-1-
The Cosmo Zero launched from Yamato, managed to get through the torrential rain of missiles, and chased after the retreating enemy attack planes. Of course, Susumu did not believe the Cosmo Zero alone would be able to destroy a group of enemy aircraft. He was only tracking them to see how the enemy was faring, and to confirm the position of the mother ship and possibly the main force.
Susumu and Yuki remained silent, exchanging no words from the front and rear seats. Susumu was staring angrily at his instruments. Yuki was in the navigator’s seat behind him, staring intently at the radar. Her slender fingers stopped moving over the radar and her cheek twitched for a moment. Suddenly, several bogeys appeared.
She looked up and told Susumu, “Enemy aircraft, 30 degrees right!”
“They’ve spotted us?” Susumu clutched the controls.
“From the rear,” Yuki shouted. “They’re coming in! Turn left!”
Susumu pulled the stick sideways and turned the Cosmo Zero to the left, just as Yuki had said. Immediately, several enemy planes came rushing at the Cosmo Zero. Susumu flipped around and headed in a straight line toward the incoming attackers. Three of them were in his sights. Susumu pressed the trigger, and the Cosmo Zero fired a pulse laser, hitting one of the fighters in the middle and shredding it. The Cosmo Zero immediately turned to the right.
“Two from below!” Yuki said hysterically.
“Damn!”
A pulse laser fired up from below. The Cosmo Zero twisted to avoid it and soared upward, then turned around and fired back with its pulse laser. The shot passed between the two enemy fighters, which had split up. The Cosmo Zero chased after one of them and quickly caught up with it.
The fleeing attacker moved into the target scope and Susumu fired. The aircraft was destroyed.
Yuki stared at the radar. “The other attackers are fleeing!”
“What?”
Susumu immediately pointed the Cosmo Zero in the direction of the fleeing aircraft.
“They don’t really want to fight, do they? They probably want to get back to their mothership…”
The wound on Susumu’s left shoulder began to bleed again. Once closed, it had reopened. Yuki noticed it and reacted.
“Kodai, you’re bleeding again…”
Susumu pulled his chin back and looked at his shoulder.
“It just opened again.”
Yuki winced. “But…if you don’t have it taken care of…”
“You know I don’t have time for that.”
“Yes, but…. ”
“Keep an eye on the radar.”
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s numb, I can’t feel anything.” Susumu smiled as he gripped the stick.
“Yuki…” he said after a while.
Yuki blinked. “Yes?”
“You’ve come on board as a navigator, so do your job properly,” he stated.
“All right.”
“Okay.”
Susumu pulled back the control stick and started tracking the enemy planes again.
Meanwhile, Yamato was struggling against the missile carriers that kept appearing out of warp. The missiles themselves should not have been much of a problem, considering the strength of the Yamato‘s armor. But there were too many of them raining in.
Yamato tried to counterattack with chimney missiles, sub-turrets, and pulse lasers, but the sheer volume was too much. Yamato was hit again and again, and damage started to appear everywhere. A fire broke out in the third turret.
“Damn, this is a persistent attack!”
Through the thick plumes of smoke and flames, the first aid team members worked hard, Emergency crews were doing their best to extinguish the fire and rescue victims, many of whom were lying on the ground. Some were badly burned.
“Quick, get me an automatic stretcher!” one of the first responders shouted through the smoke.
An artilleryman on the floor was moaning in pain. Several members of the first aid team rushed to the scene, operating an automatic stretcher. Then, a missile landed on them.
“Aah!”
The first aid team members were blown away by the explosion along with the fallen victims. Similar things were happening everywhere. On the first bridge, Captain Okita was listening to the damage reports with his teeth gritted. A computer voice from the Speaker continuously reported.
“Chimney missile damaged, shells can’t be fired.”
“Starboard living area hit, fire has broken out, many casualties…”
In the midst of the damage reports, Sanada gave hoarse commands. “Forward emergency team! Move to the starboard living area!”
From the main gun fire control room, Nanbu contacted Captain Okita.
“Captain, all Wave-Motion cartridges are loaded! Not a single round left!”
“Understood.” Captain Okita said nothing more and fell silent.
Nanbu was panicked. “Captain! Aren’t we going to fire?”
Captain Okita did not answer, but remained silent, staring ahead.
“Captain!” Nanbu’s voice was almost a scream. But Captain Okita did not answer.
The Cosmo Zero continued to track the enemy aircraft toward their fleet. It was halfway between Pluto and the eleventh planet.
“Kodai! We’re well away from Pluto! How far are you going to follow them?”
“Until we confirm the location of the enemy’s main fleet.” Susumu replied with a grim look.
Yuki was worried about Susumu’s left shoulder, which was still bleeding. His face had gone as white as paper.
“If I don’t stop the bleeding soon, Kodai-kun will…”
Yuki kept thinking that, but she knew Susumu was not the type to withdraw for medical attention.
“Yuki!”
“Yes!” Yuki looked up quickly.
“Have you confirmed the enemy position?”
She looked at the radar in a panic and saw the fleeing enemy planes. She reported their position.
“Okay, got it,” Susumu said as he gripped the control stick. “Don’t lose them!”
After a while, Yuki said, “Kodai-kun! We’re approaching some asteroids. The enemy planes are going in!”
Susumu smiled. “I see. Their main fleet is hiding somewhere in the asteroids. Yuki, let’s speed up!”
Soon the asteroid field became visible to the naked eye. The Cosmo Zero plunged in, passing through countless asteroids.
Watching the radar, Yuki said, “Cluster of asteroids ahead. Make a 40-degree turn to the right!”
“Okay.” Susumu threw the control stick aside, but at that moment, he was suddenly dizzy. He felt faint for a moment, but then returned to normal. He shook his head to clear his mind. Yuki was staring at the radar and did not notice.
“Another asteroid ahead!
“Okay, okay…”
Susumu clenched his teeth and held on.
Dengil’s attack planes were returning to the main fleet through the asteroid belt. The solar system control fleet, centered on the mobile fortress mother ship, was stationary in space, resupplying. However, missile ships were being launched from the mother ship’s dimensional projectors, disappearing one after another into small warps. The missile attack on Yamato was still ongoing.
The Cosmo Zero, flying alone in the asteroid belt, went completely unnoticed by the enemy. Susumu was tracking at a sufficient distance, and the asteroid field was now protecting the Cosmo Zero from the enemy’s radar.
On the bridge of Lugal II’s battleship, Lugal II sat in the battle command chair, shouting orders with a burning look in his eyes.
“All ships, refuel on the double! Torpedo carriers are to attack the enemy as soon as replenishment is complete! I will take full command!”
Pausing for a moment, he muttered, “The game is almost over. I’m going to deal the final blow.”
His mouth twisted into a smile and he laughed.
-2-
The missile onslaught continued without interruption. Yamato was covered in damage, billowing plumes of smoke. The area around the ship glowed white with the flashes of the missiles as they hit and exploded.
In the main gunnery control room, Nanbu was shouting into his Mic.
“This is Nanbu! Captain! The main gun will be hit if we don’t do something! Are you going to give the order to fire yet?”
But there was no reply from the speaker. Nanbu pounded the instrument panel with his fist. “Damn…damn!” He yelled into the mic again. “Captain, at least let me switch the second main gun to conventional ammunition and fire it!”
There was still no reply.
“Captain!”
On the first bridge, Captain Okita ignored Nanbu. He was listening to the damage reports from the various departments.
“Second sub turret hit!
“Bow torpedo port hit!”
He remained silent.
The Cosmo Zero was still inside the asteroid belt. The bleeding from Susumu’s shoulder was getting worse. The pain was coming back. He endured it patiently, and kept flying the Cosmo Zero at Yuki’s direction. His eyes were blurry, and the instruments sometimes appeared to double up. For a moment, his consciousness faded away and he couldn’t hear Yuki’s voice.
“Kodai-kun! What’s wrong? A huge rock is dead ahead, closing fast!”
At the sound of her voice, Susumu forced open his eyes, which had been closed for some time, and pulled back the control stick. The Cosmo Zero narrowly dodged the rock.
“Kodai! Are you okay? Kodai-kun!”
“I’m all right…the main body of the enemy should have appeared by now. Are you sure the enemy planes went in this direction?”
“Yes. We should stay on course. But more than that…”
Yuki was more worried about Susumu. Then, suddenly, the main body of the enemy fleet appeared in the Cosmo Zero’s path. Susumu tensed up and stared dead ahead. As soon as they passed out of the asteroid field, the fleet appeared at a distance visible to the naked eye. Yuki saw them too.
“Kodai-kun…that’s…”
Susumu’s eyes widened. “We found them at last! The main enemy fleet!”
The flagship and a squadron of torpedo carriers was about to launch. Susumu quickly reversed the Cosmo Zero and flew back into the asteroids.
“Yuki, did you confirm their position?”
“Yes!”
“Then we don’t need to stay here any more. All that’s left is to report to Yamato.”
Susumu reached out toward the blurry instrument panel and flipped the switch on his communicator.
“This is Kodai. Main enemy fleet in sight. The ship equipped with hyper thermonuclear missiles is about to launch. We’re running out of time. Enemy fleet is now in range of main guns…”
Then, Susumu’s consciousness finally faded away and he fainted.
“Kodai-kun! Kodai-kun!” Yuki shook him from behind, but it was no use.
a staticky voice came from the speaker. “What’s wrong? This is Yamato. Cosmo Zero, come in…” Yuki rushed to take over and switched on her mic.
“I am reporting the exact position of the enemy fleet. Position from Yamato, space coordinates N-3510…” Yuki finished her report, switched off, and took control from the navigator’s seat.
Now piloted by Yuki, the Cosmo Zero headed for Yamato, weaving its way through the scattered rocks.
Upon receiving Yuki’s report, Captain Okita gave the order immediately,
“Main guns! Fire at maximum range!”
In the main gun fire control room, Nanbu jumped when he received the order. “Roger! Main gun, fire the wave cartridge rounds! Elevation angle, 45 degrees! Azimuth, 30! Distance, 42,000 space kilometers! Confirmed!”
In conjunction with the computer, all of Yamato‘s main turrets rotated into the same direction and raised their angle of elevation. Nanbu informed Captain Okita, “Ready to fire!”
Captain Okita’s eyebrows twitched. “Fire at will!”
Like an explosion, nine wave cartridge rounds were fired at once.
“Please…” Nanbu muttered to himself.
Wave-Motion cartridges were different from ordinary rounds. A single shell contained one-hundredth of the energy of the Wave-Motion gun, and its power was immense. During the battle against the Dark Nebula Empire, a floating fortress was destroyed with just one shot. It was that powerful.
The nine Wave-Motion cartridges fired from Yamato‘s main gun cut through space toward the enemy fleet.
On Lugal II’s battleship, the Chief of Staff was finishing his report.
“All torpedo carriers are ready for launch.”
“I see. Good.” Lugal II nodded and gave the order. “Launch!”
And just then, Yamato‘s wave cartridge rounds crossed the asteroid belt and struck their target. The first hit the supply ship and exploded with a tremendous flash. The Dengil fleet was blown away like a leaf. Several others hit, causing one huge explosion after another. Even the nearby asteroid belt was blown away like grains of sand.
Lugal II was thrown out of his command seat, his eyes wide open. He was crawling on the floor. “W-what happened!?”
“Enemy attack!” The Chief of Staff was also on the floor, white as a sheet. “Your Highness! If we don’t get out of here soon, the explosions will consume our ship!”
In a flash of white, the Dengil fleet was blown apart ship by ship. Only Lugal II’s battleship emerged from the flash.
“No, no, no…. That’s impossible…” Lugal II crawled on the floor, mouth agape.
The explosions were still continuing. The entire solar system control fleet was gone in an instant. Lugal II was stunned, unable to believe it.
“How could my fleet have been taken out so easily?”
-3-
The Cosmo Zero, piloted by Yuki was heading toward Yamato. Fortunately, the asteroid belt had served as a shield against the shockwaves from the tremendous explosion of Dengil’s fleet, caused by the wave cartridge rounds. Yuki was frantically piloting from the navigator’s seat. Susumu’s head was slumped against the instrument panel where he had fainted. He was face down, not moving. Yuki spoke to him, holding back tears.
“Kodai…stay strong. We’re almost there. Hang on until we get back to Yamato. Don’t die, Kodai-kun…”
Finally, Yamato came into view in their path. The ship was still on fire, but the missile carriers had ceased their attack. It stood still in space, as if it were a painted picture. Fuyuzuki was positioned a short distance away, just as silent. Yuki could clearly see Yamato and let out a sigh of relief.
“It’s Yamato, Kodai-kun! I can see Yamato now!”
Her right hand was completely numb from the strain of holding the stick tightly. Susumu remained slumped forward, not moving an inch. He was barely breathing. The bleeding in his shoulder had stopped again, probably because he had stopped moving.
The Cosmo Zero closed in on Yamato. Yuki switched on her comm. “This is Cosmo Zero, please open the hangar door.”
“Copy that,” the speaker replied clearly.
The hangar door slowly opened, and Yuki maneuvered the Cosmo Zero with a frantic look on her face. She adjusted to the entry position while looking at the display on her instrument panel. The Cosmo Zero safely entered Yamato‘s hangar.
Yuki exhaled deeply and sank into her seat. The canopy rose with the sound of its motor. A maintenance man looked at her.
“Are you all right?”
Yuki brushed hair off her face and nodded. “I’m fine, but please take Kodai to the infirmary as soon as possible, okay?” She stood up, her tired body as heavy as a sandbag.
“Understood,” the maintenance man answered. “The first aid team is on its way.”
Yuki followed Susumu as he was carried away by the first aid team in a stretcher. Dr. Sado was waiting in the infirmary and immediately started examining him. Yuki stood next to the stretcher and looked down at Susumu, whose eyes were closed. Sado had a serious expression on his face as he moved Susumu’s eyelids open and closed.
“Doctor…?” Yuki asked.
Sado answered as he continued to examine Susumu. “There’s nothing to worry about. He’s just unconscious due to excessive bleeding.” He looked at Yuki and smiled. “He’s not the kind of man who would die from this much blood loss. He’s a hot-blooded guy to begin with.”
Yuki looked at Susumu’s paper-white face. The Dengil boy appeared on the other side of the stretcher, looking from Yuki to Susumu with concern. He had been staying in the infirmary ever since he jumped out of Sado’s trunk.
“Hey, stay out of my way, kid!” Sado scolded the boy. “Yuki, stop dawdling and get to work!”
“Y-yes, I’m sorry.”
Sado lightly patted Yuki on the arm. “He’ll be fine after a transfusion and a good night’s sleep. Leave it to me, the best doctor on Earth.”
Yuki nodded and said, “Yes, all right.” She suddenly felt lightheaded and started to pitch over. Sado quickly moved to catch her.
“You’re tired, too, aren’t you? You should take a rest.”
“But…”
“It’s fine. I can do this myself.”
“All right…”
Yuki went to the corner of the Japanese-style infirmary and sat down. The Dengil boy walked toward her.
Sado looked down at Susumu’s closed eyes and muttered, “You both did a great job.” With that, he started the blood transfusion.
On the first bridge, Captain Okita was looking up at the video panel. It displayed the face of Mizutani, the captain of the destroyer Fuyuzuki, the only ship other than Yamato that survived the Dengil attack.
“Captain Okita. Fuyuzuki will now return to the moon base with all survivors.”
Captain Okita nodded and replied, “Understood. Be careful.”
“Please do your best in honor of my comrades who lost their lives on this battlefield…”
Captain Okita nodded again. Mizutani quickly saluted and disappeared from the screen. Fuyuzuki slowly moved away from Yamato, which had finished repairing most of the damage caused by the missile attack. Yamato started moving in the opposite direction to navigate out of the solar system and into the vastness of space.
Finally, Yamato was heading for the water planet Aquarius.
