The hand that sculpts your dreams is not that which controls them child
I am Metalia. I offer you the bitter draught, yes, but do not refuse its sweetness and its magical power
Its ambrosia laced with a potential so great, that any sacrifice you make to its aroma will bestow greatness upon your young shoulders
This, a raw power granted you by Chaos and the Dark Ones who sponsor you little one
Oh red flower, the child of doom, my precious and terrible sovereign whom shall realize my plans to conquer Terra and destroy the forces of light, hear me
As I take you to my bosom, my dark bloom, thereafter shall you claim your true birthright, not as princess of Terra, but as Queen of my Dark Kingdom as the beautiful and formidable Queen Beryl
Metalia
The Moldavite
En route to Pluto
“Kunzite, we’re getting reports of a chronophasic signature,” Damburite said, shrinking back from the scowling Shitennou.
“I know that, but can you tell me its location?” he snapped, pounding the console, making the cadet jump, and half the bridge crew averted their eyes lest they too displease the Shitennou.
“N-no, my Lord, the signature is…too dispersed.”
“All right, dispatch tracker probes and let us prepare to enter Pluto’s orbit, move!” he barked, shaking his head. “By the Kamis, must I suffer Venusian rookies on this assignment?” he muttered.
“There’s a transmission coming through on the holo-imager, my Lord,” Sian, the sprite-like communications officer said, as she bowed to the Shitennou.
“Thank you, Sian, very good.” Nephrite smiled at the teal haired girl with the mauve skin and silver fuku, gesturing to Zoisite and Jadeite to pay particular attention to the leggy officer. Kunzite sighed but grinned at his comrades.
“My Lords…this way,” Sian said, grinning at her admirers as she spun around and led them off the bridge.
They stood before the holo platform as an image began to form, Lady Daphne, the High Priestess of Pluto, soon stood before them smiling at the four men and the woman in their midst. She acknowledged each with a bow. She looked resplendent in her robes, her long dark hair pouring in a glossy cascade to her hips; her chestnut eyes bright as she regarded each of them with interest and genuine warmth. She was beautiful.
“My Lords, and lady, greetings from the Temple of Chronos and our illustrious rulers,” she said, offering the group a bright smile. “We have prepared for your arrival, and a briefing will be conducted within the hour. Queen Persephone, King Ganymede, and I look forward to your company this evening. You must be tired after your journey, so please take advantage of the facilities provided and the many charms of the capital... until then. Smooth landing, my Lord Kunzite and your noble company.”
“Thank you, my Lady. We look forward to it,” Kunzite said, and offered the Senshi/Shitennou salute and Daphne returned the gesture.
The Shitennou and Sian bowed and Daphne’s image faded.
Diamond’s Glider
The crystalline dart wove its way at speed past gargantuan space bergs, rocks and stellar debris as if propelled by a crystal bow in the hands of a skilled archer. The massive bergs resembled a flotilla of rolling dice released by a crazed jester’s hand, these tossed upon a celestial game board.
The glider flew just short of light speed. But the stakes were their lives if these frozen dice didn’t roll in their favor.
Most of the danger however, came from streams of fast moving ice clouds called space blizzards, these made up of tiny chunks of ice and dust riding upon powerful energy currents that like a cat’s cradle, created unstable conduits of subatomic force. Then there were the gravity eddies that were especially deadly. At one stage, the glider found itself caught in one such anomaly, spinning like a whirling dervish in an impromptu gravity well.
It was unnerving to say the least as Naru tried not to throw up over herself and the console from watching the stars spinning out of phase and warping her view. She sweat dropped and allowed the smooth cold silver console under her palms to settle her insides as she gulped in breaths of stale air, this indicating that oxygen levels were much too low within the cabin. She closed her eyes. She was frightened. Naru had faith in Umino’s abilities as a technician, pilot and strategist, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once. She feared the Kamis would not grant them enough time to restore full life-support.
The ice blizzards would cut through a conventional spacecraft if it weren’t prepared to endure such conditions. Naru was relieved their glider was more than able to weather the storm.
The port view made her giddy. She tried to concentrate on her task: punching in commands and watching the explosions of light, the fast moving shards of superheated stone due to plasma cannon fire racing past the viewport. But the bat-like fighter continued to move with them on its relentless pursuit. Naru thought the enemy ship was almost reveling in the dangerous conditions.
Every now and again, she chanced a glimpse at Serenity. Bunny was strapped in, her eyes closed, the unconscious princess’s head sinking back into the soft fabric of the head support.
The blizzard continued to pull the glider back and forth, tossing it about as the ship’s navigation system compensated. It felt as if the craft were surfing upon the crests of massive waves of ice, the inertial dampeners kept them on their feet. But the slightest movement churned her stomach.
Umino opened the final panel to complete his repairs and reached for the crystal wrench, a silver stone rod with an articulated metallic claw for removing damaged circuit boards amongst other things in hand. Soon the charred remains of burnt out crystal transductors were replaced with new ones.
Umino smiled as the interface whirred to life again in a dazzling display of color.
“Almost done here, we’re out of danger,” he said into his communicator, wincing from the pain of the shoulder wound, sealed, but still very sore from his having to work with the injury. “One last fresh crystal uplink nodule and…we’re done!”
“Umino, please hurry… come check on Bunny as soon as you get a chance; she’s still unconscious.”
“Be there in a second,” he said, pushing the crystal into place, closing the panel and putting his tools away. He scrambled to his feet and returned to the front of the cabin.
“She’s waking up,” Umino said, as he lifted the faceplate.
Serenity opened her eyes, looking a little confused and suddenly gripped Umino’s hand. All the while, the phase blasts and enemy fire rocked the glider.
“What’s happening, Umino?” she asked, as he assisted her out of the suit.
“We have to fight our way out of this, Bunny. Thus far, we’ve managed to avoid being destroyed…only just, but now it’s time to go on the offensive. Be brave, Bunny!”
“I’ll try,” she said, taking another deep breath of fresh air, complements of the restored life support systems. She squeezed his hand and he patted her shoulder.
“Chin up, Bunny, we’ll be all right!”
Umino crossed the floor to relieve Naru at the controls. “Thanks Naru, you’ve managed to put a little distance between us and them and now its time to turn the tide!”
The glider banked and then ducked behind a space berg. Adjusting its speed, the tiny electric-blue star fairing vessel aglow with a silvery shield hugged the frozen surface, hidden by the luminosity of the white-blue gleam omitted by the massive stellar object. The berg reminded Umino of an over-sized ice cube tumbling through deep space. The Shadow Fighter faltered, and as the rotation of the berg brought them over the top of the enemy craft, Umino fired two pulse bursts in rapid succession. A splash of sky-blue fire rippled over the silvery-black surface of the enemy ship’s hull, setting it aglow against the backdrop of deep space.
As the enemy ship began to lose power, it tilted to one side as helm lost control. The bat-like craft, now crippled, smashed into the icy surface of the space berg and exploded. But not before a volley of chartreuse blobs of energy were released.
“Oh no!” Umino gasped. “We’re in big trouble now!”
“What is it, Umino?” Bunny questioned, leaning forward in her chair, eyes wide with fear.
“Weapons of some sort I imagine; mines or worse…if anything can be worse.”
They watched the holo-images external to the glider in horror as these pulsing objects flew at speed towards the glider, attaching themselves to the outer hull.
Terra
The Octillion, an impressive entertainment complex fashioned from red and pink granite was the premier cultural venue where a concert performance by a renowned opera singer, Lady Isabelline was in progress. Arjirea and Solaris, flanked by their Mauan guests in the royal box were enjoying the opera as the woman with long golden hair flecked with indigo highlights in a soft sandy colored sleeveless gown sang a flawless aria.
“She is the pure elixir of the Kamis is she not, my dearest husband?” Arjirea asked, eyes sparkling with excitement as the lilting tones of a veritable Goddess filled the vast auditorium.
Solaris admired the lovely singer’s voice and obvious beauty, but he also reveled in the loveliness of his wife, the queen. He admired her cerulean blue gown, the rose motifs that ran in spirals over the bodice; her hair piled high and the bejeweled plait that poured over her bared shoulder he found most becoming. Arjirea's lips and fluttering eyelids painted indigo shimmered as she smiled sweetly at his adoring gaze.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He smiled back, “and I you, my heart,” he breathed, taking her hand and kissing the palm in a gesture symbolizing a prelude to sexual intimacy for later that evening. She blushed and squeezed his hand in anticipation of a night of fiery passion once home alone in their bedchamber.
The audience had given the Lady Isabelline, a standing ovation. The king and queen, flanked by Lord Artemis and Lady Luna, bowed to the beautiful singer before making their way out of the chamber.
As the small party traveled in the hover car on their way along the central promenade, a shadowy figure of a girl watched them with interest from her vantage point on the causeway. Now dressed in elegant robes, her hair styled in a long braid, Beryl was ready to perform the next part of Metalia's plan.
She certainly looked the part; her face made up to resemble a doll-like figure, innocent and pretty. Beryl smiled in anticipation of the meeting that would change her fortunes and those of the Dark Kingdom.
“It won’t be long now, Lady Arjirea. Lord Solaris, I am your returning daughter come back from the dead,” she chuckled. The irony was, her statement was more true than she could ever imagine.
The silvery-golden security orbs were whooshing past in all directions, seeking out any intruder who dared breech the city’s security shields. On the odd occasion, one could hear the distinct sound of weapons fire and the youma screaming near the perimeter of the cordon.
“That sounds a little too close for comfort, my lady Arjirea,” Artemis said, peering into the darkness beyond the luminous conduit. “I know it is twenty miles to the south, but it is unnerving just the same.”
“I know, but soon two of our powerful Shitennou shall rejoin the fight,” Solaris put in, trying to reassure himself as much as everyone else inside the spacious hover vehicle.
“We’ve sent a message to Kunzite,” Arjirea said as the silent transport rushed along the main concourse that would soon see them enter the greenbelt that surrounded the palatial heart of the city.
Fifty square miles of forest, and light residential structures housing the nobles, military, scientific and governmental occupants and their families met their eyes. All this encircling the equally impressive Palace compound, spaceport, private parks and outbuildings.
As they peered through the view screen, Shitennou cadets and Atlantari military patrolled the streets as well as the crystal surveillance orbs that could alert the defense grid of intruders and fire deadly pulse and projectiles killing any enemy insurgent that somehow bi-passed all other barriers.
The women and children were now being evacuated to Myola and the other planetary kingdoms around the clock. Since Royal Guard and Terran troops were losing more ground, enemy forces were growing bolder as these pushed ever closer to the heart of the capital. Though the taskforce sent to Atlantari by Luna and Artemis had held back the enemy thus far, Dark Kingdom forces were calling in fresh troops and it seemed they had tens of thousands of youma foot soldiers marching rank upon rank on the remaining two thirds of the vast metropolis.
Large though the city might be, the enemy was gaining too much ground and if their allies couldn’t stop and hold them, they would have to redouble their efforts to get all civilians out in time before a counter-offensive could be launched.
“Kunzite has sent Jadeite back to Terra with Zoisite. They will be here in three days as Pluto is a long way off, Luna and Artemis,” Solaris said, a worried look on his face.
“Yes, but in the meantime, we seem to be holding them and Alliance warships will soon pound enemy positions outside the city to disrupt the movement of troops, equipment and communications,” Artemis responded.
Solaris relaxed visibly at this news, “Excellent.”
Before Luna and Artemis realized it, they were entering the enclosed hover bay beneath the vast palace. The interior lit up as figures appeared from a glowing platform nearby.
“So, now, let’s prepare to alight and refresh ourselves before retiring for the evening,” Solaris suggested as everyone nodded their ascent.
The small party was greeted by Senshi cadets who bowed as Sailor sugilite of Europa escorted the group into the grand atrium. They gasped at the impressive statuary of former rulers of Terra and their court.
“Most impressive!” Luna gasped.
“That is Princess Morgana, a Mauan warrior, she serves the Lady Myola, and grew here in Atlantari after her family migrated to Terra. I thought you would be impressed, Lady Luna,” Arjirea smiled.
“And who is the girl with the hairstyle like Serenity’s?” Artemis said, studying the beautiful statue.
“That is my distant cousin, Lady Lilith, she disappeared under mysterious circumstances and was destined to rule, but my mother filled the breech in her stead.”
“Anyone ever find out what happened to her?” Artemis said, curious.
“I’m afraid not, it remains a mystery to this day,” Arjirea sighed, then brightened. “Fayola, little one, is all in readiness?”
“Yes, mother, as you asked,” she beamed.
“My adopted daughter, I lost a child long ago, and this lovely bloom, only eleven solar rotations is so like her but for the hair color,” she breathed as the fair-haired girl in a lace pink and reddish-brown gown bowed and led the way.
Beryl bided her time. The streets were deserted. She would soon slip into the servant’s quarters unseen and use the new Dark Crystal Wand fashioned for her by Metalia to control the palace staff.
Diamond’s Glider
“I’ve patched in a course for Chiron. The Silver Raven is there. We need help from Daphne, otherwise, we’ll be found out and your mother will likely punish all of us severely. We cannot let that happen!” Umino said, as they cleared the Ortt Cloud. He was looking at the hull integrity scanners. Something was trying to eat its way through their shields and pierce the hull. “The skin of the glider is increasing in temperature. No prizes for guessing what’s responsible for that; our glowing little friends from the bat-ship!”
“What does that mean, Umino?” Bunny ventured, holding Naru’s hand so tight she winced.
“It means, if we don’t stop whatever those things are outside, our shields will fail, and they’ll eat their way into the ship and … and that would kill us all if we don’t do something fast to stop them.”
“Can we use our powers to protect the glider?” Naru asked Bunny.
“Not from inside the ship. I can’t do anything in my current state, as you know. Naru, only you and Umino can stop those things I’m afraid,” she lamented, hanging her head.
“Hey, you’re not to blame, Bunny. I won’t hear of it. Now zip it and let me think,” Umino said, as a light flared in his eyes, “I’ve got it! I was trained in absent gravity environmental conditions at the Shitennou Temple by Lord Jadeite. We repaired a few gliders. This isn’t much different. I will try and destroy those drones.”
“No! You’ll be killed! What if those things are aggressive and not just smart mines?” Naru protested, “No, I’m coming with you, a Senshi can still use her powers in a suit… Epsilon Star Power!”
“I love the way you do that!” Umino winked.
She smiled, assuming a fighting stance. Then relaxed as the golden corona dimmed. “Come on, we’re wasting time!” she said, leading the way.
Umino followed his lover to the airlock and suited up. “You look gorgeous in that get-up, Epsilon…”
“Right… I’ll wear this to bed tonight and see how seductive you think me then,” she chuckled, wiggling her hips, making him laugh.
Umino winked at her through his visor. “Don’t let the magnetic boots faze you. Just take a deep breath. You’ll need to watch how I walk along the outside of the craft and do as I do.”
“Oooh, sexy. But you’re sure this is safe, is it?” Epsilon said, feeling the sweat beading on her brow.
“You’ll be fine. Trust me, and for Kamis sake, don’t lose your nerve. You won’t fall off. I promise. Are you ready?”
“No. But let’s get it over with,” she said, her voice shaky as Umino made the first move out of the airlock.
The void of space festooned with stars and stellar debris greeted each of them with equanimity. The Ortt cloud still visible despite being several thousand miles to the port bow. The aura coronas arcing over the space bergs made the scene look far more inviting than it actually was, the colors surprising Epsilon as she took her first tentative steps in zero gravity.
The glittering space bergs were stunning to behold, tumbling in a ceaseless tidal motion. They were beautiful in an eerie kind of way. She gulped and followed, the sound of the magnetic suction urging her forward with each step she took upon the sapphire skin of the glider.
After a couple of minutes, they saw them. The lemony-green gelatinous objects, like mushy crystal surrounded by a soft light. Electric blue tentacles, dozens of them, were pushing into the hull.
“I will try conventional strategies first. Then, if that fails, try your Senshi powers.”
“All right, there are nine of them in total. They’re covering the engine room and weapons control,” Epsilon said, her power rising in anticipation of a fight with these strange probes.
“They seem to be oblivious to our presence, or at least they’re giving that impression. I will try an EM blast from this pistol,” he said, crouching to take aim.
“For Kamis’ sake, be careful!” Epsilon cried, focusing her power, the golden orb now materializing between her palms.
The EM pulse caused the creature to explode, and then the others exploded in rapid succession. The blast had neutralized their magnetic boots, casting them adrift.
Umino and Epsilon, concussed by the blast; each of them twirling like marionettes, both unconscious, resembled a pair of discarded rag dolls. With every passing moment, they were drifting further and further away from the glider.
Terra
Atlantari Capital – Terran Palace Compound
“It worked, it actually worked!” Beryl breathed, staring at the smug reflection in the mirror that soon took on the countenance of Metalia. “I wish you wouldn’t do that, Metalia!”
“You’re such a big baby, child. Jumping at your own reflection like that, but I jest.”
“I am not laughing, Lady Metalia. But you’re right, it was easy to fool them all. But will Solaris and Arjirea fall for my clever ruse, my disguise?”
“Of course,” Metalia grinned, her image vanishing from the mirror.
In an instant, she had reappeared behind Beryl. Metalia was a tall and beautiful teal skinned woman with knee-length violet locks. She wore a black dress with a ruffled plunging neckline that hid little of her substantive cleavage, the long figure-hugging garment studded with tiny gold arrows. Metalia’s tiara of black onyx finished the impressive look.
“Where are you from, Metalia?” Beryl asked, not looking back at the woman, preferring to address Metalia’s reflection as she examined herself in the mirror.
“Far enough away to know the import of securing this world for the Dark Kingdom. I am not of your alliance planets, nor am I native to this galaxy. Let’s just say, I was banished and given my own dominion, once a glorious realm but cursed by my people.”
“You’re an exile? But you want me to rule over the Terrans, don’t you wish to control them yourself?”
“I don’t have interest in this world for myself, child. I need their evil, their darkness to fortify our empire. An empire I will rule from the core of the Dark Kingdom itself. You child, are my protégée. One day you shall rule by my side. A daughter after my image if you will,” she said, as the scent of roses filled the room.
“I see…”
---
“I sense trouble, Luna. I don’t know where, but I am doubling the guard on the palace,” Artemis said as Luna nodded her agreement. He continued, “Dark Kingdom energy signatures are definitely present somewhere in the palace compound. But I can’t fix in on them. They keep vanishing.”
“Perhaps it is a probe or one of those dark crystal spikes they set at points of low energy on the planet’s surface. We’ve detected them elsewhere, on Terra and on the other planets on the outer rim of the star system,” Luna offered.
“You may be right, my love. But whatever it might be, I don’t like it and I won’t rest until I get to the bottom of it…” Artemis said, pacing as Luna slipped naked into their bed.
She yawned and tied back her hip-length lavender hair with a yellow ribbon, Artemis pausing to look at her, smiling. “I knew I could distract you, now, come…time for loving. On the morrow, we can sort out the security matters. We cannot do that if we’re half asleep now can we, my love.”
“But Luna, what makes you think we will get much sleep tonight anyway?” he said with a grin, leaning over to kiss her, cupping her breasts as she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
“I think I can live with that,” she purred, literally.
---
The knock came suddenly and unexpected just before dawn.
“Oh, who dares interrupt our rest?” Artemis said, mumbling as he swung his legs out of bed and assumed his feline form as had Luna.
“I am sorry my lord and my lady, but the queen has urgent news for each of you from the Moon Kingdom!”
“We’ll be right there!”
The two cats rushed into the throne room and Arjirea was in her bed robes as was Solaris, a young ginger-haired court attendant in a pink shift, Madeline, led them to the foot of the twin thrones of Terra, bowed and withdrew.
“Luna and Artemis, I am sorry!” Solaris started, “but the Crown Princess, Serenity is missing and you’ve been recalled to the Lunarian Capital to organize a search for her. You must leave immediately!”
