Attack and Counterattack
A Speed Racer Fanfic by "Freddo"
Chapter Nine: "Beneath the
-----------------------------------------------------
Reiterating some copyrights and credits....
Speed Racer is (c) 2004 by Speed
Racer Enterprises.
Star Blazers is (c) 2004 by
Voyager Entertainment.
Doctor Who is (c) 2004 by the
British Broadcasting Corporation. I don't own any of these properties, wish I
did.
The characters of Olde Codger, the
crew of the U.S. Frigate Packard, the Rikashans, R'Khells, Aunt Yvona
Josiah, Lord Ekogaru, his weird globe, and Aliscea of Pellias are original
characters created by me and are (c) 2004 by F.P. Kopetz/Freddo....please don't
use them without my permission, especially the
R'Khell/Rikashan/Technomugar/Pellian aliens and their weird artifacts...as some
of you are beginning to find out, those aliens have a life of their own in my
rather involved AU Star Blazers fan fics.
Thanks, everyone, for your continued encouragement, patience
and patronage. Now, on with the show!...Freddo
-----------------------------------------------------
July 14, 1968
The White House
"All
right," said the President in his
"Yessir,"
said the Secretary of Defense. "The crisis began, you might say, when the
Soviets called us to complain about a Soyuz mission being shot down in Earth
orbit. They think it was a killer satellite of ours or some kind of manned
space fighter."
"Bull,"
said the President. "I damn well know we had none of our Trojan killer-sats in the area right?"
"Right,"
said the Secretary of Defense. "Then, some racers were attacked around...
The
President nodded meaningfully. He knew of the reputation of the dreaded Russian
Special Forces. They were trained in hand-to-hand combat, special sabotage
operations, and infiltration. They were as dangerous as the Green Berets of the
"I
gave the Premier an earful for that one," said the President. "And
went Defcon Three; that is, imminent threat of open hostilities between the
"Correct,
sir. The
"What
do you intend to do?"
"Ask
you for permission to go straight to Defcon One and sign the Declaration of
War, Short Form. Then, we can sink that boomer and we can execute all of those
agents as enemy spies. We need your authority to do that, sir."
The
President sat in silence. "Open declaration of war with the Russkies. Shoot. I don't know if we should take this step...but..."
"We've
been attacked...and we think they're about to sign something in the Kremlin
themselves."
"All
right," said the President. He took the form and began to sign it...
Then...a
moment later, there was a commotion outside the Oval Office. A Secret Service
agent burst in. "Sir, I was unable to stop him...he just showed up in the
White House...or...rather...they did. They just appeared in some kind
of...box..."
"Who?"
asked the President. "Can't you stop a...?"
A
mustachioed figure in a British Field marshal's uniform stepped in, waving an
ID card. He was followed by a very eccentric-looking character. The man had a
long tweed coat, high boots, curly dark hair, a floppy hat, and a strange, long
multi-colored scarf.
The
British General spoke up, first. "Sir, Brigadier
Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart of United Nations
Intelligence Taskforce here. It's urgent that we see you."
"Who
in the Sam Hill are you, and who's your Hippie friend?"
"The
Doctor," said the impossibly tall man in the tweed coat.
"You
don't look like him!"
"Me...I
mean...my older self...is about to be searched and executed at Plattsburgh Air
Force Base," said the Fourth Doctor. "And you're not signing that
document to bring about Armageddon for the human race! Especially
because the Soviets aren't our current enemy, Mister President!"
"Well,
who is?" demanded the Secretary of Defense.
"You're
not going to believe this," said the Brigadier. "Doctor, you tell
him..."
"Aliens,"
said the Doctor. "And those people on the ground at
"Thanks for being so kind to us," Speed
Racer said to Racer X in a very sarcastic tone of voice. Racer X was walking
along with a number of Air Force MP's. Racer X, like the MP's, had an M-16
rifle on full automatic pointed at Speed and Trixie.
"I
thought you were here to help us," snapped Trixie. "But, no…you're
here to arrest us. You're in league with them!"
"Be
quiet," snapped one of the MP's. "You have no right to speak."
"What
do you mean we have no right?" demanded the Third Doctor. "My
heavens, you're acting like a bunch of Nazis." The Doctor looked back a
bit at Derek and Nova Wildstar. Two MP's were dragging Derek; he had tried to
fight them upon his arrest. Nova had a cut cheek since she had also tried to
fight.
"You
let me go!" Nova demanded. "I have to help that young man on the
stretcher, at the very least."
"You
mean Snake?" hissed Speed.
"He's
wounded; the Master ran him through with a burst of fire; remember? He might
die if he isn't cared for soon!"
"We
can take care of him in the infirmary," sneered one of the MP's.
Colonel
Viler came up with a smile. "Good. You have the whole bunch of them
subdued. Great. Take them to Building 435."
"The
stockade?" asked a sergeant.
"No,
the ballroom…we're gonna let them sit down and watch Laugh-In,"
said the Colonel in a very sardonic tone of voice. "Yes,
Sergeant, the stockade! Don't you know that they could be enemy…"
General
Bombast came up a moment later in a Jeep. He was on a field telephone with
someone.
"Sir?
What was that? Yessir. I'll have Agent Nine, or the
one who says he's Nine, confirm that. Right. Thank you."
Bombast
went right over to Racer X. "I need to talk to you, the Japanese-American
man in the white outfit, and the British gentleman for a minute. Colonel, order
your men to let them go. Guards, keep the rest of these people under close
guard for the moment. Take them to the stockade."
"Yessir,"
said one of the guards. "Come on," he said to Speed, poking his M-16
into his side.
"Show
some respect, would you? I'm a professional racer!"
"No,
you're under military arrest. Come on!"
Speed
looked over towards Racer X, hoping that he, the Doctor, or Wildstar would say
something that would release them from their plight, particularly since Nova
was still a prisoner of the USAF while her husband was being taken elsewhere.
Can I trust any of them? Speed
thought. I always thought I could trust Racer X, at least. I thought he was
on our side. Looks like he wasn't…not this time.
An hour later, Speed, Trixie, Spritle, Chim-Chim, Sparky,
Pops, Nova, and Snake Oiler all found themselves sitting in a bleak, dirty,
smelly military holding cell under guard. Speed was embarrassed when he found
that the restroom facilities consisted of a commode and a sink; out in the
open. The guards hadn't even segregated the group by gender; and they had been
in the cell for over ninety minutes already, just waiting.
Snake
had been examined by some Air Force medics; he had been bandaged up and tossed
in here. He was shirtless, and his bandage was stained with blood. Now and
then, he moaned if he moved a certain way. Speed was beginning to feel sorry
for his enemy. "Snake, how come they didn't put you in the
infirmary?"
"They
said it wasn't that bad," groaned Snake. "That's a load of crap. My
guts feel as if they're on fire."
"I
know," said Nova softly. "That's why I'm giving you this backrub.
Wish I could do more for you."
"Why
are you bein' so nice to me?"
"Where
I come from, I'm a nurse as well as a military officer. I can be compassionate
as well as tough."
"Where
are you from?" asked Trixie. "And what about your...uh…boyfriend?"
"Husband?"
said Nova brightly. "They're just asking Derek a lot of questions, along
with Racer X and our friend from
He's not from
"No."
"And your husband?"
"No,"
said Nova in an even more firm tone of voice.
"What
makes you so sure?" asked Pops. He sat with his head bowed; Speed felt
nauseated in seeing even his father looking defeated.
"I've
got a story to tell you," said Nova. "I think we have time, and
there's a thick door between us and those guards. Snake, can I take you into
our confidence?"
"What's
in it for me, girlie?" said Snake.
"You're
as arrogant as ever!" said Speed. "Especially to
someone who's trying to save your miserable life?"
"Shut
up!" snapped Snake. "Nova, what the hell's in this for me?"
"If
you're in with us, I can keep them from arresting you. I'll just have to talk
to Derek and the old man about it; I know them the best. You'll get amnesty
only if you promise me on your mother's grave you'll cooperate."
Snake
sneered for a minute, and then he gasped again; the wound was hurting him.
If I switch sides…for now, blondie here might be able to get me into a hospital.
After I get patched up right, then I can get you and the old man.
"Okay," said Snake. "I'm in."
"Truce?"
demanded Speed with his hand out.
"Speed,
don't do it!" said Pops. "He's one of the worst operators in the
world of racing!"
"Pops,
I tried to save his life once, remember? We're not rivals now since we're not
racing! Okay, Snake…Truce?"
Snake
Oiler took his hand and shook it. "Truce. I'm in
with you people. Now, what's your story, blondie?"
Nova
shook her head. I hope I can trust all these people. Then, she bit her lip and
said, "The Doctor…he's not from this Earth. He's…an alien…from outer
space. And so are the evil men in Team Rouge. And…I'm not from here,
either."
"You
mean you're an alien, too?" said Spritle. "Wow!"
"Not
quite; I was born in
"What?"
said Sparky, who was thoroughly confused.
Trixie
made the connection first. "You're from our future?"
Nova
nodded. "I was born…or, will be born, in the year 2178. I'm a military
officer from your twenty-third century, the 2200's. Derek and I serve on a
space battleship known as the Argo than can travel faster than
light…and, with some effort, through time as well."
"How
do you know that?" said Sparky.
"Because
I know," said Nova. "We first learned our ship had the capability to
travel through time when we did our very first space warp back in 2199, and
during the warp, we saw glimpses of cavemen in Earth's past as we drifted
through the space-time continuum. Our ship was built to make a long journey to
another galaxy to gain a device Earth needed to restore her environment from an
alien invasion. Later, we fought wars with other enemies. In one of those wars,
the war with the Rikashans and R'Khells, our ship was forced into an interphase
between dimensions in a battle, and we found ourselves in the past and first
met the Doctor; or one of his later forms. Later, in our time, we received a
request for aid from the Doctor, who helped us warp back into the past from our
time in the year 2204. Karnaz of Team Rouge was our enemy then, and, like the
Doctor said, he's found a way to come back into time to try to destroy Earth's
past and gain the globe."
"What
is that thing?" asked Speed.
"An
alien artifact created by Lord Ekogaru, one of our worst enemies. He and my
sick Aunt Yvona made an alliance with the Rikashans and R'Khells to invade
Earth and use a racist and anti-alien cult Yvona had established as a fifth
column, pawns in his warped scheme. Ekogaru was a cyborg machine being who was
also a sorcerer in league with dark spiritual powers. He convinced Yvona and
the others to worship him as a god. He made that globe and filled it with his
power…and now, the Master has it. We have to get out of here! I don't know what
we're going to do!"
And,
at that, Nova began to sob. Trixie looked at her with compassion in her blue
eyes and she went over to comfort the mentally exhausted young warrior.
"You
believe her?" snorted Snake. "See? Looks like she's
nuts. There's no such thing as little green men from outer space."
"How
dare you talk like that about your only friend in this group?" snapped
Trixie.
Nova
dried her eyes. "No, Snake. The first race we fought was tall and blue.
The second race was green, and the third ones were orange. And none of these
beings are little, with antennas on their head or propellers like Quisp on the cereal box. They look like us!"
"Really,"
sneered Snake. "Show me an alien…c'mon, show me one…"
Then,
the door to the holding cell opened, and in strode the Doctor. "Will I do,
Snake?"
"How…how'd
you hear me through that…?"
"Gallifreyan hearing," said the Third Doctor with a
smile. He stood aside to let Derek Wildstar and Racer X enter the cell. Nova
immediately abandoned Snake for the moment and ran into her husband's arms.
"It's
okay," he said as she sobbed. "UNIT's gotten in touch with
"Huh?"
said Speed.
"That's
right," said Racer X. "All of you are free to go, except for
Snake."
Then,
to Speed's surprise, Inspector Detector came in, accompanied by General Bombast
and Olde Codger.
Codger
spoke first. "The race is still cancelled, and all of you are free to go
home. However, Inspector Detector has an appeal to make of all of you."
Detector than spoke.
"I've spoken to the authorities in
"But
the Master has it!" cried Nova. "How can we…?"
The
Doctor put a finger to his lips. "Things are not always as they
appear."
"But
why do Spite and Chim-Chim have to come with them?" asked Pops. "For
heaven's sake, Inspector, they're only children."
"I
cannot say why they must come, but trust me when I say they must accompany
us," said the Doctor.
"By
way of apology, I have a dinner laid out for you in my office," said
General Bombast. "May we retire there to speak before you set off?"
"Great
idea," said Spritle. "Chim-Chim and me are hungry!"
The General's office on the base had two parts; an conference room and an inner office. The conference room
looked like a wooden-paneled library, filled with bookshelves, a screen and an
overhead projector, assorted military crests and citations on the walls, and a
huge conference table. The table was covered with a white cloth, and a small
banquet had been laid out for the group. Nova, Trixie and some of the others
were also able to tend to their personal needs in privacy in large adjoining
washrooms obviously intended for the top officers of the base. It was quite a
change from being prisoners in a dirty holding cell.
Sprite
was enjoying all of the food. "This is yummy!"
"I
like the wine rather better," said the Doctor.
Racer
X sat beside Speed in silence. "Why are you so quiet, Speed?" he
asked.
"I
called you some terrible names before, and I'm sorry," said Speed. "I
should've realized that your 'betrayal' was only a trick. Heck, you've even
held a gun on us before."
"I
know," said Racer X. "I don't feel too good about that, and I'm sorry
I had to deceive you and the others, as well. They threatened to arrest me
unless I cooperated, so I decided to 'cooperate' to be a free agent. I thought
you'd need the help."
"That
makes sense," said Derek Wildstar. Guards were posted outside the
General's suite, and, to everyone's amazement, once they had arrived in the
suite, an orderly in a black suit had helped Wildstar into an elaborate uniform
jacket that resembled a naval officer's long black coat with a high red collar,
gold braid, and gold epaulets; Wildstar also wore a long scarf that he had
tucked into his coat, and a black and white dress cap resembling a naval
captain's hat sat on the table in front of him.
Sparky
looked at Wildstar's cap. "What's with the getup?"
"Where
they come from, he's a Commodore," said General Bombast. "Given that
I'm in uniform, I'm not gonna let a friendly officer of flag rank sit there in
just his shirt. It'd be an insult."
"So
you believe he's some kinda big-wig?" sneered
Snake Oiler. He had been allowed to accompany them after Nova and some doctors
had examined him in the base infirmary. His strange wound was healing; no one
knew why. Inspector Detector had granted Nova's request that he be held in
protective custody with them rather than be held in the stockade with the rest
of the Acrobatic Team. Nova and Derek seemed to have an understanding that
Snake was to come with them somewhere to be examined.
An
officer came in, saluted General Bombast, and said, "Sir, here's the
report you requested from the skipper of the Packard."
Bombast
looked at the report and just nodded. "Did
"Yes,
sir, they did…at the request of the Doctor."
"I
didn't make any such request," snorted the Doctor.
"Then,
who did?" asked Jo Grant. "Not another one of your selves…?"
"Huh?"
said Trixie. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what's going on…"
A
phone rang. Another orderly, a Lieutenant, picked up on the first ring.
"Yes? From the Oval Office? You need the
Doctor?"
"I
know who it is; put him on speaker-phone," said the Third Doctor. The
orderly punched a button on the large phone and a cheery voice came out.
"Pardon me, old friend, would you like a jelly-baby?"
"You
should know I detested those things," snorted the Doctor. "You know
me very well. Although, the one time we met, in the Panopticon…"
"Your
clothes…too garish," said the Doctor; the Fourth Doctor, to be exact. To
the consternation of the President of the
"Better
than the way you look, in that scarf," huffed
the Third Doctor.
"Come
on, now…Madame Nostradamus knitted that for us. The 1500's.
"The
Cybermen in the canals…I remember that. Damn near lost
my recorder in those canals. I threw that scarf in the back of the TARDIS when
I came to myself after they made me regenerate."
"And
after I regenerated, I gave your things to Goodwill!"
"Balderdash!"
snorted the Third Doctor.
"Who
are you talking to?" asked Speed.
"Myself,"
said the Third Doctor. Speed looked at him as if he was mad, and then the
Doctor said, "The race that I…we…come from…we can change our form and
personality and regenerate when threatened with death. That eccentric fellow is
me, at a later time. We're not supposed to be able to run into each other, but,
now and then, the Time Lords allow it. Although I wish I would have run into
Number Seven, and not you!" snorted the Third Doctor.
"We
both detested Number Six," said the Fourth Doctor.
"One
of the few things we agreed upon," sighed the
Third Doctor. "He is an arrogant git. All right, what do you
want?"
"I
was able to defuse World War Three, and this is the thanks I get from
myself?" snapped the Fourth Doctor.
"Sorry,"
said the Third. "But, the butt is just smoldering, and not out. We still
have to get that thing to El Tigre before he finds out I gave him a
ringer."
"Before
he finds out we gave him a ringer, that is," said the Fourth
Doctor. "When you sent that thing about, who do you think got it?"
"They
used you."
"They
used us," snorted the Fourth Doctor. "Once again, we're pawns of the
Time Lords."
"Unfortunately,"
said the Third Doctor.
"Tell
your friend Wildstar I called the dogs off the Argo. They can use his ship
as a sort of home base. Can you take them there via TARDIS?"
"Not quite, unfortunately."
"Why not?"
"I
looked at my TARDIS before," said the Third Doctor. "I think the
Master's been inside and has wrecked my dematerialization circuits. It can't go
anywhere for the moment."
"I
think I can help you," said the Fourth Doctor.
"Good,"
said the Third. He ended the call and said, "The rest of you will have to
make your way to the Argo by the best means possible."
"Where
is she?" said Speed.
"Beneath
"Yes,
it can," said Speed. "Although I don't know how much room we'll have
for Spritle and Chim-Chim…"
"Spritle
can come with us," said Nova. "Chim-Chim can come with you. It's
important you take him."
"I
can drive the Doctor's car there and bring Snake to the Argo for
treatment," said Jo Grant.
"Looks
like we have a plan," said Speed.
"There's
one last thing," said the Third Doctor. "Speed, Trixie, come here."
He
placed his hands on their foreheads. "What are you doing?" asked
Speed.
"It's
simple. It's a procedure that will make you immune to the globe's call for a
few hours."
"But,
it won't be with us," said Speed.
"That's
what you'll think…"
ABOUT EIGHT HOURS LATER…
It
was evening. The Mach Five was racing along a road near
Speed
was driving the Mach Five; Trixie sat beside him, holding Chim-Chim. She had
felt Chim-Chim's coveralls and felt a thrill of recognition when she felt a
hard, round object in the monkey's inner pocket. "Speed,
look!"
"Trixie?"
Trixie
smiled, and she pulled the globe out of Chim-Chim's coverall as he chattered.
"So, the Master didn't get it!"
"Trixie,
don't hold it for long!"
Trixie
only laughed. "Speed, remember what the Doctor did to us? It's just a
crystal ball…for now, anyway."
"Hard
to believe such a small thing could cause so much trouble," said Speed as
he glanced at the globe in the near-dark; the closed cockpit was illuminated
only by the Mach Five's dashboard lights. "They're turning right
here….looks like we're on sand…activate grip
tires…"
Speed
hit the proper button on the Mach Five's steering wheel hub, and the tires
activated.
"Now,
the underwater systems…"
Trixie
felt the whisper of oxygen filling the cockpit from the tanks as the regular
air conditioning system shut down.
"Now,
there's the edge of shore…off we go!"
Speed
then hit button "A" on the Mach Five's steering wheel, and the
auto-jacks activated. The sleek white race car flew off shore and landed in the
waters of
"Where
are we going?" said Trixie.
"Wildstar
said the Argo would be under the lake…maybe fifteen minutes away. I
wonder what she looks like?"
"I
don't know; he never said what his ship looked like." Trixie took the
precious globe and set it back in Chim-Chim's coverall. She looked in the rear
view mirror; the Doctor's car was behind them, carrying Jo Grant and Snake
Oiler. "All I see in the distance there is some old wrecked ship on the
bottom of the lake…"
"It
looks pathetic…like someone forgot about it," said Speed as he looked at
the darkened outline of the looming shipwreck. It had a long foredeck, a high
bridge tower, and a single smokestack that raked back at a surprisingly rakish
angle. Speed thought that this old ship, whatever it was, must have been sleek
and beautiful once.
Then,
Speed and Trixie's eyes went wide as lights began to come on all over the
"derelict". Portholes appeared as covers slid open. Navigation lights
came on, and a powerful searchlight came on near the keel of the huge ship,
which was slowly rising off the lake bed on its own power.
The
Mach Five's radio crackled to life. "Speed. This
is Wildstar. Are you there? Over."
"I'm
here. Over."
"Follow
my lead. We're about to dock on the Argo. Once we're there, follow our
orders exactly. We're about to enter my world."
"Which
is?" asked Trixie.
"A
little bit of the year 2204," said Nova. "Once we're there, we'll be
able to make plans for your trip to El Tigre. Over and
out."
"Well?"
said Jo Grant in their car. Snake had been given some drugs, and he was rather
groggy.
"Where
are we?"
"The Argo, underneath
"Gotcha,"
mumbled Snake. He thought, I wish I could call my
father now. He's surely got some plan to escape from that base and get the
Doctor. But what the hell is it? Gotta play cool for a while.
Then, I'll strike.
What will happen next?
Has
Karnaz been defeated?
Will
the Car Acrobatic Team break out of prison on the Air Force base?
Will
the Doctor help Speed to reach El Tigre with the globe?
What
can the Star Force do to help?
Will
the R'Khell fleet stand by and do nothing?
And,
can Snake Oiler be trusted?
Stay tuned for Chapter Ten: "A Snake in the
Grass"
TO BE CONTINUED....
To Return to the Introduction for "Attack and Counterattack" click here