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Inside the Vexan ship
"So, we're going into Stasis and the civilians are heading for the planet?"
The Commander nodded. She, the doctor and the Imperials were all gathered in the Stasis Chamber. She looked at the man that had spoken, an older Imperial Duke that seemed rather displeased with the whole idea. "Yes. As I explained to the Princess, we can not maintain this orbit and we would not survive on the Moon itself, even with the RGF. As for why they are leaving ..." She sighed as she realized she could afford more than just a little truth here. "Odds are they will never make it to the planet. I'm sure the Hrrrrunai ships will spot their launch and destroy them before they can reach the surface."
Mahret paused in her work and looked over at the Commander. "We should be ready in just a few minutes, Commander." She knew the dangers, as did any career spacer, but for the Commander to admit it to the Imperials was shocking.
The Duke nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. The other Imperials were all preparing to go into stasis and now that he believed that the Commander valued their survival above that of the common civilians', he followed suit.
Mex sighed, leaning against the chamber behind her. "Once we go into stasis, I want you to shut down the ship. The engines are already programmed not to come on until they reach a pre-determined altitude and then to simply slow our descent. But I'm going to need for you to shut down power to the rest of the ship so that we have enough fuel for it to work."
Mahret nodded, coming over to check the Commander's injuries. "The good thing for you is that these should be healed by the time we are able to launch a rescue." She changed the dressing on the wounds and gave the Commander some of the remaining pain meds. "The meds may add to the vertigo, but stasis-sleep will take over before long. Just close your eyes and you'll be fine."
"It's not going into stasis that I'm worried about," the Commander replied. She glanced over at the Imperials and noticed that they were all distracted by their preparations. "It's the fact that we might not wake up the people we were that scares me."
"Those are only rumors, Commander. There is no substantial proof that anything like that ever happens." Mahret finished her examination and helped the Commander into the stasis pod. She checked that all of the Imperials were securely inside their own pods then reached for her communicator. "Noi, launch the escape pods."
"Mahret? What do you mean? We can't leave until you get here."
"Noi, launch the pods. There is no reason for me to accompany you. I will not survive the trip to the planet. I've already discussed this with the Commander." Mahret turned off the communicator, without waiting for a reply, then began shutting down the ship's systems. The ship jumped when the escape pods launched, driving it farther toward the moon's surface. After securing the ship, Mahret returned to the stasis chamber and activated the seventh pod. "Madness or not, I'd rather take my chances with you, old friend."
December 15, 2009
It had taken nearly a week for the Kinmoku Imperial Guard ship to reach the rest of the fleet near the inner solar system. In that time, the crew had been able to establish a link with the disabled Vexan cruiser that now sat in it's hangar. Noi was helping the other technicians translate the data they had recovered while Kageshirou and the twins were helping convert the stasis pods to use the Kinmoku energy. So far, they had been able to get the ship to share the Av'Nai's fuel, keeping the pods from shutting down completely.
"Now be very careful ... we don't know how these things are going to react to having full energy flow again." Kageshirou hooked up the last cable to the power grid and stared at the ice-covered pod. Since they had no way of knowing whether or not their experiment would work, the pods had been left inside the Vexan cruiser until now. They had all agreed that it was safer to use one of the unoccupied pods, rather than risk killing the Imperial Family.
"It's not doing anything," Shi replied. She was glancing between the pod and the data pad in her hand. "I'm not even reading that it's getting power at all."
Miyo sighed, checking the connections for the thousandth time. "Maybe this one's a dud. Or there's something we're missing." She glanced over the notes she had gotten from Noi again and frowned. "Are you sure he said that the little gold button was the main switch?"
"You're the one that wrote it all down, don't ask me." Shi reached to press the button again and hit a switch that had been uncovered by the melting ice. The stasis pod came to life, lights on the inside and outside glowing a soft blue and small vents inside the unit opening to pump in a strange orange mist. "Um ... is it supposed to be doing that?"
Both her sister and her 'cousin' shrugged and moved away from the pod. After several moments when nothing else seemed to change, the blonde lightly touched the lid. Sensing life, the lid opened and the orange mist dissipated. Kageshirou stepped forward and motioned her back. "Shi, wait ... we don't know how these things would react to a non-Vexan. It could kill you."
"Remember, they were at war with the Hrrrrunai when this would have last been in use." Miyo sneezed slightly when some of the orange mist came floating by her. She looked up at her sister then felt her head start pounding. "Ah, what is that stuff?"
Shi looked from Miyo to Kageshirou, both he and herself had gotten much stronger doses of the orange mist, but neither had been affected at all. "Miyo? Are you okay?"
Miyo nodded slowly. "Yeah, I've just ... my head's hurting for some reason. It's like ... like when you and Mi-ko start arguing around me."
Kageshirou frowned, pulling the power cable on the stasis pod. He never quite understood the bond the three girls had, but knew that there was much more to them than they had ever told anyone. He had witnessed more than one argument between Mi-ko and Shi and knew firsthand that things got rather ... heated between them, literally. He wasn't sure what any of the three girls' powers were, but he would bet his entire ship that at least one of them could control fire. "Shi, take her to the med-deck. I don't want her back here until the doctor says she's ok."
Shi nodded and escorted her sister out of the cargo area. They had gone barely ten feet when the brunette stopped in the hallway and looked back. "What is it, Miyo?" The other girl ignored her and instead, began walking back to the hangar. Shi tried to stop her, but the brunette seemed determined. "Miyo? .... Neph? ... Nephrite!?"
Miyo shook her head and turned to look at her sister. "Hmmm? Did you want something, Shi?" She looked around the hallway for a moment before looking back at her sister. "What are we doing out here? I thought we were supposed to be helping Shirou."
"We were ... until you said the orange stuff gave you a headache." Shi took her sister's arm and started back toward the med-deck. "Come on, we're definitely getting you checked out now."
"I honestly don't remember any 'orange stuff' or saying that I had a headache. The last thing I remember clearly was Shi finding the hidden switch and turning the pod on." Miyo sighed as she watched the doctor read over her charts for the tenth time, with Kageshirou hanging over his shoulder.
Kageshirou had spent enough time in the med-deck to understand most of the scribbles on the doctor's notes, even though he had had no formal medical training. "Well, Doc? Should I send her back to the planet, or let her finish helping us with the pods?"
The doctor, a full-blooded Kinmokunai and the oldest member of Kag's crew, sighed as he looked over his notes. "There is no medical reason for her to not be able to return to work," he replied. He noticed the relieved looks on all three teenager's faces and frowned. "However ... since the three of you have been working non-stop on that thing since you found it, I want you all to take tomorrow off and sleep."
"But that will mean that we'll have to wait another day to get the power hooked up. The pods could stop working by then." Shi frowned at the older man. No one quite seemed to understand the driving force behind her and Miyo's desire to help with this project.
"If I understand the Commander's report correctly, all of the pods have more than enough energy to last for at least another week. Besides, there ARE other crew members working to get this problem solved." The doctor fixed each one of them with his best 'because-I'm-the-doctor' look and sighed again. "Don't make me make this an order. None of your parents will be pleased with that."
All three visibly slumped against the exam table. "Well, looks like we get some down-time whether we want it or not," Kageshirou replied. He thanked the doctor then escorted the girls toward their quarters. "So ... I haven't had the chance to ask you girls, how are you liking Earth?"
Miyo frowned a little and glanced at her sister. The blonde had so far managed to get into trouble at school at least once a week, sometimes even every day. "It's ... ok. It's not home, by any means, but we don't really have much of a choice. Rei seems to be adjusting better than anyone, but that could be because of all the little kids around. The humans are quite interested to meet you, though. Seems they have quite a thing for 'Princes'," the brunette replied. She glanced over her shoulder at her twin and noticed that the blonde seemed lost in thought.
Kageshirou followed the brunette's gaze and smiled a little. "We didn't hit any more pockets of orange mist, did we? Call me if she starts freaking out." He winked at Miyo as he left the twins at their quarters and walked on to his own. Once inside, he slumped against the door. "Computer, remind me never to have kids and if I do ... pray to whatever gods are listening that they're not like Miyo and Shi."
"Acknowledged."
December 17, 2009
"Everything is in order, Commander. Ready to begin when you are."
Kageshirou nodded and transformed into Sailor (Chibi) StarMaker. She glanced over at her cousins and nodded. They had also transformed into their alter-egos (though StarMaker didn't know the names of these other selves). "Noi, status of the translators."
"Ready when you are, Commander." Noi, being the only partial Vexan on the ship, was standing just a few feet from the pod, prepared to do his best to calm the sleeping woman inside. They had chosen the only one of the seven occupied pods that held what appeared to be a civilian. Noi said her clothes reminded him of his own great-grand-father's medical attire.
StarMaker sighed and motioned for the ensign that had been helping them to open the pod. In the time the three warriors had been resting, Noi and the ensign had been able to accurately determine the sequence for waking the sleepers, or for putting them back into stasis, if needed. For their safety, as well as that of the entire crew, the pods were now being held inside of an energy field. It was still unclear what had happened to Miyo, but no one wanted a repeat performance.
The ensign punched the correct sequence of buttons and watched as the lights inside the pod began glowing a soft blue. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as the pod hissed, emptying whatever gases it had contained into the energy field, and the lid began slowly moving.
"Is she alive?" Shi asked, stepping cautiously closer. She waited for the filters to clean the gases from the air before stepping closer and looking into the pod. What greeted her scared her more than she would ever admit. A woman, with long, blood-red hair and yellow-orange eyes, was staring back at her. "B-Beryl ...."
Miyo was at her sister's side in an instant. The sudden movement, or rather, lack there of in the girl's arrival, startled the woman in the pod. If anyone saw the woman stand, they failed to see it quick enough to stop her from grabbing Miyo by the throat. The brunette was caught off-guard, not only by the attack from what they had all assumed was most likely a dead body, but also by the sudden influx of another being's memories into her mind.
"Miyo!" Reacting on pure instinct, Shi struck the woman, sending her flying away from her twin. The resounding crunch when the other woman landed was little to console the blonde as Miyo went rigid in her arms. "Miyo! Kageshirou, do something!?"
StarMaker jerked herself out of the temporary paralysis she had been in and began barking orders. In moments, med teams were on their way. "Shi, should I ... should I contact Uncle Seiya?"
The blonde nodded, forcing back her tears. Her twin was the only one that had ever seen her cry, even when they lost their younger brother. "Y-Yes. Get whoever you have to, just fix this!"
"S-Shi..."
Shi looked down at Miyo and smiled a little. "Miyo, are you ok?"
StarMaker changed back into her male form and knelt beside the two girls. "It's ok, Miyo, just lay still. The Med teams should be here soon." He reached down to place a comforting hand on his cousin's shoulder and that was the last thing he remembered.
"And what happened after my son passed out?" Kakyuu looked around the ship's cargo hold, trying to imagine the scene as the crewman described it to her.
"Well, apparently, he had already managed to get the message to Lord Seiya, because no sooner had Lord Kageshirou collapsed than Lord Seiya, or rather, Lady StarFighter, appeared just a few feet away. She immediately ran to the twins, grabbing both of them." Tavek, Kageshirou's second in command, sighed as he tried to soothe his aching head. "I'm not entirely sure what happened next, it was all so fast, but ... it seemed that at the very instant Lady StarFighter touched Lady Miyo, some kind of ... I can only describe it as a backlash, ripped through the whole ship. The entire crew was knocked unconscious."
Kakyuu frowned. "And that is when the ship itself called for help? It would seem that my son's 'Dead Man Switch' has actually paid off. If the ship hadn't shut down it's engines and called for help, it could possibly have crashed into the Earth's moon." The ousted Princess examined the stasis pod for a moment then turned back to the younger alien. "What is the status of my son and the others? Any change yet?"
Tavek grabbed a communicator and moments later, nodded at the Princess. "Lady Seiya and Lord Kageshirou have both recovered, but the twins are both still unconscious."
"And the mad-woman that attacked Miyo?"
"Still in recovery. Lady Shi caused a lot of damage to the woman's internal organs when she struck her. We're still trying to figure out how she did that, there was no sign of a magical attack." Tavek rubbed his forehead again, frowning. "Princess, there's .. the woman, she was ... she lost the child she had been carrying."
Kakyuu stiffened at the mention of a child. "Never tell that to Shi. Defending one's twin is one thing, killing an unborn innocent is something I doubt even she could live with." She took one last look around the cargo hold then headed in the direction of the med-deck.
"What were you thinking? Opening those pods with absolutely no one around to help you!?" Seiya had barely recovered enough to stand, but she was already doing her best to stare down the taller Prince.
Kageshirou sighed, internally yelling the same things his aunt currently was. "I was trying to do what I thought was best. By opening the pods in space, I was trying to reduce the number of possible casualties."
Seiya glared at the younger guard. "Yeah, to just my daughters."
"And my ENTIRE crew!" Kageshirou forced himself to stand even though Taiki and the medical staff were trying to push him back to the bed.
"You're the one that put them there!"
"Stop blaming my son for this!" Taiki rounded on his long-time friend, doing everything he could think of to keep from hitting her. Shortly after Seiya had teleported up to the ship, he and Yaten had followed. They were late enough to avoid getting caught in the backlash, but early enough to save the Vexan woman's life. What they found seemed to have come from a horror story. The ship was disabled and sending out a distress call. The entire crew unconscious from some unknown cause and Seiya and Shi both with burns all along their bodies.
Seiya glared at the two redheads. "Well, it IS all his fault. If he had just left well enough alone, then Miyo and Shi wouldn't be lying in a comatose state in the next room!"
"He was just doing what any one of us would have done in his place," Yaten replied. "You can't blame him for this."
"Don't you start taking his side, too."
"I'm not taking sides, I'm just pointing out that he did his duty as both a Commander of the Fleet AND as Protector to the Princess." Yaten sighed as she forced the black-haired woman to one of the beds and began checking her bandages. "No one could have known that Miyo would react that way. Even the doctor said she was physically unharmed, unlike you and Shi."
"Physically unharmed? Yaten, my girls are the daughters of a TELEPATH! Physical harm is not my major concern here!" Seiya pulled her arm free from the other's grasp and stalked over to where Kageshirou sat on one of the med-beds. "For all we know, they may never wake up and it's all HIS fault for taking them into space in the first place!"
"Kakyuu-hime was the one that ordered the girls to go!" Taiki replied as the red-haired Princess walked into the room, followed by Tavek. He saw her immediately go to the doctor, knowing that she absolutely could not get involved, but the Royal Guard was relieved when Tavek placed himself between Seiya and his son. "Are you going to start yelling at her now, too!?"
"Stop." None of the adults seemed to notice Shi open the door between the two rooms in the med-deck. She glanced up as Mi-ko, finally walking on her own, came to stand beside her. The blonde allowed a sad smile to cross her face for a moment. She knew the gray-haired girl would have sensed something wrong and found her own way on to the ship if her father refused to bring her.
"She ordered them to go and investigate what was out there, not revive some 700-year old mad woman! If he," here Seiya pointed an accusatory finger at Kageshirou, "had just left the ship in his holds this would never have happened!"
"You didn't see the looks on Miyo and Shi's faces when I told them no. They were the ones that wanted to revive them before we reached Earth. They were the ones that wanted to work all night every night doing everything they could to save these people. THEY were the ones that chose that particular woman in the first place!" Kageshirou pushed past his second and the older redhead to stand face to face with his aunt. Even though he was years younger than she was, he was a few inches taller. He now used that height to try and intimidate the older woman, knowing all along that it would never work.
Seiya glared at the young man. "Are you trying to blame this all on my daughters, now? The very same girls that are lying not ten feet from here, unconscious as a result of YOUR incompetence?!"
"STOP IT!!" The entire room turned to face Shi as the temperature in the med-deck suddenly spiked.
Yaten started toward the blonde. "Shi-chan, you're awake-"
Shi glared at the older woman. "All of you, just stop. You have no reason to be bickering among yourselves like a bunch of little kids. You're supposed to be the adults here. My sister may be unconscious, but she can still hear you. Miyo does not blame Kageshirou, nor do I," she added quickly, seeing Seiya begin to protest. "What happened today ... was my fault. The woman's appearance startled me and Miyo felt it. It was my fault Miyo teleported and startled her. And it was MY fault that Miyo got hurt. So, if you feel like blaming someone, go right ahead and blame me. It wouldn't be the first time."
Mi-ko quickly followed her cousin into the next room and barely made it through the door before the blonde slammed it shut. Being used to the other girl's powers, she barely noticed the near-freezing temperature of the room. "Shi ... Zoi ..." Mi-ko nearly lost her balance when the blonde threw herself into the younger girl's arms.
"Why, Mi-ko? Why did she have to look like Beryl?" Shi started crying and barely noticed when the other girl led her over to the bed, forcing her to sit beside her twin.
Mi-ko simply held onto the blonde. When she saw the face of the woman they had revived from the stasis pod, she too, had wanted to do nothing but run and hide. It was the face of their collective greatest nightmare, come to life. "That's all it is, Z ... she just looks like her. It's not her. It can't be her ... Beryl's been dead for a long time ... it can't be her." Even as she tried her best to console the blonde, Mi-ko felt her own doubts crawling to the surface of her mind. Could the woman from the stasis pod really be Beryl?
