STAR BLAZERS: A VOYAGE TO REMEMBER

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

Frederick P. Kopetz

EPISODE SIX: LIFTOFF

October 2, 2199

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On board the Argo, the inspection tour of the mighty space battleship continued.

As she had promised, Nova dropped Derek and Mark off at the Technical Section’s work area at the forward part of the ship.

“I hope you found the tour interesting,” said Avatar as the three young officers saluted him.

“We sure did,” said Venture.

“Nova is very well informed on the operations end of the ship, and what they were making in the galley smelled great,” Derek said.

“I allowed them to take free samples of tonight’s dinner,” Nova said. “Chicken croquettes-the real thing. After that, we have to switch over to reprocessed vegetable matter, except for very special occasions. Doctor Sane and I have added some vitamin supplements to make certain the crew’s nutritional requirements will be met.”

“The chicken sounds good, but I’m sure we will not have time to eat until after we take off and test the warp drive,” said Avatar.

“Nova, I fabricated those circuit breakers for your board as you requested,” said Sandor as he came up with a small box.

“Thanks,” Nova said. “Captain, if I may be excused...I have to install these circuit breakers in my bridge panel; and then review some of the equations for the space warp later on to make sure they balance out.”

“Permission granted; see you later,” said Avatar. “Make sure you’re free by 2200. That’s when our final countdown for launch will start.”

Nova saluted Avatar, gave Venture and Wildstar a final glance, and off she went.

Derek and Mark looked like they wanted to say something, but Sandor turned around. “Captain, before I show them around Technical, my crew did some revised scans of the surface of Earth and the biosphere, as well as some averaging of the data we received from the cities still able to communicate before communications went down earlier today. By our new estimates, we have a little more time than we thought; but not much.”

“How much?” asked Avatar.

“As of today, sir, in exactly three hundred and sixty-three days, the radiation will seep to the lowest levels of the underground cities and exterminate all life then remaining on Earth. We’d better be snappy about our takeoff, sir.”

“All right, Sandor. Lecture the young officers here, and then I’ll take them to the hangar decks.”

“Of course,” said Sandor. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Steven Sandor, the Technical and Science Group Leader. This machine you are looking at is my pride and joy-our dynamic replicator. I was going to call it the “dynamic do-all” but Royster advised me the name was a little silly. It can produce all sorts of parts and machinery which we will need underway. Let’s say that you want a new astro-cycle-just enter in a program design, press a few buttons, and voila!”

Sandor started up the machine, and in short order, it produced a small astro-cycle out of parts, assembled it, painted it, and it rolled out finished, a minute or two later.

“Wow!” said Derek.

“What a machine!” Mark said in awe.

A few minutes later, Avatar had taken them to one of the aft upper fighter bays. “And this space is the upper port side hangar deck. Grant’s squadron is based in here, along with your personal Super Starfighter, Wildstar” Avatar said as he pointed out fourteen Super Starfighters resting in docking bays like eggs resting in a refrigerator. “The planes are swung out on giant lifts and raised to the launching deck and catapult here. Taylor’s squadron is on the starboard side, and Conroy and Hardy’s Black Tiger fighter-bombers are down below in the main bay, which is also the main landing deck.  Returning Super Starfighters will be conveyed back up to these bays through another lift system. We also have several Type 100 recon planes both below and in each of these bays. In this bay, we have two planes assigned to you, Venture, for navigational recon purposes and one assigned to Nova for life sign and environmental scanning.”

 “Looks like we got the make-up jobs we asked for, too,” laughed Venture. He had chosen a paint scheme with a cool-looking rabbit, based on an old set of US squadron markings also seen in the Area 88 manga and anime.  “That’s mine, Wildstar, with the Playboy emblem! Nova got what she wanted, too,” he said as he indicated a second Type 100 Astro Fox which had a flaming unicorn painted on the tailfins. “She got Shin’s “Firehorse”!” laughed Venture. “She’ll just have kittens when she sees that on her bird! COOL!”

“Wish I had an idea of my own tail art,” Derek said miserably. He was remembering his brother’s plane, which he had seen a few times. He remembered that Alex had a stylized Samurai painted on his plane. He wasn’t sure he wanted tail art on his plane. He was of course, unaware that the problem would be solved by someone else for him a few months later.

In the meantime, on Titan, a battle was in progress around the site of the Paladin, which had crash-landed there. Around the wreck of the Paladin, which had been rechristened as such so recently that her original name of Yukikaze was still painted on her flanks, Captain Alex Wildstar was behind an icy ridge with the other three survivors of his ship: Adam Avatar, his XO, along with his shipmates Keniichi Morimoto and Carol Garlow. Morimoto had been his radar officer, and Garlow, a nurse, had been the ship’s Pharmacist’s Mate.

“Why do they keep on coming?” hissed Morimoto.

“Simple. The Gamilon bastards want to capture us,” said Adam Avatar.

“If we’re going to kill them, we’d better do it quickly,” said Garlow. “Skipper, our suits only have an hours’ worth of oxygen left. What’s your plan?”

“Fight these guys off, get back to the ship, fix her engines, and get off this iceball and back home; what do you think?” Alex snapped. “My brother Derek probably thinks I’m dead.”

“Attention, Terran filth,” said a cold Gamilon voice over their headsets as they saw a Gamilon tank approaching. “Be sensible and surrender, or you will all be killed. What is your answer?”

“Like hell we will!” Alex snapped.

The Gamilons answered by firing like mad at them as they clambered out of the tank.

Alex and all of the others returned fire like avenging angels. Five of the eleven Gamilons surrounding them were killed.

The Gamilons returned fire like monsters. One shot took Morimoto with a loud scream. Another shot hit Carol in the shoulder. She fell down with a gasp with air slowly venting from her EVA suit.

Two Gamilons leaped over the ridge and dragged her off towards the tank. Alex and Adam thought she was still alive since they thought they saw her moving as they grabbed her.

Alex and Adam nodded grimly at each other.

They fired again and again.

Then, Alex was hit in his firing hand. His Cosmo-Gun flew out of his hand and landed spinning in a slushy puddle raised during the battle.

Adam was the only one armed. He killed another Gamilon before two more came over the ridge, fought him hand to hand, and knocked him out and dragged him away.

“Come on!” yelled Alex. “Come and get me…if you can!” he barked.

Three Gamilons came for Alex. All three of them fought and grappled. Alex was close enough to see to his utter surprise that they looked much like Terrans with Caucasian skin tones, except for one who seemed to have bluish skin beneath the sealed visor of his spacesuit.

During the wrestling match, Alex felt a heavy blow to the back of his helmeted head. He thought he saw two Gamilons running up inside the Paladin as his vision blurred.

Then, there was another blow to his head, and Alex Wildstar saw no more for a while. The blue-skinned Gamilon nodded to his compatriots, and they dragged Alex’s inert body across the ice to a second waiting tank as more of their men came out of the Paladin with various supplies, including the vessel’s computer core.

A demolition charge blew out the stern of the Paladin and disabled her engines. She would remain lying on Titan for eighteen years, until, in another world, another time, the Paladin would be salvaged, rebuilt, and renamed Yukikaze. Finally, in an irony upon ironies, Yukikaze’s next Captain would be a relative of Alex’s he hadn’t even met yet, but Alex would eventually see his old ship again.

Avatar said to Wildstar and Venture, “And this is the heart of the Argo…the powerful Wave Motion Engine.”

“Hullo, Captain!” said Patrick Orion as he climbed down a ladder from the top of the massive structure of the wave motion engine.

Orion said, “As you lads know, I’m Orion, the Chief Engineer. If this wave motion engine works the way it’s supposed to, we’ll be in for a big surprise.”

“I remember the briefings led by Sandor, the Captain, and Nova, but they were a little over my head,” said Venture. “Could you please explain, simply, how this wave motion engine works?”

“Ah yes, ye smart physicists aren’t exactly clear on everything, even though you, Steven, and Nova sorta put your bright heads together to help us get this wee bairn built!” said Orion with a wink towards Avatar. “Okay, lads! Translating the math and plans Starsha gave us was by no means easy and how this engine works is complicated, but, to put it simply, it compresses free-floatin’ space molecules, atoms and ions, the most abundant o’ which is hydrogen, into faster-than-light tachyon particles which either provide thrust, or, in warp mode, drag the ship along with ‘em into hyperspace, enablin’ us to travel faster than the speed o’ light, see?”

“Uh…yeah, okay,” said Venture.

“I have things to do,” said Avatar. “Be sure to meet us all on Bridge Number One at 2200.”

“Yessir,” said Mark and Derek. Avatar adjusted his ascot and began to leave.

Wildstar then looked at Orion and said, “Orion, I understand that you’ve served a long time with Captain Avatar.”

“That’s right,” said Orion, his voice becoming guarded as Captain Avatar turned his head at the hatch to listen.

“You must know what kind of man he is,” said Derek.

Mark pushed Derek’s shoulder. “Wildstar, c’mon! We have to get up to the Bridge!”

Then, Derek looked at Orion and blurted out, angrily, “My brother was under Captain Avatar when he fought at Pluto, but he never came back!”

“Ah, so you’re Captain Alex Wildstar’s brother,” said Orion. “This has been a cruel war and many families have been destroyed. You’re not the only person who’s lost someone. Captain Avatar lost his only son Adam in the same battle at Pluto.”

Derek’s eyes went wide at this news as Avatar left the engine room with his head bowed.

“Since his second wife Clarisse died four years ago from the radiation sickness, Captain Avatar has no family left. I’d wager everyone on this ship lost someone due to this war. Steve Sandor lost both his parents. Nova lost her little sister Ariel years ago when the bombing started. Doctor Sane lost his whole family. Captain Avatar is a fine man. He doesn’t blame others for his losses, he just moves on. Could you do the same?”

In the meantime, as he drifted down the people mover, Avatar’s head remained bowed in thought, as Derek’s accusing words continued to ring in his thoughts, “My Brother was with Captain Avatar when he fought at Pluto, but he never came back…never came back…never came back!”

More time passed. It was now 2000.

Before liftoff, Nova was alone on the First Bridge, whistling the song Scarlet Scarf under her breath as she worked on her radar console. The main board was up on maintenance struts, and Nova was working with a small flashlight and a screwdriver in the board to replace some of the fuses that had given them trouble the other day with the circuit breakers Sandor had made up.

As Nova worked, Sparks stole onto the First Bridge and began to mess around with something at the Engineering post, grinning strangely at Nova the whole time he worked.

While the two of them worked, Wildstar came onto the Bridge with a cup of coffee. “Just two of you? Who’s in command here?”

“Me,” Nova said from inside her console.

Derek thought he would ask Nova about her deceased little sister, but then he noticed she was busy, so he just said. “Okay, Nova. You said you’re in charge now?”

“That’s right. I’m Officer of the Deck for the moment until the Captain or Sandor arrives back. Excuse me…I think I hear someone sneaking around by Engineering? Is that you, Homer?”

“No, Nova, it’s me,” said Sparks. “And I’ve got a little present for ya!”

“Sparks, I don’t like the sound of that,” Nova said. “Wildstar, is he about to pull some stupid prank?”

“No, he’s by the Engineering Console,” said Derek.

“Hey, Nova, here’s your present,” said Sparks as he flicked a switch on his board.

Nova had just inserted the last circuit breaker, so her board abruptly came to life…with her hand still on a power bus.

Nova screamed, “OH YIKES! CRAAAAAAAAPPPP!” as electricity flew around her and her hair stood on end for a moment.

Wildstar got up to see Nova’s plight. He grabbed her arm, pulled it off the bus (hoping that he didn’t get zapped too) but her uniform sleeve kept him from being in contact with her or the live power source and he looked as she stood there in shock (literally) with a finger smoking slightly.

Sparks was laughing his butt off at that.

“You burned me a few weeks ago, Nova. Now I burned YOU! 20,000 volts but just a quarter-amp! Didn’t really hurt ‘cha, but damn, I made YOU look ridiculous!”

“I’ll tend to you in a minute with a First Aid kit, just sit down, please…” Derek said to Nova.

“You think that was FUNNY doing that to a woman?” Derek snapped as he came at Sparks with fire in his eyes.

“Hey, Wildstar, I just wanted to make her look stupid, like she made me look stupid when I asked her to go out with me…and told me to get lost!”

“She’s got good taste, Sparks!” Derek snapped. “And you’re a total asshole for doing that to a nice lady like her!” he yelled as he hauled off and slugged Sparks in the face while Nova screamed in shock. Sparks stood up with blood pouring from his nose, but Derek kicked him in the butt and said, “I’d better not see you back on this bridge for at least the next week, or I’ll cripple ya! Get outta my sight! And if Nova decides she wants to press charges, I’ll gladly be her witness!”

Sparks got up and looked at a wrathful Wildstar hitting his hand with a fist, and Nova getting up, after having taken off her shoe. She looked about ten seconds away from whipping her shoe right at Sparks’ head.

“Well, what do you to have to say for yourselves!?” Sparks sneered.

“Beat it…you…you…miserable WRETCH!” Nova snapped. “If you ever come near me again, I swear, I’ll make you pay for it! At any rate, you’re on report, Sparks!”

“Looks like I’m outnumbered by the hotshot pilot and the Barbie doll,” sneered Sparks. “Ta-ta, you two! Hope you get caught in a Public Display of Affection violation in the next month and both get airlocked!”

Sparks left.

“Someone should airlock HIM,” Nova said through a sob. “Derek, what are you doing?”

He ran towards her with a Medkit. “Getting you first aid! That must be a second degree burn on that finger, my God!”

“If it didn’t hurt so damn much, I could handle it myself,” Nova said. “Thanks,” she said as she bit her tongue while Derek began to work on her. “Would you believe I’m a Nurse Practitioner who hates pain and needles…when they’re going in me?”

“You’re going to be okay if I can get some salve on that,” Derek said as he sprayed Nova’s finger. He saw tears running from her eyes and said, “You’ll feel better in about thirty seconds so I can get a dressing on it.”

“Thanks,” Nova said. “Leave me be…I can take care of it…”

“Nova, your face is all white, and some of your hair is still standing up. C’mon, chill a minute and let me get a dressing on you. You’re shaking.”

“Guess you’re right,” Nova said. “Maybe Sparks is right, too, and my Mom. I can pipe off this ship…resign…go back home…”

“Hell, no, we need you!” Derek said. “You’re organized, nice, and a genius,” Derek said. “You’re great at your job!” Derek finished taping up Nova’s finger and then he had her sit back as he asked, “Can I close up your board?”

“Yeah,” Nova said in a depressed voice. Derek bent over her and shut the panel, and he almost fell into her lap. She helped him up, and Derek found out that despite her frail-looking build, she was a pretty strong young woman.

“Don’t ask me to kiss your finger,” Derek said. “I…I don’t know you well enough yet and I try to be gallant.”

“Well, at least you try to be a gentleman…much more than we can say for Ensign Samuel Travis Sparks,” Nova said with a slight smile as she quickly typed an e-mail to Captain Avatar putting Sparks on report and requesting that he be secured in the Brig. “Oh! Here’s your nose back, by the way,” Nova added as she put her thumb between her fingers and “gave” Derek his nose back.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I promised I’d give it back when you were nice to me, and, believe me, Lieutenant, this goes above and beyond the call of duty. Darn hair…I’ll need a shower to get this to look right.”

“What’s with that guy, anyway? If he had turned up the damn amperage…”

“I know. I might be dead by now. That’s why I’m still shaking,” Nova said. “Sorry.”

“Nova, mind telling me what he did to you?” Derek said as he knelt on the deck. “Your slipper, M’Lady,” he said as he handed Nova’s sandal back to her. “Size Six, huh? You’ve got cute little paws.”

“Thanks,” Nova said with a blush as she put her shoe back on and secured the ankle strap. “Okay…the story of Sparks. Derek, please never tell anyone else this? I’m a bit…ashamed.”

“Okay. I get the idea he tried to ask you out.”

“Yes, he sure did,” Nova said.

“And?”

“I was nice but I told him, no…told him I was here to do a job, not use the Star Force as a dating service!”

“I take it he didn’t take that well and that he didn’t bow like a gentleman and leave you alone.”

“No. I remember what he said. He said, and I quote, “Hey, Nova. It’s okay if you don’t wanna date me. Would a no-commitment roll in the sack be fine with you? You have a cute…ass,” Nova stammered.

“I take it you told him to get lost.”

“Yes, very forcefully. I also told him that due to my Christian faith, I intend to wait until I marry someone and wait until the wedding night to…well…you get the picture,” Nova said with a deep blush. “You know what that piece of garbage said to me afterwards?”

“What?” Derek sighed.

“He said, “Too bad you have to apparently be a Lesbian with that cute body of yours. Or since you’re not here to get married, why the…?” I’m not going to say exactly what he said…but it was a four-letter word beginning with “FOXTROT” he said, “Why the (bleep) don’t you leave this ship and go home and play with Barbie Dolls, or your girlfriend?””

“So, what did you say back to him?”

“Derek, I told him to drop dead and get his crude mouth and mind away from me and stay away from me, and I slapped him across the face!”

“I’d say he earned it.”

“Yeah, and he said all that in front of that crazy Master of Arms, Ito…with his psychotic smile.”

“What did that guy Ito do to Harada?” said Derek.

“He raped her,” Nova said bluntly. “I found her, gave her the rape kit and patched up her psyche a little, then I made sure Ito went straight to the Brig. At gunpoint. Namely mine. I would have done the same just now to Sparks if I wasn’t in pain. He tried to grab at my sidearm. I gave him a warning shot and said if he tried anything else, the next shot would go right into his head. I testified at his Court-Martial two days later after Harada left the ship, and I was on his execution detail, or, rather, firing squad, after Captain Avatar, as President of the Court, pronounced sentence for first-degree rape with intent to murder. Automatic death penalty for that offense, you know. You were away then, but Dash, Hardy, myself, and Conroy shot him nice and dead on the aft part of the Third Bridge. He didn’t even want a blindfold and he died giving us all his middle finger. I pronounced him dead myself and I asked to be on the firing squad because Makoto was hurt so badly by him and because we lost a very good nurse, even if she was a bit…giggly. I was so enraged by that, I was fit to be tied, Derek!”

“Then…what happened?”

“What happened?” Nova said rhetorically. “I went somewhere to throw up! Ito was the first person I ever killed, even though afterwards I took a Type 100 up the other day for flight practice and spotted and splashed a Gamilon spy plane all by my little old self! Sorry, Derek. Until this war, I’ve sorta led a sheltered life…and I never took a life before, nor did I really want to.”

“Yeah…I led a sheltered life, too…once…” said Derek. “Need a hug?”

Nova nodded, and Derek gave her what would turn out to be the first of many hugs in their friendship…and eventual romance.

Then, Derek stood up and helped Nova get up. “I’ve got to run for now.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. “We’ll both talk to Captain Avatar about Sparks after we take off. He should be under arrest ASAP as I requested.”

“I’ll let my Star Force Troopers take care of that,” Derek said. “He’ll be in the brig for our liftoff.”

“Good.”

It was now 2045. Captain Avatar sat in his quarters with Master Sergeant Sorin, Steve Sandor, Patrick Orion, Chris Eager, and Father Martin Likanski standing nearby in a semi-circle.

“Well, I sent the e-mail to a couple of you,” Avatar said. “Sandor and Father Likanski know what this is about…”

“Sir,” said Master Sergeant Sorin. “I take it that…we’re all believers?”

“Yes,” said Captain Avatar as Father Likanski put a scarlet clerical stole on over his gold uniform. “This will be a brief prayer and Communion service. I think we could all use a blessing before we lift off.”

A tap came at the hatch, and Avatar snapped, “Come in!”

Nova came in, in a fresh jumpsuit and boots with slightly wet hair followed by Doctor Carroway. “Sorry to cut it close, everyone,” Nova said. “Captain, my hair was standing up after that business with Sparks I e-mailed you about.”

“It’s all right; he’s in the brig now. Dash and Wildstar caught him…I think he’s a little worse for wear now,” Captain Avatar said.

“Unfortunately, I need him in the engine room too much to send him off the ship and expel him from the Star Force,” said Orion. “We’ll be shorthanded as it is thanks to his little adolescent game…”

“Yeah,” Nova said with a slight snarl on her face while clenching her fist.

“Dear, remember what the Word says about loving our enemies,” Father Likanski said gently.

“Sorry, Father,” Nova said as she cast her eyes down towards the deck. “I’m very sorry, Lord,” she said as she held hands with Denise and prayed for a moment…confessing her sins to the Lord.

“That’s fine…He heard you and you can have Communion with the rest of us, Nova,” said Likanski with a smile as Conroy, Hardy, and Grant came in.

“Where’s Taylor?” said Avatar.

“He’s not a believer, sir,” said Hardy.

“I see,” said Captain Avatar. “I called us together because you’re all the believers I currently know of aboard the ship. I think we should have a very short prayer meeting to pray for the success of the mission; then Father will give us Communion,” he said. “Father, please lead us in prayer.”

“Yessir,” said Likanski. “Father, You know our hearts, our hopes, our losses, our fears. We are, by Your Grace, the best of Earth. We are about to lift off on a mission the likes of which mankind has never taken before; to planet Iscandar and back. I ask You, Lord Yeshua, Son of the Father, to be with us and vouchsafe us to Iscandar and back. May Your angels guide us and be with us all as we pass into the domain of the Enemy, to confront evil in your Heavens. Sprit of the Lord, please succor us, guide us, teach us, protect us. Help us to do our jobs well and to spread Your truth among this crew by our actions and words. We all ask this in the name of Christ our Lord, Amen.”

“Amen and Amen,” all of them said together.

Then, Father Likanski opened a small container holding several Hosts he had consecrated that morning at a small Mass that only Captain Avatar, Orion, and Nova had time to attend at sunrise. He held up a Host and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but only say the Word and we shall all be healed.”

Then, he gave Communion to each officer and crewman present.

Captain Avatar said a quick prayer, and then Father Likanski said, “All of you are dismissed. May the Lord bless and keep you, and may His Countenance shine upon you. Go in peace. I hope that we can hold proper services again in the next few days.”

“Let us know when, and Nova will have the mess hall ready,” said Avatar.

“Sure,” Nova said, giving them a thumbs-up before she and Sandor headed to the First Bridge.

Soon, Avatar was left alone.

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a picture of his wife and son, and looked sadly at it, lost in his thoughts for a while as he looked out at the dark sky.

Derek had been lost in his own thoughts before he came to the First Bridge.

“There you are, Wildstar!” said Homer. “Communications with Headquarters just came back up! We’ve just received a report from Earth Headquarters that a huge Gamilon missile is heading right for us!”

“Direction, 18 degrees to port, distance, fifty thousand megameters past the Moon’s orbit,” said Nova as she watched her radar. “I don’t have a speed estimate on it yet; but it’s moving really fast!”

“My estimate is that it’ll hit us in ninety minutes!” said Eager. “Maybe sooner! It’s pickin’ up its speed!” Eager said.

“I’ll inform Captain Avatar right away!” Derek said as he ran off.

Derek was banging on the hatch of the Captain’s Cabin a moment later. “Captain, this is Wildstar!”

“Come in,” said Avatar. Derek entered, came to attention and said, “Sir, Earth Defense reports that a huge Gamilon missile is coming right at us!”

“All right; I’ll be down in a moment,” said Avatar as he stood up, and looked at Wildstar. “Wildstar?” he said.

“Captain?”

“It’s nothing,” said Avatar as he walked off.

But then, as he left his quarters, Wildstar’s mouth fell open as he saw a picture hanging out of Captain Avatar’s drawer.

It was of the Captain, with his hands on the shoulders of a dark-haired young man in Special Forces EDF uniform (the same uniform Derek himself now wore) and a dark-haired young woman in a green dress.

Derek stared hard for a moment at the picture of Captain Avatar’s wife and son, no longer with them.

Or, so he and the Captain thought…

Commander Adam Avatar woke up in a dark green-walled cell aboard what he guessed was a vessel making rather strange noises.

“Where am I?” he yelled out loud.

A familiar voice from what he guessed was the cell next door replied, “This is “Doc” Garlow. Adam, I didn’t catch much, but my guard came in before with food. We’re on a Gamilon vessel. I have no idea where we’re going. I was searched but given back my uniform. I have a headache, but I’m all right.”

“Carol,” said Adam. “Do you know what they did with the Skipper?”

“I asked them. The guard who fed me was mean but halfway decent. He told me that he’s on a different ship and that we’re all going to Gamilon to be studied and possibly even interrogated directly by their Head of State. He has a weird name, they said…he’s known as…Leader Desslok.”

“Wonderful,” said Adam in a dry, angry voice. “We have a duty to escape, but it’s gonna be kinda hard to do that on a space ship!”

“There are ways…but they’re going to be a little difficult…they took my belt,” Carol said. “I don’t even have a darn Medkit!”

“Lucky we’re still alive,” said Adam.

“Yeah…thank Heavens for that,” said Carol. “I’d make a toast, but I don’t have any water.”

“What does Gamilon food taste like? They haven’t fed me yet.”

“It’s weird,” said Carol. “It’s all bitter and spicy. Both the guys who saw me were blue. Even the nice guy talked weird.”

“They’re aliens,” said Adam. “It’s a wonder we can talk to them at all.”

“Yeah.”

“All hands present; ready for takeoff,” said Sandor.

“Latest estimate; the missile will hit in sixteen minutes,” said Nova from her post.

“Okay, start the engine,” said Venture from his post.

“Wait!” barked Captain Avatar. “The engine has to be started with one continuous motion. If it isn’t, the power surge will shake us to pieces!”

Wildstar snapped, “Captain, that enemy missile has our name on it! Do we have time to go by the book?”

Avatar said, “Wildstar, you’ll soon learn that the less time you have, the more you need to use it wisely! Orion, commence the energy buildup and be ready to give us a power surge.”

“Aye, sir,” he said.

Homer turned his head. “Captain, Earth Defense Command estimates the missile will hit in eleven minutes. They’re telling us to take off now!”

“When we’re ready,” barked Avatar.

“Range of missile to the ship; three hundred and fifty megameters!” said Nova. “I estimate we have ten point five minutes.”

Back at Earth Defense Command, General Stone said, “Commander, our latest estimate is that the Gamilon missile will hit the Argo in six hundred seconds!”

“Only ten minutes left?” snapped Commanding General Singleton as he began to sweat. “Hasn’t the Argo taken off yet?”

“They report they will when they’re ready, sir,” said a Communications Officer.

God, please be with us this time, said Commanding General Singleton as he began to pray silently.  Please don’t let this mission fail.

“Energy Level is now 100% plus twenty,” said Orion. “All power gauges green.”

“Venture, start the auxiliary engines!” ordered Avatar.

“Yessir,” he said. “Starting Auxiliary Engines…power level….one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, six hundred, twelve hundred…two thousand, twenty-nine hundred, three thousand RPM’s…auxiliary engines powered up, connect the wave motion engine!”

Venture pulled the start lever, but the roar of the auxiliaries just went dead and nothing happened.

“CAPTAIN, IT WON’T START!” Mark said with sweat running down his face while Sandor punched up status readouts at his post.

Captain Avatar shut his eyes after looking at a readout at his post. “Venture, go over your checklist again.”

“Yessir,” he said. He began the startup and then said, “Captain, my fault. One of the auxiliary switches was off!”

“Confirmed…be sure you connect every power bus,” said Sandor as Derek glared at Mark and snapped, “WATCH IT, VENTURE!”

“Derek, we don’t need this!” Nova said with annoyance in her voice.

“No, we don’t,” said Avatar from his post. “Let Venture work! Wildstar, ready main guns for when we get her up and flying!”

“Energy level three thousand,” said Mark from his post. “Connect wave motion engine!”

The engine sounded as if it engaged, but then everything went dead and the Argo’s lights dimmed and then went down to red emergency lights.

There was dead silence for twenty seconds.

Derek then got up and snapped, “IT STILL DOESN’T START!”

“BE QUIET!” roared Avatar with anger evident in his voice as his eyes twitched with rage.

Then, Venture sat in awe as, deep within the Argo’s bowels, an unearthly sound began to come up as the lights came back up to normal.

Derek’s eyes went wide with awe as a mighty vibration thrummed through the whole ship.

“Power is coming up as intended,” said Sandor.

“It’s working!” laughed Derek.

“Hey, we’re moving!” said Venture.

Nova took a deep breath and smiled at Steve, and then, when Derek was looking in her direction, she winked at him and gave him a thumbs-up, and said, “It’s your turn, next, Derek! We have four minutes left!”

“Wave motion engine started,” said Orion. “Power at normal.”

“Missile on video!” said Eager as he brought up the video panel. “It’s in the exosphere! We have three minutes until that damn thing hits!”

“Increasing engine power to level two,” said Orion from his post. “Good thing Sparks didn’t mess anything up.”

Captain Avatar flicked on the klaxons and said with his voice ringing across the ship, “All hands, stand by for takeoff!”

“Standing by,” said Venture as he grasped the helm controls at the flight yoke.

“Nova, give Wildstar his bearing for the guns!” said Avatar.

“Yessir. The missile is above us, angle one hundred and thirty, range, six hundred and twenty kilometers, speed, sixty space knots! Fifteen degrees to port now!” Nova said.

“Set that range, Wildstar, and stand by!” snapped Avatar. “ARGO, TAKE OFF!”

“Argo taking off!” said Venture as he pulled back his yoke and gave the mighty space battleship full power.

There was a hideous grinding noise as the ship broke free from Earth at last and rose up into the starry night sky of the ruined Earth.

“Altitude, fifteen kilometers,” said Venture. “Turning to port, fifteen degrees,” he said.

The Argo turned to face the missile with her starboard side as Wildstar and Dash turned the main gun turrets around to face the missile. “All turrets twenty degrees to port!” said Wildstar.

“Sight line adjusted,” snapped Dash.

“That Goddamned missile is gonna hit us in a minute!” said Eager.

“What are we going to do?” piped out IQ-9 next to Derek at Analysis.

“Drink a big heaping glass of SHUT UP!” Derek snapped. “Dash?”

“Sight line adjusted and locked on,” Dash said.

“Final turret aberration, correct one degrees, set all guns to forty-five degrees!” said Derek as he sent orders to the turrets.

“All gunners, get those babies up!” barked Ensign Gorland, the turret Captain in gun turret number one.

“Sir, you don’t need to tell me twice!” said one of the gunners, an enlisted man known as Gunnery Sergeant Paul Rosstowski. “Come on, you damn guys!” yelled Rosstowski to his other two gunners. “We’ll be dead in thirty seconds!”

All of the guns trained on the missile, which was now visible out the bridge windows with the naked eye. It was glowing with re-entry heat, and it looked hideous.

“All guns locked on target!” snapped Derek from his post.

“FIRE!” barked Captain Avatar.

“FIRING!” said Derek.

He thumbed the firing switch, and a broadside of energy fired out of the Argo’s main guns.

It slammed into the missile at just five hundred meters’ range from the Argo.

There was a blinding flash of light.

Smoke and gasses flew over the Argo as a massive mushroom cloud came up.

At Earth Defense Headquarters, light filled the screen as Commanding General Singleton cried out, “STAR FORCE!”

“Well, that whole project’s down the drain!” snapped General Stone.

“For God’s sakes, be quiet!” said the Commander as they watched the roiling mushroom cloud.

Everyone in the underground Headquarters watched the screen for any sign of hope as the cloud boiled.

Finally, a clipper bow began to emerge from the smoke.

A moment later, the Argo emerged from the mushroom cloud, sailing on serenely as if nothing had happened.

“Sir!” said a communications officer. “Report I just received from the Argo! Gamilon missile destroyed! Only minimal damage to the ship. Our crew is on station and fine! Proceeding onwards to next stage of operations! Signed, Avatar, Abraham, Captain, Space Battleship Argo!”

Cheers filled the underground Defense Headquarters as they watched the Argo cruising up above the mushroom cloud.

They’re on their way to Iscandar. They did it! God, thank You for Your mercy, thought an exhausted Commander as he sat down, allowing himself to relax for the first time in hours.

On the Argo’s bridge, Dash banged his hands on his board and said, “Take that, you damn Gamilons!”

“I almost feel like dancing,” said Nova as she took a deep breath at her post. “Nice job, Mark…Derek…”

Derek clapped his hands and said, “Well, yeah, we did it. If God’s watching us, Thank You!” he said as he mopped his brow.

Mark stood up and took off his gloves.

Orion stood and wiped his semi-bald head with a rag while Eager said, “Yeah! We evaded their trap like a Texas Steer when he smells the branding iron comin!”

Captain Avatar watched the crew laughing and congratulating each other as he thought, Well, Wildstar, you’re becoming a man now. A man your brother would have been proud of!

Avatar stood up and said, “My friends, it’s going to be a very long journey!”

“Yes,” said Derek.

Avatar then added, “Wildstar, there IS a God…and He heard us!”

“Right on time,” said Sandor. “Mission clock started…as of now, Planet Earth has three hundred and sixty-three days left!”

And, on that note, the Argo cruised on.

AN HOUR LATER…

Down below in the Argo’s brig, Sam Sparks woke up as he heard someone kicking at the door.

“Well, well, well,” he sneered. “Are we still on Earth?”

“No, we’ve taken off,” said Ensign Hoshina as the brig hatch hissed open. “I’ve got his right arm…Rosstowski, you get his left arm. “

“Yessir,” said Rosstowski as he grabbed Sparks’ arm. Hard.

“What’s that for?” he whined.

“What you said before about my wife and daughter,” snapped Rosstowski.

“What did he say?” said Hoshina.

“You don’t need to know right now; but I’ll settle things with this jackass later,” hissed Rosstowski. “Why’s he in the brig?”

“He tried to shock Lieutenant Forrester up on the bridge a few hours ago,” said Hoshina.

“So, you pick on girls?” hissed Rosstowski. “Go pick on someone your own size!” Paul said as he gave Sparks a shove.

“Hey, we want to get him to the Second Bridge undamaged,” said Hoshina.

“What’s gonna happen to me?” whined Sparks.

“Captain’s Mast,” said Hoshina. “Thank God it’s not a court-martial, buddy!”

“I don’t believe in any God or anything divine,” sneered Sparks. “I’m a complete rationalist!”

“That’s your problem, not mine,” said Rosstowski. “Let’s go!”

TO BE CONTINUED.