The Last Officers
Chapter 2: Your Mission, Should You Accept It
By JagdPanther
Chris walked cautiously down the hall, trying to keep his sister from noticing him. But that couldn't be helped. There was no where to hide. Haruka noticed him and rushed at him with her arms spread, "Chris! You're home!"
"Hey squirt!" He hugged his little sister tightly, savoring the warm feeling of family. It'd been over a year since he'd seen her. "Wow, you're getting tall! Not so much of a 'squirt' anymore. And you're becoming very pretty, too. All the boys will be thinking about you, if they aren't already." She really was. Her pale blue dress really accented her eyes, he noticed. And her pale blonde hair was very shiny and smooth, only supercharging her beauty. The Princess of Uranus was incredibly pretty. Someday she'd make a wonderful queen of their home planet, he thought. Chris had no intention of taking the throne, despite being next in line. It just wasn't in his future. Too bothersome.
Haruka playfully jabbed her older brother in the ribs. "Chris, stop treating me like that. I'm not a little child anymore. I've grown up a lot since you last saw me. Not that I was a child last time. I'm old enough to go active duty in the military." On Uranus, joining the military was a big thing. It was a very honorable and patriotic thing to do, and almost required of royalty.
"Ah, you'd be no good for the military. You're too pretty, smart, and adventurous to make it in a strict hierarchical group like the military. Plus you'd offend all the guys by being better at them in everything." In the 21st Century on Earth, it would absolutely shock Chris just how different his sister's personality was from her form during the time of the White Moon Kingdom.
She smiled and pulled her brother down the hall towards the royal office where their parents were. "Stop it; I'll make a good soldier. I'm already coming along really well in my training to become apart of the royal bodyguards for the princess. Everyday I make a gain. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but always positive."
"Really? That's wonderful. You know, I bumped into Captain Lavan on the way up from the dock. He said you're becoming quite skillful with a sword. You'll have to show me while I'm here."
Haruka frowned as they walked through the halls of the Castle Miranda. "What do you mean, 'while I'm here'? You're leaving soon? You just got here!"
He really didn't want to disappoint his sister like this, but he couldn't lie to her. "Yes, I'm only here for two weeks and then I have to report to the Moon. I'm being reassigned."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, that's right, your tour was supposed to last longer. Why are you being reassigned?"
"That's what I'd like to know. I'm being kept in the dark on this one."
"Well, hopefully it's not anything dangerous like being at the outpost. I hate when you're out there. I always worry about you. Michiru says I'm going to make myself sick worrying about you so much."
The name took a second to click. "You speak with her a lot?"
"Not just that, we train together all the time. She's my best friend." The Princess of Neptune was at her own castle now, training like Haruka to be apart of the royal bodyguards. The princesses from the outer planets were to protect the Moon Princess from out here, though. They'd rarely get a chance to actually work alongside their inner-planet counterparts, all a slight bit younger, but just as talented.
"Really? That's good. I've met her before only a few times. The last time was quite a few years ago. But Lavan told me that she's become quite good, too. She can't match you stride for stride, but she's very skilled."
"No, she can. She just lets my ego have its way." Haruka winked and stuck her tongue out. She knew she was full of herself when it came to her abilities, but oh well. Just let anyone try and take her on. No one on the planet could beat her in any form of competition. Except her older brother, but no one ever mentioned that to her. It'd only piss her off and make her overwork herself in training.
Soon they arrived at the royal office. The name was a little deceiving. It was actually more of a study where the king and queen could have their private time doing work, reading, or just sitting quietly together enjoying a moment alone. The queen noticed the prince and princess as soon as they entered the large room and lightly hit her husband on the arm. Looking up from a book on the pincer combat formation maneuver, the king was overjoyed. "Christopher! Son, get over here!"
The Prince of Uranus walked over and hugged his father. "Hey, dad. Long time no see, huh?"
"You bet your behind, Christopher! How are you?" He released his son and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm fine, dad. I'm alive and that's what counts being out there." Chris parted with his father and turned to his mother.
"Christopher, I'm so glad that you're all right. I hate when you're out there." The queen hugged her son tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "Why are you home? Your tour isn't over for a few more months."
"Good question. I don't know, either. I was wondering if you knew, maybe, dad?"
"No idea. I'm not complaining that you're off the line, but I don't know. All I know is that someone made the decision to reassign you."
"Wonderful. Then no one except whoever made the decision back on the Moon knows." He sighed loudly. "I guess I'll find out in a few weeks when I arrive at General Headquarters." The White Moon Kingdom's military headquarters was a short distance from the vast palace, home of Queen Serenity. It had a wonderful view of the grand lake and the palace from the higher floors.
Before continuing the reunion with her son, though, the queen turned to her daughter. "Haruka, what is this I hear about you climbing out of your room last night from the balcony? You know how dangerous that is! What were you thinking?"
Chris laughed. "Woah, what did you do?" He mussed up his sister's hair. "Going out for some late night rendezvous? Hah!"
Haruka blushed crimson and looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, mom. I was just restless and felt like going out for a walk. It was a beautiful night. I wanted to see if I could climb down. It was a little challenge for me."
"You could've fallen to your death!" The queen was quite scared of losing both her children to stupid things like combat and falling from a balcony.
Haruka looked up, and tried explaining that, "I was being careful, though."
The king frowned at his daughter. "Haruka, dear, that's what everyone says before they slip. Please don't do that again. Doors and hallways exist for a reason."
"Yes, father." Her ego was taking a hit and that was never good. This only meant that she'd try it again until she was able to climb down to the garden below her room, go for a walk, and climb back up without being noticed. But the royal guards were paid and sworn to prevent people from getting into the princess's room. And what about when the person who was trying to get up there was the princess herself? They couldn't let anything happen to her, whether someone else did it to her or she did it to herself. Oh, well.
Chris knew that this conversation was going to take place again sometime in the near future. He leaned over and cupped his hand over her ear, whispering, "Don't worry, Haruka. I used to do the same thing. It's possible."
She giggled and batted his hand away. "Oh, we'll see, we'll see."
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing important, mom. She won't get caught doing that ever again."
The king picked up on Chris's choice of words. "That's what concerns me. Or better yet, she won't ever get caught alive doing that again."
"Come on, dad. She's just like me in that respect. She's too adventurous. I say let her be."
"Are you her father?"
"No."
"Well then be quiet."
"Yes, sir," he responded sheepishly.
The king and queen smiled to each other. They had two very wonderful children and they knew it. For the rest of the morning, the royal family of Uranus sat and talked while not-so-pressing royal matters went unattended. There would be a big feast that night because the prince was back after a long tour of duty on the front, and when a warrior of Uranus came back unharmed there was always cause for celebration, especially for this warrior.
Chris stood at military rest in front of Queen Serenity, not quite believing what he'd just heard. As respectfully as possible, he blurted out, "You want me to what, your majesty? Because it sounded like you said that…"
The queen waited for him to finish. "Yes, that's exactly what you heard, Lieutenant. I want you to provide protection for the princesses of the Kingdom's allied planets."
"Um, with all due respect, your majesty, isn't it odd that there are eight princesses to protect Princess Serenity, but only one prince to protect all eight princesses, especially when half of them won't even be stationed around Princess Serenity?" In American military lingo hundreds of years later, this would be known as a SNAFU. The translation was quite vulgar.
"You'll have command of a small platoon to protect all of them. However, it would be wise to deploy your soldiers to protect the princesses from the outer planets, including your sister. But it's your decision on how to use your platoon. As part of your job, you will also handle administrative duties for the princesses. They will be commissioned as an official unit within the military, but I would like for you to handle their administrative functions so that their leader can focus on her other duties."
Chris was beginning to think that maybe it would've been better to stay out at the outpost and disobeyed this order. But then again, hindsight was always 20/20. No getting out of this assignment, no matter how horribly difficult it seemed. Protecting four princesses by himself, and another four with only a platoon? That wasn't even a squad per princess for the outer planets! Wasn't this what each castle had a royal bodyguard contingent for? Why did he have to beef up their security? Maybe he was supposed to form the platoon to be a behind-the-scenes shadow protection, or something. 'What a wonderful assignment. How many ways can I screw this up, I wonder?' he thought to himself. Naturally he'd accept. "I fully accept my duties placed before me, your majesty. I live to serve." He showed typical military determination in his voice. 'Yeah, and I may just have to kill myself. Thanks. Thanks a lot.' Thinking back over what the queen had said, he asked. "By the way, your majesty, you said that I will be handling administrative duties to free up the leader's time. Do you know who the bodyguards' leader will be, then?"
Queen Serenity responded cheerfully, as usual. Her words weren't always cheerful to the receiver, but she never lost her smile or chipper voice. That pissed a lot of military personnel off, used to hearing their superiors match their voice to the words coming out. "Yes. Their leader will be the princess of Venus. She's attending the Officer Academy on Mars right now and will be graduating next year. For the next few months I'd like you to select your soldiers for your platoon. You have complete authority to request any soldier from the allied militaries including the Moon Kingdom's military." The militaries of each planet in the Alliance were loosely referred to as the White Moon Kingdom Military, even though they were all theoretically separate entities, just under one unified command. "Once you have selected your soldiers, I'd like you to begin training them. I want you to also spend at least a few weeks with each of the princesses to get to know them better and see how their own training has progressed. I know that you've met them all before but don't know them as well as you know the princess of Pluto.
'She knows where I take my leave each time? Right… That's kind of creepy.' Setsuna and Chris had always been great friends. They'd always enjoyed each other's company, but both doubted that anything would ever happen between each other. Setsuna, was, of course, the heir to the Gates of Time. It was her curse, in a way. "The Officer Academy on Mars, your majesty? The princess is only a little bit younger than my sister. Even I wasn't in the Officer Academy at that young an age." The Martian Officer Academy was the Alliance's most prestigious military school, even more so than the military academies on Jupiter and Uranus. Enrollment was ridiculously low. Only the absolute best of the best got in. Chris's uniform featured a blood-red stripe down his right sleeve, denoting his graduation from the Martian Officer Academy.
"She's very capable, Lieutenant. Her and my daughter get along quite well together. I can just tell by watching her that she'll be a fine leader for the bodyguards. Also, she is best friends with the Princess of Mars. She's enjoying herself on Mars in addition to learning about becoming a military officer. I'd like you to be with her during at least her last month in the Academy. This is your mission. I have great faith in you, Lieutenant. I did not pick you because you are also a prince. I picked you because you are one of the Alliance's best officers. Given your past, I expect nothing less than the best of you."
"Yes, your majesty. I will not fail you." He put on his best face. 'Yeah, right. I'm so dead.'
Queen Serenity smiled and nodded. "Very good. Thank you, Lieutenant. General Karine is waiting for you outside to get your started on selecting your platoon."
"Thank you, you majesty." Chris saluted the queen, spun on his heels, and walked out of the throne room. Military officers always saluted the queen; they did not bow to her. 'Wow, this just might be the last thing I ever do. One guy, essentially, to protect eight?' "What am I getting myself in to?" Chris stopped short and looked around. "Did I just say that out loud?"
"Yes, you did, Lieutenant." General Karine of Mercury, Queen Serenity's military Chief of Staff, the only Mercurial to ever reach that position, walked up next to the young Lieutenant from Uranus. He waved off Chris's salute. "Trust me; I don't envy your job at all. But apparently the queen would like to keep this as discrete as possible."
"Is there something you're not telling me, General?" Chris was curious as to why this was the first bodyguards-for-the-bodyguards unit he'd ever heard of. "Is something wrong?"
General Karine looked around to make sure no one was around before responded. "I guess that you're entitled to know." He sighed before continuing. "We're not entirely sure, but there are some rumblings in intelligence that there are forces moving against the Alliance, if not soon then at least over the next few years, and that they may want to strike directly at the queen and or Princess Serenity. And if they were smart, they'd take out the princess's bodyguards first."
Chris could only say, "Wow. That made me feel a whole lot better."
The General grimaced. "Welcome to the Moon, Lieutenant. Let's get you started."
The summer months on Mars felt like if you didn't find shade you'd burst into flames. It didn't help that this planet's element was fire. Those with special abilities here all could conjure up fire. Chris wondered why the planet couldn't be more like Mercury; incredibly hot but everyone there was ice element. At least they could make their own air conditioning. Here they just made it worse.
But the heat sure didn't stop graduation. Chris remembered his own graduation from the Martian Officer Academy. That day hadn't been quite as hot today, but when the temperature was only a few degrees different, who cared? Hot was hot. At least while he'd been here observing he hadn't had to go on any of the forced marches or training exercises like all the undergrads. He'd hated those more than anything at the Academy. But, admittedly, the tolerance for crappy conditions you gained while at the Academy did come in handy in combat; you were less likely to complain and make everyone else more miserable.
Since being given the assignment of protecting the princesses, he'd selected his platoon and trained them. The platoon consisted of six women and nine men. It wasn't a platoon. It was an oversized squad. But those were the only ones that had made the cut. Eventually he'd have to recruit more. But this would have to do for now. Three per outer planet and three to help him on the Moon. There were enough with him on the Moon to send one with each princess supposing they all went home at the same time, meaning that Chris would have to go with one princess to make it equal.
At least he liked the princess of Venus, he mused to himself as the graduation ceremony proceeded slowly, as usual. They tried to torture the graduates one last time before they let them go. The extremely selective Academy was only graduating fifty-nine officers this year, even less than Chris's class of sixty-two, before then the record smallest class. Another record was being broken this year, too. The princess of Venus was the youngest Academy graduate ever, breaking the record held by Chris. He knew that Minako was a very special girl. Well, she wasn't a girl. She was a young woman, really. She was a leader among leaders in her class. Everyone absolutely loved her, which was an anomaly in the Academy because it was so competitive. Competition usually spawned several life-long hated-rivalries, especially with the top of the class, in this case Minako. She was the best in everything at the Academy, especially the physical activities like forced marches, overland navigation, sprinting, and the ever-popular recreational sports clubs. At least in the sports clubs you weren't being harassed by instructors who'd scream at you even if you were doing everything perfectly.
But in the true leadership tests, Minako showed why she was being selected to lead Princess Serenity's bodyguard contingent. She could unite people like no other. Her groups, when she was assigned to the Team Leader or Assistant Team Leader slot, always finished tasks first and with flying colors. Even the hard-core instructors had admitted to Chris privately over the last month and a half that they'd never had a better student and that they were incredibly proud to be able to teach Minako. Some of those instructors had had Chris. He didn't mind. They probably just didn't like his incredibly odd methods of leading. His bunk in the barracks was immortalized with the words "This student preferred going with the bizarre and risky and his instructors hated him for it!" scratched into the ceiling above.
Chris was growing almost as restless as the graduates, who were aching to get out of there. It was almost over. The final speaker finished and then the Academy Commandant stood. Once he presented the class to the king of Mars and the king accepted it, it was all over. 'Any second now…' thought Chris. The king accepted the class as having met all the requirements to graduate and proclaimed the class to be permanently dismissed. 'Now.' Cheers erupted from the student section and caps soared into the sky. Through the mess of flying caps and fluttering arms, Chris saw Minako hugging and crying with one of her classmates, a female officer from Mars, who'd almost failed the final examination except for when Minako had sacrificed finishing first to go back and help the girl who'd been injured.
Chris waded through the crowd of elated parents, relatives, and graduates to where the King and Queen of Venus were congratulating their daughter. They were incredibly proud of her, as was Chris. He'd grown quite fond of her, actually. She was incredibly beautiful, he noted. Her very long blonde hair was tied up for graduation. It was a slightly darker shade of blonde than Haruka's, but it went along nicely with her skin color. She had big crystal-blue eyes that sparkled in the sun light. By contrast, Haruka had very deep, dark blue eyes. Minako was shorter than Chris's sister. During training, when she was sweating heavily, panting, and looking incredibly gorgeous, Chris had to keep reminding himself that, one, she was a subordinate, and two, she was seven years younger than him. "She's fourteen for crissake!" 'Oh jeez! Get over it! There are plenty of normal couples farther apart than that!' "Shut up, voice in my head." That was how things usually went when he watched Minako. He felt a little bit like a predator, actually.
"Your majesties," said Chris, saluting the rulers of Venus. He'd waited until they'd acknowledged his presence before approaching. He didn't want to disturb the happy family. Minako turned to face him. "Welcome to the ranks of commissioned officers in the White Moon Kingdom Military, Lieutenant. Congratulations. You've earned it."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Minako, blushing and saluting. Chris could hardly tell if that was the heat or her feelings talking. Either way he was happy for her.
"Okay, enough with the formalities. We're of equal rank now. Don't salute me," quipped Chris, smiling. "I just wanted to officially congratulate you. So, how does it feel to be done with this dreadful Academy?"
Minako smiled at her superior. "Oh, it's amazing. Those were the hardest two years of my life." Military training started young, and Minako had started extra young. Twelve was very young for an academy entrant, three years younger than the normal entrance age of 15. "I'm so glad that it's all over and I can really get to work."
"Well that's great, because I have your orders right here." Chris produced an envelope from his pocket. The Moon Kingdom Military seal was emblazoned on the front. "Here you go."
"Wow, thanks!" Minako was elated. She opened the letter carefully, hoping not to mar her milestone set of orders. Inside was a single folded sheet with the orders she already knew were coming but had to see for herself first. Minako read the orders aloud to her proud parents and to Chris. She was ordered to report to the White Moon Kingdom Palace early the next month to begin protecting Princess Serenity, but first she had some leave time back home which she'd thoroughly enjoy, having spent the last two years on Mars in the Academy.
"And you'll be accompanying her to the Moon, Lieutenant?" That was the King of Venus. He was happy that Queen Serenity had decided that his daughter deserved protection, too.
"Yes, your majesty. I'll be in charge of various things to free up the Princess's time for more pressing matters. I'll also be running the security details around them. I promise you that nothing will happen to her. Besides, one of my charges is my own sister. Having met all of the princesses I know that this is an incredibly worthwhile job. They're all very wonderful young women. I will do my best, your majesty."
The Queen smiled. "Thank you very much, Lieutenant. We're counting on you." She hugged her daughter again. "Oh, why do you have to grow up so fast?"
"Mother, please." Minako squirmed under her mother's grasp, but Chris could tell that she was just showing some bravado. No one wanted to be given such a great responsibility at such a young age. She didn't want to be separated from her home again, either. But that was her destiny. She was the leader of Princess Serenity's bodyguards, and that was that.
Just then, the Princess of Mars made her way through the crowd to the small group standing next to the student section. "Minako! Congratulations!" The raven-haired princess hugged her friend as soon as the queen released her daughter. "You've finally graduated! Now we're going to the Moon together!"
"Rei!" Minako accepted her friend's embrace. "Thanks. It's so good to finally be done with this place."
The Martian Princess shot her best friend a sly look. "Excuse me, 'this place'? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Rei, have I ever told you how hot this place is? Jeez, and I thought my planet was hot in summer!"
"Are you kidding me? Venus's humidity makes this place seem like a paradise!"
"Yeah, but people who live there use the humidity to their advantage. Well, whatever. I'm a Lieutenant, now. Go get me a drink, girl. That's an order. I'm thirsty."
Rei was genuinely horrified at the command. "Wha-what?"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Minako laughed. "I think that the ceremony is just going to my head a little bit right now in more ways than one."
Rei smiled, thankful. She turned to the King and Queen of Venus. "Your majesties, do you mind if I steal Minako away for a moment?"
"Go right ahead, Rei." The King hugged his daughter once again. "We'll be with Rei's parents, Minako, so if you need us, you'll know where to look."
"Yes, father. Thank you." Minako smiled and waved to her parents as Rei dragged her off.
"Come on, Minako! I have something really neat that I want to show you! I've been practicing it for really long time. It's a new technique I learned, called Fire Soul."
Chris smiled as he watched the two princesses disappear into the crowd. 'At least they're all incredibly cute. That's one plus.' "Stop thinking that, they're all over half a decade younger than me." 'Haven't we gone over this before? It doesn't matter!' "Look, voice in my head, shut up already."
"Did you say something, Lieutenant?" The King thought that he'd heard Chris talking to himself.
Chris blanched. "Err, no, I didn't say a thing, your majesty. Heh heh." He could feel sweat streaming down his neck. 'Smooth, Chris. Real smooth.'
The King nodded. "Well, what do you think, Lieutenant? Will she be a good military leader?"
"Your majesty, I have the utmost confidence in her as I do in all the princesses. They are all very capable young women. She will not let anyone down, that's for sure. I can tell that she'll be remembered long after her time as a wonderful leader."
"We hope so, too."
"I know so, your majesty."
The sound of an explosion sent Chris tumbling out of his leaned-back chair. Down below on the main floor of the ballroom, people were screaming and beginning to panic. Chris had been in a balcony room above, casually conversing with some soldiers from Uranus who'd just arrived from the Earth after a training exercise. They were just staying the night and Chris had taken them drinking. As he tried to stand back up, he saw four faint flashes of light from the ballroom floor below. His vision refocused and he noticed that the four princesses had transformed into their distinctive uniforms and were making their way against the crowd to locate Princess Serenity. Chris spat out a string of curses and ordered the soldiers from Uranus to rally downstairs at the central security office to receive orders from Palace Security.
Chris sprinted down the stairs and in the general direction of the throne room, where he figured Princess Serenity would be. He skidded to a stop around a corner just as Queen Serenity and her personal bodyguards we exiting the throne room. "Your majesty!"
"Lieutenant, we're under attack," was all the Queen could manage.
"Yes, your majesty, we are. The princesses are looking for Princess Serenity right now. Do you know where she is?"
She paled at the sound. "She wasn't in the ballroom?"
"No, she was not. They must have not noticed her leave. I must admit and apologize for the fact that I did not either. I was distracted."
"That's not your fault, Lieutenant." The Queen looked very worried. "Please find them and help them. They'll need the help."
"Yes, your majesty."
"Protect them at all costs."
"I will with my life, your majesty. I will not fail them or you." He saluted the Queen. "Where are you taking the Queen?" he asked one of the guards before sprinting off.
"To the secure chamber below the temple. When you find Princess Serenity, please get her to the secure chamber below the Grand Lake. We cannot afford to keep the Princess and the Queen in the same place."
"Yes, Major. I will do so." Chris nodded and sprinted off. He could hear the sounds of battle growing to a crescendo as he exited the palace through a service door. Flashes of light from in front of the palace told him where the main battle was. He could see an eerie glow in the sky. "Metallia," he breathed. "The intelligence reports were right after all." Just then, a group of enemies appeared on the path in front of him and surrounded him.
"Oy! Look, it's the Prince of Uranus! And he's unarmed! Let's get him alive! The Queen wants prisoners"
Chris scowled. He'd been caught off guard. That wasn't like him. "I don't have time to waste with you. I have a mission."
"Too bad you can't do anything about it, Prince. No weapons," said one of the enemies, beginning to make a move on him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Chris.
"Oh, what are you going to do, spit at me? Hah!"
Chris dropped to one knee, picking up some dirt in his right hand. Slowly he stood back up. The enemies were confused enough to stand still for a moment. 'Bad idea,' thought Chris. Quickly, he chanted a few words in a language none of them understood and then threw the handful of dirt up in the air. It made a bright flash and Chris jumped up towards the light. When he came down, he struck the closest enemy with a rapier, bashing the one next to him in the face with a shield. He spun around and back flipped away twice to get each enemy into his field of vision. "Unarmed, am I?"
One of the enemies was able to muster his voice. "How in the world did he do that? He's a wind element, not earth!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" spat Chris before he charged into the enemies. He quickly dispatched the standard fighters of the group, leaving just one enemy caster left. The caster was frightened of the White Moon Kingdom's warrior, but still managed to muster up a technique. The caster chanted a quick phrase and launched a ball of dark fire at the Prince of Uranus.
Chris flipped back and chanted something of his own. His sword glowed a dark blue-green. Holding the sword steady in front of him, Chris waited for the force of the dark fire. It struck the sword head on, but the blue-green glow surrounded the fire, quickly extinguishing it.
The caster tried to back away, horrified, but tripped over the body of one of his fallen comrades. He tried to scamper backwards on his hands but found himself unable to move. Chris had teleported behind him before he could react and was holding his sword at the caster's neck.
"Who are you? Wh-what are you? Teleportation can only be done by those of the element of Time in the Moon Kingdom, and you defeated my attack with the Water Element of Neptune." The caster's eyes were shut, waiting for the swing of Chris's sword. There was no way to beat this one.
"Because I'm special and you're not." Chris ended the enemy's worries in a second. 'I wasted too much time. I need to find the princesses right now!' The sword and shield dematerialized at his command and he picked up a set from a dead enemy. He ran off down the path, enemy sword and shield in hand. He didn't have any armor, but there was no time to conjure any up. Besides, he'd waste too much energy trying to. He'd need all the energy he could to survive on his own until he linked up with some friendly forces. That didn't take too long. As he passed a collection of dead enemies, he heard someone call to him.
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! Over here!" It was senior sergeant with a rag-tag group of soldiers from all across the Alliance. He motioned for Chris to come over. The soldiers were all clustered around a soldier in the middle, who had a deep gash in his stomach. There was a medical caster from Saturn hovering over him, allowing her healing energy to flow into the bad-looking wound. Chris was always amazed by the medical casters from Saturn, especially the Princess of Saturn. If there was a glimmer of life left, she could save the person. He'd witnessed it first hand when he had spent time with her months before.
"Boy am I glad to see you Sergeant. How are you holding up?"
"We're holding our own, sir. We've lost a few, but this area is pretty well cleared out. They've moved on to other areas. We're not sure what their objective is, because they attack an area and then immediately pull out. It's very odd."
"I think they're looking for the Queen and the Princess. If they figure out she's not in an area, they try somewhere else." Chris made some quick calculations in his mind. "Sergeant, do you mind if I take some of your men? I need to find the Allied princesses quickly. Hopefully they've already found Princess Serenity. I have orders to get her to a secure location immediately."
The Sergeant looked down at the female medical caster. "Raila, do you think you can manage to get him back to the perimeter around the barracks by yourself?"
"If you could leave just one to help me, it would go a lot faster."
"Done." The Sergeant motioned for a young private next to him to stay. "Help her get back to the barracks."
"Yes, Sergeant."
"Okay, Lieutenant. You have all of the rest of us, then."
"Very well," Chris said, nodding. He led the group of ten or so off towards the sounds of fighting. Along the way, they picked up some stragglers and defeated isolated enemies. During a short engagement, Chris felt like his heart was being crushed. It caused him to drop to a knee, just in time for an enemy sword to slice over his head, missing it by about an inch. The Sergeant knocked the enemy in the face and then killed him quickly. He dropped to a knee next to Chris. "Lieutenant, what's wrong? Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
Chris couldn't even respond. His heart was in terrible pain, but he knew he hadn't been hit or anything. Something bad had just happened. He knew. He knew this feeling. He had had it only once before, when he had heard his sister had gone missing. She'd fallen down a ravine back home and been knocked unconscious for two days. No, but this was much, much worse. Something had gone terribly wrong.
'No, it's nothing. It's your imagination. On your feet, soldier!' his mind screamed at him. Chris collected himself and stood. "No, I'm all right. I just got the wind knocked out of me." He shook himself off. "I really should get a set of armor, but it's too much effort."
"Are you sure, sir?"
"Yes. We have to keep moving." Soon the contingent came to another area where a main battle had occurred and left. Chris was the first to enter the large courtyard, actually little more than just ancient ruins from back before a history was even written of the kingdom. His heart was also the first to sink the bottom of his stomach. The sight made him want to vomit. Among the multitudes of dead enemies were five females in very distinct clothes. They were all clustered around each other. As the rest of the contingent managed a glimpse of the scene, some actually did turn off the path quickly and vomit into the grass.
Chris ran towards the princesses. He knew he was too late, but he had to look anyway. Makoto was the closest to him. A feel of her pulse told him all he needed to know. Rei's and Ami's were also long gone. Minako was closest to Princess Serenity. Minako was face down in a pile of rocks, blood covering her uniform and the rocks. He didn't feel the need to check her pulse and make himself feel even worse. But he needed to confirm one other death. He reached over and felt Serenity's pulse. 'D-O-A.' Slumping down on the rocks, Chris carefully rolled Minako over. She didn't deserve to die face down in her own blood. When he finished, he almost jumped back in sheer fright. Minako had squeezed his hand. "Oh jeez! Minako! Minako! You're still alive! Say something!" Chris brushed some hair out of her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixing with the blood near the corner of her mouth.
"Chris…." She sounded incredibly sad. How else could she feel? All of her friends were dead around her.
"Minako, you stay with me, you hear? We're going to get you help. All right? Just listen to me, don't let go. I'm right here. Stay alive." Chris pleaded with her some more while the Sergeant behind Chris screamed for someone to go find a Saturn medical caster.
"Chris…. They ambushed us…. I failed… I couldn't… I couldn't protect the Princess. She's gone, isn't she?" Minako coughed up some blood. She was too far gone. No medic, save the Princess of Saturn, who was also probably dead at this point, could save her.
"No, you didn't fail, Minako. You did your job to the best of your ability, and that's all that was asked of you." Chris was desperately trying to figure out something to say. It was no use. Within a few seconds, Minako's eyes had closed for the last time.
"Minako! Minako! No! Damnit, where's that medical caster!" Chris held Minako close to him, her blood smearing all over his own clothes.
The Sergeant laid a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Sir, she's gone. There's nothing anyone can do for her now. It's best to let her go. We have to move on." He knew it was incredibly harsh, but someone had to say it.
Chris couldn't remember the last time he'd cried, but it was definitely happening now. His tears rolled down his cheek onto her blonde hair. "Minako." All he could think about was the last thing he'd ever been ordered to do by Queen Serenity. Her voice echoed around in his head, making him want to scream.
"Protect them at all costs."
He squeezed her limp form one last time before standing, wiping tears away from his eyes. Looking around, he noticed something about the way the bodies were positioned. Makoto and Ami had been the first to die. There were enemies in between their bodies and the bodies of Rei and Minako. Rei must have died next. Then there was a body next to Minako's; dead, shot through the heart by her Crescent Beam. That enemy must have killed Princess Serenity as he was killed. General Karine had been right. The reason he was to protect the protectors was because a smart enemy would deal with the guards first. He looked one last time at Minako. "No, Minako. I failed you. I had a mission and I failed you. I was supposed to protect you and I failed." But he'd have another chance. In time, he'd get another chance.
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