MoonGate: Part I
Ancient Moon
Chapter 9
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon created by Naoko Takeuchi and owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. Stargate is property of MGM
Spoilers: Sailor Moon to the end of the Dreams arc in the manga (that means, for those who only know Sailor Moon from the anime, to roughly the sixth episode of Sailor Moon Stars). Stargate mid-to-late 5th Season.
Author note: I'll be drawing the background for Sailor Moon from both manga and (original) Anime. That doesn't mean that I won't draw from other sources (live action series, musical, videogames, etc.)
A.N. 2: I would appreciate feedback on the story, on how could be improved, or in things that I have gotten wrong.
A.N. 3: With this I have revised all the material posted here and elsewhere. So, from here onwards, it's all new.
A far-away planet in the Milky Way
The Princess was pacing in her office, while Steward Guren waited placidly in her chair.
"Your Highness, it will serve no purpose if you cut a ditch through the carpet." She said, in a completely deadpan tone born of long familiarity with her monarch.
She stopped and looked at her old friend and mentor sheepishly. Her excuses were lost as the door to the office opened. She looked expectantly, only for her expression turn to a frown when it turned to be an usher, opening the door for March Warden Tasu and Intendant Aoki. They bowed to the Princess and waited for her to give them permission. She rolled her eyes, she really had to go for a simplification of the Protocol one of these days, and signaled them to take seat.
"I see that Ajisai haven't yet arrived, Your Highness." The March Warden commented as he sat down, referring to the Royal Secretary for Outworld affairs, who had just returned from Summit, the world that several worlds in the area had agreed as a neutral ground.
"No, he asked to be being flown here directly from the Ring site." The Princess said, "He asked also for the Guardians to be present."
"Did he give a reason?" Intendant Aoki asked, her thin face, as always, an inexpressive mask, and her unremarkable voice expressing even less emotion. Her seemingly harmless title was the usual designation of the head of the Intelligence apparatus of the Principality.
"No, but I gather that you have a theory." The Princess said, knowing that Aoki liked to show her smarts. To be fair, she was almost as smart as she thought herself to be.
"Indeed, your highness, but I will refrain to express them until I have confirmation, one way or another." She said, in the same emotionless tone, "Nonetheless, one of my people in the delegation managed to send his observations ahead of the Secretary. Apparently, the Chuuans are pulling out of Summit."
"What?" The March Warden said, almost jumping from his chair, "But they had been the prime pushers of Summit and the Alliance proposal since the beginning."
"I have no further information." Aoki said with a shrug, "But, Your Highness, esteemed colleagues, I would suppose that whatever has happened in Chuu is related to the premature return of Secretary Ajisai, as well as to the reason for his request for the presence of the Three Guardians."
These last words were directed specifically to the Princess, who was trying to steady her nerves by playing with the crystal that she had in a brooch on her red-orange blouse.
'Does she know about my other role?' The Princess thought before dismissing her worries. Whatever her other faults, Aoki had always been loyal to the Crown, if a bit difficult to deal with.
"Now that you have mentioned them, where are they?" asked the Warden, curious.
"They were training in the Eastern Plains, so they should be here roughly at the same time that Secretary Ajisai arrives." The Princess said, just as two ornithopters were heard approaching the palace. "Ah, here they are."
A few minutes later, three young women in military uniform and an old man in a business suit, Secretary Ajisai, were ushered in the office and bowed, while the Princess gave them permission to sit down. Nonetheless the three women remained standing in the back.
"Seiya, Taichi, Yaten, sit down. I think that this is going to be a long reunion." The Princess said to the Three Guardians of Kinmoku.
The courtyard of the Moon Palace
Carter had already handed back the pad to Daniel, even skimming it had given her several insights how Ancient technology worked, and that would in turn help to reverse-engineering Goa'uld tech, as most of it seemed to be cheap knock-offs of Ancient tech. A more in-depth reading could wait for later.
Now she was holding one of the energy rifles that Venus had given them. It was beautiful piece, with a stock made of a white plastic-like material with motifs engraved with what looked like Silver and the cannon, made of a metal she didn't recognize, was so burnished that it could be used as a mirror. She'll probably hold off on dismantling a few, if only because of how good they looked.
The colonel, of course, was already testing its effectiveness on a few rocks. Somewhat less powerful than a staff, but way more accurate, and what was more important, more compatible with standard training. She looked to the boxes, and picked one of the handguns that came with the rifles, with a similar "raygun gothic" aesthetic.
Well balanced, and it fit well in her hand... in fact it fit too well, as if she had been an expert shot at one point of the past. She would have dismissed that thought... if she hadn't just hit her targets with even more accuracy than Jack was getting with the rifle.
She looked around, and saw that only two Senshi were close by, Venus and Pluto. Venus seemed to be talking with Jack about The Simpsons of all things. Pluto in the other hand was walking toward her with a worried expression. She remembered how they looked at them when they arrived and started to talk between themselves, and decided on the spot that it was time to get some answers. But before she could say anything, she noticed that Major Mason, Doctor Takahashi and Doctor Frasier were exiting the Tel'tak.
"Colonel, it seems that Doctor Frasier has finished examining our people." she said, making her superior officer to look back, and stand.
"Come with me, Major." he said, before telling to Venus, "Not bad, not bad at all."
"Thanks, they were the standard weapons of the Palace Guard." she said brightly, before her expression fell, "Not that they did much at the end." she added, under her breath.
Colonel Simmons office. The Pentagon.
He was quite earlier than usual today in his office, due to the needs to put everything in Planetarium in motion. As he entered his office he received a report from a NID informer in Peterson that they were expecting the return of the Tok'ra ship in the next twelve hours. That meant that O'Neill's people had retrieved their personnel, made first contact with the Senshi, and were bogged down in negotiations. Whatever was happening, it would not matter in another two days.
After making the calls, he started to process the paperwork, discovering that Erickson had been true to her word and the report was already in his table, probably having arrived last night. He leafed through it, seeing that Erickson had been as thorough as usual. Hmmm... Apparently, she had found a way to circumvent the feedback problems of the cybernetic implants.
He read that part with interest. It was a bit ghastly, but it had the possibility to work, and best of all, it would only need... one moment, Erickson had requested all the material she needed for this in the last months. He wouldn't have noticed if yesterday one of the bean counters hadn't gone over every requisition of his wing of the NID in the last fucking half-year.
"Sneaky bitch." He said, under his breath, already weighing what other things she could have under her sleeve.
Once this operation is finished, he was going to have one of his underlings to contrast Erickson requisitions with what she had produced, and see if the advantages keeping her in the payroll outweighed the problems caused by her megalomania. After all, he already had assets in place to pull the plug on her... permanently.
Anyways, her proposal was worthwhile, and while he could have some reservations about the way they were going to be implemented, the mechanics were pretty straightforward. He then called the secret lab in Colorado.
"Codeword Abraxas... I'm the Colonel, kid, I need to talk with Doctor Erickson..." he waited while the young soldier went to get the scientist, and soon enough she answered the phone, "... Doctor? I have just read your proposal, and you can proceed with it..." For a moment, he thought about revealing that he knew that she already had the materials needed, but decided against it. If the prototype was successful, Erickson having more material at hand would accelerate the production, and if it wasn't, well, she would make and excellent scapegoat for the failure of the project "... The usual procedure for requisitions, doctor ... Operational considerations, doctor, I won't know either until the cat is in the bag ... I expect a more complete report on the procedure, progress done with the materials at hand and a timetable as soon as possible ... Goodbye doctor." After he hung the phone he said "Bitch."
Secret NID Lab: Location: classified
"Jackass." Erickson said as she heard Colonel Simmons hanging his phone. "Well, at least he is not McNabb." She added to herself, referring to Simmons predecessor as the Project babysitter, who had died in an unfortunate 'accident' involving one of the imperfect bondings. She then proceeded to call an internal extension in the base.
"Doctor Kanigher? Got the green light. Move the subject to the operating room number…" she checked what were available today "..fourteen on sublevel three."
She paused for a moment, which allowed Kanigher to try to convince her, again of his position
"No, we have already talked about it." She said, exasperatedly "While many of the cybernetic enhancements have already been proven, we don't know how they will interact with the sy… the biocomputer, so we will do it conservatively, testing the reaction to the body after each implantation, with the biocomputer left as the final step, before implanting the alien organism. Your way would cause the biocomputer to be exposed to the alien organisms too early, before we had time to work the kinks out of the system." She smiled as Kanigher stammered to acknowledge his defeat "Good. I'll be down in a moment."
A few minutes later, after donning surgical garb and a thorough sterilization, she entered the Operation Room. She smiled behind the mask, seeing that her aides had everything already in place.
"Good. Let's get started." She said, as she started the recording to document the procedure. "The subject is a prepubescent Asian human female, twelve years old according to her medical file, who suffered the amputation of both legs and one arm, as well as severe brain damage which rendered her in a vegetative state, in a car crash…"
TO BE CONTINUED...