"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR: The Lost Episodes
By Veronica Rose
Volume Three: Episode 2-2.5
Rated: PG-13
Greynn's Bar, Planet Luna, Sol system, 2 December 2737
It was nice to have the occasional evening off. With the Princess having
a cozy dinner at home with her parents, Sailor Eos was free to spend her time
engaged in one of her favorite activities. Some of her counterparts preferred
chess; others had the talent of writing… she, on the other hand, excelled at
billiards. In the back corner of the dimly lit bar, she leaned over the table
and lined up her shot. The satisfying click and thud of the four into the side
pocket brought a smile to her lips, and she reached for her drink. Mid-sip, she
saw two familiar figures stroll casually into the bar. Setting her cue against
the table, she waved to Archmage Torym and Sorcerer Derrelli, trying to catch
their attention.
"Look, I can at least buy you a drink before you leave," Torym
nodded at the bartender, as he spoke. "Consider it the one you'll need
after spending twenty-four hours with Sailor Geminga."
"So I'll find something to blow up in a holo-training program,"
answered Derrelli with a shrug. "Tor, all I want is a Coke."
He sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, fine. As if I could get you
anything else. Two Cokes," he said to the bartender.
"You got it," he replied, reaching under the counter. Seconds
later, two sodas appeared in front of them.
"And what about me?" Sailor Eos' voice rang from the other end
of the counter as she leaned on her elbows. "What do I get?"
The bartender, a tall Isbanni with silver-gray eyes and long glossy black
hair pulled back in a ponytail, gave her a mischievous grin as he began to dry a
glass. "I dunno if you deserve anything at the moment," he teased.
"You're hitting that Diet Coke pretty hard tonight. What'll Princess Serena
say in the morning?"
"Theo, you're such a brat," she laughed, swinging herself up
onto the counter. "Besides, you've gotta be at work tomorrow, too.
Don't
forget that." She turned her attention to the other young men at the bar.
"Heya guys," she said with an ear-to-ear smile. "Celebrating the
newest Sorcerer, huh?"
"More like commiserating with the newest member of the Bahumat,"
Torym replied. "Poor guy's got
Sailor Geminga to look forward to, remember?"
Sailor Eos' nose wrinkled in disgust. "How could I forget?
Ugh…
that woman just rubs me the wrong way."
Torym and Derrelli exchanged surprised glances. The usually easygoing
Guardian was known for her pleasant and generally optimistic attitude among the
tight circle of Sailor Senshi and their counterparts. To hear her say anything
remotely unkind about another person was… well, out of character. "What,
you don't like her?" Derrelli asked the question over the rim of his glass.
"I don't like prejudiced people, nor do I like people who sneak
around behind others' backs," she answered with a shake of her head. "She does both, and what she did at the dinner last night really pissed me
off. She knows all she needs to know about you from your file. Hell, that's why
you have a file. I don't care if she's got a ship under her command, she doesn't
have the right to act the way she did. It's unprofessional."
"Easy now," Theo said, patting her hand gently. "She's not
worth it, and you know it."
"I know," she sighed, hopping off of the counter. "So," she began, brushing her long hair away from her face.
"Anybody up for a game of eight-ball, perhaps?"
Before either Torym or Derrelli could respond, Theo cut in. "Don't
do it guys. You're looking at the most ruthless pool shark in the sector."
"Awww," she replied, laughing. "I am not. I just take a
while to get into my game, that's all."
"Right, that's what you always say." Shaking his head, he
looked at the other two guys. "Pool shark. Trust me."
"Wonder how many of the other Senshi know that?" Derrelli
quipped as Sailor Eos went back to her game. "Can't be common
knowledge."
"It isn't," Theo shrugged. "She doesn't play as often as
she used to. I tell her to get a holoprogram loaded on one of the ships when she
has to go out, but she always refuses. Too dedicated to the Princess, that
one." Putting the rag and glass on the counter, he nodded to the two guys.
"I gotta run in the back and take care of some stuff. Back in a bit."
The rest of the evening progressed quietly, the occasional group of
people dropping in as shifts at the spaceport and associated manufacturing
outposts ended for the day. Taking Theo's advice, Derrelli and Torym steered
clear of the pool tables, choosing instead to engage in a friendly game of
darts. Around 2100h, Sailor Eos walked up to the pair, cue case in hand.
"If I don't see you for a while, congratulations and best of luck
with the Bahumat," she said to Derrelli with a firm handshake.
"Try to keep the damage to a minimum, okay?" Laughing, she turned and
shook Torym's hand in turn. "And you, keep him out of trouble until
tomorrow. See you around as well." With a wink, she turned and made her way
out of the bar, stopping to say good-bye to Theo.
"Who would have guessed," Torym mused, taking aim. "I'm
actually beating you this round."
"Yeah, don't get too cocky," replied Derrelli. "Nothing in
the rules says anything against a flaming dart or two."
"You wouldn't."
He regarded him for a second, and then chuckled. "Probably not, but
ya never know."
"What did you find out?"
Theo gave the bar a casual once over before handing Sailor Eos a sealed
envelope bearing an official Lunar Intelligence and Security Agency stamp in the
upper left hand corner. "Enough. Between her regular Senshi file and her
background checks during each of her reviews, there's a wealth of information.
That's not everything," he cautioned in a low tone. "Just a few choice
bits that some people should take into consideration."
Sailor Eos nodded, her expression somber. "Thanks. I know I put you
in a bad spot asking, but it was just…"
"Hey, I know how you feel about her," Theo interrupted gently.
"No explanation needed, all right?" He bent down and kissed the top of
her head. "Just don't open it until you have reason for it, and only show
the Princess what's there. It's still confidential info."
"Got it." She wrapped both arms tightly around Theo, enjoying
the warmth and comfort of the embrace before letting go. "See you around,
right?"
"Always, bella," he smiled. "See you later."
Crystal Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system,
2 December 2737
Back in the comfort of her quarters, only a few doors from the suite of
rooms designated for the Princess, Sailor Eos sat cross-legged on her bed.
The
envelope had been tucked into a drawer of her desk, so as to avoid any
temptation to reveal its contents. In a nightgown of pale pink, the young woman
hugged her knees as she wistfully regarded a single photograph on her
nightstand. The frame tarnished, the photo cracked and burnt in places, it still
held the semblance of a handsome red-haired man with piercing blue eyes standing
next to a small yet full figured young woman whose dark hair hid half of her
face. Behind them, the Tsukino State College campus sprawled among the hills of
northern Japan. That had been three weeks after her mother's graduation, and one
year before her birth… and five years before the attack that left her in the
arms of a somber Sailor Pluto as soldiers removed the bodies of her parents from
the wreckage of the spaceport. The memories were broken, not always clear at
times, but a few images remained…
A four-year-old girl sat on a bench, her auburn hair in two braids over
her shoulders as she rocked back and forth quietly. She was too tired to cry,
too scared to sleep, and too shocked to do more than nod to the pretty
green-haired lady who kept checking on her every few minutes. People came and
went through the hallway of the palace, most having come to pay their respects
to the fallen Guardian and to get a glimpse of the child who would grow to take
her mother's place. Time passed, and the pretty green-haired lady returned.
She
didn't object as the little girl lay down, her head against her lap as she
closed her eyes with a soft shuddering sigh. Another pair of footsteps echoed in
the hall, this time accompanied by voices.
"This is ridiculous," came a harsh female tone. "All of
this pomp and circumstance, and she wasn't even a real member of the Sailor
Senshi."
"Phoebe, shhh! What if someone…"
"Hears me? I don't give a damn. The little eulogy about that
arrogant ass Ciro was unnecessary, too. He was a pilot, that's it. Thousands of
pilots have been killed in the Lunar-Nega wars, and he wasn't anyone special to
warrant that kind of ceremony." The voice bore a venomous animosity, and
the words were spoken with a haughty air. "This whole funeral bullshit is a
joke-"
"Sailor Geminga, you are dismissed." The green-haired woman set
the child gently on the bench before standing and crossing the hallway. "How dare you say such things about two people who devoted their lives to
defending Crystal Tokyo?"
Sailor Geminga didn't reply, but her gaze fell upon the little girl who
lay on the bench. The child's eyes were open, and the tearstained face bore an
expression of anger and sorrow as she stared back at the other woman. She held
her gaze stubbornly as Sailor Geminga turned away, her companion following her
quickly.
"That little kid's no Sailor Senshi either," she heard as the
green-haired woman picked her up and held her tightly. Clinging to the older
woman, she lifted her head and regarded her seriously.
"I am, too," she said quietly. "I'm a real Sailor Senshi,
just like my momma was."
"That's right, you are," Sailor Pluto said softly, brushing the
child's hair away from her face. "You're Sailor Eos."
Author's Note:
Yeah, it got morbid at the end… but
hey, it seemed like everyone else's character had a decent history, as well as a
reincarnation/rebirth clause in their creation. So, here's Sailor Eos'
background for Lunar… or at least, how she came into the Sailor Senshi and a
reason as to why she bears a degree of animosity towards Sailor Geminga. -Veronica