STAR BLAZERS: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER
A fanfic recapitulation of Series One "The Quest for Iscandar" by
Frederick P. Kopetz
EPISODE TWENTY-SEVEN: "A BATTLE OF HONOR IN RAINBOW CLUSTER"
Special Thanks to KaijuDirector for his guidance and editing advice in several scenes regarding his original character of Erich Nishizawa, whom he has graciously allowed me to use in this chapter.
Note: Some parts of this chapter are rather…gory. Such is battle. - Freddo
Space Battleship Argo
March 10, 2200
From Captain Avatar's Log:
March 10, 2200
We are now about to cross the Rubicon.
The Argo is now about to face the Gamilons in what could be our last decisive battle.
At this point, the Black Tigers are ready to launch, led by Wildstar, who is assisted by Lieutenant Forrester, who has just left her post, to be replaced by Ensign Yuria Misaki.
Dash is manning Wildstar's post on the First Bridge.
Ensign Robert Turner is at Gunnery. All other bridge officers are at their usual stations.
The main radar and sensors only work part of the time, but I have enough intel to realize that we are being opposed by one Gamilon flagship; three triple-deck carriers, and a combat carrier.
Homer and Ensign Sheena Hilgar are working together to monitor the Gamilons' comm signals. They are beginning to launch attack planes; Hilgar tells us they are preparing to launch fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo planes.
I hope that this scrap of intelligence gives us enough of a lead to prepare ourselves for whatever happens….
"Gamilon Fighter planes spotted, Derek, at seven o-clock," Nova said from the rear seat of the cockpit of Derek's Cosmo-Zero.
Derek spoke to the rest of the Tigers. "Everyone! We have bandits at one hundred eighty-seven degrees, coming in fast!"
"My boys will be the first to help you intercept," said Grant over the circuit.
"Joining up with Grant's squadron from vector one hundred twenty," said Nishizawa from his fighter. "Ready to intercept."
"Missiles armed and ready," Nova said from her seat in Derek's Zero.
"Good, let's give it to them first," Wildstar snapped. "Engage with missiles! We\re not blowing our whole load this first barrage, either, guys!"
"Ready to carry out our counterattack," Erich said from his cockpit in his usual calm, controlled voice, even though he had already incurred a small, bleeding wound on his cheek from having been obliged to jink his plane quite hard.
"Take them!" snapped Derek from his cockpit.
Missiles blasted from the assembled nineteen Cosmo Zeroes towards the Gamilon fighter planes.
Explosions began to fill space like deadly cherry blossoms. Two, three, five Gamilon planes were blown apart.
One plane, under the command of Storm Leader Galand, just barely dodged the missiles.
Galand smiled to himself under his breathing mask before removing it and he thought, Well, Derek Wildstar, I told you that we would meet again. Judging from the carnage, you are doing a fine job, young Terron. Regrettably, it is my job to make sure that you do not return back to the Argo alive. Who knows? You and I may be sharing a drink together in Hell when this battle ends.
Galand streaked in, and the first plane he hit with cannon fire was Wildstar's plane. Derek grunted with pain as a panel exploded and glass from a flying gauge hit his arm.
Derek ignored the blood as he looked back at Nova. "Are you okay?"
"Affirmative, but you're wounded, Derek!"
"Nova, you can look at that in a minute. I wanna splash this guy," he hissed.
Wildstar looped around, in just enough time to see Galand and his wingmen blowing apart one of Grant's wingmen.
Derek aimed at the nearest plane; Galand's wingman, and he blew him apart. Gotcha, buddy, he thought with a grim smile.
"What? What's this?" Nova said.
"What's what?" Derek snapped back.
"Eight flashes of light, ninety degrees, over Hardy's squadron!" Nova cried. "Dive bombers! They just appeared from nowhere!"
"Hardy, watch your six!" Derek snapped. "Eight Gamilon planes just appeared over your planes?"
"Say what?" said Hardy.
In the distance, they could see four dive bombers blasting right towards the Argo herself!
A moment later, eight more dive bombers appeared over Erich's squadron.
His wingman went down in a scream and an explosion.
Five more fighters flashed in from nowhere, and swooped down on Erich's squadron. He fingered his special blued Cosmo Dragoon sidearm in its holster for good luck, and then he concentrated upon the bloodbath outside. If he ran out of ammo, he probably would have released the canopy and tried to shoot down the remainder with the pistol if he could have.
Taken by surprise, one, two, three more Cosmo Zeroes were blown apart.
"Wildstar! More planes! They just came from nowhere," Erich commented.
"I've…been observing that," Derek grunted as Nova began to bandage up his arm. "Grant! Nishizawa! Regroup behind me! Those fighters have to go first, then we have to get back to the Argo!"
"Conroy here!" Conroy snapped. "Six torpedo planes, out of nowhere! They ripped my squadron apart and they're attacking the Argo!"
"Can you fly with that arm?" Nova said.
"I've got it so far," Derek hissed.
"If you're in too much pain, I'll take control from here," Nova said. "I'll help you take these guys if I have to throw rocks at them! What a dirty tactic they're using!"
"Chill out, love…I've got this!" Derek said.
He swooped around, aimed again, and fired right at Galand's plane with a grim smile.
Galand was hurt, and he withdrew from the battle cursing with smoke trailing from his plane.
On Lysis' flagship, Volgarr was laughing like a madman.
"Look at this!" he said to Lysis. "The SMITE system is working perfectly! This is the greatest success I have ever seen! Ten minutes of battle, and the Argo's planes are scattered and burning, and the ship has taken six hits! I can't wait until we send every one of their pilots straight to Hell and leave them totally, entirely, defenseless!"
"You have no idea how pleased I am with our efforts," Lysis said, smiling. "Now, granted, they are putting up a great fight, but when we sink every one of those fighters, that is when the real fun begins!"
"Are you ready to launch the second wave of dive bombers, Berger?" said Lysis over Captain Fomt Berger's headset on the main deck of his carrier Diamond.
"Awaiting your signal, sir. We will be transported directly over Argo?" he asked.
"Affirmative; Launch!" said Lysis.
"Launching now!" snapped Berger.
His twelve planes launched and gathered in front of Lysis' flagship.
"ACTIVATE SMITE!" said Lysis.
He pressed his handgrip, and Berger's squadron faded out in flashes of light.
It reappeared a moment later right over the Argo and began to attack the ship, starting with the Captain's cabin and radar aerials, followed by the First Bridge.
"Main radar is out again!" said Yuria.
"We're losing helm control!" cried Venture from his post.
"Main power trunk out!" barked Sandor.
Sheena Hilgar fell and broke her nose when she hit the deck.
Captain Avatar clung to his station and said, "Wildstar! Where's your fighters?"
"Did the ships appear from nowhere, sir?" said Derek.
"Yes. The ship's taking heavy damage!"
"We've been dealing with planes coming down on our heads like hail! The Gamilons must have some new instant transport system!" Derek snapped. "Half the whole Flight Group has been blown to bits. I'm out of touch with Hardy and Nishizawa, but I'll try to regroup and get back to the ship ASAP!"
"Wildstar, get your butt back here!" yelled Venture.
"That's what I just said I'd do!" he cried.
"Derek, bandit at three o'clock!" Nova cried; her uniform soaked with sweat.
"Clearing my own way out, talk soon!" Wildstar said.
At her post, Yuria began to shake, and she twirled her hair around her finger in a strange gesture.
"Erich, it is not yet hopeless!" she said in a strange voice.
Nishizawa's Zero was buffeted from a near-miss as he saw three more members of his squadron blown apart. Then, his wingman was killed.
His hands began to shake as he heard in his mind It is not yet hopeless!
"Who is this?" he said with a shaking voice as the last of his wingmen was killed.
Then, he looked around.
None of his squadron was left.
None of them.
He saw the dead, frozen body of one of his comrades floating past his cockpit and he had to hold back the desire to vomit.
Not far away, another one of Grant's planes was blown to bits.
With horror, he saw that the pilot had ended up the same way.
He couldn't clearly see who it was, but Nova looked on with horror as the severed head of her friend Dana Starion bounced off her cockpit, close enough for her to see the look of horror on Dana's face as she had died.
Nova screamed. "DANA! NOOO!"
"Starion?" Derek said.
Nova nodded tearfully as they both heard Erich screaming over the commlink. She didn't blame him. Nova was a kind person, but she was so enraged that she would have killed a few Gamilons herself if she had to strangle them one by one.
Erich saw eight torpedo bombers coming right at him.
He threw himself into battle against them like a demon.
The first one he hit was Captain Zadic, the skipper of the Gamilon carrier Eliasite, who was blown to bits.
Disregarding the hits to his own plane, Erich then attacked the second, the third, and then the fourth torpedo plane.
There was a pain in his head, but he ignored it as he kept on flying like a demon. He brought down a fifth torpedo plane, a sixth….
He barely paused as he saw Wildstar firing a missile at two of the planes. They blew apart. He got a glimpse of Derek and Nova whizzing past him, their faces curled up in rictuses of utter rage as Wildstar's Zero pursued two more fighters and blasted out of his range of vision.
There were two more planes. Erich heard that voice in his head again, Do not give up. Do not die. It is better to live battered and bleeding than to die without reason.
On the Argo's bridge, Yuria looked blank. Sandor came to look at her. "Miss Misaki?"
"I am not Yuria," she said. "My name is Yurisha of Iscandar. Princess Yurisha of Iscandar. Erich must live. I must survive to go home. Her Majesty Starsha must live. Her Majesty the High Queen must live to bear the Fire of Heaven in her heart!"
"Yuria, are you there?" said Sandor.
"I am…but I am not. The Princess awakens," Yuria said. "I must go meet her."
Captain Avatar was ready to bark an order at her, but then he said, "Sandor, let her go. The radar is out anyway!"
In something like a trance, Yuria walked off the Bridge, knowing right where she was headed.
To the Auto-Pilot Navigation room.
Erich ignored Conroy on the comm circuit as he said, "Wildstar! We're running out of fuel!"
"Understood; I'm out of missiles and ammo; can't move my arm right, and we can't do crap out here anyhow," Derek said. Nova took a deep breath of appreciation as he said, "All Black Tigers, back to base! We're done out here!"
Erich clicked his firing pickle as an eighth torpedo plane approached. Nothing but an empty click. Damn. Very well. There was not much that he could do now. The eighth plane was still in full view... He snarled as he began to aim at the enemy plane, ready to begin the final rush. How did the old quote go? "You rascals! Do you want to live forever?!"
He then heard that beguiling voice again. "Erich! Please! It is better to live a day in defeat than to die for no reason. We need you!"
Aboard the Argo, Yuria clicked a combination on a coffin-like chamber in the auto-pilot room. Then, she jumped back as it began to hiss and whir open.
There was a light, and a slender figure, in white, purple, and silver, stepped delicately out of the chamber, smiling at Yuria as Yuria genuflected before her.
The woman smiled at Yuria and said, "Fear not. The time has come for me to awake, to save lives, to bear witness to what must be, to love a man I saw from far away and long ago, and to swear allegiance to a woman who, even though she knows it not, has been appointed an Angelos, a messenger from the Most High. I am Princess Yurisha of Iscandar, the youngest sister of Queen Starsha of Iscandar. Erich Nishizawa, please come home. Now. Your task today is over!"
Yuria looked on at Yurisha.
She shook, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she fainted.
Yurisha tenderly picked Yuria up in her arms, and with purpose in her mind as she whispered to Erich through their new mental bond, she began to walk towards the lower fight bay, oblivious to the sudden yells of shock and surprise as she was seen for the first time by the Star Force. However, such was the authority about Yurisha that no one dared to stop her or even question who she was.
In a daze, Erich followed Wildstar's smoking Cosmo Zero into the flight bay, the second to land. He had decided that he would not follow Frederick the Great into eternity. There was still some fresh blood on his face, but nothing too major. In his typical, straight-to-the-point manner, he asked:
"Who was the angel that spoke to me?"
"Angel?" Nova said as she helped Derek out of his cockpit. "Erich, what…what has gotten into you? My God, are you all right?"
"He will be now," said Yurisha as she strode up through the smoke and fire extinguisher gasses. I saved him. From afar," she said as Erich passed out.
Nova was one of the first at his side, and she yelled. "He has two head wounds! He has to be evacuated to Sickbay, STAT!"
"I've got it," said Natalie Fisher as she appeared with a gurney with Michelle Sakamoto and Robert Turner accompanying her. Then, Natalie noticed Yurisha, "Miss? Who are you?"
As Nova taped Derek's arm again after running a few combat stitches, Yurisha smiled at them and replied, "I am Princess Yurisha of Iscandar. Nova, I barely remember you. You worked on me two years ago. Before you put that sheet over my head," Yurisha said with a slight smile.
"They told me you had died!" Nova said.
"Died, no. In a coma, yes," said Yurisha.
"Wait?" Derek said. "Yurisha, you've been with us all along?"
"Yes. How do you think you got the course to Iscandar? It was in my mind; and it still is." Yurisha then paused and dramatically genuflected on one knee before Nova, who was dirty, sort of blood-smeared, and messy as she sat on a packing crate both helping Derek and looking at Erich's vitals before they took him away.
The Argo shook as the main guns went off, and then, she shook again from another hit.
Like it or not, the battle was still going on.
Nova saw Yuria being carried away, and she said, "Princess Yurisha…why are you bowing to me?"
"It is time for you to begin growing up, Miss Nova," Yurisha said. "You are on the cusp of understanding who you are and why you are here. Why do you think my sister Starsha chose you as the point of contact with the Star Force until I awakened? Why do you think you bear an heirloom of the Pellian Commonwealth, our cousins from afar, on your finger? Why do you think Heaven loves you and smiles upon you, with as many mistakes as you have made, dear child? When you bear the Crown of Mithril on your brow someday, Majesty, you will understand. But do not worry much now, Take your intended back to this ship's bridge, please. You are still under attack. You need to wipe your face and fight on. Yes. Fight on."
"I'll wipe her face," Derek said, smiling as he wiped Nova's dirty, bloody face with a rag. He kissed her on the nose and said, "Let's go, kiddo. We have a ton to do."
"What is that I have seen?" said a member of the flight crew.
"What you have seen is why you fight on," said Yurisha. "Why do you fight on? The reason is Love," Yurisha said. "And you need to note that they are not the only ones in this room touched by Love right now."
"Princess, who else is it?"
Yurisha smiled. "I leave that for you to figure out, Mister Yamagata, my friend. Don't look at me like that. I know all of your names. Yes. All of them."
Yurisha winked at Yamagata before she left.
"So what do you think, Mac?" he said.
"I'm confused," replied his friend.
Wildstar and Nova got back to the First Bridge just as a Gamilon torpedo plane pilot accelerated and fired a torpedo into "A" Turret on the main deck, blowing the interior of it to bits.
As Derek took his post, he felt sickened as he saw more burned, quick-frozen corpses drifting off into space.
"Sandor, how's the casualty situation?" said Captain Avatar.
"Not good," he said. He paused. "Including the losses in pilots that Wildstar sent me, I estimate we have forty dead, twelve gravely injured…ten ready to return to their posts. We have lost nearly one-quarter of the crew. Perhaps we should consider withdrawing from this battle."
"No," Avatar said after he coughed. "We have accepted Lysis' challenge. If need be, we fight for Earth until the last one of us on this vessel dies. That is it!"
The comm unit bleeped at Nova's post. "Doctor Sane? You need me down below? Understood." She stood and saluted. "Derek, Captain, request permission to leave my post. I am needed in Sickbay."
"Permission granted. Eager, take over Nova's post for now."
"You be careful," Derek said as he grasped Nova's shoulders.
"I will be," she said. She took off like lightning.
Eager then said, "I'm spotting one of the Gamilon carriers approaching us…visually. They're opening fire!"
The ship was the Diamond.
Without orders from Lysis, the triple-deck carrier drew in and began to shoot from its medium-range guns.
Berger was smiling and laughing like mad.
"Sir, communication from the flagship!" said his comm officer as Galand ran onto the bridge and watched.
"Ignore Lysis!" barked Berger. "I want to earn the glory myself and blow that accursed Terron ship to bits!"
And, at that, the Diamond kept on firing at the Argo in its one-man war as Lysis tried to recall him.
Terron scum, thought Berger as he grinned.
"We've taken three more hits!" said Sandor from his post.
"That captain must be crazy!" Venture said. "He may be ramming us in a moment!"
"Wildstar! He's only a megameter away! Open up with everything that's working!" snapped Captain Avatar.
"DONE!" Derek snapped, working every control on his board.
The Argo's main guns went off, followed by the forward torpedoes and the smokestack missiles.
The Diamond took six hits.
She keeled over on her port side and sank slowly into the black cloud, disappearing from sight.
There were two or three explosions, partly obscured by the gasses of the nebula, and then the Gamilon carrier vanished from sight and from the field of battle. Presumably, she was destroyed.
Derek laughed for the first time during this horridly miserable day. "Captain, scratch one Gamilon flat-top!"
"Good job, Wildstar," said Avatar. "Now, we need to act before the rest of them pull any tricks.
"Captain!" Derek proposed. "The wave motion gun! I can see them in the distance…we can get them now."
"Not yet!" snapped Sandor.
"Not yet?" Wildstar replied.
"The power cables to the safety lock were damaged in the battle," Sandor said. "Give damage control four minutes, and I can give you the wave gun!"
"Get to it, Sandor," said Avatar. "We need the wave gun!"
On Lysis' flagship, an officer reported, "Sir, we lost touch with Berger and the Diamond."
"What happened?" said Lysis.
"He ignored our orders and charged the Argo by himself with his mid-range weapons. The Star Force fought back. My guess is that he and his ship are destroyed."
"That idiot!" hissed Volgarr.
"Regardless, he fought bravely. We lost a lot of pilots ourselves in this battle and he was close to the Terron ship and wanted to end it," Lysis mused. "He is surely dead. I grant him a posthumous promotion to Commodore. Volgarr, connect me with the Omega."
"Sir," said Volgarr.
A moment later, Captain Borka's face appeared on the screen. "The drill missile is ready, sir. Iroze is in space gear and has boarded the missile to help sabotage any repair attempts the Star Force makes. I will be boarding the heavy bomber in a minute. Is SMITE ready?"
"It is, my friend," laughed Lysis. "Soon, we will make the Argo helpless. Does Iroze understand her mission is a suicide mission?"
"She does, sir," said Borka. "She wants to take as many Terrons into Hades with her as possible."
"Good. Make your preparations and prepare to execute!"
"Yessir," said Borka.
In Sickbay, Nova was finally cleaned up and scrubbed.
The battle had now been going on for one hundred and twenty minutes.
She was assisting Doctor Sane and the others with casualties who were flowing in like rain.
There's more than nine casualties, she thought as she worked on setting a gunner's arm bones while Doctor Sane and IQ-9 worked on a man who was writhing in pain in a pool of blood on the next bed.
Natalie Fisher ran in, accompanied by a confused-looking Yurisha.
Yurisha found Erich's bed. He was only semi-conscious. His head was heavily bandaged.
"What happened to him?" said Natalie, whose pregnancy was very obvious.
"Bullet in his head," snapped Sane. "Nova and I spent a bit of time on him getting it out!"
"Yurisha?" gasped Erich.
"I'm here. I'll stay with you if the doctor and nurse-practitioner will let me."
"I failed out there, Yurisha. I…I should be dead. I failed my men and women."
"Doctor, please let Yurisha stay as long as she stays out of our way," Nova said. "Natalie, get to work on that patient over on Bed Five. He needs a transfusion."
"After she finishes, she and Yurisha are going down to Deck Three," Sane snapped. "I need medics down there. You damn well know that…Nova!"
"Doctor…I don't know how much medical training the Princess has, and Natalie is heavily pregnant. She and the baby should be kept out of harm's way," Nova said.
Natalie smiled at Nova, but Sane turned on her and barked at her. "Nova, I appreciate you and all your talents, but unless I'm unconscious or you earn an MD in the next ten minutes, I am in charge here! Fisher goes where I tell her!"
"No, she goes where it makes sense, Doctor," Nova barked back. "We need hands in here!"
"You're being insubordinate, Lieutenant Forrester!" yelled Sane.
"Then write me up! I'll take a Captain's Mast and tell the Skipper how pig-headed you have been acting!"
"I'm recommending you for court-martial, Nova!" snapped Sane. "You've gotten too damn big for your britches! Hope you like it in the brig the rest of the mission and like being knocked down to E-1 when we get home!"
"I'll go," said Natalie.
"No, you won't!" Nova said.
"I'll do whatever you want," said Natalie to Sane's face. "I know you have it in for me for being pregnant! Just don't penalize Nova; that's all I ask. And I smell sake' on your breath!"
Nova saw the sake' bottle under Sane's cart and whipped it across Sickbay. It hit a bulkhead and shattered. "Doctor, you are not working on any more patients drunk!"
"My sake'!" yelled Sane.
"I'm going now. With Yurisha," snapped Natalie.
Natalie glared at Sane and left.
Sane glared at Nova. "Drop and give me thirty! RIGHT NOW!"
"But, Doctor, my patient…"
"THIRTY PUSH-UPS FOR ME TO FORGET THIS, YOU CRAZY SMARTASS!" screamed Sane.
"Yessir," Nova said as she shut her eyes, hit the deck, and began giving Sane push-ups.
"You drunken old bastard," groaned Nova's patient. "She was about to give me morphine! Don't you care anything for your patients?"
"You shut up or I'll break your other arm!" yelled Sane as the sound of Nova in her medical dress and boots calling up her pushups resounded through Sickbay.
And so it went.
A FEW MINUTES LATER….
Natalie Fisher had just stopped crying. The Argo heeled over again, hit by a straggler Gamilon dive-bomber.
Fisher ran down a passage, carrying a medkit, heading towards the sound of someone moaning with her red hair streaming behind her.
She knelt down with her patient. "What happened?"
"Lost teeth!" he yelled. Smashed teeth were on the deck.
Natalie began to work on stopping the bleeding, when she spotted Yurisha about three meters behind her. "Yurisha! Look at that one over there! He has his head in his hands!"
"All right," Yurisha said softly, ignoring the blood on her high white boots.
They heard a slam outside, and a Gamilon missile slammed right into that part of the ship.
The blast roared out into the corridor.
Natalie shielded her face and stomach as best as she could, but her face and head met the deck and she was burned, her uniform on fire, her slender body bruised brutally by flying pieces of the bulkhead.
Yurisha had the presence of mind to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, thus saving Natalie's life.
Things were not going so well otherwise, though for Natalie, because a flower of blood was showing between her legs in her uniform slacks.
As unconscious as she was…her child was coming…before he was ready.
"Ready down below," said Iroze from inside the drill missile.
Borka's plane began to taxi and advance towards takeoff.
Time passed.
Five…ten minutes.
"One minute to power for the wave motion gun," said Neil Holloway over the 1MC near Sandor's post.
"Good. Keep working it."
The doors at the aft part of the First Bridge whirred open.
Nova came in, in a fresh gold and black shipboard uniform, looking very sheepish.
Avatar looked at her. "What happened?"
Nova sighed. "Sane and I had a fight about his drinking and his deciding to send Fisher out into the ship as a medic in spite of her condition. He threatened to have me court-martialed, made me do push-ups, and said I was relieved of duty in Sickbay for now."
"He and I need to have a serious talk if we survive this," Avatar said.
"What are you doing back up here if you were relieved?" Derek said.
"Derek Wildstar. We are in battle. I needed to do something!" Nova snapped.
"Okay, you have no argument from me. Take your station. Hope they fix your screen soon."
"Thanks," Nova said with a slight smile. "I hope Natalie's okay. I'm worried."
"Prayer is a good idea, Nov?" Derek said with a smile.
"Yeah. He like…seems to listen to you," Venture said.
"It sure is. Thank you," Nova said as she shut her eyes and began to address the Deity in silence behind the radar.
"You'll have power to the wave gun in thirty seconds," said Holloway from below.
"Wildstar, Orion, make the preparations," said Avatar.
On the Omega, Borka took off, flying towards the area before Lysis' flagship.
"In position!" he said.
"ACTIVATE SMITE!" laughed Lysis.
The SMITE units went off, and the drill missile bomber vanished.
One, two, three seconds passed.
On the Argo, Orion said, "Beginning to transfer all power to the wave motion gun!"
"Open the circuit!" snapped Wildstar.
"Opening the circuit," said Orion.
The low, ominous hum of the energy charge began to resound through the hull of the Argo.
Captain Avatar was the first to put on his anti-flash defense goggles.
God, give us one minute. That's all I ask, he prayed urgently. One minute to escape this hell.
Then, Borka's plane appeared right in front of the Argo with a blinding flash of light.
"What the hell?" Derek said as he stood up with his goggles in his hands.
"What's that?" barked Venture.
"My God, when does this nightmare end?" Nova cried.
Borka fired the drill missile.
It flew true, flying a quarter of a megameter.
Sandor was breathing incredibly hard.
Venture's hands shook.
Eager was kneeling on the deck in open prayer.
Nova looked at the missile in shock, standing up behind her post.
She slipped, fell, painfully hit her knees on the deck.
Dash, trying to bring a little humor to the dark situation, said, "Hey, Nova! Never knew you could do a split like that!"
"Can't you ever be serious, Dash?" she cried back.
"Stop being a jerk!" screamed Homer.
Then, the missile hit.
The entire ship shook with the impact.
"I thought we were done for," said Venture.
"It must be a dud," Wildstar said. "All that happened is that it's in the wave motion gun muzzle. I can shoot that stupid thing out!"
"Wait. The missile is turning," said Sandor.
And the drill missile began to turn.
It went right through the safety lock and breached the inner works of the wave motion gun.
Down below, in the firing room, Holloway yelled, "All hands to the upper decks! That thing could explode any minute!"
People began to run, but then, something shocking happened.
There was the sound of rapid footsteps, a scream out of nowhere, and suddenly, a burst of energy like a bright pink flame, looking like, all things, a lightsaber from some movie, appeared from nowhere and swung at Holloway.
He died with his head cut off.
A random Chief from Technical fired at the area where the pink flame was.
Ten poisoned needles came from nowhere and pierced his body; and he was the second to die.
The invisible footsteps crossed the room, and a Gamilon sapper charge was thrown against a panel.
There was an explosion, Three more men were killed.
The footsteps faded as Lady Iroze ran down a passage, smiling to herself.
She expected to die in the attempt, but for the next twenty-four hours, the treasonous Iscandarian killer and favorite bed-toy of Leader Desslok would lead a reign of terror throughout the Argo.
Iroze, with the fully developed senses of her people, knew that Desslok had given her a special gift ten days ago.
She was carrying his child; a child who, like her, was a suicide soldier doomed to die for the Empire.
TEN MINUTES LATER…
Sandor and IQ-9 made it into the wave motion gun firing room with a cherry picker cart.
"I am reading that it has a one-megaton nuclear warhead, Sandor," IQ-9 said. "And it is armed."
"Chief!" yelled another man.
"What is it? Why do we have an intruder alert up?" Sandor demanded.
"Someone…we think she's a woman…she's invisible. She came out of the missile, sir, took off Holloway's head, killed Chief Hasegawa, and she blew the manual firing panel with a charge, sir. We have to find that bitch!"
"If it wasn't for the dead bodies, I'd ask you if you were hitting the sake', McCloskey," said Sandor. "One thing at a time. I want to reverse this thing and get it out of the ship! IQ, give a hand!"
"Yessir!" he said.
He and Sandor stepped into the drill missile.
"This is Sandor," he said over a radio to the first bridge. "For some reason, the Gamilons left the control room to this nuclear missile open. IQ-9 are going inside, and we're going to try to reverse it and get it to back itself out! Tell Royster to get our radar and sensors fixed!"
"Acknowledged, Sandor," said Avatar with his microphone in a shaking hand. "Good luck. You are in our prayers, my friend."
"Thanks," said Sandor.
Borka came in for a safe landing on his carrier, and he reported, "General Lysis, mission accomplished. Timer set for ten."
"Ten minutes," said Lysis. "Excellent. Volgarr, connect me to all commanders."
"Yessir," he said.
Lysis picked up his microphone. "All hands. This is Lysis. The drill missile has been planted aboard the Argo. It will explode in nine minutes now. I request that the Omega lead a final barrage upon the Terron vessel to make certain they remain helpless and to relish our victory by kicking their arrogant faces into the dirt of their soon-to-come graves. The rest of you, great job. We will soon be in position to view the fireworks as the Argo blows itself apart. Then, we shall celebrate."
Outside around the Argo's bridge tower, crews replaced the radar aerials and began to rewire the damaged circuits.
"How are you doing with the drill missile?" said Captain Avatar.
"Still trying, sir," said Sandor.
"We have six minutes," said IQ-9.
Then, outside, the Omega approached and began to fire straight at the Argo.
Blasts of pink fire roared out into space and battered the space battleship. One of the crews at the port side radar aerial was killed, and their work obliterated as the Omega's fire slammed right into the ship.
Another barrage hit the Argo's aft portion.
Eight more men and women were killed.
In Sickbay, Yurisha hit the deck and was knocked out again as she carried Natalie into Sickbay. Sane and three other nurses got Natalie onto a bed and realized what was happening.
"Doctor, she's in labor," said Michelle Sakamoto. "I can't stop it. We have to do a Cesarian and deliver the baby. He's also injured. Gestational age, just over six months."
"He might live if we get him out soon," said another nurse.
"Let me do this myself," said Sane in a very subdued voice as he realized something; this whole situation was his fault.
He shut his eyes and thought, Maybe I should resign for the rest of this voyage. Nova has a much clearer head than I do. She has better hands and vision, and she seldom drinks. I screamed at her, but she should be doing this job…
The Omega fired again, again, and again at the Argo.
"We need to finish those repairs, Sandor!" Avatar said.
"Almost there, sir," said Sandor.
"Four minutes left," said IQ-9.
Time passed.
Finally, IQ-9 grasped two wires. "Sandor. It's turning! Three minutes left!"
"Okay, let's clear out of here," said Sandor as he and IQ-9 jumped out of the missile.
The drill missile backed out of the wave motion gun and reversed thrust.
It was heading right towards the Gamilon Fleet.
One minute to explosion.
Captain Borka stood aghast as the missile blasted towards his ship.
It hit his bridge tower right as the timer went off.
BOOM.
The Omega was destroyed, and Captain Borka was dead.
The nuclear fireball expanded.
The Eliasite and her captain and crew perished next, followed by the last surviving tri-deck carrier.
Lysis' flagship was battered and blown away from the fiery doom of his carriers.
He got to his feet, hearing numerous damage reports.
"Missile launchers out."
"SMITE system inoperative."
"Auxiliary engine number two is out."
"Gestcham drive is out, sir!" said Lysis' Chief Technical Officer.
"Our entire fleet is destroyed!" yelled Volgarr. "And the Argo survived. They will want revenge!"
Lysis looked at his Technical Officer. "Commander Varal. What do you recommend?"
"We are down to depth charges and the self-destruct switch, sir," said Varal. "I recommend we contact the Argo and request terms for surrender. Sir, we lost. We cannot face Leader Desslok again after this."
"You're mad!" hissed Lysis. "Disloyal and mad! All of you! Well, we have depth charges and the self-destruct bomb? We shall use them."
"Sir?" said Volgarr.
"I am not about to become a Terron prisoner of war trusting in the mercy of the Star Force," said Lysis. "I would have liked to see my wife and son again, but that is not possible. Maybe I can share a drink with Avatar and his resourceful crew in Hell after we are all dead. In death, we are all equal. In death, we are all comrades."
"I am taking command of this vessel!" yelled Varal as he aimed his sidearm at Lysis. "Send the Argo our request for…"
"Oh, you be quiet! I have heard of Terron women who have more bravery than you!" said Lysis as he drew his sidearm and shot Varal through the heart. "Anyone else in the mood to die without honor?"
No one answered.
"Good," said Lysis with a smile. "Volgarr, take a straight heading for the Argo!"
The flagship headed off.
On the Argo, Royster was sitting in an observation post in the bridge tower.
He spotted the Gamilon flagship roaring at the Argo.
"Captain! We have one Gamilon vessel left!"
"What the heck are they doing?" Derek snapped.
"They're…they're buzzing us!" Mark said.
"Looks like he's bent on ramming us!" said Homer.
"He looks suicidal!" Nova said. "Sandor? When am I getting the radar up?"
"Two minutes, Nova," said Sandor.
"If I can get gun turret "B" working, I can get him!" Derek said.
"Our best hope is to evade," said Avatar. "Fly into the cloud of gas. Perhaps they can't track us there!"
A random voice came over the 1MC. "Captain Avatar. Your quarters are repaired. There was damage but they are habitable."
Avatar nodded as pain hit his chest again. Is this it for me? He thought. I would have liked to see if we survive this…but…
They were now two and a half hours into the battle.
Lysis said, "We have a sonar reading on them? Great. I can see you, Argo, but you can't see me!"
"Drop charges!" said Volgarr.
Depth charges flew from Lysis' flagship down towards the Argo.
The Terron space battleship rocked hard as the charges exploded around her.
"Space depth charges!" snapped Wildstar. "Fire smokestack missiles!"
He and the gunners fired, but they missed Lysis' ship.
"Cease firing," said Lysis. "We will go under their hull and place our self-destruct bomb against their third bridge structure. I want to talk to them before the end," said Lysis. "They deserve that much. They fought well. They almost won."
The flagship flew up under the Argo.
"Radar is back up!" said Royster over the 1MC.
"No!" Nova said. "The Gamilon ship is right beneath us!"
"What are they doing?" said Avatar.
"Locking on to us?" Nova said.
"Hey! There's something on the screen," said Wildstar.
Once again, they looked up, and Lysis' face reappeared on the Argo's screen. "Crew of the Argo. I am fluent in your language," said Lysis. "I am Field Marshal Erich Lysis, as I told you when I sent all of you my challenge. I am the one who has been fighting you. You have done well, but now, it ends."
Avatar stood with some effort. "Field Marshal Lysis, I am Captain Abraham Avatar, commander of both the ESS Argo and of the First Star Force. You have fought well, but you have lost to us. Lysis, do you desire to negotiate terms of surrender?"
"Not unless you do, Captain," said Lysis. "I have my suspicions, but I must ask you why you have intruded so far upon the territorial space of Gamilon. We consider your presence in the Great Magellenic Cloud a threat to our survival."
"We have been forced to fight you many times, Lysis," said Avatar. "Even if you refuse our offer to surrender and accept our aid due to the damage to your flagship, I am going to advise you that our voyage is not one of aggression. We seek to save Planet Earth. We have been in touch with Queen Starsha of Iscandar. I request that you overlook our presence and grant us safe passage…to Planet Iscandar. On Iscandar they are promising us a means to save our planet. I am sure with the damage to Terra repaired; we can come to a reasonable peace. We are not that different, you and I."
Lysis' mouth fell open. She is giving them the so-called Cosmo-DNA? So that's what these barbarians want. Very clever, Avatar. Starsha, why do you stab us in the back? We need Cosmo-DNA…to heal Gamilon. You promised Desslok. Damn you, Starsha, you traitor! Do they have a right to live? If so, it is lesser than our own right to live. And I cannot allow them within sight of Gamilon.
"I cannot permit it," said Lysis. "I need not tell you the reasons, Avatar. I must say that you are a brave man. But as you have a mission, so have we. You will return back to your Galaxy at once and find a means to your survival there. Will you leave?"
Avatar shook his head.
"You have chosen your end, then," said Lysis. "So be it, old man. I have a bomb against your hull. It is inside my flagship. In ten seconds, it explodes. Glory to the Gamilon Empire and glory to the brave people of Terra."
Lysis grasped a handle and disappeared from the screen.
Avatar took the microphone. "All hands! Lysis has placed a bomb against our keel! All hands to the upper decks! Secure Bridge Number Three from the blast!"
Men and women ran out of the Third Bridge structure in a panic.
Lysis shut his eyes. I greet thee, Sweet Death, he thought.
The bomb exploded.
Screams filled the Argo as much of the keel was blown out.
The burning wreck of Lysis' flagship was blown away from the Argo.
Right before he slammed his head against a console into unconsciousness, he realized that Lady Death had eluded his embrace, that his ship was perhaps fatally damaged…
…And that the Argo was afire from stem to stern, but she still lived.
The Star Force still survived.
On the First Bridge, as they coughed and smelled smoke, fire, and burning insulation, the bridge crew, Wildstar first, lifted his head.
We lived through that? He thought. NOVA! Are you alive? He said to himself as he saw she was not at her post.
Then, he heard her coughing. She was putting out fires with one hand, and helping Captain Avatar up with the other hand, but his fiancee' was alive and well.
Even though she looked like a total mess again.
"How's the ship?" he barked at Sandor.
"Auxiliary engine one is out. Keel badly damaged. We don't have a third bridge anymore. But we still have power, Wildstar," said Sandor. "We can still move."
Wildstar heped Eager to the radar. "Lysis is gone," Eager said after scanning. "I read a big load of debris. The arrogant cowpoke is finally deader than a doornail," Chris said with a smile.
"The Captain is barely breathing, Derek!" Nova said.
"Get medics up here…that's your bailiwick, Peppermint. But nice job today. Expect a Distinguished Service Cross for today; you, Venture, Sandor, and Erich!"
"I wonder how Natalie is?" Nova said after medics came up. "I hope she's not in danger…"
AN HOUR LATER….
"She…she what?" Nova said, stunned by what she found in Sickbay.
Sane was sitting in a chair, drinking more sake' and crying. "She had her son, Nova. He was born prematurely. And it's my fault. All my fault…." He sniffed. "I should resign my post. I totally wrecked this."
Derek stood beside Nova, stunned. "Michelle, how is the baby?"
"Not good. His lungs are diseased," Sakamoto said with a sob. "I called for Robert Turner. He deserves a chance to meet his son…before…"
"Before what?" Derek said. This was totally out of his league.
Nova was listening to the tiny boy's chest with a stethoscope. "Before…before he dies. I don't know how he's going to…make it…"
Robert ran in.
"What did you want?"
"That's…that's your son," Nova said. "He's very weak. Natalie went out in the ship. Doctor Sane's orders. I…"
Then, to Derek's utter rage, Robert looked at his pale wife, then at the weak baby, and he lashed out at the nearest target…Nova herself.
He picked her up by her collar like a rag doll and slapped her in the mouth. "YOU DIDN'T STOP IT? YOU UNFEELING ROBOT!"
"No, no, NO!" Nova cried with blood streaming from her mouth as Derek made fists. One more swing at Nova, and Wildstar was ready to break his neck. "I tried to stop it, Robert! I know a pregnant woman can't run around this ship in battle! I risked a court-martial to keep her down here, and safe! Sane overrode me, but Natalie volunteered. She went out on her own…and now we have…this. Please put me down?"
"Or what?" said a grief-stricken Turner.
"Or I will punch your front teeth down your throat!" Nova cried. "Not that I want to. I like you!"
Robert set Nova on her feet and hugged her hard. He began to sob. Derek then embraced both Nova and Robert as tears ran down his cheeks.
Nova and Derek sobbed back as Sane sat drinking himself senseless. Sane collapsed a moment later into a drunken sleep fueled by his own guilt.
They heard an alarm at Robert Junior's crib.
They jumped up and Robert Senior grabbed his baby boy's finger and watched as he coughed, wheezed…and the light of life left his eyes.
Robert howled in grief, holding the baby, as a sobbing Nova signed his death certificate.
Robert Turner Junior had lived for only ninety-one minutes, the smallest and youngest casualty of Lysis and the Battle of Rainbow Cluster, and the most innocent.
SIX HOURS LATER
One hundred and thirty men and women were gathered in space gear on the foredeck of the Argo, which had left Rainbow Cluster behind.
There were seventy-nine coffins on the foredeck. All of the dead that they had been able to gather up from the battle.
Most of the Black Tigers and many men and women were drifting dead in space; their bodies unrecoverable. All in all, ninety-one members of the Star Force had died in battle.
Derek Wildstar and Mark Venture stood guard together beside the coffin of Lieutenant Neil Holloway, slain by Lady Iroze.
Behind them stood Robert Turner, accompanied by Nova. Both of them stood vigil by the tiny coffin of Robert Turner Junior, no rank. Natalie Fisher had not been advised of the birth and all-too-short life of her son.
Doctor Sane was suspended from duty again. He sat in a cell in the Brig this time. He had been advised by Paul Rosstowski that he would stand Captain's Mast tomorrow before both Avatar and Wildstar.
Captain Avatar, weak, very weak, stood in his spacesuit on top of one of the Argo's battered gun turrets with Father Likanski behind him as he haltingly gave some comments.
"Today, my comrades, we have won a great battle. But the cost was very high. Ninety-one of us died today. Maybe half of our original crew still lives today. Much has taken place. But we cannot give up. We have too much to do, all of us. We must remember we all belong to the Star Force, and to each other. We must soon dry our tears, even though not all tears are an evil. We must repair this great vessel by repurposing the scrap metal we were able to recover from our enemies' ships. What a strange chance it is that our enemies' vessels will now give us a new lease on life. We must say farewell to our friends, and even remember the gallant sacrifices of our enemies. Indeed, we are lying three Gamilon kamikaze pilots to rest with our crew with full military honors. Lysis, wherever you are, please remember we bear you no hatred. You fought to the end as we did. Father Likanski, you have the last words."
Father Likanski watched Yuria and Toru holding hands over the casket of a comrade, and he recited, "For all those we now lay to rest. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen and Amen."
"Honors. Music," coughed Avatar.
A few sharpshooters began to fire salutes as the crew members assigned to the dead marched stiffly forward to the rail, each casting a weightless casket into the cold of space as music began to play from the 1MC over their headsets.
See the girl, she is waving to you….
A scarf, so bright and red….
As you race into the blue…
She is waving, waving to you…
As you travel on your way…
And night, turns into Day…
You will carry, in your heart…
Memories of that Bright Red Scarf….
The crew then stood in silence, saluting together as the caskets drifted off into space.
Then, Nova and Homer marched forward, and snapped to attention, standing alone.
Homer raised his hands in the ancient gesture of a kohen and he recited, in Hebrew, the Aaronic Blessing over the Argo and over the dead, who drifted among the stars.
Then, all alone, Nova shut her eyes and began to sing, solo and a capella, How Great Thou Art, her sweet, somehow sad voice a slight balm over the wounded hearts of those who had lived.
Then, there was silence as the caskets drifted away.
Captain Avatar then said, "These proceedings are ended. Now on to Iscandar."
Captain Avatar coughed, hard.
He was very dizzy.
Except for a few occasions, after this evening, he would retire to his cabin and his bed, barely able to walk.
He watched as Wildstar confidently barked the commands calling the crew to attention.
My young friend, my foster son, you are leading us now, my Deputy Captain…Avatar thought as tears ran down his face. You did well today. God be with you. Even if I die tonight, the Star Force is now in good hands with a new young leader. I am at peace at last. You have indeed survived your baptism of fire, Derek Wildstar. With the bravest woman I have ever met at your side.
There was an about-face.
Wildstar called cadence as if he had been doing it as a grizzled Captain for years.
The crew marched back into the ship.
Somehow, they had lived.
They had lived.
PLANET EARTH HAS 214 DAYS LEFT.
TO BE CONTINUED….