Sailor Moon: On The Edge Of Yesterday
Chapter Twelve: From Bad To Worse
The Sailor Scouts were taken to the Confederate camp, and held at
gunpoint outside one of the larger tents. The camp was busy. At any
given time, there were several dozen soldiers passing in front of the
main tent. And, of course, there was a squad of riflemen posted to
watch the prisoners, as well. Tux and Mercury kept glancing at each
other, while Sailor Moon huddled against Tuxedo Mask's other side,
eyeing the Corporal and his men fearfully.
It was the conversation inside the tent that had Tux and Mercury's
attention. Major Fergeson had gone into the tent several minutes
before, and was talking with a Colonel, a man he had called "Olsen."
"I'm not sure I like this new officer that General Lee sent," the
Major was saying. "I don't know... there's just something about his
that I don't trust."
"Lee wouldn't send us someone who didn't know what he was doing.
General Devin may seem a bit strange, but he seems to have a good plan.
If we are to take Vicksburg tommorrow, we will NEED a good plan..."
As if the mention of the name had summoned him, a figure stepped
out of the shadows behind one of the other tents and walked towards
them. He was a sinister-looking man, dressed in an Confederate Uniform,
elaborately trimmed and decorated with medals. He stared at the Sailor
Scouts as he approached.
"Who are these people, Corporal?" He asked their guard. "I am
supposed to be meeting with the Colonel."
The soldier looked a little frightened as he snapped to attention.
Darien noted that the rest of the soldiers seemed intimidated by this
General, as well. This wasn't a good sign...
"Th... they're Chinamen, sir..." The Corporal managed.
"Chinamen? I can see that, Corporal. What are they doing here?"
At that moment, the tent flap opened. Major Ferguson and an older
gentleman, most likely the Colonel, stepped out.
"Corporal Gaines captured them in the woods, sir. We don't know
where they came from or what they're doing here." He glanced at the
Colonel. "I meant to bring them up next. They say that they work for
us, but we can't be sure unless we can find someone who speaks their
language..."
The Colonel looked the girls over. There was something fatherly
about his gaze. The General, however, waved a hand at them, dismissing
them.
"They're probably Yankee spies, sent to find out about our battle
plans."
"Do you really think so?" The Colonel asked.
"Easy enough to find out. Interrogate them. If they don't give you
a straight answer..."
He glanced at Sailor Moon, a sadistic smile on his face. The
little blonde gasped as she met his eyes. Just for a moment, just for
the most fleeting of seconds, there had been a flash of purple light
from his eyes.
"If they don't give you a straight answer, Corporal," he said.
"Shoot them."
"Take them in the tent," Colonel Olsen ordered. You can question
them there, Major." He then turned back to the General. "We'll take
this meeting to MY tent..."
"A good idea, Colonel," the General said. "I understand you just
got in a case of Kentucky Bourbon, did you not? We can discuss my plans
over a few drinks..."
As the two men headed off across the camp, Major Ferguson turned
to Gaines. "Corporal. Find me a translator. There has to be SOMEBODY in
this damned camp who speaks Chinese..."
He then lifted the tent flap. "You..." He pointed to Darien.
"Chinaman. Inside."
Darien ducked into the tent, the girls following. The Major
followed. "All right," he began. "You seem to know a little English.
What are you doing here? You're right in the path of a major battle, do
you know that?"
Darien just looked confused, and shrugged. "Not speak English...
We get lost..."
"You said that..." The Major looked perturbed. "All right. We'll
wait..."
As he turned to look out of the tent, Mercury slipped up behind
Sailor Jupiter. As the tall Scout looked down at her, she slipped out
her computer. Jupiter nodded, then turned back to watch the Major,
while Mercury did her scan from behind her back.
Meanwhile, Sailor Moon grabbed on to Darien's arm. "That
General... did you see his eyes?" She shivered.
"He's a Dominator," Mercury said quietly. "I'm reading a definate
energy pattern from him, in the Colonel's tent. And there is no record
of a General Devin in the records..."
"He's the center of the time disturbance," Sailor Pluto agreed.
"He's clearly here to change history..."
"By helping the Confederates to win at Vicksburg..." Mercury
finished.
"Hey!" The Major interrupted. "Cut out the China talk. I can't
understand what you're saying, so just shut up until I can find someone
who does!"
Sailor Mercury fell silent, but continued to work at her computer.
Artemis, however, began to meow plaintively. As the Major looked down
at him, he started digging a hole in the earth floor.
"Oh, no you don't!" He yelled. He grabbed the white cat, and
pitched him out of the tent. "Take care of your business out there!"
The Major then greeted someone outside the tent. "Lieutenant
Kelley..."
"You wanted someone who speaks Chinese, sir?"
"Come on in." The Major stepped back, and a young soldier entered
the tent.
Mercury looked up at a gasp from Sailor Jupiter. Lita's green eyes
grew wide, and she staggered backwards. "Freddy...?" Somehow, Mercury
managed to catch her tall friend as she collapsed against her.
"You understand China talk?"
"I worked with them before the war started, sir. I was an engineer
with the railroad."
"Good." The Major looked at Darien. "Okay... ask them who they
are, and what they're doing here."
Kelley repeated the question, in Chinese. Mercury glanced at
Tuxedo Mask. "We don't speak Chinese," she said, in Japanese. "We
speak Japanese. Can you understand me?"
The lieutenant looked at her, confused. Amy looked back at Darien
again. "He doesn't speak Japanese," she said. "And what he said about
the railroads is a good idea. We could say that we were hired to repair
the railroads that had been knocked out by the war."
"What's going on?" The Major asked.
"I don't know, sir. I don't know WHAT they're saying."
"WHAT?" The Major bit back a curse. "I though you said you speak
Chinese!!!!!"
"I do, sir. But they're speaking JAPANESE."
"We not Chinese," Darien said, in English. "Japanese."
Lieutenant Kelley shrugged. "Chinese and Japanese are two
different languages, sir. I only know a few words. I think the girl
said that they were hired to work on the railroads, but I couldn't
understand any more than that."
"Freddy..." Lita muttered again. Mercury shoved a little harder on
her, trying to get her to stand upright.
"Work on WHOSE railroads?" the Major said. "Ours, or theirs?"
Kelley shrugged. "I need a distraction," Amy muttered, as Darien
met her eyes. "I need to finish my scan."
"I'll handle it..." cut in Sailor Venus. She then walked up to the
lieutenant.
"I'm awfully thirsty," she said, still speaking Japanese. "Could I
borrow that pitcher of water?" Without waiting for a reply, she reached
out and grabbed the pitcher that the Colonel had left on the table in
the middle of the test. Major Ferguson, startled, stepped forward to
stop her, and knocked the pitcher out of her hand.
"Oops!" Venus jumped back as the water splashed all over the
Major's uniform. "I'm sorry! Oh, dear..." Casting around her for
something to dry him off with, she grabbed several papers off of the
table.
"LEAVE THOSE ALONE!" The Major yelled. Venus jumped back again,
frightened, and this time knocked over a lantern. Within seconds, the
papers on the table were ablaze.
"FIRE!!!!!" yelled Kelley. Venus gave a scream, and tried to
smother the fire with the wet papers in her hand, but they caught fire,
as well. Crying out, she threw the flaming mess down, against the edge
of the test.
"Venus!" Mercury yelled. This was too MUCH of a distraction! She
shoved Jupiter ahead of her. "We'd better get out of here!"
As the Sailor Scouts and the two Confederate soldiers ran out of
the tent, they found the Colonel and several soldiers running up the
tent. "What the..." The Colonel exclaimed. "The plans! Are they... ?"
"Destroyed, sir..." Major Ferguson told him.
"Who started the fire?"
"She did." Kelley dragged Sailor Venus forward, who was looking a
little dazed. She was muttering, "Gomen..." and couldn't meet the
Colonel's eyes.
"Pretty little thing... shoot her."
"What?"
The Colonel gestured to a nearby tree. "Shoot her."
"No! NO!" Sailor Moon struggled to run to her, but Tuxedo Mask
held her back.
"You can't be serious, sir!" The Lieutenant protested. "It was an
accident! She knocked a lantern over... it wasn't on purpose!"
"She's destroyed our plans, which it'll take days to reformulate,
destroyed one of our tents, and..."
"She's just a GIRL, Colonel! A CHILD!" Lieutenant Kelley seemed
appaled.
The Colonel turned on him. "I gave an ORDER, mister. Now, SHOOT
her!"
"No! No! No shoot! MINA!!!!!" Serena continued to struggle as
Venus was tied to the tree. Sailor Mars clenched her fists. She could
feel cool air rushing towards her from Sailor Mercury, drawn in as the
air SHE was heating rose skyward. She let the power gather, as Venus
struggled, her blue eyes wide with terror.
If this was the only way to save Mina... then history be DAMMED!
* * * * *
Artemis wandered around the camp. There didn't seem to be much
going on, certainly nothing that would alter the course of history and
change the world as he knew it. But this time, Artemis knew, they'd
managed to find their way into the ENEMY'S camp. It just remained to
find out who was the enemy.
He turned at a prickling from the back of his neck. It was that
General, Devin. The cat looked around, trying to seem nonchalant, but
his danger senses were going off like alarm bells. The General was
headed right for him, and the man's eyes began to glow slightly as he
increased his pace.
Artemis slipped under the canvas of one of the tents. He found
himself in the cook's tent. The pots and pans hanging around were being
gathered up by the cook, and the stove was cold.
The man spotted him. "Hey, kitty. You want some bread? I don't
have anything else, we're about to move on, and everything else is
packed up..."
Artemis walked over to him, meowing in a friendly tone, but then
the tent flap opened. Artemis dived under a table as the General came
in. "Private..." he said. "Did a cat come in here?"
The cook saluted and stood at attention. "Y... yes, sir." He
pointed at the table Artemis was hiding under. "He ran under there,
sir."
"I'll take him." General Devin stepped over to the table, as
Artemis cowered back into the shadows. He bent over, meeting the cat's
eyes, and smiled evilly.
* * * * *
"NO! NOOO!!!" Serena was wailing as the soldiers pointed their
guns at Mina. Sailor Venus, for her part, looked terrified, her crystal
blue eyes wide as she stared at the rifles that were levelled at her.
"Ready..." The Colonel said.
"Help us!" Sailor Jupiter ran over to Kelley, grabbing his arm.
"No shoot... stop!" She didn't speak English any better than Serena,
but she looked up at the Lieutenant, on the verge of tears, pleading
with him to put a stop to this. But Kelley just shook his head, looking
at the ground.
"Aim..." The Colonel said. Raye and Amy both brought their arms
up, their bodies tensing.
"STOP! I SPEAK ENGLISH! STOP!!!!!" Mina struggled to pull her arms
free, then looked back at the Colonel. "Please, it was an accident! I
didn't mean it, I swear!!!"
The old Colonel smiled at her. "There... you see. That wasn't so
hard, was it?"
Sailor Mercury frowned as she lowered her hands. Raye ran forward
to help Sailor Moon, who had broken free of Darian, and was trying to
untie Mina. Colonel Olson gestured for his men to lower their guns.
"Why did you lie to us?" the Colonel asked Mina. Serena had
managed to free her from the ropes, and Mina stepped away from the
tree, still trembling a little.
She bit her lip as she stared at the Colonel for a moment, and
then looked at the ground. "I'm sorry... I'm the only one in our group
that speaks English. I didn't think it would make any difference..."
One of the soldiers raised his rifle again. "Colonel! She's...
British! Everyone knows they work for the North!"
"NO! NO!" Mina put up her hands. "That's why I didn't want you to
know I spoke English! My husband and I stayed in England for a while,
before we were sent over here, but we're on your side, I SWEAR!!!"
Mercury smiled. That was pretty good. And no one's attention was
on her... She silently slipped her computer out and began scanning the
camp again.
"What are you doing here?"
Mina glanced at Amy, but then noticed that her computer was out,
and looked back at the Colonel. "Um... we were brought here to work on
the railroads... or, our husbands were, anyway. But we got separated
from our troop in an attack. Our... husbands must have been... um...
captured, or escaped with the others. But we got lost..."
She glanced at Amy, who gave her a smile and a nod. Lieutenant
Kelley, meanwhile, stepped forward.
"I believe her," he said. "The North has been doing a lot of
damage down here, blowing up the railroads. The Chinese built most of
the railroads in the first place, they'd certainly be able to help
repair it..."
Mercury concealed her computer behind her back. "Tell him we're
from Japan... our husbands were engineers. We aren't workers... we were
just sent over here as advisors." She glanced at Darien. "That's why
we're dressed like this."
Mina translated the answer, and the Colonel seemed satisfied.
"This fellow must have been left to guard the women when the Union
attacked." He hooked a thumb at Darian. He paused a moment, then nodded
to Lieutenant Kelley. "Find a tent to put them in. We'll have to find
out what happened to their unit and send them back to it."
He then grinned at Sailor Venus. "Just make sure there's nothing
flammable in the tent..."
Mina blushed and looked at the ground as the Colonel walked away.
* * * * *
Artemis kept low as he crept through the grass at the edge of the
camp. It had been an easy matter to escape from General Devin. He might
have been a powerful extra-dimensional being with the ability to
control time itself, but he couldn't outrun a cat in a tent full of
furniture. And since the Dominator couldn't use his powers while the
cook was standing there watching...
He'd slipped out from under the tent and headed for the edge of
the camp. If the General came after him now, he'd have to find him in
the tall weeds, and Artemis was making sure that would be difficult, at
best. At the moment, he wasn't sensing any evil in the area. He felt
certain that he'd lost his pursuer.
Up ahead, Artemis noticed a group of horses, corralled behind a
makeshift fence. This was clearly what served as the stables for the
camp. The cat chuckled to himself as an idea began to form.
Dropping low, Artemis began to slink through the weeds, making
sure to rustle them as he passed. The horses turned to look at him, but
he stayed low. Several of them turned back to their feed, or whatever
else had interested them before they heard the noise in the woods, but
most of them were watching carefully in his direction.
He began to stir up the weeds more, tracing a zig-zag path towards
them, as if stalking them. Several of the horses began to snort and paw
the ground. Artemis made his way to a tree and leaped up into it,
staying behind the tree, so the horses could not see him, but shaking
the limbs at he leaped up it.
As he reached a thick limb near the top, he inched out along it,
using its width to shield him from the horses. He needed to be as close
as possible for this. Of course, it wouldn't take the full power of a
Mind Meld to contact their minds, but it never hurt to make sure.
He concentrated. After a few moments to recall how he'd spread his
Mind Meld, to protect the Sailor Scouts from the Shadows' Dark Dome, he
began to feel the golden warmth diffusing through his fur. Summoning a
mental image, he sent it directly into the minds of the horses.
The horses all saw a mountain lion drop on them from the tree.
Within seconds, there was complete pandemoneum. The horses reared,
and then charged through the fence to escape from the imagined foe. The
makeshift collection of wood scraps and bits of wire was torn to shreds
as the horses set off across the camp in a stampede. Soldiers came out
to find out what was going on, only to have to leap aside to keep from
being trampled.
Artemis grinned. That worked pretty well...
* * * * *
The Sailor Scouts all sat around quietly, as Lieutenant Kelley
watched them. He would get up and walk to the tent flap from time to
time, but then return to his bench and sit down.
"We can't just keep sitting here..." Sailor Moon said. "We have to
DO something..."
"Patience," Sailor Mars said. She got up and walked over to Sailor
Moon, sitting down next to her. "We'll get our chance."
Serena nodded, but Raye smiled at her. "For what it's worth,
though... I'm as tired of this as you are..."
As the two girls giggled, Sailor Jupiter edged over to sit next to
Kelley. She sort of stared at him, with a faraway look in her eyes.
The Lieutenant looked at the tent flap, then glanced back at
Jupiter. "What's your name?" he asked. "You do understand that much
English, don't you?"
She nodded. "Lita."
"You must miss your husband very much..." he said.
Lita blinked. "Husband?" Then, remembering, "Oh... no husband.
Brother... Darien." She pointed at him, grinning to herself. It had
worked for Amy, after all...
"Ah..." He smiled at her. "I thought you were being a little
forward..."
Lita smiled back, confused, but happy that he was talking to her.
She then frowned as he looked at Sailor Venus.
"And your name's Mina, right?"
She nodded, and Kelley looked back at Lita. "You two trust me...
don't you?"
Mina glanced at Amy. "Um..."
"You know that... if there was anything I could have done... to
stop the Colonel..."
Lita looked at Mina, and then back up at him. "I... trust... you."
He stared at her for a moment. "Look... I used to work with the
railroad. I've still got contacts. If a unit of engineers was brought
down here to work on the railroads, I would have heard about it. I told
the General you were okay because I don't think you're working for the
North. But you are NOT what you say you are..."
He glanced at Lita again, and then at Mina. "So what's going on?
Not as soldier to prisoner, not as American to Japanese, just as one
person to another... WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"
Chapter Twelve: From Bad To Worse
The Sailor Scouts were taken to the Confederate camp, and held at
gunpoint outside one of the larger tents. The camp was busy. At any
given time, there were several dozen soldiers passing in front of the
main tent. And, of course, there was a squad of riflemen posted to
watch the prisoners, as well. Tux and Mercury kept glancing at each
other, while Sailor Moon huddled against Tuxedo Mask's other side,
eyeing the Corporal and his men fearfully.
It was the conversation inside the tent that had Tux and Mercury's
attention. Major Fergeson had gone into the tent several minutes
before, and was talking with a Colonel, a man he had called "Olsen."
"I'm not sure I like this new officer that General Lee sent," the
Major was saying. "I don't know... there's just something about his
that I don't trust."
"Lee wouldn't send us someone who didn't know what he was doing.
General Devin may seem a bit strange, but he seems to have a good plan.
If we are to take Vicksburg tommorrow, we will NEED a good plan..."
As if the mention of the name had summoned him, a figure stepped
out of the shadows behind one of the other tents and walked towards
them. He was a sinister-looking man, dressed in an Confederate Uniform,
elaborately trimmed and decorated with medals. He stared at the Sailor
Scouts as he approached.
"Who are these people, Corporal?" He asked their guard. "I am
supposed to be meeting with the Colonel."
The soldier looked a little frightened as he snapped to attention.
Darien noted that the rest of the soldiers seemed intimidated by this
General, as well. This wasn't a good sign...
"Th... they're Chinamen, sir..." The Corporal managed.
"Chinamen? I can see that, Corporal. What are they doing here?"
At that moment, the tent flap opened. Major Ferguson and an older
gentleman, most likely the Colonel, stepped out.
"Corporal Gaines captured them in the woods, sir. We don't know
where they came from or what they're doing here." He glanced at the
Colonel. "I meant to bring them up next. They say that they work for
us, but we can't be sure unless we can find someone who speaks their
language..."
The Colonel looked the girls over. There was something fatherly
about his gaze. The General, however, waved a hand at them, dismissing
them.
"They're probably Yankee spies, sent to find out about our battle
plans."
"Do you really think so?" The Colonel asked.
"Easy enough to find out. Interrogate them. If they don't give you
a straight answer..."
He glanced at Sailor Moon, a sadistic smile on his face. The
little blonde gasped as she met his eyes. Just for a moment, just for
the most fleeting of seconds, there had been a flash of purple light
from his eyes.
"If they don't give you a straight answer, Corporal," he said.
"Shoot them."
"Take them in the tent," Colonel Olsen ordered. You can question
them there, Major." He then turned back to the General. "We'll take
this meeting to MY tent..."
"A good idea, Colonel," the General said. "I understand you just
got in a case of Kentucky Bourbon, did you not? We can discuss my plans
over a few drinks..."
As the two men headed off across the camp, Major Ferguson turned
to Gaines. "Corporal. Find me a translator. There has to be SOMEBODY in
this damned camp who speaks Chinese..."
He then lifted the tent flap. "You..." He pointed to Darien.
"Chinaman. Inside."
Darien ducked into the tent, the girls following. The Major
followed. "All right," he began. "You seem to know a little English.
What are you doing here? You're right in the path of a major battle, do
you know that?"
Darien just looked confused, and shrugged. "Not speak English...
We get lost..."
"You said that..." The Major looked perturbed. "All right. We'll
wait..."
As he turned to look out of the tent, Mercury slipped up behind
Sailor Jupiter. As the tall Scout looked down at her, she slipped out
her computer. Jupiter nodded, then turned back to watch the Major,
while Mercury did her scan from behind her back.
Meanwhile, Sailor Moon grabbed on to Darien's arm. "That
General... did you see his eyes?" She shivered.
"He's a Dominator," Mercury said quietly. "I'm reading a definate
energy pattern from him, in the Colonel's tent. And there is no record
of a General Devin in the records..."
"He's the center of the time disturbance," Sailor Pluto agreed.
"He's clearly here to change history..."
"By helping the Confederates to win at Vicksburg..." Mercury
finished.
"Hey!" The Major interrupted. "Cut out the China talk. I can't
understand what you're saying, so just shut up until I can find someone
who does!"
Sailor Mercury fell silent, but continued to work at her computer.
Artemis, however, began to meow plaintively. As the Major looked down
at him, he started digging a hole in the earth floor.
"Oh, no you don't!" He yelled. He grabbed the white cat, and
pitched him out of the tent. "Take care of your business out there!"
The Major then greeted someone outside the tent. "Lieutenant
Kelley..."
"You wanted someone who speaks Chinese, sir?"
"Come on in." The Major stepped back, and a young soldier entered
the tent.
Mercury looked up at a gasp from Sailor Jupiter. Lita's green eyes
grew wide, and she staggered backwards. "Freddy...?" Somehow, Mercury
managed to catch her tall friend as she collapsed against her.
"You understand China talk?"
"I worked with them before the war started, sir. I was an engineer
with the railroad."
"Good." The Major looked at Darien. "Okay... ask them who they
are, and what they're doing here."
Kelley repeated the question, in Chinese. Mercury glanced at
Tuxedo Mask. "We don't speak Chinese," she said, in Japanese. "We
speak Japanese. Can you understand me?"
The lieutenant looked at her, confused. Amy looked back at Darien
again. "He doesn't speak Japanese," she said. "And what he said about
the railroads is a good idea. We could say that we were hired to repair
the railroads that had been knocked out by the war."
"What's going on?" The Major asked.
"I don't know, sir. I don't know WHAT they're saying."
"WHAT?" The Major bit back a curse. "I though you said you speak
Chinese!!!!!"
"I do, sir. But they're speaking JAPANESE."
"We not Chinese," Darien said, in English. "Japanese."
Lieutenant Kelley shrugged. "Chinese and Japanese are two
different languages, sir. I only know a few words. I think the girl
said that they were hired to work on the railroads, but I couldn't
understand any more than that."
"Freddy..." Lita muttered again. Mercury shoved a little harder on
her, trying to get her to stand upright.
"Work on WHOSE railroads?" the Major said. "Ours, or theirs?"
Kelley shrugged. "I need a distraction," Amy muttered, as Darien
met her eyes. "I need to finish my scan."
"I'll handle it..." cut in Sailor Venus. She then walked up to the
lieutenant.
"I'm awfully thirsty," she said, still speaking Japanese. "Could I
borrow that pitcher of water?" Without waiting for a reply, she reached
out and grabbed the pitcher that the Colonel had left on the table in
the middle of the test. Major Ferguson, startled, stepped forward to
stop her, and knocked the pitcher out of her hand.
"Oops!" Venus jumped back as the water splashed all over the
Major's uniform. "I'm sorry! Oh, dear..." Casting around her for
something to dry him off with, she grabbed several papers off of the
table.
"LEAVE THOSE ALONE!" The Major yelled. Venus jumped back again,
frightened, and this time knocked over a lantern. Within seconds, the
papers on the table were ablaze.
"FIRE!!!!!" yelled Kelley. Venus gave a scream, and tried to
smother the fire with the wet papers in her hand, but they caught fire,
as well. Crying out, she threw the flaming mess down, against the edge
of the test.
"Venus!" Mercury yelled. This was too MUCH of a distraction! She
shoved Jupiter ahead of her. "We'd better get out of here!"
As the Sailor Scouts and the two Confederate soldiers ran out of
the tent, they found the Colonel and several soldiers running up the
tent. "What the..." The Colonel exclaimed. "The plans! Are they... ?"
"Destroyed, sir..." Major Ferguson told him.
"Who started the fire?"
"She did." Kelley dragged Sailor Venus forward, who was looking a
little dazed. She was muttering, "Gomen..." and couldn't meet the
Colonel's eyes.
"Pretty little thing... shoot her."
"What?"
The Colonel gestured to a nearby tree. "Shoot her."
"No! NO!" Sailor Moon struggled to run to her, but Tuxedo Mask
held her back.
"You can't be serious, sir!" The Lieutenant protested. "It was an
accident! She knocked a lantern over... it wasn't on purpose!"
"She's destroyed our plans, which it'll take days to reformulate,
destroyed one of our tents, and..."
"She's just a GIRL, Colonel! A CHILD!" Lieutenant Kelley seemed
appaled.
The Colonel turned on him. "I gave an ORDER, mister. Now, SHOOT
her!"
"No! No! No shoot! MINA!!!!!" Serena continued to struggle as
Venus was tied to the tree. Sailor Mars clenched her fists. She could
feel cool air rushing towards her from Sailor Mercury, drawn in as the
air SHE was heating rose skyward. She let the power gather, as Venus
struggled, her blue eyes wide with terror.
If this was the only way to save Mina... then history be DAMMED!
* * * * *
Artemis wandered around the camp. There didn't seem to be much
going on, certainly nothing that would alter the course of history and
change the world as he knew it. But this time, Artemis knew, they'd
managed to find their way into the ENEMY'S camp. It just remained to
find out who was the enemy.
He turned at a prickling from the back of his neck. It was that
General, Devin. The cat looked around, trying to seem nonchalant, but
his danger senses were going off like alarm bells. The General was
headed right for him, and the man's eyes began to glow slightly as he
increased his pace.
Artemis slipped under the canvas of one of the tents. He found
himself in the cook's tent. The pots and pans hanging around were being
gathered up by the cook, and the stove was cold.
The man spotted him. "Hey, kitty. You want some bread? I don't
have anything else, we're about to move on, and everything else is
packed up..."
Artemis walked over to him, meowing in a friendly tone, but then
the tent flap opened. Artemis dived under a table as the General came
in. "Private..." he said. "Did a cat come in here?"
The cook saluted and stood at attention. "Y... yes, sir." He
pointed at the table Artemis was hiding under. "He ran under there,
sir."
"I'll take him." General Devin stepped over to the table, as
Artemis cowered back into the shadows. He bent over, meeting the cat's
eyes, and smiled evilly.
* * * * *
"NO! NOOO!!!" Serena was wailing as the soldiers pointed their
guns at Mina. Sailor Venus, for her part, looked terrified, her crystal
blue eyes wide as she stared at the rifles that were levelled at her.
"Ready..." The Colonel said.
"Help us!" Sailor Jupiter ran over to Kelley, grabbing his arm.
"No shoot... stop!" She didn't speak English any better than Serena,
but she looked up at the Lieutenant, on the verge of tears, pleading
with him to put a stop to this. But Kelley just shook his head, looking
at the ground.
"Aim..." The Colonel said. Raye and Amy both brought their arms
up, their bodies tensing.
"STOP! I SPEAK ENGLISH! STOP!!!!!" Mina struggled to pull her arms
free, then looked back at the Colonel. "Please, it was an accident! I
didn't mean it, I swear!!!"
The old Colonel smiled at her. "There... you see. That wasn't so
hard, was it?"
Sailor Mercury frowned as she lowered her hands. Raye ran forward
to help Sailor Moon, who had broken free of Darian, and was trying to
untie Mina. Colonel Olson gestured for his men to lower their guns.
"Why did you lie to us?" the Colonel asked Mina. Serena had
managed to free her from the ropes, and Mina stepped away from the
tree, still trembling a little.
She bit her lip as she stared at the Colonel for a moment, and
then looked at the ground. "I'm sorry... I'm the only one in our group
that speaks English. I didn't think it would make any difference..."
One of the soldiers raised his rifle again. "Colonel! She's...
British! Everyone knows they work for the North!"
"NO! NO!" Mina put up her hands. "That's why I didn't want you to
know I spoke English! My husband and I stayed in England for a while,
before we were sent over here, but we're on your side, I SWEAR!!!"
Mercury smiled. That was pretty good. And no one's attention was
on her... She silently slipped her computer out and began scanning the
camp again.
"What are you doing here?"
Mina glanced at Amy, but then noticed that her computer was out,
and looked back at the Colonel. "Um... we were brought here to work on
the railroads... or, our husbands were, anyway. But we got separated
from our troop in an attack. Our... husbands must have been... um...
captured, or escaped with the others. But we got lost..."
She glanced at Amy, who gave her a smile and a nod. Lieutenant
Kelley, meanwhile, stepped forward.
"I believe her," he said. "The North has been doing a lot of
damage down here, blowing up the railroads. The Chinese built most of
the railroads in the first place, they'd certainly be able to help
repair it..."
Mercury concealed her computer behind her back. "Tell him we're
from Japan... our husbands were engineers. We aren't workers... we were
just sent over here as advisors." She glanced at Darien. "That's why
we're dressed like this."
Mina translated the answer, and the Colonel seemed satisfied.
"This fellow must have been left to guard the women when the Union
attacked." He hooked a thumb at Darian. He paused a moment, then nodded
to Lieutenant Kelley. "Find a tent to put them in. We'll have to find
out what happened to their unit and send them back to it."
He then grinned at Sailor Venus. "Just make sure there's nothing
flammable in the tent..."
Mina blushed and looked at the ground as the Colonel walked away.
* * * * *
Artemis kept low as he crept through the grass at the edge of the
camp. It had been an easy matter to escape from General Devin. He might
have been a powerful extra-dimensional being with the ability to
control time itself, but he couldn't outrun a cat in a tent full of
furniture. And since the Dominator couldn't use his powers while the
cook was standing there watching...
He'd slipped out from under the tent and headed for the edge of
the camp. If the General came after him now, he'd have to find him in
the tall weeds, and Artemis was making sure that would be difficult, at
best. At the moment, he wasn't sensing any evil in the area. He felt
certain that he'd lost his pursuer.
Up ahead, Artemis noticed a group of horses, corralled behind a
makeshift fence. This was clearly what served as the stables for the
camp. The cat chuckled to himself as an idea began to form.
Dropping low, Artemis began to slink through the weeds, making
sure to rustle them as he passed. The horses turned to look at him, but
he stayed low. Several of them turned back to their feed, or whatever
else had interested them before they heard the noise in the woods, but
most of them were watching carefully in his direction.
He began to stir up the weeds more, tracing a zig-zag path towards
them, as if stalking them. Several of the horses began to snort and paw
the ground. Artemis made his way to a tree and leaped up into it,
staying behind the tree, so the horses could not see him, but shaking
the limbs at he leaped up it.
As he reached a thick limb near the top, he inched out along it,
using its width to shield him from the horses. He needed to be as close
as possible for this. Of course, it wouldn't take the full power of a
Mind Meld to contact their minds, but it never hurt to make sure.
He concentrated. After a few moments to recall how he'd spread his
Mind Meld, to protect the Sailor Scouts from the Shadows' Dark Dome, he
began to feel the golden warmth diffusing through his fur. Summoning a
mental image, he sent it directly into the minds of the horses.
The horses all saw a mountain lion drop on them from the tree.
Within seconds, there was complete pandemoneum. The horses reared,
and then charged through the fence to escape from the imagined foe. The
makeshift collection of wood scraps and bits of wire was torn to shreds
as the horses set off across the camp in a stampede. Soldiers came out
to find out what was going on, only to have to leap aside to keep from
being trampled.
Artemis grinned. That worked pretty well...
* * * * *
The Sailor Scouts all sat around quietly, as Lieutenant Kelley
watched them. He would get up and walk to the tent flap from time to
time, but then return to his bench and sit down.
"We can't just keep sitting here..." Sailor Moon said. "We have to
DO something..."
"Patience," Sailor Mars said. She got up and walked over to Sailor
Moon, sitting down next to her. "We'll get our chance."
Serena nodded, but Raye smiled at her. "For what it's worth,
though... I'm as tired of this as you are..."
As the two girls giggled, Sailor Jupiter edged over to sit next to
Kelley. She sort of stared at him, with a faraway look in her eyes.
The Lieutenant looked at the tent flap, then glanced back at
Jupiter. "What's your name?" he asked. "You do understand that much
English, don't you?"
She nodded. "Lita."
"You must miss your husband very much..." he said.
Lita blinked. "Husband?" Then, remembering, "Oh... no husband.
Brother... Darien." She pointed at him, grinning to herself. It had
worked for Amy, after all...
"Ah..." He smiled at her. "I thought you were being a little
forward..."
Lita smiled back, confused, but happy that he was talking to her.
She then frowned as he looked at Sailor Venus.
"And your name's Mina, right?"
She nodded, and Kelley looked back at Lita. "You two trust me...
don't you?"
Mina glanced at Amy. "Um..."
"You know that... if there was anything I could have done... to
stop the Colonel..."
Lita looked at Mina, and then back up at him. "I... trust... you."
He stared at her for a moment. "Look... I used to work with the
railroad. I've still got contacts. If a unit of engineers was brought
down here to work on the railroads, I would have heard about it. I told
the General you were okay because I don't think you're working for the
North. But you are NOT what you say you are..."
He glanced at Lita again, and then at Mina. "So what's going on?
Not as soldier to prisoner, not as American to Japanese, just as one
person to another... WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"
