STAR BLAZERS
End of Days
Written By: Jeff Lincoln
Day 2.5 Yamato's Downfall
1230 Space Time
Space Battleship Yamato -
Mess Hall
For the past ten hours the
enemy had begun boarding operations. Several StarForce members have been
wounded, mortally wounded, or killed. The enemy controls nearly
53 percent of the ship and are still moving. Endless waves of enemy
reinforcements keep pouring through the docking tendrils that have been
extended and latched themselves to the Yamato's hull.
The Yamato's security teams
have been nearly wiped out and the Space Marines have been scattered all over
the ship. For the StarForce all they encounter is chaos and defeat. Leon Knox
and Derek Wildstar have taken refuge in the Yamato's Mess Hall and have begun
desperately planning to retake the ship and continue on their mission.
"We could always try
access tube seventeen, goes straight down to the engineering deck." Knox
said pointing towards the schematic of the Yamato. "As far as we know the
enemy hasn't occupied that area yet, we could use it to-"
"We can't get to tube
seventeen, the whole area is decompressed and once you get to the bottom you'll
float out the side of the hull breach. What about crawlspace nine? That area's
not decompressed." Wildstar said bringing his hand to his chin.
"Crawlspace nine might
work, but we'd have to fight through atleast two walls of enemy troops to get
to it. Our push would be in vain if we tried that. We've got to come up with
something that will work." Yamazaki said pointing at the schematics he had
pulled for them.
Wildstar sighed, "Knox
are you sure that all the civilian shuttles made it off?"
"Commander I don't
know for certain about it, the enemy bombed the hanger bay as soon as we
started evacuating. For all we know they died in the explosion,
or the enemy is holding them prisoner." Knox replied shaking his head,
"We've got to assume they are KIA or MIA, it'll only distract us."
"I'm not willing to do
that Knox, didn't you learn anything from your
brothers letters?" Wildstar asked frowning and placing his hands on the table.
"There has to be a way to get around them, but where is it?"
"You could always try
elevator shaft two." Nova's voice called as she entered the mess hall, her
once yellow uniform now stained with many shades of red. "The shaft hasn't
been used since the elevator was destroyed in the initial attack. The bottom is
open to space so the fires should be out now." She approached the table,
pointing with her right hand and plotting a path with her left, "If you
take cooridor twenty-four you can go straight to Engineering, one of the
boarding tendrils is located there. Taking some explosives would come in handy, if you can get the tendril to detach we can attempt
to tear free of the second."
Knox blinked and muttered,
"I can't believe a woman came up with that."
"I heard that
Sargeant." Wildstar said with a scowl, "Men and women are equal and
don't you forget that. Or do we need to have IQ-9 teach you that lesson."
Knox blinked, shocked that
Wildstar had heard him, "Yes sir, I'll remember that sir."
Nova blinked,
"Speaking of IQ-9 where is he?"
Knox looked up with an
eyebrow raised, "Doctor Sane said he needed his arms. Whatever
that could mean."
From outside the hall
crashing and banging could be heard. Muffled yelling and screaming could be
heard. Then Sandor, followed closely by IQ-9 came bursting into the room.
"Those are not yours!
Give them back!" IQ-9 exclaimed. Everyone in the room raised an eyebrow,
shook their heads, or just laughed. IQ-9 no longer had arms and Sandor had
replaced his with IQ-9's.
"IQ-9 you will get
them back as soon as I'm done with them." Suddenly Sandor lurched forward
with a loud exclaimation and Nova turned bright red. The moment she turned her
back to the two, the worst thing happened.
IQ-9 had somehow managed to
activate his arms and then reached forward and groped Nova's butt. She
screamed, turned quickly on her heel, and slapped Sandor in the face.
As he stumbled backward
IQ-9 began laughing. "Teaches you to mess with my arms!
Now give them back!"
"Nova, that wasn't me!
That was IQ-9 using his arms, I swear I'd never do
that to you." Sandor said rubbing his face, which was slowly forming a red
mark.
Wildstar groaned and put a
hand over his eyes and exclaimed as well as pointed to the door, "IQ-9 get
out of here NOW! You'll get your arms back when Sandor is finished with
them!"
IQ-9's head jumped and he
quickly scurried out the door. Knox just stood there and blinked. Obviously he
was missing something crucial in what had just happened. He shook his head and
turned back to the table.
"I swear I'm going to
have his memory wiped. Now whats the status of your Marines,
Knox?" Wildstar said crossing his arms once again.
Knox nodded and pointed
towards the schematic, "Fire teams bravo and echo
are pinned down in cooridor seven on deck twelve. I have Charlie and Omega
standing by outside the Mess Hall."
"It sound's like we're
running a little low on troops, how many do we have exactly?"
"Making up all four
teams? Atleast thirty-five marines per squad."
Nova let out a quick and
loud breath, "Wow, didn't realize there were that many Space Marines on
Yamato."
"Trust me there were
plenty more before this catastrophe." Knox said shaking his head with
closed eyes, "We had over 100 Space Marines on board."
Wildstar shook his head
with a chuckle, "I always forget how big this ship really is. Right we'll
put Nova's plan into action, Knox get Omega team ready to move. We'll take this
ship back even if we have to go hand to hand." Wildstar said lowering his
arms and walking towards the door. He pulled his Astro-Automatic out and
hesitated looking at it, remembering what happened last time he drew it.
Knox raised an eyebrow at
Wildstars reactions and movements, then asked himself,
"Am I missing something?"
1300 Space Time
Mauritan Cruiser - New
Destiny
Aboard the Flagship of the
fleet that ambushed the Yamato, Colonel Nikran reports to Admiral Kilran on the
progress of the Yamato's slow and extremely difficult take-over.
"Colonel, you have
secured nearly 70 percent of the ship, what is taking you so long?" Kilran
said slamming his fist down on his chair. Even though he was lightyears away
from the Admiral, Nikran still winced, he knew it was
very unwise to disappoint the Admiral.
"Admiral, the
StarForce is a very formidable foe, our boarding
parties have encountered stiff resistance. Since our initial assault we have
lost over 200 men." Nikran said reluctantly.
"And
what of the StarForce?"
Nikran rubbed the back of
his head, "They've been dropped to nearly half of their orginial
compliment. But they continue to defend their position."
Kilran nodded,
"Continue your offensive. We can't let the StarForce regain control of
their ship. As long as we control ONE of their CIC's we can control the ship
and continue on with our mission." He stood up and pointed at Nikran, his
voice raising in intensity, "If you fail to do
that atleast I'll execute you and feed you to my pets. Do I make myself
clear?"
Nikran shuddered but
saluted, "By my Admirals command it will be done!" As the screen
closed Nikran sighed, "Why do I always get yelled at?"
"Colonel! I've got a report you might want to see."
A subordinate said walking up holding a data pad. On the pad it showed the
location of all of the Yamato's crew. Nikran looked at it and watched as
several small dots converged making a single giant dot. Then slowly one single
dot began to decend.
"It looks as if they
are going to try to retake Engineering. This is our chance, prepare the third
docking tendril, position our ship along side their bridge. We'll enter through
there and take the ship from them. Once that is completed I want you to start
to round up the crew. The Helmsman, Engineering Staff, and the Cheif Engineer
are to be taken to the bridge, the rest confine them to quarters. They could
make good hostages to bargain with or make a wonderful profit as slaves."
Nikran said passing off the pad, he placed his hands behind his back and looked
out towards the Yamato and the distant planet.
1330 Space Time
Space Battleship Yamato -
Elevator Shaft Number Two
Aboard the Yamato the long
task of climbing down the elevator had begun. Knox, Wildstar, and Nova all
accompanied Omega team down. The climb down was a constant puzzle and problems
kept coming up. First, the elevator shaft was no longer straight and perfectly
aligned. Sharp edges had been formed from the battle and they threatened
everyones climb debris kept falling from the decks above where the ship was
still falling apart. The final problem is that Sandor was at the top of the
line lowering Nova down with IQ-9's extendo arms. At any moment the arms could
tear from his body and she could fall out of the ship.
Omega team, Knox and
Wildstar waited, time was running out, and Sandor was getting tired.
"How're you holding up
there Sandor?" Nova yelled up the shaft.
Sandor let out a grunt
before responding, "Besides the fact that I have to hold you up with
IQ-9's arms for 30 minutes, my face still being sore from earlier, and getting
blown up. I'm doing pretty good. Please tell me your nearing coridoor twenty-four, these arms won't hold up
forever." Sandor panted, sweat was dripping from his brow and his tunic
was completely soaked.
"Sorry about earlier
and yes we are there. You can stop lowering me down now." Nova returned.
She reached out with her foot and touched the doorway, taking the second line
and attaching it to the nearest holding. "The line is hooked in. Derek,
Knox you can come down now!" She turned around and looked down the
coridoor. It was empty as far as she could see but that could change at any
moment.
She drew her sidearm and
clicked the safety off. She walked forward down the hall quietly and alert.
Checking each doorway as she passed, making sure no one would get the jump on
her.
As she walked through the
junction area between sections she thought to herself, "Somethings not
right, the hallways are deserted. Like the enemy isn't even here anymore. By
all rights they should be crawling all over this deck." Just then she
heard voices coming down the hall, she quickly ducked behind a doorway. But she
wasn't quick enough, rather her hair wasn't.
"You! Step out from that doorway now!" One of
the men exclaimed as he raised his weapon.
Nova just shook her head,
"I am not going to become some slave of another." She quickly turned
out of the doorway and fired her weapon. She hit one of them and one of them
hit her. She quickly dropped to the ground holding her leg, exclaiming in pain.
"How dare you resist us!" The second man exclaimed readying his weapon a
second time.
Nova just shook her head
and raised her sidearm again. But the first shot didn't come from her. She
exclaimed again as her sidearm was shot from her hand. As her side arm fell she
began to cry, she knew that she was going to die then and there.
"Meet your fate,
heathen." The man chuckled and aimed straight for her heart. She closed
her eyes and waited. But the shot never came, instead the man blinked and he
dropped to the ground. A gapping hole appeared in his chest and he fell to the
ground.
"Didn't anyone teach
you to not hit women?" A deep, New Yorker voice said. Nova looked up and
gasped, a muscular man wearing a green uniform stood infront of her.
"No it can't
be..." She started to say.
"Explainations later,
let’s get you out of here, Nova." The man said, picked her up and turned
the other way.
"How can you be..." Nova asked holding her bleeding leg, "We saw you
die when the..."
"When the Comet Empire
was destroyed, I know. I'll try explain everything
later." The man said as he started to run, "Where is Wildstar?"
Nova pointed in the
direction she had come from. The man turned the corner and headed back towards
the elevator shaft.
"How'd you get
here?" Nova asked when the neared the opening.
"That's one thing I
really don't know. All I do know is that I'm here and that Yamato is under
attack, and you guys need my help." The man placed Nova down on the floor
and began to look at her leg, "You're lucky, if that shot went any higher
you wouldn't have a leg anymore." He opened up a pack on his leg and had
begun to treat her injury. As he did
Wildstar blinked at what he
saw, Nova wounded and a man he thought was dead was kneeling there treating
her. He raised his sidearm and took a few steps closer to confirm what he saw.
"Kn...Knox?" He
asked, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him.
"Hey,
Wildstar. Long
time no see, looks like you need my help once again." Knox said still
treating Nova's leg.
"But
how? You died, we destroyed the Comet Fortress and everyone aboard
it. How can you still be alive?" Wildstar said lowering his weapon. Nova
winced as Knox tightened the wrapping and splint he had put on.
"I'm still trying to
find out myself Wildstar." Knox said as stood up, "Last thing I
remember is blowing up the Comet Empire’s power core. Then I found myself back
here on Yamato in the middle of a firefight. What kind of trouble have you been
stirring up, Wildstar?"
Before Wildstar or Leon
could debate or discuss what had happened over the past hours the ship shook violently.
In the elevator shaft, Omega team held on for dear life, several members lost
their grips and they plumeted down the shaft and out
into open vaccum. Atop the Yamato, the enemy flagship lined itself with the
conning tower and the main bridge. Then a giant fleshy arm shot out from the
ship and it peirced through the wall of the bridge. Once inside it's tip spread into four mouth like figures and latched
itself inside. Venture, Dash, Eager, and Homer all drew their sidearms, ready
to fight anything that would come through the opening.
A few moments passed and
then floods of small spider-like creatures crawled out of the opening. The four
began firing right away. But for each 'spider' they hit, four more took it's place. Venture stopped firing and activated his radio.
"Wildstar! The enemy is boarding the bridge! They are
attacking with some sort of giant spiders. We can't hold them off, you've got to hid...hi...AIGH!" Wildstar waited,
hoping to hear his friends voice again. But it didn't come, Venture and the others were overwhelmed by the
'spiders' and were rendered unconsious by their bites.
Nikran and several of his
officers walked out of the tendril and looked around the alien bridge. Surprised to find mechanical controls and video screens. He
expected creatures like his own to have some sort of biological bond to their
vessels.
On Mauritanian vessels they
were cyborg-like. The ship was 'grown' and mechanical interfaces installed
surgically. In a sense the ship lived, breathed, and survived in space. At any
time two ships could form a bond, whether it could be in a fleet or just
passing by, eventually they will produce an offspring ship. Which
too would grow and become a full sized ship. The oldest and most
powerful of these ships is the main Mauritanian ship that the EDF had picked up
on the outter edges of the solar system.
While these ships are
biological, their outter shells are reinforced with metal and turned into a
great many shapes and forms. Some look like regular rectangular prisms, others
could even look like the Yamato if the designer wanted. In order to operate
these gigantic space creatures, a telecommunications link between the machinery
and biologics must be made. Once this operation is completed the creature loses
it's sense of individuality and being, it in a sense
becomes a slave of their masters. But they willingly choose who they will
follow. If their 'master' is killed in battle they follow his second, and will
continue to do so until it is destroyed. These machines can live for centuries,
the Hammer of Light, the oldest ship in the
Mauritanian fleet is over 12,000 years old.
Back in the depths of
Yamato, Wildstar,
"Attention StarForce,
I am Colonel Nikran. Your ship has been taken and you will no longer be able to
fight back. Right now your Commander and his staff
will be brought to the conference room. The Engineering staff will remain
inside Engineering under armed guard, they will continue to make this ship run
and make repairs. Any other non-essential personell will be placed in their
quarters. Since most of your living areas have been destroyed we will be
doubling up the occupancy, there will be two people per room and three gaurds
placed inside and out. Any form of resistance will be met with a short trip out
of the airlock. That is all. " Nikran said
grinning.
Wildstar gritted his teeth
and turned his once open left hand into a fist. Fighting back the tears of his
failure, "Again...I've failed again. Why does this keep happening? Captain
Avatar, what did I do?"
One of the soldiers pointed
his weapon down at Nova, "This one is injured,
she is no use to our cause. Bring her to the nearest airlock." He ordered
another soldier. Nova screamed as the soldier grabbed her hair and yanked her
back to her feet. Wildstar turned around with his clenched fist and punched the
nearest soldier. But it was useless, another soldier
slammed his weapon into the back of Wildstar's head. Both Wildstar and Nova
collapsed, Nova first, then Wildstar. He lay against her chest, slowly losing
consiousness.
"Nova...forgive me..." Wildstar said as he closed his eyes and
his body went limp, slipping into unconsiousness. Nova held him close, turning
him over, letting him rest his head against her arm, like a mother would to a
newborn child.
"Listen your Commander
wants the Command Staff in the conference room. The woman, myself,
these two soliders, and the man you hit are part of that staff. In fact the man
you hit is our Commanding Officer. I am the Executive Officer, please take us
there at once, we will not fight back anymore." Sandor said raising his
arms up in a surrendering motion.
Throughout Yamato crew were
being rounded up and escorted to their quarters. All around a feeling of defeat
and sadness echoed. For Nova, this defeat was only a setback. She knew that it
wasn't the end, something touched her in the back of
her mind. A sort of reassurance and comfort.
The Yamato,
defeated and captured drifts in space. Waiting for orders of
her new Commander. What will the enemy do with the ship? Will Wildstar
and the others find a way to take the ship back and complete their mission, or
will Earth face it's own savior in battle?
Hurry StarForce, there are only 3.5 days left.
This chapter is dedicated to Tim Eldred, Devin Cox, and all those
other writers keeping StarBlazers alive for the last 31 years.