Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 45 ( Chapter 45 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 45

"Okay, I'm in," Tira said as she glanced back toward Christy, who was standing behind her,
eyes glued to the monitor. "You know, you can just grab the chair from Jack's desk and
bring it over here. You don't have to stand."

Christy shook her head. "I'm too anxious to sit right now," she replied.

"Suit yourself," the dark-skinned girl shrugged as she turned back to the computer and
started typing away. "Now, I just need to find out some info on that satellite of
theirs...."

It didn't take long for Tira to find the network's file server. Once in, she quickly
started browsing through the directories.

"Maybe you should try that Communication Array Planning folder," Christy recommended.
"Maybe we can find something about that last satellite in there if they haven't purged the
files already."

"All right, I'll take a look," she said as she opened the folder. "Let's see.... Hey!
Satellite Maintenance Schedules!"

"Open it up."

"Sure," Tira nodded and opened the file. "Well, lookie here," she said, tapping near the
bottom of the spreadsheet. "Looks like we have a separate page for TTLECL. Wanna bet that's
'Total Eclipse?'" She opened it up and looked over the times and dates listed. "Any of this
mean anything to you, Christy?"

The police officer shook her head. "Not a clue. Wait." Her eyes glanced over the satellite
listing. "They've launched the sixth satellite already?"

"That was quick," she replied as she glanced at her over her shoulder.

Christy frowned. "I know. You think that maybe since they've got their hands on the last
crystal, they're stepping up their schedule?"

This time, it was Tira's turn to frown. "I hope not. I'd hate to think we're too late to
make any difference."

"Same here. Let's hold onto that for now and look at something else."

"Gotcha," she replied as she saved a copy of the file to her computer. "How about the LOS
Comms Test?"

Christy considered it for a moment. "Sure. Open it up."

Tira complied, opening up the file. "Same as before. Buncha words and numbers I can't make
heads nor tails out of. All I can understand is 'Comm check: SAT.'"

"Let's look at something else. What else looks good?"

Tira closed the file and continued to browse through the directory. "Hey, look! Proving
Ground Launch Schedules!"

"Let's see it."

"All right." Within moments, the file was open. "Looks like they've got something scheduled
for a couple days from now. I think this's for that last satellite of theirs."

"So, we've only got a couple of days, huh?" Christy frowned. "I'm going to call Jack and
Diane."

"I'll keep looking around and see if I can find anything else," Tira said without looking
away from the monitor.

**********************************************

"So, what do you think?" Jack asked, leaving Stanton Aeronautical after turning in his
visitor's badge.

"About Stanton?" Diane asked.

He nodded.

"I'm... not sure, really," she replied after a moment's thought. "At first, I was sure that
he was involved in this somehow."

"He still could be," Jack pointed out.

"I know," she agreed, the corners of her mouth turned down in a small grimace. "Still, if
he was involved, why give us what we were after so easily? At the risk of sounding cliché,
this was too easy."

"You think it might be a trap?"

She shrugged. "It's possible. Still, if it was, it would be a very obvious one. I mean, a
place in the middle of the desert - quite literally out in the middle of nowhere. If that
doesn't scream 'trap,' then I don't know what does." She sighed, closing her eyes as her
head limped slightly to the side. "But, what else do we have to go on?"

"So, we're going to drive out there and see what we can find?"

"This is the only lead we have, Jack."

The dark-haired detective nodded as he started to reach into his pocket for his cell phone.
However, before he could touch it, his phone began to ring. Blinking for a moment at the
timing of the call, he brought it out and thumbed the answer button, taking a moment to
glance at the number of the caller. "What is it, Christy?"

"We've found something."

"Found what?"

"We think they're stepping up their schedule. Their sixth satellite's been launched
already and their last one's set for launch in a couple days. Right now, Tira's trying to
find the location of their Proving Grounds-"

"Don't worry about that," Jack cut in. "We've got a map to the Proving Grounds right here."

There was a short pause. "Already? Just like that?"

"Stanton was surprisingly accommodating after we talked to him," he explained. "Diane is
still wary, though, and to be honest, so am I. We could be walking right into a trap and
we don't have any way of knowing for sure."

"But, you're going anyway."

"Yes. Diane's resolute and I'm not about to let her go alone."

Christy sighed. "I figured as such. Well, before you two go and possibly get yourselves
killed, you'll need to get prepared. I'll pick you guys up, then we'll stop by the station.
One of the guys at the Armory owes me a favor."

"Thanks, Christy. I guess I'll have to owe you another one."

"Look, Jack," she said, her tone serious, "I just want you both to come back alive, all
right. That's all I'll ask of you. Just come back alive."

Jack closed his eyes and smiled wanly. "Deal."

**********************************************

"Got a minute, Darien?" Mina asked as she walked up to him after Amy put everyone on a
short break.

"Sure. What's up?" he replied as Serena joined him.

"Just wanted to give you a quick update on the negotiations," she told him with a proud
smirk. "You should be grateful that you have such a talented agent representing you, you
know."

"Right, right," Darien said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"So? What's the story?" Serena inquired.

"Okay, I've been talking with Melvin and G.Q. since this morning and we've come to an
agreement about the next movie you'll be in, provided that this movie works out as well as
we're all expecting it does," she explained.

"Sequel?" Serena guessed. "Total Eclipse 2?"

"Yes and no," the blonde agent replied. "Yes, it's a sequel, but no, it's not Total Eclipse
2, although that will be its working title."

"So, Serena and I will be working together again?" Darien asked, grinning.

"Seems so," Mina nodded. "What say you, Serena? Willing to do a sequel with Darien? I only
managed to get them this far because I said I would be able to talk you into going along
with it."

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you did, now?" she smirked. "And where did this confidence
come from?"

"Oh, come on, please?" Mina pleaded. "This part of the negotiation is riding on it!"

"You haven't considered that I might have something already lined up for after this movie?"

"Do you?"

Serena smirk deepened a little. "I might."

"Do you really have something lined up, Serena?" Darien asked, a worried frown starting to
show on his face.

She dropped her smirk as she turned to Darien. "Honestly, I don't know. My agent likes to
pick things out for me on her own based on what she sees as best for my career. As of late,
she rarely lets me choose my own roles. I only got her to let me play Diane Silver because
I told her that I felt that I was in danger of being typecast." Her smirk returned quickly.
"However, I'm pretty sure I could talk her into getting me Diane's role in Total Eclipse 2.
Especially if the movie does as well as Anderson thinks it will."

Mina's face took on a look of relief. "Great! I knew I could count on you! I'll go tell
them that you're in. Thanks, Serena!"

"Hey, wait!" Serena called out as Mina ran off. "I hadn't agreed to anything yet...."

"You know, I think your agent sounds a lot like my agent," Darien said, considering the
exasperated blonde actress. "Must be par for the course."

"Shut up, Darien," Serena growled. "Just... shut up."

**********************************************

"Thanks, Mike," Christy said as the lights to the Armory flickered on. "I owe you big for
this."

Mike nodded and turned to regard Jack and Diane. "I don't know what you're getting into,
Jack, but it sounds bad," he said as he gave them a solemn look.

"You have no idea," Jack replied as he took a few boxes of rounds for his gun as well as a
couple of spare magazines.

"We'd tell you about it, but we don't have enough time," Diane added as she took a handgun
similar to Jack's, as well as some ammo boxes and magazines. "Besides, I've already got
enough people involved as it is." She paused as she glanced at Jack, who was giving her a
concerned look in return.

"What's done is done," he told her, glancing away long enough to clear his gun's barrel.
"Besides, we've come this far together. I'm not about to let you finish this without me."

Diane cleared her borrowed gun's barrel as well, then gave him a nod. "Fair enough." She
glanced over at Mike and gave him a small grin. "I really appreciate this, you know. And
don't worry; I'll be sure to return this when I'm done."

"You better," Mike replied, arms folded. "It'll be my ass if that gun is missing at the
next monthly inventory."

"Gotcha," she nodded. "Hell, I'll even clean it for you before returning it." She then
turned to Jack after grabbing a couple of holsters and tossing one to him. "You ready?"

"Good enough," he replied, catching the holster. "Let's go."

"Thanks again, Mike," Christy said as the three turned to leave.

"Sure," he nodded as he turned off the lights and followed them out.

**********************************************

"Christy, I need to ask you to do something," Jack said as they left the precinct and
headed for his car.

"What is it, Jack?" she asked, concerned by his serious tone.

"Take care of Ti while I'm gone, will you?" he requested somberly.

"She's a grown girl, Jack," she pointed out. "She can take care of herself."

"Yes, but you know how she is. She'll try to find some way of trying to help us. She's
already done more than enough as it is."

"You think that if she keeps it up, they might catch onto her?" Christy supposed.

"She's already taken a bullet that was meant for me," he told her. "I won't let her take
another one."

"I understand. I'll keep an eye on her."

"Thanks, Christy," he said with an appreciative smile. He glanced over at Diane. "So, how
do you suppose we get to where we need to go? My car doesn't exactly do well over desert
terrain."

"Well, first thing's first," Diane said as they reached Jack's car. "We need to get to
Blythe. That's the nearest city to where the Stanton Aeronautical Proving Grounds are.
After that, we can figure out where to go from there."

"Hey, I have an idea," Christy said after everyone climbed into the car and Jack drove off.
"I'm pretty sure you can find a place that rents off-road vehicles there. Why not just rent
one and take enough gas with you to get there and get back?"

"That could work," Diane agreed. "It'll be dark by the time we get there, but we could find
some place tomorrow morning, I'm sure."

"We'll have to hurry," Jack pointed out. "Exactly how many days do we have before the last
satellite launch again, Christy?"

"Two."

"That's cutting it very close," Diane grimaced. "Still, we can manage as long as we don't
hit any major snags."

Once they reached Jack's detective agency, he pulled up alongside the curb and parked, but
left the motor running. "I'll grab your stuff from my car and toss it in your trunk,"
Christy said as Jack opened the trunk to his car. "You two go say your goodbyes to Tira."

"Right," Diane said as they headed inside.

"So," Tira said the moment they entered the agency, "it's time, right?"

Jack glanced toward his desk, where Tira was sitting and nodded. "Looks like it."

Tira quietly stood up from the desk and made her way around it. "Normally, I'd ask you to
take me with you or let me help in some way," she said, her voice uncharacteristically
quiet and serious. "But... this is different, isn't it?" She stared at Jack as he remained
silent. "So, I won't ask you to take me with you." She closed the distance between them and
threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "But, you better come back! You hear me?
I've already lost one dad; I won't lose another one!"

"You won't, Ti," he replied as he embraced her in turn. "I'll come back. I promise."

"You better," she retorted. "Otherwise, I'll have Dad kick your ass up in Heaven."

Jack chuckled as he let her go. Tira then turned to Diane and embraced her as well. "You
watch out for him. I won't forgive you if you let him get himself killed."

"I'll make sure he comes back," Diane told her. "I promise."

"You, too, Diane," she added as she frowned at her. "You have to come back, too."

The blonde agent smirked. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'll be fine; it's this guy
I've got to keep my eye on," she added, poking Jack in the shoulder.

Tira giggled as she let go of Diane and stepped back to look at both of them. "Thanks,
Diane. I needed that.

"Anyway, you two go take care of what you got to take care of. I'll be waiting for you two
to come back safe."

Jack and Diane nodded. "See you later, Ti," Jack said as he turned to leave.

"We'll be back, soon," Diane added with a small wave.

"Bye, Jack. Bye, Diane," Tira said, waving back. "Take care."

Outside, Christy stood by Jack's car, waiting for them. "You all set?"

"All set," he nodded.

"Good," she replied, nodding her head. "While you're gone, I'm going to get in touch with
Shingo and see if he wouldn't mind helping us find out more about that place you're heading
for. He's got a better setup than you've got here, anyway."

"Thanks again, Christy," Diane said as she opened the passenger door and started to climb
in.

"Jack, make sure that you keep your cell on you," she told him as he climbed in as well. "I
want to be able to contact you, should Shingo find something important."

Jack nodded as he shut his door and rolled down the window. "Sure. Anything else?"

"Just one last thing: Good luck. Both of you."

"Thanks," Jack and Diane replied in unison before Jack put the car in gear and drove off.

**********************************************

"Cut!" Amy called out loudly. "That'll do it for today! We'll be getting ready to go on
location by the end of next week, so starting tomorrow, we're going to skip ahead to the
rest of our interior scenes! Let's try to get them all done before we head out to the
Mojave, all right?"

"So, how are we doing this on location thing?" Darien asked as he and Serena came back from
where he parked the car.

"Oh, you weren't here yet when she outlined the on location stuff," she said, regarding him
for a moment. "Well, basically, Van Holst had our production manager arrange to put
everyone up in several hotels in Twentynine Palms for the duration of our Mojave shoot.
We'll be commuting daily from there to some location out north of Joshua Tree National Park
that the location scouts picked out some time ago. Transportation is supposed to be
arranged for us."

"Sounds like a big hassle, doesn't it?" Tanya said as she joined them.

"It's the first time I've ever been involved in a movie to such a degree," he remarked with
a thoughtful expression on his face. "Usually, I was just the guy with the single line or
just another body. Either that or a lesser part of the production crew. PA jobs, mostly."

"Like your last job?"

"Don't remind me," both Darien and Serena muttered in chagrined unison.

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized with a grimace. "Well, this should be an interesting
experience for you, Darien. A lot of times, we get to see some really beautiful and exotic
places. I'm looking forward to it, myself."

"Well, we've got to finish our interior scenes first," Serena pointed out. "We're pretty
close to the end."

"Yeah, can you imagine?" Tanya remarked. "And I've only got a couple scenes left, too."

"Oh, don't feel too bad," the blonde actress replied. "You told me the other day that you
got another role lined up after you finish this one." The other actress merely shrugged in
response.

"Really? What movie?" Darien inquired.

"It's a new comedy by Tommy Ritenour," she told him, an eager grin sliding across her face.
"You know, the same guy that did 'Delusions of Sanity,' 'Walla Walla,' and 'Jason and
Vayleen Go to Philadelphia (for Cheesesteaks).' The working title they gave me was 'Whiskey
Tango Foxtrot.' It's supposed to be really off-the-wall." She clasped her hands together
excitedly. "I've been waiting to do a crazy comedy like this! It's gonna be so much fun!"

"I'm happy for you," Serena said as Tanya's excited grin began to infect her, making her
grin as well. "Alexis won't let me do a comedy."

Tanya's grin dropped as she huffed irritably. "I keep telling you, girl! You gotta drop
that tyrant of an agent the moment your contract with her is up!"

"She's not that bad, Tanya," she rolled her eyes. The tone of her voice sounded to Darien
like it was an argument that they had had several times before. "She just wants to do what
she thinks is best for my career. You have to admit that she's done quite well for me."

"I know that she helped you get where you are today, but you can't let her control your
career!" the dark-skinned actress shot back. "It's your career; not hers!"

Serena sighed in vexation. "Look, let's not argue about that again, all right?" she said,
changing subjects. "There's talk that Van Holst, Anderson, and that lot are considering a
sequel."

Tanya's eyes widened. "Already? But we haven't even finished THIS movie yet."

"They're sure it'll be another smash hit," she replied offhandedly, as if it were of no
consequence. "Darien's agent is trying to finalize the deal for the second movie as we
speak."

"It almost feels like this whole production's starting to take on a life of its own,
doesn't it?" Tanya remarked thoughtfully. "Not that that's a bad thing or anything."

"Well, if they do start production on a sequel, do you think you might be available for it?
You know, already having a role set up after this movie's over and everything."

"They won't start on the next movie for a good while, Darien," Tanya said, shaking her head
and smiling. "I've got plenty of time to clear my schedule for it. I have a feeling it's
something I don't wanna miss."

"I know I'm looking forward to it," Darien agreed. "But right now, I'm looking forward to
going home for the day. I'll see you two tomorrow," he added with a wave as he turned to
leave.

"Later, Darien," Tanya waved back.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Serena added, waving as well. "Look, Tanya," she said after he
was out of sight, "I know you mean well, but I've been with Alexis since the beginning.
So far, she hasn't tried to deny me any role I really wanted. Sure, she likes to dissuade
me from roles she doesn't approve of - and a lot of times, she makes some very good points."

"Okay, okay, you trust her," Tanya interjected before she could continue. "I get it. I'll
leave off. But, I still think you could do better than someone who thinks she knows you
better than you do.

"Anyway, I'll see ya tomorrow, Serena," she said as she started to leave as well.

"Bye," the blonde actress replied as she watched her friend leave. It was the same argument
as they've always had about her agent. Nothing new. Well, she had some good points and it
wasn't like she hadn't entertained the thought of finding a better agent that would give
her more leeway with her role choices. It was just that she didn't want to leave without a
good enough reason and being constrictive wasn't something she considered a good enough
reason. Alexis was always looking out for her career, first and foremost. If she had to be
firm and keep her from making bad choices that would affect her career, then she could live
with that.

"Still, a little bit more freedom would be nice," she sighed as she made her way to her car.

**********************************************

To Chapter 46

**********************************************

Author's Note: IT LIVES!!! FINALLY!!! Yes, I finally got around to finishing the next
Seeing Stars chapter. You have no idea how hard it was to restart this after completely
forgetting where I was going with this story. I had to reread a lot of my previous
chapters. Man, it's amazing to see how much my writing style has changed since I first
started this story. And now that I've finally reached the home stretch, I feel like I can
really work on this story again with confidence. If only it were this easy with Atonement.
Oh, well. I'll get a new chapter done for that story, too, eventually. Next chapter: The
original plot fast-forwards into the Mojave; Tira and Shingo join forces to take on Stanton
Aeronautical's Proving Grounds' network; and Jack and Diane storm the Proving Grounds.


Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs
to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate you emailing her or myself for
permission before posting it anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.