Chapter 22
The New God Phoenix jerked as Ryu narrowly avoided one of the bear mecha's paws. The mecha-animal continued to bat at the ship, while the Owl was stretched to the full extent of his piloting abilities to avoid the flailing bear arms.
"Can't you shoot at it, Ken?" Ryu asked in frustration.
"I'm trying!" the Eagle snapped. He was at the Condor's station, attempting to lock the targeting scanners. Somehow, Joe always made it look so easy: like all he did was randomly slam his fist on the red button. Ken supposed that was like saying all that the Owl did to pilot the ship was move the thruster levers.
Finally Ken felt that he had appropriately targeted his shot, and he depressed the red button, sending a Super Bird Missile directly at the bear's chest… only to be deflected by a swipe of the mecha's paw. The Super BM bounced harmlessly off into the mountains and detonated a good distance away.
"Damnit!" Ken shouted, trying again. As before, the bear easily deflected the missile.
"Uh, maybe you should try the Vulcan Cannons, Aniki." Jinpei offered helpfully.
"When I want your advice, Jinpei, I'll ask for it!" the Eagle yelled. Still, the Swallow noticed that Ken was switching weaponry, as he had suggested.
As Ken attempted to control the Weapons Systems, the bear opened its mouth, shooting forth a spray of its own missiles. Fortunately, Ryu was able to dodge the Galactor weapons fire.
The Vulcan Cannons were able to get through the defensive barrier put up by the bear's paws, but they appeared to have no effect on the mecha itself.
"It's not even scratching the paint!" the Owl said, astounded.
"Uh, I think that's fur." the Swallow pointed out.
"It's a figure of speech, Jinpei!" The Eagle was definitely past the point of appreciating the commentary of the young ninja. Ken was obviously having difficulty aiming the cannons as well. At some point, he just gave up and began depressing the red button at a rapid pace, hoping something would hit.
As it happened, one shot did turn out to be lucky. The mecha moved at the last minute, and one of Ken's shots nicked the edge of the bear's mouth, as it opened to emit another volley of missiles. A few of the bear's 'teeth' fell out, and a small amount of smoke came from the mecha's gaping maw.
"The mouth!" shouted Ken, "That's where it's vulnerable!"
But apparently whomever was in charge of the mecha had realized that its weakness had been tipped to the Science Ninja Team. The bear no longer opened its jaws, instead attacking with its paws and with red lasers emitted from its ears.
"Why the hell won't it open its mouth again?" The Eagle's finger hovered impatiently over the red button. The position he found himself in yielded a sudden insight into the Condor's personality.
"I think Galactor's actually learning…" the Owl said, astounded.
"We need to give it a good target!" Ken declared, standing up straight and pounding his fist into his hand. "I'm going out in the Eagle Sharp!"
"But, Aniki, if you go out in the Eagle Sharp, we won't be able to use our weapons!" Jinpei protested.
"That won't matter, Jinpei," Ken insisted, "because when I get close enough, I'm going to blow that thing up myself."
With that statement, the Eagle ran out of the room, headed for his individual mecha.
The Swallow walked over to the Weapons Station, regarding it with an expression of awe.
"Do you think if I use this, I'll turn into Joe too?"
88888
Joe walked back onto the Bridge, his eyes alighting on the Swallow who was manning the Weapons Station.
"Hey!" the Condor cried, yanking the boy out of his seat. "What the hell are you doing in my chair?"
"I wanted to turn into you!" Jinpei cried.
"What?" Joe asked, confused. "Where's Ken?"
"He went off to take on the mecha by himself in the Eagle Sharp!" Ryu explained.
The confusion on the Condor's face was quickly replaced by anger.
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Joe raged. "That thing isn't half as powerful as the New God Phoenix, and if he leaves the ship he's going to prevent us from using our weapons!"
The internal comm system came to life, and the Eagle's voice filled the Bridge.
"What the hell happened to my plane?"
88888
A few moments later, the Eagle Sharp shot out of the nose of the New God Phoenix, with Ken cursing a blue streak during the entire sequence of launch procedures. A long, deep scratch was clearly visible in the red paint along the jet's side.
"Damn, Ryu, that's impressive!" whistled Joe.
The Owl blushed, but did not respond.
The New God Phoenix continued to avoid the bear mecha's paws, providing cover for the Eagle Sharp, which appeared to be taunting the bear's mouth. The jet streaked back and forth, daring the mecha to attack.
"That idiot better know what he's doing…" Joe growled. But given that the plane had already separated from the New God Phoenix, there wasn't much the Condor could do about the Eagle's actions.
Galactor took the bait. The bear's mouth opened, and the Eagle Sharp took up an attack position.
"Firing Vulcan Cannons!" came Ken's voice through their bracelets.
But before the Eagle could carry out his intentions, the mecha did something completely unexpected. Rather than shooting missiles at Gatchaman's plane, it opened wide, moved quickly, and clamped its jaws around the red jet.
The Eagle Sharp was firmly caught between the bear's remaining teeth. The Science Ninja Team could clearly see the plane attempting to break free, but it was unable to do so. Even worse, the angle at which the jet had been captured prevented Ken from firing into the mecha.
"Damn it, I'm stuck!" shouted Ken, just before another stream of curses came from their bracelets. The Swallow's mouth fell open as he heard his Aniki swearing like a sailor. The sound of the Eagle's voice shut off abruptly as the communication ended.
"He really did turn into Joe!" Jinpei whispered.
"Maybe I can shoot the jaw off of that thing." Joe suggested. "If only I had access to weapons!"
"Hey, Joe, weren't you able to fix it before, when the connections in the Condor Attacker Bay were broken?" Ryu reminded him.
"Yeah, I used my entire body as a conduit!" retorted Joe. "And that would kind of prevent me from firing weapons, now wouldn't it?"
"I could go out there in my Helico!" Jinpei suggested.
But even as the Condor considered the suggestion, the bear's jaws began to compress, and it was clear that the Eagle Sharp was being crushed.
"Aniki!" the Swallow cried, clutching at his helmet.
The three ninjas watched in horror as the now flattened Eagle Sharp was tossed out of the mecha's mouth, only to bounce off of the rocks below and into one of the numerous lava flows. The twisted remains of the Eagle Sharp quickly melted in the intense heat.
The main computer beeped, indicating that there was an incoming communication. Out of habit, the Owl routed it to the main viewscreen.
Gel Sadra's face filled the screen, as the Galactor Leader laughed at the occupants of the New God Phoenix.
"We have the Eagle!" she crowed. Ken's slumped body, held up by two green-suited goons, was clearly visible behind her.
"But…" she continued.
Joe's head snapped up. But? What kind of but did she have in mind?
"We are willing to give him up," Gel Sadra offered, "if the Condor surrenders in his stead." The smile on the Galactor Leader's face sent thoughts of bloody revenge through Joe's head.
"You have two minutes to agree, before Gatchaman is executed." Gel Sadra's voice sounded almost bored. The communication was terminated.
A myriad of thoughts went through Joe's head. At that moment he was furious with Ken, both for his attitude toward Jun, and for the mess he had gotten himself into. This kind of hotheadedness was completely uncharacteristic of the Eagle.
On the other hand, such recklessness was typical of Ken when he had been emotionally thwarted. He had displayed just this kind of behavior after his father had been killed.
And above all, no matter how Joe felt about Ken personally at that moment, the Eagle was his superior. The Condor owed him his allegiance, even if it meant letting himself be captured by that bitch who was currently in charge of Galactor.
Damn, he hated the Eagle at that moment.
Without a word, the Condor turned and left the Bridge.
"He's not actually going to surrender, is he?" Jinpei asked, aghast.
But even as the Swallow voiced his shock, a small indigo form was clearly visible on the viewscreen. The Condor glided down to the bear mecha, landing on its nose. A hatch in front of him opened, and Joe was let inside of the mecha.
"I sure hope he knows what he's doing." said Ryu quietly.
88888
"So, your loyalty to Gatchaman outweighs your hatred for Galactor." Gel Sadra purred to the surrendering Condor. "How touching."
"A spineless flunky like you knows nothing about loyalty." Joe growled. "All you know how to do is grovel before Leader X: throwing yourself on his mercy day after day."
The Galactor Leader blanched, as the Condor's words hit uncomfortably close to home. He had to be guessing. How could he know of her true relationship with Leader X? Gel Sadra's face burned with her shame.
"Your insolence shall be your undoing." she snarled, turning to her guards.
"Subdue him!" Gel Sadra ordered.
A glass tube was lowered from the ceiling, encompassing the place where Joe stood, and the familiar white sleeping gas quickly filled the small chamber. Before his enemy's eyes, the Condor slumped to the floor, his wings splaying out behind him.
"Shall we release Gatchaman now, Mistress?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Of course not!" Gel Sadra laughed nastily. "Why would we do such a ridiculous thing? But we will keep him around as a hostage for the Condor's continued good behavior."
The Galactor Leader smiled to herself. Finally she had Condor Joe exactly where she wanted him. This time, there would be no interruptions, and she would get exactly what she desired of him.
And Gel Sadra's desires knew no bounds.