"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR: The Lost Episodes
By Jeffrey C. Branch
Volume Nine: Episode 2-6.83
"Repercussions"
Rating: PG-13
The Ellen Tsukino Memorial Ballroom, Crystal Palace,
Planet Luna, Sol system, 24 December 2737
The incredibly high-pitched sonic scream of the two Infiltrators on the
stage had the audience in pain from the assault on their eardrums, and the
Senshi in agony, totally paralyzed where they lay.
"Can't... move! Can't... think!" said Sailor Jupiter between
clenched teeth. She turned to where the Royals lay, a few feet away.
Neo-Queen
Serenity and Princess Serena were almost unconscious from the terrible attack, while
King Endymion tried to stand, but couldn't, and dropped to his knees from the
strain. The other Senshi were equally as helpless.
"How are... you... doing... this?" Sailor Mercury wanted to
know.
"The frequency of our sonic screams are specially attuned to the
brainwaves of magic users like yourselves!" said one of the creatures while
its partner continued screaming. "The more powerful the user, the greater
the effect on their nervous systems! In a few minutes, we will reduce you to
mental vegetables, then we'll rip you to shreds... for all the Golden Millennium
to see!"
Hearing the creature boast, Sailor Magneta, her face locked in a grimace
from unimaginable pain, understood what was happening and made the only choice
that was available to her. The white haired woman concentrated, and in a flash
of blinding light, Sailor Magneta changed back to her human form, shocking the
Senshi and confusing the Infiltrators.
"What is this?" one creature demanded. "You wish to die as
a human?"
"I'm not the one who's going to perish, monster!" Veronika
Steiner snarled, her terrible pain lessened, immediately after she changed.
Her
rage swiftly mounting, Veronika climbed to her knees as the heavy iron ornaments
adorning the walls began shaking. The creatures, seeing this, were further
puzzled.
"No! How is this possible?" shouted one of the monsters.
"Something you'll never understand!" growled Veronika as her
bloodlust took over. As her rage soared, the ornaments shook and shuddered
mightily. "It's called the force of will! As long as one of us lives, the
Sailor Senshi will never be defeated! Time to die!"
All at once, the ornaments were wrenched from the walls with an ear
piercing sound that drowned out the screaming of the Infiltrators and, at the
mental command of the white haired woman, hurtled towards the monsters with all
the speed of a missile. Before the creatures could leap away, over a ton of
heavy wrought iron, flung with pinpoint accuracy, hit them with a brutally loud
clanging sound. Bones snapped and crunched and were crushed like twigs under the
huge pile of iron that buried the monsters.
The creatures' sonic screams were replaced by shrieks of pain as their
bodies were pulverized. Hissing from rage, Veronika stood up, raised her right
arm and the huge pile of iron, molded into a ball, the shattered bodies of the
Infiltrators trapped within it, was lifted ten feet off the floor. Slowly making
a fist, the ball shrank; more snapping and cracking of bones and the hideous
squashing of flesh could be heard as the creatures were slowly being killed.
Veronika, hearing the sounds of bodies being destroyed, smiled. She was
elated, even ecstatic, to be killing the enemy. The sweet sounds of pain and
death were, to her ears, pleasurable to the point of orgasmic. "Miserable
scum! You spoke of being reduced. Allow me to show you what that really
means!"
"Sailor Magneta! NO!" roared Sailor Jupiter, pulling at
Veronika. Her concentration broken, the metal ball, barely four feet in diameter
where it was once twelve feet, and oozing blackish blood from every crevice,
fell to the stage with a loud, ringing clang. No one dared to speak as they
stared at the sight before them. The Planetary of Thunder gazed into the white
haired woman's eyes and saw firsthand the homicidal fury others had warned her
about. Sailor Jupiter never wanted to believe the stories, but now she was
forced to accept the truth.
Veronika Steiner, Sailor Magneta, was indeed a cold-blooded killer.
Sailor Mercury walked up to the metal ball and activated her VR visor.
She scanned what was inside it and blanched. Feeling her stomach lurch, Sailor
Mercury turned away and deactivated her visor.
"By the Crystal," she muttered, staggered by the horror of what
she saw. "The creatures are dead, Sailor Jupiter. Over ten thousand pounds
of pressure per square inch was applied to that sphere. They never stood a
chance."
"Great! Just great!" growled Sailor Jupiter. "Dammit,
Sailor Magneta! We were supposed to capture one of these monsters!"
"The threat they posed with their sonic powers made taking them
alive impractical," Veronika replied coldly. The look of murderous madness
was gone from the white haired woman's eyes; yet, Sailor Jupiter saw no remorse
in them either. "Had it not been for my unique physiology, the creatures
would be alive and we would be dead. Would
you have preferred that?"
Sailor Jupiter, feeling a deep chill, shook her head. "No."
Sailor Mercury, standing nearby, cleared her throat. "In the
meantime, we should find out what happened in video control."
Sailor Jupiter, regaining her composure, nodded. "Good idea.
Sailors
Magneta, Uranus, check it out."
Veronika nodded, and then summoned her transformation pen. "Magneta
Conversion Power... ENGAGE!"
At her command, Veronika's body was enveloped in a loudly crackling,
bright red globe of energy. Spinning in place within the globe, with her arms
outstretched, the sphere contracted, molding itself into her uniform. An instant
later, Sailor Magneta stood with her arms akimbo and ready for action.
She then rushed off with Sailor Uranus, who was stunned like everyone
else by what she had seen. While the Planetary had been proven right about how
dangerous the white haired woman was, she got no satisfaction from the
vindication. We're working with a madwoman, Sailor Uranus thought.
"Talk about a mess. What did Sailor Magneta mean by 'unique
physiology'?" asked Sailor Venus, helping Serenity to her feet.
"I don't know, Sailor Venus. But the look I saw in Sailor Magneta's
eyes, for a second there, it scared even me," said Sailor Jupiter. "Sailor Mercury?
What do you think?"
"I have an idea, but we can discuss that later." The Planetary
of Ice turned to her Queen. "Are you all right, Serenity?"
Serenity, still slightly dazed, nodded slowly. Like all the Senshi, a
thin line of blood trickled from her ears and nose as a result of the terrible
punishment they had taken. "Other than this awful ringing in my ears, I'll
be fine. Endymion? Serena?"
"I'm fine, beloved," said the king, rubbing his right shoulder.
"Reminded me of the bad old days fighting youmas in twenty-first century
Tokyo."
"I'm okay too, mother," answered Serena, brushing a strand of
pink hair from her eyes. She, along with the other Senshi stared at the iron
ball, and the brackish blood oozing from it. "What did Sailor Magneta do
those creatures?"
Serenity gazed at the ball and shivered, trying not to envision what was
inside. The savagery she saw Sailor Magneta display unnerved even her.
"Sweetheart, you do not want to know."
It took only a minute for Sailor Magneta and Sailor Uranus, running at
full speed, to reach the surveillance room two flights above the ballroom.
When
they entered the room, a nightmare greeted their eyes.
The walls, floor, and ceiling were coated and slick from blood and gore
that dripped everywhere, while nothing resembling the nine humans and one
Isbanni that had been working in this room existed. Limbs, eviscerated torsos,
and severed heads were strewn all over the place, accompanied by the terrible
stench of blood and death, which permeated the room. Despite the terrible mess,
all the equipment was still running. Sailor Magneta employed a localized
electromagnetic pulse to shut everything down.
"Gott in Himmel," she whispered. Despite her fondness for
bloodshed, not even she was prepared for a horror such as this.
"Mother of Serenity!" cried Sailor Uranus, turning away as she
felt her dinner threatening to come back up. The burly Planetary, tears in her
eyes, liked to think of herself as being tough and hard as steel. But the
slaughter in the room made her feel weak as a kitten instead. Staggering out
into the hall, Sailor Uranus, desperately trying to keep from vomiting looked
down at the floor, her ice blue eyes widening at what she saw. "Sailor
Magneta! Look here! Footprints!"
The Senshi of Magnetism looked at where Sailor Uranus was pointing and saw huge
footprints, like those of an animal, tracked in the spilled blood leading down
the hall. "At least we know what caused this carnage. See where they lead.
I'll inform Sailor Jupiter."
"What do I do if I find an Infiltrator at the end of the
rainbow?"
"Use your good judgment, Sailor Uranus," said Sailor Magneta,
her eyes hard and cold. "Kill the murdering motherfucker!"
Sailor Uranus grinned like a shark. "That's the best order you've
given me since I met you!"
Once Sailor Uranus left, Sailor Magneta activated her communicator.
"Sailor Magneta to Sailor Jupiter. Come in, please."
"Go ahead, Sailor Magneta. What did you find?" came back Sailor
Jupiter's voice.
"In short, a charnel house. Commander Brock and everyone in video
control are dead. Slaughtered like animals."
"Shit! An Infiltrator?"
"Without question. Sailor Uranus is following a lead."
"I'll send the others to back you up. Don't take any chances."
"Understood. Sailor Magneta out." No sooner had Sailor Jupiter
terminated her communication, than Sailor Uranus' voice crackled from the
speaker. "Sailor Magneta! Get down to the end of the hall!
Quick! I've
found something!"
"On my way!"
The white haired Senshi dashed down the hall, where she found Sailor
Uranus kneeling next to a woman in a tattered RSN dress uniform as she lay in a
pool of blood, her body horribly slashed. Sailor Magneta's eyes widened as she
recognized who the woman was.
"Lieutenant Charvat? I thought she was at the Ball!"
"So did I. She's cut up pretty bad, but I found a pulse.
I've
already called the medics," said a concerned Sailor Uranus.
"What about the Infiltrator?" Sailor Magneta asked.
Sailor Uranus jerked a thumb at a nearby window, which had been broken
out. "Looks like he took the express. What in blazes is going on
here?"
Sailor Magneta scowled. "I don't know. But I imagine the Queen will
want answers. And soon."
Throne room, Crystal Palace, Planet Luna, Sol system,
25 December 2737
While the inhabitants of the Golden Millennium enjoyed a peaceful, though
subdued, Christmas, after watching the events of the previous night, the
Operation Headhunter team, smarting from its failure, faced a scowling Queen
Serenity after having been up all night investigating the ballroom and video
control for clues to the stunning attack.
"All right, people. Let us have it. Just what the hell went wrong
last night?" asked the Queen from the head of her polished oak meeting
table.
Sailor Jupiter, feeling nervous, cleared her throat before she spoke.
It
was exceedingly rare when Serenity swore; that meant she was angry. And an angry
Serenity made for a menacing figure. "In a word, Serenity: everything.
To
put it bluntly, we were outfoxed. We figured on facing one creature, maybe two,
but certainly not four."
"Five, if you count the one that hit video control. According to
autopsy reports, the time of death was put at around eight p.m., just as
Michelle and Veronika began playing," a somber Sailor Mercury added. "Commander Brock, Ensign Sangh and the eight technicians were killed first,
so the cameras would continue running to show the attack on the ballroom floor.
This was an orchestrated assault, Serenity.
They knew what we were up to."
"I agree. The sheer ferocity of their attack, compounded by the
chaos from all the frightened guests forced us to kill the creatures in order to
prevent a bloodbath," said Sailor Venus. "Fortunately, none of the
guests or dignitaries had been hurt, save for bumps and bruises from fleeing the
ballroom."
"I sincerely doubt that will comfort the families of Commander
Brock, the video technicians and seven TRS men who had been killed," said a
grim faced Sailor Magneta, her fingers steepled in front of her.
No one said anything for a long time. Finally it was Endymion who broke
the silence. "Amy, you said the monsters knew what we were planning.
How?"
"Sailor Magneta's team was equipped with microcomps that would've detected
the monsters morphing from their human forms. But they got the jump on us by
having already changed before they attacked," Sailor Mercury explained.
Endymion frowned. "Could that mean you've been bugged?"
"No way, sir!" Sailor Jupiter shot back emphatically. "HOMESEC,
LISA, Skunk Works, and TRS are swept every hour, around the clock, for listening
devices! If we were bugged, we would've found out! And everyone's under orders
not to discuss mission business outside those spaces!"
"Then that leaves only one other possibility," said Sailor
Venus. "We have a traitor in our midst."
Another long and uncomfortable silence fell over the table. Sailor
Magneta in particular was troubled by Sailor Venus' suspicion. After a lengthy
minute, Serenity, her brows furrowed spoke up.
"I believe with all my heart that none of us here is an Infiltrator
in disguise. Amy, is it possible
the creatures can shield themselves from sight?"
"A personal cloak? Serenity, I'm sorry to say I have no idea,"
said Sailor Mercury, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. "The
blood sample I've examined made no determination as to what makes these
creatures tick." She then stared harshly at Sailor Magneta, sitting across
the table from her. "That's why we needed a live creature to examine."
"I'm aware of that, Sailor Mercury. But my options were severely
limited at the time. I apologize for having been... overzealous," said
Sailor Magneta in a calm voice, as if her actions were of no consequence to her.
They weren't.
"Speaking of which, how did you manage to overcome the sonic screams
the creatures used?" Endymion wanted to know.
"I'm a mutant, Your Majesty. I gained my powers through a genetic
anomaly, not by magic which augments my abilities," Sailor Magneta
explained. "By changing back to human form, I was able to resist the
frequencies that incapacitated everyone and strike back at our attackers. The
Infiltrators knew exactly how to defeat us, validating Sailor Venus' suspicion
of a traitor."
"Can't argue that," said a frowning Sailor Jupiter. "No
wonder those horrors were one step ahead of us."
Sailor
Magneta nodded. "Indeed. My Queen, I'm so very sorry for last night.
Had I
not suggested you go through with the Ball, no one would have been killed.
I
feel responsible for this tragedy. And for losing control like I had."
"Nonsense! You were responsible for nothing other than speaking your
mind! And everything you said was absolutely right! In the end, the blame for
everything that happened rests on my shoulders, and mine alone," Serenity
countered. Her face then darkened from sadness. "After over seven hundred
years, we've come to think that we can handle anything. In turn, that's made us
arrogant, even though we may not have realized that we were. Last night was a
brutally painful reminder that we're not perfect, and sixteen people paid the
ultimate price for our hubris. We must make sure that doesn't happen again.
I
want this stopped, people. I don't care how you do it, but I want this threat
eliminated, once and for all. Am I clear on this?"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Sailor Jupiter. "We'll get right to
work!"
Serenity held up a hand. "But not right now. I know you've all
worked through the night, and I appreciate that. Go get some rest. After all, it
is Christmas Day, and I don't want to keep you from your loved ones."
She
then turned to Sailor Venus with a look of concern in her eyes. "Mina,
how's Eliana?"
"She's in a coma, Serenity," said a dour Sailor Venus. She had
grown to like the Israeli a lot, and was anguished over Eliana having been so
badly hurt. Meanwhile, Sailor Magneta's eyes narrowed at the mention of Eliana.
"The doctors said she lost half her blood and don't know when, or if,
she'll recover."
"My condolences, Mina. I know you were rather fond of her,"
said Serenity. "In the meantime, get some sleep, people. As Amy always told
me back when I was a ditzy teenager, well rested minds function far better than
tired ones."
Sailor Mercury blushed from the memory.
"Now get out of my throne room and go home," said a smiling
Serenity. "That's an order!"
Sailor Jupiter and the others stood, bowed to their queen and departed.
Once everyone had left, Sailor Venus turned to her friend. "What's the
call, Lita?"
"Like Serenity said, let's get some sleep, then tackle this first
thing tomorrow morning," said Sailor Jupiter. She then turned to the still
somber Sailor Magneta and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ronni, about last
night, don't let it eat you up. Overzealous or not, you saved us all.
Good
work."
Sailor Magneta nodded. But her expression hadn't changed, because
something else was on her mind. "Thank you, Sailor Jupiter. I'm thankful
for your support."
"No problem. Just try to restrain those... impulses of yours in the
future."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Executive Quarters Wing, Crystal Palace, Planet Luna,
Sol system, 25 December 2737
As Sailor Magneta rounded the corner for her quarters, she was surprised
to see Sailor Uranus leaning against the wall near the door, her arms folded
over her chest. Sailor Magneta arched an eyebrow as she walked up to the
Planetary. "Is there something
I can do for you, Sailor Uranus?" she asked warily.
"Yeah. We need to talk. In private," growled Sailor Uranus.
Sailor Magneta nodded. "Come in."
The women entered the spacious, though sparsely decorated suite. Sailor
Magneta led Sailor Uranus into the living room and motioned to a black leather
armchair. Sailor Uranus sat down and crossed her long legs. "Can I get you
something to drink?" Sailor Magneta asked.
Sailor Uranus shook her head. "Let's get right to business.
Did you
and the others arrive at the same conclusion I did? That we've got a spy who
tipped off the Infiltrators about our plan?"
"Yes, we did. In fact, I even have a potential suspect in
mind," said Sailor Magneta, sitting next to Sailor Uranus on a matching leather
sofa.
"So do I. Eliana Charvat."
Sailor Magneta arched an eyebrow. "Great minds think alike, it would
seem. How did you arrive at your conclusion?"
"Through low tech, good, old fashioned, detective work this morning,
while you were meeting with Serenity," said Sailor Uranus. "Answer me
this: for a near five hundred pound object to fall four stories to the ground,
it would have to leave an impact crater when it landed, right?"
"Of course. Physics demands that it would. What are you getting
at?"
"I checked the ground under the window the Infiltrator allegedly
jumped from. I found no such crater; the ground was completely undamaged.
As far
as we know, Infiltrators neither fly or teleport, and I didn't see any claw
marks on the side of the building, indicating that it climbed down. That broken
window was a ruse, a red herring to make us think it, or rather, she escaped
that way."
"Hmm. 'She,' as in Eliana. Excellent deductive work."
"I'd say so. What tipped you off?"
"According to Sailor Venus, Lieutenant Charvat was off-duty last
night, so she had no reason to be on the operations floor. At least no reason
that we knew about," Sailor Magneta explained. "Also, given how
Commander Brock and everyone in video control had literally been torn to pieces,
it's inconceivable that Charvat survived an encounter with an Infiltrator with
severe, yet non-life threatening injuries. My guess is she broke the window,
then injured herself, before we found her."
"My thoughts exactly. Like you said, great minds think alike."
"I would agree. But, why did you come to me with your
suspicions?"
"Because you're my commanding officer. I may not like you, but I
respect your authority," Sailor Uranus explained. She then paused before
she continued. "Also, you saved all our lives last night after we were
knocked for a loop by those monsters. I can't say enough about what you did for
us. For me. Thank you."
Even though her face didn't show it, Sailor Magneta was surprised at what
she heard. "I suppose that must have hurt you to say."
Despite herself, Sailor Uranus grinned. "More than you'll ever
know."
Sailor Magneta returned the Planetary's smile. "Better stop smiling,
Lady Uranus. I've gotten rather used to having you scowl at me all the
time."
The two women then did something they never imagined doing from the day
they first met. They laughed. Together. "I hate to admit being wrong,
Veronika, but perhaps, just perhaps I've misjudged you," said Sailor
Uranus. "For a bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac, you're not too bad."
"And for an overbearing, ill-tempered bitch, you're not totally
unpleasant," a smirking Sailor Magneta countered.
Sailor Uranus chuckled. "Touché. So, what do we do next?"
"Going to Sailor Jupiter is out of the question. All we have at
present are suspicions, which just so happen to fit the facts. However, it's
highly unlikely that she'll accept them. It's a certainty Sailor Venus won't,
given her fondness for Charvat. We'll need to gather concrete evidence proving
beyond any shadow of a doubt that Charvat is our mole."
"And how do we get that evidence?"
"By playing a hunch. However, what I have in mind requires going
around the chain of command, if not breaking it altogether. And it's extremely
risky. Are you interested?"
Sailor Uranus grinned her shark-like smile. "If it nabs that
treacherous whore, I'm all for it! What do you have in mind?"
"Summon the team here. I have a plan to outline to them."
TO BE CONCLUDED...