Chapter 8
It only took twelve hours for the three soldiers to be picked up by a Galactor transport, which was much faster than any of them had expected. As it turned out, they weren't the ones the transport had specifically come to fetch. Galactor recruiters had infiltrated the Red Cross shelter, preying upon those who had lost everything, offering them new lives with Galactor. Those who had families were invited to bring them along, and promised that Galactor would see to their children's education.
Kito found it amazing, that people would turn around and join the organization that had just destroyed their lives, but apparently, many were willing. The majority of UN citizens was tired of war, and only wanted to live in a place where they could be free of the terror and violence. They didn't care who was in control of that place.
Kito, Pantillo and Steungart hitched a ride with the new recruits, making their way back to the closest Galactor base, where they were quickly transferred back to Ghost Island. Steungart had recovered sufficiently that he was returned to duty.
Kito had been deeply affected by seeing Jun, and discovering that she and Jinpei were a part of the Science Ninja Team. Their task was significant: they were important. If they were gone, the planet would be hurt, by their loss.
It was obvious to Kito that his knowledge of the Swan and the Swallow's identities was of great value to Galactor. Yet, he refrained from passing on this information, out of respect for his friendship with Jun and Jinpei, and for what they were trying to accomplish.
In comparison to the Science Ninja Team, Kito's existence was completely meaningless. If he were to die, he would not really be missed. He had no real purpose, or value, in life. In the blink of an eye, his actions had all seemed entirely inconsequential. It was this, even more than the fact that he was actually working against Jun and Jinpei, that bothered him more than anything else.
This feeling was reflected in his work assignments. Since, for the moment, Kito's unit no longer had a Sergeant, the men were delegated the most menial of tasks, performing low-level maintenance all over the base, that required little to no supervision. Kito performed this work with a bare minimum of attention, his mind instead wondering how he had sunk to this level of insignificance.
And so it was, that Kito found himself kneeling on the floor of a conference room one afternoon, repairing a glitch in the air conditioning, as Lord Katse walked in with two of his officers.
"I can't believe King Kang broke down like that!" Katse was ranting. "That mecha was supposed to tear the God Phoenix apart, but instead his hand melted off! Gatchaman must be laughing at us, right now!"
"Actually, the Condor was pretty angry." Kito mumbled, without thinking.
"What?"
Despite his obvious insanity, it appeared that Katse had excellent hearing.
"Did you say something?" the Galactor leader demanded of Kito.
Mentally berating himself for having spoken out loud, Kito clumsily rose to his feet.
"Yes, Sire." he replied, staring at his feet.
"Well?" screeched Katse, "What did you say?"
"I… I said that the Condor was angry." Kito repeated. "After Kang crashed, I was concealed among the rubble, when I heard the Science Ninja Team. They were surveying the area. The Condor was angry, because you had managed to destroy the entire base with the Kang mecha. He felt that you had won that engagement."
Lord Katse's smile was wide, and menacing.
"So… the Condor felt that I had defeated them, did he?" Galactor's Overlord was obviously pleased by this news. "I guess a useless mecha is a small price to pay, for defeating the Science Ninja Team."
"But, Sire, you were the one who designed the Kang mecha…" one of the officers interrupted. The man's words froze on his lips, as a dark look was cast at him from under the infamous purple mask.
"The problem is: we need another mecha, fast!" Katse complained. "Leader X is insisting that we finish work on the Monde Operation! In order to complete that project, we need additional uranium stores. But the ISO isn't going to just let us walk in and take them!"
"Why not, Sire?" asked the same officer. It was apparent to Kito that he had not been promoted because of his intelligence. "Their defenses are weak!"
"The ISO is weak, but the Science Ninja Team is not!" Katse cried, shaking his fist in the man's face. "The moment we appear at a uranium mine, they'll be all over us! We need a mecha that can defeat them!"
"Not necessarily…"
Everyone turned to stare, astonished at Kito. Lord Katse looked at him in amazement. It was apparent that the Galactor Leader had forgotten that Kito was even in the room.
For his part, Kito was wondering what was wrong with him; that he kept thinking out loud, in front of Lord Katse. He fully expected to have a bullet in his head, within the next few minutes.
Given that he was a dead man already, Kito impulsively decided to speak his mind. At least, he could do something of consequence, before he died.
"All you need, is to get the uranium, Sire." he spoke. "The ISO defenses are minimal. Send a few regular transport vehicles to collect the ore."
"And what about the Science Ninja Team?" Katse demanded.
"They will be too busy to respond." Kito shrugged. "Send out a decoy mecha, far away from the uranium mine. It doesn't matter if they destroy it, since what you're really after is the uranium."
"And how do you propose that I get this decoy mecha?"
"We have a lot of extra mecha parts in the storage warehouses." Kito shrugged. "Just put a few together… enough to make the UN call for the Science Ninja Team. It doesn't have to be good."
"You know, that's not a bad idea." mused Katse, thoughtfully tapping his gloved finger against his chin.
"It's not?" asked Kito, and the two officers, in unison.
"No…" Katse was oblivious to everyone's surprise. "What's your name, Private?"
"Abbott, Sire." Kito clapped his fist over his heart. "I'm with Mecha Construction Unit 4."
"Unit 4… they lost their Sergeant, didn't they?"
"Yes, Sire. Sergeant Kyle is no longer serving Galactor."
"Well, you seem qualified, Sergeant Abbott." Katse grinned. "I want this mecha built in three days. Can you do it for me?"
"Yes, Sire!" Kito clapped his heels together, bowing low before the Galactor Leader.
"Excellent. I'll come to inspect it, then." Katse declared, sweeping out of the room. The two officers followed behind, praising their leader's astute decision.
Kito was stunned. Within the space of two seconds, he had gone from performing routine maintenance, to being in charge of Galactor's next mecha.
Perhaps his life had a purpose, after all.
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Kito and his men worked long hours, over the next three days. The new Sergeant split his unit into three teams, and had them working around the clock. His men were thrilled to no longer be working for Sergeant Kyle, and appreciated Kito's fair, non-abusive command style. The mecha wasn't beautiful, but it was solid enough for its purpose, and could be operated by only a handful of men.
Mecha Construction Unit 4 hoped that Lord Katse would be pleased.
When the Galactor Overlord first saw the mecha, his reaction was hardly impressive. His screech of disappointment could he heard all around the Mecha Construction Bay.
"What the hell is that?"
"We call it, Melduthra, Sire." Kito explained.
The mecha had the torso shell of the Turtle King, the legs of King Kang, the head of Gezora, the wings of Ibukuron, the eyes of Mechadegon, and the claw-like arms of Kamisoral. It was the most bizarre thing Kito had ever seen, however it had the advantage of being built entirely with parts that had already been constructed, requiring virtually no further outlay of resources.
Once he had explained this to Lord Katse, the purple-garbed Leader was much more receptive.
"No additional resources?" Katse gloated, "And it should last long enough to keep the Science Ninja Team away from the Indrian Uranium Mines? Wait until I inform Leader X!"
"May I dismiss my men, then, Sire?" Kito asked. "They have been working non-stop, and deserve a break."
"Yes, yes." Katse replied, waving his hand in a disinterested fashion. "Whatever you want."
Kito turned to his unit, grinning widely.
"Okay, soldiers, you have twenty-four hours' leave! Enjoy!"
The men whooped and cheered, some of them dancing little jigs. They had all put their best efforts into this mecha, to ensure that it was ready on time. Lord Katse was pleased, and they had a supervisor who was actually reasonable to work with.
Steungart and Pantillo winked at their Sergeant as they filed out. Kito moved to follow them, but Katse placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Not yet, Sergeant." Katse smirked. "I'd like you to accompany me to the control room, where we will monitor Melduthra's progress together."
With a sinking feeling, Kito understood. If Melduthra failed, the Galactor leader wanted someone to blame. Someone upon whom he could unleash his wrath.
Kito was ready to face that wrath, if it was deserved. But he felt that it wasn't. Melduthra didn't have to last long. Its only purpose was to delay the Science Ninja Team for an hour or so, while the uranium acquisition project was underway.
Four of Lord Katse's officers accompanied Kito, and their leader, up to the control room, watching as a fleet of transport vehicles were dispatched to Indria's uranium mines, from a base in the north of that country. They were ordered to conceal themselves close to the mines, and await further orders. Melduthra was staffed with a half dozen soldiers, who were ordered to attack the costal town of Haliford. The town itself had no resources, ISO or UN installations, or strategic value. It was merely a target full of innocent people, who did not expect an attack from Galactor.
Kito felt his first twinge of guilt. He had been the one to suggest a decoy, but hadn't thought ahead, to the result that innocent citizens might get hurt. He hoped that the people would be able to get away from the mecha's destructive power.
At 0140 hours, Ghost Island time, Melduthra came into view of Haliford. Galactor communications personnel were able to monitor the distress calls placed to the UN, and even their official request to the ISO, for the presence of the Science Ninja Team.
By 0200 hours, hundreds of people were fleeing Melduthra's wrath, as it destroyed Haliford's entire waterfront area, slowly moving inward to decimate the town.
"Sire, the God Phoenix is approaching!"
The report from Melduthra's command center was encouraging. The plan was working!
Immediately, the transport vehicles were ordered to approach the Indrian uranium mines. They did so, and were quickly able to quell the little resistance that was offered against them.
Kito was fascinated, watching the entire operation from this perspective. Four monitors displayed various views of Melduthra, both inside and out, while three others showed views of the transport vehicles accessing uranium stores. The two locations involved were literally a half a world away from each other (Haliford had been purposely chosen for this very reason), yet it all unfolded before Kito's eyes, in the Ghost Island Command Center.
The God Phoenix was circling Melduthra, apparently trying to see what it had to offer. The ship carefully avoided the Kamisoral claws, apparently recognizing them from their previous incarnation. It reminded Kito of an 'Old West' showdown, with two gunfighters circling each other in the street, each assessing the other's strengths and weaknesses.
Predictably, the mecha grabbed for the God Phoenix, in an attempt to damage it. As expected, the God Phoenix avoided the clumsy maneuver, and sent a Bird Missile in response.
Kito held his breath for a long moment, as the flames and smoke from the attack cleared…
Melduthra was undamaged! Kito felt like whooping and leaping into the air. His mecha was performing as it was supposed to, and not being so easily defeated that the Science Ninja Team had a chance to reach the Indrian mines, before it was too late.
Lord Katse clapped Kito on the shoulder.
"So, Sergeant Abbott, it looks like your cobbled-together mecha is doing its job!"
A surge of resentment washed through Kito. He and his men had worked hard on Melduthra. Sure, it was built from spare mecha components, but in his eyes, it was a thing of wonder. How dare Lord Katse insult his project!
The Galactor leader did not notice the anger in his subordinate's eyes. He merely laughed, drinking a glass of wine, as he saw his transport vehicles leaving with the badly-needed resources.
The operation had been successful.
Meanwhile, the God Phoenix had transformed, using the Science Ninja Technique: Firebird. Melduthra, having received a communication informing them that they could return to Base, turned around, and attempted to flee. Unfortunately, the mecha had been constructed on top of King Kang's legs, and was not built for speed. Ibukuron's wings were activated at the highest setting, but even that added power was not enough to allow the mecha to outrun the Firebird.
With an eerie screech, the flaming God Phoenix tore through the wings, tearing them off, leaving a gaping hole in Melduthra's back. The Science Ninja Team's ship returned to its usual blue and red frame, then shot a Bird Missile through the breach that had been created.
Kito felt a tear fall from his eye, as his precious mecha exploded into fragments of searing hot metal. Lord Katse turned, and caught sight of his emotional visage.
"Oh, look!" he sneered, "Sergeant Abbott's upset that his junkyard mecha was destroyed!"
The Galactor leader and his officers shared a laugh at Kito's expense. Kito seethed inside, but was somehow able to contain his rage long enough to lower his face, so that Lord Katse could not see his expression.
"Don't worry about it, Abbott." Katse smirked. "That piece of recycled garbage did what it was supposed to, and Galactor has its uranium stores. Leader X will be pleased."
Kito watched as Lord Katse left, still chuckling about the entire incident, with his officers. It almost seemed as if the purple mask was laughing at him, and his value as a person.
What the hell had he been thinking? Kito had poured himself into the construction of Melduthra, with the understanding that he was accomplishing something worthwhile for Galactor. Yet, while his mecha had accomplished its purpose, it was insulted and sneered at by Lord Katse and his officers.
They didn't respect Kito's work, at all.
How dare they? Look what Kito had been able to accomplish, in only a few days! Lord Katse designed mecha from scratch, that had fared no better against the Science Ninja Team. What could Kito do, if he had those kinds of resources and backing?
He was determined to show them.