ALTERNATE
TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS---A ROOT OF BITTERNESS
Being the third part of THE
NEW COMET--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz (Also Including Artwork by
Angie Dargo)
This Act is being completed with the
Cooperation and Assistance of Derek A.C. Wakefield (as usual)---Freddo
ACT TWO: MEETINGS AND
I. INTERLUDE IN A
COFFEEHOUSE
Earth
The Vicinity of Pan-Am
University
Greatland’s Coffee House
Friday, December 13,
2205
1732 Hours: Local Time
(1030 Hours Earth Space-Time)
At
this point, it was about 01030 in the Tokyo Megalopolis, and it was just past
the end of classes that day at
At
a large Greatland’s Coffee House in San Diego, Dawn Westland sat poring over
her books and notes for her advanced nursing course, looking up occasionally
and shaking her head at the news coming in over the video screens from the
Megalopolis about the attack.
“At this point, not all of the details are
yet known,” said the announcer, “But
Earth Defense has just announced that the major brunt of the fighting seems to
have passed into space. No further Cometine vessels have been spotted in
Earth’s atmosphere, and the Government has decided not to extend the call for
evacuation worldwide. Only the Western Pacific Region remains under a security
alert at this time,” said the talking head from the President’s office. “The President intends to address the planet
at 1PM Great Megalopolis time to describe the full extent of today’s raid…”
I hope this doesn’t mean I’ll be drafted
or something, Dawn thought as she tapped her sandaled foot
nervously under the table. Even though it was December, it was still warm in
Then,
Dawn looked up. A young man with longish chestnut brown hair that hung over one
eye was coming over to her table with a tray of coffee and pastries. Why does he have two of each item? Dawn
thought. Dawn then noticed his flight jacket, EDF blue uniform slacks and boots
and stiffened a little.
“Well,
hello theah, young lady,” he said in what sounded like a rather friendly
“Well,
that’s nice,” said Dawn as she smiled slightly. “Thanks. That’s very kind of you.”
How does he know I’m broke? Dawn
thought calmly. She had been nursing her coffee, since she was near the end of
her free spending money for this week until her next scholarship stipend check
hit her bank on the 16th.
“So,
what’s yoah name?” asked the young man.
“Dawn
Westland. What’s yours?”
“Jeffuhson
Davis Hardy at your service, miss.”
“Do
you have trouble seeing around that?” asked Dawn with an amused grin.
“Seeing
around what?”
“Your hair,” said Dawn. “You must have trouble
driving with that mane.”
“I
have no trouble drivin’ at all, Miss Dawn,” said Hardy as he smiled, turning on
a bit of Southern charm.
“That’s
good,” said Dawn. “I’d hate the thought of having to patch you up. What are
you? Some silly ROTC cadet?”
Hardy
chuckled at that one. “You don’t get out
much, do you? They don’t give these to cadets,” he said as he pointed at the
gold pilots’ wings above his nameplate on his flight jacket. “I’m currently
serving TDY as a Special Assistant to the Professuh of Military Science heah at
Pan-Am.”
“TD-what?” said Dawn.
“TDY
means ‘Temporary Duty’, Miss,” Hardy
explained.
“Funny,
no one ever explained that before,” said Dawn. “Surely not my ex-boyfriend.”
“Was
he military?”
“Junior
Space Cadet Corps Cadet and then midshipman at the Space Fighters’ Training
School. He graduates next May, and I don’t care to talk about him at the
moment, if you please. I could never relax around him.”
“Sorry,”
said Hardy, who promptly dropped the subject and decided not to raise it again.
He guessed it couldn’t have been about Deke since he knew that Wakefield
virtually didn’t date (having remembered jibes and jaunts from his classmates
on the topic that he had overheard) “You’re a nursing student?”
“How’d
you ever guess?” chuckled Dawn as she stroked the red cross pin she wore on her
uniform.
“You
looked like an angel in white,” said Hardy with a smile. “You look a little
like a friend of mine.”
“Your
girlfriend?” teased Dawn.
“Heck
no, this lady’s spoken for,” said Hardy. “You don’t look happy. Why?”
“The
news. The war, which has just turned hot…the Argo going out and all. I’ll bet the Star Force is happy to be
seeing action,” said Dawn as she looked up at the news footage of the Argo in battle for a moment.
“Not
all of them are,” said Hardy.
“How
do you know that?”
“I
have friends on that ship,” said Hardy, who turned serious for a moment.
“Oh,”
said Dawn as she stirred her coffee (her new cup) listlessly. She liked talking
with this officer, but, for a strange moment, she found herself missing Deke a
great deal. But, she promptly put down the thought like an ancient Tsar
suppressing a peasant rebellion as she said, “So where do you think life is
going to take you?”
“Right
now, God only knows,” said Hardy as he stared at the news report for a minute.
Then,
they turned back to looking at each other. Finally, Dawn asked, “How did you
decide to sit here and talk with me?”
“I
can’t fohget a face like yoahs, Miss Dawn,” said Hardy. “I saw you at the
“Oh…I
think I remember you now,” said Dawn, surprised at how she wouldn’t quite
remember a face like Hardy’s (especially with all of that hair). “You asked me for two cups of coffee and for a dance, and I
told you I couldn’t leave with you that day since we’re not supposed to date
servicemen we see there.”
“I
remembuh that,” said Hardy. “But I told you, I never forget a face.”
“So,
now you’re stalking me,” said Dawn with a slight smile and a glimmer of
amusement in her eye as she thought, If he’s interested,
let’s see how he responds to some teasing.
“There are laws against men stalking women, you know.”
“I’m
so sorry,” said Hardy with an amused glimmer of his own in his eye. “If you
want me to leave…”
“Not
yet! And don’t take the other Danish with you?”
“Why
not?”
“I’m
hungry. And nursing my money, if you’ll pardon the pun…”
“Well,
how would you like me to buy you dinner, then?”
“Not
tonight…and it depends upon where you want to take me.”
“How’s
about a nicer coffeehouse than this…like La Padilla? We can meet there Sunday
night.”
“A
place where they have real
cappuccino?” said Dawn.
“Yes,
Miss.”
“A
place where they have real food and no liquor? And it’s not a spacer’s dive
like Pancho’s?”
“Yes.
Know the place well. I took my friend and her husband there when we met up here
in
“I
accept your offer,” said Dawn with a smile as she surprised herself. “We’ll
meet at La Padilla at 1900 on Sunday night.”
“Thank
you,” said Hardy with a smile. He finished his coffee and said, “See you Sunday
night.”
“Take
care,” she said. “And good flying.”
Hardy
popped a gallant salute, and then he left.
Dawn
looked at him thoughtfully as he walked away.
Well, let’s see. He paid for everything, he was nice, he has been pursuing me,
but not too insistently, and he didn’t try putting his paws on me once. I’ll
have to see how things go Sunday…I’m surprised I accepted the offer of a second
date…if this was a first…but I guess it was. Are you attached yet, Dawn
Westland? Or semi-attached? We shall wait and see. After Sunday, if it goes
well, I’ll tell Mom that I’m dating and looking…but, how do I broach the
subject…since she hopes I’ll return back to Deke’s waiting arms some day? This
will require, she thought as she tapped her foot…some thought and logic…and planning…like what do I wear on Sunday
night?
II. THE
The Edge of the Solar
System
Space Battleship Argo
Saturday, December 14,
2205
1545 Hours: Earth Time
The
Argo sped through hyperspace,
emerging from warp a bit past the Pluto orbit close to 1600 Hours the next day.
The Sun Tigers had left the Argo later the previous day and had returned to Earth, but now,
Conroy led a Flight Group consisting of most of the Black Tigers and a few of
the Green Hornets for a full four squadrons.
“Warp completed,” said Kitano when the Argo emerged back into normal space.
“Engines all normal,” said Timothy Orion from his post.
“Wildstar, no anomalies with the rest of the ship’s
electrical systems, either,” said Sandor. “Those electrical and structural
repairs from yesterday are holding well.”
“So we’re more than ready to go into battle again if we have
to?” said Commodore Wildstar.
“We sure are,” Sandor replied.
“Radar is normal,” said Nova. “Nothing but the usual plotted
asteroids in this area.”
“It’s almost amazing, how quiet it is…especially after
yesterday,” said Domon.
“Don’t count on it,” Commodore Wildstar replied. “There had
to be more enemies out there than just that single fleet that we and the
“Captain,” said Homer. “I’m picking up a message.”
“From where?” said Wildstar.
“It’s
from very deep in space….I think it’s several hundred lightyears out past the
Valentis Cluster…it seems like a coded microburst,” said Homer as he listened through
his headset, making sure it was being recorded. “It repeats once…and that’s
it.”
“Do you think it was meant for us?” said Kitano.
“Hard to tell,” said Sandor.
“Homer, work on an interpretation,” said Wildstar. “See if
you can get IQ-9 to help you if you run into any problems.”
“Yessir…I’ll get to work on it,” said Homer as he began to
run decoding routines. “This seems to be a tightly compressed message….it may
take me several days to interpret it.”
“Do your best,” said Derek.
“Yessir.”
III.
EVENING IN SPACE
Approaching
Alpha Centauri
Space Battleship Argo
Saturday, December 14,
2205 2112 Hours: Earth Time
It was mid-evening on the Argo, and it was a recreational period for most of the primary
bridge crew.
On the mighty ship’s port side observation deck, Wildstar
sat with his peacoat off playing shogi
with Kitano. So far, Kitano was losing…badly.
“Are you really that bad, or are you losing on purpose?” said Wildstar.
“Why are you complaining, sir? I thought you liked to win,” said Kitano.
“Not when it’s not a challenge,” said Wildstar.
“Sir, what’s this about you and challenges?” said another
crewman who stood nearby.
“A victory isn’t worth winning unless you fight for it,”
said Commodore Wildstar.
“Are we getting philosophical, sir?” said Kitano as he moved
a piece.
“Now that’s more like it,” said Wildstar. “It looks like
you’re actually putting one of my pieces in danger.”
“Yes, he is,” said Sandor, who was standing nearby. “He’s
not bad.”
“So, how’s it been going since our last space warp?” said
another crewman who stood near the table wearing the colors of Mechanical
Group.
“Okay, I guess,” said another crewman. “Hey, there’s the
Skipper!”
They turned to watch Wildstar in deadly shogi battle with Kitano at their table on the observation deck.
“Who’s winning?” asked Conroy as he showed up.
“He is,” said Kitano. “I think.” Then, Kitano grinned and
moved a piece. “Check, Skipper.”
“You know, I didn’t see that coming,” said Wildstar with a
grin as he moved his piece out of check.
“But I’ve got you on the defensive,” said Kitano.
“Do you?” said Wildstar after Kitano moved another piece;
and he promptly captured it. “Three minutes, Kitano. What can you do now?”
“Take
this piece,” said Kitano as he captured another one of Wildstar’s pieces.
A moment later, the hatch at the far end of the deck whizzed
open, and Nova came in, clad in a light pink dress and boots. She was a little
peeved when she noticed that only a few people smiled at her attire. “What’s
going on?” she asked. “Derek and I were just having dinner before I had to…step
out for a bit.”
“Your husband’s havin’ a space chess battle royal with
Kitano,” said Eager. “Wildstar was beating his pants off, but now it’s getting’
good!”
“I’ve got to see this,” said Lt. Commander Wildstar as she
came over, smiled at her husband, and leaned on his shoulder. “Derek, it looks
like you’re not in the best of positions.”
“I’m not, Nova,” he grinned. “But, there’s a way out of it;
and here it is,” he said as he moved a piece. ”Check, Kitano.”
“Oh, you’re good,” said Kitano. “You’re good, but not good
enough, sir,” said Kitano as he moved another piece. “Check, Wildstar!”
“I don’t believe this…he didn’t see that coming,” said Derek
as he moved one other piece. “Checkmate,
Kitano!”
“What?” said Kitano as he looked at the board in disbelief. “You can’t
do that…you…”
“He made a fair and legal move,” said Sandor.
Kitano then groaned, rubbed his eyes, and let Wildstar take the
piece with the Japanese kanji on it
that symbolized his King.
Then, Nova walked on over to her husband. “Can I play the
winner?” she asked innocently.
“I don’t know, Nova…I might just beat you too quickly, and…”
“Derek, you don’t know my playing,” she said softly as she
sat down. “Let’s go for it.”
Commodore Wildstar nodded as he and Nova set up the pieces.
The reaction on the recreation deck was rather amusing.
“Hey,” yelled one crewmen. “The
Captain’s playing Nova!”
“Think he’ll let her win?”
“No one can be sure what’ll happen,” said Diane Henson
enigmatically as she leaned on Nova’s shoulder. “Remember,” she whispered into
the Living Group Leader’s ear.
Nova nodded and said, “Right. But this is for fun; not to make fun of him.”
“What are you two whispering about?” said Derek as he looked
at his wife and his long-ago former girlfriend.
“Nothing,”
said Nova in a tone of sheer innocence. “Your move, Derek.”
Commodore Wildstar moved a Pawn first, while Nova moved one
of hers into position. Several moves followed, in which mostly Pawns were
captured. Then, Nova captured one of Derek’s Lances, but he countered by
capturing one of Nova’s Rooks. Nova then surprised Derek by maneuvering him
into a position where he lost a Bishop, but a few moves later, he managed to
promote one of his Rooks into a Dragon King. He smiled evilly when his piece
reached the other side of the board and he turned it over.
Nova just smiled back and said, “Derek, you’re doing
well…but….”
“But what?”
“You’ll see,” she said sweetly as she moved a piece.
“Check.”
Derek was aghast. He hadn’t seen that coming! He captured
Nova’s threatening piece, while thinking: Okay,
this is my wife here. Do I follow my
competitive instincts as a Commodore and just beat her…and risk sleeping on the
deck tonight…or do I act as the good husband and let her win? This is a tough
one…maybe I’d better roll a die or something for this.
Derek moved another piece. Nova just smiled at him and moved
another piece “Check again!”
Wildstar put his head in his hands and groaned. “Darn!”
He moved his King again.
Nova smiled, looked at the board, and moved a bishop.
“Checkmate, Derek.”
He put his head in his hands and shook his head as he
thought, Darn her! Sometimes, Nova, you’re too smart for your
own good! But, I guess you won this one…
“Wanna play again?” he said weakly.
“No, not here,” said Nova with a cute gleam in her eye when
she took his hand. “The sort of game I want to play now can’t be played here…”
The crew applauded and went “WHOOOOOOO!!!” as Derek was led
off the observation deck arm-in-arm by Nova.
ONE
HOUR LATER….
THE
CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS
In the Argo’s
Captain’s Quarters at the top of the bridge tower, the privacy screens were
down, the hatch was locked, and Derek and Nova’s boots were cast to the deck in
a very un-officer like pile. So were Derek’s socks, Nova’s pantyhose, Derek’s
uniform top and slacks, Nova’s dress, and everything else that they had been
wearing.
At
the moment, Nova was sighing and writhing with ecstasy in her husband’s arms as
the young lovers completed their second joining. Finally spent a minute later,
Nova lay on the bed wiping her brow as she kissed her husband on the nose and
then on the ear.
“Up here,” she said, “You
got to win and you got what you wanted. I think that matters a little more than
winning a dumb old space chess game. ”
“Where’d you learn to play shogi like that?” asked Derek.
“College,” Nova answered. “Diane helped me with some lessons
to help me remember the parts of the game I’d forgotten since school. She told
me you loved the game. She wanted to help; don’t worry.”
“Okay, why would my old girlfriend choose to help us out this time rather than making
trouble?”
“She wants us to be happy. I sat down over coffee with her
one night and told her about how we had to put a hold on Operation Stork
because of the war. She hopes we can end this war soon so we can have children, Derek.”
“So do I,” Derek sighed as he ran a pattern over one of his
wife’s breasts. “I was looking forward to being a father.”
“Were you?” said Nova. “That’s so sweet.” She kissed him and
cuddled up next to him, expecting that they could go to sleep together.
However, a moment later, the interphone rang, disturbing
their reverie.
“Ohhhhh,” groaned
Commodore Wildstar. “No rest for the weary, I guess,” he sighed as he got up
and walked to his console at the front of the cabin. “Captain’s Quarters,
Commodore Wildstar speaking,” he said.
ARTWORK: PASSION © 2006 by Angie Dargo
Wildstar heard Doctor Sane’s high voice in reply. ”Is Nova
there?”
“Yes, but she was about to go to sleep,” said Derek.
“Well, wake her up!”
yelled Doctor Sane. “I need her down here to assist in an operation right now! You
know Sergeant Beckworth in Engineering?”
“Yes I do,” said Derek as Nova took the phone out of his
hand. “Nova, how’d you know it was the Doc?”
“I heard him from across the cabin,” she whispered. “Hi,
Doctor, this is Lieutenant Commander Wildstar. I’m sorta sleepy, what’s up?”
“Nova, make a cup of your own damn coffee and wake up!”
yelled Sane. “Beckworth in Engineering got his right arm caught in a flywheel
linkage for auxiliary engine #2 while he was working on it. We have to amputate
and fit him with a replacement! There’s mangled nerves,
and none of my other nurses can reach in there to assist me in fixing those up
as well as you can! Get a coffee, get dressed, and meet me down here at 2300
Hours Sharp! Got it?”
“Aye, aye, Doctor,” said Nova. “See you in a bit.”
Nova put down the phone, while Derek opened her locker to
hand her a nurses’ minidress, underwear, and her boots. “I’ll take the white
sandals back there under my guitar, thanks. I’ll be on my feet for about seven
hours with this one,” she said. “I’ll need a quick shower, then
some java, then I have to run.”
“Coffee’s in the pot,” said Derek with a rueful grin.
Nova kissed him and said,” Try not to be too lonely when I get back up here
around 0600 tomorrow morning, okay?”
“I’ll manage,” said Commodore Wildstar as he threw on a robe
and began to make up coffee for both of them. “I have the feeling this is going
to be a long night.”
“You and me both,” sighed Nova as
she threw a towel around herself for her shower. “You and me both….”
Later on, Commodore Wildstar slept. He slept for a long
while, and he fell into some uneasy dreams. He alternated between regular sleep
and REM sleep for some hours, and in his dreams, he found himself….
He was on the Argo yet again. They were in a major
battle with the Cometines, and the enemy was using the SMITE device against
them again.
The Gamilons showed up to
offer aid, but things didn’t go well between Wildstar and Desslok when they
spoke. Wildstar accused Desslok of giving SMITE to the Comet Empire; the
Gamilon Leader countered “They took the plans from the wreck of my flagship,
without my knowledge, as I lay recovering on the Gatlantis under Zordar’s watchful eyes. It is not fair to blame me
for something that happened without my consent; I would have never given them
SMITE.”
The argument between the
allies continued, and then a strange scene took place. The scene switched to
Earth, and, on Earth, Wildstar saw Lance Stovall as a Space Marine grunt digging
somewhere, possibly in China, as he raided the graves of some of the
Josiahites.
In a grave’s depths, below
some human bones, (which he regarded and scorned), Stovall found a ball that
turned out to be a glowing crystalline Sphere. Stovall took the Sphere
willingly, and he smiled and grinned like a maniac as a dark spirit came from
the depths of the Sphere and totally possessed him. There was wild, demented
laughter, and a deep, sepulchral voice saying, “At last, at long last, I LIVE AGAIN! Ha ha ha ha ha
haaaaaa!” And, with a sick grin, Stovall’s body emerged
from the womb of graveyard dirt in an unholy, sickening mockery of resurrection
as….Stovall’s personhood “died”, his soul submerged in a willing symbiosis
with…the resurrected Dark Lord.
Then, the war with the
Cometines switched as Wildstar saw three planets destroyed by Invidia’s forces;
he beheld Invidia herself encouraging her generals to perform new atrocities
aboard her new, rebuilt Comet ship, her new engine of destruction as a White
Comet burned across the skies of deep space again.
Derek then saw Nova laughing;
she was with him on a train somewhere in
Then, they were on Iscandar,
disembarking from the Argo. At first the scene was peaceful; Derek saw
Nova and a woman who looked both like and unlike her (the young woman had
chestnut brown hair with blond bangs and a build slightly heavier than Nova’s).
They wore what looked like summer nursing student uniforms; strange looking
shorty coveralls in white that left their shoulders and backs bare to the warm
sun on Iscandar as, in those uniforms, they helped run what looked like a
medical clinic of some kind in what looked like a MASH tent in the jungle
somewhere. Then, the tent turned into chaos as they treated badly wounded
people as Cometine Scorpions flew overhead, darkening the sky.
Then, scenes of war and chaos
came; Derek saw Deke Wakefield in a Black Tiger uniform leading a squadron in
on a streaking dive against a Cometine carrier as he made a successful attack
that he pulled up out of a moment later, as, on the Argo, Stovall (but he wasn’t Stovall anymore) sent transmissions to
Invidia and another party with his mind.
In the chaos, Derek saw Nova
wearing a uniform variant on the Argo
she had seldom worn; she wore her Living Group uniform in gold and black, but
as a male-pattern top with a 
black skirt and open-toe pumps. The reason for the
changed attire was evident; Nova looked heavily pregnant in the dream. Derek
saw a tender scene where he held Nova and opened the front of a dress she had
on to caress her pregnant stomach, and laugh as they saw the baby (or babies? Derek thought) kicking inside
her stomach.
Also, Derek saw Deke
Wakefield and Sasha laughing together; it seemed interesting that they both had
wedding bands on. More chaos and war followed, leading up to a battle with the
New White Comet, a titanic battle in which it was destroyed at last.
Then, Derek beheld the inside
of a medical shuttle; and he saw Nova on a small bed in the shuttle, still
pregnant, but sweaty and bare-shouldered, and then, as she kicked off her sheet
for a moment, he saw she was in the nude and seemed to be in labor. Doctor
Sane, IQ-9, Sasha, and the young woman with the blond bangs watched her,
helping Derek comfort the laboring woman as she pushed one, and then two
children into the world, a little boy and a girl, whom he saw cleaned up a
while later and nursing at their mother’s breasts in peace on the shuttle as
Nova lay exhausted but happy.
The scene then switched to a
tranquil one as Derek saw Nova in the same sundress she had worn on the train (when we conceived our children? Derek
thought) at an outdoor church service, blushing and opening the top of her
dress on one side to nurse their little boy as she stood there in a cute sunhat
and bare feet in the sun. Later, the scene switched to a lonely beach, where
Derek beheld his young wife lying totally naked on a pure white beach towel,
suntanned all over with her slender shape back, laughing and smiling as she
cuddled and nursed their naked twins in the sun as the surf rolled on behind
them.
Then, Nova stood dancing with
him again in the white gown she had worn at their wedding in the same hotel
that they had originally had their reception at in Boulder, Colorado. Banners
proclaimed that it was their tenth wedding anniversary, and they were in bliss
as they danced together; Derek noticed that this time, he had on a black
peacoat that had the rank boards of a Rear Admiral; it appeared that he had
come up in the ranks somewhat.
ARTWORK: PREGNANT NOVA © 2006 by Angie Dargo
The last scene Wildstar saw
in his dream was one of Nova in heels and a black and purple academic gown
receiving a degree at a commencement ceremony some years later; she looked just
a little older and had round glasses on. Their children were a bit older now,
and seemed to be about four or five years old; their daughter was a blond girl
who looked much like her mother, and their son was a boy with messy brown hair
who looked like a younger version of Derek, sat in the crowd in a dress and a
suit applauding as their mother received her degree at what Derek suddenly
understood was a medical school graduation.
Derek woke up when he heard the hatch slamming to in their
cabin. With sleep-filled eyes, he looked around….the clock said it was 0512
Hours now.
Nova had just come back in…she looked very tired. She walked
up to the bed with a smile and kissed him, and then began to take one of her
shoes off.
Derek noticed it was a white sandal. The first thing he said
is, “You had those on in my dream.”
“Oh? That’s nice, given I’ve only had these for a week,” Nova
said as she removed her other shoe and wriggled her toes. “You were there with
me in the store when I bought them. You said they looked nice, remember?”
“You were wearing them when you were having our children…at
least part of the time…”
“What?” Nova said
with an amused look. “Uh…I think I’d be barefoot if I was in labor. Why did I
have shoes on?”
“It was part of the time; you were having our children in a
shuttlecraft, and they had to make stirrups for you to push against. They cut
the backs off those sandals and taped them to IV stands so you’d have something
to put your feet in to push against.”
“And what else did
I have on, pray tell?” asked Nova in an amused voice as she pulled her
minidress off over her head and stripped off her bra and underwear. “In your
weird dream, was I wearing a fashionable outfit to have our children in?”
“You were wearing what you’re wearing now…namely nothing,”
said Derek as he gave her a kiss and pulled her close.
“That’s sweet…that’s what I’d expect to be wearing in
labor…given the difficulties we had with my mom that time, I’d rather just go
naked then so they can work on me more easily…damn modesty in that situation.”
“Yeah….”
“God, your heart is racing like a horse!” Nova said as she
rubbed his chest. “I think we have some time to talk before I take my shower
and I get my bridge uniform on for morning watch. What else was this dream
about?”
Commodore Wildstar then described the rest of his bizarre
dream to his wife, not leaving out a single detail. Nova hugged him and nodded
with concern, shivering as he recounted the gross part with Stovall in the
grave.
Finally, when they were done, he said, “What do you think?”
Nova stared at him and said, “I think you should not have
had that pepperoni hoagie and that mug of dark beer last night at the bar on
the observation deck before you started playing space chess. The weird food you
eat would give anyone nightmares!”
“Yeah, it would,” said Derek. He watched Nova going to her
locker and rooting through it. “What are you doing?”
Nova yawned. “Getting my PT gear to do some laps, then I’ll
take my shower and…show up at my post on the bridge, and….”
“You’re taking a sick day,” said Derek. “You’re relieved for
this watch. I can put someone else behind the radar.”
“What?”
“You haven’t slept in twenty-three hours, you’re exhausted,
and you need some sleep. We can get by without you on the bridge for one
watch…unless there’s a battle, of course.”
“But…”
“Nova, put your gear away and catch
some sleep. It’s an order.”
“Yessir,” said Nova weakly. Her face dropped, but she smiled
when Derek kissed her.
“I’m getting ready to go on watch. I’ll see you later, Mrs.
Wildstar. Go to bed.”
“Okay.”
IV. A STARTLING
MORNING…
Space Battleship Argo
One Hundred and Ten
Lightyears Away from Earth…
Sunday, December 15,
2205 1105 Hours: Earth Time
On the Argo’s
The First Star Force was now in a small star system that was
known as the NGC-158235 system; it was one they had never investigated before,
so it had no name other than the rather dry Astronomers’ Catalogue number it
was known by.
“So, Homer, did you pick up any more signals?” asked
Wildstar from his post.
“Not yet,” said Homer.
“Radar’s normal,” said Eager, who was manning the Cosmo
Radar in Nova’s stead (since she was still sleeping as per the Captain’s
orders). “We’re approaching the third planet!”
“Can you get a scan of the third planet to send to IQ-9 for
analysis?” asked Wildstar.
“I’m gettin’ that scan now,” said Eager.
“The signal’s repeating again,” said Homer. “It’s digital,
and it’s….it’s one of our signals!”
“One of our signals?”
“It’s an Earth code of some type…it seems to be a few months
old…”
“Where’s the area that it’s coming from?” asked Kitano.
“The
“I’m beginning to scan,” said IQ-9. “Conditions of
atmosphere and climate; the planet has a breathable Earth-standard atmosphere,
although the temperature is slightly higher than average. Very
little humidity. The planet seems to be a hot desert world; somewhat
like Rikasha before we aided the Rikashans with the Cosmo-DNA Machine. I am not
picking up any traces of civilization, except for one large metallic object in
a wadi almost directly below us! I am picking up more signals, and…”
The bridge doors whizzed open and Nova came in, rubbing her
eyes a little, but up and in her gold Star Force uniform.
“Lieutenant Commander, you were supposed to be in bed,” said Derek as some of the other bridge crew
members snickered a little.
“I’ve gotten enough sleep,” said Nova with a smile. “I woke
up and tapped in on the bridge channels from upstairs. When I caught something
interesting going on, I decided maybe I’d better check it out.”
“Good,” said Wildstar. “Go over and help IQ-9 with some
scans.”
“Roger,” said Nova. She walked over to help the robot.
“So what’s going on?” she said.
“I’m picking up what seems to be life signs from a metal
object down below,” he said.
“Those are life signs,” said Nova.
“How many?” asked Wildstar.
“About two or three hundred people, and….”
“I’m picking up a voice message!” said Homer. “Switching to
main speakers…”
The First Star Force was then shocked and surprised as they
heard Captain Mark Venture’s voice. “To
any vessel who might be able to hear us….please
respond…this is the Earth Federation Space Battleship
The signal almost fizzed out before Wildstar himself
snatched the headset off of Homer’s head. “Captain Venture!” he yelled into it.
“What…?” said Venture. “Who’s that? Sorry…lots of static…it
sounds…”
“This is Wildstar, you big idiot!” laughed Derek. “Mark, the
Argo’s right over your planet!”
“Wildstar!??
When did you show up?”
“Just a few minutes ago.
What is your exact location, Venture?”
“Twenty nine-degrees north
latitude by one hundred and ten west longitude.
You’re scanning us, so you got us. Please send aid. We’re running out of
supplies.”
“I’m sending aid and a repair party, Venture,” said
Wildstar. “How is….?”
At that moment, Aliscea’s phantom form appeared before the
First Star Force on the Argo’s bridge.
“We could be better,” said the Pellian Radar Officer of the
“We’ll get to it,” said Derek. “Nova, prepare a rescue
mission for the basics. Take four crewmen and IQ-9 and leave in the
Cosmo-Hound; you’ll need the cargo room.”
“Roger,” said Nova as she saluted and left.
Why,
thought Commodore Wildstar to himself, why…do I have an uneasy feeling about this?
TO
BE CONTINUED….
To
Return to the Introduction to The New Comet,
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