Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit

It didn't take long to get back. The moment we reached the house, we hurried inside and went straight for the roof. Thanks to Alphonse, the ship was already up there and waiting for me.

I hurried over, deactivating my battle suit, "Alright, once I install the part, only two other people can come with me." I jumped inside and started working on the part.

As I did, Orville, Cleo, and Rubi were deciding who would get to come with me. Figures Orville and Rubi would play a quick game to decide which of them could go. Rubi won, so it was Rubi and Cleo who hopped in. I figured Cleo used the 'it’s because I'm a girl, isn't it' trick to make the boys let her come automatically. It was just the kind of thing she would pull.

I sat in the front seat while they sat in the two behind me, "Alright, hold on. This may get a little bumpy." I started up the ship, which was a bit noisy. Alphonse, Orville, and Lillian watched as the ship started flying upward. I looked at them and gave them a salute before shooting off through the air towards the Armada.

Though, what I didn't see was the large ship that had flown out of the Armada at the same time. Lillian and Orville, however, did see it and decided to go check it out while Alphonse and Vanessa stayed at the house, just in case I needed them.

I flew the ship up into the hangar with a fairly easy flight. I couldn't help but be very pleased with myself in not only successfully building a ship, but managing to build it on Qualta energy. I was a very impressive human when it all came down to it.

I landed the ship in the hangar, which was empty. We all jumped out and hurried to the teleporter. I stepped in with Rubi and Cleo and started typing in my Captain's code. To my luck, it worked. Seemed the computers didn't know I was terminated.

We were quickly teleported to the upper level of the Armada, meaning only a little further to the Commander's office. I just had to avoid...

We gasped as a bunch of sentries surrounded us as we appeared. I groaned, "Wonderful. Talk about deja vu."

We were forced to surrender and were taken to the Command Center of the ship. It was just as I remembered it from stopping the Plakters. Though, I was a little worried when I noticed that the Commander wasn't there. Instead, it was General Coin in charge.

He smiled, "Well, look at this! If it isn't the great hero of Earth, Rydian."

I glared at him, "You really are a monster, General Coin. All this, just to get back at me? How could you let this happen? The klitons didn't do anything wrong."

General Coin shrugged, "It's not just you. It's the entire S.T.S. That position as Captain should have been mine. That childish Commander gave it to you, and no one could change it. I earned it!"

I was surprised, "You do realize we're not the only ones in this room, right? That’s mutiny against Earth, and I highly doubt everyone here is willing to side with you on that."

He grinned, "They can't understand. We're speaking the kliton language. Dixone, right?"

Rubi nodded, "He's right. We can understand him perfectly, just like you."

I sighed, "But how did you get the language?"

He grinned, "I have your dear friend Alphonse to thank for that. You see, it was my wife who skipped the countdown of the rescue pod. To keep you off the ship, she used a radio wave to knock out Alphonse. I used the same trick to read his memories. Including the one where he used the translator to understand you."

Cleo glared at him, "You creep. That wasn't very nice to do to Alphonse."

General Coin laughed, "Sometimes I forget I'm talking to a bunch of children." He turned to the sentries, "Tie them up." We had no choice, but to let them tie us in rope, holding our arms to our sides. I was the only one not tied to the others.

General Coin grabbed me and brought me over to the emergency exit of the ship, "As for hard feelings, I'm happy to say I've gotten over you taking my position."

I was confused, "This is you getting over it?"

He chuckled, "I've decided I deserve better than Space Captain. I've decided there is only one position for me." He grinned coldly, "Commander Coin does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

I paled, "You're going to kill the Commander?" I could understand only too well. By starting a war, he could have the Commander killed and make it look like the klitons did it. It was a terribly clever plan. Turning simple revenge into an evil plot for power. The true colors of General Coin.

He grinned, "I'll give you one thing, boy, you've done well making it this long on Klicta alone. Sadly, everyone believes you're dead, so I really owe it to them to make sure you die."

I was surprised, "Wait, dead? Why would..." Then it hit me; I wasn’t terminated, I was pronounced dead. That’s why no one came. That’s why it was General Terron who was in the video, rather than the Commander. That’s why they were here to take over Klita. It all made perfect sense.

I glared hatefully at him, "You're gonna be sorry you ever heard my name once I'm through with you. I swear it."

He grinned, "Nice to know. Any last words?"

My eyes were deadly as I glared at him, "You're a dead man."

He laughed, "I'll accept that." He opened the door and tossed me out.

Rubi and Cleo gasped, "Rydian!!!"

I fell through the air fast. I could only watch as the ship rose higher and higher and the ground came closer and closer. I struggled against the ropes, but it was no use. I was in trouble, and I knew it.

Suddenly, something flew by me, catching me by my ankle. I looked up to see, "Enforcer Steven?"

He held tight to me from the Enforcer hover car. Mart grinned from the driver's seat, "Nice catch, Steven!"

Aggy smiled from behind him, "Rydian!"

Steven managed to pull me up into the car, "You ok, Rydian?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for that. I was as good as a pancake." They looked confused. I sighed, "Nevermind. We need to get below."

Steven was confused, "Below? You mean up! Back onto the ship to stop this!"

I shook my head, "No point. The Commander is the only person who can stop this and she's in danger. If we don't find her and save her, there's no chance of stopping this."

Aggy looked worried, "What about Rubi and Cleo? They're still up there!"

I sighed, "There isn't anything we can do for them. General Coin will probably leave them in a cell until he's ready for them. If I try to rescue them, we could all end up dead."

Mart nodded, "Agreed. Where to, Rydian?"

I looked out over the town, "We need to figure out where General Coin sent her. No doubt in my mind that he tricked her and sent her below with some more loyal sentries. It's the best way to make this look the way he wants it to look. We need to hurry."

Down below under a bridge over a road on the East side of town, Lillian and Orville snuck closer to the ship that had landed there. The Commander and about four sentries were there looking around. Lillian gasped, "That's the Lady who abandoned Rydian."

Orville nodded, "So it seems. She looks even more under-matured in person."

Lillian became determined, "How could she? She wouldn't come for Rydian, yet she'd come to destroy our planet." To Orville's horror, Lillian came out of hiding and walked over.

The sentries saw her and aimed their guns at her. The Commander spoke up, "Hold your fire." She turned to Lillian as Lillian stopped about three feet away. She looked defiant.

The Commander spoke, "Who are you?"

Lillian spoke back, but no one could understand her. The Commander was surprised, "You can't understand me?" Lillian spoke again, but she still couldn't understand.

Orville could see what was going on. He thought fast, "What now? They can't understand us and we can't understand them." Then he remembered something I'd told him before. He took a deep breath and walked over.

Commander Mayn watched him, "You can't understand me either, can you?"

He pointed at his throat, then at her. She tried to understand, "My throat?" Then it hit her, "My Translator." Orville held out his arm with the inner side up.

She understood, "Direct translation." She was confused, "But, how do you know about that?" She walked over and pulled out a small device. It was called the Direct Link Translator. Instead of studying the language and planting it in the translator like Vanessa did for me, the Direct Link Translator could connect into the person speaking the foreign language and upload it straight to your Translator.

She sat it on Orville's arm and it snapped on tight, making Orville flinch. It beeped a few times, then gave a little ding. The Commander removed it then looked at them, "Can you understand me now?"

Lillian spoke, looking angry, "You're horrible!"

The Commander was surprised, "What?"

Lillian kept going, "How could you? How can you be so awful as to come here and threaten us? We've done nothing to you!"

The Commander spoke calmly, "You wouldn't understand."

Lillian crossed her arms, "I understand perfectly. I understand that you abandoned Rydian."

The Commander was surprised, "Wait, what?" She stepped closer, "What did you say? That name. It was Rydian, wasn't it?"

Orville nodded, "Yeah. He's a friend of ours."

One of the sentries spoke, "Sir, we really shouldn't talk with them. This could be a trap."

She ignored them, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Orville spoke, "He is Space Captain Rydian of the Human Galactic Unit sent here to collect information for the S.T.S. Though, he learned that he was actually on the wrong planet and was about to leave when his ship took off without him."

Lillian finished, "Then, as he waits for a recovery shuttle, he gets a message saying that he was abandoned."

Orville spoke up, "I think the term he used was terminated."

The Commander was shocked, "So then... Rydian... he's alive?"

Lillian nodded, "Yes, no thanks to you. You abandoned him. He was nearly killed more than once as his secret started to get out. One of those times was my own father, I'm sorry to say."

The Commander was lost for words for a moment, "Rydian, if he's alive, where is he? I want to see him myself."

Orville pointed up at the Armada above, "He flew a ship he'd built up to the Armada. He was going to try to stop this before it was too late." He looked serious, "Rydian suspects that someone is responsible for all of it. He said a name. Does the name Coin mean anything to you?" The Commander paled and turned to her sentries with a gasp. Their guns were aimed at them.

The Commander looked over them, "You're all working for General Coin."

The sentry sighed, "Sorry, Commander. It's time for a change." He cocked his gun.

Suddenly, each of them were shot down. The Commander, Lillian, and Orville turned to see Enforcers Steven and Mart along with Doctor Aggy and myself. I smiled, "Just in time. Nice shots."

Mart smiled, "Nothing to it."

I ran over, "You three ok?"

I was surprised by the Commander hugging me tightly. I smiled, "Nice to see you too, Commander."

She let go and wiped her eyes, "I'm sorry, Rydian. I didn't know. General Coin, he..."

I smiled, "I know."

She sighed, "I would never abandon one of my own, especially not a friend."

I chuckled, "Again, I know. Right now, we need to focus on stopping Coin. He can't afford to let Klicta alone, not with your death. He'll destroy Klicta and everyone on it."

The Commander looked determined, "Not if I can help it."

"Then perhaps this can help." We turned to see Lady Lavender. She motioned to a very high tech Enforcer hover car. She smiled, "It should be able to get you back on the ship. Enforcer Mart's car won't be able to get that high as it is." She smiled at me, "Think of this as an offer of allegiance between Earth and Klicta."

I smiled and bowed, "I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you." The Commander gave a bow too. I turned to the Commander, "Let's go. I still have a couple friends to rescue." She nodded and we hurried into the car.

Before I could climb into the front seat, Enforcer Steven ran over, "You two can't go alone. I'm coming with you."

I shrugged, "Sure, why not? Seeing as I have no idea how I'm supposed to drive this thing." I climbed into the back and Steven got in the driver's seat. The Commander took the passenger seat and we were off.

I looked back at the others to see them wave. I gave a salute, "We won't fail!"

Lillian smiled, "We know you won't."

As we flew for the Armada, Vanessa appeared on my wrist, "Captain, I've decided that the best way to keep the General from seeing your approach would be to have a distraction. Orvile, Lillian, and I are working on that now. You should see it in a moment. As they focus on the distraction and I shut down their alarm system secretly, you can get on the Armada undetected."

I smiled, "Sounds good, Vanessa." I turned to Steven, "Try to stay back from the Armada. I don't want to chance someone on board noticing us before Vanessa can distract them." He nodded and circled the ship instead.

Then there was a loud bang. I looked to see a bunch of missiles smashing into the front of the Armada. Of course, they weren't powerful enough to do any real damage, but they did make for a wonderful smoke cover and blinding lights. I smiled, "Nice work, Vanessa. Steven, hurry and get us inside."

Steven grinned, "Hang on tight." He flew fast towards the hanger and got inside.

The moment we landed, I jumped out with the Commander and we hurried to the teleporter. Steven jumped in as I put in my code again. Thankfully, this time Vanessa made it so no one would know it was being used.

We appeared on the upper level like before, but no one was there. I activated my battle suit and turned to the Commander and Steven, "Alright, we need to split up. You two go find Rubi and Cleo while I find Coin."

The Commander was about to stop me, but I spoke, "I checked the map of the ship on the way in here. He's in your office. I can deal with him if he's alone. Steven doesn't know his way around the Armada, meaning he'll need help. I need you two to make sure Rubi and Cleo are alright. I'm not having them die like this. Understand?"

She nodded, "Alright. Just be careful." With that, we split ways.

I hurried down the halls, just as I had years ago, except this time I was going to do far more damage. I was angry, and I knew exactly who to take that anger out on. I swore I would get Coin, and I planned to hold to it.

Soon I reached the office and walked in. The doors slid open for me and I saw General Coin at the desk. He saw me and was surprised, then annoyed, "You really are nothing but trouble." He stood up.

I glared at him, "I did promise I would make you wish you'd never heard my name, Coin."

He scoffed, "I already wish I'd never heard your name. You're harder to kill than I thought." He walked over to a battle suit pod and activated it. It was the Commander's blue and green battle suit. He grinned, his suit more powerful than mine, "Time to crush you, you little cockroach."

I smirked, "If the entire Plakter army couldn't get rid of me, you stand no chance, you rotten traitor."

He charged at me, "We'll see about that!" And we were at it.

As I fought, Commander Mayn and Enforcer Steven hurried until they reached the cells of the Armada. Commander Mayn led the way into the surveillance room of the cells while Steven took out anyone who crossed their path.

She quickly checked the camera feeds until she spotted two klitons, "There they are. Hurry. They're in a bit a trouble." They hurried until they reached the cell where Rubi and Cleo were being held.

Hanging from a rope over a pool of hot oil, were Rubi and Cleo, back to back with each other. Rubi saw them and grinned, "An Enforcer! Alright! We're saved!"

Cleo looked, "But where's Rydian?"

The Commander worked on getting them down, "He's no doubt fighting General Coin. We need to hurry so we can help him." She turned to Steven, "We'll take them below, then come back to help Rydian."

Rubi groaned as he was untied away from the pool, "What? Why can't we stay and help Rydian too?"

Commander Mayn sighed, "Because Rydian wants you two out of harm's way. He doesn't let his friends get hurt."

Cleo smiled, "That's Rydian."

Steven smirked, "So it seems."

She shook her head, "No, I mean that's Rydian outside!" She pointed out the window and they looked. There I was outside the ship fighting with Coin.

Commander Mayn turned to Steven, "We need to hurry. Maybe Rydian has a battle suit with his supplies in town." Steven nodded and they hurried out.

Outside, I was having a fair deal of trouble. As I said before, his suit was more powerful than mine, and it showed in our fight. I fought hard though, so I did a good bit of damage to him. We both looked awful.

He groaned, furious, "That does it!! I've had enough of you!!" He aimed his hand at me and it changed into a gun of sorts. I gasped as it charged up.

The moment his blast hit me, I felt indescribable pain, especially in my leg where the blast hit hardest when I tried to escape it. The impact sent me flying right into the ship. I laid there in pain. I couldn't move, I could barely think. My leg went numb with pain. I could imagine how bad it was, even if it was sealed inside the battle suit so I couldn't see it.

Vanessa appeared on my wrist, though just barely, "Sir? Sir, are you alright?"

I groaned weakly, "Not really, Vanessa."

She sounded worried, "Sir, I looked into your suit's physical damage and... your leg... its..."

I sighed, "I know, Vanessa. Can you push the suit's power up any more?"

She nodded, "I can, but only for a while. Once the power runs down, you'll have nothing to slow the bleeding or numb the pain. Again, its really bad."

I saw Coin land a little ways off, "Not my biggest problem right now, Vanessa."

Coin stood over me with a mean grin, "Fool. You really are Earth's great hero. Fighting to the very end. Shame no one will know about it." He pulled out a gun and aimed it for the center of my forehead. I could almost feel the laser pointer, but I simply glared at him.

He laughed, "Such defiance. I really must admit, I have come to greatly admire you. It's almost sad that I have to kill you." He grinned coldly, "Almost." He put his finger to the trigger.

Suddenly, he cried out as he whipped back his hand, dropping his gun. I noticed the burn and turned to see Cleo. She was holding a gun in her shaking hands, but her face was brave and determined. Coin looked furious, "What is it about you brats that makes me want to rip you all apart!?"

Cleo kept her gun on Coin as she walked closer. Coin grinned, "Awfully hard to aim with such shaky hands, isn't it?" He snatched up his gun and shot the machines next to her, causing them to spark and pop. She jumped away in fright, dropping her gun.

Coin smirked, "Child's play."

He noticed another machine and smashed a button on it. The screen spoke, "Sector destruct in ten, nine, eight,..."

He laughed as he flew out, "Goodbye, children! It's been fun!"

I pushed myself to my feet, "Vanessa!"

She quickly pushed the power of my suit up, "Yes, sir!"

I grabbed Cleo and brought her down behind one of the machines, keeping her under my arm. I heard the screen, "...two, one." The machine exploded, filling the room with fire and destruction.

Outside, everyone could see the explosion through the hole in the roof and through the bursting windows. Lillian gasped from below, "Rydian!!" Orville looked worried.

In the hanger, Commander Mayn, Steven, and Rubi were busy looking for Cleo. Then they heard the explosion. Steven looked around, "What was that?"

Commander Mayn gasped, "Rydian." She ran off and the other two followed.