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Nevada, July 2009
Shortly after her discussion with the Commander, StarMaker learned about the incident at the White House. Almost immediately, the Kinmoku were restricted to just a few rooms within the base itself and the Commander was nowhere to be seen. StarMaker spent her days with her four adopted children, the youngest of whom she had taken into her care after Kakyuu and the others had left. She was teaching them English and Japanese and even helped tutor the other kids in the group.
"You're pretty good at this. Teaching, I mean," Cristyne replied. She had spent a couple of months in D.C. discussing the situation with her superiors and had just recently returned to Nevada. Since she had been the one person to have contact with the aliens from the very beginning, they kept her on as the liaison officer between StarMaker and the government, saying it was best to 'keep exposure limited'. In other words, they had seen far too many sci-fi movies over the years.
"I taught my daughter and her cousins both Japanese and English." StarMaker glanced down at the 3-year old in her lap and smiled. "So, I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about teaching. Why are you really here?"
Cristyne sighed and glanced over at the triplets, who were all watching her closely. She always felt nervous whenever the three of them looked at her. "We can talk about it later," she replied, glancing back at the redhead. She smiled at the little green-haired girl in the other woman's lap. "It's not really something we can talk about in front of the kids."
"They still haven't learned a lot of English," the redhead replied. She helped the little girl color a picture of a flower as she waited for the other woman to speak.
"Well, the Commander ... the Commander was at the White House during the attack." Cristyne watched as realization dawned on the face of the redhead. "They haven't decided yet who will be taking over the base, but until they do, I'm afraid that you and your friends will have to lay low. There are a few people in power that still don't believe you guys are for real."
"That's understandable," StarMaker replied. She told the triplets to keep an eye on the 3-year old and motioned for the American soldier to follow her. "There are a few things that the Commander figured out that-"
"Don't worry about it. He didn't tell anyone." Cristyne replied, knowing what secret StarMaker was talking about. She had learned most of the other woman's secrets a few months before and had been discreetly trying to find her friends. Now she knew exactly where they were, but she wondered if she should tell her. "There's something else ... I ... there was a group of civilians there. One of them was your friend, Usagi Chiba. I'm afraid that ... well, her husband was killed."
November 20, 2009
Yaten glanced up at the large mansion and sighed. Since Mi-ko was injured and Ami's children and mother were unable to teleport, they had had to take a plane to California. Thankfully, someone who seemed connected to Minako had been able to pull a few strings and solve the issue of passports and travel papers. The world had become a much more paranoid place since they had been gone. Once in California, some woman Yaten barely remembered and who was introduced as Mrs. Umino, was waiting at the airport to drive them to the house Usagi was living in. Seiya had told him that they had arranged for a house not far from there, but that he was staying with the blonde widow. Yaten had declined their offer to stay at the mansion, in favor of staying with his children, but had agreed to join the others for dinner. Which was now why he found himself staring up at the large mansion and wondering if he should have declined the offer.
"Dema? Did you hear me?"
"Huh?" Yaten glanced at his youngest daughter and realized she had been talking for a couple of minutes.
Mi-ko smiled slightly at her father. "I asked if you were going to sit out here in the car all night or if you were going inside?" She was standing beside the car, propped up on crutches, waiting for him.
Yaten realized that the others were all waiting for him and smiled a little. "Sorry, kiddo." He climbed out of the car and helped his daughter over to the house. "My mind's just not here right now."
"I know. It's ok," Mi-ko smiled as her older sister came running out of the house and nearly knocked them both over.
Ami and the others left the three of them alone on the porch for several minutes as they went inside and were introduced to everyone they hadn't seen before. Seiya had been particularly surprised to learn Haruka was married, even though her husband wasn't able to come.
"And how many kids do you have?"
"Two of my own. Michiru has one by Roland and one by Chiba-san, plus there's Roland's daughter from his first wife, so basically I have five kids. How about you?" Haruka asked, smiling at the young girl in his arms. "I've already met Rei-chan. Do you have any other kids?"
Seiya nodded, pointing to a blonde and a brunette that were talking quietly on the other side of the room. "Miyo and Shi. They're twins, even though they don't really look alike."
Haruka shrugged. "Kids are all different. My Titania is an excellent violinist, even though I couldn't play to save my life. She's more like Michiru than Michiru's kids, I think. I know Kakyuu-san said that 'Tomi-chan's blue hair was unusual for the Hrrrrunai. Isn't Shi-chan's hair a little ... bright?"
"Yes, it is. Blonde hair is very unusual for Hrrrrunai, but every once in a while they show up. In fact, I think they said this generation had more blondes than any other previous generation. Then again, they're counting Kai-chan and Mi-ko-chan among the blondes, as well," Seiya replied. He glanced around the crowded living room and smiled when he saw most of the kids getting along and that even Kakyuu had a smile on her face. His twins seemed to be the only ones keeping to themselves. "I wish those two could just relax and be themselves."
Haruka smiled at the black-haired singer. "They will, eventually. But probably not until they see their father do the same." She smirked slightly as she walked over to her daughters.
Seiya watched her for a moment, then glanced up as Yaten and his daughters came into the room. He smiled as the gray-haired man walked over to him and sighed. "Long flight?"
Yaten nodded, then leaned his head against Seiya's shoulder. "How long is this dinner supposed to last, anyway?"
"I don't know, but if you're not up to it, you can always go home. Usagi-chan and the others will understand," Seiya replied. He lightly hugged the shorter man with one arm and smiled when Rei also latched on to him. She hadn't stopped crying since he had had to tell her that Yo-Ichi was dead.
Yaten smiled a little as he hugged the young girl. "I would, but ... the girls are looking forward to this, especially Mi-ko. She's wanted to see Earth almost as much as ... They're dealing with what happened a lot better than I am." He sighed again, blinking back tears. He glanced up as a figure stopped in front of them and smiled a little. "Hello, Aino-san."
"It's Jones, now," Minako replied, smiling sadly. "Is there anything ... we can do for you?"
Yaten shook his head. "No, Ami-chan told me what your friend was planning, I ... I can't ask you guys to do anything," he replied. "Especially not after what happened to you all."
Minako smiled a little. "Don't think about it, ok? You've got two very cute little girls that need you right now. But if you need anything, you can always come to us."
"Ok, guys, are you going to come eat or do I need to take all this food out to the reporters? This place isn't a restaurant, you know." The other Mrs. Jones looked at the newcomers for a moment before motioning them into the dining room. Olivia smiled slightly when she saw Kai and Shi helping Mi-ko. Miyo and the youngest princess, Tsuki, were right behind them. "We're going to have to add on another story if any more of your friends come to visit, Mrs. C."
Usagi smiled slightly as she followed the group of teenagers. "I know, Olivia-chan. But, except for Taiki-san and a few more kids, this should be it."
Nov. 22, 2009
Since learning that Usagi and her friends were involved in the tragedy at the White House, StarMaker had given up hope of trying to contact them. It wasn't until the following November that things relaxed enough on the base that she even began to wonder about her friends again. However, she had no way of contacting them since the new Commander didn't seem to know anything like the former one had. The ship had been picked over by her own people, as well as the engineers the military brought in and was little more than scrap metal now. The communications array was damaged by the crash and there was nothing compatible on Earth that she knew of.
They had been able to salvage the shuttles and some of the medical equipment. The beds from the crew quarters that were salvageable were moved into the makeshift housing that was set up for the aliens on base. So life had been relatively comfortable for the aliens and humans, at least until rumors started spreading that there had been another crash, somewhere in Africa. The aliens had only relaxed when they were assured that it had been nothing but space junk.
Captain Cristyne Knight walked out of the base Commander's office, grinning to herself. She practically ran to the area of the base where the aliens were being housed. She found StarMaker toying with some device she had never seen before and looking as if she wanted to throw it. "Hey, before you destroy that thing, I've got some good news for you."
"What? Is the base Commander wanting us to all move into one hangar, now?" StarMaker sighed as she set down the communicator she was working on, then looked over at Cristyne. "Gomen, it's just ... been a long day. You said you had good news?"
"Very. I got word just now that we have contacted your friends. One of them is coming out here to meet with you." Cristyne smiled as the redhead dropped what she was doing and hugged her.
StarMaker had a million questions running through her head, but the only one she could think clearly enough to ask was, "When?"
"The Commander said within the hour," Cristyne replied. Since the older kids were now allowed to go to the elementary school on base, she offered to watch Rsin during the meeting and even though they freaked her out, the triplets if the meeting ran long.
As she sat in the Commander's office an hour later, StarMaker couldn't help but feel extremely nervous. No one was sure exactly who was coming, but from what she had been able to learn about her former friends, it could be them, their kids, or someone else, who to her was a total stranger. She nearly jumped straight out of the chair when there was a knock on the door and a man in a suit that reminded her of the two FBI agents that had been here when she woke, walked into the room.
Martin Tiggs nodded to the base's Commander and looked over the redhead carefully for a moment. After seeming to decide something, he moved farther into the room and motioned for his companion to follow him. Setsuna walked into the room and immediately smiled when she saw StarMaker. "Long time, no see, Taiki-san."
StarMaker smiled at Setsuna and relaxed visibly. "I must admit, I certainly wasn't expecting it to be you, Meiou-san. But I am very glad to see you."
Martin glanced at his wife then motioned for the base Commander to follow him into the hallway. "I'm sure you've heard from the President regarding this matter. We should have everything out of your way in a couple of days and you guys can get back to your normal routine," he replied.
"This is our normal routine," the Commander replied, smirking. He leaned against the wall and motioned to the office where the two women were talking in rapid Japanese. "So, the feds are finally taking these guys off our hands, huh?"
"Not exactly," Martin replied. "One thing you must know, Commander ... this is a very sensitive situation. I know that since this was a research base that your men and women understand 'disgression', but they have to be even more careful about this."
"Don't worry, we got the whole 'First Contact' speech from the other feds that were here a few months ago. We know what we're doing," the Commander replied. "We're just glad that these guys can finally get out of here. They've been here nearly a year."
"A year!?" Setsuna looked at the redhead in shock and wondered why she, at the least, hadn't noticed anything. She had already told the other Senshi about Yaten's shuttle crashing and about his family. "We told Seiya-san and the others to be ready, just in case. Had to make sure we knew what we were dealing with first."
StarMaker nodded, glad that she would finally be back with her friends and family. "That is perfectly understandable. In fact, I'd be surprised if there wasn't one of the Fleet ships above us right now, trying to get a lock on the base."
"Oh, that reminds me, they're waiting for our signal," Setsuna pulled the communicator she had gotten from Seiya from her pocket and handed it to the redhead. "Seiya-san's got one of the smaller ships waiting in orbit for our signal. I think they'd rather hear it from you."
StarMaker took the device and smiled as she punched in a code on the keypad. After only a moment, it beeped and Seiya's voice came over the device. "Meiou-san?"
"Not exactly." StarMaker grinned at the green-haired woman as the voice on the other end of the communicator started rattling off several dozen questions in Kinmokunai. "Seiya-kun, relax. I'll answer all of your questions later. But right now you've got 750 refugees who are more than ready to get back to space."
"750? Ok, give me a few minutes, we're going to have to get a bigger ship. I wasn't expecting more than 2 or 300, at the most."
"Well, from what Meiou-san said, you also weren't expecting it to be me." StarMaker grinned when the darker-haired man called her by a childhood nickname and then asked to speak to Setsuna.
The green-haired woman smiled as she took the communicator back. She talked with Seiya for several moments before shutting off the device. "We don't have a lot of time to get you and your friends out of here. You may or may not have heard, but there have been problems with us and the media. If they followed us and they see the ship ..."
"Don't worry so much, Meiou-san, they won't see the ship. And even if they do, I'm sure our military friends here will make sure that no one else does." StarMaker smiled at the other woman before leading her out into the hallway. She noticed Martin standing by himself in the hall, the guards that had been there when she came in and the Commander were nowhere to be found. "Where did everybody go?"
"All personnel are to be cleared from the base before the ship can land. The fewer people that know you have friends on Earth, the better," Martin replied. "So, how long before Seiya gets here with the ship?"
Setsuna explained to Martin that Seiya had been planning on rescuing a smaller number of people and was having to find a bigger ship. "So, he's supposed to contact us when he's ready."
"I hope it's soon. I still have to tell the others that we're finally getting out of here." StarMaker glanced around the hallways for any sign of humans, then allowed herself to shift back into her 'normal' male form. He glanced at a very surprised Martin and grinned. "It's good to finally be able to relax. I take it Seiya and Yaten didn't tell you about this little fact?"
Martin shook his head, then glared at Setsuna when she giggled. "I just hope that none of your other friends have secrets like that. I don't think their kids could handle it."
"Trust me, it's a totally alien thing." Setsuna hooked her arms through one each of the others then glanced at Taiki. "So, let's go find your friends and tell them to start packing."
Earth Date: November 24, 2009
Journal of His Lordship, Prince Kageshirou, Commander in the Imperial Fleet, Captain of the Av'Nai
"Report of a blip on the radar this morning. Further investigation revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but we have marked it down in the ship's logs and left a tracer in our wake. It will report to us any ship, or piece of space junk that passes and if we have need to worry, I will personally launch an investigation.
"On a happier note, I received word yesterday that Dema's ship has reached Earth long before us. From what Lord Seiya said in his message, it appears that because of the last missile exploding at the edge of the portal, Dema's ship was accelerated through. He reached Earth nearly a year ago and has been there ever since.
"Which leads me to wonder, what IS that thing behind us? If it's not Dema's ship, then ... who could it be? Our tactical officer, Noi, thinks that it may be debris left over from a battle that simply got pulled in after us. But that would be nearly impossible. It would have had to have been in orbit around the second moon, but there's never been anything there. Dema said that it was impossible for anything to live on that moon, even long before Galaxia's attack. Personally, I think Noi has been listening to too many space tales.
"The situation will be monitored and dealt with when it is appropriate. Since Dema is on Earth, I will assign another ship to stand guard here. We will reach Earth and the Main Fleet in about seven days. I have been informed by Lady StarFighter that the civilians on board the Av'Nai will be welcome on Earth, but it will take time to coordinate everything. I will remain with the ship and the Fleet until I am satisfied that we are not in danger, then be joining my family on Earth. My Second, Tavek, will be assuming command upon my departure.
"Ship's Journal, close," Kageshirou stared at the computer screen for several moments before opening one of the desk's drawers and pulling out a leather-bound book. It was one of the habits Taiki had instilled in him, to write out his personal journals, rather than having the computer record them.
Personal Journal of Touji Dai
I don't know why I still do this. We're far away from enemy hands. But this journal, under my 'other' name and in Dema's second tongue, is one of the few things of home that I just can't let go of. Perhaps one day, when Kinmoku is free, I'll no longer need to bare my soul to pages bound in leather.
I spoke to Tavek this morning. He has agreed to stay with the ship for the time being. I don't like leaving him up here, but my place is by my sister and my mother. If they choose to make Earth their new home, then Tavek will be joining me. However ... I do not foresee us staying very long on this planet. Once we have convinced these warriors Dema spoke of, to help us, we WILL be returning to Kinmoku ... won't we?
