"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
2-05: Rebound
Rated:
R
In
the Alpha Zone, in deep space, 11 December 2737
The
SLS Bahumat
Sailor Geminga was sitting in the slightly singed chair, examining the
quiet industry around her. The
bridge was still on emergency lighting, and only the necessary consoles and
systems were drawing power.
It was six hours after the storm; they had been dragged five light-years
from their last position. They were
still on emergency power; but she couldn't complain.
The engineers were working like crazy to get things somewhat shipshape,
so they could alert Fleet HQ and get a replacement engine core, among other
things. She had actually had to
order Sorcerer Derrelli to sickbay to have him get his injuries tended to; the
rest of the engineers were all mostly uninjured.
A bleep broke the silence of the bridge; she spoke.
"Bridge, go ahead."
"Derrelli here, captain; letting you know that I've cleared sickbay,
and also we should have the sublight engines repaired and online right about...
now."
Right as he said that, the main lights clicked on all over the bridge,
and every console flickered to life. A
hum rose as previously deactivated systems received long denied power.
Sailor Geminga looked over at the engineer on the bridge.
"Report."
"All systems now operational, captain," the engineer said with
a smile, seemingly out of place with the smudges on her face.
"Except, of course, the RIFT drive. There is also still quite a bit of structural repair to be
completed. Aside from that,
however, all systems at one hundred percent!"
"Derrelli, you're as good as your word," Sailor Geminga said
graciously. She paused, and then
concluded: "Good job. Keep me
informed as to structural repairs. Out."
Sailor Geminga turned to her comm officer.
"Send a detailed message to Fleet HQ.
Make sure you include the course, speed, and force computations for that
damned storm."
"Aye, captain," the comm officer nodded, turning to her panel
as Sailor Geminga glanced in the direction of tactical.
"Take us to yellow alert. I
don't want to be sitting around here unprotected. Helm, now that we can actually
move with something resembling normality, take us to the nearest planetoid and
assume a geo-synchronous orbit," she said.
"You got it, Sailor Geminga," Wizard Duke replied, his fingers
moving over the controls, ignoring the slight burn on his left forearm.
Minor injuries were only now being attended to; the med staff had been
kept busy with major injuries. Fortunately,
no one had died.
The not-so-crippled behemoth gradually came about, under her own power,
and a red trail of exhaust stretched behind her, even as the news of her
misfortune raced through subspace to the heart of the Golden Millennium.
Crystal
Palace in Crystal Tokyo, Planet Luna, Sol system, 12 December 2737
"And Sailor Neptune concludes that with a replacement engine core
already enroute to the wounded SLS Bahumat, the battleship should be back
to full operating capability in about a week.
It is indeed truly amazing that the ship survived such a powerful storm;
a feat unheard of until now. This
is an excellent testament to the designers and builders of our shipyards; as
well as the caliber of the officers and crew of the Royal Star Navy."
The reporter looked impressed as she pressed her microcomp.
"In other news-"
The screen blipped off, and Sailor Eos set the remote down on the end
table next to her, while she waited on Princess Serena to finish her business.
She glanced over as the door hissed open, and Serena, clad in a simple
pink blouse and white skirt, walked through.
"Hey."
"So...?" Sailor Eos drawled, leaning forward.
"What's next?"
"A private dinner with Mother and Father," Reeni smiled.
Sailor Eos smiled. "I
get a night off?"
Reeni chuckled. "Not
quite. Pu wanted to see you... in private. I'm afraid pool sharking is going to have to wait."
"Why?" Sailor Eos asked, curiously.
"Like she told me," Reeni mock-pouted.
"You know how close-lipped she can be."
Despite Reeni's expression, or perhaps because of it, Sailor Eos laughed.
"Yeah, I do. Okay, I'll
go let her find me. Enjoy your
dinner."
Reeni nodded. "See you
tomorrow."
The door once again hissed, his time to allow Sailor Eos through. As it closed, Sailor Eos turned and walked slowly down the
hall. As she expected, a door
hissed open about five meters away, and Sailor Pluto stepped out, resting on her
staff, patiently waiting for her. She
hastened her pace.
"Hello, Pu," she smiled. "What's
up?"
"I have something rather important to tell you, and a mission for
you... You see, their Highnesses
are all going to be taking a private vacation of sorts for a while. This, naturally, frees you up.
The timing couldn't be better."
Sailor Pluto smiled briefly at the little joke.
Sailor Eos simply nodded. She
knew it was pointless to interrupt Sailor Pluto, especially if she was trying to
explain something. Everything she
said was relevant in some fashion.
Sailor Pluto continued. "So,
let us head on over to the spaceport. More
will be explained there."
Sailor Eos could barely contain her curiosity.
Ulysses
Dockyard, In high Lunar orbit, Sol system, 12 December 2737
The
SLS Panther
Akiko Jittaino held her surveyor's microcomp close; she wore the garb of
a shipyard surveyor, complete with a hardhat that had a light mounted on it.
She was understandably a little nervous; the captain of the ship she was
currently surveying was watching her. This
was always difficult.
And this captain was like a coiled snake always ready to strike.
"Well?" asked Sailor Magneta.
They were standing in one of the more heavily damaged sections of the Panther.
It was, indeed, a mess. To
her trained eye, this area alone would take months to fix.
"I am afraid this area is very extensively damaged, Sailor
Magneta," she said quietly, managing to keep the nervousness she felt out
of her voice. She laughed softly.
"As a matter of fact, I would estimate this section alone would
require five to six months to properly repair, Ma'am."
No, her nervousness wasn't entirely due to the woman she was with, but
also due to the fact that, three days earlier, she had barely managed to escape
a rupturing plasma conduit relatively unscathed, and even managed to save a few
co-workers by somehow redirecting the energy away from them.
She was sure that incident report had been booted upstairs quickly, and
wondered what it meant for her. Heck,
she still wondered how it had happened in the first place.
"Oh, swell," grumbled Sailor Magneta.
"Damn that ship! Damn
the Bahumat, running into an ion storm!
I wish someone would figure out what the hell is going on around
here!" Sailor Magneta shot a
glance at the clearly nervous surveyor, and closed her eyes.
"My apologies. I really
need to let off some stress. I'm
going to have to call Sailor Neptune and see if she's free to play some Bach.
Carry on."
Sailor Magneta spun on her heel, her long white hair whipping about
behind her as she left. Aki
breathed a sigh of relief. She
loved her job, and seemed unable to stop worrying if she was going to do
something wrong and screw it up... That
would really wreck her plans to eventually get to the Skunk Works and design
starships. She shook her head
vigorously, banishing the dismal thoughts and cheerfully setting about the task
in front of her.
Aki turned back to her duties. She
moved ahead cautiously, peering carefully.
The light from her headlamp illuminated things nicely. She paused to make a note on her microcomp, and barely
noticed as her light swept over two people.
She stopped, and looked back, and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Hello, Akiko," Sailor Pluto said calmly.
"We've been waiting for you."
"Well, at least one of us has," muttered Sailor Eos, with a
sidelong glance at Sailor Pluto.
Sailor Pluto either didn't hear it, or simply ignored it.
"Come, do finish your survey; then we can go somewhere else quiet,
and talk."
Aki nodded vigorously. "Yes,
ma'am."
Greynn's
Bar, Planet Luna, Sol system, 12 December 2737
Sailor Eos quietly sipped her soda, complete with lemon wedge, eyeing the
red smoothie in front of Aki, while Sailor Pluto merely drank water.
Privately, Sailor Eos thought that Sailor Pluto was hamming this up just
a little bit...
"All right. Now, Akiko
Jittaino, this is Sailor Eos, the Princess' Guardian," Sailor Pluto began.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Aki said softly.
"Likewise," grinned Sailor Eos.
Aki cocked her head, curiously. "I
must admit, ma'am, I've never heard of you before."
"Good," Sailor Eos said quietly.
"That's the point."
"You see, Akiko, Sailor Eos isn't a normal Sailor Senshi. She's a Guardian. The
difference is her powers are mostly defensive, intended to protect.
Before the Third Luna-Nega War, there were quite a few lines of
Guardians, all posted with different tasks; essentially, a secret organization
of bodyguards for the Royal Family and visiting VIPs," Sailor Pluto
explained. "Sailor Eos is the
last of these; most were lost when the previous SLS Destiny, carrying all
the diplomats from various cultures that were in our system at the time, was
ambushed and destroyed by a massive enemy fleet.
The same incident also killed Sailor Eos' parents."
Aki, startled, glanced at Sailor Eos.
Compassion and sympathy were in her eyes.
"Oh! I'm so
sorry!"
Sailor Eos shook her head slowly. By
now, the pain was nothing more than a dull ache in her heart; she had really
been too young to know her parents well anyway, and Sailor Pluto had always
taken care of her. "It's okay,
Akiko; it was a long time ago."
Aki frowned into her smoothie. "Why
are you telling me this, anyway?"
Sailor Pluto smiled cryptically, and turned to Sailor Eos.
"Three days ago, Akiko was on the SLS Wolverine; it had been
damaged on that escort mission to the Holy Droylian Empire by raiders.
She and several of her colleagues were examining the damage when a plasma
conduit burst right in front of them; the stream nailed Akiko head on."
Sailor Eos blinked, and glanced at the girl.
She was in perfect condition, no sign that she had been injured...
her blonde pigtails bobbed as she turned her head to meet Sailor Eos'
gaze. She shrugged.
"What happened?" Sailor Eos asked.
"Well, knowing that her companions would also be wounded- or killed-
seemed to trigger latent abilities she didn't know she had.
In short, she absorbed the plasma into her, and fired it at a nearby
bulkhead as emergency forcefields came on; the end result was a few minor burns
on her hands. Sound familiar?"
Sailor Pluto finished, eyeing Sailor Eos.
Sailor Eos suddenly sat up ramrod straight, as recognition sparked
through her brain. A funny feeling
warmed her. "Yeah, it
does."
Aki looked confused. "Huh?"
Sailor Eos looked directly at her. "It
sounds like me."
Aki's eyes widened. "Oh....
my..."
Sailor Eos looked back at Sailor Pluto.
"But... how? Guardianship
is supposed to be hereditary."
Sailor Pluto nodded. "Unless
the line dies out. The line would
then be subject to reincarnation."
Aki shook her head. "W-wait
a minute. Are you telling me I'm a
Guardian? A Sailor Senshi?"
"Yes," Sailor Pluto said.
"Now we have to find out which one.
That brings us to the meat of this encounter.
You see, Akiko, the appropriate steps have already been taken to transfer
you, and bring you out of your current career. You
are now placed under Sailor Eos' command for training as a Guardian.
You will eventually be able to continue your career- if that is your
desire- in your spare time, but for now you are to concentrate on your training.
At 0800 tomorrow, take the shuttle to the Crystal Palace; an escort will
be waiting to take you to Sailor Eos' quarters.
She will show you your new quarters, and start your training.
Any questions?"
"Why... me?" squeaked the young woman whose life had just been
flipped upside down.
Entering
Earth's atmosphere, Sol system, 12 December 2737
A
Passenger Shuttle
Hoshi gripped the seat as the shuttle was surrounded in a reddish-orange
glow from the friction of entering Earth's atmosphere.
She glanced at the screen; the cargo shuttle with all of their equipment
was following in precise formation. All
was as it should be.
She could barely contain her excitement.
In the seat in front of her, Talia leaned forward.
The ride began to smooth out as the shuttles dropped lower into Earth's
atmosphere, and Talia powered up the modified, sophisticated sensors mounted on
the shuttle's bow.
"I thought you located it already," Archmage Torym spoke up.
Hoshi shook her head as Tal worked.
"It moves around, Torym. She
has to lock in on its unique thaumaturgical signature; then we can actually
penetrate the shroud surrounding it and get to work."
"Hoshiko is correct," Tal said.
"Sensors are scanning now..."
There was a series of light beeps, and then Tal nodded.
"Acquired it; uploading current position; changing course to
intercept."
"Where is it?" asked Hoshi.
"One hundred fifty klicks east of Iceland," Tal replied.
"So that's why we packed the cold-weather gear," Torym said.
"We may not need it," Hoshi commented.
"I imagine we'll find out shortly."
The two shuttles dropped to a scant 30 meters above the waves; they
zeroed in on their target.
And abruptly disappeared from view as they arrived at their destination.
In
the Alpha Zone, in orbit of a large unsurveyed gas giant, 17 December 2737
The
SLS Bahumat
Duke eyed his position reports, and those of the transport and destroyer
behind them; after all, Derrelli had just gotten this ship back together, and
would probably be very pissed if there were a collision at this point.
Duke just wondered how long the transfer and installation of the core
would take. Derrelli and his merry
band of engineers had worked frantically over the past five or six days; the
RIFT core was the final item on the list.
Duke tilted his head slightly as the engineering officer on the bridge
spoke.
"Captain, the core is now inside the Bahumat; we're moving it
into position, and the outer hull plate is closed," she reported.
Sailor Geminga nodded curtly. "Send
a message to both ships, thanking them; and advise them to get the hell out of
here; it's dangerous hereabouts."
The comm officer nodded, and spun back around, even as ops looked up.
"Captain! Incoming
vessel! Sensors indicate a similar configuration to the one that
destroyed the Hawk and severely damaged the Panther!"
Sailor Geminga was on her feet in a millisecond.
"Red Alert! Bring us
about, between the oncoming and the transport and escort!"
Around them, the lights went red, accompanied by a loud siren, as Neo
spoke.
"Red Alert, Red Alert. All
hands to battlestations!"
Derrelli's eyes were focused intently on the rising core.
Special tractor beams mounted in the shaft, above their heads, and on the
platform whereupon the primary core usually sat were slowly moving the new core
into position, guided by hand-held grapple beams in the care of various
engineers. This was the delicate
part; it required micrometric precision, and...
Suddenly, all around them, the lights clicked to red and the alarms
hooted. Neo's voice was easily
heard, ordering everyone to battlestations.
Derrelli's face was a mask of disbelief.
"Oh, you have GOT to be shittin' ME!
I just got this crate back together!"
"Range?" asked Sailor Geminga, leaning forward in her chair.
"Just on the edge of long-range sensors," came the reply. Sailor Geminga glanced at Shelia, who shrugged.
"They seem to have slowed down, captain," ops continued.
"Slowed down?" Sailor Geminga muttered.
"Maybe they're worried about engaging two warships?" asked
Sheila.
"Or maybe they're not intending violence," Sailor Geminga
mused. "Maybe the Hawk
did something to provoke them? Are
they in hailing distance yet?"
Duke glanced at his displays. "Negative,
captain. At current speeds, they
will be in range of communications in one minute."
"Let me know when," Sailor Geminga said.
"Hail the Hawking; tell them to hang back a ways, provide
cover for the transport's escape, and to resume their escort mission; we'll
handle things."
"Message sent and acknowledged," comm reported.
Next came the waiting. It
was a long minute; everyone on the bridge wondered what the approaching vessel
was thinking.
"Thirty seconds," Duke stated, relieved to hear his voice calm,
almost bored, despite the combination of excitement and dread he felt.
The digital timer overlaid the readings scrolling on screen two counted
down, and the tension rose.
"Fifteen seconds," Duke said.
Sailor Geminga abruptly stood up, and strode to the middle of the bridge.
"Target now in comm range," Duke spoke.
"Open hailing freqs," Sailor Geminga ordered.
There was a beep, and comm nodded at her.
"This is Sailor Geminga, captain of the starship SLS Bahumat,"
she began, "representing the Golden Millennium in the name of Neo-Queen
Serenity. Our intentions are not
violent; we wish for a peaceful discussion with you. The reasons for the past incidental violence between our
peoples are irrelevant; we have no wish to fight you.
Please stand down your weapons; if you do so, so shall we."
Geminga paused as she waited for a reply... any reply.
Duke wasn't surprised by Sailor Geminga's behavior or thinking; as much
as he disliked some of her qualities, he admired others; there was no
exaggeration in saying Sailor Geminga was a truly gifted starship captain, and
she knew her duties. The invitation
to parlay was both sincere, and a bluff; if they could put them off guard by
sounding idealistic...
"Reply coming in, voice only," comm reported.
There were several sighs of relief around the bridge; but Sailor
Geminga's expression remained the same.
"Let's hear it," she said.
"It matters not who you are or who you represent.
We have heard much about you, how you enjoy forcing other cultures into
your servitude, how you enjoy flaunting your power, and how you love fighting
the Dark Kingdom. As far as we are
concerned, your empires are two great evils that deserve to kill each other off;
we will no longer be victimized by either." The voice seemed to accent and slur the plurals.
"Wait a minute!" blinked Sailor Geminga.
"We've never attacked you; and wherever you got your information
from isn't telling the truth; we prefer peace to-"
"It is, as you say, irrelevant; although the past violence is not!
One of your cruisers initiated this violence; now, all will be made to
pay the price! The Zerm Alliance will be victimized no more!"
The communication was cut off. "One
of our cruisers?" asked Shelia, confused.
"But-"
"Captain! They are
accelerating! Their weapons are
armed!" tactical broke in.
"Duke! Break orbit;
evasive action! Make it good; we
can throw off their aim for those lasers enough to make them worthless.
As for the sphere-thing... prepare Ghost Torps!
Load a salvo, prep for Sierra sequence!
Ready all blasters and death rays! Ready
TPA!" Sailor Geminga ordered rapidly, moving to her seat.
"Duke, all ahead full, sublight!"
"Aye, captain!" Duke said, fingers dancing over the controls.
The mighty battleship abruptly curved away from the gas giant, sublight
engines flaring brilliantly red, a lengthening trail of red exhaust marking
their path. The Bahumat
ducked to one side, coming around in a lazy arc towards the enemy.
"Ready to fire at your command!" tactical called out.
"Not until they fire first," Sailor Geminga said curtly.
The large sphere that approached gleamed like a highly polished ball
bearing, various laser cannons, shield grids, and sensor elements could be made
out, but no engines or name was visible. The
sphere shimmered orange as it closed.
The Bahumat's aft end suddenly dropped and swung towards the
enemy; the ship turned sharply away from their adversary, racing away, climbing
to the left.
The sphere turned to follow, and increased its speed.
"Captain, we're nearing the course track that the ion storm
took," science spoke up. "Ion
count in the area is increasing; I do believe it'll be here again shortly."
"Distance to enemy?" Sailor Geminga asked.
"Enemy is range 10, and closing," reported tactical. "They're just a tiny bit faster."
"ETA to weapons range?"
"No more than a ten minutes, captain!" tactical replied.
"Now, you said the storm was approaching again?" Sailor Geminga
turned towards her science officer. "How
is that possible?"
"It seems to be caught in an erratic orbit around a spatially near
brown dwarf star, ma'am," science replied.
"It has a massive gravity well, which presumably has drawn in and
trapped the ions; the increasingly tight orbit has transformed the particle
cloud into an ion storm."
Sailor Geminga smiled slightly. "By
previous readings, how long til the storm hits?"
"Right about the time the enemy ship gets here," science said,
after referencing his readings.
"Perfect," Sailor Geminga said.
She turned and looked at Duke, and nodded.
Duke grinned, and changed the Bahumat's course into a tight
spiral.
"One last thing to check on," murmured Sailor Geminga. "Bridge to Engineering."
Derrelli heard the clunk of the first lock engaging as the comm system
bleeped, and he heard Sailor Geminga's voice.
He sighed.
"Engineering, Derrelli here," he said.
"How long for RIFT power?" she asked.
Derrelli glanced back as the second matter conduit was locked into place.
"Well, captain, the final installation is occurring now; we'll be
powering up in about a minute. The
reactor is already hot; the standard procedure when loading in a new one in the
middle of hostile territory is to have it prepped with a small, controlled
reaction; dangerous, but okay in times of crisis.
Those supplied reactants are almost used up; we're locking the core down
as we speak. So... about ten
minutes?"
"That's cutting it close," Sailor Geminga said.
"As fast as you can, Derrelli.
Bridge out."
Derrelli turned around as a loud thunk symbolized the final connection.
"Reactor in place, and locked; installation complete," came the
report from above.
"Fire her up, speed is essential," Derrelli said, as the small,
controlled reaction began to expand with the influx of more reactants.
He rolled his eyes as around him engineers scrambled to work. "Geez,
how many more miracles does she want from me?"
Five tense minutes had passed since Sailor Geminga had called
engineering; Sailor Geminga was gripping the armrests of her chair.
Her fingers were white with the force of her grip; her expression one of
careful neutrality.
Her concentration was abruptly interrupted.
"Captain! A second ship
is entering sensor range, identical configuration to the first!
It will be in weapons range in about ten minutes; it is also at its
maximum velocity!" shouted ops.
Sailor Geminga frowned. "Okay,
this does not look good!"
They were right in the middle of the path of the storm now, on the back
curve of the latest spiral. The
first enemy ship was drawing near; they would very shortly...
"Captain! Force 12 ion
storm approaching! Impact in thirty
seconds!"
Oh, shit. "Duke!
All ahead flank, sublight! Get
us the hell out of here!" Sailor Geminga yelled.
Duke almost broke his panel with the force he applied to it.
The Bahumat doubled back on itself; the hull, decks, and bulkheads
screeched from the inertia.
Sailor Geminga gritted her teeth. She
had made a fatal miscalculation; they weren't going to make it.
Derrelli let go of the console as the screeching sounds faded; somehow,
he knew they were in big trouble now. He
glanced at his console, and narrowed his eyes.
Desperate times, desperate measures.
He reached for the particle influx controls... and commanded them wide
open.
A hollow boom resounded throughout engineering, from the force of the particles ramming their way into the reactor; but the conduits and reactor vessel held, the reaction stabilizing, even as dozens of alarms went off.
Derrelli tapped the comm.
"Five seconds til storm impact!
The enemy doesn't seem to know of it!" called ops.
Sailor Geminga sighed. "Everyone,
I'm-"
There was a sudden beep. "Engineering
to bridge! Main power online!"
"Duke!" shouted Sailor Geminga.
The red forefront of trillions of racing particles enveloped the two
ships, even as an orange field burst from the sphere; it overtook them, and two
brilliant flashes could be faintly seen through the storm...
STAY
TUNED!