"LUNAR:  Tales From Crystal Tokyo"

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LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo

By Daryll Pung

Episode 2-17: The Return Of The Dragon

Rated: R

Somewhere in deep space, in Dark Kingdom territory, 10 May 2738

The SLS Bahumat

            The doors at the back of the bridge hissed open, and Sorcerer Derrelli strode briskly out, towards the engineering console.  "Okay.  Shelia, the cloak is as ready as it'll ever be.  I've routed the controls through tactical."

            Acting Captain Shelia Thompson nodded briskly.  "Excellent.  Let's check it, then.  Tactical, prepare to activate cloaking device."

            Shelia gave Derrelli just enough time to call up monitoring displays on the engineering console.  She then glanced at the tactical officer.  "Engage."

            The screens at the front of the bridge, showing outside views, shimmered slightly, and small green lights blinked on in various areas of the bridge.

            "Derrelli?" Sailor Cygni asked, observing from the ops console.  Derrelli grinned.

            "All readouts holding steady; operation nominal," he reported.  "The green lights are to make it easy to tell if the cloak is on.  In other words, we're good to go!  As a side note, we will lose thirteen percent sensor efficiency while cloaked; we'll also lose five percent engine efficiency.  Weapons may be charged, but neither shields nor weapons can be used without disrupting the cloak.  Also, only close-range communications can be used, long-range will also disrupt the cloak.  Oh, yeah, I suppose I should mention that the only system not fully functional at this time is the RIFT drive.  Everything else online and code green."

            "Noted.  Great job, Derrelli!" Shelia said.

            Sailor Cygni and Sailor Vulcan shared a look.  "We might have to add the green lights to Orion," Sailor Cygni mused.  "That's a pretty good idea."

            "Hey, it's me," chuckled Derrelli.

            "Oh, boy," sighed Wizard Duke from his helm console, before turning to grin at Derrelli.

            Shelia turned as Sailor Vulcan's science console began beeping.  "What is it?" she asked.

            Sailor Vulcan looked up.  "The probe we left behind indicates several Dark Kingdom destroyers scanning the area where the four cruisers were destroyed."

            "Just in time," breathed Sailor Cygni, smiling at Derrelli.

            Shelia looked thoughtful.  "Duke, alter our course.  Intensify scans.  Derrelli?"

            Derrelli glanced back.  "Back to work, I'm afraid; I do want to finish those engines sometime this millennium.  The coils and routers are complete; we're now to the stage of beginning reassembly.   This is the long and hard part; things have to be precisely aligned within nanometers.  Three to four weeks, probably."

            With that, Derrelli disappeared back into the lift.

Ulysses Dockyard, in orbit between Luna and Earth, Sol system, 14 May 2738

The SLS Destiny

            A solitary figure stood in the midst of activity, staring at the screens at the front of the bridge.  Her pink ponytails moved slightly as she turned, as the doors from the lift at the back of the bridge hissed open.

            Princess Serena nodded as both Sailor Guardians Eos and Astraea entered.  "We're almost ready to depart," she told them.

            Sailor Astraea spared a glance at the screen.  "Quite a force," she said softly.

            "Yeah.  SLS Destiny to SLS Set.  Hotaru, is your force ready?" Serena asked.

            Screen 2 abruptly changed to show Sailor Saturn's face.  "All ready on my end."

            "Standby," Reeni said.  "SLS Destiny to SLS Shiva.  Raye, status?"

            "Ready whenever you are," Sailor Mars replied.  "And don't bother calling Mina; she's ready, too."

            "Copy.  SLS Destiny to all ships.  This is Admiral Tsukino speaking.  It is now time to defend our freedom and values; it's time to defend those whom we love.  The order is given:  let's go."  Reeni nodded at the helm.

            The Destiny slewed about, bound for L-point.  A fleet of thirty battleships, sixty-three cruisers, eighty-five light cruisers, and one hundred twenty-one destroyers followed, red trails of exhaust illuminating the aft ends of each ship.

            The wait was over.  The recently designated and created Task Force One set off, on a course and destined for a battle that would determine the fate of the Alpha Zone, and perhaps the Golden Millennium.  In a few weeks’ time, the fate of the quadrant would be determined.

Starbase One

            Neo-Queen Serenity the First stared at the status display, watching as TF.01 collectively leapt into FTL travel, a massive white flash marking their departure.

            She turned.  "And how are the plans coming for the search for the Dark Kingdom homeworld, and the location and destruction of the Nightmare?"

            "They are coming together, Serenity," Sailor Neptune replied.  "As soon as the Gate is destroyed, that fleet is going to divide into three, pending losses."  Sailor Neptune frowned.  "We are planning for possibly heavy casualties, all things considered.  At any rate, a smaller force under Hotaru's command will then begin a detailed search and patrol of the border in that area.  The Destiny will come back here, leaving Raye in charge of the largest remaining element.  That force will patrol the Alpha Zone until things cool down; at that point, the cloaked scout ships will enter DK space and begin searching for the DK homeworld.  Raye's force will stay put until it is discovered.  Pending those results, Raye may or may not take her force in.  The third force, under command of Mina, will then assault and destroy the Shroud, and wipe out all resistance on Dreyious Prime... unless diplomacy comes through for us.  Once we're sure that area is disarmed, we'll permanently station a few ships to patrol that sector to ensure that it stays disarmed."

            King Endymion blinked.  "The Shroud?  Dreyious Prime?  Why those locations?"

            "Intelligence from various sources indicated that as a hive of merc activity, and the Dread had been spotted in that area several times.  It's where ex-LISA agent Brad London, now a merc himself, first found Heran," Sailor Uranus reported.

            Serenity spared a glance around the starbase's op center.  Around the small cluster of herself, Endymion, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Uranus, the station's personnel were busy with various tasks.

            Serenity nodded.  "Keep me informed."  She turned to leave, Endymion following.  As they stepped into the lift, Endymion spoke up.

            "You do realize that sending starships into DK space, cloaked scout ships or not, is an act of war?" he said quietly.

            Serenity frowned.  "We are already at war, my love.  And they started it.  Remember the SLS Centaur?  The multitude of attacks on various listening and communications outposts?  And the destruction of the SLS Bahumat?"

            Endymion nodded.  "Granted..."

            "Our sovereignty and national security is being violated on a systematic and regular basis," Serenity continued.  "It's time for it to end."

            Endymion nodded.  "Just making sure you've looked at this from all angles, muffin.  I agree with you completely."

            Serenity smiled.  "I know."

Somewhere in deep space, in Dark Kingdom territory, 29 May 2738

The SLS Bahumat

            Derrelli paused, leaning back and gazing at the stars outside one final time.  He glanced back down the rows of coiling; all currently receiving their final quantum welds to the engine grids.

            He signaled; the final grid segment was carefully lined up.  Around him, four engineers, attired like himself and everyone else on this project in environmental suits, raised their hands, activating the handheld tractor beams they carried.  The team of two that had moved the panel into place backed off, one spiraling slightly.

            Exhaustion, Derrelli supposed.  Envirosuit controls could be easily confused if one was too tired to think straight.  As they all were.

            Derrelli glanced back down at his comp.  "Right there," he said slowly.  "Lock and set tractors; bring it in."

            He glanced down at the welding teams, standing by for this very panel.  Outside, another team waited, drifting about, for the placement of this grid section, so they could weld the seams outside.

            Last one, he told himself.  He spared a glance at his chrono.  Middle of the night.  Right.  Last one, and we can all sleep.

            Unbeknownst to the majority of the ship, including captain and bridge crew, he and his merry band of workers had been working almost twenty hours a day.  Motivated by the knowledge that as soon as the engines were finished, so were they, no one had complained.

            The grid section thunked into place.  Derrelli double- and triple-checked the alignment.  Satisfied, he nodded.

            The welding teams moved into action.  Metal and crystal gleamed white-hot as the welders united the atomic structuring of the joints in a precise, predetermined pattern.

            Thirty minutes later, after the structural integrity field and inertial dampening fields tested appropriate for support stresses, all the workers cleared the area.  Derrelli was the last to leave the engine coils, latching and activating the triple-thick, triple locked access behind him.  It was a long, slow crawl back to Main Engineering normally; it was doubly worse wearing an Envirosuit.

            Finally, he crawled out and stood up, removing his helmet.  "Run a level one diagnostic," he ordered tiredly.  As he shucked the rest of the suit, the workers waiting for that very order leapt into action.  By the time the suits were stowed, the results were beginning to be tallied.

            Forty minutes later, the exhaustive precheck of all systems had been completed.  Derrelli quickly checked with a preselected individual on the bridge, who had been briefed to keep silent for the moment; the report showed proper displays of the engines.

            "Right," he ordered.  "Initiate power flow to coils."

            "Display meter showing full," reported the bridge engineer.

            Derrelli moved to the master status display.  "Calibrating now.  Display power curve readouts; display quantum interference and localized subspace variances."

            His fingers moved rapidly over the controls; he blinked several times to make sure he was reading things right.

            Over the next few hours, after several cups of Algarian Chocoffee to keep him awake, Derrelli managed to align and calibrate the coils.  That done, a final diagnostic was conducted.

            Derrelli stood, noting the smiles on those around him as the diagnostics came back positive.

            "I'm going to the bridge," he said, turning for the lift.  As the doors hissed open, Derrelli turned back around, and gave them all a tired grin.  "Prepare for RIFT."

            Cheers answered him as the doors hissed shut.

            A minute later, the doors hissed open to reveal the quiet of the bridge.  This shift was the least manned of any shift, allowing the majority to sleep.  As a consequence, Derrelli was now the highest-ranking individual on the bridge.  He waved off the center chair, and moved to the engineering terminal, nodding to the engineer there, who stepped back with a smile.  Derrelli fiddled with the displays a bit; then quietly spoke.

            "Neo, for the upcoming announcement, crank the volume.  I want everyone to know that this ship is now fully operational," Derrelli said.

            Neo answered just as quietly from the wall speaker near the console.  "Going for a big morale boost, huh?  No problem; waiting on you."

            Derrelli nodded, and turned.  "Lieutenant, I have the bridge," he told the lieutenant sitting in the big chair for this shift.  The lieutenant nodded, and stood, moving to one of the ops consoles.

            Derrelli remained standing.  "Helm, compute a ten-minute RIFT jump to anywhere."

            The helm officer complied, and turned, a question on her face.  "Sir, course computed... but the RIFT..."

            Derrelli cut her off.  "Neo, I believe regulations stipulate yellow alert at this point, correct?  In case something malfunctions?"

            "That is correct, Sorcerer Derrelli," the ship's AI replied.

            "Initiate Yellow Alert," Derrelli ordered.  As the lights flashed yellow and Neo's alert sounded throughout the ship, Derrelli grinned.

            "Put me on speaker throughout the ship," he ordered.  A click and a nod from communications let Derrelli know it was done.

            "Thompson to Bridge!  What's going on?" came Shelia's voice, alarmed.

            "One second, Shelia," Derrelli said.  "Helm, one half RIFT along preset course; engage."

            "ALL HANDS, PREPARE FOR RIFT TRANSIT," intoned Neo.

            White energy poured along the coils; the grids glowed bright white.  White energy surged forth, enveloping the Bahumat.  It stretched briefly to infinity; then it vanished in a bright white flash and spiral.

            "Status?" Derrelli asked the engineer at the console as the viewscreen displayed rotating starlines.

            "Green," came the reply.

            "Commander Thompson," Derrelli began formally.  "May I have the pleasure of reporting that RIFT drive is now fully operational?  The Bahumat is fully repaired:  we are once again a lean, mean fighting machine."  Cheers resounded on the bridge.

            "I could just kiss you, Derrelli!" came Shelia's joyful voice.

            "That's now Hoshiko's job, Shelia... and now my engineers, conscripts, and I are going to settle down for a long nap," Derrelli yawned.  "With your permission, of course."

            "By all means," Shelia answered.  "You've certainly earned it."

            "Amen," Derrelli sighed.  "Lieutenant, the bridge is yours.  Carry on."  He moved to the lift; applause followed as the lift doors hissed open.

            He staggered into the lift, all but asleep on his feet.

            "Finally," he murmured.  "We're back."

Approaching the Dark Kingdom Gate, somewhere in the Alpha Zone, 29 May 2738

The SLS Destiny

            "Report," Reeni said, arms crossed over her chest.  The fleet was taking it slow, allowing cloaked scout ships to sweep ahead and performed very detailed scans of the space they were moving through.

            They didn't want any surprises.  By moving as slow as they were, the scout ships could sniff out any and all Dark Kingdom starship locations, as well as get a detailed threat analysis and ship count.  TF.01 could then form a detailed battle plan that would minimize losses.

            All this without alerting the enemy.

            "Approaching the limits of DK detection range, based on current data about their sensors, courtesy of the SLS Taurus," Diana reported from her perch at the science console.

            "Order the fleet to hold positions, and reconfigure for a full battle charge, if necessary," Reeni ordered.  "We'll hold here until all reports come in from the scout ships."

            "Aya, ma'am," replied the comm officer, already passing those orders on to every other ship.

            Reeni leaned back, eyeing the second screen.  Relayed information from the scout ships was being relayed there, and the tally increased, as the scout ships got closer.

            "Time for everyone's favorite pastime," murmured Sailor Eos behind her.

            "Yeah, hurry up and wait," added Sailor Astraea.  Reeni nodded agreement.

Somewhere in deep space, in Dark Kingdom territory, 31 May 2738

The SLS Bahumat

            Derrelli, for once, was quiet.  He was leaning back in his quarters, sprawled across his bed.  The starlines swept by; they were almost hypnotic in his current state.  He raised his hand again, and ran it through Hoshiko's hair.  She smiled.  She, too, was comfortable to the point of lethargy, curled up next to him.

            "That was good," she murmured, hugging him.  "I've never actually had Chinese food before."

            "Thank my stepfather for that," Derrelli chuckled.  "He was determined I should be cultured, and made me eat and try all sorts of things.  I did end up liking Chinese, though."

            Both still were attired in their uniforms; they didn't feel comfortable changing to civilian clothes while in the midst of enemy space.  Who knew when they might find something?

            Hoshi nodded, and stretched slightly.  Derrelli allowed himself to gaze long at her, his eyes admiring.  Hoshi grinned.

            "Enjoying the view?" she teased.

            "How could I not?" he replied with a smile.

            Hoshi's smile widened further.  "So, as soon as we digest, what do we want to do?"

            Derrelli looked thoughtful.  "I'm not sure.  I do know that twenty-four hours rest in the past thirty-six is more than enough for me; I'd like to do something... active."

            Hoshi nodded again, but before she could say anything, his door beeped.

            He sighed as he sat up, and Hoshi disentangled herself.  "Yeah?"

            "It's Duke," came his voice.

            "Enter," Derrelli said.

            Duke strode in as the door hissed open.  "Hey, Derrelli, I was wondering..." he broke off as he saw Hoshi.  "Err... am I interrupting something?"

            "Not at all," Hoshi said smoothly.  "We were just trying to figure out what to do after a scrumptious dinner."

            Duke grinned, his grin widening as he glanced between the two.

            "So, what'd you want?" Derrelli asked.

            "Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted to blast stuff, but if you're busy..." Duke's voice trailed off, a note of challenge in it.

            Derrelli's smile now matched Duke's, and Hoshi sat up.

            "Not at all," Hoshi said.  "That actually sounds like fun."

            "We've never done it with three before," Duke mused.

            "So we adjust for the added person," Derrelli stated, "by adding an additional fifty percent of targets... I mean enemies."

            "Sounds good," Duke chuckled.  He led the way as the doors hissed shut behind the trio.

            Ten minutes later, Derrelli, Duke, and a now-transformed Sailor Cygni stood on the top of a hill, dead grass crunching beneath their feet and the overcast sky.  The wind was cold and bitter; the trees nearby were stunted and deformed.

            "This is our favorite scenario," Duke said.

            "I've done this one," Sailor Cygni replied.  "It is a blast."

            "Literally," snickered Derrelli.

            "Ready?" Duke asked.  Derrelli and Sailor Cygni glanced at one another, and nodded.

            "Begin scenario," Duke called out.  There was a beep as Neo acknowledged the command.

            A wave of youma burst from the trees, surrounding them.  They charged up the hill.  Derrelli and Duke readied their staves, and Sailor Cygni flicked her wrist to summon Orbiting Heart from her pocketspace.

            With a battle cry, all three leapt into the fray.

            A half-hour after they entered the holosuite, the doors hissed open, revealing a yellow grid... and three individuals, each with small cuts, frayed clothing, wind-whipped hair, and scorches from smoke and flame.  Each of them was grinning idiotically.

            "That was fun!" exclaimed Sailor Cygni.

            Derrelli paused, and stopped for a second.  "You know, the three of us make a pretty damn good team."

            Duke looked thoughtful.  "We do complement each other pretty well."

            Sailor Cygni's eyes twinkled wickedly.  "Yeah, it helps when a wind-swelled fireball nails targets that can't move because the gravity's to heavy for them."

            "Boom!" chortled Derrelli.

            Suddenly, all around them, the lights went out and red ones flipped on, followed by the alert siren and Neo's voice intoning "Red Alert!  Red Alert!  All hands to battlestations!"

            The trio shared an alarmed glance and broke into a sprint for the lift at the end of the corridor.

            The lift doors hissed open to reveal the bridge; Sailor Vulcan was manning science, with Commander Thompson standing in the middle of the bridge, staring at the main screen.  The starlines were gone; a few DK ships could be seen, with the view panning.  She spared the trio a glance, and rolled her eyes.

            "Youma Siege again?" Shelia asked, and then paused.  "Don't answer that."

            "What's going on?" asked Derrelli as he powered up the bridge engineering station.  Sailor Cygni was now standing near ops; Duke had relieved the helmsman.

            "Oh, we've encountered a DK structure and its garrison force," Shelia said grimly.

            "What sort of structure?" Sailor Cygni asked tentatively.

            "A gate," Shelia said, as the screen reverted back to it.

            "Another one?" Derrelli snapped.  "What the hell?  These things seem to be everywhere!"

            "This one is not of the same variety," Sailor Vulcan stated.  "This gate is larger, with a larger power source.  It appears to have two reactors instead of one; and we are also detecting other DK structures at the fringes of our sensor range."

            "What...?" Derrelli murmured.  "What are we looking at, here?"

            No one answered, because no one had an answer yet.

            "Any sign of detection?" Shelia asked.

            "Negative," tactical answered.

            Shelia frowned.  "What'll happen if we deploy a craft, and it then cloaks inside our cloaking field?  Can it leave without revealing either one of us?"

            Before Sailor Vulcan could answer, Derrelli did.  "No problem as long as it leaves our field between phase variance cycles, and dead astern, with an immediate z-axis departure."

            Shelia half turned, eyebrows raised.  "How... never mind."  She turned towards the two Senshi.  "Sailors Cygni and Vulcan; the Orion has far better sensors than this ship.  I propose a relay.  You move ahead, scanning, just to the fringes of short-range communications, which I believe do not interfere with cloaking devices.  Then you stop, and we'll catch up.  Once we're again nearby, you'll set off again.  I want to know what's here; I've got a funny feeling... a sort of excited one, even."

            Sailor Cygni nodded.  "Sounds like a plan.  I think I know what you mean, and I have my suspicions, too.  Sailor Vulcan, shall we?"

            As the two Senshi entered the lift, Shelia spoke again.  "Launch bay, prepare to launch the SLS Orion.  All hands, prepare for anything."

            A few minutes later, the two cloaked GM ships approached the DK cordon.  Like a pair of errant ninjas, they snuck quietly past the guardians.  Neither knew what they would find, but they were determined to find it.

STAY TUNED!

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