ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS---RAGNAROK
Being the eleventh and final part of
THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz
ACT FIVE: THE FINAL CRESCENDO
I. PREPARING FOR THE FINAL
CONFRONTATION
Space Battleship Argo
Earth's Solar System
The Brumus/Minerva Asteroid Belt
Wednesday April 28, 2202
1500 Hours: Earth Time
The battered, but
still-proud Earth space battleship Argo tumbled out of warp where Brumus
should have been. She found…nothing but an asteroid field where a planet should
have been.
"Wildstar!" said
Dash. "We're taking asteroid hits!"
The Argo shook badly
as she was battered by hit after hit. The ship finally came out of the swarm
with dents and tears in her hull and armor plate.
Then, the worst thing of all
happened. The very substance of time-space opened up, and a terrible blast of
some unknown energy blasted out straight at the Yamato.
"Evade!" said
Derek.
Venture worked hard to
shift Yamato over. She just barely avoided the energy beam.
"What the hell was that?"
said Commodore Wildstar.
"Some kind of
interphase nearby," said Sandor. "The proximity of that energy charge
damaged our main engine. Another near-hit like that,
and it'll burn out altogether."
"No…it can't!"
said Venture as he slammed his fists against his board.
"It can," said
Yamazaki grimly.
"And there's no Brumus
nearby," added Sandor.
"What?" said Derek. "Nova, scan the area, shouldn't this be
Brumus?"
"Scanning," she
said as she put her safety harness back on; the ship was slamming around like a
bucking bronco. "I'm picking up radiation, lots of asteroids, and the
remnants of an interspacial interphase…no Brumus!"
"Did we miswarp?"
asked Paul Rosstowski.
"We went right to the
proper coordinates for Brumus," said Venture. "Look at the astro-compass!"
"No," said
Aliscea as she stood up. "This is HIS work," she said in an angry
voice.
"Whose work?"
said Homer.
"The Dark Lord's
work!" she yelled. "Commodore Wildstar, Ekogaru has just arrived in
your star system. He has destroyed yuor eleventh
planet, Planet Brumus. The final struggle is at hand!"
"Are you ready?"
asked Nova.
"Yes," said
Aliscea. "We're ready."
"We?" said Nova,
who felt very tired.
"Yes, you and I,"
she said.
"Message from the
Commander," said Homer.
Wildstar then walked over towards
the screen, taking off his peacoat and leaving it at his post on the way over
to Dash's post next to Venture.
"Sir? How bad is it?" said Wildstar.
"I'm sure you've found
out about Brumus," said the Commander.
"Yes, we have,"
said Wildstar. "We're…near the asteroid belt where it was."
"Ekogaru did
this."
"I know. Where is he,
sir?"
"He's just performed a
warp. Right now, his ship is being tracked near the Mars region. We think he'll
be near Earth in an hour and a half, at his current speed."
"We'll meet him,
sir."
"Is the Argo
ready to do it?" asked Singleton.
Derek stood silent for a
moment. "Aye, sir. The Argo will be ready
to fight on and stop him…even if…it might be a suicide mission like her last
sortie long ago. Where's the rest of the Fleet?"
"Scattered," said
the Commander. "There were great gravitational disturbances each time that
he warped. The whole Fleet has been blown across the Solar System like
dandelion seeds in a wind. I think he did it deliberately…so there couldn't be
a Fleet sortie right away. That will be up to you, now."
At that, Aliscea stood
beside Wildstar for a moment. "We will stop him, sir. If it's the
last thing I do. I'm finally ready. The Pellian War ends here…today."
"Thank you," said
the Commander. The picture shook for a moment. "We’re having groundquakes
and storms here on Earth, now…many thousands have died already thanks to the
approach of that Fortress. Things are not good here now. When you call in
again, let it be with good news…the news of Ekogaru's end."
At that, the screen filled
with static and the Commander's image went out.
"It’s up to us,
now," said Venture.
"I know," said
Derek. "I had a feeling that, in the end, it would always be up
to…us."
Aliscea took Wildstar aside
and whispered to him. No one else heard what was said, but when Derek turned to
the crew again, his face was grim and set.
"Venture, warp the
ship to KL-195, fifty thousand megameters away from Earth," said Derek. "Aliscea
says that's where we have to… confront him at."
"Warping will be
chancy with that engine damage," said Sandor.
"But…we have to
do it!" said Derek. "If the engine goes in the attempt…she
goes…"
"If we hit him at that
point, he can be stopped," said Aliscea.
"We're hitting him
with the wave motion gun?" said Paul.
"Yes, partially," said
Aliscea. Then, she looked at Nova. "This battle will not be fought
entirely with weapons. To beat him, he must be defeated on his own ground…the
astral plane…first. You and I will do that together…I will take up the battle,
and you will be my second, ready to take up the struggle if I fall."
"What do you
mean?" said Nova. "I…I'm not ready for something like that."
"You are," she
said as she began to leave the bridge. "Remember that ritual we went
through?"
"Yes…"
"That was its whole purpose. If I can't beat him, you will have to
do it. Now, excuse me while I get ready in prayer and meditation. I suggest
that you do the same, as quietly as possible, at your post."
"Aliscea?" said
Paul.
"Paul, I love you, I
respect you, but you cannot do this with me. Listen to your Captain when he
gives you the orders you will have to follow. This will be a very dangerous
task…and a very dark one. Wildstar, I would like to meet with you in your
cabin…alone…with just you and Nova. We have much to discuss."
At that, Aliscea left.
Wildstar looked at Nova.
"Nova," he said.
"Yes?"
"Come with me. I need
to tell you everything Aliscea said. You need to hear her final instructions in
our quarters. Venture, you take command. We'll be in our quarters, but we'll be
back very soon."
"Yessir."
The three of them sat
around the small table in the quarters that Derek and Nova had shared for a time
that felt like an eternity, even though the two of them had only been married
for a little over four months now.
Finally, Aliscea said,
"It may seem hard, Commodore Wildstar, but Paul
cannot assist me now."
"Why
not?"
"He would feel what
could well be my death too keenly. I wish to have him away from me and I have
slowly weakened our link, even though I have not cut it off. That can only
happen if we divorce or one of us dies. However, you and Nova must be together
for what will happen next…you must join forces with your love to attack Ekogaru
and his Fortress with the wave motion gun. However, this must be done aided by
my power and the Power that comes through me, and Ekogaru must be weakened in
psychic battle first. I am sending this information to my mother now so that
Desslok does not attempt an attack."
"Desslok?" said
Derek.
"Yes. He means to
attack the Fortress himself. He must not do so. It would only risk his life
without need."
"I see," said
Commodore Wildstar.
"It is important that
you are there to help Nova fire the wave gun. I sense that you two must act
together to stop him while I enhance the systems of your ship."
"The engine's not in the best of shape," said Derek.
"We're pretty well damaged."
"You will be needed
after she and I are done and after we return."
"After we're done?'
said Nova. "Where are we going, Aliscea?"
"Our bodies will
remain on the ship, but I will take you with me astrally as my second to help
fight Ekogaru on his own ground…a sort of "virtual reality" within
the Dark Lord's systems…for he and his accursed Fortress are now one. If I am
about to fall, I will transfer the Pellian Matrix to you. Then, in turn, you
will have to take up the fight."
"I see," said
Nova.
"Commodore," said
Aliscea.
"Yes?"
"Our bodies must be on
the bridge but protected while we are out of them. We must be kept safe, even
though, to your eyes, we may appear to be comatose or dead for a time. I can
reverse that state when we return, or if my essence dies in there, I can pass
my power to Nova, who can then resuscitate herself from the trance she will be
in. The Matrix will show her how, even though she would then have to let it
help her power the wave motion gun. Is that understood?"
Nova slowly nodded. Derek
also nodded. "I don't believe this," he said.
"Me neither,"
said Nova.
"You have to believe.
It will work," said Aliscea. "Remember…there is a hope…there is
a future. You just have to believe. Remember the words of the inspired wise men
from your past? '...Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of
what we do not see...'"
"Thank you,
Aliscea," said Nova. "I remember those words well."
"Yes?"
Nova was very quiet.
"Aliscea, I was just thinking them myself."
II. HATRED
Virtual Space
The Grand Technomugar Fortress
The Vicinity of Mars
Wednesday April 28, 2202
1532 Hours: Earth Time
Ekogaru the Great, who was
now nothing but a dark essence in his Fortress' computer systems, sat in
vengeful, hateful meditation as the Fortress majestically sailed past Mars,
creating great dust storms and groundquakes on the small red planet in his
wake. Many thousands of EDF officers, men, and civilian spacers and technicians
would die on the Red Planet as a result of the Dark Lord's sickening,
fury-filled passage as the cosmic madman raced relentlessly towards Earth with
destruction and vengeance on his mind.
The Dark One brooded upon
his recent humiliations and defeats as he began to power up the Phased Density
Cannon for what would be his people's most luscious "meal" in a long
time…the destruction of the Planet Earth.
"Many of you still
live on in the Blackeye Galaxy, and are faithful to Me
and have sworn your unending allegiance today," said the Dark Lord in a
comm message that came straight from the Fortress' systems. "Do not be
like these traitors…people who stabbed me in the back as they feigned
loyalty!"
Ekogaru then recreated a
scene that the Fortress' systems had captured even as his body lay dying…even
as he had just passed into the machinery of his Fortress like a malign ghost.
"You still want me to
go to
"Yes, we need to
fight the Terrans to cover our departure from this galaxy," said
Hollander. Then, he looked around. "Does anyone object to my being our new
Lord?"
Tra'Chariv took
Ekogaru's cloak off the body and threw it over Hollander's shoulders.
"Hail, Second Lord of the Technomugar, Hollander the Great."
The others cheered
Hollander as he walked about to a microphone. "Attention, all hands,"
he said. "There was an explosion in the central meeting chamber. It was
caused by a leftover from the Gamilon attack of yesterday. Ekogaru the Great
fell shielding us from the blast. He is dead. He passed power to me before he
died. Remember our first Lord as a great martyr, and let him rest in peace. We
shall soon change course, but only after Migdal's fleet and the fleets of our
allies teach Earth a lesson at the
"We shall still do
so," said Ekogaru. "But now, that will be under my leadership,
alone! I should have taken full command myself long ago! It was foolish
of me to have left such an important matter to others! But, at last, I shall
demolish Earth, and I shall personally grind the Star Force of Earth and their
ship, the Argo, back into the dust
from whence she came!"
"Behold this
scene!" said Ekogaru as he called forth from Earth's computer systems some
images of the Argo rising anew from the dust and ashes of the Yamato’s wreck in 2199 when she first
rose under Avatar's command to fight a Gamilon carrier. "Look at this
foolish piece of junk! She rises from the dust, but I shall return her back
to the dust of the Terrans'
The Dark Lord picked up a transmission a moment
later. "An approaching Fleet? Oh! This should be
amusing," he said in reply to the transmission. "Let's see who this
is!"
Ekogaru let the image of a
proud blue-skinned face with blond hair form in his systems. "Desslok
of Gamilon! Ah! I am so pleased to see you and your Fleet!"
"You shouldn't
be," said Desslok on the bridge of the Gamilstadt. "I've come
here to finish you off!"
"Perhaps you should
hold off," said Astrena, who came slowly onto the bridge holding Desslok's
son swaddled in blankets. "I'm sorry to be here so soon, but…well…"
"You're finished?"
Astrena nodded. "The
labor was difficult, and I'm in much pain, but I am able to walk only because I
healed the needed muscles with my power. Behold your son. I have named him
Dellar, as we agreed."
Desslok smiled, looking at
his son, who had been washed but was clad in nothing but warm black blankets.
His officers and men paused to look at the new Heir to the Gamilon throne.
"He's beautiful,"
said an officer as Desslok began to unwrap him.
"It looks like he'll
be strong," said Talan.
"Little brat,"
said Ekogaru over the screen.
"How dare you mock my
Heir?" snapped Desslok. "Talan, I must Recognize
him. Turn that screen off!"
"Yessir!" The screen went black for a minute.
Assured of some privacy, Desslok then finished stripping his son of all of his blankets
and he held him unprotected for the first time, bonding with his son as he
looked over every feature of his little blue body from his toes to his dark
eyes.
"I like his
face," said another officer.
"Yes, he looks as if
he'll be intelligent, like his father," said Keeling.
Desslok smiled. He then
held the tiny infant up to the windows so he could behold the stars.
"Behold, Dellar! The cosmos! The only thing greater than yourself! You are
my son, and heir, this day. Behold the next Emperor of the Gamilon-Garuman
Empire!" cried Desslok.
"Behold our next
Leader!" cried the men.
Dellar looked at the
officers…for a moment, he almost seemed to have his father's sense of regal
command in his eyes. Then, unprotected, he whimpered just like any other baby who
happened to be cold.
"He's shivering,"
said Astrena. "Let's wrap him up, Desslok."
Both of them worked
together to wrap their son, covering his little hands, his chest, his fingers,
his toes, and his stomach.
"Now, we shall
attack," said Desslok softly. "Take him to safety."
"Hold off, Desslok! We
need to protect your son…Dellar, as well as the rest of your Fleet! Perhaps we
shouldn't do this?"
"Astrena, please take
our son back to our quarters. I intend to follow through with this
attack."
"Against my advice,"
added Astrena softly. "Perhaps this should be left to my daughter."
"Sir," said an
officer. "The Dark Lord wishes to continue his conversation!"
"Video screen on!"
said Desslok. "Let him prattle a while longer. He might tell us what sort
of funeral he desires when we finish him!"
"Oh? Why not let Earth
do it, Desslok?" mocked Ekogaru. "As for you, Astrena, you remain silent!
I have heard your whining quite enough. Ever since Pellias, all you have done
is yak, yak, yak at me! This is between men
now, you foolish woman!"
"Interesting, since it
appears that you have no body and are a virtual image," said Desslok.
"Weren't you dead?"
"I was, but I have
conquered death!"
"As have I…before
you," said Desslok, as he thought back to how Zordar had brought him back
to life to fight the Star Force. "I am far from impressed."
"I am only trying to
save his life and the lives of his people," said Astrena. "There is a
time for physical combat, but right now, it is pointless!"
Desslok looked quietly at
his Empress. "Astrena, do you understand me so little? This is a matter of
honor. My honor has been insulted by this madman's rape of my ally,
Earth. He has insulted me by striking at my allies and friends."
Astrena stood in thought
for a moment.
Finally, she turned to
Desslok and said, "I apologize. This time, Aliscea may be wrong. Your
courage may well prevail. I know you need not my permission, but I am willing
to not argue with you any longer. We are lovers and allies. I will defer to
your judgment now, Desslok."
"Thank you,
Astrena," said Desslok. Then, he faced Ekogaru again. "Ekogaru.
You've scattered their Fleet, and I'd like to help Wildstar by blowing you
right back to where you came from!" The hum of the Desslok Cannon's
charging filled the bridge of the Gamilstadt. "He has aided us
several times…so, this attack will go right into your
fabled Phased Density Cannon to finish you. Do you like that? We will
end it now, you vile and uncivilized barbarian!"
"As you once said,
Desslok, go ahead and fire the gun! I'm most anxious to see what your great
weapon can do, so…fire it!"
"I'll try to protect
our son," said Astrena pathetically. "Do you want me to leave
now?" she said in a very tired voice.
The Gamilon shook his head.
He suddenly felt very guilty. "I'm sorry, Astrena…I should have been able
to send you off the ship to keep you and our son safe, but…this is our best
chance to finish him…so…"
Astrena braced herself,
thinking, Maybe he will do it…maybe he will win…as Desslok fired his
Cannon.
The Desslok gun's energy blasted out
of the Gamilstadt's muzzle, straight into the throat of the Phased
Density Cannon. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
Then, a moment later, a
huge blast of energy and gravitational force blasted out of the Fortress like a
sickening halo. The Gamilstadt was tossed and battered like a leaf as
Astrena went to her knees, trying as best as she could to protect the little
blue-skinned newborn Gamilon Heir that she held.
And, just
as the Gamilstadt was tossed far away from the battle scene, the same…or
worse, happened to Desslok's Fleet. Gamilon ships were destroyed or scattered everywhere like
bowling pins as Ekogaru sent his laughter over their comm circuits.
"Hahahaha! See what your Great Leader can do
for you now? Nothing! It is hopeless! This will help me when I inform
Earth of how hopeless their situation is! Not even the Argo can stop me, now! I have
truly become…a God!"
On the Gamilstadt,
which was now cast towards the edge of the asteroid belt, control had been
regained at last.
"Leader Desslok, we've
taken damage," said Talan.
Desslok was kneeling on the
deck, checking Astrena and Dellar. "Are both of you all right?"
"Yes…shaken…but…we're
fine," said Astrena. Dellar cried softly in her arms, but, under her
dress, Astrena's bare legs were bruised…she had fallen against a panel
protecting their son with her own body. "I hope there's no glass
here…these shoes are history, as the Terrans say," said Astrena as she
slipped off her broken sandals and cast them aside with a loud snap.
Dellar began to scream,
frightened at the sudden noise.
"My son…" said
Desslok softly.
"If it's all right
with you, I shall take him to our quarters. He must be interfering with your
concentration, and I think he's hungry." said Astrena. "I don't think
your men want to see him at my breast here."
"Not my son…"
"But you need to get
your ship working and regather your Fleet…don't you?
In case…you need to attack HIM again?"
Desslok nodded. Then, he stood up,
both proud and defiant in the face of adversity. His cape swung regally around
him as he stood, once again in command of himself, even though it was not easy.
"Talan, begin a search for the fleet!"
"Yessir," replied
his General and best friend.
Astrena closed her eyes.
"Then, Desslok, I shall leave."
"What about Aliscea?"
"I am in touch with
her," said Astrena. "She is preparing the final attack…for all of our
sakes. I hope she will succeed, but I am prepared to die with you. I am very
weak as it is. As I said before, my labor was difficult. And…by the way, her
planned successor is not Starsha. I should have confided in you more."
"Who is it?"
"A
Terran woman.
One you trust. The only one you respect…."
Comprehension came to
Desslok's mind at last. "I see. What a heavy burden for her to face…"
"We shall meet again…soon,"
said Astrena.
She and Desslok embraced
gently, with both of them cuddling their son before she left. As she left,
tears ran down her face.
How do I tell him, she thought, that I know now
that I will probably be dead from natural causes or assassinated within six
years and will never see our son grow up? I have just foreseen it…and I think
it will come to pass…sadly.
Because, even though I
do not always understand you…I do love you, Desslok, my impetuous, proud Emperor!
III. DESPAIR
Earth
The Underground
Wednesday April 28, 2202
1541 Hours: Earth Time
On Earth, despair filled a
main assembly chamber of the underground version of the Megalopolis as the
people of Earth beheld Desslok's defeat and humiliation on the great screens
that were connected to the planet's recon satellite system.
"The Gamilons have
been beaten by that thing?"
"Desslok couldn't do a
damn thing against that!"
"It was just a
trick…he's still out to get us!"
"Screw the so-called
alliance!"
"
"What's going to
happen to us?" cried a woman as the crowd grew panicky.
"What's happened to
the Star Force?"
"Maybe they were blown
away with the Fleet?"
"Wildstar might really
be dead!"
"Yeah…him
and Desslok!"
Cries of anger and despair
resounded throughout the vast underground concourse as an EDF Officer yelled
through a bullhorn "Remain calm! The High Command is in contact with
the Argo. One more attack is planned!"
"When?" yelled
someone.
"They'd better do it
quick!" someone else yelled. "He's about to wipe out the
planet!"
Then, the ground shook
underground. People screamed and yelled as the panicking group of people
practically turned into a mob. But then, the mob was still by a stentorian
voice that resounded over the entire planet.
"Silence!"
roared the deep voice, which came like thunder. "I said, SILENCE! Or I
shall bring down the final blow now!"
The crowd, cowed into silence,
listened in shock as the Voice spoke at once to the people of Earth.
In
In
In
In
The Voice said, "People
of Earth! This is Ekogaru the Great, your executioner. I was to be your ruler,
but I will have you know that, in their defiance, your precious Star Force has
wiped out any hope you might have had for survival, even as my slaves. I have
grown weary with your race's…defiance…and resistance to my Will. You are worse
than the Pellians or the Gamilons! You just do not know when to give up!"
There was a terrible pause.
Then, the Dark Lord said, "You have one of your hours to make peace
with your deity…deities…or take solace in whatever you believe in…because, it
is now 3:45 PM in your Tokyo Megalopolis. At precisely 4:45 PM this day, or
1645 Hours….your planet shall be finished…and your race along with it! I would
love to hear you pray for salvation…a salvation that shall never come. It shall
never come because YOU are finished! This is the last word I have to say to
your race. I hope you enjoy your doom! Goodbye!"
Inside His Fortress, the
Dark Lord's essence said, "Now, it begins. I shall slowly…slowly…prepare
the Phased Density Cannon. In fifty-eight of their minutes they are gone! O,
this will be the most satisfying meal I have had in ages! The fear on Earth is
so great! Let us see what Aliscea can do against this…now!"
IV. FAREWELL
Space Battleship Argo
The Vicinity of Earth
Wednesday April 28, 2202
1549 Hours: Earth Time
The Argo had just
made her last space warp soon after Wildstar and Nova had returned to the
"Warp complete!"
said Venture.
At that, the main bridge
went dark. "Emergency systems!" said Wildstar.
Yamazaki flipped some
switches. "All I have left is battery power…the main engine's
dead!"
"So, then…" said
Derek as he got up from his post.
He looked his bridge crew
over one by one. "We are here. Hoping against hope, I still think that we
can bring down that thing. However, it will be very dangerous. I have conferred
with Aliscea…only she, myself, and Nova are needed
aboard Yamato to finish this."
Derek paused. "I want the rest
of you to abandon ship. Now."
"We ain't leaving you
now!" said Eager.
"Wildstar…have you
lost your mind?" said Sandor.
"That's crazy,
Wildstar!" said Dash.
"You can't do it
without us!" said Yamazaki.
"We're staying here to
help you!" said Homer.
"I'm not
leaving!" said Rosstowski, who was behind Wildstar.
Derek spoke in a low voice.
"My friends…this is an order!"
"We're not obeying
it!" said Homer.
"I'm not leaving
without Nova," burbled IQ-9.
Derek looked at his crew.
"We have no time for this! Venture, as First Officer, make sure they carry
it out. We don't have much time left until the end of Earth!"
"Why are you ordering
this?" said Venture.
"Yeah, why?" said
Paul. "Aliscea, why can't I stay with you?"
"You know why,"
said Aliscea. "It's because we might never come back."
Silence filled the bridge.
Paul silently turned away from his wife with a nod…she had spoken to him
through their bond, and he understood all that needed to be understood between
them.
He couldn't face her, not
now. He also knew that she was about to fulfill the reason that she had come
back to Earth with them.
If you live, he thought. We will have a
marriage.
But if
not? Aliscea
sent back.
Then, I will only have a
memory, he thought
in despair. "But, I know it must be this way," he said out loud in a
shaky voice.
"That's right,"
said Derek. "Aliscea told me that shortly before we warped. When I took
Nova aside, I asked her if she really wanted to share our possible fate. She
said she did."
"Why?" said
Venture.
"Because I'm one of
you," said Nova. "I am ready to take the same risks that you take,
and I am ready to stand beside Derek, because he is my commanding officer and
my husband, and to stand beside Aliscea, because she said she needs me to help
her. I can't shirk this duty, not now! And, if we're going to die, at
least…let Derek and I go together. You understand that, don't you? I'd love for
us to win…without dying. But, if we're going to die…you don't have to follow
us. Take Holly, Mark, and go enjoy the new life that our sacrifice will bring,
if we die...if we die…at least we will have accomplished something with
our lives. Our lives, short as they may have been would at least have
meaning…in giving everything we have for Earth…just like Desslok gave up almost
everything he had for Gamilon."
"Like Desslok?"
said Dash. "That cold blue
bastard?"
"I'm sorry," said
Nova with a sob. "I don't think you'll ever understand him,
Dash…not even partially. He's not cold! He's as human as we are! Maybe more. We have more in common with him than you can
ever guess."
"Yes…if you die,"
said Mark in a hollow voice.
"But I personally
think that we're going to live," said Nova with a smile. "We'll see
you guys again, I think. Besides…I need your help to fix my front yard?"
Mark smiled a little, and
he took Nova's hands. "Goodbye, Mark," she said softly as she hugged
him. "Tell Holly I'll be at her wedding, okay?"
"Okay, Nova!"
said Mark in a husky voice. Then, on the verge of tears, he turned to Commodore
Wildstar.
"Derek, goodbye,"
said Mark as he took his hand.
"Mark,
good luck. We'll
meet again…at Heroes' Hill."
"When?"
"On a day just before
the sun sets…maybe today…maybe some other day," Derek said softly.
"We'll be there with you guys…in body…or…in spirit."
"Good luck,
Wildstar," sobbed Mark.
"Thanks, we'll need
it."
They shook hands for a
moment, and then Wildstar turned away.
"All hands," said
Venture into the PA system. "This is the Deputy Captain. Please gather at
the lower fighter bay. All hands will be taken off the ship in the remaining
Cosmo Tigers, landing boats, and shuttles. That will be all. We will meet again
on Earth…at Heroes' Hill…after we land."
Then, at that, Mark left
the Argo's
He was not sure he would
ever return…and in a sense, he would be right.
The Wheel of Life was about
to move on for Venture.
The crew left in a subdued,
quiet manner once Venture gathered them together in the messhall and told them
what had to be done.
The evacuation was orderly,
military, and very quiet.
Hardy was the last Black Tiger to fly off the ship.
As he flew away, he looked down at the Argo with tears forming in his
eyes.
I spent so much of my
life here, he
thought. And now, I don't know if I'll ever see her again or not. Farewell,
Wildstah. Farewell, Nova. You two were…two of my best friends. I hope we
make it…even if you guys don't.
Composing himself for the
flight home, he drew himself together, forced a smile, and said, "Venture,
I've got the surviving Tigers. Here we go!"
"Where are we
goin?" asked Bryan Hartcliffe.
"Home. We'll land at Idlewild Field in the
Megalopolis."
"Roger," said
"Got it," said
Tatiana. "Dasivadnya, Yamato."
"Yes…Dasivadnya,"
said Hardy to himself. "Farewell…"
Everyone else left the Argo in various
shuttles; either medical shuttles, jet recon boats, or the single leftover
Marine landing craft. The last to leave happened to be the bridge crew, led by
Venture. They left in a Medical shuttle with all of the viewports thrown open,
so that they could stop, pause, and salute Derek, Nova, and Aliscea before they
left. There wasn't a single dry eye on that shuttle when they cruised around
the ship and then left her behind as they headed back to Earth.
"Goodbye,
Wildstar," said Venture. "And…good luck."
Behind him, Holly sobbed
quietly as the shuttle accelerated for home.
Thus, at 1605 Hours, Derek,
Nova and Aliscea were left alone.
"Well?" said
Derek aboard the Argo. "Aliscea, the ship is dead!"
"Not quite," she
said.
Aliscea glanced towards the astro-compass, and, to Derek and Nova's surprise, she was
surrounded with winking orange lights…and all of the bridge systems began to
blink back to life on the darkened
"Let's go," said
Aliscea.
Derek stood in silence.
"Yes, Aliscea, let's go. Nova, take your place at the radar. I'll fly
her."
"Understood,"
said Nova. She sat down at the radar as the main engine somehow roared back to
life below them. Aliscea sat down at Engineering and said, "Energy is at
one hundred percent."
"Ahead,
half-speed," said Derek.
He flipped the throttle
back.
At that, the Argo
began to move.
They had forty minutes left
to destroy Ekogaru.
Forty minutes left to save
the human race.
V. INTO THE FUNHOUSE OF EKOGARU
Space Battleship Argo
The Vicinity of Earth
Wednesday April 28, 2202
1606 Hours: Earth Time
On the Argo, Commodore
Wildstar still sat at the helm flying the ship while Nova remained at the radar
and Aliscea sat at Engineering. He looked back at Nova and gave a thumbs-up.
"She's flying great."
"Wonderful," said
Nova with a smile. "Somehow, I think we have a chance."
"Stop her right
here…we're right between the Phased Density Cannon and Earth," said
Aliscea.
Derek nodded, not used to
having his ship commanded by another. "Full stop," he said.
The Yamato stopped.
They were right before the Fortress.
"Now?" said Derek
as he turned his chair around.
"Now, we need
quiet," said Aliscea. Not used to the strange silence, Commodore Wildstar
sat watching as Aliscea closed her eyes. "Nova, think of my voice and shut
your eyes."
"Done," said Nova
softly.
"Commodore, I am putting
myself in accord with your wife. We may seem to fall dead or unconscious for a
bit, but…we still live. We shall leave here in spirit, and go in to face
Ekogaru."
At that moment, the Yamato's
main screen lit up. Ekogaru's face was on it. "You idiots," he
hissed. "Do you think you can stop me? How pathetic. I'll let you live…for
another thirty-nine of your minutes, that is. Your Earth shall soon be dead,
and you'll go first."
"Ignore him, Nova,
Derek," said Aliscea. "Ekogaru! We are
coming for you!" she cried. "Nova, it is time. Think of making a
passage…think of me…think of defeating the Dark One…think
of…life."
At that moment, Nova went
limp. It looked startlingly as if she had had a heart attack and died at her
post.
"Nova!" cried
Derek.
Then, strangest of all, he
heard Nova's voice in his mind.
I'm fine, Derek. Aliscea
just sent me out first. Derek ran over to her limp body anyway. My body's fine…I think.
Ekogaru, here we come, said Aliscea's voice in Derek's
mind where Wildstar held Nova's limp hand.
Aliscea also went limp and
"dead" in her seat.
Derek looked up at the
screen, and saw a look of shock and dismay on the virtual Ekogaru's face.
That looks good, he thought with a grim smile. I
think they're doing something in there that's upsetting him! He then held
Nova's limp hand again. Nova, get back in here…safe! He felt her pulse
at her neck…it was very, very slow and weak. I don't want you to die for
real, my love…
Derek received no answer.
Perplexed by the silence, he sat down on the deck next to his unconscious
wife's chair and he waited.
Nova was falling through
some void. Or she thought she was.
She slammed face-first into
something that felt like sand. She coughed and sat up. She looked at herself.
All she had "on" was a filmy garment like a negligee.
If this is my astral
body, how come I have almost nothing on it? Nova Wildstar thought. This is weird! She
seemed to sit up.
Where she was, the sun was
very hot, the sand was burning, and there were two suns in the sky. The wind
was hot, fierce, and mean. Sand blew against her "body", if one could
call it that.
"I sure look
intact," she said. "I'm all here...but...this sand is hot…and I had
my uniform on back there. Where did my clothes go? I...I...don't have a stitch
on," she said with a blush.
Nova turned her head. There
was a scream, and Aliscea fell out of the sky into the sand herself. She had
nothing on, either.
"Aliscea!" cried
Nova as she ran over, ignoring the pain as the hot sand burned her bare feet.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah…fine. This
always happens when you do this. We don't have anything on because these are
our spirit bodies. Luckily, if you concentrate hard enough, you can put
'clothes' on…"
"Like this?" Nova
thought of a bikini and stout hiking sandals on her feet. In a moment, she was
'clothed'.
"Weird choice of
attire, hon!."
"It's hot
here…wherever this is," said Nova as she stood up. "Aren't you
getting dressed?"
"I don't have any
problem with being naked."
"But it's
not...decent," said Nova.
"If you insist,"
said Aliscea as she "clothed" herself in a bikini far more revealing
than Nova's. "You see...it takes energy to imagine clothes. Of course, it
probably helps, too…especially if you're not used to this…he's gonna try to
mess up the astral environment." Aliscea imagined sandals on her feet, and
they appeared. "Oh. This is Rikasha. As Ekogaru imagines
it to be. We're inside him, so to speak. Arm yourself."
Nova thought of a Friar
Tuck style quarter-staff and one appeared in her hands. "Neat!"
"Watch out," said
Aliscea, who had summoned a sword. "Here he comes!"
"DAMN YOU!"
bellowed a huge voice over the sand dunes. "You are scum! SCUM!"
Ekogaru came over the dunes
a moment later. He was apparently about nine feet tall, blue-skinned, with a
tiger skin around his loins and a single horn coming out of his head. He had
nothing else on, but he carried a huge iron mace.
"What's that
weird form that he adopted?" said Aliscea, who was non-plussed.
"A Japanese Oni,"
said Nova. "A Buddhist demon. I read a book about
Buddhist monsters and legends when I was little. I wonder how come he's using a
figure from Earth mythology?"
"Because I am your
worst damned nightmare!" yelled Ekogaru. "Bow before me!"
"Oh, why don't you do
something?" said Aliscea.
"I'll kill your little
creepy friend, first!" roared Ekogaru.
He made a snarling noise
and went for Nova with his mace. The mace slammed her in the head before she
could get her staff up. Nova felt bones smashing in her face, and she felt
blood going down the side of her neck in a torrent in an explosion of agony and
pain. He smashed my face! Nova thought in a panic. And I'm bleeding
to death!
Aliscea's voice came in her
mind. You're a nurse. Fix yourself!
How?
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
bellowed Ekogaru.
"She's broken like a toy!"
Nova thought, Funny, I
feel like I can fix this. Then, her astral "face" reformed from
the inside, and the bleeding stopped. Healed, Nova came back to her feet.
Aliscea ran Ekogaru through,
but the Dark Lord healed himself. He slashed at Aliscea, and he took one of her
arms off. She backpedaled, and stuck it back on her body as if it was attached
with Velcro. The wound healed at once.
"The object!"
yelled Aliscea. "Is to get him tired out! Hit him
with your staff!"
Nova ran up behind Ekogaru
and smacked him in the back of the head with all of her strength. The Dark Lord
yelled, and he took a sword thrust in the gut from Aliscea.
Nova then brought the staff
up under his loincloth from behind and smacked him right in a very sensitive
spot.
He bellowed like a stuck
pig.
"Dirty trick!"
yelled Aliscea.
"Hey, it worked,"
said Nova. She smiled as she saw the Dark Lord clutching his crotch.
Then, the scene flipped.
It was a mass whiteout.
Snow and cold air were
everywhere.
Nova found herself stung by
the cold as she stood ankle-deep in the snow in her sandals and the wind ate at
her body. She turned the sandals into boots, and then turned her bikini into
something like Inuit clothing, complete with gloves and a hooded parka. Nova
was thus clothed in beige and white.
Aliscea finally clothed herself,
choosing for the first time ever in her life to put on black boots instead of
her ritual sandals, along with a warm black dress, and a stylish black coat and
gloves. She had never been in winter conditions before, and the chill was very
uncomfortable for her. She looked over her shoulder at the blizzard,
her eyes bedazzled by the whiteness, and said, "I wonder where he is,
Nova? Do you see him?"
"No!"
"That's the point!"
roared Ekogaru.
Something like a huge white
paw kicked Aliscea in the butt.
She turned, and saw a
ten-foot tall white Yeti covered with white fur, with Ekogaru's face. The
mixture was hideous. The Dark Lord now carried a huge Norse war-hammer.
"Hammer of the GODS!" he yelled, laughing his head off. "Are you
ladies cold?"
"Bug off," said
Aliscea. She thrust her sword at Ekogaru, who used his war-hammer to break it.
Nova bashed him with her staff, but he seemed impervious to it.
The Dark Lord bellowed like
the 'animal' he was, and then he spat water at Nova. It froze around her,
turning her into a pillar of ice.
Think warm, thought Nova in her ice prison. Good…starting
to melt this…
"I'll split you two
up!" yelled Ekogaru. He smashed a hole in the ice, and Aliscea fell into
it.
"Aliscea!" cried
Nova.
"Now, get lost!"
yelled Ekogaru as he glared at Nova.
A moment later,
"lost" was exactly what Nova Wildstar was as the scene changed again.
She was clad in a Technomugar
uniform, and was running down a corridor at full speed with a blaster in her
hands. Where am I? Nova thought. This place is like a maze!
"Not a maze!"
yelled a loud voice from everywhere and nowhere. "It's a torture
chamber!"
Nova then found herself
locked down inside an Iron Maiden that was slowly beginning to close. She
struggled hard, and then she finally forced it open. She rolled on the deck a
moment later, her polished boots hitting the ground as laser bolts came from
the ceiling.
Nova looked up. Ekogaru,
who now looked just as he had when he was alive, stood above her on a balcony,
shooting away with a large blaster.
Nova shot the gun out of
his hands just as Aliscea, clad in a white gown, jumped out from a doorway and
bashed Ekogaru over the head with a monkey wrench.
"Okay!" cried
Aliscea. "You say uncle yet?"
"Aunt Yvona," he
chuckled.
In the meantime, on the Gamilstadt,
Desslok had retired to the suite he shared with Astrena. He entered and found
her sitting on the bed with baby Dellar feeding at her bare breast.
"So that's how it's
done," said Desslok with a smile.
"I couldn't exactly do
this on the bridge," she said softly.
He looked again at his son,
who was now clad in a diaper and a small silken shirt. "I find myself
amazed at the little life we produced together. Does he share your
powers?"
"I'm not entirely sure
yet. He may share my powers and Aliscea’s; he may not," said Astrena.
"Also, there is something I wanted to say to you."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I've
misjudged you, Desslok. I think I am beginning to understand why you have to
struggle…it is for the same things we Pellians have fought for, isn't it?"
"Peace…a new
home…safety for my people," said Desslok. "I haven't always been
proud of all I have done…and I am sorry if you think I haven't shown enough
love to you. I have been so busy…"
"We have been so busy
that we have had little time to talk like this," said Astrena. "In our bedchamber, cuddling…being intimate, making small
talk, and then rushing."
"You know that my people
have a great claim on my attention…"
"Yes…I have become
aware of that. And, I will try not to judge you so harshly in the future. I see
you are a moral, strong, good and decent man. That morality is not always the
same as what I was raised with, but it is a strong moral code."
"Our Kreiggergestadt,
or 'warriors' way', is not perfect, but the code has served us well for many
centuries," said Desslok as he looked at his son. "To fight well, one
must be hard…strong…and ready to protect the weaker and those under them. A
warrior does not doubt, nor does he shy away from what must be done. And even
if one hates one's enemy, one must be ready to see when they have put up a good
and honorable fight…and hate them all the more when they fight in a
dishonorable manner. Such is part of our Way."
"And the last battle
is the only one that counts, right?"
Desslok smiled. "You
learn better than I thought."
And you have also said,
"There comes a day when war must cease."
"One cannot fight
forever," said Desslok as he shut his eyes and was haunted again by the
confrontation he had with Wildstar and Nova on this very ship. "All wars
must have their end. And others can love their world as I have loved
Gamilon."
At that, the intercom
buzzed. Desslok opened the line. "Yes?"
"Talan
here. We've lost
ten ships, but we have finally re-gathered the Fleet. What are your
orders?"
"The only battle that
counts is the last one," he said softly with a light in his eyes.
"The Star Force is
ready to attack him," said Astrena. "Aliscea is fighting him
now."
"Then I will help our
daughter. I think if we press the attack again, we can aid both her and
Earth."
Astrena caught that light
and she smiled at him. "You want to help your allies?"
Desslok nodded.
"Then I will stay here
with Dellar," said Astrena. She embraced him with a free hand and said,
"Win this battle! Fight well, my braveheart, but
not too rashly. Remember the weak thou art defending in your
gallantry."
"In other words, I
take it you are wishing me luck?"
Astrena smiled.
"Thank you," said
Desslok as his heart leapt. "Your moral support is not needed, but it
certainly is helpful."
"I'm glad to hear
that, Desslok."
Both of them kissed, and
then, Desslok left.
He had a final attack to
command.
At 1619 Hours…
On the new Andromeda,
Admiral Falworth sat at his post while his comm officer reported, "Sir,
Fifth Fleet has just checked in. Perulov is on his way. And the Yamato
is leading the attack upon the Fortress."
"Yes, and we will
support the young Commodore Wildstar. Yamanami has joined us from Arcturus with
his Fourth Fleet, and Admiral Manella has just
reported in with Second Fleet," Falworth commented as the Andromeda
now sat at the head of the bulk of the surviving elements of the Combined Fleet
of the Earth Defense Forces. When Perulov arrives, that will be the whole
surviving Fleet. It goes against my strategic preferences, but now, the fate of
all of Earth depends upon us. We can be there just in time, I think!"
Falworth paused.
"Lieutenant, when Perulov arrives, send out the
"Z" signal, and then "form battle line." We will then warp
to Earth! Our target will be the Technomugar Fortress…and if we spend our lives
in fighting that, well, it is better to have attempted an endeavor and failed
than to have never tried at all."
"Sir, Desslok of
Gamilon has also signalled that he will be
attacking."
"Good," said
Falworth.
"Good?" said the
communications Lieutenant. "I don't trust that blue son-of-a-bitch as far
as I could throw him, sir."
"Belay that!"
snapped Falworth. "Like it or not, the Gamilons are on our side. And,
considering what the Yamato, once the Argo,
had to do to Gamilon, it's an amazingly generous thing that he's helping us!
Got that?"
"Yessir," said
the young officer.
On the Argo, Derek
sat in silence in the near-darkness, stroking Nova's hand as he watched the
Fortress. The black shape was unchanged. Nothing had happened yet.
"Nova, I hope you and
Aliscea can weaken him." he said in a soft voice. "It's more
important than ever that we defeat him now. We only have twenty-four minutes
left. Please hurry, both of you."
Nova lay silent; only the
soft sound of her breathing let Derek know that she still lived.
Where Nova's spirit was,
though, it was far from quiet.
The scene had flipped yet
again. There were gunshots all around them.
Nova looked down at
herself. "What am I doing in an Imperial Japanese sailor's uniform?"
she said out loud as she tapped at her flak helmet. "This thing is a real
antique!"
She realized she was
sitting in a machine gun tub…on the foredeck of the Yamato before she had been renamed the Argo.
But, the Yamato looked as she had when she had been a regular sea-going
battleship afloat in 1945. She was a dark slate-grey, and the bridge tower
looked different, with the Japanese Naval Ensign flapping in the breeze at the
ship's mast on the bow.
"We're shooting at
planes," said Aliscea, who knelt beside Nova in a 1940's pinup-girl outfit
of a halter, shorts, and sandals. She was feeding an ammo belt into the
Japanese machine gun that Nova was firing.
Nova was trying to hit a
single dive bomber. The plane looked like an American Grumman Hellcat, save
that it was all black and bore the Technomugar three-armed swastika rather than
the star of the U.S. Navy.
"I'll get you!"
screamed the pilot out of the open cockpit. It was Ekogaru, in a leather flying helmet and silk aviators' scarf.
"Yeah?" yelled
Aliscea as Nova fired. "Eat hot lead, my friend!"
Nova cheered as she hit the
plane. The plane began to go down, smoking away as it came with a loud buzzing
hum.
When it hit the Yamato's
deck, there was a strange white explosion.
Nova then felt herself
drifting in a white void, unclad, and almost as transparent as a spirit being. "Aliscea! Where are we?"
"This is the unadorned
astral plane!" cried Aliscea. "His illusions are beginning to come
apart! It looks as if we've won…and…NO!"
"Aliscea?" said
Nova, in a puzzled voice.
"There's something you
have to do!!"
"What?" said Nova.
Then, Nova picked up
Aliscea's thought. "Aliscea…I can't do that!"
"Only
for a moment. I
can restore whatever damage you may have to cause. But he's pulled a sickening
trick! And you have to stop him!"
"What do you
mean?"
"No time to explain
now! GO!"
Puzzled, Nova drifted on
into something that looked like a cloudbank while Aliscea floated
near-transparent in the void, keeping watch. She wondered if they would
win...or not.
To Be Concluded With
Act Six: "The Last Chord."
To return to
the Introduction to the Rikasha Incident please click here