SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER

A fanfic recapitulation of Series One “The Quest for Iscandar” by

Frederick P. Kopetz

EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR: Aihara’s Tears…(Part Two)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This chapter includes an edited version of the short story previously published on FanFiction.Net under the title “Birds…Not of a Feather.” I attached this story to the end of this chapter since it ties in with this chapter, taking place one day after it. It had to be divided into two parts for length for the website for all of the artwork to show up -- Freddo

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THE NEXT MISSION

THE NEXT DAY: 23 January 2200

“Ensign Sparks,” said the young blond woman politely but firmly. “Please let me make something clear to you. I wouldn’t want to date you even if you and I were the last two remaining members of the human race. And I really don’t like the way this debate is going, either.”

At the moment, Senior Lieutenant Yuki Mori, the Operations Group Leader and Nurse-Practitioner of the Yamato, was staring daggers at a short little man who had been her antagonist almost since she and he had piped aboard the space battleship, namely, Ensign Sam Sparks, the third-in-command of the Engineering Group.

“Okay, Yuki. Let’s suppose the mission to Iscandar fails and we have to colonize another planet…?”

“That’s NOT going to happen,” Yuki snapped as she worked on her recycled Beef Stroganoff in the Yamato’s messhall. The menu said it was beef, but Yuki was pretty sure it was really a soy-based compound masquerading as beef. She remembered the large soybeans they had found on Beemira thirteen days ago, and she knew they were being worked into the daily menu.

“Okay, little Miss Optimist. I know it’s not something you believe in; any more than I believe in some Big Guy in the Sky. There is no God, and you know it,” Sparks said.

“Stop ridin’ her, wouldja?” said Junior Lieutenant Kenjiro Ota, a chubby, freckled navigation officer who assisted Shima. “What the lady believes is her own business, and none o’ yours! Also, she dang well wouldn’t date you because she’s datin’ Kodai! Are ya blind, Sparks?”

“This is a hypothetical, Ota,” said Sparks. “Didn’t Captain Okita say we were supposed to discuss how we felt about stuff, especially after Aihara freaked out yesterday? Course we all know Aihara’s a Section Eight loon.”

“Sparks, that’s a horrible way to talk about a man with legitimate anxiety issues,” Yuki said with a bit more heat in her voice. “You really owe Lieutenant Aihara an apology! You don’t know what he’s been through!” Yuki did know about the death of Aihara’s father, but she was not about to share his issues around the ship due to medical ethics and confidentiality rules.

“Okay, back to what we were discussing…Yuki…” Sparks said while he stared hard at Yuki.

He’s undressing me in his mind, I’ll bet, Yuki thought. She was twenty-one, about to turn twenty-two on February the second, in good shape, and attractive, all factors that the Lieutenant could not help. She stared back at him and thought idly that if she had the psi-powers that Queen Starsha of Iscandar possessed, she might be able to push Sparks up against the wall with a thought to shut him up.

Stupid idea, Yuki thought. I’m not Starsha. I’m me. I’ll just have to fight him like a lady, with my wits.

Yuki was too angry to just get up and walk away. She had tried that before with this strange young man, and he had confronted her the next day and brought up the same garbage again.

Sparks then licked his lips and said to Yuki, “Let’s get back to where we were. Suppose the mission to Iscandar fails. Suppose we crash on some planet and that you and I are the only two survivors. What would you do then?”

“Well, if we crash on Iscandar, I’d much rather pair up with some Iscandarian male than with you,” Yuki huffed as she saw her friend Lt. Yamamoto from the Black Tigers showing up. Yamamoto was a gentleman, even if Yuki sometimes wondered how the heck that he flew a fighter with that mane of hair hanging in one eye.

“Why an Iscandarian?” said Sparks.

“You’ve seen what Queen Starsha looks like. She’s beautiful. I’ll bet their men are just as handsome as she is,” Yuki said, not wanting to get into details about Count Alatar, the Iscandarian renegade she had met on Beemira. ”What is more…we took samples from the body of her sister Sasha, and we know that Iscandarians and humans are genetically compatible. They would be able to reproduce, I’m sure. And, if we end up exiled somewhere, why do you have this idea I’d want to reproduce right away? I’m not a brood mare, Sparks. I’m a person. Hypotheticals aside, I have told Susumu that, and he gets it and we’re engaged. You don’t!”

Yamamoto and Ota applauded at Yuki’s logic.

“Okay, what about me?” said Sparks as he looked hard at Yuki in a way she did not like. If he does that for too long, I swear…Lord forgive me, he might be wearing my iced tea! Yuki thought.

“Let me put it this way, Sparks…hypothetically…just…hypothetically,” Yuki said. “I know you don’t like me, and I have almost nothing in common with you. If I had to choose between you and some Gamilas, I think I’d choose…the Gamilas,” she said slowly and with great emphasis. “I’m sure there are some Gamilas who are far more reverent and decent than you!”

Yuki looked to her left, and smiled. “Oh, speaking of decent…here’s Lieutenant Kodai! Susumu, did you find something good to eat?” she said as her face lit up at the arrival of her shipmate…and fiancee’

”Yeah…I had to dig around, but I found something that won’t make me want to throw up,” said Lieutenant Susumu Kodai, the Yamato’s Combat Chief, Chief of the Black Tigers, and just as close to Yuki as she was with him.

Susumu sat down beside her and looked at Sparks. “Did the Lieutenant invite you to lunch with her, Sparks?”

“No,” Sparks and Yuki said simultaneously.

“Then what are you doing here, Sparks?” Susumu said. “The Lieutenant and I have classified material to discuss regarding the mission that’s way above your pay grade. Go back to your engines, Ensign. And if you desire female companionship, well, Yuki’s not the only woman on this ship. I’m sure you can find someone who’ll listen to your pessimism and atheistic arguments. I don’t like to speak for her, but I know Yuki well enough to know that she’s not interested! Besides, we are a couple now, like Robert and Natalie! Go blow!”

“Well, won’t you at least let me finish my lunch, sir?” sneered Sparks.

“We don’t have much time,” Yuki said. “I really need to discuss this…classified…material with the Combat Chief. We need to prepare for the next briefing!”

“Then, I’ll go…,” said Sparks. “See you later, Yuki,” Sparks said with a wink.

Yuki just glared at Sparks until he left. Then, she turned to Susumu and said, “Thanks, Kodai-kun. You were really an answer to prayer, you know that?” Then, Yuki winked at him and mussed his hair a little.

“Well, we know there’s a God…there has to be…we wouldn’t have made it almost all the way to Balan if there wasn’t,” Susumu said.

“So, what’s the classified dope?” Yuki said with a smile at Susumu.

“Well, there really is something going on,” he said. “The captain’s been interviewing a few officers. Shima told me he was in a meeting with him for an hour today, and Sanada told me he’s supposed to meet with him later, too.”

“Did Daisuke tell you what it was about?”

“No way, Yuki. He said he was sworn to secrecy. Although I have some guesses…we know he’s not getting healthier, Yuki.”

“I know he’s not,” Yuki said. “Of course, Medical Ethics means I have to keep it confidential, but what isn’t confidential is that Captain Okita is a sick man. I worry about him, Susumu.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Susumu said.

“Wonder what’ll happen to th’ mission if he gets real sick?” said Ota. “Maybe even…dies?”

Yuki just shut her eyes when that was mentioned, but everything about the look on her face and body language told Susumu that what Ota had just said was a very good possibility. “We’d have to go on, that’s all,” she said after a moment with a very soft voice. “Someone else would have to take command…”

Lieutenant Shiro Kato, the commander of the Black Tigers flight group, came up a moment later. “Kodai. Yamamoto. Hate to disturb you guys while you’re eating lunch, but we’re approaching a small planet; Aihara picked up what might be a Gamilas SOS or beacon of some type. Thank God he’s all right after yesterday. The captain wants us on patrol, ASAP. Meet us in the hangar bay, Kodai. You too, Yamamoto.”

“Well, there goes our discussion about metaphysics,” said Yamamoto. “Yuki, you’re a smart lady. Don’t let idiots like that Sparks get you down.”

“I’m trying not to,” Yuki said. She looked at Susumu and said, “Duty calls, huh?”

“Yeah…duty calls,” he said with an unhappy voice. Susumu and Yuki exchanged a friendly fist-bump, but no one but Susumu caught her whispering, “Susumu…be careful.”

“I will be,” he whispered back. “But a little prayer from you wouldn’t hurt, would it?”

“No…it wouldn’t,” Yuki said. She smiled a little at Susumu as he left and gave his hand an affectionate pat. She noticed he smiled back and returned the pat.

Then, Jyuzo Okita, the Yamato’s Captain, came into the messhall, coughing a little as he leaned on his walking stick.

“I hate to intrude,” he said in his increasingly gravelly voice. “But I need to talk to one of you. Lieutenant Mori, to my cabin, please.”

“Sir, what did I do?” Yuki said in an innocent voice.

“You’ll find out in my cabin,” he growled. “In the meantime, go to the Bridge or your quarters, and check your e-mail.”

THIRTY MINUTES LATER…

Captain Okita sat looking at a report when he heard a knock on his metal cabin door outside.

“Who is it?” he growled.

“Sir, Lieutenant Mori, reporting as ordered.”

“Come in, Yuki. Knowing my health, you’ve practically been living in here lately,” Okita said with a slight chuckle.

Yuki came in and saluted, fist to chest. Okita returned the salute and said, “Sit down. You’re not in any trouble at all. I need you to do something. I’m sure you know we’re approaching a small star system. It wasn’t on any of our charts. You read your e-mail…I take it?”

“Yessir,” Yuki said. “We’ve named the system NGC 48927-alpha. The star has been named Morpheus, and evidence of a Gamilas signal was found on the fourth planet.”

“The Black Tigers overflew the site,” said Okita. “We have these pictures,” he said as he handed Yuki some printouts.

“A crashed destroyer,” Yuki said. “I see bodies. Did ANALYZER detect any life signs, or did Warrant Officer Misaki pick up anything when she was manning my post during lunch?”

“Yuria didn’t pick up anything; neither did ANALYZER, but there is a possibility there might be living Gamilas down there, although they might be injured. That’s where you come in. I want you to take an Astro Mallard cargo boat and go down there to Morpheus IV and see what you can find at that crash site. We need more intel on the Gamilas; maybe even the location of their home base. That pilot we had on board couldn’t talk, but if you can find a living higher-ranking officer and bring him back up to the ship for treatment, he might be more amenable in giving us information.”

“Sir, this could be a trap,” Yuki said. “They could be waiting down there to ambush us with a false signal. They’ve been pulling a lot of mind games like that lately. Like with that relay satellite Susumu and Aihara blew up.”

“Good thinking,” Okita said. “You’ll have three gunners with you, namely, Chief Gunnery Sergeant Paul Rosstowski, and Lance Corporals Ken Miyamoto and Lucy Brathwaite. All three of those enlisted people are good; they’ll be your escort. Also, you’ll be taking an Engineering Ensign with you; Ensign Sam Sparks.”

Yuki took a deep breath, and slowly inhaled. “Sir. Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted.”

“Sir, Sparks and I…well…we do not have a mutual admiration society going on. He and I don’t mesh well, sir. Couldn’t you send down Sanada or one of his staff? Or Mister Yabu? He’s a nice guy. And can’t we spare Lieutenant Kodai, sir? With all respect, he and I are a team. We work together quite well, sir.”

“Sanada and his Group are busy checking over the ship on the way to our next objective; Balan,” said Okita. “I don’t know what we’ll find there yet, but we have to be ready for anything. And, Yuki, with all respect, Kodai will be there. He’ll be on patrol with his Super Star, Yamamoto, and another one of his top pilots, watching your six up in orbit. I know you two get along…very nicely,” he said with a smile. “But you’ll see Susumu when all of you debrief with me later. Yuki, you know I’ve been training you as an officer for even greater assignments. I have something in mind for you, as a matter of fact. Part of your growth as an officer and a professional includes the ability to get along with all sorts of people and officers; those you dislike as well as those you like. I did see Sparks and I told him he will have to concentrate on the mission, and not in being immature and bothering you. I told him he is to treat you as a fellow officer and professional, and I expect the same from you. Do I make myself clear, Yuki?”

“Yessir,” said Yuki. “I will be totally professional, sir.”

“You’re in overall command, Yuki. Do us proud. Good flying,” he said as he shook her hand.

“Thank you, sir.”

At that, Yuki saluted and left.

Okita coughed and he watched the hatch. Okay, Lieutenant, thought Okita. I know you’re a good officer already. Let’s see how you handle it when everything can go south on us.

A few minutes later, Yuki was walking around her shuttle with a clipboard conducting the pre-flight check like any responsible pilot when Sparks showed up.

“What are you doing here?” he said. “When are they going to spare us a real pilot?”

“Sparks, I’m in command of this mission, and I am the pilot,” Yuki said tartly. “I didn’t see any wings in your service record. If you’re an officer, how come you don’t have a license?”

“Direct commission from the Merchant Marine Service,” said Sparks. “I was an engineer on logistics ships before the war turned bad.”

“I see,” Yuki said as she checked off an item on her checklist and saw Sparks, out of the corner of her eye, leaving a bolt in one of the engine intakes. “Sparks, do you think that was funny?” Yuki snapped as she grabbed the bolt, tempted to throw it at him, but praying quickly for help to control her temper and not to descend to his childish level.  “If that had been sucked into the engine on takeoff…”

“It would be your fault, and your little blond head would be court-martialed,” Sparks grinned.

“Get in the shuttle,” Yuki said as she tapped at a strut on the landing gear.

“Ma’am, this is more fun.”

“Ensign Sparks, that is a direct order from me. Get your tail inside that shuttle and stop playing games!” Yuki snapped.

“Make me,” he sneered.

Then, Yuki saw Chief Rosstowski. “Chief, kindly escort Mister Sparks inside the shuttle. He’s getting in my way during my walkaround of this ship.”

“Aye, aye, ma’am,” said Rosstowski. “Sparks, you heard the Lieutenant. Get inside that ship,” he said in a tone that brooked no BS while he grabbed Sparks’ arm and led him inside the shuttle.

“Watch him. Make sure he checks out his survey equipment and tools,” Yuki said.

“Right,” said Rosstowski. Yuki smiled as she heard Rosstowski telling Sparks, “Ensign, what’s your major malfunction? You’re walking around like you’re stoned.”

Yuki made a note on her clipboard that read: 1322 Hours: Checkout and takeoff delayed due to Ens. Sparks’ horseplay. Advise Captain & Cmdr Tokugawa upon return from mission. – MY, Sr Lt.

“Ma’am, reporting as ordered,” said Lance Corporal Miyamoto for himself and Brathwaite.

“Very good. Get inside. I would have been ready to take off when you arrived, but we had a slight delay. Give me a moment to finish this,” Yuki said as she checked the hydraulics on the landing gear with a small LED flashlight.

Two minutes later, Yuki was inside the cockpit, strapping in for takeoff as she put on her flight helmet. “Ah! Rosstowski! Take the co-pilots’ seat and give me a hand activating the ship’s systems.”

“Aye, ma’am,” he said. “I have Sparks checking and rechecking his lift down below in the belly of this shuttle.

“Good. Between you and I, Paul, I hope he stays there until we hit planet side.” Yuki then flipped on her radio as she began to start the ship’s four engines. “Shuttle Delta Mallard Two Niner, requesting vector for takeoff.”

“Setting you up for a direct course, Two Niner,” replied Misaki’s familiar voice in Yuki’s headset. “We miss you up here on the bridge, ma’am.”

“Feeling’s mutual, Yuria,” Yuki replied.

“Take vector one-one niner, Mallard, straight down and out,” Yuria said.

“Roger. Engines up to thirty percent.”

Yuki flipped on the SEAT BELTS light and rang a chime on the PA system. “All hands, secure for takeoff!”

Then, Yuki heard Sparks whining back over the intercom, “Ma’am, my harness is too friggin’ tight.”

“Miyamoto, fix his harness,” Yuki snapped over the PA. “I’m burning up fuel sitting here!”

“Yuki, help me!” said Sparks.

“Listen, Ensign,” Yuki snapped. “I am not going back there like a stewardess to bring you Diet Dr. Pepper and a pillow! This is the Crew of Yamato, not Trans-Love Airways! Miyamoto, secure the Ensign or he’s not going! I’m not playing games with safety procedures because one guy is acting like a child!”

“Ma’am, Sparks is secured,” said Miyamoto.

“Your vector is clear, Yuki. What are you waiting for?” said Yuria over her headset.

“Had some trouble securing a member of the team; ready now. Release magnetic locks, release brakes,” Yuki said as she pushed a pedal. “Power up to eighty-five…off we go,” Yuki said as she gave a thumbs-up to a deckhand below with his lighted wands. “Takeoff!”

The shuttle glided out of the Yamato’s belly into open space. Paul saw Yuki making the Sign of the Cross with evident relief with her gloved right hand as she worked the control stick with her left hand.

“Yeah, that’s you and me both, ma’am,” said Paul.

Yuki took a deep breath and said, “If I was working with Kodai, we would have been out ten minutes ago. He doesn’t play games with spacecraft.”

“Yeah. I heard he’s a bit of a crazy pilot, but a good crazy pilot,” replied Paul with a grin.

“I hope he doesn’t yell at me for being late to the rendezvous point. I’ll just have to give her a little extra gas,” Yuki said as she pushed the throttles forward. Then, she changed frequencies and said, “Escort Team Zero One Flight Leader, we expect to be at the rendezvous point in one hundred ten seconds. Acknowledge.”

“Delta Mallard Two Niner, you’re running slightly late,” came Susumu’s familiar voice over Yuki’s headset. “Yuki, you’re never late. What happened?”

“Trouble with a team member, Susumu. I’ll explain later. It was a real mess. What’s our vector to that planet?”

“Turn port forty-five degrees, follow up straight in. If we contact any Gamilas, we’ll let you know; abort and return to base if that happens,” Susumu said. “Over.”

“Roger,” Yuki said.

The rest of the flight in was pretty routine and uneventful; Yuki broke off from contact with Susumu’s squadron when they made orbit of the blue, white and green planet almost halfway to Iscandar that looked much like Earth before the planet bombings.

Yuki and Paul soon picked up the pinging noises from the crashed Gamilas ship’s black boxes, and maneuvered in for a routine landing on the shuttle’s lower jets.

“Ship down,” Yuki said. “Escort Team Zero One Flight Leader, we’re at the landing zone. Please keep an eye out for the enemy. Over.”

“Yuki, I’ve got your team covered like a security blanket,” Susumu said in her headset. “Hey, Yuki. Wanna hear a quick joke?”

Yuki rolled up her eyes a little, but she decided to indulge Susumu. “Okay. I’ll bite. Go.”

“Why are drone pilots considered arrogant, Miss Yuki-chan?”

“I give up. Why are drone pilots considered arrogant?”

“Because they look down on others!” Susumu said over the headset with a chuckle.

Yuki smiled and said, “If you tell that to the captain, he’ll have you scrubbing the hangar deck again, Susumu!”

“You owe me a joke on the flight back, Yuki!” chuckled Susumu.

“Give me time, I’ll figure one out! Over and out! Or should that be toodle-oo, love?”

“Yuki, you’re a trip!” laughed Susumu.

“Nice flying with Longhair Airlines!” Yuki said.

“YUKI!” cried Susumu as she giggled and cut off.

Then, Sparks came in. “Hey, Yuki, where’s my joke?”

“I don’t have a joke for you, Mister Sparks, but I need to tell you that you’re messing up my mission. Why? What do you have against me?”

“You know, when you get mad, your eyes start to cross? That looks funny, m’dear.”

 “Jiminy…Crickets…” Yuki said under her breath. “We have a mission, Ensign. No time for fun and games.”

“You seemed to have no problem sharing stupid jokes with Kodai,” sneered Sparks.

“Sparks,” said Yuki. “There’s some people on this ship who are on my friends list. And some people who are not. Get that equipment and see what you can recover while I check the crash site for any survivors. Rosstowski, Brathwaite, please follow me. Miyamoto, escort Mister Sparks. Let me know if you spot any enemy troopers who are alive and not wounded.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Miyamoto.

A few minutes later, Brathwaite was looking decidedly green under her helmet visor while Yuki and Rosstowski combed the Gamilas destroyer’s crash site for any Gamilas survivors.

“Looks like they came in fast and blew when they hit the ground,” said Rosstowski. “What a mess.”

Yuki was kneeling over a relatively intact Gamilas in his brown battle armor. “Dead,” she sighed as she checked his pulse. “And rigor has set in. I feel sort of sorry for them, even though they’re the enemy.”

Brathwaite was looking around with her flashlight when she stumbled over something.

Lucy took a good look at the object she had stumbled over and screamed, shaking her dark hair out of her eyes.

“What the heck?” Yuki said.

“Ma’am! It’s…it’s a skull! He’s all burned! This looks…sick!”

Yuki bent down to look. “The fire was pretty intense. Their metal must burn quickly. Sparks? Finding any tech samples to take back?”

“I got a piece of one of their computers,” he said over Yuki’s headset. “Not much bigger than a poker deck.”

“Take it back to the shuttle when you’re done. We need to see if we can get any data from it,” Yuki said as she looked around. “What’s this?”

“Looks like a hand,” said Rosstowski.

“Yes…it’s burned up…but look at the skin; between the fingers. It’s green. And it’s sort of tough,” Yuki said as she tapped the dead hand with a gloved finger. “I’ve never seen a green Gamilas before. They’re either blue or pigmented like ordinary humans. We have to analyze this,” Yuki said as she put it into her carryall bag. Then, she looked up. “What in the name of Heaven…?”

“What is it?” said Lucy.

Yuki gave her arm a nudge. “Look up. Carefully. Some sort of white ship is overflying us. I’ve never seen a Gamilas ship of that design before, and…”

Then, the ship descended and began to strafe the party with its lasers without warning.

“HIT THE DIRT!” Yuki yelled as loudly as she could.

Plasma fire skipped within a few meters of Yuki and her group. The ship also fired a pair of missiles, which, luckily, missed them. Yuki raised her head carefully and said, “Escort Team Zero One Leader! Vampire, vampire inbound forty hot!! Unknown ship strafing us! OVER!”

“This is Zero One,” Susumu’s voice snapped back. “Yuki, I’ve got him on radar, but he’s hard to track. Party’s over! Get your team back in your ship and boogaloo out! OVER!”

“OVER! Paul! GO!”

Yuki, Paul, and Lucy began to run towards the shuttle, praying that the enemy ship didn’t attack it.

They scrambled aboard, but Yuki stopped when she saw Miyamoto dragging Sparks in. Sparks was moaning and his lower leg was bleeding.

“Yuki, ma’am, gimme a hand with this guy! He can’t walk right and he’s as fat as hell!” said Miyamoto as he dragged Sparks with a hand under one arm.

Yuki jumped to the right and got her hand under Sparks’ other armpit. “Sparks! Stop struggling! Miyamoto and I have got you! You’re gonna be all right!”

“HURTS, DAMNIT!” yelled Sparks.

“I know, I know,” Yuki said, trying to sound comforting. “Miyamoto, get him up the ramp!”

“Got him, ma’am…he’s in…turning around to shut the ramp…”

Then, the enemy plane came back again and strafed right near the shuttle. Yuki hit the deck with Sparks, but a shot caught Miyamoto in the heart. Blood and fleshy matter flew all over the place, including on Sparks and on Yuki’s uniform.

“Damn, damn, damn…” Yuki muttered as she worked the control to close the ramp, praying hard that the enemy plane didn’t come back. “Paul! Lucy! We’ve got casualties! Get back here and tend to them! I’ve got to get us out of here!”

Yuki bumped into Rosstowski and Brathwaite and almost plowed them over like a football player. She leaped for her pilot’s seat and strapped in and started the engines. “Emergency takeoff! Just hold on! GO!”

The shuttle blasted straight up and then flew up from the surface as Yuki worked the controls like a maniac. “Zero One Leader, I’m up…I have that bandit on my radar! Need close escort!”

“Yuki, what you want, you’ll get!” snapped Susumu’s welcome voice over her headset. “Kato! Yamamoto! Scare that guy off and try to get a bead on him! I’m getting Yuki and her team the hell out of here! Over!”

“We’re tryin’ but he’s faster than the Devil himself!” Yamamoto barked over their headsets. “Never seen a plane like that before. Looks like a Gamilas version of a horseshoe crab!”

Yuki checked her radar, “Oh, fiddlesticks! Susumu, speaking of Gamilas…”

“Yeah?”

“Three spotted on long-range, coming right for us!”

In their ships, over Sparks’ screams as Paul and Lucy tried to give him first aid, both Yuki and Susumu saw three green Gamilas interceptors.

“Okay, you guys…you’re finished,” hissed Susumu as he caught the first Gamilas in his target scope.

Then, to their utter surprise, instead of attacking, the lead Gamilas pilot snapped, in rough but understandable Terranglish. “Terran ships! Name your reason for being in this sector! OVER!”

Susumu replied, “Gamilas leader, the ship I’m escorting is a non-combatant! We were trying to render aid to any survivors of your crashed destroyer when an unidentified ship started blasting at my rescue and survey crew! Is that vessel one of yours? OVER!”

“Negative,” reported the Gamilas as Yuki and Susumu’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “We have other battles to fight with other races than you Terrans today. Did the enemy ship attack you? OVER!”

“Yes, it sure did!” Yuki said as she burst in on the transmission.

“Hmmm…first time my unit has heard from a Terran woman,” said the Gamilas, almost thoughtfully. “It appears that today we have a common enemy. All I ask is that you people get out of our way while we attack that enemy ship. Don’t attempt to aid us; it’s too fast for your primitive planes. Just clear the area, but remember, I may have to fight you tomorrow.”

“What’s your name, Gamilas pilot?” Yuki said.

“Storm Leader Galand. And yours, Miss?”

“Lieutenant Yuki Mori, Storm Leader.”

“Lieutenant Yuki Mori, follow your escort fighter pilot back to base! Get out of here before I am forced to do anything rash. Terran Fighter pilot, good luck. We were trained to believe you people were monsters.”

“We believed the same,” snapped Susumu. “Storm Leader Galand, my name is Lieutenant Susumu Kodai. Thank you. Over!”

“Good flying, Lieutenants Kodai and Mori. Maybe we’ll meet again. Over and out.”

Yuki blew out a deep breath as the Gamilas planes waggled their wings in farewell and sped off to attack the white enemy ship.

“Yuki, I would have told you to stifle it,” said Susumu. “But now I’m glad you spoke up!”

“I don’t believe it, Susumu. They’re human after all!”

“Yeah, guess they are. Or can be. I wonder who they’re fighting?”

“Whoever that other pilot was, he flew a very fast plane and he was very cruel,” Yuki said. “We meant him no harm.”

“Yeah, none of us did,” said Susumu. “Okay, Yuki. Time for your joke. Shoot!”

“All right,” Yuki said. “Susumu, hon, why can’t spiders become pilots?”

“I don’t know! That’s a difficult one.”

“Because all they do is tailspin,” Yuki said with a smile.

“Boooooo…” Susumu said, but he was laughing. “That’s a good one, Lieutenant.”

“Wanna get together for coffee later?” Yuki said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Susumu said. “We’re almost back at base.”

Then, Yuki turned her head as she heard an ungodly scream through her helmet. “Sparks, just hold still! I’ll get to you when we land on the Yamato!”

“You’re a sadist, Mori!” yelled Sparks.

“If it wasn’t for me, we’d still be down there, and we’d all probably be dead!” Yuki shouted back. Then, her instruments bleeped. “Oh! Less than a megameter away from the ship. Talk later, Susumu. Smooches!”

“Roger that,” he said with a smile.

Yuki flipped channels and said, “Yuria, get me a hot landing vector, please! And get medics and nurses down to the lower bay! I have one dead man and one injured man!”

“Will do,” said Yuria. “Yuki, take this vector…”

THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER….

“Yuki, that hurts! ARRRGGGH!” yelled Sparks.

“I’m resetting your leg, Sparks,” Yuki said. “Broken tibia, lower quadrant,” Yuki said to one of her nurses, namely, Ensign Michele Sakamoto. “5cc of Disradol, please!”

“Get that needle away from me!” cried Sparks.

“Sparks, we’re doing this to cut the pain,” said Sakamoto. “Help me lift him up, Yuki.”

“Got him,” Yuki said as she grunted. “He’s…heavy…”

Then, someone came up behind Yuki. “Let me give you a hand with that. C’mon, Sparks!”

“Thanks, Susumu!” Yuki said as Kodai helped her and Sakamoto lift Sparks onto a wheeled stretcher. Not far away, another team was bringing out Miyamoto’s body, covered with a sheet.

“Hey, don’t mention it!” Susumu said. “Yuki, when you get done, the captain wants to see you. He must want to know what happened. I’ll give him my report later.”

“Don’t forget; we’re having coffee and crullers before we go back on watch on the bridge,” said Yuki with a wink.

“Take care, Yuki. Between you and me, nice job out there today.” Susumu patted her shoulder affectionately. “You kept your head. You’re getting even better at this.”

“Thanks,” Yuki said as she blushed. She then squeezed Susumu’s hand. “Take it easy until I see you later.”

“Yeah, I might have some more jokes for you. I like seeing you laugh. You look so sad half the time, Yuki.”

“Sorry…can’t help it.” Then, Yuki said, “I wonder what that Gamilas Storm Leader’s life is like? Does he have a wife or children back on Gamilas? He can’t be that different from us.”

“Maybe someday we’ll find out,” Susumu said. “See you later.”

“Bye,” Yuki said with a wave. Then, she turned about and gave Susumu a smooch on the nose. He smooched her back.

After getting a shower and a clean uniform in her cabin and putting the bloody one in the laundry chute, Yuki went up the stairs to Captain Okita’s cabin. She tapped at the hatch, but Okita said, “I’ve been expecting you, Yuki. Come in.”

“Sir,” Yuki said.

“Give me your report, in brief. How did the mission go?”

“Sparks gave us some difficulty in the beginning, but I got him to concentrate on his job and he found a small Gamilas computer at the crash site. Sanada’s analyzing it for data now. There were no survivors, but we recovered Gamilas remains and the remains of a person of some unknown race with green skin. When we were finishing up, an unknown enemy plane, white in color, looking nothing like a Gamilas ship, buzzed our landing site and strafed us with no provocation on our part whatsoever. I got us into the shuttle and got us out of there. There were two casualties; Sparks, wounded and broken lower leg, being treated by Doctor Sado. And, Lance Corporal Miyamoto was killed. Straight shot to his heart, sir. Nothing we could do for him,” Yuki reported.

“What happened to the enemy plane?”

“I called for Kodai to escort us, and he did. But the enemy plane was too fast for him or the other Black Tigers to shoot down. Then, we had another unexpected contact; with three Gamilas interceptors.”

“Did the Tigers bring them down?”

“No, Captain.”

“Then, how did you get out of that one?”

“The Gamilas flight leader called us and spoke directly to us in Terranglish. And he asked what we were doing there,” Yuki said.

“What did you tell him?”

“Susumu…and I told him that we were following an automated distress beacon from their crashed ship and were trying to pick up and rescue survivors. Kodai told him we were attacked by an unknown ship. The Gamilas pilot leader than said that his men were at war with the race that sent that unknown ship in, and I helped…Susumu…confirm that the unknown plane attacked my group. The Gamilas then said something surprising, Captain.”

“What was it, Yuki?”

“After I spoke, he said it was the first time he ever heard from a Terran woman, and he said that since we seemed to have a common enemy, to just get out of the way while his planes fought the unknown ship. He acknowledged that we’re at war, but he let us go. That surprised us. We thought we might be goners. The pilot also gave us his name.”

“What was it?” Okita said.

“Storm Leader Galand. Then, Susumu and I gave him our ranks and names, and off he went to fight the enemy ship. We both have recordings of him in our ships. He sounded like a young middle-aged man; a little like Kato, except his accent was strange.”

“So, what you discovered about the Gamilas…”

“Is that many of them have some humanity and even a sense of honor, Captain. I didn’t expect that!”

“You couldn’t have,” said Okita. “You and Kodai…you’re both good at thinking on your feet, and determined, brave, and original.” Then, Okita shut his eyes. “Yuki, what I am about to tell you remains up here, between us. You are not to tell anyone else on this ship, even Kodai. You know my medical condition.”

“It’s grave, sir,” Yuki said. “Doctor Sado and I know you’re getting weaker due to the radiation sickness, and we’re not sure you can remain in command for the rest of the mission.”

“I know that,” said Okita. “I need someone with a level head to possibly take over for me…as Deputy Captain. Now, I’ve talked to two officers that you know about this. One of them said his job was too important to drop to help me run the Crew of Yamato, or to take over as Deputy Captain, and the other officer said he needed time to think about it; but he wasn’t sure he could handle the responsibility.” Okita then paused. “That leaves me down to two more motivated officers I can ask.”

“Can you tell me who?” Yuki said.

 “I can trust you with this information, Yuki, since you’ve been mum as to my medical condition. I know you. You don’t play games or gossip, and you’re a little more mature than the other person I’m considering. Between you, me, and the proverbial gatepost, it’s down to a choice between Kodai…and you.”

“You…you’re considering me as Deputy Captain?” Yuki stammered.

“I know you’re not a Line Officer, but I’ve trained you as one. You know every station on that bridge, and you’ve been in charge as Officer of the Deck several times.”

“Sir, so has Lieutenant Kodai,” Yuki said. She looked hard into Okita’s eyes and said, “Sir, you know what happened to Doctor Carroway early in the voyage. We had two doctors when we left, and myself as a Nurse-Practitioner. Doctor Denise Carroway was killed right as we got to Pluto from that first Reflex Gun hit. That left myself and Doctor Sado. If, God forbid, something happens to Doctor Sado, that leaves me, unless we could pick up a doctor on Iscandar to come back with us. Because of that possibility, and because I’m not sure if Yuria could handle my job in Operations, I must respectfully decline, sir. My current jobs are too important to the Crew of Yamato.”

“Very well spoken, and thank you for your honesty. That leaves Kodai,” sighed Okita. “Yuki, you’re getting to know him very well. Would you recommend him?”

“He has some growing up to do, Captain, but so do I. He’s also grown into a real leader since we left Earth. If my recommendation counts for anything, Captain Okita, I’d go with Susumu. Did you talk to him yet?”

“No. I intend to do that after we reach Balan. It won’t be long. I will talk with him soon, and I think I know how to handle him. But you’ll have a very important job, Yuki. You refer to him on a first-name basis. You two are pretty close, aren’t you?”

Yuki blushed deeply, and she finally said, “Sir, you know we’re engaged now. We’re definitely more than just friends now, sir. We haven’t set a wedding date yet.”

Okita smiled. “I’ve been…observing that.”

“Are…are we that obvious?” Yuki stammered.

“Yes, but there’s no harm in it,” Okita said. “I’m becoming like a father to both of you. I’ve seen couples getting together on this cruise, and I’ve seen them splitting up. You don’t know how many people I’ve counseled.”

“Or how many I’ve counseled, sir,” Yuki said.

Okita put his hands on Yuki’s slender shoulders. “The pilot…he needs a co-pilot. You, the counselor and healer…you need your own counselor and healer. I not only think you two might be more than friends…I think it was meant to be. You and I both believe in God. We know He puts His hands in the affairs of men and of women, even today. I can see ahead, Yuki. I see a bright future for you and your Susumu if we make it to Iscandar and back. It gives me hope. Humanity will carry on…even if I don’t.”

Captain Okita then went silent. “I do have one regret, Yuki.”

“What is it?”

“I would have loved to share a dance with you at your wedding. I damn well know I’m not going to make it.”

“But you will,” Yuki said. “I think you will…”

Nonetheless, these words would stick in Yuki’s mind for the next few weeks. When she and Susumu heard them again a few weeks later, they came to a decision that they had been mulling over for some time…

EARTH HAS 254 DAYS LEFT TO SURVIVE…

EPILOGUE: TWENTY-THREE MONTHS LATER…

December 26, 2201: Tokyo Megalopolis

 “Perfect timing, Susumu,” Yuki said as she danced with Susumu at a wedding; their own…their own public wedding. “They’re playing our song,” she said as she danced in a beautiful white gown against her husband, in a new black Captain’s peacoat, to the strains of Scarlet Scarf.

“There were times I never thought we’d make it here, love,” Susumu whispered.

“I know. But Captain Okita and Father Likanski were right. We came together in secret before Father Likanski on Iscandar so that Captain Okita could at least see us married, even though I told him there would have to be a public ceremony for my family and the rest of our friends.”

“I know you and he were talking before he made me Deputy Captain. What did you two talk about?”

“He told me he was considering me as Deputy Captain. I declined, and I told him I thought you should be Deputy Captain. He agreed, and then he talked about us, after we talked about that contact that we had with the Gamilas, and after I told him about Sparks. It seems so many things came together that day, right before we reached Balan, Susumu.”

“Yes…the first inkling that we might have peace with the Gamilas, even though we didn’t recognize it at the time. The first contact we had with the Comet Empire, and the first real guess we had that Sparks…wasn’t right in the head…and the first hint we both caught that we might be more than friends.”

“How obvious were we?” Susumu said.

“Obvious enough for Captain Okita to see it…and for Sparks. But…I don’t want to think about what happened on Diamond Island right after our short, quiet honeymoon on Iscandar. I still have nightmares about it…”

“What else did he say?” Susumu said in a soft voice as he held Yuki closer as they danced.

“He said his one regret…was that he wouldn’t live long enough to dance with me at our wedding,” Yuki said as her eyes filled with tears. “He said that twice…remember, Susumu?”

“But he’s here, even though he’s not on the guest list, Yuki. Can’t you feel him? Listen…”

Yuki cuddled against Susumu, hearing only his heartbeat and his breathing under the soft big-band rendition of Scarlet Scarf. Time seemed to stop for them for a moment, almost like a preview of the wedding night that would follow that evening on their resort island.

“I feel him, Susumu. And I think I just heard his voice.”

“What did he say?” Susumu said.

“Congratulations,” Yuki said as her lips again met Susumu’s in a long, searching kiss.

TO BE CONTINUED….