-1-
A vague, bluish-white patch of light appeared in space near Pluto. Like a curtain shaken by the wind, it rippled and gradually became clearer. It looked somehow weak, as if it would disappear at any moment. It took the shape of a ship, then blurred, then solidified again. As if using the last of its strength, it finally came into focus.
It was the space battleship Yamato.
Just before falling into the ninth planet of the Dengil star system, the automatic navigation system had miraculously switched on and warped to this point on its own. Afterward, the ship began to drift quietly toward the inner solar system.
However, Yamato‘s appearance was miserable. There were dark, gaping holes in the bottom of the hull and near the bridge, and many pieces were badly damaged.
No one inside Yamato was moving. Those in spacesuits were lying on the floor, barely breathing. Those who were not were obviously dead. The bodies of crew members not wearing spacesuits were floating in the large hole near the bottom of the hull.
The crew on the first bridge were all lying prone on the floor. Not one of them could move even a finger. Only the lamp of the automatic navigation system on the instrument panel was glowing orange. All other instruments were as motionless as the crew.
But Yamato had returned!
Inside the observation room of the Pluto Base Space Observation Center, the crew was tracking the location of Aquarius and the unknown fleet. Of course, their search for Yamato continued, but the first priority for now was the observation of Aquarius. Yamato had temporarily disappeared from everyone’s mind. After all, the fate of the entire planet was at stake.
Only one observer was watching the space around Pluto while the others were busy looking for the warped Aquarius. His eyebrows twitched when a small shadow appeared on the panel’s radar. He flipped several switches and started to investigate the identity of the small shadow intensively.
On a TV screen to the right of the radar, a computer-generated image appeared. Seeing this, the observer cried out, “It’s Yamato! Yamato is back!”
For a moment, the entire observation room fell silent. The commander, who was behind an observer monitoring Aquarius, turned his head.
“What did you say?”
“It’s Yamato. Yamato has appeared from a warp near Pluto. It’s now heading toward Earth.”
“Well, it’s back at last!” everyone shouted, but soon returned to observing Aquarius.
The commander called out to a radio operator sitting in the back.
“Send a message to Yamato!”
“Yes, sir!”
The radio operator turned to the instrument panel and began to transmit.
“Yamato, come in. This is Pluto Station…”
After a few moments, the radio operator turned to the commander.
“There’s no response.”
“What? Tell the communications officer to keep trying, and launch two escort planes.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Furthermore, inform the Earth Defense Command of Yamato‘s return.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Pluto base control room sent a message to Yamato and the EDF. Two escort aircraft were dispatched from the base hangar and flew into space.
The escort aircraft circled around the Yamato, which was drifting silently. The lead pilot saw Yamato through his canopy and gasped.
“This is terrible…”
He could see the large hole in the hull, and the other just below the bridge.
“This is Unit 1. Come in, Unit 2.”
“This is Unit 2.”
The voice of the second pilot came from a speaker in the cockpit.
“Can you see it? That big hole?”
“Yes, I see it. It’s so badly damaged, it’s a wonder they’re still sailing.
“It’s not just that big hole, the other damage is catastrophic.”
The two planes continue circling Yamato.
“Are there any communications coming in?”
“I’ve got nothing.”
“We’re flying so close, they should be able to see us with the naked eye.”
“Let’s try to raise them from here.”
“Roger.”
The pilot of the first plane cut contact with his wingman and began to send a message to Yamato.
“Yamato, come in. This is escort from Pluto base. We are flying right alongside you. Come in, Yamato. Come in…”
But no matter how much he called out, Yamato remained silent.
The pilot of the No. 1 craft gave up, and sent a message to the No. 2 craft. They were now flying on either side of the silent ship.
“Any word from Yamato?”
“Nothing. No response at all.”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I got as close as I could, but there’s no sign of anyone moving, not even in the bridge windows.”
“Let’s escort them as far as we can.”
“Roger.”
The two escort planes followed Yamato silently on both sides.
-2-
At the Earth Defense Forces Control Room, a message was received from the Pluto base announcing Yamato‘s return. There was a great commotion.
“I see. Yamato has returned…”
The commander folded his hands behind his back and stood still for a moment, meditating. The control room erupted in cheers. The radio operator was still in contact with the Pluto base. The commander slowly opened his eyes.
Private conversations were exchanged here and there in the control room. The automatic door opened, and Yuki Mori rushed in to stand in front of the commander.
“Commander! Is it true that Yamato came back?” She looked at him anxiously, panting for breath from her mad dash.
The commander smiled and put his right hand on Yuki’s shoulder.
“It’s true, Yuki. We just received a transmission from Pluto.”
“Good…” Yuki said, and then she wobbled as if light-headed. The commander quickly reached out to hold her up.
“Are you all right?”
Yuki got back on her feet.
“I’m sorry…” she said and looked down.
“I’m happy for you, Yuki. Soon you’ll see Kodai again.”
Yuki brushed her hair out of her face with the fingers of her thin right hand. At that moment, the communications officer who had been in contact with Pluto called the commander. Yuki followed him over to the console.
“What’s going on?”
The communications officer read from a memo he had written.
“Commander, according to the report from Pluto base, there was no response from Yamato no matter how many times they tried to hail them. They sent an escort to investigate, and they identified large holes in the bottom of the hull and near the bridge.”
The commander raised his eyebrows. Yuki looked at him uneasily.
“I see…but the ship is sailing toward Earth?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“Commander…” Yuki muttered.
“Try reaching Yamato from here as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
The radio operator turned his chair to face his console and started to send a message.
“Yamato, come in. This is Earth Defense Force Headquarters. Yamato, come in…”
The radio operator continued to transmit for a while. The commander and Yuki watched silently.
“Damn it,” he swore. “Nothing.” Frustrated, the radio operator plucked the headphone from his ears. “No response at all.”
Silence reigned in the control room. Yuki looked at the commander, on the edge of tears. He looked at her and nodded.
“It’s all right, Yuki. The ship made it back to the solar system by itself. It will come back to Earth.”
“But…but…”
The commander looked at the radio operator. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Keep trying them!”
“Yes, sir!”
The radio operator returned to the communicator and resumed his hails. The commander patted Yuki’s shoulder and walked silently back to his seat. Although he’d assured her everything would be all right, he was full of anxiety himself.
“Please get everyone back safely.” he prayed silently. “Kodai, Yuki is waiting for you.”
Yamato drifted from Saturn space to Jupiter space like a ghost ship. Escort planes were launched from bases in each region. They each flew in close to Yamato to communicate, but there was no reply. Yamato was silently heading toward Earth. It was eerie.
Two escort planes were launched from the Mars base and flew in.
“Yamato, come in. This is Mars base escort. What’s wrong, Yamato? Come in…”
For a while, the escort planes flew alongside, but eventually had to give up and return to base before flying out of range. Yamato was finally approaching Earth.
An officer entered the commander’s office and announced, “Yamato is close to Earth!”
The Commander, who had been reviewing the evacuation plan, looked up from his desk and rose from his chair.
“I see. It’s back at last.”
He went into the control room where Yuki looked up to see him. They both walked over to the main video panel.
“Can you get Yamato‘s image on the panel?” he asked an operator.
“Yes.”
The operator flipped a switch. The video panel filled with a series of horizontal stripes that cleared to reveal Yamato drifting through space. Those who were looking up at the video panel gasped. The ship was flanked by two escort aircraft, both of which had launched from Earth.
“That’s terrible…” the Secretary gasped as he looked at the video. He could clearly see the damage to the hull, near the bridge, and various other areas of the ship.
“I don’t know how they made it back here with that much damage…” he muttered.
Yuki stared at the video panel intently, biting her lip.
“Kodai-kun…”
Two more escort planes from Earth arrived and followed on either side of Yamato. Now surrounded by planes, the ship descended toward home. The blue Earth spread out in front of the ship as it approached and finally entered the gravitational field.
In the control room, the video panel displayed Yamato‘s descent.
“Well done, Yamato,” someone said. “You’re almost here.”
Yuki was desperately calling out the same thing to Susumu Kodai in her mind.
-3-
Yamato made a precarious landing, but managed to reach a secret dock of the Earth Defense Fleet. The ship was anchored in silence, as if to rest its majestic, wounded form. A number of people gathered beneath Yamato, looking up.
“What a big hole…” a dock worker muttered.
“Definitely. I wonder why the crew hasn’t come down…”
The man who answered tried to approach Yamato‘s ramp, but was stopped by security guards.
“Don’t go near it,” a guard said.
“Why don’t you go help the crew inside?” the man asked in dismay.
“Paramedics are on their way. Until then, don’t approach. We have no idea what the condition is inside.”
“Can’t you reach them?”
“We’ve tried. We don’t know if the crew is even in there.”
Hearing the guard’s words, the man’s eyes widened. Similar conversations were exchanged here and there. At that moment, the sound of intermittent sirens approached from afar. A number of air cars shot like bullets out of a tube-shaped roadway, giving top priority to emergencies.
They stopped at the dock, one large car and four standard-sized cars. they parked perfectly, floating in the air about a meter above the ground. The canopy covering the top of the large car opened upward and paramedics jumped out.
The commander, deputy commander, and their staff got out of the standard cars. Yuki Mori and Dr. Sado were among them. They all walked quickly toward the guards, the commander in the lead.
“Thank you very much,” he said to the security guards, who were standing erect and immobile. “Have the crew come down yet?”
“Yamato has been silent since it entered the dock,” a guard replied. “Not so much as a single kitten has come down the ramp.”
The Commander looked up at Yamato and ordered the paramedics forward.
“Get on board!”
“Yes, sir!”
Carrying first-aid equipment, the paramedics ran up the ramp which had already been lowered. The command staff followed. They entered the ship’s corridor from the ramp and all stopped. Yuki pushed aside the officers and entered the passageway. Her eyes widened involuntarily and she froze, her hands covering her mouth. Sado was the last to enter, and he did the same.
“This is…”
Four crew members were lying in the corridor. None were wearing spacesuits. The paramedics examined them.
“They’re all dead,” a paramedic said.
The commander clenched his teeth. Yuki kept her hands over her mouth.
“Let’s keep going,” the commander said.
Nearly all the cabin doors that lined the walls of the corridor were open. Everyone split up and looked inside to see many more bodies lying there. All of those not wearing spacesuits were dead. However, those in spacesuits were still breathing faintly. The paramedics began to carry out the survivors. As they descended the ramp, others came up.
“Oh, no…” Yuki stared at the bodies, backing away and shaking her head. “Kodai-kun…”
She suddenly ran down the corridor, heading for the elevator shaft. The commander shouted after her.
“Wait a minute, Yuki!”
She ran into an elevator and pressed the button that would take her to the first bridge. The door closed and the elevator rose rapidly. Trembling, Yuki watched the flashing button.
“Kodai-kun…”
There was a small bump, and the elevator door opened with a sigh. Yuki jumped out of the elevator and ran onto the first bridge. She stopped dead in her tracks as she entered. Her eyes widened as she looked around the bridge floor.
Crew members were lying here and there, a heartbreaking match for the nightmare she’d had.
“Kodai-kun!” Yuki shouted hysterically.
Behind her, the commander and Dr. Sado came up on the elevator. Paramedics burst in.
“Kodai-kun!” Yuki shouted again and was about to run to the combat command station, but the commander grabbed her left arm. She turned around quickly.
“Leave it to the paramedics.”
“No, let go of me! Let go! Kodai-kun is lying there!” Yuki shrieked, shaking.
“Stay strong, Yuki!”
He gripped both of her shoulders and she went quiet, looking down at the floor. Her long, disheveled hair covered her face, hiding her expression.
In the meantime, the paramedics were examining the crew members lying on the floor. The commander slowly walked toward the combat command station, followed by Sado. Yuki stood frozen, staring at the floor. Sado looked around the entire bridge.
“All the guys here are wearing space suits. It seems that everyone has been exposed to radiation, but those in spacesuits are only in a temporary state of suspended animation.”
The Commander and Dr. Sado examined the figure who was lying under the combat command station. It was Susumu Kodai.
Yuki came running toward them. The commander glanced at her. She looked down at Susumu, who was lying face down on the floor. Dr. Sado bent down and touched his shoulder. Susumu’s helmet rolled off, revealing his head.
“His space suit wasn’t sealed…” Sado moaned.
Yuki looked at Sado in shock.
“Oh no…then Kodai-kun…”
The commander and Dr. Sado rolled Susumu over onto his back, and Yuki shoved them away to warp herself around his body.
“Kodai-kun!”
Susumu’s eyes remained closed and he did not move an inch.
“He’s not breathing! Kodai-kun, breathe!”
“Yuki, let go.” Sado tried to pull her away, but she wouldn’t listen.
“No! If Kodai-kun is going to die, then I will, too!”
She suddenly pulled out a gun from the holster on Susumu’s waist and put it to her chest.
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, Sanada, who had just woken up, lunged toward Yuki and slapped the gun away. It fell to the floor with a clatter.
“Sanada-kun!”
Sado rushed to pick him up, but Sanada lost his strength and crumpled to the floor. Yuki was stunned to see Susumu and Sanada lying together.
“You idiot!” The commander slapped Yuki on the cheek.
Yuki clutched Susumu to her chest and began to cry loudly. The commander and Dr. Sado looked down at them in silence.