-1-
From Yamato‘s observation deck, Susumu Kodai gazed at Aquarius, which was steadily moving toward Earth. He still couldn’t believe that the beautiful water world, which looked like an enormous pearl of the universe, was a death planet about to destroy the human race.
The first word that would come to mind for anyone would be “beautiful.” It was an extraordinary beauty that seemed to steal the soul of anyone who saw it.
Susumu tried not to think about Shima as much as possible. His best friend was dead, no longer in this world. Susumu thought that Shima’s death must not be in vain. He had to save the Earth somehow…
He clenched his hands tightly. A certain thought had been floating in his mind for a while. It was the only way to save the Earth. However, whenever the thought came, he quickly brushed it aside.
Someone suddenly appeared to his right and he turned in surprise. It was Yuki. He looked into her eyes and she looked back into his.
“Kodai-kun… Can’t Yamato save the Earth? Is just staring at it like this all we can do?”
Susumu turned his face forward and looked at Aquarius. Yuki grabbed his right arm and leaned in close to him. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“That’s not true, is it, Kodai-kun? If we don’t do something…Shima-kun won’t be able to rest in peace…”
Susumu turned to face her again. He placed both hands on her slim shoulders and held her close. Tears were dripping from her eyes. Susumu gently stroked her hair.
“It’s not true that we can’t save the Earth, is it?” Yuki said in a tearful voice.
“No.”
Yuki suddenly pulled away from Susumu. He looked at her with a stern expression.
“What did you just say?”
“Yamato…Yamato is not such an unreliable ship.”
Yuki was speechless at his serious expression. Susumu turned to the window again, glaring at Aquarius. Then he placed his right hand on the glass and bowed his head.
“Yamato… please forgive me…” The image of the tritium plant on Aquarius came to Susumu’s mind. He raised his head. “There’s no other way…”
“What do you mean?” Yuki asked. But Susumu didn’t reply, turning away from the window and quickly heading for the elevator. Yuki was stunned, but immediately tried to follow him.
“Wait, Kodai-kun! What are you trying to do?”
Sanada suddenly appeared from the shadows and stopped Yuki. She looked at him in surprise. He slowly shook his head from side to side. Sanada knew what Susumu was thinking.
Susumu got off the elevator and went up the stairs to the captain’s office. Captain Okita was sitting with his back to the entrance. Susumu’s expression was stiff with tension. He stood behind Captain Okita and spoke. His voice was shaking.
“Captain, I have a favor to ask of you.”
Captain Okita slowly turned around in his chair. His right eyebrow twitched. The two of them stare into each other’s eyes until Susumu spoke again.
“I want to land on Aquarius and load the tritium onto Yamato.”
Captain Okita stared at him intently.
“May I have your permission?”
“For what purpose?” he asked slowly.
Susumu bowed his head and went silent.
“Do you think I can give you permission without explaining the purpose?”
Susumu looked up.
“Wouldn’t it be better if the results prove it?”
Captain Okita looked at Susumu with a serious expression, then smiled.
“Kodai”
“Yes…?”
“Can you detonate Yamato without a second thought?”
Susumu looked at Captain Okita in shock. Okita slowly stood up from his chair, clasped his hands behind his back and walked toward the side window. His steps were awkward. His body was already weakening considerably. He stopped with his back turned to Kodai.
“In less than twenty hours, Aquarius will be closest to the Earth, and will extend a huge pillar of water. The whole Earth will be covered in thick rainclouds. At that time, if we reverse the energy of Yamato‘s Wave-Motion Gun into the ship and fuse it with the tritium, a huge explosion may occur, and we may be able to cut off the water pillar.”
Susumu looked at Captain Okita with wide eyes.
“You think the same as me, Captain?!”
Captain Okita turned around.
“Yes. However, I was at a loss as to how to calm the crew and keep them working in perfect unison…”
A tear fell from Susumu’s eye.
“I can’t stand the thought of Yamato exploding either! But…Yamato‘s mission is to save the human race on Earth…”
Captain Okita smiled and spread his arms wide.
“You’ve really grown up, Kodai. Thanks to you, I’ve made up my mind. This is the only way.” After pausing, he continued. “But, Kodai, who’s going to pull the trigger on the Wave-Motion Gun?”
Susumu was taken aback.
“This operation requires precise timing. There’s a risk of failure with automatic control. Are you staying on Yamato?”
“Y-Yes!”
Captain Okita gave a wry smile.
“What will you do about Yuki? Depending on the circumstances, you may not be able to leave the ship.”
Kodai looked away.
“You didn’t think that far ahead? That’s typical of you. If you leave Yuki alone, that girl has no future. Shima died telling you to make Yuki happy.”
Kodai’s expression softened.
“Kodai, give me this job.”
Susumu swallowed. “No way…”
“This battle will probably be my last. I’ve already died once.”
“Captain…”
“Kodai, make Yuki happy. When this battle is over, you two should have a child together.”
Kodai gasped at the thought of such a future.
“Kodai. Leave it to me. I am the captain of Yamato. A captain has the right to share the fate of the ship. You and I both love Yamato, but you must hand this task over to me. Do you understand?”
“Captain…”
“That’s all I have to say. Now your job is to convince everyone. All the crew members love Yamato, so you have to convince them. Got it?”
Susumu straightened up. “Y-Yes!”
-2-
As soon as Susumu returned to the first bridge, Captain Okita descended from the captain’s room in his seat. It descended like an elevator, with a dull motor sound. Susumu and the other crew members snapped to attention. The captain’s seat settled into place. Okita slowly looked around at the crew members staring at him, then spoke.
“Yamato will now descend again to Aquarius and land on the water.”
“Huh?”
The crew members look at each other. Only Susumu and Sanada kept their eyes on Captain Okita in silence.
Yamato headed for Aquarius. It descended in a straight line, passing through the ring of ice surrounding the planet. Captain Okita gave the order.
“Land near the heavy water plant.”
Yamato left the sea of clouds, descended further, and safely landed in the water. The surface was calm, but nearby was the eerie figure of a heavy water plant built by the Dengil people, similar to an oil drilling platform. There were no Dengil people there at the moment. Yamato stopped its engines for a moment on the surface of Aquarius.
After looking around the bridge, which had settled down after landing, Captain Okita spoke to Susumu.
“Kodai.”
Susumu turned around. “Yes?”
“Gather all crew members in the large observation room.”
The captain finally had something to say, Susumu thought.
“Understood.”
Soon, all the crew members of Yamato were gathered. The main crew was lined up at the front. The crew members looked at each other and exchanged private conversations.
“What is Captain Okita going to say?”
“I don’t know. He’s gathered not only the main crew but also us, so it must be something very important.”
The crew members were neatly lined up and talking to each other. Susumu and Sanada stood in the front row, gazing silently ahead. Yuki was standing to Susumu’s right. She wanted to ask Susumu, but seeing his pained expression, she hesitated to speak to him.
Captain Okita then appeared, walking slowly. The restless crew noticed the captain and fell silent, straightening their postures. The floor fell silent. Okita went to the center of the front row and turned to face the crew. With a sharp gaze, he slowly looked at each crew member’s face for a while. The crew members stiffened with tension. And finally, he spoke.
“Gentlemen. I have gathered you all here because I have something very important to tell you. Currently, Aquarius is heading for Earth, and is on a course that will bring it close in a few hours. It is no longer possible to change this.”
The crew looked at each other and exchanged whispers.
“But there is still one last resort left.”
The crew went quiet again and stared at Captain Okita.
“It is impossible to change the course of Aquarius, but there is one way to prevent the Earth from being submerged. Yamato must save the human race on Earth.”
Susumu gritted his teeth.
“As a last resort, Yamato will load tritium from the heavy water plant, and wait near the Earth. Then, as soon as Aquarius approaches, it will launch automatically and fuse our Wave Energy with tritium to explode and cut off the water column!”
The crew members looked blank for a moment as they heard Captain Okita’s explanation. They couldn’t quite comprehend the situation. But finally, one by one, they looked startled with realization.
Captain Okita spoke again. “Yamato will be scuttled.”
An uproar rippled through the gathered crew.
“What are you saying?”
“Scuttled!?”
“Yamato will be sunk!?”
“Quiet!” Captain Okita shouted.
Everyone went quiet again.
“As soon as the destroyer Fuyuzuki arrives, you will leave Yamato and transfer there. That concludes my speech.”
With that, Captain Okita quickly headed for the exit. Commotion quickly rose with voices of protest. Aihara and the other main crew members hurriedly followed the captain.
“Wait, Captain!” Aihara called out to him. But Captain Okita ignored him and continued on.
“Sinking Yamato? That’s ridiculous!” Yamazaki said in a hysteric tone.
Susumu stood in front of Aihara and Yamazaki.
“Stop! Follow the captain’s orders!”
Aihara was shocked.
“N-No way Kodai! Even you…”
Susumu shouted. “Everyone, listen carefully! I understand very well that you don’t want to lose Yamato! I feel the same way. But can we only think about ourselves? Don’t we also need to think about Yamato‘s happiness? Can Yamato just watch the submersion of Earth and the destruction of humanity without doing anything?”
Susumu looked at the faces of each of the main crew members. Everyone looked back at him in silence. Susumu spoke again.
“No. Yamato is a ship born to save humanity. Isn’t it Yamato‘s desire to be used for the sake of the Earth, for the sake of humanity? No matter how painful it may be for us? Listen, Yamato‘s mission is to save the human race on Earth. There is no way to save the human race other than for Yamato to self-destruct!”
Before he knew it, Susumu was in tears.
“I’ve made up my mind to blow up Yamato. I think I’m the one who loves Yamato and needs Yamato more than anyone else. And I have made the decision. Please understand, everyone…if the ship explodes, we can save the Earth. This is the last resort we have left…”
Susumu bowed his head. His tears fell on the floor, staining it. The crew members fell silent as they saw Susumu like that. Yuki also began to sob. Sanada walked up to Susumu and put his hand on his shoulder.
