Altair system, Near Altair XI, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926) Ryo-ohki's report from her sensors was almost unbelievable to Ryoko. According to the Juraiian Navigation Database, Altair had thirteen planets and three asteroid belts. Now, it had three planets and thirteen asteroid belts. It also had a two hundred mile long cone orbiting Altair XI, a gas giant, like the five moons which it had formerly possessed, all of which were now absent without leave. A dozen strange crystalline ships surrounded the cone in a glittering cloud, though it dwarfed them. A Planet-Smasher. The Sidar had made them millenia upon millenia ago, along with a network of gates, artificial worlds, and other wonders. There was little enough of their glory left. Rumor had it that their gate network had been capable of time travel and that the Sidar had somehow destroyed themselves through that dangerous science. Others claimed that some creation of their technologies had turned on them. The BORG was sometimes blamed on the Sidar, and one common rumor was that the Planet-Smashers had been built to battle the BORG. However, there were no reports of the BORG existing more than 10,000 years ago, and the Sidar had been long dead by then. The gates were gone now, with a few exceptions like the poor pathetic world that Ryouko had once visited that was plagued by malfunctioning Sidar gates that had been spewing strange chaos- stuff across the planet. That was her theory as to their demise; they had opened a gate to the wrong place and been eaten by something that came out, then used their gates to travel around destroying them. Still, since no Sidar were likely to show up and say hello, Ryouko dismissed thoughts of the graceful fallen elder race and turned her attentions to the fleet. The ships were among the funkiest she had ever seen, although in some ways they reminded her of Ryo-ohki, although entirely inorganic. The magic meter meowed, alerting Ryouko that the ships being observed seemed to primarily power themselves through magic. Ryouko frowned. Magical things had a tendency to pull annoying abilities out of their butt and make your life miserable. Not that Ryouko was a marvel of planning and precautions, but what little planning she indulged in was easily wrecked by magic. "Okay, maybe I should have taken Celia's offer," Ryouko muttered to herself. There was a shimmering around the radio, and Linna Yamazaki, Knight of Jurai and goddess, second class, appeared, stepping out of it. "Your wish is granted." She laughed. "How's that for timing?" Ryouko shook her head. "You creep me out when you do that." "At least I don't pop up out of people's bathtubs." Ryouko looked out at the Planet-Smasher. "So what do we do about that thing? I don't suppose this qualifies for you to take off your limiter earring and blow it up?" She sounded hopeful. "Skuld gave me a bomb." She pulled out a bowling ball covered with circutry with a long fuse that looked like a braided thread. "All we have to do is make sure they don't activate the thing while we fly down its mouth and toss this thing into its main gun." Ryouko had dived behind her command chair at the word Skuld and winced at the word bomb. After poking her head out and looking at the bomb, she suddenly shrank down to about a foot tall and ran and hid inside a control panel, with only her head sticking out. In a squeaky voice, she said, "All we have to do is fly several hundred miles through a Planet-Smasher and toss an exploding bowling ball into the main gun, capable of levelling planets, then get out before we are turned into a few grains of space dust?" Linna nodded. "Call me when you finish." Ryouko pulled her tiny head in out of sight. Linna would have gotten mad, but she had done the same thing when Skuld explained the plan to her. ****************** Black Moon Rising Chapter 5: Strange Emissions By John Biles ****************** Earth, Ruins of Crystal Tokyo, SY 1532 (4524 AD, 5276 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24688, Federal Year 538) Makoto Gelbenwald pored through the equations. He had to be sure of what was going on. Astro-history was a precise science, but it was precise probabilities you derived from it, rather than certainties. It was 95% likely that no Saturn would be born in this century. Only a Saturn or a Pluto held the power to make and power a time key. Well, a Serenity could do so, but there hadn't been an awakened Serenity with the full power of the line in centuries, and she wouldn't leave traces of dark power behind, either. At least, he hoped she wouldn't. However, it was possible that something like the 'Bunny' disaster was about to begin. Makoto prayed that wasn't the case. Every so often, beings of great power appeared for no reason that Astro-history could discover. Such beings could wreck decades or centuries of work and force a complete recalculation of the equations. The Bunny had been a benevolent monarch on the planet Kalgon, who had wielded vast magical power, turning her planet into a magical utopia. Worlds had flocked to her, seceding from the dying Solar Kingdom, the feeble Juraiian Empire, Khund, and even the Federal League, all gaining vastly in magical power. This had been completely unpredicted, and it had thrown the Inner Senshi, the secret guardians of the Stingray Plan, into chaos. Some had called for moving to support her, in the hopes that the golden age of Serenity could come again under her guidance. Others argued for sticking to the plan. Then the nations around her had begun to panic as their worlds dribbled away. They declared war, but every army that crossed her borders instantly defected. Those who didn't fall under her spell were easily crushed by their fellows. She had only one problem: she was infertile and had no heir. In addition, the vast magic she wielded exerted its cost. She had lasted ten years, just long enough to plunge several of her neighbors into anarchy and to earn a place in history, then she died. The effects of her powers ceased in an instant. Buildings collapsed, people died, and her realm swiftly fell as deeply into chaos as it had climbed towards heaven before. It had taken close to a century to clean up the mess she had made of the Stingray Plan, and things still weren't entirely on track. A manifestation of Saturn could make a big mess as well. An entire world had died the last time they hadn't found Saturn before her awakening. What really worried Makoto was that Pluto hadn't shown up. Normally, she'd have at least briefly appeared and said something vague and not very helpful by now. A burst of air and a loud oof drew him away from the computer screen. It was his wife, Rita. "Bad news, Makoto. Intruders. And Dr. Anderson picked up a time distortion when they appeared." He cursed and sprung to his feet. At least this means we don't have a long search ahead of us, he thought. ************* Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Arcadia woke up back in her bed. Hotaru was sitting on the floor with Ami-chan, playing a game that resembled 'Lifepath', a popular game on her world, although the track was different and there weren't any Crystal Palaces in 'Lifepath'. She watched quietly as Ami-chan spun the spinner, and moved her little skimmer five spaces. Drawing a 'lifefluke' card, she read "Your brother is eaten by a youma. Move back three spaces," she read, moving back three spaces, and landing on 'You win a vacation to Rigel. Gain 25,000 Serenities, but lose next two turns.' "Waaah!" Ami-chan said. Hotaru looked up and smiled. "How are you feeling, Arcadia?" She sighed. "Did you have to carry me all the way back from the mountains?" Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she blushed slightly. Hotaru nodded. "Let's get you some food. I think you pretty well wore yourself out." She got up. "We'll be back soon, okay, Ami- chan?" "Okay!" Once they reached the kitchen, Arcadia said, "Neptune's not really going to try to seduce Haruka, is she? They were teasing me, right?" She hoped that was the case, although it wouldn't surprise her too much if Neptune DID intend to do so. Hotaru laughed. "Neptune is Michiru. They were teasing you." "Have I met Uranus' normal form yet?" Hotaru started digging through the cupboards, pulling out some bread, then started digging in the fridge. "They'll probably drag this out as long as they can, but Haruka is Sailor Uranus." Arcadia almost fainted again. "Haruka is WHAT? He's a guy!" "Actually, Haruka is female most of the time, but she's pretty boyish looking. Also, she can turn male if she wants to. You can only barely tell the difference unless she's in a bathing suit, though, when she does." Hotaru started making some sandwiches, pulling a handy chair over to the counter by the fridge. Arcadia leaned against the fridge. "That doesn't mean that I..." "Probably not. Most Uranuses didn't change sex, but Haruka was a guy in a past life and..." Hotaru trailed off. "It's unique to her, I think. None of the other Senshi change sex, although there was that blood transfusion disaster." Sandwich number one was done, so she moved on to number two. "Blood transfusion disaster?" "Minako would kill me if I told anyone about it." Hotaru sighed, then laughed. "I'll tell you anyway. We never did figure out where the stuff came from. Minako had to get a transfusion after we fought this weird thing that was injecting strange chemicals into people's bloodstreams. Her blood was totally messed up, and she ended up needing a transfusion, but we couldn't go to a normal doctor, since we couldn't explain what had really happened, so we went to this doctor that Tomoe-san knew, who covertly provided medical care for...well, for a variety of supernaturals. Apparently, there was a labeling error and..." "She got the wrong blood type and had a bad reaction?" What does this have to do with changing sex? "She started turning male whenever she was stressed. Such as combat, for example." Arcadia began to laugh. "A blood transfusion did this to her?" "It wore off after a while, but Minako was SERIOUSLY freaked out until it stopped." "I would be too." Hotaru finished the second sandwich and Arcadia began snarfing it down. "Pluto and the others are conferring with the Queen right now, but once they finish, I think Uranus wants to start training you." "I dunno if I'm going to be here long enough to really get much training." Arcadia frowned. I want to go home. Part of her was fretting that this was all part of some elaborate trap. Or a dream she was having as she died. "Haruka isn't likely to take no for an answer. More importantly, it'll help you defend yourself when you return to your own time. If the Black Moon Cult is after you then, you'll need this power to help take care of yourself." She finished making a third sandwich, as Arcadia began scarfing down the second. "Shouldn't Pluto junior be back by now?" Hotaru frowned. "Yes." She paused. "Something big is going to happen, Arcadia. I don't know what, but this only happens when..." She trailed off and stared at the knife in her hand, which was covered with mustard, as if it somehow spelled out secrets of the universe. "When what?" "Pluto vanishing is never a good sign. Want another sandwich?" Arcadia ate it, but the edge was gone from her appetite, more from the new worries than the food. ****************** Gabrielle was sweating inside her robes. If I get home alive, I'll never make fun of the Church of Serenity again, she thought. She had been sent by Jade to plant a droid inside the huge statue of Serenity in the main temple of the Church. Things had begun to go downhill from the moment she had stepped in the doors. She had thought that being disguised as a High Initiate would make it easy to get to the statue. Unfortunately, a horde of people had pressed in on her asking for blessings and guidance the instant she stepped inside. Then to make it worse, a grand initiate had arrived and roped her into assisting in a worship ceremony, along with several other high intitiates. Now she was stumbling through the rite with thousands upon thousands of people watching her, or so it seemed. She could almost feel the droid in her pocket. To make matters worse, the sun seemed to have been turned up to a higher volume today, and as it shone down through a high window, she felt like she was going to melt in her robes. The light was not just hot, it felt like it was watching her. Several times, she almost saw a figure in the sunlight, a being of some kind, staring at her. And it wasn't happy. I must be hallucinating due to nerves, she thought. Yeah, that has to be it. Her lips spoke the words of the rite, and then the grand initiate began sermonizing. She was too busy being nervous to notice much of what he was saying. She ran through the rite in her mind. During one part, she and the other two high initiates would kneel before the statue. That would be her chance to act. \It won't work\, a tiny voice said in her head. It wasn't her voice. It sounded female. Only an effort of will restrained her from looking around. I'm so nervous, I'm starting to imagine voices, she thought. \I'm as real as you. Maybe more real if you listen to certain philosophers\, the voice replied. It was louder now. This time she did glance around. No one else could hear it. The voice laughed the tiniest bit, then said, \Look into the light.\ She looked up and could see the figure more clearly. A woman floated in the light with feathery white wings that matched her white hair. She was wearing some sort of clothing, although it was tight and hard to distinguish from her skin due to the back glare. It was hard to judge her height, but she couldn't have been more than three foot at most. Gabrielle glanced around, but no one seemed to notice her. \Only you can hear me.\ I'm going nuts, she thought. \This is your warning. If you continue down the road you are walking, you will doom yourself.\ The figure began to fade. Who ARE you? Doom myself how? What if I'm not hallucinating? Gabrielle stared at the figure. It matched none of the Senshi known to her, or any of their servants. The woman smiled. \The Grand Initiate is quite a cute fellow.\ She laughed slightly and lightly knuckled her forehead which held a symbol of some kind, though it was too shadowed to see clearly. She began to fly towards the huge monitor embedded in the wall across the vaulted chamber from her. It was showing the events of the ceremony for those in the back who couldn't see the front clearly. \As to who I am...I suggest reading the book of Serenity a little more carefully, oh 'High Initiate'\ Her mental voice was a little sarcastic in that last sentence. She plunged into the monitor and vanished. Gabrielle had another twenty minutes to make her decision, and it wasn't easy. She never did find out that the being talking to her had only originally come simply to gaze upon the cute Grand Initiate. Bad luck had always been her specialty. ****************** Solar System, Library of the Zodiac, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Astra sat quietly and paged through the ancient scroll. She looked quite studious, but actually she was reading an old Greek comedy and concluding it was definitely a case of 'you had to be there'. After a while, she sensed someone was staring at her. "Hello?" The young apprentice, a blonde boy who she thought might be Cancer Istarii, but she wasn't sure, said, "Scorpio sent me to find you." She got up. "Lead on." The boy took her to Scorpio's chambers. Scorpio was short with dark black hair and a sneaky look on his face. "Bad news, Astra." "What is the news?" She sat down on one of the chairs, made of hard wood. Scorpio's quarters were spartan, with only a few hard wood chairs, a table, and a simple bed. "There's a huge asteroid infested with byakhee that just passed Pluto and is on the way right towards where this place is going to be by the time the asteroid makes it to our orbit. And one of the Great Old Ones is also on its way into the system." He sighed. "I told you we need to find where the Black Moon Cult hides and wipe them out." Astra frowned. "Contact the Senshi. We'll deal with the asteroid and let them deal with the Great Old One. How big is this asteroid?" "About half the size of the moon." "Which moon?" "THE Moon." ************* Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Watching Haruka transform was intensely uncomfortable for Arcadia, even though she knew Haruka was female. The thought of changing sex was just...creepy. Her own transformation was a rush. You could get hooked on this feeling, she thought. It wasn't quite better than sex, but it came close. They had gone out in the countryside again, up in the mountains, in a small rocky valley. "So now what?" Arcadia asked. "You learn your first attack, then I beat the hell out of you to see how much you have to learn," Haruka said. She grinned. "Just focus on the direction you want it to go and shout, "EARTH SHAKING!" Arcadia focused her mind and looked down the slope at some rocks. "EARTH SHAKING!" Energy crackled. A tiny bit of it came from her, but she could tell most of it was coming from somewhere else. Where that was, she wasn't sure. A huge yellow sphere fired from her hands, striking the ground repeatedly, and finally hitting the rocks, blowing them to bits. "Wow!" "A good start. The hard part is learning control. Let's see you aim past THOSE rocks," she pointed at them, "and hit the ones beyond them." Eight efforts didn't succeed once, but she did manage to blow up a LOT of rocks. They sparred next, a blur of attacks and counter attacks, that felt like hours to Arcadia, but actually lasted about five minutes. In the first four, Haruka felt out her strengths, then in the last minute, she kicked Arcadia's butt. She had Arcadia pinned upside down against a tree when she was finished. "You're good," Arcadia said, "Would it be bad for me to pass out now?" Haruka put her down. "You've got a lot to learn." I just want to get home, she thought. Still, this could come in useful. "I'm not hungry like the other times." "Most of the power you use isn't coming from yourself. We Sailors all draw power from outside sources, planets and stars and whatnot. Mercury calls it the 'Silver Force', and the Silver Crystal is sort of its...umm...connected to it." Haruka shrugged. "I don't get into metaphysics much. Ready for another beating?" "I guess so." Haruka's communicator began to beep. The conversation that followed was terse and made Haruka look very displeased. Finally, she turned to Arcadia and said, "We have to go back to the Palace. I gotta go to space and kick some butt." "Okay. Khunds raiding or something?" "We have to go help the fleet clear out an asteroid full of Byakhees and maybe fight something called a Great Old One." They headed for their skimmer. "A what?" Haruka shrugged. "We'll kick butt and take names. We always do." ********************* Nemesis, Royal Palace, DY (Demand Year 305) Demand smiled. Everything was going according to plan. "Esmaurade!" She walked over from where she had been busy gossiping with some other nobles. "Yes?" "The time has come. Let the fleet be prepared. The invasion of Crystal Tokyo is about to begin." He smiled. We will break you, Endymion. And then...Serenity will be mine, as she was meant to be from the beginning. The prophecy will be fulfilled. ********** Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Having completed their missions, the four Black Moon agents went out to eat dinner. The Red Cafe was a little bit oppressively red, but the food was good, although a bit spicey. Uriel said, "Well, I just walked into the market, planted mine, and got out. How about you, Gabrielle?" Gabrielle was staring off into space, looking disturbed, and didn't answer. "Did something go wrong?" Raphaelle asked. "I didn't have any trouble hiding mine in the war memorial." "I got stuck attending a church service," Gabrielle said quietly. "Did anyone try to channel Serenity?" Michael asked, laughing. Everyone laughed except Gabrielle. The waitress, a cute blonde woman, came over and asked, "Can I get you guys anything else?" "Some donuts," Michael said. "Kinda hard to get on Nemesis, eh?" the waitress asked. He nodded. "Yeah. Earth whiskey sucks, though, in comparison to..." I really need to learn when to shut up, he thought. The others turned and stared at the waitress, who suddenly transformed into Sailor Venus. Two of the patrons in the next booth suddenly became Mars and Mercury. Four more patrons suddenly put on Troubleshooter badges and stood up. "Do we do this the easy way or the hard way, ladies and germs?" Sailor Venus asked. Uriel tensed, as did the others. Gabrielle said quietly, "I surrender." Michael boggled. Raphaelle sighed. "Well, if she won't fight, we REALLY don't have a chance. I surrender too." "Hey, we swore oaths of defiance!" Uriel said. Gabrielle sighed. "I never promised to commit suicide." Michael sighed. "Right." He tried to teleport away and nothing happened. Mercury grinned. "Teleport dampeners. We came prepared." Now I know why Gabrielle didn't just run, Michael thought. "Okay, we surrender." "HEY!" Uriel said. "Maybe we can escape later," he whispered. "And if we're lucky, the city will fall soon anyway." Uriel nodded. "Just don't put me in a cell with Michael. He snores." "HEY!" ************** Altair system, Near Altair XI, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926) Slowly, Ryo-ohki crept towards the Planet-Smasher. Ryo-ohki was in stealth mode, which bent light around the ship so that it vanished against the background of the stars. The flaw with this was that it also blocked Ryo-ohki's visual sensors, but otherwise, they knew they would have the fight of the century on their hands. Ryouko was terrified, but determined not to show it. No one would notice the way her hands were constantly clenching and smashing small objects, she told herself as she broke a pencil into 2 millimeter segments. "Uh oh", Linna said. "WHAT?" Ryouko said, teleporting over and looking at the 'Radar' screen. It showed fifty blips entering the system. "Looks like a Khund fleet coming to pick up their new toy. The crystal fleet is moving back from the Planet-Smasher except for one ship." "Maybe we can take control of the Planet-Smasher and blast them all." Ryouko said, trying to think of a clever plan. Linna sighed. "Do you know how a Planet-Smasher works?" "Surely they wouldn't sell it if they knew how it works," Ryouko said. A beam of pure energy fired from the mouth of the cannon, obliterating the Khund Fleet. The Planet-Smasher began to drift towards the wreckage. "Hmm. Either it's hungry, or they decided to cheat the Khunds. Much as the idea of the Khunds not getting a Planet-Smasher makes me happy..." Ryoko sighed, then said, "Aha! That's how we can get inside it. We can drift in with the wreckage. It won't fire again for fear of hurting its food!" Linna gulped. Well, it was a plan...but a dangerous one. Better than the one she had been thinking of. ************* Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Arcadia was bored. Everyone was busy coordinating responses to something they wouldn?t tell her about, and she couldn?t find Usagi or Rei anywhere to just hang out with someone. She didn?t want to wander around the town by herself, either. So instead, she was playing her 1000th or so game of Lifepath with Ami-chan and Small Lady, who loved it to death. Ami-chan rolled a five and landed on ?You become a beloved Idol singer. Gain 23,000 Serenities.? ?Woo! Your turn, Arcadia-oneechan.? Arcadia spun the dial and got an eleven. ?Your wife leaves you to become the Celestial Madonna and marries a plant. Go back four spaces. I don?t HAVE a wife!? ?I guess your husband leaves you and marries a plant,? Small Lady said. ?What?s a Madonna?? ?Some sort of legendary monster that killed people with music, I think,? Ami-chan said. Arcadia had no clue. ?Do your parents get this busy a lot?? she asked. ?Nope,? Small Lady said. ?Mom usually has lots of time to play with me.? She sighed. ?I hope everyone?s gonna be okay.? ?They?ll be fine,? Ami-chan said. ?Aunt Plano and Uranus and Saturn and Neptune can beat anything! I bet they could even beat Mom if they tried really hard.? The two kids never did quite figure out why Arcadia had a laughing fit for the next fifteen minutes. **************** In the orbit of Saturn, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Uranus sat in the observation deck of the CMS Rajputana and yawned. ?We could have just teleported out here, you know.? Pluto frowned. ?Without the fleet, this would take far too long with just the four of us. Also, we didn?t know exactly where the asteroid is to teleport to it. Nor would teleporting directly into the heart of the asteroid have been very safe.? She stared off into space. Rarely had Uranus ever seen her so tense. She?s expecting something to happen, Uranus realized. Something bad. She glanced over at Neptune, who was gazing into the space mirror. ?See anything interesting?? ?I?ve found the asteroid. It?s heading for Titan.? Uranus frowned. There was a new colony on Titan, but it was still pretty fragile. ?Can we intercept it in time?? ?We will.? Pluto said, then glanced at Saturn. Saturn said, ?Hmmm?? ?When we reach the asteroid, the fleet will draw their main fire while we penetrate the asteroid to kill the Queen. They?ll turn on each other after she dies. They?re not very bright, but they are strong. We must cover Saturn so that she can deal with the Queen. Understood?? Everyone nodded. ?How are we going to find the Queen?? Saturn asked. ?She?ll find us,? Pluto said. A crewman walked in, bowed and said, ?We?ve recieved a message from the Zodiac. They?ve engaged the being, whatever it is, in the vicinity of Uranus. It has proven to be more powerful than anticipated, but they believe it should be easily dealt with.? ********************** In the orbit of Jupiter, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) It wasn?t every day that the Zodiac was getting its butt kicked. It had been years since the last time they had all been called out for a threat, and it showed. The problem wasn?t being out of practice; it was that they were acting like the bad guys in a Kung Fu movie, attacking the monstrosity one at a time. They had no idea what its name was, although Leo had dubbed it, ?The Evil Jello Monster.? It looked like a huge mass of amorphous jelly about a quarter mile across, constantly bubbling and forming eyes, mouths, tentacles, noses, ears, tentacles, teeth, polka dots, pimples, hairballs, fur, scales, tentacles, swords, wombats, arms, and very small rocks. And then sometimes, just tentacles. Most of those seemed to be dedicated to doing the wave, or whatever the heck it was doing, as its ?arms? waved about in the background of the battle in an elaborate pattern. Astra shouted orders to her warriors, but kept an eye on the pattern. It looked familiar, but she wasn?t certain what it was. The void isn?t supposed to carry sound, but the blasts of energy of the Zodiac made noises anyway, for the power of the stars is most at home in space. It had a certain rythym to it, zap, thunk, zap, boom, zap, zap, thunk. It was almost a dance, blow and counter blow, advance and retreat. Of course, normally your dancing partner wasn't a soul sucking monstrosity. What really worried Astra, however, was that the stars had given no warning. The Old Ones also drew upon the power of the stars, and the stars extracted a heavy cost. When the stars were right, they were nigh invincible, but when the stars were wrong, they grew weak. But in all cases, the stars could be read to know this. This Old One was unknown to the Zodiac, unknown apparently to the stars and Astra didn't like that. In some ways, the being reminded her of Ubbo-Sathala, but he remained locked away in his caverns deep beneath the Earth's surface, breeding his spawn and feeding on them in turn. He drifted ever onward, ignoring them except when attacked, then retaliating savagely, but soon losing interest. If he had not been heading directly for the Zodiac's Great Library, and adjusting course to match its movements, she might have just observed it for a while, but it could not be allowed to reach the Great Library. And yet...perhaps this is a mistake, she thought. We can't be sure it's not hostile, but it won't or can't communicate and... The Gemini twins went flying from a tentacular flick that hurled them towards Mars at hundreds of miles an hour. They soon recovered and charged in again, only to get tossed into Taurus. Enough worries. I must take firmer charge. "Everyone fall back! We must make a proper plan." As soon as I think of one. ********** In the orbit of Saturn, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Byakhee died by the hundreds as the Outer Senshi plowed through the depths of the asteroid. It was vast, and Uranus thought they could easily wander around it forever, given it was larger than some of the other moons in the Solar System. Why this thing wasn't causing all the planets to get pulled out of their orbits was beyond her, but she'd never cared about physics anyway. Battle was more her style, and she was enjoying herself. It had been years since she could totally cut loose. "You want some? Come and GET IT!" she shouted, hurling a burst of yellow energy at an oncoming wall of the giant insectoids, who exploded. Saturn felt a burst of power down a side tunnel. A burst of her power. A burst of Saturn power. Except that was imposible. "What the..." For a moment, she saw a figure down the tunnel. A woman carrying a glaive. Her glaive. Her costume. Her power. She knew the face that body wore. Mistress Nine. "You're DEAD!" she shouted. I must be imagining things, she thought. What would Mistress Nine be doing in the middle of an asteroid full of Byakhee, anyway? And she's DEAD! I destroyed her. The laughter mocked her. Images flitted before her eyes, her body a puppet with Mistress Nine pulling the strings, her father possessed, her friends battered down at her own hands. Once those images would have shamed and paralyzed her, but she had long ago faced those demons down. Now it did only one thing. It made her mad. She screamed and charged through the Byakhee filling the hallway. Black ribbons of death trailed from her glaive as she raised it high. Every Byakhee they touched evaporated, crumbling to dust in instants. Uranus shouted, "What the HELL are you doing?" and ran after her. Neptune turned and Pluto said, "The first hinge is upon us." Neptune shook her head. She didn't want to know, and Pluto wouldn't tell anyway. She ran after Uranus while Pluto held the intersection to guard their backs. Mistress Nine laughed and fled. The others could see her now, though only just barely through the storm of energy trailing from Saturn's glaive. Uranus frowned. "She looks familiar." "That's Mistress Nine!" Neptune said. "How can you forget?" "It was a thousand years ago. Even our great triumphs fade after a thousand years." She sighed, then perked back up. "Which is why we get to make new ones." She winked. Luckily, Uranus enjoyed running, because they chased Mistress Nine for a quarter mile, right into a huge cavern with a high arching natural roof, studded with crystals and stalagmites and glowing with a deep purple glow. Mistress Nine stood in the middle. The whole place made Uranus uncomfortable, especially the way the entrance had felt like she had stepped through a membrane. Mistress Nine was holding up some kind of key in her hands. Uranus looked back, and just as Pluto stepped forward to enter the cavern with them, the entrance vanished, leaving only a stone wall. "Shit." Saturn screamed, "This time, you're going to STAY DEAD!" She charged forward and swung down her glaive with every ounce of power she possessed. "DIE!" Mistress Nine blocked the blow with the key, which stopped the Glaive as if the blade was a plastic toy. "You cannot stop the Saturn Power with the Saturn Power. Power of Saturn, heed my call! Come to me and be free of the one who has chained you! COME TO ME AND FULFILL YOUR MISSION!" For a moment, the room fell silent. Then Saturn screamed and fell to her knees, clenching her fists. Uranus and Neptune charged forward, only to find themselves pushed back by a growing storm of energy, black and white ribbons whirling about Saturn. The black ribbons began to flow into the key. Uranus tried to blast Mistress Nine with a focused beam of her power through the storm and succeeded. Mistress Nine shattered like glass, and a hooded figure clutching an orb in one hand and the key in the other appeared admidst the wreckage, grinning. "I was getting tired of that cheesy disguise, anyway." He was growing taller as more power flowed into the key. Slowly, the storm around Saturn became more a white storm as the darkness flowed into the key, but also became larger. Her costume lightened, becoming a series of progressively lighter shades of purple. Neptune tried to contact Pluto with the Space Mirror and failed. "Uranus, we have to attack him together." Uranus took Neptune's hand and said, "Who the FUCK are you?" "I am the Wiseman. Your power is nothing." He gestured with the orb in his hand, and dark power flowed from the key into it. A wave of darkness hurtled towards Neptune and Uranus. "ROYAL EARTH ONSLAUGHT!" Uranus shouted. "IMPERIAL TSUNAMI!" Neptune shouted. Yellow and blue-green blended into a onrushing wave that shattered the blast of darkness into a million shards, but those shards reformed into a sphere. Uranus and Neptune were unharmed, but as they watched, time outside the sphere seemed to speed up. By the time they reached its edge, the Wiseman had left, and Saturn was prostrate surrounded by shining light, light that destroyed the black sphere. Uranus tried to run over to Saturn. With every step she felt more healthy, more alive. At first it felt good, as the pains of battle felt away, but then it began to burn. Too much energy was running through her. Her body felt like she was on fire, and every step was an agony. She would have kept going, but Neptune braved the pain to pull her back. "We can't reach her, Uranus." "Dammit, we can't abandon her!" The light was crumbling the cavern walls. The tunnel broke open, finally letting Pluto in. "Her power will return in time. The only question is whether it will return fast enough to save her life." "Don't you know?" Neptune asked. Pluto sighed. "We stand upon the final cusp, the hinge upon which this age turns. There are a million possibilities for how this will all end. The final uncertainty of my life. The last task along the path I began to walk long ago." It was rare that Pluto sounded nervous, but she did now. "I know what should happen, but not what will, or even what is most likely. You must find him and force him to spend his power. As he uses the dark side of the Saturn force, it will return to her, for he is but a usurper, and the key is but a tool, though how Saturn Power got into it in the first place...I do not know." "Aren't you coming with us?" Neptune asked Pluto. "I must guard the gate of time and prepare for what is about to happen, and you must take the war to him, for soon, he and his people shall take the war to us." "What about Saturn?" Uranus demanded. "We can do nothing. Her power will destroy this place utterly, given enough time, and no Byakhee can live long enough to reach her. I will contact Serenity and the Fleet. She will not be left alone, though soon even Serenity and the Crystal will be unable to pierce her light for long, for good or ill." Pluto turned and stared at Saturn, and a single tear ran down her face. "I'm sorry, Hotaru," she whispered, then turned to Uranus and Neptune and gave them their marching orders. ********** Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) The interrogation of the four captured Black Moon Cultists was in progress. They had already grilled Raphaelle and Uriel. Michael was on the spot now. Sailor Venus was conducting the interrogation while some dark haired guy that Michael didn't recognize from what little knowlege he had of the Sailors sat nearby in a troubleshooter uniform. Mars was looming menacingly, tossing little balls of fire back and forth between her hands and making tiny firebirds that kept flying around the room. He was pretty sure the others were likely going through all the stuff they had in their chambers. "So, what was your mission here?" "To scout and later to plant some droid gems in various locations." Michael planned to tell the truth as much as he could without giving away too much. Hopefully, that way he could hide or obfuscate the most important things without making it too obvious. Venus glanced over at the man, who nodded. She continued with, "And where did you plant them?" Michael told them the ones that he had planted himself, and a few of the others, hoping that would satisfy them. Venus looked over at the man, who nodded again. He smiled a little. I guess he can tell if I lie, but not if I just omit some of the truth. "How many of you are there? Are there more agents that you're aware of?" "Just the four of us. I suppose Wiseman might be lurking somewhere, and maybe Jade. The only other ones just came, made their raid, and left, as far as I know." Another nod from the man. Venus perked up a little. "What is your group's interest in Arcadia N'goya?" Michael shrugged. "I have no clue. Gabrielle claimed she had something to do with a time key. Where she would have gotten such a thing...I dunno. So what are you going to do with us?" "Lock you up until we can have a proper trial. You'll probably end up on Demos for the duration of your sentence, experiencing the joys of boredom. Likely for decades, possibly for life." She leaned forward across the table a little. "Cooperating with us will get you a lesser sentence. You're already likely facing a fifty year sentence, assuming we don't find any deaths connected to your activities, which could easily get you life. And given the level of our health care, that could be a looooong time." "What, you're not going to kill me? Even though I'm a spy?" The man who had been watching silently finally broke his silence. "You'll die eventually anyway. Of course, we could give you to Uranus and Neptune for target practice if that's what you REALLY want." Michael didn't really want to think about that. ********** Altair system, Near Altair XI, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926) This is completely insane, Ryoko thought as she and Linna drifted deeper into the Planet-Smasher inside Ryo-ohki. A strong tractor beam was drawing the other fragments of twisted metal and plastics that had once been a Khund fleet towards a bunch of huge ports around the main gun, which was thousands of feet across and easily visible by the energy surges that flickered from it constantly. The Planet-Smasher was huge, although Ryoko was pretty sure that her fear of it was even bigger than its body. "It looks like we have about a half hour before we reach its maw," Ryoko said, consulting Ryo-ohki's instruments. "Who's gonna do the honors with the ball?" "You'd better. I can't teleport without a radio." "That thing DOES have a time-delay, right? Or how do we get out of this thing without blowing to bits?" "You toss the bomb, which has a pretty short fuse. Meanwhile Ryo-ohki turns into cabbit form so we can carry her. You come back, I activate my subspace radio, then I teleport us all out of here with my powers." Ryoko frowned. "We'll have enough time for that? Also, I'm not sure Ryo-ohki can survive in vaccum in cabbit form." "Time it right and she'll be fine. I can protect her enough, I think." Ryo-ohki mewed nervously. "Don't worry. Skuld and I worked out everything." This was not the best way to reassure Ryoko. ************* In the orbit of Jupiter, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Astra watched the creature, frowning. Now that the Zodiac was acting in unison rather than running off in seven different directions at once, things were going better. They had forced the creature to halt its advance, binding it with strands of the Star Power. Unfortunately, they had no idea what to do with it now that they had trapped it. They couldn't stay out here forever. More importantly, the creature was shrinking in on itself, and growing denser. Possibly, it intended to try to use itself as a battering ram if it could find a weak point. The Old One was forming into a miniature version of the twelve vertexed shape that bound it. It continued to wave little tendrils in the patterns with which it had occupied itself all this time. The stars shimmered for a moment, their colors changing, then reverted to normal. Astra could sense they had lost an hour during that shimmer in an instant. Now she knew what it was doing. Not again, she thought. Bad enough I had this stunt pulled on me once. "Everyone! PULL BACK! Back to IO!" The White Knight blinked. "Why are we leaving, Astra?" "Remember what happened with the Sun-Eater?" "RETREAT!" he bellowed. This time, they had warning. This time there was no danger of being sucked into the thing as it condensed down into a black hole, then winked out as space folded in around it too much and snuffed it. However, the time dilation was enough to put them out of commission for what was weeks in the world outside the effect. Astra was quite certain that was exactly what the faux Old One's creator had wanted. ************ The region of space near the burnt out cinder formerly known as Nemesis, SY 1532 (4524 AD, 5276 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24688, Federal Year 538) Despite multiple beatings, the junior Pluto almost laughed at the collection of metals, gems, creatures, petty artifacts, lead, and very small trees that her captor had collected following her instructions. Of course, with my luck, this is actually some evil ritual Setsuna told me long ago to make sure no one ever performed, she thought. "You actually found an ABANDONED clan forge in this century?" That actually impressed her a little. Dwarves rarely abandoned their clan forges. "It wasn't easy." Dark Saturn shrugged. "I had to steal the yak milk from a museum. So, what's the first step?" "Fuel the forge with the rowanwood. You're gonna need a LOT more rowanwood." "How much more?" Pluto thought a moment. "Enough to keep the forge burning for two weeks, fairly continuously." "Time to go do a little deforestation. I'd tell you not to go anywhere, but...without your staff, you're not going anywhere." She gestured and dark energies flowed into a sword that was among the stream of objects floating in space. It reformed into a metallic humanoid. "Blackrazor. Keep an eye on her. If she tries anything...take just a small chunk of her soul." Blackrazor nodded. Dark Saturn vanished. He perched up on the forge and started staring at her. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in playing poker to pass the time?" the junior Pluto asked. He simply stared at her with his solid black eyes. "So you prefer bridge?" She pointed. "There's an actual deck of cards there, you know. We might as well use it." Movement among the wreckage caught her eye. The junior Pluto smiled. "How about Go Fish?" She kept talking, hoping that rescue was on the way instead of more trouble. ********** Altair system, Near Altair XI, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926) Sweat ran down Linna's brow. What was taking Ryoko so long? It wasn't that hard to fly over and toss the bomb into the main gun then teleport back, right? The radio crackled to life. "You there, Linna?" It was Skuld. "Yeah, I'm here. What's up?" "Umm...you know that bomb I gave you?" It took most of Linna's self-control to keep from teleporting through the radio to Skuld and smacking her on general principles, as she had a VERY good idea what was coming next. "Let me guess. You gave me the Evillizer Mark V by mistake? It actually conjures ice cream? All it does is soften hands while you do dishes?" "No, no, the bomb is just fine. However, I was doublechecking my calculations, and I realized that when the bomb goes off, it's going to scramble all radio transmissions in about a five thousand mile radius." Linna banged her head on the wall, which made Ryo-ohki mew. "Which kinda buggers our escape route. AFTER Ryoko has gone out and I can't tell her to stop." "But I've got a backup plan!" "You'd better make it quick." "Brew some hot water and I'll come and take you all away." Linna thought about it for a second and nodded. "Right." It should work. "Ryo-ohki. Earl Grey Tea. Hot." She grinned. Ryo-ohki mewed. Linna laughed. "Just tea, then." A little door opened in the wall, holding a cup of hot tea. Linna put it on the floor. "Okay, Skuld." Skuld popped out of it. She had a tea leaf on her head now, but she didn't notice. Linna laughed a little. "Okay, I'm ready when you're ready." Ryoko popped into the room. "Bomb goes off in about twenty seconds." She saw Skuld and her eyes widened. "When did you get here?" "No time to explain." Skuld's plan went off without a hitch, except for the ending. Ryoko requested they be taken to Tenchi, so they were. The two goddesses and Ryoko popped up in the middle of Tenchi's imperial bathtub on his flagship, the Star of Jurai. While Tenchi was taking a bath of course. Tenchi stared mindlessly. Linna stared back mindlessly, then turned away. Skuld blushed horrendously and spun around to Ryoko. "YOU PLANNED THIS!" "Did not." She was lying, of course. *********** Jurai, Royal Palace, Juraiian Year 23224 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, SY 68, Federal Year -926) Celia smiled at Lord Rodrigo of House Flaem. He was only the fourth son of Duke Cordego of House Flaem, but she knew he was his father's favorite son, and that his father was seeking an appropriate marriage for him to help him gain the position and prestige they both felt he deserved. She was also quite certain that Rodrigo was involved in House Flaem's treasonous correspondence with the Khunds, although she couldn't prove it. However, she was being quite polite, as he had requested a private audience, so they were lunching together in the Imperial Gardens. They sat at a nice table carved from a single block of lylyandri, a blue tree that grew hundreds of feet tall and often two dozen or more feet across in width. Protected by Imperial Writ, only those of the five highest grades of the nobility could own such furniture, and only the Imperial Family owned the actual trees. The award of lylyandri furniture was a coveted award. Indeed, only the ten highest grades could actually dine upon it, even if invited to do so by the Emperor himself. Today, Celia was dressed in highly formal garb, rather than the more utilitarian outfits she wore when doing data analysis and other spymaster work. With the help of her daughter, she had spent an hour carefully arranging her hair in something that could pass for the Imperial hairstyle, which she hated, and could only mimic with the help of a wig, but which was part of the formal etiquette. Enough layers of cloth to clothe the population of some small towns covered her body in bright colors, and her fingernails were carefully painted with the symbols of the Imperial House. Celia felt like a china doll, but she had long ago steeled herself to the etiquette of the court. The only aspect of being Empress one day that she wasn't looking forward to was that it would entail spending more time like this, and less squirreled away doing the truly important work. However, while Celia had not been born to an Imperial house, she was far better prepared and disciplined as it required than many members of the Imperial House of Jurai. She looked over at Lord Rodrigo, a tall man with elaborately curled black hair, who was similarly gotten up in many layers of clothing in a style that reminded her of her homeworld and her youth, the traditional garb of Japan. His 'kabi', as it was called here, was a deep blue with small red flames upon it, the symbol of his house, the 'flame imperishable'. Many houses considered House Flaem to be quite arrogant for taking that religious symbol as their own, for the 'flame imperishable' was the fire of creation, said to have been weilded in the creation of the Universe. House Flaem never seemed to mind being called arrogant, probably because they were. "I understand that Lady Tana of House Yuro seems quite smitten with you, Lord Rodrigo. Is she one of the ladies you are courting?" Celia smiled. Lady Tana was six ranks below Rodrigo, and the odds of them ever being allowed to marry by his father was roughly the same as those of a snowball surviving in Hell. However, they had been having an affair for over a year now, which they both believed to be secret. Sadly, her ladyservants were not paid well, and had been quite easy to bribe. Lord Rodrigo stared at Celia in shock, dropping some of his food right out of his mouth and into his lap, then becoming hideously embarrassed by what he had just done. He babbled incoherently and tried to inconspicuously remove the food, which wasn't very possible. Celia ignored the error, as was the polite thing to do. Gesturing to a servant lurking nearby, she said, "My daughter saw the two of you at Dirigar III while she was enjoying the waters there." Dirigar III was a minor resort planet, usually not frequented by the nobility, however it had several excellent hot springs and ski resorts which sometimes did get noble visitors. "Noriko informs me that you won the 'Ice Prince and Princess' skiing competion as well. She was quite disappointed, but pleased to see that a noble lord such as yourself was the victor." Celia kept her tone light and cheery, as if this was all just petty gossip. The servant helped Lord Rodrigo clean up his mess, then departed silently. Lord Rodrigo took a moment to eat some honey bread, then said, "I...do not recall encountering her there," he said, seeming at a loss for words. "Well, she was elimated in the first round. She would have come and said hello, but she was afraid of seeming syncophantic. I understand quite a mob of ladies were surrounding you. A hazard of winning." Celia ate some of her honeybread as well. "Galia makes quite good honey bread," she observed. "Yes." He said, clearly relieved by the topic switch. "I can tell that they used Izquierdian honey, with a hint of salfro and perhaps..." He took another bite. "Yes, just a tiny bit of gilfron and a very light white wine. The wine is too faint for me to be sure of the vintage, but I think it's a Calorian White. I couldn't even begin to guess the decade, let alone the year, however. They probably didn't use more than a few drops." He took another bite. "Clearly Juraiian wheat. You can tell from the texture." If only his brain could be harnessed for some useful purpose, Celia thought. Such a feat was beyond her, despite centuries spent trying to pick up the knack. Her senses simply weren't acute enough, while most Juraiian nobles were quite sensitive to fluctuations of taste and smell. She had to cheat and use the assistance of mechanical means and databases to accomplish the sort of feat that many Juraiian nobles could do in their sleep by age 30. "Yes, I believe this recipie is Lady Tana's favorite. I took the liberty of having an extra batch made up for you to take to her when you meet tonight." Celia wasn't 100% certain that they planned to meet tonight, but the fact that they had both arrived within two hours of each other, and that Tana was not noted for travelling on her own, yet had arrived by herself, had convinced Celia that they likely planned to rendevous while their parents were off at the war front. The look of shock on Rodrigo's face finished the job of convincing her. "I...we...uh..." He was babbling again, and dropping crumbs all over himself. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I am the very soul of discretion," Celia said. "I know how difficult such an affair can be, especially when one's parents find out. Or other potential wives. I can just hear Lady Arrakis running up and down the Great Hall of Visitors screaming at everyone as I sit here." Rodrigo gulped. Lady Arrakis was the heir to a Duchy, and Celia was quite certain she would make a good Duchess, but she was also quite certain that being married to Lady Arrakis would make a good punishment for most crimes as well. She was incredibly snobbish about rank, and quite jealous to the point that she had driven off four previous suitors who couldn't handle having to sever all contact with anything even vaguely female but her. Given the recent meetings between her father and Duke Flaem, it seemed likely that she was Rodrigo's father's first pick for a wife for his son. "That would be...bad." "So what did you wish to speak to me about, Lord Rodrigo? I've been wasting your time with this idle gossip, but you are such good company to gossip with." Now that he was off balance, this would be easier. She took a sip of wine and began eating some sliced carrots and onions. "I...um. I'd like to request a commission. I want to serve in the war against the Khunds." He gulped nervously. "I have a degree in Military Science and five years experience fighting the Rim Pirates in my family's holdings." He gulped again. "Father has ordered me not to go serve in the war, but I don't care. This is the best way I can finally make a name for myself, and I know the Empire always needs experienced commanders." Celia ate some of her fried pork, and contemplated what he had just said. She hadn't been expecting this. "You understand that I can't simply give out military commissions." "Yes, I know, but you have the ear of those who can. I can provide more information if you need it, to help you decide. And offer my friendship, for what it is worth." He sounded desperate, which surprised Celia. Perhaps I've put him more off balance than I thought. "Yes, that would be good," she replied. "The Imperial Family needs true friends. There is reason to believe that some one highly placed has been corresponding with the Khunds." Time to judge his reaction. It was horror. "Surely no one would be foolish enough to betray our great empire to the Khunds. Even a greedy person would realize that the Khunds would simply kill or enslave them when they won." He sounded shocked at the very possibility. Celia couldn't tell if he was acting; he sounded sincere, but so had several other people who had turned out to be traitors. "It would be...DOWN!" He shouted, suddenly grabbing her head and pushing it down into her plate, then flipping over her. Of all the things he could have done, this was perhaps the thing she least expected. His motives swiftly became clear. The familiar beat of an energy cannon sounded, again and again, and Lord Rodrigo howled in pain. She spun and hidden sensors kicked in, creating a vividly hallucinated readout by feeding data directly to her optic nerves. A well disguised drone in a servant's uniform, armed with a 'bucket of ice' that spat energy bolts. If she had only been wearing a kabi, and if Lord Rodrigo had not intervened, she would have been dead by now. However, her clothing was reinforced and designed to bend and deflect energy, and he had indeed spotted the drone. As it was, he was being hurt, but his clothing had been well designed to stop energy blasts as well. At least from a low-quality, though well disguised Khundish weapon. Energy formed in her hands into a ball and became a hurled bolt of energy, severing the drone's arm. A second bolt severed its other arm, and the weapon fell to the ground. It turned to run, and she blew its legs off. Lord Rodrigo simply stared in shock, freezing in the middle of converting his energy shield into an energy blade. The drone twitched and stopped moving. He let his energies dissipate. "You are indeed of the blood of Jurai," he whispered. Her laughter was only mental and not physical. She only let a tiny smile form on her face. "Are you alright, Lord Rodrigo?" He laughed nervously, putting one hand behind his head. "I thought to protect you, but I see you are quite capable of taking care of yourself." He stared at the drone. "How did that thing get past all the security?" "Very simple. Someone is a traitor and let it in." She stared at him intently. He gulped. "Surely you don't think I did?" "I believe I'm meant to believe that, but I don't think you did." Or that you could if you wanted to, she thought. Unless you're an incredibly adept actor, which is possible, but seems unlikely, she thought. "I do think that you're going to help me catch the person responsible." She smiled pleasantly at him. He ruffled his hair nervously, and for a moment, she was reminded of the Emperor with his wives. Or her husband with his wives for that matter. I wonder if it's genetic, she thought. Washuu probably knows. ************ Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Dr. Hikaru Hiyama, who also sometimes used the name Hikaru Quest in honor of her now long deceased husband, Dr. Jonathon Quest, was busy engaging in what an egghead might call "an exciting cultural interfacing with a being from another planet, in which one partakes of the entertainments to be found at night in Crystal Tokyo", but which most people would call a hot date with an alien. He wasn't really an alien. He was Lord Ken Asagiri, and while he was born on Juraii, his parents were both humans from Earth, exiles who had fled during the Great Exodus in 2066 AD. He appeared to be thirty, but was actually slightly over 700 years old. He had inherited his father's tall build, although he was more muscular than his father, but he had his mother's distinctive reddish eyes and her hair color. He was dressed in a casual Earth style which felt quite strange to him, as it was neither the Juraiian garb he frequently wore, nor the sort of casual garb he had worn at home, growing up. He wore a long tunic, belted at the waist and embroidered with a scarlet phoenix against a black background, along with dark black pants with embroidered flames. The Phoenix was the sign of his house, and it also emblazoned the long sash he wore like a bandolier, covered with various pins, most of them gifts given him by Hikaru, who gave him another one after each of their dates. He wasn't sure where she got them, or how he was going to be able to wear them all if this kept up, but some of them were quite beautiful, so he didn't mind too much. It was a custom in Crystal Tokyo, although normally, you collected the pins as honors or as reminders of important occassions in your life. She was lovely as always, her long blonde hair flowing freely down her back. She wore black tights and brown sandals, along with a loose green tunic with a blue belt. Her sash was red, and almost entirely covered with pins. He knew the stories behind a few of the pins: a JHS award for one of her historical works, a silver half- moon from her first visit to the Moon colony, a cast pin from a musical she had danced in before her leg injury that had put her out of the entertainment business. Her leg was fine now, fixed years ago, and he was quite glad, because he loved to dance, and so did she. Other pins were more enigmatic: a tiny staff with an orb on top, a small locket with a picture of a young blonde boy, a tiny silver turban with an even tinier little gem set in it, a daisy made of copper, an odd bit of gold that looked sort of like abstract art, or perhaps some writing system he wasn't familiar with, and most mysterious of all, two gold sillhouettes, a man and a woman facing each other. They were well made, and clearly represented real people, but neither of them was Hikaru, and she wouldn't talk about them. The one time he had asked, she clammed up and looked quite pained, so he hadn't brought it up again. They had just finished dancing for about two hours, and now they were walking quietly through Espero Park on their way to a little restaurant that Hikaru had recommended. Hikaru looked up at the stars and smiled. "The stars are so beautiful. I think I'd like to visit Jurai once the war with the Khunds is over." "Well, I have to stay here until I get moved to a new post, but I suppose I could probably finagle some time off," he said. He was head of security for the Juraiian embassy here. It was an easy job, given that Crystal Tokyo was about as dangerous a posting as being appointed a janitor in the Imperial Palace. In fact, being a janitor on Jurai was probably more dangerous. He had been here for five years, and only once had there been any actual break-ins or espionage. He would rather have been with his sisters or brother on the warfront with the Khunds. They should have sent Linna here, he thought. She'd like a cushy job like this, but then I wouldn't have met Hikaru-chan. "And I can take you just about anywhere." House Asagiri was looked down upon by the Juraiian nobility as upstarts, but no one could deny their power, or their achievements. Admiral Priss Asagiri headed the main fleet in the war against the Khunds, and had pulled off one of the most lopsided victories against the odds in the last Khund war. Very, very few places on Jurai, other than a few bedrooms, were off limits to him. She smiled at him, and they kissed under the glittering light of the stars. It felt like forever, but Hikaru broke off the kiss sooner than usual, which startled Ken, who wondered if he had stepped on her foot again. She glared past him. "You'd think the Senshi of TIME would have better timing." He froze. Sailor Pluto was here? Sailor Pluto laughed faintly. "Would you rather I have waited until your mouth was full of food? Or perhaps I could have waited about an hour and a half and caught you..." Hikaru blushed. "You could have tried about three minutes earlier." "I was running another errand at that time. I have need of you." Ken blinked, turned around, and bowed. "Good evening, Pluto- sama." "Good evening, Lord Asagiri. I request that you go to the embassy and tell the Ambassador and her husband that I'm coming for them." Ken blinked. "What?" "We must go to the Queen, Hikaru. Now." She looked Hikaru up and down. "Luna will likely die." She smiled a tiny smile. Hikaru sighed and stepped away from Ken. "Go tell Nene-chan and Ryu-kun what Pluto said." She turned to Pluto. "Next time, I get to interrupt YOUR date." "I give you permission. However, if we do not hurry, the likelihood of either of us every having another romantic evening with anyone at any time, will become very small." Pluto took Hikaru's hand and they vanished. Ken really didn't like the sound of that. ************ In the orbit of Saturn, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Uranus and Neptune teleported out of the asteroid onto the CMS Rajputana. The fleet was mopping up the Byakhee as they fled the asteroid, which was now breaking apart. They gave the fleet orders to move back so the Saturn Power wouldn't fry them as well, then waited to hear from Serenity. Before she sent new orders, however, space rippled spinward of the fleet. A single person appeared, and then behind him, a great black portal. A huge sphere passed through the portal. It was five hundred feet wide when it passed through the portal, but then it shimmered and became a thousand feet across in an instant. Then two thousand. It drifted back away from the glowing star that had once been an asteroid full of Byakhees. The thing's emergence got the fleet's attention. What really got the fleet's attention was when every single person in the fleet heard a voice in their head, a skeletal voice reeking of death and hate. Before the commanders could give orders, Ityl-Nat cracked open in front in a huge arc and opened the eye that was him. The portal closed and his summoner departed, his work there done. Only the presence of the "Saturn star" prevented him from destroying the entire fleet, but about a fifth of it successfully used the star as cover for their retreat. The others soon were annhilated, or wished that they had been. ********** Earth, Crystal Tokyo, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Subspace radio was somewhat less fun than a telephone, since the sound quality was worse, and at the distance Nene was from the people she was talking from, you had to wait twenty to thirty minutes to get a reply. What made things worse was that this was a conference call, and the other two parties were only about five minutes from each other. Only the importance of the news kept her from hanging up. As it was, she was watching 'Twilights of our Lives' and doing a crossword puzzle while the ?conversation? continued. "I didn't MEAN to land in your bathtub!" someone shouted in the background of one of the transmissions. "It's your WIFE's fault!" Nene thought it was Skuld, but she wasn't sure. "She's not MY wife!" Empress Aeka shouted back. Emperor Tenchi tried to talk over the squabbling behind him. "I'd ask if you could hear me, Nene, but I wouldn't find out for twenty minutes, anyway. Anyway, the Khunds are falling back, but it's likely to take at least three months to push them back across the fronteir. We think the Planet-Smasher has been destroyed." There was the sound of a glomp. "But Aeka-chan, that's not what you said last night!" It was Empress Ryoko. Nene prayed that the news networks hadn't found a way to tap imperial again. She could see the headlines in her mind. That signal degenerated into anarchy, leaving Nene laughing a little. Five minutes later, she got Celia's reply to that bout of silliness. "Sorry to dissappoint you, " Celia said, "But I'm afraid that the Planet-Smasher is alive and well. It..." The signal suddenly broke up into static. Nene sighed. Something's broken again. "Going to have to fix this blasted thing." "Don't waste your time. Pluto is coming for you." Ken said, huffing and puffing. Nene turned around and blinked. "I thought you had a date with Hikaru tonight." "Pluto took her off. She's coming to get you too." Ken sat down on a chair. "Why?" "Because...uh..." Ken suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask why. ************ "So it has begun, Pluto?" Serenity asked, sighing. She was sitting on her throne in her full regalia, her sceptre in her lap. Endymion stood nearby, looking stoic. "Yes. I must go to guard the gate of time so that Wiseman can not force it open once he finds it." She looked at the small posse she had assembled. Noa Izumi-Shinohara, Nene Romanova, Jenni Ognatz, Dan Hibiki, and Hikaru Hiyama. A five team, she thought, quirking her lips into a very slight smile. If only all the futures where I didn't send Dan hadn't been worse than the ones where I did, she thought...But if wishes were horses, beggars would need stables. "Are you sure that Nene-himechan should go? She..." Serenity began. "If she stays, she will die." Pluto said flatly. "Only she and Hiyama-san MUST go, but I would like to send all five." "How will they get back?" "The junior Pluto can summon the Gate of Time and bring them back." Serenity frowned slightly. "And if they don't succeed?" Pluto reached into somewhere and pulled out a small golden key, handing it to Hikaru. "This is a time key. With it, Hiyama-san should be able to summon the gate." She paused, frowning. Something was wrong. She glanced at Hikaru, who looked thoughtful. "Don't even think it," she whispered. Hikaru frowned and glared at her. "Let it be done." Serenity turned to Endymion. "Summon the command staff and my Senshi. It is time to set all in motion." "Don't worry, queenie," Dan said. "I, DAN HIBIKI, am undefeated! We'll kick whoever has Pluto's daughter's butt and bring her back in no time at all." He struck what he thought was a heroic pose. "She's not my daughter. Just my successor." Pluto said. "And my friend." "You have friends?" Dan said, then immediately regretted it. Pluto simply smiled at Dan, and said nothing. He was sweating a river by the time they departed. *********** Valhalla, The Third Heaven, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926), not that mortal Calendars have much relevance for them. Belldandy sat and stared into the mirror in which she saw the image of her sisters, Skuld and Linna. Well, Linna was adoptive, but it didn't matter to Belldandy. "No, I already told you once, Skuld. Kamisama has refused permission for direct divine intervention in this problem. Nor is building a Death Star to duke it out with the Planet-Smasher allowed. You must abide by mortal limits, or withdraw." She sighed. I'm sorry, Skuld. "No one knows how to stop these damn things!" Linna shouted. "Even Skuld's bomb didn't kill it. It just slowed it down, it looks like. A scout ship spotted it demolishing some planets in an uninhabited system and trying to fix itself, but I don't think it's going to just hang out there once it's done." "I am permitted to tell you that you know someone you haven't consulted yet who can help you." Belldandy sighed. They're going to do something foolish. I may do something foolish. It was difficult to resist the impulse to meddle, which was why all the gods and goddesses operated under strict limitations. Sometimes those limitations chafed. "But I'm the greatest scientific genius there is!" Skuld shouted. "No one could possibly do a better job than I did!" "You forgot that your creation wouldn't have the full power of Heaven backing it up." Belldandy said quietly. Skuld jumped up and down. "I could have levelled a PLANET with that thing! I based it on the Zyllcarian Donut of DEATH!" Linna blinked. "Ahh, thanks for reminding me of who we need to talk to, Skuld." Skuld blinked. "All the Zyllcarians are dead. I'm probably the only person currently on the Mortal Plane who knows ANYTHING about them. I told them not to test that thing in their home system, but no, they wouldn't listen." For a moment, she looked very depressed. "I should have thought of this in the first place. If you want to spread Mass Destruction, Wasyuu is usually the best place to start your quest. Heck, with Wasyuu, you get mass destruction whether or not you were looking for it," Linna said. "But how to find her." The anvil that fell on her heralded Wasyuu's arrival in the place on the other side of the mirror-connection. "Despite your aspersions against my skills, I will gladly help you. I've been wanting to add a Planet-Smasher to my collection for a long time!" Linna waggled a finger at Wasyuu. "We're not going to study it! We're going to kill it! Nuke it from orbit! Turn it into a..." Wasyuu turned to face Belldandy. "Say hello to Dr. Ano Itai for me!" Belldandy smiled. "That would be difficult." Wasyuu's face fell. "He's in Hell?" Belldandy shook her head. "He's not dead yet." "But I went to his funeral!" "You're not the only person who has ever faked their own death just to get some peace and solitude for a delicate experiment, you know," Belldandy said. "True," Wasyuu said. "Anyway, let's get down to business. Round up the posse, Linna. It's time to take this bandit down." She put a cowboy hat on her head. The phone rang. Belldandy said, "Well, I need to be getting back to work. Take care, sisters." "Bye, sis!" Skuld shouted, and Linna waved. Wasyuu posed, making a 'V' sign until the connection faded. The phone rang again, and Belldandy picked it up. "Goddess Relief Office. How can I help you?" "This is Shinobu." The voice was friendly and firm. "Why, Shinobu-chan, it's a pleasure to hear from you. How are you and your husband doing?" "We're doing quite well. Can you come over here? We have something to show you." Her voice turned a little more serious. "I'm at work." "I'm on duty." "Find a substitute. This is important." "What's wrong?" "We'd suspect demonic intervention, but the Destiny Room is clean...but the doors are falling anyway." Belldandy's jaw dropped. "They're WHAT?" "And new doors are forming. Doors we didn't make." Belldandy yanked Urd off her vacation and took off running. *********** In the orbit of Pluto, Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Space twisted and bent itself into knots, then spat out the fleet that was making it sick. Hundreds of crystalline ships that looked somewhat like rock candy shimmered into view. They began to move towards Earth, hurrying out of the orbit of Pluto as fast as they could before its inhabitants might notice them. Prince Demand smiled. Earth's outer defenses had been neutralized. Its greatest ally was pinned down fighting the Khunds. The Outer Senshi had been destroyed. The Zodiac had been obliterated. Endymion's fleet was in ruins. Indeed, if Wiseman could be trusted, the very power to open the roads of Time now lay within their grasp. There remained but a single step to insure his victory. "Send out a signal to the fleet at Altair. It is time to deploy the Planet-Smasher." With a Planet-Smasher at his command, he could demand anything. It might not even be necessary to fire a single shot. He wanted to rule the world, not destroy it, after all. There was a twenty minute wait for a reply. By that time, they had passed the orbit of Neptune. The young man at the communications crystals gulped. "Bad news, sir." Demand frowned. "What bad news?" "The Planet-Smasher seems to have malfunctioned." "..." The boy nodded. "There was some sort of internal explosion, and a huge flare that vaporized two ships and destroyed another one of the planets of the system. Then it backed up 300,000 miles for no apparent reason, turned, and is currently headed for the edge of the system. They estimate it will likely jump in six hours." "Where is it going?" "No way to know until it jumps and we study the afterdisturbances, and that's not reliable. " Demand frowned. "Have two ships follow it, and have the rest join us. We have a world to conquer. Even without the Planet- Smasher, we will TRIUMPH!" Only empty space and a few asteroids lay between them and Crystal Tokyo. They would arrive in ten hours. *********** Earth, Ruins of Crystal Timbuktu, SY 1482 (4374 AD, 5226 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24638, Federal Year 488) Wiseman looked around the ruins. A once great city was a burnt out shell. Where is she? Was this her work? He was worried. The Time Orb was much better at showing the present and the past than the future, and it was possible that he was wasting precious power in this quest. Only animal noises livened the city, and not many of those. He held up the Orb and gazed into it, seeking his target. Soon he found her, a little girl with wavy brown hair dressed in a tattered dress that had once been quite valuable, but now was only rags. An old woman, only slightly better dressed, was trying to keep up with her as she chased a butterfly. Power slumbered within her, and the Orb showed him the path she was destined to take. Several shrouded roads suddenly opened their secrets to him, and he understood what he had to do. He glanced at the golden key he held in one hand and smiled. He knew what must be done, and he went to do it. *********** Earth, Ruins of Crystal Tokyo, SY 1532 (4524 AD, 5276 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 24688, Federal Year 538) The Time Gate closed and vanished. For a moment, the group of five would-be rescuers looked around in shock, and then horror set in. "Everything is...broken," Jenni said finally, breaking the silence that had settled upon them as they gazed on the ruins of the city they knew, loved, and lived in. "I am Ozymandias. Gaze on my works, o traveller, and despair," Hikaru whispered. Nene glanced at the small device in her hand, a very powerful portable computer and sensor bank. "Well, Sailor Pluto is that way." She pointed off towards a distant star. "Only about thirty light years that way." "..." Dan said. Jenni acked. "Even I would take a long time to get there, and I can't run through deep space." "Why did Pluto send us to the wrong planet?" Noa asked. She checked her wristband. Alphonse was still ready in subspace when she needed him, according to its sensors. Pluto had been right about that at least. Hikaru sighed. "Because the gate of Time can't leave the Solar System, that's why." She looked around. "Jenni, go scout. Nene, try and find the communications frequencies and see if you can figure out anything from them. Noa, I suggest getting ready in case we have to fight someone." "What about me?" Dan asked. "Dan, try not to get in the way." Dan frowned and started looking around, trying to figure out where in the city they were. Jenni streaked off down the street, leaving a trail of dust. Noa summoned Alphonse and clambered up into him. Nene played with her toy, and Hikaru found a handy pillar to lean up against. She reached out with her mind, trying to find thoughts. She had always been much better with the physical aspects of the power than the mental ones, and so she kept getting distracted by everyone else's thoughts. Usually, she didn't mind too much. Reading minds was too tempting, and risked doing things that shouldn't be done, but she was a little desperate. A few seconds after a knot of minds appeared on a rooftop nearby, she picked them up. "Up there," she said, pointing, as the people came into sight. Everyone turned and looked and saw them. A portly man with short, rumpled black hair, in grey pants and a grey wraparound jacket with blue trim, stood next to a rather ugly woman who wore a uniform they all recognized as that of Sailor Jupiter. She and the woman next to her had the same long white hair which sparkled in the moonlight, but the second woman was much more attractive and wearing the uniform of Sailor Neptune. To the right of the portly man was an old woman in a lab coat with long grey hair tied back in a pony-tail. She was holding a small device that looked like the one Nene was holding. "," she said to the others. "." Only Hikaru could understand her, and that was only through using telepathy. Hikaru hoped she was translating correctly. " She prayed she was doing this trick right, so they would hear her speaking in their language. Dan turned to Nene. "Is this the part where we get in a fight with the local heroes before we team up?" "This happens to you often?" Nene asked. "Well, the beating up part does." He frowned. " the portly man asked. "" The portly man glanced over at the woman in the labcoat, who nodded. Sailor Neptune said, "" "" Sailor Neptune's eyes got big. "" "" Hikaru said. Sailor Neptune began to curse until Sailor Jupiter put her hand over Neptune's mouth. "" She turned and looked at the portly man, and he nodded. " "So what are they saying?" Dan asked. "They'll help us, but only if we let them eat you," Hikaru said. Dan's scream was almost enough to wake the dead. ************ Solar System, SY 68 (3060 AD, 3811 Years after the founding of Rome, Juraiian Year 23224, Federal Year -926) Wiseman returned to the 'present'. There was one more thing to be done in the distant future, but he had business to attend to here, first. Not that it really mattered, but he wanted to do this while he still had the power. He appeared near Demand's fleet, reached out, grabbed space, and folded it. Normally, this would be ridiculously dangerous, but he had power to spare. The fleet appeared over Crystal Tokyo nine hours before it would have otherwise arrived. Now I must explain what I have done to that fool Demand, he thought. Still, I don't think he'll mind getting the jump on Serenity. Down in the streets below them, the city was still mostly blissfully unaware of the threat the fleet posed, for it was late at night, and most were either partying or asleep. They would get a rude wakeup call. The Black Moon Crisis had begun.