Thanks for this chapter go to Syrinx, my awesome beta-reader; to my sister for her putting
up with all my re-writes, and to Dragon Knight Slade for his helpful comments. On with the
show!
~Lurker 9/15/03
**
Jadeite leaned back in his swivel chair and tossed a bit of popcorn up, catching it in his
mouth as it fell. He slugged a drink from his glass, set it back on the console, and refocused
his attention on the vidscreen. The two figures portrayed there had been locked in an
embrace for the last few minutes, muttering protests of undying love and eternal fidelity -
which would have been less annoying if he hadn't seen it already.
The popcorn was freshly popped, with extra salt on it, and was fast becoming his favorite
snack. It was too bad they hadn't found a supplier for this stuff yet, Jadeite mused. He'd
have to make sure they laid in a good amount to ship's stores before takeoff. Maybe they
could make it part of the treaty negotiations - a twenty year contract for popcorn imports.
No, better make it forty.
"Oh, John!"
"Oh, Marsha!"
"Oh, John!"
"Oh, Marsha!"
"Oh brother," came a voice from behind. Jadeite spun his chair to face Nephrite, who was
leaning casually against the doorjamb. "You're back early, Neph. How'd the negotiations
go?"
Nephrite strode the few steps into the control room to steal some popcorn. "Better if a
certain Prince of Earth had bothered to show up.... But well enough, I suppose. The Priests
know not to count on Endy by this point, anyway, so they weren't too disappointed." He
noticed the action on the vidscreen. "Didn't you see this one yesterday?"
"Yeah, it's a recording." Jadeite scooped up another handful of his snack, determined to
out-eat his fellow general if necessary. "The communit's broken, so there aren't any
broadcasts coming in. Services said they'd send someone."
"And you've nothing better to do than watch old vids and wait? I'd think with liftoff
scheduled for noon tomorrow, you'd be busy resupplying and running diagnostics." His voice
held a warning note, which Jadeite promptly decided to ignore.
"I'll get to it all when this is over. Zoisite'll be back from his meetings soon, and he can
help me."
Nephrite shook his head and turned to leave, obviously not pleased with Jadeite's
intentions, but unwilling to begin a confrontation. Jadeite smirked to himself. It was too easy
to get under his friend's skin.
Nephrite paused at the door. "Oh, by the way. Have you heard from Endy yet?"
"I told you, the communit's broken."
"On your personal communit?"
"Not so much as a beep." Which irritated Jadeite. He considered himself one of Endy's
best friends, and a more... understanding person than Kunzite, who would often lecture Endy
about responsibility and duty. Why wouldn't the prince tell him if he was going to be gone?
"Tell me if you hear anything from our absent prince. I'm going to catch Zoisite, and
maybe together we can hunt Endymion down. He should be here, anyway, to sign the
treaty.... You'll have to finish liftoff prep by yourself." Nephrite's face held a smirk of its own.
Not willing to give satisfaction, Jadeite simply nodded and settled back in his chair. "I'll
stay here and let in the repairman when he arrives."
"Don't strain yourself."
"Whatever."
Jadeite quickly became absorbed once again in the storyline of the vid. He lost track of
time until a chime sounded, signifying that someone outside was requesting access. He
sighed, paused the screen, and punched up the outside monitors. The man at the hatch was
wearing the cap and uniform of Service employees and holding what appeared to be a
toolbox, but his face was obscured by the hat's brim. Jadeite unlocked the hatch and went
down to greet him.
"Hi there, I'm with Dock Service. I hear you've got a faulty communit?"
"That's right, it's been acting up...." Jadeite's words trailed off. That voice.... "Ha, ha.
Very funny, Endy. Would you quit fooling around and get in here? We've got liftoff prep
soon."
"Sorry?" The man tilted his cap up, revealing just the face Jadeite had expected. "My
name's Mamoru Chiba, I'm with Dock Services. Ahmet sent me."
"Right. Okay, Mamoru. Let's see you fix the communit, if you're really the repairman."
Jadeite grinned. He'd play along. There was no way Endy had the technical background to
repair a broken stick, much less a complex piece of electronics like a communit. This was a
pretty dumb joke, even for the prince. But then, how did he know Ahmet was the one
Jadeite had spoken to at Dock Services?
"That's why I'm here," Mamoru said carefully.
**
"I do NOT appreciate being called a stowaway," Endy said angrily. "Especially
considering I'm the one with permission to be here, and you're the hijacker. And when are
you going to untie me?"
"When I'm convinced you aren't going to try anything stupid." Coren folded his arms,
producing his best 'stern glare' for the occasion. "And trust me, it would be stupid. Why
don't you calm down a little and we'll talk."
"Calm down?" Endy wriggled in the rope that held his arms pinned to the chair. "How do
you expect me to calm down? Listen, buddy, do you know who I am?"
"No, not really, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Coren answered. "If I say I don't
care, will you shut up for a while?"
"Wh - I - You -"
Coren grinned and looked away, leaving Endy to sputter.
That son of a - How dare he? Endy thought. If he hadn't kidnapped me, Lane and I
could be -
That thought brought him up short. Lane and I would be doing what? Flying around the
system on vacation, right? And what is this guy doing, but flying me around the system?
Sure, I won't have the same... benefits as I do with Lane, but there are girls just as good on
all the planets.
As ideas began to percolate in Endy's brain, Mila wandered in and leaned against the wall.
"Well, I've got everything on autopilot, and things look pretty clear all the way to Kinmoku.
We'll have to stop off at Station 12 and get the registry taken care of before that Lane chick
puts out the alert, but I think we're in good shape."
As she continued talking, Endy stared at Mila, letting his eyes roam up and down. Blond
hair, brown eyes, cute body.... No, this sudden change of plans might not be so bad at all.
"I'll tell you what," he said suddenly, interrupting Mila mid-sentence. "You guys untie me,
and I won't make a fuss. In fact, I'll help you out."
"Why should we trust you?" Coren asked. " A minute ago you were yelling at us."
"Because now I've had a chance to think things over, and I've decided I don't particularly
care who I go with, as long as I'm well away from Earth. Lane and I were planning to take
off soon, anyway, so it's not like it bothers me, just as long as I get what I want...."
"Okay.... And what exactly do you want?" Mila asked reasonably.
"I want away from Earth, like I said." Endy leaned back in his chair - at least as far as the
ropes would let him - and tried to look his most harmless. "I'm the.... Let's just say, I've got
a position of responsibility there, and I'm tired of being responsible. So, I wanted a vacation.
This'll work as well as anything."
"This isn't a cruiser, you know," Mila said. "We've got work to do."
"Whatever. If I promise not to get in the way, would you guys just untie me?"
"Hang on." Coren drew Mila into the hallway for a more private conference. Endy could
still hear their lowered voices, if he concentrated. "I don't like it, and I don't trust him. He's
the spoiled sort that bails at the first hint of anything they don't like, and who knows what kind
of trouble he could cause us!"
Mila's higher voice answered. "I don't really see what it'll hurt.... Anyway, it's only a few
days' journey to the Station. We can always leave him there after we get the modifications
finished, if it really bothers you."
"Fine, if you say so...." Coren reappeared in the doorway, followed closely by Mila, and
addressed Endy sternly. "Just remember, if you don't behave yourself, it's out the hatch with
you - and I'm not promising we'll be docked, either." He ignored Mila's reprimanding look.
"I'll be watching you."
He reached over and loosened the ropes. Endy shook them off and forced down his burst
of anger at the man's authoritative manner, smiling in what he hoped was a completely
convincing and non-threatening way. It seemed he would only have a few days to convince
these two to take him with them. "So... my name's Endy. What's yours?"
**
Red emergency lights flashed along the Corridor walls as Lane worked her way toward
the Guard office. A stern female voice coming through strategically placed speakers repeated
a command for all members of Guard Division 394 to report to their ships. Uniformed men
were racing through the Corridors, pushing aside anyone who got in their way. Most people
found ways to be indoors or out of the way, to avoid being bowled over by the stampede.
"Excuse me." Lane tried to snag the sleeve of a passing Guard, only to be brushed off.
"Excuse me!"
An older man in uniform stopped for a moment. "Listen, ma'am, unless you've got a dead
body or an emergency missive from Serenity herself, you'll have to wait." He started to move
off.
"Wait, you don't understand! My ship's been stolen!" Her voice was desperate.
"No, you don't understand. No one's going to care about your ship right now. If you're
worried about it, there's an emergency station set up in the Temple courtyard. You can go
down there and report it." Without another word, he joined the stream of Guards moving
swiftly toward the military Dock.
Lane stared after him, in near shock at the brush-off. How dare he? She stood for
several seconds until another pedestrian slammed into her from behind. "Oops, pardon me,
ma'am." The young Priest touched his forehead in a brief salute before disappearing into a
nearby doorway.
She supposed there was no help for it. She'd have to find this emergency station and
report her loss. The quad was a few blocks to the left, if she remembered correctly - it'd
been a few years since her last stay on Mars, and the Corridor layouts were running together
in her head. Stupid Martians - why'd they have to build everything underground like this?
And why in the world did it all have to look so similar?
Lane finally found the right spot; a large round area ringed by tall columns and arches
reaching up to brush the granite rock overhead. The Temple courtyard was normally a place
for quiet meditation, but apparently it had been turned over to the Guards as a temporary
headquarters while... whatever was going on, went on. Two young, flustered cadets ran back
and forth behind a bench that had been set up as a desk, trying to accommodate the crush of
people before them.
She reluctantly joined the end of the growing line and settled in for a long wait. The
woman in front of her was discussing some lost pet with her companion - why couldn't they
wait, and let her go first? It wasn't as if "Poochie-coo" couldn't find his way home eventually.
Desperate to get the woman's sugary tones out of her mind, Lane turned to the boy behind
her to strike up a conversation.
"So, any ideas what all this is about?"
The boy was small and wispy, with a thin voice to match. "My fiancee is in the Guard, and
they called her out a little while ago. She said before she left that the Giardo Pirates attacked
a mining outpost on Charon, and they're recalling every spare unit from here to system edge
for reinforcements. She said there's hundreds wounded." The boy shuddered, his face
fearful. "You don't think they'll come this far insystem, do you?"
Lane shook her head, already dismissing the boy in her mind.
"My name's Jose. My fiancee is Lucy Johannes - she's a cadet, but she's going to be
promoted soon. What's your name?"
"Lane," she answered shortly. "Lane Zhaki." She flipped her hair away from her face and
frowned. "Any idea how long this'll take?"
"Nice to meet you, Lane. I don't know how long the wait is, but I don't think it'll be too
bad," Jose offered. "I'm just waiting to ask whether Lucy's unit is being deployed to Charon,
for cleanup crew, or if they're sending her after the pirates. I'm a little worried about her. Do
you have a fiance?"
"No, I don't." Lane folded her arms, looking everywhere but at her new conversation
partner. "I - wait. Oh, no. Endy!"
Jose's eyebrows slanted towards each other. He tilted his head to one side. "You forgot
your fiance?"
"No, I didn't. He's -" She quickly edited what she had been going to say. "sort of a
boyfriend. He was on my ship before it got hijacked." Although there was no reason to
worry about him, she amended to herself. He probably got off before anything happened....
"Oh. I hope you find him again. I'd hate to lose Lucy like that.... You should keep an eye
on him." Satisfied with his advice, Jose leaned back and smiled.
Frustrated with the whole mess, Lane turned back to face the front of the line. It had
barely moved. "Come on, hurry up! I want my ship back!"
**
Ami slipped a bit of scrap paper between the pages of her book and laid it on her bedside
table. "What is it, Makoto?"
The figure behind her detached itself from the wall and came up to take a seat on the bed
beside Ami. "You knew it was me, huh?" the senshi from Jupiter laughed quietly.
"I didn't think it was likely to be anyone else," Ami said. "Rei's busy setting up her
quarters, since she didn't come with us on the Serene Angel last trip, and the Princess is
taking a nap...."
"And Minako is still training in the gym," Makoto finished for her friend. "I'm still stunned
at how huge this ship is." It was true. The Serene Angel, being the flagship of the Moon
Kingdom's small fleet and the personal transport of Queen Serenity, had space and resources
enough to support an entire entourage for limited periods of time. Makoto's first voyage on
the ship, two years ago, had been mostly occupied with wandering around in amazement at all
the different facilities.
"So, did you need anything in particular?" Ami asked, hoping she hadn't.
"Nope." Makoto settled back against the pile of pillows. "I was just looking for someone
to talk to.... Everyone else is kind of busy."
That was just the opening Ami had been looking for. "Hey, Makoto, have you noticed
anything weird about the others?"
"Weird? What kind of wierd?" Makoto grinned. "I don't think we've ever been quite
normal, Ami."
"You've been working with the army directly on those training missions for a few months,
so maybe you haven't had a chance to notice..." the quiet senshi of Mercury began, "but things
have been strange lately. Ever since the engagement was announced, Serenity's been getting
more and more withdrawn. She's been losing sleep, and she's not the same happy girl she
used to be."
Makoto nodded slowly. "You're right, I hadn't noticed."
"That's not all. It's been driving Rei nuts that Sere won't speak to her. You know how
close they've always been...." Ami waited for Makoto to nod again. "Well, Rei's been
spending more and more time alone in her room. I think Sere's behavior is really affecting
her, as well."
"I see. What did Minako think about it? Have you mentioned any of this to her?"
"I did try, a couple of weeks ago, but Minako's changed too. I think she's worried about
the new responsibilities the Queen gave her, or maybe it's something else entirely, that she's
not telling anyone - I've got no way of knowing what's going on in her mind! She's pushing
herself so hard, in training the new recruits, or in the gym by herself.... Even when she's
asleep, she doesn't relax. I'm worried for her, Makoto. I'm worried about what will happen
to all of us, if we don't stick together and help each other."
Makoto absently tugged a hank of brown hair loose from her ponytail and began chewing
on it. Her eyes became distant in thought. "What should we do?"
Ami was relieved to see that Makoto was taking this seriously. She'd debated for a while
before deciding to bring it up, fearing it was all just her own imagination, but the tensions had
gotten too much for her to handle alone. "I don't know," she said. "I just don't know."
"Do you think it's my fault?" Makoto said suddenly, sitting bolt upright. "Because I've
been gone?"
"No!" Ami exclaimed. "It's not your fault. And don't start thinking it is, or you'll pull away
too, and then we'll all be worse off."
"Right." Makoto relaxed a little at the reassurance. She took her friend's hand and
squeezed it, hoping to give a little of that reassurance back. "Don't worry, Ami. We'll figure
out what's going on."
**
Jadeite grinned to himself. The 'repairman' had been out in the ship's main hall for a half-
hour now, pretending to work on the communit's wiring through an access panel. Jadeite had
been listening to muttered curses the whole while and thought he had even heard a thrown
tool clatter against the wall once or twice. He was confident that any minute now, Endy
would call the joke off.
Mamoru came into the control room, wiping his hands on a rag, which he then stuffed
carelessly into his back pocket. "I'll tell you, your wiring's in pretty bad shape back there!"
Heh, Jadeite thought. This was one joke Endy was really getting into. "So, that means
you can't fix it?" he asked, hoping to trip his prince up.
"Oh, no, everything should be working now. Try to run up the communication lines."
"Right, sure, whatever you say...." Jadeite casually hit a few buttons, expecting to see the
same error message he'd gotten that morning.
The screen flashed white and displayed a series of diagnostics as the unit ran a systems
check. After what seemed an unreasonably long wait, at least to Jadeite, an "All Systems
Normal" message appeared.
Mamoru grinned at proof positive that the system was working again. "You're going to
want to get the rest of that wiring looked at when you get back to your home port, but this'll
last you for a while. Let's see now...." He tapped at the display, entering a few commands to
double-check that all access was restored.
"Looks like you've got a stored message in here. Well, everything seems to be running
just fine!" He went back into the hall to put away his tools.
Jadeite stood with his mouth gaping. Finally, he reached out and started playback of the
recorded message, and watched in amazement as Endy's face appeared.
"This is Endy. I'm taking a vacation, so don't bother me for at least a week. Oh, and tell
Jadeite to stay out of my wine stash - I'm saving it."
"Why, that no good - that rotten - I don't believe it!" Jadeite exclaimed. "Who told him
he could take a vacation?" For the two months of the trip, he had dealt with Endymion's
antics. He had covered up Endy's chasing after women, straightened out the minor scuffles
with local law, and at times had prevented Nephrite from inflicting serious harm on their prince
with a warning about Kunzite's inevitable retaliation should Endy come home badly injured.
Now, he was being repaid for his hard work with betrayal and distrust? "And why didn't he
ever tell me he had wine stockpiled away somewhere?"
A sound from over his shoulder caused Jadeite to spin around. Mamoru was standing
there, his eyes wide. He looked about as nonplussed as Jadeite felt. "That's - me?"
"Obviously not. That is Prince Endymion of Earth, which makes you.... Hey. Who are
you, anyway?"
"I told you," Mamoru said slowly, wondering if this Jadeite fellow had all his faculties
together. "My name's Chiba Mamoru, I'm with Dock Services, and I just repaired your
communit. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back and check in with Ahmet." He edged
back out of the control room, into the hallway, and reached for his toolbox slowly, so as not
to make any sudden moves that would startle his client.
The beginnings of a plan were beginning to make themselves known in Jadeite's mind.
"Hang on just a second, would you?" So Endy thought he could just push everyone around,
did he? That boy knew full well that alliance with the Silver Millennium depended on his
marriage to the Princess Serenity. He had no business pulling a disappearing trick so close to
the wedding....
Jadeite looked closely at the repairman. "Guess what, Mamoru. You've just won the
'Prince for a Week' contest. Congratulations."
Mamoru's eyes just widened.
up with all my re-writes, and to Dragon Knight Slade for his helpful comments. On with the
show!
~Lurker 9/15/03
**
Jadeite leaned back in his swivel chair and tossed a bit of popcorn up, catching it in his
mouth as it fell. He slugged a drink from his glass, set it back on the console, and refocused
his attention on the vidscreen. The two figures portrayed there had been locked in an
embrace for the last few minutes, muttering protests of undying love and eternal fidelity -
which would have been less annoying if he hadn't seen it already.
The popcorn was freshly popped, with extra salt on it, and was fast becoming his favorite
snack. It was too bad they hadn't found a supplier for this stuff yet, Jadeite mused. He'd
have to make sure they laid in a good amount to ship's stores before takeoff. Maybe they
could make it part of the treaty negotiations - a twenty year contract for popcorn imports.
No, better make it forty.
"Oh, John!"
"Oh, Marsha!"
"Oh, John!"
"Oh, Marsha!"
"Oh brother," came a voice from behind. Jadeite spun his chair to face Nephrite, who was
leaning casually against the doorjamb. "You're back early, Neph. How'd the negotiations
go?"
Nephrite strode the few steps into the control room to steal some popcorn. "Better if a
certain Prince of Earth had bothered to show up.... But well enough, I suppose. The Priests
know not to count on Endy by this point, anyway, so they weren't too disappointed." He
noticed the action on the vidscreen. "Didn't you see this one yesterday?"
"Yeah, it's a recording." Jadeite scooped up another handful of his snack, determined to
out-eat his fellow general if necessary. "The communit's broken, so there aren't any
broadcasts coming in. Services said they'd send someone."
"And you've nothing better to do than watch old vids and wait? I'd think with liftoff
scheduled for noon tomorrow, you'd be busy resupplying and running diagnostics." His voice
held a warning note, which Jadeite promptly decided to ignore.
"I'll get to it all when this is over. Zoisite'll be back from his meetings soon, and he can
help me."
Nephrite shook his head and turned to leave, obviously not pleased with Jadeite's
intentions, but unwilling to begin a confrontation. Jadeite smirked to himself. It was too easy
to get under his friend's skin.
Nephrite paused at the door. "Oh, by the way. Have you heard from Endy yet?"
"I told you, the communit's broken."
"On your personal communit?"
"Not so much as a beep." Which irritated Jadeite. He considered himself one of Endy's
best friends, and a more... understanding person than Kunzite, who would often lecture Endy
about responsibility and duty. Why wouldn't the prince tell him if he was going to be gone?
"Tell me if you hear anything from our absent prince. I'm going to catch Zoisite, and
maybe together we can hunt Endymion down. He should be here, anyway, to sign the
treaty.... You'll have to finish liftoff prep by yourself." Nephrite's face held a smirk of its own.
Not willing to give satisfaction, Jadeite simply nodded and settled back in his chair. "I'll
stay here and let in the repairman when he arrives."
"Don't strain yourself."
"Whatever."
Jadeite quickly became absorbed once again in the storyline of the vid. He lost track of
time until a chime sounded, signifying that someone outside was requesting access. He
sighed, paused the screen, and punched up the outside monitors. The man at the hatch was
wearing the cap and uniform of Service employees and holding what appeared to be a
toolbox, but his face was obscured by the hat's brim. Jadeite unlocked the hatch and went
down to greet him.
"Hi there, I'm with Dock Service. I hear you've got a faulty communit?"
"That's right, it's been acting up...." Jadeite's words trailed off. That voice.... "Ha, ha.
Very funny, Endy. Would you quit fooling around and get in here? We've got liftoff prep
soon."
"Sorry?" The man tilted his cap up, revealing just the face Jadeite had expected. "My
name's Mamoru Chiba, I'm with Dock Services. Ahmet sent me."
"Right. Okay, Mamoru. Let's see you fix the communit, if you're really the repairman."
Jadeite grinned. He'd play along. There was no way Endy had the technical background to
repair a broken stick, much less a complex piece of electronics like a communit. This was a
pretty dumb joke, even for the prince. But then, how did he know Ahmet was the one
Jadeite had spoken to at Dock Services?
"That's why I'm here," Mamoru said carefully.
**
"I do NOT appreciate being called a stowaway," Endy said angrily. "Especially
considering I'm the one with permission to be here, and you're the hijacker. And when are
you going to untie me?"
"When I'm convinced you aren't going to try anything stupid." Coren folded his arms,
producing his best 'stern glare' for the occasion. "And trust me, it would be stupid. Why
don't you calm down a little and we'll talk."
"Calm down?" Endy wriggled in the rope that held his arms pinned to the chair. "How do
you expect me to calm down? Listen, buddy, do you know who I am?"
"No, not really, but I'm sure you're going to tell me," Coren answered. "If I say I don't
care, will you shut up for a while?"
"Wh - I - You -"
Coren grinned and looked away, leaving Endy to sputter.
That son of a - How dare he? Endy thought. If he hadn't kidnapped me, Lane and I
could be -
That thought brought him up short. Lane and I would be doing what? Flying around the
system on vacation, right? And what is this guy doing, but flying me around the system?
Sure, I won't have the same... benefits as I do with Lane, but there are girls just as good on
all the planets.
As ideas began to percolate in Endy's brain, Mila wandered in and leaned against the wall.
"Well, I've got everything on autopilot, and things look pretty clear all the way to Kinmoku.
We'll have to stop off at Station 12 and get the registry taken care of before that Lane chick
puts out the alert, but I think we're in good shape."
As she continued talking, Endy stared at Mila, letting his eyes roam up and down. Blond
hair, brown eyes, cute body.... No, this sudden change of plans might not be so bad at all.
"I'll tell you what," he said suddenly, interrupting Mila mid-sentence. "You guys untie me,
and I won't make a fuss. In fact, I'll help you out."
"Why should we trust you?" Coren asked. " A minute ago you were yelling at us."
"Because now I've had a chance to think things over, and I've decided I don't particularly
care who I go with, as long as I'm well away from Earth. Lane and I were planning to take
off soon, anyway, so it's not like it bothers me, just as long as I get what I want...."
"Okay.... And what exactly do you want?" Mila asked reasonably.
"I want away from Earth, like I said." Endy leaned back in his chair - at least as far as the
ropes would let him - and tried to look his most harmless. "I'm the.... Let's just say, I've got
a position of responsibility there, and I'm tired of being responsible. So, I wanted a vacation.
This'll work as well as anything."
"This isn't a cruiser, you know," Mila said. "We've got work to do."
"Whatever. If I promise not to get in the way, would you guys just untie me?"
"Hang on." Coren drew Mila into the hallway for a more private conference. Endy could
still hear their lowered voices, if he concentrated. "I don't like it, and I don't trust him. He's
the spoiled sort that bails at the first hint of anything they don't like, and who knows what kind
of trouble he could cause us!"
Mila's higher voice answered. "I don't really see what it'll hurt.... Anyway, it's only a few
days' journey to the Station. We can always leave him there after we get the modifications
finished, if it really bothers you."
"Fine, if you say so...." Coren reappeared in the doorway, followed closely by Mila, and
addressed Endy sternly. "Just remember, if you don't behave yourself, it's out the hatch with
you - and I'm not promising we'll be docked, either." He ignored Mila's reprimanding look.
"I'll be watching you."
He reached over and loosened the ropes. Endy shook them off and forced down his burst
of anger at the man's authoritative manner, smiling in what he hoped was a completely
convincing and non-threatening way. It seemed he would only have a few days to convince
these two to take him with them. "So... my name's Endy. What's yours?"
**
Red emergency lights flashed along the Corridor walls as Lane worked her way toward
the Guard office. A stern female voice coming through strategically placed speakers repeated
a command for all members of Guard Division 394 to report to their ships. Uniformed men
were racing through the Corridors, pushing aside anyone who got in their way. Most people
found ways to be indoors or out of the way, to avoid being bowled over by the stampede.
"Excuse me." Lane tried to snag the sleeve of a passing Guard, only to be brushed off.
"Excuse me!"
An older man in uniform stopped for a moment. "Listen, ma'am, unless you've got a dead
body or an emergency missive from Serenity herself, you'll have to wait." He started to move
off.
"Wait, you don't understand! My ship's been stolen!" Her voice was desperate.
"No, you don't understand. No one's going to care about your ship right now. If you're
worried about it, there's an emergency station set up in the Temple courtyard. You can go
down there and report it." Without another word, he joined the stream of Guards moving
swiftly toward the military Dock.
Lane stared after him, in near shock at the brush-off. How dare he? She stood for
several seconds until another pedestrian slammed into her from behind. "Oops, pardon me,
ma'am." The young Priest touched his forehead in a brief salute before disappearing into a
nearby doorway.
She supposed there was no help for it. She'd have to find this emergency station and
report her loss. The quad was a few blocks to the left, if she remembered correctly - it'd
been a few years since her last stay on Mars, and the Corridor layouts were running together
in her head. Stupid Martians - why'd they have to build everything underground like this?
And why in the world did it all have to look so similar?
Lane finally found the right spot; a large round area ringed by tall columns and arches
reaching up to brush the granite rock overhead. The Temple courtyard was normally a place
for quiet meditation, but apparently it had been turned over to the Guards as a temporary
headquarters while... whatever was going on, went on. Two young, flustered cadets ran back
and forth behind a bench that had been set up as a desk, trying to accommodate the crush of
people before them.
She reluctantly joined the end of the growing line and settled in for a long wait. The
woman in front of her was discussing some lost pet with her companion - why couldn't they
wait, and let her go first? It wasn't as if "Poochie-coo" couldn't find his way home eventually.
Desperate to get the woman's sugary tones out of her mind, Lane turned to the boy behind
her to strike up a conversation.
"So, any ideas what all this is about?"
The boy was small and wispy, with a thin voice to match. "My fiancee is in the Guard, and
they called her out a little while ago. She said before she left that the Giardo Pirates attacked
a mining outpost on Charon, and they're recalling every spare unit from here to system edge
for reinforcements. She said there's hundreds wounded." The boy shuddered, his face
fearful. "You don't think they'll come this far insystem, do you?"
Lane shook her head, already dismissing the boy in her mind.
"My name's Jose. My fiancee is Lucy Johannes - she's a cadet, but she's going to be
promoted soon. What's your name?"
"Lane," she answered shortly. "Lane Zhaki." She flipped her hair away from her face and
frowned. "Any idea how long this'll take?"
"Nice to meet you, Lane. I don't know how long the wait is, but I don't think it'll be too
bad," Jose offered. "I'm just waiting to ask whether Lucy's unit is being deployed to Charon,
for cleanup crew, or if they're sending her after the pirates. I'm a little worried about her. Do
you have a fiance?"
"No, I don't." Lane folded her arms, looking everywhere but at her new conversation
partner. "I - wait. Oh, no. Endy!"
Jose's eyebrows slanted towards each other. He tilted his head to one side. "You forgot
your fiance?"
"No, I didn't. He's -" She quickly edited what she had been going to say. "sort of a
boyfriend. He was on my ship before it got hijacked." Although there was no reason to
worry about him, she amended to herself. He probably got off before anything happened....
"Oh. I hope you find him again. I'd hate to lose Lucy like that.... You should keep an eye
on him." Satisfied with his advice, Jose leaned back and smiled.
Frustrated with the whole mess, Lane turned back to face the front of the line. It had
barely moved. "Come on, hurry up! I want my ship back!"
**
Ami slipped a bit of scrap paper between the pages of her book and laid it on her bedside
table. "What is it, Makoto?"
The figure behind her detached itself from the wall and came up to take a seat on the bed
beside Ami. "You knew it was me, huh?" the senshi from Jupiter laughed quietly.
"I didn't think it was likely to be anyone else," Ami said. "Rei's busy setting up her
quarters, since she didn't come with us on the Serene Angel last trip, and the Princess is
taking a nap...."
"And Minako is still training in the gym," Makoto finished for her friend. "I'm still stunned
at how huge this ship is." It was true. The Serene Angel, being the flagship of the Moon
Kingdom's small fleet and the personal transport of Queen Serenity, had space and resources
enough to support an entire entourage for limited periods of time. Makoto's first voyage on
the ship, two years ago, had been mostly occupied with wandering around in amazement at all
the different facilities.
"So, did you need anything in particular?" Ami asked, hoping she hadn't.
"Nope." Makoto settled back against the pile of pillows. "I was just looking for someone
to talk to.... Everyone else is kind of busy."
That was just the opening Ami had been looking for. "Hey, Makoto, have you noticed
anything weird about the others?"
"Weird? What kind of wierd?" Makoto grinned. "I don't think we've ever been quite
normal, Ami."
"You've been working with the army directly on those training missions for a few months,
so maybe you haven't had a chance to notice..." the quiet senshi of Mercury began, "but things
have been strange lately. Ever since the engagement was announced, Serenity's been getting
more and more withdrawn. She's been losing sleep, and she's not the same happy girl she
used to be."
Makoto nodded slowly. "You're right, I hadn't noticed."
"That's not all. It's been driving Rei nuts that Sere won't speak to her. You know how
close they've always been...." Ami waited for Makoto to nod again. "Well, Rei's been
spending more and more time alone in her room. I think Sere's behavior is really affecting
her, as well."
"I see. What did Minako think about it? Have you mentioned any of this to her?"
"I did try, a couple of weeks ago, but Minako's changed too. I think she's worried about
the new responsibilities the Queen gave her, or maybe it's something else entirely, that she's
not telling anyone - I've got no way of knowing what's going on in her mind! She's pushing
herself so hard, in training the new recruits, or in the gym by herself.... Even when she's
asleep, she doesn't relax. I'm worried for her, Makoto. I'm worried about what will happen
to all of us, if we don't stick together and help each other."
Makoto absently tugged a hank of brown hair loose from her ponytail and began chewing
on it. Her eyes became distant in thought. "What should we do?"
Ami was relieved to see that Makoto was taking this seriously. She'd debated for a while
before deciding to bring it up, fearing it was all just her own imagination, but the tensions had
gotten too much for her to handle alone. "I don't know," she said. "I just don't know."
"Do you think it's my fault?" Makoto said suddenly, sitting bolt upright. "Because I've
been gone?"
"No!" Ami exclaimed. "It's not your fault. And don't start thinking it is, or you'll pull away
too, and then we'll all be worse off."
"Right." Makoto relaxed a little at the reassurance. She took her friend's hand and
squeezed it, hoping to give a little of that reassurance back. "Don't worry, Ami. We'll figure
out what's going on."
**
Jadeite grinned to himself. The 'repairman' had been out in the ship's main hall for a half-
hour now, pretending to work on the communit's wiring through an access panel. Jadeite had
been listening to muttered curses the whole while and thought he had even heard a thrown
tool clatter against the wall once or twice. He was confident that any minute now, Endy
would call the joke off.
Mamoru came into the control room, wiping his hands on a rag, which he then stuffed
carelessly into his back pocket. "I'll tell you, your wiring's in pretty bad shape back there!"
Heh, Jadeite thought. This was one joke Endy was really getting into. "So, that means
you can't fix it?" he asked, hoping to trip his prince up.
"Oh, no, everything should be working now. Try to run up the communication lines."
"Right, sure, whatever you say...." Jadeite casually hit a few buttons, expecting to see the
same error message he'd gotten that morning.
The screen flashed white and displayed a series of diagnostics as the unit ran a systems
check. After what seemed an unreasonably long wait, at least to Jadeite, an "All Systems
Normal" message appeared.
Mamoru grinned at proof positive that the system was working again. "You're going to
want to get the rest of that wiring looked at when you get back to your home port, but this'll
last you for a while. Let's see now...." He tapped at the display, entering a few commands to
double-check that all access was restored.
"Looks like you've got a stored message in here. Well, everything seems to be running
just fine!" He went back into the hall to put away his tools.
Jadeite stood with his mouth gaping. Finally, he reached out and started playback of the
recorded message, and watched in amazement as Endy's face appeared.
"This is Endy. I'm taking a vacation, so don't bother me for at least a week. Oh, and tell
Jadeite to stay out of my wine stash - I'm saving it."
"Why, that no good - that rotten - I don't believe it!" Jadeite exclaimed. "Who told him
he could take a vacation?" For the two months of the trip, he had dealt with Endymion's
antics. He had covered up Endy's chasing after women, straightened out the minor scuffles
with local law, and at times had prevented Nephrite from inflicting serious harm on their prince
with a warning about Kunzite's inevitable retaliation should Endy come home badly injured.
Now, he was being repaid for his hard work with betrayal and distrust? "And why didn't he
ever tell me he had wine stockpiled away somewhere?"
A sound from over his shoulder caused Jadeite to spin around. Mamoru was standing
there, his eyes wide. He looked about as nonplussed as Jadeite felt. "That's - me?"
"Obviously not. That is Prince Endymion of Earth, which makes you.... Hey. Who are
you, anyway?"
"I told you," Mamoru said slowly, wondering if this Jadeite fellow had all his faculties
together. "My name's Chiba Mamoru, I'm with Dock Services, and I just repaired your
communit. If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back and check in with Ahmet." He edged
back out of the control room, into the hallway, and reached for his toolbox slowly, so as not
to make any sudden moves that would startle his client.
The beginnings of a plan were beginning to make themselves known in Jadeite's mind.
"Hang on just a second, would you?" So Endy thought he could just push everyone around,
did he? That boy knew full well that alliance with the Silver Millennium depended on his
marriage to the Princess Serenity. He had no business pulling a disappearing trick so close to
the wedding....
Jadeite looked closely at the repairman. "Guess what, Mamoru. You've just won the
'Prince for a Week' contest. Congratulations."
Mamoru's eyes just widened.