Chapter I - Captain and Crew

"Beware: for I am fearless and therefor powerful."

Engraving on Captain Sterling Phillion's ship

USS Thunderbird (1997-2003)

X-X-X-X-X

Sunlight didn't exist at 1,500 feet below the ocean's surface. There was only a crushing darkness hiding an alien world. A blinding spotlight cut through the void. Otherworldly creatures fluttered away, back to the safety of their unseen realm. The light scanned like an all-seeing eye with methodical precision. More and more of the creatures grew curious. They swam up to inspect the light's source, brighter than anything they'd ever seen.

Inside their primitive brains, it was some sort of gigantic animal. The intruder was rusted with aging metal, and its skin was decorated in fading paint. Its shape was long and streamlined to break through the water. But its most prominent and startling feature was the front drill, adorned with barbs and rifts. No animal they knew had a weapon like that.

After inspection, they lost interest and ventured off. It wasn't a predator and it was too big to eat. It was useless. But to mankind, this was the Gotengo, a war machine designed to slay monsters.

The darkness crushed its beam, choking the light out within a few hundred feet. Nonetheless, the light finally settled. Something was shining in the distance. Upon closer scrutiny it became clear that a round metallic plate was floating through a school of jellyfish.

X-X-X-X-X

Captain Sterling Phillion rested his book on the arm of the command chair. "Is that our secondary fuel cap?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Without a doubt."

"God dammit." He sighed. After his mechanic heard something break off, Phillion was expecting to scour the ocean for hours. That's why he brought a book to read. Fortunately, Takuya found the problem within a few minutes. Unfortunately, it was a fuel cap.

His only companion on the ship's bridge was the veteran pilot Raymond Takuya, operating the massive spotlight and struggling to keep it fixed on the floating piece of machinery. The two men were roughly the same age, although Takuya's hair was beginning to grey.

Phillion hopped up from his command chair, then descended a short staircase, "Anything we can do to retrieve something like that?"

Takuya groaned, "I'm still getting familiar with this ship. So no, not that I know of."

"Well then. How bad do you think it is?" Phillion leaned over Takuya's shoulder, glancing at a series of intricate monitors and instruments.

"Lucas would know more than I do, but I think we'll be alright."

"Just alright?" Phillion asked, concerned.

"We still have the primary fuel cap. You should just have Lucas keep an eye on it."

"Yeah," Phillion nodded, "The last thing we want is to start leaking rocket fuel." He hit Takuya's shoulder.

"It would've been nice if we lost something else," Takuya suggested, "A Firilium plate, maybe. We have plenty of those back in storage."

"And we need them. Pass me the intercom." Phillion held out his hand.

Takuya pretended not to hear him, "What was that?"

"Please pass me the intercom, darling." The Captain joked.

Takuya reached over the control panel and unhooked a receiver, "Don't say anything you'll regret saying later." He passed it off, swatting away its coiled wire.

"Arigato," Phillion held up the intercom, "This is your Captain speaking. Just so you know, we've lost our secondary fuel cap, so if you see anything leaking or on fire please don't keep it to yourself." He hung up. "Ray, as always I appreciate your hard work."

Takuya shut down the spotlight and turned to his Captain, "No more stalling, we have to get moving. The ship's falling apart for God's sake."

Phillion did his best to act offended, "What makes you think I'm stalling? No. We're just being patient."

Takuya rolled his eyes, "We were supposed to be in Hawaii yesterday. We had to postpone our meeting." He noticed Phillion heading for the exit, "Don't forget to turn off the lights."

"Running out of power, not on schedule, and a missing fuel cap. One crisis at a time Ray." He flipped a series of switches on the wall, draining the room's overhead lights. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go fix this." The Captain hurried out of the bridge, leaving Takuya to steer under the dim glow of his monitors.

The Gotengo's maze of hallways had not been designed by an intelligent man. Captain Phillion wasn't exceptionally tall, yet he always had to duck going through the ship's tunnels.

He would then climb a dangerously steep staircase to the next floor. If the architect really wanted to save space, he might as well have turned all the staircases into ladders. Phillion discovered they were easier to climb with the help of his hands anyways.

Everything seemed cheap. Everything felt lightweight. That was the price to pay for a submarine that could fly. Or it was just the typical beuracratic mess one could expect from G-Force.

The door to the ship's infirmary was always unlocked. Its deadbolt was missing. Captain Phillion made a habit of barging in to speak with the doctor, who had little more to do at this point than play psychiatrist for the crew. Felix Stark listened to Phillion and his problems, offering solutions if he could. But most of the time he would just nod.

"How are you this morning?" Phillion announced, immediately going over to the cabinets to fish out the aspirin.

Doctor Stark lowered his book, "Actually sir, it's almost midnight."

"Midnight?" Phillion spun around, startled.

"The last time we saw any natural light was a week ago when you dismantled the GPS beacon. Human bodies are not meant to live in the darkness."

"Well, we've got to hide somewhere. And we have oxygen reserves for another five days." Phillion emptied a container of pills all over the counter. "So did you hear the news?" He asked as he poured a glass of water, spilling a little on the counter.

"What news sir?" Stark removed his spectacles.

"Damn, is the intercom broken again?"

"I doubt it sir," Stark assured him, "I was busy reading my book."

"Oh, which one is it now?" Phillion swallowed a pill and sipped the glass.

"Frankenstein, Mary Shelley." He held it up, showing off the crumpled paperback cover.

"Haven't read it." Phillion swallowed another pill, "Anyways, we lost the secondary fuel cap."

"I don't know what that means."

The Captain shoved his box of pills back into the cabinet, "It means that my ship is falling apart. But it's nothing to worry about." He turned to leave, then stopped, "Well, it's nothing for you to worry about."

The Doctor nodded and the Captain made his exit. With the door shut, Felix slipped his glasses back on and opened his novel.

Squeezing through a few more hallways, Phillion emerged into the common area, furnished with just enough metal chairs and tables to fool someone into thinking they could relax. Usually, this was the place where members of the crew spent their free time, and Phillion was hoping to find the mechanic taking a break. Amongst the handful of soldiers, Lucas Isley was nowhere to be seen.

A gruff voice bellowed from the corner, "What's this about the fuel thing missing?"

"It's nothing." Phillion assured his rugged weapons specialist, Jason Grogg. Grogg was busy beating another soldier in a game of checkers. He wouldn't take his eyes off the board.

"Doesn't sound like nothin'!" Grogg roared as he took one of his opponent's pieces. The other men in the break room were suddenly paying attention, worried that something had gone wrong. At 1,500 feet below the ocean's surface, nothing could afford to go wrong.

"Have you seen Lucas anywhere?"

"Are we going to drown?" Grogg responded.

"No. If anything, we'll explode."

The rest of the soldiers exchanged glances, not sure whether to take the news seriously. Grogg just nodded, "I'm okay with that. But if the ship's falling apart now, how is it going to hold up against big G?"

"That's why we're spending time to repair her." Phillion insisted, "All you have to do is worry about the guns, Mr. Grogg. Now, have any of you seen Lucas?" He scanned the group again.

Grogg shrugged his giant shoulders, "He's probably off in the engine room fiddling with the gears. Wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who broke your fuel thing." Grogg moved a piece, "And speaking of guns, when am I going to be firing them?"

"As soon as we have an arsenal to fire." Phillion promised as he ran out. The soldiers looked to one another, then began speculating on what just happened.

Phillion raced down the long and narrow hallway to the engine room. Air became thick with steam. Walls seemed to groan under stress. Eventually, the Captain came to a massive sealed door. He had to strain his arms just to turn its lock and push it open, revealing a nightmarish jungle of pipes and gears.

The machine's would beat in unison, like some sort of monstrous, artificial heart powering the warship. The grated floor was littered with schematics and manuals, arranged in some sort of chaotic system that Phillion didn't understand. A grimy little man with a flashlight emerged from behind a fuel cell. When he saw the Captain, a friendly smile spread across his face.

"Hello sir!" Lucas Isley had to yell above the roar of the Gotengo's heartbeat, "I just finished restoring the cryogenic monitors! Did you figure out what the problem was outside?"

"The secondary fuel cap broke off!" Phillion dug his hands into his pockets, trying to keep them safe from dripping oil.

"Why did it break off?" Lucas yelled.

"I don't know!" Phillion admitted at the top of his lungs. "Can we talk somewhere else?"

Lucas motioned for the Captain to follow him. Together, they climbed through the overgrowth of pipes to a small door. Lucas pushed it open and allowed the Captain inside.

The walls were padded with carpeting in a futile attempt to drown out the noise. Lucas sealed the door behind them, but the massive beating still persisted.

The ceiling in this spare room was even lower than the rest of the ship. Keeping his head down, Phillion eyed Lucas' odd decoration of blueprints and wires. A mattress, thrown in the corner, was torn up and covered in a single space blanket.

"Do you sleep here?" Phillion asked, concerned.

"It's a cozy place to rest during the day." Lucas took a seat behind his little desk, "So you don't know why the cap broke off?"

"Probably because this ship was built in '71, and she hasn't been used since 1984." The Captain responded. "She's just old."

Lucas scoffed, "You can keep a ship running for centuries if you give her the proper love. You have to listen to what she wants. Care for her."

"You're not married, are you?"

"Nah. No woman for me." He smiled.

"She would just get jealous." Phillion smiled to himself, then returned to business, "So what would you recommend for this kind of thing? I mean, are we going to start leaking? Is the tank going to fill with water?"

Lucas waved away the idea, "She'll be okay."

Phillion was surprised, "No big deal?"

"Not really." Lucas shrugged, "The primary cap is secure, I checked it this morning. Her real problem is the drill speed."

"Is it still slow?"

"It's useless," Lucas responded bitterly, "And that isn't something I can just rewire and fix like the intercom. She'll need weeks. And I'll need more manpower."

"I can spare some of the weapons operators." Phillion suggested. "Grogg wont be happy, but they don't have anything to do. We'll transfer them to your command for the time being."

"If you think they can take it, Captain. Working with this girl isn't easy." He patted the intricate schematics of the Gotengo. "Oh, but she's worth it. Nice and flexible. You couldn't have picked a better warship, sir. Damn good one. Grogg wanted the Garuda, didn't he?" Lucas shook his head, "Dumb choice. It's just a flying cannon."

"I would've preferred Kiryu. Or anything built after the year 2000." Phillion admitted. He looked over the schematics of their ship, "But I like the Gotengo. She's a good ship. And she was easy to steal."

"She's a survivor." Lucas boasted.

The Captain smiled. "Keep me posted. I'll round up some men to help you work on the drill. And watch that fuel cap until we find a replacement."

"Yes sir."

The Captain left. Lucas saw him out, then returned to his tedious work repairing the forty year old warship. Phillion strolled down the hallway, relaxed and confident now that his worries had been put to rest. He ventured past the break room, where many of the soldiers were still caught up in their worried conversations. The only one who looked up to see the Captain pass was Jason Grogg. Phillion peeked into the infirmary to see that Felix Stark was reading, as always. He descended the steep staircase, nearly tripping on his way down, then returned to the command bridge at the front of the ship. He left the lights off as he came in. The glow from the monitors would be good enough. Takuya was still at the helm, piloting the massive ship with expert ease.

"Good news!" Phillion announced, "Everything's going to be okay." He took a seat at the station next to Takuya, "And I say we change our course. Head for Hawaii. By now, I think our guy's getting restless."

"I've been waiting for you to say that." Takuya grinned, pulling up a series of maps on the computer to formulate a new route.

Phillion smacked his buddy's shoulder. He cracked his knuckles and hustled back up to the platform where his command chair waited. He took a seat, sinking into the leather. This was where he belonged. This was where he felt at home.

A thin book sat on the armrest. Gently, Phillion picked it up. The cover was worn away by age, and the paper smelled ancient. It was Captain Phillion's favorite book, bought in a second hand store when he was eight. He had been fascinated with it ever since. It stayed on his shelf throughout college. It remained by his side on every campaign during his service in G-Force. Every boy needed a hero.

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