-7-
Usagi woke with a start, Pluto's last words reverberating in her ears. Adrenaline
surged through her as Pluto's urgency, coming so soon after the enforced lassitude of her dreams, drove her to her feet and into a whirlwind of activity
that unfortunately did very little. Packing and then unpacking then repacking a single satchel of clothing, Usagi dithered as to what to do. Seeking to calm
herself, she wrote down a quick note to her parents.
"To their Divine Majesties, Serenity and Endymion, celestial rulers of the Holy
Empire of Humanity, lords of all creation, beloved of heaven, et cetera, greetings," it began, "I have been sent on a singular mission of universal
importance by the unseen, silent one, the daughter of Chronos, Dis Mater. Unfortunately I have been informed by her that neither of your Majesties nor the
guardian deities should assist me. Further, the importance of this mission was such that I have only time enough to write this brief missive. Please accept my
apologies. I am now on my way to Nemesis, that planet which once made blasphemous war against your rightful supreme dominion. Where I am to go from there is
unknown, as is my time of return.
"It is my fondest wish that I shall be able to return to your empyrean realm
anon.
"From her highness, Serenity, Crown Princess of the Holy Empire of Humanity, Heir
to the Iron Throne of Crystal Tokyo, Princess of the Moon, Duchess of Asia and Marchioness of the Asteroid Belt of the Solar System.
"Post-Script: Please keep Mamoru out of my room as he is horrible."
Enclosing the letter in an envelope and sealing it, she left it on her table above her
unfinished papers and stopped. What to do next, what to do next. Suddenly, inspiration struck, followed by a knuckle to her skull. Idiot that she was, she had
forgotten two of the most important things she would need. Usagi closed her eyes and searched her soul. Light flowed between her hands and her chest, forming a
ball of light that condensed quickly into a golden brooch inscribed with a crescent moon within a heart. This was the fetish of her identity, the outward and
physical manifestation of the sacrifice of self to self that empowered her and recast her into her war aspect. If she were to look within, she would find it
empty except for a silver glow that shifted into a rose red, pregnant with promise.
Nodding with satisfaction, glad that she hadn't forgotten how to do that, Usagi
hooked her brooch onto her shirt. She then called up the second thing she had thought of. "Luna-P, come!"
From the depths of her closet there was a terrible crash, as something barreled its way
out from behind piles of dresses, shoes and boxes of forgotten knick-knacks. A black blur zoomed towards Usagi and then suddenly stopped, hovering inches away
from her face. It was a black sphere, about the size of a basketball and shaped like a cat's head, complete with triangle ears on top and a golden crescent
moon on its forehead. This was Luna-P, a device capable of transforming into nearly anything, from an umbrella that could rewrite memories to a house and
anything in between. She had had it with her on previous adventures, particularly when she was very young, but for the last few years had kept it inside her
closet. A rush of fondness and nostalgia filled Usagi as she looked at her old friend.
"Luna-P, follow," she commanded, even as she made her way out of her room,
Luna-P trailing behind her, hovering silently. Taking a quick peak into the hallway, Usagi found it empty. Quietly walking on her tip-toes, she walked down the
hall and up three flights of stairs. Stopping and massaging her feet, Usagi decided that going en pointe all that way was a really bad idea. Walking, or rather
hobbling, up more stairs, she finally made it to the royal transport terminal.
The terminal was quite small, as it was purely for the personal use of the royal family.
Only about a square mile, it held the many vehicles that they used on a daily basis. Replicas of ancient vehicles, chariots, helicopters, things of that
nature, stood next to more modern means of transport. As speed was the essence, she decided to take the fastest space-capable ship there was in the hangar: a
Swan. It took only a minute or so for the terminal director to bring the Swan over to her, driven by one of the orange-clad servants that worked to maintain
the vehicles.
The Swan was one of the newest model space vehicles, made just in the last year. Shaped
similarly to its avian namesake, if stylized, the Swan was an iridescent pearl white, reflecting even the slightest bit of light with a cocky glint. Its long,
red-tipped wings were kept folded in the atmosphere but came free in the vacuum of space. There was room for only three people, if that, in the Swan. Its small
interior space meant that, despite the speeds it could attain it was pushing it to go interplanetary, let alone interstellar as there was little room for
provender. As the bubble shimmered into place, sealing her in, Usagi settled for a moment, twiddling with the controls and settings until she had it to her
satisfaction. Submitting a flight plan and a request for a launch window, both of which were approved summarily, Usagi launched out of the Crystal Palace with
a jaunty wave to the terminal director.
The Swan was new, it was fast, it was magic, but that didn't mean that it was
perfect. It handled like an iron brick in the atmosphere, despite the only demands put on it were to go near-on straight up. The wind outside swirled and
screamed at her, and the pressure of her speed was painful. Yet the Swan soon adjusted, especially once they left behind the gravity well of the planet. Its
wings unfurled, spreading wide. Usagi wasn't sure what the wings actually did but they sure looked nice. Switching over to autopilot, she settled back into
her seat. It would take a few hours to get to Nemesis, which was time enough to take a much needed, uneventful nap.
Changing the interiors so that the seats reconfigured into a bed, Usagi lay against the
newly produced pillow and closed her eyes. This time she dreamt of nothing in particular.
-8-
Hours later, Usagi woke to the sound of beeping; someone from Nemesis was calling her.
Rubbing her face and looking in a mirror with distaste, she woke herself up as properly as she could and readjusted her bed back into seats before
answering.
"H-hello?" she said, trying to talk through a very dry throat and acidic
mouth.
"This is Nemesis Orbital Traffic to incoming Swan, please identify," said a
melodious voice that still managed to sound officious.
"Ah, this is Vehicle Registry . . . ." And here Usagi glanced quickly at the
dash of the Swan, looking for its ID. "Delta nine one seven three nine one three mu; request permission for landing as soon as possible."
"Okay, Delta nine one seven three nine one three mu," said the same voice.
"I see you're registered under the Royal family. Do you request honors?"
"No, no, goodness no," said Usagi hastily. It was her right, and occasional
burden, to have parades and fanfare and local leaders come give her honors whenever she left Earth. People seemed to genuinely enjoy it, if only because it
made for a good excuse for a street party, but having to spend hours with a smile plastered on her face and her neck aching from all the regally superior nods
that she had to give were almost enough to make her regret her status. It would be doubly disastrous here, as she needed to move with speed and freedom on
Nemesis, not be hampered by diplomacy and fanfare.
"Very well, Delta Nine One." The melodious voice paused for a moment, and then
said, "I have a descent window opening up in five minutes over Mohs City."
"Thank you, Nemesis Orbital," said Usagi, seeing the specific data come up on
her dashboard.
"Good day, Delta Nine One."
As she approached Nemesis, she appreciated it anew. The picture that Pluto had shown was
accurate, in its way. It was indeed an irregular rock, much like an asteroid. Yet its size was greater than that of any other object outside of Neptune's
orbit. Its own orbit took it from into the range of Pluto and then deep into the Oort cloud. Long before, when it had been used as the planet of exile, it had
been nearly impossible to track save for set times when its orbit took it closer, relatively, to Earth. Then, with the rise of the Black Moon Clan, it had
disappeared completely, under the dark power of the malevolent being that lived deep within it and permeated it. Now, with the defeat of the Wiseman, it was
possible to find it much like any other planet. The electric lines of its cities glowed like cold fire across the face of the planet, making it magical and
mysterious as well as welcoming.
As Usagi took her Swan closer, the details of Mohs City,
the capital of Nemesis, became clearer. The architecture of Mohs was very traditional Nemesis, given over to smooth skyscrapers that would have seemed almost
organic if not for their cruciform shapes. When not jutting into the air, the buildings were low and fluting. It all made it seem as if the entire city had
been made from one giant piece of blown glass and then lit by fireflies, laid out on grids of similarly glowing giant panes of glass. However, breaking this
were grasslands and forests, vibrant and living even in the night light, that were spreading outward from the city's center. Instead of marveling at this,
however, Usagi drafted a message to an old friend and sent it, before taking manual control of her ship and bringing it safely down to cruising
height.
The first step of her quest had begun.
Usagi woke with a start, Pluto's last words reverberating in her ears. Adrenaline
surged through her as Pluto's urgency, coming so soon after the enforced lassitude of her dreams, drove her to her feet and into a whirlwind of activity
that unfortunately did very little. Packing and then unpacking then repacking a single satchel of clothing, Usagi dithered as to what to do. Seeking to calm
herself, she wrote down a quick note to her parents.
"To their Divine Majesties, Serenity and Endymion, celestial rulers of the Holy
Empire of Humanity, lords of all creation, beloved of heaven, et cetera, greetings," it began, "I have been sent on a singular mission of universal
importance by the unseen, silent one, the daughter of Chronos, Dis Mater. Unfortunately I have been informed by her that neither of your Majesties nor the
guardian deities should assist me. Further, the importance of this mission was such that I have only time enough to write this brief missive. Please accept my
apologies. I am now on my way to Nemesis, that planet which once made blasphemous war against your rightful supreme dominion. Where I am to go from there is
unknown, as is my time of return.
"It is my fondest wish that I shall be able to return to your empyrean realm
anon.
"From her highness, Serenity, Crown Princess of the Holy Empire of Humanity, Heir
to the Iron Throne of Crystal Tokyo, Princess of the Moon, Duchess of Asia and Marchioness of the Asteroid Belt of the Solar System.
"Post-Script: Please keep Mamoru out of my room as he is horrible."
Enclosing the letter in an envelope and sealing it, she left it on her table above her
unfinished papers and stopped. What to do next, what to do next. Suddenly, inspiration struck, followed by a knuckle to her skull. Idiot that she was, she had
forgotten two of the most important things she would need. Usagi closed her eyes and searched her soul. Light flowed between her hands and her chest, forming a
ball of light that condensed quickly into a golden brooch inscribed with a crescent moon within a heart. This was the fetish of her identity, the outward and
physical manifestation of the sacrifice of self to self that empowered her and recast her into her war aspect. If she were to look within, she would find it
empty except for a silver glow that shifted into a rose red, pregnant with promise.
Nodding with satisfaction, glad that she hadn't forgotten how to do that, Usagi
hooked her brooch onto her shirt. She then called up the second thing she had thought of. "Luna-P, come!"
From the depths of her closet there was a terrible crash, as something barreled its way
out from behind piles of dresses, shoes and boxes of forgotten knick-knacks. A black blur zoomed towards Usagi and then suddenly stopped, hovering inches away
from her face. It was a black sphere, about the size of a basketball and shaped like a cat's head, complete with triangle ears on top and a golden crescent
moon on its forehead. This was Luna-P, a device capable of transforming into nearly anything, from an umbrella that could rewrite memories to a house and
anything in between. She had had it with her on previous adventures, particularly when she was very young, but for the last few years had kept it inside her
closet. A rush of fondness and nostalgia filled Usagi as she looked at her old friend.
"Luna-P, follow," she commanded, even as she made her way out of her room,
Luna-P trailing behind her, hovering silently. Taking a quick peak into the hallway, Usagi found it empty. Quietly walking on her tip-toes, she walked down the
hall and up three flights of stairs. Stopping and massaging her feet, Usagi decided that going en pointe all that way was a really bad idea. Walking, or rather
hobbling, up more stairs, she finally made it to the royal transport terminal.
The terminal was quite small, as it was purely for the personal use of the royal family.
Only about a square mile, it held the many vehicles that they used on a daily basis. Replicas of ancient vehicles, chariots, helicopters, things of that
nature, stood next to more modern means of transport. As speed was the essence, she decided to take the fastest space-capable ship there was in the hangar: a
Swan. It took only a minute or so for the terminal director to bring the Swan over to her, driven by one of the orange-clad servants that worked to maintain
the vehicles.
The Swan was one of the newest model space vehicles, made just in the last year. Shaped
similarly to its avian namesake, if stylized, the Swan was an iridescent pearl white, reflecting even the slightest bit of light with a cocky glint. Its long,
red-tipped wings were kept folded in the atmosphere but came free in the vacuum of space. There was room for only three people, if that, in the Swan. Its small
interior space meant that, despite the speeds it could attain it was pushing it to go interplanetary, let alone interstellar as there was little room for
provender. As the bubble shimmered into place, sealing her in, Usagi settled for a moment, twiddling with the controls and settings until she had it to her
satisfaction. Submitting a flight plan and a request for a launch window, both of which were approved summarily, Usagi launched out of the Crystal Palace with
a jaunty wave to the terminal director.
The Swan was new, it was fast, it was magic, but that didn't mean that it was
perfect. It handled like an iron brick in the atmosphere, despite the only demands put on it were to go near-on straight up. The wind outside swirled and
screamed at her, and the pressure of her speed was painful. Yet the Swan soon adjusted, especially once they left behind the gravity well of the planet. Its
wings unfurled, spreading wide. Usagi wasn't sure what the wings actually did but they sure looked nice. Switching over to autopilot, she settled back into
her seat. It would take a few hours to get to Nemesis, which was time enough to take a much needed, uneventful nap.
Changing the interiors so that the seats reconfigured into a bed, Usagi lay against the
newly produced pillow and closed her eyes. This time she dreamt of nothing in particular.
-8-
Hours later, Usagi woke to the sound of beeping; someone from Nemesis was calling her.
Rubbing her face and looking in a mirror with distaste, she woke herself up as properly as she could and readjusted her bed back into seats before
answering.
"H-hello?" she said, trying to talk through a very dry throat and acidic
mouth.
"This is Nemesis Orbital Traffic to incoming Swan, please identify," said a
melodious voice that still managed to sound officious.
"Ah, this is Vehicle Registry . . . ." And here Usagi glanced quickly at the
dash of the Swan, looking for its ID. "Delta nine one seven three nine one three mu; request permission for landing as soon as possible."
"Okay, Delta nine one seven three nine one three mu," said the same voice.
"I see you're registered under the Royal family. Do you request honors?"
"No, no, goodness no," said Usagi hastily. It was her right, and occasional
burden, to have parades and fanfare and local leaders come give her honors whenever she left Earth. People seemed to genuinely enjoy it, if only because it
made for a good excuse for a street party, but having to spend hours with a smile plastered on her face and her neck aching from all the regally superior nods
that she had to give were almost enough to make her regret her status. It would be doubly disastrous here, as she needed to move with speed and freedom on
Nemesis, not be hampered by diplomacy and fanfare.
"Very well, Delta Nine One." The melodious voice paused for a moment, and then
said, "I have a descent window opening up in five minutes over Mohs City."
"Thank you, Nemesis Orbital," said Usagi, seeing the specific data come up on
her dashboard.
"Good day, Delta Nine One."
As she approached Nemesis, she appreciated it anew. The picture that Pluto had shown was
accurate, in its way. It was indeed an irregular rock, much like an asteroid. Yet its size was greater than that of any other object outside of Neptune's
orbit. Its own orbit took it from into the range of Pluto and then deep into the Oort cloud. Long before, when it had been used as the planet of exile, it had
been nearly impossible to track save for set times when its orbit took it closer, relatively, to Earth. Then, with the rise of the Black Moon Clan, it had
disappeared completely, under the dark power of the malevolent being that lived deep within it and permeated it. Now, with the defeat of the Wiseman, it was
possible to find it much like any other planet. The electric lines of its cities glowed like cold fire across the face of the planet, making it magical and
mysterious as well as welcoming.
As Usagi took her Swan closer, the details of Mohs City,
the capital of Nemesis, became clearer. The architecture of Mohs was very traditional Nemesis, given over to smooth skyscrapers that would have seemed almost
organic if not for their cruciform shapes. When not jutting into the air, the buildings were low and fluting. It all made it seem as if the entire city had
been made from one giant piece of blown glass and then lit by fireflies, laid out on grids of similarly glowing giant panes of glass. However, breaking this
were grasslands and forests, vibrant and living even in the night light, that were spreading outward from the city's center. Instead of marveling at this,
however, Usagi drafted a message to an old friend and sent it, before taking manual control of her ship and bringing it safely down to cruising
height.
The first step of her quest had begun.