Twins and Jesse Blue
Patr 1.
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© Copyright 1999 Stellar Spark Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs FanFic page by Stellar Spark https://www.angelfire.com/id/stellar Email: Stellar Spark (stellar@mailcity.com)
Twins and Jesse Blue. Part 1. |
Earth flagship was one of the most comfortable ships in the space-navy. There were always some empty 1st class cabins for the command staff, and this time, April and Stellar were allowed to occupy one of those cabins.
The first day was an easy one. April performed a little a round-ship tour for her sister. Since it wasn’t just enough for her to explain things to her sister, she decided to show them in action as well. Besides, they were getting in the way of regular crew. Unfortunately, their tour ended up somewhat in surprise for them when they accidently opened an airlock in the hangar. Of course, all the air was sucked out immediately along with every light unbolted objects. Luckily, there was no one there at that time to cause some real damage. April reduced the pressure in the hangar and proposed to take a break and get something to eat.
It wasn’t time yet for the lunch break to start, so the cafeteria was still closed. Only one thing left to do - go down to the low deck, and then to the spatial cargo bay, where Remrod was docked, and eat what was left in the fridge.
After their lunch, the girls went to find Saber Rider and the others. As April figured, they were in the central command post. Saber was talking with Commander Eagle while Colt took place at the shooting console. As for Fireball, he stood aside of all of them, meditatively observing the main panoramic screen.
The twins walked into the chamber without making a sound. At first, they listened to what the commanders were talking about (the subject wasn’t interesting to the girls, maybe at some other time, April would have found it interesting, but for now, she wanted to catch up with her childhood that she really never had by being childish). The next one who caught their attention was Colt, who was destroying all nearby asteroids (even in thousand kilometers away). It seemed like he was completely absorbed into his shooting, but it was quite obvious that his mind was else where.
The girls whispered among themselves behind his back. April then pushed lightly her sister to step forward. Stellar walked closer to the seat occupied by the cowboy, and for one moment she stood there hesitating. She then bend down so low that her cheek was almost touching his, and asked him something in a creamy voice.
As it was well known, Colt was the most famous philanderer in the Cavalry Command, and if it had not been for April controlling the situation, Colt would have already gotten acquainted with her sister a long while ago. Now Stellar herself had come to him, talking to him in a gentile tone. He could feel her warm breath drifting down to his face. What a blissout - she had pointed it out to him! Colt babbled something in response, not sure that he himself understood what he had said, but it looked like the girl understood him. Stellar blinked at him with her long black lashes before she walked back to her sister. Starting from that moment, Colt missed everything - he was too agitated by the presence of this splendid girl Stellar.
Now it was Fireball’s turn. By their daring scheme, April was to walk up to him. When she stood next to him right at that moment, Stellar would call her. Of course, April would then sharply turn around to see her sister while her long hair would stream all around her and tip wondering Fireball, who then would be brought back to live as she was on her way out.
Everything went according to the plan. April almost got to the absent-minded Fireball as Stellar was about to open her mouth, but… then the alarm started. The command post was filled with red light. April frizzed since she was not really sure what she was supposed to do on different ship during an emergency situation. At the same time, Fireball, who still had not seen the girl, started to move when he suddenly collided into April. As a result, they both fell down the floor, with him on top of her. It was then when Fireball finally noticed her, but was startled at her closeness to him. An akward moment of silence passed between them.
"Sorry about that... I didn't see you." he managed to say when he quickly got up from her.
A second later, he put her back on her two feet, and pulled her with him toward the exit. In the lift, the other Star Sheriffs were already there waiting for them.
"What should I do?" Stellar asked her running sister.
"Stay here," she heard the response behind the closing lift doors.
It was a long way down. Fireball was still holding April’s hand. She freed herself by a smooth wrist turn. The quiet sounds of elevator mechanisms were making some noise when Saber Rider began to speak up.
"It was a wrong time for jokes, April…" he started annoyingly.
She pushed him with an elbow to the wall, hinting him to be quiet. It was obvious now that he had been watching the twins from the corner of his eye.
"What are you taking about?" April asked him innocently.
Saber Rider didn’t answered - her elbow was still pushing him, not letting him to breathe properly. So, the rest of the way down, silence took over.
Finally the whole Star Sheriffs team was on board of Remrod. Seconds later, they put on their battle armor and were ready for action. Steel-clad hangar doors slowly slid aside, letting the ship out. Now nothing could stop them!
The smartest Outriders prefered to get out from its way as soon as they saw the famous human battleship appeared while others attacked it. Some of the missiles hit Remrod, while at the same time, the enemy lost three ships. Of course, the Earth fleet didn't play the last part in this. The human battle cruisers were dealing with large Outrider ships while Remrod could be seen all over the battle field, streaming from one place to another, destroying smaller enemy ships. Soon Fighters came to aid the Star Sheriffs. Using its speed and maneuverability, Remrod went across the enemy line and started to destroy their ships from the rear. Colt really enjoyed this shooting workout.
While the smaller Earth ships were holding the enemy off, the large ones and the transports were regrouping in a sphere. If the maneuver was completed than no Outrider could escape. However, before the earth ships were at their positions, a tiny one-pilot ship fleeted out of an Outrider destroyer and lunged to the center of the fight. From a distance it looked like a small bright star, flying around from one Earth fighter to another, leaving only burst and shatters and smithereens left other the earth ships.
Colt jumped out from his seat.
"I’ll take him!" and he rushed to Bronco Buster. Few minutes later, Remrod’s main hatch opened and Colt fleeted out.
There was no time to loose. April quickly took over Colt’s place. The fighting started all over again, but more raging this time. The enemy line slowly thinned out as the survivors escaped.
The fleet ships finished their maneuver and now were destroying the Outriders one by one. The Outrider attack was bogged down. Enemy ships were turning red before they returned to their own dimension like they were ordered back. At the end, all Outriders left the human space.
It could be the complete victory if it had not been for the one-pilot ship skirring around the battle field. Colt had already spent 20 minutes trying to catch it. From a distance, it was hard to tell who was winning this one-on-one duel. All the flying shatters made it almost impossible to follow the battle. As for the two pilots, however, it felt natural for them being out there, dodging not only from the ships remains but from the missiles as well.
No other ship interfered in the duel. Finished with its own business, Remrod tried to get closer to the last enemy ship. April returned to her place while Saber Rider ordered her to open a comlink with Colt, which was done in seconds.
At that moment the enemy ship broke forth from the round-up and flinged to the asteroids. In a few seconds, it was gone.
A: "Hello, Colt! Saber Rider wants to speak with you! Colt, can you hear me?"
The static made his answer hard to discern. April took the static out of the signal and Colt’s voice finally came out from the dynamic.
C: "Here! One more! Oh, damn! I’ve missed!!"
A: "Colt, what's happening out there?"
C: "Not now!.. I've got him!.. Oh no! It was another blasted asteroid!... Where did he go?"
Finally, he became visible again. He came out from a nearest asteroid and turned his Bronco Buster towards Remrod. The connection became clear now.
C: "I've lost him!" avowed Colt sadly, "but he promised to send us a friend."
SR: "Who was it?"
C: "Who, who..." grumbled Colt "Jesse Blue, of course! Do you think that I would play for so long with any other Outrider?"
SR: "Of course not."
"Hurry up, Colt. I think that the friend of his will not make us wait for long". Said Fireball.
While they were talking, Remrod separated from the mass of the Earth battle ships and transports, so they woudn’t get in the way when the show started.
It was like a bucket of cold water when Saber Rider understood what Jesse Blue meant by a "friend" and where it would come from. He looked at the asteroid belt, where every rock was making it’s own route through the space. All was clear for now, but he knew that in one of those rocks, a metalled door was going open, letting the Renagade loose.
SR: "I think we should prepare to meet that friend of his. Fireball!"
FB: "With pleasure!" he replied. He pushed the glowing red button and the system, which transformed the ship, started to work. Everything was moving now. The floor and ceiling changed places. Some walls moved while others were disappearing. It was impossible for a human eye to track the transformation as the ship went through. April had designed it somehow and boys trusted her, they trusted this unbeatable starship.
SR: "Commander Eagle, take the fleet close to the asteroid belt and…"
CE: "Understood." Commander cut him, not showing on the screen "Is everything alright where you are?"
SR: "Affirmative, Sir!"
There was a series of clack sounds in the dynamic and after it came complete silence.
* * *
Remrod was patiently waiting for the enemy. Even through Colt remembered the direction in which Jesse Blue sped away to, the Renegade could appear anywhere - the Outriders were pretty good in sweeping under the rug.
All scanners worked to the maximum surveillance. Any point that looked suspicious was immediately enlarged many times, but for now, everything was clear.
* * *
Few more minutes of heavy silence passed by.
SR: "There is it!"
FB: "One more over here!"
SR: "Two. Too much..."
À: "Three."
C: "If there is so many of them than they can’t be too tough. You know how the Outriders are - it’s either quality or quantity."
SR: "Colt, you’re forgetting that there are no rules like this for Jesse Blue."
FB: "Saber, you’re the boss here. What are we going to do?"
SR: "Grab the closest one, fire at the second and the third. We’ll use the first one as a shield. Then we'll see from there."
À: "They all close to us…"
Ñ: "Hey, Saber, I think they’re about to shoot us."
SR: "Open fire!"
Saber didn’t finish the last sentence yet when Colt pulled the trigger.
* * *
Remrod fired from its gigantic pistol, and it didn’t miss. The arm with the laser cannon of one of the renegades exploded. In the next instant, the enemy blasted, beating out the pistol from Remrod’s metal fingers. The boosters were fired and a beam from another robot missed its target. With the next movement Remrod hammered its fist on the top knob, which was supposed to be the renegade's head (on the way Remrod caught his tumbling about pistol). Under this force the armored steel cave in, but it hadn’t done any harm to the robot. The renegade started to beat Remrod by using its claws and feet while the Earth robot was keeping it between itself and other renegades.
* * *
Remrod was convulsing under the heavy jolts.
SR: "Let’s try an old Indian trick… Let’s take the "heart" out of the still living body."
With a loud shriek, Remrod’s hand fell into the body of the robot. Fingers clenched on something inside. Remrod made a sharp jerk. Results came fast: burning curl knocked down the illuminator and everything went down afterwards.
* * *
Remrod turned around. One one-hand and one undamaged renegades were still waiting for their turn. The one-hand started its attack while the other one was trying to circle Remrod. It wasn’t hard to see what they were going to do, but how to avoid it? It was time to make a plan of their own, and quick. Remrod turned on the main busters and lunged to the asteroids. Without suspecting a thing, the Renegades followed Remrod. They took it as a retreat.
* * *
FB: "Perfect! Right on plan."
There was a big chance that the robots under Jesse Blue command wouldn’t fall for such an old trick.
SR: "Let’s wait for the intact one right after the first rock - it’s moving faster than one-hand one."
It was quiet for some time.
Ñ: "Our ‘welcome guest’ is here!"
* * *
A massive figure, which was named the "Intact one", showed up behind the rock. It didn’t spot the hiding enemy yet. Remrod’s powerful hands grabbed the Outrider machine and slammed it over on the sharp edges of the nearby asteroid. The Renegade, pancaked on the rock, was loosing its control for a brief moment. The goal was achieved, but Remrod itself was pushed in the opposite direction. The busters fired at the right time to avoid a near collision with the tow passing by asteroids, which could smash the ship in bits and pieces. Due to the delay, the situation returned to the initial point.
* * *
SR: "Colt, try to blast off the second hand from that one-hand guy."
C: "I`ll try!"
A: "Look out! The intact one is about to fire! "
SR: "Block it!"
* * *
Remrod covered its head - its most valuable part, but the missile hit it on the shoulder instead. As soon as the danger passed, Remrod fired a dozen or so of self-navigating missiles. Those tiny rockets couldn’t do much harm, but rather cloud the intact renegade with dust. The robot should lose its orientation since the cloud wasn't going to clear right away. They had about 20 seconds to destroy the one-hand renegade.
The laser pistol in Remrod’s hand. Few good shots and one wouldn’t have to worry about that freak anymore, but the the intact one, not really seeing where to aim, started to fire at all directions. This tactic could prove effective - it would be enough if one or more missiles would find its target. Anyways, Remrod made one shot at the one-hand renegade.
* * *
C: "I hit it on the shoulder, but somehow its hand is not falling off!"
FB: "Do it again!" he advised his friend while keeping Remrod away from the "blind" hits of the intact renegade.
Colt performed his best shooting skills, repeating the shots to the inches, but it still didn’t do any good.
C: "It reflects the laser beam!"
A: "Then how did we manage to blast its hand in the first place?"
SR: "It looks like they didn’t finish this renegade and sent it in the fight, hoping that we wouldn’t find it’s weakness like an "Achilles heel"" grinned Saber.
A: "The Intact one is getting out on the dust cloud."
The warning came right on time because the renegade was about to bear on Remrod with all its bulk. Saber Rider was able to intercept from the Intact’s claw which was equipped with a sharp edge, but the second less dangerous punch passed right through Remrod’s defenses. Several crack sounds were echoeing inside the earth ship. Right at that moment, the one-hand renegade approached them. While keeping its distance, it was no longer a threat to Remrod - it seemed like it lost all its firepower with its hand. Anyways, it wasn’t recommended to let it come close.
* * *
Three mechanical bodies entwined in one floundering ball and Remrod along with its crew was right in the center of it. They were spinning amongst them in silence, indifferent from everything else. It really didn't look good for the Star Sheriffs.
* * *
The tension sweat was covering the Star Sheriffs.
C: "Looks like we aren’t the best ones today." He mumbled under his breath, bitterly trying to shoot at least once, but it was impossible. With each instant, the situation was becoming more and more complicated. Saber Rider and Fireball were doing their best to wrest Remrod from the renegade’s paws, but no matter how hard they tried, it wasn't good enough.
By that time the renegades were hitting out the enemy by all their limbs - legs, hands and one even was with a tail.
There were crunch and rattle inside the Remrod. Some chinks appeared and the air with a whing was coming out. It was a catastrophe situation - never before Remrod and its crew were so close to their doom.
"Hello, Star Sheriffs! How are you doing?" called Commander Eagle.
A: "Not very good, Daddy. Looks like we lost our maneuverability... I hope Saber Rider could think of something to get us out."
CE: "Are busters still in order?" he asked in a great concern.
A: "Yea sure."
CE: "Then get out of asteroid field to the open space. We’ve been promised a hand from Clio... hmm... Queen Clio."
SR: "You heard the Commander, Fireball... Do it! On our way out try to grate one of renegades by the rock.
* * *
Remrod was busting to the bright stars. Its engines were dragging all three units and as Saber Rider ordered it scraped one of its enemies on a sharp rock edge. The one-hand failed and came off from the ball of robots. Getting more room, the Intact Renegade started to tear Remrod with greater energy.
* * *
"Prepare the beam!" odered Lasana who was sent by Clio to aid the Cavalry Command.
For a few centuries till now, no one on the planet never used this powerful and sharp cannon.
"As soon as you’ll get them in sight, aim for the Outriders. And be sure not to harm the Star Sheriffs - if something will happen to them the Queen will never forgive you that!"
In a few seconds on the telescope-sight with two circle stuck to the Renegade’s chest.
"Ready!" called out the shooter.
"Fire!" called back Lasana.
A blue-green ray cut through space, passing the distance in an instant between Lavana and the Outrider base, where the giants were fighting.
The beam hit the renegade in the armour, engulfed by a burning circle of the melted metal, followed by a big blast. The explosion was so strong that Remrod turned out to be right in the center of the burning ball of fire and was pushed aside. Only the great toughness of the ship saved the Star Sheriff’s lives.
Like enchanted, the Star Sheriffs gazed at the slowly disappearing red curls. Finally, the space was clear - the only remains left by the renegade were some floating red-hot debris that were slowly deleting from the place of the blast.
SR: "There's no time for relaxation! The one-hand robot is still alive!"
The One-hand renegade as confirming his words slowly flittered from the asteroids. Its motions became less powerful and confident.
SR: "Prepare the lasers!" he ordered.
From a hidden slots were brought out all sorts of laser guns and were directed in one precise point of the space.
SR: "Fire!"
From the sight it looks like between Remrod and the One-hand appeared a wall made out of nearly parallel light-blue beams.
The second bright flash illuminated the silent space rocks.
FB: "Returning to the mother ship?"
SR: "Yes."
Twins and Jesse Blue. Part 1.
