Yamato Resurrection Chapter 5

Resurrection!! Space Battleship Yamato

Illustrations by Nobuyoshi Habara

Rather than an air car, Sanada boarded a high-speed space boat, heading into space. Kodai didn’t understand what Sanada really meant.

“Sanada, where are we going…?”

Even when Kodai asked, Sanada’s expression didn’t change.

“Aquarius.”

At the Space Science Bureau, it was announced that Kodai had been given command of the third emigration fleet. It was said that he would board Space Battleship Yamato. Was there such a thing?

They passed through the atmosphere and into space. Sanada’s expression tensed and he went silent as they rushed to their destination.

When Kodai had passed Aquarius before returning to Earth, he’d yearned for the the great Captain Okita and cursed himself. Yamato had sunk into the sea created by Aquarius’ water column after severing it with a suicide bomb. Now this sea was an ice satellite that calmly orbited Earth. Yamato was supposedly asleep forever in that sea of ice.

“Kodai, we’ve arrived.”

The large, glittering ice mass floated in space overlooking the moon, the residue of what happened seventeen years ago when Aquarius threatened Earth with a cataclysmic flood. What had happened here since then?

Sanada’s space boat entered the sea of Aquarius and dove the last ten kilometers to a dock built into the ice. They stepped off the boat and an elevator door opened. What Kodai next saw was unquestionably Yamato.

Yamato!!” he exclaimed.

“That’s right. This is the new Space Battleship Yamato, Kodai.”

The fierce hull of Space Battleship Yamato, which had sunk here to save the Earth, now lay quietly in this mass of ice. Staring at the revived Yamato, Kodai felt as if a ghost had descended. The depths of his heart gradually felt like they were being uplifted. The 17-year gap filled in an instant.

Three years earlier, a reconstruction plan had been issued under Shiro Sanada’s direction. The ship had ruptured at the first sub-gunnery room, the epicenter of a combined explosion of tritium and Wave-Motion Energy. The hull was perfectly restored by reinforcing this part and substantially strengthening it with new materials and technology.

The Wave-Motion Engine had also been fully repaired with a new super charger, and there was a new second Wave-Motion Engine with six small core-type flywheels. With this, performance was powered up at each stage.

Yamato’s aircraft had also been redesigned. There was the Cosmo Pulsar, a global defense fighter with pulse lasers on its nose and body. Missile pylons were standard on the top and bottom of its wings, and it could be converted to heavy bomber specs by installing twin bomb racks on its auxiliary wings. Its main wings could be folded to drastically reduce its airframe and improve shipboard storage capacity, like planes carried on old carriers.

The ship was also equipped with Susumu Kodai’s favorite plane, the Type-21 Cosmo Zero. In addition, a special heavy attack vessel called the Shinano was stored in the front of the ship, loaded with 24 Wave-Motion Energy missiles.

In terms of armament, not only was conventional equipment strengthened for the main and secondary guns, but standard warheads were now augmented by missile launchers at the bow, stern, and flanks. These could also fire newly-developed barrier missiles, which created an expandable screen system to protect from enemy attacks.

Then there was Yamato’s strongest weapon, the Wave-Motion Gun, which released the tachyon energy of the Wave-Motion Energy all at once from the bow muzzle. Thanks to the remodeling of the six-core Wave-Motion Engine, the Wave-Motion Gun could now be fired up to six times. This powered-up Transition Wave-Motion Gun could destroy enemies across a wide range. During the time when energy was being routed to fill up the Wave-Motion Gun, the entire ship was at risk while its functions were rendered temporarily inactive. Therefore, the judgment of a calm captain was required for its use in battle.

Yamato’s computer room greatly contributed to the ship’s overall capacity while on a voyage. It was located inside the third bridge deck, the exterior color of which was now changed to grey due to a coating that blocked electromagnetic waves. The computer room was now based around a spherical screen. Also known as EC1 (Electronic Control room 1), it could stream all manner of astronomical data with ultra-high speed image processing.

When life and love were under threat in space, Space Battleship Yamato was reborn as a fighting ship to face the crisis.

“Kodai, Yamato is the flagship of the escort fleet for the third emigration fleet. Its captain is Susumu Kodai. You are the only one who can handle Yamato.”

“Sanada…”

“Do you agree to this duty?”

“Yes,” Kodai answered with a salute. “I asked for it.”

Sanada shook Kodai’s hand firmly.

“And I have a favor to ask,” Kodai said.

“Anything.”

“I’d like Kosaku Omura as my deputy captain, and Yoichi Sakurai. And Kamijo is still injured, but I’d like to take him along.”

Kodai wanted to board Yamato with Omura, who had worked with him on their raggedy cargo ship without complaint. Sakurai was still a mercantile student, but was also an apprentice sailor with enough training to make the voyage to Amal. As for Kamijo, he had boarded the escort ship of the first emigration fleet only to watch his family be lost. He strongly wanted to know this enemy’s identity.

“I’ll make Kamijo my combat chief.”

“That’s good,” Sanada nodded. “There’s no problem if you recommend him. Let’s go to the first bridge deck.”

Sanada led Kodai to the heart of the newly-rebuilt Yamato. Along with the captain’s chair, the main crew seats were all gathered here to command the most important sections including navigation and combat. Kodai stared at a relief sculpture of the first captain, Juuzo Okita.

Silently, Kodai settled into the captain’s chair and felt a thousand emotions well up. The seat itself felt in complete harmony, as if it had been waiting for him. He closed his eyes and made a silent vow.

(Yuki…wherever you are, even in the depths of hell, I’ll come for you. Yamato and I both. But first, we have to save the human race of Earth.)

Sanada gazed at Kodai’s profile for a moment, waiting before he said, “Kodai, it would be good to take an inspection tour of Yamato.”

He wanted Kodai to get a feel for Yamato’s new flavor. Kodai nodded and they started with a walk to the engine control room. When Kodai laid eyes on the Wave-Motion Engine, he reached for it without hesitation.

“This is…”

“Stop!”

The shout came from a man behind Kodai, startling him enough to withdraw his hand. It was a young man standing firm with a tool in his hand; Jun Kobayashi, a pilot for the Earth Defense Forces.

“Don’t touch Yamato, old man!”

“And you are…?” Kodai asked.

“You’re a spy, aren’t you,” Kobayashi spat out defiantly. “Bring it on!”

“Wait, I’m—”

“No excuses!”

Kobayashi jumped at Kodai, but was grabbed and flipped heavily to the deck.

“Oof! You won’t get away with that!” Kobayashi rose and squared off again.

“Kobayashi, what are you doing!?” A solidly-built man shouted as he came running up.

“Captain Kodai?”

Kobayashi looked confused. “Captain?”

“Captain, former Yamato engineer Tasuke Tokugawa!”

It was the son of Yamato’s first engineering chief Hikozaemon Tokugawa, who died a heroic death in the battle against the White Comet Empire.

“It’s been a long time, Tokugawa.”

Tokugawa straightened up and saluted Kodai as they exchanged smiles.

“I’m currently commanding the lunar base and working on the Yamato reconstruction project.”

“You’re rebuilding Yamato…”

“Yes!”

It was Tokugawa who answered, but an objection came from men standing nearby who were taking care of the engine.

“Hold on there!”

“A little!”

They were twin brothers whose faces and hairstyles looked exactly alike.

“We’re the ones who rebuilt Yamato’s engine room,” they bragged.

“It looks very reliable,” Kodai replied. “What are your names?”

“Engine section control chief Sou Tenma.”

“And Sho Tenma.”

After nodding to the twin brothers, Kodai smiled at Kobayashi, who had jumped him.

“What about you?”

“Earth Defense Force pilot Jun Kobayashi!”

He radiated the high pride of a pilot who believed himself unsurpassed, just like Yamato’s previous pilots, the Kato brothers, Yamamoto, Sakamoto, and others. Kobayashi had been involved with Yamato’s reconstruction from the start, and was convinced that the combat chief’s seat would be his.

“This is the new Wave-Motion Engine?” Kodai asked Tokugawa.

“Yes. In the past, Yamato ran on one Wave-Motion core, but the new model has six.”

“Six! That means the Wave-Motion Gun also…”

“Yes! It’s possible to fire it six times in a row!”

“That’s amazing. It’s a real powerup.”

The Tenma brothers smiled at Kodai’s praise.

“Look at this supercharger,” Tokugawa beamed. “With six consecutive shots from the Transition Wave-Motion Gun, you could blow away the moon! But those six shots would empty the engine.”

“I see. So there can be no failure in firing, and perfect maintenance is required…”

After this conversation, Kodai made his way alone to EC1. EC1 had been an important factor in restoring Yamato. It was installed in the third bridge, and its interior was filled with a spherical screen that displayed a large expanse of space. Sanada was there, having come down earlier.

“How about it, Sakurai?” Kodai asked. “How do you like Yamato’s computer room?”

Sakurai, who had been working at a control panel, turned and stood up with a polite salute. He was a man who could operate the huge screen on the first bridge’s ceiling like it was one of his own limbs.

“Captain! It’s amazing! This is definitely Yamato. It just keeps getting more exciting!”

“Please bring out the capabilities of this EC1 to your heart’s content. You’re the only crew member experienced enough to fly us to Amal. I’m expecting a lot from you.”

“Yes, I’ve only been on practice voyages, but I’ll do my best! Maho, this is the captain.”

Sakurai called out to a woman who was repairing an open switchboard panel from behind. She had the astonishing proportions and beautiful features of an idol, giving off a cute and refreshing impression. Brushing back her long, light-chestnut hair, she stood in front of Kodai and saluted.

“Captain? I’m Maho Orihara, chief navigator of the EC1 computer room.”

She had been referred to as a genius in warp navigation and the processing of critical data during combat.

“I saw you at the Space Science Bureau.”

“Yes!”

“Aren’t you the Orihara who’s been called the genius navigator? The wunderkind of EC1?”

“Maybe something like that,” she said, her cute smile gleaming.

“You have an important duty. I’m asking you to work in tandem with Mr. Sakurai.”

Her pretty face took on a dignified look.

“Yes, captain!”

Leaving EC1, Kodai looked around the ship and finally found his way to the medical office. There he met a beautiful woman in white, the ship’s doctor Miharu Sasaki.

“Captain Kodai, I heard about you a little while ago from Chief Sanada. I’m Miharu Sasaki, ship’s doctor.”

Miharu was a reliable female doctor with a confident personality. She greeted Kodai with a salute.

“Doctor Sasaki, may I ask you a question?”

He was wondering about the goggles she wore on her head.

“Of course,” she said, “but please don’t call me doctor, captain. It’s a little too formal for my liking. It’s fine to call me Miharu.”

“All right, I’ll do that. I’m curious, why the goggles?” Kodai pointed to the goggles on her head.

“My main duty is as a pilot.”

In fact, she was as skilled and reckless as any male pilot. But her smile now seemed lonely for some reason.

“The goggles are a keepsake of my father. He couldn’t become a pilot, but…”

Kodai’s heart had been quickened by the new Yamato, and now he was determined as its captain to unify the circumstances and determination of every crew member. In addition, as he realized his obligation to lead the third emigration fleet, he could feel the hot blood of his youth begin to revive.

On various parts of the Earth, preparations were underway for the third and final emigration convoy. Some people looked uneasy, some laughed innocently, and others carried tense, deadpan expressions. People boarded the emigration ships with both hope and anxiety as their luggage.

A few days later, all the crew members who had received Sanada’s orders gathered at Yamato inside Aquarius. Seated on the first bridge were Captain Susumu Kodai, Deputy Captain Kosaku Omura, Chief Engineer Tasuke Tokugawa, Combat Chief Satoru Kamijo, Helmsman and Chief Pilot Jun Kobayashi, Navigator Yoichi Sakurai, Comm Chief Ryohei Nakanishi, Second Engineer Saburo Kinoshita, Gunnery Chief Minoru Gota, and Maho Orihara in the EC1 seat.

Tasuke Tokugawa, Yamato’s third generation Chief Engineer, called out to his young crew: “We’ll soon launch. Everyone do a systems check.”

Nakanishi unconsciously thought, “Launch…the tension makes me hungry.”

Maho, who had gone through space soldier training school with him, was right in sync.

“Nakanishi, you get hungry every time you open your mouth, don’t you?”

This helped to soften the mood a bit. On the other hand, Kobayashi looked over at Kamijo, who was checking the target scope with a tense look.

“Can you shoot it,” he asked sarcastically, trying to get a rise out of the quiet Kamijo.

“What?”

“I’m asking if they should have entrusted the Wave-Motion Gun to a guy who lost and came home.”

Kamijo stood up. “What did you say?!”

“Stop it, Kobayashi,” Tokugawa ordered. “This is Yamato we’ve revived. Not some imitation that’s going to go down easily.”

But Kamijo was not the type to be silenced. He reached for Kobayashi.

“You—!”

“Stop! That’s enough!”

Omura’s strong, dignified voice brought them both to a halt.

“You’re Chief Pilot Kobayashi, right? That’s Combat Chief Kamijo.”

Kobayashi, who had wanted the Combat Chief position, was stunned by Omura’s confirming words.

“Who are you?” he asked with obvious disdain.

“Deputy Captain Kosaku Omura.”

Kobayashi was one who would lash out at anyone regardless of rank.

“I don’t know if you’re the deputy captain or a mockingbird, but it was me and the Tenma brothers who rebuilt Yamato up until now. I want you to treat her right!”

“Don’t be insubordinate! Yamato’s resurrection was realized through the wishes of the entire human race!”

At that moment, Kodai began descending slowly in the captain’s seat via the elevator on the rear wall. He stood up and surveyed his crew.

“All hands, I’m Yamato captain Susumu Kodai. Today I’m taking charge of your lives. We will protect the humans of Earth with Yamato!”

Everyone responded to Kodai’s voice with a salute. After this long time, it seemed that Yamato hadn’t changed at all, and yet everything seemed to be new.

Yamato, I ask this of you…”

A nostalgic fighting spirit welled up in Kodai’s chest. He would deliver the human race safely to Amal. That was the fate entrusted to Yamato.

Emigration ships all over the world started up with heavy engine sounds. Forest conservationists, watchmen in the far north, Buddhist priests of Tibet, and elderly couples caring for domestic animals watched in prayer as the third emigration fleet rose toward the moon. They were to join the escort fleet in lunar orbit, which was launching from the moon base. Together, they looked like a massive pod of whales.

Yamato was set to start with its systems checks complete. The time for the new Yamato‘s launch had come. There was an air of tension on board.

“The seventh, eighth, and ninth escort fleets have left the lunar base to join the third emigration fleet,” Nakanishi said, “which is currently on course for the moon.”

“All hands, prepare for launch,” Kodai ordered.

“Understood,” Omura answered. “Start Wave-Motion Engine!”

“I’ll descend to EC1 and get ready,” Maho said. Her seat dropped, descending vertically to the third bridge.

When she reached her position in the computer room, several crew members were making system adjustments. The spherical screen displayed celestial data in all directions in a constant scroll. When all the indicators flashed green to indicate normal system control, Maho’s voice rang out.

“No system errors.”

In the engine room, the Tenma brothers and other crew members managed the engine systems. Sou and Sho announced their status in a sharp, unified voice.

“Engine room! Systems complete!”

Tokugawa concurred with, “Engine section deployment complete.”

Nakanishi, Sakurai, Goda, Konishita, and Kobayashi reported in one by one:

“All communication circuits open. Transmission and reception status is good.”

“No errors in the radar system.”

“No errors in the fire control system.”

“All ship’s systems in the green. No errors.”

“Navigation group deployment complete. No errors in the navigation system.”

“Launch preparations complete,” Omura announced. “Raise the dock.”

Vibrations ran through Yamato‘s hull as it rose upward on its dock toward a mass of ice above. The time had come for Yamato to awaken from its slumber.

Kodai’s voice sounded: “Start auxiliary engine!”

In Yamato‘s engine room, the Tenma brothers looked intently at the twin Wave-Motion Engines.

“Auxiliary engine, power connected!”

“Power connection, switch on!”

Tokugawa shouted an order: “First flywheel, second flywheel, ten seconds to start!”

Sou and Sho responded, their movements perfectly synchronized.

“First flywheel connected!”

“Second flywheel connected!”

the two flywheels began to turn. The Tenma brothers both raised their fists.

“Right!”

The hull and keel rumbled heavily. Tension rose throughout the entire crew as Yamato‘s heartbeat grew stronger.

“Release gantry lock!”

After seventeen years, it was time again for Yamato to launch into space.

Yamato…LAUNCH!!”

At the command of Captain Susumu Kodai, Kobayashi pulled back on the control stick. Flames blasted out from Yamato‘s stern nozzle, and the ship slammed through the thick wall of Aquarius ice. Shattered fragments burst outward into space to catch the solar light and produce a rainbow in space. Space Battleship Yamato, which had been sleeping in Aquarius, had majestically revived.

Yamato…”

Listening to the ferocious sounds of launch, Kodai was wrapped in a feeling of oneness with Yamato.

Sanada, along with Shima, watched the launch on a large monitor at the Space Science Bureau.

“I ask this of you, Yamato. I entrust it to you, Kodai…”

The escort fleet was formed up with the third emigration fleet, both waiting for Yamato to advance. Kodai addressed the relieved crew on Yamato‘s first bridge.

“Kobayashi, that was an excellent launch.”

“Naturally,” Kobayashi responded, flashing a fearless smile at Kodai. He turned to face Kamijo with a provocative look, but Kamijo only gave him a quick glance. Kodai was watching them both.

The third emigration fleet and the escort fleet departed for Planet Amal in the Sairam star system, a convoy of 3,300 vessels led by Yamato

Continue to Chapter 6

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