I DO NOT own Saber Rider or Seijushi Bismarck. Please don't sue me.
A/N: To my reviewers, THANK YOU! :-)
Mechaman78: I am so glad you are enjoying the story. I hope you continue to read it!
fan: Glad you like it.
CRuck: I hope you are still enjoying the story.
Sierranoyume: I hope you enjoy watching the series. Do try and watch the Japanese version, if you can. It is soooo much better.
Unknown: I plan on doing the majority of the series, as time allows. I hope you are still with me.
Ok, I think that's everyone. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 19: The Oxygen Thieves
"So, as you can tell, it appears that we are making progress, despite the attacks on several of our satellite stations," A young man says as one of his superiors looks at the slide show showing bits of atmospheric data.
"Yes, it does seem promising," his superior replies.
"We should be back to normal oxygen levels throughout the planet if we can stop the Outrider raids on our stations and get the others back online quickly."
"I'll go and talk to the commanders and tell them what you have told me. Send me the files so that I can explain things to them more easily . You know how they can be," the superior adds.
The younger man nods, "Okay. I just sent it to your email. You should have it ready and waiting," he calls as the other man walks off.
"Outriders!" someone calls as the alarms begin blaring.
Several soldiers begin to scramble to raise some defense, as the Outriders begin destroying the base.
Elsewhere, the Bismarck crew is roused from sleep as their alarms go off.
"Can't the Outriders attack during normal hours?" Fireball grumbles as they rush to the control room. Upon their arrival, they discover that another oxygen station has been destroyed.
"That's the fourth one they've hit," Saber says.
"That's a lot of hitting for just four days worth of raids," Fireball comments. "What I don't get is why they are targeting the oxy stations?"
"The Outriders don't need oxygen to survive. We do," Saber replies simply.
"So that's their game," Fireball replies. "Just how much oxygen does one of those basses supply?" he asks.
"Well, before the oxy stations were established, this planet was uninhabitable. Humans could not breathe the air here at all," Saber states.
"That's a lot of oxygen those stations are puttin' out then," Colt remarks.
"All the more reason we need to stop these attacks," Fireball adds.
"Well, I've got an idea, but it could prove dangerous," Saber says thinking aloud, pausing briefly to make sure the others are listening before continuing. "We need to intercept one of their communication devices."
"Then we can figure out where they are going to hit next and try to stop them," Fireball says, Saber nods and turns to his terminal.
"That means running down one of their ships, and I'm the man to do it," Colt replies.
"Why do you think you're the best one to do it? You're a bit too trigger happy," Fireball replies. "You may be older, but I'm faster. I am a champion racer you know."
"You? Faster?" Colt retorts, getting up in Fireball's face. "I could outrun you and your little racer anytime."
"Are you two children quite finished?" Saber asks trying to diffuse the two. "We need to focus on the task at hand, such as looking for patterns of the attacks," Saber says as he pulls various data up on his screens. "If my guess is right, it looks like this station may be the next target," he says pulling up coordinates.
"Station twelve," Fireball states looking over Saber's shoulder. "Let's go," he adds as they set coordinates and take off.
They arrive at the station to find it under attack. "Looks like we were right, but they beat us here," Saber says dryly. They start shooting at the Outriders, forcing them to retreat.
"I'm going to get me a few Outriders," Fireball says as he gets up to find Colt nearly to the cargo bay.
"I thought you were supposed to be fast?" he calls back smugly with a wave before leaving in his Bronco Buster.
"Damn him," Fireball grumbles as Colt departs.
Colt heads out and starts shooting at any Outrider fighter he sees, managing to destroy several of their fighters.
"Save some for us," Fireball calls as he and Saber use the weapons on board the ship to decimate more of the fighters.
"Retreat!" the commanding Outrider calls as he and the few remaining fighters turn to flee.
"There's the commander!" Saber calls over the com-link.
"I see 'em," Colt replies as he breaks loose to go after him. "You're goin' down," he says as he sets his laser sight and fires, damaging the ship enough that it crashes into some swampland a bit away from the base. "I'm gonna head down there," Colt says as he looks for a landing spot. Once down, he finds the crash site, arriving just as the Outrider is working his way out of the swamp. He pulls his blaster, aiming for the Outrider's head. "That's right, come on out," he says.
The Outrider stops, making a point of not complying. "Go to Hell," the Outrider says.
"That's no way to talk to someone that's just itchin' to kill you," Colt chides as Saber and Fireball come running up behind him.
"Colt!" Fireball and Saber call as they reach him, to find him with his gun aimed at the Outrider.
"This one isn't too eager to live," Colt says to the other two. "Now be a good boy and get out," Colt says forcefully.
"I'd rather die than tell you fucking humans anything," he replies as he lunges forward and Colt fires his blaster at the his head.
"We need him alive, Colt," Fireball says.
"He's lucky that I haven't already killed him," Colt replies coldly, as the helmet falls into the swamp water. "Now come on, get out," he says to their captive, firing one last warning shot.
The captive reluctantly complies and climbs out, held at gunpoint by Saber and Fireball as Colt hops into the water and wades out to inspect the ship. He gets there and is looking it over, debating how to attempt to retrieve the box.
"Colt, don't try and remove anything from the ship! It could be rigged to detonate if tampered with," Saber calls over the com-link, just as Colt starts to reach into the cockpit, quickly pulling back. "Better let us run a few scans first."
Colt nods and they return to the Bismarck, their captive bound and in the cargo bay. They are standing in the control area, Saber explaining what he can of the layout of the captured ship from the early scan results.
"So as you can see, even if we get the box, there is no guarantee that we can utilize the information from it. It will still require some decryption. But we will need to proceed with caution, it appears that they have learned from past mistakes, and have taken care to be sure that their technology doesn't fall into our hands," Saber says as the other three stand studying the various graphics flashing over their screens.
"This could take days," Colt mumbles.
"Aye, that it could," Saber agrees. "And time is of the essence. Just because we have one of their commanders doesn't mean they won't send another team to make an attempt at destroying another oxygen station."
"Let's take our friend outside and have a chat with him," Fireball says to Colt.
"Okay," Colt replies with a nod and the two head for the cargo bay, leaving Saber and April to work with the scans.
The two men escort the prisoner outside and bind him to a tree.
"We're going to ask you again, how do you safely extract the communication box from your ship?" Fireball asks as Colt removes all of the bullets from his gun before carefully placing one bullet back into a chamber.
The captive turns his head in a show of defiance and Colt kneels down and spins the chamber before cocking the gun. "That's okay. I'm fond of games. Perhaps you've heard of it. I've placed a single bullet in the chamber now I'm going to spin it again," he says as he makes a show of the chamber spinning. "Now even I don't know when the gun will fire the bullet. So here's the deal, you son of a bitch, you answer the question, or I pull the trigger, like this," he says firing the gun, and it only clicks. "You were lucky, it was empty. How many more times will you get that lucky, huh?" he asks as he places the gun in the captive's face. "The difference between he and I is that I have no problem killing you. I Don't give a damn whether you live or die. I want every last one of you to die a slow and agonizing death. They didn't deserve to die. You do." He fires again and the Outrider flinches, beginning to whimper in fear as Colt remains eerily calm, firing two more empty rounds. "Still not talkin'? Guess I should be a little more to the point," he says coldly as he puts the gun right between his eyes. "Now perhaps you'll speak just to save your sorry ass, but it's almost too late now," Colt says his voice becoming more agitated.
"I don't know anything!" the Outrider pleads, "I'll get the damned box for you, just don't shoot me."
"I almost believe you, but why should I let you live when your kind killed my parents in cold blood?" he says coldly, firing another round.
"I don't know what you are talking about," the Outrider says, fear evident in his voice, the gun clicking once more.
"Colt, come on, we need him alive. This is madness," Fireball pleads, daring to reach in and touch Colt on the shoulder.
Colt ignores him, continuing his speech to the captive, "You didn't give them a chance to leave, you just killed them. Now you'll know what they felt the moment of their deaths." Colt shoves the gun into the Outrider's mouth, him squirming, to try and get away from the gun. "I hope you die," Colt says as his finger reaches for the trigger.
"Colt, no!" Fireball screams, pulling the gun up just as it fires, so that it fires into the trees above them. Fireball stares at Colt wide-eyed.
Saber is sitting in his unit dozing when he hears the gunshot and snaps awake, "Fireball, Colt?!" he calls over the com-link. "Status report."
"We're fine," Fireball replies as he grabs the gun from Colt's hand.
Colt stands up, breathing heavily to regain control of his emotions. "Damn him," Colt mutters as Fireball stands there silently in shock, trying to assess his friend.
Suddenly, they hear an odd noise and turn to see if they can identify it. Looking out across the swamp, they spot a shadowed figure on some sort of raft.
"Outrider?" Colt whispers.
"Possibly," Fireball whispers back as they watch a minute longer. "Look, a torch," he adds as they spot a humanoid figure that is slowing near the wreckage.
"I'll try and loop around," Colt says as he takes his blaster and heads off to sneak up on the approaching subject.
Fireball nods and slowly makes his way towards the shore, closer to the form on the water. The form stops when it reaches the wreckage and Fireball stands up, his blaster aimed at the figure, "Identify yourself!" he says forcefully as he makes his way closer. He is nearly upon the figure when he hit's a soft spot and goes down.
The figure takes the change to lunge for him, swinging his makeshift oar to try and subdue him. Fireball manages to roll out of the way of the onslaught. The figure is just about to try again when a shot is fired knocking the oar from his hand and Colt comes up, his blaster aimed.
"Keep your hands where I can see them," he says as he comes up from behind and then around front as Fireball manages to stand up. "You're just some old grandpa," Colt says with a hint of disappointment.
"Why are you out here in the middle of the night?" Fireball asks.
"I head some noise out here, so I came to investigate," the man replies.
"Aren't you a bit old to be out this late alone old man?" Colt asks suspiciously.
"I can hold my own." the man replies with a chuckle. "Not too many people round these parts."
A sound is heard and Fireball turns around, "Look out!" he manages to say before some missiles hit dangerously close to them. Grabbing the old man, he throws him and himself to the ground, as Colt lands beside them. Turning, he sees a number of fighters swarming above them. "Outriders!" he calls. "The ship!" he says as the fighters purposely destroy the wreckage before turning and firing on the place they left the captive bound. Hearing a scream then an explosion, they run towards the clearing just as the Outriders fly away, their mission completed. The pair arrive to see just charred remains and a puddle where the Outrider once was. "There goes our shot at information," Fireball says quietly as the old man comes up behind them, surveying the scene.
"Looks like they decided he was a risk to them," Colt mutters.
The next morning, they are back at the oxygen base talking with the commanding officer.
"So apparently we are no further ahead than where we started," the commander says quietly.
"We are making progress," Saber replies. "But it is slow going. We think we can pinpoint the next probable target."
"I want to be there before them this time," Colt says punching one hand into the other. "If we beat them to it, we can stop those sons of bitches."
"Then they will know this is a waste of their efforts," Fireball says in agreement.
The phone buzzes and the commander turns to answer, hitting a button on the console, "What is it?" he asks.
"There's an old man at the gate asking for the Star Sheriffs," A voice replies.
"An old man?" Fireball asks, receiving a nod in reply.
"Maybe the man from last night?" April offers.
Fireball shrugs in reply and they turn to go see about their visitor.
"I told you, all I want to do is see the nice young men from last night," the old man is saying to a gate guard.
"So it is you," Fireball calls as they approach the gate. "What are you doing here?" he asks.
"I went back out this morning near the wreckage site and came across this," the man says pulling out a small metal rectangular object from under his coat.
Fireball takes it. "The communications box?" he mutters hesitantly.
"I don't know it it's important or not, but thought you boys might want it," the man replies. "It sounds like the thing-a-ma-jig you were talking about last night."
Fireball looks it over and hands it to Saber. "What do you think?"
"Wasn't much else left after them Outriders shot up the place," the old man adds.
"Where did you say you found this?" Saber asks with obvious doubt.
"Could it really be it, Saber?" April asks.
"In the swamp near the wreckage site you boys were guarding. Those Outriders blew the ship to smithereens, but I spotted it in the water," the man replies.
"It certainly looks like something they use," Fireball states.
"Looks like their weird writings on it," Colt adds, looking at the box over Saber's shoulder.
"Well, I've done what I came for. I'm heading back to the swamps," the old man says before heading back out from the base.
A bit into the woods, the man comes up to some Outriders, guns ready, "I did just as you instructed," the man says. "The package was delivered."
"Very good," one of the Outriders replies before the two head off into the woods.
"Now they will see why we are superior to them," the man mumbles.
April inserts the cartridge into her terminal as Saber leans over watching. "Do you think our system can read it?" Saber asks.
"Depends," is her reply as her screen comes to life and she hit's a series of buttons. "Looks like it's encrypted," she states.
"Send it to my terminal and I'll run an encryption, we can sync up our systems so that we can both work on it," Saber says as he heads over to his saddle unit.
"All right," April replies and he starts seeing various diagrams and characters scroll across his screen.
"Syncing now," April calls.
"Okay," Saber replies, while watching his screen. "I'll see what I can do."
"April and Saber have been at it a while," Colt says in the break room as he peels an apple.
Fireball turns to face him after flipping his eggs. "You don't understand, with those two I doubt it'll take long," Fireball replies.
"I know April is brilliant. She came up with all of this, but why is Saber in there?" Colt asks.
"He and April are the best two brains in the alliance. Saber speaks and reads many languages, and his computer knowledge I hear could rival April's," Fireball replies. "I wish I had half as good a brain as either of them, but my memory is faultless," he says as smoke starts billowing up from behind him.
"Hey, you might wanna check your eggs," Colt says with a chuckle.
"Huh?" Fireball says as he spins quickly to see his eggs burning up. "Aw man!" Fireball grumbles as he turns off the stove and moves the pan.
Saber is sitting at his terminal a while later, watching various images flash across the screen when he turns towards April, "April, I think I may have something," he calls.
She turns to face him and smiles, "Great! Send me what you got," she replies.
"Okay!" he replies and hits a series of buttons, before continuing his scans.
Several more hours go by and Fireball is sitting in his saddle unit taking turns watching Saber and April, both absorbed in their work.
"April, I think I have some coordinates," Saber says, breaking the silence.
"Coordinates?" Fireball asks.
"Aye," he replies. "The numbers are: Ten, fourteen, thirty-eight."
"Ten, fourteen, thirty-eight?" Fireball asks. "What is that?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's near another oxygen station, it could be some sort of base or something, I suppose," Saber replies.
"April, see if you can contact that nearby station and see if they have reports of nearby activity," Fireball says.
"I'll see if I can get a reply," she says as she takes out her head set and initiates a call.
"Here," Colt says holding a cup of coffee in front of Saber. "You need to at least drink something."
"Ah, thank you," he says obviously fatigued, as he takes the cup gratefully and drinks from it. "At least I feel we are making progress."
"It appears that the station has had recent reports of power surges nearby. They say that they haven't see anything else unusual," April says, turning towards the three men.
"Power surges?" Fireball asks. He turns to Saber, "What are the coordinates to the nearest oxygen station in regards to the position of the coordinates from the box?"
"Just a moment…" Saber says as he begins rummaging through data and mumbling several sets of numbers.
"Wait a minute, so the station and these other coordinates are close?" Colt asks to no one in particular. "But separated by a small desert. Sounds like the perfect place to test missiles or something to me."
"Let's go and check it out," Saber says. "Night fall is coming, so we'd have some cover."
"Right," Fireball says as he revs up the engines and take off.
A while later, they arrive near the coordinates.
"Approaching target," Fireball states.
"It's the Outriders, be ready for anything," Colt mutters, watching his screens. "I'm telling' ya, it's a trap."
"Aye, but we should look around," Saber says. "Let's set down in that clearing."
"Okay," Fireball replies, and starts the process of setting down.
No sooner have they set down that a large field envelops the ship, causing them all to scream in pain.
"Saber, it's some sort of pulsar cannon," Fireball calls out.
"I told you this was a set up," Colt adds in obvious pain.
"The pulses are frying our systems, Fireball try and throw the thrusters," Saber says urgently.
Fireball goes to comply when several buttons pop on his console. "Shit! The thrusters are shot!"
"Shinji, the Outriders are sending a message," April calls out.
"Outriders?" he replies. "Put it on."
She hits a couple of buttons and an Outrider commander appears on the screen looking very pleased. "I see you have come in contact with our Pulsar Cannon. It was made just for you," he says with a smile.
"Damn you," Colt swears while trying to work past the pain. "What do you mean it was made for us?"
"Why, you are our biggest threat. Once we knew what you were after, we gave it to you with some information to lead you here, now that you are otherwise occupied, we can destroy the rest of the oxygen stations; rendering this planet uninhabitable for humans, but not to us.
"What?!" Fireball asks in disbelief.
"We knew you had people capable of figuring out our technology."
"So this was all some elaborate set up," Fireball muses.
"And they used Saber and April to do it," Colt adds.
"You should be honored. There are not many humans that can figure out our superior technology. Farewell, Bismarck," he says before ending the connection and resuming the attack, including releasing a renegade unit.
"Shit!" Colt mutters.
"Battle formation!" Fireball calls out before hitting the manual override to activate the challenge phase. The phase manages to complete and they fire a shot before the renegade, knocking it down momentarily.
"Turn the pulsar to full power!" the Outrider commander orders. A soldier complies and the Bismarck is hit with more power, causing the crew more pain.
They all scream in protest and are hit by an attack from the renegade.
"Shit!" Fireball says as they absorb the hit and attempt to fire back. They ship heats up and they start losing power.
"I can't keep the grip on the blaster," Colt says through gritted teeth.
The renegade steps in and kicks the Bismarck, knocking it backwards, then kicks the blaster away from them.
"Fireball, I can't control the arms!" Colt says as the renegade approaches.
Saber sees it approaching and calls out, "Shinji, use the manual override to grab the renegade!"
He nods in reply and manages to grab the enemy unit and force it into the power surge with them, causing it to also start to heat up and fry it's circuits.
"Sir! The Bismarck robot has pulled our renegade into the firing range!" an Outrider solder reports. "Should I turn off the cannon?"
"Of course not!" the commander replies. "Let the Bismarck destroy it." He turns to watch the battle, neither one seeming to have the upper hand.
They are both evenly matched inside the field of the cannon when the renegade breaks free of the Bismarck's grip and fires in their direction. They turn and evade the shot and it hits one of the nearby boulders, destroying it. Realizing the boulders are the source of the power, the renegade fires at the remaining ones, effectively destroying the cannon and freeing both itself and the Bismarck.
"Shit!" the commander says as the Bismarck gets free and grabs its blaster.
The renegade charges at the Bismarck and Colt fires the blaster, knocking one arm off and immobilizing one leg. It manages to get up and prepares to attempt to charge the Bismarck robot.
"Chest cannons, fire!" Fireball calls and the Bismarck hits it with all of its chest cannons obliterating it in a huge explosion.
"Missiles!" April calls just as some missiles nearly hit them.
Turning, Colt Fires the blaster at the attacking fighter, missing it as it revs into hyper drive.
"Do you think they will quit fighting now?" April asks as they stand outside the ship watching as the enemy fighter disappears, leaving a trail of light in its wake.
"No, I don't. I think that as long as we both exist, they will continue trying to take over our worlds," Fireball replies.
"And we will always stop them," Colt adds firmly as the four watch the light fade into the night sky.
