Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor X ❯ SX12: Flight of the Serena ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Sailor X #12 Flight of the Serena

By: John Brengman

Edited by: Thomas Schell

Sandra stood within the void of space... Far in the distance, the sun
could be seen. Looking around, she could see Earth hanging off to her
right. Moonlight glimmered from behind her. Somehow, Sandra didn't get
any comfort from this picturesque setting. There was something
else...something cold...

A blue orb appeared in the distance. "That's about where the planet
Mercury is," Sandra said as she gazed at the turquoise-colored sphere.
Almost as that thought came into her mind, it was confirmed....she
could sense death.

Sailor Mercury's death sphere...

The blue field of the sphere seemed to crawl outward and leap ahead of
itself at the same time. Its outer edge licked at the fiery upper
layers of the sun. Violent flashes of angry yellow and orange light
flickered across the disk of the sun as energy from the solar orb was
sucked away. Ribbons of energy were ripped away and drawn into the
death sphere where they cascaded abut as bright blue and twisting
shafts of light.

The sphere continued to expand. The sun was quickly losing its battle
to remain stable, yet what should have been a cataclysmic explosion
that would have ripped the solar system apart was instead the galactic
version of a pitiful whimper as even the force and energy of supernova
explosions was redirected nearly before they could occur. All of it
ended up swirling around in the turquoise-blue pool.

The planets, now lit by a pale-blue glow, continued about in their
orbits as though doing so was their only hope of escaping. The planet
Venus stood no chance against the onslaught of the sphere. Once the
destructive energies came in contact with the planet, they ripped
through its surface like the planet was made of paper. The molten
center of the planet cooled quickly when exposed to the icy depths of
space...either that or it too joined the energy cascading through the
sphere.

The destruction of Venus completed, the sphere continued its
inexorable march, swelling out, reaching for the third planet of the
doomed star system.

As the bluish hue penetrated Earth's atmosphere, it seemed as though a
rock had been thrown into a pool. Sandra could see waves rippling out
from where the sphere had made contact with the planet's upper
atmosphere. As the deathly expansion of the luminous sphere continued,
Sandra suddenly saw herself on the streets of the Yotichib megacity.
Some miles away stood the Tokyo Tower. Mount Fuji stood vigilantly far
to the southwest. All of this was lit by the pale blue glow of the
death sphere. Suddenly, a deep blue haze appeared to the west and
quickly descended to the city. The haze came toward Sandra, swallowing
everything in a steady, even pace eastward. The Tokyo Tower toppled as
the haze enveloped it. Just before the haze was about to reach her,
Sandra looked to the southwest and saw Mount Fuji being torn
asunder...

Sandra watched as Earth faded slowly into the ever-expanding sphere.
She was about to turn her attention to the moon when a voice seemed to
echo through her mind... "kill me..."

"Wha..?" Sandra gasped uncomprehendingly.

With a shimmer, a voice came from inside the death sphere, "Kill
me..."

Sandra's unspoken "How?" was answered before she could voice it. She
was in her Sailor uniform.

"Kill me!" The whispered voice demanded.

Even though she didn't quite understand what was going on, Sailor Moon
pulled out the Crescent Moon Wand and shouted: "MOON HEALI...." The
wand disappeared and the voice grew slightly louder: "Kill me!!"

Sailor Moon tried to remember the other command words to her more
powerful attacks, but they fled from her mind. "What am I supposed to
DO?" Looking up, she saw the sphere glisten as if it were inviting her
inside... Slowly, Sailor Moon approached the glowing wall of the
sphere which shimmered excitedly at her nearness. A momentary doubt
was squelched by yet another insistant: "Kill me!!!"

As Sailor Moon stepped into the sphere, it lunged forward and
swallowed her. She shivered as a fierce cold cut through the thin
material of her Sailor uniform. "Why can't anything evil ever be warm
and fuzzy?" She wondered silently as she started toward the center of
the sphere.

Shimmering paths of light danced around Sailor Moon as she continued
on her way. They seemed to arc about in a random fashion, and she had
to duck out of the way of one of them.

As she walked, Sailor Moon saw an object fade into view ahead of her.
She continued to approach. Soon she saw that the figure was a teenage
girl with long black hair. She too wore a Sailor uniform, this one
white with a blue skirt...

Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Moon came to a stop next to the unmoving form of her friend.
She stood silently, her eyes were closed, and her head listed off to
the right. She seemed to be asleep. Her neck seemed exposed and
vulnerable.

"Now what?" Sailor Moon murmured aloud, only to be immediately
answered with: "Kill me!!" She was about to ask how this was to be
done, when she noticed Mercury's neck as though she had seen a vision.
"Kill me!!" The whispered voices insisted.

"I can't!" Sailor Moon shouted. "She is my friend!" The voices only
chanted their chorus louder.

"I won't!" But as Sailor Moon turned to walk away, she found that she
could not move her feet in any direction except toward Sailor Mercury.

The voices chanted again. Sailor Moon reached out and slid her hands
around Sailor Mercury's neck. She didn't put any pressure into her
hands, hoping that the symbolism would be enough to satisfy whatever
it was making her do this.

It wasn't. "Kill me!!"

She started to squeeze, but not hard...

"KILL ME!!"

Finally, she started putting some force behind her choke hold. Sailor
Mercury seemed to stir... The voice again roared: "KILL ME!!"...

..."Sandra?"

"Sandra," Mariah said as she nudged her friend. Her gaze strayed to
the nearby bedpost. "Sandra," she repeated as she nudged the sleeping
form again.

Sandra's eyes flew open and she let out a gasp...and noticed that she
was holding the bedpost in a death

grip.

"Are you okay?" Mariah asked, the worry still evident in her face.

"Yes," Sandra said sleepily. "I just was having a dream."

"Must've been some dream," Mariah muttered as she crossed the room
toward the door. "When you didn't show up on time at the docking area,
we got worried. I'll see you down there." Mariah then left Sandra's
room, closing the door behind her.

Sandra began dressing, but as she chose various articles of clothing
or put them on, her gaze flickered to the bedpost.... and she shivered
as a slight feeling of unease drifted through her.

...kill me...

Launch Pad Four - Subsurface Gantry 7:00 am

The Luna Foundation

A large, somewhat flat triangle-shaped ship gleamed as it rested upon
the gantry's support struts. A technician finished polishing a silvery
hull panel. Other technicians stood near the aft end of the ship,
staring up at the cylindrical engine nacelle anchored in its
protective alcove, running through checklists in their heads, or
tapping data into hand-held data pads.

Sandra entered the launch area and headed for the ship. As she passed
one of the technicians who alternated from gazing at the ship's
starboard wing and tapping information into a data pad, she asked,
"How does it look?"

"Everything's looking real good, and we're right on schedule," the
technician replied.

"Almost everything," Sandra silently corrected as she headed for the
nearest turbo shaft. With a press of a button, Sandra activated the
lift, and entered the ship.

Moments later, Sandra entered the bridge of the Serena, the second of
three faster-than-light-capable ships built by the Moon Kingdom during
the Silver Millennium. As she neared the center of the ship's control
center, Sandra looked around at the other crew positions, which were
spread out in front of her. Helm and navigation controls sat
diagonally off to her right and left respectively. Science stations
and life support controls were situated along the right wall, while
communications, engineering, and weapons controls were spaced out
along the left. A viewscreen covered the wall across the room from the
command chair, which was set on a dais slightly above the other
stations. In this way, a person viewing the command center over the
comm channel would only see the person in the command chair.

Sandra seated herself in the command chair and looked out over the
bridge. Some of the elders had been asked if they wanted the
opportunity to take the Serena on its shakedown cruise. Haruka and
Raye had volunteered, and they sat at helm and navigation. Amy had
come aboard and busied herself making sure the ship's small medical
center was well-stocked. As the medical officer, she felt that her
skills would be wasted on what amounted to a walk in the yard, but
Neo-Queen Serenity had insisted that a medic accompany the crew on
this flight.

The rest of the bridge positions were filled by the current Sailors.
Melissa manned the engineering controls, Victoria had volunteered to
monitor the environmental controls, and Mariah had personally checked
out the ship's weapons before presenting herself as the weapon's
officer. The science station was shut down, and Sandra had rerouted
communications to her controls.

Most of the women had taken a crash course on their positions and
duties.. The engineering staff would not clear the Serena for
operations until each of them had passed.

Sandra looked over the bridge as her comrades silently performed
last-minute checks. Satisfied that all was in order, she cleared her
throat. "Are we ready to see what this ship can do?" Raye and Haruka
continued tapping commands into their terminals but each managed a nod
of approval. The rest of the women also made it clear they were eager
to get underway.

Sandra flipped a switch on the arm of her chair. "Luna Control, this
is the Serena."

"Serena, this is Luna Control," came the reply. "Major Charles Bree
here."

"Good morning, Major," Sandra said. "I request liftoff clearance. A
flight plan has been properly filed."

There was a slight pause as the officer checked the files, then:
"You're cleared for liftoff. Have a nice flight."

"You heard the man," Sandra said. "Let's get some space under this
thing! Helm, take us up."

"Aye," Haruka replied. "Launch thrusters at one-quarter."

Sandra could feel a slight rumble beneath her feet as the thrusters
began the work of lifting the ship from the surface of the moon.
Sandra activated the viewscreen and while they weren't working with
their controls, the women glanced at the screen as the cavern-like
launch bay fell beneath them.

Neo-Queen Serenity stood at a balcony and watched the Serena as it
lifted off. Luna perched on the queen's shoulder and gazed at the
scene. The ship bearing the queen's name gracefully rose from the
landing platform like a bird leaving the nest. The Serena lifted
itself above the lunar surface and floated over the palace, then the
lake...

"We're on the glide-path over the palace lake," Haruka stated.

"Good," Sandra replied. "Move at one-fourth standard speed until we
are away from the moon."

Mountains, craters and lakebeds jumped away behind the Serena as
though the ship were fleeing.

Soon, the ship angled its trajectory upward and the moon was left
behind.

"We are outside the lunar gravitation well," Haruka said as she
monitored her controls. "We're free to navigate."

"Very good," Sandra said calmly. "Go to flight plan B, set course for
Alpha Centauri."

As Haruka laid the course into her control board, Raye turned toward
Sandra. "Isn't that a bit long for a shakedown cruise," she asked.

Sandra sat back in her chair. "Anyone here been out of the solar
system?" No one replied. "I thought not.

Besides, we need to test the FTL engines, and even a short FTL jump
will put us outside the system."

Minutes went by...

"We are at the Mars orbital point," Raye said. Sandra switched the
viewscreen to a new direction and a small, angry red dot appeared.

"Good," Sandra said. "Status on FTL engines?"

"FTL drive is online and functioning normally," Melissa replied.

"Here we go," Sandra murmured, then: "Activate the FTL drive."

A circle-like gate appeared in front of the ship; lights seemed to
shimmer around its outer edge. The stars faded from view as the ship
entered the gate, replaced by a cascade of thin red lights that flowed
past them. Sandra dimmed the viewscreen so that the red streaks faded
to a light gray.

"We're at full FTL speed," Haruka said.

"Engine status normal," Melissa said.

"Very good," Sandra replied. "Now we sit back and enjoy the ride."

==> * SM * <==

In deep space...

The darkness of space was suddenly distrubed by a flash of light...as
if a star had exploded. As the ring of blazing light expanded, a gray
object appeared and drifted into the sea of stars...

==> * SM * <==

The Galley aboard the Serena 12:30 pm

Sandra took her meal tray and walked down the steps to the remainder
of the galley. Victoria sat alone at a table near the window. The
red-streaked envelope of FTL-space lit the galley with a dull glow.

"May I sit down?" Sandra thought to Victoria. The frail girl gestured
to an empty seat across from her in response and Sandra sat down.

"What do you think of the ship?" Sandra asked.

"Actually," Victoria silently replied, "I've been living on the ship
since the palace fire."

"Why?" Sandra asked.

"I wanted to do something to help," Victoria said. "The quarters on
the ship are about as nice as my room at the palace."

Sandra pulled the meat off a piece of chicken while Victoria picked at
a plate of peas and rice. Sandra gazed at the hellish FTL effect that
seemed to shoot past the window.

"Are you mad at me?"

The unspoken question shook Sandra's attention back to the table. "Why
would I be mad at you?"

Victoria sat silent for a moment, clearly puzzled by her friend's
reaction, or perhaps the lack of one.

Sandra mentally repeated her denial. "I could never be mad at you."

Victoria was still unconvinced. "But I can still feel that you are
angry."

There was a pause while Sandra thought about this. Victoria ate
another spoon-full of rice and watched as a couple of the other
crewmen entered the galley. The crewmen ignored the women and went
about getting their lunch.

"Running this ship does not lend itself to having a cheerful mood,"
Sandra said as she tried to evade the question.

"That wasn't what I asked," Victoria scolded mentally. "Your anger is
deeper than simply your concerns about this ship. It has been there
for the last few days. Did I do something...my aid to the queen
perhaps..."

"No," Sandra interrupted as she saw the lines of worry cross young
Victoria's face. "You did nothing wrong, and everyone, the queen most
of all, appreciates what you have done."

"But the anger is still there," Victoria replied.

A sad frown flickered as Sandra said, "I don't want to talk about that
now."

"I understand." Victoria's mental voice seemed to have a comforting
quality about it as it said those two patient words. "You will talk to
me when your are ready?"

"Yes," Sandra replied aloud softly. "I will."

==> * SM * <==

The Bridge of the Serena 2:30 pm

"Report," Sandra ordered as she stepped up to her chair and took her
seat.

"I'm picking up something weird on my navigational scanners," Raye
said.

"Oh?" Sandra murmured as she flipped the comm's toggle switch. "Amy,
I'll need you on the Bridge."

Sitting back, Sandra clasped her hands together, thoughtfully tapping
her chin with her steeple-like index fingers. "What is the status of
the object?"

"No ID as of yet," Raye reported. "Object is at bearing 168, distance
roughly 108,000 kilometers and closing."

"What nation are we registered with?" Sandra asked. According to the
agreement with the UN, each Moon Kingdom fighter squadron had to be
attached to a UN-chartered air wing, and each ship had to register
with an Earth government.

"We are supposedly based out of Portsmouth, England," came the
response.

Sandra had to smile at the irony of that statement as she opened the
comm channel. "This is Her Majesty's Ship Serena calling unidentified
object, respond please."

"You'll look really dumb if it turns out to be a rock," Raye said with
a smirk.

"Most rocks don't travel at faster-than-light speeds," Sandra replied
quietly. As she continued to listen for a reply, Amy exited from the
lift and approached the science station.

"Run an analysis of the object behind us," Sandra though as she
focused on Amy, who received the message and activated the science
station controls.

After about a minute of silence, Sandra closed the comm channel. She
got up and walked to a point midway between the helm and navigation
posts. "Haruka," she said. "Continue at full FTL thrust, and run
evasive maneuvers."

"Aye," Haruka replied. "Bringing fusion reactors to full power..."

The ship accelerated slowly as more fusion energy was fed into the FTL
engine. Then, it slowly began to dip and weave as it tried to shake
its pursuer.

"It's definitely a ship," Amy said as she continued to coax more
information from the ship's sensors. "I'm reading a metal shell with
an atmospheric interior."

"FTL thrust at maximum," Haruka said. "Continuing evasives."

"I've found some markings," Amy said. She turned to a monitor and
watched as the computer ran the marks. Then she looked up. "I have
them. It's Cyberworld."

"Somehow I knew they wouldn't be friendly," Sandra muttered. "Continue
evasive, Haruka. Throw in everything you've got."

"I'll try," Haruka replied. "Unfortunately, this ship doesn't handle
quite as well as a fighter does."

Sandra ignored what might have been considered a complaint. She knew
that Haruka wanted to throw the ship into a 90-degree vertical dive,
but that was impossible. Instead, Sandra smiled thinly and said, "Do
what you can."

Despite this, as the minutes passed, in spite of the attempts by
Haruka to shake the alien ship from their path, it still remained, a
silent pursuer.

"It's gaining on us," Amy said. "Distance: 65,000 kilometers and
closing."

"I'm getting tired of running," Sandra said under her breath. "Mariah,
power up our aft weapons. Maybe a taste of pulse lasers will make
those tin heads think twice."

Bright red beams laced outward from the Serena and slammed into the
alien ship. It seemed to have no effect. Instead, the ship increased
its speed and approached the Serena over the ship's aft section and
descended toward the hull.

"Speed at 150% of maximum," Haruka reported as another ceiling conduit
exploded. "The alien is directly over us!" The ship shook violently as
it was pounded by alien disruptors.

"Damage report!" Sandra shouted.

Amy looked over at her. "Structural damage to starboard sections 16,
20, 24, and 29. The increased demands on the engine have blown the
coolant systems to Fusion Reactor One, it's shut down."

"That's okay," Sandra replied. "We won't be needing it." She paused,
then: "Everyone brace yourselves. Helm, go to zero thrust...NOW!"

The lights dimmed as the ship went from maximum speed to sublight
speed in under ten seconds. Systems on the Bridge that were not
already strained nearly went past the breaking point, and those that
were strained went out with a shower of sparks. When the ship finally
came to a stop a thick smoke hung over the Bridge, and the only
illumination came from the red alert signs, the control panels, and
the red emergency lights.

Sandra picked herself up from the floor. "Status!" She yelled.

Amy also had to stand up from where the sudden stop had thrown her.
She quickly started tapping controls at her station. "Most primary
control systems down," she reported. "Secondary systems online. There
is some damage to the power grid. Life support, engineering, and other
systems are operational."

"That could have been worse," Sandra said.

"I think it is," Amy said. "The aliens are still closing."

The alien ship remained hovering over the Serena. The cyborgs aboard
had noticed the engine fluctuations leading up to the dramatic drop in
speed and a low-level tractor beam was attached to the Serena. The
aliens rode the Serena as it decelerated.

The alien ship dropped toward the Serena, its landing struts
outstretched. As soon as the struts made contact with the hull of the
Serena, sharp clamps extended into the hull. A thin laser beam shot
out from the bottom of the craft and started cutting into the hull...

"We're about to have visitors," Amy said hurriedly. "Hull penetration
at starboard section 11. They're using a laser to cut their way into a
storage area."

"Since we are only using a skeleton crew, we have no security forces,"
Mariah stated.

"Fine," Sandra replied. "We'll handle this ourselves. Amy, Haruka, you
two have the Bridge. Computer, transfer control of the ship to the
ship's science officer, security code Moon-29-Alpha. Reroute all
command functions to the Bridge."

Amy stepped up to the command chair. "Computer, this is Science
Officer Amy Anderson accepting command, security code
Mercury-57-Beta."

"Okay," Sandra said as the rest of the women gathered around her. "We
have Sailor business to do."

==> * SM * <==

Starboard Section 11

Sandra and the others rounded a corner just as the Cyberscouts blasted
their way into the hallway. As the smoke cleared, the two groups faced
off.

One of the cyborgs, clasping a wicked-looking glaive stepped forward.
"Identify yourself."

"MOON PRISM POWER!" After that came a chorus of shouted activation
phrases as the other women transformed into their heroic alter-egos.

Sailor Moon stepped forward.

"My name's Moon...Sailor Moon." *

The announcement only served to produce the standard cyborg response.
"You are identified as a criminal. There are numerous charges recorded
against you. The punishment for these charges is death..."

"Witness transcript recorded for later transmission," another cyborg
chimed in.

With that, all three cyborgs attacked.

"DEATH RIBBON"

"WORLD SHAKING"

"DEEP SUBMERGE"

The Sailors materialized a short distance down the corridor they had
just came through to get to the corridor that the cyborgs occupied.
Sailor Moon looked over at Sailor Jupiter, who was picking herself off
the floor. As she dove to the deck to try to dodge the cyborg barrage,
she had shouted "JUPITER TELEPORTATION POWER" to whisk them all to
safety.

"Well," the elder Mars said as she dusted herself off. "You heard
their attacks, and they are anything like our own Sailors..."

"The direct approach seems to work the best on these things," Sailor
Moon replied grimly as she started forward. "It's time to put down
some serious firepower of our own."

As the Sailors turned around the next corner, they could see the
intersection they had occupied when they first encountered these
cyborgs. The walls in that area were now a twisted mass of charred
wreckage, blackened and scorched.

Sailor Moon waved the others back. "We'll wait here," she mentally
told them.

It didn't take long. "Termination complete," Cyberuranus stated as it
moved into the intersection to examine the wreckage.

"Negative," Cybersaturn replied. "There are no organic remains."

A voice responded, "Audio logs indicate the use of teleportation."
With that, Cyberneptune stepped into the hall and looked directly at
the Sailors...

"NOW!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" A blast of searing primal fire roared
down the corridor and enveloped the cyborgs.

"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!" Bolts of lightning screamed down the
corridor...

"DEEP SUBMERGE!" A wave of primal water flew down the corridor...

The Sailors watched to see what damage their attacked had wrought on
the cyborgs. As the energies that bathed the alien intruders began to
fade, the woman saw that no damage had been done. Even as the primal
energies faded, the cybersailors were readying their next attacks.

"Fall back," Sailor Moon ordered.

"But..." the elder Sailor Mars started as the others started to
retreat. Sailor Moon pulled Mars out of the way as the cyborgs
unleashed their attacks. Once they had gotten safely away from the
area, Sailor Moon turned on the elder Mars, shaking with anger.

"I'm going to tell you this once, I am NOT my mother!" Sailor Moon
shouted. "I have no use for people who won't follow orders! You got
that?"

A chastised Sailor Mars gave a small nod and watched as Sailor Moon
stalked off toward the others.

Sailor Neptune tapped Jupiter on the shoulder. "What's gotten into
her?"

"I don't know," Jupiter replied. "I disobey orders whenever I feel
like it, and she's never gotten that ticked.."

Any further comment was silenced as Sailor Moon approached. "As soon
as they find out that we are not dead, they come down that corridor
after us. You," she said, pointing her finger at Sailor Jupiter. "Be
ready to teleport us to the next safe location."

"If they follow the same pattern, it will be section 10," Neptune
added in.

The pattern was followed, and another skirmish occurred at starboard
section 10. This battle went nearly as well as the last one, but this
time, the elder Mars got hit by three bolts from Cybersaturn's
energy-based version of the death ribbon attack.

"Teleport with her back to the Bridge," Sailor Moon said as she
unslung the prone form of the elder Mars from around her shoulders.
"Tell them I have a plan."

As Sailor Jupiter vanished with her cargo, Sailor Neptune asked, "What
is the plan?"

Sailor Moon answered simply: "Just be prepared to do a lot of dodging.
We will have to keep them in sight from here on out."

With that, the cybersailors entered the corridor and the chase was on.
When the duo stopped a short distance ahead of the on-coming cyborgs,
Sailor Moon mentally called out to Victoria...

This running battle continued. From starboard section 10, the main
corridor turned and crossed the spine of the ship into port sector 10.
The exchange of primal energies and tech-based weapons blistered the
halls. Perhaps the only thing that kept the Sailors alive was the
discovery that Neptune's attacks could also be used defensively, and
many cybersailor attacks were met with the shouted: "DEEP SUBMERGE!"

Finally, an exhausted Sailor Moon slumped against the corridor wall
and looked up...there a sign read: Port Section 32: Engineering.

"Bridge," she said as Neptune unleashed another primal attack against
the cyborgs. "Evacuate the engineering section, and get ready to seal
the doors. Tell them to use the starboard exit only."

"Acknowledged," came the reply.

That order having been given, Sailor Moon rose her staff in the air
and shouted "MOON ZERO MAGIC!" A bright disk of energy appeared at the
tip of her staff and shot forward, slamming into Cyberuranus, who had
already been weakened considerably. The cyborg stumbled, but still
came forward.

"Good," Sailor Moon thought. "I don't want to miss any of you with
this..."

Sailor Neptune deflected another Cybersaturn attack with a shouted
"DEEP SUBMERGE!" It seemed to be the most effective way to stop the
energy bolts.

"Sailor Moon," came Amy's voice over the comm. "The Engineering
section is evacuated."

"Good," Sailor Moon said as she slapped the entry button to open the
door. "Get ready to teleport down here." With that, the two Sailors
retreated into the Engine Room.

As Sailor Moon shut the door and sealed it, she ordered the women on
the Bridge: "Bring down all bulkheads in port section 32!" In five
seconds, this was done. When she saw Neptune's questioning gaze, she
said. "The only way out now is through this door, and they'll have to
take time to punch their way through it. By the time they do, we will
be in position."

"And where will that be?" Neptune asked.

"Inside the engine core."

==> * SM * <==

The Cybersailors finally crashed through the sealed door and entered
the Engine Room, ready to fire on the criminals who had so far, eluded
them. Finding no sign of them, Cyberuranus began to scan the area for
them. After a moment, she pointed across the room in the direction of
the huge cylinder shape that was the ship's fusion engine core. The
Cybersailors started toward the nearest entry to the core, a short
corridor-like gantry-way that led from the Engine Room itself to a
door in the side of the core.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Neptune watched the progress of the
Cybersailors on a monitor. "Get ready," Sailor Moon said into her
wrist comm.

"Gotcha," came the response from Sailor Jupiter on the other side of
the comm line. Sailor Moon motioned for Sailor Neptune to follow her,
and she turned and headed down the walkway that spanned the length of
the engine core. The wall to her right curved up and over her head.
Connections to the engine core itself stabbed down from the
wall/ceiling at seemingly random points.

Even though the FTL systems were offline, the cylindrical mechanical
mass that powered the ship hummed and blinked to itself, the throb of
its power rumbling through the deck.

Once the Sailors reached the end of the walkway, they turned around.
"It'll be any second now," Sailor Moon said, as much for the benefit
of the woman standing next to her as those on the Bridge.

Almost as if on cue, the Cybersailors started entering the core. There
were warnings posted on the outer hull of the core, warnings about the
danger of being in this area of the ship, but all the cyborgs were
concerned about was the fact that their quarry had fled through that
door into a place that there was no way out of.

The instant the last cyborg entered the core, Sailor Moon shouted:
"NOW!" The two women disappeared.

Suddenly, from behind the cyborgs came a chorus of attack commands:
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION" * "WORLD SHAKING!" and "DEATH RIBBON
DEVASTATION" (although Saturn's attack was shouted across the mental
landscape.)

The cyborgs tried to fight this new group of enemies, but the elder
Uranus had dropped her cyborg counterpart before it could draw its
metal sword. The elder Mercury followed her initial attack with:
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST" which shrouded Cyberneptune in a block of
ice.

With that, the elders dropped back.

"Okay Sailor Moon!" Jupiter shouted into her comm, and the door to the
engine core slammed shut. She then aimed at the floor in front of her
and shouted: "JUPITER GRAVITON POWER!" The primal waves of gravity
quickly shredded the deck of the area in front of Sailor Jupiter, and
the connecting corridor between the core and the engine room twisted
under the assault with a metallic groan. As Jupiter continued the
attack, the corridor was ripped away from the support struts and metal
went everywhere, cluttering to the bottom of the small area of the
core's alcove that was actually surrounded by a portion of the hull.

Jupiter carefully watched the force fields that kept the atmosphere of
the engine room intact. It shimmered angrily as metal shards flew into
it, but the area where the hull stopped and the deathly cold of space
started remained sealed.

"It's done," Jupiter said with a grin. "Let's go!" She then teleported
herself and the other Sailors away.

==> * SM * <==

The Bridge

Before the Sailors had fully materialized on the Bridge, Sailor Moon
nodded to the elder Mars.

"Eject the core." Mars responded simply by pressing a couple
buttons...

With a blast of fire, small explosive charges ignited and the cylinder
of the fusion core was blown away from the Serena and spun off into
deep space.

Sailor Moon watched the slowly-rotating cylinder as it dropped further
and further behind them. She glanced over at the science station where
the elder Mercury was monitoring her controls.

"Is that computer virus you were working on ready?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Yes it is," came the simple reply.

"Good," Sailor Moon said. "Launch it on their ship."

==> * SM * <==

Aboard Pursuit Ship #721004915-773

The complete darkness in the cockpit of the cyborg's ship was
disturbed when it received a transmission. As was standard procedure,
it was routed to the command console, and a flag within the
transmission was set.

The command console received the transmission and started to act.

"ILLEGAL TRANSMISSION ATTEMPTING TO OVERRIDE COMMAND FUNCTIONS!"

"INITIATE AUTO-DESTRUCT!"

A button was pressed on the Bridge of the Serena, and sparks showered
the cockpit as the program within the transmission overloaded every
connection to the command console.

"AUTO-DESTRUCT FAILED! INITIATE COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"

After a quick pause: "COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS NOT RESPONDING! INITIATE
COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"

==> * SM * <==

The Bridge

"The cyborg ship is disabled," the elder Mercury said. "We've captured
it."

"Good," Sailor Moon replied coldly as she continued watching the core,
which now looked like a large dot that changed shades as it rotated.
"Engineering controls to my station, please."

"Aye," Sailor Jupiter replied as she hit the appropriate controls.
Sailor Moon looked down and put her finger on a square button that
started to flash with a bright red hue accompanied by a soft beeping
noise.

She sat back with her finger resting on the button and watched the
slowly tumbling core.

With a voice as cold as her cobalt-blue eyes, Sailor Moon muttered,
"In the name of the Moon, I will punish you." She pressed the
button...

...a flower of yellow, orange, and red blossomed in deep space,
followed by a bright white flash that sent a concussion wave slashing
out into the darkness...

Sailor Moon sat back in her chair and watched the explosion of the
engine core. She slowly closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

..."moondust..." she whispered.

==> * SM * <==

Port Section 47

Sandra walked down the side corridor, seemingly unaware of the dimmed
lights. She scanned a data pad which detailed the damage to the ship.
Most of the main systems were offline due to the loss of the engine
core, or damaged. The communications systems were operational, and a
distress call had been sent to the Luna Foundation.

==> * SM * <==

Aboard Pursuit Ship #721004915-773

Amy climbed a ladder into the cyborg's ship, pulled a flashlight from
her hip and looked around the cockpit. In the background, the ship's
computer continued to try to fulfill its final directives...

"...TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION! COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS NOT
RESPONDING! INITIATE COMM TRANSMISSION TO LUNA FOUNDATION!"

==> * SM * <==

Port Section 49

Victoria laid on her bed with a reading light on. Aztec murals
decorated the book, "The History of Mexico, 11^th edition," and the
history of that part of the world fascinated her. Every so often, she
would look into the darkness at the nearby portal and the blanket of
stars outside it. Always however, she would be drawn back to her book,
and the exploits of the colorful characters of history.

A knock sounded at the door. Victoria quietly arose from her bed and
put her book on the table that sat next to it. With a press of a
button, a lamp lit, bathing the room in a soft yellow light.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Sandra stepped into the room.

As the door closed behind her Sandra bowed slightly. "Good evening."

"Good evening, princess," Victoria replied.

"Please," Sandra said, waving off any further etiquette. "Not so
formal...I just came to talk, like I promised.

"Really?" Victoria said as she noted the strain in Sandra's voice. She
gestured to a nearby couch. "Please have a seat..."

Sandra slowly went to the couch and sat down. She looked out of the
window and seemed to lose herself among the clouds.

Victoria gently brought her friend back to reality. "What do you want
to talk about?"

There was a long pause before Sandra answered.

"I think there's something really wrong with Rachel..."

FINI

* "Moon, Sailor Moon," is of course a bow to any and every Bond
movie ever made.
* "Shine Aqua Illusion" is a more direct translation of the Mercury
attack also referred to by the command words: "Mercury Ice Storm
Blast." I decided it would be best to let the elder Mercury use
the more correct of the two phrases.

Fanfic ©1999 - John Brengman and Artemis Publishing

Sailor X series inspired by Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,

© 1992 by Toei Animation Co Ltd. and based on Kodansha's

manga production of "Sailor Moon", written by Naoko Takeuchi

This fanfic is freely distributed. Release date: April 5, 1999

Release: 3^rd Edition - January 27, 2001