"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
2-03: To The Frontier
Rated:
R
Ulysses
Dockyard, In high Lunar orbit, Sol system, 3 December 2737
The
SLS Bahumat
Derrelli stopped and glanced around as the airlock hissed shut behind
him. It wasn't as though he had
never been aboard this ship before; it wasn't as though he didn't know what to
do or where to go. It was just that
this time simply felt... different.
He was going into space on an assigned cruise for real.
His apprehension had faded, somewhat.
It was being replaced by excited anticipation.
He allowed a faint smile to creep across his face, and then schooled his
expression to casual neutrality before stepping forward.
He found the lift, and waited for a few seconds until it hissed open.
"Bridge," he said.
The lift hummed into action; he could barely detect the horizontal and
vertical high-speed shifts; seconds later, it opened up to reveal the bridge of
the battleship Bahumat.
Sailor Geminga was strolling around the bridge, and turned as the lift
doors opened; her expression darkened slightly.
"Sorcerer Derrelli reporting as ordered, Ma'am," Derrelli
stated calmly.
Sailor Geminga nodded slowly. "Come
into my ready room for a moment," she said curtly.
Derrelli gestured. "After
you, captain." He caught the
looks on a few of the officer's faces as he followed her in. They ranged from 'oh, shit' to 'this is gonna get
interesting'. Derrelli almost
smiled.
As the door hissed shut behind him, he drew to a stop in front of her
desk as she stared out of the window for a moment.
She turned, and opened her mouth.
Derrelli beat her to it.
"By your leave, Captain," he began.
"I just wanted to apologize for the incident the other night.
I was quite exhausted, and my temper got the better of me.
I am sorry."
Sailor Geminga blinked, mouth still hanging open.
She snapped it shut, and shook her head. She regarded him steadily.
Finally, she spoke.
"Apology accepted," Sailor Geminga said.
Her temper was subsiding somewhat; she certainly hadn't expected that!
"For my part, I am also sorry about the incident."
"No problem," Derrelli waved it off.
"And no worries; I've made sure to get plenty of rest over the past
few days."
Sailor Geminga nodded. "Very
good. You will have the day shift;
it makes the most sense for a Chief Engineer.
Your battle station will be either Main Engineering or the Bridge
Engineering station; whichever's closer. I
think the tour of the ship can be skipped; you already know this ship pretty
well. Your quarters are Deck 12,
Section 4, Area B. And I think that
about covers it."
"Sounds like a plan," Derrelli nodded.
"Your first shift'll be tomorrow; take the remainder of today to get
settled in. We leave tomorrow at
0900 hours," Sailor Geminga finished.
"Dismissed."
Derrelli nodded, and spun on his heel.
As the door hissed shut behind him, Sailor Geminga smiled.
I put him in his place, she thought.
On the other side of the door, Derrelli grinned at the bridge crew,
chuckling to himself. Oh, boy.
Is she in for a surprise...!
Ten minutes later, Derrelli was lying on his rather comfortable bed in
his new quarters, a rather nice layout, to be sure.
Being Chief Engineer had its perks.
He sat up, and glanced at his bags; he wasn't sure if he wanted to unpack
at the moment. He surveyed the
room, his gaze finally looking out of the transparent crystal windows at the
surrounding space; he had a great view of the shipyard.
He got to his feet. He
was.... restless. Normally, he
would love to sit here and gawk at the view, but he was certainly not in the
mood.
Fine. He would simply have
to do some walking.
He turned, and exited; and the door hissed shut behind him.
His wanderings slowly ended him in the ship's off-duty recreational
complex. Every ship had one; the
bigger the ship, the better the complex. On
a battleship like the Bahumat, the rec deck was expansive; it held a
lounge, several pools and gyms, various relaxation rooms, gaming areas, and an
expansive series of deluxe holotraining suites.
Derrelli knew all this; he had helped upgrade several of the holotraining
suites. He didn't feel like
indulging any of the pastimes he usually did, at the moment; he headed for the lounge.
Ten minutes later, he was relaxing with a drink in hand; good,
old-fashioned cola. He leaned back,
thinking about nothing in particular when someone tapped his shoulder.
He glanced up; he didn't quite recognize the man who was standing there.
"Yes?" Derrelli asked coolly.
"This seat taken?" he asked.
Derrelli noticed the insignia of a Wizard on his shoulder.
He was tall, and fairly well built.
He had tan skin, piercing yellow eyes, and long white hair.
His demeanor was serious... but fun loving at the same time.
He wore his uniform shirt open, with the white color that designated him
as bridge crew, revealing a well-muscled chest.
He also wore a wristband with a faceted crystal on it, and he had a pouch
with a spellcomp in it.
Derrelli raised his eyebrows. "Who
might you be?" he asked, indicating that the man should sit.
As he took the spot, he eyed what Derrelli was drinking.
"I'll have what he's got," he said.
He turned to Derrelli, and grinned.
"So, you're the mighty Derrelli."
He chuckled and extended his hand. "I'm
the Wizard Duke."
Derrelli shook his hand. "Nice
to meet ya."
"So, just hangin' out?" Duke asked.
Derrelli frowned. "I
think I'm just too excited about this cruise."
"Too wired, huh?" snickered Duke.
"Gets me sometimes, too."
Derrelli shrugged. "Yeah,
guess that's it. So... what is your weapon of choice?"
Duke nodded at him. "Same
as yours."
"Staff? Cool.
And what types of magic do you prefer?" Derrelli continued.
Duke leaned back. "A
lot of air or electrical spells, actually."
He gave Derrelli an appraising look.
"I already know you like fire."
"My reputation precedes me," Derrelli nodded, a slow smile
spreading across his face. "Maybe
we should go spar, or practice, hmm?"
Duke gave him a serious look. "Sure.
Let's go. Right now."
Derrelli downed the rest of his drink.
"Let's do it," he said.
Derrelli dropped back, knocking Duke's adamantium staff aside.
This was his first chance to use his new staff, and the faceted ruby
caught the light of the holotraining suite nicely. He ducked under the next swing, hardly trying.
Duke seemed to sense this, and scowled as he doubled his efforts.
Derrelli parried the next blow, and the next, and brought the other end
of his staff up to counter. Duke
hopped over the swing, and Derrelli jerked aside to dodge the incoming strike.
They backed away from each other, warily circling, staves at the ready.
"You're not even trying," Duke complained between breaths.
"Sorry," Derrelli replied.
He wasn't breathing nearly as heavy as Duke; nor was he sweating as hard
as Duke was. His abilities really
were enhanced beyond normal human conditioning, and he was seeing this
firsthand. He was faster and
stronger, and every move so far was nearly effortless.
"I don't want to hurt you."
"Damnit, hurt me, asshole!" Duke snapped.
"What's the point if we're not challenging each other?!
The only way I'm going to get better- and you, as well- is if we are both
serious!"
"You're right, of course," Derrelli said coolly.
"Fine; I'm coming full force! Engarde!"
Derrelli lunged forward suddenly, swinging his staff in a wide arc, and
it was only the virtue of Duke's agility that the jeweled end of Derrelli's
staff missed his nose by a millimeter. Duke
tried to counter, but Derrelli was already rolling by him.
Derrelli came up swinging, right at Duke's knee; Duke reacted quickly
enough to block the strike, only to realize it had been a feint as the other end
of the staff nailed him right on the funny bone. Duke recoiled, gritting his teeth, flexing his arm, holding
his staff in one hand.
"Shit! That fucking
stung!" he growled.
Derrelli smiled apologetically. "You
wanted me to try," he said.
"Nice shot," Duke said grudgingly.
"Aww, don't be 'sore'," snickered Derrelli.
"Shall we move on to something more conducive to our real
skills?"
Duke glared at him, before relaxing with a chuckle.
"Just can't resist the urge to blast something, hmm?"
"It's been a little while," Derrelli admitted, "and I
kinda need to. It'll be more fun
running the Youma Siege scenario with two to blast... whaddya say?" Derrelli pressed a button on his staff's control panel, and
it retracted. He placed it in its
carrying ring next to his holsters.
Duke opened his hand, and the staff disappeared into his pocketspace. "Let's do it, then."
"Neo," Derrelli said, glancing at the ceiling and addressing
the Bahumat's AI, "Please load the Youma Siege scenario."
The mats and walls of the training room around them abruptly phased into
a grassy hill. The sky was
overcast, and the few trees around them were dead or dying.
The grass was withered. They
glanced at each other; Duke and Derrelli prepared themselves, and leapt into
action even as the first wave of youma burst on the horizon, racing towards
them.
Another glance, and both grinned. Formulae
raced through their minds, and they pointed at the targets.
"Fireball!"
"Gale!"
In
the Alpha Zone, in deep space, 3 December 2737
The
SLS Panther
A loud beeping rang across the bridge of the Panther from the comm
station as the officer there hurriedly checked his displays.
The figure lounging in the captain's chair abruptly stood, and walked
over to her comm officer. She
brushed the hair out of her eyes. "What
do you have?" she asked.
"A distress signal, from the light cruiser SLS Hawk,
Captain," reported the comm officer.
"On speakers," she ordered.
There was a burst of static, and then they heard the message:
"This is the Hawk! We've
encountered an unknown vessel, and it is hostile!
They've somehow disabled our engines and shields, and are targeting our
vital systems! We need immediate
assistance-"
The message ominously cut off.
"That's all there is, Sailor Magneta," said the comm officer to
his captain.
Sailor Magneta gritted her teeth. "Red
Alert. Take us to their last
position. Ready the TPA."
The alarms went off around them as the lights dimmed to red, accompanied
by Panther intoning "Red Alert, Red Alert!
All hands to battlestations!"
The compact shape of the light cruiser Panther settled into a
tight turn, the red glow of her sublight engines dissipating as white energy
blazed from its RIFT engine elements and surrounded it; followed by a bright
flash as it leapt into faster-than-light travel.
There was an unknown enemy out there, and the Panther had her
claws ready.
Ulysses
Dockyard, In high Lunar orbit, Sol system, 3 December 2737
The
SLS Bahumat
"Firewall!" Derrelli called, calling a thick, billowing wall of
flames right into the midst of the youmas.
There weren't that many left; he and Duke had quickly figured out quite a
few ways to team up; and they were deadly effective.
"Lightning Bolt!" shouted Duke, sending a blast of powerful
electricity ripping through the enemy groupings fleeing from the firewall.
"Derrelli's Ember Bolt!" cast Derrelli, and a several small
bolts of fire impacted on enemies trying to sneak around Duke's side.
Derrelli and Duke grinned. They
were having a blast. Derrelli drew
his newest toys; a pair of nickel-plated, gestalt threaded, old-school Colt .357
Magnum "Pythons". They
gleamed dangerously in his hands, and he raised them at the bad guys.
"Sailor Geminga to Derrelli," the comm system interrupted.
"Freeze program," Derrelli sighed.
"Go ahead, Captain."
"Please report to the briefing room.
And bring Duke with you; we have a problem that is expediting our
departure."
"On our way. Derrelli
out." Derrelli frowned. "Just when we had this beat, too... no point in saving.
Damnit, Neo, did ya have to tell her where we were?"
"You know I have to," Neo replied.
"You do not wish to save?"
"No," Duke grumbled. "End
program."
They rolled their eyes and walked out of the empty, tiled room.
Sailor Geminga turned in her chair as the two Sorcerers arrived. She blinked at seeing their uniforms. "What... never mind; it's probably better we don't know.
Derrelli, you know everybody."
"Yeah, for the most part," he said, taking his seat.
Unfortunately, it was rather near Sailor Geminga; he was fifth in the
chain of command for the entire ship. "So...
what's the big emergency?"
She waited a few moments while everyone settled, and glanced around. "Okay. The
urgency is due to some rather unfortunate events in our assigned patrol sector.
Namely, one of the light cruisers stationed in Alpha Zone, the Panther,
intercepted a distress message from the light cruiser Hawk.
The Panther moved to intercept... Yes, Derrelli?"
"What exactly is Alpha Zone?" Derrelli asked.
Sailor Geminga sighed. "Alpha
Zone is the most sparsely populated section of space in the GM; it is also the
remotest section of the GM, distance wise.
It also happens to be the most hotly- with the exception of the events
leading up to the Nebula War- contested section of space.
The GM borders the Holy Droylian Empire, Dark Kingdom, and a section of
unexplored space there. We fight
the DK all the time; things have been remotely quiet on the HDE front.
There is also a lot of piracy and natural hazards to deal with there.
It is a dangerous place."
Derrelli leaned back with a nod.
"Okay, now, as I was saying, the Panther moved to intercept,
and arrived to see a large, spherical vessel probing the remains of the Hawk.
The SLS Hawk was lost with all hands."
Sailor Geminga paused as murmurs ran around the table.
She waited until they died down, and then continued. "The unidentified ship then opened fire on the Panther,
and attacked with some sort of weapon that disabled her engines and shields.
The Panther was able to respond, and before significant damage was
done, Sailor Magneta utilized the TPA to inflict heavy damage to the opposing
vessel."
Sailor Geminga glanced around. "I
really shouldn't have to say that this poses a great threat to us; all stations
and ships in Alpha Zone have been placed on high alert. That is the reason we'll be departing in exactly four hours
and six minutes. Departure prep has
been accelerated; we'll need the core warmed up."
"No prob," Derrelli said.
"Only takes an hour from cold start."
Sailor Geminga blinked. "An
hour? It used to take three and a
half!"
Derrelli grinned. "Yeah.
That was one of the upgrades. It's
a slightly more unstable proportionate mixture of elements; but it's a lot
quicker. Also tacks on a hundred or
so factors of top speed. The
downside is it hasn't been extensively tested in a combat situation... it may be
more vulnerable. That's one of the
things we're supposed to find out."
Sailor Geminga nodded, not entirely happy.
"Very good. Make
immediate readiness for departure. Dismissed."
Derrelli and Duke left together, and Derrelli paused just long enough to
ask, "So, we're all worried and such because we're no longer the only race
with the ability to disarm our opponent's weapons and shields?
And that's not fair?"
"Not to us, it isn't," Duke responded.
"Still..."
"I know," Derrelli chuckled.
"Just being a devil's advocate.
See ya."
"Later," waved Duke as he made his way to the bridge; Derrelli
went to the lift. The doors hissed
open, and he stepped in. As the
doors closed, he spoke.
"Engineering."
And the lift started moving.
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system, 3 December 2737
"Why exactly do you want Wizard Duke's, Sorcerer Derrelli's, and
Sailor Geminga's records?" Sailor Sirius asked out of curiosity, glancing
at her visitors.
Sailor Eos stood nearby, her arms crossed, a bored expression on her
face. Princess Serena rolled her
eyes. "Just doing a bit of
checking up, Sailor Sirius. Mother
wants me to profile the three of them. I'm
not sure why."
Sailor Eos glanced over as Diana spoke up.
"Probably something to due with the fact that the Bahumat is
newly upgraded, and hence the most powerful ship that's going to be in the Alpha
Zone."
Sailor Eos chuckled. "Or
maybe Pu already knows what's going to happen, and Her Highness wants to have an
idea how these three are going to react."
Diana and Sailor Sirius smiled, but Reeni's face became very serious. "You know, that might not be so far from the
truth..."
University
of Crystal Tokyo Central Campus, Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system, 3
December 2737
"And?" said Hoshi.
"I was wondering if you wish to accompany me to the dig site?"
asked Talia.
Hoshi laughed. "Talia,
when do I not accompany you on a dig? What's
the location?"
"Avalon," Talia stated matter-of-factly.
"Huh?" Hoshi blinked. "You're
kidding, right? As in the Isle of
Avalon, resting place of the legendary King Arthur?"
"I am not kidding, Hoshi," Talia said.
"The location of Avalon has only a short while ago become known.
It is shrouded by an ancient, mystical shield; we recently found a way to
penetrate that protection."
Hoshi was silent for a moment. "Wow.
I mean, I prefer ancient, non-humanoid life-forms, but this is literally
the discovery of the millennium. How
can I say no?"
"I did not think you would be able to resist the offer," Talia
said, with the barest hint of a smile.
Ulysses
Dockyard, In high Lunar orbit, Sol system, 3 December 2737
The
SLS Bahumat
Derrelli strolled into the entrance of engineering, and paused, surveying
his domain. It was impressive; Main
Engineering resembled a cathedral hall. There
were several tabletop displays in the middle of it all, with countless wall
displays. Off to the right was the
Chief Engineer's office, his office. And
in the back, dominating the expanse was the main reactor.
It resembled an hourglass turned sideways; each half had two conduits
flowing in, and one flowing out. The
twin conduits flowing in carried the reactants; the top was the
positrons/anti-electrons from the atoms of various elements, the bottom was the
electrons/anti-protons of various elements.
The resulting collisions and gravimetric-magnetic field regulated reaction (without the mass-inducing
neutrons) were the purest form of matter-antimatter fusion available, and the most efficient.
This was truly the heart of the Bahumat; this was where her primary power
came from.
He stepped over the threshold, and walked into the mix.
As he drew near the core, several of the engineers glanced up.
He already knew this group well; they were truly talented and efficient.
"Well, I'm back!" called Derrelli.
"And I've got orders; let's power up the core."
"Already?" blinked Commander Karen Jefferson, the interim
engineer in charge.
"Can we ask why?" asked W'mial Jek'reth, a Thoqualian. His rocky bulk showed off his stature as a member of the only
intelligent silicon-based race in the galaxy.
His kind had no hair; they resembled walking statues, large and powerful.
"Let's just say there's trouble," Derrelli said.
"I'll fill ya in as we work. Begin
power-up; let's prep all systems, including weapons, and run a quick basic
diagnostic. Move it!"
The engineers scrambled about with sudden energy, having been given a
definite purpose: get their ship
ready for war.
Sailor Geminga sat in her chair on the bridge, tapping her fingers on the
armrest. Status reports were coming
in from all stations, signaling that the ship was approaching readiness.
She briefly reflected on her new Chief Engineer; he had been as good as
his word, and more so. Every system
had been given a basic diagnostic; they were simply awaiting the conclusion of
the final diagnostics as the hour of their departure approached.
So far, he was tolerable. Sailor
Geminga preferred Commander Jefferson in charge of engineering; but everyone
else was saying how good he was, and the engineers appeared to enjoy working
with him.
Her train of thought was abruptly derailed as the comm beeped. "Derrelli to Bridge."
"Go ahead, Derrelli," she said.
Speak of the devil.
"System check-out complete; the Bahumat is ready as she'll
ever be," Derrelli reported.
"Very good," Sailor Geminga said.
She stood. "Comm, hail
the dockmaster; request clearance for immediate departure, per our revised
orders."
"Hailing, ma'am," replied the comm officer.
There was a pause, and the screen blinked on.
"Clearance granted, Sailor Geminga," said the dockmaster
on-screen. "Good luck."
"Thank you," Sailor Geminga said.
The screen flashed to the outside view.
Sailor Geminga turned. "Duke,
take us out."
"Aye, Captain," Duke said crisply, fingers moving over his
controls.
The Bahumat began to back out of its berth, the umbilical
connections retracting automatically. In
Main Engineering, Derrelli stood, surveying the core, which was pulsing evenly,
with his arms crossed and a grin on his face.
A sole thought ran through his mind.
Alpha Zone, prepare for
Derrelli!
The Bahumat completed its turn, and straightened out, facing away
from the dockyard. The huge, deadly
ship began to move forward, thrusters firing, until it was ten thousand meters
distant. Suddenly, its engines
flared a bright red, and it leapt forward, heading for L-point, where it
promptly became a white flash as it leapt out of normal space-time.
The Bahumat was on its way.
STAY
TUNED!