Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Sailor Moon.
Author Notes: This is set in the Silver Millennium. AU and OOC in order to fit into plot lines. Hopefully characters will remain mostly as Naoko Takeuchi created them in her manga.
The Fall of a Utopia
Prologue
The dust was so thick she could barely see her own hand on Bresarios' back. His long amber braid swayed as he ran; back and forth, almost in time to the explosions in the distance. The ship loomed in front of the silhouettes of the guards, an open mouth with tongue lolling out. Indeed, she did feel as if she were descending into a hellmouth, forced to watch as everything she loved and knew, strived to protect, was destroyed. The ramp lurched under her as she was deafened by an explosion.
"Take off NOW! DO IT NOW!!" a voice bellowed from somewhere ahead of her. The door hissed closed behind her and she was led to the command deck. Upon entering, she was greeted by her crew but did not hear their strained voices. There in front of her was a large viewing screen and she was forced to face the horrible reality of the attack. The air itself was on fire over the detonation sites and it was spreading over the entire planet. As if in a dream, events slowed down as they played out in front of her. She could not tear her eyes from the last of the escaping craft being overcome by the hellfire consuming her entire planet. She could not shake the feel of the screams of the dying from her ears even after the brightly burning pinprick of light fading in the distance.
"Selene?" a voice sounding small as if travelling over a great distance invaded her astonished trance.
"Selene?" this time closer with a vague recollection of a man with kind green eyes set under a strong forehead and long amber braid that fell over muscular shoulders and past the breast plate of the armor that bore her symbol.
"So many lost. An entire planet gone in mere seconds." The whisper came from her own lips but she did not feel it was hers. "And for what, Greed?" angry tears streamed down her cheeks but she refused the sob gathering at the base of her throat.
"Selene." The soft compassion of his voice captured her attention. "Without the advance warning and evacuation plan you set in motion, we would not have escaped with as many as we did. You are to be commended my queen." His eyes were honest as they met her own troubled stare. Her silver gaze swept over the crew and was met with relief and thankfulness even through the grief of loss.
"We owe our lives to you, your highness, and the lives of those on the other vessels that escaped. Most of those who remain still have our families. There can be no greater miracle than that given the time we had." The ship's captain, a lithe man by the name of Perseus, led her to the captain's chair. She sat numbly, staring in the direction of her former home.
"w-What is our destination?" The young navigationist's stutter awkwardly broke the silence.
"We should head towards the nearest populated system and hide among their numbers." Chronos' garnet eyes narrowed in thought.
"No!" Selene voice sounded strangled in her throat. She couldn't allow herself to appear panicked. "No. We will head for the outer rim. I will not endanger an entire civilization to save our skins."
The young navigationist's head swiveled from Chronos to Selene uncertaintly. His blue eyes were wide in his young face. Selene would have bet her life that he had not yet graduated from the academy before being recruited in the emergency evacuation.
"Do not be so foolish as to ignore your queen." Chronos prodded gently.
"We will take those that we have saved and start a new life somewhere we can be safe from the Chaos that has enslaved this galaxy. We will bide our time, prepare for the future" Selene looked down at the crystal resting on her chest. She swore that she would protect her people. And she would do so no matter what the cost.