Well after a time working on The Sullivans short story I have added the Yamato to the story. In the original there was a time traveler who I only identified as the Japanese Girl. I left it open that it might be Katherine Mason or someone else. For the purpose of the original short story it did not make much difference. Still it will give the story more depth if the Yamato ties in with the books.
By the way for those that like pictures this is a line drawing of the Yamato. She is an advanced battle ship built by the nation of Japan. She is of course named for the Yamato that was sunk by United States Forces during the Second World War. The name Yamato also mean spirit of Japan or something to that effect. Her computer is highly advanced and self aware. She is program to approximate the behavior or a Japanese woman. She chooses to remain as a child in her avatar for for various reasons. Adding her to the first story give some interesting perspective on some of the other Character. The story centers in two character for the most part James and Evangeline Booth.
James is Evangeline's father and after many years is still mourning the death of his wife. James has an obsession with the origins of the Saucer People. He discovers on of their battle cruisers and secretly rebuilds it. His daughter is along for the ride. In this short story she is almost ten. At some point before the story Booth and his daughter went off to try and find the origens of the saucer people in their rebuilt battle cruiser they named the Sarah. The Booth discover that the Saucer People never went anyway. They were escaped slaves who created the facade of the Saucer People to wadge a war against their oppressors. The war was still going on and Booth could not talk about his finding.
James Booth was an officer in The Salvation Army who discovered that many of the Saucer People were Christian who felt they were members of The Salvation Army. For some reason this gets him in trouble with his superiors. Booth ends up as a Chaplain in The United States Navy.
The nice thing about adding the Yamato is that Evangeline is no ordinary child. She know that there is war coming between time travelers. This war will be fought around the physical and spiritual fate of the Saucer People. Evangeline can related to the Yamato because of the form that she takes. The hard part with the original story is that you have this kid, Evangeline, on a navy ship getting under foot. With another kid running around that is a star ship it give some extra inroads for Evangeline. Well I am still playing around with it.
The nice thing as that it will be finished sooner than a book would be. Good times
Well I am experimenting with a new begining to the short sotry. tell me what you thinl
“Dad, I think we found them.” stated a young girl operating a computer station in a vast round command center.
“Are you sure?” asked her father who was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt. He was a good looking man of a certain age. He was also laboring over a computer station.
“I am picking up the Dreadnaught Fleet and SaucerCity. I cannot tell anything else until we are out of the Quantum flux field.”
The father looked over her readings. He checked them again and looked to his daughter.
“Alright Honey,” stated the man.
He hit a couple buttons and the dome they were under turned white. The young lady walked into the center that was dominated by a large table that looked as if it’s top was made of glass.
On the outskirts of the Wolf 359 System a blue ball of electricity formed a grew.
“We are near something?” stated the young girl as she watched a projection of the electric blue cloud appeared as a three dimensional hologram in the center of the table.
Their saucer emerged from the cloud and was greeted by weapons fire from the ship they disturbed. In the command center the weapon’s impact registered as little more than an alarm from the ship’s computer.
“They are using Liposean Disruptors.” stated the little girl.
“Raising the shields.” stated the man behind the first ring of computer stations.
Over the table a fleet of a couple hundred ships appeared. The man exhaled and the young lady whistled.
“That is a lot of ships Dad.” stated the young lady as weapons continued to impact harmlessly on their hull.
“Computer, make a note.” began the father. “The accepted date for the Third Battle of Saucer City is incorrect.” stated the man as he began to maneuver his ship away from a large red brown starship that was closing on their position.
“Eva, warm up the jump engines.” stated the man.
The young lady hit a button on the table and the dome that enclosed them appeared to become transparent. A large dirty ship made an attack run over their dorsal section. The blasts of yellow energy impacted their shields and dissipated without rattling the ship.
“I did not need to see that, Eva.” stated the man.
Young Evangeline made her way to a computer station across the holotable from her father.
“This is a rare opportunity to study the battle tactics of the twenty third Vral Dynasty.” she piped up unapologetically.
As Evangeline defended herself an attractive woman appeared in the center of the Bridge. Her dark ebony skin was young and supple over a muscular but gaunt frame. Her bleach white hair was braided with braids that terminated in a bun at the back of her head. Her ice blue eyes were startling to say the least.
“Can I be of some assistance?” she asked calmly as if they had not appeared in the middle of a belligerent fleet.
“You can tell me why Fleet Lord Stone gave us the wrong date.” stated the man dodging his saucer through a formation of Vral Cruisers.
“On this date the Fleet Lord knew there would be an invincible ship that would pass thought the Vral Fleet. He gave you a date and time that would facilitate that scenario.”
“I wish you people would leave Eva and I would of your war.”
As he spoke the saucer passed close enough to a ship above them to brush shields. The energy discharge fed back on the less sophisticated Vral ship. A geyser of fire briefly erupted from where their shield generator exploded.
“Your contribution to this battle is invaluable. Their attack on you gives away the Vral position. It is one of the first uses of a cloaking field on their part.”
“Dad one of the smaller cruisers.”
“I see it.” stated her father as he violently altered the ship’s course.
“The cruiser barely missed as the saucer twisted and dodged between two large cruisers. As they emerged from between the cruisers another ploughed into their starboard side. The saucer rocked gently as the forward compartments of the Vral Warrior collapsed against their shields. The saucer turned out of the impact heading for a gap in the fleet.
“Did they ram us” asked the man.
“Yes Captain Booth. Since their weapons cannot penetrate your shields they are ramming you.” stated the gaunt woman.
“Evangeline, shield strength.” asked Booth.
“Ninety nine percent, they barely scratched us.” she stated with a bit of excitement.
Booth watched the blue disk among the red ships on the holographic display. As he watched another cruiser rammed into them devastating their bow as their ship crumpled against the saucer’s shields.
“It didn’t work with the first one. Why are they still doing it” asked Booth looking for some advice from his cryptic advisor.
“That one was defending their Flag Ship.” stated the woman.
“What Flag …..” before he could finish his sentence the ship was engulfed in a fire ball. The bow of a massive ship appeared from invisibility almost as if it was trying to escape the first storm.
As their saucer emerged the alien bow was consumed by a brief fire ball as it claimed the rest of the ship.
“That Flag Ship.” stated the woman answering Booth’s question before he could finish it. While she turned toward Booth their saucer passed through another large ship destroying it as they went.
Booth violently turned his ship away from the void in the center of the fleet.
“Why didn’t you tell me that area was full of cloaked ships?” asked Booth choosing the targets he could dodge.
“You did not ask.” replied the helpful woman as they took out another invisible warrior.
Captain Booth managed to pilot his ship out of the fleet and jump back into the void of hyperspace.
“What was that about?” demanded Booth.
“Oracle, why did you let us destroy those ships?” demanded the Captain.
The attractive alien looked up at the dome that was now showing the electric blue space scape that was hyper space.
“We will now go into the past before the battle. Fleet Lord Jal will have proof that you are a time traveler.” Oracle turned to Booth and gave him a weak smile. She then turned back to the void.
“That is unacceptable. We killed thousands of Liposeans by accident.” protested Booth getting up from his station.
“It was thousands of them or tens of thousands on both sides. Even with the cloaking technology they would not have taken Oahu Minor. Half the attackers would have been lost. Oahu Minor would have been damaged. A couple hundred thousand Oahuans would have been killed. And if Fleet Lord Jal’s Fleet had been weakened it could have led to them losing the First Battle for Planet Five. Your actions were already part of the time line. They simply had not happened for you.”
“You can stop the prophecy baloney. I know that you are a time traveler Oracle.” stated Booth. He was now standing on a couple feet from her.
“Then my knowledge should be more invaluable since you know the means by which it was obtained. Your actions today will one day convince Jal that you are the General of the Lost Line.” the Oracle turn from the serenity of Hyperspace to the more annoyed Booth.
“My daughter and I will not play a part in this deranged game.”
“Daddy, they were going to kill and enslave our friends. They were bad people.” defended Evangeline.
“Honey, this is between me and Orry.” protested Booth trying to keep his daughter out of it.
“No Daddy, Oracle is right. They are evil they cannot win this war.” continued the young girl.
“That is it.” stated Booth putting his foot down without a firm reason.
“We are spending the night here. We will discuss if we are still going to interview Jal in the morning. I am going to bed before Oracle finds a new way to make us unwilling dupes in this crusade.” grumped Booth as he turned and walked off the Bridge.
“He will be alright in the morning.” stated his daughter.
The Oracle looked over to her as she still sat at her station. She smiled and gently nodded to the young Booth ad turned her attention back to the blue void of Hyperspace.
Well after a time working on The Sullivans short story I have added the Yamato to the story. In the original there was a time traveler who I only identified as the Japanese Girl. I left it open that it might be Katherine Mason or someone else. For the purpose of the original short story it did not make much difference. Still it will give the story more depth if the Yamato ties in with the books.