Tales from the Silver Age II: Miss Midshipman Tsukino
By: Paladin13
Rating: T, for violence, starship battles and at times one very ticked off princess
Disclaimer: I Paladin13 do not own the rights to Sailor Moon, all I own are my OCs, the plot, my laptop and one very beat-up Astros hat
Well folks this is the next installment on my Silver Age series. This Tale takes place around 8 months before The Great Fall, so it starts out in May.
"While studying the history of Silver Age I have come the conclusion that Tsukino family, that is to say the Serenity Line is a warrior line. Each progressive monarch has left her own mark on the military forces of the Alliance. The latest in the line is Crown Princess Serenity the Sixth who decided to enter the Royal Naval Academy, only time will tell what kind of officer she will be." Admiral of the Navy Lord Sir William Nagatabi-Tsukino, Royal Governor of Brushy Colony, First Lord of the Admiralty, Silver Alliance Royal Navy.
Chapter One: Graduation
Hyperion Peninsula Royal Naval Academy, Star-Kingdom of the White Moon
May 25th, Year 999 of the Silver Age
With the midnight Earth overhead the Queen, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the Commandant of the Academy and the Queen's Senshi guards wait on the parade grounds of the Academy for the next generation of naval officer to present themselves. The assembly turned their heads as the sound boots approached. As the sound got closer the Queen could hear a loud female voice calling out the cadences.
With flags fluttering in the wind, the formation grew closer and closer. Soon the crowd could see the source of the cadences, a petite blond haired young woman with cobalt blue eyes dressed elegantly yet deadly in the midnight-blue of the Silver Alliance Royal Navy. The one thing that surprised many of the guests is her braiding on her right shoulder, Gold and White, the one lead this formation is not from the core worlds but from the colonies.
"Battalion Mark-Time, March," the formation stopped in front of the crowd and started to march in place.
While still calling out cadences the blonde called out, "Battalion Halt," the formation stopped marching, "Left Face!" Then the battalion turned sharply to the left to face the crowd.
The Queen's silver eyes swept over the formation. She could see over 1000 midshipman, the majority of them are in the midnight-blue of the Navy with a handful in the hunter-green of the Royal Marine Corps. After looking up and down the formation her eyes rest upon the young woman in command.
"Present Arms!" The entire formation snapped into a salute. "Your Majesty may I present you First Battalion of the Brigade of Midshipman."
Queen Serenity returned the salute, "Thank you Midshipman Tsukino." She drops the salute and orders the formation to go at ease. Silver eyes gazed out into crowd once again; a small smile crossed her serene face before turning serious.
"Good afternoon everyone, as you all should know is that this your Final Review." She closed her eyes for a moment of thought, "Every single one of you are some of the finest to walk the halls of the Academy, by being here today you have all proven your worth as Midshipman. But this worth and even the education you have received mean nothing if you can't live up to the legacy of all those who came before. This legacy stretches though the millennia from the ancient mariners that first crossed the seven seas to those who fought in the Oni War and beyond. That is the legacy you all must live by, but also know that every new generation of mariners add to this legacy."
The silver haired monarch paused for a moment to let those heavy words sink in. "In the upcoming weeks you all will start your final test, the Cruise. This test will place you all on board an active duty ship and will serve a full six month deployment. Those months will be harder than any Academy test, you will be worked to the bone, and bleed for all your worth. The Cruise will be your trial by fire; the unexpected will happen and if any of you cannot handle it, well let's say that the results will not be good. If you fail the Cruise you will be sent back to the Academy or even not let back in."
If the battalion wasn't so heavily drilled gasps would have been heard. "Now that you have all been informed, Midshipman Captain Tsukino?"
"Yes your Majesty," The blond asked.
"You may take charge of your battalion."
The young officer saluted in response before marching forward to stand next to Queen Serenity. She does an about face to look over those in her command. "All right listen up," Rebecca Tsukino shouted in her command voice. "After you are all dismissed and get your gear sorted we have two weeks of leave no more, no less. After the two weeks you are to report to your assigned ship for the Cruise. Do I make myself clear?"
"Ma'am, Yes Ma'am!"
"Hyperion Peninsula Royal Naval Academy class of Triple-Nine you are dismissed!"
Before falling out the entire battalion shouted, "Class of Triple-Nine!" With a collective step back and about face, the midshipmen fell out of formation. All of the young officers left to return to their dorm room to pack leaving behind Midshipman Captain Rebecca Tsukino behind with the Queen and her entourage. Rebecca turned to face the Queen; she saluted her and her consort before walking off the parade ground.
TftSAII: MMT
Fifteen minutes later Midshipman Tsukino entered her dorm room to find half of it in a mess. Cobalt eyes looked across the room in to the mess to see the dark hair of her roommate. She could faintly hear her sobbing.
"Hey Mike what's wrong," Rebecca reached out to shake Mike's shoulder.
Michelle Harrington jumped at her touch, the dark skin young woman clutching her chest. "By the Gods Becca don't do that."
"Sorry about that," Rebecca sat down next to Mike, "so what wrong?"
"It's my parents; they were killed in a sailing accident of the Cape. I just found out when I got in."
"Oh man, so when the funeral?"
"In two weeks Becca."
"So I'm guessing you have nowhere to go for leave for the first week?" Her roommate nods, "well let me check with my folks to see if you can stay with us." She walks over to the telephone; Mike can hear the one-sided conservation but soon tunes it out. She is at least thankful that her uncle had the decency to call her and is willing to speak for her during the funeral.
"Well I didn't get my parents but my aunt says no problem," Rebecca said with a bright smile. "Come on let's get packed, we got a long day ahead of us."
In another twenty minutes the two midshipmen rushed off campus to the grav-train station. By the time arrived the train was just about to pulled out. Thanking the gods for their luck the two of them boarded the train and headed out for the four hour trip from the Oceanus Procellarum to Serenity City, the capital of the Star-Kingdom of the White Moon and the Silver Alliance. The two young women admired the scenery, from the blue-green seas and ocean to the snow capped peaks of the Montes Apenninus. Across the straits linking the Mares Imbrium and Serenitatis and skirting the frozen wastes of the Mare Frigoris. At the end of their journey after crossing the Montes Caucasus Mike could make out the light and crystalline spires of Serenity City.
Entering the city the young officers marveled at the buildings as the outskirts turned into the core of the city. They gathered their gear as the train pulled in to Castleton Station, now they are in the very heart of the Star-Kingdom. Exiting the train Rebecca led Mike out of the station and into the castle. After a five minute walk the two of them entered a long gallery.
"Hey Mike!"
"What is it Becca?"
"Why don't you wait here with our gear while I track down my parents?"
"Sure, oh by the way why are here in the castle?"
"Oh my parents have an apartment here since them both for the government."
With that Rebecca left Mike alone in the silent gallery. Mike set down the footlocker before walking over to the portraits hanging on the wall. She saw five paintings hanging, if she didn't know any better she would have thought that the women forever immortalized in oil and canvas were all the same with only subtle differences between them. Only their silver eyes and hair along with the crystal pendent around their neck and the glided band around their head connected them. Each sharing the same grace and elegance of a mother snow leopard out on the hunt.
The first panting titled 'Selene the Great' showed woman that is possibly in her late twenties to mid thirties dressed in the uniform of a Lancer Commander, a dark green and white cloak with red stripes. Her eyes seemed harden from years of war yet soft from centuries of peace. Her left hand gripped a katana like sword while her right held a tall scepter. But what seemed to stand out was that the left side of her face was scared, a long scar crossing over her left eye, and that her left hand seemed to be clad in metal but not her right.
The second painting titled 'Artemis the Colonizer' showed a woman about the same age as the first but she is dressed in an elegant white gown. Her eyes along with soft smile that adorned her face conveyed a feeling of peace. Unlike Selene she carried only the scepter in her hands, laid across her lap while she was sitting, behind her one could see Terra rise into the sky.
The third panting titled 'Aria the Explorer' showed a woman that was in her early twenties, someone who may have died before her time. She is dressed similar to Selene in clothes one would except to see a working woman wear out on the frontier of Laurasia. She stood next to a table that is covered a chart of the galaxy, in left hand which rested on the table is a navigation compass and tucked under her right arm, a sextant also she carried the same sword as Selene on her hip. Her only notable characteristic is the long scar on her chin.
The fourth painting titled 'Helena the Wise' showed a woman that unlike the others was in late fifties, she is wearing in uniform of a naval officer with the rank and insignias of an Admiral of the Navy and First Lord of the Admiralty. Her eyes were sharp as a steel blade her serious expression conveyed a felling that she seen many thing early in life. She sat in a command chair for a warship with the sword and scepter laid across her lap, her hands gripping a sheet of parchment and a fountain pen.
She stared to look at the fifth painting when a soft voice called out to her. She turns around to see the smiling face of the woman in the fifth painting, Nodoka also know as Queen Serenity the Fifth and at her side Sailors Jupiter and Mercury.
"Your Majesty," Mike managed to gasp out.
"Well hello there, Midshipman Harrington is it?"
"How did you know?"
"Walk with me," the Queen asked, "and to answer your question, I do make a point of knowing all who pass though the Academy."
The two women walked out of the gallery down the hall and into sitting room. "Don't worry about your footlockers I'll have a servant take care of them. So what brings you to the castle?"
"Well my roommate's family apparently lives here and…and," Mike started to break down and cry. The monarch walked over to where Mike was sitting and began to wipe away the tears.
"It's ok Michelle, I heard about your parents. They were good people." In a few moments a servant brought in a tea service, "So when is the funeral?"
"During the Cruise Your Majesty, I'm sorry but I think I need track down my wayward friend. She can get lost from between the Quad and the dorms."
"That's alright Michelle, I'm sure she will show up sooner or later."
Just then the doors to the room banged opened and a loud voice shouted, "Mom are you here?"
"Oh hello Usagi dear," Mike is now confused the voice is obviously that of her roommate but the Queen called her Usagi.
Mike turns around in her seat to see the blond head of her roommate peaking into the room.
"Oh hi Mike," Usagi walks in to sit down next to her friend.
"Becca… Usagi…" Mike began to babble, the Princess just stared at her while the Queen started to laugh in an un-queenly manner. Unfortunately Mike just couldn't take the confusion anymore and fainted dead away onto couch.
"Well that went well," Sailor Mercury from her vantage point by the wall Jupiter nodded in agreement.
TftSAII: MMT
About an hour later Mike started to wake up from earlier. Her brown eyes opened to see the Queen and her roommate sitting from across from her drinking yaupon tea and talking about school.
"I really wish it was a dream," she muttered as she held her head. "So Becca why didn't you tell me?"
"About what Mike," Usagi said with a slight smile.
"Becca don't play dumb with me, you maybe are a klutz but not stupid."
Usagi sigh and look at her mother who just nods. "Mike just think about it, if everyone knew that I am the Crown Princess who would they act?"
Mike thought about the question for a while before answering, "You would most likely get special treatment because your mother is the queen and your father is the First Lord."
"Yes that is exactly right. I worked hard to get in the Academy and become Middy Captain. Everything during the past four years has been on my own merits not because of my parentage."
"The only special treatment she got," Nodoka interrupted, "was for her records to refer to her by her middle name. Only the Commandant, the First Lord and the Third Lord knew about it."
"But why Becca do you wear the braiding for a citizen from the colonies, should you at least wear the blue and white for the Star-Kingdom?"
"Because I am entitled to wear it because my father is from the colonies. Other than him I'm the only citizen of Brushy Colony."
"I see," Mike calmly said, "well that does explain why you were so vague when talking about your family."
"Well yeah," Usagi said sheepishly and with a nervous grin.
"Well girls," interrupted Nodoka, "If you are done now, are you going to decide what you are going to do for leave?"
"I have no plans for the first week ma'am, all I have to do is get ready for the funeral," answered Mike.
"Same here mom except I would like to see Alex on the second week."
"That sounds fine girls, I'm sure we can find something to do particularly that your father is planning some vacation time too Usagi."
Usagi smiles widely at that information, if her father will be joining them that means staying at his cottage on the Lacus Somniorum. Mike saw that smile and recognized it, when Usagi smiles like that something very interesting will be happing.
TftSAII: MMT
Translation Notes:
Oceanus Procellarum: Ocean of Storms
Montes Apenninus: Apennine Mountains
Mare Imbrium: Sea of Showers or Sea of Rains
Mare Serenitatis: Sea of Serenity
Mare Frigoris: Sea of Cold
Montes Caucasus: Caucasus Mountains
Lacus Somniorum: Lake of Dreams
Laurasia: the ancient supercontinent that was made up of North America and Eurasia, in this story the names refers to just North America or at time the Arch-Duchy of Laurasia
Paladin's Notes Well this end the first chapter of Miss Midshipman Tsukino, obvisly from the title this story follows Usagi. On some side notes one might noticed that I used trains as a mode of transportation instead of teleportation, I have a good reason why. I personally think that teleportation, which everyone seems to use, is cheating and the use of a spacecraft would be overkill. The uniforms used by the Alliance's military is base off the uniforms use by the State Military in Fullmetal Alchemist except for color, midnight-blue for the navy and hunter-green for the marines, rank insignias, color insignias, the braiding on the right shoulder, which depend from what kingdom they are from, and some other basic changes that will be given in my profile. Also about Michelle "Mike" Harrington, she is named after two of the greatest ladies in written sci-fi, Admiral of the Fleet Lady Dame Honor Stephanie Alexander-Harrington and Vice Admiral Lady Michelle Henke of David Weber's Honorverse series of books. Questions, Concerns just leave me review or a PM.