The Berserker's Guide to Living Happily Ever After
Posted: 2006-08-03 02:39am
It's a sequel to this story. Expect a comparable amount of insanity and OOC behavior, e.g., Sailor Moon using Hellfire antitank missiles to punish perverts, and Darth Vader trying to get laid.
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I hate weddings. I hate wearing a tuxedo, the infamous "monkey suit" that's the formal uniform for these things. I hate having to curl my lips into a phony smile so I don't hurt the bride's feelings. I hate having to make myself hyperventilate so it sounds like I'm laughing at the groom's lame jokes. I especially hate having stand in a crowd of men-who-don't-bath-regularly for the garter toss-- not that I enjoy being single, mind you, but I'm not in a rush to get married.
But I'm a professional. I have to suppress my fear and loathing of weddings and attend this one because it's part of my official duties. I'm Andrew Mays, Anime Detective, and it's my job to keep the peace between humans and Toons, the "children of dreams" who, when they're not entertaining us by expressing the fantasies we wish were reality, step out of their cartoon and anime settings to remind us to be careful what we wish for.
The wedding in question will celebrate the union of Aino Minako-- alias Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love-- and Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. No, I'm not being sarcastic. A warrior of Love and Justice from the 'Sailor Moon' anime is marrying a villain from the 'Star Wars' movies who, rendered in 1996 to be a boss in the 'Masters of Teräs Käsi' fighting game, is now free from human control. He joined the US Air Force in 1999 and participated in OIF-- Operation Iraqi Freedom-- so he could call himself a war hero and run for public office. God help us if the Sith Lord achieves his ambition of becoming President of the United States of America.
"Eek!" Slap! "Pervert!" Wham, crash, clatter! If the angry female voices and the sound of violence are any indication, I'll regret not chaining my partner to his desk before coming here. If you're in a gunfight, you can count on Saeba Ryo, "City Hunter," to cover you, but if you're in a social setting like a wedding, you can count on Ryo to cover every woman he sees-- I mean, "cover" as in "commit sexual harassment." I sighed and drew a one-ton mallet from Who Knows Where, the subspace pocket of my trench coat-- Ryo needed another lesson.
"Help! Rape!" another angry female called as Ryo jumped into the air, his hands reaching for her breasts. I stepped in between them, calculated Ryo's projected trajectory, and swung the mallet. Impact in five... four... three...
"Mokkori--!" Tsepesh! "Argh!" A 213-centimeter-long steel lance struck down Ryo like a thunderbolt before he could finish his strange battle cry, the Japanese slang for "erection." A clonetrooper stood upon the lance and held a nodachi, a Japanese "field sword" with a 152-centimeter-long blade for foot soldiers to use against cavalry, over my head. I notice the nodachi had two serrated blades moving independently back and forth along tracks extending from the handle, like the electric knife a housewife would used to carve a turkey. I froze, ignoring the clicking sounds of E-11 blaster rifles being set from SAFE to BURST as white-armored stormtroopers surrounded me; I'd get a literally splitting headache if I moved.
"Identify yourself." The clonetrooper had female voice. I notice her demon mask and the red "slash" marks forming an Iron Cross on her white breastplate, and identified her as one of the sabertroopers, clonetroopers created for counter-terrorism operations who became infamous for their brutality in OIF.
"Andrew Mays. Sergeant, Animegamigu Police Department." Invisible hands-- a magnetic field generated by the sabertrooper's body-- drew her katana and wakizashi, Japanese long and short swords. The katana pointed at my chest, ready to pierce my heart, as the wakizashi pointed at my back, ready to pierce my right lung. "I'm invited." I slowly reached into my pocket, retrieved my photo ID and the wedding invitation, and raised them so the sabertrooper sergeant can see it.
"Me too," Ryo whispered, writhing upon the lance like a fish impaled upon a harpoon. I'd admire his tenacity if he applied it to something other than getting laid.
A stormtrooper stepped forward to grab my ID and the invitation, stepped back out of the reach of my mallet, used a black light to reveal a fluorescent authentication code on the invitation, and raised it and the ID for the sabertrooper to see. "Identity confirmed."
I sighed in relief as the katana and wakizashi returned to their scabbards. The sabertrooper points the nodachi at Ryo and asked, "What about him?"
What about him? I might need Ryo's help in case a terror attack occurs-- Vader made a lot of enemies in Iraq-- but who's stupid and/or crazy enough to do that here? We're in Skywalker Ranch, home of 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas. The Death Star, a mobile battle equipped with a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, is in geostationary orbit above the ranch. If that doesn't scare you, know that DARPA-- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-- has research lab on the Death Star, which means the US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps will hit us like a ton of bricks if anyone did anything funny here.
"He's my partner," I answered, choosing to err on the side of caution. "I'm sorry about the trouble, he keeps skipping the classes on preventing sexual harassment. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him from now on." I may regret this, but if Murphy's Law were enforced, I'd have greater regrets if I left Ryo like this.
"His blood be upon you if you fail." Tsepesh! I quickly lost sight of the sabertrooper as she rocketed into the air, taking the lance with her. Ryo cried again when he fell upon the ground. I sigh and retrieve a first aid kit. This was going to be a long day.
->
THE BERSERKER'S GUIDE TO LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER
By Sidewinder (aim9snake@hotmail.com), 2006. Based on the worlds created by Gary K. Wolf and Pearson Mui.
->
Friday, June 30, 2006. Morning. Sergeant Anna Mason, a member of the Animegamigu Police Department (APD) Counter-Terrorism (CT) Unit, stood beside the Inner Senshi (Warriors)-- Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon, Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury, Hino Rei/Sailor Mars, Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter-- as they celebrated the day one of their own, Minako, would marry her "Prince Charming" and live happily ever after. "... and we'll adopt Iraqi children orphaned by the war and raise them as our own and teach them the values of peace, freedom, and justice, and together, we'll make the world a better place," the bride explained with a smile.
Rei frowned in suspicion. "Doesn't Vader's idea of making the world a better place involve killing anyone and everyone who doesn't agree with his ideas?"
Minako's smile became maniacal, like a berserker's when first blood is drawn. "You can't make an egg without breaking a few omelets,"-- she turned to the policewoman-- "right, Anna-chan?"
"Actually, it's, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,'" Anna corrected.
"But you agree that sacrifices must be made, right? After all, you made a lot of sacrifices in H-Ville," a nickname for Hanamura (Flower Village), the red light district where Anna committed 223 acts of police brutality in one month.
Anna blushed in embarrassment. "A sacrifice is made for a noble cause. My actions in Hanamura weren't for some noble cause; they were... errors in judgment... because I lost control of my anger. I should be ashamed..."
Minako put her hands on the policewoman's shoulders to comfort her. "Don't be, Anna-chan. "We all go a little mad sometimes," she said, quoting Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in 'Psycho'.
'A little is never enough for you two,' Rei didn't say.
"It's part of what makes us human, along with love, hate, happiness, and sadness," Minako continued.
Outside the dressing room, a sabertrooper stated, "Get ready."
Minako jumped, unable to suppress her emotions. "Oh, I'm so excited, it's my big day, I'm getting married! Oh, I hope I won't faint!" She hugged each Sailor Senshi in the dressing room, Anna, opened the door, hugged the sabertrooper, and turned rearwards. "Pray for Vader and I so we'll live happily ever after!"
>
The ceremony was being held in the chapel courtyard because some of Vader's guests-- Brigadier General (O7) Starscream and Colonels (O6) Skywarp and Thundercracker, Decepticons who joined the USAF in 1995-- were 19-meter-tall robots, too large to fit indoors. An altar was set up behind the chapel, in front of a stained glass window. Tents were erected to shelter the guests from the sun, including politicians such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, film industry moguls such as Lucasfilm Chairman George Lucas, anime characters such as the Outer Senshi-- Tomoe Hotaru/Sailor Saturn, Tenoh Haruka/Sailor Uranus, Kaioh Michiru/Sailor Neptune, Meioh Setsuna/Sailor Pluto-- and video game sprites such as the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Sabertroopers, stormtroopers, all terrain scout transport (AT-ST), all terrain armored transport (AT-AT), all terrain antiaircraft (AT-AA) walkers, and a theater shield generator defended the courtyard.
Andrew and Ryo sat furthest from the altar. Andrew didn't mind his position, which allowed him to observe what was happening to the other guests. 'Something's up. What...?'
"You look like you're sitting on a landmine. Want something to cool you down?" a female voice asked from a refreshment stand operated by Ahab's Coffee.
Andrew turned rearwards to see Alise, his sister, in a barista uniform. "Alise?"
Ryo jumped into the air, reaching for Alise's breasts. "Mo--!" Wham! "Ite!" he cried, pinned under the protective brother's mallet.
"What are you doing here?" Andrew continued.
"Working to pay off interest on my student loans. Want a Caffreezer to cool you down? My treat." Alise mischievously smiled.
Andrew frowned. "You know I only drink black coffee, preferably hot. I don't drink the caffeinated syrup that Ahab's calls, 'coffee,' and I definitely don't drink it ice-blended."
Alise laughed and patted Andrew's shoulder. "Don't be so 1931! You can call yourself, 'macho' and still like Caffreezers,"-- she turned to a smiling Toon leaning over the counter in a flirtatious manner-- "right, Shinji?"
"I like Caffreezers." The tall, muscular Toon wore a US Army dress blue uniform, his nameplate marked "IKARI".
Andrew frowned, examining the Combat Action Badge and ribbons for the Silver Star and the Purple Heart on the Toon's chest, the staff sergeant (E6) chevrons on his shoulders, the "SPECIAL FORCES" and "AIRBORNE" tabs and the insignia over the left chevrons, the bulge under his coat suggesting the presence of a revolver in a shoulder holster, and the green beret in his rear pants pocket. "Your name is Ikari Shinji?" the policeman asked.
"Yes, Sir," answered the Toon."
"Pilot of Evangelion Unit 01?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And a Green Beret?"
"MOS," military occupational specialty, "18 Charlie: Special Forces engineer. I'm the youngest graduate of the Special Forces Qualification Course in Army history."
"You're not Ikari Shinji. Ikari Shinji's a 15-year-old schoolboy, not a 19-year-old Green Beret."
"You're referring to my predecessor, who appeared in the 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' TV series. I'll be appearing in the 'Evangelion Wars' OAVs," original animation videos, "which will be on sale February 2007."
"Do you also hate your father, yet pilot the Eva," an abbreviation of Evangelion, "for his praise?"
"I hope my father is proud of me, but I'll never know; my mother and father both died during the First Angel War of 2000 to 2004. I was raised by my uncle, an Army officer stationed in Okinawa."
Andrew suppressed a shudder, remembering that Ikari Gendo, Shinji's father, had conspired with terrorists who attempted to assassinate Vader in 2004. 'Now that Vader's Vice President of Gainax,' the studio that created 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', 'the Sith Lord is punishing Gendo by erasing him from the audience's minds.' Being forgotten was the only true cause of death for Toons; deaths caused by the stories could be reversed, the characters resurrected.
"Oh, here comes the bride," Alise noted as Minako appeared, gripping her dress and breathing hard after a sprint from the dressing room. Shinji quickly took his seat.
The bride raised her dress, ready to sprint again, when a sabertrooper stated, "Thirty seconds," until the ceremony began. Minako breathed deeply to calm down. Usagi-- the Matron of Honor-- almost crashed into the bride as she ran to Minako's side. Anna and the other Sailors appeared as the sabertrooper counted down. At "Zero," the wedding march began playing, and Minako approached the altar.
The groom stood with a red bowtie around his gorget and a pink carnation taped to his breastplate, watching the bride approach. Although Vader's mask hid his facial expressions, Minako sensed his apprehension as the Sith Lord took her hand. "Are you okay, Vader-kun?" Tears clouded her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to leave me at the altar?!"
"I sense..." Vader ignited a lightsaber. "We're under attack!"
"Is he being paranoid?" The guests' confusion was cleared as a graviton beam hit the energy shield like a sledgehammer. "What in the pit...? Ahhhh!" Starscream cried as a 16-inch (406 mm) shell flew through a "crack" in the shield and exploded 10 meters in front of the Decepticon, showering him with shrapnel. He looked up to see the attacker, a Galaxy class starship that de-cloaked in low earth orbit to bombard the courtyard. "You scratched my custom paint job! Do you know how expensive metal flake paint is?! I'll disintegrate you for this!" the Decepticon swore, shaking his fist at the ship.
The AT-AAs' multi-ordnance flak pods opened fire, intercepting many shells before they hit the shield, but the heavy bombardment quickly overwhelmed them. "Ahhhh!" "Help!" Some guests panicked and ran in all directions, fleeing for their lives. Some-- military and police officers like Shinji, Andrew, and Anna-- tried to calm the others and help evacuate the courtyard-turned-kill zone.
The Sith Lord threw the lightsaber like a boomerang to hit three 16-inch shells, detonating them over the courtyard; a fourth shell exploded in front of Vader, blowing him into the air. The Sith Lord somersaulted backwards, igniting a second lightsaber as he landed on his feet. Smoke rose from holes in his cape, burnt by hot shrapnel. Sabertroopers rushed towards Vader, ready to shield the Sith Lord from further attacks. "Commander...!"
"Protect Lady Minako!" Vader recovered his first lightsaber and raced towards Shinji, who unbuttoned his jacket to draw a .454 Casull revolver with a 12-inch-long barrel and attach the skeletal stock, converting the handgun into a carbine. "Sgt Ikari, summon the Evangelion! I want AT field," the absolute terror field projected by Angels and Evas, against whom conventional weapons were ineffective, "coverage over the courtyard!"
"Yes, Sir!" Shinji took a knee and closed his eyes, as if he was praying to God. He used his psychic link with Unit 01 to activate the Eva in its a hangar at Travis AFB; then his eyes opened. "ETA," estimated time of arrival, "90 seconds, Sir!"
"Venus Love Me Chain Gun!" The bride now wore a yellow hardsuit-- the robotic armor was a gift from Sylia Stingray, a vigilante from the 'Bubblegum Crisis' OAVs. A 1200 round magazine, attached to the backplate, fed Adonis, her M230 30 mm automatic cannon. Minako rocketed to Vader's side, followed by the sabertroopers. "I won't leave your side," she swore.
Usagi, Ami, Rei, and Makoto transformed into their hardsuits and rocketed to Minako's side. "And we won't leave yours," Usagi swore.
Hotaru, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna transformed into their sailor suits and joined their comrades, followed by the Sabertroopers. "Lady Venus, please allow us to perform our duty and protect you," the sabertrooper platoon leader asked.
"Yeah, we don't have rocket boosters!" Haruka reminded.
Minako smiled behind her visor. "Okay, now let's rock!"
Vader's head rose as the helmet's integral radio received a transmission; then he faced Minako. "The Death Star reports it cannot engage the enemy ship due to the risk of collateral damage to Skywalker Ranch." 'I should've stationed SPMA-Ts,' self-propelled medium artillery-turbolaser walkers, 'on high ground.' "We must scramble fighters. Will you stand at my side?"
"Of course I will, it's my duty as your wife to be at your side for better or for worse, just as it's your duty as my husband to be at my side for richer or for poorer, okay, we're not married yet, but we will be once we punish these jerks for interrupting my perfect wedding!"
The shield generator exploded; then the enemy ship's guns were silenced. Vader's head rose again. "A second ship has de-cloaked at an altitude of 40 kilometers. It's not raising shields, possibly because it intends to use..."
A M60A3 Patton main battle tank (MBT) teleported behind Vader. The tank commander, an overweight Trekkie-- 'Star Trek' fan-- in a Klingon warrior's uniform, tried to look heroic as the MBT's 105 mm main gun targeted the Sith Lord. "Sic... Ahhhh!" He intended to quote John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, but the Trekkie's last words were screams as Vader's psychokinetic powers lifted the MBT off the ground. The sabertroopers and the Sailor Senshi attacked the tank-turned-piñata, blasting it and its crew to pieces.
Vader faced the sabertrooper platoon leader. "Defend the courtyard. Destroy anything teleported from the Galaxy class starship." He retrieved a remote control from his belt to summoned a twin ion engine (TIE) Advanced x1 fighter, which could transform into a robot.
The sabertrooper's nodachi rose vertically in salute. "Yes, Sir."
Haruka noticed Usagi was torn between her loyalties to the Inner and Outer Senshi as Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makoto retrieved remote controls from their belts. "Go and help Venus, Princess. We'll defend the ranch." Usagi embraced Haruka as Minako summoned a VF-1J Super Valkyrie variable fighter; then Sailor Moon jumped into the air as her VF-1S Strike Valkyrie dived towards the courtyard, landed in the open cockpit, and piloted the fighter towards the enemy ship.
Haruka faced Michiru, her lover, as a second MBT teleported into the courtyard. "Ready to rock?"
"I prefer classical music," Michiru mischievously smiled, "but I'm ready."
The MBT's 105 mm gun targeted the Sailor Senshi. The tank commander turned on the loudspeaker and shouted, "Surrender or die!" The gun elevated to track Haruka and Michiru as they jumped into the air. Slash! A beam saber cut off the M60A3's turret, exposing the crew. The Trekkies looked up to see Sailor Uranus' RX-78-2 Gundam and Sailor Neptune's RX-77-2 Guncannon mobile suits (MSs), humanoid fighting vehicles from the 'Mobile Suit Gundam' anime.
The Guncannon's shoulder-mounted water cannons, through which Sailor Neptune's Deep Submerge elemental attack was launched, targeted the defenseless M60A3. The Gundam's sabers spun like propellers to demonstrate Sailor Uranus' swordsmanship. "Please surrender," Michiru asked. "We don't want your blood to stain the mobile suits' custom paint jobs." The Trekkies' arms rose in surrender. "Good boys."
>
The TIE x1 and three F-15C Eagle fighters-- Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker's vehicle modes-- exited Earth's atmosphere to see a Galaxy class starship marked "BLOOD OF PATRIOTS", a name Thundercracker repeated in confusion.
"'The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.' Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Stephens Smith. November 13, 1787," Vader quoted.
Starscream examined the ship's unusual gun armament: two forward-facing batteries on each side of the saucer section, a rear-facing battery to protect the "neck" connecting the saucer and stardrive sections, and a battery on the ventral surface of the stardrive section. Each battery consisted of a structure resembling the podium used to honor Olympic athletes, with a retractable Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS) in the gold medallist's position and two 5-inch (127 mm) twin-gun turrets in the silver and bronze medallists' position, behind a 16-inch triple-gun platform. "Whoever refitted the Galaxy class starship with, apparently, an Iowa class battleship's main armament is a skilled engineer," he noted.
"Alpha strike!" The Death Star launched TIE interceptors and bomber wings-- military units composed of 72 aircraft each-- to attack the Blood, the TIEs' weapons blasting holes in the ship's reinforced armor. The Blood counterattacked, her 5-inch gun turrets, Phalanxes, and phasers inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking interceptor and bomber wings, scattering neon green ones and zeroes-- a sprite's source code-- everywhere.
As Usagi's VF-1S, Ami's VE-1 ELINT Seeker electronic intelligence variant of the VF-1, Minako's VF-1J, and Rei and Makoto's VF-1A Super Valkyries appeared, the Blood's 16-inch gun turrets targeted them. "Stay out of the main guns' line of fire!" Ami warned as her VE-1 maneuvered to do so.
"Don't be afraid! The turrets traverse too slowly to track us!" Makoto assured.
"Incoming! Torpedoes, three o'clock!"
As Makoto rolled to dodge a photon torpedo, she flew into the path of a 16-inch shell.
"Mako-chan!" The VF-1J's head-mounted lasers opened fire to intercept the shell before it hit. She was a split-second too late; the exploding shell showered Makoto's VF-1A with shrapnel, throwing the fighter out of control.
Starscream's null ray cannons fired, disabling the Blood's main sensors to prevent further torpedo attacks; the ship risked being hit by its own torpedoes if it launched blindly. The VE-1 transformed to ground effect reinforcement of wing airfoil by locomotive knee-joint (GERWALK) mode and caught Makoto's VF-1A.
"Are you okay, Mako-chan?" the Sailor Senshi radioed.
Makoto breathed deeply to calm down. "I'm fine, now let's sink that ship!"
Ami examined the Blood's defenses. "We need heavy weapons to accomplish this."
Usagi blushed, a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Um, I have two nuclear-armed Harpoons," the AGM-84L anti-ship missiles under the Strike Valkyrie's wings.
Rei was shocked; she considered the use of nuclear weapons a mortal sin. "You have what?!"
As Vader accelerated towards the Blood, an alarm warned him the ship's weapons were targeting his TIE x1. The fighter transformed to robot mode, sacrificing speed for agility, and somersaulted backwards to dodge incoming shells and phaser beams. "Sailor Moon, this is Vader One. Use of nuclear weapons is permitted, over."
"Vader One, this is Sailor Moon. Permission received, out." 'I'm sorry.' "Lock on target... Hey! No fair!" Usagi shouted as static clouded her radar monitor. "The wedding crashers are dispersing chaff!" aluminum strips used to distract radars and radar-guided missiles.
"Fox three." Vader launched a gun attack but hit only chaff. "Target lost. Subspace variance detected, consistent with the activation of warp drives of a by a cloaked ship."
"Slag!" the Decepticons cursed.
"Wait, what about Mamo-chan?" Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, Usagi's husband, who accompanied her to the ceremony.
>
The bombardment transformed most of the walkers into burning wrecks, but the defenders didn't panic when M60A3s and M163 product improvement Vulcan air defense systems (PIVADSs)-- self-propelled variants of the M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling guns-- were teleported into the courtyard. Shock troopers-- stormtroopers armed with missile launchers-- launched long-range attacks while the sabertroopers charged, their nodachi cutting open the MBTs like sardine cans.
"Roarrrr!" A 44-meter-long dragon with olive drab armor and two back-mounted atomic turbojets, its wings and tailplanes marked with US Army insignia on the left and United Nations Nuclear Emergency Response Vector (UN NERV) insignia on the right, dove towards the courtyard. "Dragon!" Shinji shouted as Evangelion Unit 01 transformed into its humanoid assault mode. The wings folded back as the tailplanes folded against the calves to form greaves, the front claws folded against the ribcage as it split to form pauldrons, the dragon's jaws folded under the neck to form a breastplate, the legs slid under the pauldrons to form arms, hands extended from the ankles-turned-wrists, and the tail split to form legs. As the pilot jumped into the cockpit, Unit 01 drew the Dragon Horn, a revolver-like 280 mm Gauss cannon mounted on its breastplate; its eyes burned blue behind its skull-like mask, seeking battle. Boom! "Ahhhh!" "Roarrrr!" Two souls voiced their pain as three photon torpedoes exploded upon the Eva's AT field, striking it down.
The shock wave blew the Gundam and Guncannon off their feet. "Neptune!" Haruka cried in concern.
Michiru watched the shock wave overturn a M60A3 and a M163. The M163 gunner's body was thrown out of the turret and crushed by the tumbling PIVADS. "Be careful, our enemy is ruthless and willing to sacrifice the warriors under his or her command for victory."
The enemy was a Trekkie who, inspired by the voyages of the USS Enterprise-- whose crew fought to defend the values of universal liberty, equality, and peace-- became a political activist and, later, a terrorist. She was a woman who'd forsaken her family name because it was "representative of a savage and barbaric society, one divided against itself along sexual and racial lines, where everyone worked for the selfish goal of individual profit." She was also infamous for writing 'Star Trek' fan fiction with herself as the star, outperforming the Enterprise's crew in feats of courage, strength, logic, and engineering skills.
The enemy was Mary Sue, leader of the Communist Revolution for the American Proletariat; persons who knew her either loved or hated her with all their heart, but all feared Mary Sue as a mother or as a monster. She was captain of the Free Love, one of many Galaxy class starships built for the Dominion War arc of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and sold to the public after the TV series ended. "Workers of America, unite!" she shouted, paraphrasing Karl Marx as the Free Love teleported two-meter-tall cans-- what witnesses later described them as "giant cans of shaving cream"-- onto the ground.
Nearby stormtroopers heard a hissing sound, scanned the cans, and saw the words "WARNING: BIO ATTACK" appeared on their HUDs. "Gas, gas, gas!" they shouted, miming the donning of a protective mask to warn others of a chemical or biological attack.
When "WARNING: BIO ATTACK" appeared on Haruka and Michiru's HUDs, they rocketed towards Hotaru and Setsuna; the MS cockpits protected the pilots from nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons, but Hotaru and Setsuna didn't have such protection.
"Yes, take me, oh, oh yes, yes, ohhhh!" Setsuna cried as the Guncannon's hand closed around her.
"Hold me, thrill me, kiss me!" Hotaru begged, rubbing her nipples against in the Gundam's thumb.
"In the name of the moon, what happened to them?" Michiru demanded, uncharacteristically distressed.
Anna was performing first aid on a woman who was injured when panicking guests stampeded. Clang, clang, clang! Her head rose to see sabertroopers clang their swords over their heads; a former member of the US Army Reserve, she understood the warning and reached for her left hip, where a mask carrier would be worn. Her hands touched the daisho (long and short swords) there. 'Oh no!' she thought, but her voice was an anguished scream as burning pain enveloped her body.
>
In the Free Love's main bridge, Mary Sue watched the infected women tear off their clothes and caress each other's bodies. "Lock on the designated targets and transport," teleport, "them to the cargo hold. Security, report to the cargo hold and attach halos to the arriving targets. We'll indoctrinate the women to our cause and..." Clang! Boom! "Ahhhh!" the Trekkie screamed as a 280 mm shell pierced the bridge ceiling and flew through the bridge. "What the hell was that?!"
The chief engineer pressed a button so the viewscreen would show images from an external cameral. Onscreen, sparks shot from where a 280 mm shell over-penetrated and blasted jagged hole in the saucer's ventral surface. Boom! The chief engineer pressed a button to show images from the dorsal surface. Onscreen, Evangelion Unit 01's close quarters combat (CQC) claws-- the dragon's rear claws, now extending from the assault mode's wrists-- cut into the hull as the electromagnets on the Dragon Horn's barrel launched a shell at Mach 25 (30,625 km/h at sea level) to shoot off one of the Free Love's phaser arrays. "That looks like a giant Buntline Special," the engineer said of the weapon in Unit 01's right hand.
"A what?"
"You know, Wyatt Earp's 'favorite over any other gun,' a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a 12-inch-long barrel and a detachable stock."
Mary Sue wanted to slap the engineer for promoting a gun, a phallic instrument of male oppression; then the Dragon Horn fired again. "Abandon the main bridge and prepare to initiate saucer separation!" A Galaxy class starship's saucer section was designed to separate from the stardrive section in case of emergencies; main engineering could serve a backup to the main bridge in such an emergency.
The engineer knew if the saucer were abandoned, the Free Love wouldn't be able to evacuate the Trekkies who were teleported into the courtyard. "But...!"
"Our comrades in the rescue team are outgunned and will die soon. We cannot save them, we can only join them in hell if we don't get that monster off our heads!"
Boom! "Yes, Matron!" The bridge crew packed the emergency turbolift like a can of sardines as they abandoned the main bridge in favor of the battle bridge in the ship's neck.
Shinji wasn't fooled when the Free Love separated. "Roarrrr!" Unit 01 kicked against the saucer, launched itself towards the escaping stardrive section, and transformed to its draconian cruise mode; fortunately, the saucer's burning wreck fell into the Pacific Ocean.
"Plot the fastest course to the lunar orbit! We'll lose the monster there!" Mary Sue ordered.
"But that leads us in front of the superlaser's line of fire!" the engineer noted.
"The Death Star's superlaser represents weapons technology so obsolete the Warsies," 'Star Wars' fans, "must mount it on a battle station the size of a small moon to be effective! Lasers won't even penetrate our navigational deflectors!" shields to deflect space debris, asteroids, and other objects that may collide with the ship. Boom! "Plot the course!" Mary Sue ordered as a 280 mm shell detonated against the stardrive section.
"Yes, Matron!" The engineer obeyed, launching the ship towards the moon. He watched Evangelion Unit 01 dive away from the stardrive section, unaware that Shinji was ordered to do so. "That stupid monster took the bait! We're free!"
Unfortunately for the Trekkies, Mary Sue's declaration was made in "The Outrageous Okona," an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. She neglected the fact that it referred to warships too small and obsolete to threaten a Galaxy class starship like the Enterprise-D. Energy shields, powerful enough to withstand bombardments that could otherwise melt planetary surfaces into molten slag, were used in the 'Star Wars' universe. The Death Star's superlaser was designed to pierce these shields and destroy the planets they protected; it was certainly powerful enough to destroy the Free Love, as the Vader proved when he ordered, "Fire."
The superlaser beam vaporized the Free Love; witnesses were confused when they mistook microscopic metal particles burning in the atmosphere, the ship's remains, for an aurora borealis.
Vader summoned an Imperator class star destroyer. "Recover the saucer section and capture the surviving..."
Haruka interrupted the transmission. "Where the hell have you been?! Those terrorists have deployed a biological weapon and transformed every woman here into...!" She blushed, unable to finish the sentence.
"Help, the women have become sex maniacs!" Boba Fett radioed. "Ahhhh!" he screamed as the infected women tore off his groin protector.
"It's your wedding; you should've made preparations in case of something like this!" Haruka accused.
"Oh no, Mamo-chan!" Usagi's VF-1S dived towards the courtyard, followed by Ami's VE-1 and Rei and Makoto's VF-1As.
Minako tearfully radioed her husband-to-be. "I'm sorry, Vader-kun, but my friends need me."
"I understand." The Sith Lord watched her VF-1J dive after the VF-1S.
As the Valkyries and the ELINT Seeker approached the courtyard, they saw Andrew waving his arms to attract attention. Usagi turned on the loudspeakers. "Mays-san, what...?"
"Help!" Andrew looked like a giant squid's tentacles had entangled him and was dragging him into the sea.
The "tentacles" revealed themselves as Alise' arms and legs. "Oh Brother I love you give me love show me...!" A tranquilizer dart hit the back of Alise' neck, knocking her unconscious.
Andrew's left hand held Alise to his side as his right drew the mallet. "Hey...!" Confusion replaced anger when Mamoru approach him, wearing a protective mask and a battle dress uniform (BDU) with red roses and hearts printed upon it. "Why are you wearing the Saint Valentine's camouflage pattern from 'Metal Gear Solid 3'?"
Mamoru lowered his weapon, a M9 9 mm pistol modified to fire tranquilizer darts. "I'm here to help."
"You're here to help? Where the hell's Ryo?!" Andrew demanded. "He's supposed to..."
"Mokkoriiii!" Slash, slash, slash, tsepesh! "Ahhhh!" Ryo screamed.
"Shrieeeek!"
"Anna!" Andrew gently laid Alise upon the ground before racing towards the policewoman covered in red paint, a Toon's blood.
---------------------------------------------------
I hate weddings. I hate wearing a tuxedo, the infamous "monkey suit" that's the formal uniform for these things. I hate having to curl my lips into a phony smile so I don't hurt the bride's feelings. I hate having to make myself hyperventilate so it sounds like I'm laughing at the groom's lame jokes. I especially hate having stand in a crowd of men-who-don't-bath-regularly for the garter toss-- not that I enjoy being single, mind you, but I'm not in a rush to get married.
But I'm a professional. I have to suppress my fear and loathing of weddings and attend this one because it's part of my official duties. I'm Andrew Mays, Anime Detective, and it's my job to keep the peace between humans and Toons, the "children of dreams" who, when they're not entertaining us by expressing the fantasies we wish were reality, step out of their cartoon and anime settings to remind us to be careful what we wish for.
The wedding in question will celebrate the union of Aino Minako-- alias Sailor Venus, Soldier of Love-- and Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. No, I'm not being sarcastic. A warrior of Love and Justice from the 'Sailor Moon' anime is marrying a villain from the 'Star Wars' movies who, rendered in 1996 to be a boss in the 'Masters of Teräs Käsi' fighting game, is now free from human control. He joined the US Air Force in 1999 and participated in OIF-- Operation Iraqi Freedom-- so he could call himself a war hero and run for public office. God help us if the Sith Lord achieves his ambition of becoming President of the United States of America.
"Eek!" Slap! "Pervert!" Wham, crash, clatter! If the angry female voices and the sound of violence are any indication, I'll regret not chaining my partner to his desk before coming here. If you're in a gunfight, you can count on Saeba Ryo, "City Hunter," to cover you, but if you're in a social setting like a wedding, you can count on Ryo to cover every woman he sees-- I mean, "cover" as in "commit sexual harassment." I sighed and drew a one-ton mallet from Who Knows Where, the subspace pocket of my trench coat-- Ryo needed another lesson.
"Help! Rape!" another angry female called as Ryo jumped into the air, his hands reaching for her breasts. I stepped in between them, calculated Ryo's projected trajectory, and swung the mallet. Impact in five... four... three...
"Mokkori--!" Tsepesh! "Argh!" A 213-centimeter-long steel lance struck down Ryo like a thunderbolt before he could finish his strange battle cry, the Japanese slang for "erection." A clonetrooper stood upon the lance and held a nodachi, a Japanese "field sword" with a 152-centimeter-long blade for foot soldiers to use against cavalry, over my head. I notice the nodachi had two serrated blades moving independently back and forth along tracks extending from the handle, like the electric knife a housewife would used to carve a turkey. I froze, ignoring the clicking sounds of E-11 blaster rifles being set from SAFE to BURST as white-armored stormtroopers surrounded me; I'd get a literally splitting headache if I moved.
"Identify yourself." The clonetrooper had female voice. I notice her demon mask and the red "slash" marks forming an Iron Cross on her white breastplate, and identified her as one of the sabertroopers, clonetroopers created for counter-terrorism operations who became infamous for their brutality in OIF.
"Andrew Mays. Sergeant, Animegamigu Police Department." Invisible hands-- a magnetic field generated by the sabertrooper's body-- drew her katana and wakizashi, Japanese long and short swords. The katana pointed at my chest, ready to pierce my heart, as the wakizashi pointed at my back, ready to pierce my right lung. "I'm invited." I slowly reached into my pocket, retrieved my photo ID and the wedding invitation, and raised them so the sabertrooper sergeant can see it.
"Me too," Ryo whispered, writhing upon the lance like a fish impaled upon a harpoon. I'd admire his tenacity if he applied it to something other than getting laid.
A stormtrooper stepped forward to grab my ID and the invitation, stepped back out of the reach of my mallet, used a black light to reveal a fluorescent authentication code on the invitation, and raised it and the ID for the sabertrooper to see. "Identity confirmed."
I sighed in relief as the katana and wakizashi returned to their scabbards. The sabertrooper points the nodachi at Ryo and asked, "What about him?"
What about him? I might need Ryo's help in case a terror attack occurs-- Vader made a lot of enemies in Iraq-- but who's stupid and/or crazy enough to do that here? We're in Skywalker Ranch, home of 'Star Wars' creator George Lucas. The Death Star, a mobile battle equipped with a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, is in geostationary orbit above the ranch. If that doesn't scare you, know that DARPA-- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-- has research lab on the Death Star, which means the US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps will hit us like a ton of bricks if anyone did anything funny here.
"He's my partner," I answered, choosing to err on the side of caution. "I'm sorry about the trouble, he keeps skipping the classes on preventing sexual harassment. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him from now on." I may regret this, but if Murphy's Law were enforced, I'd have greater regrets if I left Ryo like this.
"His blood be upon you if you fail." Tsepesh! I quickly lost sight of the sabertrooper as she rocketed into the air, taking the lance with her. Ryo cried again when he fell upon the ground. I sigh and retrieve a first aid kit. This was going to be a long day.
->
THE BERSERKER'S GUIDE TO LIVING HAPPILY EVER AFTER
By Sidewinder (aim9snake@hotmail.com), 2006. Based on the worlds created by Gary K. Wolf and Pearson Mui.
->
Friday, June 30, 2006. Morning. Sergeant Anna Mason, a member of the Animegamigu Police Department (APD) Counter-Terrorism (CT) Unit, stood beside the Inner Senshi (Warriors)-- Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon, Mizuno Ami/Sailor Mercury, Hino Rei/Sailor Mars, Kino Makoto/Sailor Jupiter-- as they celebrated the day one of their own, Minako, would marry her "Prince Charming" and live happily ever after. "... and we'll adopt Iraqi children orphaned by the war and raise them as our own and teach them the values of peace, freedom, and justice, and together, we'll make the world a better place," the bride explained with a smile.
Rei frowned in suspicion. "Doesn't Vader's idea of making the world a better place involve killing anyone and everyone who doesn't agree with his ideas?"
Minako's smile became maniacal, like a berserker's when first blood is drawn. "You can't make an egg without breaking a few omelets,"-- she turned to the policewoman-- "right, Anna-chan?"
"Actually, it's, 'You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,'" Anna corrected.
"But you agree that sacrifices must be made, right? After all, you made a lot of sacrifices in H-Ville," a nickname for Hanamura (Flower Village), the red light district where Anna committed 223 acts of police brutality in one month.
Anna blushed in embarrassment. "A sacrifice is made for a noble cause. My actions in Hanamura weren't for some noble cause; they were... errors in judgment... because I lost control of my anger. I should be ashamed..."
Minako put her hands on the policewoman's shoulders to comfort her. "Don't be, Anna-chan. "We all go a little mad sometimes," she said, quoting Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) in 'Psycho'.
'A little is never enough for you two,' Rei didn't say.
"It's part of what makes us human, along with love, hate, happiness, and sadness," Minako continued.
Outside the dressing room, a sabertrooper stated, "Get ready."
Minako jumped, unable to suppress her emotions. "Oh, I'm so excited, it's my big day, I'm getting married! Oh, I hope I won't faint!" She hugged each Sailor Senshi in the dressing room, Anna, opened the door, hugged the sabertrooper, and turned rearwards. "Pray for Vader and I so we'll live happily ever after!"
>
The ceremony was being held in the chapel courtyard because some of Vader's guests-- Brigadier General (O7) Starscream and Colonels (O6) Skywarp and Thundercracker, Decepticons who joined the USAF in 1995-- were 19-meter-tall robots, too large to fit indoors. An altar was set up behind the chapel, in front of a stained glass window. Tents were erected to shelter the guests from the sun, including politicians such as California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, film industry moguls such as Lucasfilm Chairman George Lucas, anime characters such as the Outer Senshi-- Tomoe Hotaru/Sailor Saturn, Tenoh Haruka/Sailor Uranus, Kaioh Michiru/Sailor Neptune, Meioh Setsuna/Sailor Pluto-- and video game sprites such as the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Sabertroopers, stormtroopers, all terrain scout transport (AT-ST), all terrain armored transport (AT-AT), all terrain antiaircraft (AT-AA) walkers, and a theater shield generator defended the courtyard.
Andrew and Ryo sat furthest from the altar. Andrew didn't mind his position, which allowed him to observe what was happening to the other guests. 'Something's up. What...?'
"You look like you're sitting on a landmine. Want something to cool you down?" a female voice asked from a refreshment stand operated by Ahab's Coffee.
Andrew turned rearwards to see Alise, his sister, in a barista uniform. "Alise?"
Ryo jumped into the air, reaching for Alise's breasts. "Mo--!" Wham! "Ite!" he cried, pinned under the protective brother's mallet.
"What are you doing here?" Andrew continued.
"Working to pay off interest on my student loans. Want a Caffreezer to cool you down? My treat." Alise mischievously smiled.
Andrew frowned. "You know I only drink black coffee, preferably hot. I don't drink the caffeinated syrup that Ahab's calls, 'coffee,' and I definitely don't drink it ice-blended."
Alise laughed and patted Andrew's shoulder. "Don't be so 1931! You can call yourself, 'macho' and still like Caffreezers,"-- she turned to a smiling Toon leaning over the counter in a flirtatious manner-- "right, Shinji?"
"I like Caffreezers." The tall, muscular Toon wore a US Army dress blue uniform, his nameplate marked "IKARI".
Andrew frowned, examining the Combat Action Badge and ribbons for the Silver Star and the Purple Heart on the Toon's chest, the staff sergeant (E6) chevrons on his shoulders, the "SPECIAL FORCES" and "AIRBORNE" tabs and the insignia over the left chevrons, the bulge under his coat suggesting the presence of a revolver in a shoulder holster, and the green beret in his rear pants pocket. "Your name is Ikari Shinji?" the policeman asked.
"Yes, Sir," answered the Toon."
"Pilot of Evangelion Unit 01?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And a Green Beret?"
"MOS," military occupational specialty, "18 Charlie: Special Forces engineer. I'm the youngest graduate of the Special Forces Qualification Course in Army history."
"You're not Ikari Shinji. Ikari Shinji's a 15-year-old schoolboy, not a 19-year-old Green Beret."
"You're referring to my predecessor, who appeared in the 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' TV series. I'll be appearing in the 'Evangelion Wars' OAVs," original animation videos, "which will be on sale February 2007."
"Do you also hate your father, yet pilot the Eva," an abbreviation of Evangelion, "for his praise?"
"I hope my father is proud of me, but I'll never know; my mother and father both died during the First Angel War of 2000 to 2004. I was raised by my uncle, an Army officer stationed in Okinawa."
Andrew suppressed a shudder, remembering that Ikari Gendo, Shinji's father, had conspired with terrorists who attempted to assassinate Vader in 2004. 'Now that Vader's Vice President of Gainax,' the studio that created 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', 'the Sith Lord is punishing Gendo by erasing him from the audience's minds.' Being forgotten was the only true cause of death for Toons; deaths caused by the stories could be reversed, the characters resurrected.
"Oh, here comes the bride," Alise noted as Minako appeared, gripping her dress and breathing hard after a sprint from the dressing room. Shinji quickly took his seat.
The bride raised her dress, ready to sprint again, when a sabertrooper stated, "Thirty seconds," until the ceremony began. Minako breathed deeply to calm down. Usagi-- the Matron of Honor-- almost crashed into the bride as she ran to Minako's side. Anna and the other Sailors appeared as the sabertrooper counted down. At "Zero," the wedding march began playing, and Minako approached the altar.
The groom stood with a red bowtie around his gorget and a pink carnation taped to his breastplate, watching the bride approach. Although Vader's mask hid his facial expressions, Minako sensed his apprehension as the Sith Lord took her hand. "Are you okay, Vader-kun?" Tears clouded her eyes. "Don't tell me you're going to leave me at the altar?!"
"I sense..." Vader ignited a lightsaber. "We're under attack!"
"Is he being paranoid?" The guests' confusion was cleared as a graviton beam hit the energy shield like a sledgehammer. "What in the pit...? Ahhhh!" Starscream cried as a 16-inch (406 mm) shell flew through a "crack" in the shield and exploded 10 meters in front of the Decepticon, showering him with shrapnel. He looked up to see the attacker, a Galaxy class starship that de-cloaked in low earth orbit to bombard the courtyard. "You scratched my custom paint job! Do you know how expensive metal flake paint is?! I'll disintegrate you for this!" the Decepticon swore, shaking his fist at the ship.
The AT-AAs' multi-ordnance flak pods opened fire, intercepting many shells before they hit the shield, but the heavy bombardment quickly overwhelmed them. "Ahhhh!" "Help!" Some guests panicked and ran in all directions, fleeing for their lives. Some-- military and police officers like Shinji, Andrew, and Anna-- tried to calm the others and help evacuate the courtyard-turned-kill zone.
The Sith Lord threw the lightsaber like a boomerang to hit three 16-inch shells, detonating them over the courtyard; a fourth shell exploded in front of Vader, blowing him into the air. The Sith Lord somersaulted backwards, igniting a second lightsaber as he landed on his feet. Smoke rose from holes in his cape, burnt by hot shrapnel. Sabertroopers rushed towards Vader, ready to shield the Sith Lord from further attacks. "Commander...!"
"Protect Lady Minako!" Vader recovered his first lightsaber and raced towards Shinji, who unbuttoned his jacket to draw a .454 Casull revolver with a 12-inch-long barrel and attach the skeletal stock, converting the handgun into a carbine. "Sgt Ikari, summon the Evangelion! I want AT field," the absolute terror field projected by Angels and Evas, against whom conventional weapons were ineffective, "coverage over the courtyard!"
"Yes, Sir!" Shinji took a knee and closed his eyes, as if he was praying to God. He used his psychic link with Unit 01 to activate the Eva in its a hangar at Travis AFB; then his eyes opened. "ETA," estimated time of arrival, "90 seconds, Sir!"
"Venus Love Me Chain Gun!" The bride now wore a yellow hardsuit-- the robotic armor was a gift from Sylia Stingray, a vigilante from the 'Bubblegum Crisis' OAVs. A 1200 round magazine, attached to the backplate, fed Adonis, her M230 30 mm automatic cannon. Minako rocketed to Vader's side, followed by the sabertroopers. "I won't leave your side," she swore.
Usagi, Ami, Rei, and Makoto transformed into their hardsuits and rocketed to Minako's side. "And we won't leave yours," Usagi swore.
Hotaru, Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna transformed into their sailor suits and joined their comrades, followed by the Sabertroopers. "Lady Venus, please allow us to perform our duty and protect you," the sabertrooper platoon leader asked.
"Yeah, we don't have rocket boosters!" Haruka reminded.
Minako smiled behind her visor. "Okay, now let's rock!"
Vader's head rose as the helmet's integral radio received a transmission; then he faced Minako. "The Death Star reports it cannot engage the enemy ship due to the risk of collateral damage to Skywalker Ranch." 'I should've stationed SPMA-Ts,' self-propelled medium artillery-turbolaser walkers, 'on high ground.' "We must scramble fighters. Will you stand at my side?"
"Of course I will, it's my duty as your wife to be at your side for better or for worse, just as it's your duty as my husband to be at my side for richer or for poorer, okay, we're not married yet, but we will be once we punish these jerks for interrupting my perfect wedding!"
The shield generator exploded; then the enemy ship's guns were silenced. Vader's head rose again. "A second ship has de-cloaked at an altitude of 40 kilometers. It's not raising shields, possibly because it intends to use..."
A M60A3 Patton main battle tank (MBT) teleported behind Vader. The tank commander, an overweight Trekkie-- 'Star Trek' fan-- in a Klingon warrior's uniform, tried to look heroic as the MBT's 105 mm main gun targeted the Sith Lord. "Sic... Ahhhh!" He intended to quote John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln, but the Trekkie's last words were screams as Vader's psychokinetic powers lifted the MBT off the ground. The sabertroopers and the Sailor Senshi attacked the tank-turned-piñata, blasting it and its crew to pieces.
Vader faced the sabertrooper platoon leader. "Defend the courtyard. Destroy anything teleported from the Galaxy class starship." He retrieved a remote control from his belt to summoned a twin ion engine (TIE) Advanced x1 fighter, which could transform into a robot.
The sabertrooper's nodachi rose vertically in salute. "Yes, Sir."
Haruka noticed Usagi was torn between her loyalties to the Inner and Outer Senshi as Ami, Minako, Rei, and Makoto retrieved remote controls from their belts. "Go and help Venus, Princess. We'll defend the ranch." Usagi embraced Haruka as Minako summoned a VF-1J Super Valkyrie variable fighter; then Sailor Moon jumped into the air as her VF-1S Strike Valkyrie dived towards the courtyard, landed in the open cockpit, and piloted the fighter towards the enemy ship.
Haruka faced Michiru, her lover, as a second MBT teleported into the courtyard. "Ready to rock?"
"I prefer classical music," Michiru mischievously smiled, "but I'm ready."
The MBT's 105 mm gun targeted the Sailor Senshi. The tank commander turned on the loudspeaker and shouted, "Surrender or die!" The gun elevated to track Haruka and Michiru as they jumped into the air. Slash! A beam saber cut off the M60A3's turret, exposing the crew. The Trekkies looked up to see Sailor Uranus' RX-78-2 Gundam and Sailor Neptune's RX-77-2 Guncannon mobile suits (MSs), humanoid fighting vehicles from the 'Mobile Suit Gundam' anime.
The Guncannon's shoulder-mounted water cannons, through which Sailor Neptune's Deep Submerge elemental attack was launched, targeted the defenseless M60A3. The Gundam's sabers spun like propellers to demonstrate Sailor Uranus' swordsmanship. "Please surrender," Michiru asked. "We don't want your blood to stain the mobile suits' custom paint jobs." The Trekkies' arms rose in surrender. "Good boys."
>
The TIE x1 and three F-15C Eagle fighters-- Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker's vehicle modes-- exited Earth's atmosphere to see a Galaxy class starship marked "BLOOD OF PATRIOTS", a name Thundercracker repeated in confusion.
"'The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.' Thomas Jefferson in a letter to William Stephens Smith. November 13, 1787," Vader quoted.
Starscream examined the ship's unusual gun armament: two forward-facing batteries on each side of the saucer section, a rear-facing battery to protect the "neck" connecting the saucer and stardrive sections, and a battery on the ventral surface of the stardrive section. Each battery consisted of a structure resembling the podium used to honor Olympic athletes, with a retractable Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS) in the gold medallist's position and two 5-inch (127 mm) twin-gun turrets in the silver and bronze medallists' position, behind a 16-inch triple-gun platform. "Whoever refitted the Galaxy class starship with, apparently, an Iowa class battleship's main armament is a skilled engineer," he noted.
"Alpha strike!" The Death Star launched TIE interceptors and bomber wings-- military units composed of 72 aircraft each-- to attack the Blood, the TIEs' weapons blasting holes in the ship's reinforced armor. The Blood counterattacked, her 5-inch gun turrets, Phalanxes, and phasers inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking interceptor and bomber wings, scattering neon green ones and zeroes-- a sprite's source code-- everywhere.
As Usagi's VF-1S, Ami's VE-1 ELINT Seeker electronic intelligence variant of the VF-1, Minako's VF-1J, and Rei and Makoto's VF-1A Super Valkyries appeared, the Blood's 16-inch gun turrets targeted them. "Stay out of the main guns' line of fire!" Ami warned as her VE-1 maneuvered to do so.
"Don't be afraid! The turrets traverse too slowly to track us!" Makoto assured.
"Incoming! Torpedoes, three o'clock!"
As Makoto rolled to dodge a photon torpedo, she flew into the path of a 16-inch shell.
"Mako-chan!" The VF-1J's head-mounted lasers opened fire to intercept the shell before it hit. She was a split-second too late; the exploding shell showered Makoto's VF-1A with shrapnel, throwing the fighter out of control.
Starscream's null ray cannons fired, disabling the Blood's main sensors to prevent further torpedo attacks; the ship risked being hit by its own torpedoes if it launched blindly. The VE-1 transformed to ground effect reinforcement of wing airfoil by locomotive knee-joint (GERWALK) mode and caught Makoto's VF-1A.
"Are you okay, Mako-chan?" the Sailor Senshi radioed.
Makoto breathed deeply to calm down. "I'm fine, now let's sink that ship!"
Ami examined the Blood's defenses. "We need heavy weapons to accomplish this."
Usagi blushed, a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "Um, I have two nuclear-armed Harpoons," the AGM-84L anti-ship missiles under the Strike Valkyrie's wings.
Rei was shocked; she considered the use of nuclear weapons a mortal sin. "You have what?!"
As Vader accelerated towards the Blood, an alarm warned him the ship's weapons were targeting his TIE x1. The fighter transformed to robot mode, sacrificing speed for agility, and somersaulted backwards to dodge incoming shells and phaser beams. "Sailor Moon, this is Vader One. Use of nuclear weapons is permitted, over."
"Vader One, this is Sailor Moon. Permission received, out." 'I'm sorry.' "Lock on target... Hey! No fair!" Usagi shouted as static clouded her radar monitor. "The wedding crashers are dispersing chaff!" aluminum strips used to distract radars and radar-guided missiles.
"Fox three." Vader launched a gun attack but hit only chaff. "Target lost. Subspace variance detected, consistent with the activation of warp drives of a by a cloaked ship."
"Slag!" the Decepticons cursed.
"Wait, what about Mamo-chan?" Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, Usagi's husband, who accompanied her to the ceremony.
>
The bombardment transformed most of the walkers into burning wrecks, but the defenders didn't panic when M60A3s and M163 product improvement Vulcan air defense systems (PIVADSs)-- self-propelled variants of the M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling guns-- were teleported into the courtyard. Shock troopers-- stormtroopers armed with missile launchers-- launched long-range attacks while the sabertroopers charged, their nodachi cutting open the MBTs like sardine cans.
"Roarrrr!" A 44-meter-long dragon with olive drab armor and two back-mounted atomic turbojets, its wings and tailplanes marked with US Army insignia on the left and United Nations Nuclear Emergency Response Vector (UN NERV) insignia on the right, dove towards the courtyard. "Dragon!" Shinji shouted as Evangelion Unit 01 transformed into its humanoid assault mode. The wings folded back as the tailplanes folded against the calves to form greaves, the front claws folded against the ribcage as it split to form pauldrons, the dragon's jaws folded under the neck to form a breastplate, the legs slid under the pauldrons to form arms, hands extended from the ankles-turned-wrists, and the tail split to form legs. As the pilot jumped into the cockpit, Unit 01 drew the Dragon Horn, a revolver-like 280 mm Gauss cannon mounted on its breastplate; its eyes burned blue behind its skull-like mask, seeking battle. Boom! "Ahhhh!" "Roarrrr!" Two souls voiced their pain as three photon torpedoes exploded upon the Eva's AT field, striking it down.
The shock wave blew the Gundam and Guncannon off their feet. "Neptune!" Haruka cried in concern.
Michiru watched the shock wave overturn a M60A3 and a M163. The M163 gunner's body was thrown out of the turret and crushed by the tumbling PIVADS. "Be careful, our enemy is ruthless and willing to sacrifice the warriors under his or her command for victory."
The enemy was a Trekkie who, inspired by the voyages of the USS Enterprise-- whose crew fought to defend the values of universal liberty, equality, and peace-- became a political activist and, later, a terrorist. She was a woman who'd forsaken her family name because it was "representative of a savage and barbaric society, one divided against itself along sexual and racial lines, where everyone worked for the selfish goal of individual profit." She was also infamous for writing 'Star Trek' fan fiction with herself as the star, outperforming the Enterprise's crew in feats of courage, strength, logic, and engineering skills.
The enemy was Mary Sue, leader of the Communist Revolution for the American Proletariat; persons who knew her either loved or hated her with all their heart, but all feared Mary Sue as a mother or as a monster. She was captain of the Free Love, one of many Galaxy class starships built for the Dominion War arc of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and sold to the public after the TV series ended. "Workers of America, unite!" she shouted, paraphrasing Karl Marx as the Free Love teleported two-meter-tall cans-- what witnesses later described them as "giant cans of shaving cream"-- onto the ground.
Nearby stormtroopers heard a hissing sound, scanned the cans, and saw the words "WARNING: BIO ATTACK" appeared on their HUDs. "Gas, gas, gas!" they shouted, miming the donning of a protective mask to warn others of a chemical or biological attack.
When "WARNING: BIO ATTACK" appeared on Haruka and Michiru's HUDs, they rocketed towards Hotaru and Setsuna; the MS cockpits protected the pilots from nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons, but Hotaru and Setsuna didn't have such protection.
"Yes, take me, oh, oh yes, yes, ohhhh!" Setsuna cried as the Guncannon's hand closed around her.
"Hold me, thrill me, kiss me!" Hotaru begged, rubbing her nipples against in the Gundam's thumb.
"In the name of the moon, what happened to them?" Michiru demanded, uncharacteristically distressed.
Anna was performing first aid on a woman who was injured when panicking guests stampeded. Clang, clang, clang! Her head rose to see sabertroopers clang their swords over their heads; a former member of the US Army Reserve, she understood the warning and reached for her left hip, where a mask carrier would be worn. Her hands touched the daisho (long and short swords) there. 'Oh no!' she thought, but her voice was an anguished scream as burning pain enveloped her body.
>
In the Free Love's main bridge, Mary Sue watched the infected women tear off their clothes and caress each other's bodies. "Lock on the designated targets and transport," teleport, "them to the cargo hold. Security, report to the cargo hold and attach halos to the arriving targets. We'll indoctrinate the women to our cause and..." Clang! Boom! "Ahhhh!" the Trekkie screamed as a 280 mm shell pierced the bridge ceiling and flew through the bridge. "What the hell was that?!"
The chief engineer pressed a button so the viewscreen would show images from an external cameral. Onscreen, sparks shot from where a 280 mm shell over-penetrated and blasted jagged hole in the saucer's ventral surface. Boom! The chief engineer pressed a button to show images from the dorsal surface. Onscreen, Evangelion Unit 01's close quarters combat (CQC) claws-- the dragon's rear claws, now extending from the assault mode's wrists-- cut into the hull as the electromagnets on the Dragon Horn's barrel launched a shell at Mach 25 (30,625 km/h at sea level) to shoot off one of the Free Love's phaser arrays. "That looks like a giant Buntline Special," the engineer said of the weapon in Unit 01's right hand.
"A what?"
"You know, Wyatt Earp's 'favorite over any other gun,' a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a 12-inch-long barrel and a detachable stock."
Mary Sue wanted to slap the engineer for promoting a gun, a phallic instrument of male oppression; then the Dragon Horn fired again. "Abandon the main bridge and prepare to initiate saucer separation!" A Galaxy class starship's saucer section was designed to separate from the stardrive section in case of emergencies; main engineering could serve a backup to the main bridge in such an emergency.
The engineer knew if the saucer were abandoned, the Free Love wouldn't be able to evacuate the Trekkies who were teleported into the courtyard. "But...!"
"Our comrades in the rescue team are outgunned and will die soon. We cannot save them, we can only join them in hell if we don't get that monster off our heads!"
Boom! "Yes, Matron!" The bridge crew packed the emergency turbolift like a can of sardines as they abandoned the main bridge in favor of the battle bridge in the ship's neck.
Shinji wasn't fooled when the Free Love separated. "Roarrrr!" Unit 01 kicked against the saucer, launched itself towards the escaping stardrive section, and transformed to its draconian cruise mode; fortunately, the saucer's burning wreck fell into the Pacific Ocean.
"Plot the fastest course to the lunar orbit! We'll lose the monster there!" Mary Sue ordered.
"But that leads us in front of the superlaser's line of fire!" the engineer noted.
"The Death Star's superlaser represents weapons technology so obsolete the Warsies," 'Star Wars' fans, "must mount it on a battle station the size of a small moon to be effective! Lasers won't even penetrate our navigational deflectors!" shields to deflect space debris, asteroids, and other objects that may collide with the ship. Boom! "Plot the course!" Mary Sue ordered as a 280 mm shell detonated against the stardrive section.
"Yes, Matron!" The engineer obeyed, launching the ship towards the moon. He watched Evangelion Unit 01 dive away from the stardrive section, unaware that Shinji was ordered to do so. "That stupid monster took the bait! We're free!"
Unfortunately for the Trekkies, Mary Sue's declaration was made in "The Outrageous Okona," an episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'. She neglected the fact that it referred to warships too small and obsolete to threaten a Galaxy class starship like the Enterprise-D. Energy shields, powerful enough to withstand bombardments that could otherwise melt planetary surfaces into molten slag, were used in the 'Star Wars' universe. The Death Star's superlaser was designed to pierce these shields and destroy the planets they protected; it was certainly powerful enough to destroy the Free Love, as the Vader proved when he ordered, "Fire."
The superlaser beam vaporized the Free Love; witnesses were confused when they mistook microscopic metal particles burning in the atmosphere, the ship's remains, for an aurora borealis.
Vader summoned an Imperator class star destroyer. "Recover the saucer section and capture the surviving..."
Haruka interrupted the transmission. "Where the hell have you been?! Those terrorists have deployed a biological weapon and transformed every woman here into...!" She blushed, unable to finish the sentence.
"Help, the women have become sex maniacs!" Boba Fett radioed. "Ahhhh!" he screamed as the infected women tore off his groin protector.
"It's your wedding; you should've made preparations in case of something like this!" Haruka accused.
"Oh no, Mamo-chan!" Usagi's VF-1S dived towards the courtyard, followed by Ami's VE-1 and Rei and Makoto's VF-1As.
Minako tearfully radioed her husband-to-be. "I'm sorry, Vader-kun, but my friends need me."
"I understand." The Sith Lord watched her VF-1J dive after the VF-1S.
As the Valkyries and the ELINT Seeker approached the courtyard, they saw Andrew waving his arms to attract attention. Usagi turned on the loudspeakers. "Mays-san, what...?"
"Help!" Andrew looked like a giant squid's tentacles had entangled him and was dragging him into the sea.
The "tentacles" revealed themselves as Alise' arms and legs. "Oh Brother I love you give me love show me...!" A tranquilizer dart hit the back of Alise' neck, knocking her unconscious.
Andrew's left hand held Alise to his side as his right drew the mallet. "Hey...!" Confusion replaced anger when Mamoru approach him, wearing a protective mask and a battle dress uniform (BDU) with red roses and hearts printed upon it. "Why are you wearing the Saint Valentine's camouflage pattern from 'Metal Gear Solid 3'?"
Mamoru lowered his weapon, a M9 9 mm pistol modified to fire tranquilizer darts. "I'm here to help."
"You're here to help? Where the hell's Ryo?!" Andrew demanded. "He's supposed to..."
"Mokkoriiii!" Slash, slash, slash, tsepesh! "Ahhhh!" Ryo screamed.
"Shrieeeek!"
"Anna!" Andrew gently laid Alise upon the ground before racing towards the policewoman covered in red paint, a Toon's blood.