Chapter 1 - A Cold Start
September 2203 - Above the Northern hemisphere of Mars
In the skies above the Northern Pole of the fourth planet of the Solar System, a massive desperate battle was being fought. The allied fleet of Garmillas and Earth were in a desperate stand against the relentless onslaught of Gatlantis and its endless armada of ships which could determine the fate of Earth itself. Already the Garmillan special fleet known as the Crimson Camaraderie Strike force, alternatively known as the Berger Strike Team, had destroyed a leading Gatlantean vanguard which included three Medalusa-class flame strike gun battleships. But the arrival of Admiral Balsey's flagship, the supercarrier Apocalix, along with hundreds of Calaklum-class battleships and waves of Deathvatator fighter bombers launched from the supercarrier's flight decks had easily replaced the destroyed vessels as if they never existed. Though several Dreadnoughts and Garmillan cruisers were destroyed in a matter of minutes, the allied fleet refuses to buckle under such enormous pressure from the Gatlantean armada.
Aboard the Dreadnought-class battleship, the UNCF Dover, Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Lee, a twenty-two-year old young man from Southeast Asia with dark brown hair and wearing spectacles, was trying to maintain order within the battered bridge of his ship. Already the captain of the ship and XO had fallen in battle, leaving him, the tactical chief, in command of the battered vessel. Despite taken several hits from the Gatlantean battleships, Dover was still combat effective enough to stay in the battlefield.
"The Garmillas Interdictor Walls have been delivered!" reported the communications officer. "Ambassador Varel's flagship and the rest of the Crimson Camaraderie Strike forces are withdrawing!"
"Oh, come on!" protested the engineering officer. "They barely took any significant damage and they're retreating already?"
"I don't think so," said Jonathan. "Their battlecarriers aren't damaged enough to warrant their withdrawal at this stage of the battle."
"Sir!" said the communication officer. "Captain Tani on the Aldebaran has ordered us and other ships of the 29th Dreadnought division to escort the Crimson Camaraderie Strike Groups as they try to outflank the enemy!"
"Very well, changing course to match the allied Garmillas fleet," replied Jonathan as he began steering the vessel away from the main combat zone. "In the meantime, continue firing on any enemy ships that comes into our gun range! We have to keep them occupied till the 2nd Black Berserk Battalion and the Andromeda to start their attack run on the Gatlantean superfortress from above!"
With the orders received, the seven battleships of the 29th Dreadnought Division, including the Dover, turned around and headed towards the red and black Garmillas Apollo Norm-type battlecarriers and the lone Zoelgutt-class super-dreadnought. The Dreadnoughts pulled alongside the starboard flank of the Garmillas capital ships and formed a moderate line of defence for the latter.
As the vessels seek out a different angle of attack against the White Comet, twelve Calaklum-class battleships had moved in to attack the allied fleet by crossing its T, with their heavy impulse cannons blazing away. In retaliation, the Dreadnoughts and the Garmillas capital ships fired broadsides of shock and heavy positron cannons at the approaching vessels creating a deadly crossfire between the two fleets. In two minutes the combined gunfire of the Earth and Garmillan ships succeeded in destroying three Calaklums and badly damaging an additional four. The Gatlantean ships also managed to draw blood on the allied fleet. Two Dreadnought-class battleships that had taken damage earlier in the battle, succumbed to their wounds and disintegrated into fiery wrecks. Dover herself took a few hits but despite the damage, she still manages to hold her position and keep firing her shock cannons at the aggressors.
"How long till the Andromeda and that autonomous fleet start their attack run?" asked Jonathan who was becoming exhausted by the slugfest between the enemy and friendly fleet.
"In eight seconds, sir!" replied the lieutenant who now manned the tactical console of the Dover.
Jonathan at the main viewscreen and gazed upwards behind the Gatlantean ships in the background, hoping to get a glimpse of the Black Berserk Battalion's second attack on the Gatlantis. Sure enough, multiple flashes of blue and white can be seen glowing at the upper artificial cloudy atmosphere of the White Comet, the tell-tale signs of dozens of wave motion guns firing in unison. Moments later the entire upper section of the White Comet erupted with vicious flares and glows of pink and white light, signalling that the Black Berserk Battalion had hit its target.
"Did they get them?" asked Jonathan, hopeful that this last desperate strike would finally destroy Gatlantis for good. "Did the Black Berserk Battalion get them?"
The comms officer listened closely for any transmissions from Captain Yamanami, who commanded the autonomous fleet via the Andromeda, for any indication on the attack's results. Seconds later, his eyes went wide with horror and his face completely pale as he heard the depressed voice of Yamanami who relayed the grim answer. Turning to face his acting captain, all the comms officer could do to report the news was a simple but solemn shake of the head. Jonathan gasped in horror before tilting his head down in defeat, eyes and fists clenched in anger and frustration.
So, another attempt to destroy Gatlantis has failed. What's the point of sending out more and more ships manufactured from the Time Vault Factory? Despite all our efforts, all our countermeasures and plans, everything we thrown at them, the lives and ships we sacrificed, they were all for nothing! The fate of Earth and humankind is sealed. Jonathan thought bitterly. If only Yamato didn't fell at the end of the Battle of Saturn, she and her legendary crew would have found a way to stand up against the evil and malice of the White Comet. But even so, do they even had a chance?
Before Jonathan could ponder more on these thoughts, a sudden chill went up his spine as a sudden feeling of Déjà vu entered his mind.
Wait a second, haven't I thought and been through this before? This sense of impending doom feels all too familiar.
As if to confirm his foreboding intuition, his acting tactical officer cried out in alarm.
"Vampire! Vampire! Incoming anti-matter missiles from the starboard bow and closing fast!"
Looking at the bridge's main panel viewscreen, Jonathan could clearly see a swarm of large Demolisher anti-matter missiles, fired from a battalion of Gostok-class missile battleships that had hidden behind the Gatlantean battleships, streaking directly towards the allied fleet.
"Intercept enemy missiles with shock cannons and pulse lasers!" cried Jonathan. "Don't let even one get through to the Garmillan capital ships!"
The five remaining Dreadnoughts switched their main guns into rapid-fire mode and shifted their focus to the missiles that were streaking towards them at high speed. Despite the fierce barrages the Earth battleships unleashed, six missiles still broke through and continue to race towards their targets unchallenged. The AA guns mounted on the superstructure and concealed weapon hatches on the Dreadnoughts tried to put up a final defence against the six missiles by spraying a thick flak of crimson pulse lasers, but their efforts were futile as they lack the energy output to damage such enormous warheads in a quick span of time. Jonathan gripped tightly on the armrest of his chair and issued a single command to the rest of the crew just two seconds before the missiles could strike the Dover.
"All hands brace for impact!"
The gigantic missiles slammed into the Cosmo Navy battleships and detonated with grim results: Two Dreadnoughts whose shields were virtually gone were vaporised from the immense blue energy that burst forth from the warheads; Two others were shredded into fiery wrecks as their wave motion shields failed to withstand the blasts; Finally, the Dover, which was the furthest from the detonating missiles, had several holes torn into her hull from the pressure of the shockwaves along with flying debris from her fallen sisters which violently scratched of layers of armour off her hull. Despite the trails of smoke and fire pouring from her gaping wounds, the sole surviving Dreadnought was miraculously in one piece.
Inside the bridge, the control room was a complete wreck from being violently shaken by the shockwaves of the missile detonations. Large chunks of debris and shattered pipes had fallen all around the room with broken wires dangling along the ceiling which rained down electrical sparks on the floor. Flames erupted from a few consoles that had exploded from their overloaded circuits and began dispersing smoke throughout the shambled control room. Gasping for breath, Jonathan struggled to regain consciousness after having his forehead bashed on the hard metal navigation console during the devastating hit on his ship. A little warm and wet trickle he felt on his forehead confirmed that he was bleeding from the impact on his head.
"Damage report," rasped Jonathan as he continued to cough from the toxic fumes that were filling the ship from the raging fires. "Damage report!"
Hearing no response, Jonathan looked around the bridge to seeing if anyone was still alive or at least able to respond to his order. To his horror, Jonathan saw that everyone aside from him were either lying motionless on their consoles with parts of their bodies dripped in blood. Stepping up from his navigation chair, he hurried to the bodies of his fellow crew members and checked each of their pulses for any signs of life. To his dismay, he found none.
My first acting command of WMG battleship, and everyone on the bridge is dead. Jonathan thought regretfully. Damn those inhuman Gatlanteans!
Barely keeping himself from being overwhelmed by the loss of his comrades, Jonathan hurried to the engineering console displays while covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief to protect his lungs from the toxic smokes. Looking carefully at the damaged and flickering displays, Jonathan discovered that the damage to the Dover was severely extensive. Several decks had been breached, all weapons systems were knocked out, radar was also gone, and the wave motion core's power output was down to 30%. Miraculously the engines on the badly crippled Dreadnought were still functioning and only three-fifths of all the RCS thrusters were operational.
If I can get the engines up to power, I may be able to steer the Dover to safety and possibly save the ship! Jonathan hopefully thought. I wonder if anyone else aside from me is alive on this ship? Hopefully there might be others elsewhere inside the Dover that has survived the attack.
Suddenly, the acting captain began to cough violently as the fumes began to overrun the bridge. He frantically tried to activate the bridge's ventilation system but to no avail as the display screen reported only errors. Jonathan soon realized that if he didn't leave the bridge soon, he will eventually succumb to the overwhelming smoke. Rushing quickly to the navigation console, he quickly plotted an automatic course for the Dover's main computer to follow till he could regain manual control of the ship once he got to CIC, which was located a deck below him. Provided if the secondary bridge wasn't damaged or the ship doesn't get finished off by a Gatlantean battleship before he got there.
With the coordinates set on the main navigation computer, Jonathan started to make his way out of the smoked filled bridge and on his way to CIC. Before Jonathan could exit through the doorway, he heard an eerie voice from behind him.
"Jonathan… Don't leave us…"
Jonathan paused. Was there still one of the bridge staff that was still alive? He turned around slowly and to his utter confusion and horror, he saw the comms officer slightly leaning upward from his console with his face completely devoid of life as if he was a zombie, and his trembling hand stretched out towards the acting captain.
"You should have done more you coward," the undead voice rasped. "Don't deserve to survive this!"
Jonathan gulped. This couldn't be real! he thought. If I recall this isn't how it-
Pausing at his thoughts, Jonathan realized that this reality he was witnessing right now wasn't real.
It's that damn dream again! Jonathan thought.
Before he could find a way break out of it. A sudden shadow loomed though the bridge windows of the Dover. Glancing outside, Jonathan saw a single massive Calakmul-class battleship sailing straight towards him with the intention of ramming his ship. Jonathan tried to sprint to the navigation console to steer the Dover away from the monstrous dreadnought but found himself unable to move.
What's wrong with me? Jonathan thought to himself as he tried again and again to make some effort to move his limbs, but it was in vain. It was as if he was gripped by an invisible force that preventing him from running.
As he struggled to free himself, Jonathan watched as the Calaklum-class battleship's bow opened like a crocodile, revealing a sharp and jagged jaw with rows of metal teeth stained with black oil and blood.
Impossible! Jonathan thought as his eyes grew wide at the horrifying sight that filled the bridge windows. He had to escape before the monster ship crushed the Dover between its crooked and sharp jaws.
Suddenly Jonathan fell to the floor of the bridge; his legs and arms were freed from whatever force had held him tightly. Knowing there was no time to rush to the navigator console to steer the ship away from the mechanical monster that the Calaklum had morphed into, he turned around and tried rushing out of the bridge to get into an escape pod to evacuate. But before Jonathan could reach the exit, the doors slammed shut and trapping him inside.
"HELP! Let me out of here!" he cried frantically as he pounded the door. "Somebody please! Help me!"
But try as he might, the door wouldn't budged. Jonathan slumped down in defeat and found himself looking inside the upper jaw of Calaklum which meant that the Dover was right between its jaws. He could only scream helplessly as the jaws finally closed and crushed the Dreadnought in one quick bite.
17th October 2204 - Outer Rim of the Large Magellanic Cloud
Jonathan woke up in cold sweat from his bed just as his digital clock's alarm was buzzing. He panted in shock at that awful dream he experienced.
"Damn, now that is one awful nightmare," he chuckled bitterly as he wiped the sweat of his forehead.
As he stretched his arms and yawned, a ship-wide PA broadcast was announced via the speaker in his room. "Attention please! Commander Lee please report to the main bridge immediately!"
Jonathan looked to his left where the digital clock was mounted on the wall. Much to his embarrassment and alarm, he was thirty minutes late to report at the bridge.
Oh crap! Jonathan thought as he quickly changed from his pyjamas to his Cosmo Navy uniform. Quickly exiting out of his room, Jonathan ran as fast as he could and a few minutes later arrived gasping for breath at the doorway of the bridge much to the amusement and disapproval of his fellow crewmembers.
"Commander Lee, reporting in!" Jonathan gasped as his body rested from the rapid sprint.
"Commander Lee, how do you explain for your tardiness?" Captain Alexander Erickson inquired. "You're usually are quite punctual. What happened this time?"
"Sorry sir, I had trouble sleeping last night." Jonathan sheepishly replied. "As a result, I accidently overslept. Won't happen again sir."
Captain Erickson sternly looked at his deputy captain for a moment before smiling back at him. "That's ok commander, happens to everyone. You may take your post."
"Yes sir," Jonathan saluted back to his captain.
Just as he was turning to walk down to his designated console, he glanced upon a blueprint schematic display of the new ship he was currently serving on that was mounted on the wall: An Andromeda-class battleship, the 12th manned member of its class: the UNCF Audacious.
Jonathan smiled to himself as he walked over to take his seat at the helm and navigation console located in the central forward area of the bridge. It was a dream come true to serve on one of the Cosmo Navy's most powerful class of space battleships. Her bigger and flashier aesthetic presence made Audacious so much more appealing the D-class which suited his taste of ship designs. Although it admittingly had very similar interior features that the Dreadnought-class had, he felt more confident and secure in an Andromeda-class ship than he did in the former due to its superior firepower and durability. It also helped that unlike his time on the Dover, the Audacious was commissioned in peace time, as the War with Gatlantis was over a year ago. A refreshing start after the hellish experience Jonathan had been through.
"All Fubuki-class frigates reported ready for one more warp jump to Garmillas Starbase 239," reported Johanna Gibson, a young comms officer who was of Korean descent and had long black hair and recently graduated from the Cosmo Navy Academy.
"Very good Ensign Gibson," said Captain Erickson. "Commander Lee, I trust that you already plotted the coordinates for the warp jump."
"Yes Captain," replied Jonathan as he keyed in on his touchscreen for the exit point of the warp jump. "Coordinates plotted and set."
"Attention all hands, the ship will now enter warp navigation in one minute." The ship's intercom speakers rang out throughout the ship. "All crew members prepare for warp. Repeat, the ship will enter warp navigation in one minute. All crew members prepare to warp."
"Wave motion engine pressure rising," reported Chief Engineer Yuzuru Fujimoto. "Engine pressure has reached critical point."
"Warping in five, four, three, two, one. WARP!" Jonathan pushed the lever upward on the helmsman console and immediately the Audacious, along with several other Fubuki-class escort frigates, accelerated to light speed leaving multiple golden ripples in their wake.
Garmillan Starbase 239
"Warp jump successful. No reported issues or incidents." Stated Jonathan after arriving at their destination. "All vessels within the battle group are present."
"Very good," said Captain Erickson. "Ensign Gibson hail the Garmillan starbase and transmit the clearance codes to permit us for docking."
"Aye sir," replied Johanna as she began contacting the Garmillan space station.
As Jonathan looked out of the bridge window, he started to take a closer inspection of the design of the gigantic Garmillan Starbase. The overall shape of the space station resembled a six-sided and triangular snowflake with its branching arms hosting several space docks for repairing or hosting ships. The centre core of the star base featured five transparent pyramid shaped domes that had Garmillan buildings inside them, with the arrangement having the biggest one in the middle and the other four smaller ones placed on each side of the former. Judging from the massive size of the space station, it was easy to tell that this was an important astro naval base for Garmillas, especially since few of their docks were big enough to hold large vessels such as the sole Zoellugut-class super-dreadnought that was berthed inside one of them.
"Damn, that is one big ship," remarked Johanna as she was in awe at the size of the super-dreadnought.
"Meh, its big alright but it doesn't have the firepower to match our own Cosmo battleships," scoffed Josiah Anton, the 18-year old tactical officer who also recently graduated from the Cosmo Navy Academy. "The only thing its good at is being a gigantic slow lumbering punching bag."
"Lieutenant Anton," Jonathan eyed the junior officer sharply. "Have some respect for your allied ships. Zoelgutt-class dreadnoughts may be slow and cumbersome to handle, but they're still valuable assets within the Garmillas fleet."
"Whatever," replied the junior officer cynically.
"UNCF Task Force 23 flagship Audacious, clearance codes are verified," came the voice of the Garmillan dock master from the comms. "You may proceed to docking bay 6B."
"Take us in Mr. Lee," ordered Captain Erickson.
"Yes sir," replied Jonathan as he steered the vessel slowly and carefully into one of the space docks. Once inside, the docking clamps attached themselves to sections of the space battleship's hull and locked the vessel firmly in place. The rest of the ships of UNCF Task Force 23 quickly followed suit, concluding a month-long voyage from the Milly Way to the Large Magellanic Cloud which was just the start of a long deployment in deep space.
Minutes later, Jonathan and Captain Erickson entered inside the Garmillan starbase's auditorium hall, where a welcoming reception for the senior members of all the ships taking part of the interstellar exercise was being held. There were at least three dozen officers from both Garmillas and Earth that were present, all of which were in their dress uniforms for the occasion. One Garmillan officer took noticed of the newly arrivals and approached to greet the duo.
"Welcome to Garmillan Starbase 239 Captain Erickson!" said the Garmillan captain.
"Von Henrik?" replied a surprised but pleased Erickson as he shook the Garmillan officer's hand. "Great to see you again! Still in command of the Lunderberg?"
"That I am," confirmed Von Henrik with a proud smile on his face. "Glad to see you survived the Gatlantean invasion on your home world. When I heard the news of how the UNCF fleet was nearly destroyed and defeated, I feared you were among the dead."
"No kidding," Erickson's face grew dark as he remembered those grim times. "Those green-skinned barbarians really threw everything they had at us. Their fleets were five times the sizes of those that we fought against last year during the Battle of Gliese 581."
"Damn," muttered Von Henrik.
Noticing the young deputy captain who kept himself quite throughout the exchange, Von Henrik decides to inquire of him.
"Who's that deputy captain?"
"Oh him?" said Erickson. "He is my deputy captain on my new ship, the Audacious. He was formerly the tactical chief of the Dover during the Gatlantean Invasion of the Terron Solar System."
Jonathan politely saluted and Von Henrik returns the favour with the typical Garmillan hand salute.
"Pleased to meet you sir. Commander Jonathan Lee at your service."
"Colonel Von Henrik of the Haizerad-class battleship Lunderberg." Greeted the Garmillan commander.
"Haizerad-class?" Jonathan's formal expression dissolves into one of excitement upon recognition of the vessel's identification. "That's a sweet ship you got! We humans very rarely get to see those sleek Gamillan battleships in the Milky Way! Those barrel-turrets looked better than those of the older Gaiderol-class."
Von Henrik laughed at Jonathan's enthusiastic reaction. "Well you certainly do know your ships."
"Commander Lee here is an enthusiast of space warships," explained Erickson. "It mostly stems from his old fascination of our planet's naval history."
"I see."
"Pardon me sir, do you have any Meltoria-class battlecruisers participating in the exercise?" asked Jonathan curiously. "Particular one that goes by the name Reinicke's Fury? EX-196?"
"Oh, you mean Captain Elrick's ship?" answered Von Henrik. "Yeah it is present and actually assigned to my task force. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering," said Jonathan. "There is a friend of mine who I met that was assigned to that ship during the last war. Was hoping to get reacquainted with her if she's still aboard."
"She?" the Garmillan captain smirked at Jonathan as the latter's face went red with annoyance and slight embarrassment.
"It's not what you think it is!" protested Jonathan. "It's a just a normal friendship ok? Nothing of the romantic sort!"
Both captains chuckled at Jonathan's outburst.
"Relax Commander, he's just messing with you." Said an amused Erickson.
Despite his captain's assurance, Jonathan was still irked.
Just then, the auditorium's bell rang out, signally for everyone to take their seats. Jonathan and Captain Erickson found their respectful places and sat down. A few minutes later after everyone had settled down, a high ranking burly-looking Garmillan officer took the stage and began his speech.
"Greetings to my fellow Garmillans and our friends Terrons, my name is General Orto Dolmen, I would like to welcome you all to Garmillan Starbase 239 and to the very first Earth Garmillas Interstellar Bilateral Exercise."
In response, the crowd of officers and enlisted men applauded in respect at Dolmen's greeting.
"As you all know a year ago," continued Dolmen. "Our greatest adversary, the Gatlantis Empire, was finally defeated after a four-year long struggle. Despite the millions of lives and thousands of ships lost though this costly victory, it was through our alliance between both Garmillas and Earth that we were able to prevail. Though peace has just settled in, we all cannot afford to completely let our guard down and demobilize our forces completely as there are still other unknown threats that could endanger our respected civilizations. Thus, continued cooperation between our forces is necessary to guarantee security and stability in the galaxy and beyond.
Throughout the interstellar exercise, ships from both Garmillas and Earth will be mixed and split into three battle groups: The Earth Cosmo Navy battleship, the Dauntless and her assigned escorts, will team up with Garmillas Astro Carrier Group 23 into the task force EGU-3 under Commodore Jack Davenport's command. Task force EGU-2 will be under the joint command of Colonel Franz Von Henrik of Garmillas, and Captain Alexander Erickson of Earth's Cosmo Navy with their respected ships under their command as duo flagships of the joint-group. Task force EGU-1 will be led by yours truly aboard the super-dreadnought Württemberg with its escorts paired up with Cosmo Navy Cruiser Strike Group 146. In addition to our assigned mission objectives that each of our task forces are tasked to complete, we'll also conduct battle drills against a several Garmillas fleets that will act as enemy ships during the Interstellar Bilateral Exercise. Including Colonel Berger's task force."
Excited mummers could be heard throughout the auditorium as everyone knew the reputation of one of the late legendary Garmillas General Domel's protegees.
So, we're going up against one of the Crimson Camaraderie Battle Groups eh? Jonathan grinned with anticipation. This is going to be interesting.
General Dolmen cleared his throat which seemed to silence the enthusiastic whispers among the seated officers.
"At the conclusion of the Interstellar Exercise, our ships will later rendezvous at Selazar System between Iscandar and Garmillas where a fleet review will be held by top brass members of both the Garmillas military and representatives from the Earth Federation. We'll also get an inspection by members of the Iscandar Royal Family as well. So be sure to make your ships spotless and clean by end of the war games to be fit for her highness. Any questions?"
With nobody responding after several seconds, Dolmen decided to conclude his briefing. "If there isn't any, I wish you all Godspeed! The fleet will depart the base an hour and a half's time. Be safe and fight hard. Dismiss!"
Dolmen salutes and the rest of the officers stand up to return the favor.
A Note from the Author
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of my first fan-fic!
It took quite a while to finally post the first chapter as I am still writing and proof-reading the other current unreleased seven chapters I had made so far considering that my grammar and my vocabulary is weak.
I was inspired by a role-playing thread on Sufficient Velocity, where an alternate story of Yamato 2202 featured UNCF and Garmillan commanders working together for the first time against various rebels factions of Garmillas and Gatlanteans. I was so impressed that I wondered, 'Why on earth there hasn't been many fanficiton stories of Yamato 2199/2202 here?' Especially considering it's one of the better sci-fi remakes of all time that even blows the Kelvin Timeline Trek films out of the water. So I decided to take a shot at making one myself, especially after being somewhat disappointed of the middle act of 2202.
After brainstorming some ideas, I decided to work on the concept of a post-2202 story as the ending of 2202 had some loose ends to resolve and tons of potential paths to where the remake Yamato universe could go off next. I finally settled on the idea of a spinoff, with the main ship being of course an Andromeda-class ship, and the main cast of characters being middle-class ranking misfits from both Earth and Garmillas respectfully, rather than the usual elite officers and men on Yamato and other higher ranking ships that we usually see in 2202 and to a certain extent 2199. This was because I wanted to explore the world of remake Yamato from a more grounded and realistic perspective to restore the character-driven and world building story-telling elements that made 2199's story just more enjoyable to watch than 2202's extremely dense thematic storytelling.
Hopefully, I would do it justice in making a worthy fanfiction story of this beloved franchise as I continue to upload more chapters in the future, as it is really very stressful for me to try to meet expectations of the fans of the series who would read it. Also, you might come across some certain minor and secondary characters from previous entries in the franchise along the way. Kudos to anyone who recognize the one in this chapter!