-1-
As Yamato sailed through jet-black outer space, the water planet Aquarius, glowing pearly white, was heading toward Earth.
Many rings of ice blocks orbited and criss-crossed around Aquarius. It had a shape and beauty that made it seem like it had been artificially designed by something much greater. Behind the beautiful planet, however, was an eerie mass of rock.
The giant city satellite Uruk drifted in perfect alignment with it. Lugal II’s battleship and the rest of the fleet, which barely managed to escape the solar system, were now returning to Uruk.
As soon as Lugal II disembarked, he immediately went to the Grand Priest Lugal. He headed to the statue of the demon god in the darkened Great Temple. When he arrived, Grand Priest Lugal and Lugal II walked slowly together.
Lugal, a large man, walked with his cloak swaying. Lugal II followed behind, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. The sound of their footsteps echoed through the temple. Light from the flames burning on the altar caused the shadow of the giant demon god statue on the central altar to shimmer, giving the illusion that it was alive. The face of the statue looked like a strange beast that would make women and children tremble at the first glance. The light from the altar’s flames shining from below gave it an even more bizarre appearance.
Grand Priest Lugal stopped under the statue. Lugal II also stopped abruptly, and silence reigned in the temple. Lugal looked up sharply. He was standing in the exact position where the gaze of the statue of the demon god met his eyes. They aligned perfectly. Lugal remained still and motionless with a grim expression on his face.
Lugal II, standing behind Lugal, suddenly bent one knee and lowered himself. He stayed like that for a while, but Lugal’s silence became unbearable.
Lugal II finally said in a hushed voice, “Father…as I mentioned earlier, our fleet succeeded in blockading Earth. However, after that, we fought with the remaining Earth fleet led by a battleship called Yamato. The attack failed, and we were forced to return home…”
Lugal remained staring at the statue, not moving an inch. Lugal II, with one knee on the floor, raised his head and looked at Lugal. His face contorted in shame. “Unfortunately, we have lost most of our fleet. I am sorry…”
Lugal still did not answer and remained still. But then his cloak suddenly shook and he spun around to face Lugal II. The younger man stiffened for a moment, and then thrust his head down. After a moment, when no retort came, he looked up at Lugal’s face again.
Grand Priest Lugal had an overwhelming presence. Like the statue of the demon god, the flickering flames of the altar lit him from below, giving him a strange look. From Lugal II’s position, the face of the demon statue was poised just above that of Lugal’s as if they were one and the same, staring down at him. Lugal II’s whole body was covered with cold sweat. The oppressive atmosphere forced him to lower his head agin.
Lugal’s voice was deep. “Lugal II.”
Lugal II jolted and answered in a panic. “Sire!”
Lugal stared at his son with a piercing gaze. “Do you know why I brought you to the temple?”
Lugal II looked up again. “N-no…”
“I have come to tell you the secrets of our royal house in this holy place.”
Father and son stared into each other’s eyes.
“The Earth we are heading to is the planet where our ancestors once lived!” Lugal said firmly.
Lugal II’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected words. “What?”
Silence reigned for more than two minutes. Then, slowly, Lugal began to speak again.
“Now is the time to tell you. Our ancestors were the first people to establish civilization on Earth 10,000 years ago! They were the first people to evolve from lowly creatures to human beings, the first to build a golden age of civilization.”
Lugal closed his eyes and fell silent for a moment, then began to speak again, slowly with a strange nostalgia.
“It was a wonderful time. The climate was warm. So much grain was harvested each year that some could be thrown away. The livestock were plump, and people could live their lives with little or no work. There was ample free time to spend their days doing what they liked.”
“Until one day, when a very unusual weather event occurred, and rain poured down onto the land for a full year. The water planet Aquarius had migrated to Earth. Rivers overflowed. Empty plains turned into lakes. Fields, mountains, villages, towns, and all other living things were covered with water. The golden age of our ancestors ended. all of civilization was drowning. The people gave up for the last time.”
Lugal opened his eyes.
“But in that moment of despair, something unexpected happened. The gods appeared! From a corner of the sky, a spaceship with the gods on board descended to rescue our ancestors, even if only one of them could be saved.”
“Of course, they were not gods, but aliens from some other star system. But to our ancestors, who had not yet traveled into space, they were gods descended from the heavens. Some of our ancestors boarded the spacecraft. Only the strong ones, who managed to survive the flood, were saved. And they survived.”
Lugal pointed at Lugal II.
“Only the strong survive! Only the strong have the right to survive and create the future! Strength is justice! The weak have no right to live, even women and children!”
Lugal’s eyes were blazing with the color of madness, his mouth turned up in an eerie smile. Lugal II’s skin crawled at the sight.
“Thus the mighty people, chosen by the gods, exercising their power, conquered the second mother planet Dengil, to which they had been taken. After much hardship, they established a new kingdom. That is the origin of our royal house of Lugal.”
Lugal II could not speak.
“This fact was revealed to me when I ascended the throne as the Grand Priest of the Lugal royal family. Do you understand?”
Finally, he only answered, “Y-yes…”
Lugal nodded his head in satisfaction when he heard Lugal II’s reply, then he continued.
“And now our second mother planet, Dengil, is submerged again. We have lost the land where we should live, just as our ancestors did. But now we are going to conquer Earth with our mighty power. We must succeed. We are the rightful rulers of Earth!”
“Yes, sire.”
After a moment of silence, Lugal said, “Aquarius and Uruk will soon warp for the nineteenth time. And after the 20th warp, Earth will be submerged, and our goal will be achieved. Lugal II!”
“Yes!”
“I will give you one more chance. The battleship called Yamato will surely appear at the next warp. Throw yourself upon them! Defeat the deadly battleship that destroyed your fleet! Only then will you be worthy of becoming the next High Priest. The gods will spare no effort in your battle.”
“Yes,” Lugal II said with all his strength. “This time…this time, I will certainly live up to the expectations of my father, or rather of the Grand Priest!”
Lugal nodded gravely, turned his back to Lugal II and faced the statue again. He raised his hands in a wide gesture and shouted.
“O King of the Gods! Give my son glory and happiness this time!”
Lugal II stood up. Lugal lowered his hands and spoke without turning around.
“Now, launch immediately with my entire fleet!”
“Sire!”
Lugal II turned his back on Lugal and the statue and walked out of the temple. The Grand Priest remained, his eyes locked on the demon’s in a silent exchange.
-2-
The destroyer Fuyuzuki and Yamato parted ways in space near Pluto. Yamato was on course toward the water planet Aquarius.
In the central operation room, a strategy meeting was being held with Captain Okita taking the lead. On a huge floor panel, a space map showing the trajectory of Aquarius was drawn. Okita, Kodai, Shima, Sanada, and Yuki were standing on the floor panel, consulting together.
On the space chart, Aquarius was displayed in close proximity to the lit point indicating Earth. Shima pointed to Aquarius’ path and spoke.
“Aquarius continues to warp every 24 hours. It has completed its eighteenth warp and is now in this position…” He pointed to a bright spot of light. “Currently about 300 light years from Earth.”
Captain Okita, hands folded behind his back, looked at the floor panel and nodded. Shima continued.
“After two more warps, it will appear at about 13 billion kilometers from Earth, and from there, it will probably proceed at one-half the speed of light, without warping. It is expected to pass close to Earth 24 hours later.”
“If that happens,” Sanada added, “Earth will finally be submerged. If we allow it to make its twentieth warp, all is lost.”
Susumu looked at Sanada and said, “We must reach Aquarius before the 20th warp and stop it at all cost.”
Sanada nodded silently. Shima agreed.
“That’s right. After the nineteenth warp, it will still be 150 light years away from Earth. If we stop it there, we’ll have 300 years to spare.”
Captain Okita, who had been listening to everyone’s opinions in silence, cut in.
“In a few hours, Aquarius will make its nineteenth warp. We have no choice but to get Yamato there before it does.”
Everyone nodded. Okita glanced toward Shima. “Shima, is the warp function ready?”
“Yes, sir! Ready for warp at any time!”
“Good.”
“Wave-Motion Gun is ready,” Susumu added.
Okita turned to Sanada. “What about the defense system against the hyper thermonuclear missile?”
“We are very close to completing it,” Sanada said proudly. “By the time of the next battle…”
“Sanada, you know that without a defense system against that missile, it will be like Yamato is facing a blade with bare hands. Please make sure it’s ready in time.”
“Sir!”
Captain Okita looked around at everyone and then gave the order. “All hands, prepare to launch!”
Everyone exited the central operation room.
Under the command of Captain Okita, Yamato immediately began to prepare for launch. In the Wave Gun control room, the second bridge, the first main turret, and other areas of the ship, crew members in each section rushed to carry out maintenance and inspections.
In the engine room, Tasuke Tokugawa, a member of the engineer team, was maintaining his own department’s mecha. On the wall nearby was a portrait of his father, Hikozaemon Tokugawa. Tasuke stopped working and looked at the image. He felt as if his father was staring at him. He often got this feeling when he was working hard.
“Maybe he’s observing my maintenance skills from the picture,” Tasuke thought.
It was a terribly unscientific feeling, but he couldn’t help it. Tasuke was about to start working again as he looked at the picture.
“Dad, don’t look so worried,” he mumbled. “Yamato is immortal.”
Then he heard a voice from somewhere.
“I’m just concerned that you’re going to screw up.”
Tasuke’s eyes widened. “I’m not going to do that. I’m a man now, right?”
Suddenly, a hand was placed on Tasuke’s shoulder from behind, startling him. He turned around in a panic. Chief Engineer Yamazaki stood there smiling.
“Chief? What??” Tasuke wiped sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “You surprised me! I thought you were my father…”
“Tokugawa.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Yamato will soon enter warp. The final battle will take place at the other end. Win or lose, it all depends on the adjustments made by the engineers.”
“Yes, sir! Leave it to me!”
Yamazaki looked at Tasuke with a serious expression, nodded, and glanced at Hikozaemon Tokugawa’s photo.
Kato and the other Cosmo Tiger crew members were working on their own aircraft in the hangar with the maintenance crew. Every part of Yamato was preparing for the final decisive battle.
Yuki Mori was in her private room, organizing her personal belongings. The Dengil boy was clinging to her. He had migrated to her room from Dr. Sado’s infirmary.
“Hey.”
He switched on the automatic translator attached to his belt. It was small, but once it could incorporate the proper patterns, it could translate and communicate any language in daily conversation. And vice versa, the words of another person could also be translated into the language of his planet, heard through a very small earphone attached to the back of his ear. The Dengil and Earth language patterns were quite similar.
“Hey, girl…”
Yuki, who was arranging things on her bed, turned around. She ran her fingers behind her ears to tuck strands of hair away from her face.
“What?”
“Why do Earthlings die for others?”
Yuki blinked.
“The destroyers protected Yamato, voluntarily being hit by the missiles, didn’t they?”
Yuki lowered her eyes. She didn’t know how to answer. The Dengil boy had watched the battle on a TV screen on the wall.
“Dengil people don’t fight like that,” The boy said with a twinkle in his eye. “They don’t help those who are about to be beaten. it’s okay for the strong to abandon the weak. That’s what the Grand Priest always said.”
Yuki stared down at his innocent, boyish face. “The Grand Priest?”
-3-
Maintenance reports came in one after another to Captain Okita, who was sitting in the captain’s seat. Voices from the speaker announce the completion of maintenance and readiness of each part of the ship.
“Wave-Motion Gun control room, ready.”
“Second bridge, ready.”
“First gun turret, maintenance and inspection complete.”
“Engine room, engine adjustments complete.”
“Cosmo Tiger squadron ready to launch.”
At the same time, the computer confirmed the information. Captain Okita remained silent as he listened to the speaker. On a display screen on the instrument panel, a notice appeared indicating that all sections were ready to launch.
Seeing this, Shima said, “All preparations complete. Yamato is ready to launch.”
Captain Okita’s eyebrows twitched. “Prepare for warp!”
Shima immediately responded, turning on the switches on the instrument panels one after another. “Aye, sir! Yamato, prepare to warp!”
Lights activated on the instrument panel. After a few moments, he shouted, “Ready for warp! Thirty seconds to go!”
Yamato accelerated forward.
“Five, four, three, two, one, zero, Yamato, warp!”
Yamato began to shimmer like a reflection on water, and gradually began to glow white. Flowing particles covered the entire ship, and after a moment, Yamato suddenly disappeared into another dimension.
Meanwhile, a large mobile fleet commanded by Lugal II launched ship by ship from the giant city satellite Uruk. In the battle command room of the Grand Priest’s palace, Lugal and his staff stared intently at the video panel showing the departing fleet.
With his hands folded behind his back, Lugal muttered, “Lugal II…don’t fail this time. If you are defeated again, I will show you no mercy.”
On a panel display behind Lugal, there was a navigation chart. Flashing lights indicated the positions of the nineteenth and twentieth warps. One of the staff members who was looking at the chart nodded and turned to Lugal.
“Grand Priest! Aquarius is ready for the nineteenth warp!”
The video panel was already showing no sign of the task force. Lugal slowly turned around.
“Aquarius, warp!” Lugal commanded in a grave voice.
Uruk’s bedrock energy was activated by a radiator, becoming a twin pillars of light that lanced out toward Aquarius. The planet was gradually pushed forward by the radiant energy.
The surrounding ice rings were the first to glow, and gradually the entire mass glowed as if in halation. Aquarius accelerated from sub-light speed to semi-light speed. The whole sphere glowed orange, as if it had exploded. Then, Aquarius’ image wavered and vanished.
“Aquarius, nineteenth warp complete!” said the staff officer.
Lugal, seated on his throne, raised his chin. “Uruk,” he commanded, “warp!”
“Uruk, warp!”
Following Aquarius, the city satellite Uruk warped for the nineteenth time. As it disappeared, the dark universe spread out behind it.
A pale, bluish-white light appeared in space. As it came into focus, it took the form of a battleship. Yamato completed its warp and continued sailing forward.
“Warp completed,” said Shima at the helm. He ran his eyes over the instrument panel for quick checks, then turned off some switches.
Everyone on the first bridge was a little dazed just after the warp, but they quickly blinked their eyes, shook their heads, and inspected their stations.
“All hands at stations,” said Kodai from the battle command station.
He turned his head toward Yuki, who was monitoring the cosmo radar. She looked at him and replied, “No response on the cosmo radar yet.
“Roger.” Susumu turned on the mic switch and called down to the radar room. “Global radar room, any sign of the enemy yet?”
The reply came back immediately. “This is the global radar room. We have surveyed a 50-kilometer perimeter and see no sign of the enemy.”
The bright line on the spherical radar panel just rotated without any reaction.
Sanada, who was checking the instruments, added, “There’s no sign of them anywhere.”
Susumu folded his arms and fell silent. Nanbu looked at Susumu. “Turrets one, two, and three are in position!”
“Roger.”
Reports came in from the various departments of the ship, one after another.
“Bow missile tubes ready.”
“Port and starboard pulse laser cannons ready.”
“Wave Gun control room ready.”
Yamato was ready for battle. All that remained was to intercept the enemy.
“Captain, all personnel are in battle position,” Susumu said to Captain Okita, who remained still and silent. Okita glanced at Susumu and set his jaw.
Yamato was now 150 light years away from Earth, waiting patiently for the enemy. There was no doubt that this was where Aquarius would appear. Its position had been determined by detailed calculations based on the data obtained up to that point.
Then, without warning, Aquarius suddenly emerged from warp in front of Yamato.
Shima turned his eyes out the window again, and lo and behold, there was the giant water planet Aquarius. Stunned, he stared at it blankly, rubbed his eyes, and looked again,
“Uh…is that Aquarius?”
By then, everyone had noticed. They all gasped. It was surrounded by rings of glistening ice that looked very cold, a pale water planet with a white clouds swirling toward the center. Everyone looked as if they were seeing a ghost. They were stunned by the surprise of its sudden appearance, and by its sheer beauty.
“Aquarius?” Nanbu muttered as he gulped.
Yuki blinked, entranced, and spoke dreamily. “How beautiful…like a pearl floating in space…”
Yamato approached Aquarius as if drawn to it. Captain Okita looked around at the crew members who were staring out the window and gave an order to jolt them back to reality.
“Yamato, approach Aquarius in battle stance!”
His voice brought them back to their senses. Private words were exchanged. Susumu, who had been staring out of the window, tensed up and came back to himself.
“Yes, sir! Yamato, proceed in battle stance!” Susumu shouted into the mic. “Launch Cosmo Tiger Squadron! Commence advance recon of Aquarius!”
Kato immediately responded. “Roger! Cosmo Tiger squadron will launch for Aquarius immediately!”
Sanada called out to Susumu. “Kodai! Let’s launch a probe satellite around Aquarius to extend our reconnaissance range.”
Susumu nodded. “Let’s do it. Launch the satellite!”
The satellite was launched. Almost simultaneously, the Cosmo Tigers launched from the hangar, heading for Aquarius. Yamato deployed its wings and advanced.
Soon after passing through the ice ring, Yamato descended.
