Sailor Moon: The Alien Within 2 – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: "Sailor Moon", "Star Trek", "Pitch Black"/"The Chronicles of Riddick", and other genres belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Special note: Some elements have been slightly changed to make the timeline fit.
Author's note: I decided to continue this story because I've been inspired to, after seeing "Pitch Black" (starring Vin Diesel). Some elements I actually liked. Anyway, let me know what you think.
Part 2
When I returned to Earth, I found that much had changed. Archer…Mayweather…Reed…they were all gone now. Dr. Phlox went back to his people, as did T'Pol. Hoshi retired from her duties from the Diplomatic Corp, and had decided to take up her duties as a Shinto priestess at her ancestral temple in Japan. Meanwhile, Ripley and Call had decided to open a hospice in the Yucatan, Johner and Vriess went back to being mercenaries, and Starfleet Marine Sgt. Distephano went back to his normal duties. Each one of them invited me to go with them, T'Pol, Dr. Phlox and Hoshi included, but…I couldn't. I wanted to go back to my proper time and place, so, with a sigh and crossed fingers, I went back into the trans-dimensional universe known as "The Rifts".
The Rifts was an alternate universe that had a duplicate Earth, a planet that was THE nexus of that dimension. The only difference between the Earth that I have called home, since joining Starfleet, and the one in the Rifts, is that the one in the Rifts was a nexus to thousands of worlds and times. The first time I was there, was when the SDF-3, aka "the Macross II", disappeared during trial runs.
BTW, the SDF-2, aka "the Megaroad", a fortress that was designed to be a colony ship more so than a military installation, had left for other planets in the Milky Way Galaxy. Commanded by Admiral Lisa Hayes-Hunter, the SDF-2 was designed to insure that Earth will never have to worry about genocidal aliens trying to wipe out humans. Unfortunately, Lisa, Rick and some of the others disappeared about five years into the mission, and were never seen again.
Kami, I miss them.
Anyway, the SDF-3 was designed for deep space missions, something that intrigued the explorer in me. Its engines were designed with a radical "fold drive" that was suppose to make the transition into warped space. This was before the advent of the cheaper "warp drive" and the "jump gates", which would not be invented for at least another twenty or thirty years. The initial testing phase was a success, but, unfortunately, a band of "Malcontents" (i.e. micronized Zentraedi terrorists) sabotaged the operations. At the time, I was the commanding officer of the test crew (with the rank of UN Spacy "Captain"), and was looking forward to being part of the Robotech Expeditionary Force (or "REF"), since it was going directly to Tyrol, the home of the so-called "Robotech Masters" and their Zentraedi minions. Unfortunately, we ended up in the Rifts, specifically, "Rifts Phaseworld" (home of the "Three Galaxies"). Due to a lack of adequate resources, it took us a year to recalibrate the engines for the return trip. When we did, no time had passed.
At any rate, the SDF-3 was ready for launch. I was promoted to "Admiral" and was to command the mission. T'Pol was my "XO", Hoshi Sato was my Communications Chief, Minako was my Operations Chief, Max Sterling was the Wing Commander, and leader of the "Skull Squadron" (with his Zentraedi wife Miriya his XO). And from there, the REF would go on to deal with the Robotech Masters.
At least, that was the plan.
Instead, the Robotech Masters had left for Earth, leaving their empire, in their home galaxy, at the mercy of the relentless "Invid". I would be forced to form an alliance amongst the desperate people of that galaxy to combat this menace. The irony is that half the Invid went after the Robotech Masters, thus creating a THIRD invasion force. It's a miracle that the Earth and UN's military apparatus was able to beat the odds long enough to allow the development of Zephraim Cochrane's "warp drive" , as well as the development of the Jump Gates, which would result in the first contact between Earth and Vulcan. Sure, humans were already familiar with aliens, but it was because of the Vulcans that humans would learn how to trust different species, and be prepared properly.
Anyway, enough of THAT story. Bottom line, I went back to the planet where my trans-dimensional travels first took place, and waited an opportunity to re-discover the Rifts…
…and ended in a place called "Phaseworld", a nexus of alien and space technology. I was slightly disappointed, since it wasn't Rifts Earth, but I did discover that there was a stable Rift on a planet somewhere in the "Three Galaxies" (where Phaseworld was locate). And so, after doing some errands, I earned enough money to pay for a trip to my destination, which I hope leads to Rifts Earth.
And thus, my story of how I met Richard B. RIDDICK begins…
A lone transport ship passes through the tail of a previously unknown comet, which disrupts the delicate guidance system. Particles from the comet pierce the hull, threatening the sleeping passengers in their "cold sleep". When one such unit is damaged, the captain's, the auto-shut down system releases the remaining crew members. They realize that the ship had veered off course, and was heading towards a rather large planet.
"We got to jettison the cargo!" said the woman, who wore the rank of "Commander".
"No, we can't!" said her partner. "We'll loose out if we do that!"
"If we don't, we'll all die!"
The man looks at the situation.
"Fine! YOU be the one who will have to explain this to the company!"
And with that, preparations were made for crash landing procedures…
Meanwhile, in the passenger section of the transport ship, one particular passenger stirs…
Usagi ("Sailor Moon") Tsukino opens her eyes, feeling slightly disoriented. Her sixth senses were ringing so loudly in her head, that her demi-alien physiology was trying to overcome the effects of cold sleep. Her eyes went from a weird opaque gray/green, to a translucent blue, to a regular blue. Usagi cursed her present state, thinking how lucky she is that the mélange spice within her system is keeping the Xenomorphic properties at bay. She touched her stomach, thinking about her worm-like symbiote…which used to be her appendix. She knew that if her body was destroyed, the symbiote would seek a new body, an implication that disturbed her to no end, since, essentially, all that she is could take over the new host. Coupled with the fact that her "new" physiology compelled Usagi to seek a strong mate, in order to perpetuate her "kind", she felt slightly depressed. Had it not been her Bene Gesserit training, which insist on controlling one's instincts, as well as the fact she still loved Mamoru ("Tuxedo Mask") Chiba, her "Prince Endymion" from the days of the Silver Millennium, Usagi would have already have given up her "virtue". So she can't afford to get close to anyone, let alone a male.
Usagi looked around from within her chamber. Apparently, something had happened to cause the present ruckus. If she was going to die, she would not go by way of a sheep to slaughter. So, with her strength, she snapped her safety harness. She then looked at her claw-like nails, which were naturally a lighter gray/green. With a sigh, Usagi jammed her fingers into the locking mechanism, which didn't hurt since her nails are razor sharp, and were made from a strong resin. With a spark, the door to her chamber opened.
Usagi looked around, and saw the other passengers. Supposedly, they were heading for a place called "New Mecca", a new colonial world for the human-led "Consortium of Civilized Worlds" (or CCW). That hegemon reminded Usagi of the United Federation of Planets in many ways, which is always a good thing, especially in light of the menace that is the Trans-Galactic Empire. She was sorely tempted to join such an organization while she was in the Rifts, but decided to be by herself for a while. At any rate, the CCW started a new colony in this part of the Three Galaxies, prompting many to seek new opportunities, hence the name "New Mecca".
Usagi pushed aside her thoughts, and went to the cockpit area. She could smell the fear from the two remaining crew members. When she entered, the First Officer and her crewmate turn towards Usagi.
"You shouldn't be here!" she yelled.
Usagi was not paying attention to her, but to her surroundings.
"I'm taking over as pilot," says, as she steps forward.
The male assistant steps forward to intercept.
"You can't-!"
Thump-thump!
A Bene Gesserit was trained in the art of pressure point attacks.
"I don't have time for this," Usagi said, as she steps over the male assistant's body, and straps herself down in the pilot's seat. "You either assist me, or join HIM."
The woman looks at the young woman. Her appearance belied something…odd.
"Is he okay? And do you know how to fly this thing?" the woman asks, as she resumes her station.
"Yes…and perhaps. But I am a trained pilot."
"But…so am I!"
"Really? Well, your pitch and yaw is off, and you are needless jettisoning cargo. I say that you are a novice at best."
"Alright…show me what you GOT, then!"
Usagi smirked, as she adjusted the controls to fit her pre-requisite. Some of the ship had already been jettisoned when Usagi got to the front. Still, there was enough of the ship left to open up the drag wings, so that pressure can be taken off on the hull. Essentially, when the transport ship got the surface, it didn't land hard, leaving much of the ship intact, if not worthy of flight.
The First Officer breathed a sigh of relief.
"Um…thanks," the woman says. "By the way, my name is 'Fry'."
"My name is 'Usagi'. We better do a status report on our situation…"
Meanwhile, one of the passengers stirs. He is blind-folded, and heavily strapped down. He then smiles, and says one thing:
"Usagi…how nice."
And thus, the criminal known as Riddick is awake.
Tbc.