"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
The Lost Episodes
By
Jeffrey C. Branch
Volume
Thirty-one: Episode 3-4.75 "Espionage"
Rating:
R
The Shroud, Dreyious Prime, 6 June 2740
Franklin Marley and André Brodeur, veteran LISA agents and partners for the last four years slowly and quietly made their way down the semi-lighted corridor of a large, abandoned underground bunker. Blaster pistols in hand, the two agents, dressed in black combat fatigues looked about them, their senses on high alert for an ambush.
Even though the Shroud was now under control of the Golden Millennium after the fierce battle little under a week ago to root out the rogue starship Nightmare, there were still pockets of resistance from Dark Kingdom soldiers, mercenaries and criminals who weren’t able to flee or, out of defiance, chose to stay and fight. While detachments of Sorcerers rooted out the stubborn and dangerous stragglers, four dozen LISA agents fanned out all over the station to dig up intelligence on DK activities.
Marley, a tall, lanky black man with shoulder length dreadlocks was in the lead, his eyes constantly darting from left to right. In the six days he and Brodeur had been on the station, the agents had come under fire twice while searching through hidden enclaves and bunkers and found that highly annoying, not to mention hazardous to their health.
After rounding a corner, Marley stopped in front of a room with a metal door that was half open. He turned to Brodeur who held a microcomp in his left hand.
“What do you think, Andy? Is this the place?” Marley whispered in a thick Jamaican accent.
Brodeur, three inches shorter than his partner with a long, lean face and longish, dark brown hair stared at the screen of his microcomp and nodded. “Oui, this is it, Frank. That Cygnian snitch we leaned on this morning was right on target.” The Frenchman put the microcomp in a pouch on his belt and checked the setting on his blaster. “Hopefully, intel is the only thing we find in there.”
“Well, mon, if that dirtbag held out on us, I’ll make sure he doesn’t live to see tomorrow.” Marley gripped his pistol tighter and positioned himself in front of the door. “Ready?”
Broduer nodded. “Go.”
The Jamaican took a deep breath, and then kicked the door open. The agents wasted no time rushing inside, Marley pointed his gun straight ahead while Brodeur swept the sides of the room behind his partner, covering his flank with a practiced ease borne from long hours of training and numerous missions in the field.
The windowless room was a makeshift office four meters square with three metal tables in the center on which badly damaged computer workstations sat. Papers, isochips, opened ration packets, half empty tin cups of dark liquid and a couple of DK tunneling pistols and a long bladed serrated knife were strewn on the tables. The place was generally a mess, with rumpled clothing, open crates, file cabinets and assorted trash on the floor, as if its inhabitants were in a rush to leave.
“Hmm. Reminds me of my apartment back home,” said Marley, looking around him as he holstered his weapon.
“Not likely. This place is neater,” Brodeur joked. “Let’s see what we can dig up.”
While Brodeur rifled through the file cabinets, Marley checked the computer terminals. Once he found one that worked and booted it up, the Jamaican connected a specialized microcomp to hack into the OS. From there, a super sophisticated language program developed by a Skunk Works hacker, who had penetrated the Crystal Palace AIs before his recruitment, translated the files into standard Lunarian. After ten minutes of searching, the Jamaican saw something on the monitor screen that immediately caught his interest.
“Andy, check this out, mon,” he said to his partner. “Lots of partial files. Looks like the bad guys didn’t completely delete everything before trashing their machines.”
“I guess they didn’t have time to do a thorough purge prior to the assault,” said Brodeur, scanning the monitor screen. “I could be wrong, Frank, but I think these are inventory lists. Look at this!”
Marley read what was on the screen and gave a low whistle. “Incredible! If what I’m reading is even half right, then we’ve stumbled onto something huge. And dangerous.”
“I agree. We definitely hit the mother lode.” The monitor screen winked out for a moment and a crackling sound could be heard from inside the case. “You’d better download those files before that thing goes tits up. Walt will need to see this intel.”
“Gotcha.” Marley punched several buttons on his microcomp to initiate the download process. Twenty seconds later, a soft double beep told Marley the process was complete. No sooner did he disconnect his microcomp, a shower of sparks erupted from the back of the terminal and the screen went dark. “Done. When we get back to the compound, I’ll treat our snitch to all the whores he can bang down in Cap City! C’mon!”
The agents crept up to the door, Marley, in the lead, poked his head out into the hall, and nearly got it blown off from a beam that whizzed by his face. With a yelp, he ducked back inside, shivering from the near death experience.
“Company?” Brodeur asked slyly, gripping his blaster.
“What do you think, wiseass!” grumbled Marley. He pulled a golf ball sized antipersonnel grenade from a pouch on his belt. “I think there’s only one shooter out there, otherwise, we would’ve been rushed. Probably knows there’s no other way out of here. Cover me!”
Brodeur nodded as Marley inched towards the doorway, pressed a button on the grenade that activated its five-second fuse and quickly tossed it in the hall in the direction the energy blast came from while the Frenchman squeezed off a burst from his weapon. As the agents ducked back inside, there came a blinding flash of light, accompanied by a loud bang, followed by a scream of pain.
Knowing the shooter was disoriented from the stun bomb, Marley and Brodeur charged into the hall where they saw a blue skinned DK soldier in overalls on one knee, covering his eyes with his left hand while holding a pistol in his right. Hearing footsteps, the DK thug shakily raised his weapon to shoot, but
Marley fired first, hitting him squarely in the chest and he crumpled to the floor.
Brodeur was first to approach the lifeless goon, a smoking hole in the center of his chest from where the blaster beam struck him. “Not bad, Frank. Your aim’s improved,” he quipped.
“Don’t miss a thing, do you?” Marley retorted. Being spies, the agents were unfazed with dealing out death whenever the situation called for it. And both had done so on numerous occasions while in the service of LISA. The Jamaican noticed the thug carried a pouch slung over his shoulder.
Kneeling, Marley opened the pouch and removed a four-inch long, half-inch high foil covered object. Carefully unwrapping the foil, Marley saw it was a brick of gray colored putty. Both he and Brodeur looked at each other, knowing right away the brick was a primitive plastic explosive. “Our timing was great, Andy. He must’ve been on his way here to get rid of the evidence.”
“I agree. Perhaps we should finish his task so his superiors won’t be any wiser,” Brodeur suggested.
“Good idea. Then, pardon the pun, we blow this dump.”
Broduer nodded. “Oui. HQ will love reading what we found.”
New Osaka, Planet Luna, Sol system, 7 June 2740
In the bedroom of the spacious condominium, two women lay in a close embrace amid a tangle of white satin sheets as streaks of red and orange colored the early morning sky.
Beth Freeman smiled fondly as she watched her lover, and teammate with Omega Force, Li Mei Cheng, sleep. An early riser, Beth gently brushed a lock of jet-black hair from the face of the beautiful Oriental woman who softly snored. Beth sighed from contentment; blissfully happy to have finally found her one true soulmate, the one woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
It had been over two years ago since Beth and Li Mei began their relationship after both women revealed their feelings about each other on the special observation deck of Crystal Tokyo’s Crystal Tower. A week after the couple made passionate love following their first date, Beth and Li Mei called a meeting with the other members of Omega Force and came clean about their relationship.
At first, everyone, save for Cathy who kept her sister’s secret for centuries were shocked to learn that Beth was gay, then were stunned to hear that Li Mei, stoic as a Vulcan was Beth’s lover. Once the shock wore off, the team members were genuinely happy for the couple since it was common knowledge that a goodly number of Senshi were lesbians, enjoying relationships like heterosexuals.
A month later, Beth and Li Mei decided to live together, so they moved into a private condominium community in Neo-Yokohama, the posh suburb of New Osaka, populated by politicians, military brass, businessmen, affluent suburbanites and high ranking Senshi like the members of Omega Force. While Cathy was sad to lose her sister’s company, she gained a roommate in Tanya Cambridge who moved in with her.
While their relationship had its struggles in the beginning, compounded by their demanding and often dangerous work as members of HOMESEC’s covert operations force, Beth and Li Mei’s love for each other grew stronger. And the women learned more about each other constantly, like Beth discovering that Li Mei was possessed of an insatiable sex drive as the women made love almost every night.
Serenity’s crown! I can’t believe how lucky I am to have Li Mei in my life, thought Beth. This wonderful woman has made me complete.
At that moment, Li Mei stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Upon seeing Beth’s face, she smiled. It felt wonderful to wake up in Beth’s arms every morning. While it never occurred to the Oriental woman to wonder if she were gay like her partner, in the end, it didn’t matter. She simply loved being with Beth. “Good morning, beloved,” she said in greeting.
“Good morning, dearest,” Beth returned. She held Li Mei closer, savoring the satiny feel of her soft skin. “Did you sleep well?”
Li Mei nodded. “Yes. I dreamt about you.”
Beth giggled. “You always dream about me. Your subconscious needs a change of pace.”
“Never.” Li Mei paused to kiss the blond woman. “I love you, Beth. I love you with all my heart and soul. You are my entire universe.”
“And you are my very reason for living,” said Beth, caressing Li Mei’s cheek. “Li Mei, I love you so much, it hurts. But it’s a pain I’ve come to enjoy. So, what do you want to do today?”
Li Mei grinned devilishly. “Besides having sex?”
Beth laughed. “Gods above, woman! What a one-track mind! Doesn’t your libido have an off switch?”
“Not that I’m aware of, beloved. And I’m not interested in finding out.”
Just then, there came a beeping from the comlink console on Beth’s nightstand. With a shrug, Beth sat up and pressed a button to activate the viewscreen. On the other end was Cathy Freeman. Beth’s twin looked a bit sheepish at seeing the naked women.
“Morning, Liz, Li Mei. Uh, did I interrupt anything?”
“Nope.” Beth paused as Li Mei snuggled up to her, wrapping her arms around the blonde’s torso. “Well, not much. What’s up, Cat?”
“Ronni wants the team at HQ for a meet with Sailor Jupiter at 0800 sharp. Looks like we’ve got a mission.”
That instantly got the attention of the women and they stared intently at the screen. “On world or off?” Beth asked.
“Can’t say. You know the boss hates revealing mission info over open comm lines. Guess we’ll find out when we get to the office.”
“Right. We’ll be there, sis. ‘Bye.”
After switching off the console, Beth turned to face Li Mei. “I’m afraid duty calls, sweetie.”
“It would appear so.” Li Mei glanced at the clock, then her lips curled into a wolfish smile. “However, it’s only six twenty, and it takes just fifteen minutes to travel to the palace. I’d say that leaves us sufficient time for a little… fun.”
Beth, instantly aroused, returned her lover’s smile. “I’d say you’re right, Miss Cheng. Being able to properly manage your time is a most admirable trait.”
Crystal Palace, Planet Luna, Sol System, 7 June 2740
Office of Homeland Security (HOMESEC)
“Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming,” said Sailor Jupiter to the assembled Omega Force. The eight Senshi, seated at the large, polished oak table in the department’s conference room all nursed hot beverages of their choice while Lieutenant Michael Burton, Omega’s admin officer prepared to take the minutes on a microcomp. “A situation has come up on Dreyious Prime that demands our immediate attention.”
“A security situation?” Sailor Magneta, HOMESEC’s Deputy Director and field commander of Omega Force asked her superior.
“Potentially. When the RSN stormed the Shroud to root out Nightmare a week ago, all the other vermin ran to ground that weren’t killed or captured defending the station,” said Sailor Jupiter. “Intelligence from the LISA detachment sent there uncovered information from an abandoned bunker regarding a secret weapons program on Prime, probably run by rogue DK scientists.”
“What sort of weapons are we talking about, Director?” asked Sailor Britannica, Omega’s second-in-command.
“A hodgepodge of horrors, Alison. Plasma disruptor cannons, bio-armor combat suits, planet cracking missiles, a boatload of super toxins, complete with delivery systems, and, this one worries more than a little: mobile incubation chambers for the Slashers.”
“Lenin’s ghost!” Sailor Russia exclaimed. “How could something of that magnitude have gone undetected?”
“Easier than you might think, ‘Tasha. Either no one knew what those shitheads were doing- and I’m not stupid enough to swallow that- or the DK shelled out fucking massive amounts of payola under the table to keep that thing quiet,” Sailor Ivory speculated.
“Well, I’m more inclined to believe the latter than the former, Cat,” said Sailor Sirius. “Corruption on the Shroud was so incredibly widespread, it’s a wonder there was any order at all. It was almost as bad as Sanctuary, and that’s saying a lot.”
“Director, is there any idea if those weapons are still on Prime?” Sailor Ebony asked Sailor Jupiter.
Sailor Jupiter, scowling, shook her head. “No one knows for sure. The intel the agents found was incomplete, just inventory lists, so there’s no clear cut evidence regarding the location of the actual materials.”
“That’s not good. Not good at all,” said Sailor Magneta, rubbing her chin. “Weapons of that caliber could cause untold disruption, and destruction, not just on the Shroud but on Prime, and throughout the entire sector.”
“Then our mission would be to seek out these weapons,” said Sailor Cerebra. “And eliminate them.”
“Correct. Despite the Shroud being in GM hands, the situation there is still extremely shaky, so the last thing we need is to have terrorists or mercenaries raising hell there with black market WMD’s,” Sailor Jupiter said sharply. “Let’s not kid ourselves, people, if that can happen, it most definitely will, the only question is when. Needless to say, that cannot be allowed, under any circumstances! If those weapons are out there, I want them found, and the people hoarding them dealt with. Understand?”
“Perfectly. When do we leave, Director?” Sailor Magneta asked.
“As soon as Draco II can be readied for launch.” Sailor Jupiter turned to stare at Sailor Ebony, the ship’s chief engineer. “How long, Beth?”
“One hour, ma’am. Just long enough for preflight prep and a ship wide diagnostic, and to bring the core up. Gotta love those upgrades,” Sailor Ebony replied.
Sailor Jupiter nodded. “Good. One last thing: I want this handled quietly. Other than preventing a system-wide panic if word of this leaked out, the bad guys aren’t aware that we’ve stumbled onto their secret weapons program. So far. If you charge onto Prime like Panzers on a blitzkrieg, we’ll blow the element of surprise, then who knows what they’ll do with those weapons.”
“So, you want us to go undercover?” Sailor Sirius asked.
“Exactly. Your contact on the Shroud will be the two agents who found the info, Franklin Marley and André Brodeur. Their section chief will brief you. I’ll leave the particulars to Ronni on how to run the op, but stealth will be the name of the game.”
“At least until we find the weapons, huh, Chief?” said a smirking Sailor Ivory.
Sailor Jupiter returned the smirk. “Yup. Once you do, ladies, feel free to indulge your famously destructive tendencies.”
Sailor Russia, a wicked smirk on her black painted lips, cracked her fingerless gloved knuckles and laughed out loud. “Da! Orders like those I love, Director!”
The pompous Sailor Britannica glared at Sailor Russia in open contempt. “Hmph! I’m not surprised. Filthy barbarian!”
Sailor Magneta stood from her chair. “With your permission, Director, we’ll get started.” She then turned to her team. “Be sure to pack a week’s worth of civilian clothing for our expedition. Given our destination, preferably something less than elegant.”
“In other words, grungy and shitty,” said Sailor Ivory with a cackle.
The Senshi of Magnetism couldn’t help but grin. Working with such exotic and disparate personalities (read: lunatics) like the members of Omega Force filled her heart with tremendous pride. “Precisely.”
The Shroud, Dreyious Prime, 8 June 2740
Base Commander’s Office
Sailor Quetzalcoatl (better known as simply ‘Sailor Q’ as few people could pronounce her full name and she hated hearing it butchered) was having a hard time keeping her temper under control as she glared across her desk at Marley and Brodeur.
As the newly installed base commander of the Shroud, it was her responsibility to keep the facility running smoothly along with staying informed about everything that was going there. From the various repair and construction projects under the aegis of the RSN Corps of Engineers in the aftermath of last week’s battle, organizing a command structure of military and civilian advisors, keeping the peace on the station to the search operations to find and arrest the remnants of mercenary resistance. So it came as a complete, and unpleasant surprise to the bronze skinned Mexican woman that information about a secret DK weapons program was deliberately kept from her. And, in turn, that infuriated her.
“Just one thing I want to know, gentlemen: what the hell is going on here?” Sailor Quetzalcoatl growled at the two men, pinioning them with eyes as black as her thick, waist long hair. Her second in command, Sorcerer Viking, a muscular, blond and pale skinned Norwegian stood behind her. “I was under the impression that we’re all on the same team. So why was this information kept from me until now?”
The agents, unfazed, glanced at each other, then faced Sailor Quetzalcoatl and Viking. Marley and Brodeur anticipated a less than friendly response from the Senshi running the station. “Because we were under orders that this intel come under need to know until it was disseminated at HQ. And, unfortunately, that didn’t include you,” Marley replied.
“Didn’t include me? What kind of juvenile bullshit is that? I’m the fucking base commander!” an apoplectic Sailor Quetzalcoatl roared, bolting up from her chair and slamming her palms on the desktop. “I’m the one who has to answer to Neo-Queen Serenity the First if anything goes wrong in this rathole! What four eyed, paper pushing, bootlicking jackass on Luna issued those crazy orders?”
“Sailor Uranus,” Brodeur replied curtly. He found Sailor Quetzalcoatl’s obscenity laced tirade grossly undignified for a Senshi. “Last time I checked, mademoiselle, she doesn’t wear glasses.”
“And she damn sure doesn’t lick any boots,” Marley added.
Sailor Quetzalcoatl’s mouth fell open from what she heard. Stunned, wide-eyed and speechless, she sank back down in her chair. All at once she wondered, and worried, if her mouth had just gotten her into trouble. Viking meanwhile cocked an eyebrow from puzzlement. “But why would Lady Uranus order this information kept from us?” he asked.
“Simple, she feared leaks,” Marley replied. “We were told to keep this business under wraps. If word got out that we know about those mystery weapons, the bad guys might try and move them. Or worse, use them before they could be found and confiscated. As you read from those hard copy files, they’ve got some seriously lethal stuff.”
“Nothing personal, but security is still something of a problem here. Trying to clean up a cesspool of this size is a monumental task,” said Brodeur. “Our section chief has every reason to believe that this rathole, as you called it, is rife with spies. We can’t afford to risk information leaking to them. Especially in regards to these weapons.”
“I... see,” Sailor Quetzalcoatl murmured. “Very well. What’s being done about the situation? I assume a decision’s already been reached, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here now.”
Brodeur nodded. “Quite right, Sailor Q. Specialists are on their way here to deal with this problem even as we speak.”
“What sort of specialists?” Viking asked.
“Omega Force,” Brodeur replied.
Sailor Quetzalcoatl and Viking looked at each other in open concern. HOMESEC’s team of crack counterterrorists, led by the menacing Sailor Magneta, contained some of the most feared and dangerous Senshi in all the Golden Millennium. While Omega’s track record of eliminating threats from the likes of the DK was exceptional, the team was also infamous for practicing a scorched earth policy during its operations, resulting in widespread destruction being left in its wake; purposely, in fact, as a warning to enemies of the GM that threats against its people or possessions would result in the most lethal of reprisals.
And those maniacs are headed here. Madre de dios, thought a frowning Sailor Quetzalcoatl. Having WMD’s loose on Prime, if not the station, is bad enough, so Serenity sends her horsewomen of the Apocalypse to deal with them. Talk about the cure being worse than the disease!
“When will they arrive?” she then asked, composing herself.
Marley checked his chronometer. “Within the hour. Draco II contacted us prior to having reached the asteroid field to let us know they were on schedule. They’ll buzz us directly before reaching the station perimeter, and we’ll handle the docking at a secure location.”
“Needless to say, people, this is top secret. Nothing about this operation is to leave this room,” said Brodeur, fixing Sailor Quetzalcoatl and Viking a hard look. “That order came straight from Sailor Uranus. Are we clear on that?”
“Perfectly,” said Sailor Quetzalcoatl, once again fighting her temper. It annoyed her no end as a Senshi to take orders from a civilian, and she couldn’t keep the irritation from showing on her face. “Anything else?”
“That’ll be all,” said Marley. The agents then rose from their seats. “We’ll contact you after Omega arrives.”
After the agents departed, Sailor Quetzalcoatl exploded.
“Son of a BITCH!” she bellowed. Shooting up, she grabbed her chair and threw it against the door where it smashed into a dozen pieces. Viking merely stood by while his superior and friend vented, violently screaming curses in both English and Spanish. Silently, he was grateful the office was soundproofed. He had worked with Sailor Quetzalcoatl before their posting at the Shroud and was all too familiar with her sudden and volcanic moods.
“All done, Carmen?” he asked once Sailor Quetzalcoatl finished her tirade.
Breathing heavily, Sailor Quetzalcoatl nodded, her anger spent. “Si, I’m done. However, I think I will need a new chair.”
“I’ll see about that right away,” Viking replied with a grin. “So, what do you think of this situation?”
“Other than this situation has disaster written all over it? Sigmond, having Omega Force here is begging for trouble, given their reputation.”
“To quote an old 20th century saying: you’re preaching to the choir. But, we have no choice. Something like this is what Omega specializes in, down and dirty covert work. Frankly speaking, we’ll need all the help we can get to deal with this mess.”
Sailor Quetzalcoatl, resigned to her fate, nodded. “You’re right. I only hope Sailor Magneta and her berserkers will leave this place intact once said mess is all over.”
To be continued...