May 22, 2016

      Quincy sat at his desk and stared at the man before him.  He looked
remarkably bland for what he what he claimed to be, with neatly trimmed
brown hair and a nice suit.  "An interesting proposal, Mr. Xavier.  But
can you prove it?"

      "Call in your secretary."

      "I don't have my own secretary yet."

      "Call in anyone."

      Quincy called in Taki from Accounting.  When Taki arrived, Mr.
Xavier promptly crumpled and suddenly Taki spoke.  "Satisfied?"

      "Interesting.  So why didn't you just TAKE my body since I can't
stop you?"

      "Past experiences have taught me there is value in cooperation and
there may times when I may need to be elsewhere.  Plus, you have knowledge
that I do not.  My life has taught me little of how to run a company, but
I have scientific knowlege beyond your wildest imagining.  We can do far
more together than separately."

     It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and the rise of a
company to world power.

*********

Chapter 14:  Breaking the Rules

*********


     Priss woke up with a severe stomachache.  She stifled the urge to
moan, because she didn't want Leon to know she felt sick.  No weakness.
She looked around Leon's apartment.  It was just a dream.  He's okay, she
told herself.  No Leon.  A twinge of fear struck her and she stifled it.
He's probably in the bathroom or gone to work or something.  

     She looked around.  No note.  No bathroom noises.  She used the
bathroom herself, thus making doubly sure Leon wasn't in there.  He wasn't
in the kitchen either.  Nothing but silence.  Bastard didn't even leave a
note, she thought.

     The living room door opened, and Priss spun.  It was Leon with a
handful of mail.  "Oh, hi, Priss.  I forgot to pick up my mail last night.
You wanna grab something to eat before I go to work?  Assuming you don't
feel too sick to eat?"

     Priss felt a wave of relief wash over her.  She sauntered over to
Leon.  "I feel great.  You're the one who can't handle weird pizzas."

     "I seem to remember you worshipping the porcelain goddess last
night."

     "I was just trying to comfort her after she had to deal with you."
Priss replied, grinning.  "Face it, you just have a weak stomach."

     "In your dreams,"  Leon replied.  "Come on, let's go.  I don't have
anything here worth eating, and I gotta get to work soon."

      Dreams.  Priss thought about her dreams.  I have a lot of things to
do, she thought.  She looked at Leon.  When I thought you had died...  It
was time to be honest with herself about how she felt about Leon.  She
hadn't really loved anyone in a long time.  There had been her old
boyfriend who got killed by Genom.  There had been Sylvie.  And now...
Priss was used to acting on impulses so she did.  She grabbed Leon and
kissed him.  

      Leon didn't make it to work on time that day.

*********

      Ryu whispered to Nene, "Are you SURE you want to go through with
this?"

      "Hey, unlike some people, I don't fire energy beams from my hands.
I'm gonna need an upgrade to keep up and Celia is too busy to work on our
hardsuits," Nene replied.  "I was VERY specific on what I wanted Wasyuu to
do."

      "I love my grandmother very much, but it's been a REALLY long time
since I've been part of any of her experiments if I could help it."  Ryu
looked around Wasyuu's lab.  "We can still run before she gets back."

     Nene laughed.  I just have to remember Ryouko's advice, and I'll be
okay.  I hope.  "I don't think so."

     "Don't say I didn't warn you."  He started to lean against a nearby
machine, then decided it was better not to touch anything unnecessarily.

     Wasyuu returned, carrying an earring.  "Here, put this on."

     "A subspace beacon?"  Ryu asked.

     Nene put it on.  

     "Yes.  This will enable the battlesuit to find you so it doesn't
materialize in the wrong place.  It also has the sensor for the activation
phrase."

     "Activation phrase?"

     "To summon the armor, you shout, 'Knight Saber Power, Make Up!'"

     It took all of Ryu's willpower not to fall down laughing.

     "Can't you reset it to something less silly?"

     "No."  Wasyuu's eyes twinkled, and her smile was impish.

     "I don't believe you,"  Nene said.  She stared fixedly at Wasyuu.
"The most brilliant scientist in the universe isn't capable of changing a
command phrase?  I could do that."

     Wasyuu pouted.  "But..."

     "Please?"

     "Okay." Wasyuu summoned up her keyboard.  "How about, 'Sim Sim
Salabim'?"

     "How about 'Summon Armor'?"

     Wasyuu sighed.  "Kids these days just don't appreciate culture."  She
typed away for about ten seconds.  "Okay, now try it out.  Ryu, better
step back."

     Ryu stepped back.

     "Summon Armor,"  Nene said.  Nothing happened.  

     "You have to shout it."

     "SUMMON ARMOR!"  Nene shouted.  She rose into the air and spun about.
To her surprise, her clothing ripped into tiny shreds, leaving her totally
naked for about a second.  Ryu tried not to stare and failed.  The shreds
blew away from her and pink and purple ribbons formed around her, 
becoming her jumpsuit she normally wore inside the hardsuit, then the 
pieces of armor appeared and slammed together around her.  At the end of the
transformation, she was still hovering in the air, now wearing a modified
version of her Knight Saber hardsuit.  

      Wasyuu clapped her hands, "The anti-grav system IS adjusted
correctly for your weight.  I was a little worried you'd lied about your
weight and it wouldn't be strong enough."

      Nene flew down to the ground.  "I was butt-naked up there!"

      "I thought that would be the best way to distract anyone who might
be watching so they wouldn't attack before the armor finished appearing."
Wasyuu started typing again, "I could add a bright flash of light to blind
them as well so they won't actually see you naked if it bothers you.
Aren't you proud of your body?"

      Ryu restrained himself from commenting, which wasn't easy.     

      "This isn't some anime where we have to give fanservice!  I don't
want anyone but Ryu seeing me naked!"  She blushed inside the armor.  "Uh,
I mean..."

      Wasyuu laughed.  "It's about time.  Anyway, I could change it, but
it would take me weeks to reconfigure it properly to work another way."

      Nene looked at the screen, which contained a 'reconfigure
experimental hardsuit' icon.  She pressed it and a list of options came
up.  "Right.  I'll just relieve you of the labor."

      Wasyuu said, "You're taking all the fun out of this."

      "If you really want fun, you can help Ryu and me get even with
Manami and Ryouko for playing a prank on us."

      Wasyuu's eyes lit up.  "I minored in clever revenge at the Science
Academy."

     Nene finished reconfiguring the transformation sequence.  "Got any
ideas?"

     Wasyuu ALWAYS has ideas.

*********

     Youshou whacked Macky on the head with the wooden practice sword for
the twentieth time that day.  "You have to concentrate."

     Macky sat down and sighed.  "Is this REALLY necessary?  I mean, I'm
not going to be able to learn hardly anything in the amount of time we
have before we make our big move, right?"

     Youshou sat down on the ground beside them, looking around the
clearing.  Memories of training on this very field with Tenchi flitted
through his mind.  I wish we had more time, he thought.  "Every little bit
will help."

     "Yeah, like I'll get to do anything anyway.  I ought to be practicing
cheering everyone on.  That and truck driving."

     Youshou frowned.  "If you take that attitude, that's all you'll ever
be good for.  Is that all you want to be?  Your sister's flunky?"

     "No, but I..."

     "But you aren't willing to get off your fat behind and do anything to
change matters.  I won't make you do this, but if you don't try to be more
than you are, you'll never become something better.  Some of the things I
tell you to do may seem pointless, but they're all intended to make you
rise above yourself and shatter your limitations.  You can wallow in
self-pity and complain about what people have done to you and how useless
you are, or you can solve your problems."  He got into a ready position.
"I've been pleased with your progress, but not your attitude.  Shall we
continue, or should we just go back to Mega-Tokyo?"

      Macky blinked, trying to process all of this.  "I just feel like I'm
not any good at this compared to you and..."

      "I've been swordfighting for close to 800 years now.  You've got a
long ways to go to catch up.  The important thing is to keep trying and do
your best."

      Macky nodded and lunged at Youshou.  "En Garde!"

      Youshou laughed.  "For Queen and Country."  

      The fight began anew.
       
*********

     "So as we head into the twenty thirties, we can see that..."
Professor Hiyama lectured on about the aftermath of the Kanto Quake of
2025.  

     Her students took notes, many of them using laptop computers, others
using an old fashioned pen and notepad.  Manami was one of the former,
typing at high speed.  Unlike many of her classes, this was one that was
full of material that was actually new to her.  That was one reason she
was majoring in history.  It was an area that had not been covered in her
education on Jurai.  To be precise, EARTH history had not been covered
there, and her father, while he had tried to teach her, wasn't much of an
expert in his homeworld's history.  

     The lecture soon came to an end.  As Manami was about to leave,
Professor Hiyama stopped her.  "Do you have a minute, Manami?"

     "Sure."

     She followed Professor Hiyama to her office, closing the door behind
her as she came in.  "What's up?"

     "Has your great-grandfather told you about meeting me?"

     "Oh, you met great-grandfather?  How did that happen?"

     "You should be careful.  There are Genom agents on this campus trying
to find the person who took out one of their agents, and even your powers
won't save you from a bullet in the back."

     Manami blinked.  She wasn't expecting this.  "I...uh..."

     "I know about where you are from and a lot of other things.  I wanted
you to know I know in case you should need my help.  Your
great-grandfather has many allies."

     "Are you from the Kasuga clan?"

     Professor Hiyama laughed.  "Almost."

     "I don't understand."

     "I really ought to put this explanation on tape," she muttered to herself, 
then launched into the whole saga.

*********

     Noa faced off with her students.  Here's where we see if this makes a
difference, she thought.  I really wish I was using Alphonse, though, so I
could tell.

      On the other hand, the constant awareness of her husband was a
little bit distracting, though she was getting used to shoving it to the
back of her brain so it didn't constantly fill her thoughts.  I hope I'm
not making him sneeze constantly.  She laughed at the thought.  

      "You ready, Umi?"  she asked the driver of Unit 6.  

      Umi, a blue haired girl with sharply angled features, nodded.  She
was one of Noa's best students.  Unlike the others, she listened, she
didn't rely too much on her powers, and she actually seemed to know how to
fight in a sensible manner.  "Hai, sensei."

      "And you, Yusaku?"

      Yusaku was the blond boy with rumpled hair who drove Unit 4.  He was
very psychically powerful, but fairly inept in a fight, though he had more
sense than Hitomi, who seemed to think she was in a samurai movie.  "Ready
as I ever am."

      "Okay, both of you try to take me."

      They all drew their combat rods.  The two teens tried to come at Noa
from two sides.  Yusaku charged forward, while Umi approached more warily.
Noa flowed with the attack, side-stepping, grabbing unit 4's arm and
spinning in place, letting his momentum carry him around to go crashing
into Unit 6.  Well, that was the plan.  Unit 6 got out of the way, and
Unit 4 leveled a tree instead.  

     Unit 6 waited for Unit 4 to get up.  He peeled himself off the tree
and charged Noa again. This time, she simply blocked his attack.  Unit 6,
however, was now able to get a blow in from the side and strike Unit 2.  
Noa smiled.  Good teamwork, even if it was unwitting on Unit 4's part.

     She spun, the mech moving more fluidly than on previous days and
struck at Unit 6's hand.  Umi instinctively tried to avoid her hand
getting thumped and left herself open for a solid thumping.

     "Remember, the blows to your mech can't hurt you physically, though
avoiding getting hit is a good idea, don't let it make you leave yourself
wide open."

      Umi nodded.  

      Noa smiled.  I think I am fighting better, though maybe it's only my
ego that has gotten more powerful.

*********

     Priss was nervous.  She knew she shouldn't be, since Linna had done
this sort of thing ALL the time and Nene was currently massively in
violation of rule #10 and usually Priss didn't even THINK about the
rules...however, it wasn't just rule #10 she was thinking of violating.  

     Priss hated feeling panicky, so she choked it down and stomped into
the Silky Doll.  Some tiny part of her brain mentioned, 'You are now in
violation of rule #9', but she ignored it.  Even Celia daily violated that
rule.  

     Celia was nowhere to be seen.  Priss went and knocked on the office
door, waving off a clerk who tried to see if she needed help.

     Celia opened the door, smiling.  "How are you today, Priss?"

     "I need to talk to you."

     "Come on in, then."  Celia sat down.  Unusually, the radio was tuned
to a music station instead of 24-hour news channel 96.1  Some light breezy
pop was playing.  Priss sat down, wondering briefly if she had wandered
into another universe.  "Would you like something to drink?"

     "Sure."

     Celia got Priss a coke.  "Sorry I don't have anything stronger."

     Has Celia been kidnapped and replaced by a boomer?,  Priss wondered
briefly.  Maybe this will be easier than I thought.  "I..uh...well,
I...ummm..."

     "Let me guess.  You finally broke rule #10?"  Celia had a look that
in someone else might have been described as a twinkle in her eye.  Priss
found it scary.

     "..."  Priss blinked.  "I...how did you know?"  Did she learn to read
minds during that training trip?  Wait, what does she mean by FINALLY?

     "I was wondering if you would ever get serious with Leon."  She
sipped from her own soda.  "Looks like I win the betting pool, too."

     Priss' jaw dropped.  Incoherent noises came out.  "Be...betting
pool?"

     Celia laughed.  "Just yanking your chain.  Linna tried to start one,
but I wouldn't let her."

     Priss said, "Well, that's one relief.  The thing I really needed to
ask you is..." She hesitated.  Why is Celia so happy?  Did she get laid?
Priss laughed mentally at the thought.  No way.  Who would she be sleeping
with?

     "I'm still working on the next set of upgrades.  They should be ready
fairly soon, with Washuu's help.  You won't be able to believe some of the
stuff you'll be able to do."  Celia was becoming even more animated.
"It'll take me years to catch up, maybe decades, but even the simple stuff
is just amazing."  It looked like she could rant all day.

     Priss cut her off.  "Leon wants to know what the hell is going on,
and I want to tell him."

     "Okay."

     Priss didn't quite notice the reply.  "He's kept my secret for over a
year, and I think he really deserves, after the whole mess with Mihoshi,
to at least know what's going on.  He even kept our involvement in that
secret from his own bosses to protect us and..."

     "I said it was okay, Priss.  Have him come talk to me as soon as he
can."

     Priss stared.  Maybe Celia DID get laid.  Or having alien powers
softens you up.  She thought about her own recent behavior.  That's
starting to look like a likely theory.  "..."

      Celia laughed.  "Perhaps you expected me to produce a gun and shoot
you on the spot just for asking?"

      "Well, uh..."

      Celia sighed.  "We were all different people when we made those
rules, especially me.  There was a time when I would have been willing to
back them up with death.  That time is over and done.  We'd have all had
to die for breaking rule #9 a long time ago if we were going to be rigid
on the rules."

      Priss nodded.  "We've never broken #6."

      "And that's the only one we've never broken.  Have you met Linna's
new boyfriend yet?"

      "No.  She tried to bring him to one of my concerts, but he got sick.
Have any of us but Linna met him yet?"

      "No.  He's got money, of course."  Celia smiled sardonically.

      Priss laughed.  "Are we starting a betting pool on how long this
relationship lasts?"

      "Actually, Nene and I have one going..."

      Priss and Celia both fell out of their chairs laughing.

*********

      The hammer banged on the table, sending everyone in the room jumping 
in  shock.  Usagi laughed.  "This meeting will come to order."

       Haruka laughed.  "Yeah, right.  Like any of these meetings ever come to 
order."  Michiru, sitting next to Haruka, laughed faintly.  "Whadja call a 
special meeting for, anyway?"

       Dr. Mizuno Ami, sitting halfway across the room stood up.  "I asked 
Usagi to call the meeting since I think I've made a minor breakthrough in my 
studies."

       Minako Grant, famous voice actress and Oil of Olay spokeswoman, said, 
"So when can we start selling it?"  Everyone laughed, even Ami.

       There were sixteen of them--eight women and eight men.  Eight
couples united by two bonds.  First, all of them had lived in the Juuban
district of Tokyo during the nineties, when they had met.  Secondly, none
of them had aged a day in the last thirty years or possibly longer.  They
should have all been in their mid fifties or older.  One of them had
white hair, but his face was unlined by age, and he knew he had gone
white in his youth.  It had taken a long time to realize that they were
not aging, but once it began to become obvious, they had formed the
Juuban Society and set out to find out why they were unaging.

       All of them had had to take measures to try to ward off attention for 
their youthfulness.  Haruka and Michiru had gone so far as to fake their own 
deaths and assume the identity of relatives of themselves, with the help of a 
little plastic surgery and faked computer records.  They were Hikaru and 
Michelle now.  Minako and her husband, who lived a high profile life, simply 
let people believe that she HAD had plastic surgery.  Some, like Usagi,
hadn't really done anything, since Usagi really had no clue how to deal
with this.  

       Finally, Ami had begun the most productive quest, putting her access to 
medical research equipment to good use.  She stood now, and began to speak.  
"So far, I have been unable to isolate any common genetic factor that might 
provide a basis for understanding why we are all not aging.  However, I have 
discovered certain chemicals present in the bloodstream of all of us which I 
suspect are related to this phenomenon, since they are not present in any of 
the blood samples I have worked with from other subjects.  Secondly, 
injecting  these chemicals into mice retarded their aging process for several 
months.   Thus, in theory, if I could synthesize these chemicals, it is possible 
that..."

       Makoto interrupted.  "In other words, we're living fountains of youth?"

       "These chemicals will not make you young, they merely retard the aging 
process so that you don't get older.  In fact, they will prevent children, or 
at least young mice, from maturing physically and possibly mentally, though 
it's harder to tell with mice.  This could provide an explanation for why none 
of us have been able to successfully have children."

       Everyone was silent for a moment, then Naru said, "Because the children 
can't even develop in our wombs?  They can't even age that much?"

       Ami nodded.  "It seems so, though the problem then arises of how any of 
us ever made it to maturity."

       "Well, that could be questioned in a few cases,"  Bishop Hino said.  
Usagi stuck out her tongue at her.

      "Where are these chemicals coming from?"  Michiru asked.

      "Our bodies are naturally manufacturing them as far as I can tell, 
unless someone is secretly giving us all periodic injections, which seems 
rather unlikely.  I haven't figured out how to make these chemicals in any 
artificial manner yet; they're incredibly complex.  I don't even understand 
how they work.  Still, I have high hopes of eventually figuring them out.  The 
disturbing thing, however, is that even with the resources of the Human 
Genome Project, your personal genetic records, and a very powerful 
computer, I still don't have a clue as to what genetic factor is responsible for 
this.  I really have no idea why us and no one else."

       Usagi said, "It must be Miss Haruna's fault.  All that homework warped 
our body chemistry."

       That got a lot of laughs.  Ami continued.  "The odd thing, is that we all 
KNOW each other.  Now, there may simply be a lot more Ageless out there 
that we don't know about, but given that there is not even a hint of this in any 
medical journal and..."  She trailed off.

       "And what?"  Steven asked.  

       "Isn't it awfully convenient that each of us has the person we most 
care about to stay with us for eternity or at least a very long time?  If we 
had actually KNOWN this was going to happen, it would be different, but none 
of us had any clue at the time that we wouldn't age.  I can only conclude that 
someone or something did this deliberately to us, though I can't even 
speculate why.  I love Ryo-kun very much, and I'm glad neither of us will 
have to watch the other age and die...but this is way too much of a 
coincidence."

       "Maybe Sensei had something to do with this."  Ryo said.  "He was 
always doing all kind of crazy experiments and..."

        "No.  Biology was not his forte," the white haired man, Professor 
Tomoe, said.  "And more importantly, he would have told us.  Plus, if he 
COULD block the aging process, why didn't he use it on himself?  He left me 
all of his notes, and none of them even vaguely refer to anything that could 
have this effect.  Now if we all thought we were living in Ancient Sumeria or 
started glowing purple, I could see it."

       "Maybe he just wants us to think he's dead,"  Haruka surmised.

       "And maybe Fu Manchu is to blame for this,"  Professor Tomoe said.  He 
sighed.  "I take it the sample of the genetics and blood of our relatives 
didn't help any?"

       Dr. Mizuno's face got a wistful look.  "The sample of your daughter was 
seriously deteriorated.  I was able to get a genetic reading from her hair, 
but if she possessed the A-factor, as I call it, I was unable to determine 
from the blood sample.  The chemical degrades rapidly in contact with a 
nitrogen-rich environment like the Earth's atmosphere.  With regard to the 
other samples, I found no trace of the A-factor in any of the blood samples 
from your various relatives.  As far as I can tell, each of us is unique in 
our families in that regard."

       Urawa said, "Have you tested the A-factor with human subjects yet?"

       "No.  Maintaining the level of secrecy we desire would become difficult 
at that stage.  Also, until I can manufacture it artifically, I don't think I 
could get any noticable effects.  While a fairly small dose seems to work well 
on mice, humans have a tremendously higher body mass and would require 
much larger doses."

       The discussion continued until late in the afternoon, mainly succeeding 
in making everyone a bit more uncomfortable than before.

**********

      Chaos swirled around her as she slept, her dreams shaping the stuff of 
creation into nightmare visions and pleasant wonderlands that lasted 
anywhere from moments to what passes for eons in a world with no time of 
its own.   Wrapped in a shroud of ether, she rolled over and the world around 
her shattered.  The large white house through which her mind had been 
wandering in recent whatevers dissolved away and became a school that looked 
like a huge skyscraper, a church of metal, wires, and glass.  

       Only one thing kept the chaos from slowly claiming her for its own, 
devouring her essence to renew itself.  A gem floated only inches from her, a 
shining translucent white gem that looked like an elaborately faceted diamond.  
It wrapped her in light and shielded her from what existed before the world 
and will exist afterwards, the stuff of which dreams are made.  For dreams 
can devour an unwary dreamer.  

        Her hair was short and black, and in one hand she grasped her weapon, 
a long golden glaive.  She was the warrior of creation and destruction.  She 
could slay the entire population of the Earth under the right circumstances.  
But for now, she was the pawn of whoever might find her.  Luckily for the 
world, she had not yet been found.

**********

     Aeka bowed to Youshou, Meylia, and Macky.  "I'm leaving now.  Tenchi 
needs me in the city."

     Youshou nodded.  "Thank you for your assistance.  We will come if you 
need us before our planned departure time."

      Aeka nodded.  Meylia said, "I'm heading to the city for a few days as 
well, father.  There are matters I wish to discuss with my grandaughter and 
some other business."  She winked at Macky, who laughed faintly.  Youshou 
pretended he already knew what she was winking at Macky for.

      Youshou said, "Well, I have much to instruct Macky in.  Come, great-
grandson.  Time for your sword practice."

      Macky groaned and followed.  A few seconds later, his grand-mother and 
his great-half-grandaunt vanished in different though similar poofs of light.  
Macky walked through the forest, carrying his wooden sword, mentally 
preparing himself for the beating of the day.  He soon realized they were 
actually heading to the sacred tree.  "Is this the right way?"

      Youshou laughed faintly.  "You'll be getting a special lesson today."

       "The tree is going to stomp on me personally?"

       Youshou laughed.  "A history lesson.  There are many things the Masaki 
Tree can teach you better than I can."

      They soon reached the vast prayer-ribbon encircled tree, surrounded by 
pools of water and the beams of light that shone from its branches.  Youshou 
stepped foward and touched the trunk of the tree with his right hand, and 
Macky began to see.  It was all new to him, and some of it quite exciting, but 
largely not relevant to this story, so we'll move on.

**********

     General Masunga frowned.  "So, in other words, the best Intelligence has 
been able to do is to proclaim what happened IMPOSSIBLE?"  General Masunga 
was a huge burly black man in an immaculate uniform with curly gray hair 
cut short.  He had begun his career in the Nigerian military and had made a 
reputation for accomplishing the impossible and for scrupulous honesty.  He 
had thus emerged as a logical candidate to head the USSD after the resignation 
of General Dunkelkopf on corruption charges in early 2034.  USSD had gone 
through five commanders in seven years.  While Masunga had no major 
backers for the job, he had no major enemies either and an impeccable 
reputation.  
   
       Unfortunately, Masunga was faced with a major crisis.  Two hundred and 
twenty two laser satellites were the main weapon the USSD had in dealing 
with one of its major duties, the prevention of nuclear war.  For decades, the 
UN had been a toothless organization; now it had sharp fangs.  Unfortunately, 
some unknown force had defanged it.  It had taken every ounce of resources 
they had to keep this secret, or at least out of the public eye.  General 
Masunga had been counting on Intelligence to find out who did this.  They were 
failing him.  He didn't like failure.  

      "Sir, no one on Earth has the resources to remove all the laser 
satellites in a single night.  If they had been shot down, we would have had 
warning.  Some astronomer would have seen something.  They also wouldn't 
have shown up mostly undamaged but disarmed on our doorstep.  Also, we 
wouldn't have ended up with the other fifty laser satellites in orbit belonging 
to various nations."

       That was the strangest part.  Not only had something disarmed and 
landed all the laser satellites, the same unknown someone had stolen all the 
other laser satellites in orbit and parked them in USSD's parking lot.  No 
other satellites had been touched, just the deadly beam weapons.  Even illegal 
covert spy satellites had been left out there.  The space stations were 
unmolested.  It seemed completely insane.  

      "Still no reports of any unusual activities from the space stations?"

      "Someone on monitor duty went mad at Space Station Everest and started 
playing 'Stairway to Heaven' over and over on all intercom channels at max 
volume a few days ago and had to be sent to an asylum.  There might be a 
connection, but I doubt it."

       "I suspect SPDC instinctively in this, but I can't think of why they 
would do it."

      "The SPDC is a ..." the aide began.

      "A front for GENOM.  They own the space colonies in all but name.  Their 
boomers are all over them.  However, GENOM wouldn't just do this for fun.  
They might just be panicky and worried about a repetition of the Largo 
disaster, but GENOM doesn't normally use a sledgehammer when a regular one 
would do.  Nor would they give us back the satellites minus the weaponry.  
It's almost like they wanted to taunt us."  The general pounded his desk with 
his fist.  "Or wanted to see if World War III would break out once the main 
line of defense against the nukes was gone.  That's what I'm afraid of...that 
some lunatic group of terrorists SOMEHOW pulled this off and hopes to 
provoke the big one."

       "Well, we're not picking up broadcasts of 'Mars needs women' so at 
least this probably doesn't presage alien invasion."

       "I'd almost be ready to believe it."  

**********

     Leon and Daley cruised across town, heading for another crime site.  "I 
can't believe you were late today, what with internal security breathing down 
our necks the way they are."

      Leon shrugged.  "My record is flawless, I haven't done anything wrong, 
and I'm not the top-ranked patrol officer for nothing.  The Internal Security 
Agent didn't like me, but I think I'll be okay."  He grinned.  "Besides, I had 
much more important business."

       "Recovering from an upset stomach again?  Passed out drunk in an 
alleyway?  Kidnapped by aliens and forced into a weight loss clinic for your 
ego?"  Daley speculated, grinning.

       "Two years of work finally paid off."  Leon roared down an exit from 
the highway.  

       Daley blinked.  "What have you been working on for...oh."

       Leon laughed.  "The hard part is gonna be 'meeting the family', so to 
speak."

       "What family?  I thought Priss' folks were dead."

      "I can't really talk about it, but I'm just worried that getting Priss 
to admit her feelings is gonna turn out to be the EASY part of this 
relationship."

      "Well, I'm still available if things don't work out,"  Daley said, 
trying not to laugh.

      "Good to know I have choices.  "  Leon pulled into the Planetarium 
parking lot.  Time to go to work.

**********

      "Ahh, rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated, I see,"  Asuma 
Shinohara commented upon meeting Kate Madigan for the first time.

        "I am rather more cybernetic than before,"  she replied, though she 
looked fully human in her well-tailored suit.  "GENOM provides top-notch 
medical care.  I would likely be dead, had I worked for any lesser 
corporation."  Her tone made it clear which corporation in particular she was 
speaking of.

       Asuma ignored the snub.  "Our workers typically are never injured by 
rampaging boomers manufactured by your corporation, so we've never had to 
put much effort into fixing the sort of damage that can result."  All right, he 
didn't really ignore it.  "How may I help you, Miss Madigan?"

      "That's Ms. Madigan, thank you."

      "You're welcome."  He sat and waited for her to explain her business.

      "I understand that your corporation still manufactures Ingrams and parts 
for the above?"

      "Ahh, has GENOM decided to finally invest in a security system that 
doesn't go on rampages?"

      Madigan blinked.  "What?"  

      "Yes, we do continue to manufacture them.  Most of our purchasers are in 
the smaller, poorer nations who can't afford more sophisticated systems.  
Also, there's a collector's market, of all things."  He laughed faintly.  
"Given that the Ingram possesses no built-in weaponry in the standard 
models,  they're actually legal for personal ownership in some nations.  In 
fact,  they're being used for construction in Ghana as we speak.  They have 
several advantages over boomers, after all."

       "Really?  I can't think of a single one."

       "I'm sure you're not paid to think...of disadvantages, of course.  The 
number one advantage is quite simple.  Ingrams never do anything you don't 
tell them to do.  They don't go mad and rampage through suburban areas with 
chainguns.  They don't steal laser satellite control codes and vaporize our 
facilities.  An Ingram is a reliable tool as long as you don't skimp on 
maintenance and have competent pilots.  We've also been largely free of the 
sort of terrorist activity that plagues GENOM.  You'd think every terrorist on 
Earth did nothing but steal experimental combat cyberdroids and turn them 
loose in Tokyo.  What was it last time, the Wombat Liberation Army?  We, on 
the other hand, have never lost a single Ingram to terrorists."  He smiled, 
trying to think of further ways to dig in a few jabs.

       "Oh really?  We have reason to believe that several Ingrams have gone 
missing from your warehouses recently."  

      "They were sold to the Citusi in Africa.  They won't be rampaging 
through downtown Tokyo anytime soon, so you can rest in peace that your car 
won't be blown into a fine mist by anything but your own company's 
manufactures.  I'd ask how you even learned of this shipment, but I'm sure 
you won't tell me.  Someone no doubt is operating on multiple payrolls.  
Would you like to drop some veiled threats now, or are we done?"

      Kate got up.  "I believe my questions have been as satisfactorily 
answered as they are likely to be."  She headed for the door.  "I understand 
your wife was a noted Ingram pilot?"

     "The best that ever was.  We both served in SV2 for thirty years.  In 
fact, she still has Alphonse in her restaurant."

      Kate blinked.  "A fully operational Ingram in her restaurant?  How did 
she get that one past the government?"

      "The fact that it can't run around killing people by itself no doubt 
helped.  A former prime minister would be pushing up daisies if not for Noa 
and Alphonse.  Sometimes, heroism is rewarded."  He smiled balefully at her.

       She nodded.  As she left, Asuma said, "One final question."

       She stuck her head back in the doorway.  "Yes?"

       "I don't suppose you know why your boss dresses like a pimp, do you?"

       Not suprisingly, she wouldn't dignify that with an answer.

       He smiled.  I shouldn't have done that.  I should have been polite.  
Father would have been excruciatingly polite.  But dammit, it felt good, he 
thought.  He could almost hear Noa laughing inside his head.  She'll get a 
good laugh out of this tonight, he thought.

**********

      Leon and Daley checked out the murder site.  It was a planetarium and 
the machine operator was dead with a large hunk of machinery wrapped 
around and imbedded in his head.  "So what makes you think this was a boomer
crime and not an ordinary murder?"  Daley asked the planetarium manager.

      "Excuse me, but how on God's green earth could anyone but a boomer rip 
the machinery out of the ground and wrap it around someone's head?"  the 
manager replied, irritated.

      "No witnesses, though?"  Daley asked as Leon looked around the small 
planetarium.

      "I heard someone shouting about Mars.  I came to investigate, and
someone was running out the door on the far side of the auditorium.  Mr.
Taiho was already dead by that point."

      Leon's head snapped around.  "Mars?  A Sailor Mars, maybe?"

      The man thought for a moment.  "Yeah."  He paused.  "How did you know 
that?"

       Leon sighed.  "Previous investigation.  This person won't bother you 
again."

       "How can you be so sure?"

       "Well for one thing, criminals usually don't really return to the scene 
of the crime, especially boomers.  Secondly, this person is looking for 
something, and they won't find her here."

       Daley raised an eyebrow.  "You know something you're not telling me?"

       Leon laughed.  "A little faerie gave me a few hints.  Soon as we finish 
here, we get to talk to my other pixie friend."  It didn't take long to 
finish.

**********

      "Oh, Nene's not in today.  This is her day off,"  Naoko told Leon.  

      "Blast it.  I need a computer search on something."

      "Why can't you do it yourself?"

      Leon smiled faintly.  "Nene's got the special touch."

      "Hey, I thought I had the special touch,"  Daley said, a smile on his 
lips.

      Leon laughed.  "Not that kind of special touch."

**********

     The day blurred by in a haze of classes for Linna.  Over the years, it 
had gotten easier and easier for her to just disconnect her mind and teach her 
classes by instinct alone.  She spent most of that time thinking about things 
ranging from soap operas to deep philosophy to what she would cook for 
dinner.   Thus, she didn't realize Nene was in her class today until it was over 
and Nene came over to her.  

       Linna blinked.  "Hi, Nene.  What brings you here?"

       "Ryu had to do homework, so I came here to get my workout."

       Linna blinked.  Nene?  Workout?  In the same sentence?  I guess she has 
been trying harder to get in shape.  She took an assessing look at Nene.  She 
had a long way to go, but it was working.  Nene looked better than Linna had 
ever seen her looking before.  "Good for you.  Wanna come grab some dinner 
with me?  I'm hungry and I feel too lazy to cook."

      Nene nodded.  "Sure!"  They both grabbed their stuff and got ready to 
go, when a man appeared in the door, dressed in a suit, with curly blonde hair 
and darkish skin.

      "Robert!"  Linna said.  "Hey, Nene, this is Robert Bruce, who I've told 
you about."

      Robert smiled.  "Ahh, Nene Romanova.  So where's your crown?"

      She laughed.  "It's at the cleaners along with my royal garb, so I had 
to dress as a peasant."

      Linna swept over to Robert and glomped onto his arm.  "You want to join 
us for dinner?"

      "Sure.  I was just on my way to see if you wanted to come eat with me.  
I think I can cover her royal highness as well."

      Nene laughed.  I like this guy.  He looks like Mihoshi, she thought.  I 
hope he's not as klutzy as her, though.

**********

       Leon walked down the hallway towards his apartment.  As he reached for 
the doorknob, he heard muffled voices inside and noticed the door was slightly 
ajar.  He frowned.  Great, a burglar.  He drew his gun, then realized there 
was some sort of odd smell in the hallway, somewhat like what a spice factory 
might smell like if it spontaneously combusted.  He kicked the door open and 
moved in, gun ready.  

        The smell was even stronger inside.  He heard voices in the kitchen, 
then as he moved into the room, he spotted Priss and Usagi in the kitchen.   
He laughed and put down his gun as they stared at him.  He stared back, 
because there were two very unusual things about Priss.  One, she was 
wearing an apron.  Secondly, there were interesting stains all over Priss, 
Usagi, and the kitchen.  Priss was caught in the act of trying to clean up the 
mess while Usagi was cooking.  She put a hand behind her head and laughed 
nervously.  "Uh, hi, Leon."

       Leon strode over.  "I...uh...what happened?"

       "Priss asked me to help her cook a nice meal for the two of you, but 
things got somewhat out of hand."

       Leon noticed the carrot driven through the ceiling.  "Did you 
accidentally add nitroglycerine to it?"

      "I was not as clear in my instructions as I should have been,"  Usagi 
said.

      Priss frowned faintly.  Actually I screwed up bad, but thanks for 
covering for me, Usagi-chan, she thought.  "I'll get this all cleaned up, 
Leon.  Oh, I've got some good news for you."

      "You won 50 million yen in the lottery and you're going to give it all 
to me?"

      "Better."

      "You inherited a controlling interest in GENOM and you're going to turn 
it into a toy manufacturing company?"

      "The Big Cheese is ready to answer your questions, so to speak."

      "When and where?"

      Usagi went back to working on the food, concluding that she had no idea 
what they were talking about.  

      "Later tonight, if you want.  She'll be playing with her new toys at 
home all night, I suspect."

      Leon laughed.  "Well, I'm going to take a shower, then I'll help you 
finish cleaning this up."  He took a look at the food.  "Wow, this looks 
pretty good."

       Priss laughed.  "Usagi's a much better cook than I am."

       "You're better than you think, Priss-chan."  Usagi said.  "But feel 
free to ask me for help whenever you like."

       Priss looked around at the food.  "Actually, I think we've made too 
much.  You and Mamoru want to eat with us?"

       "Sure.  I'm not going to have time to cook dinner before Mamo-chan gets 
home, anyway."

       "Sorry about that."  

       "No need to apologize.  I was glad to help.  Just be glad you asked me, 
and not my friend Minako.  She STILL can't cook to save her life after all 
these years.  Her husband had to get a flame-retardant ceiling for their 
kitchen."

       Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

**********

      Leon walked into the Silky Doll nervously.  Leon had overcome most of 
his fears a long time ago.  Even going up against the DD Battlemover hadn't 
made him this nervous and it had a nuke in it.  I feel like I'm walking into a 
Mafia don's office, he thought.  Like I'm about to be given an offer I can't 
refuse.  

        The main thing that kept him going was that Priss was with him, 
watching him, and he would die before he admitted he was scared of her 
friends.   His mind knew he had no reason to be afraid, but he was scared 
anyway.  

        Celia was waiting for them.  She locked the door as they entered.  
"Follow me."

      Leon followed quietly.  They headed into the back and got into the 
freight elevator.  Celia was silent as the elevator rose, as was Priss.  Leon 
tried not to think about all the times he had seen the Sabers blow off 
something's head.  Trying to not think about something is one of the hardest 
of all possible acts, and he wasn't having much success.  Finally, he broke 
the silence.  "So, do I have to get tattooed or what?"

      Priss laughed.  "Yeah.  We were thinking a nice brown cow would look 
good on you."

      Celia kept her composure, with effort.  "We're not the Yakuza.  For one 
thing, if you mess up, we cut off your leg, not a finger."

      Leon laughed.  "I guess that would be a strong incentive not to make any 
mistakes."

      The elevator arrived.  They walked through a short maze of hallways and 
out into a patio with a swimming pool.  Celia nodded at Priss, who grinned.  
They began to circle the pool.  "The first step is your formal
initiation."

      "Do I have to swear an oath or what?"

      Priss grinned.  "We decided a baptism would be appropriate."  Before 
Leon could react, she and Celia picked up Leon and hurled him into the pool.  
Leon had rarely been more surprised in his entire life.  He floundered like a 
drowning cabbit.  "You did take the mechanical shark out of the pool, right, 
Celia?"

       Leon got out of the pool faster than most people would have believed 
possible.

**********

     Ryouko floated about fifty feet over the alleyway, holding the punk by his 
jacket.  "You sure you don't want to tell me all about your friends?"

      The punk began to cry.  "Oh god, you're a fucking boomer, I'm dead, 
you're gonna rip my head off, oh God, please..."

      "Stop whining or I'll feed you to my ship."  

      "Yu...Yes, ma'am."  the punk tried to pull himself together.

      "So what does this Adam guy look like?"

      "Tall, long brown hair, usually wears sun glasses.  Perfect body, the 
sort you'd have to work out for ages to get.  Usually wears nice suits.  I 
haven't seen him in a while, though."

      Ryouko smiled.  "And if you wanted to find him?"

      The punk told her.  Ryouko flew down and dumped him in a pile of garbage.  
"Don't let me see you again."

       "Yes, ma'am!"  He ran for his life.

**********

     Manami finished off her homework just before there was a knock on her 
door.  She got up and changed the music in the stereo so that it was now 
playing soft classical music instead of Priss and the Replicants.  "Come in."

     Meylia walked in, dressed in a long blue dress.  "How are you this 
evening?"

     "Done with homework.  Waiting for Mom to show up."

     "She's talking with your father and Ryouko.  She'll be here in a little 
while."  Meylia looked around the room.  "Are you dating anyone, Manami-
chan?"

      Manami sighed.  "Unlike my brother, I haven't found a handy prince."

      Meylia smiled.  "Well, if you don't mind someone playing matchmaker, I 
know a handy prince who is looking to go on a date with someone."

       Manami blinked.  "..."

       "You might want to hide those heavy metal CDs, by the way, dear, before 
your mother gets here,"  Meylia said, looking at Manami's record collection.

       Manami blushed and did so.

**********

     Leon looked at the hardsuits, seeing them up close for the first time.  
"How do you get the parts for these without GENOM finding out?  I mean, you 
can't exactly go down to the shop and just whip them up, can you?"

      "I employ a very discreet black market lab in Europe.  They bought up a 
large amount of equipment after SCHAFT, Fogg Industries, and Verne Robotics 
collapsed in the 2020s in the face of competition from GENOM.  It's 
expensive, but it keeps anyone from finding out where my suits come from.  
Also, some of the parts are manufactured by US Robots and Mechanical Men.  
Dr. Calvin's research was important to the development of the Motoroids.  I 
only wish my father had paid more attention to it."  Celia led Leon over to the 
testing room.  "And this is our 'danger room'."

      Leon nodded.  "Similar to what we now have at ADPolice HQ, but much 
better, I suspect."

      "Nene doesn't do any better in ours than yours, either, I bet,"  Priss 
said.

      Leon sighed.  "So did you recruit her because she is an ADPolice 
officer, or did she join the ADPolice to help you?"

      "Some of both.   Nene-chan sees herself very much as a knight in shining 
armor, sometimes.  She stays in the ADPolice because it's a way to help 
people,"  Celia said.  "And it also helps us in our mission."

       "What about Andrea and Mihoshi?  They work for you too?  Is the Queen 
of Swords connected to you guys?"

       Celia took a deep breath.  "She's my grandmother."  It got even more 
mind-blowing for Leon from there on out.
  
**********

      Nene munched on her dinner, wondering if Linna's new boyfriend really 
had bottomless pockets, or if he was just trying to show off.  They were 
eating at the 'Heian Era', a theme restaurant that created the illusion of 
being in twelfth century Japan.  The food was very traditional and very good.  
It also was very expensive.  Of course, with her Knight Sabre earnings, Nene 
could have easily afforded it, but it still cost a lot.  

       "So you work for the ADPolice, Nene?"  Robert asked.

       Nene nodded.  "Making the streets safe for humanity.  Mostly, I work in 
the office, though.  Computers, communications, doing people's paperwork.  
Except when I get sent on traffic duty."

     Robert blinked.  "The ADPolice does traffic duty?"

      "Not when we can help it."

       "So how many tickets did you give Priss this month?"  Linna asked.

       Nene laughed.  "Only one.  She really hates it when I do that."

       More pleasant conversation followed, only to be interrupted by the 
sound of screaming.  Nearby, a huge freaky looking woman in a pro-
wrestler's outfit was busily throttling some unfortunate businesswoman with 
long black hair.  The freak was bellowing something loud and incoherent.  

       Robert groaned.  "Great.  Here goes dinner."

       Nene got her gun out of her purse.  "Linna, call the police.  Depending 
on if this is just a nut or worse, I'll probably need backup."

       Linna got her cellular phone and dialed.  Nene moved closer to the nut 
and leveled her gun.  "Freeze, ADPolice!"

       The attack had people worried, the news that the ADPolice were on the 
scene incited mass panic, unfortunately.  People began screaming and running 
for exits.  Nene sighed.

       The wrestler tossed the woman aside and stared at Nene with a bizarre 
confused expression on her face.  She mouthed something, then moved a little 
closer to Nene.

       "One step closer and I shoot!"  Too bad I can't use my new armor, Nene 
thought.  Please let this just be a nutcase and not a C-53 or something.  

       The woman picked up a table and threw it at Nene, who dodged 
desperately.  Linna, meanwhile, got through to the police and started 
reporting what was going on, while Robert hid under the table with her.

      The woman looked around and spotted Linna and started heading towards 
her.  Nene got back up.  "HALT!"

      The woman ignored her.  Linna was busy on the phone and didn't notice.  
Robert DID notice and tried to get her attention.  "Linna."

       "Just a minute."  she replied.  "Anyway, officer, Officer Romanova is 
here, she needs backup and..."

        "LINNA!"

        "Just a MINUTE!"

       "Linna, she's coming for us!"  Robert started dragging Linna away.

       The wrestler sped up.  Nene opened fire.  Three 9mm slugs struck the 
wrestler, flattening themselves on her skin and punching tiny holes in her 
tacky uniform.  The woman howled and her form began to shift and flow.  She 
grew larger and her hair became more wild than before.  Her physique was 
grotesquely huge.  Nene swore mentally.  AAAAAA, IT IS A BOOMER, she 
thought.   The wrestler turned and grinned at Nene.  "You stink."  She charged 
forward.  

      Robert dragged Linna out into the foyer as she finished her call.  
Dammit, I need to call Celia, she thought, but I can't do that with Robert 
watching.  He handed her his car keys.  "Go get the car running.  I have to go 
to the bathroom."  He sprinted off.

      Linna laughed faintly and ran to the parking garage, calling Celia along 
the way.

      Nene ran for her life.  Luckily, she was far more nimble than the giant 
wrestler.  Unluckily, she had run the wrong way and it was between her and 
the exit.  As it chased her into a corner, she realized that everyone had fled.  
"Hah!  Now I've got you just where I want you!"

       The giant wrestler looked up, perhaps expecting something to fall on 
her head.  

       Nene shouted, "SUMMON ARMOR!" and transformed, realizing as she did 
so that Wasyuu had reset the armor again so that she was once again totally 
naked in the middle of the transformation.  I'm gonna have to talk to that 
woman, she thought.  

        The wrestler spoke one word after simply standing and watching the 
transformation, almost as if she had expected it.  "Moon?"

        Nene blinked.  Moon?  What does the moon have to do with anything?  
She activated her ECM to cut off the "boomer"'s communications, assuming it 
was one, and called up Celia on the radio.  "Did Linna get through to you?"

       "We're on the way."  was the reply.

       The wrestler charged forward and Nene leapt over its head and landed 
behind it, then tried kicking it in the back.  She still wasn't sure if it was 
a boomer or what.  Boomers sometimes ripped out of their skin, but they 
didn't normally just get bigger without ripping out.  Also, her sensors were 
giving her weird readings.  It didn't have a heat pattern like a boomer or like 
a real human being.  In fact, it didn't show up on Infrared at all.  No 
electrical or magnetic fields either, so it seemed unlikely to be any kind of 
boomer, but human beings have body heat and don't get huge.  Nene was 
confused, to say the least.

        The wrestler didn't even notice the kick as far as Nene could tell.  
She spun and slugged Nene, who went flying across the restaurant into a 
miniature pagoda, leveling it.  This thing can't be human, Nene thought, 
peeling herself out of the pagoda.  The wrestler laughed.

         No point in not using these, then, Nene thought, opening fire with 
her lasers.  The wrestler ran from the laser barrage after Nene blew off her 
left arm.  She didn't bleed, though there was a bit of a purplish glow around 
the wound.  Apparently, this was enough for her as she crashed through a wall 
and fled.  The building then began to collapse on Nene, who discovered her 
lasers had been a little too effective.  By the time she managed to peel 
herself out of the rubble, the wrestler was gone and the ADPolice were 
arriving.  Nene quickly concealed herself and transformed back.

       Lt.  Shinohara approached Nene.  "So the cyberpsycho took off?"

       "After tangling with one of the Knight Sabers."  Nene spotted the Silky 
Doll van driving up nearby and smiled faintly.  Wow, the ADPolice actually 
beat us to the site for once.  

        Lt. Shinohara looked around.  "Wow, the whole building is leveled.  
I'm impressed.  So is the woman dead in there or what?"

       "I don't think it was just a cyberpsycho.  Maybe some kind of funky 
experimental boomer.  It got bigger, but didn't actually burst out its skin.  
On the other hand, it relied entirely on hand to hand.  No energy weapons or 
guns or anything as far as I could tell."

        Lt.  Shinohara frowned.  "Maybe a cyberpsycho with some kind of 
holograph projector or something..."  She sounded dubious about her own 
statement.

       "She was strong enough to hurl a Knight Saber across the room, but not 
apparently strong enough to hurt her very much as far as I could tell."

      Leon walked up, apparently from nowhere.  "Yo, Nene-chan.  What's up?"

      "Homocidal crazed wrestler."

      Leon frowned.  "Looking for someone named 'Sailor Mars'?"

      Lt. Shinohara turned to Leon.  "You think you know who the perp is?"

      He nodded.  "C'mon, Nene.  I need your brain."  He grabbed Nene and 
dragged her off.  "Let me know if you find anything interesting, Lt. 
Shinohara."

       Shinohara nodded.  
      
**********

      Nene and Leon sat by Celia's computer system.  "See what you can find 
for me about 'Sailor Mars'."

      Nene nodded.  "What's his first name?"

       "Not a sailor named Mars.  Sailor Mars, as in the Sailor Warrior."

       "Haven't they been missing and presumed dead for thirty years--if
they ever existed?"

       "There's a killer out there who doesn't agree with you."

       Priss, lurking nearby, said, "Sailor Mars.  She's not dead.  Just 
asleep."

       "Asleep?"  Nene asked.

       "She and the others lost their memories thirty years ago.  I have to 
find them and get them their memories back."

       Nene thought for a moment.  "Was there a Sailor Moon?"

       Priss smiled.  "Yes."

       "Ahh, that explains that,"  Nene said enigmatically.  "Any idea why 
this crazed wrestler is after Sailor Mars?"

       "Wants a rematch, maybe.  No clue."

       Nene searched the computer records as best she could.  Unfortunately, a 
lot of the records didn't go back far enough.  "Hmm.  Here's an interesting 
case.  This nutcase back in 2031 was keeping a harem of sexaroids built to 
look like the Sailor Senshi.  He lived up on Space Station Trinity."

       "How did he know what they looked like?"  Priss asked.

       "Apparently he got ahold of footage of them in combat that someone had 
filmed way back in the nineties, plus he had tons of old Sailor V episodes and 
whatnot.  The case was never satisfactorily resolved, but somehow he got 
vaporized with a plasma weapon or something capable of massively charring 
him to a crisp.  It was suspected that the sexaroids were responsible as they 
all vanished between the last time the guy was seen alive and when his body 
was found.  However, the sexaroids were NEVER caught."

        Leon blinked.  "This happened on a space station and they couldn't 
find the sexaroids?"

        Nene nodded.  "This guy was a high ranking SPDC executive, too.  SPDC 
cooperated fully in the investigation.  According to the report, there was 
basically no way the sexaroids could have escaped unless they leaped out an 
airlock, flapped their arms and flew to another station, the moon, or the 
earth."

       Leon frowned.  "Someone had to have smuggled them out."

       "Anyway, here's a pic of the 'Sailor Mars' sexaroid."  The picture 
resembled a young girl, perhaps around sixteen to eighteen, with long black 
hair, brown eyes, and a slightly pronounced nose.  She had an almost noble 
look to her.

       Priss stared at the picture.  "She looks kinda familiar."

       "Run a driver's license and criminal record check with those pictures, 
Nene."  Leon said.

       This took a while.  Finally, the results came in.  Nene blinked.  "This 
is funky as all get out.  Two seperate people.  Matches 1999 Driver's License 
pic for one Hino Rei, and a 2032 pic for Rachel Yamazaki."

       "Check for most recent Driver's License pic for Hino Rei and anything 
else you can find.  Any data on this Yamazaki person?"

       Priss said, "Hey, that's Linna's family name."

       "Hmm.  She can't drive worth a flip.  She's gotten twenty speeding 
tickets and fifteen parking violations in the last two years.  Her license is 
currently suspended.  She's paid her taxes on time, yearly income of 
3,000,000 yen a year.  This is Yamazaki by the way.  Here's the address."

       Priss thought for a moment.  "If you could find this person, why didn't 
the investigators track her down?"

       "There's no record of this Rachel Yamazaki before 2032, and the 
investigation closed in 2031.  Ahh, here's stuff on Hino.  She's the...Bishop 
of Mega-Tokyo."

       "We can probably rule her out then,"  Priss said.  "Not too likely 
she's an escaped Sexaroid."

       Leon laughed.  "Possibly this 'wrestler' or whatever she is, is looking 
for the Sailor Mars sexaroid.  It would make more sense than her looking for 
someone who has been completely missing for over thirty years."

       Nene nodded.  "I wonder if the Bishop is the REAL Sailor Mars, then.  
The picture of her that matched the sexaroid pic would have been taken 
around the same time as the footage used to build the sexaroids."  She scanned 
the oodles of data that her search had found.  "Hino, Rei.  Born April 19, 
1978.  Attended a catholic girls' academy up to middle school, then attended 
Tsunami High School.  Attended Tokyo University, with a degree in music and 
philosophy.  Attended Kyoto Seminary, graduated top of her class.  Moved to 
United States, taught at a Catholic university in Los Angeles.  Released a 
record in 2003.  Joined Sisters of Charity in 2005.  Attended Third Vatican 
Council in 2020, thought to have been instrumental in the decree admitting 
women to the priesthood.  Ordained in 2021.  Became bishop of Mega-Tokyo 
in 2032.  No criminal record, except for six speeding tickets in 1999 and 
twenty four parking violations spaced over the last thirty years in various 
jurisdictions.  Seven published books, twenty journal articles and two 
records."

       "Isn't eleven years a pretty quick time to become a bishop?"  Leon 
asked.

       "Well, in the Russian Orthodox Church, yes."  Nene said.  "I don't know 
about with the Catholics.  She seems like one of those fast-track brilliant 
kind of people, though.  Here's a music sample from a home page someone did 
of one of her albums."

      It was a wistful piece of music about going on a long journey and
leaving those you love behind because some roads must be walked alone.

      "Not bad,"  Priss said.  "She's got a good singing voice.  Not my kind 
of music, but I can tell talent when I hear it."

       Leon nodded.  "Well, I have some leads now, or at least people to 
warn."

       "I've got someone else you can talk to, Leon, who might be able to help 
you."

       "A Sailor expert?"

       Priss nodded.  "Assuming Celia can get ahold of Sasami for us."
       
**********

      Haruka sat quietly, staring out the window into the night sky.  He was 
having one of his fits of nameless dread again.  He hated them.  Fear would 
creep down into his soul and grip him with the knowledge that evil stalked
the night and there was nothing he could do about it.  Yet, he felt like he 
should be able to do something about it.  A certain low-lying guilt haunted 
him on these nights, and he hated it.

      He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt his wife's arms wrap 
around him.  He relaxed.  "You should be asleep, dear," he said. 

      She laughed.  "So should you.  Having one of those moods again?"

      "I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Like our life is 
too perfect and something has to come wreck it.  Like there's something I 
should be doing, I'm not, and I'm going to be punished for following my 
dreams instead of my duty."

       "Your only duty is to me, dear.  Come to bed.  Losing sleep won't 
help."

       "Someone's testing us.  Trying to see how we'll react.  This 
immortality...it can't be an accident, a coincidence.  We're pawns on 
someone's chessboard.  Trying to get us to...to..."

       Michiru kissed Haruka's cheek.  "Don't make me use the frying pan on 
you, dear.  We don't know anything."

       "You've felt it too, haven't you."  It was a statement, not a question.

       "And unlike you, I know better than to fret over things I cannot 
change.  I also know you have a race tomorrow, and if you don't get any sleep 
and blow yourself up in a crash, I'll be very displeased with you."

       "So would I."  Haruka sighed.  Maybe I'll have a prophetic dream or 
something.  No such luck.

**********

     Linna hovered in the sea of dreams.  Tiny spheres whirred about her
now, dancing at her command.  She smiled.  No more being trapped for me,
she thought, now that I know what I'm doing.  She took a deep breath.  I
probably shouldn't be doing this, but Priss asked me to...

      She called up the feeble image in her mind of her target.  If only
I'd actually seen her myself, she thought.  A tiny part of her brain tried
to warn her this could be pretty dangerous, but she ignored it.  As the
image formed in her mind, the 'stars' spun about her, bringing her face to
face with a constellation of stars moving in a tight interlinked pattern.
There was a strange shadow across them...their light seemed dimmed, except
for one, which shone brightly.  She sensed that was the one.

       She called it closer and enlarged it, or perhaps shrank herself.
The shiny surface turned translucent, then transparent.  A woman was
standing in something that resembled an airport, though made of crystal,
with a white haired man.  It looked safe to enter, so she did...

                           ***********

       "Will Hitomi Jordan please come to the white courtesy phone.  Will
Hitomi Jordan please come to the white courtesy phone.  Will..."  A
pleasant female voice echoed through the building, endlessly calling
someone who apparently just wasn't listening or perhaps was rather slow.
Linna looked about, trying to keep herself out of the fabric of the dream
and simply observing.  People bustled about the long crystalline hallway
lined with lounges, chatting, waiting, reading, listening to music,
eating, saying farewell to friends and engaging in many other rituals of
'airport' behavior that Linna was fully familiar with.  

     Indeed, at first Linna thought she was inside a modern day airport.
It had the same feeling, the same sense of the edge of departure.  It took
a few minutes for the alieness of the place to begin to sink in.  The
building was made of pastel colored crystal or glass for the most part.
The clothing styles were unfamiliar, ranging from the archaic to things
that looked like they were designed for a bad science fiction movie.
Several people appeared to be flying with no visible means of support.
The signs were written in a strange script that Linna didn't recognize.
What is this place, she wondered.

       More importantly, Linna couldn't quite figure out who was the
person she was trying to spy on here.  There was a woman nearby who sort
of fit Priss' description:  tall, greenish-black long hair, reddish eyes,
but the woman was wearing perfectly ordinary clothing and appeared to be
walking arm in arm with some white haired guy with glasses, in the middle
of embarrassingly cutesy behavior.  Sufficiently cutesy that Linna
couldn't stand to watch much of it for fear of a sugar overdose.

        I guess she's dreaming about her boyfriend or something, Linna
thought.  But where the heck are we?  Maybe it's symbolic or something.  I
can guess she likes crystals and pastel shades, but...

       The paging stopped and a second voice, this one male said, "Final
call for Flight 205 to Juno City, Callisto, connecting through Barsoom
City, Mars.  Repeat, this is the final call for..."

       Linna blinked.  MARS?  Callisto?  Someone ran by at full tilt
towards one of the lounges.  Linna didn't get a clear view of him, but he
dropped a newspaper at her feet.  She picked it up, intending to call
after him, then remembered she was trying to keep herself from being fully
sucked into this dream.  Besides, if he was in that much of a hurry, he
probably wouldn't want to come back for it anyway.

       She picked up the newspaper, vaguely keeping an eye on her target,
who was now sitting in one of the lounges, waiting for a flight no doubt.
The paper was titled, 'Crystal Tokyo Sentinel'.  The front page headline
story read, "Kzinti-Solar Trade Agreement signed."  The story was
apparently about the signing of a free trade agreement between the 'Solar
Kingdom' and the Kzinti empire, establishing free trade between the two
races.  The content of the story itself was not disturbing so much as the
picture of a blond woman in a long yellow dress shaking hands with a huge
furry cat-man.  Under that was a story on archaeological work in the ruins
of 'New York City'.  

       Linna blinked.  What in God's green earth is going on here?  And
how can I read this if I couldn't read the signs.  She looked up and now
she could read the signs.  Pluto, if that was who it was, was waiting for
a flight to Tranquillity City on the Moon, according to the sign over the
lounge gate.  Linna slowly raised the newspaper and looked at the date on
it.  'Flowers 8, in the fifty-second year of the Crystal Millennium.'
Wait, isn't it supposed to be impossible to read in a dream?, she thought.
Maybe that's why this isn't making any sense.

       She decided to go listen in on the conversation between the woman
and her boyfriend.  "So you think it will finally work right this time?"
she said.

      "Well, I'm largely just adapting their technology to our power
supplies and making a few other modifications to make sure nothing nasty
can seep through," he said.  "Once we finally have a workable
teleportation system, everyone will be able to visit the other worlds.
There just aren't enough people who can teleport more than a few dozen
pounds of stuff at a time, not to mention the range problems and the way
planets move around.  Anyway, enough talk about work."

       Linna blinked.  Teleportation?  Other worlds?  Wait...what if she's
one of these aliens...

       Linna watched a little while longer until the man's flight arrived.
The woman turned and headed back through the 'airport.'  Linna followed
her, curious.  Soon, she emerged from the building into a 'parking lot'.
The lot was full of vehicles ranging from bicycles to strange crystalline
hunks of rock.  All the buildings were made of beautiful crystal
formations and she could see a vast city spreading off to what she guessed
was the south, assuming the sun was still rising in the east, anyway.  She
could hardly believe her eyes.  Suddenly, the world jolted around her...

       Linna was now standing with the woman inside another huge crystal
building.  This one was full of people scuttling hither and yon, all of
them wearing garb that reminded her of the Renaissance.  All of them had a
badge with a golden crescent moon superimposed over the Earth.  The woman
she had been following was dressed in appropriate garb in greens and
reddish purple.  Linna followed her, not sure what else to do.  

       The woman walked into a throne room, a vast cavern of golden and
white crystal with a huge translucent throne that looked carved from
diamond.  A woman was sitting on the throne, snoozing.  There was a golden
crown upon her brow, and she was dressed in a long white strapless dress
decorated with golden crescent moons and rabbits.  She looked to be her
mid-twenties and her hair was done up in two buns with trailing
pony-tails, one on each side of her head.  Smiling at something in her
dream, she mumbled something about tuxedos.  

       The woman Linna was following laughed faintly.  Courtiers flitted
about everywhere, but no one seemed to want to wake up the sleeping queen.  

       The woman spoke.  "Serenity, we have a visitor."

       The woman started awake.  "Just five more...oh, hello, Pluto."  She
turned and looked right at Linna, who started.  "Nice to meet you."

       I...what, she can SEE ME!  Linna thought.  

       Pluto laughed.  "Of course she can.  You actually thought you could
get away with this?  You have much to learn, young one."

       Linna started.  "You...You've been watching me this entire time?"

       "I have been expecting you.  If you could have surprised me, you
might have gotten away with it.  I have not been surprised in a very long
time."  Pluto smiled.  "And you will be staying until I let you go."

      Linna frowned.  Oh great.  A hostage.

      "Not a hostage."

      Linna started.  "You...you read minds?"

      "You're inside my mind and here I am the master.  You can keep no
secrets from me.  I have things to show you.  You wanted to understand
me?  Here's your chance and the message you can bear to your friend."

      Serenity smiled.  "Welcome to the future.  I am Queen Serenity, one
of the two rulers of the Solar Kingdom.  And you are?"

      "Linna Yamazaki."

      Serenity smiled.  "I thought I recognized you.  One of the Knight
Sabres, right?"

      "You...know me?"

      "I am...related to some people you know."  She smiled.  "Like my
sister, Priss Asagiri."

      Linna paused.  Priss' sister is the ruler of...whatever this place
is?  "Uh...what year is this?"

      "By your reckoning, it would be 3053 AD, I think.  Math was never my
strong point, and we're still trying to be sure we've computed how long
the Age of Ice lasted correctly.  We are in roughly the same location as
the GENOM Tower in your time.  This is the city of Crystal Tokyo."

       Pluto bowed to Serenity.  "I have business to attend to."

       "I know.  See you later."  Serenity turned back to her guest.  "You
have quite an interesting future ahead of you."

       Linna tried to assimilate it all.  "I'm in the future?"

       Serenity nodded.  "This is what your world will one day become when
our plans come to fruition.  I'm not sure why Pluto brought you here, but
then it's often hard to tell why Pluto does things.  Other than everything
she does is intended to bring this time to pass, for the good of all."
She sighed.  "Unfortunately, she's never learned to be very diplomatic
about it."

       Linna nodded, remembering what Priss had told her.  "She tried to
tell Priss to stay away from Leon.  So of course, Priss ran straight to
Leon."

       Serenity smiled faintly.  "Indeed.  They have several children
now."

       Linna's jaw almost dropped.  "They...wait, they're still around?"

       "She and Leon have been around for a very, very long time."

       "I...am..."

       "Are you still around?"

       Linna nodded mutely. 

       "Do you REALLY want to know?  I can tell you from personal
experience that knowing your own fate is often not a very pleasant thing.
What if I told you that tomorrow you would wake up and be eaten by a mad
dog?"

       Linna paled.  "I'm going to die tomorrow?"

       Serenity blinked.  "That was an example.  You're NOT going to be
eaten by a mad dog.  But what if I told you something like that?"

       Linna said, "I'd be pretty unhappy."

       "Exactly.  Those who can see the future are often made miserable by
it.  Like poor Pluto.  Imagine if every time you looked at someone, you
knew exactly how they would die."

        Linna shivered.  

        "But enough grimness.  It's about time for dinner, anyway.  Come
with me.  
        
       Linna followed her quietly into a grand dining hall, with several
dozen tables.  Everyone sat down, seemingly knowing their place
instinctively.  Everyone except Linna, that is.  Queen Serenity guided her
to a place right next to Serenity.  The crowd seemed rather surprised and
impressed.  Linna whispered, "Who usually sits here?"

       "My husband.  He's in Africa right now."

       Linna tried to remember her best manners.  It didn't seem to be
working.  She felt rather underdressed, surrounded by lace and satin
finery.  The odd thing was that there didn't seem to be any
servants...where was the food going to come from?

       Serenity bowed her head and everyone fell silent for a few seconds.
As she raised her head, dozens of plates of food appeared on the tables
and everyone started serving themselves.  Linna blinked, then started
serving herself.  "I...how did that happen?" she whispered to Serenity.

      Serenity smiled.  "Teleported from the kitchens."

      Linna starting eating.  The food was exquisite.  On the other hand,
the conversations around her were totally baffling.  It was like walking
into a play in the last five minutes.  Serenity smiled reassuringly at her
and chatted with her in a way that made Linna feel totally relaxed.

      Finally, the meal was over and they headed out onto a balcony.
Linna could see the entire city.  "How did you become Queen?"  She paused.
"You're really Priss' sister?"

      "I'm asleep in your time.  I don't remember who she is...or who I
am.  I ask you to help us, Linna."

      "I...me?  What can I do?"

      "You are a dreamwalker.  You can help Priss find the Silver Crystal
and to understand how to use it.  You can help her to truly see her
heritage and understand it."

      "I...hardly know what I'm doing."

      "Indeed.  I think you've almost forgotten this is a dream."

      Linna started.  She HAD forgotten.  "I...uh...yeah."  She laughed
nervously.  

      "Tsunami can help you.  She is a powerful friend of our line.  You
can trust her.  Perhaps more than you can trust me.  Remember that in a
person's dream, everything you hear is THEIR opinion."

      Linna nodded.  "Hai.  Tsunami taught me that."

      "And this is Pluto's dream."

      The world dissolved away into mist as Linna suddenly realized that
Serenity had said that with Pluto's voice.  That was all Pluto's
dream...what she is working for.  Is it any of it real?  It was such a
beautiful dream...Tsunami.  I'll have to talk to her about this.

      Linna awoke with much to think about.

**********