__________________________
     /                          \
    |   Under A Different Moon   |
     \__________________________/


Thanks to my pre-readers:
Ben
aevan			  http://aevan.virtualave.net
Mike Rever
Anna Aebersold

Visit my website at
dzillman@ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dzillman/fire


Chapter 1
=========


Ami looked around the high, vaulted chamber with no small quantity of 
awe. Even for the audience chamber of royalty, the room was impressive. 
Of course, it deserved to be; it was the formal introduction and 
audience hall for Queen Usagi XVI, also known as Queen Serenity due to 
her calm and peaceful nature. When you are the titular leader of 
Kingdom of the isles and hereditary ruler of the Moon Kingdom, you 
warranted special efforts on your behalf.

From where Ami stood, just through the grand doors, she could see all 
the way along the fine red carpet leading up to the dais. Off to either 
side high columns supported the vaulted ceiling, each inlaid with gold 
artworks that depicted great battles from history. There she saw the 
"War Of The World", taking pride of place on the first column to the 
left. Those days, four hundred and twenty-three years ago, that Queen 
Usagi The Great, first of her line, claimed the throne of the Moon 
Kingdom and began the War Of The World, unifying the islands under the 
Moon Kingdom. Prior to then, each of the Kingdoms had been independent 
and in a constant state of  "limited aggression". Today, there was 
peace among the islands like never in history.

Momentarily upbraiding herself for sliding off into an impromptu 
history lesson, Ami pulled her eyes away from the columns and forced 
herself to look forwards. 'I'll come back and look later,' she promised 
herself. Learning was something she would never deny herself, but now 
was not the time, it was not even the place. Her liege awaited her, and 
it would be unseemly to ignore the ruler of the civilised world.

Squaring her shoulders, Ami drew her head up and hoped that everything 
was just as perfect now as when she left her room. Walking forwards 
with firm, even strides, Ami could feel the soft carpet through the 
thin soles of her silk slippers. The fine silk gown, pale blue to match 
her Kingdom's formal colours, rustled softly as she walked and it was 
all she could do to keep herself steady and not reach up to make sure 
the dress was perfect again. When in the presence of the Queen, it 
would hardly do to keep checking her appearance as though the servants 
had failed in their duty.

Walking down the carpet, Ami passed a seemingly endless row of armoured 
figures. She might be an invited visitor, but the Royal Guard still 
paid the same strict attention to her as they would have had she been a 
potential assassin from the Dark Kingdom. Good guards never relaxed on 
duty, and these men held themselves to rigid attention, their armour as 
bright and polished, as it was functional and effective. Alone and 
without a single weapon, Ami felt no threat from the men. They would no 
sooner hurt her than their own queen, unless ordered to or provoked.

The daunting walk ended when she came to the foot of the dais. It was 
only raised four steps, but it was enough to ensure the seated monarch 
was above the height of any petitioners who might come to her. Despite 
the difficulty of doing so in her silken dress, Ami dropped to one knee 
and bowed her head while placing her right hand flatly on the floor. 
The greeting was formal, but also practical. While kneeling in this 
fashion, any person this close to the Queen showed they bore no weapon, 
and they placed themselves at her mercy. Before you could rise and move 
to her august personage, hidden archers in the galleries would protect 
their queen in a most final manner.

"Your Royal Highness, " the Queen's vizier announced a booming voice. 
"May I present Princess-Elect Ami III, first daughter of the House of 
Mercury, future ruler of the Isle Of Mercury, may the gods protect 
her."

There was the barest sound as the Queen stood, her smile as radiant as 
the dawning sun. In her position she was not required to stand at the 
presentation of anyone in the Kingdom, but she did so out of politeness 
and courtesy. "Arise, Princess Ami, We do not weigh heavily upon 
formality in this court."

Smiling to match the Queen, Ami looked up and rose fully when the Queen 
gestured to her. The last time she had been here was eleven years ago, 
and she could dimly remember the Queen same gracious gesture from that 
time. It was eleven years ago at the tender age of five that she had 
been presented to the Queen for her approval, and for Ami III to swear 
her life-long loyalty to the Moon Kingdom. Now she was sixteen, and 
there was not going to be any of the confusing and frightening oaths 
and formalities she had suffered through when she was young. This was 
simply a visit by a future head of state.

As she rose, the Queen seated herself and smiled beatifically. Only one 
person sat in the audience hall, and that was the Queen. No one else 
was allowed this privilege, not even Princess Usagi XVII, who stood to 
the right of her mother, also looking down at Ami with a pleasant smile.

The Queen and her daughter wore matching gowns of white. The dresses  
were long, with the sort of plainness and simple beauty that can only 
be achieved by the fabulously expensive work of achieving perfection in 
craftsmanship The only colour to the gown was the gold thread 
highlighting the high waistband of the skirt. Traceries of pearls ran 
down the gentle flowing skirt of each gown, so pale they were almost 
invisible against the silk. 

Only their headdress differed them. The princess wore only a simple 
tiara, with the diamond of her family in the centre. Her Majesty the 
Queen wore one of her less formal crows, but even it was worth more 
than most merchant fleets, and boasted enough gems to cover the room in 
varicoloured spots of refracted light.

"Your Majesty, it is an honour to meet you again. I bring greetings 
from my mother, who sends her wishes for your continued good health and 
wisdom in these troubled times." The Queen acknowledged these gracious 
words. Turning slightly Princess Ami addressed the Princess beside the 
throne. "Your Majesty, may I also say what a pleasure it is to meet 
you."

Ami had particular reason to include the Princess in her greetings. In 
all probability both her mother and the Queen would live for many years 
to come, but there was little doubt that when it came time for Ami III 
to ascend to her throne as Princess Mercury, she would be likely to 
swear fealty to the current Moon Princess. For the sake of her subjects, 
it would be best that they began cordial relationships now, in the 
hopes of a good working relationship later. There was the distant 
possibility of friendship between the Princess and herselft, but Ami 
did not invest much hope in that. She must think of her people first, 
and herself last. Her mother had taught her that long ago.

Princess Usagi smiled a little wider and waved back like a little girl, 
causing Ami to flinch on the inside. She had heard rumours about the 
Princess' intellect, but had discounted them as being simple slander 
against another royal family. Now, she was not so sure. It was an 
exaggeration and an old joke, but Ami could also swear she could see 
the light reflected in the Princess' eyes, as it bounced unimpeded 
through the girl's head, unblocked by anything as bothersome as brains.

"Hiiiiiiii, Ami-chan!"

Now the Princess-Elect did cringe slightly, a barely noticeable 
movement across the distance that separated them. Perhaps the rumours 
were true. She hoped for the future of the Kingdom they were not, but 
her first impressions did not go far to reassuring her.

The Queen blinked slightly at the unexpected greeting, then smiled 
indulgently down at her daughter. "Dear, why don't you go out and play. 
We shall send Princess Ami out to the gardens when We have finished 
with her."

"OK, Momma. Bye, Ami-chan."

Ami, a credit to her training, did not cringe this time. Instead she 
simply lowered her head in a bow and gave a brief curtsy. "Farewell, 
Princess."

If she was lucky, that would be the last she saw of the Moon Kingdom's 
Princess. When she saw Usagi trip slightly on the thick rug leading out 
to the private exit of the audience chamber, she wondered if the girl 
would someday come to be known as Queen Usagi XVII, The Bubble Headed, 
in the same manner her mother was called Serenity and the Queen before 
her The Just. 

Such a thought caused Ami's stomach to knot up inside her slightly. If 
the girl really was as bad as she seemed and the rumours suggested, the 
line of Usagi would doubtless end at seventeen, for the Dark Kingdom 
would surely hold sway over the Moon Kingdom and all her allies before 
the girl was able to raise her own heir.

Once her daughter had left the room, Serenity rose and advanced from 
the throne. To maintain that quiet dignity and perfect poise in the 
face of a daughter who was completely ignorant of protocol was enough 
to earn the Queen her reign name, if nothing else.

When she reached ground level, Queen Usagi held out one, white gloved 
hand to the Princess. "Come, Princess. We would rather conclude this in 
more comfortable surroundings, rather than a hall as cold as this one."

Placing her hand in the Queen's waiting palm, Ami could only smile. 
"Whatever suits Your Majesty will make me most comfortable. Even the 
Princess' audience chamber on Mercury is cold enough to warrant heavier 
clothes than these, at this time of the year. Truly, I would be happy 
wherever you desire to talk."

"Ahh, your famous winters. We think you shall find the Isle Of The Moon 
more temperate than your home. When last We visited your country, We 
were astounded by how cold Our rooms could be, even with additional 
fires burning. Truly the Isle Of Mercury must be the coldest place on 
the planet."

They had reached one of the many doors of the entrance hall and walked 
through without pause as servants held it open for the two of them. The 
room beyond was smaller, but still larger than most peasants' houses. 
Books lined the walls in neat shelves, and a large table was the 
centrepiece of the room. The dark wood was inlaid with intricate 
carvings, but it was the map of the known world that drew Ami's 
attention. Embedded in the tabletop, the map was covered in glass, or 
crystal, and showed almost as much of the world as anyone could know. 
Even the finest maps in Mercury did not show the details held here of 
the southern and western reaches.

Walking over to the map, Ami located her island and drew her finger 
north, tens of kilometres where the known world faded into obscurity. 
"Actually, Your Majesty, the Isle Of Mercury is not the coldest place 
on the planet, not even Tsumetai, our northern-most port. Ships that 
hunt with the great packs of leviathan in the winter have reported 
going further north than any explorers. More than one fleet has 
returned with stories of a land where the water itself has turned to 
mountains of ice, and the world stays frozen all year round."

Serenity shook her head in amazement. "We can hardly imagine a land 
like that. Your own was sufficiently cold for Our tastes."

"Yes, Your Majesty. No one lives there, of course, there would be 
nothing to eat, Nothing but ice, so they say."

"Somewhere so cold... We imagine there would be quite a market for all 
that ice, if it could only be shipped to Venus..." Serenity trailed off 
expectantly, looking at Mercury out the side of her eyes

Ami nodded and pointed at the Isle Of Venus on the map. Like her home 
island, it too was colour coded. Where Mercury was the blue of the low 
vegetation and tundra that covered the land, Venus was the yellow of 
its deserts. "The Isle Of Venus, hottest place on Chikyuu. Is it true, 
Your Majesty, that it never rains north of the Barrier Mountains?"

"Not quite, Princess. We have heard that it does rain on the northern 
deserts one or twice in the reign of every Princess. On Venus, a shower 
of rain is considered a gift from the gods, and everyone celebrates. We 
could ill afford to do that here, lest Our people never accomplish any 
work."

With a sigh, the Queen sat down in one of the seats in the room, 
watching the young Princess-Elect as she continued to stare in 
fascination at the map. Usagi knew from her last trip to Mercury almost 
eight years ago that their cartography was nowhere near as advanced as 
what was possessed by the Moon Kingdom. Indeed, when people described 
the map as holding 'the known world', it was no idle boast. Details on 
the western side of the Tairiku were scant, but that was to be expected. 
Other than that, the map showed everything. 

It was bounded on the north by the endless cold oceans that the 
Princess informed her were now known to freeze over, until they 
presumably became too cold for a man to survive even for a second. To 
the east, again the map stopped after showing barely a hundred 
kilometres past the Moon Kingdom. There was nothing in that direction. 
The waters of Mugen Umi stretched onwards forever. Sailors had 
travelled eastward for days, weeks even on some voyages, never sighting 
land until they returned and retraced their ways.

To the south, things were as bad as to the north, but completely the 
opposite. Serenity could not help remembering her own youthful wonder 
as her mother had explained to her the stories of the sailors. From 
Venus, you passed the Isle Of Jupiter to the south, and even there the 
weather was so hot it could kill a man who was not cautious. So hot, 
the water neared boiling each day it was said, and rains came every 
afternoon in Jupiter's forests. Once you passed that tropical paradise, 
there were few crews who would continue further. Legend said you could 
go south until the seas boiled and giant monsters roamed the oceans, 
preying upon even the largest ships.

No, as Ami was discovering, the world was a small place, and if the 
Dark Kingdom on Tairiku was looking eastward towards this domain, there 
was nowhere they could run, and no new allies they could call on.

Giving a start, Princess Ami pulled herself away from the map and 
blushed a deep red at her inattention to the Queen. "M-My apologies, 
Your Majesty. I have never seen such a fine map, with such wonderful 
detail. I'm afraid I became caught up in it."

"There is no need to seek forgiveness, Ami. It is a pleasure to see a 
lady of the Kingdom taking such an interest in the world. We must also 
say how pleased We are that you have obviously taken to your lessons so 
well. You are a credit to your mother and your Kingdom. We hope you 
shall serve Our daughter as well as your mother has served Us, and may 
you provide her with much wisdom."

"I-I certainly shall try, Your Majesty." 

"Please, Princess, be seated. As you may expect, there are several 
things that We must talk to you about, not least of which is Our 
Kingdom and your mother's Isle. However, We must confess to a more 
personal matter that is of great concern to Us."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Anything I can do, I shall." Ami had a pouch 
filled with missives and trade proposals from her mother and the 
Princess' ministers. Ami had been expecting to deliver them quickly, 
but if the Queen wanted to speak of other things first, she was not the 
person to advise her otherwise.

"We are... concerned about Our daughter, Princess Ami. In no small part, 
this is why We requested your presence here. Your mother makes no 
secret of your intelligence and studious nature. Indeed it is said that 
even at such a young age, you have already begun to study the works of 
Himitsu and his ilk, questing beyond mathematics to the reasons of the 
universe. You are to be commended."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. My mother has a great library within the 
palace, and within Mercury City, our Hall Of Knowledge is nearly a 
second home to me. I... I have always felt that it would be a crime 
against my future subjects if I did not learn all I could. Someday... 
Someday I will have to rule them, and I can only hope to do it with the 
same wisdom that mother and her mother before her have shown."

"A most noble endeavour, and We wish you the blessings of the gods in 
your attempt. During your stay in Our city, We would be most pleased if 
you felt free to avail yourself of both Our library, and the annals 
recorded in the repository under the statue of Suijin, god of 
knowledge."

"Your Majesty, I am honoured! Such an offer is most gracious." For most 
of her life, Ami had dreamed of being admitted to the repository of 
Suijin. Guarded jealously by the god's priests, it was said that there 
were books there that dated back before the sinking of the world., 
tomes that held such great knowledge that they had the power to make a 
man a god. To have her Queen make such a dream come true, it was almost 
too much to believe.

"Do not thank Us yet, Princess, for We must ask a price in return. 
Would you consent to taking Our daughter with you on Your travels 
through this city?"

For an opportunity like this, Ami would drag a leviathan behind her if 
that were what it took to get into the halls of Suijin. "I would be 
honoured, Your Majesty."

"You may not think so for long," Serenity said with only the slightest 
hint of laughter in her voice. "Our daughter's tutors have spoken to Us 
on more than one occasion, requesting assistance with the Heir. We have 
not invited you here for purely diplomatic reasons, Princess Ami. We 
confess that it is in no small part a hope that you may teach Our 
daughter some of your good habits and skills."

Ami nodded silently. Before she left, this was not something she had 
ever considered. She knew the summons to court with the Queen was 
unusual, but both Ami and her mother, Princess Mercury, suspected that 
the Queen wanted a secure and discrete envoy for military talks. Over 
the last weeks prior to her departure, Ami had been drilled endlessly 
on Mercury's fleet and military dispositions. If the Queen was 
organising a centralised defence of the Kingdom, Mercury would 
contribute all she could in a gesture that went beyond mere loyalty and 
vassalage.

"Our daughter spoke of you previously, Princess, quoting stories of 
your intelligence and learning. Being described as Our daughter's 
intellectual superior is not surprising, but for her to mention you was 
noteworthy. We, and the Heir's tutors, have begun to despair of how she 
may be taught. She shows such slight interest in the running of the 
Kingdom and the knowledge one needs to be able serve her people. 

"These days, all Our daughter desires to do is watch the Guard as they 
train, or go riding in the mountains with her handmaiden. We hoped... 
We hoped that the presence of one her own age would make her more 
inclined to follow a good example."

"I can only try, Your Majesty."

"That is all We can ask. Now, let Us adjourn. We shall have a servant 
escort you to the gardens. Our daughter should be waiting there to meet 
you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Following the maid through the palace, Ami could only wonder what the 
Moon Princess would be like as next Queen. If her mother, the renowned 
"Serenity", was distressed enough about her education to call in one of 
the future Princesses of the Isles, things must be desperate. Entering 
the garden, Ami spared barely a glance for the beautifully tended trees 
and the unusual, ornate flora the bloomed so impressively. On the heels 
of the silent maid, she gently nibbled on her lower lip. Could anyone 
really be as bad as Usagi's reputation, and if so, what could Ami hope 
achieve?

Ami spotted the Moon Princess at the same time as the maid. Initially 
she was delighted with the fact that Usagi was reading, but as she got 
closer, Ami realised it was one the drawn stories, so popular among the 
lower classes, a manga she believed the genre was called.

When the arrived at the bench, Usagi jumped up with a bright and cheery 
greeting that would have been more appropriate for school girls 
greeting each other across a playing field, rather than Princesses 
meeting personally for the first time.

As the maid bowed and turned to leave, Ami offered her own, 
substantially more demure greetings in return, only to have the 
Princess lay hands on her and pull her down to sit on the marble bench. 
"Ami-chan, look at this, look at this! Isn't it just the funniest thing 
you've ever read?"

Having the manga forced into her hands, Ami looked down at it and 
flicked her eyes across the page. From what she could see, it was a 
romance, and the boy was just about to kiss the girl... She could not 
find anything approaching a joke. She was just turning to Usagi to say 
so when the blonde pointed at the page and laughed loud enough for both 
of them. Ami only hoped that maid did not think it was her laughing; 
her reputation did not need that sort of stain on it.

"Isn't that great, Ami-chan? I thought that was just soooo funny."

Ami's brows creased slightly. "Princess... I'm sure there must be 
something I am missing from this that only you can see. Perhaps it 
would be better if I returned at some other time."

Ami started to rise, but a grip like iron reached out and caught her 
arm, pulling her back down to the seat. In a quiet voice that would not 
carry, the Princess hissed in her ear. "If you value your life, you'll 
sit down, look at the book again, and laugh this time."
 
Ami gasped several times, but one look at the Moon Princess' face 
scared away any thought of doing something other than what she was 
commanded. She still wore the same bright smile, and her hair was done 
in the childish buns and ponytails she liked so much, but her eyes... 
Usagi's eyes had changed. No longer were they the blue, vacant orbs 
like an empty ocean on a clear day. Now they were firm and hard. Blue 
like sapphire and as hard as diamond, those eyes broke no comment and 
no questions.

"Oh... Ahh... Yes... Tee Hee, Tee Hee... Err... Yes, quite funny, 
Princess, quiet funny indeed." A drop of sweat ran down the side of her 
neck. She knew the Princess was not supposed to be smart, but no one 
had mentioned delusional.

Peering past her to ensure the maid was beyond earshot, Usagi lifted 
one delicate blonde eyebrow. "If that's your best acting, we've got 
serious problems. I have to say, you were with Mother much shorter than 
I expected. Did you complete the treaties that quickly?"

"W-What?"

"Keep your voice down, they might overhear us. I asked whether or not 
you and Mother completed the trade and defence treaties you came here 
with?"

"How did you know about those? Have you been sneaking into my room? But 
no, that couldn't be. Himeko should have been there, unpacking my 
things. You couldn't have gotten my mother's papers yet."

Usagi rolled her eyes. "I think I can take it for granted that Princess 
Mercury would send something like that when she sent her only daughter 
down to the capital. Now, for the last time, keep your voice down. Do 
you want to get us killed?"

"Killed? What are you talking about? We are in the middle of the palace. 
Who could possibly hurt us here?"

"Haven't you ever heard of assassins?"

"WHAT?! Assassins? Where?"

"Quiet!" The blonde girl hissed, clamping a hand over Ami's mouth. 
"There aren't any and I can assure you there are none after me at the 
moment. After all, why would the Dark Kingdom want to assassinate me?"

Looking pointedly at the hand still blocking her mouth, Ami frowned 
until Usagi removed it. Licking her lips once, the northern princess 
paused to try and find a politically correct way of conveying what she 
needed to then spoke quietly. "If you think there are assassins around, 
I suspect you might be just a little... unjustly concerned, Your 
Highness. Perhaps if I spoke to the royal doctor ...

"I'm not paranoid, I'm realistic. Right this minute, knowing only my 
reputation, whom do you think the Dark Kingdom would prefer on the 
throne; my mother, or myself?"
 
"You." There was no hesitation. Serenity held the love of everyone on 
the islands. Although efforts were made to shield the younger Usagi's 
reputation from being sullied, most people had some idea that their 
next ruler was not likely to be a shining gem in the collection.

"Exactly, but if they knew what you will learn in the next week, I'd be 
dead within days. So... Learn to be quiet, and learn how to listen. 
Always remember: you are an effete scholar, and I am an idiot."

Ami bristled at the description, but held her tongue when she realised 
how Usagi had described herself. She could not remember an idiot ever 
describing _themselves_ that way.

"Excellent. You're learning already."

"What did you mean, 'what I will learn in the next week'? What are you 
going to teach me?"

"I can't tell you everything at the moment. Let's just say that even 
Usagi VIII did not manage to complete the job I will."

Ami frowned and wracked her brain. She had read about Usagi VIII a 
while ago, but what was she famous for...? Ah, that's right: Usagi VIII, 
the Conqueror. She led the armies of the Moon Kingdom deep into Tairiku 
and managed to subjugate most of the eastern provinces. Of course, it 
all was lost in the era of Usagi X, the Incompetent... 

"What a moment... You don't mean..." 

"This is a war, Ami-chan. Make no mistake about it. Let me assure you, 
that by the time we die, there will only be one Kingdom remaining. In 
our generation, either the Dark Kingdom will consume us, or we will 
consume them. There is no alternative now; things have gone on for too 
long as they are. I for one do not wish to see Metallia's banner flying 
over my home, and that means I must fly mine over hers instead. 
Understand now... There is no room for compromise."

A black cat jumped up onto Usagi's lap as she spoke and watched Ami 
with unblinking eyes. Ami, for all her gifted intelligence, simply sat 
there and blinked. "You... You're completely mad..."

Shifting slightly on the bench, Usagi looked directly into the 
visitor's face and took one of Ami's hands in hers. "Please, you have 
to believe me. I first realised the truth when I was five years old and 
took my oath of loyalty. For eleven years I've been preparing for 
this."

Ami blinked. "You take an oath? To whom? I thought everyone swore oaths 
to you and your mother."

"You swear to defend and obey us, just as our people do. Everyone 
serves the Queen, but whom does the Queen serve? I'll tell you who the 
Queen serves, she serves everyone. I cried for weeks after I had to 
take an oath to serve and protect every person in the Kingdom. I 
thought that it meant I wasn't worth anything, that I was supposed to 
give my life to protect the dirtiest farmer, the smelliest sailor or 
the ugliest beggar in the streets. 

"I was heartbroken for weeks, until my mother explained it to me. I was 
right, you see, I just did not understand what it meant. Thousands of 
people line up each year for the privilege of bowing and scraping at 
the dirt at my mother's feet, and they'll do the same for me when I 
take the throne. But they'll only do that while it's in their interests. 
Justice, protection, wisdom; that is what they want from a ruler. A 
Queen who uses her armies against the people will fall in a generation, 
no matter how large the army. A Queen who uses her armies _for_ her 
people, will survive forever in their hearts and found a dynasty. 

"I love my mother dearly, Ami-chan, you must believe that. She is a 
wonderful, caring mother and a queen who can bring prosperity to a 
nation in times of peace. However, she is ill suited to war. Queen 
Serenity is not the reign name used by one to defeat our greatest 
hereditary enemy. She was called Serenity by the time I was five, and I 
was already wondering how someone quiet and calm could possibly make 
our Kingdom as great as it became in the days of The Great, The 
Conqueror or The Mad. 

"By the time I was ten, I knew that I was the one that would need to 
put a stop to the pirates and the Dark Kingdom raids that were bolder 
and bolder every day. On my tenth birthday I swore an oath to Luna that 
my reign name would either be Usagi The Last, or Usagi The Victorious."

"But... In that case, why all the deception? Why not study more? If 
people knew you and respected you like your mother, wouldn't it be so 
much easier?"

Usagi shook her head sadly. "I can't protect myself here. An assassin 
could sneak into the palace in a thousand different ways. The only 
place I am truly safe is on the Rising Moon, and then only when we are 
not doing battle. As long as I am meek and useless, the Dark Kingdom 
gains more from having me alive than having me dead. If they believed 
what I have just told you, you could count on them moving swiftly to 
rectify the situation."

Ami looked confused for a moment. "But... You just told me all of that. 
Doesn't that put you in danger? What if I went and told people?"

"No one would believe you, Ami-chan. People see what they want to, and 
nothing you can say at the moment will make them believe I am a threat 
to anyone but myself. But... You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"No..." It was soft, barely a whisper.
 
"And why not?"
 
"Because... Because I believe you. Because... It all makes sense the 
way you say it." The blue haired girl shook her head. "I don't know why, 
but somehow it all makes sense and I believe you."

"You believe me because in your heart you know it is true. Luna."

With that single word command the cat jumped down of Usagi's lap and 
sat on the ground. After a moment's hesitation to ensure Ami was 
watching, the black cat suddenly grew in size, expanding into a small, 
furry, naked girl kneeling on the path.

"A... A Cat Person..."

"You're right, I'm impressed. Few people know of them, let alone 
believe the legends." Even as she stood, Luna still barely matched 
their sitting height. Taking a small dress Usagi offered her, Luna let 
it slide over her head and then sat near their feet.

As Ami studied her face, Luna smiled, showing a fine set of pointed 
cat-like teeth. Her face, while slightly human, retained other 
distinctly cat-like features, including the small pink nose among her 
black fur, and the slanted yellow eyes. Pointed black ears that looked 
as soft as velvet twitched. When she spoke, her voice was of someone 
much more mature than either of the girls. Although Luna's human like 
body was the size of a young girl, the mind it carried evidently 
belonged to someone much older and wiser.  She smiled up at Ami as she 
watched her examining gaze.

"I am Luna, as you said, I am a Neko-Musume, a Cat Person. Our people 
have lived on this island before mankind came, before the world sank 
and all was covered with water. Since then, we have sought to live in 
peace with mankind, but most of your people fear or hate us. Few of the 
Neko-Jin remain here, and for each generation of your leaders, one of 
us comes out to watch you. Usagi is the first of her line in over two 
hundred years that we have revealed ourselves to."

"Two hundred years ago... that would have been... Usagi The Conqueror!"

"Precisely. We worked with her to bring peace and safety to our island. 
The Cat People do not like war as much as humans, but we will aid you 
were we can. I am here as an advisor to Usagi, just as another of my 
people aided the one you call The Conqueror."

"So... Usagi-san knew you when she made her vow?"

"No. That was what made me reveal myself. When Usagi vowed to defend 
her people and save her Kingdom, I revealed myself to her. I, and my 
people, have been her personal tutors for the last six years. That is 
why she has been able to carry on this charade without sacrificing her 
much needed education... Even if she is inclined to try and miss class 
whenever possible."

"Oh, come on, Luna. You know I'd rather be on the Rising Moon than 
studying some boring lecture."

"Education is very important, Usagi-chan. You should remember that too, 
Ami-chan."

"Oh, I agree entirely, Luna-san." 

"Please, Ami-chan. We must all be friends if we are to win this war. 
Formality and titles are something you must leave behind if we are to 
work together. Call me Luna-chan, or just Luna."

"That goes for me too, Ami-chan." The blonde began. "My name's Usagi-
chan for you. Not Your Highness or Usagi-san or anything else. We're 
friends, right?"

"Friends?..." For some reason she could not understand, Ami's eyes 
began to feel slightly sore and watery. She had never had any real 
friends back at home. Everyone always was too cautious about her 
position or scared of her brains. She had lots of colleagues, but she 
could not remember the last time she really had a true friend.

Gathering both Usagi and Luna in a hug, Ami held them close. "Friends... 
I'd like that..."

After that they talked for well over an hour on many trivial things, 
simply getting to know each other. When Luna's ears twitched a couple 
of times, Usagi immediately looked down at the smaller, fur covered 
girl. "What is it?"

"Footsteps. Sounds like a guard."

"Right." As Luna shrunk back into her cat form, and the Moon Princess 
quickly scooped up the dress she had been wearing.  Usagi looked at Ami 
and gave her last minute instructions. "If anyone asks, we've been 
talking about the plants in garden. If we're lucky, that's someone to 
summon you to Mother so that she can read those treaties. If not, give 
them to her tomorrow. We need to be able to go to the repository of 
Suijin for a while, and we can't do that while we are waiting on 
Mother's convenience."

Ami was about to ask why Usagi had such an interest in going to the 
repository when the guard came around the corner and had an 
unobstructed view to the pair sitting on the bench. As the man came 
into view, the transformation of Usagi into her cover identity was 
almost a physical thing. Her eyes seemed to glaze over, and suddenly 
her hands could no longer stay still. Gone were the firm, direct 
motions associated with her steel-trap mind. In place, her hands 
fluttered around, as flighty as her mind was made out to be.

Just as quickly, Usagi began babbling over about this and that, and in 
just the few seconds the guard took to arrive at their bench, Ami had 
already achieved a pained expression having to listen to the girl. If 
nothing else, Ami was glad.  of Usagi's hidden nature, simply because 
she could not stand to be around someone for a long period who was as 
vacant and simplistic as this alter ego.

Conforming to Usagi's worst predictions, it was not her mother asking 
Ami for a conference on the treaties that she had brought, but instead 
notification of dinner. More time had slipped away while they were 
talking than either of the girls expected, and consequently they were 
surprised to find that it was indeed time to eat. The Queen was just as 
surprised as the girls, she could not remember the last time her 
daughter had needed reminding about any meal.

The meal passed quickly and easily. Ami was glad for the staid 
formality of a state dinner, since it allowed her to escape from Usagi-
chan's over-enthusiastic persona. Watching the blonde girl was an 
education in deception and misdirection. Since she knew of the 
existence of Usagi's secret nature, Ami was able to spot the occasional 
slip-up, but unless you were watching for it, you would never see the 
tightening of her mouth at the mention of defence levies, or the way 
she would pause and listen carefully whenever naval movements were 
discussed.

Had the Princess not taken her aside earlier and so impressed her with 
her hidden talent, Ami realised that she would have discounted any of 
the behaviours that did not conform to the vacant expression and glazed 
eyes.. The way the girl could prattle on about boys and clothes was 
quite incredible. 

Studying the people at the table with more intensity than for  their 
conversation, Ami was amazed to see what a complex and subtle web the 
younger Usagi had woven. Naturally, several of Queen's senior ministers 
were guests at the table for nothing more than their position. However, 
there was no real cause for Admiral Amaketsu and his daughter to be 
there, other than the fact that Amaketsu's daughter was a shop-a-holic 
that fit in with Usagi like pieces of a jigsaw.

Convienient as Amaketsu's daughter's friendship was, it was the fact 
that he was the current Admiral in charge of all the Kingdom's navies 
that made him important. Usagi-chan might not be able to directly grill 
him for the latest status reports, but having dinner with the man on a 
regular basis was enough to provide a consistent and accurate 
description of current fleet status and disposition. Something 
invaluable if planning to launch a naval invasion of a larger enemy, 
for example.

The Queen sat at the head of the table, with Usagi-chan on her right 
and Ami on her left. Apparently Usagi-chan had been instrumental in the 
organisation of seating, since getting her own way and setting things 
up to make her own perfect world were two of the attributes carried by 
the social version of the girl. This placed the Admiral only one seat 
away from the blonde, while she had manoeuvred the Minister of the 
Interior and his wife to be next to Ami, purportedly so the minister 
would have his opportunity to dine near the Queen, but more so that 
Usagi and Ami could quietly ask him leading questions.

As she ate her tender steak and the beautifully laid out vegetables, 
Ami had a hard time keeping her jaw for falling open and preventing her 
eyes from staring in awe at the blonde opposite her. Usagi could start 
a conversation about the price of silk and how that would make it even 
harder for her to get new dresses. Before anyone knew what was 
happening, the minister or the Admiral would be discussing military or 
political events surrounding the isle, and how it was impacting the 
travel of free trade. It was artful how she did it, and the only thing 
she needed to do was blink vacantly when they realised they were 
digressing, and no one was any wiser.

When dinner concluded, Ami retired to her suites with her new friend in 
tow. Dismissing the maid Himeko for the evening, Ami informed the young 
lady that she and the Princess would talk for a while before she 
retired, but there was no more need of the servant's help that day. 

After Himeko bowed and left the room, Usagi watched the doors close 
with bright eyes and her dazzling smile. A few moments later, the girl 
sat up and announced to Ami, "I'm going to get some snacks!"

"Snacks? But we just finished dinner!" exclaimed Ami.

"I know, but I have to watch what I eat. If I ate as much as a soldier 
at dinner every day, people would wonder what was going on. I know the 
cook too, and she can give me some nice stuff for muching on. Besides, 
I know you trust Himeko, but how many palace servants do you think I've 
come across eavesdropping around here? She's got to be listening at the 
door, either now or at some other stage. The other girls back on 
Mercury would never let her get away without some gossip about the 
"Moon Princess" or Mother."

"Well... I guess you're right... I'll get ready for bed."

When Usagi dashed off to the kitchens she did not catch Himeko or any 
other member of the palace staff listening at their door, but she could 
not be too careful. Trusting Ami was a big risk, but from what she had 
learnt, there was not much choice. Within a week, the girl would either 
be irrevocably part of her team, or she would have become Usagi's only 
current enemy. Only time would tell which it was, but Usagi had a good 
feeling about the quiet Princess from the north.

As Ami was just sliding on her pyjamas and giving her hair one last 
brush, Usagi came in carrying two trays loaded with meat buns and sweet 
pastries. "Wow, that's a lot of food. Do you really think we can get 
through that much?"

Usagi went bright red. "Oh my goodness! Ami, I'm so sorry, by the time 
I got to the kitchen, I completely forgot to get any for you!... Well, 
I guess you can have some of these."

Not sure if she was joking or not, Ami nibbled on a sweet puff pastry 
filled with thick fruit jam. Usagi on the other hand was going through 
the steamed meat buns as though she had not eaten for a week. "I can't 
imagine how you can eat that much and still fit into that gown."

"Hey! I'm a busy girl! Saving the world takes a lot of energy!"

Ami nodded, secretly wishing she could eat as much as the blonde. If 
she went through a tray of those sweets every day after dinner, she 
would be the size of both of them combined by the end of a month. Ami 
swore she would never be able to fit through most libraries' cramped 
shelves if she was that size, and that was motivation enough to keep 
the girl restrained in her diet.

After ten minutes of small talk discussing what they had heard at 
dinner, Ami quietly pointed out that she had had a very busy day. She 
had arrived after several weeks on ship, met the Queen, and learnt more 
about royalty and intrigue than she ever had before. 

Apologising profusely, the short blonde gave her a hug and dashed from 
the room. Tomorrow, she promised, tomorrow she would show Ami something 
that would change her life.

All too soon tomorrow did come, bright sunlight streaming in through 
one of the high arched windows that adorned the side of Ami's room. 
Sitting up in bed she stretched and looked around. In the light of a 
new day, her odd experiences with the Queen's daughter somehow seemed 
less real and more imagined. No one could hide their real selves from 
the world as effectively as Usagi was doing... Was it possible that Ami 
had misinterpreted her?

Himeko was awake and outside her door, waiting upon Ami's convenience. 
Ami's handmaiden was slightly older than her, but she was more 
dependable than any other two people the Princess could think of. 
Himeko was also Ami's closest confident in many things, but for once 
Ami did not think she would be able to talk to her. Despite the fact 
that Himeko had served her since she was a little girl, the way Usagi 
had spoken last night, she did not think she could take the risk of 
speaking to anyone... Assuming that Ami had not hallucinated the whole 
thing somehow.

Ami was uncharacteristically silent as Himeko assisted her in dressing. 
The scholastically inclined Princess was not normally outgoing, but 
amongst friends she was willing to talk. Ami did not want to offend her 
closest servant, but this morning she had too much to think about to be 
able to talk.

Once dressed in a different pale blue dress with wide skirts, Ami 
checked her short hair one more time then went to the main dining room 
in the escort of one of the palace's servants. Himeko would tend to her 
room and clothes while the Princess was away, but neither of the 
visitors to the Isle Of The Moon expected that she would be needed much 
over the next few days, and her duties would be even lighter than 
normal. If Ami had her way, she would bury herself in dusty tomes in 
some dimly lit library, only leaving to attend to dinner or sleep. From 
Himeko's perspective, the woman would be able to take almost the entire 
day off,  for that rare opportunity of seeing the famous Silver City of 
the Moon Kingdom.

Queen Serenity was already present, talking with one of her ministers 
as Ami entered the room. The woman quietly waved her to take a seat 
while the Queen finished her conversation. Breakfast was a casual 
affair compared to the massive dinner of the previous night. The table 
was set for only four places; herself, the Queen, the boy sitting 
opposite her, and an empty place obviously reserved for Usagi-chan.

The boy gave her a small smile and spoke softly so as not to interrupt 
his mother. "Hello, Princess Mercury. I'm Shingo."

"Ahh, Your Highness! I'm sorry, I did not recognise you." Shingo was 
Serenity's second born. He was several years younger than Usagi-chan, 
but the family resemblance was definitely there. 

In many ways it was fortunate that Shingo was the younger of the two 
siblings. There had been terrible times in the past when the eldest 
child had been a boy, leading up to civil war on more than one occasion. 
The Moon Kingdom and all of the Isles that comprised it client states 
were based around royal ascendancy through the female line, with the 
Queen being the ruling figure. Usagi I, The Great, had instituted that 
practice back in the days when she first enlarged her village's control 
to the whole of the island by force of arms. To the reckoning of the 
Moon Kingdom's rulers, they were there to bring peace to their people, 
not war. While the Minister for War was a man and so were the heads of 
the army and navy, the Queen ruled the country. Only a woman was calm 
enough to run a state through the treacherous waters of an unstable 
peace without resorting to war every second week due to some simple 
insult that would wound a man's delicate pride. Only a woman could be 
ruthless and dispassionate enough to take the sometimes terrible steps 
necessary to defend her people from a vanquished foe.

The idea of female leadership of nations was universal, except for the 
Isle of Mars, but they were all strange there. Even the Dark Kingdom 
was ruled by Metaillia and Queen Beryl. Mars, of course, was a 
theocracy of some sort. How their country was run apparently made sense 
to the Martians, but no one else could ever fathom out how it worked. 
Perhaps that was one of the reasons it had been so hard for Usagi I to 
conquer.

"That's all right, Princess Mercury. It's the first time that we've met, 
after all."

"Thank you, Your Highness, but please, call me Ami or Princess Ami if 
you must be formal. I won't be Princess Mercury until my mother dies 
and I gain the title from her. Our island can only have one Princess."

Shingo smiled and blushed slightly at his error. "Sorry, Ami-san. You 
can call me Shingo if you want, after all, I'm sure we'll get to know 
lots of each other in the future. Usagi keeps telling me she wants me 
to grow up to be her domestic minister. _I_ want to be the Admiral of 
the navies, but she keeps telling me I'm too young."

For a moment Ami started, Usagi's words of the night before echoing 
through her mind. If the girl really intended to take on the might of 
the Dark Kingdom, she would need a naval expert par excellence. If she 
was pushing her little brother into a role as secondary as Minister for 
Production, the girl must either be much further along in her plans, or 
completely out of her depth. The fact that she was pushing her brother 
into a role suggested to Ami that Usagi knew what she was after, but 
that must mean she already knew who would fill the key posts in her 
ministries. Admiral, General, advisor and so on... 

Ami and Shingo traded a few more quiet words before Usagi XVI finished 
her conversation and dismissed the minister from her presence. "Our 
thanks for your patience, Princess. We fear you may wait all morning 
upon the presence of Our daughter. We highly recommend the Glassfruit. 
At this time of year, the flesh is most sweet and tender."

"Usagi better get here soon, or else there won't be any left for her!" 
Shingo enthusiastically tried to make the statement as true as possible 
by taking a couple of large slices of the pale green fruit and placing 
it on his plate. 

After the Queen had filled her plate, Ami chose a selection of native 
fruits - including the Queen's recommendation - and began to sample 
them. Although her family would sometimes have the more temperate 
fruits - including the rare shipload of Jupiter's famed Yellow Bear 
fruit - she rarely got to eat them due to the costs and difficulty 
involved. With several week's travel between even the Isle Of The Moon 
and Mercury there was little other than preserves that could be taken 
from one island to another.

Naturally, after Shingo finished off his plate of food, he spied the 
last piece of Glassfruit and skewered it onto his plate. Moments after 
he had begun demolishing the last of the prized fruit, the air-headed 
whirlwind that was first in line for the throne came into the room in a 
complete huff. Plopping herself into the well padded chair, Usagi 
puffed out a sigh and looked around the table.

"Sorry I'm late, Momma. I sort of slept in a bit and---  HEY! 
Shingooooo! You ate all the Glassfruit again!"

Ami gently pushed the slim piece of skin that was evidence to the side 
of her plate and tried to hide it. She did not realise Usagi was so 
attached to the food. But then, surely the royal kitchens would be able 
to spare another of the fruit to appease the heir-apparent.

"Daughter, that is enough. Our son managed to attend breakfast on time. 
Were you able to arise with the rest of the world, you too could have 
had some."

Usagi looked downcast and suitably chastened. Filling her plate with 
other foods, the Princess gave a quick sidelong glance at their guest 
and flashed Ami a grin too quick for anyone else to notice.

"Momma, Ami-chan was saying I have to go with her when she visits the 
library of Suijin! Why can't I stay here in the garden?"

"You are Our daughter, and your education is important. Always remember 
that Princess Ami will one day be a subject of yours also. When that 
day comes, she should accept you as her liege out of respect and 
loyalty, not simply because of Our navy. You will join her at the 
library, and you will stay with her as long as she desires." Serenity's 
voice was as calm as ever, but it clearly brooked no dissent.

Usagi the younger apparently did not see that however. "But, Momma! 
Ami-chan said she was going to go there all week! Maybe even two or 
three! I'll go nuts sitting with all those books that long."

Ami's brows lowered imperceptibly. She had never said anything like 
that at all. She would not have objected to spending weeks or even 
months in the legendary repository, since that would have only started 
to scratch the surface of the knowledge they had stored there. Despite 
her desires, she was sure she never said anything like that to Usagi-
chan.

"Daughter, We will not hear another word on the subject. If We see you 
around the palace while the Princess is at the repository, We shall be 
most disappointed. Princess Ami, please forgive Our daughter. She is 
still wilful and as yet unmindful of her duties to the crown."

"Please, Your Majesty, there is nothing to apologise for."

Serenity nodded, then flashed Ami one of the smiles that was so common 
on the monarch's face. "We can imagine you are most eager to begin, and 
We would not deprive Our daughter of your education. When you have 
finished your repast, We would be pleased to receive your mother's 
missives in our study. Daughter, you shall, show the Princess the way 
there."

With that the Queen stood and left the table to prepare herself for a 
day's work. Shingo snickered a few times at his sister's discomfort, 
then he too ran off, leaving the girls alone.

"That... That was simply incredible. Last night when you said you 
wanted me to give my messages to your mother quickly, I had no idea you 
were planning this." Ami could not remember seeing anyone so deftly 
manoeuvred in all her days at her mother's court.

Usagi gave her a winning smile and winked. Now, relaxed and happy over 
breakfast, the Moon Princess was a combination of last night's bubble 
head exterior and her hard bitten interior. "Ha! That bit was easy. The 
hard bit was getting us an alibi for two weeks."

"Alibi? What do we need an alibi for?"

"The biggest surprise in your whole life! Just you wait, Ami-chan, just 
you wait."

After hurrying down the last of her meal, Usagi grabbed a pair of small 
fruit centred buns "just in case" and left the table, pulling Ami after 
her. They travelled through the palace going who-knows-where. Each hall 
they walked down was endowed with artworks famous throughout history 
and there was enough gold and silver gilding on the finishing to melt 
down and cast a life-sized statue of the entire First Fleet. 

Ami herself was a princess, accustomed to the wealth station provided, 
but the palace had been the core of the world's most prosperous kingdom 
for centuries. Situated on a wealthy and temperate isle in the middle 
of its vassals it had the twin boons of both primary industry and trade. 
Obviously there had been no need to skimp over the years as the palace 
had been built and maintained, and the effect was nothing short of 
awesome.

Finally Usagi took them into a large room with several adjoining doors 
and a number of shelves lined with art, trinkets and the occasional 
book. With a shock, the visiting princess realised that this was but a 
waiting room to Usagi's suites. That was another advantage over 
Mercury; if you had to heat a place this large on Mercury, the bills 
for wood alone would drive you to bankruptcy even if you were royalty.

When they finally entered Usagi's bedroom, the blonde plopped herself 
onto her bed and looked at Ami with her serious eyes. Gesturing with an 
open palm to a plain woman in a maid's uniform standing at the foot of 
the bed, Usagi spoke quietly. "This is Chiemi. Chiemi-san is my 
personal handmaiden, much like Himeko-san is for you, I gather."

Ami nodded and said hello to the woman before Usagi continued. "I trust 
Chiemi-san. I trust her with my life, Ami-chan. Everything I have told 
you and more, I have told her. Without Chiemi-san... I don't think I 
could have achieved half of what I have needed to. Ami-chan... Do you 
trust me enough to trust her?"

For a moment, Ami studied her friend, then the woman who stood there, 
still and calm. She looked like she was over thirty, but she was in 
good health, obviously used to accompanying Usagi when she went 
travelling or on the long rides the Queen had mentioned yesterday. For 
a moment Ami wondered what risk Chiemi could possibly place her in. 
Then she remembered Usagi's warnings yesterday about assassins, and 
thought she understood and was no longer seriously worried. While 
Usagi-chan would be planning on taking on the Dark Kingdom, Ami did not 
see herself taking a role, other than possibly sitting at home and 
advising Usagi on how best to organise her shipwrights and armourers to 
best win the war.

"If you trust her, Usagi-chan, that's good enough for me."

"Excellent!" The buoyant side of the personality was back, and Usagi 
jumped up and started digging around through her wardrobe. "OK, Ami-
chan, these are for you." 

'These' turned out to be half a dozen thick, leather bound books with 
solid wooden covers. The writing on the cover was artistic and 
difficult to read, but when she puzzled out the title on the first book, 
she knew she would read through the rest, no matter what it took. 
Anything titled 'Arcanum Nocturne" just _had_ to be interesting. 

"H-Hey! These are from the repository!"

"Exactly," Usagi replied with a wink. "Alibi again. You're going to 
study those while we're away. I've already arranged for the head priest 
of the repository to cover for us if someone comes. Now, take Chiemi-
san with you and go get ready! Tell Himeko-san she can take a couple of 
weeks off. Chiemi-san will be looking after us together."

Confused and adrift, Ami let herself be led through the palace by the 
taller woman. They were just leaving Usagi's waiting room when the 
blonde's voice drifted out reminding Chiemi to pack some warm clothes 
for Ami. That just served to confuse the princess even more. Even if 
they were taking some sort of clandestine trip, warm clothes did not 
make sense. If they only had two weeks, that meant they could only get 
a week away at most, and Ami could not think of a single place close 
enough to warrant what a Mercurian would consider "warm clothes".

Chiemi helped Ami explain the fabrication to Himeko much better than 
the blue haired girl could have done by herself. In time she knew she 
would need to take Himeko into her confidence since the girl was with 
her almost every hour of the day normally, but that could wait for a 
time. Maybe she would be able to explain what the secret was when she 
herself knew.

With the packing done, Ami and Chiemi waited in another overly 
decorated hall until Usagi turned up carrying a bag that seemed far too 
small. Ami knew she was travelling light - especially for a princess - 
by only having one trunk that the two of them carried between them, but 
Usagi's bag was barely enough for a day-pack.

"All set to go, Ami-chan, Chiemi-san?" The two nodded. "Good. I want to 
catch the tide."

With that confusing comment, the trio set off, becoming a quartet as 
Luna joined them shortly after. The cat was quiet, but apparently 
fearless since she quiet happily talked in front of the handmaiden as 
well as the princesses.

After travelling through a series of halls, the group found themselves 
outside the stables. One of the men their nodded taciturnly to Usagi, 
and offered them three saddled horses without a comment. A forth horse 
received their baggage, and soon had Luna snuggled down on top of the 
comfortable padding. In no time, the women were out of the castle and 
leaving Silver City.

The streets were crowded, but Usagi had obviously done this many times 
before, leading them through back alleys and quiet boulevards until the 
buildings began to thin, and farms became more common. Staying on a 
coastal road, they kept going at a good clip, the horses beginning to 
work up a lather in the warm morning sun after ten minutes.

"Shouldn't we slow down? We don't want to hurt the horses."

Usagi laughed and looked back, hair flying behind her like two golden 
ribbons. "The less time we're out here, the better. Besides, we'll be 
there in half an hour, maybe less."

"There? Where?"

"The Rising Moon."

Ami looked up in the sky, but could not see the moon anywhere. "I don't 
understand."

Once again that grin. "You will soon enough."

Seeing she was not going to get an answer, Ami remained silent and 
instead watched the scenery pass by. Heading south, the blue ocean 
stretched out like a perfect blanket on her right. As the land began to 
rise slightly, she could turn back and see Silver City growing more 
distant every hoof beat, while a brilliant green forest of tall, 
healthy trees grew ever closer.

Once the coastal path they were following almost reached right to the 
end of the cliff overlooking the ocean so it could avoid a massive 
stone boulder, but soon after it curved back inland. They rode through 
the shade of the forest for a good ten minutes before Usagi stopped the 
horses and dismounted.

Getting down from her own horse, Ami winced slightly. She had not 
expected to come riding, nor had she done much of it in the past. Now 
her legs were stiff and sore, and she knew she would never be able to 
get that distinctive horse smell out of her lovely dress. "Are were 
here? Where are we?"

"Almost there. Almost there." Ami could tell Usagi was enjoying this 
more and more as they went along. It was like being with a little child 
on Solstice as they waited for you to open a particularly big present, 
more eager to see your reaction than to see what was on show. "From 
here on, we need to walk. I don't want the horses leaving a trail 
through the woods, so I always take them by a slightly different path."

A quarter hour's walk through the woods took them to a set of large 
boulders set oddly against each other so that there was a triangle of 
darkness housed between them. "OK, Ami. Unless we're alone, I want you 
to wear this."

Taking the large cloak Usagi gave her, Ami eyed it askance. It would 
not be too hot at the moment, but it would effectively cover her lovely 
dress, and if she put up the hood, no one would recognise her. Ami's 
mother had always told her that as a princess it was important that the 
common people could always see and recognise her so that they would 
know their leaders cared about them. 

"Are you sure? It seems a trifle... umm..."

"I'm sure. No one knows who you are here, and we need that to continue. 
Once we get to where we're going, you'll be able to get rid of it, but 
until then, we need to keep you secret. Trust me."

Looking dubious, Ami pulled on the cloak and drew the hood forwards 
until her face was shadowed. Giving a smile, Ami imagined herself as a 
mage from ancient stories, capable of levelling cities with a raised 
eyebrow, like the figures of legend from before the world sank, leaving 
only the Isles and Tairiku. Smothering a laugh before it started, Ami 
wondered what Usagi would think about her disguise if the girl knew 
some of the things the scholar had read about in her studies.

Walking into the darkness between the rocks, Usagi returned with a 
dirty looking man that appeared more of an archetype than a real farmer. 
Tall, wide, and with hands large and calloused enough to plough the 
earth without any tools, the man gave a bow to Ami and Chiemi, then 
took the reins from their hands and helped them lift down their baggage. 

"Lady, the Mate did say they all be here, and she be ready for you at 
any time."

"Thank you, my friend. You do your Kingdom a service." Usagi spoke more 
formally than Ami had ever heard her, and tried to press a gold coin 
into the man's hand. 

"I can no take your coin, Milady. I serve how I may."

"Please, take it. If only to buy the horses feed."

The man nodded and pocketed the coin before nodding his head once more 
and leading their horses off into the forest. To Ami's eyes, the whole 
exchange had the appearance of a formula, something that both people 
had played through too many times to make up new arguments, but they 
did it out of a sense of right, and a need to maintain their own sense 
of honour.

"He'll send a son out each day to watch for our return. A single mark 
is worth what it will save us should we need the horses in a hurry on 
our return. Now, come on, I can't wait any longer."

Stepping close behind Usagi's heels, Ami walked through the short 
darkness to a dim light beyond. That light finally resolved itself into 
a turn in the tunnel, and a set of torch-lit stairs leading down into 
the cliff face. Following the stairs down, Ami could only wonder what 
would be out here. What could a princess of the ruling kingdom of the 
islands have stashed within the heart of her coastline?

At the bottom of the stairs, a single kink in the passage led out into 
a vast cavern, and the answer was revealed in all its glory. There, 
sitting within a dock carved straight from the rock was the most 
beautiful ship Ami had ever seen.

Long and sleek, the smooth blue hull rose to a bold prow, ending with a 
lady's sculpture. The woman was made of the same polished, immaculate 
white material that made the upper decks and the tall masts. In a 
moment of brief surprise, Ami noticed that the carved woman endlessly 
reaching outwards and onwards from the bow actually had her hair done 
in the same paired balls and long ponytails that streamed behind her, 
as though flying in an invisible wind.

The ship itself was not the largest warship Ami had ever seen, but nor 
was it the smallest. As a rough guess, she estimated it as forty meters 
(130 feet), stem to stern. Along her flanks Mercury could see a series 
of hatches, no doubt capable of folding down to reveal enough cannons 
to make anything less than a ship-of-the-line run scared.

That was assuming anything could run from a ship like this. Ami was not 
a professional seaman, but even she could read the signs of a fast ship. 
Even the ship's mizzenmast would have been tall enough to overtop the 
fast merchantman Ami had ridden from Mercury to the Isle Of The Moon. 
The ships foremast and mainmast must have risen a good fifteen meters 
(50 feet) higher, and they must give the ship an impressive turn of 
knots. The weight of sail alone would have been enough to keep dozens 
of able bodied seamen occupied, but from the numbers she saw scurrying 
around, Ami could not even count the crew she expected for a 
merchantman, let alone a frigate. 

Turning to her companion, Ami opened her mouth only to close it again, 
then open it once more, still with no words coming out. Usagi asked the 
question for her.

"What is it? How did it get there?" 

Ami nodded dumbly and lifted a hand, gesturing as though to try and 
take in the grandeur of hidden port and the magnificent vessel it 
contained.

"She is the Rising Moon, and I... am Sailor Moon, champion of justice." 
For a moment Usagi stood there holding a short stick aloft before 
calling out words Ami would soon come to recognise and love. "MOON 
PRISM POWER... MAKE UP!"

Light washed over the dock from where they stood, and the princess of 
the Moon Kingdom was bathed in brightness that obscured all clothes, 
making them fade into nothing, revealing only the outline of her body. 
While Usagi turned and moved, Ami could begin to see again, begin to 
make out the results of the spectacular magic. Seconds later, as the 
spectacular display concluded, Ami drew in her breath with a shocked 
gasp.

"Usagi-chan! What are you wearing!?"

"This is the uniform of the Sailor Senshi, the defenders of love and 
justice. I know the skirt seems a little short---"

"A little!?"

"And the and maybe the top is just a little tight---"

"It's skin tight! It doesn't hide anything!"

"But you have to understand. This is the uniform of the Sailor Senshi, 
legendary soldier sailors. It was magically created back in the days 
from before the world sank, so that the wearers could defend our 
kingdoms from all who would attack it."

"But..." Ami looked flabbergasted. Even peasant farm girls not yet 
approaching womanhood would never be seen running around in a dress 
that short. Not only could you see the Sailor's knees, you could see 
even further up. And the top! Ami could not even see herself wearing 
something like that on her wedding night, let alone walking around a 
ship full of sailors in full daylight. It was a positive invitation for 
something unpleasant to happen.

Sailor Moon reached out and took the hands of her friend, earnestly 
staring into the wide eyes that looked so shocked. "I know what it 
looks like, Ami-chan. Trust me, I felt the same way when Luna first 
showed me how to get the Henshin stick and explained about the Rising 
Moon. But it has to be this way, there is no choice. The Rising Moon 
will not sail without Sailor Moon as her captain. Without this suit, 
there is no Sailor Moon. No Sailor Moon means no Rising Moon, and that 
means we have no way to take the fight to our enemy."

Dumbly, Ami nodded. Some of her earlier observations made sense now. 
The ship was too clean, to perfectly painted to have been quite normal 
in any navy. She had heard that in the days before the world sank and 
everything but the islands was covered with water, the people then 
possessed a greater magic. Could this be a product of that? Could this 
fine ship really be what her friend said, the cutting edge of a knife 
to be held at Metallia's throat?

Seeing Ami was over some of her initial shock, Sailor Moon turned to 
Chiemi and nodded to her. Picking up Ami's heavy travel bag in one hand 
- the same bag that had strained both Ami and the servant earlier - 
Sailor Moon lead the way down to the ship.

Walking behind her, Ami continued to look around, her mind endlessly 
examining all she could see. Those men down there, near the bow of the 
ship, were shirtless and appeared to be practicing with wooden swords. 
At this distance Ami was not sure, but she guessed they were practicing 
the close-in fighting techniques required for a boarding action. That 
meant they were marines, and in all probability the long scabbard she 
could see bouncing off Sailor Moon's left leg was not just there for 
decoration.

Well before they reached the gangplank, someone spotted the trio, and a 
shout began, quickly to be taken up by every other person. Initially it 
was nothing more than a meaningless roar, but shortly it changed into a 
constant rhythm picked up by one and all. 

"Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon!"

On and on they droned, men and women alike, Ami saw. The men 
outnumbered the women vastly, but that was no surprise given the hard 
and difficult life of being on any sailing ship, let alone a man-o-war. 
The greater surprise was that there were any women present, until you 
remembered just who the captain was.

When Sailor Moon ascended to the top of the gangplank, she waited until 
a tall, lean man stepped forward from the throng and saluted her. 
Instantly, all noise vanished into nothing. "You are recognised, Sailor 
Moon. First Mate reporting all is in readiness and waiting. The ship is 
yours."

"Thank you, Mate. Have someone stow this in the cabin next to mine and 
get the men on board. We sail before midday!"

Another roar rocked the cavern, and Ami felt herself being buffeted by 
the emotion. Whether it was the sight of a lady in such attire or some 
other factor, there was nothing wrong with these men's moral. If 
anything, they were more boisterous that any sailors she had ever seen 
short of the time her carriage had ridden past a brawling bar full of 
sailors fighting with their marine complement shortly after gaining 
shore leave.

Silently walking after Sailor Moon, Ami kept her hood up and her face 
lowered. Despite this, she looked around constantly, trying to take in 
everything. Men moved constantly, fixing lines, moving innumerable 
boxes or carrying out one of a million different, incomprehensible 
tasks. When Sailor Moon stopped on the foredeck next to the wheel, she 
saw the most astounding sight. Perhaps, she reminded herself with a 
gentle nudge, it was yet another astounding sight.

Embedded in a pedestal on the deck was the largest crystal she had ever 
seen, of any type at all. Roughly egg shaped, it seemed to lay on its 
side, with the pointed end aiming to the bow of the ship. It was almost 
a meter across and covered in hundreds of small facets to give it an 
almost constant curve. 

"Did you ever wonder how we were going to get out of here?" Sailor Moon 
asked.

Blinking in surprise, Ami looked around and flushed bright red in 
embarrassment. She prided herself on being both intelligent and 
observant, but she had missed something that simple. Evidently when the 
Rising Moon had entered the underground dock, it had come in bow first, 
as would be expected. But now that it was here, how could it return? 
There was no capacity on the boat for oars, and underground like this, 
no wind could hope to reach. 

"What?... How?..."

The Moon Senshi smiled widely, enjoying her chance to show off 
immensely. She held up a hand indicating Ami to wait for a moment, and 
the Mate joined them. Under Sailor Moon, he ran the ship, ensuring all 
of the day-to-day tasks were carried out. "All present and accounted 
for, Sailor Moon. All lines are secured and all departments report 
ready to sail."

"Weigh anchor, Mate. We have evil to fight and a kingdom to save this 
day."

"Weigh anchor, aye, Captain." She might be Sailor Moon, she might be a 
princess, and any man here would call her Highness should the meet in 
the palace, but here the was and could be only one captain. No one, not 
even the First Mate would forget that for a minute. Turning back to the 
main deck, the Mate raised his voice, pitching it so that all could 
hear. "Weight anchor! Prepare for sail!"

Other voices echoed around the ship, repeating the order, but Moon paid 
them no mind. Closing her eyes, the Moon Senshi bent forwards and 
placed her gloved hands flat on the crystal so that her fingers splayed 
out and covered the maximum area. Breathing deeply she concentrated, 
and a dim glow began to emanate from the crystal and Ami felt the deck 
give a slight surge under her feet.

Looking to the side, Ami saw a view she could only say was impossible. 
From her perspective, the underground dock was sliding smoothly 
forwards, drawing further and further from the frigate. That of course 
was not the case, as it must be the ship itself slowly sliding 
backwards out of the cave, but that was hardly any more credible. Ships 
like these were never intended to travel backwards; they simply were 
not built for that. Furthermore, Ami's mind was constantly asserting 
that there was no wind and the sails were furled. That in itself begged 
the question of how a ship that doubtlessly weighed close to a thousand 
tons could move without wind or oars, and all she could grasp at was 
some form of ancient magic.

After endless minutes of this silent travel, the bow cleared the 
entrance to the cave and the man at the wheel behind them span it madly, 
bringing them into a tight turn to align the bow and stern along the 
coast. As soon as they were parallel and able to move under normal 
power Sailor Moon released the crystal and half stood, half sagged to 
get away from it. Beside her the first Mate looked like he wanted to 
leap to her aid, but propriety and respect kept him at bay.

"Mate. Full sail and spare no sheets. We sail for the Isle Of Mercury 
at best speeds."
 
"Aye, Captain. Mercury at full speed. Spread the mainsail! Prepare for 
fore and mizzen on my order! Give me fifteen degrees on the tiller, 
Mister, and not an iota more, or I'll have you swimming back from 
Mercury!"
 
A chorus of "Aye, Mate" came from all sides of the ship as men moved to 
their tasks. With a sound like repeated cracks of a great whip, the 
massive mainsail dropped out. Like the mast, the sail was oversized for 
the ship and a perfect white in colour. Normal sails were an off-yellow, 
a product of the fabrics used to make them. This sail, whatever it was, 
almost seemed to shine in the bright sun and with the light off the 
water. For a moment she thought there was a shadow or blemish on the 
sail. If it had not been rigged properly, a curve like that could have 
occurred, but when the sail caught the wind and stretched taut with a 
sound like a cannon shot, Ami caught her breath.

The ship flew no flag, for it needed none, it was unmistakable in its 
own right. No ship in the fleet was such a perfect blue and white, 
colours matched to Sailor Moon's uniform. No other ship possessed that 
massive yellow crescent moon adorning the mainsail. The crescent moon 
would have been twice her height at least, and on a clear day it would 
be visible as soon as a sailor spotted the ship.

No matter who you were on the oceans, you could not fail to see Sailor 
Moon.

*	*	*

A few hours later as the Rising Moon raced swiftly across the clear 
blue water heading north, Sailor Moon held a conference of her officers 
in the wardroom. Ami was invited, and she sat quietly to Usagi's right, 
with the First Mate sitting next to her. On Sailor Moon's left - in the 
same position he would hold in any battles they might have - sat the 
captain in charge of their marine complement. Arrayed around the rest 
of the table were the ship's other vital offices, Navigation, Weaponry, 
Damage Control and so on.

"Good day, gentlemen. It's good to see you all again."

Murmurs of agreement came from around the table. The Rising Moon was 
not a normal naval ship. Unlike those directly in the Queen's Navy, the 
captain of this ship had other duties to which she needed to attend. 
That invariably meant that the ship was in the hands of the First Mate 
for extended periods, but he kept it running smoothly while she was 
away.

"Some of you may have been wondering why we are heading to Mercury at 
this time of year. Unless you are particularly fond of the cold, the 
storms of early spring are not to the taste of most people."

Ami shifted softly in her seat, but she did not speak up. She had left 
the island at the end of winter, shortly before the expected storms 
started, but the seas had been rough enough to be distressing for the 
first two days out of port. All her life, she had thought Mercury was 
quite beautiful at this time of year. The sun came above the horizon 
for several hours each day, making the snow covered ground into a 
magical, wondrous playground. It was a time of year for feeling happy 
and celebrating, since the worst of winter was now over.

Of course, most seamen tended to have a different view. The prevailing 
winds coming from the south brought hot, moisture laden air to the 
north, and the subtle shift in temperature over the Isle tended to 
produce cold fronts that hit this warm air head on. Massive storms and 
waterspouts over the ocean were the result, and Mercury was never a 
popular sailing destination during the spring.

"What many people don't realise," Sailor Moon continued, "is that the 
weather typically has some short breaks in it. A few days to a week 
would be enough to move a sizeable force to the island from safer 
waters off towards Tairiku."

Several of the officers around the table looked thoughtful. It would be 
a very delicate mission to achieve that, without putting all of the 
troop ships at risk in the storms. To make it harder still, you would 
need some way of knowing when the storms we declining, and that almost 
certainly meant the Dark Kingdom had managed to smuggle one of their 
rare and precious mages onto the island so that they would be able to 
magically transmit the timing of the attack.

"According to the Queen's Admiral, there has been no successful Dark 
Kingdom penetrations of the blockade on Venus for the last four weeks. 
Now we all know that any likely assault on Mercury will be a one way 
trip until the next clear weather, possibly for most of spring. That 
means you have to go in like you mean to win on the ground, but there 
is no need to assemble massive escorts for your ships."

"I've spent much of the last week with Admiral Ootaki, and this is what 
we have come up with, based on the force estimates we have gotten from 
the Queen's advisors recently."

Ootaki was the only retired admiral in the Moon Kingdom. Like most 
soldiers, he had expected to die in service of his country, but he had 
been too skilled a strategist for that to ever happen. After serving 
two successive Queens of the Moon Kingdom, Ootaki had eventually 
retired when his rheumatism had grown to the point were simply being on 
a ship at sea was a greater threat to his health than the enemy were. 
Faced with the prospect of being land-bound since he could no longer 
walk the swaying decks of one of the Kingdom's ships, the great admiral 
had retired for a life of watching his vineyards and complaining about 
the good old days.

That plan had lasted for all of a week until a certain blonde haired 
princess had secretly conscripted him. Initially he had been reluctant, 
but a single visit to the Rising Moon in its underground cave had 
changed his mind. The stairs to the ship had been murder on his aching 
knees, but since the day she was fourteen years old, Princess Usagi had 
been tutored in naval tactics by the world's acknowledged authority on 
the subject. Equally, he provided her with a land based intelligence 
officer who was capable of analysing the tiniest titbits of information 
she brought him.

"Assuming the Dark Kingdom wanted to strike at Mercury, the ideal time 
to do it would be the start of spring. If they could smuggle in a large 
enough force, they would effectively have the island cut off from the 
Queen's reinforcement for months, enough time for them to settle in and 
fortify themselves.

"Better yet, Mercury's navy would be sitting at dock and stagnant. 
After all, with Mercury's famous storms, who would dare attack at that 
time of year? It would be a perfect strike."

Sailor Moon stood and pointed to a large map attached to the rear wall 
of the wardroom. "The last thing the Dark Kingdom would want is to have 
their main offensive forces tied up behind storms for the same time, so 
I'm betting that we would be facing no more than four frigates, at most, 
guarding those troop ships, probably less.

"There lies the beauty of their plan. On Venus they have dug in for a 
defensive war in the last few weeks. In theory, this means that they 
can blunt some of Princess Venus' army before their next wave comes in, 
because our defenders there are no match in numbers for the invaders at 
the moment. In the meantime, reinforcements from the Dark Kingdom that 
were going to Venus can be diverted to Mercury.

"If Beryl can slip in a flotilla of troops, she can hand Metallia the 
Isle Of Mercury by summer, and no one will be able to object."

"No!" Ami had not realised that she had jumped out of her seat and 
spoken until she noticed the silence and saw every face staring at her. 
With her cloak and hood, the officers still did not know who she was, 
but it was the first time Sailor Moon had brought an outsider to their 
pre-mission briefing, so there was no question whether they were 
interested in her.

Sailor Moon looked at her guest and raised a delicate eyebrow. "Did you 
have something to ask?"

"There... There must be something we can do! We can't just let Beryl 
take Mercury!"

Sailor Moon resumed her seat and looked that the man to Mercury's right. 
"Mate. What's your assessment? If the Rising Moon goes up against four 
of Jadeite's frigates, how do you think we will fare?"

"Hmm... It'll be close, Captain. The Moon's a better ship than any I've 
served on, and the crew are a better group of thugs than most. Even 
though you've got us crammed to the bilges with crew this time, I'd not 
like our chances against four of theirs."

"So you would advise we get the navy?" 

"Nay. If you're right and the weather has broken over Mercury, then 
they'll be weeks behind us when we arrive. No... It'll be us or no one. 
Some of the boys will not be coming home again, but if you order us in, 
I personally guarantee each man on this ship will fight to his last 
breath."

The Rising Moon was different from most ships her size in the navy. Her 
remarkable construction and unique design was aimed in no small part in 
reducing crew numbers. This enabled her to take a larger marine 
complement, making her a threat to ships twice her size and more, but 
if a second frigate came alongside while they were connected and 
boarding, there would be a terrible chance that they would all be 
swamped, taken from two sides at once.

Turning to the cloaked figure, Sailor Moon never lost her constant 
smile, despite the grim news coming from her Mate. "And how do you say? 
What would you risk for the Isle Of Mercury?"

"Anything. I would do anything to keep Mercury out of Beryl's hands. 
Few people know this, but the blood of mages runs through my veins. Not 
all of my studies have been upon esoteric works of mathematics or 
philosophy. I know most mages are good for little more than parlour 
tricks or mind-speech to relay messages, no one has been proficient at 
magic since the great Devices were lost when the world sank. I know I 
would not be much use in a fight, but for Mercury, I would do 
everything I could. If... If you would save my home, I would offer my 
services to you. I would stay on board you ship and do whatever was 
asked... Surely the aid of healing and communications would be worth 
something to you. Please... I would do anything..." By the end of her 
speech, Ami was almost begging.

"Would you even... wear something like this?" Sailor Moon gestured down 
at her tiny skirt and tight top. Abruptly, everyone in the room drew in 
their breath.

"You don't mean..."

"Exactly. This is the real reason I called you down to Silver City. 
This is your destiny. When Luna told me the real extent of the Sailor 
Senshi, I knew I would need to go out and find you myself. What do you 
say? Will you accept?"

"I do." It was barely a whisper.

Smiling, Sailor Moon held out a short staff to her. No longer than her 
hand, the rod was short and blue, with the symbol of the House Of 
Mercury inscribed in one end of the rod. "Take this and say the words. 
Join me in our fight."

"MERCURY PRISM POWER... MAKE UP!"

In a whirl of power Sailor Mercury's cloak vanished and she was covered 
in a sailor suit almost identical to that of her leader's. Mercury's 
skirt was a slightly lighter blue than Moon's, and her bows and boots 
were light blue rather than red, but other than that, there were almost 
identical.

Standing in the wardroom, revealed for the first time, Sailor Mercury 
could feel the eyes of all the ship's officers on her, examining her, 
comparing her to their own leader. Sailor Mercury was marginally taller, 
but considering both of the Senshi were wearing high heeled boots, that 
could be deceptive. 

Interestingly enough, where Sailor Moon sported a large bastard sword 
that hung from her hip, Sailor Mercury carried a long wooden staff. 
While it appeared to be just a gnarled branch, knotted and twisted 
along its length, it also carried strange blue highlights, that 
glistened from out of the many shadows along the staff's irregular 
length.

Looking down at herself, Sailor Mercury blinked several times, and 
blushed a rosy shade of red as she tried to pull the hem of her skirt a 
little lower. "You... You mean you had this planned all along? You want 
me to become a member of your crew?"

"No, Mercury, not a member of my crew. A captain in my fleet. When Luna 
told me about the Rising Moon, she revealed that each of the islands 
had a special ship created for them. The only people capable of 
captaining those ships are the Sailor Senshi. That's us, Sailor Mercury. 
You are one of the pretty, sailor suited soldiers of love and justice. 

"_That_ is the real reason we are going to the Isle Of Mercury. I would 
have gone out and attacked those invading ships by myself if I needed 
to. But now, I won't need to. The day Luna managed to find out where 
the Mercury Ascendant was being hidden, I convinced Mother that you 
should be brought to Silver City so that you could be my tutor.

"Sailor Mercury, you have to believe that I would never force you into 
doing something you did not want to do. That was why I needed to show 
you the truth of the matter. That was why you needed to see all of 
these brave people, to hear what they thought. To allow you to 
understand just how deep your own loyalty and good-heartedness lay."

Gesturing around the wardroom table, Sailor Moon encompassed all of the 
people currently there. "These men have all come from the Isle Of The 
Moon. Each and every man here gave up everything he had so that he 
could sail on this ship. Military careers have been abandoned and homes 
have been abandoned. Every man here has given up everything that he has 
so that we can maintain our security. Because if Beryl knew who we were 
or where the Rising Moon berthed itself, I can guarantee she would send 
her entire armada against us. 

"You and I are protected by our sailor suits. Each of the Senshi's 
uniforms are a Device from the old times. This fabric... it might be as 
thin and soft as silk, but it is better than a suit of chain mail, and 
a lot lighter to wear. That tiara on your head is not just decoration; 
it allows you to control your ship. Even more, while you wear your 
sailor suit, no one will ever recognise who you really are. That was 
why I had you wear that cloak. Your privacy is your own decision, and I 
won't force you to trust anyone you don't know.

"Every man on this crew knows who I really am. But that is because I 
trust each and every one of them with my life. I don't just mean that 
as a nice idea, it becomes reality every time we go into combat.

"Mercury, I can lend you a skeleton crew to man the Mercury Ascendant 
when you have it, but you will need to recruit your own crew. When we 
win this battle - and we _will_ win it, or die trying - you can return 
to the Isle Of Mercury and set about recruiting your own crew. Most of 
my men were recruited from the Royal Navy, men who could afford to give 
up that career for a chance to fight more directly.

"The difference between your own Mercurian Navy and the Sailor Senshi 
is very important. We don't report in to any normal chain of command, 
and we aren't bound by any of the restrictions that have held back the 
regular forces from mounting a solid defence in so many places.

"The Rising Moon is faster, better armoured, better armed and carries 
more marines than any ship of its size. That alone is enough to tempt 
the most loyal and tenacious of men. Fighting on the side of the Sailor 
Senshi, they can be guaranteed that they will be present in almost 
every significant battle from Mercury to Jupiter. We see more combat, 
more often than any other flotilla in the history of the Moon Kingdom. 
Remember that when you recruit your crew; there is more opportunity for 
service and glory here than anywhere else, but there is also more 
danger."

Sailor Moon went silent and looked around at each of her key staff. 
There had been some speculation initially why she had brought every 
able bodied seaman that reported to her, and now they knew. There were 
not enough men on board to fully crew two ships, but she could supply a 
skeleton crew at least for the Mercury Ascendant. More than a skeleton 
crew, since currently their marine forces were packed to the bulkheads. 
Once they had the Mercury Ascendant, they would be able to field two 
ships each with more than a regular compliment of marines, even if they 
were below the full turnout for a Senshi's ship.

A hand rose from among them men surrounding the table. "Yes, Sojiro-
san?"

"Captain, has it been decided who will be assigned to the Ascendant?"

Mercury obviously did not recognise the significance of the man's 
question, but Sailor Moon did. Sojiro was her gunnery officer, and that 
placed him third in line of command. In probability, he would be one of 
the men going over to the Ascendant, in the role of its First Mate. Not 
only that, but given the fact that Sailor Mercury did not have Moon's 
naval background, he would be three-quarters of the way to be captain 
of the ship, effectively. What man would turn down an almost two-grade 
promotion if it were offered to him? No, Sailor Moon did not expect 
Sojiro would be one of the people returning to her ship after Mercury 
did her initial recruiting.

In some ways that saddened Sailor Moon, since she knew she would be 
losing some excellent officers and crew. Alternatively, it meant that 
Sailor Mercury would be getting a solid, battle hardened core of her 
forces. A group of men whom had already fought together and would be 
able to unite the new crew around a nucleus of loyalty and energetic 
determination that was already Sailor Moon's hallmark.

"Sailor Mercury has not had a chance to review the crew lists with me 
yet, we'll be doing that later today. However, you are right. I have 
made my initial plans, and yes, I would like you to be the First Mate 
of the Ascendant. Do you think you would be up to the job?"

"Aye, Aye, Captain!"

"Excellent!" Sailor Moon flashed her blinding smile again and turned to 
Mercury. The young princess was obviously feeling rather overwhelmed by 
this stage. "May I present to you Gunnery Office Sojiro? When you 
retrieve the Mercury Ascendant, I would like to offer him as my 
recommendation for your First Mate."

"T-Thank you... And you too, Sojiro-san."

Standing, Sailor Moon looked around the assembled men. "That will be 
all for now, gentlemen. I will be going over the crew lists with Sailor 
Mercury, so you can expect she will be having dinner with her new 
officers this evening. Let's be about it, I want to be at the Isle Of 
Mercury by sundown, this day a week hence, and not a minute later."

When the officers had filed out of the room in quiet pairs murmuring to 
themselves, Sailor Moon pulled her chair around and sat knee to knee 
with Sailor Mercury. "It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?"

Mercury only nodded.

Placing her hand on her friend and ally's knee, Moon looked into 
Mercury's worried eyes. "Just take a few deep breaths and try to relax. 
Commanding a ship is no more complicated than ruling an entire kingdom, 
and you know you were going to be Princess Mercury some day."

"Someday! B-But not today... I'm not sure if I can do this, Sailor 
Moon."

"Ami-chan, look at me... You can do it; you have to believe that. I'll 
be here for you, and so will all your officers. Do you know why I 
picked Sojiro-san as my Gunnery Officer? It wasn't that he was a great 
gunnery officer. It was because he was the captain of the light frigate 
"Defender". I knew that some day in the not to distant future he would 
be needed to be the First Mate on another ship in our fleet. He took a 
voluntary demotion just to join my ship, because he believed in what we 
were doing. I believe in him the same way.

"Lean on Sojiro, Ami-chan. Take his advice and learn everything you can 
from it. I know you're not an experienced captain, but neither was I 
when I came on board. That's why we have First Mates who are more 
qualified to be captains in themselves. It's because we have duties 
larger than just running the ship through the troubled waters."

"But what if I do something wrong? What if I give a bad command and we 
turn the wrong way in battle?"

"Then people will die. I can't sugarcoat it for you. This is war, and 
people are going to die. But you are a princess, and your word is law 
on Mercury. People can die from what you say or do there. Here, it is 
just more immediate, and you can share the consequences more easily. 
But it's not going to go bad because you and I are going to study and 
train together. We're going to surround ourselves with all the best 
people we can, and we're going to be better and smarter than all those 
Dark Kingdom goons out there. We won't lose, Ami-chan."

Ami looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded, moving onto another 
topic. "Can we really make it all the way to the Isle Of Mercury in 
just a week? It took me almost three weeks to make it here, and I left 
before the spring storms started."

"You took three weeks because you came by merchant shipping. I know it 
might have been under a royal flag, but the hull and sails are just the 
same, no matter who owns it. Any military ship should be able to make 
the trip in around two weeks, if the weather is favourable. A couriers 
ship going full sheets to the wind should be able to make the same sort 
of speed we can.

"I told you this was a special ship, Ami-chan. I have no idea what 
those masts are made of, but it's no type of wood I've ever seen. If 
any other ship in the Royal Navy hoisted as much sail as we run 
normally, they'd break every spar on the ship. Trust me, nothing even 
approaching our size will catch us unless we want it to."

Ami was suitably impressed. With a travel time like that, they would 
revolutionise sea combat. As Sailor Moon was planning on demonstrating 
to Beryl and whichever of her generals was commanding this attack on 
Mercury, the Rising Moon could be wherever she needed to be in only a 
week or so. Realistically, that doubled or tripled the effectiveness of 
the ship, since it could cover as much as two or three ships of normal 
design. More importantly, it meant that the Senshi's ships would be 
able to engage and disengage from the enemy at will. 

"Here, try reading this." Sailor Moon passed her friend a book. "It's 
Admiral Ootaki's memoirs from the Second Battle Of Jupiter, during my 
grandmother's day. He recommended it to me as a good study on small 
unit tactics. Personally, I found it very educational."

"Thank you... I'll go and read it right away."

"OK. I've got to get things organised with the Mate. I'll come by your 
cabin in a few hours and go over the personnel list with you."

Sailor Mercury nodded and headed out of the wardroom. When she reached 
the door, she turned back to her friend and gave a brief smile. "Sailor 
Moon... Thank you... For everything."

Then blonde waved goodbye and managed to hold onto her smile until 
Sailor Mercury left the room. When she was alone, Sailor Moon collapsed 
into one of the chairs and stared blankly at the table. She had known 
this would be difficult, but she did not know it would be this hard. 
Everything she was doing was necessary, but that did not make it any 
easier.

Ami was a scholar, not a naval captain. Before Usagi came along, the 
blue haired princess had probably never given more than ten seconds of 
thought to serving in her military. Now Usagi had drafted her, and was 
about to send her into her first, and possibly last, battle within a 
week.

Sailor Moon could cope with what she was doing to the Mercurian 
princess. Royalty had to ready to defend their people, or they did not 
deserve their titles. The thing that really grated on her conscience 
was what she was doing to the crew of the Mercury Ascendant. These were 
all her men, and they would go were she said, without ever complaining. 
They would go without complaint, never once criticising Sailor Moon for 
placing them under the inexperienced command of a sixteen year old girl 
whose concept of naval tactics probably extended no further than 
christening a new ship as it left port.

There was nothing that could be done about that dilemma. Only Sailor 
Mercury could retrieve the Mercury Ascendant. Only Sailor Mercury could 
be its captain. Only Sailor Mercury could take advantages of the ship's 
magic. All Usagi could do was provide the girl with the best possible 
captain, and hope that her friend had the wisdom to accept his 
suggestions.

Two hours later, Ami was resting in her cabin. She had read through a 
large amount of memoirs she had been given, and they had proven to be 
quite insightful and intelligent, despite sounding like they were 
written by an old man, reflecting on past glories during the "good old 
days". Although Ami expected she would finish reading the book this 
evening, she expected she would re-read it again in days to come. Her 
near-perfect memory was a great boon, but sometimes the simple act of 
reinterpretation of the original work lead to new ideas, new 
conclusions or new insights.

Looking up from the page Ami heard a soft scratching at the door to her 
cabin. Brows creasing in confusion, Ami wondered what it could be. 
Surely not rats, the ship was immaculate in so many ways, she did not 
like to contemplate that traditional passenger on sailing ships. 
Further, she knew that Usagi kept a small family of cats on board, just 
for that eventuality. Without rats or food in here, a normal cat would 
have no motivation for trying to scratch through her door.

Inspired, Ami set down her book. That was the key; no normal, ordinary 
cat would scratch on her door, but another sort of cat just might. 
Standing to the side of the door to conceal her face, Ami placed a hand 
on the latch. If this was one of Usagi's crew - although they did not 
seem the sort to be playing practical jokes on her - she could close 
the door then change into Sailor Mercury before they managed to come in. 
If it was who she expected...

The small black cat slipped through the narrow opening, looked around 
twice, then smiled up at the blue haired girl as she shut the door. 
"It's OK, Ami-chan. No one will hear us in here."

As though to demonstrate her belief in the statement, Luna grew from 
her average-cat size to her small-girl size. For a human, she would 
have been the size of a ten year old girl; Ami assumed that this was a 
normal height for a human-form Cat-Person, but she had no baseline to 
judge against. A week ago before she met Luna, Ami had believed the 
Neko-Jin were another mythological race like elves and fairies.

"I realise all of this must come as a bit of a shock to you, Ami-chan. 
You may have been raised as a princess, but being a Sailor Senshi is a 
big responsibility, and very different from what you are used to."

Ami blushed modestly and looked away. "I... I'll try and do my best, 
Luna. I have to, for Sailor Moon and everyone on Mercury."

"That's all anyone can ask of you; to do your best. I know you'll do 
fine." Luna paused for a moment, then selected sat on the room's one 
chair and waved Ami to have a seat on the bed. "Sailor Moon will be 
coming around later to go over that crew list with you, but I wanted to 
give you a explanation of the Senshi and what we have been doing. If I 
left that to Usagi, she would probably gloss over all the main points 
and just pull you right into the next battle that she has."

"Do... Do you fight many battles?"

Gravely, Luna nodded. She might look like a small, furry girl, but her 
voice and manner were far too mature for her age to be mistaken. "Quite 
a few. I remember Sailor Moon's first battle, it was the very same week 
that we had found the Rising Moon. We barely had any crew, and could 
not even fire a full broadside at the time.

"Usagi has a friend at court called Naru. I'm sure that this is just 
coincidence, but the first time we went into battle, it was to fight 
one of Jadeite's minions when they attacked the OSA*P crystal mines 
that Naru's mother runs. If it had not been for Sailor Moon, Jadeite's 
Youma would have been able to get out with an enormously valuable 
shipment of jewels and crystals that the mine digs up. Fortunately, 
Sailor Moon was able to sink the cargo ship just off shore, killing the 
Youma at the same time. I meant a lot of effort for divers getting all 
those jewels back, but it was worth it to prevent Jadeite returning 
them to Queen Beryl."

"What's a 'Youma', Luna?"

"That's an excellent question. I'm actually hoping you might be able to 
help answer that for us, someday."

Ami blinked un surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"The scholars and philosophers of the Isle Of Mercury have long been 
famous, and I've heard that you are already moving to make your own 
name in that area. Even Usagi-chan and Her Royal Highness have 
commented on what an intelligent girl you are. Besides, wasn't your own 
mother one of the Kingdom's leading surgeons during the days before she 
became Princess Mercury?"

"Well, yes she was... But I don't know if that means I'll be able to 
help."

"Have faith in yourself, Ami-chan. I know you'll help us unravel some 
of the Dark Kingdom's mysteries eventually... When you were talking 
with Usagi-chan in the wardroom earlier, I heard you mention that you 
had studied the way of the mages. Is that true?"

"It's true, but I can't do very much. Just the usual sorts of things a 
mage can. Mind-speech, light and a little bit of healing."

"My word! I am impressed! I'm sure you'll make an excellent Sailor 
Mercury. Few mages even in these days can manage healing, they just 
don't have the ability to generate enough mana for it." After letting 
Ami blush for a while, Luna took mercy and moved along. "Do you know 
what Devices are?"

"No more than anyone else, really. They're magical artefacts from 
before the world sank. No one knows how to make them these days, but it 
was said that they could give whoever wielded them tremendous powers."

"Almost perfectly right, and only with one small problem... From what 
we have been able to find out, Metallia has the ability to make Devices. 
That's why the Dark Kingdom has suddenly become so aggressive. Queen 
Beryl has been giving out Devices to her generals, and they in tern 
have been leading the battles against the Moon Kingdom. Against magic, 
even our armies and navies sometimes struggle in vain."

"Metallia can make Devices!? How is that possible?"

"I don't know. All I know is that twenty years ago, when Beryl's mother 
and her two elder sisters were struck down so suddenly, Beryl claimed 
the throne of the Dark Kingdom and Metallia's flag was flown from all 
the masts and parapets. First she united Tairiku using apparently 
invincible armies, and now she wants to bring the Moon Kingdom under 
her domain. From what we've seen, either Metallia was able to provide 
Beryl with Devices for her and her generals, or else she has made them 
herself. 

"That's where the Youma come from. In addition to their other magic, 
the generals each seem to have the ability to summon these mythological 
beasts to do their will. They can't do it often, but without Sailor 
Moon, these Youma are almost invincible."

Ami nodded, understanding at last. This was why Sailor Moon and her 
Senshi were so important to the Moon Kingdom. They also possessed 
Devices granting them great magic. She was not sure what the Rising 
Moon could do, but already she had seen its unrivalled speed, and if 
the hull plating was as strong as those incredible masts, she would be 
a fearsome adversary in any naval battle.

Not only that, but Usagi had said her sailor suit was another Device. 
It didn't give her any magic powers, but it was a special suit of 
armour, making her stronger and better protected than a grown man in 
armour. "So, with our ships and our sailor suits, we're going to 
overthrow the Dark Kingdom? Is that really possible?"

"No. It would hardly be possible to do something like that with just a 
few girls, no matter how gifted you are. But what you can be is a 
spearhead. The driving wedge that breaks open Beryl's forces, and lets 
the regular army and navy in. You can be the leaders, the driving force 
that takes men to the front lines and gives them hope.

"That is why your suit looks the way it does, Ami-chan. Anywhere on a 
battlefield or on a ship, even in the middle of the chaos of a fight, 
no one can mistake one of the Sailor Senshi. Men will rally to you. 
Soldiers will take up arms, and sailors will face the worst the sea has 
to offer, all because they know you are with them. 

"Being a Sailor Senshi is not like being a princess where they obey you 
out of honour for your family and position. These men obey Sailor Moon 
out of respect. They respect who she is, what she has done, and what 
she stands for. They'll follow you for the same reasons, because I can 
see in your heart you have the same good intentions of Sailor Moon. You 
girls will be the fulcrum on which the world is moved, and that makes 
you invaluable, but you will never need to stand alone."

Sobered and impressed, Ami nodded with a set mouth. Luna's speech 
reminded her that this was no game or abstract theoretical puzzle. 
Every decision she made would send men and women - real, living and 
breathing people - to their dooms or victory. It was not just herself 
she would be fighting for, nor just her Kingdom in its theoretical 
remove. She would be fighting for each and every man who stood beside 
her. When she went into battle with Sailor Moon, so too would others, 
their injuries every bit as real as her own, but they would not have 
her protection or magic. 

Recognising that her charge had received her message and understood it, 
Luna banished the serious expression she had held and smiled. "With all 
that serious stuff out of the way, tell me what your weapon does!"

"My staff?"

"Yes, it's a Device too. Sailor Moon's sword is not just decoration you 
know. She expects to use it, and as a Senshi, she deserves the best. 
Moon's sword will never go dull, and is capable of cleaving through the 
hardest metals as though they were butter. It can't cut wood or leather 
like that, but if you are wearing metal armour, you're just putting 
yourself in danger fighting Sailor Moon. Oh, of course, no one but her 
can use it, but there would not be much point in having a magic sword 
if someone could take it off you, is there?"

"Umm... I don't know, Luna. I don't remember anything special about my 
staff from earlier."

Luna rolled her eyes. Kids these days; sometimes you had to teach them 
everything. "In that case, transform, and we'll try to find out."

Mercury nodded and pulled out her transformation stick. Calling out her 
magic trigger phrase, she was surrounded in light and water to 
eventually be revealed wearing her short skirted and embarrassingly 
tight suit. Her staff, not needed initially, was resting across her 
back, held in place by a couple of loops on her uniform.

Resisting the urge to pull her skirt lower - since she knew it was 
futile anyway - Ami pulled out the staff and took a couple of tentative 
swings through the air, as though she was trying to hit someone with 
the heavier end.

"No, no, no. That won't work. You'll never find out what it is capable 
of that way." Luna chastised. Besides which, the Neko-Musume did not 
really think the staff looked like a weapon. The staff was looked like 
it was made out of wood, not the metal you would expect for a mace. 
Further, maces or bludgeons tended to have spiked ends to better 
improve penetration against armoured targets, rather than just relying 
on the crushing damage they could inflict.

The staff was apparently made out of very, very dark wood, much like 
the carved works made from Jupiter's blackwood trees. Like a price of 
driftwood, it was worn smooth all over, but covered in innumerable 
divots and bulges of different sizes, giving an irregular surface along 
its length. As Ami turned it, Luna could see small flashed of deep blue, 
almost sapphire in colour, but when the light focused on that spot 
clearly again, it was the same dark wood as before. 

"Hold it in both hands, held out in front of you. Good. Now, close your 
eyes and concentrate. Think deeply. Picture the staff in your mind. See 
it. Imagine its weight. Imagine the strength. Imagine yourself wielding 
it. See it. See the staff. See the potential. Now tell me... What can 
the staff do?"

Almost trancelike, Sailor Mercury kept her eyes closed, murmuring in a 
suppressed voice. "Nothing. The staff can do nothing."

Cursing to herself so as not to disturb the meditating girl, Luna tried 
to think of what to do. The staff was a Device. She had a feel for 
these things, and she could tell even at this distance that it had been 
made with the same ancient magic that crafted the sailor suit Mercury 
now wore. 

"Keep concentrating, Sailor Mercury. Visualise it in your mind. You are 
standing on the deck of the Mercury Ascendant. There is some wind, and 
you can hear the sound of the waves against the hull. Both hulls, since 
you are right next to a Dark kingdom ship. You are about to board it. 
The ropes are across, and men begin to run at each other over the 
boarding planks. It is time for battle, Sailor Mercury. Your men are 
going to fight the Dark Kingdom for you. What do you do? What do you do 
with your staff?"

Mercury's voice was distant, soft and emotionless. Before her inner eye, 
she could see the battle, hear the clang of swords and shields. In 
front of her, a main rises up, clad in full plate mail. Dangerous on 
the ocean, since he would surely drown should he fall overboard, but 
doubtless the strongest adversary her marines would face this day. "I 
raise my staff and call down the lightning on him. He falls and I turn 
to..."

Shocked out of her trance, Sailor Mercury gasped and blinked rapidly. 
Standing there she looked with shocked awe at the staff she held in her 
hands. "It... The staff really can't do anything. All it does is let me 
do things..." With amazement, the blue haired girl tore her eyes from 
her staff and faced Luna. "It's a mana tap, Luna. It's the very same 
sort of Device the ancient mages used to wield their magic. With this... 
With this I can do things no one has been able to do in hundreds, maybe 
thousands of years!"

Nervously, Luna nibbled on her lip. "I... I'm sure that's wonderful, 
Sailor Mercury, but do you know how long it took those mages to do even 
the simplest spell? It could take you years before you were ready to 
use magic in a battle. You have so much to learn."

"Oh, no I don't. I've always been interested in magic Luna. I've always 
dreamed of being able to do wondrous acts like our forefathers, of 
being able to call down fire and ice, of being able to heal more than 
simple sickness and minor wounds. When I was young, I memorised dozens 
of spells, reciting them in the library until I knew them perfectly. 
The only thing that held me back was that I could never draw the power 
I needed to cast them. 

"I think I'm beginning to understand, Luna. It was my destiny to become 
a Sailor Senshi, just like it was Usagi-chan's. I was drawn to this, 
Luna, just like I would bet that Usagi-chan was drawn to learning how 
to use a bastard sword. Am I right? Even before Usagi-chan knew about 
becoming Sailor Moon, I bet she was already learning how to use that 
sword of hers."

Luna nodded. "You're right. I never thought of it that way, but you're 
right. No one thought a princess should learn how to use a sword, so 
she used to sneak out and she sweet-talked the guard captain into 
teaching her when she was shorter than I am. Even then... He wanted to 
teach her how to use a short sword or dagger, something manageable for 
a little girl. Even when she insisted, he only wanted to teach her the 
standard work with sword and shield. 

"Unless you are very good, using a bastard sword is a quick way to get 
killed. It's too heavy to move and block quickly, so you have to know 
how to fight with it. That's why the armies always teach men to fight 
with shields. It's much easier. So few people ever learn to fight with 
one weapon, unless they are using light swords like the katana. For her 
to learn a bastard sword... I think the only reason the guard captain 
gave in was the fact that he never believed she would need to fight 
with it."

"That's it exactly, Luna. It's not luck. It's destiny. I was always 
meant to be a Sailor Senshi. I can see that now. All I need now is to 
find the Mercury Ascendant, and we can begin to put Usagi-chan's plan 
into place!"

That was to be the first of many conversations exploring Ami's ability 
and future as a Senshi that she was to have with either Luna or Usagi. 
While the amazing ship belted across the wave at a speed that would 
have challenged that of any racing skiff that Ami had ever seen, she 
struggled to use every precious minute to the best ability that was 
available. All too soon, she would become responsible for the lives and 
welfare of a hundred and thirty men and women. She would not have that 
many gracing her ship immediately, the Rising Moon could not support a 
complete doubling of its normal crew and marines, but even the reduced 
numbers that Usagi could supply were enough to make the girl feel real 
concern.

By the night of their forth day of travel, the Isle Of Mars was 
slipping by into the dark evening waters. Ami had spoken to each of the 
thirty men comprising her crew in a desperate attempt to at least meet 
them and learn their names. Ideally her ship would carry a mixed crew 
of men and women, however until she could do her own recruiting drive, 
she needed to stay with what Usagi had offered. 

As much as Ami liked the idea of letting women serve on ships - and she 
certainly endorsed the idea of having some of her own crew as women - 
she could not deny Usagi's reasoning for giving her a skeleton crew of 
hulking male brutes. The Rising Moon carried a crew of fifty, less than 
half the number of an equivalent ship of her displacement, and the 
thirty men assigned to Ami's ship would only barely be able to handle 
her in a battle, let alone the strain of running the ship twenty-eight 
hours a day. For that sort of endurance, she would need the strongest 
crew available, and few if any girls could match the strength and 
endurance of a man.

The three remaining days disappeared even faster than the first four, 
and that made things even more impossible, since she had barely had the 
time she needed. Now, she not only had to greet the forty-odd marines 
that Usagi was lending her, she also had to consolidate her hold on 
naval tactics, master her Senshi powers, plot strategy with Sailor Moon, 
learn self-defence, and - worst of all - combat sea-sickness.

They might be travelling through one of the lulls in the fierce weather 
of Mercury's southern coast, but that did not mean they had a flat sea. 
The improvement in the weather had simply shifted the seas from 
"outright deadly" to "dangerous but passable". That was not a call she 
would have made, but Sailor Moon and her First Mate, Hideko Ichiro, 
seemed entirely content with them. The ship pitched up and down like a 
kick-ball on feast day, never staying in one place long enough for you 
to get your bearings before you were tossed in a random direction. 

As the sky began to darken on the end of their first week at sea, 
Sailor Moon entered the marine's quarters, looking around for her new 
ally. She was tremendously pleased with the way Ami had taken to her 
duties as Sailor Mercury, and her heart was gladdened by the way the 
young girl had come to spend so much time with the marines and crew 
that were to be on her ship. Sailor Moon had no doubt that there would 
be fighting, and that inevitably meant empty bunks on the way home. If 
Ami learnt the people behind the faces, she would be less prone to 
making bold, dangerous decisions that would send men to their graves. 

"Sailor Mercury. Could you join me on deck?"

The blue haired girl looked up with a startled jerk. She had been so 
engrossed in the tale that one of the marines was spinning about how he 
had joined the Rising Moon she had completely missed the entrance of 
the ship's captain. Quickly jumping to her feet, Mercury gushed an 
apology while the marines came to stiff attention, or as close as they 
could manage on the pitching deck.

"At ease, men. Don't worry about it, Sailor Mercury. You had more 
important things on your mind. But for now, I need you on deck. We've 
spotted land."

"The Isle Of Mercury? Already?"

"It had better be Mercury, or I'll have a very strong word to my 
navigator."

Nodding her head, Sailor Mercury blushed slightly and waved goodbye to 
the marines she had been talking to. Of course it was Mercury. The 
relatively clear weather might have been windy, but there had been more 
than enough periods of clear sky at night to ensure the navigators 
could get a good fix on the stars.

Following the blonde to the deck, Sailor Mercury noticed how the wild 
pitching had reduced since earlier that day. Watching Mercury stare at 
the deck with confusion written on her face, Sailor Moon explained. 
"This close to the shore, the island helps to dampen out the worst of 
the waves. Here, look over that way..."

Following Sailor Moon's hand, Mercury could seethe lights of a city. 
They were partially occluded by a large headland jutting out into the 
ocean, but she could not fail to identify the major landmarks that held 
and protected her home city.

"Home... And that was so fast."

"Indeed. Helmsman! Bear east! I want at least two kilometres from shore, 
take us for a circuit of the island!"

"Aye, Captain! East around the island, two kilometre separation."

While the ship turned in the water, Sailor Moon drew her guest to the 
side railing. "Somewhere out there is the Mercury Ascendant. According 
to Luna, it will be hidden in a cave, just like the Rising Moon was. 
Unfortunately, she doesn't know exactly where it is, so we're going to 
need to do a circuit of the island. It will be full dark in another 
hour or so, so we'll drop anchor and then start again in the morning."

"If it's that easy to find, how do you know the Mercury Ascendant will 
still be there? Surely by now someone would have seen the cave and 
investigated? I mean, we have fishing fleets out here almost every day 
of the year."

The moon Senshi smiled and leaned against the railing, smiling into the 
light spray coming off the water. "Ahh, but it's not that easy to spot. 
There's precisely one person on this planet that can see that cave, and 
that's you. I can't see it, my crew can't see, even Luna can't see it. 
Only Sailor Mercury can see the hiding place of the Ascendant, and only 
she will be able to bring it out of its resting place."

"Oh." Sailor Mercury said in a small voice.

The girls were quiet for a time, listening to the slap of water on the 
bow of the ship and the constant chorus of creaks and groans of the 
ship. "What's the cave going to look like?"

"Hmm... Probably sixty meters or so high, probably a similar width, but 
it could be less. It won't be on a beach or set back in the hills, 
since you'll need to get a ship out of it... I'm not sure what else I 
could say about it. It's a cave. Big, dark... You know."

"Would it be something like that one?"

Moon looked over her shoulder. "Which one?"

"There, see where I'm pointing? That escarpment, just east of those 
woods."

Sailor Moon looked. She found the woods and the escarpment. The rocks, 
yellow and jagged, reached down into the sea, weathering the beating of 
the waves over the years. Tracing her eyes back over the worn rocks 
again, she tried to see what the girl beside her could, however all 
that was reveal to her eyes was plain rock, with no trace of a cave as 
far as she could see.

"I don't see it, I'm afraid. Are you sure you can see a cave?"

"Well... Reasonably sure. It looks like a cave to me..."

"Then we'll give it a go. Helmsman! Bring us towards shore. Drop anchor 
at three hundred meters."

When the helmsman had repeated his orders back, Sailor Moon turned to 
her First Mate whom had been waiting quietly behind them. "Mate, 
prepare a long boat and an team to row Sailor Mercury ashore. Once 
you've done that, tell Sojiro to get his men together. I'm not sure how 
long she will take, but I want them ready to transfer ships as soon as 
Mercury brings out the Ascendant."

The First Mate nodded and echoed her words then dashed off. Watching 
his retreating back, Ami spoke quietly. "But... Shouldn't Sojiro be 
coming with me? What about the rest of the crew? Surely you don't 
expect me to bring out the Ascendant by myself."

Sailor Moon nodded gravely and led her to the huge crystal embedded in 
the foredeck. "This is the heart of the ship, Sailor Mercury. When you 
place your hands on here, you'll be able to use your ship's magic. Not 
least of which, that includes the ability to make it move without wind 
or oars."

"Y-You're sending me in there... alone?"

Seeing how nervous the girl was, Moon reminded herself that while she 
had been training for this as long as she could remember, Mercury had 
had it thrust upon her scant days before. Reaching out, Sailor Moon 
took her friend's hands and rubbed the backs of Ami's hands with her 
thumbs. "Don't be afraid, Mercury. You can do this; I know you can. You 
just need to have faith in yourself, and know you are doing the right 
thing."

"B-But why can't you come with me."

"It's the final defence, Mercury. Only you can get it. Only you can go 
in there, no-one else can unless they are your guest on the Ascendant. 
The Rising Moon is probably the strongest ship to grace the oceans, but 
if I ever tried to sail it into your harbour, she would just end up so 
much broken wood, crushed against the rocks. We could hunt around all 
year for a second entrance like the one I used to bring you into the 
Rising Moon's dock, but I would bet my kingdom that it's sealed from 
the inside.

"These ships, the sailor suits, our weapons... Some unknown masters 
made all these things before the world sank and everything was covered 
in water. Maybe they foresaw a time when they would be needed... Maybe 
it's just luck, or fate even. All I can say is, we need that ship and 
we need you, Sailor Mercury. Try it, for me... Please?"

Looking between Sailor Moon and the cave mouth that only she could see, 
Sailor Mercury took a deep breath, than set her face in determination. 
"Right. I can do this. Just... Make sure you're still here when I 
return."

Moon grinned, lighting up her entire face. "Not even a leviathan could 
drag me away."

Nodding, Sailor Mercury gathered her resolve and donned the same 
expression she used when preparing to assault a new maths problem or 
when preparing to grapple with an obscure new philosophical treatise. 
Turning on her heel, Mercury left the foredeck to join the crew who 
were just readying the long boat. 

Watching the Rising Moon slowly recede as the sailor rowed her nearer 
and nearer to the shore, Sailor Mercury felt her stomach flutter with a 
myriad of mixed emotions. When she had left Mercury a month ago 
destined for the Isle Of The Moon, she had not imagined that she would 
returning anywhere near this soon. It was that return to the Isle Of 
Mercury that filled her with such confusion. When she returned it was 
supposed to be a time of public celebration, as Mercury's heir and 
trade ambassador brought back triumph and good news. Instead, she moved 
through the darkness like a spy, intent on entering a magically sealed 
cavern to retrieve an ancient ship, the only possible defence for her 
beloved country.

The fear and the responsibility made her nervous, but deep down; Sailor 
Mercury knew those fears could never make her fail in her duty. She 
knew it was her responsibility to defend the people of this island and 
the Moon Kingdom as a whole. Responsibility and obligation had been 
drilled into since she was a little girl, becoming Sailor Mercury had 
merely advanced the timetable and made the risks more personal. More 
personal for her perhaps, but those risks were unchanged for the many 
men and women in their navies' service. 

The thought that others fought along side her put iron in her spine and 
gave her the strength she needed to jump onto a small stone ledge to 
the left of the cave entrance. She knew she was backed not only by the 
ephemeral magic of the Sailor Senshi, but also by the more than two 
hundred men and women currently on the Rising Moon along with their 
leader Sailor Moon. The spirits and good wishes of all those people 
seemed to hover behind her, like an army with her at their head.

Without the slightest quaver or doubt in her voice, Sailor Mercury 
turned back to those manning the longboat. "Thank you for your help. 
Tell Sojiro-san I shall return soonest, and the prize crew of the 
Mercury Ascendant had best be ready to take her to victory."

"Aye, Sailor Mercury!" The men chorused back. Their enthusiasm 
bolstered by the fact that the young girl in front of them was to be 
their captain shortly, as all the men there were to be part of her crew 
and had spoken to her in person only days before.

Walking along the narrow ledge, Sailor Mercury passed that invisible 
line that defined the entrance to the cave proper. To the crew members 
watching her, she vanished as she walked through a solid wall. As far 
as Ami could tell, nothing changed until the line of shadow brought her 
head into the darkness that filled the cave and allowed her eyes to 
adjust to the darkness.

Well, this cave definitely fit the description. Like the Rising Moon's, 
this one had a wide channel through the middle of it, heading through 
the rock far enough to allow a ship to fully conceal itself within the 
cave and still have a length to spare. Off to one side there were 
regular forms in the darkness, probably offices, stores or barracks for 
the men. Any other detail was hard to make out, since the cave was 
still dark but one important face was revealed by its absence.

There was a distinct lack of any frigates in the small harbour.

Working her way tentatively forward lest she fall over any of the small 
rocks or other detritus that cluttered the floor, Sailor Mercury 
advanced on the offices. Poking around for a while in the darkness did 
not turn up much, although after finding her way through three of the 
dark, one story buildings, she finally found enough materials to be 
able to make and light an makeshift torch.

There had to be something around here somewhere, she knew that in the 
depth of her soul. Usagi had not been wrong yet, and Mercury believed 
that neither Usagi nor Luna would send her on a wild goose chase. 
Walking over to the water, she peered down into the impenetrable 
darkness, only to give up and turn away, no more informed than she had 
been since the feeble light given off by the burning rags did not seem 
to pass the top metre of the water, if that.

Wondering what do, Ami decided to tackle it like any other problem. 
There must be a solution; it was all a matter of finding it. She could 
run around, hither and thither, vainly trying to bring reason from 
discourse. Alternately, she could apply a little of that highly vaunted 
scientific principle that she so valued. Working on the assumption that 
the Mercury Ascendant was a similar ship to the Rising Moon implied 
certain practical restraints. At around a thousand tons and forty 
metres long, the Mercury Ascendant was not something you could drape a 
sheet over and expect to hide. Nor was it something you could just pick 
up and place in a building.

That meant the Ascendant was either on the water, over the water, or 
under the water. A quick glance across the docks and up at the cave 
roof quickly eliminated two of the options, and that left _under_. So, 
logically, if you were hiding an ancient magical ship and only wanted 
it to be seen by someone with similar magical powers, you would 
obviously use some sort of magical trigger. Said trigger was probably 
near the ship, if for no other reason than convenience. 

Having decided this, Sailor Mercury traced her footsteps along the dock 
back to the entrance. Once there, she began a long, slow walk around 
the 'U' shape of the docks. Every step she took, she looked around her, 
checking for any little detail she might have missed. There were a pair 
of staircases on this side of the dock, obviously for providing access 
to the ship, but neither of them yielded any fruits. Nor did the cargo 
crane off to the side slightly.

It was not until she reached the rear of the docks that she found 
something immediately identifiable as suspicious. Closer examination of 
the table showed that it was inlaid with carvings on the otherwise 
smooth gold surface. She could not read what was written there - no one 
alive today could - but she could identify it as the written language 
of the Moon Kingdom. Not the Moon Kingdom that existed today, but the 
previous one, the one that existed here before the world sank. A 
kingdom thought to be only legend or myth by most reputable scholars. A 
kingdom that had apparently made their great ships and bequeathed a 
legacy to their descendants that they could stand against the tyranny 
that was now threatening to engulf their peaceful world.

Running her hands down the writing, Ami tried to imagine what these 
ancient people were like. Were they wise and kind? Was the world a 
paradise, filled with light and beauty? Or was the world much like 
today's, filled with competition, struggle and petty souls? Some might 
say the existence of ships like the Rising Moon were evidence of the 
violent nature that must have been inherent to the ancients, but Ami 
was not sure she could agree with that. Usagi was the gentlest, more 
caring and concerned person she knew, but the Moon Senshi would not 
hesitate to wage a war against her foes if it led to greater peace and 
harmony for her kingdom.

Perhaps it was the touch of her hands. Perhaps whatever magic that 
resided in her recognised a certain synergy with the Senshi sailor suit. 
However it occurred, a large, faceted blue gem rose out of the middle 
of the table. The size and shape of a shot put, it would have been 
worth a fortune on any market, but Ami did not once consider that 
aspect.

Placing her hands over the gem, Ami closed her eyes and concentrated. 
"Bring me the Mercury Ascendant. Bring it back to the surface. I am 
Sailor Mercury, and I need my ship to save our kingdom."

For a time there was a brief warmth under Ami's hands, enough to make 
her open her eyes and look down in surprise. She was just in time to 
see the gem turn iridescent and finally change into a ball of pure 
light that sailed straight through her hands to circle over water a 
couple of times. Then, when it reached the centre of the waterway it 
dropped, a blur of blue slowly vanishing into the depths of the water.

Releasing a breath she did not even realise she was holding, Ami 
wondered if that was it, if there was a second action she needed to 
take to raise the Ascendant. Before she could walk off, she came aware 
of a slight tremor in the ground. The shakes continued, and she could 
see the water of the dock sloshing and forming small waves. It was not 
enough to threaten her ability to stand, nor was there any likelihood 
of the water overflowing the levies, but it was disconcerting.

Disconcerting was no longer a sufficient word when she saw a large, 
clear angled shape begin to jut from the middle of the choppy water. 
Seconds passed displaying more and more of the clear crystal, a crystal 
apparently encasing the very peak of a mast. 

Staring with awe, Ami could do nothing but watch with her mouth open as 
two more perfect ice crystals were shown, each holding the fore and 
mizzenmasts respectively. It must be ice, the small remaining section 
of her rational brain stated. If you freeze water without fractures or 
impurities, it forms ice. Furthermore, those massive crystals were 
beginning to melt, sending rivers of water cascading down their sides.

Progressively more and more ice was revealed, when a massive wave 
suddenly shot out as the ship proper finally breasted the surface. By 
now the masts were half bare of ice and the ship was beginning to 
assume some sort of natural buoyancy, no longer impeded by those 
hundreds of tons of frozen water that held it captive.

Over the following minutes, Mercury watched in wonder. How fitting, she 
thought, that the ship of the Senshi from the coldest island should be 
encased in ice. The ship itself was beautiful. Like the Rising Moon, it 
was long and sleek, with outsized masts, taller than any normal ship 
would accommodate. Rather than the hull being the darker blue of the 
Moon's, this one was done in the slightly lighter blue that was the 
more traditional colour of Mercury, the masts and all above the main 
deck was a perfect, pristine white and somehow Sailor Mercury knew that 
should she go hunting in the holds, she would find an immaculate white 
main mast, boldly embossed with the symbol of Mercury. 

It was not only a beautiful ship, it was _her_ beautiful ship. Bobbing 
slightly in the rapidly calming water, the ship bumped against the side 
of the dock, easily accessible from the boarding ramps. As she walked 
down to the nearest of the towers, she silently counted the hatches 
running along the side of the hull. As on the Rising Moon, each hatch 
would cover one of the cannons that the ship sported. Oddly enough, 
Mercury found herself doing a recount, having seen twenty-five of the 
hatches on a single broadside. That was distinctly odd, as the Rising 
Moon sported only twenty, and it seemed strange to Mercury's mind that 
the flagship would carry less firepower than one of her subordinates.

Putting aside the confusion for the time being, Sailor Mercury made her 
way onto the ship, gently running a hand over the wood and features of 
the ship. Everything was still damp, but it was all in perfect 
condition. It was as though - at some unknowable time in the past - the 
ship had been instantly encased in that great block of ice and 
preserved until this day, held against a time when she would again be 
called to cross the waves and bring freedom and justice to those in 
danger.

Reaching the foredeck, Sailor Mercury smiled as she recognised the same 
layout as the Rising Moon. There, perched proudly in a forward position 
with good view, was the control crystal. It was this that would let her 
move the Mercury Ascendant and let her take it out to its awaiting crew.

Placing her hands on the gigantic sapphire of the same brilliant blue 
as the one in her tiara, Mercury could feel a slight warmth spread 
throughout her body. Suddenly, she could feel the ship. She knew it, 
from the tip of the bow to the end of the stays jutting from the stern. 
She could feel the water, like it was touching her own skin. Gently, 
like she was sliding through the soothing waters of a hot spring, 
Mercury pushed the ship backwards.

With scarcely a sound to indicate the movement, the massive bulk of the 
ship retreated from the dock. For the first time in hundreds of years, 
Sailor Mercury was at the helm again, and the ship responded as well as 
it would have on the day it was christened.

When the ship finally slid out into the open waters again, Sailor 
Mercury was astounded to see sunlight. Blinking her eyes, she realised 
that she had somehow spent the entire night in the cavern. Between the 
time spent bumbling around in the near darkness to the time taken to 
raise and resurrect the ship, the whole night had passed by. 

Dimly, as though from a great distance, Mercury became aware of a 
tremendous roaring sound. It was only as she lifted her head and looked 
about her in confusion did the truth settle in. That was the sound of 
hundreds of men cheering. There, not far behind her was the Rising Moon, 
her decks covered with every single person on the ship. Equally, the 
sea to either side was filled with all of the longboats the Moon 
carried, each one spilling over with waving, cheering and celebrating 
sailors. 

Blushing a bright red in embarrassment, the blue haired Senshi took her 
hands off the control crystal and let the Mercury Ascendant come to a 
halt. Walking over to the railing at the side of the ship, she looked 
down at the multitude of sailors and waved back. Perhaps she should 
have been surprised, but somehow Ami accepted Sailor moon's place on 
the nearest longboat. It was just the way the Moon Senshi acted, the 
type of "lead from the front" attitude that made people so loyal to her 
after only a short time.

"Ahoy, Sailor Mercury! Sailor Moon of the Sailor Senshi, asking for 
permission to come aboard!"

"Permission granted, Sailor Moon, to you and all your friends! Welcome 
aboard!" Mercury yelled back, a smile plastered across her face. It was 
a nice reminder, that simple, polite question. Sailor Moon might be the 
leader, but this was her ship, and she was its only captain.

In short order Mercury had found a pair of ropes and tossed them over 
the side. As each splashed into the water, a waiting crewman tied it to 
the longboat and allowed Sailor Moon and another Sailor to climb up. 
Soon enough they would be able to find ladders and the like, or get the 
winch operating, but for now, the only way to board the majestic vessel 
was the hard way; climbing hand over hand on a thick rope.

Grunts and moans told her when her first guests were almost there, and 
Mercury reached over to life first Sailor Moon then Sojiro onto the 
ship. The small Senshi was not sweating nearly as hard as the hefty 
First Mate, and a quick wink from the blonde told Ami that it was 
probably more to do with the Senshi's magic than any real fitness.

"Sailor Mercury, Ma'am. Reporting for duty, Captain." Sojiro braced to 
attention on the deck.

"Welcome aboard, Mate, it's good to have you here. What say we get some 
crew on board and see if we can get this ship squared away?"

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

With a nod of his head, the First Mate was off. While Sailor Mercury 
talked with Sailor Moon, he would organise getting the skeleton crew 
and marines on board. No one really expected Mercury to know the in's 
and out's of running a warship, or seeing it readied and provisioned. 
The Mate would take care of that, letting her worry about the more 
strategic details, acting as her arms and legs to get jobs done that 
she could not do alone.

Taking Mercury by the elbow, the blonde led her off to the foredeck 
again, out of the way of the rapidly arriving crew. From now on, the 
deck would be swarming with people fixing things or delivering much 
needed supplies from the Rising Moon's stores. "It's a fine ship you 
have here, Mercury. She's a real beauty."

"Do you really think we can have her ready in time to be able to do any 
good against the Dark Kingdom?"

"Oh, I'm sure of it. If the Ascendant was preserved anywhere near as 
well as the Moon, we should be setting sail by lunch. Don't worry, 
Mercury. I'll have all of my crew helping as well. Heck, we might even 
find something even the marines can help with."

Mercury smiled and looked back. Already there were a dozen men on deck, 
and more coming over the railings as they spoke. "Is this what a 
boarding is like? All these people racing on board all at once?"

"No... No a boarding is much worse. When the Rising Moon comes aside 
someone, we'll have eighty men all vying to be the first to throw 
themselves at the enemy. It will be an hundred times worse than this."

Mercury shuddered slightly. It all seemed so... disorganised. 

"Don't let it worry you. I'm not sure if you noticed, but your sporting 
twenty-five gun ports on a broadside to my twenty." 

"Well, yes, I did notice that, but I didn't want to point it out right 
away. It would be somehow insulting to have a more powerful ship than 
yours, especially after all you've done for me."

Sailor Moon smiled cheekily. "Oh, just wait until we get into combat. I 
think I'll be able to show you something interesting... But seriously, 
Luna told me that each of the Senshi's ships are slightly different, 
giving everyone slightly different capabilities. Unless I miss my guess, 
you're probably more of a long range fighter than my ship. I bet if we 
went below decks, we wouldn't find quite as many spaces for marines. 
Those ten extra guns take a lot of space, you know."

"Hmm... That makes sense. So do you know what the other Senshi's ships 
are?"

Moon sighed and leaned on a railing, looking back at their people. "No. 
I know their names, but that's all. We'll have to wait until combat to 
find out what they can do."

"Combat? Don't you mean until you see them?"

"No. Just like the Senshi, each of our ships has a special ability too. 
I'm really looking forwards to finding out what yours is."

Briefly, Mercury's eyes flicked back towards the large crystal mounted 
in the foredeck of the ship. "So we control it from here?"

"You catch on quick! I always heard that you were smart. You and I will 
stand on the foredeck and command the ships into battle. Only when we 
get into a boarding action can you leave your post and join in."

"I'd... I'd been meaning to ask about that. I know that Ootaki's 
memoirs dealt with the rise of cannons in modern naval warfare, but I 
don't understand how we can. Surely if we were close enough to board, 
the other ship would just blast us into woodchips."

"It might seem that way, but it's not the case. Maybe if we had more 
guns, or bigger ones, that might occur, but it doesn't. Even normal 
frigates have very thick hulls. If a cannon ball hits the side, it 
might just bounce straight off, and if you're close enough to board, it 
can mean you're just shooting yourself. Not only that, but if all your 
gun ports are open, there's no telling what an enemy could do to you. 
The might pour burning oil right into the middle of your ship! No... 
All in all, it's just not worth the risk of shooting when someone is 
about to board.

"That doesn't mean you can't make them hurt on the way in, though."

As Sailor Moon said the last sentence, Mercury realised she could at 
last see some of that excited, effervescent girl she had met at the 
palace. Normally Sailor Moon was very controlled, always trying to be 
the leader that her men needed. Occasionally - if she trusted you - 
Sailor Moon would let that young girl slip to the surface, giving you a 
glimpse of the person inside the sailor suit.

Impossible as it seemed, Sailor Moon was accurate to her timing 
expectations. The Rising Moon pulled up aside the Mercury Ascendant and 
ramps normally used for boarding were lowered, temporarily making the 
two ships as one. Under the guidance of the two First Mates, a stream 
of marines carried food, bedding, cannonballs, grapeshot, medicine, 
weapons, ropes, and a million other items needed to run a modern 
frigate. With both ships anchored and locked together, there was little 
for the crew of the Rising Moon to do, so they jumped over to the 
Ascendant and dug into the mountain of pre-sailing tasks that waited to 
be done.

Almost eighty crew members climbed, crawled, ran or otherwise moved 
over, around, through or under the ship. If there was something they 
could do, they did it. It they needed hands; they grabbed marines or 
colleges. Unlike so many other ships in the Queen's navy during wartime 
- especially the Dark Kingdom's navy - this ship was not filled with 
press-ganged idiots. Every man on board was hand-picked. Every man had 
burning belief in what they were doing and what they stood for. Since 
service under the Sailor Senshi was voluntary, it fostered the attitude 
that when there was something to do, you jumped in and did it; you did 
not need to wait around until an officer came and yelled at you.

With that enthusiasm, the combined crews managed to complete all of the 
vital tasks and have the ships ready for sailing by the time the sun 
was just passing its peak. While the cooks served food on deck, Sailor 
Moon read the crew their orders again, going over their plans for 
stopping the Dark Kingdom's planned invasion of the Isle Of Mercury. 

With that done, most of the Rising Moon's crew returned, with some 
staying behind temporarily to help complete the remaining work that 
could be done while underway. In the captain's wardroom, Sailor Moon 
leaned over a map of the northern oceans, pointing her finger at a spot 
more than three quarters of the way to the Isle Of Mercury from the 
Dark kingdom.

"Here, lady and gentlemen, is where we will do battle."

Both mates and the next two ranking officers from each ship leaned over 
the map with Sailor Mercury. "Why there? It looks the same as any other 
water."

"Timing. Queen Serenity's spies confirmed a fleet leaving port here 
just before we departed the Isle Of The Moon. They thought it was a 
resumption of the Venus offensive. I know better. Tracing that route to 
Mercury gives us a likely point of interdiction... Assuming that they 
haven't done anything overly strange."

Blinking in amazement, Sailor Mercury traced her finger from where they 
had left the Moon Kingdom up to the Isle Of Mercury, then across to the 
proposed intercept point. "Are we really that much faster than them? 
We've covered so much distance..."

"Against warships, no. If we were racing against just the Dark 
Kingdom's warships - especially one of the general's light frigates - 
there would be no way we could have made it. Fortunately, their convoy 
is slowed down by troop ships. You have to remember, Sailor Mercury, a 
Dark Kingdom troopship is not much better than a garbage scow. The low, 
they're slow, and the lowest bidder makes them. You could probably swim 
faster than one of them!"

The briefing continued for another two hours, hashing out signals and 
contingency plans. Sailor Moon's mentor had taught her just how rarely 
naval battles go to plan. "That's why you have lots of plans. So that 
at least _something_ is likely to fit."

Before Sailor Moon returned to her own ship, she took a turn around the 
Ascendant with Mercury at her side. Ducking under a low doorway, 
Mercury shook her head. "It's hard to believe that most of my crew know 
the ship better than I do."

"Don't let it get to you, Sailor Mercury. You've had a lot to do. 
Besides, no one expects you to know everything right away. That's what 
your First Mate is for. Rely on him. Sojiro is a good man, he'll steer 
you straight. Just take your time, and get to know your ship. You've 
got hours until we make contact."

That was quite true. They were not due to encounter the Dark Kingdom's 
ships until early evening, and that gave her a good five or six hours 
to learn everything there was about a thousand tons of wood, metal and 
manpower. The thought was daunting.

Touring the ship, Ami took time to say hello to every smiling face she 
recognised, and several she did not. Sailor Moon beside her stayed 
mostly quiet, sometimes giving a small wave or having a quiet word 
behind Mercury, but never trying to overshadow the new captain. When 
they returned to the deck, Mercury was smiling. 

"Well, they might not be ready yet, but I didn't believe they could do 
so much in such a short time. It's incredible."

"They're good people. Now... I'm going to head back to the Rising Moon, 
and you're going to head to bed."

"Bed?!"

"Yes, bed. Have your Mate wake you in four hours, but make sure you get 
some sleep before the fight, otherwise you'll be more of a hindrance to 
everyone than a help."

"A-All right. I'll see you when we get finished."

After seeing Sailor Moon off, Ami spoke to her First Mate then retired 
to her cabin. Sometime during that hectic morning someone had brought 
in all of her clothes and books and arranged them in the cabin. Not 
only that, but the generous soul had made up her bed and put on a thick, 
warm down-filled comforter. 

Not even bothering to transform back into her normal form, Sailor 
Mercury dropped face down onto the bed. She may not have believed it 
would be possible to fall asleep with so much on her mind, but a night 
of adventure followed by the hectic day conspired against her and she 
was out like a light almost as soon as her head touched the pillow.

The next thing she knew was a coarse hand shaking her shoulder. "Sailor 
Mercury! Captain! You have to get up!"

"Wha?..." Blearily, Mercury opened first one eye, then the other. 
Rolling slightly, she slowly brought into focus the form of a broad man 
standing beside her bed. Just before her sleep addled mind caused her 
to start screaming the right associations were made and she exhaled 
evenly. "Sojiro-san... Good to see you... Is it time to get up?"

"More than time, I'm afraid. Those troop ships made better time than we 
expected. Sailor Moon thought we should have another two hours, but 
we've already spotted them."

"What!? Already? Come on! I need to get on deck!" Surging to her feet, 
Sailor Mercury briefly teetered on the high heels of her boots, rescued 
from the floor by a gentle hand from her Mate until her balance was 
restored.

Giving him a smile of thanks, Sailor Mercury lead the way back up the 
foredeck as fast as she could. 'What was it that makes a man like this 
respect someone like me as a captain?' Mercury wondered. Even with her 
heels, she barely came to his shoulder, and she was young enough to be 
his daughter. Even worse, the man had probably spent more time at see 
than she had been alive. Yet he still deferred to her.

Standing on the foredeck behind the control crystal, Sailor Mercury 
spared a glace at her Mate after looking at the approaching flotilla, 
still specks on the horizon. "I want all guns loaded, Sojiro-san. Tell 
the crews to man the starboard broadside. First tack will be to the 
port."

"Aye, Captain." He said with a serious smile. It was all old news to 
him, since that was the starting point for all of their plans in the 
briefing, but it was reassuring to have his captain giving orders and 
acting like a captain should, no matter how she appeared.

Placing her hands on the control crystal, Sailor Mercury hoped she 
would learn what her special ability was shortly. <I really wish I 
could speak to Sailor Moon right about now...>

<Mercury? Is that you?> The blue haired girl suddenly heard her 
leader's confused voice.

<Sailor Moon? You can hear me?>

<I... I can... How? I can actually hear you, it's more like...>

<Like it's being sent through the crystal!> Ami was ecstatic. <Sailor 
Moon, do you realise what this means?>

Sailor Moon gave a low chuckle, audible to those around her on the 
Rising Moon as well as Sailor Mercury through the crystal's magic. <Oh, 
boy, do I realise what it means. No fleet in history has ever been able 
to do what we can! Just imagine what an edge it gives us! We could 
ambush Dark Kingdom ships from both sides at once, and they would never 
know what hit them!>

Normal sailing ships communicated via signal flags run up the main mast. 
These flags were vital for the control of battle, but it meant that an 
enemy commander could see them and may be able to interpret your orders, 
or at least the timing of them. If all the Sailor Senshi were able to 
talk like this... they would be able to scout massive areas of ocean 
like never before, they could conduct intricate manoeuvres, and most 
importantly, they could convey perfectly clear orders even in the heat 
of battle.

<Have you managed to get a good look at them yet?>

<It's about as bad as we expected, but no worse. I count four frigates, 
and either eight or nine troop ships.>

<Four! Are you sure we can take that many?>

<With the Ascendant's guns, I'm sure we'll do it. Just remember, Ami-
chan, we're doing this one for the Isle Of Mercury. Every troop ship 
that gets through is going to put at thousand soldiers onto your 
homeland. Even if we can't stop those frigates, we have to stop those 
troop ships.>

<I... I really don't want to have to shoot on those defenceless ships.>

<Neither do I, neither do I. And if we can take out those frigates, we 
won't need to. If they don't have an escort, those troopships will play 
dead or do any other trick we tell them. Just don't let yourself get 
too close to one and let them board you. Your marines won't stand a 
chance against that many soldiers.>

<Right.>

The girls were silent for a time as the fleets edged closer to each 
other. Brilliant in their white and blues, the Senshi's ships would 
have been visible well out to the horizon, and they knew that the Dark 
Kingdom commander opposite them would have had plenty of time to try 
and plot his response. It would be an unexpected surprise for him to 
see them there, but at two to one odds, he no doubt expected to be able 
to able to do them in.

As the fleets drew closer, the Dark Kingdom was the first to tack. Ever 
since the cannon rendered the catapult obsolete in naval warfare, the 
broadside had become the standard for exchange. Ships would typically 
carry one or two guns as chase armament, but that was all. If they 
really wanted to do battle, they would turn side on to their enemy, 
sending shuddering fusillades at each other as they angled the distance 
closer until they could board. If you could sink your opponent before 
being tied into close combat, all the better, since it gave you much 
greater freedom, and reduced the chance of an enemy deciding to take 
pot shots at you while stationary.

The Dark Kingdom commander was being overly cautions, giving away his 
intention early. Or then, maybe he did show some sense, since the 
sluggish troop ships took advantage of the reduced rate of closure to 
form up behind the line of battle where they could be more protected. 
It all rode on how much he knew about his opponent. If he was unaware 
of the Senshi's ships greater range, then he would begin closing with a 
sharper angle, until he got into range.

The Senshi's ancient cannons might outrange the Dark Kingdom ships by a 
good twenty percent, but they held no bonuses on accuracy. If the enemy 
ships could close to a mutual firing range, their throw-weight would 
probably overwhelm the Senshi's ships, especially since the Senshi 
would need to sink four ships, while the Dark Kingdom could concentrate 
on only two.

<Shouldn't we be turning soon?>

Sailor Moon judged the distance to the enemy flotilla and shook her 
head. <Not yet, Mercury. We'll let them get a little bit closer first.>

<Closer? We should be in range already...>

<Cannons, yes, but one more moment and...>

With a shuddering BOOM the Dark Kingdom ships announced that they were 
finally in range. Each ship carried lighter guns on average than the 
Senshi's ships, but when four ships loosed a broadside only to be 
counted by the Mercury Ascendant's two forward chasers, it was not good 
news.

With whistling sounds like a flock of attacking harpies, cannonballs 
splashed into the ocean all around them. A pair of 24lb balls landed on 
the Rising Moon's foredeck front armour, while the Mercury Ascendant 
deflected another two light rounds only to have a 32 pounder smash some 
of the rigging and their mounts only slightly to Mercury's left.

<Now! MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!>

Before Mercury's eyes, the most incredible thing happened. The wooden 
carving adorning the front of Sailor Moon's ship moved. The wooden 
woman's long, graceful arms came together, suddenly holding a golden 
sceptre topped with a brilliant ruby red crystal. For a moment the 
crystal glowed, shining brighter and brighter. Then, with a glare that 
hurt the eyes, a set of massive, glowing pink hearts arced out, 
launching themselves at the southernmost ship.

<Turn, turn, hard to port!>

"Mate! Bring us eighty degrees to port! Brace for broadside. Target the 
second ship and fire as you bear!"

While the Mate echoed back the commands, that massive, silly looking 
heart shaped attack finally zeroed in on the enemy frigate. Audible 
even that that range, the attack rendered the ship into a plethora of 
fragments. The entire front half was completely blown away, with wood 
shrapnel littering the water and bouncing off the hull of the nearest 
frigate. Laid bare, the interior of the frigate was briefly visible to 
all before it succumbed to the waves and was sucked under the water.

"Beautiful..." Mercury whispered out loud.

As they turned, the ship rocked as their own cannons returned fire, but 
at this range, it was unlikely they did any significant damage. The 
Dark Kingdom returned the compliment, sending their own rounds to crash 
into the blue ships. Mercury was stunned to see a thirty-two pound 
cannonball bounce off one of their amazing masts leaving nothing more 
than a dark stain of smeared lead. Most masts should have bent or 
broken under such a strain, especially since the ship was still at full 
sail, but once again the superlative workmanship of the vessel proved 
itself.

Hearing screams behind her, Mercury turned to see the results of a 
crewman unlucky enough to have been in the way of one of those 
descending cannonballs. The ship might have survived the impact, but 
even she could tell the only help the ship's doctor would be was to 
offer the man a quick end to his pain. Panicking slightly, Mercury 
clenched her eyes she and gripped the control crystal tightly.

<MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!>

Nowhere near as visually spectacular as the Rising Moon's attack, 
Sailor Mercury discovered her own ship's special ability. Covering an 
area several kilometres across, the ocean around the enemy ships was 
suddenly covered in impenetrable fog. From where they stood on the 
Mercury Ascendant, Sailor Mercury and her mate could see several 
hundred meters of clear water, then just whiteness. Of the enemy ships 
there was no sign, but they could dimly hear the sounds of them across 
the water.

<That was incredible Ami-chan!>

<Thanks, Sailor Moon. Not quite as good as what you did.>

<Are you kidding? Just keep watching. Tell your crew to trim sails and 
match my speed. Then have them drop a ranging round to the edge of that 
fog.>

Mercury passed the orders, and the Ascendant came to a virtual 
standstill near the Rising Moon. She had heard of forts firing ranging 
rounds like this, but never a ship; after all, who ever knew exactly 
where an enemy ship would be? By watching the distance they got with 
one round, they could load and elevate the rest of their cannons with 
excellent accuracy. With the ship unmoving, they would trim off almost 
all of their other inaccuracies as well. It made them sitting targets, 
but any ship that came out of the fog on such an angle as to allow a 
broadside would be far, far from the ships last position.

True to Sailor Moons prediction, the fog was just beginning to thin as 
a long frigate found its way out of the fog bank. Barely ten degrees 
from where they had dropped their targeting rounds, the ship was 
showing three-quarters front, unable to return fire with more than 
chase armament, but squarely targeted with both of the Senshi's 
frigates.

"Fire!"

On command, forty-five, thirty-two pound cannons fired. Dead on target, 
the rounds dropped one after another onto the sole target. Some rounds 
missed, yet others hit the heavy timbers armouring the sides of the 
ship and were deflected harmlessly into the water.

The vast bulk of the armament either hit planks square-on, or dropped 
down onto the relatively unprotected decking. A dozen visible holes 
appeared in the planking of the ship, and she seemed to rock in the 
water. While the ship listed and sluggishly tried to turn with water 
beginning to lap into the openings, the foremast slowly and 
majestically toppled backwards, like a massive white dressed bride 
collapsing at her wedding. Tangling with the mainmast, much of the sail 
power was lost, slowing the beleaguered vessel and preventing it from 
completing its turn to bear proper counter-fire on the Senshi.

A second broadside lashed out after the first, ripping existing holes 
wider and laying open much of the front port quarter. At this distance, 
Mercury could see men running and screaming, with more than one falling 
or diving into the water. Water was gushing into the wounded ship now, 
certifying that it would only be a matter of time until it sank.

Until it did sink, or everyone abandoned the wounded vessel, it would 
be dangerous, and the fog was beginning to thin over a wider area, 
giving hints to where the other Dark Kingdom frigates were. <Turn to 
starboard and move across their line of advance, Sailor Mercury. If you 
put your sails to the wind, you should be able to get around before the 
fog clears.>

Once again, Mercury relayed the orders, guessing at what Sailor Moon 
intended. They would be able to get off one more salvo at the crippled 
ship before their own manoeuvres occluded it. After that, if they were 
lucky, they would be able to steal a march on the Dark Kingdom ships 
just emerging. Under full sail, the enemy ships would have a hard time 
turning to keep up with the Mercury Ascendant, and with luck she would 
be able to cross her enemy's T. 

"Crossing someone's T" was a manoeuvre where the side of your ship 
lined up perpendicular with the enemy's ship. Even with her limited 
knowledge of naval tactics, Sailor Mercury recognised that as being one 
of the fundamental positions of advantage in battle. With the enemy 
ship pointed nose on to your broadside, your firepower would outweigh 
theirs by ten, twenty or even thirty times the throw-weight. While the 
ship lurched beneath her feet, Mercury understood just how her ship 
really was so perfect for long range engagement. Outgunning almost 
anything on the water, the bubble blast allowed her security as needed, 
and the ability to manipulate an enemy into dangerously disadvantageous 
positions.

Of course, with the miniature crew requirements of the Senshi's ships, 
and her depleted marine complement, she could ill afford to take on a 
fair boarding battle, but she far preferred this sort of engagement.

Moving at a good clip, The Mercury Ascendant was almost in exactly the 
right position for her first salvo as the fog finally dissipated and 
the two remaining frigates were revealed. This time her port batteries 
fired, delivering over a third of a ton of lead in one salvo. As these 
smashed into the enemy ship, she realised her rounds were landing 
unsupported by Usagi's ship. Glancing around, Sailor Mercury saw that 
her leader had taken the opposite tack, closing in for boarding against 
the ship closest to her. It was a good tactic, one Mercury could only 
salute her for, since it pitted both Senshi's strengths against their 
opponents, and divided them so the Dark Kingdom could not muster their 
forces against any one Moon Kingdom ship.

Hearing Sailor Mercury's ship deliver another salvo, Sailor Moon took 
time to wish her a silent "good luck" through the crystal before 
releasing it. Turning, she ran down to the main deck of the Rising Moon 
and drew her sword. Her First Mate could handle bringing them in to 
board the enemy, and nothing could prevent that now.

Brandishing her weapon high into the air, Sailor Moon looked at the 
marines gathered on the deck. These were not spit and polish guard 
troops. They were not knights in shining armour. They were the roughest, 
toughest marines she had been able to find and recruit from Her 
Majesty's navy. They wore only leather armour, with the occasional man 
wearing a light chain shirt, but nothing heavier. If you fell into the 
water wearing leather armour, a fit man could swim to safety if all 
went well. If you were wearing plate mail or chain mail, the only 
difference was how fast you sank, there was no question of swimming 
with that much weight of metal.

A mighty roar responded to her flourish, and the men raised their own 
weapons. Cutlasses, scimitars, the occasional man with spear and short 
sword. Boarding weapons were not usually as large and cumbersome as her 
beloved bastard sword, but she would not give it up for any other. 
Archers on the fore and rear decks rained arrows at the enemy ship on 
its final approach. Until the boarders dropped the crossing planks that 
doubled as arrow protection, there was little chance of any real effect, 
which is why she stood here openly exhorting her men before the attack.

As the ships bumped and shuddered against each other, mooring lines 
were thrown across. The Dark Kingdom, realising that they were 
outnumbered, tried to cut them or throw them back. However the crew of 
the Rising Moon kept a steady stream of them going across until their 
boarders could prevent the enemy from separating the ships.

Moving to the side of the boat, Sailor Moon placed a bracing hand 
against the raised boarding ramp. A glance to her right got a nod from 
the crewman sheltering there. All was ready. Giving her own nod, she 
watched the ramp drop away to bounce off the railing on the enemy ship, 
providing a route to the screaming hordes defenders over there. Jumping 
onto the ramp, she raised her sword in both hands and ran forwards, a 
desperate frown etched onto her young face, ponytails flying behind her.

Sailor Moon always leads the way into the heart of the enemy. 

"For love and justice!" She cried at the top of her lungs. Her battle 
cry was chosen to inspire her men and remind them of what they were 
fighting for.

"FOR SAILOR MOON!" As one voice, eighty marines and fifty crew shook 
the ship with their own battle cry. Let the captain worry about justice 
and other ideals suited to her station. They fought and died for the 
blonde girl diving into battle, and nothing would change their minds.

What began as one ring of steel on steel became a constant chorus as 
more men met, weapons colliding again and again. Sailor Moon at the 
forefront of the battle brought her bastard sword across in a wide 
stroke impossible to avoid in the crush of men, forcing her opponent to 
parry. Parry he did, with his fine steel cutlass, but it achieved 
nothing. Backed by her magically boosted strength, the petite Senshi 
was deceptively strong; equally, traditionally boarding tactics decried 
using such heavy weapons. Unsuspecting of the power coming at him, the 
Dark Kingdom marine failed his parry, with Sailor Moon striking deep 
into his side. Pushing him away and into the water, she could continue 
on to the next man.

As her feet hit the deck of the enemy frigate, Moon whipped her sword 
up then to the right, blocking a pair of incoming strikes. The man to 
her right should have concentrated on the boarder coming after her, and 
he paid for it with a spearhead to his stomach. With that taken care of, 
Sailor Moon concentrated on forcing her way forwards by sheer strength. 
Even if she could not fell any more enemies at this stage, every step 
she took was room for more men to come aboard. The more men that could 
face the defenders, the better the chance of the boarding succeeding.

Shortly the initial rush carried her to its limit and the press of men 
behind the defender brought her to a stop. Bracing herself on her back 
foot, Sailor Moon brought her sword down and around in a complicated 
turn that left her opponent in a high guard position with his legs 
bared. Completing the move, she brought the razor edge of the sword 
across his thighs, dropping him to the ground screaming while she 
turned in time to block another strike coming in from the side.

So it went, a constant fury of metal and flesh. It was a deadly ballet, 
far from the niceties of the elegant manoeuvres in naval combat , but 
just as necessary. Sailor Moon did not like the close press of boarding 
combat, but she could not send her men in without her. The invisible 
people killed on the receiving end of a naval barrage were just as much 
her responsibility as those she killed with her hands right in front of 
her face. Distance did not obviate the responsibility, nor did ordering 
a man to kill in her name make her any less a killer.
 
Thus Sailor Moon buried herself in the combat. It was war, and people 
died in war. She did not need to like it, but unless she was willing to 
sacrifice her own pride and do this to the Dark Kingdom, her mother's 
people would suffer, and the world would descend into a new dark age.

Her marines were pushing the enemy back along all fronts. They had 
managed to force themselves across more than half the deck, and now 
stood in greater numbers than the defenders. As the tide of battle was 
about to become overwhelming a shout went up from the defenders and all 
along the ship men began throwing their weapons to the ground and 
begging form mercy.

Running what had once been a white glove over her face, Usagi cleared 
the blood from her eyes and smeared more red on the fine fabric. She 
had a small nick above her left eye that was bleeding freely, but it 
could not stop her fighting. Nor did it prevent her from seeing why the 
Dark Kingdom sailors were so eager to surrender.

Looking at her through a layer of three foes was one of her own crew. 
Gradually realisation dawned that she could see shining white masts and 
another host of marines. While the Rising Moon subjugated one frigate, 
the Mercury Ascendant had dealt with the other, arriving in time to 
terrorise the remnants of the crew into surrender without having to 
land a single blow.

From the way Sailor Mercury blanched when she found Sailor Moon, the 
Senshi decided she probably looked as bad as she felt. From head to toe, 
Sailor Moon felt as though she had bathed in blood. All of the other 
people on the ship looked the same, but the effect was no doubt 
disturbing. Normally the easiest way to clean off after a boarding 
action was to go for a quick swim in the ocean then scrub off on the 
ship afterwards. This time she might be able to take advantage of that 
pleasure while leaving Sailor Mercury some of the tidying up duties.

"S-Sailor Moon... It's so good to see you again. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. This all belongs to other people." Lifting up her blood 
stained gloves, Moon tried not to think of just how many other people 
that red fluid belonged to.

"What do we do now? Do we just let all those transports go? I... I 
don't really like the idea of letting that many soldiers head back to 
Beryl, only to show up on Venus in another month... On the other hand, 
I don't think I could order Sojiro-san to fire on defenceless ships."

"Good. I've never heard any excuse for why it is OK to attack someone 
defenceless."

"So what do we do?"

"There were nine transports, right?"

Mercury nodded.

"Load anyone here who's still alive, and all the soldiers, onto four of 
those transports. It's going to be cramped, it's going to be 
uncomfortable, but they'll be able to make their way back to the Dark 
Kingdom like that. If we're really lucky, half those poor sods will be 
down with diarrhoea from living on top of each other before they get 
home.

"Tell them I want every weapon and every piece of armour loaded onto 
the ninth transport. That's every dagger, sword, cutlass, shield, 
anything. Once they've done that, send an officer and some of his men 
to each of the transports for an inspection. I don't want a single one 
of those men going back to Beryl fit for anything more than retiring to 
be farmers.

"While that's underway, I'll have my Mate unload the cannons and 
equipment from this ship. When you're sure everyone is off the ninth 
transport, the four loaded ones can go, and we'll spread the loot among 
both out ships.

"After that... We sink every single one of these ships. The Dark 
Kingdom can keep their unarmed men, but I don't want to face these 
ships ever again."

For a few seconds, Sailor Mercury gaped at her. The instructions were 
easy enough to understand, but the purpose... "But... but why? We're 
not pirates, are we?"

Sailor Moon shook her head and looked for somewhere clean she could sit 
down and rest while she explained. "No, we're not pirates. Pirates do 
this because they want the money for the sake of the money. Not only 
that, but they prey on the weakest enemies they can find.

"We're Sailor Senshi, and that means we fight for a higher cause, and 
we fight the biggest, toughest, nastiest bad guys we can. But people 
have to eat, we need to buy power for the cannons, our crew need to 
have their own lives. I can't magically pay for all of that. That's why 
we need to do this. One day, someday, we will become the lead flotilla 
in the regular navy, a real Queen's unit. When that happens, we won't 
need to worry about money or anything. But until then, we need to look 
after ourselves.

"There's one other reason for all of this... Eventually we're going to 
Tairiku with the largest army the world has ever seen. I'm going to 
have to equip that army somehow, and I can't think of anything more 
fitting than Beryl providing the weapons and armour for us. Even if we 
could afford to arm every fighting man in the Moon Kingdom, we're going 
to get a lot of volunteers as we free the villages and cities while we 
cross Tairiku. If we can arm each village we rescue, that frees up 
fifty or a hundred soldiers from garrison duty.

"We've got a long way to go, and it is going to take a lot of effort to 
get there. Every troop ship of Beryl's we sink, every frigate we defeat, 
every weapon we seize and every soldier we demote to civilian... It all 
brings us one step closer to victory over the Dark Kingdom."

---
End Of Chapter