Ice Squared - Revision

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Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Fri Mar 14, 2014 6:40 pm

I have an old story at https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2658126/1/Ice-Squared that a few people expressed an interest in me finishing... I plan on trying to do so, before moving on to something else. To do this, I have to reread it of course. I also intend to do at least minor cleanup during it, but major changes are probably not likely, unless a good case can be made, and the person interested in such changes volunteers some help :) Basically, if you have ideas to improve the reread/revision toss them out here, but I'm obviously not making any promises. It would of course help if the affected chapters are ones I haven't gotten to yet...

What do people think about just updating the revised chapters on ff.net and noting status here now and then? I'm not interested in feedback there at this point, as it seems more distracting than actually helpful lately. Will updating old chapters make the story appear to be updated? Once I get new material it can be posted here for review I suppose, and then once complete could be transitioned there.

Edit: Actually, now that I think of it, if anyone has a good idea for something to use for the icon placed with this story, let me know...
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby PCHeintz72 » Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:08 pm

Lerris wrote:Edit: Actually, now that I think of it, if anyone has a good idea for something to use for the icon placed with this story, let me know...

I have no image... not really a fan of them to be honest... but if you could get someone to make a image of Ranma and Nabiki holding the Tendo staffs with Swoardbreaker and/or Canal above and behind them.... that would be a good image.

As for the reread, for any editing advice at all I'd have to reread them again myself, as it has been awhile. While I remember the overall plot still, that is not enough for corrections.

Editing an existing chapter is not enough normally to trigger it inside the site as updated as normally only removal or adding chapters does that.

I do not know if the email alert system would denote it as an update, but the ATOM Feed update system *will* note it as changed... Changed reviews, description, word count and a few other things will cause it to highlight as changed, even if the story is not brought to the top or date updated as it would be with a new chapter.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Sat Mar 15, 2014 1:15 pm

I created an icon. It is not quite as detailed as suggested, but perhaps it will do. Chapters one and two have been edited and reposted. I'm not too concerned with spelling/grammer. Anything not caught on my reread at this point is not that important, to me anyway. If anyone sees plot holes/areas I should expand, then let me know.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:41 pm

1-6 edited and uploaded. I'll likely do a few more tomorrow, and if things go really well might even be through the old material by next weekend. The main thing is if anyone ever does a read through let me know if I left anything big there. I only do a minimal check on the ff version, as I just edit things as a text document in a basic text editor just fancy enough to underline misspellings, and then use a trivial script to convert it to html. (I still wish fanfiction.net did not convert the curly quotes to regular quotes, but oh well. Of course, while I'm at it I wish I could automate the update process to fanfiction.net...)

I'm not going to even make an attempt to plot the rest of this series out, or read what is left in my old notes until after the read through/edit pass, although people are welcome to post ideas. If necessary I might consider deleting a chapter or two from the end before moving forward, but I have no idea yet what will be required.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Ellen Kuhfeld » Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:01 am

Lerris wrote:Will updating old chapters make the story appear to be updated? Once I get new material it can be posted here for review I suppose, and then once complete could be transitioned there.

I'm following you, and haven't been notified of any updates.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:46 pm

Thanks for the info. I guessed that was likely the case, as I didn't get any new chapter alerts either, but it is still useful information. 7,8, and 9 are revised and posted. The changes are not extensive. At this point I'm probably going to hold off putting off updates until I basically get a handle on the final outline for this story, or at least am fairly certain not to have to go back and change what is posted. Again it is not certain that there will be any large changes, but I need to be a little careful here and spend additional time on the remaining and future chapters. (I'm somewhat concerned that my additional of the AMG and Stargate series might have made it more difficult to wrap up, but again I haven't reread everything yet..) Still, I hope to have some more out by next weekend, and then once I finally get to new material I'll aim for one a week posted here and see how that goes. Length wise, I seriously doubt it is wrapped up in less than an additional fifty thousand words, although I'd really like to keep it under two hundred thousand total, if possible...
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby WG_Writer » Mon Mar 17, 2014 7:14 pm

I reread the story so far, I think you may have more trouble then you might think. I have counted at least four and maybe five direct crossovers present and at least five or more divergences in terms of story. This leads to a very confusing plot and by confusing I mean I got lost badly as it continued.

I recomend writing out some of the threads and removing some of the focus characters. Trying to keep an active story with thirty active main or mix main and primary secondary characters is very rough.

it is up to you but if I were to recommend something I would recommend removing the entire SG1 reference entirely, it feels like too much waste and focus that could go elsewhere. Keep the main scenes down to three plot lines (The three senshi groups) and spice it up with the Amazon thing (personally I would recommend removing it, but you obviously have plans for it).

Try and make scenes last longer so we can get into who is doing what and where and be more descriptive. iff you have mutiple plot lines the first few sentences should make it clear where a new scene is with in terms of which group and when.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:01 pm

I've read and edited through eleven and things seem doable at this point, but yes axing one or more series is on the table. I'm not sure whether SG1 is going to stay or go as I haven't reread/plotted it yet, but yes keeping forcus on core characters is always a consideration. One danger I have is the bad guys are essentially a bunch of original characters right now. To handle that well I could:

1) Get all the characters back in our part of space. The bad guys then forget about us due to the cost involved in creating another gate. (I don't like that one much and probably won't do it..)

2) Actually spend the time to flesh the characters out enough for the Ranma/Sailor Moon cast to be instrumental in at least starting a rebellion in their society that has the potential to improve things.

3) Assume things are _not_ solved, but since SG1 and others are aware of the problem and all the immediate threads are taken care of your in a good place to end.. Further assume that the destruction of the gate buys them time, and if a rebellion occurs it buys them more..

4) Have the current bad guys become the Earth's friends. Probably not doing that. If that ever happened it would be well after (2), and likely not a part of this story.

5) After the rescue..., Carter/Nabiki invents something that pinpoints their massive hyperspace gateways and they get an ongoing mission to knock them out before complete. (Plausible/relatively simple, but still weak as endings go and more or less the same as (3)). Still, it's possibly doable.

The more I think of this arc, I'm just not sure it is _possible_ to fully wrap up and put a bow on it, since its not reasonable for things to be settled that quickly. It may have to be a solution where the current threats are resolved and plans are established to remain vigilant.

The arc involving the earth cooling was I beleive based on the sailor moon great freeze. The options there are

1) Have it unrelated to the current enemies.

2) Have it related to the current enemies.

Without giving anything away, I currently favor (1), but again I haven't reread the rest yet. (1) is fair game since just because you are dealing with one crises, doesn't mean you are immune to another. Also, I have an idea how to solve (1)...

If people have ideas/suggestions, I'd at least consider them..
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby WG_Writer » Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:28 am

for something about the temp dropping let it slide is my suggestion for now. There is not enough focus on it and other problems are keeping the characters occupied. As much as I like SG-1 I do feel they should not have been added and/or need to be written out. They feel out of place all things concidered, you are meshing genre here (Ranma is a Romantic Comedy, Sailor Moon is again romance with comedy and adventure, and SG-1 is Space Opera. This trio can be done, although its difficult.

Next suggestion is to dehumanize or mook unimportant characters. In otherwords naming a character, at all, draws focus to them as a plot device.

Trim your cast, again SG-1 is my suggestion but cut some people out, end plot threads, or atleast sideline them and come back later. Most stories tend to have five or six main characters, and an equal number of side characters, and 2~3 antagonists at a time leaving a general cast of upmost 13 characters on max average. Right now you have all the Sailor Senshi and Mamoru (9) Ranma, and Kasumi [Nabiki is in the first group] (2) Ami's mom, Hino-san, the cats (4) the sg-1 group (4) the unknown enemy guy (1)
then the side quest about the rivals and girls (3+3)

9+2+4+4+1+6 this is about 26 characters this is twice what most concider reasonable.

If you do a rewrite I would recommend droping in part or full the girl's sidequest for whatever it is. Kasumi should have been left with Hino-san. and remove the gate divergance. Also cut the SG-1 down to a cameo. Leave out most of the cat side interaction as well.

This would leave you cut down to the 10 character main + 5(?) side characters and what ever enemies you have planned. With cutting down half the main cast at one local and the other at another it will help and allow for fewer scene breaks, and this leaves room for more plot. By further sidelining the hino/kasumi/cats you could make it even more manageable.

This will leave you with mostly the general 13 characters. The difference between a main character and a supporting non-main character is plot growth and importance. The number of characters that can be main is also dictated by legnth of the story. Named characters can hold importance through unimportance and Kasumi feels like she is in the unimportant list.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Thu Mar 20, 2014 5:18 am

I read/edited through 12, and right now the plan is to keep both main arcs, as I can invision how I intended them to come together. Also given it has been years since an update, I'm hesitant to make unecessary significant changes to what now is basically canon. That doesn't mean there won't yet be some simplification, but so far not in chapters 1-12. Also, I clearly stated in the old material that the hyperspace gates the alien's were using were exceedingly rare, so the destruction of that gate should buy them time and given that that bit has been canon for years I see no compelling reason to change it, as doing so would make it (significantly) harder to finish rather than easier. SG1's inclusion in a significant way is probably less likely, but I've still got work to do to figure it all out.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby talonhunter » Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:24 pm

With the significant changes that have occurred in the StarGate universe since your original storyline was written, it may well be time for a restructure of the SG1 plot points as well. And I tend to agree with the others here, if you want to keep the SG1 storyline, it might be best to run it as a new story arc/sequel that has all the senshi and Ranma cast returning to earth to lick their wounds so to speak and plan out the tie ins for the next book/arc from there.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:47 am

FYI, I tossed the modifications I made to the SG1 universe to fit Sailor Moon and just chose mid SG1 somewhere for their crossing point. (The modifications would have required a ton of work to do well, and just weren't worth it.) I also had everyone but Teal'c and Jack busy elsewhere to minimize the character count. Rodney makes an appearance in a thread, but not a large one. I've still not decided about the AMG characters. So far they are only a view from the gallery, and that could get removed. Either way nothing new to post until I figure out the ending. That doesn't mean the ending has to be written first. I just need to be fairly sure how it is all going to turn out.. (Well I may post a few more edited chapters in a week, once I'm fairly sure that much is not changing, but the newer material is still in flux.)
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Sat Mar 29, 2014 7:56 am

Chapters 9-12 are revised/posted. I don't think the changes were extensive there, but if anyone sees anything just let me know. I've been working on 13-15. They have undergone significant rewrites. Kasumi's kidnapping remains and resolving that and related threads is tricky. I have a plan, but it is not final yet. At any rate, future direction is a bit up in the air. I want to think about it a bit more still, although I may post what I have for ideas before too long here, but I'd rather exhaust my own first. A direction is shaping up that is I hope significantly better than what I had...
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby PCHeintz72 » Wed Apr 02, 2014 9:28 pm

Finally beginning to get to this (been very busy, and have a bit of a reading backlog)... slowly making my way though it while also running the chapters through a binary comparison...

At least in the first two, most of the edits were centered on merely fixing bugs and smoothing out some of the dialog and thoughts... not really too much to comment on other than they look fine to me.

I had no idea Ar-Kaos was your editor at the time, I wish that person would pick up Prices Paid, He at least could have had 1 more chapter and it could have had a ending.

EDIT: I take it back, one thing so far should be changed, but it is not in a chapter, but the summary. Suggest removing the cross from the summary, and just have the updated description as is in there up to that point.
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Re: Ice Squared - Revision

Postby Lerris » Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:29 am

The summary does need work. I'll likely remove the crossovers from it as they are in the disclaimer anyway. I'll probably add something about Canal in the summary, but I'm not sure yet. In the mean time, here is the revised 13 and 14 (separate post). I've got a draft of a new 15 done as well, but will likely hold off until I have at least chapter 16 written. As it sits, I'm guessing the story will end around chapter 19, but we will see. This is just a copy paste of the rendered html that I plan to upload to ff.net. I'll be deleting the old 13/14/15 this weekend sometime, but will likely delay posting the new versions there until I have a draft of the final chapter.

At any rate, feel free to C&C, although hopefully I caught most things already.. The next chapter will diverge more. These updated chapters are probably a fair bit longer than the original version, but I haven't checked.

---------------------------------Chapter 13----------


Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Lost Universe, Stargate, or Ah My Goddess. This is a non-profit work of fanfiction meant only for entertainment.
Ice Squared
by Lerris Smith

-«The Calm of the Eye - 2»-

Note: This is the first chapter with significant work to it, although all previous chapters have been edited. This and the following two chapters have enough new material that a reread is highly recommended.

-«oOo»-

“No Mousse! You stay here. You know the lore. This journey is for women alone.”

“But, Shampoo!”

“Stupid duck boy stay here, or I splash you and lock you in cage.”

Mousse sighed. He had taken oaths. All Amazons that had come of age did, but most never really believed that that particular oath was more than ceremony. He wanted to stop her, but he couldn’t, at least not yet. Out loud he said, “Goodbye Shampoo.”

Shampoo peered at Mousse for a moment as if wondering what he was planning before shrugging and going upstairs to finish packing.

An hour later the trio were ready to begin their journey. As they walked out, Akane and Ukyo looked back and gave Mousse a sympathetic look before walking on and letting the door of the Nekohaten close behind them.

Mousse sat in the closed shade darkened cafe and brooded. The problem was that he didn’t know where they were going, or even the true nature of what Shampoo was doing, other than the rumor was that it was very dangerous. Despite the oaths he had taken, much of Amazon lore was reserved for women alone. He also couldn’t follow her closely since Shampoo would notice and end his quest before it began. There was also the possibility that if Cologne found out, she would track him down and kill him for interfering, assuming Shampoo didn’t do it herself. It didn’t matter. He had spent his life chasing after that girl and he could see no other path for himself.

-«oOo»-

Setsuna was glad that Canal was able to reprogram the shuttle’s on board computer system to use Japanese instead of whatever it was using before. It was unfortunate that none of the people that had spent time training to pilot a ship on Swordbreaker was here, but the auto pilot was bringing them down in a nicely controlled fashion. She was also thankful that Canal had programmed it to traverse the course from the site of Ami’s funeral in reverse.

The trip was nearly finished when a small beeping became audible. Mamoru tapped a few keys and read the screen. After about half a minute he said, “I think we are about out of gas.”

“What?” exclaimed Rei.

“I thought Canal had checked everything,” exclaimed Makoto.

In a sarcastic tone Setsuna said, “Split yourself into two beings, while also doing massive repairs and reconstruction, and see if you don’t forget a thing or two. This is one of their shuttles anyway. There is no reason Canal would know everything about it. I suspect she was glad to be rid of it.”

Mamoru let out a small sigh before nodding. He said, “It says we need tritium and deuterium...” The ships engines died as the craft rested several hundred feet down several miles from where they wanted to be.

Setsuna said, “Realistically, we aren’t going to be fighting off big alien ships, should they come, with this shuttle. Sure it is better than nothing, but we need to at least try to get more help.”

Makoto asked, “But who can help us? It’s not as if the military has space ships?”

“Actually,” Setsuna mused, “I may know of one that may.”

“Who?” asked Mamoru.

“The Americans. I’ll lead the teleport. I know we wanted to get Rei’s grandfather to this Doctor Tofu, but I’m fairly confident I can get him help where we are going.”
-«oOo»-

The teleport went smoothly save for the expected tiredness, which they quickly recovered from. Still, it was strange going from near darkness to a bright sunny day. The lush forest and clear lake was a treasure to see, which was fortunate since the person Setsuna wanted to meet wasn’t there yet. While they waited they talked of Setsuna’s plan and what to tell those she was meeting, and more importantly what not to tell. Setsuna was very emphatic about that. Too much knowledge was often more dangerous than too little.

After she repeated her advice for the third time, she directed the pair to go take a break up the hill while she waited for her friend. After about another half an hour, Colonel Jack O’Neil walked down the path, as he often did on Sundays when he had time, for well since before he met his wife. Fishing was a tradition for him. Everything seemed to be so much better when you were sitting back drinking a beer and complaining about why the fish weren’t biting.

As he reached the bottom, a sharply dressed woman with deep green hair sat in his chair and smiled up at him.

“You! What are you doing here?” exclaimed Jack in English.

“Hey, can’t I visit an old boyfriend?” quipped Setsuna in English.

Jack said, “Your the one that ran out on me.”

Apologetic she said, “I’m sorry Jack, but I really do need your help.”

“You! You, run off and leave me, and then come back fifteen years later and want my help? My help?” The last was said in an exclamation. “What happened to you? Its like you haven’t aged a day.”

Setsuna said in Japanese, “Yes, it does seem that way, doesn’t it?” She gave him a winning smile, which only seemed to infuriate him more as he tried to puzzle out her words. It had been so long since she had taught him what little he knew of the language.

She continued in English with, “I assume that with your new job, that your kept up on the odd things going on in the world, like the Sailor Senshi in Japan.”

“Yes, they are a group of so called magical vigilantes. What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m one of them.”

“Sure, tell me another one. They are all supposed to be young girls.”

Setsuna grumbled, before fetching her transformation wand from her subspace pocket and changing in front of him. A few hundred feet away up the hill, Rei and Makoto looked on in Senshi form. It was surprising to see Setsuna reveal her identity, but they supposed it was probably the only way to get whoever this was to help quickly. Also, it seemed this was hardly a stranger. Who would have thought Setsuna had a boyfriend?

As she finished her transformation sequence, the Senshi of Pluto faced the lake and whispered, “Dead Scream,” as she launched her trademark, although somewhat weakened attack into the lake. Water boiled and hundred’s of dead fish floated to the surface.

“Dang it. What did you have to do that for? I just stocked it!” complained Jack.

Sailor Pluto’s silvery laugh was almost enough to make the two other Senshi shiver. It just seemed wrong to hear Pluto laugh like that.

“So, what help do you need Suna-chan?”

“I need to speak to your boss.”

“What boss would that be? I’m retired.”

Setsuna smirked before saying, “I believe his name is General Hammond. Your part of shall we say an exploration group, save you go a bit father than most very quickly.”

“Well informed, aren’t you?” quipped Jack.

“Always,” rejoined Setsuna with a playful smirk.

“Your in a hurry.”

“What makes you think that?”

“It took me weeks before to pry out any details of your life from you, and you give up what must be one of your bigger secrets as a conversation starter.”

“Yes.”

“Well, my truck is up the hill. If you and your friends would like to come with me, we will be on our way.”

Sailor Jupiter winced at being caught so easily. He had known they were here, even with them being so far away, and he didn’t even have any form of magic.

Mars said, “So, we get to meet Setsuna’s old boyfriend. Great, just great.” She picked up her grandfather and they made their way to Jack’s truck. Thankfully it at least had an extended cab, since even with that, it was going to be crowded.

-«oOo»-

[ After almost an hour’s drive they arrived at the Cheyenne mountain complex where the three Senshi were promptly asked to stay in a nice room without windows and a suspiciously thick door.

Setsuna said, “Relax. Jack is a good person.”

“You would know,” added Rei cryptically.

“Yes, I would,” replied Setsuna, almost to herself. Of course, the question of whether someone in the chain of command would do something stupid was an open one.

The details she had gave Jack had been sketchy at best, but necessary. She admitted to much of the battle at the gate, but played down the enemy strength and numbers, as well as the resulting force of the gate explosion. She rather doubted they would have believed the truth, and she didn’t really want Swordbreaker’s capabilities known. The battle of Pluto was mentioned but downplayed. She couldn’t really avoid mentioning it entirely, as much as she wanted to. Her associated was well known. She didn’t mention how it vanished. That was one can of worms she hoped to keep a lid on.

-«oOo»-

General Hammond sat in the briefing room with Jack and Rodney McKay. The rest of the members of SG1 were off world on other tasks.

“So, why are we here?” asked Rodney.

Jack said, “A former girlfriend paid me a visit. She says that aliens are after the Earth system. They apparently came after the planet Pluto, though again she won’t say why they were on Pluto or what happened to it.”

“Ghoa’uld perhaps?” suggested Rodney.

“Her description didn’t appear to match, but who knows?”

“Are you sure she isn’t, you know, making it up? That would seem far more likely,” said Rodney as he fiddled with his laptop.

“The thing is I dated her for a couple years before Sara. I don’t believe she would make this up, and well she is either really one of those corny magical girls from Japan, or she has a great special effects team.”

“Know her? As in the biblical sense?”

Jack frowned and said, “Hey, I don’t ask about your private life.”

“Sorry,” said Rodney indicating he wasn’t particularly sorry.

Jack said, “At any rate, they say they fought a battle against them at Pluto and won, but she was very sketchy on the details. Later they figured out where they were coming from and fought another battle at some hyper gate, I think were her words. They destroyed the gate, so that is to the good, but they get separated from some of their people. In short they want our help to rescue them.”

“Hyperspace Gate?” before continuing with, “I wonder if that would explain that unexplained event we had thought was a nova. No, that can’t be. From what we have puzzled out, the energy released during whatever that was was enough to blow away a planet. We only caught it at all because the beta site was close enough to see the fringes of the shockwave.” After he finished speaking, he seemed to become lost in thought for a moment.

“And your response,” asked the General.

In a deadpan voice, “I believe I suggested we might be able to borrow a space shuttle.”

Rodney said, “Well the Prometheus is basically finished, although I’m doubtful it’s hyperdrive is going to work. Are we sure its worth it? I mean what are the odds their friends are even alive?”

Jack said, “She seemed certain that they were. They said they would know if they were dead.”

“I know the Prometheus’ status. Your opinion Jack?”

“Sir, they know about the Prometheus. Perhaps not the details, but she knew enough to know exactly where I’d be, that I’d be able to get the help, and that we had the help to give. If nothing else we need to find out how they knew those things. We also have a vested interest in knowing what the heck is going on before it is at our doorstep. I say we go and find out.”

“Is there anything else?” inquired General Hammond. He looked around the room and settled on Rodney who seemed again to be lost in thought.

“ I was just wondering if perhaps the battle on Pluto had something to do with its disappearance. I vaguely recall one of the Senshi, I believe it was a green haired chick who was said to be Pluto’s guardian.”

“Yah, I believe one of the others called Setsuna Pluto.”

Hammond said, “Interesting. Do you think these aliens of hers destroyed it or something?”

Rodney replied, “I’ve no idea. If they can control forces like caused whatever that other event was, then its possible I guess, but then an explosion that would have destroyed Pluto would have been visible. It was just gone, which implies technology outside of what we know. The fact that your girlfriend appeared deliberately vague about what happened on Pluto implies she is hiding something. My guess is it is one of their secrets. I’d love to know how they did it. I suppose she probably kept it vague as the best option she had. If she wanted immediate help she would have to report the incident on Pluto, else we might not help, but at the same time if she is keeping secrets she can’t exactly volunteer the details.”

Jack glared at the girlfriend remark but otherwise stayed silent.

General Hammond said, “Find out if you can. I’m authorizing you two to proceed at Jack’s discretion, but keep me informed. It is possible that use of the Prometheus will be authorized, as a precaution if nothing else, but until it is say nothing. I have a call to make. Dismissed.”

-«oOo»-

“Don’t you get cold in that?” asked Rodney in halting Japanese. For once he thanked the foreign language requirement in college.

Mars blushed after she figured out what Rodney had asked, while Jupiter stammered out in broken English, “No, we are not cold like this.”

Sailor Pluto sighed. She supposed the fact that this was not their normal form would have gotten out anyway. She had used that fact to convince Jack, since she doubted she could have gotten them to agree so fast without doing so. There was also the sad fact that you couldn’t expect the Senshi to handle every threat forever. They were far too few. She said dismissively in English, “The magic protects from temperature extremes. It is a minor thing, really.”

“Neat,” added Jack.

“Yes, well, so are you going to help?” asked an impatient Sailor Pluto.

“The powers that be are discussing it.”

General Hammond stepped though the door closed it behind him. He said, “The president is apparently a fan of your little group. He has had many conversations with Japan’s prime minister about them. Jack, he has authorized the deployment of the Prometheus.”

“Sweet! Carter and Daniel are going to be so jealous.”

“There is a jet standing by to take you to it and a van will be ready at the surface to take you to the jet. By the time you get there the Prometheus should be ready to takeoff.”

Pluto said, “Thank you General. What of our friend?”

“Doc Fraiser says he will be fine with rest.”

Pluto gave a small half bow. “We appreciate the help.”

The general replied, “It is good to be able to help. Hell it’s good not to be nearly completely blindsided by a problem before it bytes us in rear, though I would have appreciated being involved before you basically declarer war.”

Pluto just gave the general an unapologetic nod.

Endymion said in Japanese, “I think I need to stay here. It is hard to describe, but I’m almost certain I have to stay on Earth. I think it is somewhere south of here. There is something going on. It is something old, yet I can’t remember!”

Pluto considered the Earth Prince for several seconds and then turned to Mars.

Mars nodded and held her right hand out as a ball of fire formed in it. She stared at it intently as she grabbed hold of the Earth Prince with her other hand and stared some more. After a minute or so she spoke in Japanese. “There is something big happening. I’m not entirely sure what. I agree with the south. I’ll stay with Endymion until we sort this out.”

Jack and Hammond looked on in confusion.

Pluto said in English, “Endymion and Mars need to head somewhere south. It sounds important.”

The general replied, “If its important, I can have a separate military jet fueled and ready to fly by the time you get there.”

Pluto said, “Actually sir, I was hoping you would consider two additional Jets. One of them would need a supply of deuterium and tritium.”

“Explain,” commanded the General.

“I’m not sure how useful it would be, but I was thinking Sailor Jupiter could go with someone to find the shuttle we came in and see what can be made of it. It’s off the coast of Japan now. That way you get something out of this, and if worse comes to worse it may be useful to defend the planet with while we are gone. We did manage to mount a magical weapon on it before we came back to Earth. Jupiter may be able to use it.”

McKay looked hopeful. The general said, “Very well. I will arrange it.” To McKay he said, “Be careful. We don’t need an incident with Japan, but try to secure that craft. I’ll arrange for you to change transportation as required.” To Pluto he asked, “Where exactly is the craft?”

“It is under the ocean about a quarter mile or so from a beach off the coast of Sendai. We ran out of fuel.”

“How’d you get here?” McKay asked.

“We teleported, but it won’t work to return. We are already low on energy from the first, and it would take the entire group. We need to get after the others.”

McKay said, “Well, they are not going to let us carry isotopes of hydrogen through an airport, at least without some pretty thorough explanation. Our best bet is probably to have a seal team bring in the supplies to that beach along with a small fishing boat equipped with sonar. We can then take a taxi from the airport. If all works well we drive it back to Area 51, and if not we at least locate it so other assets can pick it up.”

“Plan approved,” said the General. “I don’t need to tell you how valuable a find this could be, or how much pressure I’m under to find things like this.”

“No sir you do not.”

-«oOo»-

At the Tendo house Soun Tendo reread his youngest child’s note for what felt like the hundredth time. They were all gone now. They had all left the nest, but then they had been independent a long time ago. He had just not truly realized that till now. He remembered Happosai’s words from earlier.

“Snap out of it and think like a man rather than a sniveling coward for once in your life!”

He had looked up at his master then with what could only be described as hope.

“I know where she is, or rather where she will be. It is not a quest we are allowed to interfere with directly, yet we can smooth the way for them. So stop your weeping and dust off your armor for it is past time you use the skills I imparted to you!”

Soun’s expression was grim as he finished adjusting his old leather field armor to fit his current frame. He got out his treasured staff that he had not touched in years and spun it rapidly in his hands. If danger was before his daughter, then he would be a father once more, and pray that the person he thought of as a son would protect his eldest two daughters.

-«oOo»-

At the Nekohaten Mousse continued to brood. He could think of no way to follow her without getting caught, and doubted he could convince her to let him follow her. If only he knew where she was going.

“So, your just gonna sit here and mope eh boy?”

Mousse turned and tried to focus his eyes on the source of the sound. Of all the people to come here, he certainly didn’t expect Happosai. He growled, “What do you want, you old perverted gnome?”

Happosai used his pipe to knock him across the room before saying, “Better help, but I’m stuck with you and the lost boy.”

“Hey, you fixed that!” came from Ryoga who just walked through the front door.

“Yes I did, and yet you still get lost.”

“Well, what do you expect, its not as if I had a chance for a normal sense of direction to develop with the curse.”

“Cure? You cured his curse?” asked a suddenly curious Mousse.

“If you mean Jusenkyo’s touch, then no. That never lets go of you, although occasionally people get adept enough at ki manipulation to control it, but most just die with it. I used a spell of sorts that worked to dispel his family curse.”

Ryoga said, “Ya, and you made me promise to do what you said until some mysterious quest you were on was over before you did it.”

Hapossai quipped, “Bah, bunch of idiots. I had to beat the lost boy senseless just to get him to give up on his stupid quest to get even with Ranma. Why, if I didn’t owe.. Nevermind that. Are you coming?”

“Coming, where?” queried a suspicious Amazon.

“Why, we are going to make sure Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo don’t get killed on their little quest,” said Happosai.

“Of course I’m coming. I’d have been gone already if I knew where they were going.”

“Yes, I imagine you would, and have been found out almost as soon. Let’s see, what would the Amazon punishment be for interfering with this...” Happosai trailed off during the end of his speech as if in thought. Mouse supplied the answer in a monotone voice, “Death, by slow torture. The exact details to be determined by the warriors sent to carry it out.”

“Why, yes, that is it,” said Happosai dryly.

Ryoga starred at Mousse. He was willing to risk that for Shampoo. It seemed unbelievable. Of course, even though Akane hated him, he could not let her die. Perhaps he would get killed along the way. He almost welcomed that thought.

Mousse said in a neutral tone, “The penalty is the same for outsiders as well.” Ryoga smiled a dark smile. It seemed he would get his wish.

Happosai said, “Well, its not like my death warrant from them was ever rescinded.”

Mousse nodded. He knew of that, but then the warrant was only if he ever came back to the village. Out loud he said, “Let’s go.”

Happosai said, “Not so fast. If your going, you promise to obey my orders with the understanding that what we will do is meant to protect them during their journey. Promise that, and you may come. I’ll even fix your vision problem.”

Mousse shrugged. A part of him wondered about Happosai’s, “during their journey,” bit but it didn’t matter. Going would be a violation of the oaths he had taken as an Amazon, so what was one more oath? He said, “I promise.”

Happosai fished around in his pockets until he pulled out a tiny brown bottle and said, “Lie down and remove your glasses.” Mousse did so before Happosai opened the tiny bottle and dropped a single drop of clear fluid in each of his eyes. Happosai quickly capped the bottle and stored it.

Mousse blinked a few times before saying with surprise, “It worked. I can see normally.”

Happosai said, “Just be grateful I spared you some. That takes years to make and I’m out of ingredients.” Of course, Happosai mused, had fewer people wanted him dead, he likely would still have a full bottle.

-«oOo»-

Pluto’s group was riding to the airport when she pulled out the communications device Canal had given them. She said in Japanese. “This is Sailor Pluto. Can you hear me?”

A small image of Canal appeared above the box. She said, “I hear you Sailor Pluto. What news do you have to report?”

Pluto said, “Our patient is recovering well. Mars and Endymion are following up a lead on something else, while Jupiter is going with others to recover our shuttle for planetary defense. We are on our way to launch Earth’s first prototype starship. Because of the threat we are facing, I thought it best that the Earth’s military be with us, both for backup, and so they know what we are facing.”

“Understood. What is the top speed of their craft?”

“Do you also speak English?” asked Pluto’s guardian.

“Yes,” responded Canal in English. Pluto handed the box to Rodney after telling him what Canal wanted to know.

Rodney said, “We should be able to manage half light speed without issues. Unfortunately our hyperdrive generator is nearly completely untested with a mass of this size. It was designed for a smaller aircraft and then modified for the additional mass. I think it will work, but...”

Canal said, “I believe I have located your ship.” The images shifts to a three dimensional model of the Prometheus.

“How did you do that? The hanger should still be closed!”

Canal simply smiled a small faint smile, to which Rodney finally said, “Well, that is the ship...”

Canal said diplomatically, “Good. I’m uncertain if it would be helpful offensively, although your hyperdrive technology appears to bare some resemblance to the technology in the gateway we destroyed, which may be helpful. When can you get the ship into space?”

Jack said, “Hey. That’s a good ship. It has all kinds of weapons! It is supposed to even be able to take on a ...” Jack trailed off.

Canal looked on in curiosity as Rodney replied, “Jack and the crew should be in space in about an hour. I’m going to try to help recover the other craft.”

“Understood. Swordbreaker out.”

-«oOo»-

On a passenger jet Akane looked out the window as the amazing view of Tokyo shrunk and faded only for them to be engulfed and then pass above the clouds themselves. She could hardly believe she was here, going to South America of all things. She had wanted to go to North America someday, but had never given much thought to the southern continent. What would they find there and just where were they going? Shampoo had mentioned a name, but she could not remember it, other than she had not heard of it before. She was a still a bit surprised how easily she got them the immunizations, tickets, and passports, but guessed that Cologne or her people had connections.

-«oOo»-

Jack sat in Ranma’s usual seat aboard Swordbreaker. They had needed an experienced pilot. Canal was only half of herself lately, and was currently remaining invisible letting Mercury take the lead. Teal’c had also gotten back and met up with them. Doctor Mizuno handed Jack and Teal’c an earpiece that would translate as required without saying where she got it from.

All stood watching in amazement as Jack took to the neural piloting interface around his arm as if he had been using it for years.

Mercury said, “Amazing. The records show no new pilot has adapted this quickly, but on to business. I require the operational theory of your hyperdrive engine to determine if it can be useful. If required, I could probably hack my way into it, but I would rather not.”

Jack said, “I’m afraid that is classified. If you could explain the problem, then perhaps we could help.”

“I need to tear and maintain a stable hole into subspace down to a layer where a form of hyperspace travel I am unfamiliar with is possible. I believe I can do it with our own technology, yet the details are quite different. It may be very dangerous. I want to reduce that danger.”

“What a day for Carter to be busy. Do you understand any of that Teal’c?”

“I do not.”

Mercury said, “There is no need. I have already accessed your files.”

Jack palmed his face into his right hand. “For the love of ... Who the heck do we have implementing security? I thought Carter had worked on the base’s security?”

Mercury said, “I found out that a Senator Robert Kinsey is involved in the project and hacked into his systems. They were a much easier target. Now, I’ll need to concentrate for awhile.”

“Yah, about that. I could maybe um forget about the hack if you were to make copies of anything incriminating on our dear friend the senator.”

Mercury grinned a predatory grin and said, “Deal.”

After about twenty minutes of Jack practicing maneuvers in space and Mercury studying she said, “Their hyperdrive tech base is not entirely the same as the gate, but it is close, or at least much closer than our own. I believe we could attach ourselves to their ship and use their hyperdrive to get into the region of subspace given the regions current instability, but I’m uncertain if their hyperdrive can remain stable for long enough. Even if it worked perfectly, the journey to get to that point would take over a week. Simply put, you can’t just shove a hyperdrive meant for a much smaller ship into a bigger ship and expect good performance. Swordbreaker will need to handle the initial leg of the journey.”

Jack said, “I understand about the hyperdrive. It was the best we had available. Carter was working on a better one, but, let me get this straight, you want to attach this ship to the Prometheus and carry us through hyperspace? You can do that? Isn’t this ship like half the size? I thought you said that such things mattered.”

Mercury said, “The strain will be minimal for swordbreaker, though the loss of maneuverability will not be. I’d estimate our transit time at thirty four minutes. We will arrive a few hours away for cautions sake..”

Jack sighed and said, “Okay, Let me talk to Prometheus.”

Canal appeared and said, “I’ve programmed the flashing button on your left to allow you to talk to them whenever there is need. Your ship will have to be completely powered down to avoid damage during the journey. Your power systems appear to be incompatible with our mode of travel.” She then faded back out.

Mercury said, “I am sending the details of the plan to your ship.”

Jack was momentarily surprised by Canal’s appearance, but recovered quickly. He pressed the button and said, “Okay guys, do you have the new plan? Better yet do you understand any of it?”

“Major Davis online. I have my best tech looking at it now. He doesn’t like it, but he concurs that anything is possible at those speeds and it would be certainly safer to shut things down. He is quite skeptical about it even being possible to move through hyperspace at those speeds. It’s like a factor of one hundred faster than our own drive is theoretically capable of, and they would be carrying us. Sir, are you sure about this? We will be vulnerable until we can bring the reactors back up.”

Mercury said, “The planned destination is far enough away from our target that it shouldn’t be a problem. If need be Swordbreaker will protect you long enough to bring your systems up.”

Jack replied, “As sure as I can be Major. When will you be ready?”

“Give us ten minutes to do an emergency scram of the reactors.”

“Will do. Prepare for docking.”

“Understood.”

-«oOo»-
Canal appeared in a transparent form after they had latched onto the Prometheus. She said, “All systems are ready. We are at a possible phase drive point. Engaging full electronic counter measures. Secondary power sources are nominal.” The other bridge screens went blank though the viewscreen still showed what was outside and Mercury’s laptop showed something, though it was turned so Jack could not see it. Jack through a look of disgust at the traitorous screens before looking at the main viewscreen.

Mercury said, “Engaging phase drive in three, two, one. Swordbreaker engage.” The ship seemed to lurch a little with the extra mass attached.

Teal’c stared in wonder at the stars blurring by them until Jack asked, “Teal’c?”

“This is unlike any form of hyperspace travel I am familiar with. From the motion of the stars it would seem we are moving quite fast indeed O’Neil.”

Mercury showed not a fraction of the strain she was under. She said, “Yes, we are right proud of our little ship. We just need to recover the rest of her crew and make sure our noisy neighbors stay away.”

Jack said quietly, “I can appreciate secrets, but you know we are not the enemy.” He said that as he motioned to all the blank screens.

Canal turned and became solid for a moment as she stared down Jack O’Neill. With no trace of hesitation or doubt she said, “I will remain the last of my kind. Some doors will remain closed for the good of the universe. If my death and the death of everyone here and on your world was required to insure that, then I would regretfully do it. I have lived through the alternative, and do not wish to live to see it again.”

Teal’c said, “Is it not the use such things are put that makes them good or bad?”

Canal said, “Myself and my previous crew destroyed every last one of my brothers and sisters. They were like evil spoiled children with the power of giants. Giants that could destroy worlds at a whim and left for dead scores others one way or another. Would you risk unleashing such on the universe again?”

Sailor Moon said sharply, “You are being unfair to yourself Canal. You were never like them. You will never be like them!”

“But if the knowledge spreads, it will not be just those like me that get created. There will always be those who embrace the darker more seductive and quicker path to power.”

Jack said, “You have a point there, and well we will do what we can to help, but you gotta know we face a threat that could wipe out the planet if we lose.”

Mercury asked, “Another threat?”

Jack said, “Yes, they are some kind of snake that takes over people. They pretend to be gods and have armies and gigantic space ships, easily a match for the Prometheus. They kinda want to kill us all at this point and are particularly upset with my little team.” He said the last with obvious pride in his voice.

The other Senshi turned to Sailor Moon who said, “As daughter heir of the old Moon Kingdom, I pledge our aid in protecting Earth against all who would harm it.”

Teal’c said, “Your help is most appreciated.”

“Another one of these magical hyperdrives would be more appreciated,” added Jack, almost under his breath. Canal and everyone ignored him.

Several minutes of silence passed before Teal’c asked to use the restroom. Uranus offered to show him the way. When they were in the corridor Teal’c said, “You will have to forgive O’Neil. He thinks only of the immediate danger and that danger is great indeed.”

Uranus looked up at him and said, “I know. I was worse once.”

“Perhaps you could tell me about it sometime?” asked the stoic Jaffa.

Uranus looked up at him again, before saying, “The bathroom is just the next door on the right.”

They had both returned several minutes before Nabiki said, “Phase out in five, four, three, two, one. Phase out.” The ship again shook as the two ships combined mass made the transition back to normal space.

Canal was again partially transparent. She said, “Disengaging electronic counter measures. We are a little over two hours out at half of Prometheus’s top speed, which I recommend using. I would ask that you engage your drive systems so we can conserve energy.” With that the other screens flared back to life.

Jack pressed the com button, “Major Davis. How goes things?”

“We are where we expected to be, though no one quite understands how. The interference generated during our passage through whatever that was damaged a few things that were left on. The only major item is the control system for life support. It is fried, though we can still bypass it manually and have enough parts to do full repairs when we get time.”

“What else?” asked Jack.

“The one I’ve got the loudest complaints about was from a private who thought it would be a great time to flip on a playstation he smuggled on board. It’s toast. I confined the private to his quarters for now and confiscated what was left.”

“Understood. Plot a course and engage at half our max speed.”

“So, we are hauling them this time?”

“That would seem to be the case.”

“Understood. Major Davis out.”

Canal faded out as the ship got underway.

-«oOo»-

Sailor Moon pondered all that had brought them here and could not help but think of Kasumi. The elegant young woman that despite having no special powers or abilities held her family together and even volunteered to go on a dangerous mission. She called softly, “Canal, can you join us here for a few minutes?”

Canal appeared before them with a curious expression on her face. Moon said, “Let’s sit in a circle on the floor.”

Jack and Teal made no motion to move, apparently assuming they weren’t included. Moon walked over to them and said, “Would you two please join us?”

Teal’c raised an eyebrow before Jack said, “Sure kids. Why not?”

Uranus glared a bit at the kid remark, but ignored it at a look from their princess. She sat down with Usagi to her left and Canal to her right. Across from Uranus sat Dr. Mizuno, Teal’c, Jack, and Pluto. Usagi reached out and took Uranus’s left hand in her right and Ami’s mother’s right hand in her left. Seeing Usagi’s pleading expression the others joined hands as well.

The Moon Senshi just sat and felt the warmth of her friends touch for several seconds before her clothing shimmered to her formal white Moon Princess dress. She said, “Late at night, when my advisor Luna is asleep, and quiet seems to cover the world like a blanket, I have often wondered why we have had to fight so very hard. It is not just us, as our new friends demonstrate.” She paused for a moment as the others looked at her with curiosity.

She continued with, “Later still, I sometimes wonder why we have survived what we have. The little cross that our missing friend Kasumi wears is not just a decoration. She believes, and it seems to have made her one of the strongest women I have ever met, allowing her to smile and to go forward with resolve in the strangest and most trying situations. She has been that way ever since her mother passed away when she was young. It is a strength I barely understand yet hope to emulate.”

The curiosity of the others seemed greater now, as they wondered why Moon would talk about Kasumi’s faith. The princess said, “I too have felt at times that someone or something has helped us from time to time, when we have struggled our hardest. Perhaps it is our family that has gone before us, or perhaps some higher power. It doesn’t matter really except to hope they will hear our prayers. May they watch over our friends and loved ones and help us and our enemies to find true wisdom. May a path of peace open before us.”

Canal was uncertain of what to say to that, but she was saved by the others’s soft, “Amen,” which she quickly copied. It was quite strange, yet things seemed a little more hopeful now. In fact, the ambient psi energy she could collect had almost doubled. It was a small thing compared to the flow from her captain, but useful nonetheless.

A few moments later, as if by some unspoken signal, they got up and returned to their original seats, while Canal walked towards the door, fading out as she went.

Minutes later, just after Sailor Moon’s stomach growled, Canal came back through the door carrying what looked like a pair of blasters. She hesitantly laid them on the table in front of the others and said, “The blasters belonged to the wife of my former captain. They can be set to stun. I thought perhaps Dr. Mizuno might have need of one...” Her voice faded out as if she was uncertain how to continue.

Moon said, “Thank you Canal. It must be hard to let go of your treasured mementos.”

Ann said, “I could not use a weapon. I swore an oath.”

Uranus said, “Then keep it on stun, or at worst store it where you could get it, should the worst happen.”

Jack said, “I agree. It is a lot better to be prepared than not.”

“Indeed,” added Teal’c.

Ann nodded, still uncertain about the whole idea, but if the worst happened she might have to protect a patient she guessed.

Jack said, “Well, as nice as your blaster looks, I’ll stick with my own weapons.”

Pluto said, “I’ll take the other blaster. Who knows, it might help in a pinch and I am familiar with a similar weapon.”

The Moon princess asked, “Have you figured out anything about that crystal we collected earlier?”

Canal said, “I have not broken the outer layer encryption on the crystal yet. Without an intact ships computer to probe, this may take quite some time. It may not even be possible, if the encryption isn’t based on a method I’m familiar with or it is too complex. At worst, we may have to find a world they control and borrow some of their equipment although there is no guarantee even then.”

Usagi nodded. It seemed that this time nothing was going to be easy. They had always made breaking codes look so easy on television.

-«oOo»-

A gray haired thin man sat down at the head of a dark walnut colored wooden table filled with men of his age or perhaps as much as two decades younger. Small screens were inset in the table in front of each of the seating positions. As he sat down, the conversation the others were having amongst themselves abruptly stopped. He said, “I have received troubling news. The boy is missing, possibly dead.”

A balding man said, “Who knows of this?”

The gray haired man responded, “From what I can tell, only the crew of the one ship that fled the battle they were engaged in.”

“They have been dealt with?”

“Tonight sometime. Their interviews have not been completed yet.” The word interviews was emphasized in his speech.

“Good. Good.” The man tapped a few spots on the screen before him and said, “It says here they destroyed a gate?”

“Yes, all of those interviewed seem certain about that, although we have not as yet figured just how that was accomplished. For now that part of the universe is closed to us, although the second division of the home guard is already on its way to investigate the corresponding area in hyperspace and search for the boy.”

“Yes, it would be best if he was retrieved. He is well liked, after all.” Nods could be seen around the table. This was said in a matter similar to the tone most people might express about it being best if they painted the walls the lighter rather than the darker shade of gray.

“Of a more pressing concern is the fact that it seems a single ship, one that we thought useless, that was even under our control for years, was largely responsible for that defeat. Does anyone have suggestions as to that?”

Several people at the table skimmed through the report in front of them, trying to come up with something. A sandy haired man, perhaps the youngest person at the table, although likely at least forty five years old said in a thoughtful manner, “Well, given that they destroyed the gate, it seems likely that they hoped to close off that portion of the universe to us. It also seems likely that they only have the one ship, unless this is the region of the universe that ship came from in the first place. It looks like they tried a desperate strategy and it worked.”

The balding man mused, “Still, if we could learn how that ship could do what it did, we would be invincible.”

The gray haired man responded, “The special projects division of the science ministry has been apprised and given the limited sensor data of the battle. Unfortunately, their initial review of the data yielded no useful clues, with the exception that the main attack on the gate used an almost unimaginable amount of chaos magic.”

The sandy haired man said, “No one in the empire has been able to successfully manipulate chaos magic on any significant scale. Its very nature destroys all the containment matrix spells used to control it.”

The gray haired man responded, “I know. Unfortunately, with the gate gone, we have no way to investigate closer, and to think that system went from unknown, to normal acquisition, to potentially vital strategic importance and threat in so short a time. It is a pity the special projects division still says they are probably twenty years off being able to build our own gates.”

With sarcasm, a black haired man said, “They said that twenty years ago.”

With the major business discussed, the minor reports were brought in. The state of the empire was good. The average conquered world was usually proud of its membership in the empire within a half dozen years after its acquisition. Good public relations was a wonderful thing. Control of the media was better. The individual world governments had all kinds of disagreements. In fact, there were several disagreements yet to be scheduled. The illusion of freedom was an important thing to maintain. Still, updating the script would have to wait until next week. After all, what was the point of absolute power, without the free time to enjoy it?

-«oOo»-

Alex could not help but feel his jealousy rise as the beautiful brunette petted and played with the red haired girl that acted like a pet of some kind. Never before had he seen hair that exact shade of brown before or eyes that warm and inviting. It stirred something in him that he had never felt before. He tugged briefly on his bindings, but they seemed to be quite solid.

He knew the council of emirs controlled nearly everything about his life. He wasn’t completely unobservant after all, nor did he particularly disagree with most of their decisions, well except where they affected his own personal life. Yes, the council was useful. The day to day managing of little details was annoying, and something he gladly left to them.

He still was not sure if they had let him go on this little jaunt, perhaps as a way to improve the morale of the troops, or if he had really managed to take independent action. He was sure of one thing. He wanted that beautiful brunette. She was gorgeous and exotic. Among his people that color of hair and her clear brown eyes and delicate features was unheard of. Of course, the others here were also quite pretty, but the brunette was the one. She would be his Empress, of that there could be no doubt.

He wished he could understand their strange language. Important things might be being discussed, but the one who had translated before was largely ignoring him, so there was little to be done but wait.

He half smiled as he recalled the series of questions they had asked through the one they called Canal. Most were questions about who he was and what he was doing with that fleet. He played dumb to the hilt of course. He gave them one of many prepared stories about being a rich trader that they had captured in order to get his goods for free. One question he found particularly interesting came from the blond woman. It seems she wanted to know if he had a girlfriend. She seemed to be encouraged by the simple truth that he did not have one, and yet the others seemed to discourage her. Yes, it definitely was very frustrating not knowing the local language.

-«oOo»-

It had been almost six hours since they had taken the stranger aboard. Sailor Venus remained at her station as she pondered him. He was cute in an odd sort of way. That white hair looked good on him, yet Neptune just had to point out that he was the enemy and someone not to be easily trusted. She supposed Neptune was right. If nothing else, the guy seemed completely undisturbed that all those people died. If anything, she would have to say that he was annoyed at the loss of transportation. Out loud she said, “Dang it, what is taking them so long? Shouldn’t the others be here by now?”

“Lemme sleep. Tired,” came from the weary voice of Hotaru who was still lying on her adopted mother’s lap.

Sailor Neptune said, “Good morning little one.”

Hotaru groggily replied, “Mama, stop calling me that name and lemme sleep. I don’t wanna go to school.”

Sailor Neptune blushed slightly. She said, “Up and at em little one. We have a visitor.”

Hotaru yawned and rubbed her eyes, seemingly recovered from her previous use of the Death Reborn Revolution. She looked around and spotted the visitor. She then looked back at her mother as if to ask what was he doing here?

Sailor Neptune said, “He came from one of the ships that attacked us. Fortunately, it seems that he can’t speak our language, although one can never be sure.”

Hotaru nodded and unconsciously eased herself closer to her mother. This could hardly get worse, right?

Sailor Neptune said, “After the battle we got swept into some kind of hyperspace. We don’t know anything else, although Canal says that her other half is still alive somewhere. Our shuttle cannot return to normal space on its own.”

Hotaru told herself once again, to never ever think that it can’t get any worse.

Canal said, “Ships are coming. Many ships.”

Kasumi continued to gently play with the cat like Ranma-chan. Despite her best efforts Ranma-chan refused to go to sleep. She wished she had some hot water, since that might snap her out of it, but there didn’t seem to be any on the shuttle.

Venus said, “Great, just great.”

Neptune noted that the stranger’s ears seemed to perk up at the announcement, but that likely was just do to the general change of atmosphere in the room. She said, “What are our options?”

Canal said, “Without help. I see no way of winning. Whatever Ranma did before caused massive damage to the shielding system that I have no way to repair without Swordbreaker.”

Hotaru once again reminded herself not to ever think that things can’t get worse. Across the room, a small smile appeared on Alex’s face. It would not be long now.

-«oOo»-

On the plane, Akane had almost managed to get to sleep when Ukyo asked, “So, where are we going in South America?”

Shampoo replied in a soft voice.“We go to Peru. There is an ancient lake a few miles from Machu Picchu. Our destination is there.”

“Machu Picchu? Isn’t that like the remains of some old city or something?” asked Ukyo. Akane, from across the isle, learned a little toward them so as to hear better.

“Or something,” said Shampoo mysteriously. She continued with, “Shampoo tired. Mousse keep up all night begging to go with us and Shampoo get no sleep.”

Ukyo gave the girl an odd look, before deciding that since the conversation was apparently at an end, that perhaps she should get some sleep as well.

As they drifted off to sleep, a private jet that had taken off almost an hour later than there own, sped past them. On it were the crew, two middle aged men, a short gnome like figure, and two young men. The older men were sleeping in their chairs, having been tired out in their quest to find the one’s youngest daughter. The young men were intently studying an aged scroll, while the gnome like figure was taking a nap with a half empty bottle of wine tucked in the side of his chair and a stack of lingerie magazines open to random pages sitting on the table in front of him.
Lerris
Senshi Cadet
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