Being Sci-Fi Heroes Isn't Always a Piece of Cake
Note: Starting from where "Give Me Cheeseburgers or Give Me Death !" left off, Jaime and Coop find themselves fending the entire Universe with MEGAS. The Glorft have regrouped with a new warlord, Nicht. Nicht is far worse than the last warlord they destroyed. The Resistance and the Glorft almost begin to square off until Coop develops an idea—Make peace with food. Little did he or anyone else know how revolting Glorft cuisine is...
Chapter 1—Transition from Casual to Formal
Coop and Jaime were definitely not used to wearing formal outfits, especially not uniforms. However, the idea of training with MEGAS in space was far beyond amazing. If there was a new word for cool, this was definitely it, and much more.
They knew that everything within Resistance Space would not remain quiet for long.
They were training day in and day out to prepare for the inevitable Glorft regrouping and the battles that MEGAS and the Resistance would soon face. It's not that the guys really minded training but after a while all they wanted to do was to vegetate in front of the television, and simply relax and kick back. This kind of inactivity wasn't allowed too much on the space station #77. Many times the two found themselves in the recreational room working out or in the holosuite testing their reflex skills and reaction times. The only time the guys got any rest was during "lights out" hour on the space station #77.
Chatper 2—Nicht, The Warmonger Glorft Warlord
It was early morning and the station had sounded a red alert. Many of the Resisters were already out in their Mecha fighting the new Glorft threat. Kiva had to awaken Coop and Jaime from an euphoric dream about vacationing in the tropics.
"Come on ! Snap to it ! You can sleep later, that is, if you're lucky.", Kiva said, a little irritated that the two 'heroes' hadn't come rushing to MEGAS as soon as they heard the warning siren. The newest Glorft Warlord, Nicht, had come in over all of the transmissions and began to speak.
"I'm not one for lectures that are meaningless. I like conversations to go somewhere. The fact of the matter is that we, the Glorft want to take over this space that you call 'home'. Either you can surrender peacefully and allow us to become your masters or, we can do this the difficult way.", Nicht said, cracking his knuckles loudly. He was even uglier that the former Warlord and far nastier.
Just then, Coop's stomach grumbled. It had been a while since he had eaten anything and he was famished. Being in constant 'military mode', he had lost a lot of weight and really shaped up, but he had to admit he still missed not having fat-filled meals and calorie-packed milkshakes. Sad to say, such glorious foods weren't available in the future, and he missed that. Yet, in that instance, he had a bright idea, or at least what he thought was a bright idea.
"Hey, you ! Narc, or whatever your name is.", Coop said, boldly.
"It's NICHT, you moronic Earther !", Nicht bellowed.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I know you're a reasonable guy, am I right ? Why can't we just settle disputes over dinner ?", Coop offered.
Nicht pondered the idea for a long period of time and it began to make an odd sort of sense to him. Perhaps if they spoke on how to 'share' the space around them matters would be simpler. However, that was really never the case.
Chapter 3—Not so Fine Cuisine
The Glorft were invited inside space station #77, and every security guard and weapons master was on high alert. Nicht admitted he meant no harm even though he had that murderous glint in his eyes. The chefs had prepared the dinner, albeit it was still early for dinner in the day...But none really cared. That is until they caught a whiff of the putrid 'delights' that were served. The smell was absolutely rancid and many people had to excuse themselves from the table to run to the bathrooms to hurl.
Coop wanted to take back what he had said earlier and was regretting that he had even mentioned the idea of eating with the enemy.
"Boy, Coop. You must really be out of it. This is the worst idea you've had yet.", Jaime said, forcing himself to eat another bite of entrails. It was the most horrible thing he had ever tasted and it even looked disgusting. Jaime's face began to pale when he slurped down what looked a lot like kalamari but tasted more like rotten fish mixed with spoiled milk.
"So, what you're saying is this space is ours to share ? Blast ! I was thinking we could have the chance to dominate your pathetic species for the next 100 years.", Nicht said, laughing. It was gut wrenching watching him and the rest of the Glorft eat. They had no table manners and were slovenly. They were making quite a mess in the dining hall. The cleaning crew of the station knew they were going to be up all night cleaning up the massive mess. It was a proverbial disaster area, and there were even more crewmembers that were leaving unnoticed to Glorft eyes.
The Captain of the Resisters wanted to punch Nicht for saying what he had earlier, but knew that would only return things to the way they had been before.
This was the only method to settle the rivalry between Glorft and Earthers, or so they thought.
"This meal has been...interesting, nevertheless. But, I am afraid we need to cut it short.", Captain Inga Walsh said, trying to hide a look of disdain and the approaching pangs of an upset stomach.
"And I was looking forward to sharing dessert with you, Sir." Nicht guffawed, slapping the young female Captain harshly on the back. She nearly lost her balance, but was able to keep herself upright.
"Ah, that's such a pity.", Inga said, laughing nervously.
The Glorft began to leave the table and began to exit the dining hall.
"I thought they'd never leave. I didn't know how much more of that crap I could eat.", Jaime muttered to Coop, putting down his utensils as quietly as he could.
"What was that ?!", Nicht hollered, grabbing Jaime by the collar. Nicht's grip was intensely tight and impossible to break.
"Can't...breathe !", Jaime squeaked.
"Put him down.", Coop said, rising up from his chair, becoming quite upset.
"This pipsqueak insulted fine cooking ! No one insults Glorft cooking...and lives.", Nicht said, unwilling to loosen his grip.
"I...didn't mean it. I, heh heh, actually found it enjoyable. You can let me go now.", Jaime said, rasping for air. The Warlord seemed appeased by his plea and flippantly and snorted.
"You're lucky I'm full or I would've disemboweled your friend, Earther.", Nicht whispered harshly into Coop's ear. Coop began to see red, and clenched his fists. He wanted to scream and strike out at Nicht, but that would ruin the entire peace meal. As Nicht and the Glorft left, the other crewmembers were checking on Jaime.
Jaime was fine, but he had burns on his neck from where Nicht's talons had been.
Coop was still fuming that his best friend had been hurt so badly, but tensions hadn't cooled off between the Glorft and the humans. Jaime knew that this wasn't about to settle matters between them, and Coop was just coming to realize what his best friend had known all along, good intentions and all.
Chapter 4—Back to the Battleground
For a solid week, all who had force-fed themselves Glorft cuisine had caused them to be confined to the restroom. Fortunately, the diarrhea had gone and they were no longer sick in bed. It had been no time to relax though. The Resisters had been honing their skills, especially in tactics. Just when they least expected it though, the Glorft began to make their move.
"We thought a week would be sufficient for you low-brow Earthers to understand our offer. As you probably already know, it still stands. So...What is your response ?", Nicht questioned, his sardonic grin taunting all Resisters on their view-screens. The Captain, Inge Walsh was not pleased with Nicht's defiance, especially when they had underwent so much labor and sickness for the cause of peace.
"Prepare for the fight of your life, Warlord.", Inge said, her pink lips in a feral snarl. Her mahogany eyes burst forth with fury, her dark brown hair seemed to glow in the red-alert lights.
"It's going to be a short fight, insect.", Nicht said, before breaking the transmission and beginning to fire. Fortunately, the Mechs had been returning fire.
Kiva had returned to the helm of MEGAS, Coop and Jaime were her co-pilots. Nicht showed no signs of backing down or backing away. MEGAS was bashing Glorft ships together and worked its way up to the flagship that Nicht was in control of.
"You've gotta ask yourself something. Do you feel lucky, punk ? Well do ya ?", Coop said over the audio transmission to the flagship. Jaime felt like playing turtle in his uniform but knew that was impossible since it was so form-fitting, unlike his casual clothing. The Glorft Warlord bellowed at the top of his lungs, pressing one of the thruster buttons in his ship. He was playing a galactic game of chicken with MEGAS.
The new, improved MEGAS caught the flagship by the nose and began hammering violently on it with one big, metal fist.
"I would recommend that you surrender.", Kiva said, knowing that since the last Glorft battle, there were fewer Glorft that were so bellicose, and brash. A depletion of resources had caused the race to begin to dwindle as well. So, Nicht was one of the few of his class left alive, and he wanted to expand the Glorft roots into Resistant Space. This way, he could look for and take all the precious resources from it, return to his planet, and take some pitiful Earthers with him to dominate and re-cultivate his home world.
However, Nicht wasn't the reasonable type. He wanted this space terribly and would do just about anything to get it.
"I will not surrender. Only fools surrender !", Nicht growled over the transmission.
Kiva and her crew continued their battle against Nicht and hit one of his gas tanks.
The flagship began to sputter and spin out of control. MEGAS made a rapid retreat before the flagship burst into flames. What was left from the battle was only rubble and scrap. The war against the Glorft had finally come to an end, and the Resisters could return to their space station knowing that the Universe would be a lot safer.
Chapter 5—Remain Vigilant
Although the long battle between the Glorft and the Resisters had come to an end, it didn't mean that the Resisters wouldn't have to fight any longer. There would be plenty of other stellar forces that would continue to be a threat to the Resisters.
At this point, however, despite training and preparing, everyone actually had a chance to take a break for a while. When vacation was through, they would resume their posts while greenhorns were just beginning to learn the ropes. Of course, the trainers would make the cadets feel at home, and help them adjust to their new surroundings.
EpilogueDespite the fact that Coop and Jaime hadn't returned to Earth for years now, they hardly ever became homesick. They were able to take a 3-week vacation to their home in Jersey, but so much had changed that hardly anything seemed familiar anymore. It was a sad part of progress, but it would always be their home no matter how much it changed and how more crowded it became.
After the 3-week vacation in New Jersey, Coop and Jaime returned to space station #77 and returned to the respective quarters that they called their "home away from home". They were eating healthy food again and back to a strict regimen of exercise, diet and study, but they didn't seem to mind it now. Besides, they still had a lot of time to play video games, only in a different way. The virtual reality in the holosuites was far more entertaining and certainly more enjoyable.
No matter what was to come in the future, Coop and Jaime were still going to remain close friends and Kiva unenthusiastically admitted to herself that they were two very integral members of the Resistance. Thanks to their help, MEGAS was now better than ever and with that asset; any opposition would be taken down in no time flat.
The End
By: Elizabeth Berndt
August 23, 2004