Gall Force Fan Fiction ❯ The Day After ❯ Armageddon Now ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Frederick_Herrio 
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 864 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gall Force Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.02.2004 | Pages: 5 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 864 | Status: Completed
Gall Force: The Day After
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
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Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
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NOTE: This is a fan-fiction story written by a "Gall Force" fan for the enjoyment of both "Gall Force" fans in particular and anime fans in general. It is not intended to infringe on the rights of all legal copyright holders, including CBS-Sony, MOVIC and US Manga Corps/Central Park Media. Permission to re-transmit this story through the Internet; to file this story in Usenet ftp and other archives; and to print this story for distribution in fan fiction magazines and APAs granted. Full creative credit is appreciated.
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PART ONE - ARMAGEDDON NOW
Lufy could not believe her eyes.
As she decreases her engine's output, the Attacker watches in horrified disbelief as the core of the Sigma Narse system detonates in a titanic flash of exploding gasses and antimatter. Sweat soaked her body through her flight suit. Although it had been the hardest battle she had experienced in her twenty-one years, the prize remained tantalizingly elusive...and the risk overwhelming.
Final victory...or total destruction.
It was now happening.
Lufy shouts with shock as she watches that impossibly huge fireball consume the inner planets of Sigma Narse. Her eyes narrow as the tortoise shapes of the Paranoid Planet Destroyers and the cigar shapes of their Solnoid counterparts are vaporized by the fireball of their own creation. She wasted no sympathy on them. Good riddance to bad rubbish. She wondered what madness possessed Leader Journey's advisors to adopt those horrible things in the first place. War was terrible enough without such weapons, which could turn planets into asteroid belts with one well-placed shot.
After what seems an eternity, the fireball fades. Her fighter rocks as the shockwave passes her. She had been drawn toward the edge of the battlezone as Paranoid squadrons encroached the system to overwhelm the Solnoids. Journey had tried to make it a defensive battle, forcing Born to the attack. It would have worked, Lufy clicked her teeth. The Solnoids could mass together, form a defensive sphere which would expose their enemies to fire from all sides. The Paranoids upset that by forming their own defensive sphere, leaving Journey no option but attack. It would have remained a standard fleet engagement but both Leaders brought their planet-wrecking guns into play.
Sighing, Lufy checks her fighter's stores. No ammunition, little fuel and little left in the way of defensive strength. Wonderful. It did not worry her; she had survived worse. Then her eyes turn towards Sigma Narse. Surprisingly, the old red giant was still there, as if it considered the tiny insects who had made war on each other in its domain insignificant pests. Then, resembling the shockwave that swept past her, a bitter realization hits. "I'm alone," escapes her lips.
Alone!
Am I the last one left?!
Lufy chokes a sob. Had EVERYONE gone to their deaths in the heart of the system?! Like any soldier, she saw death as a given; it was a part of war. But, surely someone listened to Captain Nebulart, realized that this war had lost all purpose; that there could be no victory at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Where? Lufy's eyes scan left and right. Where?!
A scanner warning light flashes. Her eyes look to the digital readout, then forward as a familiar hulking shape heads in her direction. Paranoid drone. She knew them well enough; she had shot down over two hundred in her career, this battle included. Cool hands take the controls as the familiar training takes over...then Lufy thinks...
No ammo!!
The crab-like drone grows larger, the four ports of the fighter's beam cannons bearing on her face. Her initial fear ebbs away as Lufy stoically accepts that there is no running this time. As well as no fuel, her shields, designed to reflect space debris than incoming hostile fire, could not take much pounding. A wry smile crosses her lips. She was going to die. How ironic. After all this time, her number had come. Well, if everyone else was dead, what was the use of going on? Lufy closes her eyes, ready for the sudden vaporization of her cabin, the exposure of her body to deep space...
...and it did not come.
The Attacker's eyes open as she stares at the drone. Odd. It did not seem damaged...but it was shaking its head, reaching up to inspect the guns with its arms. Lufy's eyes widen with a realization. "He's out of ammo, too!!" she laughs.
After a minute, the drone relaxes, then pivots its head both ways. Finally deciding on a direction, it waves at Lufy, then soars towards another part of Sigma Narse. The Attacker returns the gesture, then catches herself. What was she doing waving at the enemy? At the same time, another thought enters her head. Were they really the enemy anymore?
Lufy whistles as she contemplates her next move. If there were straggling fighters, there had to be some carriers in the area. If that was true, there was some hope of the Solnoid race carrying on. But if such was so, where would they go? Malthus had been destroyed. Very few systems were habitable anymore. Even so, what if she really was the only one left?
Was Shildy gone? Spea? Amy? Catty?
The Attacker allows tears to flow. It was decidedly uncool for one of her calibre to show emotion when friends died. That was the only truth of war. The enemy always tried...and most times succeeded...in killing you. But unlike her wing-mates in past engagements, the four Lorelei Fleet intelligence officers had passed being partners in war. They had become friends. Just like the "Starleaf" crew.
"I have to find them," Lufy grunts as she gears her fighter up, then directs herself towards another part of Sigma Narse, committing all her auxiliary power to scanners...
* * *
"It's over," Spea hoarsely whispers.
A short while ago, they had launched the probe which would bear the condensed information which was Elision's farewell gift to Terra. They had watched as the mass of both fleets had destroyed themselves, then the Planet Destroyers write finis to the battle. They had laughed, even Catty, on seeing the giant guns destroyed; such weapons never deserved a place in battle, especially with leaders such as Born and Journey around willing to use them. "Yes, thank the Mother, it's over," Shildy nods agreeingly.
"For all of us, I guess," Amy sniffs.
"Maybe," Catty was already at work at the gunship's scanners. "Then again, maybe not."
The three organics look quizzically at the android. "What do you mean?" Shildy inquires.
The lavender-haired bio-mechanical double of Catty Nebulart smiles. "I detect two small groups of capital ships at opposite sides of the system. In addition, intermittent signals from both fleets indicate fighters. One fleet displays Paranoid communications signatures, the other...Solnoid."
A gasp of relief explodes from the others. "Thank the Mother, there're survivors!!!" Spea claps her hands.
"Is there any sign of the 'Sardin?'" Shildy inquires.
"Scanning," Catty plays with the controls. A minute later, she smiles. "Yes! It's actually still in orbit over Embryo!"
"What?!!" all three exclaim.
"Embryo survived that mess?!!" Spea points towards the old red giant star which had borne silent witness to the armageddon of the Paranoid and Solnoid races.
"Quite easily," the android nods. "As the battle progressed, the fleets shifted from Embryo towards the middle worlds of the system. By the time the Planet Destroyers came into play, Embryo was safely out of range."
Talk about luck! "Captain Nebulart's alive!" Amy cries.
"Yes," tears appear in Catty's eyes. "Mother's alive."
The three organics stare confusedly at the android. They had never heard Catty refer to her template by such a religious title. Then again, what was really wrong with it? Catty and hundreds like her had been spread like a flower's seeds throughout the Solnoid fleets to maintain a discreet watch on Mission 21, the Central Guard's attempts to create a third race to separate Solnoid from Paranoid. Chances were good there were other Catty androids still around. "Let's rejoin our people," Shildy takes the gunship's controls. "We can't stay here anymore."
"Where will we go?" Spea inquires.
"I don't know," the older officer shakes her head. "I suppose Captain Nebulart is already considering the matter. We'll just have to wait and see."
* * *
Lufy smiles as she watches the growing mass of Solnoid warships appear on her forward viewscreen. Many seemed in good shape. Several had suffered severe battle damage. They might have to be abandoned. As to WHERE they would go, the Attacker had no idea. Were there still habitable planets around? What about the Paranoid? Would they want to carry on the fight? Or had they had enough and wanted some place of their own to live? "Don't ask such questions, idiot!" she admonishes herself. She was a fighter pilot. Such long-range thinking she left to others. Then again, if "others" included suicidally insane idiots like Journey, maybe making long-range decisions on her own would not be such a bad idea.
Her eyes focus on one ship, a Kuralis-class battlecarrier. It looked so much like the "Starleaf." How long ago was that? For Lufy, it had been just weeks ago; cryofreeze really did wreck one's sense of time. This seemed so much like Alpha-Twelve. Oh, well, it looked like a good place to put down.
As she does a beauty pass of the carrier, her eyes fall on the ship's name: STARLEAF. "No way!!!" she gasps. Look again. Sure enough, it was the same as Rabby's old ship. Lufy smiles. She was not a religious woman, but perhaps the Great Mother had guided her here. "Carrier 'Starleaf,' this is Fighter X-Seven-seven-seven from intelligence command ship 'Sardin.' I need a deck to put this junkheap down. Could I use yours? Over?!"
A hoarse cry roars over the comm channels. Lufy blinks. No way! It couldn't be...!! "Lufy?!! Is that you?!!"
"Patty?!!" the Attacker gasps. This had to be a dream! "How the hell are you still alive?!!"
"This is no time to contemplate the meaning of my existence!!" the old "Starleaf's" combat officer retorts. "How are you still alive?!! We left you floating in space just after Alpha-Twelve!!"
"The Loreleis picked me up," Lufy's eyes look to her fuel gage. "Shit, Patty, I'm really low on drive-juice!"
"Main bay's open!!" Patty calls out. "I'll see you down there!"
"You, too!" Lufy laughs as she arcs her fighter over.
Soon enough, the "Starleaf's" carnivorous hangar bay looms in front of Lufy. No sense crashing the bird; there were probably loads of other fighters looking for friendly decks. Cutting power, she coasts the craft to a gentle landing, allowing it to roll on its own to a stop. Lufy looks around. No other fighters. As she confirms an atmosphere around her, Lufy sighs as she pops her canopy and stands up. "No one's home," she mutters to herself.
"Lufy!!!" two women scream.
The Attacker spins around and sees Patty racing on the flight deck. Following close behind her was a familiar woman with strawberry-blonde hair and large earrings. "Patty!! Rabby!!!" Lufy cries as she hops out of the fighter.
Patty and Rabby fiercely embrace their friend, laughing and crying. Lufy stares at them. Both seemed the same age she remembered them. Obviously she was not the only one from the old "Starleaf" to have spent time in cryofreeze. Then she looks into their eyes and immediately sobers. Patty's have a haunted darkness to them, as if a part of her had been carved out and taken away without her permission. Rabby's were tinged with hate, not probably for the Paranoid, but for some of her own people. Lufy wondered what had happened to them to elicit this. She would find out soon enough. "It's so good to see you two again!" she sighs.
"And you," Patty leans up.
Lufy blinks as Patty presses her lips against the Attacker's. She had met Sensualists before, once finding them somewhat beneath her. But she did not resist. "I'm not one of those," she warns.
Patty smiles. "I converted after...well, sometime after we left you behind. So did Rabby."
Lufy faces Rabby, allowing the latter to touch lips with hers. Both women wore the new regulation Solnoid duty uniform, Rabby's indicative of a starship first officer. "Hi," the Attacker sighs.
"Hi, yourself," Rabby sighs.
The door slides open and another familiar face appears. "Eluza!!!" Lufy gasps, then seeing her insignia, snaps to attention and salutes. "Permission to come aboard, Captain?"
"Granted," Eluza returns the salute, then runs up to embrace her. "Oh, Lufy, if you're alive, I know everything's alright!!" she exclaims as she presses lips with the Attacker.
So Eluza's a Sensualist too, eh? Lufy muses, looking at the "Starleaf's" commanding officer. Eluza had not physically grown older. However, she seemed gaunt, pale. It was as if the woman had run face-to-face with the Goddess of Death Herself. What had happened to these people?! "Nothing's alright anymore, Eluza," Lufy reports. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Eluza ushers Lufy towards the express turbolift to the main bridge. "No, I think we're still collecting our senses to understand what actually happened," the captain looks grim. "We've taken unbelievable losses."
"Losses that weren't necessary!" Rabby spits out.
"Amen to that," Lufy readily nods, reaching over to grip the first officer's hand. It was a Sensualist gesture, something which would have repulsed a warrior like Lufy before. Rabby smiles, nodding to her. "So, what the hell happened to you guys after I left you?" Lufy inquires. "Shit, you look like you've been through the meat-grinder! And where's Pony and Rumy?"
"Pony's dead," Rabby sniffs back tears. "So's the Catty android who was assigned to us. I assume you've met Captain Nebulart if your fighter came from the 'Sardin.'"
Lufy nods. "And Rumy's on Terra," Patty adds, looking as if a great weight had crashed on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry," the Attacker shakes her head. "Mother, it makes me wonder what this damn war was all about."
"Too many people have wondered the same thing," Eluza grimly comments. "Too many people've stayed silent for too long. Now, it might be too late."
"Don't say that, Eluza," Rabby gasps.
The turbolift mercifully arrives at the bridge. The doors whoosh open, revealing an empty command deck. Well, not totally empty: two organic women were there, along with four cyborg soldiers and several servobots. One of the organics turns to look at the turbolift, then announces, "Captain on the bridge."
The others snap to attention. Eluza calls out at ease. "Status report, Miti?" the captain takes her command chair.
Lufy blinks. Miti might has well have been a slightly older Rumy. Same hair, same eyes, same slim build...but there was a nasty toughness to her demeanour. A dagger tattoo decorated her right cheek...and a familiar medal hung around her neck. She was an Attacker! "Ship's status nominal, Captain," Miti reports, a more mature voice than Rumy's. "All weapons at Class-A standby. Still searching for our fighters and Bronz-X combat suits."
"They could be a total loss," Rabby painfully muses from her station.
"Perhaps, but I'm not giving up," Eluza sighs.
"Captain, I recommend sending a general signal on all fighter frequencies offering a safe place to land here," the other organic officer suggests from the engineer station.
Lufy looks at the person who spoke. Save for waist-length wavy black hair, the "Starleaf's" engineering officer could have been another Pony! "Agreed, Mal. Make it so," Eluza nods.
"Yes, Captain," Mal returns to her board.
Lufy sighs, then notices Miti. They look at each other for a moment, sizing the other up. "Hi," the older Attacker smiles. "Sorry for staring. You look so much like Patty's friend Rumy. She was on the old 'Starleaf.'"
"I know," Miti salutes. "An honour to meet you, Group Leader. You're a legend in the Attacker Corps. And," a warm smile crosses her face, "...Rumy and I both come from the same genetic stock." She looks at Mal. "As do Mal and Pony."
Lufy looks at Mal, who passes her a friendly nod, then turns back to her board. "I can't believe the Attackers are still around," Lufy returns Miti's salute.
"They're still there. Hell, you know us," Miti laughs, then warmly grips Lufy's hand. "We own the stars."
"We own the stars," Lufy nods, squeezing Miti's hands, happy to hear the old Attacker credo.
Miti touches lips with her, then returns to her station. So they were all Sensualists, Lufy muses. Guess I'll go back to being one before long. She then notices a cyborg soldier offering her a glass of calorie juice. "Oh, thanks!"
"A pleasure, Group Leader," the armoured being responds, the small forehead light flashing in pace with her words. However, her voice was much more cultured, as if she was still human. "I am known as Eni. If you need any help, by all means ask."
"Sure," Lufy nods.
Eni returns to her station. Lufy looks back to see Rabby standing beside her. "I take it you've met them before," the first officer hums.
"Shortly after I got picked up by the Lorelei Fleet, we got into a scrap with the Paranoid," Lufy sighs. "After the fight was over, I watched one of them get out of a Bronz-X, shot up pretty bad. It was the most awful sight I'd ever seen."
"I can see that," Rabby crosses her arms. "When we got the new ship, they gave us a full compliment of cyborg soldiers. Mal and Miti didn't like the way they talked so we tweaked with their voice-boxes to make them sound more organic."
"You did a good job," Lufy nods, then stares at her. "Rabby, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why'd you become a...?" the Attacker's voice falters.
"A Sensualist?" Rabby completes. At Lufy's nod, she sighs. "We made it to Chaos...but we took horrible casualties. Eluza came as close as one could get to dying...in fact we thought she was dead and buried her in space. Then the ship blows up, taking Catty and Pony with it. We arrive at Chaos, to discover ourselves caught between the Paranoid Axis and the Central Guard. And the worst part about it was that the rest of our home fleet was wiped out by the Central Guard itself!! Do you want to know why?!"
Lufy nods. Rabby hesitates, steals a glance at Patty, then looks back to the Attacker. "Do you know of the Species Unification Project?"
"I know about it," Lufy nods.
Rabby looks back at the "Starleaf's" combat officer. "Patty was the only person ever to successfully host a Paranoid host factor."
Lufy blinks. From what she had heard, the Species Unification Project was designed to create a third race by combining Paranoid and Solnoid DNA into a unique individual possessing the best traits of both races. She heard from Shildy there had been only one partially successful joining, but never considered an old friend had underwent that experience. "No shit!" she whistles, keeping her voice low.
"And the worst part of it all is that when Patty's...offspring was cognizant, both the Paranoid and Solnoid commanders tried to take him and Patty for themselves," Rabby continues, her voice painfully hoarse. "I couldn't believe it! And the bastards who came up with this never told us a thing! They said that the 'war-loving military' would balk at any chance of peace!! How dare they, Lufy?! How DARE they?!!"
Lufy looks around. No one stared at them. Obviously, they felt the same way. "Yeah," Lufy nods. "It took me a while to realize it."
"Thank the Mother," Rabby grips her friend's hand.
"So what happened to you?" Lufy prods her.
"Well, Eluza was eventually picked up by a passing ship. She was in a deep coma, practically dead by all respects. She had also been targeted for a Paranoid contact point, but her body rejected it. As for Patty and I, we put ourselves into cryofreeze when we detonated Chaos' terraforming generators, to be picked up later by the same fleet who rescued Eluza. It took us a while, but we got back together, got a ship again, met Miti and Mal and we were back in the game...less willingly, this time."
"I'll bet," Lufy nods, then blinks. "Oh, shit! Someone kick me!! I forgot all about Shildy and the others!!"
"Who?!" Eluza stares at her.
"The people I've worked with," Lufy turns to the captain. "Shildy, Spea, Amy and another Catty 'droid. I left them back on Embryo!"
"The 'Sardin's' there," Miti reports. "I'm sure they're safe."
"Can I verify that?" Lufy turns to Rabby.
"Of course," Rabby notions to Mal's station.
Lufy walks over as the engineer signals the "Sardin." A moment later, the intelligence ship's first officer appears. "Scarlet!" Lufy laughs. "Hey, you old war horse! Where's the boss?!"
Scarlet, a haggard-looking woman with a scar down the left side of the face, snorts. "Hey, you lunatic throttle-jockey! The captain's finishing business with Elision, then she'll be on her way back. By the looks of it, none of the fleet commanders survived, so she's the defunct leader of the Solnoid people."
"No shit!" Lufy whistles. "Hey, listen, Scarlet...I need to know about my friends. Where're Shildy and the others?"
"They were ordered to deliver that packet the captain wanted sent to Terra," Scarlet reports. "I'm not sure if they made it out."
Eluza walks up beside Lufy. "Commander, relay their gunship code number and we'll go after them."
Scarlet nods. "Gunship G-nine-nine-four, Captain."
"Right," Eluza turns to Miti. "General hail, Miti. Find those people and bring them in, if they're still out there."
"Yes, Captain," Miti turns to her command board.
Scarlet looks at the people standing beside Lufy. "Looks like it's old home week again," the "Sardin's" first officer chuckles. "I'll leave you with your friends, Lufy. Take care!"
"You too, swabbie," Lufy waves as the line is cut. She then looks at Eluza. "Don't tell me Captain Nebulart was the one who found you people."
"Well, we didn't want the fleet commanders to know about our involvement with the Chaos fiasco," Eluza smiles. "Besides, Captain Nebulart was at least nice about what she was trying to do with Mission Twenty-one."
* * *
"We're receiving a hail from a carrier, Shildy," Catty reports. "They're directly calling us, offering us a place to land."
"Really?" Shildy looks back. "Thank the Mother. Who are they?"
"The 'Starleaf,'" the android smiles.
Shildy laughs. Eluza and her gallant crew, instrumental in the success of Mission Twenty-one. Solnoid Intelligence had kept their involvement in the Chaos fiasco a secret, a repayment from Captain Nebulart for ensuring that a third race did survive the destruction of the Solnoids and the Paranoids. "Tell Captain Eluza we're on our way in," Shildy looks at Catty.
"They also report...'an old friend of ours and yours' is aboard," Catty quizzically adds.
Spea and Amy look excited. "Lufy's alive!!" the younger woman yips.
"Can nothing knock her down?!" the older woman mischievously snorts.
"I doubt it," Shildy locks the gunship's course with the distant carrier. "Well, let's go court with heroes."
The other women laugh...
* * *
"Where've you strangers been?!" Lufy peeks in as the gunship settles on the "Starleaf's" hangar deck.
"Lufy!!!" Spea and Amy cry as they embrace the Attacker.
Lufy laughs as she warmly grips their hands, then draws Shildy into an embrace. "You were right all along," the former smiles. "I'm glad I'm still alive to be able to admit that to you."
"It's wonderful. So many of us are alive," Shildy smiles, drawing herself away. "Catty counted almost two hundred ships out there, plus who-knows-how-many fighters."
"All those people survived?" Lufy turns to the lavender-haired android. "What about the Paranoid?!"
"Roughly the same amount of capital ships plus numerous drones," Catty looks nervous.
Tension mounts as realization dawns. Some trigger-happy fool on either side might attempt a clean sweep of their enemy, dragging what surviving Paranoids and Solnoids into a final battle where there would be NO survivors. And with Born and Journey dead, other fanatics would appear, more than willing to avenge the loss of their Leader. "Someone better call Captain Nebulart fast," Lufy grimly notes. "If someone doesn't get some control on this sooner or later, we're all dead!"
* * *
"Peace," Catty Nebulart sighs. "What a strange word, eh, Elision?"
The captain-commander of Solnoid Central Intelligence sits at the main controller's station in Elision's central data processing room, deep below Embryo's surface. "It is indeed," the powerful voice of the planet's master computer replies.
"What are the status of both surviving fleets?" Nebulart looks up.
A holoscreen appears, displaying a schematic of Sigma Narse. Nebulart is stunned to see so many blips on both sides of the system. A great blank field roughly in the middle of the system indicates where the majority of the opposing fleets met their demise. "Paranoid forces now constitute 214 capital ships and 745 drones," Elision reports. "Solnoid forces now constitute 208 capital ships and 572 fighters, mobile suits and gunships. Both forces, however, seem intent on remaining separate from the other."
"Thank the Mother!!" Nebulart gasps. "There's hope for us yet."
"Agreed," the computer rumbles. "Wait! I detect one Paranoid cruiser proceeding towards Embryo. Sensors indicate shields are down and weapons at stand-by mode."
"Perhaps Born's successor," the intelligence commander stands. "Signal the 'Sardin.' Tell them not to take any aggressive action towards the Paranoid ship."
"I have done so," Elision reports. "In fact, the Paranoid ship is signalling US!"
Nebulart blinks. "Response frequency."
The holoscreen displaying the shattered solar system vanishes, to be replaced by the imposing image of a Paranoid senior commander. With the twin head-wings over his eyes and the gill-like structure which served as a mouth, he looked vaguely humanoid. Looks were deceiving; the Paranoid were an non-solid allasomorphic race who could mould their cells into whatever form was necessary for the task before them. The intelligence chief still found it astounding that such a race could evolve into the technological giant the Solnoids had faced for countless years. His exoskeleton hardsuit was draped with the beige, white and black of a very high ranked officer. "You are Catty Nebulart," the Paranoid intones.
"I am she," Nebulart nods. "Whom do I have the honour of addressing?"
"I am Galt of the Axis Fleet," he evenly declares.
The intelligence officer blinks in surprise. "The architect of Project: Exodermus. An honour to meet you at last, Commander."
"And I to you, Captain," the Paranoid curtly bows his head, fixing her with those human-like eyes. "It seems that the battle is over, but as both the Axis and your Central Guard concluded, there is no winner."
"I am more than pleased to say that sufficient forces on both sides survived this debacle," Nebulart crosses her arms. "As far as I am concerned, there is no need to press on with another battle. Simply put, both sides have suffered enough. Another battle will finish us for sure."
"I agree," Galt responds. "It is time Paranoid and Solnoid separate themselves, perhaps for the final time. Too many lives on both sides have been lost. Perhaps the embittered feelings both our races have felt for the others will never go away."
"Perhaps, but I do hope otherwise," Nebulart responds. "As of now, may I at least propose a cease-fire to ensure that our stragglers can find safe decks to land on."
"The first cease-fire between our races in millennia," Galt hums. "Agreed, Captain. It should take us a standard day to recover our troops. I propose upon completion, we communicate again. Will you be aboard the cruiser now in orbit over Embryo?"
"I shall," Nebulart nods.
"Then until that time comes," Galt nods.
The screen goes blank. "Peace," Nebulart is on the verge of tears. "It's finally come! It's finally come!"
"Agreed," Elision's voice responds. "But, at what price?"
* * *
"A cease-fire?!" Mal looks surprised as she receives the message from the "Sardin." "Yes, I understand! Right! 'Starleaf' out!"
The engineer turns to the other officers. "The first cease-fire between our races in memory," Spea muses. "Wow!! This is unbelievable!"
"I wish they'd've called a cease-fire before those damn Planet Destroyers came into service!" Rabby sourly notes.
"Amen to that," Eluza adds. "Then we'd have a world to go back to...and the Paranoid as well."
"But, where can we go?!" Amy looks afraid. "I don't want to live the rest of my life in space!"
"Neither do I," Patty grimaces. "But, all the available planets would've been wrecked by now!"
"Not all of them," Lufy muses.
Everyone turns to the Attacker. "Terra!" Catty gasps.
The name of the lone world which had developed on its own, without Paranoid or Solnoid terraforming, without any sort of influence from either race, electrifies the whole bridge. "Why, my sister is there!!" Miti notes.
"And my offspring!" Patty tearfully adds.
"It seems a good a place as any," Eluza notes, and turns to Mal. "Mal, signal the 'Sardin.' Inform Captain Nebulart that it is the uniform decision of the 'Starleaf's' crew that we proceed to Terra as soon as we settle affairs here. Recommend that we put that option to everyone as soon as an opportunity presents itself."
"Yes, Captain," Mal nods, then turns to her command station.
Laughter echoes from the others as Rabby comes up to grip Lufy's hand. "Come with me," the first officer whispers.
Lufy nods. Minutes later, they step into Rabby's quarters. It is relatively clean, decorated with mementoes from her life as a civilian on Malthus. All dreams now...or perhaps inspiration for a future time. "Why did you want me to come here?" the Attacker inquires. "Rabby, I'm not really fit to become a Sensualist, you know."
"I think you will be, given time," Rabby laughs as she walks over to her workdesk. "But we don't rush people into becoming a part of us. If you do decide to take the risk, I'll be more than happy to be your guide. But, there's another reason I asked you to come here."
"What?"
In answer, Rabby reaches into her desk and pulls out a case. Opening it, she extracts a familiar medal. "I think this is yours," she hands it to Lufy.
Lufy blinks in disbelief. "You hung onto it."
"Of course I did," Rabby smiles. "Losing you was a bitter blow to me, especially after that silly fight we had. I watched as Eluza, then Catty and Pony, were taken away from us, completely misunderstanding the lies perpetrated by our own leaders. Sometimes, when I felt really afraid, I looked at this. I tried to draw your strength, your courage to face up to the growing insanity around me..."
Her voice breaks as Rabby slumps into Lufy's embrace. "I'm back now, Rabby," the Attacker sighs.
"I know," the first officer sobs. "Oh, Lufy, I don't ever want to lose track of you again..."
The two remain in place as Rabby continues to weep...
* * *
To be continued...
By Fred Herriot
gorgo@kwangju.net
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Edited by E.B. Kushnir
kush1@iaw.on.ca
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Based on the "Gall Force" series created by MOVIC.
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NOTE: This is a fan-fiction story written by a "Gall Force" fan for the enjoyment of both "Gall Force" fans in particular and anime fans in general. It is not intended to infringe on the rights of all legal copyright holders, including CBS-Sony, MOVIC and US Manga Corps/Central Park Media. Permission to re-transmit this story through the Internet; to file this story in Usenet ftp and other archives; and to print this story for distribution in fan fiction magazines and APAs granted. Full creative credit is appreciated.
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PART ONE - ARMAGEDDON NOW
Lufy could not believe her eyes.
As she decreases her engine's output, the Attacker watches in horrified disbelief as the core of the Sigma Narse system detonates in a titanic flash of exploding gasses and antimatter. Sweat soaked her body through her flight suit. Although it had been the hardest battle she had experienced in her twenty-one years, the prize remained tantalizingly elusive...and the risk overwhelming.
Final victory...or total destruction.
It was now happening.
Lufy shouts with shock as she watches that impossibly huge fireball consume the inner planets of Sigma Narse. Her eyes narrow as the tortoise shapes of the Paranoid Planet Destroyers and the cigar shapes of their Solnoid counterparts are vaporized by the fireball of their own creation. She wasted no sympathy on them. Good riddance to bad rubbish. She wondered what madness possessed Leader Journey's advisors to adopt those horrible things in the first place. War was terrible enough without such weapons, which could turn planets into asteroid belts with one well-placed shot.
After what seems an eternity, the fireball fades. Her fighter rocks as the shockwave passes her. She had been drawn toward the edge of the battlezone as Paranoid squadrons encroached the system to overwhelm the Solnoids. Journey had tried to make it a defensive battle, forcing Born to the attack. It would have worked, Lufy clicked her teeth. The Solnoids could mass together, form a defensive sphere which would expose their enemies to fire from all sides. The Paranoids upset that by forming their own defensive sphere, leaving Journey no option but attack. It would have remained a standard fleet engagement but both Leaders brought their planet-wrecking guns into play.
Sighing, Lufy checks her fighter's stores. No ammunition, little fuel and little left in the way of defensive strength. Wonderful. It did not worry her; she had survived worse. Then her eyes turn towards Sigma Narse. Surprisingly, the old red giant was still there, as if it considered the tiny insects who had made war on each other in its domain insignificant pests. Then, resembling the shockwave that swept past her, a bitter realization hits. "I'm alone," escapes her lips.
Alone!
Am I the last one left?!
Lufy chokes a sob. Had EVERYONE gone to their deaths in the heart of the system?! Like any soldier, she saw death as a given; it was a part of war. But, surely someone listened to Captain Nebulart, realized that this war had lost all purpose; that there could be no victory at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Where? Lufy's eyes scan left and right. Where?!
A scanner warning light flashes. Her eyes look to the digital readout, then forward as a familiar hulking shape heads in her direction. Paranoid drone. She knew them well enough; she had shot down over two hundred in her career, this battle included. Cool hands take the controls as the familiar training takes over...then Lufy thinks...
No ammo!!
The crab-like drone grows larger, the four ports of the fighter's beam cannons bearing on her face. Her initial fear ebbs away as Lufy stoically accepts that there is no running this time. As well as no fuel, her shields, designed to reflect space debris than incoming hostile fire, could not take much pounding. A wry smile crosses her lips. She was going to die. How ironic. After all this time, her number had come. Well, if everyone else was dead, what was the use of going on? Lufy closes her eyes, ready for the sudden vaporization of her cabin, the exposure of her body to deep space...
...and it did not come.
The Attacker's eyes open as she stares at the drone. Odd. It did not seem damaged...but it was shaking its head, reaching up to inspect the guns with its arms. Lufy's eyes widen with a realization. "He's out of ammo, too!!" she laughs.
After a minute, the drone relaxes, then pivots its head both ways. Finally deciding on a direction, it waves at Lufy, then soars towards another part of Sigma Narse. The Attacker returns the gesture, then catches herself. What was she doing waving at the enemy? At the same time, another thought enters her head. Were they really the enemy anymore?
Lufy whistles as she contemplates her next move. If there were straggling fighters, there had to be some carriers in the area. If that was true, there was some hope of the Solnoid race carrying on. But if such was so, where would they go? Malthus had been destroyed. Very few systems were habitable anymore. Even so, what if she really was the only one left?
Was Shildy gone? Spea? Amy? Catty?
The Attacker allows tears to flow. It was decidedly uncool for one of her calibre to show emotion when friends died. That was the only truth of war. The enemy always tried...and most times succeeded...in killing you. But unlike her wing-mates in past engagements, the four Lorelei Fleet intelligence officers had passed being partners in war. They had become friends. Just like the "Starleaf" crew.
"I have to find them," Lufy grunts as she gears her fighter up, then directs herself towards another part of Sigma Narse, committing all her auxiliary power to scanners...
* * *
"It's over," Spea hoarsely whispers.
A short while ago, they had launched the probe which would bear the condensed information which was Elision's farewell gift to Terra. They had watched as the mass of both fleets had destroyed themselves, then the Planet Destroyers write finis to the battle. They had laughed, even Catty, on seeing the giant guns destroyed; such weapons never deserved a place in battle, especially with leaders such as Born and Journey around willing to use them. "Yes, thank the Mother, it's over," Shildy nods agreeingly.
"For all of us, I guess," Amy sniffs.
"Maybe," Catty was already at work at the gunship's scanners. "Then again, maybe not."
The three organics look quizzically at the android. "What do you mean?" Shildy inquires.
The lavender-haired bio-mechanical double of Catty Nebulart smiles. "I detect two small groups of capital ships at opposite sides of the system. In addition, intermittent signals from both fleets indicate fighters. One fleet displays Paranoid communications signatures, the other...Solnoid."
A gasp of relief explodes from the others. "Thank the Mother, there're survivors!!!" Spea claps her hands.
"Is there any sign of the 'Sardin?'" Shildy inquires.
"Scanning," Catty plays with the controls. A minute later, she smiles. "Yes! It's actually still in orbit over Embryo!"
"What?!!" all three exclaim.
"Embryo survived that mess?!!" Spea points towards the old red giant star which had borne silent witness to the armageddon of the Paranoid and Solnoid races.
"Quite easily," the android nods. "As the battle progressed, the fleets shifted from Embryo towards the middle worlds of the system. By the time the Planet Destroyers came into play, Embryo was safely out of range."
Talk about luck! "Captain Nebulart's alive!" Amy cries.
"Yes," tears appear in Catty's eyes. "Mother's alive."
The three organics stare confusedly at the android. They had never heard Catty refer to her template by such a religious title. Then again, what was really wrong with it? Catty and hundreds like her had been spread like a flower's seeds throughout the Solnoid fleets to maintain a discreet watch on Mission 21, the Central Guard's attempts to create a third race to separate Solnoid from Paranoid. Chances were good there were other Catty androids still around. "Let's rejoin our people," Shildy takes the gunship's controls. "We can't stay here anymore."
"Where will we go?" Spea inquires.
"I don't know," the older officer shakes her head. "I suppose Captain Nebulart is already considering the matter. We'll just have to wait and see."
* * *
Lufy smiles as she watches the growing mass of Solnoid warships appear on her forward viewscreen. Many seemed in good shape. Several had suffered severe battle damage. They might have to be abandoned. As to WHERE they would go, the Attacker had no idea. Were there still habitable planets around? What about the Paranoid? Would they want to carry on the fight? Or had they had enough and wanted some place of their own to live? "Don't ask such questions, idiot!" she admonishes herself. She was a fighter pilot. Such long-range thinking she left to others. Then again, if "others" included suicidally insane idiots like Journey, maybe making long-range decisions on her own would not be such a bad idea.
Her eyes focus on one ship, a Kuralis-class battlecarrier. It looked so much like the "Starleaf." How long ago was that? For Lufy, it had been just weeks ago; cryofreeze really did wreck one's sense of time. This seemed so much like Alpha-Twelve. Oh, well, it looked like a good place to put down.
As she does a beauty pass of the carrier, her eyes fall on the ship's name: STARLEAF. "No way!!!" she gasps. Look again. Sure enough, it was the same as Rabby's old ship. Lufy smiles. She was not a religious woman, but perhaps the Great Mother had guided her here. "Carrier 'Starleaf,' this is Fighter X-Seven-seven-seven from intelligence command ship 'Sardin.' I need a deck to put this junkheap down. Could I use yours? Over?!"
A hoarse cry roars over the comm channels. Lufy blinks. No way! It couldn't be...!! "Lufy?!! Is that you?!!"
"Patty?!!" the Attacker gasps. This had to be a dream! "How the hell are you still alive?!!"
"This is no time to contemplate the meaning of my existence!!" the old "Starleaf's" combat officer retorts. "How are you still alive?!! We left you floating in space just after Alpha-Twelve!!"
"The Loreleis picked me up," Lufy's eyes look to her fuel gage. "Shit, Patty, I'm really low on drive-juice!"
"Main bay's open!!" Patty calls out. "I'll see you down there!"
"You, too!" Lufy laughs as she arcs her fighter over.
Soon enough, the "Starleaf's" carnivorous hangar bay looms in front of Lufy. No sense crashing the bird; there were probably loads of other fighters looking for friendly decks. Cutting power, she coasts the craft to a gentle landing, allowing it to roll on its own to a stop. Lufy looks around. No other fighters. As she confirms an atmosphere around her, Lufy sighs as she pops her canopy and stands up. "No one's home," she mutters to herself.
"Lufy!!!" two women scream.
The Attacker spins around and sees Patty racing on the flight deck. Following close behind her was a familiar woman with strawberry-blonde hair and large earrings. "Patty!! Rabby!!!" Lufy cries as she hops out of the fighter.
Patty and Rabby fiercely embrace their friend, laughing and crying. Lufy stares at them. Both seemed the same age she remembered them. Obviously she was not the only one from the old "Starleaf" to have spent time in cryofreeze. Then she looks into their eyes and immediately sobers. Patty's have a haunted darkness to them, as if a part of her had been carved out and taken away without her permission. Rabby's were tinged with hate, not probably for the Paranoid, but for some of her own people. Lufy wondered what had happened to them to elicit this. She would find out soon enough. "It's so good to see you two again!" she sighs.
"And you," Patty leans up.
Lufy blinks as Patty presses her lips against the Attacker's. She had met Sensualists before, once finding them somewhat beneath her. But she did not resist. "I'm not one of those," she warns.
Patty smiles. "I converted after...well, sometime after we left you behind. So did Rabby."
Lufy faces Rabby, allowing the latter to touch lips with hers. Both women wore the new regulation Solnoid duty uniform, Rabby's indicative of a starship first officer. "Hi," the Attacker sighs.
"Hi, yourself," Rabby sighs.
The door slides open and another familiar face appears. "Eluza!!!" Lufy gasps, then seeing her insignia, snaps to attention and salutes. "Permission to come aboard, Captain?"
"Granted," Eluza returns the salute, then runs up to embrace her. "Oh, Lufy, if you're alive, I know everything's alright!!" she exclaims as she presses lips with the Attacker.
So Eluza's a Sensualist too, eh? Lufy muses, looking at the "Starleaf's" commanding officer. Eluza had not physically grown older. However, she seemed gaunt, pale. It was as if the woman had run face-to-face with the Goddess of Death Herself. What had happened to these people?! "Nothing's alright anymore, Eluza," Lufy reports. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Eluza ushers Lufy towards the express turbolift to the main bridge. "No, I think we're still collecting our senses to understand what actually happened," the captain looks grim. "We've taken unbelievable losses."
"Losses that weren't necessary!" Rabby spits out.
"Amen to that," Lufy readily nods, reaching over to grip the first officer's hand. It was a Sensualist gesture, something which would have repulsed a warrior like Lufy before. Rabby smiles, nodding to her. "So, what the hell happened to you guys after I left you?" Lufy inquires. "Shit, you look like you've been through the meat-grinder! And where's Pony and Rumy?"
"Pony's dead," Rabby sniffs back tears. "So's the Catty android who was assigned to us. I assume you've met Captain Nebulart if your fighter came from the 'Sardin.'"
Lufy nods. "And Rumy's on Terra," Patty adds, looking as if a great weight had crashed on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry," the Attacker shakes her head. "Mother, it makes me wonder what this damn war was all about."
"Too many people have wondered the same thing," Eluza grimly comments. "Too many people've stayed silent for too long. Now, it might be too late."
"Don't say that, Eluza," Rabby gasps.
The turbolift mercifully arrives at the bridge. The doors whoosh open, revealing an empty command deck. Well, not totally empty: two organic women were there, along with four cyborg soldiers and several servobots. One of the organics turns to look at the turbolift, then announces, "Captain on the bridge."
The others snap to attention. Eluza calls out at ease. "Status report, Miti?" the captain takes her command chair.
Lufy blinks. Miti might has well have been a slightly older Rumy. Same hair, same eyes, same slim build...but there was a nasty toughness to her demeanour. A dagger tattoo decorated her right cheek...and a familiar medal hung around her neck. She was an Attacker! "Ship's status nominal, Captain," Miti reports, a more mature voice than Rumy's. "All weapons at Class-A standby. Still searching for our fighters and Bronz-X combat suits."
"They could be a total loss," Rabby painfully muses from her station.
"Perhaps, but I'm not giving up," Eluza sighs.
"Captain, I recommend sending a general signal on all fighter frequencies offering a safe place to land here," the other organic officer suggests from the engineer station.
Lufy looks at the person who spoke. Save for waist-length wavy black hair, the "Starleaf's" engineering officer could have been another Pony! "Agreed, Mal. Make it so," Eluza nods.
"Yes, Captain," Mal returns to her board.
Lufy sighs, then notices Miti. They look at each other for a moment, sizing the other up. "Hi," the older Attacker smiles. "Sorry for staring. You look so much like Patty's friend Rumy. She was on the old 'Starleaf.'"
"I know," Miti salutes. "An honour to meet you, Group Leader. You're a legend in the Attacker Corps. And," a warm smile crosses her face, "...Rumy and I both come from the same genetic stock." She looks at Mal. "As do Mal and Pony."
Lufy looks at Mal, who passes her a friendly nod, then turns back to her board. "I can't believe the Attackers are still around," Lufy returns Miti's salute.
"They're still there. Hell, you know us," Miti laughs, then warmly grips Lufy's hand. "We own the stars."
"We own the stars," Lufy nods, squeezing Miti's hands, happy to hear the old Attacker credo.
Miti touches lips with her, then returns to her station. So they were all Sensualists, Lufy muses. Guess I'll go back to being one before long. She then notices a cyborg soldier offering her a glass of calorie juice. "Oh, thanks!"
"A pleasure, Group Leader," the armoured being responds, the small forehead light flashing in pace with her words. However, her voice was much more cultured, as if she was still human. "I am known as Eni. If you need any help, by all means ask."
"Sure," Lufy nods.
Eni returns to her station. Lufy looks back to see Rabby standing beside her. "I take it you've met them before," the first officer hums.
"Shortly after I got picked up by the Lorelei Fleet, we got into a scrap with the Paranoid," Lufy sighs. "After the fight was over, I watched one of them get out of a Bronz-X, shot up pretty bad. It was the most awful sight I'd ever seen."
"I can see that," Rabby crosses her arms. "When we got the new ship, they gave us a full compliment of cyborg soldiers. Mal and Miti didn't like the way they talked so we tweaked with their voice-boxes to make them sound more organic."
"You did a good job," Lufy nods, then stares at her. "Rabby, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why'd you become a...?" the Attacker's voice falters.
"A Sensualist?" Rabby completes. At Lufy's nod, she sighs. "We made it to Chaos...but we took horrible casualties. Eluza came as close as one could get to dying...in fact we thought she was dead and buried her in space. Then the ship blows up, taking Catty and Pony with it. We arrive at Chaos, to discover ourselves caught between the Paranoid Axis and the Central Guard. And the worst part about it was that the rest of our home fleet was wiped out by the Central Guard itself!! Do you want to know why?!"
Lufy nods. Rabby hesitates, steals a glance at Patty, then looks back to the Attacker. "Do you know of the Species Unification Project?"
"I know about it," Lufy nods.
Rabby looks back at the "Starleaf's" combat officer. "Patty was the only person ever to successfully host a Paranoid host factor."
Lufy blinks. From what she had heard, the Species Unification Project was designed to create a third race by combining Paranoid and Solnoid DNA into a unique individual possessing the best traits of both races. She heard from Shildy there had been only one partially successful joining, but never considered an old friend had underwent that experience. "No shit!" she whistles, keeping her voice low.
"And the worst part of it all is that when Patty's...offspring was cognizant, both the Paranoid and Solnoid commanders tried to take him and Patty for themselves," Rabby continues, her voice painfully hoarse. "I couldn't believe it! And the bastards who came up with this never told us a thing! They said that the 'war-loving military' would balk at any chance of peace!! How dare they, Lufy?! How DARE they?!!"
Lufy looks around. No one stared at them. Obviously, they felt the same way. "Yeah," Lufy nods. "It took me a while to realize it."
"Thank the Mother," Rabby grips her friend's hand.
"So what happened to you?" Lufy prods her.
"Well, Eluza was eventually picked up by a passing ship. She was in a deep coma, practically dead by all respects. She had also been targeted for a Paranoid contact point, but her body rejected it. As for Patty and I, we put ourselves into cryofreeze when we detonated Chaos' terraforming generators, to be picked up later by the same fleet who rescued Eluza. It took us a while, but we got back together, got a ship again, met Miti and Mal and we were back in the game...less willingly, this time."
"I'll bet," Lufy nods, then blinks. "Oh, shit! Someone kick me!! I forgot all about Shildy and the others!!"
"Who?!" Eluza stares at her.
"The people I've worked with," Lufy turns to the captain. "Shildy, Spea, Amy and another Catty 'droid. I left them back on Embryo!"
"The 'Sardin's' there," Miti reports. "I'm sure they're safe."
"Can I verify that?" Lufy turns to Rabby.
"Of course," Rabby notions to Mal's station.
Lufy walks over as the engineer signals the "Sardin." A moment later, the intelligence ship's first officer appears. "Scarlet!" Lufy laughs. "Hey, you old war horse! Where's the boss?!"
Scarlet, a haggard-looking woman with a scar down the left side of the face, snorts. "Hey, you lunatic throttle-jockey! The captain's finishing business with Elision, then she'll be on her way back. By the looks of it, none of the fleet commanders survived, so she's the defunct leader of the Solnoid people."
"No shit!" Lufy whistles. "Hey, listen, Scarlet...I need to know about my friends. Where're Shildy and the others?"
"They were ordered to deliver that packet the captain wanted sent to Terra," Scarlet reports. "I'm not sure if they made it out."
Eluza walks up beside Lufy. "Commander, relay their gunship code number and we'll go after them."
Scarlet nods. "Gunship G-nine-nine-four, Captain."
"Right," Eluza turns to Miti. "General hail, Miti. Find those people and bring them in, if they're still out there."
"Yes, Captain," Miti turns to her command board.
Scarlet looks at the people standing beside Lufy. "Looks like it's old home week again," the "Sardin's" first officer chuckles. "I'll leave you with your friends, Lufy. Take care!"
"You too, swabbie," Lufy waves as the line is cut. She then looks at Eluza. "Don't tell me Captain Nebulart was the one who found you people."
"Well, we didn't want the fleet commanders to know about our involvement with the Chaos fiasco," Eluza smiles. "Besides, Captain Nebulart was at least nice about what she was trying to do with Mission Twenty-one."
* * *
"We're receiving a hail from a carrier, Shildy," Catty reports. "They're directly calling us, offering us a place to land."
"Really?" Shildy looks back. "Thank the Mother. Who are they?"
"The 'Starleaf,'" the android smiles.
Shildy laughs. Eluza and her gallant crew, instrumental in the success of Mission Twenty-one. Solnoid Intelligence had kept their involvement in the Chaos fiasco a secret, a repayment from Captain Nebulart for ensuring that a third race did survive the destruction of the Solnoids and the Paranoids. "Tell Captain Eluza we're on our way in," Shildy looks at Catty.
"They also report...'an old friend of ours and yours' is aboard," Catty quizzically adds.
Spea and Amy look excited. "Lufy's alive!!" the younger woman yips.
"Can nothing knock her down?!" the older woman mischievously snorts.
"I doubt it," Shildy locks the gunship's course with the distant carrier. "Well, let's go court with heroes."
The other women laugh...
* * *
"Where've you strangers been?!" Lufy peeks in as the gunship settles on the "Starleaf's" hangar deck.
"Lufy!!!" Spea and Amy cry as they embrace the Attacker.
Lufy laughs as she warmly grips their hands, then draws Shildy into an embrace. "You were right all along," the former smiles. "I'm glad I'm still alive to be able to admit that to you."
"It's wonderful. So many of us are alive," Shildy smiles, drawing herself away. "Catty counted almost two hundred ships out there, plus who-knows-how-many fighters."
"All those people survived?" Lufy turns to the lavender-haired android. "What about the Paranoid?!"
"Roughly the same amount of capital ships plus numerous drones," Catty looks nervous.
Tension mounts as realization dawns. Some trigger-happy fool on either side might attempt a clean sweep of their enemy, dragging what surviving Paranoids and Solnoids into a final battle where there would be NO survivors. And with Born and Journey dead, other fanatics would appear, more than willing to avenge the loss of their Leader. "Someone better call Captain Nebulart fast," Lufy grimly notes. "If someone doesn't get some control on this sooner or later, we're all dead!"
* * *
"Peace," Catty Nebulart sighs. "What a strange word, eh, Elision?"
The captain-commander of Solnoid Central Intelligence sits at the main controller's station in Elision's central data processing room, deep below Embryo's surface. "It is indeed," the powerful voice of the planet's master computer replies.
"What are the status of both surviving fleets?" Nebulart looks up.
A holoscreen appears, displaying a schematic of Sigma Narse. Nebulart is stunned to see so many blips on both sides of the system. A great blank field roughly in the middle of the system indicates where the majority of the opposing fleets met their demise. "Paranoid forces now constitute 214 capital ships and 745 drones," Elision reports. "Solnoid forces now constitute 208 capital ships and 572 fighters, mobile suits and gunships. Both forces, however, seem intent on remaining separate from the other."
"Thank the Mother!!" Nebulart gasps. "There's hope for us yet."
"Agreed," the computer rumbles. "Wait! I detect one Paranoid cruiser proceeding towards Embryo. Sensors indicate shields are down and weapons at stand-by mode."
"Perhaps Born's successor," the intelligence commander stands. "Signal the 'Sardin.' Tell them not to take any aggressive action towards the Paranoid ship."
"I have done so," Elision reports. "In fact, the Paranoid ship is signalling US!"
Nebulart blinks. "Response frequency."
The holoscreen displaying the shattered solar system vanishes, to be replaced by the imposing image of a Paranoid senior commander. With the twin head-wings over his eyes and the gill-like structure which served as a mouth, he looked vaguely humanoid. Looks were deceiving; the Paranoid were an non-solid allasomorphic race who could mould their cells into whatever form was necessary for the task before them. The intelligence chief still found it astounding that such a race could evolve into the technological giant the Solnoids had faced for countless years. His exoskeleton hardsuit was draped with the beige, white and black of a very high ranked officer. "You are Catty Nebulart," the Paranoid intones.
"I am she," Nebulart nods. "Whom do I have the honour of addressing?"
"I am Galt of the Axis Fleet," he evenly declares.
The intelligence officer blinks in surprise. "The architect of Project: Exodermus. An honour to meet you at last, Commander."
"And I to you, Captain," the Paranoid curtly bows his head, fixing her with those human-like eyes. "It seems that the battle is over, but as both the Axis and your Central Guard concluded, there is no winner."
"I am more than pleased to say that sufficient forces on both sides survived this debacle," Nebulart crosses her arms. "As far as I am concerned, there is no need to press on with another battle. Simply put, both sides have suffered enough. Another battle will finish us for sure."
"I agree," Galt responds. "It is time Paranoid and Solnoid separate themselves, perhaps for the final time. Too many lives on both sides have been lost. Perhaps the embittered feelings both our races have felt for the others will never go away."
"Perhaps, but I do hope otherwise," Nebulart responds. "As of now, may I at least propose a cease-fire to ensure that our stragglers can find safe decks to land on."
"The first cease-fire between our races in millennia," Galt hums. "Agreed, Captain. It should take us a standard day to recover our troops. I propose upon completion, we communicate again. Will you be aboard the cruiser now in orbit over Embryo?"
"I shall," Nebulart nods.
"Then until that time comes," Galt nods.
The screen goes blank. "Peace," Nebulart is on the verge of tears. "It's finally come! It's finally come!"
"Agreed," Elision's voice responds. "But, at what price?"
* * *
"A cease-fire?!" Mal looks surprised as she receives the message from the "Sardin." "Yes, I understand! Right! 'Starleaf' out!"
The engineer turns to the other officers. "The first cease-fire between our races in memory," Spea muses. "Wow!! This is unbelievable!"
"I wish they'd've called a cease-fire before those damn Planet Destroyers came into service!" Rabby sourly notes.
"Amen to that," Eluza adds. "Then we'd have a world to go back to...and the Paranoid as well."
"But, where can we go?!" Amy looks afraid. "I don't want to live the rest of my life in space!"
"Neither do I," Patty grimaces. "But, all the available planets would've been wrecked by now!"
"Not all of them," Lufy muses.
Everyone turns to the Attacker. "Terra!" Catty gasps.
The name of the lone world which had developed on its own, without Paranoid or Solnoid terraforming, without any sort of influence from either race, electrifies the whole bridge. "Why, my sister is there!!" Miti notes.
"And my offspring!" Patty tearfully adds.
"It seems a good a place as any," Eluza notes, and turns to Mal. "Mal, signal the 'Sardin.' Inform Captain Nebulart that it is the uniform decision of the 'Starleaf's' crew that we proceed to Terra as soon as we settle affairs here. Recommend that we put that option to everyone as soon as an opportunity presents itself."
"Yes, Captain," Mal nods, then turns to her command station.
Laughter echoes from the others as Rabby comes up to grip Lufy's hand. "Come with me," the first officer whispers.
Lufy nods. Minutes later, they step into Rabby's quarters. It is relatively clean, decorated with mementoes from her life as a civilian on Malthus. All dreams now...or perhaps inspiration for a future time. "Why did you want me to come here?" the Attacker inquires. "Rabby, I'm not really fit to become a Sensualist, you know."
"I think you will be, given time," Rabby laughs as she walks over to her workdesk. "But we don't rush people into becoming a part of us. If you do decide to take the risk, I'll be more than happy to be your guide. But, there's another reason I asked you to come here."
"What?"
In answer, Rabby reaches into her desk and pulls out a case. Opening it, she extracts a familiar medal. "I think this is yours," she hands it to Lufy.
Lufy blinks in disbelief. "You hung onto it."
"Of course I did," Rabby smiles. "Losing you was a bitter blow to me, especially after that silly fight we had. I watched as Eluza, then Catty and Pony, were taken away from us, completely misunderstanding the lies perpetrated by our own leaders. Sometimes, when I felt really afraid, I looked at this. I tried to draw your strength, your courage to face up to the growing insanity around me..."
Her voice breaks as Rabby slumps into Lufy's embrace. "I'm back now, Rabby," the Attacker sighs.
"I know," the first officer sobs. "Oh, Lufy, I don't ever want to lose track of you again..."
The two remain in place as Rabby continues to weep...
* * *
To be continued...