This fanfic is written for the enjoyment of Gall Force fans.  It is not acknowledged or approved by MOVIC/Sony Video, Central Park Media, or any other of the copyright holders for the series.  This fanfic does not correspond with the time lines set out in any other Gall Force series than the original trilogy.  This fanfic may be freely distributed over the net.  I welcome (most) criticisms.  E-mail:  ddiddl1@umbc.edu

* * * * *

Requiem Postponed

* * * * *

    I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise,
    they climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies.
         - Come Sail Away by Styx

* * *

    �Part of the Central Guard?� Patty echoed.
    �Is that what you were going to tell us?�  Eluza asked Pony.  She waited for Pony to nod before continuing.  �First we�re going to take care of Rabby�s ankle.  Second, as I would like to remain the Captain, I�m going to get this scan over with,� she said that with some amusement before reverting to the voice of authority.  �Last we�re all going to go to the mess hall and hear Rabby�s story.�
    Lufy had remained quiet throughout the entire exchange.  She had to fight the urge to back away from the girl she was helping to support.  Intelligence was okay and they had been part of the Central Guard, she thought.  Deeper down, a little part of her warned that Intelligence hadn�t been the only part of the Central Guard.  She helped Rabby over to the bed.
    Patty walked over to Rabby bearing a portable imager.  A sheet of green light sat bounded by the metal hoop at the end of the handle.  The sheet glimmered brightly against Rabby�s clothes as Patty ran the scanner up Rabby�s leg to the knee.  She looked at the small display built into the handle.
    �It looks okay, there aren�t any fractures,� the brown eyed girl commented. She slid the device back down Rabby�s leg and checked again, for good measure.  �How did this happen?�
    �She threw herself from the top of the Breaker,� Lufy said helpfully.  She was momentarily started by the chorus of surprise from the other four girls, including Rabby herself.  �Would I lie to you?�  She grinned.
    Eluza rubbed her temples.  Lufy had to step out of range of the half-hearted swipe Rabby had aimed at her.  The other two simply sighed and began to breathe again.
    The terminal by Pony beeped.  The dark skinned girl turned to look at it.  �The program is compiled and ready.  We should be able to scan you without OX-11 monitoring the routines.�  Her voice caught a trifle on the name.  �It will take some time to evaluate, though, since most of the memory is still tied up in the diagnostic.�
    Eluza clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace.  �How long will it take to complete the diagnostic?�
    Pony calculated a few sums in her head.  �About an hour yet.  You�re going to have to stand still for the scan.�
    The Captain stood still and watched Pony punch a few buttons.  �How long will this take?�
    �All done,� Pony said.  �Now all we have to do is wait for the results.  They won�t be available until after the diagnostic is finished.�
    �That was it?  That was what I kept putting off?�
    Pony began to wave her hands as she spoke.  �Well, the entire room acts as a fractional amplification system, making the system extremely efficient,� she started.  Eluza waved off the rest of the explanation.
    Patty finished binding Rabby�s ankle.  �Try not to put too much weight on it and wear this until the end of the day,� she told the first officer.  She was about to launch into the speech, but was cut off by Rabby.
    �I know the drill.  Let�s get on with it.�  She stood up and walked out the door, still favoring her ankle though not as badly as before.  Lufy stepped forward to offer Rabby a hand, but the girl in the short flight jacket ignored her.
    Lufy trailed after Rabby, her arms laying crossed on her breast.  �Fine, but if you fall again, guess who isn�t catching you.  Hey, are you even listening to me?�
    Eluza shook her head and moved to follow Lufy out.  She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Patty and Pony.
    Patty shooed her on.  �We�ll be right behind you.  Don�t let Rabby start without us.�
    Eluza nodded.  She left the doorway and walked out of view.
    �Pony.�  Patty noticed the pink haired officer cringe.  �The answer is �because I fight to protect those I care about�.�  She raised an admonishing finger.  �I�m willing to forgive you if you�re willing to tell me a little about yourself sometime.�
    �Do you mind if we do it over a pot of coffee?�
    �It�s a deal.�

* * *

    The majority of the meager crew took seats around the table, but Rabby remained standing with her back to the table.  Her ankle throbbed slowly.  She shifted the majority of her weight to her good leg.  She took a deep breath and slowly turned around.  She let her blue eyes roam across the room, instinctively diving them down to the table or up to the wall rather than meeting anyone else�s eyes.  They ought to be afraid of me, not the other way around, she thought.
    Patty seemed to read her mind.  �It�s okay, we�re your friends.�
    Rabby met her friend�s light brown eyes.  That may change when you here what I have to say, she thought.  She stared at the table.  �I guess you were all bound to find out sooner or later.  I had hoped that it would have been much later.
    �I was a soldier for the Central Guard�s Enforcers.�  Had she raised her eyes from the table she would have seen the cycle of emotions that swept through the others at the table.  The Enforcers were not well loved.  �When I scored high enough on one of the aptitude tests, I was offered the chance to become an officer.  The officer training program includes a covert operation.�  She raised a hand to caress her earing without thinking about it.  �Our squad failed the one we were assigned to.  I was placed on trial by my own division for contamination - they wiped my memory of any details.  Then I was assigned to the Starleaf.�  Rabby could feel their eyes on her, cold and hard.
    Patty stood up and padded over.  She set a hand on Rabby�s shoulder.  �We don�t hate you.�  She yanked the girl with the long gloves into a motherly embrace.
    Encased in Patty�s arms Rabby felt some of her own anger, held so long, ebb away.  Without it, she felt empty.  She wanted to be sick.  I finally understand what those phrases meant, she thought.  Heartache.  Heart sank.  But I won�t cry in front of my shipmates.  No tears in uniform.  She pushed herself out of Patty�s arms and left the room.
    They let her go.  They needed to discuss this without her anyway.
    �Can we trust her now?� Eluza asked.  She sat forward with her elbows on the table, her fingers steepled.
    Patty looked hurt.  �Just because we�ve learned she has some pain in her history doesn�t mean that she�s not the same person that we trusted before.  I trusted her plan on Chaos and I won�t stop being her friend now.�
    �That�s not what I meant.  You saw how dredging this all up has affected her.  Can she still function as an officer?�
    �She�ll recover,� Lufy assured them.  �The spark of that fiery girl I first met is still in there somewhere.  I�ve been there.  She needs time to rebuild her view of the world.�  Lufy�s tone suggested that the conversation was over.  She walked over to the dispenser and ordered a meal.

* * *

    Pony excused herself from the table.  The meal had continued in silence.  Lufy had attempted to flesh out some of the remaining history, but she hadn�t really felt like talking either.  Pony could see it in her face.
    She continued to reflect on the meal as she walked down the hall towards the computer room.  There hadn�t been much to talk about except history anyway.  Boredom was going to become a real problem.  Rabby had returned halfway through the meal, red eyed and silent.
    Pony�s feet automatically brought her to a halt outside the computer room�s door.  She placed a gloved hand on the black panel built into the door.  There was a click as the mechanism released and the door slid open.
    She stepped into the room.  Her skin took on a slight yellowish tone in the light of the monitor.  The cup of coffee still sat on the arm of the chair.  With a sigh she picked it up and drank a mouthful.  Lukewarm - she grimaced. The diagnostic still had some odd minutes until completion.  There wasn�t a recycler in the computer room.
    Pony carried the cold coffee to the Captain�s office, a room Eluza rarely used.  The personal mementos of the previous Captain had been carried from the desk to one of the shelves.  Pony wondered why Eluza didn�t just recycle them.  She lifted a panel marked with various warnings and dropped the cup of coffee into the dark hole the panel had covered.  A gravity drive carried the cup and its contents off to be vaporized into a plasma and have its ions sorted for future use.
    �Ironic that the artificial gravity that makes our lives in space possible and even convenient is the same force that enables our bent light weaponry.�
    Pony turned towards the source of the voice.  Eluza stood looking out a small window.  Pony thought about that for a moment.  �Science doesn�t equal happiness.  Happiness depends on the people who use the science,� she replied.
    �So Lufy says.  Pony, what if we meet someone else out here and they aren�t Solnoid?�
    �You mean our supposed creators?�
    �Or the Paranoid.�  Eluza clasped her hands behind her back.
    �Maybe we should try to talk.  Look what the years of fighting got us.  Perhaps now�s our chance to start over.�  She started to leave the room.
    �Pony - I hope you�re right.  I really hope so.�
    Pony walked back to the computer room.  The diagnostic was complete.  She checked the report.  Aside from the usual it errors, the computer was clean. She closed the diagnostic and logged out.  The computer was now free to process the scan.  She looked at the chronometer.  It was already evening.

* * *

    Patty stepped into the infirmary.  In her hands she held a small data pad with Rabby�s personal file.  She looked at her progress on the pad.  �Darn it!�  One step forward, two steps back.  She didn�t expect to crack the encryption, it looked like the same sort used by classified files.  She set her entertainment to one side and looked at the medical terminal.
    The second officer opened up a channel to all parts of the ship.  �Eluza, the results of the scan are in.�
    Eluza�s face appeared in a video window.  Patty could see bits of the Captain�s office in the background.  �I�m on my way.�  The window closed.
    Patty sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for Eluza�s arrival.  It didn�t take long for the Captain to arrive.  If she hadn�t known better, she would have thought that Eluza had ran to get there.
    �Well, what does it say?� Eluza asked.
    �I don�t know.  I didn�t look at the results.  I was waiting for you to arrive.�  She stood up.
    By the time Patty stood, Eluza had strode across the room to the computer.  The red headed officer brought the results on screen.  �Factors thought to be related to described symptoms,� she read, �stress - big surprise there - and unidentified organism?�  her voice rose several decibels.  �That thing is still in me?�
    Patty peered intently at the report.  �It looks like the thing is dormant.  When you died, so did it.�
    �You can�t be serious!  It followed me here?  I want this thing out of me.  I don�t care if you have to cut it out of me.�  Her eyes were slightly glassy.  She accepted the pill that Patty gave her without looking at it and swallowed it dry.
    Eluza collapsed into Patty�s waiting arms.  Patty carefully lowered the unconscious Captain on the the infirmary�s bed.  She mussed her blue hair with a gloved hand.  Eluza will be pissed when she wakes up, the second officer thought, but by then she and the child will both be safe.
    She opened a ship wide channel.  �All hands, assemble in the infirmary.  Repeat - all hands, assemble in the infirmary.�
    Pony was the first to arrive.  Proper to regulations the two waited silently.  Rabby and Lufy arrived together.  Patty waited.  The first officer said nothing.  Lufy was the first to break the silence, �I take it we�re here to discuss the sleeping princess, right?�
    Rabby remained silent.  As first officer, she should have taken charge.
    �So much for protocol,� Patty muttered.  �She brought it along,� she said louder.
    Rabby merely nodded.  Pony�s eyes grew large.  Lufy looked at Eluza like the sleeping girl had suddenly become poisonous.
    �Rabby,� Patty continued, �set up a tank like you used the first time.  If you need to check the Blossom�s records, do so.  I want this done right.�  If you won�t take charge, I will.
    Rabby nodded again.  Without any other acknowledgement, she turned and walked out of the infirmary.
    �Is it alive?� Pony asked.
    �As much as the rest of us,� the blonde quipped.  Her cinnamon eyes remained on the door Rabby had just exited.  �I�ve seen corpses with more emotion.�
    The other two traced her gaze.  They exchanged glances behind the pilot�s back.  Patty looked down at the Captain.  On impulse, she laid her hand on Eluza, over the child.  Pony gave the blue haired girl an odd look.  So did Lufy.
    Patty lifted her hand off Eluza and raised it to her heart.  �We�ve been given another chance.  It�s not over at all.�
    �Then it can�t be a beginning either,�  Rabby said from the doorway.  She held a data disk in one hand and a sizable gun slung over her shoulder.  �I want you to clear out.  All of you.�
    �No,� Patty breathed.  she had the same tone as when she had begged Rabby to spare her own child.  �We should all be here.  You don�t need the gun.��  Pony and Lufy stepped to stand beside Patty.
    �Just do it Rabby.�  Eluza opened her purple eyes.  To Patty, �You forgot that I�ve built up a tolerance to the standard dosages.  She gave Patty the official glare, there was no vehemence behind it.  �Now can you get this thing out of me?�  She closed her eyes.

* * *

    Rabby sat in the infirmary, the gun laying across her lap.  She stared at the tank on the pedestal opposite her.  The unborn monster floated in it. It looked like a fetus from the Personnel Replacement Centers, with only buds where the arms and legs should have been and dark spots where the eyes had yet to develop.  Rabby stared at the eyespots and clutched her gun tighter.  She swore they were watching her.
    �I don�t know what you are, but you aren�t like the other one.  I don�t have the same feeling around you.  If you try anything I�ll kill you.�
    Lufy poked her head in the doorway.  �Hey Red!  We�ve arrived, Captain wants you on the bridge.�  The Attacker looked at the thing in the tank.  �Creepy.  Did the other look like that?�
    Rabby shook her head as she followed Lufy out.  She left the gun in the infirmary.  �No, it was nothing like this one at all.�
    Rabby and Lufy walked through the gray metal halls towards the bridge.  Although her ankle was still a little tender Rabby no longer wore the wrapping.  Lufy stepped ahead and thrust her arm against a doorway, blocking Rabby�s path.
    �Rabby, was it worth it?�
    �What what worth what?�  Rabby looked confused and a little annoyed.
    �Was the kid worth losing Chaos?  I saw a lot of shit the second time around but I never met the kid.�
    �I thought so at the time.  It was euphoria to be near it.  But now I�m not so sure.�  Maybe it was like this one, and tricked us.  Rumy, be careful.  She pushed Lufy�s arm out of the way.  �We don�t want to be late to the bridge.�
    �Rabby?�  Rabby paused.  �I didn�t do it for the kid,� Lufy confessed.  �I didn�t care about the future.  I just thought that soldiers shouldn�t be sacrificed in such a manner.�
    �No, they shouldn�t.�  Rabby continued her walk to the bridge.
    Lufy thought of her medal, cracked and bent.  She remembered she had left it in the Blossom when Rabby sprained her ankle.    She followed Rabby.

* * *

    Inside the tank the child began to grow.  The buds blossomed into arms and legs as the head became more defined.  The level of liquid in the tank dropped as the child grew.  When the liquid was completely exhausted the tank shattered outward.  It continued to grow until it was the size of a Solnoid.  It was a copy of Eluza - almost.  It was something that most Solnoid had never seen.  It was male.
    The young man uncurled from the fetal position and climbed off the pedestal.  He grinned at the feel of the slight chill of the floor against his feet.  Using both hands, he slicked back the tangle of red hair with an ease that suggested he had been doing it all his life.  He looked at the gun.  His grin grew larger.  He strode out of the infirmary.

* * *

    Eluza heard the door slide open behind her.  She never took her eyes off the screens above the front seats.  �Did you find her in the Infirmary?�  She felt, rather than saw, Rabby take the seat beside her.
    Lufy slapped Rabby on the back as she walked to the comm-tech chair.  �You should charge admission.  You�d make a year of R and R off of this girl alone.�
    �What was it�s condition.�  Eluza rested her chin on her arms.
    �Unchanged,� Rabby said.  It hasn�t made its move yet, she added silently.  She swung her eyes to see what Eluza�s were focused on.
    It was a planet.  According to the monitor, it was the second planet of five.  A dry planet with red ground and green skies.  Ugly.  Uninhabitable.
    Pony spoke up from the computer chair.  �The spectroscopic analysis is in.� She pressed a few keys.  �The atmosphere is composed mostly of methane.  The ground is mostly silicate stone.  The red color comes from a layer of oxygen that froze out of the atmosphere some century ago.  Geologically - it�s dead.�
    �It�s a grenade just waiting to go off.�  Patty�s voice was laden with disappointment.
    �Weapon fire should be safe if we restrict ourselves to solid rounds.  Energy weapons are okay too, so long as they don�t hit the ground,� Pony corrected the second officer.
    �Without a Starbuild Project, the planet�s only value is for raw materials. We might as well stock up on what elements we need while we can.  There�s no telling what the other planets are like.  Rabby, move us into high orbit.�  Eluza looked at the chronometer.  �Restocking will take most of the afternoon, so first we�ll break for lunch.�
    The five girls walked to the officer�s mess hall.  Eluza spread out a star chart on the table as they ate.  She pointed to a dark speck against the background.  �This is our current position.  We�ll leave a beacon here when we leave.  Lufy, is there anything else that you can tell us about Sigma Narse that might give us a clue as to which direction we head next?�
    Lufy swallowed a mouthful of her food.  �Yeah.  The fleet is probably paralyzed now until a new Leader can be chosen.�
    �What happened to Journey?� Pony asked.
    �This isn�t the Journey that sat on the High Command before the Central Guard attempted its coup.  This Journey was nothing more than a machine.  She approved of the cyborg soldiers.  She was going to make us just like them.�  Lufy�s voice dropped to an inaudible level.
    Eluza nodded.  �Then we should just head for the next potentially habitable system.  And hope that the new Leader is rational, perhaps this Captain Nebulart if we�re lucky.�  Eluza looked at Rabby.
    The strawberry blonde was focused on her food and didn�t respond.  Still better than her previous response, Eluza thought.  Eluza moved her gaze to Patty and Pony.  They nodded.  �Then it�s settled.�  Eluza rolled up the map and dug into her own food.

* * *

    Eluza watched from the bridge as two Bronz-Ds carrying dull metal tanks and one Balsam fighter streaked planetward.  She slipped on a pair of headphones.    �I want you all to be careful down there.  Pony and I will be relieving Rabby and Patty after an hour.  Lufy, keep your eyes open for anything the scanners may miss.  If you see anything hostile, pull out immediately.  That includes you Lufy.�
    Lufy�s voice was tinny in the headphones.  �What the hell did you give me a Balsam for then?�
    Eluza pulled the mike a little closer to her mouth.  �Reconnaissance.  Scout the area.  Remember the Starleaf can�t provide support if you�re still in the atmosphere, but if you pull back,� Eluza was cut off by Lufy.
    �You can immolate the entire planet with a single shot, gotcha.�  Lufy actually sounded pleased with the idea.
    Eluza sighed.  Covering the mike with her hand she muttered.  �I have the feeling that this is going to be a long day.  She changed frequency.  �Pony, how are the preparations coming?  Do you need any assistance?�
    �The landing bay is clear of debris and I�m working on setting up the filters for the recycler now.  I should be done shortly.�

* * *

    Rabby slipped on the headphones.  Eluza and Pony were visible inside the Bronz-Ds� cockpits on the samll screen.  Rabby brought up Lufy�s image.  �Hey Lufy, one more hour to go then I�ll relieve you.�
    �Sure, just remember to bring one of your pulps.�
    Rabby turned off the mike.  �Pulps?  I think that what I read rates higher than the pulps.�  She looked at the book in her hand.  �Born� was blazoned across the cover in large red print.  The pages were bent and battered by repeated readings.  Slouching down in her seat, she threw her long legs up to rest her feet on the command rail.  She opened the book and began reading.

* * *

    Patty let the hot water cascade down her back.  She tilted back her head and sighed softly as the water massaged her scalp.  Patty jerked her head up.  Over the hiss of the shower she thought that she heard footsteps coming from her room.  She listened intently.  Nothing.  She closed her eyes and leaned forward to let the water carress her back again.  There were more footsteps.
    Patty turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack.  She rapped the light blue piece of cloth around her.  The towel was a little too short to tuck the corner and hope to have it hold so she held it up with one hand. She shook her head.  The excess water rained from her short hair to the cold ceramic of the floor.  She hesitated when she raised her hand to open the door.  Don�t be silly, she told herself, Rabby�s seen my room before.  She�s still the same person she was before we all knew.  She probably just wants to talk.
    Patty keyed the door open - and almost dropped her towel in surprise.  Eluza�s child stood examing a candle off of the shelf along the wall.  He looked over at Patty and gave her an easy grin.


__
/__\    David Diddlemeyer
/\  /\   Imperial Solnoid Navy
\_\/_/   ddiddl1@umbc.edu

http://homepages.infoseek.com/~centralguard/
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