Sailor X #25 In Her Majesty's Service
By: John Brengman
Edited by: Thomas Schell
Darkness flooded through the halls of the Luna Foundation, lit only by the blue emergency lights that lined the top and the bottom of the walls. A dark-suited maintenance worker passed a door and continued forward down the corridor, seemingly oblivious to the lack of light. Another man approached the door, stopped, and placed his palm on a slot next to it. A faint hum accompanied a dull blue flash under the man's palm, and a green light then replaced it. The door opened.
The room the man entered was barely brighter than the corridor he had left. He climbed a small set of stairs near the door and looked out over the room. Various people sat in chairs in front of computers or monitors. Three large screens dominated the far wall, each one showing an area map of the Luna Foundation, the Moon Palace, and the surrounding moonscape.
The man briefly glanced toward the glass-enclosed office that was situated at the back of the room. From there, occupants could carry on a private conversation and yet could have a view of the entire computer room. Two women in Sailor suits were in the office now…
"How much longer until this test is over?" Michiru asked.
Haruka glanced at the digital clock on the desk beside her. "About two minutes," she replied, barely able to hide her own impatience. Both of them knew that all of this was in preparation for the day Neo-Queen Serenity would channel the immense power needed to surround the Earth in a protective layer of ice. In fact, this was the third such test, and it was designed to see if the computers and other systems would be affected by the power that would be used. At the end of each test came a test where the technicians re-started the computer systems from scratch, in the event something unknown were to happen and such a thing would become necessary.
Haruka leaned over to a nearby microphone. Looking out the window at the technicians and their glittering computer panels, she gave the command to start the final phase of the test.
Chaos erupted almost immediately.
Warning alarms sounded, and the minimal lighting in both the office and the computer room turned red. Haruka followed Michiru out of the room and down the stairs. They were just in time to see the door to the corridor close. They approached the workstation that had caused the commotion. Sparks of energy arced over the console and a single word blinked unsteadily on the screen.
"What did you see?" Haruka demanded of a nearby technician.
"I thought Charlie was just doing the routine," the man replied quickly. "He put a disk in the terminal, typed a command, and the whole thing blew up. By then, he was already leaving…as though he knew what was going to happen."
"Haruka, look at this," Michiru said, pointing at the ruined console. Haruka stepped over and glared at the screen.
"Sisko 197?" Haruka pondered aloud.
"I don't know either," Michiru replied. "Technician, locate Charlie for us." The technician busied himself flipping the switches and checking the displays to obey his orders.
"He's in the north stairwell, going up," came the reply.
"If I were him," Haruka said starting for the door, "I'd head for the monorail tunnel, and then try to get to the launch pads."
"Right," Michiru replied as she and Haruka started running down the dark corridor. The technicians left behind in the computer room who were not busy trying to continue their duties or repair the damage that had just been done barely heard the two women as they shouted their command phrases to transform into their Sailor alter-egos.
"You were right,"
Sailor Neptune said as she sprinted down the corridor. "He is trying to get to
the monorail."
"Not if I get to him first," Uranus
replied grimly as she rounded a corner just in time to see her prey sliding
under a heavy bulkhead.
"Stop…" Uranus yelled, but she realized immediately that if the man did so, he would be cut in two by the reinforced steel bulkhead. The fugitive slipped under the wall as it came down with a heavy-sounding thud.
"…or I'll say 'stop' again," Sailor Uranus growled as she glared at the barrier between her and the fleeing man. "How do we open this thing?" She asked, gesturing to the blast door. Neptune pointed to the controls that were in a small recess on the wall nearby. After a few moments of tugging and pulling at the handle, Sailor Uranus stood up and looked at the controls disgustedly. "They're stuck," she said.
"What will you do now?" Neptune asked.
"This," Uranus replied as she backed up to the far side of the corridor and readied herself. "You'd better duck around the corner."
Seeing what her partner was about to do, Neptune cried, "No!" and started forward only to hear Uranus shout: "URANUS…"
"Oh!" Neptune skidded to a stop then retreated quickly to safety behind the nearest corner. Meanwhile, Uranus braced herself for the backlash of her attack. After all, her target was at point-blank range.
"….WORLD SHAKING!"
The glow of her attack blossomed, then shot forward into the opposite wall where the blast door controls were situated. The blast warped the metal of the wall, and melted the controls.
Sailor Uranus was thrown roughly against the wall and she grimaced as the concussive force bombarded her. She dropped to her knees under the force of the blast.
Melted metal dripped from the point where the fiery attack had smashed into the wall and smoke billowed from a crater-like hole.
With a rumble, the heavy blast doors shuddered upward. Sailor Uranus struggled to her feet. "I've gotta catch that jerk!" She yelled. "Come on, Sailor Neptune!"
"Yes," Neptune replied as she got to her feet and started to follow her partner.
The Moon Palace monorail sped down the dark tunnel with Sailor Uranus at the controls. What little could be seen of the tunnel walls as they flashed in the headlights of the monorail's pilot car sped by as the monorail headed north. Sailor Neptune sat near another bank of controls, monitoring their progress. The news she had was not good.
"You'll never catch him," she informed her partner.
"Oh ye of little faith," came the quiet reply from Uranus, who barely glanced at Neptune.
"I didn't mean it that way," Neptune said.
"I know," Uranus said.
The monorail continued northward along the "trunk" of the castle, the portion of the grounds that extended north from the main areas. As they neared their destination, a small smile started to form on Uranus' face. Neptune had seen that look before, the look of a hunter about to catch her fast prey. The status board showed that the palace itself was at red alert status, which was as it should be. Then something caught Neptune's eye. The next second, the thin outline around all of the screens turned red and the area that belonged to the nearest launch pad flashed.
"Intruder alert," Uranus said. That would be standard procedure with the current situation. However, the situation quickly changed as more information flashed on the screen.
INTRUDER ALERT – SUPRESSION GAS ACTIVATED
ALERT – LETHAL GAS LEVELS IN LAUNCH PAD ONE
"What the…" Uranus exclaimed.
"It says here that Charles Matthias was assigned to the Engineering section, after doing some work at the observatory." Neptune said calmly. "That would mean that he would have access to the computers, and some of our codes."
"But why kill anyone if all he wants to do is steal a shuttle?" Uranus asked. Neptune was already asking the terminal for information.
"Five people, looks like technicians," Neptune said, then: "wait…Uranus, Lita's in there."
"Damn," Uranus said as she jammed the engine control forward in an attempt to get more speed out of the control car. She knew it was futile. The car was already breaking safety limits, and if lethal amounts of suppression gas were already in the landing pad, there was nothing they could do about it.
Neptune sat at her controls trying to contact Lita. There was no response.
As the monorail turned to the west toward the castle, Uranus could see that the huge dome over the landing pad was opening.
"Damn sonic screwdrivers!" Lita growled as the infernal tool squirted free of her hands and plummeted into the innards of the shuttle. There were two things Lita liked about being able to hang around the palace. The first was the ample opportunity to cook for a lot of people using the best ingredients she could find. The other thing she liked was the opportunity to play grease-monkey and improve her knowledge of mechanics.
Right now however, the job seemed to be losing some of its appeal as Lita glared at the gleaming metal tool that seemed to be mocking her from its resting place deep under the floorboard of the shuttle. With a grunt, Lita lurched forward and stuck her head further into the darkness. She wiggled for enough room to get her arm into the hole, and reached down for the tool.
"Gotcha!" She yelled proudly as she grabbed the troublesome screwdriver. Then she heard the alarms going off and came out of the hole in the floor quickly…too quickly. She nearly dropped the screwdriver again after whacking herself on the back of her head. Rubbing the back of her head, Lita scrambled into the pilot's chair and took a look at the screen.
INTRUDER ALERT: SECTION B – LEVEL ONE, SUBSECTION B – 42
LAUNCH PAD ONE
"That's here!" Lita exclaimed, more for her own benefit. Then she noticed the gas pouring into the room and the technicians running for the exits, except for one, who seemed intent on getting to a nearby shuttle.
"Good idea," Lita thought. "Computer," she said. "Close the shuttle hatch."
"Affirmative," the computer replied. Then: "Warning! Suppressant gas reaching lethal levels!"
"Not good," Lita said. Looking around, she could see that the technicians were trying to get out of the launch pad area, but while the intruder gas was being let in, the doors would not be allowed to open.
At about then, it dawned on Lita. She was in a cargo shuttle, with huge tanks mounted on it for carrying fuel or fire suppressant.
"Computer," she said as she turned to the controls and started flipping switches and pressing buttons, prepping the ship to launch. "Can the tanks on this thing be used to store intruder suppression gas?"
"Affirmative," the computer replied. "Putting the output valve in reverse will allow the shuttle to store a gaseous material."
"Can this valve be set by computer?" Lita asked.
"Aff…"
"Good! Do it!"
The com panel bleeped and someone's voice came over the speaker, calling for her, but Lita didn't have time to waste. If she didn't act now, people would die.
"Launch!" Lita yelled and pushed the thrust control forward.
With a roar of sound and light, the shuttle's thrusters came online and lifted the shuttle into the air.
Looking up at the screen just above the window, Lita said, "Computer, on screen one, give me shuttle altitude and the layout and objects in this landing bay." The computer dutifully complied, and Lita raised the shuttle just high enough to clear the hull armor of the other shuttles in the room. She noticed that the one shuttle that the technician had fled to was moving.
WARNING! LAUNCH IN PROGRESS!
Lita barely had time to notice the huge domed ceiling of the launch bay opening. Her thoughts were in saving the people below. She noticed that the button controlling the holding tanks on the ship was blinking, signaling its readiness. Lita pressed the button and immediately heard a dull roar as the flow valves began sucking in the gas.
Outside, the roiling gas flowed from the ventilation ducts where the release tanks were hidden. Like a fog, the gas drifted down to the floor, where it gathered. With the normal concentration, the gas would be barely noticeable. Now however, it looked like the exhaust fumes of a car during the winter, and it had the same fatal effect.
Lita's shuttle started a slow gradual circle around the launch bay, the holding tanks filling up with the gas. Meanwhile, she watched as the other shuttle lifted higher and higher out of the still-expanding gap in the launch bay dome.
Sailor Uranus didn't wait for the containment doors to completely open before she ducked down and entered the landing pad. To her right, two squat-looking shuttles sat on their designated squares, which were painted a bright yellow on the concrete floor. The roaring sounds of two shuttles was what caught her attention. One shuttle was in the process of completing a slow circle in the air above the shuttles and equipment. A gray gas was being sucked into the three large cylindrical cargo containers that had been loaded on it.
The second shuttle could be seen making a slow graceful rise into the air.
Uranus turned to Neptune. "Are they okay?" She asked.
"Yes," Neptune said as she knelt to examine one of the downed technicians. "None of them inhaled enough of the gas, but I can't find Lita."
"She just saved these people," Uranus replied. "Are you ready to go after the jerk who did this?"
"Yes," Neptune replied as she stood. Uranus was already running toward the nearest shuttle. Neptune followed, and as Uranus seemed to fall into the pilot's chair, Neptune simply sat down and fastened the seat restraints of the co-pilot's chair.
Uranus spared a brief glance at Lita's shuttle, which was about to make its landing, then she quickly flipped the switches to start the engine of her shuttle. With one last flipped switch, she opened the com system.
"Sailor Uranus to Control, I'm in Shuttle 5 in pursuit of an unauthorized launch from Pad One." She didn't bother to add that it would be a cold day in Hell when the fleeing technician out-flew her.
"Confirmed," came the response from the palace's flight control room, which was actually situated in the midst of the landing pads. "Good hunting." Uranus had started the shuttle forward before the two-word sentence was completed. Soon the small ship was streaking through the air in search of the fleeing man.
The shuttle quickly left the palace behind and skimmed over the stark mountains and valleys of the lunar surface.
"There he is," Neptune said, pointing to an overhead screen between her and her partner. Uranus glanced up. "Got it," she said just before banking into a hard left turn and slamming the throttle forward. With the increased speed, the escaping shuttle was soon in sight. Neptune opened the com.
"Shuttle One, this is Sailor Neptune. You are not authorized to pilot that shuttle. Return to the palace immediately." The pilot of the shuttle in front of them did not answer. Instead, he put the ship into a hard left and tried to put a mountain between him and his pursuers.
"I repeat," Neptune said. "You are not authorized to pilot that shuttle. Return to the palace, immediately."
As Neptune switched off the com, Uranus glanced at her. "I didn't think he would answer us," she said. The mountain that hid the fleeing shuttle fell away. Shuttle 4 had started a steep climb away from the lunar surface, and Uranus tapped a few controls, laying in a course to follow. She then jammed the throttle full forward, her eyes gleamed as she felt the increased speed throb through the ship.
Quickly the pitted and barren surface of the moon dropped away as the two ships vaulted into space.
== * SM * ==
A picture of a young man with slim build and sandy brown hair dominated the wall screen of the darkened conference room. The red emergency lights flashed and added their light to the soft white light given off by the translucent tabletop. Around the table sat three women. One of them tapped a button, and the huge picture shrunk into a portion of the screen and was replaced with the words "CHARLES KIMBALL", and his biography and work history. The women examined the information in silence. Finally, the woman at the head of the table sat back in her chair.
"What is our situation," Sandra asked quietly. She then pointed to the wall screen. "And what do we know about this man?"
Melissa leaned forward. "One of the backup computers is shot," she said.
"Luna?" Mariah murmured.
"Yes," came the reply. "As you can see," Melissa continued with a glance to the dimly-lit ceiling, "the Foundation is on backup power, and we will be until what is left of our systems is patched in with Artemis' systems."
"How did Mr. Kimball get such access to our systems?" Sandra asked.
"According to our records," Melissa replied, "Kimball joined the Foundation roughly three years ago after he lost a job with Dessault Industries, an aerospace firm in France. He signed up here, and was placed in Engineering, and then later transferred to the Operations department, where he's been ever since."
"He's performed his duties well?" Sandra asked.
"Yes," Melissa said. "There are no demerits or anything other than perfect service records in his file."
"Sounds a bit too clean," Mariah quipped. Suddenly, all eyes were on her.
"Don't get me wrong," she said quickly, "if he was truly not guilty of anything, I could see this, but the man tried to kill a bunch of people in Launch Pad One, and right now is heading toward Earth in a stolen shuttle."
"The only weird thing I could find on him was when I asked a couple questions to some of the other people that worked with him," Melissa stated. "One of the engineering technicians said that he often saw Kimball on Cargo Shuttle 9 just before his scheduled holiday leaves."
"So?" Mariah said. "So he takes the a ride on the cargo shuttle. Lots of people do that."
"Yes," came the response. "But, Cargo Shuttle 9 runs between here and Europe."
"But, according to our records," Sandra said, "Kimball lives in Spokane, Washington, in the United States."
"And during my inquiries, according to the people I talked to, Kimball comes across as a loner. Certainly not one to do much traveling," Melissa said.
"Well," Sandra said as she stood. "Keep looking. There's something here that we are missing. In the meantime, we'll work on getting things back up and running."
With that, the small meeting broke up.
== * SM * ==
The lead shuttle shuddered under the laser blasts from its pursuer and fishtailed in an attempt to shake off the other shuttle.
It didn't work. Sailor Uranus kept her quarry right ahead of her and nodded to Sailor Neptune, who toggled the trigger again, sending two more laser bolts at the fleeing ship.
"Missed," Uranus remarked.
"Yes," Neptune replied. "But how much more of this can he take?"
Both ships spiraled down into the atmosphere of Earth. Uranus started to see wisps of super-heated air trailing off the nose of the shuttle. Then the wisps grew into torrents and then started to glow with a fiery fierceness. She was not too worried. She had helped to field test the design for the improved shuttles in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, which was far more dangerous than what she faced now.
Nodding to Neptune again, Uranus heard the high-pitched whine of the lasers. Uranus didn't have to see the other ship to see the results. The readings on the sensor display above her changed immediately. "You hit him," she said. "His engine output is down forty percent."
"That won't matter much," Neptune replied. "He can easily pick up speed through the atmosphere."
The ships quickly dropped from the sky, both of them making turns that pulled them into level flying just over the ocean's surface. Together they raced over the eastern Atlantic, the northern coast of Spain falling behind them.
"He's really a good pilot," Uranus commented as another duo of laser bolts missed the fleeing shuttle.
"He's also opened up a communications link to someone in western Europe," Neptune said. "We can't pinpoint the exact destination."
"Send our readings to the palace," Uranus said. "They'll be able to make more sense of them."
The two ships hurtled over the sea. The Bay of Biscay fell behind them as they leapt over the peninsula of Brittany and into the English Channel.
"Uranus," Neptune said with concern, "at this rate, we'll be over London before we can stop him."
"What a mess," Uranus said. "Inform the English civil air authorities and tell them to clear us a path along our trajectory."
"They won't like that," Neptune said.
"Better this than one of us hitting a passenger jet."
Neptune nodded, then turned and set about the task of alerting the proper authorities. By the time she was done, the port cities of Southampton and Portsmouth were receding into the distance behind them.
"Yep," Uranus said. "He's heading straight for London. And he's slowing down."
== * SM * ==
"We've analyzed the transmission that Mr. Kimball sent," Luna told the assembled Sailors who were gathered around the table in the briefing room. "It was sent to somewhere in the vicinity of Altdorf, Switzerland."
"We also know what was sent in that signal," Artemis said, "and it's not good."
"Enough with the predictions of doom you two," Sandra quipped. "Out with it."
"The files stolen from our computers were some of the ones belonging to Sailor Pluto," came Luna's explanation. Some heads turned to Setsuna, who was leaning against the wall watching the preceedings.
"How damaging is this?" Sandra asked.
Vanessa looked over at her mentor before replying. "It depends," she said. "First, among the files stolen was the time charts for the early part of this century. This would give someone a pretty good idea of when events are supposed to occur."
"Meaning that someone can use what they've taken to their advantage in the future," Mina said.
"Yes," Raye said
as she absent-mindedly tapped the table with her finger, "but that's too
simple. We're missing something."
"Huh?" Mina said, confused.
"Raye's right," Rachel said. "There are a lot easier ways to scam people. Why go through all of the trouble of ripping us off?"
"Not to mention stealing a shuttle and evading capture," Sandra said.
No one spoke for a moment, and the thing that was missing seemed to hang over the room.
"Wait a second," Luna said. "Computer, access the personnel files on Charles Kimball, and the transmission sent from Shuttle One."
"Computer ready," the computer replied.
"Run a factual comparison on the files and give me the results."
The computer beeped and whirred as it quietly followed its orders and digested the two files. Finally, it stopped.
CHARLES KIMBALL EMPLOYED AT DESSAULT INDUSTRIES
TRANSMISSION DESTINATION: DESSAULT INDUSTRIES'
ROCKET MODIFICATION DIVISION – ALTDORF, SWITZERLAND
"So he's giving his old bosses some inside information," Cass said from her chair. "I don't get it."
"Computer, what are the current projects of Dessault Industries?" Luna asked. "Visual display please." The computer put its information on one of the wall screens that surrounded the room.
PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED FUEL COMPONENTS – AEROFLOT
PROJECT: RESEARCH INTO F – 29 STRATO-EAGLE – USAF
PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ENGINE – BRITISH AIRWAYS
PROJECT: CO-DEVELOPMENT: SPDS
Vanessa's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the list. She looked at Setsuna and noticed that she too was looking intently at the list. "Oh no," she said but was met with a warning glance from Setsuna.
Turning to face
Sandra, Setsuna said, "We need to talk privately."
With a nod, Sandra arose from her
seat and headed to the small lounge that was attached to the briefing room.
Setsuna and Vanessa followed, leaving the other Sailor soldiers behind with
their questions.
"Interesting," Luna said.
"Confusing is more like it," Lita remarked.
The computer started beeping, and Luna batted at the toggle switch, then read the message that appeared on the terminal.
"Ah," she said. "Uranus and Neptune have recovered the shuttle that Mr. Kimball stole." Then she paused. "They report that Kimball killed himself before they could capture him."
== * SM * ==
"All
those things we can not know, we dream, we hypothesize.
Maybe
these are secrets shared by those watching from the skies.
If we are only members of the human race…"
-Geddy Lee, "The Angels Share"
Sandra seated herself behind the desk in the lounge before she looked up at Vanessa and Setsuna. "Okay," she said. "This is your meeting. What are we here for?"
After a pause to collect her thoughts, Setsuna sighed, then stepped forward.
"We believe there is the possibility that someone at Dessault is plotting to change the timestream," she said.
"And there's a reason this could not be discussed in front of the others?" Sandra asked quietly.
"We believe the event in question is the one that will result in the freezing of the Earth by the Moon Kingdom," Vanessa said.
"And why wasn't this brought to my attention," Sandra asked, "or the queen's?"
"The queen has not been in any condition to act on this information," Setsuna replied. "Since you are ruling the Kingdom while she is unable to do so, you are authorized to know this information and you are the one best able to figure out what to do with it."
"The other Sailors have no need to know the details behind this," Vanessa remarked.
"Plus," Setsuna continued, "In reality, we were hoping that this once we would be wrong."
"From your reactions in the briefing room, I am assuming that something related to Dessault has you worried," Sandra said.
"Yes," Setsuna replied.
"But you can't tell me what that is?"
"Not directly, no."
"Come on, Setsuna," Sandra said, her eyes angry. "You've already stepped into this. It's too late to wipe your shoes."
Setsuna seemed unmoved. "I told you that there was a possible temporal deviation," she said. "I can not be more specific."
"No," Sandra replied. "It's not that you can't. You won't be more specific. Your way of dealing with these things is to wait until after they've happened." She paused, then:
"Will you help us with this?"
"I've done all I can do," was the response. "To do more would risk a temporal deviation."
Sandra looked at Vanessa. "How about you?" She asked.
"Right now I can't help you." Vanessa said simply. "You want answers that are too general. You want to know what the temporal deviation is and how to solve it. I can not give you those answers any more than Setsuna can. However, if you come up with specific questions, I can help you answer them."
Sandra gazed downward at the desk, knowing that her next words were going to be tough.
"Ok," Sandra said as she stood. She went around the desk and stood before the two women. "Setsuna, it is your duty to protect the timeline, and I believe that if you remain on duty, you would attempt to stop us from doing what we may have to do. With that in mind, I, as Princess of the Moon Kingdom and current reigning monarch, do strip you of your duties for the period of one week, or until I reinstate them, whichever is shorter."
Setsuna bowed stiffly. "I understand."
"You still have access to the Doors of Time," Sandra said, "and you could still stop us, but I am asking you not to out of respect for the Kingdom."
"I won't interfere," Setsuna replied. "And I will be ready in case something goes wrong."
Sandra nodded, and with that, Setsuna turned and left the room. Vanessa remained standing before Sandra until the other woman looked at her. "Please join the others," Sandra said. "I'll be out shortly once I have narrowed my questions down a bit."
With a bow that was a good imitation of the one Setsuna had just given, Vanessa turned and left the room.
== * SM * ==
The Timegate
"The CEO of Dessault Industries is a man named Mikel Riley," Sandra said as she glanced around the room at the assembled Sailors. "Our files indicate that he is a multi-billionaire several times over and is paranoid about someone else having control over his money."
"How does that involve us?" The elder Sailor Venus asked.
"If something that we're about to do threatens his money," Sandra replied, "Riley will attack first to protect what he has."
"What would we do that would take Riley's money?" The elder Mars asked.
"That's irrelevant right now," came the reply. "We are concerned more with the safety and security of all of humanity, not the personal fortunes of one man."
"So what's our plan?" The elder Jupiter asked.
"We split into two teams," Sandra said. "Rachel, Vanessa, and Bethany will use the Timegate to go into the future and answer the question I posed to Vanessa."
"Which was?" Rachel asked.
"The only way Dessault can do anything to us is to launch the missiles from the Subsurface Planetary Defense System." Sandra said. "I want to know whether or not those missiles have been used. Vanessa says that we can get that information in the 30th Century."
"The second group, the elder Sailors Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will travel by shuttle to Altdorf," Sandra continued. "They will try to recover the stolen data, and whatever other evidence they can get on what Mr. Riley plans."
Noting that the orders had been given, Vanessa walked up the ramp to the circular platter-like device located near the Timegate. Below her, the ether that formed the surface of the Timegate churned and glowed with a green hue. Vanessa didn't move the arm that hung over the device, its needle-like end pointing downward onto the surface of the platter. Instead, she reached up to the top of the arm and slid a spherical shaped object all the way forward on the arm.
Standing back, Vanessa shouted: "PLUTO POWER!" With a flashing cascade of light that slowly spiraled outward, Vanessa transformed into Sailor Pluto, guardian of the flows of Time. Those who had not transformed into their Sailor alter-egos soon were in similarly flashy displays. Then Sailor Pluto raised her Time Staff and shouted:
"TIMEGATE ACTIVATION!"
With a flash of green light, an arc of energy shot out and hit the platter-like device. The light only lasted a few seconds, then the Timegate assumed its former calm state.
Sailor Pluto motioned the others forward. She would be the last one to descend through the portal. Finally though, Sandra watched as Pluto's head disappeared into the ether of the portal and into the 30th Century.
== * SM
* ==
30Th Century – Crystal Tokyo
A misty chill floated in the silent air as the Sailors stepped out of a wall and into a shadowy room deep under the Crystal Palace – the future home of the Moon Kingdom.
Glancing around quickly, Sailor Pluto pointed toward a path not too far away. The Sailors could see a bright blue light that illuminated the path.
It looked as though they had stepped into an area used for storage. Blue metal doors lined the walls. Each door had a number and a numbered keypad
Soon the Sailors emerged onto the well-lit path and found themselves gazing at the source of the illumination. A shining column sparked radiantly.
"Wow," Sailor Uranus murmured. "What is that?"
"The Crystal Palace's central computer core," Pluto replied quietly as the trio of Sailors started toward it. "It's memory banks contain information going all the way back to the Silver Millennium."
"Wasn't that destroyed by Queen Beryl during the first Dark Kingdom attack against Queen Serenity?" Uranus asked.
"The original castle was," Sailor Pluto replied. "But the computer core was located deep underground, as this one is. When the attack came, the core was sealed off and it survived the destruction."
As the Sailors approached, they saw that the core was surrounded by a glass partition. The only opening stood before them. Computer terminals ringed the partition, with seats patiently waiting users to use the quiet control panels. Rachel sat down in front of the nearest terminal, its black glossy surface beneath her hands. One lone light blinked on the control panel and with a touch, the entire panel flashed to life. A message blinked in one portion of the panel: "Enter user name:"
Rachel quickly typed in her user name. The response was unexpected.
USER "R_Kyle" NOT REGISTERED. INACTIVE FILE INDICATE NEAREST MATCH IS USER "Amy Mizuno". DO YOU WISH TO ACTIVATE THIS USER?
Rachel cancelled the request, and the terminal patiently waited for another user to log on. Sailor Pluto, who was examining the computer core from inside the partition was summoned to help.
"Thankfully, I know the user name and password of one person who might be active," Pluto said. She went to the terminal next to Rachel, tapped the activation control and was greeted by the same login screen. She typed in: "S_Meioh" and was greeted with, "Greetings Setsuna. Please enter your password." After Pluto typed in the password, she let Mercury take her place.
"Wait," Mercury said to Pluto. "It's your mentor's name we're using. Why don't you do this?"
"Because officially," Pluto said, "I'm not here. I need to go check the portal and make sure it is stable. I've never kept one open this long." Pluto put her hand on Mercury's shoulder and glanced down at the control panel. "Just don't do anything stupid." Then she turned and walked back into the shadows.
Mercury got to work. Fingers flew over the controls as she called up the computer's directories, and soon she found the information she was looking for.
"This is strange," Mercury muttered.
"What is it?" Bethany said as she joined her fellow Sailor.
"Well," Mercury said. "According to the historical archive, the planetary defenses were never used in any of the conflicts that the Moon Kingdom had with anyone else. Yet…" Mercury's fingers tapped a few controls and another view showed in the center of the control panel. The view was a map of the Pacific Ocean. From an area west of Los Angeles, a dark blue line snaked its way out into the ocean, then curved south through the archipelago of Indonesia and from there into the Indian Ocean. At relatively even points along this line, small blue circles appeared.
"In the late 20th and early 21st centuries," Rachel said, "the UN engaged in a program to buy high-yield nuclear warheads from the United States and Russia."
"But there were already a bunch of disarmament treaties signed," Bethany replied.
"Yes," Rachel said. "And according to this, most of the later ones were masterminded by the UN, with the Luna Foundation secretly behind them. By 2013, the construction of the underwater chain of nuclear silos was started. By 2015, the Pacific chain was completed, and the Indian Ocean chain was completed two years later. By 2021, two more chains were expected to be completed and the entire thing would end up virtually circling the planet."
"What happened to it?"
"Well, something strange," Rachel said. With a tap of the controls, the view of a section of the chain in the Pacific was enlarged. The chain could be seen making its way southwest until it reached the middle of the ocean. It then turned south for about 200 miles, then resumed its southwest course. Unlike the other circles indicated along the chain, three of the four circles in the area being viewed on the control panel were clear. A pointer labeled the fourth circle as the eastern control module for the chain.
"What happened?" Uranus asked again.
"Apparently the defense system was used," Mercury said. "We just don't know when. I'll attempt to find out."
"Okay," Uranus replied. "I'll tell Pluto what you found out."
"You do that," Mercury said, her mind already on to her next task. Something seemed odd about the way the computer reacted when she had tried to log in. She dropped back to the root directory and quickly scanned the contents. Finding a promising file, Mercury tapped it, and followed a trail that led her deeper and deeper into the memory banks. Finally, in a directory named "Personnel", she found a file named "Dispositions" and selected it. The file appeared in the center of the control panel.
Sailor Moon ( Serena Tsukino ) INACTIVE
Sailor Moon ( Sandra Tsukino ) INACTIVE
Sailor Mercury ( Amy Mizuno ) ACTIVE
Sailor Mercury ( Rachel Kyle ) KILLED IN ACTION
Sailor Venus ( Mina Aino ) ACTIVE
Sailor Venus ( Brandy MacIntyre ) INACTIVE
Sailor Mars ( Raye Hino ) ACTIVE
Sailor Mars ( Cassandra Von Drysen ) KILLED IN ACTION
Sailor Jupiter ( Lita Kino ) ACTIVE
Sailor Jupiter ( Mariah Shipman ) INACTIVE
Sailor Saturn ( Hotaru Tomoe ) INACTIVE
Sailor Saturn ( Victoria Chapland ) INACTIVE
Sailor Uranus ( Haruka Tenoh ) INACTIVE
Sailor Uranus ( Bethany Dell ) INACTIVE
Sailor Neptune ( Michiru Kaioh ) INACTIVE
Sailor Neptune ( Melissa Stanley ) KILLED IN ACTION
Sailor Pluto ( Setsuna Meioh ) ACTIVE
Sailor Pluto ( Vanessa Ramsey ) INACTIVE
Mercury sat back and stared at the panel. Especially at the words KILLED IN ACTION across from her name. What villain would they face that would do this? Just as she was about to dig deeper for answers, a hand touched her shoulder.
"I told you not to do anything stupid," Pluto growled as she hit the control to shut down the display. "It's bad enough that we have to use sensitive information to protect the Moon Kingdom, but you certainly should not know what you just saw."
"What are you going to do about it?" Mercury said as she stood up.
"I could use the Timegate and prevent you from accessing that file in the first place," Pluto replied. She saw Mercury stiffen at the thought that something could actually be done about her "temporal crime".
"However," Pluto continued. "It may be more interesting to watch you live with it, never knowing if anything you do, or any time travel we do changes your fate."
"I don't believe in fate," Mercury bluntly stated.
"Neither do I," Pluto replied. "But then again, the ancient people didn't believe the world was round."
With that, Pluto ushered Mercury toward the back of the room and the portal that awaited to take them back to their own time.
== * SM * ==
Near Altdorf, Switzerland 3:40 PM
The Sailors managed to quickly infiltrate the large factory belonging to Dessault Industries. It was a simple matter once Sailor Jupiter said that she could teleport the three of them past the fence that bordered the property. They slipped onto the property at a secluded locale and then transformed out of their heroic identities. They would definitely look out of place in their short-skirted Sailor uniforms, but perhaps no one would give three business women much thought. They picked what looked to be a promising door and entered an old brick building that looked like it contained offices
The few workers who remained in the building at this time in the afternoon smiled politely at the ladies as they passed, until Mina spotted one particular office. The wall sign indicated that these were the offices of Mikel Riley.
"Well," Raye muttered. "Let's see if the big money-maker is home." She quietly turned the handle and opened the door.
The redheaded secretary looked up as the three women entered the office. Unlike the blue-collar atmosphere that was evident just outside the door, the offices of the CEO presented an aristocratic air. Classical music wafted softly in the air. Valuable paintings adorned the walls. Plush couches were arranged neatly around an expensive coffee table and the desk the secretary sat behind was made of mahogany.
The secretary herself was dressed in a secretarial business suit with a white blouse that was buttoned all the way to her neck, and light gray skirt.
Looking up from her work, the secretary noticed her visitors. "Mr. Riley is not in right now," she said. "May I ask who you are?"
"Oh, I'm Mina," Mina said cheerfully. "We're from the accounting department and we're just here to check and see that the financial ledgers are in order for the American accounts.
"After all," Raye added. "It's tax season over there."
"The forms were not filed electronically?" The secretary asked.
"Mr. Riley doesn't file his taxes electronically," Raye said quietly. "He doesn't trust the tax preparation people, and he's afraid that someone will hack his files."
"Well, he's not here." the secretary said as she returned to her work. The visitors were clearly dismissed.
Mariah was not cowed that easily. "Are you saying that we came here all the way from the central office for nothing?"
"Mr. Riley left just over an hour ago for a meeting in Shanghai," the secretary replied.
"Can you find the tax files?" Mina asked.
"I don't think I should be going into Mr. Riley's office when he's not here."
"Okay," Raye said. "We'll just report back to the main office and tell them why Mr. Riley will be late with the tax preparation forms. I'm sure Mr. Riley will be quite angry when he finds out that he will be paying late fees."
"What was your name again?" Mina chimed in. "We want to make sure you get full credit for this."
The secretary eyed Mina coldly for a moment, then pulling open the desk drawer, she removed a key. She grumbled as she stood and walked over to the wooden door that led into the next office.
"I guess I can let you in," she muttered. "I wouldn't want to have Mr. Riley mad. He can get really terrible when he gets mad." The waiting women heard the lock open with a resounding click, and the secretary opened the door.
The secretary ushered the other women into the darkened office. It was clear that she did not care to have strangers in the room because she didn't bother to turn on the lights before pointing to a pair of file cabinets that stood against the far wall. Dim light filtered through the shuttered windows and cast a dim yellow pall over the room.
"The files you are looking for are in the file cabinets," the secretary said.
"What about the computer?" Mariah asked.
"Mr. Riley doesn't keep his files on the computer," the secretary said. "He afraid someone…"
"…will hack his files," Mina finished. "Gotcha. We'll need some privacy for a few moments."
"Why?" The secretary was suddenly defensive.
"According to regulations, these files are private," Raye replied. "We can't go over them with a third party looking over our shoulder."
"But…"
"Look, lady," Mariah said as she hustled the secretary out the door. "Let us do our jobs. We'll be out of your hair in no time." Mariah closed the door firmly behind her and locked it. Pulling out her pistol, she set it on its lowest setting and fired at the door. A puff of smoke and a satisfying sizzle told Mariah that the door mechanisms were fused into a solid piece of metal.
"How long will that hold them?" Mina whispered.
"Not long enough," Raye replied quietly as Mina activated the computer. "Hurry!"
"I am," Mina insisted as she inserted a floppy disk into the computer's disk drive.
While the women worked, a large owl glared unmoving at them. A quiet whir sounded as one eye focused.
== * SM * ==
The Central Pacific
A large white boat trundled through the water toward its destination. Although it was a luxury craft, no one was taking advantage of the sun and warmth upon the deck. Indeed, the only person on the upper decks of the boat at all was a lone man who stood gazing toward the horizon with one hand on the ship's wheel. With his graying hair swept back, a light sports shirt on, and his hand at the controls of a yacht, Mikel Riley looked every bit the multi-millionaire that he was.
Then Riley heard a beeping noise, and the top on the computer terminal next to the ship's wheel slowly rose, its screen already flashing an alert. After entering his passcode, Riley saw his secretary's face appear on the monitor.
"Mr. Riley," she said. "There's something strange going on here…."
== * SM * ==
"Found it!" Mina squeaked. The other women looked over her shoulder at the computer monitor.
"There's the information stolen from the Luna Foundation," Raye said. "But what's all the rest of this stuff?"
"Information on the planetary self-defense network…" Mariah murmured. "With firing trajectories toward the moon."
"I'm getting all of this," Mina said as she dragged the file objects from their folder and onto the floppy disk.
Just as the disk drive started whirring to itself, the three women heard someone trying to open the door.
"You in there!" The secretary said loudly. "Come out here now!" The curtains near the door continued to shiver as the secretary tried to force her way in.
"Hurry," Mariah said urgently.
"I'm trying," Mina said as she held her hand near the disk drive. "One thing technology hasn't improved much on is the speed of a computer saving stuff to disk."
Now some male voices were added to the shouting outside the door, and the shaking of the curtains got worse.
Just before the door reverberated with the force of the first kick against it, Mina snatched the disk form the drive.
"Let's go," she said, nodding toward the windows on the far side of the room. Raye was already there, ripping the window shades down and throwing open the windows.
The door crashed open and three guards entered the room. Raye was already up on the window sill. "There's an awning we can use to catch us, and there's a truck we can use," she said just before she jumped.
Mina was climbing into the window as the guards raised their guns.
"Halt!" The lead guard ordered. Mina took that opportunity to leap out the window.
Mariah realized that she was outnumbered three to one, and decided that the odds needed to be evened out a bit.
"JUPITER STAR POWER!" The flaring light of the transformation was intense and the guards had to shield their eyes. By the time they could see, Jupiter was ready.
"JUPITER GRAVITON
POWER!" A force wave blasted from Jupiter, throwing the soldiers into the next
room along with most of the wall. Strone, glass, and wood exploded into what
had been the secretary's office and the guards landed haphazardly amid the
rubble.
Sailor Jupiter
took the opportunity that the confusion gave her to get to the window to make
her escape.
One of the guards raised his gun at the back of Sailor Jupiter and his hand squeezed the trigger. The gun coughed once, and a bullet slammed into Jupiter's shoulder. The force of the blow threw her out the window.
There was barely enough time to scream, but Sailor Mars turned and ran to catch her. Sailor Jupiter fell on top of Sailor Mars and the two of them collapsed in a heap.
Two guards appeared in the window and shot down at the Sailors. Their first shots missed, and their second shots bracketed the Sailors as they ran toward the truck. As the Sailors clambered into the truck, bullets pinged around them.
"Sandra told us not to use our powers except in an emergency," Mars shouted. "I'd say this counts!" With that, Mars pulled her hands together and aimed at the guards.
A bullet slammed into the truck two inches from Sailor Mars' head. She gasped, but then regained her composure and concentrated.
"MARS FIRE IGNITE!" A swirling bolt of fire leaped from Mars' fingers and slammed into the window as the guards ran to get out of the way. The office exploded. Plaster glass and wood rained down, but by then, the truck had already sped off.
The truck raced from the side of the building and onto the road leading to the main gate, which was flanked by two guard towers. As the truck approached, soldiers spread out across the road at the guard towers.
"Get down!" Venus shouted as the soldiers raised their weapons. Sailor Jupiter ducked just in time to be missed by a spray of bullets that splattered against the windshield, and Venus threw herself against the door to avoid a bullet that shot through the air where her head had been. The truck swerved to the left, then Venus hit the gas.
Soldiers scattered as the truck roared toward them. The wire-meshed gate collapsed on the truck as it struck , then fell away with a loud clatter. The truck raced the short distance to the road, then made a tire-screeching right turn onto the highway.
On the helipad south of the facility sat a trio of attack helicopters. Soon after the commandeered truck smashed its way out of the main gate of the complex, these helicopters quickly rose off the ground and into the sky in search of the fleeing truck.
== * SM * ==
Luna and Artemis found Sandra on one of the balconies of the castle. This one was on the south side, overlooking the lake. Sandra was lost in thought and didn't notice the approach of the two guardian cats.
The waters of the lake rippled peacefully as if it were carrying on a conversation. Surrounding the lake was the barren white and gray of the lunar surface and the black sky. Only the invisible shield over the castle and the adjoining buildings kept a breathable atmosphere in place. It also kept the waters of the lake from being instantly vaporized. The lake was not necessary, of course, and it certainly did not capture the grandeur that it had during the Silver Millennium. But there it was, a reminder of the past, and a reminder of what the Moon Kingdom was trying to accomplish.
"Sandra," Luna said urgently, bringing the princess back to matters at hand.
"Yes," she said as she looked over to the cats.
"Sailor Venus has reported in," Luna said. "It appears that Riley does indeed plan to use the planetary defenses against the Moon Kingdom. They are heading back now."
"Sailor Pluto has just returned from the 30th Century," Artemis reported. "She said that three of the underwater silos of the defense system were empty."
"Riley?" Sandra asked.
"It seems so," Luna replied. "We are in danger."
"Ok then," Sandra replied. "Send Sailors Uranus and Neptune to Earth to intercept Riley."
Sandra watched the two cats run of to carry out her commands, then she turned back and looked out over the lake again. "We're missing something," she thought. "Something important."
It soon dawned on her. If Riley had launched the missiles in an attempt to destroy the Moon Kingdom, why was the palace still standing in the 30th Century?
Sandra tapped her writs communicator. "Air Control," she said. "Put all lunar squadrons on full alert and have patrols in the air over the central and south Pacific regions."
"Yes ma'am," the officer replied.
Looking out at the lake, Sandra realized that for now, all she could do was to hope that everything worked out. Of course, it helped that two of her best Sailors were heading out to deal with the source of the problem. It also helped that they would have air support if they needed it.
== * SM * ==
The truck shook under another blast from a trailing helicopter while another one roared overhead. The machine guns shot large holes into the bed of the truck, barely missing Sailor Mars.
"Enough of this already," Mars shouted.
"Do you think they're mad?" Venus asked.
"Just a bit," Mars replied. "But so am I." With that, she put her hands together. "MARS FIRE IGNITE," she shouted, and a fireball shot out and enveloped the helicopter in searing flames. The copter then exploded, showering the road behind them with flaming bits of metal.
With that, one helicopter sprayed more bullets at the truck while the other one raced ahead. It flittered around the east face of the mountain before rising up and over it.
Sailor Venus continued to drive along the mountain road toward the nearby ski resort whose parking lot had also served as an impromptu landing area for their shuttle. Nearby was a relative term however. The truck was skirting the mountain that provided the ski resort with most of its business, but the parking lots were on the other side of the mountain.
The road carved an asphalt path through the snowy slopes of the mountain. Sailor Venus tried to concentrate on the road but the incessant droning of the helicopter was a constant distraction that was elevated dramatically with each attempt that they made to destroy the truck.
The road curved lazily off to the right, following the curve of the mountain. Suddenly the mountain seemed to slump over the road and the road tunneled into the side of the rocky mass. Looking off to the left, Venus could see that the tunnel emerged and continued toward the mountain's western side.
A plan dawned on her.
"Get ready to get out of the truck!" She shouted. At about that moment, the light of day was snuffed out as they entered the tunnel.
Venus continued to drive as the road slowly curved back to the left. Finally, the light of the exit behind them disappeared and was replaced a light from up ahead. At that point, Venus stopped the truck.
"Get ready now," she said as the others got out of the truck. "Any minute now, that helicopter's going to start wondering why we haven't come out the other side of the tunnel, and when they try to check it out, we whack em."
"Got it," Mars replied grimly. She was clearly tired of being the target of large-caliber weapons.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting in the cold darkness, the Sailors were rewarded by the sight of the helicopter lowering itself in front of the exit to investigate the disappearance of its quarry. Sailor Venus had left the truck's headlights on purposefully, and the pilot seemed to realize that the entire thing was a trap. The helicopter started to rise away from the exit of the tunnel, but it was too late.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"
"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"
"JUPITER GRAVITON POWER!"
All three attacks blasted forth from the tunnel as though they had been shot from a cannon. Mars' flame sniper attack struck first, impaling the pilot and incinerating the cockpit. Venus' attack sheared the rotors form the rest of the machine, and they flew off into the forest that adorned the mountain, tearing into the bark of several trees before slamming directly into the trunk of massive tree and coming to rest buried several inches into it.
Jupiter's attack shredded the remains with the force of an earthquake. Just after Jupiter released her attack, Venus realized the danger, and sure enough, the gravity force wave had been magnified by the tunnel and had damaged the exit.
"Back in!" She shouted as she ran for the door. The women piled into the truck, and Venus threw the vehicle into gear and slammed her foot onto the gas pedal. The truck rocketed forward, toward the light and freedom. Venus could already see sand, gravel, and small rocks showering the roadway. Pushing the truck for all it was worth, Venus even tried willing the truck to go faster, as if good thoughts could somehow alter the outcome.
As it was, the truck bolted out of the tunnel just before the first large stone fell. Venus quickly swerved to avoid the twisted wreckage that remained of the second helicopter. Then Venus' thoughts turned to the remaining helicopter.
"I know where it is," Venus muttered quietly.
"What?" Jupiter shouted over the roar of the engine.
"Get ready to bail out!" Venus shouted. "And then, get ready to teleport me!"
"What?" Jupiter yelled. "Teleport you?"
"Just do it!" Venus replied. Just then, she swerved onto a little-used road that seemed to run straight up the side of the mountain.
The truck, beaten and abused as it was, bounded up the rough road as though it enjoyed the experience. Snow rained away from the vehicle, showering the nearby trees.
"What are you doing, Venus?" Sailor Mars shouted from the back of the truck as she held on for dear life, but her friend didn't seem to hear her. The forest was already beginning to thin out and Mars could see that there was a clearing of some sort up ahead.
The truck burst out of the forest and onto the ski run that topped the mountain.
"Perfect!" Venus thought as she aimed the truck toward the top of the run…and the summit of the mountain. Jupiter and Mars watched in horror as skiers ran or dove out of the way of the on-coming vehicle.
Jupiter was the first to notice that the truck was rapidly approaching the top of the run and that Venus was not slowing down. "What are you doing?" She asked.
Sailor Venus ignored the question and instead, focused on getting as much speed from the truck as she could. The snow-covered ground rapidly sped by and the crest of the mountain approached.
"Now!" Venus shouted with such force that Jupiter had her door open before she stopped.
"But…"
"NOW!" Venus pushed Sailor Jupiter out the door. Jupiter fell into the snow and rolled several times through the powder. Mars had just sprung from the back of the truck and landed neatly next to Jupiter.
Both of them looked just in time to see the truck rocket off the top of the mountain
Sailor Venus was still in it.
== * SM * ==
The ground spiraled beneath her as Sailor Venus fell. Above her, the truck flew though the air and collided with the final helicopter. She had leapt from the truck quickly enough that she avoided getting caught in the fiery explosion that resulted when the two vehicles slammed together. Luckily, the spinning rotors had sailed off in the opposite direction.
Now however, as the ground rushed up to meet her, Venus began to think her luck had run out. If Sailor Jupiter did not teleport her soon, she would be splattered on the rocks below. She was not sure that having a pure heart crystal would prevent her from death.
Her fears were about to become an awful reality. The trees shot upward and Venus screamed…
…just as she faded from existence.
Sailor Mars breathed a sigh of relief as Sailor Venus materialized a short distance in front of her. She ran and met Venus and the two hugged each other tightly.
Tears streaming from her eyes, Mars said, "I thought you were dead."
"I nearly was," Venus replied, still surprised to be among the living.
"Yes," Jupiter agreed. "The pain from being shot was almost more than I could concentrate through."
The three Sailors turned and started the long walk down to the resort buildings.
"I can't believe you'd do something so reckless!" Mars yelled, just getting started…
== * SM * ==
In the Central Pacific
The yacht Grandeur of the Seas floated atop the still waters of the ocean. Haruka sat on the side of the ship as she finished donning the rubber scuba suit. Next to her, Michiru was going through a similar process. After the suit was on, Haruka grabbed one of the oxygen canisters and slung it onto her back, fitting the valve endings into her mask. Once Michiru had also finished with her tank, Haruka looked toward the upper deck of the ship, where a well-tanned man stood manning the controls.
"Roland!" She yelled, and the Filipino turned to look at her.
"Yes Señora," he said.
"Don't do anything stupid while we're gone," Haruka said. "If you see anyone, and they don't give the proper reply to palace codes, get out of here."
"But Señora," the man started to protest.
"That was not a request," Michiru chimed in.
"Aye," Rolando replied, seeing he was not going to prevail.
Haruka and Michiru turned to each other.
"Are you ready?" Haruka asked as she held out her hand toward her partner.
"Yes," Michiru replied as she grasped her partner's hand.
"Okay then," Haruka said. "Let's do it." And with that, both women fell backward off the side of the boat and splashed into the blue-green waters of the ocean.
The yacht receded in the distance as Haruka and Michiru swam deeper into the depths of the ocean. Schools of brightly colored fish flowed through the waters nearby. The coral-covered ocean floor slowly rose up to meet them and they started along its surface.
Haruka surveyed the surroundings and tapping Michiru on the shoulder, pointed to a dome-like structure in the distance. Michiru nodded, and they started swimming in that direction.
== * SM * ==
Control Center – Subsurface Planetary Defense System
"Retinal Scan complete," the computer said. "Access granted, Commander Anne Walters."
Riley carefully set the eyeball on the nearby control panel and looked around the control room. Where the blue and white-uniformed palace personnel had been now stood his own men. All of the casualties of his assault had been thrown into the storage rooms. All except one. Her body was sprawled on the floor nearby, blood still seeping from the gouge that had removed her right eye. After he had launched the missiles at the Moon Palace, Riley would have the bodies dumped into the ocean.
The control panels were arranged in a circle around the room, with the most important controls situated at the far end of the room from the entrance. A large viewscreen dominated the wall directly to the right of the main controls, and a status board showing the Pacific Ocean and the missile silos that made up the SPDS in this area flanked the main controls to the left.
In the center of the room was a large pool. Riley knew however that the pool in fact was open to the ocean by the fact that the control module was built on four stilts that were dug deeply into the ocean floor. A bridge arced slightly as it traversed the distance between the entrance to the control room and the main controls.
"All systems ready, sir," one of the men manning the other controls reported.
"Good," Riley replied. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? Computer, initiate full launch sequence."
"Launch sequence requires retinal scan," the computer replied.
"Ah yes," Riley muttered as he reached for the bloody eyeball. "The invincible retina scan." He held the eyeball up to the scanner probe, then said: "Begin retina scan." A small red beam passed over the eyeball.
"Retina scan complete," the computer said. "All missile components moved to launch status two. Ready to launch." A bank of buttons started flashing, each button representing a nuclear missile inside of a cement silo.
"Sir," another henchman said. "We have intruders coming in from the northwest."
Riley went over to the man's controls and tapped a couple buttons. An image of the deep ocean flashed on to the screen above the control panel. Two forms could be seen swimming along the ocean floor.
"They're from the Moon Palace," Riley said simply. "Use Teams 3 and 4, and get rid of them."
"How do you know they are from the Moon Palace?"
"This is a government-controlled area," Riley replied. "Who else would they be? Now, get going."
The man bowed slightly, then hurried off to fulfill his orders.
== * SM * ==
Haruka and Michiru were swimming just above the coral-encrusted ocean floor when they spotted four shapes moving toward them. Rather than retreat, the two women readied themselves for the attack.
The four attackers were armed with thin arm-mounted gyro crossbows. The bolts had serrated edges and were quite effective underwater at short range. They rode scuba sleds that churned up the water behind them.
As the two groups got closer, the attackers paired off so that there were two of them against one foe.
The two men on Haruka swam out as to flank her, then fired at her. She was nimble enough to avoid one shot, but the other bolt winged her arm. Blood poured from the wound. Michiru, who had been missed by the first shots at her, moved toward Haruka and was about to put her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding, but Haruka waived her off. Instead, she continued to swim, but she was noticeably slowed.
Seeing an easy kill, the attackers closed in on Haruka. When they were close enough, they raised the crossbows and took aim.
Haruka took that second to act. Grimacing in pain, she pivoted quickly and jabbed the man in the throat. When he reached for his throat, she grabbed his arm and fired three quick shots at his companion. One shot hit him in the leg, another hit square in the chest. The third bold thudded into his skull. Haruka pulled the crossbow from the drowned man, then let him go.
One of the other assailants shot at Michiru. The bolt ricocheted off her oxygen tank. The leak was small, but Michiru noticed it immediately, and realized she had only a few minutes of air left.
Just then, blood blossomed from the bodies of the men attacking Michiru. Their bodies drifted lifelessly away and Michiru could see Haruka, her arm still aimed at where they had been. Haruka shrugged, then motioned to Michiru, her crossbow, and one of the dead men. Michiru took the crossbow and oxygen tank from one of the assailants and put them on.
Haruka and Michiru continued toward the command center.
== * SM
* ==
Control Center – Subsurface Planetary Defense System
"Our men are dead," the henchman reported. "The intruders are still coming, but one looks wounded. Should Groups 1 and 2 go after them?"
"No," Riley said as he gazed at the screen. "No. We'll deal with them when they get here."
== * SM * ==
Haruka and Michiru stood outside an airlock. Michiru reached over to the combination panel and tapped a few buttons on the numbered keypad. The light on the control panel blinked green, and the door began to open.
Soon both women were in the airlock waiting for the water to be pumped out, and soon that was accomplished.
"Good thing they didn't change the access codes to the doors," Michiru said.
"Yes," Haruka replied. "The fact that someone other than the Moon Kingdom has access to this facility is bad enough."
"I don't want to think what they might do with it."
"Time to stop
this," Haruka said. "URANUS STAR POWER!"
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"
After the transformation effects faded, Sailor Uranus opened the inner door and stepped inside just ahead of Sailor Neptune.
Before they got to the first intersection, the Sailors found themselves pinned down by three guards with lasers.
"We can't use our powers in here!" Neptune shouted as a laser bolt exploded above her head. "The forces involved would break through the outer hull!"
The blue iridescence of a laser blast flashed past Uranus and made her duck back into cover behind a corner
"They're using lasers from the weapons locker!" Uranus yelled. "Can't these goons do anything without stealing something?"
Sailor Neptune didn't hear her partner's quip. Ever since the firefight at the intersection had begun, a throbbing headache had been forming, and with the flaring laser bolts being hurled back and forth, the pain grew worse.
Uranus saw Neptune drop to the floor, grabbing her head.
"Neptune!" She shouted. "Were you shot?"
Neptune screamed.
"No, dammit!" Uranus turned and fired a shot past the corner and the return shot nearly took her ear off. Driven by her partner's continued screams, Uranus frantically looked around for something to fight with.
Then she spotted the fire extinguisher. Beneath it was a large sign that in bold red letters said: "FOR EMERGENCY USE"
"Well, this qualifies," Uranus muttered as she opened the cabinet and grabbed the extinguisher. Quickly pulling the safety pin on the device, she slipped back to the intersection, whipped around the corner, and fired.
White foam sprayed out into the corridor, quickly covering the men in a dense fog. They tried firing their lasers, but the energy was almost instantly absorbed. Uranus continued firing the extinguisher for a few more seconds, then released the trigger and set the canister on the floor. The three guards lay unmoving on the ground, smothered in the white foamy fire retardant.
Uranus rushed to Sailor Neptune's side. Sailor Neptune was curled into a fetal position, her hands clasped around the back of her neck, her arms shielding her head, her eyes tightly shut.
== * SM * ==
The large shark swam slowly through the watery depths of the ocean. The sea was dark and cold, and lonely. Most of the other fish stayed as far away as they could, and the shark itself stayed as far away as it could from those that could do it harm.
Suddenly the great fish nearly stopped moving. It was feeling an instinct that it hadn't felt in years. Slowly, the shark turned and headed toward the great man-made shape that was on the horizon.
Normally the shark would have avoided such a structure, but the instinct driving it was irresistible.
== * SM * ==
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune entered the control room and were immediately shot at. One of the two laser bolts bounced off the floor in front of Sailor Uranus. The Sailors returned fire with their crossbows. Uranus hit one man twice, once in the leg, and again in the arm. He dropped his gun and dropped to the deck in pain. Neptune hit one of the men in the center of his chest, and he toppled into the pool.
The two remaining men were quickly dispatched.
Through it all, Mikel Riley watched.
"Nice work," he said as he reached over to pick up a heavy wooden quarterstaff. "You've saved me the trouble of having to get rid of a bunch of bad employees."
"You're next," Uranus said as she strode across the bridge over the pool
"Not likely," Riley said as he readied himself. "The people you see here were combat novices. They were technicians, not warriors, with only the very basic training. I am an expert."
"What makes you think I won't just shoot you?" Sailor Uranus asked.
"Now, where would the sport be in that?" Riley asked. "Or the honor."
"Honor among thieves, " Uranus muttered as she held her right hand into the air. "SPACE SWORD!" The sword flared to life in her upraised hand and she brought it down quickly and met the first strike of Riley's staff. She stepped back a step, then drove forward, forcing Riley backward. Sailor Uranus continued the attack and Riley continued to retreat. Sailor Neptune saw a chance to get to the main controls and started down the circular path toward them. Riley saw her however and brought his staff up quickly, smacking Uranus in the face. He then pressed a well-hidden knob on the staff, and a laser bolt shot from the staff and hit Sailor Neptune, who was thrown roughly to the floor.
"No one is allowed to interfere," Riley growled.
"Neptune…" Sailor Uranus breathed. With a snarl, she launched herself at Riley, her sword a blur as she hacked and slashed at the man in a blind rage. Too many times. Too many times her partner had gotten hurt because of the mission. When the fate of the universe was in the balance, they each had accepted that as the price they had to pay. They were destined to complete the mission, and their goals and dreams were expendable. Now however, there was no mission that dominated their destiny. They were asked to stay on by Neo-Queen Serenity, even after the new Sailors had taken over their old roles, and both partners had done so. They were asked to participate in the building of the Moon Kingdom, and they did so.
However, no longer did either of them have to stand by emotionlessly while the other suffered.
And they no longer would.
Mikel Riley tried in vain to defend himself, and he did a good job. Had he been fighting anyone else, he soon would have turned a potent defense into a devastating offense. Several times, he blocked a blow that rattled him through his arms and into his back. With each deflected blow, Riley stepped back until he fell against the main control panel. He braced himself against the panel to keep his balance, and his hand slammed down on a set of buttons. Then he used the panel as leverage to push into Sailor Uranus and started to drive the Sailor soldier back.
Sailor Neptune returned to consciousness and surveyed her surroundings. Sailor Uranus and Riley continued to battle, and Riley was doing a better job than Neptune would have thought possible against a swordsman of Sailor Uranus' caliber. Neptune got up and started toward the controls, then stopped as she saw the display.
REINAL SCAN CONFIRMED…LAUNCH AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED
ACTIVATION OF PLANETARY DEFENSE SYSTEM IN 2:00 MINUTES.
"We have to hurry!" Neptune shouted as she started toward the main control panel.
Riley also heard her and paused long enough to fire another laser bolt from his staff. The bolt slammed into a support strut near Neptune, and it snapped Sailor Neptune was thrown into the aquamarine water.
"Neptune!" Uranus shouted, but her partner did not answer
== * SM * ==
Sailor Neptune swam underwater along the walkway. She planned to come up near the main control panels and she hoped that she would have the time needed to shut down the launch sequence.
Just then, a large shape loomed nearby. Neptune looked out into the pool in time to see a shark swim into the pool. It's gray skin faded nicely into the deep water. Neptune discarded her original idea and decided that it would be less risky to take her chances with Riley's laser bolts.
With a glance at the shark, Sailor Neptune climbed from the pool and shouted one word to Sailor Uranus.
"NOW!"
Sailor Uranus started to drop back, and Riley charged forward. He tripped over Uranus' right leg. Uranus fell backward onto the bridge and her sword shimmered, then flickered out.
Riley fell forward into the swirling water. He quickly surfaced and frantically reached for the edge of the bridge. Uranus moved quickly and reached down to help. Then she saw the shark coming up from below him. She quickly got to her feet and fled.
Suddenly Riley found himself in the jaws of the great beast. He barely had time to scream. The shark's vise-like jaws snapped shut on the man. Blood sprayed from the shark's jaws as its serrated teeth tore into the soft flesh of its victim. Blood gushed from the Riley's mouth and nose as his screeching screams turned into guttural howls, then into silence. The water foamed red, and Sailor Neptune saw an arm floating on the surface, one end tattered and bloody.
Rushing to the main control panel, the Sailors found that they were quickly running out of time. The countdown blinked urgently at them…30…29…28…
Activating her communicator, Uranus yelled: "Luna Foundation, there's a missile launch in progress and we have less than twenty-five seconds left! Please say you have something that can handle this!"
Luna's voice came over the com-link.
"We do."
== * SM * ==
Aboard the Serena
"The Serena is in Earth orbit right now," Sandra told the cats. The ship had been launched as a precaution in case a situation like this developed. The ship had also not been affected by the damage that Charles Kimball had wreaked on the Luna Foundation's computers.
"Weapons controls to my station," Sandra ordered, sounding calmer than she felt.
== * SM * ==
Control Center – Subsurface Planetary Defense System
…15…
"Commence silo cap retraction," the computer said.
"Abort!" Uranus shouted. "Luna Foundation authorization Uranus Alpha-Five-Nine!"
"Silo command aborted," the computer replied calmly.
…13…
"What are you doing?" Neptune asked.
"If those missiles launch, we're screwed," Uranus replied grimly. "But if they explode in the silos, the explosion should be contained."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Neptune said.
"I do too," Uranus said. "Computer, abort missile launch command! Luna Foundation authorization Uranus Alpha-Five-Nine!"
"Authorization does not match authorization SPDS Walters. Countdown continuing."
…10…
== * SM * ==
Aboard the Serena
"I have a lock on the control center," Sandra reported. "I need options and I need them quickly."
"Can you fire at all of the missiles?" Luna asked.
"That would take too long, even for the computer," came the reply.
"What about hitting the control center?" Artemis asked.
"Once the command to fire is given, the missiles operate largely independent from the control center," Amy reported from her station.
"Besides," Sandra replied. "We have people down there. I'm going with my idea." With that, Sandra pressed the toggle switch to activate the ship's lasers.
Two laser beams flared from the ship in orbit and stabbed into the ocean. For a split second they stayed motionless, but then within the blink of an eye, both lasers seemed to cut a circle in the ocean. Then they disappeared.
"What did you do?" Luna asked.
"I cut the data line," Sandra said. "Without the launch order, the missiles won't go anywhere and we can shoot down those that do launch."
All eyes were on the countdown.
…03…02…01…00…
Three nuclear missiles flared to life. With their launches cleared, they shot upward, only to hit the solidness of the silo caps.
The warheads erupted.
Sailor Uranus had almost been right. The force of the three thermonuclear detonations was contained by the walls of the silos and the silo caps.
The floors of the silos however were not built to tolerate the explosive forces unleashed. As the vibrations from the explosions against the silo walls started a small tidal wave and rolled across the ocean floor, the full force of the warheads was directed downward.
== * SM * ==
Control Center – Subsurface Planetary Defense System
The violent shuddering that accompanied the explosions rippled through the room and the lights fluttered into darkness. Then the shaking subsided and the red emergency lights clicked on, bathing the room in blood-red light.
The two Sailor soldiers got to their feet as the lights on the control boards winked back to life and the large viewscreens lit up.
"Look," Neptune said pointing to the view screen that displayed the status of the missiles. Three circles, the ones closest to the control center, blinked red. The rest were a steady green. "We did it," she said.
"Looks like it," Uranus replied. She put her hand on Neptune's shoulder. "Let's go home."
== * SM * ==
Two Days Later on ABC News
"On our top story, an earthquake has rocked the northern islands of Indonesia. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale…"
A Month Later
"The earth continues to rumble. Since the initial earthquake in northern Indonesia, there have been seven major earthquakes, including the eastern Siberian quake that measured 8.2 on the Richter Scale, and the Vancouver quake that measured 8.7. There have also been numerous volcanic eruptions from the Philipines to Mexico. Scientists today confirmed that global climates may be affected…
== * SM * ==
The meeting of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom and the Sailors began on an ominous note.
"We may be seeing the beginnings of a global ecological catastrophe," Sandra said. "It might be the event that will render the planet uninhabitable….and we may have caused it."
The meeting continued form there. There would be aid to those who needed it. Money would be sent to various world governments, and work to unify the glob under one government headed by the Moon Palace and the Luna Foundation would be accelerated.
While those assembled agreed with the ideas that Sandra and Neo-Queen Serenity put forward, Sandra could see that a dark cloud seemed to hang over the group, as though this was an evil that was not stopped. Each Sailor, old and young, seemed to share in a silent berating. How could this happen? How could we have caused this?
Finally the meeting broke up, and the Sailors went their own ways. Neo-Queen Serenity quietly got up and walked out of the room, leaving Sandra and both Setsuna and Vanessa still seated at the ebony-colored table.
"You know, sometimes I really hate the two of you," was all Sandra said before she too got up and left.
FINI
EPILOGUE
The Return of the King
Isoru Ikeda was a busy man. With the aid transports to Earth transporting food and medicine to survivors of the earthquakes in the northern hemisphere, Ikeda's day often started very early and went on for over fourteen continuous hours.
Thus when he first saw the red blip at the edge of the sensor screen, he chalked it up to a case of fatigue. His eyes had to be playing tricks. No Luna Foundation ship was scheduled for patrol duty out on the rim of the solar system. So Ikeda turned back to his work.
Ikeda's next surprise came when the computer beeped at him. Looking up at the sensor screen, he saw that the new red dot had gotten brighter, and the computers had attached a name tag to it.
"HMS Darien"
"Sir," Ikeda called out to the man in charge of the flight control center. "I think you need to see this."
The man walked over and looked at the screen that Ikeda pointed to. Then, leaning over Ikeda, he looked again.
"My God," the officer said. "The King has returned. Inform the Palace immediately." Then to the rest of the people in the room: "I have an announcement! King Endymion has returned!" The cheer that erupted in the control room was repeated again and again as the news traveled throughout the Moon Palace and the Luna Foundation.
The large, somewhat flat triangle-shaped ship gleamed under the white lights that floated over it from spotlights at the palace and around the landing pad. Fireworks blossomed over the skies above the lake south of the Palace.
Over the palace's intercom system, a voice announced the countdown to the exact second that the HMS Darien would touch down on the lunar surface. The people watching the landing from the landing area itself noticed that there were a few scorch marks on several portions of the hull, but on the whole, the ship looked very good.
The Darien softly touched down on the tarmac and the huge platform began its slow trek into the hangar. The sky was filled with fireworks, and Luna Foundation fighters added their boisterous cheering to the celebration.
The ship finally came to a stop inside the massive hangar that was its home. Arrayed in front of the port-forward access hatch was an honor guard, who surrounded the royal court. All of the princesses of the kingdom were kneeling, in a semi-circle, each wearing dresses representing their respective planets.
Neo-Queen Serenity was kneeling near the airlock in a pure white dress. Her head was bowed, and her hands were clasped on her lap.
Then the airlock was opening and the royal announcer was shouting: "All Hail to His Majesty, King Endymion, Lord of the Moon Kingdom, Defender of the Realm!"
Then he was there. His black hair, his glistening black armor, and his flowing black cape. It was truly him. King Endymion. Darien.
"Darien!" Neo-Queen Serenity cried as she flew to him and into his arms. Then, remembering the ceremony of the occasion, the queen drew back and curtseyed deeply before him. "Your Majesty," she said.
With a bow, Endymion took his wife's hand and gently pulled her to her feet. The king kissed the velvet-gloved hand of his queen, and the two then turned and walked down the red carpet that extended from the airlock. As they passed, the princesses gathered up their dresses and followed their monarchs.
And the rain of confetti began.
Fanfic ã2001 – 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: March 14, 2001
Release: 3rd Edition Release: March 26, 2001