Time of Serenity Chapter One (Revised)

Star Blazers: A Time of Serenity

By: Jamie A. Tucker

(With editing assistance by Frederick P. Kopetz)

Disclaimer Statement: Please note that Space Battleship Yamato and

Star Blazers are registered trademarks of Voyager Entertainment. Star

Entertainment, Leiji Matsumoto and Yoshinobu Nishizaki

is a fan-fiction as a personal hobby and is not intended to infringe

upon the copyright holders of Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato.

Chapter One: The Phantom of the Earth

Place : Fifteen Megameters from the Cirrus Star Cluster

Time: March 2200

The Rainbow Star Cluster became faint and dim as the Space Battleship Argo pressed onward towards the Great Magellenic Clouds. The voyage to Iscandar was not a bowl of cherries for the tired, exhausted crew. Having gone through the hell of the last battle, the Star Force had seen the most fierce combat yet as they neared Iscandar. The Gamilons, under the leadership of Generalissimo Desslok, have been determined to stop the courageous crew from pressing towards Iscandar.

Under the leadership of Captain Avatar and the newly appointed Deputy Captain Derek Wildstar, the Star Force has won the most important battle yet in their valiant fight to save humanity from extinction caused by radioactivity, which resulted from Gamilon planet bombs. The badly damaged space faring vessel had left the Rainbow Galaxy only limping on a single auxiliary engine. The Argo is now more than thirty megameters from the site of that fateful battle that nearly ended the Iscandar mission. The newly appointed Deputy Captain, Derek Wildstar, made his way to the first bridge as he left his quarters for first watch.

"I know the next battle will be even more intense. The Gamilons are very determined to stop us from reaching Iscandar and getting home. I'm sure the next we meet the Gamilons, the battle will go from intense to horrific. I hope we can get the Argo fixed up and ready for the battle of all battles," thought Derek as he boarded the elevator to the first bridge.

As the elevator began to ascend, the young Deputy Captain's thoughts turned to the more urgent matter of getting the Argo repaired and battle worthy again. With the Wave Motion Gun and main batteries out of commission, the Argo was virtually a sitting duck for a Gamilon Destroyer to ambush. A few seconds later, the elevator chimed and the door opened to the first bridge. Wildstar proceeded towards the center of the bridge near the astrocompass. Sandor noticed Derek's reflection off his console monitor and arose from his seat and saluted Derek. Wildstar returned the salute in acknowledgement to the mechanical division Chief.

"How are the repairs progressing, Sandor?" inquired Derek as they stood near the astrocompass.

Sandor dropped his shoulders and breathed a sigh. His face exhibited a fresh amount of concern as he knew the extent of the damage.

"Wildstar, with the Wave Motion Systems offline, we're essentially sitting ducks right now. The repairs are going to take a great while. I can give you an estimate as to when we can have these repairs ninety-five percent complete." said Sandor as he looked handed Wildstar a clipboard with the report of damage estimates.

"Captain Avatar would like to have a report this morning during first watch on the amount of time we need to make repairs and to rest. I would appreciate a good estimate." said Wildstar as he looked over the clipboard that Sandor had just given him.

The bridge door opened as Homer, Eager, and Dash arrived for first watch. They were soon followed by Venture who appeared to remain very sleepy. The men were still tired after long days and nights of fighting off Lysis' task force of bombers, fighters and Gamilon ships.

"Ahhh, Wildstar request permission to go back to sleep?" inquired Homer as he sat down at the communications console.

The men laughed at Homer as he requested permission to return to the land of dreams. Wildstar looked over at Homer and smiled.

"As much as I don't want to say it Homer...permission to return back to snoring out loud will be denied. On that note, anyone up for a cup of coffee or cappuccino?" inquired Wildstar.

The bridge crew acknowledged Wildstar's inquiry for coffee by show of hands. Nearly all of the bridge crew raised their hands in anticipation of the strong smelling and stimulating beverage.

"Make sure that coffee is fresh from the hills of Colombia!" quipped Eager.

"You wish..." said Venture from the helm.

"Shit... Colombia's over one hundred sixty some thousand light years from here!" said Dash with a laugh.

"Well...Actually Nova has been growing coffee in the ship's green house. She gathered over four hundred thousand Colombian coffee plants that were genetically engineered." said Sandor.

The men let out a roar of approval at Sandor's announcement. Wildstar walked to the communications console and flipped the PA system.

"Lt. Nova Forrester please report to the first bridge with a fresh supply of coffee for the crew from ship's stores." said Wildstar over the ship's PA system.

A short time later, Nova's voice was heard over the bridge loudspeakers.

"Derek, I will be up in the first bridge with the refreshments in about a half hour. I'm stuck with Dr. Sane tending to wounded," Nova said.

"Ok, Acknowledged." replied Wildstar as he walked back towards Sandor.

"Now where were we?"

"I believe I was about to give you the repair time estimates." replied Sandor.

"Yes, that's right," acknowledged Wildstar as he stood beside the astrocompass.

"Like I said, the repair work is going to take a great deal of time. I estimate that we could have the repair work on the Wave Motion Gun completed within a week. As for a total repair estimate, you're looking at two weeks tops, Wildstar." said Sandor.

Wildstar looked at the clipboard at Sandor's notes and handed it back to him. He walked to the combat control station and looked out the windows of the first bridge and watched the damage control division work on the main deck.

"Sandor, I want to inspect the damage during today's watch. Captain Avatar would like to see that we won't be as vulnerable like we were during that last battle," Derek said has he continued looking out the first bridge window.

The bridge door opened as Orion stepped off the elevator and made his way to the engineering station. His uniform was dirty and greased up. Everyone could tell that he had been hard at work pulling two watches to get the engines back online.

"Working hard, Orion?" inquired Venture.

"Sure am, Venture. We lost two men in the left auxiliary engine room during that last battle. So far the Wave Motion Engine only had minor to moderate damage but was still knocked offline by hits to the auxiliary engine room. We should be fully ready to go by third watch." said Orion as he sat in his chair and folded his arms.

"I know Orion. Hiroshi and Von Stadt were great engineers down there in the auxiliary engine room. I spent a little time talking to them back on Earth before we left for Iscandar. They both came from a huge family. Their families were able to survive the Gamilon Planet bombs by staying in the underground cities," said Venture as turned at looked at Orion.

A few minutes later, the elevator door opened as Nova and IQ-9 arrived on the first bridge pushing the coffee carts that were retrieved from the galley. The cart that was pushed by IQ-9 ran over a small bump in the floor and created a mess of spilled coffee. Nova walked over towards the red robot as Derek offered to help.

"Don't worry Derek…I'll clean it up," said Nova as she retrieved several paper towels from the cart.

Nova began to clean the mess up as she bent over to wipe the mess from the bridge floor. Suddenly without warning, IQ-9's metallic hands extended outwards towards the target, Nova's shapely backside. The cold metallic hands grabbed and felt Nova's rump. The bridge crew was totally aghast. They've seen the red robot raise her nurse's skirt but never have they saw something of this magnitude. Nova spun around with full anger in her blood stream.

"IQ-9! You tin-wit!" exclaimed Nova as she slapped the naughty droid on the head.

"I love you, Nova. Will you marry me?" said IQ's synthesized voice. The bridge crew could not help to laugh at the situation. Nova recalled how IQ-9 expressed his "love" for Nova several months ago on

the Planet Beemira while they were held in the Queen Bee's vile prison. She knew in her heart that she would one day fall in love, let alone the thought of falling in love with a horny droid built by

a sex crazed MIT engineer, Dr. Derin Shukandikar. Nova stood there and looked at Derek for a few minutes.

"I wonder if Derek's the one. He has matured so much since we left Earth," thought Nova as she continued to serve coffee to the bridge crew.

"Well Wildstar, looks like you may have some competition," said Venture quietly from the helm as Derek stood at the combat control station. Venture sipped at his coffee, somewhat grateful that it was strong, but wondering again why Nova apparently couldn’t remember he liked creamer in the coffee. He sipped at it, deciding that if he argued the issue with Nova after she had been “bothered” by IQ-9, he might end up wearing the coffee in his hair.

"Oh, cut out the bullshit, Venture. Sandor, please scan the area for a suitable place where we can land for repairs. We cannot run the risk of another battle like that one back there. I wouldn't mind if it had a breathable atmosphere as well," said Derek as Nova handed him a fresh cup of coffee.

"Nova , how's Captain Avatar doing?" inquired Derek.

"I checked on him earlier, Derek. He seems to be getting weaker as well as sicker. Dr. Sane gave him some Energite to boost his energy earlier this morning," replied Nova.

"Is the Captain coming to the bridge?" asked a concerned Homer from communications.

"He'll be right down in about an hour or so," Nova replied as she finished serving the bridge crew the coffee.

As Sandor continued the scan of the area, the search for a hospitable planet for the port call was challenging. Since leaving Earth, navigating deep space is a challenge that the Star Force met with full determination. Within an hour into the search, Sandor had found a star system that was in reach of the Argo.

"Wildstar…" said Sandor from the analysis station.

Wildstar walked over towards Sandor and looked over his shoulders at the results of his search.

"What have you found, Sandor?" inquired Wildstar.

"I've found an uncharted system that is approximately forty-mega meters from the Pegasus Star. There are a total of twenty planets orbiting that star. According to my preliminary findings, the fourth

planet seems to have an atmosphere that's similar to Earth's. Do you think it's worth investigating?" asked Sandor as he gave his preliminary findings.

Wildstar spoke nothing as he thought about Sandor's findings. The whole bridge seemed to be silent with the intent on listening to the young deputy captain. Everyone wondered if the planets that were

discovered were a part of the Gamilon Empire.

"Sir, we're getting a picture of the system," said Venture from the Navigation console.

"Venture, put it on the video display panel for us all to see, AND HURRY UP!" ordered Wildstar as he stepped backwards toward the astrocompass.

The fourth planet came into full view with many thanks to the ship's computerized telescopic camera that was being operated from the second bridge.

The bridge crew gasped as they saw what looked like a phantom of Earth before the horrendous planet bombings.

"Wow, it looks so much like Earth!" exclaimed Homer as he looked at the video panel from the communications console.

The blue hue of the planet was the most beautiful sight that the Star Force has seen since leaving Earth. Wildstar had to remind the crew to remain cautious that the planet could still be a haven for Gamilons and their fleet of powerful swift destroyers. Sandor, Venture and Wildstar gathered around the astrocompass to debate about what they should do.

"Wildstar, that planet should have a very clean breathable atmosphere and it would be a perfect place to land and make repairs," said Sandor.

"We need to log this into our navigation charts for later. This is undiscovered stuff were dealing with here, Wildstar," said Venture.

Wildstar took in the advice of his subordinate officers.

"Venture, continue on the present course towards the planet for now. As for landing, I can't grant full permission yet. We need to send a scout team to investigate the planet for our safety. I'm not willing

to risk the crew with surprise attacks from the Gamilons. Everybody's had enough since that last battle. When Captain Avatar heads down, we'll consult with him," said Wildstar as he gave his input.

IQ-9 rolled up to the trio standing around the astrocompass.

"Sandor, I'm a genius robot. Requesting permission to scan the planet for lifeforms," said IQ.

"IQ, that would be a good idea. Could you also give us the composition of the atmosphere and seawater? We need to report these findings to Captain Avatar when he arrives on the bridge," replied Sandor.

The men returned to their stations and looked to the tasks that lay ahead of them.

"Venture.." said Orion from the engine room.

"How are the repairs going? We need to maintain our present course but with more speed," said Venture sounding somewhat impatient.

"We've got the left auxiliary engine repaired. We can start moving faster in about an hour," said Orion.

"Thanks, Chief. That's great news," replied Venture as he broke off the small conversation.

"Well, that's good news we need to hear. It will still take a good while to get our Wave Motion Engine fully back online,” said Wildstar as he looked at the engineering console’s monitor.

A few minutes later, Homer called the bridge crew to attention as Captain Avatar rode the chair down from his quarters. The officers saluted the Captain who was showing more and more signs of weakness

and sickness.

"As you were…" said Captain Avatar as he returned the salute.

"Captain…" said Wildstar as he walked up to the Captain's station.

Captain Avatar nodded his head at the young officer.

"Sandor has discovered an uncharted and undiscovered planetary system in the Pegasus Star system. Venture has already made the entry of the ship's navigation log. Sandor and I requests permission to investigate the forth planet which has a very similar atmosphere to Earth's," said Wildstar pointing up at the video display panel. The Captain looked up at the video panel and saw the blue planet, which was dotted with white clouds and areas of land.

"It seems as if we had just arrived back home. Wildstar, I'm granting permission to have the planet fully investigated. Send out Conroy and Tucker for reconnaissance sorties over the planet. I want Conroy to report back if we can land there or not,” said Captain Avatar as he looked at Wildstar and Sandor.

"Yes, Sir," said Sandor and Wildstar in unison and saluted.

"Captain, pending Conroy's report, I want to recommend that we land the Argo on the fourth planet to complete repairs and give us a weeks' liberty. We only have two more space warps to complete before we arrive in the Great Magellenic Cloud. IQ-9 is presently scanning the area for any signs of life. The atmosphere is almost nearly identical to Earth except it has one-percent more in nitrogen than Earth in the atmospheric composition, " said Sandor as he walked up to Captain Avatar and saluted him.

"Wildstar and Sandor, the crew deserves a small break from all this fighting. There will be other battles to fight before we finally reach Iscandar. Permission for liberty is granted only to those not involved in repair work. However, no one is to leave the ship without prior permission or orders from me," said the Captain.

Sandor turned towards IQ-9 and walked over to the analysis station.

"What have you found so far, IQ?" inquired Sandor.

"The atmosphere is breathable, sir. There are several ships similar to the one that crashed on Mars on the planet," replied the metallic, synthesized voice.

"Uh…?" exclaimed Wildstar in utter amazement and shock.

"I wonder ...what type of ships are we talking about here?" said Sandor.

"Captain, this is Conroy. Alpha and Bravo Squadrons ready to launch on your orders sir," said the leader of the Black Tigers over the bridge's speakers.

"Conroy, go ahead and launch and report back to us your findings," ordered Captain Avatar as he started to feel somewhat weak.

The Captain began to slump over towards the left in his command chair. He found as if he couldn't effectively command from the bridge any longer.

"Wildstar… you have the bridge," said the weakened Captain, who then slumped over at his post with his head on his console.

Derek snapped, "Nova, get Captain Avatar back up to his quarters right away!"

"Yessir," she replied as she went to assist him. She let Avatar lean on him as they walked.

As she helped him to the exit, Wildstar looked on and added, "Venture, send out a Code White at once to Doctor Sane for the Captain," ordered Wildstar.

"Dr. Sane, Code White to Captain Avatar's Quarters. Repeat…Code White to Captain Avatar's quarters!" spoke Venture through the ship's public address system.

In the sickbay, Dr. Sane heard the call as his medical team of first responders and medics tended to the wounded and sick.

"Dr. Sane, you have your hands full today," said petty officer Harman who is the chief first responder.

"The Captain was feeling well earlier after I gave him something to boost his energy level. I wonder what the problem is now," he said as he dropped his bottle of sake and grabbed his medical kit from the storage locker.

The doctor rushed from the sick bay and knocked over several hands who were on their way to duty from a late breakfast.

"Out of my way… the Captain's dying…we're doomed!" exclaimed the bald headed running doctor.

He quickly pressed the elevator buttons to rush him to the Captain's quarters. Within minutes, Dr. Sane arrived at the locked watertight door and knocked.

"Who is it?" asked Nova from the inside.

"It's Dr. Sane, Captain. Nova please open the damn door. I need to save the Captain!" he screamed.

Nova quickly walked to the door and allowed the hyperventilating doctor in. She could smell the odor of sake on his breath and tried to bite her lip to hide the annoyance on her face. I know he likes his sake, but why does he have to drink so much on duty? Nova thought.

"Calm down, Doctor…Captain Avatar is feeling weak. I've already started an IV of Energite and give him a dose of Barithium to keep his radiation sickness in control," explained Nova as Dr. Sane took out a pair of stethoscopes to listen to the Captain's heartbeat Doctor Sane and Nova worked to make Captain Avatar comfortable as possible.

On the bridge, Wildstar had ordered Venture to remain on the same continuous course towards the forth planet of the Pegasus Star System. About two hours into Conroy's reconnaissance mission, the crew began to wonder what was going on with the Star Force's top space aviator.

"Wildstar… This is Conroy," said the Black Tiger pilot.

"Yes, Conroy, have you found?" inquired Wildstar.

"We've found several ships that looked like the one that crashed on Mars. Perhaps those ships are from Iscandar. However, we find no signs of people alive down there," said Conroy.

"Are there any Gamilons present?" inquired Wildstar?

"There are no enemy ships present in my sector Wildstar," said Jake Tucker who led the Bravo Squadron in place of Hardy who was sidelined with a knee injury.

"That's good to report guys. Please return to the Argo," said Wildstar as he flipped of the comlink.

Venture looked at Wildstar and sighed. The crew was wondering why were there Iscandarian ships on the planet.

"Venture…make landing preparations. We'll land there on the forth planet tomorrow afternoon just before second watch," said Wildstar.

"What about those Iscandarian ships?" inquired Sandor.

"Dash, Tucker, Sandor and Conroy and I will investigate those ships and why there aren't any survivors on the planet. Sandor when we begin the search of those vessels. We need to find all the information we can about why the Gamilons chose to attack Earth and why the Iscandarians didn't survive. This all seems to be a big mystery here," said Wildstar.

"We'll soon find out eventually. We're only a couple of space warps away from Iscandar now," said Venture.

Wildstar walked to the communications station where Homer was sitting. He gave Homer a look of urgency as this mystery seemed to become more mysterious by the minute.

"Homer, find any or all of available channels of communications we have to contact Starsha on Iscandar. We need to know why there are Iscandarian ships there with no survivors.”

"Yes.. sir, Wildstar!” replied Homer as he worked some switches and dials on the communications console.

Homer began to work the communications using both infrared, X-ray and radio frequency communications. After about three hours of trying, Homer was exhausting all channels that he could use to contact the Iscandarian Queen who had offered the Cosmo-DNA.

"Wildstar, none of the frequencies work. There's no response from the Magellenic clouds at all," said Homer.

"Ok, Homer. That's good enough for now. You're relieved for lunch," said Wildstar.

The Argo continued to sail slowly closer to the fourth planet of

Pegasus. Can the Star Force solve the mystery of Iscandarian ships?

The Star Force has only 200 days left before all life on Earth

becomes extinct.