It had scraped past the fourth planet of the Dengil system. It had submerged the cities of the Dengil people, and even the planet itself, with an enormous amount of water until Dengil exploded due to its influence.

Now, Aquarius was moving through space toward Earth’s solar system. According to calculations, it was traveling on a hyperelliptical orbit that would pass close to Earth in about 6,000 years.

Even though Aquarius caused the death of a planet, it was beautiful, a giant pearl floating in space. The whole sphere glowed pale and white, as if it had blurred. Surrounding it were many intersecting rings of ice blocks. It was perfect, harmonious beauty, as if a great artist had put all his energy into designing it. Perhaps in the past, there was an artist among the creators of the universe…

Aquarius shone like a mirror ball reflecting light as it drifted along its orbit. But if anyone were to pay closer attention, they would have noticed that it was closely followed by something that resembled a small black smudge.

Compared to the size of Aquarius, it looked like a mere blemish, but it was a gigantic, artificially created satellite. A strangely-shaped chunk of rock that dimly gave off a dark green aura that seemed to blend into the darkness of space. It was a city satellite named Uruk, which hosted a huge military power and was controlled by Lugal, the High Priest of Dengil.

The entire mass resembled a flat rock, with a total length of about 20 km and a width of about 3 km, just about half the size of Awaji Island in Japan, floating in space. The surrounding area and lower part were covered with rock, which acted as camouflage. There was a pyramid-shaped mountain in the rear, and the front half was covered by a megalopolis. Orange and white lights glittered all over this city, giving Uruk an overwhelming sense of volume and eerie power.

Ironically, the City Satellite Uruk now had no planet to return to. It was chasing Aquarius, which had destroyed its home.

A fleet suddenly appeared from the darkness of space and approached Uruk. It was the Dengil Empire’s fleet that had attacked Yamato. At its center was the mobile fortress carrier of Fleet Commander Lugal II, the eldest son of High Priest Lugal. Battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and other ships were positioned around it to protect it.

Lugal II stood on the bridge of the mobile fortress carrier, looking up again at the large video panel.

“That’s ironic,” he said to the tall chief of staff standing behind him to the left.

“Sir?”

“Look at Aquarius.”

The panel was filled with the water planet Aquarius.

“Uruk is sailing as if hiding behind Aquarius, who destroyed our world…”

The Chief of Staff also looked up at Uruk.

“It’s the grim reaper that destroyed our home…” he muttered. Lugal II turned with a stern look. The Chief of Staff continued. “Although…Aquarius is a truly beautiful planet.”

Lugal II looked at him strangely for a moment, then turned his attention back to the panel and let out a loud laugh.

“You’re absolutely right. It’s a truly beautiful planet. Perhaps because it’s the planet of the god of death…”

“Absolutely.”

The screen shifted to display Uruk.

“Ready to return to Uruk!” a controller announced.

“Good. Return to Uruk,” Lugal II commanded.

Uruk was getting closer and closer. They would approach over the megalopolis. Lugal II stepped toward his command seat. As he took his place on the seat, he vaguely pictured the face of High Priest Lugal, who was also his father. The fearsome Lugal awaited him down below.

When the Dengil fleet came to rest on Uruk, Lugal II disembarked from the mobile fortress carrier, with the Chief of Staff behind him. They took a self-propelled vehicle from the battleship hangar, moving through the megalopolis at high speed on a dedicated track. Complex buildings passed by on both sides. They all shone in various colors of light, including green and orange.

Looking up from the valley between the buildings, far overhead, the dark universe spread out over a transparent dome. However, due to the brightness of the city, stars could not be seen.

The path weaved between buildings, going left and right. On the left there was another path running in the opposite direction. A cadre of Dengil soldiers rode along it, standing erect and saluting when they noticed Lugal II. He and his chief of staff remained facing forward, ignoring them.

“Chief of Staff.”

“Sir?”

“What does my father, the High Priest, think about the destruction of Planet Dengil?”

“Well…” The chief of staff thought for a moment. “The only remaining Dengil people are those here on Uruk. We have now become wanderers in space, with no home to return to.”

“I think the High Priest has something in mind…”

Troubled, the chief of staff looked at the buildings that seemed to be flying by.

“Why would Uruk follow Aquarius, the destroyer of our planet? What is the High Priest thinking?”

“I don’t know, sir.” As the chief of staff answered, the self-propelled vehicle entered a tunnel. The roaring sound of the track echoed around them, illuminated by orange lights. They would have had to shout above it to speak, so Lugal II kept silent. They would remain inside this tunnel until they reached the end point, the Great Pyramid Temple.

Eventually, their speed decreased. As they exited the tunnel of orange light, they found themselves at the presidential palace. Before them seemed to be an ancient civilization of Earth.

Eerie, beast-faced demon statues were lined up in rows, each about 10 meters high with faces resembling lions. They had various forms, including one resembling an eagle. All were modeled after beasts from the planet Dengil. It was as if they were no longer extinct.

Behind these statues, so massive that they were forced to look up at it, stood the Great Pyramid Temple. The Presidential Palace was on its left front face, a building covered in thick, dark armor. The vehicle carrying Lugal II and the Chief of Staff headed toward it.

Once inside the building, Lugal II and the Chief of Staff exited the self-driving vehicle. A number of soldiers lined up immediately to the right. They all stood erect and saluted at once. Lugal II and the Chief of Staff walked in front of the soldiers. After a short distance, Lugal II turned.

“Chief of Staff.”

“Sir?”

“Remain near the entrance.”

“Sir.”

Now alone, Lugal II entered the hall. The ceiling was so high, he was forced to crane his neck to look up at it. About twenty meters from the entrance was an empty throne, an ornate, gilded chair on a platform more than a meter high. On either side of the throne were about ten officials in a row.

Lugal II walked slowly toward the throne. The sound of his footsteps echoed on the polished floor. The staff members silently watched him approach the throne and stop.

After a while, another figure entered the room from the left and slowly approached the throne. He was a very large man, close to two meters in height. The staff members bowed their heads in unison. Lugal II stared. The man ascended the platform, flung back his cloak, and sat down on the throne. From there, he stared down at Lugal II with a stern look in his eyes. Only then did Lugal II lean his head forward and bow graciously.

The man seated on the throne was Lugal, the High Priest Emperor of the Dengil Empire. He was also Lugal II’s father. Lugal II raised his head and looked up again. Lugal looked down, unmoved. All he had done was appear and take the throne, but the tension had risen in the atmosphere of the grand hall.

Lugal’s forehead was broad and protruding, his jaw firm and prominent, and his lips were thin and ruthless. His eyes, beneath his prominent forehead, glowed coldly as if they were made of glass or ice. His neck was thick and protruded above his stout shoulders. His chest was dense as rock.

Lugal II was also well built, but not as big as his father. For a while, father and son stared at each other’s faces. But the child looked down, losing to the intensity of his father’s gaze. High Priest Emperor Lugal opened his thin lips and let out a deep voice.

“General Lugal II.”

“Sire,” Lugal II replied, looking at Lugal’s face again.

“Have you seen the fate of our home planet?”

“Yes…sire. Our home planet Dengil has exploded and disappeared…” Lugal II’s voice trailed off.

Lugal II replied in a strained voice. “It was unavoidable.”

“As a result of the explosion, perhaps my mother, brother, and the rest of the family…”

“Unavoidable,” Lugal snapped again. “The world exists only for the strong to prosper. The weak, the old, the women, and the children, are the ones who perish.”

Even Lugal II was taken aback by these words. This man did not care if his own family perished. Even if his home planet was destroyed, he might think of it as nothing more than the loss of one of his battleships. Even if it had gone differently, he wouldn’t even have gone back to check on the destruction of his own home planet. Though Lugal was his own father, his ruthlessness sent a chill down Lugal II’s spine.

“What can be done about what has been destroyed? There is nothing we can do about it now, General Lugal II.”

“Sire,” Lugal II answered in a panic. To hide his dismay, he changed the subject. “On our way back to Uruk, we discovered a large, unknown space battleship. We destroyed it with a hyper thermonuclear missile attack.”

“I see,” Lugal said. That was all. After a pause, Lugal raised his right hand.

An image appeared on the large wall panel behind Lugal II, forcing him to turn around. The wall panel showed a large image of the water planet Aquarius.

“Gentlemen,” Lugal said. “We have been condemned to a fate of cosmic vagabonds by the water planet Aquarius. Moreover, the energy of our City Satellite Uruk is limited.” Lugal lowered his voice. “What do you think we should do?”

Everyone remained silent. Lugal’s lip curled slightly. Perhaps he was smiling.

“All we must do is find a new place to live.”

“Oh,” the staff said, looking up at Lugal.

“Our biggest task at the moment is to find somewhere to settle.”

Lugal’s right hand pointed to the left side of the wall panel showing Aquarius.

“Gentlemen, behold!”

It was a space map of Earth’s solar system, its third planet shining like a beacon.

“This is a star system three thousand light years from here. It is the third planet that is shining. I have decided to settle on that planet.”

“Ohhh,” the staff members said again.

“We’ve had a survey done and found that the third planet in that system is a very good place for us to settle. But…”

The staff gasped. Lugal II stared up at the space map. Lugal continued with a smirk.

“But there are people living on that planet. They call their planet Earth, and they have a fairly advanced military force.”

The staff muttered to each other.

“If we forcibly migrate to Earth, the people will resist and try to fight us. But we don’t have time for endless battles. So I came up with a brilliant idea.”

Lugal slowly rose from his throne.

“Aquarius! Aquarius is currently in orbit toward the Earth. In six thousand years it will pass by and cause the same flooding that ravaged our home planet of Dengil. If we want to destroy the human race, we must accelerate this time frame! Then Earth’s human race will be submerged by Aquarius. In other words, we don’t have to attack at all.”

Lugal II turned around and looked up at Lugal, who was speaking with his hands outstretched.

“We will warp Aquarius itself to Earth with our hyper thermonuclear energy! The warped Aquarius will quickly flood the Earth and exterminate the human race. We can take their place when the floodwaters recede!”

Now the bureaucrats were loudly praising Lugal’s vision.

“Earth will not explode like Dengil. What do you think of this idea?”

“Excellent!” one of the staff members said. Lugal smiled for the first time and continued.

“But to do that, we have to contain the humans to the Earth to be exterminated, every last one of them. General Lugal II!”

“Sire!” Lugal II shuddered at the sudden call. But he immediately looked up at his father with the eyes of a young wolf.

“You will go to that system, the solar system, as the Earthlings call it. I appoint you commander-in-chief of the fleet that will take control of that system.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you!” Lugal II stood erect and clicked his heels.

“Listen to me. Not a single one of them will be allowed to evacuate to space.”

“I swear to obey the will of the High Priest Emperor!”

Lugal looked down at Lugal II and nodded in satisfaction.

“Then go.”

Lugal II flourished his cloak in exultation and headed for the exit.

“Commence warp operations on Aquarius!” Lugal ordered his staff.

“Yes, sire!” they replied.

Lugal II went out through the exit of the great hall into the corridor. The Chief of Staff, who had been waiting there, followed.

“We have to launch immediately!”

Lugal II was moving quickly.

“Even though we just returned?”

“Yes,” said Lugal II, turning to the Chief of Staff. “Even though you were near the exit, you heard the exchange in the hall between me and the High Priest, didn’t you?

“Yes.”

They left the presidential palace and headed back toward their self-propelled vehicle.

“I must summon all my starfleet soldiers at once.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two men boarded the vehicle. Lugal II glanced back at the beast-faced demon statue behind him and the Great Pyramid Temple. Then he looked forward again.

“The ship must be in good order.”

“I think it will be completely ready by the time we call up the fleet soldiers and board the ship.”

“Very well.” Lugal II clenched his fists and muttered with a sly grin. “Another full-scale battle is about to begin. Doesn’t that make your blood boil?”

The Chief of Staff looked at Lugal II’s profile and thought, “This man is a soldier at heart.” And it was obvious that he had inherited the cold blood of the High Priest Lugal.

Arriving at the hangar of the mobile fortress carrier, Lugal II boarded the ship again. Together with the Chief of Staff, he took the elevator to the bridge. When they arrived, the crew was already at their stations. Lugal II took the captain’s seat.

“Our ship, the battleships, carriers, and destroyers have all been serviced and are ready for launch,” the chief of staff confirmed. “We may launch at any time.”

“Very well.”

“All instruments on our mobile fortress carrier have been checked. All crew members are accounted for.”

“Understood. All hands to your positions!”

A strange siren sound echoed through the mothership.

“Energy injection complete!” said the man at the helm. “Engine, start!”

The bridge shuddered once, then fell silent.

“Launch!” Lugal II ordered.

The solar system suppression fleet commanded by Lugal II launched one after another from the City Satellite Uruk, sailing around Aquarius and plunging into the darkness of outer space.

A large video panel on the mobile fortress mother ship showed a map of Earth’s solar system. Looking at the map, Lugal II let out a chuckle.

“That system will be our next battlefield…”

“It’s 3,000 light-years away,” the chief of staff said.

“All right, start preparing the warp!”

“Sir!”

“We’ll advance to the area around the ninth planet in that system. Order the other ships to begin warp preparations.”

“Yes, sir,” the Chief of Staff replied, taking his leave.

Meanwhile, in the battle command center of the presidential palace, High Priest Emperor Lugal was listening to the explanation of the staff. He stood looking down at them and their instruments, including a screen showing Uruk’s total energy capacity.

A video panel above showed the thermonuclear energy emitter and a tritium pumping plant that had been hastily erected on Aquarius. The main staff members were gathered in front of Lugal. One of them pointed to the video panel as he explained the workings of the warp system.

“The hyper thermonuclear energy contained in Uruk’s bedrock is radiated from this point to Aquarius, creating resonant vibrations in its core and causing it to warp.”

Lugal nodded, his arms crossed behind his back.

“But we are dealing with a massive planet,” the staff member continued, “so we can only warp it up to about 150 light years at a time. It will take a minimum of about 24 hours to replenish the energy. Therefore, it will take a total of 20 warps, or 20 days, to reach Earth.”

Lugal stroked his chin with his left hand and looked up at the video panel. “Judging from the volume of bedrock in Uruk, I’d say our energy is limited to twenty warps…”

The staff member who had explained the situation nodded. “It would seem so.”

“I see. We must absolutely submerge the Earth in twenty days! Commence the first warp two hours from now!”

“Sire!” The staff members bowed their heads.

Lugal flung back his cloak and left the battle command room. The staff scrambled for their instruments. One of them activated the main switch on the energy control panel, startling its assigned operator.

“We’ll have to hurry if we’re to do this in just two hours,” the staff member exclaimed.

As the bedrock energy of Uruk was beginning to flow into the radiating system, High Priest Lugal was on his way to the Great Temple of Uruk. The entire temple was a dimly lit, high-ceilinged cathedral. He entered with great strides, his cloak fluttering behind him.

Immediately ahead of him as he entered the temple was a huge statue of the Great Demon God. It was about 10 meters high, with its head just below the ceiling. The statue was about the same size as the beast-faced demon statue by the presidential palace, but its power and intimidation were unmatched.

The entire statue was made of gray stone, and its angry face looked both human and beastly. On either side of the statue stood a series of thick pillars with reliefs. Under the pillars was an altar on which an unquenchable fire burned. Lugal walked up to the statue of the Great Demon God, his footsteps echoing. Only he was allowed to enter this temple unless there was a special need.

Lugal stopped under the statue of the Great Demon God. He raised his chin to look up at its face. He was directly under the gaze of the statue, which seemed to be looking down at him. It looked not like a stone statue at all, but a living monster. The huge jewels were set into its eyes shone red, reflecting the flames burning on the altar. The eyes sometimes seemed to move with the flickering flames.

Lugal held out his hands, his mouth tightly knit.

“O king among the gods,” Lugal said loudly. His voice reverberated through the temple, swallowed into the darkness.

“I beseech thee! Please let my invasion of the Earth be accomplished. Let the Dengil Empire be restored!”

As soon as Lugal said this, a rumble echoed from the depths below. The statue of the Great Demon God was also shaking faintly.

“Oh!”

Lugal kneeled on the floor and leaned his head down. All of Uruk was being shaken by the massive induction of bedrock energy, but Lugal had a different interpretation. He thought that the statue of the Great Demon God had answered his words. Lugal remained kneeling and let out a chuckle, which eventually grew louder. He looked up at the statue of the Great Demon God with a laugh. His expression was tense and he had the eyes of a madman. Lugal stood up slowly again.

“O king among the gods! Glory to the world of Dengil!”

If anyone had seen Lugal now, they would have been terrified. Women and children might cry out in horror. It was as if Lugal had been possessed by the spirit of the Great Demon God.

Eventually, he stopped laughing, turned around, and left the Great Temple. His expression had returned to its usual emotionless state.

The induction of Uruk’s bedrock energy had been completed, and now all that was left was to press the switch on the master control panel. Lugal entered the battle command room. The staff noticed and snapped to attention.

“Report,” Lugal said blankly to one of the staff members standing by the control panel. The staff officer pulled himself up to his full height, but still had to look up at Lugal.

“Sire! All preparations for the energy radiation device are complete!”

Lugal nodded. “Good. Activate the energy beam!”

The crew lunged for their panels and hit their switches as fast as they possibly could. All of Uruk shook faintly again.

A thick, silvery energy beam began to radiate from the lower part of the city satellite to a point on the water planet Aquarius. As the beam continued to pulse, the whole of Aquarius gradually changed from a pearly whiteness to an orange color. The surrounding ice rings were almost invisible.

Aquarius and Uruk, which followed closely behind, had been moving through space at sub-light speed. Then began to accelerate.

“Aquarius is about to warp!” a staff member announced.

A large video panel showed Aquarius shining like the sun.

“Aquarius, warp!”

Aquarius shimmered like a reflection in the water, then suddenly disappeared, leaving a dark chasm behind in space, as if it were never there. The energy beam deactivated and the meters dropped to zero. More energy would have to be claimed from the bedrock.

“Aquarius, warp complete!” said a staff member.

“Uruk shall follow.” Lugal commanded, staring into the dark space on the large video panel.

“Uruk is entering warp!”

The entire mass of Uruk began to glow white, shimmered like a shadow, and disappeared from space in the next moment.

Continue to Act 5

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