It had been a quiet morning on the bridge. Jun was slumped down in her seat, her head resting comfortably against her palm as she stared dreamily into space. It was about time for an under-the-Captain's-radar cabin party, she thought, to help relax some of her tense crewmates. Everyone seemed to have the jitters lately, during what was evolving into an endless search for the elusive new enemy. No one knew what to expect, or when to expect it. Twirling fingers into her hair, she wondered whom she should invite: Kylie, of course, who’ll drag Tanaka along…Cedro and Uchira. Bala—no. Mamoru, and that cute engineer from the third bridge…Jun thought about whom she knew best who worked KP in order to scrounge up some food. Maybe Kylie can rig up the music again, she wondered. Oops! she suddenly remembered. Time for the routine scan.

Righting herself, Jun tapped nimbly at the keypad. And froze.

A ship had appeared aft of Yamato, and was nearly in range. Then a second one appeared, and a third. Oh good god, she thought, is that a—

"Enemy fleet approaching!" she shouted, and provided the coordinates. She sat rigidly against the back of her seat, staring at the radar screen as if it were a ghoul ready to pounce.

"How do you know it’s an enemy fleet?" Hachinoko calmly asked.

"I just…I thought…uh…"

"Let’s attempt an ID and a hail first, before making such an assumption. Uchira?"

"Position confirmed. Running query now." His hands scrambled over the console. After a moment he turned to the Captain. "Jun’s hunch was right. They’re neither ours, nor any of our allies. I count approximately twenty battleships and four auxiliary craft."

A slight shift in her seat was the only indication of the Captain’s concern. "Well, I’d say that warrants a red alert. All hands to battle stations! Kodai, if you please."

Klaxons sounded throughout the ship, and crew ran to their posts. Kodai fielded a ship-wide status report, and ordered the Black Tigers to stand by.

"Captain!"

"Yes, Aihara?"

"I’m picking up some transmissions. They don’t seem to be in code, but…" A frown lined her mouth as she listened to the activity in her headset, and observed her monitor simultaneously. "I don’t recognize the language." She turned to Hachinoko. "I’ll have to fire up a translation sequence from scratch. It might take a while."

The Captain nodded. "Do it. Well done, Aihara."

Kylie turned modestly back to her console.

"Main guns standing by," Mamoru announced.

"Jun, is the fleet in range?"

"Yes, ma’am."

"Outstanding," Hachinoko said in a cheery tone that the crew knew belied her grim determination. "Mr. Tanaka, three-hundred sixty degrees to port, on the double."

"Roger that!"

Yamato swung around in a tight arc, and soon faced the enemy fleet. The distance between them was closing fast.

"I’m picking up an increase in communications from the flagship," Kylie informed the bridge. "What do you want to bet they’re—"

"First wave of missiles approaching!" Uchira interjected.

A shudder passed through the ship a moment later. Jun grabbed the sides of her console. "What was that?" she cried fearfully.

"A direct hit," Hachinoko said with a grimace. "Fire at will!"

"Cedro, let’s give them a taste of the main guns," Mamoru said.

Cedro was sweating. He fed the coordinates to the sights amid exclamations of the other crew as damage reports began to filter in. The shadow of his father hung over him, and time seemed at a standstill. "Standing by to fire!"

"Don’t wait on my account," Mamoru told him.

Cedro thought his voice sounded pale as he spoke. "FIRE!"

The discharge of the number two shock cannons erupted with urgency, but flowed harmlessly past the bow of a lead ship. Mamoru glanced to his left. "Cedro? We’re going to embarrass ourselves if we keep that up. Double-check your settings."

Cedro wiped his face with a sleeve. "Yeah, okay."

"Second wave of missiles approaching!"

Cedro turned around with a dismayed look. "Que?"

Tanaka pushed against the controls. "Taking evasive action! That should buy you some time, Cedro."

The bridge was congested with chatter as another missile salvo descended upon them. Bilious smoke from the damaged areas soon wafted past the observation windows. Lights from explosions flickered briefly and were gone. Enemy ships were now advancing, looping closer in a tight circle. Balaji had begun multiple scans of the enemy ships, and was downloading every bit of information he could latch onto. His darting eyes made note of their compact design. The gray surfaces of their hulls bore modest, even scant armament, but they were fast. He likened them to a school of minnows, albeit very deadly ones.

"Enemy fighters approaching!" Jun announced. "Three squadrons. Fourteen—no—nineteen degrees starboard!"

Mamoru turned around to face the Captain with a quizzical look. "Do it," she told him.

Mamoru flicked on his radio. "Attention! Black Tigers, squadrons one and two, prepare for takeoff! This is not a drill; I repeat, this is not a drill!"

The enemy fighers headed toward Yamato were graceful, almost delicate in design. Uchira watched his screen with nervous anticipation, especially after he noticed they were armed to the teeth. His glance occasionally strayed to the observation window as they zipped and fluttered by the ship to begin their attack. He whispered a quiet prayer.

"All right, scoundrels, you heard the man, let’s move! MOVE!" Yakumo blared his orders like a trumpet possessed. He charged into the hangar, and the scar on his cheek seemed to double in size. Pilots fanned out from behind him to disperse across Yamato’s flight deck, and readied their planes. The launch was furious and frenzied, and not without a few mishaps. Two men argued vehemently from the seat of their cockpits as they jockeyed for position, necessitating an intervention by Yakumo. He threw the both of them out, and replaced them with pilots from another squadron.

Let the enemy beware, thought Suya as she pulled on her helmet after digesting the incident. Yakumo is surely in a foul mood by now. Fireball sprang to life, and Suya’s stomach fluttered with gleeful enthusiasm. If she were bred for anything, she thought, it was flying. The hatch swung down, and the multi-colored console lights rippled across her faceplate. Suya taxied into position. Don’t bother saying your prayers, she thought out to the enemy fighters who she imagined would soon be in her sights. Because the minute I find you, it’ll be too late!

Best decision I ever made, thought Hachinoko of Yakumo’s assignment. She

watched from her station on the bridge as the Black Tigers swarmed over the enemy fighters, swooping and diving in a valiant effort to defend their ship. You trained them well, she thought, and felt relief at being able to concentrate her attention upon the nervous cadets before her. Dangerous delays in their offenses had occurred, which Hachinoko attributed to their lack of field experience. They were scared, and she found herself repeating orders at least half a dozen times. Hachinoko dispatched Tokugawa to the engine room, and called out for a battle plan. With the shock cannons at his disposal, Cedro had successfully destroyed one of the enemy’s battleships, but he had missed many more targets, both before and after. Hachinoko ordered Mamoru to take over. She held a silent debate about whether to wipe out the entire fleet, or attempt to capture some enemy soldiers. The easier plan won out; the crew wasn’t ready, she felt, for anything more complicated than comp! lete dest

The Captain ordered the Black Tigers to retreat, as it was time for an all-out assault. Barely had the pilots begun to return when torpedoes burst from their bays. They led a merry stampede and shattered into the enemy ships’ hulls. Shock cannons continued their barrage of terror, while the pulse lasers drenched the last of the enemy fighters. The auxiliary ships, larger and slower than the battle cruisers, were quickly dispatched into oblivion. The enemy now meandered about in uncertain fashion, as if

startled by the firepower and maneuverability of this lumbering Earth battleship. Their fleet was reduced to five, then three, and Yamato gave chase to the last one as it tried to flee. She plunged through the slivered remnants of its hull after the final blow.

"Repair crews at the ready, Captain," Mamoru announced shortly thereafter.

Audible sighs of relief could be heard round the bridge. Hachinoko rallied the crew for final damage assessments and review of the battle. With the engagement of the new adversary, the time for rest was slipping ever further away.

"Find us a quiet little place to nurse our wounds, Mr. Tanaka," she ordered.

Down in the hangar, Rin pulled Yakumo’s body from the burning, mangled wreck that had been his plane.

"Medic!" Rin screamed. "Get a medic here now!"

One of the pilots leaped to a radio. A few others scattered about like an agitated flock of birds to gather what first aid supplies they could find. As the rest of the squadron entered the hangar, they hurriedly berthed their planes and went to stand awkwardly by their leader’s prone form. Tears streaming down his face, Rin knelt by Yakumo’s limp body.

"Don’t you go anywhere! Don’t you dare leave us," he cried. Rin suddenly propped up Yakumo’s lifeless form and hugged it to his chest. He began to sob uncontrollably.

Deep, red blood seeped copiously out onto the floor from multiple gashes, including a very pronounced one on his neck. Rin slumped on the floor and rocked Yakumo back and forth, as one might comfort a fearful child. Most of the pilots now stood around them in a rough half circle, some with arms pressed against their faces. Suya stood off to one side, watching silently.

"Where is the fucking medic?" Rin screamed.

"Right here, we’re here," said the lead nurse, and dove down. He reached out to Yakumo’s neck and frowned. "He’s dead. There’s nothing we can do."

Rin’s blood stained hand lashed out and grabbed the medic’s collar in a tight fist. "Get him to sickbay for some proper tests before you dismiss him so goddamn quickly! He needs blood. Let’s give him some blood!"

Hands came down, and struggled to part Rin from the medic. Rin pushed them away and stood up. His chest was heaving. Grief-stricken, he looked at Yakumo as the medics lifted him onto a stretcher. "I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" How could this have happened, he thought, and quickly reviewed the attack sequence in his mind. A fierce look suddenly passed across his face, and his eyes locked onto Suya.

"It’s your fault!" he roared, and pushed bodies apart as he stampeded her way. His eyes bulged. "I saw you break formation again. It created an opening, and that’s when his plane was hit. You stupid bitch!"

"You’re wrong," Suya told him, and took a step back. "That’s not what happened!"

Although Rin wouldn’t find out until months later, Suya was actually correct. But Rin was devastated by the loss, and was determined to find a culprit. His pent up anger toward her drove any thoughts of the true enemy out of his mind.

"You’re lying," he said, and spat at her feet.

"I don’t need this shit," she retorted, and spun around to leave.

Rin followed and grabbed her arm. "I’m not finished yet, you cyborg freak!"

Suya stiffened.

Rin tried to swing her back to face him, but his invasive touch threw her into a defense mode so strong it was as if she had turned into a block of granite. Her eyes stared blankly ahead.

Grunting in frustration, Rin cursed and leaped in front of her. "That’s right," he continued, "you’re a bitchy little freak, and I’m not the only one who thinks so! You think you’re better than everyone else here, don’t you? But today we find out the truth, you backstabbing shit!" Rin pushed his face into hers, and began to jab a finger at the base of her neck. "You were never a Black Tiger, and you never will be! When the Captain finds out about this, you—hey, ahhoww!"

Suya had locked her hand around his wrist in a pinching grasp. With a sharp prod, she thrust him away. Rin stumbled and righted himself. A vicious gleam lit his eyes, and before Suya saw what was coming, he punched her in the face.

The indignity she felt cascaded through her before the pain did. A growl burst from her lips as she resumed her balance. Suya retaliated with an assault of her own, and landed hits to his face and gut that he was barely able to block. Despite the blood that ran from his mouth, Rin leapt forward and crashed into her. Suya’s breath was knocked out of her when his head smacked into her torso. They wrestled severely on the floor, their hands clawing and tearing at each other. Grim cheers broke out as the other pilots sided with Rin.

"Aihara here. Yeah? Really? Okay, I’ll let her know." Kylie turned to the Captain. "A fight just broke out in the hangar."

Hachinoko rolled her eyes. "Kodai, why don’t you take a few men down there with you? Escort the perpetrators up to my quarters, unless the whole damn crew is involved."

"Aye, ma’am," he said, and rushed to the elevator. Of all the time for some people to lose it, he thought.

Mamoru gathered crew as he went, signaling for whomever could be spared to accompany him. By the time he reached the hangar, he had amassed a security team of over a dozen. They pushed their way through the crowd that had formed, and spilled into the open space in the center of the hangar. Mamoru took a step back in surprise.

There in the middle were Suya and Rin, panting heavily and circling each other. Rin clutched his side, and a purplish bruise had erupted where his left eye used to be. He moved like a drunken man, his gait unsteady. Suya sidestepped his flailing limbs as nimbly as a tigress. Her face looked grubby and bruised, and a bright line of red marked a scrape along her cheek. She delivered another series of punches to Rin’s midsection.

A wave of admiration passed across Mamoru’s face, and he briefly considered letting the fight run its course. But Rin’s condition alarmed him. An electrified thought surged into his mind. She could easily kill him! Mamoru ran forward.

"Stop it! That’s enough!" he commanded, and hooked his arms into Suya’s. She struggled briefly, and then was still.

Rin interpreted Mamoru's action as an opportunity to swipe at her again, but was detained by several other men.

"Get him to sickbay," Mamoru told them, and he pulled Suya off to one side. "What’s going on here?" he asked loudly, and swung his gaze across the room. It landed back on Suya. "Why were you fighting?"

Suya dropped her gaze, and pressed her lips shut.

"Someone’s going to tell me what happened, or the consequences won’t be pretty."

"Yakumo’s dead," said a young pilot named Michinori. "Rin thinks she had something to do with it."

Mamoru mouthed the squadron leader’s name in shock. This was a terrible blow. Mamoru knew Rin was an excellent pilot, but he lacked Yakumo’s temperament. He feared the loss could demoralize the squadrons. "And this is how you honor his death?" he asked with gritted teeth. "I’m sure he would have been very proud."

Some of the pilots hung their heads in shame, or averted their eyes. A few glowered, still burning with the angry belief that Suya was somehow to blame.

"We’re still on red alert. Get back to your posts, and see to any repair work in case the Captain orders you out again." He looked at Suya, having held a grip on her arm the entire time. "She wants to see you. I guess Rin is so badly injured that she’ll have to deal with him later." Mamoru began to steer her toward the exit. A few steps later he stopped, and turned around. "Michinori! You’re in charge unless the Captain orders otherwise."

"Yes, sir," Michinori said solemnly.

Mamoru began to march Suya toward the door.

"You need some help there, Kodai?" asked one of the crew.

"I’m fine," he said, and waved a hand in parting.

Mamoru and Suya began the trek to the Captain’s quarters. A mix of confused feelings coursed through him. Here was a woman who could clearly take care of herself, yet he was wound up with concern for her safety. He was irritated that she had been the one fighting, but at the same time had been fervently excited by the sight of her. Then there was the matter of her involvement in Yakumo’s death.

"What happened out there?" he finally asked her.

Suya spoke in a low voice as they walked. "I had nothing to do with it, I swear! Two bogies were on Yakumo’s tail. I destroyed one, but the other got to him before I could finish him off. Kazama sent me over to help. Rin’s upset, and he’s piecing things together the wrong way." Suya motioned for Kodai to stop. "You tracked the battle from the bridge, right? The Captain can find out what really happened." Suya wiped a hand across her face.

There had never been a moment when Mamoru doubted her, but he fought to keep his expression and tone neutral. "We tracked the battle. Let’s hope the tape corroborates your report to the Captain." With that, he pressed a hand against her elbow to guide her forward.

They reached the access stairs and headed up. Suya let out a muffled cough behind him. When Mamoru glanced at her again, he noticed she was bleeding from the lip.

"Hang on a sec," he said, and fished in his pocket for a tissue (a reluctant habit from his mother that suddenly became very handy). When he reached out his hand, Suya jerked back. "Hold still," he said softly. With her chin nestled against his left hand, he dabbed at the blood with his right. The tissue quickly became engorged with blood, but her presentation was improved for the moment. Mamoru nodded approvingly, and knocked on the door. "Captain," he announced, and brought Suya in to make their reports.

With forefinger and thumb framing her cheek as she sat, Hachinoko listened to Mamoru’s initial report, and Suya’s stilted one. "I’ll review the recordings," she said after they were done. A sudden, odd contraction passed through her chest, which she kept hidden with a clearing of her throat. It was the third one that week. She cocked an eye at Suya. "The very minute that Rin has recovered, I want both of you back here for a full report. Dismissed."

Mamoru stared at her curiously, but nodded as she waved them away.

A few days later, Rin was released by Akisada, but not yet for active duty. He and Suya now stood before the Captain, allowing the most distance between them protocol would allow as they gave their reports. The air between them was electrified with tension, and both wore sullen expressions. A bandage lay across Rin’s forehead. Suya badly wanted to chide him, as she was convinced he was wearing it for looks. He was also fidgeting as she spoke, which drove her absolutely bonkers. But her strong respect for the Captain kept her calm.

Hachinoko was nursing a cold whose onset had been swift and sudden the night before. Akisada had prescribed her some medication, the second dose of which she now downed with a full mug of tea. She sniffed occasionally while simultaneously listening and reviewing the written report on the monitor in front of her.

She set down the mug after a hearty sip. "I don’t have to tell you two how inappropriate your behavior was, nor how immature and irresponsible. The two of you have to learn how to get along. I’ll suspend disciplinary action pending your successful co-leadership of the Black Tigers."

Suya gave her a startled look.

"What?" Rin exclaimed, sputtering around for words. "Lead with her?" He pointed a finger in Suya’s direction. "I can’t work with that kind of attitude!"

Hachinoko toasted Rin with her mug. "That’s an order, Rin. Obey it, or I’ll reassign you," she said, and took another sip.

Her command was met with a shocked silence. Rin and Suya wanted desperately to gauge the other’s reaction, but could barely bring themselves to look at each other. Their eyes shifted around like two wary tomcats. Neither knew quite what to say.

But the Captain did. "Well, I imagine you’ve got a lot to do. Go on!"

Rin gestured rigidly for Suya to precede him, and they strode out the door. The corridor below was empty for the moment. Rin plowed on, muttering to himself.

"Rin, wait a minute!"

He stopped short, and swung his head a half quarter turn. "What?"

Suya edged slowly towards him, and crossed her arms as she spoke. "The most important thing is that we get to fly, and to fight. I don’t think it has to be this uncomfortable."

Rin eyed her, his curiosity mounting. "I’m listening."

"The other pilots know you better. They respect you, too, more than they do me. I’ll help you develop strategy, and you can take the lead in the field."

Rin nodded, his only acknowledgement of her skill as a strategist, and the soundness of her idea. Thus, a very delicate, tentative partnership began.

After repairs from the first battle were completed, Yamato resumed her former heading, and ventured further in to what appeared to be enemy territory. Balaji helped navigation to project a path based both on Suya’s recollections of Daedalus activity, and current movements of the enemy, which were now being detected with increasing frequency. Many warships turned and gave battle, but others warped away, and the crew often found themselves at a dead end. All attempts at communication were rebuffed, and Kylie's efforts to clarify their transmissions were only minimally helpful.

To the dismay of veteran officers and cadets alike, Yamato was met with fleet after fleet, none large, but persistent. The crew dubbed the enemy "The Plague" (which won by a close margin over "Those Fucking Assholes"), and speculated endlessly about their motivation. Suya could tell the Captain nothing new about their agenda ("Maybe they now have what Daedalus did, and think we’re after it" was all she could offer). Battles continued round the clock for the next nine days straight ("This training is better than anything I could give you myself," became Hachinoko's standard response to the beleaguered crew).

Early in the morning of the tenth day, when the recent spate of repairs was nearing completion, a weary senior crew met with Hachinoko in the Strategy Room. They reviewed the pattern of heaviest fighting over the past few days, and tossed about ideas on how to further their investigation.

Uchira blew impatiently through his mouth as he stared at the data strewn about the floor-level screen. "It’s like they’re trying to prevent us from advancing," he said

"Or they have something to hide," Balaji responded. Their eyes met briefly.

"Captain," began Mamoru. A glance from Hachinoko indicated for him to continue. "At the rate we’ve been going, we could end up fighting for the next two months. I recommend a recon mission. A small one, that’ll slip unnoticed past their defenses. We have to find out what’s ahead of us. I’m worried we're headed for some sort of trap."

Hachinoko nodded slowly. "Mr. Tanaka?"

"That would be my suggestion also."

"It would give us more time for engine repair and maintenance," added Tokugawa.

The Captain brightened. "Then a recon mission it is! Take however many you feel is necessary."

"I’d like Suya to accompany me."

Two persons away to his right, Kylie snickered softly.

Hachinoko heard her, but opted only to stifle a laugh, for she, too, was aware of Mamoru’s predilection for the cyborg pilot. "Permission granted. If you don’t find anything within 48 hours, return at once. No heroics!"

Mamoru glanced at her sharply. I believe that remark was intended for my father, he thought with some amusement. He saluted and spun around for the door. Well, I can't exactly say this was an original idea of mine, either! Mamoru suppressed a smirk as he exited the Strategy Room in search of Suya. He ran across her as she was leaving the gym. He trotted over to her, his mouth locked into an eager half smile. "We’re on recon. You and me. Come on!"

Suya looked at him curiously, but followed his lead without question. In the hangar, Mamoru explained the orders while they loaded Fireball and a second fighter plane with extra supplies and weapons. After a systems check, they were ready to take off.

"Pay attention out there, Kodai! You’ll need your wits about you to keep up with me," Suya told him as she gracefully inserted her legs and torso into the cockpit. Fireball thrummed invitingly, as if with sultry pleasure.

Mamoru guessed Suya was being about as playful as she would ever get. He savored her challenge, but the wink and remark he salvoed back only left her speechless. "I’ll follow you anywhere!"

Mamoru ducked inside his Tiger with a chuckle. He keyed in the course setting, and sent it to Fireball. The crackle and spit of the communications link fired up his own synapses. "Ready?" he asked Suya.

"Way ahead of you!"

Fireball shot out of the hangar faster than Medusa's arrow.

Mamoru just shook his head and laughed. His own launch left a blazing, riotous trail, and he whooped after her in delight.

"Okay, so the launch was fun, but this is actually kind of boring once you get into it," Mamoru said, breaking a two hour silence deep into their course.

"I thought you said it was your idea," her voice carried back, a hint of amusement lingering in its folds.

"Heh, heh, well, yeah, I guess." He chewed his lip for a moment. "So, tell me more about Fireball. What are her capabilities, exactly?"

Suya chuckled. "Even if I cared to tell you, I really think we should maintain radio silence, Kodai!"

"Aw, come on, I won’t tell anyone!" His voice betrayed a wide grin.

"Well, a girl’s gotta have some secrets, don’t you think?"

"I have a secret," he murmured enticingly.

"Suya out."

Mamoru turned wide-eyed at her abrupt response. Of all the luck!

Eight hours later, Mamoru suddenly whistled. He patched through to Suya. "Holy Grail!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

"Do you see it? Four megameters." He was halfway through reporting the coordinates when Suya cut him off.

"A base! No wonder combat’s been so heavy. Let’s approach it from beneath."

Suya was referring to the rocky outcroppings that descended from the large asteroid filling the frames of their scopes. The base, military and/or industrial from its design, took up about half of the flat upper surface. Mamoru remembered Balaji’s enjoinder to gather as much data as possible, so he promptly began running scans and image recordings. Suya led them forward, weaving a complicated flight path along the asteroid’s underside. Since radar was still clear of any enemy ships, they decided to touch down on the outskirts of the base and study it from afar.

They were about twenty miles away, zooming in among randomly shaped peaks and craggy stone ridges, when they picked up four enemy fighter planes heading toward them from the base.

"I’ll take care of them," Suya told him, and Fireball whipped ahead of him. Her after-burn quickly shrank to the size of one of his landing wheels.

"Oh, no you don’t!" Mamoru exclaimed. He boosted the power and followed.

Suya had already dispatched two of the enemy planes when he caught up, but he managed to hold his own, and fired a few rounds of laser fire into the third. The damage was enough to send the pilot barreling down to the asteroid’s surface, where it bounced three times and was churned into a smoking pile of metal. Mamoru began to circle it in a wide arc after his radar showed Suya was taking to the remaining plane like a fish to water. He heard her speak excitedly into his headset a moment later.

"Let’s take him!"

"Take him where?"

"Prisoner! Let’s land and capture him, dead or alive. You have room, don’t you?" She spoke more urgently when he hesitated. "We’ve been operating blind, Kodai. Now’s our chance to get some real information!"

Mamoru wasn’t sure he savored the idea of a dead enemy carcass lumped unseen just behind his back, but he could understand the soundness of Suya’s idea. He agreed, and they swooped down to the surface. Suya landed first, and leaped out of her plane. With the umbilical cord attached, she pushed against Fireball’s side to shoot over to the mauled wreck of the enemy plane. Just as Mamoru was about to do the same, bleeps from his radar indicated more enemy fighters were on their way.

"If we don’t get him in less than a minute, we’re outta here!" he told her, and relayed the status. Mamoru forgot about the pending threat for a moment, and watched in awe as Suya wrenched open the cockpit. He shot himself over to help her drag out the pilot, and they dumped him into the rear seat of his plane. "Go, go, go!" Mamoru yelled.

The enemy reinforcements were almost on top of them.

"I’ll cover you!" Suya exclaimed into his headset. She whooped with excitement as she took off. "See if you can catch us, you bastards!"

"Um, I would rather they didn’t," Mamoru remarked dryly. They had secured the enemy pilot quite thoroughly, but his presence caused Mamoru a bit of unease. The important thing now was to make it safely back to the ship. They blasted away, but five more bogies soon latched onto their tails.

Suya banked away to draw off as many as she could. Three followed her. Mamoru swung around and soon had one of them in his sights. The missiles he launched tore into it like a tiger gone berserk. Suya reproached him for hanging around, and urged him to start flying away at top speed. "I’ll be along in a minute," she said, before Fireball spit out another round of laser fire into the unfortunate hull of yet another enemy plane.

True to her word, Suya rejoined Mamoru only a minute or two later. They burned a hard rift into their flight path as they veered back towards Yamato. They were sure that the previous five pilots would not be the last.

They were still several hours away when Mamoru sent a message requesting back up.

What’s your position? Aihara wanted to know. The Captain ordered us to prepare for a warp.

Mamoru relayed the coordinates, and a short time later, he and Suya shot past Yamato as her ghostly, transparent form floated into view.

Akisada met them in the hangar with a phalanx of medics and security guards. "Half of you can go," he later informed them after determining the prisoner was truly deceased. They loaded the body, still encased in helmet and uniform, onto a stretcher. Suya accompanied the group to sickbay thinking the medical team might have questions, but her motive was really driven by curiosity.

Mamoru rushed up to the bridge. By now, the senior officers had received the data he had sent, and were busy analyzing it. Balaji ran up to him immediately.

"You got a live one?" he asked Mamoru, his dark eyes brimming with anticipation.

Mamoru chuckled. "Well, a dead-live one! Better get to sickbay before Akisada has his way with him!"

Balaji called out for permission to join in the examination from the Captain, who was reviewing the images of the base on the video panel. It was given. He raced from the bridge.

"I said no heroics, Kodai!"

Mamoru winced, and stopped short of his seat. He turned to face the Captain, who was frowning. A thousand rationales coursed through his head. Conversation on the bridge dwindled to a minimum, and Tanaka was trying to study them inconspicuously.

Hachinoko pursed her lips, but the look in her eyes was not unkind. "But I wasn’t out there, now was I?" she asked rhetorically. "Resume your post; it looks like a bit of sturm und drang is brewing."

The glut of apprehension lifted from Mamoru’s chest. He rocketed into his chair and called for a status report.

Jun interrupted Tanaka’s update to announce the approach of over a dozen enemy battle cruisers. "They're coming straight from the base," she added.

"They’re also getting busy with some missiles," Uchira called out. "First wave, ETA three minutes!"

"Shock cannons, Mr. Kodai," Hachinoko ordered. A second or two later she waved her hand. "Belay that! It’s time we finished this. Pull us back, Tanaka. Kodai, Tokugawa, prepare to fire the Wave Motion Gun."

There was a brief round of surprised, excited exclamations from the cadets, who had never experienced the power of the weapon except on film from past wars. Hachinoko quickly exhorted them for order, and oversaw preparations to destroy the enemy base. The two waves of missiles that ejected from the base’s silos were easily destroyed, but of more urgent concern were the advancing war ships which were fast coming into range. Yamato was shortly bereft of the ability to use any of her standard weapons as she powered up for discharging the Wave Motion Gun.

A barrage of laser fire from the first ship to have Yamato in range tore into the port side, shattering nearly a third of the pulse laser cannons. Hachinoko growled as a rumble passed through the ship. "Status?"

"Charging sequence in effect," reported Tokugawa. "Firing level at one-hundred twenty percent."

"Standing by to fire," added Mamoru, and he confirmed the coordinates.

The observation windows dimmed, providing protection against the pending, inevitable glare.

"Target scope open." Mamoru adjusted the sight. "All hands assume brace positions!"

"Begin countdown," Hachinoko ordered. More rounds of laser fire pelted the ship.

Mamoru ended the countdown in with a measured tone. "Three…two…one…Fire!"

Raging, blistering hot energy poured out and careened toward the asteroid. It engulfed the lonely rock and then some, pulsing tendrils reaching out to lick and sear the enemy war ships in their path. The cadets ogled the destruction with prurient interest. When the last bits of rock and metal had been consumed, Hachinoko ordered that the red alert be maintained through the next twelve hours.

"I’ll be in my quarters working on a report," she said, nursing a sharp pain that had sprouted in her chest only moments ago. The Captain’s chair hummed as it ascended, and the crew was none the wiser about the her plight.

Akisada sensed rather than saw the science officer approach him in the main examination room. The enemy pilot lay trussed up on the table, having just gone through a series of decontamination procedures. Akisada was at a console typing a report, and readying for the next test when Balaji approached him.

The Doctor adjusted his scarf. "You’ve come for his gear, I take it?"

Balaji grinned. "Am I that obvious?"

"Actually, I’m surprised you didn’t get here sooner." Akisada tapped a few final keys. "Well, let’s get on with it!" His clipped tone belied the nervous rush that coursed through his veins. There wasn’t supposed to be anything worse than a stomach virus on this mission!

Akisada donned his medical gear, snapping on the gloves with a confidence he didn’t feel.

"Is he human?" Balaji asked, keeping a respectful distance from the exam table. The metallic scent of blood hung in the air.

"Don’t know yet," Akisada responded. "Looks that way, though, eh?" He ordered one of the medics, a dark-haired young man with a lean build named Hideki, to power the lights, and yanked down the recorder that he would use to verbally document the autopsy.

Balaji studied the pilot as Akisada continued with his preparations. The angular helmet gleamed silver in the bright light, and the faceplate, while cracked, still hid his face with its dark shield. The uniform was a simple one-piece, patterned with a wide black strip across the front, and dark blue material everywhere else. Slim, form-fitting black boots reached up to the knees. The pilot could not have been more than five or five and a half feet tall. Upon the prisoner’s arrival, red blood with a bluish hue had streamed out of his injured torso like quicksilver, and Akisada had already taken steps to seal the ugly gash. Balaji hoped his face was sufficiently intact for the crew to surmise the enemy’s general ethnic background.

A crowd of off-duty crewmembers had gathered in the observation room above. Mamoru arrived, followed by Suya, and some space was made for them near the front.

Akisada glanced upwards. How I love a three ring circus, he thought dryly. "All right, Hideki, let’s begin."

Akisada began his running monologue (which the crew watching could not hear), and placed his hands under the rim of the helmet to determine its method of removal. Hideki hovered over the pilot opposite the Doctor as they conferred about their task.

"Got it," Akisada murmured. He began to slide off the helmet as Hideki made sure the cracked material of the faceplate did not cause any further damage.

As the photo-imaging equipment clicked and hummed, the crew looked at their new adversary with great curiosity. He was very humanoid in appearance, almost to a fault. The palest of blond hair, cropped close yet not harshly, framed a youthful, even paler face. It was clear that even in life, his skin had been near devoid of any kind of neutral or dark tones. His features, where not crushed or bruised, were very fine and graceful. Akisada pulled open an eye, its color a steely gray, between thumb and forefinger, and shined a light into it.

Hideki, meanwhile, began to carefully remove the uniform. The boots, helmet and gloves he piled onto a nearby table. Then he cut and removed the rest of the clothing. Balaji transferred all of it onto a cart and wheeled it off to his lab.

"This is much too graphic a sight for the delicate female sensibility," Cedro whispered to Kylie. "I’ll cover your eyes!"

"Oh, no you don’t!" she lobbied back. She pushed his hand away as it tried to snake across her vision. They jostled briefly, and not without a few giggles.

"Will you two knock it off?" scolded one of their comrades.

They calmed themselves, and returned their attention back to the autopsy.

The pilot appeared very young indeed. The pale skin stretched smooth and tightly across his body, which was already showing signs of rigor mortis. Akisada made a note of the near lack of body hair, and of the bright blue veins that clustered like a spider’s web at certain junctures.

"Well, that’s that," said one of the engineering crew, and left with a few of the onlookers. Everyone was quiet and thoughtful as they pondered the new information about their enemy’s appearance.

"They look like children," someone said solemnly.

The crew filtered out by one’s and two’s from the observation room, even as Akisada ordered x-rays, body scans, and began a manual examination of the internal organs. Mamoru, one of the last to leave, tugged briefly on Suya’s sleeve. "I’m starving! Let’s go get something to eat."

Suya agreed, secretly admiring his strong stomach after having watched a particularly thorough autopsy. Once in the mess, they piled two trays each with food and drink. While eating, the pair speculated endlessly about the base, and discussed which details would need to go into their report. Two hours later, Mamoru and Suya shared a comfortable silence over the last of their coffee (two cups each).

There was a movement to Mamoru’s left. Three men he knew who worked third bridge assignments sidled up to him. He nodded pleasantly at them. Amano, a tall, brawny engineer officer, smiled conspiratorially, revealing the glistening white teeth that snuggled between sensual red lips. You have no business being that good looking, Mamoru thought. "What’s up?"

"There’s a party on right now in one of the girl’s quarters! We’re inviting you, so let’s go!"

"I’m a little busy right now," he said in protest, gesturing to Suya. The invitation clearly had not included her.

"Aw, come on, live a little!" piped up Hernandez, a dark-featured man with unruly dark hair. "She doesn’t care about that kind of stuff, anyway."

Suya bristled inwardly, but would only wave at Mamoru casually. "It’s okay," she told him. "I have work to do." Which was untrue, and Mamoru knew it.

He shook his head. "Nah, you guys go on—hey!" He found himself being hoisted nearly a foot in the air when the three men grabbed him. They dragged him (good-naturedly, they thought) from his seat and spurned him forward. Mamoru looked back helplessly, but Suya had already left her seat. Might as well enjoy the ride, he thought, albeit reluctantly.

They heard the party before seeing it, as music haunted the corridor from a source four or five rooms hence. A petite, wisp of a young woman, from Communications by her uniform colors, stood as lookout on that side of the festivities. She merrily waved them on through.

Mamoru had to laugh when he saw the heady level the carousing had reached. Dance music blared from within one of the rooms (the party was actually grouped about a triumvirate of cabins that faced each other), and someone had figured out how to dim the corridor lights in that section, lending the area a club-like atmosphere. Most of the crew were dancing, and a few trays of snack food were making the rounds. Mamoru and his companions soon learned about the liquor that was being measured out deep in the recesses (i.e. the bathroom) of one of the cabins.

There was no lack for partners for the new arrivals, and they jumped into the soiree with gleeful expressions. Jun appeared, dressed in a deep red, crushed velvet cocktail dress that accentuated her wide hips and round breasts, which nearly burst from their decolletage. She swayed gently back and forth with Amano, her hands wrapped closely around his neck. Mamoru pulled back from the dancing a short while later, and stood chatting next to a wall. A few winsome cadets were competing for his attention, but his heart wasn’t in it. His mind wandered back to Suya. I’d trade a hundred parties for five minutes with you, he thought longingly.

For her part, Suya had retreated to the hangar yet again, and was cleaning and performing minor repairs on Fireball. Rin was engaging her occasionally in conversation as he also worked, and she found his friendly overtures less irritating than before. Suya was determined not to think about being so grandly snubbed, nor of Mamoru’s collusion in it. No, she was just not going to think about it. He knows where to find me, she thought. And why do I even care? But he never came, and she felt ill-tempered for the remainder of the evening, because if she would only admit it to herself, she did care.

The next morning, Akisada and Balaji stood before the Captain on the bridge to give their reports. The senior crew had all turned around in their seats, and were listening with rapt attention. Akisada reeled off a round of medical data before pausing dramatically.

Hachinoko cocked an eye towards him. "You have something more?" she asked.

"I was saving the best for last," he replied. "Regardless of his alien genetic makeup, there seemed to be something about his bone structure that wasn’t quite right. So I ran a few more scans, ones that are decidedly non-standard. I won’t bore you with the details, unless you want them." He arched a brow.

"Oh, please feel free to skip over the irrelevant details!" Hachinoko exclaimed. She leaned forward in her seat. "What did you find, Doctor?"

Akisada cleared his throat. "I can’t say, of course, if this man is indicative of the rest of his kind, but I can tell you that despite his youthful appearance, he is, in fact, several hundred years old."

Hachinoko pulled back sharply in her seat, and the crew around them issued a collective gasp. "Fountain of youth, indeed!" she murmured.

"Well," he responded, with a slight grin and a tug to his scarf, "I wouldn’t venture so far as to say that. I could run some genetic tests to attempt an isolation of the responsible gene, but that would take much more time. If you wanted more proof, that is."

Hachinoko stared back, stunned as she was by the revelation.

"So they’re really old," Tanaka began, "either by evolution or by design. What does that mean for us? Are we facing a more peculiar kind of threat?"

Akisada looked his way. "Other than their longevity, I haven’t discovered any kind of indestructible gene. They bruise as easily as we do, and as you well know, they can be killed."

"They’re certainly not the strongest enemy we’ve ever faced," Mamoru offered. "I mean, we’ve defeated them every time. I wonder if their intelligence is more advanced."

"I can probably speak to that," Balaji added. All eyes turned to him. "I examined his helmet and clothing. The clothing appears to be standard issue, for them. But the helmet—now that’s an interesting part of the story." He gazed around at the expectant faces. "They may be youthful in appearance," he said, echoing the Doctor’s earlier statement, "but they have the most advanced computer technology I’ve ever seen! The data processing chip in the helmet alone is more powerful than those in one of our Black Tigers combined, that is to say, if they had chosen to program them to do more." Balaji looked to the Captain. "There are a lot more tests I can run, but I wanted to let you know what I had discovered so far."

Hachinoko nodded. "Gentlemen, I commend both of you for your hard work. I’m sure there’s more to learn, and your orders are to concentrate on drawing every last bit of information you can from this pilot. In the meantime," and here she looked over to address the rest of the crew, "we have some repair work still to be done, and a battle plan to form. But first I have to relay our status to Command. I’m sure they will be very interested in this new information. Kodai, you have the bridge; I’ll be in my quarters."

"Aye, sir!"

With that, Hachinoko ascended. When she was finished, she thought, she would have to make another visit to sickbay. The inside of her chest now felt as though it were on fire, and it worried her greatly.

A few hours later, the Captain’s voice poked through her headset. "Aihara, please report to my quarters."

"On my way," Kylie responded. "I have to go see the Captain," she said to the others.

Uchira twisted around with an impish grin. "What did you do? Are you in trouble?"

"You mean what didn’t she do," quipped Cedro.

Kylie stuck out her tongue as the elevator doors slid shut.

When she arrived, the Captain motioned for her to approach the console. "For the past several hours, I’ve been trying to contact Command. I can’t raise them. Is there any repair work going on that you neglected to tell me about?"

"No, ma’am! Let me check for you."

Kylie pulled up a chair and attempted to raise them herself. "The problem’s not on our end," she said after a few minutes.

"Are we out of range?"

"Negative. I can try Pluto or Mars if you want."

Hachinoko shook her head. "I’ve done that. No response."

"Hmm, it’s like all of the satellites have been knocked out, or never existed."

Kylie and Hachinoko exchanged worried glances as the realization hit them simultaneously that there might be something wrong. The Captain stood up.

"Let’s go to the bridge," she said. "I think we’d better head back to Earth."

"We can’t raise them?" Mamoru said after Hachinoko returned to the bridge, and issued the new orders. He stood with his arms crossed, and leaned against the back of his seat. "Really? How long?"

"Couldn’t have been that long; I made my last report about a week ago."

"Maybe they’re just undergoing maintenance," Jun offered.

Balaji raised both eyebrows. "Every base and satellite, Jun?"

She scowled. "I’m just trying to be optimistic!"

"Nothing wrong with that," chimed in the Captain. "I, for one, would be quite satisfied if this were some silly fluke. But given the recent assaults against us, I think we have to consider that another invasion might be underway. Mr. Tanaka, are we in any shape to warp?"

He glanced over his shoulder and nodded. "Just about. Repairs are almost complete. We can be on our way in about forty minutes."

"Excellent. Program the coordinates for Earth; we’re going home."