"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
2-02: The Calm Before The Storm
Rated:
R
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system, 1 December 2737
The lights of the head cameras were bright as hell, Sorcerer Derrelli
thought, standing just behind and to the left of Neo-Queen Serenity the First.
He was tired, bone tired. He
was also pretty sure Her Highness felt much the same way.
The room was a decent size; of course, it had to be.
There were a lot of reporters to cram in here. It was hot; the glare from the headcams certainly wasn't
helping that situation any! He
stood, with Neo-Queen Serenity I and Sailor Betelgeuse, on a slightly raised
platform; it had curtains hung behind it, with the symbol of the GM hung on a
plaque on that. A podium with
microphones was set in front of them.
Time to experience the joy of free press, he thought.
He set his expression into a smile as Sailor Betelgeuse approached the
podium.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Her Highness, Neo-Queen Serenity the
First!" Sailor Betelgeuse spoke into the microphone, and began clapping, as
everyone else in the room stood and applauded.
She backed away, allowing Serenity to approach the podium.
"Thank you, Sailor Betelgeuse.
Thank you, my friends. I
come before you tonight with happy news. Tonight,
we welcome a new member to our elite cadre of Sorcerers; tonight, we welcome
Sorcerer Derrelli," Serenity began.
More applause. Derrelli flushed slightly, realizing they were clapping
for him. Cool, he thought.
"It is indeed an honor to have him among us; he is the youngest man
ever promoted to Sorcerer-hood, as well as the fastest.
His brilliance and loyalty are without question.
And so, it is with open arms, and open hearts, that we bring him into our
family!" Serenity's voice rang out. "And
now, without further delay, Sorcerer Derrelli!"
The applause was quite impressive. Serenity
offered a comforting smile as Derrelli stepped forward, and he heard her
whisper.
"Just relax, and be yourself," she murmured as he stepped up.
Derrelli swallowed; he had talked with the press already after his deeds
in the Nebula War; but this was a whole new thing entirely.
Better get used to it, he told himself. He cleared his throat.
"Thank you, Your Majesty; thank you, everyone, for your support. What can I say that hasn't already been said?
I'm proud to be here, and happy to serve.
And now, if I can cut to the chase, the purpose of this press conference
is so you can all nail me with questions; why don't we get started?"
Derrelli grinned.
"He's cocky," said Commander Sheila Thompson, the First Officer
of the Bahumat. She turned
her blonde head to gaze at Sailor Geminga.
"Have you spoken with him, yet?"
"No," Sailor Geminga sighed.
"I'll have an opportunity later, at the gala celebration; I'll be
speaking with Archmage Torym, too."
Sheila sipped her drink. "Well,
he's supposed to be highly intelligent; that's helpful in a Chief
Engineer."
Sailor Geminga nodded. "It'll
be up to you to run interference for me."
Sheila looked thoughtful as she leaned back more on the comfortable
leather couch in the off-duty lounge, returning her gaze to the screen.
"If you insist."
"What was the Test like?" asked a female reporter.
Derrelli frowned slightly. "I...
I can't really describe it. I don't
have the words for it; suffice it to say, though, it was very exhausting. Yes, you?" he
pointed.
"Sorcerer Derrelli, how do you feel about being posted to the Bahumat?"
the reporter queried.
Derrelli blinked, caught off guard.
It took a few seconds to recover. "Uh,
I haven't heard anything about that, yet. I'm
afraid I have no comment on that." But
I will, he thought. As soon
as I find out about it.
"What are your goals?" asked another.
He grinned. "Well,"
he began.
"Amazing," said Ron slowly.
"He really did it." The
van Houtens were sitting around the large, wall-sized screen, watching the press
conference.
Mary was quiet, and the twins gazed at their younger sister, then each
other.
"I think it's cool," said Fred.
"My big brother is a Sorcerer!"
"I never thought he'd make it," Tabatha said.
Then she smiled. "But
it is prestigious for us!"
Ron was silent; for once in his life, using someone else to
his advantage actually bothered him. "Yes,
it is," he said slowly, sharing a look with Mary.
"High-reaching goals, hmm?" Sheila commented.
"Indeed," Sailor Geminga said.
I can't shake the feeling that he's going to be an arrogant ass."
"Perhaps," Sheila allowed.
She thought for a moment, and then smiled.
"But we're set as far as the battle capability of the Bahumat
is concerned."
Sailor Geminga blinked. "Huh?"
"We're the only ship in the fleet with three individuals capable of
using a TPA: you; the Wizard Duke,
our primary helm officer; and now, Sorcerer Derrelli, our new Chief
Engineer," smiled Sheila.
Sailor Geminga nodded slowly. "You're
right. Perhaps this won't be so bad
after all."
"We have another Dread incident," frowned Sailor Neptune,
reading the message on her microcomp. "And
we still do not have a concrete plan for catching and destroying them."
"We don't?" blinked Sailor Uranus in surprise.
Sailor Neptune sighed irritably, and threw the microcomp on her desk.
"No, we don't. So far,
they're being remarkably clever; never attacking the same place twice; never
using the same exact tactics twice. The
only common thing is what they take: valuable
and rare minerals that we need for starship construction.
We'd try booby-trapping the cargo, but if we don't know where or when
they'll possibly strike next, we can't waste cargo runs... or the valuable ships
and crew being smashed. They have
yet to leave a ship alive." She
glanced at the viewscreen, noting the press conference was ending.
"I hate to do this, but I must bring this to Serenity's
attention."
"Unfortunate," nodded Uranus Knight.
"This could become quite the situation," said Neptune Knight.
"It already has," frowned Sailor Uranus.
One down, one to go, thought Derrelli as he relaxed for a few
minutes before the dancing, wining, and dining began.
He wasn't particularly looking forward to this; formal occasions were not
his style. He preferred casual
gatherings; an attitude he knew he must change due to his new rank.
It occurred to him for the first time that he was now ‘a somebody’, a
prominent figure.
Complete with all of the responsibility that came with it, he thought. Oh, yeah. He sat
up. "Nirvana, please get me
Sailor Neptune."
"One moment," Nirvana replied. The AI quickly routed the signal
through the myriad pathways, connecting the two, announcing the comm linkup to
Sailor Neptune.
"Go ahead, Sorcerer Derrelli," Sailor Neptune said.
She had been expecting this call since the question at the press
conference.
"Just Derrelli, please, Sailor Neptune.
I wanted to find out what's going on with this supposed posting to the
SLS Bahumat," Derrelli began.
"It isn't 'supposed', Derrelli," Sailor Neptune said calmly.
"As of 3 December, you are to report aboard the SLS Bahumat
as Chief Engineer. The reasons-"
"Are my knowledge of all the upgrades," Derrelli interrupted
smoothly. He paused, thoughtful.
"Is there a problem, Derrelli?" Sailor Neptune asked.
"Not at all, Sailor Neptune. I
was merely surprised, that's all. Tell
me this; after the tour to certify and prove all of the upgrades, can I go back
to the Skunk Works?" Derrelli asked pensively.
"Most definitely, Derrelli," Sailor Neptune nodded.
"Then I look forward to this," Derrelli grinned.
"Oughta be fun. Thanks,
Sailor Neptune. Later."
As the communication ended, Sailor Neptune shook her head. You have no idea, Derrelli, she thought.
For the umpteenth time, he glanced at his wrist chrono.
Still not even 1900 hours. Derrelli
sighed. This damn... well, ball,
for that is what it seemed like, a fancy, formal ball... and it was dragging
out. He was exhausted; he needed
his rest. He also detested formal
events such as this; he hadn't gone to a single dance in the whole time he was
in school. Of course, he never had
anyone to go with... but that was neither here nor there.
He frowned, and headed for one of the balconies adjoining the main
ballroom, and rolled his eyes as he stepped out, inhaling deeply.
He glanced down at his glass of red wine; it was still his first, from
nearly an hour ago, and barely touched. He
noticed a rosebush nearby, and dumped it out in the bush.
"Watering the plants, hmm?" came a soft voice.
He whirled, and his eyes came to rest upon a beautiful woman in a red
dress. He couldn't immediately
identify her nationality; she seemed to have a combination of them, and took
some of the better features from all them.
The strongest inclination he could identify suggested Japanese descent.
She wasn't exactly the shapeliest woman at the ball, but she wasn't ugly,
either; she was slender and athletic, with a graceful figure and a modest, but
firm, bust. Her dark brown hair was
extremely long, and her eyes... they caught his gaze and held it; and he lost
himself in those expressive brown eyes, which reflected her amusement.
Her lips were curved in a slight smile.
"Well... I... uh..." Derrelli trailed off, blushing.
"Do you like what you see?" she asked, still smiling.
"S-Sorry," Derrelli stammered.
"Don't worry about it," she said, waving it off, and then
extending her hand. "You've
probably seen me occasionally; when I pass through the Skunk Works, it's with
Sailor Vulcan. I'm Hoshiko Akemi;
Sailor Cygni."
"Oh, yeaaah..." Derrelli said thoughtfully.
He shook off his nervousness; he was above that, now.
"I do remember seeing you before.
Just call me Derrelli." He
took her hand; he was surprised to find it firm.
His face must have betrayed his surprise, for her smile broadened, and
dimples appeared in her cheeks.
"They're like that due to my chosen profession," she explained.
"I'm a paleontologist, and often work side-by-side with Talia; that
isn't exactly conducive to soft hands."
Derrelli nodded. "Makes
sense." He winced as he heard
someone call his name.
Hoshi chuckled sympathetically, and glanced down, smoothing her dress.
"I know how you feel; I hate formal events.
I don't like dresses; give me a shirt and pants any day.
I guess I am a tomboy, in that way.
Ah, well; we gotta do what we gotta do.
It was nice meeting you, Derrelli."
"You, too, Hoshiko," he said, and as he turned away, frowned.
"I do hope that is Serenity, telling me that this damn event is
concluded."
Before he could take a step, Torym and Sailor Eos rounded the
corner, walking out onto the balcony, nearly colliding with him.
Torym wore the formal version of the standard uniform; Sailor Eos wore a
dress of lavender. "Whoa!"
"Geez, Pyro, been looking all over for you," Torym said before
Derrelli could get anything else out, and he was about to continue when he
spotted Hoshi. "That is... did
we interrupt something?"
"Not at all, Archmage Torym; we were simply introducing
ourselves," Hoshi put in smoothly. "I
was actually just leaving."
"Good thing, too," said Sailor Eos, rolling her eyes.
"Sailor Geminga's been looking for you, Derrelli, and she's headed
this way. We thought we should warn
you; she's already been at us both, asking questions about you."
Hoshi made a face. "I
feel sorry for you, Derrelli; having to serve aboard the same ship is her."
Derrelli laughed shortly. "Oh,
come on; she can't really be that bad."
"There you are," they all heard.
They turned to see Tanya and Talia approach; like Sailor Eos and Hoshi,
they, too, were attired in formal dress. Talia
was resplendent in a silk mandarin dress; Tanya had gone with a light blue one.
Tanya laughed. "I take
it you are also trying to warn Derrelli about Sailor Geminga?"
"It is agreeable to see you here, Sorcerer Derrelli, Archmage Torym,
Sailor Eos, Sailor Cygni," Talia said calmly.
Derrelli smiled slightly. "Sort
of a reunion, eh? Just a few people
missing. As far as Sailor
Geminga..."
Tanya rolled her eyes. "She's...
impossible, and quite harsh. She
also doesn't particularly like men."
"I got that sense," Torym smirked.
"Major PF with her, Pyro."
"PF?" asked Hoshi.
"Pucker Factor," elaborated Derrelli.
"How does a prejudice like that sneak through the S/SAB?"
Talia raised an eyebrow. "If
you recall your history, the Second Lunar-Nega War carried a high rate of loss;
towards the end of that conflict, Neo-Queen Serenity I initiated the wide scale
imbuing of Sailor Senshi ability. This
was just prior to formal guidelines being established; Sailor Geminga is one of
the few borderline individuals to make it in.
She is loyal, a very capable captain, and a competent tactician; this was
quite desirable to end that war."
"So her personality quirks were overlooked," Derrelli finished.
"And people have had to live with them now for four hundred
years."
"That is correct," Talia stated.
"I would advise caution in your dealings with her, Sorcerer
Derrelli."
Derrelli smiled slightly. He
knew it was useless to tell Talia to use his name and not his rank; he had told
her a lot, but unless they were one-on-one, she persisted in using his title as
well.
"Well, thanks for the warning," Derrelli said.
"Just in time, too," whispered Torym, seeing Phoebe approach.
He raised his voice. "Just
make sure you don't blow up the Bahumat, Pyro!"
Derrelli raised his eyebrows, and played along.
"Come now, Tor; you know I wouldn't blow up anything that might
possibly cause harm to me; and it would be a bitch to make my way back to Earth
bereft of atmosphere!"
The entire group grinned or chuckled- except Talia -as Phoebe stopped. Her expression was unreadable.
"A reunion of heroes, hmm? I
hope I am not interrupting anything," Phoebe said with a smile.
The group shared a few looks amongst themselves.
"Not at all," Sailor Eos said coolly.
"Sorcerer Derrelli, may have a few words with you?" Phoebe
asked.
"About what?" Derrelli countered.
"It is in regards to your posting aboard the Bahumat,"
she said.
Derrelli sighed heavily. "If
you want to discuss it in front of everyone, fine.
Although, I'm not really in the mood to; I am quite tired."
Phoebe blinked, and her expression darkened.
"Say what?"
Derrelli gazed at her, his expression neutral.
"I don't think it's anything so important it can't wait,
right?"
Phoebe smoldered. "It
is very important."
Derrelli stared at her, his brows contracting in anger.
"You think I'm stupid? You're
so pitifully obvious, trying to find things out about me by walking around and
asking everyone else. Would you
like that? Do you think I do?
Let me make something perfectly clear:
you will find out what you want the same way everyone else does, and
that's by discovering it from me, during the cruise."
"Hold on a minute!" snapped Phoebe.
"I don't think you realize what's going on, here!
You have no clue about our mission or where we're going, and you are so
damn cocky you don't care? I am
your captain, and you will obey my orders!"
"The mission is to verify and test the upgrades to the Bahumat
from the Skunk Works in an operational setting," Derrelli replied heatedly.
"The location is obviously somewhere off in deep space, and who the
hell are you to judge me? Oh, yeah,
you also aren't my Captain yet, and even when you are, the orders better damn
well be lawful ones! I don't take
anyone's bullshit!"
"Uh, maybe you two should throttle it back a bit, hmm?" Torym
interrupted quietly.
"Who the hell asked you to butt in, you good-for-nothing male!"
roared Phoebe.
Torym went rigid, as his expression became one of pure fury.
Derrelli's fists balled, and both glared daggers at her.
The area had become completely silent, and Phoebe suddenly realized
everyone was staring at her. She whirled, and stomped off to the nearby exit in a huff.
"O-kay... I don't think that was a very promising start," said
Tanya quietly.
"You said it," murmured Sailor Eos.
"Perhaps we should break this up.
May I suggest, Torym, that you take a nice, long walk in the garden to
cool off?"
Torym nodded curtly, and spun on his heel.
"Talia, I think we should go check out the entrees," said
Tanya. Talia raised an eyebrow and
nodded, and they departed.
Sailor Eos turned, and noticed Derrelli was already at the edge of the
balcony, staring off into space. Hoshi
glanced at her, and both let out a long breath as they turned away, and headed
back into the ballroom, leaving Derrelli to his thoughts.
Yeah, that went real fucking well, Derrelli thought bitterly.
This is going to be a real interesting mission.
Just fuckin' great.
He glared at the stars, wishing he could blow something up to relieve his
tension.
The
Shroud, Dreyious Prime, Dreyious system, 2 December 2737
Heran leaned back, slowly turning the glass in front of him. It was filled only halfway with a thick, pale blue liquid,
now; this was his fifth drink, and he was getting anxious. The Shroud wasn't exactly the safest place in the galaxy, and
Aaryx and Neris were taking too long. They
had been told to meet him here after the transaction was completed.
Heran still didn't bring the Dread in too close to the Dreyious
system; it was a GM cruiser, after all, and some races around here didn't quite
like the GM. They had developed a
specially modified mini-ship; it occupied the entire shuttlebay of the Dread,
but showed no specific racial affiliation.
He glanced out of the large window overlooking the landing bay; the Battleaxe
was off alone in a corner, and appeared okay.
The little ship was so named due to its shape and capability.
He looked around discretely. There
were a lot of races here; this was one of the rare, independent systems. He wasn't sure how it had remained that way, and didn't
particularly care. It had become
the center of the black market in the galaxy, as well as a gathering point for
mercenaries and pirates.
He stood, wondering what was taking so long.
As he turned, the barrel of a weapon was shoved in his face.
He couldn't identify it immediately, until he looked at the insectoid
holding it. A Miraxic; that meant
the weapon was a nasty variety of disruption rifle; it took a short while to
take effect and was very painful. He
put his hands up.
The Miraxic had a translator strapped around its neck; and as its
mandibles clattered, a robotic monotone of a voice came from the translator.
"Filthy DK scum. You
will die and give me your ship."
Heran grinned slightly. "I
will die? Exactly how are you going
to accomplish this?"
The Mirax wavered its antennae; suddenly, from either side, another
Miraxic approached, for a total of three of them.
They, too, had the same type of rifle.
Heran frowned slightly. "May
I ask why you are coming after me?"
The Miraxic clattered its mandibles again.
"One of your nasty little ships attacked my ship."
Heran's eyes narrowed. "I'm
sure you're aware I am no longer DK."
"It matters not," the Miraxic replied.
"Now, you-"
Twin white beams of energy suddenly drilled the two Miraxics behind him;
they vanished with high pitched squeals in twin white flashes; their rifles
clattered to the ground. The
Miraxic turned in astonishment, and Heran reached up and punched it in one of
its compound eyes, before diving to the floor.
As it turned, writhing in pain with one of its limbs covering its eye, it
leveled its rifle. Heran kicked
over a table, rolling behind it; he found what he was looking for. He heard the whine of the Miraxic firing; the table suddenly
glowed bright blue, and began to dissolve.
Heran threw himself on his back, away from the table; as he slid back and
the Miraxic came into view, he pointed both of the rifles he had just grabbed at
it and pulled the triggers. Twin
blue beams sliced into the Miraxic; it began to dissolve, squealing horribly.
Heran slowly got to his feet, still holding the twin Miraxic rifles; as
he watched the insectoid slowly disintegrate, a cold smile crept onto his face. Aaryx and Neris walked to him; they both were holstering
their GM style blasters; the only two they had aboard the Dread.
"Nice, boss," said Aaryx.
"Thanks. Let's
go." Heran turned away from the scene, and glanced at the weapons
in his hands. He deactivated them.
"I think I'll keep these; they're pretty nasty."
As they neared the exit, the bartender leveled a rifle at them. "You didn't pay, and you caused a hell of a mess."
"Quite," Heran said agreeably.
He produced a small pouch. "This
should more than recompense you. Have
a good day."
The bartender nodded to an associate, who quickly checked the bag's
contents. As he nodded, the
bartender lowered the rifle. "Have
a good day, then."
Heran resumed his pace, with Aaryx and Neris following close behind.
"Why
didn't you waste him, Heran?" Neris asked coolly.
"We do have to come here again, Neris," Heran chuckled. "Besides, I think I made my point. By the way, great timing, you two."
"No problem, boss," Aaryx replied evenly.
"I love a good firefight."
Heran chuckled as they approached the hangar.
Ulysses
Dockyard, In high Lunar orbit, Sol system, 3 December 2737
Derrelli slowed to a stop at a large, transparent crystal window; from
this vantage point he had a clear view of the SLS Bahumat.
It was still an awesome view; unlike the Destiny, this ship was
built solely for war, and showed it. He
had assisted in the installation of many of its systems; he was fairly well
acquainted with the ship already, and looked forward to cruising in it.
He just did not want to deal with Sailor Geminga.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much choice. Still, he hadn't exactly been at his best when their
"encounter" had occurred; he was at much at fault as she... well, not
really, but he figured if he apologized, it might help smooth things a bit.
No matter what, though, he couldn't shake the feeling that this cruise
was going to be a real bitch. It
would keep, he was sure.
At least in space, I can blow shit up, he thought.
It was a small consolation as he resumed walking.
STAY
TUNED!