Lunar Andromeda

 

 

Fandom: Andromeda/Sailor Moon
Disclaimer: All Andromeda characters are copyrighted to Tribune Entertainment. The Sailor Moon concept belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.
Rating: NC-17
Archive: Anywhere, just give credit where credit is due
Feedback: Yes, please! Send all comments to purenightshade@gmail.com
Author’s Notes: There are some severe spoilers for the entire series, especially concerning the character of Trance Gemini. You’ve been warned. Also, I don’t plan on using Doyle, as she’s a character I know nothing about. I’m pretending she doesn’t exist.
Summary: After a brutal attack by the Magog on a planet belonging to the restored Commonwealth, Dylan Hunt decides to get rid of the Magog threat once and for all. Trance has a plan

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Episode 01: Awakening

Trance found Dylan sitting under on a chair in the observation deck looking out at the stars. His face was void of all expression. She couldn’t blame him. Whatever was in that private message from his superiors, it certainly wasn’t good. He hadn’t said anything since getting it, nor had he eaten.
She pulled a chair up beside his and just sat there for a while, glancing at him every so often. When it was clear to her that Dylan hadn’t noticed her, she cleared her throat. “Dylan? What’s wrong?”
Startled, he looked up. “I just got a message from Admiral Jaynes. He tells me that Arntzed, one of the Commonwealth’s member worlds, was attacked by the Magog yesterday.”
Trance winced. “How bad was it?”
“There were no survivors. If it hadn’t been for the cargo freighter scheduled to drop off a load of weapons there, it’s likely that no one would have known about it for weeks.” He slammed his fists into his legs and stood up, walking towards the window, leaning against it. “Something has to be done about them. I’m starting to think that the Nietzscheans were right about exterminating them rather than signing a peace treaty.”
“Do you have any orders?”
“I was only told to destroy them if we find them, but really, I’m not sure how sucessful we’ll be. No one knows where their World Ship is right now. For all we know, it could be anywhere.”
“To destroy the Magog, one needs to destroy their leader, the so-called ‘Spirit of the Abyss’,” Trance mused out loud.”
“We’ve hit their World Ship with nova bombs and they still keep coming back. I’m starting to think that nothing short of dropping them into a black hole will get rid of them.”
Trance sat silently, staring at Dylan’s back. A black hole huh? Not the most elegant solution, but it’ll do in a pinch.
“I should go inform the rest of the crew. We should head for Arntzed to see if we can pick up their trail.”
She watched him leave and then turned her gaze back to the window. I wonder…

The Andromeda Ascendant exited slipstream near Arntzed. If they hadn’t known that the Magog had been there, they wouldn’t have been able to tell. Everything looked normal.
“Andromeda, scan for any recent slipstream events,” Dylan ordered. “Beka, take the Maru down to the surface to see if you can find any evidence of where the Magog might have gone next, or even why they attacked this world in particular.”
Harper snorted. “Yeah right. Since when do the Magog need a reason to attack anyone?”
Rhade looked over at Harper and then at Dylan. “I agree with him on this. They just attack. No rhyme or reason for it.”
Dylan gritted his teeth. “Just do it, ok? I just want to get this over with.”
Beka looked at him. “Whatever you say, Captain. You want to come with?”
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to come with you, Beka,” Trance said, walking onto the bridge. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Should we take Rommie or Rhade with us as well, then?”
“That’s not necessary, but they can if they want.”
“I’ll go,” Rhade volunteered. “It’s better than sitting up here doing nothing.”
“Rommie?” Beka asked, looking over at the ship’s avatar.
“I think I’ll stay here, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Search completed, Dylan,” Andromeda piped up. “I’m only detecting one recent slipstream event, and that was us. The last one I can find corresponds with the cargo ship that was here yesterday.”
Dylan looked over at Beka, who threw her hands up in the air. “Alright, we’re going.”
“Keep an eye out, Andromeda,” Dylan told her as Trance, Beka, and Rhade left the bridge. “I don’t want any surprises.”

Beka landed the Eureka Maru in a large clearing near the edge of the planet’s capital city. The three crewmates got off and started to look around. Everywhere they looked, there were dead bodies, the remains of people that had either died trying to fight off the Magog or had been implanted with heir larvae. Rhade’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell. For once, Beka didn’t envy him his genetically enhanced Nietzschean nose. Even if she was the Nietzschean Matriarch, she didn’t share the genetic enhancemetns he did.
Trance wandered off into a building that looked ready to collapse. Rhade followed just in case. He found her crouching beside a table, holding a blue-furred creatre in her arms. Judging by how she was talking to it, she was fmailiar with it.
He crouched down beside her. “What is that?”
The blue thinturned its head to look at him. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to me as a thing. My name is Tsuki. Just because I look like a cat doesn’t mean that I don’t deserve the same courtesy and respect as any other sentient being.”
Rhade stared at her. “Tsuki? Trance, how…”
“Tsuki was my pet as a kid. I haven’t seen her in a long time,” she said, stroking the animal’s back. “I couldn’t take her with me on the Maru, so Ieft her on Ayn Rand station. I told her I’d come back for her, but I never got the chance.”
“And you weren’t worried about her?” Rhade asked, incredulously.
“Not really, no. She’s quite self-sufficient. She probably found someone else to take care of her, someone who understands what she is.”
“And what is she, exactly?”
“What does it look like?” Tsuki asked sarcastically. “A cat, of course.”
“Cats don’t talk,” Rhade informed her.
Tsuki yawned. “Well, it just so happens that I do. Besides, humans don’t have bone blades on their arms, but you do. You smell more or less human. Unless you happen to be part alien, who are you to judge?”
Rhade straightened up, offended. “I’m a Nietzschean, not a human.”
“Whatever.”
“Hey, Tsuki, you wouldn’t happen to know why the Magog attacked this planet, would you?”
“Asking a cat for help. That’s not going to help.”
“Quiet, Rhade,” Trance snapped. “You don’t understand.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. They were looking for me.”
Rhade rolled his eyes. “My, don’t we have a big ego?”
“They were looking for me because I know you and others like you. If they can destroy you and the others, then they’ll be more or less free to do as they please.”
“Aren’t you giving the Magog a lot of credit here?” Rhade asked. “They’re mindless killing machines.”
“Yes, but they do have a leader.”
“The Spirit of the Abyss,” Trance said slowly.
“Yes, him.”
“We’ve tried to get rid of him, but even nova bombs don’t seem to work.”
“This is why this Spirit wants to get rid of us. We can destroy him and his precious Magog.”
This caught Rhade’s interest. “Really?”
Before Tsuki could answer, Beka came running in. “We’ve got to go. Now! There’s a group of Magog headed this way!” Gesturing frantically, she ran back out again.
Trance jumped to her feet and ran out of the building with Rhade right behind her. They headed for the Maru as fast as they could go. Rhade, naturally, was faster then either of the two women. When they got to the ship, they found a group of Magog between them and safety. Rhade took out his force lance, but Trance put a hand on his arm.
“I’ll take care of this,” she said calmly. Tsuki jumped down out of her arms. “Find them something to hide behind. This could get ugly.”
“You don’t honestly expect me to hide, do you?” Rhde objeced.
“This isn’t something you can help with, Rhade, so just please. Go with Tsuki.”
Beka grabbed Rhade by the arm. “Come with me, or do I need to pull out the whole Matriarch thing to get you to listen?”
“No, Matriarch, of course not.”
Tsuki led them around the side of a building. “What’s she doing, anyways?” Beka asked the little cat.
“You know about her being a sun avatar, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Put in the simplest terms, well, what she’s doing is drawing on that power. There is a longer, more complicated explanation, but we don’t have time for that here.”
As they watched, the Magog approached Trance, surrounding her. She simply stood there, calmly, waiting. She easily dispatched the first one tht attacked her, throwing it to the ground. The leader of the group snarled at her.
“Prepare to die, abomiation!”
“I think not. Vedra Solar Power, Make Up!”
There was a flash of blinding light as Trance was completely engulfed in flames. When they cleared, there was Trance, but not Trance. It still looked like her, but she was wearing the strangest outfit. She had on a short pleated skirt, a white bodysuit, wrist length gloves with missing fingers, a scarf, ribbon, chocker, a pair of sandles that laced up to her knees, and a pair of ribbons trailing from the back of her skirt. On her forehead was a golden tiara with a white stone. Her colors were all in yellows and golds.
Rhade and Beka exchanged glances of confusion. Beka had been there when Trance had switched places with her future self back when they were trying to use he Tessaract machine to rid Harper of his Magog larvae, but this was weird beyond that.
“Meet Sailor Vedra,” Tsuki said proudly.
“What?” Beka asked.
“I’ll explain later.”
The Magog were just as shocked to see this transformation as Beka and Rhade. They stood around, unsure what to do, until their leader ordered them to attack. Trance, or, rather, Sailor Vedra, simply smiled.
“Vedra Solar Flare!” She swung her left arm outwards. An arc of flame followedthe path her arm traced. When the fire hit the Magog, they burst into flames, screaming. Three of the Magog managed to avoid the fire. Two grabbed her from behind while their leader attacked her.
“This will teach you for attacking us!” he snarled.
From where he was crouched behind the building, Rhade clenched his fists. “We have to help her!”
Tsuki walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. “There is a way for you to help her, Telemachus Rhade, but it will change you in ways I can’t begin to describe right now.”
“What kind of changes?”
“You will become like Trance.”
“An sun avatar?”
“Avatar isn’t the best word, but it’s one people around her understand, so it will do for now. As for sun, well, no. Planet, actually.”
“I thought avatars were born as they are,” Beka intruded.
“Thayare. The just don’t always realize what they are. In some cases, they need to be told, awakened to their potential. Can we save the discuissions about this for later? Vedra could die!”
Despite the unshakable feeling that he was going to regret this later, Rhade nodded. “Tell me what I need to know.”
Tsuki jumped up into the air, flipped around, and landed. In the air in front of Rhade’s face appeared a silver bracelet set with a single large piece of onyx. “Put that on your wrist – it doesn’ matter which one – and repeat after me: Terazed Planet Power, Make Up!”
Feeling very foolish, he clasped the bracel onto his left wrist and repeated Tsuki’s words. A bright reddish glow enveloped him. It was the most curious sensation, feeling like he was being changed on the inside. When the light cleared, he was dressed in a black suit jacket and pants with a white shirt, mask, and bowtie.
Beka chocked back a laugh. “My, don’t you look….”
“Can it Beka!” he snarled. “I feel foolish.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Tsuki told him. “You are Terazed Kamen, a warrior like Sailor Vedra. Now come on. We have to help Vedra!”
He got up and followed the cat out, wondering why he’d agreed to do this. “What do I do?”
“Do what your heart tells you,” was the reply.
“That’s not very helpful.”
The lead Magog stopped his attack on Vedra and looked at him. “What can we do for you, pretty boy?”
“Let her go.”
“Or you’ll do what?”
Rhade, Terazed Kamen, froze, his mind going blank. In that blankness, a voice spoke to him.
“I’m waiting.”
Terazed straightened up. “Or I’ll do something like this. Terazed Serious Laser!” A brilliant blue beam shot out of his hand and hit the Magog leader in the center of his forehead. The other two Magog let go of Vedra and turned to face Terazed. Figuring that it worked well enough the last time, he used the attack again, hitting both Magog. With them dead, he went to Vedra’s side.
“Trance? Are you alright?”
The young woman grapsed his outstreatched hand and pulled herself up. She was battered and bruised, but alive. “Thanks for your help, but I don’t recognize you. I thought I was the only avatar in this area.”
Terazed took off his mask. “Trance, it’s me. Rhade.”
Vedra did a double take. “Rhade? Well, this is unexpected. I didn’t think that you were one of us.”
Tsuki and Beka came out from behind the building. “He would have continued in his ignorance had this not happened,” Tsuki told her calmly.
“Why did you wake him, then?”
“You needed help and he was my onlyoption. As strong as a Neitzschean is, he wasn’t strong enough to help.”
“That makes sense, I guess,” Trance said, turning back into her normal self. “Well, Rhade, welcome to the group.”

 

Episode 02: Terra Firma

When the Maru returned to the Andromeda, they were greeted by Dylan, who was waiting impatiently.
“That took a lot longer than it should have. What happened?”
“We were attacked by Magog,” Trance explained.
“Are you alright?”
“Fine,” Rhade said, walking past him.
“What’s with him?”
“A lot of strange things happened down there,” Trance said. “I’ll explain in a bit. First, I need to clean up.”
Then Dylan noticed the furry creature on her shoulder. “Uh, Trance? What’s that?”
Tsuki sighed and shookher head. “My name is Tsuki. Please don7t refer to me as a thing again.”
“She’s my childhood pet,” Trance explained. “She hasn’t explained how she got down there.”
“I didn’t have the time,” Tsuki grumped.
“Go get cleaned up, Trance. I want to hear this story.”
Beka shook her head. “You know, Dylan, I’ve seen somestrange stuff in my time on the Andromeda, but today takes the cake.”
“Oh?”
“Ask Rhade about formal wear,” she said as she walked off with a smirk.
“Doesn’t anyone around here give a straight answer anymore?”

“So what are you saying, exactly?”
Trance looked a little uncomfortable. “What I’m saying is that I have powers that I’ve never told anyone about, powers that could have helped out before now, but I’ve been afraid to expose my secret.”
Harper looked very skeptical. “Trance, the stories of the sailor suited soldiers are myths from the 20th century. Get with the times.”
“Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions, Harper,” Beka told him. “I saw her transform. I saw Rhade transform, too.”
“No way. Rhade? I can just picture him in a skimpy little skirt.”
“It wasn’t a skirt, Harper,” Rhade snarled.
“No. It was a tuxedo with a mask.”
“So what’s your superhero name? Tuxedo Mask?”
Trance snorted while Rhade looked even angrier. “Sorry. That name has already been taken.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dylan said.
“I’m serious! There was a guy in the 20th century who went by the name Tuxedo Kamen. Kamen means mask.”
“So Terazed Kamen means…”
“Terazed Mask. I don’t know how the term came to be in use.”
“Stop it, Trance, you’re killing me here,” Harper moaned. “This is the most entertainment I’ve gotten in days.”
Rommie looked at him. “It’s not nice to tease, Harper. Rhade looks like all of this has been a very traumatic experience. How would you feel in his situation?”
“Pretty damned ridiculous.”
“So don7t mock,” Dylan finished.
Tsuki looked up from licking her paw. “Mockery is something that Rhade will just have to get used to.”
“And you’re saying this…why?” Rhade asked.
Tsuki blinked. “People often react that way when they first see a senshi.”
“Trust me, I’m not doing this again. I only did it to help Trance.”
“Oh, you’ll be doing this again. You won’t be able to help it.”
“Watch me.” He started to walk away.
“It’s a great way to meet girls,” Trance informed him.
He turned around. “If you think that’s going to get me to keep doing this, you’re dead wrong.”
Trance shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
“Now I know why there are no other Nietzschean senshi,” Tsuki commented.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he snapped.
“Exactly what it says. You people are arrogant, vain, self-centered…shall I continue? These things don’t show up in senshi. It’s just not in their nature.”
“So you’re saying that I can’t overcome my Nietzschean nature?”
“I didn’t say that. You did.”
Rhade shook his finger at the little cat. “I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work.”
“Um, Tsuki, this is probably a bad time to tell you that I know another Nietzschean senshi. She’s a sweet little thing.”
“She?” This piqued his interest.
“Yes, she. She’s quite interesting in a bizarre kind of way.”
“Not telling me any more than that are you?”
“Nope. You want to meet her, you’ll need to train and learn more about what you are. There’s no going back once you’ve transformed. It changes you in ways that aren’t always apparent. Even wiping your memory won’t let you go back. Eventually, this will come back. I’ve heard of it happening.”
“Heard?” Dylan asked. “You don’t have any first hand experience there?”
“No. As far as animal guardians go, I’m still very young. Trance is my first senshi. Until today, she was the only one, but now that Rhade here also has the abilities, that makes two. I’m not sure that this is a good thing, though.”
“Why not?” Rhade demanded.
“For one thing, I don’t know if I can train two senshi at the same time,” she started. “For another, I know I can’t handle your Nietzschean nature. You’ll drive me nuts within a couple days.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
Trance leaned against a wall. “I have a suggestion, but you’re probably not going to like it, Tsuki.”
“I don7t see that we have a lot of options.”
“I remember you telling me about another cat guardian by the name of Miocci, that he had a couple different senshi that he took care of.”
“Oh no! I know what you’re asking.”
“You’re asking Rhade to do this. The least you can do is find someone who knows what they’re doing. Besides, aren’t Miocci’s senshi all women who are very experienced at this stuff? They could help train us.”
“Don’t you have some training at this, Trance?” Beka asked.
“Well, yes, but I don’t have a lot of it or experience. My training was frequently interrupted and then stopped when I joined you on the Maru.”
“Makes sense.”
Tsuki sighed. “I can always try and get a hold of Miocci, but there are no guarantees. I don’t even know where he is right now.”
“Please try.” Tsuki wandered off.
“Trance, why is this so important to you?” Dylan asked.
“Because if we have a strong enough team of senshi, then we can defeat the Magog and their Spirit of the Abyss.”
“That’s crazy!” Harper exclaimed. “You’re saying that a group of girls, and Rhade, in skimpy little skirts can defeat the Spirit of the Abyss? Yeah, right. And I’m a Nietzschean.”
Rhade gave him a scathing glance.
“Yes, Harper. That’s what I’m saying. Don’t knock this thing. Senshi can do some pretty amazing things. I’ll tell you about them someday.”
“So what do we do now?” Dylan asked.
“Nothing. We wait for Tsuki to get a hold of Miocci. That’ll tell us what our next move is.”

It took two days before Tsuki got a reply. When asked about where she sent her message, she avoided answering the question, frustrating the crew. She joined them on the command deck. “We need to head for Earth,” she said tiredly.
“Earth? Why Earth?” Harper asked incredulously. “There’s nothing there but a bunch of Drago-Kazovs.”
“Earth is halfway between where Miocci lives and our present location. It’s a convenient meeting point. Besides that, I couldn’t tell you how to get to his home world. I’m not familiar with Slipstream.”
“I could always transport there,” Trance offered. “To his home world.”
“Not with the defenses that they have in place.”
“I see. Well, Earth it is then. I’ve wanted to visit it for a while now. I guess this is my chance.”
“Can we just stop and consider what a bad idea this is?” Harper asked nervously. “I mean, come on! Nietzscheans, Magog, Nightsiders, and all sorts of other ugly things live there.”
“Yes, but there is also beauty there. Or, at least, there will be soon. Miocci is bringing his first senshi with him. He said he’d try and contact the other three, but couldn’t promise anything just yet. He said we’d be able to round them up quickly enough.”
“He’s brining Yumeko?” Trance’s eyes widened. “Oh wow!”
“Who’s Yumeko?” Rhade asked.
“She’s a very special kind of senshi, a Guardian of one of the four elements. I can never keep straight which one she has dominion over.”
“Air, I believe,” Tsuki said. “I’m not really expecting to see the other three Guardians. They prefer to keep to themselves unless there’s a crisis. And even then, it’s hard to get them together. If we can convince Yumeko that there’s sufficient reason to call them all together again, we’ll be able to convince them.”
“And if we can’t?” Dylan asked.
“Miocci has pledged his support. He and Yumeko will help, even if we can’t convince them of a serious crisis. It seems,” Tsuki added with a smirk. “that Yumeko is bored and needs to get away from her home for a time.”
“That’s good to hear,” Trance said, relived.
“So it’s off to Earth we go,” Harper said, rubbing his hands together. “Seeing as we have no choice, I think I’ll look up an old friend of mine. While you guys are training and all.”
“I see no reason why not,” said Dylan. Let’s get going then. Earth is still a ways away even by Slipstream.”

“Good old mother Earth,” Harper said when the familiar blue-green orb appeared in front of the Andromeda. “Some days I wonder why I ever left at all, but then I remember the bad stuff and it all comes back.”
Tsuki stared at the screen from her spot on Trance’s shoulder. “I’ve never seen it from up here before. I can see why humans are so attached to it.”
“Dylan, we’re getting a signal,” Andromeda spoke up.
“Put it on,” Dylan replied.
A grey cat with a yellow star on his forehead appeared on the screen. “Greetings, Andromeda Ascendant,” he said. “I’m Miocci. Welcome to Earth.”
“Thank you,” Dylan said. He sounded uncomfortable at talking to a cat.
“Please, join us down here. Yumeko is getting a little impatient.”
“Where are you?” Tsuki asked him. “Earth is a big planet.”
“We’re just outside of Boston.”
“Alright!” Harper exclaimed. “My old stomping grounds.”
“Tsuki should be able to find us with that to work on. I’m sorry that I can’t be more specific. The last time I was on Earth, I was on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.”
Tsuki sighed. “You’re putting an awful lot of stock in my abilities.”
“If you couldn’t do it, you never would have been assigned a senshi to look over,” Miocci assured her. “You’ll find us.” The screen went blank.
“So. Who gets to go down?” Beka asked. “I assume the Maru is going, as are Trance and Rhade.”
“I’ll go. Earth was my home. I might be able to keep the locals from hurting anyone.”
“Or from trying to anyways,” Rhade interjected.
“Alright. Beka and I will stay up here just in case,” Dylan said. “Be quick about this.”
“We’ll try,” Trance said, heading for the Maru.

After an hour of flying around while Tsuki tried to locate her fellow guardian, Rhade finally landed the ship. The blue cat was positive that Miocci and Yumeko were in that particular area. Rhade himself had a headache just from listening to the cat mumbling to herself about whether or not this was the place or if it was somewhere else.
If this isn’t the place, I’m going back to the Andromeda. Enough is enough.
They were greeted by a small grey cat, Miocci, a young blond girl with a somewhat Asia look to her features, a shorter grey haired boy, and a very tall, dainty looking woman with deep blue hair. The blond smiled and waved.
“Hubba hubba,” Harper muttered under his breath.
She turned her light blue eyes his way. “Thank you,” she said sweetly. “My name is Kiyoshi Yumeko. I am pleased to meet you. You’ve met Miocci.” She bowed politely.
“I’m Trace Gemini. These are my friends, Telemachus Rhade and Seamus Harper.”
“My companions here are Utano Okami and Namida Tenshi. For the time being, though, they prefer to go by the Earth names they’ve been given: Wolf and Serenity.”
“I thought Miocci’s senshi were all female,” Trance said, sounding puzzled.
Serenity and Yumeko looked at Wolf and burst out laughing. “They still think you’re a boy, Okami,” Yumeko giggled.
“The shorter girl glared at her. “It’s not funny. I can’t help it if I’m not built like a typical woman.”
“This makes things less disturbing, then,” Trance said, relieved.
“How so?” Rhade asked.
“How could you have missed the looks she’s been shooting your way?” Trance asked him.
“Looks?” Rhade looked at Wolf, who winked seductively.
Yumeko punched her in the arm. “No time for that. We came here for a reason.”
“Yes. I, for one, would like to know what that is,” Serenity said calmly.
“Do you know what Magog are?” Trance asked.
“Those thing are disgusting,” Wolf said, wrinkling her nose.
“They are allies of something called the Spirit of the Abyss. Now, we’ve tried to destroy them, but nothing seems to work. I thought that if I got a bunch of senshi together, then we could destroy them.”
“And I’m still not clear on how we’re supposed to do that,” Rhade grumbled.
“Don’t misjudge us just because of our strange outfits,” Trance told him. “The senshi have done great things in the past.”
“So what you’re asking is for us to fight again.” Serenity sighed. “It never ends, does it?”
“If you won’t help us with the fight, could you at least help with our training?” Trance pleaded. “Tsuki is still new to her duties. She can’t possibly train two senshi, or more if we can find any.”
“Which two of you are the senshi, anyways?”
“Me and Rhade. I’m Sailor Vedra and he’s Terazed Kamen.”
“Terazed, huh?” Serenity mused. “Never heard of it.”
“You can count me in,” Wolf said.
“I promised I would help regardless,” Yumeko said. The two looked at Serenity. “What do you think? You’ve been a senshi longer than either of us. Your skills and knowledge would be very useful.”
“I told you, I only came to find out what happened to Jen.”
“Jen?” Harper snapped to attention. “I know a girl named Jen. Frickin’ hottie. Tall, thin, black hair, black eyes, a body to die for.”
“That sounds like our Jen,” Yumeko said.
“Man, I haven’t seen her in years,” Harper sighed dramatically.
“We haven’t heard from ours in six months,” Serenity told him. “Do you have an image of your friend?” Harper fished something out of his pants pocket and showed it to her. “Yes, that’s her.”
“Well, what do you know? I was going to try and look her up while we were here.”
“Any help you could be in finding her would be appreciated.”
“Appreciated enough to help us train?” Trance asked hopefully.
“We’ll see. It depends on what’s happened to Jen.”
“Right, well, I’ll go find my friends and see if they know anything. I’ll meet you all back here at the Maru,” said Harper.

Harper returned three hours later, looking very worried. “I have a bunch of bad news and worse news. The bad news is that she’s not in town. The worse news is that my cousin says she was caught by a group of Drago-Kazovs and taken to one of their camps.”
Serenity looked like she was going to be sick. “From what I’ve heard of them in the brief time I’ve been here, they’re not nice people.”
“The same could be said for the general Nietzschean population,” Harper said. “Well, except for Rhade here.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Harper,” he said shortly.
“Do you have any idea where this camp is?” Serenity asked.
“Yeah, it’s just a few miles from here. We can make it in no time if we leave now.”
“What are the chances that she’s still alive?”
“Pretty good from what I heard.”
Serenity stood. “Help me rescue her, and I will help you in your fight.”
“What about the fourth member of your team?” Trance asked.
“We will discuss this with her when we see her next. For now, we must hurry. Jen does not deal with captivity well.”

Episode 03: Prison Break

The Drago-Kazov prison camp was heavily guarded with high walls and frequent patrols. Trance, Harper, Rhade, the two cats, and three senshi sat a good distance from the walls waiting for the opportunity to strike. When the patrol got close enough, Rhade dispatched the other Nietzschean so that they could get inside. He took the lead with Wolf beside him.
“I’m still not sure why you’re up here with me,” Rhade whispered, peeking around a corner.
“Because I know what Jen smells like,” she replied. “Besides, I’m the only one of the bunch who could possibly keep up with a modified human.”
“We prefer to be called Nietzschean,” Rhade informed her stiffly.
“No matter what you call yourselves, you’re still, fundamentally human.”
“You’re kind of annoying.”
“That’s what I’ve been told,” she replied, sniffing the air. “This way.”
“Right.”
“Oh, and there are more people like you up there. I’m smelling a lot of fear and pain.”
“You can smell that?” Rhade asked, impressed.
“It’s a trait my people have.”
They crept forward, taking out the guards. Rhade watched Wolf, impressed. She was strong and fast, dispatching her targets before they could make a sound. I wonder what her people are.
Wolf’s nose led them down a hallway with doors on both sides. “I can smell her down here, but I can’t pinpoint which door she’s behind.”
“Process of elimination, then. We check each one.”
“Works for me.”
In the room behind the fifth door they checked, there was Jen, sedated and strapped to a table. Her clothing was disheveled and torn in places. Her fair skin was marked with cuts and bruises both old and recent and her hair was a mess of tangles. There were all manner of tubes and wires attached to her body leading into monitors. Wolf approached her cautiously. She poked her once in the ribs. There was no response.
“I don’t know what they have her on, but it’s not easy to get her out like this and keep her there for any length of time.”
“Let’s get her out of here.” Rhade shuddered. “I don’t like being so close to the Dragos.”
“Agreed.” Wolf unbuttoned Jen’s shirt to remove the monitors attached to her pale skin. At first, Rhade turned away, but looked back out of curiosity. Jen was tall and thin, as Harper had said, but Rhade didn’t find her to be as well endowed as Harper had claimed.
Body to die for? Maybe to other humans, but she has nothing on a Nietzschean woman. He reached down to untie the bonds that were holding her to the table and then turned the monitors off in case they were designed to make noise when disconnected.
“Here. I’ll carry her,” Rhade offered.
“I should point out that I am strong enough o carry her,” Wolf pointed out. “It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.”
“I’m larger than you are, so it’ll be easier for me to do it. You’re small and fast, fast enough to take out anyone we meet on the way out.”
“I’d argue the point, but we don’t have time for that. Let’s get out of here before anyone comes to look in on her.”
“Wise decision.” With Wolf’s help, he was able to get Jen up off the bed and onto his back.
Wolf opened the door and peered around the corner. She signaled to Rhade that all was clear. He shifted Jen’s weight into a more comfortable spot on his back and followed. He hated all this sneaking around, but it went against his self-preservation instincts to die in a fight with a camp full of Drago-Kazovs, so he swallowed his pride and moved as quietly as he could after Wolf.
“This is a little too easy if you ask me,” Wolf commented as they approached the exit.
“Agreed. Where is everyone?”
“Right behind you,” a voice said. Rhade turned to see a gun pointed at him. “Return the girl to us and you’ll receive a quick death.”
“I think not,” Wolf said, growling.
The Nietzschean looked at her and laughed. “You hardly look like a threat, little one.”
“Don’t underestimate me solely based on my size.”
“What are you going to do? Bite my legs off?”
Rhade watched Wolf’s reaction with interest. She went from snarling to calm with disturbing speed.
“I don’t bite. Well, I do, but not legs. Earth Elemental Power, Make Up!”
A bright leafy green light enveloped Wolf. Within it, the two men could just make out her form. The light cleared, leaving in its place a woman with the same height and build as Wolf wearing a uniform made entirely of black leather. Long pants with lace up sides, a silver belt with a green gemstone serving in place of a buckle, knee high boots, long gloves, and a sleeveless top that showed a good portion of her well-muscled abdomen. All of it had a strip of grey trim.
“Wolf?” Rhade asked.
“What are you?” The Drago asked, taking a step back.
“They call me StarLight, and yes, Rhade, it’s me. Obviously.”
“Well, then, StarLight, let’s see if your fancy new clothes can block this.” The Drago aimed his weapon at her and fired.
StarLight ducked the blast. “What were you aiming at? Double Snake Twist!” The twin beams of energy shaped like snakes shot out of her outstretched hands and wrapped around the strange Nietzschean, paralyzing him.
“Quick! Get her back to the others before he can move again.”
“What about you? I can help,” Rhade protested.
“I need you to keep Jen safe.” She opened the door. “Go on! I can take care of this. Trust me, I’ve been in worse situations than this.”
Taking her word for it, Rhade ran through the door and headed to the spot where the others were waiting. As he ran, he could alarms going off as well as lots of weapons fire. Serenity met him just inside of their hiding place.
“Where’s Wolf?”
“She transformed to hold of some of the guards,” he explained. “She said she’d be ok.”
“She’d better get her leather covered ass back here soon or we’ll have to head back to the Andromeda without her,” Yumeko said, irritated. “She knows better than to do this kind of thing.”
“We didn’t exactly have time to argue the issue.”
Serenity sighed and sat down. “You may as well set her down. We could be waiting for a while.”
“No need,” Wolf said, running up. She was exhausted. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What about the Dragos?” Rhade asked.
She waved dismissively. “They’re not getting out of there anytime soon.”
“Questions later,” Trance said, stalling Rhade’s demand for further explanation. “We should get out of here before anything else happens.”
“Shouldn’t we stop by her place to get her stuff?” Yumeko asked as they boarded the Maru.
Harper shook his head. “I was by her place earlier. Her place is completely empty. None of the guys knew where her stuff went to.”
“The Dragos must have taken it when they got her,” Trance guessed.
Rhade set her down and looked at her carefully. “Well, she looks to be Rommie’s size, so maybe she can borrow something until clothing can be found for her.”
“That works.”

“Med deck is this way,” Trance told their guests, leading them in the right direction. “We’ll be able to find out what they did to her when we get there.
Holo-Andromeda appeared in front of them. “Dylan and Beka will meet you there.”
“Thanks Andromeda,” Trance said as the hologram vanished.
Wolf stopped and stared. “What was that?”
Beside her, Rhade smirked. “Never seen a hologram before?”
She made a face. “My home world is somewhat low tech, but I know what a hologram is. I’ve never heard of an interactive one before.”
“Andromeda is the ship’s AI. You do know-“
“Artificial Intelligence, yes I know what that is.”
“Just checking.”
“For someone who looks as hot as you do, you sure are a smart ass.”
“Oh please,” Harper groaned. “You think he’s hot?”
Wolf blinked in confusion. “There’s a problem with that?”
“He’s a Nietzschean.”
“From what you were saying on the way back here, they’re supposed to be physically and genetically perfect, yes?”
“Well, yeah.”
“So where’s the problem in acknowledging that his genetic programming is successful? I find him to be attractive.”
Rhade stared at her. What is she? I’ve never heard a woman speak so frankly before in public. I admit, I’m flattered, but this is quite odd.
“I think there might be something wrong with your head,” Harper said, catching up with Trance.
Wolf stopped, very confused now. “I think I’m lost here.”
Rhade turned to look at her. “Harper doesn’t like Nietzscheans.”
“That much is clearly obvious, but I’m still a bit lost.”
Yumeko came back to join them. “Okami, remember that talk we had about your culture versus others? In yours, it’s expected to be so open about everything. Among humans, it’s generally not a good idea.” Wolf opened her mouth to protest. “I think it would be wise to do as they do for the time being. At least until they understand a bit more about us.”
Wolf pouted. “Fine, fine. I’ll try. And no jokes about that.”
Yumeko giggled. “I promise. Now let’s just get Jen to the med deck so that she can get better.”

Rhade set Jen down on a bed and let Trance examine her. Dylan and Beka were already deep in discussion with Serenity. He joined then along with Yumeko and Wolf, who had been with him. Miocci insisted that Yumeko pick him up. Tsuki, Trance’s cat, was perched on Dylan’s shoulder. Dylan looked very uncomfortable about it.
“Glad you three could join us,” Serenity commented.
“We weren’t that far behind,” Yumeko said, sticking her tongue out at the older woman.
Serenity turned back to Dylan and Beka. “So anyways, I’m glad to hear that you have training facilities already on the ship. This is good.”
“I’m telling you, though. Rhade doesn’t really need much in the way of physical training,” Dylan told her. “He’s in great shape.”
“Perhaps for conventional fighting, but for the kinds of things that senshi wind up doing, he’ll need to be able to coordinate that with the use of his powers. It’s not easy to do. Trust me on that. I’ve been doing this longer than anyone else in this room.”
Dylan narrowed his eyes. “Just how old are you anyways?”
“At present? It’s not polite to ask. Senshi are reborn into different bodies to fight again another day. I’ve had many different lives that I can remember and doubtless I’ve had others I can’t remember because my senshi self was asleep for the entirety of it.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It gets old after the first half dozen times,” Wolf informed him.”
“So there’s a chance I’ll be reborn after I die?” Rhade asked.
“Not just a chance,” Yumeko told him with a sympathetic smile. “It’s inevitable.”
“You know, I wonder,” Dylan mused. “Nietzscheans believe in genetic reincarnation. Rhade here is the genetic reincarnation of my former first officer, Gaheris Rhade.”
“Not to mention that all the Nietzscheans are waiting for the reincarnation of Drago Museveni,” Beka added.
“This is interesting,” Wolf said. “I think I want to know more about this.”
“I’d be more than happy to tell you about it later,” Rhade offered.
Wolf looked at him through her lashes. “I’d like that.”
Dylan looked between the two of them. “Did I miss something?”
“It’s nothing,” Yumeko told him, blushing a little. “Anyways, you were saying something about powers, Serenity?”
Serenity gave her an odd look, but continued. “Anyways, back on topic. Each senshi is different when it comes to their strengths. Personally, I’m physically the weakest member of my team, but my powers are correspondingly stronger than theirs. Wolf is physically the strongest and she has average powers. She has one attack that’s really strong, but the rest are pretty average.”
“And then there’s me,” Yumeko chimed in. “I’m just average all around.”
“Except in looks,” Harper muttered under his breath, too low for her to hear, but the look that both Rhade and Wolf gave him indicated that they’d heard.
“If you aren’t all that strong physically, how do you expect to train me?” Rhade asked. “You certainly aren’t a match for me.”
“While Wolf is capable of doing that, she’d likely wind up overpowering you in a fight. She’s small and fast, never mind her strength.”
“Hey!” Wolf protested. “I know how to control myself.”
“Sure you do. What about that remark you made on the way here?”
“That’s a different story all together.”
“I’m hoping that Jen would be able to help there.”
“Jen?” Rhade looked over at the unconscious girl. “I somehow doubt she’d have any more luck than you would.”
“She knows more about weapons than the three of us.” Serenity shrugged. “Until she gets her strength back, most of what I’ll be teaching you is how to access and properly use your powers and putting you through some basic focusing techniques.”
“What she’s saying is that you’ll be doing a lot of meditating, fight posture drills, and Tai Chi-type stuff,” Wolf explained. “I feel for you, buddy.”
“Don’t think that you’re getting away from this,” Serenity warned. “We could all use a refresher. Besides, we all need to learn to work together as a team.”
“Nuts.”
Trance joined them. “Well, I can’t really tell what’s wrong with her. The drugs in her system will have to go away on their own. I can treat her wounds, but there’s little else I can do for her until she wakes up.”
“We’ll have to get her some clothes,” Beka said. “Hers are no better than rags.”
“She and Rommie are the same size,” Andromeda said, appearing beside Dylan. “I’m sure something can be worked out there until a more suitable wardrobe can be acquired.”
“Thank you Andromeda,” Serenity said politely. “Well, Rhade. When would you like to start your training?”
“No time like the present.”
Wolf smirked. “Bit of a masochist, aren’t you?”
“How bad could it be?”

Two hours later, Rhade was eating his words. He would have preferred a real fight to what they put him through. The meditation part wasn’t so bad, but the poses they made him hold had required all of his balance and concentration. He ached everywhere. When the session was over with, Trance suggested that he head to the med deck and get some ointment for his aches. Wolf had joked at him on the way out that she’d happily help him put it on. He’d heard her yelp after that, presumably because Yumeko had punched her in the arm.
He rummaged around in the cabinet Trance had indicated and found the bottle of an ointment that was questionable in both odor and appearance. Turning around, he saw Jen still lying on the bed. He walked over to her and pushed a knot of black hair out of her face, studying it.
Not bad, but nothing special either, he concluded as she began to stir and open her eyes. She blinked owlishly up at him.
“You’re finally awake,” he said simply, offering her a hand. “I’m-“ he stopped. She was staring at his bone blades in a mixture of hatred and terror. She rolled off the bed opposite from him, ducking down in an attempt to hide. “I’m not going to hurt you,” Rhade said, walking over to the other side. She simply ducked around to the other side to avoid him. Shaking his head, he climbed over the bed.
Snarling, she backed away. He walked towards her. He was starting to tell her that her friends would be happy to see that she was going to be ok, but was interrupted by her foot making contact with his stomach.
“Nietzschean,” she hissed. “You die now!”

 

Episode 04: Jen

“Nietzschean,” she hissed. “You die now!”
Caught by surprise, he doubled over. “I’m not trying to hurt you, crazy girl,” he said, straightening up.
“Liar!” She aimed a fist at his jaw, which he blocked easily. She sent blow after blow aimed at various parts of his body, also blocked easily.
During her attacks, his mind was reeling. What is wrong with this girl? She takes one look at me and tries to kill me. Her technique isn’t even all that good. She’s fighting like an amateur. I could keep this up all day under normal circumstances, but not after than so-called training session I just got out of. Could this day get any weirder?
Jen finally scored a blow to his jaw, sending him reeling with the impact. Before he had a chance to recover, he was flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. He turned his head to see her running from the room.
He sat up. “Andromeda,” he wheezed. “Jen’s awake and loose on the ship.”
“Acknowledged.”
Picking himself up off the floor, he located the bottle of ointment and left med deck, hoping that he wouldn’t bump into Jen again until her friends talked some sense into her.
No such luck. On his way to his quarters, he saw Jen curled up into a ball, trying desperately to hide. He froze, not wanting to go near her again so soon. Wolf walked up beside him.
“You look like hell,” she observed.
“Your friend is psychotic,” he commented, not turning his eyes away from Jen.
“Good to see that she’s alright,” she replied.
“You mean this is normal for her?” he asked incredulously, turning to look down at Wolf.
She nodded. “Jen has always been the psychologically unstable one. She’s a great person, but has these odd tendencies to just flip out. I’ve never understood it, or understood what men see in her anyways.”
“Men? What men?”
Wolf shook her head. “Those are all long stories. Maybe if you ask nicely, I’ll tell you about them someday,” she said, heading for Jen.
Jen looked up at Wolf and said something very quietly. Wolf nodded and pulled Jen to her feet. Serenity, Yumeko, and Harper joined them. Dylan and Rommie stood beside Rhade and watched the scene. Jen looked very confused at the three girls, but recognized Harper instantly.
“I don’t get it,” Dylan said, watching. “I thought Serenity said that Jen was their friend.”
“She did,” Rhade agreed, rubbing his jaw.
Rommie saw that. “Are you alright, Rhade?”
“She hit me.”
“Why?”
“Beats me.”
“Literally,” Dylan said, laughing.
“That’s not funny, Dylan,” Rhade scowled.
Harper led Jen over to them. “Say, Rommie, do you think you could lend Jen something to wear? Just for a day or two.”
“I could,” she agreed.
Spotting Rhade, Jen started to growl and ball her hands into fists. Her black eyes glared up at him from under the tangled and matted black hair.
“Down girl!” Harper told her. “It’s just Rhade.”
Wolf stepped in between Jen and Rhade. “No one will hurt you here, Jen. We promise.”
“Let’s get her out of here before she tries to attack Rhade again,” Rommie said. “She needs to get tidied up anyways.”
“Give us a set of clothes and some grooming tools and we’ll take care of the rest,” Serenity told her stiffly. “We have a lot to talk about.”
“But she looks like she didn’t recognize any of you,” Harper protested.
“We’ll explain about that when she’s calmer and cleaner,” she replied.
“There is a room right here that she can use,” Rommie suggested.
“No offense, but I don’t think it’s a good thing to put her so close to Rhade.”
“Put me in between them,” Yumeko suggested. “Put all of us around her so that she feels safe.”
“Dylan?” Rommie asked, looking to her captain for his approval.
“Makes sense. I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable. I also don’t want Rhade getting hurt here.”
“We’ll talk to her about that,” Wolf assured him.
Rommie walked over and keyed open the door. “I’ll come back with clothes and other things for her.”
“Thank you, Rommie,” Yumeko said, bowing politely.

Inside, they got Jen’s clothes off her and put her in a tub full of hot water. She hissed as the water came into contact with her skin, telling the others that it had been a while since she’d had a hot bath. Rommie dropped off some soap, a brush, towels, clothes, and a few other things she figured they’d need. First, they attacked Jen’s hair, easing out the tangles. Once it was smooth, they washed it again and then piled it up on top of her head before handing her the soap, letting her wash herself.
The three others left her alone in the bathroom. Jen stared at the door for a few minutes in contemplation. I’m really confused. Who are these people? How do they all know who I am? Did Harper tell them? No. That’s possible, but they seem to know me beyond that. What’s going on here? And why is there a Nietzschean here? She started to scrub. For that matter, where is here? It doesn’t look like the Drago’s camp. I don’t remember ever being anywhere this nice before.
She ducked under the water to rinse off. I may as well hear what these people have to say to me, even if hey have a Nietzschean around. Maybe he’s some sort of slave. Now isn’t that an interesting thought? One of those so-called genetically superior beings being forced to serve an inferior race.
Clean now, she got out of the tub and dried off. This is a change. I’m actually clean with a high chance I’ll be able to stay that way for a while. Now, some clothes would be nice. She wrapped the towel around herself and peeked out the door.
Serenity spotted her. “Ah Jen. Finished? There are some clothes over here for you. Rommie said she didn’t mind if we altered them to suit your style a little better.”
“How do you know what my style is like?”
“It’s a bit of a lengthy story. Get dressed and then we’ll tell you.”
“Sounds better than standing around listening to you talking while wearing only a towel.” She took the offered garments and retreated back into the bathroom to dress. They consisted of a red crop top with thick gold straps and a gold hem, red shorts with a similar gold hem, and thigh high black socks. Putting it on, she went back out.
“Tell me how you know me,” she said simply.
Yumeko handed her a pair of dark red boots, the same ones she’d been wearing when Wolf and Rhade had rescued her earlier. “It all starts more than a thousand years ago on a world called Nomaie.”

Rommie looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. “Dylan, they’re done with Jen and are heading back this way.”
“Good. Let’s see who this person really is.”
“I’m telling you, she’s my friend,” Harper protested. “Card carrying man-hater, but she’s still my friend.”
“You’re going to have to explain that one,” Beka told him.
“There’s very little to explain,” Jen said, walking into the room. All eyes turned her way. “
“You’re looking better,” Harper commented. “I don’t remember ever seeing you in anything like that shirt before, though.”
Jen shrugged. “It’s what happens when you borrow clothes.”
“Rommie’s never worn anything like that.”
“I gave them permission to alter them,” Rommie explained. “They didn’t want her being mistaken for me.”
“I can’t see how anyone would ever make that mistake,” Rhade said quietly, staring.
Cleaned up, Jen was much more pleasant to look at. Her injuries were still faintly visible and she had a slight limp, but those were easy enough to see past. Her black hair was clean and tidy, pulled back into a glossy black braid tied with a strip of red leather.
In contrast to her three friends, she still looked odd. They had all discarded their Earth-style clothing for things that they were more comfortable in. Serenity was wearing a long white floor-length dress with a silver belt, long sleeves, and a wide collar that showed part of her shoulders, but not much of her cleavage. Her hair was pulled up into a bun on top of her head with a bit of braid trailing down to the center of her back. Something about her face had changed, making her look inhuman, but still lovely.
Yumeko still looked human, but there was a change in the slant of her eyes, making her previous Asian look even stronger. On her forehead was a round blue dot with two smaller white dots on either side of the top of the blue dot. Her blond hair now hung loose from its previous ponytail. Like Serenity, she also wore a dress, but it was light blue with a v-cut collar, double spaghetti straps, and no belt. It was cut specifically to fit her slight form. Miocci was perched on her shoulder.
The change in Wolf’s appearance was the most drastic. Her eyes slanted and her ears now had long pointed tips. The tip of her left ear was pierced with a small hoop earring made of copper. When she smiled, fangs became visible. She wore tight sandy colored leggings that appeared to be made of animal skins, as was the lace up forest green shirt she wore. It’s sleeveless cut emphasized her muscles. On her feet she had a simple pair of sandals. Her grey hair was tidier than it had been earlier and was pulled into a long tail wrapped in a piece of brown leather down its entire length. Snaking out behind her was a thin, tufted tail. The tuft was the same grey color as her hair, but the tip was a light green, clearly dyed.
“Don’t you make an odd bunch,” Beka commented.
“How did you do that?” Dylan asked. “You all looked human before.”
“With our appearances it’s very hard to blend in on Earth,” Wolf explained.
“We’d been hiding behind illusions,” Serenity added. “One of the abilities we’ve developed is that of disguise.”
“So how come it didn’t vanish when Wolf transformed?” Rhade asked.
“We can hold it even in our senshi forms,” she told him. “It’s not as easy though and it drains our energy faster than it would otherwise.”
“That’s why I told you to take Jen back to the others instead of staying to help fight,” Wolf added.
“Makes sense.”
“So now that you’ve assumed what I’m guessing are your real appearances, what would you have us call you?” Dylan asked, eyeing Serenity carefully.
Serenity and Wolf exchanged a look. “Our real names would be our preference. Mine is Tenshi and hers is Okami.”
“What about Yumeko?”
The blond laughed. “Yumeko is my real name.”
“So why didn’t you didn’t change your name?” Trance asked. “Anyone knowing about you people would hear your name and turn you into a very large target.”
“Changing my name would be pointless, as I tend to not recognize it as referring to me,” she explained sheepishly. “I only respond to the name I’m born with and my senshi name. In the cases where my birth name and real name are different, I will respond to that as well, but that doesn’t happen often.”
“Wait. What?” Harper looked confused.
“I think Yumeko’s translator is on the fritz again,” Jen said casually.
“Now that you’re looking better, I think we’re owed an explanation as to who you really are,” Dylan said. “Please. Have a seat at the table.”
Jen looked at the chairs. “I would much rather stand for now. I was stuck on that bed in the camp for the last five days.”
“Fair enough,” he replied as everyone else sat down. Jen moved to lean against the wall near to Tenshi. “Please start at the beginning. What are you anyways?”
“First of all, our star system is in a different galaxy, one you wouldn’t have heard of. Being who they are, the Lambent Kith do, but they do not come to it without good reason. They may have dominion here, but they have little power in our home,” Tenshi began. “My home world is called Aiella and my people are the Kal’tresh’nal. Okami is called a Laisheen from the planet Ha’ven. Yumeko’s people, the Tora, are from Kinshei.” The three looked at Jen expectantly.
She gave them a look. “I am from Nomaie and we are simply called Nomaien by others not of our world.”
“And by those of your world?” Rhade asked.
“We are not to speak that word to outsiders,” she said stiffly.
“We don’t even know what they call themselves, and we’ve known her for a very, very long time,” Okami said, pouting.
“Before anyone asks, Jen is the reborn fourth member of our group. She isn’t human, she just looks it.”
“Hey!” Jen protested.
“Sorry, but I’m trying to explain things here,” Tenshi apologized. “Anyways, she was sent to Earth to check up on some rumors we’d heard about it having been taken over. Her memories were blanked as a means of protection and she took up a name she’d had the last time she was on Earth, over a thousand years ago. We figured that, because she responded to it once before, she would have an easier time with it than giving her a new one. She was instructed to make friends in order to learn.”
“That explains the amnesia,” Harper said.
“Yes. Her back story was thought out for years before the mission went forward.”
“But something went wrong,” Okami continued. Because of what she is, she came to the attention of the Drago-Kazov. If we had known about Nietzscheans before the mission, we would have sent someone else. You see, Nomaien women are well known in our corner of the universe for being strong and fast. In short, and don’t hurt me Jen because you know it’s true, to the uneducated, they seem like Nietzschean women.”
“I’m definitely going to have to hurt you later,” Jen snarled angrily.
“Bring it on.”
“Calm down, you two,” Tenshi warned them. “We don’t have time for you two to be engaging in business as usual.”
“They fight a lot,” Yumeko explained to the crew.
“As a result of her behavior and her seemingly above-average physical skills, they got really curious and decided to see what her genes were like.” Tenshi shrugged. “What happened to her after her capture is unclear to us.”
Dylan looked at Jen. “You would know.”
“You’d think that, wouldn’t you? It’ll come back, but I do remember a lot of the tests they did. According to Tenshi, I was in there for six months. I don’t have enough memories to account for that length of time.”
“In the process of returning her identity, we may have accidentally buried a lot of her memories of that time,” Tenshi admitted. “Though it doesn’t seem to have wiped her memories of Harper.”
“Which is a good thing, yes?” Harper asked.
“Yes,” Jen replied. “It means I’m more likely to help with this insane quest of yours.”
“All we want to do is destroy the Spirit of the Abyss,” Trance told her. “What’s so insane about that?”
Jen snorted in disgust. “Someone please explain to them what happened when Sailor Galaxia tried to destroy Chaos. I don’t have the patience for that right now.”
“Lessons learned that long ago are often forgotten,” Tenshi reminded her.
“Be that as it may, doing what you suggest will only give you a short respite from this Spirit.” Jen walked up and slammed her fists down on the table, glaring at each person around the table in turn. “And which of you will be next? Who will trade their soul to destroy Chaos for a time? Who will invite within them that same spirit they sought to destroy?” She spun on her heel and stalked out of the room.
The Andromeda crew turned to watch her go and then back to Tenshi. “What was that all about?” Rommie asked.
“I don’t know exactly when this happened, but there was a very powerful senshi, Sailor Galaxia. She was, in fact, the most powerful. During the Sailor Wars, she got it in her head to take on Chaos in order to end the war. She couldn’t do it. In the end, she brought Chaos into herself. It was the stupidest thing she could have done. Instead of destroying Chaos, she became Chaos. She started taking over the universe. Luckily, she hadn’t gotten to ours, but we know people who had their homes destroyed by the Shadow Galactica and the Animamates.” Tenshi paused to look in the direction Jen had gone. “Jen, in fact, was very close to someone who had their home destroyed, which is why she reacted like this. Galaxia was stopped when she reached Earth. The senshi of the Sol system were able to free Galaxia of Chaos, returning it to its proper place in the cosmos.”
“How could we have forgotten?” Trance moaned.
“You of the Lambent Kith are fortunate. Galaxia never came this far out, so you were untouched,” Okami told her.
“If we’re going to do this, we’ll need Jen’s help,” Yumeko said. “Because of Seiya, she knows things that will help us fight.”
“If she’s even willing,” Rhade pointed out. “She didn’t seem to happy about this.”
“Of the four of us, she hates being a senshi the most. Her only reason for doing it is that it’s better than the alternative.”
“And that would be what?”
“Being herself,” Okami replied cryptically.

 

Episode 05: Training

The next day, Rhade walked into the gym for his training session to find Jen going through the same set of exercises that Tenshi had put him through yesterday. She was barefoot, her hair braided, wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Jen, however, was having more success at it than he had. Frowning, he walked over to Tenshi. “What’s going on here?”
“When we blanked her memories her senshi training went with it. She knows what to do; she just can’t, so she needs to be retrained. We can’t have her operating solely on instinct.”
“So her sessions are before mine?”
“No, she just got here early. I’ll be training the two of you together.” Rhade heard a thud followed by an exclamation of pain. He looked over to see Jen pulling herself off the mat.
“You can’t be serious, Tenshi,” Jen exclaimed. “Train with that…that…” Anger got the better of her, rendering her unable to finish.
“Loathe as you may be to hear this, Jen, but you could learn a lot by training with him. Besides, he could actually put up a fight in a sparring match. You know very well that I can’t, nor can Yumeko. Okami would likely hold back. Rhade, on the other hand, has to go all out or risk being seriously hurt in a fight with you. I know you won’t hold back on him, not after what’s happened to you.” Jen looked at her friend in dismay. “Don’t worry. I won’t have the two of you spar just yet. Neither of you is ready for that. We’ll just stick with meditation and balance exercises for now.”
Jen looked relieved at that and went back to her exercises while Rhade watched. His assessment of her from the previous day proved to be less accurate. Seeing her going through this showed him what he was doing wrong yesterday. That aside, he was reasonably confident that if they fought again, he could beat her. She only scored the hits she did the other day through luck and not skill.
“Rhade, stop standing around and get over there,” Tenshi instructed. “You won’t get anything done just standing there.”
Jen paused, watching him come towards her. She tensed, prepared to fight or run, whichever the situation would call for. He took his shirt off and started going through the routine, doing what Tenshi told him to. Feeling confident that he was decently occupied, Jen started again.
As he went through the drill, Rhade became aware that Jen was doing the same thing he was. Her poses were better than his, but her movements were awkward. She kept glaring at him, staying as far away as she possibly could without leaving the mat area.
Tenshi sighed. “Jen, how many times do we have to tell you? You need to learn more patience. You’re trying too hard, trying to rush it. Relax.”
Jen stopped, fuming. “This is ridiculous! I’ve been through all of this before.”
“And you’ve forgotten almost everything you’ve been taught,” Tenshi reminded her. “You need to do this. We can’t afford to have you out there with the level of control you currently have, and that’s very little. We both know you can do this.”
“Tenshi, it took me the better part of five years to perfect this. We can’t afford for it to take another five years.”
“It won’t,” Tenshi assured her. “You just need a reminder.”
“No. I can’t do this,” she said, turning to leave.
“What are so afraid of?” Rhade asked her.
She froze. “How dare you speak to me, Nietzschean?” she asked without turning around.
“Answer the question.”
She turned her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye. “I fear nothing.”
“So you’re just not willing to do something that I’m doing. Is that it?”
“This is not about you.”
“So what is it about? Think you can’t do it?”
She turned around, narrowing her eyes.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Rhade laughed. “You just don’t have it in you to do this. I do.”
“Are you insinuating that you’re better than me?”
“You could say that, yes.”
Her back stiffened. Tenshi faked a coughing fit in order to hide her laughter. “You aren’t. You’re just a male, and a particularly annoying one at that.”
“So now you think you’re better than me.”
She folded he arms across her chest. “I know I’m better than you.”
“Prove it,” he said, walking up to her, staring her right in the face. He was a fair amount taller than she was, so he wound up looking down at her. She glared back up at him.
“You’re on, asshole,” she said heading back to the mat.

“Rhade, could I speak with you for a moment?” Tenshi asked once the training session was over. Jen smirked and left the gym.
“What can I do for you, Tenshi?”
“I wanted to thank you or what you did earlier. If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know how I would have gotten her to continue with her training.”
“No problem. I just want to know what her problem with me is.”
“If you were stuck in a Drago-Kazov prison camp for six months, you’d hate Nietzscheans, too.”
“I suppose, but I’m not a Drago-Kazov.”
Tenshi shook her head. “It doesn’t matter to her. You’re Nietzschean. To her mind, you’re all the same. Hence why she refused to back down when you challenged her like that. She refuses to loose to something she hates.”
“So it’s just what I am that she hates? That’s irrational.”
“It’s a survival instinct,” Okami said joining. She took a moment to stare at Rhade before continuing.
“You’re kidding.”
“Sorry gorgeous. No joke,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “Another part of it is culture based, but it’s really complicated.”
“Try me.”
Okami blinked. “Sorry. Thought you said something else.” She coughed. “And no. If you want to know about her people, it’s best to talk to one of them.”
“Jen won’t talk to me.”
“And you know this because you’ve tried oh so hard?”
“Be nice, Okami,” Tenshi warned.
“Look, Rhade, I’ll let you in on something. Jen doesn’t like me much. My culture is almost completely opposite from hers. We’re very open about everything. We’re very earthy people and speak what’s on our minds. In addition, I like men, as you may have noticed.”
“I have,” he agreed, blushing a little.
“Just let me know if I make you uncomfortable. It’s just how I am.”
“It’s ok.”
“Just talk to her. It can’t hurt to try. At the very least, you’ll find out if it’s you personally she doesn’t like or what you are.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Tenshi mused. “But I have a feeling I know the answer already.”
“Care to let me in on it?”
“Both.”

Rhade found her in the arboretum sitting under a tree staring off into space. He stood there just watching her. She was still barefoot, her socks and boots sitting in a pile beside her. Her knees were curled up under her chin.
“I know you’re there, Rhade. You may as well stop pretending you’re not. What do you want? Come to taunt me again?”
“No, I just came to talk,” he said, walking over to sit beside her.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“You’re not running away or trying to hit me,” he observed. “This is a good sign.”
“I’m too tired from training to bother. Come near me again, though, and you won’t be so lucky,” she warned him.
“What is it about me that you hate so much?”
Annoyed, she turned her head to look up at him. “Seven reasons. Three are on your right arm. Three are on your left arm.”
“My bone blades. What’s the other reason.”
“You irritate me in so many ways.”
“You’ve only just met me,” he protested.
“I’m a good judge of character.”
“No, you’re not. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know enough to know I don’t like you.”
Rhade peered down at her. “Damn, you’re interesting,” he blurted out.
Jen shot up to her feet and glared down at him. “Where the hell did that come from?”
Rhade scrambled to his feet. “It’s true. I think you’re interesting. Odd considering your very clear feelings towards me, but you are.” Tentatively, he touched her cheek with one hand.
Jen grabbed hi hand and twisted it. “Lay another hand on me and I’ll break it, Nietzschean,” she hissed. Gathering her boots and socks, she left him standing there alone.
Smooth, Telemachus, very smooth, he chided himself. You think you would have learned how to deal with women from dealing with your dead wife, but no. You had to do the one thing that would irritate her the most. Brilliant.
He sighed and headed back to his quarters, bumping into Okami on the way there.
“Hey there,” she said, smiling.
“Hi Okami.”
“Why so glum?”
“Talked to Jen.”
“How’d it go?”
Rhade shook his head. “Badly.”
“Not going to give me any details are you?”
“No.”
“That bad, huh?”
He stopped and leaned his back against a wall. “You could say that. Damn it!”
Okami eyed him curiously. “You know? I think you like her.”
“It’s hard to like someone who hates you.”
Okami put her arm around Rhade’s waist as his shoulders were too far up for her to reach that way and said, “Let me tell you a story about a guy named Seiya and his attempts to woo our girl Jen.”

Rhade sat alone in his quarters long after Okami had finished the story and left. He thought about what she’d told him. Long story short, it wasn’t hopeless to befriend her, but he got the distinct feeling that Okami was hinting at something else, something he just wasn’t interested in.
Or was he?
He shook his head. She’s not Nietzschean, regardless of the interest the Dragos were showing in her genes. She is attractive in a violent sort of way. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s felt that about her. It’s too bad that this Seiya person died a thousand years ago. He’d be useful to talk to. He leaned back in his chair. At least I know a bit more about her now, but why did Okami warn me not to ask Jen too many questions about herself? Also, why isn’t anyone telling us Jen’s real name?
Andromeda appeared in front of him. “Rhade, the Magog World ship has been spotted. Dylan wants you on the bridge immediately.”
“So much for deep though,” he muttered, getting up. “I’ll be right there.”
“If you could find Jen on the way, it would be appreciated. She’s not answering me.”
“Great. I’ll see what I can do.”
He left his room and headed for Jen’s room, which was two doors down from his. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. He wasn’t overly surprised that she didn’t answer, so he went inside. He found her sitting cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed. Cautiously, he approached her. She didn’t seem to notice his presence at all.
“Jen?” No reply. “Jen, are you still in there?”
He was about to touch her shoulder to try and shake her out of this when Tenshi interrupted him. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
He looked up at her. “Why not?”
“She’s meditating. It could cause her some serious damage if you interrupt it like that.”
“Andromeda says that the Magog have been spotted.”
Dylan wants us on the bridge, yes I know.”
“Then what are you two still doing here?”
“Finishing off an exercise that I’ll be doing with you later on. You may as well head up to the bridge and let Dylan know we’ll be there as soon as we finish.”
“He’s not going to like that,” Rhade warned her.
“Understandable, but it’s out of my control for the time being. I’ll apologize when we get up there.”
Taking one last look at Jen, he left her room and headed for the bridge. Dylan looked up at him.
“Where are Jen and Tenshi?”
“Meditating,” he grumped.
“Meditating? In a crisis?” Dylan asked incredulously.
“It wasn’t a crisis when they started,” Yumeko told him.
“They’d better get up here soon, or-“
“Or what?” Jen asked, walking up to him, staring him right in the face.
“Or we could be in big trouble,” Trance finished for him. “We need all available hands to deal with the Magog.”
Jen looked at Trance. “Still dead set in doing this bit of stupidity, are you?”
“It’s not stupidity to try and rid the galaxy of a threat like the Magog,” Rhade told her.
“That all depends on your definition of the word threat.”
“An expression of intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage,” Rommie supplied helpfully.
Ignoring the android, Jen continued. “By your definition, the Magog are a threat. By mine, Nietzscheans are a threat; therefore, should I attempt to wipe you all out, people who like Nietzscheans would consider this stupidity. Others who think like me would endorse it.”
“She sounds like those crackpot Genites,” Beka commented.
“Except that she has a better reason than they do to not like Nietzscheans,” Trance told her. “But unlike the Genites, who hate all genetically altered people, she only hates Nietzscheans.”
“Comforting.”
“Not for me,” Rhade protested.
“Look, Jen, are you with us or not?” Dylan asked, rubbing his forehead.
“I have little fondness for sticking my neck out for a cause that isn’t mine, but my friends have decided to help you. Like it or not, they need me and I need them to get home again. It’s in my best interests to help them survive this in order to get home.”
Trance looked surprised. “I thought you didn’t want to go home.”
“Home has no Nietzscheans,” Jen pointed out.
“Your home is a burning hot desert,” Okami commented. “But I guess it all comes down to which is worse: the Nietzscheans or your parents.”
Jen shuddered. “Good point. I can’t kill my parents, but….” She shook her head. “That’s beside the point. I’ll help just so that I can go home again.”
“Self-preservation.” Rhade nodded approvingly. “Something I understand.”
Jen walked over to him. “Let’s get one thing clear here. I don’t want your understanding. I have to train with you and it looks like I have to work with you. Outside of those two things, I don’t want to see or talk to you. Clear?”
Rhade didn’t get a chance to reply as the Magog World Ship appeared in front of them. It launched several swarm ships that attached themselves to Andromeda’s hull, punching through.
“Alright, people. This is what we’re going to do,” Tenshi said, addressing everyone. “Jen, Rhade, you’re with me. Trance, you go with Yumeko and Okami. Beka, Dylan, Harper, Rommie, if you four could help as well, it would take the strain off our not quite fully trained senshi.”
“Sure thing,” Beka said gleefully.
“Why do I have to go with you?” Jen asked, giving Rhade a black look.
“Because I have the highest chance of being able to contain your powers if they run out of control on us.”
“Fine. Let’s just get it over with.”
Dylan led them all to the nearest weapons locker and distributed weapons to Harper, Beka and Rommie. Rhade took a force lance, but the other senshi refused his offer of weaponry, stating that their powers would be more than adequate.
“Well, then. Shall we?” Tenshi asked.
“Earth Elemental Power…” Okami began.
“Air Elemental Power…” Yumeko said.
“Water Elemental Power…” Tenshi said, looking to Jen expectantly.
She sighed. “Fire Elemental Power…”
“Make Up!” the four girls finished as one. Rhade remembered Okami’s bright leafy green light, but with the lights of the other three girls it was brighter. Tenshi glowed a deep ultramarine blue, Yumeko was a pale sky blue, and Jen’s was a deep scarlet color.
“Ok, I think introductions are in order here,” Beka said, eyeing the changes in the four girls. They were all wearing a uniform made entirely of black leather. Long pants with lace up sides, a belt with a gemstone serving in place of a buckle, knee high boots, long gloves, and a sleeveless top that showed a good portion of their abdomens. Each girl had a different trim and color of gemstone.
The black haired one, standing where Jen had been, rolled her eyes. “Is this really necessary?”
“Would you rather that they shout your other names out in the middle of a fight, thus revealing who you are?” Trance asked.
“Fine.”
“I’m StarLight, as Rhade knows,” Okami said. Her trim was grey and she had a green gemstone.
“StarSinger,” Tenshi said nodding. Her gem was a very dark blue and the trimming on her uniform was a little lighter shade.
Yumeko tugged at the light blue trim on her top. “StarLove,” she said. Her gem was clear blue.
Jen sighed and started to leave, the blood red gem in her belt absorbing the light instead of reflecting it the way the gems of the other three did, making the red trim on her uniform seem darker. “StarFire,” she said. “Now lets get this over with.”
“Vedra Solar Power, Make Up!” Trance finished transforming and looked at Rhade. “Your turn.”
Rhade looked uncomfortable. “I’d actually rather not until we meet up with the Magog.”
“You may not have time,” StarSinger told him. “Transform and let’s get going.”
“No jokes,” he said warningly to his crewmates. Terazed Planet Power, Make Up!”
Beka eyed him carefully. “You look good in a tux.”

 

Episode 06: Magog

They split up into their groups and headed off into different parts of the Andromeda. StarSinger, StarFire, and Terazed Kamen headed towards the gym while Dylan and Beka headed to the observation deck. Rommie and Harper went to the Slipstream core, and StarLove, Sailor Vedra, and StarLight patrolled the area near the docking bay.
StarFire lagged behind Singer and Terazed, wanting to be as distant from him as possible. Bad enough that she had to work with him so soon, but she’d be damned if she was going to like it or get any closer than this unless absolutely necessary.
Of course, now that I’ve even thought that, it will soon become necessary, she told herself glumly. If I’ve ever been in a worse situation than this, I can’t remember it. I’ve never hated any of my fellow senshi before. Granted, I don’t think I’ve ever gone into things like this knowing who they all are before hand either. A group of Magog came around the corner. Right on cue.
“Alright you two. Stay calm and focused. That goes double for you, StarFire. You know what you’re capable of, but you don’t have anywhere near your old level of control. Don’t overdo it. I’d rather not have to deal with one of your power drain headaches.”
“Don’t treat me like a child, StarSinger,” Fire snarled. “I can handle myself.”
“That remains to be seen.” Singer turned to face the Magog.
StarFire came up to stand on the opposite side of StarSinger from Terazed. “Bring it on, fur balls,” Fire snarled at them, dropping into a fighting stance. Shrieking, the Magog rushed at them, aiming for their stomachs. In the vicious fighting that ensued, Terazed kept a close eye on StarFire. StarSinger looked busy with her own group. She was doing well for someone who claimed to be the weakest member of her group.
“Water Wall Surround!” StarSinger called out, stalling another group of Magog trying to come around the corner.
StarFire turned around, having finished off her batch. Seeing StarSinger still struggling with hers, she pointed at one with the least amount of contact with her friend and said, “Flaming Circle Rise!”
The Magog in question went up in flames, shrieking. StarSinger jumped back as the other Magog started bursting into flames. They ran around, crashing into each other in confusion. The heat around the first flaming Magog was so intense that one of the panels on the wall exploded in a shower of sparks.
Terazed made his way over to StarSinger. “Is this supposed to happen?”
“No. Water Rise!” Columns of water rose up around the Magog, extinguishing the flames. They collapsed to the ground, dead. “This is why you’re with us, StarFire.”
StarFire wasn’t listening. She fell to the ground, her uniform vanishing, replaced with a set of clothes unfamiliar to Terazed. Black pants and a short sleeved t-shirt with an image of a large red bird on it. She was unconscious.
StarSinger cursed under her breath. “Great. Power drain. Andromeda, are you there?”
The hologram appeared in front of her. “I am always here.”
“Great. Could you send me some back up? StarFire is exhausted.”
“Dylan is on his way.”
“Thank you.” Turning to Terazed, she asked, “Could you take her back to her quarters? She needs rest. If she wakes up, tell her I told you to do this.”
“Somehow I don’t think she’ll buy it or stay put.”
StarSinger grinned wickedly. “Tie her down if you have to, but make sure she stays put. She’s going to have a nasty headache when she wakes up. When she’s settled, come find me. I want to see what you’re capable of.”
He nodded and picked up Jen’s unconscious form, carrying her away. She wasn’t light, but it wasn’t hard to carry her either. Unconscious, her face was completely relaxed. In his opinion, it vastly improved her looks. Awake, she tended to always have a grumpy expression.
Jen’s quarters weren’t far, so he got there quickly. He lay her down on her bed and took her boots off. She whimpered a little and rolled partially onto her side, one hand curling up over her chest. StarSinger had asked him to come back, but he was torn between going and staying to try and learn more about this odd, angry, young woman. It was with a fair amount of reluctance that he left, figuring that Jen would likely try to kill him if she found him in her room. Given her current state and the headache StarSinger mentioned, she was in no condition to be doing any sort of moving, so she’d likely hurt herself in the attempt.
He found StarSinger and Dylan surrounded by Magog. They were coming at them as fast as Dylan could cut them down with his force lance. StarSinger was keeping them off him. Both were starting to wear down, as was the power cell in Dylan’s force lance.
“Dylan!” Terazed shouted, tossing the older man his force lance. Dylan caught it and turned it on a Magog locked into a struggle with StarSinger.
“Thanks!” he called back.
“Your powers would be most helpful right now,” StarSinger panted, exhausted.
Selecting a target, he shouted, “Terazed Serious Laser!” feeling incredibly foolish as he did so in front of his captain. The attack burned a hole directly through the chest of a Magog.
Dylan turned to him, impressed. “Nice work.”
“Could be better,” StarSinger told him, “but not bad for your second fight.”
“Dylan behind you!” Dylan turned just in time to shoot the snarling Magog in the chest.
Holo-Andromeda appeared beside the fallen body. “That would seem to be all of them. I’m getting reports from the others that their areas are all clear.” She frowned. “Magog always attack until they’re either destroyed or their target falls.”
“They didn’t send nearly enough to take us out,” Dylan commented, looking at the bodies on the floor.
Terazed’s uniform fuzzed and returned Rhade to his original clothing. “Why would they send insufficient forces against us?”
“Testing the waters,” Okami said, joining them with Yumeko and Trance in tow. “It’s a common strategy. Find out what numbers your enemy has, test their skills.”
“You’ve seen this before, Okami?” Rhade asked her.
“Every single time. We should have seen it coming.”
“It’s my fault,” Tenshi said, detransforming. “I didn’t think they’d attack this soon.”
“Well, we beat them,” Dylan said.
“For now. We should meet with the others, see if they noticed anything odd about this.

“So first off, I’d like to point out that I have a good feeling about this. Rhade’s senshi powers are strong. A little unfocused, but that’s easy enough to fix,” Tenshi began. They met up with the other groups on the obs deck and were now all seated around the tale.
“Good to hear,” Rhade said, folding his arms.
“Trance’s gifts are also promising,” Okami added. “She’s also had the benefit of previous training.”
Tsuki looked up from her spot in Trance’s lap. “Not that I did her much good.”
Miocci rolled his eyes. “You’re quite hard on yourself. Vedra wasn’t needed, so there was no need for extensive training. Enough said.”
“So what happened to Jen?” Yumeko asked.
“She lost control of a flaming circle and it drained all of her energy,” Tenshi explained. “Rhade took her back to her quarters to sleep.”
“I hope these people have enough drugs powerful enough to keep her out until she recovers from the headache we all know she has.”
Trance shook her head. “I know the kind of headache Tenshi is talking about. I don’t know much about Jen, but I doubt we could keep her out for more than a couple hours.”
“So how did the Dragos do it?” Harper asked.
“We don’t know, nor will we until Jen decides to be more forthcoming about her time there,” Yumeko told him.
“I have a few very wild theories, but much of it gives them more credit for knowledge than they likely have,” Okami added.
“Nietzscheans are very smart,” Rhade told her stiffly.
“It’s not a slight against the Nietzscheans as a whole, but you’d never heard of a Nomaien before you met Jen. Frankly, you know very little about her.”
“Besides the fact that she’s a bitch,” Beka muttered.
“Hey!” Harper protested. “She’s not a bitch. She’s just had a really rough few months. Underneath all of that, she’s really quite a nice person.”
“Pardon me if I don’t believe you.”
“Don’t worry about it. This happens every time she wakes as a senshi,” Yumeko assured the very annoyed looking Harper.
“Doesn’t like it?” Dylan asked.
“No, but it’s better than the alternative.”
“We’ve had this talk before,” Rhade reminded her. “What is this alternative? Don’t tell us about it being herself. We don’t even know what that is.”
Tenshi, Okami, and Yumeko exchanged a look. “There isn’t a lot we can tell you without her permission. What we can tell you is that, back home on Nomaie, she would be her mother’s daughter, subject to all the rules and restrictions that implies. She would have no freedom whatsoever,” Tenshi said hesitantly.
“And as if that wasn’t bad enough, there’s her siblings to consider,” said Okami. “Her brother isn’t so bad. He’s a senshi as well, but her elder sister…” She shook her head, the light glinting off her copper earring. “Hihana is a stuck up, self-centered, vain bitch. If you think Jen’s a bitch, you should meet Hihana. Even Tenshi would have bitchy tendencies if she’d grown up with her.”
“You can’t give us anymore details than that?” Rhade asked. “Not even her brother’s name?”
Yumeko shook her head. “For some reason, his name is as closely guarded a secret as Jen’s real name. This is odd, considering that in Nomaien society, women have all the power, and so I can’t see any need for the secrecy.”
“Except for the fact that Jen’s very close to her brother. He took a lot of the heat from Hihana to protect her,” Tenshi reminded her. “If people knew his name, they’d be able to figure hers out.”
“Couldn’t they do that knowing Hihana’s name?” Dylan asked.
“Hihana is a fairly common, if lovely, name. Jen’s name isn’t so common. Her brother’s is even less common.”
“If any of you want to know more, ask her about it,” Miocci interrupted. “Jen’s past is if no importance right now.”
“Wouldn’t it help us relate to her better?”
The grey cat simply shook his head. “She doesn’t want to relate to any of you. She may talk to Harper, but she knows him. Admittedly, she met him before she remembered who she really was, but that’s beside the point.”
“She can trust me,” Harper said smugly.
“Trust is a strong word, too strong a word for this situation. She’d talk to you. Nothing more.”
“You’re being very pessimistic, Miocci,” Yumeko scolded.
“Optimism isn’t going to help us out here.”
“Nietzscheans don't believe in optimism. It inhibits survival,” Rhade said.
Okami gave a short, barking laugh. “If you were optimistic about Jen, you’d probably be dead by now.”
“That aside, we all did well today. Okami is right. This was just a test. I for one would very much like to know how they knew we were after them. This is too soon for this kind of strike.”
“It could just be random,” Beka suggested. “The Magog attack without rhyme or reason. This could all just be one giant coincidence.”
“Our luck has never been that good.”
“Personally, I don’t believe in luck,” Jen said, staggering in to the room.
“You should be in bed resting,” Tenshi scolded.
“Do you honestly think that I could rest with a headache this bad?” Jen asked, wincing as she walked towards the window. She leaned her head on the glass. “Besides, I am, or was anyways, a fully trained senshi. I still have all my knowledge of things.”
“Do you have anything to add to this?” Dylan asked her softly.
She looked at him. “Not that it means anything to you, but while I was out cold, I dreamed.”
Tenshi, Okami, and Yumeko jumped to attention. “What now?” Okami groaned, cupping her head with her hands.
“Just tell me you didn’t see the Andromeda going up in flames.
Jen made a face. “No, nothing like that. Not this time, unfortunately.”
“Unfortunately? How could not seeing my ship going up in flames possibly be a bad thing?” Dylan demanded, jumping to his feet.
“Careful, Dylan,” Miocci warned. “Until her retraining is complete, she’s a loose cannon.”
“Time bomb is a better word,” Okami told the cat.
“We could prevent that. What I saw was this glowing red person surrounded by those Magog things. On the ground in front of them were our broken bodies, ripped to shreds. It wasn’t pretty.”
“By our bodies, you mean all of us, right?” Harper looked sick.
Dylan laughed, getting up out of his chair, walking towards her. “It was only a dream, Jen.”
“Oh boy,” Yumeko muttered under her breath.
Jen spun around, grabbed Dylan by the throat and slammed his back into the window. “You know nothing of dreams,” she hissed before she let him drop to the floor.
Dylan rubbed his throat. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Did you miss the part where they tried to warn you all that I’m unstable or do I need to drive the point home again?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary. Rhade, would you mind taking her to the brig?” he asked, getting up.
“Don’t even try it, Nietzschean.”
Tenshi got up and put herself between them. “Dylan, this is not the wisest course of action.”
“Need I remind you that she attacked my captain?” Rommie asked angrily.
“I saw what she did. Trust me, the brig isn’t a good idea. She’ll just get out and you’ll be back to square one. If you want to punish her, turn the Andromeda around.”
“And go where? Earth?” Beka asked.
“Nomaie.”
Jen’s face went white. “That’s not funny, Tenshi.”
“Nor was it intended to be,” she replied calmly.
“Seriously,” Okami said, standing. “That’s a little extreme.”
“From our current position, it would take a week to get there. Doing so would help with Rhade, Jen, and Trance’s training. It would also stabilize Jen.”
“Yes, but at what cost?” Yumeko jumped in. “You’ll have a stable senshi, but there’s a high risk that she’ll be useless at best, taken from us a worst.”
“Say no more, Yumeko. It would be best for her, and you know it. You, too, Okami. If not Nomaie, the Ha’ven for the healers there to have a look at her.”
“No, no healers,” Jen chocked out.
Dylan looked at Tenshi. “How do we get to Nomaie? I don’t want to have to lock your friend up in the brig, but I can’t have her attacking people.”
“She only attacked you because you mocked the dream,” Tenshi told him bluntly. “Never mock a Nomaien for having a dream, especially not if that individual is a senshi, as those dreams tend to precognitive. Now that she’s told us what she saw, we can take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Beka looked skeptical. “You trust her dreams?”
“We’ve never had reason to doubt it before. I remember well the first time we didn’t listen to her.”
“What happened?” Rommie asked, curious.
“We all died,” Okami said shrugging. “Lucky for us, we weren’t the only senshi there at the time. They were able to pick up where we left off.”
“That’s still no reason to have attacked Dylan.”
“Again, did we forget to mention that I’m unbalanced, possibly irrational?” Jen asked, exasperated.
“That explains a few things,” Rhade said. “Like your hatred of me.”
“No, that’s one of the more rational things going on right now. At any rate, message delivered. I’m going to go find something to eat.”
“You can actually eat right now?” Okami stared at her.
Jen shrugged. “I don’t want to, but I know if I don’t, I’ll pay for it for the next three or four days.”
“Nomaiens have a very high food need to make up for the lack of water on their planet,” Tenshi explained when Jen was out of hearing range.
“So we head for Nomaie, “ Dylan said. “Any objections?”
Trance broke her silence. “I do, actually. We don’t know how to get there, or if it will help.”
“It’s a risk we have to take,” Tenshi told her gently. “Even had she not attacked Dylan, I would have suggested it after the battle. If the Magog are attacking us this soon, then we don’t have nearly as much time to prepare as we thought. Don’t worry Trance. Your abilities will still work in our galaxy. Ours work just fine here.”
“That’s no what I was worried about.”
“Also, won’t the Commonwealth miss us?” Rhade asked.
“We won’t be gone all that long.”
“You said it will take a week and a half to get there. Same transit time back, say a week or so there to get this done. We’ll have been gone almost a month.”
“It will take less time to get back here, as once we’re there, we’ll have access to our modes of transportation. They aren’t as versatile as slipstream, but they work and will be able to get us back faster. Okami, if you could give Andromeda the coordinates that would be appreciated. Dylan, I would like to speak to you about our home worlds a little more. Preferably in private.”
“That can be arranged.”
“One more thing. Rhade, I know you put out a lot of energy fighting today, but if you could run through some exercises as well as spend some time meditating. Don’t worry about doing too much. You know your limits as far as exercise goes.”
“Might I ask why?”
Tenshi sighed tiredly. “Because I’m going to need your help tomorrow burning Jen’s energy. We need to give her something to do to keep her mind off the fact that we’re going to the one place she doesn’t want to go.”
“I think I can handle spending more time with Jen, even if we’ll be beating on each other.”
“I didn’t think it would be a problem. Now, Rhade, Rommie, if you two will excuse us, I’d like to have that chat with Dylan now.”
The two nodded and left.

 

Episode 07: Duel

“So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Dylan asked when they were alone in the room.
“Jen.”
“I see.”
“I felt you deserve a bit more detail to the explanation I gave earlier.”
He crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”
“If it was only about the dream, we would have jumped down her throat as well. That’s not the only reason she attacked you. The Nomaiens are female dominated.”
“So she took exception to me laughing at her.”
“If you were a Nomaien man, you wouldn’t be conscious right now. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have attacked you like that.”
“But as you keep saying, she’s not all there right now.”
“Yes, exactly. I’m not condoning what she did, I’m just saying that, given her background, it’s understandable.”
“I should warn Rhade and Harper.”
“No, you shouldn’t. Harper she knows from before and understands his behavior. Rhade…well, him knowing this isn’t going to help him out any. If Jen is as traumatized by her experience in the prison camp as I think she is, she’ll take any excuse to pick a fight with him. No matter what he does, he’s in trouble.”
“Great. Is there anything you can do?”
“Getting them to work together is the only way to curb it. Perhaps if she knows he’s not as easy a target as she currently thinks, she might think twice about trying anything.”
“I hope it works. If she hurts Rhade, I will have to confine her.”
“Good luck with that.”

Jen woke the next morning soaked in sweat. She tossed the covers off and sat up, cupping her head in her hands. This is insane. I’ve had the same dreams over and over for the last six months. Why won’t they stop? She got up and headed for her bathroom to splash her face with cold water. I haven’t gotten a decent night’s sleep since they started. If this goes on for much longer, I may truly loose what’s left of my sanity.
She patted her face dry with a towel and went back out to put her clothes on, making a face as she did so. I’ve got to get some better clothes. Granted, I’m lucky that I’m the same size as Rommie, but these just aren’t me. I prefer to have less of my skin showing. It’s all fine when I’m in uniform, but not for every day wear. Admittedly, I have the clothes I came out of my transformation with, but they just don’t feel right anymore. I haven’t seen that outfit in a very long time and the memories associated with it aren’t pleasant ones. I’m still not sure why those clothes appeared and not the ones I was wearing before I transformed. For that matter, how did the ones I had been wearing show up back in my quarters?
There was a knock on the door. She finished pulling the shorts on and opened it to find Rhade standing behind it holding a large bundle in his arms. “What do you want?” she growled, tensing up..
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not going to hurt you before you finally believe me?”
“It’ll never happen.”
“