"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR: The Lost Episodes
By Jeffrey C. Branch
Volume Six: Episode 2-6.75
"Allegiances"
Rating: PG
Crystal Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system,
21 December 2737
Department of Homeland Security
In a spacious conference room, four women, garbed in colorful sailor
suits, sat at a large, polished rectangular mahogany table; while a fifth stood
looking out the window, her back to the others.
Twin sisters Sailor Ivory and Sailor Ebony chatted with each other over
steaming hot coffee. The sisters had spent the last month in deep space, near
the far border of the Alpha Zone, on the SLS Giant as part of a security
detachment during the manning of a RSN listening post on the remote border, to
watch for threats from the Dark Kingdom.
However, in light of the hostilities initiated by a still mostly unknown
alien race, which had accused the Golden Millennium of attacking its vessels and
was retaliating with hostile intent, destroying one ship and severely crippling
another, the post was to provide a crucial early warning against their ships
entering GM space. The twins barely had time to unwind upon their return before
gearing up for their new assignment.
Sailor Uranus, nursing a tall glass of Lunar spring water, sat next to an
animated Sailor Sirius, the latter overjoyed to have been relieved of her
maddeningly tedious duty at the RSN Records Directorate, as the ebon skinned
Senshi was eager to return to action. While Sailor Uranus, the previous head of
HOMESEC, looked forward to working with its new Director, Sailor Jupiter, she
was openly wary, if not suspicious, about the fifth Senshi in the room.
Standing at the window, Sailor Magneta idly watched the scenery outside.
Uncomfortable with strangers, the white haired woman chose to keep a
respectable distance from the group until Sailor Jupiter arrived for the
briefing. All the women at the table were battle-hardened veterans from the late
20th century, and, despite being over three hundred years old herself, Sailor
Magneta felt like a wet behind the ears rookie.
It was a highly unpleasant feeling.
"Hey! Sailor M! Don't be such a wallflower!" said a grinning
Sailor Ivory, her bright green eyes twinkling. "C'mon over and join the
group!"
Sailor Magneta turned around. Thinking
it rude to be standoffish, the Senshi of
"Can't blame you. It is beautiful. And please, call me Catherine.
After all, we're gonna be working together. Isn't that right, Liz?"
Sailor Ebony, the more reserved of the pair, grinned and nodded. "That's true, Cat."
She then smiled at Sailor Magneta. "I'm
Elizabeth. The brains of the family. It's a pleasure to be working with you,
Sailor Magneta."
"Thank you. And my name is Veronika." Then, in an attempt to be
friendly, Sailor Magneta grinned sheepishly. "That's Veronika with a 'k'.
I'm German."
Sailor Ebony grinned back. "We could tell by the accent."
"So, what do you know about these new Infiltrators?" Sailor
Uranus asked Sailor Magneta in a gruff voice, her expression equally as sour.
The Planetary of the Skies had serious reservations about the white haired
Senshi, who had a notorious reputation as a homicidal maniac with a penchant for
wholesale destruction. I don't understand it.
Why in blazes would Lita pick this nutcase for the team? she
wondered.
"Only what I had been told by Lady Jupiter yesterday," Sailor
Magneta replied with a shrug, her demeanor reserved.
She sensed Sailor Uranus' animosity about her from the moment the two
women met. Does Lady Uranus know that I will be her commander in the
field? That's not going to be easy for her to accept.
"Well, if there are more of those monsters crawling around, and if
they're as tough as the one Sailor Uranus and I faced two weeks ago, then we've
got our work cut out for us," Sailor Sirius commented.
Before anyone could respond, the double doors suddenly opened and Sailor
Jupiter walked in, followed by Sailors Mercury and Venus, along with three RSN
officers: a tall, scowling, broad-shouldered man with a blond buzzcut and a
small, swarthy woman with shoulder length black hair. The third was Ensign
Burton, who flew Sailor Magneta to Luna the previous evening.
"Please be seated," said Sailor Jupiter, all businesslike,
taking her seat at the head of the table. "Good morning, everyone.
Joining
us for this meeting, since they're going to be part of the team, are Commander
William Brock, head of the RSN Tactical Response Squad, and Lieutenant Eliana
Charvat, Sailor Venus' second in command from her Intelligence unit."
Brock was a hulking Texan, sporting a rugged face with piercing gray
eyes, a lantern jaw, and a scar near his left temple, nodded. "Ladies," he grunted.
Eliana was a slender Israeli, looking nervous, as she had never been in
the presence of so many Planetaries before, also nodded. "Hello," she
said.
"Okay, let's get started. To begin with, the official codename for
this mission is 'Operation Headhunter', because that's exactly what we'll be
doing," said a grim faced Sailor Jupiter. "Everyone here already knows
the particulars of the Skunk Works incident two weeks ago, so I won't rehash
that. However, for the benefit of
Sailor Magneta, the twins, Brock, and Charvat, here’s what we're up against.
Nirvana, replay Starbase One shuttlebay surveillance video, 4 December, 1230
hours. No audio."
At the Planetary's command, the CP AI dimmed the lights, and a video
screen slid down from the ceiling. A moment later, the video began playing and
the assemblage saw a large group of Senshi and Sorcerers, led by Princess Serena
as Sailor Moon, blast what looked like a human crewman in the shuttlebay. Left
a badly burned and wrecked ruin, he transformed into a nightmarish horror:
a tall, gangly, hairless, gray-skinned brute with pointed canines and white,
pupil-less eyes. The creature's arms were extremely long, dangling on the floor,
while its fingers and toes bore sharp claws and extra joints.
"Nirvana, freeze image," said Sailor Jupiter. "Attractive
it isn't. According to Sailor Mercury's scans, the creature is almost two and a
half meters tall and weighs a good 215 kilos. It withstood the attacks of a
dozen Senshi and Sorcerers... before turning into that."
"In other words, it's one tough mother," said Sailor Ivory.
"And then some. End video. Lights." Once the lights turned back
on, Sailor Jupiter turned to Sailor Mercury. "Sailor Mercury. What do you
have to tell us about the creature?"
The Planetary of Water, seated to Sailor Jupiter's right, cleared her
throat before she spoke. "This Infiltrator had its DNA broken down,
then reconstructed on the sub-atomic level with a genetic strand from a human,
rendering it invisible to our scanners because of its dominant human
strain."
"If that's the case, then how could those fiends have gotten a hold
of human DNA?" Sailor Uranus wanted to know.
"Rather easily, I'm afraid," said a dour faced Sailor Venus,
seated to Jupiter's left. "We
lost a considerable number of ships during the war. It's entirely possible, if
not likely, that captured crewmen were used as guinea pigs by Dark Kingdom
'scientists', giving them plenty of... genetic material, for the experiments
that created these new monsters."
"For the love of Serenity," Eliana whispered, her heart in her
throat. For a brief time, no one spoke as the implication of Sailor Venus' words
set in.
"What about its gestation period?" Sailor Magneta asked.
"Gestation?" a puzzled Sailor Sirius asked.
"The growth cycle, from embryo to adult," Sailor Mercury
replied. "That's a very good question, Sailor Magneta. Unfortunately, I
wasn't able to gleam that from my scan of the creature. And it's vital that we
learn the answer, and quickly."
"Why is that?" Sailor Jupiter asked.
"Because, depending on how much, or how little, time it takes the DK
to create these horrors, we could well be facing an army of monsters that can
easily blend into our society, posing as anyone. You, me, anyone," said
Sailor Mercury. "We absolutely must have more information on these
creatures."
"And how do we do that?" Brock asked in a thick Texas drawl.
With a stone face, Sailor Mercury said:
"We'll have to capture one so I can study it in depth."
"Hmph. I'd say that's asking for the Moon, but we're already
here," said Sailor Ebony.
"Just one more item on our growing list of things to do," said
Sailor Jupiter. "All right, it's
time to get down to the business of organizing this thing so we can get to work.
Operation Headhunter will be split into three departments. The Science
department, headed by Sailor Mercury, will be responsible for doing research on
the creatures, finding ways to detect them while learning their strengths and
weaknesses."
Sailor Mercury nodded. "My
labs at Skunk Works are ready to go."
"The Intelligence department, run by Sailor Venus, is in charge of
obtaining and disseminating information on possible hot spots where the
Infiltrators may strike."
"Eliana has already dispatched agents to various areas here and on
Earth," said Sailor Venus.
"Good. Lastly, the Assault division:
that's our team of Senshi who'll engage the enemy. Sailor Magneta will be
the field commander, with Brock's Tactical Squads as backup."
Eyebrows all over went up from curiosity at Sailor Jupiter bypassing Sailor
Uranus, in favor of a non-Planetary. The brawny blonde's eyes widened from
shock, then her face flushed red from anger as she glared at Sailor Jupiter.
"Did
I hear right, Sailor Jupiter? You're putting Sailor Magneta in charge of the
assault team? Why?"
"Because I need a top strategist to run the team, Sailor Uranus.
Someone who'll know how to deploy our forces to maximum effect," said
Sailor Jupiter. "Sailor Magneta's more recent years of experience as
captain on a combatant, having to make life or death decisions each and every
day, with hundreds of lives riding on her orders, makes her the best possible
choice. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Damn straight I do! As a Planetary, I should be in charge!"
Sailor Uranus, seated across the table from Sailor Magneta, shot a sour look.
"Sailor Magneta doesn't have the standing for something this
important!"
"Standing? Don't insult my intelligence with your pathetically
transparent argument, Sailor Uranus. Rank has nothing to do with your objection
to my position, and you know it," said Sailor Magneta in a low voice,
fixing a steely gaze on Sailor Uranus while her temper simmered. All over the
room, metal objects began to shake and rattle, puzzling everyone. "It is
time for total truth between us. You don't like me. You think I'm a loose
cannon, a maniac because I'm not afraid to kill, and have done so on numerous
occasions. Am I right?"
"Yeah! Dead right on all counts! As far as I'm concerned, you're a
disaster waiting to happen! Do you mean to tell me that's not a concern?"
"No. It's not. I can control my... urges, if required to.
The only
thing you should be concerned about is helping protect the GM from this new
menace. Or does that matter to you?"
Sailor Uranus, enraged, shot up from her chair, fists clenched. Sailor
Magneta, her fingers steepled, remained seated, and calmly glared up at the
brawny Planetary, her blue eyes stormy. Meanwhile,
the rattling of metal objects increased. "If I were you, I'd think twice
before committing a fatal mistake," the Senshi of Magnetism growled,
momentarily forgetting- or choosing to ignore- the fact that the Planetary of
the Skies was, despite Sailor Magneta's strength, stronger still.
"ENOUGH!" shouted Sailor Jupiter. "Sailor Uranus!
Sit
down! NOW! Sailor Magneta, calm
down!"
Steaming, Sailor Uranus did as she was told, albeit reluctantly. Sailor
Magneta calmed down, and as she did, the rattling stopped. Everyone realized
that the disturbance was caused by the white haired Senshi's magnetic powers.
That unnerved them slightly.
"Now, listen up! I've been given full authority by Neo-Queen
Serenity to tackle this crisis in any way I see fit, and that includes personnel
manning! My decisions are binding and not to be questioned!" shouted Sailor
Jupiter. "What's more, I won't have any dissent on this team! We have much
too important a job to do to be distracted by petty personality conflicts!
Is
that clear, Sailor Uranus? Sailor Magneta?"
The air was thick with tension as Sailor Uranus seethed from fury. Then
she nodded. "As glass... Director."
"Acknowledged, Lady Jupiter," Sailor Magneta replied, her face
impassive.
"That goes for the rest of you! There's no place here for stupid
bullshit! If you can't handle that, then get out! Any takers?" Sailor
Jupiter's angry eyes scanned the assemblage like lasers. The twins glanced at
each other. Sailor Sirius looked down at the table, while Brock and Eliana sat,
stone-faced. "Good. Now that we've got that out of the way, any questions?
Suggestions?"
"I recommend a training session for the Assault team so we can learn
everyone's powers and how best to work together," Sailor Magneta suggested.
Sailor Jupiter, calming down, nodded. "Excellent idea. Ensign
Burton, reserve the Combat Simulation Chamber at the Training Center for the
team's use. When, Sailor Magneta?"
"Right away, as soon as this meeting is concluded. The enemy is not
going to wait for us to get our act together."
Sailor Jupiter nodded. She liked Sailor Magneta's sense of urgency.
"You heard her, Michael. Get it done."
"Yes, ma'am," Burton replied.
"If nobody else has anything to add, then you're dismissed. Let's
get to work, people."
As everyone stood and quietly filed out of the office, Sailor Jupiter
called to the tall blonde. "Sailor Uranus, a minute."
The Planetary of the Skies, still angry at having been dressed down,
turned to face Sailor Jupiter. "Yes?"
"Amara, I need you. I'm going to need everyone to fight this enemy.
Regardless of how you feel about Sailor Magneta, we're all going to have to work
together. Please."
Sailor Uranus, her handsome face locked in a scowl, was silent for
several moments before she finally calmed down. Somewhat. "Okay, Lita, I'll
behave, but only because you asked me to. May
I leave now?"
Sailor Jupiter nodded. "Yes. And thanks."
"All things considered, that went over like a copper balloon,"
said the Planetary of Love after Sailor Uranus had left.
"That's 'lead balloon'," Sailor Mercury corrected her.
"Well, it's not like we didn't see that coming. Given Amara's
dislike of Sailor Magneta- which was more intense than I thought- I'm not
surprised she blew up," said Sailor Jupiter. "Still, I was hoping
Amara would have been tactful and not aired her grievances in front of everyone.
That's what really pissed me off. As a Planetary, Amara should know
better."
"Are you kidding, Lita? Expecting tact out of Amara is like
expecting elephants to fly!" Sailor Venus grumbled. "Age hasn't
mellowed her a bit. Amara's just as obnoxious and bullheaded as ever."
"That's true. For someone like Amara, who's taken a perverse pride
in being a menacing figure, to finally meet a Senshi who's reputation is more
dangerous than hers is, had to have been a huge blow to her ego. And, given her
arrogance, having to take orders from a non-Planetary, to boot, certainly isn't
sitting very well," Sailor Mercury speculated.
"Speaking of dangerous, everyone's heard the stories about Sailor
Magneta. That she's a cold-blooded killer, a borderline psychopath. To hear some
Senshi tell it, she actually enjoys killing. Could that present a problem for us
down the road?" a concerned Sailor Venus asked Sailor Jupiter.
Sailor Jupiter was silent for a moment. "I don't know. But then, I
recruited Veronika especially because of her overly aggressive nature, backed up
by power close to any of us. Remember, we're facing an enemy that won't show us
any mercy, so, we'll have to fight fire with fire, something Sailor Magneta's
all too willing to do. That's why I wanted her on the team. Amy?
What do you
think?"
"I'm not sure. When I sponsored Veronika three centuries ago, I had
no inkling of her mental state. At the time, she was a scared and confused
sixteen year old, having just discovered she was an incredibly powerful mutant.
Her predisposition towards violence was a revelation to all of us," said
Sailor Mercury. "And therein lies the problem. For nearly eight hundred
years, the Sailor Senshi have protected the sanctity of life, all life, even
that of our enemies. But Veronika clearly has no such scruples. And who's to say
her brutal philosophy doesn't have merit? A scorched earth policy with the Dark
Kingdom may have prevented the last two wars and saved countless lives."
Sailor Venus arched an eyebrow from surprise, never imagining the words
that just came from Sailor Mercury's lips. "You're talking about genocide, Amy.
You know Serenity would never have sanctioned that."
"You're right, Mina. I was just playing devil's advocate."
Sailor Mercury then turned to Sailor Jupiter and gave her an earnest look.
"Lita, I certainly hope you know what you're doing. Sailor Uranus and
Sailor Magneta could make for a highly... combustible pairing."
Sailor Jupiter nodded. "I know. But I'm going to need their
firepower against the new Infiltrators. As for whether or not they'll get along,
or tear each other apart, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Sailor Uranus tromped down the hall, the sound of her heels echoing
loudly off the walls. More than being chewed out by Sailor Jupiter, Sailor
Uranus was livid about being passed over for command of the Assault team in
favor of Sailor Magneta. Rounding a corner, the brawny Planetary stopped short
when she saw the white haired Senshi, arms folded, leaning against the wall.
Right away, Sailor Uranus stiffened.
"What do you want?" Sailor Uranus asked in a growl, her eyes
narrowing.
"To talk, Lady Uranus," Sailor Magneta replied.
"You can drop the title, Sailor Magneta. I've never liked
formality."
"Nor, would it seem, do you like practicing decorum. Your outburst
in the conference room was totally uncalled for, and highly disrespectful
towards me. You could have brought up your objections in private, after the
meeting."
"Sorry, but manners aren't my strong suit. I don't believe in
holding anything back because it might hurt someone's feelings," said a
hard faced Sailor Uranus. "If something needs to be said, I'm gonna say it,
and to hell with correctness. I won't take back or apologize for what I said
back there. I don't like you, Steiner, and I don't trust you. I think you're
major trouble."
"I'm curious. What makes you think I'm trouble?" Sailor Magneta
asked.
"Don't play games! We both know why! You're a freaking maniac!
You've killed people!"
"Correction, Sailor Uranus. I've killed enemies of the Queen,
enemies that would cause the Golden Millennium harm. There's a difference."
Sailor Magneta then did something Sailor Uranus hadn't expected. The German
Senshi chuckled. "Mein Gott, you act as if homicide is a brand new
phenomena. Murder has been part of the human condition ever since man first
walked erect. Just because we live in a so-called enlightened age doesn't mean
the urge to kill has been eliminated from our society. It never has, and it
never will. I'm simply more pragmatic than most and see killing as nothing more
than a means to an end."
"Killing? A means to an end? Dammit, Steiner! We're Sailor Senshi!
We're supposed to be held to a higher standard!"
"Nonsense! We're not gods! We're not perfect! For all our powers,
our immortality, we're flesh and blood creatures who possess all the frailties
of the very people we've sworn our lives to protect!" Sailor Magneta shot
back. "If killing our enemies helps keep the populace safe, then I'll do
anything I can to achieve that goal! And after your little outburst in the
conference room, who the hell are you to talk about standards?"
Sailor Uranus was silent as she glared at Sailor Magneta. "Point
taken. But I still don't like you."
"I see. This animosity you have towards me wouldn't have anything to
do with the fact that I'm much more ruthless than you are? That you don't like
having a rival who's not afraid to take a life, something that, for all your
purported bluster, have never done?"
"Ridiculous! I'm above that sort of thing."
"Indeed. Your own words in the conference room contradict you.
I
threaten you, don't I?"
Sailor Uranus snorted, an ugly, derisive sound. Deep down inside,
however, Sailor Uranus seethed as Sailor Magneta hit on a dark truth, one she
didn't want to admit to. "You? Threaten me? Don't flatter yourself,
Steiner! I don't lie awake nights worrying about you!"
"If you say so. For what it's worth, when Sailor Jupiter offered
command of the Assault team to me yesterday, I deferred to you because of your
status as a Planetary. But she insisted I be in charge," said the white
haired woman. "Look, I don't want any trouble. I just want to do the job
that I've been tasked to perform by the Queen. If we can't be friends, can we at
least tolerate one another until this mission has been completed?"
Sailor Magneta held out her hand as gesture of conciliation. Sailor
Uranus, a deep scowl on her face, refused to shake it.
"I'll agree to that. Nothing more. But I'm keeping an eye on you.
Leader or not, the moment you screw up, I'll be all over you like white on rice!
Count on it!"
"Very well. If you insist on being stubborn, Sailor Uranus, so be
it," said Sailor Magneta in a sharp voice. She had had her fill of the
hardheaded Planetary. "Report to the CSC for training with the rest of the
team immediately. That is not a request."
Sailor Uranus came to mock attention, clicked her heels, and mock-saluted
Sailor Magneta. "Yes, ma'am! Whatever you say, ma'am!"
Without
waiting for a response, the burly blonde stalked off.
Sailor Magneta, watching Sailor Uranus storm away, shook her head
ruefully. "This is going to be more trying than I thought," she
muttered. "If the Infiltrators don't kill us, chances are we'll do
ourselves in."
TO BE CONTINUED...