Chapter 8: Battle Among the Stars

Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. were heading toward the lower levels of the ship to meet with the rest of the landing party. So far, their rescue mission was seeing success, but they weren't out of this yet, for the Gotharnians were now after their blood. But they wouldn't have to wait for help too long. There came an alarm and a message for all available hands to get to their stations, and Buzz assumed that the Federation reinforcements had arrived. He activated his holoprojector and contacted the ship.

"Captain Rogers to Excalibur. Have reinforcements arrived?" he asked.

"They're here, Captain," Ensign Markovich replied. "See for yourself."

The image shifted to show twenty Federation starships preparing to join the Excalibur in fending off the Gotharnian invasion force. There were four other Earth-class ships like the Excalibur, and Buzz recognized each of them: the Orion, the Victory, the Philadelphia, and the Democracy. But beside them were three starships from Mars and three others from Jupiter. The Martian vessels were designed like flying saucers with three engines on either side. The Jovian ships were longer and bulkier than the Earth-class ships and were designed with six engines in the back and four wings. There were also a few ships from planets outside of Earth Space: four from the planet Bellamor, three from Tantalos, and three from Noctis. In moments, the other twenty ships were firing on the Gotharnian warship to draw the aliens' attention. Fortunately, the ships' retro rockets allowed them to avoid the warship's cannons and their shields easily repelled the turrets' fire.

Buzz thanked Ensign Markovich before signing off, and he said to Luna and T.E.X., "We need to move. Our reinforcements are preparing to keep the Gotharnians busy. We'll meet up with the others and try to sneak the captives off this ship."

"And then?"

"Then we slow the Gotharnians down from the inside."

"Roger that, Captain. Let's move."

With that, Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. signaled the rest of their party, and Dr. Metropolis told them to meet him and the others on Level 40. After a painstaking journey of avoiding guards and security probes, Buzz and his two companions met up with Dr. Metropolis and the landing party. All of the captives from the Federation and from the local systems were there, and only some members of Buzz's crew had sustained minor injuries.

Buzz contacted the Excalibur once more and said, "Mr. Drox, alert the transporter room to beam the party and captives aboard. Luna, T.E.X., and I will knock out the ship's reactor core so they can't pursue us. Once it's knocked out, I'll signal you to have us beamed aboard and be ready to make a fast exit."

"Aye aye, sir," Mr. Drox replied.

Dr. Metropolis said to Buzz, "Good luck, Captain Rogers."

"You too, Doc," he answered.

With that, Buzz led Luna and T.E.X. up the decks until they reached Level 50. They snuck through the aircraft hangar on that level and down another hallway until they came to a rounded wall with a single door. T.E.X. hacked into the system and unlocked it, and there they saw it: the main reactor of the Gotharnians' warship. It was ten times the size of the old New Years' ball in Times Square back on Earth and glowing a very clear, bright gold on the inside. Huge conduits extending from the ceiling channeled power to and from the core like the beating of a heart, which made sense since the glow from within the reactor seemed to be pulsing.

"T.E.X., seal off all doors to the reactor room," Buzz ordered.

The robot did so, and then Buzz and Luna got to work cutting off the power supply. They fired their mazers at three of the outflowing conduits, cutting off power to the main cannons and laser turrets as well as the security systems and jamming signals. The Gotharnians immediately attempted to rectify the problems, and on the bridge, the officers were stunned to see how their attack was diminishing.

One of the Gotharnian lieutenants said to Emperor Morrgax, "Sir, we're losing power! There seems to be a problem with the main reactor."

"Impossible!" Morrgax replied. "The outsider vessels cannot penetrate our shields. Scan the ship for any more intruders."

The Gotharnians did just that, and then one of them said, "Majesty, the intruders who broke into the detention level are nowhere on board. The prisoners have disappeared as well. But we have found the three intruders who entered the bridge. They're on Level 50… in the reactor room."

Then Emperor Morrgax realized what the three were up to, and he growled, "Those blasted Earthlings! They will not stand in the way of our conquest! I'll deal with them myself!"

With that, the Emperor took his photon blaster and left the bridge for the reactor room.

…

Buzz and Luna finished their job in twenty minutes as the energy inside the reactor became neutral. T.E.X managed to override the entrance code to the reactor room and then wheeled over to them and said, "All reactor room doors inoperative, Captain Rogers, sir."

"And energy readings from the reactor show the warship is slowing down," Luna reported.

"Then I suggest we get off this metallic planet wannabe and blast off," grinned Buzz.

But before he could contact the Excalibur to have them transported back on board, a laser blast whizzed past them and exploded against the wall. Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. turned to the sealed doors and saw that the first one on their left had been melted, and standing before them with his photon blaster in hand was Emperor Morrgax. He looked at the three and said, "Stay where you are!"

"Not on your life!" retorted Buzz. He aimed his mazer and challenged Emperor Morrgax, saying, "This galaxy isn't big enough for the two of us, Greenzilla! And you're going down!"

With that, he and Luna began firing their mazers at Emperor Morrgax while avoiding his photon shots. Morrgax was quick on his feet and even scaled the walls to get a vantage point, but Buzz and Luna were equal to the occasion and used their jetpacks to move quicker when their legs wouldn't do the job quickly enough.

The Chipmunks: We got somethin', we both know it
We don't talk too much about it
Ain't no real big secret all the same
Somehow we get around it

It don't really matter to me, baby
You believe what you want to believe
You see, you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)

Somewhere, somehow, somebody
Must have kicked you around some
Tell why you wanna lay there
And revel in your abandon

Honey, it don't make no difference to me, baby
Everybody's had to fight to be free
You see, you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)
No baby, you don't have to live like a refugee
(Don't have to live like a refugee)

Buzz and Luna were throwing Emperor Morrgax off-balance quite easily although he moved swiftly to avoid getting hit by their plasma blasts. However, the Gotharnian emperor noticed T.E.X. sending a message to the Excalibur to lock onto their position and fired at him, and he blasted the little robot against the door of the reactor room.

Buzz and Luna gasped in anger and shock, for T.E.X. hadn't even been part of their battle. Emperor Morrgax sneered at them and said to Buzz, "Your lover is next. And this time, you will not save her."

Now Buzz got mad. This alien emperor was crossing a lot of lines here, and threatening Luna's life twice was a personal insult in his book. He gave a quick nod to her, and as Morrgax primed his photon blaster to maximum power, Buzz and Luna fired. Their shots hit the Emperor's photon blaster and blew it apart. When Emperor Morrgax ran for it, Luna blasted him in the right leg and the Gotharnian tyrant stumbled. Buzz fired and caught him in the left arm and the villain backed up against the wall.

"Emperor Morrgax, by the authority of the Galactic Protection Unit…" began Buzz.

"For crimes against citizens of the Galactic Federation of United Star Systems…" added Luna.

Then Buzz declared, "You are under arrest!"

Buzz and Luna were prepared to fire if Emperor Morrgax did anything dumb, but they intended to bring him in alive if they could. Of course, the Gotharnian emperor had no intention of complying with the two young officers' arrest of him. Morrgax spat, "The Emperor of Gotharn is subject to no law! I make the laws, Earth scum! I make the laws!"

But before he could strike back with some other dangerous device, Buzz and Luna fired at the main reactor, causing its inflowing conduits to snap and the structure to settle into its base. Suddenly, the reactor turned red-hot and flames began to course over its structure. Emperor Morgaxx didn't bother to linger. He leapt out through the door he had melted and shouted into a wall comlink, "Abandon ship! The main reactor will explode!"

All the Gotharnians on each level of the ship ran for the escape pods on every fourth level and rocketed off into space. As for Emperor Morrgax, he made his way back to the bridge and had his commanders detach the bridge from the hull. In moments, the ship was mostly evacuated, and more Gotharnians were attempting to escape through the aircraft hangars.

Buzz and Luna knew that time was running out for them too. They got to T.E.X., then Buzz activated his comlink and commanded, "Transporter room! Beam us up now!"

In mere seconds, Buzz, Luna, and T.E.X. found themselves disappearing from the reactor room and reappearing in the transporter bay on the Excalibur. Dr. Metropolis and the rest of the landing party was there along with a handful of the Gotharnians' former captives. Dr. Metropolis saluted them and said, "Welcome aboard, Captain Rogers, sir."

"Where are the other captives?" asked Luna.

"On the other ships from back home," replied Dr. Metropolis. Then he clarified, "From Earth."

"Good," Buzz said hastily. "Luna, Doc, come with me to the bridge."

The three hurried there and then Buzz contacted the other ships and said, "Now let's get out of here! Set coordinates for Earth space and jump to lightspeed!"

With that, the twenty-one Federation vessels turned to starboard and powered the booster engines just as the last Gotharnians cleared their ship. Inside it, the main reactor finally blew its top. The planet-like ship was rocked with several small bursts of superheated gases and began to drift helplessly. A few seconds later, the warship exploded with the awesome power of a supernova and vanished in a blinding flash. The sparks of heat and vapor were the last thing the scanners picked up as the Excalibur and its fellow starships launched into hyperspace.

Everyone cheered for the success of the mission, for despite the extreme danger and the high stakes, it had been a victory for justice and right. Luna jumped into Buzz's arms and said, "You did it, Buzz! You did it! You won by a light-year!"

Buzz smiled at his first officer and said, "I did it all right, Luna, but I couldn't have done it without you and everyone else. Speaking of which, the first thing we'll do is stop by Arbaro before we return to base. Teddy will want to see Princess Elana again. In fact, I bet there's going to be a lot of good coming from this mission."

A/N: Hope you all liked this action-packed chapter. Chapter 9 will be the last one for this fanfiction.

Song: Refugee- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers