Q is for Queen
As she stared down at the brilliant blue marble, she couldn't help the tilt of her head, or the furrow of her brow; could Diana be right?
The Earth had always been her charge – part of the deal she made to inhabit this moon was that she would watch over the Earth and protect it from Chaotic influences. Centuries had flown by since she took up the mantle of benevolent overseer, and she had done nothing wrong. She had even left the planet's sailor crystal to its own devices, refusing to pull it into her service in favor of seeing what the senshi of Earth would do on her own, despite the odd choices it had made in repeatedly choosing a male host and thus never developing as a senshi. She had stayed out of the budding civilization's politics, made it law that her people should not interact with Terrans, less they risk antagonizing them, and yet here were the reports, straight from Diana's sources: Earth's Golden Kingdom was secretly amassing armies, possibly intending to take her Moon into its possession.
Her finger twitched towards the display, and the covert pictures opened and spread out, Diana's message repeating itself in her memory.
Your Majesty, is it really so far-fetched to believe that the Earth would want us under their control? Even our most basic sciences seem as magic to them, and our magic itself could be confused with god-like powers – taking the Moon would mean advancing themselves, leaping forward by several millennia in just one crucial battle. Serenity, it's the start of a new Golden Age; you know as well as I that the Earth Prince Endymion has possession of the Golden Crystal, and as all other holders, his goal will be to spread peace and prosperity, but only after reuniting his race through war. His predecessor united the people under one banner after several bloody years of conflict and ushered in the long peace – we know little else about the Golden Crystal beyond its ability to bring the humans of that planet together. They've got their planet – we're the next thing. The next big target.
And if we allow them to continue as they are, they'll overrun us.
Months passed, and still Diana's reports flooded in, pictures of training camps in remote areas, of the Earth Prince and his 'Kings' playing war games, of councils held in Elysion, their capital city. While at first she had not been convinced, with more evidence piled at her feet it was foolish to turn a blind eye on the activities. Her concern mounted as Diana tastefully reminded her what was at stake.
Her eyes slid from her Earth-gazing balcony to the gardens below, where Serenity and her guardians chatted and laughed, Luna and Artemis with them. If Earth were to attack…
Where were they? Her eyes scanned the Earth's surface, staring hard at the Fertile Crescent region and the hidden training facilities therein. Her cameras searched in live-time, but still she could not see them. But she knew they were there.
Plotting, no doubt.
Plotting her demise, planning the murder of her daughter, the massacre of her people, the destruction of her kingdom. They were there, all right. How could she have been so blind? So trusting? So gullible as to let them govern themselves? To let the Golden Crystal choose its own host that could rise in such a way to oppose her? Her, the Queen of the Moon? Empress of the Solar System?!
If she could but find the planned usurpers and do away with them, she could stand to spare the rest – or could she? … if she killed their leaders, even if it were in preemptive self-defense, it would give them reason to attack again in the future. She sighed, staring harder – she might have to restart the entire planet as to not deal with the repercussions.
Why did they have to be so selfish?!
If only she could just use the Silver Crystal and restart it now they could spare pain on both sides. Earth would just fall into a soft slumber and a new populace would be able to take up where they left off. She might even be able to warp their memories – erase all knowledge of her Moon Kingdom from their minds – but with the Golden Crystal still on Earth, actively protecting the citizens, her Illusionary Silver Crystal might not be able to completely rework them. She'd have to send it to the Cauldron first.
Which means Diana's plan might be the only way.
The Moon would have to go to war, to protect itself and its future.