Chapter 7: Invaders From Frontier Space

Buzz and Luna decided to take a trip to the ship's dining room on Deck 6 while the Excalibur cruised through space. They enjoyed chicken sandwiches and Cosmo-Cola and conversed about life in the 25th Century, and Buzz found Luna to be an exciting person as well as smart, funny, and deep down, she was very tenderhearted. At one point in their chat, she said, "Of course, if you let anyone back at base know that I like music and clothes from the 20th Century, I'll deny it."

"You're adorable, you know that?" Buzz grinned. "Strong, but adorable."

Luna blushed at this surprising comment. Back when they were recruits together only six months earlier, if any boy recruit said she was adorable or cute or tried to flirt with her, she would take that boy to the training deck and wallop him before making him give her a foot rub. But with Buzz, the story had changed. She found him not only comfortable with being around her, but also willing to admit that they were similar in skill with each other.

Before they could continue their conversation, Ensign Markovich called down to Deck 4 from the bridge. "Bridge to Captain Rogers. Come in, please, sir."

"Captain Rogers here," answered Buzz.

"Sir, you're needed on the bridge immediately," Ensign Markovich reported. "I believe we have found part of our space puzzle directly ahead."

With that, Buzz and Luna hurried back up to the bridge, and there, the two saw that Markovich's report was correct. There were starships from the Galactic Federation as well as from the local star systems, but something was wrong with the scenario. Those ships appeared to be drifting and the scans showed no passengers or crew were on any of them.

"Buzz, what happened?" asked Luna.

"I'm only a new captain in the GPU, Luna," he replied. "What do you think?"

"I dunno," answered Luna. Then she noticed something and said to one of the lookouts, "Sergeant Tracer, increase magnification on the viewscreen."

Sergeant Tracer did so, and then Buzz and Luna went wide-eyed. The ships were damaged with holes burned through their hulls, wings and rocket engines damaged or missing, and some ships were tinged with lingering energy that was clearly superheated. Buzz looked the situation over and then realized what had happened.

"They've been attacked!" he cried. "Lieutenant Silverstar, alert all stations immediately!"

Luna saluted with a quick "Yes, sir!" and sounded the alarm. Then Buzz said to Sergeant Tracer, "Sergeant, scramble security on the double!"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Tracer responded. He tapped his desk comlink and said, "Red alert! All security guards arm yourselves and man your stations now! On the double! Let's move, move, move!"

In a few minutes, all hands aboard the Excalibur were prepared for whatever threat they would be facing. Buzz ordered Mr. Drox to bring the ship over the wrecked vessels while they scanned the area for any sign of the thing that had caused this. Forty minutes passed with no results, but as they were heading into the next quadrant, Ensign Markovich noticed something.

"Captain Rogers, we're detecting a large object about fifty-thousand yards from us," he reported to Buzz.

"What sort of object? A lifeform?" inquired Buzz.

"Negative," Markovich replied "It's metal, and it's giving off energy."

Then it must be another ship, Buzz thought.

He ordered Mr. Drox to bring the Excalibur in closer and have the cloaking device activated so the ship couldn't be detected if it turned out to be hostile. Then he called for Dr. Metropolis to come up to the bridge. When he came, Buzz said, "If this is another ship we're dealing with, we may need you and some of your assistants to help treat any injured passengers and crew if they're in any trouble."

"At your service, sir," answered Dr. Metropolis with a salute.

It was when they drew close to a nearby nebula that Buzz, Luna, Dr. Metropolis, and the others got a terrifying surprise. The object turned to be a ship, but it was unlike any spaceship Buzz had yet seen or even thought of. It was spherical in shape and made of a dark metal that gave it a very intimidating appearance, and it was enormous. It had several pointed spires around the rim of the northern section of the axis with a single red bubble canopy directly at the top. Thousands of viewports encircled the hull and at least eight circular cannons, each a hundred yards around, were placed above and below the ship's equator. To make matters worse, every fifth level of the ship was lined with automatic laser turrets, and three sections of landing platforms leading to hangars stood on every twentieth level.

Buzz said to Luna, "Lieutenant, get a reading on the size of that thing."

Luna did, and she got quite a surprise. "The scanners show this ship is several times larger than the standard for Federation ships, Captain. It must be over a mile in diameter."

Then Buzz remembered what Luna had told him back on Arbaro and said, "Send a transmission home. We need to report our findings to Federation officials."

Luna opened the channel and Buzz smiled to see the faces of Commander McRadion, Dr. Simonex, and Dr Miles appear on the overhead viewscreen. Apparently the two scientists had come to pay a visit to For Apollo, which meant they could provide some information.

"Fort Apollo Base One, this is Captain Buzz Rogers of the Earth-class Excalibur reporting from constellation Virgo," Buzz said.

"We read you, Captain," replied Commander McRadion. "How goes the mission?"

"We've found the ships that have gone missing in this part of space," reported Buzz. "Unfortunately, they've all been attacked by an unknown ship and all passengers and crew have disappeared."

Dr. Simonex and Dr. Miles were surprised at this, and Commander McRadion asked, "Can you show us what kind of ship did this?"

Luna relayed the image of the opposing vessel to the conference room where the three were, and Commander McRadion frowned, "A Gotharnian warship. I've had my suspicions about them for a while."

Buzz was confused as this was one thing about the future he had not yet heard of. He wondered, "Who are the Gotharnians?"

"They're an alien race from the planet Gotharn in the constellation Cassiopeia," Commander McRadion explained. "Most middle class individuals in their civilization are soldiers and their elite run the colonizing government of their empire."

"This situation fits the Gotharnian modus operandi," Dr. Simonex said coldly. "Their entire culture revolves around conquest and colonization. The Federation has received reports from vessels in the outside systems that several worlds outside their jurisdiction have been attacked by them and some have been incorporated into their empire."

Then Ensign Markovich said to Buzz, "Captain, scanner readings indicate several individuals from planets in the Federation are aboard the Gotharnian ship."

Buzz and Luna took a look at the instruments and found it was true. Several humans as well as other beings were currently detained in the warship's detention facility on the twenty-fifth to twenty-seventh levels below the midship.

Then Buzz got mad. Thanks to Dr. Simonex's explanation, he had the intuitive feeling that the attacks on those other ships were either a threat or an attempted enslavement. He looked at Luna and said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Lieutenant?"

"I sure am, Captain," Luna replied.

Then the two said together, "It's hero time."

With that, Buzz ordered the security guards to meet him and Luna in the transporter room and selected T.E.X. to help them infiltrate the Gotharnian ship. Buzz also selected Dr. Metropolis to go with them to examine and treat the captives if necessary. Buzz and the crew armed themselves and fitted a jetpack onto their suits. Swallowing the fear that was building up inside him, Buzz signaled the transporter crew to beam them aboard the enemy ship.

…

The landing party was beamed aboard the twentieth level of the warship below the equator, and Buzz, Luna, and Dr. Metropolis were officially creeped out at seeing the interior of the ship. The hall they were in was dimly lit with green lights, and there were circular doors at each end. The ceiling was fifteen feet high, so their jetpacks would be of better use. No alien guards had shown up, so the group seemed to be undetected for the moment. Still, Buzz had to make sure.

"T.E.X, how are we doing?" he asked.

"I have patched into the Gotharnians' computer systems and overridden their lock-on security system, sir," the robot replied. "I will disable all visual and auditory sensors as we go along, sir."

"So what's the plan?" Dr. Metropolis asked nervously.

"We split up and strategically teach these creepy E.T's their world-conquest attitude won't fly," Buzz answered with a grin.

With that, Buzz sent Dr. Metropolis and the security guards to find the Gotharnians' captives while he and Luna prepared to distract the aliens so they could successfully free the prisoners. As the two officers and T.E.X. made their way through the halls, they looked around to make sure that no Gotharnians were in their vicinity. They made good time, but about thirty minutes into their walk, T.E.X. said to Buzz, "Captain Rogers, I'm detecting a couple Gotharnian security guards approaching from in front of us."

Looking around, Buzz noticed a couple of bins meant to hold smuggled technology and he said, "We've got to get behind those bins before we're spotted!"

With that, he and Luna leapt behind the bins and pulled T.E.X. after them. They peeked from behind them and saw four Gotharnians enter the hall, and Buzz finally got to see how these beings looked. They were seven feet tall with lime green skin, frog-like fingers, and reptilian feet. Their heads were slightly egg-shaped and glowing bright green from their foreheads up, and they also had flat noses, reptilian mouths, and two sets of eyes. As for their uniforms, the Gotharnians wore dark uniforms and boots that had silver lining on the arms and elbows, legs and knees, and chests, and they had cloth plaquettes strapped around their left shoulders which sported alien script denoting their ranks. The aliens also had blasters at their sides, but unlike the ones used by Buzz and the crew of the Excalibur, the Gotharnians' blasters were designed with sharp points on the barrels to make them look more disturbing.

As Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. watched them, the Gotharnians spoke to each other in their own screeching language. From the tones of their voices, Buzz guessed that they were discussing something important. He turned to T.E.X. and asked, "Do you understand anything they're saying?"

T.E.X. extended an antenna and began recording the Gotharnians' speech to make an attempt at translating it. After a few seconds, he said, "Translation indicates that the Gotharnian security guards are discussing the profit they might make from enslaving the captives they took from the ruined ships we passed."

With a grimace, Buzz turned to look at Luna and said, "It's time to move, Lieutenant. On my single, we make our move."

But before they could, the three friends and the alien guards heard a message reverberate through the hall. A cold voice said, "All guards on Level 20, there is an unexpected disturbance on Level 15 in Cell Block Alpha-6. The prisoners of our recent raids are being loosed from their cells and human intruders as well as off-worlders are engaged in combat with our prison guards. Proceed with caution. Terminate the intruders."

Buzz and Luna made barely audible gasps before Luna asked, "What's your idea now, Buzz?"

"We move now!"

Buzz took his plasma mazer from his belt and fired a warning shot over the guards' heads. The bright blue beam left a smoking crater in the ceiling and the Gotharnians jumped at the sound. Luna fired her mazer and struck the opposite wall, and this time, the Gotharnians turned toward the cargo bins. They fired their blasters just as Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. moved to hide against the wall, and the green beams caused the bins to dissolve like sand. Then the heroes knew what they were dealing with.

"I thought the Galactic Federation outlawed disintegration blasters," Luna said to Buzz.

"According to the Anti-War Crime Accord of 2149, the Federation did just that," replied Buzz. Then he stepped out, positioned his mazer, and said, "Alright, boys! By the authority of the Galactic Federation, you and all your crew are charged with attack and attempted enslavement of Federation and Frontier citizens! I'm afraid I'm also adding possession of illegal arms to those charges!"

"So drop the blasters and no one gets hurt!" shouted Luna as she aimed at the guards.

The Gotharnians were shocked at seeing the two officers and immediately fixed their blasters on them. Buzz and Luna dodged the energy beams, and then Buzz said with a frown, "Of course you know, this means war."*

With that, he and Luna activated their jetpacks and flew through the halls as the Gotharnians pursued. They were ahead first, but they had to make sure T.E.X. was keeping up, for the little robot couldn't fly. Just then, Buzz noticed an elevator at the cross-section of another hall and ordered T.E.X. to open the doors. Quick as a wink, Buzz and Luna took hold of T.E.X. and zipped through the doors and into the shaft.

They flew up the shaft at over a hundred miles per hour, not daring to stop unless an elevator came barreling down on them. Fortunately, they had no trouble until they reached Level 70, when an elevator pod was descending from the higher levels. Buzz and Luna moved to the other side of the shaft and continued up to Level 99, which was just below the bridge. After blasting the door down, the three made their way to the middle of the deck and took an elevated platform up to the hundredth level. They remained behind the entrance to the bridge and prepared to sneak inside.

When Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. did sneak in, they saw three rows of control boards with several Gotharnians at work. As they crept across the back of the encapsulated chamber, they saw one of the aliens speaking to another who was seated in a large metallic chair resembling a throne. Unlike the others, this being had a rounder head and had four extra eyes, two on each cheek under his two large eyes. His uniform sported golden lining with shoulder caps and a particularly fine plaquette, and a long cape completed the get-up. He was the Emperor, the supreme ruler of the Gotharnian Empire.

The officer was saying, "Our mission goes well thus far, Emperor Morrgax."

"Excellent," the Emperor replied. "As soon as this star system is ours, we will have no one to interfere with our conquest of the galaxy. Set course for the southeastern quadrant of the Virgo system."

That's when Buzz and Luna put the second phase of the plan into action. They sent a message to the Excalibur to engage the Gotharnians while maintaining distance, then primed their mazers to fight, and Buzz called out, "I suggest you change course, Your Vileness. Your plans of attack on innocent planets are over."

Emperor Morrgax and his cohorts turned to face them, and the emperor thundered, "More interlopers! Destroy them!"

The Gotharnians primed their own weapons and began firing on Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. Buzz and Luna put their months of training to the test and soon proved to be a challenge for the aliens. They jumped, cartwheeled, and somersaulted about, dodging their opponents' laser fire with impressive ease, and their mazer fire soon had some of the crew on the floor cringing from the sting. T.E.X. made sure to keep out of the way, and it wasn't much of a problem since the Gotharnians were aiming at Buzz and Luna more than him.

Emperor Morrgax was not pleased with his troops' efforts and was quite irked when Buzz and Luna pulled off the martial arts tactics they had learned together and began punching, karate-kicking, and judo-throwing his officers.

"Pathetic!" he spat. "I will deal with them myself!"

With that, he took a photon blaster and began firing at Buzz and Luna. They avoided his shots for a while and returned fire a few times. However, when Buzz had to divert his attention to fend off some more Gotharnian security guards, Morrgax increased the power of his blaster and aimed at Luna, who noticed the danger too late. But Buzz saw it, and activated his jetpack just as the Gotharnian emperor fired at Luna. He grabbed Luna and moved her out of the way, and the beam hit him in the side. T.E.X. wheeled over to the two officers as Morrgax fired more shots. Three seconds later, all he saw was a smoking crater in the floor of the bridge.

"I've relieved us of those meddling fools!" the Emperor boasted. Then he called to his crew, "Return to your posts, men."

…

Unknown to the Gotharnians, Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. had escaped through the hole in the floor and had gone down the ventilation shaft. When they reached Level 80, Luna messaged the rest of the landing party and learned that they had freed the captives and given the Gotharnians the slip as well. After telling the party to await orders, Luna and T.E.X. emerged from the ventilation shaft and helped Buzz out with them. They crept into an alcove to hide, and then Luna felt Buzz all over. She felt heat in her gloved hand when she touched Buzz's side and saw that his suit and skin had been burned from the searing heat of the beam. He was breathing weakly and unmoving. Upon seeing the wounds of her commanding officer whom she had trained side by side with, Luna burst out angrily.

"What were you thinking, risking your neck like that?!" she fumed. "That was completely stupid! Not to mention it was demeaning and harebrained and macho and… and…"

But Luna didn't continue ranting now. She realized that Buzz Rogers, who had been thawed out of suspended animation and just went on a bigger space mission than he had ever been before, was probably dying. Despite this, he had saved her life when he could have left her to get blasted and possibly left her behind. No one had ever done something that big for her, and she couldn't ignore it. Luna began to sniffle and tears ran down her face, and she finished, "It was very, very sweet."

Luna knelt there and said mournfully, "I failed you, Buzz. I should've avoided that shot, and instead I got you injured. I'm sorry."

"Takes more than that to bring Buzz Rogers down," he replied.

Luna's heart jumped inside her when she saw that Buzz was now sitting up. Despite his injured side, he seemed to be all right otherwise, and he was smiling at her warmly. Luna smiled in reply, then did something she would normally never do to a commanding officer and kissed him on the cheek.

Buzz felt his own heart expand with happiness faster than a weather balloon. But he pulled himself together and said, "Thanks for the kiss, Lieutenant. But we can consider a romantic relationship when we're not behind enemy lines."

"Right. So what's the next phase, Your Captainship, sir?" asked Luna.

"We give the Gotharnians a taste of their own mean medicine."

With that, Buzz took his comlink and ordered the Excalibur to send a call for reinforcements to Fort Apollo, requesting twenty Federation starships to help. Now the next step was to hold the Gotharnians at bay while the crew got the captive civilians to safety.

A/N: I decided to let Alvin quote Bugs Bunny for this scene because in cartoons and TV, a character typically says this when they are getting serious with taking someone else down. I hope my readers won't mind. Also, I hope you liked seeing some cute fluff between Alvin and Brittany's characters.

Chapter 8 will be up soon, and this one is the big fight! Hope you enjoy.