Sailor X #12 Flight of the Serena
By: John Brengman
Edited by: Thomas Schell
Sandra stood within the void of space… Far in the distance, the sun could be seen. Looking around, she could see Earth hanging off to her right. Moonlight glimmered from behind her. Somehow, Sandra didn't get any comfort from this picturesque setting. There was something else…something cold…
A blue orb appeared in the distance. "That's about where the planet Mercury is," Sandra said as she gazed at the turquoise-colored sphere. Almost as that thought came into her mind, it was confirmed….she could sense death.
Sailor Mercury's death sphere…
The blue field of the sphere seemed to crawl outward and leap ahead of itself at the same time. Its outer edge licked at the fiery upper layers of the sun. Violent flashes of angry yellow and orange light flickered across the disk of the sun as energy from the solar orb was sucked away. Ribbons of energy were ripped away and drawn into the death sphere where they cascaded abut as bright blue and twisting shafts of light.
The sphere continued to expand. The sun was quickly losing its battle to remain stable, yet what should have been a cataclysmic explosion that would have ripped the solar system apart was instead the galactic version of a pitiful whimper as even the force and energy of supernova explosions was redirected nearly before they could occur. All of it ended up swirling around in the turquoise-blue pool.
The planets, now lit by a pale-blue glow, continued about in their orbits as though doing so was their only hope of escaping. The planet Venus stood no chance against the onslaught of the sphere. Once the destructive energies came in contact with the planet, they ripped through its surface like the planet was made of paper. The molten center of the planet cooled quickly when exposed to the icy depths of space…either that or it too joined the energy cascading through the sphere.
The destruction of Venus completed, the sphere continued its inexorable march, swelling out, reaching for the third planet of the doomed star system.
As the bluish hue penetrated Earth's atmosphere, it seemed as though a rock had been thrown into a pool. Sandra could see waves rippling out from where the sphere had made contact with the planet's upper atmosphere. As the deathly expansion of the luminous sphere continued, Sandra suddenly saw herself on the streets of the Yotichib megacity. Some miles away stood the Tokyo Tower. Mount Fuji stood vigilantly far to the southwest. All of this was lit by the pale blue glow of the death sphere. Suddenly, a deep blue haze appeared to the west and quickly descended to the city. The haze came toward Sandra, swallowing everything in a steady, even pace eastward. The Tokyo Tower toppled as the haze enveloped it. Just before the haze was about to reach her, Sandra looked to the southwest and saw Mount Fuji being torn asunder…
Sandra watched as Earth faded slowly into the ever-expanding sphere. She was about to turn her attention to the moon when a voice seemed to echo through her mind… "kill me…"
"Wha..?" Sandra gasped uncomprehendingly.
With a shimmer, a voice came from inside the death sphere, "Kill me…"
Sandra's unspoken "How?" was answered before she could voice it. She was in her Sailor uniform.
"Kill me!" The whispered voice demanded.
Even though she didn't quite understand what was going on, Sailor Moon pulled out the Crescent Moon Wand and shouted: "MOON HEALI…." The wand disappeared and the voice grew slightly louder: "Kill me!!"
Sailor Moon tried to remember the other command words to her more powerful attacks, but they fled from her mind. "What am I supposed to DO?" Looking up, she saw the sphere glisten as if it were inviting her inside… Slowly, Sailor Moon approached the glowing wall of the sphere which shimmered excitedly at her nearness. A momentary doubt was squelched by yet another insistant: "Kill me!!!"
As Sailor Moon stepped into the sphere, it lunged forward and swallowed her. She shivered as a fierce cold cut through the thin material of her Sailor uniform. "Why can't anything evil ever be warm and fuzzy?" She wondered silently as she started toward the center of the sphere.
Shimmering paths of light danced around Sailor Moon as she continued on her way. They seemed to arc about in a random fashion, and she had to duck out of the way of one of them.
As she walked, Sailor Moon saw an object fade into view ahead of her. She continued to approach. Soon she saw that the figure was a teenage girl with long black hair. She too wore a Sailor uniform, this one white with a blue skirt…
Sailor Mercury.
Sailor Moon came to a stop next to the unmoving form of her friend. She stood silently, her eyes were closed, and her head listed off to the right. She seemed to be asleep. Her neck seemed exposed and vulnerable.
"Now what?" Sailor Moon murmured aloud, only to be immediately answered with: "Kill me!!" She was about to ask how this was to be done, when she noticed Mercury's neck as though she had seen a vision. "Kill me!!" The whispered voices insisted.
"I can't!" Sailor Moon shouted. "She is my friend!" The voices only chanted their chorus louder.
"I won't!" But as Sailor Moon turned to walk away, she found that she could not move her feet in any direction except toward Sailor Mercury.
The voices chanted again. Sailor Moon reached out and slid her hands around Sailor Mercury's neck. She didn't put any pressure into her hands, hoping that the symbolism would be enough to satisfy whatever it was making her do this.
It wasn't. "Kill me!!"
She started to squeeze, but not hard…
"KILL ME!!"
Finally, she started putting some force behind her choke hold. Sailor Mercury seemed to stir… The voice again roared: "KILL ME!!"…
…"Sandra?"
"Sandra," Mariah said as she nudged her friend. Her gaze strayed to the nearby bedpost. "Sandra," she repeated as she nudged the sleeping form again.
Sandra's eyes flew open and she let out a gasp…and noticed that she was holding the bedpost in a death
grip.
"Are you okay?" Mariah asked, the worry still evident in her face.
"Yes," Sandra said sleepily. "I just was having a dream."
"Must've been some dream," Mariah muttered as she crossed the room toward the door. "When you didn't show up on time at the docking area, we got worried. I'll see you down there." Mariah then left Sandra's room, closing the door behind her.
Sandra began dressing, but as she chose various articles of clothing or put them on, her gaze flickered to the bedpost…. and she shivered as a slight feeling of unease drifted through her.
…kill me…
Launch Pad Four – Subsurface Gantry 7:00 am
The Luna Foundation
A large, somewhat flat triangle-shaped ship gleamed as it rested upon the gantry's support struts. A technician finished polishing a silvery hull panel. Other technicians stood near the aft end of the ship, staring up at the cylindrical engine nacelle anchored in its protective alcove, running through checklists in their heads, or tapping data into hand-held data pads.
Sandra entered the launch area and headed for the ship. As she passed one of the technicians who alternated from gazing at the ship's starboard wing and tapping information into a data pad, she asked, "How does it look?"
"Everything's looking real good, and we're right on schedule," the technician replied.
"Almost everything," Sandra silently corrected as she headed for the nearest turbo shaft. With a press of a button, Sandra activated the lift, and entered the ship.
Moments later, Sandra entered the bridge of the Serena, the second of three faster-than-light-capable ships built by the Moon Kingdom during the Silver Millennium. As she neared the center of the ship's control center, Sandra looked around at the other crew positions, which were spread out in front of her. Helm and navigation controls sat diagonally off to her right and left respectively. Science stations and life support controls were situated along the right wall, while communications, engineering, and weapons controls were spaced out along the left. A viewscreen covered the wall across the room from the command chair, which was set on a dais slightly above the other stations. In this way, a person viewing the command center over the comm channel would only see the person in the command chair.
Sandra seated herself in the command chair and looked out over the bridge. Some of the elders had been asked if they wanted the opportunity to take the Serena on its shakedown cruise. Haruka and Raye had volunteered, and they sat at helm and navigation. Amy had come aboard and busied herself making sure the ship's small medical center was well-stocked. As the medical officer, she felt that her skills would be wasted on what amounted to a walk in the yard, but Neo-Queen Serenity had insisted that a medic accompany the crew on this flight.
The rest of the bridge positions were filled by the current Sailors. Melissa manned the engineering controls, Victoria had volunteered to monitor the environmental controls, and Mariah had personally checked out the ship's weapons before presenting herself as the weapon's officer. The science station was shut down, and Sandra had rerouted communications to her controls.
Most of the women had taken a crash course on their positions and duties.. The engineering staff would not clear the Serena for operations until each of them had passed.
Sandra looked over the bridge as her comrades silently performed last-minute checks. Satisfied that all was in order, she cleared her throat. "Are we ready to see what this ship can do?" Raye and Haruka continued tapping commands into their terminals but each managed a nod of approval. The rest of the women also made it clear they were eager to get underway.
Sandra flipped a switch on the arm of her chair. "Luna Control, this is the Serena."
"Serena, this is Luna Control," came the reply. "Major Charles Bree here."
"Good morning, Major," Sandra said. "I request liftoff clearance. A flight plan has been properly filed."
There was a slight pause as the officer checked the files, then: "You're cleared for liftoff. Have a nice flight."
"You heard the man," Sandra said. "Let's get some space under this thing! Helm, take us up."
"Aye," Haruka replied. "Launch thrusters at one-quarter."
Sandra could feel a slight rumble beneath her feet as the thrusters began the work of lifting the ship from the surface of the moon. Sandra activated the viewscreen and while they weren't working with their controls, the women glanced at the screen as the cavern-like launch bay fell beneath them.
Neo-Queen Serenity stood at a balcony and watched the Serena as it lifted off. Luna perched on the queen's shoulder and gazed at the scene. The ship bearing the queen's name gracefully rose from the landing platform like a bird leaving the nest. The Serena lifted itself above the lunar surface and floated over the palace, then the lake…
"We're on the glide-path over the palace lake," Haruka stated.
"Good," Sandra replied. "Move at one-fourth standard speed until we are away from the moon."
Mountains, craters and lakebeds jumped away behind the Serena as though the ship were fleeing.
Soon, the ship angled its trajectory upward and the moon was left behind.
"We are outside the lunar gravitation well," Haruka said as she monitored her controls. "We're free to navigate."
"Very good," Sandra said calmly. "Go to flight plan B, set course for Alpha Centauri."
As Haruka laid the course into her control board, Raye turned toward Sandra. "Isn't that a bit long for a shakedown cruise," she asked.
Sandra sat back in her chair. "Anyone here been out of the solar system?" No one replied. "I thought not.
Besides, we need to test the FTL engines, and even a short FTL jump will put us outside the system."
Minutes went by…
"We are at the Mars orbital point," Raye said. Sandra switched the viewscreen to a new direction and a small, angry red dot appeared.
"Good," Sandra said. "Status on FTL engines?"
"FTL drive is online and functioning normally," Melissa replied.
"Here we go," Sandra murmured, then: "Activate the FTL drive."
A circle-like gate appeared in front of the ship; lights seemed to shimmer around its outer edge. The stars faded from view as the ship entered the gate, replaced by a cascade of thin red lights that flowed past them. Sandra dimmed the viewscreen so that the red streaks faded to a light gray.
"We're at full FTL speed," Haruka said.
"Engine status normal," Melissa said.
"Very good," Sandra replied. "Now we sit back and enjoy the ride."
== * SM * ==
In deep space…
The darkness of
space was suddenly distrubed by a flash of light…as if a star had exploded. As
the ring of blazing light expanded, a gray object appeared and drifted into the
sea of stars…
== * SM * ==
The Galley aboard the Serena 12:30 pm
Sandra took her meal tray and walked down the steps to the remainder of the galley. Victoria sat alone at a table near the window. The red-streaked envelope of FTL-space lit the galley with a dull glow.
"May I sit down?" Sandra thought to Victoria. The frail girl gestured to an empty seat across from her in response and Sandra sat down.
"What do you think of the ship?" Sandra asked.
"Actually," Victoria silently replied, "I've been living on the ship since the palace fire."
"Why?" Sandra asked.
"I wanted to do something to help," Victoria said. "The quarters on the ship are about as nice as my room at the palace."
Sandra pulled the meat off a piece of chicken while Victoria picked at a plate of peas and rice. Sandra gazed at the hellish FTL effect that seemed to shoot past the window.
"Are you mad at me?"
The unspoken question shook Sandra's attention back to the table. "Why would I be mad at you?"
Victoria sat silent for a moment, clearly puzzled by her friend's reaction, or perhaps the lack of one.
Sandra mentally repeated her denial. "I could never be mad at you."
Victoria was still unconvinced. "But I can still feel that you are angry."
There was a pause while Sandra thought about this. Victoria ate another spoon-full of rice and watched as a couple of the other crewmen entered the galley. The crewmen ignored the women and went about getting their lunch.
"Running this ship does not lend itself to having a cheerful mood," Sandra said as she tried to evade the question.
"That wasn't what I asked," Victoria scolded mentally. "Your anger is deeper than simply your concerns about this ship. It has been there for the last few days. Did I do something…my aid to the queen perhaps…"
"No," Sandra interrupted as she saw the lines of worry cross young Victoria's face. "You did nothing wrong, and everyone, the queen most of all, appreciates what you have done."
"But the anger is still there," Victoria replied.
A sad frown flickered as Sandra said, "I don't want to talk about that now."
"I understand." Victoria's mental voice seemed to have a comforting quality about it as it said those two patient words. "You will talk to me when your are ready?"
"Yes," Sandra replied aloud softly. "I will."
== * SM * ==
The Bridge of the Serena 2:30 pm
"Report," Sandra ordered as she stepped up to her chair and took her seat.
"I'm picking up something weird on my navigational scanners," Raye said.
"Oh?" Sandra murmured as she flipped the comm's toggle switch. "Amy, I'll need you on the Bridge."
Sitting back, Sandra clasped her hands together, thoughtfully tapping her chin with her steeple-like index fingers. "What is the status of the object?"
"No ID as of yet," Raye reported. "Object is at bearing 168, distance roughly 108,000 kilometers and closing."
"What nation are we registered with?" Sandra asked. According to the agreement with the UN, each Moon Kingdom fighter squadron had to be attached to a UN-chartered air wing, and each ship had to register with an Earth government.
"We are supposedly based out of Portsmouth, England," came the response.
Sandra had to smile at the irony of that statement as she opened the comm channel. "This is Her Majesty's Ship Serena calling unidentified object, respond please."
"You'll look really dumb if it turns out to be a rock," Raye said with a smirk.
"Most rocks don't travel at faster-than-light speeds," Sandra replied quietly. As she continued to listen for a reply, Amy exited from the lift and approached the science station.
"Run an analysis of the object behind us," Sandra though as she focused on Amy, who received the message and activated the science station controls.
After about a minute of silence, Sandra closed the comm channel. She got up and walked to a point midway between the helm and navigation posts. "Haruka," she said. "Continue at full FTL thrust, and run evasive maneuvers."
"Aye," Haruka replied. "Bringing fusion reactors to full power…"
The ship accelerated slowly as more fusion energy was fed into the FTL engine. Then, it slowly began to dip and weave as it tried to shake its pursuer.
"It's definitely a ship," Amy said as she continued to coax more information from the ship's sensors. "I'm reading a metal shell with an atmospheric interior."
"FTL thrust at maximum," Haruka said. "Continuing evasives."
"I've found some markings," Amy said. She turned to a monitor and watched as the computer ran the marks. Then she looked up. "I have them. It's Cyberworld."
"Somehow I knew they wouldn't be friendly," Sandra muttered. "Continue evasive, Haruka. Throw in everything you've got."
"I'll try," Haruka replied. "Unfortunately, this ship doesn't handle quite as well as a fighter does."
Sandra ignored what might have been considered a complaint. She knew that Haruka wanted to throw the ship into a 90-degree vertical dive, but that was impossible. Instead, Sandra smiled thinly and said, "Do what you can."
Despite this, as the minutes passed, in spite of the attempts by Haruka to shake the alien ship from their path, it still remained, a silent pursuer.
"It's gaining on us," Amy said. "Distance: 65,000 kilometers and closing."
"I'm getting tired of running," Sandra said under her breath. "Mariah, power up our aft weapons. Maybe a taste of pulse lasers will make those tin heads think twice."
Bright red beams laced outward from the Serena and slammed into the alien ship. It seemed to have no effect. Instead, the ship increased its speed and approached the Serena over the ship's aft section and descended toward the hull.
"Speed at 150% of maximum," Haruka reported as another ceiling conduit exploded. "The alien is directly over us!" The ship shook violently as it was pounded by alien disruptors.
"Damage report!" Sandra shouted.
Amy looked over at her. "Structural damage to starboard sections 16, 20, 24, and 29. The increased demands on the engine have blown the coolant systems to Fusion Reactor One, it's shut down."
"That's okay," Sandra replied. "We won't be needing it." She paused, then: "Everyone brace yourselves. Helm, go to zero thrust…NOW!"
The lights dimmed as the ship went from maximum speed to sublight speed in under ten seconds. Systems on the Bridge that were not already strained nearly went past the breaking point, and those that were strained went out with a shower of sparks. When the ship finally came to a stop a thick smoke hung over the Bridge, and the only illumination came from the red alert signs, the control panels, and the red emergency lights.
Sandra picked herself up from the floor. "Status!" She yelled.
Amy also had to stand up from where the sudden stop had thrown her. She quickly started tapping controls at her station. "Most primary control systems down," she reported. "Secondary systems online. There is some damage to the power grid. Life support, engineering, and other systems are operational."
"That could have been worse," Sandra said.
"I think it is," Amy said. "The aliens are still closing."
The alien ship remained hovering over the Serena. The cyborgs aboard had noticed the engine fluctuations leading up to the dramatic drop in speed and a low-level tractor beam was attached to the Serena. The aliens rode the Serena as it decelerated.
The alien ship dropped toward the Serena, its landing struts outstretched. As soon as the struts made contact with the hull of the Serena, sharp clamps extended into the hull. A thin laser beam shot out from the bottom of the craft and started cutting into the hull…
"We're about to have visitors," Amy said hurriedly. "Hull penetration at starboard section 11. They're using a laser to cut their way into a storage area."
"Since we are only using a skeleton crew, we have no security forces," Mariah stated.
"Fine," Sandra replied. "We'll handle this ourselves. Amy, Haruka, you two have the Bridge. Computer, transfer control of the ship to the ship's science officer, security code Moon-29-Alpha. Reroute all command functions to the Bridge."
Amy stepped up to the command chair. "Computer, this is Science Officer Amy Anderson accepting command, security code Mercury-57-Beta."
"Okay," Sandra said as the rest of the women gathered around her. "We have Sailor business to do."
== * SM * ==
Starboard Section 11
Sandra and the others rounded a corner just as the Cyberscouts blasted their way into the hallway. As the smoke cleared, the two groups faced off.
One of the cyborgs, clasping a wicked-looking glaive stepped forward. "Identify yourself."
"MOON PRISM POWER!" After that came a chorus of shouted activation phrases as the other women transformed into their heroic alter-egos.
Sailor Moon stepped forward.
"My name's Moon…Sailor Moon." *
The announcement only served to produce the standard cyborg response. "You are identified as a criminal. There are numerous charges recorded against you. The punishment for these charges is death…"
"Witness transcript recorded for later transmission," another cyborg chimed in.
With that, all three cyborgs attacked.
"DEATH RIBBON"
"WORLD SHAKING"
"DEEP SUBMERGE"
The Sailors materialized a short distance down the corridor they had just came through to get to the corridor that the cyborgs occupied. Sailor Moon looked over at Sailor Jupiter, who was picking herself off the floor. As she dove to the deck to try to dodge the cyborg barrage, she had shouted "JUPITER TELEPORTATION POWER" to whisk them all to safety.
"Well," the elder Mars said as she dusted herself off. "You heard their attacks, and they are anything like our own Sailors…"
"The direct approach seems to work the best on these things," Sailor Moon replied grimly as she started forward. "It's time to put down some serious firepower of our own."
As the Sailors turned around the next corner, they could see the intersection they had occupied when they first encountered these cyborgs. The walls in that area were now a twisted mass of charred wreckage, blackened and scorched.
Sailor Moon waved the others back. "We'll wait here," she mentally told them.
It didn't take long. "Termination complete," Cyberuranus stated as it moved into the intersection to examine the wreckage.
"Negative," Cybersaturn replied. "There are no organic remains."
A voice responded, "Audio logs indicate the use of teleportation." With that, Cyberneptune stepped into the hall and looked directly at the Sailors…
"NOW!" Sailor Moon shouted.
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" A blast of searing primal fire roared down the corridor and enveloped the cyborgs.
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" Bolts of lightning screamed down the corridor…
"DEEP SUBMERGE!" A wave of primal water flew down the corridor…
The Sailors watched to see what damage their attacked had wrought on the cyborgs. As the energies that bathed the alien intruders began to fade, the woman saw that no damage had been done. Even as the primal energies faded, the cybersailors were readying their next attacks.
"Fall back," Sailor Moon ordered.
"But…" the elder Sailor Mars started as the others started to retreat. Sailor Moon pulled Mars out of the way as the cyborgs unleashed their attacks. Once they had gotten safely away from the area, Sailor Moon turned on the elder Mars, shaking with anger.
"I'm going to tell you this once, I am NOT my mother!" Sailor Moon shouted. "I have no use for people who won't follow orders! You got that?"
A chastised Sailor Mars gave a small nod and watched as Sailor Moon stalked off toward the others.
Sailor Neptune tapped Jupiter on the shoulder. "What's gotten into her?"
"I don't know," Jupiter replied. "I disobey orders whenever I feel like it, and she's never gotten that ticked.."
Any further comment was silenced as Sailor Moon approached. "As soon as they find out that we are not dead, they come down that corridor after us. You," she said, pointing her finger at Sailor Jupiter. "Be ready to teleport us to the next safe location."
"If they follow the same pattern, it will be section 10," Neptune added in.
The pattern was followed, and another skirmish occurred at starboard section 10. This battle went nearly as well as the last one, but this time, the elder Mars got hit by three bolts from Cybersaturn's energy-based version of the death ribbon attack.
"Teleport with her back to the Bridge," Sailor Moon said as she unslung the prone form of the elder Mars from around her shoulders. "Tell them I have a plan."
As Sailor Jupiter vanished with her cargo, Sailor Neptune asked, "What is the plan?"
Sailor Moon answered simply: "Just be prepared to do a lot of dodging. We will have to keep them in sight from here on out."
With that, the cybersailors entered the corridor and the chase was on. When the duo stopped a short distance ahead of the on-coming cyborgs, Sailor Moon mentally called out to Victoria…
This running battle continued. From starboard section 10, the main corridor turned and crossed the spine of the ship into port sector 10. The exchange of primal energies and tech-based weapons blistered the halls. Perhaps the only thing that kept the Sailors alive was the discovery that Neptune's attacks could also be used defensively, and many cybersailor attacks were met with the shouted: "DEEP SUBMERGE!"
Finally, an exhausted Sailor Moon slumped against the corridor wall and looked up…there a sign read: Port Section 32: Engineering.
"Bridge," she said as Neptune unleashed another primal attack against the cyborgs. "Evacuate the engineering section, and get ready to seal the doors. Tell them to use the starboard exit only."
"Acknowledged," came the reply.
That order having been given, Sailor Moon rose her staff in the air and shouted "MOON ZERO MAGIC!" A bright disk of energy appeared at the tip of her staff and shot forward, slamming into Cyberuranus, who had already been weakened considerably. The cyborg stumbled, but still came forward.
"Good," Sailor Moon thought. "I don't want to miss any of you with this…"
Sailor Neptune deflected another Cybersaturn attack with a shouted "DEEP SUBMERGE!" It seemed to be the most effective way to stop the energy bolts.
"Sailor Moon," came Amy's voice over the comm. "The Engineering section is evacuated."
"Good," Sailor Moon said as she slapped the entry button to open the door. "Get ready to teleport down here." With that, the two Sailors retreated into the Engine Room.
As Sailor Moon shut the door and sealed it, she ordered the women on the Bridge: "Bring down all bulkheads in port section 32!" In five seconds, this was done. When she saw Neptune's questioning gaze, she said. "The only way out now is through this door, and they'll have to take time to punch their way through it. By the time they do, we will be in position."
"And where will that be?" Neptune asked.
"Inside the engine core."
== * SM * ==
The Cybersailors finally crashed through the sealed door and entered the Engine Room, ready to fire on the criminals who had so far, eluded them. Finding no sign of them, Cyberuranus began to scan the area for them. After a moment, she pointed across the room in the direction of the huge cylinder shape that was the ship's fusion engine core. The Cybersailors started toward the nearest entry to the core, a short corridor-like gantry-way that led from the Engine Room itself to a door in the side of the core.
Sailor Moon and Sailor Neptune watched the progress of the Cybersailors on a monitor. "Get ready," Sailor Moon said into her wrist comm.
"Gotcha," came the response from Sailor Jupiter on the other side of the comm line. Sailor Moon motioned for Sailor Neptune to follow her, and she turned and headed down the walkway that spanned the length of the engine core. The wall to her right curved up and over her head. Connections to the engine core itself stabbed down from the wall/ceiling at seemingly random points.
Even though the FTL systems were offline, the cylindrical mechanical mass that powered the ship hummed and blinked to itself, the throb of its power rumbling through the deck.
Once the Sailors reached the end of the walkway, they turned around. "It'll be any second now," Sailor Moon said, as much for the benefit of the woman standing next to her as those on the Bridge.
Almost as if on cue, the Cybersailors started entering the core. There were warnings posted on the outer hull of the core, warnings about the danger of being in this area of the ship, but all the cyborgs were concerned about was the fact that their quarry had fled through that door into a place that there was no way out of.
The instant the last cyborg entered the core, Sailor Moon shouted: "NOW!" The two women disappeared.
Suddenly, from behind the cyborgs came a chorus of attack commands: "SHINE AQUA ILLUSION" * "WORLD SHAKING!" and "DEATH RIBBON DEVASTATION" (although Saturn's attack was shouted across the mental landscape.)
The cyborgs tried to fight this new group of enemies, but the elder Uranus had dropped her cyborg counterpart before it could draw its metal sword. The elder Mercury followed her initial attack with: "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST" which shrouded Cyberneptune in a block of ice.
With that, the elders dropped back.
"Okay Sailor Moon!" Jupiter shouted into her comm, and the door to the engine core slammed shut. She then aimed at the floor in front of her and shouted: "JUPITER GRAVITON POWER!" The primal waves of gravity quickly shredded the deck of the area in front of Sailor Jupiter, and the connecting corridor between the core and the engine room twisted under the assault with a metallic groan. As Jupiter continued the attack, the corridor was ripped away from the support struts and metal went everywhere, cluttering to the bottom of the small area of the core's alcove that was actually surrounded by a portion of the hull.
Jupiter carefully watched the force fields that kept the atmosphere of the engine room intact. It shimmered angrily as metal shards flew into it, but the area where the hull stopped and the deathly cold of space started remained sealed.
"It's done," Jupiter said with a grin. "Let's go!" She then teleported herself and the other Sailors away.
== * SM * ==
The Bridge
Before the Sailors had fully materialized on the Bridge, Sailor Moon nodded to the elder Mars.
"Eject the core." Mars responded simply by pressing a couple buttons…
With a blast of fire, small explosive charges ignited and the cylinder of the fusion core was blown away from the Serena and spun off into deep space.
Sailor Moon watched the slowly-rotating cylinder as it dropped further and further behind them. She glanced over at the science station where the elder Mercury was monitoring her controls.
"Is that computer virus you were working on ready?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yes it is," came the simple reply.
"Good," Sailor Moon said. "Launch it on their ship."
== * SM * ==
Aboard Pursuit Ship #721004915-773
The complete darkness in the cockpit of the cyborg's ship was disturbed when it received a transmission. As was standard procedure, it was routed to the command console, and a flag within the transmission was set.
The command console received the transmission and started to act.
"ILLEGAL TRANSMISSION ATTEMPTING TO OVERRIDE COMMAND FUNCTIONS!"
"INITIATE AUTO-DESTRUCT!"
A button was pressed on the Bridge of the Serena, and sparks showered the cockpit as the program within the transmission overloaded every connection to the command console.
"AUTO-DESTRUCT FAILED! INITIATE COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"
After a quick pause: "COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS NOT RESPONDING! INITIATE COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"
== * SM * ==
The Bridge
"The cyborg ship is disabled," the elder Mercury said. "We've captured it."
"Good," Sailor Moon replied coldly as she continued watching the core, which now looked like a large dot that changed shades as it rotated. "Engineering controls to my station, please."
"Aye," Sailor Jupiter replied as she hit the appropriate controls. Sailor Moon looked down and put her finger on a square button that started to flash with a bright red hue accompanied by a soft beeping noise.
She sat back with her finger resting on the button and watched the slowly tumbling core.
With a voice as cold as her cobalt-blue eyes, Sailor Moon muttered, "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you." She pressed the button…
…a flower of yellow, orange, and red blossomed in deep space, followed by a bright white flash that sent a concussion wave slashing out into the darkness…
Sailor Moon sat back in her chair and watched the explosion of the engine core. She slowly closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
…"moondust…" she whispered.
== * SM * ==
Port Section 47
Sandra walked down the side corridor, seemingly unaware of the dimmed lights. She scanned a data pad which detailed the damage to the ship. Most of the main systems were offline due to the loss of the engine core, or damaged. The communications systems were operational, and a distress call had been sent to the Luna Foundation.
== * SM * ==
Aboard Pursuit Ship #721004915-773
Amy climbed a ladder into the cyborg's ship, pulled a flashlight from her hip and looked around the cockpit. In the background, the ship's computer continued to try to fulfill its final directives…
"…TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION! COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS NOT RESPONDING! INITIATE COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"
== * SM * ==
Port Section 49
Victoria laid on her bed with a reading light on. Aztec murals decorated the book, "The History of Mexico, 11th edition," and the history of that part of the world fascinated her. Every so often, she would look into the darkness at the nearby portal and the blanket of stars outside it. Always however, she would be drawn back to her book, and the exploits of the colorful characters of history.
A knock sounded at the door. Victoria quietly arose from her bed and put her book on the table that sat next to it. With a press of a button, a lamp lit, bathing the room in a soft yellow light.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Sandra stepped into the room.
As the door closed behind her Sandra bowed slightly. "Good evening."
"Good evening, princess," Victoria replied.
"Please," Sandra said, waving off any further etiquette. "Not so formal…I just came to talk, like I promised.
"Really?" Victoria said as she noted the strain in Sandra's voice. She gestured to a nearby couch. "Please have a seat…"
Sandra slowly went to the couch and sat down. She looked out of the window and seemed to lose herself among the clouds.
Victoria gently brought her friend back to reality. "What do you want to talk about?"
There was a long pause before Sandra answered.
"I think there's something really wrong with Rachel…"
FINI
· "Moon, Sailor Moon," is of course a bow to any and every Bond movie ever made.
· "Shine Aqua Illusion" is a more direct translation of the Mercury attack also referred to by the command words: "Mercury Ice Storm Blast." I decided it would be best to let the elder Mercury use the more correct of the two phrases.
Fanfic ã1999 – John Brengman and Artemis Publishing
Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,
ã 1992 by Toei Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha's
manga production of "Sailor Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi
This fanfic is freely distributed. Release date: April 5, 1999
Release: 3rd Edition – January 27, 2001