Star Blazers: A Time of Serenity

By: Jamie A. Tucker

(With editing assistance by Fredrick P. “Freddo” Kopetz)

Disclaimer Statement: Please note that Space Battleship Yamato and Star Blazers are registered trademarks of Voyager Entertainment. Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato is copyright 2004 by Voyager Entertainment, Lejji Matsumoto and Yoshinobu Nishizaki. Star Blazers: A Time of Serenity is copyright 2004 by Jamie A. Tucker and is a fan-fiction as a personal hobby and is not intended to infringe upon the copyright holders of Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato.

Chapter Four: Splash Down at Pegasus

Place: The Planet Pegasus

Date: March 2202

It wasn’t to long before the Star Force made their final landing preparations on the Earth-like planet, Pegasus. Nova and Derek just had a fantastic dinner in the ship’s galley. The two had forged a bond of friendship over the course of the mission as they took the time to get to know one another. With Wildstar not having no family on Earth, Nova seemed to be God-sent for Derek. From other’s point of view, the young combat chief and head nurse seemed to be destined for a future together. Time could only tell if the friendship was leading into something deeper. The trials and hardships of battle enabled the two to forge an even greater bond of friendship between the two Star Force officers. Nova and Derek rode the bridge tower elevator to the Captain’s quarters. Dr. Sane had been tending to the weak, strong willed Captain since he had fallen ill to his rather painful and discomforting infirmities Radiation sickness had taken a heavy toll on the weakening Captain. As the couple arrived at Captain Avatar’s door, Nova discreetly knocked on the hatch door.

“Who is it?” inquired a weak Captain Avatar with Dr. Sane by his side.

“Derek and Nova, Sir. We came to visit you,” replied Derek.

“Please come in,” said Captain Avatar.

Nova opened the hatched as her and Derek walked through the doorway. They saw the Captain looking tired and rather weak. The father of the Star Force sat up in his bed for the first time since he had fallen ill. The foursome looked out at the beautiful view of Pegasus for several silent moments.

“Captain Avatar, I’m giving you some antibiotics to help clear up that infection in your left ear. Please continue taking your Energite by IV. I’ll check on you after while, sir,” said Dr. Sane as he prepared to leave the Captain’s quarters.

“Thank you Doctor Sane,” replied Captain Avatar with a hint of fatigue in his voice as the doctor left the room.

“Wildstar, the view of the planet Pegasus brings back a lot of fond memories of our lives on Earth,” said Captain Avatar as he beheld the planet.

“It sure does, Captain. The view is so wonderful and I can barely imagine what Iscandar would look like,” added Nova with a slight smile.

Wildstar nodded as the two of them spoke about memories on Earth. He worried a bit about his mentor as he helplessly watched his mentor’s health began to deteriorate. Only time could determine how long the Captain will keep himself going for the rest of the mission.

“Captain, what is your best memory of life on Earth before the Gamilons started bombing us?” inquired Derek as he and Nova sat by the Captain’s side.

The Captain turned to look at Wildstar.

“Wildstar, you can never count all of your best memories. They are like the stars of the heavens that wink at us day and night,” Captain Avatar said with a slight smile as he turned back to look at Pegasus.

The frail Captain gently pushed his cap up above his fevered brow as he looked out the window in front of his bed.

“There are so many things I still do cherish. I’ll never forget those times where my wife, Sarah and I enjoyed a bright sunlit day before the Gamilons started bombing Earth.”

“What about memories of Adam, your son, sir?” asked Derek as Nova gently slapped him on the forearm.

“It’s ok, Nova. Wildstar… I’m glad you asked. I still don’t blame Alex for taking my son with him. I’d rather trust Alex Wildstar watching Adam rather than General Stone.”

The Captain took a few moments to gain composure as his mind became flooded with mental images of himself and Adam.

“My best memory of Adam was the day he was born. He was my first-born son and a promised one just like the biblical character, Issac. Because of Sarah’s inability to conceive, Adam was a total miracle for both of us. Three years after Adam was born Sara Jane was born. To both of us, this was a complete miracle and her doctor is still scratching his head over this one,” said Captain Avatar with a quiet chuckle.

“Captain…May I ask question freely, sir?” inquired Derek.

“Permission Granted, son,” said the Captain.

”You know sir…your memories you’ve shared with Nova and I reminds me of the story of Abraham and Sarah from the bible. Captain, with your permission, I’d say the Star Force is a miracle and we’ll be victorious, sir.”

“Wildstar, you have every right to be optimistic. My wife, Sarah was perfect for me, Wildstar. I can still smell the fresh aroma of her perfume when I think of her,” said the Captain as he closed his eyes for a moment and a few tears began to stream from the corners of his closed eyes as he pictured his lovely wife and his children.

A few minutes later, a knock was heard at the Captain’s door.

“Who is it?” inquired Captain Avatar.

“Sandor, sir.” said the familiar voice on the other side of the hatch.

“Come in,” replied the Captain.

“Wildstar, I just wanted you to know that I’ve uploaded the Pegasus Climate data to the central computer. The current conditions are very favorable for landing sir.”

“Sandor, you need to report that to Captain Avatar,” replied Wildstar.

“Sorry, sir…” said Sandor with a slight hint of embarrassment.

“It’s ok, Sandor. The report is good. Wildstar, I want you to make the decisions for landing on Pegasus. You’ll have full command of the meeting and landing operations,” said Captain Avatar as he looked at the three of them.

At that, Captain Avatar dismissed the threesome as he began to rest. He began to feel somewhat weak again. Sandor and Wildstar exited through the hatch while Nova stayed behind to tend to the ailing Captain.

Meanwhile, Jake couldn't help feeling tired after he completed his reconnaissance sortie over the Planet Pegasus. Having to stand in for Hardy gave him a much needed break from being a gun turret captain. As he arrived at the crew quarters, Conroy got his attention.

“Hey Jake, you can't be that tired aren't you?" inquired Conroy with a laugh.

“No, not really; I just wanted to take a rest period before we have to head to that staff officer's meeting to make our report." replied Jake with a yawn.

The Door opened to the crew quarters as Jake prepared to make his entrance for his rest break.

“Yeah, I almost forgot those pictures and data tapes we made while we flew our sorties. I’ll let you rest for a while. Meet me in the Central Strategy room before the meeting begins so we can upload our data to the central computer,” said Conroy with a smile.

“Hey… by the way, please get those infrared video tapes I made of that crater I saw in the Southeastern sector. They should be between panels C4 and B4. I’d appreciate it,” said Jake as he patted Conroy on the shoulder.

"I sure will get those tapes for you Jake. Have a good nap and I'll see you in about an hour or so," said Conroy as he walked away from the crew quarters.

Jake walked to his bunk and lied down on the mattress. The mattress didn't beat his usual waterbed mattress he enjoyed sleeping on back on Earth. He was rather thankful that he didn't have to sleep on the cold damp floor of the space battleship. As he laid there and rested, Jake's mind wondered back to his time on Earth before he departed with the Star Force. He realized that the battles he had fought throughout the mission have fortified his faith in the Almighty.

“I can fully understand why the 23^rd Psalm says that though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. God, you’ve been with us through this whole thing and we are going to make it. I sense it; however, I miss the one I left behind back on Earth,” Thought Jake to himself silently.

As Jake continued looking up at the ceiling, his thoughts were concentrated on the one who held his heart some 128,000 light years away.

“I hope we’ll get to serve together on a ship one day after she graduates from Space Fighter’s Training school. That’s something I can really dream about when things are boring in the turret,” said Jake as he whispered to himself.

After spending many moments reflecting on his life, Jake slipped into a peaceful slumber. He tossed and turned as he dreamed of previous battles. He rudely awakened two hours later by the ship’s pubic address system that featured Wildstar’s very recognizable voice.

“Attention all hands…all staff officer’s report to the Central Strategy Room for the afternoon briefing,” said Wildstar as he made the announcement from the bridge.

“Oh SHIT, I just about slept through the meeting with Conroy!” exclaimed Jake as he jumped up from his bunk and hurriedly placed his shoes on his feet.

He grabbed his astro-automatic sidearm and ran out the door. He holstered his weapon being ignorant of the red robot wheeling in front of him.

“Ouch…IQ-9 what are you doing here?” inquired Jake as he ran right into the robot.

“Jake, Conroy sent me to get you to the staff officer’s meeting. You needed an alarm clock,” said IQ as he surprisingly scooped Jake up in his arms.

“IQ put me down! I can run to the meeting faster than you,” said Jake in a demanding tone.

“Sorry, sir… I’m getting you there quicker than your feet for I am a speeding genius robot,” said IQ-9 as he sped off towards the Central Strategy room as other crewmembers hysterically laughed at Jake.

“Put me down, you damn robot! I’m not Nova!” shouted Jake as the two made their way to the Central Strategy Room.

As the two proceeded down the hall, Sakamoto snapped a couple of photos of IQ-9 carrying Jake.

“Hey, these pictures will be the best of the Yamato Scuttlebutt! Perhaps I can send one to your lady when we arrive back on Earth,” shouted Sakamoto with a smile.

“I double dare you, Sakamoto! It will be a smoker if you do send them!” shouted Jake back just before they arrived at the Central Strategy Room.

A few seconds later, IQ-9 and Jake arrived at the Central Strategy Room. They found Sandor and Conroy discussing the data as they stood at the computer console. Conroy noticed Jake as he arrived motioned to him to come to where they stood. They both laughed as they watched IQ-9 carry Jake in his cold metallic hands. Conroy lost his composure and laughed hysterically.

“You’re right on time, Jake. How was your nap?” snickered Conroy with a laugh.

“The nap was refreshing sir. IQ-9 put me down! I’ve have work to do. Let’s get this data uploaded before the rest of the chiefs arrive,” said Jake as he inserted a data card and pressed several keys on the console to bring up his flight data that included images of Pegasus.

As the flight data was being uploaded, Nova arrived on the bridge with a fresh supply of coffee and fruit juices. Nova pushed the cart over towards the conference table that two living group members had set up just a couple hours before.

“I hope you guys have found something interesting about Pegasus. Is anyone up for a quick cup of coffee or juice before everyone else arrives?” inquired Nova as she poured a fresh cup of coffee for Sandor.

“Yes ma’am. I would like some fresh apple honey juice that we got from Beeland a couple of months back,” said Jake.

“Sorry, Jake. Here’s some freshly made apple juice. The honey that came from Beeland had an unknown element in it. Captain Avatar ordered that nothing from Beeland or anywhere else was to be brought on board for safety reasons remember?” said Nova as she handed Jake the cup.

“Oh, yeah… I remember. I saw Wally Sparks and Spaceman 1^st class Dodson load a couple of cases of honey from Beeland before we left there. I had only assumed that they had the Captain’s permission ma’am,’” said Jake.

“Yeah, In case you haven’t heard, Old Sparks set off some sparks with his boss Orion down there in the engine room when he discovered the cases. Orion sent him up to Avatar who ordered him a couple of days confinement in the brig for disobeying a direct order,” said Conroy as he looked at Jake.

The men continued to look at the data on the console screen as Nova walked over to join them. As they scanned the data, Jake noticed some rather odd and strange in one of the images.

“Wait a minute!” said Jake as he noticed the picture with the wide crater that was surrounded by forest vegetation.

Jake pressed a few keys of the keyboard to zoom in on the image. They group had never seen a large crater that was measured fifty miles wide.

“I’ve never seen a crater that wide before,” said Nova as she looked at the image.

“I supposed that Pegasus must’ve been hit with an extremely large asteroid long ago,” said Sandor as he scratched his head.

A few moments later, Wildstar arrived in the Central Strategy Room with Eager, Dash, Venture and Homer along with a couple members of the special force team. The group walked up to the monitor to view the crater.

“That’s an unusually large crater! The largest crater that was measured on Earth was forty miles wide and that was when the so called Fist of Gamilon asteroid hit back in 2194 and vaporized half of Earth’s atmosphere,” said Derek.

“Yeah, I remember the Gamilon Asteroid that hit. It completely vaporized the remaining part of the Atlantic Ocean and all of Western and Eastern Europe,” said Eager as he looked at Sandor.

“It could make one wonder if Pegasus was a mere training ground for the Gamilons,” said Venture as he leaned forward against the console.

“That’s a huge possibility, Venture,” replied Sandor as he looked at the helmsman.

“Sandor, please bring all images and data to the main viewing panel. Let’s get this meeting underway,” ordered Wildstar as the staff officers backed away from the computer console.

The staff officers gathered around the view screen that was in the center of the room floor. Derek grabbed a pointing baton as Nova passed out juice and coffee to the officers.

“Ok folks…let’s start this meeting. First of all, I want to thank Conroy and Jake for their hard work completing their reconnaissance gathering over Pegasus. You two are commended for you hard work,” said Derek with a nod at both of them.

“Thank you sir!” said both men as they saluted the senior officer.

“We are in the process of final landing procedures on Pegasus. We will land on Pegasus at RPG-384-3 about a half a meter from the Iscandarian ships that are moored to a couple of docks. However, there are no survivors at the present time. However, we must maintain a readiness stand should we run into trouble. First of all, I would like to have Lt. Jake Tucker to give his report on his findings during his recon flight over the southern sector of the planet.

“Shall I carry you to the Center, sir?” inquired IQ-9.

The staff officers snickered and barely contained their laughter as Jake’s face blushed with embarrassment.

“I don’t think so Iq-9. I can walk to the center and you can carry Nova out of here after the meeting,” said Jake in a little agitated tone.

Jake walked over to Wildstar to be given the remote control device that brought up the data for everyone to see.

The laughter and snickering subsided as Jake began his presentation.

“Thank you, sir. My flight over the Southern Sector of Pegasus was uneventful and without incident. As you may know, Conroy and I both discovered the Iscandarian ships with no sign of any survivors at all. During my flight over the sector, my geographic imager recorded photos of an extremely large crater at RPG 187-93,” said Jake as he brought up the images onto the view screen.

“Hey Jake, zoom in on the interior of the crater there. Let’s see if there are ships hiding there,” said Sandor.

Jake pressed a couple of buttons and the interior of the crater was shown. The enlarged image revealed a Gamilon destroyer crashed inside the crater.

“So I take it that the Gamilons must have caused the deaths of the Iscandarians,” said Venture as he viewed the image.

“It’s really to early to say Venture. Deputy Captain Wildstar wants to investigate the Iscandarian ships to find out why there are no survivors down there at all,” replied Jake.

“What else did you come across down there, Jake?” inquired Wildstar.

“Well, nothing major to report other than the crater. The climate temperature and weather seemed to be ideal for us to land there on Pegasus,” said Jake.

“Ok, Very well. Conroy would you like to present your findings?” asked Wildstar as Jake handed the control back to him.

“Yes sir,” said Conroy as he walked to the center of the room.

He motioned for Sandor to bring up his data on the view screen.

“Thank you, Sandor for your assistance. Like Jake’s mission, my recon mission was also uneventful and without incident. I patrolled the northern sector about two hundred fifty miles north of the location of the Iscandarian ships. I spotted no signs of the enemy and as you can see, much of the land is full of Earth like vegetation. I’m not sure as to weather if there are crops down there are edible. Also, there are regions of valleys and mountains. I will zoom in on this one particular image you may recognize for yourself,” said Conroy.

The staff officers’ eyes grew wide as they recognized the images of the white water rapids on Pegasus. They have never seen such a view since the Gamilons turned Earth and it’s lush environment into a hellish radioactive nightmare.

“Wow, a white water rapid! I’ve not seen one of those in an extremely long time!” exclaimed Lt. Roper who was from the Appalachian Mountains before immigrating to Great Island before the Planet Bombings began.

“We had a lot of White water Rapids in Colorado. I would sure like to see the rapids,” said Nova with a smile.

“Well, that’s up to Captain Avatar to make that kind of decision for liberty activity. We don’t have much time to really take liberty,” said Wildstar.

“What else did you find down there?” asked Sandor.

Conroy took a sigh of breath before he continued his report.

“Bad news is…that the Gamilons could be hiding in that crater. Although, it looks like a natural landscape but we can’t take any chances,” said Conroy.

“Conroy, we’ve got some unmanned drones we can use to keep an eye on that crater. I have built several of them down in the shop,” said Sandor with a nod at Conroy.

“That’s a great idea Sandor! Are those drones flight ready?” asked Wildstar as he patted Sandor on the shoulder.

“Yes, they are ready, Wildstar. Conroy and Iq-9 can fly them from a special control station that I had set up on the second bridge. We can launch them as soon after they land,” replied Sandor.

“Very well, you two… We would need two other volunteers to take on an eight-hour watch flying the birds. Any volunteers?” asked Wildstar.

“Wildstar…I’ll volunteer to fly the drones during second watch. Since my knee hasn’t fully recovered yet, can this be my flight status, sir?” asked Hardy as he walked into the meeting on crutches.

“Well, there is one volunteer. Hardy permission is granted and you are returned to flight status for this mission. Who else wants to volunteer?” said Wildstar as he scanned the room.

“Sir, I’ll volunteer for second watch,” said Eager as he raised his hand.

Wildstar nodded his head as everyone stood in agreement with the assignments.

“Ok, we’ve got everything taken care of. Venture, it is almost time to land. Special Ops, get everything in order to investigate those Iscandarian ships. Nova, you head up to Captain Avatar and inform him of today’s business for the meeting. IQ-9, you take Nova’s place at the cosmo radar,” said Wildstar.

“Homer, head to the intercom and call General Quarters for all hands. We will remain at General Quarters until myself or Venture has given the all clear signal,” said Wildstar with his hands on his hips.

Homer walked to the intercom console and pressed the button that activated the ships PA system.

“Attention all hands…As per Deputy-Captain Wildstar’s orders, all hands must remain at General Quarters until the all clear signal is given sometime after landing. We will have information from Captain Avatar or Lt. Nova Forrester concerning liberty activities. Again, all hands must remain at General Quarters until the all clear signal is given,” announced Homer as the staff officers made their way back up to the bridge.

“Very well everyone. Let’s get ready to land the Argo. We deserve a well-needed break and we only have at least four more space warps to complete before we finally reach the Great Magellanic Cloud where Iscandar is,” said Wildstar as he patted Venture on the shoulder.

A short time later, everyone had arrived at their General Quarters station to prepare to for the landing on Pegasus. Orion had ordered the engineers to produce the maximum performance of the auxiliary engines since the Wave Motion Engine was still out of service for a couple of more days. Wildstar arrived on the bridge and walked to his post at the combat control station.

“Ok, Venture start auxiliary engines at full power,” said Wildstar.

“Aye, sir. Auxiliary engines start at full power,” said Venture as he relayed the command to the engine room.

A couple of seconds later, the fiery exhaust plume was seen as the auxiliary engines came to life. The Argo’s retro jets in the bow fired to slow the ship down for the entry into the atmosphere into Pegasus.

“Wildstar, we’re moving at half speed ahead. We will be at atmospheric interface in approximately seven minutes,” announced Venture.

“Very well, Set a course where we can fly over RPG 187-93. That will take us directly over the crater so we can land near those Iscandarian ships. IQ-9 prepare to run a radar scan over the crater including sonar if we have to,” said Wildstar as he looked over his shoulders at the red robot.

“Yes, sir; I will have the scans ready and uploaded sir,” said IQ-9.

The Argo continued its course towards entry into the atmosphere of Pegasus. Exactly seven minutes later, the keel of the space battleship began to glow a red-orange color as it came upon the atmospheric interface.

“Wildstar, we are now upon entry,” said Venture.

“Very Well…continue on the present course,” ordered Wildstar.

“Aye Aye, sir,” replied Venture as he controlled the Argo’s angle of decent at thirty-two degrees.

Soon, the ship was engulfed in a fiery trail of gases as the keel of the Argo heated up to two thousand degrees. The ship exited the ionosphere about five minutes later and the wings were deployed. Everyone saw the beauty of Pegasus as it reminded them of the former beauty of Earth before the Unification Wars and the Gamilon planet bombings.

“Wildstar, we are now in the troposphere of Pegasus. We will be heading right over that crater within the next thirty minutes,” said Sandor.

“Very well, Sandor. IQ-9 go ahead and activate all radar scanners and let’s see what we come up with,” ordered Wildstar.

IQ-9 pressed several buttons on the analysis station console. A series of beeps were heard as the radar array scanned the area as they flew on their present course.

“Wildstar, this is so much like Earth. I’m wondering if we are already home,” said Homer.

“I wish we were home, Homer. I do get the strange feeling that this is Earth but it isn’t,” said Wildstar as he let out a sigh.

“Wildstar we’re coming up right over that crater,” announced Venture.

The radar sent several beeps as a couple of blimps showed up on the cosmo-radar.

“Wildstar, I’ve got a several unidentified blimps on the surface of that crater,” said IQ-9.

“Can you get a picture for us?” inquired Wildstar.

“Negative, sir,” responded IQ-9.

“Wildstar, I’m getting a very strong magnetic field reading from down there. But it doesn’t seem to be a hostile area there,” said Sandor.

“Somehow I don’t have a good feeling about this,” said Dash from the Gunnery station.

“Dash, I can’t agree with you more. Sandor is it possible we can launch a drone now?” inquired Wildstar.

“With the magnetic field being around that crater it would be impossible to operate the drones around the crater because that magnetic energy can distort all the flight instruments,” replied Sandor.

“Damn… them Gamilons, it looks like we may have to launch a mini orbital camera then,” said Wildstar as he grimaced at the thought of a tougher decision to make.

“Wildstar, we’re now in the stratosphere cruising about thirty five thousand feet. We’ll be arriving at our destination within the next twenty minutes,” said Venture.

“Thank you, Venture. Sandor, what other options do we have if we are to avoid that magnetic field?” asked a peevish Wildstar.

“Sorry… you seemed to be so frustrated. But we can launch a balloon ship. It can be fitted with a stealth mode but I’m not sure how long it will last, I can load it up with cameras so images can be sent back to the Argo,” said Sandor calmly.

“That sounds like a better plan. We can fly those drones outside of that magnetic field. It’s a rather safer plan than have one special ops team to go get some nasty surprises,” said Wildstar.

“Venture, how much longer until we land?”

“We’ve got ten-minutes, sir. Altitude is now nine hundred feet and counting down. The Iscandarian ships are about twenty nautical miles out, sir.”

“Good. Conroy, I need for you to launch drone number one in about twenty-five minutes. All hands remain on General Quarters until we have our first all clear report back,” said Wildstar as he spoke over the ships PA system.

The Argo cruised to an uneventful splashdown about ten miles from the location of the Iscandarian ships. One of the lookouts on the second bridge spotted what seemed to be an empty dock near the Iscandarian ships.

“Wildstar, this is Petty officer Thomas. I’m reporting to you that I’ve spotted an empty dock approximately twenty clicks away from the Iscandarian ships sir, said the petty officer.

“Very good, Thomas… Venture, correct our course to head for that dock. That’s a great place to park this ship for now,” said Wildstar as the ship made its way toward the projected landing site.

Eager kept his eyes glued to the radar. He noticed a few thunderstorms where headed in their direction.

“Wildstar, I’ve got a super cell thunderstorm headed this way. Winds are approximately fifty knots with gusts seventy knots. No sign yet of a tornado,” said Eager.

“Oh, damn. What is the ETA of the storm?” asked Wildstar with concern.

“The storm will arrive approximately one and a half to two hours, sir,” replied Eager.

“Ok, Eager I’m reliving you of flying a drone. Stay there and monitor that storm. We need someone else to do take up that second watch flying.”

Wildstar pressed the button to the intercom to the flight hangar.

“Sakamoto, what are you up to for second watch?” inquired Wildstar.

“Fixing my plane, sir. Those Gamilons tried to put a hole up my six,” responded Sakamoto.

“Forget about your plane and let flight ops take over the repair work. I need you to be on the second bridge to fly a drone with Hardy,” said Wildstar.

“Yes, sir. Permission to be relieved until second watch, sir?” asked the secondary squadron leader.

“You may have a three hour rest period before reporting to Conroy. You’re relieved for now,” said Wildstar.

“Thank you, sir. Sakamoto out,” responded the pilot as he left the hangar bay.

The wind began to pick up speed 30 miles inland as the Argo anchored at the empty dock. Sandor left the bridge to join his mechanical division in inflating a balloon ship. The hard work was completed in hanger with in two hours time. Sandor had installed a long-range radio control unit as well as infrared and panoramic cameras. Sandor walked over to the intercom phone and got Wildstar on the line.

“Wildstar, this is Sandor. We’ve got the balloon ships ready for take off. We’re launching though the upper fighter bay,” said Sandor as the balloon ship moved to the elevator.

“Sandor, delay the launch for the next two hours. We’ve got a storm coming in our direction. Hold off until we give you the all clear signal,” said Wildstar on the other end.

“Yes, sir,” Sandor replied as he hung up the receiver.

“Don’t launch the balloon ship for another two hours. Royster, please run a quick battery of tests on the equipment for me; I’ve got to head back up to the bridge,” said Sandor as he made his way out of the fighter bay.

Wildstar and the others on the bridge debated what to do about the storm. IQ-9 rolled up to Wildstar with a report in its hand.

“I’ve got a depth report of the dock, sir.” Said IQ-9.

Wildstar took the report from the red robot and read over it. He looked at Venture for a couple of moments before speaking. Sandor had just emerged from the first bridge door from the flight bay.

“Venture, I have an idea…if that storm produces a tornado we can submerge the ship since the dock has a depth of three hundred and fifty feet. That’s just enough depth to submerge and hide. Eager, what’s the latest on that storm?” asked Wildstar as he looked over at Eager.

Eager pushed several keys on his keyboard to bring up the storm information. The radar image of the storm appeared on the video display panel.

“Wildstar, we’ve got an F-5 tornado with winds going approximately two hundred and fifty miles an hour. Approximate time of arrival is fourty-five minutes,” said Eager excitedly.

Venture runs over to his post and flipped the intercom to the engine room.

“Orion, full power to submerge go three hundred feet!” shouted Venture.

The ballast tanks opened and the Argo began to submerge into the depths of the docking bay. About two minutes later, the space battleship was totally submerged. The winds had began to pick up and tree branches were flying everywhere around shore. The massive funnel cloud was seen on the video display panel.

“Wildstar, that tornado is about one and a half miles wide and it’s heading in a north-northwest direction,” said Eager with concern as he looked at the radar.

“That means, it’ll be to damn awfully close to us,” said Wildstar with concern.

“Based on my calculations, the storm will miss us by a mere six miles,” said Sandor.

“Dash, I want you to fire three tow lines from the #1 turrent. Load up the tow line shells and we’ll fire them from underwater,” said Wildstar.

“No, wait. I’ve had a theory and we can test it now. Dash… please fire several polarity reactor shells astern of the Iscandarian ships. We can use the polarity to keep the ships from breaking free from the moorings,” said Sandor as he looked at Wildstar.

“Yes, I’ll get right to work on it. Turret number one is loaded and ready…fire!,” ordered Dash from the gunnery station.

The after secondary 8’turret fired 6 small polarity reactor shells, which landed around the Iscandarian ships. The reactor shells emitted a strong protective magnetic field that held the ships in place. As the powerful twister approached, the waves crashed over the Iscandarian ships as they remained moored due of the polarity shells. The bridge crew watched the ships with awe as the magnetic energy held the ships in their moorings.

“Wildstar, my theory is proven. The magnetic field produced by those reactor shells has done their work. Not only can we use those shells to produce the asteroid ring, but we can hold our work together until this storm has passed,” said Sandor as he watched the surface action on the video display panel.

“Good work, Sandor. Eager, where’s the twister located now?” asked Wildstar as he looked over at Eager.

“The twister itself is still moving on its present course at about twenty-five miles per hour. We will be safe but give it another half hour or so for it to pass,” replied Eager.

“Ok, in the meantime, everybody can rest for now until first watch tomorrow. But we still need to maintain our watches for the present time. It’s still not good to stand easy at the guns. I need our special ops team to be assembled in the morning at 0700 for a scouting mission to the Iscandarian ships. If all goes well, maybe Captain Avatar will let us have some playtime and maybe but no promises, we can have a swim call,” said Wildstar.

“That would be a great idea!” exclaimed Homer.

“Just don’t try to swim home, bud!” joked Eager.

“Oh, knock it off!” said Homer as his faced blushed with a hint of embarrassment.

Wildstar walked over to the combat control station and leaned against the console. He contemplated what the next move should be as they stood in the wake of the most powerful tornado they’d ever seen.

“Ok, Every one can stand down for now. But be ready if we call all hands to battle stations or general quarters should we get some unnecessary company,” said Wildstar as he continued looking at underwater view.

However, unknown to the Star Force, the evil Colonel Reich was able to mask the Gamilon presence on Pegasus. The Colonel had concealed the fleet’s presence with the powerful magnetic field that the Star force had first encountered as they headed for their landing destination. The image of Desslok appeared on his video screen.

“Colonel Reich …I know you are about to unleash your secret plan against the Star Force about without my approval. Lieutenant Faust informed me of your pitiful plan to unleash an ultra menace missile on the Star Force,” said Desslok with Talan at his side.

“Sire, now is the time to attack the Star Force with the full might of Gamilon. We can capture Earth for ourselves!” said the evil Colonel as he clenched his fists.

“Reich, you should have informed me of your tactical plan;otherwise I would have given you my full support. But however, you’re usurping my authority as Generalissimo. I am ordering you to return to Gamilon at once with your fleet. The only battle that counts is the last one and that battle belongs to me,” said the Gamilon leader, as he eyes grew narrow.

“Sire, I’m telling you now is our chance to defeat the Star Force. Let me handle their defeat and spare your energy!” shouted Reich as he tried to reason with Desslok.

“Lt. Faust…” said Desslok calmly but with a hint of anger.

“Yes, Leader Desslok,” responded the tall Lieutenant.

“I want you to exterminate Colonel Reich as a secondary protocol measure. It’s people like him that has kept us from winning. Have you repaired the number five seventeen destroyer?” asked Desslok.

“Yes, sire. The Fleet is ready to depart Pegasus on your orders to help you on Gamilon,” said Faust.

“No, set the automatic pilot on course for Gamilon with Colonel Reich aboard. I will give him a taste of his own medicine,” said Desslok as a Gamilon security team arrested Reich.

“Faust, I need for you to head to the Sapphire System and help General Radlock apprehend Lysis. He’s another jackal that has kept us from winning. My once brilliant military strategist has turned into the vilest act of stupidity and let the Star Force slip through his fingers. His worse mistake was allowing General Hiedlyn fly that cursed drill missle plane to the Argo,” said Desslok.

“I shall join the fleet with Radlock, sire. Lysis will be brought to justice. General Reich his on his way to Gamilon now… by himself aboard the five seventeen,” Lt. Faust with a slight evil smile.

“Very well Lieutenant. I’m promoting you to Colonel with all privileges. I await your victory parade and I look forward to honoring you with the Spirit of Gamilon metal,” said Desslok with a smile.

“Thank you, Sire. I promise you I will succeed in my mission, Leech out,” said the newly promoted Colonel as the video monitor went off.

“All ships, take off from this wretched place,” said Colonel Faust from his command post about the battle cruiser Valstar.

Aboard the Argo, the Cosmo radar beeped with several blimps as the second bridge lookouts saw the small Gamilon fleet leave the area of the gigantic crater. The general alarm was sounded as the beeps from the radar sounded.

“Wildstar, a small fleet is leaving that crater area. One ship took off about a half hour ago,” said IQ-9.

“Can you get a positive identification on those ships?” inquired the young Deputy Captain.

From the second bridge, Petty Officer third class Richwood caught the visual image from the periscope that was operated from the second bridge. His eyes went wide as he saw the small Gamilon fleet departed the location of the Gamilon crater.

“Oh, shit!” he exclaimed as he pushed the intercom button to the first bridge.

“Wildstar, this is Richwood. I’ve got a visual on a small Gamilon Destoryer fleet leaving the area of the crater. I’m sending the feed up to the bridge.”

“Very well, Richwood. Homer, put the feed on the video display panel. I had the gut feeling those accursed Gamilons would be hiding there,” said Wildstar as he walked over to the combat control station away from Homer.

“Conroy, as soon as we get to the surface, I want you and IQ-9 to launch both of those drones. Sandor, go ahead and launch the balloon ship ahead of the drones. We need to make sure that there are no more Gamilons present on the planet. We don’t need a surprise while we’re taking a small break here,” said Wildstar as Sandor and Conroy stood on the bridge.

Fifteen minutes later, the huge, gigantic tornado made its presence known as hit raced towards the Star Force. The storm brought hail, dangerous sky to ground lighting, torrential downpours and flying debris. The winds ripped apart a Gamilon atmospheric transformer and caused the deadly storm to considerably weaken. The high-speed winds whipped up waves that crashed against the Iscandarian ships and rocked the Argo from side to side underwater.

“Well, that storm has considerably weakened. Its two hundred fifty knot winds have dropped to one hundred and twenty knots,” said Eager as he monitored the storm.

“That’s odd, Wildstar. I take it that the atmospheric pressure must have some wild fluctuations that are causing the storm to significantly weaken,” said Sandor as he walked to Eager’s station.

“But still, Gamilons may have done some weather manipulating around here. All this seems sort of strange,” said Wildstar as he walked over towards Sandor and Eager.

The winds calmed down as the rest of the storm passed and broke apart. The blue seas of Pegasus at the landing site became calm as a cool small breeze blew over the ocean surface. The Star Force remained underwater and made their preparations for their time of serenity.

“Venture, surface the ship. It’s safe enough to Venture out,” said Wildstar.

“Engine room, blow the ballast and surface,” ordered Venture from the helm.

The ballast tanks were blown as the seawater was forcibly pumped out of the ship. The Argo slowly arose to the surface and made her presence known again on Pegasus with the Iscandarian ships being moored near by.

“Dash, disable the polarity reactor shells. Conroy and IQ-9 launch the drones and let us know if we can call an all-clear within the next hour or so,” ordered Wildstar over the intercom.

“Wildstar, if all goes well, we can go head and launch the balloon ship first through the upper fighter bay,” said Sandor.

“Very well, Sandor. Go ahead and prepare the balloon ship for launch,” said Wildstar.

“Roger that sir!” said Sandor has he left the bridge to prepare the ballon ship for launch from the upper fighter bay.

Wildstar took his seat at the Combat Control station. He could only wonder about what the Gamilions could be up to. It wouldn’t be to much longer until the report got back to him. Before the crew can bask in peaceful Pegasain Serenity, The Star Force must be sure of it’s own safety or risk the mission to an uncertain demise.

Will the Balloon Ships bring back an acceptable Report to Wildstar? Is it safe to take a break from war? The Star Force now has only 196 days left before all life on Earth becomes extinct.

TO BE CONTINUED....

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