A/N: Yea... I'm back with this story after a long hiatus.

Originally I was just gonna pick back up from where I last left off, but after re reading the entire story, I was not happy with it.

So I am gonna do a rewrite and hopefully, it will be better than my last attempt. Which follows my idea that the early moon landings resulted in the discovery of the Old Moon Kingdom and just how the U.S. would react once they learned about what happened to it. Just a silly idea that should not be taken too seriously...

As always, Sailor Moon belongs to it's rightful owners and not me. This story is just for fun and not profit, so do not sue me, I am broke.

With that out of the way, on to the story...

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[ Prologue: One Small Step... )

"That's One Small Step for a Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind"

These were the immortal words spoken by American Astronaut Niel Armstrong, as he first stepped foot upon the Lunar surface on July 24th, 1969. Thus cementing his place in history as the first man to step foot on Earth's natural Satellite.

In an event which was broadcasted live to millions around the world, both Armstrong and his companion Buzz Aldrin left the Lunar Landing Module and began to explore the seemingly barren surface of the moon. Taking samples and conducting numerous tests during their short time on the Lunar surface.

For some, Apollo Program and the Lunar Landing was a major win for the United States in not only the Space Race, but a victory over their Soviet counterparts during the Cold War. While others celebrated the event as a triumph for science and saw it as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars and the other Planets in the Solar System.

But for a select few within the highest levels of the U.S. Government, the Apollo Program was the culmination of events that began over a decade before...

In 1958, at an undisclosed location within the continental United States, an experimental radio telescope had just been completed and was in the process of being tested. Wanting to truly test the abilities of this million dollar piece of equipment, the scientists at the test site decided to aim said telescope at the moon. It was the closely celestial body to earth after all and they believed that the moon would not give them any surprises. It was just a simple test to see if the telescope could track the natural satellite.

But this simple test would uncover something unnatural. Something that would forever alter the course of both Humanity... and the American Space Program...

(The White House, Washington D.C. Several Days Later... }

"Are you sure it's coming from the moon?" Eisenhower asked his generals, as the President met with some of his military commanders. As well as several scientist who were attached to the recently established National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

"We are positive, sir." An Air Force General replied, as he handed over the files which had been created after the lunar signals were first detected.

The former Army General looked over the documents and scowled a bit. He may have been a military man, but Eisenhower was still able to understand what had been documented. "Are you sure this is not just some natural phenomenon. Maybe the Soviets have something to do with it?"

"We're positive that these signals are not natural and we have not detected any Soviet launches in the last few weeks." Thomas K. Glennan, the Administrator for NASA, replied. "The Lab Coats think it might be some kind of message or homing beacon of some kind

"Well... what is it saying?" the President asked. "Where is it even coming from?

Glennan shifted a bit before he replied, "We... don't know. But we have been able to track it back towards the moon near the Sea of Tranquility."

Their was a moment of silence as Eisenhower mulled over what he had just been told and what he had just read in the files. Obviously, the public was not to know about what had been detected. The past decade had seen a rash of "flying saucer" sightings across the nation and there were many who were still on edge over those events. There was also the dreaded "Red Scare" that seemed to grip everyone in fear, ever since the USSR launched their first satellite years earlier.

There was no telling as to just what might happen if the rest of the country found out they were detecting unknown signals from the Moon... and if America was able to detect it, then it was more than likely that the Soviets were able to as well.

The President sighed before he asked... "How soon can we get a man to the moon?"

What came next was what history remembers as the "Space Race" between the United States and the Soviet Union. With the ultimate goal of being the first to land a man/men on the moon and bringing them back home safely. But while most saw this as a matter of national prestige and pride for the rival nations, only a select few within the government knew the truth.

It was a up hill battle, with billions being spent on the development of new technologies and training the men who would be the first to land on the moon. Unfortunately, some lives would be lost in this effort. But on the seventh month of 1969, The United States accomplished this task with the establishment of Tranquillity Base.

But while the landing itself was a accomplishment in its own right, the true purpose of the first Apollo mission soon began. With pre recorded transmissions being fed to the world, both Armstrong and Aldrin left their lander and began to track the source of the still mysterious signals.

It took some time, but eventually said signal lead them to a rather deep crater and the two men went in. With their suits providing some illumination and armed only with pickaxes, the pair came upon a sight they were not expecting. For resting at the bottom of said crater, were rock formations that did not match the surrounding environment. No... Ruins... there were ruins on the lunar surface! It looked as if there was once a settlement of some kind had one existed. But it soon became clear that this settlement, was actually a city of decent size. But something bad had happened, very bad. As the seen suggested there had been some kind of battle which had taken place many centuries ago.

Just who or what made them? More importantly, just what happened?

"Mission Control, are you seeing this?" Aldrin asked in awe, as both he and Armstrong moved through the ruined city.

"Mission Control to Tranquility base, we're seeing it." The man on the other end replied, just as everyone else in the Command Center were trying their best not to lose their collective minds over the discovery.

But more was to come, as the two astronauts soon came upon the remains of what must have been a castle of some kind. It was in here that the signal had been originating from and was at it's strongest.. As the pair continued on, they could see strange symbols carved into some of the pillars. As well as the remains of statues which had been destroyed , though the remains still looked humanoid in appearance.

But eventually both Aldrin and Armstrong came upon what they believed to be the throne room and what they found there left them both speechless.

For laying on one of the fallen pillars, was a skeleton... a Human Skeleton and it was wrapped in what looked like the remains of a gown. Which suggested that who or what ever this person was, was female. Curiously enough, the skeleton had what looked like a crown resting on its head, while what looked like a scepter of ornate design rested on the dust covered floors next to the remains.

All the while, Ground Control were taking notes and recording as much video as they could with their equipment. This was absolutely huge! As up until this point, it was believed that the moon was never unable to support life, let alone show any signs that life had once existed on its surface. Now there was evidence that the moon did indeed support life in the past and was home to a entire civilization that once existed on the Lunar Surface. Not only that, the designs of the structures found, mimic that of ancient civilizations on Earth. Like the Greeks and Romans.

Just how was this even possible?

But unfortunately for the two man team and Mission control, these questions would not be answered today. The oxygen supply in the space suits were limited and the two men needed to have enough time return to their lander. But before they left, Armstrong took the "Scepter" they had found, along with photos ,as well as a few samples. Before making the long walk back towards Tranquility Base and from there, back to Earth.

In all, the mission had been a success and the source of the signals, had finally been discovered. But now there was another mystery that needed to be solved, just so many questions that needed to be answered.

Structures on the Moon? Who built them? The Moon once supported life? Who were they? Just who was that Skeleton and why was it there? Was she even human? But most worryingly of all... Just who or what was responsible for the destruction... and could/would they come back?

It would take several more manned missions to the Moon to finally solve this mystery and what was discovered, would make the complex nature of the ongoing Cold War with the USSR look trivial. Nuclear Armageddon now seemed the least of the U.S. Government's worries, when compared to what they had uncovered.

But while history records that the Apollo Program would officially end in 1972, America's mission on the moon was just begining.

In 1974, a clandestine mission codenamed "Apollo 21" was launched, with the intent to establish a permanent facility on the moon. In 1975, the first Astronauts/Lunarnauts took up residents in the new facility that was christened "Serenity Base".

In 1977, Project "Solar Warden" was created, which saw the formation of the clandestine "United States Aerospace Command". Which would fall under the authority of both the USAF and NASA. With it's headquarters based at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

In 1980"The Intrepid" , a heavily modified variant of the Space Shuttle, is delivered to the U.S.A.C. for flights to the moon and Serenity base. It would soon be followed by the "Artemis", "Constellation" and "Cosmos" in the decade to come and would become some of the first ships operated by the USAC.

New Technologies were developed and new units were created to both investigate possible incursions of this unknown threat. While teams on Serenity base began to excavate and examine the ruins they had uncovered on the moon. Which eventually lead to the discovery of not only name of the lost civilization, but the force that was responsible for it's destruction.

An entity known as... " Queen Metalia "

Even as the cold war ended and the world entered a new era, the USAC and Serenity Base continued their covert operations both on Earth and on the Moon. Investigation possible incursions by those linked to Metalia and her Dark Kingdom, while excavating the Lunar Ruins in an attempt to gain some kind of advantage.

But it would not be until 1992 when the USAC would finally be put to the test.

Reports of strange happenings within the Nation of Japan, caught the attention of the Aerospace Command. Happenings that resulted in task forces being sent to the Western Pacific nation to investigate these mysterious events.

But little did anyone within the USAC know, that this was just the begining of a new chapter for not only them, but for the entire world. Decades of planning and preparation would soon be put to the test, as it seemed Queen Metalia had returned and was threatening to do to earth, what she had done on the Moon Kingdom thousands of years before

But while the Americans were gearing up for a fight, they were would not be going in alone. As there was another group who were aware of Queen Metalia's possible return and would eventually head off to face her demonic entity head on. But who themselves where still unknown to the USAC and it's leadership.

But that was about to change, as a pair of C-17 Globemasters took off from Vandenberg and plotted a course north...