Author's Note: I'm finally back. It's been a LOOONG time since I last posted any new stories, but I'm going to try to keep this one alive for ya. And just FYI, the Unian race in this fic is my own, not something from another anime. I don't know how much of a role it'll play yet, but probably not much of one. WARNING: Characters have been reincarnated and may be prone to being a little ooc.
~The year is 3524 CM, 5724 AD, and by some miracle the human race has survived. The Jurai Empire is a shadow of its former self, the result of several attempts to depose the royal family and the introduction of the Unians from a neighboring galaxy. Earth's silver age has fallen, the queens of Crystal Tokyo losing their power and prestige much like the Numenorean Kings from Tolkien. The last gasp of the Silver Millennium came when the Unians came in and succeeded in destroying the peaceful world that had lost its most powerful warriors to the land of myths. The Unians have been struggling to obtain the Juraian home world to acquire the power of its trees, but have been held back on the frontiers of the Jurai Empire by its current ruler, Empress Ayeka. Earth and the rest of the Solar System are under the control of the ruling duke, Duke Otel of the Unian royal family. We start in a city formerly known as Crystal Tokyo…
Deirdre glared at the speech crystal and shoved it back in its drawer. She closed the bureau with such force that the layers of dust on it were disturbed and rained down on her from above making her eyes itch. More cross than ever, she opened the next drawer and checked the crystals there. Finding a couple of promising candidates, she took the crystals and went to one of the desks set up in the basement of the Crystal Tokyo Observatory of Humanity. The resources were originally meant for Unians, but in the past few generations humans had begun to visit as well. Unlike the other two races they shared the galaxy with, they lived short lives, a hundred years was ancient for a human but childhood for Unians and Juraians. Along with these short life spans came an easy loss of memory. Now Deirdre was working on regaining some of her people's lost knowledge.
She set the crystals on the light table and tapped the side. The crystals inside came to life and began to glow. These tables were poor comparisons to what Crystal Tokyo had been capable of, but the Unians would never admit their incompetence. Deirdre shoved a couple books out of the way and studied the crystals in her neatly manicured hands. She'd taken to wearing her nails long and blood red recently. In the text before her, the color of these crystals indicated they had been used by the Queens of Pluto and Venus. The problem was these particular crystals had no markings to indicate which generation of those two lines had used them. Deirdre had come here in search of humanity's memories, and she would find them.
Picking up the crystal that was the same color as her nails, she looked at it carefully. It was transparent, clear as glass, with no obvious circuits to show how it had worked. Deirdre held the crystal in both hands and rested her elbows on the desk. "This is getting me nowhere…" she muttered.
Then she thought she heard music, like a music box. Deirdre looked up and noticed her hands were glowing red. She opened them slowly to see the crystal was shining. Looking around to make sure no one was nearby, she centered her attention on the crystal and waited. What felt like hours later, the crystal projected an image of a woman in a sailor fuku with an extremely short skirt and a staff.
The woman smiled. "Be well! I am Queen Pluto, fifth of that name and supposedly the last of my line. While my future sight is uncertain and not as clear as that of my predecessors, I have reason to believe the end of the Serenitys' rule will come in the next hundred years. If this is so, then I also believe this information will help secure the rebirth of humanity into a golden age.
"In the remains of the crystal palace there is a key. This key has been charged by my powers to bring in all the necessary help. This crystal will only activate once my heart has stopped and the garnet rod has returned to Pluto. I charge you with this quest: Find the Senshi, who will be reborn in body and soul, and find their champions. Without all of the pieces, the puzzle will never be complete." Then the picture faded and Deirdre was left with a crystal once more. It had changed, however, and was now round and opaque instead of clear.
Deirdre gulped and looked at the other crystal nervously. "Maybe not." She put the orange crystal in its box and put it back in the drawer. As she closed it, she noticed the spot where the red crystal had been was now neatly filled in with extra boxes. Had something slipped when she closed the drawer?
She then took the crystal and her books and left the basement. As she walked down the street of the shattered remains of Crystal Tokyo, her hand strayed to the red orb in her coat pocket. A crisp, fall breeze blew and pulled a few strands out of her dark green braid. Her feet knew the way home, so she let her mind wander down its many paths as she reflected on her 'mission.' Where would she start? How was she supposed to find these Senshi people? Well, she should probably start with a network search to find out what the originals looked like.
Deirdre took a sip of coffee and looked at the TV screen. Well, there was nothing to watch. Then she remembered her resolve to do a search and make some progress on her quest. Sitting in front of her computer, she pushed the button to connect her to the global network. Much to her regret, humans were not permitted access to the Unian Empire's universal network. A few keystrokes later, Deirdre found herself looking at a very in-depth description of the founding of Crystal Tokyo. "…and the Sailor Senshi became the Queens of their respective planets, each possessing a court of her own and a palace on her home world. Upon the weakening of the family powers, these lesser courts were abandoned and they were moved to the Imperial Palace in Crystal Tokyo with only a few retainers each…" It went on and on. Finally, Deirdre found what she was looking for.
There was a large 2D image near the bottom of the first page. The entire court was posed there with their children. Deirdre felt her stomach clench as she looked into the sad, red eyes that matched hers so well. "Wha— I'm one of the…" She looked at the list of names at the bottom and gulped. "I'm Queen Pluto, like the woman in the crystal."
After putting the image in a pocket-sized projector, Deirdre went to the phone and made a few calls. Tomorrow she would need all kinds of safety equipment, because the Crystal Palace could crumble at any time.