Chapter Six

Lieutenant Awesome gazed into the distance and sighed. In the repair bay of Gammana fortress, fifty Gammana workers carved away at Captain Best’s Retalica-5 SpaceCannon. Up above, within the halls of Gammana, the GAMMA discussed what would be done about the recent unleashing of Colonel Catastrophe’s forces. Far away, in Sector 7, Awesome’s Captain sat up drowsily in his bed, as an announcement was made to his quarters.

“Captain Best,” the voice said. “You are presently a captain of a GAMMA squadron. You have been assigned a team and a new spaceship is waiting for you in the Gammana repair bay.”

Meanwhile, Awesome’s gaze was still transfixed on the ship. The workers were giving it a completely new face. Awesome had told the GAMMA that he already possessed a ship, a captain a crew and a weapon, which meant that they would not replace these things, but they couldn’t refrain from rebuilding and strengthening them.

The Lieutenant was interrupted by a worker, dressed in white, who silently gestured for Awesome to follow. He was led into the labyrinth of Gammana. There he was re-acquainted with the people whom he had called his squad. Awesome swung his head over his shoulder for one last look at his Captain’s old ship.

He had heard the plans, and over the next few days he watched them take place. The workers – dressed in dazzling white suits that allowed them to float – bent it, shaped it and warped it into something new. They fitted extended wings to its sides and to its tail. The Gammana workers fitted to it Blast Lasers the size of the Marauder’s, and two wing command cockpits mounted on both main wings. It was re-painted, re-surfaced and re-furbished with the highest quality GAMMA equipment. Its speed and agility were maintained and reinforced. Only the Gammana trade mark shield booster was missing, as it could not be fitted onto a Retalica-built ship. And after all this, the transformation of the ship was complete: Extreme – Gammana SpaceCannon and starship of Captain Best’s squad was created. Awesome dared not pilot it…yet.

During the rebuilding process, other improvements were completed. Awesome’s muscles were mended and measured. His shape and size, along with Stupendous’s and Kool’s were measured, for the creation of uniforms. Awesome was given a new trench coat, replacing his ruined old one, and the control rod that he called his weapon was taken, replicated, and presented to the Lieutenant as a new, better weapon. To Sargent Stupendous was given a lab coat, and a full set of biomedical chemicals. To Special K (Special Agent Kool) was given a Navmap, and a bilingual multi-vocalix, a device for understanding and speaking in foreign languages, which she wore around her neck.

Refreshed, cured and armed, the three agents gathered at the Gammana landing platforms, and watched as the Sector 7 Rehabilitation Transport Vessel hovered to the ground. From the ship stepped Captain Best, and he was a sight to behold, indeed!

The Captain was clad in a skin tight yellow uniform, like a superhero. He wore large, green gloves and boots, and matching green underwear, worn on top of his yellow tights. A green strap was tied around his forehead, and a purple cape hung behind his back. Mounted on his white belt was a gold emblem of some sort, featuring the letters “SS”.

Lieutenant Awesome would’ve laughed, had he not been so secretly glad to see his captain.
The first words Best spoke as this captain of the team were: “I’ve got uniforms for all you as well!” Not quite so impressive, but full of pride.

Awesome groaned. How was he supposed to keep up a tough exterior when he was dressed like an aerobics instructor?

The four agents dressed themselves in their individualised new gear, much to Awesome’s dissatisfaction, and made their way to the repair bay.

The Captain almost fainted with delight at the sight of the Starship Extreme, his reconstructed SpaceCannon, and the smartly clad squad to go with it.

Its front door swung down, revealing the newly carpeted stairs into the ship’s new central foyer (the hub). Best explored the rooms of his new ship: the cockpit, the tiny communications room, and both of the wing commander segment cockpits. The hub looked into all four rooms through bullet proof glass walls, and when sitting in the cockpit, you could see through it to the communications room in the tail of Starship Extreme.

The four made their way into the cockpit. Best assumed the central chair and Awesome notably sat on his right.

The Captain reached forward, squeezed his hands around the control sticks of Starship Extreme and grinned.

“Lieutenant Awesome, fire up the boosters. Special K, get me some bearings. Sargeant Stupendous, make me some coffee or something, and cut that ridiculous fringe. Everybody strap in, we’re going for a ride!”