Chapter Five
Under Commander Nell's orders, the victorious sortie returned as fast as possible to the Orange Star capital city. Nell wasn't sure if a crowd of people had come out onto the streets to welcome them back; frankly she couldn't care.
The frantic albeit cryptic message from the city after their victory over Black Hole had shaken Nell badly. Only by constantly trying to reassure Max, who was slowly losing consciousness, kept her from showing her unease. Hopefully, one of the other COs knew something more about this new quandary.
The orange Neo-Tank skidded to a halt in front of the main elevator of Orange Star headquarters. The elevator doors opened and two Orange Star medics wheeled out a medical stretcher. Nell shouted orders to the soldiers around her to carry Max onto the stretcher. Once he was suitably tied down to the stretcher, the stretcher and the two medics dashed away to the military hospital nearby.
Nell strode into the elevator and pressed the "up" button. The lift shot skywards. Nell pressed the intercom button. It provided a direct link to the Map-Room. Hopefully, at least one of the other COs was there now.
"Sami…Andy…Hachi…can anyone tell me what's happening?" Nell spoke into the intercom. There was a crackled, incomprehensible reply. Nell rolled her eyes. Landline communications from the elevator was tricky at best because the elevator was always moving. She would be in the Map-Room before she would get an intelligent reply.
Proving her right, the elevator doors slid open at the Map-Room level. She walked out and down the corridor, towards the big, double doors. They had been flung wide open for the endless amount of staff milling to and from the Map-Room. She walked briskly inside.
Inside, Sami was rushing around the map-board, which displayed necessary terrain and relief in 3D holographics, like a madman. It was slowly forming an image in a green lattice but it would still take some time. Andy was working busily at the communication system, trying to hail someone…anyone with useful intelligence. Hachi was standing near the window. He had been holding binoculars but he had dropped them and hadn't picked them up.
"What's happening, Sami?" Nell asked. Sami stopped and looked at her. For a moment, she looked relieved that the senior CO had returned. That look was soon replaced by chagrined expression as she pointed to where Hachi was standing.
Nell walked over to Hachi, bent down and picked up his binoculars. She peered through them to see what he was staring at. She dropped them as soon as they had focussed. She couldn't believe her eyes.
There was a Black Hole Battleship in the city's port. It was just sitting there as if it owned the place. Normally, one Battleship would be child's play to deal with, even if it was Black Hole, but this one was ten times the normal size! It filled the entire dock! It was as big as an entire city precinct! There was a lot of commotion going on on the Battleship's deck. Something very large was covered with a giant shroud, as workers, no bigger than ants from here, hurried about it, welding that, fixing that.
"I should have seen this coming…" Hachi muttered to himself. He didn't seem as lost in self-pit as when Nell left. Now he seemed to be extremely angry or upset with himself.
"What? You should have seen what coming, Hachi?" Nell prompted the old Co, leaning closer to him. He looked at her with sad, forsaken eyes.
"I've hailed Sturm!" Andy announced, snapping Hachi out of his bitter reverie. The four COs, and a few other ranking staff, gathered around the communication system's screen. Sturm appeared on the monitor, in front of the giant shrouded object on the Battleship's deck.
"…Greetings, worms." Sturm wheezed. "You still refuse to bow to me, hmm? No matter, soon all shall worship me as their master. I should thank my loyal servant, Hachi, for my custom-built ship…"
"I'LL NEVER BOW TO YOU STURM! I MADE A MISTAKE!" Hachi exploded at the display. He turned his anger away from himself and towards the infamous Black Hole leader. "I THOUGHT WE HAD A TRUCE!"
"…You should know I never keep my promises. They are only words, meaningful only to curs like you." Sturm retorted acidly, a sadistic grin twitching on his mask. "…Do not try and destroy my Battleship. It would be a forlorn hope. Lash has rebuilt the hull out of her alloy, like the Black Cannons. You would not want to try my patience. Lash, uncover the weapon…" he called to someone off-screen. The demented child genius appeared next to Sturm.
"Right away, Lord Sturm, " she chirped insanely. She made a big show of pressing a button on remote control in her hand. As she did so, the giant shroud fell away from the clandestine object.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the Battleship sitting in the dock. Several people rushed to the windows of the Map-Room. There were several gasps of shock and horror and more than one person fainted. Attached to the deck of the behemoth Battleship, was Black Hole's pride and joy, a Death Ray.
