Outcast Legends: The Legends

by Mysterious Voice Guy

A mysterious figure from Suzuka's past returns to haunt her in tandem with mystery after mystery. But is it what she thinks it is, or is something much bigger than any of them drawing her into a trap?

3. Combat

There are secrets in the universe that may never be fully explained.

Where there are mysteries, there are always three kinds of people connected to them. One is the kind of people who want to seek the mysteries out to their fullest.

The other are the people who are out to destroy any secret they believe threatens their security or positions of power.

The third type are the defenders of mysteries.

This is the tale of several such defenders.

Outcast Legends: And Outlaw Star fanfic

Combat

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the original Outlaw Star TV anime. I'll make a list of those characters and concepts I do own at the end of the fic, if there are any.

Chapter 3- Enemies and Allies

The warrior known as Dawn Sword raced down the hallways of the North Star defense base, running with all of his might towards the airlock for his grappler pod. His short black hair, intelligent black eyes, and dark-tan colored skin, as well as well-toned muscles and sheathed double-edged sword assured anyone on first glance that he was a skilled warrior. But his true strength lay below the surface.

Entering the cockpit of his grappler pod and engaging launch procedures, he prayed silently that the enemy force he was about to face was not massive or overly dangerous. People's lives were on the line every nanosecond, and therefore he had to make every moment count. Keying in the launch code, he felt the pod's thrusters burst to life as the pod moved from it's mooring and out into open space.

At the moment, open space wasn't so open. As Nova cruisers and Dragon Leviathan cruisers met in fierce combat, grappler pods and auto mechs swarmed from almost every ship to fill the gaps with explosive battle, sending laser blasts and debris flying left and right. He forced himself to clear his mind and waited for the pod's neural link to engage. It wasn't long before he felt everything around him begin to fade and be replaced as the grappler pod's neuro-interceptors channeled his conscious mind into piloting the pod.

Within moments after the neural link completed, Dawn Sword was headed into the middle of one of the more intense combat zones. His pod grabbed a device from a panel just above the grappler legs and activated it, the device flashing with glowing white energy making up the 'blade' of the intense weapon.

"This is Dawn Sword to all Outcast Legends. Get ready and get fighting; this looks like a considerable enemy force. Over."

"Roger that, Dawn Sword." Nightshade stated, her voice lacking no enthusiasm for the coming battle. "Let's teach these Dragons not to mess with the Outcast Legends."

"I second that, Nightshade." Reaper added. His deep African American rapper-style voice also held that same spark for battle that Nightshade had.

"This is Backtrack; and all systems are go."

"Firestorm here, and I'm ready when all of you are."

"I'm golden when you guys are. What are we floating around here for?" Vapor asked.

"OK, then." Dawn Sword said, bringing his nova saber to a battle position. "Let's do this, people! Outcast Legends style!"

It wasn't long before each of the members of the Outcast Legends team were headed straight into combat, blasting at auto mechs with the laser cannons in the palms of each grappler pods' hands. Lasers, grappler pods, and auto mechs flooded the cosmic battle field as the two armies met in mass combat.

"Watch each other's backs." Dawn Sword instructed as he sliced apart a pair of nearby auto mechs. "There's a lot of them out here, even more than last time, so watch out. Firestorm, NightShade, I want you two to go after the cruiser nearest the base. Backtrack, Reaper, join on me. The rest of you, split up and take it to em'!"

It hadn't taken Suzuka long to get access to a Grappler Pod. The limp forms of a group of pilots lay on the ground nearby, knocked unconscious by Suzuka. Melfina stood behind her, just outside the entry hatch of the ship, along with Jean, Jim, and Aisha. Suzuka looked over the controls quickly, then turned to Melfina.

"It appears to need an access code in order to launch, but I can't find where the controls are."

"Suzuka, can I ask what's probably a dumb question?" Jean inquired.

"What?"

"Why exactly do you want to steal these Grappler Pods?"

"Because if that Dawn Sword wannabe dies, all those answers he promised me die with him." She turned to Melfina. "Melfina, what can you tell me about the way this pod works?"

Melfina nodded, walked into the pod as Suzuka stood to one side, then gently placed her hand on the controls and closed her eyes.

"... The access code is 1GZ796I2SD8." She said after what felt like five minutes. "Also, I think the Grappler Pod operates using a direct neural link."

"Are you saying that anybody who's in there gets their mind linked into the pod?" Jim inquired.

"Yes."

"Hm. This should be interesting." Suzuka turned to Jean. "If you're coming, get a pod and meet me out there."

Melfina exited the pod as Suzuka input the code. The airlocked doors behind her slid shut with a hissing sound. Not minutes later she felt the moorings that held the pod to the outside of the station release, and the gentle hum of exterior thrusters accompanied the pod slowly moving away from the base. Releasing her sword and letting it float next to her in what had become a zero-g environment, Suzuka closed her eyes and waited for something to happen. It wasn't long before she was aware that her mind had taken control of the pod.

She could see everything around her, both forwards and backwards, the entire starscape. This was probably due to the pod's scanners. Information registered in her mind, unique new synaptic abilities that belonged to the pod linking directly into her mind. She realized she couldn't feel herself breathing, then the thought occurred to her that the Grappler Pod's secondary computers probably had taken over her basic body functions, keeping her body alive while her mind controlled the pod.

Turning towards the battle, Suzuka activated the pod's ion thrusters and weapons system.

She had one purpose in mind: protect 'Dawn Sword'.

Dawn Sword slashed left and right with his nova saber, shredding auto mechs at nearly each turn. His wingmen, Backtrack and Reaper, continued blasting away at the swarms of enemy ships and mechs with the laser cannons in their hands. So far, so good. The Nova cruisers deployed by the base were effectively blockading the enemy fleet, forming a formidable tactical wall between the Dragons and North Star.

Suddenly, one of the Dragon ships opened a communication line to Dawn Sword's pod. He recognized the face immediately.

"It seems we meet again, Dawn Sword." DragonMage stated. A figure in high-tech dark silver and crimson armor designed to look like a dragon, DragonMage had been the sworn enemy of the Outcast Legends ever since Dawn Sword could remember. The chestplate of his armor looked like a dragon's head with fiery fierce red eyes, the shoulder plates like wide dragon wings wrapped around his shoulders. His leg bracers, the tips barely within the vid-comm window, were like giant scaly talons, and around his waist wrapped a belt like a snake's tail. Attached to the back parts of the shoulder guards was a long black cape that reached to his feet, and he had sheathed at his side a short broadsword with two small single bladed detachable 'dragon fang' swords attached to the hand guard so that they almost looked like one piece with the main sword. He stood at roughly 6 feet tall with long black hair and deep-set green eyes that had an invisible 'shadow' of evil cunning to them.

"What do you want, DragonMage?" Dawn Sword challenged.

"Take a wild guess." DragonMage scoffed in bitter defiance. "ZX7. Surrender it or the attack begins in earnest, and I know how much you value the lives on that station." The second part of the sentence was a mock.

"I don't make deals with terrorists, DragonMage, so why don't you just slither back to the cave you crawled out from." Dawn Sword returned, then switched off the vid-comm window and activated an audio link to the other Outcast Legends. "OK, people, we've got a probable code 3. DragonMage is leading the attack himself. Don't drop your guard for a second."

"Mind telling me why you're so concerned?"

Dawn Sword almost did a doubletake. It was Suzuka's voice that had spoken over the comm system.

"Suzuka?!"

"I hope you don't mind that my friends and I took temporary ownership of a few of your Grappler Pods." Suzuka stated.

"What do you think you're doing?!!"

"It's simple, really. If you die, those answers you promised me die with you. Not exactly a sophisticated concept."

"Whoa..." Jean exclaimed. "This is really cool!"

"This is just like some kinda cyber game!" Jim added.

"This rules!" Aisha added as four pods thrustered into position alongside Suzuka's, blasting at nearby auto mechs and battle cruisers like natural-born Grappler Pod pilots, especially Melfina, Aisha, and Suzuka, who seemed to have incredibly high reaction time.

"...Uh... sir?" Reaper inquired, not really having to ask his question.

Dawn Sword took a deep breath, then spoke.

"Ok, then, Suzuka. We'll do this your way. You, your friends, Reaper, Backtrack and I are gonna try to hit the ship in the middle of the fleet. Chances are that might be the ship DragonMage is on. There's only seven Leviathan cruisers left, along with two or three support cruisers. Follow my lead, we're going in."

"Works for me." Suzuka stated, nova saber ready in her right grappler.

Meanwhile, far away from the raging battle, the warrior known as DragonMage watched in total silence as the monolithic video screen in front of him displayed various scenes of the dreadful battle. The command center around him was in total stillness and silence, he and only one other person standing within the room. Both watched in silence and calm interest as the attack fleet they'd sent out quickly began to lose ground and the battle turned in favor of North Star and it's Outcast Legend defenders.

"Are you certain, Cerpa?" DragonMage inquired, not turning towards the figure just barely behind him.

"Positive." Cerpa replied, his voice both strong and deep but sounding strangely synthetic. "I never forget a face, much less her face."

"So..." DragonMage seemed to consider this for a long moment. "Tell me about this Suzuka. I've heard rumors, but nothing more."

"Her powers extend far beyond what even she herself knows. She does not know, however, their origin or why she was given them. All she knows is the death of her parents and the need to be the strongest." He then scoffed. "Last I heard, she still believed her powers were of the same occult magick as the Kai Pirates. Worry not, lord DragonMage, she has no idea of her true past, I assure you."

"Yes, but now she is in the company of the Outcast Legends. Just how much do they know?"

"... In truth, I don't know. However..." He paused for emphasis. "Dawn Sword may know everything."

"Then we must proceed with caution?"

"By no means. Suzuka is playing right into your hands. Soon both ZX7 and the galactic leyline will belong to you." He paused. "Assuming I also get what I want in exchange for the services I have rendered you till now."

"Worry not, Cerpa. You'll have your reward, as promised, and your revenge, as promised."

"You honor me with your kindness, lord DragonMage."

On the screen, one of the few remaining Leviathan cruisers exploded, having taken direct attacks from swarms of Grappler Pods.

"Perhaps now I should withdraw the attack. After all, we have the information we came for." DragonMage stated. When Cerpa didn't respond, he turned to look. Cerpa had vanished from the command room without a sound.

"Central cruiser down!" Dawn Sword exclaimed as the shattered remains of the massive Leviathan attack ship floated away from the quickly fading explosion. "OK, split up and take it to em'. Fire at will."

"Sir," Bluestone's voice came over the comm system suddenly. "The remaining ships are retreating, and using what's left of their auto mechs to cover their rears. Should the Nova cruisers press the attack?"

"... No, the Dragons have done enough damage for today, and they know it. Dawn Sword to all Outcast Legends. Call off the counter-attack unless further provoked."

"Does that include us?" Jean inquired smugly.

"Don't push it. I'm not exactly thrilled that you stole those pods, either, so if you can figure out how to, dock em' and wait until I get back to the station."

"You're staying out here?" Suzuka inquired.

"Someone needs to instruct the fleet." He replied, then switched his comm systems to talk to the whole fleet. "Dawn Sword to the fleet. I want all Nova cruisers that are in good shape to hold the blockade in case the Dragons decide to change their minds. Grappler Pod squadrons three, six, seven, and nine, back up the main fleet. One, two, four and five, cover the rest of the base. The rest of you I want on repair work STAT. Over and out."

Dawn Sword would've sighed in relief if the pod link would have allowed it. Things had looked bad for awhile when he and the others were in the fray of battle, but turning his pod in the direction of North Star, he quickly realized that the damages done were minimal, considering. Three or four Nova cruisers drifted without engine power in the midst of space, obviously having taken heavy damage. Others, while damaged, were still able to drag themselves back towards their positions in the blockade. In the distance, the remains of the Dragon fleet began to glow blue as the ones that could began to warp into ether drive.

But deep inside, he knew that that had barely been a preliminary strike. Soon, he could feel it, the battle would start in earnest.

When Suzuka took her first step out of the pod, she was instantly and keenly aware of multiple weapons aimed at the opening on both the far right and left, so as to catch her in the crossfire if need be when she stepped out fully. The first thing that registered in her mind was that these people were either extremely ungrateful, or Bluestone had ordered this. So, placing her sword on the ground right in front of the pod's airlock and stepping out with her hands in the air, Suzuka was quickly greeted by:

"Don't move an inch, Twilight Suzuka." It was Bluestone speaking, naturally. The female warrior stood in front of a group of at least twenty armor-clad warriors on Suzuka's right, all of them with hand weapons locked onto Suzuka, and another group of soldiers on the left numbered at about twenty five. Suzuka noted with an almost bemused interest that she had never before been targeted with weapons by so many people all at once, and factoring in the strange ability that Bluestone and the other occupants of the station had to become immune to any matter of Suzuka's attacks, Suzuka quickly realized that fighting was the worst possible option in this situation.

"Don't worry, I won't." Suzuka replied, then in a mockingly cordial tone added "But it seems to me that you don't care that my friends and I just helped save your base."

"By knocking out the rightful pilots of those Grappler Pods and stealing our defensive weapons?? What do you take me for, a moron? I don't know how you and your friends managed to circumvent the security systems in those pods, but don't count on it happening again." Bluestone made sure her gun was level. "Fortunately for you, all it takes is one dart and you won't remember any of this. Your android friend Melfina may take a little time to reprogram, but trust me when I say that she won't remember a thing, either."

"I don't think that's quite fair, considering I'm under Dawn Sword's protection, or at least the person you call Dawn Sword."

"Forget fair; you're all a threat to the security of this base and the secrecy of our operation, and I have sworn to protect both with my life. Now hold still and we won't have to do this the hard way."

Suddenly, a beep emanated from Bluestone's wrist communicator.

"Dawn Sword to Bluestone. I've got a bone to pick with you, Lieutenant Commander." Said a familiar voice from the comm unit.

Bluestone's military expression instantly dropped into a bitter 'you've got to be kidding me' look as she holstered her gun and tapped the comm unit.

"This is Bluestone." She said reluctantly. Sighing, she added "Go ahead sir."

"Bluestone, when I docked my pod I heard that you had relocated most of the base security forces to Grappler Pod Launch Zone 22. I take it you have a good reason for that?" Dawn Sword asked in a tone that proved he already knew why Bluestone had pulled out such a maneuver.

"… I was trying to apprehend Suzuka and her friends, sir." Bluestone explained in a downcast tone.

"Ah, I see." Dawn Sword reprimanded gently. "Kindly dismiss them back to their regular duties. After all, the base sustained noteworthy damages in that battle and we need everyone we can get."

"But sir…!" Bluestone complained, then tightened her jaw and added. "Sir, with all due respect, I personally believe that this is a flagrant violation of protocol and a serious security risk. What's more is that I-"

"Bluestone, have I ever asked you to do something without having a good reason for it?"

"… I don't think so, sir."

"Then trust me. I promise that I'll explain everything as soon as I can, but in the meantime kindly show Suzuka the way to the briefing room, would you? And ask somebody in command to arrange some rooms for her and our other guests."

"But sir-!"

"Buestone, please, don't make me have to pull rank."

She sighed deeply before responding.

"Yes sir, but for the record I consider this a bad leadership judgement on your part."

"I'll make sure to put it into the station's history logs. Dawn Sword out."

It was all Suzuka could do to suppress a clever smirk. Bluestone waved off the fifty-so guards and they began filing out of the room slowly, most keeping one eye on Suzuka despite their orders. Suzuka picked up her sword as Bluestone motioned for Suzuka to follow her. Once they left the large but low-ceiling docking ring, Bluestone turned to Suzuka with an obviously hostile expression.

"Let's get a few things straight, 'Ms. Twilight.' First, I don't trust you in the least. Second, you make one wrong move and you'll find a dart in your side faster than you can say sub-ether. Thirdly, Dawn Sword had better have one heck of a good reason for giving you the red carpet treatment like this. We clear?"

"Are you angry at me because I stole some of your Grappler Pods, because I had my sword aimed to kill you, or because I just embarrassed you in front of your troops, lieutenant commander?" Suzuka inquired mischievously. "Or is it D, all of the above?"

"Add into that the fact that assassins killed my brother, and yeah, all of the above." Bluestone added with bittercold resentment.

Had she been anyone else, that may have stunned Suzuka somewhat. But even so, such a remark was not lost on her. She quickly realized she'd been giving Bluestone a hard time without a real reason and decided to forego her pride enough to make some kind of apology.

"I didn't know that." She stated simply.

"Yeah, whatever. Just follow me and don't try anything." Bluestone stated, turning and walking off. Suzuka followed a few feet behind her as the two once again traveled the long halls and corridors in search of Dawn Sword.