The sea surface of Aquarius was starting to get rough as it began to approach the solar system. Yamato had managed to load a large amount of tritium from the heavy water plant, but it was being tossed about by the rough waves like a leaf floating on the water.

Ota looked at the instruments and said, “Aquarius’ current position is one billion kilometers from the orbit of Saturn, and 2.7 billion kilometers from Earth. It will be closest to Earth in five hours!”

Captain Okita gave the order as if he had made up his mind.

“Yamato, launch!”

Yamato left the choppy sea of Aquarius and headed back into quiet space. However, there was something waiting for Yamato; the old disc-shaped spaceship with Lugal aboard, and his remaining fleet that had escaped Uruk.

Lugal stood with his feet planted apart on the bridge of the old spaceship. With his demonic form, he gazed fixedly ahead.

“Yamato, ascending from Aquarius!”

Hearing the message, Lugal’s body began to tremble. He clenched his hands tightly.

“Yamato… I’ll bury you this time. Commence attack!” he shouted hysterically.

As Yamato passed the ice ring of Aquarius, the old-type disc ship and several rock-coated spaceships closed in, as if on a collision course.

Yuki, who was watching the radar panel, changed her expression. “An unidentified enemy fleet has appeared ahead!”

It was immediately displayed on the video panel. Susumu’s eyes widened at the sight.

“Isn’t that the spaceship Dengil’s leader escaped in?”

“It was waiting in a place like this?” Aihara said.

Susumu ordered, “Everyone, take battle positions!”

But Captain Okita stopped him. “Wait! Yamato is currently loaded with tritium. It’s like a moving super hydrogen bomb. If even one enemy shell hits us, we’re dead!”

Everyone gasped with realization.

“Don’t fight back, take a chance to warp as soon as possible!”

Susumu immediately changed his orders. “Yamato, prepare for warp!”

But in an instant, Yamato was surrounded by old-type disc ship and rock ships. The missile launchers on the rock ships opened one after another.

Yuki shouted, “The enemy is preparing to launch missiles!”

“No! There’s no way to dodge them!”

Susumu looks at the ships on the video panel. Their missile launch ports were fully open. Then, one of the ships suddenly exploded. Everyone stared in shock as more explode one after another, like a chain reaction. The video panel went completely white with the glare. The crew members looked at each other.

“What’s going on!?”

“Why are they exploding?!”

Yuki, who was watching the radar panel, reported, “Another unidentified space fleet has appeared behind the Dengil fleet!”

Susumu looked at Yuki. “What!?”

“Display it on the panel,” Captain Okita ordered.

The image on the panel zoomed in, and a new fleet appeared. Susumu was shocked to see the shape of a spaceship at its center.

“That’s…”

The image zoomed in again, and the spaceship was clearly visible.

Susumu pointed at the video panel. “That’s Dessler’s ship!”

“What!?”

Sanada and the other crew members were also astonished. The image on the video panel distorted, and suddenly Dessler’s upper body filled the display.

“Kodai,” Dessler said on the video panel. A red flower was pinned to the left side of his chest.

Susumu was stunned. “De-Dessler… you’re safe!”

Dessler smiled with a slight twist at the corner of his mouth, and held out the flower with his right hand. The flower had already wilted.

“Kodai. I just wanted to say thank you for these flowers. That’s why I came all the way here. I’ve been intercepting communications and already know the situation for Earth. I’m glad I made it in time. I’ll take care of this nuisance.”

“Dessler…”

Dessler disappeared from the screen. Susumu and the crew were speechless.

The Dessler fleet attacked the Lugal fleet like a pack of wild beasts. The Lugal fleet stopped its attack on Yamato and turned to face the Dessler fleet, which was attacking from behind. A fierce battle unfolded in the space around Yamato. The Dessler fleet, which had caught them off guard, destroyed the rock ships one after another, but soon began to take damage in return.

Dessler appeared again on the video panel of Yamato‘s first bridge.

“Kodai, what are you doing? Warp now! Leave them to me!”

Susumu was moved. “Sorry, Dessler!”

Captain Okita immediately gave the order. “Warp to the midpoint of Aquarius’ closest position to Earth!”

“Got it!”

The position was calculated immediately, and Yamato warped out. Amidst the battle between the Dessler and Lugal fleets, Yamato faded out of space.

Yamato warped in at the midpoint between Earth and the Moon. The Fuyuzuki, which had departed from the Moon base and was waiting, immediately approached Yamato.

The decks of Yamato were in an uproar because the order to abandon ship was given as soon as warp ended. “All hands prepare to abandon ship!” echoed from speakers throughout the ship, urging everyone to do so. The crew members, carrying bags filled with their personal belongings, rushed down the ship’s corridors to the designated exits.

In the engine room, Tasuke Tokugawa removed his father’s portrait from the wall.

“Dad, this is the last time you’ll see Yamato‘s engine room. You’ll never see it again…”

Yamazaki yelled at Tasuke when he saw him. “Hurry! We don’t have much time!”

Tasuke quickly put his father’s portrait in his pocket and picked up his bag. After taking a final look around the engine room, he headed for the exit with the other engineers.

The Cosmo Tigers launched from the hangar one by one, flying off into space. In his cockpit, Kato had a frustrated look on his face. They would never return to Yamato‘s hangar again.

The crew boarded the lifeboats. Fuyuzuki was approaching quickly to collect them.

On the first bridge, the main crew reported the evacuation status to Okita, who was standing in front of his captain’s seat.

“All surviving engineering and emergency crew members have left the ship.” Sanada reports, saluted, and steps back. Captain Okita returned the salute.

Aihara stepped forward and said, “All communications crew members have left the ship.”

Captain Okita nodded.

“All engineering crew members have left the ship.” Yamazaki said.

Ota immediately followed. “All radar and central computer room members have left the ship.”

“All gunnery crew members have left the ship,” Nanbu said while saluting. Captain Okita returned the salute.

“All combat and navigation crew members have left the ship,” Susumu reported.

Yuki spoke last. “All life crew members have left the ship.”

Captain Okita returned their salutes.

“Kodai, Yuki. You two go to the Wave-Motion Gun control room and switch the circuits.”

“Yes, sir!” Susumu and Yuki answered at the same time.

Captain Okita suddenly noticed that Sanada was staring at him.

“I’ll leave the ship with Kodai and the others. You leave the ship first,” Captain Okita told him.

Sanada looked at Captain Okita with serious eyes as if he wanted to say something, but he replied as if he had given up.

“Yes… I understand.”

Sanada left the room with Aihara, Yamazaki and the others. Captain Okita looked at Susumu and Yuki who were still standing in front of him and smiled. The two of them stared back.

“Kodai. Yuki. You’ll have good children. They’re like my grandchildren…”

Yuki had a mystified look on her face for a moment, then realized the hidden meaning in those words and came to her senses.

“Captain…why…” Yuki was about to ask him something, but Susumu interrupted.

“Susumu Kodai and Yuki Mori, switching the Wave-Motion Gun circuits!”

Captain Okita nodded vigorously, then spread his arms, embracing them.

“You two are like my son and daughter…”

And with that, he let them go.

“Go.”

“Sir!”

Susumu saluted and quickly left the first bridge. Yuki followed Susumu as he walked steadily down the corridor.

“Wait, Kodai-kun!”

Susumu turned around. Yuki was crying.

“Kodai, the captain is going with Yamato…”

“Yuki, don’t cry. You mustn’t cry until you see him off. Fulfill your final mission.”

But his eyes were also filled with tears as he said this.

Susumu and Yuki entered the Wave-Motion Gun control room. Susumu was surprised to see Sanada sitting in front of the control panel.

“Sanada…”

Sanada turned to the two of them and said, “Kodai, let me help you.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Susumu sat in the chair to Sanada’s right, then quickly inserted the key into the control panel. Yuki read out the operating procedure that appeared on the panel’s display.

“Wave-Motion Gun safety lock bolt, open.”

Susumu and Sanada operated it. The Wave-Motion Gun safety lock bolt was opened and the ejector was removed.

“Wave-Motion Gun Ejector Released.”

They operated the control panel as Yuki instructed. The electromagnetic crane started to move.

“Muzzle lock bolt loaded! Forced forward device set!”

Susumu gripped the lever on the control panel with his left hand. Sanada placed his right hand on top of Susumu’s left hand. Susumu looked at Sanada. Sanada nodded. Then, the two of them pulled down the lever.

Now, everything was ready.

Captain Okita sat in his seat in the captain’s quarters, staring out the window. He gazed at the bow and upper deck of the Yamato.

“You’ve worked so hard for so long, Yamato,” he murmured. “I’d like to take you back to the bottom of the ocean at Bougasaki, but I can’t. Please forgive me…”

There was a knock.

“It’s Sado,” a voice said.

“Come in.”

Sado opened the door and came inside. He was holding a bottle of sake in his right hand. Captain Okita looked at him.

“Captain, I’ve come to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Captain Okita asked, and Sado glanced away out the window. Sado had already guessed Captain Okita’s thoughts. He spoke as he looked outside.

“Looking at you like this Yamato, you really do have the bearing of a veteran warrior…”

“Yes. She worked hard…”

“She fought for the sake of the Earth until the very end, and I’m sure Yamato is satisfied with that.”

“Yes…”

Sado turned to Captain Okita and poured sake into the two cups he was holding in his other hand. He offered one to Okita.

“The Captain hasn’t had a drink since returning to Yamato, but today he will.”

Captain Okita looked at the cup held out in front of him, then at Sado’s serious expression, and nodded with a wry smile.

He accepted. “I’ll have some.”

Sado also poured his share. The two of them toasted each other before bringing their cups to their mouths. Captain Okita took a sip. Sado drank it all in one go and straightened up.

“Captain, that’s all…”

“Take care, Sado.”

“Yes!”

Sado saluted and turned his back to Captain Okita. Sado’s eyes were bloodshot and watery. He left the captain’s room without turning around.

The last lifeboat was taken into Fuyuzuki‘s hangar. Captain Mizutani and his officers were waiting. The hatch of the lifeboat opened and the crew of Yamato came down the ramp. Susumu and Yuki were the first to appear, followed by Sanada and Sado. The four of them stood in front of Mizutani and saluted.

Mizutani answered, but looked toward the lifeboat with a puzzled expression. The hatch was already closed.

“Captain Okita…?” Mizutani asked Susumu.

Susumu looked back at Mizutani silently. Mizutani understood everything from Susumu’s expression.

“I see…”

Mizutani’s expression hardened and he nodded.

“All crew members have been accommodated! Fuyuzuki will now depart for Earth!” Mizutani ordered.

Susumu and the others headed to the observation deck.

When Susumu and the others arrived at the observation room, the main crew, including Aihara, Yamazaki, Tasuke, and others, were already there. They all gazed intently at Yamato, which was stationary in space.

Susumu and Yuki huddled together and gazed at Yamato. And then, Yamato finally departed.

“Yamato…Captain Okita…” Sado, standing next to Analyzer, muttered sadly.

The Cosmo Tigers, led by Kato, skimmed past Yamato. Kato looked through the cockpit canopy at the bright first bridge. His eyes widened. Kato saw Captain Okita, still sitting in the captain’s seat.

“That’s…”

Kato hurriedly contacted Fuyuzuki.

“This is Cosmo Tiger Kato! Why is Captain Okita still on the first bridge!?”

Kato’s communication was also broadcast through the speaker in the Fuyuzuki‘s observation room, and Aihara and others who heard it were shocked.

“Wasn’t Yamato supposed to launch automatically!?” Aihara cried. “Stop the ship! We have to take Captain Okita with us! If we don’t…”

“That’s right! Stop Fuyuzuki!” Yamazaki also said in surprise.

The crew became upset. But then Aihara suddenly looked at Susumu and frowned. The others also noticed Susumu and fell silent as if they had been struck by a torrent of water. Susumu stood upright facing Yamato and saluted while tears flowed from his eyes. He didn’t even try to wipe the tears running down his cheeks. Sanada, Sado, and Yuki were the same.

Aihara and the others finally understood when they saw this.

“So that’s what happened…Captain Okita went with Yamato…”

Aihara’s face crumpled and tears began to flow. He turned to the window and quickly saluted. The other crew members noticed and joined him.

Kato received a call from Fuyuzuki, and in tears, he saluted the receding Yamato from inside his cockpit.

Captain Okita sat in the captain’s seat, gazing toward Earth.

“Earth, I’m counting on them. Come on, Yamato. Let’s go and complete our final mission…”

Before long, Aquarius approached behind Yamato toward Earth. The sea surface of Aquarius was raging like a storm. As it got closer, it became more and more violent.

Meanwhile, on Earth, thick clouds began to cover the sky, winds blew, and heavy rain began to fall.

Yamato waited patiently above Aquarius, enduring its gravitational pull. Captain Okita gazed intently at the ocean surface of Aquarius through the window of the ship. His hand was firmly gripping the trigger of the Wave-Motion Gun.

Aquarius was finally approaching Earth. It was only a matter of time before the water column would grow.

Suddenly, Lugal’s old disc ship appeared out of nowhere in space near Aquarius and Earth. On the bridge, Lugal stood with his feet apart, yelling with a frightening expression on his face.

“Yamato! Yamato! I’m going to finish you off now! Prepare for artillery fire!” he shrieked.

They had somehow managed to get this far, escaping Dessler’s attack. All the guns of Lugal’s ship were aimed at Yamato.

Captain Okita was completely unaware of Lugal’s ship approaching from behind. His entire attention was focused on the ocean surface of Aquarius and his expression became tense.

The ocean surface of Aquarius began to rise like a small hill. It was a magnificent sight. At the same time, the Earth cracked and large earthquakes began to occur. The gravitational force of the two planets finally began to have an effect.

Lugal’s ship approached Yamato with all its guns aimed. Lugal had a crazy expression on his face that looked like he was half-laughing.

“Yamato…”

At that moment, the radar operator shouted.

“Enemy battleship behind us! It’s charging in!”

“What!?”

Lugal saw a battleship on the video panel. It was Dessler’s ship.

On his bridge, Dessler shouted with a smile. “Charge in at full speed!”

Lugal was stunned for a moment, but quickly gave orders.

“Dodge the enemy ship and begin firing at Yamato with all guns!”

“No good! We can’t avoid it!” The radar operator shouted.

Dessler’s ship crashed into Lugal’s in a head-on collision. Dessler’s ship was driven into the underside, but then rebounded off. Dessler was slammed from his battle command seat to the floor.

“Farewell, Kodai…”

His ship exploded. Lugal’s ship was unable to fire its guns, and in the aftermath of the explosion, it spun like a leaf.

A large water column stretched out from Aquarius like an enormous creature. Captain Okita’s finger turned white on the trigger. The water column stretched out toward Earth as if it was being pulled in.

Lugal crawled on his hands and knees on the bridge, approached the instrument panel, and grabbed the trigger of the beam cannon himself. He roared like a beast and pulled the trigger. But his ship was engulfed in the water column stretching out from Aquarius.

Then, the water column approached Yamato as well.

Captain Okita opened his eyes wide.

“Fire!”

The trigger of the Wave-Motion Gun was pulled. Suddenly, an unimaginable, tremendous, incandescent flash enveloped Yamato. A cross-shaped shaft of light burst from the hull. The explosion expanded in an instant, and Yamato was consumed.

The huge incandescent light grew even larger, severing the large water column and scattering it. It was an astonishing amount of energy. The column became a cloud and scattered into space.

The unimaginable sight made Susumu and the others hold their breath in Fuyuzuki‘s observation room. In the space between the water planet Aquarius and Earth, a white ball of light shone like a small sun.

As Susumu and the others squinted their eyes, the intense light shone through the ship’s windows onto their faces. There was no trace of Yamato. And there was no sign of Dessler’s or Lugal’s respective ships. Everything had disappeared.

The explosion shone brightly for nearly five minutes, but then the light gradually grew weaker and faded. All that was left behind was a vast amount of water that had been scattered into space.

Susumu saw a vision.

Captain Okita was sitting in the captain’s seat, as if he were asleep. Yamato was slowly sinking into a sea that had formed in space.

But of course, there is no ocean in outer space, and Yamato was nowhere to be seen. But Susumu’s eyes could see the vision clearly. And the others could see it too.

Susumu slowly raised his right hand and saluted. The others saluted one by one as well.

“Goodbye, Captain Okita..goodbye, Yamato…”

Before long, the water planet Aquarius slowly moved away from Earth. Susumu could clearly see the queen on the surface of Aquarius, as clearly as a movie screen. The queen’s illusion eventually disappeared, and was replaced by Captain Okita’s face. Then that also disappeared, and Yamato appeared.

Yuki leaned close to Susumu as he muttered, “Captain Okita and Yamato will leave together with Aquarius…”

“Kodai-kun…”

Susumu looked at Yuki’s face, crumpled with tears. But Susumu was no longer shedding tears. He embraced Yuki’s trembling body and hugged her tightly with all his strength.

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