One Last Mission
By: The Heartless Tin Man
Earth was in shambles. The second Lorwardian invasion had come, and for humanity to survive, it needed to end this war. To end it now, before the enemy had time to regroup its forces, to strike one final time, Earths death blow. The mission was simplicity in its easiest form - reach the Lorwardian home world, an end the war for good.
This is her story:
She was all alone out here in the depths of space. Alone in a tiny ship that was built for stealth, speed and not much else. The craft had little comfort for the pilot, who laid prone in a cramped cockpit. There were no lights, except for the glow from the few buttons and LED's that bathed her face with a rainbow of colors.
In that tiny space of hers, there was barely enough heat provided by the environmental controls to keep her teeth from chattering loudly. The cold had its effects, making her tired, making her thoughts drifted back in time. to a time that she was still on Earth.
Her memory began to drift, returning her to when she was standing in the launch-bay. She was looking up at the ship that was to take her to the home-world of the enemy. She heard a voice from behind her talking about the ship saying, that she was not built to look pretty, but for speed and stealth needed for her mission.
Built to avoid detection, that was what she was told. Told that she should appear as nothing more than a small asteroid. "should," was the word that rattled through her thoughts. All of this as she was told was in theory, but what was she to do. She wanted to do this, she fought to go on this mission, and would not, could not refuse.
She sat in a folding metal chair, watching the technicians who were rushing past her. They were moving to and fro, working on their tasks to make sure she will reach Lorwardia. She noticed that as they past her, how they would try hard not to look at her with sadness in their eyes. She understood that they knew, as she did that the odds were against her of even entering Lorwardian space, let alone to even reach their star system, were next to none, and slim at the very best.
Her last meal on Earth was brought to her, placed on the small table she had set up near the ship, but out of the way of the technicians. She wanted be close to the craft, to be in its presence, to be able to feel of her.
She sat in silence, watching them work on the spaceship. Saw all while drinking her tea, but left a plate of steamed vegetables that she requested untouched. She closed her eyes for a moment, and held the teacup tightly in her hands, feeling its warmth. She went over the details of the mission, then over, and over them once again. Thinking of all that could go wrong, and how to counter them, till she was satisfied that all variables were accounted for.
The sounds of a squeaky wheel made her open her eyes. Her attention was drawn away from the comforting warmth of the cup. She spied a small cart that was being pushed past her; this made her put down the cup of tea gently, and stand up. There it was, being brought over and placed into the waiting cargo bay, into the belly of the ship. The package as it was being called by the technicians, and those who didn't want to call it by what it really was, a weapon.
When the technicians were finished with their test, they would then nod in approval to each other. They closed and sealed the hatch, as she watched this; a perverse thought came to light, that of a loving mother carrying her child in the womb. Dismissing this thought as inconsequential and counter to what lay before her. She took her seat once again and resumed drinking her tea in silence. She relaxed as best as she could, knowing it would only be a few more minutes before she had to suit up, for they were now close to launch.
A woman handed to her a helmet, as the other technicians finished securing the spacesuit for her. Then she saw him, the young man who built the weapon that was Earth's hope as he walked up to her. He was not able to look at her in the eyes as he said to her, that he was sorry that it was she who chose to pilot the ship. He paused for a moment, and said with a forced humor, that if it means anything to her, she'll outlive him. Wade then left without waiting for a reply that never came.
In the ship she brought herself back to the present, she was drawing close to Lorwardian space. Turning her attention to the scanners for her position, she then lowered the crafts life-support to its minimum. The ship had gone this far without detection, and she did not want to risk being detected due to the ships energy signature.
The temperature dropped in the craft, and as the air became thin. Her mind drifted again to the past, to a time between the first and second invasions, back to a time of peace, joy - and of love. There was a smile on her face as her thoughts filled with happy memories, but as always with a happy memory she then came to the time of the dark days. The smile she wore on her face disappeared.
They struck without warning, without mercy, killing so many of the innocent in the first few days. She then came to the memory, of what might have been the day that she also died. The day, that in saving the world once again - Ron Stoppable died.
The Lorwardians were ready for him. Knowing of his powers from their last encounter, they waited for him. He again used his power, using them to drive the invaders off our world, back into space, but at the cost of his own life. The day that her life ended, a day of no more tomorrow's for her, just a life of regret. Regret that she never told him how she felt for him, regret for not having been brave enough to proclaim that she truly loved him.
A soft but persistent beeping noise brought her back from her thoughts of sorrow. The sensors were now telling her that she was entering the Lorwardian star system. Turning to the scanners, she looked for the best course to the fifth planet of this system, their home world. She saw an asteroid belt that would give her enough cover. Able to bring her to the far side of the sun, close enough to the planet to make a run straight for it.
Doing her best to stay invisible, avoiding their sensor grid and battle cruisers. She was making her way fine, and was almost into the safty of the asteroid field, when of all things, a cargo ship picked her up on their sensors and alerted the defense grid.
Disappointment filled her, her plans for stealth now had to be cast aside. The sensors show ships approaching fast, she began thinking fast, weighing all her available options. She increased the power to the engines, bringing them to maximum thrust, hurtling the ship toward the systems sun. The craft, being designed for speed left the pursing fighters behind, unable to get a shot at her or keep up. She knew that they will contact others, who will be waiting for her somewhere on the far side of the sun.
Flying the ship close to the sun, she planed to use its gravity to accelerate. Plotting her course as close to the corona as possible, so close that she knew it went beyond the ship's safety limits. She had to, to help attain even more velocity, and setting off all the red warning lights. So close to the sun, that she now felt the heat rise, making her now sweat profusely inside her tin-can that only moments before, was icy cold.
The course she took, allowed the ship to slingshot its way around the sun, she was now hurtling toward the Lorwardian home world, and to the star-fighters that defended it. Her scanners showed that there were two hundred of them waiting for her.
They were ready for a fight. They wanted to fight, it was their way with the Earthling's and all other life-forms. What they did not know, nor understand was that she was not there to fight with them. If they knew why she had come, and for its purpose they would have sent more ships - in fact they would have sent all they had. They opened fire as she neared, but she flew past them never firing a shot. She flew past them as if they were not there, as if they did not exist.
The commander of the defense fleet at first could not understand this, understand why would a foolish Earthling risk so much. Why to come so far, and then bring dishonor to themselves by not joining in glorious battle with his fleet, to die with honor as a warrior and live forever in song. He ordered the fleet to give chase to the small ship, as he pondered this question to himself, he then realized that the Earthling was not here to fight with them, but by this time it was too late for him to do anything to stop the Earth craft.
In that tiny cockpit, she did not even bother looking at the scanner to see if the fleet she just past was in pursuit, she did not care. She only looked ahead at the view screen, as she saw the planet Lorwardia began to grow rapidly, filling its tiny screen.
She will take her eyes from off her target for a moment, as she reaches for the only possession she brought with her on this mission. A creased picture of a blond haired man with freckles, a man wearing a white gi, a man named Ron Stoppable. She then spoke gently to the man in the photo aloud, saying that she was sorry for not fighting for his love, and how she would soon be with him, and will finally say how much she has loved him for all these years. These were the final words spoken by Yori, Earth's last hope, Earth's last Kamikaze pilot.
To any on the planets surface that took notice, bothering to looked up, all that they would have seen coming from the sky was a streak of burning white light. A tiny craft burning through the atmosphere crashed into the surface, allowing Earth's finial gift to the Lorwardian people to burrow through the crust till it reached deep into the planets mantle where it detonated - destroying Lorwardia.
FIN
Epilogue 1:
The Commander of the Lorwardian fleet watched as his world burned brightly for a few moments then fade, becoming nothing more than a burnt cinder. As the shockwave from the Earth weapon approached his fleet he thought for a moment of shouting the order to make the jump into hyperspace. He knew that order would come to late, and besides where would they go. He rose from his command chair and screamed his final words, "death, I spit at you" as his fleet was devoured.
Epilogue 2:
(I leave the choice between these two paragraphs up to the reader to choose as the one they like.)
The monitors in Wade's room flickered, they showed that the ship had reached Lorwardia, and the weapon he built had destroyed a world, but only lifeless eyes watched the view screens. Wade's self prediction had come true, for the weapon he dared to build gave to him in return a gift for becoming a monster. His radiation ravaged body had died just moments before Yori reached her target. He did leave behind a note for his mother, asking her to try and forgive him for taking the lives of countless children, for he would not - could not forgive himself.
Or
The monitors in Wade's room flickered, they showed that the ship had reached Lorwardia and the weapon he built had destroyed a world, but only his lifeless eyes watched the view screens. For his self prediction to Yori that she'd outlive him came true by his own hand. The same hand that still held the still smoking gun. The same hand that wrote the note left for his mother, that read, how he could only hope that she, GOD and the countless children he has just killed will be able to forgive him.
Epilogue 3:
Deep within a sacred temple sitting high atop a mist-shrouded mountain that is home to the Yamaguchi ninja school. Sensei sits alone and weeps for the loss of a student that he loved as a daughter. He sits poised with the lotus blade in hand at the ready to commit harikari, as he calls upon the temple GODS and begs for them to return Yori to life in exchange for his very own, but to no avail.