{"id":28507,"date":"2019-06-25T22:37:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T05:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=28507"},"modified":"2022-12-07T18:28:20","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T02:28:20","slug":"sbl1720","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/sbl1720\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Blazers Lambda<\/em> Chapter 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Story and art by Ryuko Azuma
\nSee it in larger format on Comic NewType<\/em> here<\/a>
\nNarrative reads right to left<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Shoji Nishizaki\u2019s message (same as in the fan club magazine)<\/p>\n

Left side: \u201cSeen from a distance, even the end of the world looks beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yu Yamato (as a young boy) is witness to a catastrophe, watching from the ground with his grandmother. Elsewhere, everyone is ordered to evacuate to a dropship and leave the \u201cspace-time crystals\u201d behind.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yu and his grandmother watch a craft explode in the sky above.<\/p>\n

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In the last summer of the 21st century, the world wathced as the orbital super giant accelerator Deus<\/em> was attacked by Seireness, an unknown life form that appeared near Jupiter. The crash into Yellowstone ignited the super volcano, which resulted in a billion deaths.<\/p>\n

Left side: \u201cMy mother, the chief researcher on Deus<\/em>, never returned to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Episode 1: Even the end of the world looks beautiful from a distance<\/em><\/p>\n

Left side: six years later, elementary student Yu Yamato is on a ship traveling toward Jupiter. Other passengers are gossiping about him, identifying him as a champion of the Star Sailor<\/em> game. They speculate that he\u2019s here to test for the Mark 6 along with other champions. Meanwhile, Yu has to poop.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Passengers are told to remain in their seats for arrival at the Anti-Seireness front base Vimana<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Left side: as they disembark, they notice the Mark 6 in dock. Yu notices that its design looks just like his own custom ship (in the game).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: the passengers are amazed by Vimana<\/em>. Yu notices a robot and wonders if they all look like raccoons. The robot identifies itself as Mifune, and is responsible for ship maintenance.<\/p>\n

Left side: Mifune guides Yu to a bathroom where he realizes that he\u2019s pooping at Jupiter. As he washes up, someone calls his name.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: outside the bathroom, American Laine Missouri is looking for Yu, calling out for him. Laine is 18, attacker\/pilot of Nerf This Mark 2.<\/p>\n

Left side: Yu introduces himself. Laine is astonished to see that Yu is an elementary student.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Laine is surprised that such an accomplished gamer would be so young. Yu admits that his only friends are online and they\u2019d all hate him if they knew his real identity.<\/p>\n

Left side: Yu confesses that he hates it on Earth, and came here to join the Topness because no one knows him here. Laine points out that Yu has been invited to Jupiter many times despite a prohibition for children under 12 to go into space, but Yu has . A woman steps up to complete his thought: \u201c\u2026because the Wave-Motion Gun on the Mark 6 is considered very important right now. That\u2019s why elementary students like you are only invited in special cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: The woman is Abbey Yang (28), HR manager of Operation Nerf This. Yu asks her Star Sailor<\/em> rank and she answers \u201cB plus.\u201d He thinks she\u2019s lying, it must be Triple A. Laine corrects him, saying she isn\u2019t one of the Topness, she\u2019s the Topness manager. Yu comments that he didn\u2019t think she\u2019d have the reflexes at her age. \u201cThis kid\u2026\u201d she fumes. She swears Yu to secrecy about the selection method for the Topness.<\/p>\n

Left side: In the central laboratory, a candidate has just finished her test while some Topness members watch the procedure. Abbey thanks him for his hard work, his score will be reported later. He slumps as he leaves.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: left on his own, Yu stares at his phone and taps it to replay an old message from his mother. \u201cYu\u2026this is my first vacation in a long time, and I\u2019m sorry I went up to space right away. Let\u2019s go to the Yamato museum when I get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left side: The message continues; she is looking down from space and sees the lights of Japan. Her job is to keep those lights on and research the energy problems of humanity. She\u2019ll be working in space a while longer, but she\u2019s watching him. He can look up in the sky to see her.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: flashback to a post-crash memory. Yu endures gossip about his mother, a monster who killed hundreds of millions of people.<\/p>\n

Left side: a girl approaches as Yu ponders his situation. \u201cMama\u2019s research was for the future of humanity, wasn\u2019t it? It\u2019s not her fault Seireness showed up, right? I\u2019m at Jupiter now. It\u2019s the last test to become a Topness and defeat Seireness. If mama\u2019s research was what caused the volcano, if that was the case, then I\u2019d\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The girl absent-mindedly walks right into Yu, causing him to knock his head on the steps. She examines the bump and he protests that she\u2019s grabbing his head.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: mistaking Yu for a maintenance person, she asks if he removed the Mark 7 core ship\u2019s engine. He says no, that he only just arrived here.<\/p>\n

Left side: figuring out who he actually is, she apologizes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Yu asks how she knows his name, but she\u2019s interrupted by two men in black. \u201cLinne Aigis, the commander is calling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left side: Laine arrives and asks who she was. Yu wonders if she\u2019s a member of Topness, saying that she wasn\u2019t on his ship. Laine has good news: Yu\u2019s startup test went well. His battleship feedback score in Star Sailor<\/em> isn\u2019t everything, inborn talent is also a factor.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Laine explains that only one person in 49 can even qualify for the startup test, and most fall off right away. Yu is one of two finalists, showing an outstanding feedback value. \u201cThe space-time crystals choose the Topness.\u201d Yu recognizes that the space-time crystals were part of his mother\u2019s research. Laine says they are four-dimensional crystals with a time axis that form the core of a battleship.<\/p>\n

Left side: Nerf This Commander in Chief Carlos Jones speaks with Linne in his office. He didn\u2019t expect her until tomorrow\u2019s flight, but she claims not to be bound by space, time, or gravity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: ignoring Linne’s insolent remarks, Carlos says that he called her here from Mars \u201cBecause a high concentration of action has been observed where the last wormhole occurred. Its value predicts the appearance of a 100-meter class wormhole.\u201d Linne wonders if Seireness is coming back, and Carlos answers that all seven of the space navy\u2019s battleships are currently here at Vimana<\/em>. \u201cWe presume Seireness has sensed this movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left side: Linne says she was wondering how many space-time crystals were here. Carlos responds: \u201cThe space navy’s conventional weapons cannot effectively deal with Seireness. A powerful energy that transcends physical laws can be unleashed in the feedback of the Topness.
\nIt is impossible to destroy them without using a group of these weapons. We humans are destined to fight Seireness\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Carlos says her power is needed in the newly-built Nerf This Mark 7, and the anti-Seireness fleet will be incomplete without her. Even Yu Yamato is here. But she refuses to get on board the Mark 7.<\/p>\n

Left side: Yu is amazed that the Mark 6 cockpit is so close to the game controls, but it\u2019s natural since the game collects candidates for Topness. He is told to relax, since feedback from the space-time crystals requires a stable state of mind.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Abbey and the Topness pilots watch as Yu gets in sync with the simulator.<\/p>\n

Left side: Yu successfully starts up the Mark 6. Laine cheers for him.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: the female Topness members are encouraged to have a new pilot. Mark 1\/leader Nina Nelson (British, 13), Mark 5\/healer Aisha Mezidier (Turkish, 16), and Mark 4\/crowd controller Malina Fraser (Canadian, 15). However, Mark 3\/attacker Hugo Richelieu (French, 17) isn\u2019t prepared to trust his back to an elementary school kid.<\/p>\n

Left side: Yu is thinking about how strange it felt, like being underwater, when the lights suddenly go out. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Right side: Abbey orders the test aborted, and Yu removed from the Mark 6 cockpit. She\u2019s highly alarmed.<\/p>\n

Left side: Carlos calmly watches as a tech shouts, \u201cA wormhole is opening!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As the wormhole opens in space, Abbey orders all hands to combat stations. The Topness pilots will prep for immediate sortie. Still in the Mark 6\u2019s cockpit, Yu begins to have a vision.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He sees Earth being destroyed. A strange woman appears, saying \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026the Earth\u2026I couldn\u2019t protect them!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The vision clears. In the operations control room, Abbey sees an image coming in from the first fleet\u2019s observation point.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Yu: \u201cIt\u2019s them again\u2026Seireness.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Return to 2202<\/em> report<\/a> <\/p>\n

Return to Chapter index<\/a><\/p>\n

Continue to next chapter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28507"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33387,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507\/revisions\/33387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}