Chapter Two
It was with a wince, that Andromeda started to come around again. At first, any and all sounds seemed to be coming from far away; echoing in her skull strangely, until her hearing finally seemed to become normal again. She could hear the plaintive whimpering of Shota and Miru somewhere close by, as well as Mel's worried questions about her. What startled her were the other voices; strangers to her and the children, yet seeming gentle to the trio, as they waited for her to awaken.
"But who were those men? And why were they after 'Meda? She's never hurt anybody!" Mel was heard to say; angry now, since it seemed like someone had come for the specific purpose to kill her.
"I can't even begin to tell you, Mel-kun." A woman's voice replied, gently.
"Is 'Meda gonna be all right?" Shota sobbed; not liking the fact that she was still lying there.
"As right as rain! You'll see!" a man's voice cheerfully said, even though his tone sounded a little forced…..almost as though he'd been saying that over and over again.
"And he probably has…." Andromeda mused, as she slowly opened her eyes, and got a good look around. For a moment, she was confused by the layout of the sickbay she was laying in…..then realized in short order that it was the Three-Nine's medical car.
"So we did make it on board! What a relief!" Andromeda thought, as she slowly sat up; hissing a little bit when the injury on her arm throbbed in retaliation of the move.
"So, you're finally awake! Thank goodness!" the woman's voice from before said, as its' owner entered through the door at the far end of the car. Yet, any words that could have been said in response to that were immediately lost, when Andromeda saw the woman in question; she appeared to be made of either glass or ice!
"Who….are you?" Andromeda asked; taken aback by the other woman's strange appearance. At this, the crystalline woman merely bowed her head slightly in embarrassment of the slip in etiquette.
"I'm known as Crystal Claire. I work in the dining car." The nearly-transparent woman replied, amiably.
"Oh….um….S-sorry to be rude, then…..I'm Andromeda." Andromeda said, with an abashed smile of her own, "Pleased to meet you, Claire-san."
"It's good to meet you, as well, Andromeda-san." Claire answered, a warm smile seeming to emerge on her crystalline face, when she sensed the honesty within Andromeda. Yet, before anything more could be said, Andromeda found herself almost buried beneath the three children, as they rushed over and hugged her; crying their relieved tears, as they did so.
"We're so glad you didn't die, 'Meda! Shota'd been right, this time!" Mel cried; remembering how narrow their escape had been, as well as the horrifying moment when Andromeda had passed out from the pain in her arm.
"Is that so? Then I have Shota to thank for saving me, ne?" Andromeda asked, gently; knowing for a fact that the eight-year-old boy's senses were unbelievably sharp, for a child his age.
"Wonder if that has anything to do with where he had originally come from?" Andromeda thought, as she slowly freed herself from their grip, and wiped the tears from their faces. She could remember when the youngest of the trio had come into their lives…..and how long it had taken him to finally open up and begin talking.
"They haven't left your side at all, since our escape from there." The owner of the male voice she'd heard before said, as he joined them.
"I guess you could say that I'm the only 'mother' these three have ever known…..I didn't want to leave them behind, in the first place…..and I'm glad they're with me now." Andromeda murmured, then gave the small man (or she guessed it was a man, since most men didn't have glowing dots for eyes….) a determined look that told him that she wasn't letting them leave her side, either. At this, the little man put his hands up in front of him in a placating gesture, and chuckled nervously.
"N-no need to worry about that! I'm already seeing to it that they also get passes for the Three-Nine!" the conductor stated, then silently added, "It's uncanny how much she's acting like Maetel-san…..and yet, that look in her eyes is also almost exactly like Emeraldas', as well!"
"Hey, 'Meda?" Shota questioned, getting the young woman's attention, once again.
"Yes? What is it, Shota?" Andromeda in turn asked; her voice and expression softening, as she spoke to the child.
"Do ya think we're ever gonna meet Captain Harlock?" Shota again asked; his eyes shining as he said the name of his hero. At this, Andromeda only smiled.
"Who knows? We just might, before our journey is through. But….before that happens…." Andromeda said, then reached up, and jokingly pinched her nose shut, "You three need a bath! You smell!" This got a chorus of 'Oh no's' and 'Not that's' from the trio, before they each started running; with the blond haired woman quickly standing up and then taking off in hot pursuit.
"How very like Maetel-san she is….." the conductor said; chuckling when the wily young woman skillfully caught all three of her charges, and started hauling them in the direction of the bathing car.
"Almost eerily so….." Claire agreed, then added, "Yet her eyes don't seem as sad as Maetel's always looked."
"True…..Though we should probably still tell the space pirates about this…..I just hope she isn't what I think she is." The conductor said, as a certain weariness emerged in his voice.
"If she is, then she doesn't even realize it, herself." Claire stated, remembering how bad the wound on Andromeda's shoulder and arm had been…..and when the wound almost healed completely, right before their eyes. And they had heard of that kind of power in only one person before……
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
Lady Emeraldas paused, when a chill traveled down the length of her spine; barely refraining from looking over her shoulder in dread, afterwards.
"Is something wrong?" Angel asked, concernedly, from her place beside the captain's chair.
"Maybe…..I'm not really all that sure, to be honest." Lady Emeraldas replied, as the feeling receded into the back of her mind, and then vanished completely.
"It isn't like you to look so spooked over nothing…..Was it….?" Young Emeraldas started to ask, yet stopped when that horrifying thought crossed her mind. Lady Emeraldas shook her head.
"Unless Kenshin's sakabatou has been broken since we last saw them, then no, it can't be. It had felt like her spirit, at first, but then it didn't…..I don't quite know how to explain this." Lady Emeraldas murmured, as she then stood, and made her way out of the bridge; Angel following close behind her, shortly after.
"Should we follow up on it?" Young Emeraldas questioned, as she glanced at Maetel and Tetsuro for an answer.
"I don't know. Like my sister had said, it had felt like her, at first…..but then again, the power felt almost…..pure. It was as it had been, before Mother had been mechanized." Maetel said, as a worried look appeared in her blue eyes at this. Was Prometheum rising again, even after all they had done to seal her away?
"It seems that what Hiko-san had said about her is very true…..Prometheum is harder to kill than a cockroach!" Maya silently muttered; getting at least a hint of a smirk from Young Emeraldas, for that comment. She knew only too well what the wolf had meant by that…..and that that understanding was shared with her own sister, as well.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
For the first time in quite a while, there was finally a lull in the fighting. With a slight sigh of either relief or exasperation (his crew couldn't really tell which, at this point), Isaak sat down in the captain's chair, and glared up at the screens in front of him. Before them, the remains of several Illumidas battle cruisers drifted; taken apart by the Wave Motion Cannon hidden within the ship's bow.
"Whew! Didn't think those bastards would ever give up!" one man said, as he leaned back in his seat and stretched to relieve the tension in his back.
"Got that right!" another agreed, wholeheartedly.
"What's our status? Do we need to go back for repairs?" Isaak finally asked, forcing himself to sit up a little bit; hiding his discomfort upon doing so behind a cool veneer. Up until just recently, his wounds from his biological father's hands had been slow to heal, and still needed constant care…..a fact that irritated him, (and worried his half-sister Ida) to no end.
"Nope. Vanora's doin' just fine, bro. No need to worry." Dierk replied, casually.
"Good. I'll be in my cabin, if anyone needs me." Isaak then said, as he then stood up and started to leave.
"Right. See ya in a few then, Captain." Another of the men on deck answered, before the young man walked out of earshot.
"'Captain'…..I still think being called that is going to take some getting used to!" Isaak mused, as he made his way down the hall; smiling slightly, as he went. As it was, he was still getting used to being a Harlock, since he had adopted the last name of his uncle, and left behind the hated name of Darghund, along with the earth.
"If I never return to earth, then that will be fine. It holds too many bad memories, as it is…..But that doesn't mean I'll let the Illumidas do as they please, either!" Isaak thought, as he arrived in his cabin, and sat down at his desk. To his surprise, there seemed to be a message waiting for him; and he could only wonder who had called.
"Well, only one way to find out." Isaak decided, before typing his code in, and watching as a small vid-screen emerged before him.
"How goes it over there, Isaak?" Harlock's voice asked, as his image appeared on the screen.
"Fine. It's finally gone quiet over here. How's it going for you?" Isaak replied, concernedly, when he'd noticed how tired the older man looked.
"The same. It seems they're pulling back again…..Though I can't say for how long." Harlock stated; his expression becoming a cross between exasperated and amused, when Lightningtooth grumbled something to the effect of 'Same shit, different day' under his breath.
"I know what you mean. It'll be foolish to hope that they've given up this soon…..Wonder if they've got anything else up their sleeves?" Isaak murmured, thoughtfully.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Harlock muttered, then added, "How is your ship holding up?"
"She's passing all the 'tests' thrown at her with flying colors, and held up quite well after firing three consecutive shots with the cannon. They didn't know what to make of the Vanora." Isaak replied, proudly. This got a smirk from the older man that he could tell held a hint of pride, as well.
"Good to know, since that kind of firepower might be needed, very shortly." Harlock stated; his tone sobering as he went on. Isaak could almost feel his heart drop like a stone into his gut.
"What's going on?" Isaak heard himself ask.
"Young Harlock had spotted something. Take a look and see what I mean." Harlock said, in response. Isaak watched as his uncle's face disappeared for a moment, and a picture appeared on the screen; feeling a chill work its' way down his spine, at the sight.
"It's….." Isaak managed, and gave the elder pirate a spooked look, when his face had reappeared again.
"One of the scientific satellites Kichigai had built, a long time ago. It had fallen into disrepair and drifted out into deep space…..Apparently, the Illumidas have stumbled across it….." Harlock said, his voice subdued by this finding.
"Would there be any rings in it?" Isaak whispered, almost fearfully.
"No idea. This might be from before he started building the damned things……In any case, we can't let the Illumidas keep it, or whatever secrets it might be hiding." Lightningtooth answered, gravely.
"Where is it now?" Isaak asked, after a few moments of uncertainty. Could the Vanora handle the satellite on its' own?
"That is what is worrying me. It's heading straight for the Three-Nine. At the rate it is traveling, it will intercept it in a matter of hours." Harlock growled.
"And you're too far away to reach them in time….." Isaak muttered, as realization emerged within him, as well as concern for those traveling on the space train.
"Is Young Harlock chasing it now?" Isaak then questioned; as something resembling a plan began to form in his mind.
"Yes." Harlock answered.
"Then tell him that I'm on my way!" Isaak said, as confidence made his blue eyes flash, and as a smirk appeared on his own face.
"I will." Harlock promised, before the connection was cut; undoubtedly so the elder pirate could alert his son of the help that was coming. They could only hope that it would be in time to prevent the worst from happening.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
It was cold. So cold, that she thought she would never get warm again. It was also dark; such a deep, ominous pitch black that it seemed that light was forbidden from even breaking it.
"What? Where? W-what's…..happening?" she wondered; shivering from the ever-present chill, and whimpering helplessly when it didn't go away. Then, suddenly, light made its' presence known; slicing mercilessly at the darkness and cold as it arrived, and sending a blast of air down onto her. It was then that she could faintly hear the startled yelp of a baby…..and then, strangely enough, the headmaster of the orphanage's voice!
"Easy there, little one. Things will soon be all right. Rest easy, now." The familiar voice soothingly said, quieting the fear-filled cries, and calming the chill of fear inside of her.
"Papa? Is she awake now?" a youthful voice asked, with a hint of childish concern in it, as he spoke.
"Indeed. I want you to meet your new little sister…..Andromeda." the headmaster's voice gently murmured, in response.
"Andromeda…….My sister…..Andromeda……" the child's voice murmured, before it started echoing into silence.
"Andromeda."
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)
"'Meda! Hey, 'Meda!" Shota's voice suddenly shouted; breaking through the deep haze the dream had cast over her, and startling her into wakefulness. And it was with a yelp that she fell from the seat she had been napping on, and ended up on the floor.
"Shota….." Andromeda growled, irritably, as she tried to brush her long, tangled blond hair out of her face, so she could scowl at the child. And yet, when she saw the look on Shota's face, she couldn't help but laugh. He looked so scared that she was going to be angry with him, that he seemed almost seconds away from wetting himself.
"It's all right, Shota. I'm not mad." Andromeda sighed, when she'd seen the plaintive look in the little boy's bright lavender eyes; grinning slightly when that changed to an almost hopeful look.
"You're not?" Shota sniffled, as he wiped the remainder of the tears from his eyes. Andromeda only shook her head.
"No. I'm more mad at myself…..I mean, I did just do a face-plant into the floor of the Three-Nine, after all." Andromeda chuckled; her own smile widening, when Shota then gave her an almost bewildered look, for that.
"Oro?" Shota asked, as he tilted his head to one side; giving him the look of a confused puppy, as he did so.
"Never mind. So, what is it that you'd wanted to tell me?" Andromeda asked, getting back to the subject at hand, before the younger of the two boys could forget.
"Ah! Claire'd told me to tell you that dinner will be being served soon!" Shota replied, cheerily; glad that she wasn't upset with him.
"Then we'd better not be late, huh?" Andromeda again asked, as she stood up, dusted herself off, and offered a hand to Shota. She got a vigorous shake of the head from him, in response.
"Then let's get a move on, then." Andromeda said, before they left that car behind them; completely unaware of what was just around the bend…..
Author's Note!
Not a very exciting chapter, granted, but I'm trying to build up an atmosphere without spoiling anything for the future chapters! Hope this was all right!
Gemini14