Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead
Of everyone
We'd walk behind while you would run
-Everything But the Girl, "Missing"
The Princess was somehow full of energy still, maybe because it was something new. She didn't know and at the moment, wasn't concerned about trying to establish the cause. Makoto had already given her a tour, or at least what the Jovian considered a tour. It was funny that, because it wasn't like she knew anything about the ship.
Ami had awoken an hour ago, but assured that she was fine. A four hour nap didn't constitute fine to her. Now to herself, she was good with that. Four was a lot, after all! Fuck, there were days that if she managed four, it was like sleeping in. It was acceptable to her, but not to those she ultimately commanded.
Sending Ami back to rest for at least another two hours, it was her turn to watch the Princess. Makoto had turned in for a nap as well; a pointed look shot her way said she knew exactly what the Jovian and Mercurian would likely do and here, on a freighter, it wasn't going to fly in more ways than one.
Rei had lingered, under the guise of cleaning off her swords. Maybe she was doing that save that it didn't take that long. No, it was probably that notion of keeping that eye on her.
"I'm sooooo bored! Isn't there anything to dooooo?" The Princess' whine drew her thoughts back. It was a freighter ship; room was dedicated primarily to cargo. There was a single spare room available for them all; another reason why she didn't want that coy scent to linger.
They were camped outside of that room, in the cargo bay. Beyond a securely shut door was their shuttle, anchored in. The Captain said he would look at the fuel he had on board and the shuttle to see if it was even compatible. She had watched the freighter's tech walk by with a stack of print outs, but so far no mention was made of if they could fly back on their own or if they must endure the slow trip back.
Her gaze settled on the Princess, stopping another whine with just that gesture before it started. She needed to come up with something to keep her occupied, ideally fast.
"What is Luna having you study?" Well, it was better than nothing. She was involved in the Princess' day to day life to certain points. Maybe she should be more so but she was already running out of the scant time for herself. The Lunar day was only so long, after all.
"Ugg, I don't want to think about studying right now Minako! C'mon, tell me a story! Tell me about your home or oh! Oh! You can tell me about Mars! Tell me about your trip there and why you were gone so long. Mother thought you would have been back in like two weeks or something. She had to send Artemis after you… say, you didn't meet up with someone did you?" Her voice was trying to be coy. "A secret beau! Oo you have to tell me about him! Martians have such dark hair and look so strong! Is that why you were gone so long 'cause he was there? Didja know him from your home? Oo it's so romantic!"
Goddess help her.
She was aware that Rei, otherwise staying silent, had stopped her pointless at this point sword cleaning to look at her. Fighting the want to roll her eyes she snatched a cloth from Rei's pile, drawing her own falchion to give her something to do. "I ran into some problems Princess, that's why I was so late. I explained that to the Queen in my report."
"That's so boring though! Aren't you some love person?"
"My Goddess is known for Love and Beauty yes, and I am her Embodiment. That is really though what happened Princess, there was no secret planned rendezvous with a man." She met a woman yes, it wasn't planned and instead just kind of happened. Barely she managed to refrain from glancing in Rei's direction.
"Ugg, still so lame."
This was going to kill her patience, she just knew it. "Princess, my job was to go to Mars and find Rei. I did that, there were just problems along the way."
"Well… that sounds all so terribly boring." The Princess turned her attention to Rei, who she noted, hadn't resumed her activities and was sitting on a box like the rest of them. Too busy looking between them it took a moment before she realized eyes were upon her. Meeting the look square on she waited. "Why couldn't you have just come on your own? Minako coulda stayed and wouldn't have been late."
Goddess you're a spoiled brat. She hadn't meant the thought, feeling instant guilt follow in its wake but all the same, it felt justified. She wanted to wince and yell at the same time, to tell the Princess to shove it while explaining that it wasn't that simple.
Rei beat her to it though, coolly looking at the girl, who truly was a girl no matter how she acted. "Our communication system was down. That is part of your studies, no? Luna would have explained to you the history of my home. Perhaps you should heed her lessons."
The level headed delivery stopped the Princess from getting to that next level of haunty. She looked wide-eyed, likely near flabbergasted and shocked. What didn't help was that a few tears appeared in her gaze before the dam broke. The water works started immediately in the form of crying.
Great.
Setting aside her falchion and cloth, it left her open for the Princess to barrell into her, pressing her face right against the shoulder she had taken a cut to. Barely managing to stay seated upright it didn't stop her from sighing. Muffled sobs and words occasionally made themselves known, the only parts she could pull out were that the Princess was sorry and she didn't mean it.
She sighed again, awkwardly patting the girl on the back. Her gaze wandered but strayed from meeting that of the Martian's. The Priestess was trying to get her gaze but right now she just couldn't. Not right now.
It took a few minutes before the Princess finally stopped, looking like the poster child for a post crying fit. A few hiccups and lines of snot that were wiped away with a clean cloth. She knew her uniform bore the same, inwardly sighing at that.
"I'm tired. I wanna go home."
"We're trying Princess," that part came out surprisingly gentle. "The Captain is testing to see if his fuel will work with the shuttle. If it does, we'll leave. Otherwise, they will take us there. It'll just be slow."
A sniffle was her answer.
Another inward sigh; she was a guard, not a babysitter. She pushed up to her feet after unbuttoning her jacket. It was hardly in uniform but the other crew left them alone and wearing it, especially after her shower, wasn't ideal. The shirt would be fine. "Here, show me the latest waltz that you learned."
It had the desired effect, the Princess forgetting all that seemingly transpired in the past five minutes. Giddily she got to her feet, attempting to mimic what it was. Badly at that, she flailed for a few moments, beginning to look helpless.
"Which one was it? Something from Neptune?"
"Yes! I … I don't know how to lead though…"
She stopped that potential eye roll. "Mm, I'll lead and you do your part alright?" Aware of Rei's eyes on her she refused to meet it still, quickly wracking her mind for whatever dance it was. Honestly she wasn't a fan of that particular planet's waltz; they tried too hard at stubley. If they wanted that, they could take a lesson from her home. A smirk followed, carefully sent away as she endured stepped on toes and attempts to trip her, but she managed to get the Princess mostly through it.
"You make it look so easy, it's not fair." This time the pout wasn't going to turn into tears.
Dances from Neptune had nothing on her homeland, feeling that familiar pang of loneliness. She should write, a visit was likely out of the question. Sinking back down on the box they were claiming as chairs, she shrugged. Dancing was not wise, feeling it flare in her leg. "It takes practice Princess, it's just as important as your studies with Luna as Rei said."
"Well… alright." The Princess paused a few moments more before looking at the Martian. "I'm sorry for being rude to you. I'm going to go lay down, I'm tired." Without further word she rose, going to the spare room that housed both Jovian and Mercurian.
For everyone's sake, they better not be doing what they were told not to.
She heaved a sigh, finally meeting the Martian's gaze. It was a conflicted mess of emotions that she was having a hard time picking out what was what. The silence lingered though, already well beyond the awkward stage. She was entranced though, enthralled and unable to break the eye contact even if she wanted to. Moths to flames, something told her she would be consumed if she wasn't careful but fuck…
"Do you often rendezvous with people?" It was so coolly delivered, phrased even as a question so there was no chance of not answering. She wanted to sigh once more and scream, maybe even cry … fuck the emotions here were stifling. It was becoming suffocating with each breath she took.
"I've been on the Moon for five years, according to their time standard. In that time, including the time spent traveling … I've never been with anyone sav- no one."
That stumble was picked up on. Latching onto it, Rei's eyes narrowed, a raging inferno caught in that night sky. "Save." It was so deadpanned, so unemotional. It lacked life.
She felt hot. "Save you." Her heart beat a rhythm that she didn't like, quick paced and erratic all at once.
"And."
She finally did sigh, her cover blown. It wasn't much of a cover really; she had confessed to herself during that early afternoon on Mars. Her hands stayed from her hair though; her calmness surprised her. "And there isn't anyone else that I would want to be with." Goddess… the rest of her prayer went unsaid and unthought of. One of the crew members stood awkwardly, holding onto a stack of papers.
Right, the technician.
"Captain says we can spare you enough so you can get back. You understand that we have to submit this for reimbursement from the Crown right?"
A nod, pulling the snot marked jacket on with barely a grimace. "Of course."
"We're all proud to have met the Princess, not to mention the Lunar one, but that doesn't pay our bills. My crew fueled your shuttle and left some supplies to get you back. We also boxed up your dead pilot." He held out a sheet of paper full of numbers. A glance told her how itemized it was, water usage to the exact, food, fuel… even the use of an empty room.
A sigh was coming on.
He held out a pen.
There went the sigh.
Accepting the document she looked it over better, trying not to frown. No one ever said that she couldn't spend funds that were not hers, but all the same no one had said that she could. From what she recalled of logistics, the price was fair; even including a discount as Ami was among their party. There was no consideration that the Princess was in board, or the rest of them, royalty in their own rights.
Mercurians were sometimes like that though. They would acknowledge but did not always agree with things the way that they were. Instead, while accommodating, this wasn't done out of good nature. This was purely business, nothing more and nothing less.
She signed her name to it without a moment more of hesitation, holding it back out. "I want a copy of that before we leave." Stated, she walked out of the conversation, letting the remaining two look at her or each other, tired of it as it was.
There was a sound of relief as the shuttle sped past the freighter, out pacing it easy as their trip back resumed. The Princess was fast asleep; they had carried her onboard.
Once again they had been denied a chance to even try to look at what Ami's password breaking had produced. Busy piloting the shuttle, there was the comforting knowledge that at least, she had gotten rest and wouldn't risk killing them. The fuel was another story; maybe that was why the lights were off.
Leaning into the piloting area she made mention of it.
"They gave exactly enough for us to get back and not a drop more. It means no amenities whatsoever; hopefully we're not on standby else we're really fucked."
It was rare for the Mercurian to curse, signifying that even she wasn't thrilled at her planet's hospitality.
"You're all so precise and exact, I think we'll be alright." Her gaze took in the controls, the ship still piloted by way of Ami's computer. Some of the gauges she knew, others were still rather foreign. The fuel one she was familiar with, seeing it hovering around almost a third of a tank by way of its markings, but it was seemingly far closer to a fourth. The moon was perhaps six or seven hours away; suddenly the thought of running out of fuel seemed to be more of a possibility. "How much fuel did the ship have when we left Terra?"
"A quarter." Eyes turned to look at her. "I checked the log, the ship left the Moon with half a tank. It's rather suspicious; I get that they wanted us to fuel there, but they were greatly assuming that we would arrive safely and without incident. If I didn't know better, I would say someone wanted to do away with us. All of us."
"No contingency plans…" Murmuring after a bit she went to brush her fingers through her bangs, fighting the urge to scream. Maybe not scream, but hit something hard. It wouldn't have done anything save wake up the Princess and draw too many questions, though she'd feel better, even if it were for just a moment. A shiver followed, noting the heat was virtually nonexistent.
"Told you, not a drop more. Could you bring me a blanket? I've got the heat set that we won't freeze to death but I can't promise that it'll be comfortable beyond that."
"Yeah, I should make sure the Princess is bundled… let me know if anything changes." With that she turned and left, mostly silent as she walked to the end of the shuttle. Makoto was out for the count, sleeping with her head leaning against one of the windows. Her gaze turned, catching sight of Rei who looked like she put up a valiant effort, but also asleep. She paused, watching her for a moment. She had been up for longer than the rest of them, treating their injuries as well as radioing for aid, even if it was in the form of an overcharging freighter.
A frown came.
Maybe it was good that the technician had interrupted. She was leaning more towards that it wasn't a good thing in any regard, save for the most professional of ones. Duty came first and she played her heart second string to it. There wasn't an issue to confessing how she felt, that despite the stigmas that Venusians carried, she just didn't sleep with everyone and anyone. Certainly not with some stuffy-shirt Lunarian. She never had an urge for one and for two, there just wasn't time to.
By Lunar standards, she had abstained since she arrived to that place. Even things that could be considered self care she couldn't engage in; the Princess had interrupted one time she was in the bath with ill notions she was hurt. Goddess help her but sometimes she got to be vocal. More so after it had been over two years at that point.
Then there was the fact there wasn't time too. Her schedule ran her ragged, thankfully easing up once she had been given authorization to travel to other planets to do a job she didn't want to do but did out of honor's sake.
She was a Venusian, that was fact. She worshipped her Goddess unquestionably and embraced all aspects of it. In her youth she experimented; how else was she supposed to know what she liked? But since she arrived she let that part go. It was only since Rei did she feel that urging need, save it was a lot more.
She loved her.
A sigh followed, collecting the blankets that had been left haphazardly across the seats from when they disembarked. Carefully she tucked the Princess in, adding another on top just to be safe. One went around the much taller Jovian, followed by another because why should they suffer unless necessary? She tucked one under her arm for Ami, the last brought around Rei.
"I wish I knew that … you asked because you did, not because of a reputation." Her voice was soft, wistful and sad all the same. Maybe when they landed; they would have to address this at some point.
Not right now though.
Bringing the blanket to Ami she returned, starting her vigil to watch over her charges. Loved or friends or endured by duty's commitments. They were hers.
"Minako."
The sound of her name drew her attention away from thoughts that she couldn't recall now. She hadn't slept, a far too busy mind would have prevented it even if she could sleep. None of them had roused, lost to a slumber she kept watch over. It gave her time to think, things of importance and yet not.
Turning she rose, rejoining Ami in the piloting area. An almost frantic look was her reward for interrupting her thoughts, though the Mercurian's voice remained calm.
"We don't have enough fuel to land. We'll make it to the Moon, but it'll be a crash."
Whimsical thoughts fled, seriousness took over. "What happened?"
"Mercurians, especially that freighter, use the standard measuring. This craft, while from the Moon, doesn't. While this should have been enough fuel to get us there, the conversion wasn't taken into effect. We'll just barely break the atmosphere. If I hadn't turned off the lights and kept the hear all but off, we wouldn't have made it that far."
"I thought you said the shuttle had left the Moon with half a tank… that a quarter would be enough."
A sigh came, a hand gesturing to the fuel gauge. It registered that it was completely full. Blinking she took another look, only to see it now read half.
"That.. that's not what it said."
"I know. It started going all over the place a few minutes before I called you. I checked with my computer to get an accurate reading; we have enough to crash land basically."
Fuck. "Sabotage?"
"I don't think so, at least not by the freighter. This was done by someone else; the freighter has absolutely nothing to gain by being responsible. Especially not since the Moon knows that we were on board."
Save that someone wanted us dead already once, if not twice, she thought. "Is the fuel corrupt? I mean, could it be?" She felt dumb for asking but this was out of her realm.
"It's not a dumb question. Fuel can go bad but it wouldn't cause this." By now the fuel gauge had registered another full tank, only to empty in seconds before filling to half way. None of the rest of the gauges seemed to mimic the actions. "It's the sensor, or something is clogged. Even with this stupid conversion issue, this is a bigger problem. I am not a mechanic but I will bet something near and dear me that the lines are clogged or the filter is. Regardless, we don't have enough for a safe landing."
The Moon grew bigger and bigger from the window, its surface serene and hiding its malevolence. "Everyone needs to brace. Radio Artemis if you can. Do your best." Her hand went to Ami's shoulder, squeezing before she left it to her hands.
She woke Rei first with a shake, saying nothing to do the same to Makoto. Once both blinked at her in confusion and muttered about how they were asleep she broke it to them. Much calmer than she felt, but they didn't need to know was her rationalization. "We're short fuel, so it will be a controlled crash landing. Ami will glide the shuttle to the best of her ability, but we know nothing of the structure of this craft. Tighten down anything that is loose and stow away our gear. I'll make sure the Princess is safe. Do try not to alarm her beyond what she'll be."
As the questions started, already with raised voices she held up a hand, halting it right away. "We'll discuss this afterwards. Ami estimated we have half an hour before we break the atmosphere and it will be just minutes until we reach the surface."
It hardly sated them but she couldn't spend time caring, watching as they finally got to work. It was time to break the inevitable, taking a deep breath before slaying that particular dragon that was the Princess.
The shuttle broke through the atmosphere in a screaming display of what happened when technology that none of them knew where it originated from simply ran out of fuel. Each of them were braced, grasping for dear life the handholds that could be found within. Thankfully everything loose had been stashed away; noting that the box that held their deceased pilot was strapped to the side with some sort of makeshift fuckery that she was rather impressed by.
She had made the Princess don that helmet that, while she admitted was ridiculous looking at times, saved her life more than once. In this case, it might just stop something from smacking her upside the head. The Princess hardly liked it but she didn't care; priorities ruled here and damn her attitude about it.
Naturally she hadn't taken the concept of a crash well but that wasn't her concern.
The shuttle shuddered, sputtering in its flight path. Within her gloves her hands tightened their hold. She hated space flight. This was one of those reasons as to why. The shuttle gave another lurch, almost as though it belched before the unnoticed until now hum of the engine choked, flickering in attempt to stay alive.
In a streak across the sky it died.
"Hold on!" From the front came Ami's voice, manually trying to get the death trap they were on to at least make it to a clearing. Trees zoomed by at speeds that made her sick, hearing the Princess' gasps turn screams. The ground was rushing in a way that made her more than question her mortality, far too clear thoughts happening as they rushed to meet the end.
"Brace yourselves!"
The shuttle clipped the top of a tree, then another. If it was by way of the wings or the underside, she really didn't want to know. She quickly turned away from the front windows; not wanting to see how it was going to end. With nothing more that could be done she was surprised to see Ami now with them. Her eyes said more than words could right now; better to die with friends than die alone. She joined with Rei and Makoto as the final person to form a semi-circle around the Princess in some last ditch defense, as the shuttle crashed into the Lunar surface with a terrifying roar.