He'd been not-smiling since the moment the beautiful young woman had entered the room some minutes previous. He had known who she was even before she had introduced herself. The sharp gleam of intelligence in her expectant eyes. Her voice, soft and warm beneath its outer layer of determined resolve. These things told him all he needed to know.
Mercury. She'd come for him.
His would-be smile had faded when she had been accosted by Akeega. Feelings he had never felt before had violently created themselves within his consciousness. Bitter jealousy as his tormentor had touched her gentle hand and slim shoulders. Cold hatred as he had abused her body and her feelings for his own amusement. Fierce compassion as her eyes, as delicate and dazzling as glasswork, had sparkled with tears.
And, amid these new and complex feelings, another that was all too familiar.
Hopelessness.
Unable to call out to her, unable to reach her from his prison in the corner of the room, he had been forced to watch in impotent silence as she had been hurt and humiliated. But now, as she stood before him, her eyes wide and her tiny lips parted, the feeling that would have been a smile returned.
"Hello," he said. "I'm sorry I startled you."
Confusion momentarily lowered her eyebrows. Then, she smiled.
If Shynkon had been in current possession of a heart, it would have leaped for joy.
"Hello," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Shynkon-san."
Somehow, she was looking right at him. Somehow, her eyes saw through the steel and circuits and looked right at him. Held in her gaze, Shynkon found himself unable to speak. Instead, she spoke up again. "I'm glad you're okay."
"And I you," he replied, managing to find his voice.
Across the room, a laugh like breaking glass and a third voice cut in.
"If you two are finished with the lovey-dovey stuff," Akeega began, "then we do have the small matter of a schedule to keep." He frowned. "Speaking of which, where did Gauge get to? I sent him down to greet you, but you arrived several minutes ago..."
Venus showed him her best nonchalant shrug. "Maybe he ran into some trouble?"
"I see," growled Akeega, gathering her inference. "There are more of you."
Ding. They turned as one as something across the room rang for their attention. The elevator. The display above the doors indicated that the car was coming up towards them. Akeega exposed his teeth in what was probably intended as a grin. "That'll be him now."
"What makes you so sure?" asked Venus, voice full of bravado.
"Simple. Only we have the code required to use the elevator. Looks like your friends didn't make it." His eyes narrowed and his grin twitched like the death throes of some unnatural insect. "What a pity." The malice in his tone froze Mercury's blood white. Neither she nor Venus could believe that their friends had been defeated... but what if...
Ding. Another chime announced the lift's arrival. The twin doors slid apart with seemingly deliberate slowness.
Mercury's heart skipped a beat.
"Mars! Jupiter!" she cried in delight, rushing forward to meet them.
"Are you two okay?" asked Venus, right beside her. Standing side-by-side in the elevator, the arrivals nodded in synch. "No problem," replied Jupiter, showing them a thumbs-up. Mars shrugged. "We ran into one of the bad guys. Gave us a little trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle between us."
"That idiot!" blazed Akeega's voice. Mercury gasped as he forcibly pushed by her and glared at the elevator's occupants. "I can't believe he'd allow himself to be defeated by a couple of girls!"
"Oh, don't worry, he didn't allow anything," Mars told him, a dangerous smile on her face. "In fact, he seemed quite upset when Jupiter smashed his body into fragments."
"What can I say?" said Jupiter, raising her hands in mock modesty.
"Where is he now?" demanded Akeega. Mercury thought it an odd question to ask. Mars and Jupiter exchanged a glance and grinned sheepishly. "Well, actually..." Jupiter started, fiddling idly with one of her rose-shaped earrings. Mars continued, "... the elevator wouldn't move without him, so..."
Seemingly unable to explain things further, the pair stepped aside to reveal the third occupant of the lift. It took Mercury a moment to register what she was seeing, and several more to try to make sense of it.
"Sorry, boss," said the amorphous green cloud. "I underestimated them."
"Gauge!" growled Akeega, his voice throbbing angrily. "You do know how much your vessel cost, don't you?" The cloud – Gauge, apparently – appeared to shrink in size and drifted further towards the back wall, putting more distance between itself and Akeega. "Y-yes, boss," it stammered. Mercury couldn't tell where the voice, its note of fear standing in contrast to the rasping tone, was coming from. She couldn't make out any specific features in its convoluted shape, much less a mouth.
"You disgrace the Sankyzo with your failure," Akeega spat. With his face and voice so venomously contorted, Mercury wondered how she had ever mistaken him for Shynkon. She looked back over her shoulder to where he stood in the corner. Somehow, she got the feeling he was looking back at her. She smiled, before turning her attention back towards the elevator.
"I suppose we'll just have to build you a new one when we've finished this place off," Akeega was telling Gauge. "Assuming I decide not to dissipate you instead." He bared his teeth. "After all, I'm nothing if not forgiving."
Mercury had the distinct feeling that he was, indeed, nothing.
However, Gauge seemed satisfied by this and floated out of the elevator. Mars and Jupiter stepped out behind him and a moment later, the doors slid to a close. Akeega approached the corner where Shynkon stood, Gauge following behind like a scolded puppy. "At least you finished the installation before allowing your vessel to be destroyed," Akeega addressed him without turning around. "And, if our guest knows what's good for him, the final preparations should be almost complete." He stopped in front of Shynkon. "What do you say, Shynkon-san? Are we ready?"
There was no reply.
"Excuse me? I didn't hear that." With shocking speed, his fist shot forward and slammed into Shynkon's surface. A cry of pain issued from the small speaker. Before Mercury could stop herself her feet were moving of their own accord and she was crossing the room towards them. She was forced to stop as strong hands gently, but firmly, closed around her shoulders. Mercury looked up into Jupiter's eyes. The big girl's expression spoke volumes. She was angry and upset too, but the time to attack wasn't now. Not until they knew what was happening.
"I'll ask you again," Akeega told Shynkon. "Is the G-Shack almost ready?"
"Preparations are ninety-five percent complete," Shynkon told him. The resignation in his voice was a vise on Mercury's heart. "Then I suggest you complete the other five percent," said Akeega in a voice indicating it was anything but a suggestion. "After all, I wouldn't want to kill..." He turned around and frowned at the quartet of Sailor Soldiers. "The blue one, was it? You all look the same to me. Good thing you're colour-coded."
"I'll finish it," promised Shynkon. "Please, don't hurt her. Don't hurt any of them."
Mercury knew she should say something to stop whatever was happening, but the words wouldn't come. Venus stepped forward in her place. "Finish what?" she asked, directing the question at Akeega. "Just what exactly are you doing here?"
Akeega grinned like a broken doll. "You want to know?" The question was rhetorical. "Fine, I'll tell you. It will entertain me in the few minutes we have left." He looked back over his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Shynkon? Just a few minutes now!"
"Just a few minutes," repeated Shynkon quietly.
"Let's see," Akeega began, turning back to them. "Long story short. We're pirates from the planet Reytek. In our natural form, we all look like Gauge here." He indicated to the green cloud floating beside him. "And, as you can see, he can't do a whole lot. However, our physiology allows us to inhabit mechanical bodies, among other things. They're called vessels and the raw materials used to make them are highly valuable. See, our planet's been mined until it's practically hollow, so now we're looking elsewhere. Other planets."
"You've come here to steal resources?" asked Mars.
"I prefer not to use the word 'steal'," replied Akeega. "I prefer 'obtain'."
Jupiter frowned. "And you're just allowed to 'obtain' these resources from anywhere you like?" Akeega gave a rusty laugh. "Not at all. Our government dictates that only uninhabitable planets are allowed to be mined. And that leaves all those planets like yours, practically bursting with valuable metals, ripe for the picking. That's what we do. We obtain the materials, sell them on the black market. We make a large profit for doing very little work."
"Good for you," said Venus half-heartedly. "So what's this G-Shack thing you keep talking about?"
"That'd be the giant electromagnet installed on the roof of this building," explained Akeega. "Once Shynkon's finished the preparations, it will align with a similar device on the underside of our ship and generate an intense magnetic field that will, ah, 'obtain' all of the useful materials within a radius of... hmm..."
"Two-hundred-and-fifty square miles," Gauge merrily chimed in.
"Two-hundred-and-fifty square miles," repeated Akeega. Venus frowned. "When you say 'obtain'..." Akeega held up a hand, silencing her. "I mean, it will suck it all up, break it down and transport it into the ship's cargo holds. Incredible technology. Of course, it isn't supposed to be used in populated areas."
"Why not?" asked Mars, her voice tense. They all suspected the reason. "Ah..." Akeega made a display of looking apologetic. It fooled nobody. "Thing is, it tends to cause massive damage to the area. It tears up vehicles, buildings... anything that fits the specified materials."
Jupiter dared to ask. "And the people who live in these areas?"
Akeega shrugged. "Worst case scenario, they all die. Best case scenario... well, I'll be honest with you. Usually, the vast majority of them die. It's a pity, but... what can you do?"
A stunned silence was the only response from the Sailor Soldiers.
250 square miles. The number ran through Mercury's head. That was practically the entire surface area of Tokyo. A prefecture populated by roughly twelve million people.
Twelve million people. All dead.
All dead for Akeega's profit.
Mercury felt her fists clench so tightly that her hands went numb.
"You can't do this!" she cried, breaking her silence. "It's... it's genocide!"
"True," acknowledged Akeega. "Still, that's never stopped me before."
Dismay exploded like a bomb inside her stomach. How many millions of lives had he already claimed? How many senseless deaths had been reflected in his uncaring eyes? Her voice wavered as she pointed a similarly shaking finger at Akeega and told him, "This is unforgivable! Douse yourself in water and repent!"
"I'll be sure to do that," he assured her, the dead grin on his face unchanged.
"Stop this," warned Mars, dark eyes burning, "or we will stop you."
"Are those my choices?" asked Akeega. "Because if so, I'll have to choose the third option. Sento!"
Sento?
"Mercury! Look out!"
It was Shynkon's voice. Before Mercury could react to it, a sudden impact to her back pushed her forwards, driving the air from her lungs and forcing her to the ground. A moment later a jarring crash shook the room and stung her chest like a gong being rung. The pressure on her back lifted and Mercury struggled to get to her feet, accepting the helping hand that found hers and pulled her upright. "Sorry about tackling you," Mars apologised, "but you would have been crushed if that thing had landed on you."
That thing?
Mercury span around. Occupying the space she had been standing no more than ten seconds ago was a giant ball of leather. At least, that was her initial impression. As she stared at it, she realised it was a roughly humanoid – although almost spherical – figure, with thick arms and legs attached to it and a bald head stuck on the top. To Mercury's displeasure, the face upon it appeared unfinished. A pallid white in colour, it had narrow eyes, blood-red and unblinking, but nothing in the way of a nose or mouth and only tiny holes for ears. Its enormous body, at least seven feet tall and almost as wide, was dressed solely in black leather, just as Akeega was.
"Allow me to introduce Sento, the third and final member of the Sankyzo," announced Akeega. "Unlike Gauge," – he shot a sharp look at his defeated subordinate, who literally shrank in fear – "Sento's vessel was designed purely for... shall we say 'peacekeeping'?" He craned his neck upwards to address the monster. "Sento!" The ghost-white face tilted down towards him. "Kill the green, red and orange ones. Leave the blue one alive. She may prove useful if Shynkon attempts to resist us."
The slightest of nods in reply.
Mercury wasn't sure which upset her more: the coldness of Akeega's words or the fact that he considered her to be little more than a commodity to be used and discarded at his command, undeserving of a name and unworthy of actually being addressed. She imagined he felt that way about everything. About his own race. About his team.
About Shynkon.
Mercury stood at the head of the four Sailor Soldiers. Their faces were hard; their fists clenched. They watched as Sento lifted one of his enormous feet and took a step towards them. His eyes were volcanoes upon the white mountain of his head, the harsh fire within threatening to erupt and consume them.
"Protect her," whispered Venus. Two short nods in acknowledgement.
Sento took another step forward, his bulk throwing them into shadow.
And the battle began.