STAR BLAZERS: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER

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

Frederick P. Kopetz

EPISODE FOUR: A LEGEND AND A SHIP

September 22, 2199

Thanks to Gail Kopetz for Beta Reading, Dtill359 for Advice, and Matt Berger for a beautiful painting included with this chapter. Also, this chapter is respectfully dedicated to the memory of my wife’s late father, William Daltry, who was an actual Engineering Sailor aboard the USS Bunker Hill, one of the aircraft carriers that engaged the Yamato in her last battle on April 7, 1945.

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Captain Avatar was walking slowly through the underground Earth Defense Headquarters operations room.

His jacket was open, and his arm was still in pain, and in a sling.

His arm was not healing up, and neither was the wound in his side.

He thought, Lord, You know that I am still suffering from this wound. Doctor Sane does not want me to go on this mission because of my wound, even though I have volunteered to lead it already. That young internist Doctor Cunningham does not want me to go, either, and Nova shows a lot of concern every time I show up for physical therapy. However, I’m sworn to go. I will not back out.

Avatar’s mood was not improved by reports from techs and scientists who were monitoring communications consoles and radiation monitors.

“Euroland has been destroyed by another bombing near Frankfurt!”

“Afro States are in panic!”

“The Ukraine is sending sign-off signals.”

“We have lost touch with New York and Boston!”

“Signals from Asia Minor are fading fast!”

“Radiation in Anglia has penetrated an additional 0.5 kilometers underground! The upper levels of the underground cities of London and Manchester are being abandoned!”

Avatar looked at a status board as an officer reported to him. “Sir, the repair work on the Yamato is ten percent behind schedule!”

“When do you think we can take off aboard the Yamato?” said Commanding General Singleton.

“We need to take off as soon as possible, before the middle of October,” Avatar snapped. “The repairs and adaptions can continue during the flight.”

“Avatar, your wound hasn’t healed yet!” said Singleton. “I can see that you can barely use your arm.”

“General, I’m well enough to command,” said Avatar. “If we are going to get to Iscandar and back in just one Earth year, we have to get started. The Earth needs the Cosmo-DNA!”

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A DAY LATER…

IQ-9 zipped around the Medical wing with a tray of equipment and bandages as he said, “This is very stupid work for a robot with a genius IQ!”

“I’m not hurt,” Mark Venture insisted as Nova Forrester waved a penlight in his eyes. “Really! I’m all right!”

“That’s hogwash and you know it,” Nova snapped. “You hit your head hard when you and Wildstar crashed that plane two days ago. Haven’t you ever heard of a concussion, Mark?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of a concussion, Nova,” said Mark.

“If you start having problems, come and see Doctor Sane or myself as soon as possible,” Nova said.

“Are you going to add that to your bill?” snapped IQ-9. “Need me to break their knees if they don’t pay up?”

“IQ, I do not charge for these services, you silly robot! Cut out the mischief!” Nova snapped. “Wildstar, your turn. Sit down over there, Derek!”

“Why?” Derek said.

“Because that dressing on your arm has to be changed!” Nova said. “C’mon, roll your sleeve up!”

“Do I have to?” Derek groaned.

“Yes,” Nova snorted. “That’s unless you think blood poisoning is a cool thing!”

Derek complied and he got his arm up. “How’s that?”

“How can you walk around with that dressing on?” Nova said. “I see blood coming through it! Okay, off it comes!”

“OUCH!” Derek said as Nova snatched off the tape and began cutting it.

“Don’t be a baby,” Nova said. “Come on…there…okay…that thing is healing. Needs some fresh antiseptic,” Nova added as she pulled on fresh rubber gloves and got a tube of antiseptic. “Let me get that in there, and I’ll get you a new dressing…what were you two doing out there the other day, anyway? I heard Conroy almost had your hides for wrecking that Type 100!”

“Pursuing a Gamilon ship that happened to be around the wreck of the Yamato,” Derek said as Nova got his dressing on and began taping it up. “What’s going on around that old wreck? Any idea why the Gamilons are interested in it?”

“There is something strange going on around that wreck,” Nova said. “I’ve also heard a strange rumor…that Captain Avatar is making a spaceship out of it.”

“Really?” Derek said.

“Could be…” Nova lied.

“Nova, can you see to it I get transferred to something more challenging than this?” snapped IQ-9.

“Not my call,” Nova said.

“Let’s see if this changes your mind!” he burbled as he sped towards Nova, who was still bending over Derek and working on his bandage.

A moment later, IQ-9 grabbed the hem of Nova’s nurse’s minidress…and lifted.

Nova’s…underthings were suddenly exposed.

“YOU PERVERT!” Nova yelled at IQ-9 as Derek and Mark looked on, stunned.

Nova quickly twirled about and kicked IQ-9. Luckily, she had her boots on again today instead of her light clogs.

He sped off as Nova whipped her tray at him and barked, “Go wash some spacecraft, you IDIOT! Get OUT of here!”

“How…how often does he do that?” said Derek, stunned.

“You’ve noticed how his body is all dented up?” Nova said as she smoothed down her tunic.

“Uh…yeah,” said Derek.

“Now you know why,” Nova said primly as she pulled off her gloves and rolled down Derek’s sleeve. “There are days when he’s cute, and days when he is an impossible, ill-mannered little creep.”

“What does your boyfriend think of that?” teased Derek.

“Ahh…I don’t have a boyfriend…yet,” Nova said.

Then, the speaker began to bleep.

“Attention, Junior Lieutenants Wildstar and Venture! Board Air Car dispatched to pick you up!”

“What’s going on?” said Derek.

“Did we do something else we don’t want them to know about? Sorry, Nova. Gotta run,” said Mark.

“Later,” she said. The Junior Lieutenants left, and a phone rang in Nova’s office. “Yes?” she said. “Captain Avatar? Yessir. I cleaned out my quarters the other day. I’ll get the express car in the next tube in ten minutes. Give me some time to get changed, sir.”

She hung up and signed out. It’s time, Nova thought. Boy, will those guys be surprised! Nova chuckled to herself.

Then, making sure no one was around, Nova ran to the locker room and pulled off her nurse’s tunic and yellow boots as fast as she could. Then, she got a garment bag and got out a gold and black Special Missions Force jumpsuit. She stepped into it. There was no need for boots since they were built into the female-patterned jumpsuit and the whole thing went on over her undergarments and thin, short workout socks. Then, Nova buckled on a gun belt that hung over one hip. Finally, she opened a combination-locked box from the armory and got out her sidearm and put it in a holster. Nova then put her nurse’s garments into a small green khaki seabag she had waiting with a few oddments, and she took off without a second thought.

Nova would not see that underground clinic again for almost a year. Then, when she returned, she would be a very different person.

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In the meantime, Wildstar and Venture ran towards an aircar with an open cockpit.

“There it is!” said Venture.

“I’ll run it,” said Derek.

“If Nova doesn’t appreciate me, I’ll follow you two,” said IQ-9 as he burbled up.

“Oh, no, not YOU IQ-9! You’re too big!” said Venture.

“Fortunately, I have been designed for such a possibility, and reassembly is just as easy,” said IQ-9 as he came apart and his pieces floated into the back of the air car.

“IQ-9, you weren’t summoned! What about your assignment at the hospital?” asked Derek as the canopy on the aircar closed. He tried to engage the engine, but the autopilot controls came up before he could do anything about it.

“Hospital duties are for a Fifth Series robot!” IQ-9 burbled. “I am a Ninth Class, a genius! I lifted Nova’s dress because I want her to fire me. I was getting bored!”

“You’d better be smart enough to have a good alibi,” Derek snapped.

The aircar lifted off on its own in spite of Derek’s hammering angrily at the autopilot controls. And cursing at them.

“Where’s the air car programmed to take us?” said Venture.

“Guess we’ll know when we get there,” said Derek. “The computer’s not giving me ANY info on our destination,” he said as the car raced down the tube.

He looked over, and saw a second express tube off in the distance underground. A second air car flashed past at full speed, with its four-way flashers on.

“Wonder who’s driving that thing?” Venture said.

“Whoever that pilot is, he’s a maniac,” commented Derek.

Unknown to them, Nova Forrester was piloting the second aircar with only her seabag for company. Unlike Derek and Mark, she KNEW where she was going, so she drove as fast as she could, her right foot hitting the metal deck as it was glued to the accelerator as she sang loudly along with the sound system she had pulled up as she sang an old song from the Streets of Fire soundtrack:

There’s nothing wrong with goin’ nowhere, baby…

Oh, we should be goin’ nowhere fast

Godspeed…Godspeed…Godspeed Speed us away!

God Speed, SPEED US AWAY!

Nova soon saw her destination coming up ahead in the windshield.

“Okay, world…let’s get you saved,” she said with a grin as she finally began slowing down.

In the meantime, Derek and Mark had their own...issues…

They looked back and saw someone saying, “Hmm…yes, this might work!” in a high voice.

“Doctor Sane, what are YOU doing here?” said Wildstar as he looked back.

“Ah…yeah…hello! It’s a new motion-sickness remedy I’ve been aching to test!” he squealed.

“It looks like a bottle of sake’” said Venture as his eyes narrowed.

“I refuse to comment,” said Doctor Sane.

“But, Doctor, we have no idea where we’re going!” said Venture. “This chowderhead up front can’t figure it out, either!”

“Venture, shut up!” snapped Derek.

“As to where we’re going, most people have no idea where they ARE going,” said Doctor Sane before taking another swig of his…motion-sickness remedy.

“But I’m sure it’s top-secret and you shouldn’t be there,” snapped Derek.

“So? Everybody’s got to be someplace!” said Sane. “Damnit, this thing just ran out! They’re making these bottles smaller these days!”

“Sure that you’re not out of your mind?” teased Venture.

“Are you sure you’re IN your mind, son?” said Doctor Sane.

“I’m always in my mind,” burbled IQ-9. “I have a lot of things in my mind that you two cannot comprehend.”

Doctor Sane’s comm device went off. He sat up and answered it. “Yes?” he squealed, adjusting his glasses. “Yeah? I’ve got them, sir. They don’t know a thing. Not yet. I didn’t blab! Okay. See you soon.”

“What’s going on?” said Venture. “This whole day is weird.”

The aircar stopped.

The cockpit opened automatically.

They got out and looked around at a huge factory complex underground.

Derek looked around in awe and he said, “I never knew this place existed!”

“It’s much more interesting to a genius robot than the hospital,” said IQ-9.

“What’s going on? Are we going to be assigned here?” asked Venture.

“Doc, do you know anything?” said Wildstar.

Sane shook his head, lying very convincingly, thinking, those two will figure it out soon enough. I hope!

“What’s that up there?” said Venture as he pointed at a huge, shiny object far above their heads in the rock crust that gleamed red like a new air car.

IQ-9 explained, “That’s the keel of the ancient battleship Yamato. She sank many years ago in the Eastern Sea, now dried up. This place has been excavated beneath her.”

“Venture…up there is where we crash-landed the other day!” said Derek.

“Yes, we saw the superstructure up on the surface, but what are they doing with it now?” said Venture. “Up above it was just a rusty hulk. Underneath, it looks brand new!”

“You do not refer to a vessel in commission as it,” snapped IQ-9. “The Yamato is a she. She is in commission!”

“Doing what?” said Wildstar. “Rusting?”

Their argument was interrupted by an authoritative but somehow familiar woman’s voice coming over a PA system at full volume. “WILDSTAR, VENTURE, AND DOCTOR SANE! PLEASE BOARD ELEVATOR NUMBER TEN!”

The three of them, accompanied by IQ-9, found the lift and stepped in.

The elevator then went up very, very fast, at a weird angle that caused them to almost fall over.

“What the…we’re going up at an angle!” Derek snapped.

“Yeah, that’s pretty strange for an elevator,” said Venture.

The lift doors slid open…

…and, Wildstar, Venture and Doctor Sane stepped into another world.

They stepped into a vast room.

Captain Avatar was at the front of the huge room, which had several stations, a large screen, and a hemispherical object in the center.

“So, you have come,” he said.

Derek and Mark just looked aghast at the huge room. There were windows forward, but they appeared to be covered with the reddish soil now common to the dying Earth.

“We’re…we’re inside the Yamato,” gasped Venture.

“But now, it’s a space battleship!” Derek snapped.

“She,” scolded IQ-9. “Remember. The Yamato is a she! She is alive!”

“Be careful with your footing, gentlemen; the ship’s tilted a bit,” said Avatar.

A moment later, a figure in gold stepped out from behind Captain Avatar.

“Nova?” said Derek as he and Venture saw Forrester in her snug new ship suit for the first time.

Nova narrowed her eyes and chuckled a little. “Yes, it’s me. We have things to do today! Captain Avatar, I need three new fuses for my board. Twenty-amp ones, please. I had a burnout when I was running simulations last night.”

“Of course,” said Avatar, who looked at a civilian tech who was messing around with a panel next to a freestanding panel on the right side of the Yamato’s bridge. “Koyama, head down to ship’s stores and get five fuses for Lieutenant Forrester.”

“Yessir,” he said, taking off in his white coveralls.

“So…what are we doing here?” said Venture.

“I’ll get to that in…a moment,” said Avatar as he coughed to clear his throat.

Wildstar and Venture saw that Nova was looking at him with concern. She said, “Sir…if you’re not feeling well, go below to Sickbay. I can handle this until Sandor gets on board in my role as Officer of the Deck absent higher authority.”

“No…I’ve got this,” Avatar said as he coughed again into a hanky. He looked at it and put it away fast. Blood, he thought. If either Nova or Sane sees me coughing up blood, they’ll drag me below so fast it won’t even be funny.

“Wildstar, Venture, I have asked that you two be assigned to this vessel because of your excellent records as midshipmen and because you handled the business with Astra quite well,” Avatar said. “I have faith in you, and so do Doctor Sane and Nova, who were instrumental in your selection.”

“If you’ve selected them, I also volunteer for this mission. I have many talents which will be valuable to you in any aspect of the mission,” said IQ-9 as he bowed to Avatar.

“Permission granted,” he said.

“Thank you, sir,” IQ-9 replied.

“For this mission, gentlemen and ladies, I’ll need officers and crew of exceptional ability and character. I believe the three of you, Wildstar, Venture, and Nova all qualify,” Avatar said.

“You’ll need many, many more people than are here now,” said Wildstar.

“Yes,” said Avatar. “We will need young men and women who are educated and disciplined. We have sent out a call around the world for them. They will be Earth’s finest citizens; people who can take up a challenge and who are willing to make great sacrifices. We are taking on the mission of saving Earth. We will be the First Interstellar Special Missions Force; known informally as The Star Force.”

“The Star Force,” said Derek. “At last, we’ll be able to take on the Gamilons in space and defeat them! It’s time we got some revenge!”

“Yes, Wildstar, but that’s not our primary mission,” said Avatar. “Our mission is to travel to the planet Iscandar and back to retrieve the Cosmo-DNA machine. You were at the briefing, remember? We’ve accepted Starsha’s offer. This ship will be able to make the long journey to Iscandar and back in just one Earth year. There will be battles with the Gamilons, to be sure. But, if at all possible, we must avoid them.”

“WHAT?” said Wildstar and Venture.

“You’ll see,” said Avatar.

Then, the bridge doors whizzed open again and the civilian tech saluted Avatar and handed Nova the fuses she needed. She gave everyone a thumbs-up and knelt down on the deck to open an access panel on the lower part of the free-standing panel on the right side of the bridge.

“What’s that thing?” said Wildstar.

“A Cosmo-Radar,” Nova said. “This is my bridge station when I’m on watch up here. It’s a special set of scanners set up to detect enemy vessels and energy readings of all sorts. We’ll need it for the voyage,” she said as she worked deftly in the access panel. “IQ-9, I can hear you behind me. Want to get kicked again?” she sang.

“Nova, I’m totally innocent!” he said.

“Sure,” Nova said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “And the Moon is made of Roquefort cheese!”

“Need a hand with that?” Venture said.

“No, I can do this in my sleep,” Nova said. “Captain, I need a few minutes to get the system rebooted.”

“Granted,” said Avatar.

Then, just as Nova got up and carefully kicked the panel shut, the ship began to vibrate.

“Wha…?” said Venture.

“What’s going on?” said Wildstar.

A civilian tech ran over to the station to Nova’s right. “Are you powered up yet, ma’am?”

“Negative, use the temporary scanner, Sergeant!” Nova snapped.

“Aye, aye, ma’am!” he said. “Captain! My scanner is picking signs of Gamilon planet bombing near the Yamato! And com-scan is picking up an enemy vessel headed in our direction!”

“Oh, NO, we’re not prepared for an attack!” Avatar snapped.

“Sounds like it’s right over us!!” Derek said as he heard the sound of missiles slamming outside.

Up above, just beyond their mostly non-working scanners, a Gamilon attack carrier was discharging fighter-bombers.

The fighter-bombers flew in towards the Yamato like angry bees released from a hive.

“Missiles in from direction 040 to two-zero three!” said the civilian tech.

Nova was trying to hit switches on her board, but she stumbled and would have hit the deck if IQ-9 had not caught her. She cried out with the shock. IQ said, “Hospital duties were never like this!”

More explosions hit outside.

Derek turned on Avatar and said, “Captain Avatar, can’t this ship fight back?”

“Have patience, we need TIME!” he growled as he sat down at his station at the rear of the bridge. “Our turn is coming,” he said as he clenched his fists and shut his eyes. He was in urgent prayer.

“Check the energy generator!” said another tech near the other freestanding bridge station to the left, across from where Nova was typing in codes like a woman possessed as she worked on her board.

“Auxiliary circuit not working!” said another tech. “All systems are dead!”

If we don’t move, we’re a sitting duck, Avatar thought.

“If we don’t do something soon, you can forget all about our mission to Iscandar!” Derek yelled at Avatar.

“Don’t worry!” Avatar barked back. “Soon you two will get more action than you can handle! IQ-9, you help out Blackmon and Nishina at Engineering! Get the auxiliaries fired up! Nova, how soon until you get your board running?”

“Two more minutes, sir. We’re on power cells so it’s taking me longer than usual!”

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In the meantime, the Gamilon vessel received an urgent message.

“Carrier Vizandi, this is Leader Desslok!” said the mellow voice over the Gamilon ship’s bridge. “My sensors indicate you aren’t being aggressive enough! I want immediate action! That underground factory has to be destroyed!”

“Our second flight of fighters is just talking off, sir,” said the ship’s Captain, a Zaltzian commander with a flesh tone similar to that of Caucasian Terrans. “We are going to follow them and commence heavy bombardment with our main cannon in five zolls, sir!”

The Gamilon carrier began to descend.

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On the Yamato, IQ-9 said, “I’m getting additional power to the bridge from the reactor!”

“Power for bridge number one screen is ready!” said Nishina from beside the robot, who was now sitting at Engineering.

“Visual scanners up,” said Nova. “Calibrating cosmo-radar.”

“Good, switch on the screen!” barked Avatar.

The main screen came up, and an image came up of the Gamilon vessel. It looked far too close for comfort as Nova’s panel began to bleep with a sound pattern that would soon become very familiar to Wildstar and Venture.

“The carrier just left the moon orbit, and it’s descending!” Nova said, waving away the civilian tech running the crude temp radar to her right. “I’m getting range on it! Range, fifty thousand meters and coming in fast! It’s beginning entry into the atmosphere!”

“Captain, they’re coming right at us!” Derek barked. “Can’t we do anything to fight back and save the ship for the mission?”

“Auxiliary Engine Check Completed, Energy Level one hundred percent!” snapped IQ-9. “Starting cylinder Ready for Ignition!”

“All civilian contractors and enlisted men, CLEAR THE BRIDGE; you’ve exceeded your quota of radiation exposure for today!” snapped Avatar. “IQ-9, recharge main energy cell! Prepare to return ship to normal level!”

At that, Wildstar and Venture stood transfixed as darkened screens and indicators all over the Yamato’s bridge lit up like a Christmas Tree. Nova flicked a switch at her radar and a loud set of klaxons began to sound as Captain Avatar himself worked a number of controls at high speed. “Start ascent!” he snapped. “Port to starboard boosters and jets, full power on!” he snapped.

“Uh…what…we’re…we’re moving!” Derek said as the mighty space battleship began to shake.

“Wildstar, take over the gunnery unit at the forward part of the bridge. Venture, you take the helm controls! They are similar to the simulators Nova has been training you two on for the past few months! Get ready for action! THIS IS YOUR BAPTISM OF FIRE!”

“Aye, aye, sir!” Derek and Mark said as one, saluting and then running for their new bridge stations.

“You two, strap in like I showed you the other day!” Nova said as she strapped on her own harness. “Doctor Sane, sit down at Analysis, and take that empty bottle with you! We’ll need you if we have casualties!”

“Uhh…yeah…of course!” stammered Sane. He ran over to the seat beside Wildstar and strapped in.

“We have maneuvering power!” said IQ-9.

“Look at that!” said Derek after he pulled on his gloves while Venture worked the helm. He saw the dirt and crud falling away from the Yamato’s bridge windows, along with tons of rust and broken metal. The open sky, which was now approaching dusk, could now be seen for the first time.

“Yeah…we’re breaking free from the surface!” said Venture.

Dramatically, the Yamato burst out from its carapace of dirt and wreckage to reveal a space battleship that was as brand-new, beautiful and majestic as she had appeared in the artists’ conception that Avatar had handed out to the inner circle of his crew months ago.

The wreckage cleared the conning tower, first, revealing new radar equipment and a new bridge tower slightly smaller and sleeker than that of the old battleship.

The main guns began to lift from the crust; with the dirt and rust shaken away, they were revealed to be brand-new, dark blue-grey, and as shiny as the rest of the brand-new ship that was emerging from the wreckage of the old one.

Finally, the bow broke free of the wreckage, followed by the rest of the Yamato as she shook free from her burial place, now, indeed, no longer an “it” but a “she”.

The keel jets went off as the Yamato assumed flight for the very first time, rising from the dust and dirt like an angry, avenging samurai ready to take the war back to the Gamilons.

“The Yamato is alive!” said IQ-9 triumphantly from his temporary post at Engineering.

“Good work, IQ,” Nova said. “Now our hard work over the past few months will not be in vain!”

“You knew all along?” Derek said to Nova.

Artwork: “Yamato Rising” © 2021 by Matt Berger; used by permission. All rights reserved.

“Of course, but I couldn’t say anything until she was ready,” Nova said. “Captain, the Gamilon carrier is now at twenty thousand meters altitude. We have three minutes to stop it! Location is forty-five degrees due starboard, holding his course! Planes have been recalled!”

“Nova, what do you think he’s going to do?” said Avatar.

“Bombard us, sir. If we don’t get him, we’ll all be dead in two and a half minutes!” she said, wiping sweat off her brow.

“What’s your status, Navigation?” barked Avatar.

“Engine output, one hundred percent, power transmission, normal, we’re twenty meters above ground, sir!” said Venture.

“Our target is the enemy base carrier! Wildstar, set all gun turrets on automatic firing!” Avatar said.

“All Automatic units on target. All settings between twenty and forty-five degrees!” said Wildstar. “Captain, the countdown has started!”

“Gamilon carrier, ten thousand meters altitude!” Nova said. “I’m detecting positron rays…he’s building up energy in his positron cannon! We have eighty seconds left!”

One blast and we’re finished, Avatar thought. Those Gamilon positron cannons aren’t as powerful as our wave motion gun, but they proved bad enough at the Second Battle of Neptune earlier this year.

Avatar looked at his board. “Gun turret number three, you’re pointing two seconds behind! Can you handle it, Wildstar?”

“I’m doing my best, Captain,” Derek sighed. “I’ve never operated a unit like this before! It has more stuff on it than the simulator! WHEW!”

The Yamato’s turrets swung to acquire the target as Avatar’s screen turned bright red and then green.

“All guns locked on target, and ready to fire! FIRE!” barked Avatar.

For the first time ever, the Space Battleship Yamato’s guns fired in anger.

And the Yamato’s anger was quite impressive.

The turrets spat blue-green energy at the Gamilon vessel as she hung above the battlefield at just six thousand meters altitude, or eighteen thousand feet.

The energy charges roared through the enemy ship like hot knives through butter as the Gamilon captain yelled, “Gamilon Headquarters! Our target was not an underground factory or city! It’s a Terran space battleship! The biggest I have ever seen!”

“Blow it to pieces, Captain,” said Desslok’s voice over the bridge speakers as the Vizandi blew apart.

“Yeah, we did it!” said Wildstar on the Yamato’s bridge as he looked up at the destruction on the main screen.

“We did it!” laughed Venture.

The two young men got up and shook hands.

“You were great, Mark!” said Derek.

“You too,” said Mark.

“You both were marvelous!” said Nova as she came over and laid her hand on theirs.

“Thank you, Nova!” said Derek with a wide grin.

“You’re quite welcome,” Nova said. “How did I do?”

“You handled your post like a professional, Nova…all of you did!” Avatar said. “IQ-9, I commend you on your work as well.”

“Thank you, sir,” IQ-9 said.

“Wildstar, Venture, Nova, we can all be a team,” said Avatar. “That is, if you two still want to join the Star Force!”

“Is this what the Star Force is going to fight in?” asked Derek.

“Yes, in this ship…we’ll work together to save the Earth. Looks to me as if the three of you are going to be great friends,” said Avatar.

“We already are, sir,” Nova said. “Doctor Sane, are you all right over there?” she said.

“Ohh…which way is my stomach going?” he said. “I need that motion sickness remedy now!”

“None of your so-called “spring water” yet, Doctor,” Nova said. “We need to eat. Captain, like to join us for dinner?”

“I ate already, Nova. You take care of the good Doctor and our new officers. After you eat, Nova, sign them up in the ship’s computers and get them cabins and make sure they draw spacesuits and equipment. Takeoff day is scheduled for twelve days from now, on October sixth. Nova, get these two to work tomorrow helping you pick out Gunnery and Navigation officers and enlisted as well as pilots and flight crew along with your Operations bunch and your nurses.”

“Yessir,” said Nova. “We don’t have a full mess crew aboard yet. Mind if I personally make you guys your first meal aboard the Yamato?”

“What are you going to make?” Derek said as they walked down to the messhall.

“Chili,” Nova said with a smile. “Five-Alarm Texas style. My cousin Jane, who used to live in Denton, taught me how to make it. My father was an international lawyer, so, before the bombings, I was all over the world with him as a kid.”

“Where did you end up?” Mark asked.

“I was in both Boulder and Denver, Colorado, Denton and Houston, Texas, Garden Grove, California, Kyushu, Japan and Osaka, Japan, along with Manhattan, Philadelphia, Bethlehem, and Allensburg, Pennsylvania, and Paris, London, and Moscow.  I’ve sort of been…all over the place,” Nova said as she motioned her friends into the galley, threw on an apron, and began to cook.

“Nova, may I ask you a question?” Derek said after a few minutes while Nova cooked.

“Yes?” she replied.

“It seems you do a LOT on this ship.”

“I do. I was appointed the second person on the crew list after Captain Avatar,” Nova said. “What’s your question?”

“Nova, when do you find time to…sleep?” Derek said.

Nova just laughed and said, “I find time, here and there…chili’s ready! I made this up the other day and just rewarmed it for us. Food’s coming, guys!”

Doctor Sane and IQ-9 came back from the head, and IQ-9 said, “Nova, are you making that crud again?”

“Crud?” screeched Doctor Sane. “I normally don’t like Tex-Mex, but Nova makes a mean chili!”

“IQ-9, stop calling my cooking “crud”!” Nova snapped. She laded some chili into bowls and said, “Doctor Sane, Derek, Mark…here you go! Oh, I need some, too,” she said.

“What about me?” squeaked IQ-9.

“Number one, IQ, you can’t eat!” Nova giggled. “Number two, you called my food crud, so you wouldn’t get any if you could eat!”

“You’re mean, Nova.”

“You’re worse,” Nova said as she sat down, bowed her head, and quickly said Grace. Mark and Derek said, “Amen,” along with her as Doctor Sane opened another bottle of sake’.

“You guys want any?” he said.

“We’d better not,” said Derek. “In case the Gamilons come back in force.”

“Wise idea,” said Mark.

“Good thinking,” added Nova as she began to dig into her chili.

“This is…spicy…” Mark said.

“I like it,” said Derek, who was shoveling down his chili as if there was no tomorrow. “Seconds, please?”

“Go get it,” Nova said. “I’m eating.”

“It’s amazing how much she likes this crud!” IQ-9 said.

“Like me to throw a salt shaker at you?” Nova threatened.

“She will do it,” said IQ-9. “Don’t insult her food, or you might end up in the pot. Nova is a dangerous woman, possibly deranged!”

Nova, Mark and Derek looked at each other, smiled, and shook their heads at IQ-9 as Doctor Sane seemed to spend more time with his bottle than the food.

----------------------------

AN HOUR LATER…

After eating and washing the dishes (both Mark and Derek helped Nova in that chore, being more gallant than IQ-9, who continued to insult Nova while they were washing up), the three young men and women went back to the Bridge with IQ-9 and Doctor Sane, to find Captain Avatar tuning some systems himself, and saying, “The Yamato was a proud ship, and had an interesting history. She sailed the seas for Japan in one of the last wars between the nations of Earth. All war on Earth ceased when Gamilon began bombing us,” he said.

“I know something about the Yamato’s history,” Derek said.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” Mark said as he sat down at his bridge station, followed by Nova.

Derek cleared his throat, surprised that he had such an eager audience. “The Yamato was designed in the 20^th century, in the late 1930’s by the Japanese Imperial Navy, who wanted to have an edge against the US Navy if they went to war, so they built the Yamato as a ship too big to match anything the Americans had…”

“Because all American vessels had to pass through the Panama Canal,” Nova commented.

“You read up on this, too?” Derek said.

“Yes. I’m a history buff, actually,” Nova said. “For personal reasons, regarding this ship.”

“Hmm, me too,” said Derek. Mark rolled up his eyes at that. Great, here goes space cowboy trying to put the moves on the pretty girl again, he thought. I thought I had first dibs on Nova.

“Okay,” said Derek. “The Yamato was built in secret due to the Washington Naval Treaty. She was put into commission shortly after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, and ended up as Admiral Yamamoto’s flagship…”

“At Midway, 1942,” Nova said. “But they kept this ship to the rear of Yamamoto’s formation and struck first with their carriers, which the Americans attacked.”

“Right,” said Derek.

“When do I get to talk?” said Mark.

“Do you remember anything about the Yamato?” chided Derek.

“I slept through Naval History Class,” said Venture.

“That’s why I had to help you so much, space jockey,” teased Derek.

“Stop calling me a space jockey!” said Mark.

Nova cleared her throat loudly. “Gentlemen, back on track! The Yamato didn’t really get into action again until Leyte Gulf in the Philippines in 1944. She spent so much of her time docked that they were calling her “a hotel for unemployed Admirals”.”

“So, what did she do at Leyte Gulf again?” Venture said.

“Attacked a smaller American force. The Admiral on the Yamato, Admiral Kurita, was fooled into thinking he was facing a much larger force, so he retired from the battle,” Derek said.

“Yeah, Kurita made a major mistake,” Nova added. “Admiral Kurita, who was unaware that his fellow Admiral Ozawa's decoy plan had succeeded, assumed he had found a carrier group from Halsey's 3rd Fleet when he attacked that small American force. He made things worse by ordering a "General Attack", which called for his fleet to split into divisions and attack independently.”

“Not a bright tactical move,” said Derek.

Nova nodded, and so did Avatar. Mark’s eyes were starting to glaze over at this discussion of a long-ago naval battle.

Derek added, “As I said, fooled by the tactical situation, Admiral Kurita left the battle. The Yamato didn’t fight again until her last battle, Operation Ten-Go.”

“What was the situation there?” Mark said.

“It was April 1945,” Nova said. “The Americans were drawing closer to the Japanese home islands, and had started a major operation to invade Okinawa. Emperor Hirohito asked the Japanese Navy commanders if they had anything to throw into the battle. They said they had the Yamato, so they assembled a small fleet around her and sent her to Okinawa on essentially a Special Attack Mission.”

“A suicide mission,” added Derek. “The plan was to fight their way through the American forces and beach the ship on Okinawa and fire as a land battery. They never made it,” Derek said as he bowed his head.

Nova nodded. “On April 7, 1945, Yamato entered her last battle. Within a few hours, she was spotted by the Americans, who attacked her with several waves of carrier-based aircraft from several carriers, including the Hornet, Essex, and Bunker Hill. Over four hundred planes went up against the Yamato and her force, who had no air cover. The Yamato fought hard, but…”

“The inevitable happened, and the Yamato’s magazines took damage,” Derek said. “As she was turning turtle from several major torpedo hits and heavy flooding, the magazines went, and the Yamato blew apart and sank. Her Commanders, Admiral Ito and Captain Aruga, fought the ship to the very end and went down with her at 1405 Hours on April 7^th. Most of the crew went down with the ship.”

“I know,” Nova said quietly. “Some of their bones were still in the wreck as we were taking her apart.”

“How do you know so much about the Yamato?” said Mark.

“Family history,” Nova said. “I’m Japanese-American. One ancestor of mine was on the Yamato and went down with the ship after he left children. Another ancestor was American and fought on the Bunker Hill.  It’s a good thing that war between nations on Earth is a relic of the past.”

“It is,” said Avatar. “When the Gamilons attacked, we joined forces against a common enemy. Now, the Yamato has been brought back to life again, not to fight for any nation in particular, but for all of Earth. We will be heading to Iscandar, as all of you know.”

Derek got up and walked over to Avatar’s station with Mark and Nova. “I’ll be proud to serve with the Star Force, Captain. Just as my brother Alex would have been,” he said as he looked hard into Avatar’s eyes.

The old Captain acknowledged the young man’s gaze and nodded. “We must succeed in our mission, unlike the original Yamato!’ barked Avatar. “The Star Force cannot fail!”

And, sir, we will not fail, thought Mark Venture. We will not fail…

“We have three hundred and sixty-five days, from today, to carry out our mission,” said Captain Avatar. “We absolutely MUST succeed!”

TO BE CONTINUED…