Chapter 27

"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

The armada streaked its way along to the Gnarl home world, yet they had not yet contacted the Moundian fleet. The eerie silence that seemed to be epidemic in all the ships could almost be felt. It seemed as if it could seep into your joints and very being to the point of being uncomfortable. They had not yet received word of what had happened back home, and they all knew how ugly it could be. They were not sure where first contact would happen, but one thing they did know was that, once engaged, there was no guarantee that they would see another moment alive, or that the ship that held them so securely would exist a moment after. Considering that the entirety of the people there, save for the Sailor Scouts themselves, had never been truly blooded in combat, the nerves were high. There was no thought to try to bring levity, for they knew it would be a pitiful attempt at best. However, Venus knew that this was actually good as long as it did not get to them. Serenity was in contact with Venus, and she said, "How are you staying so calm. I'm a bundle of nerves!"

"I'm scared to death, to be honest," was her response, "For the sake of my sailors, I have to stay calm."

"I don't like it so quiet," said Serenity, squirming in her comm.

"It's actually good," she said, "That means that everyone's focused on what they need to do. That way, if things go wrong, they can adapt. It's like the old saying: the battle plan seldom outlasts first contact with the enemy."

Suddenly, there was surprise on both vessels for those able to overhear their talking, because, for the first time in her history, her reputation for messing up sayings did not end up a mistake. She had actually said it right. As everyone stared, she could not understand why. Her first officer then concluded that she must have been so nervous that her mind actually put it together correctly. Serenity then said, "I wonder where the Moundians are."

"I have to think they are on their way," said Venus in return, "They don't seem like such a dishonorable people that they would cut us loose now. They are there helping your husband after all."

Serenity sighed at this and looked a little pouty, not happy about how he was facing the danger he was facing. Venus then said, "I know what can help. Why don't you address the fleet?"

She thought about it, and she said, "Well, I guess."

She then said to the communications officer, "Open up all channels and tap me into the ship's speakers."

The officer then said, "Attention all personnel: her majesty—Queen Neo-Serenity the First—wishes to address you."

She cleared her throat a bit and then said, "Well, I guess we all know why we're here," a bit nervously, not really knowing what to say, which brought some chuckles that seem to take the edge off things a bit. She then continued and said, "This is an absolutely scary thing for me, and I know it is for you. It scares me that we are going to do this, and it makes me sad that I have to order some of you to…to…"

She began to tear up, and she wanted to cry, but Luna whispered, "Your majesty, you have to stay calm. Please, don't cry."

She fought hard to hold it back, but the sadness seemed yet to be conveyed to all, even if they could not see her face. She then said, with a quiver in her voice, "I really don't like thinking about it. This was something that, for a thousand years, the kingdom has never had to face. We have faced the Great Cataclysm, we survived the results of that, and for 500 years after that, we have had peace. This was a peace…well; I have to guess that this was something all people of Earth wanted for so long. It was a peace that no government could have given us, and it was rather forced on us by the disaster."

She stopped, and something began to dawn on her. After a pause, she then said, "Because of that disaster, we learned to appreciate how fragile life was for the first time in history, and because we wanted to avoid the sadness happening ever again, somehow, we were able to put differences aside, and now our whole solar system is populated. That had always been the dream of man to explore and expand like that, but politics always got in the way. However, someone wants to take away our peace, and make us sad again, and there will be people crying on both sides. I cannot help but think about the parents and children who will cry, or may be hurt, by all of this, all the losses everyone will face."

She paused again, and thought some more, and now it was beginning to dawn on her just who brought on this sadness, and that she had to learn a lesson. Serenity then said, "Yet, all this was because someone didn't care about how sad and sick she made others. All she cared about was herself. This sadness, however, is something that we must understand that her people will feel as well as ours. In fact, many of her people did not want this, and we must understand that we do not act out of vengeance against her citizens, for they were not responsible for what she did. Her military walks in lockstep with her, so we need to deal out as much as we get. However, we need to act in such a way as to say, 'Sadness was started by one person, and we will do all we can to end it as fast as we can. The swifter we do this, the less people need to be sad for the loss, for the longer it goes, the more dismal it gets. Thus, we cannot be scared of what happens to us. As I am here with you, you king is standing against the foe himself, willing to face the same loss that some of you are about to face, as I am willing to face it with you."

Suddenly, the pall was beginning to lift. Proverbial light bulbs were going off over people's heads, and it began to dawn on them. What she was really saying was that they could not think of themselves at this point. They had to think of all those that could be hurt if they did not fight, or if they were to lose this fight. They had to think about how bad it could be if the war lasted for years instead of what they had faced up to that point. If they could end it now, more of them could go home sooner, see their families again, and have more of a chance of seeing another day. They had to not think about how much they could lose if they fought, and think about all that could be lost if they did not succeed. Suddenly, many felt selfish for thinking about themselves. Self-preservation is natural, but they also knew they held the instinct to overcome that urge and put other first. The lives of many others on both sides meant more than their own at that moment and suddenly they felt encouraged. Serena then said, "Let the cause be bigger than ourselves, and remember to do all we can to be victorious as fast as we can. Perhaps, if we can win this, we can build an alliance and one people with all of our friends, so that the peace we all loved so dearly for so long could expand far beyond ourselves."

There was a collective cheer across the fleet. The crews felt emboldened. The fighter pilots were now keen for the battle. The Marines were fired up to either win, or go down in glory, knowing that their sacrifice would not be in vain. Once the transmission was ended, Luna said, "After all these years, you never cease to amaze me."

Serenity looked at her curiously, and Luna then said, "There is still a lot of Usagi in you, but you have so much transformed into the queen your original mother had always intended you to be. I am so proud of you."

Serenity scooped her up and hugged her, saying, "Thank you for being here with me!"

The only intention now was the anticipation of contact with the foe. However, the Gnarl knew that their home was the target, and so they rallied the fleet around the planet, trying to cause it to be so that they would beat themselves to death trying to get through. They knew not yet how things had gone with their foe in the invasion, but one thing they knew was that they were going to do all they could to ensure that the invading fleet had something to which to return. Venus was now pondering things, and she said, "All battleships, scan for targets at the most extreme distance you can fire the shock cannons. As soon as you have a target and are in range, fire at will."

She wanted to get the tension released and try to dishearten her foe while she could. The Moundians had not yet arrived, and she was not sure just when they would. Thus, she had to plan in case something delayed them. She was outnumbered 3 to 1, but she outgunned them by the same. She drummed her fingers on the armrest, and Artemis was about to say something to calm her when her fire chief said, "We are approaching the system and have targets at extreme range."

As soon as he said that, all batteries that could reach opened up. As soon as that happened, enemy fighters began to scream in. The Millennium fighters immediately countered, and the fighter battle ensued. They were trying to strafe the shifts, but the fighters were up to the task, and they were giving as well as they got. Venus then said, "Pull up the fleet and let the fighters contend. Continue to shell from a distance."

There was a method to her madness: she wanted to cause them to come out and face her, considering that she could hit from distance, and they could not. She was testing the patience of the enemy admiral, hoping that it was short. Meanwhile, the Gnarl was beginning to get frustrated. They were taking hits, and actually had lost a few ships. Yet, the attack was not as effective as it could have been, and still, if they kept it up, attrition would defeat them alone. It was clear—much to his own frustration—that he would have to close. It was then that he decided to send two-thirds of his force to contend with it. They would clearly outgun them, but he also felt that sheer number might help him win the day. They went at full impulse power and closed distance quick. As soon as they were in range, they began to fire, as did the rest of the Millennium ships, and now it was about to get ugly. The CT cruisers remained cloaked, but Serenity suddenly had a moment of inspiration, and she said, "Hey, send the invisible boat-thingy cruisers and get the other ones."

The captain of the Hotaru took a second to interpret what she wanted and said, "Send the CT cruisers after the planet defenders."

Venus then said, "We need the ships here!"

"But, they don't have a lot of boats at their planet," Serenity responded, "They have a hard time seeing them, from what I understand."

"We need to defend," Venus responded, "The Moundians…"

Serenity cut her off and said, "They won't expect it, and it may help. They'll come, I just know it!"

Venus knew she was outranked, and she said, "Obey the order."

With that, the CT cruisers went to try to wreak havoc.

It was indeed a slugfest, as each side was pounding each other, fighters trying what they could, and they were taking the worst of it. Each side was beginning to lose vessels, and Serenity cringed to think about how many people were on each one. She was now not certain that she should have come, not certain she wanted to see the carnage. However, she heard that voice again, and she was now certain she heard it as a female voice, and a familiar one, which said, "Fear not; only stay strong: help is on the way."

She paused a moment and lost concentration on the battle, which was quickly brought back when a blaster round hit of the shields in front of the bridge. Despite the shielding, the whole bridge shook, and she fell out of her chair, screaming. She pulled herself up by the armrest, eyes as wide as dinner plates, panting horribly. The captain said, "Get the queen to the best armored part of the ship!" but Serenity then said, "Belay that order!"

"Your majesty, surely," the captain tried to say, but Serenity said, "We have to stay strong: help is on the way!"

She retook her seat, and did what she could to stay strong, though she was ready to run at any moment. More ships were going down, and they began to wonder if this was going to be a defeat again like back at Nekonia. Yet, at that moment, beams showered in from another angle, and began to back off the Gnarl. It was the Moundian ships, as a transmission came through to all ships on both sides. Because of the universal translators of the Millennium Kingdom, this could happen. As it turned out, it was Queen, who thundered, "The only commander to ever defeat a Moundian battle group now stands behind me! Surrender now or prepare to die!"

The Gnarl did not know how to react. They had never seen these ships in action, nor had they seen the kind of damage that disruptors could do. One thing was certain, this tipped the scales, and they knew it would not be easy now. Yet, the Gnarl pride kicked in, and the admiral gave the command to engage without a verbal response. If their exoskeletons could allow for it, the Moundians would be smiling devilishly. However, they had their own expressions, and their faces did reflect this. They then began to hammer the Gnarl, accompanied by the Moundian fighters. It became vicious, and now the Gnarl was losing ships one after the next. The admiral then gave the call to fall back quickly, knowing that he had to link up with the rest of the fleet in order to salvage anything. Yet, as he neared the planet, he looked in horror as he saw that not one ship remained! What did remain were the remaining CT cruisers, who had only lost about five total ships in the fight. They were now uncloaked, and ready to unleash the photon torpedoes. They were now surrounded! This time, Serenity called through, begging them to surrender. "Please," she pleaded, "There is no need for all of you to die! Your empress forced you to do this, and many of your citizens really want peace. Please, join us and help end this senseless fight!"

"Mercy for the foe?" Queen shot back, "Do they not deserve any?"

"Please think us not weak," said Serenity, "But we must be better than what we face. We must give mercy where they would not."

Some of the men were ready to accept, but the admiral was too much a fool as he shot back, "Death before dishonor! Fire!"

"NO!" shouted Serenity, but both Venus and Queen could read the writing on the wall and immediately ordered the counterattack. All she could do was bow her head and cry, as she could not watch the slaughter. Within about fifteen minutes, it was all over. Not a Gnarl ship remained. Serenity cried and cried, not wanting it to have to be this way. Queen then chimed in, "Indeed, you are a queen. Only someone with your strength could have offered mercy to a foe that would have not given it, and then shed tears for their demise. Now I know more than ever before that your cause is just. Now, come, let us end this. We shall send what few soldiers that we have to aid your invasion."

Venus then said, "Send your shuttles to us, as we can enter the foes atmosphere and fight from the water."

On the surface, rumors were beginning to fly as to how things had gone in space, but the empress was being kept in the dark, lest she do something stupid. It was now dawning on her own military leaders that they were fighting a foe that just would not let them have their way, nor had any fear of them. The only hope they had was the land war, and if the empress knew how bad it had gone, she might have ordered the entire population into action, risking the annihilation of their entire people. They were now beginning to realize just how insane their empress had become, and they were now beginning to question if they were as superior a race as their empress had told them they were. They were trying to let reason override pride, but they were engaged to the fight now. The worst thing that could happen now is to have an insane ruler try to become a military commander and be in charge. Therefore, they had to keep assuring her that things were well, and do the best they could with what they had. The two advantages they had was the sheer number of defenders combined with the fact that there was only so many that the initial force could bring. They had to prevent them from getting a toehold on the land, or else they could hold off the foe until their army arrived to continue the fight, and then there was no telling how many could come and strike. Another advantage they had was that, because they were a subterranean race, they would have to be dug out. As they pondered this, the ships began to land. The only thing they did not know was where they would land and attack.

Ceres and Jupiter were overlooking the continental land mass where the outer scouts said the capitol was, and they knew they could not make a direct attack. That would make matters worse. They decided on a point that was in between the furthest distance where they could have landed and the capitol. This was where the initial thrust would be. The rest of the force, with a combination of the Marines, Sea Bees, SPs, and Zoarian troops, would hit the extreme points to try to spread the defenses out. The least of what they wanted to do was get a toehold and a port established from where they could bring in the army and continue the fight. The transports were now being launched as the fighter/bombers began to attack, and the ships began to shell. The onshore batteries began to return fire, though the SEALs and the resistance had done a fine job of weakening things. Ceres and Jupiter demanded they go in the lead crafts, though they knew that they were going right into the jaws of the beast. The batteries were now aiming at the landing crafts, and though they were also shielded, they were flipping them over. Though the ships righted themselves, some inside had already been hurt, but the crafts marched on. The beaches were being swept as the onshore batteries were firing from the protection of the hills. The battleships were firing at the hills, but there was only so much they could do. The crafts now crawled up onto the beaches and used the advantage of the crafts to advance the troops. The hope was that they could get as far as they could before they had to unload the troops and expose them to the fire. Yet, they were only able to get as far as the middle of the beach when they began to hit thermal mines, and the sand that was being kicked up by that and the fire made it nearly impossible to advance. Much to his chagrin, Ceres ordered the craft opened, and to commence the attack on foot. As soon as the craft opened, fire raked the Marines and the soldiers. About half the compliments of the crafts died before the remainder could gain security behind sand dunes. Ceres and Jupiter quickly found safety, and had to steel themselves as they watched comrades drop like flies around them. The remainder of the crafts behind them let loose their compliments and used the now stalled craft as cover to gain shelter. What craft that could do so returned to the ships to prepare to bring more. The first part had been accomplished, but there was more to do.

In some locations, the advance was going well, but at the main attack point, the Marines were paying a heavy price. Yet, they were able to keep pressing on, not only because of their fighting strength, but also because they were using the attacks they had learned from their royalty, reflecting the branches each commanded. Still, the advance was slow, as the Marines were literally fighting for every inch. In this atmosphere, heroes who had not known they possessed such courage were emerging. All the troops were charging in to grab fallen comrades to drag them to safety. There were brave solo charges to spare fellow troops' lives, others jumping on grenades, Mercury's medics risking all to render aid. Further back in a more secure location, Mercury herself was coordinating both a makeshift hospital and her engineers to start to establish a port to make further landings possible. Ceres was in charge from the front, doing all he could to ignore the fight around and give commands of where the troops needed to hit. They needed to get off the beach to the hills and begin to try to dig them out from there. As they did, the ships offshore were beginning to become effective in their attack, and it now seemed that they were punching holes big enough to push through and take the hillsides in order to end the fight there and establish the toehold to continue the fight. There was bravery like had never been seen by any of that generation, and though they were all green, they were growing up quickly, and finding out just what they were able to do. In short, they fought like Marines.

The Gnarl, at first, felt confident as they were bogging down their foe, seemingly able to slaughter them at will. However, when they saw the numbers swarming in and how that they were able to continue despite the pounding, as if there was nothing wrong, they began to become disheartened. They wondered just how they were able to keep going forward and not be bothered by what was going on. Their observers were shocked at just how brave their foe was—just as courageous as they were. This was followed now by huge holes being punched into their defenses, and they hurried soldiers and mobile batteries to meet the attack they knew had to come. By this point, at last, the sand had been traversed and the solid ground was now gained. They now began to use the thermal grenades that they had saved for this moment, and they were chucking them into pillboxes, open holes, batteries—anything to soften them up further. However, it was now a stalemate, and it was certain that nothing more was going to be gained. Venus watched this and saw the data come in. Considering how they had been able to open the holes, they knew that there was the possibility to collapse the hill on the foe. Yet, that was going to be a last resort considering. However, when the saw the stalling, Venus now knew she had no choice. She gave the order for the ground troops to hunker down and stand by. The fighter/bombers went back to the carriers and went back for the bunker-busting photon bombs. They would drop into the holes while all the ships would close and pound the hills mercilessly. When Serenity heard this, she went to her quarters, not willing to stomach any more. The order was given, and within 30 minutes, the toehold was gained. At all other points, they were able to gain the toeholds without that action, but there was a cost. At this, they dug in and began to regroup as they assessed the casualties on both sides. The first battle had been won, but at a cost. The Marines had actually lost about half their number, and they now knew they would have to go slow as they awaited the Millennium and Moundian armies. It was not going to be easy.

Later on, Serenity visited the hospital ships and was saddened by the sight. So many were looking like mummies, some with missing limbs, some with severe burns, some barely alive. She began to say, "I'm sorry," but before it came out, someone said, "The Queen is here!"

All the troops began to cheer, and many of them were telling her as she passed that they would be healed up soon and back into the fight. It was obvious that some would never see the battlefield again, but they were all gung ho to fight again. It was then that she asked that all the branch commanders, (the scouts,) met her in the briefing room of the Hotaru.

Once there, Serenity said, "General Ceres, how much longer is this going to go on?"

"Assessing the defenses," said Ceres, "It is going to take time to work through the tunnels. We can win the day, but I would say that it is going to take several months, maybe even a year at least."

Serenity could not take this anymore, and she then said, "I just wish that there was a way that we could settle this the way we used to. What do we do?"

Mercury paced a bit, and then she said, "With the outer scouts where they are, why not?"

Everyone looked at her and Mercury said, "We can contact Pluto, and she can gate us into where she is. The troops can go on as normal so that, if we are not successful, they can still try to win the day. I would say that, if we can capture their empress, depose her, and put her daughter in place, we could end this."

They all looked at each other, and Serenity said, "Then, let's do it like the old days."

"Then, let us contact Pluto, your majesty," said Venus, to which Serenity said, "No, right now, call me Sailor Moon!"

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