Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Andromeda.
Sharem: I still don't know who Ami will be paired up with…but it should be with someone who can protect her as best he can. I'm still leaning towards Rhade, mind you… Anyway, the chapter starts out at the end of Andromeda Episode, "Attempting Screed" and then the rest of the season will go as it will fit with this story, meaning a lot of things may, and will, be changed.
Chapter 1
Seamus Harper was busy wiping down the counter of the bar, a little bored with nothing else to do. Most of his friends were currently off-planet on some sort of life saving mission. Well, with the exception of Doyle, the young man was alone. Many of his regular customers that would usually frequent the establishment this time of day were either passed out or outside doing some other business than drink.
He wrinkled his nose when a particularly smelly patron came in and ordered something to drink. As soon as this customer was handed his drink, Harper shooed the odiferous man out the front door.
"What a boring day," the young man complained loudly. "What can I do except wipe down that counter a million times and throw out reeking customers?"
A blonde woman chuckled and smirked at the tinkerer. "It wouldn't have been boring if you went with Dylan and Beka," Doyle remarked, no sympathy in her voice. "They could have used your help, Harper."
"I try to get sympathy from my gorgeous android creation and what do I get?" Harper asked sarcastically. "NADA! Zero…zilch! And to think I built you…"
Doyle shook her head and was about to say something when she sensed something approach the building. She got up from the barstool she was at and turned to face the entrance. She saw a hooded, cloaked figure enter the bar slowly, but also gracefully. The android tried to make out the face of the newcomer but only got a glimpse of the mouth. The full lips were obviously female so Doyle nodded at the woman, who in turn nodded back. The android watched the newcomer with interest as she spied the person head directly towards Harper.
The young man glanced up to see the cloaked woman and smiled at her. "What would you like?" he asked, hoping that he sounded charming. "I got lots of stuff here that you can order."
The woman looked around for a moment and sighed softly. "I don't need anything that would rot my mind," she answered gently. "Anyway, where is Semblar? I fully expected him to be here."
The young member of the Andromeda Ascendant scratched his head for a moment. "I don't know what to tell you, lady, but he left me this bar. Maybe I can help you."
The hooded woman sighed once more in resignation. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to here. I might as well make the best of this situation, she thought to herself. She moved her hands up to her hood to remove it because she was getting a little warm under it.
Harper's eyes went wide for a moment when he saw the woman's face. It was heart-shaped with creamy smooth skin that appeared to be free of any blemished. He large sapphire blue eyes were almond shaped that complimented her features. However, the most striking feature on her was her hair. It was an unusual shade of dark blue that was cut at the shoulders. A silver clip with a strange symbol on it pulled part of the hair back, leaving the dark blue bangs to frame her face gently. She also appeared to be no older than him. It occurred to him that this woman was probably not from Seefra.
"Well, I had a deal with Semblar," the woman replied, her eyes looking directly into the eyes of the bartender. "Maybe I can continue it with you."
Harper grinned, thinking that he may be able to charm the feet off of this lovely lady. "I'm sure that we can come up with something. Tell me what you did for Semblar and I'll see if I can do it or not. Before we begin, though, I would like to know your name."
Before the woman could answer him, a ragged looking man saw her and ran over to her, pulling on her cloak. "My lady, you've returned!" he babbled loudly. "Please, my family needs healing!" This brought on a fervor of activity with the bar's patrons.
"She's here!"
"I need healing!"
"Blue, I need help!"
"Lady Blue is here!"
"Back off people!" Harper shouted, trying to calm the people down. "She just got here. Can you rabble just let her relax for an hour or so?" When the customers mumbled apologies to the woman, he turned his attentions back to the woman. "You're Lady Blue? Man, I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. I mean, I've only been in Seefra for a couple of years, but I've heard of you. They say that you're a miracle worker."
The woman known as 'Lady Blue' to the locals laughed delicately, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "No, I wouldn't call myself that, sir," she replied, her face shining with a bright smile. "But I do enjoy helping others."
"That's a nice sentiment," Doyle piped in as she approached Harper and the newcomer. "Not many people in this system would say that easily. I'm Doyle, by the way."
Harper cleared his throat and tried to show a charming smile. "Sorry, I should've introduced myself. I am the one, the only, Seamus Harper, inventor and bartender extraordinaire. Everyone just calls me Harper, but you can call me whatever you want, sweetheart."
The blonde android rolled his eyes while 'Blue' giggled. "I think that I'll just call you what everyone calls you," she replied, giggling again when she saw the look of disappointment on the young man's face. "Anyway, Lady Blue is just a name that the people of Seefra gave me. My real name is Ami Mizuno and I am happy to meet the both of you."
"Why do they call you Lady Blue anyway?" Doyle asked, her curiosity being stimulated.
Ami glanced at the android and tilted her head to one side. It was as if she was examining the other woman. "They call me that because of my hair," she answered while pointing to her hair. "You aren't what you seem to be, Doyle. You are more than you appear."
Doyle appeared a little confused by that while Harper looked on in shock. How could this woman, who was known as a miracle worker in this planetary system, know about the blonde android? "Uh…what do you mean by that, Ami? Doyle is a good friend…nothing more."
The blue haired woman smiled enigmatically at the engineer. "You do not have to explain anything, Harper," she said reassuringly. "Anyway, let me explain to you the arrangement I had with Semblar. There is an apartment with a couple of rooms above the bar that I reside in whenever I am here on Seefra-1. In exchange for the room and board, I gave Semblar a supply of ice and water for his establishment. Also, I gave him a percentage of what I make whenever I help a customer."
Water AND ice? Seamus thought to himself as money symbols floated in his head. I wonder how she is able to get those…there's a water shortage in Seefra. "Ami, I think that your previous agreement with Semblar is okay. I was wondering why this one door was always locked in the back hallway. I'm guessing that it's the door to those rooms you mentioned?"
Ami nodded. "Yes, that is the one. I have the only key because Semblar knew of my desire for privacy when I am upstairs. I do not like having people ask me what I do in my residence or ask to come up to my home. And it was generally understood not to ask where the ice and water comes from. I hope that you will follow my wishes, Harper."
Harper nodded; he was slightly disappointed that he can't get any information about the water from the woman. "Sure thing, toots, I'll do anything for a beautiful woman. Just ask Doyle here." He thought that Ami looked adorable when she blushed lightly at his compliment. Maybe there was some hope for him…
At that moment, Dylan Hunt, Beka Valentine and Telemachus Rhade entered the bar with Trance Gemini close behind them. Trance looked around and her gaze was locked with the sapphire eyes of the blue haired woman. She felt power emanating from the young looking female and it was a familiar sensation. The Avatar swept by her friends and immediately went over to Ami.
Ami felt strange within the presence of this golden-skinned Avatar. She felt like she should know this woman but the awareness eludes her. She tried to look away from the alien's gaze but it felt like she was staring into the eyes of a star. A moment later, Trance let go of her piercing gaze and smiled.
"Hello, I'm Trance Gemini and I feel that I should know you," the avatar replied.
"I am Ami Mizuno and the feeling is mutual," Ami answered quietly. She wondered if this is one of the people Flavin had told her that she would meet. "I would like to converse with you more, Trance, but I just arrived from Seefra-2 and I need some rest. Maybe I'll talk with you later. Doyle, it was nice meeting you and Harper, remember the arrangement." At that, she took out a key from underneath her cloak and strode into the back hallway and disappeared.
When Ami was gone, Harper let out a whistle. "Now that is some lady," he remarked as the others came up to the bar. "She knew Semblar and I wonder how that guy knew her."
Dylan pondered things for a moment. "Yet Trance appeared to know her as well."
"Yes, Dylan, I feel like I know her, but I cannot remember how," the Avatar commented softly. "It will come to me when the time is right."
Beka shrugged, her light blond hair moving for a moment. "As long as she isn't a part of the Abyss, I'm happy."
Rhade did not seem comfortable. This strange woman appeared to be human, but that shade of blue for her hair was unusual. He did not trust anything that was different from his scope of experiences and he began to view Ami with the indication that she was dangerous. At least he was comfortable with the fact that Dylan did not seem to trust the situation as well.
As soon as she was alone and safe in her apartment, Ami sat down on an old couch and sighed. She did not expect to meet up with strange people this day. She just wanted to go back to her old routines but knew that was no longer possible. Being in a strange universe on a strange planet for the past ten years was starting to wear her nerves thin. Helping the unfortunates of this planet was somewhat satisfying, but she felt that something else was missing.
"Oh, how I miss everyone back home," she whispered quietly as she gazed out a window from her position. "Flavin, I hope that I live up to what you expect of me."
Sharem: Chapter 1 is finally finished. Not as long as I would have liked, but that should change as the story progresses…
