Legend of the Grand Mechapolis Chapter 21

THE LEGEND OF GRAND MECHAPOLIS

STAR BLAZERS/GALAXY EXPRESS 999

Founding of the Dual Monarchy and Galaxy Express System

By: Frederick P. Kopetz

Chapter TWENTY-ONE: A Funeral, A Party, and a Strange Journey…

Thanks to Gail Kopetz, Margaret Diviney, Michelle Nutter-Lynd, Steven Diviney and Andrea Lyon for Advice and inspiration.

The Character of Gatlantean High Priest “Var” appears with the permission of “Bells of Nevermore”

I. AT A FUNERAL…

Planet Earth

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Monday, March 7, 2236

It was raining in Philadelphia, PA that day in Northeast Philadelphia at Saint Dominic’s Cemetery.

Monsignor Martin Likanski was reading from a missal over the casket of George Garrett; one of those who had been killed last week in the Allentown Massacre.

Mr. Garrett was in fact the man with the beard to whom Nova Wildstar had been speaking when the enemy planes had attacked at the job fair.

Father Likanski read: "Incline Thine ear, O Lord, unto our prayers, wherein we humbly pray thee to show thy mercy upon the soul of Thy servant George Garrett, whom thou hast commanded to pass out of this world, that Thou wouldst place him in the region of peace and light and bid him be a partaker with Thy saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

“Amen,” recited the mourners quietly. The mourners were Mr. Garrett’s widow Carla, Lord Admiral Derek Wildstar, High Queen and Doctor Nova Wildstar, and their son, Solomon Wildstar.

Father Likanski continued with, “Christ said, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life; and the one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.’ Now, Lord, we commit the body of Thy Servant George Garrett to the Earth in hope of that glorious resurrection at the End of the Age to life eternal evermore, Amen.”

“Amen,” said the group. Carla was weeping.

The casket was lowered into the burial vault at the push of a button, and each of the mourners threw some dirt of the wooden casket. The sound was dull and final as each clod of dirt hit the casket.

The group began to disperse as Carla turned to Nova with pain in her eyes.

“I am so, so sincerely sorry, Mrs. Garrett,” Nova said softly, formal in her mourning dress, pearls, and pillbox hat.

“You were there, God damn you!” sobbed Carla. “The reporters said you were right beside him! Why couldn’t you save him? Don’t you have all of those strange special powers?”

“I do…but I was taken by surprise as much as everyone there was. I just barely survived myself,” Nova said.

“They almost killed her, too!” Admiral Wildstar snapped. “Get out of my wife’s face! And show her some respect! She’s our Head of State!”

“I can’t show any respect for a Head of State who did nothing for my husband!” yelled Carla as she slapped Nova hard across the face. “He was all I had! Why do you think I have no family here? I was pregnant a year ago but lost the child!”

Nova’s security ran up from behind the tombstones and said, “Ma’am. Should we arrest this woman?”

“That won’t do anything!” snapped Solomon with a wisdom beyond his years. “Dad! Mom! Please do something for Mrs. Garrett!”

Nova whispered to Derek, who nodded. “I am writing you a check on our joint account, Mrs. Garrett. It should be enough to cover your needs for the next year, at least,” he said as he opened his billfold and quickly wrote a check. “Take this, please.”

Mrs. Garrett looked at the damp check, almost ready to throw it back at Nova, but she accepted it. The amount was staggering.

“What did you do for a living before this happened?” Nova said.

“I was a nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital,” she sobbed. “Laid off…due to cutbacks. This damned economy!”

“I am the Chief Hospitalist at Penn-Presbyterian,” Nova said as she wrote on the back of a business card. “Call this person. She is the Head of Nursing. Let her know your situation, and that I sent you and recommend you, and for her to contact me if you have any questions. I want you to interview for a job at that hospital as soon as possible. We always need people. I hope this is…enough…”

“It won’t bring him back, but thank you,” Carla said as she embraced Nova. “Thank you, Admiral.”

“No problem,” Derek said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The grimness of the funeral had faded a little by Friday, March the 11^th.

That evening, Derek and Nova were holding a reception, aka party for the new Gamilon Ambassador, Eliza Lysis, at their home in Philadelphia. Eliza was the widow of the famous Field Marshal Erich Lysis; she had never remarried after his death.

The party was being held there because Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna was undergoing a major renovation, and the Wildstars were still in negotiations to purchase Foxworth Manor from Princess Invidia.

Invidia, it turned out, was suffering from cancer and needed a smaller home. She saw Nova on a monthly basis for treatments, which included both chemotherapy and treatment with her special abilities.

Nova was also aided in this endeavor by the High Priest of Arishna, Var of Gatlantis, a young man who also happened to be her daughter Teresa’s fiancee’. Var had a wonderful sense of humor and gentle manner, even though he was a Type Zordar clone of his father, Emperor Zordar himself. Var had trained as a combat medic and physician, and he also had powerful mentalist abilities like Nova and his father.

Lord Var was at the Wildstar home, making arrangements for his wedding with Teresa, which would take place on Saturday, April the Second. The attraction between Teresa and Var was powerful and very sweet. Derek had initially had doubts about letting their daughter marry a Gatlantean, but Var’s kind, gentle, and funny (albeit eccentric) personality had won him over.

The Wildstars, along with Solomon, who was now the equivalent of eleven, were having a halfway quiet night at home entertaining Eliza Lysis.

Eliza came in formal black, with high boots, and had sniffed slightly when Nova had told her she had to put on house slippers. She chose black house slippers from the cabinet. It was a bit warmer now, and Nova wore cutoff denim shorts, a black tank top, and went barefoot.

“Your Majesty…your attire is awfully…informal,” Eliza had said.

“Please pardon me,” Nova said. “I was planting tomatoes in the garden before, and Derek and I were playing Risk on the floor with Solomon.”

“Risk?” Eliza said.

“A game of world domination,” Nova said as she pointed at Derek, in a t-shirt and sweats, also no shoes, yelling at Solomon, who had on a Septigram T-shirt and basketball shorts…and was also barefoot. Do any members of this family wear shoes in the house? Eliza thought.

The doorbell rang, and Nova danced over to answer it.

Eliza blanched when she saw a tall, almost seven-foot tall, as a matter of fact, but very handsome Gatlantean with a very pretty, handsome face, a wide smile, wearing a purple tux with tails, a purple top hat, frilly top, bright red bow tie, and the Mask of Arishna as a pendant around his neck. He was taking off his boots at the door and exchanging them for white house slippers as he yelled, “NOVA!” at the top of his lungs. He laughed, smiled, and flitted around the High Queen of the Commonwealth, goosing her bottom and making her both screech and laugh.

“Who…is…this?” said Eliza slowly.

“The Lord Admiral!” laughed the Gatlantean, who mussed up Derek’s hair. “And in a few weeks from now, I can call you DAD! And, Solomon! Hiya! What are you playing?”

“Risk, Lord Var,” said Solomon. “I’m beating Dad’s pants off. Mom got smeared out of the game a half hour ago. She lost Asia.”

“Too bad,” said Var.

“I’ll get you a salad,” Nova said as she ran into the kitchen.

Var watched the game with interest as Solomon explained it to him. He mussed up Solomon’s hair and smiled at him.

Derek heard a phone ringing in the kitchen. He heard Nova talking and then a few minutes later, she came in with a tray of salads for him, Solomon, and their guests.

“Who was on the phone?” Derek asked.

“Doctor Fujiko Goyama from Tucson!” Nova said brightly. “Remember her? And she’s bringing Ati with her!”

“Oh, yeah, our friend the Hippie Doctor,” Derek said with a chuckle.

“Who is this…Ati?” said Eliza.

Derek explained (as if he needed to explain who Atirangi Rapahango was).

In the meantime, Var was lying on the floor. He began to grin when he discovered a nearby door-stop attached to the lower molding. It was on a spring.

He laughed and began to twang the door-stop like a guitar string, smiling brightly.

His fiancee, Teresa, ran down the stairs in a knit minidress of blue yarn that her mother had made for her. The blonde young woman adjusted her glasses and said, “Let me take a turn at that, Var!”

“Sure!” he said, giving her a kiss and then goosing her as she knelt down on the floor.

Now, Eliza was looking at the group as if they were insane just as Nova sat down at an upright piano and began to play chords matching the beat of the twanging door-stop.

“Playing with your magic twangers, guys?” Derek said with a laugh.

“He has other things on his mind,” laughed Teresa.

“All of you make me laugh!” Solomon said.

The doorbell rang three minutes later.

Derek opened the door…and in came Atirangi Rapahango followed by Doctor Goyama.

Eliza groaned when she noticed that neither woman had shoes on. Atirangi had on a long black skirt, scarlet corset, black lace jacket. Doctor Goyama wore torn jeans, a Native-American style headband, and a white T-Shirt that read “I (Heart) Tucson.”

Derek hugged both of the newcomers, followed by Nova, who squealed and hugged Ati and Fujiko. “Been months since I’ve seen you…Ati.”

“Hey, we keep in touch,” Ati said, winking at Nova, and referring to their mental contact.

“It’s been YEARS since I’ve seen you, Doc!” cried Nova as she hugged Fujiko. “I named my oldest daughter after you, you recall!”

“I remember,” said Goyama. Then, she noticed Eliza. “Hey, who’s the Gamilon chick dressed for a funeral?”

Eliza cleared her throat while Ati said, “Lady Eliza Lysis, Ambassador to the Terran-Pellian Commonwealth.”

Before Eliza could spend much time reflecting…the doorbell rang again.

This time, Solomon got up and opened the door as Ati sat down behind the piano and began to play something that sounded like a demented boogie.

Derek grinned, got his harmonica out of his pocket and began to wail along as Nova ran upstairs while Solomon was answering the door; she just nodded to her son.

Solomon opened the door and a young Gamilon woman came in. She had reddish-blond hair, a wide smile, and an impish look on her face.

“My mother says you’re Doctor Sheena Elgar?” Solomon said. “Welcome to our home. A party is starting in honor of Lady Eliza Lysis.”

“I’m not sure whether I am honored or annoyed,” said Eliza.

“What annoys you?” Nova said, with a smile on her face but not in her voice.

“The informality of this reception…Your Majesty.”

“Her Majesty does not always stand on courtesy…and neither do I,” said Ati. “So, we shall adapt. Are we clear?”

“Yes, of course,” said Eliza, who stood, looking very anxious.

“Everyone present is here for a reason,” Nova said. “A very specific reason. As informal as this appears, this is not a game.”

“This is a game,” said Var, who was playing Risk with Solomon. “And he is beating me!!”

“Very efficient use of strategy, my son,” Nova said. “And, please bear in mind you need to make your meditations and go to bed shortly.”

“Mother, it’s early,” said Solomon.

“We will be discussing matters you are not cleared to hear,” Derek said. “Our guests will be staying over so you can play then.”

“Okay, Father. Ooooo…look, Var’s eating some of the fish you got!”

Solomon grinned as he watched Var eating…in typical Gatlantean style, which meant, he ate with his hands like a barbarian and left little bits of breading all over the place on his plate on the floor.

Solomon picked up some sushi with his hands and began to eat the same way while Ati sat there digging crabmeat right out of the shell of some soft-shelled crab she had ordered.

Eliza looked at them and said, “Ati…Lord Var…don’t we obey…the niceties and use utensils?”

“This way cuts out the middleman,” said Var.

“Damn straight,” said Ati as Solomon wolfed down more sushi and belched together with Var. “You’re so cool, Var!”

“So are you, my little friend,” said Var.

“Your Majesty, are you bringing up your son to emulate…Gatlanteans?” Eliza said.

“Solomon, we have guests. Please remember your table manners and use chopsticks,” Nova said as she broke free a pair of chopsticks for herself and tossed a pair to Derek. “And, tell me, Eliza, your Eminence, are we all not one happy Alliance? Can we not learn from each other?”

“Majesty…I stand corrected,” Eliza said. “Even though this is a rather informal Court you keep.”

“If we had received you on Pellias, it would have been rather sterile and artificial,” Derek said. “We have invited you and everyone into our home and hearth. This city is an American port city. It is much less formal than Tokyo.”

“We would have taken you to Pat’s for cheesesteaks,” Solomon said. “But then, Ati, Doc Goyama, and Mom and Dad would be having a food fight.”

Eliza watched Doctor Goyama whispering with Doctor Hilgar. Sheena passed her what looked like a bit of gummy candy, which Fujiko ate with relish. Then, Fujiko moved to the couch, put her arm around Nova and said, “I know Doctor Wildstar here from way back...before she went to Iscandar and got married. I was her instructor in nurse-practitioner school, being a new intern myself in the underground cities on Terra.”

“Medical care was rationed,” Nova said. “Severely rationed. The military got first dibs on all sorts of medical supplies and medicines. Even though I was an Ensign at the time as a student, what we got for civilian care were…the sloppy seconds. I found myself wearing the same personal protective paper mask for almost two weeks since they were in short supply. Eventually, Fujiko, myself, and some of the other doctors and nurses had just had enough…”

“So, we organized a protest in front of the underground Central Hospital in underground Tokyo,” said Fujiko. “It was peaceful, albeit a little raucous. I was screaming through a bullhorn; and Nova was carrying a sign that read “WHY ARE YOU LETTING CIVILIANS DIE FOR LACK OF MEDICINE?””

“You…were carrying a sign?” said Eliza.

“That’s what she said,” Nova said. “Derek, I showed you the pictures.”

“You made a very pretty student radical,” Derek said with a smile.

“The Space Marines and riot police were there,” said Fujiko. “They used tear gas and clubs on us. I got knocked in the head once by a club.”

“That sounds intense!” said Solomon.

“All of you sounded very brave,” said Sheena with admiration.

“We were,” Nova said. “I was clonked in the head with a tear gas grenade. I woke up in a jail cell several hours later.”

“So, you suffered for your beliefs as I did on Gamilon,” Eliza said, looking at Fujiko and Nova with sympathy. “I was imprisoned myself for a time until right before Yamato was pulled into Gamilon’s caverns. You know the rest…how we met after the battle…”

“And how we aided you and the civilian refugees,” Derek said.

Eliza nodded at that, with her eyes filling up with tears.

“What have you been doing since the war, Doctor Goyama?” asked Var.

“After the war, some years after, I resettled in Tucson, Arizona,” said Goyama. “I encountered Atirangi after she became famous…Nova introduced us at a party, and I received Ati’s and Nova’s financial help in expanding the free clinic and free university I had established in Tucson. I am now the Director of the Free University of Tucson, and head Hospitalist of the hospital I established as part of the Free Clinic.”

“Just as I was Head Hospitalist at both Penn and Central Hospital in Tokyo before I was appointed as Surgeon General in my father’s short term as Prime Minister in 2231,” Nova said. “Then, the rest of you surely know what happened…” she said with her eyes downcast.

“There is no shame in what you experienced,” Var said. “Destiny was guiding you…and still is. My goddess is masked but not blind.”

“I’m going upstairs now,” said Solomon as he yawned. “Good night, all.”

“Good night!” cried the guests as Nova walked Solomon upstairs to his room.

“He is so well-mannered,” Eliza said with a sad smile. “He reminds me of the boy Erich and I had whom we lost.”

Nova came down about twenty minutes later. “Solomon is asleep, Derek. We can break out…the adult refreshments?

“Yes, by all means,” said Derek. “Please get the sake’ and your brownies.”

Nova laughed as Derek kissed her nose. “Mind if I sample a brownie in the kitchen, dear?”

“It’s our house. But, remember, we have to wake up Solomon in the morning…”

Nova smiled, winked at Ati as she got a backpack, and flounced off to the kitchen.

Ati opened the backpack and pulled out an ornate hookah. “Loaded and ready to go,” she said.

“An intoxication pipe?” laughed Var. “Those are fun!”

Nova came in with the brownies, laughing a little as it looked as if she was finishing one off. “Wildstar dear…here’s a brownie for you! Stop frowning!”

“Thanks,” Derek said, smiling a little as he ate his wife’s brownie. The brownies, being adult party brownies, had a certain special ingredient baked into them.

Var grabbed three of them and began to eat like…well…a Gatlantean.

“He’s going to be higher than a kite in a few minutes,” giggled Sheena.

“This mad tea party is getting madder,” Nova said as she appeared with a hula hoop around her waist. “Ati, Derek, some music…”

Ati, laughing her butt off, went to the piano and began to play some whacked-out chords while Derek, smiling quite a bit (with brownie crumbs on his fingers) tooted away at his harmonica while Nova jumped up on their heavy coffee table and began to dance with her hula hoop twirling around her waist. Var made faces at her and she laughed. Derek made faces at her and she laughed harder.

Then, Eliza shocked everyone by getting up on the table and dancing for a moment beside Nova.

The music and insane atmosphere meant no one noticed a time-space rift opening up near the ceiling of the house…until two individuals, both Gamilon, fell out of the rift on top of the surprised women dancing on the coffee table.

Erich Lysis, the great Field Marshal, long thought dead, fell into Eliza’s arms. Both of them were totally shocked.

Garamond Volgarr, on the other hand, fell on top of a very surprised Nova.

Eliza accepted her husband’s happy kiss and the two of them jumped down and twirled on the floor calling out each other’s names.

Volgarr gave Nova a sloppy kiss and started to feel her up. Nova quickly defended her honor and belted him, using her power a moment later to throw him off the table against the wall.

“Volgarr,” Nova said. “My husband is the only man I kiss like that, you drunken piece of crap! Observe, please.”

Nova jumped down off the table and twirled with Derek, whom she allowed to hold her in a tango-dance position while they kissed passionately…just as Ati and Var confronted Volgarr.

“Whaaaat sort of place is this, where you have Gatlanteans and strange women?” snapped Volgarr.

Atirangi was not amused. She stared Volgarr down. “You will kneel before me and apologize, and then you will kneel before Nova Wildstar, High Queen of the Terran-Pellian Commonwealth, and you shall likewise apologize!”

“I…” snarled Volgarr.

“You would be very wise if you followed directions,” said Var, who now spoke in a cold, stern voice.

“Atirangi, I apologize for being crude and insulting you,” said Volgarr.

“Your apology is accepted. One time and one time only, Volgarr. Do you not think I know all about your disgusting proclivities?”

“All of you have disgusting proclivities,” snarled Volgarr. “Queen Nova, you have the most adorable…behind.”

Nova turned on Volgarr and slapped his face again. “Enough from you! Now, you will kneel before my presence!” Nova said, using her Voice to exude an air of command as she began to gleam slightly. Even Erich Lysis stepped back a little from her when he saw the rage and fire in her eyes. He realized that whatever Nova had become, neither she nor Atirangi were to be trifled with. Indeed, he bowed to Atirangi and Eliza and then stood and saluted.

Eliza returned the salute and said, “In Desslok’s name, I welcome you back into our service, Field Marshal.”

Lysis smiled and nodded.

“When are you going to apologize to my wife, Volgarr?” Derek demanded. “I mean…you just disgraced her in public before her husband. If I was a Gamilon, I would call you out for a duel for that!”

“What if I do not do so, Terron?” said Volgarr. “I…” Then, he began to gasp as Nova raised her hand and he began to feel an invisible, strangling hand of iron about his neck.

“Apologize or your life is forfeit,” Nova said coldly. “I have not passed through agony, death, the afterworld, and the purifying Fire of my resurrection and coronation day to bandy words with a foul-mouthed idiot like you with grabby hands!”

“I…I…am sorry…Your Majesty,” gasped Volgarr as he fell involuntarily to his knees.

“I accept your apology,” Nova said as she freed the General from her psychic grasp. “This bickering is pointless! Field Marshal Lysis, I welcome you here and offer the hospitality of our home and hearth, for you are on Terra,” Nova said as she bowed to him. “I offer the same to you, Volgarr.”

“As long as you behave, you son-of-a-bitch!” Wildstar said as he picked up Nova’s thought.

“Come near me, and I’ll rip your diseased throat out!” barked Fujiko. “Like you, Ati, I have fought as a partisan, as you know. I am more than capable of doing it.”

“Yes, yes…” said Volgarr. “What are these foul odors in this room? These ill humors?”

“A therapeutic variety of pipe-weed,” Eliza said coldly. “It does wonders for one as tense as you.”

“I prefer spirits,” said Volgarr.

“Not in my house,” Derek said. “I can smell that you’re drunk from here. Field Marshal Lysis? Where did you two come from and how did he get in this state?”

“We did a free Gestcham jump away from the coordinates my ship was at, trying to escape death at the hands of the Rikashan Fleet near Gamilon. Our ship was around us for a few minutes as it broke up, and Volgarr was already drunk, having consumed a whole bottle of spirits. To us, we were in the time corridor for maybe ten or fifteen of your minutes. I see much has changed. Have months passed since we were in the corridor?”

“Years, dearest,” said Eliza. “Thirty-four Terron years, to be exact. It was 2202 on their calendar when I last saw you alive. It is now the year 2236 on their calendar.”

“Thirty-four years…and you look as beautiful as ever…” said Erich as he kissed Eliza. “How is it that Captain Wildstar and…Her Majesty Nova look so young? I thought Terrons aged more quickly.”

“We are not entirely Terron,” Nova said. “Derek and I share portions of Pellian, Iscandarian, and Gamilon blood as well as Terron blood. The Pellian Commonwealth defeated the Dark Lord after many years of deadly conflict. The Planet once known as Mecanner, now renamed Pellias, is Terra’s twin planet. My capital is there. Lord Var, High Priest of Arishna, is here since we have reconciled with Gatlantis. We are now all a single great alliance, fighting against the remaining cyborgs of the Technomugar Empire, now known as the Mechanoid Empire. Our enemy is Queen Promethium, once the Queen of Larmetal.”

“I heard tales about Larmetal and its machinations,” Lysis said thoughtfully. “I fought their forces once, years before Desslok placed me in charge of destroying your brave warship Yamato. Does Yamato still exist?”

“She does, but she is under heavy refit,” Derek said. “I am also no longer a Captain, but I am now the Lord Admiral of the forces of the Commonwealth. Yamato is my usual flagship.”

“Honors to you, M’Lord,” Lysis said, saluting.

“Thank you, but we need not be so formal. Emperor Zordar usually calls me “boy”. I do not mind now. I’ve been called far worse,” Wildstar said with a chuckle.

“Yes, my dear chowderhead,” Nova said, coming up behind Derek with a teasing hug.

Then, Volgarr saw Sheena Hilgar.

Sheena saw him at the same moment and picked up a piece of modern art from off one of the Wildstars’ knick-knack shelves.

Volgarr came up to Sheena and said, “As beautiful as ever, I see, Concubine!”

“I am no one’s Concubine anymore,” Sheena said with deadly emphasis. “Nor have you any right to command me. I am a veteran of the Earth Defense Forces, a physician, and a classmate and shipmate of Nova’s several times over.”

“Your body looks so attractive,” hissed Volgarr as he touched Sheena’s chin. “I wish I could bed you again. Tonight. Wouldn’t you like that, you whore?”

“You damned former rapist,” said Sheena. “You have five seconds to back off, or I shall give you a tracheotomy with the sharp edge of Derek and Nova’s object d’ art!”

Volgarr began to back off, but Sheena, as quick as lightning, pulled a gauntlet off his hand and struck him across the face with it. “I call you out for a duel, Volgarr! Twice have you dishonored me! You shall not do so again! Since this must be on Gamilon soil, Eliza, may we duel at sunrise at your Embassy? Said Duel shall be to the Death!”

Eliza spoke with Ati, and said, “Your request is granted. Who do you choose as your second?”

“Doctor Wildstar,” said Sheena. “I know she was familiar with the customs and usages of the Gamilon Code Duello. She served as Second years ago for Deke Wakefield when he dueled a Gamilon officer who had dishonored him and Iscandarian Princess Sasha. Wakefield won the duel.”

“Do not ask me to be your second, Volgarr!” said Lysis. “You made your foul bed, now go and sleep in it!”

Volgarr looked around the room. The party atmosphere had faded. A grandfather clock in the Wildstars’ living room chimed midnight. The next day had already begun. “Will no one serve as my second?” he roared. Derek spat at his feet and turned his face away in refusal. Ati glared at Volgarr and hissed “Fuck off!”

Fujiko glared at Volgarr and turned away.

Eliza shook her head, standing next to Erich.

Var then got up. “I shall consent to serve as your second, General Volgarr.”

“Why would you speak for me, Gatlantean?” sneered Volgarr.

“I am a priest. I would not have you die unshriven, if that be your fate. The Lady behind the Mask is stern, but She is also forgiving. Justice and Mercy join hands and act together. And based upon what I see of your actions and pick up from the minds of those here…my friend, if there is one in severe need of Mercy, it is you. You, who have taken your life and wasted it.”

“Sheena is in need for Mercy, for I will kill her…” said Volgarr.

“Do you accept my offer to fight with gravity sabers?” asked Sheena.

“I do,” hissed Volgarr. “And I am a great swordsman!”

Erich Lysis bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud. When he and Volgarr had simply sparred in the past the obese Volgarr had almost had two heart attacks, being grossly unfit.

Nova brought down a case which she opened. She pulled out a gravity saber and swung it. “The balance on this one is good. Derek, try out the other, please.”

Wildstar smiled and swung the saber around. Then, Nova said, “Let’s spar, love. En Garde!”

The others watched Derek and Nova sparring for about two minutes with the sabers, which flashed and rang as the remarkably fit man and woman danced about and fought. Finally, Derek got in what would have been a killing stroke, but Nova elegantly parried it and tapped her husband’s chest with her saber, saying, “Touche’, mon Cherie Amour!”

“Touche’ indeed, amour,” said Derek with a smile. Then Nova saluted her opponent, who graciously returned her salute. Then, Nova tossed her weapon to Sheena. “Just swing it.”

“Very well balanced, Nova,” she said as she caught it. Derek tossed the other weapon to Volgarr, who belched loudly and dropped it. This time, Erich Lysis could not hold back his laughter, and Ati made a rude noise that sounded like someone passing gas.

“Pick up your weapon, Volgarr. You owe it to yourself to try it out,” said Var.

“I can fight better than any woman,” sneered Volgarr.

“Weren’t you watching Nova sparring with Wildstar?” said Fujiko in disbelief. “She could take off your head in a minute! Sheena is one of her students and is close to her skill.”

“We’ll see how it goes tomorrow,” hissed Volgarr.

“Yes…we shall see,” said Sheena.

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III. VOLGARR’S DISGRACE…

Planet Earth: The Tokyo Megalopolis

The Vicinity of the Gamilon Embassy

Sunday, March 13, 2236

0631 Hours

The group at the Wildstar residence in Philadelphia needed to change clothing, pack, and secure a Gamilon jump-jet shuttle to reach Gamilon soil (legally) on Terra on the grounds of the Gamilon Embassy near the Tokyo Megalopolis, on its own island in Tokyo Bay.

Ati had changed into a black leather dress, boots and cloak. Volgarr had put on a fresh dress uniform, assisted by Var. Now that he was finally sober, he realized the position he had put himself into, and had actually pleaded with Sheena Hilgar, Commonwealth Defense Forces Captain, to simply drop the whole thing and he would accept disgrace.

Sheena, in her best Commonwealth dress uniform of black peacoat, white slacks, and boots, refused Volgarr’s offer down flat. “Why should I let you live when you have disgraced me a number of times?” she said. Now, both Var and Nova had tried to get her to reconsider, but she refused.

So, Var stood with Volgarr, holding his hands while clad in his best black and violet robes, and he said, “Do you wish to at least ask Arishna for The Washing of the Hands? Confess your sins and failings, and I shall wash you with water so you can pass cleansed into the next life.”

“I refuse,” hissed Volgarr.

“I also offered you a chance to at least pray to the Most High in our fashion,” Nova said as she stood there beside Derek; both of them were in dress uniform with black peacoats and Naval covers on their heads outdoors behind part of the Embassy compound in the half-light of dawn. “You can at least die with a clean soul.”

“And why are all of YOU so convinced I will lose this duel?” snarled Volgarr. “That whore Sheena should be the one begging the Almighty, or Arishna, or Whomever for Pardon, because she is so small compared to me that she shall be the one to LOSE.”

“Well, you certainly have a bigger waist size than Captain Hilgar, you fat pig!” Atirangi snapped.

“A weight loss program would have been good for you, but it’s a little late for that now,” said Doctor Goyama, who had on one of Nova’s spare peasant-style dresses with another headband, but she was still barefoot.

“What happens at these duels?” whispered Teresa Wildstar, who stood beside her brother Solomon. The older girl wore a business suit and boots in black, while Solomon again wore a suit…with the white cassock of an Acolyte over that. He had been accepted to Saint Sulpice’s Seminary in Philadelphia based on his test scores, and he was, as of now, in training as a candidate for the Priesthood. He would begin classes right after Teresa’s wedding to Var.

Lysis refused to speak to Volgarr, and Eliza had only spoken to the duelists about funeral arrangements. Sheena had been cooperative; Volgarr was not. Both Erich and Eliza were in Gamilon dress uniform.

Now, Var opened the case holding the gravity sabers. Both opponents picked them up.

Nova stood beside Var, stating, “Under the Code, you will pick up your weapons, salute, turn about-face, walk ten paces, and then we shall withdraw so that you can face each other. As we agreed…the winner shall be the one who slays the loser. Begin!”

Sheena saluted along with Volgarr. She turned and began her ten paces, but Volgarr only took two and he attacked her from behind; a totally dishonorable move.

Sheena took a deep slash to her shoulder as a result, and she was just able to turn and parry Volgarr’s vicious slash to her throat. She responded with a stab of her own which hit Volgarr in the arm.

“YOU WHORE!!!” he yelled. He then riposted with a slash to Sheena’s face that ripped her cheek open.

Sheena jumped back, trying to keep from slipping in the wet grass.

Volgarr came on like a madman, slashing at Sheena’s abdomen. Sheena stopped his blade, and she swung hard and stabbed at Volgarr’s chest, leaving a bloody wound that soon stained his green tunic dark purple.

“Murderous woman!” yelled Volgarr. He coughed, and blood spewed from his mouth.

Erich Lysis smiled at Derek and he asked, “Admiral Wildstar, are you a betting man?”

“I’ll accept a fair wager, my friend,” said Wildstar.

“I will wager you twenty credits that Volgarr loses.”

Derek chuckled. “That’s not a bet…it’s me giving you twenty credits, Field Marshal. But, we’re on. I’ve seen strange things happen in duels before. A while back, Nova beat the Dread Pirate Queen Emeraldas in a duel that could have gone either way. Nova let Emeraldas go with her life.”

“Your spouse and Queen is a most honorable woman. Volgarr has no such honor, but cheating and violating the Code Duello so openly? It will not go well for his soul in the afterlife, and he shall be forbidden burial.”

And, indeed, Volgarr was a treacherous opponent! He gathered up some dirt and threw it in Sheena’s eyes to blind her, then he slashed at her face, cutting open her cheek and kicking her down to the ground.

Var was about to stop the duel at a nod from Nova, but Sheena got up, grasped her saber, and, in pain but with fire burning in her eyes, she slashed viciously at Volgarr, and then ran him through at last.

Volgarr fell to his knees, with more blood spewing from his mouth, and he made a vicious, guttural noise that sounded as if he was cursing Sheena. Then, his eyes opened wide, full of terror, and then went as dead as marbles as he fell dead to the ground, his face smashing into the grass.

“Hold,” Nova said as she knelt down to check Volgarr’s pulse at his neck. There was none. “This man is dead. Captain Sheena Hilgar, MD, commander of the Medevac Heavy Cruiser Florence Nightingale, has won this duel per the Code!” Nova grabbed her hand and held it up in token of victory as Sheena stood with a booted foot on Volgarr’s corpse.

“I am familiar with the Code,” said Var. “Volgarr’s corpse shall be dragged off, cremated, and then the ashes scattered to the four winds of the Sea of Stars so that naught might remain upon any world of such a vile and perjured a wretch as one who has broken the Sacred Code of Honor!”

Eliza clapped her hands and four Gamilon enlisted men in brown battle armor appeared to drag Volgarr away while Nova helped Sheena into a room in the Embassy to treat her wounds. At Sheena’s request, the cut on her cheek would be sutured by hand, leaving a vicious but honored Gamilon-style dueling scar on her cheek.

And, Derek shook hands with Erich and paid him twenty credits.

So went the duel and the death of General Garamond Volgarr.

Some days passed.

One of the ancient emblems of the Pellian Commonwealth was an elongated salamander; long body and tail, short legs, twisting and curving.

The very shape of the territory its seventy worlds encompassed looked like some child’s notion of a demented salamander; seven worlds in the Blackeye Galaxy, leading to an eighth planet where there was a massive, ancient warp gate, one of three in the Commonwealth. Northgate issued into space near the far North marches of the Andromeda Galaxy. Seventeen planets, all heavily fortified, extended like a necklace around a spiral arm of Andromeda, issuing near another warp gate at a planet known as Terminus.

When the resurgent Pellian Commonwealth landed explorers on that world, they found severe conditions, three Gatlantean slave camps that mined various minerals and spice, and an inoperative warp gate that the Gatlanteans were close to reactivating but could not.

The Pellian forces reactivated the warp gate for the joint use of Pellians and Gatlanteans on the condition that both polities would share Terminus. With that done, the Pellians prospected and found their own mines a distance away from the Gatlantean work pits. To mine their pits, the Pellians brought criminals of all sorts condemned to hard labor in lieu of execution, kept under heavy guard along with a few unfortunates overburdened with debt who sold themselves into indentured servitude.

The Gatlantean Governor-General, a very handsome but hard man known as Delanig, had a good working relationship with his Pellian counterpart, a woman in the black and silver of the Northern Ground Forces of the Commonwealth known as Duchess Shimla. The Duchess looked a little like the rock star Atirangi Rapahango, with her dark skin and dark hair, but she was tone-deaf. Tone-deafness was no handicap to maintaining production, of course, and she was mildly psionic; she could see the future to an extent, but not well.

Shimla was having a friendly meeting with the handsome General Delanig in a lounge in the Admin Center. The lounge was not far from one of Gatlantis’ work pits, so both of them could observe the slaves of the Empire, who looked as small as ants up here in the Admin Tower as they toiled in the heat, driven by lower-ranking Gatlantean troops with blasters and whips. Some of the troops were bored with this duty; others hated it but saw it as a necessary evil, and some were sadists who honestly enjoyed applying electric lashes to their slaves.

“So, how are your quotas this week?” said Shimla.

“Not bad. I had to give a few rewards, believe it or not. Light duty for eight slaves, and two worked so hard that I manumitted them and made them foremen! Of course, they have to make their quotas under supervision. They could screw up and lose it. Three of them did two weeks ago. One got rebellious. I had to hold a slave Assembly and execute him via firing squad. We blew the fool to pieces.”

“We have the same problem on our side,” sighed Shimla. “Three criminals tried to escape. I had to make an example out of them; crucifixion.”

“And they call us the bloody ones,” laughed Delanig.

“The bodies are still there if you want to take a speeder ride with me later on to look,” said Shimla as she patted Delanig’s huge hand. “It’ll have to be soon. The giant salamanders are at them pretty good. It’s messy.”

“As long as one of them still has a head, I’ll take you up on it, dear,” said Delanig. “I’ve heard stories. Is the Capital on your butt for production?”

Shimla nodded dully. “The guy who sent the bad news was the long-haired dude you call “The Boy.” Yup, the great hero Lord Admiral Wildstar himself got on the line and bitched me out.”

“What did you do?”

“I took it, what do you think?” sighed Shimla. “I’m just a Duchess with a Brigadier’s Rank. That Wildstar is a five-star Admiral and a Lord and Prince. All positions he got by being HER favorite bedtime toy. Do you know how many children they’ve had?”

“Too many to count. I’m losing track,” said Delanig. “Have you ever met Her?”

“Once, at a great distance, at a ball. She nodded at me once and went on her merry way. What scares me about her is she is said to be just like a character from a Terran book I read; it was called The Stand. They had a cool sorcerer in there who was the head villain; Randall Flagg, The Man with No Face, also known as the Walkin’ Dude. In that novel, he was a demon, and he could go anywhere he wanted in his realm, at the blink of an eye. No warning. That creeped me out.”

“What does this have to do with Her?” said Delanig as he again patted Shimla’s hand. He was getting to like this Pellian. It was weird.

“They actually say that She can just show up like that…anytime…anywhere…no warning…there she is. Poof. Weird magick.”

“That would creep me out,” said Delanig. “Not even Emperor Zordar can do that. Yet.”

“Why do you say ‘yet’?”

“They’re supposedly teaching each other their tricks and skills,” said Delanig. “We have a weird alliance. They’re supposed to be as thick as thieves, those two.”

“Better than having a war between us on this front,” said Shimla. “I like you.”

“The same goes for you, Miss,” said Delanig as he grabbed her hands and kissed her. She kissed back.

Shimla and Delanig were not only co-workers, but lovers.

Planet Venlafa, between the edge of the Milky Way and the interstellar space that led to the Great Magellenic Cloud, was a cosmopolitan world and a borderland of sorts.

Here, the border of the Gamilon Empire lay, and here began an outlier of the Terran-Pellian Commonwealth. Indeed, there were both Gamilon and Commonwealth bases on this world, and it was a stop on the Galaxy Railways line between the Great Magellenic Cloud and the Milky Way.

Kanae Hoshino, a young woman, very scared that Theodore Wildstar would again find her, had gone to ground here, having just barely escaped from cryofreeze with the help of some partisans aboard Promethium’s fortress-ship known as Defuel.

Here, she worked as a cocktail waitress, living in something close to poverty, but saving her tips because she knew she had to purchase a Galaxy Railway ticket to get off here before Faust, once known as Theodore, caught up to her.

What was more, she knew that she was two months pregnant; with Theodore’s child.

She had considering seeking an abortion, but she knew the procedure was dangerous, could likely kill her, and she wasn’t really that interested in killing the life within her body anyway.

So, one day, she resigned her job, took her funds, and went to the Galaxy Railway Station to purchase a ticket to…anywhere.

The robotic agent told her, “There is a train leaving at midnight that you can catch to the inner rim of the Milky Way.”

“How far would three thousand credits get me?” said the young blond woman, who stood there in battered boots and a frayed green dress. She carried a small suitcase with her oddments. Her cocktail waitress’ uniform, basically a swimsuit with fishnet hose, heels, and bunny ears, she found demeaning, so she had left it behind.

“Three thousand credits would get you just as far as the Capital Region,” said the robot. “That is, Terra or Pellias. Where do you want to go?”

“Pellias…I should be able to live there in…relative anonymity,” she said.

“Pellias it is,” said the robot ticket master. A pass was printed. “Do not lose that pass; otherwise, they’ll throw you off the train.”

“Which train will it be?” asked Kanae.

“The Three-Nine; what do you think?” said the robot. “Now, good day, Miss. There is a line behind you.”

MIDNIGHT…

The Three-Nine pulled into the station, loud, chugging, and steaming, with its bell ringing quite loudly as it pulled into the ornate steel and glass trainshed in Venlafa Central Station.

Kanae boarded the train as soon as it stopped.

This ticket is for coach, only, she thought as she looked at her pass. Nearly a week on this train until I get to Pellias. And there? I don’t know where I’m going.

When on board, a very eccentric-looking conductor, a short man in uniform, glanced at her pass and helped her put her suitcase up in the rack over the window. He had an odd appearance and seemed to have no face…was he an alien of some kind?

Kanae didn’t know, and she didn’t care as she sat there, lost in her thoughts, ignoring the hustle and bustle of the passengers until she felt the seat where she had put her feet up jostling a little.

She looked up, and saw that another young…or middle-aged woman was taking the seat facing hers.

She looked the woman over. She was dressed in a dark burgundy suede miniskirt, fairly new knee-length boots, an earth-toned cardigan, and a jacket with a black lining and high collar that matched the miniskirt. The woman had dark brown her in a tight bun; a face that bordered on the pretty, and she wore horn-rimmed glasses.

“Who are you, Miss?” Kanae asked shyly.

The woman extended her hand. “Doctor Terinda Mordini, Professor of History at the Royal University on Pellias. What is your name?”

“Kanae Hoshino, sensei,” said Kanae sadly. “I just barely completed my bachelors’ degree.”

“I see,” said Doctor Mordini. “We don’t need to be formal, as it appears we will be traveling companions for a time,” Doctor Mordini said in a soft voice that almost had a familiar lilt to it; Kanae had heard it somewhere, but where? “You can call me Teri, if you wish.”

“What do you teach?” asked Kanae.

“Galactic History; I concentrate on that of the past hundred years,” she said. “I’ve been on sabbatical doing research out here. The Gamilons and the Commonwealth have quite a settlement out here, don’t they?” she said as Kanae noticed that the train was beginning to move.

“I worked in a cocktail lounge…” said Kanae. “Some of the Gamilons and the Pellians I met were nice…the military sorts, I mean. A lot seemed to walk around like they owned everything; and a lot of the Terrons in uniform out here seemed to have the same attitude. I got along the best with the Ralkhens. Those big furry cat-people look intimidating, but they’re really nice. And they tip very well too.”

“You might find this unusual, but I rather like the Ralkhens myself,” Teri said. She glanced out the window and seemed to be lost in a forest of memories for a moment. Then, she turned back to Kanae and said, “Do you have a boyfriend, if I can ask? Or a girlfriend?”

“Boyfriend,” said Kanae in a barely audible voice. “Or I did. We had a very bad breakup. He…he got me pregnant,” whispered Kanae.

“What’s his name?”

“I’d…rather not say. He’s from a very important Terron family. We met at a fancy ball on New Telezart. I still don’t know how I got invited to that…Trelaina…all those Dukes, Duchesses, Barons…they say that even the Ruling Queen of Pellias and the High Queen of the Commonwealth were there, but I didn’t meet them.”

“Is the man an illusionist?” said Teri. Kanae could not help but notice that Teri was making a very tight fist with one hand for a moment, as if she was hiding a deep anger. Indeed, she was. Kanae was to learn exactly how deep that anger would be when she got to Pellias.

“Yes. A magician, and would-be rock performer. Doesn’t he hang around with Septigram, and wasn’t he once seen at a session for Infinity?”

“The members of Septigram do not like him, or so I have heard,” said Teri as she took down a bag and chewed on an apple. “Would you like one?”

“Sure. Thank you.” Kanae took the apple, and she noticed that the woman wore three rings; a plain one that looked like a wedding band with a Celtic knot, a golden ring with a red jewel, and a silver ring with what looked like a diamond. “You have some pretty rings, Teri. Is that a wedding band?”

“It is,” she replied. “My husband is in the military high command on Pellias. Part of the reason I’m on this train is to meet up with him again after some months. I miss him like you wouldn’t know.”

Kanae looked out the window. “It looks like we’re in space now.”

“We are,” said Teri. “We’ll be our next stop, Planet Hakarva, in three days. So, this…boyfriend of yours. Did he abandon you?”

“Sort of,” said Kanae as tears filled her eyes. “He wanted me to join his act…do weird things on stage with him…half-naked…even while pregnant. I said no and I just ran from him. He honestly gives me the creeps. This…is a picture of him,” Kanae said as she rooted in a pocket of her dress and pulled out a photograph.

“Theodore,” said Teri in a low voice with almost a hiss. “It figures. You were wise to flee from him. This young man is not a good man. His parents will have to call him to account soon, I’d bet.”

Of course, Teri did not know that Theodore had been called to account already.

The whistle of Three-Nine blew, and a young woman in a somber black dress, boots, and a Russian-style Astrakhan hat sat down beside Teri. They glanced at each other and Teri handed the picture to the striking blond woman. “He’s up to his old tricks again, Maetel. Were you looking for him?”

“Traveling again, Doctor?” Maetel said.

“Yes. Research and other personal business, shall we say?” said Teri. “I’m sorry we left you out of the conversation, Kanae. My friend, Maetel.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” said Kanae with a bow as she shook Maetel’s hand.

“Likewise,” Maetel said. “Your last name is Hoshino?”

“How did you know that?” said Kanae, shocked.

“I think I encountered you in that cocktail lounge you were working in. You looked much different there, I must say,” Maetel said. “I’m a traveler; a very frequent traveler on the railways. A line to Andromeda is planned, Doctor Mordini.”

“I know. I interviewed some people about it,” Mordini said vaguely. “It involves some delicate negotiations with the Gamilons and the Gatlanteans.”

Kanae nodded at that.

Admiral Derek Wildstar moaned and gasped in the nightmare that he was caught in.

In this dream, he was much younger.

It was only the year 2200, the month of September.

The Yamato was close to finishing her mission.

The ship had been boarded by the Gamilons, who had released a deadly radioactive gas throughout the ship.

Derek had just ordered Nova out of the line of fire, and he was shooting at several Gamilon soldiers.

One of them removed his mask, showing a head of striking white hair around a fine, young, handsome face.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” Derek had demanded.

“Lieutenant Zain Valas, Gamilon Imperial Guard,” said the tall young man in grey as he seemed to be escorting a taller man in grey who wore a black helmet with a distinctive fin on its top. “Listen, Terron. I will tell you this once, and only once. This fight is totally useless. You are finished. You would do well to surrender now, boy. “

“I’m not about to surrender!” Derek snapped as Valas shot at him and grazed his arm. He ignored the pain and then looked up through the gasses at the taller man, who said in an authoritative, mellifluous voice, “My Guardsman is quite correct, young man. It is useless to continue to resist. Where is your Captain? I would receive his surrender.”

“Captain Avatar is ill,” Derek snapped. “I am Deputy Captain Derek Wildstar, acting commander. Who are you?”

“M’Lord, this one is a comedian,” said Valas.

“Leave him to me, Valas,” said the taller Gamilon. He laughed a cold, twisted laugh. “So, the great Star Force is being led by a mere boy barely old enough to shave?” The tall man undid his black visor and revealed a young-looking face surrounded by blond hair. “I am so pleased to meet you, boy. I am Desslok, Leader of the Gamilons!”

“DESSLOK!!!?” Derek roared.

“You thought I was dead, didn’t you?” Desslok said with a mocking glee in his voice. “That’s what I wanted you to believe. Gamilon has withstood many disasters. As long as I live, Gamilon lives. You have done well for one so young, but I strike the last blow.”

“Lord, let me kill this piece of filth now,” said Valas.

“No, Valas,” said Desslok. “I have my own plans for this one. Stand down, my friend…”

Derek awoke beside Nova covered with sweat and moaning.

“Derek!” Nova said, her skin peppered with goose pimples below the undergarments she was sleeping in. She knelt over her shivering, nude husband and said, “Come on, dear! Come out of it! It was a nightmare!”

“A nightmare…PTSD,” Derek said. “I was dreaming of that battle on the ship thirty-six years ago with Desslok and Valas. I can stand the sight of Desslok…he’s our friend now. When that Valas was over the other day…he was laughing at me.”

“He does have a warped sense of humor,” Nova said. “And a long memory.”

“He was mocking me at our lunch after the rehearsal along with Zordar. Hard to believe. Zordar…in our house!”

“Guess what? When I saw how upset you were getting, love, I asked them to back off a bit.”

“You’re incredible, Nova, but I don’t need to be babied like that. Zordar…he’s typically sick and diseased, even if I like his clone son Var. That Valas, though. I wanted to step outside with him.”

“He would have killed you, Derek!” Nova snapped. “Yes, he is a Reservist and a member of the band known as Septigram, but he still carries weapons. He killed a deranged fan a month ago for looking at him the wrong way. Derek…the man is bad news. You don’t need a useless fight with him!”

Derek looked into Nova’s deep brown eyes. “I guess you’re right. Hey…what are you doing?” he said as Nova smiled a little and slid her bra off.

“Distracting you,” Nova said with a wink. “Come on…relax…take a deep breath,” Nova said as she began to kiss him.

“This…this is pleasantly distracting,” he said.

“I thought so,” Nova whispered. “The sun’s not up yet. Before we go back to sleep…”

“Yes?”

“…Get my underpants,” Nova whispered in a sultry manner.

“No objections,” he said as Nova cuddled closer to him and he began to undress her as she had requested…

Some days passed.

Three-Nine arrived on Pellias on Monday, March 21, 2236.

As the train hissed and groaned in the station, Maetel accompanied Kanae and Teri off the train at the station.

Maetel looked hard at Kanae and said, “We are walking you to a hotel, and we are not letting you out of our sight.”

“I’m…in danger?” Kanae said.

Teri nodded while feeling a knife in her purse. “I would call my daughter, but I believe you are safe enough with the two of us.”

“For now,” Maetel said.

As they entered the terminal, the three women found themselves surrounded by a group of six sinister-looking cyborgs…all of whom appeared to be male. They had on black trench coats and wide-brimmed black hats, and the sinister gleam of their eyes showed in the dimmer light of the terminal.

“Who are you people?” Maetel demanded.

“We have business with the short girl,” said one of the cyborgs in a deep voice.

“What sort of business?” demanded Kanae as Teri put her hands on her knife.

“You signed a contract with us, Miss,” said the tallest of the cyborgs. “You need to come back to Planet Venlafa with us. And I do not want your friends to interfere. This is a private business matter.”

“You forged my signature,” said Kanae. “I signed no such contract with you lot.”

“Leave us alone, and I’ll refrain from contacting the authorities,” Maetel said in an authoritative voice.

One of the men knocked into Teri. “Oh? What do I see here? Look! This woman has a knife!”

“So, I am armed? That is not your…business!” stammered Teri.

“Get her and get Hoshino,” said the tallest of the cyborgs.

Another cyborg pulled out a weapon. It happened to be a Taser.

He fired at Kanae. The sharp probes entered her skin, and the young woman coughed, gasped, and fell over unconscious.

Another one of the cyborgs caught Teri…whose true name was Teri Hemsford, in a stranglehold and began to punch her.

Maetel swung a metal whip at two of the cyborgs, smashing in their faces. She fired a beam from a ring that she wore at a third cyborg. It caught him in the face and he fell dead.

The remaining three men touched hands while holding the collapsed form of Kanae Hoshino and an angry, struggling Teri Hemsford, and they vanished.

Maetel picked up her hat from the ground and looked at the group. “Damn you!” she said.

She bought a ticket for the next train heading straight out along the line to Venlafa. Within an hour, she was aboard that train, cruising back out to where she had come from.

She felt there was no need to involve Her Majesty the High Queen…yet, even though the enemy had Nova’s mother Teri as a captive.

IV. DANCE, DANCE, DANCE…

Planet Earth: The Tokyo Megalopolis

Ariel and Jordy Venture’s Home

Sunday, March 27, 2236

1005 Hours

Derek Wildstar was watching three women performing a jazz dance number for exercise in the former recording studio of what had been their home in the Tokyo Megalopolis; the very home they had given to Ariel and Jordy.

Ariel danced near the back of the room, laughing and flipping her long blond hair around as she danced next to her younger sister Teresa, who looked quite cute in her dance leotard and glasses.

Nova was leading them to the music, calling out steps like an exercise coach. “Now, kick, jump, arms up, sway your hips, and TWIRL!”

The three ladies twirled like a professional dance team and continued dancing.

“So…what is the reasoning behind this performance?” laughed Derek.

“We intend to do this dance at the wedding on Saturday at the Lodge Hall,” Nova said.

Derek got elbowed aside by a tall man who was eating raw chicken wings; namely, Emperor Zordar himself, clad in a black cloak.

“What are you doing eating…raw meat again?” Derek snapped.

“What are you doing being a fifth wheel, BOY?” said Zordar with a smirk on his face. “Nova. Does this man do anything useful?”

“He is the father to the bride and he will be giving her away to your son Var soon, Majesty,” Nova said.

“I’d prefer you gave her away, Nova. Look at the boy’s face. Slack. Stupid. I’m surprised how it is that you can maintain a mental bond with this vapid idiot,” laughed Zordar.

“Are you trying to get me to fight with you?” Wildstar demanded.

“It’ll never happen because you are afraid of me; face it. Isn’t he afraid of me, Nova?”

“I’d rather not reveal his fears to you,” Nova said as she continued dancing. “Now, can you take those raw chicken wings out to the kitchen? You’re dripping juices all over the place and we might slip in the mess in our bare feet. Then you’ll see me really mad at you!”

“Boy, should I listen to her?” said Zordar.

“I would,” Derek said.

“The problem with you, boy, is that she has you on a leash,” Zordar said. He walked away laughing.

Derek flipped an obscene gesture behind Zordar’s back. Zordar just laughed at him.

Var showed up from another room, followed by Ariel and Jordy’s daughter Samantha. He was also eating raw chicken wings. He smiled at Derek, Nova, and Zordar. Derek and Nova smiled back, and Teresa cuddled up to him. “Could you get me some chicken wings, dear?”

“These are good,” Var said.

“No! I mean COOKED chicken wings,” said Teresa. “Please?”

“I’ll see about finding some for you and the little Miss here,” he said as he picked up both Teresa and Samantha.

The phone rang.

Nova ran to it and answered it. “Moshi-Moshi, Venture residence,” she said.

Maetel’s voice came out of the phone. “Nova, what are you doing back in Tokyo?”

“I’m at my daughter’s place. Teresa is getting ready to marry Lord Var on Saturday.”

“Listen, Nova. I’m on a station on the Galaxy Railways. We had a fight on Pellias. Kanae Hoshino and your mother have been captured. I’m trying to get to Planet Venlafa to mount a rescue operation. Can you assist?”

“My mother’s involved. I have to assist,” Nova said. “The Yamato is still in refit, so we will have to deploy the North Carolina and go out to Venlafa.”

Derek overheard and said, “We can get out tomorrow morning.”

Zordar grabbed the phone from Nova’s hand and said, “I will provide reinforcements. I will send General Naskjena out to assist the North Carolina.”

“You’re agreeing to help already?” Nova said.

“I read the pain in your mind, Nova. Even if the BOY is leading the mission, you will require our assistance. In fact, that is probably a good reason for us to assist,” Zordar said.

TO BE CONTINUED….