"Tochiro-san?" a young voice said as there was a knock on the door.
the engineer startled as he had fallen asleep at his desk, currently sleeping on top of his blueprints.
"hai, two seconds." he shouted hiding the blueprints back into his private folder.
he ran a hand though his grey brown hair, before taking his glasses of and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. as he placed the big round glasses back on his nose, he turned to the door.
"come in." he said as he corrected the white scarf he wore around his neck and placed the fold back under the red solar fleet uniform. the red jacket had black marks on his chest showing what rank he had held while in the military service, a gold tread around his arms showed his completed service. he was further dressed in a red pants and black boots.
the door opened and a young man almost a boy came in. raven black hair locks fell over his young face and a pair of brown eyes looked to the older with some amusement. he too was dressed in the red uniform though his only had the red jacket. he was too young to be in the federation properly but had do to his considerable work with engines been given special permission. instead of the red pants and boots he wore a simple blue pants and grey sneakers. he was of Japanese decent, his family had always worked as engine engineers. he was no older than 13 yet a big part of this project.
"did you fall asleep at your desk last night again?" the boy asked sighing.
"eh? no.." Tochiro answered with a embarrassed chuckle. "why do you think that, Hiro?"
"you got part of a blueprint written in ink on your cheek." the young boy named Hiro Kuruma laughed, making Tochiro turn to a mirror and see he was quite right. chuckling embarrassed Tochiro found a wet rag and cleaned his face.
"so what was now?" Tochiro asked as he wiped his face, he looked at the boy in the mirror, knowing full well that if Hiro was sent to find him, someone higher up wanted to talk to him.
"they want to talk to you about the new ship."
"figured as much. let not keep em waiting then." Tochiro sighed and moved out of the room with the boy following behind.
"is it true?" Hiro asked making Tochiro turn to him.
"hm? nani?" he asked simply.
"that you got assigned to this group because you would not work with the lead engineer of the ship you were assigned to?" Hiro asked. Tochiro sighed.
"I am not interested in making a ship that focus more on the look. a good ship should be a perfect symbiosis of man and machine working in sync with each other." Tochiro said almost growling to himself remembering being assigned to aid a new engineer with a new war ship. the solar federation needed good ships now that the war against the Illumidas had begun in earnest. Tochiro and the lead engineer had really gotten into it about the design and Tochiro had refused to work with him. Now he was working with a group of Engineers working on four new ships. the admiral class as they were currently being named.
"ah Tochiro-san. how is the work coming along?" the project leader asked as Tochiro and Hiro entered. he was an older man, one that had been with the federation a long time. his short grey hair and glasses made him look older than he was. dressed in the same red federation uniform as the others, he stood slightly crocked over looking over the blue prints for the ships. he had been overseeing the creation of many of the warships. he was of Russian decent originally yet had many years with in the Federation service, as the marks on his jacket would tell.
"it's coming. what do you need of me?" Tochiro asked not really being happy with being pulled away form his work, for nothing.
"just making sure that you understand this design you currently make will for now only be used in one of the ships." the chief said sounding irritated. he found the small Japanese man to be a trouble maker though none could deny his work was impeccable. the work he had done on ships before had been excellent and they were actually glad to have him working with them on this ship. yet Tochiro pretty much did what he wanted, when he wanted it deadlines or not. and that worried the chief who had a pretty strict deadline these four ships needed to be done.
"hai, hai. has anyone given her a name yet?" Tochiro asked looking out the window down at the other two soon completed ships. the one Tochiro was working on was still ways of from being built.
"just finish your work on the main central computer." the chief growled and signaled for them to leave. Tochiro did so happy, just glad to be going back to work.
he returned to his chair and blueprints. he looked to the blueprint of the ship itself with a smile. he would have made a different design to them but right now he was working with a group so he could live with it. the computer he was working on though, he was so proud of the work that went into her.
"she's going to be something very special." he smiled yet looked to his private folder and his smile widened even more." but still not as grand as that one." he chuckled pleased.
a few weeks later the four engineers were being broth on board the first completed ship as it was leaving the earth base for a test run of her systems.
"I still don't get why we have to be on board. I hate being in space." Hiro muttered annoyed. he was holding on to the harness for dear life, where he sat in his chair.
"oh come on now. where is your sense for adventure? don't you wanna see how your engine performs first hand?" Tochiro chuckled as he and the others strapped in. the work Hiro had put into his engine design was to Tochiro quite amazing. he was looking forward to seeing her in action.
"don't tease him, Tochiro-san." a young lady said, the main ship designer of the ship. her name was Sarah Hurteau. she ran a hand through her long dark purple hair as she was done strapping in. she like Hiro only had the red solar jacket that she wore over a deep red medium length shirt and white thighs, with some black high heel boots. lilac eyes watched the two others. she was french by origin but had lived most of her adult life in japan. her previous work had been mostly luxury ships before the war but none could disagree with her work as her designs allowed for some of the bullet fire to bonce of the ship hull like waves against a old fashioned sailor ship.
"still I agree with Tochiro. we are needed to make sure she runs like she should." an older man, the weapons engineer for the ships muttered.
Thomas Greyhorn, a name many knew fairly well with in the federation. he wore his brown hair short but one could see the lines of grey that were starting to show. he had a grey mustache that he kept well trimmed, that framed the face, now starting to show some lines after the long life he had. he was dressed in the solar federation suit but his wore the black collar, a badge of honors and he had some more awards on his jacket. he still held his posture with such pride. he was American in origin and had worked his entire life with in the solar federation. a through and through warrior and his weapons designs had always packed a big wallop. it was no surprise they wanted such an veteran in weapons building on these ships.
"what if something goes wrong? are they really risking our lives for this test?" Hiro growled annoyed shutting his eyes as the engine kicked in.
"what should go wrong?" Tochiro smiled. he was looking forward to seeing the ship in action.
the ship was going to do some test well within what was the Solar federation territory. the test were secret however as they were testing out the new admiral class ships for the first time. it was hoped these new ships would give them a much needed leg up on the Illumidas. as the ship entered the area set up for the tests each of the four engineers moved to their designated place.
Tochiro was in the main central computer room and tasked with making sure she was running like she should and detect any failures and little tidbits that needed changing. Tochiro hadn't had much to do with the design of this particular computer but he was go make any changes needed to make this run as it should and take notes to what to change for his computer that were going in that one ship and perhaps added to later models.
Hiro was in the engine room, his creation form the start. he seemed a lot calmer now that they were out in space. it seemed more like he hated the take of more than actually being in space.
Thomas was at the gun helm checking the ships weapons. and preparing for the firing tests they would be doing soon. Sarah was at the bridge with the captain, making sure everything else ran as it should.
at first everything was running smoothly. the few minor hiccups were noted and fixed if possible.
the gun tests were currently being run and Tochiro was focused on on his task noting what changes needed to be done with the computer and make her even more efficient. then suddenly the entire ship were rocked by cannon fire sending Tochiro to the floor hard. Tochiro didn't need to know what had hit them. he had been onboard more than enough ships engaged in combat before. an alarm were blaring and red lights were flashing all around him. getting to this feet again Tochiro watched the incoming information from the computer about where the ship was hit and what damage had been done.
"captain? what's going on?" Tochiro asked though he had a pretty good idea.
"seems like we might have a mole somewhere. this test was supposed to be a secret and yet we are currently engaged with three Illumidas ships this far into our own territory." the captain growled as another blast rocked the ship.
"well now.. let's see what this admiral class can really do. concentrate fire to the nearest ship, blast them out of our system!" the captain ordered and the ship shook as it fired of.
"you engineers should retreat to the escape pods. we cant risk you here." the captain said tensely. he believed in his skills, the ship and most of all his crew but if they were to win the war loosing four of their best engineers would be a heavy blow to the federation.
another blast rocked the ship, sending Tochiro to the floor again. as he looked up at the screen the new damage report had his eyes go wide. with out thinking he ran to the engine room. a huge fire had erupted and most of the men were struggling to contain it. Tochiro looked around the room and found Hiro on the floor, his head bleeding from a deep gash.
"shit! you two! get the kid to an escape pod!" Tochiro shouted. as two of the crew members quickly wrapped the kid's head and hurried out of the room with him, Tochiro ran to the control panel and rapidly punched in a series of codes. the fire quickly died down and a few more code inputs had the engine kicking back online.
"are you okay in there?" the captain shouted confused over the engine coming back alive.
"got the fire under control. the kid took a blow to the head, he's taken care of." Tochiro answered. his eyes focused to what the computer was telling him about the damage done.
"I told you to leave." the captain growled seeing Tochiro there.
"and if I had you'd be a sitting duck right now" Tochiro answered in kind. "chief quickly get everyone out of here." Tochiro said quickly and the chief mechanic nodded and started evacuating his crew.
"there is only one Illumidas ship left, but the cannon lost power. we cant do anything. get to the escape pod now!" the captain shouted as the ship was struck again, making the ship shake.
"hang on! I got an idea, I can redirect the warp energy into the cannon loop." Tochiro said beginning to punch in the commands.
"wait! that would mean the warp coils will get a feed back, filling engine room with fire." Thomas shouted.
"I know, the engine room is being evacuated right now." Tochiro said watching the crew hurry out of the room.
"it's the only way to save the ship and crew captain. as soon as you take the shot make sure you clear out the air and fire from the engine room." Tochiro said surprisingly calm.
"Wait you cant be serious! that means.." the gun engineer didn't get to finish.
"OK Tochiro-san." the captain was aware Tochiro had to be in the engine room to manually override the system. as the door shout behind Tochiro, he heard Hiro shout his name. Tochiro looked around. one of the crew members had dropped one of the fire blankets they had been using on the earlier fire on the floor.
"yosh." Tochiro grabbed the brown blanket and wrapping it around himself as a cloak.
"they are coming around again. are you ready?" the captain asked as Tochiro quickly returned to the seat.
"hai!" Tochiro smiled, his hand ready at the final button.
"now!" the captain shouted. Tochiro hit the button and hit the deck, crawling in under the engine. he found a small alcove he crawled into, he covered himself fully with the cape. he only had a few seconds as the energy filled the weapon loop.
"all green captain." one crew member shouted from the bridge.
"Fire!" he heard the captain shout and the ship shook by the power going through it. it took only a few seconds then a tower of fire took into the roof and spread downward like a crashing wave. loose pieces flew around and a broken of piece of metal came flying down into a gap where Tochiro was and carved a deep gash through the cape and on Tochiro's right over arm. he growled in pain yet stayed where he was. the very air he breathed was hot and painful but staying under his cloak protected him from breathing actual fire and it protected him from the fire surrounding him. his little alcove shielded him from the worst of the blaze as well.
"We got em!" a voice shouted.
"open the exhaust ports in the engine room! Quickly!" Tochiro could barely hear the voices over the roar of the fire.
there was then a big whoosh of wind and both the fire and the oxygen was flushed out into space. Tochiro gasped struggling stay conscious as there was no air to breathe.
"engine room clear captain."
"hurry refill it with air." the captain said looking at the screen not seeing a body. there was another whoosh as fresh air was blown back into the room and Tochiro coughed, getting as much as he could back into his starved lungs. the doors opened and the crew came rushing back in.
"Tochiro-san! they called though most thought he was dead.
"Hai.. cough.. hai." he said coming out still draped in the brown cloak, holding to the arm that dripped blood onto the cloak and floor.
"Tochiro-san!" Hiro called coming running over to him.
"how are you alive?" he asked wide eyed. Tochiro grinned so all his teeth were showing.
"being so small.. cough.. and wearing this.. cough.. cloak saved my life."
"Your arm, Tochiro-san." a crew member said worried.
"Oh it's just a scratch.. cough.. nothing to.. cough. worry about.. cough cough." he smiled but the coughing was getting worse.
"You are going to sickbay right now." one of the officers said pushing Tochiro down the halls towards sickbay.
after a quick check up it and stitching the cut on his arm it became clear that Tochiro had a minor case of smoke inhalation, casing discomfort and coughing but nothing that was life threatening luckily.
"well.. captain.. cough.. I guess you really.. cough.. got to test out your ship.. cough.. properly." Tochiro joked as the captain came to check on him.
"that is one way to put it, but she passed with flying colors thanks to your quick thinking. these admiral ships is going to be a huge challenge for the Illumidas to deal with. we proved that today. they wont be underestimating these ships again." he smiled. Tochiro nodding proud, knowing that the ship he worked on was gong to be even better.
weeks past and the engineers were hard at work implementing the new changes to the ships. Tochiro's work on the computer was almost finished. he sat back in the chair smiling to himself patting the dashboard.
"you are something really special." he smiled happy. he knew he wasn't going to be able to see her in action, but he could tell. the computer were designed in such a way she would learn and memorize commands that had been used before making her remember her captains usual methods and being able to predict similar tactics depending on the situation they would find themselves in. this way the computer would always work with her captain rather than against him or her.
"seriously.. do you ever look at the com? the chief has been calling for you the last half hour.. I am getting tired having to always go find you." Hiro sighed as he came in, finding Tochiro right were he believed he would be, as always.
"huh? what is it this time?" Tochiro asked, his throat bothering him still a little bit but he was almost done with the coughing.
"come on." Hiro smiled.
as they entered the chiefs office Tochiro hesitated as the others where there too.
"what's going on?" Tochiro asked uncomfortable.
"the federation has desisted to give you a black collar." the chief said.
"huh?" Tochiro said confused. "is not the black collar for combat bravery?"
"what did you think you were doing then, when we were under attack during the test?" Thomas sighed, shaking his head. "you risked your life to save the ship and her crew."
"but why give it to me? it should be given to the captain." Tochiro said.
"maybe. they have decided to give it to you, they want to show they hold every one showing bravery in high regard."
so basically they are giving it to me to show their own pride. Tochiro growled to himself.
he looked to the group however and smiled.
"I finally found the perfect name for our ship." he grinned.
"hey, I don't think it's your place to.." the chief said upset knowing Sarah was still thinking of a name.
"the Deathshadow." Tochiro grinned. everyone stopped.
"like the asteroid?" Hiro asked confused.
"they will never see her coming. only the shadow of death." he grinned placed. the others looked to each other, especially to Sarah as to ask what she thought.
"the Deathshadow..." she said as if to see how it almost tasted. she stood still for a bit then she smiled. "I like it."
Tochiro suddenly looked at the watch on the wall.
"oh shot." he said hurrying to stand up and quickly change to the cloths he had laid ready. Tochiro ran a brush through his hair. he had to look presentable to the party. he looked at the work he had been doing. his own ship were starting to shape up, and he was so proud. he hurried out to the car that was waiting to take him to the party.
Tochiro-san you finally came." Hiro was clearly upset.
"sorry, sorry. I got a little distracted but I am not late for the award ceremony." Tochiro grinned.
"they have already begun the opening ceremony. you missed that." the kid huffed.
"Tochiro-san? would you be so kind to follow me?" a young lady asked and took Tochiro to the back stage where the others getting awards also were. they were doing two Ceremonies. the new officers were getting their rewards later. Tochiro didn't really engage with the others to much, he stood up towards the wall but his mind was far of planing the further work on his private project. dreaming of when he was going to get to sail her though space.
"now we will be giving out the Black collars, the badge of combat heroism to the brave men and women that has show true bravery in battle." the announcer said, bringing Tochiro out of his daydream. one by one they were broth up to the stage.
"Tochiro Oyama. a brave engineer how risked his life to give his ship one final blast of the cannons, there by saving the Ship and her crew." Tochiro was given a new jacket to his solar federation suit. this one with a black edge at the collar with two crossing wrenches in cold decorating it. he put on his new jacket and the crowd applauded. as Tochiro stepped down he shook his head. Tochiro's work on the admiral ships were still a secret as well as the mission itself so they could not tell all of the story.
as the ceremony concluded for now, many came over to Tochiro to congratulate him and start up a conversation with him. Tochiro talked and chatted with them but he quickly realized not many of those here outside of those revising medals were not actually fighting the Illumidas. their attitude quickly getting on his nerves and he soon excused himself and went into the garden outside.
finding a quiet spot with seemingly none around he stood starring at a fountain trying to calm back down.
"I would rather be fighting the Illumidas." a voice said somewhere behind him.
"tell me about it. is there any wonder we are loosing the war when the government wastes time on stuff like this." Tochiro answered this earned him a chuckle form the man behind him.
"the war is not lost." the man said. "not yet at least."
"you wait and see. once my ship takes to space, the tides will turn." Tochiro grinned looking to the stars above them.
"I hope so." the man said.
"it's time." another voice said behind him and Tochiro turned to the man he had spoken with but the other had already began to leave. all Tochiro saw was a red solar uniform and hazel hair. a black canine by his side. Tochiro realized the stranger might have been originally talking to his pet, yet Tochiro smiled. there was still some good men out there at least. Tochiro looked back inside and realized he had about enough of this party. he left to return to his secret lab and work on his ship.
it was only a few weeks later that Hiro came running into the central computer room of the Deathshadow, where Tochiro was working.
"what's got you so riled up? Tochrio asked truing around to him.
"the new captain for the Deathshadow is here." the kid panted.
"so what? he has already been here once." Tochiro said almost annoyed. he wasn't quite sure about the captain they had desisted on for her.
"come on. are you not paying attention at all Tochiro-san? they sett a new captain last week." Hiro said as Tochiro stood up.
"they did? who?" Tochiro followed Hiro out of the ship.
"some new German guy. he was awarded Captain status at the party after you left, for his heroic act." Tochiro and the kid met the other two engineers on the walkway above the ship.
"hero or not, it's a bit cocky to refuse a ship." the elder man growled.
"hm? what are you talking about?" Tochiro asked having just missed the new captain entering the ship.
"the new captain, he was sett to captain the other new ship they made." Sarah said.
"they ship that you were supposed to be working on Tochiro." Hiro said looking to Tochiro.
"apparently he took one walk around the ship and refused to captain her, saying the ship did not take the crew's safety seriously enough." Thomas growled annoyed.
"now I am scared what he's going to say about the Deathshadow." Hiro muttered, resting his arms and chin on the railing, looking down at the ship.
"this is a good captain. he knows a good ship when he sees it." Tochiro grinned having enjoyed hearing the comment about the ship he had refused to work on. it took a while but then the new captain and the chief came out of the ship. the engineers stood to far away to see them clearly and way to far to hear what they said, yet Tochiro ginned widely as he saw the two shake hands and smile.
"see, what did I say. he knew a good ship when he saw one." Tochiro said and left to return to the main computer to finish his last final tweaks.
the group stood watching as the Deathshadow took of from Earth. pride of all their hard work filling their chests. the Deathshadow and her sister ships were now all taken into battle. the three sister ships of the admiral class had already been giving the Illumidas hell for til now. now that the Deathshadow were done, it now feel to the engineers to streamline the production so that more admiral ships could quicker be made.
Tochiro stood watching the longest. he felt like a part of him were gone yet he felt nothing but pride. the central computer he had made were a master piece and he knew she would serve her captain well as long as he knew how to use her properly. he had no doubt they would be hearing about the Deathshadow soon enough.
Tochiro was fuming. that they would dare mess with his work. he was heading towards the warship government. Deathshadow had been fighting for nearly two years now. Tochiro having just been informed they were discussing to turn the Deathshadow completely automatic. he could not believe they would do such a thing. not if he had anything to say out it, that was sure. he came to the open door and were about to storm in when he heard voices discussing it.
"the Deathshadow's halls and room are are painted with the blood of her crew. to do such a thing would be a dishonor to those that have spilled their blood defending her." A clear voice spoke.
"that is exactly why we should do it. it would lead to less crew needed and less crew members dead or injured." another man's voice spoke angrily.
"you would be making a game out of war." the first stated with a snare.
"enough! as much as I would like to see your design built Mr Nevich. I am afraid Harlock is right. we just don't have the time to properly test the computer designs and get the ships ready. the Illumidas will not wait for us to get all the bugs out." the officer in charge's voice stated. "I think we might be able to start work on a prototype to install on the Dark victory.. but for the moment The Deathshadow will remain as is, under the command of Captain Harlock."
Tochiro smiled. it looked like he wasn't going to be needed after all. her captain had defended the Deathshadow admiralty.
Tochiro instead returned to the hangar where the Deathshadow was having some minor repairs done. Tochiro smiled looking at the painted golden badge with the black skull and crossbones mark on her sides. even now with some minor scrapes and burn marks she looked as deadly as ever, Tochiro hurried inside, going strait to the Captain's room. he placed a bottle of sake at the desk and left a note, thanking the captain for defending the Deathshadow.
as he left he could not help himself but to take a look at the central computer greeting his old work.
"he is taking good care of you I can tell." he smiled petting the dash proudly.
"hey?! who are you? you're not allowed in here!" a crew member came in surprised over the stranger in the room.
"huh? oh I am just leaving. I just wanted to see the computer room of the ship that is being such a pain in the green bastards necks." Tochiro smiled as he left. going back to work.
at first the engineers had been able to work to get the new ships ready in good time, now that the war was raging for full they had no time. they only worked to repair as many ships as they could as fast as possible. the group was feeling the gloom of the impending defeat, if nothing changed soon. Tochiro however refused to give up.
"remember, they have yet to sink our Ship. the Deathshadow is still an blade they cant break and her captain wields her masterfully." he said as they had gathered for a small break. the others nodded. it was true, the stories about the Deathshadow and her fierce captain flourished and it gave strength and hope to the group.
"as long as the Deathshadow still sails, we should not give up." Tochiro said refusing to let himself break.
the war ended when the solar federation finally gave up, and an Illumidas occupation force had made landfall on Earth's soil.
the group of engineers were soon enough broth in to the Illumidas supreme commander Zeda. the green skinned Illumidas commander was an older man, grey hair that grew with his brows and chin hair. he wore the blue suit of the Illumidas commanders, with the golden marks at the chest stating his high rank.
beside him stood an younger, black haired commander. he was dressed in a simpler suit to Zeda but it was clear he was a commander none the less. Murigson was his name, Zeda's second in command for the earth occupation force.
"so these are the engineers behind the Admiral ships. we can have use for minds as sharp as yours." Zeda said looking at some papers before him.
Tochiro stood still but his fist were clenched and shaking in anger. the group's names, and work were a closely guarded secret. the Illumidas should never have been able to figure out their names. this confirmed what Tochiro had suspecting since the attack during the test run, the group had a traitor. the three others looked defeated and stood there quietly staring at nothing in particular.
"you'll be working for the betterment of humanity." Triter, their human puppet prime minster said and that only served to make Tochiro even more mad. the smaller older man with almost baled head but for the grey half ring around his head, a large grey mustache split in two like whiskers across his face. he wore a under shirt that reminded of the Illumidas commander suit but with a black jacket over it and black pants..
"humanity my ass." Tochiro snared back." you want us to work for you because you never managed to sink out ship. the Deathshadow is still a torn in your side." Tochiro snared looking strait at Zeda.
"shut your trap, rat!" Murigson hit Tochiro across the face hard enough to send him to the floor. a slight cut in his lip began to bleed as Tochiro turned his angry look back at him.
"don't you act so high and mighty. you already lost the war."
"then I take it you will not work for us." Zeda sighed, quietly impressed with Tochiro's strength and pride.
"never!" Tochiro snared standing back up again. he looked to the others but their eyes spoke volumes. they were broken, none of them were going to stand up again.
"tsh." Tochiro snared and turned to leave.
"you leave and you will soon have nothing but you own stubborn pride to eat. you will never work again." Murigson snared after him. Tochiro smiled drying the blood of his chin with the back of his hand.
"at least I will still be me and not some farm horse waiting to be put down as soon as you cant work anymore." he looked to the others and he could see his words stung. his heart cried having been quite found of their little group and had considered them his dear friends. now they were abandoning everything they had stood for til now, to be become dogs to the enemy. he took his food coupon and left fuming in anger.
"I'll eat my pride alright. it will keep me well feed until I find the right captain. then, then we'll leave this hell hole behind." Tochiro left into his secret entry way into where his secret lab was. his entry way was right under the Illumidas high commands noses. right below their feet lay Tochiro's secret. as he came into the hangar he smiled. she was almost done. it had taken Years and years but in every single screw and bolt lay Tochiro's soul. the Deathshadow had been his pride and joy for many years but this ship was himself, his other self. as he returned to his current work station he found the book of Arcadia of my youth. the book having been handed down in his family. looking at the mark on the cover he was reminded of that day when he last visited the Deathshadow. she too wore this badge.
"yosh.. then it will be my mark too. my sign of my one man revolt." he said grabbing his blue prints of the ship and adding the skull and cross bones to the ship design at the bow and sides. smiling as he put the final pen stroke on it.
"the Arcadia." he smiled having finally decided on her name. moving to a different room to input the new design to the computer to let the machines start detailing her, he found the brown cape that had saved his life so long ago.
"I'll be a beggar in the street, I can take what ever they throw at me. like the fire that day, no words, no beatings, nothing gets past this cape. I will wait, wait until I find the captain for my ship." he snared draping the cape round himself and putting the hat, his mother had made him on his head, smiling to himself.
weeks past and things were not getting better. his walks around the town only told of how the Earth kept getting worse.
his ship were done, yet he still worked on minor jobs he had around town. he had fallen asleep tired after finally finished the final work on an item. he awoke by the ground shaking.
"what on earth?" he muttered tiredly. listing he soon realized he had heard this sound before. another ship had returned to earth.. the run way was in quite bad shape and the last two ships that returned had made a crash landing, making the runway even worse. but this ship.. the rumbling made everything in Tochiro's room shake.
"off.." he said holding on to the item he had repaired, so it would not shake of the table and break. "someone is having a really bad landing." he sighed as it finally stopped.
"puh.. let's hope no one got hurt.." he sighed looking at the roof and taking a quick look into the hangar to make sure nothing had shaken loose from the roof.
seeing his ship was fine, he stretched and looked at the time.
"I still got some time.. now would not be a good time to see Kana-san." he found some stale bread he had and chewed on it as he looked over the current condition of the Arcadia.
"she still needs a few minor parts.. I just don't know where to get them. she would be ready to fly and fight if need be but these parts could come in handy.." he had taken to talking to himself of late.
"well perhaps I can take a look at the ship that just crashed.. I still need some other parts for the work load too." he took his cloak and hat and began the long walk back up to the surface, making sure to lock the entry to his lab and hangar.
as he came out into the night, he carefully moved towards the landing runway. at first it was hard to see the shape of the ship, as he had to sneak in closer. the Illumidas were surprisingly seeming to guard her closer than the other ships that had come before. as he came around the building and finally could see her properly, he felt his heart sank in his chest, as he recognized the mark on her side, and her form.
"the Deathshadow..." he sighed. she had finally returned home to Earth. he looked her over. a few minor damages seemingly done in a firefight but they had not broken her. the crash landing seemed to have done the worst of it. he quickly realized the harsh landing had been done on purpose.
"your captain wanted to keep you from falling in to their hands." he smiled petting her hull. to him the ship seemed like a fighting lion, returning to it's cave after the battle. the battle won but now the lion was too injured to stand up again.
"rest Deathshadow. your battles are over, leave the rest to me and my ship now." he smiled sadly. now he was determined to get those parts he needed.
the Deathshadow would continue to live as a part of the Arcadia. he was going to make sure of it. he sneaked in using a repair entry he knew about, that the Illumidas were not guarding and took with him as much as he could carry, and making sure to break other vital components to keep them from repairing her. he too, like her Captain would rather see her grounded permanently, than used by their enemy against Earthlings. he returned to the lab with the parts, leaving them for now within the Arcadia's hull, fully planing to build them into the ship when he got the chance to. as he saw to the clock he realized two hours had almost past and he needed to go. he quickly picked up the thing he had repaired and hurried of to keep his promise.
he hurried through the broken city. he kept his head down and walked past the men and women sitting in the streets. he was on his way to a run down broken house at the outskirts of the city.
"Kana-san?" he knocked on the door gently. the door swung open with a creak and an older woman appeared in the door closely followed by a group of children. he was dressed in a ripped and dirty blue dress with a purple scarf over her shoulders. her long grey hair fell over her shoulders.
"oh Tochiro-san." the old lady smiled letting him in.
"how are you holding up?" Tochiro asked as some of the kids began to play hide and seek under his cape.
"we are holding but some of the little ones colds are getting severe." the old woman sighed sadly as the children played around them.
"you have such a kind heart, Kana-san." Tochiro sighed looking at the children. all orphans by the war. miss Kana had taken them all in to try and give them a better chance at life.
"I am sorry it took so long. I had to wait for the right time to get into the scrap yard and get the parts I needed. this should help." Tochiro said taking out the thing he had been hiding under the cape. a heater oven that ran on an crystal engine from an old ship that required no fuel.
"this should keep the room nice and warm for years to come. just hide it well from the green bastards." Tochiro smiled activating it and heat spread into the old run down house. the kids gathering around it almost instantly.
"Tochiro-san.." miss Kana said with tears in her eyes. the nights had been so cold and her kids were getting sick. the warmth of the oven was going to keep them from getting worse.
"don't think about it." Tochiro smiled.
"thank you mister." one little girl said, Tochiro grinning and patting her head. miss Kana left and came back with something in her hands.
"it's not much but it's the least I can do." she smiled handing him a half full bottle of the handsome brand sake.
"Kana-san I cant take this. you should trade it for more food." Tochrio said trying to hand it back. luxury items like alcohol was rare since the occupation began and could be traded for many things. miss Kana shook her head.
"the Illumidas are going to take it before I can trade it. I want you to have it. you saved my little ones lives." she smiled holding her hands to his holding the bottle.
"thank you." Tochiro said hiding the bottle under his cape.
"this is the voice of Free Arcadia." a soft gentle voice filled the room and the kids quieted down, sitting down around a small broken radio. Tochiro nodded to miss Kana and turned to leave, seeing her pick up from the cradles two small babies and sitting down in a rocking chair, rocking the little ones to sleep while listing to the radio.
Tochiro often listened to the voice of free Arcadia while he had been working. her gentle kind words always seemed to lift his spirits just that little bit. he often felt her words seemed to be meant for someone special. someone she might be waiting to return to Earth. he wondered often if the person she spoke too were even alive, yet her words seemed to give hope to anyone that heard them. walking around the city you would often hear her voice from almost every nook and cranny. though her channel was prohibited to listen too, and the Illumidas dashed out heavy punishments for those that were found listening to it.
Tochiro returned outside and a freezing wind had him shuttering.
"brr." he said starting to head back towards the city again. as he reentered the city his stomach growled angry. he checked his inner pocket. Tochiro had been doing small work here and there in exchange of food coupons. he only had one left. one that was for a bigger meal. he had been saving his one for weeks. now he had been going days with out food, trying to save it further. feeling the sake bottle under the cape he smiled.
"might as well go big tonight, and see what tomorrow brings." he headed towards one of the bars he often went to. it was one of the places that many sailors would go to. perfect place to look for his captain. unfortunately it was also a hang out for many Illumidas sailors as well. Tochiro manged to sneak past the ones at the doorway by hanging with a larger group, and once he was in, he quickly got his food. looking for a place to sit he saw a trio of Illumidas soldiers tormenting anyone that walked past them. choosing a sitting place away from them, Tochiro had a good view over the bar. as he was eating he suddenly heard the trio laughing.
"hey, it's a black collar! let's play with him!" Tochiro looked up to see a lean tall man walk part the trio ignoring them. he was dressed in the red captain uniform of the solar federation and indeed there was a black collar on his suit.
"leave him alone. in some star sector he might possibly have even scratched our ship." one of them said.
"a scratch, huh? you might be right." the smaller one said making the trio laugh yet they quickly stopped as the black wolf following the man turned and snared, flashing his white fangs at them, before following his master to the bar.
as the man sat down, the wolf lay down next to him giving everyone in the bar a quick once over. Tochiro now noticed he had a lighter black color on his underside. the man removed his gloves, taking the food and splitting it in half, hanging half to the wolf. Tochiro watched as the wolf faintly shook his head and rested his head on his paws as his master began to eat.
Tochiro wolfed down the remainders of his meal noticing that the wolf had lifted his head looking at him and that his master was looking over his shoulder at him. the look in that brown eye, behind the hazel colored hair, that met his told Tochiro plenty. he still held a pride to him, the way he walked and held himself but he also seemed to have that sadness that came over everyone who returned to Earth and the sorry state she was in. the man turned back to his food. Tochiro finished his meal, though taking a piece aside. he placed the hat back on his head as he stood up. he walked up to the captain, the wolf eyeing him carefully but showing no aggression, sensing the man's intent. Tochiro pulled out the sake bottle, placing it beside the man, startling him slightly making him look at him.
"don't die." Tochiro said placing a hand on the captain's shoulder. he turned to the wolf, dropping a piece of meat from his meal and fearlessly gave the wolf a pet and scratch behind the ear. the wolf leaning into his hand, Tochiro smiled and turned to leave.
authors note:
so this is going to take a little explaining..
so I was re watching the SSX series when Tochiro made a comment I found rather odd. he said "the Arcadia, along with the Deathshadow, are my greatest creations." yet as I looked it up, it only said the creator of the Arcadia of my youth and SSX version of the Deathshadow were unknown. so I wanted to play around with the idea what if.. what if he was part of the Deathshadow's creation, and that the creators were kept secret? what if he was behind the computer that gave Harlock such a big problem taking down. once I started to play around with that idea I once again began to wonder about the scene where Harlock pays extra notice at Tochiro's collar when they first met. they take such care to show us that, as well as pull our attention to the black mark on Harlock's collar as a badge of heroism, yet are they saying Tochiro has the badge to? they never show us any other with the red solar uniform to compare(believe me I looked), so I played around with an idea how would a engineer earn a badge of combat heroism? it wasn't part of the plan originally but I loved how I manged to tie in his cape to this.
I also kinda wanted to play with the idea that Harlock and Tochiro might have been close to met before yet fate wasn't quite ready just yet for that meting.
I broth in as many parts of the ssx that I could into this as well as added a part that is actually from the US comics but it wont be more than that little part here. it just worked well with the story I wanted to tell.
sorry to bring in Lightingtooth here, I know the story works well with out him, but it's actually more for then next part that will be told from Harlock's past. it's easier to tell how Harlock is feeling if talking to Lighting rather than have the captain, who is not the type to monologue to himself..
any way I really hope you enjoyed this odd little ramble. and please tell me what you think, both good and bad.
Lightingtooth