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Rajdhani on Tahupraemiku, the hall of the Council of the Galactic Federation, the 29th Day of the Eighth Month, noon (Tōkyō time: Friday 26 May, suppertime)...
"HE HAS NO RIGHT TO BE...!"
KK-KLONK!
Many of the delegates representing the member states of the Federation all laughed on seeing that Seq Yethis had yet again been smashed on the head by a falling cinder block that came out of nowhere. As the transformed Moroboshi Ataru shook his head in amusement, Yonaga chuckled at the sight. "Your Highness, I turn the floor over to my most esteemed friend, the Lady Roma of Roma and Trieste; and her beloved, my junior navigation officer's grandnephew, Marquess Moroboshi Ataru of Mutsu in Japan on Earth and the planet Sagussa," the seventh carrier of Operation Z declared from the bridge of DMR Graf Zeppelin on Earth. As Lupica nodded in understanding, Yonaga added, "Be warned: My senior admiral is monitoring this meeting. He wishes to analyze the situation concerning what is being debated here. He may request to speak before this council."
"Certainly, Lady Yonaga," the "crown princess of the Universe" declared with a nod. "My greetings to Lord Admiral Gotō. I assume he is aboard one of the other starships of the space division of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force."
"Indeed, Your Highness," a man's voice cut in as the image on the main view screen at the aft end of the hall split in half, revealing Gotō Kiichi sitting in the admiral's chair aboard THU Kongō. "Please, Roma, go ahead."
"NO!"
That, Ataru realized, was General Azu Des, Yethis' chief ally in the Imperial Round and the current leader of the Urusian Defence Intelligence Directorate. Sporting a bruise on his forehead already thanks to a dropped cinder block, he was an overweight fellow with grey in his dark green hair. "We will NOT hear from this creature, much less this perverted monster that dared to SEDUCE Lum, then STABBED HER IN THE BACK when he drove her off Earth! We will only listen to...!"
KK-KLONK!
Cinder block number two just smashed him down. "I object!" King Fuyu of Neptune then declared. "Considering the behaviour of my daughter's friend may have forced the Chosen One to don his current armour as he did at Morningstar Plain...!"
"LIES!" Queen Elle shrilled. "HONEY IS NOT...!"
KK-KRACK!
Everyone gasped on hearing the sound of flesh meeting flesh...
...then they gasped on seeing who had just slapped the Rose Queen down.
"LADY NOA?!" one of the Urusian delegates exclaimed.
Ataru inwardly smiled on noting the one who spoke was Redet Negau, his would-be sister-in-law. Born Renning Negau, she had been adopted by Lum's father Invader when she had been expelled from her old family due to her anti-Imperial leanings. Now a captain in the Urusian Defence Force, she was one of Des' chief assistants in the Urusian security/intelligence agency even if the "class traitor" wasn't trusted by the Imperial Round's leaders. "Are you sure, Captain?" Lupica demanded as many of the delegates gaped in reverence on noting that one of the Maidens of the Eternal Voyager was standing among them.
Negau nodded. "We have ways of testing, Your Highness."
Lupica nodded in turn, trying not to smile at this development. "If you will permit this, My Lady?" she then asked.
Aruka Noa — known before Ataru's first visit to Sagussa a decade ago simply as Daishi'cha #19282 — nodded her permission. "You may approach, Shipmistress," the reborn elder of the Maidens of Aruka, seen as demigods among the people of the third world of Oniboshi, said with a nod, her own blue eyes sparkling in amusement as she made a beckoning motion.
Negau bowed her head deeply before she flew over, drawing out a tricorder. Landing before the beautiful Seishin-turned-Sagussan teenager with the short-cropped, shaggy chestnut brown hair, she went to one knee, then quickly programmed controls. Nearby delegates, including Elle's aged nanny Babara de Esterchild and Shigaten Benten's adopted father Ebisu, came over to gaze at the small readout screen. As both nodded — which caused several of the Urusian delegates to shudder in sullen outrage on realizing that the other dignitaries in the room would accept what the class traitor would soon declare as the truth — and Elle herself winced in horror on realizing that the ONE power that could stop her pursuit of Ataru was clearly presenting herself to the whole of the Federation, Negau began her scan. As Ataru's good eye glanced up to the port-side gallery where his would-be "wife" was now seated with her best friends, a beep! echoed from the scanning machine.
As people tensed, Negau blinked as her blue eyes teared, then she bowed her head to the reborn saviour of Uru. "My Lady...!"
Shocked cries of delight echoed through the hall. "Great Lady, you honour us with your presence here this day!" Fuyu declared as Kurama began clapping her hands in delight. "Please, tell us: Is it true? Is Ataru...?"
"Our 'Chosen One'?" Noa asked as her eyebrow arched in amusement. As she waved Negau to her feet, then allowed Ebisu to courtly kiss her hand, she stared at the man who had changed her life much for the better when he was but a child. "If you can all see my uniform, then gaze on what Ataru is wearing right now, I think the conclusion is quite obvious, Your Majesty."
The delegates blinked before they stared at Ataru, then looked back at the newcomer. As many of the shipgirls on or near Earth giggled at the obvious visual connection, everyone was quick to note the similarities of design between the golden windrider on Noa's black jumpsuit top and the gold-and-silver metal that the transformed Ataru wore on his chest...which had the same general cut and design as what the Elder Mother of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa had. Inwardly, Ataru was happy that Noa and her sister Daishi'cha had adopted the modified work jumpsuit design, which eliminated provocative gold-trimmed diamond-shaped cuts over the navel, the arch of the hips and the small of the back that exposed very lewd levels of bare skin to the viewer. She also bore wreath-of-laurel trimming down the outer sides of her arms and her legs below the golden belt around her waist, three laurel rank "stripes" on her lower arms indicating her position as minister in government.
"Oh, dear..." Fuyu breathed out. "My apologies for doubting you, young man..."
Ataru shrugged as cold fire consumed him for a second, returning him back to a full-human state. People then croaked on seeing that he was in the same model of uniform as Noa herself wore, the only difference being that he had five "stripes" on his lower arms. As Roma smiled in delight on seeing the thunderstruck look on Elle's face and the sad acceptance on Lum's, a voice shrieked out from the Niphentaxian delegation, "YOU MUST REJECT HIM, NOA-SAMA! HE IS THE...!"
KK-KRUNCH!
"...Great...Evil...!" Fangi t'ndai-Marthon croaked out after a cinder block smashed him down on his head.
Noa gazed at him, then she blinked. "Why?"
"Why...wh-what, Noa-sama...?" one of Fangi's friends sputtered.
"Why is Ataru this 'great evil'? Entropy is neutral. It is neither good nor evil. It simply IS!" She shook her head. "No. We refuse to acknowledge the 'faith' of a spoiled BOY who simply got JEALOUS of the fact that his 'goddess' — whom he wanted for HIMSELF in the end! — fell in love with a man who never treated her like the 'marble lady' as she was treated on Uru, never mind what your own countrymen did to her! I can understand why Lum fell in love with Ataru. Even if he had his own problems thanks to those Te'a spawned creatures that loved to inhabit the namesake of the Master's Keep — to say anything of his oath to allow Thoughtmistress-prime Negako to be her own being at last, an oath the man YOU call the 'arch-heretic' helped see fulfilled almost a year ago thanks to the help of Sky Lord Nengmek'i and the Lady K'ekhech of Ait'uch Nehech — there was a chance that Lum could win Ataru's heart and become our Daite'cha's Other." She shook her head. "Sadly, too much stood in their way. And thanks to YOUR observers on Earth who didn't BOTHER to learn the truth of what was making the Abyssals appear..." She pointed at them. "YOU BETRAYED YOUR OWN GODDESS!" she shrieked.
The Niphentaxians wailed in denial on hearing that accusation. "I'm going to add what Minister Noa just said!" Roma barked out, making many of the delegates focus on her. "Four hundred million dead in China! Three hundred million in India! A hundred million in Indonesia! Millions more in almost every nation that has an ocean coastline worldwide on Earth! ALL THANKS TO YOU!" the battleship shrieked as she also pointed at the delegation from Phentax Two. "Over a BILLION people, DEAD! By all rights, my husband should unleash a GENESIS BOMB to completely WIPE you out of EXISTENCE!" As many of the delegates gasped on hearing that, the third of the Littorio-class smirked. "Since 'life' already exists on Phentax Two, the deployment of such a device..." Her smile then turned totally evil. "...would destroy such 'life'...in favor of its new matrix."
Croaked sounds and gulps filled the hall at that threat as the Niphentaxians gaped in horror at such an apocalyptic warning from Roma. "They have such devices," Kurama then spoke up. "My people have long owed an honour debt to the Gatherer — the ship everyone else calls 'Eternal Voyager' — for his saving many of my people from the Celestial Toymaker a millennia ago. We were able to learn much more about the Grand Design of the Fifth Republic than what President Lecasur and others who have walked the Gatherer's decks over the millennia from other worlds learned. Genesis bombs — one of many such creations of the insane period in the Fourth Republic's history that led to the Clone Rights War — are in storage in the Mobile Science Station, which lies in orbit over the seventh world of the Sen'a system. Given what Minister Noa accused Former President Ōgi of — and given how much that brat gladly caused Ataru's own reputation to be shamed in the year Lum lived with him in Tomobiki, something that only began to recover when the truth of Morningstar Plain and the Liberation of the Avalonians was declared weeks ago by Lady Chancellor Nakkyek — I wouldn't put it past Ataru now to do just that!" As many — even among the Urusian delegates — nodded in grim agreement, Kurama smiled. "I find it a lot easier to deal with President Miree than this mindless idiot!" She contemptuously waved at the slowly-recovering Fangi before sitting down in her chair.
"HEAR! HEAR!" Prime Minister Hosha of Zeiwan chanted.
Wild cheers filled the hall. Lupica allowed that for a moment before she tapped a control on the lectern to allow flashing lights to blink in the hall, thus calming the considerable crowd down. "Much that we do appreciate all this information, I remind everyone here that Lady Roma and her husband currently have the floor," the princess of Tahupraemiku stated, which made people laugh. "If you would introduce yourself, my lady," she then said with an apologetic bow to the battleship.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Roma stated. "I am Frigate Captain Roberta Ansaldo of the Vongola and the Moroboshi, officer of the Italian Navy. My ship-name is Roma and I am considered adopted of both my namesake city and the city and province of Trieste in the Italian Republic, member nation-state of the United Nations of the planet Earth. Though we have yet to have a formal marriage ceremony, I am seen as married and soul-bonded to the man now standing beside me, First Citizen Moroboshi Ataru of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa, honorary citizen of the Republic of New Avalon." She then smirked. "Genesis bomb...!" she then sing-songed before she gazed knowingly over her shoulder at the Niphentaxian delegation, all of who had risen to shout at the battleship for actually openly declaring that their escaped slaves had formed an independent government.
They all cringed as others in the hall laughed...
Aboard THU Fubuki in the Sagami Sea, that moment...
"Eh?! Roberta-sempai deployed with Roma to this planet, Zia-chan?!"
"Sì, Fujiko!" a frustrated Libeccio snarled from her private quarters in Taranto. "We've spent time learning all the systems of our namesake starships ever since Ataru told Roberta about Roma and brought her aboard that ship after work on her was finished three months ago. We were told to not say anything to anyone in case something leaked to the Niphentaxian observers who were still on Earth." Here, the adopted native of Ancona on the Adriatic coast of Italy blushed. "We saw that they were heading out with Roma a few hours ago and volunteered to go with them as escorts, but..." She shrugged.
Fubuki moaned as the other destroyers listening to this shook their heads. Standing orders in all shipgirl forces worldwide stated that a battleship-class shipgirl would never go anywhere without destroyer escort. Exceptions were made for the magical battleships from Canada, Australia and New Zealand thanks to the Statute of Secrecy, but the idea of Nave Stellare Italiana Roma going to another planet over eighty light years away without escort just struck them as wrong...
"Um, Fujiko-chan?"
Fubuki looked over at Mutsuki, who was seated at the communications station off to her port. "What is it, Mutsuko-chan?"
"I'm tapping into the signal from the meeting on Tahupraemiku," the first of her class of destroyer reported. "I can put it up on the main view screen right now. Sempai's busy threatening those baka Niphentaxians! You've got to hear it!"
The other destroyers in the main pilotage of THU Fubuki laughed. "Hai! Put it up there!" Fubuki declared; she had been speaking to Libeccio via a fixed dataPADD on the small platform before the captain's chair. "Let's get a few laughs!"
More laughter filled the star destroyer's main pilotage as the Avalonian engineer that had been assigned to Fubuki, Asai Mayumi, continued her work at the station to be used by the officer of the watch. "Hai!" Mutsuki said as she tapped a control.
Eyes locked on the view screen before everyone ducked as a shrieking man's voice bellowed, "...LIES! ALL LIES! THIS IS A TRICK OF THE GREAT EVIL! HE'S SEDUCED THE MAIDENS! HE'S SEDUCED THE BRAVE SHIPGIRLS! WE CAN'T...!"
KK-KLONK!
"What the poi was THAT?!" Yūdachi asked from the helm station.
"That's Fangi, 'Dachi," Libeccio answered, revealing that she herself had been monitoring things on Tahupraemiku, most likely through the communications suite aboard NSI Libeccio. "He's the current boss of the copycat aliens Negako got thrown off the planet over the last year. He's been screaming every insult he can at Ataru because he's the devil figure in that so-called 'church' founded by the man who was stalking Lum all the time! But the insults are just plain LAME!"
"Stinky alien...saying those stupid things about Ataru-niichan...!"
That was a huffing Hoppō, who had been allowed to sit at the navigator officer's station next to Yūdachi. Said installation princess was glaring wrathfully at the image of the screaming man now pointing accusingly at Ataru...
...who had got a chair for himself, sat himself on it, then pulled out a bag of popcorn as he gazed at the bellowing Fangi while munching away. While most of the delegates in that chamber were grinning in delight on seeing such a show of disrespect by the former Terran tag race champion, there were those who were glaring hatefully at the man. Most were in the Urusian delegation near the head of the room on the starboard side, while there was a red-haired woman in a rose-red battlesuit with white cape now gazing in frustration at Ataru's current companion. Standing near her was a familiar chestnut-haired woman with tapered ears in a black-and-gold jumpsuit. "Oh, there's Aruka Noa-san!" Fubuki said as she pointed. "She's the one who took Ataru-kun to Sagussa before he took the Promise and had Negako-sensei's soul put into his mind. What's she doing there? All the Sagussans are busy clearing out what was in the Chamber of Eternity before they abandon the planet...!"
"I think that woman in the cape beside Noa-san is Queen Elle," Mutsuki mused.
"Ataru-kun's other 'wife'?" Yūdachi asked.
"Hai. No doubt, Noa-san's laying down the law about Ataru-kun by being there."
"Excuse me...?"
The destroyers all perked on hearing that voice...
Rajdhani...
Lupica perked on hearing that aged voice. "Elder Teo! What are you doing here?!"
Walking into the chambers was a middle-aged man in formal robes that reminded people on Earth in many ways of an 'amīr from the Middle East. In his hand was a primitive version of a dataPADD. "Forgive me, Highness, but I need to get some work done here," Teo stated as he bowed his head. "Is there an Aruka Noa of Sagussa anywhere in this chamber?" he then asked.
"Here!" Noa called out, holding up her hand.
His eyes widened on seeing her uniform, then he came over, formally bowing over her hand as he gave her a courtly kiss. "Please, Great Lady, there's no need to register the Voyager for docking permits over our planet," he said as he drew out a sphere of mesonium the size of a baseball. "I assume that the term 'Gatherer' is the proper name for the Voyager?"
"It is indeed," Noa said as she took the payment she had made to Teo's staff when she visited them to register the presence of a ten kilometre-long superdreadnought battlecarrier in high parking orbit over Tahupraemiku, it disappearing in a materializer beam. "However, we feel formalities HAVE to be observed. Unlike SOME people who seem to think it's alright to dock a large ship powered by ANTIMATTER close to a large population centre." She gave him a knowing look and grin on saying that.
The senior dockmaster in charge of starship movements over and near Rajdhani smirked as he glared at the Urusian delegation, many of whom shuddered at the unspoken accusation the Elder Mother of Sagussa just made in front of those others present today. Ataru was quick to note that, then he glanced out the windows, gazing at the Kashin-class battlewagon now parked in low atmospheric orbit about ten kilometres away from the council chambers, it floating two kilometres above ground level. Smirking as he nibbled his popcorn, he then perked as Teo finished with Noa, then he looked around. "Is there a Frigate Captain Roberta Ansaldo of the Italian Republic on Earth anywhere in these chambers?" he then asked.
"Here," Roma said as she held up her hand.
He gazed at her, then he gaped. "By the Great Winds! You're one of the Sea Angels of Earth, aren't you?!" he exclaimed.
"If you mean I'm a shipgirl, yes I am, Lord Dockmaster," the battleship said.
He came over, then courtly kissed her hand before drawing up his tablet. "Your payment for docking privileges over the Capital District was a little too much given your ship's size and class," Teo then stated. "If you wish...?"
"Please, keep the change. I assume you'd like it de-cloaked?"
He smirked. "If you may?"
"Certainly." Roma then looked off to her right as her left ear twitched.
The air to the starboard of the Urusian battlewagon hazed before it melted into a light grey-and-medium blue mass over two kilometres long, it bearing the pendant number 21 written in poppy red on the hull below the main bridge. As the delegates gasped on seeing this replica of Roma's old hull with jet engines at the aft end where the propeller shafts would be and larger stabilizers jutting out from below the black stripe of the waterline, Teo hummed as he gazed upon NSI Roma, then he stared at the readout on his screen. Ataru smirked as he saw Seq Yethis, Azu Des and several others of the Urusian delegation seethe at the fact that the Terran ship had been given a place closer to the council chambers than their own ship. Before any of them could comment, Teo nodded. "Italian Starship Roma, unit of the United Nations Earth Defence Force, pendant number RI-CS-21, no intergalactic standard hull code due to the United Nations of Earth not being a signatory to that treaty. You are certified for day-long docking privilege at current altitude over the Capital District, Captain Ansaldo. My apologies for bothering you."
"It was my pleasure, Lord Dockmaster," Roma said with a bow of her head.
Noa smirked as she exchanged a look with Ataru. "Excuse me, Dockmaster-prime, but may I ask if there are ships now in orbit over the Capital District whose captains have NOT paid the proper docking fees to your office?" she then sweetly asked.
Teo perked, then he smiled. "Yes! As natural for them, the delegations under Senior General Yethis of Uru and President Fangi of Phentax Two never bother to pay ANYTHING to our offices! Given the threat of antimatter drive systems, it's only right to make sure there is equipment available to tow those things into space before such systems detonate if they fail...!"
Noa held up her hand. "Allow me, then. Henry!"
"Certainly, Noa," a cultured man's voice then echoed over the chamber.
People perked as they looked around for the source of that voice...
...then an outraged scream from Fangi made people look at him. "HOW DARE YOU?!" the president of the Union of Phentax Two shrieked as he pointed to the sky where Roma was now floating serenely over the western suburbs of Rajdhani.
People turned to look...
...then howls of outrage escaped most of the Urusian delegation on noting two strong tractor beams were pulling both the battlewagon and what Ataru recognized as a Tsubasa-class destroyer — a starship two-thirds the size of a Kashin-class appearing to be a tiger-striped version of the Concorde — from behind Roma and into orbit. As the other delegates gasped on seeing such a show of power by the most famous starship in space, Yethis spun on Ataru. "HAVE THIS STOPPED NOW, MOROBOSHI! ORDER THAT THING TO PUT OUR SHIPS BACK! WE HAVE PERMANENT DOCKING PRIVILEGES...!"
KK-KRUNCH!
Cinder block to the head. "Wow! He's even more thickheaded than Kunō Tatewaki ever was!" Ataru said as Yethis was smashed down yet again into the floor in front of his seat while others quickly looked around for the source of those things.
"Darling! I think you're insulting that idiot Kunō by saying that Yethis is actually more of a FOOL than he is!" Lum protested from the gallery above, making people gaze up at the warlord's daughter, who had a smirk on her face.
As some of the Urusian delegation shuddered on seeing that the woman they saw as their future Empress was casting their spiritual leader in such a negative light in this very public forum, Roma cleared her throat. "Lord Dockmaster, do the Urusians or the Niphentaxians have such privileges as Mister Yethis just claimed before my sister-in-law struck him down?"
Teo smirked as many of the Urusians delegates quaked at the battleship NOT using Yethis' rank title in public. "No, Lady Roma, they do not have such." He then blinked in confusion. "Your sister-in-law?" he then asked.
Roma smiled as she and Ataru pointed to the view screen at the aft end of the chamber, making all the delegates turn to look...
...then they gasped on seeing the girl who looked as if she could be Moroboshi Ataru's IDENTICAL TWIN SISTER now seated on the ledge underneath the view screen, calmly eating from her own bag of popcorn. As the details of her white-grey-and-black jumpsuit came clear — especially the black animal's head insignia on her chest over her cleavage — those gasps turned to whimpers and moans of underwear-soiling terror as they realized how far the man many across the Federation had disparaged as an idiot and sex-crazed fool was willing to go to see his planet kept safe and secure from outside invasion.
Some people were quick to note the ones NOT reacting to the presence of the current incarnation of the Trickster of the Show — outside Ataru, Roma and Noa, plus the Karasutengu delegation — were Ataru's would-be "wife" from Uru, her childhood friends seated close to her and the crown princess of Tahupraemiku who now served as the host of this meeting. "Um...Your Highness, you KNEW that Lady Coyote was here?" King Fuyu of Neptune then asked as he stared warily at Lupica.
"I did, Your Majesty," Lupica said, making many of the delegates croak in shock.
"HEY!"
Everyone jolted before they gazed up at the Trickster of the Show. "Enough of the screams, sames!" Ataru's adopted sister snapped, her brown eyes glowing with the cosmic power barely contained in her body. "It hurts my ears every time I hear that white noise! LEARNED people are now talking! The rest of you sames keep quiet...or I'll shut you up real quick!"
Many people in the chamber shuddered in mortal terror at that threat...
Aboard THU Fubuki...
"Guys, get to your ships!"
All the destroyers looked at Fubuki. "What is it, Fujiko-chan?!" Mutsuki asked.
The lead of her class of destroyers grimaced. "The fear of the Yizibajohei is too well-ingrained among those people out there, Mutsuko-chan! If an idiot like that Yethis creep thinks Ataru-kun allowed Tariko-chan to exist to attack Uru...?!"
"Shit! Ataru-kun would be the first one targeted!" Akebono snarled.
The other destroyers nodded. "I'll get you beamed over," a new voice then said.
People looked at Asai Mayumi, a brainy-looking girl of about sixteen with glasses who was dressed in surplus Ground Self-Defence Force battle dress. She gave them a knowing smile while a deep thrumming noise echoed through the starship.
"WARP SPEED!" Shimakaze then shrieked.
Everyone looked at the blonde prototype destroyer, then they all screamed...
Rajdhani, that moment...
"Wh-wh-why...?"
That was a white-faced Azu Des, who was now staring in horror at the man who now seemed to personify the final ending of all the dreams the leaders of the Imperial Round of Uru had cultivated for over two centuries. "Why what?" Ataru asked.
The head of the Defence Intelligence Directorate shakily pointed to the living nightmare that had haunted the dreams of BILLIONS of Urusians since the Mother of All Fight Scenes. "Wh-why unleash THAT?!" he then shrilled. "I know you only had a twin brother who disappeared when you were three! You have no sisters! Th-that...! Th-that...!" He stabbed his finger towards Tariko as he tried to articulate what was surging up and seizing his heart in a grip of neutronium. "HOW?!"
Ataru gazed at him, then he smirked. "Well, you can partially thank Lum up there..." — he pointed to his would-be "wife" — "...not to mention Cherry — you've heard of him, I think? — as well as the current Academician. Very nice lady from America!" He then stared at Fangi. "Not to mention the man you all decry as the 'arch-heretic'," he added with a trill in his voice.
The current president of the Niphentaxian Union blinked, then he spun about to point accusingly at Tariko. "SEIZE THE SLAVE! IT HAS NO RIGHTS HERE! SEIZE IT NOW! WE'LL TAKE IT BACK AND MAKE IT BRING OUR SLAVES BACK!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"Nope! We're not helping you there, pal!"
Fangi gargled on noting that even his own people were staring in shock at him — while none of the security personnel in the room had moved at all towards the Trickster of the Show — then he glared at Shigaten Ebisu. "WHY NOT?!"
"Because if you're STUPID enough to go after Coyote of all the metas on You Know Where, you're bucking for nothing but a trip to Bensaiten's Grave, you lifeless fool!" the vice-commandant of the Fukunokami central government snapped, making many of the delegates in the chambers shriek with laughter. "Damn! I knew you fools were lunatics, but to try THAT...?!"
"There's something else you have to keep in mind, Oji-san."
The short fireplug of a balding man gazed at Ataru. "What's that, son?!"
"Every time those sames insult an Avalonian, they're REALLY spitting on Shogai Dakejinzō!" the former Terran tag race champion said as he gazed in icy amusement at Fangi. "After all, we all know what Dake-cha is! Could you image what might happen if that ever got to Varanko?!" The smile turned lethal as all of Benten's people — said biker-babe included — turned as one to give the Niphentaxians lethal looks at their slight against Fukunokami's most famous adopted daughter.
The representatives of the Church of Lum in the chambers all whimpered in mortal dread as they imagined what Grand Duke Varanko of Kyotos, the most famous lawman in the local cluster, WOULD do to them if he perceived ANY such slight against his former student. Seeing that reaction, the other delegates save most of the Urusians laughed. "Well, that fella is going to have to get in a lineup, Ataru," Tariko then announced...before she tensed as her ears perked. "Uh-oh...!"
The whole chamber began to quake violently. "Darling! What's going on?!" Lum gasped as those who could fly got airborne while those who didn't have that capability tried their best to stay on their feet.
KK-KRANG!
"Looks like Tariko's friend decided to visit," Noa said as she crouched to ensure she didn't accidentally fall on her butt.
SSH-SHRANG!
"OI! NOA! HE'S NOT MY FRIEND!" Tariko shrieked in embarrassment.
KA-BOOM!
The doors leading from the antechamber exploded into kindling as the thunderous discharge of what sounded like a ship-sized shotgun went off. Of course, Ataru, Roma and Noa had already dived for the deck to avoid the hornet's nest of super-sharp flechettes that could have turned even the third Littorio-class battleship into a very bloody mist. Fortunately for all the delegates, the shooter wasn't the best marksman in the local cluster. Unfortunately, said flechettes ripped through the the chain holding up one of the lamps over the starboard-side seats, right above Yethis' head. That allowed the rather sizable ball to smash down onto his head, driving him into the floor! As the severed chain smacked Des in the side of the head to also put him into the land of Morpheus, a rather plain fellow with a bald head, narrow hunter's dark eyes and a build similar to what Ataru possessed gently stepped into the room, being as quiet as he could be on a marble surface. He was dressed in what appeared to be a mixture of the sleeveless form-hugging bodysuit design that modern Yizibajohei metas wore — it coloured in forest camouflage with dark brown boots and belt — with a black hunter's vest containing several rows of shells the size of 40 millimetre grenades in pouches front and back. A hat covered his head, looking like a mixture of a deerstalker and a soldier's boonie cap, it also in camouflage. In his hands was what looked like a Milkor revolver-type multiple grenade launcher.
Everyone — ESPECIALLY the guards! — all froze as that huntsman's glare raked over them...before they blinked as he pulled one hand away from his weapon to shush the crowd. "Be vesy quiet!" he said with a curious lisp in his voice. "I'm hunting coyoter." He then sniffed the air. "Ah! The sarcally coyote ir hese...!" Grinning in anticipation — and looking like a total maniac now to all of the shivering delegates in the chamber — he began to sweep his weapon around.
"THERE! SHE'S UP THERE! SHOOT HER! SHOOT HER NOW!"
As everyone gasped on hearing Fangi's shriek, the newcomer swept around to gaze at him. Seeing where the Niphentaxian president was now pointing, he spun around again to look up towards the aft main view screen...
"HA-WA-WA-WA-WA-WA...!" Inazuma wailed from the bridge of the DMR Graf Zeppelin.
Everyone turned to look...
...then people fell flat on their faces on seeing Moroboshi Tariko seated there in the dark blue Tomobiki High seifuku, sucking on a lollipop! Stopping himself just in time, the Eternal Hunter, Wyo'ona ("Cougar"), immediately doffed his hat towards her. "I'm sossy, mirs!" he apologized in a rather meek voice. "I thought you wese a coyote!" He lunged over to grab Fangi by the collar of his jacket. "Why did you tell me rhe war a coyote, rame?!" he then snarled as his eyes glowed.
Tariko smirked as she secretly snapped her finger...
...which instantly turned Fangi's uniform into an approximation of the same model of battlesuit that the Trickster of the Show normally wore when she lived on Yiziba. As the president nearly soiled himself on realizing what the sister of the Great Evil just did to him, the man born Isona'a Naggu in the northern polar continent several decades ago howled in outrage before he stepped back and levelled his weapon on target. "RAY YOUS PSAYESR, COYOTE!" he shrieked.
"HOLD IT!"
Everyone froze before they spun on Noa. As the Niphentaxians all shuddered in relief on seeing the Elder Mother of Sagussa move to save their leader, she walked over and gazed intently into Isona'a's dark eyes. "What did you promise us?!"
He blinked in confusion, then he blushed. "Um, rossy, Mirs Noa!" he apologized as he doffed his hat at her while trying not to wilt at that admonishing stare. "I'll take him home and rhoot him these!" he promised.
Before Fangi could sense the danger to his very LIFE, the Eternal Hunter grabbed him by the jumpsuit top as he tapped a slate rectangle of mesonium that was secured to his belt over his left him. In a flash of teleportation energies, they vanished from the planet, the soon-to-be LATE president of Phentax Two shrieking for mercy while his countrymen all howled in horror at such a ghastly fate to befall their beloved leader as the other delegates all stared in disbelief at that.
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"Hey! I'm not into death scenes!" Tariko said as she snapped her fingers to change her seifuku back into her battlesuit.
The other delegates just gaped at her...
Aboard Tennō Heika Uchūkan Yūdachi, now in low orbit over Tōkyō, that moment...
Hoppō was now laughing as she shakily pointed a finger at the main view screen while a giggling Yūdachi was trying not to spill the cup of herbal tea that had been prepared for her by the bridge food replicator, using a formula that Moroboshi Negako had devised for shipgirls recovering from bad wounds while out at sea. "Stupid, stinky alien!" the installation princess snarled. "Hoppō hopes Mister Cougar doesn't have to use TOO much ammunition beating up the stupid, stinky alien!"
Yūdachi smirked as she tapped the dataPADD in front of the captain's chair. "Fujiko! Did anyone get Wanko-san aboard?"
"She's with me right now, Dachi-chan," Mutsuki replied from her namesake starship, which now hovered off to Yūdachi's port.
"Indeed I am, Yūdachi," a growling woman's voice echoed over the communications links from the bridge of THU Mutsuki, that sound making the destroyers on their namesake starships grin. "I look forward to seeing these things in their own den."
"Warp speed...! Warp speed...! Warp speed...!"
"QUIET, REVINA!"
The destroyer shipgirls all giggled on hearing that delirious chant from Wanko's senior Re-class aviation battleship. "Didn't realize Revina-san was a Trekker herself," Yūdachi quietly mused. "Did you do that to her, Hoppō-chan?"
Hoppō nodded. "Revina thought it sad that Nimoy-sensei died two years ago," she quietly noted...before she gasped on hearing a wailing cry escape that particular aviation battleship. "Ah! Hoppō is sorry, Revina!" she cried out.
"REVINA!" Wanko shrilled in embarrassment.
As soothing sounds from Mutsuki's current engineer commander, Nagakura Emiru, the other destroyers snickered. "Oi! Let's get going! I wanna get there as quick as we can!" Akebono said from her namesake's bridge. "Tariko-chan can only hold the fort for so long before some shitty creep tries something on either Ataru-kun or Sempai! Oi, Fujiko! You ready to launch?!"
"Just doing that now, Akemi-chan," Fubuki announced. "Wanted to prepare a special present to that oni on Chichi-jima first."
The other destroyers hummed on hearing that...
Chichi-jima (eight hundred kilometres south-southeast of Tōkyō), that moment...
"HOW DARE THEY?!"
Shuddering in outrage at the fact that the foolish humans had somehow acquired the technology to go into space like the foul aliens who had infested Earth for years had done, the anchorage water demon that had taken over the largest of the Ogasawara-guntō could only seethe at the image being transmitted from NHK in Tōkyō, it showing the starship namesake of that perky destroyer Fubuki elevating itself out of the waters of the Sagami Sea. While the cheering crowds in the background nearly drowned out the field reporter's words from the beach at Ōiso, the Cannibal Island Oni — she called herself "Bonny" — could pick out some things. Something had happened that forced Fubuki and her friends — including a very noxious sextet of cheating Canadian destroyers who had the capability of launching HARPOONS and STANDARDS at her airborne and seaborne fighters whenever they engaged — to board their starship namesakes for some mission out in space...
Wait...
How many...?
Almost in answer, the reporter read from her iPad, "...current ships now deploying in low orbit over Tōkyō, according to JAXA, includes Tennō Heika Uchūkan-tachi Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Yayoi and Uzuki of the Mutsuki-class; Tennō Heika Uchūkan-tachi Murakumo, Hatsuyuki, Shinonome and Shirakumo of the Fubuki-class; Tennō Heika Uchūkan Akebono of the Ayanami-class; Tennō Heika Uchūkan-tachi Michishio and Kasumi of the Asashio-class; Tennō Heika Uchūkan Hatsukaze of the Kagerō-class; ALL TEN of the Shiratsuyu-class space destroyers; Tennō Heika Uchūkan Shimakaze and T'ong'il Konghwaguk Ujuham-dŭl Pongp'ung, T'aekp'ung, Ch'ungp'ung and T'anp'ung of the Shimakaze-class; United States Starships Johnston, Hoel and Heermann of the Fletcher-class; Her Majesty's Canadian Starships Ottawa and Assiniboine of the Comet-class; Navire Interstellaire Canadien de Sa Majesté Gatineau of the Electra-class; Her Majesty's Canadian Starship Saskatchewan of the Fearless-class; Her Majesty's Canadian Starship Columbia of the Wickes-class; and Her Majesty's Canadian Starship Algonquin of the Venus-class. With Tennō Heika Uchūkan Fubuki now launching from Ōiso..."
Hearing that, Bonny could only gape before she roared with laughter...
Aboard THU Fubuki, now flying past Izu-Ōshima...
"'D' Mount locked on target, Shipmistress," Asai Mayumi announced. "Firing solution is in the computer. Tube One is hot."
Fubuki nodded. "Launch the weapon."
Mayumi grinned as the faeries seated now on the shipgirl's shoulders all screamed in anticipation. "Missile away!" she barked as she tapped a red icon on the master weapons board, making the star destroyer shudder.
The port-side windows of the main pilotage glowed brightly as a very slender ninety metre-long mass leapt away from its mothership, racing off at many times the speed of sound to the south-southeast, sonic booms echoing in its wake...
Washington, the White House, that moment (local time: Dawn)...
"Jesus Christ! She just launched a missile!"
Heads in the Situation Room perked on hearing that from one of the junior Air Force officers there, then Josiah Bartlet turned to look. "Who just launched a missile, Captain?!" the president demanded as people took their seats.
"Starship Fubuki just did, sir!" Admiral Percy Fitzwallace said as he looked at the computer graphics on the main screen. It now showed a view of the western Pacific as seen from low orbit. A target icon was now flying low over the waters of the Philippine Sea close to the Izu Islands, it marked THU FUBUKI SDD-153, heading in the general direction of Iō-tō in the Volcano Islands off to the south. Well in orbit overhead of that particular starship, thirty-six other target icons seemed to hover high in the sky over the namesake of the "flagship" of the Tin Can Mafia. An arrowhead icon indicating that a missile had been launched from THU Fubuki was now racing away from its mothership right at Chichi-jima.
"What's the capability of that thing?!" Leo McGarry demanded.
"It's a dial-a-yield device, Leo," Nancy McNally stated. "Depending on the charge of the mesonium core inside that warhead, when the bauximite detonators go off, it can range from ten to fifty megatons of TNT equivalent...!"
"It's NOT a nuke?!" C.J. Cregg demanded from off to one side.
"No, C.J...!"
"Impact!" the Air Force captain screamed.
Everyone looked at the screen...
Chichi-jima...
"...an alert from JAXA! Tennō Heika Uchūkan Fubuki just launched a missile...!"
Bonny blinked on hearing that before her glowing eyes looked up...
...then she screamed as something raced from the sky right at her head!
Aboard Fubuki...
"Impact," Mayumi declared.
Hearing that, Fubuki took a deep breath as a distant bright flash reflected through the thick windows protecting the pilotage from the outside environment. She didn't look in the direction of Chichi-jima. Given all the hideous crimes that had been unleashed by the Cannibal Island Oni over the last half-decade and more, she didn't deserve that respect. "Yield?"
"Fifty megatons, Shipmistress. Air-burst detonation," the Terran-form Avalonian engineer stated as she tapped controls to retract the forward anti-ship missile mount into the hull and close the pressure doors, thus streamline the ship for intergalactic travel. "The force of the blast might cause a localized earthquake that could collapse part of the island into the Pacific, creating tidal waves, but the missile flew in from the north-northwest, thus making the explosive force echo to the south-southeast. Nothing very large in landmass is standing directly in the path of that blast before you get to Antarctica. Tsunamis might flow towards the East Indies and the western coast of South America eventually, but they'll be small."
Hearing that, the shipgirl nodded as her faerie crew held a moment of silence in grim contemplation of what had just been done. Unlike many Abyssal leaders, there had been no reason whatsoever to show mercy to the creature that had turned the largest of the Ogasawara Islands into a virtual charnel house; observations by subgirls of both Japan and America had long proven what that beast had done to unlucky sailors who had been caught by her forces over the years. Because of its actions, the government of the nation had reluctantly modified the Three Non-Nuclear Principles that had governed national defence policy since 1967. While still strictly outlawing the use or presence or acquisition of uranium-fuelled or plutonium-fuelled weapons anywhere in Japanese territory due to issues of radiation poisoning and proliferation, the government did accept the necessity of introducing ruby mesonium weapons to help destroy Abyssal installations that were directly threatening the very survival of the nation. Given what Fubuki and others had heard of the many attempts by Abyssals to use ebony mesonium weapons on humans worldwide, that stopped by the Ryūseizen and Canada's specialized warfare fighters...
A beep! echoed over the communications link. "Fujiko-chan?"
Fubuki gasped. "Heika?!"
"It's alright," the Heavenly Sovereign declared from his office in Kyōto. "It had to be done, child. Absolve yourself of guilt."
Hearing that, the adopted native of Maizuru nodded. "I can see where Oppenheimer-hakase came from in the end, Heika."
"Oh?"
"'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds'."
"Always keep that in mind, child."
Fubuki nodded. "Hai, Heika...!"
Washington, the White House...
"Mister President?"
Josiah Bartlet sighed. Everyone in the Situation Room had overhead that communication between Fubuki and Japan's head of state. "We say nothing specific about this incident," he declared as he stood, making others rise. He then gazed intently at C.J. Cregg. "If people ask, this was directly ordered by the Japanese government, C.J. Do not elaborate on it."
"Yes, sir," the press secretary affirmed with a nod...
Rajdhani on Tahupraemiku, a half-hour later...
"...this just came in from our Tōkyō office," the BBC announcer declared on the front view screen, the translation fields in the council chambers rendering those words in the native language of the listeners. As the graphics on the screen showed a very sleek starship version of the first true modern Earth wet-navy destroyer, the announcer said, "The Japanese starship destroyer THU Fubuki just fired a Type 93 Shinsedai anti-ship missile on Chichi Island in the Pacific Ocean about eight hundred kilometres south of Tōkyō thirty-two minutes ago at 6:33 PM Japan Standard Time; that is 9:33 AM Greenwich Mean Time. Said missile contained a bauximite-energized ruby mesonium core warhead with an explosive yield of 210 petajoules of energy, equivalent to fifty megatonnes of TNT, similar in destructive capacity to the infamous Tsar-bómba that was dropped on Nóvaja Zemljá on the thirtieth of October in 1961 by the Soviet Air Force. The missile struck the site of Ōmura village on Chichi Island, which is reported to be the headquarters of the infamous 'Cannibal Island Oni', an Abyssal anchorage water demon-type installation said to be responsible for the deaths of five hundred thousand sailors, soldiers and innocent civilians across the western Pacific and the Philippines Sea in the last half-decade alone. The British ambassador in Kyōto..."
The volume was turned down as the eyes of everyone in the chamber turned to focus on the image of Gotō Kiichi now on the aft view screen. "I take it, Lord Admiral, you didn't expect your subordinate to use THAT sort of weapon on that creature," King Fuyu of Neptune mused as he gave the weary-looking Japanese officer a sympathetic look. "My niece Pukaze has regaled me with all the incredible tales of what destroyer shipgirls are capable of doing when they put their minds to it."
Gotō chuckled. "You're far too kind, Your Majesty. Yes, the girls are all eager beavers, Fujiko-chan being one of the most eager of them all." As people in the chambers laughed at that observation, the commander of the Fleet Shipgirl Project for Japan added, "And I must apologize to Chief Dockmaster Teo for being forced to deal with thirty-six star destroyers now coming into his area of operations like that. The standing orders are concerning capital ships..."
"Pay it no mind, Lord Admiral," the elderly dockmaster said before indicating Aruka Noa. "The Great Lady Noa here was happy to arrange to pay for day docking privileges for all of Lady Roma's escorts. Still, I must confess, thirty-six...?!"
"In that, feel lucky, sir."
Laughter filled the hall...
...before the sound of a materializer — it sounded quite similar to the transporter effect in the original Star Trek series — echoed through the hall, allowing a slender girl of about thirteen to appear. Unlike her elder half-sister, Ch'ungp'ung wore the haze grey sleeveless skinsuit which design the Koreans borrowed from the Canadians, her hull classification symbol number 924 in black-shaded white on her upper thighs. She was blonde and blue-eyed like Shimakaze, but the destroyer known to friends as Sŭng Nayŏn had a hairband bearing the national flag of her adopted people and she had the Korean red-and-blue t'aeguk symbol of the Universe on her left breast opposite her name tape. Her sea boots were the same sort of high-heels that her elder half-sister wore, though coloured medium blue with black trim, reflecting modern non-fouling paint. "ANNYŎNG!" the adopted native of P'ohang called out as she waved her hands in a victory dance. "CH'UNGP'UNG, DOCKED!"
Most of the delegates cheered as four more destroyers beamed down right beside the just-arrived third of what were known as the "Pongp'ung-class" in Korea. "Ah! Nayŏn-a! Meanie!" T'anp'ung snapped. "You cheated somehow!"
"No, no, Naŭn-a!" Shimakaze quickly cut in. "Nayŏn-a didn't cheat! She was just faster to give the command to go to warp!"
That made the fourth of the Pongp'ung-class perk before she blushed, then she looked away. "Mianhaeyo...!"
"They got here THAT fast...?"
That was a wide-eyed Shigaten Ebisu. "WARP TWENTY!" Shimakaze and her half-sisters all then whooped.
"BEAT THAT, BELLE!" Shimakaze herself then roared out.
As her sisters cheered and shocked cries of disbelief echoed through the chamber, Lupica quickly used the room lights to get everyone's attention and calm the diplomats down. Teo took the chance to approach the destroyers and assign parking spaces for them. Soon enough, TKU Ch'ungp'ung and TKU T'anp'ung appeared to NSI Roma's port side, where Seq Yethis' command ship had been parked until it had been removed from over Rajdhani by the Gatherer. At the same time, TKU Pongp'ung, TKU T'aekp'ung were docked in the space that had been taken by the Niphentaxians' destroyer while THU Shimakaze was docked to Roma's starboard. Seeing that, a nearly-apoplectic Azu Des bolted to his feet as he pointed at the just-arrived shipgirls. "MOVE THOSE INFERNAL MACHINES, LESSERS! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DOCK THERE...!"
KK-KLONK!
"Knock it off, same!" Moroboshi Tariko called out from her place near the aft view screen after Des got brained by yet another cinder block. "We can hear you clear enough! Who says a same like you is 'greater' than someone like these nice girls?!"
Shimakaze's Korean sisters all blushed cutely at the compliment just paid to them by the Trickster of the Show. As many of the delegates all laughed at that comment, a voice then hissed out, "Fool...do you think you'll WIN...?!"
That was a shuddering and visibly bleeding Seq Yethis, who was slowly getting to his feet. "General, please! Calm down!" Redet Negau then pleaded. Ataru was quick to sense that she didn't really care for the man and would gladly wish him dead, but she had a rôle to play here. "You're suffering from a severe head wound thanks to one of the You Know Whos...!"
"Wow...!"
People perked, then they looked towards the wrecked doors leading to the antechamber beyond the main hall...
...before they gasped on seeing the three white-skinned humanoid females standing there, one looking like a pre-teen; one a sheer giant of a woman with long, flowing silver hair on her head, a unicorn-like horn over the bridge of her nose and huge clawed hands; and a more regular-looking woman in a black bikini with a lizard-like tail ending in a gun-like emplacement. As many of the people there croaked on seeing three living examples of the dark creatures of the depths that had plagued the humans of Earth for several decades before they became publicly known five years before, the little one nodded. "This place makes Hoppō think of the Great Hall at Onii-chan's school," she declared. "Lots of lights and a nice high ceiling...!"
"Indeed," Wanko mused. "A pity such a beautiful place of gathering has the stench of foul monsters within it." Her burning eyes first focused on the Niphentaxians in the room, then she gazed upon the Urusian representatives. As Ataru secretly winked to Lum in reassurance, the harbour princess queen of the Timor Sea then smirked. "I know you...!"
Her clawed finger pointed right at Seq Yethis. That made the shipgirls and Ataru all blink in surprise before he snapped his fingers, his jaw dropped in shock. "Wait! Are you saying that alien baby-kidnapper you told Onē-san about...?"
"Is kin to this pathetic creature," Wanko snarled, her pointed teeth glittering in the lights as Yethis gaped in stunned shock at her. "Indeed, Herald of the Prince of Eternity, you are right! I remember dear Kaga actually KILLING the thing for his attempt at trying to take away hungry children to serve as SLAVES on his home planet!" As many of the delegates gasped on hearing that, the harbour princess' right hand retracted into the puffy sleeve covering the opposite arm, then pulled out something that was wrapped in bandages with stained blood at the base. With a contemptuous fling of her clawed fingers, she sent it flying over into the Urusian general's hands while many of the people in the chamber blanched on realizing that Wanko had brought the severed head of an Oni-Urusian man into this meeting, an act that would cause an instant meltdown.
He didn't disappoint them.
"YOU MURDERED MY SON?!" Yethis shrieked after catching the head, instantly confirming by the package's general shape and the position of the horn buds peeking through the bandages whose head it was. "YOU ANIMAL...!"
KA-BOOM!
As many of the delegates screamed in shock at that explosion, a VERY familiar man's voice bellowed out, "YOU TSICKED ME, YOU SARCALLY COYOTE! RAY YOUS PSAYESR, YOU RCSEWBALL SEALITY-WASPES!"
"HELP ME, LUM-SAMA! SAVE ME FROM THIS HORRIBLE MONSTER...!"
KK-KRASH!
"Hey! How the hell did you escape Yiziba of all places, you jackass?!" Tariko demanded after a cinder block smashed down a badly beaten Fangi t'ndai-Marthon, who had been running for his life when he teleported back to Tahupraemiku.
As many in the crowd around them shrieked on yet again hearing THAT word, a huffing Eternal Hunter charged into the chamber, instantly spinning around to level his revolver grenade launcher at his nemesis' head. "YOU TSICKED ME!"
His finger moved to squeeze the trigger. "KILL HER!" Yethis shrieked as mad laughter took his voice. "KILL THE LESSERS AROUND YOU, GREAT HUNTER! KILL THEM ALL AND ALL OF THE UNIVERSE IS FINALLY OURS!"
Isona'a Naggu instantly paused on hearing that, then he glared at the frothing Oni general, who had begun to howl with delight at the idea of one of the most dangerous beings on the planet of the Seeker's Forge wiping out all the class traitors, lessers and other unworthy being standing in the way of a conquest of the local cluster by the reborn Urusian Empire. "You be quiet, rame!" he snarled, making the other Urusian delegates squawk in fear as that lethal weapon in the Eternal Hunter's hand began to swing in their direction while other delegates ducked. "You'se intesrupting the fight rcene with that laugh!"
"Indeed, it is no wonder, Oh Hunter, that your quest for victory is mocked by these creatures!"
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
Isona'a blinked before he gazed up at Wanko. His nose flared for a second before he politely doffed his hat to her. "You rmell like the rea! You murt be one of thore Abyrsalr I heasd about! What ir a psetty lady like you doing among there rames?!" That comment instantly earned him a deep blush from the harbour princess. "Erpecially with yous nice little rirter hese?"
Hoppō blushed at being called "nice" by this rather wacky representative of what was "normal" for one born of the World of the Seeker's Forge. "Oh, just returning the head of this creature's son..." Wanko began, earning her a shriek from Yethis.
"MURDERER!" the senior general bellowed as he pointed at Wanko.
"He's a BASTARD SON, by the way!"
That was a smirking Redet Lum, which made many of the delegates gasp as they looked her way. "YOU BE QUIET, YOU DISOBEDIENT GIRL!" Yethis howled. "YOUR TREASON AGAINST YOUR CLASS BY TRYING TO MATE WITH A LESSER WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN! YOU'LL BECOME EMPRESS, THEN MATE WITH MY SON AND BIRTH THE FIRST TRUE EMPEROR OF THE REALM SINCE SYL'S TREASON! ALL OF EARTH WILL BE ENSLAVED TO THE REALM...!"
KK-KRACK!
That was Ataru's hand nearly breaking Yethis' neck with the force of a backhanded slap that could have shattered a boulder. As the general collapsed to the floor, the former Terran tag race champion shook his head. "Now that I shook what little brains you have in your head back into place, I have a question: How in Lyna's name can Lum mate with a CORPSE?!"
Dead silence followed.
"Didn't think so!" Ataru snarled. "I think these good people here have had enough of you! Not to mention the good people back on Uru and all the colonies that have had to put up to the constant interference of you and your friends throw up when they try to make their lives better!" He shook his head. "The six months I spent on Okusei learning all about the politics of your planet really does come in handy! Madame Windtalker, would you kindly reveal yourself, please?!" he called out.
As he looked aft, others turned to look...
...then they gaped on seeing a red-haired Japanese woman with chestnut brown eyes, currently in an urban camouflage-like jumpsuit of the same cut as Tariko's and Isona'a's, who was currently seated beside Ataru's adopted sister, a complex video camera recorder unit in hand. "Meet the Voice of the Great Show of Life," he introduced the current incarnation of Bo'odurba ("Windtalker"), whom the shipgirls automatically recognized as Asakura Kazumi, one of the many girls who had been in Negi Springfield's homeroom class for two years before and during Blood Week when he discovered the process by which the spirits of warships from years past could be summoned to fight the Abyssals. "While you and your idiot allies down the row from here were making total fools of themselves here, I asked her to RECORD this, then get it transmitted back to your home planets and all their colonies!" As Yethis looked ready to laugh right into his face, Ataru shook his head. "Before you claim the censors monitoring INN transmissions from here through the Warp Chamber back to Uru are going to cut out all the interesting bits, you better know that her power ALSO includes the ability to break past ANY form of electronic censorship!" He shook his head as most of the Urusian delegates gaped in horror. "So since I can now sense that the people in this chamber have had their fill of your diarrhea, say 'Good night, Gracie!'" He leaned up to glare into Yethis' face. "To quote Ten that one time with that ghost goat on Mendō's pad: 'Have a nice afterlife!'" As the general gasped, Ataru leaned back. "Now, Henry!"
"Done, Ataru."
People gasped as the Urusian delegation save Negau disappeared in a shower of materializer energy. "Sorry about that," Ataru then apologized. "Hope you didn't leave anything precious behind on that ship, Negau-san."
"On THAT ship?! Not in a million years, Ataru!" Lum's adopted sister declared with a laugh.
People in the chamber exchanged looks as they tried to understand what was going on, then they all stared once more at Lum's adopted sister. "You're setting them up to die?" Wanko demanded, making many of the Niphentaxians croak.
"Well, isn't it a pity that ALL of Yethis' friends decided to come here together so they could press for the extermination of ALL your kind, ALL your opponents, ALL the metahumans and ALL the magicals on your planet. All via an endless filibuster debate, Miss Wanko," Negau stated as she moved to take her place as the ONLY Urusian delegate in the chambers now.
Silence.
More silence.
Still more silence.
Then...
"Why...?"
That was a white-faced Fangi, who was staring in horror at his goddess' beloved adopted sister. "It's none of your business, but I'll answer you anyway," Negau sneered out at him. "It was long since time to clean out the trash back home."
She then held out a data chip for Lupica to take. As the crown princess of Tahupraemiku moved to confirm what was there with the computer terminal built into the lectern, Ataru then gazed over at Teo, who had placed himself close to Shimakaze. "Oh, Chief Dockmaster, there just might be an in-system collision between that ship and...!"
"HEY! WHO MOVED THAT PIECE OF JUNK IN FRONT OF MY BOW?! DAMNED SUNDAY HELMSMEN!"
"...HMCS Assiniboine," Ataru finished with a wince. "You okay, Erica-san?!"
"Yeah, Ataru, I'm fine! Ship's fine, too!" the voice of the former flotilla leader of the C-class destroyers built during the years of the Great Depression called back, said being relayed into the chamber thanks to the Gatherer's systems. "Lucky thing the engineer on this ship turned on the structural integrity field and put it to full max when we were in warp! Some dumb fool moved their junk heap of a spaceship right into the approach lane to take to assume orbit over the damned planet! Don't people read the rules of the damned road when they drive their ships around a planet, for God's sake?!"
"You murderer...!"
That was Fangi, who was staring in mortal dread at Ataru. "On the contrary, Mister President," Teo spoke up. "Indeed, it's been a miracle that the helm officers of certain Urusian starships are still accredited to pilot their ships in sub-light conditions! The arrogance of such people — which I'm sure Lady Captain Negau might confirm might ALL be of the same political leanings as the late General Yethis and his friends — is truly staggering to behold at times. I'll have to ask for...er, her name?"
"Lieutenant Commander Erica Caslon of the Royal Canadian Navy, Lord Dockmaster," Roma supplied. "Lady Assiniboine of Winnipeg, formerly Lady Kempenfelt of Westminster and Cowes in the Royal Navy."
"Ah, thank you, Lady Roma. I'll ask for a copy of Lady Assiniboine's flight recorders to analyze what happened. I'll need a copy of the Gatherer's sensor logs as well, Lady Noa." Teo winked. "Just to make it proper."
"Of course, Dockmaster-prime," Noa vowed with a bow of her head.
"Oh, God! I'm gonna get court-martialled!" Assiniboine moaned out.
"Relax, Erica-san! I'll get Onē-san to square it off with Admiral Harlan and General Raeburn."
A moaned gasp of relief escaped the former flotilla leader. "Thanks, man...!"
"You murderer...!" Fangi hissed out again. "Lum-sama, how could..,you allow him to...get away with this...?"
Lum shook her head. "Darling is the Chosen One of the Eternal Voyager, you pathetic pedophile!" she snarled, making many in the crowd whoop in delight on hearing her say that in public. "Chosen by Aruka Noa herself!" she said as she pointed to the Elder Mother of Sagussa. "Oh, yes, I would have loved to be Darling's wife once I finally earned his trust and he came to love me! He was WAY more of a man to me that Ōgi or Rei or Shūtarō or Megane-san or any of the other prospects that I had...!"
"HEY!" Aruka Ran snapped as she glared at her rival.
"Ran-chan, please! Not NOW!" Ataru hissed out.
"Quiet, Ran! If you want someone who might EAT you one day, you can damn hell have him!" Lum shrilled, making Ran duck as both Shigaten Benten and Oyuki gaped in horror at their friend. She then took a deep breath as she gazed on Roma. "As I told Okiku-san when I left Tomobiki, Roberta-san. Please take care of him." She turned away. "Excuse me...!"
With that, she flew out through a side door, immediately followed by her friends. "LUM-SAMA...!" Fangi screamed.
"YOU PEDOPHILER! CHARING AFTES NIRE GISLR LIKE THAT! RAY YOUS PSAYESR, RAMES!"
The Niphentaxians all screamed out as Isona'a levelled his weapon at them...
...then they all vanished in a flash of light, as did the Eternal Hunter himself!
Silence fell over the scene, then Tariko sighed as Kazumi cut the transmission on her video camera recorder. "Well, at least he remembered to take them home before he went and shot them," the Trickster of the Show then noted.
"Hope he recognized that one Avalonian in the group," the Voice of the Show declared.
As people broke out in laughter on hearing that, Ataru smirked. "I'm hungry!" he then said. "We didn't have supper!"
"Lucky thing I've got such a nice galley to work with now," Roma noted.
"Let's go try it out!" he mused. "Oi! Girls! Replenishment time!"
As the destroyers all cheered on hearing that, they moved to leave the chambers while many of the delegates there all rose to applaud. Stopping in front of his other would-be "wife", Ataru's eyes narrowed as the left one glowed. "You might need to elect a new queen very soon, Babara," he then declared, his voice ringing out over the whole chamber, which made people pause. "I don't care to be even friends with someone whose strings are being pulled from somewhere else."
As Elle gasped in shock on hearing that cold declaration from him, Ataru offered his arm to Roma as they walked out, followed by the destroyers and the three Abyssals who had come with the destroyers to Tahupraemiku...
To Be Continued...
WRITER'S NOTES
For those who don't understand the whole concept behind the Daishi'cha ("great first mothers") of Sagussa, please read the "Great Father Ataru" segment of The Senior Year. It was also in TSY that I came up with the concept of Queen Elle having a different birth name; in my stories, she was born Amora de Rosenbach, assuming the regal name "Elle" on ascending to the throne. She is the sixty-forth Rose Queen of the Kingdom of Elle, her predecessors having used the same regal name since the time of its establishment a millennia ago. It was also in TSY that Shogai Dakejinzō and Varanko were introduced, the former appearing first in "Arrive Reiko-chan" and the latter in "Ancient Ties".
Translation list: Daite'cha — Literally "first above all" but normally translated "first citizen", this is the position title assumed by Sagussa's head of state; Nave Stellare Italiana — Italian Starship (short-form NSI); 'Amīr — Normally transliterated as "Emir" and meaning "commander" or "prince", this is a noble title in the Arabic world that is often applied to sovereign princes of states such as Kuwait; Ogasawara-guntō — The proper name for the Bonin Islands extending from Tōkyō towards Iō-tō and the other Volcano Islands (Kazan-rettō), forming the eastern border of the Philippine Sea; T'ong'il Konghwaguk Ujuham — Star Warship of the United Republic (of Korea) (short-form TKU); -dŭl — Korean version of the Japanese "-tachi" plural ending; Navire Interstellaire Canadien de Sa Majesté — Her Majesty's Canadian Starship (short-form NCSM); JAXA — Short for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the space research institution of Japan; Shinsedai — Next generation; Annyŏng — Short for annyŏng haseyo ("peace be with you"), the standard Korea polite greeting; Mianhaeyo — I'm sorry; INN — Intergalactic News Network; CT — Short for Contre-Torpilleur ("Anti-Torpedo [Boat Destroyer]"), the French Navy ship prefix for the large destroyers constructed to serve that country in the inter-war period.
Explaining NSI Roma's pendant code RI-CS-21:
RI — Repubblica Italiana ("Italian Republic")
CS — Corazzata Spaziale ("Space Battleship")
21 — The twenty-first battleship built in Italy from RM Ammiraglio di Saint Bon (served 1901-20); in this case, the hull number is transferred from the surface ship to the space ship.
The class names used for many of the Canadian destroyers mentioned here were chosen because letter names had been used by their original builders in Britain and there were multiple classes using the same letters, causing confusion. The "Comet-class destroyers" are the C-class destroyers built in 1930; the follow-on C-class destroyers that came out in 1943 are known as the "Caprice-class destroyers" in this story. The "Electra-class destroyers" are the E-class destroyers built in 1933. The "Fearless-class destroyers" are the F-class destroyers built at the same time as the E-class and built roughly to the same design; the two classes are often known as "E and F Class" in combination. The "Venus-class destroyers" are the V-class destroyers built in 1941. There was an earlier V-class destroyer with ships still in active service that were built in 1916; these ships would be known in public as the "Valentine-class destroyer". The American-built Wickes-class destroyers mentioned here were, in British Commonwealth terminology, combined with the follow-on Clemson-class destroyers as a unified "Town-class destroyer" due to the naming practice once they were transferred to the Royal Navy and affiliate services. In the universe of this story, ships such as HMCS Columbia (Shawna O'Brien) are classified by the original class name.
Shipgirl introduced in this part:
FRANCE
CT Le Terrible — Françoise Belle de la Chapelle
JAPAN
THG Uzuki — Kisaragi Utako
THG Murasame — Hamamoto Momoko
THG Samidare — Hamamoto Sanako
THG Umikaze — Hamamoto Umeko
THG Kawakaze — Hamamoto Kawako
OMAKE
A PONY VISITS THE FEDERATION
by Baran3
Including characters and situations from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, created by Lauren Faust.
The character of Silver Dawn is Baran3's own creation.
Note: This is set during the first scene of Part Twenty-Eight
Rajdhani on Tahupraemiku, the Council Chambers of the Galactic Federation of Planet-states, the 29th Day of the Eighth Month, noon (Tōkyō time: Friday 26 May, supper)...
Standing now in the main aisle between the delegate seats, Moroboshi Ataru, his wife Roma and Aruka Noa all blinked as their senses detected a pattern of magical energy slowly building up in the antechamber at the aft end of the meeting hall. Thanking the fates and his own master's benevolence that his "mangled" face masked him wanting to smirk; some people here would have a heart attack on realizing who was about to visit. The Elder Mother of the Fifth Republic of Sagussa had a Mona Lisa smile on her face while the third of the Littorio-class battleships decided that "borrowing" some popcorn from Ataru's currently-masked sister Tariko — now perched under the aft view screen — was required for what should happen...
Now!
The electronic announcer — which was NEVER used by most galactic representatives — then coughed a little, drawing the eyes towards the main door, making many of the people there blink in confusion.
"Announcing Her Royal Highness, Princess Silver Dawn of Equestria, Alicorn of Hope!"
The massive doors swung open, revealing a very beautiful equine standing five feet at the shoulders, possessing a silky creme coat, silver mane and tail, bright and all-seeing emerald eyes peeking out from her well-shaped head. A simple circlet of silver and a peytral of gold, marked with her cutie mark of the seven-coloured rainbow, were the only visible signs of her royalty if one didn't first note her Pegasus-type wings and the single horn spiralling up from her forehead.
Seeing this being, a visibly apoplectic Seq Yethis was instantly on his feet before the door was completely open. "WHAT MADNESS IS THIS?!" the chief of staff to the Urusian head of state shrieked at the top of his lungs. "THIS CREATURE IS NOT EVEN OF OUR PLANE OF EXISTENCE! SHE DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO...!"
He was suddenly making much wind from his mouth without any sound to continue assaulting the other delegates' ears. An emerald halo around his throat and the pearl horn of the Alicorn revealed the reason why.
The Alicorn turned a critical eye towards the would-be crown prince from Uru. "Mister Yethis," she said with a touch of scorn in her voice. "The acoustics of this chamber enable anypony to be heard by everypony without the necessity of screaming like a spoiled foal. I would remind you that you represent your people and that your manners reflect on the image of your Union. However, you have the right to ask the reason of my presence and my right to be heard by your peers."
The Equestrian pony princess gracefully trotted to the centre of the meeting hall, smiling at the detailed rendition of the Milky Way galaxy embedded in the floor before she turned to gaze upon the delegates there. Among the humanoids in the group, some were smiling, others scowling, a few were scared but all were waiting for her explanation. The true aliens in the lot all reacted as if they were more than happy to have Silver Dawn grace them with her presence.
"The eyes of many Entities beyond this plane of existence are aware of the events here. Many of these Powers are interested in how you are all going to solve them. Harmony and Hope have guided me here because the Hope of many people in your galaxy are concerned and Harmony wants to know an important point." Silver Dawn bowed to the reborn elder of the Maidens of Aruka. "I apologizes in advance to your people and the Avalonians because of the nature of this question, Elder Mother."
"No apologies are necessary, Your Highness," Noa affirmed with a bow of her own.
Whispers echoed in the background, that interspersed with attempts at screamed questions or other means to block procedure. Unfortunately for the hecklers, Silver Dawn came prepared; she had ASKED for permission before entering this dimension and this very planet. Eyes immediately locked on their host at the head of the room. Lupica had been consulting a few galactic law texts to be sure while the Alicorn introduced herself; nodding in acceptance, she bade the visitor to continue.
To the stupefaction of many in the room and the silent dread of few, Silver Dawn then turned to gaze upon Fangi t'ndai-Marthon. "Mister Fangi, my question is for you and your 'Church of Lum'," she said with a barely masked smile.
The older lookalike of Aisuru Satoshi rose from his seat, looking ready to unleash an angry, derogatory rant. He was stopped when he noted that the eyes of the Alicorn were...glowing with barely contained power? Gulping as he suppressed a shiver behind an arrogant sneer, he bit out, "Ask your question, 'Princess'." That title had almost been spat out. "However, do remember that YOU are also subject to the same limitations that you just advised Senior General Yethis."
As Yethis grinned on noting his "ally" was willing to support him against this creature, Silver Dawn nodded. "I am not asking for the veracity of your faith. I know about the continuing existence of the 'gods' of other faiths on your planet. I even had the pleasure of encountering Elvis Presley at the 'Bar at the Corner of the Multiverse'." As many of the older Niphentaxians gasped on hearing that, she smiled. "A remarkable 'King of Rock'. Very friendly..." She caught herself. "My question is about a point of your current beliefs. Your people wrote and said — even screamed! — that Moroboshi Ataru is the 'Great Evil', the living avatar of everything negative and malicious in your perception of your reality, correct?"
Fangi was flabbergasted. Many of the representatives here were also surprised by the question. Ataru himself, who had allowed the cold fire to transform him to normal, bit back a chuckle as he understood the precise question of the Alicorn.
"What...?! Buh...! You...?! YES! ATARU is...!" Fangi then cleared his throat. "Hum...sorry about my outburst...!" A terrifying grin then crossed his face. "YES!" he screamed out. "Moroboshi Ataru IS the Great Evil!"
"Very well, then. Where is your proof?"
Silence answered the Alicorn's question.
Roma could almost swear she was hearing a cricket nearby...
Fin
