Insertion Part 30: The End of the World by Sean D'Anna ===== Washuu smirked as she strolled onto the cockpit of the small ship as it rocketed through space. "I hope we don't miss much." commented Ranma as he glanced back at her. "Where are we going?" muttered Serenity dumbly. "Back to Earth," said Hanna. "Isn't that where Valdis is going?" said Endimyon nervously. "Somebody give this kid a cigar," said Ranma as he leveled a small glare at the boy. "That's crazy!" cried the boy in shock. "Yay!" said Serena cheerfully as she threw her arms into the air. "I doubt if you'll be cheering when we get there," said Ranma as he turned to look at her for a moment. "We'll be killed in this piece of junk!" cried Endimyon in terror. "Hey!" snapped Hanna as she turned to look at him for a moment. "Oh relax, I upgraded the shields, and the weapons systems a bit," said Washuu with a small wave of her hand. "Plus, I know the weakness of the Flagship. I did design it after all." "You what?" muttered Endimyon as he stared at her for a moment. "We should have plenty of time, the main cannon takes a half hour to charge. I designed it that way on purpose," said the woman cheerfully. "That might help us, if we knew when and where they were going to be there," said Ranma flatly. "You forget! I am the greatest scientific genius in the universe. They'll be there in half an hour," replied the woman with as she waved the comment off. "So that gives us..." said Hanna as she appeared to think about it. "Five minutes from the time we get there! No problem! Plenty of time!" said Washuu as she raised her fist in triumph. +++++++++++ Serenity sat on her throne, a deep frown etched onto her features as she contemplated her situation. Things were not going well for her at all, her daughter was somewhere in the galaxy with an unknown, the crystal was lost to her and in the hands of her enemy, and finally, an attack was eminent. A small man dressed in rich looking robes walked into the room and bowed to her deeply. "Highness..." "So, he had come?" "Yes highness," replied the man as he glanced up at her feet for a moment. There is a large fleet on the other side of the planet Earth. "What is your command?" "We fight, I will not surrender my kingdom to that madman, better to destroy it," she replied simply. "Highness?" muttered the small man in confusion. "Valdis is not the head of this evil. There is a much darker force at work here," replied the queen. She stood up and smoothed her gown down a bit. "Perhaps we will find a way, it will take a miracle to save us now." "General Genaku awaits orders, as do Admirals Jadeite and Nephrite. Kunzite and Zocite are both on the outer rim, to defend Pluto should the need arise, as you have ordered." "No, they are there to destroy Pluto should the need arise," replied the woman as she walked by the tiny man and left him bowing in the middle of the room. The senshi of time appeared in the room after she had left and looked down at the man for a moment. "Go." "You wish to speak with the queen?" muttered the man dumbly. "No, be gone. I am here because something about this battle...is unknown," replied the woman quietly. "What is this force I cannot see?" she muttered to herself as the man scurried away. +++++++++++++ "Admiral, our orders are to engage," said an officer aboard one of the command ships in space. Jadeite nodded grimly. He was sitting in a chair in the center of the bridge and looked almost casual as he leaned to one side and propped his head up with one arm. He had been briefed on the situation already. "You have your orders then, commander." "Aye sir," replied the man as he moved away. A small screen flashed to life on one of the arms and he saw Nephrite's face. "You heard our orders?" Nephrite nodded grimly. "General Genaku has been sent to Earth, to defend it rather than the moon." "I imagine he is quite unhappy with that," said Jadeite calmly. "Cussing up a storm as we speak," said Nephrite with a small chuckle. "Yer damn right I am! I'm not goin!" snarled a familiar face on another screen just below the first one. "Obey your orders, general," said the queen's voice from the comm. system. "I've got no use fer this pathetic rock!" snarled the man angrily. "Ye blasted woman! I'll be of more use on the moon with ye!" "No," said Serenity before she cut off the communication. Jadeite smirked as he imagined the man's face turning red. "Fighters sir!" cried one of the officers on the bridge. "Coming around the orbit of Earth!" "My god. There's hundreds of them," commented one of the other officers from his own station. "A number we can easily match," said Jadeite coolly as he nodded at the man. "Sir!" replied the first officer as he carried out the unspoken command. He leaned into a microphone and began giving orders to the crew. ++++++++++++ Valdis stood on the deck of the Federation command vessel. His cold stare hidden by his dark armor. The only new addition was the two small crystals that were now attached to the clasps on his long black cape. He watched his fighters move around the horizon of the planet towards the fleet he could not yet see. The sleek looking craft were moving in formation, an intimidating sight for anyone they were moving towards. "And so the moon falls." "Well Lord Valdis?" said one of the officers with a confident smirk. "Tell the other ships in the fleet to move in to attack. We need time to charge the main gun," replied the man calmly as he continued to stare out into space. ++++++++++++++ The imperial fighters swarmed out into space, moving in almost the same fashion as the opposing side as they moved to intercept them. "Red leader here, lock and load gentlemen. We're about to get hot and heavy," said the wing commander of one of the fighter groups. "Blue leader here, you heard the man boys, time to kick some ass," replied another wing commander. "Gold leader, Roger that," said yet another one. "Let's go to full thrust gentlemen, they're in sight. Let's show em what these babies can do," said the red leader as he turned his afterburners on and shot foreword. The enemy fighters buzzed by them, shooting their lasers and starting the battle. The leader of the red squadron turned sharply and blasted one of the smaller fighters with his own nose-mounted lasers. "First blood is ours boys!" "Damn! These things are fast!" cried one of his wingmen as he shot just over the man's cockpit blasting his lasers at one of the small round ships. "Shit!" said the wing commander as he realized that one of the deadly ships was on his tail. It was suddenly very obvious that the small round ships were much faster and more maneuverable than the wedged shaped fighters of the imperial forces. "Blue leader here, don't try and outrun these bastards! You're gonna have to out fly em boys!" He buzzed the side of one of the enemy command ships as it appeared from the other side of the planet. Two of the enemy fighters slammed into the hull of the massive beast, doing little damage in the process. "Red three, this is red three! I'm in trouble!" cried one of the wingmen. "I've been blind sided...I can't..." The transmission cut off as a ball of fire appeared in space. The leader of the red squadron sighed and closed his eyes for a split second as he realized that that was probably far from the last of his men who wouldn't be coming home this time. ++++++++++++ "Orders sir?" said one of the officers on board one of the three large command ships in the Federation fleet. The captain was a wiry man with a slicked back gray hairdo. He frowned and looked out at the battle for a moment. "Stay clear of the moon, concentrate your fire on the other capital ships." "We're not going to attack the moon sir?" said the officer in surprise. "No, Lord Valdis says he has something special planned for them," said the man stoically. "Aye sir," replied the officer as he returned to his station. "All hands, fire when ready. Target capital ships, repeat, target capital ships." ++++++++++++ Jadeite gripped his chair as he glared at the ships moving towards his own fleet. "They destroyed one of our cruisers sir!" cried one of the crew as the entire vessel shook from laser fire. "Destroy them!" screamed Jadeite in frustration. "Shields at twenty percent!" cried the officer. "Increase foreword firepower!" snarled the Admiral as he gripped the arms of his chair a little tighter. +++++++++++++ Valdis snorted as he watched the battle from a small screen to the right of the large window that looked out into space. He snorted and turned to look at the planet that still obscured his view directly. "We may not even have to use the cannon." ++++++++++++ "We're dropping like flies out here!" cried the red leader as he flew through the hail of fire and missiles that blasted through space. Explosions surrounded him in the vacuum of space, burning only for a few seconds before the void snuffed them out. "I got one of the bastards on my tail! I need assistance!" cried one of the wingmen desperately. "Shake him! I can't get to you!" he replied. "You can do it!" He paused as a strange battle cry suddenly rang across the airwaves. "YEEEEE HAAAAAWWWWW!" The fighter chasing his wingman exploded and a large round and flat ship blasted through the explosion. It fired from the laser turrets mounted on the top and bottom of the ship and two more of the ships exploded. "Imperial fleet. This is the Mikon Taka calling. You boys look like you could use some help!" said a male voice as the ship spun around on its axis and changed directions in an instant. Three more of the enemy fighters exploded. A huge response sounded across the airwaves as a few of the men cheered as the ship weaved through the fighters and blasted anything that wasn't wedge shaped. "Who the hell is that?" muttered the red leader dumbly. +++++++++++++ "I got one!" cried Serenity from her position on one of the laser turrets. "That's great kid! Don't get cocky!" replied Ranma from the cockpit. "Um...where's the command ship?" asked Endimyon as he continued to shoot from the opposite laser turret. "Probably hiding on the other side of Earth," replied Washuu. She was sitting just behind the copilot's seat. Hanna was next to Ranma and appeared about ready to pass out. Ranma turned on the communications switch. "Gentlemen, I'm gonna need a few volunteers." +++++++++++++ "Are you receiving this?" said Nephrite as he ignored the violent shaking of his ship as the larger starships blasted one another. They were in a defensive perimeter around the moon, but still a fairly good distance away from it. Jadeite's signal was wavering, but still there. "I am. What the hell is this?" he replied. "Your highness?" said Nephrite as he flipped another switch. "I'm receiving it," said Serenity quietly. It was obvious that the she was not taking it well. Ranma's voice was being broadcast across the airwaves. "...the command ship has something called a Planet Smasher on it. It's a big laser that does exactly what it sounds like. I know how to take it out, but I'm gonna need some cover. We've got about five minutes before it finishes charging and that damn thing rounds the horizon and blows the living shit out of the moon." "That's crazy!" cried one of the men fighting. Jadeite clenched his fist and flipped one of the switches on his console. "Red leader, take what's left of your men and follow him." "Sir?" said the man dumbly. "You heard my orders," said the man firmly. "Yes sir," said the man dejectedly. ++++++++++++++ "What the hell?" said the red leader as they suddenly came into a quiet area of space. There were no ships flying around of any kind. Ranma had managed to pull three fighters away from the fighting. All that remained of a ten-man squadron. "It's dead here. There's no other ship!" groused one of the wingmen. "Buddy, you've got a lot of ne..." agreed one of his copilots. He suddenly cut himself off as the massive starship appeared in front of them, circling the horizon. "Look at the size of that thing!" "They're probably expecting us boys. Let's not disappoint them," said Ranma. He flipped off the communications switch and looked down at the timer on the console. "One minute," he muttered. "Not enough time," said Washuu. "What do we do?" muttered Hanna. "Why's it so cold in here?" asked Serena from below them. "You're right, I'm freezing," said Washuu as she suddenly realized why she was so uncomfortable. "Sorry. I got excited," said Ranma sheepishly. +++++++++++ "Not enough time? That's not possible!" said Dan angrily. "The moon is still there in our time!" "Not if we don't do something," said Ranma. "Can we go home yet?" whined Pissant. "We've got to calm down, we're going to freeze everyone on board if we aren't careful," said Carrot. "Hey, if it's this cold," said Ranma as he looked thoughtful for a moment. "It won't work, there's nothing out here to throw at it. No heat in space," countered Carrot. "And no wind." "Damn," grumbled Ranma. Carrot turned his head and smirked as he looked outside. "I've got an idea. All of you, drop the temperature as low as you can. We've got to make it as cold as possible in here." "What?" said the others in unison. "Just do it! Trust me! It may buy us the time we need if it works!" said Carrot. "If not?" asked Dan. "Then we'll be short one moon and a mess of senshi when we get back," replied Carrot. "I think I'm getting airsick," said Pissant nervously. ++++++++++++ "Damn. Not enough time," said Ranma after he flipped on the comm. switch. "Red leader, take your group and hang back, I think I can buy us some more time to hit that thing. We're not going to make it as is." "What? The hell! We've..." started the man. "We've got less than one minute before that thing fires. Fall back and wait for me!" snapped Ranma. The Mikon Taka dove away from the huge ship and suddenly righted itself as a strange red glow began to surround it. "What the hell is he doing?" muttered the red leader as he watched in confusion and pulled up and away from his headlong course into the enemy ship's path. "He's drawing a circle?" said one of the wingmen. "No. It's a...spiral?" ++++++++++++ "You may fire when ready commander," said Valdis as he turned to face his gunnery officer. "Aye sir," he replied as he turned to his station. "Fire at will!" Valdis smirked as the nose of the starship opened, and a ball of power began to form. His smirk faded slightly as he turned to see something odd forming off to the side of the ship. "What is that?" ++++++++++++ "What the hell are you doing?" cried Hanna desperately as she rubbed her shoulders. "Stop fooling around!" Washuu grabbed her shoulder and shook her head. "No. I know what he's doing, and it's going to work." "I'm getting dizzy!" whined Serena. Endimyon would have said something similar if he wasn't hunched over the side of his laser turret. "Hey! You're going to clean that up, buddy!" cried Hanna as she noticed it. "Just a little more!" said Ranma as he continued to fly in a tighter spiral. "Ranma! We're out of time!" said Washuu. "Got it!" cried the boy triumphantly as he pulled the ship up sharply and performed a vertical barrel roll. "Hiryu Shouten Ha!" The ship was suddenly jolted violently as the atmosphere of the planet Earth suddenly jumped up and out in a tight funnel. It remained in the center of the blast, out of harms way. Valdis's ship wasn't so lucky, it took the attack on the side of the hull and was spun violently to the right. "Oh shit!" cried Ranma as the huge laser beam on the front discharged. The beam tore through the atmosphere and actually grazed the North American continent briefly. The boy looked back as both attacks died down. "Did I just create the Grand Canyon?" he muttered to himself. "That was...cool..." said Hanna as she looked at him in shock. "Yeah. It was, wasn't it?" said the boy as he turned and grinned at her. "What the hell was that?" cried red leader over the comm. system. His two wingmen cheered in the background. "No time to explain. We've got to take this thing out!" cried Ranma as he put his thrusters on full. "We're on your tail," said one of the wingmen excitedly. ++++++++++++++++ "Fire!" snarled Jadeite as his lasers ripped into the side of one of the enemy ships, finally breaking through its shields. "Torpedoes! Blow it apart!" "Aye sir!" said one of the men from his station. Two small balls of light erupted from the ship and slammed into the Federation starship's engines. The entire vessel exploded, shattering completely and sending debris across the battlefield. "Got ya!" snapped Jadeite as he pumped his arm. "The battle is turning!" cried one of the men at another station. "We're driving them back, sir!" "Don't assume anything until the battle is won!" replied the man as he pushed his hair back and sat back down in his seat. "Next target, commander." "Aye, sir," replied the man. ++++++++++++++ "Where is this weakness?" asked Ranma as he flew along the side of the gigantic ship. The three smaller vessels rushed along beside him, keeping the numerous laser turrets off of him. "Right there," said Washuu as she pointed at an unusual looking spot on the starship. Sitting near the back of the hull was a large set of neon signs. "Shoot me here!" "Weakness!" "Vulnerable spot!" "Easy kill! Shoot here!" "What the hell?" said Hanna dumbly. "It's pretty simple really. I wired the entire ship, so that it wouldn't work unless these exact signs were in place," said Washuu with a shrug. "They also can't shield it, or the laser will overheat. Another intentional design flaw. In fact, I'd rather you destroyed this thing. It's embarrassing to make something so flawed. Even if I did do it on purpose." "No wonder they wanted to kill you," said Ranma as he looked back at her for a moment. +++++++++++++ "Sir! There are four enemy ships that have penetrated our defenses! They're moving towards it sir!" cried one of the officers. "No! That can't be! How did...Washuu!" Valdis turned and looked at the screen in front of him in horror. "What do we do?" said one of the commanders nervously. "I won't let it end this way!" snarled Valdis. "How long till the cannon is up again?" "Twenty eight minutes sir!" replied the officer numbly. "I see," said Valdis coldly. "What do we do sir? They're on top of it!" "We die, like men," replied Valdis as he turned away and started to walk off the bridge. ++++++++++++ Outside the gigantic starship, Ranma Saotome fired a single antimatter missile into the exhaust port for the giant laser weapon. The four tiny fighters blasted away as the gigantic starship burst into a huge flash of light. The battle was over. ++++++++++++ Ranma landed the ship on the moon and lowered the ramp. They were inside the landing dock of the palace, Serenity and Endimyon both rushed out of the ship and onto the ground again, stopping to kiss the ground for a moment before standing up and realizing that there were hundreds of men looking at them. After a moment they broke into cheering. "That was one hell of a show," said the red leader as he walked up to the man with his hand extended. "Thanks. I did my best," replied the boy with a smirk on his face. "My name is Wedge, I've never seen piloting like that before," said the man as he smacked the boy on his shoulder. "Well, I hope you two have that whole adventure thing out of your system," said Ranma as he looked at the prince and princess for a moment with a small frown on his face. Serena nodded violently, with Endimyon in full cooperation. "Well, here I am. Arrest me, put me to death. Just get it over with," said Hanna as she turned to one of the guards that had approached the ship. The man looked at her dumbly for a moment and shrugged before turning away without a word. "Well, that was certainly interesting," said Washuu as she stepped off the ship. A new set of guards pushed past the crowd of cheering pilots and approached the group. "Her Highness, Queen Serenity, has granted the crew of the Mikon Taka an audience with her. Please follow us," said the lead man as he pulled out a ridiculous looking scroll and read it out loud. "I'll see you around kid," said Wedge as he pat him on his shoulder and walked off into the crowd with his men. "I guess so," said Ranma with a smirk on his face. ++++++++++++ TBC... Next time: The Final Battle?