STAR BLAZERS
End of Days
Written By: Jeff Lincoln
Preface
Remembrance
It is the year 2203 and the Earth has just defeated the Dark
Nebula Empire. The StarForce is returning home, once again, freeing Earth from the
tyranny of another people who wanted to conquer them. The Yamato has lost a
beloved crewmember, Sasha, the daughter of the late Starsha of Iscandar and
Alex Wildstar of Earth.
Derek Wildstar, now acting-captain of the Yamato, feels a deep
pain from losing the daughter and final part of his older brother. Inside he
feels responsible, and doesn't know how he can keep on going. Steven Sandor
also feels the pain, Sasha was like a daughter to him and now he will never see
her again.
With the StarForce's recent victory over planet Dezarium, Earth
begins picking up the pieces and begins to rebuild. Many people are still in
the underground cities, once occupied during the Gamilon bombardment of 2199.
They remain there in fear of the Dark Nebula Empire which may still exist. Even
with the assurance from the Earth Defense Forces Head Quarters, that they are
defeated because Yamato is returning home. People still fear the possible
reprisal from the Dark Nebulans without any way of confirming this. The Yamato
receives its first communication from Earth Defense Forces HQ since the Dark
Nebulans were defeated.
Day 1 Return and
Disturbance
1700 Earth Time
Space Battleship Yamato on
Approach to Pluto
Aboard the Yamato, things
run smoothly as any normal return trip would. The crew goes about their duties
as if nothing was going to disturb them. Many of them chose to sleep away the
return journey, but for those 'lucky' few their duties still called for them.
"Commander Wildstar,
we've got an incoming hail from EDF Head Quarters, the Commander wants to speak
with you." Homer said placing his hand on his headset "Sounds pretty
urgent."
Wildstar nodded from the
Combat station, "Put it up on the video panel."
"Roger." Homer
flipped a switch and the familiar face of the Commander appeared.
Wildstar stood from his
seat and gave the hand-over-heart salute. Commander Singleton saluted back with
the traditional hand to forehead. Both lowered their salutes.
"Wildstar, allow me to
be the first to congratulate you on your successful mission to Dezarium. You
saved millions of lives here on Earth, seeing this is the first message we've
been able to get through to you I thought you would like to receive the status
report from some one special, someone OTHER than myself," Singleton said
with a smile. Moving his chair out of view, behind him stood Nova, looking
rather healthy, happy, and well.
Wildstar was stricken with joy, during the journey he had no idea if she was alive or
dead. Picking his jaw up off of the floor, "Nova!
How...how did you..."
Nova giggled. She had known
he would react this way all along. "All in good time Derek, I will speak
to you when you get back home. For now let me just give you this report."
She lifted a piece of paper and began, "Thirty percent of Earth’s
population has been moved underground, it served as the resistance point and we
evacuated as many as we could there. Many of them wish to return to what
remains of their homes. Sixty percent of the population was on the surface
where we sustained many casualties due to the Dark Nebulans."
Wildstar sat back down in
his chair, half listening to what Nova was saying. He was overjoyed at the fact
that she had survived the nightmare of the Dark Nebulans. If only he wasn't on
Yamato right now, he wished he could just scoop her up in his arms and spin her
around like he did on the return trip from Iscandar. The last time he saw her
was on Earth, on the ground near the boarding ramp, holding her bleeding
shoulder as he and the rest of the StarForce took off in Sandors' escape craft.
He didn't know whether or not she had survived. Even if she did, he didn't know
if she was in the hands of the Dark Nebulans or part of the EDF resistance.
"In total we have lost
about 4,000,000 people. As bad as it sounds we must consider ourselves lucky.
Derek, are you listening?" Nova snapped as she noticed him staring off
into space. Wildstar woke from his personal little day dream.
"Yeah I am listening.
I am just finding it a little hard to concentrate with everything that's been
happening," he responded, "So thing's are slowly getting back to the
way they used to be I take it?"
Nova nodded, Wildstar
noticed something that the others would never have seen- Nova was tearing up,
but doing an extremely good job hiding it. "Of course Derek, we've really
picked up the pace here. We've already started rebuilding EDF Head Quarters, as
you can see. We've also begun dismantling the Dark Nebulans super weapon, it
never really left Earth. Sandor will probably want to study every little detail
of it."
Sandor didn't look up, but
instead responded with a disgruntled groan.
"What's eating
him?" Nova asked, raising an eyebrow.
Wildstar sighed,
it was going to take longer than one single call from Commander Singletons
office to explain what had happened on Dezarium. "Nova, it's going to take
some time to explain and I really can't speak about it right now, it's
affecting everyone aboard. I'll tell you about it later."
Nova nodded,
"Derek...I have something to tell you too..."
Wildstar nodded, "We
will have plenty of time to talk when we return to Earth, which will be in a
single warp." He and Nova already knew that things were not going to be
easy when he got home. With any luck they will have a lifetime to work on it.
Commander Singleton moved
back into view, "Wildstar, when you and your crew dock they will be
granted three weeks leave. Spend time with your families, and get to meet some
new people. You all deserve it, Singleton out." With that the video panel
went back to its familiar green shade. From across the bridge a single loud
sigh could be heard. They all knew that as soon as they got back all they would
feel is sadness, shame, and guilt for what had happened.
"Venture, plot a
single warp to Earth. I'm sure our families are waiting for us," Wildstar
said getting up from his seat. "If anyone needs me I'll be in my
quarters."
Wildstar entered the
elevator and left the bridge without another word. No one questioned, no one
wondered, they all knew something was going to happen and they all knew Wildstar
was not going to like it.
Venture switched on the
internal PA and addressed the crew, "All hands, buckle yourselves down. We
are performing a high risk, long distance space warp back to Earth. After we
emerge from warp I suggest you get your things together. The warp will be in
two minutes."
As Wildstar took a seat at
his desk his mind began to race. He worried about what Nova had to tell him. He
regretted not protecting Sasha especially when he found out who she really was.
He began regretting not saving Nova when the Dark Nebulans were invading.
On the desk, spots formed
on the papers he had scattered about. "Nova, Sasha...why couldn't I be
there for you both when you needed me? Am I that much of a failure? Alex, I'm
sorry I couldn't keep my promise, Starsha forgive me." The thoughts
pouring into his head were almost too much to handle. He put his head down and
let the tears fall. It was the first time he had cried since the return trip
from Iscandar. Little did he know he had someone listening in.
"He cried before the
warp, he cried during the warp, he even cried after the warp." IQ-9 said
to Sandor and Venture. The two blinked in shock. "I don't know what caused
him to cry so much. Human emotions are too complicated to compute," He
said in his dry robotic voice.
"IQ-9 have you not
seen the crew? They're all shaken up. Losing the very last descendant of
Iscandar can do that. They all loved Sasha," Venture said, "Even the
Commander has emotions. Let him have this one moment to himself. And IQ, no more spying on the Commander. That's something we
call an invasion of privacy."
Sandor nodded, "IQ-9,
I can understand completely what's going through his head right now. In the
year that I raised her, she became a daughter to me. I feel like I just lost a
part of myself."
"I still don't
understand but if you want me to stop I will stop. I am now returning to my
duties in Sickbay." IQ-9 said turning around and rounding the corner.
Sandor and Venture were silent for a time. Venture was the first to speak.
"You know I really
should check on Wildstar, he probably needs a friend right now." Venture
said rubbing his eyes.
Sandor sighed,
"Venture it might not be the best time. Wildstar is feeling responsible
for everything, he may not want your counsel. He
nearly lost Nova, and then he loses Sasha. If it were me I'd want to be left
alone too." With those final words Sandor turned on his heel and walked
away. Venture was left alone to his thoughts, deciding whether or not to go see
Wildstar. Instead he came up with a plan that could cheer both of them up, a
dinner invite for Wildstar and Nova in two days should smooth things over.
1730 Earth Time
As the Yamato slid gently
into dry-dock, the crowds began to fill. Parents, grandparents, children, even
pets knew they were home. They were all there waiting for their loved ones,
presumed lost. At first joy overwhelmed the crew, the feeling of home had begun
to sink in. Then sorrow, sorrow for those that were lost, sorrow for those
families that will forever be changed at the hands of the Dark Nebulans. After
all the joy and sorrow the crowds finally faded away and only one person
remained, Nova.
When she first arrived, she
thought that Wildstar would come running out of the ship and into her arms,
finally being able to see her again, but it didn't happen.
Nova brought a hand to her
lip and gently nibbled on her index finger. She started to worry- what was
taking him so long? She took a few steps forward and looked up at the battleship.
"Yamato...what
happened out there?" She asked quietly. "Where is Derek?" She
started slowly up the gangway. As she got to the midway point she started to
pick up her pace. She knew something was wrong and started a slow run. As she
entered the ship she broke out into a run. Then that turned into a panicked
sprint, she didn't even bother to look at her surroundings. She knew exactly
what her destination was.
As she ran the same thought
raced through her mind again and again, "Derek, where are you?" As she
rounded the last corner she could see a single beam of light coming out from a
crack in the door. She slowed down and quietly approached. As she got closer
she could hear sobbing. It was not a woman's cry but a man. She peeked through
the crack and saw her beloved Derek beaten and broken like someone that had
lost it all.
He was at his desk, head in
his arms, and crying. Nova gasped as she saw him lower his right hand towards
his thigh. As he brought it back up he was holding his brothers Astro
Automatic. He raised his head and opened his mouth, allowing just enough room
for the barrel. He clicked off the safety and started to pull the trigger when
she burst into the room and slapped the gun out of his hand.
"Derek!" Nova
exclaimed pulling him into a hug, "Don't you EVER do that again!" She
started crying, "What's wrong Derek, please tell me, what is wrong."
She said letting her tears stream down her face.
Through sobs Derek finally
spoke, "I failed them. I failed you." He sobbed, "I let her die
Nova, Sasha is dead." Nova closed her eyes
understanding, "I failed Starsha, I let my
brother down. I can't..."
"Shh...It's alright,
you're home." Nova said running her hand through his hair. "You're
home, everything is over."
"Nova I...I thought
you were dead. I don't know what kept me going..." He said as his tears
began to soak into Nova's white blouse. Nova pulled him closer and rocked him
back and forth gently, like a mother would to an injured child.
"Derek I am here, I am
alive. You can stop worrying about me. Derek you aren't the only one who
thought the other was dead." Nova began, "I thought you were dead
when we got the report that Yamato was destroyed. At first I didn't believe it,
but after a while I began to... I was a prisoner of war Derek,
I was offered the chance to end everything once and for all. I just..."
Derek looked up tears still
falling, "You had to just, what?" He asked intently. Her story was
starting to take effect and bring Derek back among the living.
"Derek I was told by
Alphon, one of the leaders of the Dark Nebulans, that if I slept with him he
would give me the plans to the super weapon they brought here." She said
letting him go so he could dry his tears.
Derek frowned, "You
didn't do it did you?" He asked tossing a tissue into the waste basket
next to his desk.
Nova smiled, "You
think I would cheat on you?" She said hugging him and giggling,
"Derek you know me better than that. I would never do anything like that.
For a time I considered it, but- when the resistance killed Alphon he gave me
the plans before he died. So I never had the chance to consider it fully."
Derek laughed slightly,
"Thank you Nova." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, "I
feel a little better now, I um...I apologize for the..." He pointed to the
discarded Astro Automatic.
Nova smiled and nodded,
"All's forgiven, just next time you get the
thought in your head let me know." She smiled and stood up, picked up the
pistol and handed it back to Wildstar. He took it and slid it back into its
holster.
"Now all I need to do
is get over the fact that I let Alex's daughter die." Wildstar sighed,
"She said it was her destiny, but I don't know how to accept it. I mean
she's with both of them now, but still I don't know how I will ever get over
it."
Nova nodded, "I'm here
for you Derek, and we can help each other." She took his hand and they
both left the office, happy to be together again.
Behind them Venture smiled
and thought to himself, "Well I might not need to
throw that dinner after all."
2000 Earth Time
Wildstar Residence
"You actually fell for
the idea you were in the future?" Nova asked between bites of her chicken
currie, "What did they do, get you all so drunk you didn't know which way
was up?"
"The only one that was
like that was Doctor Sane. You know me better than that; I don't drink his
'spring' water." Derek said with a chuckle, "We all believed it
because the planet looked exactly like Earth, destroyed and dead, but still
Earth. We were shown images of the past; we saw the destruction of Yamato and
were told that it was going to happen whether we wanted it to or not."
"So what happened
next? Did you figure out that it wasn't Earth?" Nova asked
enthusiastically, "It sounds like your getting to the 'good' part."
Derek sighed and then
continued, "The landing party demoralized, returned to Yamato... all
except for Sasha who seemed to have had foreknowledge of her true destiny. She
abandoned the landing party and remained on conquered Earth. I chased after her
calling out, 'Sasha! Sasha!' but she wouldn't listen and insisted that I
returned to Yamato. Alone on Earth's surface, Starsha appeared in a vision. She
told Sasha that she was born between Iscandar and Earth, and that her destiny
is to die far from both, but in service of both." Derek sighed, he didn't
want to tell the rest but he felt that Nova should know the whole truth about
what had happened.
"In orbit, Yamato was
attacked by the Grodaze and its fleet. Sandor figured out that the woman on the
planet was not really human, and that the artworks were all frauds. We all had
the same question, 'Might the Earth below us not be the real Earth?'"
"Is this where Sasha
was killed?" Nova asked, seeing the hesitation in Derek's eyes.
"Actually, at the time
no, we turned around and fired the Wave Motion Gun at the Grodaze and its
fleet, destroying them. But, the tachyon- based energy of the Wave Gun had an
unexpected reaction with the enemy weapons. When the enemy ships exploded, a
huge cascade explosion formed over Earth, burning up much of its surface. The
Earth, where Sasha remained, dissolved. We all thought she was dead. Within the
fire revealed the black skeleton of a planet, its twisting ribs formed into a
sphere. It was not Earth, but the Black Nebulan mother planet, Dezarium. It was
all an elaborate hoax designed to demoralize and defeat us. Scaldart pulled off
the mask he wore to reveal his true Black Nebulan face." Derek explained
as he cleared the table.
"Sasha managed to
survive the incineration of the surface by running into the lower levels of the
planet. She reached a sub-control center and sent us a communication, telling
us that in order to destroy Dezarium, we must reach its core through a huge
conduit she was about to open. Scaldart interrupted her message to inform us
that if we proceed any further, he would detonate the Hyperion bomb on Earth.
Yamato sped though the conduit, dodging all sorts of enemy fire. We reached the
center of the planet where we found a huge crystal city bound up in a spherical
arrangement... it looked something like a glass sea urchin." He described
as he sat back down. "It was actually quite beautiful now that I think
back on it."
Nova nodded, she was very
intrigued at his story and detail of everything that had occurred while she was
leading the resistance assault on the enemies' weapon. She didn't bother to
interrupt him, he was too far into the tale to stop.
She figured the more he talked about it the sooner he'd get over losing Sasha.
"Buildings flew off
and burst into missiles. Yamato was hit and Captain Yamanami was killed. I
prepared the Wave Gun, but stopped when I realized that would kill Sasha. But
Sasha again radioed us, insisting that we fire. Scaldart found and shot Sasha
at that point." He struggled with the memory, "When I saw what had
happened I pulled the trigger. And the Wave Motion Gun shot through the city.
The blast set off another explosive chain reaction. Mark made Yamato do a
180-degree turn and we rushed out of the internal chamber entering into an
emergency warp as we reached the conduit exit. Dezarium exploded behind us,
destroying the delicate gravitational balance between the two sides of the
Double Galaxy. They crashed into each other, becoming the birth of a new
galaxy."
Nova was stunned; she
couldn't imagine how a simple shot from the Wave Motion Gun could create
another galaxy. "And you did all this without me? You guys really don't
need me anymore do you?" She teased as she placed her hands on the table.
"Oh well, were all safe now, Sasha is with Alex and Starsha, your with me,
Venture is with Jordy. Who could ask for a better ending?"
Wildstar shrugged,
"Sasha could have survived, but if she did we'd all probably be dead. We
owe her and Yamato our lives, and of course we need you, who else would tuck us
all into bed?" He said as he stood up and ran for cover as a cushion from
a seat flew towards his head. "Is that the best you can do? A seat
cushion?" Wildstar said picking it up and throwing it back at her.
Nova smiled and threw it
back at him when he turned his back to her, the
cushion hit him right in the back of the head. "There we go, we're
even." She giggled but then went wide eyed, "Uh oh." Wildstar
turned around and threw it back at her and started running, then
he slid under the table and reached out for her bare feet. He got a hold of one
before she had the chance to run the other way. He started tickling her, she
screamed in surprise but that was quickly overtaken by uncontrollable laughter.
"Derek AAHH! Stop
it!" She screamed between laughs, "AH! Don't tickle me!" She
pleaded, but Wildstar kept on tickling her feet. She fell to the floor and
started rolling about. Trying to get out of his grip, which ended up making
things worse because she now exposed her other foot to him, he released the
first and grabbed the second tickling that one as well. Nova was laughing so
hard Wildstar couldn't help but laugh along.
Nova then did the
unexpected; she used her free foot to press against his head and push herself
out of his grip. "Hey! No fair!" He said reaching back out trying to
grab her foot. She took a few large steps away from him and stuck her tongue
out. Their fun was quickly cut off when the phone rang. Wildstar climbed out
from under the table, bumping his head on the bottom, Nova giggled. But
Wildstar shot her a quick grimace and she stopped giggling but continued to
smile.
Wildstar reached for the
phone and picked it up, "Wildstar residence...Yes this is him...are you
sure?...Right we are on the way...Yes 'we'...what's it
matter to you who I'm with?...Of course she's got clearance... Lt. Nova
Forrester for your information...is that all?...Tell
the Commander we'll be there in an hour...Good-bye."
Nova raised an eyebrow,
"Who was that?"
Wildstar sighed,
"Leaves been cut short, we've got a problem near Pluto. Put on your
uniform, we're needed at EDF Head Quarters." Wildstar said heading for the
door, "I'll be waiting in the car." He closed the door behind him and
Nova ran into the bedroom and slipped on her StarForce uniform.
2100 Earth Time
EDF HQ Long Range Sensor
Room
Back at EDF Head Quarters
Sandor had already returned to work after spending a few moments with his
family at the dock. He figured the best way to get his mind off of Sasha was to
drown himself in work. Something the return trip to
Earth didn't allow him to do. When he first arrived at Head Quarters he went
straight to his office and began working on the reflective shielding the
StarForce had used to defeat Desslok on the return trip from Iscandar. He
wanted to perfect the technology before Yamato set out again. She was the only
surviving EDF Battleship after the Dark Nebulan take over, he didn't want to
take the chance that she too would be destroyed.
But shortly after he got to
his desk and started thinking of ways to improve the technology he was called
to the Long Range Sensor Room. As he walked through the halls towards the LRSR
he had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he had to hear.
"Sandor!" Wildstar exclaimed, waving a hand towards him,
"Any idea what this is all about?" Wildstar asked catching up to him
with Nova close behind.
"I don't know Wildstar, I only just got the call. I was in my office for
the past thirty minutes." Sandor said waving them into the room first.
"For once Wildstar, I don't have the answers. We'll have to see what
Commander Singleton has to show us together."
As the door to the LRSR
opened they all had a feeling of dread as they looked up and saw the main
readout. As they looked out in fear, a huge ship appeared on the screen, they saw
a top, side, and bottom view. The ship had a triangular look to it, and sort of
resembled Yamato in the sense that the back was elevated to hold a tower.
"Ah,
Wildstar, good to see you. Sorry we had to cut shore leave short. But you're the only EDF
Captain with a warp capable ship." Commander Singleton said crossing his
arms, "Our base on Mars just picked up this signal heading towards Earth
at slow speed. So far all communication attempts have been met with
static."
Wildstar nodded, "You
want me to take Yamato back out and see what this ship wants don't you?"
"Exactly, we estimate
at its current speed it will reach Earth in approximately 4 days. You have
until then to find out what they want while we get to work building a backup
fleet. At our current state we will only be able to build fifteen ships and
only two of them will be Andromeda class."
Wildstar gave the
hand-over-heart salute and turned to Nova and Sandor, "Sandor, I want you
to get all the data we have on this thing uploaded to Yamato's main computer.
Nova, get a message out to all StarForce crewmembers. Tell them to report to
the Yamato's dry-dock. We take off in two hours. Tell them we've got visitors
and shore leaves' been canceled."
Nova and Sandor saluted,
spun on their heels, and took off for the first air-car to Yamato. Wildstar
started to walk away from the Commander when the Commander placed a hand on
Wildstar's shoulder.
"Wildstar, I need you
to stop this thing, before the time is up. We are still licking our wounds from
the Dark Nebulans, we don't need another invasion on
our hands. Also the two Andromeda's are pushing it, we
may not be able to complete them in time. Please, Wildstar take care of this
for me."
"I will Commander, the
StarForce won't let that ship get anywhere near Earth." With that the
Commander released Wildstar and Wildstar ran out.
"Good luck Wildstar,
make us proud." The Commander said as the doors closed.
2400 Earth Time
Even though shore leave had
been cut short every single member of the StarForce reported to the dry-dock. There was only one problem, a few of the
members that came back aboard NEEDED to bring along their families. Venture for
one, was told to watch Jordy, his younger brother. And now that he was recalled
to Yamato he had to bring him along. So now Yamato had precious cargo to worry
about while flying in space.
On the
From behind him Nova called
out, "Sensors are fully operational, radar systems are standing by."
Next to her Yamazaki, the
StarForces replacement Main Engineer called out, "Engineering systems
standing by, all batteries connected to the Wave Motion Engine are charged and
ready."
"Communications all
set to go Skipper." Homer said winking, he knew
that Wildstar hated that name. And Wildstar showed it by wincing.
"All guns are secured,
torpedoes and missiles have been loaded, the armory has been restocked, and all
gun crews report weapon systems are green across the board." Dash said
reading off of his console.
"All analysis systems
are functioning inside their designated parameters." IQ-9 said wheeling up
to the Analysis station.
"Navigation systems
are good to go. We can take off at any time Commander." Venture said
holding the flight sticks.
From over the radio Conroy
reported in, "All Black-Tigers are present and accounted for."
"This is Sargent Leon
Knox of the 14th Space Marine Battalion, all Marines are present and accounted
for Commander Wildstar, it's an honor to fight with
the man who saw Sargent Hajime Knox pass to the next life."
"Sciences are also
ready to go Skipper, we are go for launch."
Sandor said giving a thumbs up to Wildstar.
Wildstar nodded,
"Communications, send a message to Head Quarters, inform them that we are
departing and will report back when we have reached Mars. Venture, begin engine
start sequence."
"Roger, engine room, begin start sequence. Charge main
batteries." Venture said into the radio. "Engine RPM's at
1500, and increasing. 1700, 2200, 2700, 2900, 3000, start Auxiliary
engines!"
"Homer, signal the
quartermaster and have them flood the dry-dock."
Wildstar ordered. "And tell them to open the doors this time,
we don't want to plow through them like last time."
"Roger," Homer
said, "The quartermaster says good luck and to remind Sandor that he still
owes him for a pair of doors."
"They can take it out
of my pay." Sandor chuckled.
"Alright people,
focus, Mark get us moving" Wildstar snapped, "Deciding whether or not
who pays for the doors is a secondary priority."
"Aye,
aye, Captain grumpy." Eager said with a laugh.
Nova couldn't help but
smile a little and mutter, "Boy's and their toys…"
Wildstar turned around,
"I heard that." Nova blushed and looked back down at her console.
"Auxiliary engines
full power, speed at half, we are leaving the dock." He pushed forward the
starting lever and the ship started moving forward in the water. Slowly at
first but as they cleared the underground dock and sunlight appeared the ship
lurched forward approaching top speed.
"Yamato, take
off!" Wildstar exclaimed as the ship was finally in open water.
"Wave
Motion Engine contact now!" Venture said pulling back on the sticks and the nose of the
Yamato rose up out of the water. As Yamato began to take flight her aft section
dragged along, looking like she was having a hard time. But as Venture
increased power the ship rose completely out of the water. Yamato rose higher
and higher, reaching for the stars. Her sleek beauty
reflecting on the water.
As the ship emerged from
space all eyes in the EDF control room looked on. Wishing the
StarForce, their final hope, good luck. The ships wings retracted and
all thoughts became the same, "Who is this contact? Why are they here? And
why are they headed towards Earth?" All our hopes and dreams go with you,
Yamato.
There are only four days
left.
This Chapter is dedicated
to Mr. Reiji Matsumoto and Mr. Yoshinobu Nishizaki.