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| MOGERA vs. FULGUREUS |
By Rc-2000
Land Mogera entered the thin Martian atmosphere and flew towards the northern polar ice cap. Shinjo and his co-pilot Arata sat at the controls. The Star Falcon remained in orbit, piloted by Sato and Hirofumi. Down below, the reddish colored Martian landscape sped by. Off in the distance was a great dust storm. The horizon was ringed in a deep reddish-purple that faded to black higher up. Overhead, stars glowed sharply in the black sky.
Land Mogera approached the polar ice cap. Miles away Shinjo could see the landscape turning white from permafrost. Several frost and snow-covered mountains were on the horizon.
"We're almost there," said Shinjo over the com. "Better get your final equipment check done."
In the small passenger compartment, Dr. Matsumara and his small group of three checked and organised their equipment. Land Mogera and the Star Falcon had been modified to carry more people and equipment for missions like this.
Miki Saegusa sat and watched the barren landscape on a monitor. She switched views and could see their destination. A deep canyon lay ahead. Just over the edge, Miki could see that it was almost filled with mist. Shinjo began his descent.
Dr. Matsumara sat beside Miki and could see the canyon. "Incredible, isn't it?" he asked enthuastically. Miki nodded. "To think that there could be a place on Mars with an atmosphere almost as dense as Earth's. Must be some kind of temperature inversion unlike anything on Earth. It keeps the air from dispersing into the thin Martian atmosphere."
"Shinjo said that we might be able to breath it," said Miki.
Tetsuo was checking batteries on his portable scannner and said, "Spectrograph says it's very close to Earth-normal and the temperature is about 50 degrees. Down-right hot for Mars."
"Strap in," came Shinjo's voice over the com. "We're going in."
Shinjo fired up the hover-jets, slowing their descent. Land Mogera eased over the edge of the steep canyon. Shinjo and Arata looked briefly out the view port.
The mist-filled canyon spread out for miles on either side of them. The ends of the canyon were sealed off by high walls of rock that had been forced out of the ground by a Mars-quake ages ago. Measurements showed the canyon to be about 20 miles long. Very small compared to other vast canyons on Mars. This was the widest part of the canyon and they could see the far side of it about 5 miles away, rising out of the almost motionless sea of mist. The mist itself was thick and hid the lower part of the canyon.
Arata was scanning with infra-red and radar. He was having some trouble though. "Getting some interference," he said. The screen cleared and he could just make out the bottom of the canyon. A topographical wire-frame model glowed on the monitor and showed that the canyon floor was rough and strewn with large boulders. He continued looking, then said, "Got it. There's a large ledge just to the right and about 1200 feet below. It's on the slope not far from the canyon floor," he said. Then he gave Shinjo the coordinates for the ledge.
The force of the hover-jets blew down into the mist, clearing a path as Land Mogera sank into the upper layers of fog. Monitoring sensors mounted outside above the cockpit began gathering data and air samples.
"I''m reading a breathable atmosphere," said Emiko as she checked the readouts from the external scanners on the monitor beside her. "Running pathogenic scan now. So far it looks good."
Gustavo, the geologist, sat across from her studying the radar scans that came from the control room. The screen flickered momentarilly, then cleared and showed the wire-frame model of the canyon. "Lots of boulders and sand I think." As he increased the range, the screen flickered again. After studying the new information he said, "Looks like there are some projections rising from the floor of the canyon. Might be lava dikes that remained standing after the looser soil was eroded away. Must have happened before the ends of the canyon were blocked."
Miki sat quietly, listening to the hover-jets outside. At first they sounded faint and high-pitched, but as Land Mogera entered the thicker air below, they began to roar loudly.
This was Miki's first trip onto space. Even though she wasn't trained for this, Shinjo convinced her to come along. "It'll be fun," he had said. "Something new and different."
Even though Miki trusted Shinjo and his skill with Land Mogera, she still was nervous. She could feel that the others were nervous too, but also excited. Miki tuned them out and tried to relax. Just on the edge of her senses, she could faintly detect a murmur of thought coming from somewhere in the canyon below.
"Shinjo," she called over the com. "Something's down there, down in the canyon."
Shinjo started to ask if she was sure, but knew she was. He had seen her abilities increase over the time he had gotten to know her. Instead he asked, "Can you localize it?"
"No. It's faint and far away, fading in and out," she replied.
Shinjo looked at Arata and said, "Better call Star Falcon and let them know. We might need back-up."
Arata nodded and opened the link to Star Falcon.
Land Mogera entered the thin Martian atmosphere and flew towards the northern polar ice cap. Shinjo and his co-pilot Arata sat at the controls. The Star Falcon remained in orbit, piloted by Sato and Hirofumi. Down below, the reddish colored Martian landscape sped by. Off in the distance was a great dust storm. The horizon was ringed in a deep reddish-purple that faded to black higher up. Overhead, stars glowed sharply in the black sky.
Land Mogera approached the polar ice cap. Miles away Shinjo could see the landscape turning white from permafrost. Several frost and snow-covered mountains were on the horizon.
"We're almost there," said Shinjo over the com. "Better get your final equipment check done."
In the small passenger compartment, Dr. Matsumara and his small group of three checked and organised their equipment. Land Mogera and the Star Falcon had been modified to carry more people and equipment for missions like this.
Miki Saegusa sat and watched the barren landscape on a monitor. She switched views and could see their destination. A deep canyon lay ahead. Just over the edge, Miki could see that it was almost filled with mist. Shinjo began his descent.
Dr. Matsumara sat beside Miki and could see the canyon. "Incredible, isn't it?" he asked enthuastically. Miki nodded. "To think that there could be a place on Mars with an atmosphere almost as dense as Earth's. Must be some kind of temperature inversion unlike anything on Earth. It keeps the air from dispersing into the thin Martian atmosphere."
"Shinjo said that we might be able to breath it," said Miki.
Tetsuo was checking batteries on his portable scannner and said, "Spectrograph says it's very close to Earth-normal and the temperature is about 50 degrees. Down-right hot for Mars."
"Strap in," came Shinjo's voice over the com. "We're going in."
Shinjo fired up the hover-jets, slowing their descent. Land Mogera eased over the edge of the steep canyon. Shinjo and Arata looked briefly out the view port.
The mist-filled canyon spread out for miles on either side of them. The ends of the canyon were sealed off by high walls of rock that had been forced out of the ground by a Mars-quake ages ago. Measurements showed the canyon to be about 20 miles long. Very small compared to other vast canyons on Mars. This was the widest part of the canyon and they could see the far side of it about 5 miles away, rising out of the almost motionless sea of mist. The mist itself was thick and hid the lower part of the canyon.
Arata was scanning with infra-red and radar. He was having some trouble though. "Getting some interference," he said. The screen cleared and he could just make out the bottom of the canyon. A topographical wire-frame model glowed on the monitor and showed that the canyon floor was rough and strewn with large boulders. He continued looking, then said, "Got it. There's a large ledge just to the right and about 1200 feet below. It's on the slope not far from the canyon floor," he said. Then he gave Shinjo the coordinates for the ledge.
The force of the hover-jets blew down into the mist, clearing a path as Land Mogera sank into the upper layers of fog. Monitoring sensors mounted outside above the cockpit began gathering data and air samples.
"I''m reading a breathable atmosphere," said Emiko as she checked the readouts from the external scanners on the monitor beside her. "Running pathogenic scan now. So far it looks good."
Gustavo, the geologist, sat across from her studying the radar scans that came from the control room. The screen flickered momentarilly, then cleared and showed the wire-frame model of the canyon. "Lots of boulders and sand I think." As he increased the range, the screen flickered again. After studying the new information he said, "Looks like there are some projections rising from the floor of the canyon. Might be lava dikes that remained standing after the looser soil was eroded away. Must have happened before the ends of the canyon were blocked."
Miki sat quietly, listening to the hover-jets outside. At first they sounded faint and high-pitched, but as Land Mogera entered the thicker air below, they began to roar loudly.
This was Miki's first trip onto space. Even though she wasn't trained for this, Shinjo convinced her to come along. "It'll be fun," he had said. "Something new and different."
Even though Miki trusted Shinjo and his skill with Land Mogera, she still was nervous. She could feel that the others were nervous too, but also excited. Miki tuned them out and tried to relax. Just on the edge of her senses, she could faintly detect a murmur of thought coming from somewhere in the canyon below.
"Shinjo," she called over the com. "Something's down there, down in the canyon."
Shinjo started to ask if she was sure, but knew she was. He had seen her abilities increase over the time he had gotten to know her. Instead he asked, "Can you localize it?"
"No. It's faint and far away, fading in and out," she replied.
Shinjo looked at Arata and said, "Better call Star Falcon and let them know. We might need back-up."
Arata nodded and opened the link to Star Falcon.
It was decided that the Star Falcon would land on the plain above the valley and would be there in about an hour.
The mist hid the giant collapsible drill just in front of and below the control room. It protruded out of what would be 'Mogera's' chest. On either side were the 'shoulders' of 'Mogera'. These were flat and would be used as platforms for unloading their equipment. As Shinjo monitored Land Mogera's slow descent thru the mist, Arata looked out the window to his right and could barely see the huge shoulder joint and arm of 'Mogera'.
Land Mogera continued down thru the thick mist, then suddenly dropped out into clear air. The mist stretched overhead like a roof. Shinjo and Arata could see the valley floor clearly in the almost shadowless light that filtered in from above. Off in the distance were the rock formations that had showed up on radar. A low fog surrounded their broad bases.
The canyon wall were very steep, but there were places where landslides formed ramps of dirt and boulders. Further down the canyon the air grew hazy and hid the rest of the canyon from them.
Land Mogera landed on the ledge in a cloud of red dust that settled quickly as the hover-jets turned off.
Shinjo and Arata joined the others in the small passenger compartment. Emiko was just finishing her pathogen analysis.
"The air is very clean," Emiko was saying. "There's no sign of any harmfull bacteria. In fact, the air is virtually sterile.
Tetsuo added, "High moisture content though. Air pressure is only a little lower than sea level."
"But can we breathe it?" asked Arata.
Tetsuo's brow furrowed a moment, then he said, "That's the strange thing. The oxygen content is very high. The temperature is around 70 degrees fahrenheit. Warmer than we thought."
"Great!" said Dr. Matsumara. "Well, let's unpack."
- - - - -
Dr. Matsumara and the others brought boxes of equipment out thru the hatch behind the control room. Shinjo and Arata opened the small hanger door that was on the 'wall' that went out to 'Mogera's' shoulder joint. The doors slid to the side, revealing two medium-sized hover-craft. They were oblong in shape with a dome roof and a small air-lock on one side.
Shinjo stepped thru the airlock and powered one up. As he did, an extendable carriage underneath brought the hover-craft out and onto the platform. When it stopped, Shinjo opened the side door of the dome across from the air-lock. It raised up as the waist-high rim opened and swung down to form a ramp.
Arata soon followed with the other hover-craft. Shinjo joined him and together they unfastened the dome fittings. Then they lifted them off and put them back in the hanger. Everyone pitched in and helped load equipment they might need.
Tetsuo was closest to the edge of the platform. He heard an odd whirring noise that came from below. Tetsuo turned and shouted, "Shinjo!"
As Tetsuo turned back towards the noise, a helmeted figure floated up and over the edge of the platform. A small hover-unit was on his back. In one hand was the umbilical control and in the other he carried a large case.
The others watched as the figure landed on the platform. The man raised his visor.
"M-11!" shouted Miki in surprise.
"Hello Miki," he said. Then he turned and nodded to the others and said, "I am sorry, I did not mean to startle you."
"I brought hover-units," M-11 said, nodding to the case he carried. "Shinjo insisted I come along. I was in the side storage compartment working on some equipment. I thought Shinjo told you."
"No," said Miki. "He didn't."
"I wanted to surprise you," said Shinjo to Miki. "M-11 can help me keep you out of trouble."
Miki blushed, her ears turning red. "Now stop that," she said. "Come," she said to M-11, "Let me introduce you to the others."
- - - - -
M-11 was helping Tetsuo strap on one of the hover-units, explaining how they worked. Miki stood near-by watching with interest.
Shinjo and Dr. Matsumara sat in one of the hover-craft, going over maps that the computer had printed out of the canyon. The portable com unit on Shinjo's belt beeped.
"Excuse me, Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo as he unhooked the com and switched it on. "Shinjo here."
"Star Falcon here," said Sato. "We've landed. We'll be right here and ready if you need us."
"Thanks Sato," answered Shinjo. "Land Mogera out."
Gustavo was looking thru binoculars towards the tall, slender dikes in the distance. "They look odd. Almost like there's something growing on them."
At that, Emiko joined him and asked, "May I?"
Gustavo handed Emiko the binoculars. As she looked, she saw that he might be right. Even though the tall objects were dark against the lighter background of haze, she could just barely make out what looked like massive roots or vines running up and down them. Even with the binoculars, it was hard to tell for sure. She may have been seeing furrows on the sides of them where the hardened lava had cracked and fallen off over time. Emiko remembered a picture of the Devil's Tower in the United States once. The objects had that same look to them. "I'm for checking them out. How about you?' she asked as she gave them back to him.
"Yes," Gustavo answered. He turned and called out to Dr. Matsumara, "Could we check them out first?"
Dr. Matsumara anwered, "Good a place as any to start."
When M-11 finished showing everyone how to use the hover-units, the team split up and boarded the hover-crafts. Shinjo piloted one hover-craft. With him was Miki, Tetsuo, and Emiko. M-11 piloted the other and was joined by Dr. Matsumara and Gustavo. Arata agreed to stay behind with Land Mogera.
Turbines whirred and lifted the hover-crafts into the air. Arata watched them leave, heading towards the tall rock formations. Then he went back into the control room to monitor their progress.
Soon, the hovercrafts neared the rock formations. They were several hundred feet tall and there were seven of them. They formed a rough circle about five hundred feet across. The down-draft from the hover-crafts parted the low fog revealing water beneath it. Now the team could see that there were indeed massive root-like growths all up and down their sides. They were a dark green and many had smaller branches growing out from them. The rounded tops rose high overhead.
"Those aren't rock formations," said Gustavo looking up from his scanner. "They're alive!"
"Are you sure?" asked Dr. Matsumara.
"I've been scanning them with sonic waves. Most pass right through them, but some frequences bounce back. They're not dense enough to be rock. I can just make out some kind of organs inside them."
The two hover-craft were close enough together so that the team members could talk to each other without having to use the radios.
"Gustavo," called Emiko from the other hover-craft, "Send me your readings."
Gustavo punched in the codes for file transfer and said, "On their way."
Emiko looked at the monitor that was mounted beside her seat. It showed an almost x-ray like picture. She could see the internal organs and studied them intently. "They're alive alright. But I can't tell if they're some kind of plant or animal. These sonic probes were designed for studying different densities of rock, not living tissue."
"M-11, wait here," called out Shinjo. He revved up the turbines and flew his hovercraft up the side of the closest creature, going towards the top.
Emiko was looking up as they ascended. Several verticle cracks appeared near the top. "It's moving," she said, almost shouting.
Everyone looked up and saw the top open like a flower.
Shinjo quickly pulled away from the creature. The giant leaves around the top parted and revealed an immense, light-green flower bulb. Slowly the stalk of the creature bent and the bulb lowered, facing the retreating hover-craft.
Down below, M-11 began flying away also. Suddenly, long vine-like tentacles sprang out of the low fog, showering the hover-craft in water.
Dr. Matsumara and Gustavo held on tightly to the rim of the hover-craft as M-11 banked it sharply, dodging the tentacles. He revved the turbines and rose quickly into the air. In moments he joined the other hover-craft that was hovering beyond the edge of the fog.
"SHINJO! Are all of you all right?" Arata's voice startled Shinjo. On the monitor at his pilot station, Shinjo saw Arata's anxious face. "I saw that thing moving and - "
"We're okay," answered Shinjo.
"It's going to get dark soon," said Arata. "Better start back."
"We will, out." Shinjo turned to Miki and asked, "Are these what you sensed?"
"No," she replied. "Whatever I felt before is somewhere else in the canyon."
M-11 eased his hover-craft to within a few feet of Shinjo's hover-craft.
"What are those things," asked Gustavo.
"They look like smaller versions of Biollante," replied Shinjo.
"Children," said Miki in a low voice. The others looked at her, not quite hearing what she said. She spoke up and said, "They're Biollante's children. They have to be."
"Wait a minute!" said Tetsuo. "What's Biollante doing on Mars?"
"She's not here now," replied Miki. "I'd definately sense her if she was."
Gustavo was following the conversation in the other hover-craft, but had no idea what they were talking about. He asked, "What's a Biollante?"
Dr. Matsumara said, "It was, er, is a mutated rose - - "
"A what?" Gustavo exclaimed.
Miki spoke up and said, "A great scientist named Shiragami created a hybrid rose using cells from - - - , " she paused for a moment. Gutavo looked inquiringly at her. "He used cells from his deceased daughter Erika. Later he combined cells from Godzilla with the hybrid rose. The new hybrid grew into Biollante."
"Uffa!" exclaimed Gustavo. This time Miki looked at him, not sure what he had said. Gustavo had a habit sometimes of speaking Italian when mad or surprised. He answered, "err - 'I am surprised'? Anyway, when the UNSC sent me to Ogasawara to be on this mission, they briefed me on the creatures there, but I never heard of Biollante."
"I've pulled up a brief history on Biollante if you'd like to see it," offered M-11.
"Yes," answered Gustavo. "Very much so." He turned to the monitor near M-11 and began reading intently.
In the other hover-craft Shinjo said, "They're not coming after us."
"They must still be too immature to walk yet," said Emiko. "They're probably still rooted in the ground and are using the water for nurishment. See how the bulb of the one we got close to hasn't developed petals yet and how the leaves that covered it are spread out? It's still 'looking' at us. There must be sensory organs of some kind in them."
Dr. Matsumara spoke up and inquired, "I wonder if Biollante had something to do with the creation of the atmosphere in this valley? It might be a bi-product of her metabolism, since she is a plant. There is carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere and she may even have found frozen water under the soil and must have thawed it out."
Emiko spoke up from the other hover-craft. "I think you may be right. Biollante may have very well fixed this place as a nursery. She can survive in space, but the saplings would need a stable and safe environment to grow."
Gustavo cursed briefly in Italian. "Oh, sorry," he said apologetically as he looked up from the monitor. "But, nursery? Saplings? You sound like you're going into the flower business. Biollante and those things are monsters!"
Miki gritted her teeth, jaw muscles tightening.
Shinjo saw Miki's reaction and said, "Gustavo, Biollante was more than a plant. If that's the report I think it is, it doesn't mention that Biollante had not only human genes, but the very spirit of Shiragami's daughter. Miki is a telepath, as you know, and touched Erika's mind. Biollante is much more than a monster."
"I'm sorry Miki," said Gustavo. "I didn't know. All this is new to me and much of it is overwelming."
Miki could feel his sincerity and smiled. Then she said, "Thank you, Gustavo."
"Arata was right," began Shinjo, "We'd better head back before it gets too dark." He turned the hover-craft and headed towards Land Mogera. M-11 followed close to the side.
Miki turned in her seat and watched the creatures receding in the gathering twilight. She heard the others talking, but her mind was trying to reach out to Biollante's children. Miki thought to herself. 'Maybe they're too young and haven't developed a mind of their own yet.' Miki smiled as she turned back to join the conversation.
Shinjo called Sato in Star Falcon and told him what they had found.
"I think it might be a good idea if you brought Star Falcon down here, just in case," said Shinjo over his com-unit.
"You're the boss," answered Sato. "We'll be there in a few minutes. Out."
As the hover-crafts neared Land Mogera, the mist overhead parted from the down thrust of Star Falcon's hover jets. Shinjo and M-11 waited as Star Falcon landed in a cloud of dust on the ledge beside Land Mogera.
"Just in time for supper," said Arata over the com-unit.
"We'll be in as soon as the dust clears," said Shinjo
Soon, everyone was gathered around the dining table in the crew quarters. They talked about Biollante's children and made plans for the next day as they ate.
After supper, each person filled out reports and observations that would be beamed to the UNSC headquarters on Ogasawara Island.
Later, as the others went to their quarters to prepare for bed, Shinjo, Sato and their co-pilots set up night-watch duty. Each would take four hours apiece. Sato and Hirofumi left to return to Star Falcon.
Hirofumi took the first watch. He sat in Star Falcon's control room and was busy preparing the others' reports for transmission. When he finished, he activated the tachyon pulse generator and it fired all the information instantly to Earth. In a few seconds a return signal verified receiving the info.
Hirofumi then tuned the generator to receive the latest news from Japan, leaned back in his seat and relaxed.
- - -
Miki slept and dreamed. She was in a dark cave and voices were calling out to her for help. She walked slowly thru the cave, searching for whoever was calling her. Miki felt them nearby, but couldn't see them. They wanted her to do something for them because they were helpless. Soon she drew closer to the source. Then under the need for help, she could feel hatred. The voices called for help, but their desire was to use her to kill and destroy.
Miki turned and ran. The voices retreated behind her and soon she saw light at the entrance of the cave. Miki ran out of the cave into the light. It was bright, but soothing and surrounded her like a mist. She could not see anything but the flowing light. The glow faded and she was standing on a balcony high up the side of a building that glowed and sparkled like crystal.
Out before her was a stunning view of more crystal towers that shimmered in the sunlight. Vines and plants twined and wrapped their way up the towers. At first Miki thought that the city was abandoned. Then she felt that the builders of the city encouraged the growth of the clinging plants and shaped them like one would a Bonzai tree. They bloomed with multi-colored flowers. The slight breeze was cool and refreshing and filled with the pleasant odor of the flowers.
Miki liked this place. She stood near the railing for a long time. Then she felt someone beside her. She turned and saw a tall slender figure in a silk-like robe. It was one man, but she felt the minds of many behind his eyes.
He smiled at her and said, "Beautifull, wasn't it?"
"I don't understand," said Miki, confused by the strange statement.
"This was what Mars was like ages ago, before the monster you call Ghidorah came," the man said. Miki felt a great sadness coming from him. "It destroyed our cities and killed millions before it left. I see you're wondering why no ruins of our cities have been seen. We built and sustained these great towers by the power of our minds. As we died, our cities crumbled into the dirt we created them from."
"Why did Ghidorah come here?" she asked.
"Like your 'Eden', ours had a serpent also. There was a faction that wanted to take over and use our technology to conquer other worlds. They gathered their greatest minds and summoned Ghidorah to Mars. They planned to use it as their weapon to gain control of Mars. But once here, Ghidorah continued destroying until it wiped out our world."
Miki was saddened by the story the man was telling her. All this beauty destroyed for the gain of power. It was not fair. She had her home, her world, and this place was gone forever.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"We are what's left of the minds of many," he answered. "Our people were strong telepaths and as we died, our minds merged together. We lost our world, but we still had each other. We went to your Earth years ago to warn your world about Ghidorah's coming. Your world defeated it. We wanted to stay on your beautifull world, but it just reminded us of what we had lost that much more. So we came back here."
The man sighed and the vista around them faded. Then the man continued his story. "Before Ghidorah come, the other faction had summoned another creature to Mars. We defeated it and placed it here, in this valley. We couldn't kill it, but we managed to place it in a vault in suspended animation. Just as our minds survived, so did the others. They are still filled with hatred and the urge to conquer and want to release the other monster. Like us, they can use their mental powers to possess and teleport someone. But they can't do anything else on the physical plane of existance. That power would enable them to use another to carry out their desire.
"Can't you stop them?" asked Miki.
"No," the man replied. "We tried, but out powers don't work on others of our kind. Your people are in great danger, Miki. You must leave this place before it's too late."
With those final words, the man was gone. Miki awoke from her dream. Emiko still lay quietly sleeping. Miki was frightened by what she learned. She had to find Shinjo and tell him. Quietly, she put her cloths on and left the room.
Shinjo was on duty now and watched on the monitor as M-11 placed remote sensors and cameras around Biollante's children. Dr. Matsumara wanted to gather as much information on them as was possible, without endangering their team. So he had requested M-11's assistance. The saplings gave off a faint glow that lit their part of the valley in a soft, diffused light.
"Shinjo?" Miki came into the cramp control room.
"Couldn't sleep?" asked Shinjo.
"I was," she said. "Shinjo, we have to leave. We're in danger."
Shinjo saw the look of concern on her face. "What's wrong?"
Miki walked around the two rear seats and sat down in the co-pilot's chair. She began telling Shinjo about her dream.
Back in the men's quarters, Dr. Matsumara tossed fitfully in his sleep. He began mumbling, "No, go away, leave me alone."
The mumbling roused Gustavo and Tetsuo. Their dreams had been unpleasant also.
"NO! Go away!" shouted Dr. Matumara, still sleeping. Gustavo got up to go to Dr. Matsumara's bed and wake him up from the nightmare.
"Gustavo!" shouted Tetsuo. "Look out!"
Gustavo looked back at Tetsuo and started to say, "For what - -." Then he saw the light from above. Gustavo jumped away from Dr. Matsumara, lost his balance and fell to the floor.
There was a glow in the ceiling. With incredible swiftness, it formed a ball of light that fell on Dr. Matsumara. He was fighting in his sleep and throwing out his arms. The ball of light expanded and consumed Dr. Matsumara then streaked back up thru the ceiling. Gustavo and Tetsuo looked back down and saw that Dr. Matsumara was gone.
M-11 was returning when he saw a ball of light streak out of Land Mogera and zoom away. He watched it as flew, noting it's course. The ball of light flew past Biollante's children and continued to the far end of the valley where it dissappeared behind a curve in the valley wall.
Shinjo was just getting ready to call Sato in Star Falcon when he and Miki heard a commotion coming from the hallway that led to the crew's quarters. Gustavo and Tetsuo burst into the control room, followed by a bleary-eyed Emiko.
Gustavo was speaking excitedly in Italian.
"Gustavo, slow down," urged Shinjo.
Tetsuo spoke up and said, "Gustavo's trying to tell you about Dr. Matsumara. He's gone!"
M-11 increased the hover-craft's speed and raced to Land Mogera. After landing on the lit platform, he joined the others inside.
Shinjo quickly told M-11 about Dr. Matsumara and Miki's dream.
"I saw where the the ball of light headed," said M-11.
"Here," began Shinjo, "You can use this to show us where it went." He pointed to a console in the rear of the control room.
M-11 sat down and switched the console on. He pulled up a map of the canyon. "It flew past Biollante's saplings and dissappeared around this bend." He traced the path of the ball of light up the canyon to where it turned.
"We've got to stop Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo.
"It's not him that's doing it," said Emiko in Dr. Matsumara's defense. She and the others were standing by the door to hallway. "If what Miki said is right, he's being controled."
"You're right Emiko," said Shinjo, apologizing. "But we need to stop what's happening and rescue him."
Shinjo looked around at the small group of people and said, "Everyone strap in. We're preparing for take-off."
Miki, Emiko, Tetsuo, and Gustavo quickly went back to the crew quarters. Tetsuo activated a panel by the door and punched in a sequence of numbers. Several panels in the floor near the front of the dining room slid open. Padded seats rose out of the floor as more panels opened in the wall. Consoles and monitor screens slid out of the recesses exposed by the opening panels.
"Arata, call Sato and tell him to get ready," said Shinjo as he began a quick pre-flight check. "Star Falcon is faster than us and can lead the way."
"Yes sir," said Arata.
Outside, small running lights and forward spot lights lit up on both ships. It was still dark in the canyon, but the sun would soon be rising. Star Falcon took off first and hovered briefly as Land Mogera joined it.
"Steer clear of the saplings," Shinjo called on the radio to Sato. "We'd better leave our coms on so we can stay in touch better."
"You got it boss," answered Sato from Star Falcon. Sato fired up the thrusters and headed away, followed by Land Mogera.
Miki used one of the side cameras to watch Biollante's children as they flew by them. Several had opened their bulb leaves and followed the two ships.
"Miki," said Shinjo over the intercom. "Can you tell where Dr. Matsumara is and what he's doing?"
"Give me a moment," Miki replied. She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. She felt the other minds of the ancient Martians briefly. They formed a barrier that blocked her out, preventing her from finding Dr. Matsumara. She opened her eyes and said, "No Shinjo. I'm being blocked. I can't even sense him at all. Sorry."
"It's okay Miki, "said Shinjo. "From what you told us, these Martians were very strong mentally. Thanks."
As Star Falcon neared the bend in the canyon, the mist above began to brighten. The canyon slowly grew lighter.
While Sato piloted Star Falcon, Hirofumi scanned ahead. This end of the canyon was rougher than the rest. There were several places where massive landslides had left huge piles of dirt and great boulders on the canyon floor below. Low clouds of mist drifted around the boulders. The canyon was narrower also.
"This isn't going to give us much manuevering room," said Hirofumi.
"You're right," replied Sato. "Let's hope we wont need it."
Soon the canyon was bathed in diffused sunlight. The spots and running lights on the ships switched off. Up ahead, the canyon floor slowly rose higher. At the far end was where the massive fault had risen ages ago and sealed in this end of the canyon.
In Land Mogera, Gustavo was scanning the canyon ahead. One of his sensors flashed. He pulled up the information and studied it.
"Shinjo, I'm getting a reading on something metallic ahead and to the right," he said over the intercom.
"Sure it's not a mineral deposit of some kind?" asked Shinjo from the control room.
"Yes," anwered Gustavo. "It reads out as refined metal. I can't identify just what it is, but it's definately not natural. I'm sending it's location to M-11."
"Thanks Gustavo," said Shinjo.
The coordinates come on M-11's screen. He relayed them to Shinjo, who in turn relayed them to Sato in Star Falcon.
Sato and Arata looked intently ahead at the location specified by Gustavo, but couldn't see anything yet.
"Negative sighting here, boss, "said Sato over the radio.
A moment later, Shinjo said, "Gustavo rechecked. It's there, but he thinks it might be partly buried."
"Understood," said Sato.
Hirojumi studied his monitor and increased magnification. Then he saw it. On the screen was what looked like a huge round door or hatch that was partly buried by a landslide. Reddish dirt and ages of dust had accumulated on it making it look like part of the canyon wall.
"Got it," he said. Sato looked at his monitor and saw it also.
Monitors back on Land Mogera showed the image that was relayed from Star Falcon.
Tetsuo looked up from his screen and said, "I've tried to scan the inside, but nothing penetrates through that metal."
"There! Look!" said Emiko excitedly as she looked at her monitor. "There's an open doorway just to the side, near the bottom."
Shinjo looked at his monitor and saw the door. It was very small compared to the size of the half-buried hatch.
"Sato, I'm going to land and check out what's inside," Shinjo said over the radio.
M-11 spoke up and said, "If I may suggest, I can take a hover-unit and investigate for you. You will not have to land and can be ready if anything happens."
Shinjo thought it over, then said. "Might be a good idea, M-11. Thanks. Arata, I'll go with M-11. You handle Land Mogera." He then spoke into the radio, "Change in plan Sato. M-11 and I are going to check it out with hover-units."
"Yes boss. We'll cover you," came Sato's reply.
As they walked down the hallway, Shinjo stopped at a door and entered a code on a small keyboard. The panel slide open revealing a small room. Several hand-guns, lazer rifles, compact grenade launchers and other small arms were mounted on one of the walls. Belts with shells and straps of grenades hung on the other. Shinjo picked out a lazer rifle and hand-gun for himself and handed M-11 a gun and grenade launcher. They also gathered up shells and grenades.
Shinjo closed the door and followed M-11 into the crew quarters. They went to the rear storage locker and pulled out two hover units and two helmets with built-in com units. M-11 also picked out a small, portable scanner.
"M-11, be carefull," said Miki. "And try to keep Shinjo out of trouble." She grinned at that and went back to studying her monitor.
"I will make it a priority Miki," said M-11.
Shinjo stuttered a moment, then said flatly, "Thanks for the vote of confidence Miki."
Miki snickered. She couldn't help it, but her ears turned red.
"There, see. You really do care," said Shinjo jokingly.
Shinjo and M-11 strapped on the hover-units and helmets and headed for the side exit that led to the platform outside.
Standing on the platform, Shinjo could just make out the small door in the canyon wall. The roar of Land Mogera's hover jets could be heard coming from underneath them. Star Falcon circled slowly behind and above Land Mogera.
Shinjo nodded to M-11 and they activated their hover-units. Together they left the platform and drifted slowly towards the open door below.
Shinjo and M-11 swung out to the side of the open doorway and floated close to the side of the canyon wall. Shinjo didn't want to be an easy target.
"I don't like this, M-11" said Shinjo. "Looks too easy, leaving the door open like that."
M-11 refocused his eyes and zoomed in on the door. After a moment he said, "From what I can see the door was damaged long ago. The landslide must have jarred it open then. I can see Dr. Matumara's footprints in a thick layer of dust just inside the entrance."
Shinjo thought it over. "Okay, let's move in, but still be carefull," he said.
Holding guns in one hand and the control umbilical in the other, Shinjo and M-11 drifted to the ground and began to make their way around several large boulders towards the entrance. M-11 backed up against a pile of rock just beside the door. Just to the left of the door was the mammoth hatch that was partly buried in dirt and debris. He hooked the hover control on the harness and held his hand palm out towards Shinjo, motioning for him to wait there. M-11 adjusted his audio input and filtered out the noise of the two craft that slowly circled out in the canyon. He listened and couldn't hear any noise coming from inside. He slowly sidled sideways to get right up to the door frame.
Shinjo leaned out slightly and could see that M-11 was right about the door. It and the frame it hung from was bent and scratched from where a boulder had hit it.
M-11 squatted down and went into the doorway. Shinjo followed quickly with his gun held ready. Inside was a short hallway that ended with a sealed hatch at the end. M-11 was studying a small panel on the hatch itself. There was one large button on it.
"No code to enter?" asked Shinjo. Doesn't look too secure to me."
M-11 pushed the button and stepped to the side. The hatch didn't open. M-11 used his scanner to try to probe the panel.
"The scanner can't penetrate this metal," he said. "There's power going thru the button, but I can't trace any kind of control mechanism."
"I don't get it, how does it work?" asked Shinjo. "Better try the lazer."
Shinjo and M-11 went back to the entrance. Shinjo pulled down the helmet's shaded visor and raised the lazer rifle. He set the lazer to half intensity and fired at the hatch. The hatch flared briefly as the intense, narrow beam of the lazer vaporized dust that was on the hatch. Shinjo stopped firing and went to hatch.
"Nothing," Shinjo said as he looked for any melting or cutting from the lazer. Even the button was undamaged. "I'd better try full intensity. If that doesn't work we can try the grenade launcher."
Miki and the others in Land Mogera heard Shinjo over the open com. "Shinjo, wait. Dr. Matsumara might be just on the other side. Any force you use might kill him. The Martians were telepathic. Maybe it responds to a mental command," she said.
"Well, that leaves me out in the cold, don't it?" Shinjo said over the com.
"You try pushing it," she said. "But give me a moment first though."
"Okay," Shinjo replied. "I think I know what you're up to."
Miki closed her eyes and concentrated. She saw thru Shinjo's eyes, like she had done years ago when Mogera had faught SpaceGodzilla. Shinjo welcomed her presence into his mind.
'Now Shinjo,' came Miki's telepathic voice. Shinjo reached out and pushed the button. He could feel Miki's mental command flow thru him and into the button. It glowed sofly and Shinjo heard the hatch unlock.
Shinjo and M-11 jumped to either side of the hatch as it began to slide into the wall.
'Thank you, Miki,' thought Shinjo. 'You're welcome,' came her reply. He felt her leave his mind. He tried not to let her know how he treasured those few times when they shared like that.
'SHINJO!' the mental jab shocked him for a moment. 'You have a job to do.' Then she was gone again. But he had caught a hint of mental laughter and an undercurrent of worry for him also from her as she left.
M-11 jumped into the opening and stepped to one side as Shinjo jumped after him. Both squatted down and held their guns ready.
Shinjo looked around quickly. The cave was huge, at least 300 feet long, but was narrow with a high ceiling. The entire left wall was made of a translucent material. To Shinjo, it looked like a huge, flat piece of crystal instead of glass. It was frosted over with ice on the other side. There was a raised platform against the crystal wall, but it was too high to see what was on it. Overhead was a single light source that gave off a soft, yellow light. It was a glowing crystal beam that hung from the ceiling and ran the length of the cavern. The right side of the cave was covered from bottom to top with a bewildering array of large spherical objects connected to each other by thick pipes and coiling wires. At the far end of the cavern many pipes crossed from the spheres and went thru the crystal wall.
M-11 pulled out the portable scanner and began taking readings.
Shinjo looked thru the crystal wall but could barely see thru it into the vast chamber beyond. It looked like it was filled with a thick, light green vapor that swirled slowly.
"Dr. Matsumara is up on the platform," said M-11 in a low voice as he looked up from the scanner.
Suddenly the floor began to vibrate and the air was filled by a low rumbling noise.
"Shinjo!" called Arata over the helmet com unit. "Are you alright?" he asked urgently.
"Yes," answered Shinjo into the small mike that stuck out from the side of the helmet near his mouth. "What's happening?"
"The hatch is starting to open," answered Arata. "It's pushing all the dirt and boulders away."
"I think we've found Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo. "We're on our way to get him now." Shinjo turned to M-11 and said, "Let's go."
Shinjo and M-11 ran to a wide stairway that led to the top of the platform and continued up it to the top. As they reached the top, they could see Dr. Matsumara standing in front of a long control panel that faced the crystal wall. He stood there staring down at a monitor, not moving. In the chamber Shinjo could see the vapor level falling quickly as it poured out the still opening hatch. The low rumbling continued.
"Dr. Matsumara!" called out Shinjo.
Dr. Matsumara did not move or even turn to look at them as they approached. Shinjo ran up to Dr. Matsumara. Still he stood there, not moving. Shinjo lowered his gun. M-11 began studying the console. Several rows of wide buttons ran down it's length. M-11 saw nothing like a keyboard or anything that looked like controls. There were several monitors spaced along it's length. Indecipherable writing flickered across them. He pulled out the scanner and held it towards the crystal wall.
"I can't understand how these controls work," M-11 said. "But the temperature in the chamber is increasing. There's also a fairly strong magnetic field being emitted by the creature inside."
"Creature?" asked Shinjo.
"Yes. It's alive, but still partly unconscious from whatever process the Martians used to keep it in stasis. The Martians used Dr. Matsumara to turn it off."
"Thanks, M-11," said Shinjo.
"Dr. Matsumara, can you here me? Are you alright?" asked Shinjo. Shinjo reached out and shook the scientists' shoulder. Dr. Matsumara looked slowly up at Shinjo, then fainted. Shinjo grabbed him before he fell to the floor.
"M-11, help me with Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo.
M-11 came over, picked up Dr. Matsumara and easily put him over his shoulder. Shinjo glanced into the chamber and could just make out a giant, long form inside it that was slowly being uncovered as the vapors continued pouring out. From what he could see thru the frosted crystal, the chamber was huge, bigger than the cavern they were in. The rumbling stopped.
"We've got Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo into the mike. "He's unconscious. We're coming back."
"Tetsuo here," said Tetsuo over the com unit. "I've ran a scan on that mist coming out of the hatch. It's deadly. Better wait for it to disperse."
"I've got a better idea," said Arata from the control room. "I'll use the hover-jets to blow it away."
"Let us know when you're ready," said Shinjo.
The hatch was hinged at the bottom and had opened downward. Vapor was still pouring out of the chamber. It was thick and flowed almost like water over the hatch and down the slope over rocks and boulders. Thinner wisps of vapor rose from it and some were drifting toward the open door that led to the cavern where Shinjo and M-11 were.
Arata guided Land Mogera to the right of the door and hovered. He was far enough away so that the jets weren't blowing directly on the door, but close enough so that the down-ward thrust created a wind that was blowing the vapors away.
"That should do it," said Arata. "I'll stay here while you come out."
"On our way," said Shinjo.
M-11 adjusted the controls on his hover-unit to compensate for the extra weight of Dr. Matsumara. Then he and Shinjo floated up out of the door and up out of the turbulence created by Land Mogera's hover-jets.
As they landed on the platform on Land Mogera, a loud cracking sound could be heard coming from the chamber below. Huge chunks of greenish colored ice exploded out of the opening followed by clouds of vapor that streaked out of it into the air. M-11 quickly carried Dr. Matsumara into the door. Shinjo started to follow M-11, then looked back briefly. Thru the greenish mist he saw something long and snake-like crawling out of the opening.
As M-11 came into the crew quarters, Tetsuo and Gustavo got up and took Dr. Matsumara. They carried him between them and seated him in his chair. Emiko pulled a leather bag out of a locker and joined them. After they had strapped Dr. Matsumara in, she pulled a med-scanner out of the bag and quickly ran it over him. The med-scan flashed information across it's mall screen.
M-11 and Shinjo took off their hover-units and handed them to Tetsuo. Then they ran down the hall and put their guns back in the weapons locker.
Shinjo hurried to his pilot's chair while M-11 strapped himself in the seat at his station.
"How's Dr. Matsumara," asked Arata.
"Don't know yet," replied Shinjo. "Emiko's checking him out now." Shinjo opened the com to the crew's quarters and said, "Strap in everyone, we're moving out!"
"Shinjo!" called Sato over the com. "What is that thing?"
Looking out the window, Shinjo could see the creature rear up. He quickly turned Land Mogera and flew away from it.
"Don't know Sato." Said Shinjo. "According to Miki it's been on ice for thousands of years."
The creature stood on the hatch door. The last traces of greenish vapor flowed out of the chamber and around it's flipper-like feet. The creature was a dark green in color and very long. It's head was wide with glowing eyes. Thick brows arched over it's eyes and met just in front of them. There the head narrowed sharply into a long snout, like an ant-eater. At the end it flared out a little and had a star-shaped hole in it.
The creature turned it's head on it's long neck and watched as Land Mogera flew further down into the canyon. A row of small armor plates ran down each side of it's head and on down the neck. A row of spikes started at the top of it's wide head and ran down the neck, stopping at the shoulders. The body widened at the creature's shoulders, but it had no arms. The creature arched it's back and took a short hop off the hatch and landed on the slope below. A very long tail with more spikes on it trailed out behind.
A Shinjo turned Land Mogera to face the creature, he saw it sliding down the slope in a cloud of dust.
Star Falcon and Land Mogera circled slowly around the creature. It looked from side to side, following them.
M-11 sat at the console just to the right of the rear seat. He used all of Mogera's sensors to monitor the creature. One showed an increase in the strength of the magnetic field given off by the creature.
"The magnetic field is increasing steadilly," said M-11. "It seems to be building a massive electrical charge."
"Makes sense," said Tetsuo from the crew's quarters. He was monitoring the creature also. "That's where the magnetic field is coming from."
Slowly the creature waddled forward on it's flipper-like feet, sending low clouds of dust up around it. As it did, small bolts of static electricity arched and leaped up and down it's long neck. The armor plates on each side of it's neck glowed and flickered.
M-11 saw the electrical energy suddenly increase. Before he could warn Shinjo, a massive bolt of energy leapt from the end of the creature's long snout. and struck Land Mogera, sending sparks flying. There was a deaffening clap of thunder as the bolt hit. Land Mogera was pushed violently back away from the creature. Static electical charges crawled all over it's hull. Inside, everyone was shaken by the blast.
Miki and Emiko screamed with fright as they held tightly to their seats. Gustavo was cursing in Italian and Tetsuo had his eyes closed tightly, praying.
The creature fired again. Brilliant bolts of electricity arched and crawled up and down it's long neck. The armor plates flashed in a pattern starting from the shoulder and up to the head like chasing strobe lights.
Shinjo swerved Land Mogera to one side as the bolt of lightning narrowly missed the ship. The shock wave of thunder hit Land Mogera and shook it violently again. Dirt and rocks erupted out of the far canyon where the bolt hit.
Sato turned Star Falcon to face the creature. "Fire lazers!" he ordered.
Hirofumi centered on the creature and fired both forward lazers that were mounted on 'Mogera's' hips. The beams struck the creature dead center in it's midsection and traveled up it's chest.
"They're not hurting it!" shouted Hirofumi.
The creature turned it's head towards Star Falcon. More static electricity arched around it's neck.
Before the creature could fire, it was hit by several missiles from Land Mogera. The force of the explosions sent it crashing to the ground in a huge cloud of dust. Shinjo could still see flashes of electricity shining thru the dust as the creature tried to build another charge.
"Fire missiles!" ordered Shinjo.
Arata still had missile lock on the creature and let loose another volley. The missiles streaked away from Land Mogera. Explosions erupted all thru the steadily growing dust cloud.
"It's too tight here," said Sato from Star Falcon. "We need more room."
"I know," said Shinjo. "Head back down the canyon. We'll cover for you."
Star Falcon kicked in it's thrusters and flew out of the narrow passage into the wider part af the canyon. In the distance Sato could see Biollante's saplings. All of them had their bulb leaves open and were turned towards them.
"Looks like we'll have an audience," said Sato sarcastically.
Arata watched on the rear monitor as Star Falcon drew further away and rounded the bend in the canyon. Shinjo had the hover-jets in reverse and was backing Land Mogera quickly away from where the creature was still hidden by dust.
"Still have missile lock Arata?" asked Shinjo.
"Yes," replied Arata.
"Fire!" ordered Shinjo.
"Yes sir," said Arata as he fired the missiles. More explosions erupted in the cloud of dust.
"That should keep it off-balance long enough for us to go Mogera Mode," said Shinjo. He called to Star Falcon. "Sato, start Mogera Mode, we're coming right behind you."
"Yes boss," came Sato's reply.
Back in the crew's quarters, Dr. Matsumara moaned and opened his eyes. "What-what happened?" he asked looking around. "How did I get in here?"
"You don't remember?" asked Emiko.
"No," he said uncertainly. "I - the last thing I remember was going to bed. What's going on?"
Before Emiko could answer him, Shinjo's voice came over the com. "Everyone okay back there?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Tetsuo. "And Dr. Matsumara is conscious. He looks okay. Just disoriented."
"That's good to hear," said Shinjo. "Stay strapped in. As soon as we get in the clear, we're going Mogera Mode."
Land Mogera came out into the main part of the canyon and hovered just ahead of Star Falcon.
"Begin Mogera Mode now!" ordered Shinjo.
In Star Falcon, Sata and Hirofumi finished activating Mogera Mode. The entire control room slid backwards out of the nose of Star Falcon. As it reached the main body of Star Falcon, the nose cone swiveled down and back, locking into place underneath. Panels opened up on each side of where the nose cone had been, revealing the massive couplings the would lock onto Land Mogera's rear. The wings on each side of 'Mogera's' hips slid into their recesses and panels closed over them.
Just up ahead, the collapsable drill on the front of Land Mogera telescoped in on itself and was covered by two shields that formed a dome on what would become Mogera's chest. In the crew's quarters, a door closed over the hallway that led to the control room.
When Land Mogera and Star Falcon joined to become Mogera, they formed a formidable fighting machine. But during the process of joining, the two ships were vulnerable to attack. Shinjo hoped they had enough time to form Mogera.
Armored plates slid over the control room windows. The control room lowered unto the carriage that carried it to Mogera's head back behind the crew's quarters. The control room entered the head and was carried up a shaft to it's resting place just above Mogera's eyes.
As Land Mogera slowly turned it's nose towards the ground, the entire crew's quarters rotated to stay level. Up in Mogera's head, Shinjo, Arata, and M-11 were safely strapped in as they hung face down. Land Mogera stopped turning. Panels opened as the head of Mogera came out, locked in place, and rotated to a horizontal position. Panels opened and Shinjo could look out over Mogera's nose .
Star Falcon and Land Mogera hovered for a moment while the computers made final adjustments and aligned them for the joining.
Tetsuo was telling Dr. Matsumara what had happened to him and how he had released the creature while under the Martian's control when Gustavo shouted something in Italian.
"Gustavo, slow down," insisted Tetsuo. "What is it?"
"It's coming!" Gustavo shouted in English as he looked up from his monitor.
The creature leaped around the bend of the canyon and looked around quickly. It saw Land Mogera and Star Falcon hovering. The creature arched it long back and almost doubled over on itself. Suddenly it snapped it's body straight and sprang from the ground, jumping hundreds of feet thru the air towards the two ships.
"NO!" shouted Shinjo as he tried desperately to fire thrusters.
Sato tried doing the same but the attack came too fast.
The creature sailed thru the air and passed between the tight space between Land Mogera and Star Falcon. It's massive body slammed both ships apart.
The creature's tail slapped Star Falcon and sent it careening towards one wall of the canyon. Shinjo and Arata struggled with Land Mogera. It was wobbling badly on it's hover-jets and spinning slowly from the impact.
Attitude jets on both ships kicked in and stabilized them. The nose cone of Star Falcon raised back into position and the control room slid back into place. Sato fired reverse thrusters and managed to pull up just before hitting the steadily approaching cliff.
Shinjo reversed Mogera Mode on Land Mogera. The head pulled back in the main body of the ship. Then it rotated. As soon as the rotation was finished, the control room slid out of Mogera's head, down the corridor and back to it's original position just above the drill.
The creature landed in a cloud of dust. It turned quickly as electricity crawled up and down it's neck. The neck plates began their strobing and a bolt of lightning thundered towards Star Falcon. The bolt hit the rear and sent sparks flying. Star Falcon shook from the impact.
"Get the boosters going Hirofumi," shouted Sato.
"They've shorted out," said Hirofumi desperately. "We can maneuver, but we can't go any faster!"
"Shinjo!" called Sato on the com. "We've got a big problem here. Boosters are out!"
"Understood," came back Shinjo's reply. "Put some distance between you and that thing. We're coming in for another attack."
"You got it boss," said Sato.
Land Mogera turned sharply and headed for the creature. "Fire spiral grenade missiles," ordered Shinjo.
"Yes, sir," said Arata. He quickly opened the cones on the ends of Mogera's arms. Arata centered on the creature and fired.
The missiles streaked away leaving trails of smoke behind them. They hit the creature dead center and sent it falling backwards. The creature's head popped up out of the dust cloud and fired, hitting the drill on Land Mogera. Shinjo and Arata were momenterilly blinded by the flash.
Electicity leaped around the drill, traveled up it and danced over the control room. Suddenly several control panels sparked and shorted out. One flashed into flame. M-11 unfastened himself and jumped to the fire extinguisher mounted on the wall nearby. He quickly put out the flames and managed to switch off the panel.
"Fulgureus!" said Gustavo.
"Fulgureus?" asked Tetsuo.
"Latin for 'full of lightning'," answered Gustavo.
"Well, that certainly fits it," exclaimed Shinjo over the com.
Star Falcon was slowly getting further away from Fulgureus. It fired a bolt of lightning energy. The bolt hit Star Falcon on it's side. Energy streaked into the wing's housing and traveled up and down the wiring in the leg. Star Falcon flipped over and flew out of control. Sato fired reverse thrusters, but they didn't kick in. Atitude jets came on and righted the ship as it fell. Star Falcon slammed into the ground and bounced back into the air. It came back down and landed heavily on it's right side and almost rolled over on it's top. Star Falcon paused, then fell back on it's bottom. Sato and Hirofumi were jarred back and forth by the impact, but their harnesses held them safely.
"Sato! Hirofumi! Are you okay?" came Shinjo's urgent voice from the still operating com.
"Yes," replied Sato. "Just shaken up. But that our hover-jets are damaged and that last blast shorted out a lot of Star Falcon's systems."
Fulgureus was standing again and began to fire at Land Mogera, but only a few weak arcs of electricity flashed along it's neck. The neck plates glowed dimly, then stopped.
"Now's our chance," said Shinjo. "Fire spiral grenade missiles!"
Arata fired two more at Fulgureus. Suddenly it jumped out of the way as the missiles streaked towards it. The missiles hit the ground behind where the creature was and exploded.
Before Arata could fire again, Fulgureus arched it's back and sprang into the air, sailing over Land Mogera. The creature whipped it's long tail down as it passed over and slammed Land Mogera. Everyone inside was jolted and only their safety harnesses kept them from being slammed into the ceiling. Just before hitting the ground, Shinjo fired the emergency thrusters. Even so, Land Mogera hit the ground hard. It rocked several times, then settled.
Shinjo looked quickly over his status board. Most of the lights were red.
"Main systems are temporarily off-line until we can reset", said M-11.
"Let's see what we can get going before it attacks again," said Shinjo.
Back in the crew's quarters, Dr Matsumara could hear the conversation over the com from the control room.
"I - I'm responsible for all this," he said in a low voice.
Miki's head was aching from the impact, but she heard Dr. Matsumara and could sense the remorse he felt.
"It's not your fault, sir, " Miki said in a reassuring voice. "It could have been any one of us that the Martians could have controled."
Emiko reached out and laid her hand on Dr. Matsumara's shoulder. He turned and looked at her with sad eyes.
"She's right," said Emiko. And with those words, Tetsuo and Gustavo added their support to Dr. Matsumara.
He smiled weakly and said, "Thank you, my friends."
Fulgureus looked at the two ships, waiting for them to attack again. It tried to gather energy for another blast, but being in suspended animation for so long had depleted it's resources too much. The canyon was starting to grow dark as the sun lowered in the sky above. Fulgureus looked up and saw the still lit clouds overhead.
Fulgureus jumped to the canyon wall. A massive landslide ages ago had formed a ramp leading up to the thick mist overhead. It continued leaping up the ramp, sending more landslides of earth behind it. Thickclouds of reddish dust flowed down and out from the falling dirt and boulders. Soon the creature dissappeared thru the mist.
Shinjo quickly checked on everyone in Land Mogera. He then called Sato in Star Falcon. "You two okay?"
Sato's image came on the monitor. "Yes," he replied. "But Star Falcon is a mess."
Arata and M-11 had been busy rerouting the command lines for Land Mogera while Shinjo was busy. As Shinjo talked to Sato, Arata interrupted him.
"Excuse me Shinjo, Sato," said Arata apologizing. "We've got most of the major systems back on-line. Diagnostics show several major problems in wiring just beneath the places where Fulgureus hit us with it's blasts."
"Thank you Arata," said Shinjo. Shinjo turned back to the monitor. "As soon as we get things going here, we'll bring Land Mogera over and see what we can get done."
"Thanks, Shinjo," said Sato. "Hirofumi and I will see what we can start on here. Star Falcon out."
Soon the crew of Land Mogera was outside working to make minor replacements and mend burnt wiring. They used hover-units to reach controls that opened panels in Land Mogera's armor shielding. These opened out and down, providing platforms for them to work on. Small access tunnels just under the plating allowed them to get into tight spots and make repairs. There were small spot lights that came on just inside the doorways so the crew could see better as they worked.
M-11 had just finished replacing a circuit board when Dr. Matsumara floated up and over the platform he was on. He was carrying a small tripod, portable scanner, and one of the helmets that had a built-in com-unit.
"Hello, M-11," said Dr. Matsumara as he landed. "I checked with Shinjo and we'd like for you to go up and see if you can spot Fulgureus. We thought that you could mount this remote scanner so we could keep track of it."
"I'd be happy too, sir," said M-11 as he took the tripod and scanner. "But I need to help Tetsuo finish here first."
Tetsuo stuck his head out of the open access doorway and said, "I'm nearly done here M-11. You go ahead. I'd feel a lot better knowing what that thing was up to myself."
"Oh," began Dr. Matumara, "I adjusted the com-unit so that it'll change your voice so that we can hear you. The thin air above doesn't carry sound too good and this will help."
"Thank you, sir," said M-11 as he put the helmet on. He unhooked the hover control from the hover-unit harness and was almost ready to take-off when Dr. Matsumara said, "Be careful, M-11. Don't take any chances up there."
"Yes, sir," said M-11. "And thank you." M-11 bowed and then switched on the hover conrtol. The hover-unit whined softly as it carried M-11 up towards the nearest canyon wall. Soon he disappeared in the darkness.
M-11 drifted up into the dark layer of clouds. As he went up through the damp mist, he used the scanner to try and locate Fulgureus. The scanner showed a massive magnetic disturbance above. For some reason, the mist sheilded the canyon from the effect. M-11 continued up thru the mist.
Soon he rose out of the mist. Just in front of him was a crevice. He used it for cover as he neared the top of the cliff. M-11 peeked over the rim of the crevice towards the magnetic disturbance. Fulgureus stood on the top of a large out-cropping of rock that rose above the plain just beyond the end of the crevice. There was a glow around it that showed up in his infra-red vision. There were many large boulders nearby that M-11 could use for cover.
M-11 floated out of the crevice and landed on the ground. Ice crystals crunched under his feet as he walked toward a boulder that had several cracks in it. He jammed the unfolded end of the tripod into one of the cracks, then picked up some rocks and jammed them in on each side of the tripod. He tested it and it was firm in place. M-11 made adjustments to the scanner so that the magnetic field wouldn't cause problems with the scanners computer and sensors. After mounting the scanner on the motorized head of the tripod, he called Land Mogera.
Shinjo was working with Miki and Gustavo when his com-unit beeped. He unhooked it and switched it on. "Shinjo here."
"Hello Shinjo," said M-11. Even though the com-unit on his helmet had been adjusted, his voice was still high-pitched. "I've set up the scanner. Fulgureus is not too far away. I need to see if the scanner's signal is coming through clearly."
"Hang on a second," said Shinjo. He called Arata in the control room.
Arata was running tests on the systems that had been repaired so far when Shinjo called. "Arata here," he answered.
"M-11 has set up the scanner above and wants to check the signal," said Shinjo.
"Yes, sir," said Arata. He accessed the main computer and punched in instructions. The screen lit up with a list of the different scanners that were in use and were on-line with the computer at the present time. He went down the short list and found M-11's scanner. Arata opened the window for the scanner and checked it.
"Signal coming through loud and clear," he said.
"Thanks Arata," said Shinjo. He switched to M-11 and said, "It's coming through fine, M-11."
"Thank you," answered M-11's tinny voice. "I'll be down shortly."
Several hours later, Dr. Matsumara sat at his station. He had been going over the scan records of Fulgureus. Shinjo stood behind him.
Everyone else was gathered around. They had taken a break and Shinjo wanted to check on Fulgureus.
"Any change?" asked Shinjo.
"No," answered Dr. Matsumara. "It's still standing there."
On the monitor Shinjo could see Fulgureus as a dark silouette against the stars. The plates on the side of it's head glowed softly.
"What's it doing?" asked Shinjo.
"Here, I'll show you," said Dr. Matsumara. He switched the monitor. The stars dissappeared. Fulgureus was just an outline on the screen, but surrounding it were multi-colored circles that dipped at the top and into the creature's head.
"That's the magnetic field it generates," explained Dr. Matsumara. He zoomed out and Shinjo could see that the field reached out several miles. The top of the field rose up into the sky and expanded, making a funnel shape.
"It's using the field to pull in photons from the dim light of stars and focusing them into it's body. I checked readings from before the sun set and they showed the same thing. It was absorbing the light from the sun. As you know, Mars has no magnetic field to speak of to protect it from radiation and the solar wind. Fulgureus absorbs light energy and other forms of radiation and stores it, converting it into electrical energy somehow."
"Like solar panels on satellites," said Tetsuo in awe. "And the magnetic field acts like a massive scoop to catch and focus them to it."
"Precisely," said Dr. Matsumara. "There's no telling how much power Fulgureus can store in it's body. If it comes back, it'll be more powerfull than before."
Dr. Matsumara typed in instructions to the computer. A graph appeared. "According to this, here's it's energy level during the first attack," he said indicating the low end of the graph. "And here's where it is now." The graph rose sharply at the other end.
Shinjo studied the graph and time over which it covered. "When the sun comes up in the morning, Fulgereus' energy will increase even more."
"I don't think we'll stand a chance against this thing," said Dr. Matsumara.
"We'd better get repairs done as soon as we can," said Shinjo. "I hate running from a battle, but we might have no choice in this. I'd better update Director Nakajima and Dr. Otani about this." Shinjo switched on the com and called to Arata in the control room. "Arata, get me Ogasawara Space Port on the line. And put in a call to Dr. Otani as well. Switch it back here."
"You got it," replied Arata.
A panel opened and showed a large view screen on the left wall. In a few moments, Director Nakajima and Dr. Otani appeared on the screen.
Dr. Matsumara quickly went over his findings and sent the information to Dr. Otani. He studied the report on the magnetic field.
"The SY-3 has been launched," said Director Nakajima. "But it'll be at least a week before it gets there. You're right Shinjo, you may have to leave before another attack."
"One thing that's been bothering me," began Dr. Otani, "How does Fulgureus travel in space. From what Miki said, the one group of Martians made it come to Mars. And so far it hasn't shown any ability to fly."
Dr. Matsumara had an odd look on his face. Then he said with some uncertainty, "I - I think Fulgureus changes form for space travel. I'm not sure though. It - it's a memory, something left over from when the Martians took over my mind."
"Do you remember anything else?" asked Director Nakajima.
"N - no sir," stuttered Dr. Matsumara.
"If worse comes to worse, we can hold out in the Martian stasis control room. We have plenty of food," said Shinjo.
"That gives me an idea," said Dr. Otani. "You might be able to use some of the wiring and hardware from the Martian control room to help in your repairs."
"That's an excellent idea sir," said Shinjo. "Between Dr Matsumara and M-11, I'm sure they could salvage something."
"I don't think I'd be much help," said Dr. Matsumara. "I don't remember much about how the controls work. We might disturb something and short out everything."
Dr. Otani thought for a moment then said, "Dr. Matsumara, Miki could help you remember. Let her try."
Dr. Matsumara shuddered at the thought. His mind had already been invaded once already and he didn't look forward to any thing like it again.
Shinjo saw Dr. Matsumara's reaction and said, "Dr. Matsumara, Miki's been in my mind before. That's how we opened the hatch to the control room. She would never do to you what the Martians did."
"Shinjo, one more thing," said Director Nakajima.
"Yes, sir," Shinjo asked.
"If you have to face Fulgureus again, the civilians should stay in the Martian cavern."
"Yes, sir," agreed Shinjo.
"Ummm, excuse me," spoke up Gustavo. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that if there's a battle, we want to help."
"Yes, absolutely," agreed Emiko.
"We're a team," said Tetsuo.
"It's your decision," said Director Nakajima. "I'm against it, but it's up to you. Anything else, Shinjo?"
"No, sir," anwered Shinjo.
"Ogasawara out," said Director Nakajima and the screen went blank.
While the others went back to finishing repairs, Miki and Dr. Matsumara at alone at the dinner table.
"I know you're nervous sir, but maybe there's something we can use at the control room," said Miki. "I won't be reading your mind. I'll only be helping you to remember anything that might help us."
"I know, Miki," said Dr. Matumara. "It's just that after what happened, I'm still afraid. I was invaded! It was mental rape!"
Miki grined and said, "Dr. Matsumara, I'll be gentle. You will be in control the whole time." She reached out and held his hand in hers. "You'll be my guide. Think of it as exploring a dark cave together and you have the map and the light."
"Oh---okay," said Dr. Matsumara as he tried to force a smile. "What do I do?"
"Close your eyes and relax," said Miki. "When you feel me in your mind, I'll wait till you're ready to."
Dr. Matsumara took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He closed his eyes and slowly began to relax.
Miki closed her eyes also. She reached out and gently touched Dr. Matsumara's mind. He was resisting her, so she waited. Several minutes passed.
Dr. Matsumara began to try and remember what took place in the Martian control room, but the memories were dim and out of reach. He felt Miki, sensed her nearby. Slowly, the image of a dark cave began to form in his mind. The image cleared and he saw himself standing in a cavern with dark side tunnels. In his hand he held a bright light.
"Miki, you made this, didn't you?" Dr. Matsumara asked with his mind.
"Yes," he heard her say beside him. He turned and Miki was standing there. "The tunnels represent places in your mind that are sealed off from me. Places you don't want me to go. Personal things that are important to you. We'll only go where you lead. One of the tunnels is where the knowledge the Martians placed in your mind is. They controled you, but they worked thru you too and had to place the ability to use the controls in your mind. Ready?"
"Yes," said Dr. Matumara with gaining confidence.He looked around and saw one tunnel that was darker than the rest. He knew for certain that that was the one. "It's there, I'm sure," he said as he led Miki to the cave.
Shinjo had told the others to take a hover-craft and join Sato and Hirofumi so they could help with repairs to Star Falcon. He and Arata had just finished the last of the rewiring when Shinjo's com beeped. "Shinjo here," he said into it.
"This is Miki," she said excitedly. "We've found what we were looking for and more. There's insulating foam for wiring stored in the cavern and tanks of liquid nitrogen that the Martians used to freeze Fulgureus. They're left over from when it was sealed in the chamber."
"That's great!" said Shinjo. "But will we be able to use the tanks on Mogera?"
"Yes," said Miki. "Dr. Matumara remembered that the chamber was originally one of the Martian's repair garages for their airships before it was converted over."
"Yes," Shinjo heard Dr. Matsumara in the background. "There are remote arms that I can use to put them on with and hook them into Mogera's main computer. It'll give us a fighting chance against Fulgureus!"
Shinjo and Arata backed Land Mogera into the now vacant chamber. "That should do it," said Shinjo as he powered down the tank treads underneath the ship. "We're ready here, Dr. Matsumara," he said over the com.
Dr. Matsumara stood in front of the console. He turned to Miki and asked, "Ready?"
Miki nodded and closed her eyes. As she reached into Dr. Matsumara's mind, she felt the mind of the aggressive Martians as they tried to block her, but she slipped right thru their barriers.
Miki stood quietly as Dr. Matsumara touched different buttons on the console. As he did, she sent mental commands thru him and into the console.
Inside the chamber, a rail system with jointed arms mounted on it lowered out of the ceiling. The arm mounts slid along the rails to tanks at the end of the chamber. The arms reached out and quickly closed vavles, unhooked the tanks, and placed them on top of Land Mogera's out-stretched arms, just behind the cones that covered the spiral grenade housings. Other arms came out from the far wall and welded the tanks in place. The ceiling arms released the tanks and began installing wiring that led from the tank to open panels on the arms. M-11 checked the new wiring and connections on his monitor.
As the tanks were being connected, several arms placed big containers of wiring and insulation foam in Land Mogera's side storage compartments.
In minutes, all the arms retracted into the ceiling and wall.
"How's it look M-11?" asked Shinjo.
"Perfect," M-11 replied. "I can control the tanks from here or you can use your spiral grenade firing controls. Just type in "NT.exe" into the main command. "/NT" will allow you to use the missiles again."
"Thanks Dr. Matsumara," said Shinjo.
"It's Miki you need to thank," came Dr. Matsumara's reply over the com. "Without her help, I couldn't have done this."
"And a big thank you Miki," said Shinjo. "Meet us outside and we'll get back to Star Falcon." He turned on the treads and rolled Land Mogera to the entrance.
The wing was bent and wouldn't retract. This caused a conflict with the computer that would take too long to reprogram. It also stopped certain mechanical changes in the hip joint making Star Falcon inoperable for the transformation to Mogera. They had already repaired the shorted wiring and used material from the Martian chamber to add insulation.
"This is not good," said Shinjo looking up at the wing. "If we have to fight, we'll need Mogera."
"Not to mention we need Mogera to get back to Earth," said Sato. "Star Falcon and Land Mogera don't have the power by themselves to make to trip."
M-11 was standing on top of what would become Mogera's hip. He jumped down to the wing and walked along it, studying the bent mid-section.
"I've got an idea," M-11 called down to Shinjo. "I'll need Land Mogera's plasma lazer canon."
Shinjo and Sato looked questionly at each other.
"You don't think he was damaged in the battle do you?" he asked. "What's he planning, to cut the wing off?"
"No. M-11 is very good at coming up with things that aren't obvious to most people sometimes. Remember, he thinks a lot faster than use," said Shinjo. "Let's see what he's got in mind."
Shinjo switched on his hover-unit and floated up to the wing. Sato shook his head, but followed Shinjo.
Spot lights were strung up on several tall boulders around Star Falcon. Shinjo had landed Land Mogera in front and to the side of the damaged wing.
Dr. Matsumara stood on a small rise with a portable scanner mounted on a tripod overlooking Star Falcon. From this angle he had a good view of the wing. He was tied in to Land Mogera's computer. On the screen was a digital rendering of the bent wing that showed areas of stress and temperature.
Tetsuo was behind Star Falcon with another scanner.
"Ready, Dr. Matsumara?" asked Shinjo over the com.
"Yes. All the neccessary measurements are done," he answered.
In Land Mogera's control, Shinjo turned to M-11 and asked, "Ready, M-11?"
"Yes sir," said M-11. "I'm sending the proper coordinates to the targeting control now."
Arata watched his monitor as numbers appeared on the screen. He typed them in to the targeting computer. The image of the wing appeared on the targeting monitor. Cross-hairs appeared, overlaying the wing.
"Got it," he said to Shinjo.
"Thanks," said Shinjo.
The collapsable drill had been retracted and replaced by the plasma lazer canon. Shinjo lowered the intensity of the lazer's output and adjusted the focusing of the dish from the normally narrow beam to a wider beam.
"Here goes," said Shinjo. He switched on the plasma lazer canon.
The dish glowed and fired a wide beam at the wing. Slowly Shinjo moved the beam back and forth over the bend.
Dr. Matsumara studied thermo readings on his scanner. "It's heating up pretty evenly," he said over the com. "No major hot spots."
The bend slowly began to glow from red-hot and then to yellow.
M-11 sat checking readings sent by Dr. Matsumara. "That should do it."
"Thanks," said Shinjo as he turned off the canon. "Your turn Arata."
Arata had his hands on the control sticks for Mogera's arm. Using them he reached out and grabbed the wing on both sides of the glowing bend with the spiral grenade missile covers. These served as Mogera's hands. The right hand clamped the wing where it came out of it's housing. The left hand swiveled and grabbed the up-tilting end of the wing.
Numbers appeared on his monitor as M-11 sent tolerences for the amount of pressure to use. Arata began to apply a gentle pressure. Gauges showed the amount of force he was applying. He matched M-11's figures as close as he could.
"Stress looks okay," came Dr. Matsumara's voice over the com.
Slowly the wing began to straighten out. Tetsuo studied his scanner intently. Soon the wing was straight again. "That's it!" he said. Except for several wrinkles, the wing almost level.
Arata stopped the arms and locked them in place to hold the wing as it cooled.
Shinjo looked back at M-11 and said, "M-11, that was sheer genious!"
M-11 grinned slightly and said, "Thank you, Shinjo. My pleasure."
"Okay everyone," began Shijo. "While the wing cools, let's get some much deserved rest."
M-11 sat in Land Mogera's control room, monitoring the temperature of the repaired wing. Not needing to sleep, he kept watch as the others slept. It was now day-light outside.
Suddenly, all the monitors became fuzzy and streaked with static. M-11 made adjustments and finally filtered out the interference. He checked the scanner above that was monitoring Fulgureus. It showed that the creature was still sitting on the out-cropping of rock, facing the sun. M-11 studied readings from the scanner and saw that the interference was coming from the sky above. He activated the remote and swiveled the scanner's camera up. One the screen was a cloud of bright sparks of light that was slowly flowing out of the sky.
Miki woke with a start and gasped.
The noise awakened Emiko. "Miki, are you okay?" she asked sleepily.
"Yes," answered Miki. "It's Biollante, she's coming!"
----------to be continued