Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Sailor X ❯ SX25: In Her Majesty's Service ( Chapter 25 )

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

Sailor X #25 In Her Majesty's Service

By: John Brengman

Edited by: Thomas Schell

Darkness flooded through the halls of the Luna Foundation, lit only by
the blue emergency lights that lined the top and the bottom of the
walls. A dark-suited maintenance worker passed a door and continued
forward down the corridor, seemingly oblivious to the lack of light.
Another man approached the door, stopped, and placed his palm on a
slot next to it. A faint hum accompanied a dull blue flash under the
man's palm, and a green light then replaced it. The door opened.

The room the man entered was barely brighter than the corridor he had
left. He climbed a small set of stairs near the door and looked out
over the room. Various people sat in chairs in front of computers or
monitors. Three large screens dominated the far wall, each one showing
an area map of the Luna Foundation, the Moon Palace, and the
surrounding moonscape.

The man briefly glanced toward the glass-enclosed office that was
situated at the back of the room. From there, occupants could carry on
a private conversation and yet could have a view of the entire
computer room. Two women in Sailor suits were in the office now...

"How much longer until this test is over?" Michiru asked.

Haruka glanced at the digital clock on the desk beside her. "About two
minutes," she replied, barely able to hide her own impatience. Both of
them knew that all of this was in preparation for the day Neo-Queen
Serenity would channel the immense power needed to surround the Earth
in a protective layer of ice. In fact, this was the third such test,
and it was designed to see if the computers and other systems would be
affected by the power that would be used. At the end of each test came
a test where the technicians re-started the computer systems from
scratch, in the event something unknown were to happen and such a
thing would become necessary.

Haruka leaned over to a nearby microphone. Looking out the window at
the technicians and their glittering computer panels, she gave the
command to start the final phase of the test.

Chaos erupted almost immediately.

Warning alarms sounded, and the minimal lighting in both the office
and the computer room turned red. Haruka followed Michiru out of the
room and down the stairs. They were just in time to see the door to
the corridor close. They approached the workstation that had caused
the commotion. Sparks of energy arced over the console and a single
word blinked unsteadily on the screen.

"What did you see?" Haruka demanded of a nearby technician.

"I thought Charlie was just doing the routine," the man replied
quickly. "He put a disk in the terminal, typed a command, and the
whole thing blew up. By then, he was already leaving...as though he
knew what was going to happen."

"Haruka, look at this," Michiru said, pointing at the ruined console.
Haruka stepped over and glared at the screen.

"Sisko 197?" Haruka pondered aloud.

"I don't know either," Michiru replied. "Technician, locate Charlie
for us." The technician busied himself flipping the switches and
checking the displays to obey his orders.

"He's in the north stairwell, going up," came the reply.

"If I were him," Haruka said starting for the door, "I'd head for the
monorail tunnel, and then try to get to the launch pads."

"Right," Michiru replied as she and Haruka started running down the
dark corridor. The technicians left behind in the computer room who
were not busy trying to continue their duties or repair the damage
that had just been done barely heard the two women as they shouted
their command phrases to transform into their Sailor alter-egos.

"You were right," Sailor Neptune said as she sprinted down the
corridor. "He is trying to get to the monorail."
"Not if I get to him first," Uranus replied grimly as she rounded a
corner just in time to see her prey sliding under a heavy bulkhead.

"Stop..." Uranus yelled, but she realized immediately that if the man
did so, he would be cut in two by the reinforced steel bulkhead. The
fugitive slipped under the wall as it came down with a heavy-sounding
thud.

"...or I'll say `stop' again," Sailor Uranus growled as she glared at
the barrier between her and the fleeing man. "How do we open this
thing?" She asked, gesturing to the blast door. Neptune pointed to the
controls that were in a small recess on the wall nearby. After a few
moments of tugging and pulling at the handle, Sailor Uranus stood up
and looked at the controls disgustedly. "They're stuck," she said.

"What will you do now?" Neptune asked.

"This," Uranus replied as she backed up to the far side of the
corridor and readied herself. "You'd better duck around the corner."

Seeing what her partner was about to do, Neptune cried, "No!" and
started forward only to hear Uranus shout: "URANUS..."

"Oh!" Neptune skidded to a stop then retreated quickly to safety
behind the nearest corner. Meanwhile, Uranus braced herself for the
backlash of her attack. After all, her target was at point-blank
range.

"....WORLD SHAKING!"

The glow of her attack blossomed, then shot forward into the opposite
wall where the blast door controls were situated. The blast warped the
metal of the wall, and melted the controls.

Sailor Uranus was thrown roughly against the wall and she grimaced as
the concussive force bombarded her. She dropped to her knees under the
force of the blast.

Melted metal dripped from the point where the fiery attack had smashed
into the wall and smoke billowed from a crater-like hole.

With a rumble, the heavy blast doors shuddered upward. Sailor Uranus
struggled to her feet. "I've gotta catch that jerk!" She yelled. "Come
on, Sailor Neptune!"

"Yes," Neptune replied as she got to her feet and started to follow
her partner.

The Moon Palace monorail sped down the dark tunnel with Sailor Uranus
at the controls. What little could be seen of the tunnel walls as they
flashed in the headlights of the monorail's pilot car sped by as the
monorail headed north. Sailor Neptune sat near another bank of
controls, monitoring their progress. The news she had was not good.

"You'll never catch him," she informed her partner.

"Oh ye of little faith," came the quiet reply from Uranus, who barely
glanced at Neptune.

"I didn't mean it that way," Neptune said.

"I know," Uranus said.

The monorail continued northward along the "trunk" of the castle, the
portion of the grounds that extended north from the main areas. As
they neared their destination, a small smile started to form on
Uranus' face. Neptune had seen that look before, the look of a hunter
about to catch her fast prey. The status board showed that the palace
itself was at red alert status, which was as it should be. Then
something caught Neptune's eye. The next second, the thin outline
around all of the screens turned red and the area that belonged to the
nearest launch pad flashed.

"Intruder alert," Uranus said. That would be standard procedure with
the current situation. However, the situation quickly changed as more
information flashed on the screen.

INTRUDER ALERT - SUPRESSION GAS ACTIVATED

ALERT - LETHAL GAS LEVELS IN LAUNCH PAD ONE

"What the..." Uranus exclaimed.

"It says here that Charles Matthias was assigned to the Engineering
section, after doing some work at the observatory." Neptune said
calmly. "That would mean that he would have access to the computers,
and some of our codes."

"But why kill anyone if all he wants to do is steal a shuttle?" Uranus
asked. Neptune was already asking the terminal for information.

"Five people, looks like technicians," Neptune said, then:
"wait...Uranus, Lita's in there."

"Damn," Uranus said as she jammed the engine control forward in an
attempt to get more speed out of the control car. She knew it was
futile. The car was already breaking safety limits, and if lethal
amounts of suppression gas were already in the landing pad, there was
nothing they could do about it.

Neptune sat at her controls trying to contact Lita. There was no
response.

As the monorail turned to the west toward the castle, Uranus could see
that the huge dome over the landing pad was opening.

"Damn sonic screwdrivers!" Lita growled as the infernal tool squirted
free of her hands and plummeted into the innards of the shuttle. There
were two things Lita liked about being able to hang around the palace.
The first was the ample opportunity to cook for a lot of people using
the best ingredients she could find. The other thing she liked was the
opportunity to play grease-monkey and improve her knowledge of
mechanics.

Right now however, the job seemed to be losing some of its appeal as
Lita glared at the gleaming metal tool that seemed to be mocking her
from its resting place deep under the floorboard of the shuttle. With
a grunt, Lita lurched forward and stuck her head further into the
darkness. She wiggled for enough room to get her arm into the hole,
and reached down for the tool.

"Gotcha!" She yelled proudly as she grabbed the troublesome
screwdriver. Then she heard the alarms going off and came out of the
hole in the floor quickly...too quickly. She nearly dropped the
screwdriver again after whacking herself on the back of her head.
Rubbing the back of her head, Lita scrambled into the pilot's chair
and took a look at the screen.

INTRUDER ALERT: SECTION B - LEVEL ONE, SUBSECTION B - 42

LAUNCH PAD ONE

"That's here!" Lita exclaimed, more for her own benefit. Then she
noticed the gas pouring into the room and the technicians running for
the exits, except for one, who seemed intent on getting to a nearby
shuttle.

"Good idea," Lita thought. "Computer," she said. "Close the shuttle
hatch."

"Affirmative," the computer replied. Then: "Warning! Suppressant gas
reaching lethal levels!"

"Not good," Lita said. Looking around, she could see that the
technicians were trying to get out of the launch pad area, but while
the intruder gas was being let in, the doors would not be allowed to
open.

At about then, it dawned on Lita. She was in a cargo shuttle, with
huge tanks mounted on it for carrying fuel or fire suppressant.

"Computer," she said as she turned to the controls and started
flipping switches and pressing buttons, prepping the ship to launch.
"Can the tanks on this thing be used to store intruder suppression
gas?"

"Affirmative," the computer replied. "Putting the output valve in
reverse will allow the shuttle to store a gaseous material."

"Can this valve be set by computer?" Lita asked.

"Aff..."

"Good! Do it!"

The com panel bleeped and someone's voice came over the speaker,
calling for her, but Lita didn't have time to waste. If she didn't act
now, people would die.

"Launch!" Lita yelled and pushed the thrust control forward.

With a roar of sound and light, the shuttle's thrusters came online
and lifted the shuttle into the air.

Looking up at the screen just above the window, Lita said, "Computer,
on screen one, give me shuttle altitude and the layout and objects in
this landing bay." The computer dutifully complied, and Lita raised
the shuttle just high enough to clear the hull armor of the other
shuttles in the room. She noticed that the one shuttle that the
technician had fled to was moving.

WARNING! LAUNCH IN PROGRESS!

Lita barely had time to notice the huge domed ceiling of the launch
bay opening. Her thoughts were in saving the people below. She noticed
that the button controlling the holding tanks on the ship was
blinking, signaling its readiness. Lita pressed the button and
immediately heard a dull roar as the flow valves began sucking in the
gas.

Outside, the roiling gas flowed from the ventilation ducts where the
release tanks were hidden. Like a fog, the gas drifted down to the
floor, where it gathered. With the normal concentration, the gas would
be barely noticeable. Now however, it looked like the exhaust fumes of
a car during the winter, and it had the same fatal effect.

Lita's shuttle started a slow gradual circle around the launch bay,
the holding tanks filling up with the gas. Meanwhile, she watched as
the other shuttle lifted higher and higher out of the still-expanding
gap in the launch bay dome.

Sailor Uranus didn't wait for the containment doors to completely open
before she ducked down and entered the landing pad. To her right, two
squat-looking shuttles sat on their designated squares, which were
painted a bright yellow on the concrete floor. The roaring sounds of
two shuttles was what caught her attention. One shuttle was in the
process of completing a slow circle in the air above the shuttles and
equipment. A gray gas was being sucked into the three large
cylindrical cargo containers that had been loaded on it.

The second shuttle could be seen making a slow graceful rise into the
air.

Uranus turned to Neptune. "Are they okay?" She asked.

"Yes," Neptune said as she knelt to examine one of the downed
technicians. "None of them inhaled enough of the gas, but I can't find
Lita."

"She just saved these people," Uranus replied. "Are you ready to go
after the jerk who did this?"

"Yes," Neptune replied as she stood. Uranus was already running toward
the nearest shuttle. Neptune followed, and as Uranus seemed to fall
into the pilot's chair, Neptune simply sat down and fastened the seat
restraints of the co-pilot's chair.

Uranus spared a brief glance at Lita's shuttle, which was about to
make its landing, then she quickly flipped the switches to start the
engine of her shuttle. With one last flipped switch, she opened the
com system.

"Sailor Uranus to Control, I'm in Shuttle 5 in pursuit of an
unauthorized launch from Pad One." She didn't bother to add that it
would be a cold day in Hell when the fleeing technician out-flew her.

"Confirmed," came the response from the palace's flight control room,
which was actually situated in the midst of the landing pads. "Good
hunting." Uranus had started the shuttle forward before the two-word
sentence was completed. Soon the small ship was streaking through the
air in search of the fleeing man.

The shuttle quickly left the palace behind and skimmed over the stark
mountains and valleys of the lunar surface.

"There he is," Neptune said, pointing to an overhead screen between
her and her partner. Uranus glanced up. "Got it," she said just before
banking into a hard left turn and slamming the throttle forward. With
the increased speed, the escaping shuttle was soon in sight. Neptune
opened the com.

"Shuttle One, this is Sailor Neptune. You are not authorized to pilot
that shuttle. Return to the palace immediately." The pilot of the
shuttle in front of them did not answer. Instead, he put the ship into
a hard left and tried to put a mountain between him and his pursuers.

"I repeat," Neptune said. "You are not authorized to pilot that
shuttle. Return to the palace, immediately."

As Neptune switched off the com, Uranus glanced at her. "I didn't
think he would answer us," she said. The mountain that hid the fleeing
shuttle fell away. Shuttle 4 had started a steep climb away from the
lunar surface, and Uranus tapped a few controls, laying in a course to
follow. She then jammed the throttle full forward, her eyes gleamed as
she felt the increased speed throb through the ship.

Quickly the pitted and barren surface of the moon dropped away as the
two ships vaulted into space.

==> * SM * <==

A picture of a young man with slim build and sandy brown hair
dominated the wall screen of the darkened conference room. The red
emergency lights flashed and added their light to the soft white light
given off by the translucent tabletop. Around the table sat three
women. One of them tapped a button, and the huge picture shrunk into a
portion of the screen and was replaced with the words "CHARLES
KIMBALL", and his biography and work history. The women examined the
information in silence. Finally, the woman at the head of the table
sat back in her chair.

"What is our situation," Sandra asked quietly. She then pointed to the
wall screen. "And what do we know about this man?"

Melissa leaned forward. "One of the backup computers is shot," she
said.

"Luna?" Mariah murmured.

"Yes," came the reply. "As you can see," Melissa continued with a
glance to the dimly-lit ceiling, "the Foundation is on backup power,
and we will be until what is left of our systems is patched in with
Artemis' systems."

"How did Mr. Kimball get such access to our systems?" Sandra asked.

"According to our records," Melissa replied, "Kimball joined the
Foundation roughly three years ago after he lost a job with Dessault
Industries, an aerospace firm in France. He signed up here, and was
placed in Engineering, and then later transferred to the Operations
department, where he's been ever since."

"He's performed his duties well?" Sandra asked.

"Yes," Melissa said. "There are no demerits or anything other than
perfect service records in his file."

"Sounds a bit too clean," Mariah quipped. Suddenly, all eyes were on
her.

"Don't get me wrong," she said quickly, "if he was truly not guilty of
anything, I could see this, but the man tried to kill a bunch of
people in Launch Pad One, and right now is heading toward Earth in a
stolen shuttle."

"The only weird thing I could find on him was when I asked a couple
questions to some of the other people that worked with him," Melissa
stated. "One of the engineering technicians said that he often saw
Kimball on Cargo Shuttle 9 just before his scheduled holiday leaves."

"So?" Mariah said. "So he takes the a ride on the cargo shuttle. Lots
of people do that."

"Yes," came the response. "But, Cargo Shuttle 9 runs between here and
Europe."

"But, according to our records," Sandra said, "Kimball lives in
Spokane, Washington, in the United States."

"And during my inquiries, according to the people I talked to, Kimball
comes across as a loner. Certainly not one to do much traveling,"
Melissa said.

"Well," Sandra said as she stood. "Keep looking. There's something
here that we are missing. In the meantime, we'll work on getting
things back up and running."

With that, the small meeting broke up.

==> * SM * <==

The lead shuttle shuddered under the laser blasts from its pursuer and
fishtailed in an attempt to shake off the other shuttle.

It didn't work. Sailor Uranus kept her quarry right ahead of her and
nodded to Sailor Neptune, who toggled the trigger again, sending two
more laser bolts at the fleeing ship.

"Missed," Uranus remarked.

"Yes," Neptune replied. "But how much more of this can he take?"

Both ships spiraled down into the atmosphere of Earth. Uranus started
to see wisps of super-heated air trailing off the nose of the shuttle.
Then the wisps grew into torrents and then started to glow with a
fiery fierceness. She was not too worried. She had helped to field
test the design for the improved shuttles in the upper atmosphere of
Jupiter, which was far more dangerous than what she faced now.

Nodding to Neptune again, Uranus heard the high-pitched whine of the
lasers. Uranus didn't have to see the other ship to see the results.
The readings on the sensor display above her changed immediately. "You
hit him," she said. "His engine output is down forty percent."

"That won't matter much," Neptune replied. "He can easily pick up
speed through the atmosphere."

The ships quickly dropped from the sky, both of them making turns that
pulled them into level flying just over the ocean's surface. Together
they raced over the eastern Atlantic, the northern coast of Spain
falling behind them.

"He's really a good pilot," Uranus commented as another duo of laser
bolts missed the fleeing shuttle.

"He's also opened up a communications link to someone in western
Europe," Neptune said. "We can't pinpoint the exact destination."

"Send our readings to the palace," Uranus said. "They'll be able to
make more sense of them."

The two ships hurtled over the sea. The Bay of Biscay fell behind them
as they leapt over the peninsula of Brittany and into the English
Channel.

"Uranus," Neptune said with concern, "at this rate, we'll be over
London before we can stop him."

"What a mess," Uranus said. "Inform the English civil air authorities
and tell them to clear us a path along our trajectory."

"They won't like that," Neptune said.

"Better this than one of us hitting a passenger jet."

Neptune nodded, then turned and set about the task of alerting the
proper authorities. By the time she was done, the port cities of
Southampton and Portsmouth were receding into the distance behind
them.

"Yep," Uranus said. "He's heading straight for London. And he's
slowing down."

==> * SM * <==

"We've analyzed the transmission that Mr. Kimball sent," Luna told the
assembled Sailors who were gathered around the table in the briefing
room. "It was sent to somewhere in the vicinity of Altdorf,
Switzerland."

"We also know what was sent in that signal," Artemis said, "and it's
not good."

"Enough with the predictions of doom you two," Sandra quipped. "Out
with it."

"The files stolen from our computers were some of the ones belonging
to Sailor Pluto," came Luna's explanation. Some heads turned to
Setsuna, who was leaning against the wall watching the preceedings.

"How damaging is this?" Sandra asked.

Vanessa looked over at her mentor before replying. "It depends," she
said. "First, among the files stolen was the time charts for the early
part of this century. This would give someone a pretty good idea of
when events are supposed to occur."

"Meaning that someone can use what they've taken to their advantage in
the future," Mina said.

"Yes," Raye said as she absent-mindedly tapped the table with her
finger, "but that's too simple. We're missing something."
"Huh?" Mina said, confused.

"Raye's right," Rachel said. "There are a lot easier ways to scam
people. Why go through all of the trouble of ripping us off?"

"Not to mention stealing a shuttle and evading capture," Sandra said.

No one spoke for a moment, and the thing that was missing seemed to
hang over the room.

"Wait a second," Luna said. "Computer, access the personnel files on
Charles Kimball, and the transmission sent from Shuttle One."

"Computer ready," the computer replied.

"Run a factual comparison on the files and give me the results."

The computer beeped and whirred as it quietly followed its orders and
digested the two files. Finally, it stopped.

CHARLES KIMBALL EMPLOYED AT DESSAULT INDUSTRIES

TRANSMISSION DESTINATION: DESSAULT INDUSTRIES'

ROCKET MODIFICATION DIVISION - ALTDORF, SWITZERLAND

"So he's giving his old bosses some inside information," Cass said
from her chair. "I don't get it."

"Computer, what are the current projects of Dessault Industries?" Luna
asked. "Visual display please." The computer put its information on
one of the wall screens that surrounded the room.

PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED FUEL COMPONENTS - AEROFLOT

PROJECT: RESEARCH INTO F - 29 STRATO-EAGLE - USAF

PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ENGINE - BRITISH AIRWAYS

PROJECT: CO-DEVELOPMENT: SPDS

Vanessa's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the list. She looked at
Setsuna and noticed that she too was looking intently at the list. "Oh
no," she said but was met with a warning glance from Setsuna.

Turning to face Sandra, Setsuna said, "We need to talk privately."
With a nod, Sandra arose from her seat and headed to the small lounge
that was attached to the briefing room. Setsuna and Vanessa followed,
leaving the other Sailor soldiers behind with their questions.

"Interesting," Luna said.

"Confusing is more like it," Lita remarked.

The computer started beeping, and Luna batted at the toggle switch,
then read the message that appeared on the terminal.

"Ah," she said. "Uranus and Neptune have recovered the shuttle that
Mr. Kimball stole." Then she paused. "They report that Kimball killed
himself before they could capture him."

==> * SM * <==

"All those things we can not know, we dream, we hypothesize.

Maybe these are secrets shared by those watching from the skies.

If we are only members of the human race..."

-Geddy Lee, "The Angels Share"

Sandra seated herself behind the desk in the lounge before she looked
up at Vanessa and Setsuna. "Okay," she said. "This is your meeting.
What are we here for?"

After a pause to collect her thoughts, Setsuna sighed, then stepped
forward.

"We believe there is the possibility that someone at Dessault is
plotting to change the timestream," she said.

"And there's a reason this could not be discussed in front of the
others?" Sandra asked quietly.

"We believe the event in question is the one that will result in the
freezing of the Earth by the Moon Kingdom," Vanessa said.

"And why wasn't this brought to my attention," Sandra asked, "or the
queen's?"

"The queen has not been in any condition to act on this information,"
Setsuna replied. "Since you are ruling the Kingdom while she is unable
to do so, you are authorized to know this information and you are the
one best able to figure out what to do with it."

"The other Sailors have no need to know the details behind this,"
Vanessa remarked.

"Plus," Setsuna continued, "In reality, we were hoping that this once
we would be wrong."

"From your reactions in the briefing room, I am assuming that
something related to Dessault has you worried," Sandra said.

"Yes," Setsuna replied.

"But you can't tell me what that is?"

"Not directly, no."

"Come on, Setsuna," Sandra said, her eyes angry. "You've already
stepped into this. It's too late to wipe your shoes."

Setsuna seemed unmoved. "I told you that there was a possible temporal
deviation," she said. "I can not be more specific."

"No," Sandra replied. "It's not that you can't. You won't be more
specific. Your way of dealing with these things is to wait until after
they've happened." She paused, then:

"Will you help us with this?"

"I've done all I can do," was the response. "To do more would risk a
temporal deviation."

Sandra looked at Vanessa. "How about you?" She asked.

"Right now I can't help you." Vanessa said simply. "You want answers
that are too general. You want to know what the temporal deviation is
and how to solve it. I can not give you those answers any more than
Setsuna can. However, if you come up with specific questions, I can
help you answer them."

Sandra gazed downward at the desk, knowing that her next words were
going to be tough.

"Ok," Sandra said as she stood. She went around the desk and stood
before the two women. "Setsuna, it is your duty to protect the
timeline, and I believe that if you remain on duty, you would attempt
to stop us from doing what we may have to do. With that in mind, I, as
Princess of the Moon Kingdom and current reigning monarch, do strip
you of your duties for the period of one week, or until I reinstate
them, whichever is shorter."

Setsuna bowed stiffly. "I understand."

"You still have access to the Doors of Time," Sandra said, "and you
could still stop us, but I am asking you not to out of respect for the
Kingdom."

"I won't interfere," Setsuna replied. "And I will be ready in case
something goes wrong."

Sandra nodded, and with that, Setsuna turned and left the room.
Vanessa remained standing before Sandra until the other woman looked
at her. "Please join the others," Sandra said. "I'll be out shortly
once I have narrowed my questions down a bit."

With a bow that was a good imitation of the one Setsuna had just
given, Vanessa turned and left the room.

==> * SM * <==

The Timegate

"The CEO of Dessault Industries is a man named Mikel Riley," Sandra
said as she glanced around the room at the assembled Sailors. "Our
files indicate that he is a multi-billionaire several times over and
is paranoid about someone else having control over his money."

"How does that involve us?" The elder Sailor Venus asked.

"If something that we're about to do threatens his money," Sandra
replied, "Riley will attack first to protect what he has."

"What would we do that would take Riley's money?" The elder Mars
asked.

"That's irrelevant right now," came the reply. "We are concerned more
with the safety and security of all of humanity, not the personal
fortunes of one man."

"So what's our plan?" The elder Jupiter asked.

"We split into two teams," Sandra said. "Rachel, Vanessa, and Bethany
will use the Timegate to go into the future and answer the question I
posed to Vanessa."

"Which was?" Rachel asked.

"The only way Dessault can do anything to us is to launch the missiles
from the Subsurface Planetary Defense System." Sandra said. "I want to
know whether or not those missiles have been used. Vanessa says that
we can get that information in the 30^th Century."

"The second group, the elder Sailors Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will
travel by shuttle to Altdorf," Sandra continued. "They will try to
recover the stolen data, and whatever other evidence they can get on
what Mr. Riley plans."

Noting that the orders had been given, Vanessa walked up the ramp to
the circular platter-like device located near the Timegate. Below her,
the ether that formed the surface of the Timegate churned and glowed
with a green hue. Vanessa didn't move the arm that hung over the
device, its needle-like end pointing downward onto the surface of the
platter. Instead, she reached up to the top of the arm and slid a
spherical shaped object all the way forward on the arm.

Standing back, Vanessa shouted: "PLUTO POWER!" With a flashing cascade
of light that slowly spiraled outward, Vanessa transformed into Sailor
Pluto, guardian of the flows of Time. Those who had not transformed
into their Sailor alter-egos soon were in similarly flashy displays.
Then Sailor Pluto raised her Time Staff and shouted:

"TIMEGATE ACTIVATION!"

With a flash of green light, an arc of energy shot out and hit the
platter-like device. The light only lasted a few seconds, then the
Timegate assumed its former calm state.

Sailor Pluto motioned the others forward. She would be the last one to
descend through the portal. Finally though, Sandra watched as Pluto's
head disappeared into the ether of the portal and into the 30^th
Century.

==> * SM * <==

30^Th Century - Crystal Tokyo

A misty chill floated in the silent air as the Sailors stepped out of
a wall and into a shadowy room deep under the Crystal Palace - the
future home of the Moon Kingdom.

Glancing around quickly, Sailor Pluto pointed toward a path not too
far away. The Sailors could see a bright blue light that illuminated
the path.

It looked as though they had stepped into an area used for storage.
Blue metal doors lined the walls. Each door had a number and a
numbered keypad

Soon the Sailors emerged onto the well-lit path and found themselves
gazing at the source of the illumination. A shining column sparked
radiantly.

"Wow," Sailor Uranus murmured. "What is that?"

"The Crystal Palace's central computer core," Pluto replied quietly as
the trio of Sailors started toward it. "It's memory banks contain
information going all the way back to the Silver Millennium."

"Wasn't that destroyed by Queen Beryl during the first Dark Kingdom
attack against Queen Serenity?" Uranus asked.

"The original castle was," Sailor Pluto replied. "But the computer
core was located deep underground, as this one is. When the attack
came, the core was sealed off and it survived the destruction."

As the Sailors approached, they saw that the core was surrounded by a
glass partition. The only opening stood before them. Computer
terminals ringed the partition, with seats patiently waiting users to
use the quiet control panels. Rachel sat down in front of the nearest
terminal, its black glossy surface beneath her hands. One lone light
blinked on the control panel and with a touch, the entire panel
flashed to life. A message blinked in one portion of the panel: "Enter
user name:"

Rachel quickly typed in her user name. The response was unexpected.

USER "R_Kyle" NOT REGISTERED. INACTIVE FILE INDICATE NEAREST MATCH IS
USER "Amy Mizuno". DO YOU WISH TO ACTIVATE THIS USER?

Rachel cancelled the request, and the terminal patiently waited for
another user to log on. Sailor Pluto, who was examining the computer
core from inside the partition was summoned to help.

"Thankfully, I know the user name and password of one person who might
be active," Pluto said. She went to the terminal next to Rachel,
tapped the activation control and was greeted by the same login
screen. She typed in: "S_Meioh" and was greeted with, "Greetings
Setsuna. Please enter your password." After Pluto typed in the
password, she let Mercury take her place.

"Wait," Mercury said to Pluto. "It's your mentor's name we're using.
Why don't you do this?"

"Because officially," Pluto said, "I'm not here. I need to go check
the portal and make sure it is stable. I've never kept one open this
long." Pluto put her hand on Mercury's shoulder and glanced down at
the control panel. "Just don't do anything stupid." Then she turned
and walked back into the shadows.

Mercury got to work. Fingers flew over the controls as she called up
the computer's directories, and soon she found the information she was
looking for.

"This is strange," Mercury muttered.

"What is it?" Bethany said as she joined her fellow Sailor.

"Well," Mercury said. "According to the historical archive, the
planetary defenses were never used in any of the conflicts that the
Moon Kingdom had with anyone else. Yet..." Mercury's fingers tapped a
few controls and another view showed in the center of the control
panel. The view was a map of the Pacific Ocean. From an area west of
Los Angeles, a dark blue line snaked its way out into the ocean, then
curved south through the archipelago of Indonesia and from there into
the Indian Ocean. At relatively even points along this line, small
blue circles appeared.

"In the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries," Rachel said, "the UN
engaged in a program to buy high-yield nuclear warheads from the
United States and Russia."

"But there were already a bunch of disarmament treaties signed,"
Bethany replied.

"Yes," Rachel said. "And according to this, most of the later ones
were masterminded by the UN, with the Luna Foundation secretly behind
them. By 2013, the construction of the underwater chain of nuclear
silos was started. By 2015, the Pacific chain was completed, and the
Indian Ocean chain was completed two years later. By 2021, two more
chains were expected to be completed and the entire thing would end up
virtually circling the planet."

"What happened to it?"

"Well, something strange," Rachel said. With a tap of the controls,
the view of a section of the chain in the Pacific was enlarged. The
chain could be seen making its way southwest until it reached the
middle of the ocean. It then turned south for about 200 miles, then
resumed its southwest course. Unlike the other circles indicated along
the chain, three of the four circles in the area being viewed on the
control panel were clear. A pointer labeled the fourth circle as the
eastern control module for the chain.

"What happened?" Uranus asked again.

"Apparently the defense system was used," Mercury said. "We just don't
know when. I'll attempt to find out."

"Okay," Uranus replied. "I'll tell Pluto what you found out."

"You do that," Mercury said, her mind already on to her next task.
Something seemed odd about the way the computer reacted when she had
tried to log in. She dropped back to the root directory and quickly
scanned the contents. Finding a promising file, Mercury tapped it, and
followed a trail that led her deeper and deeper into the memory banks.
Finally, in a directory named "Personnel", she found a file named
"Dispositions" and selected it. The file appeared in the center of the
control panel.

Sailor Moon ( Serena Tsukino ) INACTIVE

Sailor Moon ( Sandra Tsukino ) INACTIVE

Sailor Mercury ( Amy Mizuno ) ACTIVE

Sailor Mercury ( Rachel Kyle ) KILLED IN ACTION

Sailor Venus ( Mina Aino ) ACTIVE

Sailor Venus ( Brandy MacIntyre ) INACTIVE

Sailor Mars ( Raye Hino ) ACTIVE

Sailor Mars ( Cassandra Von Drysen ) KILLED IN ACTION

Sailor Jupiter ( Lita Kino ) ACTIVE

Sailor Jupiter ( Mariah Shipman ) INACTIVE

Sailor Saturn ( Hotaru Tomoe ) INACTIVE

Sailor Saturn ( Victoria Chapland ) INACTIVE

Sailor Uranus ( Haruka Tenoh ) INACTIVE

Sailor Uranus ( Bethany Dell ) INACTIVE

Sailor Neptune ( Michiru Kaioh ) INACTIVE

Sailor Neptune ( Melissa Stanley ) KILLED IN ACTION

Sailor Pluto ( Setsuna Meioh ) ACTIVE

Sailor Pluto ( Vanessa Ramsey ) INACTIVE

Mercury sat back and stared at the panel. Especially at the words
KILLED IN ACTION across from her name. What villain would they face
that would do this? Just as she was about to dig deeper for answers, a
hand touched her shoulder.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," Pluto growled as she hit the
control to shut down the display. "It's bad enough that we have to use
sensitive information to protect the Moon Kingdom, but you certainly
should not know what you just saw."

"What are you going to do about it?" Mercury said as she stood up.

"I could use the Timegate and prevent you from accessing that file in
the first place," Pluto replied. She saw Mercury stiffen at the
thought that something could actually be done about her "temporal
crime".

"However," Pluto continued. "It may be more interesting to watch you
live with it, never knowing if anything you do, or any time travel we
do changes your fate."

"I don't believe in fate," Mercury bluntly stated.

"Neither do I," Pluto replied. "But then again, the ancient people
didn't believe the world was round."

With that, Pluto ushered Mercury toward the back of the room and the
portal that awaited to take them back to their own time.

==> * SM * <==

Near Altdorf, Switzerland 3:40 PM

The Sailors managed to quickly infiltrate the large factory belonging
to Dessault Industries. It was a simple matter once Sailor Jupiter
said that she could teleport the three of them past the fence that
bordered the property. They slipped onto the property at a secluded
locale and then transformed out of their heroic identities. They would
definitely look out of place in their short-skirted Sailor uniforms,
but perhaps no one would give three business women much thought. They
picked what looked to be a promising door and entered an old brick
building that looked like it contained offices

The few workers who remained in the building at this time in the
afternoon smiled politely at the ladies as they passed, until Mina
spotted one particular office. The wall sign indicated that these were
the offices of Mikel Riley.

"Well," Raye muttered. "Let's see if the big money-maker is home." She
quietly turned the handle and opened the door.

The redheaded secretary looked up as the three women entered the
office. Unlike the blue-collar atmosphere that was evident just
outside the door, the offices of the CEO presented an aristocratic
air. Classical music wafted softly in the air. Valuable paintings
adorned the walls. Plush couches were arranged neatly around an
expensive coffee table and the desk the secretary sat behind was made
of mahogany.

The secretary herself was dressed in a secretarial business suit with
a white blouse that was buttoned all the way to her neck, and light
gray skirt.

Looking up from her work, the secretary noticed her visitors. "Mr.
Riley is not in right now," she said. "May I ask who you are?"

"Oh, I'm Mina," Mina said cheerfully. "We're from the accounting
department and we're just here to check and see that the financial
ledgers are in order for the American accounts.

"After all," Raye added. "It's tax season over there."

"The forms were not filed electronically?" The secretary asked.

"Mr. Riley doesn't file his taxes electronically," Raye said quietly.
"He doesn't trust the tax preparation people, and he's afraid that
someone will hack his files."

"Well, he's not here." the secretary said as she returned to her work.
The visitors were clearly dismissed.

Mariah was not cowed that easily. "Are you saying that we came here
all the way from the central office for nothing?"

"Mr. Riley left just over an hour ago for a meeting in Shanghai," the
secretary replied.

"Can you find the tax files?" Mina asked.

"I don't think I should be going into Mr. Riley's office when he's not
here."

"Okay," Raye said. "We'll just report back to the main office and tell
them why Mr. Riley will be late with the tax preparation forms. I'm
sure Mr. Riley will be quite angry when he finds out that he will be
paying late fees."

"What was your name again?" Mina chimed in. "We want to make sure you
get full credit for this."

The secretary eyed Mina coldly for a moment, then pulling open the
desk drawer, she removed a key. She grumbled as she stood and walked
over to the wooden door that led into the next office.

"I guess I can let you in," she muttered. "I wouldn't want to have Mr.
Riley mad. He can get really terrible when he gets mad." The waiting
women heard the lock open with a resounding click, and the secretary
opened the door.

The secretary ushered the other women into the darkened office. It was
clear that she did not care to have strangers in the room because she
didn't bother to turn on the lights before pointing to a pair of file
cabinets that stood against the far wall. Dim light filtered through
the shuttered windows and cast a dim yellow pall over the room.

"The files you are looking for are in the file cabinets," the
secretary said.

"What about the computer?" Mariah asked.

"Mr. Riley doesn't keep his files on the computer," the secretary
said. "He afraid someone..."

"...will hack his files," Mina finished. "Gotcha. We'll need some
privacy for a few moments."

"Why?" The secretary was suddenly defensive.

"According to regulations, these files are private," Raye replied. "We
can't go over them with a third party looking over our shoulder."

"But..."

"Look, lady," Mariah said as she hustled the secretary out the door.
"Let us do our jobs. We'll be out of your hair in no time." Mariah
closed the door firmly behind her and locked it. Pulling out her
pistol, she set it on its lowest setting and fired at the door. A puff
of smoke and a satisfying sizzle told Mariah that the door mechanisms
were fused into a solid piece of metal.

"How long will that hold them?" Mina whispered.

"Not long enough," Raye replied quietly as Mina activated the
computer. "Hurry!"

"I am," Mina insisted as she inserted a floppy disk into the
computer's disk drive.

While the women worked, a large owl glared unmoving at them. A quiet
whir sounded as one eye focused.

==> * SM * <==

The Central Pacific

A large white boat trundled through the water toward its destination.
Although it was a luxury craft, no one was taking advantage of the sun
and warmth upon the deck. Indeed, the only person on the upper decks
of the boat at all was a lone man who stood gazing toward the horizon
with one hand on the ship's wheel. With his graying hair swept back, a
light sports shirt on, and his hand at the controls of a yacht, Mikel
Riley looked every bit the multi-millionaire that he was.

Then Riley heard a beeping noise, and the top on the computer terminal
next to the ship's wheel slowly rose, its screen already flashing an
alert. After entering his passcode, Riley saw his secretary's face
appear on the monitor.

"Mr. Riley," she said. "There's something strange going on here...."

==> * SM * <==

"Found it!" Mina squeaked. The other women looked over her shoulder at
the computer monitor.

"There's the information stolen from the Luna Foundation," Raye said.
"But what's all the rest of this stuff?"

"Information on the planetary self-defense network..." Mariah
murmured. "With firing trajectories toward the moon."

"I'm getting all of this," Mina said as she dragged the file objects
from their folder and onto the floppy disk.

Just as the disk drive started whirring to itself, the three women
heard someone trying to open the door.

"You in there!" The secretary said loudly. "Come out here now!" The
curtains near the door continued to shiver as the secretary tried to
force her way in.

"Hurry," Mariah said urgently.

"I'm trying," Mina said as she held her hand near the disk drive. "One
thing technology hasn't improved much on is the speed of a computer
saving stuff to disk."

Now some male voices were added to the shouting outside the door, and
the shaking of the curtains got worse.

Just before the door reverberated with the force of the first kick
against it, Mina snatched the disk form the drive.

"Let's go," she said, nodding toward the windows on the far side of
the room. Raye was already there, ripping the window shades down and
throwing open the windows.

The door crashed open and three guards entered the room. Raye was
already up on the window sill. "There's an awning we can use to catch
us, and there's a truck we can use," she said just before she jumped.

Mina was climbing into the window as the guards raised their guns.

"Halt!" The lead guard ordered. Mina took that opportunity to leap out
the window.

Mariah realized that she was outnumbered three to one, and decided
that the odds needed to be evened out a bit.

"JUPITER STAR POWER!" The flaring light of the transformation was
intense and the guards had to shield their eyes. By the time they
could see, Jupiter was ready.

"JUPITER GRAVITON POWER!" A force wave blasted from Jupiter, throwing
the soldiers into the next room along with most of the wall. Strone,
glass, and wood exploded into what had been the secretary's office and
the guards landed haphazardly amid the rubble.

Sailor Jupiter took the opportunity that the confusion gave her to get
to the window to make her escape.

One of the guards raised his gun at the back of Sailor Jupiter and his
hand squeezed the trigger. The gun coughed once, and a bullet slammed
into Jupiter's shoulder. The force of the blow threw her out the
window.

There was barely enough time to scream, but Sailor Mars turned and ran
to catch her. Sailor Jupiter fell on top of Sailor Mars and the two of
them collapsed in a heap.

Two guards appeared in the window and shot down at the Sailors. Their
first shots missed, and their second shots bracketed the Sailors as
they ran toward the truck. As the Sailors clambered into the truck,
bullets pinged around them.

"Sandra told us not to use our powers except in an emergency," Mars
shouted. "I'd say this counts!" With that, Mars pulled her hands
together and aimed at the guards.

A bullet slammed into the truck two inches from Sailor Mars' head. She
gasped, but then regained her composure and concentrated.

"MARS FIRE IGNITE!" A swirling bolt of fire leaped from Mars' fingers
and slammed into the window as the guards ran to get out of the way.
The office exploded. Plaster glass and wood rained down, but by then,
the truck had already sped off.

The truck raced from the side of the building and onto the road
leading to the main gate, which was flanked by two guard towers. As
the truck approached, soldiers spread out across the road at the guard
towers.

"Get down!" Venus shouted as the soldiers raised their weapons. Sailor
Jupiter ducked just in time to be missed by a spray of bullets that
splattered against the windshield, and Venus threw herself against the
door to avoid a bullet that shot through the air where her head had
been. The truck swerved to the left, then Venus hit the gas.

Soldiers scattered as the truck roared toward them. The wire-meshed
gate collapsed on the truck as it struck , then fell away with a loud
clatter. The truck raced the short distance to the road, then made a
tire-screeching right turn onto the highway.

On the helipad south of the facility sat a trio of attack helicopters.
Soon after the commandeered truck smashed its way out of the main gate
of the complex, these helicopters quickly rose off the ground and into
the sky in search of the fleeing truck.

==> * SM * <==

Luna and Artemis found Sandra on one of the balconies of the castle.
This one was on the south side, overlooking the lake. Sandra was lost
in thought and didn't notice the approach of the two guardian cats.

The waters of the lake rippled peacefully as if it were carrying on a
conversation. Surrounding the lake was the barren white and gray of
the lunar surface and the black sky. Only the invisible shield over
the castle and the adjoining buildings kept a breathable atmosphere in
place. It also kept the waters of the lake from being instantly
vaporized. The lake was not necessary, of course, and it certainly did
not capture the grandeur that it had during the Silver Millennium. But
there it was, a reminder of the past, and a reminder of what the Moon
Kingdom was trying to accomplish.

"Sandra," Luna said urgently, bringing the princess back to matters at
hand.

"Yes," she said as she looked over to the cats.

"Sailor Venus has reported in," Luna said. "It appears that Riley does
indeed plan to use the planetary defenses against the Moon Kingdom.
They are heading back now."

"Sailor Pluto has just returned from the 30^th Century," Artemis
reported. "She said that three of the underwater silos of the defense
system were empty."

"Riley?" Sandra asked.

"It seems so," Luna replied. "We are in danger."

"Ok then," Sandra replied. "Send Sailors Uranus and Neptune to Earth
to intercept Riley."

Sandra watched the two cats run of to carry out her commands, then she
turned back and looked out over the lake again. "We're missing
something," she thought. "Something important."

It soon dawned on her. If Riley had launched the missiles in an
attempt to destroy the Moon Kingdom, why was the palace still standing
in the 30^th Century?

Sandra tapped her writs communicator. "Air Control," she said. "Put
all lunar squadrons on full alert and have patrols in the air over the
central and south Pacific regions."

"Yes ma'am," the officer replied.

Looking out at the lake, Sandra realized that for now, all she could
do was to hope that everything worked out. Of course, it helped that
two of her best Sailors were heading out to deal with the source of
the problem. It also helped that they would have air support if they
needed it.

==> * SM * <==

The truck shook under another blast from a trailing helicopter while
another one roared overhead. The machine guns shot large holes into
the bed of the truck, barely missing Sailor Mars.

"Enough of this already," Mars shouted.

"Do you think they're mad?" Venus asked.

"Just a bit," Mars replied. "But so am I." With that, she put her
hands together. "MARS FIRE IGNITE," she shouted, and a fireball shot
out and enveloped the helicopter in searing flames. The copter then
exploded, showering the road behind them with flaming bits of metal.

With that, one helicopter sprayed more bullets at the truck while the
other one raced ahead. It flittered around the east face of the
mountain before rising up and over it.

Sailor Venus continued to drive along the mountain road toward the
nearby ski resort whose parking lot had also served as an impromptu
landing area for their shuttle. Nearby was a relative term however.
The truck was skirting the mountain that provided the ski resort with
most of its business, but the parking lots were on the other side of
the mountain.

The road carved an asphalt path through the snowy slopes of the
mountain. Sailor Venus tried to concentrate on the road but the
incessant droning of the helicopter was a constant distraction that
was elevated dramatically with each attempt that they made to destroy
the truck.

The road curved lazily off to the right, following the curve of the
mountain. Suddenly the mountain seemed to slump over the road and the
road tunneled into the side of the rocky mass. Looking off to the
left, Venus could see that the tunnel emerged and continued toward the
mountain's western side.

A plan dawned on her.

"Get ready to get out of the truck!" She shouted. At about that
moment, the light of day was snuffed out as they entered the tunnel.

Venus continued to drive as the road slowly curved back to the left.
Finally, the light of the exit behind them disappeared and was
replaced a light from up ahead. At that point, Venus stopped the
truck.

"Get ready now," she said as the others got out of the truck. "Any
minute now, that helicopter's going to start wondering why we haven't
come out the other side of the tunnel, and when they try to check it
out, we whack em."

"Got it," Mars replied grimly. She was clearly tired of being the
target of large-caliber weapons.

Sure enough, after a few minutes of waiting in the cold darkness, the
Sailors were rewarded by the sight of the helicopter lowering itself
in front of the exit to investigate the disappearance of its quarry.
Sailor Venus had left the truck's headlights on purposefully, and the
pilot seemed to realize that the entire thing was a trap. The
helicopter started to rise away from the exit of the tunnel, but it
was too late.

"MARS FLAME SNIPER!"

"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"

"JUPITER GRAVITON POWER!"

All three attacks blasted forth from the tunnel as though they had
been shot from a cannon. Mars' flame sniper attack struck first,
impaling the pilot and incinerating the cockpit. Venus' attack sheared
the rotors form the rest of the machine, and they flew off into the
forest that adorned the mountain, tearing into the bark of several
trees before slamming directly into the trunk of massive tree and
coming to rest buried several inches into it.

Jupiter's attack shredded the remains with the force of an earthquake.
Just after Jupiter released her attack, Venus realized the danger, and
sure enough, the gravity force wave had been magnified by the tunnel
and had damaged the exit.

"Back in!" She shouted as she ran for the door. The women piled into
the truck, and Venus threw the vehicle into gear and slammed her foot
onto the gas pedal. The truck rocketed forward, toward the light and
freedom. Venus could already see sand, gravel, and small rocks
showering the roadway. Pushing the truck for all it was worth, Venus
even tried willing the truck to go faster, as if good thoughts could
somehow alter the outcome.

As it was, the truck bolted out of the tunnel just before the first
large stone fell. Venus quickly swerved to avoid the twisted wreckage
that remained of the second helicopter. Then Venus' thoughts turned to
the remaining helicopter.

"I know where it is," Venus muttered quietly.

"What?" Jupiter shouted over the roar of the engine.

"Get ready to bail out!" Venus shouted. "And then, get ready to
teleport me!"

"What?" Jupiter yelled. "Teleport you?"

"Just do it!" Venus replied. Just then, she swerved onto a little-used
road that seemed to run straight up the side of the mountain.

The truck, beaten and abused as it was, bounded up the rough road as
though it enjoyed the experience. Snow rained away from the vehicle,
showering the nearby trees.

"What are you doing, Venus?" Sailor Mars shouted from the back of the
truck as she held on for dear life, but her friend didn't seem to hear
her. The forest was already beginning to thin out and Mars could see
that there was a clearing of some sort up ahead.

The truck burst out of the forest and onto the ski run that topped the
mountain.

"Perfect!" Venus thought as she aimed the truck toward the top of the
run...and the summit of the mountain. Jupiter and Mars watched in
horror as skiers ran or dove out of the way of the on-coming vehicle.

Jupiter was the first to notice that the truck was rapidly approaching
the top of the run and that Venus was not slowing down. "What are you
doing?" She asked.

Sailor Venus ignored the question and instead, focused on getting as
much speed from the truck as she could. The snow-covered ground
rapidly sped by and the crest of the mountain approached.

"Now!" Venus shouted with such force that Jupiter had her door open
before she stopped.

"But..."

"NOW!" Venus pushed Sailor Jupiter out the door. Jupiter fell into the
snow and rolled several times through the powder. Mars had just sprung
from the back of the truck and landed neatly next to Jupiter.

Both of them looked just in time to see the truck rocket off the top
of the mountain

Sailor Venus was still in it.

==> * SM * <==

The ground spiraled beneath her as Sailor Venus fell. Above her, the
truck flew though the air and collided with the final helicopter. She
had leapt from the truck quickly enough that she avoided getting
caught in the fiery explosion that resulted when the two vehicles
slammed together. Luckily, the spinning rotors had sailed off in the
opposite direction.

Now however, as the ground rushed up to meet her, Venus began to think
her luck had run out. If Sailor Jupiter did not teleport her soon, she
would be splattered on the rocks below. She was not sure that having a
pure heart crystal would prevent her from death.

Her fears were about to become an awful reality. The trees shot upward
and Venus screamed...

...just as she faded from existence.

Sailor Mars breathed a sigh of relief as Sailor Venus materialized a
short distance in front of her. She ran and met Venus and the two
hugged each other tightly.

Tears streaming from her eyes, Mars said, "I thought you were dead."

"I nearly was," Venus replied, still surprised to be among the living.

"Yes," Jupiter agreed. "The pain from being shot was almost more than
I could concentrate through."

The three Sailors turned and started the long walk down to the resort
buildings.

"I can't believe you'd do something so reckless!" Mars yelled, just
getting started...

==> * SM * <==

In the Central Pacific

The yacht Grandeur of the Seas floated atop the still waters of the
ocean. Haruka sat on the side of the ship as she finished donning the
rubber scuba suit. Next to her, Michiru was going through a similar
process. After the suit was on, Haruka grabbed one of the oxygen
canisters and slung it onto her back, fitting the valve endings into
her mask. Once Michiru had also finished with her tank, Haruka looked
toward the upper deck of the ship, where a well-tanned man stood
manning the controls.

"Roland!" She yelled, and the Filipino turned to look at her.

"Yes Señora," he said.

"Don't do anything stupid while we're gone," Haruka said. "If you see
anyone, and they don't give the proper reply to palace codes, get out
of here."

"But Señora," the man started to protest.

"That was not a request," Michiru chimed in.

"Aye," Rolando replied, seeing he was not going to prevail.

Haruka and Michiru turned to each other.

"Are you ready?" Haruka asked as she held out her hand toward her
partner.

"Yes," Michiru replied as she grasped her partner's hand.

"Okay then," Haruka said. "Let's do it." And with that, both women
fell backward off the side of the boat and splashed into the
blue-green waters of the ocean.

The yacht receded in the distance as Haruka and Michiru swam deeper
into the depths of the ocean. Schools of brightly colored fish flowed
through the waters nearby. The coral-covered ocean floor slowly rose
up to meet them and they started along its surface.

Haruka surveyed the surroundings and tapping Michiru on the shoulder,
pointed to a dome-like structure in the distance. Michiru nodded, and
they started swimming in that direction.

==> * SM * <==

Control Center - Subsurface Planetary Defense System

"Retinal Scan complete," the computer said. "Access granted, Commander
Anne Walters."

Riley carefully set the eyeball on the nearby control panel and looked
around the control room. Where the blue and white-uniformed palace
personnel had been now stood his own men. All of the casualties of his
assault had been thrown into the storage rooms. All except one. Her
body was sprawled on the floor nearby, blood still seeping from the
gouge that had removed her right eye. After he had launched the
missiles at the Moon Palace, Riley would have the bodies dumped into
the ocean.

The control panels were arranged in a circle around the room, with the
most important controls situated at the far end of the room from the
entrance. A large viewscreen dominated the wall directly to the right
of the main controls, and a status board showing the Pacific Ocean and
the missile silos that made up the SPDS in this area flanked the main
controls to the left.

In the center of the room was a large pool. Riley knew however that
the pool in fact was open to the ocean by the fact that the control
module was built on four stilts that were dug deeply into the ocean
floor. A bridge arced slightly as it traversed the distance between
the entrance to the control room and the main controls.

"All systems ready, sir," one of the men manning the other controls
reported.

"Good," Riley replied. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?
Computer, initiate full launch sequence."

"Launch sequence requires retinal scan," the computer replied.

"Ah yes," Riley muttered as he reached for the bloody eyeball. "The
invincible retina scan." He held the eyeball up to the scanner probe,
then said: "Begin retina scan." A small red beam passed over the
eyeball.

"Retina scan complete," the computer said. "All missile components
moved to launch status two. Ready to launch." A bank of buttons
started flashing, each button representing a nuclear missile inside of
a cement silo.

"Sir," another henchman said. "We have intruders coming in from the
northwest."

Riley went over to the man's controls and tapped a couple buttons. An
image of the deep ocean flashed on to the screen above the control
panel. Two forms could be seen swimming along the ocean floor.

"They're from the Moon Palace," Riley said simply. "Use Teams 3 and 4,
and get rid of them."

"How do you know they are from the Moon Palace?"

"This is a government-controlled area," Riley replied. "Who else would
they be? Now, get going."

The man bowed slightly, then hurried off to fulfill his orders.

==> * SM * <==

Haruka and Michiru were swimming just above the coral-encrusted ocean
floor when they spotted four shapes moving toward them. Rather than
retreat, the two women readied themselves for the attack.

The four attackers were armed with thin arm-mounted gyro crossbows.
The bolts had serrated edges and were quite effective underwater at
short range. They rode scuba sleds that churned up the water behind
them.

As the two groups got closer, the attackers paired off so that there
were two of them against one foe.

The two men on Haruka swam out as to flank her, then fired at her. She
was nimble enough to avoid one shot, but the other bolt winged her
arm. Blood poured from the wound. Michiru, who had been missed by the
first shots at her, moved toward Haruka and was about to put her hand
over the wound to stop the bleeding, but Haruka waived her off.
Instead, she continued to swim, but she was noticeably slowed.

Seeing an easy kill, the attackers closed in on Haruka. When they were
close enough, they raised the crossbows and took aim.

Haruka took that second to act. Grimacing in pain, she pivoted quickly
and jabbed the man in the throat. When he reached for his throat, she
grabbed his arm and fired three quick shots at his companion. One shot
hit him in the leg, another hit square in the chest. The third bold
thudded into his skull. Haruka pulled the crossbow from the drowned
man, then let him go.

One of the other assailants shot at Michiru. The bolt ricocheted off
her oxygen tank. The leak was small, but Michiru noticed it
immediately, and realized she had only a few minutes of air left.

Just then, blood blossomed from the bodies of the men attacking
Michiru. Their bodies drifted lifelessly away and Michiru could see
Haruka, her arm still aimed at where they had been. Haruka shrugged,
then motioned to Michiru, her crossbow, and one of the dead men.
Michiru took the crossbow and oxygen tank from one of the assailants
and put them on.

Haruka and Michiru continued toward the command center.

==> * SM * <==

Control Center - Subsurface Planetary Defense System

"Our men are dead," the henchman reported. "The intruders are still
coming, but one looks wounded. Should Groups 1 and 2 go after them?"

"No," Riley said as he gazed at the screen. "No. We'll deal with them
when they get here."

==> * SM * <==

Haruka and Michiru stood outside an airlock. Michiru reached over to
the combination panel and tapped a few buttons on the numbered keypad.
The light on the control panel blinked green, and the door began to
open.

Soon both women were in the airlock waiting for the water to be pumped
out, and soon that was accomplished.

"Good thing they didn't change the access codes to the doors," Michiru
said.

"Yes," Haruka replied. "The fact that someone other than the Moon
Kingdom has access to this facility is bad enough."

"I don't want to think what they might do with it."

"Time to stop this," Haruka said. "URANUS STAR POWER!"
"NEPTUNE STAR POWER!"

After the transformation effects faded, Sailor Uranus opened the inner
door and stepped inside just ahead of Sailor Neptune.

Before they got to the first intersection, the Sailors found
themselves pinned down by three guards with lasers.

"We can't use our powers in here!" Neptune shouted as a laser bolt
exploded above her head. "The forces involved would break through the
outer hull!"

The blue iridescence of a laser blast flashed past Uranus and made her
duck back into cover behind a corner

"They're using lasers from the weapons locker!" Uranus yelled. "Can't
these goons do anything without stealing something?"

Sailor Neptune didn't hear her partner's quip. Ever since the
firefight at the intersection had begun, a throbbing headache had been
forming, and with the flaring laser bolts being hurled back and forth,
the pain grew worse.

Uranus saw Neptune drop to the floor, grabbing her head.

"Neptune!" She shouted. "Were you shot?"

Neptune screamed.

"No, dammit!" Uranus turned and fired a shot past the corner and the
return shot nearly took her ear off. Driven by her partner's continued
screams, Uranus frantically looked around for something to fight with.

Then she spotted the fire extinguisher. Beneath it was a large sign
that in bold red letters said: "FOR EMERGENCY USE"

"Well, this qualifies," Uranus muttered as she opened the cabinet and
grabbed the extinguisher. Quickly pulling the safety pin on the
device, she slipped back to the intersection, whipped around the
corner, and fired.

White foam sprayed out into the corridor, quickly covering the men in
a dense fog. They tried firing their lasers, but the energy was almost
instantly absorbed. Uranus continued firing the extinguisher for a few
more seconds, then released the trigger and set the canister on the
floor. The three guards lay unmoving on the ground, smothered in the
white foamy fire retardant.

Uranus rushed to Sailor Neptune's side. Sailor Neptune was curled into
a fetal position, her hands clasped around the back of her neck, her
arms shielding her head, her eyes tightly shut.

==> * SM * <==

The large shark swam slowly through the watery depths of the ocean.
The sea was dark and cold, and lonely. Most of the other fish stayed
as far away as they could, and the shark itself stayed as far away as
it could from those that could do it harm.

Suddenly the great fish nearly stopped moving. It was feeling an
instinct that it hadn't felt in years. Slowly, the shark turned and
headed toward the great man-made shape that was on the horizon.

Normally the shark would have avoided such a structure, but the
instinct driving it was irresistible.

==> * SM * <==

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune entered the control room and were
immediately shot at. One of the two laser bolts bounced off the floor
in front of Sailor Uranus. The Sailors returned fire with their
crossbows. Uranus hit one man twice, once in the leg, and again in the
arm. He dropped his gun and dropped to the deck in pain. Neptune hit
one of the men in the center of his chest, and he toppled into the
pool.

The two remaining men were quickly dispatched.

Through it all, Mikel Riley watched.

"Nice work," he said as he reached over to pick up a heavy wooden
quarterstaff. "You've saved me the trouble of having to get rid of a
bunch of bad employees."

"You're next," Uranus said as she strode across the bridge over the
pool

"Not likely," Riley said as he readied himself. "The people you see
here were combat novices. They were technicians, not warriors, with
only the very basic training. I am an expert."

"What makes you think I won't just shoot you?" Sailor Uranus asked.

"Now, where would the sport be in that?" Riley asked. "Or the honor."

"Honor among thieves, " Uranus muttered as she held her right hand
into the air. "SPACE SWORD!" The sword flared to life in her upraised
hand and she brought it down quickly and met the first strike of
Riley's staff. She stepped back a step, then drove forward, forcing
Riley backward. Sailor Uranus continued the attack and Riley continued
to retreat. Sailor Neptune saw a chance to get to the main controls
and started down the circular path toward them. Riley saw her however
and brought his staff up quickly, smacking Uranus in the face. He then
pressed a well-hidden knob on the staff, and a laser bolt shot from
the staff and hit Sailor Neptune, who was thrown roughly to the floor.

"No one is allowed to interfere," Riley growled.

"Neptune..." Sailor Uranus breathed. With a snarl, she launched
herself at Riley, her sword a blur as she hacked and slashed at the
man in a blind rage. Too many times. Too many times her partner had
gotten hurt because of the mission. When the fate of the universe was
in the balance, they each had accepted that as the price they had to
pay. They were destined to complete the mission, and their goals and
dreams were expendable. Now however, there was no mission that
dominated their destiny. They were asked to stay on by Neo-Queen
Serenity, even after the new Sailors had taken over their old roles,
and both partners had done so. They were asked to participate in the
building of the Moon Kingdom, and they did so.

However, no longer did either of them have to stand by emotionlessly
while the other suffered.

And they no longer would.

Mikel Riley tried in vain to defend himself, and he did a good job.
Had he been fighting anyone else, he soon would have turned a potent
defense into a devastating offense. Several times, he blocked a blow
that rattled him through his arms and into his back. With each
deflected blow, Riley stepped back until he fell against the main
control panel. He braced himself against the panel to keep his
balance, and his hand slammed down on a set of buttons. Then he used
the panel as leverage to push into Sailor Uranus and started to drive
the Sailor soldier back.

Sailor Neptune returned to consciousness and surveyed her
surroundings. Sailor Uranus and Riley continued to battle, and Riley
was doing a better job than Neptune would have thought possible
against a swordsman of Sailor Uranus' caliber. Neptune got up and
started toward the controls, then stopped as she saw the display.

REINAL SCAN CONFIRMED...LAUNCH AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED

ACTIVATION OF PLANETARY DEFENSE SYSTEM IN 2:00 MINUTES.

"We have to hurry!" Neptune shouted as she started toward the main
control panel.

Riley also heard her and paused long enough to fire another laser bolt
from his staff. The bolt slammed into a support strut near Neptune,
and it snapped Sailor Neptune was thrown into the aquamarine water.

"Neptune!" Uranus shouted, but her partner did not answer

==> * SM * <==

Sailor Neptune swam underwater along the walkway. She planned to come
up near the main control panels and she hoped that she would have the
time needed to shut down the launch sequence.

Just then, a large shape loomed nearby. Neptune looked out into the
pool in time to see a shark swim into the pool. It's gray skin faded
nicely into the deep water. Neptune discarded her original idea and
decided that it would be less risky to take her chances with Riley's
laser bolts.

With a glance at the shark, Sailor Neptune climbed from the pool and
shouted one word to Sailor Uranus.

"NOW!"

Sailor Uranus started to drop back, and Riley charged forward. He
tripped over Uranus' right leg. Uranus fell backward onto the bridge
and her sword shimmered, then flickered out.

Riley fell forward into the swirling water. He quickly surfaced and
frantically reached for the edge of the bridge. Uranus moved quickly
and reached down to help. Then she saw the shark coming up from below
him. She quickly got to her feet and fled.

Suddenly Riley found himself in the jaws of the great beast. He barely
had time to scream. The shark's vise-like jaws snapped shut on the
man. Blood sprayed from the shark's jaws as its serrated teeth tore
into the soft flesh of its victim. Blood gushed from the Riley's mouth
and nose as his screeching screams turned into guttural howls, then
into silence. The water foamed red, and Sailor Neptune saw an arm
floating on the surface, one end tattered and bloody.

Rushing to the main control panel, the Sailors found that they were
quickly running out of time. The countdown blinked urgently at
them...30...29...28...

Activating her communicator, Uranus yelled: "Luna Foundation, there's
a missile launch in progress and we have less than twenty-five seconds
left! Please say you have something that can handle this!"

Luna's voice came over the com-link.

"We do."

==> * SM * <==

Aboard the Serena

"The Serena is in Earth orbit right now," Sandra told the cats. The
ship had been launched as a precaution in case a situation like this
developed. The ship had also not been affected by the damage that
Charles Kimball had wreaked on the Luna Foundation's computers.

"Weapons controls to my station," Sandra ordered, sounding calmer than
she felt.

==> * SM * <==

Control Center - Subsurface Planetary Defense System

...15...

"Commence silo cap retraction," the computer said.

"Abort!" Uranus shouted. "Luna Foundation authorization Uranus
Alpha-Five-Nine!"

"Silo command aborted," the computer replied calmly.

...13...

"What are you doing?" Neptune asked.

"If those missiles launch, we're screwed," Uranus replied grimly. "But
if they explode in the silos, the explosion should be contained."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Neptune said.

"I do too," Uranus said. "Computer, abort missile launch command! Luna
Foundation authorization Uranus Alpha-Five-Nine!"

"Authorization does not match authorization SPDS Walters. Countdown
continuing."

...10...

==> * SM * <==

Aboard the Serena

"I have a lock on the control center," Sandra reported. "I need
options and I need them quickly."

"Can you fire at all of the missiles?" Luna asked.

"That would take too long, even for the computer," came the reply.

"What about hitting the control center?" Artemis asked.

"Once the command to fire is given, the missiles operate largely
independent from the control center," Amy reported from her station.

"Besides," Sandra replied. "We have people down there. I'm going with
my idea." With that, Sandra pressed the toggle switch to activate the
ship's lasers.

Two laser beams flared from the ship in orbit and stabbed into the
ocean. For a split second they stayed motionless, but then within the
blink of an eye, both lasers seemed to cut a circle in the ocean. Then
they disappeared.

"What did you do?" Luna asked.

"I cut the data line," Sandra said. "Without the launch order, the
missiles won't go anywhere and we can shoot down those that do
launch."

All eyes were on the countdown.

...03...02...01...00...

Three nuclear missiles flared to life. With their launches cleared,
they shot upward, only to hit the solidness of the silo caps.

The warheads erupted.

Sailor Uranus had almost been right. The force of the three
thermonuclear detonations was contained by the walls of the silos and
the silo caps.

The floors of the silos however were not built to tolerate the
explosive forces unleashed. As the vibrations from the explosions
against the silo walls started a small tidal wave and rolled across
the ocean floor, the full force of the warheads was directed downward.

==> * SM * <==

Control Center - Subsurface Planetary Defense System

The violent shuddering that accompanied the explosions rippled through
the room and the lights fluttered into darkness. Then the shaking
subsided and the red emergency lights clicked on, bathing the room in
blood-red light.

The two Sailor soldiers got to their feet as the lights on the control
boards winked back to life and the large viewscreens lit up.

"Look," Neptune said pointing to the view screen that displayed the
status of the missiles. Three circles, the ones closest to the control
center, blinked red. The rest were a steady green. "We did it," she
said.

"Looks like it," Uranus replied. She put her hand on Neptune's
shoulder. "Let's go home."

==> * SM * <==

Two Days Later on ABC News

"On our top story, an earthquake has rocked the northern islands of
Indonesia. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale..."

A Month Later

"The earth continues to rumble. Since the initial earthquake in
northern Indonesia, there have been seven major earthquakes, including
the eastern Siberian quake that measured 8.2 on the Richter Scale, and
the Vancouver quake that measured 8.7. There have also been numerous
volcanic eruptions from the Philipines to Mexico. Scientists today
confirmed that global climates may be affected...

==> * SM * <==

The meeting of the royal family of the Moon Kingdom and the Sailors
began on an ominous note.

"We may be seeing the beginnings of a global ecological catastrophe,"
Sandra said. "It might be the event that will render the planet
uninhabitable....and we may have caused it."

The meeting continued form there. There would be aid to those who
needed it. Money would be sent to various world governments, and work
to unify the glob under one government headed by the Moon Palace and
the Luna Foundation would be accelerated.

While those assembled agreed with the ideas that Sandra and Neo-Queen
Serenity put forward, Sandra could see that a dark cloud seemed to
hang over the group, as though this was an evil that was not stopped.
Each Sailor, old and young, seemed to share in a silent berating. How
could this happen? How could we have caused this?

Finally the meeting broke up, and the Sailors went their own ways.
Neo-Queen Serenity quietly got up and walked out of the room, leaving
Sandra and both Setsuna and Vanessa still seated at the ebony-colored
table.

"You know, sometimes I really hate the two of you," was all Sandra
said before she too got up and left.

FINI

EPILOGUE

The Return of the King

Isoru Ikeda was a busy man. With the aid transports to Earth
transporting food and medicine to survivors of the earthquakes in the
northern hemisphere, Ikeda's day often started very early and went on
for over fourteen continuous hours.

Thus when he first saw the red blip at the edge of the sensor screen,
he chalked it up to a case of fatigue. His eyes had to be playing
tricks. No Luna Foundation ship was scheduled for patrol duty out on
the rim of the solar system. So Ikeda turned back to his work.

Ikeda's next surprise came when the computer beeped at him. Looking up
at the sensor screen, he saw that the new red dot had gotten brighter,
and the computers had attached a name tag to it.

"HMS Darien"

"Sir," Ikeda called out to the man in charge of the flight control
center. "I think you need to see this."

The man walked over and looked at the screen that Ikeda pointed to.
Then, leaning over Ikeda, he looked again.

"My God," the officer said. "The King has returned. Inform the Palace
immediately." Then to the rest of the people in the room: "I have an
announcement! King Endymion has returned!" The cheer that erupted in
the control room was repeated again and again as the news traveled
throughout the Moon Palace and the Luna Foundation.

The large, somewhat flat triangle-shaped ship gleamed under the white
lights that floated over it from spotlights at the palace and around
the landing pad. Fireworks blossomed over the skies above the lake
south of the Palace.

Over the palace's intercom system, a voice announced the countdown to
the exact second that the HMS Darien would touch down on the lunar
surface. The people watching the landing from the landing area itself
noticed that there were a few scorch marks on several portions of the
hull, but on the whole, the ship looked very good.

The Darien softly touched down on the tarmac and the huge platform
began its slow trek into the hangar. The sky was filled with
fireworks, and Luna Foundation fighters added their boisterous
cheering to the celebration.

The ship finally came to a stop inside the massive hangar that was its
home. Arrayed in front of the port-forward access hatch was an honor
guard, who surrounded the royal court. All of the princesses of the
kingdom were kneeling, in a semi-circle, each wearing dresses
representing their respective planets.

Neo-Queen Serenity was kneeling near the airlock in a pure white
dress. Her head was bowed, and her hands were clasped on her lap.

Then the airlock was opening and the royal announcer was shouting:
"All Hail to His Majesty, King Endymion, Lord of the Moon Kingdom,
Defender of the Realm!"

Then he was there. His black hair, his glistening black armor, and his
flowing black cape. It was truly him. King Endymion. Darien.

"Darien!" Neo-Queen Serenity cried as she flew to him and into his
arms. Then, remembering the ceremony of the occasion, the queen drew
back and curtseyed deeply before him. "Your Majesty," she said.

With a bow, Endymion took his wife's hand and gently pulled her to her
feet. The king kissed the velvet-gloved hand of his queen, and the two
then turned and walked down the red carpet that extended from the
airlock. As they passed, the princesses gathered up their dresses and
followed their monarchs.

And the rain of confetti began.

Fanfic ©2001 - 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: March 14, 2001

Release: 3^rd Edition Release: March 26, 2001