Star Blazers: A Voyage to Remember

by Freddo

In the beginning...there was the Quest for Iscandar. My take on the 2199-2200 Iscandar Mission, laid out here as background for my Galaxy Visions AU. The story is a bit of a mix of Star Blazers and Yamato, with a bit of Yamato 2199 thrown in for flavor along with some of my original characters. Stirred well. Hope this is enjoyed. Will be about 27 or 28 chapters.

10. Chapter 10

STAR BLAZERS: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER

A fanfic recapitulation of Series One "The Quest for Iscandar" by

Frederick P. Kopetz

EPISODE TEN: TITAN: OF BROTHERS AND NEW ARRIVALS

October 4-5, 2199

(Big Thanks to "Bells of Nevermore" for some beta-reading and some ideas and rough writing for this chapter regarding the characters of Dexter Cross & Cody Tiriganiaq)

LATE AFTERNOON: OCTOBER 4, 2199

Ganz and Bane were yet again watching the Argo's progress as the space battleship left Jupiter.

Their Floating Continent Base had just been blown to smithereens.

And, Ganz had the misfortune of being forced to report to General Krypt on Gamilon about this…disaster….

Krypt barked at Ganz, "That's an old trick, Colonel Ganz, claiming the enemy has a superior weapon! What is a wave motion gun? Your telemetry from the Base reads an explosion and tachyons all over the place! Where and how would those Terrans have gotten that sort of weapon? Explain it, Ganz!"

"I can only tell you what happened. We lost our whole base at the Floating Continent due to an attack from a Wave Motion Gun! That's what they called it in their radio transmissions to a small ship they just rescued!"

"I must consult with His Lordship. Hold," said Krypt as the screen went dark.

"What excuse does he have now?" said Desslok from across the room, as he sipped at his goblet and dallied with a member of his Blue Shadows; a guard of warrior women who also gave him…other pleasures. This one was on the Leader's lap! And…she was mussing up his hair.

"He said they used a wave motion gun, Leader Desslok. Whatever the heck that is!"

Desslok looked thoughtful. "Hmmm…maybe he means a tachyon surge cannon? Have him send us all of the intel he has on that attack. If the Terrans are working on the same weapon I am creating…they could be more than an annoyance. Get that information, and remind him I only desire to hear of victories. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sire," said Krypt.

Desslok flipped up a holo of the Argo and studied it while his Shadow, Raiza, stroked his hair and said, "What is that, My Lord?"

"An annoyance," Desslok hissed.

Krypt nodded.

A moment later, Ganz saw Krypt reappear on the screen. "Leader Desslok does not wish to hear of failures! ONLY victories! Please keep that in mind!"

Then, he faded.

In the meantime, on the Argo, interesting business was afoot as October the fourth wound towards the dinner hour aboard ship. It was now fourteen forty-five hours.

The odd group proceeded to a secure elevator. Conroy and Starion assured that no one approached too closely, but there were still onlookers, craning to get a better look at the two brothers. The two men moved without speaking or favoring the audience with so much as a glance. When they arrived at Sickbay, they both shucked the robes and rebreathers without complaint, and Nova, Sane and Wildstar got their first good, clear look at the new arrivals.

Derek wanted to follow, but Nova said, "It's too much of a risk…please don't come into the containment chamber until we're sure they don't have any pathogens. Wait outside, please," she said firmly.

Wildstar nodded at that, feeling like a kid denied his candy as the hatch whirred closed and the green light over it switched to red.

Cody was as powerfully-built as had been thought, with the body of a weightlifter.

His skin was coppery-dark, and his eyes a piercing black, upslanting and lid-folded. His long raven hair fell almost to his knees, straight and blue-black. He was most definitely of First Nations extraction, of the Inuit people. His broad, unhandsome face held a light of calm, forthright intelligence. Over much of his skin, there were tattoos; swirling tribal ink with an Inuit influence. The most impressive piece was the image of a stylized fox that covered most of his back. He was also very pierced. The lobes of his ears sported half-inch plugs of carven ivory, and the bridge of his nose was also pierced. He wore a labret piercing in his lower lip, and his tongue and nipples were likewise adorned. Nova gasped as the scanner revealed metal in other places as well.

Oh, my, she thought.

Doctor Denise Carroway, the Argo's younger second doctor, turned from a computer console, carrying a clipboard.

Cody turned to look at her. "Denise!" he said.

"Oh, you, Dexter!" Denise said, with a look of recognition flashing in her brown eyes behind her round glasses.

"You know…him?" Nova said.

"I knew a lot of people in Med School in Tucson, Nova," Denise said with a smile. "These two…are among them. They were professors of mine, in physics and anthropology/comparative religions. Suffice it to say…they got me interested in my faith."

"Which I recognize, even though we do not see to eye on all matters," Nova whispered.

Carroway, Sane, and Nova then turned to Dexter Cross. He was not a handsome man, either. His features were harshly-Celtic, his eyes a strange, pale gray, like those of a wolf. He was gaunt and wiry, but also seemed to be in top physical condition. He, too, wore his hair long; it fell to his belt, also deepest black. Both brothers wore an identical necklace of purplish-black metal—it was an inverse pentacle.

Working more or less in silence, Dr Sane, Dr. Carroway, and Nova took notes, assisted by the robot, IQ-9.

IQ-9 had plenty of opinions on the brothers, most of them, as per his wont, very obnoxious. He managed to gain a bit of a laugh as he tried to sneak a hand over to lift Nova's short white scrub skirt, revealing her bikini underpants for a moment. Almost without pausing in her work, she launched a kick at him, with her foot, clad in a nurse's sandal this watch, adding another dent to the collection that covered a rather battered carapace.

"How often does he do that?" said Carroway.

"More often than you want to know," Nova said with a blush.

The trio made note of the fact that both brothers were extremely healthy—indeed, more so than many of the crew. They were not malnourished and both had the physique of professional athletes. They also noted another matter. There was no genetic relationship between them, despite the clear closeness between them that spoke of a deep kinship bond. They carried no diseases or other pathogens, and Doctor Sane gave them a clean bill of health, seconded by Doctor Carroway as she spoke quickly in a low voice to Dexter. Sane puttered over and opened the containment chamber door and the red light switched back to green.

"Would the two of you like a drink to celebrate?" There was a slight mushiness to the words; he had been sneaking sips from the flask secreted in the pocket of his scrubs.

"Not again, Doctor," said Carroway, rolling up her eyes.

"Doctor Sane, we still need some more blood tests, they can't have alcohol in their system for that!" Nova snapped, voice rising in a glissando.

Wildstar, who had just entered the room, chuckled; she rewarded him by flinging a balled-up hypodermic wrapper, bouncing it neatly off the end of his nose.

"We do not touch alcohol or other recreationals." Contempt for the substance was revealed in the cold tone in Cody's resonant voice. Dexter just edged closer to him, distaste in his pale eyes.

"What sort of place is this, sister?" Dexter whispered to Carroway.

"A zoo, at times," replied Carroway. "I wish…I had been chosen as head medical officer, honestly. Nova and I have a rough time keeping Sane in line at times," she whispered with contempt in her voice as Sane offered Derek a drink, which he refused. Nova gave him a more wholesome drink; a squeeze-container of apple juice. Derek drank, and then the two friends spent a moment slap-boxing and laughing.

"Her qualifications?" whispered Dexter as he inclined his head in Nova's direction. "She looks and acts like she is just out of her teens."

"She is but she is a Certified Nurse-Practitioner," replied Carroway. "My Cabinmate, as well. She has a mind like a steel trap. Show her a procedure once and she remembers it. Given…his…proclivities," said Denise as she motioned her head towards Sane, "She already knows as much, I think, as a very bright First-Year Medical Student, which is a blessing from the Divine. She backstops Sane. I would say…she subtly enables him, although we have little choice in physicians until we get back home. She has noted a particularly egregious example on his conduct in her Working Log, though. I backed her up on it."

"When do we speak with Captain Avatar?" Dexter asked, running a hand through newly-washed raven hair and shaking it out.

Almost as though summoned by the question, there then sounded a rasping, asthmatic cough, and the slow tap of a cane on the steel deck plates. The stooped form of a man with a thick white sea-dog's beard appeared in the doorway, wearing a Captain's peacoat and cap. Though now bent with age and seeming a little weak, he looked as though he had been a tower of strength when in his prime. The two brothers rose respectfully; Captain Avatar needed no introduction. Carroway, Wildstar, Sane and Nova all saluted, coming to snappy attention.

"As you were," Avatar said. His voice was a grinding, gravelly, wise sound. He looked at Dexter and Cody. "So... you two are our guests from the survey ship?

"Yes, sir," Cody answered. "We followed because we intend to do our part."

"Lieutenant Wildstar, Lieutenant Forrester, Doctor Carroway, and IQ-9, please leave us and wait a moment. Doctor Sane, you may remain."

Wildstar and Nova looked at each other as Denise made a disgusted noise; Nova kicked IQ-9 again when he attempted to begin a tin-witted rant about why he should be permitted to remain. They saluted again and then left the room. Dexter moved a little closer to Cody. The brothers, as well, exchanged a glance, and then waited for Avatar to speak once again. Dexter raised one arachnodactylous hand to brush at the pentacle that hung over his heart.

"I read over this dossier, short as it is, and I see a lot of interesting things. For all your closeness, you are not biological siblings. No diseases, infections, parasites, malnutrition or so many of the other illnesses that have plagued my crew upon their intake to this command. You come bearing skills that are admittedly mission-critical. But... you came bearing them under strange circumstances indeed. By stowing away in such a fashion as you chose, you endangered the Argo and her entire mission, especially when, as you stated when coming aboard, you attached your vessel to ours to follow us in that space warp." He held up a white-gloved hand to forestall the retort that clearly had come to Cody's lips. "Your ship truly was like the Pennangalan of legend…a creature attached to us like a limpet mine."

"We had our reasons," growled Cross."

"I believe you did," snapped Avatar. He looked hard at them and said, "You see…I have an ability to read people, however. I often see things that people do not recognize in themselves. Derek Wildstar blames me for the loss of his brother in the battle at Pluto, and can be impulsive and hot-tempered—yet I see a man and a leader in him as well. He squabbles and sometimes even reaches fisticuffs with his best friend, Mark Venture, but they enjoy a similar closeness to the one you two share. Nova Forrester is brilliant and gifted; she and Wildstar tease each other and trade the occasional insult and occasionally slap-box, but I can tell there is a chemistry there that will lead to wonderful things for them both. Doctor Carroway has experience and wisdom far beyond her mere twenty-seven years of age."

"We know that already about Denise," said Dexter. "We studied with her for a time in Tucson, and we were her professors in elective post-graduate work she took upon herself one summer before this war turned vicious."

"We are also prior associates in a religious study group…shall we say?" said Cody. "However, I can assure you she was just as surprised at our arrival as you were. She did not collude with us, so do not accuse her of anything."

Avatar sighed, "And you... Cody, I can tell that there is truth in what you are saying, but also that there is more that you both are not telling me. I have chosen to overlook that in the face of the grave risks we face and the fact that both of you are as talented as you are. I am curious, though. What do you see when you look at us?"

"Adversity can and often does build bonds stronger than blood, sir," said Dexter. "It's true that we have no biological relation to each other, but we feel that the fact that we are brothers in oath is just as strong a bond. We see that your crew are passionate and highly-professional, and very young, as we are ourselves. That quirky, lecherous robot does good work, as does your Doctor Sane, despite his tendency to the drink. I see that the lot of them respect you deeply."

"It seems you as well have a gift for being a judge of character. So…here you are. My question to you is this. Your courage in following the Argo is certainly not to be denied. Yes, I saw through your prior words. It is evident you were following us, as well, as…perhaps…also researching the lingering neutrino streams from Astra's ship. But in following us on this mission that we may not even survive... what do you truly feel you can add to our crew? And, indeed, our Technical and Science Officer, Steven Sandor, just noticed your presence during our warp, confirming your wild tale, and that only from running diagnostics that we did not perform at the time. We should have caught you near Mars, honestly, but we did not. We must needs be more vigilant in the future. You meant well…but what if a Gamilon tried the same trick with us?"

"The survey ship that was modified to be able to survive a drop into space warp was my own work, and our quick getaway was Dexter's work at our helm" Cody answered. "I knew for a fact that the Pennangalan would not only survive, but would not endanger the Argo in doing so. My skills as an engineer were there in that vessel that I destroyed by my own hand."

"Then you caused the engine overload and explosion in your ship?" Avatar said.

"We did, yes. It was a pretext so that you would pick us up. My brother's hand was the one on the helm. Given a ship made to be flown in a combat scenario, he is devastating to any enemy he addresses. We did not come to stow away and spectate, Captain. We came to work—to do the same work as the rest of your crew, toward the end of saving Terra from the Gamilons." It was clear that the Inuk was still nettled by the implication that they were stowaways. "We are also quite familiar with such concepts as 'discipline' and 'chain of command', sir."

"Then I am prepared, on my authority, to make you both members of the Star Force and of my crew," Avatar growled after shutting his eyes and thinking for a moment…was he in deep concentration...or was it prayer? "There are the oaths of enlistment and commission to deal with, of course. Are you willing to take the actual oath and the uniform that goes with it? Are you willing, as you just said, to place yourselves under the authority of myself and the officers appointed over you, even though some of them shall be younger than you?" Avatar added, "I could truly use another assistant Engineer. I have an Ensign below who has proven himself to be erratic…possibly even dangerous. Moreover, a third qualified navigator-pilot would be helpful. I have had to spread our personnel thin to cover all watches, and as a result, even Wildstar and Forrester have had to man the helm on a few watches. They are both pilots, but…not trained helmsmen. You are willing to join with us?"

Cody said, "We are willing. We have one request in that regard, though. My tattoos, I cannot change, though I am willing to remove my facial piercings when on duty. But neither of us will cut our hair, though it will be neat and braided while we are on duty. For us, this is a religious issue. Is that acceptable, sir?"

"It is. The Star Force, our special group embarked here aboard Yamato, renamed Argo for…political reasons…represents people from all over Terra, all walks of life, all faiths and all peoples. There are a few others that have modified uniform standards, so this is not a problem. On a mission like this, forcing all of the externals and aspects of standard military doctrine would damage morale. We are a special force, and to a degree, we make our own regulations. As long as you remove the facial piercings while on duty, the rest is not an issue for me, nor will it be for the rest of the crew." Avatar then tapped his communicator pin on his peacoat collar. All officers wore similar brass-plated comm pins on their collars now; it was a new development of Sandor's. "Lieutenant Forrester, please have Mister Culhaven meet you in his office. Have him bring two enlistment and commissioning forms. The two of you will be witnessing oaths and in-processing Ensigns Tiriganiaq and Cross." Avatar had no trouble in pronouncing Cody's difficult Inuit name. "Then, introduce them to Orion and Venture; Orion now has the extra engineer he has needed so badly, and we have need Mister Cross on the bridge."

"Thank you, Captain." Cody said. Both young men shook Avatar's hand, and Cody set about removing his facial piercings as they waited.

With that said, the Argo cruised on towards another gas giant: Saturn and her retinue of moons. "All hands, now hear this," said Mark Venture's voice over the ship's 1MC (Internal PA system, Main Circuit). "Now hear this. Time is now fifteen-thirty. We are expected to transit the Saturn area in approximately sixteen hours at 0730 tomorrow. Mind the watch schedule and OOD schedule. That is all!"

DINNER-1800 HOURS

In the engine room, Orion was introducing Tiriganiaq to the Engine Room crew on watch. "All right. This is our new arrival, rescued off the Pennangalan. His name is Cody Tiriganiaq, and he has proven himself to me, Captain Avatar, and Lieutenant Commander Sandor as an able engineer and officer. Mister Sparks, at the next watch change, at twenty-two hundred tonight, he will be in charge of the duty section, not you. However, you are to watch him and school him in our SOP down here."

"What? I'm training a replacement?" snapped Sparks.

"A part-time one; it is evident you are under stress, even though you are still standing extra punishment watches for that not-amusing prank you pulled with Lieutenant Forrester before takeoff! A prank which could have been deadly!"

"Aww…Chief," whined Sparks as Tiriganiaq looked daggers at him. It was evident there was an immediate dislike between the two men. "You're taking it too hard…all of you. All I did was made her hair stand up with a voltage prank! I just turned-on power when she was sticking her head in her radar board replacing a fuse with a breaker a few days ago. High voltage but low amperage! It was so funny!"

"Ye idiot," muttered Orion under his breath.

"You," growled Tiriganiaq. "I will accept training from you, and I will work with you, but let it be known that I do not respect you, Mister."

"Why not?"

"Because I respect Lieutenant Forrester, from what I have seen of her, and I do not respect your…juvenile pranks towards her. She is a consummate professional. I do not know what you are," said Tiriganiaq. "Tend to your engines, grease monkey. I am taking dinner. With your leave, sir?" he said as he nodded toward Orion.

"Of course, Ensign," said Orion.

A bit later, in the messhall, the two brothers sat at a table far off to one side. Tall, gaunt Dexter Cross had his guitar with him; Cody Tiriganiaq had set up a small synthdrum pad. The music was not obtrusive, but it was audible as they worked on a song they were composing. They attracted curious stares; the fluorescent light in the dining hall shone on sleek raven braids, and on the unsettling strangeness of Cody's tattoos, visible on his face and hands.

"Hi, Mister Cross." The friendly Boston-tinged voice caused both young men to look up from the music. Mark Venture stood there, clearly ready to make the first move. "You're musicians? What are you working on?"

"Right now, just a sort of battle ballad." Cross' pale eyes measured Venture, unreadable. "We've only just started... just the melody an' a verse or two." Cody just watched the man, drumsticks resting against the edge of the synthpad.

"Oh! We haven't been introduced, have we?" Venture stuck out a hand. "I'm Lieutenant Mark Venture. I'm your Group Leader on Bridge Number One, when we make it back on duty."

"My apologies." Dexter rose, accepting the hand. "I should've looked at the insignia on your shoulders an' realized who ye were. Is there aught I cn' do for ye, sir?"

"No, no… relax, Cross. We're just cruising along to our next waypoint at Saturn. We're tuning things up in the meantime. Matter of fact," Mark grinned, "Wildstar—you know, that Wildman with the hair? The guy that brought you two in? He's planning on organizing a pickup volleyball game in the gym after chow. How's your arm?"

"Oh, I'm a fair one for hittin' what I aim at. Just not done a lot of volleyball," Dexter said.

"You can be on our team," said Venture. "Wildstar wants to organize a males versus females match. He is the team captain for our side; Forrester is the team captain for the ladies."

"Good to see that there are those that can capture such fun as is to be had," Cody said. "I will come along."

"We had a snowball fight on Mars the other day," said Venture. "Too bad you missed that!"

Cody sighed. "I have not seen snow in far too long. My homeland was once nothing but tundra, ice, snow and sea."

"Either way, food first and then fun," Nova said, smiling as she came up beaming, still in her scrub. "I'm famished! And I also made a reasonable facsimile of butter pecan ice cream, if you boys are interested. It's processed soy proteins, mainly, but it's still delicious!"

"Ice cream! How the hell did you manage that, Nova?" Venture laughed, eyes dancing.

"It's all science, Mark! The proteins are cultured, and then the texture comes from churning and quick-freezing. The yakisoba and noodles are good, too."

"Now... soy ice cream, I can eat," Cody said, smiling a little. "Anything that's real dairy is what gives me issues."

"Ah! That's right, you are Inuit," Nova said. "Endemic lactose and wheat intolerance. If you get into anything that gives you problems, I have some enzymes in Sickbay that will help."

"Thank you, lass!" Dexter said, grinning. "I've got ta share quarters wi' the man... best he not be guffin' all bloody night an' peelin' the paint."

Cody laughed, his expression one of mock-wounded innocence.

"Her desserts are really good, but ya gotta watch out for Nova's coffee!" A new speaker had arrived, a portly, merry-faced fellow with an unruly mop of dark hair and freckles. He wore the same green-on-white as Venture did. "That stuff is so strong ya could use it for an engine degreaser!" he said in his heavy Texas accent.

"Now, Eager, that's a horrid thing to say about my coffee!" Nova sniffed.

"Well, it's kinda true, but... y'oughta taste my coffee! Least I can drink yours!" He then darted a cautious glance to Cody and Dexter. "You're... the new guys, huh?"

"I am Ensign Cody Tiriganiaq, and this is my brother, Dexter Cross," Cody answered placidly.

"Well, I'm Ensign Chris Eager. I'm from East Texas," Eager said.

"Bumbutt, East Texas, to be exact," muttered Venture. He dodged the poke Eager aimed at his head.

"You watch that nasty mouth of yours, Mark, or I'll make you start paying fines!" Nova said. "Derek's in hock to me already!" She shook her finger, but there was laughter in her eyes.

"Nova, are you trying to actually civilize people again?" Derek Wildstar had just ambled over. "I have a hypothetical for you. What would you do if Sparks over there dropped a hammer right on your toes?" he said, pointing at the comfortable nurses' sandals she wore with her skirt.

"I'd scream!" Nova said.

"Ah, but what would you scream? C'mon... a little 'Ow shit!' wouldn't be exactly out of place!" He winced as she swatted his shoulder, and then laughed.

"You'll have to excuse Derek here, he's one of the ones I haven't managed to get house-trained yet," Nova said sweetly. "And, okay. I confess. When I am in pain or very stressed, I do use colorful metaphors. But not all the time," Nova said primly.

The two brothers looked at each other and then laughed.

"I see. I have that problem with Dexter," Cody said.

"Says the man who's got a piercing in—" Dexter was cut off by his brother's hand, clapped over his mouth.

Nova giggled at that.

"Where does he have that piercing?" whispered Derek.

"Practitioner-patient privilege forbids me from giving out that information, Derek," Nova said.

"See? See what I have to live with?" But then, Cody tilted his head a little. "In all seriousness, though. Is there a regulation against foul language that I should be aware of? I confess my own language can deteriorate when I'm crawling through the guts of an engine."

"No, there's no real regulation, save when Little Miss Muffett here tries to—"

"Little Miss Muffett?" Nova screeched. She whacked Derek's arm again. "Excuse me, Cowboy?"

"Oh, this'll be rich," Cody said. "I can't wait to hear the nicknames you come up with for the two of us!"

"Oh, give it time, guys, we'll think of something!" Derek laughed.

Cody was about to make a retort when he noted the approach of yet another to their table. He was a short, puffy fellow with a thick shock of hair falling to cover one eye, clad in dark orange on white—the same color scheme that Cody had been assigned. He gave Nova a tiny, slightly unsettling smile, and she stepped back with an expression of wariness.

Then, he turned and stared at Cody for a long moment.

"Ensign Sam Sparks," he said.

"I know. We've met," growled Cody.

Sparks stood close to Nova. She gave him a look as if she was looking at a nasty fecal sample filled with parasitical worms in a Petri dish.

Sparks said, "Come off it. We have to work together." Sparks' tone was an attempt at sincerity, but something in it rang hollow. "Don't let little Nova here bother you. She's harmless... most of the time." He gave Nova the same tiny smile as before.

"Nova has been a delight thus far," Cody said, reluctantly accepting the hand.

"Wow... your hands feel like you work, at least," Sparks said. "I was wondering when I saw that ink all over you."

"They're sword-calluses, actually, but I do my share of labor, believe me." Cody's tone had returned to the same laconic, flat calm as when he had first been brought aboard. "More than you do, I believe."

"What... you think you're Conan?" Sparks asked. The tiny smile was back, but now it was almost a sneer.

"You need to stop riding people, Sparks. Between the way you act toward Nova and this, we're starting to damn well wonder about you." Derek's disgust for the stumpy little fellow showed in the tone of his voice. "I don't want to hear this sort of thing from you any more—especially directed at Nova. You will be a gentleman."

"Thank you, Derek," Nova said, quietly. "Well... I have business to attend to, so... " Nova stalked off, not quite able to suppress a shudder as she glared at Sparks before taking off.

When Nova sounded as though she were leaving, Sparks at once lost interest and began to wander off, without so much as a reply to Wildstar. It was obvious that Nova had been his real reason for approaching the group. Again, the two brothers looked at each other; Cody pursed his thick lips slightly and Dexter rolled his eyes.

"That guy... he's really weird," Mark said.

"Weirder than us?" Dexter grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you guys are a different kind of weird. An interesting weird. Sparks is an 'I-think-I-want-to-punch-him' kind of weird," Mark said.

"Something about him makes my skin crawl," Derek said, making a face. "And…when that incident happened with Nova…I slugged him. Hard."

Dexter nodded. "Aye' Looks like he's in need o' sluggin'"

"His energy is all wrong. His aura... it's stained," Cody said. "It's a very dark green tint. Not good."

"Stained? What?" Sparks overheard, and turned around. "I don't have any stains. I'm clean and so is my uniform."

"Not your uniform," Cody said. "Don't trouble yourself about it. You wouldn't understand."

"Darned pair of weirdos," Sparks muttered. "And the lady won't even give me the time of day." He wandered out of the dining hall, that strange little smile on his face again.

"Weirdos, aye, sir, roger and copy," Cody said, with a dark chuckle.

"An' feckin' proud of it at that," Dexter added. "Yon fellow's a bloody gobshite, so 'e is."

"He thinks I'm a weirdo, too, so you are in good company!" Nova said as she wandered back over with a tray "All right, you guys, eat up!" Upon the tray was a plate for each of them, as well as a dish of the soy ice cream.

"Thanks, Nova! I sure didn't feel like waiting in that line!" Venture grabbed his, and at once dug in hungrily as Doctor Carroway came in, and nodded at Nova. Nova smiled back.

"Yes, that line, snargit!" Derek grinned and winked at Nova.

"Is that even a word?" Nova looked both amused and puzzled.

"Is now!" Derek laughed.

The group ate hungrily, chatting and getting to know one another as Denise sat down with them, carefully appraising Cross and Tiriganiaq. Despite his brutish appearance, Cody was surprisingly intelligent and well-educated. More than once, he and Nova lost the others while discussing matters such as quantum mechanics and xenobiology. As they finished their meal, Dexter picked up his acoustic twelve-string. What emerged was a riff from an ancient band indeed, the first bars of Bloodstone, by Judas Priest.

"Any requests?" he asked.

"Wow, you know the old metal stuff?" Derek's eyes brightened. "Do you know Dream On, by Aerosmith?"

"Oh, ay, that one I cn' play for ya."

And Dexter Cross began to play.

His skill with the instrument was truly incredible, and he had a voice to match. The sound of the fine old guitar and the black velvet of his deep baritone voice did honor to the haunting ballad. Cody backed him with some minimal work on the drum pad. It was very clear that they would be impressive indeed with a full band behind them.

Derek was at once caught up in the music, listening with eyes closed and a smile on his face. Nova watched him with shaded eyes, tapping a finger lightly on the table. Venture also was smiling, and Nova reached over to playfully muss his hair. She then closed her own eyes, swaying a little to the song.

"Wow," Derek breathed, as the last bars trailed off. "You guys are seriously good."

"We've had a lot of time to perfect the skill," Cody said. He winked at Carroway, who winked back.

"Hopefully, we can help a little with morale," Dexter said, sipping his water.

"You have already," Eager said. "Look at 'em!" He was right; there had been some applause and a lot of smiles.

"Helped me shake off that space warp and the stuff with the Floating Continent," Mark said with a theatrical shudder. "What'd you guys think of those?"

"The Floating Continent," said Cody. "That energy surge. You destroyed it…I take it?"

Derek nodded, "I am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds," he quoted. "That was the power of our Wave Motion Gun. "An outgrowth of our Iscandarian tech. That is the port in our bow. Like the old shock cannon weapons in the bows of our old space battleships…but…much more powerful." Derek sat and said, "The space warp we made! That was another nightmare. I can still see it."

"It was... it reminded me of a fever-dream," Nova said. "I saw and felt all sorts of things that couldn't possibly be real. It was really disorienting and not at all pleasant." She looked to Cody and Dexter. "What was it like for you? You had less shielding on the Pennangalan."

"It was a lot like when I do trance meditation and see into the spirit world," Cody said. "I actually used the experience in much the same way, and learned a few things."

"Myself, too," said Carroway in a guarded fashion as Nova looked at her.

"The spirit world?" Eager looked a little nonplussed.

"Aye, we've... our own sort o' spirituality," Dexter said.

"I've heard it said that the spirit world is sort of like another dimension," Mark said. He seemed fascinated by the odd turn the conversation had taken.

"It is," said Denise flatly. "And I have seen it."

"Our minds may not be 'wired' to make sense of things from other dimensions," Nova mused. "But studies do indicate that we only use about twenty percent of our brains."

"What seems to happen... that part of human experience has been ground under by the empirical world we have to interact with on the day-to-day," Cody said. "Almost all children see things... sense things... that adults cannot see or sense. And rather than exploring them with our children, the modern tendency has been to categorize it as 'pretend'... 'imaginary friends' or other, nastier shades of 'that's not real'."

"I do seem to experience an altered state of consciousness when flying." Derek, too, was absorbed. "I pick up on things…and I sense impressions that I don't experience at any other time. I think... space makes us see through strange eyes."

"Like picking up things that hover at the edges of our perception," Nova said, and Derek nodded.

"Dexter and I simply are used to doing this intentionally," Cody said.

Carroway added, "For us, extra-normal experiences are not abnormal. I had prior working relationships with Cody and Dexter in this regard years ago. I know of what they speak."

"Like another suit you put on?" asked Derek.

"Like another set of senses," Cody answered with a faint smile.

"You mean... you three guys are psychic?" So caught up in the discussion had they all been that none of them had seen the approach of another to their table. He was a thin fellow with a nervous look and sandy hair, wearing a yellow and black uniform. "That's...creepy."

"And that was rude, Homer," Nova said. "Introduce yourself properly to these gentlemen and apologize!"

"Wow. Sorry, Nova. Well…I'm Homer Glitchman." Handshakes and names were given, and then he settled to join them.

"In answer to your question, Homer... we are not psychics, actually. We are witches," Cody said simply. "More specifically, I am a shaman; Dexter is a witch in the technical sense. Denise, as a rather eclectic Presbyterian, was once also a practitioner with us and a member of our Family."

"So Mote it Be," said Denise quietly as Nova nodded.

"Witches?!" Homer leaped up, looking quite frightened. "Hexes...spooks... all of that?"

"Homer, Wicca and faiths similar to it are completely legitimate faiths," said Denise. "Take it, Nova. What have I taught you? I believe I have opened your mind somewhat?"

"You have, Denise," Nova then looked hard at Homer. "You and I don't see eye-to-eye on religion ourselves...just look at this as another difference, just a little more exotic." She smiled. "Which makes it interesting, doesn't it? Besides, I've played around with the Tarot a little myself as a thought and meditation tool. It's not as scary if you let yourself learn a little."

"Oooo, don't put a spell on me, Nova!" Homer had not retaken his seat. "You could look at me the wrong way and turn me into a frog with your weird cards!"

"Stop being an idiot!" snapped Mark. "She's not going to do anything like that and neither are these guys. Stop being ignorant."

"What he said!" Derek snapped as he patted Nova's hand. "You need to teach about your meditation sometime, Nova."

"Thanks, Derek. I intend to," she said, giving Homer a very dirty look.

"Sorry... I guess I got blindsided and freaked out a little," Homer said. He sat again, edging a little bit away from the brothers, Nova, and Denise.

"No offense taken at all," Cody reassured him. "Look at it perhaps in this way. Our talents in such things are just another resource that may end up helping the mission in some way—that is, after all, what we came to do. Witches we are, but we are Terran witches. We are facing the same foe and are within the same dire straits, yes?"

"Yeah... I guess you have a point there," Homer said, biting his lip.

"And Nova and I are both eclectic Christians, not as hidebound by dogma as others here," Denise said. "If I speak for you, Nova, we are willing to learn from you, although we do not share all of the tenets of your faiths."

"You do speak for me, Denise," Nova said with a smile. "I have no fears either of you. A sense within me tells me that you two are different…but not filled with hatred or a desire to do harm, even though your spiritual toolbox may be beyond my comprehension."

"Perceptive lassie, aye," said Dexter with a toothy grin.

"If you have fears or questions, please don't be afraid to just ask us," Cody said. "Neither my brother nor I have any problem in clarifying things and helping people to understand."

"Hey... thanks." Impulsively, Homer grasped Cody's hand, and was answered with a reassuring press of his fingers.

"Any time, friend." Cody's smile gave a true warmth.

"Let's eat this ice cream before it all melts," Derek said.

"Not a bad idea…Cowboy," Nova said as she mussed Derek's hair.

"Yeah, Peppermint," teased Derek.

"Where'd you get that from?" Nova said.

"You have dirty blond hair like Peppermint Patty, you're leggy, confident, and you wear sandals a lot."

"Do you want this ice cream up your nose, Derek?" Nova teased.

"Got your nose!" Derek said as he "stole" Nova's nose.

"Give it back!" Nova said in a weird nasal voice as everyone laughed.

I think they are bound to be a couple, Cody thought. Even if they are not aware of such yet.

Of course, he would be correct.

VOLLEYBALL-

Those interested in playing the volleyball game found that the venue had been changed from the gym to the Argo's Holography Room.

They found out why when they got there. The Net was erected on a holographic beach by a seashore.

It was very realistic, down to the surf sounds, warm breezes, and even the feel of sand under their feet!

"Nova!" said Mark in awe. "How the heck did you arrange this?"

"Good programming, electrostatic net and selective anti-gravs to simulate an uneven, sandy surface," said Nova as she stood there adjusting a console dressed in a gold set of bike shorts and gold sports bra that left her midriff bare. She wore no shoes, and her hair looked rather unruly. "Sneakers off, guys. If you try to play with sneakers on, it'll be as bad as playing on a beach like that," Nova said as she served the ball over the net.

Derek and Mark, in tank tops and workout shorts, shrugged and undid their sneakers. To their surprise, not only did it feel like sand under their bare feet; it also felt warm.

"Again, she blinds us with science," Derek said. "Hey, Nova, catch!" Derek said as he served the ball to her. She jumped up, caught it, and spiked it back.

"And you two thought I was going to be a pushover," she said as Cody and Dexter showed up, and removed their shoes. Dexter had on a black AC/DC T-shirt, while Cody went bare-chested, not ashamed of his ink.

On Nova's side, three other nurses showed up. They recognized Michele Sakamoto, an attractive dark-haired lady with shoulder-length hair in a deep pink two-piece workout set, followed by a statuesque woman with deep ebony skin, dreadlocks, a tall build, and white and red workout clothes. "I haven't met you two yet," she said in a deep, exotic voice. "Ensign Aga Agyapong from Ghana, at your service, gentlemen. I know Mister Wildstar and Mister Venture."

"Yeah, you helped out when Nova gave me those last-minute shots," Derek said.

Cody and Dexter introduced themselves to Miss Agyapong while another blonde woman, taller than Nova, appeared in green workout gear as a young man that Derek, Mark, Cody, and Dexter did not recognize showed up on their side. "Guten Abend," she said in a strong German accent. "I am Ensign Ingrid Kaufman, once from near Munich before the bombings. I may be the most experienced nurse aboard ship other than Chief Nova," she said. "You, Venture, I have met. The others, I have not had the pleasure of speaking with."

Derek and the males introduced themselves as the slender young man with brown hair stood nearby in swim trunks, watching.

"You are?" Cody said.

"Ensign Ronald Hahnemann, also of the nursing staff, United States. Philadelphia, to be exact. I know one man on this ship but he was too busy to play, unfortunately," he said as he shook hands with Derek and his compatriots.

Nova and her female nurses were bouncing the ball around when two more women showed up on their side; a woman with a café' au lait complexion and apparently sun-kissed wavy long hair that somehow seemed redolent of an island, followed by a very quiet woman in pink who looked somewhat like Sakamoto.

The woman with the wavy hair, clad in blue workout clothes, said, in a rich musical Jamaican accent, "G'day! Ensign Jalissa Garvey, from Jamaica. My dark-haired friend with the very long straight hair in the other pink set of workout clothes, who is a bit more taciturn with those who do not know her, is Ensign Zhang Li Cheng from China…late arrival to the crew."

Derek and company introduced themselves as Nova said, "Derek, she was a replacement for…that woman I told you about who could not come with us."

The men still introduced themselves with handshakes as Nova watched Cheng's nervous reactions. "Zhang Li…these are all my friends, none of them bite!"

"You keep interesting company…ma'am," Cheng said formally.

Then, Cody noticed a stumpy young man with little hair approaching. He looked like a younger version of Doctor Sane.

"Who are ye?" Dexter said.

The young man, short, and a bit challenged in the looks department said, "Ensign Akira Oyama; the last of Lieutenant Forrester's nurses, sir. I was…married."

"What happened?" said Mark.

"Wife and baby son were killed by radiation sickness earlier this year," Oyama said mournfully. "The Lieutenant invited me down. I hope you don't mind I play even though I'm not very good."

"You'll be fine and you're welcome," Derek said. "Guess I'm team captain…if no one minds?"

"I sort of expected it," Nova sang as she reached across the net to shake hands with Derek. "I'll be nice. You guys take the first serve."

"Okay, get in position," Derek said as the six women on the other side took places in two ranks to cover the net. "GO!" Derek said.

What followed was an hour's worth of good-natured play, ribbing, and good moves on both sides. In front, Derek, Mark, and Dexter found that the ladies played much harder than they had expected. Aga, Ingrid and Jalissa had powerful moves and scored the most points for the women, being the tallest, while in the back row, Michele, Nova, and Zhang Li made up for their shorter stature by speed, and Nova in particular seemed to be both nimble and a deadly server with good aim whenever she served.

Dexter was one of the most powerful players on the male side, and Derek was the trickiest, but no one could match Cody's strength and determination at knocking the ball around, and his serve had the same deadly aim as Derek and Nova's own serves. Even Hahnemann and Oyama had some spunk and energy to them, and Oyama at one point had knocked one over both Aga and Nova's heads to score a point.

When they got tired, they called the game at 12 to 11; the males had won…just barely. The sweaty officers then went around, shaking hands with their opponents at the least, and giving bear hugs and pats on the back to those they knew well. Derek got a bone-crushing hug from Aga and a hug and pat on the back from Nova. "Good game," she said. "I worked off that soy ice cream from before!"

"Once again, you show unexpected skills, Nova," Mark said as she embraced him and mussed his hair up.

"I'm faster than you people think!" laughed Michele as Dexter hugged her. Dexter couldn't help noticing that Michele, Aga, Jalissa, and Nova were the most personable of the women, while Ingrid was taciturn and Zhang Li seemed downright shy in his presence. In fact, she said, "Are you and Cody the…witches I heard about?"

"Aye, we are," said Dexter. "Who told ye that?"

"Homer," she said. "He was…creeped out."

"That idiot," sighed Mark as Derek and Ron shook their heads. Oyama looked disgusted.

Nova made some holographic adjustments, and the scene changed to a room like a living room with a white wainscoted wall. "Let's get pictures," she said as she handed Derek a camera. "My team first, and then give it to me and I'll capture you guys."

"Capture," teased Cody. "Does that include manacles and chains, Miss Nova?"

Almost everyone laughed while Nova blushed deeply and Zhang Li hid her face in her hands.

The female team posed, with Zhang Li sitting on a trunk near Ingrid, with a look on her face almost as if she expected Ingrid to protect her from the males.

A few minutes later, Nova took the camera and photographed Derek, Mark, Cody, Dexter, Ronald, and Akira, grinning and giving peace signs.

"Well, let's break this up and get showers," Derek said.

Then, the doors whizzed open.

Sparks showed up, now in a very stained and greasy uniform. "Ahh…the ladies versus the guys? Who won?" he said.

"None of your business," Derek snapped. "You weren't invited to this game!"

"You need to get back to the engine room; stop goldbricking," snapped Cody.

"Even I get some time off," he said, licking his lips at the women and looking at Nova. "Oh, look who looks like a sweaty blonde tomboy," Sparks said.

"GO AWAY," Nova said firmly.

"You need to leave," said Dexter with a dangerous look on his face.

Then, Ingrid locked her cold blue eyes on Sparks. She snapped, "RAUS, DU SCHEISSE SCHWEINHUND! MACHST SCHNELL!

Sparks knew little German, but he took off as if all the Hounds of Hell were after him.

EVERYONE laughed and yelled good-natured insults as he ran; even Zhang Li!

"Oh, you've got to teach me German, Ingrid!" Nova said as she hung on to Michelle and Derek and giggled. "That was awesome!"

"My pleasure, ma'am," she said. She then whispered something in Nova's ear. Nova smiled and nodded.

Nova went up to Derek and said, lightly, "Gib mir bitte meine Nase zurück, meine Derek!"

"Does that mean you still want your nose back?" Derek teased.

"By George, I think he's got it!" Nova said as she mussed Derek's hair and allowed him to "give" her back her nose.

At that, they all left to shower and change. Those who were free to went to sleep, while those on duty got into uniform and reported to their posts.

It was a long but quiet night.

The same could not be said for the next day.

MORNING: 0745 HOURS

"Captain on the Bridge," said Mark Venture as he surrendered the conn to Captain Avatar. He noticed the old man looked a bit pale. "Sir. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said Avatar, scanning the bridge. Most of the usual morning watch crew was all present and accounted for, and they all looked fine and presentable, even Venture. The only one absent was Wildstar. He and Conroy were flying a patrol in front of the ship.

"How is Mister Cross working out at his new post?" Avatar said.

"He's doing well, Captain. I worked with him from when I relieved Homer as Officer of the Deck until now."

"Did you get enough sleep, Mister Glitchmann? You look a little pale," said Avatar.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just had some weird dreams."

"Did they involve cackling witches, toads, black cats and brew?" said Dash.

"You're incredibly ignorant, Dash!" Nova snapped. "That wasn't nice at all! Please apologize to him!"

"I'm sorry, Homer," Dash said from Wildstar's usual post at Tactical.

"That's okay," said Homer.

At the same time, Wildstar and Conroy landed. "We're back on board, Captain!" Derek reported after he tapped his pin.

"Very good…report to the bridge ASAP!"

"Roger."

Avatar stood up and said, "I don't desire to hear any cracks about anyone's religious faith again on this ship! All of us have differences, and we all have something to contribute to our mission!"

Then, the Argo began to drift, heeling over hard to starboard.

And that was when the artificial gravity went out.

Venture drifted up towards the overhead like a balloon. So did Eager.

Nova floated near her post, having just enough presence of mind to grab the edge of the console with her boots, and to force herself back into her seat, where she promptly harnessed herself into place.

Ensign Robert Turner, a young officer from Combat at Dash's usual artillery station, said, "I feel like a balloon, guys!"

"Get down and strap yerself in, lad!" said Orion from his post. "Engine Room, what's going on? I'm reading a big power drop!"

Down below in the port side upper fighter bay, Wildstar, Conroy, Starion, and Grant were drifting around with a number of Cosmo Zeroes.

"Get those birds lashed down, people!" Derek snapped.

"Working on it, sir!" said Grant. "Man, what a friggin' mess!"

"I never thought I'd be flying around like Supergirl," quipped Starion.

"Dana, cut the crap!" Derek snapped.

"Well, pardon me for living, Wildstar!" she snapped back.

Down below in the engine room, Tiriganiaq reported, "Looks like we have a fire!"

"The energy transmission unit is burning!" said Sparks. The crews began to suppress the fire.

"What do ya mean it's burning?" snapped Orion.

"It's all burnt out, Orion," said Sandor once he stopped drifting and got harnessed in. "Our limited supply of Titanite is gone! Also trying to get grav systems back on line with battery power."

"Isn't there anywhere we can get any?" said Venture.

"Originally it came from Titan, a satellite of Saturn…which we appear to be approaching now."

"Nova, we're in the vicinity of Titan now…get me an analysis!" snapped Captain Avatar.

"Yessir," Nova said briskly as she got to work. From behind, Eager watched her shoulder as she began to work. He thought, Not a bad distraction. Looks like she's goin' in time to music in her head or somethin'!

In the meantime, below, when the artificial gravity slammed back on and the ship heeled over again, Wildstar smacked into a bulkhead in the corridor. "HEY!" he barked. "What the hell is Venture doing with this ship?"

"What caused the burnout?" said Avatar.

"Most likely an overload from when we fired the wave motion gun," said Sandor. "I'll have to cross-wire the circuits so it doesn't happen again!"

When Derek got back on the First Bridge, he made fists at Mark and barked, "Hey, Venture! This isn't your own private roller coaster!"

"Not my damn fault!" Mark snapped. "The energy transmission unit blew; and so did the artificial gravity and my attitude stabilizers!"

"Hey, Nova, is he full of crap?" barked Derek.

"No, not at all! Chill, Derek!" she snapped back. She stood up, holding a printout. "Captain Avatar, I analyzed the moon and located several outcroppings of Titanite Crystal formations on the moon's northern hemisphere near the pole. Optical analysis indicates that what I found should be sufficient for our needs."

Avatar ordered, "Venture, orbit Titan at once! Use the auxiliary engines and thrusters!"

"Yessir," he said.

Avatar commented, "The environment on Titan is rather interesting. It's somewhat Earthlike with standing bodies of water and other fluids, but the chemistry is strange. The surface of Titan is one of the most Earthlike places in the solar system, albeit at vastly colder temperatures and with different chemistry. Here it is so cold at -290 degrees Fahrenheit or -179 degrees Celsius that water ice plays the role of rock. Titan may have volcanic activity as well, but with liquid water "lava" instead of molten rock. Titan's surface is sculpted by flowing methane and ethane, which carves river channels and fills great lakes with liquid natural gas. No other world in the solar system, aside from Earth, has that kind of liquid activity on its surface. The area near the north pole should be fairly stable and safe to send research teams down for finding Titanite. It's possible we might be able to Terraform the moon someday, or at least construct a base there."

"Didn't we have a base there decades ago?" Derek said.

"We did…until the Gamilons got to it and attacked our bases, thus our limited supply of Titanite," said Captain Avatar. "The last scans we took heading out for the Battle of Pluto did not indicate a Gamilon presence there, so we have to be cautious."

"Yeah…those bastards could be anywhere!" Derek snapped.

Nova sighed to herself as she heard Derek's language. When am I ever going to get him trained? She thought.

Down below in the engine room, Cross came by to find Cody and Sparks working on tearing out the burnt-out Titanite.

"Nice to see you, brother," said Tiriganiaq. "Lend a hand, would you?"

"Aye, I will," he said as he put on a helmet like the others and began to tear out the burnt and shattered crystals. "Are we gonna ge' more o' this stuff?" he said.

"The Captain just sent out a call to ready survey boats, so we're probably stopping over Titan to do exactly that," said Cody.

Yamazaki came by and said, "Sparks, when you dig out those crystals, make sure they're cooled down! We don't need a flareup of the fire in here!"

"Yessir," said Sparks, meekly.

"What a jackass," said Dexter to Cody in a low voice. "If we didn' need him, I'd shank him."

"If he pulls any more funny crap with Nova, we can do that," muttered Cody. "Or I can arrange an accident with hydrazine for him. You know how reactive that crap is."

"Dude w' go up like a torch in atmosphere," whispered Dexter "We'd probably have to airlock the bloke. Contamination."

Cody nodded.

On Pluto, Ganz and Bane were watching the Argo's progress. "Sir, scans report they've stopped near Titan," said Bane.

"Let's do a spectral analysis," said Ganz. "Commence scanning…hmm…looks like their power is running very low."

"Now would be a great time to attack!" said Bane. "They wouldn't be able to escape us this time, sir!"

"Wait…it could be a trick," said Ganz.

Back on the Argo, Avatar said, "We will conduct the Titan survey in two groups! Nova, take IQ-9 for analysis assistance and Wildstar as pilot and your guard in one of those Type 100-C recon planes. Your job is to find us the Titanite!"

"Yessir," said the three of them as they stood before Avatar's post and saluted. Dash again took Wildstar's post, and Turner assumed the Gunnery station. Nova called for Natalie Fisher to spell her at the radar. The young officer and Nova switched places when she arrived while Nova began to pull on a spacesuit over her tight yellow ship suit. Derek was doing the same at his post after opening the emergency locker down in the footwell of his console before Dash sat down.

"How much oxygen do you two have?" said Dash.

"One hour, standard," Derek said. "We'll have to move fast, Nova."

"Right," she said.

Avatar said, "Sandor, take your teams down and collect samples of random ice for environmental analysis!"

"Yessir," he said as he got ready.

"Derek, Nova, bet I'll beat you two back!" laughed Sandor.

"We'll see," said Derek.

As they left, they heard Nova saying, "No games, Tinwit. I'm not in the mood!"

"I'll take that into account, but my opinion can change," he piped as they left.

"What a weird robot," said Turner.

"I think he's sort of cute at times," laughed Natalie from her post.

"I could say the same about another officer on this bridge," joked Turner.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Natalie with a wink.

Sandor's survey boats took off first, followed by Derek and Nova's plane, with Derek flying.

In the meantime, however, unfriendly eyes were watching them.

On Pluto, Ganz said, "Get a recon ship out there to se what they are doing. If they land, I want prisoners taken alive. We need to study them!"

"Roger," said Bane. He called a patrol ship. "Patrol ship 104, Over!"

A saucer-like ship came out of the shadow of another moon. "Patrol ship 104. What are your orders, Major Bane?"

"The Star Force appears to be landing survey ships near Titan's north polar cap. Check them out; report, try to get live prisoners! We need to find out what the damn Argo is up to!"

"Roger that, ZAR BELK!" snapped the patrol ship's skipper.

The Gamilon patrol took off.

In the meantime, in a tunnel deep under the living rock of the desert of Arizona between the sites of Tucson and Oracle, a red-haired scientist, head of the Coterie, the coven to which Tiriganiaq and Cross belonged, and to which Doctor Carroway had belonged before leaving peacefully due to philosophical and religious differences with the group, sat in meditation planning his next move.

His name was Doctor Kalevi Andreas Denneman. He was a middle-aged man, strong, with long hair and honey-colored eyes. He had formed the Coterie in 2192 after he became disappointed with how the Terran Government was handling the Gamilon War. He had recruited scientists, doctors, and anthropologists with dark hearts and terrible resolves. He had sent Cody and Dexter out into space with a Purpose as part of a plan of his.

The plan was many-layered, partly born of serendipity, and partly of desperation. One year after the founding of the Coven, Kalevi had learned of an interesting matter through channels he was connected with. An ancient World War Two ocean-going battleship, the Yamato, was being salvaged and refitted as an escape ship at the time; escape for Earth's elites and a few scientists. His operatives had carefully monitored the progress of the project; initially, the plan had been to raid and seize control of the ship upon its completion. Other news had been brought to him quite recently, however, in the person of Doctor Haka'ea Paoa Rapahango—a physician with dual specialties in both xenobiology and pathology. She had arrived pregnant, seeking only a safe haven in which to bear a very illicitly-conceived child indeed. She had done after work with the remains of Astra of Iscandar after Doctor Sane and Nova Forrester had completed the basic autopsy. Astra, as we know, had crash-landed on Mars, bearing some sort of message capsule. Contained within it were plans to make the Yamato into more than an escape ship. Using those plans, the derelict was now being resurrected as a battleship. Haka'ea came bearing quite a prize in exchange for safety for herself and her unborn child: a copy of the plans for Yamato that she had stolen.

Haka'ea herself had arrived angry and embittered. She and the child were all that were left of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island. She had at first been reticent in speaking of the origins of the baby she carried. It was only after a long interrogation that Kalevi had learned the truth. Haka'ea had stolen genetic material from the alien woman, and had used it to fertilize some of her own ova. One, she had implanted immediately; this was the child she now carried. Six other frozen embryos had arrived with her in a stasis pod. Three had been made out of Astra's genetic material, and three were taken from a young living woman in 2198 (and frozen) when she had been operated on for a small ovarian cyst. Her genetics were…interesting; a potpourri of human genetics with at least two alien bloodlines they had not been able to identify at first until a partial match was made with Astra's DNA. Thus, this young woman was a hybrid of Terran, Iscandarian, and other alien genomes that seemed close to the Iscandarian genome but not quite. The frozen embryos were claimed by Doctor Kalevi claimed as the price for keeping Haka'ea's secrets.

With the arrival of Haka'ea, his plans had changed once again. He had begun building a vessel of his own, sequestered in a cave-mouth, and camouflaged with the bitter, toxic stone and soil. Its initial purpose had been to be used as an attack frigate in taking over the Yamato as soon as it left Terra. His own vessel was a Frankenstein, a cobbling-together of parts originating from downed craft of both Terran and alien origin; the Geistdrachen, he called it. These plans, however, represented as much of a step forward to Kalevi as they had for what was now being called the 'Star Force'—those who would crew the Yamato. Kalevi, at once, began to utilize the plans to refit his own vessel.

He would not utilize the entirety of the Coterie, however, in manning it. And that was the terrible purpose to which he now had to lend his very heart, in the form of his two adopted sons Cody and Dexter, who were his operatives aboard the renamed Yamato, now known as the Argo. Their mission was to infiltrate the crew and funnel information back to Kalevi, so that the private mission of his own vessel might meet with success. He had dropped the idea of attacking the Argo, but he hoped to get to Iscandar first. He was also in occasional touch with a space pirate who wandered the stars in a modified, stolen Gamilon vessel.

The name of this pirate? Captain Harlock.

Kalevi then went into deep meditation to try and contact Cody and/or Dexter. What he discovered when he touched minds with them was very interesting indeed. Namely, that the Argo was progressing on her mission, and a former associate, Doctor Denise Carroway, was aboard. Also, he found a very interesting discovery.

He briefly touched minds with a young woman who looked just like Astra of Iscandar who had a very interesting aura: light violet with flashes of silver. Her name was poetic: Nova Dawn Yukiko Forrester.

The other living Iscandarian in our sphere of influence…an interesting hybrid, awe-inspiring, of great potential, and they are keeping it from her! he thought as he gritted his teeth. I wonder how this happened. The Argo and especially this woman…possibly the Queen in my game of chess, must be protected. Not recruited; her heart is too pure to work with us even though I detect she has befriended my sons. But she must be protected at all costs. Something tells me she may be very important to Terran history if either of our missions succeeds and Earth is revived.

Nova did not know it, but she had a very interesting destiny ahead of her, and years later, she and Denneman would actually meet…several times, shadows of what could be, Kalevi thought. The first time, to aid her on a mission. The second time, to offer advice in Vietnam. The third time?

As far as I see it, if the future history I detect moves the right way…someday, I may be kneeling before Her Crystal Throne, Denneman thought. This is a delicate matter, so…

In the Type 100, Nova Forrester held her head in her gloved hands and moaned for a moment.

Wildstar looked back at her. "Are you all right, damnit?"

Nova said, "Yes. I just had…the weirdest feeling…as if someone was looking inside my mind for a split-second."

"Nova, that is illogical. Occult powers do not exist!" IQ-9 chirped.

"How do you know that?" Nova snapped. "I guess robots don't read Holy Writ! Much of our brains are unused…untapped. In Scripture, the Prophets and Apostles were given extraordinary authority and insight by the Divine Touch of Adonai. Maybe Starsha…has that sort of connection with Heaven…or maybe it was an aftereffect of that warp. I don't know which."

"Do you frequently get these feelings, Nova? Are you psychic?"

"Slightly, I think," Nova said. "I pray, I meditate, and flashes of insight and intuition hit me then; like I can feel or glimpse a different reality for a moment."

"Like I can in space, flying," Derek said.

"So…you know what I mean, Derek."

"Yes. Okay…" he said in a serious tone. "What do you feel about our…Shaman and self-proclaimed wizard or whatever Cross is?"

"Well, I can tell they touch something," Nova said. "I'm not sure what. Sometimes I get the sense they mean no harm, but sometimes I sense they are touching a spiritual well that Denise and I agree should best be left alone. She left their group years ago for that reason. It's like they are playing with a fifty-kilovolt astral electrical wire…or a cobra. I know there are evil forces in the universe…these are good men. They could be trapped…"

"Oni, as you know, in Japanese. Demons," Derek said.

Nova nodded. "Best left alone, although there is a legend, extra-Biblical, that King Solomon was given Divine Authority to harness a demon to help him build the Temple at Jerusalem. I don't believe that; neither does my father, who is a Freemason."

"What do they do? Play around with demons?" Derek said.

"No, they act according to Judeo-Christian principles for moral improvement and do community work!" Nova snapped. "I overheard my father practicing ritual once; he was the Master of his Lodge. What I picked up related to the Old and New Testament. It didn't sound evil. Maybe even vaguely…sacred. But…okay…Cody and Dexter should be respected. They feel different, but not evil to me! Maybe we can even learn a little from them…with great care."

"Do you think they're evil?"

"No…but…different. And walking on a knife edge," Nova said.

Derek nodded. A strange sense he picked up told him that Nova's fumbling guess at the nature of Cody and Dexter was pretty close.

As they approached Titan, Nova said, "Look at Saturn and Titan! Utterly beautiful! And look at Saturn's rings!"

"I'm getting that sense again," Derek said.

"What sense?"

Derek began to quote an old aviators' poem, "Up, up the long, delirious burning blue…I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace…Where never lark, or ever eagle flew — And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod…The high untrespassed sanctity of space…Put out my hand, and touched the face of God…"

"Awfully poetic for a man who says he's not sure about faith or a reality beyond our own," Nova said softly.

"It's that strange, otherworldly sense I get…Nova…don't you feel it, too?"

"Out here…yes," Nova said in a whisper. "There's something I'd really love to tell you about sometime, Derek…it….IQ-9, GREAT HONK…QUIT IT!" she barked as she felt the demented robot stroking…her bottom.

"IQ-9, stop playing games with the Lieutenant! She's the commanding officer out here! The Captain's orders!" Derek barked.

"Yeah, Derek…he was…reaching his hand around, and…"

"You heard Lieutenant Wildstar, Nova. YOU stop playing games! We're out here doing a survey!" piped the robot.

"It was YOUR bloody fault!" Nova said. "Snargit!" she snapped as her eyes crossed in rage.

"Ha, you used the word!" laughed Derek. "Write it up in the Oxford English Dictionary! Nova used my word!"

"Keep on playing games and I may use my fist!"

"On what?"

"Your head, Derek!" Nova snapped.

"You two, stop fighting…we have a mission to carry out!" IQ-9 said.

"YOU STARTED IT!" Derek and Nova yelled in harmony. Then they gave each other looks.

"That's been happening too much lately, Nova," Derek said.

"Uhhh…yeah," Nova stammered. She said to herself, Okay, admit it, girl…you're getting close to him. He is charismatic and insightful, even given all his anger and rough spots. He's a rogue, face it. But are you in his fan club yet? Maybe…maybe not…

"I think I'm finding Titanite…maybe," IQ-9 said. "Wildstar, fly a geometric pattern! Modified rhomboid!"

"Roger that," Derek said.

"I'm getting the same glints myself," Nova said. "Looks like we're getting close to it." Then, a status unit beeped in her space suit, and also in Derek's. "Forty-five minutes of oxygen left for this EVA," she said. "Derek, report our findings back to the ship, please!"

"Roger that," said Wildstar.

In the meantime, as our little group…uhh…flew on, Sandor and his crew had landed.

They were finding biological samples in the ice; huge mushrooms, possibly dried, possibly fossilized.

"Get those out carefully," he said. "We'd better get them out in one piece for Sane, Carroway, and Forrester to make a thorough analysis later in their lab."

"Yessir," said one of Sandor's officers.

"Hurry…we don't have much time," Sandor said.

Sandor looked up and he saw a flash of light in space.

In their plane, Nova looked up and said, "What? A bright meteorite?"

On the Argo's bridge, Natalie saw a blip on the radar. "Fast ship approaching on radar! Heading towards Titan! Signature consistent with a Gamilon patrol ship!"

"Homer! Alert the survey crews on Titan! Venture! Sound red alert!"

Homer said, as the klaxons came up, "Sandor! Nova! Approaching space craft in your area! Probable Gamilon ship! Finish up quickly and return to base!"

Sandor heard the command. "We're almost done now, Captain! Packing it in now!"

Sandor's ships returned quickly.

But, in the Type 100-C, it didn't go the same way.

Nova said. "Understood, Homer. Acknowledged! Derek, get us out of here! Possible Gamilon contact!" Nova ordered.

Derek barked at IQ-9. "Haven't you found anything yet, you damned slowpoke?"

IQ then said, "Positive indications of Titanite at Delta-325 on the grid. Thirty-five degrees from here, distance, three klicks!"

Nova and Derek smiled. "That's great!" Nova said. "But we'll have to go back later…"

"Why?" Derek barked. "Let's go get it NOW!"

"Derek, Captain Avatar has ordered us back to the ship and our oxygen is down to forty minutes! Turn this ship around!"

Wildstar called the ship. "This is Wildstar! We've found a large deposit of Titanite and we're on our way to get it…fast!"

"You're in danger, all three of you!" Avatar snapped. "Didn't you order him to turn it around, Nova? You're in command out there!"

"I'll say it again, Captain," Nova said. She banged on Derek's helmet. "Derek! DIRECT ORDER! Turn us around…you…you CHOWDERHEAD!"

"We'll return when we're done, Captain!" Derek snapped. Then he shut his radio off.

"Wildstar! Forrester! Get back now!" ordered Homer. Then, he said to the Captain. "Sir! Wildstar's switched off his radio!"

Avatar shut his eyes, thinking, You're just as hot-headed as your brother, Wildstar! And you're taking one of your dearest friends and that valuable robot to Hell with you! I should have had Nova fly this recon herself without you!

The Type 100-C landed, and Derek and Nova and IQ-9 were in a mood when they landed.

"Wildstar, you jackass!" Nova said. "You could be court-martialed for this! Disobeying both my order and the Captain's order! What's wrong with you?"

"Nova, did you ever play poker?" Derek barked.

"Not much," she admitted.

"Sometimes, when you're against a wall, you have to take a gamble against all logic! The Titanite is here. Let's get it and run! Otherwise, the Argo might be stuck here for days with the engine burnt out!"

"Hmm…you may have a point," Nova said.

"Then you agree with me?"

"No, but since you gave me lemons, let's make some darn lemonade! Let's get that Titanite as fast as we can," Nova said. "IQ-9 is your laser cutter ready?"

"It won't take long, Nova!"

"Great. Derek, deploy the conveyor! Let me know if you need a hand. And we have to work fast! Thirty-five minutes of oxygen left!"

"Gotcha. Nova, are you still mad at me?"

"Maybe," she said. "Tell you what! If we succeed in this crazy scheme of yours and you stand Captain's Mast, I'll stick up for you. Okay?"

"It's a deal," Derek said as he shook hands with Nova. "Now let's get these mined and in the ship so that we can run."

Nova nodded, agreeing with Derek for once.

As Derek looked at the Titanite pit, he saw laser cuts and patterns in the deposits and thought, This is a funny place. I wonder who's been here?

The Gamilon ship landed a klick away as they worked.

The commander, Lieutenant Borga, said, as his faceplate turned dark against the bright sunlight, "Sub-Lieutenant Garoth, look! The Terrans are mining Titanite in our Number Eight replen pit!"

"Let's go after them now!" said Garoth. He was also faceless.

"No, we need orders. I believe Ganz wanted this group alive."

A FEW MINUTES LATER…

"So, they're mining Titanite?" Ganz said over the screen.

"Yessir."

"Oh…Titanite…used in energy transmission units. That explains the reduced power readings I picked up."

"What should we do? Kill them?" said Borga

"How big is their party?" snapped Ganz.

"One man, one woman, and one robot. That is all!"

"Good. Bring them in alive. We want to study them, Borga. Get on it now!"

"ZAR BELK!" snapped Borga.

Two minutes later, two semi-automated Gamilon tanks, one run by Borga, the other by Garoth, rolled out of the Gamilon scout ship.

Borga, the more determined of the two junior officers, said, "Garoth…over the ridge, and then down so we can surprise those fools!"

"Of course," said Garoth.

A moment later, IQ-9 said, "I detect two vehicles approaching!"

"Vehicles?" Nova said. "Do they sound like ours? Did Sandor come here to grab us?"

"No," said IQ-9. "They sound to me like…"

The answer became obvious when the vehicles appeared over the ridge and Derek saw guns.

"Space tanks!" he said.

Then, the Gamilon tanks fired at them, hitting an ice floe.

"Damnit!" Derek said. "Nova, get over there, beyond that ice ridge!"

Derek took Nova's hand and they ran, hard, to get cover.

When they got under cover, Nova said, "What's that on your belt?"

"Sapper charges," Derek whispered. "I have four. Take two. You know how to use those?"

"Yes, I do," Nova said.

"Stay under cover!" Derek snapped.

He ran out and fired at the Gamilon tank.

"Ha, ha ha ha ha ha!" sneered Borga. "A sidearm against this tank! They should be easy to capture!"

Borga fired a machine gun at Derek's location, and the ice melted and froze in front of him.

Derek took cover again and quipped, "This place could be very dangerous to my health!"

"You got THAT right, Cowboy!" Nova barked in his headset. "I'm looking for a chance to plant one of these!"

"Wait until they can't see you! Do it from behind and run!"

In the meantime, in the Gamilon tanks, Borga said, "You go after the male. I'll capture the female and the robot. She looks pretty silly and helpless!"

"Understood," said Garoth.

Derek took the high ground and got over Garoth's turret. He jumped onto the turret, lasered open the lock, undid the hatch, and fired a shot at a startled Garoth's head.

Garoth screamed and collapsed, brains all over the place inside his tank. The tank was still rolling, so Derek set up a sapper charge, threw it in, and did a roll off the tank.

The unmanned tank rolled a few hundred meters and exploded.

Then, Derek saw another tank approaching Nova and IQ-9.

"NOVA, RUN!"

Nova and IQ-9 saw the tank bursting through the ice. She yelled and began to run…

…but had enough presence of mind to set up a sapper charge and throw it at the tank first. Fortunately, its magnet caught the top of the hull of the tank and stuck on.

Nova ran, and IQ-9 said, "I'm throwing us in this hole, Nova, to protect you from the blast. You might get bruised."

"Better than being dead!" she snapped. She and the robot tumbled into the depression, and Nova allowed IQ-9 to cover her while the tank blew.

The wreck sat there, smoking.

"Well, guess that's finished," Derek said as Nova came up to him and said, "Twenty minutes' of oxygen left. Let's get out of here, and…"

Derek's gun was zapped out of his hands. "What the…?"

"You are all my prisoners!" Borga said as he crawled out of the wreckage.

Nova shoved Derek down and fired.

She missed.

Barely.

"You crazy woman!" Borga yelled.

"You're not getting MY shipmate without a fight!" Nova barked. "Drop it!"

Borga fired at Nova again. She returned fire, and she dropped to cover as he jumped at her.

Derek tried kicking at him, but it didn't stop him. He stunned Derek for a moment with a fist to his helmet and grabbed at Nova and put his weapon to her head. "YOU drop it!"

Nova tried to struggle out and shoot him in the face, but he overpowered her and squeezed her hand to the breaking point. She dropped the weapon. "I'm taking her," Borga barked. "You get over here with her or you are dead."

Derek put up his hands, and joined Nova, who had her hands up on her head with a hand in pain in her spacesuit glove. Borga took their remaining charges and kicked them away.

IQ-9, without saying anything, sent an SOS signal to the Yamato.

"An SOS signal from Wildstar, Nova, and IQ-9!" said Homer. "I have their location."

"Prepare a rescue mission, Dash," said Avatar. "Landing craft. Get Rosstowski and ten troopers down there."

"Roger," Dash said.

"Get moving!" Borga snapped a few minutes later.

"Our oxygen's in the yellow!" Nova protested. "Down to fifteen minutes!"

"I could care less about your oxygen, barbarian, as long as I get you two to my ship alive," sneered Borga. "I can revive you two later. Bear in mind our procedures are nice and painful but effective, Terran! Of course, you both will end up stripped for your scans and exams! I have rather nice manacles on my ship!"

Derek noticed a Cosmo-Gun frozen in the ice.

IQ-9 said, "I do not recommend that…"

"Worth a try," whispered Derek. "Cover Nova!"

Derek jumped at the icy spot and the ice shattered under his boot.

He fired at Borga…gut shot because he moved and screwed his sight picture up.

Nova jumped for her weapon and fired. She got Borga nicely in the throat.

Air from the Gamilon trooper's spacesuit and blood covered the ice.

"Well, he looks dead," Derek said. "Thanks."

Nova checked his pulse at his glove. "Nothing. He is dead. Derek, should I pull the helmet? See what they look like?"

"No time! Oxygen's in the yellow," he said. "How did this gun get here? I….?"

Derek looked hard at the gun. The kanji for his brother's Japanese Buddhist name, "KODAI MAMORU" were engraved in the weapon with his Western name engraved below them.

"I don't believe it!" Derek yelled. "This is my brother's gun! This is Alex's gun!"

Then, Nova tapped his shoulder and they looked at his ship.

"Number 17, the old Yukikaze before they renamed it!" Derek snapped as he read the hiragana characters on the missile ship's ice-covered flanks. "Frozen. That's Alex's ship! Nova…could he be…?"

"Scan for life signs, IQ-9," Nova ordered. "Just to check for him," she said softly.

He did so, and then reported, "No life signs found. The two of you are the only living beings around here for a hundred kilometers!"

"Alex…this is all I have of you now," Derek said. "This…and your harmonica…" Then, he began to sob.

Nova hugged him in her spacesuit. "I'm so sorry…Derek…I really am!"

"It must be hard…to be a human," IQ-9 said as the Argo appeared overhead.

A FEW MINUTES LATER….

Derek and Nova sat connected to the Type 100's internal oxygen supply in the cockpit as IQ-9 (who needed no air) buttoned everything up and secured the Titanite in the hold.

Derek kept on staring hard at the wreck of the Paladin.

"We need to lift off, Derek," Nova said as she gently patted Derek's shoulder. "Let's go."

"OK...prepare for liftoff!" Derek said as IQ-9 got back in the cockpit. The canopy closed.

Derek tried to control the plane, but he was crying and shaking. Nova did not make it known to him that she had quietly flipped the overrides to her seat and stick and rudder pedals and that she was flying them out of there.

"Argo, mission completed," she said tersely. "Gamilons neutralized. Titanite aboard. Over," she said as her voice hitched a little.

Derek thought, Alex, if we hadn't found your gun here on Titan, we'd be Gamilon prisoners now. Are you still looking after me?

Homer blurted, "Nova! Are we glad to hear from you! Is Wildstar okay? Why isn't he reporting?"

"He's in a state, Homer," Nova said quietly. "He just received confirmation of some bad news…shall we say? Out."

Back aboard ship, a few minutes later, Derek and Nova stood on the First Bridge, out of spacesuits and back in regular uniform. The Titanite had been picked up by Sparks, Yamazaki, and Tiriganiaq and was being ferried to the engine room and set up in the energy transmission units.

On the First Bridge, Captain Avatar heard Nova's report as Derek stood in silence with his head down.

"So that was it?" Avatar said.

"Yes. He disobeyed orders, sir, but thanks to his determination, we got the Titanite and he did an incredibly good job in helping to defend us. In fact, he got us out of a tactical situation that was a total no-win scenario," Nova said, beaming at Derek. She tapped his chin. "C'mon…buck up, Derek!" she said. "Toldja I'd speak up for you!"

"So, Nova, you're excusing his disobedience?" Avatar said.

"Yessir, and I'll go to the bulkhead for him. But, if you write him up, write me up, too. I hear brig food's not all bad!"

"Hmmm," said Avatar. "Nova, you're off the hook. I guess your head was clear, but something seems to be bothering you, Wildstar?"

"No comment…sir," he snapped.

"Nova, go get some coffee; make two cups and have soy compound crullers ready," Avatar said. "Wildstar, come up and see me in my cabin," he said as he went up on his chair-lift.

"Hey…I'd stand up there and defend you," Nova said. "But…I have my orders."

"Come see me in the friggin' brig, Nova…" he said as he left, shame-faced.

"What's eating him?" Mark said.

"Something that I'm not sure you'd understand…Mark," Nova sighed.

In Captain Avatar's cabin, Wildstar reported.

Derek said, "Sir, I'm here to face the music. I accept full responsibility. Don't write Nova up…please…I…"

"Never mind…it's not that at all," Avatar said. "We scanned the surface and found the Paladin's wreck. Tell me about finding that wreck, Wildstar."

"Oh…yes…sir," Derek said. "When we landed on Titan, after a little battle with the Gamilons, where I think Nova deserves a citation because she's as wily as a fox and a great fighter…we found my brother's weapon here in a tight spot and I found the remains of his ship on Titan. We had IQ-9 scan the ship. No survivors…sir."

"You say…no one? NONE?" Avatar said as he wiped his eyes.

"Aye, aye, sir…"

"So…you know for sure he's gone," Avatar said. "But he lives on in you…and in the rest of the Star Force!"

"SIR!" Derek said.

Avatar then patted his back. "No repercussions, Wildstar. Good job. Both you and Nova will be cited. Now, go below. I think your good friend is waiting for you. With her coffee. Go chat with Nova. She's good. That's my only order."

"Yessir," Derek said. At that, he left.

TO BE CONTINUED…