The door burst open with a dull thud and Zero blinked, distracted from his dark thoughts.
Sylviana walked in, Ishikura's right arm around her neck, his head lolling on her shoulder to the rhythm of her steps and his boots crawling on the floor behind her.
She dumped him on the seat of his station, straightened up and clapped her hands. Clouds of ash rose from her gloves and a strong smell of smoke spread all around her.
- Fat lot of good that will do me - she turned to Zero and pointed Ishikura with her thumb - Listen, Captain Rough: when Sleeping Beauty here wakes up, tell him that we're even about the whole laboratory thing... indeed, he owes me!
Zero looked at her in shock and stared at Ishikura. He was black from head to toe, his jacket and trousers scorched and his left sleeve soaked in blood under an improvised tourniquet held by a strip of elastic material.
- Wha...
- Ah, and tell him that locking himself in a place where plastic materials, electric circuits and who knows what other devilries are burning to shut a quintal-weighing airtight door is actually not a good idea - she slapped him behind the back of his head - Especially with a wounded shoulder and after you have put your gas mask on someone else.
Marina knelt beside Ishikura and took off his left glove.
- But why did you bring him here? - she felt his wrist - He needs...
Sylviana snorted and kicked the chair.
- Even fainted, this fool keeps repeating "Captain, Captain" - she turned on her heels - Might as well saving ourself the effort.
She walked to the door, chest puffed out, head down and legs wide, in a very unfeminine stroll strongly reminding the one of the man she had just brought in there when he was not fine with something... meaning, almost always.
Zero extended a hand.
- And now where are you going?
Sylviana opened the door with another kick and rolled her eyes.
- Deck five, of course - even the stubborn expression was the same as Ishikura - Now that the door is closed, the fire won't reach the reactor anymore, but those cool Machine Big Boys in the firefighting squad need a leader worth his salt to finish the job... so do not let him come down again, or I swear I'll strangle you both!
She walked out the door, sat her burnt skirt on her thighs and turned around.
- Oh, one last thing - she pointed her finger at Ishikura again - If, once this is all over, you want to beat him until he gets smart, fine with me, but leave him at least one usable arm: not tonight, 'cause I'll be dead tired, but tomorrow I demand that he gets me the manicure... and prepare himslelf: to glue all the glitter and the decals of my nail art, it took me almost an hour, this morning!
Sylviana closed the door and Zero stared at it, his fists clenched in his pockets.
Tomorrow... she still believes there will be a tomorrow...
And all those who were not on that bridge too; they still trusted him, they were fighting for their life...
Damn it... Damn!
Ishikura coughed, rubbed his red eyes and sat up.
- Where...? - he bent over into a coughing fit - What am I doing here? My men... the door... the reactor!
He started to get up, but Marina held him down.
- Sylviana brought you here - she took her scarf off her neck and wrapped it around his shoulder, under the elastic strip - Stay down, you're...
- Sylviana?!
Marina tied the knot and cut the strip. Ishikura groaned, gripped his wounded shoulder and looked around.
- And where is that disgrace in a dress now?
- Directing your team at bridge five - Rai cut a cable at the foot of Marina's post and replaced a connector - Said you owes her a manicure with glitters or something.
- What?! - Ishikura sprang up - I'll strangle her! I told her loud and clear to reach the assembly point with the auxiliary staff!
He staggered and fell back into his chair, bended in another coughing fit.
- Why are you so angry? - Eluder threw him a bottle of water - She's not bound to follow your orders: she's a civilian and technically we're not even the ones who hired her. In fact, I wonder what she's doing here...
Ishikura emptied the bottle in three quick gulps.
- I'll strangle her nonetheless - he dried his lips on his sleeve - Not tonight, 'cause I'll be dead tired, but tomorrow I swear that I'll strangle her!
Kaibara pulled one of his mustaches and chuckled.
- Met your match, huh, Ishikura?
Rai gave a nervous chuckle and typed a sequence of commands on Marina's console.
- Too bad we can't get plastered at your bachelor party - he pressed the reboot button and the main screen lit up - What a gip, huh?
Nohara frowned.
- What was the need, Rai? At least he could still delude himself...
Zero stared at the image of the Nèmesis: it had almost completely turned.
It doesn't even have to shoot us. Just run us over with its gravitational field will do the job.
Ishikura gasped and leaned over his panel.
- What are you all standing there for? - he turned his gaze on his comrades - Rai, get back to your place and lock the target!
Zero looked at his monitor over his shoulder: he was typing the sequence to open the St. Elmo's power circuits.
Rai slumped in his chair and crossed his legs over the console.
- It's useless - he crossed his arms behind his head and sighed, his eyes fixed on the Nèmesis - The automatic systems are not working and that thing regenerates at such a speed...
Ishikura typed the pointing system command's transfer sequence.
- Then you will have to aim at sight, Captain. Kaibara, activate the reactor. Eluder, turn the ship!
- Ishikura... it's over.
Ishikura slammed his fist on the board.
- It's not over! - he got up - The auxiliary engine and the energy are enough for such a simple maneuver, so follow my order, Lieutenant Eluder!
- Do you really want to die with honor, don't you, boy? - Kaibara smiled and activated the reactor - Fine, I totally understand you: I don't really fancy to go boom without returning at least one shot either.
Ishikura glared at him.
- I do not want to die at all!
Zero stared at his sleeve stained with blood and ash. He noticed it.
- I know what you're thinking - he punched in the last series of commands and confirmed it - But it's not like that. I was not looking for a good excuse to reach my brother, down there.
- Oh, no, huh? - Nohara shot him an unconvinced look.
Ishikura closed his eyes.
- Do you remember that time you punched me on Heavy Meldar, Captain? - he chuckled and lowered his gaze on the panel - You told me that I could never beat Harlock and Tochiro because I had no one to offer my life for. Back then, I did not understand: what strength could give me such a bond with someone?
He squeezed his fingers around the aiming system's dislocation lever, his eyes on the the reactor's flowchart.
- Now I know - he pulled it - And I made myself a promise: I will never again find myself looking helpless while someone hurts my family, no matter what!
His...
Marina squeezed his healthy shoulder and sat at her desk, Eluder put his hands around the cloche without a word.
The pointing system emerged in front of Zero and Ishikura looked into his eyes.
- We have a duty to win this battle and survive, Captain! If we don't, who will stop Hell Matear and that Odhrán? - his voice broke. He looked away - And our comrades... my... for what ... for what ...
- Your L.T. is right Zero - on the screen, between interferences and static waves, Harlock appeared - And you don't practice what you preach too, I see. I owe you a good beating, remember it.
Zero squeezed the St. Elmo's pointing system in his hands and stared at him: a trickle of blood was running down his left cheek and a few bars of his rudder were broken. The wood under his left glove was also stained red.
- Harlock, what's your status?
Tadashi ripped the bandage off his forehead.
- We still have a last salvo of torpedoes - he frowned - But even if we managed to avoid the gravitational field and most of the blows, we suffered more damage on the whole hull. How long can you resist?
- A broadside.
Maybe.
Harlock pinched his chin and pursed his lips.
- Then we can't fail.
- What do you want to do, Harlock?
- I have no time to explain it - he frowned - Turn the Karyu and prepare to shoot with St. Elmo.
- But you saw it too! It would do nothing but disperse the...
- Trust me.
Zero frowned. A bad presentiment gripped his stomach, thoughts of death that didn't belong to him crossed his mind.
He shook his head. It was not time to let himslef be caught up in anxiety and the aftermath of that transfer. He had to protect his men, at any cost.
And yet...
- Harlock...
- Zero, there's no time to discuss. Do as I told you or we will all die!
Zero turned his gaze on his crew. He had no choice, no alternatives to propose.
Alright, then.
- Mr. Eluder, you heard him. Turn the ship and point the enemy.
- But we can not get too close, Captain! The energy...
- Don't worry - Harlock grinned - She will come to us. Maji, full speed ahead! Yuki, route on sector 245-B. Keep a minimum distance of four thousand meters from the Karyu. Yattaran, connect them to our radar.
The Arcadia slid before them and turned on one side in a single, smooth maneuver.
Harlock turned the helm to compensate for the centrifugal force and extended his arm.
- Tadashi, fire with everything we have! Yuki, stabilize the set-up and activate the braking rockets, Maji, lower the RPMs; full speed ahead at my signal!
A salvo of fifty and more torpedoes lit the space towards the Nèmesis and Zero squinted, dazzled. Harlock straightened the bar and stared at him.
- Zero, as soon as the Nèmesis fires...
- I'll have to pass you, take the shot and shoot, right, Harlock?
Harlock grinned.
- We understand each other, I see.
Zero frowned.
- I don't like what I think I understood, Harlock.
Because then, in these conditions, you'd have no choice left but...
Harlock prepared to rotate the rudder.
- I told you: trust me, once and for all - he nodded to Yuki and Maji - And as soon as the gravitational shield weakens, fire on the central part of the Nèmesis, right on that winged woman figure!
- But that's carzy! - Rai jumped in his chair - For as close as it could get, there will be at least seventy kilometers between us and the enemy! It's true that the Captain is a marksman, but...
- Calm down, Mr. Rai - Zero bit his lip and adjusted the viewfinder - I'll make it somehow. Mr. Kaibara...
- You can fire when you want, Sir.
- All right - a drop of sweat dripped from his forehead down his cheek - I'm ready, Harlock. Rai, raise the shields.
- Enemy fire coming, straight ahead of us! - Breaker and Yuki turned in unison.
Harlock gritted his teeth and turned the rudder. The Arcadia leaned to port side.
Zero stared at the Nemesis on the screen and at the trim indicator on his control panel.
- Eluder, Breaker, place the ship perpendicularly to the enemy hull. Mr. Kaibara, full speed ahead - he closed one eye and framed the Nèmesis in the viewfinder - Mr. Ishikura, order all the crew to prepare for the impact and alert all the medical and fire teams. First Officer Oki, you have the command until the end of the shooting procedure.
The Arcadia slipped to his left and disappeared in the wake of the Karyu.
The light of Nemesis' lasers filled the screens and the viewfinder. Zero squinted and held the aiming system firmly in his hands. He spread his legs, pointed his feet against the sides of the bridge waiting for the recoil and focused on the point he had to hit. The Karyu jumped and screeched, the cracks on the windows deepened even more and, somewhere, again, something caught fire. Lights and connections flickered; this time, no emergency light lit the bridge.
In the darkness, the Nèmesis was a distant point, black against the white and blue of Miraiseria. The light of the two suns created an annoying reflection on the viewfinder's glass.
- Mr. Eluder, stabilize the ship - Marina's voice was firm despite the darkness and the aftershocks - Mr. Rai, activate the autonomous generator!
- First Officer - Eluder left the cloche - We ran out of propulsion energy. We can no longer move except by inertia.
Zero removed the safety. The ship jerked and the engines fell silent.
- Suspend all systems.
He aligned the sight to the notch, pointed and held his breath. The black dot was blurred now.
He concentrated on the notch, relaxed the muscles of his neck and shoulders and got the barrel in axis with his arms.
One, two, three, four... Now!
He pulled the trigger to the end and exhaled, his heart bursting.
The light of St. Elmo dazzled him, the recoil sent him back on his seat.
The tension returned with a buzz and Marina zoomed in on the target.
On the main screen, the Nèmesis was devoid of its gravitational field and a large gash ran down its side: the winged figure had disappeared, replaced by a smoking black chasm vomiting electric shocks.
Rai jumped up next to the generator, his mouth wide open.
- No one will believe this back home - he laughed - You are a formidable shooter, Captain! If...
A sudden jolt sent him legs in the air. Zero turned around.
The Arcadia flanked them on the right, rostrum extracted and engines at maximum power.
- What...
On the screen, Harlock's flickering, out-of-focus figure closed his eyes and smiled.
- I entrust everything to you - a static discharge canceled the image - Goodbye, my friend...
- Multiple contacts behind us - Breaker bent over the radar panel - Sending the image on the main screen!
Zero jumped on his feet, that terrible feeling crossing his chest again.
Rescue pods. Oh, no... no!
- Harlock! - Zero spread his hand to the tail of the Arcadia, a lump tightening his throat - Stop, you jackass!
The audio connection dropped too. The Arcadia darted forward, its bow pointed against the Nèmesis. Zero's hand trembled with rage, despair and helplessness, just like at the end of that wretched battle of fourteen years ago. Like then, he knew that shouting and pleading would do no good. Like then, he couldn't help but do it.
- Harlock, don't do anything stupid - he gasped - Harlock, come back immediately! Do you hear me, you idiot pirate? We have still a score to settle! You can not...
The light of the explosion dazzled him, the shock wave invested the bridge and slammed him against the back of his seat and onto the panel.
He stood up and leaned back in his chair. He could no longer see either the Nèmesis, nor the Arcadia, nor even Miraiseria; before him, there was only a huge ball of fire. He slammed his fist on the control panel and took his head in his hands.
- Stupid, stupid Harlock...

-

Disclaimer: fanfic based on the world and the characters of "Captain Harlock" (Uchu kaizoku Kyaputen Harokku "and" Cosmo Warrior Zero "(Kosumo Woria Zero), created by and © Leiji Matsumoto.
All rights for these characters are © Leiji Matsumoto, Toei Animation, Enoki Fims and probably a bunch of other people.
Their use in this story does not imply support, approval or permission from them.
Since this story was conceived and written by a fan for other fans, please do not plagiarize, to quote me as a writer in case of publication elsewhere and not to redistribute it for a fee. Thank you!