The Price of Peace von chelle76 ================================================================================ Kapitel 23: To the Rescue ------------------------- I DO NOT own Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs or Sei Jushi Bismarck, they are owned by their respective animation companies. The Price of Peace Chapter 22: To the Rescue A few days later they have returned home, and they are down having breakfast when Elaine comes in and sits with them. "Lady Amanda, are you feeling better than you were before you left?" she asks studying her closely. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sleeping a little better. I'm not having the nightmares like I had been. I'm hoping that's a new trend," Amanda replies. Elaine nods, "I'm glad to hear that. I was going to suggest that you see a doctor if you were still not sleeping well." "I talked with Dr. Izumi while I was at Calvary Command, at Saber's insistence. He said he was hesitant to give me anything," she replies between bites. "Well, I'm glad you seem to be feeling a bit better. Maybe you were at the end of a virus or something. You seem to even be eating better than before you left," Elaine replies. "Well, it was an interesting trip, to say the least," Saber says. "Oh? How so?" Elaine asks. "Well, we decided on the crew for the new ship, and Amanda found a brother that she thought had died, among other things," Saber replies. "A brother?" Elaine repeats not sure if she's heard correctly. Amanda nods, "Yes. When I was born, I had a brother that disappeared from the grief of our mother dying while having me. Evidently, a couple found him nearly dead, and took him in as their own. Through the years, they searched for his birth parents, but it wasn't until recently when his father was on his deathbed that he discovered the likely identity of his birth parents. He came searching shortly after everything was burnt up and had given up, until he saw me. He said that I looked like our mother," Amanda explains. "But how can you be sure he's telling the truth? He could be after your inheritance," Elaine asks. "We had a DNA test done. It confirmed that we are brother and sister. He also said he doesn't want any money. That his family left him well off." Elaine nods, and comes over and hugs her neck, "Then I'm happy for you." Amanda hugs her back and smiles, "I also met my sister-in-law." Saber laughs, "That was a little awkward." "No kidding!" Amanda replies. "Why?" Elaine asks. "She was almost my sister-in-law before," Amanda replies. Elaine stops and ponders the statement for a moment then a look of realization comes across her face. "Your former fiance's sister?" she asks in shock. Amanda nods. "Oh, and we have a little nephew named Tyler. He's really cute," Amanda says. "A little quiet though," Saber adds. "Well, maybe in a few years he'll have a little cousin to play with," Elaine says causing Saber and Amanda to tense up for a moment. Elaine notices and studies them carefully for several minutes, noting that neither one will look directly at her. "Lady Amanda, are...you?" she asks a smile growing on her face. Saber chuckles, "I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out, Elaine." Elaine comes back over and hugs both of them, "How long?" "Almost three months now. We didn't know until about a week ago. I didn't really feel sick like Robin did, so the possibility had never occurred to me," Amanda replies. "Well, I've heard that dreams can be rather strange when you're pregnant, so perhaps that's why you've been having the dreams," Elaine says as she starts clearing the dishes. "Do the others know?" Saber shakes his head. "You are the only one besides us and Dr. Izumi. I think we'll wait a couple more weeks before telling the others," he says. "So you're waiting until you're through the first trimester then?" Elaine asks. Amanda nods. "We figure that everyone has enough going on right now, so it'll give us some time to adjust to the news before letting them in on it," she says. Elaine nods, "I understand. I suppose it was a bit of a surprise for the two of you," she says looking between the couple. "That's a bit of an understatement," Saber says with a chuckle. "I'm sure our faces were priceless when Dr. Izumi told us," Amanda adds. Several days pass by and Saber and Amanda are outside enjoying the weather when his com-link goes off. "Go ahead, commander," Saber says. "The Bismarck is on it's way to get you and Amanda. The Tirpitz was ambushed by a unit similar to the one you fought when you went after Mr. McCully. They have taken heavy damage and put out a distress call. Be ready to leave in about half an hour. Commander Eagle out." The connection terminates before Saber can reply. Saber looks to Amanda, "I don't think you should go, Amanda. I don't want to risk you or our child," Saber says firmly. "Fine, but then you can't go either. You need me to be your eyes, Saber. Besides, what would you tell them?" Amanda replies defiantly. Saber starts to say something a couple of times and stops himself. Finally, he sighs in resignation, "I don't want to start an argument with you, Amanda. Just promise me that you'll be careful," he says quietly. Amanda nods, "You should too, Saber. I don't want to raise this child without you." "Fair enough. Let's try and get this done as quickly as possible. If things start to get too bad, as soon as we can get the crew of the Tirpitz to safety, we'll need to talk to Commander Eagle and tell him that we can no longer fight with the Bismarck and the reason why," Saber replies. Amanda nods, "Agreed. Let's go." They go and change into their uniforms and get to the landing area just as the ship is landing. The ramp lowers and they board, taking off quickly. "So, what happened?" Saber asks as he sits down in the saddle unit and Amanda comes up behind him. "Earlier this morning the crew of the Tirpitz went out to check on a distress call from a convoy that was headed from Yuma to Tranquility. Upon arriving at the location the call came from, they found the ships abandoned and they were ambushed. They managed to hold off several smaller fighters and renegade units, but then they were cornered by two larger ones. They have crashed somewhere on Tranquility. The sporadic communication we get indicates that at least a couple of them are injured, and the ship is cornered and unable to fight off the attackers. We should be arriving to the location within the next fifteen minutes," April says bringing them up to speed. Saber nods, "Amanda, do you see any sign of fighters or anything close?" Amanda scans the screens, "There are some fighters a good ways from us, but they are closing in. I see the beacon signal from the Tirpitz. It's down and to our left at about seven o'clock. The fighters are closing in from about one and two o'clock. I think we could get to the Tirpitz before the fighters get to us." Fireball starts turning the ship in the direction of the Tirpitz when they are suddenly hit by something, tossing Amanda onto the floor. "Amanda!" Saber says. "I'm fine," she replies quickly as she gets up and goes back by Saber. "What the Hell hit us?" she asks scanning her screens. I don't see anything that close." "I think it came from about nine o'clock," Colt replies. "But there's nothing on my screens," Amanda says. "Fireball, turn away from the Tirpitz. We need to know what we're up against before we get too close to them and risk making their situation worse," Saber says trying to remain focused. "I'm going to try and get someone from the Tirpitz on the com-link. This is Captain Rider from the Bismarck, Erika, Yuri, Gabrielle, Alex, any of you come in. We need to know your status," he says and waits for a reply. After a minute or so Alex's voice comes in, "We're here. I'm injured, but not badly, Yuri is the worst. We have separated to try and hide out until help arrives. Erika I think had a bad hit to the head as well. I've not heard from her or Gabby, sir." "Okay, we will do what we can to get to all of you as soon as possible," Saber replies and closes the connection before turning to Colt. "Colt, can you get a fix on what hit us?" "Not yet," he replies. "I think I just did, and it's not good," Amanda replies, hitting a few buttons on the console to pull up a visual. "Look at that." "Two huge renegade units," Colt grumbles. "Similar to the one Sean had, if I'm not mistaken," Amanda replies. "Saber, should we go to Challenge Phase two?" Fireball asks. "I think it's our best chance. Let's do it., he replies with a nod. "Right," Fireball replies and activates Challenge Phase one, then two. "Amanda, do you have a fix for me?" Colt asks. "Sending it now, Cowboy," she replies hitting a few buttons. "Got it!" He says and they engage the closest unit. He manages to blast it, causing it to crash near the Tirpitz. It moves back towards them, blade engaged. "April switch to sword, now!" Colt yells. "On it," she replies as she hits a few buttons and tossing the control to Saber's unit. Saber takes the controls. "It's coming almost strait at us. Take it down, then up, Saber," Amanda says guiding him. The swords hit, pushing both units back from the force. Amanda struggles to remain in the unit behind Saber. "Okay, he's coming back at about eight o'clock." Saber shifts and the blade hits the ship, causing it to crash into the wreckage of the Tirpitz. "It looks like it's down," Amanda says watching the screen over his shoulder. "Hey, Alex said that the crew is off the ship, right?" "Yes. Why?" Saber asks. "April, can we blow up the ship remotely?" Amanda asks. "Are you insane?" Fireball asks. "Probably, but I don't want to die today and that other unit is closing in fast. There's no way we can take two of those things on at once!" Amanda replies. "We just got the ship. We can't just blow it up," Colt says in protest. "She's right. It's our best shot," April says. "Give me a minute. I think I can override the system and make it self-destruct." "We need to warn the crew," Fireball says. "We can't. We have to trust that they're far enough away from it by now. Otherwise we risk the enemy unit finding out our plan," Saber says solemnly. "Here it comes again," Amanda says. "I'll knock it back down, toss control to me, April." Colt says. "On it," she says hitting buttons rapidly. "Go." Colt fires and knocks the renegade unit back to the ground. "Here we go. Five seconds," April says as the computer counts down, then a series of explosions that knock the Bismarck back from the shock wave, destroying the Tirpitz and the first unit with it. Fireball manages to steady them just before the second unit fires at them. "Damn it!" Colt mutters, "Can't we catch a break?" "One o'clock, Cowboy," Amanda says as Fireball turns the ship towards the second renegade unit. It fires again and the shields go up, deflecting the beam. "About time that kicked in," Fireball says. "I was busy trying to destroy the other ship, Fireball," April retorts. "Here it comes. It's got a double bladed weapon." "Saber, you're in control. Fireball, duck us to the left and then back up, and then Saber, you try and do like you did with Sean. The angle should be almost identical," April says. "Right," they both reply and do as they're told. "Amanda, tell me when to cut up," Saber says quietly. "Wait for it...ready...NOW!" Saber pulls up and slices the unit in half. It falls to the ground, but the pilot ejects. "We're gonna have to go and find him," Colt says. "Yeah, as well as try and find the Tirpitz crew members," April says. "Let's go out in our vehicles. Amanda and I can take Steed and send you a signal if we find any of the crew. We'll let you know if we find that pilot as well. Colt, Fireball, you should both head out too. April, see if you can get some back up from Calvary Command. We have some fighters that could come to our aid if more renegade fighters show up," Saber says taking charge. "Got it," They all reply and head out, leaving April to man the Bismarck. The hunt goes on for nearly an hour before Colt picks up a signal. He starts following it and eventually he finds Gabby. She is bleeding heavily from her head and semi conscious. "Hey, I got one of 'em. I think it's Weber. She's hurt pretty bad. I'm heading in with her," Colt says to April. "Roger that, Colt. I see you approaching," April replies. Fireball starts following some tracks in the dirt. Leading to a small bit of underbrush, he readies his blaster as he approaches. A shot is fired at him and he dodges, barely getting out of the way in time. He squats down behind some rocks and shrubs, "This is Shinji Hikari of the Star Sheriffs, come out with your hands up." Slowly the other person tosses their weapon towards him and stands up. Their head is bleeding and they almost immediately hit the ground after standing. It's then that Fireball spots the other person on the ground unconscious. He hits his com-link. "April I need some assistance. I've got two more here. Neither one is in good condition. I think I've got Mackenzie and Kawamura. I need Colt to come and help me transport them." "He's on his way, Fireball. I've not heard from Saber or Amanda and there's still one more person unaccounted for aside from that renegade pilot." "My concern is to not get myself or the other's killed right now. Saber and Amanda are on their own for the moment." "They'll be fine. They will defend each other if it comes down to it," Colt retorts. "I'm coming for ya, Fireball." "Do you see anything, Amanda?" Saber asks as they move carefully through some woods. "Nothing yet," she replies. "It's too quiet. Be on alert," Saber says. They continue a while longer when suddenly Steed is hit by something causing him to rear up and tossing both Saber and Amanda off. "Amanda?" Saber says concern in his voice. His head hits the ground stunning him a bit. "Ow. That hurt," she mumbles as she tries to get to where Saber landed. "Are you all right?" she asks quietly, looking around for any sign of what hit them, her blaster ready in her hand. "My head hurts, I think I hit it on a root or something, but I should be all right. We need to find cover." he replies quietly as he tries to look for who hit them. "There's a grouping of trees that way. Let's head for it," Amanda replies quietly. She takes his hand and they start making their way towards the trees. Suddenly, another shot is fired, narrowly missing her, but hitting a tree next to them, causing a large branch to fall. Saber trips and hits his head again, knocking him unconscious. Amanda starts looking for refuge, dragging him by the arms as best she can. She turns around to search for her pursuer only to see the pilot in front of her, his blaster pointed at her. "You could have killed me already. Why didn't you?" she asks defiantly. The pilot lowers his blaster and pulls out a sword. "I'd rather finish you off up close. Anyone with Calvary Command deserves to die for so ruthlessly prosecuting another race that is just trying to survive. I see you are wearing a sword, pull it and fight or surrender," he says as he lifts his visor and gets into a fighting stance. Amanda gasps as his face is revealed, "Derrick?" she sayssurprised. "How do you know me?" he says suspiciously, ready to charge. Amanda raises her visor and his eyes widen in shock. "Amanda? What..How?" he stammers in shock then his features harden into anger, his eyes narrowing. "Why are you fighting for the Outriders? They are trying to wipe out all of the human race, so we have to fight back," Amanda asks. "You've been lied to, Amanda. I don't know what you're doing here or how you ended up as a soldier, but surrender to me and I won't kill you. Nor will I allow the Outriders to kill you. I can't say the same for your friend there," he says nodding to Saber. "If that is who I think it is, killing him would really get me accolades with Jesse Blue. Of course if I bring him in alive, they could torture him first and then kill him. He's already unconscious, so he shouldn't be a problem. Now, surrender, Amanda. I don't want to have to fight you, but I will." He readies to fight again and she gets into a defensive stance. "No harm will come to him, not unless you kill me first, Derrick," Amanda says defiantly, standing between Saber and Derrick, her sword ready. Derrick sighs, "You've sealed your fate Amanda, you're no swordsman," he charges her and she immediately parries, pushing him away from Saber. They fight evenly for some time, ever so slowly she inches him further from where Saber is lying on the ground. This goes on nearly a half hour and they both are tiring. "You've been trained well. Most people can't fight me this long. I applaud your efforts," Derrick says as he gains the upper hand. Amanda continues to back away from Saber, but can tell she's losing ground, "As I said, to get Saber, you have to kill me first. He's taught me well." She manages to land a hit, cutting his ribs and making him wince. "Saber huh? You talk as if you know him personally," He says as he cuts her arm. "He is my husband, Derrick., she replies as he cuts her and she winces in pain and almost drops the sword, but manages to swap hands and sort of block the attack. She is tiring fast but refuses to give in. He laughs as he charges again and slices her just under her breast. She nearly collapses from the pain, but manages to drop to her knees refusing to give up she readies for his next attack, hoping to drop and roll away from him, causing him fall down in the process. He becomes over confident and hears someone call her name causing him to trip as lunges for her, sword aimed at her chest. Colt and Fireball Arrive just in time to see her drop, "Amanda!" Colt manages to yell, causing Derrick to falter, she moves slightly and the sword misses her chest and cuts her upper arm. She instinctively points her sword towards him and pushes it into him, piercing his stomach. He drops to the ground and drops his sword and collapses on the ground gasping for air as he bleeds from his wound. Amanda near exhaustion manages to get up and taking her sword, pierces him from the back, killing him. Then collapses on the ground beside him. Colt and Fireball freeze in shock, then realizing what has happened, they rush over to Amanda and help her up. "Get Saber," she says weakly. "Over there," she points to where he is near the trees. Fireball nods and heads over to Saber, "Saber!" He stirs a bit, "Fireball? Where's Amanda?" Saber says trying to sit up. Fireball helps him sit up, "She's hurt, but I think she'll be okay. She's been cut a few times by the pilot's sword." "The pilot?" Saber asks. "She killed him," Fireball states simply. "She had no choice, Saber." Saber nods slightly and sighs, "I think I'm all right, other than a bad headache. Please help me get to her," Saber says quietly. "If you think you can manage," he replies and offers him a hand up and Saber takes it, managing to stand with help. They come over to where Colt and Amanda are. Amanda's laying on the ground, eyes closed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Saber gets down beside her and reaches over and brushes her cheek gently, "Amanda?" he asks quietly. Her eyes fly open and immediately she regrets it, she turns away and vomits from the pain. "We need to get her to the ship fast," Colt says as he carefully picks her up and takes her to his bronco buster. "Saber, ride with Fireball, Steed will follow," Saber nods and they load up and return to the ship. They get Amanda to the sick bay and are immediately met by medics from Calvary Command. "When did they get here?" Saber asks as he follows Colt. "They arrived while we were out," Colt replies. "They are checking on the other crew. Erika found us and is being checked out as well." The medics take Amanda and start checking her. Saber stays beside her and she finally looks at him. "I'm sorry," Amanda says quietly. "I may have hurt..." Saber places a finger to her lips and shakes his head, "Don't. Don't think about that right now," he replies quietly. "I want you to be okay. Judging from where you're cut, the baby could be all right, I think." The medic working on her stops and looks between them. "Ma'am, you're pregnant?" he asks quietly. Amanda nods slightly. "Twelve weeks, sir," she replies barely audible. The medic turns to one of the other medics and nods for them to come over. "We need to move her to another area. We can't use just anything on her," the first one tells his superior. "Why?" the other medic asks. "She's twelve weeks pregnant, ma'am," the other medic replies in a hushed voice. "No one else knows yet," Saber says quietly. The female medic nods, "Let's get her into the break room. We can work on her and talk better there." The two medics carefully move her to another bed and roll it into the break room, shoving the table aside. They close the door after they have entered the room, Saber staying close. The male medic goes to stop him. "I'm sorry sir. You need to remain outside." "She's my wife, and carrying my child. Like Hell I'm waiting out here, sir," Saber replies pushing his way in. Amanda looks up when he enters, fear and shock on her face. Saber comes over and kisses her forehead, "No matter what happens, Love. We will get through this, okay?" he says trying to calm her. "Saber, the pilot..." Amanda starts. "He's dead," he says quietly. Amanda closes her eyes fighting back tears, "I...I knew him...he was human," she says barely a whisper as tears start falling. "I've now killed twice. I've known both of them," she says quietly. "Ma'am, please try and calm down. I think your baby is okay, but I need to get you stitched up so we can have a better look," the female medic says soothingly. Amanda takes a deep breath and resists the urge to vomit again. She sees the concern on Saber's face and closes her eyes, trying to calm herself. She manages to slow her breathing and he gently runs his fingers through her hair. A little bit later, the female medic sighs, "Okay, we have you stitched up. You are going to have to move carefully. Lucky for you the cuts are on one side. Now, let's see if I can hear your little one's heartbeat." She takes a stethoscope and places it on Amanda's abdomen, listening carefully. After a few minutes, she nods slightly. "The heartbeat sounds like it's within normal limits. But once we are back at Calvary Command, you are to have a more thorough examination. You said no one else knows that you're pregnant?" "Just Dr. Izumi. No one else. We were waiting a few more weeks to tell them. We wanted her to be out of the first trimester," Saber replies. The female medic nods, "Technically neither of you should have gone into that fight. Not under the circumstances you were under and are now under." She looks to Saber, "I know very well who you are, Captain, and I know that the only reason she went was because you did." She looks to Amanda, "Although from what I've heard, it wasn't worth arguing with her," she says with a smile. Colt watches from across the room as Saber, Amanda, and the medic are talking. He sees the one medic signal for his superior. They talk, then suddenly they put Amanda on a board and move her into the break room, grabbing a field medic kit on the way. He watches as Saber tries to follow, then argues with the male medic before forcing his way into the break room. He chuckles to himself at the thought of someone trying to restrain Saber to keep him out. Fireball comes over to him. "Why'd they take her in the other room?" he asks concerned. Colt shrugs, "I don't know. They were talking, Saber said something, they asked some questions I think and then got the head medic and then they were moving her. I don't know what's going on." "Maybe she was hurt worse than they thought," Fireball says. "Or maybe it's hitting her that she killed a second person," Colt replies. "And they don't want her scaring the others." "It was in self-defense, Colt. He was going to kill her, and probably Saber too," Fireball says. Colt nods, "I didn't say she was wrong for killing him,. She was totally in the right. But she took killing McCully pretty hard. So she may take this one pretty badly too. She looked pretty upset. And Saber looked pretty worried." "We're about to land, boys. So you'd better get seated. You should go and tell the others first. I'm headed back to the control area." April says and she heads off to the control room. Colt and Fireball go and alert the others, helping to strap down the wounded and then knocking on the break room door and shouting a warning before joining April in the control room. "So how's Amanda and Saber? I didn't see either one of them in the med bay. Are they laying down?" April asks as the other two sit down. "I think something is up with Amanda. Saber looked really worried, and they took over the break room to work on her. He followed the two medics into the room. I've not seen him or spoke to him since before that," Colt replies. "I know Fireball said she was cut in a couple of places," April states. "She's also upset that she had to kill that pilot," Colt says. "What?" April asks as she lands the ship. The ramp opening up. "She tried to talk him out of fighting, but he came after her, nearly killing her before she managed to get him. I was ready to shoot when she stabbed him and he fell. I wasn't close enough before that," Colt replies. "There's going to be a lot to tell Commander Eagle after everyone is stable." April lowers the ramp and several medical personnel board the ship and start tending the wounded, relieving the ones that had been on board the ship. She sees them place Amanda on a gurney and take her out first, Saber and a couple of other medics with her. She notices the worried look on his face and sees her father come up to him and they talk as he follows them. Commander Eagles features show shock, then turn serious and he follows Saber without another word. "That's not good. Father just went with Saber. Whatever Saber said to him got his attention. Let's help get the others into the sick bay, then try and find my father. Maybe then we can find out what's going on," April states. Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)