Chapter 21
"Pimer sure is taking his sweet time!" groaned Ryu, his grip loosening ever so slightly on Joe's hand as the force of gravity pulled him down.
"It's only been two minutes since we called him." Jinpei pointed out.
"Two minutes is a long time from down here!" the Owl said in an irritated tone.
"Hey, you don't have to get so cranky with me!" the Swallow huffed.
"I think I see it!" said Joe in a relieved voice. The Condor didn't know which was worse: hanging off of the cliff with one hand or listening to Jinpei and Ryu arguing.
The New God Phoenix was indeed approaching. Unfortunately, the ship was so big that it was unable to enter the crater, and the closest it could get to the three ninjas was about one hundred feet above them.
"Yet again, I miss my damn cablegun!" Joe nearly screamed in frustration. "If this were the old God Phoenix, you'd be up there, Ryu, and I'd bet you'd have no problem getting us out of here!"
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Joe," Ryu grinned, "but honestly, that thing is twice the size of the old God Phoenix, and it's just not going to fit down here."
"So, how the hell do we board?" Jinpei asked. The Swallow threw himself cross-legged onto the ground, folding his arms in a huff.
"We could use my Gripper, again!" Ryu suggested.
"And how is that giant neon booger going to help us now?" Jinpei asked sarcastically.
"Just watch!" Ryu smirked. The Owl detached the Gripper from the cliff wall, then swung on the Condor's hand as he threw his weapon at the bottom of the New God Phoenix.
The Gripper attached to the ship, and suddenly Ryu let go of Joe's hand, flinging himself upward as his weapon retracted with a loud twang. Just as he was about to crash headfirst into the ship, the Owl snapped his weapon, arcing upward to land feet first on the top of the New God Phoenix, even as the Gripper detached from its bottom.
"Wow!" breathed Jinpei. "I'm never going to make fun of his neon booger again!"
"Well, that's just great for Ryu," Joe sighed, "but how are we getting up there? He already told us that the New God Phoenix was too large to come down here."
But even as the Condor spoke, the two ninjas saw the head of the New God Phoenix lifting up and over the craft.
"No… he wouldn't…" Joe breathed. "He wouldn't dare!"
But apparently, the Owl did dare. The Eagle Sharp shot out of the nose of its mothership, flying expertly down to just below where Joe and Jinpei were stranded.
"Aniki's going to kill him!" Jinpei whispered.
"I won't tell him, if you don't." the Condor grinned, gratefully letting go of the cliff and gliding down the short distance to land on top of the Eagle Sharp. The Swallow quickly followed: jumping into the air to land on the other side of the G1.
The fighter plane swiftly rose, allowing its two passengers to leap onto the top of the New God Phoenix, before it attempted to rejoin with the ship.
It was here that the Owl's lack of experience flying this particular plane was demonstrated. There was a loud, unmistakable sound of metal scraping against metal echoing throughout the crater as the Eagle Sharp docked.
"I didn't hear that, did you?" Jinpei asked.
"Hear what?" Joe grinned.
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"You let Gatchaman get away?" raged Leader X, "I cannot believe your incompetence! You had Gatchaman and another member of the Science Ninja Team under your control, and you just let them walk out of there?"
"I thought that the Eagle had been incapacitated by our sleeping gas." Gel Sadra attempted to explain. "He had been restrained, yet somehow managed to overcome the effects and break his bonds…"
"Foolishness!" shouted X. "You are incompetent! Even Katse was better than this!"
Gel Sadra frowned. It was one thing for Leader X to yell at her, but to be compared unfavorably to Berg Katse was more than she could bear. She was far better than that mutant freak!
"That's hardly fair." she muttered.
"Fair?" raged X. "You want to talk about fair? You have wasted three times the amount of resources that Katse did, in only one third of the time!"
"But, Sire," Gel Sadra protested, "Katse primarily used mecha. He rarely had large bases demolished. You force me to construct gigantic bases for the Solar Shift Plan, which the Science Ninja Team easily destroys. If only I were allowed to use mecha as well…"
"Mecha? You want mecha?" shouted X. "How can I trust you with mecha when you're so worthless that you let Gatchaman escape while he is under your control?"
"Please, Sire," Gel Sadra begged, "there is the new mecha right here on the base, just waiting to be deployed! I could use it to crush the New God Phoenix!"
"I was planning to use that mecha to attack the megalopolis of San Frangeles!" X sniffed. "Why should I let you use it first? What have you ever done right?"
"Well, Gatchaman escaped, but he didn't manage to blow up this base!" Gel Sadra pointed out. "It is still a viable part of the Solar Shift Plan!"
"You make a good point." X reluctantly admitted. "All right. Take the mecha and go, before I change my mind."
"Thank you, Sire." Gel Sadra smirked, quickly departing the alien's presence.
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The Eagle boarded the New God Phoenix, carrying the Swan in his arms. Shortly before the ship had reached them, Ken had noticed Jun waking up and becoming more agitated. It was clear that the cycle of emotions and physical stress she had been going through since being administered the Galactor drug was beginning all over again.
Joe turned his head to watch his teammates board the ship, then jumped out of his seat when he saw the condition Jun was in.
"What the hell happened to her?" he raged, rushing over to the Eagle.
"She was drugged by Gel Sadra." Ken responded grimly. "Apparently it was the same substance she gave to you."
"What?" the Condor cried angrily, "How could you let this happen? Do you know what that stuff does?"
"Yes." the Eagle replied, in a deceptively calm voice. "I know exactly what it does."
Joe glanced up, surprised to see the expression of self-righteous anger and condemnation on Ken's face. Instantly, the Condor realized that the Eagle had learned something he hadn't been prepared to accept.
"Then you know how important it is for me to get her to the Medical Bay." Joe replied, his eyes flashing defiantly. "I'm the only one who understands what Jun is going through, and I'm a Medical Officer." The Condor reached out to take the Swan from the Eagle's arms.
"I'll bet you understand what she's going through." Ken growled. "How long were you two alone together in the Medical Bay, after you had been drugged? An hour? Longer?" He pulled Jun's body closer to him, in an effort to keep her from the Condor's grasp.
The Swallow and the Owl sat frozen in their seats, not entirely understanding the scene playing out in front of them.
"Joe…" Jun moaned, her head moving restlessly about.
"I'm here, Jun." he said, touching a gloved finger to her cheek.
"Joe," the Swan turned her head, her eyes focusing momentarily on the Condor, "please… help me…"
"I will, Jun." Joe promised, reaching out for her again. He glared at the Eagle, a dangerous look in his eyes.
A lesser man might have quailed before such scrutiny, but not Gatchaman.
"I'm going with you." he said, his tone giving no doubt that this was not a request. "I need to make sure that Jun is taken care of properly."
"But… Aniki," Jinpei piped up, "we need you!"
Ken had almost forgotten that there was anyone else in the room.
"Can't you guys get along without me for a few minutes?" he yelled angrily, only to be taken aback by the image he saw on the viewscreen.
A giant mecha was approaching their position. It had been constructed to resemble a black bear, and was lumbering toward them on its hind legs; its paws swiping in an irritated fashion through the air.
"You stay here." Joe said firmly, taking the Swan from the astonished Eagle. "I'm taking Jun to the Medical Bay."
"But, who's going to man the weapons systems?" Ryu asked. "Don't you want to blow that thing apart, Joe?"
"Jun needs me." the Condor declared. "I'm sure the great Gatchaman can handle shooting off a few Super BMs."
If looks could kill, the Eagle wouldn't have needed Super Bird Missiles to obliterate the Condor right then and there. But the situation called for capitulation, and Ken did so with little grace.
"As soon as this mission is over, we're going to talk." he told Joe threateningly.
"I have no doubt." the Condor rolled his eyes, before rushing off with the Swan to sickbay.
"Wow, Jun must be pretty badly off, if Joe didn't want to shoot the Super BMs!" Jinpei said in a hushed tone.
"Joe's the one who's got it bad." Ken growled under his breath.
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As soon as they arrived at the Medical Bay, Joe laid Jun down gently on the examination table.
"What did that damn Eagle get you into, Jun?" he muttered to himself. "How could he let this happen to you?"
"Joe…" Jun pleaded softly, "I need you…"
"Shhh…. I know." the Condor replied, removing the Swan's helmet to make her more comfortable. "I remember how it felt… how it consumed me."
"Please, Joe," the Swan begged, grabbing the Condor's wings and pulling him down toward her, "touch me…"
"In a second." Joe promised. "First, I'm going to sedate you, so that you can sleep through this until Dr. Nambu can get this thing out of your system, like he did for me."
"Help me…"
With shaking hands, the Condor administered the sedative, his heart clenching at the sight of the Swan's obvious distress.
"There." he said, pulling off his own helmet. "That should start to work in a minute or so."
"Joe…"
"I'm here, Jun." he said, his mouth softly brushing against hers. The Swan pulled him toward her, crushing his lips to her own. The urgency in her kiss stirred his blood, and he found himself wishing he could soothe her in a more unorthodox way. But unfortunately, there wasn't time for that right now. The Condor mentally cursed Gel Sadra for her inconvenient timing.
Jun's hands found his belt, and they began pulling at it, apparently not recognizing that the garment did not unclasp as his civvies belt did. They had never undressed each other from their Birdstyles, and for a moment Joe's thoughts ran away with him, imagining the possibilities.
But even as he did so, the Swan's movements became more lethargic, and her hands dropped to her sides. It was clear that the sedative was beginning to take effect.
"Touch me…" she whispered, softly kissing her lover.
"I want to," Joe explained, "but first, I've got a mecha to destroy."
"There's always a damned mecha…" Jun murmured, before drifting off to sleep.
"Not for long." Joe smiled, kissing her forehead softly before replacing his Bird Helmet.
"Sweet dreams, Jun."