"LUNAR:  Tales From Crystal Tokyo"

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LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo

By Daryll Pung

Episode 1-20: Courage Under, And In, The Fire

Rated: R

Atlantis Nebula, Atlantis system, 25 October 2736

The Gate

            "How are we gonna get out of this?" asked Saturn Knight grimly.  Their force was divided, back-to-back, five and six.  Mars Knight was on one side, with Saturn Knight and Mercury Knight in the group of five, with three of the 187th.

            The enemy troops slowly advanced from both directions.  Mercury Knight drew his twin guns, flipping the safeties off.  Saturn Knight and Mars Knight readied their weapons, and the Sorcerers all leveled their rifles.  Derrelli drew his blaster pistol, and handed it to Ereunak; he nodded, and aimed.

            The enemy troops charged with a roar.

            "Open fire!" shouted Derrelli.  "Shoot around Mars Knight and Saturn Knight!"

            Beams of white-hot energy, and multiple blasts of blue, began shredding the enemy ranks.  However, every one of them knew a simple fact.  There were far too many enemies.

            It was only a matter of time before they were overrun.

The SLS Destiny

            Three white torpedoes struck the DK battleship's shields in the area of their engines; three red ones followed right behind them, striking the engine elements and shattering them in a massive explosion and a cloud of debris.  Plasma and ichor streamed out, even as power fell off in the rest of the ship, energy crackling around the impact points.  It drifted, right into the path of part of the next salvo to lance out from the gate.

            "Nice!" called Sailor Mars, having just taken command of the Destiny.  "How many battleships remain?"

            "Forty-three," replied Sailor Vulcan.

            "I suggest wiping them out first," said Sailor Mercury, glancing at mother and daughter, still preoccupied with protecting them all.

            "I firmly agree," nodded Sailor Mars.  "Target the next battleship!  Ignore the rest of the ships for now!"

            "Death rays ready!" called Sailor America.

            "Fire!"

            A brilliant beam of reddish-orange burst from the nose-mounted proton cannon; it plowed right into the approaching battleship's shielding, collapsing the shields instantly, and drilled through a good portion of the hull.  The resultant explosion sent another shockwave against the surrounding ships.  The Destiny soared over the explosion, targeting another pair of battleships; even as another powerful salvo of gravity beams from the gate and surrounding ships nailed them.  Two more beams reached out, and two more ships met their demise.  A swarm of torpedoes was fired from the multitude of torpedo tubes, and raced for the enemy ships, even as the prefire charge raced along every blaster array.

            Another of the enemy battleships was cut right in half; as its front end exploded from torpedo impacts, and blaster fire killed several of its companions, the engine section tumbled right for the Destiny.

            "Shit!" called Sean as he rapidly pressed his control panel; the Destiny slewed hard to port.

            The back half of the enemy battleship slammed into the silvery field surrounding them; the contact jarred the errant chunk of battleship, knocking it away.

            It was a mere three hundred meters distant when its core breached.

            The lights flickered, and sparks erupted from half a dozen consoles as both mother and daughter gasped; Princess Serena dropped to her knees as the shockwave smashed into them.  The glow of her crescent flickered momentarily, before she regained control; Neo-Queen Serenity I had a grimace on her face.

            "Report!" called Sailor Mars.

            "Starboard blaster arrays offline!  Heavy damage to the hull in several areas; we've also lost the starboard torpedo tubes!  Further damage to the TPA, and we're now down to one death ray; engines, thankfully, are all intact!" called Sailor Orion.  "No hull breaches, but we have internal shock damage all over the ship.  Several power relays have blown.  Minor injuries reported."

            "We can't quit now!" growled Sailor America, pressing her panel to release another salvo of torpedoes.

            "I hate to be a pessimist," muttered Sailor Saturn, "but this does not look good."

            "Indeed," agreed Sailor Mercury.

The Gate

            Derrelli ducked as the gravity beams nailed the wall beside him, raining sparks and superheated metal fragments down upon him; black ichor oozed from the impact points. He looked back up.  Mars, Mercury, and Saturn Knights were all now engaged in vicious hand-to hand combat; every member of their party was hurt to some degree.

            He glanced at Torym, who had taken a hard hit to the leg; he was leaning against the wall, firing his rifle as fast as he could.  Derrelli gritted his teeth; there had to be some way out of this!  His eyes slid away, and locked onto the explosives case that Torym was protecting.

            Derrelli blinked.  "Tor!  Can you rig that case with a ten-second timer?"

            Torym glanced down, eyes widening.  "Yeah; you do realize it'll be one hell of a blast; perhaps cause a few hull breaches?"

            "Rig it!" shouted Derrelli above the noise of the fighting.  "Ereunak, when I give the word, I want you to grab Tor's case and throw it as hard as possible over the heads of our enemies, in the direction of the lifts!  Tor, when he does that, I'll cast a Firewall behind us; when the spell clears the area, cast a Wall Of Force!  Everyone else, when the Wall Of Force goes up, kill what remains up to it, and turn your attention forward!  Blast a path outta here!  Don't hold back; use whatever you have at your disposal!"

            "Cover me!" called Torym, as he ducked down with the case.  Derrelli nodded, concentrating his fire on the enemies nearest Torym.  Torym now had the case open, fiddling with the controls; and he plugged in one of the detonators, and wired all of the explosives together.  He drilled a small hole in the top of the case, routing one of the push-button activators through it; and set the timer, snapping the case shut.

            "Ereunak!  Push the button to start the timer!  Here!" Torym yelled.  Ereunak nodded, grabbing the case.

            "Ready?" Derrelli asked.

            "Yeah!" replied Ereunak.

            "Go!" shouted Derrelli.  Ereunak stepped back, and the whipped the case with all his might; it sailed clear out of sight over the mass of enemies.  At the same time, Derrelli summoned familiar formulae to his mind, whirling his arm in a spiral, and then throwing his arm forward.  "Firewall!"

            The thick, billowing wall of flame burst into being a scant meter away, incinerating the enemies there instantly, and causing any near it to fall back.  Derrelli heard Torym's shout, and then the flames appeared to be divided evenly in two, smoke roiling up in two different patterns.  Mercury Knight cut down the last two enemies near the Wall Of Force, and all turned their attention forward.

            Derrelli raised his hand, flame already gathering to it.  "Fireball!" he called; the small dart of flame shot right into the face of a spidertrooper, where it detonated.  The loud explosion rumbled, decimating a good portion of the enemies; a few shots cleared a path for forward advancement.  They started moving forward, and Derrelli glanced over his shoulder, wondering just how much time had passed.

            The hall suddenly shook with such a force that all standing fell to the floor, and a massive blast flared against the Wall Of Force.

The SLS Destiny

            "Whoa!" called Sailor Sirius.

            On screen two, a massive fireball burst in a section of the gate; a small shockwave raced out.

            "What was that?" asked Sailor Mars.

            "The readings are consistent with antimatter explosives; specifically, the type utilized by Sorcerers to sabotage and destroy targets.  The explosion has not damaged any vital systems; the gate is still quite operative," Sailor Vulcan reported crisply.

            "What was the purpose then?" asked Sailor Mercury.

            "I am unable to determine that, Sailor Mercury," Sailor Vulcan said.

            "The gate is firing again!" called Sailor Sirius.

            Again, powerful green beams slammed into the silvery shield that surrounded them; it wavered as both mother and daughter winced.

            "They can't take much more of this!" gasped Sailor America.

The Gate

            King Endymion was the only one still standing as the lights flickered around them, after the rocking impact, which had knocked everyone else off their feet.

            "What in the name of Serenity was that?" one of the Sorcerers nearby gasped.

            "I don't know!" called another.

            "I think it was our explosives going off," said the Sorcerer regaining his feet at the computer interface.  "Unfortunately, they were not used in the matter intended, and did little to no real effective damage."

            Endymion gritted his teeth.  "Break radio silence.  Find out what's going on!"

            Derrelli picked himself up off the floor, laughing despite the situation.  Bits of ceiling and wall were all over them; dust and ichor were still raining down.  The hall was thoroughly scorched; fortunately, they had all remained prone, while the enemies had gotten up; the blast of fire from the shaft where the hatch had been missing had finished the job of killing the enemy troops.  Derrelli was surprised as he looked around; other than some scorched uniforms, they all appeared to be fine.

            Then, he remembered.  Of course, idiot! he cursed himself, laughing even harder.  We're all still coated with fire retardant from the aftereffects of my Fireball when rescuing Ereunak!

            He coughed, and sat up, grinning.  "Boom!" he said, which set off a collection of grins among them.

            "I'll be damned," chuckled Mars Knight.  "It worked."

            "Did a real effective job of killing all the bad guys, too," smirked Torym.

            "So how did we all make it?" asked Ereunak in bewilderment.

            "Remember the jets of white stuff shooting from the ceiling as we all ran to the lift?" Mercury Knight asked, seeing Derrelli's smile.

            "Yeah," said Ereunak, then his eyes widened.  "Oh.  Fire retardant."

            "That was one hell of a grenade," snickered Torym.  "Master Blaster!"

            "Who's da man?" Derrelli smiled, wiping soot and ichor off his face.

            "We should really get moving," Saturn Knight put in.  "And now, how do we plan to destroy the gate?"

            Derrelli's smile evaporated.  "Oh, shit.  We're most definitely running out of time, too.  Hacking is out of the question, no guarantees, there.  That means we have to still physically find a way to destroy this place."

            "We were going to put the explosives around the primary power core, near the intermix chamber; it would cause a runaway reaction," Torym said, glancing at the two explosives experts, who nodded.

            "The intermix chamber... that's where the routing conduits with all the reactants go to, right?" Derrelli asked.

            "Yeah," nodded Torym.

            Their communicators beeped suddenly, and Derrelli answered his.

            "What was that?" asked Endymion.

            "We used the explosives to clear out the army of Negatroopers that had us boxed in," reported Derrelli.

            "Well, the blast didn't effectively damage anything, and the Destiny is taking a pounding," Endymion replied.  "Our primary mission still stands, and time is growing short."

            Derrelli frowned, heart pounding, making a split second decision.  "Copy.  Have the guys standing by the linkup try and get into the weapons systems.  See if they can seize control or disable them.  I don't think it's possible to activate their self-destruct, but see what they can do.  Have the dropships ready to launch; when our squad gets back, we're leaving."  He cut the channel, and glanced at the others.  "We're going to have to move; it's only a matter of time until they send another fucking army after us.  I have an idea; let's start heading back towards the bay to throw the bad guys off track.  Saturn Knight, would you please take point?  Mars Knight, Mercury Knight; please assist Torym and Ereunak.  I've got the rearguard.  If anything untoward happens, head for the dropships.  Let's go."

            In close formation, the group moved off down the hall, towards the junction.

The SLS Destiny

            "So what is their plan now?" asked Sailor Mars.

            "I don't know," Endymion said, shaking his head.  "They didn't say.  We're going to try and disable the gate's weapons, and are prepping for launch."

            "Copy," nodded Sailor Mars.  As the communication ended, another vicious salvo slammed into them.  Reeni gasped, her hands coming free from her mother's as she fell back.  She rolled over, staggering to her feet.  Serenity's eyes were closed, her mouth drawn in a straight line as she concentrated on holding up the field.  She was now the sole protector of the Destiny as Reeni caught her breath, looking up. 

            The mass of enemy vessels had reformed, into one densely packed group.  They were pouring gravity beams into them.  With most of her weapons systems offline, the Destiny was no longer much of a threat to them.  It was not a very pleasant thought for those aboard the Destiny.

            "Screw this!" snapped Reeni.  "Senshi, please lend me your power!"

            The enemy fleet closed, sensing their prey was crippled.

            It was to prove their most fatal mistake.

            A brilliant white glow suddenly began, all over the Destiny's hull, beneath the wavering, silver field protecting them.  Slowly, slivers of color could be detected: red, blue, purple, lavender, deep red, golden yellow, fiery orange, and bluish-white.  The glow became blindingly bright, and suddenly burst forth, a rippling beam of power.  As it raced through the enemy fleet, tendrils shot out, until every ship was caught in its effect; the enemy ships themselves seemed to writhe from pain.  The energy suddenly billowed out, as the glow disappeared from the Destiny.

            The enemy fleet simply ceased to exist in the ensuing flash.

            Sailor Mercury gasped, panting.  The only energy being directed at them now came from the gate; while powerful, it was easier for Serenity to deal with a one-axis threat.  This was a good thing; Reeni was sprawled out, barely conscious; and every Senshi on the bridge was temporarily out of commission.

            "Bring... us to... face... the gate," gasped Sailor Mars.  "Fire..."

            The few remaining blasters and torpedo tubes began dispensing their firepower into the gate's powerful shields.

The Gate

            Saturn Knight paused, eyes scanning ahead.  He waited as the rest of the squad came up to him.  "So far, all clear.  I think we've slipped whatever further enemies there may be."

            "So, what's your idea, Derrelli?" asked Torym, turning his head to look back.  "Derrelli?"

            Nothing.  No one covering the rear.

            "Oh, shit," said Ereunak.  "Where the hell is he?"

            "That fool!" snapped Mars Knight.  "He's gone off on his own, and he alone has the schematics!  We can only find our way back to the docking bay!"

            Torym closed his eyes.  "Damn it, Pyro!  Well, I suppose we'd better make our way to the docking bay, then."

            Mercury Knight dropped back to rearguard, and froze.  "Shit!  I hear a LOT of footsteps!"

            "Double time!  Let's go!" snapped Torym.  "Fuck caution!  We're almost there!  Torym to Endymion:  we're almost to your position, and a whole mess of bad guys is after us!  Prepare for a fight!"

            Derrelli glanced carefully around the corner.  He was now near the access shaft to the main reactor, and it was guarded.

            He had figured it would be.

            He dropped back to the junction, knowing that the short hallway between him and the access to the reactor would be perfect for a distraction.  He was on his last, fresh power cell for his rifle, and only had the strength left for a few spells.  His pistol was still in Ereunak's hands.

            The two guards to the access hatch yawned.  One glanced at the other.

            "Don't ya think they'd blast in from the front?  Be easier."

            The other shrugged, and then froze.  He sniffed.  "You smell smoke?"

            "Let's check it out!"

            They raced down the short hall, to the junction; fire caught their eyes.  They whirled; thick, billowing flames were burning in the midst of the hall.

            "The hell?" asked one.  "How'd this start?  Where's the retardant?"

            "Offline due to that explosion," said the other.  "How DID this start?"

            Derrelli jumped from the access hatch he had popped open across the hall, and viciously shoved both of them into his Firewall.  They didn't even have a chance to scream as they were incinerated; not that Derrelli was around long enough to see.  He raced for the access hatch, and opened it; a pulsing light greeted him.  He climbed in, closing the hatch behind him, and climbed on the ladder.  He had very little space; the matter conduit was right behind him.  He was ten meters above the intermix chamber.

            He began climbing down; sweat was already dripping off of his forehead due to the heat.  He didn't even want to think about possible radiation.

            Endymion was in between two of the dropships.  The turrets on them were all still pointed at the only access to the bay; they were manned and ready.  Shadows in the entry; Saturn Knight raced in, quickly followed by the rest, with Torym and Ereunak being carried by their peers.

            "Where's Derrelli?" asked Endymion.

            "Off by himself, going at the reactor... we think.  He disappeared on us, and he alone had the schematics!" said Mars Knight.  "What now?"

            "We have to figure a way to destroy this place!  Anyone else here good at hacking computers?" asked Endymion.

            "Derrelli said we're to leave!" said Torym.  "Pyro's still in overall charge!"

            "There's no guarantee he'll be able to do it!" Endymion frowned.  "What makes you think-"

            "Sir!" came the voice of the Sorcerer manning the computer linkup.  "There is a signature matching the description of a Firewall outside of the reactor area!  Troops have been sent!"

            Torym grabbed Endymion's arm as he began to turn away.  "Give him time, sir.  Derrelli will get the job done; he doesn't know how to fail!  It's obvious he doesn't intend for us to wait for him!"

            Endymion looked hard at Torym.  "How can you be sure?"

            "If there's one thing I know about Derrelli, he won't quit.  He'll blow the place; I just don't think he's coming back," said Torym intensely.  "Trust him.  We need to leave!"

            "Negatroopers!" came a shout.  All around them, blasters opened up.

            Endymion clenched his teeth.  "So, you're telling me that he'll manage to destroy this place without explosives, without hacking, and without help?  And that he is planning to die doing it?"

            Ereunak nodded.  "He'll do it, sir."

            "Fine.  Prepare to exit; let's take care of this little problem, first!" Endymion ordered.  Even as Endymion spoke, he was deafened by the reports of the turrets on all six dropships opening fire.

            "Oh, damn," whispered the Sorcerer manning the linkup.

The SLS Destiny

            "Oh, no," murmured Sailor Sirius, clinging weakly to her console.  Giving her power directly to Reeni's Crystal had really drained all of the Senshi; she was no exception.  She raised her voice slightly.  "On screen 1!"

            The weapons fire from the gate had tapered off; and the Destiny had run out of torpedoes.  They were shifting what torpedoes could be salvaged from the damaged tubes; in the meantime, blaster fire was the only thing hitting the gate's shields.

            Sailor Vulcan had confirmed the gate had taken its weapon systems offline; the reason unknown.  Serenity was taking the moment to regain her strength.  Now, as the view burst on the screen, she slowly stood.

            "Sailor Vulcan?" she asked, quietly.

            In the center of the ring structure that was the gate, a green glow was rippling into being.  It was reminiscent of the effect of water going down a drain; and the effect was getting larger, spreading to the very edges of the ring.

            "Confirming, your Highness," Sailor Vulcan said.  "The gate... is opening.  I am able to detect massive energy signatures through the aperture.  It is logical to assume that a large number of reinforcements are enroute.  It is also logical to assume that this is the reason their weapons are offline."

            "We can't handle another fleet," said Reeni quietly.

            "And the gate will open fire again when the ships are through," Sailor Orion said.

            "What of the 187th?" Serenity asked.

            "We don't know," said Sailor Mars.

            "There is a lot of blaster fire in the bay where the dropships are located," reported Sailor Vulcan.  "Cause unknown.  Also, I am unable to determine the exact number of enemy ships in transit; the total is at least three hundred."

            "Have we failed?" Sailor Saturn whispered, staring at the screen.

The Gate

            Endymion looked around.  The amount of enemies was staggering; fortunately, the dropship's turrets were keeping them pinned.  He blinked.  "Torym!"

            "Sir?" Torym asked.

            "You can cancel your Wall at any time, right?" Endymion asked.

            "Yes, sir!" Torym nodded.  He blinked.  "All troops:  get aboard the dropships, now!  Let the turrets handle the bad guys!  Move Move MOVE!"

            The 187th broke into a dead run, jumping from their positions as they raced to the modified shuttles.  Torym glanced back as he staggered to his ship; the computer equipment was still connected, and the body count near the entryway was increasing.  He was the last to board, and as the hatch slammed shut behind him, Endymion nodded.

            "Hang on!" Endymion called out.  "Prepare for explosive decompression!"

            Torym closed his eyes, reaching out to the magical energies he had put in place.  Mentally, he pictured the wall as a series of equations, and he removed the variables from them.

            He was suddenly slammed back into his seat, as the dropships were blasted outward by the out-rushing air.  They tumbled about for several seconds, and then regained control.

            Endymion stared at the screen with a frown.  "It doesn't feel right, leaving him.  We should have gone to help."

            Torym nodded agreement.  "Come on, Derrelli!" he said quietly.  He glanced out of the side window; and gasped.

            "Oh shit... the gate's opening!"

            Derrelli looked down.  He was now very close to the intermix chamber.  It was getting difficult to hold on, due to the sweat on his hands; and it was a long way, indeed, to fall.  The conduits were now flashing very rapidly; it seemed the gate was drawing a lot of power for something, and anything requiring that much power could only be very bad.

            He paused.  He was now near enough to the intermix chamber to reach out and touch it; there was a railing around it, and a platform; probably the reactor control room, he mused.  He couldn't exactly look it up on his handheld at the moment, and he had a more pressing problem.  How was he gonna blast it?

            He looked down again.  There were three conduits leading into the reactor, and the reactor itself had to be very well shielded.  Then he looked again.

            Or was it two going in, one going out?

            He grinned.  Of course, one was the output.  Blow that, and the escaping energy would likely fracture the intermix chamber; at the very least, the energy supply would be lost.  But how?

            He felt his grip slipping, and readjusted himself, irritably pushing his blaster rifle away as he settled.  Then he stopped, looking at his blaster rifle.  He wrapped his left arm around the ladder, and used the right to rest the tip of the blaster rifle on a rung of the ladder.  He fiddled with the controls, and then slowly unslung the rifle, lowering it atop the junction of the output conduit.  He reached down, and made sure it was firmly wedged; he wrapped the strap around the attaching spines, and then steadied himself on the ladder.

            He could already hear the whine.

            He looked at the railing; it was a meter away.  He had to jump.  And a miss would mean a very long fall, and a painful death.  He took a deep breath, shifting himself.

            He leapt.

            It seemed like an eternity before his vision saw the deck rushing up at him; he tucked in his legs, hit, and rolled.  His heart was pounding as he gasped for breath.

            He had made it.

            "Hey!  Over there!"

            Oh, damn.

            He ducked behind a console, hearing the footsteps approach.  He looked behind him; he could clearly see his rifle there.  If the enemies saw it...

            He peeked around the console; the responding troops were the humanoid variety, the kind carrying weapons.  There were four of them, as well as two that looked like engineers, in range.  The familiar mathematics coursed wearily through his mind, and he popped into their view just long enough to point his hand and shout.

            "Fireball!"

            The dart raced out and detonated as he ducked behind the console for cover.  He felt the heat, and looked up.

            Small flames licked along portions of the conduits and the intermix chamber.  Char marks were everywhere; not a living thing was in his view.

            The whine was becoming painful, now.  He glanced at the rifle, and saw the glow beginning to build around the power cell.  Thankfully, the rifle had been shielded from the blast by the bulk of the intermix chamber.

            Derrelli took off running, racing through the freshly charred room, racing for the main entrance.  The whine built to impossible levels; it was giving him a headache.  As he reached the main doors, and they slid open, a flash and a loud roar blossomed at the backside of the intermix chamber, where the output conduit was.

            His blaster rifle, set into a power feedback loop, had just exploded.

            Derrelli hit the wall outside of the reactor room.  The doors started closing, and suddenly stopped, as all the lights around him went out.  The area was now lit only by the escaping energy.

            He could see cracks on the surface of the intermix chamber.

            Derrelli scrambled to his feet, whipping out his handheld.  He had to figure out a way to escape.  He heard footsteps, and took off running.  A set of blast doors was coming down ahead.

            He dived, and slid under just as the doors came down, and the hall behind him erupted with an earth-shattering blast, the doors blasted from their hinges and tumbling down the hall.

The SLS Destiny

            "Torym says we can depend on him to finish it," Endymion said.

            Serenity's gaze briefly alighted on Torym, and she blinked and turned away.  "Sailor Vulcan, how soon will those ships arrive?"

            "Approximately twenty-five seconds," replied Sailor Vulcan.

            Serenity exhaled slowly.  "It appears that..." she trailed off, as her eyes widened.

            Everyone on the bridge stood and stared. 

            A powerful blast started at the bottom of the ring, and was soon joined by smaller explosions, making their way along the inside of the gate, heading up.

            The green wormhole opening rippled, fire swelling in the edges.

            Then it collapsed.  A gout of brilliant, multicolored flame marked its final closure.

            Cheers erupted on the bridge of the Destiny as the explosions began to spread, and the lit areas of the structure began going out.

            "He did it!" shouted Torym.  "Hell yeah!"

            Sailor Vulcan broke in.  "That is the correct assessment.  The main reactor is breached; a runaway reaction is in progress."

            "All right!" hollered Sailor America.  The others quickly echoed her exclamation.

            Amid the cheers, Diana jumped up next to Reeni.

            "What about Derrelli?" the gray cat asked.

            Reeni blinked, and saw her mother had heard the question.  Reeni saw her mother nod, and both resolutely sighed.

The Gate

            Derrelli ran for his life, occasionally glancing at the handheld for directions.  He rounded another corridor; his wristlight was the only light source.  He was running full tilt; his chest burned, and his legs were beginning to feel rubbery.  He was exhausted; only the desire to escape was keeping him going.

            He rounded another corner.

            And skidded to a stop.

            He stared at the massive form of a spidertrooper right in front of him.  Its teeth showed briefly, and then it swung at him.

            Derrelli ducked under the blow, backing up, raising his hand. 

            But he had nothing left.

            He suddenly realized the peril of his situation.  He was defenseless:  no spells, no weapons, and he was aboard a station that very shortly was going to explode.  He was faced with a spidertrooper.  Behind the spidertrooper, he could see other shapes moving.  His shoulder sagged as the full import hit him.

            It was over.  There was nothing left that he could do.

            The next blow struck him in the chest; he was slammed hard into the wall, vision blurred as the air was driven out of him.  He felt his ribs crack.  His mouth flapped open, but with no air to scream, not a sound emerged; merely blood.  He fell to the deck, feeling it rumble.  Fire licked the edges of his vision, as it grew dark.  He barely felt the vicious kick that sent him flying.

            The last thing he was conscious of was the bright flash of the world around him exploding.

The SLS Destiny

            The Destiny settled as it turned abruptly, red ionized energy blasting from its sublight engines.  It raced away from the dying station.

            For the third time in only a few months, a massive explosion blossomed in the Atlantis system.

The Edge of the Atlantis system, 1 November 2736

The SLS Destiny

            Sailor Sirius yawned as she leaned back in the captain's chair.  The three center screens showed the space around them; it was densely packed with the ships of the Royal Star Navy.  It was nearing midnight, and there was nothing going on.

            Several scout ships, guarded by destroyers, were now going though the Atlantis system with a fine-tooth comb.  It was still chaotic and dangerous, but not nearly as bad as it was when the Destiny had gone through or come back out.

            The bridge of the flagship still showed damage from the fighting; repairs were well underway, but the Destiny would be spending at least the next six months in a drydock.  All of the Senshi, and their Majesties, were getting a lot of rest in the aftermath of the battle; she had only been on duty for five hours, and would be relieved soon.

            There was a beep.

            "Sickbay to bridge," Sailor Mercury's voice came over the speakers.

            "Go ahead," said Sailor Sirius, suddenly leaning forward in interest.

            "Could you please pass on to Serenity that the patient has awakened?" Sailor Mercury said.

            Sailor Sirius grinned.  "Of course, Sailor Mercury."

            The doors hissed open as Serenity stepped into sickbay.  Sailor Mercury spotted her, and waved her over.  She stopped next to the biobed, gazing at its occupant.

            "Welcome back, Archmage Derrelli," she smiled.

            "Your Highness... what happened?  The last I remember, I was getting beat down by a spidertrooper, and then the flash of the explosion," Derrelli said weakly.

            "The flash was actually Small Lady and myself teleporting you out of there," Serenity smiled.

            "It worked, then?" Derrelli asked.

            "It did indeed, Derrelli.  The gate was destroyed; our space is once again safe.  Rest now; the details can be filled in later," Serenity said.

            Derrelli smiled weakly.  "As you command, your Highness."  He closed his eyes.

            Serenity stepped away from the biobed, stopping in the middle of sickbay.

            "Serenity to Sailor Sirius," she began.  She waited the microsecond for the beep.

            "Go ahead, your Highness."

            "Have the Zeus and its battle group stay here to monitor the efforts ongoing in the Atlantis system.  Plot a course for the Sol system; maximum speed," Serenity ordered. 

            She paused.

            "We're going home."

END SEASON 1; STAY TUNED FOR SEASON 2!

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