"LUNAR: Tales From Crystal Tokyo"
LUNAR:
Tales From Crystal Tokyo
By
Daryll Pung
Episode
3-05: Pitfalls Of Diplomacy
Rated:
R
In
FTL transit, 8 June 2740
The
SLS Bahumat
Sailor Cygni exited her ready room with a frown; a frown that lengthened
as she noted Juanita Flores sitting in Sailor Ryujin’s normal position,
forcing Sailor Ryujin to the chair on the other side.
The damned diplomat wasn’t presumptuous enough to take the Captain’s
chair, but she was coming close.
Sailor Ryujin noted her superior’s expression; her own expression was
almost as sour. “I take it that
urgent traffic wasn’t good news?”
“You could say that,” Sailor Cygni commented bitterly, seating
herself in her chair. She leaned
back, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and sighed.
“The best part is it took four days for HQ to decide we might need to
know.”
“May I ask, know what?” Juanita queried.
“Does it affect this mission?”
“It just might,” Sailor Cygni said grimly.
“Sailor Ryujin, schedule a briefing of all department heads for one
hour from now. Juanita, you’ll
want your companions notified of this, too; you’ll find out then, if you can
curb your curiosity for that long.” Pompous
bitch, Sailor Cygni added mentally. This
stuffy diplomat was wearing out her patience.
Juanita nodded. “I can,
and will, wait to hear this information.”
The diplomat pressed a panel on the armrest, mirroring Sailor Ryujin’s
actions. Both passed the word on.
Sailor Cygni glowered at the main screen, which showed spiraling
starlines. What am I, a miracle
worker? she thought bitterly. How
am I supposed to deal with this?
Exactly fifty-nine minutes later, the doors to the conference room hissed
shut, and Sailor Cygni moved to the head chair, again annoyed to see that
Juanita had pre-empted Sailor Ryujin’s spot, noting GIA standing behind Wizard
Duke.
“Glad everyone could make it,” she said wryly, “knowing how busy
you all were.”
“No prob,” snickered Sorcerer Derrelli.
“Well, Captain,” prompted Juanita before anyone else could continue
the joke. “What is this
information that is so important to the success of the mission?”
Glances were exchanged amongst the senior Bahumat officers. Juanita was not making friends with her mannerisms, and a
little humor before bad news always made things a little easier to accept for
the battleship’s crew.
Sailor Cygni’s lips became a thin, grim line.
“An hour ago, I received an important message from HQ.
The long and short of it is that the starship Orion tracked one
pirate ship named Nightmare all the way from the Shroud to the galactic
edge.”
“I fail to see the import of a little pirate ship on our mission,”
Juanita interrupted, the barest hint of annoyance breaking through her arrogant
attitude.
“Well, if you’ll allow me to continue?” Sailor Cygni shot back,
anger briefly visible. She
subsided, and as Juanita nodded stiffly, glanced back around.
“As I was about to say, the Orion then monitored the Nightmare
projecting a hail into the void beyond the galaxy.
After several hours, the hail was answered.”
“And?” asked Moira Benson.
“No way,” whispered Derrelli; all eyes switched to him, but he was
staring at Sailor Cygni, who was nodding slowly.
“Yeah. They’re back,”
Sailor Cygni all but whispered.
For a few moments, the senior Bahumat crew exchanged glances, a
desperate air marking them, tinged with anxiety.
The diplomats blinked in confusion.
“Who’s back?” demanded Harrison Shuley.
“Were we to invoke logic,” T’mal stated quietly, “we could
presume that the unknown ‘super-ships’ have returned.”
“How do you figure that?” snapped Harry, glancing at the stoic
Vulcan.
“Simple. This ship
narrowly escaped a first encounter with this enemy; some crew was lost, and no
ship in the task force under the Bahumat’s command returned intact.
This would explain the emotional responses of the senior Bahumat
officers: dread, anxiety, desperation,” explained T’mal with a raised
eyebrow.
“How many?” asked Sailor Ryujin softly.
“Two,” answered Sailor Cygni. She
gave herself a little shake. “The
communication monitored by the Orion showed that the Nightmare
offered the invaders ‘the key to overrunning the galaxy’, and was drawn
inside one of the ships via tractor beam before anyone could react.
The two ships then split; the Orion followed the one with the Nightmare,
but not before projecting both ship’s courses.”
“The key to overrunning the galaxy?” wondered Duke.
“Where are the projected destinations?” asked Wizard Orien.
Juanita waved her hands for silence amidst the sudden burst of
discussion. “All right.
Sailor Cygni, I can understand the concern about these vessels.
The way it appears to me, however, is that this mission just became more
important. Aside from that, these
ships should be placed in secondary consideration for the time being so we all
can concentrate on the mission.”
“Wrong,” Sailor Cygni said flatly.
“One of the projected courses, that of the ship with the Nightmare
in it, is of little immediate concern, it is true; it’s headed through already
devastated areas of the DK. The
other, however… somehow the bastards learned of this little summit,
intercepted communications, a spy, who knows; I don’t see how else they could
have known to set their course for Polaris.”
“What!?” demanded Moira. “One
of those ships is headed for the summit?”
“That’s right,” Sailor Cygni said slowly.
“Probably to insure that we don’t unite against them.”
“Then they must be stopped,” Juanita said primly.
Utter silence filled the room; everyone stared at Juanita. The silence lengthened to the point where even the seasoned
diplomat shifted in her seat nervously. “Well,
they must.”
“Have you,” began Sailor Ryujin very quietly, “any idea what
you’re asking?”
Juanita glanced disdainfully at her.
“I do. You were successful
before.”
“Yeah, because a crippled light cruiser named Hyena did a
suicide FTL jump right into the bastards,” commented Duke bitterly.
The four diplomats shared a stunned look; that news had not been made
public.
“If they hadn’t, we probably all would be dead,” added Orien.
“We were getting our collective asses handed to us on a platter.”
“Enough,” ordered Sailor Cygni sharply.
“There is no denying that this is not good news; there is no avoiding
the fact that they are coming. So,
as Juanita has said, we must devise a means to stop them, impossible or no. There are a few things in our favor. One, we have a few new tactics to try. Two, we have foreknowledge that they are coming and can prep
some sort of trap.”
“Three, we can shove their own damn torpedoes right the fuck back down
their throat,” Derrelli broke in smoothly before anyone could point out the
likelihood of the futility of that trap.
Sailor Cygni blinked. “What?”
“That’s right!” added Orien suddenly, slapping himself in the
forehead. “I forgot about
those.”
“You’re telling me we have some of those torpedoes?” Sailor Ryujin
asked cautiously.
“Some,” Derrelli said, holding up his hand to indicate caution.
“Before we get too excited, let me point out the negative aspects.
They are the prototype Dragon torpedoes, courtesy of Skunk Works.
They have not been tested in anything remotely resembling a combat
situation. The ingredients in their
construction have also not been actively tested; it includes the new synthetic
gestalt to hopefully enhance the yield. We
also only have twenty, all but five of the whole supply currently in the GM;
Sailor Mercury kept the rest for additional tweaking and testing.
The concept and effects are similar; we’ll want to fire the things
where they can’t be detonated near us and harm the Bahumat.”
“Is that all?” asked Sailor Ryujin.
“No,” put in Orien. “We
don’t even know how stable the torpedo matrix is or how long it lasts;
they’re being carefully monitored so’s we can dump them in a hurry if need
be.”
Sailor Cygni slowly sat down; the glimmerings of a plan began to form in
her head. “I wonder…?” she
began thoughtfully.
“Captain?” Juanita asked.
“I have some ideas,” Sailor Cygni said.
“Neo, please display a spatial map of the Polaris system on the
screen.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Neo said. The
screen blinked on, showing a rotating three-dimensional view of the requested
star map.
Sailor Cygni studied it a bit longer, and a grin spread over her face.
She spun back around. “Juanita,
am I correct in assuming that the three nations were informed of what ship it is
that is meeting them?”
“You are,” the diplomat slowly replied.
“Why?”
“Knowing them, they’ll reply in kind.
Therefore, we’ll have four battleships and four destroyers to combat
this menace,” Sailor Cygni said. “We
cannot pass on this information for fear the enemy will find out what I’m
suggesting, so we’ll have to hope and pray that the three other ships are
willing to go along with us, but that’s the only rocky part of this plan.”
“What plan?” asked Harry, frustration showing in his expression, even
as comprehension flashed over all Sailor Ryujin, Derrelli, Duke, and Orien’s
faces.
“You are so devious sometimes,” smirked Sailor Ryujin.
“Indeed. Now, we know from
reports that the Zerm Matrix is ineffective against these things.
We also know that pretty much everything else works.
So, we’ll try to arrive in enough time, send the diplomatic party to
Polaris with a proper-sized security squad since one thing we don’t have to
worry about is being boarded, with enough shuttles for everyone to make a
getaway,” Sailor Cygni began.
“Then we’ll try and corner them in that asteroid belt.”
She pointed. “Even a ship
that large must obey physics, and there are some singularly large asteroids in
that belt. With enough firepower
dumped into them, those asteroids can be forced to move… sort of like massive
rock torpedoes, if you will; or we could even have ships extend their FTL fields
and shove 'em that way. That
will be the domain of the destroyers: making
those asteroids mobile, and coaxing them along with tractor beams; even if it’s just a little,
it will serve our purpose. The best
part is, the destroyers will be shielded from the enemy’s weaponry.”
“Now,” she continued, “there is every likelihood that they’ll be
trying to pass over the asteroid belt. We’ll
be attempting to have the destroyers in place before they arrive, but failing
that the destroyers will duck low, and those asteroids will probably screw up
the readings.” She paused, and
shrugged. “Even if they don’t,
I highly doubt they’ll really care. No,
as far as they’re concerned, the four battleships will have to be destroyed.
And that’s the beauty of it; we’ll approach, let fly an opening
salvo, and dive down into the belt, leading them right where we want them.”
“Sailor Cygni?” asked Sailor Ryujin.
“How do we know they’ll come after us?”
“Because about thirty minutes before they arrive, we’ll pretend to
spot them and send open subspace messages that the battleships should pick up
their diplomatic envoys and beat feet,” grinned Sailor Cygni.
“If we weren’t the primary target before, we will be then.”
“Expensive bait,” mused Orien.
“Sounds like fun,” grinned Duke irreverently.
Sailor Cygni turned serious, as the four diplomats said little,
exchanging glances. “There’s no
denying that, even with this plan, things will be tight.
We’ll use every tactic; hit and run through the asteroids. The Zerm pounding through hull areas once weapons in those
sectors have been destroyed. The
HDE, DK, and us firing weapons and ducking back under cover.
Fighters swarming at close range to blow up their torpedoes when they
launch them... on second thought, maybe we'd better use the fighters to cover
the summit; don't want to leave it undefended completely.” She shook her head.
“But when push comes to shove, we must win this… because I have an
awful feeling I know what the Nightmare may have in mind.”
“Not because of the summit?” Juanita almost demanded.
“What’s more important, Juanita?
The summit and temporary alliance against these things, or a pair of
Silver Imperium Crystals under their control?” Sailor Cygni said quietly.
“Great minds think alike,” muttered Derrelli, as GIA nodded.
“Indeed,” said Neo.
Sailor Ryujin’s lips pursed. “Yeah,
that makes sense,” she said softly. “If
they somehow manage to kidnap their Highnesses…”
Sailor Cygni held up a hand as everyone else’s eyes widened.
“Now, that’s just a theory…”
“An eminently logical one,” commented T’mal.
“One we should keep in mind; and it is in the best interests of all to
prevent such an heinous occurrence.”
“Well,” Juanita said. “Knowing
what’s at stake, we must make sure this mission succeeds at all costs.”
“Quite,” Sailor Cygni nodded. “We’ll
use the next couple of days to refine things.
We’ll wait to broadcast our suspicions until we deal with this
intruder. Now, I’m sure everyone
has preparations to make; dismissed.”
Former
site of a Dark Kingdom gate, in the Alpha Zone, 10 June 2740
The
SLS Bahumat
“Secured from RIFT, ma’am,” Duke reported.
“Now at full speed, sublight.”
“Drop to all ahead one-half, sublight,” Sailor Cygni ordered,
standing from her chair. She moved
to science. “What’s out
there?”
“Three battleship-class vessels, ma’am,” science reported.
“One Droylian, One Zerm, and one DK; they’re all maintaining range
five distance from each other.”
Sailor Cygni pointed at screen two; science nodded, and pressed a panel,
showing an overlay of the three ships in a triangular pattern.
Juanita stood and approached. “Captain?”
“Equidistant from them all? Would
that suit your purposes?” Sailor Cygni asked, burying her annoyance at being
temporarily subordinate to this woman. “And
at what alert status? Normally for
diplomatic missions its cruise mode, but we also have standing orders to
instantly go to red alert for DK ships.”
Juanita sniffed. “We stay
as we are; and equidistant from them all is fine.”
Sailor Cygni glanced towards Duke. “Duke,
come left to 307 mark 13. All stop
upon reaching the exact center between all three ships.”
Juanita moved to the captain’s chair; the bridge crew of the Bahumat
hid their scowls and grimaces. The
other three diplomats assumed attentive stances just behind the railing that
provided the backdrop to the Captain’s chair.
Sailor Cygni waved to Sailor Ryujin, and with both of their faces set
into poker-like casts they took the seats on either side of Juanita.
“Prepare a general hail,” Juanita ordered.
“Ready,” comm replied.
“Send it,” Juanita said.
“Sent; receiving three replies, full visual and audio,” comm replied.
“On screen one,” Juanita said, her face settling into one of studious
neutrality.
Let the games begin, thought Sailor Cygni with a mental sigh.
“…mossst gratifying to hear,” the Zerm chief diplomat finished.
Juanita stood. “Excellent,”
she said, allowing some emotion to show. “And
at this time, I would like to extend an invitation for all of you to join us at
dinner tonight, here aboard Her Majesty’s Starship Bahumat, at eighteen
hundred hours.”
“What are you doing!?” hissed Sailor Cygni.
“Diplomatic protocol, ignorant barbaric Senshi, so silence and let me
work!” fired back Juanita in an irate aside.
Sailor Cygni narrowed her eyes. She
struggled to control her temper.
“And they will not see anything important,” Juanita continued; on
screen, the diplomats could be seen talking with their respective Captains.
“Fine,” growled Sailor Cygni. “But
extend the invite to the captains and their senior staff.”
Juanita blinked. “Why?”
“I’ll explain after this is done,” Sailor Cygni said curtly.
Sailor Ryujin fought her temper as well; what Juanita had just said was a
deliberate slur against not just Sailor Cygni, which would have been bad enough
since you just do not disrespect the boss in front of the troops, but against
every sailor-suited warrior in Neo-Queen Serenity I’s service.
She would have loved to see Sailor Cygni beat this pompous, overbearing-
Huh? The other captains
and their senior staffs? Oh, right,
to inform them of the situation and get their cooperation, thought Sailor
Ryujin. Also gives us
an advantage; the other ships are unlikely to open fire when their senior
officers are aboard.
“That offer also goes for the captains of your respective vessels, and
their senior staff. I think
you’ll find it worth your while,” Juanita added suavely.
There was some hesitation, but finally all three delegations accepted the
offer; and after closing words were exchanged, the screen blinked off. Sailor Cygni glared at Juanita.
“In my ready room please, so I can explain,” she all but snarled.
The two entered the room, and the doors hissed shut behind them.
To those remaining on the bridge, the tension was still thick enough to
cut with a knife. Finally, Moira
spoke. “I can’t believe she
said that.”
“Who?” snapped Sailor Ryujin, seating herself in the Captain’s
chair, glancing towards science. “I
want continuous, non-invasive scans of weapons and shielding systems aboard
those three ships; I want to know the second anything powers up and appears
hostile. Also, let me know if they
initiate any scans that are more than low-level.”
She turned, after receiving science’s confirmation, and fixed a
moldering glare on Moira.
“Juanita,” Harry answered instead.
“That was uncalled for. Why,
Sailor Senshi have protected the peace for centuries, and Sailor Cygni certainly
does not strike me as ignorant, or barbaric.”
“Nor do the rest of this crew, for that matter,” T’mal added.
“Indeed, you are dedicated, courageous individuals, and your record has
been most satisfactory.”
“Coming from a Vulcan, that’s high praise,” chuckled Orien.
His grin immediately reduced the tension on the bridge; but Sailor
Ryujin, even as she allowed herself to smile, glanced at the doors to the
Captain’s ready room.
She could almost feel the heat from the confrontation within.
The second they entered, Juanita spoke.
“That was very kind of you, to extend-“
Sailor Cygni cut her off. “You
called me ignorant!? You’re so
obsessed with your little corner of the universe you wouldn’t know the truth
if it bit you in the ass!”
“Now, see here,” Juanita tried to say.
“No, YOU see here!” snarled Sailor Cygni, allowing herself to
explode. She turned on Juanita, and
got her nose within an inch of hers. “Where
the fuck do you think you get off, slandering not only myself but every other
Senshi out there, and in the middle of MY bridge!?”
Juanita swallowed; fear actually welled up in her.
The look in Sailor Cygni’s eyes was damned near murderous, and she was
a Senshi, with enhanced physical attributes as well as special powers.
“You have no clue what the hell is really going on here, you are
completely unwilling to compromise with us even though your very job by nature
is compromise, and you possibly endanger this ship, crew, and vital GM
technologies without clearing it with me first?
Diplomat in charge or no, I will be damned if that is going to happen! And you have the nerve to slander us? By the Crystal, I wish for once that someone would take
reality, pack it into a duranium pipe, and beat you upside the head with it!”
Sailor Cygni turned away before she completely lost it, and stood rigidly
before the windows displaying the starscape outside.
Pure rage was evident in her posture; thick silence filled the room.
Juanita finally spoke. “Was
that really necessary? There are
better ways to express yourself.”
“None that would get the point across to you,” replied Sailor Cygni
shortly, without turning.
“Perhaps,” allowed Juanita. “Perhaps
I was a bit hasty, and overstepped my bounds.
I apologize.”
Sailor Cygni glanced in the window, at Juanita’s reflection. She slowly turned. “As
it is, that harm can be controlled. We’ll
increase security in vital areas, and not only will your diplomats accompany
their delegations everywhere, but we’ll have a ‘guide’ in the form of
senior security officers with them as well.”
“Very good,” Juanita said, slowly lowering herself into the chair in
front of Sailor Cygni’s desk, and trying not to tremble.
She knew she could talk Sailor Cygni calm; it would just take patience
and carefully thought out statements.
“And when they all arrive, the diplomats are to go with you; we’ll
bring the captains and senior staff to the officer’s mess and dine with them
there,” Sailor Cygni continued curtly.
Juanita was silent for a moment. “May
I inquire as to why? And why invite
them in the first place, especially with your security concerns?”
Sailor Cygni narrowed her eyes. “Do
you even remember the briefing from two days ago?
We’re going to brief them in and ask for their cooperation.
As far as security, it’s two-fold:
the presence of my senior staff will dissuade them from spying too
obviously; and as long as they are aboard this ship, chances are slim the other
ships will open fire.”
“You still believe the DK would do such a thing?” Juanita asked
softly.
“These are the people that regularly unleash horrors like Infiltrators,
Doppelgangers, and Slashers upon us,” snorted Sailor Cygni.
“I wouldn’t trust them as far as a child could throw them.
What do you think?” She
frowned, and sat down, crossing her legs and placing them on her desk.
“Granted, an attitude like that will hinder any diplomatic process, but
that’s how it is right now. It
would be great if that changes; unfortunately, I just can’t put much faith in
that happening. What’s to say
that when this is over and we are successful that they just don’t turn on
us?”
“What’s to say that when they get a taste of cooperation and freedom
they decide to continue the alliance?” Juanita retorted.
Sailor Cygni focused her now-neutral stare on Juanita.
“We can debate the future all day; only Sailor Pluto knows, and
she’ll be the first to tell you it can change in a heartbeat.
You do your thing, and we’ll do ours, and pray that the results are as
desired.”
“Fair enough,” allowed Juanita.
“Is that all?”
For a second, it looked as if Sailor Cygni would explode again; instead,
the Senshi of Gravity simply glared. “Yes.”
Juanita made as graceful an exit as she could.
As the doors closed, only Sailor Cygni, Sailor Ryujin, and Neo knew of an
empty glass shattering against them.
Juanita traipsed across the bridge silently, and entered the lift as the
doors opened; she indicated the other three diplomats to join her, which they
did. The doors hissed shut.
Sailor Ryujin let out a breath, and stood.
Her enhanced Senshi hearing had detected the glass breaking, and she knew
somebody had to try and calm down the Captain.
Unfortunately, that somebody was she.
Shit.