when the ship was well on its course to Deneph, Keiichi rose from his seat and went to the rear hatch of the ship.
"Get out here." He declared suddenly.
"What's going on?" Urd asked.
With its electronic brain, Skuld had already analyzed and understood the situation.
"This is the same kid from this morning, eh?" she asked.
"Probably, I understood by looking at the weight controller. Our "Space Goddess" weighed 38 kilos too. It corresponds roughly to the size and morphology of the child. Bravo for his courage, but curse him for his rashness. "I TOLD YOU TO COME OUT!" Keiichi said.
Getting no answer, the Captain forced the door open, only to find Sentaro unconscious. The takeoff had had to be too brutal for his young age.
"Urd! The infirmary, quickly," he said, taking the child in his arms.
Shortly after Sentaro regained consciousness. Keiichi looked at him not with anger, but with relief that the child was well.
"I apologize, captain. I do not want to create trouble," said Sentaro, somewhat embarrassed.
"Then why did you board in secret?"
"Please do not send me back to Earth."
"Ah, that, you won't have to return to Earth. You've showed persistence and so I'm willing to take you with us to Deneph. However, once there, I will release you to the authorities who will organize your repatriation. Meanwhile I'll tell your parents you are here." Keiichi said.
"But I have no family." Sentaro replied sadly.
"What?"
"My parents were both killed in a space shuttle accident."
This declaration called out to Keiichi and his sisters. They remembered the death of Keiichi parents when he was still a baby, when a space station they'd been on had exploded.
"They continue to float in space somewhere... But I do not want you to take pity on me. That is why I decided to become a member of your team." Added Sen.
"You know, it's not so easy," Keiichi said gently, although he had no intention to comply with this request, at least not for another ten years.
"I do not know who my parents, I am in an orphanage that takes care of me."
"Then why were you alone in the Presidency buildings? " Skuld asked.
"Today is the day of the field trip and we are visiting. I got a little separated from the group because I was bored. I never thought to meet you there. What luck."
This declaration called out to Keiichi and his sisters. They remembered the death of Keiichi parents when he was still a baby, when a Space Station they'd been on had exploded.
"We are leaving the solar system and entering hyperspace." Skuld said, interrupting everyone's thoughts, her electronic senses fixed on the controls of the ship.
Two extraordinary scientific discoveries allowed this fantastic journey. One of them was the hyperspace wheel. Within seconds, the "Space Goddess" had traveled space-time and crossed 1,500 lightyears . Deneph was already in sight.
The second invention that allowed space travel was the ground controller. Indeed, the planets of the universe were not as habitable as Earth.
Very few were actually inhabitable, with human adaptation to living conditions so extreme that it would normally be impossible without genetic modifications or cybernetic implants.
With the ore 'gravium' used as the controller, men could move onto any planet, regardless of its gravity…within limits of course. A controller could not allow a human to move to the surface of a black hole, for example.
Skuld then began to explain to Sen a few of the secrets in the function of The "Space Goddess".
"First thing, the high quality of this ship is its extraordinary mobility." She said proudly.
It actuates a few commands, and the ship began to turn in all directions with the irregularity and the ease of a fly.
"It might be better to stop now, the boy will get sick otherwise." Urd said.
"No, it's fine," Sen replied, trying hard not to look weak.
"All right, then turn to cubic flight." Skuld said.
However, they did not have time, because at that moment, a ray of red light passed near (a few thousand kilometers) the "Space Goddess". Immediately the sensor vessel and Skuld's electronic brain analyzed the data sensor. A moment later, and the ship switched into a random flight pattern for protection.
"We are under attack, Captain," declared the girl robot.
"They really are not that accurate." Megumi remarked.
"Emergency Camouflage. Sen, sit back," said Keiichi.
The emergency camouflage was a stealth system built into the "Space Goddess". In space, there are such huge distances between ships it is difficult to precisely follow a moving spaceship. This is why very precise sensors are needed. Camouflaging the "Space Goddess" did not make it invisible, but provided a set of processes implemented to conceal and alter the various energy emissions, such as its engines, to ensure enemy sensors would be unable to pinpoint the exact location of the vessel and thus fire on it.
However, the "Space Goddess" was far more advanced than any other ship. This was because the greatest mind of humanity, Megumi Morisato, and the best engineer robot, Skuld, had constructed and constantly reinvented the ship together.
"Prepare the Canon Proton and aim their flight stabilizer." Keiichi ordered.
Proton weapons, pistols essentially , were in common use in the galaxy. They were easy to produce for those with the necessary technology and their strength was adjustable. A concentrated proton beam could pierce almost any known shielding, while a diffuse beam could hit a man with the strength of a small vehicle. This allowed to knock or break the bones of someone without killing him. It was this "frequency paralyzing " which made the interesting weapon for the agents of the Galactic Patrol .
"Protons Cannon ready." Skuld said.
"Established target data." Urd added.
"FIRE."
The proton cannon fired and destroyed the flight stabilizers of the enemy ship. From there, the combatant vessel lost control of its direction.
"What is the strongest gravity field in this area?" Asked Keiichi.
"It seems that it is this asteroid," Megumi replied by pointing a light beam with a strange rock clusters appearing on the screen.
"That's a strange asteroid," Said Sen.
"Yes, it is satellite 9. Scientist think that this is actually a piece of Deneph which was separated from it a very long time," explained Keiichi before adding "Skuld, grab one of the men. Surely these men must work for the 'Emperor'. We should be able to get information from them."
"This is suspicious," Urd muttered aloud, "according to the sensors it's a small asteroid but with a gigantic mass. It even has a breathable atmosphere."
After landing, the crew of the captain left the ship, leaving Sen inside for his protection.
The crew approached the enemy ship.
"Skuld, your turn," said Keiichi.
"Okay."
Skuld then used a laser proton located in one of her fingers to cut a crack in the vessel and then opened the breach thus formed with her enormous strength.
The captain and his sisters then entered. Immediately enemy combatants began firing at them.
Skuld, fully armored, had nothing to fear, and neither did Megumi. Urd could count on her prodigious reflexes and flexibility while Keiichi was used to such things. He knew how to move in various blind spots when he was under fire from the enemy. Without being able to dodge the laser shots, his experience and his training were his best protection.
They returned fire.
The enemy was not difficult to neutralize; they were not seasoned mercenaries or military professionals, but rather hired killers who had a habit of executing contracts on defenseless targets who were not aware of the danger.
It was very simple. Skuld housed in his body a lot off small bombs. It had all kinds, anesthetic gas, blinding flash, electromagnetic pulse, the illuminating etc ... . Of course, the chemicals and the mechanisms used, manufactured by Skuld, were of much better quality than their distant "ancestors" of the 20th century. Onboard camera, heat detector, radiation, zoom large display, integrated optical camouflage system, silent, and even a limited form of artificial intelligence... To keep it all in mechanisms under 40 grams and size a nuts, fell technological miracle, even in this period. For fun, Skuld gave her bombs the shape of the Banpei head.
The method " Indiscriminate Attack Mode " she then employed (that is to say a massive bombardment of the enemy) was usually sufficient.
One of the bandits however, slipped out before Keiichi and his sisters arrived.
Sen had remained in the ship, but at the entrance he had opened himself from the inside, to see in the distance what was happening. The man, whose name was unknown, saw the opportunity to take a hostage, one that overshadowed his original plan was to hide near the ship and shoot down its targets by surprise when they come back, too confident of victory .
Catching the child by the neck before he had time to react was not difficult.
"Captain! Get out of there. I have the boy in hostage If you want to save his life, I order you to drop your weapons and surrender.".
Sen said nothing, completely terrified.
It was not Keiichi's first time faced with a hostage. He was perfectly capable of handling this situation with minimal risk. Normally he would have tried to negotiate with the killer, but the circumstances showed that all negotiations would be a waste of time and would simply place Sen at risk. Better to act fast while the man believed he held the advantage. The Captain stepped forward, throwing his Proton gun on the ground.
"Who are you? Why this attack ? " He asked .
"My name is Etsuchi. I am hire by the Space Emperor."
"By the way, I wonder what he's like, this Emperor."
"No idea, no one has seen his face, he always wears a mask." Said Etsuchi.
"Oh that's very interesting. Do I get to talk to him?"
"You must go to him dwelling, deep in the jungle. I promised I would take you there, DEAD OF COURSE!" Replied Etsuchi, readying to fire.
Taking advantage of the conversation, Keiichi had cleverly modify the severity of the mass controller on his belt to become much lighter and made a prodigious leap towards his opponent who did not have time to shoot (which would have been useless, Skuld stood quietly with Etsuchi in her sights, and her robotic 'reflexes' were much faster than the killer's finger, however Etsuchi would probably die and it was better to let his brother capture him alive).
Once Keiichi was close to Etsuchi, it was not difficult to put down. Not only was Keiichi trained in unarmed combat, but with the aid of Skuld and Urd, neutralizing Etsuchi was simple. Quickly he was disarmed, leaving no hostages in his wake.
When the bandit was out of harm's way, the captain and his crew returned to the ship and devised a plan to capture the Emperor.
It was Urd's turn to be useful. She sat before a mirror and began to use her abilities.
Skuld was a robot developed by Professor Megumi and the parents of Captain Keiichi. Urd was a form of artificial life too, but biological. Besides flexibility and a total immunity to disease, she had an extremely adaptable body. No need to breathe, she could feed on almost every conceivable substances, provided it contained an energy value. She could, for example, absorb bacteria from the air through her skin and feed off it for nourishment. However she had a strong preference for alcohol, which brought her the necessary energy and a personal pleasure.
The original biological matrix of Urd came from Keiichi parents. Of course, her DNA, the structure of the body as a whole, had suffered from the beginning any kind of change that made that she could in no way be considered human, even if she had the appearance. However, because of her origin, she could still be seen as the sister of Keiichi and that's how they saw themselves, and they loved each other since birth; though their DNA was different they still had the same parents.
Although more organic and at a lower intelligence than Skuld, her brain had the capacity for analysis, her range of perception of the surrounding environment better than anyone's. Her senses were extremely precise and she had a photogenic memory.
However, her most amazing feat was the ability to completely change her morphology. She could look at any individual or creature and replicate their size and shape. She could change the color of her skin, eyes, and tone of voice. She could mimic, albeit imperfectly, the DNA structure of another individual.
This power had limits, however. Urd could turn into many forms but not everything. It would have been impossible, for example, to turn into a small rodent, or to acquire a pair of wings that would have allowed her to fly. She could not imitate the chemicals of other species such as snake venom. She could not change her organs to develop more advanced capacity, such as the ability of certain aliens to emit ultrasound like bats. Finally, though her bones were soft, they were still solid. She could contract them, fold them, or bend them a little, however she always retained her mass regardless of her appearance.
Another gift Urd possessed was her ability to send small electric shocks through physical contact. Not enough to kill or stun, but sufficient enough to prevent someone from touching her if she did not wish it.
Their parents had given her these special gifts, like Skuld had inherited the genius scientific and strength, it was out of love. They wanted Urd to be whatever she chose to be: blonde, brunette, human, extra terrestrial, large, small, with any skin color of choice. And their "children" could protect themselves. The Urd kiss was mother's idea, an overly-romantic idealist who wanted the kiss of her daughter to be the most wonderful of all. Their parents never envisaged that Urd and Skuld would use their gifts as part of a life of adventure, but only in a "normal" life, like "normal" people.
The transformation generally took less than one minute. In this case, it was in order to mimic Etsuchi, to attract the Emperor into a trap.
"Watch, the color of her eyes will change and her hair and facial structure will completely transform." Skuld explained as Sen watched on in awe.
Moments later, when she had finished her transformation, Urd turned to Sen with the appearance of the bandit.
"So what do you say to my new face? Haha..." she said with a slight laugh.
"Impressive. If I had not seen it with my eyes, and if you weren't wearing different clothes, I would have sworn Etsuchi had just escaped."
One last notable gift from her "parents" was her kiss. Urd had in her throat a gland which secreted two particular chemicals.
The first raised the dopamine levels of the brain, making the kiss particularly pleasant and mesmerizing. In high doses it could even knock out the person. More than once Urd had used that talent to knock someone out, hide his body and take his place, or to give her lovers an unforgettable evening with the best kiss of their lives.
The second substance acted as a truth serum. There were many who saw Urd as their confident after a 'night of passion', believing what they confessed was of their own free will.
The shapeshifter mostly used these abilities for fun, however, when asked of it by her 'little brother', she used the abilities to extract information from their enemies. The two Substances also shared a certain chemical 'mimicry' and could be adapted to affect almost any extra-terrestrial race. Urd had other powers conferred by her unique biology, such as the ability to hibernate and heal much faster than humans.
Shortly after Keiichi and Urd entered the place indicated by Etsuchi, where they waited for the Emperor to appear. Several hours had passed already, and the man still had not appeared. It was a small hut in a forest in the back of a slum in the northern part of Deneph.
"If the Space Emperor shows, you block the door," said Keiichi.
"Understood " Urd replied.
The boy lay on the table, pretending to be dead.
The hours passed with no sign of the "Emperor". When suddenly Urd heard footsteps behind her.
"Space Emperor? When did you arrive?" Urd/Etsuchi asked, genuinely surprised by the discreet arrival of the individual.
The Space Emperor was wrapped in a grotesque and baggy black suit. A helmet hid his head, with a strange, flexible ore narrowing into a tip on each side of his face. Two yellow holes served as the helmet's eye guard, the orbs within hidden from sight. A dark green cloak covered him and a Proton pistol rested in his belt. His true appearance was completely hidden by the baggy suit. It was impossible to tell if he was Human or Denephean.
"I see you have respected your promise," he said in a robotic voice.
"Yes of course, but the two others died while fighting." Urd / Etsuchi replied.
"I really do not see that as surprising.. So you've managed to eliminate Captain Keiichi." He said, advancing to inspect the "corpse".
It was at this time that Keiichi rolled onto his back and leapt to his feet. "I'm still alive! Tell me, are you heartbroken, "Majesty"!?"
"What? How can this be?!" Stammered the Emperor.
Keiichi did not give him time to recover…. and passed through as if the Emperor was an illusion.
Urd / Etsuchi tried in turn but without success. The Emperor seemed untouchable.
"Haha. I understand. Even Etsuchi was not able to defeat you ... But one day I will have time to take care of you, and then you will have no chance." Said the ghostly being before passing through a wall.
"This is not possible. Is he a ghost or something?!" Said Urd, completely overwhelmed after the phenomenon.
"A ghost can not speak or be heard. He is as real as you or me….. " Keiichi retorted.
A few minutes later, The Emperor then went towards "Space Goddess" and climbed aboard.
"THE SPACE EMPEROR!" Cried Etsuchi.
"But ... How did he get pass the Entry Lock?!" Megumi said.
Gradually but inexorably, the individual passed yet indeed through the wall.
"QUICK! QUICK! Deliver us, I'M BEGGING YOU!" Implored Etsuchi.
Without waiting for an answer, Skuld threw herself on the Emperor, and passed through him like that Urd and Keiichi.
Sen tried in turn to launch his yoyo at the head of the apparition, also in vain.
Meanwhile, Keiichi and Urd returned hastily to their vessel, but on the way they were stopped. A crowd of people with green skin stood between them and the ship.
"What is going on?" Urd wondered.
"These are the original inhabitants of Deneph. What are they doing here?" his brother replied.
"That noise! Gunfire in the ship!" Keiichi immediately worried.
In the ship, the Emperor had already killed two of his henchmen, but had not hurt Skuld, Megumi or Sen, nor even Mini Banpei and Sigel, the two mascots of the ship. Instead he was preparing to shoot Etsuchi.
"MERCY! DELIVER ME AND I'LL DO AS YOU ASK!" He cried.
The Emperor showed no pity, mercilessly shooting Etsuchi in face.
"Penalty for breach of contract." He said.
Keiichi then entered his ship.
"Too late Captain. The execution is over," said the man dressed in black.
"I will never forgive you for having defiled this vessel with a passenger's blood." Said Keiichi, filled with anger and disgust.
"If you really trying to put you in my path, next time it will be you I annihilate." The Emperor said, again passing through the wall.
Keiichi looked out the Space Goddess and saw the man go, followed by the men with green skin.
What could he do other than to let them go? Attack the whole horde with his team? He was not that kind of person and anyway, it would have been suicide. Moreover they could not touch his enemy, only let him go. In fact, he was lucky that the man has just executed his henchmen and let him and his crew live. Strange. VERY strange behavior.
"Do the people of Deneph obey this Emperor?!" He asked.
"I have a feeling." Megumi replied.
"It's still annoying, There's nothing we can do," remarked Skuld.
"Have a little patience. The struggle is just starting, and I think we'll have to fight against this guy as we have never fought before." Keiichi mused, his mind racing to find a flaw in the apparent invulnerability of his enemy.
Captain Keiichi had no idea how right he was. The fight was going to be ruthless.
