“Kodai-kun.”

Susumu Kodai, who had been staring out the window of the first bridge at the space around Saturn, turned his head at the sound of Yuki Mori’s voice. The sight of the ruined space colony and the wreckage of the Earth fleet made him gloomy. Yuki and Dr. Sado Shuzo walked up and stopped in front of him.

“Kodai, let’s go see Captain Okita,” Yuki said.

“We should stop by and say hello since the launch was so hectic,” Sado added.

“Yes, that’s fine,” Kodai answered, nodding. “I was going up there later anyway.”

Susumu asked the others to go to the captain’s office with him, and the three of them got into the elevator. The captain’s quarters were just above the first bridge.

“You knew that Captain Okita had come back to life before the rest of the crew, didn’t you?” Yuki asked.

Susumu nodded. “Yes. The day before Yamato was to be launched, I boarded while it was being repaired. And I met Captain Okita on the first bridge, which was supposed to be empty. He was the first to board and had been standing by the whole time.”

Susumu chuckled. “At first, I was so astonished that I thought the ghost of Captain Okita had appeared…”

“I knew Captain Okita’s corpse had been put under ‘special measures’,” Sado muttered.

“Special measures?” Susumu asked. “What’s that?”

“Why didn’t we hear about Okita-san’s coming back to life?” Sado asked Susumu in return.

“Well…he only said that he wasn’t a ghost, and strongly told me to get on Yamato again.”

“I see. You saw him just one day earlier than we did. You met the resurrected Okita.”

“Yes, that’s right. But if he hadn’t asked me to board Yamato at that time, I wouldn’t have been able to. I wouldn’t have shown up for the launch. It’s thanks to him that I’m on board Yamato again.”

Sado nodded. “I see.”

The elevator stopped and the door opened. Though the captain could go directly to his quarters from the first bridge, the room could also be accessed by a short flight of stairs after exiting the elevator. Susumu went up the stairs first, and the three of them stood in front of the door. The three peeked in through the open doorway.

Okita was seated in the captain’s chair, staring out the window into space. Only the back of his chair and his head were visible. The three arrivals stood at the entrance.

“Don’t just stand there, come on in,” Captain Okita said without turning around.

The three of them looked at each other for a moment, then went inside, Susumu in the lead. They stood behind Juuzo Okita in the seat until he finally turned around. He fixed them with a hard stare, but then his expression suddenly softened.

“I wondered what was taking you so long.”

“Captain…” Yuki opened her mouth, but Okita held up his right hand to stop her.

“I know. You want to know why I’ve come back to Yamato as captain.”

“Yes,” Yuki answered.

Sado spoke up. “Were you placed under ‘special measures’ for important persons?”

Susumu and Yuki glanced down at him.

“Hoho, how do you know about that, Dr. Sado?” Okita asked.

Sado waved his right hand in front of his face in surprise.

“No, no, I don’t know the details myself. All I know is that there is a ‘special measures’ program. I heard about it through rumors among Defense Force doctors. But now that you’ve come back to life, it seems the rumors are true after all.”

Susumu was puzzled. “What in the world does that mean? We have no idea. Dr. Sado, please tell us everything you know.”

Captain Okita nodded to encourage him.

“Very well.” Sado cleared his throat and began to speak. “This is one of the Earth Defense Force’s top secrets, so please don’t talk about it.”

They nodded.

“Well, even I’m not supposed to know about this. It’s a rumor that’s been widely spread among the doctors. Let me explain it to you very simply. When a person of great importance dies, their body is frozen in a state where it can be revived if necessary.”

Susumu was stunned. His eyes and Yuki’s eyes widened instantly.

“That’s absurd. How can you revive a person who already died?”

Sado couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You have no idea how far modern medicine has advanced. Of course, this is something that shouldn’t be known to the general public either. As long as the patient isn’t brain dead, it’s not impossible to revive them with modern medicine, regardless of whether or not their heart has stopped.”

Susumu and Yuki were speechless. Sado continued.

“However, it takes an enormous amount of time and money to do so. It seems that reviving a single human would actually require the entire budget of the Earth Defense Force for three years. And it’s impossible to perfectly revive a person.”

“What?”

Susumu and Yuki glanced at Okita.

“I’ll tell them the rest, Dr. Sado,” he said.

Sado nodded.

“Kodai. Yuki. I died after the battle with Gamilas. Of course, you know that. It is an indisputable fact that Juuzo Okita died. At that time, I just thought I was going to go to heaven.” He paused and laughed lightly. “However, the Earth Defense Force didn’t let me die completely. In other words, my body was dead, but not my brain. They took me into the ‘special measures’ program and preserved me in a laboratory freezer. My body was given special treatment and remained in a non-brain-dead state, preserved in a cryo chamber.”

Susumu and Yuki stared at him in disbelief.

“The Earth Defense Force didn’t let me die peacefully. They left me in a state one step short of death so that they could revive me if the need arose. As Dr. Sado said earlier, it’s extremely important to the Earth Defense Force that certain people not be lost. Their bodies are kept in a cryo-preservation room in a top secret laboratory. Of course, only a few people know about this.”

“And now,” Susumu stated, “because they had to bring you back to life, the Earth Defense Force resuscitated you.”

“Exactly,” Sado answered on the captain’s behalf.

Okita continued. “I hear that the bodies of the five most important people in the world are currently stored in the laboratory’s freezer. And I’m the first one to be brought back to life.” He laughed again. “The Earth Defense Force needed me that badly…”

“But,” Yuki interjected, “if they have such scientific power, why don’t they tell the public about it?”

Okita looked at her. “Hmm. It’s true that it is possible to bring people back to life as long as they’re not brain dead. It would be outrageous to keep quiet about it. If we could do it, how many people might be saved from dying? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“That’s right.”

“As Dr. Sado said, this resuscitation procedure costs a lot of money. It’s not possible to revive ordinary people one by one. If we do that, the Earth will go bankrupt. What’s more, the technology is not yet perfect. I probably won’t be able to live for another year…”

“What?”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Is that so…” Sado said regretfully.

“My body is full of patchwork. Artificial organs, organs newly created by clone culture technology, and organs from donors. There’s no way such a body can last for a long period of time. In other words, I am destined to die again when my role is completed.”

The three of them were stunned, but Okita smiled.

“But for me, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I’ve already died once, after all. This time I may be able to go to heaven. Or maybe I’ll be cryonically preserved for the next emergency. Anyway, I’m alive and well now. I’ve come back to life and I’m going to do my part!”

The three of them stood erect.

“Kodai!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Fight with me.”

“Yes!” Susumu remained at attention.

“Now, that’s all I have to say. Tell the rest of the crew as little as possible about what I just told you. They’ll find out sooner or later, but this is top secret Earth Defense Force business.”

“Yes!” The three of them replied.

Okita suddenly looked grim. “By the way, Kodai…”

“Sir?”

“We’re heading for Pluto space. How are the repairs going in the Wave-Motion Gun control room?”

Susumu was flustered by the sudden change of topic. “Oh, it will take another three days.”

“I see. Well, in the meantime, let’s be cautious. The enemy has a hyper thermonuclear missile, a fearsome weapon that could destroy Earth’s fleet in an instant. As soon as you reach the battlefield, launch the Cosmo Tigers to provide air cover. If a ship carrying those missiles appears, destroy it before they can be launched.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Okay, that’s it,” Okita said.

The three turned their backs to Okita and left the captain’s quarters.

“Now, my arm is killing me from all that saluting,” Sado said. “Let’s get some food before we go back on duty.” He deliberately sounded cheerful as they headed for the stairs. But they reflected on Okita’s story as they descended toward the elevator.

Okita again turned his captain’s seat toward the window and stared out the window into space. He remained there for a while, then spoke in a whisper.

“Kodai, Yuki, Dr. Sado…I’m sorry. I smiled in front of you, but I’m a human being, too. I was brought back to life without permission. I will also die without permission. But now I must fight. I was brought back to life for that reason. The Earth needs my power so badly they brought me back from the world of the dead. I must respond to it.” He laughed lightly to himself. “I wonder if once a person has died, they become mentally fatigued…”

But Juuzo Okita soon returned to his usual stern expression.

Dr. Sado sat cross-legged in his tatami-floored doctor’s office, drinking sake. The bottle was already more than half empty. He took a long gulp, released it from his mouth, and exhaled loudly.

“Fwaaaah!”

He wiped his mouth with the back of his right hand.

“So then…Captain Okita has come back to life…brought back by the ‘special measures’ program, as I thought…”

His eyes were unfocused due to drunkenness. He had been drinking alone ever since returning from the captain’s quarters.

“It’s cruel, isn’t it? To bring a dead person back to life again for the sake of war, and when their role is done, they just let you die again…”

Sado shook his head from side to side as if he could not help himself.

“Those who were sleeping peacefully…no, he was not at peace. They froze him as if he were a fish or something. They let him wander the boundary between life and death for a long time, and when he’s needed, they revive him. And when he’s no longer needed, he’ll be frozen again. What a waste of human life!”

Sado took another big gulp of the sake.

“How can they do such a thing against the will of God, even for the sake of the nation?”

He clenched his fists and shook with anger. After a while, he relaxed and slumped his shoulders.

“But still…” he said. “Juuzo Okita is a man of strong spirit. A normal person wouldn’t be able to withstand it. No one else would think of doing his duty when he knows he’s going to fade away again. He’s an amazing man. Such an amazing man…”

Sado’s face turned tearful.

“If…if only I were a more competent doctor. I’d do everything in my power to keep Okita-san alive as long as possible. I wouldn’t be stingy with just one or two years, I’d let him live for decades. Half-hearted scientific progress is cruel…”

At that moment, the huge suitcase in the corner of the infirmary made a thumping sound.

“What?”

Sado turned his head toward the suitcase with a dim look in his eyes.

“I thought I heard something…was it my imagination?”

He stared at the brown suitcase with unfocused eyes. Again, he heard a thumping sound, and the suitcase moved slightly.

“Hmm?”

Sado rubbed his eyes, then glanced at the bottle.

“I didn’t think I drank that much…”

With that, he lifted the bottle like a trumpet again. A knock on the infirmary door interrupted him.

“Who is it? Come in!”

The automatic door opened and Analyzer entered, his body lamps flashing.

“Oh, it’s you. I wish a beautiful woman would show up once in a while…”

Analyzer rolled up to Sado, holding a tray in both hands.

“I brought you your meal.”

“Oh, I see. Always delivering. Thanks for your hard work. Just leave it there.”

Analyzer placed the tray on the tatami mat in the Japanese-style doctor’s office, near the suitcase.

“Doctor, make sure you don’t drink too much alcohol,” Analyzer said.

“Oh, pipe down. Drinking is the best of all medicines. I’m just taking the medicine.”

“But…”

“No buts. I’m the doctor, so I’m the one who should know.” Saying this, he took a gulp. “But that smells good. What did you bring me?”

“Roasted chicken.”

“What a treat! Yamato is loaded with everything.”

At that moment, the suitcase moved with another thump and began to creep across the tatami mats. Analyzer’s antenna spun around and his head rotated to face it. The suitcase, which was approaching the tray, suddenly stopped moving.

“What’s the matter, Analyzer? You want some too? But you can’t eat it, can you? Ha-ha-ha!”

Analyzer stared at the suitcase, then turned his head to look at Sado again. The suitcase started to move slowly. When he turned his head again, it abruptly stopped.

Sado glared at Analyzer curiously. “What are you doing, moving your head around?”

Analyzer feinted and swiveled his head 360 degrees to look at the suitcase. A hand quickly reached out from inside toward the tray. Analyzer’s lamps flashed like neon all over his body.

“Doctor, a thief!”

“Hic! Who’s a thief?”

Sado looked at the tray and the suitcase. A right arm was reaching out, and had just grabbed the roasted chicken. Sado’s mouth dropped open. Analyzer approached the suitcase. It suddenly opened like a surprise box, and a boy jumped out from inside. He ran to the corner of the room, crouched down, and began to eat the chicken ravenously. Sado was stunned.

Analyzer approached with his hands raised. “Stowaway!”

The boy jumped up and ran away.

Sado finally spoke up. “Oh, that’s just him…”

It was the Dengil boy, whom Yamato had rescued and brought back to Earth. Sado stood up and began to follow with unsteady steps as the boy scurried around the infirmary with his delicious prize.

“What are you doing? Wait!”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!

The boy took quick, sloppy bites as they both chased him in circles.

“Hey! My food!”

Sado and Analyzer tried to pin him down from both sides, but he jumped and ran. Sado and Analyzer collided and crashed to the floor on their backs.

“Ow, ow, ow…I can’t get up!”

The boy took the last bite and licked the oil off his fingers. Sado and Analyzer finally clambered up and try to grab him again, but he ran toward the door. It suddenly opened and Yuki Mori entered. The boy hid behind Yuki, hugging her around the waist. Her eyes widened as he squeezed. The boy looked up at her and smiled brightly.

She blinked and looked at Sado, who was standing there scratching his head helplessly.

“It seems he stowed away in my suitcase…”

Sado scratched his head.

The Dengil boy leaned out from behind Yuki and stuck his tongue out at Sado.

Continue to Act 15

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