Andromeda's Dream
"Clones and Cyborgs are both living beings, so why should they have to sacrifice themselves?"
Nazca from 'Space Symphony Maetel'
Chapter One
It had started as a simple blip on the radar. A tiny, insignificant event, in the grand scheme of the universe…..yet one that would have a significant influence, in the years that followed. In the eyes of the captain and crew of the tiny patrol vessel, it seemed to be nothing more than another refugee ship, heading off for an unknown destination, in search of a better life elsewhere……Somewhere other than the doomed world of La Mettale.
"Poor sods…..Stuck between a rock and a hard place, when it comes down to it. Their world dying around them, and then their queen going off her rocker like that…..Shit, it gives me chills just thinkin' about it!" the first officer of the ship muttered, getting nods from the rest of the officers on deck in agreement.
"Yet they'd better be glad they had left the planet when they did….I'd heard that the rebellion is going badly down there, and the mechanization is becoming mandatory." The captain added, as he gave the ship the clearance it needed to leave La Mettale behind for good…..Never once realizing just what kind of secret the tiny ship held within it…..
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"Hey! 'Meda! 'Meda! Wake up!"
It was with a reluctant groan, that the young woman woke up; irritated that, once again, her companions had woken her up from a dream that was just getting interesting. Several times in the last few years, she'd dreamed that she was in exotic places, fighting at the sides of some of the most feared people in the known universe…..among them being the notorious Captain Harlock!
"As cliché as it sounds…..I know I've got a crush on him…..and his son, as well! It's too bad the elder of the two had gotten married recently…..If the rumors are to be believed, at any rate….." she silently sighed, as she sat up, rubbed her eyes, brushed her long golden hair off of her face, and looked around for the culprits that had rudely woken her up.
"Okay, who do I string up by their heels today? Mel? Shota? Miru?" she asked, with a feigned threatening note in her voice; smirking when she heard the childish squeaks of fear from near the foot of her bed, and then saw them sheepishly and cautiously peer over it at her.
"W-we're sorry, 'Meda! Honest, we are!" one child, a small, red-haired boy who looked to be no older than eight, yelped; his bright, lavender-blue eyes wide at the thought of being punished for waking the woman up.
"Sure you are…..Tell me another one!" the woman retorted, as she then glanced at the child standing next to the eight-year-old. She smiled when she saw the shaky bravado in the older boy's brown eyes, as well as when he started chewing on his bottom lip and a strand of his unruly brown hair in uncertainty.
"But 'Meda, is it true what th' headmaster had said? Are you really goin' away?" the last child, a blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl, evidently the 'Miru' the woman had spoken to just moments before, asked, almost tearfully. At this, the woman sighed, and then gave the trio a sad smile.
"Yeah…..I guess so." The woman murmured, her words getting sniffles from the three children, as a response.
"But we don't want you to go! We want you to stay here, 'Meda!" Shota bawled, as he jumped onto the bed and hugged the young woman's waist tightly; getting a hug from her, shortly afterwards.
"But I've got to. The food supply is starting to thin out…..and soon there won't be enough to support all of us…..And the headmaster only had enough money for one person to leave on board the Three-Nine. If I could, I'd take all of you with me." The woman gently said, as Mel and Miru both started crying, and hugged her as well. As it was, the tiny planet the refugees had landed on was on its' last legs. The water was just about all gone, and they depended on imported food brought from off-world for survival…..Something the blockade runners were having more difficulty getting through, thanks to the war that had just broken out.
"Those damned Illumidas…..if only they hadn't returned! Then I wouldn't have to leave!" the young woman sourly thought, as she then gently disentangled herself from the children's grasp, and got up.
"Andromeda? Are you awake?" a man's voice asked, from downstairs.
"I am now." The young woman, Andromeda, replied, with a feigned sigh of annoyance.
"All right. Better get dressed, then. It seems the Three-Nine is coming sooner than I'd thought….." the headmaster of the orphanage said, a bit sadly.
"It's coming today?! Why?!" Mel asked, aghast at how little time they truly had left with their beloved friend.
"The war is getting worse, young one…..I can only guess that that is the reason why the Three-Nine is coming ahead of schedule……" the headmaster gently replied.
"How much time do I have left, before it arrives?" Andromeda asked, as she hurriedly grabbed some clothes, dashed into the bathroom, and got changed.
"Till early afternoon…..at least….. that was according to the last communiqué, at any rate." The headmaster replied, as he listened to the young woman struggle to get her belongings packed and ready to go.
"Then my time left here is even shorter……." Andromeda thought, as she came out of the bathroom again, and glanced at the three children, and their tear-filled eyes.
"Don't go, 'Meda. Please." Mel begged, tearfully.
"I'd stay if I could…..You know that….." Andromeda said, softly, as some tears escaped from her eyes, and traveled down her cheeks, before she swept the three children into an embrace. Even though she had known the day of her departure from the orphanage was coming, and had tried to steel herself for it, Andromeda found that the pain had still managed to edge its' way in. She couldn't stay, she knew that, and the children knew that…..but she didn't want to go, either. She loved all of the children that called the orphanage home as though they were her own, and it tore her apart to leave them like this.
"So sudden…..Everything is happening so quickly…..I can hardly keep up. I'd thought I still had some time left to properly say goodbye…..How foolish of me to even think that!" Andromeda silently chastened herself, as she reluctantly pulled away, and picked up her suitcase. She never even realized just what this twist in her fate was about to do to the rest of her future......nor just how much her life would change, because of it.
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The train station was a desolate building and single track, set apart from the almost abandoned town, nearby. And it was to this ramshackle building that the headmaster's car pulled up, and let Andromeda out.
"The Three-Nine will be here in a few minutes, so you won't have to wait long….." the headmaster said, sadly, as he gazed up at the young woman, when she'd climbed up onto the steps leading into the terminal.
"Okay…..I guess this is it, then?" Andromeda asked, sniffling a little bit, as she gazed at the man she'd regarded as a father, even until now. The old man nodded, as tears also welled up in his eyes.
"Take care out there, Andromeda. The universe is a big place…….try not to get lost in it, you hear?" the headmaster said, as he attempted to smile and failed miserably. At this, the young woman also gave him a shaky smile, as well; remembering very well how many times she had gotten lost in the outskirts around the orphanage, and how worried her friends and loved ones had been, each time…..
"I'll try…..Take care of yourself, and each other…..Father." Andromeda replied, as she leaned down, kissed the headmaster on the cheek, straightened, and then turned to walk away; picking up her suitcase as she did so and walking up the steps…..and into destiny itself.
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Claire sighed, as she wandered around the dining car. There wasn't much for her to do, since there were even fewer passengers on board now, than there had been when Maetel, Firefly, and Tetsuro had traveled with them.
"Are you all right, Claire-san?" the conductor asked, concernedly, when he'd seen the almost forlorn expression on the crystalline woman's face.
"Just wondering how they are doing now, that's all. The Three-Nine doesn't feel the same without them on board." Claire replied, knowing that he would know who she was talking about, when she said that. The conductor nodded in understanding, and sighed.
"I know what you mean….." the conductor agreed, then looked aside to one of the windows; knowing that soon, the Three-Nine would be making another stop. It was becoming a rarity to even catch a glimpse of the mighty ships of Young Harlock and his father, or that of Falko, their cousin…..The war forcing them to focus all of their attention and strength on their enemies.
"If we were to get into some kind of trouble now, there would be no way they could get to us in time to help." The conductor grimly mused; remembering just how close their last brush with trouble had brought them to destruction. If it hadn't been for the true Space Pirates and the Big One……With a rough shake of his head, the conductor shook those thoughts from his head, and then went back to the front of the train, so he could announce the next stop to the few passengers they did have. After all, it was still his duty, right?
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Andromeda could only sigh sadly, as she stood waiting for the train to arrive; inwardly wishing there was someone there she could talk to…..the minutes seeming to drag on into hours, as she waited. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, a distant sound came to her ears; the almost-mournful cry of a train whistle, as the train it was attached to descended through the atmosphere.
"Three-Nine…..Here it comes…..to take me away from here….." Andromeda mused, somberly, as she bent to pick up her suitcase; freezing when a soft sound came to her ears…..something that sounded like a pistol being readied for firing…..
"'Meda! Watch out!" a boyish voice yelped, the warning coming just in time to save her life. No sooner did she throw herself to the ground, a laser blast narrowly missed hitting her.
"Who's shooting? And why are they trying to kill me?!" Andromeda wondered, near-panic setting in, when she saw the one who had warned her, and two others, running towards her; their eyes wide with terror, as they did so.
"Shota! Miru! Mel!" Andromeda shouted, as she got back to her feet; boldly taking the risk of getting shot again, just to get them out of the sniper's sights. At the exact same moment, the Three-Nine landed; the doors opening with a hiss, as it did so.
"'Meda!" Shota sobbed, fearfully, as the young woman picked him up, and made a mad dash for the relative safety of the space train.
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"Good heavens! What in the…..?!" the conductor was heard to say, as the four rushed inside; and as the woman uttered a pained yelp, when one blast struck her in the shoulder.
"C-close the door! Hurry!" the young woman managed to say, through gritted teeth, as she struggled to shield the three children with her own body; ignoring the blood dripping down her arm from her wound. All she wanted, now, was to protect the three who were depending on her.
"Right a-away, miss!" the conductor stammered, before doing just that, and preventing another blast from reaching her. Yet, when he looked down at the woman again, as the train began to move again, his mind was thrown for a loop.
"Maetel?!" the conductor inwardly yelped, as he watched the young woman check on the three children she had pulled aboard with her, and then pass out in their arms, from the pain of her blaster wound…..And he barely had enough presence of mind to call up to the medical car, and summon help for her.
Author's Note!
Started on this a while back, but never really took the time to post it, until now. I'm not really all that sure of where it's going, but I am positive it's going to be a wild ride! (It is also a sort of companion piece to Ligthingtooth's newest story 'Double Trouble' as well, so read both in order to get a better idea of what is going on).
So read and review, please!
Gemini14