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Sailor Trek
By Bill Harris
Chapter 5 - "...once more into the breach..."
PG13
"Captain's log, Stardate 5048.5 I am leading a landing party,
accompanied by the Sailor Scouts, in an effort to recover the stolen crystals. We must accomplish this before Beryl can use them to release
the Negaforce."
Seven pillars of light, a mix of orange and blue instead of the
usual red and orange, illuminated a deserted corridor. After materializing, the security detail readied their phaser rifles while
Spock scanned the area. Seeing the area was secure for the moment, Kirk pulled out his communicator. "Kirk to
Enterprise. The area is secure. Send the rest of them in." Six more energy columns appeared,
resolving into the forms of the Sailor Scouts and Doctor McCoy.
McCoy shivered after the materialization process was complete.
"And I thought a normal trip through the transporter was bad."
"Really?" remarked Sailor Moon. "I kind of liked it."
McCoy shot her a pained look.
Kirk grinned slightly and opened his communicator again.
"Landing party down safe, Uhura. We'll maintain communications
silence until the mission is accomplished."
"Yes, sir. Enter..." Uhura's voice trailed off. "Sir, Mr.
Scott needs to speak with you."
"Very well, Lieutenant. Kirk out." He adjusted a control on
his communicator. "Kirk to Galileo. What's wrong, Scotty?"
"We've got a power supply problem, sir. When the transporter
beam went through the field, it caused a massive power drain, worse than I expected. The Galileo's reserves were almost drained. I dinnae
know if there'll be enough for when ye want to beam out."
"Understood. Kirk out." He looked over at Spock. "Tricorder
readings, Mr. Spock?"
"There is substantial interference in the area, Captain," he reported. The Vulcan was still busy scanning the area with his
tricorder, while Sailor Mercury had been doing likewise with her computer since she beamed in. "Tricorder range is extremely limited.
I am unable to locate the crystals."
Mercury looked up from her scanning. "I've found them! Approximately five hundred meters in that direction." She pointed up
the tunnel.
"All right!" said Jupiter. "Let's go!"
"Commander Giotto, you heard the lady."
"Yes sir," stated the security chief. Turning to his team, "Advance pattern alpha. Anderson, you've got point." One of the
security detail nodded and went to the head of the formation. The group walked slowly down the tunnel, silent save for the sound of the
tricorders scanning the area. Eventually they came to a point were the tunnel open up into a large cavern. Anderson moved into the
cavern cautiously. He turned to face a sudden rustling noise behind him. "Captain, look ..." he began, but his warning cry ended in a
strangled shriek.
One of the other guards fired his phaser at the youma standing
over Anderson, and it vanished in a haze of red light. More youma came charging out into the cavern and rushed the landing party,
threatening to overwhelm them.
Mercury jumped into action. "MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
A thick fog formed in the area, causing the charging youma to
hesitate, confused. Somehow, the security detail was still able to pick out their targets. The phasers rifles fired in unison and
several of the youma vanished.
A few were able to withstand phaser energy. Having shaken off
the fog-induced confusion, they charged among the security guards. Then the Scouts joined the action.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM... SMASH!"
"JUPITER THUNDER... CRASH!"
"MARS FIRE... IGNITE!"
As they had in the engineering room, the Scouts' attacks ripped
through the onrushing youma, leaving only one left. It jumped Giotto and brandished it's claws, ready to disembowel him. Several of the
guards fired at it in a desperate attempt to save the security chief, but to no avail.
"MOON TIARA... MAGIC!" Sailor Moon's tiara tore the youma in
half, leaving only a pile of dust atop the security chief. She helped him to his feet. "You okay?"
"I am now. Thanks."
"Hey, not a problem." she replied. Giotto retrieved his phaser
rifle and moved into the cavern.
McCoy examined Anderson briefly and shook his head sadly. There
wasn't anything he could do for the guard.
"So much for the element of surprise," muttered Kirk. He looked
around at the multiple exits. "Which way?"
After a brief moment of scanning, both Spock and Mercury said
"This way," indicating one of the rear exits. The landing party reformed and continued on their way.
The cats looked out from the shuttle onto the ruins of the Moon
Kingdom. "It hasn't changed much since the last time we were here," Artemis observed.
Luna nodded in silent agreement. After a time, she turned away
from the window. "I prefer to remember it the way it was before."
"I'm afraid those days are gone, Luna."
"I know. But perhaps they can be once again, if only in another
form." She jumped down from the console, and headed for the rear of the small ship. "But first we must deal with Beryl. How are things
here, Mr. Scott?"
"We've managed to get the reserves back up. I just hope there
enough left in these bairns to get them back out." The engineer paused to make an adjustment. "Baker, keep an eye on the power flow." The
other engineer nodded.
Malachite materialized in the chamber containing the crystal apparatus. "Is everything in readiness,
Prince Darien?"
"Yes. The crystals are in place. All we need now is a modest
amount of energy to channel through them, and the Negaforce will be released."
"Excellent."
"There they are," stated Sailor Mercury.
The landing party had stopped at the entrance of a large cavern,
staying low behind whatever cover they could find. In the center stood a large, almost organic looking device. Mounted inside it were the
stolen crystals, arranged linearly. Kirk frowned. Also inside were Malachite and Darien. And who
knew how many youma were nearby. They headed back a bit. "This isn't going to be easy," Venus observed quietly.
Spock concentrated for a moment. "I would estimate the odds of our
success as approximately five thousand two hundred forty seven point six to one against," he said, drawing several incredulous stares from
the Scouts.
"That's what I like about you, Spock. You're always the optimist,"
McCoy retorted.
"Still Bones, it's better odds than we had on Organia."
"I was well aware of the capabilities of our opposition there,
Captain. I'm afraid that my estimate of Malachite's abilities may be somewhat of an underestimate."
"Oh."
"Excuse me, but can we get back to business?" Mars snapped.
"She's right, sir," Giotto said. "Whatever we're going to do, I
don't recommend a frontal assault."
"Agreed," Kirk replied. "We haven't got time for anything fancy,
so here's the plan: Spock and I will work our way through these tunnels and try and find way to one of those other entrances. Give us
fifteen minutes, then create a diversion. With luck, we'll be able to get the crystals and then beam right out of here."
Giotto nodded, but Sailor Mars muttered, "Oh, that sounds like a
*great* plan." Her tone indicated that she thought it was anything but.
"Have you got a better idea?" McCoy retorted.
"Yeah. One of us should go with them."
Venus nodded, "You know what they say: Two's comfortable but three's company."
"Mars' idea makes sense to me," Jupiter added, ignoring the latest misquote. "After all, what if you run into a phaserproof youma?"
"It's only logical," said Mercury.
"You've been around Spock too long."
"Bones..."
"Mars is right," Sailor Moon said, drawing several surprised looks from the others. "And I'm the one who should go."
Mars was about to object vehemently, but Spock spoke up first.
"She is correct. In their recent battles with Malachite, Sailor Moon is the only one who has demonstrated the power to face him one on one.
Since the mission of those who stay behind is merely to provide a distraction, it is logical for
the most powerful member of your team to accompany us." The hot tempered Scout subsided, but still
looked unhappy.
"Let's go, then." The three of them moved off and the others
waited quietly. Ten minutes after they left, several youma entered the chamber and began moving the apparatus under Malachite's
direction.
"Where are they taking it?" Jupiter asked.
"It doesn't matter," Giotto replied. "If they move it, the Captain won't be able to get the crystals. We'll have to attack now."
"Excellent," gloated Malachite. "Soon the Negaforce will be released."
"Not in your lifetime, negatrash!"
Malachite spun around. "Who...?"
The Sailor Scouts stood by the entrance. "You should know us by
now, Malachite! Those crystals don't belong to you! In the name of the Venus..."
"...in the name of Mercury..."
"...in the name of Mars..."
"...and in the name of Jupiter..."
"...we'll punish you!" they concluded simultaneously. A keen
observer would have heard the slight groan that come from beyond the entrance.
Malachite was utterly dumbfounded. "Impossible! You can't all
be here! Obsidian should have injured you badly enough that you couldn't interfere!"
"Another one of your 'brilliant successes', Malachite?" quipped
Darien.
"It doesn't matter," snarled Malachite. "You were fools to enter
the heart of our domain alone, Sailor Scouts! Especially without your precious leader!" He motioned the youma carrying the crystal
apparatus. "Destroy them!"
The youma charged the Scouts, only to be met by five phaser beams. Giotto shifted his aim from a
now vaporized youma to Malachite.
"They didn't come here alone."
"Are you sure you know were you're going?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yes," Spock responded. "Tricorder range may be limited, but is
sufficient to map out the immediate area. The entrance we want should be just around the bend."
When they rounded the curve Spock indicated, they bumped into a
rather large youma that was carrying an equally large crystal. They gaped at each other for a moment, then the youma charged. Kirk fired
his phaser, but it had much the same effect as when he fired on Obsidian. Which is to say, none.
Sailor Moon reacted instinctively. "MOON TIARA... MAGIC!"
Spock bent down to examine the crystal that lay amid the dusted
remains of the youma. "Interesting. This appears to be some form of storage device for bioenergy."
"You mean that's the energy they collected?" Sailor Moon asked.
Spock nodded.
"Well, this should put a crimp in their plans." Kirk motioned
for them to get back and aimed his phaser at the storage crystal.
He fired and it vanished in a bright flash that was followed closely
by the whine of more phasers being fired. "They're early," muttered Kirk.
"Commander Giotto is normally quite punctual," Spock noted. "The
situation must have changed." The two officers and the Sailor Scout ran into the room.
Malachite watched the display of weapons fire from behind his
force wall. "Very impressive," he said. "But ultimately useless."
The guards hurriedly dodged the energy bolt he sent at them.
They arrived at the crystals. Sailor Moon glanced at the ongoing
battle. "Hurry! I don't know how long the others can handle Malachite."
Imperturbable as always, the Vulcan merely nodded. "We need only
two point three minutes to remove the crystals. Then we will be ready to beam out."
"MARS FIRE...IGNITE!"
Mars' fireball splashed off Malachite's forcefield. He sent a
blast of energy her way, knocking her off her feet. A security guard rushed out to pull her into cover.
By this point, the youma had been vaporized, dusted, electrified
or otherwise disposed of. Disposing of Malachite was proving to be another matter. Giotto and his men kept firing, trying to
distract Malachite from the Scouts as much as possible.
Darien watched the battle. Strange, he thought. They don't
seem to be trying to get to... He glanced back at the crystals. ...aha! Very clever
Captain.
"Last one," said Kirk. He moved towards the last crystal. As he
reached for it, a black blur cut across the back of his hand. He recoiled instinctively, looking at the black rose imbedded in the wall.
"I don't think so, Captain Kirk." Startled, they turned to face
a masked man in a tuxedo, complete with cape, cane and top hat.
"Who are you?"
"Tuxedo Mask!"
"At your service," he answered, brandishing another black rose.
"And you're not getting those crystals, Captain."
"What does it take to get to this guy?" muttered Giotto. One of
his men was down, with McCoy tending to his injuries. The remainder of his squad was maintaining a near constant barrage against Malachite,
as were the Scouts. So far, all their attacks just bounced off his force field.
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM..."
"JUPITER THUNDER...."
"...SMASH!"
"...CRASH!"
The combined attack seemed ineffective once again, but Giotto
could swear he saw several beads of seat on Malachite's forehead. Perhaps they where finally beginning to were him down. He aimed his
phaser rifle and pulled the trigger.
The tip of the rifle glowed slightly, but there was no other reaction. The charge in the power pack was exhausted. He moved
quickly to change it out for a fresh one.
Kirk drew his phaser. "Get that last crystal, Spock. I'll try
to hold him off."
"Be careful, Captain," Spock advised. "Tuxedo Mask is another
alias for Prince Darien, and was an erstwhile ally of the Sailor Scouts before he was recently
co-opted by the Negaverse. He has abilities akin to the Scouts."
"Your pointy-eared friend is right." Tuxedo Mask smiled and threw
the rose, impaling it on the phaser. "Give it up, Kirk. You haven't got a chance against me."
Kirk threw the ruined weapon at Tuxedo Mask and charged.
Malachite flung his arms wide, unleashing a wave of energy. Giotto felt a wave of nausea as it washed over his position. He
snapped back up again and quickly evaluated the situation. Not good.
Besides himself, only one other security man was still up. The third
had been injured in the last blast, McCoy moving to tend to his injuries. The Scouts were knocked down, but were slowly getting back
up.
Kirk hit the ground hard. He got to his feet slowly, trying to
catch his breath. Tuxedo Mask was a lot stronger than he looked, and he was fast.
"Stay out of my way, Kirk. I don't want to have to hurt you, but
I will if I have to. You're not getting those crystals." He turn to face Spock.
Big mistake. Kirk grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him
around. He punched him in the jaw with a right cross, followed by a left to his stomach. The two punch combination would have stunned even
a Vulcan for a few seconds.
Not Tuxedo Mask, apparently. He snarled and lashed out with his
cane, striking Kirk across his face. Again, he fell to the ground, stunned. Maybe not such a big
mistake.
Tuxedo Mask brandished another black rose. "Enough! Stay down
and out of my way, Captain Kirk, or die! You can't possibly win."
Kirk struggled to get to his feet. "I've... heard that line...
from tougher people... than you." Admittedly the person Kirk was thinking of was a Gorn, but it was true, nonetheless.
"Have it your way." He got ready to throw the rose.
Sailor Moon interposed herself between the two men. "Darien,
wait!"
Giotto and the other guard fired at Malachite. He sneered at
their efforts. "How utterly pathetic." He raised his hand, preparing to fire a concentrated burst of energy at Giotto. The force field
fell for the split second necessary...
"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM... SMASH!"
The beam of light caught Malachite squarely. He had managed to
erect his forcefield enough to deflect some of the blast, but enough got through to hurt him.
"Darien, you don't want to do this," pleaded Sailor Moon. "Try
to remember who you are. Beryl couldn't have completely erased your memories." Tuxedo Mask stared silently at her. "You've helped us a
lot fighting the Negaverse."
Kirk watched the interplay between the two of them as he attempted to catch his breath. Amazingly, her words- imploring him
to remember who and what he had been- seemed to have some affect on Tuxedo Mask. His face was strained, as if some internal struggle was
going on, that some memory buried deep in his subconscious was trying to surface.
Finally, he said "Enough." He flung the rose in her direction,
embedding its in the cavern floor. "I'll let them go with their crystals, and your friends too, Sailor Moon... if you give me the
Silver Crystal." She hesitated.
"No." Kirk spoke up. "You don't have any right to the dilithium
crystals... or the Silver Crystal, either. We're leaving here with them."
"As if you can get by us," replied Tuxedo Mask. "Look around,
Kirk. Most of your men here are injured. And you certainly aren't getting past me." A hand grasped his shoulder at the base of the neck
and squeezed. Darien's eyes rolled up and he fell unconscious.
"As ever, Mr. Spock, your timing is impeccable." Spock looked at
his captain, raising an eyebrow.
"Darien!" Sailor Moon raced to his side.
"He is undamaged," Spock reassured her. "The Vulcan Nerve Pinch
is a non-lethal method of subduing a foe. He will recover shortly. Captain, since we have the crystals, I suggest we withdraw to
the Enterprise."
"Agreed. Kirk to Enterprise."
"Enterprise, Lieutenant Uhura."
"Mission accomplished. Tell Chief Kyle to get us out of here."
Giotto continued firing, as did the remaining guard. Mars and
Jupiter were back on their feet and alternated with Venus in launching their attacks on Malachite. Every now and then Mercury obscured the
area with fog. The 'run and shoot' mode prevented Malachite from getting a solid shot on them, but his forcefield was still powerful
enough that he hadn't been hurt seriously either. At best it was a stalemate.
His communicator chose that moment to beep. "Giotto here."
"Uhura here. Stand by for beam out."
"Right Lieutenant," he answered. "Standing by." He maneuvered
himself over to Sailor Mercury's position. She had her visor deployed, trying to find some weakness in Malachite's shield. "We're pulling
out. Think you could arrange for some cover for us?"
Mercury nodded. "Yes." She stood up and summoned her power. "MERCURY BUBBLES... BLAST!"
Malachite peered through the dense fog. Where were they?
Typically, the Scouts would use this cover to launch an attack of some
type, but the area was strangely silent except for a humming noise that repeated itself several times. As suddenly as it appeared, the
fog bank lifted.
His eyes widened as he scanned the cavern. They were gone!
The lights in the shuttle flickered and the low hum from the engines began to fade. Scotty raced over to examine the subspace
field readouts and uttered several gaelic curses. "The power drain has become critical. We cannae maintain the field." He snapped open
his communicator. "Scott to Kyle. Did ye get them all out?"
"No sir. The subspace field density dropped just as we were about to beam the last batch out," Kyle replied. "The corridor isn't
wide enough to get a positive lock on the captain and the others."
"What happened?" Artemis asked.
"In generating the field, we've drained the shuttle's engines
dry. What power we've got left is coming from the batteries." Unless he could come up with some sort of solution, and quickly, the Captain,
Mr. Spock and Sailor Moon were trapped in the Negaverse.
"We need more energy to increase the field integrity?" asked Luna.
"Aye. But the engines havnae any power left." He looked down at
the black cat. "Unless ye happen to have a power generator hidden somewhere."
"Would a large surge of electricity do the trick?" Jupiter asked
over the communicator.
"Aye, it could. But what...?"
"That's it!" cried Artemis. "Beam Jupiter down here!"
"Sir?" Chief Kyle sounded confused.
Scotty looked at Artemis, puzzlement clear on his face. Then his
expression brightened. "Ye heard the cat, Mr. Kyle," Scotty answered the chief. "Beam Jupiter to the Galileo."
"We're working on a solution, Captain, but it's going to be a few
minutes before we can give it a try."
"I suggest you hurry, Scotty. Kirk out." He snapped his communicator closed and looked at his two companions. "We better find
a hiding place until Mr. Scott can perform his miracle."
"We can't leave Darien behind," said Sailor Moon.
Kirk nodded. "We'll bring him along. But we better get out of
here, quickly." Before either he or Spock could pick up Darien, a force field of black energy enveloped him.
"I don't think so, Kirk!" roared Malachite.
"Run!" said Kirk. They headed for cover just before a bolt of
black energy swept over their location. As they raced for an exit, Kirk paused long enough to scoop up his ruined phaser. It may not be
able to fire, but if the power cell wasn't damaged it still could do one thing... He twisted the controls to maximum and a whine came from
the weapon, slowly rising in pitch. He turned and tossed it to Malachite. "Catch!" he yelled, then ran down the tunnel as fast as he
could. When he judged it to be the correct time, he yelled "Down!" to Spock. Grabbing Sailor Moon, he headed for cover himself.
Malachite glanced down at the phaser where it lay on the ground.
Did that fool think that throwing this would hurt him? Still, the noise from it was becoming very high pitched... and loud.
"What's going on..." she began to ask when there was a massive
flash of an explosion from behind them. The cavern shook as the tunnel collapsed behind them.
"Darien!"
"I'm sure he's fine," Kirk reassured her, hoping that was indeed
the case. "Remember, he was enclosed in one of Malachite's force fields."
When the dust settled, they got up and looked back at the now
impenetrable tunnel. "That should slow down any pursuit," Kirk said with satisfaction.
"Not entirely, Captain," Spock answered. "We have seen that some
of the entities here have the ability to teleport. I suggest that we expedite our departure from our current position as rapidly as
possible."
Sailor Moon looked puzzled. "Would you mind repeating that in
English?"
"He said run," Kirk translated.
They ran.
Malachite growled in anger. Those vermin from the starship and
their sailor brat allies were becoming annoying. He had just managed to teleport himself and the fool Darien out of harms way
before the explosion. It was a good thing too, for he wasn't sure he could have
handled a blast that large.
How he was going to make Kirk pay for the indignity...
Scotty worked hurriedly to rewire the power systems of the shuttle's engines to accept a direct power feed from Sailor Jupiter.
From there it would channel directly into the subspace field generator,
hopefully without overloading.
"Hurry," urged Luna.
"I'm going as fast as I can, lass. We're only going to get one
shot at this. If it doesnae work the first time, the engines and the field generator will be just so much scrap metal. And then we'll
never get the Captain or the others back."
Kirk and Spock raced through the tunnels of the Negaverse, trailing Sailor Moon. They hurried along the tunnel, until it stopped.
"Dead end," said Kirk.
"Did you have to phrase it like that?" asked Sailor Moon. They
stopped for a moment and listened for sounds of pursuit. Nothing.
Spock glanced at his tricorder. "I detect no signs of pursuit."
"Does that mean nobody's after us?" asked Sailor Moon. She hardly appeared to be winded.
Kirk nodded, breathing heavily. "I think... we lost them."
"Don't be too sure of that, Kirk!" Malachite appeared nearby.
He fired a quick energy blast that knocked Spock's phaser from his
hand, leaving it smoking on the ground. "I'll take those crystals back now. And thank you for delivering the Silver Crystal here."
"Ready," announced Scotty. He nodded at Sailor Jupiter.
Lita concentrated, feeling the power building up within her. She
was battered, bruised and exhausted from the recent battle, but she was determined to succeed. Too much depended on her for her to fail. Kirk,
Spock, all the people on the Enterprise... but most of all, Serena depended on her
right now.
And there was no way she was going to fail her. Not now... not ever.
She felt the power yearning for release and strained against it. Even so, some of it managed to leak through, manifesting as sparks
coruscating along her hands. She gritted her teeth against the pain, trying to force the energy level up as high as she had ever done.
Finally she unleashed the energy with a loud cry.
Alarms came from half a dozen systems as a sudden burst of energy
surged through the Galileo. "Now, Mr. Kyle!" urged the chief engineer.
"I've got a transporter lock!" the chief replied. "Energizing."
Sparks began to fly from several of the consoles.
"You're not getting those crystals, Malachite!" exclaimed Sailor
Moon. She moved in front of the Starfleet officers, Crescent Moon Wand in hand. "Or the Silver Crystal, either! In the name of the
Moon, I'll punish you!"
Kirk was astonished at the amazing change in her demeanor. One
minute she was leading the way in running out of here, the next she was brazenly challenging a being that had singlehandedly held off the
combined forces of the Sailor Scouts and a heavily armed Starfleet security detachment. And the really odd thing was that he thought she
could do it, too.
Malachite seemed less than impressed. "We'll see about that Sailor Moon!" he said, throwing an energy bolt at the three.
It never arrived. At Sailor Moon's mental command, the Silver
Crystal pulsed and unleashed an energy bolt of it's own that met Malachite's head on. The was a brief flash as the light and dark
energies canceled each other out.
Then a low humming noise filled the tunnel. An orange-blue light enveloped Sailor Moon and the two Starfleet officers and they
vanished.
"They're gone! And with the crystals too!" Malachite's eyes
narrowed. "Queen Beryl isn't going to be pleased about this!" he muttered.
"Good work, Scotty," Kirk's voice came from the communicator.
"A little too good, sir," replied Scotty. He waved at the smoke
filling the room, trying without much success to clear the air. Baker was busy with a fire extinguisher on the small fires that had erupted
from several of the panels. "Jupiter's energy discharge fried half the systems in the shuttle. It'd be a while before it would be ready to
take off, even if the fuel reserves weren't exhausted."
Jupiter staggered while trying to her feet. The recoil from the
blast had thrown her to the floor and the strong use of her powers had left her feeling weak as well. "Er, sorry about that."
The engineer shook his head as he helped her up. "Don't be, lass. Ye did what ye had to get our people out of there." He surveyed
the smokey interior. "All this can be replaced, but their lives cannae. Ye did a damned fine job."
"Escaped?!? With the crystals?? How did this happen, Malachite?"
Beryl snarled menacingly.
Involuntarily, Malachite shivered. Beryl was in one of those moods.
"The crew from the starship sent a raiding party to steal the crystalfrom us, my queen. They were
accompanied by the Sailor Scouts."
Beryl was beside herself. "How did they manage to get here?"
"I'm not sure, my queen. We knew that the starship had matter
transmission capabilities, but I had believed that piercing the dimensional barrier was beyond them. Apparently they have formed an
alliance with the Scouts." Malachite paused for a moment, staring into space. "My queen, I can detect the ship again. I could go there and
get the crystals back."
Beryl leaned back in her throne, considering. "No. I have a
better idea."
Jupiter looked up as the shuttle began to shake. "What is that,
an earthquake?"
"I don't know, lass."
Luna and Artemis felt the fur on the back of their necks rise.
"Something's dreadfully wrong!" Luna exclaimed. "We have to get out
of here, now!"
The intercom whistled insistently. "Captain," said Chekov, "sensors are picking up a large dimensional distortion forming right
on top of the shuttle!"
Kirk looked questioningly over at his science officer. "Spock?"
Spock activated the auxiliary viewer and glanced at the readouts.
"Something is emerging from a pocket of subspace."
"Mr. Kyle, get our people out of there!"
The space above the shuttle seemed to shimmer, and an odd ship
appeared. It was much larger than the Federation starship, black as night and looked something like a mutated sea urchin. It quivered as
if alive, then a bright beam came from it and neatly cut the shuttle in two.
"LITA!" screamed Sailor Moon upon seeing the shuttle destroyed.
The other scouts looked on, horrified.
"Chief, did you...?"
Kyle nodded. "Yes sir." He smoothly brought down the levers for
the final activation sequence. "They're materializing now." On cue, the shuttle crew appeared on the transporter pads. The scouts
clustered around Jupiter, welcoming her back. Luna and Artemis squirmed in the bearhugs they were getting from Sailor Moon and Sailor
Venus. Scotty and Baker skirted the celebration and stepped off the platform.
"Welcome back, Scotty."
"Thank you, sir," Scotty said. "That was a wee bit too close for
comfort."
"Captain," said Spock over the din of the Scouts celebration.
"The alien craft is approaching rapidly."
Luna struggled in Sailor Moon's grip to get a better look at the
screen. She gasped when she saw the creature. "Oh no..."
"Do you know what that is?"
"We've seen them before," Artemis answered. "We don't know who
they are or where they cam from, but they helped Beryl in her attack on the Moon Kingdom. I think it's safe to assume it's hostile."
"We'll recloak and..."
"I don't recommend that, Captain. Activating the cloak will preclude the use of shields. And at the rate the creature is
approaching, it will be in weapons range before we can fully cloak."
"Then let's do the next best thing: Get the hell out of here."
Kirk snapped on the intercom. "Kirk to bridge. Raise shields and proceed out of orbit at warp factor one."
The Enterprise turned from the dark ship, accelerating towards
the speed of light. The shadowy vessel almost seemed to scream, and another beam of energy sliced through space, striking the starship's
shields as it entered warp.
The ship shook slightly when the shields were hit, then pitched
more violently and the lights flickered.
"What was that?" asked Sailor Venus.
Scotty swore softly. "The dilithium crystal just blew! We won't
be able to use the warp drive now!"
Kirk handed Scotty the bag containing the other four crystals.
"Scotty, get these installed fast!"
"It will take at least ten minutes..." the scotsman began.
"You have five. Go!" Kirk watched the approaching ship on the
viewer, then activated the shipwide intercom. "This is the captain. Red alert! All hands to battle stations!"
Sailor Trek
By Bill Harris
Chapter 6 - Cosmic Moon Power!
PG13
"Captain's log, supplemental. We've managed to recover the dilithium crystals with minimal casualties. Unfortunately, the ship is now under attack and we are unable to use the warp engines."
The red alert klaxon started blaring while Uhura's voice echoed through the ship, "Red alert! All hands man your battle stations! This is not a drill. I say again, this is NOT a drill!"
The Scouts followed Kirk and Spock as they sprinted for the turbolift. "Bridge." The doors closed, and they heard the distinctive hum of the turbolift in operation. Kirk snapped the intercom. "Kirk
to bridge."
"Sulu here, Captain."
"Status report, Mr. Sulu."
"The alien has closed to forty thousand kilometers, but it hasn't fired again," the helmsman began.
"Probably trying to close the gap before it does so," Kirk speculated softly. Spock nodded. It seemed a logical conclusion.
Sulu continued, "Warp drive is offline, but the impulse engines are at full power."
"Very well, Sulu. Maintain distance as best you can," Kirk ordered. "Kirk out." He glanced over at his science officer. "What the hell is that thing?"
"It's a spacecraft of sorts that appears to utilize some form of organic technology." Kirk looked up in surprise. The answer hadn't come from the Vulcan, but from Mercury instead. Still, he really
shouldn't have been all that surprised. Reading from her palmtop she continued, "It's nearly four times the size of this ship and it's power levels are comparably higher to the earlier readings I took of the
Enterprise."
Spock nodded. "That seems to be a reasonable analysis. I take it you are accessing the sensors through the interface linkup?"
"Yes. It seemed reasonable to keep it going until this is all over."
Kirk decided to let that go for now. Of more immediate concern was the present tactical situation. Which didn't look good for the Enterprise at the moment. ""Can you make some estimate on it's
firepower potential?"
She frowned and hit several keys. "Based on it's earlier firing on us, I'd say it's firepower is greater than the
Enterprise's. But I'm not detecting anything like your deflector shields."
Kirk grimaced. "Well, at least we have some advantages. Let's hope it buys us enough time for Scotty to get the crystals back in."
Beryl watched the ship in her crystal ball as it approached the Enterprise. She cackled with obvious pleasure. "Soon those wretched Sailor Scouts will be out of my way... forever! And the Silver Crystal
will be mine!"
"Do you think it's wise to use the shadow vessel to attack the starship, my queen?" Malachite asked reluctantly. "After so many centuries isolated, the youma controlling it may be insane
and uncontrollable. The Silver Crystal could be destroyed."
She shook off his concerns. "Nonsense, Malachite. I have total control over it. We'll batter down their defenses and then offer to let them go if they turn over the Silver Crystal to us. They'll have no choice but to comply."
"And the ship will destroy them after we have the Silver Crystal?"
"Of course. A simple, direct plan." She looked pointedly at Malachite. "Much better than any you ever thought up." Malachite glowered, but did not dare reply.
The lift doors opened to the bridge. Kirk practically leapt from the turbolift to his command chair. Spock made his way to the science station, while the Scout gathered together in the rear of the bridge. "Report, Mr. Sulu."
"The alien ship has closed to twenty thousand kilometers. Shields are up, and we're proceeding at full impulse." Sulu glanced into his viewer and shook his head. "It's still closing."
"Continue evasive maneuvers. Phaser status?"
"Phasers stand ready, sir," Chekov answered. He faced the captain with a sorrowful expression, "but only at thirty three percent of maximum."
Wonderful, thought Kirk.
The shadowy ship fired an energy beam that swung around and struck the ship amidships. The deck pitched under the force of the impact.
Having been through this many times before, the crew were able to hold themselves in place. In the rear of the bridge, the Scouts tumbled over each other.
"Get off of me, Serena!" a low voice hissed.
"It's not me!"
"Shields holding, Captain, but weakening," Spock said over the commotion. "Now at eighty percent."
"Mr. Sulu, lock phasers on target," ordered Kirk.
Sulu worked the phaser controls. "Phasers locked."
"Fire!" The red energy beams lanced out from the ship, striking the enemy vessel. It writhed as if in pain, but then came at the ship again.
"Direct hit," reported Spock. "Sensors detect no discernable damage to the alien. It absorbed the phaser energy by dissipating it throughout itself."
"Could it do the same with a photon torpedo blast?"
"Unknown."
Kirk tightened his jaw. "Then let's find out. Mr. Chekov, ready photon torpedoes, minimum possible spread." The ship trembled again from another direct hit.
Spock looked up from his viewer. "Shields are down to forty seven percent. They cannot handle another hit."
"Torpedoes ready, Keptin," reported Chekov.
Kirk took a deep breath. "Fire!"
The ship bucked slightly as three photon torpedoes discharged from the firing tubes. Two hit the alien ship and the remaining one exploded on a proximity blast.
"Got him!" exclaimed Chekov. His glee was short lived however, for the alien emerged from the glare from the torpedo explosions apparently unharmed.
"Minimal effect," Spock confirmed. "It was able to absorb the photon energy as well. It would seem
that our weapons are only marginally effective against it, even if we had full power available."
Kirk stabbed at the intercom. "Scotty, I could use some good news about now."
Scotty gave the communicator an exasperated look. Why was it that he always had to rush his repairs? "I've almost got them installed," he replied. "I only need a few more minutes."
"We don't have a few minutes!" Kirk exclaimed. The ship rocked again, more violently than before.
"Shields have failed," reported Spock.
"I'm getting damage reports in from several decks," said Uhura.
"Damage control teams are on the way."
Kirk watched the alien ship turn to gather itself for another attack on the
Enterprise. Without the shields, this one would surely destroy the ship. Then, inexplicably, it stopped, hovering a constant distance from the ship. "What the hell?"
"What's it doing?" Sailor Moon asked. "Why's it just sitting there?"
"Unknown," Spock replied. He was obviously just as mystified as they were.
Uhura touched her earpiece, listening intently to it. "Captain, we're being hailed."
"Hailed? By who?"
"He identified himself as Malachite, sir."
"What does he want?" Jupiter asked.
"At a guess, I'd say this," Sailor Moon replied, hefting the Crescent Moon Wand.
Kirk nodded. "On screen."
The screen wavered, and the image of the Negaverse general appeared on the screen. Luna
hissed, and the scouts glared at him. "We meet again, Captain Kirk."
Kirk saw no need to engage in pleasantries with him. "Why have you attacked my ship, Malachite?"
"You need to ask? You invaded our kingdom and stole several objects from here."
"We recovered that which was rightfully ours," Kirk snapped.
"I'm not going to debate semantics, not when your precious dilithium is no longer an object of desire for us, Captain. But the Silver Crystal is. Turn it, and the Sailor Scouts over to me, and I'll spare your ship and crew."
"Forget it, Malachite!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "You're not getting my Crystal!"
"It's not your decision, Sailor brat," the Negaverse general sneered.
"As if!"
Kirk tried to look thoughtful. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"
Sailor Moon's jaw dropped. "What?!?" The tone in her voice caused him to wince internally, but he force himself not to look back. He had to play out this bluff as far as he could if he was going to give Scotty enough time to work his usual brand of engineering magic.
Behind him, the other Scouts looked uncertain, except for Mars. She simply stared intently at him, eyes narrowed.
The smugness on Malachite's face was unbelievable. "You really have no choice, do you? Your shields are gone, your ship defenseless and your pitiful weapons are no match for our ship! Surrender the Scouts to me! NOW!"
Kirk put on his best poker face, trying to look reasonable. "Allow me a few minutes to consult with my senior officers."
"You have sixty seconds, no more!" The screen shimmered and went blank.
The Scouts watched a grim faced Kirk move over and start talking with Spock. "He's not going to give Malachite what he wants," Mars commented quietly. "He's just trying to buy time." The others nodded, understanding now.
Sailor Moon's face shifted from shock to realization. "Oh, yeah. I knew that." Mars bit back the automatic retort, but glared at her nevertheless.
"Even if Mr. Scott manages to get the warp engines back online, the
Enterprise won't last long against that ship with the shields down," Mercury observed.
"There's got to be something we can do!" Jupiter said.
"There is," Artemis answered her, "I've got an idea."
"Better late than clever."
"Just listen..."
Kirk moved back to his command chair. Behind him he could hear Luna and Artemis talking hurriedly to the Scouts, but he didn't have the time to find out what they were saying. He activated the intercom to engineering again. "Scotty, now would be a good time to tell me you're finished."
"Very nearly, sir! I only need another minute or two!"
Kirk nodded. This was going to be another close call. Perhaps too close this time. "Lock phasers and stand by torpedoes, simultaneous barrage," he ordered quietly. The helmsman and navigator
acknowledged the order just as quietly.
Uhura winced. "Malachite is demanding to speak to you, Captain. Rather loudly."
Kirk grimaced. Why did the bad guys always have to be so punctual? "Very well, Lieutenant. Open channel."
Malachite's image reappeared on the screen. "Well, captain? Your time is up. What's your answer?"
"My answer?" Kirk saw no reason to continue the bluff. It was all or nothing now. Either Scotty would be finished in time or he wouldn't. "You've attacked this ship without reason or provocation. You and
your agents have boarded my ship; have assaulted and killed members of my crew. And you have the
unmitigated gall to demand that I turn these girls over to you?" He stood up and took a step
towards the screen. "My reply is this: Go to hell!"
"You'll regret this, Kirk!" Malachite snarled, and the screen flickered to show the black ship again.
"Stand by to --"
"It's firing!" Spock interrupted. Kirk watched the energy beam that would surely destroy the ship slue ever closer. It had been a close race, but there was nothing more he could do.
"Now!" Artemis yelled. The Scouts nodded, and raised their transformation pens.
The Starfleet personnel stared at the Scouts, wondering what they were doing.
"VENUS POWER!" An orange globe of energy formed over her head.
"MERCURY POWER!" A blue globe formed, and joined the orange one.
"MARS POWER!" Another energy globe, this one red, formed.
"JUPITER POWER!" Hers was a green globe.
The four energy globes united above them and expanded outward, forming a spherical barrier around the ship. The energy beam came into contact with it, but was completely deflected. The only evidence that those inside had that the ship had been hit was that the deck shuddered slightly, but this was barely noticeable. Frustrated, the alien struck again, but the energy beam was deflected once more by the Scout's barrier. The ship trembled only slightly at the second impact as well; while inside the Scouts grimaced at the strain of maintaining the force field.
"They are generating an energy field of unknown type that is surrounding the ship," said Spock. "It is shielding us from the alien's attacks, much like a deflector shield would. More efficiently, in fact." He stood up and looked at the Scouts. "Fascinating..."
"I didn't know they could do that," Kirk said, astounded yet again by their abilities. "Still, we have to figure out a way to destroy that thing."
"We have a plan, Captain," Luna told him. "Now, Sailor Moon," she urged. "Use..."
"I'm on it, Luna. That thing is moon dust!" Sailor Moon raised the Moon Wand above her head, the Silver Crystal glowing with power. "COSMIC MOON POWER!"
The Silver Crystal flared and sent out a bright beam of energy that amazingly passed right through the roof of the bridge without damaging it. It surged onward, striking the alien craft. It moved about frantically, trying to escape the energy blast, but was held in place like a fly in a spider's web.
Spock bent over the sensor hood, analyzing the state of the shadow vessel. "The crystal's power is destabilizing the alien ship's organic matrix, but at a very slow rate. It's attempting to adapt to the crystal beam and dissipate it."
Kirk glanced over at Sailor Moon. "Is what she's doing sufficient to destroy the alien, Spock?"
"Possibly. However, at this point the outcome is uncertain."
"Can she put more power into it?" Kirk asked the cats.
"Sailor Moon could use more power from the crystal, but it's dangerous. If she uses it's full potential, it will draw upon her life force and then..." Luna's voice trailed off.
"I can do it, Luna..." she said in a strained voice.
"No, Sailor Moon! You'll be killed!"
"That's not an option," Kirk said firmly. Too many had already died on this mission. He wasn't about to ask a teenager to sacrifice herself for his ship. There had to be an alternative. "I..."
The intercom whistled, interrupting him. "Scott to bridge. Dilithium crystals are reinstalled. Warp power is online."
Kirk smiled. "Scotty, you're timing's is perfect! Divert warp power to weapons. Mr. Sulu... set phasers to maximum and lock onto target. It's time to show these beings from the Negaverse what a
starship can really do."
Sulu quickly readjusted the controls. "Phasers at full power."
"Torpedoes ready," Chekov added, his voice eager.
"The Sailor Scouts have helped us many times so far. Now it's time to return the favor," Kirk stated. "Open fire, all weapons!"
The phaser beams lanced out at the Negaverse ship again, this time much brighter than before. At the same time a barrage of photon torpedoes were launched, all of which found their mark. The ship
writhed and twisted, almost seeming to scream in pain. Two of it's spines had been sheared off by the torpedo impacts, a blackish substance oozing outward from the wounds.
"Multiple direct hits," reported Spock. "It's defenses have been significantly damaged. It was unable to compensate for the combination of our weapons and the Silver Crystal's power." The ship rocked again as the shadow vessel unleashed another energy beam at them. "Though it is apparently still capable of resistance." The ship continued to shake as the shadow ship sent a continuous beam at the Enterprise in a desperate attempt to breach the Scouts' barrier.
"Sulu, maintain phaser fire." Kirk risked a quick glance at the Sailor Scouts. They were maintaining the shield around the ship, while Sailor Moon was still directing the energy beam at the shadow vessel; but was apparent to him that the strain of this was beginning to tell on all of them. Who knew how much longer they could keep it up? "It's time to end this. Mr. Chekov, prepare another volley of photon torpedoes; target the same spot as the phasers." After the navigator nodded that the torpedoes were ready, "Fire!" The torpedoes struck again in conjunction with the phasers, this time breaching the skin of the organic spacecraft. A mental command from Sailor Moon sent the power of the crystal flowing through the wound into the core of the ship. Giving one last cry of despair the
shadow began to crumple up, then exploded outward into a rapidly expanding ball of dust.
"Got it!" Chekov exclaimed.
"Dusted!" cried the Scouts. They began giving each other high fives.
As usual, Spock was characteristically more restrained. "The alien ship has been destroyed,
Captain. I recommend that we cloak before Malachite can attack again."
"Agreed, Mr. Spock. Mr. Sulu, engage the cloaking device."
Beryl screamed in frustration as the Enterprise faded from view. "No, it can't be! I was so close!!"
Malachite kept his face passive, but inwardly smirked. Much better than my plans,
hmmmm?
Sailor Trek
By Bill Harris
Part Epilogue- Farewells
PG13
"Captain's log, Stardate 5049.3 With repairs complete and our dilithium crystals recovered, the
Enterprise is ready to return our own universe. But first we must return the Sailor Scouts back to their home."
The Scouts were clustered around Mercury, their expressions anxious. "This doesn't look good," Venus commented.
Sailor Moon shook her head. "I have faith in Mercury. She'll pull through, just you wait and see."
"Not this time," McCoy commented. "I'm afraid she's had it."
Mercury tried to block out the whispered conversations going on behind her and concentrated on her next move. At last she made her decision and reached out to move her queen. "Your move," she said to her opponent.
Spock nodded slightly and contemplated the new positioning of the chess pieces. After a few seconds of thought, he picked up the bishop and moved it. Mercury's shoulders sagged and she looked downcast when she saw where he was moving it to. "Check. Mate in five."
"No! It can't be!" Sailor Moon cried.
"I'm afraid so," Mercury said. She put her hand on her king and toppled it over, resigning the game.
"Good game."
"As was yours," the Vulcan replied. "You play well for someone of your age and relative inexperience." She nodded, accepting his congratulations.
"I was sure Mercury would win," Artemis said.
"So did I," remarked a depressed looking Chekov.
"Why are you so glum?" Mars asked.
He grinned ruefully. "I just lost a bet with Sulu."
The helmsman chuckled. "When are you going to learn to never bet against the reigning chess champion of the
Enterprise, Pavel?"
"Well, someone's going to beat him someday!"
"In the meantime, you owe me twenty credits."
"And you owe me thirty credits," Uhura chimed in. Chekov now grinned at the sudden change on Sulu's face, but it didn't last long as Uhura then turned and looked pointedly at him. "You too, mister."
"If Sulu was betting on Spock, then how did you win?" Luna asked.
"She bet on the length of the game," Sulu answered. "And it's never taken Spock longer than seventy moves to beat a noncomputer opponent."
"Especially in two dimensional chess," Chekov added.
The rec room door hissed open, allowing Kirk to enter. Seeing the game was over, "Did I miss the rematch as well?"
"Nope," Jupiter said. "They just finished the first one."
Kirk looked perplexed. "Just finished?"
"You should have seen it, Jim. She gave Spock the match of his life. Over eighty moves."
"Eighty three," Spock amended.
The look on Kirk's face was enough to start Sailor Moon giggling.
"Eighty... three? My longest game with you was fifty moves!"
"Forty seven, to be precise."
Kirk was saved from further embarrassment by the whistle from the intercom. "Kirk here."
"We've got the warp engines set along the frequencies that Mr. Spock calculated, Captain," Scotty answered. "And the ship has been maneuvered into a high Earth orbit. We're ready to beam the Scouts back home."
"Thank you Scotty. Kirk out."
Chief Kyle looked up at the sound of the transporter room doors opening to admit Captain Kirk and Sailor Moon. They were soon followed by Spock, Luna, Artemis and the other Scouts. "Before you go," Kirk said, "I just wanted to thank you and your friends once again for your assistance during our stay in your universe. You've undoubtedly saved this ship several times over, as well as the lives of several members of my crew."
"Also our chances of retrieving the dilithium crystals from the Negaverse would have been exceedingly remote without your aid," Spock added.
Sailor Moon laughed lightly. "Hey, not a problem. With me around, there wasn't any real doubt about the outcome." Mars looked like she was about to make a sarcastic comment, but she remained silent.
"Yeah, saving the day is what we're best at!" added Sailor Venus.
"Besides, you've already paid us back," Jupiter remarked. "If it wasn't for Dr. McCoy, I don't think that Venus and myself would have survived." The blonde Scout nodded.
"Considering it was our dilithium crystal that was used to injure you, we did have some responsibility to remedy that," the captain responded. "But I'll pass your thanks along to the good doctor."
Luna scampered past them onto the transporter pads. "Come along, girls. It's time we got back to where we belong."
"Yeah, by this time your parents are going to be really worried," Artemis added.
"Don't be such a worry wart, Artemis," Venus said. "We already covered that angle."
"How?"
"Uhura patched the ship's communication into the Tokyo telephone grid so we could make several calls to our parents," Mercury explained. "We told them we'd be spending the night over at Lita's."
"Oh."
Jupiter paused as she was about to step onto the transporter.
"You know, it's too bad you can't stick around to help us finish off the Negaverse. With your help, it wouldn't take any time at all!"
"True," said Kirk. "And if we didn't have to get back to our own homes, I might be tempted to stay and help. But we're needed back in our own universe as well."
"Don't worry about it. No problem," quipped Sailor Moon. "As long as I'm around, Beryl and her goons don't stand a chance!"
"At least until you clutz out again," retorted Mars, unable to contain herself this time. "Which will be every five minutes!"
"Put a sock on it, Mars!" Sailor Moon snarled.
"Thbbbb."
"Thbbbb, yourself," Sailor Moon retaliated in kind.
"That's enough, you two," Luna admonished. "We don't have time for this!" The two Scouts grumbled and took their places, occasionally throwing dirty looks the other's way.
"Do you think we'll ever see you again, Captain?" inquired Sailor Mercury.
"Improbable," Spock replied.
"It's doubtful, but you never know," said Kirk. "The universe is funny that way. Goodbye, Sailor Scouts. And good luck!"
Spock held his right hand up in the Vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Sailor Scouts." Mars and Jupiter tried to emulate him, but failed miserably. The others settled for waving farewell.
"Energize," Kirk said to Chief Kyle. Nodding, the transporter chief activated the beam. The Scouts
and their feline companions dissolved into pillars of orange-yellow light and vanished.
The still night air in the Juban park was disturbed by a low humming noise caused by the Scouts materializing. Once the process was complete, they looked around and noted with relief that they were back amid familiar surroundings. "It's good to be back home," Venus commented.
"Yeah, but you gotta admit that was some trip," Jupiter remarked.
Artemis nodded in agreement. "Yes. That was one of the toughest fights you've had yet."
"Well, it's over now," Luna remarked. "And it's well past time we got home." They nodded, and
moments later the five Sailor Scouts were replaced by five teenage girls.
"Hey, Lita," Serena remarked playfully, "I bet Spock didn't look like your old boyfriend!"
"No," agreed the tall girl agreed, "but Captain Kirk sure did. And now that I think about it, so did Chekov!" She looked puzzled at the groans this elicited from the other Scouts.
"Well, I guess I can't blame her," Venus commented. "He sure is a hunk!"
"Which? Kirk or Chekov?"
"Guess."
"I don't know. I found Spock more attractive," Amy said.
An odd gleam shone in Serena's eyes and she playfully nudged Amy in the ribs. "Ah, so is he your new boyfriend, Amy?"
She blushed a bright shade of red. "Don't be silly! He's not even human!"
"Well, half human," said Luna, suppressing a yawn.
Raye looked skyward, as if she were trying to spot the orbiting starship. "Do you think they'll be able to get back home?"
"Oh, I'm certain of it," Amy answered. "Mr. Spock explained the process to me. He's incredibly intelligent."
Serena was about to tease Amy again, but turned her attention elsewhere. "What's the matter, Raye?" she asked, indicating the gyrations Raye was doing with her hand. "Can't do that Vulcan salute?"
"I'd like to see you do it!" she snapped.
"Hah!" Serena retorted and put her hand up in a near-perfect imitation of what Spock had earlier.
"Now who's the clutz?"
Needless to say, the tongue war was rejoined in earnest.
Kirk sat down in his command chair. "Mr. Chekov, plot a reverse course through the quantum flux."
"Course plotted and laid in, sir," replied the Russian ensign.
"Warp engines are set to engage when we come in contact with the flux," Scotty added.
"Well," Kirk remarked, looking back and forth at Spock and McCoy, "I can safely say that this has been one of our more... interesting encounters."
"That's putting it mildly, Jim," McCoy replied. "Teenage girls with superpowers, invading aliens from another dimension intent on conquering Earth... give me the Romulans or the Klingons any day!"
Kirk chuckled in agreement. "Still Bones, I'd have to say that the fate of this Earth is in capable hands."
"Or at least paws," added the doctor.
"Agreed," said Spock. "Luna is highly intelligent and logical, as is Sailor Mercury. I found that most refreshing in a human."
"Oh, really, Spock?" asked McCoy. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Are you sure that it isn't that you liked looking at her legs?" In the front of the bridge, Chekov and Sulu exchanged grins. McCoy was at it again.
Spock rolled his eyes in a Vulcan expression of impatience. "Really, Doctor, your preoccupation with physical attributes is most irritating. You are fully aware that Vulcans are incapable of physical
attraction."
"In a pig's eye!" retorted McCoy. He was smiling at the Vulcan now, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"You were definitely attracted to her computer." He leaned over to the Captain and said in a
loud whisper, "You know Jim, I really have to feel sorry for Spock. He finally found the perfect female
for him, and she had to be underage!"
Spock raised one eyebrow. "Most illogical, Doctor. However, I did notice that you were occasionally
admiring Jupiter's... assets."
Kirk winced internally. Spock had definitely gotten the better of that exchange.
"Doctor McCoy!" Scotty exclaimed in mock horror. "She's young enough to be your daughter!"
McCoy turned beet red and leveled an accusing finger at the first officer. "Now just a damned minute..."
"Bones..." Kirk began.
"I am merely making an observation, Doctor."
"Gentlemen..." Kirk tried to intervene again in a louder voice.
"...to suggest that I would act that way towards one of my patients..."
"She was not your patient at that point, Doctor."
"That's beside the point!"
"Enough!" Kirk roared, silencing the two. In a quieter voice he observed wryly, "You two are
beginning to sound as bad as Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars." Though neither of them replied, McCoy
looked somewhat indignant, whereas Spock elevated both eyebrows. Ignoring the looks he was
getting from the two senior officers, Kirk addressed the helmsman, "Mr. Sulu... take us home."
"Aye sir," answered Sulu and activated the helm controls, moving the ship smoothly out of orbit. Moments later, they all heard the hum of the warp engines engaging.
The Enterprise was on her way home.
The End.
Authors notes: Wow. It's hard to believe I finally finished this, I've been working on it for so long. Looking at my notes, I've been working on this story for over a year now. I only hope the end results are worth the effort. But I've still got three other stories in this series left to work on.
Thanks to Gene Roddenberry and Naoko Takeuchi, for creating their respective genres.
In case anyone's wondering, Lt. Cmdr. Giotto originally appeared in the Classic Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark". (Remember the Horta?)
Mina's botched quote from Chapter 3 ("piece of pie") I originally got from "2010", though I recently saw it used in an episode of "Hogan's
Heros". Go figure.
So tell me... how'd I do? Send comments to: soton@aol.com
Later...
Bill Harris