Chapter Fifteen

"Your Majesty, we've just received word Jupiter," began the officer monitoring communications from the outer planets before he stopped, seemingly unable to form the necessary words. He swallowed once, thickly, and then pressed on. "The Jovian Fleet is lost. Our estimates put the casualties in excess of 87%."

Gasps echoed throughout the war room and no small number of the military personnel inside it looked on the verge of tears. Even Sailor Mars appeared utterly shaken, her normally fierce demeanour overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the loss. The Jovian Fleet was the largest of the planetary fleets, and its loss left the inner planets and the Moon completely exposed.

Only Serenity remained unmoved. Her flawless features retained their calm and she waited just long enough for the panic to pass before she leaned forward in her chair overlooking the war room and spoke.

"Mars, what is the status of the Martian Fleet?" Serenity asked.

Mars shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "They are standing by, Your Majesty. However a large number of Martian ships were involved in the initial battles around Neptune and Uranus. The strength of the Martian Fleet is perhaps only half of what it would normally be and even if it were at full strength, the Jovian Fleet had more ships."

"Perhaps the Jovian Fleet had more ships, but I was under the impression that on a one-to-one basis, the Martian Fleet is the strongest in the Empire." Serenity paused and then arched one delicate brow as she let a hint of a smile play across her lips. Much to her amusement, Mars flushed slightly. "Tell me, Mars, was I misinformed?"

"Of course not, Your Majesty," Mars stuttered. She hesitated, looking for the right words. "However… there is something to be said of numbers and the demons have far more ships than we do."

"I see. In that case, how long do you think the Martian Fleet would hold if it was deployed around Mars?" Serenity asked. For an instant, something not dissimilar to desperation flashed across Mars' face. For Serenity, that was all the answer she needed: Mars would fall regardless of the Martian Fleet's deployment.

"Perhaps a day, Your Majesty, two at the most." Mars' fists clenched and Serenity quietly calculated the odds of an evacuation of the planet being completed in that time. No, with the hyperspace tunnels connecting the Grand Gates on each of the planets and the Moon closed, it would be impossible to fully evacuate Mars before the demons devastated the planet.

Serenity straightened slightly in her chair and though her expression remained outwardly pleasant, her eyes were razor sharp. Gone was the benevolent empress that the public venerated. In her place, revealed in her twin cerulean orbs, was the ruthless leader of the Lunar Empire. "Mars," she said, every iota of her being focused on the other woman's. "Do you think that there is any point in deploying the Martian Fleet to protect Mars?"

The temperature in the war room surged as the Martian struggled for control. Her face was contorted in anguish and panic glittered in her eyes. Finally, she sagged, going limp as shudders wracked her frame. Serenity almost pitied the younger woman for what she would have to say. Both of them understood the full gravity of the situation, but Serenity needed Mars to face it, to accept it, and to make the decision to abandon her home planet on her own.

"As it stands," Mars ground out, not lifting her eyes from the floor. "Mars is a lost cause." Slowly, she raised her head and though her voice grew hoarse, she forced herself to continue, even as a solitary tear trickled down one cheek. "Those there should be given the order to evacuate as best they can although it is unlikely that all, or even many of them, will be able to escape in time." Her voice trembled. "The time that the demons spend destroying Mars should give us adequate time to assemble what is left of the Empire's forces around the Moon."

Serenity nodded and shifted her gaze from Mars to the war room's central display. "Make it so."

Mars closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Seconds passed and still she did not give the order to the officers waiting to relay it along the Empire's communication networks. Silence reigned in the war room, broken only by the soft murmurs of the displays as they continued to tally the obliteration of the Empire's forces.

"Mars," Serenity said softly. "Give the order, or I will do it myself."

"Please…" There was a strange sound, almost like a sob and Serenity's eyes widened as Mars dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground. "Please… don't make me give that order."

"Get up," Serenity said tersely, well aware that every eye in the war room was now on her and Mars. "For the Empire's sake, Sailor Mars, get up!"

But Mars refused to rise and when she finally lifted her face from the floor, Serenity could see that she was weeping. Sailor Mars, the most belligerent and prideful of her senshi, was weeping. "Please, Your Majesty, don't do this… at least let me give my people a decent chance to run. Please."

For the first time in many, many years, Serenity was unsure of what to do. From a strictly intellectual standpoint, she knew, as well as Mars did, that although deploying the Martian Fleet might buy the Martians enough time to flee, it would also result in the annihilation of their only real remaining fighting force. For all of their technology, the Mercurians were terrible warriors and the Venusians were scarcely better. Yet to refuse Mars now when she was on her knees and begging could irreparably damage her relationship with one of her most valuable senshi. Mars would never trust her again. The absolute and blind devotion that Serenity needed would vanish and in its place would be only a grudging adherence to duty. Worse, it had not escaped Serenity's notice, that perhaps a quarter of the war room's staff was Martian. They, along with many who weren't Martian, had begun to openly weep, as well. Even if she gave the order to abandon Mars herself, she was no longer sure that it would be obeyed. They might even mutiny.

So instead, Serenity forced herself to remain calm. There had to be a solution. Her lips twitched. If only Pluto were here, she was sure that the green-haired woman would have had a suggestion, but Pluto was gone. She'd sent her on a desperate mission to recruit Saturn. In retrospect, it was a foolish gamble, one that couldn't possibly succeed, and it had robbed her of one of her finest advisors during a crucial time.

Suddenly the harsh cry of an alarm filled the war room. For several seconds no one moved, afraid to disturb the delicate balance between Mars and Serenity. Finally, one of the officers found the wherewithal to answer it. His gaze snapped to his display and he seemed to do a double take as he read over the message it displayed.

Grateful for the distraction, Serenity raised her voice. "Officer, what is it?"

His voice shook. "Your Majesty, it is a message from Pluto."

"Pluto?" Serenity's eyes widened. Could Pluto possibly have succeeded? "Speak. What is her message?"

"She and her escort are travelling at full speed. They should arrive within the hour." His face paled as he brought the message up onto the central display. "She says that Saturn is with her and that Saturn is willing to fight the demons."

Serenity chuckled darkly. That was just the beginning of the message. Saturn wanted a meeting with her, as well. How interesting. She stood and gestured toward Mars. "Mars, compose yourself and gather the other senshi. We shall meet Saturn in the throne room."

The senshi wiped the tears from her cheek but remained on her knees. "And the Martian Fleet?"

Serenity took several steps toward the door leading out of the war room and then stopped. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. "Deploy it around Mars. If this meeting with Saturn goes well, they won't be doing any fighting, because she'll be doing it for us." She continued toward the door. "And if it goes poorly, it won't matter. Saturn will probably kill all of us herself."

X X X

"Remembers your orders, my senshi. No one it to move or act against Saturn unless I give the order. Is that understood?" Serenity's gaze hardened as she swept her eyes over the senshi gathered before her. All of them were here, except for Pluto, and every single one of them seemed ill at ease with the idea of meeting Saturn. Although she would never admit it, she was also uneasy. If the legends were to be believed, then even she would not be able to match Saturn's raw destructive power.

The doors at the far end of the throne room swung open and Serenity's eyes narrowed a fraction as she took in the two figures that entered bereft of any entourage or formal escort. Pluto was the first and as their eyes met, Serenity could easily read the message in them: tread very lightly. And there, beside Pluto, was the woman that was Saturn, or at least, Serenity assumed she was Saturn.

The woman wore a black cloak with a hood that obscured everything save for the unmistakably feminine swell of her hips and chest. Instinctively, Serenity reached out with her power to try and confirm her suspicions only to find herself grasping at emptiness. It was almost like the darkly clad woman wasn't even there. She gave off no power of her own and Serenity's attempts to coax it from her proved totally futile. Either the woman had no power at all, or her control of it was incredible. Serenity did doubt for a moment that it was the latter.

"I trust, Pluto, that it is the Lady Saturn that stands beside you?" Serenity asked at last.

Pluto opened her mouth to speak, but the cloaked woman beside her simply raised one pale hand to silence the green-haired woman. Then, wordlessly, she replied for herself. A stifling wave of cold hatred swept through the throne room, so intense that it all but drove the senshi to their knees. Tendrils of violet light flared to life around the woman's lithe frame and lashed the area around her. Whatever they touched vanished, destroyed so completely that nothing at all remained, not even dust.

Yet even as the maelstrom of power grew more violent and the defences hidden in the throne room, both magical and technological, began to fail, not a single sound was heard. And though Pluto stood not three feet from Saturn, no harm came to her. It was a terrifying display of immense power wielded with sublime control and even as part of her quailed before the sight of it, Serenity felt her breathing quicken and her cheeks flush. Saturn's power was beautiful, magnificent. She wanted it.

At last the tempest began to subside. Sound and thought flooded back into the room. Instantly, several of the senshi darted forward, but Saturn simply raised one hand. Something shimmered into being, a long length of pitch black metal, so dark that it seemed as though it were nothing more than a shadow made material. The senshi stopped, suddenly unsure and Serenity's pulse hammered in her ears. In Saturn's hands was the greatest of weapons, the Silence Glaive.

Serenity motioned for the senshi to fall back. "Why did you ask to meet with me?"

Saturn let the glaive shift in her grasp until its blunt end struck the polished marble floor. It made no sound. Slowly, she reached up and pulled her hood back to reveal dark purple hair and eyes the same colour as the power that she wielded. Her voice, when she was spoke, was almost gentle, yet it was a false gentleness, one that hinted at violence and wrath only barely restrained. It was, Serenity thought, the very same sort of gentleness that a scabbard might lend a sword.

"I wanted to see, with my own eyes, if you were any different from all of the others."

Serenity's brows furrowed slightly. She had almost forgotten just how ancient Saturn was. "And what do you see?"

"You are exactly what I expected." Saturn's eyes drifted closed. "You are the same as your predecessors."

The words were spoken calmly, yet Serenity could not shake the feeling that she had just been gravely insulted. However, she forced herself to hide her displeasure. Saturn was not like Mars or her other senshi. Saturn did not look up to her with blind adoration. It was doubtful if she even respected her. Still, the fact remained that Serenity needed her or rather she needed the power that Saturn wielded. For power like that, a few indignities were a very, very small price to pay.

"Pluto tells me that you will fight for me. Will you?" Serenity asked.

"For you?" Saturn's eyes opened and met Serenity's and for an endless moment Serenity was sure that she was about to die. "I would never fight for you. I fight for myself and for those unfortunate enough to find themselves the subjects of an empress too weak to protect them."

The sheer audacity of the insult made Serenity gasp and she had to gesture once again to hold her senshi back from a fight that they could not possibly win. "Very well. I suppose, that in the end, you reasons are not my concern. So long as you fight the demons, we have an understanding. I trust that Pluto has made arrangements for your reward?"

Saturn nodded almost imperceptibly. "Pluto and I have come to an arrangement." Her gaze sharpened. "And do not think to ask what our agreement is. My business is the Guardian of Time alone."

"I see." Serenity pursed her lips. How interesting. What could a woman as powerful as Saturn want that only Pluto could provide? There were many intriguing possibilities. Even if she didn't know exactly what Saturn wanted the fact that she had been willing to bargain with Pluto was reassuring. Everyone had a price, even Saturn. Everyone had a weakness too, and if she could figure out what Saturn's was, what an incredible weapon she would have. It would be risky, but the rewards would be great indeed. Yes, let Saturn have her prize, let her throw her insults with abandon. Serenity had suffered worse and in the end she would do what she always did: she would survive and she would conquer. "If your arrangement with Pluto is to your satisfaction, then I would ask that you accompany my fleet immediately. An attack upon Mars is imminent."

X X X

Serenity felt a deep shudder run through her ship as the helmsman first cut power to the forward thrusters before firing their backward counterparts to draw the ship to a halt just shy of Mars. Her gaze drifted to the main screen where one of the officers had projected a tactical display of the red planet and its immediate surroundings. The Martian Fleet was already in place and still intact. They must have arrived before the demons.

"What would you like us to do?" Serenity glanced at Saturn, who stood not far from her on of the top tier of the command deck. Mars stood between them and farther back was Pluto, the faintest hint of apprehension in her eyes. Serenity smiled coldly. Whatever Saturn had shown Pluto before they arrived at the Lunar Palace must have been quite something if it had shaken the Time Guardian badly enough to reveal her unease.

Saturn closed her eyes and Serenity shivered as she felt the sudden expansion of her power. A few moments later, the purple haired woman nodded. "The demons are not far. An hour away, perhaps, maybe two depending on how tightly they hold their formation."

"You can sense them from that far?" Mars asked sounding strangely envious. Serenity smirked inwardly. Martians were well known for their affinity with the spirit world, and Mars was one of their most powerful, in that respect. It must have rankled her to see another with such ability.

"Not in the way that you can." Saturn's eyes glazed briefly. "I sense them through the death they bring and the darkness that clings so tightly to them." Her eyes refocused. "When they arrive, fire a single volley and then retreat. Pull all of your ships back."

Mars stared at Saturn in disbelief. "Are you insane? What are you planning to do, fight them yourself?"

"Yes." Saturn's voice was blunt and brooked no disobedience as though she were addressing a small, intransigent child. "I want you to fire to get their attention. It will be easier if I can kill all of them at once. However if you are too close when I start fighting then you will all almost certainly be killed."

"Pluto," Serenity murmured. "Do you concur with Saturn's suggestion?"

Pluto managed to keep from trembling. "I have seen Saturn fight and I concur with her suggestion."

"Very well then. When the battle begins, Saturn, we will fall back. For now, however, we shall wait." Serenity raised her voice so that the rest of the command deck could hear. "Extend our sensors. I wish to know the moment that the demons arrive."

They waited precisely one hour and twenty-two minutes for the demons to arrive.

"Your Majesty, we're getting multiple contacts."

Serenity glanced at Mars and nodded once. In theory, Serenity was supreme commander of the Lunar Empire's military forces. However, in practice, most that responsibility was actually delegated to Mars.

"Can you we get an estimate?" Mars growled. "Just how many ships do they have?"

The officer grimaced. "I can't be sure. They're bunched up quite tightly, but there are a lot of them. Our sensors count more than one thousand ships and more are arriving every second."

"To still have so many ships left…" Mars shook her head slowly and made a disgusted sound. "Have they seen us?"

The officer nodded. "I think so. They're slowing down. He gulped. We should have a visual on them shortly. Do you want that up on screen?"

It was Serenity who spoke. "Put them on screen. I would like to see the demons who dare attack the Lunar Empire."

The main screen crackled to life and almost to a man, the crew on the command deck recoiled from the sight that greeted them. The ships of the Lunar Empire were the product of millennia of hard work from the finest minds in the Solar System, a breathtaking union of elegance and power. The demonic fleet was insult to nature. Each demonic ship was a hideous aberration, a vile fusion of bloated, half-rotted flesh, and warped metal. Thick pipes made out of what seemed to be partially living tissue ran along the outside of each ship, pulsing rhythmically as though in time to some hideous alien heart. Great streams of black and red fluid gushed from the punctures in the sides of the demonic vessels and spun crazily into the emptiness of space.

"Abomination," Serenity breathed after several seconds.

Mars glanced back at the tactical display. "Are the demons still arriving?"

The officer shook his head. "I'm not detecting any new arrivals, although really, with this many ships, it's hard to be sure." He grimaced and then looked back at his screen with renewed interest. "According to our sensors there are at least three thousand demonic ships out there."

Three thousand ships, Serenity thought. Unbelievable. Worse, they had no choice but to go along with Saturn's plan and if she betrayed them now, the demonic fleet would obliterate them. "Saturn, shall we open fire?"

Saturn nodded. "A single volley should be sufficient for my purposes."

Serenity looked at Mars. The senshi nodded. "All ships are to open fire, a single volley only."

The ship trembled as its weapons came to life. All along its hull, hatches opened to reveal missile pods, laser turrets, and the bulkier shapes of plasma cannons. Then there was another deeper rumble as the ship, along with the rest of the Imperial fleet, opened fire. Long streams of plasma blossomed across the gap between the Lunar Empire's ships and the demonic fleet. Missiles followed just behind, trails of exhaust behind them, as the flash of laser fire lit up the darkness of space.

The results were impressive. Explosions rippled along the front line of the demonic fleet as scores of vessels were torn apart by the attack. A large demonic ship, a deranged construct of ruined flesh and steel, coasted badly to one side, its hull leaking blood and plasma, before it crunched into the ship beside it. It tore a jagged hole in the other vessel before both exploded in a shower of blood and gore.

Cheers rang out through the command deck, but Serenity paid them no mind. What was the loss of scores of ship to a fleet that numbered in the thousands? Now the demonic fleet was going to return fire and if Saturn's plan went the least bit awry, they were probably all dead.

"Multiple energy signatures detected!" someone screamed. "The demonic fleet is preparing to return fire."

"Remember what I said, Serenity. Pull back your ships," Saturn murmured before she vanished in a swirl of purple light.

Was she running? Serenity clenched her jaw so tightly that it hurt. But then Saturn reappeared in front of the Imperial Fleet, the Silence Glaive held at her side. A hush fell over the command deck.

"Fall back," Serenity said and then again more strongly as even Mars froze. "Tell all ships to fall back, now! Leave this battle to Saturn."

The helmsman started to bring the ship around, but already the first visible signs of the demonic counter attack were appearing. They were out of time.

"Cease turning," Mars ordered. "There's isn't enough time. Divert all power to the retro thrusters!"

As the ship finally began to lurch backward, the demonic fleet launched its counter attack. Great clouds of puce coloured energy poured from the leading demonic ships, bathing the battlefield in their sickly glow. Smaller, but brighter lances of black and red energy shot forward from the smaller craft, along with a host of living projectiles filled with acid and explosives.

"They're targeting her!" one of the officers shouted. "The demonic fleet is targeting Saturn!"

Serenity scanned the tactical display. It was true. Somehow, the demons must have recognised the threat that Saturn posed and so they were concentrating all of their firepower on her in an attempt to prevent her from interfering. Yet on the main screen, Saturn had still not made any move to defend herself. Could she really be that powerful? Despite the carefully controlled temperature of the command deck, Serenity found herself shivering. She couldn't wait to find out.

At last, Saturn lifted the Silence Glaive and thrust it out in front of her. Violet light flowed down the length of the weapon and the space in front of her began to ripple before it came apart with a soundless shriek that nevertheless drove every piece of equipment on the command deck insane. Sparks flew from one console to another and the telemetry on the tactical display jittered wildly.

"What is that?" Serenity barked. "What is she doing?"

"It might be a shield," one of the officers offered. "But I can't seem to get any energy readings from it. It's like it's not even there."

"Because it isn't." Pluto stepped forward and Serenity shifted to give the Guardian of Time a better view of the main screen. "Look at the readings. That's not a shield – it's a cut. She used the Silence Glaive to cut the space in front of her."

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked. Pluto's position required an excellent grasp of science and logic and the ruby-eyed woman was easily a match for even Mercury, who was usually considered the most intelligent of the senshi. Thus it wasn't surprising that Pluto alone seemed to have some idea of what was going on.

"Just watch," Pluto said. "And you'll see what I mean."

The wave of attacks from the demonic fleet struck the space in front of Saturn and for an instant, the brilliance of their combined detonation was blinding. The shockwave swept around Saturn and into the Imperial Fleet and Serenity had to catch hold of the railing to keep from falling. Pluto was less fortunate as one of the panels in the roof came loose and caught her on the forehead, leaving a long cut along her brow. When the ship finally stopped shaking and the explosions faded, Saturn was still there, and apparently, completely unharmed.

"How?" Serenity asked.

"As I said, she cut the space in front of her." Pluto wiped some blood off her brow. She was speaking quickly now, her tone one that Serenity knew she only ever used when she was intellectually engaged, her mind leaping to assess what she was seeing. "The Silence Glaive is supposed to be able to cut through anything, even the fabric of reality itself. By cutting the fabric of reality in front of herself, Saturn made it impossible for any of the attacks to reach her. Simply put, the attacks could not reach her because in front of her, in the area cut by the Silence Glaive, there was nothing. That is, reality ceased to exist in front of her, rendering it impossible for any form of energy to proceed."

Serenity nodded slowly. Such incredible power! The legends didn't even begin to do Saturn justice. Now, more than ever, she knew that she just had to find a way to control Saturn.

"We're detecting a massive energy surge from Saturn!"

Pluto shivered. "She's going to attack now." She slanted a look at Serenity and Mars. "We should divert all power to the shields."

"All power to the shields!" Mars ordered. "All hands, brace for impact."

There was a flash of deep purple from Saturn before the entire centre of the demonic fleet dissolved into a cloud of gore. Lilac ribbons tore at the demonic ships caught in the blast and once again, reality shuddered as the attack intensified, the demonic ships twisting and warping and then imploding as though caught in a highly localised black hole before the effect reversed and they were shredded and tossed outward, already disintegrating.

An awed quiet settled over the command deck.

"No mortal should be able to that…" Mars breathed. "No senshi should ever have that much power…"

As a second purple flash hit the left flank of the demonic fleet, the main screen went out, along with every other piece of machinery or magic on board the ship. In the sudden darkness, panic swept over the command deck and Serenity raised her voice to call for calm. Only no sound left her lips. Her voice died in her throat and suddenly it was hard to even think. A soundless roar filled her ears and she dropped to her knees. Layer after layer after layer of the world peeled away leaving her bare and alone, staring into an endless abyss of haunted shadows where the only sound was a single, pitch-perfect note of absolute silence.

She screamed.

And then the silence lifted and the lights came back on. Serenity looked around. She wasn't on her knees. All around her, she could see the same bewildered looks of half-crazed terror on the faces of the crew. Suddenly, the main screen came back to life and she jerked away as the angry hiss of static filled the command deck. It was almost as though she could see Saturn in the twisting mass of black and white lines that crawled across the screen.

A few seconds later, the screen stabilised and she was once more looking out at the demonic fleet, or at least what was left of it. In the short time that the silence had overtaken her, Saturn had annihilated the demons. There was almost no debris left from the battle, but what little remained only highlighted the sheer ferocity of Saturn's assault. A mangled demonic ship limped past the purple-haired woman and she cleaved right through it with little more than a gesture of the Silence Glaive. A cloud of blood filled the space beside her and all around the command deck, people made the sign against evil.

"Scan the area," Serenity said softly.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but our sensors can't pick up anything." The officer lowered his head. "I think that whatever Saturn… did… its interfering with our sensors."

"I see." Serenity looked at Mars. "Mars, can you feel any of the demons?"

The senshi shook her head. "No. I can't feel any of them at all. It's just so… quiet." She trembled.

Serenity could hardly fault Mars for her loss of composure. Only centuries of practice allowed her to remain calm even as she considered the many possibilities. If she could get Saturn under her control, then she could easily become the greatest empress in the Lunar Empire's history. For millennia dissidents and other rebels had managed to elude destruction but with Saturn that could change. She wouldn't even need to kill them. Just a demonstration of Saturn's power should be enough to convince even the most determined rebels of the futility of resisting the Lunar Empire.

But that was only the beginning. Serenity's mind raced, tantalised by the possibilities. For centuries, the Empire's scientists had pursued the development of technologies that would allow for interstellar travel without the need to construct hyperspace tunnels beforehand. However such attempts were fraught with peril. What if they encountered a race more powerful than their own, one with similar dreams of conquest? Serenity smirked. Saturn would be the ultimate trump card. Indeed, if what Pluto had said about the Silence Glaive's power to cut reality was even remotely accurate then the purple-eyed woman might even provide the missing pieces to the puzzle of interstellar travel.

She was shaken from her thoughts by another brief flash of purple light. Saturn vanished from the main screen and reappeared on the command deck. A tense hush fell over the command deck as though the crew were afraid even to breathe, lest Saturn look at them.

"Lady Saturn," Serenity intoned formally as she bowed slightly. "You have the thanks of the entire Lunar Empire for your deeds today."

Saturn turned her head slowly and Serenity struggled not to flinch away from what she saw smouldering in those violet eyes. "Keep your thanks." And then Saturn was moving toward the doors of the command deck, most likely to return to the quarters that had been given to her. However, she had taken only a few steps before she stopped and turned, this time to look at Pluto. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the blood on the green haired woman's brow. "You are hurt."

Serenity watched in fascination as Pluto nodded, meeting Saturn's eyes. Interestingingly, Pluto seemed more cautious than actually afraid. "It is nothing," Pluto said. "A panel from the roof struck me."

Faster than anyone could see, Saturn's hand shot out and caught Pluto by the chin. Serenity instinctively loosened the hold she held on her power in preparation for battle. Perhaps she could not prevent Saturn from killing Pluto, but she would use the time that Pluto's death bought wisely. Beside her, Mars likewise called upon her power, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

And then the oddest thing happened. Rather than twisting Pluto's head violently to one side to break her neck, Saturn instead let one hand glide up to the cut on Pluto's brow. A soft amethyst glow formed around her hand and Pluto let out a sigh. When Saturn pulled her hand away, the blood on Pluto's brow was gone, along with the wound.

"You should be more careful, Pluto. After all, you still haven't fulfilled your side of our bargain." Finally pulling away from Pluto, Saturn left the command deck.

As the command deck gradually returned to normal Serenity mulled over Saturn's conduct. Saturn's words to Pluto had been blunt and her tone almost harsh, yet Serenity was certain that for just a moment, Saturn's eyes had softened. Serenity smiled thinly. Perhaps she'd been thinking about things the wrong way. Saturn's power was truly monstrous, and Saturn could very easily be a monster herself, but even monsters could get lonely and Saturn had been alone for a very, very long time. She glanced at Pluto out of the corner of her eye. The Guardian of Time was running her fingers along her brow with a thoughtful expression on her face. Yes, Serenity thought, maybe it was time for the monster to find a friend.

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Sailor Moon, nor am I making a dime off this.

I thought it was about time for another jaunt back to the Lunar Empire. As with one of the earlier chapters on the Lunar Empire, this chapter is written mostly from Serenity's point of view. A good ruler is not necessarily a good person and I think it is important to try and get across the sort of mindset that Serenity had because it influences how the Lunar Empire itself functions. She also provides a different perspective on two characters, Saturn and Pluto, who are already familiar in other contexts.

Another reason I wanted to get back to the Lunar Empire is because space ships are awesome. Yes, that is pretty shallow, but there's nothing quite like writing a battle in space and the chance of slipping one into a Sailor Moon story was too good to pass up. Can you imagine Usagi as the commander of an entire fleet?

Finally, with regards to updates, real life is likely to become quite busy over the next few months for me, which will almost certainly make updating more difficult. However, rest assured, I will continue to update as best I can. I have no intention of abandoning this.

As always, I appreciate your feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.