Subject: [FFML] [Fanfic][MKR] The Ramarian Crisis - Chapter 4a
From: "Tonton R Ancheta" <darkhrse@edsamail.com.ph>
Date: 1/22/2002, 10:18 AM
To: ffml@anifics.com


The Ramarian Crisis
By DarkHorse

Chapter 4: Reinforcements

*Situation Room, White House, Washington
D.C.*


  The President of the United States dropped the stack of
imagery onto the conference table and massaged the bridge of
his nose with his fingers, lifting his glasses in the
process. "My first question is," he said addressing the
Joint Chiefs, the Director of Central Intelligence, and a
couple of astrophysicists whose names he forgot. "How the
hell is it possible that we were able to decode a message
from an alien race whose 'spaceships' are just outside our
solar system?" The people around the conference table looked
at each other, trying to see who was going to provide the
answer. In the end, it was the Director of the National
Security Agency, Carl Parson.

  "Well, I guess I should answer that question," Parson
said, leaning forward, his hands clasped in front him.
"First of all, there's really no guarantee that the
translation you see there is accurate.

  "Our computers simply broke down the alien message into
some sort of mathematical equation and from there compared
it to all of our written languages, past and present. The
resulting logogram that the computer formed out of the
message resembled the ancient writings of the Behistun. They
were an ancient people who inhabited a western part of what
is now the nation of Iran.

  "But," Parson took a deep breath before continuing. "As
you can see from the imagery, there is good reason to
believe that the translation is fairly correct, that is,
with regards to the actual letters used. Of course, we still
need to interpret what the message really means." Parson
nodded to an aide who then toned down the lights and
projected on the big screen a four-word message:
                     
                      SND LAM CAP WRMHL
                      
  "By adding what we think are the few missing letters,"
Parson continued, the missing letters insinuating themselves
into the message so that it now read:
               
                SENDING LAM CAPTURE WORMHOLE
                
   "As you can see, this alien race means to send someone
or something to capture a 'wormhole'," Parson turned to look
at each face around the conference table. "That they mean to
capture something, I think, means we need to seriously
consider this race as hostile. Now, if you would take a look
at this," Parson took a satellite photo from his stack of
imagery and tapped it with a finger. "It looks like they've
already sent us 'LAM'."

  "Are we sure these things are headed for Earth?" the
President asked to no one in particular.

  "Mr. President," the Director for Operations for the
Joint Chiefs (otherwise known as J-3) answered. "Based on
the data we've collated from all our observatories and most
particularly the Hubble, we know, that unless their
trajectories change, they are definitely heading for us.
Based on our calculations, they will hit Japan."

  The last bit of information clearly stunned everyone
around the table. "When," Greg Caster, White House Chief of
Staff said, his voice hoarse all of a sudden.

  "Approximately forty-eight hours, sir."
  
  "My God." It was almost a whisper from the President but
those very same words were screaming in every other person's
head. After a very pregnant pause: "What defense do we have
against them?"

  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Roger
Masterson, cleared his throat. "Mr. President, these
capsules are traveling at speeds faster than the speed of
light. Even if we are able to accurately aim a missile at
each one of them, which we can't, I don't think it will have
any effect at all."

  "Mr. President," it was the Director of Central
Intelligence this time. "All indications show that these are
not explosive devices. Based on the message, if it is to be
believed, they might contain tools or equipment or something
that will help whoever is already here to capture the
wormhole, whatever that is." That got the President nodding.

  "So what is a wormhole?" The President asked, his
composure returning. All heads turned to the two
astrophysicists seated at the far end of the table.

  Joan Rumsen's throat suddenly went dry. With a glance at
her companion, Bill Winters, she answered. "Sir,
theoretically, a wormhole is a, for a lack of a better word,
shortcut in space. Wormholes are not natural, that is, they
are created. However, to create one would require a huge
amount of power and energy in quantities we, as yet, do not
have the capability to generate."

  "That doesn't really make sense, Miss--" the Chief of
Staff held out his hand for her name.

  "Rumsen," was Joan's immediate reply.
  
  "Miss Rumsen," the Chief of Staff continued smoothly. "If
we do not have the technology to create a wormhole, why
would these aliens think we have one?"

  "I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that one, sir."
Joan deflated. Why couldn't they ask an easier question? she
thought darkly.

  "Well, if we can't stop them," one member of the Joint
Chiefs offered. "We might as well give them a welcome they
won't forget."

  "What do you propose, General?" The Chief of Staff beat
the President to the question.

  "I propose that we inform Japan of this, and strongly
urge them to allow us to help them contain these aliens."

  "And what should be the composition of our 'welcome'?"
the President asked.

  "Mr. President," it was General Masterson. "We have the
Third Fleet standing by. That's so far the only thing we can
bring to bear in the two days that we have."

  "Um, excuse me," Joan was raising her hands like a pupil
asking a teacher for permission to speak. All heads turned
to her. Joan cleared her throat as she lowered her hand, all
of sudden feeling very nervous. "I was just, um, thinking
that if these aliens were not hostile at all, what kind of
impression would they get with the 'welcome' they get from
us."

  "Miss Rumsen," the President replied. "They may not be
hostile as you say but I would much rather err on the side
of our safety." With that he stood, bringing everyone around
the table on their feet as well.

  "Mr. President," General Masterson said, waiting for the
command he knew his Commander-In-Chief would give.

  "Order the Third Fleet to Japan."
  
  "Yes, sir."
  
  "Greg," the President said looking at his Chief of Staff.
"Let's get me on the phone with the Prime Minister of
Japan."

                          * * * * *

  Hikaru opened her eyes and for a moment, she was blinded
by the brightness of her surroundings. When she felt that
her eyes were already adjusted, she opened them once again
and found herself looking up at the most beautiful clear
blue sky ever. After a while, her brows furrowed. This can't
be, she thought. Without moving her head, she used her eyes
to scan the sky. True enough, she could make out the Crystal
Mountains floating in the air high above in the distance.
She also realized that she was still in her bedclothes and
that she was lying down on a bed of flowers in what appeared
to be the middle of a meadow. I don't remember opening a
portal to Cephiro.

  Slowly, Hikaru stood, scanning her surroundings trying to
identify her exact location on the planet. After a while,
she gave up. There were simply too many places in Cephiro
that looked like this. As puzzled as she was to be in the
world where she was the Pillar, the beauty and serenity of
the place brought the inevitable smile to the bubbly
redhead. She took a deep breath, reveling in the pureness of
the air. She was tempted to just open a portal to the palace
but decided against it. There was a lot of time to do that.
Besides, she was not in the mood to be treated like royalty.
She was content to walk around leisurely, barefooted, simply
to enjoy the wonders of Cephiro's nature.

  After a few moments, Hikaru found herself at the edge of
a cliff overlooking a fairly large village. She was
surprised to see one almost fully developed. She had thought
it would take a lot longer than this to rebuild and yet here
before her very eyes was a complete, thriving community. She
stood there transfixed on the scene of harmony below her. So
engrossed was she on the village that she almost didn't
notice the huge shadow that passed over her, slowly
approaching the town below.

  Puzzled, she looked up and gasped. A huge spaceship, many
times larger than the village, was passing overhead. For
several immobilizing seconds, she stood there not knowing
what to do or think. It was much larger than even the NSX
that Eagle commanded! She looked from the spaceship to the
village below, hoping against hope that this was a peaceful
vessel. No sooner had she completed thought when a blast of
light escaped from the spaceship, almost blinding her. In a
space of a second, the town that was alive and thriving was
completely obliterated! In its place was a smoldering,
blackened crater.

  "NOOOOO!" Hikaru screamed. Her eyes narrowing, without a
second thought, she focused all her energies on the
spaceship and raised a hand towards it. "Flame Arrow!" she
cried out her spell...and nothing. A stunned Hikaru brought
her hand towards her and looked at it. She took a deep
breath and tried again, raising her hand towards the evil
craft. "FLAME ARROW!" Still nothing.

  "What's going on?!" Hikaru cried aloud. The spaceship,
which was slowly moving forward, away from her, suddenly
paused. And then, to Hikaru's horror, it turned towards her.
She took a reflexive step back. Her legs felt as if they
were rooted to the ground. With a strength borne out of the
will to survive she was able to lift a leg to turn and run,
run away from this abomination. Just as she was about to
complete a turn, she saw the same blinding light that
destroyed the town lance towards her. Hikaru screamed--

  --and woke up. Hikaru found herself in a sitting position
on her bed, soaked in sweat, panting like she had just
completed a hundred meter dash. Her eyes were still squeezed
tight but she detected a presence, causing her eyes to fly
open. Before her, a few meters from her bed, was a cloaked
figure holding a wooden staff that was taller than him.
Instinctively, she drew the covers up to cover herself up to
her neck. "Who--who are you?"

  To her amazement, the cloaked figure knelt on one knee.
"Princess," the figure said. "I came to warn you."

  "How did you know who I am? How did you get in here? Warn
me of what?" Hikaru shot question after question to the
stranger in dark clothing.

  "You will know the answers to your questions in due time,
Princess," said the man who was still kneeling before her,
head down. "Please listen to me, Princess. Earth and Cephiro
are in danger."

  "Danger? What kind of danger?" Hikaru asked. The stranger
was about to answer but he suddenly raised his head and
cocked an ear. All of sudden, the door to her room swung
violently open. The cloaked figure instantly dissipated in a
puff of light wispy smoke just as the door would have hit
him. The light was also suddenly switched on, casting the
entire room in a brightness that caused Hikaru to shield her
eyes with an arm.

  "Hikaru! Are you alright?"
  
  Hikaru lowered her arm. "Elder brother, Masaru, Kakeru!"
  
  Both Masaru and Kakeru rushed to the both sides of their
petite, redheaded sister. "We heard you scream," Masaru
said, taking his sister's dainty hand in his.

  "All sorts of frightening thoughts entered our minds,"
Kakeru said, taking his sister's other hand in his.

  Hikaru smiled. Her brothers were really protective of
her. "Masaru, Kakeru, I'm okay. Really." She looked up at
her eldest brother, Satoru, who was impassively watching.

  "Was someone here with you, Hikaru?" Satoru asked, his
eyes boring into his sister's sienna brown eyes.

  Hikaru was visibly taken aback by the question. Instead
of answering, she attempted to dodge it. "What makes you
think that Elder brother?"

  Satoru's eyes didn't waver as if to tell her that he knew
she was hiding something. But instead of pushing, Satoru
smiled. "Oh nothing," he shrugged. "I can get paranoid
sometimes."

  Masaru and Kakeru shared a look. Paranoid? Since when was
Satoru paranoid? Both brothers looked back at their baby
sister. With a tap on her hand, Masaru rose. "Well, if you
need anything, Hikaru, please don't hesitate to call on us."

  "Yes, Hikaru," Kakeru said. "Don't hesitate." Both Masaru
and Kakeru bent at the same time and planted a kiss on both
Hikaru's cheeks causing her to blush slightly. With one
final look, both brothers left the room, passing Satoru, out
through the door.

  When both Masaru and Kakeru were out of the room, Satoru
took a step back towards the door, his hand on the light
switch. "Would you prefer the light on tonight?"

  "That's alright, Elder Brother. You know I'm not afraid
of the dark," the redhead smiled. "It was just a bad dream,
that's all."

  "Very well. Good night then." Satoru turned off the light
and gently closed the door.

  Alone once more in the dark, Hikaru waited for the
cloaked figure to return. When the stranger did not
materialize after several minutes of waiting, she allowed
herself to fall back on her bed. Who was that? And how did
he know about Cephiro and me? So many questions swirled
around in the pretty redhead's mind, which kept her awake
for several more hours before exhaustion took hold over her.
Just as she was about to close her eyes, her thoughts
drifted back to her dream. Was it really just a dream...or was
it a vision?

                          * * * * *

  Fuu adjusted her glasses on her nose for the umpteenth
time as she reviewed the contents of a web page on her
computer. Being a Saturday morning, she was, as usual, in
front of her home computer trying to determine exactly where
Cephiro was in relation to Earth. And just as usual, she was
not getting the information she doggedly sought. Instead,
she was able to learn of a few puzzling developments in the
news.

  The first one was that the United States' biggest fleet
was actually just a stone's throw away from the gulf of
Japan. It was so close that one would be able to see it just
standing in any one of Japan's eastern coasts such as in Ch
�shi, Katsuura or Kamogawa. That may not have not been very
strange were it not for the fact that Japan's very own Self-
Defense Forces were also in the fray. The official report
said they were doing a joint military exercise.

  The second development was a rumor circulating around the
Internet that an alien invasion was imminent. This was
accompanied by pictures that were disturbingly authentic.
They showed numerous capsule-like objects flying through
space purportedly headed towards Japan, of all places.
  
   Having actually been in an "alien" planet, she could not
quickly dismiss these news items. Furthermore, according to
Miss Hikaru, the three of them were currently being stalked.
The very thought brought shivers down Fuu's spine. A very
private person by nature, it didn't bode well on her peace
of mind to know that someone was watching her every move.
Are all these things related?

  Fuu thought to call both Miss Hikaru and Miss Umi but
decided against it. They were going to see each other later
that day anyway. Better to not worry them unnecessarily.

                          * * * * *

  Rear Admiral Joshua Parker, Battle Group Commander of the
Third Fleet, was looking at imagery similar to what Fuu was
looking at, albeit taken just hours earlier. The capsule-
like objects had not changed their trajectory, which was
both good and bad. Good because at least he and his battle
group were here to meet the threat head-on. Bad because they
all would rather not face an opponent they knew absolute
nothing about except that they possessed technology to fly
at warp speed.

  Parker turned to his Science officer. "Do we have aspect
ratio on these bastards yet?"

  "Not yet, sir, but I expect we should be getting it any
minute now," replied Chuck Tyler. He handed his Commander a
pair of goggles, the kind worn when watching a test
explosion or a rocket launch.

  "What's this for?"
  
  "Well, if those sons-of-bitches don't slow down and hit
our atmosphere at their current speed...let's just say that
the resulting blast will be several hundred times brighter
than an atomic explosion," said Tyler in a matter of fact
way causing the Rear Admiral to look at him eyebrows raised.

  "Jesus."
  
  "Yeah, I know."
  
  "What about the Japanese?"
  
  "That's being taken care of, sir," replied Tyler, looking
straight into the horizon. "The Japanese are already
broadcasting non-stop on TV and radio, urging the citizens
to stay indoors and to not look at the sky."

  Parker was still shaking his head at the gravity of the
situation when an ensign came into the bridge and handed him
a piece of paper. Parker thanked the man and examined the
message.

  "Aspect ratio?" asked Tyler, looking expectantly.
  
  "Yeah." Parker lifted the scrambler and punched a button.
He spoke on the phone for a few minutes before turning back
to his Science officer. "It's almost show time."

  Chuck Tyler took a deep breath and looked out the bridge
onto the deck of the aircraft carrier. The flurry of
activity down there picked up several notches. In the
distance, he thought he could hear the big guns of the
nearby ships adjusting to aim at an unseen target. He also
knew that their cruisers would be opening their missile bays
in preparation for launch against the extraterrestrial
invaders.

  He knew that there would be two waves of fighter jets
that will be deployed to meet the threat in the sky. Each
pilot was given a special augmentation to their goggles to
shield their eyes from what promised to be a spectacular
light show that will sure to greet them when he or she took
to the air. Every gun and missile bay in their considerable
arsenal will launch, as a final defense should the first two
waves fail in stopping the intruders.

  "How much longer?"

                          * * * * *

  "Six hours," was Crata's monotonous reply to her leader's
question.

  Rogo was silent for a moment. After a while, he turned to
Grat. "Send a message to Lam and tell him that the
earthlings know he is coming," Rogo ordered. Then after a
moment's contemplation: "Tell him to head to our alternate
rendezvous point."

  "Wouldn't it be better to show these puny humans how much
better we are?" Dasma said, obviously anxious for battle.

  Rogo merely looked at her then turned once more to Grat
who was also waiting for a reaction from Rogo. "Do it," Rogo
ordered once more. Grat nodded once and bent over his
computer terminal to compose the message to Lam. Dasma
snorted derisively and then stomped out of the room.

  "Do not mind her," said Crata, as she walked over to
Rogo. "She is young and impetuous."

  "That could very well be her undoing."
  
  "Perhaps."

                          * * * * *

  "You're not going out of this house, and that's final."
  
  "But Dad," pleaded Umi. "Fuu and Hikaru are waiting for
me."

  "Listen to your father, Umi," Umi's mom walked up just
behind her husband. "It's all over TV and radio. We are
being asked to stay inside the house and not even look out
our windows."

  Umi looked at her parents and sighed. She couldn't
disobey them. "Oh alright! I'll just call Hikaru and Fuu,"
she said, her shoulders slumped as she walked to her room.
Upon reaching it, she closed the door, sat on her bed and
picked up the phone. She wished she could just call on her
best friends using her mind but it looked like only Hikaru
had the ability to do that.

  "Hello?" was Hikaru's very distinguishable, high-pitched
voice.

  "Hikaru!"
  
  "Umi! I was about to leave the house but my brothers
wouldn't let me."

  "I know. My parents wouldn't let me leave either," wailed
Umi. "Listen, just hold on and I'll call Fuu so we can all
talk."

  "Don't bother. I'll just 'call' both of you," Hikaru
promptly hung up as soon as she said this. "Umi?"

  "Wow," Umi exclaimed, seeing her petite friend clearly in
her mind. "That was fast." She saw Hikaru smile brightly.

  "I'm getting better at it."
  
  "I'll say," Umi said, hanging up the phone and crossing
her arms, trying to project to her bubbly leader just what
she thought about that.

  "Miss Umi! Miss Hikaru!"
  
  "Hey Fuu!"
  
  "Hi Fuu."
  
  "So it appears none of us were allowed to leave our
respective houses." As always, Fuu loved to state the
obvious but it was one of those things that totally endeared
her to her friends.

  "Do you have any idea what's going on?" Hikaru asked
anxiously.

  "As a matter of fact, I do," Fuu replied. The two others
could see her going through several pieces of paper. "I
believe that we are about to be invaded by aliens." Fuu
finally found what she was looking for. She dropped the rest
of the stack and turned the remaining piece of paper she was
holding so that both Hikaru and Umi could see.

  "What in the world are those?" Umi asked, peering closely
at the picture printed on the ordinary paper Fuu held.
  
   "Well, nobody really knows, Miss Umi," Fuu said, a touch
of worry in her voice. "At any rate, these objects are
heading towards Japan. And from the looks of it, it will be
any time now."

  Umi focused on the Fire Knight. "Hikaru, isn't there
something you can do about it?"

  Hikaru appeared surprised by the question. "I haven't
really thought about it. I mean I'm not so sure I can do
anything about it at all. And even then, wouldn't it raise
too many questions?"

  Both Fuu and Umi knew what she meant by that last
question. It was obvious that Hikaru would have to visibly
use strong magic to dispel the invaders. Something that
everyone in Japan would be bound to notice.

  Hikaru turned to Fuu. "Does it seem like a lot of people
will be hurt? I mean are those things like bombs or
something?"

  "I'm afraid, Miss Hikaru, that I do not know the answer
to that question." Both Hikaru and Umi saw their
bespectacled friend deflate. "Although, I do not think they
are bombs otherwise our government would have surely told us
to evacuate."

  "That makes sense," Umi said. "I guess there's nothing to
do but wait then."

  "Hey guys," Hikaru began, her head lowered. Umi and Fuu
traded a look. Their petite best friend had that look about
her. "I had another dream last night." Both Umi and Fuu took
deep breaths and prepared themselves. Hikaru's dreams tend
to be harbingers of trouble.

                          * * * * *


__________________________________
www.edsamail.com

             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'