-1-
From the first bridge, Yamazaki called out to Tasuke Tokugawa in the engine room.
“Start the flywheel!”
The ship was still shaking. It was only a matter of time before Uruk collapsed.
In the engine room, the engineers were frantically preparing the launch. Tasuke replied, “No good! The leak is so bad we can’t increase the power!”
“Can’t you do something about it?” Yamaki yelled into the mic.
“We’re repairing the broken parts now!”
“Do your best!”
Yamazaki cut off contact with the engine room and turned to Captain Okita.
“The Wave-Motion Engine won’t ignite!”
Captain Okita looked at Shima’s back. He was half dazed at the helm with Yuki standing beside him, as if to protect him. Shima tried to operate Yamato with a hazy mind.
“Energy in the Wave-Motion Engine…100% charged…flywheel starting,” He muttered to himself. The control panel and instrument panel look blurry and distorted to his eyes.
“Shima, stay strong!”
An explosion occurred close to Yamato, causing the bridge to shake violently. Yuki held Shima in her arms to keep him in his seat.
“Yamato is underpowered and can’t launch yet!”
Shima blinked. “I see… I’m sorry…”
Tears welled up in Yuki’s eyes. Shima coughed helplessly. Blood spilled from his mouth again. She held his head to her chest. Sanada, Aihara, and Captain Okita were staring at Shima.
“Shima,” Okita said.
Shima was startled by the Captain’s voice and pushed Yuki away as he turned around.
“Y-Yes, sir…?”
“Shima. The explosions have weakened the structure of the city satellite. If we use the attitude control rockets to reverse thrust and gain momentum, we should be able to break through the ground.”
“Yes… I’ll try.”
Nanbu looked at Shima sadly, but said forcefully, “Prepare to reverse the thrust of all attitude control rockets!”
Shima finally pressed the button for the thrusters, then immediately relaxed his grip.
“Shima! Shima!” Yuki shook his shoulders, but Shima just closed his eyes and groaned.
Yamato‘s attitude control jets suddenly began thrusting. Buildings around Yamato exploded and collapsed one after another. Flames and black smoke swirled around. It was impossible to get out. The entire hull began to vibrate violently.
The thrust continued without a break. The rocks under Yamato collapsed, and the ship tilted sharply to the left. The force of the reverse thrust helped it regain its position. Finally, the rocks underneath broke into pieces, opening up a large hole.
Yamato sank into the rock like a submarine sinking into mud. The ground beneath it crumbled like sand. The warping of Aquarius had absorbed more rock energy than necessary, breaking its structural bonds. Yamato sank completely into the rock and disappeared from sight.
Ignited by the temple’s big explosion, a chain reaction hit the whole of Uruk. It was a terrible collapse. Like Noah’s great flood, explosions quickly engulfed Uruk as rocks and buildings were blown to pieces.
Susumu Kodai’s Cosmo Zero and the Cosmo Tiger pilots had evacuated to space for the time being. From their view, Uruk was splintering into a mass of huge rocks.
Kato’s voice came over his communicator. “Is Yamato okay!?”
“I don’t know…” Susumu and the others were circling around Uruk at a distance.
Finally, another pilot called out, “That’s…Yamato! It’s Yamato!”
Susumu peered out from his cockpit. Yamato had broken through the brittle bedrock and emerged from underneath the scattering mass. It was coming toward Susumu and the others. Susumu’s face lit up when he saw it.
“Cosmo Zero, Cosmo Tiger team, returning to Yamato!”
Susumu and the others all headed for home.
After safely returning to the hangar deck, Susumu got onto the elevator and hurried to the first bridge. The crew all looked at him when he rushed in. There was a strange, quiet atmosphere. Susumu stopped in his tracks and looked around. His eyes met with Captain Okita. Okita looked silently toward the helm. Susumu frowned and also turned his gaze in that direction.
“Yuki…”
Yuki looked back at Susumu. For some reason, her expression was wracked with sadness. It looked like she was about to burst into tears.
“Yuki, what’s wrong?…”
Susumu walked over to the helm. Shima was lying face down on his console.
Susumu blinked. “Shima…what’s–”
Yuki cut him off. “Kodai! Shima is…!”
“What!?”
Sanada, Aihara, and even Sado were standing around Shima, as if they were guarding him.
“Shima!”
Standing near the helm, Susumu was astonished to see that Shima’s mouth and throat were red with blood. Shima raised his head from the instrument panel with his eyes half closed.
“Kodai…”
Susumu quickly bent down to look at him. “Shima! What’s wrong with you?”
Shima chuckled weakly. “How was it? Even with 60% power, we managed to take off and escape from Uruk…”
He coughed and spat out a large amount of blood. Susumu put his hand on Shima’s shoulder.
“What is this?! What happened to you?”
Shima continued to cough up blood. Sanada and Aihara held onto the desperate Susumu from both sides.
“Kodai, stay calm.” Sanada said.
“But… Shima, Shima…” Susumu shook his head in disbelief.
“Kodai. Shima took a pulse laser to his right chest…” Yuki said and started weeping softly.
“What!? S-Sado! Why aren’t you treating him? It’s a serious wound!” Susumu said hysterically.
Sado shook his head silently. “There’s no way…”
Yuki sobbed as he wiped Shima’s mouth with a cloth. Shima muttered something again. Susumu pushed Sanada and Aihara away and put his ear close to Shima’s mouth.
“What is it, Shima?”
Shima turned his face sideways on the instrument panel and smiled with his eyes closed.
“How do you like my arms?” Shima asked.
Finally understanding, Susumu spoke slowly. His voice trembled. “Oh, yeah. Yours are the best in the world…”
Susumu put his arm around Shima’s shoulders as he continued. “Being on Yamato is so nice…like being held in my mother’s arms…”
Yuki also bent down and held Shima. The others stood around them. Captain Okita watched grimly from the captain’s seat.
“Yuki…” Shima said.
“Yes?”
“Yuki… I loved you…” He extended his right hand. Yuki grabbed it. “I was the one who first noticed you…”
Yuki held Shima’s right hand while tears were streaming down his face.
“Kodai…”
“Wh-What?”
“Fighting on the battlefield isn’t the only way to be a man…make Yuki happy…” Shima smiled.
Susumu was speechless.
“I won’t forgive you if you make Yuki suffer…”
Susumu took Shima’s right hand and placed it on top of Yuki’s. The three of them held hands tightly.
“You two, do it for me…” He trailed off.
“Shima! Hey, Shima!”
“Shima-kun!”
Shima stirred one last time as Susumu hugged him.
“Jiro…”
With that last word, Shima died in Susumu’s arms.
“Shi-Shima… Hey!”
The bridge was silent as if time had stopped.
“Shima. He’s dead…” Susumu shook his head. “Shima died so suddenly. How stupid…”
Yuki clung to Shima and began to cry. Captain Okita slowly rose from the captain’s seat, then silently saluted for Shima. The only sound inside the bridge was the small ticking of the instruments.
-2-
Without a helmsman, Yamato was sailing silently through space. Of course, there were still other people who could pilot the ship, but no one who could pilot Yamato as if it were their own limb. Only Shima was capable of that feat. One like him would probably never appear again.
Shima’s body was preserved in the ship’s morgue. It was highly unlikely that Shima would be given the “special treatment for important people” as was the case with Captain Okita and others. And even if the “special measures ” were taken, Shima would not want that. There was no way he would want to remain in a state of limbo like a zombie. Everyone agreed that Shima should be allowed to rest in peace.
Captain Okita was currently experiencing the pain of being in limbo. He had no intention of making Shima experience the same pain. Therefore, Shima’s body was quietly placed there. He was already brain dead. Yamato, like a mother carrying a fetus, tenderly held the mortuary where Shima’s body lay.
The first bridge was enveloped in a dark atmosphere, as if the air had become heavier. No one was talking. There was no one at the helm where Shima had been. And no one tried to approach. It was as if Shima would appear from somewhere, take the controls, and shout for the Yamato to launch. That was how sudden Shima’s death was.
Susumu stared at the empty helm, thinking absentmindedly. He thought that if there was a predetermined story for this battle, the one who wrote it must have been a cruel man. But of course, there was no script for a battle. That was why Shima died so suddenly.
The controls had been switched to autopilot. The various lamps on the instrument panel were just blinking silently. Captain Okita, who had been sitting silently in the captain’s seat, spoke in an attempt to break the heavy atmosphere inside the bridge.
“Kodai!”
Susumu suddenly came to his senses and turned to Captain Okita. The other crew members tensed up.
“We have to pursue Aquarius. Kodai, hurry up and warp!”
“Yes!”
As if a switch had been flipped, the crew members immediately devoted themselves to preparation for warp.
Soon, they were ready, and Susumu said, “Warp preparations complete!”
Captain Okita nodded. “Yamato, warp to Aquarius’ current location!”
“Yamato, warp!”
Yamato warped. Its figure became hazy, then disappeared leaving Uruk behind, which had turned into a cloud of rock.
In the control room of Earth Defense Forces headquarters, they caught sight of the water planet Aquarius as it emerged from warp, and they were in a state of panic. The Director and his Chief of Staff remained silent as they stared at a map displayed on a panel. It showed Aquarius’ relative position to Earth with a green shining line.
“How far is Aquarius from Earth?” the Director asked a staff member who had approached him with a solemn expression.
The staff member straightened his posture and answered nervously. “Sir. Aquarius is currently 13 billion kilometers from Earth, and is getting closer with every passing moment.”
“Only 13 billion kilometers…” the Director muttered with a groan.
The staff member continued. “It’s currently moving at half the speed of light. Its course is definitely one that will bring it very close to Earth, and it will only be a matter of time before Earth is submerged. Calculations based on speed and course will be available shortly.”
“I see… I understand.”
The staff member left the Director and the Chief of Staff.
“Can’t we do something…?” the Chief of Staff muttered, bowing his head.
Another staff member came running up to the two of them. “Director! Yamato has emerged from warp just behind Aquarius!”
“What?”
The Director and the Chief of Staff exchanged glances.
“Yamato has returned…” the Chief of Staff said. But there was a hint of disappointment in his tone.
“Prepare for communication with Yamato immediately!” the Chief ordered.
“Yes, sir!” The staff member ran off.
“Commander. Yamato was unable to stop Aquarius’ final warp…”
“Yes. But there must still be some way out. They came out of warp just behind Aquarius, so maybe Okita has an idea…”
The Chief of Staff nodded silently and stared at the space map on the panel again.
The water planet Aquarius was moving forward just in front of the Yamato, which had just emerged from warp. The crew on the first bridge stared at Aquarius outside the window. The bridge was filled with an oppressive silence.
Captain Okita seemed to be thinking about something, his eyes closed in his captain’s seat. The reception indicator lamp on the communication instrument panel in front of Aihara was flashing. Aihara glanced over to Captain Okita.
“Captain. A message from the Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Defense Force.”
Captain Okita slowly opened his eyes.
“Display it on the panel.”
“Yes, sir.”
The video panel was turned on, and the Commander’s face was displayed. “Okita-kun,” he said.
Captain Okita began to speak. “Commander, I’m sorry I couldn’t fulfill your request.”
“Well, thank you for all your hard work. That’s all I wanted to say…”
“Thank you…but…”
The Director’s face lit up when he heard Captain Okita’s words.
“…but I haven’t given up hope yet.”
The Admiral’s face shone with expectation. “So, Okita, is there still some way…”
But Captain Okita shook his head. “I don’t know yet. It might be better to say there isn’t. But there is still a little time. I won’t give up.”
Susumu, who had been listening to their conversation, looked up at Captain Okita.
“Okita, you’re right,” the commander said with a dejected look. “There is still time. I won’t give up hope either…”
Contrary to his words, his voice was sorrowful. Okita nodded.
“I’m counting on you, Okita. I have high hopes for Yamato and its crew.”
With those words, the commander’s face disappeared from the panel. Captain Okita suddenly noticed Susumu staring at him and looked in his direction. Susumu didn’t take his eyes off Captain Okita, continuing to stare intently at him.
