Transformations

Revelations

Transformations…

Chapter 2: Revelations
 

“What the Hell is going on?!” Fireball stands up and asks fiercely.

“As I said, we don’t know. At this time, we are treating it as a terrorist attack of unknown origin.” The Commander sighs.

“And Saber has just lost everyone he loved…” April states.

Fireball stands up and walks to the window. “What exactly do you know about what happened, Commander?” He turns and faces Commander Eagle.

The Commander runs his hands over his face and sighs. “Well, not much at this point. Everything seemed normal. The passenger ship had just loaded, and had been granted clearance for take off. It ascended into orbit normally, then suddenly a blip on our radar, a flash of light, and an explosion.” A long pause followed. “Then nothing…we tried to communicate with the vessel, but nothing, no response. Just debris falling back into orbit, burning up as it entered the atmosphere. No sign of anything on radar. No foreign ships, no passenger vessel. There was no time, no warning…nothing.”

A shrill whistle is heard from Colt. “That sounds deliberate, if you ask me, Commander.”

Fireball nods. “It does to me too. But who or what was the target?”

April sighs. “If we knew that, we’d be a lot better off in preventing another such attack.” Did anyone see the other ship, Father?”

The Commander shakes his head. “The closest to any possible target would be Senator Rider. Otherwise, there was no one of nobility, nor anything of import on that vessel. As for the other ship…we aren’t even sure that there WAS another ship. Just a blip for a split second on our radar, then all Hell broke loose.” He goes into his office and motions for the others to follow. He goes and sits behind his desk and logs into his computer. “Here is the radar just before the explosion.” He points to the screen showing two ‘blips’ on the screen. “Then here…” He points to several specks on the screen “is just after the explosion.”

April walks over and studies several images on the screen. “Look at the timestamps, that’s…impossible. It’s not even two seconds before the other ‘thing’ is there and gone and then the explosion.”

Fireball walks over and studies the screen behind them. “Do you seriously think Saber’s father could have been a target? I mean seriously, if we are at peace, then why would someone want to kill Senator Rider?”

“He was in support of keeping the Bismarck Peacekeeper Project active, unlike some of the other delegates.” The Commander responded.

“You mean there was talk of ceasing the project?” April inquires.

The Commander nods. “Yes. There are those in the High Command that believe in order to keep the peace, we must be rid of all weapons.”

Colts slams his fists onto the table. “That’s crazy! Don’t they remember what happened the LAST time we tried that?!”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a good idea to repeat such…actions.” Fireball concedes. “We’d be sitting ducks for anyone…or anything for that matter to come in overthrow us.”

April nods. “I don’t see the council going for it.”

“Senator Rider was one of the biggest advocates for keeping the project. He was winning a few over to our side that otherwise might have voted against it.” Commander Eagle says. He pauses, looking to each of the Star Sheriffs in turn, “Even though he wanted Saber to resign his command of the project and make a life with Sincia.”

“What?!” The others say in unison.

“He’d never go for that!” April says.

“He was considering it. He had discussed leading an outpost cadet academy in New Scotland. With the understanding that if something happened, he could be recalled. He actually wanted to stay on, but was trying to come up with a compromise that would suit his parents. General Whitehawk asked him to take a month to go home and discuss this option with his family before any decisions were to be made.”

“How did you feel about it, Sir?” Fireball asks.

“Well, at first I didn’t like the idea, honestly.” Commander Eagle replies.

“But?” Fireball presses.

“Saber and I had some discussions on what he wanted for his career, I know he wanted to be with his family, and was to be engaged.” The others looked shocked. “He was planning on telling you once it was official.”

“I suppose now…” April shakes her head. “I can’t imagine what is going on in his head right now. I’m not sure what I would do in his situation.”

“Yeah. What if Robin had been on that ship? It just as easily could have been her and Josh. I’m not sure what I would do if I lost…them, either one or both.” Colt states.

“Maybe some of us or one of us should go and talk to him?” April states.

The Commander nods. “I think someone should be close by. I honestly am not sure what his state of mind is right now. I don’t want him left alone for any length of time.” They all nod. “I will come to his quarters later and tell you of any new developments.”

“Thank you, Father.” April says and heads towards the door. Fireball follows her out.

“Sir?” Colt stops at the Commander’s desk.

“Yes, Colt?”

“May I go and check on Robin and Josh? They are in a hotel just off base.”

The Commander looks out the window for a moment, then turns back to face Colt. “In any other circumstance, I would not allow this, but given the unknowns of the situation, I think it would be wise for you to have them stay here…with you.” Colt looks at him, shocked. “I can’t afford to have your team more strained that it is currently. Not knowing Saber’s mental state right now, I don’t think having your loved ones apart from here would be wise. Do you think you can manage the three of you in your quarters, Colt?”

Colt straightens up and looks the commander in the eyes. “Yes, Sir. I don’t think we will have a problem.” He hides a smile. “We have shared close quarters before, and would again soon anyways.”

“Oh?” The Commander suppresses a smile.

Colt nods, a slight blush on his cheeks. “We were going to be married after I got away for vacation.”

Commander Eagle nods, “I wish you the best, Colt. Perhaps you could have a civil ceremony sooner, rather than later? Just in case things get…”

Colt nods soberly. “I know, Sir. I was thinking the same thing. May I take today to talk things over with Robin and Josh, then report back first thing in the morning?”

“Yes, just come see me, before talking with the others. I don’t want to upset anyone.” Eagle replies. Colt nods and goes out of the office, leaving the Commander alone to think. He leans back in his chair and sighs.
 

April approaches the door and knocks, Fireball a step behind her. “I hope he answers.” April states. “Otherwise, I will override his lock to get in.” Fireball nods, just as the door opens.

“Come in.” Saber states quietly, he then turns to go back into the apartment. The pair follow him inside, allowing the door to close behind them. The apartment is lit only by daylight, lamps and electronics are off.

April spots a book lying open, a journal. “Can I do anything for you?” she asks, not sure what else to say.

Saber turns to her and shakes his head. “No. Thank you.” He sits down in the chair by the journal and places it again on his lap. He looks to them and nods to the couch, “Please, sit down.” They sit down on the couch across from his chair. He studies them for a moment. Noticing their tension he sighs. “Any new developments?” He asks, trying to sound as if nothing is wrong.

April shakes her head. “Not really. We’re not even sure what happened. The radar images just don’t make sense.”

Saber studies her for a moment, trying to asses the statement, “What do you mean?”

“Well, everything is fine one moment. Nothing on radar, but the passenger ship... then in a span of two seconds, there are two ‘blips’ one vanishes and one…”

“Explodes” Saber finishes quietly.

April nods. “The computer people are trying to find satellite images to see if we can get a better picture of what was actually there.” Saber nods. “I still think it sounds like an outrider attack, we know that we didn’t destroy their entire race. They had begun attempting to colonize other worlds, just as we have done.”

“Perhaps someone wants us to fight amongst ourselves, as a distraction?” Fireball mused aloud.

Saber turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

Fireball immediately regretted speaking his thought and swallowed hard. “Well, you know that there was talk of disbanding the Bismarck Project, right?” Saber nods. “Well, one thing we discussed was that your father was an advocate for keeping it active. He was winning votes to his side. Persuading some who were ‘on the fence’ to vote for continuing the project as a means of self-defense, as opposed as a machine of war. That made some greatly dislike his influence.” April shot Fireball a warning look.

“So he was a possible target?” Saber asked.

Fireball nodded. “It’s a possibility.”

“It’s honestly too early to tell anything, Saber. Everything is purely speculation at this point. But that was one possibility being discussed.” April stated.

Saber closes his eyes and sighs, running his hands along the arms of his chair. “Regardless of the why or who, innocent civilians were killed. Men, women, and children…all were murdered in an instant, without provocation. That, by standards of the Calvary Command and Galactic Alliance is an act of War.” He closes the journal and places it on the table then looks out the window.

“So what do we do now? Just wait?” Fireball asks.

April nods and sighs. “That’s all we can do.”

“We need to be out there. Searching for wreckage…for anything that could help us to figure out who or what was there.” Fireball stated.

“They won’t let us out there. Or rather, they won’t let me out there. They will consider this too personal for me to stay objective and focused. I will probably be placed on administrative leave until this is figured out. You will most likely be given someone to replace me.” Saber spoke as he turned back to face his friends.

“They can’t do that!” Fireball quipped.

“They can and they will, Shinji.” Fireball winced as the use of his birth name. “If it turns out that my father was indeed a target, then legally they can’t let me on the case.”

“But you are the one that keeps us focused…” April starts to say.

Saber shakes his head. “Place yourself in your father’s position, April. Would you let someone who just lost…” He sighs, “...their family to continue working as if nothing had happened?” April shrugs. “I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do at this point. I’m not sure I COULD be objective. I’m not sure if they will even continue to allow me to be a Star Sheriff.”

Fireball looks up “What?! Why not?”

“Because, the ‘higher ups’ may believe I’d be out for vengeance, not focused on the safety of the New Frontier.” Saber replies.

“But…but…you…I don’t think you’re like most other people, Saber.” He answers.

“If you want my honest answer, I want vengeance, but not just for those I’ve lost, but for the hundreds that were killed. But the soldier in me wants to get to the bottom of this. I know that there will be a time and place for the anger I feel, but it isn’t now. I do know that if my path ever crossed with the person or persons responsible for it, I could not be held accountable for my actions.” His fist releases from the tight grip of the pen he didn’t know he was holding and it falls to the floor “Without seeing any of the data that you have seen or any other reports, I cannot make any assessment of what happened.” Saber says.

“But?” April concedes.

Saber nods, “But, my instinct is telling me this is not someone or something we have personally dealt with before.”

Fireball studies his face “How do you figure?”

“Well, think about it…The outriders cannot just pop in and out that fast. Not unless they have really advanced their technology in the past six months or so.” April and Fireball look to each other, then back to him and nod. “I don’t see that as plausible, because they lost the majority of their people and their technology when their planet was destroyed.” The pair nod again. “So, logic states that this…whatever it was is something and/or someone entirely different.”

“That makes sense, but what? Or Who?” Fireball asks aloud.

“Well, there are other galaxies that we inhabit. Perhaps it was someone from one of those.” April muses.

Fireball looks to her confused “But we cover the entirety of the New Frontier.”

April nods “True. In this galaxy. But we have the entire Intergalactic Alliance that we are a part of. There are other teams, similar to the Star Sheriffs within other branches of the alliance, Fireball.”

Fireball looks between April and Saber “You both knew this?” They both nod in response. “Why am I just finding this out?”

April smiles. “We never needed to mention it before. It’s not like it’s some big secret. Just something that is there, but isn’t at the same time, you know?”

Fireball sighs “Now I feel like a new family member just learning about an ‘extended family’ for the first time.” April laughs. “Well, that is one way to look at it.” She pauses briefly before going into an explanation. “The Bismarck unit was loosely based on some technology from another galaxy, another part of the Alliance.”

Saber looks up, interested “Really? I hadn’t heard that. I thought it was solely you and your scientist friends that came up with it.”

April shakes her head “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but no.” She looks to Saber. “Have you heard of a robot from the ‘Dark Nebula’ Galaxy?”

Saber searches his memory for a minute then nods slightly “The Altean Robot? What was its’ name?”

“GoLion.”April states.

“Seriously?” Saber asks, surprised. April nods. “I had no idea.” Saber states. Pausing, he thinks for a moment.

“ Isn’t that the robot that is five separate lion robots that combine or something?”

April nods again. “Yes, several years ago, I visited there with father when we were working with Galaxy Garrison on trying to come up with something to fight the Outrider technology more equally. The GoLion Team had just lost a pilot in a vicious attack, so as a Commander, he went to express condolences for our Branch of the Alliance, and while we were there, father was talking with their Princess and Court Strategist about the problems we were facing, and they allowed father and me to see the Robot and we got copies of how it roughly works as a combined and as separate units. But, even they were still learning about it. No one is totally sure where it came from.”

Saber smiles weakly “I bet that was a dream for you.”

April grinned. “Yeah. It gave me a lot of ideas. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Poring over all the schematics and data was my idea of fun.”

Fireball laughed. “I could see it now. You buried with a laptop and all these papers around you.”

Saber smiled at the image “I could see you... Pencil in your hair, surrounded by books, spread out on the floor of your father’s office. You had to be what…ten…or eleven then?”

April blushes slightly and grins. “Thirteen. I’ll have you know.” She answers defiantly.

“Oh, forgive me, Princess.” Saber teases, chuckling.

Fireball laughs out loud, getting a sharp look from April. “You two are impossible,” she adds, laughing.

“You made it all too easy, April.” Saber replies, then sighs sinking back into his chair. “I needed the laugh, thank you.” He says soberly.

April and Fireball nod, coming back to their current situation.

“You hungry, Saber?” April asks.

Saber shrugs. “I suppose I should eat something. I don’t really feel much like eating right now. I haven’t had anything since…” He sighs. “breakfast… this morning.” He looks away, fighting back tears and swallows hard.

“Saber…” April starts. “Um, why don’t I go get us something and bring it back? It’s almost 18:30 now.”

Saber nods “That’s a good idea.” He answers quietly, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I’ll stay here.” Fireball says to April. She nods.

“No, she may need help carrying all the food. Go with her. I’ll be here when you get back. Just come in, you don’t have to knock.” Saber answers as normally as he can.

Fireball looks to April, who looks to Saber and studies his face for a moment before nodding slightly and sighing. “Fine, this goes against my better judgment but, I’ll take his help. Just know that you won’t be rid of us as easily tonight.” She looks him in the eyes.

Saber nods, understanding the unspoken thoughts. “I’ll be good. I may lie down while you’re out. Just let me know when you come back.”

April nods, and heads towards the door, Fireball following behind. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.” She glances back once more, then exits, the door closing behind them.
 

Saber stands up and sighs, goes over and looks out the window, looking out over the base of Calvary Command. He looks up to the sky, imagining the ship as it was leaving just this morning…it seemed like a lifetime has passed since then…He turns and goes into his room and lays down on the bed. He closes his eyes and the images come flooding back…His father, Edward Rider. Senator and Delegate from English Federation Colonies. Gone in an instant. His mother, Mary Rider. Always with his father, even if she disagreed, she would put up a united front. Both seemed so full of life, even as they argued, almost pleaded with him to come home and settle down. Something he wasn’t sure he would be happy doing, but was willing to come up with a compromise, to please them. Sincia…the beautiful school teacher who was willing to wait for him. She understood that he only knew how to be a soldier. She had been the one to suggest trying to come up with a compromise. She was willing to let him be a soldier, just wanted him closer than he was now. When he brought up the teaching suggestion and an outpost command near his childhood home, she was happy to settle for that, knowing, he could be happier that way. He thought back to that morning…she had returned his journal, saying that it was only a few weeks at most, and she wanted him to read the things she had written in his absence. Tears formed now and flowed freely. He couldn’t hold back any longer. He let himself grieve over losing his family, his love. Those he held closest to him. He finally fell into a restless sleep.
 

April knocks lightly, then she opens the door to Saber’s quarters. Upon entering, she notices he’s not in the common area.

Fireball comes in behind her, setting the food down on the table. He turns on a lamp. “I suppose it didn’t occur to him to turn on a light.”

April glares at him. “Fireball, he’s not exactly in his right mind. He’s been through a lot in one day.” She looks around his apartment and notices his bedroom door is closed. “Perhaps he’s resting.” Should I look in, or do you want to do it?” She turns to Fireball. A knock comes from the door to the apartment, she turns and goes to the door, opening it.

Commander Eagle enters the noticeably darkened apartment. “How is he?”

April follows him to the main area. “As good as can be expected, I suppose. Better than I thought he’d be honestly.”

The Commander nods slightly and looks around. “Where is he?”

April nods towards the bedroom. “Sleeping, most likely. We just got back with some food. He hasn’t eaten since this morning, and that was almost thirteen hours ago now. We were just discussing who would go and wake him.”

The Commander nods. “I’ll go. Go ahead and get the food out and ready to eat. Perhaps it will make him more willing to get up.” He heads to the bedroom door and knocks “Saber?” After waiting for a minute, he enters the room. It’s dark, and he sees the shadow of a lone figure on the bed. “Saber?” the figure stirs a bit, still doesn’t answer. He goes over and touches his shoulder. “Richard?” He turns on the bedside lamp.

Immediately, the hands go up to cover his eyes “Ugh. Light.” He rubs his hands over his face and looks around bleary-eyed, sitting up quickly when he realizes the Commander is standing beside his bed. “Sir?”

The Commander looks over at him, trying to judge his current state of mind. “How are you, honestly, Saber?”

He shrugs. “I think all things considered, I’m coping well, Sir.” He looks down and sighs.

“The food is here. Why don’t you come out and eat something?” Commander Eagle nods towards the door. We can all eat something. Knowing April, she got enough food to feed a dozen people.”

Saber smiles weakly. “That sounds like her.” He gets up slowly. “I’ll be out in a moment, Sir.” He heads for the restroom and washes his face, assessing his self in the mirror. The eyes looking back are distant, his face looks tired, but he doesn’t look as bad as he feared. He splashes cold water on his face, then glancing once more in the mirror, his eyes are a bit more alert, he sighs as he heads to the living area.

April looks up as he enters, “Hey.”

“Hello.” He replies. “Smells good.” He looks at the spread of food and smiles slightly, looking towards the Commander. “Your assessment was correct, Sir.” He nods towards the food. “There’s enough here to feed at least a dozen.”

Fireball laughs. “I told her it was a bit much for just us. But she wouldn’t listen.”

April glares at him, then laughs. “I wanted choices. Besides, it can be reheated.” She fixes a plate, and then sits down, nodding for the others to do the same.

Saber fixes a plate, the others following his example. Then they are all sitting down at the table, eating. “Thank you, April, Fireball. This is good.” He eats quietly for a bit before looking around, eyes finally resting on Commander Eagle. “Have there been any new developments, Sir?”

He finishes chewing and shakes his head. “Nothing. It’s rather bizarre. It’s like nothing I have ever encountered. So far, we haven’t even been able to acquire any satellite images of either ship.”

Saber nods, processing the information. “Could it be something that perhaps someone from another part of the alliance has dealt with or seen before?”

Commander Eagle looks up. “That isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.” He concedes. “Perhaps this is bigger than we thought. Maybe we should ask some of our other branches.”

Saber looks directly at the commander “Sir, as much as I know everyone will say I would be too personally involved, I would like the chance to help find out who and or what is responsible for this…tragedy. I am not the only person…or soldier that has been impacted by this. I still feel that I can be objective in this instance, and will gladly remove myself if I feel I begin to compromise the integrity of the investigation.”

April looks up and watches Saber's expression as he’s speaking. She notices his resolve to push back his anger, in spite of everything.

Saber continues, “I know that you need a solid team to work this case, and I feel that our team is one of the strongest we have. I also know that even if you pulled me from the case, they” nodding to April and Fireball, “will still most likely continue to work the case, along with Colt. This would mean they would not be here much, and at a time I may need support, I feel working with them as a team can not only benefit myself, by keeping me occupied, but by keeping those of us together as we have been for these past few years, our team will work most efficiently.” He turns and looks to April and Fireball. “That is, if you still feel I can be of use as a member of the team.” He turns back to Commander Eagle “I would even recommend that the command of our team fall to either Ms. Eagle or Mr. Hikari”, nodding towards Fireball, “to keep everything more objective, Sir.” April and Fireball look towards him, obviously surprised at his last statement.

Commander Eagle looks carefully at Saber, then to the others before his eyes meet Saber’s again. Holding his gaze, he nods slightly. “I am not against such recommendations, Captain, however, the decision is not solely my own.” Saber nods. “I do not see how they could demote you, as you have a stellar record performance. This situation is not of your doing, so I do not feel it would wise, or smart of anyone to change your position.” He looks again to his daughter and to Fireball, “However, your recommendation that perhaps one of the others assume the command of your crew, may not be a bad one…for the time being.” He looks back to Saber, “Who would you honestly recommend, given the situation?”

Saber looks at his friends and sighs, glancing at each one in turn, he meets their eyes before turning back to the Commander. “Honestly, it would be a tough choice. Each have their pros and cons, just as it should be.” He nods to April “Ms. Eagle has more experience in the Command than Mr. Hikari, however, some people might think that because she is your daughter, she would have an ‘unfair advantage.’ I know that isn’t the case, and I would gladly defer to her, but she also isn’t as ‘battle trained’ as the rest of us.” He looks to Fireball, “Mr. Hikari, however has less time within the Command, but has a vast experience in battle and the ability to make split-second decisions under pressure.” The Commander nods. “As I said, each have their strengths, and weaknesses, we all do, Sir. The decision would not be easy.” He looks to April and Fireball “Answer honestly here. We are not on record, so you can speak freely.”

April looks between the three people sitting at the table with her, her gaze finally resting on Saber. “I would recommend Shinji.”

Fireball looked at her, shocked. “What?! Why?” He stammered.

Commander Eagle studied his daughters face for a moment. He noticed she was completely serious. “I would like to hear your rationale, April.”

She nods. “Simply put, because he is more battle ready. He has the ability to think faster on his feet than I do. Also, he is quicker to admit if he can’t handle something…unlike me. I hate to admit defeat or ask for help.” She smiles slightly.

Her father nods approvingly. “An honest, straightforward answer, April.” He turns to Fireball. “Do you disagree with her assessment, Mr. Hikari?”

Fireball looks between his companions at the table, eyes stopping first at April, then Saber, before meeting the Commander’s gaze and sighing. “I want to argue with her, but her points are valid.” Saber nods slightly. “I would admit that in some instances, I may highly consider asking for Saber’s opinion on things, and following his recommendations, as he still is the more experienced soldier. Even though I know that ultimately, I still would have to decide upon what action was taken, taking the brunt of the responsibility if something should go wrong.” Saber nods approvingly, and Fireball relaxes a bit, his eyes still meeting the Commander’s.

The Commander looks between Saber and Fireball, then to April and nods. “Well spoken and honest, Mr. Hikari. I will take all of this into serious consideration and I may bring it before the Command in the morning.” The others nod. “This means that each of you may have to make statements similar to what we have discussed tonight, but this time on record. Could you handle doing that?” He looks again to each of them, who nod as their eyes meet his. “Very well then, I will meet in the morning with Mr. Wilcox, then go to the Command Center and make these recommendations.”

“Where is Colt, anyways?” April asks.

“He has gone to see about Robin and Josh. I told him to bring them here, given we don’t know what type of situation we are dealing with. He will come here after our meeting.” The others nod and he continues, “If for some reason any of you have doubts of a change of heart, please let me know, even if it’s the middle of the night. I will be going directly to them in the morning to make these recommendations.”

His eyes meet Sabers, who stares back at him with a fierce resolve. “I will stand by the decision made by the Command, Sir. I just felt I had the right to express my thoughts to you, informally. However, if you believe we have a chance to continue to work together, I am willing to go before the Command and speak to them, just as I have here to all of you, tonight.”

Commander Eagle gets up and goes and places a hand on Saber’s shoulder. “Promise me one thing, Saber.”

Saber looks up at him “Sir?”

“If you need someone to talk to…”

Saber nods. “I will, Sir. You have my word.”

Commander Eagle nods and removes his hand. “Goodnight, all.” He heads out the door, leaving the trio alone.
 

April stands up and takes the dishes to the sink. Saber comes over. “I can get this, April.”

She shakes her head. “I’ve got it. Rest. You’re going to need as much as you can get.” She washes the dishes and sets them in the drain, then joins Saber and Fireball in the sitting area.

“Well, now what?” Fireball looks to the others.

Saber sighs and shakes his head and looks at his watch. “It’s getting late. We all need to rest before tomorrow. Why don’t you go and sleep. I’ll be fine. It’s nearly 23:00 now.”

April looks at him, shaking her head. “We’re not leaving, Saber.”

“I honestly don’t need a ‘baby-sitter’ I will be fine.” He interjects.

“Our orders were to stay with you. You are welcome to go to bed anytime you wish. Your couch folds out, right?” he nods. “Then we can sleep here.” April states.

Saber looks surprised for a minute, then smiles as April blushes, realizing what she’s said.

“I take it you’ve been together before?” Saber asks amused at the faces turning red before him.

“Ummm…well…” Fireball stammers.

Saber laughs. “I’m not entirely surprised. I have had suspicions. I think it’s fine. I will leave you two alone then and take solace in my room, where I can brood in peace.” He gives them an amused look as they look away, embarrassed. He heads to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He goes and changes for bed, he lays back, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.