Chapter 9- An Uneasy Alliance and A Ghost Fleet

"Mercury, scan anything weird yet?" Apollo was currently on point, followed by Moon and Mercury. Venus was guarding the rear.

"Nothing yet." She was hastily typing commands into her computer, the readings from it being transmitted into Apollo's HUD. "Its like there's no human life left onboard."

Nodding, Apollo signaledBravo team. "Spider, this is Apollo, how are things on your end?"

Down in the engine compartment,Raven almost missed it. "Not a thing. Maybe they had the ship rigged to be remote controlled?"

Mercury shook her head. "If it was remote controlled, it would be sailing everywhere when we took out the tower. Someone or something is onboard."

Following the leader, Mars felt ill at ease with Bravo team. Though they were allies, they seemed like they would leave her to die at a moments notice. Her relationship was not strengthened when Recall started making comments.

"So, what's with the dress? Looks like you belong swinging pom-poms, not fighting in a war!"

Rabbit joined in with glee. "Why don't you run off girly, this is a mans job!"

Cracking up, the pair froze when Raven glared at them. "That's enough you two. Either keep focused or I will shot you."

Earth looked at all this with a mix of confusion and fear. She went closer to Rage. "What's wrong? We survived in the city! Why do you think we can't handle ourselves?"

Rage looked her full in the eye, making her blood run cold. "Listen girl, we've been to places that you can't even imagine. I've killed five men with my own hands. And what do we show for it? More missions. You? You have no right to be here. You've only just seen war. We end it."

Mars couldn't take another word. Lashing out, she grabbed Rage by the neck, but he put a Bowie knife at her neck, resulting in a Mexican standoff. The other members of Bravo froze, MP5's trained at both Mars and Earth.

"Listen to me, girls." They both turned to look at Raven. "We don't need help from two girls who haven't even had their first period! Why the brass ordered you to come with us, I still don't know. But I follow orders. But now I give them. Stay behind us, or you will get hurt!"

Meanwhile, Jupiter and Charlie were getting along swimmingly. If exploring a ship potentially filled with monsters and terrorists brings people together.

"So let me get this straight," said Gaunt. "You were a warrior from a far away time, sent to protect the Moon Princess, and defeat this Nega-verse, and until recently you were a junior high student?"

Jupiter nodded.

"Man," said X-Ray "You could write a TV show with that plot."

"Cut the chatter you two. We have more important things to concentrate on." Spider peered through a doorway and, assured the bodies inside were dead, continued on down through the numerous crew compartments.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from one of the berths.

"Hey! We got a live one!" Rushing over to Kilo, the four others arrived to find a bloodied but alive seaman.

"Is he alright?" Jupiter had never seen injuries like that before. His legs looked broken, the knees blown away. His right hand also looked like it was shot. His face was a maze of cuts, blood and tears.

"Easy now, big guy. We're US. We're here to help." Grabbing his kit, Kilo started patching up the mans most serious wounds.

Spider tried to keep him conscious while this was happening. "Hey, buddy! Keep with me now! What happened onboard?"

Looking around dazed, his eyes rested on Jupiter. "En…en…engine room…" Then he passed out. Kilo took a pulse, then shut the mans eyes.

X-Ray was immediately at work. "Bravo team, this is Charlie. We found a survivor who mentioned something about the engine room. Repeat, there is something in the engine room. Please respond, over."

The other end crackled to life. "Roger Charlie," said Recall. "We are currently scanning the engine room now. Over and out." With that, Recall returned to his focus on the two girls in front of him.

Spider turned to look at Jupiter, confused. "Why did he tell you?"

Jupiter didn't know.

The scouts and Apollo were currently at the bow of the ship, after going over the entire surface. "Mercury," he said. "Can you use the ships radar to scan the area for any other surprises?"

Mercury got to work. Venus, however, was interested in something else. "What are these?"

Apollo walked over, Moon uncomfortably close. "Princess, could you give me some breathing room?" She hopped off giggling nervously. Striding, Apollo looked at what Venus had seen. "It looks metallic. Possibly a piece of equipment or a tool."

The object in front of him was strange. It looked like it had circuitry, it had some sort of display, and seemed to have blood on it. But where was the body it had come off of?

"Apollo, I've done a scan, and I can't find any other ships that we don't already know about."

Nodding, Apollo picked up the piece and, shifting his MP5 ammo over, he placed the device in his bag for later.

"Why did you have to leave that other gun on the ship? It was actually big and powerful!"

Chuckling at Moon he secured his pouch. "Princess, that gun could barely fit in the chopper. What good would it do in a confined space like this?"

Venus still felt uneasy. "Something's going to happen."


Eastwing was almost jubilant. "Director, I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. In fact, I'm glad that you've been fired! Your 'intelligence' has gotten to many men killed, and I hope to see you fry for it."

The director started chuckling. "General, in a day we will all fry."

"What are you talking about?"

"No general, I won't tell you know, but I will tell your boss." Eastwing knew something was up, and as much as he hated it, he had to tell the president.

"Fine," he said, grunting out each word. "I'll inform the president that you have information. Now get him out of my sight!"

Without another word, the MP's carried the now manic Mondale to a holding area.


Earth heard it. A low rumbling noise. Slowly, she turned to Mars to see if she heard it. "Sailor Mars, did you hear something just now?"

Mars turned around and heard nothing. "Don't worry, Earth. It was probably just some machinery. See?" Just then, a metal bulkhead started melting. The pair made a noise that sounded like a repressed scream, then slowly backed into Rage.

"Hey, watch it-" then he saw the bulkhead. "Uh, sir?"

Raven knew something was wrong. He had never heard any of his men scared. Spinning around, he saw a man-shaped thing step through the new opening, followed by other similar creatures emerging from all around the engine compartment.

"Sir," said Recall "I think we're in trouble."


The three remaining generals looked at the spot where the fourth of their number had once been. Silently, they withdrew to plan their next move. Nephrite, however, went to the camps first.

"Molly, where are you?" Searching through the camps of captives, he could not find her. Before his men had been transformed, he even gave them strict orders to confine her in a private area, but it was still empty. "Please Molly, be safe."


"Alright, Bill. I'm here. What do you have to tell me?"

The president, general Eastwing, Mondale and three MP's were in an interrogation room. Mondale looked terrible. His immaculate suit was ruffled, his hair mussed. The man before them was a shadow of his former self.

"Mr. President, within 20 hours, all of Tokyo will be wiped off the map."

The general stood up. "How!"

"Simple, Eastwing," said Mondale, almost laughing. "When the USSR fell, a few of their bombs got into the wrong hands. Of course, we uncovered some of them, but the rest probably fell into the Liberators hands."

"Where are they? Spread across the city?"

"No, Mr. President, they're in the mountain!" He started laughing like mad now.

"Guard, snap him out of it." The MP nodded at the general, but Mondale became dead serious.

"Listen very good you overweight tin soldier. The Liberators have been digging a base out of Mt. Fuji for the past decade or so. They placed the bombs about half a mile under the Earth's crust. Unless you defeat them, those bombs won't just destroy Japan, they'll start a chain reaction, flooding the entire Pacific Rim. North Korea will launch their bombs, then China, and everyone else." He became manic again. "Mutually Assured Destructions a bitch isn't it?"

The president looked at him like daggers would pierce Mondale's heart. "How do we defuse these bombs?"

Mondale laughed even harder. "You can't! No Army Ranger, no SEAL, no Force Recon can get into that mountain! And even if they did, they couldn't defuse the bombs!" Mondale then completely lost it, dancing and singing "It's the End of the World as we know it!"

"Sergeant, get him out of here." Glad, the head MP took Mondale and led him to a holding cell, to be transferred later to a Mental hospital. He would never recover.

"He's right, sir. None of our teams could get into that mountain alone, and none of them have any experience with nukes."

The president stared ahead, deep in thought, until "Get me Apollo."


"Specter, have you found anything yet?" Tuxedo Mask was on the bridge with Alpha team, looking everywhere for a trace of how to reactivate the ship.

"No," said Specter. "The controls have been locked out. Unless we find the code, this ship is unusable."

Jester sounded off. "Sir, I've activated the helm!"

Specter and Mask rushed over. "Good job, Jester! I knew I keep you around for some reason. What was the code?"

"Zulu Roger Tango Victor Foxtrot 385628."

Instantly, Ghoul and Iceman started working on their consoles, and soon the whole cruiser was under the control of the US Navy. Below decks, however, was a different story.

"Fire Soul Bird!" The demons in front of Ray were vaporized instantly. The SEALs were handling bakers dozen of demons, and Earth was dealing with another pair.

"Wind Blast Wave!" The demons were split apart by the force of Earth's attack. She looked around to see Rabbit about to be killed by a metallic monster.

"Die, dammit!" Rabbit had never known fear like this. His bullets had no effect, and he saw the thing charge up what was a whirring saw blade, when a blast of wind threw it against a bulkhead, making it disintegrate.

Knowing what would happen if they didn't get help, Mars called to Recall. "Call for help!"

Charlie and Jupiter were just finishing the search of the crew berths when the call came over the channel. "This is Bravo! We are under assault from these… creatures! We need support now! Apollo, get your ass down here!" A sudden burst of gunfire ended the transmission.

Looking at them all, Spider screamed out "Well, what are you waiting for, an invitation?" Sprinting, they rushed down the nearest ladder.

"Dammit, Bravo, come in!" Apollo was desperately tried to reestablish contact Bravo team as they raced to the back of the ship. "Alpha, can you contact Bravo?"

The other end responded, "Negative, Apollo, but we have control of the ship. Mask, Ghoul and Iceman are on the way. Apollo, we can't lose this ship!"

The girls raced behind him. "Apollo, what happens when we get below deck?"

He answered Mercury in four words. "We kill the monsters."


The president had gone to the UN with the information he had gotten from Mondale, as well as the satellite photos and reports from his forces on the ground. Currently, the Security Council was in debate over what to do about the bombs.

"We must consider the possibility that the terrorists detonate the bombs before we can disarm them. The tidal wave would be catastrophic! We must prepare for that instead of attacking a potentially apocalyptic enemy."

Young was getting hot under the collar. Surely these damn bureaucrats knew how important this was! "Gentlemen, with all due respect, I think we are missing the bigger picture. Japan has been taken by a hostile force, and it is our job to rectify it."

A bitter silence enveloped the room before the Russian representative, to everyone's surprise, spoke first. "We must aid the Japanese government in any way possible. We already have a presence in the area. We will contribute any forces needed to defeat this threat."

"The United Kingdom will contact its ships and fleet in the area and tell them of the situation. With any luck, they will be there within a few hours."

"Indonesian ships and marines are already en route to Tokyo. We pledge our support until the problem is solved."

The Korean ambassador, present due to South Korea's proximity, spoke next. "The Republic of Korea has already sent supplementary forces to assist. Within the hour, we will have at least a regiment sized force present."

Satisfied, they all turned to the Chinese ambassador. He looked around for a minute, then finally spoke. "Until the enemy is defeated, China will send ground forces to force the terrorists out."

"Then it's agreed. We have less than fourteen hours left until they detonate the bombs, and three until they kill the hostages. We have to work fast." Then the president realized something. "Where is the Japanese ambassador?"

As if on cue, general Eastwing and a pair of NYPD officers dressed in SWAT gear walked in, the Japanese ambassador in handcuffs. "Sir, we found the ambassador trying to plant something at Grand Central. Messy drop to. The bomb was just a hunk of C4." The general kept going. "We dug a little deeper into his history. It seems the good ambassador here was active in quite a few right-wing groups back home."

The entire Council stared at the man, until the Chinese ambassador broke the silence. "Mr. President, I respectfully request he be held in a UN building until he can be tried properly."

Young nodded. "Excellent idea, ambassador. General, put the good man into a secure area until we can transport him back home."

Nodding, the general motioned for the officers to take him to the appropriate area. The president then turned back to the assembled diplomats. "Time is of the essence, gentlemen. We have less then three hours gentlemen. We must move, or all is lost."


"There! There's a helicopter over there!" Instantly, Patrick's eyes shot up to the sky to see three Black Hawk helicopters landing on the roof of the mall, and two SuperCobras strafing the horrors until nothing remained.

"They've done it!" James' announcement was followed by cheers from all around. Patrick and William, however, had more important matters to attend to.

"Are you the US marine detachment?" Patrick was behind an air vent with William and a dozen others, rifles ready just in case.

"Affirmative!" was the response. "We are with the USMC! Come out slowly, with your weapons on the ground!"

Before Patrick could act, one of his men bolted from cover and tried to fire on the marines. He was killed before he could reach the trigger.

The marine shouted through a bullhorn again. "Drop your weapons and approach the helicopter or we will open fire!"

William, thankfully for Patrick, saw through the bluff. "No, you won't! What happens if those things show up and you're already shooting at us?"

A silence descended, and Patrick took a chance. "If we help you, can you get us amnesty from England?"


An aide came into the Security Council room, whispered something into the ear of the British ambassador, and stood off to the side. "It seems we have a problem, mister president. Some of your marines have run into a group of IRA who want amnesty." Each word seemed to drip with disdain.

"Mr. Ambassador, let me assure you, we stand firm on our policy not to negotiate with-"

A second aide came to the British ambassador, with even more interesting news. "It seems that they are willing to help free the civilians and show us where the bombs are."

The president stood silent for a minute. "Can we get the British PM on the phone please?"

Within seconds, Prime Minister Terrance Mowldling was on the phone with the president. "Absolutely not!"

"Prime Minister, please, think about it. They are willing to not only help free the civilians, but to locate the bombs, and go over to a life of peace in the south."

The president could feel the heat coming from the other end of the line. "That's just it. A life of peace to them is simply waiting for a good excuse to get back in the action!"

"Well, prime minister, if the peace process is really working, there should be no excuse, now, should there?"


"Where are these things coming from?" All around, Iceman saw the creatures appear from behind bulkheads, the machinery itself.

"Sailor Moon!" shouted Venus "Use your wand!"

Raising the wand, Sailor Moon shouted out "Moon Healing Power!"

Shockwaves ripped through the ship, felt by everyone. The monsters collapsed and screeched and howled, but soon, they all reverted back to their human forms.

The SEALs stood rooted to the ground in disbelief. "How…how…"

"Simple, Rage," said Moon, twirling her wand like a spaghetti western. "That's for us to know and you to find out!"

"McCain, this is Specter. Missile cruiser is secure, we are awaiting crew, over?"

"Roger, Specter. Wait until everyone hears this. We've already started capturing the other ships as well. McCain out."

Just then, the scouts and other SEALs came waltzing onto the bridge, the Scouts and SEALs in good spirits. "So," said Jester "What exactly happened down there?"

Grinning, Rage replied, "That's for us to know and you to find out." He winked at the Sailor Scouts, his way of thanking them.

"Well, we've secured the ship, but now we have a bigger problem." Jester led them to a bank of monitors. "We have all these hostiles as POW's, but we can't hold them for long. Does anyone here know how to dock a missile cruiser?"

The two monsters that were formerly Chechen rebels patrolled the docks. They sniffed out all the hiding places. They found three dockworkers, but they didn't stay long. Just then, a foghorn sounded in the distance. Turning, the pair saw a lump of metal coming straight for them!

"Mercury! Slow down, dammit, or we'll all be killed!" Gaunt had been on some pretty crazy missions in his time in the navy. Once, he had to stay in one spot for six weeks to confirm a weapons shipment. Another, he had to infiltrate a fertilizer factory with ties to some bombings. But never before had he been on a ship, captained by teenagers, heading full speed towards a dock.

"I'm trying!" she shouted "But I can't do this by myself! Everyone, take a station and help me!" Within seconds, the Scouts and SEALs had taken every position needed, while Bravo and Apollo worked the engines.

The two monsters stared in confusion. They were meant to kill, and they had done so. They were there to destroy, and they had done so. But their creators had missed a crucial detail; What to do when a ship nears the docks.

"Recall, check those pumps over there! If we lose the pressure to the rudders, this is going to be the shortest voyage in history!"

Rushing left and right, Bravo team and Apollo were trying desperately to keep up with the demands of the huge ship. Thankfully, due to the automation of the world's navies, Japan especially, the task was slightly lightened. Of course, massive terrorist attack was never in the manual.

"Apollo!" yelled Recall "These markers have been scratched off! I can't use these things without knowing what they're used for!"

Running over, Apollo agreed with Recall. "We are in trouble."

"Sailor Mercury, please, do the best you can to make sure we live! You can do this girl, just concentrate!"

Overcome with the support coming from Apollo, Mercury went into a flurry of typing, until, finally "I've done it!"

The two monsters watched in confusion as the ship slowed to a stop at the dock, finally touching the very edge of the harbor wall. Then, twenty figures jumped off, each incredibly angry. The pair didn't have a prayer.


"So, what's the plan?" Gunnery Sergeant Mial asked the IRA leader.

Patrick was also less than enthusiastic. "Each camp is divided into three zones; prisoner, guard, interrogation. Those nine on the telly earlier? This is the camp they're being held in."

Turning back to the former park, the gunny was less than shocked at what he saw. It would be just another day with the terrorists if there were any left. "Alright, I really don't like working with a terrorist, but I've been ordered to, so here's the plan. You handle the guards, we handle the civilians, got it?"

"Oh, with pleasure," said William, taking aim at what had once been a member of Hamas.

"Lt. Col., we have secured the port! How long 'til those beautiful transports arrive?"

"Roger Apollo, the transports will be there in under an hour! And we have good news, if you can call it good,"

They all noticed the change in the attitude. "The IRA has defected from the Liberators. They've agreed to save your families in exchange for amnesty."

In seconds, the girls started cheering. Venus was singing the Italian national anthem until Mercury corrected her.

"Well, they're both islands, right?" Mercury simply hung her head.

"Hold it! Hold it, hold the happiness, we are in trouble." The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask turned to face Apollo and the SEALs. "Yep, you all forgot one little detail. THEY ARE THE ENEMY!"


"Lord Kunzite!" The general turned to see Zoisite running to him, fear all over the younger generals face.

"Zoisite, what's wrong?"

"Our camp, with the important prisoners! It's under attack!"


The battle was a confused mess. Everywhere civilians ran for any exit they could, while the IRA handled the "guards". The main focus, however, was to find the nine civilians being held.

"Gunny! We've searched everywhere, the most likely place is in that building over there!" Looking over where the corporal was pointing, the gunny saw the building nearby, which still had monsters around it.

"Alright," he growled "Contact the IRA, tell them to cover us while we rescue the civilians inside."

"That might be a problem, gunny."

"And why is that private?"

Pointing, the gunny saw a group of men with a variety of weapons running into the building, taking out five creatures along the way. "Well, shit."

"William, you take those three, find the civilians! We'll guard this hallway here!"

Turning back, Patrick provided some covering fire to mask William's escape.

"Alright, Patrick, come on!" Racing down the hallway, the four men searched room to room, finding ever more brutal evidence of what happened when the transformations occurred.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," said James, before he vomited all over the floor. This was from finding a room full of limbs, heads and other body parts, but no torso.

Suddenly, they all heard a faint crying sound. Searching around, they came on a room, multiple voices crying in fear and pain.

"This is it," said William. "One, two, three!" They busted the door down and rushed in, rifles ready in case there were monsters. There were just nine scared civilians.

"What more do you want from us?" said a short old man. "Putting us up as a bargaining chip not enough for you? You monsters deserve to die!"

"Shut up old man. We're here to help." William turned to face the others. "The US Marine Corps is outside right now evacuating the camp. We were sent to get you out." He did a quick headcount to make sure there were nine. "Just follow me, and we will get through this."

On the way out, they found something that gave William an idea.


The officer on the McCain was true to his word. Within a half hour, transports were offloading tanks, humvess, troops and everything else that would be needed for the final battle ahead.

For the time being, however, Grange, the SEAL teams and the Scouts focused on their next move. As it was, the camps were secure, the civilians partially secured in safe zones, and all forces quickly closing the noose around Mt. Fuji.

"Alright," said Grange, looking over a holo-map. "These forces in the Ginza report that the area is secure, just a mop up op. now. It's the same story everywhere. Obviously, the commanders can't control monsters as effectively as terrorists."

Nodding, Specter gave his input. "We can secure this area here, but-"

Suddenly, the comm. channel sprung to life. "Attention all units, we have an incoming transmission from…is this right?"

After a few seconds, they heard the same thing on every channel. "This is the RIRA in Japan. We have with us the nine civilians shown earlier on the TV. This is not a warning. This is a message to the so-called liberators of the Universe!"

Everywhere, in the UN building and Pentagon, from Beijing to London, and in the improvised command center for the joint US-JSDF command center, the announcement affected everyone who saw it.

"So, this is what it feels like to be a 'good guy'." James watched in rapt attention as William spoke out against the Liberators, telling what had happened when the change had come upon the IRA men.

"This is a warning to the Liberator's high command! If you continue to fight, we will fight back with a steeled resolve! Surrender now, or face annihilation! You fooled us into fighting for you, but no more! We, along with our new allies, will destroy you!"

The Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, Apollo, Grange and the SEALs stood silent. The Security Council chamber was dead silent. It seemed time stretched on forever, until finally, the president broke the silence.

"Prepare an assault on Mt. Fuji, now!"