Dual Fan Fiction ❯ Interstellar Dual! ❯ Exile and Vengeance ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure and its characters are the property of Pioneer and whoever, not me. The rest is my property.
If you don’t behave, I’ll start charging rent

Italics: thoughts.
Bold: emphasized
Underlined: info from the author, such as definitions, clarifications, and the Author’s Note. Characters do not speak underlined words.
<>: a mecha is speaking

It was a Sunday morning, a month since the Marikesan War ended. Travis Ecks was awoken by "Kazuki, why can't you ever wake up?!"

"Yeow!! Get it off! Get it off!" Kazuki cried out.

"Kumu, you leave Kazuki alone!" Dee commanded.

Travis yawned, "My daily alarm clock...gone after today." While everyone was distracted, he claimed the bathroom to shower.

At the breakfast table, Dr. Ken Sanada was reading his newspaper.

Captain Sanada, Travis corrected in his mind, as he had been officially given the rank by the Planetary Defense Program.

"Well, good morning, Lt. Commander Ecks," the spiky-haired man greeted with a grin.

Travis wasn't yet used to his own rank, "Morning, Captain."

Lt. Kazuki Yotsuga was the next to the table, followed by Lt. (Junior Grade) Dee Sanada. "Good morning, everyone!" Dee chirped.

"Good morning, Dee," Travis smiled, Nobody makes her use rank titles. Hell, the PDP didn't even want her to HAVE a rank, young as she is. Lt. Mitsuki Sanada and her mother Akane brought in breakfast.

I'm kinda glad they didn't give Akane a rank. Dr. Sanada would pull rank just to pick on her, and they would fight a lot, Travis thought.

"Where's Yayoi? Oh. I forgot," Dee asked.

Yayoi quit a few weeks ago. She wanted to stay on Earth with Reika. Wasn't her only reason, Travis remembered.

"She's probably with her new boyfriend right now," Mitsuki answered.

"At least she's happy, right?" Dr. Sanada replied between sips of his coffee. "So, Kazuki, Travis, you ready for the move?"

Kazuki and Travis were moving to a small house a few blocks away. It had been agreed upon, as it was seen as improper for them to stay in the house with two girls. Kazuki and Mitsuki weren't thrilled with the idea, but they knew it was the only way to avoid shame. The two of them couldn't openly date until it was done. Travis knew he would miss the antics of the Sanada house, but was otherwise fine with it.

"I don't see why we all can't stay on the Skylight," Mitsuki complained.

"Because the ship is kept too far from school, constant studies and construction are going on, and space travel isn't going to happen until it's all done," Akane reminded her daughter.

"Yeah, I know..." Mitsuki sighed.

***

The move went fairly easily. Furniture was bought using the boys' salaries, and delivered by professional movers. Otherwise, there wasn't much to bring over, their rooms being so small at the Sanada house. Now, the boys had larger rooms of their own.

As Travis and Kazuki settled in after everyone had left, Kazuki commented, "I'm going to miss Mitsuki's wake-up calls."

"Me too. An alarm clock just isn't gonna be the same as hearing you two yell," Travis admitted, smirking. Kazuki laughed.

The doorbell chimed. Travis opened the front door to find Lt. (JG) Mitsuki Rara. Before she could say anything, Travis pulled her to him and administered a deep kiss. As he pulled away, he said, "I guess I'm guilty of fraternization with another officer. Can't help it. I love you."

Mitsuki R. blushed at his affection, "I just came over to see your new house."

"Mitsuki, you live a block away. I can see your house from here, so I know you can see this one. So, why'd you really come?" Travis queried.

Mitsuki R. blushed again, "I wanted to see you."

Travis lightly tilted her head towards his, "Here I am, gorgeous. Do you want to come in?"

"No, I better go home. Tell Kazuki I said hi," she turned to leave.

Travis embraced her from behind. "I'll see you tomorrow then. That's an order, Lieutenant Rara," he jokingly told her.

"Yes, Lt. Commander," she left with a pleasant feeling.

***

The next morning, Travis woke to his alarm buzzing next to his bed. He heard Kazuki's going off in the other room. Kazuki wasn't awake yet exactly, moving around groggily. Travis pushed him into the bathroom, "Take a cold shower; it'll wake you up faster." As he went to the kitchen to fix breakfast, he heard Kazuki scream at the first blast of cold water. "I never said it wouldn't be uncomfortable," Travis muttered.

***

"You guys got your own place?!" Toshihiko exclaimed at lunch.

"Yes. What's the big deal?" Kazuki asked nervously.

"We've got to throw a party!" Naoya declared.

"I don't think Travis would..." Kazuki began.

"So we get him out of the house. On a date with Mitsuki Rara or something. C'mon, Kazuki!" Toshihiko urged.

"No, I couldn't do that. You guys would leave me to clean it all up, and Travis would find out," Kazuki backed down.

"C'mon, Yotsuga! Think of how popular you'll be!" Naoya winked at Toshihiko.

Kazuki thought about it for a moment, then shook his head, "Sorry, guys. I won't do it."

"Kaz-" Naoya was cut off.

"I said no," Kazuki picked up his stuff and left.

***

Meanwhile, up in outer space, a huge black spacecraft moved towards Mars.

Note: the following has been translated

"Captain, we have arrived at the last known location of your brother," Lt. Commander Qulish told her superior.

Captain Zurrelk interlocked his four-fingered paper-white hands together, "Any sign of what happened to him?"

"We recovered the ships record computer think of it as the black box for spaceships. He was destroyed by a green mecha after he assaulted the next planet," she answered.

"Set a course for that planet. It is our duty as members of the Marikesan Space Forces to execute the offenders who slay a citizen of our race," the captain ordered.

Your brother was exiled, so technically he's not a member of our race anymore. But, an order is an order. I just wish Commander Choea hadn't died; he could talk sense into you, "At once, sir," Lt. Commander Qulish touched her middle finger to her forehead in salute, and left.

"Brother, I shall avenge you!" the Captain proclaimed.

***

Back at the Sanada house that afternoon, Dr. Sanada received a call from the base on his computer in the basement. "Captain Sanada, I have some troubling news," Kauro Hayase told him, "The new scanners are detecting an alien spacecraft approaching Earth, after a brief stop at Mars. The ship is gigantic, and black, sir."

"So, it seems we may have another Marikesan attack on our hands. Very well. Have the Skylight prepared for combat, ready the Core Robots, and notify the Planetary Defense Program. I'll contact the pilots," Dr. Sanada commanded.

***

"Shit! Fuck! Damn!" Travis cussed as he and Kazuki arrived at the base, "More
fuckin' Marikesans!"

Tatsuma used the names of CR4, 5, and 6.
They've never been in a real battle, either, even if their personalities are like their pilots, Travis replied.

Tatsuma had grown fond of CR1, much like their pilots had.

"We'll protect her, pal. I promise," Travis whispered.

Kazuki laughed out loud, "Zinv says Sakura told him, if he got hurt, she'd shoot him."

Travis laughed, "She's just like her pilot."

Tatsuma stated, talking about CR3.

Travis laughed again, "Tell Suzue no one tries to get shot, and no one will hold it against her if she does get hit. Besides, if we're lucky, there won't even be a fight."

***

All pilots were in their respective mecha, ready to defend their planet. "I don't suppose we'll have the help of the PDP this time?" (Lt. Commander) Travis checked.

"They've agreed to step in if the situation escalates," (Captain) Dr. Sanada's voice didn't hold much hope.

"Then we're on our own. Figures," Travis sighed, "Well, let's be ready, people. They're sure to greatly outnumber us if they attack." The giant robots were all outside, looking up at the sky. "Cross your fingers, everyone," Travis said.

***

"Captain! We are now above the city the green robot is from!" Lt. Commander Qulish entered the Captain's office, executing the middle-finger-to-the-forehead salute henceforth called the M-salute.

"Good! Send our forces to the area! Start destroying the buildings, drive that machine out of hiding! And be sure our force field is up! We don't want what happened to my brother to happen to us, after all," Captain Zurrelk ordered.

"At once, sir!" Qulish M-saluted again and went to do as instructed.

My brother's army was a collection of outdated military robots, piloted mindlessly. Even those clones he created were outdated. Let's see how well this green one fares against the new models, piloted by my crew within the safety of my ship. My forces will not fall so easily, the Captain thought, and then laughed maniacally.

***

"Here they come!" Dr. Sanada warned. Hundreds of black robots flew through the clouds, toward the city.

"Shit! No 'interstellar law' bullshit this time! We've got to stop them!" Travis declared.

"There's so many of them!" Mina complained.

"We'll need to split up. CR's 1, 2, and 3, go west. 4, 5, 6, go north. Kazuki, you and Zinv go east. Tatsuma and I'll take south. If you need backup, call right away! I'll be very cross if anyone gets killed. Let's go!!" Travis commanded, jetting off to the far end of the city. Fuck! I was expecting this to be the same as last time. I expected some sort of declaration of war, or something! Instead, they tried to take us by surprise! Fuckers!

Tatsuma queried.

"I'm worried about that too, pal. I didn't have much of a choice. We'll just have to trust them to handle themselves. But, hey, Mitsuki's an excellent pilot, they'll be fine," Travis assured.

the shiny green mecha replied.

As Tatsuma arrived at the southern part of the city, Travis realized that these weren't exactly the Pawns he had fought before. These were bulkier, resembling a man more than a woman. They were as tall as the Knights, with white joints like the Bishops, and they still were without edges. They also carried power packs connected to their larger rifles, and the packs doubled as a jetpack. They moved almost constantly, and much more smoothly. "These're piloted! No stupid computer controls these, they have real pilots!" Travis shouted over the comm system.

The enemy units saw Tatsuma and opened fire. Travis evaded the shots, but there were so many firing at him. Tatsuma was shot in the back as he landed, and Travis felt like he'd been punched there hard. "Even your armor won't stand up to shots like that long, pal," Travis noted as he turned and dodged more blasts.

Tatsuma declared.

“Me, too. I doubt they're worse off than we are; the girls provide multiple targets, whereas we are just one. And Zinv's a tough nut to crack. Now, how 'bout we test these Marikesan shits' reaction times?" Travis activated Tatsuma's Boost mode. The emerald mecha's hands glowed, and he became as a blur to the alien forces.

***

"Our weapons aren't doing enough damage, even when we get through their armor! What do we do?!" Lt. (JG) Alice questioned Lt. Mitsuki Sanada.

"Shoot them in the back! Those packs are their source of power! If you damage the pack, they shut down! Shoot them in the back!" Miss Sanada replied, firing off shots of her own in her section of the city.

"You heard her! Shoot the packs!" Alice told Lts. (JG) Mina and Ryla.

"But, how do we get behind them?" Mina wondered.

"You run out and distract them. When they turn to shoot at you, we'll hit them from behind," Ryla suggested.

"Me?! But..." Mina was cut short as the other two women shouted, "Go!"

The yellow Core Robot, Kagami, was running as fast as she could go. Energy beams trailed behind her, devastating the buildings she passed by. Inside, Mina was screaming her head off. As planned, the enemy units turned to fire upon her.

"Gotcha!" Hoshi's pilot shouted in triumph as she and Tamaki blasted the power cells of the black mechs. Some of the energy packs blew up after being damaged, taking out a few enemies at a time. It was a simple task eliminating the ones that hadn't fallen for the trick, as the enemy was too spread out to watch each other's backs. Pun not intended

***

Zinv was having problems finding the enemy in the eastern section of the city. There's no explosions anywhere. The buildings are so big I can't see anything but what's right in front of me, Kazuki complained silently.

Zinv recommended.

"The city park! Of course! Great thinking!" Kazuki praised. Unfortuately, there were large buildings in the way, too tight to walk through. "Zinv, can you jump over them?" Kazuki questioned. Before the artifact could answer, the buildings collapsed right in front of them. Behind them stood a large force of black mecha.

Zinv stated.

The Marikesan robots fired collectively. The combined energy of the blasts did extensive damage to Zinv, leaving him with hardly any part of his armor left. Zinv fell, his legs unable to hold his weight. "Ugh. You...said it," Kazuki groaned.

***

"Are there any left in our sector, Dad?" Mitsuki S. checked.

"Not that we can detect. Travis seems to be doing quite nicely, and the other team has almost got all theirs. However, Zinv-" Dr. Sanada was cut off.

"Kazuki's in trouble?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Miss Sanada rushed off to the east of town.

"Mitsuki! Wait up!" Dee called, Suzue trying to keep up. Yuriko trailed after them, her pilot torn between staying with the others and running off to help Travis.

***

A ebony unit walked over to the fallen gray machine, bringing its weapon to point at Zinv's cockpit. Seeing this, Kazuki let out a battle cry and activated the Light Hawk Wings. The power surge sent the enemy robot back into the park. Zinv's body regenerated, and he stood up. Before the Marikesans could react, Zinv took off into the air and aimed his right arm at the park. Moments later, the blue ball that signifies a gravity shell launched from Zinv's arm, striking the black mechs. A gigantic explosion ensued, decimating everything in the park. Zinv landed in the crater, looking around for further threats.

"Kazuki! Are you alright?!" Mitsuki S. image appeared on the boy's screen.

"Yeah, we're fine. How's everyone else?" Kazuki replied.

"All enemy units are now destroyed," Dr. Sanada affirmed, "Come on back, everyone."

***

Lt. Commander Qulish entered Captain Zurrelk's office yet again. "What is the status of the green robot?" he asked immediately.

"Active, sir. We lost all 500 units, they lost none. One unit, a large gray one, was believed to be destroyed, but it sprouted glowing white wings and was repaired almost instantly. It then annihilated over a hundred units with a gravity shell. The green one used its bare hands to crush our forces, also defeating over a hundred. It was too fast for our forces to shoot," Qulish explicated.

The captain stood up and turned around, What?! Even our piloted, enhanced troops fell to these machines! Arggh! If only we could send out more than 500 units, but we only have so many pilots! His face was of great anger and discontent.

He calmed down before facing his second-in-command, "Is there any insight you have to make, Lt. Commander? Some strategy you think might work?"

Qulish sighed, Back down, leave them alone, "The power cells on the back of the Bews units turned out to be more of a weakness than a strength. The enemy disabled the Bews simply by damaging the power cells. Also, the attack on the city spread our forces out, and set large walls between them. The humans used that against us, as well. If another conflict is to occur, it should be in open territory. And we should use the Ters model, which is internally powered. Remove the power cells from the Bews, and place them on the Ters to energize their weapons."

Zurrelk thought on her words for a moment, "Is it true that this planet has alternate defense groups, which could potentially intervene at any time?"

"That is correct, sir. We have detected numerous planet-based weaponry across the globe," Qulish answered.

The captain thought again, "Then the only ones capable of space combat are these we just fought with?"

"Yes, sir. Although the humans could make space-combat units fairly quickly. If it came down to more than one fight in outer space, they would be ready. They also have powerful missiles that can travel outside of the atmosphere," the Lt. Commander was hoping whatever plan her superior had made was now ruined. Instead, Zurrelk smiled with triumph.

Aw, kidun! Marikesan cuss word she thought.

***

"The Marikesan battleship has finished collecting the remains of its army and is leaving Earth orbit, Captain!" declared one man at a terminal.

"Captain, Ms. Hayase has urgent news for you," a terminal-woman told him, "She says you wanted to be notified the instant it was ready, sir."

Dr. Sanada looked up, "Hm? Oh, yes! I forgot all about it! Tell her to finish as soon as the pilots are clear of the Core Robots!"

"Yes, sir!" the terminal-woman responded. Maybe we won't need it, but better to be safe than sorry, Dr. Sanada thought, "Tell the pilots we're having a conference as soon as they get back."

***

"What's this about, Doc?" Travis wondered in the conference room.

"I have a surprise for all of you. Although I'd say it affects the girls most of all," Dr. Sanada turned on the large computer screen.

"A new rifle?" Alice commented on the image on the screen. It showed a firearm made out of a material that resembled Zinv's armor (before it was upgraded to a sheen).

"Technically, an old rifle. 7 ancient artifact rifles were discovered, along with a few other things we're still studying. These things are much more powerful than our current weapons, even though we just upgraded them a month ago. Every Core Robot is to receive an artifact rifle," the captain finished.

"Just how much more power are we talking about here, Captain?" Ryla queried, "Is it enough to pierce the armor of the black robots in one shot?"

"Actually, the artifact rifles can fire through multiple enemy units, if the power setting is high enough. You will be able to control just how much energy the rifle uses each shot. At 33% power, you should be able to pierce the black armor of the Marikesan forces. If they don't increase the armor strength, that is. Now, although the rifles have internal power sources, they can be depleted. Recharging takes time...of course, let's all hope we don't have to use them any time soon, eh?" Dr. Sanada smiled.

***

The total damage to the city was around 10.2 trillion yen ($102 billion). The Planetary Defense Program was outraged, blaming it all on Captain (Dr.) Sanada. "Guess they chose me because the Marikesans aren't around to blame. At least they haven't publicly made me their scapegoat. They're smart enough to know they need us, and it's not our fault really; otherwise, they would've tried to stick me with the bill," he commented on a meeting three days later.

"This isn't what this meeting is about, is it, Doc?" Travis noted.

"No, Lt. Commander Ecks. Travis shifted uncomfortably Actually, this is about a message the Marikesan ship has sent us. I'm afraid the news is very bad," Dr. Sanada brought it up on the computer screen.

A paper-white skinned bald humanoid with black eyes sat in a chair on the screen. He wore some sort of black uniform, and had only four fingers. To his right stood a similarly dressed female human- Wait a minute! No...her eyes are like his: black. Otherwise, she looks human enough, a black-haired Caucasian, Travis thought.

The male began speaking, and quickly a Japanese translation came out of the speakers. "I am Captain Zurrelk, of the Marikesan Battle-Transport, the Tenapudoi. I am returning to your planet, and I will again attack it. But this time, I will use the weapons of my ship to destroy all the major cities on your planet. Unless, my demands are met. All I want, is the one who killed my brother. I want the green robot, and his pilot!"

"Travis, no!" Mitsuki R. cried out. The message continued, "As long as he is on your planet, it is mine to do as I see fit! You have ten planetary rotations from the day I last attacked."

Travis pounded his fist on the table, "Fuck!"

"The PDP doesn't have the technology we do. It will take them a few days to receive it," Dr. Sanada sorrowfully told them.

Miss Rara practically tackled Travis, who had been sitting right next to her, "crying No! They can't!"

Travis put his arm around her, "Mitsuki...I can't...I don't want to go..."

"The PDP will certainly force you to turn yourself in, Travis. There's no way we can resist an entire planet, and I'm sure none of us want any cities destroyed," Dr. Sanada shook his head in dismay.

"Travis, you can't go!" Mitsuki R. protested.

"Mitsuki, I have to. I can't just stand by and let them kill everyone," Travis looked into her watery eyes.

"Can't we do anything, Daddy?" Dee was nearly crying herself.

"Travis has to leave the planet. There's only one thing we can do. Join him," Dr. Sanada smirked.

"DAD! Are you insane?! We can't all give ourselves up!" Mitsuki S. shouted.

But Kazuki looked assured, "You aren't talking about giving him up."

"That's exactly right, my boy!" the captain praised.

Mitsuki R. sniffed, "What do you mean?"

Travis' eyes widened in realization, "Space. You're talking of going into outer space!"

"Well, he said you had to leave the planet; he never said we had to give you to him. I suspect he will chase after us, rather than attack Earth. The Skylight is capable. It won't take much longer to prepare," Dr. Sanada clarified.

Miss Rara clutched Travis happily, crying again. Travis hugged her tightly, "I love you, Mitsuki Rara."

Alice, Mina, and Ryla let out a collective, "Awww..." their eyes all dreamy. Mitsuki R. blushed.

"I guess this means our moving was rather pointless, huh?" Kazuki laughed.

"Kazuki," Miss Sanada lightly complained.

Dr. Sanada chuckled, "He does have a point; everyone'll have to move onto the Skylight. That is, everyone who's going. If anyone wants to stay behind, just be sure to speak up before the day we leave. Also, I-"

"Captain Sanada, you have a call from your wife," a voice came over the intercom system. The doctor sighed, "(I guess she found my note already, asking her to pack for us. I suppose she wants to yell at me for not discussing it with her.) Well, I guess this meeting is over. Anyone who's going to space, I recommend you collect your things."

***

Over the next couple of days, no one went anywhere but home and the lab. Kazuki and Travis had barely finished unpacking, and now were moving again. Akane had indeed yelled at her husband for deciding to leave Earth so abruptly, but only out of general principle. She quickly forgave him, and had been half done packing when her family returned. The trip to space had been planned for some time now, and it wasn't too difficult gathering everything ahead of the previous schedule. Four days after Travis saw the ultimatum from the Marikesans, the PDP declared him officially exiled from Earth.

Dr. Sanada chortled at their message, telling them, "We can leave anytime. We've been ready for days. You'll have to defend the planet by yourselves from now on, because tomorrow the Skylight is going to outer space!"

As the call was disconnected, Ms. Hayase commented, "I thought you promised to lay off the coffee."

"What can I say, I'm a caffeine addict," the captain grinned.

***

The next day, aboard the Marikesan ship Tenapudoi: "Captain Zurrelk, the human warship has left Earth. Scans detect the green robot is aboard, as are the other robots our forces fought. Their direction will take them outside of their solar system. Should we pursue?" Lt. Commander Qulish told him.

"Yes, of course. But stay out of their sensor range. I want to catch them by surprise," the captain ordered.

You are an idiot. Any fool would suspect an attack from you, after you insisted on their being exiled from their planet. You underestimate them, and that will be our undoing. If you weren't a High Marikesan, I'd lead a mutiny against you! Qulish thought, "Yes, Captain. Anything else?"

"Was my special order received?" Zurrelk asked.

"Yes, sir. The Woreb should be finished in a few days, and will arrive shortly afterward," Qulish answered.

"Excellent. I will kill the green pilot myself!" Zurrelk declared.

Author's note: Well, the series is finally getting to be Interstellar, as the title suggests. This installment is shorter than my past ones, because I thought it ended better as is. I've been having a lot of fun writing of Travis Ecks, (who is loosely based off a character from another story of mine) and hope you've enjoyed reading about him. The current plan is to write at least another five parts, and then see if I can continue the story without ending up too repetitive. I'm not going to give any major clues as to what's going to happen in the series; I myself am unsure. You can expect fierce battles in exotic (and occasionally, deadly) locations, strange alien races, ancient artifacts uncovered, and perhaps a little more about the aliens that brought Travis to the Dual! world.