"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
2-20: The Unraveling
Rated:
R
Near
the Source Gate, just outside of the Hell System, 31 May 2738
The
SLS Bahumat
The wave struck. Lights
flickered all around as the Bahumat shuddered from the impact.
Acting Captain Shelia Thompson waited a few seconds, her eyes clenched
tight.
The next thing she was conscious of was the Wizard Duke's whoop of
triumph.
Her eyes opened.
A greenish tunnel whizzed by at incredible velocities.
Screen two showed the scout vessel Orion held close to them by a
pair of tractor beams, inside their shield arcs. Screen three showed their distant pursuit.
What? Shelia wondered. She
turned, to see the Sorcerer Derrelli grinning like an idiot.
"Okay, what the fuck is going on?" Shelia demanded.
"Surf's up, Captain," chuckled Derrelli.
"I reconfigured the shields, and drew the Orion inside our
shield arcs. The shields now
provide virtually no protection to enemy fire, but the current shape of the
shields allows us to ride the shockwave; keep in mind they still thought that
suicide weapon would short-circuit our engines.
I sorta fixed that, though." He
paused, and nodded at tactical. "One
push of this panel restores shields to standard configuration."
Tactical grinned. A beep
sounded from comm's panel.
"Orion is calling, Captain," the comm officer spoke up.
"On screen one," ordered Shelia.
"Damn, that was close," Sailor Cygni said.
"Derrelli, you could've warned us..."
"Hey, I just thought of it," Derrelli said defensively. "How can I warn anyone when I barely had time to get it
all in operation?"
Sailor Cygni smiled, and nodded. "Well,
the source Gate was able to keep the tunnel open despite the wave; we're now
ripping through pretty quick. Estimate
ten minutes until we arrive at the Alpha Zone."
Tactical sighed. "Sensor
relays from the source Gate show an additional three hundred ships
approaching."
Shelia slowly turned, a look of utter horror on her face.
Near
the Dark Kingdom Gate, somewhere in the Alpha Zone, 31 May 2738
The
SLS Destiny
Princess Serena Tsukino slumped in the TPA console as the screens
reflected the destruction the Royal Star Navy had just inflicted.
Debris, plasma clouds, bodies... all this and more drifted around in a
largish spherical area of space surrounding them. For the moment, there were no DK or ZA starships in weapons
range.
"Tally?" she asked tiredly as Sailor Guardian Eos moved to help
her out of the TPA.
"Three hundred forty nine DK ships remaining, two seventy-five
Zerm," reported tactical.
"All ships that were able report utilizing TPA's," relayed the
comm officer. "The majority of
the task force is now running low on torpedoes; most are down to only a salvo or
two of Ghost torps."
"Yeah, well, we have been firing them all over to try and whittle
down numbers effectively," Serena said as Sailor Eos helped her to the
captain's chair. "We can
always restock after the battle."
"It will make things more difficult if we run out," Sailor Eos
said. "We then lose the
ability for quick, precision kills; meaning it becomes a knife fight."
"Which we probably will," Diana said glumly.
"There are just too many targets."
"Admiral?" tactical broke in.
"The enemy is regrouping."
"Regrouping?" asked Diana, glancing up at the main screen.
"Yeah," tactical sighed wearily.
"Lots of comm traffic over there; apparently the Zerm and the DK
just agreed to cooperate against us."
"What makes you say that?" Sailor Eos demanded.
Destiny spoke up. "Probably
the formation they're combining into."
Screen one changed to show a new combined fleet, now racing towards
TF.01. "And would you like
more good news?" The AI's
voice became sarcastic, as screen two changed to show the Gate.
A greenish ripple spread through it, filling the entirety of the span.
"It's opening," groaned Reeni.
"Fall back; commence long range torpedo bombardment of the incoming
ships... at least what torpedoes we have left.
Just use Phoenix torps for now."
"This is not going as planned," sighed Diana.
"No; no, it isn't," sighed Sailor Eos.
"It's becoming a huge disaster."
Reeni shot her an angry glare, before sighing and nodding.
"Yeah, it is. Make
preparations for a full retreat; we may have to leave and rethink things a
bit."
"You realize doing that essentially hands the entirety of the Alpha
Zone over to the DK?" Diana asked quietly.
"Or the Zerm?"
"All too well," muttered Reeni grimly.
In
wormhole transit, 31 May 2738
The
SLS Bahumat
"Captain?" spoke up tactical.
Shelia glanced at the tactical station.
"What?"
"I have confirmed those three hundred odd ships will be entering the
conduit momentarily; we will then have a grand total of four hundred forty six
after us," tactical reported. "Furthermore,
scans ahead show a remaining three hundred forty nine DK ships, allied with two
hundred seventy five Zerm ships, beating on the Royal Star Navy."
"Allied?" gasped Shelia.
"They sure as hell look like they're cooperating from here,"
came Sailor Cygni's voice over the link.
"It is entirely logical to assume that if both forces suffered heavy
losses against our fleet, they would unite against it, if only for a short
while," Sailor Vulcan added.
"What are we getting into?" Shelia frowned.
She came to a quick decision. "Well,
I don't think we'll have enough time to infect that fleet.
Derrelli, the second we exit, activate the Unraveller.
I want a big, pretty explosion."
Derrelli grinned. "Gladly,"
he chuckled.
"Duke, as soon as we exit, cut the tractor beams to the Orion
that Derrelli attached," Shelia continued.
"Lieutenant Morgan, when we exit, restore shields and prepare for a
fight."
Duke nodded, at the same time as the tactical officer.
Shelia turned to the screens. "Sailor
Cygni, I suggest when we exit that you play guerrilla tactics in support of us.
Decloak, fire, recloak, move, et cetera.
I'm still not sure how we'll handle those ships..."
"We'll think of something," agreed Sailor Cygni.
"I'm sure we will," Shelia said.
I just hope it's in time, she added silently.
"When the Gates close, what'll happen to the DK ships chasing
us?"
"All four hundred forty six ships will have their atoms scattered
across the subspace domain," Sailor Vulcan said, a barest hint of
satisfaction in her tone and expression.
"Beautiful," Shelia smiled.
"Comm, ready a quick message."
She was interrupted by Duke. "Ten
seconds to Alpha Zone."
Near
the Dark Kingdom Gate, somewhere in the Alpha Zone, 31 May 2738
The
SLS Destiny
"I don't believe it," gasped Reeni as two ships burst from the
vortex.
They were not the ships anyone had been expecting to see; they weren't
even Dark Kingdom in origin.
They were from the Royal Star Navy.
"It's the SLS Bahumat and SLS Orion, Admiral!"
called comm. "I just got a
brief message; it's from Acting Captain Shelia Thompson.
They just asked if they could join the party."
"Gladly," Reeni smiled broadly.
"Not sure how much more one battleship is going to be able to
do," tactical said.
"You forget... that's the upgraded battleship.
Their weapons and TPA are far more lethal," Reeni broke in.
"They'll help. Even if
they should be dead."
"They also report discovering the DK home system, and that four
hundred forty six additional ships are following them," comm added.
Reeni went pale. "What?"
she asked quietly.
"They also say not to worry," comm continued.
"Why?" snapped Sailor Eos.
"I don't know. All I
know is the last phrase of their message," comm replied.
On screen two, the combined enemy fleet was closing rapidly; the stream
of torpedoes from RSN ships was tapering off as ships exhausted their supply.
"What is it?" Reeni demanded.
"Fire in the hole," comm reported, looking up in confusion. Reeni's eyes widened in delight, knowing of only one person
on that battleship who would say such a thing.
The
SLS Bahumat
"Derrelli?" Shelia asked.
Her reply was an ear-to-ear grin, and a satisfied expression on
Derrelli's face. "Nuke 'em if
you got 'em,"
he chuckled.
The now cloaked Orion was in tow as the battlewagon raced away
from the Gate. Enemy ships were
barely visible as the conduit collapsed. One
could almost hear the screams.
A massive explosion ripped through the surrounding space.
The
Hell system, 31 May 2738
It was the coming of the Apocalypse.
Virtually all at once, every major station, ship, and relay burst in a
series of stupendous blasts. Facilities
planetside joined them, explosions devastating the areas around them, poisoning
and destroying landscape and killing all kinds of beings.
No one had a clue as to what had just happened.
No one knew about the burrowing computer worms wiping out the sum total
of their knowledge, communications, and all means of analyzing what remained or
occurred, or even how they were supposed to recover. No one even knew just how high the casualty count was.
Debris filled space; shockwaves slammed into each other; soldiers and
citizens alike died by the thousands.
Chaos ensued.
The
Alpha Zone, 31 May 2738
The
SLS Destiny
The main screen went suddenly bright; the glare almost overwhelmed the
visual filters built in to prevent blinding.
As it faded, Reeni felt tears of joy dripping down her cheeks.
The SLS Bahumat and SLS Orion were safe, sound, and
swooping in on the enemy fleet's aft quarter with a vengeance.
The Gate was gone, with hardly a scrap of debris remaining.
And the enemy fleet was slewing about in a dozen different angles; mass
confusion was ensuing.
"Tactical? Comm?"
Reeni said, a smile plastering itself on her face.
"Admiral?" both answered in unison.
"Charge," she ordered.
The RSN TF.01 abruptly ceased backing up; they burst forward like a flood
breaching a dam. Blaster fire,
death rays, and the occasional well-placed white torpedo blazed from the now
attacking fleet.
The
SLS Bahumat
"The Zerm?" asked Shelia.
"They can't use the matrix," tactical replied.
"Too close to their 'allies'; and I'm sure they know using it and
rendering the DK ships harmless will be fatal to them from the detonation of all
those engine cores."
"Zerm battleships!" called out Duke.
"The hell are they doing?"
"Evasive action!" called Shelia, seeing the formation they
took, and the energy outputs displayed on the margins of screen one.
It was just in time; the massive red beam narrowly missed the Bahumat
as it slewed up and to port.
"Derrelli!" snapped Shelia, indicating the TPA.
He nodded, leaping over the railing to get to it.
"Omega strike!" Shelia commanded next.
Lieutenant Morgan's eyes widened, and his hands danced over his panel.
The Bahumat's bow was briskly pointed at the Zerm battleships; a
huge wall of fire abruptly burst in the midst of the group that had just fired
on the Bahumat. They
exploded instantly.
Meantime, every single weapon the Bahumat had facing an enemy
fired simultaneously. Every
blaster, death ray, and torpedo tube issued forth tremendous amounts of
punishment to the enemy ships. Their
foes dropped aside in the face of such force; ship after ship spiraled away,
spouting plasma, debris, and ichor. More
than one had their core overload and detonate.
The Bahumat and the Orion plowed right through the middle
of the enemy fleet; the omega strike tapered off as the Bahumat
temporarily exhausted its power capacitors for its beam weapons.
TF.01 provided cover fire while they approached.
Both ships rejoined their fellows, coming about near the Destiny.
"Down to 10% torpedo load remaining," reported tactical.
"Very well," Shelia acknowledged.
"The Zerm are dropping back," reported tactical next.
The screen clearly showed the two fleets separating; the DK ships were
recovered enough to slew to port; the Zerm began accelerating to the right.
"Oh, really," muttered Shelia.
"A pincer attack?"
"It looks like the Zerm are going to use their matrices against us;
and the DK is prepping a massive Negatorpedo download," tactical said.
"The fleet is splitting in half... and is mostly out of
torpedoes."
"Not good," frowned Shelia.
"How many Zerm?"
"One sixty-two, after the moves we just pulled on them; only six
battleships," tactical replied.
Shelia's face took on a thoughtful expression.
"Time to use a page from Sailor Geminga's book," she said
aloud. "Contact the Destiny;
tell them the Orion and ourselves will handle the Zerm."
Tactical blinked. "By
ourselves?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, well, I'm sick of fighting the fucking DK," Shelia
shrugged nonchalantly.
"The Destiny wants to know if we're sure we can take
them," comm said.
"Of course," Shelia replied.
"What's the plan?" Sailor Cygni wanted to know as the screen
displayed the fleet turning hard about to assault the DK ships.
"Just follow our lead," grinned Shelia.
"And get close so you can combine power with Derrelli."
"Combine...?" Sailor Cygni grinned.
"All right!"
"Perfect opportunity to try a high-level spell I haven't touched
yet," Derrelli mused. The Zerm
ships had slowed at the unusual tactics, wondering what the RSN had up its
sleeve.
They were about to find out.
"This is ironic, huh?" Derrelli said next, screwing his brows
in concentration.
"What makes you say that?" Shelia said rapidly.
"Well, this spell will probably drain me completely," Derrelli
said. "Duke'll have to take
over for anything after this... and I'm guessing we're the bait.
All this after I just put this crate back together, too," he sighed.
Shelia grinned slightly. "We
are indeed. Prep final Ghost torps
to weaken the matrix effects. We'll
drop layer one and two of shields, and take RIFT core to standby.
Channel emergency power into weapons for instant strike.
On my command, we'll restore shielding and engines and attack full force.
My intent is that Derrelli and Sailor Cygni combine their abilities to
take out a huge chunk of them, and then we finish them off by any means
necessary."
"We are ready," Sailor Vulcan said.
"Sailor Cygni is manning the TPA."
"Let's do it," Shelia said coolly.
"And if they delay the matrix because of what we're doing, we lace
into them anyway with the TPA's. Duke,
all ahead full."
The Bahumat and Orion charged as one, as the Zerm moved to
envelop them.
The
SLS Destiny
"Interesting," muttered Reeni.
"Very well. Monitor our
tails, but let's concentrate on the Dark Kingdom for now.
All ships, one more TPA salvo; let's give it all we got!"
The fleet spread out slightly, meeting a swarm of ships with a wall
formation. Each ship had clear
fields of fire; the majority of them had various auras now growing about them.
"FIRE!" ordered Reeni, clenching her fists in the TPA as she
opened the gateway in herself to tap into the near limitless power of her
crystal, channeling through the Destiny's TPA.
The system fairly screamed with the effort to hold all that power.
The wall of starships lit up; massive amounts of energy raged forth,
smashing into the DK fleet. Again,
pinpoint death ray and blaster fire punched into the aftermath.
The
SLS Orion
Sailor Cygni stared hard at the screen.
As they slowed, the Zerm closed. They
were now trapped in the middle of a sphere of Zerm ships.
They drew steadily closer.
"Signal from Bahumat: waste 'em!" comm said suddenly.
"Cygni Gravimetric... DISTORTION!"
The
SLS Bahumat
"Annihilation!" called Derrelli.
The Orion was a scant fifty meters above the Bahumat. Fire swelled around it; a massive blackish sphere comprised
of gravity waves rippled through
the flame, and both effects were drawn together into one swirling morass that
enveloped both ships.
It suddenly condensed, and exploded.
A massive sphere of fire and gravity blazed outwards from the two ships.
The Zerm didn't have a chance.
"WHOA!" gasped Shelia, as Derrelli slumped forward in the TPA,
his head hitting the console. He
breathed weakly.
"Shit," he managed; blood trickled from a small cut where he
had hit. He was too weak to even
move, slipping into unconsciousness.
"We're in for it," sighed tactical.
"All those ships just exploded at once; a massive overlapping
shockwave is about to drill us, and there's nothing we can do."
"Restore all systems!" snapped Shelia.
"Done," tactical said. "Five
seconds!"
"Brace for impact!" gasped Shelia, grabbing her armrests,
holding on for all she was worth.
The waves struck.
The
SLS Destiny
Reeni smiled in intense satisfaction as a final death ray from the SLS Set
plowed through the last surviving DK ship.
As it crumpled under the impact and died, she relaxed slightly.
"Admiral!" gasped tactical.
The screen shifted to show the massive blast issuing forth from the Bahumat
and the Orion... and the subsequent detonation of the majority of the
Zerm fleet.
Only the flagship, which had hung back, survived.
Reeni forced herself to her feet, staring as the shockwaves pummeled the
two ships senseless; the Orion was suddenly forced into the Bahumat.
Sailor Eos winced at the sight of that; the little scout ship tumbled
away slowly as the final waves hit. Debris
stretched between them.
The Zerm flagship streaked in, plowing right for the stunned Bahumat.
No other RSN ship was close enough to help; nor would any get there in
time.
But Reeni was gonna damn sure try.
"All ahead flank!" she snapped.
"Get that ship!"
The Destiny slewed hard about.
The
SLS Bahumat
"Ouch," groaned Shelia, raising her head.
Smoke hung heavy in the air, and the bridge was darkened, with several
consoles offline and several sparking.
She glanced around, noting the master system monitor near the engineering
station; a good chunk of that monitor once again gleamed that hated shade of red, including
weapons, shields, and a large portion of the dorsal hull. Her gaze came to rest on the one operating screen; it showed
a Zerm battleship moving in.
It was alone.
She hadn't come this far to fail.
She staggered out of her seat, making it to the helm.
"Duke!" she hissed, grabbing his shoulder.
Duke coughed, and gasped. He
blinked awake. "Fuck," he
managed.
Shelia pointed at the screen. "Do
we still have engines?" she asked.
Duke glanced down at his flickering console.
"Yeah, sublight only."
"Target that ship," she snarled.
"Collision course."
"Laid in," Duke murmured, hands moving over his panel.
"All ahead flank," Shelia said grimly.
A beep issued from Duke's panel as he pressed it.
The Bahumat surged ahead.
The
SLS Destiny
"What!?" gasped Diana. The
Bahumat leapt into motion, plowing aside some debris.
Weaponless, shieldless, and desperate... the battleship closed the
distance rapidly.
An orange sphere burst from the Zerm battleship, even as it was trying to
dodge. The sphere rippled over the Bahumat;
the red glow from its engines abruptly cut off.
The Zerm's matrix and dodge maneuver failed for two reasons.
Physics, and emergency thrusters.
At a speed of several hundred thousand kilometers per hour, the Bahumat
rammed the Zerm sphere broadside, even as red lasers punched into its tough
hull.
The impact rolled both ships; the side of the sphere and the nose of the Bahumat
crumpled and splintered. The Bahumat,
powerless, drifted upwards rapidly, at a sharp angle from where it had been
facing.
The Zerm sphere also rolled, stunned, key systems abruptly removed from
service. Unlike the Bahumat,
it began to recover, slowing itself, and coming about.
Right into three super-intense beams of energy, issuing from the Destiny's
proton cannons.
"Good shooting," Reeni said, as the Zerm flagship exploded.
"Let's get the Bahumat.
Prepare tractor beams."
"The Griffon has the Orion tractored and is sending
assistance," reported the comm officer.
The Destiny surged after the rolling Bahumat.
The battlewagon's inertial dampers and structural integrity field had
barely been adequate to the task; they were scarcely operational as the Destiny
latched on tractor beams, slowing the battleship, and drawing it close.
The Destiny, its cargo secured, now swung back towards TF.01.
It was over. The Royal Star
Navy had won the day.
The Battle for the Alpha Zone was concluded.
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, 12 April 2738
"How are you feeling?" Hoshi asked softly, running her hand
through Derrelli's hair. Both were
dressed casually: for Derrelli, a
pair of black shorts; and for Hoshi, a white t-shirt and panties.
They were trying to be at ease during enforced leave, although they had
just gotten back from Sailor Geminga's memorial service, and promptly stripped
down.
"Good," he answered. They
were alone in her quarters; relaxing in some of the rare moments they had alone.
He grinned slightly. "Especially
since my conversation with Her Highness."
"What exactly did you tell her that made her laugh so?" Hoshi
said. She brushed an errant lock of
hair from her eyes.
"I told her in no uncertain terms that I was not fixing that damn
battleship again," Derrelli answered with a chuckle.
"She didn't seem to have much of a problem with that, though."
Hoshi laughed, her eyes dancing with humor.
"I bet."
Derrelli sighed. "It's
been a long trip," he said slowly. "Lots
of pain; lots of destruction and death. That
sort of tour doesn't happen often to Royal Star Navy starships, does it?"
Hoshi shrugged lightly. "Somehow,
I think that sort of thing is going to happen to you a lot."
"Great," muttered Derrelli with a frown.
"All the more reason you need the love of a good woman," Hoshi
smiled slyly.
Derrelli grinned, his eyes admiring her body as she stretched.
He brushed her cheek with his hand.
"I guess it all comes down to 'was it worth it?'" Derrelli said
softly.
"Was it?" Hoshi asked quietly.
Derrelli nodded slowly. "Yes,
I believe it was. We accomplished a
lot, despite the cost, and the odds. It's
like those old action movies; I even got the girl in the end." He paused. "So,
I guess you could say..."
Hoshi interrupted him with a smile and a finger on his lips.
"Derrelli," she whispered.
"Shut up and kiss me."
He smiled, and leaned back, his hands on her waist, pulling her close to
him. Soon, they were too busy
kissing to say anything at all.