Star Fleet: The Revenge of Makara

[Vanessa]

Hey Shane, that is so cool! I love it!For me, the exploration of the mental and psychological aspects of the Alliance, and how it controls it's "citizens" is the most fascinating part of Star Fleet. You've captured this very well with this episode.Excellent conundrum: Makara - Arkama.I like the way Arkama does not know whether he would choose Good over Evil, or vice-versa, if he had the chance.Keep it up!

[Shane]

Thanks for the kind comments.Yeah, TROM is becoming much more psychological than I expected it to be when I was plotting it, but It's always been there in Star Fleet really and it's enjoyable to explore that as well the tech and wam bam action. It wasn't just the fantastic ships and robots that were appealing to me as a kid I think, but also the hints at a backstory to the characters and all the multiple personality shenanigans and brainwashing.I think Star Fleet was one of the last of those kind of kids tv shows where they weren't out to sell toys (not in the uk anyway), but actually tell a story (and quite a dark one at times too). He-Man came out soon after and started the whole half hour toy commercial parading as a kids shows which is still the template to this very day, sadly.

[Vanessa]

I know exactly what you mean there!I loved shows like Mysterious cities of gold, Ulysses 31, Around the world with Willy Fog, etc... for exactly the same reason. They might have been foreign imports, but they all had good stories to tell, fun characters, an underlying plot and some good sing-a-long music to boot.Now the merchandising men rule the roost, and it's a shame.I never liked He-man.My one exception to this was Transformers, I loved the shows (the original ones, not the awful modern ones) and thought the toys were so cool. I always was a bit of a tomboy

[Shane]

Oh yes of course, I've got to give the original Transformers shows a free pass, especially the animated movie, which in my humble opinion is vastly more fun and coherent than the recent live action ones.The original die-cast toys were incredible too. Real feats of engineering. Then everything gradually got a bit cheap and nasty with lots of cheap plastic rubbish coming along that barely even transformed. I had one as a kid, which was a car and to transform it you just stood it up and there was a picture of the robot on the other side. One word - Lazy.  

[Shane]

Chapter 6: The Head and the HeartA discordant mix of pulsing electronic sounds and frantic chatter filled the air in the simulation area at the new X-fighter academy on Moonbase. A group of people in EDF flight suits had converged around a cockpit unit, aghast at the score that this particular pilot had amassed thus far on the Braincom training program. The record still belonged to one Shiro Hagen, but the mysterious female pilot, decked out in full flight gear which hid most of her features, was getting very close indeed to beating the legendary space pilot's high score. Her eyes were hidden underneath a visor but the lower part of her face gave her away as being around cadet age. She had a steely look of determination on her face though as she put her electronically simulated Braincom fighter into a series of death-defying manoeuvres. Lieutenants Hercules and Lee, who had been studying data on a view screen in another part of the area, decided to investigate the commotion. Hercules stared at the score in disbelief, ‘Damn! Looks like she’s gunning for Shiro’s record.’ Lee cheekily concurred, ‘Yeah, she’s already beaten yours.’ Hercules quickly pointed out in his own inimitable way that she had in fact also beaten Lee’s as well. Indeed, the pilot in question currently held all of the single fighter and L.A.A.S records apart from Shiro’s. Shiro himself, was in his quarters, freshening up after the training mission. He was deep in contemplation, so much had happened in the last couple of years. Fresh from graduation and straight into the adventure of a life time. He had shed so much of his innocence and altruism during these brutal campaigns and lost friends who were like family to him. He put his helmet on and stared at himself in the mirror; placing a hand over the eye that had been home to a symbiotic entity not too long ago. He had been lucky, the condition had been, physically at least, far from permanent unlike poor Captain Carter's, he thought. Shiro wondered whether there could have been a way to save his old mentor; to stop himself from having to shoot his beloved friend down on that asteroid. He played out what happened that day, time and time again in his head, but in his heart he knew a good man like Carter could never live with what he had done, what he had become. Shiro’s musings were abruptly interrupted by the sound of his wrist receiver's beeping tones. ‘This is Captain Hagen.’‘Hey Shiro, it’s Hercules, you need to come down to the simulation area now!’‘Hi Hercules, Is there a problem?’ Shiro said in a concerned tone.‘It’s an emergency all right, your high score is at risk!’Shiro sighed, relieved that the current situation was at least not life threatening, ‘Ok, Herc I’m on my way.’ Life threatening it may not be, but Shiro was certainly competitive enough to want to find out if his high score was in jeopardy. He did have an idea of who might be attempting to break his record, which put a glimmer of a smile on this brave young Captain‘s world weary face.Back at the simulation chamber the excitement level had risen further, the mysterious pilot had reached level 10 or level X as it was referred to by any pilots skilled enough to have ever reached it. It was an un-winnable scenario. A single Dai-X fighter craft versus an Imperial Battle Cruiser. A test to see how long a pilot could survive in an impossible to win confrontation.This pilot didn’t seemed to have been told that though and was managing to evade the main energy weapon mounted on the Kathaar cruiser’s domed shape nose by flying dangerously close to the superstructure of the giant vessel. Gasps were heard from the group at the sheer audacity of the pilot, however her laser blasts were doing no real damage to the ship. The Imperial Cruiser’s standard shielding was strong enough to repel the fire power of a single Dai-X fighter. The pilot’s score was growing ever closer to Shiro’s though with every second she remained in the simulation. 2800 - 2810 - 2820, The score kept increasing. 20 more seconds and the high score would be hers she thought. At that moment Captain Hagen walked in and stood just far enough away from the group to watch, but not be noticed. 2880 - 2890 - 2900, Hercules looked around, wondering where Shiro had got to, and on seeing Shiro exclaimed, ‘Someone’s gunning for you Shiro!’ At the mention of the word Shiro the pilot’s demeanour changed. Away went her steely gaze, and she looked away from her head’s up display for a fraction of a second to steal a glimpse of her hero. Fractions of a second are everything in space combat, and when her gaze returned to the simulation she found herself diving uncontrollably into the side of the battle cruiser, unable to pull up her fighter exploded on impact. She looked at the score, 2970. Just a few more seconds and the record and Shiro’s respect would have been hers she thought. She slumped back in her cockpit deflated, despite the cheers and congratulations from her fellow space pilots. She was still only a cadet, but she could fly better than almost anyone in Star Fleet. What really annoyed her was that she had let her emotions get in the way of her flying. Her feelings for Shiro were strong, both as a mentor and as a person. She so wanted him to see her in a positive light. The crowd walked away, and seeing Shiro make his way to the cockpit, Lee and Hercules chose to make their exit also, but not before exchanging a knowing look between them. Shiro walked over to the cockpit to greet the dejected pilot,‘I know, I know, I lost concentration, I flew with my heart not my head. Guess I look kinda silly huh?’ said the young pilot as she lifted her visor to reveal her beautiful features.‘You know what you did wrong, which is the main thing. You have so much potential. You fly with your heart, but your head must be clear in the heat of battle.’‘Says the man who flew the Dai-X into the heart of a battle cruiser’ she said with a respectful smile.Shiro returned the smile, what could he say? He had been just like this young 19 year-old, brave, but sometimes reckless. He had fought with his heart at times, true, but experience had shown him the benefit of restraint. Shiro pulled out an object from his pocket and gestured the young pilot to open her hand. Her heart beat increased, this was the man she respected, adored. ‘You’ve earned this... Space Pilot Emma Steel.’ Shiro said, placing the object into the promoted pilot’s hand, ‘We’ll iron out the kinks as we go, but Star Fleet command needs good pilots like you.’ Emma couldn’t believe the words she had just heard and a huge shocked smile formed on her face as she looked into her open hand which revealed an EDF fighter pilot’s eagle pin. She was now a Space Pilot and an elite one at that as her pin denoted that she was X-Fighter classed. ‘Thank you Shir...’ she gushed, before stopping to compose herself and then giving her superior the appropriate salute, restarted her sentence, ‘Thank you Captain Hagen. I won’t let you down sir.’ she said, trying her best not to break out into fits of joy. One of her dreams had just come true, she would now have to work on the other one, she thought.Before either of them could say another word, Shiro’s receiver started to bleep out a melodic sequence of tones indicating that this was an important message from Commander Crow. Emma watched Shiro’s startled face and was shocked, she’d never seen her mentor look this way before. Shiro had been given some shocking news by the Moonbase Commander, The F01 had made contact with his father. They would be going back to the accursed Thalian Zone.

[Vanessa]

Good work I say!Lovin' it Lovin' it No story is complete without a bit of love interest Keep it up Shane.

[Shane]

Chapter 7: A Mission from BeyondThe briefing room on Moonbase was filling up with space pilots and technicians from all over the Lunar fortress. Moments ago Commander Crow had put the base on full alert and ordered an emergency meeting in the briefing room with his command staff and the X-Fighter squadron members stationed there. The air was filled with uncertainty as the pilots chatted nervously with each other. Most of these were veterans; survivors of the F01 campaign. Their ranks were made up of the best Star Fleet had to offer from all over the solar system. They were the elite!A few had already seen combat in the untested X-Fighters, flying them into battle against an Imperial force and coming up trumps despite their hasty deployment. However stunning their initial success was, this was soon overshadowed as specific teething problems started to arise during the testing phase. Captain Hagen, his Lieutenants and several of the pilots here today had been given the job of putting these fighters through stringent tests before they were to be used in combat again. There was so much about Thalian technology they still had to explore. The power core of each X-Fighter had been based on the Imperial fighter model, replicated as much as possible through earth technology. It however required a physical piece of Thalian technology to kick-start the core and so several captured Imperial fighters were cannibalized for the specific part needed to complete the core. Of course the rest is history.The tests, which were an unmitigated disaster, nearly costing the life of one pilot, led to Professor Hagen's bill to scrap the use of physical Thalian technology in machines of solar origin. It was passed immediately by General Kyle, no congress or committee was needed. 'Subaru Hagen has my utmost trust, when he speaks, you listen!' was General Kyle's response to anyone who would see fit to complain about a bill being passed without outside consultation. The political system certainly wasn't what it once was. The aftermath of Space War III had seen great changes, but in the wake of the Thalian Space Wars, the solar system now operated under marshal rule. It was certainly not ideal, but the Earth had been decimated in the final battle with the Imperial Master and survival meant strong leadership, luckily they had General Kyle. The concerned and excited X-Fighter pilots were here today through a chain of events one of which was another similarly short meeting between General Kyle and Professor Hagen. General Kyle’s response to detractors would be amended from this day on, for when Subaru Hagen spoke, you listened! And If the subject in question was the F01, you listened very carefully indeed!Commander Crow walked into the briefing room from an adjoining corridor flanked by Captain Hagen and his lieutenants. They all had grim expressions on their faces as if they’d just been given an incredible burden to carry. And a great burden they had indeed been given which they were about to share with the brave men and women assembled here today. Commander Crow started the briefing swiftly, time was of the essence after all. As the Moonbase Commander’s words spilled out, the atmosphere in the briefing room grew cold. A wave of fear washed over the open mouthed audience and by the end of his short, but informative briefing they too shared the grim look of their Commander. It was a terrible burden to bear, that much was certain. Well, it’s not everyday that you’re told that the universe will cease to exist if you fail in your mission.The underground hanger which was home to X-Bomber was alive with activity as scaffolding and cranes were being removed in preparation for the launch of Star Fleet’s technological marvel. Onboard, the crew was busy with final system checks trying to keep the enormity of their task at the back of their minds. Commander Crow had assigned The X-Bomber and a wing of X-Fighters a dangerous mission inside the dreaded Thalian Zone. The stakes were high, the highest! The fate of the universe was in these pilots hands. The F01’s message to Professor Hagen had been relayed to General Kyle and passed onto Commander Crow. Although slightly cryptic in detail, as only the F01 can be, the upshot from a military standpoint was that there was a universal extinction level event about to occur on a lost world deep within the Thalian Zone. How they were going to reach the Thalian Zone in time and then locate this unknown world in that great dark expanse of space was still not known, although many believed that Professor Hagen would be able to shed some light on this when they meet up with him at the rendezvous point midway between the Earth and the Moon.The crew sat at their various stations and each partook in his own particular pre-flight ritual. Lee chomped on a cookie, brushing the crumbs off his blue coat. ‘He wasn’t going to his doom on an empty stomach.’ he thought to himself. Hercules had his usual bickering contest with one of PPA’s many drones. In his anger he knocked this particular one out of the air onto the ground, but another one soon appeared to continue its perfectly programmed sermon. ‘I’m gonna reprogram that damn know-it-all one day!’ thought Hercules, although if he was truly honest, there was a part of him that enjoyed his banter with the Perfectly Programmed Android. Shiro was just staring at his view screen thinking about friends, old and new. ‘We haven’t come this far and sacrificed so much to have it all taken away from us now.’ he determined.In another nearby hanger the wing of X-Fighters were taking off one by one. Space Pilot Emma Steel was next in the fighter queue. She couldn’t quite believe what was happening to her. One minute a cadet, the next a space pilot on a mission to save the universe, fighting side by side with the legendary crew of X-Bomber and her adored mentor Captain Shiro Hagen. Her thoughts soon returned to the here and now though, as the tone in her headset informed of impending automatic launch. A few seconds later her fighter had sped out of the hanger and into space, forming up with the rest of the wing.A massive hatch opened in the lunar landscape revealing a slowly emerging X-Bomber. It hovered above the giant open doors and angling its vertical thrusters, banked right to line itself up with the fighter wing that was in formation ahead of its position. X-Bomber’s main Thrusters suddenly lit up and sent the great vessel on a path towards the fighter group. A quick rendezvous with Professor Hagen’s shuttle and then next stop - Thalian Zone.

[Crash]

Loving the style. It's just great.and another thing I like is how well it syncs with Andy's Genesis.

[Shane]

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the comments.Yeah, I made a point of making sure this chapter addressed certain things that appeared in Andy's story. Really liking how all the projects link together now.looking forward to being able to introduce your Wing Blade in the sequel to TROM.

[Crash]

I've gotta say, I'm not one for reading but this is just space-opera brilliance in just the right sized blocks.It's very true to the show and it's also bringing it inline with peoples' expectation today of the best, having seen Babylon 5, the new Galactica and Macross and Gundam.Infact having it released in installments endears it to me even more.