Spacemon, Vol. 1 – Chapter 16: The Battle of Solace Prime

Welcome to another exciting installment of Spacemon, the tale of a Pokemon TRPG campaign! It is a sci-fi space epic played using the Pokemon Tabletop United (PTU) system and GMed by fellow TAY author DragonStorm247. You can get caught up on the entire Spacemon saga here!

The UAS Helix flew out of the hangar, ready for combat. Her new crew was as prepared as they could be for the oncoming storm. Arlon maneuvered the frigate away from the massive Halberd, turning to face the new threat. A swarm of Genesect had dropped out of warp space, surrounding a massive Romanov ship sporting the black and red colors of the rebel faction. The vessel was a bit bigger than a battleship, but much smaller than a dreadnought.

As the swarm drew near, the frigate’s sensors detected that there were around two-hundred-twenty of the cybernetically enhanced insect Pokemon swarming around the ship. Large hangar doors along the side of the Romanov ship slid open and many more Genesect began to pour out.

“That ship is some kind of carrier,” Arlon said to his crewmates on the bridge as he looked out the front viewport in awe. “The bloody thing must be crawling with them.”

Moving in a cloud-like formation, the growing swarm flew toward the Halberd. The dreadnought began flying towards the oncoming Genesect and opened fire. The Genesect, puny in size compared to the hulking Halberd, were easily able to outmaneuver it and dodge the majority of the laser salvos.

“Here we go!” Arlon called out as he began to fly the Helix towards the swarm. As the frigate approached, several Genesect broke off from the main swarm to engage it. “Man the guns!”

Behind Arlon on the bridge, Dmitri ran to the plasma cannon controls while H manned those for the heavy plasma beam the Halberd’s engineering crew had mounted on the Helix. Dmitri took a few shots at the Genesect, but the maneuverable Pokemon easily dodged out of the way. H, meanwhile, tracked a group of the swarming Genesect with the beam and fired in a wide arc, destroying three of them. A couple of the Genesect returned fire, but Arlon quickly took the ship into a dive and avoided most of the shots, only allowing one to land a hit. The shields absorbed the blast and the gunners continued firing on the Genesect.

“Keep it up, mates!” Arlon shouted to his crewmates.

Dmitri opened fire again, but he missed one more. It seemed the Genesect were too easily able to dodge the cannon fire. However, the beam was a different story. By nature, it was able to target a wide area, making it ideal for attacking the swarm. H fired the weapon across a large chunk of the swarm, managing to hit twelve, killing about half of them.

“Dmitri, keep them suppressed with the cannons! Keep them from getting too close!” Arlon shouted. “H, you’re our main firepower, that beam is chewing them to pieces!”

The enemy Pokemon fired another salvo of shots at the Helix, but Arlon rolled the ship, dodging all of the incoming shots. “You’ll have to do better than that, you bloody bastards,” Arlon said confidently as he brought the frigate around for another pass.

The Halberd didn’t have as much luck as the Helix in dealing with the Genesect. It only managed to land a few glancing blows that only sufficed to wound a handful of the swarming creatures and its hulking size and lack of maneuverability made it an easy target for the Genesect. Its best hope would be to target the Genesect carrier, and it appeared that was precisely what Vice Admiral Graves was attempting. The Halberd moved into range of the Romanov rebel vessel, picking off a few Genesect along the way, but the dreadnought was taking on much more damage than it was dishing out. The Genesect swarmed all over it, tearing its hull to pieces.

“We have to help them!” Morgan shouted to Arlon.

“I can try to draw some away, but there’s not much I can do,” Arlon told her. He maneuvered the ship alongside the Halberd, allowing H and Dmitri to pick a few Genesect off.

In response, a group of Genesect detached from the Halberd and flew at the Helix. Dmitri fired at them with the plasma cannons, but only managed to nick one of them and they continued closing in. Arlon dodged past most of their incoming fire, but one managed to land a blow and break through the temporarily disrupted shields. The crew of the Helix heard a loud clanking as it latched onto the hull and began trying to scrape through.

“It’s trying to break through into the cargo hold!” Arlon yelled to his crewmates, noting the warning flashing on the console. “Morgan, Shane, get down there! Dmitri go with them, you’re not doing anything on those cannons!” He then reached for his Quilava’s Pokeball and released her. “Cinder, go with them!”

“You too, #1!” H shouted, releasing his Rhyhorn.

“Good luck!” Arlon called out to his crewmates as they hurried off the bridge.

Dmitri, Morgan, and Shane headed down to the lower cargo hold in the elevator, accompanied by their crewmates’ Pokemon. As they arrived in the cargo bay, the lone Genesect burst through the hull and magnetized itself to the floor as the vacuum of space began to suck the air out of the room. The blast doors sealed shut in response in order to maintain pressure in the rest of the ship.

The Genesect marched forward, its cannon at the ready. Up close, it looked to Dmitri like a merciless killing machine. Its eyes flashed as it scanned the room and assessed the threat levels. Thinking quickly, Dmitri seized the opportunity to throw one of H’s string shot grenades at the hole in the hull. It exploded, releasing a giant wad of string shot, which sealed hull breach enough to prevent anything from flying out. However, the atmosphere in the Helix’s cargo hold continued to leak out, albeit at a much slower pace.

Dmitri’s action drew the attention of the Genesect. It’s eyes flashed as it focused in on the three members of the crew. Dmitri responded by sending out his Slugma alongside Arlon’s Quilava and H’s Rhyhorn. The other two followed suit, with Morgan sending out her Solrock and Shane his Rotom.

The Genesect locked onto Dmitri’s Slugma and fired its cannon at the small lava slug. The Slugma was surprisingly resistant to the attack, but he still took a heavy hit. In response, Cinder, Arlon’s Quilava, ran forward and spit a massive tide of flames at the Genesect, melting through its armor and inflicting tons of damage upon the metallic creature’s innards.

“B.O.L.T., use Thunder Wave!” Shane then commanded his Rotom. The electrical ghost fired a wave of electricity at the wounded Genesect, causing it to seize up.

“Now hit it with Psywave!” Morgan commanded her Solrock. The Meteorite Pokemon fired off a blast of psychic energy, but the Genesect dodged out of the way.

“Obsidius, Flame Burst!” Dmitri instructed his Slugma. The fiery Pokemon spit out a burst of flames at the Genesect and whittled it down further. #1, H’s Rhyhorn, ran up next and launched a giant rock at the Genesect, but it dodged out of the way and the boulder crashed into some crates behind it, completely destroying them.

Suddenly, the entire ship rocked as it was hit with a volley of fire from the Genesect swarming around it. The shields had dropped under the assault, allowing several shots to hit the hull. Undaunted from the violent shaking, Cinder spit out another lick of flames at the Genesect, burning through more of its armor.

The Genesect stood fully upright and its eyes began to flash. It seemed to be sending out some kind of signal. It then locked on to #1 and fired off a beam of icy energy. The Rhyhorn withstood the blow, but he seemed to be pretty badly hurt.

“B.O.L.T., use Shock Wave!”

“Camille, use Fire Spin!’

“Obsidius, Flame Burst!”

The crew commanded their Pokemon to strike, unleashing a torrent of fire and electricity at the Genesect and bringing the cybernetic Pokemon down. Its eyes began to flash more rapidly as it dropped.

“I think it’s sending out some kind of signal,” Shane said. “I’m not sure what it means, though.”

Before anyone could respond, two more loud, metallic clanks rang out as another pair of Genesect landed on the hull. Easily clawing through the string shot covering the hull breach, the two cybernetic Pokemon crawled inside.

“We need to get out of here!” Morgan shouted. She recalled her Pokemon and Dmitri did the same. Dmitri followed his crewmate as she began falling back, with Shane and his Rotom right behind him. With no instructions otherwise, Cinder and #1 followed along.

“Split up and try to separate them!” Shane called out as they retreated.

Dmitri nodded and ran for the starboard-side exit from the cargo hold With Cinder and #1 behind him. Morgan and Shane, meanwhile, fled through the opposite exit on the port side along with the latter’s Rotom. The plan seemed to work as the two Genesect broke off from each other behind them, each pursuing one group of targets.

Catching a quick breather in the corridor, Dmitri looked at his crewmates Pokemon to see how they were doing. H’s Rhyhorn looked to be in pretty bad shape, but Arlon’s Quilava was still good to go. “Go and get out of here,” Dmitri said, patting the Rhyhorn. #1 grunted, then ran off toward the stairs back up to the upper deck.

As the Genesect pursuing him stomped into the corridor from the cargo hold, Dmitri turned and sent out his Haunter to back him up. The Genesect fired its cannon at Wilhelm and the bright blast of energy hit the Haunter, dealing some damage to him. Cinder quickly ran up alongside Wilhelm and spit out a massive surge of flames, completely engulfing the corridor. Streaks of flame shot down the narrow passage, setting the entire thing on fire. The Genesect’s eyes glowed a menacing red through the flames.

“Wilhelm, Shadow Punch!” Dmitri commanded his Haunter. The Gas Pokemon charged through the flames with his fist raised, but when he made contact with the Genesect, he simply bounced off of its armor. The mechanical monster stared menacingly at the Haunter as it prepared to fire again.

Dmitri lifted his hand and fired off a blast of energy at the Genesect, scrambling its systems. However, the cybernetic Pokemon fought through and locked onto Wilhelm. Its cannon glowed red, then fired a massive blast of energy at the Haunter, taking him down. Against the fires, the explosion gave the hall the appearance of a fiery hell, the flames reflecting in the Genesect’s fierce red eyes. Retreating back down the corridor, Dmitri recalled his Haunter and sent his Slugma back out.

Meanwhile, Cinder charged at the advancing Pokemon, rolling herself into a tight ball and launching herself at it with a Flame Wheel attack. Undaunted, the cybernetic Pokemon continued to advance. Dmitri fled around the corner as it prepared to fire again.

“B.O.LT., use Thunder Wave!” Shane commanded his Rotom as the Genesect continued to close in. The Plasma Pokemon shot out a burst of electricity at the Genesect, causing it to seize up, slowing its advance. 

“Jean, use Volt Tackle!” Morgan followed up with a command to her Pikachu. The electric mouse charged himself up with volts of electricity as he ran forward. He leapt into the air and slammed full force into the Genesect. The critical blow left the cybernetic Pokemon sparking and immobilized.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shane used his new power from Giratina to temporarily drop himself into warp space and maneuver around the cybernetic Pokemon. He reappeared in real space behind the beast and jumped up onto its back.

“This looks important,” Shane said, spotting some kind of blue-colored drive installed on the Pokemon’s back. He glitched his hand into the Genesect and ripped the thing right out of its back. The Pokemon’s eyes started flashing rapidly. It seemed like some sort of distress signal, if Shane were to guess, like it had lost its connection with whatever command signal it had been receiving.

Suddenly, Dmitri came running around the corner from the other side of the ship. Seeing the flashing, damaged, and immobilized Genesect, he threw a Great Ball at it. Shane jumped back as the ball pulled the cybernetic Pokemon inside. Almost immediately, the Genesect broke out again.

“I don’t know why you thought that would work,” Shane said.

Before Dmitri could respond, Arlon’s Quilava came flying out of the corridor Dmitri had emerged from, propelled by a shot of the other Genesect’s cannon. She collapsed, unconscious, against the wall as the cybernetic Pokemon marched down the corridor, charging its cannon once more.

Suddenly, #6, H’s Helioptile, ran into the corridor junction with a giant gust of silvery wind. The wind gushed down the hallways, hitting both Genesect and putting out the fires that had sprung up, leaving only smoke and embers. Both Genesect’s eyes started flashing, evaluating this new threat.

“B.O.L.T., use Shock Wave!” Shane commanded his Rotom, seizing the opportunity to get another hit off on the Genesect. The electric ghost fired off another burst of electricity, further whittling the heavily damaged Genesect down. The cybernetic Pokemon ignored B.O.L.T. and fired a powerful beam at Jean instead, determining the Pikachu to be a larger threat. However, the quick electric mouse easily dodged out of the way.

Morgan and her Pikachu seemed to have that Genesect under control, so Shane decided to focus on the one that had been pursuing Dmitri. Since he was now behind the Genesect focused on the Pikachu, he decided to circle around through the cargo hold to get behind the other one. As he ran through the cargo hold, Shane noticed one of the incendiary cannons the crew had purchased from Korben Danstar on Banton lying on the floor. He quickly scooped it up and continued on his way.

Shane arrived behind the Genesect just in time to witness it take Dmitri’s Slugma down with a cannon shot. Not wasting any time, Shane lined up a shot on the cybernetic Pokemon’s back and fired. The following explosion set the hall on fire once again, as well as the Genesect. The Pokemon let out a high-pitched mechanical sound that echoed throughout the ship.

After recalling his Slugma, Dmitri released his recently evolved Gyarados in the burning Genesect’s path, blocking the progress of its advance. However, the Genesect didn’t seem to care, launching a blast of lightning out of its cannon and taking the Gyarados down with one shot. It then collapsed, taken down by the fires burning it alive.

“Jean, use Volt Tackle!” Morgan then commanded her Pikachu. “Take it down!” The small yellow Pokemon ran at the sole remaining Genesect and charged himself up again. He leapt at the cybernetic Pokemon and slammed into it, taking it offline.

With the Genesect defeated, the three members of the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“What’s the situation down there?” Arlon’s voice sounded over the comms.

Shane ran over to the nearby intercom. “All clear down here,” he replied.

“Great job, mates, now get up here. We’ve got an opening on that carrier and I intend to take it.”

“Before we go, I just want to check out these Genesect real quick,” Shane said, turning to Dmitri and Morgan.

He approached one of the damaged Genesect and booted himself into its CPU. Upon entering, he could sense the command ship and traced the signal to find where it was going into the brain. He tampered with a blinking orange … thing, but that only seemed to deactivate the signal being sent to the carrier. The signal continued to broadcast on other channels, as if connected to something else. However, he couldn’t seem to figure out what. Unable to do anything else, Shane booted himself out.

“What happened?” Morgan asked him.

“I think I cut off communication with the carrier but it’s still transmitting elsewhere,” Shane explained.

“We should just kill them then,” Morgan said. “Just to be safe.”

“Good idea,” Shane agreed.

“Dmitri, use your laser sword to take them out,” Morgan told her crewmate.

“We should try to repair them and use them for ourselves,” Dmitri protested.

“I don’t think it works that way, Dmitri,” Shane told him. “They’re completely controlled by command signals. If we repair them they will more than likely attack us.”

“Fine,” Dmitri agreed. He pulled out his laser sword and used it to finish off the Genesect.

With that taken care of, the three of them headed back up to the bridge.

“Here we go!” Arlon shouted as he flew the Helix at the Romanov carrier. “Tear them up!”

Dmitri and H opened fire with the guns, punching a hole through the remaining Genesect. Arlon cranked the engines to maximum and pushed through the opening, straight into the carrier’s open hangar.

As soon as Arlon landed the ship, a large group of defected Romanov Union soldiers surrounded the Helix. Dmitri fired the plasma cannons at them, killing them and blowing a hole straight through the wall.

“Nice work, mate,” Arlon said, patting his crewmate on the shoulder.

The crew disembarked from the Helix and took a look around. Shane peered into the hole Dmitri blasted in the wall. “This way!” he shouted to the others, waving them over.

“Excellent. This should take us right up to the bridge,” Aron said as he looked through the hole into what appeared to be the main elevator shaft. He jumped down into the shaft, landing on top of the stationary elevator. He then looked up and motioned for the rest of the crew to follow. Once they joined him, he reached down and pried the hatch open so they could board the elevator.

The crew rode up to the bridge uninterrupted. Silence filled the air as they approached. The elevator soon ground to a halt and they stepped out onto the bridge. A gray-haired admiral with a neatly trimmed beard turned to face them as they approached. He removed the pipe from his mouth and stared them down with a crazed look in his eyes. 

“How dare you defile the sanctity of my bridge!?” the admiral shouted at the boarders. “You are a blemish on this glorious day!”

Three Romanov marines moved up behind him. “We will deal with them, Admiral Chekov,” one said, seemig ready for a fight. He grabbed the Pokeball from his belt and released a Beartic, while the other two each sent out a Magnemite. The admiral joined them, releasing a Clawitzer.

“If it’s a fight you want, mate, we’d be happy to oblige,” Arlon said as he pulled out his Aron’s Pokeball. As he released his Pokemon, the others followed suit and sent out Croconaw, Gyarados, Klefki, and Rhyhorn.

“Ness, Flamethrower!” Dmitri commanded his Gyarados. The giant serpent unleashed a surge of flames on the Beartic, dealing quite a bit of damage.

“K.E.Y.S., use Fairy wind!” Shane then commanded his Klefki. The Key Ring Pokemon summoned up a blast of wind and fired it at the Beartic, whittling it down even more.

“Hector, use Waterfall!” Morgan commanded her Croconaw, pointing at the Magnemite on the left. The Big Jaw Pokemon ran forward and attempted to strike the Magnemite, but it floated up and out of harm’s way.

“Use Supersonic!” the Magnemites’ trainers both ordered their Pokemon. The pair of Magnet Pokemon fired off blasts of sound at Hector and Ness, dazing the Croconaw.

“Katyusha, Water Pulse!” Admiral Chekov then commanded his Clawitzer. The Pokemon locked onto #1 and fired off a blast of water, taking the Rhyhorn down instantly.

“Arctov, use Earthquake!” the last marine commanded his Beartic. The Freezing Pokemon charged into the middle of the attacking Pokemon and crashed its powerful paws down, causing the floor to shake. Floor tiles flew up and struck Hector and Ironhide, but both Pokemon withstood the hit and prepared to fight back.

“Ironhide, use Iron Head!” Arlon commanded his Aron. “Take ‘em down!” The Aron charged forward at the beartic, skull plate glowing bright. Ironhide collided hard with the Beartic, knocking it out. The glow intensified as the Iron Armor Pokemon struck and he began to change shape, evolving into Lairon.

H’s eyes started glowing yellow as he reached his hand into the air. Sparks fired out from the nearby consoles and struck his hand, a giant bolt of lightning appearing there. The cyborg lobbed it at the Clawitzer, leaving it smoking and clinging to consciousness. He then quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and sent out his Helioptile.

“Admiral Chekov, sir, something is wrong with console!” one of the deck officers called out. The admiral responded with what could only be described as an angry growl.

“#6, use Thundershock!” H commanded his Helioptile. The Generator Pokemon shot out a small burst of electricity at the Clawitzer, finishing it off.

“Hector, use Ice Fang!” Morgan then commanded her Croconaw.

The Big Jaw Pokemon’s fangs froze over as he charged at one of the Magnemite that had avoided him earlier. He jumped up and sank them in. Ice spread out from the Croconaw’s mouth and soon it had completely encased the Magnemite. The frozen Magnet Pokemon dropped helplessly to the floor. H then pulled out the Pokeball cannon he’d requisitioned from the Halberd and launched one of his new magma grenades at the remaining Magnemite, taking it down. Defeated, the marines recalled their Pokemon.

“Nyet! Nyet! Nyet!” Admiral Chekov yelled as he ran toward the console. “You think you’ve won don’t you?!”

“Yes!” Morgan shouted back.

“The Genesect will swarm you all!” the admiral yelled as he slammed his fist on the big red button on the console with a look of insane satisfaction. Nothing happened. No Genesect were coming. He started manically mashing the button over and over. “What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know, sir!” the deck officer from before shouted. “Is not responding!”

The blinking orange light on the console began to slow, then it went out. Looking out the viewport, Arlon could see the Genesect turning away. They flew away from the battle and jumped into warp space.

“Where are you going?!” Admiral Chekov shouted as he watched them go, continuing the mash the red button. “Come back!” The command crew stood around awkwardly, looking at their commanding officer as he lost his mind.

“You’re coming with us, Admiral,” Arlon said, pressing his pistol against the admiral’s head. He then looked over at his crewmates. “Round them up,” he instructed them and they began reining in the remaining command crew. Realizing they had lost, the marines and officers surrendered without so much as a struggle.

Using the carrier’s console, Arlon hailed the Halberd. The call was quickly answered, and Vice Admiral Graves appeared onscreen. A very surprised expression appeared on her face when she saw the Helix crew.

“We’ve captured the command crew,” Arlon informed her.

“I’m impressed,” the vice admiral said, a look of genuine awe on her usually stern face. “I noticed your ship boarded the carrier, but I did not expect you to have captured the bridge on your own, and so quickly no less. The Genesect appear to have retreated. Return to the Halberd. We will repair any damage and discuss rewards.”

“It is with great honor that I present each of you with the Federation Medal of Civilian Valor, given only to those citizens of the Federation who go far above and beyond what is expected of them.”

Admiral Graves looked into the eyes of each member of the UAS Helix’s as she pinned their medals onto their chests. The five of them had been named Heroes of the Federation.

“You will also be paid handsomely for your efforts,” she continued. Then, turning to Arlon specifically, she said, “I have spoken with my superiors. With Devlin Garth’s confession … You’re a free man now.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Arlon said, shaking her hand. “And congratulations on your promotion.”

Graves nodded. Then, gazing once more at each Federation Hero, she continued, “Now that this is all over, I’m curious … What are you planning to do next?”

“This battle was just the beginning,” Arlon replied. “There are greater powers at work here and I intend to find them.”

“There are hints of something larger at play than just some Romanov rebels here,” Morgan agreed. “We need to be prepared.”

“Interesting,” said Graves. “I wish you well on your journeys. I suspect I will be hearing from you again.”

The hum of the Helix’s engine quieted as the ship came to a rest in the Banton spaceport. Arlon shut it down and it fell silent. He then got up from his seat and called the rest of the crew to the bridge.

“Well, mates, I think it’s time we said our goodbyes,” Arlon announced to his companions once they arrived. “With my name cleared, I feel it is best that I return to the Red Suns.”

“Well this is what you wanted isn’t it?” Morgan asked, seeming surprised to hear him sounding sentimental.

“It is, luv,” Arlon told her. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the time I’ve spent with you lot. I may be a right prick sometimes, but you’re alright. I don’t make this decision lightly. We need to be prepared for whatever’s coming next. I can use the Red Suns’ resources to better further that goal. You’re all quite resourceful, so I’ll be sure to send anything I find your way.”

“Well, it’s been a good run,” Shane said, extending his hand.

“Indeed it has, mate,” Arlon said, giving him a firm handshake. “Indeed it has.”

The meditation sphere approached the silver-lined cruiser. Gilgamesh wondered if he had done the right thing.

He boarded, walking through the familiar hallways to the small office, to find that same screen gazing back at him.

“I would like to formally thank you for your aid in finding the Resurrector,” Mr. Silver told him. “It has been instrumental in the success of the project. In fact, I’ve already received reports of engagement in Sector 4.”

“And just what exactly do you plan to do with them?”

“They are a test.”

“For what?”

An eerie silence fell on the room before the mime responded.

“I called you here to fulfill my end of the bargain. I thought you might wish to know that the Gardener has been found.”

A look of awe dawned on Gilgamesh’s face. “So then … that means—?”

“Yes. They are coming.”

Notes: This session was a great way to end things. We got our first real taste of space combat and got to fight the Genesect at long last! Lots of interesting stuff. The battle was based around the fact that in this universe there is no concept of a fighter, a small class of ships like X-Wings or TIE-Fighters. The Genesect have taken the role of fighters and challenged the way naval commanders think about warfare. So that’s why the Halberd got chewed to pieces.

We got a good taste for what’s coming next semester with that epilogue that DragonStorm prepared for us. Gilgamesh was working with Mr. Silver? Mr. Silver was behind the Genesect? Who the hell is this guy anyway? And most importantly, who the hell are “they?” These are all the important questions we were asking ourselves at the end of this volume. Of course, as you know if you’ve read Volume 2, now we know the answers. It’s been a blast to come back and revisit this volume now that we know the truth.

In terms of revision, this was the easiest chapter to rewrite. I had reached the peak of my writing for Volume 1 and was getting good at squeezing in as much detail from my notes as possible. I just had to give it that extra bit of polish to get it up to par with Volume 2. The big thing here really was the retcon on the name. It turns out that the original name, Solus Prime, is the name of one of the original thirteen Primes in Transformers and DragonStorm goofed and thought it was an original name. If it was just for the game it would have been fine, but since I write these chapters up and put them up on the Internet, I decided to go with a change in name, thus Solace Prime.

Looking back now, I seem to have added a bit of much needed character development for Arlon in these last few chapters. I was never really satisfied with Arlon as a character the first go-round, so I’m glad to have finally done him justice. Over the course of the volume, we’ve seen him change from a guy only in it for the money, to a man who truly cares for the future of the Galaxy. It’s a great way to end his story as a player character and have him go on to be an awesome side character for Volume 2. I truly feel that I’ve fulfilled his story, and I am looking forward to doing the same for my new character.

Update 9/24/21: This chapter needed quite a few little updates. For the most part, it was an easy conversion to past tense with some extra details here and there. For the opening, I redid the description of the carrier and the swarm. Since fighters aren’t a thing at this point, it didn’t make sense to describe it as a carrier as it appeared, and so I had the realization happen in character instead as the Genesect were let loose. I also added some extra descriptions to make it clearer that these Romanovs are part of the rebel faction, aka the Romanov Supremacy, just to make the chapter match the canon a bit better. For the part where the crew fights off the Genesect that board the Helix, I decided to split it into two scenes from different character perspectives instead of alternating between the different sides of the ship in turn order once they split up. It massively improved the flow and I love how it turned out. For the action inside the carrier, nothing really needed changing aside from needing some names added. We’ve been referring to the admiral as Admiral Chekov since even before I originally rewrote Volume 1, so it made sense to include that here. I modified existing dialogue and added new dialogue to convey his name. I also named the Clawitzer and Beartic. I didn’t need to name the Magnemites since they were taken care of so fast. For the scene where the crew gets their medals, I added a few new details, giving a clearer resolution to Arlon clearing his name and giving a nod to Graves getting promoted as a result of the battle. Along with a couple minor edits, this really polished the scene. I also changed Arlon’s goodbye scene to happen on Banton instead of on the way to Banton as I felt that made more sense. Lastly, the scene between Gilgamesh and Mr. Silver needed no further alterations other than the past tense conversion and a couple grammar edits. Altogether, the updates make this a much better conclusion to the volume and tie it into the greater canon.

Post-Chapter Challenge: And we have reached the final challenge of this rewritten run of Volume 1. Between this and Volume 2, you now have everything you need to think about the Spacemon spinoff that you are about to come up with!

What will it be? A TV series? A feature film? A video game? A novel? Whatever you want! The stories of our heroes are very well told at this point, so let’s follow a new story in this universe! Who are your characters? What is their place in the Spacemon universe? What story do they have to tell? It’s all up to you!

That does it for this chapter. As always the Spacemon gang and I will be monitoring the comments to foster discussion and answer any questions. Feel free to give feedback and critiques of the writing so I can improve it for the future, or just leave a comment with what you think about what went down in this chapter or what you think might happen next! You can also revisit past chapters, check out the rest of the Spacemon saga, join the Spacemon Discord server, or like our Facebook page to stay updated on all things Spacemon! Click here for the next exciting installment of Spacemon!