Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all related characters are property of their original owners.
Author's Note: One of these days, I'll be able to finish this.
Darkest Before Dawn
Prologue
Earth. To many, it was home... to others, an unreachable goal. To a few, a battleground. To me, it was a little of column A and a little of column B. Unfortunately, for it to be completely column A, I had to dip pretty far into column C. I reclined in the seat best I could, armored feet propped up on a lift. My eyes moved around the inside of my helmet, taking in each display. The little wire-frame man on the bottom-right of my his telling me the condition of my armor; the red bar stretching across the top of my vision with it's comforting glow informed how much charge my repulsor pack had; and the little blue heart rate display bottom left told me I was still alive. Well, that was good, I suppose. A small red dot blinked near my armor indicator, little words displaying 'incoming call'. With a deft motion to the computer mounted on my left wrist, I answered.
"Excellent." A female voice chimed. "You're almost here..." I gave her a little nod, allowing her to finish. "You come highly recommended, merc. Don't make me regret asking for you." I crack a smile.
"Your Highness. Your fears are unfounded. Your people have trusted mine for centuries. I promise you, the only ones who will 'regret' by day's end are your foes." I motioned with a hand, though it was invisible to her. "Tell me who I seek."
"I know little of their real names... all I know is they are from the Crystal Kingdom." My eyebrow piques.
"The Crystal Kingdom, you say... interesting..."
"I thought you would be intrigued to hear that. I can give you the name and location of an informant I have, she shall be able to point you in the right direction." Another nod.
"Of course. Forward me the name of your informant."
"She goes by the name Osaka Naru-san. You can find her at the location I am providing you." A message appeared across my vision, stating that new information has been uploaded to my suit. With another touch to the computer, I brought the information up. There she was... the cute brown-haired girl Osaka Naru-san and her whole life history. School records, SAT scores... everything. She seemed like a model student; perfect attendance, perfect everything. Her address lit up, highlighted by a blue box which blinked, indicating the information had been saved to my suit.
"Thank you." I spoke once more. "Once I am able to download the city's topographical and demographic maps, I shall seek out Osaka-san and get the information I require." The woman nodded, her aging face and fading raven hair seemed to get just a bit younger.
"Be successful, mercenary, and find yourself rewarded. Fail and you shall..." She smiled and shook her head. "...do not fail."
"I shant. Go well, Queen Beryl." The message cut out as she vanished. I looked up and pressed a few buttons on my computer. The word 'synchronizing...' appeared across my vision as my voice processors activated. "How long until we land?" I questioned my pilot, my tone coming out basser and more mechanical. The door before me opened, a young woman turning to face me. Through the cockpit window, I could see the glistening gem known as Earth in all it's glory. We were very close.
"About twenty minutes until we land. Engines are on silent, magnetic-variances activated and inertial dampners are online. They won't see us coming until we're right on top of them." The woman smiled, looking for praise. She was my eyes and ears for this operation, and a good friend, one I've relied upon quite often.
"Good girl, Licca." I nodded to her firmly. "Once we're landed, I want a complete status update."
"Of course, ma'am." She seemed to coo a bit as I told her this, her legs quivering as she turned back to fly the ship. "What's first on the agenda, if I may ask?"
"First things first, Licca, we can't operate blind. I need a data junction I can update my suit's map of the city and surrounding area. After that, I need to get in contact with this Osaka Naru-san, see what she knows. Then? That's when things get fun. While I get the map data, Licca, I need you to hide the ship, preferably somewhere they can't accidentally find."
"Sure thing, boss. I'll pressurized the ship and submerge her. They won't think to look in the bottom of the bay." I nodded to her and smiled invisibly behind my visor.
"Good girl. Make sure you run a preliminary diagnostic on the teleporter beforehand. I don't want to be atomized the second I try to port back."
"Of course." She answered. "I'm transmitting all data the Koran Database has on Earth to your suit's computer. Atmospheric pressure, air makeup, climate and timescale should all be there. Your clock will be useless, though, until you can synchronize it with another on-sight." She paused as she ran through this. "Looks like it will be night once we arrive... That's good, the darkness will cover our approach."
"Can always count on you, Licca." A beat. "Will you be alright submerged there for so long?" Licca laughed at my concern.
"You're going to come visit me, right?" She smiled. "Your visits will keep me going." It was no secret Licca had a crush on me, I've known for about a year now... but somehow, I get the feeling it's the kind of crush that would be destroyed by any kind of action... I like her, don't misunderstand... but she's too good a friend to risk. Besides, she likes playing.
"Of course I'll be visiting." I grin back. "Just wondering what you'll do in the meantime."
"Easy." She responds uncomfortably quick. "I just imagine you sitting there naked." I laughed at this.
Twenty minutes came and gone, and before I could react, Licca had started her approach. Engines were on silent, and all the lights had been disabled. I could almost picture the scene. "I'm going to drop you off on that rooftop there. I'll stay in low orbit until I can give you a solid ID on a place to update your map. Until I can get you one, I suggest refreshing yourself on the Asvergo-class Power Armor and it's features." To this, I rolled my eyes. Sure, I wasn't used to the new model, but it's not like the system was all that new.
"Yeah, yeah, mother." I drones, standing. My legs whined as the hydraulic systems activated. I moved to the back hatch as it opened, the darkened cityscape rushing past me. Slowing, the ship hovered over a particular rooftop.
"Here's your stop, boss. Happy trails." Without a second thought, I threw myself out the back, landing deftly upon the roof, my boots absorbing the sound. "Nice landing! I'mma circle around and scan for an access port."
"Right. I'll just wait." I didn't like it at all. I was on an alien world without a working map, clock or anything. The one contact I had I couldn't reach because I didn't know my way around. To anyone else, this would have been suicide. I found myself walking to he building's edge, staring down to street level. "Would be foolish to be seen so quickly. I should assess my options while I'm still unknown. Infamy is it's own curse." I walked back towards the middle of the building as more suit systems booted up. Compass, targeting module, long-range voice coms and threat assessment software, just to name a few.
"Boss? Got an exposed node for you not too far from your current position. Looks like it's slaved into those strange lights at street level. The green, yellow and red ones." Finally, an opening. I was starting to think that she'd forgotten about me.
"Give me a waypoint. You've done good, Licca."
"Thanks boss. Your words make my girly parts twinge." I can't help but roll my eyes at her through the radio. She was cute, no questions about that... but sometimes she was incorrigible. I kept to the rooftops as I made my way across the cityscape. With short, controlled bursts from the repulsor pack on my back, I leapt the gaps with ease, landing and continuing my storm towards the waypoint. I could only hope this mission would keep it's relative ease I've found thus far, though realistically, I knew once the populace as a whole were aware of my presence, things would get very difficult.
One final leap and I was within access range of the exposed node. "Access Node detected. Beginning download." My suit chimed in, a little progress bar appearing across the center of my screen, filling with haste as the numbers racked up to one hundred. As the bar finished, my his faded to show the city map overlaid on my vision.
"Excellent..." I droned with a satisfied nod. "Licca, map data retrieved. Uploading it to the ship now." Another few pushes of my wrist computer's buttons and I sent the map on it's way to Licca. "Locating our friend Osaka-san." As names appeared on the streets, a red blip hung over one. "Found her. Bit of a walk. Going radio silent until I've an update."
"Sure thing boss. Be safe." The message dropped with those words, allowing me time to think. Leaping across the intersection below, I made my way swiftly towards my destination. It was a few minutes down the road, probably a solid twenty were I not effortlessly bounding rooftops and the like. She lived in an apartment complex in one of the crappier sides of town. Her apartment was an outside unit, a nice view of a brick wall through a fire escape. I descended the stairs swiftly towards her window. Hope she didn't think this wierd...
I threw the window open with a quick yank upwards, the frame clattering loudly as my bulky frame stepped in. A brown-haired figure rounded the corner, helped and dropped the tray in her hand.
"You really should keep your window locked... Osaka-san." I growled.
"How... do you know my name? Who are you?!" I crossed my arms and took a seat.
"My name is not important. I want the information Queen Beryl sent you to collect." She blinked at me confused.
"Who...? Look, I don't know who you think I am..."
"You know damn well what I mean. Sailor Moon. Who is she?" She sighed and took a seat on her bed across from me.
"My Queen didn't tell me she would send a scary brute like you to collect."
"Details. The information, if you please."
"Look, I don't know as much as I let on. I only know the identity of Sailor Moon herself... Her friends are a mystery."
"I'm a smart one. I can figure the rest out from there." The girl sighed and shook her head.
"Her name is Tsukino Usagi-san." I nodded to her. "Look, I've got a... friend. She knows more them I do."
"Where can I meet her?"
"She likes her privacy." Osaka-san responded instantly. "I can set up a meeting with you, if you'd like..."
"I hate the run around." I growled to her.
"I know... look, I know it's silly, but she's in fear for her life. I'll tell her to meet you in central park. I'll tell her to wear all white, and a blue barette in her hair."
"Tell her to wait somewhere secluded."
"I will." Osaka-san responded with a nod. "There's an ally near a bench on the south side. I'll tell her to wait at the bench."
"When?" I continued to question.
"Two days from today, at noon." I stood, the bed groaning from the release of weight.
"Two days hence. Don't disappoint me, Osaka-san." She looked at me and shook her head.
"I won't. Who should I say is looking for her." I smiled behind my visor.
"A friend." Turning on my heel, I threw the window open again and climbed out, jumping to the roof of the neighboring building.
"Well, that was less then stellar. Way I understood is the girl had their whole life story boxed up and good to go." Licca huffed over the radio. I couldn't help but shake my head.
"The girl's scared, it's completely understandable, if you ask me." I responded as I paced back and forth on the roof. "All we can do is wait for this friend of hers to show herself, and see what she can provide..."
"Yeah, and hope that she's at least worth the trouble." I couldn't help but agree with Licca.
"Licca, dear... How's your Japanese?" I heard her scoff over the radio.
"It's my third language. What do you need, boss?"
"I need someone to gather some information for me. Catch some sleep, and meet then contact me. I'll have the details by the time you wake."
"You should get some sleep too, boss..."
"You're just saying that because you want to sleep next to me."
"Guilty." I chuckled.
"Alright. Bring me back." Pressing a few buttons on my wrist computer, a hatch under my right arm opened, displaying a small, spider-like disc. With a flick of my wrist the disc launched to the ground, it's four spider-like legs burrowed into the roof, covering itself with the gravel around it.
"Return beacon transmitting. Go for teleport." Standing perfectly still, I watched small red squares appear in my vision, filling my visor before the tell-tale yanking sensation of being pulled across space. As the squares faded, I found myself back aboard the ship, Licca smiling at me. "Teleport green. Welcome back, boss." She wasted no time unclasping the helmet from my head. There came a hiss as the pressure seals opened, letting the air inside the ship in. Smelled recycled. Once the helmet came off, I exhaled.
"Do yourself a favor, Licca. Scrub the O2 filters once in a while. Air' s smelling generously used." Licca laughed as she sat my helmet down. I felt my hair, which was usually pulled into a bun at the back of my head, fall to my shoulders. My voice lost its mechanical overtone, replaced by the feminine one I was born with. Reaching an armored gauntlet up, I moved a few renegade strands of white hair from my sight.
"Hard to believe there's a cute girl under all this armor." I rolled my eyes.
"I prefer 'indomitable badass', if it's all the same to you."
"Maybe the 'indomitable badass' can get in and out of her own damn suit." Her words were playful, I could tell. Licca got some sick pleasure from stripping me down, even if it was only to my under armor
"You like it and you know it." I continued as she operated the sets of mechanical arms which pulled pieces of armor from my body. With each removed section, I began to feel lighter and lighter, tons removed from my shoulders, even if figuratively. Once my feet were free, I rolled my ankle to get the forming krink out of my muscles. Sometimes, wearing so much artificial muscle and dura-steel made me just lock up in so many places. "I'm going to call in a favor or two and get some reconnaissance done on our targets. I won't learn from them by fighting quite yet. I want to see second hand their modus operandi."
"How do you plan to do that without engaging them?" Finally free from my armor, I walked to the wall-panel nearest me and called the woman from before. "Queen Beryl... I would ask a favor of you?"
"Of course. How May I serve?"
"I need you to send someone to attack the city tomorrow. Nothing special, just something to draw the Sailor Senshi out of hiding." Her eyebrow piqued up, interested.
"What's your angle, mercenary?"
"I want to get a hold of how they fight. They don't have to do anything special, raise a little hell, throw a couple of punches, take a hit or two, and then retreat; but make it look convincing." Beryl thought for a moment, then nodded.
"No one has to get killed?"
"Of course not. If it's looking bad, I'll step in. I need about five minutes of solid combat to find out their attack style. It will greatly help my operation here."
"It shall be done, mercenary."
"Please, Your Highness. Sveta is fine." I flourished a bow. "Destroyer-Class, Third Grade Sveta Ballenfield, at your service." If we would be working together, I would prefer she not spend the time referring to me as 'mercenary'. She nodded slowly, hesitantly as I spoke.
"Sveta, then. When do you wish for your... distraction?"
"Midday. A centralized location with plenty of cover for both sides. I want to see how they use their environment." Beryl nodded and thought once more.
"You've given this much thought."
"I've been doing this for almost fifteen years, Your Highness. War is in my blood." She nodded.
"It shall be done. Midday tomorrow. I will send you the location."
"I would appreciate it." She killed the message and allowed me to turn back to Licca. "And now, my dear Licca, we wait." She nodded, kicking a large panel on the side of the ship, a queen-sized bed dropping down.
"Good. Get that sexy butt into some sleep clothes and come crash with me." I didn't want to argue with that logic train at all. Both of our systems were going to have to adjust to this twenty four hour clock, and I daresay neither of us were going to enjoy the switch at all. The interior lights dimmed as we both changed, fatigue hitting me about the time my shirt was being buttoned closed. I forgot how tiring wearing that armor can be... as I lay in bed, I watch the shimmering from outside dance across the ceiling of the ship. This planet did have a certain beauty to it.