ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR
FORCE
STAR BLAZERS
Tomorrow Never Knows
By Frederick P. Kopetz
A Novelette in
Four Acts with Note to the Following:
STAR BLAZERS, SPACE
BATTLESHIP YAMATO, and all
related names and elements are copyright © 1998 by Voyager Entertainment, Inc
and Leiji Matsumoto. Star Blazers is a registered trademark of Jupiter
Films, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NOTE: This story and its
successors represent an Alternate Reality that may or may not coincide with the
events portrayed in the STAR BLAZERS and SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO
series and movies.
Special Thanks to Derek C.
Wakefield and the rest of THE ISCANDAR PROJECT for ideas and concepts of theirs
I have been permitted to use herein. These ideas are copyright © 1998 by Derek
C. Wakefield and THE ISCANDAR PROJECT. Otherwise, all original concepts
contained herein are copyright © 1998 by Frederick P. Kopetz.
Special Thanks to Gail R. Kopetz
for her aid and assistance
ACT ONE—HOMECOMING---
I. FAREWELLS
Space
Battleship Argo
The Vicinity
of Earth
November 15,
2201
1010 Hours-Spacetime
"Come ON, this is the last rescue ship!"
snapped Doctor Sakezo Sane as Lieutenant Commander Derek Wildstar, who was the
Deputy Captain of the Star Force and the Acting Commander of the Earth space
battleship Argo came slowly down an access gangway towards one of the Argo's
Type Two "Astro Nightingale" SMB Medevac boats with Lieutenant
Commander Stephen Sandor, the ship's Mechanical Group Leader. Sandor was tired,
injured, and all too obviously missing a bionic leg, all courtesy of the Comet
Empire.
Around and above Wildstar, the Argo
was a smoking mess, also courtesy of the Comet Empire. The most recent damage
had been delivered by a mad Prince Zordar, who had virtually declared his own
self-proclaimed divinity after crippling the Argo before heading off to
begin devastating Earth with his siege cannon.
Wildstar shivered with rage for
a second as he glanced down towards Earth. Their Earth, now about to be
enslaved by Zordar and his Black Dreadnought...
Zordar, you think we're
helpless, don't you? thought Wildstar. You don't think I can do anything, do
you? Well...I can...and I will.
Sandor noticed Wildstar glancing
around as they approached the litter that Doctor Sane was pushing up out of the
medical boat. "Where's Nova?" he asked in a breathless tone over the
helmet comlink, referring, of course, to Lieutenant Nova Forrester, who was the
ship's Living Group Leader as well as his girlfriend.
"Uhh...," said Sane,
looking around, "She was here just a minute ago... I don't...," he
muttered, looking inside the SMB only to see IQ-9 and the litters carrying
Lieutenant Chris Eager, Ensign Neville Royster, and some of the other crew
members being evacuated off the ship.
"She must have left on the
other ship with Homer!" piped up IQ in response to Doctor Sane's question.
"I guess so...," said
Sane, wondering where Nova could've disappeared to so quickly.
In his litter, Sandor gave a
quick nod. "That's everybody, then," said Wildstar while he and Dr.
Sane pushed Sandor into the shuttle.
A moment later, Dr. Sane
wondered what Wildstar was doing as he stepped back out onto the gangway, and
stood there stiffly for a moment.
"...Coming?" he asked
as he looked back at Wildstar. He was standing there with a very serious look
on his face, framed by a plume of reddish smoke that was bleeding from the
battered Argo, now a few seconds short of being abandoned.
"...I want to thank
you...for everything you've done, Doc," said Wildstar in a very low and
rather formal voice. A voice that, to Doctor Sane, sounded rather morose.
"C'mon...Wildstar,"
said Doctor Sane, trying to be reassuring. "You've done everything you can
here. Now, Earth needs us."
Wildstar took a deep breath.
"You're so right, Doc. You'd better hurry!" he said in a more
animated voice. "We've got to take off right away!" he said as he
gently pushed Dr. Sane into the SMB.
Wildstar stepped towards the
pilot's console towards IQ-9, who was already in the co-pilot's seat. Doctor
Sane thought little of it. He wasn't a pilot. To keep his mind occupied, the
elderly little man looked back at his patients as he headed back into the body
of the boat. They looked fine. Glancing through a viewport, he vaguely wondered
who was flying the other boat, which he glimpsed heading down, down towards
Earth. Doctor Sane then noticed Wildstar pushing a button on the console. He
wondered for a moment why Derek had not yet strapped himself in, but again, he
thought little of it.
Probably in another one of
his bad moods, thought
Sane as he bent down to check on Royster, who was unconscious with quite a few
bloody bandages around his head. After what's happened today, who can blame
him?
Doctor Sane went back to working
on Royster as Wildstar continued to stand there looking at the console for a
second.
"NO!" chirped IQ-9 as
Wildstar quickly pulled back a switch. "Wildstar, you've locked the
controls!" cried the robot as an indicator light marked AUTO glared
ominously on the boat's console.
The shuttle began to launch as
Wildstar drifted back out into space. "Stop him, Doctor!" cried IQ-9.
Sane's attention was finally diverted away from his patient, just in time to
see the hatch closing. It clicked shut as Doctor Sane cried, "WILDSTAR!!!"
and simultaneously realized he was outside.
"IQ-9, you tinwitted bucket
of bolts!" yelled Sane as he looked through the viewport, noticing
Wildstar drifting back down towards the burning wreck of the Argo. "Can't
you STOP this thing so we can go back there and get him? He's gone mad!"
IQ looked at the console. A
yellow arrow blinked on a gauge. "The steering gear is set on automatic
pilot, and he locked it in! We can't stop!" said IQ-9.
"WILDSTAR!!!" screamed
Doctor Sane as the shuttle blasted further and further away from the Argo,
and the little figure, whom he noticed standing at attention on the gangplank.
"You young fool!"
cried Doctor Sane as the shuttle accelerated away. "STOP
BEING HONORABLE! Don't you know the Argo's about to blow herself
to bits??"
On the gangway, Wildstar heard
nothing. Doctor Sane was now just a little face yelling words that could not be
heard now because the boat had already put Wildstar beyond the transmitter
range of Doctor Sane's older, low-gain spacesuit radio set.
As the shuttle receded into the
blackness of space, Wildstar slowly and ceremonially saluted, aware that Doctor
Sane was safe, aware that Sandor and his crewmen were safe, and aware that the
other Medevac boat was probably home, as well, which meant
that Nova was also safe, along with the others.
Good. I did well. he thought to
the silence.
His chest swelled with pride as
he thought of the Argo.
We can do it, he thought. We're going to WIN...you
and I..., he added in silence. He held the salute,
and after a moment, slowly lowered his hand.
Then, he looked up at the
twisted metal, smoke, and above that, the damaged, but still-majestic bulk of
the Argo's bridge tower.
With a resolute glance upwards,
he nodded, as if the ship had answered him. She was battered, smoking, burning,
even quivering a little every now and then. But, she
was still there.
Still
ready...for this one task...this final task.
Inside the Argo, Wildstar
actuated a button, praying that the airlock would work. It did, with the hatch
rolling shut behind him as he turned to open an access panel.
He pulled down the panel.
"There's no escape capsule here." he muttered quietly in his helmet
as the lights above the sealed outer hatch went green. "I'll have to look
for another one. At least the gravity's light...."
Gritting his teeth, Wildstar
went on, hoping to accomplish his task before he ran out of time.
Wildstar stood on the Argo's ruined
bridge, at long last, after a very long walk and many preparations..
And now, thought Derek. ...All I have to do is
say goodbye to what has been my home for so long...
Them, Wildstar turned towards the aft
bulkhead, looking at the silent bronze portrait of Captain Avatar, the Argo's
first Captain. ...And to you, who have been like a father to me...
Derek stood before the empty
Command console for a long, long time, listening to the explosions deep within
the once-mighty ship as the Argo slowly continued to die around him.
"Oh...this is hard...,"
he said out loud again, looking up at Captain Avatar's portrait. "Captain,
I know what the Argo meant to you...it was your home, and it was home to
the Star Force." At that, Wildstar bowed his head. "The Argo's a
proud ship, and I'm sending her on her last mission, from which
she'll never return," said Wildstar in a very choked-up voice as he knelt
in respect and homage to both Captain Avatar and the ship. "It's the only
thing I can do to save planet Earth!" he said, almost in a sob.
He knelt on the deck, catching
his breath, stifling his tears, collecting himself. Finally, Derek stood,
continuing to speak to Avatar while walking slowly towards the memorial plaque
which hung behind the command station. "I know to some, the Argo is
just a ship. She's MORE than that to us. She's the spirit of the Star Force,
and she will do what must be done. It's a hard duty, Captain Avatar, but if
Earth is to survive, it must be done."
"She'll go with honor, I
promise you," said Wildstar, looking about the bridge as his voice hitched
again. ".....a great ship."
Wildstar continued to glance
around, looking one last time at the Argo's smashed bridge...before a
movement to his left caught his attention.
Who...who is it? , he thought as he noticed that someone was
approaching from the lift doors behind the command station. But then, his eyes
went wide when he noticed not only that he wasn't alone...but that, in
addition, the second presence on the Argo's bridge was very familiar to
him.
"NOVA!" he cried in a
half-choked voice as his beloved approached with a quiet but determined look on
her face.
"Did you think I would let
you do it alone, Derek?" she challenged. "I saw you put the escape
capsule in the airlock...what's your plan?"
"I'm going to ram Zordar's
ship with the Argo," replied Wildstar with determination in his
voice.
"And then escape?"
asked Forrester.
"When we're close enough,
I'll set the automatic pilot, and we'll escape...TOGETHER," he said with
soft emphasis in his voice.
"You were going to do all
that ALONE with no one to help you?" asked Nova gently.
Wildstar's eyes went wide with
shock as he realized : Not only did you decide to
follow me...but you've decided to help me, too, when I could've done this
myself. Or...could I? Would there have been enough time to
set everything myself? Maybe not. But, ...Nova....Why do you have to keep on risking your life
for my sake? Why? he demanded to himself with
shock on his face. WHY??
"The Star Force is a
group..." continued Nova with a shake of her head.
"...you know that! And I knew what you were planning to do was
dangerous, or you wouldn't have had everyone evacuated. I'm right, aren't
I?" she said with a little tilt of her head. "And I wanted to help
you, but mostly...I wanted to be with you."
Wildstar's eyes stayed wide for
a moment, until the thought I can't get ever rid of you...can I? We must be
fated to be together...always... ran through his head, and he smiled and
said, "I'm...glad, Nova..."
"I couldn't go...,"
she continued. "...not without you! And I wanted
to help you...," she said with a faltering voice as her eyes went misty
with tears. "I...love you!" she cried as she ran to his arms with
tears streaming down her cheeks.
Wildstar couldn't keep his arms
closed and stay duty-bound, not after a declaration of devotion like that.
"Nova..." he said in a soft, low, voice as she fell crying into his
arms...and he felt terrible for not having thought enough about her in all of
his plans for this moment. "Nova...," he
said while thinking out loud. "...we haven't had much time together. It
doesn't mean I don't love you. But soon, " he
promised. "...when this is done...we'll spend the rest of our lives
together."
Then, while snuggling against
her, he realized what he was thinking...and what he was saying. He was thinking
about something that he wished he could have said a long, long time
ago...before everything about the Comet Empire had taken place... of something
that needed to be said and gotten out in the open before he kept on blathering
away like this.
With a lump in his throat, he
held Nova close and said, "Nova...you are going to marry me...?"
"Oh, Derek!" replied
Nova in a soft, beautiful, choked-up voice. She looked into his eyes, and, too
shocked and filled with joy to speak, indicated her assent by grasping his
hands and squeezing hard, adding what she thought was a nod of her head almost
as an afterthought while Derek put his hand around her shoulders.
I guess he knows I said 'yes'.. thought Nova giddily as Wildstar tenderly took her hand.
Filled with joy, Nova placed her hand over that of her...fiancée...of all of
ten seconds, and smiled softly as she walked with him to the command console to
begin preparing for what they would have to do.
It did not take long.
They had to get an extra chair
from one of the other stations, and, together, they carried it over the debris
to the command console, which they knew was the only working station left on
the Argo's torn bridge, and even that was barely working, as many of the
screens had been broken or short-circuited. What had been Captain Avatar's
chair had to be moved a short distance to starboard, to what passed for the
helm controls on the Command console. The second chair was crammed in between
the port side edge of the console, and the pilot's chair.
Finally, Wildstar and Forrester crammed into the chairs, and
locked them into position. Then, Wildstar began to make preparations for what
they both knew would be the Argo's final takeoff.
Nova looked at Derek, and then looked
out at the stars, and asked, "What do we do?"
"Well...to ram Zordar's
ship...as soon as both of us can get everything we need up and running, I'll
set the autopilot when we're at fifteen megameters' distance, and we should be
getting out soon afterwards. She should be at about ten or eight megameters'
distance when we cycle the airlock at forty-five seconds' interval, get in the
capsule, and then try to bail out... for home. And as to...what we'll be doing
afterwards, after we finally get back to the Megalopolis," he said with a
slight smile. "It'll be...ASAP under the circumstances, I guess, since we
could land almost anywhere on the planet. But first, we have a lot to do. Especially today."
"I know," said Nova as
she began to see what sort of navigational control they'd have as they took the
Argo on her last journey...a thought that was also making her quite
choked-up inside. She flicked a few switches, and a few rudimentary controls
came on her side.
"Nova?" he asked.
"I'm trying to see how we can
get her on course," said Nova softly as she pushed a few buttons,
transferring what radar data was left on their target to the helm.
"Ready," she said.
At that, they sat in silence,
Wildstar with his hands near the controls as the proper headings came up on one
of the small screens, Nova with her hands folded in her lap, almost in an
attitude of prayer, as they again realized what they were about to do. There
was no hesitation. They could not allow themselves that luxury...
...but...they could catch their
breaths.
"I'm your co-pilot,
Derek," said Nova in a soft but surprisingly strong voice.
Wildstar turned his head to look
at her, smiling as she met his gaze. "I'm glad you stayed, " he said. "It'll bring us luck.".
Then, both of them set their
faces towards the stars, with stern, serious expressions of determination.
Wildstar nudged a small joystick
over a little, and felt relieved as the course heading precisely matched the
Argo's current heading.
"Target," he intoned. "Zordar's
spaceship!"
Derek's hand went around the
throttle control, tightened around it, and stopped. He was ready.
"Argo...make us proud!" he cried in defiance of Zordar as
he pulled the throttle back.
The Argo's engines
ignited, and the battered, smoking ship, pathetic and yet defiant with her crew
of two, began to roar towards Earth...and the Comet Empire's black dreadnought.
Aboard the Argo, Wildstar
and Nova sat in silence, watching as the seconds ticked away on a chronograph
Nova had set. One of the controls they had gotten running showed the proximity
between the dreadnought and Zordar's space battleship.
The distance began to
shrink...eighteen megameters...then seventeen point five...then, seventeen....
At sixteen megameters' distance,
the ugly space battleship began to appear before them at far visual range,
clearly visible as the light of the gruesome siege cannon flashed before them.
Soon ..thought Wildstar grimly; Soon...we'll be
putting a stop to THAT...
He looked at the readout again. Sixteen
point five, he thought over the surge of the Argo's engines. Soon...
Earth began to loom large in the
bridge windows. Both Derek Wildstar and Nova Forrester shivered inside as they
realized that their blue Earth was a world that the Argo herself would
never, ever return to, and, if something went wrong, perhaps they would never
return there either. But, the die was cast...and there was no other
alternative.
Wildstar looked at a large,
white cloud on the Earth's orb for a moment, and wondered if the ocean it was
over was the
Well, no time to wonder, now,
he thought as he
tightened one hand around the arm of his chair, and placed his other hand near
the autopilot. He was about to turn towards Nova when he noticed that the cloud
seemed to be glowing.
No...it
wasn't the cloud. It was a strange, beautiful golden glow appearing right
before the Argo.
"...what?"
whispered Wildstar as the light filled the bridge.
"...Trelaina!" said
Nova as she thought she recognized a human shape appearing in the light.
Then, something incredible
happened. The Argo's main screen, which they both thought was dead,
suddenly came back to life again. On it appeared the form of Trelaina, holding
a limp Mark Venture in her arms.
"Trelaina!" cried Nova
in recognition as the image cleared.
"VENTURE!" yelled
Wildstar in shock as he quickly cut all power to the engines, leaving the Argo
drifting slowly at exactly sixteen megameters' distance from Zordar's
dreadnought.
"Wildstar," said
Trelaina over the Argo's bridge speakers, which also resumed operation
with a crackle, "..I have come to return Mark to
you."
"How is he? Venture!"
cried Wildstar towards the limp form.
"I have brought Mark back
to life," replied Trelaina. "But, he needs more care. You must take
him back to Earth for that. I've done all I can."
"But...Trelaina..."
fumbled Wildstar.
"Trelaina.."
asked Nova. "Can you take Mark back to Earth?"
"I can't," said
Trelaina sadly. "It's not possible, Nova. Even with the power I have, I cannot
go to your Earth. You must take him! He needs you! He is of the Earth...and I
am not."
"No, Trelaina!" cried
Wildstar. "Now that you've saved his life, you can't leave him!"
"Trelaina...you must know
how much Mark loves you!" cried Nova.
"I know that...but I must
give him back to you...."
Trelaina disappeared from the Argo's
screen, only to reappear in a great blaze of light right in the middle of
the bridge, still bearing Venture in her arms.
Wildstar and Nova left their posts and ran up towards both
of them while Trelaina was lying Venture on the deck.
"Please...take care of him," she intoned sadly.
Wildstar and Nova knelt before
Venture and Trelaina, noticing that Mark was again breathing, but weakly.
"But...Trelaina," said
Wildstar. "The ship isn't going back to Earth!"
"I know what you plan to
do," replied Trelaina. "You need not sacrifice the Argo. I
will fight Zordar."
"Trelaina!" protested
Wildstar. "You've already done so much for us! You sacrificed your planet
Telezart in order to stop Prince Zordar!"
"My work is not done. I
must change the evil power of Prince Zordar," said Trelaina. "My love
for Mark makes it more important than ever to save Earth. I wish I could
explain more to you. There are great powers in the Universe, unknown and
unseen. I am just one small part of that great life force, with my own destiny
to fulfill. Earth can be the embodiment of good...but it must live on to
fulfill that destiny."
"...Trelaina" said
Wildstar in a choked-up voice.
"Derek," said
Trelaina. "It is time for me to go. A part of me stays with Mark, and with
you, and with Nova. And...with your dear Earth; the
place where all that is good can live, and grow, and reach out to the
Universe."
Trelaina raised her hands, and
glowed brighter than ever with liberated energy as she began to fade from this
plane of existence. "Goodbye...goodbye, Derek and Nova and please tell
Mark how much I LOVE HIM...,how much I love
him...how much I..." with her last words echoing with longing, love,
and power as her form turned into an astral shape, and drifted out into space,
surrounded by a globe of psi-energy, as it drifted away from the Argo,
into the depths of space.
A stunned Wildstar looked on as
he picked up Venture from the deck. He and Nova looked on in wonder, staring
out into space towards Zordar's dreadnought, and wondering how, indeed,
Trelaina would accomplish this final task.
II. THE CHANGE
Space.
The Vicinity of Earth
November 15, 2201.
1053 Hours-Spacetime
"Prince Zordar," said
an officer on the bridge of his dreadnought. "Should we continue the
bombardment?"
"Yes, by all means,"
intoned the evil potentate as he looked on with a smile. "Are you
targeting their accursed Megalopolis again?"
"Your highness," said
another officer, "We were directing our fire towards the oceans, hoping
that they might soon be convulsed with fear and send another
surrender. Should we slacken our fire?"
"NOOO!" bellowed
Zordar. "I have a plan in mind. Let them tremble at my power!"
An intercom speaker came on near
Zordar's station. "Yes?" he hissed as he thumbed the control on.
"Prince Zordar," said
a heavily accented...and hated voice from one of the dreadnought's navigation
bridges.
"What do YOU want,
Dyre?" murmured Zordar dangerously. "Didn't I tell you that you and
your Princess have been relegated to minor tasks?"
"Prince Zordar...we have
managed to scan the area to our stern."
"And?"
"We have spotted the Argo-at
a far distance."
"What is the brave Star
Force doing now?" mocked Zordar. "Aren't you aware that their ship
was blasted into wreckage upon my personal orders?"
"Yes, and we are ready to
turn our guns on her...but we are awaiting your orders. What should we
do?" asked Dyre.
"Nothing!"
bellowed Zordar with a mad smile as he began to laugh. "Controller,
intensify the siege cannon's barrage!"
"Yessir," said a voice
on the bridge as Dyre asked, "Sir, but why...?"
"Don't you know most of the
crew abandoned ship? Whoever is left on board now must indeed be a group of
insignificant and sentimental fools! They mean nothing to me now, Dyre; they're
just as idiotic as you and Invidia!" roared Zordar through a mad laugh as
the fire intensified, as per his orders. He continued laughing as he marched up
to a viewport to enjoy the view. "Fools!" he yelled, while thumbing
off the intercom switch. "All of you!"
Zordar was incredibly happy as
he watched flower after flower of fire blossom on Earth. Why am I giving you
a brief reprieve, Star Force? he thought. WHY?
It is because I want you and the others to SEE my power unveiled...before
you're dealt with...forever!
Some time passed. An officer then
said, “Sir, I’m detecting an object leaving the ship.”
“What sort of object?” boomed
Zordar.
“Uncertain, sire. I think it’s a
destroyer. Deserters?”
“Perhaps,” said Zordar, who
guessed what was going on; and didn’t care. “Fools,” he said in a low voice. “Trying
to run, hmh? I think not. I’ll control this system shortly, and I can easily
find you and have you brought back to face what you deserve, Dyre…Invidia…all
of you…”
“Request permission to fire,”
said the officer.
“Denied. Leave them.”
“Sir?”
“They’re best left for another
time. This is too important to miss,”
he said as the siege cannon fired, smashing into Earth yet again.
Zordar continued to laugh
maniacally again as he watched the show. "FOOLS!
You idiot Earthlings! NOW you'll know what FEAR is! HA ha,
ha, ha, ha, ha HAAA!"
Zordar caught his breath and
prepared to laugh again, but the laugh died in his throat as he looked back in
the direction of space in which the Argo lay...and noticed a bright
point of light appearing from nowhere.
The light intensified as Zordar
looked on in utter horror. What? HOW? he
thought. We all but finished them off...how can they...have activated any of
their weapons...how...?
Then, the light faded. For a
split-second Zordar thought that the Argo's wave gun wasn't firing, after
all, but, his momentarily relief turned to a worse, colder sort of fear as the
light resolved into a form which Zordar dreaded far more than any mere space
battleship or its worst attack.
"TRELAINA!" roared
Zordar in a fearful voice as he looked at the massive, looming phantom of the
mysterious woman of Telezart that he thought was dead.
"Zordar," said
Trelaina's voice on the bridge. "I have come because you need me."
Zordar looked on in horror.
"Cease Firing!" he screamed. "Reverse course IMMEDIATELY!"
The dreadnought, which had been
facing towards Earth, turned hard about and began to roar away. Zordar was
hoping to escape the dreaded ball of light that was Trelaina of Telezart.
But, Trelaina continued,
relentlessly, to pursue Zordar.
"You need to learn,
Zordar," she said. "A new way, another way!"
"Let me at the
controls!" he screamed, shoving a hapless helmeted junior officer aside,
with no trace of repentance in his heart...nothing but cold, unreasoning fear.
"You have misused your
power!" intoned Trelaina. "I am here to return you to the
Cosmos!"
Zordar looked up, noting that
even at full speed, his ship could not escape from
Trelaina and her cursed energy field, which swallowed up the ship like some
terrible, living thing.
Prince Zordar had no time to
reflect upon much of anything in his last moments. All that he could do was scream like an enraged animal.
Soon, Zordar's screams faded
into nothingness as a mighty roar filled the ship. In a mere two seconds,
Trelaina's mind-energy turned her semi-astral form and Zordar's dreadnought and
crew into nothing. The ship dissolved like dust, and a mighty, pure-white
explosion dispersed what was left into nothingness as, for a moment, a virtual
new star erupted into being in Earth orbit...
...and then faded.
Zordar, at least in his physical
essence, had indeed been changed...changed into impotent, harmless subatomic
dust.
In his spiritual essence, too,
Zordar had been changed, and immediately consigned to a fate far different than
his self-proclaimed role as Lord of the Universe. The revelations that would
await Zordar when he met Destiny face-to-face were to be more stunning than the
manner of his physical end. However, as such matters are not within the
province of this tale, they shall not be discussed here, except to state this:
Trelaina was correct. There
were, indeed, great powers in the Universe, both unknown and unseen.
Let it simply be said that the
demise of Zordar was noticed in many places, and at many times.
One of these places, of course,
was on the bridge of the nearest ship; the space battleship Argo.
Derek and Nova shielded their
eyes with their arms as Trelaina accomplished her final task in this plane.
Watching the holocaust, they trembled at the mighty forces Trelaina unleashed.
When it faded, tears filled both
of their eyes.
"Goodbye, Trelaina,"
said Derek. "And, thank you. For everything. For saving Venture. For loving Earth so much! It's true we
can't understand, " he said, bowing his head,
"...but it's not important. Your love has saved Earth!"
Wildstar saluted Trelaina in
honor while a trembling Nova held both hands over her heart. For a long time,
both of them stood in silence.
But, finally, they knew there
was more to be done.
"Nova," said Wildstar.
"Secure Venture in his place with the warp restraints while I see if I can
transmit from the command station."
"Roger," she said, in
a shaky but controlled voice. "You're calling Earth, I presume?"
"Yes...we'll need landing
clearance. But, I'm going to see if I can set the transmitter to a wide
dispersion radius."
"Why?" asked Forrester
as she began to lock Venture into place, checking his pulse for a moment. It was a little weak, but it was still there.
"I think we should let
anyone who might be left alive on the outer bases...or in any patrol
ships...know about the end of Zordar...and...maybe...if
the message can be picked up...I think we deserve to let someone else know of
the victory, as well...provided he's still in the solar system."
"Desslok?" asked Nova
as she came up.
"Uh-huh," said
Wildstar. "He did, after all, help us."
Nova nodded in assent. Together,
both of them worked on the controls for the radio transmitter.
Below, on Earth, Earth Defense
Headquarters was in chaos.
"This is Sydney Command,"
said a voice from one of the damaged communications consoles in the Operations
room. "We've taken heavy damage. Can you respond? Over."
"
"Negative. We're too badly
damaged."
"Just like us."
"How come you didn't come
in?"
"Many people are dead,
here,
"Sir!" said the
speaker from
"It's bad everywhere. Two
hours ago, one of Zordar's bursts hit us point-blank. The burst ruined a large
part of the Capital District, and we have taken some collateral damage."
"Our
building's barely standing, sir. A lot of people here are dead," crackled the voice from
"It's just as bad
here," sighed the Commander. "A burst blew straight in through the
outer wall of Operations, killing much of the ready crew at their consoles. I
only have a skeleton crew working here, and we're patching a lot of our
communications through the underground headquarters."
"We're on battery power,
sir," said the Lieutenant. "Can you send aid?"
"We'll do what we can. I'm
having a hard time establishing communications with the rest of
"Yessir, we understand.
I..."
"Lieutenant?" snapped
Singleton.
"Sorry, sir...this wound in
my side...it's bleeding pretty good," said the crackling voice as, in the
background behind Singleton, a soot-covered nurse bleeding from a head wound
took a deep breath to choke back her own sickness as she and a medic suddenly
found the remains of an officer under a crushed console. "Getting kind of
dizzy, sir...that's all. Should be on duty soon.
The signal faded with a blast of
static as the Commander snapped, "Mister Pierson, try to raise them again.
We need casualty figures."
"Yessir."
As the Commander through the
debris, he noticed the nurse and medic moving the litter.
"How is that man?" he
asked.
"Dead, sir," said the
nurse with a shake of her head. Singleton noticed that her blackened tunic was
torn in several places, and that her bloody right ankle was showing through the
torn remnants of her boot, but she didn't seem to be aware of her own injuries.
"Sir...I've never seen anything like this before...not here..."
"Neither have I..,"
replied the Commander softly. "Where did you come from?"
"Eighteenth floor
infirmary. It was on fire a while ago. We put it out. Half the ready crew's
dead."
"Do you know where General
Stone is?"
"Negative,
sir. We haven't seen
him. Sir...permission to speak?"
"For a
moment. What is
it?"
"Have you heard from the
Star Force? Surely Captain Wildstar must have something..."
"The Argo was
attacked a few hours ago by Zordar's ship. Since then, we've lost
contact."
"I see, sir," said the
nurse, fighting back tears. "Any orders?"
"Carry on. For as long as
we can, until..."
"Until
what, sir?"
"Until they send their
fleet back," said Singleton softly.
"I see, sir," said the
nurse as she heard someone else screaming in pain. "Private, get some
help," she snapped. "Sir...as you tell...I'm
needed elsewhere."
"Carry on,
Lieutenant..."
"Lieutenant Howe, sir. I
went to Iscandar with the Star Force in 2199."
"I see," said
Singleton. "Carry on, Lieutenant Howe."
Lieutenant Tricia Howe nodded as
she ran over to help the man who had cried out.
The Commander walked over to his
post with a heavy heart as more reports of damage came in from other parts of
the globe. At his post, Singleton shook his head in despair. The Star Force
hadn't been heard from for hours, and, indeed, Earth hadn't been able to
establish communications with anything beyond low orbit due to the intense
atmospheric ionization caused by Zordar's repeated siege cannon barrages.
His efforts, his hopes that the
Star Force would fight on were finally dashed when Zordar had left the Argo
a burning wreck, and when the last communication from the Star Force indicated
that the Argo was being abandoned.
Star Force, you did all you
could he thought. If you
had prevailed, I would have seen to it that you were decorated many times over.
But now...what will become of you? You'll eventually be captured...I guess...or
fight on as partisans...but I'll never reveal your whereabouts to them. I...
At Singleton's desk, a comm
signal went off.
"Yes?" he said.
"Is that YOU, Stone?" said Singleton in disbelief.
"It is. Commander,"
said Brigadier General Stone from what seemed like a great distance, "I've
assumed command of the second ready crew in the underground city. We've noticed
something."
"Yes?"
"Your scanners probably
aren't working, and ours are working rather poorly, but we've just pieced
together that four scanners detected a sudden surge of energy going entirely
off the scale, near the last known location of the Comet Empire's
battleship."
"...And?"
"After the surge faded, we
noticed that the random fire from the ship came to a complete stop. What
they've been telling us is hard to make out, but there was something about a
woman's voice coming through somewhere under all of the interference."
"A woman's voice,"
said Singleton. "Trelaina? That's how all of this
started."
"There's something else.
After the energy surge faded, the Comet Empire battleship faded off every one
of our sensors. We haven't been able to pick up any trace of it."
"None? It's gone?"
"Gone?" yelled a
lieutenant below them.
"They're finished?"
cried another officer. "YEAH! That means..."
"HOLD IT!" barked
Singleton. "We don't know all the details, yet!" he said. "Then?"
demanded the Commander, as he wiped some fresh sweat off his brow.
"We do have one object on
our scanners," said Stone. "But...it's much smaller than Zordar's
ship."
"Can you get a visual
fix?"
"No. We have it on radar,
and...sir...we're picking up a signal; voice-only, but
a little fuzzy. We can make out words, and..."
"Stone?" asked the
Commander as he fell silent.
"I'm patching this right
through to you over the link," said Stone in an excited voice. "Sir,
I think you will find this to be good news..."
The Commander listened as two
circuits came up, with a loud hum, and then, through a lot of crackling
interference, a familiar voice said, "This is a report to the Commander,
the rest of the Earth Defense Command, should it be functioning, and any other
Earth Defense units active outside of Area One, as well as to any other
friendly forces who can receive this communication..."
"WILDSTAR!" yelled an
officer at a console.
"He made it!" cried
Howe, smiling for the first time in hours as her dirty, pony-tailed head came
up.
"He was on the Argo all
along!" someone else yelled. "He must have been planning some kind of
last stand! Can we ask him what happened?"
"No, we only have one-way
orbital communications at present," said the Commander.
"Gentlemen..." said Wildstar,
"At approximately 1557 hours, Prince Zordar and his dreadnought were both
neutralized and destroyed by a final, gallant sacrifice by Trelaina of
Telezart, who has also, somehow, returned Lieutenant Commander Mark Venture to
life and has returned him to us. I was about to send the Argo on a
collision course with Zordar's ship when I learned that Lieutenant Nova
Forrester had remained aboard to assist me. It is my request that she should be
commended for her bravery in volunteering to assist me in this final run upon
the dreadnought, which was to have ended, hopefully, with our escape. However,
this course of action became unnecessary when Trelaina appeared on the Argo,
returned Venture to us, and then left to fight Zordar herself. She won, at the
cost of her life. All of Earth should join in thanking her for her great
love."
"Further, others aided us
in our effort to stop Zordar. Many members of the Star Force were either killed
or injured in our defeat and destruction of the
Wildstar paused before
continuing. "Lieutenant Forrester has informed me that the Argo's
flight recorder, which was still functioning, picked up a full record of
Zordar's demise in spite of heavy damage to the ship. We wish to request
landing clearance at any working base within the vicinity of the Megalopolis,
and we also request medical assistance for Lieutenant Commander Venture, who is
alive but comatose. Argo, signing off..."
The remaining officers in
Operations began to applaud. The Commander stifled their applause with a wave
of his hand, and said, "General Stone, is there
some way you can transmit a reply to the Argo?"
"One of our fighter bases
is semi-intact, and can transmit a reply if I relay it by telephone."
"Very
good. Find a working
landing pad near the city, and direct the Argo to it. Was
"It was near one of the
undamaged areas, sir," said Stone. "I've received reports that surviving
members of the Star Force are already at the hospital being treated."
"Send a medical team to the
landing pad."
"Yessir," said Stone. "Sir. I've just been informed that there's one working
landing pad at the Cliffside Space Naval Yard. It's just big enough to
accommodate the Argo."
"Pad
Number?"
"Twelve,
sir."
"Stone, assume command.
Make certain the Argo is directed to Pad Twelve at Cliffside. I'm going
to be there. In the meantime, contact all surviving members of the Defense
Council whose whereabouts are known. We'll need to meet tonight but the damage
is too severe to hold the conference here. Is the Presidential residence
undamaged?"
"Yessir...it is."
"General, inform the
Defense Council that a briefing will be held tonight at 2100 Hours at the
Presidential residence. I'm going to make certain that Wildstar, Forrester, and
that flight recorder tape are present."
"Yessir. And you?"
"As I said, I'll be there
when the Argo lands...to extend my thanks to Wildstar. That will be
all."
"Yessir," said Stone.
"Do you think they received
the message?" asked Nova. "No one's replied yet."
"I hope so," said
Derek, looking down at the fading fires and plumes of smoke from Zordar's bombardment, which were still visible, even from this
distance. "Look at what Zordar did to the planet," he whispered in
awe and anger.
Suddenly, the speaker squawked.
"Star Force, please acknowledge."
"This is the Argo,"
said Wildstar. "Go ahead."
"Star Force," said the
anonymous voice. "The Defense Command has received your message, and
wishes to extend its congratulations to you for the news you have brought and
your role in the apparent victory. However, we have a request. Have you spotted
any remnants of Cometine forces from the city or the fleet that flew over the
Megalopolis on 6 November? Over."
Wildstar glanced at Nova, who
shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid we
haven't," said Wildstar.
"Then, proceed with all due
caution. You are granted landing clearance; on course vector PXT-122-A. You are
directed to proceed directly to Landing Pad Number Twelve at the Cliffside
Space Naval Yard. Be advised that visibility is poor due to continued fires in
the capital. Again, our thanks. Please
acknowledge."
"This is the Argo,"
said Wildstar. "Acknowledged. Expect our arrival.
Regards, Wildstar, Acting Captain of the Argo and
Deputy Captain of the Star Force."
At that, the transmission faded.
"Nova," said Derek.
"Let's go home."
Nova
Forrester
nodded.
The battered Argo turned,
and began to head down on its given course towards Earth.
********
The Gamilon Fleet was now well
outside the solar system. From Carrier Number Two, also known as the Eliasite,
after one of the Gamilon Empire's major battles, Leader Desslok was exerting
his command presence until he could transfer to another ship. He didn't find
the mundane tri-deck carrier to his liking, but he lived with it.
He was sitting in his stateroom
in silence, pondering quietly over his next course of action when his intercom
beeped.
"Yes?" he said in his mellifluous
voice.
"Leader Desslok, this is
Talan. I have two messages to report."
"Enter," said Desslok
as he poured a glass of wine in order to collect his thoughts.
"Yes?" he said.
"There are two
reports," said Talan. "The first comes from the crew of the
battleship Paravenia. She returned with the picket vessels you recalled
from the battle area near Earth. As you know, before the battle, you had placed
picket ships at strategic points to report on the Argo's presence should
she try to make a break for it. The pickets are just making their rendezvous
with us now. "
"And?"
"To begin with, Captain Vorkil is pleased to report that he was able to send a
damage control crew aboard your former flagship, the Gamilstadt, which,
as you know, we abandoned after our battle with the Star Force. Most of the
fires had died out of their own accord; their men were able to deal with the
rest. Although it was hazardous, they were able to take your
former flagship in tow, where they now have it. They think salvage
efforts may be workable, although they note that parts of the Gamilstadt's plating
seem to have been stripped near the area where the Argo collided with
her."
Desslok simply chuckled
ironically. "I don't begrudge them that."
"Sir?" said Talan with
wide eyes.
"I don't begrudge some
surplus materiel to the Star Force. They needed that to repair their ship, no
doubt. I wonder how they fared against Zordar?"
"That was the second
subject of my message, sir," said Talan. "A short while ago, the
commander of destroyer Z-128 reported seeing a bright flare of light at
extreme range on his sensors. When magnified, it appeared to be, per his
report, the
Desslok smiled at this news. "And?"
"He reported seeing another
blast shortly afterwards. Then, they picked up a bit of the following message,
apparently from Captain Wildstar to the Earth Defense Command. Permit me to
read it. It reads:
"... we
owe our thanks to Admiral Gideon, Captain of the Andromeda, who advised
us to attack the
"Was there any more?"
asked Desslok.
"No, but they did report
that many messages were intercepted from Earth regarding Trelaina...before, of
course, they were recalled."
"I wonder what Trelaina had
to do with this?" mused Desslok. "At any
rate, Talan, our fleet is accounted for?"
Talan nodded.
"Talan, take some wine. I
need to drink a toast with you."
"Sir?"
"My
orders, Talan."
Mystified, Talan found a spare
glass and poured himself some. Then, he stood holding the goblet, wondering
what Desslok would propose next.
At that, Desslok raised his
glass in salute. "Talan, I would like to drink, now, to the Star Force.
They won, with the aid of my advice...as I expected they would," he said
with an ironic smile.
"We are drinking...to the Star
Force, sir?"
"To their health...and the
hope we may meet again, some day, as I told the young woman."
"Of course, sir," said
Talan.
Desslok and Talan drank. Then,
Talan said, "Sir, your orders?"
"Is my flagship securely in
tow?"
"It is."
"Very
well. It is my
understanding that we re-established contact with a dockyard near our old Fifth
Defense Line beyond this galaxy?"
"We did, sir, shortly after
we parted ways with Zordar and the Comet Empire. They promised to send
reinforcements..."
"Which have not arrived. Where was the dockyard located?"
"At
Garalenda, sir. It's
a small, desolate planet, rather like Pluto. The other dockyard we contacted
was at Miralden, sir, near the Third Line, past Balan."
"We will make our way to
Garalenda," said Desslok. "Given that my flagship is being towed, I
expect it will take a while. At Garalenda, we will complete the repairs to my
flagship, which shall commence now, as we are underway. Then, we will head for
Miralden, and gather up any other useful units and personnel available at
either of those facilities. And them..."
"Sir?"
"Then, I will decide our
new course of action."
"Yessir," said Talan.
He raised his hand in salute. Desslok returned the salute and said,
"Talan, we will speak further at a later time. In a few days..."
"Yessir?"
"...I will speak to the
troops. Then, I expect that my course of action will be clearer."
"Of
course, sir."
At that, Talan left.
III. HOME
Earth
The Federal Megalopolis
Cliffside Space Naval Station
November 15, 2201
1632 Hours--Spacetime
Dusk was falling over the
Megalopolis, which was still burning, as General Singleton arrived at the area
around Landing Pad Number 12, only to find that it was sheer pandemonium.
Apparently, some leak had taken
place. Crowds of reporters had formed a gauntlet around the pad, just barely
kept back by a cordon of Space Marines, some of whom were working to keep back
the crowds of civilians behind the reporters.
"Sir," said an aide to
Singleton. "This is utter chaos."
"Nonetheless, I still must
get in there," said the Commander as he stepped from his staff aircar.
"How did this damn circus
happen?" asked another aide. "What right do they have to harangue you
like that?" he asked as several aides surrounded the Commander to keep the
press back.
"Listen, don't you see they
need hope?" roared Singleton. "To them, the Star Force symbolizes
hope. Thanks to them, and thanks to Trelaina, we have that hope again. Can you
blame them for wanting to know, even if I can't answer for security
reasons...?"
At that, a few reporters got
free and ran up to Singleton with their microphones.
"Sir, is the Star Force's
arrival truly imminent?"
"Commander, are there any
truths to the rumor that the Government has just stepped down?"
"What is being done to
avert panic in the city and surrounding counties?"
"Is Captain Wildstar being
presented the Sunburst of Honor at this time?"
"Sir, is it true you're
here to arrest Wildstar for his disobedience of orders this morning near
sunrise when he attacked the
"No comment at this
time," said one of the Commander's aides. "The Commanding General is
only present to greet the..."
"There she is!" yelled
a civilian.
"What?" cried a reporter.
"I see the Argo...look!"
yelled another member of the press.
At that, all eyes turned upwards,
along with the reporters' video cameras. A mighty roar was coming up in the
dusk as a dot far off in the sky began to appear through a pall of smoke from
part of the city. Slowly, the dot took shape, just as it was noticed that it
had wings.
The crowd hushed as the roar
grew louder. Slowly, the shape of a battered space battleship with a blue
topside and bright red underbelly appeared in the darkening sky, with a few,
only a few of her running lights working.
The crowd began to cheer as the
ship slowed, and began to drop down towards the pad on her thrusters. Then,
some of the cheering stopped when the full extent of the Argo's damage
became visible. The cheers turned to sighs of awe, and quite a few of the EDF
officers and men present stopped at their tasks to look up at the battered old
warrior. One saluted, followed by another, and followed by others.
Finally, even the Commander
stopped what he was doing. In a brisk, ceremonial fashion, he raised his hand
in salute, and many of the people nearby applauded again as he went up inside
the landing terminal under the pad.
In the terminal, hordes of
reporters had set up their ambushes near the end of the egress tunnel near the
counter. The counter area, normally staffed with spaceport officials and security
personnel, was vacant except for a few Space Marines standing near the egress
hatch.
The wait seemed to be quite
long, until someone noticed the egress hatch sliding open. It opened, and, a
moment later, a team of medics raced up from nowhere, one of them pushing a
litter.
A moment later, many video
camera lights went on, and flash after flash went off as Wildstar and Forrester
appeared in the egress hatch. Derek was carrying Venture, and Nova was carrying
a small bag by a drawstring over her shoulder; both of them looked a little
stunned at the crowd and all of the questions being shouted at them.
Unexpectedly, a short little
Asian man in a white Medical uniform ran up and screamed in a high voice,
"Hold the questions, damnit! Hold all the questions until they at least
put Venture down on something!"
"Who are YOU?" yelled
a reporter.
"Sakezo Sane, Chief Medical
Officer of the Star Force!" he yelled. "Can't you see that we have a
sick man here in need of medical care?"
Still, the cameras went off as
Wildstar, helped by Nova and a medic, lowered Venture down onto the waiting
litter. After the silence, a few more reporters shouted questions, until they
were stilled by another raised hand as the Commander of the Earth Defense
Forces appeared.
Wildstar, Nova, Dr. Sane, and
all of the other EDF personnel present saluted the Commander as he walked up.
Singleton returned the salutes as he walked up towards Wildstar.
"Commander," he said
to Wildstar as he extended his hand in greeting. "You, Lieutenant Forrester,
and Lieutenant Commander Venture have the thanks of all of Earth tonight.
Without your bravery this morning, all of us might now be on our way to
concentration camps established by Prince Zordar and his generals. All of us
owe you a great debt."
"Thank you, sir," said
Wildstar and Nova in unison.
"What were you planning to
do, Wildstar?" asked Dr. Sane.
"Yes, what WERE you
planning?" yelled a reporter who shoved a microphone into Wildstar's face.
"I'm not sure this is the
time or place to comment on their mission objectives," said Singleton.
"Isn't it enough to know that the Comet Empire's space warship was
defeated?"
In defiance of the Commander,
the press shouted more questions in their direction, until Singleton snapped,
"Enough for now! These two have to get their comrade to the hospital, and
then they are to appear before the Council for a debriefing at 2100 tonight at
the Presidential residence."
"Will it be carried
live?" demanded a reporter.
"Good God, NO!"
snapped Singleton. "They should be ready to meet the press tomorrow,"
said the Commander.
Outside, an ambulance backed up
to the courtyard before the landing gate for Venture. Again, Wildstar and Nova
worked to help the medics get Venture on board. Looking to the Commander for permission
to leave, he nodded, and they followed Venture and Dr. Sane into the ambulance.
"He's going to need a
stimulant!" yelled Dr. Sane inside the ambulance as the doors shut out the
noise and applause from the crowd. "Nova, help this man get it running!"
"Yes, doctor," said
Nova, who, for the first time, was betraying a hint of tiredness in the stoop
of her shoulders. She set the IV, and then looked at Wildstar and yawned.
"How long have you been
up?" whispered Derek.
"Since 0100 yesterday
morning...," said Nova. "I was able to get some rest before we took
off to attack the
"You don't look like
it," he said as the ambulance took off. "Nova, how much sleep did you
get when I was out in Sickbay after you took me off Desslok's ship?"
"She only slept for about
an hour or two that night, right near your bedside in a chair." sniffed
Doctor Sane. "That was almost two days ago, young lady," snorted
Sane. "No one can go without sleep that long."
"We had jobs to do,"
said Nova. "You know that."
"When did you two sleep
before that?" challenged Sane.
"The night of November
12th, when we were trying to catch up with the Comet Empire," said Nova.
"At least that's how much I got. I don't know about Derek." Forrester
paused for a moment to connect a sensor array to Venture. "The
unit's working, Doctor. Venture's heart rate has stabilized a bit, and I
have more to do. Derek, do you see that hatch to your left?"
Wildstar nodded.
"Open it. You'll find a
blue bag in there. It's an airway kit," yawned
Nova. "We're going to need it in case Mark's respiratory rate or
oxygen-blood gas level goes down too much."
Wildstar nodded as he got the
kit. Doctor Sane said, "You two are incredible, with your lack of sleep
and rest," as he prepared a syringe.
"Why does this matter now,
Doctor?" demanded Wildstar as the ambulance leaned into a turn.
"It's important. It's a
matter of your health!" barked Doctor Sane. "How much sleep
did YOU get over the past few days?" demanded Dr. Sane as he prepped his
syringe as the ambulance sped through town.
"A bit more," said
Wildstar.
"Not enough!" he said.
"I prescribe sleep for both of you after the Defense Council gets through
with you, and some rest when we get to the Hospital."
"Don't we have to help you
with Mark?" asked Nova.
"I have enough nurses and
medics there to assist me, Nova," snapped Doctor Sane. "With all
respect, you've done more than enough nursing in the past couple of days! If
they give out medals for young nurses who keep on working with drooping
eyelids, you'd be the first one in line," said Sane.
"I'm sure there's people
awake who have been doing more than me, especially in Headquarters and the
city, and I'm sure they've been doing it while injured," said Nova.
"We'd better keep our minds on our work. God knows Mark's going to need a
lot of care to be stabilized, let alone brought around again."
"Hold on!" yelled a
medic. "The ambulance is coming to a stop now!"
"You two are
ridiculous," said Dr. Sane. "Both of you need REST!"
They braced themselves as the
vehicle stopped. "Doctor," said Nova. "Please! Let me get a cup
of coffee, and then I'll help you with Mark until it's time for the Defense
Council to debrief us."
"Why don't you want to find
a couch and get some sleep?"
"Because I'm a working
girl, Doctor!" snapped Nova. "I don't need beauty naps."
"Doctor, I think she should
do anything that'll keep her busy for a bit if she wants to," said
Wildstar. "We'll both have to be awake to talk to the Defense
Council, you know. Where are you putting Venture?"
"Intensive Care, I'd
guess," said Nova.
Doctor Sane nodded at that.
"That's right...intensive care for this patient."
"Okay. I'll be waiting in
the lounge," said Wildstar as they came out of the ambulance, to a few more
reporters. They waved them off, and went inside the hospital, guarded by a
cordon of Space Marines.
Wildstar took his place inside
the visitors' waiting area for the Intensive Care Unit. A few others were sitting
in the area, reading magazines, talking, and that sort of thing. Derek guessed
that they were so involved with their loved ones that they didn't recognize
him. Of course, he thought, maybe the green fatigue jacket that a friendly
Marine had thrown to him in order to help disguise the upper half of his Star
Force uniform from the reporters didn't hurt, either.
Wildstar's hair was hanging in
his face, and he was beginning to look tired as he paged through an aerospace
magazine that someone had left on a side table near a couch. He jumped a little
as someone tapped his arm.
"Excuse me," said a
soft voice, "Mind if I get you some coffee?"
Wildstar looked down at the
figure's feet, clad in white boots, and when looking up, realized he was
looking at a young woman in a nurse's tunic. He almost muttered, "Hi,
Nova," until he caught a glimpse of the girl's hair and realized she had
dark brown hair.
"How are you?" she
asked.
"Tired."
"You look it, sir,"
said the girl. "Duty in the city?"
"You could say that,"
said Wildstar, relieved that his cover wasn't about to be blown.
"C'mon," she said,
taking his hand unexpectedly. "You're tired...you want someone to buy you
some coffee...well...I'm on break...at least until they need someone in Suite
Five...I'll take you to the snack bar, and..."
"Not a good idea,"
muttered Wildstar.
"Why?"
"Uhh...my fiancé' would
mind, I think," said Wildstar, still trying to get used to the idea that
he wasn't officially alone in the world any longer.
"Is she a patient?"
"No...she's
a nurse here...part of the time, although..."
The girl looked down at
Wildstar's pants cuffs in their red and white glory and suddenly said,
"Ohhhh! I see! Fiancé', huh?" she said. "Good for you. Okay,
I'll buy you some coffee from that vending machine. Got any change?"
"Well...," said
Wildstar as he patted at the pockets of the borrowed fatigue jacket.
"Actually...uhh...I'm broke."
"No sweat...I'll buy
it," said the persistent nurse. "Oh, my name's Natalie. Natalie
Fisher, sir. Nursing officer, Junior Lieutenant. Let
me get you that coffee, okay?"
"Right."
Natalie went over to the machine
and got some coffee. "By the way," she whispered conspiratorially as
she came back. "Is your fiancée' blonde?"
"Yeah..."
"Does she have an accent
sort of like mine?"
"Western
or Midwestern
"Think I know her,
then," said Natalie as she handed him the paper cup of coffee. "See
you later, sir," she said. "Oh. One last thing.
You ARE engaged?"
"Yeah..." said
Wildstar, who was getting a little annoyed at this Lieutenant's nosiness.
"If we're thinking of the
same person, she'll be really happy...and so will I."
"Why?"
"It'll FINALLY shut her
up! She's been hoping you'd pop the question for over a year
now! See you later, sir."
"Where do they get these
junior officers FROM?" muttered Wildstar as Natalie left.
Wildstar sat waiting for quite a
while. He lost all track of time as he lost himself in yet another magazine,
this one having an article about the upgrade program for the Type 100 Astro Fox
recon plane. The article ended with the notion that the Type 100's future was
both unknown and uncertain.
Like that of the Argo? thought
Wildstar to himself. I hope they repair her again, and don't go back to the notion
of turning her into a machine...not after all we've been through...
At that, the lights flickered
once in the hospital...once...twice...and then, they came back on again.
Wildstar looked up, wondering
what was going on, when he noticed a middle-aged man in a dark brown jacket and
turtleneck approaching, followed closely by a rather thin middle-aged woman in
a green turtleneck, blue miniskirt, and black boots. They were followed by a
young eleven-year old boy in a green and yellow top and green
slacks.
"Excuse me," asked the
woman, as she looked at Wildstar, who had his head turned into the magazine.
"You're with the Star Force; aren't you?"
"Yes, I am," said
Wildstar, who turned his head from the magazine to face the woman. Guessing she
wasn't a reporter, he said, "I'm Derek Wildstar; the Acting Captain of the
Argo and Deputy Captain of the Star Force..."
"You're Wildstar?"
asked the man.
"Yes..."
"Well...would you know
anything about the condition of Mark Venture?" asked the woman. "You
see...I'm his mother...and...."
"Mrs. Venture?" said
Wildstar. "I take it," he said, looking at the older man,
"that...you're his father."
"Yes, Captain," said
the man, who came forward. "My name's David Venture...this is my wife,
Carol...and our younger son, Jordy. How's our son?"
"He was brought here in
critical condition." said Wildstar as a few of the others in the room
happened to notice him at last, and quite a few faces turned towards him.
"Right now, a number of our best surgeons and nurses are in there working
on your son."
"How was he injured?"
asked Carol shakily.
"He was injured in one of
the battles we had a few days ago while attempting to protect another member of
my crew," said Wildstar. "It was a very brave deed, and I've
recommended him for a number of decorations because of it. Your son is a very
highly valued member of the Star Force...and one of my closest friends. I'm
sure he'll be fine..."
Carol Venture nodded once, with
tears in her eyes, while Jordy said, "You're sure my big brother will be
all right?"
"He's in very good
hands," said Wildstar, not sure what else to say, as he didn't know what
was going on in the operating room. "I'm sure they'll do all they can for
him.."
"Thank you, Captain,"
said David Venture with a visibly choked-up voice. "I guess all we can do
is..."
"Where IS she?!?"
demanded a hysterical woman's voice from outside in what was almost a scream.
"Teri...I'm sure she's
okay..."
"But where IS she?"
demanded the voice again as its owner came into view before Wildstar and the
Venture family. It belonged to a woman who seemed to be a little more
expensively dressed than Carol Venture. She was in a pale pink pantsuit, with
black boots and a string of pearls around her neck. She wore her hair in a bun
similar to Mrs. Venture's, but it was a lighter shade of brown, and her eyes
were quite a bit darker. They were also streaked with quite a bit of mascara,
as she was crying.
"I've been trying to tell
you...Teri," said the man in a dark blue suit and white turtleneck who was
following her, "...our neighbor said that she was just fine. He saw her
for a moment on the video report."
"But I've got to see her
myself! What if she was hurt in this terrible war?" cried the woman.
"Ma'am," said Wildstar
as he got up. "If I'm not intruding, can I possibly help you?"
"Who is he?" demanded
the woman in a distraught manner as she turned towards Carol Venture.
"Well...he's...,"
began Carol, but she was cut off by another voice.
"He's just the man I care
for, Mother," said Nova as she entered the room herself, gently pushing
her way past her mother. Wildstar noticed that she looked somewhat mussed up
and was still in her black -on- gold Star Force uniform, and not in a nurses'
tunic.
"Nova...you're ALL
RIGHT!" cried Teri Forrester very loudly as she threw her arms around her
daughter and began to weep hysterically.
"Yes...I'm fine."
"I was worried SICK!"
wept Teri. "You wouldn't know how much I was worrying about you...I was
afraid that you'd be thrown in jail when you got back...all because of that
awful mutiny you were involved in, and..."
"Mother, I went with them
of my own free will," said Nova proudly. "As a matter of fact, Derek
opposed my being on the ship at first!" said Lieutenant Forrester as she
looked at Wildstar.
"How's Mark doing?" he
asked. "His family's here."
"Mother...Father...we'll
talk in a moment," said Nova softly but firmly. "Derek...Mark's still
unconscious, but he's stable. You're his parents?" asked Nova.
"Yes," said Carol
Venture with tears in her eyes.
"The doctor will be out
soon to talk with you. Mark's going to be here for a while; and maybe the doctor'll let you see him later tonight, if it helps. He's
very brave..," said Nova softly. "Especially
because he was trying to save me from enemy fire. Your son's a dear
friend to both Captain Wildstar and myself, and a very good officer." .
"Whose decision was it to
fight on for Earth like that?" asked David Venture in a husky voice.
"Mine," said Wildstar
softly.
"Well...," said Karl
Forrester as he gently took his wife's hands and motioned her aside slightly,
"...you have the thanks of everyone on Earth, myself
included. I take it you're Captain Wildstar?"
"Yes, sir...I am...I'm only
the Acting Captain of the Argo. I haven't officially been promoted yet."
"Well, my daughter Nova's
had nothing but good to say about you for the past year," said Mr.
Forrester. "She's a very lucky young woman, Captain. We're staying in
temporary quarters in the underground city right now, since we don't know what
sort of condition our house is in, but you can reach me at my office. I work at
a law firm in the city, and the office wasn't hit." Karl took a business
card out of his jacket and hastily scribbled a number on the back. "That's
our current home number. I'd like to have you and Nova come
over for some Thanksgiving dinner on the twenty-sixth for the local holiday, if
they give you leave."
"Of
course. They give us
leave for local holidays like that," said Wildstar. "We'll be
honored."
"Derek...they'll want us at
the Presidential Residence for the briefing by 2100," said Nova.
"Even though I'm not sure how we're going to get there, of course..."
"How are the others
doing?" he asked as they left.
"Fine. Are YOU okay?" asked Nova.
"Yeah...tired," said
Wildstar. "Why do you ask?"
"I sent my friend Natalie
out to check on you before. I was relieved when she said you seemed all
right."
"Is her last name
Fisher?" asked Wildstar as they entered an elevator.
"Yes, it is."
"She's a friend of
yours?" asked Derek, who suddenly wasn't surprised.
"Yes, Derek. I've known her
since my childhood in
"That would explain a
lot," chuckled Wildstar.
"What do you mean?"
"Well...she was asking a
lot of questions...that's all. By the way...between us, how IS Mark?"
"It was touch and go for a
while," sighed Nova. "But...we do have him stabilized...for
now."
"For now?"
"Well...we're not sure when
he's going to come out of the coma..," said Nova. "Our scans showed a
lot of neurological damage," she said quietly.
"I see," sighed
Wildstar. "Well...let's get ready to go to Headquarters," he said as
the doors of the elevator opened.
They emerged into the hospital
lobby...into a snake pit of reporters. Questions were shouted at them left and
right, but Wildstar's response was, remembering the Commander's implicit
request that he not speak to the press before the briefing, simply variations
on "no comment," repeated over and over again. It went on like that
until they were met at the door by four Space Marines, who walked the somewhat
dazed couple to a staff car that was waiting for them outside in the plaza in
front of
They were in the car and on
their way before they could react. "Sir," said an enlisted orderly,
sitting next to Wildstar. "They told me to issue both of you new
peacoats...I hope they fit."
"Thanks, Corporal,"
said Wildstar as he shrugged out of his borrowed Marine coat and shrugged into
the pro-offered blue, red, and gold peacoat, which, he noticed, had the number
"3" sewn on one sleeve. The jacket that Nova was struggling into had
the same marking on her sleeve.
"I see that you guys didn't
miss a trick," said Wildstar with a slight grin.
"No, sir," said the
Corporal. "The paperwork we were given indicated that you two were to be issued
these coats due to the Argo's prior posting as flagship of the Third
Interplanetary Patrol Squadron of the Earth Defense Forces. That was still your
official unit designation at the time of your departure, even though the
Commander detached the Argo and the Star Force from your normal
assignments to operate under his command. Is it correct, sir?" asked the
Corporal.
"Yes, it is. When we left,
I still had the number "15" on my coat, but we changed it right
before arriving on Saturn-Titan due to information we received in a text-only
dispatch from Admiral Gideon before I met with him in the command briefing on
the eighteenth. It's nice to see that someone's keeping tab of these things,
even in all this confusion," he said as he looked through the smoked car
windows at the fires still burning in the city.
"Thank you, sir," said
the Corporal as the car sped on towards its destination.
IV. BRIEFING & AFTERMATH
Earth
Federal Megalopolis
Presidential Residence
November 16, 2201
0238 Hours--Eastern Standard
Time
"So THAT'S how you justify
your actions?" barked Dr. Piper Sandberg, who was the disdainful head of
the Defense Council's Xeno-Cultural Bureau,
well-remembered by Derek Wildstar as the man who had mockingly called the Star
Force "a chivalrous outfit" a few weeks ago during the Defense
Council meeting where he had been denied permission to take the Argo out
again to investigate the mystery of Trelaina and the White Comet. "You're
like others who have acted dubiously as of late."
"Sir, we've discussed the
justification of our actions with you and the rest of the Council for the past
four hours, with all due respect," said Wildstar as he and Nova sat at the
Defense Council's meeting table in a secure lower level of the vast
Presidential Residence in the same place where the Cabinet usually met, and had
last met on the evening before the beginning of the battle of Saturn-Titan just
a few days ago. The Council was meeting there because its usual meeting room in
Defense Headquarters was unavailable due to damage to the building. "We
were out of touch with the Defense Command due to damage we sustained at
Saturn-Titan. We were one of the few remaining Defense Force vessels. When we
heard that Earth had surrendered, we determined that we had to do everything we
could to stop Zordar, or die trying."
"But we understand you
disobeyed orders," said Lt. General Dean H. Weller, the EDF's Chief of
Staff. "For that insubordination, you'd be court-martialed if it was my
decision. Orders must be obeyed, boy!"
"Orders that I advised
against sending because I knew of their determination to defend Earth,"
said Singleton.
"Orders you knew they
wouldn't obey, sir?" asked Lt. General Hidalgo Camacho, the Chief of
Logistics.
"Orders, thank God, that
they wouldn't have obeyed," said Singleton, after which the Council fell
silent for a moment, with some uncomfortably taking puffs from their
cigarettes. An orderly brought Wildstar a cup of water during the uncomfortable
pause.
"Orders," said
Brigadier General Franz Kohler, the Chief of Intelligence, in a rhetorical
tone. "When is it best not to obey orders? When Earth is threatened? When
these orders seem mindless, even heartless?"
"Sir, our orders have NOT
been heartless," said Lt. General William F. Weiner, the Military Attaché
to the Senate Armed Services Committee. "They've been well-reasoned. The
unavoidable fact that one can't escape is that there has been a pattern of
breaches of regulation and custom all around in this crisis, straight back to
General Charles Singleton's dubious reactivation of your outfit under his
command authority in the first place without our input."
"My actions, General, were justified under the emergency circumstances, You know that" sai