3 MILLION YEARS AGO
It came streaking across the vast emptiness of space...fleeing its opponent, seeking a haven where it could rest and regain strength. Anywhere where the servants of the light could not find it...oppose it.
It found a likely blue and white world...the third one from its sun. Yes...all the signs were there˜it was a place that was starting to develop all kinds of life forms. Intelligent lifeforms would soon begin to evolve. When that happened, It planned to be there...to seduce the sentient forms of life to become Its willing servants. To embrace the darkness.
And then, It would be able to consume all.
MARCH 21, 2066
In the news: the country of Hontwall continued to make disturbing headlines, only a few months after pulling out of the United Nations, Hontwall's President Beoluke announced that his country and at least four other nations were allying with each other in a deliberate bid to form their own military alliance. The President used the occasion of his fifty-second birthday to condemn the Mantle Plan˜a high-tech and expensive plan to help the Earth convert itself to clean, green energy˜being especially critical of the plan's most ardent supporter, Dr. Kozaburo Nambu.
Behind the scenes: the vid reports on the mysterious event in Myori were incomplete˜they really only showed what was left of the city after it had been wiped off the face of the Earth. However, the Security Chief of the International Science Organization, Dr. Nambu, knew better. And now he had the unenviable task of having to explain to the council members at the International Science and Technology Headquarters what was actually happening.
He addressed Director Anderson specifically, but both men phrased their questions and answers so that Nambu was able to outline to the entire council that the country of Hontwall was actually fronting a secret terrorist organization called the Gallactor. As such, the Gallactor were organizing advanced technology in a bid to destabilize world politics to the point where they could take over the planet. Dr. Kessler˜one of the other scientists on the council˜openly scoffed Nambu's theories, but even he was hard-pressed to explain away the huge silhouette of some oversize mecha that appeared within the last known weather anomaly reported over Myori.
Even as Nambu was making his report to the council, however, there was a report being compiled and printed up for him about how the commercial jet plane of Dr. Kirkland, an established leader in the field of atmospheric science, had mysteriously vanished in mid-flight. Nambu had no way of knowing that the plane had been hijacked, the doctor removed from the flight and then the plane itself blown to bits...not for certain. When he heard about it later however, Nambu was sure that Kirkland's disappearance was orchestrated by the Gallactor.
THE SHELL-SHOCKED Dr. Kirkland found himself being led through the huge ship he found himself captive in by a pair of tall, slender people dressed in outfits that reminded him of blackbirds˜rather deadly ones, if the wrist claws were anything to judge by. Kirkland, however, wasn't in any condition to think about it too much, however˜he was still mentally recoiling in horror at the destruction of the plane that had been vaporized before his eyes. He stumbled as he relived the sight of the energy beam blasting the plane full of defenseless people, imagining that he could hear their screams. A firm hand grasped his elbow.
"Are you all right, doctor?" the voice that asked the question˜and the touch on his arm˜apparently belonged to a woman. The scientist turned his head to stare into the blank black visor that covered the upper part of her face. Before he could say anything, the other Blackbird snarled:
"Stop coddling the human! We just need to get him to the mothership˜we don't need to be concerned about him!"
"Dr. Kirkland has been designated as being important to the Gallactor imperative, Viz." the female rebuked her fellow. "As such, we should make sure he arrives before Solaris in a sound condition."
"Fine!" the one called Viz. "But don't take it too far, Kara...you're Kiri...and that puts you at the bottom of our pecking order. We won't tolerate any sentimentality from you."
"Thanks for the reminder, Viz." Kara replied stiffly. She palmed open a door and helped Kirkland enter the space beyond˜it looked like he was being transferred to another, smaller ship. As soon as he was in the boarding space, however, Viz stepped up to Kara, placing his arms to either side of her so that she was trapped against the bulkhead within his intimate space.
"It doesn't need to be that way, you know..." Viz's voice dropped to a seductive purr, "...I'd be more than happy to make sure that your status in the cadre is elevated...if you would only grant me a few...concessions." Kirkland got the definite feeling that Viz was alluding to sexual concessions˜and Kara's body English telegraphed her utter distaste for this proposition.
"Thank you for your kindly offer, Viz." she said with obvious irony. "But I'd like to think that I...'elevated'...myself due to my own skill and training." Viz's mouth twitched and he thrust his hips at her.
"Have it your way, then." he acquiesced, then stepped away from Kara. She went on to help the man into the craft and to the seat he was to occupy. Viz took the other seat.
"Dismissed, Kiri." he said, waving a hand. The young woman withdrew, the door sliding shut. Kirkland eyed the man now piloting the craft they were in. Viz was chuckling, and it wasn't a good sound.
"She doesn't know it yet, human," Viz gloated, "But Kara will be mine. She is Kiri, and, in spite of the fact that the Gallactor rule our people, her kind is still desired for mating...their prowess for giving intense pleasure˜and pain˜is legendary." He chuckled again. "Once I have her claimed and trained...she can give me such...exquisite agony."
Dr. Kirkland wondered what the hell kind of horror he had been plunged headfirst into now.
The Blackbird called Kara, meanwhile, was questioning her continued loyalty to the cadre. More and more, the rhetoric that had been drilled into her for the past ten or so years was leaving a sour taste in her mouth.
No...truth be told, the anti-human rhetoric had always been repellent to her. Most of the population in Hontwall were referred to as People...whereas, humans were people˜the emphasis on the lower-case "p". The Gallactor view was that humans were inferior to the People. Technically, Kara was one of the People (a Person, to extend the so-called logic), but she was born and raised as a Kiri˜the mark on her left breast proclaimed such to the world. The KiriKiri had been in a steady decline, and all but exterminated ten years ago. No Gallactor who saw her birthmark would treat her as anything but an object to be derided˜or, as Viz was wont to do, to be lusted after, thanks to the legends that had sprung up around her tribe. It was no matter to Viz that she'd been stripped of her tribe when she was not even ten years of age and had no concept of those techniques that were supposed to make the Kiri so appealing to the Gallactor in pursuit of the ultimate pleasure.
Kara shuddered˜she knew enough about her heritage that she could see into the soul of Viz...he was one whose pleasure was pain, and she wanted to have nothing to do with that. Viz was evil, his aura showed countless twisted tentacles of pure maleficence˜an unreasoning hatred that wallowed in the black depths of his eyes. Every day of late, however, she could feel those tendrils of evil growing longer and stronger...and seeking to tangle her up in them so that she could never escape.
She had to work with him as a member of the Blackbirds, but at least at night she could escape his poisonous presence. Kara dreamed while she slept, and whenever Viz loomed large in her dream scape, he was immediately dispelled by the appearance of another man. She could never see his face, nor remember even what color hair he possessed˜yet she knew his eyes: a stormy sort of blue, like a sky awash with the gray clouds of a gathering storm, or, more accurately, a dispersing one.
She also counted herself as lucky--Viz had just been reassigned from the dragon king to the mothership for the duration, and so she didn't need to run into him for now.
Kara went to report to her station on the bridge of the dragon king, resolving that she would have to try to find some way of fleeing the Gallactor. Staying here would be the death of her˜if not her body, then surely her very soul.
NAMBU PASSED ON the report about the missing Dr. Kirkland to the ISO president almost as soon as he got it. In turn, Anderson gave Nambu the okay to assemble their own secret weapon...the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. The Security Chief immediately went to his communications center and activated the panel, sending out the signal to five different people, located in various areas in and around Utoland City.
The Science Ninja Team Gatchaman was about to see action.
KEN WASHIO WAS flying home from a mail run with nothing but clear sky around him. He loved moments like this, when he was surrounded by the peace and tranquility of the heavens˜nothing to concern him but the occasional cloud or bit of turbulence...and, perhaps, the flash of a heart-shaped face with brown hair and wide green eyes across his mind's eye.
He was wondering if he shouldn't just follow his instincts and simply call the young lady up...invite her out to a dinner and a movie? The initial reason they had ever even met hadn't interrupted his mundane existence as a mail courier for the last six or seven months˜if it hadn't done so by now, maybe it never would..?
Just then, however, a sharp, urgent sound broke into his reverie, drawing Ken's sky blue eyes down to the special-alloy band on his wrist, where a red signal light blinked. He stared for a moment, damning the sound and the light because he knew that they were definitely going to put off his intentions towards the brunette he'd been thinking about...but then he responded, also knowing that he was honor-bound to answer the summons being issued.
"Responding...this is G-1 Eagle leader. Go ahead, base."
"This is a mobilization alert." Dr. Nambu's voice was grave and steady. "Our enemy is on the move."
"The Gallactor?"
"The day we've been worried about has finally arrived." the security chief confirmed. "They've been using a giant craft equipped with a weather control device to destroy key lab sites and abduct our best scientists. Their objective is to terminate our Mantle Plan and, at the same time, create a worldwide anarchy. They're using the Republic of Hontwall to generate global conflict and, once the world is in chaos, they intend to step in and take over the planet." Ken frowned. The whole scheme had doubtless been in motion for years...but, then again, so had the training for the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman.
"Your assignment is to intercept the enemy attack craft and maintain surveillance of its activities." Nambu told him. "But your primary objective is to pinpoint the location of the secret Gallactor headquarters. You know I wouldn't be calling if the situation weren't desperate...your team was selected and trained for a mission of this importance, so I know you're up to the challenge."
" I understand." G-1 assured him. "We won't let you down, doctor."
"Keep me informed, Ken." Nambu responded. "Good luck, G-1 Eagle Leader!"
"Over and out."
Ken Washio headed for home in order to make sure that his mail courier service was put on automatic˜it would not do for potential clients to arrive or call, expecting him to provide service when he was going to be very busy...busy saving the world from the Gallactor.
THE HOT DESERT sun beat down upon the lonely stretch of sand and stone, glaring down upon the tall formations of sedimentary rock, upon the weather-beaten split-rail fence that had a series of cans and bottles lined up on it...upon the tall, lean young man standing about a hundred feet from the fence with a revolver in his hand.
The gun barked sharply six times. Half of the targets on the fence disappeared. The shooter reloaded, his gray-blue eyes narrowing as he concentrated on his task. Joe Asakura was not even twenty years in age, but he knew the value of keeping his mind on his job. He wasn't normally patient, but he was still waiting for the day that he hoped would come...the day he could avenge the parents that had been brutally murdered in front of him. Joe was not one who believed in prayer, but the only prayer he said anymore was that his be the hand responsible for destroying the ones who had destroyed his own world.
To this end, he willingly joined the Gatchaman program and trained with the team that had been hand-picked by Dr. Nambu. For this goal, Joe sacrificed all chances for a personal life, instead taking the car and the trailer offered by the ISO and waiting for the day he could fulfill his chosen destiny. He survived by entering the occasional automobile race...he even would bed the occasional groupie now and then to relieve any tensions that might build up. For now, however, he shot the remaining targets, blowing away each until only one remained. The brunet man aimed carefully at the last can on the rail--
--And stopped, halted by the audio signal from his wristband. Joe eyed the stylized "G" on the front...had he, in his zeal to erase the horrible scene of his parents' death from his memory, merely imagined the call to arms..?
The bottom right corner of the symbol on the band flashed an imperative red light. Outwardly his face remained masked. Inwardly, the heart of the Condor soared and Joe grinned.
Finally, it seemed, he would have a chance to deal death to Gallactors rather than become a victim to those terrorists. This made him almost happy. He quickly showered, still a bit introspective˜his focus had always been on avenging his parents, but lately there had been anomalies appearing within Joe's dreams of revenge. He closed his eyes as he washed away the sweat and grime of the desert, recalling the element that had been incongruously popping up: a pair of eyes the color of amethysts. Joe frowned thoughtfully. His usual dream would have him mowing down Gallactors by the dozen but, recently, just as Joe would go to kill the last one, those eyes would appear and blink at him, stopping him cold. He never saw the face that went with the eyes, only the eyes themselves.
Joe looked down, startled˜just thinking of those eyes had resulted in an impromptu erection. He hoped that the amethyst eyes belonged to a female, otherwise he'd have to do some serious introspection. For now, however, he dispensed with his erection and finished his shower, jumping into his car and taking off down the highway in order to rendezvous with the rest of the Gatchaman team.
THE GIRL ON the high dive board felt all eyes upon her, but she went ahead and executed a perfect triple somersault, the water of the pool below barely splashing as her body broke the surface. She swam the length of the pool underwater and climbed out at the other end, removing her swimming cap and grabbing up her towel.
June Jenar was used to attention˜she was a very pretty young woman with medium-brown hair and green eyes, and most of the current oglers were the men hanging around the pool. None of them mattered, however...there was only one man she wanted to have ogle her, and he was a man bound by honor and duty. He'd never forsake them, this she knew, but she was rather hoping that Ken would realize that he didn't need to in order to be with her.
Painful as it was, however, the situation couldn't be remedied by June herself˜it was Ken who needed to acknowledge the possibilities between them. She could only wait and hope that he learned his lesson sooner rather than later.
Suddenly the band on her left wrist beeped and flashed a little red light. A priority alert˜she stiffened as she realized that this meant, most likely, that her daydreams about Ken and herself would likely not come true...not for a long time, if ever.
Again, however, she acknowledged that this didn't matter. Ken wasn't the only one who bowed to honor and duty. She had just been summoned, and so she would go.
June dried herself off as she briskly made her way to the locker rooms, cramming herself into the leather jumpsuit and hurrying off to where her motorcycle was parked. Gatchaman was calling, and she had to report. She mounted the motorcycle and zipped up her suit before roaring out onto the road, hurrying not only because June was being called to duty, but also because this would be her chance to see Ken once more.
"Hey, June, what's your hurry?" called out the teasing voice of her adopted little brother, Jimmy. He drew up alongside her speeding bike, riding a state-of-the art hoverboard. "Reporting for duty doesn't mean you get to break all the speed laws and rip up the road..!" He was grinning from ear to ear, however, since he was easily keeping up with her as they sped along.
"You better check your training manual, then." she reminded him. "We just got a high priority
Both of them were rather curious to find out what had prompted their first official high-priority scramble...and both weren't sure they would really like knowing.
ROCKY KEEAWANI WAS napping in the warm sunshine of the day, a smile on his face as he dreamed of being on a Pacific Island with lovely native women...the kind that like to run around half-naked with nothing on under their trademark grass skirts. He snored softly as the course of his dream had him with one of those lovelies in his arms when the shrill beep from his left wrist awoke him.
"Hmm˜huh?" he grunted, then his eyes went wide as he saw the confirming red light blinking on his band. "A high-priority scramble!" In his haste to leap to action, however, the old Adirondack chair he'd been napping in broke under his considerable bulk. He grimaced˜he'd loved that chair, but that wasn't important at the moment. He hurried over to the door to the marina's rental office˜the Boat House Dragon˜and put out the "CLOSED" sign. Rocky rushed over to the hidden hatch and dived in so that he could get to the Godphoenix that rested in its concealed berth under his location.
It had to have been very serious for Dr. Nambu to have summoned the Science Ninja Team, Rocky thought to himself as he entered the ship. He could only pray to God that they were all up to the challenge. He transmuted to his bird style, becoming the Horned Owl and taking his place at the pilot's chair. Preflight checks were optimal and he took to the air, consulting his locater readout to see the most efficient way to pick up the rest of the team.
The readout told him that June and Jimmy were the closest and also relatively close to each other. He would go get them first.
June activated her bird style and transmuted into G-3, the Swan. Her motorcycle likewise transmuted into a bleeding-edge machine that became a hovercycle that blasted easily over the top of the ocean in order for her to get to the berth that Rocky˜also known as G-5˜opened up for her. She docked where she was supposed to and went on into the Godphoenix, reporting to the bridge.
Jimmy transformed into G-4, the Swallow. He was ensconced inside the vehicle he liked to refer to as his "Falcon Tracker", although the personnel at ISO referred to it as a helicobuggy. He took his vehicle into the docking bay that Rocky opened up for him, securing it and also going to the bridge.
West of Utoland City, a snug little sports car zipped along an abandoned stretch of highway, seemingly on a suicide course for the end of the road˜which would mean that the car would soon be hurtling off the edge of a 500-foot cliff. The long-haired man at the wheel of the car brought his left wrist up and around.
"Shapeshift Condor!" he cried imperatively. The band on his wrist activated the change in not only himself but his vehicle. Gone was the mundane young man in a leather jacket and jeans driving a neat little sports car...in its place was now a long, low-slung black vehicle that looked to be heavily armored, being driven by a figure in a black, caped uniform. G-2, the Condor, wore a visored helm that evoked the bird he was styled after. He now looked every bit as dangerous as his years of training made him.
The armored vehicle zoomed off the edge of the cliff, seemingly to its doom. But, as he had in the endless training flights, G-5 piloted the Godphoenix over the airborne vehicle and scooped it up into its own berth at the front of the ship. Joe reluctantly left the car and also went to join the others.
The last member of Gatchaman to be picked up was Ken, who had transformed into the Eagle. He easily guided his sleek G-1 craft into the rear landing bay and hurried to take his place as the commander on the bridge.
"I'm glad to see you all made it." Ken greeted everyone as he entered the bridge. "It's been a long time. I've missed you." He made it a point to not look specifically at the Swan as he said this.
"No time for sentiment, Ken." G-2 replied. "It's a real mission...the enemy's finally started its offensive. We're going into battle. It's the showdown we've been waiting for." Sky blue eyes clashed with stormy gray-blue ones. Then the Eagle moved decisively forward.
"All right, everybody take your positions!" Ken ordered, going to his own seat. "We're about to receive our orders."
(...TBC...)
Story Notes:
The following is a fanfic...that is to say, a fictional story based on
characters and a storyline that are NOT my intellectual property. As
such, I am writing this story and making it available for others to view
for the purposes of entertainment only. I'm not getting paid for
this...but I AM hoping that people who read it will be kind enough to
review it and let me know their opinions.
...yes, there IS a "Mary Sue" type of character here, as the
existence of this (or any) fanfic instantly makes this setting an
Alternate Universe...and call me a jerk, but I believe that AU's can be
populated with heroic characters that are as good (in their own way) as
the familiar ones the story is based on.
Having said that˜I hope you are entertained by this
"episode" of my version of the Gatchman OAV 94 series. Anybody
who is an afficionado of Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets/G-Force/Eagle
Riders/OAV 94 (whew...say that all in one breath˜I DARE ya!) will
instantly recognize that I've borrowed those elements that appealed to
me the most from the listed sources.
characters and a storyline that are NOT my intellectual property. As
such, I am writing this story and making it available for others to view
for the purposes of entertainment only. I'm not getting paid for
this...but I AM hoping that people who read it will be kind enough to
review it and let me know their opinions.
...yes, there IS a "Mary Sue" type of character here, as the
existence of this (or any) fanfic instantly makes this setting an
Alternate Universe...and call me a jerk, but I believe that AU's can be
populated with heroic characters that are as good (in their own way) as
the familiar ones the story is based on.
Having said that˜I hope you are entertained by this
"episode" of my version of the Gatchman OAV 94 series. Anybody
who is an afficionado of Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets/G-Force/Eagle
Riders/OAV 94 (whew...say that all in one breath˜I DARE ya!) will
instantly recognize that I've borrowed those elements that appealed to
me the most from the listed sources.