Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Eunomia ❯ The Senshi of The Round Table ( Chapter 5 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Kionon 
The trial of Nephrite commences, and the training of Kathrine begins in the future.
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.16.2001 | Pages: 10 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 260 | Status: Completed
The trial of Nephrite commences, and the training of Kathrine begins in the future.
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.16.2001 | Pages: 10 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 260 | Status: Completed
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Eunomia Episode 005
If I only knew why it takes so long for me to produce one single
frigging chapter of this, I might've corrected it. However,
unfortunately, I am still stuck with the same situation as I
always am, in that I can only seem to produce an episode
every few months. Though, now that school is forever over, I
might yet be able to produce something more... efficiently. Let's
hope so.
Once again, Sailor Moon and Pals do not belong to me. Sailors
Mesthos, Arestas, Yorista, Gemini, and Eunomia however DO belong
to me so using them without my permission is likely to cause Bad
Things To Happen (tm).
Special Thanks To: Nov. Takahashi, President/Producer of Studio
Hard. Nice man. Nice Conversation. Just nice.
=====================================
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Eunomia
Episode 005
By Kevin Callahan
E-mail: Kionon@Hotmail.com
======================================
Augu st 21 2999 9:00 AM NST
The crystal floor and walls of the courtroom shone brightly
as the neon electric lighting reflected off into the eyes of many
an occupant. Pluto directed Nephrite to his seat as Kat and the
20th century Planet Senshi entered the room and took their places
in the wooden benches behind the prosecution's and defense's tables.
Sailor Pluto took her own seat next to Nephrite and awaited the
beginning of the trial.
Sailor Mesthos drummed her fingers on her desk as she and
the rest of the courtroom's occupants waited in terse silence for
someone to show up. Just as Mesthos was about to lean over and
call a recess, Sailor Arestas ran through the thick wooden doors
with a bundle of badly organized case notes in one hand and a
small child in the other. Sailor Mesthos attempted not to look
amused, though she could've fallen over laughing. Sailor Arestas
complicated the matter for the Honorable Sailor Mesthos when
that small boy that came along with the Senshi lawyer kicked the
poor woman in the shin.
"This Court will come to order. The Honorable Sailor
Mesthos presiding," yelled the bailiff, "All rise." When all rose,
and as one sat back down, Mesthos cleared her throat, shoving any
remaining giggles as far back into her mind as she possibly could
make it go.
"Arestas," she started, putting on her "hard judge" voice,
"Is there a reason you are not only late and disorganized but also
seem to be running some sort of day-care center in my courtroom?"
Though Mesthos had kept her giggling in the back of her mind, the
rest of the room roared, as was Mesthos intention. Arestas was
a fairly recent addition to the Senshi and could stand to use a
bit of hazing. Unlike Academies of old, the Senshi Academy forbid
hazing until graduation in order to prevent discouraging otherwise
excellent candidates. Instead, the hazing was kept until after
graduation when the new Senshi could no longer run away from their
new responsibilites. A Senshi had never resigned.
Arestas's head slid from shoulder to the other. "I'm sorry,
Your Honor, I'm his aunt, and my sister had something she 'needed'
to do, so I'm stuck with him. If it wasn't for our mother calling
in 'family obligation,' I wouldn't have him. At this point,
Mesthos-san, I'm afraid I'm quite stuck." She shrugged her
shoulders on the last line, and the small boy tugged on her skirt
as if to illustrate the point.
Mesthos rolled her eyes. If it wasn't for Child Protection
Laws, she'd punt the kid right out of the courtroom. Unfortunately,
as Arestas had put so eloquently, they were pretty much stuck. She
sighed. "Very well, Sailor Arestas, where do you wish to begin?"
Mesthos waved about the room impatiently.
"Uhm," she scratched her head, "The Prosecution calls its
first witness, Ms. Rei Hino, also known as Sailor Mars." Sailor
Arestas turned towards where the Planet Senshi were sitting and
motioned for Rei to stand up.
"Very well, Sailor Mars, if you could please step forward?"
the judge called out.
Kat whispered to Rei before she got up. As she approached
the seat, the bailiff pulled out a copy of the National Charter.
"Do you," he droned on, "swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you Serenity?"
"Uhm, sure, I mean, yes," Rei responded to the unfamiliar
courtroom jargon of the 30th century.
"Very well," Mesthos responded, "Please start from the
point at which you met Mr. Nephrite and go from there."
Rei shifted in her newly acquired seat. "Well... It all
started when..." she expanded on the experiences she knew. Arestas
rubbed her hands. With the infamous Sailor Mars on her side, how
could she possibly lose?
==========================================
OP - Otome no Policy
Credits
BSSE - Ep. 005
"The Senshi of The Round Table"
==========================================
August 21 2999 9:00 AM NST
Kathrine sat in the same room she had been in when she had
awakened before to that older version of Nagiko Morimoto. She
didn't actually recall falling asleep again, but since she had
woken up, she assumed that was the case. On accident or
purposely drugged, now what she couldn't say. She quickly
returned her attention to the situation she was now in. Upon
finding out she was in some sort of bulding run by Usagi, she
attempted to open the door. She failed miserably. However, for
some unknown reason, she didn't feel especially threatened by this
place. Kathrine turned as she heard the door click and a tall
skirted figure walked in, her boots thumping softly on the carpeting
below them.
Needing little time, Kathrine quickly recognized the woman.
Or, to say, she actually recognized the features similiar to the
girl she had once been. Though older by several years, the dark navy
hair and deep blue eyes could belong to no one but, "Ami-chan!"
What on Earth was she doing here? And why was she so tall?
The woman smiled. "Hello, Kath-chan." She madea show of
peering around the room. "Do call me Sailor Mercury. You never know
when Sailor Mars is on one of her 'proper decorum' campaign. She's
DepCinC this cycle and... What am I babbling about? I don't usually
babble. However, what I'm going to explain to you will not be easy
for you to handle. We might as well start at the beginning and go
from there..." Sailor Mercury bit her lip and sat down, only to rise
a second later and strode to the assembler panel behind Kathrine.
"Would you like something? Tea, perhaps? Or Mountain Dew?"
Kathrine raised an eyebrow. "Tea, thanks... Mountain Dew?"
Did Pepsi even exist in this time period? Who knew?
Sailor Mercury chuckled. "Yes, well, Minako's addicted to
the stuff. I told her it's not good for her, but, well, truth is
it's not really bad for her either..." She sighed. "Back to
business. Kathrine, you know you're a Senshi, but... You never
were meant to be. You're appearance could have done incalculable
damage to the time line. Originally, Sailor Gemini was supposed to
speak to you, but there was a problem with that..." Mercury's
mouth twisted upwards.
"Nagiko," Kathrine supplied knowingly.
"Yes," Sailor Mercury affirmed. She took a sip and sighed.
"You see, Kathrine, because of our unique position, we know too much
about time. Studies Pluto has conducted point to the fact you, as
Sailor Eunomia, would be a disadvantage to the sailor Senshi during
the fight with Pharaoh 90. This hasn't happened yet, as far as you
or the others are concerned, but trust me, I don't recall you being
there." Mercury crinkled her brow. "My apologies if I'm confusing
you. Suffice to say, if we allow you to remain in the 20th century,
we'd be condemning billions, including all of us, to death."
Kathrine blinked. "Why can't you just erase my memory. I
know you can do that." Kathrine ran a hand through her hair out of
boredom. Pokemon almost seemed like fun compared to this future
history lesson. She just wanted to go home, preferably in the next
few nanoseconds.
"Good question. You're observant. I like that," Mercury
replied. "We cannot allow you to fall into the wrong hands. You're
a planet Senshi, but you're also young. Saturn, though younger than
you, is much strong-"
"Sailor Saturn?" Kathrine interrupted.
"Yes. She will be taken over by Mistress 9, one of the
minions pf Pharoah 90. Your position as a Planet Senshi puts you in
command of a large store of energy. Our origins, those of the Planet
Senshi, are vague and indisitinct even to ourselves, yet we are
obviously powerful. It is just this power that you cannot yet handle
and that Mistress 9 would be able to tap into. Without the inborn
barriers that Hotaru naturally has, you would be immediately
consumed. You would not be able to offer any resistance. Not to
mention we need you here." Another sip of tea found its way to
Mercury's lips.
"You do?" inquired Kathrine increduously.
"Yes," Sailor Mercury replied as she pushed a button on a
terminal. A political map of Earth was displayed. "Ever since we
started our Space Program, we've needed a greater amount of
protection. Now, I'll try not to get too deep into the politics
of this world, but you're smart for a twelve year-old and I think you
will have litte trouble keeping up." She straightend the terminal
so Kathrine would have a better view. "Crystal Tokyo, even after the
ascendency of Serenity, is still not a global government. We still
only pretty much control the are of Japan that the 20th century
Japanese government did on Earth. We do have colonies throughout the
Solar System, and complete control of the Moon, of course, but let's
stick to the Earth for now. Ther Americans, for one, have been getting
extremly nervous as we've continued to develop our Space Program. Even
Serenity is beginning to view them as a threat since their own space
program is starting to catch up, albeit very slowly."
"Why," Kathrine asked astonished, "would you fear the US?"
The very idea of the Unites States being anything but a helpful ally to
"Kathrine," the voice said, gorwing soft, while its owner
pointed to the left side of the terminal screen, "this is 2999, there
is no United States. Hasn't been for centuries. The Americans I speak
of are the residents of the American Confederation, consisting of most
North America, Central America, and even a few of the former South
American countries. The European Union has claims in Northern Canada
through the Greenland Agreement of 2458... I'm getting off topic, anways
the reason we consider them a threat is because they are run by an
oglioarchy called the Presidential-Elect. Though democratic sounding,
that's just a facade."
Kathrine blinked. "Why are they a threat? I mean, you ARE
Senshi... Can't you just teleport in and kick their butts?"
Mercury laughed and sat her tea cup down on the room's coffee
table. "Well, that's hypothetically possible, but it would take a vast
amount of energy for starters, then add to that the months of planning,
recon, tight security, and back up support, such as regular army troops,
Created Senshi, and air raids. The world you have been brought to, as
far as being a Senshi is concerned, is far from the one you encountered
only days ago, from your perspective. The days of Senshi just being
able to take care of business and then playing games at the local
arcade are long gone. Now we need lots of capable help."
"But why me," Kathrine whined, "Don't you have the ability to
create Senshi?" Nagiko was one of the created Senshi, wasn't she?
Kathrine could have sworn that was indeed the case.
Mercury nodded. "Yes, but you're not listening to me. You can't
go back, we won't let you. Besides, as much help as we need, it would
be stupid of us, fram a tactical standpoint, to ignore the fact that we
have access to a Planet Senshi. You."
Kathrine closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "What about
my life?"
"It's not like we're intentionally trying to be mean to you,
besides, this was the most oppritune time. The only friends you made
are all here. 1000 years older and a few inches taller, I grant you that,
but we're here. Besides, we have something here that is far better if
we are to eventually return you to your own time."
"And that is?" Kathrine asked, clearly unconvinced.
"The Academy," Mercury replied matter-of-factly.
"Uhuh..." Kathrine muttered. "Ami-chan, you're forgetting the
most important thing. What if I don't want to stay?"
Mercury sighed. "Stubborn, as usual. I already explained this.
You have no choice. We cannot let you return. Mistress 9 would use you
as a host, bringing about the installation of Phoaroh 90 in this
universe. We cannot allow that to happen whether you care or not. It's
for your own safety as much as for the safety as the rest of the
universe's. To repeat Haruka's odd English quote, 'You be screwed.'"
Despite herself, Kathrine laughed at something she would never
have guessed Mizuno Ami to say. "Fine then, I'm screwed. What do I
have to do?"
"You don't really have to do anything. You're free so long as
you stay in 2997. Not that you'd be able to leave. We'd kill you first,
to be frank. Well, I wouldn't, but knowing Haruka, she would. However,
what we want you to do is to go to the Academy where we will train you
to use your powers. Now, I won't pretend it won't be awkward. Not only
are you younger than all the other cadets, but you've already achieved
the purpose of going to the academy: becoming a Senshi. You may
encounter cadets whose jealousy knows no bounds. However, I still think
it will be an excellent experience. Not to mention, you need to
understand what will be expected of you when you during the meetings in
the Great Hall. I'd advise you, for the next few months at least, to
simply observethe goings on. While technically a part of the Great Hall,
you might ruffle a few feathers if you start trying to influence
policy. Planet Senshi or not, you are still only twelve."
"Ok, Ami-chan, I'll do it."
* * *
August 21 2999 10:30 AM NST
"Now," Pluto said as she walked across the courtoom floor,
"Minako-chan, is it true that once Nephrite developed feelings for
Osaka Naru, he became a better person?"
"Objection!" cried Arestas, "Leading the witness."
"Sustained."
Pluto shook her head. "Sorry, Your Honor, let me rephrase. Is
it true that Nephrite seemed to become a better person after his
encounters with Osaka Naru?"
"Well, yes, Pluto-san. He seemed to learn what it was like to
love. At the end, when Zoisite killed him, we pretty much all heard
his repentance."
Pluto nodded. "So, then, in your opinion," she glanced at
Arestas who nodded for her to continue, "Nephrite is no longer any
threat to society?"
"Of course not. Why would he be? He knows as well as the rest
of the room that we'd kick his ass from here to-"
Pluto held up a hand. "Uhm, think you Minako-chan, you may step
down. With the court's permission, the Defense would like to call it's
second witness, one Ami Mizuno." Mesthos nodded and the blue haired girl
got up from her seat. She followed the procedure so many of her group
had already. "Now," Pluto said as Ami took her seat, "if you would,
please tell us about the stages you witnessed Nephrite go through as
he continued to wear the mask of a normal human being."
"Well," Ami scratched her head for a moment, "At first he just
needed an excuse to run his operations out of a previously abandoned
mansion. Despite his ability to teleport, Nephrite wanted to be able
to move around Tokyo with impunity. Creating a false identity with
celebrity status would definately allow him to get almost anywhere.
If it wasn't for my nearly being run over by his red sports car, we
would never have figured out it was him."
Pluto walked back. "Yes, but in your opinion, what happened
next?"
"He seemed to become more easily distracted. Preoccupied, if
you will. He seemed concerned about something else."
"This was after he met Osaka Naru?"
Ami nodded. "Though not completely sure of the situation, I
would agree with that. Usagi knowns more about the relationship, as
Naru has been her best friend for many years."
"Was there any final stage you witnessed?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact there was," Ami noted. "He repented
in front of us. Of course, later we found out that Metallia had been
controling them all anyways, as they were actually part of the Terran
Guard. There is no doubt in my my mind that he was sincere, and that
a great majority of his actions were not his fault. Evil is a hard
thing for even the immortal mind to deal with."
"Thank you, Ami-chan, you may step down. The defense calls
Usagi Tsukino to the stand..."
* * *
August 21 2999 11:28 AM NST
The car pulled up to the gates. The driver of the car flashed
a badge at the Senshi Guard, and the gates opened to admit the car
and its occupants. The road went on past several acres of green field
before coming to a stop in front of a large building. Spread around it
were other buildings, similiarly clad in a nice red granite. Modern art
adorned the sides of the walkways as the two occupants of the
aforementioned car strode along it into the main building. As the passed
through the large scanner, they were immediately greeted by a tall
Senshi in a brown fuku. She snapped to attention, with a salute coming
only a fraction of a second afterwords.
"Sailor Mercury, Sailor Eunomia. How may I help you?"
Sailor Mercury sweatdropped. "Yorista, you needn't be so formal,
besides," she leaned towards Kathrine, "No offense to her, but Eunomia
can't get used to having all her orders obeyed at once. She is still a
student here, and as such needs to be treated like one. Otherwise,
she'll assume everything will just be automatically handed to her. It
doesn't work like that. Ahem, now to make this official. Where's Sailor
Venus? She's Commandant this round."
Yorista nodded quickly. "Yes, just a moment." She jumped back
behind her desk and smacked the comm button. "Sailor Venus, Sailors
Mercury and Eunomia to see you."
"~Ah, yes, send them in.~"
Yorista turned back to the two Senshi before her. "Go on in,
its the office to your... Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to, Sailor
Mercury. Just go the normal... uh.. way... *sigh*" She slumped into her
seat as Mercury and Kathrine headed into Sailor Venus's office. Kathrine
almost gagged upon noting that everything in the room was of differing
shades of orange. Obviously the Senshi of Love had no decorating sense.
"Ami-chan! Kath-chan! Come in, sit down, what can I do for you?"
Artemis jumped onto the desk from whereever he had been sleeping
and rolled his at Venus. "Kathrine needs admittance into the school.
It's right here in your planner. See, page nine, second table."
Venus nodded profusely. "Uhuh, uhuh, well ok, let me check our
records see who you were assigned with. Calmari, no, Calhoun, no, ah
hear we are, Callahan, Kathrine Blair. You are in Mizuno barracks..."
She looked at Mercury. "Coincidence? I think not. You've been assigned
room 106 with a Sarah Tangent. If I recall, Cadet Tangent is one of our
better students. She should be a good influence on you. I'll call her
out of class to help get you situated. You'll find your school uniform
in your cl-"
Kathrine gagged. "What do you people have about sailor
costumes? You fight evil in them, you go to school in them, you even
wear them for no apparent reason. This whole country is kooky, no matter
what century we're in."
Venus shook her head. "That from an American. A real case of the
pot calling the oven dirty."
"The kettle black," Artemis piped up.
"Whatever," Venus responded. "Anyways," she stabbed pressed the
comm button, "Yorista-san, please call Sarah Tangent down to the
Commandant's office, please. Her new roommate is here." Within minutes,
a somber looking short haired blonde walked throuigh the door's of the
Commandant's office. She walked in and stood at rigid attention until
Venus told her she was going to strain something. "Cadet Tangent, this
is your new roommate, Kathrine Callahan. Please be kind to her, and
please show her the ropes. Cadets Callahan, Tanget. Dismissed!"
"Huh?"
Mercury chuckled. "She means you can leave now."
"Uhm, right, thanks," Kathrine answered. She followed Sarah out
of the office.
* * *
August 21 2999 12:00 PM NST
Sailor Mesthos reentered her courtroom reading several briefs,
files, records and the such. She sat down and waited for the bailiff
to go through the Up-Down ritual everyone in the courtroom, including
herself, was quite tired off. She turned to her courtroom agenda and
turned on her mincrophone. "We will now commence with closing
arguments before I make my decision regarding the defendant. Arestas,
we'll start with the prosecutrion's closing argument.
The Senshi stood. "Yes, ma'am. *Ahem* Just because someone
shows regret, just because someone repents, that does not mean he or
she can automatically just skip the punishment. It has long been a
tradition of humanity that those responsible for their actions pay
the price. Now, I'm well aware of the defense's attempt to paint the
defendant as a poor used soul captured by evil. When, in truth, he
knew exactly what he was doing. One could argue, and I've even seen
it done, that anyone who does evil has fallen prey to some dark force.
If we are to believe that, then we are no better than Ms. Abigail
Williams of Crucible fame. For those of you who do not know your
classic literature or history, first of all, shame on you, but I
degress, second Abigail Williams, in order to cover her own bad acts,
blamed it on the women of her town, Salem, Massachusetts, calling
them witches. If we believe the defense's claim of "control by evil,"
then where else must we look? Where else must we expect evil to start
controling people? And if this evil is so profuse, mustn't we then
begin stripping our citizens of their rights in order to assure that
the evil does not spread." Arestas got a drink of water before
continuing.
"Obviously, this would not only be impractical, it would also
be a common crime of tyranny against our citizens. Until that changes,
and let me assure you, it never will, we must still hold people
accountable for their actions. Carrying that over to today's case,
Nephrite must be punished. Sentencing is not my department, but, I
still think he needs to be punished for those actions which he
perpatrated. You must rull in favor of a guilty verdict or else we
will have every theif through child pornographers up to murderers
claiming 'the evil made me do it.' This cannot be allowed. Make
Nephrite pay for his actions, we'd expect no less of ourselves.
With that, the Prosecution rests."
"Thank you," Mesthos said. "You may take your seat. Sailor
Pluto, defense is up."
"Yes, ma'am." Pluto took a long drink from a nearby water
glass and stood up. "The reason we are here today is to decide
whether or not to punish a man for crimes he was involved in. However,
I disagree with my esteemed colleague in that involved does not
necessarily mean willing. To demonstrate this, I'll refere to the
Oldman case of 2958, where Brunson Oldman killed Sailor Iestas
in order to prevent terrorists from killing his daughter. Luckily
Serenity was able to bring her back. Still, Oldman was considered
not responsible for his actions. Why? Because frankly, I doubt anyone
here would begrudge the man his parental instincts. I think everyone
in this courtroom, especially those who have children, such as Sailor
Gemini over int he corner, would willingly undergo any commands for
his or her child. Considering this, I say Nephrite was under
similiar constraints. I'm not arguing that he somehow used his
parental instincts to cause the crimes, however I am saying he was
under imminent threat if he did not obey. First, he was under
evil influence, and despite the Prosecution's anaolgy to classic
American literature, Metallia was not someone to be trifled with.
Also, being that he was pretty much a vassal to this evil, he
could have been eliminated at anytime. He was under threat of death
if he did not obey his 'superiors.' Considering that, he falls under
the same catagory as Mr. Oldman. He is not ultimately responsible
for his actions. Metallia is, and she got her just rewards. The
Defense rests."
"Thank you. As I've considered your arguments, as well as
reviewed the evidence as you were making them, I have come to a
decision that I hope is a compromise both sides will like." She
turned to the bailiff. "If you would, please hand my my notebook."
When he did, Sailro Mesthos flipped through it to a page of notes.
"While convinced that Nephrite is repentant, I am not willing to
totally allow him to wander freely about the universe. So, I shall
appoint Sailor Aries, who I understand to be guarding Nephrite
anyway, as his parol officer. Nephrite, you are to check in with
Sailor Aries every seven days, starting today. That is all. Court
adjourned."
"All rise..."
* * *
August 21 2999 12:13 PM NST
"Follow me," Sarah said coldly. "I was in just in Advanced
Calculus and we have a test soon." When they finally reached the
room, Kathrine took a look around. It was even smaller than her
mother's room at the Yoshiyuki's, and much smaller than her own
room back in Texas. She noticed bunk beds, two small desks with
laptops open on them, and two small closets were all jammed in
this six by nine space.
"The hell is this! I can't even wiggle my toes here!"
Kathrine cried upon leafing through her closet and taking out one
of those godawful sailor uniforms. "I hope to god this is only a
temporary arrangement. I might get cramps."
"You'll get used to it, I'm sure," Sarah contemptously
answered. Who the hell was this girl, and just why the hell did she
think she was better than... She sweatdropped. Of course she'd be
an arrogant bitch, the Academy only attracted the best and the
brightest. She obviously must have been the cream of the crop from
whereever the hell she was from. Texas, she thought she heard the
girl say. She turned over to the shorter girl finally examined the
much smaller Kathrine. Speaking of overacheiver, she certainly
didn't look old enough to even be going to Academy. She looked at
the most maybe thirteen. Fourteen if she was just under developed.
However, considering the Academy rarely accepted even sixteen year
olds, this was very odd. She peered at the girl. "How old are you?"
"Depends. Uhm, Twelve, I suppose you could say," Kathrine
answered as she threw off her clothing. If she noticed Sarah's
blush, she didn't show it. Having a brother taught her quickly
privacy was to reserved for important things, changing but the
least of a very long list. Besides, her roommate was just that and
a girl too. Kathrine paid it no heed. "Yeah, twelve. I'll be
thirteen in October."
Sarah blinked. "Twelve!"She was right! This girl was very
out of the ordinary. Twelve and at the Academy. That was, was, was
unheard of! Maybe she had reason to act like an arrogant bitch. She
certainly seemed to. Sarah shook her head in disbelief. "The hell
kind of scores did you get on the entrance exams?" she wondered
outloud.
Now it was Kathrine's turn to blink. "Entrance exams? What
entrance exams?"
A knock at the open door was followed quickly by Sailor
Mercury entering the dorm room. Sarah immediately snapped to
attention. After glancing around, Kathrine slowly did the same. Once
again, Sailor Mercury found herself giggling at the girl. "I've come
just to answer that question. If you would be so kind, Cadet Tangent,
to join Kathrine and I while we head over to the Crystal Palace."
Sarah raised an eyebrow, and Mercury caught it. "Just follow me to
the car, and all will be explained." Though very confused, Sarah
maintained her silence as the Mercury took the driver's seat of a
black electricar. Kathrine and Sarah took the back seat.
"Now, Kath-chan," Mercury said as she turned out of the
Academy gates, "I would like you to be quiet until Serenity is
finished with her speech. We're going to be breaking your existance
to the non-Planet Senshi, and we'd really appreciate you not making
things any worse. We never anticipated anything like. Now, knowing
Pluto, she probably knew, but she's always been a bit... vague with
us. Ah well, such is her privelidge, I suppose. And as for you,
Cadet Tangent, after discussing it with Jupiter, Serenity, and Moon,
we have decided, as Kathrine's roommate, you need to know the whole
story as well. Ah, ah, not now, wait about ten minutes." The car
pulled into the Senshi Parking Lot of the Crsytal Palace. All the
usual Senshi guards were suspiciously absent. Instead, they had been
replaced by Endymion's Royal Infantry in their crisp black and blue
uniforms. They saluted to Mercury as her car came to a halt.
"We'll take that ma'am. I'm Captain Motoko. I'll have your
car ready after the meeting is over. Sargeant Ibarez is waiting to
help escort you into the Council Chambers." He took the keys from
Mercury's outstretched hands.
"Really, Captain, do you think *I* need an escort to find
the chambers I've been to every other month for the last one thousand
years?"
The captain seemed to wither. "Uhm, no ma'am, I mean we just
want to make sure security is well maintained and..."
Mercury waved him off. "While I appreciate the gesture,
Captain, Sailor Mercury is a big girl. You can tell the sergeant his
services-"
"Uh, ma'am," the Captain pulled at his collar, "I hate to
argue but my orders come from Her Majesty Neo Queen Serenity, as
relayed to me by His Majesty King Endymion. It's for the girls'
protection, not your own. His and Her Majesties would never presume
Sailor Mercury couldn't take care of herself, uhm, ma'am."
Smiling, Mercury responded, "Fine, toss in the fact that I
seem to have lost weight, and you've got yourself a convoy."
The captain remained silent for a moment before beginning to
laugh himself. "Uhm, yes, ma'am. Ibarez will be waiting for you
at the end of the lot, and have I mentioned you seem to have lost
weight, ma'am?"
Mercury crinkled her nose. "Why, thank you, Captain. It must
be that new high-tech diet I'm on. Please radio Sergeant Ibarez and
tell him we're on our way."
"Yes, ma'am!" The captain pulled out his radio and moved
into the electricar. Mercury started foward with Kathrine and Sarah
on her heels. As they crossed the parking lot a figure approached them
from the opposite side. He crossed swiftly and saluted. Mercury waved
half heartedly and he turned around to lead them to the Senshi
Elevator. He had his Colt .45 2997 AC edition out, noted Mercury
sourly. 'If there's one thing the Americans can do better than anyone
else, it's still making weapons.'
After checking out the elevator, Sergeant Ibarez motioned for
the three women to enter. He then backtracked into the elevator
himself, his back towards the inside of the elevator as he waved hi
Colt .45 from side to side until the doors shut."Is it just me,
Sergeant, or has this place gone to hell since the Oldman Case?" She
moved past Sarah and Kathrine in order to get closer to the man.
"I wouldn't presume to argue with you, ma'am, but that was
forty years ago. I'm only thirty-two. It was long before my time, so
I'm afraid I can't really say." The elevator dinged to announce its
arrival in such a cheery manner as to trick the universe into
thinking it actually enjoyed the job of shuttling people up and down
and up and down and up and down for nearly a millenium.It suceeded
in fooling the general populus who couldn't afford to care about
only one of twenty administrative elevators in the corner of the
most important government building since the 20th Century Capitol
Hill. Sergeant Ibarez exited the unhappy elevator in a perfect
reversal of his entrance, quickly swinging the barrel of his weapon
left to right and then back to the left before signaling the okay.
The quartet moved silently across the glassy surface of the
Crystal Palace floor. One would think that such a surface,
especially with the kind of footwear the group was wearing, would
make quite a clacking noise. However, much to Kathrine's surprise,
the floor didn't even register their presence. Frighteningly enough,
it didn't show her actual presence. Itr reflected her in her sailor
fuku as Sailor Eunomia. When the immensity of this hit her, she
gasped. She got nothing but an annoyed look from Sarah who seemed to
have not noticed she didn't even possess a reflection, Senshized or
otherwise.
Sergeant Ibarez nodded to two corporals at a large wooden
door that saluted as the group walked up. The quartet continued
through the doors. Neo-Queen Serenity stood up from her desk at the
very back of the circular crystal room. Eunomia was awed by the
sheer size of it all.There were desk compartments lining the the
wall. Each the same size. Each had a small terminal attached, every
one looked alike except for little personal touches like those of
offices that begin to take on the personalities of their occupants.
And in each one of those desk-like compartments sat a Senshi, their
nameplate in front of them. Despite the small personal changes,
some things still remained the same To the right, a microphone, to
the left a glass of water. The circle of crystal compartments was
interrupted only once, where the grand double doors Kathrine and
company walked through opened to the large round room.
Though Kathrine did not yet know the purposes of everything
in the room, she could assume some basic functions. In the center
of the room lay a raised crystal platform with a microphone where
she assumed those who had business with the Senshi and/or Her
Magesty would stand. Above Neo Queen Serenity's own compartment-desk
there was a window where tourists could see Japan's government in
action. Even now, old couples looked down upon the room, as they
attempted to reign in small childre who every so often would stick
their faces up to the glass, creating Modern Art. Above the grand
doors, was another window. This one was for the Royal Family to sit
in on meetings and debates. Endymion had no power, and Chibi-usa had
her own seat as a Senshi down on the floor. At what one might call the
"corners" of the clearly circular room media setups with with such
logos as "FCI," "BBC," and "NBC" pointed their cameras outwords to
bring the rest of world in touch with the Senshi's deliberations.
Though Kathrine has at first failed to notice that, in fact,
one compartment was not filled, this was indeed the case. The
standing Queen motioned to the desk in question and cleared her
voice in such a way that alreated every single person in the room
that they had better shut up, quickly. "You may have all noticed over
the years, especially those of you Academy Senshi that were among the
first classes to graduate, that one of the two hundred and four
compartments in the Council Chambers is not filled. In fact, it is a
compartment seemingly in the middle of where the Planet Senshi sit.
We told you all, upon graduation, that one day we would explain this
absence. You may not have believed another Planet Senshi existed, though
some of you may have had your own suspisions as to what the reason for
the extra is. There have been rumors going around for hundreds of years
of an elusive mystery Planet Senshi that is always working behind
the curtains. Well today is the day that I confirm those rumors."
The gasps could be heard all the way in the American
Confederation.
======================================
End Ep. 005
[bsse_10--meu--rashiku_ikimasho.mp³]
===================== =================
Wooo Hooo! What a rush. Are you aware I just wrote 22k in one session,
taking only breaks to eat and go to the restroom... Oh, and one twenty
minute trip to wall-mart to grab some Armour All in order to clean
up Makoto (My Car, you Ecchi Baka). Anyways, this fic is now sitting at
around 35k, pre-editing. Who knows, it may even get on up there if I
stay in the group. And if this is fine with all of you, I might just
skip onto 006! Keep reading. Send comments to kionon@hotmail.com. Yes,
that means you, and yes, that means now. DO IT!
Why are you still here? GO!
Next Episode
006 - Sailor Secretary, Protector of Paperwork
Also please be aware my other stuff is at
http://www.otakuwars.org/~kionon/velitation/
May the woi be with you.
If I only knew why it takes so long for me to produce one single
frigging chapter of this, I might've corrected it. However,
unfortunately, I am still stuck with the same situation as I
always am, in that I can only seem to produce an episode
every few months. Though, now that school is forever over, I
might yet be able to produce something more... efficiently. Let's
hope so.
Once again, Sailor Moon and Pals do not belong to me. Sailors
Mesthos, Arestas, Yorista, Gemini, and Eunomia however DO belong
to me so using them without my permission is likely to cause Bad
Things To Happen (tm).
Special Thanks To: Nov. Takahashi, President/Producer of Studio
Hard. Nice man. Nice Conversation. Just nice.
=====================================
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Eunomia
Episode 005
By Kevin Callahan
E-mail: Kionon@Hotmail.com
======================================
Augu st 21 2999 9:00 AM NST
The crystal floor and walls of the courtroom shone brightly
as the neon electric lighting reflected off into the eyes of many
an occupant. Pluto directed Nephrite to his seat as Kat and the
20th century Planet Senshi entered the room and took their places
in the wooden benches behind the prosecution's and defense's tables.
Sailor Pluto took her own seat next to Nephrite and awaited the
beginning of the trial.
Sailor Mesthos drummed her fingers on her desk as she and
the rest of the courtroom's occupants waited in terse silence for
someone to show up. Just as Mesthos was about to lean over and
call a recess, Sailor Arestas ran through the thick wooden doors
with a bundle of badly organized case notes in one hand and a
small child in the other. Sailor Mesthos attempted not to look
amused, though she could've fallen over laughing. Sailor Arestas
complicated the matter for the Honorable Sailor Mesthos when
that small boy that came along with the Senshi lawyer kicked the
poor woman in the shin.
"This Court will come to order. The Honorable Sailor
Mesthos presiding," yelled the bailiff, "All rise." When all rose,
and as one sat back down, Mesthos cleared her throat, shoving any
remaining giggles as far back into her mind as she possibly could
make it go.
"Arestas," she started, putting on her "hard judge" voice,
"Is there a reason you are not only late and disorganized but also
seem to be running some sort of day-care center in my courtroom?"
Though Mesthos had kept her giggling in the back of her mind, the
rest of the room roared, as was Mesthos intention. Arestas was
a fairly recent addition to the Senshi and could stand to use a
bit of hazing. Unlike Academies of old, the Senshi Academy forbid
hazing until graduation in order to prevent discouraging otherwise
excellent candidates. Instead, the hazing was kept until after
graduation when the new Senshi could no longer run away from their
new responsibilites. A Senshi had never resigned.
Arestas's head slid from shoulder to the other. "I'm sorry,
Your Honor, I'm his aunt, and my sister had something she 'needed'
to do, so I'm stuck with him. If it wasn't for our mother calling
in 'family obligation,' I wouldn't have him. At this point,
Mesthos-san, I'm afraid I'm quite stuck." She shrugged her
shoulders on the last line, and the small boy tugged on her skirt
as if to illustrate the point.
Mesthos rolled her eyes. If it wasn't for Child Protection
Laws, she'd punt the kid right out of the courtroom. Unfortunately,
as Arestas had put so eloquently, they were pretty much stuck. She
sighed. "Very well, Sailor Arestas, where do you wish to begin?"
Mesthos waved about the room impatiently.
"Uhm," she scratched her head, "The Prosecution calls its
first witness, Ms. Rei Hino, also known as Sailor Mars." Sailor
Arestas turned towards where the Planet Senshi were sitting and
motioned for Rei to stand up.
"Very well, Sailor Mars, if you could please step forward?"
the judge called out.
Kat whispered to Rei before she got up. As she approached
the seat, the bailiff pulled out a copy of the National Charter.
"Do you," he droned on, "swear to tell the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you Serenity?"
"Uhm, sure, I mean, yes," Rei responded to the unfamiliar
courtroom jargon of the 30th century.
"Very well," Mesthos responded, "Please start from the
point at which you met Mr. Nephrite and go from there."
Rei shifted in her newly acquired seat. "Well... It all
started when..." she expanded on the experiences she knew. Arestas
rubbed her hands. With the infamous Sailor Mars on her side, how
could she possibly lose?
==========================================
OP - Otome no Policy
Credits
BSSE - Ep. 005
"The Senshi of The Round Table"
==========================================
August 21 2999 9:00 AM NST
Kathrine sat in the same room she had been in when she had
awakened before to that older version of Nagiko Morimoto. She
didn't actually recall falling asleep again, but since she had
woken up, she assumed that was the case. On accident or
purposely drugged, now what she couldn't say. She quickly
returned her attention to the situation she was now in. Upon
finding out she was in some sort of bulding run by Usagi, she
attempted to open the door. She failed miserably. However, for
some unknown reason, she didn't feel especially threatened by this
place. Kathrine turned as she heard the door click and a tall
skirted figure walked in, her boots thumping softly on the carpeting
below them.
Needing little time, Kathrine quickly recognized the woman.
Or, to say, she actually recognized the features similiar to the
girl she had once been. Though older by several years, the dark navy
hair and deep blue eyes could belong to no one but, "Ami-chan!"
What on Earth was she doing here? And why was she so tall?
The woman smiled. "Hello, Kath-chan." She madea show of
peering around the room. "Do call me Sailor Mercury. You never know
when Sailor Mars is on one of her 'proper decorum' campaign. She's
DepCinC this cycle and... What am I babbling about? I don't usually
babble. However, what I'm going to explain to you will not be easy
for you to handle. We might as well start at the beginning and go
from there..." Sailor Mercury bit her lip and sat down, only to rise
a second later and strode to the assembler panel behind Kathrine.
"Would you like something? Tea, perhaps? Or Mountain Dew?"
Kathrine raised an eyebrow. "Tea, thanks... Mountain Dew?"
Did Pepsi even exist in this time period? Who knew?
Sailor Mercury chuckled. "Yes, well, Minako's addicted to
the stuff. I told her it's not good for her, but, well, truth is
it's not really bad for her either..." She sighed. "Back to
business. Kathrine, you know you're a Senshi, but... You never
were meant to be. You're appearance could have done incalculable
damage to the time line. Originally, Sailor Gemini was supposed to
speak to you, but there was a problem with that..." Mercury's
mouth twisted upwards.
"Nagiko," Kathrine supplied knowingly.
"Yes," Sailor Mercury affirmed. She took a sip and sighed.
"You see, Kathrine, because of our unique position, we know too much
about time. Studies Pluto has conducted point to the fact you, as
Sailor Eunomia, would be a disadvantage to the sailor Senshi during
the fight with Pharaoh 90. This hasn't happened yet, as far as you
or the others are concerned, but trust me, I don't recall you being
there." Mercury crinkled her brow. "My apologies if I'm confusing
you. Suffice to say, if we allow you to remain in the 20th century,
we'd be condemning billions, including all of us, to death."
Kathrine blinked. "Why can't you just erase my memory. I
know you can do that." Kathrine ran a hand through her hair out of
boredom. Pokemon almost seemed like fun compared to this future
history lesson. She just wanted to go home, preferably in the next
few nanoseconds.
"Good question. You're observant. I like that," Mercury
replied. "We cannot allow you to fall into the wrong hands. You're
a planet Senshi, but you're also young. Saturn, though younger than
you, is much strong-"
"Sailor Saturn?" Kathrine interrupted.
"Yes. She will be taken over by Mistress 9, one of the
minions pf Pharoah 90. Your position as a Planet Senshi puts you in
command of a large store of energy. Our origins, those of the Planet
Senshi, are vague and indisitinct even to ourselves, yet we are
obviously powerful. It is just this power that you cannot yet handle
and that Mistress 9 would be able to tap into. Without the inborn
barriers that Hotaru naturally has, you would be immediately
consumed. You would not be able to offer any resistance. Not to
mention we need you here." Another sip of tea found its way to
Mercury's lips.
"You do?" inquired Kathrine increduously.
"Yes," Sailor Mercury replied as she pushed a button on a
terminal. A political map of Earth was displayed. "Ever since we
started our Space Program, we've needed a greater amount of
protection. Now, I'll try not to get too deep into the politics
of this world, but you're smart for a twelve year-old and I think you
will have litte trouble keeping up." She straightend the terminal
so Kathrine would have a better view. "Crystal Tokyo, even after the
ascendency of Serenity, is still not a global government. We still
only pretty much control the are of Japan that the 20th century
Japanese government did on Earth. We do have colonies throughout the
Solar System, and complete control of the Moon, of course, but let's
stick to the Earth for now. Ther Americans, for one, have been getting
extremly nervous as we've continued to develop our Space Program. Even
Serenity is beginning to view them as a threat since their own space
program is starting to catch up, albeit very slowly."
"Why," Kathrine asked astonished, "would you fear the US?"
The very idea of the Unites States being anything but a helpful ally to
"Kathrine," the voice said, gorwing soft, while its owner
pointed to the left side of the terminal screen, "this is 2999, there
is no United States. Hasn't been for centuries. The Americans I speak
of are the residents of the American Confederation, consisting of most
North America, Central America, and even a few of the former South
American countries. The European Union has claims in Northern Canada
through the Greenland Agreement of 2458... I'm getting off topic, anways
the reason we consider them a threat is because they are run by an
oglioarchy called the Presidential-Elect. Though democratic sounding,
that's just a facade."
Kathrine blinked. "Why are they a threat? I mean, you ARE
Senshi... Can't you just teleport in and kick their butts?"
Mercury laughed and sat her tea cup down on the room's coffee
table. "Well, that's hypothetically possible, but it would take a vast
amount of energy for starters, then add to that the months of planning,
recon, tight security, and back up support, such as regular army troops,
Created Senshi, and air raids. The world you have been brought to, as
far as being a Senshi is concerned, is far from the one you encountered
only days ago, from your perspective. The days of Senshi just being
able to take care of business and then playing games at the local
arcade are long gone. Now we need lots of capable help."
"But why me," Kathrine whined, "Don't you have the ability to
create Senshi?" Nagiko was one of the created Senshi, wasn't she?
Kathrine could have sworn that was indeed the case.
Mercury nodded. "Yes, but you're not listening to me. You can't
go back, we won't let you. Besides, as much help as we need, it would
be stupid of us, fram a tactical standpoint, to ignore the fact that we
have access to a Planet Senshi. You."
Kathrine closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "What about
my life?"
"It's not like we're intentionally trying to be mean to you,
besides, this was the most oppritune time. The only friends you made
are all here. 1000 years older and a few inches taller, I grant you that,
but we're here. Besides, we have something here that is far better if
we are to eventually return you to your own time."
"And that is?" Kathrine asked, clearly unconvinced.
"The Academy," Mercury replied matter-of-factly.
"Uhuh..." Kathrine muttered. "Ami-chan, you're forgetting the
most important thing. What if I don't want to stay?"
Mercury sighed. "Stubborn, as usual. I already explained this.
You have no choice. We cannot let you return. Mistress 9 would use you
as a host, bringing about the installation of Phoaroh 90 in this
universe. We cannot allow that to happen whether you care or not. It's
for your own safety as much as for the safety as the rest of the
universe's. To repeat Haruka's odd English quote, 'You be screwed.'"
Despite herself, Kathrine laughed at something she would never
have guessed Mizuno Ami to say. "Fine then, I'm screwed. What do I
have to do?"
"You don't really have to do anything. You're free so long as
you stay in 2997. Not that you'd be able to leave. We'd kill you first,
to be frank. Well, I wouldn't, but knowing Haruka, she would. However,
what we want you to do is to go to the Academy where we will train you
to use your powers. Now, I won't pretend it won't be awkward. Not only
are you younger than all the other cadets, but you've already achieved
the purpose of going to the academy: becoming a Senshi. You may
encounter cadets whose jealousy knows no bounds. However, I still think
it will be an excellent experience. Not to mention, you need to
understand what will be expected of you when you during the meetings in
the Great Hall. I'd advise you, for the next few months at least, to
simply observethe goings on. While technically a part of the Great Hall,
you might ruffle a few feathers if you start trying to influence
policy. Planet Senshi or not, you are still only twelve."
"Ok, Ami-chan, I'll do it."
* * *
August 21 2999 10:30 AM NST
"Now," Pluto said as she walked across the courtoom floor,
"Minako-chan, is it true that once Nephrite developed feelings for
Osaka Naru, he became a better person?"
"Objection!" cried Arestas, "Leading the witness."
"Sustained."
Pluto shook her head. "Sorry, Your Honor, let me rephrase. Is
it true that Nephrite seemed to become a better person after his
encounters with Osaka Naru?"
"Well, yes, Pluto-san. He seemed to learn what it was like to
love. At the end, when Zoisite killed him, we pretty much all heard
his repentance."
Pluto nodded. "So, then, in your opinion," she glanced at
Arestas who nodded for her to continue, "Nephrite is no longer any
threat to society?"
"Of course not. Why would he be? He knows as well as the rest
of the room that we'd kick his ass from here to-"
Pluto held up a hand. "Uhm, think you Minako-chan, you may step
down. With the court's permission, the Defense would like to call it's
second witness, one Ami Mizuno." Mesthos nodded and the blue haired girl
got up from her seat. She followed the procedure so many of her group
had already. "Now," Pluto said as Ami took her seat, "if you would,
please tell us about the stages you witnessed Nephrite go through as
he continued to wear the mask of a normal human being."
"Well," Ami scratched her head for a moment, "At first he just
needed an excuse to run his operations out of a previously abandoned
mansion. Despite his ability to teleport, Nephrite wanted to be able
to move around Tokyo with impunity. Creating a false identity with
celebrity status would definately allow him to get almost anywhere.
If it wasn't for my nearly being run over by his red sports car, we
would never have figured out it was him."
Pluto walked back. "Yes, but in your opinion, what happened
next?"
"He seemed to become more easily distracted. Preoccupied, if
you will. He seemed concerned about something else."
"This was after he met Osaka Naru?"
Ami nodded. "Though not completely sure of the situation, I
would agree with that. Usagi knowns more about the relationship, as
Naru has been her best friend for many years."
"Was there any final stage you witnessed?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact there was," Ami noted. "He repented
in front of us. Of course, later we found out that Metallia had been
controling them all anyways, as they were actually part of the Terran
Guard. There is no doubt in my my mind that he was sincere, and that
a great majority of his actions were not his fault. Evil is a hard
thing for even the immortal mind to deal with."
"Thank you, Ami-chan, you may step down. The defense calls
Usagi Tsukino to the stand..."
* * *
August 21 2999 11:28 AM NST
The car pulled up to the gates. The driver of the car flashed
a badge at the Senshi Guard, and the gates opened to admit the car
and its occupants. The road went on past several acres of green field
before coming to a stop in front of a large building. Spread around it
were other buildings, similiarly clad in a nice red granite. Modern art
adorned the sides of the walkways as the two occupants of the
aforementioned car strode along it into the main building. As the passed
through the large scanner, they were immediately greeted by a tall
Senshi in a brown fuku. She snapped to attention, with a salute coming
only a fraction of a second afterwords.
"Sailor Mercury, Sailor Eunomia. How may I help you?"
Sailor Mercury sweatdropped. "Yorista, you needn't be so formal,
besides," she leaned towards Kathrine, "No offense to her, but Eunomia
can't get used to having all her orders obeyed at once. She is still a
student here, and as such needs to be treated like one. Otherwise,
she'll assume everything will just be automatically handed to her. It
doesn't work like that. Ahem, now to make this official. Where's Sailor
Venus? She's Commandant this round."
Yorista nodded quickly. "Yes, just a moment." She jumped back
behind her desk and smacked the comm button. "Sailor Venus, Sailors
Mercury and Eunomia to see you."
"~Ah, yes, send them in.~"
Yorista turned back to the two Senshi before her. "Go on in,
its the office to your... Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to, Sailor
Mercury. Just go the normal... uh.. way... *sigh*" She slumped into her
seat as Mercury and Kathrine headed into Sailor Venus's office. Kathrine
almost gagged upon noting that everything in the room was of differing
shades of orange. Obviously the Senshi of Love had no decorating sense.
"Ami-chan! Kath-chan! Come in, sit down, what can I do for you?"
Artemis jumped onto the desk from whereever he had been sleeping
and rolled his at Venus. "Kathrine needs admittance into the school.
It's right here in your planner. See, page nine, second table."
Venus nodded profusely. "Uhuh, uhuh, well ok, let me check our
records see who you were assigned with. Calmari, no, Calhoun, no, ah
hear we are, Callahan, Kathrine Blair. You are in Mizuno barracks..."
She looked at Mercury. "Coincidence? I think not. You've been assigned
room 106 with a Sarah Tangent. If I recall, Cadet Tangent is one of our
better students. She should be a good influence on you. I'll call her
out of class to help get you situated. You'll find your school uniform
in your cl-"
Kathrine gagged. "What do you people have about sailor
costumes? You fight evil in them, you go to school in them, you even
wear them for no apparent reason. This whole country is kooky, no matter
what century we're in."
Venus shook her head. "That from an American. A real case of the
pot calling the oven dirty."
"The kettle black," Artemis piped up.
"Whatever," Venus responded. "Anyways," she stabbed pressed the
comm button, "Yorista-san, please call Sarah Tangent down to the
Commandant's office, please. Her new roommate is here." Within minutes,
a somber looking short haired blonde walked throuigh the door's of the
Commandant's office. She walked in and stood at rigid attention until
Venus told her she was going to strain something. "Cadet Tangent, this
is your new roommate, Kathrine Callahan. Please be kind to her, and
please show her the ropes. Cadets Callahan, Tanget. Dismissed!"
"Huh?"
Mercury chuckled. "She means you can leave now."
"Uhm, right, thanks," Kathrine answered. She followed Sarah out
of the office.
* * *
August 21 2999 12:00 PM NST
Sailor Mesthos reentered her courtroom reading several briefs,
files, records and the such. She sat down and waited for the bailiff
to go through the Up-Down ritual everyone in the courtroom, including
herself, was quite tired off. She turned to her courtroom agenda and
turned on her mincrophone. "We will now commence with closing
arguments before I make my decision regarding the defendant. Arestas,
we'll start with the prosecutrion's closing argument.
The Senshi stood. "Yes, ma'am. *Ahem* Just because someone
shows regret, just because someone repents, that does not mean he or
she can automatically just skip the punishment. It has long been a
tradition of humanity that those responsible for their actions pay
the price. Now, I'm well aware of the defense's attempt to paint the
defendant as a poor used soul captured by evil. When, in truth, he
knew exactly what he was doing. One could argue, and I've even seen
it done, that anyone who does evil has fallen prey to some dark force.
If we are to believe that, then we are no better than Ms. Abigail
Williams of Crucible fame. For those of you who do not know your
classic literature or history, first of all, shame on you, but I
degress, second Abigail Williams, in order to cover her own bad acts,
blamed it on the women of her town, Salem, Massachusetts, calling
them witches. If we believe the defense's claim of "control by evil,"
then where else must we look? Where else must we expect evil to start
controling people? And if this evil is so profuse, mustn't we then
begin stripping our citizens of their rights in order to assure that
the evil does not spread." Arestas got a drink of water before
continuing.
"Obviously, this would not only be impractical, it would also
be a common crime of tyranny against our citizens. Until that changes,
and let me assure you, it never will, we must still hold people
accountable for their actions. Carrying that over to today's case,
Nephrite must be punished. Sentencing is not my department, but, I
still think he needs to be punished for those actions which he
perpatrated. You must rull in favor of a guilty verdict or else we
will have every theif through child pornographers up to murderers
claiming 'the evil made me do it.' This cannot be allowed. Make
Nephrite pay for his actions, we'd expect no less of ourselves.
With that, the Prosecution rests."
"Thank you," Mesthos said. "You may take your seat. Sailor
Pluto, defense is up."
"Yes, ma'am." Pluto took a long drink from a nearby water
glass and stood up. "The reason we are here today is to decide
whether or not to punish a man for crimes he was involved in. However,
I disagree with my esteemed colleague in that involved does not
necessarily mean willing. To demonstrate this, I'll refere to the
Oldman case of 2958, where Brunson Oldman killed Sailor Iestas
in order to prevent terrorists from killing his daughter. Luckily
Serenity was able to bring her back. Still, Oldman was considered
not responsible for his actions. Why? Because frankly, I doubt anyone
here would begrudge the man his parental instincts. I think everyone
in this courtroom, especially those who have children, such as Sailor
Gemini over int he corner, would willingly undergo any commands for
his or her child. Considering this, I say Nephrite was under
similiar constraints. I'm not arguing that he somehow used his
parental instincts to cause the crimes, however I am saying he was
under imminent threat if he did not obey. First, he was under
evil influence, and despite the Prosecution's anaolgy to classic
American literature, Metallia was not someone to be trifled with.
Also, being that he was pretty much a vassal to this evil, he
could have been eliminated at anytime. He was under threat of death
if he did not obey his 'superiors.' Considering that, he falls under
the same catagory as Mr. Oldman. He is not ultimately responsible
for his actions. Metallia is, and she got her just rewards. The
Defense rests."
"Thank you. As I've considered your arguments, as well as
reviewed the evidence as you were making them, I have come to a
decision that I hope is a compromise both sides will like." She
turned to the bailiff. "If you would, please hand my my notebook."
When he did, Sailro Mesthos flipped through it to a page of notes.
"While convinced that Nephrite is repentant, I am not willing to
totally allow him to wander freely about the universe. So, I shall
appoint Sailor Aries, who I understand to be guarding Nephrite
anyway, as his parol officer. Nephrite, you are to check in with
Sailor Aries every seven days, starting today. That is all. Court
adjourned."
"All rise..."
* * *
August 21 2999 12:13 PM NST
"Follow me," Sarah said coldly. "I was in just in Advanced
Calculus and we have a test soon." When they finally reached the
room, Kathrine took a look around. It was even smaller than her
mother's room at the Yoshiyuki's, and much smaller than her own
room back in Texas. She noticed bunk beds, two small desks with
laptops open on them, and two small closets were all jammed in
this six by nine space.
"The hell is this! I can't even wiggle my toes here!"
Kathrine cried upon leafing through her closet and taking out one
of those godawful sailor uniforms. "I hope to god this is only a
temporary arrangement. I might get cramps."
"You'll get used to it, I'm sure," Sarah contemptously
answered. Who the hell was this girl, and just why the hell did she
think she was better than... She sweatdropped. Of course she'd be
an arrogant bitch, the Academy only attracted the best and the
brightest. She obviously must have been the cream of the crop from
whereever the hell she was from. Texas, she thought she heard the
girl say. She turned over to the shorter girl finally examined the
much smaller Kathrine. Speaking of overacheiver, she certainly
didn't look old enough to even be going to Academy. She looked at
the most maybe thirteen. Fourteen if she was just under developed.
However, considering the Academy rarely accepted even sixteen year
olds, this was very odd. She peered at the girl. "How old are you?"
"Depends. Uhm, Twelve, I suppose you could say," Kathrine
answered as she threw off her clothing. If she noticed Sarah's
blush, she didn't show it. Having a brother taught her quickly
privacy was to reserved for important things, changing but the
least of a very long list. Besides, her roommate was just that and
a girl too. Kathrine paid it no heed. "Yeah, twelve. I'll be
thirteen in October."
Sarah blinked. "Twelve!"She was right! This girl was very
out of the ordinary. Twelve and at the Academy. That was, was, was
unheard of! Maybe she had reason to act like an arrogant bitch. She
certainly seemed to. Sarah shook her head in disbelief. "The hell
kind of scores did you get on the entrance exams?" she wondered
outloud.
Now it was Kathrine's turn to blink. "Entrance exams? What
entrance exams?"
A knock at the open door was followed quickly by Sailor
Mercury entering the dorm room. Sarah immediately snapped to
attention. After glancing around, Kathrine slowly did the same. Once
again, Sailor Mercury found herself giggling at the girl. "I've come
just to answer that question. If you would be so kind, Cadet Tangent,
to join Kathrine and I while we head over to the Crystal Palace."
Sarah raised an eyebrow, and Mercury caught it. "Just follow me to
the car, and all will be explained." Though very confused, Sarah
maintained her silence as the Mercury took the driver's seat of a
black electricar. Kathrine and Sarah took the back seat.
"Now, Kath-chan," Mercury said as she turned out of the
Academy gates, "I would like you to be quiet until Serenity is
finished with her speech. We're going to be breaking your existance
to the non-Planet Senshi, and we'd really appreciate you not making
things any worse. We never anticipated anything like. Now, knowing
Pluto, she probably knew, but she's always been a bit... vague with
us. Ah well, such is her privelidge, I suppose. And as for you,
Cadet Tangent, after discussing it with Jupiter, Serenity, and Moon,
we have decided, as Kathrine's roommate, you need to know the whole
story as well. Ah, ah, not now, wait about ten minutes." The car
pulled into the Senshi Parking Lot of the Crsytal Palace. All the
usual Senshi guards were suspiciously absent. Instead, they had been
replaced by Endymion's Royal Infantry in their crisp black and blue
uniforms. They saluted to Mercury as her car came to a halt.
"We'll take that ma'am. I'm Captain Motoko. I'll have your
car ready after the meeting is over. Sargeant Ibarez is waiting to
help escort you into the Council Chambers." He took the keys from
Mercury's outstretched hands.
"Really, Captain, do you think *I* need an escort to find
the chambers I've been to every other month for the last one thousand
years?"
The captain seemed to wither. "Uhm, no ma'am, I mean we just
want to make sure security is well maintained and..."
Mercury waved him off. "While I appreciate the gesture,
Captain, Sailor Mercury is a big girl. You can tell the sergeant his
services-"
"Uh, ma'am," the Captain pulled at his collar, "I hate to
argue but my orders come from Her Majesty Neo Queen Serenity, as
relayed to me by His Majesty King Endymion. It's for the girls'
protection, not your own. His and Her Majesties would never presume
Sailor Mercury couldn't take care of herself, uhm, ma'am."
Smiling, Mercury responded, "Fine, toss in the fact that I
seem to have lost weight, and you've got yourself a convoy."
The captain remained silent for a moment before beginning to
laugh himself. "Uhm, yes, ma'am. Ibarez will be waiting for you
at the end of the lot, and have I mentioned you seem to have lost
weight, ma'am?"
Mercury crinkled her nose. "Why, thank you, Captain. It must
be that new high-tech diet I'm on. Please radio Sergeant Ibarez and
tell him we're on our way."
"Yes, ma'am!" The captain pulled out his radio and moved
into the electricar. Mercury started foward with Kathrine and Sarah
on her heels. As they crossed the parking lot a figure approached them
from the opposite side. He crossed swiftly and saluted. Mercury waved
half heartedly and he turned around to lead them to the Senshi
Elevator. He had his Colt .45 2997 AC edition out, noted Mercury
sourly. 'If there's one thing the Americans can do better than anyone
else, it's still making weapons.'
After checking out the elevator, Sergeant Ibarez motioned for
the three women to enter. He then backtracked into the elevator
himself, his back towards the inside of the elevator as he waved hi
Colt .45 from side to side until the doors shut."Is it just me,
Sergeant, or has this place gone to hell since the Oldman Case?" She
moved past Sarah and Kathrine in order to get closer to the man.
"I wouldn't presume to argue with you, ma'am, but that was
forty years ago. I'm only thirty-two. It was long before my time, so
I'm afraid I can't really say." The elevator dinged to announce its
arrival in such a cheery manner as to trick the universe into
thinking it actually enjoyed the job of shuttling people up and down
and up and down and up and down for nearly a millenium.It suceeded
in fooling the general populus who couldn't afford to care about
only one of twenty administrative elevators in the corner of the
most important government building since the 20th Century Capitol
Hill. Sergeant Ibarez exited the unhappy elevator in a perfect
reversal of his entrance, quickly swinging the barrel of his weapon
left to right and then back to the left before signaling the okay.
The quartet moved silently across the glassy surface of the
Crystal Palace floor. One would think that such a surface,
especially with the kind of footwear the group was wearing, would
make quite a clacking noise. However, much to Kathrine's surprise,
the floor didn't even register their presence. Frighteningly enough,
it didn't show her actual presence. Itr reflected her in her sailor
fuku as Sailor Eunomia. When the immensity of this hit her, she
gasped. She got nothing but an annoyed look from Sarah who seemed to
have not noticed she didn't even possess a reflection, Senshized or
otherwise.
Sergeant Ibarez nodded to two corporals at a large wooden
door that saluted as the group walked up. The quartet continued
through the doors. Neo-Queen Serenity stood up from her desk at the
very back of the circular crystal room. Eunomia was awed by the
sheer size of it all.There were desk compartments lining the the
wall. Each the same size. Each had a small terminal attached, every
one looked alike except for little personal touches like those of
offices that begin to take on the personalities of their occupants.
And in each one of those desk-like compartments sat a Senshi, their
nameplate in front of them. Despite the small personal changes,
some things still remained the same To the right, a microphone, to
the left a glass of water. The circle of crystal compartments was
interrupted only once, where the grand double doors Kathrine and
company walked through opened to the large round room.
Though Kathrine did not yet know the purposes of everything
in the room, she could assume some basic functions. In the center
of the room lay a raised crystal platform with a microphone where
she assumed those who had business with the Senshi and/or Her
Magesty would stand. Above Neo Queen Serenity's own compartment-desk
there was a window where tourists could see Japan's government in
action. Even now, old couples looked down upon the room, as they
attempted to reign in small childre who every so often would stick
their faces up to the glass, creating Modern Art. Above the grand
doors, was another window. This one was for the Royal Family to sit
in on meetings and debates. Endymion had no power, and Chibi-usa had
her own seat as a Senshi down on the floor. At what one might call the
"corners" of the clearly circular room media setups with with such
logos as "FCI," "BBC," and "NBC" pointed their cameras outwords to
bring the rest of world in touch with the Senshi's deliberations.
Though Kathrine has at first failed to notice that, in fact,
one compartment was not filled, this was indeed the case. The
standing Queen motioned to the desk in question and cleared her
voice in such a way that alreated every single person in the room
that they had better shut up, quickly. "You may have all noticed over
the years, especially those of you Academy Senshi that were among the
first classes to graduate, that one of the two hundred and four
compartments in the Council Chambers is not filled. In fact, it is a
compartment seemingly in the middle of where the Planet Senshi sit.
We told you all, upon graduation, that one day we would explain this
absence. You may not have believed another Planet Senshi existed, though
some of you may have had your own suspisions as to what the reason for
the extra is. There have been rumors going around for hundreds of years
of an elusive mystery Planet Senshi that is always working behind
the curtains. Well today is the day that I confirm those rumors."
The gasps could be heard all the way in the American
Confederation.
======================================
End Ep. 005
[bsse_10--meu--rashiku_ikimasho.mp³]
===================== =================
Wooo Hooo! What a rush. Are you aware I just wrote 22k in one session,
taking only breaks to eat and go to the restroom... Oh, and one twenty
minute trip to wall-mart to grab some Armour All in order to clean
up Makoto (My Car, you Ecchi Baka). Anyways, this fic is now sitting at
around 35k, pre-editing. Who knows, it may even get on up there if I
stay in the group. And if this is fine with all of you, I might just
skip onto 006! Keep reading. Send comments to kionon@hotmail.com. Yes,
that means you, and yes, that means now. DO IT!
Why are you still here? GO!
Next Episode
006 - Sailor Secretary, Protector of Paperwork
Also please be aware my other stuff is at
http://www.otakuwars.org/~kionon/velitation/
May the woi be with you.