Space Battleship Yamato 2206
1st Edition
Episode One
The Solace Yamato
)Earth Year: 2205(
)Location: Mars Shipyards(
It had been six years since the war with the Comet Empire. Yamato was heavily damaged in the final battle, but she survived and continued to sail. She limped back to Mars and went under heavy reconstruction. Whilst being repaired, it was decided that she would be refitted for modern combat. That was four years ago. Now, she sits in a shipyard while she waits for her leaders to decide whether to scrap her or keep her.
This was a debate that had been struggled for years. She was a piece of history, but she was very expensive to run. Just like any other battleship, she was very intricate. Just like many others, Enterprise, Texas, even Shinano, Yamato's sister ship. Yamato's fate stood between two options, a museum, or the scrapyard.
The Yamato rested inside of a pressurized dock without lighting and without workers. She was dusty; she was full of spiderwebs and cobwebs. She was alone. Her wave motion gun still stuffed and unused. Her turrets, unable to rotate due to rust and decay. Her wave motion core cold and dark. A man entered the dock from atop. He looked down at the beautiful ship from a high catwalk.
Yamato's repairs were still incomplete. There were still burns and holes in the armor along with scaffolding along the entire keel. The man adjusted his captains hat, bowed to the Yamato, and stepped away. "She's just a ship, Sanada." The admiral stated.
"She's mine, admiral. You may not have been with us, but she's more than a ship." Sanada replied calmly as he turned around and faced the admiral.
"She's expensive." The admiral replied.
"She may be expensive, but let her die in honor. Don't let it end this way, admiral." Sanada replied.
"With what money? She's far more expensive than you think." The admiral stated.
"Admiral, I know how much she costs. You don't have to pretend that I don't know." Sanada replied as he went over the money in his thoughts.
"It would take over twenty million tons of steel to repair her. How would you make her worthwhile for what I fund?" The admiral asked.
"I would never ask for her repairs again. She would never need them. When she sinks, and she will sink, it will be in combat." Sanada replied.
"How are you so sure of this, Sanada?" The admiral asked.
"I'm not quite sure when she will sink, but I know she will not sink under my command." Sanada replied without emotion.
"If you can mange to never ask me for repairs again, I will grant your wish. She will be repaired and the refit will be finished. Goodnight, Sanada." The admiral replied before bowing to Sanada and leaving. Sanada sighed as he removed his captains hat and looked at the Yamato.
"I've saved you. Now, please save Earth again." He whispered as he gazed upon the massive vessel.
)Fallen Warriors Hill, Japan(
)Five Months Later(
Sanada sat next to a large stone monument in the cold rain. The monument praised those who were lost aboard the Yamato. The hill was above the dense fog that covered the ground for as far as he could see. He sat upright on the metal bench, waiting for someone. "Sanada?" A male voice called out.
"Kodai. I'm glad you could make it." Sanada replied.
"I'm glad I didn't slip and fall on my way up here." Kodai replied as he emerged from the fog.
"Do you know why I called for you?" Sanada asked.
"It's about the Yamato. Correct?" Kodai replied before sitting down next to Sanada.
"Correct. As you know, I'm her captain. I need a good tactical officer." Sanada replied as he continued to look forward.
"Well, you've got me. Do you need anyone else?" Kodai asked.
"I could use a helmsman and many others. Do you know anyone?" Sanada asked.
"Well... I'll see who I can gather, but it won't be much. I think I can get Shima and Yamamoto." Kodai replied.
"What about Mori and Nanbu?" Sanada asked.
"She's too busy taking care of the building plans for New Tokyo. Nanbu? I'm not so sure. I haven't spoken with him in years." Kodai answered.
"See who you can gather by tomorrow." Sanada commanded.
"What are you planning?" Kodai asked.
"We're stealing the Yamato." Sanada calmly replied.
"You're joking, right? Where would we take it?" Kodai asked.
"We would take her away from the harm of her own people. I'm not joking, Kodai. I never do. Well, I must be leaving now. I hope to see you on Mars tomorrow." Sanada said before standing up and slowly walking away.
)Mars Shipyards(
)The Next Day(
Sanada stood in the bridge of the Yamato with his hands behind his back. The repairs and refits were finished and everything was in working order. The bridge was dark and the only light was from the outside. "I guess I'll have to do this on my own." He quietly stated. Suddenly, the doors to the bridge opened.
"Hey Sanada, I brought some friends." Kodai stated as he entered the bridge.
"Akira Yamamoto, reporting."
"Daisuke Shima, reporting."
"Hikozaemon Tokugawa, reporting."
The voices had spoken.
"They're all I could get within a day. You didn't give me much time." Kodai stated as he smiled.
"This is better than what I expected. Okay everyone, I'm going to state this once and once only. By assisting me, you will be deemed an outlaw. You will be hunted down by your own space navy. For any of those who want to back out now, I will note it in my report," Sanada explained.
"With all due respect sir, you're insane to think you can steal the Yamato without us." Yamamoto stated. "We all know the risks of doing this, sir." She added.
"Alright then, as of now, we are no longer a part of the Earth Defense Space Navy. All crew, man your stations." Sanada commanded with a slight smile. Kodai ran to the tactical console, Shima ran to the helm console, and Tokugawa walked over to the engineering console. Yamamoto stepped up to Sanada and saluted.
"Sir, I'm a pilot. Where should I report to?" She asked.
"Do you know how to use sonar and radar?" Sanada asked.
"Affirmative, sir." Yamamoto answered.
"Report to the intelligence station. Is that clear?" Sanada asked.
"Clear, sir." Yamamoto answered before lowering her salute and running to the station. Sanada stepped in front of the captains chair and sat down, but he felt uncomfortable in the chair.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Kodai asked as he sat down at the tactical console.
"Tokugawa, close all airlocks and hatches. Then, start the wave motion core. Once they notice that the core has started up, they'll try to stop it. Yamamoto, lock them out of our controls. Kodai, start up turrets one and three. Shima, prepare to launch." Sanada commanded. The hatches and hanger doors shut and locked as the lights activated. The bridge was dimly lit by red flood lights along with the rest of the inside of the ship. The core started up and roared to life as the guards began to run to the airlocks.
"How long until we can lift off?" Sanada asked Tokugawa.
"From a cold start, four minutes." Tokugawa answered.
"Kodai, can you get those shipyard doors open?" Sanada asked.
"I'll try." Kodai answered as he began to access the control panel. The guards attempted to opened the airlocks, but they were already locked and sealed. The alarm inside of the shipyard went off and the guards quickly ran into separate rooms. "What did you expect?" Kodai asked.
"I expected no one." Sanada answered.
"Allied ships are waiting for us on the other side. I can only assume that they want to stop us." Yamamoto reported.
"Tokugawa, prepare the secondary propulsion for action. Kodai, what's the status on the shipyard doors?" Sanada asked.
"I'm almost through the command locks." Kodai reported as he continued punching in commands. "Alright! I'm through! The doors are opening!" He added. The doors slowly began opening, causing the area to exhaust the oxygen inside. The sound of the alarms faded as the vacuum of space filled the shipyard.
"Flank speed ahead. Steady as she goes." Sanada commanded. The two smaller thrusters fired, pushing the Yamato forward, out of the shipyard.
"Allied ships approaching off the port and starboard bow!" Yamamoto reported.
"Kodai, activate turrets one and three. Have them target the allied ships, but do not fire. We must intimidate them. Tokugawa, how much longer until we can have primary propulsion?" Sanada asked.
"We've still got another two minutes!" Tokugawa reported. The turrets rotated, one at forty degrees to starboard, and three at fifty degrees to port. The allied ships slowly moved closer to the Yamato, but they did not fire.
"They are hailing us." Yamamoto reported. "Come to an all stop or you will be fired upon, Yamato. End." She reported.
"Tell them... Tell them that they can fire all they want. Yamato will soon be safe. End" Sanada commanded. "Give me the number of ships our there. I want class and quantity." Sanada commanded.
"There are fifteen ships in total. Seven Gearing III class destroyers, Seven Airone class frigates, and One Akira II class battleship!" Yamamoto reported.
"Wave motion core online! We have main power!" Tokugawa reported.
"Switch to main propulsion and prepare for warp." Sanada commanded. The secondary engines became dark and silent before the main engine roared to life and the Yamato's speed increased dramatically.
"They are firing!" Yamamoto reported. The battleship Akira's turrets targeted the Yamato and tracked it. One barrel fired and a bright blue beam of energy left the barrel. The beam passed directly in front of the Yamato.
"That was close. I doubt we'll get that lucky next time." Shima stated as he began to sweat.
"They are firing again!" Yamamoto exclaimed. The Akira pulled a hard to port, going into a full broadside for her turrets. Her twelve barrels fired, this time, on target. The twelve blue beams raced towards the Yamato as she sped out of the dark atmosphere.
"Shima, warp!" Sanada commanded.
"Warp!" Shima exclaimed as he pushed the control console forward until it clicked. The exhaust of the main engine changed to a glowing blue from a bright orange. The bow of the Yamato struck a rift in the vacuum and soon, the entire ship had entered the rift. The shock cannon blasts missed by mere meters.
)(
"What?! The Yamato was stolen?!" The admiral asked in an angered tone.
"Affirmative, sir." The captain of the Akira reported.
"By who?!" The admiral asked worryingly.
"We believe it was taken by Captain Sanada." The captain reported.
"Can you track them down?" The admiral asked as he calmed down.
"It'll take us about twenty minutes to trace their warp trail. We will pursue them once we have their galactic positioning." The captain answered.
"Good. I want that ship back in the docks by tomorrow. Is that clear, captain?" The admiral asked.
"Affirmative, admiral."
)(
The Yamato left warp with an ice like layer coating it. The layer soon slid off of the hull as the Yamato came to a full stop. Kodai held his head as it ached from warp sickness. "After all of the warps, you'd think I'd be used to this." He stated. Sanada, Yamamoto, Tokugawa, and Shima awoke from the warp and began looking around.
"Report." Sanada commanded dizzily. Yamamoto rubbed her eyes and lifted up her head.
"We're in Saturn's orbit. Yamato has taken no damage." Yamamoto reported.
"Good. Let the wave motion core cool down before we warp again. We should be on alert at all times. They will follow us." Sanada stated.
"Where are we going, Sanada?" Yamamoto asked.
"We're going to Iscandar." Sanada answered.
"Iscandar? It was hard enough the first time we did it." Shima stated.
"But this time, we don't have a time limit, we have an allied fleet behind us." Sanada stated before standing up. "We don't have long before they show up. Yamamoto, what's the nearest moon?" Sanada asked.
"We're nearing the moon, Titan." Yamamoto answered.
"Good. Shima, take us to the other side of that moon. As soon as the wave motion core is able to warp again, we will leave." Sanada explained. "Yamamoto, keep a close eye on the radar, I want to know if any ships enter the area." Sanada commanded.
"Sanada, do you think they'll inform the Garmillans of us?" Kodai asked.
"There isn't a doubt. They will tell them to intercept us. I don't want any bloodshed though. If it comes to a choice, we will not shoot to kill. Only to dissuade. Is that clear?" Sanada asked.
"Clear." Kodai answered.
)Four Hours Later(
Yamato, in the darkness of the moon, Titan, awaits the perfect moment to warp away. "We have warp four signatures, three destroyers, and one battleship." Yamamoto reported.
"Shima, prepare to warp. Warp on my command. Yamamoto, estimated time until they have us in range?" Sanada asked.
"Thirty seconds for radar range, two minutes for optical range, and six minutes for combat range. That's if they stay at their current speed." Yamamoto reported.
"Tokugawa, ready the wave motion core for maximum acceleration. When we enter combat range, raise the wave motion shields and divert power from engines to do it. Shima, this must be perfect, go to warp as soon as I lower the shields. Kodai... dissuade them from attacking." Sanada commanded.
"We've entered radar range; they're accelerating to flank speed. We'll be within combat range in one minute." Yamamoto reported.
"Flank speed ahead!" Sanada commanded. The wave motion core roared and the Yamato sailed forward, out from the safety of the moon. It came into clear view of the pursuing ships. The Yamato's three massive main turrets slowly rotated to its port side, targeting the allied ships and tracing them. The Akira quickly went into a broadside with the Yamato, keeping level with the Yamato's speed and positioning. Its three dual barrel turrets and two triple barrel turrets rotated and began tracking the Yamato before they began charging to fire.
The barrels of the Akira lit up as they fired their ordnance. The blue beams raced towards the Yamato, directly on course. "Tokugawa, raise shields!" Sanada commanded. A blue cone of light surrounded the Yamato before the blue beams struck the Yamato. The shielding absorbed the rounds and became weakened, but the Yamato suffered no damage. "Kodai, fire!" Sanada commanded.
"Firing shock cannons!" Kodai reported. The Yamato fired a full broadside, causing the ship to rock to its starboard side. The rounds spread across the battlezone blinding the Akira and singing the hull of the Akira as the rounds came within meters of it.
"Tokugawa, drop shields and divert power to the engines! Shima, warp!" Sanada commanded. The Yamato's exhaust turned bright blue as it sailed forward at sub-light speeds. Soon, it disappeared with a flash.
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"It got away?!" The admiral asked.
"Yes sir. They warped away. Our wave motion core is still cooling down, but as soon as we can, we will warp after them." The captain reported.
"You better. I'm going to hold you responsible if the Yamato gets away. You will bring her back on your own. As of now, your escorts will be reassigned to the Mars base." The admiral commanded.
"Sir, the Yamato could easily destroy us. I need those escorts." The captain demanded.
"The Akira is perfectly capable of this on her own. Goodbye captain." The admiral replied before closing the hail.
[End Transmission]
Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a new series to add to my collection. Then again, it might not. I'm debating whether or not to continue this series. As some of you know, I have just finished season one of my other series, Starfox. I kind of want to take a month long break from typing and just sit back for a little bit. If I do that, this series will be no more. This episode will be deleted and no evidence will remain to suggest that this series will have ever existed.
Let me know if you want me to continue this series. I'm really on the fence about this whole thing anyway. It's up to you lovely viewers to decide for me.
Anyways, be safe and read on...