"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic."
-Arthur C. Clarke
"What did you find?" Mars asked.
"This." Mercury turned to show them that she was holding a piece of metal in her hands. Though blackened by intense heat, they could still make out the stenciled number 11 and the American flag. "This was blasted fairly recently." She said. "No more then a few hours ago."
"Sorry about that, I had to be sure my new toy worked." The Senshi spun. Standing behind them, surrounded by what appeared to be the same glowing aura that was protecting Sailor Moon was Sailor Star Fighter, Star Healer, and Star Maker. Mina lay still next to Star Healer and Star Maker, apparently unconscious. Jupiter's attention however, was focused on the large black gun in Star Fighter's hands. "Your highness," Star Fighter said with exaggerated politeness. "By order of High Regent Elurius of The Star Kingdom of Traconus, I hereby place you and your friends under arrest." She smiled. "Please don't resist, I would rather not have to present dead bodies to the Regent."
"Explain yourself Seiya." Sailor Moon said coldly.
"What's to explain?" Star Fighter said with a smile. "I'm the one holding the gun." To prove her point, she casually aimed the gun in Mina's general direction and pulled the trigger, causing the blond to bounce and roll across the moon's surface, narrowly missing the sharp rocks scattered around. "That was at the lowest setting and I wasn't even aiming at her." She adjusted something and then aimed at Mina again. "Highest setting. And this time, I won't miss." Sailor Moon bunched her fists and started forward. "Bad Idea Princess." Star Fighter said softly, bringing the gun to bear on Sailor Moon. "This little number fires waves of force at varying levels of power. At a high enough setting, it can shatter bones and turn bodily organs into something vaguely resembling tomato paste." She gave a little shudder of excitement. "Such a......splendid weapon."
"You're sick." Uranus said. Star Fighter shrugged.
"So? I'm still the one with the gun." She motioned with it. "March."
Rose dropped her locket into the box Star Healer held and then stepped back as Star Maker passed some kind of device over the box and Conrad's cane.
"Curious."
"What?" Star Fighter asked. "Are they the right ones?"
"Yes, the serial auras match, but the energy signatures have been altered. There is also the matter of Jupiter's missing pen and the two-"
"But they are the stolen items?" Star Fighter interrupted, oddly impatient. Star Maker nodded. "Good." One more item to add to the list of charges; Tampering with Royal Property." She smirked. "Get in." She indicated the cell nearby.
"We want answers first." Chris said, crossing her arms. Star Fighter jammed the gun under the blonde's chin. "I said I didn't want to present dead bodies to the Regent, didn't say I wouldn't."
"If you weren't holding that gun..."
"But I am. In." For a tense moment, it seemed as though the two would come to blows and then Rose grabbed her lover's arm.
"Chris..." She whispered softly. "We need you alive-I need you alive. Do as Star Fighter says. Please." Chris hesitated and Rose tried one last time. "Do it for me."
"But-"
"I know." Rose began walking towards the cell and after a moment, Chris and the others followed. Rose's thoughts had been whirling. She had been watching Star Maker and Star Healer and their faces showed that there was more going on here then it appeared. Whoever this Regent was that controlled their friends from the stars, knew a lot about the origins of their lockets and powers.
Having long suspected that the pens had been of artificial manufacture, a product of advanced science instead of divine providence or creation, Rose was very interested in discovering who was behind their creation.
An hour later, Lita sat close to the electrical field that kept them confined, watching the faint colors shift in hue and pattern. Behind her, Raye and Amy were trying to keep Serena from having a full blown panic attack. Serena's nature made her extremely trusting and betrayal hit her hard. Rose and Chris sat with their heads together, talking in very quiet voices. Mina lay on the only bench, still unconious. Conrad sat against one of the side walls, knees pulled up to his chest, fingers steepled, eyes focused on a point where the opposite wall met the ceiling. He had also gone completely still, which was completely unnerving.
Not for the first time, Lita wondered if he was dead, except a part of her seemed to know better. She let her mind drift to the steady background hum of the engines and then back to the current predicament. What was going on and why did she keep feeling as though the Senshi were pieces in some cosmic chess game and that their side was getting creamed?
"He makes me nervous." Lt. Commander Yaten Kou said, staring at the monitor screen which displayed their captives. His eyes were focused on the male, Conrad.
"Well then turn it off." Commander Seiya Kou snapped, eyes focused on the controls before him as he guided the ship through Fifthspace.
"I can't. There's no switch, remember?" Muttering an oath, Seiya turned and squeezed off a single shot from the particle laser mounted on the forearm of his combat armor. Lt. Takki Kou looked up from his station, eyebrow raised, as the monitor shattered.
"There. It's off." Seiya said and returned to the bisnuess of flying the ship. Yaten swallowed and looked at Takki, who was staring at Seiya's back.
"I will check on the prisoners." He said after moment and stood.
"I'll go with you." Yaten said, also rising and following his brother off the bridge.
"Lita. Your pen please." Lita jumped. Conrad was getting to his feet.
"Huh?"
"Your transformation pen Lita. Please Give it to me." Lita handed it over. "Good. Go get Mina." She nodded and handed it over.
"What's going on?" Amy said.
"To use the vernacular, 'we's is bustin outta here.'" Conrad said and then tossed the transformation pen directly into the electric field. With a marked whine, the field began to warp as the pen absorbed the electricity and opened a narrow gap. Turning sideways, he inched his way out and then palmed the controls for the field, switching it off and freeing the rest.
"Not Bad." Chris admitted as she and Rose took Mina's inert form from Lita even as Raye and Amy half helped, half dragged a catatonic Serena from the cell. "But now that we're out, now what?"
"I saw a room with what looked like armor and weapons in it when they herded us in." Rose said. "It might be just a trophy room, but then again..."
"It might be an armory." Raye finished.
The room was indeed an armory. One that seemed to be fully stocked. Unfortunately, there were only three suits of armor. By mutual agreement, Lita, Chris, and Conrad took them. The others selected weapons and body armor.
"Now what?"
"We find the bridge. All the answers we need should be found there." Conrad said. "Lita. Take point. Rose, cover her. The rest of you grab Serena and Mina. Chris, take the rear."
"Who died and put you in charge?" Chris demanded.
"I did." Conrad replied. His face had taken on an unearthly quality and there was something almost inhuman about his voice.
"Let him keep Command." Amy said. "Then we can blame him if this goes to pot." She shouldered the rifle. "Lead on MacDuff."
"I don't care if Seiya is in command." Yaten complained as he and Takki exited the lift. "He's not sane and I'm not about to follow a madman. Even if he is our brother."
"A logical course of action." Takki approved as they rounded the corner and came face to face with their prisoners. Yaten, nerves still wound tight, yelled in surprise and brought his forearm mounted particle laser to bear.
The Senshi responded in a similar fashion with their weapons.
For a moment, it seemed that they would have a shoot out right then and there, except that one of them had no intention of letting that happen
"Barbaric." Takki sighed as he whipped out the stun gun and fired it at Yaten, sending him to the floor. The Senshi immediately aimed their weapons at him. "Oh do put those away." Takki said, dropping the stunner and raising his hands. "I believe the phrase is, 'I surrender'." Naturally, nobody lowered their weapons.
"Why should we believe you?" Raye demanded. Takki sighed.
"Humans." He shook his head sadly. "I offer my aid in retrieving your amulets and reviving your friends. In return, I only ask that you come with me to Dranaxar. There, you will find your answers."
"What's to stop us from shooting you here and now?" Chris demanded.
"Your own curiosity." Takki returned simply. The Senshi looked at each other.
Seiya's thoughts were in a whirl as he guided the ship. They-No, HE had caught the traitors. Yes. Lord Elurius would reward him. He giggled madly. Yes! Glory would be his. Seiya Kou would go down in history as the hero of all Traconus. His tatics would be required reading for all cadets. Lord Elurius would make him one of the Lord-Admirals of the Royal Fleet, right before giving him command of the fleet protecting the Royalty while they healed in their cryogenic sleep, then, he would serve the Royalty so faithfully, that upon awakening, the King would step aside in his favor.
So caught up in his dreams, was he that he didn't feel the rifle butt slam into the side of his head, or feel it when he hit the floor.
As darkness claimed him, he wondered why all the lights had been turned off.
Lita dragged the unconious form of Seiya out of the way, letting Takki take the controls. For a moment, he busied himself with the controls, and Rose took the opportunity to look out the window at Fifthspace.
They were surrounded by multicolored clouds, lighting bolts stabbed down at random times, bouncing harmlessly off the elongated oval of energy that surrounded their tiny craft.
"Where are we?"
"Fifthspace." Takki replied and reached for a set of levers, pushing them forward. Ahead, the multicolored clouds warped and then they were hurtling through the blackness of normal space.
"And now?"
"Approximately five hundred thousand light years from earth." Takki said absently. Raye's mind whirled at the casual way he said as the ship made its way towards the star ahead
"Oh...my...God..." Lita said slowly, her green eyes wide. Behind her, the others let out similar expressions. Ahead of them rapidly filling the window, was a structure of mammoth proportions. It seemed to be composed of millions of towers, with a spiders web of catwalks and other structures suspended between them. At the outer edges, massive spheres hung, sometimes sprouting towers of their own. "What the HELL is that?"
"That is Dranaxar." Takki said, manipulating the controls. "Homeworld of the Star Kingdom of Traconus."
"That's a planet?"
"Supposedly." Takki said guiding the ship into the maze of towers and catwalks. "No one really knows. History says that the cities of old were built over so many times, that the planet was eventually buried. I doubt we'd even notice if the planet exploded." He paused. "There was a fairly violent quake, for lack of a better term, several centuries ago." He shrugged. "Maybe that was it."
Amy peered at the people in the windows they flew past, waving cheerfully. "This is so cool. Real aliens! A real alien civilization!"
"Real Aliens? What do you call everything up to now?" Chris asked acidly.
"Well yeah, but they're not trying to kill us." She looked over at Seiya, who's prone body lay next to Yaten's. "Well, most of them aren't."
"What about Mina, and our equipment?" Raye said.
"Yeah." Lita said. "You promised an explanation."
"So I did." Takki said, guiding the ship to a stop and turning in his chair. "First, let us attend to your friend." With that he rose, and crossed the bridge to a small cabinet, removing a small cylinder and then moving to where Mina lay next to Serena. Kneeling, he pressed the cylinder to her neck. There was a soft hiss and the blond stirred almost immediately.
"Wha? What happened?"
"You were captured in a stasis field." Takki sat back down in the pilot's chair. "Now. For answers."
"Seiya called our amulets 'Royal Property'. Let's start there." Chris' tone was one of suspicion.
"Very well." Takki leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "The Star Kingdom is a Monarchy dating back several hundred thousand of your years. Approximately three thousand of those years ago, the Royal family began to fall ill from some strange virus. To save their lives, the Royalty was placed into cryogenic sleep inside a heavily reinforced military base on the third moon, protected by the Royal Navy's most elite Marine troops. As far as the general public knows, the Royalty is healing."
"But that's a lie isn't it?" Conrad said, sinking into the seat Yaten would have occupied if he had been on the bridge instead of sleeping in the brig. "Nor is the virus a naturally occurring organism."
"I still don't see what this has to do with us." Chris grumbled.
"Patience." Takki replied. "All will soon become clear." Steepling his fingers, he resumed his tale. "It was several decades later, that the King's nephew, a brilliant young scientist and tactician named Calthar and his complement of the Royal Guard returned from a deep space exploratory mission. As the only living member of the Royalty who was still healthy, Calthar assumed the throne mere hours after his arrival. His first act as king was to begin an investigation into the illness that felled his Uncle and cousins. He discovered that the virus was indeed of artificial manufacture, and that it was part of a power bid by a high ranking and popular Traconian official who had used the time between the Royalty's falling ill and Calthar's arrival to consolidate his power. He could not declare himself king, the people would revolt. But, he could rule in their name."
"And he did, until Calthar showed up." Conrad said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs. Takki nodded.
"Indeed. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the official managed to get the virus to him, Calthar took his guard, his allies, and fled, hoping to find a remote solar system and found a new kingdom. The ship, an ancient derelict that could barely make it into Fifthspace, finally arrived in a small, remote system five thousand light years from Dranaxar, heavily damaged by Star Kingdom pursuers and most of those on board dead or dying. Settling on the moon of the third planet, they began to rebuild, gradually settling on eight of the nine planets or in the case of the gas planets, their moons."
"Sol." Amy's voice was soft. "The system was Sol, wasn't it?"
"Very good. Before fleeing, Calthar stole nine suits of heavy combat armor, nine suits of light/medium combat morphing uniforms and one series five multipurpose 'Star Knight' Transformable Armor." Chris opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Conrad spoke.
"Our pens, lockets, and the Crystal Knight Armor." Conrad said, responding to her unspoken question. Chris threw him a disgusted glance as Takki continued speaking.
"The colony thrived until its fall, one thousand years ago, presumably, the attack by Beryl and Mettalia. Meanwhile, on Dranaxar, the official continued to consolidate his power, even as mercenaries scoured the space ways looking for any sign of Calthar and his band. Sol however, lies in the galactic equivalent of Antarctica, and is heavily patrolled by the Galaxy Police. Settlement is forbidden, and any traffic in the area is tightly controlled."
"Then how did Calthar get past them and hide signs that he had settled in a Forbidden area?"
"Most of the patrolling is done by heavily armed AI equipped enforcer drones. While it is difficult to do, they can be fooled."
"And Calthar was counting on that to keep himself hidden." Mina said, then frowned. "Wait a sec. If the Royalty is in Cryo, then how did Fireball get loose?"
"There was a malfunction in the monitoring unit. It didn't trigger an alarm, but it released her. Somehow, she managed to steal a small shuttle and make it to your world. Seiya, Yaten and I were dispatched to retrieve her." Conrad's face was unreadable, even though a number of things were rapidly falling into place in his mind.
"Get to the point!" Chris snapped.
"Serena's life is in danger." Conrad said softly.
"Huh?" Serena, who had at some point managed to get a grip, said. "What are you talking about?"
"If I'm to understand Takki correctly, Calthar founded the Moon Kingdom, and almost certainly was its Monarch. If that's the case, then he probably sired children. Your ancestors."
Serena blinked. "Huh?"
"I get it!" Raye exclaimed. "Serena is part of the Traconian Royal Family!" Conrad nodded.
"And undoubtably, is the only one of Royal Blood not in Cryo." He replied. Serena looked at everyone, unable to ignore the twisting of her stomach.
"Not quite." Takki said. "There is one other."
"I don't think I'm going to like this." Mina said softly.
"The other one is the official I spoke of. The one who administered the virus. Elurius, King Symodina's unacknowledged brother."
"Nope. I don't like it."
"So what do we do?" Amy asked.
"If Serena is descended from Royal Blood, then she could take the throne back and use the Imperium Silver Crystal to heal the Royalty." Rose mused
"Yeah! Lita exclaimed. "Then they can kick Elurius's ass back to whatever hole he crawled out of!"
"But he's over four thousand years old." Raye pointed out. "He's had millennia to get in place. There's only eight of us."
"Nine." Takki said.
"Ten." Everyone looked at Yaten, who was sitting up, and looking at them. "I'm in too."
"Then its settled." Conrad said, looking out the window towards the huge tower that was the palace. "We arrest the Lord Regent for High Treason and replace him with Serena."
"Sounds like a plan." Amy said with a grin. "We storm the place, wake up the Royalty, have 'em toss Elurius out an airlock," She rubbed her hands together briskly and flexed her fingers. "and have it all wrapped up in time for lunch."
Strange how plans rarely survive contact with the people who are to carry them out.
"What did you find?" Mars asked.
"This." Mercury turned to show them that she was holding a piece of metal in her hands. Though blackened by intense heat, they could still make out the stenciled number 11 and the American flag. "This was blasted fairly recently." She said. "No more then a few hours ago."
"Sorry about that, I had to be sure my new toy worked." The Senshi spun. Standing behind them, surrounded by what appeared to be the same glowing aura that was protecting Sailor Moon was Sailor Star Fighter, Star Healer, and Star Maker. Mina lay still next to Star Healer and Star Maker, apparently unconscious. Jupiter's attention however, was focused on the large black gun in Star Fighter's hands. "Your highness," Star Fighter said with exaggerated politeness. "By order of High Regent Elurius of The Star Kingdom of Traconus, I hereby place you and your friends under arrest." She smiled. "Please don't resist, I would rather not have to present dead bodies to the Regent."
"Explain yourself Seiya." Sailor Moon said coldly.
"What's to explain?" Star Fighter said with a smile. "I'm the one holding the gun." To prove her point, she casually aimed the gun in Mina's general direction and pulled the trigger, causing the blond to bounce and roll across the moon's surface, narrowly missing the sharp rocks scattered around. "That was at the lowest setting and I wasn't even aiming at her." She adjusted something and then aimed at Mina again. "Highest setting. And this time, I won't miss." Sailor Moon bunched her fists and started forward. "Bad Idea Princess." Star Fighter said softly, bringing the gun to bear on Sailor Moon. "This little number fires waves of force at varying levels of power. At a high enough setting, it can shatter bones and turn bodily organs into something vaguely resembling tomato paste." She gave a little shudder of excitement. "Such a......splendid weapon."
"You're sick." Uranus said. Star Fighter shrugged.
"So? I'm still the one with the gun." She motioned with it. "March."
Rose dropped her locket into the box Star Healer held and then stepped back as Star Maker passed some kind of device over the box and Conrad's cane.
"Curious."
"What?" Star Fighter asked. "Are they the right ones?"
"Yes, the serial auras match, but the energy signatures have been altered. There is also the matter of Jupiter's missing pen and the two-"
"But they are the stolen items?" Star Fighter interrupted, oddly impatient. Star Maker nodded. "Good." One more item to add to the list of charges; Tampering with Royal Property." She smirked. "Get in." She indicated the cell nearby.
"We want answers first." Chris said, crossing her arms. Star Fighter jammed the gun under the blonde's chin. "I said I didn't want to present dead bodies to the Regent, didn't say I wouldn't."
"If you weren't holding that gun..."
"But I am. In." For a tense moment, it seemed as though the two would come to blows and then Rose grabbed her lover's arm.
"Chris..." She whispered softly. "We need you alive-I need you alive. Do as Star Fighter says. Please." Chris hesitated and Rose tried one last time. "Do it for me."
"But-"
"I know." Rose began walking towards the cell and after a moment, Chris and the others followed. Rose's thoughts had been whirling. She had been watching Star Maker and Star Healer and their faces showed that there was more going on here then it appeared. Whoever this Regent was that controlled their friends from the stars, knew a lot about the origins of their lockets and powers.
Having long suspected that the pens had been of artificial manufacture, a product of advanced science instead of divine providence or creation, Rose was very interested in discovering who was behind their creation.
An hour later, Lita sat close to the electrical field that kept them confined, watching the faint colors shift in hue and pattern. Behind her, Raye and Amy were trying to keep Serena from having a full blown panic attack. Serena's nature made her extremely trusting and betrayal hit her hard. Rose and Chris sat with their heads together, talking in very quiet voices. Mina lay on the only bench, still unconious. Conrad sat against one of the side walls, knees pulled up to his chest, fingers steepled, eyes focused on a point where the opposite wall met the ceiling. He had also gone completely still, which was completely unnerving.
Not for the first time, Lita wondered if he was dead, except a part of her seemed to know better. She let her mind drift to the steady background hum of the engines and then back to the current predicament. What was going on and why did she keep feeling as though the Senshi were pieces in some cosmic chess game and that their side was getting creamed?
"He makes me nervous." Lt. Commander Yaten Kou said, staring at the monitor screen which displayed their captives. His eyes were focused on the male, Conrad.
"Well then turn it off." Commander Seiya Kou snapped, eyes focused on the controls before him as he guided the ship through Fifthspace.
"I can't. There's no switch, remember?" Muttering an oath, Seiya turned and squeezed off a single shot from the particle laser mounted on the forearm of his combat armor. Lt. Takki Kou looked up from his station, eyebrow raised, as the monitor shattered.
"There. It's off." Seiya said and returned to the bisnuess of flying the ship. Yaten swallowed and looked at Takki, who was staring at Seiya's back.
"I will check on the prisoners." He said after moment and stood.
"I'll go with you." Yaten said, also rising and following his brother off the bridge.
"Lita. Your pen please." Lita jumped. Conrad was getting to his feet.
"Huh?"
"Your transformation pen Lita. Please Give it to me." Lita handed it over. "Good. Go get Mina." She nodded and handed it over.
"What's going on?" Amy said.
"To use the vernacular, 'we's is bustin outta here.'" Conrad said and then tossed the transformation pen directly into the electric field. With a marked whine, the field began to warp as the pen absorbed the electricity and opened a narrow gap. Turning sideways, he inched his way out and then palmed the controls for the field, switching it off and freeing the rest.
"Not Bad." Chris admitted as she and Rose took Mina's inert form from Lita even as Raye and Amy half helped, half dragged a catatonic Serena from the cell. "But now that we're out, now what?"
"I saw a room with what looked like armor and weapons in it when they herded us in." Rose said. "It might be just a trophy room, but then again..."
"It might be an armory." Raye finished.
The room was indeed an armory. One that seemed to be fully stocked. Unfortunately, there were only three suits of armor. By mutual agreement, Lita, Chris, and Conrad took them. The others selected weapons and body armor.
"Now what?"
"We find the bridge. All the answers we need should be found there." Conrad said. "Lita. Take point. Rose, cover her. The rest of you grab Serena and Mina. Chris, take the rear."
"Who died and put you in charge?" Chris demanded.
"I did." Conrad replied. His face had taken on an unearthly quality and there was something almost inhuman about his voice.
"Let him keep Command." Amy said. "Then we can blame him if this goes to pot." She shouldered the rifle. "Lead on MacDuff."
"I don't care if Seiya is in command." Yaten complained as he and Takki exited the lift. "He's not sane and I'm not about to follow a madman. Even if he is our brother."
"A logical course of action." Takki approved as they rounded the corner and came face to face with their prisoners. Yaten, nerves still wound tight, yelled in surprise and brought his forearm mounted particle laser to bear.
The Senshi responded in a similar fashion with their weapons.
For a moment, it seemed that they would have a shoot out right then and there, except that one of them had no intention of letting that happen
"Barbaric." Takki sighed as he whipped out the stun gun and fired it at Yaten, sending him to the floor. The Senshi immediately aimed their weapons at him. "Oh do put those away." Takki said, dropping the stunner and raising his hands. "I believe the phrase is, 'I surrender'." Naturally, nobody lowered their weapons.
"Why should we believe you?" Raye demanded. Takki sighed.
"Humans." He shook his head sadly. "I offer my aid in retrieving your amulets and reviving your friends. In return, I only ask that you come with me to Dranaxar. There, you will find your answers."
"What's to stop us from shooting you here and now?" Chris demanded.
"Your own curiosity." Takki returned simply. The Senshi looked at each other.
Seiya's thoughts were in a whirl as he guided the ship. They-No, HE had caught the traitors. Yes. Lord Elurius would reward him. He giggled madly. Yes! Glory would be his. Seiya Kou would go down in history as the hero of all Traconus. His tatics would be required reading for all cadets. Lord Elurius would make him one of the Lord-Admirals of the Royal Fleet, right before giving him command of the fleet protecting the Royalty while they healed in their cryogenic sleep, then, he would serve the Royalty so faithfully, that upon awakening, the King would step aside in his favor.
So caught up in his dreams, was he that he didn't feel the rifle butt slam into the side of his head, or feel it when he hit the floor.
As darkness claimed him, he wondered why all the lights had been turned off.
Lita dragged the unconious form of Seiya out of the way, letting Takki take the controls. For a moment, he busied himself with the controls, and Rose took the opportunity to look out the window at Fifthspace.
They were surrounded by multicolored clouds, lighting bolts stabbed down at random times, bouncing harmlessly off the elongated oval of energy that surrounded their tiny craft.
"Where are we?"
"Fifthspace." Takki replied and reached for a set of levers, pushing them forward. Ahead, the multicolored clouds warped and then they were hurtling through the blackness of normal space.
"And now?"
"Approximately five hundred thousand light years from earth." Takki said absently. Raye's mind whirled at the casual way he said as the ship made its way towards the star ahead
"Oh...my...God..." Lita said slowly, her green eyes wide. Behind her, the others let out similar expressions. Ahead of them rapidly filling the window, was a structure of mammoth proportions. It seemed to be composed of millions of towers, with a spiders web of catwalks and other structures suspended between them. At the outer edges, massive spheres hung, sometimes sprouting towers of their own. "What the HELL is that?"
"That is Dranaxar." Takki said, manipulating the controls. "Homeworld of the Star Kingdom of Traconus."
"That's a planet?"
"Supposedly." Takki said guiding the ship into the maze of towers and catwalks. "No one really knows. History says that the cities of old were built over so many times, that the planet was eventually buried. I doubt we'd even notice if the planet exploded." He paused. "There was a fairly violent quake, for lack of a better term, several centuries ago." He shrugged. "Maybe that was it."
Amy peered at the people in the windows they flew past, waving cheerfully. "This is so cool. Real aliens! A real alien civilization!"
"Real Aliens? What do you call everything up to now?" Chris asked acidly.
"Well yeah, but they're not trying to kill us." She looked over at Seiya, who's prone body lay next to Yaten's. "Well, most of them aren't."
"What about Mina, and our equipment?" Raye said.
"Yeah." Lita said. "You promised an explanation."
"So I did." Takki said, guiding the ship to a stop and turning in his chair. "First, let us attend to your friend." With that he rose, and crossed the bridge to a small cabinet, removing a small cylinder and then moving to where Mina lay next to Serena. Kneeling, he pressed the cylinder to her neck. There was a soft hiss and the blond stirred almost immediately.
"Wha? What happened?"
"You were captured in a stasis field." Takki sat back down in the pilot's chair. "Now. For answers."
"Seiya called our amulets 'Royal Property'. Let's start there." Chris' tone was one of suspicion.
"Very well." Takki leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "The Star Kingdom is a Monarchy dating back several hundred thousand of your years. Approximately three thousand of those years ago, the Royal family began to fall ill from some strange virus. To save their lives, the Royalty was placed into cryogenic sleep inside a heavily reinforced military base on the third moon, protected by the Royal Navy's most elite Marine troops. As far as the general public knows, the Royalty is healing."
"But that's a lie isn't it?" Conrad said, sinking into the seat Yaten would have occupied if he had been on the bridge instead of sleeping in the brig. "Nor is the virus a naturally occurring organism."
"I still don't see what this has to do with us." Chris grumbled.
"Patience." Takki replied. "All will soon become clear." Steepling his fingers, he resumed his tale. "It was several decades later, that the King's nephew, a brilliant young scientist and tactician named Calthar and his complement of the Royal Guard returned from a deep space exploratory mission. As the only living member of the Royalty who was still healthy, Calthar assumed the throne mere hours after his arrival. His first act as king was to begin an investigation into the illness that felled his Uncle and cousins. He discovered that the virus was indeed of artificial manufacture, and that it was part of a power bid by a high ranking and popular Traconian official who had used the time between the Royalty's falling ill and Calthar's arrival to consolidate his power. He could not declare himself king, the people would revolt. But, he could rule in their name."
"And he did, until Calthar showed up." Conrad said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs. Takki nodded.
"Indeed. Realizing that it was only a matter of time before the official managed to get the virus to him, Calthar took his guard, his allies, and fled, hoping to find a remote solar system and found a new kingdom. The ship, an ancient derelict that could barely make it into Fifthspace, finally arrived in a small, remote system five thousand light years from Dranaxar, heavily damaged by Star Kingdom pursuers and most of those on board dead or dying. Settling on the moon of the third planet, they began to rebuild, gradually settling on eight of the nine planets or in the case of the gas planets, their moons."
"Sol." Amy's voice was soft. "The system was Sol, wasn't it?"
"Very good. Before fleeing, Calthar stole nine suits of heavy combat armor, nine suits of light/medium combat morphing uniforms and one series five multipurpose 'Star Knight' Transformable Armor." Chris opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Conrad spoke.
"Our pens, lockets, and the Crystal Knight Armor." Conrad said, responding to her unspoken question. Chris threw him a disgusted glance as Takki continued speaking.
"The colony thrived until its fall, one thousand years ago, presumably, the attack by Beryl and Mettalia. Meanwhile, on Dranaxar, the official continued to consolidate his power, even as mercenaries scoured the space ways looking for any sign of Calthar and his band. Sol however, lies in the galactic equivalent of Antarctica, and is heavily patrolled by the Galaxy Police. Settlement is forbidden, and any traffic in the area is tightly controlled."
"Then how did Calthar get past them and hide signs that he had settled in a Forbidden area?"
"Most of the patrolling is done by heavily armed AI equipped enforcer drones. While it is difficult to do, they can be fooled."
"And Calthar was counting on that to keep himself hidden." Mina said, then frowned. "Wait a sec. If the Royalty is in Cryo, then how did Fireball get loose?"
"There was a malfunction in the monitoring unit. It didn't trigger an alarm, but it released her. Somehow, she managed to steal a small shuttle and make it to your world. Seiya, Yaten and I were dispatched to retrieve her." Conrad's face was unreadable, even though a number of things were rapidly falling into place in his mind.
"Get to the point!" Chris snapped.
"Serena's life is in danger." Conrad said softly.
"Huh?" Serena, who had at some point managed to get a grip, said. "What are you talking about?"
"If I'm to understand Takki correctly, Calthar founded the Moon Kingdom, and almost certainly was its Monarch. If that's the case, then he probably sired children. Your ancestors."
Serena blinked. "Huh?"
"I get it!" Raye exclaimed. "Serena is part of the Traconian Royal Family!" Conrad nodded.
"And undoubtably, is the only one of Royal Blood not in Cryo." He replied. Serena looked at everyone, unable to ignore the twisting of her stomach.
"Not quite." Takki said. "There is one other."
"I don't think I'm going to like this." Mina said softly.
"The other one is the official I spoke of. The one who administered the virus. Elurius, King Symodina's unacknowledged brother."
"Nope. I don't like it."
"So what do we do?" Amy asked.
"If Serena is descended from Royal Blood, then she could take the throne back and use the Imperium Silver Crystal to heal the Royalty." Rose mused
"Yeah! Lita exclaimed. "Then they can kick Elurius's ass back to whatever hole he crawled out of!"
"But he's over four thousand years old." Raye pointed out. "He's had millennia to get in place. There's only eight of us."
"Nine." Takki said.
"Ten." Everyone looked at Yaten, who was sitting up, and looking at them. "I'm in too."
"Then its settled." Conrad said, looking out the window towards the huge tower that was the palace. "We arrest the Lord Regent for High Treason and replace him with Serena."
"Sounds like a plan." Amy said with a grin. "We storm the place, wake up the Royalty, have 'em toss Elurius out an airlock," She rubbed her hands together briskly and flexed her fingers. "and have it all wrapped up in time for lunch."
Strange how plans rarely survive contact with the people who are to carry them out.