Captain Planet: When Twixt the Two Lovers Shall Meet

Written by: FossilQueen1984

Disclaimer: Still own nothing mentioned. Thanks to LouiseX and leiv for the great reviews. Hope to get some more. In case anybody's wondering, I did get Laila's name from the Dawn Trader film. It sounded Elvish (Tolkien Elvish) so I decided to use it. As a note, this won't be updated until early June, as I am going to a family reunion! Enjoy!

Suggested Soundtrack: Wild Child by Enya and Across the Stars from Attack of the Clones

Chapter 3: The Marking Ceremony and Laila's Expedition

Laila glanced over at her younger sister sitting at the breakfast table, devouring the latest political news. There were at least 29 different species that made up the Immortalius Confederacy, and as a result different worlds were known to declare war for some reason or another. The Sentient Being and Environmental Well-Being Act of 45 P.A. (Post Aeser, or 45 years after the creation of all sentient beings in the universe) soundly stated the outright banning of killing other sentient beings and the destruction of environs for no good reason. All Immortalius felt a kinship with nature, and they were anal about how pristine wildlife and outdoors needed to remain pure.

Anybody who felt differently were exiled to remote asteroid cities, forced to jump from galaxy to galaxy, scavenging items for a livelihood. Their decedents became known as Scavengers, and viewed originally as little better than uncivilized, bloodthirsty marauders. However, they eventually organized themselves into a political system of clans and loose townships. They referred to themselves as the Exiled, and their home base was the underwater city of Neradi on Jupiter's moon of Europa. Their constitution and laws were similar to the Immortalius Treaty of Rhodes, but they did not recognize the Immortalius as the de facto political force. However, they did condone those few Scavengers who resorted to space piracy and illegal trading. These were known as the Troika- the Uncleansed.

According to the article, Troika pirates had been discovered to have been trading on Planet Earth, a primitive backwater that for reasons unknown, remained a top government secret. Supposedly, it had something to do with the Yourimori fiasco 350 million years ago. The pirates had fled, and local governments were inquiring for any bit of information. Min was excited, "What a story! I would love to see an Exiled ship. I've read they're all hodgy-podgy and rickety. How cool would that be, Laila?"

Laila nodded at her kid sister, half interested. Anyone would have thought that Laila, being beautiful and wealthy, never had a serious thought in her head, unlike her wunderkind sister. This was false, Laila was just as brilliant as her younger sister, maybe more so. She could speak fourteen known languages and dialects fluently, she was aces at math and science, and she could fix just about anything mechanical, if given enough time. She was also Sinam Luar's top pilot (Sinam Luar was the city where they lived). As a result, she was a Commander in New Gallifrey's Planet Reconnaissance and Terraforming Brigade. This was New Gallifrey's sector of their Air Force that dealt with negotiating peace accords and relocating refugees to safe worlds, and helping those plants become inhabitable. As it so happened, she had been called in for a mission that day, the same day Min would be taking part in the Marking Ceremony.

The Marking Ceremony happened every year, when girls reached 1400 years of age- or being fourteen in human years. The candidates would enter the Main Oracle Citadel and would be marked by consulting the Oracle. Instead of requesting guidance, instead they would be requesting Aeser's blessing. Then tattoos would appear on the face in any variety, and afterwards the newly marked girls would be able to participate in upper level studies and vocational training. Those who were not marked had to wait until they were 1700, and then they were always marked, though in noticeably less colors. Either way, Immortalius women were tattooed with their Marks. There was nothing special about them, just that they marked adult women and girls from children. Minerva was wearing the traditional grey woolen tunicae, black leggings and brown slippers. Her hair was simply plaited. As Min finished her breakfast, Andromache walked in from the front porch.

"Min, are you ready?" she inquired excitedly as her daughters finished turning out the lights. "I sure am, Mom! Can't wait to take University level classes," Min boasted loudly as Hector made sure his camera had enough battery. He smiled proudly, "We are all proud of you, Minerva." He hugged her tightly, as did her mother and sister. Andromache said softly, "When you leave the Oracle, we can get lunch at the agora. Afterwards, we'll let you fly home."

Min gasped, "You really mean it? I get to fly all the way home from the Agora to home? Without taking the tram? Awesome!" She laughed at the allowance to actually fly, and why not? Today was her day; her day of Marking.

The Oracle Citadel resembled a gigantic cathedral, only with open roofed areas and no tourists. Only girls who were going to be marked and their families were there. Because of the large crowds every year, candidates were teleported in and out to save time. Of course, there was more than one Oracle because of the frequent numbers of daily visitors, so it made sense that there was no more than a fifteen minute wait between ceremonies. When they arrived, Minerva was extremely excited, and nervous. Would she remember the incantation? If she was marked, would there be crystal covering it? Laila placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, and Min finally relaxed. Fairly soon, it was Minerva's turn.

She found herself walking into one of the side hallways, and using a teleporter into a brightly lit citadel. Assuming the position she used many times in her backyard, she began to chant:

Sight beyond sight!

Darkness and light:

Come forth, Oracle

Bring thyself to me,

For Aeser's given

Blessing.

Earth, Fire, Love,

Water, Wind, Life,

Death, Peace, War

Famine, Death, Wisdom

Hatred, all things old and new.

Bring forth the Markings so

I may be pure of Aeser's worth!

Shadows of night, Light of day!

Bend your wills and make them mine!

Sight beyond Sight!

As Minerva spoke these words, she felt a strange tingling around her face, as though something were shaking violently nearby, followed by a slight itchy feeling. Through her shut eyes, she could feel dim lighting around her. As soon as she opened her eyes again, a proctor was waiting for her, and showed her out to one of the Citadel's many cloistered gardens.

"Mom? Dad? Laila, am I Marked now?" Min called out as she wandered about. As she rounded a corner, Hector cried out, "O, sweet Aeser! You have blessed me with two Marked children!" Scooping her up, Hector spun her around in the air, and Andromache and Lilandriel ran over, overcome with joy and pride. "You are marked indeed, and such a pretty marking too," Andromache prattled as Andromache held up a mirror she found laying around. Indeed, the Marking ceremony had gone well for Minerva. Inch long strips of cobalt blue ran level with the arch of her nose, a gold zigzag pattern woven through with specks of amethyst and emerald speckled in between. Min was surprised, "Holy fishpaste! I had no idea the Markings were that complex." A lot of marks were simple bands of color, but many more were complex shapes and swirls of different colors. Older Marked Ones generally had simple bands of one or two colors.

Hector treated his family to a fine late spring lunch at the Agora. Plenty of families with their Marked daughters were also getting lunch, so it proved to be a fun social outing as well. Of course, once Min had finished her quiche, she flew home, much to the admiration of her friends, the envy of her academic rivals, and the annoyance of some parents. As the conversation turned towards other topics, Lilandriel excused herself, and took the next arriving tram to Saint Siren's Military Complex.

As soon as she arrived, Laila was greeted by General Odysseus Partheon. He was their father's oldest friend, a wonderful playmate when she and Min had been children, and a first rate mentor. He had been the one to teach Lilandriel all about deep space flight and related fields, as he had been a celebrated pilot many eons ago. Now, he was retired and taught incoming pilots. He smiled at her, "Well, look who it is! Lilandriel the great negotiator! Like that? I just made it up. I heard from your father that Min was successfully marked today. Do you know if she'll want to be a pilot like you? I'm not sure, since she can fly and all. Maybe she'd like to study with the Xenoarchaeology unit."

Laila laughed, "I don't know, Uncle Odd. I just came by because General Pericles said he had a mission for me. Did you come to debrief me?" Odysseus nodded, his jocular mood becoming serious and worried. Gesturing for her to follow, Lilandriel followed behind as Odysseus debriefed her.

"As I am sure you know, there have been reports of Troika running amok on Planet Earth. Our Exiled friends in Neradi have said that they are currently disguised as Earthlings, participating in piracy outside the Yourimori triangle. Now, a major earthquake has affected the entire area, and they lost a good deal of potential hostages. SecNav wants you to go down there, and kick some butt. Are you up for that?", Odysseys asked.

Laila nodded, "Of course, I would be more than happy to. Any other information?" Odd shook his head, so with no clear course, she reluctantly sped off towards Earth. As he watched her fly away, he frowned. The whole mission was sketchy. What was going on here?