Sailor Moon Chronicles R
Over Titania and through Macbeth
The Lylat Tour Begins
The Moon Carriage made it through the dimensional gate and went through hyperspace straight to the Lylat System. Like they had agreed, the Sailor Soldiers would visit the lamest worlds first and enjoy the better ones last. Their last destination of their tour would be the planet Corneria, the Lylat System's equivalent of Earth. The first place they visited was Titania, a barren desert world that once supported life a long time ago. Amy read off cards that had facts about Titania while on the camera. The way she spoke was both soothing and knowledgeable. After that was done, they had little conversation about Titania off camera.
"Why did we have to visit a desert planet?" whined Serena. "We have deserts and ruins at home. At least Tatooine has some kind of nightlife, you know, if you avoid the crime infested places."
Their next stop was the ocean world of Aquas. Aside from the fact that it was almost completely covered in water, it actually had a fascinating history. Like Titania, it used to have a flourishing society, but a traumatic event led to the planets flooding. Beautiful and majestic architectural masterpieces were still standing at the bottom of the seas. The girls didn't bring a submersible vehicle with them, so they could not go see the underwater buildings and animals for themselves, but they still had pictures acquired through the Cornerian Internet. Since it was much more interesting because of the awesome pictures, all six girls contributed to the part of the documentary on Aquas.
Their next destination was Venom. As the name suggests, it is a horrid world of nothing but cliffs and a poisonous atmosphere. It also had terrible history. It was the base of operations to a megalomaniac named Andross. This anthropomorphic monkey tried to take over the entire Lylat System with an iron fist. To show their own distaste of the world, the girls decided to open the segment with a joke.
"What can we say about Venom?" said Serena. "You know what, nothing good!"
They then knocked out Fortuna and Fichina in dead runs. Both planets were dull. All of them were impatient because they wanted to get out of their ship and do stuff. Macbeth was a world devoted entirely to industry. Most of the planet was mostly factories and depots. The girls did leave the ship and take a look at a supply train. The cars on the supply trains on this planet were a ten times the size of train cars on Earth. Rei interviewed the conductor of one of the supply trains. Aside from that Macbeth was pretty dull.
After Macbeth they went to Katina, which was home to the Cornerian Defense Base. There were large amounts of troops and soldiers stationed on the planet to act as a barrier for Corneria. Thanks to the PR connections established by Galactic Corporation, the girls were able to get an interview with an ace pilot from the army. Once through the blanket of clouds, they saw that the planet's surface was predominately wastelands of brown stone and semi-arid climate. The shipyard was loaded with large battleships and single-pilot fighters. Only one small spot was available for civilian visits. The other spots were strictly reserved for army personnel. Then again this was quite understandable since the world was quite barren and had few sources of water. The Moon Carriage fit snuggling in the open slot.
"Is there anything we need to know about this planet before we disembark, Amy?" Zoey asked.
"There isn't much," said Amy. "This world's atmosphere is quite adaptable. The troops here are proud and strong. Do not do anything to offend them." Everyone's eyes went to Serena and Mina.
"Why are you guys looking at me?" said Serena, feeling annoyed.
The girls and their entourage of a cameraman and two assistants came walking down the paved road to the Corneria Defense Force Base. The Corneria Defense Force Base looked like a pyramid that lost is tip and was now flat at the top. It was golden colored with purple tinted windows.
"It does have a commanding presence," said Zoey. "Remember to be on your best…"
"Hello, everyone!" Serena cheered in front of the camera. "This is Serena Tsukino."
"I am Mina Aino!"
"And we are coming to you from the Corneria Defense Force Base on Katina. We are continuing our week-long trip where we visit the most populated and jumpin' planets in the Lylat System."
"Yesterday we brought you a little slice of Macbeth, and before that we showed you little snippets of the lesser inhabited planets. Today we will interview an ace pilot, and he'll tell us some stories on some of the recent events in the Lylat System.
"So come along with us as we explore more of the Lylat System on our tour. Amazing!" Serena and Mina turned around to see that ten troops had surrounded them. Most of them were anthropomorphic dogs. Each one wore a green helmet that bore the symbol of the Cornerian Army. The helmets had dark visors that went over their eyes and holes on the tops for their ears to poke through. They had the same height as full grown human man. With their eyes hidden, it was hard to tell what they were feeling.
"Hello!" said Serena as though she were speaking to an audience on TRL with a useless microphone in her hand. "You must be soldiers in the Cornerian Army. It is an absolute pleasure." She waited for their response with sparkling eyes.
One of them stepped forward and stared down at Serena. Judging by his ears and visible fur, he was probably an Alaskan Husky. He looked down at her in the same condescending way like policeman do when they give a ticket.
"This is a military base," he said sternly, "not a beach party on Zoness."
Serena's smile melted away.
"Our deepest apologies, sir," said Amy with a bow. "We are tourists. Now that you've warned us, it won't happen again."
"Not again," Rei hissed quietly to Serena and Mina.
"I would hope not," said the man. "I am Sergeant Alan Kenes. I have been instructed to give you a proper tour. When I tell you to turn off the cameras, turn off the cameras."
"Yes, sir," the girls said,
They followed Sergeant Kenes into the base. The troops eyed the group suspiciously. None of the girls said a word. Even though the troops were just like human troops, ready to shoot to kill if any threat were to pop up, their cutesy animal appearance made it hard for Serena and Mina to take them seriously. Once they were to the doors of the base, Sergeant Kenes told them to shot the camera off. Only the girls and one cameraman were allowed inside the building. The inside of the base was quite plain. The walls were all colored a dingy cream color. As far as previously visited military facilities go, the girls did not see anything out of the ordinary. Like the rest of them, there were no chairs for visitors. Troops walked by and didn't even look at them thanks to their sharp discipline. The girls were instructed to go to a room and wait for their appointment. That room was painted off-white with no windows and twenty small desks lined in rows of five.
"Stay here and don't move," said Sergeant Kenes. He left the room with a door slam.
"Well…" said Serena before being immediately cut off by Rei.
"Why would you two idiots act like MTV hosts at a freakin' military base?" snapped Rei. "You would never pull this in the Jedi Temple."
"We're sorry," said Mina, clearly feeling guilty. "We thought they would be fine with it. They just look so cuddly and adorable."
"I just want to rub one of their bellies," said Serena, thinking about it.
"Here's a heads up for you," said Rei sharply. "You shouldn't want to rub the belly of anything that is holding a gun."
"What if there are cameras in this room?" said Lita, frantically looking around the room. "What if they heard us?"
"Calm down, Lita," said Zoey.
"We don't have as much leeway here," said Rei. "Galactic Corporation wasn't and isn't a superpower here. If we screw up too badly, we could be screwed."
"No cameras," said Lita with relief.
A moment soon after Alan Kenes came back into the room. He told them that only one of them could go to the interview. Serena immediately volunteered herself before consulting the other girls. She and the cameraman followed the sergeant out of the room.
"Why did she get to go?" whined Mina. "I have more experience. Regis told me that I am one of the Kelly's substitute choices."
The three entered an elevator. As the elevator climbed the floors, the silence was strong. Serena tapped Sergeant Kenes on the shoulder. Without turning around, he said, "What is it, Miss Tsukino?"
"It is Mrs. Tsukino," said Serena raising her hand to show her ring. "Who do I have the pleasure of interviewing?"
"You will be meeting a young ace pilot of ours," he answered. "His name is Bill Grey. He should be acceptable for your audience."
What do you mean by that? thought Serena. Older people like our stuff too.
The doors opened to another hall. Once they were guided to the door they needed, it opened and only Serena and the cameraman entered, and Alan told them they could turn the camera on. The room looked like a simple lounge with chairs, tables, couches, and snack machines. Serena was curious to look into the machines, but her focus on them was broken by the sight of who she was going to interview, Bill Grey. He did look younger than Alan Kenes, much more adorable too. He still wore his helmet, but the visor was lightly blue-tinted so his eyes were visible. His fur was brown, and his ears were floppy poking through the spaces on his helmet. He was sitting in a chair with another chair in front of him for Serena. Bill got out of the chair and went over to shake Serena's hand.
"Hello, I'm Serena Tsukino," said Serena with a professional tone. "It is so awesome that you guys let us come here to get an interview. We have visited a lot of the Lylat System already, and we like it."
"It is nice to meet you," said Bill. "My name is Bill Grey. I am an ace pilot for the Corneria Defense Force. I gotta say that humans are a rare sight in the Lylat System. As far as the ones that I have seen, you look really good." The way he spoke was so friendly and amiable. His eyes showed that he was genuinely happy.
"Why thank you," said Serena, flattered. The two sat in the chairs and began the interview. After they went through some boring questions about the Cornerian Army and giving an explanation on the Sailor Soldiers, Serena started to ask questions about Bill's personal thoughts. "You seem so young to be such a pristine pilot. Then again the Sailor Soldiers are mostly twenty-one while you're twenty-seven. What is it like for you to be a soldier in an army that is in charge of making sure this whole solar system stays peaceful?"
Bill mulled over his answer in his mind. "It isn't easy. Since I started in the Corneria Defense Force, I have experienced two catastrophes. The first being the Lylat Wars and the second was the Apariod Invasion. I was only eighteen when the Lylat Wars came to Katina, and I had to fight right away. We lost a lot of good men." He was silent. "I'm happy doing what I do. I owe my thanks to someone in particular. He was the one who urged me to join the Cornerian Flight Academy." He broke off again, clearly because he was reactivating some memories.
"Do you want to tell us who?" asked Serena. "Your dad?"
"It was my best friend, Fox McCloud."
"Could we meet him?" As soon as Serena processed his silence, she knew she stepped into a sensitive area. "I'm so sorry for you loss."
"He isn't dead," said Bill. "I just don't know where he is. His brand of work just doesn't give him the chance to meet old friends too often."
"What does he do?"
Bill seemed very surprised by the question. "Are you saying that you don't know who Fox McCloud is?"
"Should I?" asked Serena.
"He is a hero in the Lylat System," explained Bill. "Thanks to him and his team, Star Fox, the Cornerian Army won the Lylat Wars. The downside is that Star Fox is a group of mercenaries. Star Fox was founded by his father, the late James McCloud. Fox and I were great friends and entered the Corneria Flight Academy together. When his dad died on a mission, Fox left and went to become the new leader of Star Fox. Star Fox is a small elite group. The current members may be young, but they are the best. I am surprised that you didn't know about him."
"We probably would have if we went to Corneria first," said Serena. "Where I come from, mercenaries are not accepted with open arms."
"They aren't here," said Bill, "but Star Fox is the exception because they only do jobs for the good of the people. From what you said, they're not too different from the Sailor Soldiers. The only difference is that Star Fox gets paid, and the Sailor Soldiers do the work for the good of society."
"That is true," said Serena. "Well, I have asked all my questions. Before we sign off here, would you like to say something to Fox? Our documentary will be broadcasted on Corneria and other planets, so he might be watching."
"Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino," Bill turned to the camera. "Fox, keep on fighting."
"That is deep," said Serena offhandedly. She then turned to the camera and went to her MTV host mode. "That is it for Katina. Our next destination is the Lylat System's vacation world, Zoness. Amazing!"