CHAPTER 23: ALL BETS ARE OFF
The battle was slowly inching in favor of the Alliance Fleet. Ship after ship moved closer to the motherships, the enemy exploding in waves of fiery mecha assault. The battleship that was earlier under siege by the Talark fleet was under heavy attack, exploding in many parts. Then it was hit by a flurry of beams, missiles, torpedoes , mines, photon bombs and many other weapons that blew it apart along with its fighter complement. The little red mecha that launched it finally stopped firing only when the entire mothership was destroyed. Pilots celebrated as the first of the two motherships flamed out, pieces of organic armor and metal strewn across the battlefield. Follow up attacks destroyed any incoming reinforcements, brilliant laser flashes and missile explosions once again littering the sky.
"Phew!" Utan sighed, having shot that massive salvo from her custom suit. Her red battle wagon stopped still, its pilot exhausted. A display read "Bullets Are Exhausted". But its owner rubbed his forehead and groaned.
"The greatest money drainer in the universe, that is…" Rabat felt like crying.
"Out of ammo? I'll make it cheap!" Gascgone' s voice came over the net.
"Heh. Taking advantage of my crisis again! You should be one of us!"
The conversation was short-lived as the new mothership suddenly emitted vast, red lines from its core, red death spreading across the battlefield. Carlos saw his golden prize heavily damaged by the new ship, though the red beams did not penetrate it. The Nirvana alone of the fleet took no damage thanks to its Pegasus shields, but the Lunarian ships managed to minimize their own casualties thanks to their yellow Pegasus fields, erected at the last moment. Two Talark pod ships went down instantly, along with countless Melanos cruisers and Border Patrol ships that had neither the thick armor or shields of their allies. The admiral on board the Border Patrol mothership saw her fleet cut in half, the Melanos leader saw one third vaporized and the Todoroki was lucky to be behind the golden giant as the enemy delivered his last stroke. And there was still that other mothership to consider.
Outside, the Vanguards and Dreads were forming desperate last stands, linking up with the ThunderStrikes to try blast or chop their way to safety. Several of the mecha squads were left leaderless or with too few members. Of all the senior leaders, only Ozeki remained though he was far away in the front line. Varoa gasped, wondering what the hell had happened.
"What the hell happened? What is that red monster?"
"Calm down, Varoa! Let Meia and the Vandreads handle it!!" Barnet warned.
"We have enough crap to deal with out here!" Robbie yelled, destroying five Fakes with his ThunderStrike' s cannons.
On the Nirvana, people were scrambling in a panic, seeing so many explosions at once. BC stood up and contacted all sections.
"Altitude control! All Section leaders report! Helm! Medic Bay! Engine Room!"
"There's nothing to report! I can't control anything!" Bart wailed.
"The Pegasus is frozen red! We can't release it! We can't move!" Parfait screamed.
"We're fine. The baby's fine," Duerro reported, bringing calm to Ezra's face.
"God, they turned the Pegasus into a monster!" Magno grunted, gripping her heart.
"What did they do to it?" Bart seemed to say to nobody specific.
It…it cannot be! That is no monster! That being…no…NO! the Pegasus replied.
"WHO is it?" Bart kept on pressing buttons.
It is what has driven Earth mad. It is evil incarnate…I…I fear to say more!
The ship ceased its relentless assault, revealing the super Vandread right in front of it, a powerful Pegasus field surrounding it. The sleek white mech was the only one even close to an enemy vessel, the others regrouping ,re arming or still fighting other drones. Ed gripped his throttles hard, ensuring the shields held. Even his cyborg-enhanced arms barely withstood the massive burden he had to withstand, making him relieved indeed.
"Second salvo!" Meia called.
"Get out of my way!" Jura slammed her fist down on her keyboard. Ed twisted his throttles as the Super Vandread transformed and fired a green beam at the red one, shattering it and exploding the midsection of the claw-like ship. Several Fakes tried assaulting the Vandread from behind, but Jura somehow conjured up blue threads that tore through any assailant. Hibiki pulled out the energy sword and sliced three more pods open. The dust of the beam assault was barely clear when a third beam shattered the Super Vandread, breaking it into its constituent parts. The Black Vanguard met up with its counterpart and became the Black Star, but the other Dreads were flying about like leaves in heavy wind. Hibiki boosted forward and drew the Vandread' s energy sword, pushing into the enemy ship's shield. His will driving him, the power of his boosters forced his ship through the red barrier and into the heart of the enemy's stronghold. The Dreads regrouped and tried to follow, but were instead caught by the energy field, which cocooned them in red cages. Ed and Meia were merged in the Double Dread, but even that combination was caught. Jura vainly struggled to use the Red Guardian's sword the break through while Dita relentlessly called out Hibiki' s name.
"Don't be afraid of monsters!" Bart scolded the Pegasus, " Monsters only grow in your mind! You aren't human, but you still have a mind, right?"
That is the being that forced our homeland, the Pegasus Star to explode! Though I wonder how it came this far alone, I do not wish to meet it!
"No! I was afraid of so many things before I came here! Now I want to die a hero! Or at least someone who wasn't shot in the back running away!"
You are unique, Bart. But…but! On board that ship…look, Bart! Look!
The Nirvana's display showed biological charts and tables, the DNA helix prominent among the images. BC and Magno looked at each other, wondering if it was some Harvester trick.
"I don't believe it…there's a human on board that thing! A human from…Earth?" Magno gasped.
No. Now I have finally solved the riddle of Bart Garsuss.
Hibiki awoke to see himself in a throne room or gallery of sorts, with a wide floor and pillars littering the room. There was an eerie purple light that seemed to cover everything in a shroud. A majestic throne sat in the middle, made of purple and green gems. On it sat nothing more than what appeared to be a little blond boy, though his eyes would describe himself otherwise. Hibiki tried getting up, but found that a powerful force was keeping him down. He looked left and right and saw no one. Looking forward into the boy's eyes, he saw nothing but death and destruction in those pale blue pits. He looked no more than eight or nine years old by Hibiki' s reckoning, though when he spoke, it was no adolescent talking. His aged, crackling voice resonated in all the speakers nearby.
" So you are the people who have been stained by the Pegasus. I can smell you light years away."
"Who are you?" Hibiki managed, struggling against the power.
"I am he who has been before anything ever was. I am the leader of Earth and master of the Harvester Fleets. I recognize you, mountain climber."
"He's the red Pegasus! Oh, red! That's the color of a closed mind…one that doesn't know others! One that cares for no others!" Pyoro cried out.
"You are all ungrateful creatures! To think that we even have to fight you for getting what we created decades ago! This defiance is ridiculous!"
"What do you mean, you bastard?" Hibiki raised his head.
"Long ago, we sent leaders to colonize the planets before the Moon Race could get to them. I sent Annie to Mejale and Zen to Talark. You know them as Grandma and Grandpa. You are our seeds grown to full potential! How dare you refuse your destiny? You should be thankful we've been keeping you alive all this time! All you should do is thank us, like the people of the water planet! There is no reason for you to even have free will! Why do you even try to ally against us when you cannot even cease war on each other? You are all in folly!" he laughed.
The Fathers looked at Zen with new eyes, while Annie simply bowed her head. The screens showing the battle did not show this, though the ships saw it all.
"You Lunarians and your filthy group of traitors! You abandoned us when you should have given us your gift! Look at your people now, fighting a hopeless cause! Long have the rocks abandoned the mine! Now you will all return!"
The four other pilots were looking at this new enemy via strange screens that popped up in front of him, even to his surprise.
"To hell with you, you little prick!" Ed gave him the finger.
"Your interaction has given you strange powers, I see. Well…this is interesting indeed. I guess I might have to draw out your friend sooner or later!" he laughed, "What you are doing now is hopeless…useless! You imperfect beings! As you might have known, Earth would have been destroyed if not for our actions. So we chose the best solution for mankind. We are the children of Earth, so we cannot allow ourselves to go extinct just like that. You're all fortunate, you're allowed to die…we are not. You can keep living though… as part of us! Isn't that the greatest thing you can do? Not everyone can do that… isn't it the greatest thing in life? Lucky you!"
Everyone despaired at that statement. The pilots paid no heed to it, but the admirals and captains were shaken. Carlos thought of ramming his golden ship into the behemoth, Magno and BC growled while President Marshall slumped in his high seat. The fleet still fought on though, spurred on by Barnet, Ozeki, Varoa and Robbie in their bright ships, leading charge after charge into enemy territory. Ozeki had somehow retrieved his staff while Barnet and Varoa were suddenly charged with leading all the remaining Dread squadrons. Everyone's hopes still lay with the five who were trapped in the giant mothership, and Barnet continually reminded everyone of that fact. Utan came out again, firing salvo after salvo from her red murder rack, uttering strange words in monkey language. The remaining mothership had explosions all over its surface, despite being covered by relentless drone and Fake defending.
"I see we've all got a chance, as long as these kids are around," Magno smiled.
"I look forward to their future," BC followed on, bracing herself as another thundering blast rocked the ship.
"You're not right! What you do is just murder!" Dita responded to the taunting child, "We aren't doing something wrong or immoral by helping each other! What do you understand about friendship and people? I may be stupid, I don't understand many things yet…but I know…I know that I would lay my life down for someone I love with no question!"
"Call it the greater good. This way, mankind will never be extinct! Not like those man-machines on Lunar calling themselves humans!"
"Do you know, boy?" Jura looked at Hibiki," you can't change someone's feelings just like that? Lying down on the ground like that…what are you thinking? "
"We all are born alone…but many people follow us, " Meia began, " therefore we cannot let them down. A person who abandons others is a coward, a craven coward. We have to help others think and fight because they follow us. Our lives are short. We'll all grow old. But that's why we have to live our lives to the fullest! That's why we think and make mistakes! Not just for ourselves…but to help those after us as well! So there's no way a coward like you, who clings onto the present can see the light in the future ahead!" she shook her head in anger.
"Man machines, you say? All I can see are duplicates of what used to be. You can't make life, Earthling- you only mock it! You take what others have so long nurtured and tended and simply duplicate it! Look at me! Do you think I was born like this?" Ed showed his cyborg face," Of course not! But this is me! Edward Van Dyke! Friend, comrade, lover, drinking buddy….you call us pathetic remakes…but I'm original and will always be! Look in the mirror if you want to see an extinct species!"
"You really piss me off, gramps-kid! " Pyoro yelled.
"How immature. Believing in fortune telling and the future is but an excuse from the weak. Who cares about all that? All we care about is survival. That has always been the human imperative!"
"Shut up," Hibiki grunted, getting to his feet at last. "Shut up. Ed's right, you're becoming extinct. Do you know why?"
"What does someone from a bygone era have to say to me about extinction?"
"It's because you're alone. Alone without any companions, no friends or colleagues. That's why we're better than you! You have no one to correct your mistakes, no one to lecture you if you make one! You have no one to improve you! You say "we"…but I know you mean "I" ! I don't care what a coward like you has to say, it's coming from such a narrow mind!"
Yes, that's it! The Nirvana Pegasus glowed bright green, along with the Lunarians' yellow Pegasus. Aye. Now is the time, my small friends. And you, Garsuss.
"You annoy me, child!" the boy got up, thrusting his hand at Hibiki. Two flashes of red light crossed his face, leaving two bloody marks on either side. Hibiki shielded his face with his left arm, which was now limp and bloodied. He looked up to see the boy lurching towards him, powerful forces thrusting him into the cockpit of the Vanguard and out into space. Dita called out his name as she and the others were freed from the Pegasus bondage.
"Who…who are you?" the boy shouted, gripping his arm. He was about to throttle Hibiki when someone or something pulled him into his cockpit and breached the red Pegasus wall. He saw nothing but the solitude of his own chamber. "Come out!"
I am here…dear twin!
"Bart…what happened to him!?" BC was mortified. The helm chamber suddenly burst in blue flames, throwing Bart out. But he was floating above the chamber in some sort of suspended animation. At first he was screaming, but seemed to embrace the fires that engulfed him. A brilliant blue flash forced everyone to look away, but BC was the first to look back. She saw Bart standing up, floating above his station. His blonde hair had grown back and he was dressed in white, red, black and blue robes. His hair gleamed as if it was gold, shimmering in the pale light of the bridge . A blue glow enveloped him, though the constituent colors of his robes shone on their own. He looked several years older but also several years younger. A single green star covered his brow. He pointed to the red Pegasus.
Do you not see me? Come out of your hiding place, red one! Bart seemed to speak with both his and the Pegasus' voice.
"It cannot be…you died that day in the nebula! How…? "
An unexpected voice answered him.
"We carried him away. Away from you."
The Fathers looked at Marcus Garsuss, who had cast off his robe and was looking directly into the boy's eyes. Bart's father also appeared onscreen, along with two hooded figures, the rumored 'companions' of the Garsuss uncles. To the shock of the Fathers, the figures threw their cloaks back to reveal flowing blonde hair and rather feminine features.
"My family has never used genetic manipulation. Yes, I am one of the people smugglers rumored. But I am also the only member here to have been on that ship long ago. Long before pioneers or colonials, when we still had a Moon to look at. My father and his colleagues collected the material from the supernova and brought it back to Earth. That monster you all see over there…he is in the form of my brother. I was only nine years old then…"
"What do you mean , 'never used genetic manipulation'?" Zen barked.
"Those women over there. Let me introduce you to my wife and my daughter in law. And tell me, Bart…am I going to be a great-grandfather?"
It depends. Have to ask BC here. Bart-Pegasus grinned.
"What a stupid question…" BC sweated.
"Temeni is a woman we captured and brainwashed into our finest operative. You are quite the 'patriot', Bartholomew Garsuss!" one of the other Fathers laughed, BC simply groaned.
"So Bart, you're genetically the only true human on your ship- aside from Hibiki Tokai, of course. But you carry strands of our family's DNA. I take it that's how you can communicate with the blue Pegasus?"
Yes. We are one and the same. I never realized it until I had seen the medium of my 'twin' . Only our family members are able to do so. Wasn't it that way, grandpa? Our ancestors took the Pegasus to Earth, where it became red and hateful. You left on a colony ship with all of the untainted Pegasus. Only you knew how it worked, since you were chief engineer. One day, you walked into the reactor and became assimilated with it. So now we're all linked to the Pegasus.
"And my brother did the same, long ago. But that's not him. Not anymore."
"Silence!" the boy waved. "I will kill you all!"
Forget it! Bart waved his hand, stopping the boy in his tracks. You are attacking my friends!
BC gasped as Bart disappeared from the bridge. The boy also disappeared, emerging as a red demon outside his ship.
"What the hell is that…?" Hibiki shook with fear.