Since legal disclaimers offer all the protection of tissue paper, I will 
skip it.  However, I would like to thank Naoko Takeuchi for creating the 
wonderful work of art that is Sailor Moon.

Trenchcoat Mask  Part 5 The Wake.

( Part 1. Alone again... naturally.)

     *Breeeep*
     I'm started out of a sound sleep by the insistent electronic
chirping of the telephone.  I wonder if the engineers who
designed that damn thing realize just how much the sound cuts
straight to the bone.  Half asleep I fumble for the receiver and
say, "Hullo?"  Then I remember I'm in Japan and say,
"Moshimoshi?"
  "Robaato-san?"  Osaka Myuko says my name in that shy Japanese
way of hers.
  "Uh, Myuko," I say a little surprised, "You know that it's two
in the morning..."  Then I realize that she's crying and I say,
"Myuko, what is it?  What's the matter?"
  "It's Naru," she says distraught, "she's gone!  I... I don't
know where she is.  The police said they'd be on the lookout
but..."
  Immediately I snap wide awake and say, "I'm on my way.  Did
Naru say or do anything to give you a hint of where she might
go?"
     "She..." Myuko hesitates as if it is the hardest thing she
could admit, "About a week ago she stole a jewel from the safe
and ran away with it.  When she came back with it she told me
some story about a man who needed the silver jewel.  I didn't
believe her then but now... now I'm so afraid."
     Silver Jewel?  Wait a minute.  Nephrite was looking for the
Ginzuishou: the Silver Crystal.  I had dismissed the idea that he
thought Naru knew where it was, maybe I was wrong.  "Robaato?"
Myuko asks at my long pause.  I straighten up and say, "I'm going
out to look for her.  If you get any word, call me on my cellular
phone.  You've got my number right?"  When Mercury used her
communicator to call the rest of the Senshi it inspired me to go
wireless.
  "Yes, I have the number," she says starting to cry again, "Oh,
Robaato, What if the police don't..."
  Putting every ounce of confidence and reassurance in my voice
that I can, I say, "Myuko, don't worry, everything will be all
right."
  "...thank you Robaato."
     I hang up the phone and roll off my futon.  After pulling on
some jeans and a sweater I go over to my work table.  On it rests
the fruits of my labor for many weeks.  The silver and black ray
gun has a sleek design that reeks of menace.  Like a laser from
some science fiction show there is obviously a right end and a
wrong end of this thing to be on.  You wouldn't want to take a
hit from this baby, that's for sure.  Too bad it's really just a
toy I'm using to house the circuits of my energy detector.  A
blaster would really come in handy against youma.  Geeze I wish I
could get at my pistol, this Trenchcoat Mask form is really
limited.  Since I'm going out into the field, I decide to run a
few more tests on it.  Hooking up my laptop, I start a diagnostic
program to check out my Dark Kingdom Energy Detector.
     The night is a little chill so I put on my trenchcoat and
hat.  With a chirp, the computer announces the tests complete and
my device is ready.  I haven't tuned it yet to ignore my own
mystical aura, so I can't run around as Trenchcoat-Mask while
using it.  Looks like I'll be changing back and forth a quite bit
tonight.  After hiding it under my coat, I take the stairs to the
roof of my apartment building.  Crossing my fingers, I press the
trigger and begin a sweep using my invention.
    "Hah, It works!" I exult.  I really didn't believe this hunk
of junk would function but the light actually comes on a couple
of times as I pass two points in my sweep.  I've got to add a
digital readout to this thing, all I'm getting now is direction. 
Two readings in two different bearings, which way do I go and
what happens to Naru if I'm wrong?
     With nothing else to go on, I go with my gut and decide to
take the left-most path.  I take out my compass and get the
heading but I also select a far skyscraper as reference point. 
Changing to Trenchcoat Mask, I charge off in that direction. 
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, I sprint across the suburbs of
Tokyo.  At last, I come upon a likely looking hide-out, a rather
run-down, out-of-business night club by the unlikely name of "Rag
Time."
     A quick check with my detector confirms my suspicions so I
charge.  Without a second thought, I crash through a window into
the dimly lit club.  Inside is evidence of a recent battle:
damaged furniture, smoke, and debris littering the room, three
angry looking youma...  three youma!?  The creatures have an odd
plant motif is reflected in their twisted female forms and
clothing.  They appear to have been on the losing end of the
fight and are nursing some injuries.  Despite that, they're still
a lot tougher than me.  Maybe just jumping in here wasn't such a
good idea.
     Hopelessly out-numbered and out-gunned I do the only thing I
can, I run.   Yelling and screaming like a madman, I hurl rose
after rose at them as I make for the door.  Surprising me to no
end, rather than clobbering me, *they* run.  The one in blue says
in distorted Arcadian, "Not another one!  Let's get out of here!" 
"I'll cover us!"  The one in green and red exclaims as she tosses
a handful of large, red berries at me.  The concussions rock the
room as the berries explode all around me like small grenades.  I
barely get to cover behind an overturned pool table in time. 
When I stick my head up, they've disappeared into the night.
     What did they mean by, "another one?"  Could they have meant
the prince had been here?  I take a flashlight out of my pocket
and play it about the room to see if he's left a clue as to who
he really is.  From the look of the place there has been quite a
battle; pockmarks in the floor, overturned furniture, some
strange thorns imbedded in a wall.  But there is no sign Prince
Endymion was here.  Then I spot some short lengths of cut vines
by the corner as if someone had been bound to the wall.  When I
step over, I notice a shiny object on the floor;  It's a large
button with a "hello kitty" etched on it, like something from a
young girl's pajamas.  Then I remember seeing this on Naru's
pajamas the time I stayed over after the Dia embassy party.
      Naru was here all right, but where is she now and who took
her?  Why would youma kidnap her in the first place?  From the
look of the youma, someone fought them but left them alive. 
Sailor Moon would have destroyed them and so would the prince. 
Someone else must have rescued Naru, but who?  Could it have been
Nephrite?  If so, did he abduct her in the first place?  Puzzled
by these questions, I head to the roof and take another reading. 
This time, I'm getting only one in the direction of a nearby
park.  Leaping down to the street, I strike off toward the
contact hoping I'm not too late.
     As I get closer, I hear explosions and cries of pain.  I run
for all I am worth, stretching with each stride to get there in
time.  I curse myself for wasting so much time at the club.  If
Naru is hurt or worse... Oh, God!  What will I tell Myuko?  I
hear some more shouting in the youma tounge but then someone else
starts pontificating in Japanese.  The Senshi!  They've arrived
in the nick of time like the cavalry!  I hear the three youma
scream as they are destroyed.  Leaping the wall, I land in the
shadow of some trees and stand frozen by the scene before me.
     Naru kneels sobbing over a prostrate Nephrite desperately
pleading with him to live while the Senshi stand to one side. 
Green blood stains his shirt from a terrible wound in his
shoulder where a cluster of thorns as big as tent stakes pierce
his body.  Nephrite wounded by youma?  It must have been he that
rescued Naru.  I watch as he reaches up to tenderly touch Naru's
face and murmur something to her.  Then his body relaxes as death
claims him.  I was wrong, the Senshi didn't arrive in time.  Nor
did I.
     In testament to how his centuries in the Dark Kingdom have
changed him, his form starts to disintegrate.  His body breaks up
into these little powder-puff sparks of light that drift up into
the sky like the smoke from a dying campfire.  Naru sobs her
heart out and cries her grief to the skies.  All the while, the
Senshi just stand there helplessly.  Can't they see that she
needs someone?  Anyone?
     Deciding the last thing Naru should see is another masked
stranger, I transform back into Robert Davis.  "Naru!" I call out
from the woods.  The Senshi jump as I step out into the light. 
"Trenchcoat-ma... er... who are you??  Sailor Moon asks.  For a
moment, I'm afraid that they've penetrated my disguise but I
realize that my regular coat and hat made them mistake me for my
alter ego.  I ignore her question and rush over to help Naru. 
"Naru," I call to the poor girl. She lies curled up on the cold
ground clutching a strip of cloth. "Naru, it's me, Robert."
     The Senshi seem startled when I call out my name and Mercury
gasps aloud.  Without saying anything more, they leap out of
sight.  I go over to Naru and gather her up in my arms.  She
clutches at me desperately and cries.  When I look into the
depths of her sad green eyes, a whisper of a memory flits across
my mind.  Why is this familiar?  I sit there quietly for a few
minutes rocking her soothingly until her weeping subsides a
little.  She's in no condition for anything so I pull out my
cellular phone and call her mother.  The phone is picked up
before the first ring is complete and a frantic Myuko answers,
"Naru?"
  "Myuko," I say, "I've found Naru.  She's safe and I'm bringing
her home."
  "Oh, Kami!" She sobs in relief, "Where are you?"
  "We're at a park about eight blocks from your house," I answer. 
Figuring the thing she needs most right now is to hear her
mother, I say,"Here's Naru," and then put the receiver down next
to Naru's ear.
  "Naru?  Naru-ojoosan are you all right?" I hear her mother's
small voice over the phone.
  "Mamma," Naru sniffles, "Mamma, I wanna' come home."
  "Oh, come right on home baby.  Are you all right?"
  "Nephrite, he... he..."  And then she dissolves into racking
sobs.  
  "Naru?  Baby?" Her mother called frantically over her crying. 
Gently I take the phone back and say, "I'm on my way back with
her now.  She's physically whole, but call a doctor anyway. 
We'll be at your house in twenty minutes."
  "I'll come to you," she says quickly, "let me get my car and
I'll..."
  "No," I urge softly, "it would take just as much time for me to
get to you and I don't want to chance missing you in the dark.  
I'm going to hang up now so you can call a doctor, okay?"
  "Okay," she says hesitantly, "... thank you Robaato-san."
  "Bye," I say gently and turn off the phone.
     Cradling Naru in my arms, I set off carrying her towards her
house.  She throws her arms around my neck and weeps
inconsolably. She's so small and light she's hardly any burden at
all.  I'm so caught up in taking care of her that it is not until
I'm about halfway to her house that I realize my friend of many
years is dead.  I had hoped, even to the last, that he could be
saved but now he's gone.  It's too late and there was nothing I
could do.  He's finally gone.  Almost in a trance, I end my trek
at Myuko's shop.
     I hardly notice as Myuko runs out and takes Naru from my
arms.  Crying with relief and joy she hugs her daughter to her
bosom and kisses her again and again.  Myuko hurries inside with
Naru and I follow to where I see a doctor waiting.  Naru wraps
her arms around her mother and weeps quietly.  "Naru, Baby,"
Myuko coos softly to her daughter, "what's the matter?  What
happened?"
  "Mamma," Naru starts to explain, "Nephrite... he... they hurt
him and..."  she tries to continue but just starts crying again. 
I notice that Myuko is trembling from relief and strain from
trying to hold Naru so I take the young girl from her mother's
arms again and carry her upstairs to her room.  I step out after
I place her in her bed and the doctor starts to examine her. 
Myuko is standing there hovering anxiously around the bed when I
close the door.
     They come out after about fifteen minutes and the doctor
turns to Myuko saying, "Other than a few minor abrasions and
bruises she's physically okay, but she's experienced some sort of
trauma that's almost sent her into shock.  I've given her a
sedative so she can rest but she should see a counselor."
  "Thank you, doctor," Myuko says gratefully, "I'll take care of
her."
  "And you are?" The doctor asks eyeing me suspiciously.
  'Oh great,' I think, 'he thinks I'm responsible for this, like
I'm some kind of child molester or something.' "I'm..." I begin.
  "He's my boyfriend," Myuko says coming to my defense, "I called
him when I found Naru missing.  Robaato was nowhere near when she
was gone."
  The doctor looks at me appraisingly for a moment and then his
expression softens.  "I'm sorry, you can't be too careful
nowadays and..."
  "Say no more doctor,"I say, "you were just looking out for the
welfare of your patient.  No, I..." but then I hesitate before
trying to explain, "I had better talk to Myuko..."
  "Very well," he says his eyes narrowing again, "I'll check in
on Naru again tomorrow."
  "Thank you, doctor," Myuko says as she lets him out the door.

     After the door closes, Myuko throws her harms around me and
hugs me tight.  Leaning into me she says, "Oh, Robaato, "thank
you for bringing my little girl back to me.  I'll never be able
to repay you.  After all the madness that's happened its nice to
have someone you can depend on."  I hold her reassuringly and I
feel her heart beating against my chest.  I gently kiss the top
of her head and it feels good to take care of her.  Then I feel
even guiltier for having used her to get inside the Dia embassy. 
She might not have gone through this hell if I had been honest
with her from the start.
     I disentangle from her and sit her down on the couch.  She
looks at me quizzically as I take her hands in mine.  "Myuko I've
got to tell you something."
  "Oh no!" she says mournfully, "Robaato-san, you're not going to
break up with me *now* are you?"
  Taken aback by her words I start and say, "What?  No!  I need
to talk to you about something else."
  "Oh, good," she says with a sigh of relief.
  Taking a deep breath I say, "I know what happened to Naru
tonight."
  "You do?" she asks hesitantly.  Her eyes get suspicious like
the doctoržs.
  "Yes," I continue despite my misgivings, "you know that man
Naru stole the jewel for?"  She sits there mutely and I continue,
"His name was Nephrite."
  "Nephrite?"  She asks incredulously, "Like the gemstone?"
  "Yes, as odd as it seems, that was his name.  This is going to
sound absolutely crazy but he was a major part of all the weird
things that have been happening to you and Naru.  Nephrite was
the servant of an evil queen from another dimension."  When I
actually say the words, even I don't believe it.
  She pauses for a moment and then says, "You're joking, right?"
  "I'm deadly serious," I say plunging on, "This dark queen is
responsible for all the weird creatures and strange events.  She
sent that thing that locked you in the vault."  Myuko trembles a
little at the memory and I continue, "Anyway, Naru fell in love
with Nephrite and did everything she could to help him.  In turn,
he fell in love with her.  It was those feelings that brought him
back to the man he was before Beryl ensorcelled him."  She looks
like she's going to call the doctor back to administer a sedative
to me so I cut to the chase, "Well, tonight he died in Naru's
arms and I arrived too late to prevent any of it."
  "I see..." she says looking out the window.  Her world has
turned topsy-turvy and now that she has the reason for it she
doesn't want to hear it.  Finally, she asks, "How do you know all
this?"
  "I'm from the same place where Nephrite was originally from."
  "You're kidding," she says leaning back and looking at me as if
for the first time.
     Unable to think of anything else to do, I stand up and call
the transformation magic changing me into Trenchcoat-Mask.  My
clothing changes into a tuxedo and an umbrella fills my hand. 
She gasps in disbelief.  Though the transformation is simple, the
effects on her are profound.  I can see the desperation in her
eyes as she tries not to believe what she has just seen.  Still
she denies it and asks, "Is this some kind of trick?"
  "No, Myuko," I answer holding out my hand to her.  With a
thought, a yellow rose appears in my palm and I say, "it's
magic."
  She backs away from me defensively onto a corner of the couch. 
"You... you're..."  She stammers fearfully.
  "An enemy of those things that plague you and Naru.  I don't
know how, but Nephrite took an interest in her.  I was pursuing
him and followed him here."
  "You knew this all along?  From the moment you met me and you
didn't tell me... didn't warn me?"  She asks hurt and forlorn.
  "Telling you might have endangered you.  They might have
followed me to you and..." I start to explain.
  "They might come after you here?"  She says with new anxiety in
her voice.
  "Uh..."
  "Please... leave," she says quickly getting up and drawing the
blinds.  She looks a the door as if expecting youma to suddenly
burst though it at any moment.  "You were just using me... and
Naru."
  "You've got it wrong, I wasn't trying to use you.  I followed
Nephrite here.  I wasn't going to..."
  "Please leave," she pleads.
  "I understand how you..."
  "I don't want you to understand my fear, I want you to get
out!"  She shouts.  Then she acts as though I might become
violent with her and asks, "please?"
  Sadly I dismiss the magic so that I am Robert Davis once again. 
"Myuko," I try to apologise again, "I'm sorry that I wasn't
honest with you I..." She holds up a hand stopping me and starts
to cry.  "All right, I'm going," I say.  I turn as I step out
onto the street and say, "If you have anymore trouble..." but she
shuts the door in my face cutting me off.  Beyond it I can hear
the bolts being thrown and Myuko weeping.
     With a sigh, I set off down the road, alone again.  I think
back to my other lives and remember all the times my existence
has taken this particular turn.  Even when I was unaware of who I
truly was, things like this happened.  Lifetime after lifetime
searching for someone and never finding them.  The one good thing
about Beryl coming back is that I get a chance to end this
torture.  Four hundred plus lifetimes alone is hell.
     As I wander the streets of Tokyo thinking about my dead
friend and my own loneliness, phantoms of the past overlay the
present and I start to relive visions from the old days.  On the
street corner ahead of me I see a little bar.  One of the things
I found surprising about Nephrite was his propensity to drink. 
He was a man who really liked his whiskey.  Odd that a scholar
like him would have such a human frailty.  Maybe I should say
goodbye to my friend in a way he would have wanted.
     The name of the place is "Chacha Maru," an odd name for a
bar in Tokyo but any port in a storm so they say.  I step inside
and see that it's a cozy little place with a few salary men
having a late night drink or two after a long day.  Fortunately,
the corner booth farthest from the door is empty so I sit down. 
The red-headed bar hostess comes over and asks, "Good evening
sir, what can I get for you?"  "Scotch, no ice," I answer
reflexively.  Davis was not much of a drinker but Ferrite could
stick it away even before he became a Guardian.  After she brings
my drink to me she leaves me alone.  She's probably seen
depressed looking men like me come in here all the time.  I sit
there for hunched over for a time sipping and pondering events. 
As I brood, I remember bits and pieces about Nephrite and my
friends, the only person at his impromptu wake.

(Part 2. The Wake)

     After a while of sitting there and reminiscing, I imagine
that Nephrite comes in the door.  He's as I remember him in the
Silver Millennium with his eyes clear and bright.  He smiles on
seeing his old friend and takes the seat opposite me.  "Ah,
Captain it's good to see you again."  One of the idiosyncracies
of our friendship is he calls me "Captain" and I call him
"Professor."  "Good to see you too again Professor," I answer,
"This is just like that other time you found me in a bar." 
"Which one?" The figment asks, "I caught you in a lot of them." 
Clearing my throat I say, "Remember the time in the asteroids?  I
was in this tavern being talked to death and you rode to my
rescue..."

     Despite my best efforts to get rid of her, the princess of
this asteroid kingdom just would not go away.  I'm in this little
pub to try and have a quiet drink and the next thing I know I'm
being accosted by the local royalty.  Since I'm still nursing and
arm injured in a fight with pirates and don't want to move I
decide to ride out her effusive company.  But then she sits down
and keeps talking and talking and talking.  Finally, she presses
a love letter for someone in my hand and asks that I personally
deliver it for her like I'm the Royal Postal Service or
something.  When she tells me who it's for I choke on my drink
and almost spit it out on her.  She reiterates her "request" and
then presses me for an answer so I say, "Yes, Princess Vesta,
I'll be sure he gets it.
  "You won't forget?"  She asks.
  "No," I assure her, "as soon as the Nemesis is out of dry-dock
we go straight back to Earth.  He'll get it the moment I see
him."
  "Really?"  She asks with hearts in her eyes and a smile of
childish delight on her face.
  "Yes, really," I reassure her, "You have my word on it."
  "I don't know if I'd trust this blackguard's word," a familiar
voice says from behind me.
  "Nephrite!" I exclaim at the sight of my friend, "I was unaware
you were here on Vesta high port."
  "I came in on the patrol frigate "Helms" just now," he
explains."
  "Princess Vesta," I turn back to the young woman seizing on the
excuse to get rid of her, "If you would excuse us... important
matters of Terra, you know."
  "Okay," she says getting up from her side of the booth, "You
won't forget to give him my message now will you?"
  "No," I repeat, "I'll be sure he gets it."
  "Thank you once again," she says clasping my hand gratefully.
     I wince a little as she moves my wounded arm.  I give her a
strained goodbye as she rejoins her ladies in waiting.  Nephrite
takes the vacated seat and orders whiskey for himself as well.
  After the serving wench leaves he asks, "Another desperate love
letter to our dear prince Endymion?"
  "Alas," I say holding up the perfume drenched letter before
tucking it into my pouch, "another romance doomed to failure
because the intended is already taken."
  "Still she could get lucky," Nephrite observes, "Endymion still
has yet to make a formal wedding proposal to Serena."
  "Actually," I say, "this isn't for him, it is for Zoicite."
  Nephrite snickers and asks, "What, didn't you tell her about
him?"
     I sip my drink and shake my head, "It's not my place to go
around spreading those kinds of rumors about my fellow Guardians. 
You'd think Zoicite'd have an announcement or something printed
up.  But enough about doomed romances," I say my mood turning
sour, "how did you get here?  And don't say the Helms, she was on
Jupiter the last I heard and you were on Earth."
     In response to my question he holds out his hand.  Resting
in his palm is a dull silver dodecahedrion about the size of an
apple.  Symbols for the planets are etched into each of its faces
hinting at its purpose.  I stare for a moment before I ask, "What
is so important that Arturo would send you here by the Great
Portal?  You have a remote key, does he wish for me to return?"
     "No," Nephrite answers, "I am here because we, all of us are
concerned.  We heard what happened on Venus and though what
happened was not necessarily life threatening it did disturb us. 
Then, after you requested reassignment and you were given anti-
piracy patrol in the asteroids we thought you might cool off. 
Now this happens," he says pointing to my arm.  "When we heard
the details of the battle with the dread pirate Roberts, Arturo
sent me to ask you personally, Are you intent on committing
suicide?"
  "No, I wasn't trying to kill myself," I say with a sigh, "When
I leapt from the Nemesis to Roberts' ship, I was attempting to
cover the retreat of my own ship.  If I went out in a blaze of
glory doing it, so be it."
  "But taking on a whole shipload of pirates singlehandedly?"
  "Aye, outnumbered me two hundred to one and they still lost," I
mutter into my drink, "damned incompetent pirates."
  "And Robervall ignored your retreat order too."
  "Aye, instead he put all the canvas to the solar wind and
rammed the other three pirate ships.  He and the marines took the
ones that weren't destroyed and then turned to the one I was
fighting on alone.  We almost captured Roberts too but he slipped
away in a long boat.  Rumor has it he's now hiding out in the
Fire Swamps of Saturn."
  "Not to get side tracked,ž Nephrite says, žyou wanted to end it
all didn't you?"
  "Well," I mutter, "I wasn't going to throw it away cheap that's
for sure."
  "So is the younger Venus..."
  "Aphrodite," I correct.
  "So is Aphrodite really worth all this heartache?"
     I stop for a second and consider my time on the planet
Venus.  After a brief courtship I offered her my heart.  She
gives me every indication she feels the same way.  When I
returned after being called away for three days, she tells me to
go away and never return.  She doesn't even give me an
explanation as to why.  I consider her eyes, her laugh, her
smile...Yep she's worth it.  "Damn it, Nephrite," I say a little
drunkenly, "what's the matter with me?  All around me cupid's
arrow strikes and yet he ignores me, the little bastard.  I mean,
here I am, the prime mover of romance in the solar system,
overlooked and forgotten."  I take another drink despite my
better judgment.  One of the bad things about me is when I'm deep
in my cups I get all weepy and sentimental.
  "Surely you jest," Nephrite says with a forced chuckle, "you
are hardly the center of the romantic solar system."
  "Nah, think about it," I say counting off examples on my
fingers, "I get Endymion to dance with Serena... bam!  Magic
happens.  I get Jadeite to sing one lousy duet with Rei... bam! 
Now they're making sweet music tuh'gether.  I introduce you to
Juno... bam!  You start making ovitures to her father for her
hand.  Do I hear wedding bells Professor?"
     He starts to protest my last statement but I waggle a finger
at him.  "Now, now, just cause I didn't study at the College of
Astrology don't mean I don't have eyes."  I gulp down the beer
mug of whiskey (when you've got a magically enhanced constitution
like mine, you need a lot to even get a buzz) and say, "Why, it's
even cuz' a me that Kunzite and Zoicite are involved."
  "What!?!"  He interrupts astounded.
  "Oh yeah!  You didn't know that?  Perfesser, you disappoint me. 
Gotta' admit, though, I hooked em' up for self serving reasons."
  "What do you mean by that?"
  "Don't tell anybody," I lean forward conspiratorially, "but
Zoicite had eyes for somebody else before Kunzite."
  "Really?" he asks intrigued, "who was he?"
  "Here'z a hint," I say, "he's named after iron."  I'm astounded
at my own wit and snicker.
  "You?  No... no way!"
  "S' true," I slur drunkenly, "Kunzite is second choice."
  "Ferrite, I didn't know that you were..."
  "I AM NOT HOMOSEXUAL!"  I shout.  That utterance draws the
unwanted attention of the other patrons.  They stare curiously at
me for a moment and I sweat uncomfortably for a moment.  Finally
I add, "...And then the priest says..."  Thinking I'm telling a
joke they turn away from us again.  I glower at the chuckling
Nephrite and snarl, "I am not!  What I said was, *Zoicite* had
eyes for somebody else, you twit, not me!"
     One thing about Nephrite that is out of whack with his
intellectual image is that he is an avid gossip.  He pours me
another mug, to loosen me up some more and prompts, "There's got
to be a story behind this."
  "There is, there is," I say taking another swig, "you remember
how Zoicite's crazy uncle tried to have our youngest member
replaced by his own son?  Well I had..."
  "Yes, Karza had Zoicite kidnaped and tried to cover it by
having some of his men pose as bandits demanding a ransom.  If
Zoicite never returned then his son was the next candidate for
the post.  We were all sent out to search for Zoicite all over
the kingdom but you were the lucky one who..."
  "Do you want me to tell the story or are you going to
interrupt?"
  "Oh, tell on, tell on," he says eagerly.
  "Well,"  I begin...


     I leapt the wall and landed quietly next to the stables in
Baron Karza's castle.  An earlier visit to a local madam who's
brothel is frequented by his soldiers was most enlightening.  Her
girls had heard that an important prisoner was being held in the
dungeon below the north tower.  I had considered contacting one
of the local Star Hunters but decided against it.  There's no
telling if it hasn't been infiltrated by Karza's men.  Far better
to do this on our own.  I move silently around the livery and
reconnoiter the castle.
     After scouting around, I note the guards outside the north
tower look particularly alert.  They wouldn't be much of an
obstacle to me but eliminating them would make a lot of noise and
they would quickly be missed.  Fortunately, I get a godsend: A
lone officer leaves the tower and heads toward the stables.  He's
carrying a faced helm under his arm too.  I slip into the stables
through a window and look around.  A horse nickers at having to
share his stall with me but he quiets with a few soothing words.
     Making my way over to the door, I crack it open and wait
until the officer passes.  Like a trap-door spider, I spring out
of the barn, wrap my arm around his neck and snatch him back
inside.  He scrabbles for his dagger but I punch him on the side
of the head knocking him cold.  In a few minutes, I'm wearing his
armor and uniform colors.  He's a little shorter than I am, but
it fits well enough.  He's still unconscious, and I consider
killing him to keep him quiet but in a few more minutes it won't
mater if I'm discovered or not.  Instead, just I dump him in a
stall and leave him.  Putting on his helmet, I make for the
tower.  The guards figure I am he and open the door for me.
     Inside, I make my way down the dark the spiral staircase to
the musty dungeon.  I hear the sound of a whip and someone cries
out in anguish.  Cautiously, I advance into the torture chamber. 
The room is dimly lit by guttering torches and burning coals in a
fire pit.  Several branding irons heat in the fire and glow a
dull red.  The low light from the torches throws long shadows
against the wall making the place eerie and menacing.  As I edge
around several torture devices, I hear someone shouting.
     "How, Zoicite, did they decide a mincing little freak like
you was to represent our kingdom as Guardian?"  Karza rants,
"What bribe did my half brother offer Arturo to sway his
decision?  It makes me sick to think a pervert like you could be
chosen over my own son!"
     There's still a spark of defiance in the youth strapped to
the rack because he spits, "Better someone like me than a lack-
wit like your boneheaded offspring."  I hear the sound of a blow
and Zoicite groans.  "You dare to be insolent to me scum?"  I
move closer and I see Zoicite stretched on a rack.  Remnants of a
torn and filthy gray Guardian's unform barely covers him.  Karza
is almost insane with anger and bellows at the young man.  He
punctuates his yells by striking his captive. "Pervert! Deviant!
Filth!"
  "That's enough!" I shout stepping forward into the light.
  "What are you doing here?"  Karza snarls, "I sent you out with
the ransom note!  By Hell!  I'll..."
  "You'll nothing!" I exclaim raising my pistol and aiming it at
him.  "In the name of King Arturo, leader of the Terran
Confederation, I place you under arrest for kidnaping and crimes
of high treason.  Surrender now to face trial or die where you
stand, Karza."
  "Wh... Who?" he stammers confused.
  "I am Ferrite, Guardian of Terra and the Confederation," I say
as I remove the helm and cast it aside, "we take care of our own
Karza, and we don't tolerate traitors.  Now, surrender or die!"
     "Behind you!" Zoicite shouts.  Alerted to danger, I step and
a huge, double-bitted axe clangs down on the spot I was standing
in a moment ago.  The torturer, who had been hiding in the
corner, tries to raise his weapon for another attack.  This
vermin makes his bread on the pain of others so I don't hold back
when I punch him with all my magically enhanced strength.  I hear
the gratifying crunch of breaking bones as he goes flying to land
in a lifeless heap by the door.  In the instant that took, Karza
has snatched up a hot iron and stands behind Zoicite holding the
brand before the young man's face.
  "Don't move," he shouts, "don't move or I burn his eyes out." 
I hold my pistol aimed at Karza's head but he is too close to
Zoicite for me to fire.
  "Please," Zoicite pleads his eyes wide with terror, "I don't
want to die this way."
  "Listen to the little freak," Karza pants, "Leave now, or he
dies with his face seared off."
  I lower my pistol a little and say, "No, Karza the only one
dying here is you."
     KABLAM!  Crashing like thunder, the bolt of iron fired by my
ancient weapon passes cleanly through the table Zoicite is
strapped to and blasts the dungeon pillar next to Karza.  Stone
shrapnel explodes outward, scything him down sideways.  Eyes wide
with horror Zoicite watches the red-hot iron descend toward his
face.  Using all my enhanced speed I'm across the room in one
fluid motion.  Before the brand touches him, my hand closes over
it and snatches it away.  The iron burns me before can drop it,
but the damage is not too great.
  "You... your hand," Zoicite says in amazement.
  "Don't worry about it," I grunt, "I've taken a lot worse."  I
holster the pistol and undo his bonds with my good hand. 
Upstairs I hear the door open and the shouts of guards.  "Right
now we've got to get out of here before the guards can organize. 
Can you walk?"
  "I..."  he says and tries to get off the rack but I'm forced to
catch him as he promptly collapses.  "I can't move my legs!"   He
exclaims.
     "It's okay," I reassure him, "The feeling will return in a
moment.  I'll carry you."  I wrap an arm around his waist and he
throws an arm over my shoulder.  I walk him a few steps to adjust
our position and he makes the mistake of looking back at what's
left of Karza.  The spray of shards and stone chips was like a
carronade of grapeshot.  Karza was reduced him to an undertaker's
nightmare.  Only the thick boards of the sturdy rack shielded
Zoicite from a similar fate.  Zoicite is immediately sick and I
support him for a second as he heaves.
     When we start up the stairs, we are met by the baron's men. 
"Stand aside!"  I order, "I am Ferrite Guardian of Earth, here by
order of your sovereign, King Arturo.  Raise a hand against me
and die."  The men hesitate for a moment afraid of the
consequences.  "Kill them," the lieutenant orders.  With grim
determination, they charge.  KABLAM!  I fire my ancient dueling
pistol and easily cut down four of them lined up as they are on
the stairway.  Boom!  One of them answers with a musket and I
feel the ball lodge in my thigh.  KABLAM!  I slay the rifleman
and the man behind him with the next shot.  A combination of
their own vulnerability plus the look in my eye convinces the
others to retreat.  The musket ball grinds against my muscles as
I climb over the bodies littering the staircase hauling Zoicite
up after me.  I can't give them time to regroup and trap us in
here.  We reach the landing, however, and barely duck back in
time as the guards unleash a fusillade on the doorway.
     Gently, I lean Zoicite back against the wall and draw my
sword.  The pain in my hand holding it is as if I were grasping
the iron once again but I grit my teeth in determination. Peering
around the corner, I see the baron's men are waiting for me. 
They hold their fire, however, waiting until I present more of a
target.  "The baron is dead," I shout, "He was a traitor to his
king and planet.  I give you one chance, and one chance only, to
lay down your arms and surrender to my rightful authority." 
"Yes," the captain sneers, "come out and we'll surrender to you." 
That prompts a few catcalls from the ranks.  "So be it," I say
flatly.
     Focusing my mind, I become aware of three dimensional space
in a way that is indescribable to anyone not a Guardian.  Through
my link to the Great Portal I tap the magic and make use of the
powers of the wonder.  Teleporting, I instantly move myself to
the space just above the door: about the limit of my power.  All
the Guardians can teleport, I, however, can only move around ten
yards and I get violently ill when I do it.  I drop into their
midst wanting to heave my guts out but fear, anger and pain keep
me going.  Still, I'm a little slow and a pistol ball clips my
shoulder but I'm otherwise unscathed and now they are in my
reach.
     KABLAM!  KABLAM!  I clear them back from me with my own
pistol and then proceed to lay about with my sword.  As a
Guardian, I have tremendous speed and strength compared to a
normal man, something I illustrate fiercely to the Baron's
soldiers.  Either I'm feeling merciful tonight or my injuries are
slowing me down for three of the twenty or so actually manage to
flee into the courtyard.  Sheathing my sword, I collect Zoicite
and head for the door.
     "HOLD!"  A voice shouts from across the courtyard outside. 
The Baron's son stands there, a torch held over the torch hole of
a cannon aimed straight at us.  Around the perimeter are at least
a hundred men armed with crossbows and muskets all are pointed at
us.  "You cannot escape," he says, "surrender!"
     "You have yet to implicate yourself in your father's crime,"
I shout, "Don't make the mistake he did.  If you surrender to me,
Arturo will be lenient."
     He laughs at my demand, "Do you jest Guardian?  We have you
surrounded, out numbered and outgunned."
     "Fool," I roar back, "the Guardians are NEVER outgunned."
     Over my left shoulder the Nemesis, rises into view over the
wall like a dragon.  Her gun ports are open and the baron's men
find themselves staring down the barrels of the sky galleon's
cannons.  The rigging and decks are swarming with sailors and
marines all armed to the teeth and pointing one sort of firearm
or another at them.  The crew looks down murderously at the
baron's soldiers across the multitude of weapons they have aimed
at them.  Robervall stands flinty-eyed on the bridge with his
sword upraised; one word from him is all it will take.
     This is too much for Karza's men and they break for cover. 
"Stand and fight!  Stand and fight, you cowards!"  The baron's
son shrieks at the fleeing men, "you can't let that freak be
Guardian.  That title's mine!"  He turns back to us and says
"I'll kill you myself."  Before he can torch the cannon though, I
fire the last shot in my pistol.  The bolt goes straight down the
barrel of the cannon and detonates the charge.  The cannon
explodes in a spray of deadly shrapnel that ends the Karza line. 
Picking up Zoicite, I leap to the top of the wall where a
longboat waits to take us back to the Nemesis.


     "But everyone knows that part of the story," Nephrite says
as the serving wench brings us another bottle.
     "I was just getting to the rest," I say a little petulantly,
"I've got to warm up to the subject, ya' know."  I take another
drink and say, "Anyway..."


     After commending the men on their excellent timing, I have
Robervall relay word of our success to our compatriots.  Then, we
send orders to local Confederation garrisons to have the rest of
Karza's men rounded up.  Lastly, we set course for the castle of
Zoicite's father.  I have the physicians see to Zoicite first and
have him housed in my cabin.  Afterwards, I turn myself over to
their tender mercies for a couple of hours.  Working diligently
they remove the lead from my hide and bandage my wounds.  They
offer me sleeping droughts to kill the pain, but I decline and go
below to check on Zoicite.
     The young man lies asleep in my bunk with the moonlight from
the windows spilling across the sheets.  He has an arm thrown
feverishly across his eyes and he mutters in his sleep.  His
wrists are wrapped in bandages and I notice a stain of blood on
them where the fetters cut his flesh.  Zoicte thrashes in the
throes of a nightmare.  Sitting bolt upright he shouts out, "No!" 
His panic is palpable as he stares around wide eyed. 
  "It's all right" I say placing a hand on his shoulder.  He
cringes and draws back in fear.
  "Who are you?"  He asks frantically.
  I kneel down so my face is visible in the moonlight.  "It's
me," I reassure him, "Captain Ferrite.  You're safe now.  You're
aboard the Nemesis and on your way home.  It's all over."
     Then he recognizes me and goes limp with relief.  "I was so
afraid," he says running his hands across his face experimentally
feeling for damage, "Karza said he'd burn my face.  Threatened to
cut me... make me ugly and keep me in his dungeon... I had lost
all hope... then you saved me."
     Overcome by emotion he grabs my hand and kisses the back of
it in gratitude.  It happens to be my burned one and my intake of
breath hisses across my teeth at the pain.
  "Oh, I'm so sorry," he says releasing it, "I never meant to
hurt you."
  "I'm alright," I say, "I've endured worse."
  "It was all so horrible," he says his shoulders shaking, "I
never did anything to them.  I just applied for the Guardian post
to please father.  I was overjoyed when I was selected and I made
him so proud.  I was having a uniform tailored in town when the
baronžs men kidnaped me.  They kept me blindfolded and tied up
all the way to Karza's castle.  I was so scared when they threw
me in that dark cell and..."  He breaks down and starts sobbing.
     I sit on the bed and take his shoulders to look in his eyes
and try and calm him.  After all he's barely seventeen; little
more than a boy.  He throws his arms around me and clings to me
for comfort.  It's okay," I say as I hold him and pat the back of
his head," It's all over and you're on your way home."  It's not
unusual for even a seasoned soldier to break under strain in this
fashion.  As I would for any compatriot in arms, I lend him my
strength.  It is thus for a few minutes until his sobbing
subsides.
     Then He hugs me a bit tighter and longer than I feel
comfortable with so I start to disentangle myself.  Holding him
at arms length, I look him in the eye and ask, "are you going to
be all right now?"
  "I..." he begins and then turns his face up to me and leans
forward, eyes half closed, his lips pursed slightly.
  I pull back and say quickly, "I'll... I'll let you get some
rest."
  "Please captain, I don't want to be alone," he says with a note
of pleading in his voice.
  I realize I'm sitting in bed with him and get up quickly. 
"Okay," I say nervously, "I'll be right over in that chair."
     "That's not what I mean," he says letting the sheet fall
from his shoulders.  His long blond hair cascades around the pale
smooth skin of his shoulders and he looks up at me.  "Am I not
pretty?"  He asks holding his delicate arms out to me.
  "Zoicite!"  I say forcefully, "I think it is time you should
get some rest."
  "Very well," he pouts but then gets a sly look on his face,
"I'm sure I'll need lots of personal attention on the way back,
though."
  "Uh...Right." I say and almost trip in my haste to flee from
the room.  Outside, in the corridor, I lean my back against the
closed door and let out a long sigh.  "Well," I mutter to nobody
in particular, "that certainly took an unexpected turn."

     Nephrite looks at me in amazement and then begins to
chuckle.  He shakes his head as his laughter grows and then
begins to slap the table in his mirth.  "If only I could have
seen your face," he has a great belly laugh, "it must have been
priceless."
  "Oh please, laugh it up at my expense Professor."  I say
sarcastically.  "I'm sure my situation was quite amusing."  I
look at my empty mug and sigh.  It is damn near impossible to
maintain a drunk with a constitution like mine; I'm already stone
sober again.  I pour a refill in each of our glasses and Nephrite
asks, "That was the end of his infatuation with you then?"
  "Er, no," I admit embarrassed, "he kept after me well after he
received his post."
  "Why didn't you put a forceful stop to this?"
  "Oh, it's fine for you to lecture, your family is very rich and
powerful.  I couldn't afford to make an enemy of Zoicite so the
best I could do was keep him at arms length and keep returning
his flowers and gifts.  It wasn't until I suggested to Kunzite
that he mentor Zoicite that our youngest member gave up on me."
  "Ah, well at least it ended happily."
  "Sadly, no.  You know the old saying, 'Hell hath no fury like a
woman scorned?"  He looks at me oddly.  "In this case it's
applicable," I add, "Well, Zoicite's had it in for me ever since. 
Thankfully, he's limited himself to snide comments but he's a
vindictive little bastard and is just waiting for an opportunity
to do me dirty.  I think he keeps a low profile for fear that
Kunzite will find out that he is not Zoicite's first choice."
  "A strange tale," Nephrite says soberly.
  "Aye," I agree, "and it just goes to prove what a twisted,
evil, little godlet Cupid really is."


     "Would you like a refill on that sir?"  The bar hostess
asks.
  "Yes," I say absently.  "And a round for my friend," I add
indicating the empty seat across from me.
  "Ah... sir?"
  "For my ol' buddy the Professor, here."
     Ever one to humor drunks, she gets a glass of whisky for the
empty seat and leaves me alone.  When she leaves, I imagine
Nephrite sitting there.  He takes a sip of his drink and
grimaces.  "Mnh!  The cheap stuff.  My, that's rather nasty."
  "This incarnation wasn't born with a silver spoon in his
mouth," I gesture helplessly, "What can I say?  I'm on a budget."
  "I was never one to turn down a drink with a friend, though,"
he says with a smile.
  "Nah, you never would.  Remember the time we went touring the
bars of the solar system?  I think we sampled every drink there
was to be had.  Do you remember that?"
  "No," the ghost admits.
  "Me neither, that means we must of had a great time."
  "Heh," he chuckles at the thought.
  "Ah, Nephrite," I sigh to the apparition, "we had some great
times."
  "Yep," he agrees, "we went through a lot together."
  "Remember the time we were on Jupiter and you were trying to
buy Juno a birthday gift?
  "Yeah," the apparition smiles at the memory, "And when we went
out shopping we ran across those pirates.  You convinced me that
Juno would like this diamond necklace and..."
  "I convinced you?  I think you've got things backwards my
friend.  As I remember it, and my memory is flawless, we were
aboard the Nemesis taking on supplies when...


     "There you are, sir," the supply officer says as the porters
put down the heavy boxes, "the last of the supplies you
requisitioned.  Sign here."
     I take the proffered ledger and check off the last few
miscellaneous items: sail cloth, heavy duty cookware, braided
copper cable, a pair of sun-suit boots for the cabin boy,  twenty
new rain slickers and insect repellant.  I sign the ledger and
hand it back to the supply officer.  He salutes and departs with
his men.  The crew take the sailcloth, slickers, and cable to
stash them in their appropriate lockers.  "Just throw a tarp over
that other stuff for now," I say to the bosun, "cookie will stow
that when he gets back with the cabin boy from buying
vegetables."
  "Can we go now?" Nephrite asks impatiently, "Juno's birthday
party will be this evening and I want to go get her presents
while she's out on that hunt."
     "It looks like she's back sooner than you expected," I say
pointing over his shoulder to the dock.  There, Juno is walking
in this direction dressed in a tan leather jacket an matching
calf length boots over a green tunic and dress.  I notice she is
walking with a slight limp.  She smiles pleasantly and waves off
Nephrite when he starts to go help her up the gangplank.
  "What's the matter," he asks concerned, "did you hurt
yourself?"
  "Oh, I'm all right," she reassures him," we were on the trail
of this jabberwocky that's been stealing cattle from some local
herds and..."
  "Jabberwocky?" Nephrite asks.
  "Sort of like a cross between a bear and a crocodile only much,
much bigger and meaner," I explain.
  "Oh," Nephrite says.
  Juno nods at my explanation and continues, "Anyway, we were
following his trail when I ran across a nest of gratches in the
high grass.  One of them bit me on the ankle and I was forced to
turn back.  Nasty little..." and then she uses a string of very
unlady-like words that cause Nephrite to blanch.
  He looks to me for some explanation and I say, "Uh, gratches
are a creature that sort of resembles a cross between a badger
and a rattlesnake."
  "Poisonous!?" Nephrite exclaims as if he's about ready to tear
off her boot and suck out the poison this instant.
  "Er, no," Juno says embarrassed at his reaction, "just
annoying."
  "Would you like to see the ship's surgeon?" I ask.
  "No, I've had it looked at already.  I just wanted to stop by
and tell you to come by my birthday party earlier," she turns to
Nephrite and says with a half lidded sparkle in her eyes, "that
way we can spend more time together."   He takes her hand and
stares romantically back into her eyes and for a moment I imagine
I can see bubbles in the background.  "You can help me in the
kitchen preparing dinner for everybody," she says dreamily.
  "What?"  Nephrite starts, "Uh... don't other people do that for
you and you take the day off?"
  "No, silly," she says with a laugh, "here on Jupiter, that's
what you do on your birthday.  You show your family how happy you
are to be here and they show you how happy they are to have you. 
I love to cook and that's what I do to show them."  She looks at
him with those half lidded eyes again and says, "I'd like to show
you how happy you make me." she says.
  "I would like to show you too," he says staring into her eyes.
  "Good," she says cheerfully, "you can help me clean this air-
shark we've got for the soup."  Nephrite looks a little nonplused
at that but before he can say anything she adds, "you're invited
to come to dinner too, Ferrite."
  "Looking forward to it, Juno," I say.
  Nephrite puts his hands on her shoulders to say something
earnest to her but she winces and gives a sharp intake of breath. 
"Sorry," he says snatching his hands off her as if she were a hot
stove.  "What's the matter?  Did I hurt you?" He asks concerned.
  "Oh, on the way back a dreedle bug bit me right through my
jacket," she grumbles.
  "Dreedle bug?" Nephrite asks.
  "Uh..." Juno hesitates at a loss for words.
  "Sort of like a cross between a hornet, a dung-beetle and a
mosquito but with none of their redeeming qualities," I explain.
  "Oh," he nods.
  "Anyway, I've got to get back to the clan hall," she says, "I
want to be ready when papa and my brothers get back from hunting
whatever it is that's making off with the fluns."
  "Fluns?"  Nephrite asks turning to me again.
  "They're like cows with..." I gesture with my hands and then
hesitate.  "Well they've got these...." I try again but find
words inadequate.  Finally, I just say simply, "they're like
cows." 
  "See you guys," she calls out cheerfully as she leaves.
     Nephrite blows her a kiss and watches her walk off.  "I'm a
lucky man," he says with a sigh.  I roll my eyes and snort.  "Oh,
just you wait," he says pointing a finger at me, "your day will
come..."
  "But not right now, so what are your plans?"
  "There's this traveling merchant stopped here in New Atlantis. 
He deals in some of the best ladies finery from across the solar
system.  I've got the most lovely green dress picked out for
Juno, silk, lacy, a gold chain to go with it and the most
enchanting perfume.  His ship is docked on the other side of the
harbor."
  "Well, that's the last of my important duties," I say,
"Robervall can see to the rest of the preparations for our patrol
around Saturn.  I can accompany you now."
  "Good, let's go."
     I salute my second in command and turn the ship over to his
able hands.  We walk down the gangplank into the docks around our
berth away from the area leased by the Terran Royal Navy.  The
"harbor" is actually a large, shallow lake that the various sky
ships land in.  It is in the center of the city, and the whole
metropolis surrounds it like a ring.
  "Come, let's hurry," Nephrite says impatiently, "I've got a
teleport point memorized."
  "Very well," I mutter as he lays his hand on my shoulder.  My
teleport powers are quite limited compared to the other Guardians
and it always seems like they are reminding me of that little
fact by showing off.
     He merrily claps a hand on my shoulder and we instantly
appear on the deck of a very odd merchantman.  It is brightly
painted, like a gypsy wagon, with the fore and after castles
rebuilt with large windows like a shop.  On display in the glass
windows are a number of elaborate ladies gowns that the simply
dressed Jovian women on the deck gaze at covetously.
     A very scruffy looking fellow standing near the shop door
visibly starts at our sudden appearance and clears his throat
noisily.  When we step over to the entrance another swarthy
fellow hustles out of the shop and they both scurry down the
gangplank.  Why does the second one seem familiar to me? 
Nephrite leads me inside the shop and asks the proprietor, "Hello
Frederick.  Is the dress ready?"
     "Ah, monsieur Nephrite,  I am honored that you have returned
to grace my 'umble establishment," says the proprietor.  He's
this foppish looking gentleman dressed in elaborate outfit like
he stepped straight out of Serenity's court.  "Ze gown is ready
for you.  We let the bust out a bit and double-stitched ze seams
as you ordered.  Ze gold and diamond necklace you picked out will
go wonderfully with it," he says enthusiastically, "I must say
zat you are a man of excellent taste.  You know, something that
would go well wis your choices are a pair of ruby earrings carved
in the shape of roses.  I just 'appen to have a set in stock."
  "Say, Frederick," I interrupt, "those two fellows that were
just here, what did they want?"
  "Ah, just some customers," he says casually, "rather low class
types I was sending on z'eir way when you came in."
  Nephrite narrows his eyes a bit and says, "Odd that you would
find time to deal with them personally."  When he says that I
take notice that there are several assistants bustling about the
place.
  "That second one is familiar," I say picking up Nephrite's
mood, "I've seen his face before but I can't place it."
  "Like some criminal?" Nephrite asks.  I nod affirmatively. 
"You wouldn't be dealing in stolen goods, would you Frederick?" 
He asks turning to the merchant.
  "Monsieur!" The shopkeeper exclaims, "to think that I would..."
  I snap my fingers and exclaim, "I know where I've seen that
second one!" I say, "Across the top of a cannon!  He's one of the
dread pirate Roberts men!  Come on Nephrite, we can't let them
get away!"  I turn back to Frederick and point a warning finger
at him, "We'll be back to talk to you later."
     Nephrite and I hustle outside and try to spot the two, but
they've vanished into the crowd.  We leap to the surrounding
rooftops and start to canvas the area for the them.  Jumping from
building to building we at last find the two rogues heading
toward the south gate of the city.  Nephrite is about to pounce
on them when I hold him back.  "Wait," I say, "let's follow them
back to their hide-out.  They might lead us back to the big
fish."  He nods in agreement and we stealthily trail them to the
south gate of the city.
     The wall surrounding the city of New Atlantis is a massive
affair built not to keep out invading armies but to protect
against the wild beasts of the jungles.  Here, on the floating
island continent that is suspended in the clouds of the gas giant
is a vast jungle.  Within the wildlands are many ferocious beasts
that are completely unafraid of man.  Beyond the wall I can see
the unending sea of greenish yellow treetops that extend as far
as the eye can see.  Visibility is rather poor, though; the odd
energy that perpetually illuminates the cloud layers over the
floating islands renders the misty air almost opaque.  Distantly
I hear the rumble of thunder indicating it will rain again soon.
     "I think we can use some extra help here," I say to
Nephrite.  This thick jungle will give them numerous places to
hide.
  "Hah!" Nephrite says confidently, "We can trounce these pirates
without working up a sweat."
     "Maybe," I answer, "but I don't want to let any of the
little fish slip through our net.  The local Star Hunters gave me
a homing crystal should I need their services.  Now looks like
the perfect time to use it."  I take out the piece of amber
carved into the shape of a dragonfly and hold it close to my
lips.  I concentrate on the stone and it begins to buzz and dance
in my palm.  The crystal will only carry a few words so I speak
in clipped sentences.  "Ferrite... following pirates.  Robert's
men. Jungle... south gate, leaving trail.  Send help.  Call
marines.  Tell..."  The stone insect pulses indicating it is full
so I stop speaking and fling it into the air.  With a low buzz,
it flies away like a bee toward the hunter headquarters in the
Terran embassy.  Hopefully they will be able to dispatch a pair
of their agents, lawmen under the Ministry of Justice, to help
catch these criminals.
     "Okay, lets go," I say to Nephrite.  We leap down the other
side of the wall and set out after the two pirates.  Along the
way, I make sure to occasionally break a branch off a bush and
point it in the direction we are headed.  The hunters are expert
trackers and should have no trouble following such an obvious
trail.  I make the mistake of trying to snap a branch off a
Jovian iron oak sapling, however, and almost break my wrist in
the process.  The iron oak draws material from the shell of the
floating island and as long as the tree lives, it is as strong as
steel.  When it dies, though, the wood decays rapidly.  Pity,
think of the ships it would make.  We follow the pirates though
the thick jungle by leaping from branch to branch among the huge
boles.  The pirates warily look behind them but they neglect to
inspect the canopy of branches above them.
     After about an hour of trailing them, I begin to feel
uneasy.  "What's the matter?"  Nephrite asks noticing my
disquiet.  "We've left the city well behind," I say looking about
nervously, "have you noticed any predators about?"  "No," he
answers with a shrug, "not a thing."  "That's what's got me
worried," I say, "I haven't even seen a single kalma.  A pack of
those should have jumped us well before now."  "Maybe the pirates
scared them off," Nephrite suggests.  "Uh-uh," I say with a shake
of my head, "Kalmas would have picked those two off without
slowing down.  No, something is definitely wrong."
     The pirates walk onto a trail that leads to a cave in a
hillside.  They go in and Nephrite says, "Well, let's get closer
before they get too much further in front of us."
  "Wait," I say holding out my arm, "the hunters have arrived."
  "How do you know?"
  "Hear that bird?"  I ask drawing his attention to a thritch
bird's call.  Nephrite nods.  "That bird has been singing,
'Terran Confederation Forever' for the past two minutes."  I
whistle the next few bars and a fellow clad in a dark blue
uniform with his face hidden, drops down on the branch next to
us.
  "I didn't want to just jump out knowing about that gun you
carry, Ferrite.  Nor did I want to find out just how fast an
Astrologer can cast a spell.  Greetings Nephrite."
  "And you are?"  I ask, noticing that this Hunter is giving
Nephrite a very careful evaluation.
  "Call me Orion," he says, "My partner is leading the Nemesis
marine contingent and about twenty Jovian regulars in this
direction."
  "That should be enough to beat the bushes," Nephrite says, "We
followed the pirates to that hillside there.  It looks like an
old meteor strike made a crater here.  See the circular shape of
the hillside?"
  "Yes, it looks like they've recently taken up residence here,"
Orion says looking at the trail leading into the cave, "we would
have noticed them before.  I'd say two weeks maximum."
  "Let's cross over the far side of the ridge," I say, "when we
move in on them I want them to flee in the direction of the city. 
Right into the arms of our marines."
  "Good plan," Orion agrees.

     We crest the hill and look down into the small crater valley
beyond.  In a narrow lake, camouflaged by a net strung between
the trees is a frigate.  Her figurehead is of a skeleton armed
with a cutlass and pistol.  "That's the dread pirate Roberts'
ship the Ravager," I say.  "This is great, we've caught the
bastard in port."  We observe the ship from the treetops and see
that there's quite a bit of activity on the dock.  Men carry
boxes and bales from caves in the side of the hill onto the ship
and hurry back for more.
  "It looks like they're making ready to sail,"  Nephrite says.
  "Either someone in town passed word that his men had been
spotted by you two, or he has already finished his business and
was ready to leave anyhow."  The Hunter said as he studied the
laboring pirates, "My guess is that he was pulling out soon
anyway,  then Roberts must have been spooked by those two being
spotted, and decided to pull out early"
  "Knowing Robert's,"  I say, "he's probably has some bolt hole
or another.  We've got to be very careful if we're going to catch
him so here's what we'll do: I'll sneak aboard the Ravager and
disable the drive stone while you two infiltrate his base.  Using
Nephrite's teleportation and Orion's hunter abilities you should
be able to catch them unawares.  Careful though, Roberts is a
slippery devil."
     Following Orion's lead, they both vanish into the
undergrowth.  I can track Nephrite for a brief while but I never
spot Orion.  Careful to stay under cover, I make my own way down
to a pile of supplies stacked near the cave entrance and watch. 
The pirates are of all shapes and sizes dressed in a farrago of
clothing from cast off Martian priest's robes to Terran navy
uniforms.  Picking up a loose bundle of silk I put it on my back
fairly obscuring my face and join the train of men carrying
valuables into the hold.  They don't pay any attention to me
assuming I'm one of their fellows.
     Once inside, I drop my bundle and slip forward into the
ship's access way to the drive stone.  The ancient artifact that
allows the ship to sail between the planets is chained to the
keel near the hull.  I open the hatch to the long, narrow room
that runs almost the full length of the ship and peer in.  In the
dim red light thrown off by the artifact, I see the stone-driver
turn around to see who's there.  He opens his mouth to shout but
my hand shoots out to close around his throat choking off his
cry.  With a quick jab to the head, I knock him out with barely a
sound.
     The drive stone is a long, spear shaped, piece of grey
material with red glowing crystal windows.  Here and there,
control crystals are fit into the sockets allowing the control of
lift.  Long, copper cables run from the masts where the braided
wires terminate in clips attached to the sails.  When the sails
are unfurled, the stone gathers some kind of energy from them and
that provides forward momentum.  Fortunately, I can disable the
stone without destroying the irreplaceable artifact.  I yank the
cables from their sockets and wedge belaying pins in the holes. 
With a quick jerk, I break the pins off flush.  It will take
hours to make the stone operable but it is essentially undamaged. 
We can take the Ravager as a prize.
     I pop out of the hatch and make my way to the captain's
cabin.  If I'm in luck, I'll catch the dread pirate Roberts in
his bed.  Drawing my pistol, I carefully grasp the knob of the
door.  It's locked but I break it easily enough with a twist of
my wrist and throw the door open.  Dashing inside, I find
Roberts, dressed all in black with his sword out of its scabbard
pointing it at me.  He, however, finds himself staring down the
long wide barrel of my dueling pistol.  Knowing what it is
capable of he gulps.  "Roberts," I say merrily, "good to finally
meet you face to face.  Your wanted posters donžt do you justice. 
Drop the sword now and you'll live long enough to see trial."
  "Ferrite," he says, his voice cracking with fear, "still
working for Arturo?  It can't pay too well.  Let me go and all
this can be yours," he says waving to a small chest stuffed with
gold and jewels."
  "Not interested," I say, not taking my eyes off him for a
second.
  "What about this?"  He says gesturing to a small golden statue
of a demon.
  "What?" I ask, "You've teamed up with Beryl in worshiping
demons.  I didn't take you for a religious man Robert's."
  "I'm not," he says, "but she does pay well."
     He suddenly puts his hand on the statue and I fire.  KABLAM! 
The bolt passes right through the space he was in an instant ago
and blows out the rear window.  He and the statuette are gone.  I
start cursing a blue streak for not shooting the bastard
outright.
     Shouts and cries of alarm ring out on the ship.  It's
pointless to fight it out with them here.  With the ship disabled
and Roberts escaped, my best option is to join up with Nephrite
and Orion.  I kick the shattered frame out of my way and leap
over to the shore next to the dock.  POW! POW! POW! Musket balls
whiz by me as I dodge and weave toward the caves.  BOOM!  A
carronade blasts a canister of grapeshot at me and I barely make
it inside in one piece.
     This cave is dimly lit by torches and shows little sign of
human habitation.  As I go deeper I find gnawed bones of some
creature, which look like fluns, littering the floor.  Suddenly,
I hear a low growl in the darkness and I realize that Ižm in some
animal lair.  A pair of narrow eyes that glow red with reflected
light snap open at the far end of the cave.  This is no good, I
can't see well enough to get a good shot.  I do the only sensible
thing and run.  Pelting across the rock, I look back over my
shoulder at the creature; the red eyes are growing larger and
larger.  The beast in the darkness smells my fear and gives a
triumphant roar... and accelerates.
     When it comes out into the light and I see that it's a
jabberwocky.  In it's haste to catch me, it snaps off a
stalagmite as thick as me like a twig.  It's a big jabberwocky. 
Then I reach a wide portion of the cave and the creature rears up
on its hind legs and gives out a cry that shakes the earth.  It's
a damn three-story tall jabberwocky!
     KABLAM!  I whip out my trusty pistol and put a shot right
between his eyes.  Instead of neatly dying, the jabberwocky bites
at me with its enormous jaws.  I barely leap aside at the last
second.  KABLAM! KABLAM!  I put two shots in its chest ripping
out huge chunks of flesh but still the monstrous thing refuses to
fall.  One of its spindly little arms lashes out and wraps around
my waist and it tries to stuff me in it's gullet.  KABLAM!  My
shot snaps the arm off at the elbow and I fall to the cave floor
still in the grasp of the thing's talons.  It lets out another
roar of unimaginable blood-lust and looms over me.  KABLAM!  I
fire my last shot into where the heart ought to be and it still
keeps coming.
     Then, it pauses and weaves drunkenly.  The terrible wounds I
inflicted have apparently taken their toll.  Hah, I beat it! 
Then, the thing collapses... right on top of me!  Still held in
the claw I can't get out of the way and am slammed into the floor
by its massive bulk.  I struggle under the mountain of meat but I
can barely breathe, let alone pull myself out.  Tough as I am,
itžs still squashing me; I can't concentrate enough to teleport
either.  I'm pinned, under this thing's carcass almost
suffocated.
  "Ferrite," Orion's voice calls out, "are you all right?"
  "Get this thing offa' me!" I shout.
     He gets a timber from somewhere and levers up just enough
space for me to wriggle free.  "Damn it!"  I curse, "I put enough
shots in that thing to bring down a bull elephant but it just
kept coming.  Has it no brain?  I put a shot right between his
eyes."
     "That was some good shooting," Orion says, "except that the
things brain is back there."  He points to the creatures hind
quarters where his sword protrudes from a suspicious looking
bulge.  "Could you give me a hand, here?  My sword is stuck."
     "Right," I say a little embarrassed.  Grasping the hilt, I
yank the blade out with a single jerk.  Orion takes the lead
through the maze of tunnels.  That's probably the biggest
Jabberwocky I've ever seen," he says,  "What do  you want to bet
that it is the same one that has been raiding all the local
herds?"
     Pow!  The report of a musket interrupts our speculation as
we are heading towards Nephritežs position.  We rush to the
cavern to find Nephrite staring down a group of pirates.  They
stand huddled in the corner of a the room while a giant blue bear
playfully gnaws on one of their muskets.  The barrel, bent almost
in two, still smokes from when the gun went off.
     "I'm glad you're all right," Nephrite says to me, "We had
just cornered most of the pirates here with Ursa Major when we
heard all the roaring and shooting.  Before I could summon Ursa
Minor to go to your aid Orion had already left.  When things got
quiet, I started to worry."  A pirate makes a suspicious move and
Ursa lets out a vicious snarl.  The pirate immediately raises his
trembling hands.
     "Robert's got away," I say to Nephrite and Orion (who
quietly curses for a moment), "but he lost his ship and a good
portion of his booty.  He won't recover for a while."  We hear
the distant report of muskets and I say, "Those are navy long-
barrels, the Marines are here."
     With the help of the regulars and marines we round up the
stray pirates and march the lot of them back to town.  Taking
most of the treasure with us, we'll send a prize crew for the
frigate and the other items tomorrow.  I want to clear out before
night falls and the kalmas come out.  (Night as defined by the
passage of one of the dark color bands of clouds overhead. 
Actually, all that will happen is the light will dim a bit but
that will be enough to cause some of the nasties to come out. 
Given my brush with the wildlife today, that's something I'd
rather not deal with.)
     I fully expected the Hunters to vanish into the jungle
leaving us with the odious duty of hauling these pirates back to
town but I was only half right.  Before we started the trek back
I saw Orion and the other Hunter flip a coin.  The other took off
into the jungle while Orion helped us with the pirates.  The
other's probably are on his way back to the consulate to file a
report claiming most of the credit for capturing the pirates.
     It turns out to be a remarkably easy trip back to town: we
only have to blast one sleen and a hunting pair of kalmas. 
Without a trained Jabberwocky to scare them off, the jungle
predetors will become quite bold again.  After reaching town, we
turn the pirates and their stolen goods over to the local
authorities and march in good order back to the Nemesis.   At the
point were he has to break off to go to the consulate, Orion
renders a quick sword salute to myself and Nephrite then leaves
with out a word.  I hear the Marine Sergeant mutter something
about flashy, undisciplined showoffs.
     On our way back to our ship, I notice that Frederick's
merchantman is no longer on the other side of the harbor.  The
second I'm back aboard the Nemesis, I have the farspeaker officer
put out word for Frederick's arrest.  There are three patrol
frigates in orbit; he won't get far.

     We are just taking stock of the situation when a familiar
voice calls out to us, "Hey, you guys!"  Juno is shouting from
the pier and is towards us limping as fast as she can.
  "Oh, no!  Nephrite says to me mournfully, "The birthday gifts I
had picked out for her are gone.  I so much wanted to give her
something but now..."
  She rushes up the gangplank and throws her arms around
Nephrite.  "I heard you ran into some trouble, are you all
right?"
  "Nothing we couldn't handle," he says stroking her hair.
  "I'm just glad you're safe." she sighs.
  "Uh, Juno, about your birthday present..." He begins nervously.
  "Oh, donžt worry about it," She says cheerfully, "I know you
put a lot of thought into it and can't wait to see it.  Whatever
it is, I know I'll like it."
  "Well I... that is..." he stammers.
     Then I get an idea and say loudly, "He didn't have time to
wrap it or make it more presentable."  They both look at me so I
pull back the tarp exposing the crate of heavy duty cooking
utensils."
  "Cookware?"  She asks.
  "Uh... that isn't..." Nephrite starts to explain.
  žIt isn't that fancy-shmancy stuff, I tried to convince him to
buy," I interrupt loudly, "but he told me that he knows how much
you love to cook and needed something tough.  Tough to stand up
to all that love."
  "And those?" she says indicating the boots and the jar of
insect repellant.
  "They're not..." Nephrite begins.
  "They're not as well thought out but seemed appropriate," I
jump in again, "After your mishaps this morning he got you these,
a pair of boots with aluminum plates on them.  Thick enough to
turn the fangs of the nastiest gratch.  You looked to be about
the same size as my cabin boy so they should fit."  I pop the top
off the jar of insect repellant and add, "And this stuff should
keep even the most determined dreedle bug at bay."  I take a
sniff to illustrate my point.  The pungent aroma makes me gag so
I hurriedly stopper it again.  "Potent stuff," I cough.
     For a moment all is silent as she stands there looking at
Nephrite.  She stares up at him, tears forming in her eyes. 
Nephrite looks downcast that she seems so disappointed.  "I'm
sorry, I didn't..." he begins when she suddenly throws her arms
around him and kisses him fiercely.  After a long while she
breaks the kiss and says, "That is so sweet..." her voice choked
with emotion, "you know me so well... it's like we're soulmates."
  "You... you like it?" He asks surprised.
  "I love it," she says emphatically holding him tight.  He hugs
back and murmurs something I cannot hear but she answers, "I love
you too."
     I make a show of studying the harbor but I can't but help
watching all this through the corner of my eye.  She kisses him
again this time very tenderly and sniffs.  Wiping her eyes, she
says, "You've got to get cleaned up and come to the party.  We've
got lots to do before it gets too late."
  "Yes, cooking," he says.
  "I'm not talking about cooking," she smiles and says with a
twinkle in her eye.
  Nephrite is too stunned to speak so he just stands there as she
saunters off.  "Be along soon,"  She calls back to us and waves.

     Nephrite waves back automatically and seems entranced as if
the strange turn of events has yet to sink in.  "We'll be right
there," I call back politely.  I turn to Nephrite and say, "you
owe the navy for a few supplies.  I'll just deduct it from your
share of the prize money."  He turns to me and just stares.  He's
silent for so long that I'm forced to ask, "What?"  Then, without
warning, he throws his arms around me and lifts me off the deck
in a mighty embrace.  Despite my innate toughness, my ribs creek
under his bear-like hug.  "Ferrite, my friend, how can I ever
thank you?!" He exclaims, "MMmm-wah!"  Overcome with emotion, he
kisses me on the cheek and plops me back down on the deck.  I
quickly wipe the kiss off and look around.  The crew is watching,
barely able to conceal their grins.  Great, I'll have to do
something quick or I'll never live that down.
     Pow!  I draw back and punch Nephrite as hard as I can.  The
blow is so powerful it sends him flying.  Loud enough so that all
can hear, I shout, "Never!...  Ever!... do that again!"  I make a
big show of stalking angrily off to my cabin but once inside a
grin of happiness and satisfaction splits my face.


     "Sorry about that," the apparition apologizes, "I was
carried away by the moment."
     "None needed,"  I say, "I just had to keep up appearances in
front of the crew, you know.  I didn't hurt your shoulder too bad
did I?"
     "Nah, barely felt it," he says with a laugh, "You hit like a
girl."
     I cackle merrily at the empty chair and the rest of the
patrons in the bar glance at me nervously.
     "Ah, those were some good times," the ghost says.
     "Some of em' were kind'a sad," I admit.
     "Yeah," he sighs, "Jadeite's funeral was a real tragedy."
     "I think his mother blamed me for his death to her final
breath," I say sadly.

     Jadeite was dead.  Just four days before he was to receive
his position as Guardian, he was thrown from his horse while out
galloping across the fields and broke his neck.  It is a sad day
for all Earth where one of it's defenders falls, even if they
were not at their post yet.  What a great loss it is for Earth
that this splendid young man will not be among the elite.
     On the night of the funeral, the three junior Guardians,
Kunzite, Nephrite and myself all arrived at the palatial estate
of Jadeite's father to offer our condolences to the family.  We
are in our dress grays and I wear the one with the green piping
of the junior member.  Were it not for the Nemesian situation
which caused me to be promoted, Jadeite would be the one so
dressed.  A servant somberly greets us at the door and leads us
to the family chapel.  Inside friends and family are gathered to
pay their last respects to the dead.
     In keeping with his family's traditions, it is an open
casket affair.  I kneel next to the coffin and look upon Jadeite
who is still handsome even in death.  He was a hell of a man,
too; well over six feet tall with long, black hair that flows
across the white satin pillow his head rests on.  His skin is
tanned even through the pallor of death.  It must have become so
by long exposure to the sun from his many hours in the saddle. 
At the time he had been chosen to become one of the Guardians, he
had risen all the way to coronal in his cavalry regiment.
     Though I never really knew him, I feel badly about his
death.  Jadeite had already given up his given name and taken on
one of the minerals of Earth when the revolution on Nemesis
occurred.  After an incident where my ship came in conflict with
the rebels while rescuing the Nemesian royal family, I was given
the position as Guardian as a deliberate slight to the usurpers. 
Arturo then further delayed Jadeite's elevation until I was
settled in.  (Actually, He wanted show the Nemesian rebels and
the whole Earth that he did not recognize their revolution.  For
that he wanted nothing to take attention away from me.)  Even
though I was carried along by circumstance I feel guilty that I
took Jadeite's place.
     As I kneel there, murmuring a prayer for his departed soul,
I hear someone come in behind me.  I turn and look up to see
Jadeite's parents.  Grief weighs heavy upon them, and they appear
to sag under the burden of the loss.  I stand up and bow
respectfully to them.  I'm about to offer my condolences when the
mother sees the green piping on my uniform and realizes who I am. 
Her expression immediately changes to one of anger.
     "You," she fairly spits the word as if I were something
unclean, "You're that Ferrite!  Because of you my son is dead!" 
Stunned by her words, I just stand there in amazement.  "If you
had not weaseled your way in ahead of him, he would have been a
Guardian by now.  That fall that killed him would not have even
scratched him.  It's your fault, you and damn politics."  She
raises her fists clumsily as if she were going to pound me into
the earth but her husband grabs her wrists and says quietly,
"Dear, No.  Stop, this isn't helping. Shh..."  With that she
collapses against him and starts weeping as if her heart would
burst."
     Her husband ushers her off to a pew vainly trying to comfort
her.  Her son is gone though, and she is inconsolable.  I stand
there numbly as she is led away.  The others in the hall look at
me as if I really were to blame and I am mortified.  Then, a
slight, blond haired young man a bit shorter than me, steps over
and says, "allow me to apologize for mother.  She..."
     I hold a hand up stopping him and say quietly, "I
understand, it's not really anger it's grief.  Her son is dead
and she seeks to find some reason, any reason at all for it."
     "Thank you for understanding," he says looking mournfully at
the deceased, "my brother was looking forward to serving with
you, Ferrite.  He was a military man like yourself.  Even though
it delayed his assuming his post, he supported Arturo's decision
from the start.  When the high lord asked this favor of him he
said yes without hesitation."
     "Jadeite approved of Arturo's order?"
     "Yes, Jadeite said waiting a year or two would make no
difference if it was for the good of Earth."
     "Thank you," I sigh, "knowing he thought that lifts a weight
of guilt from my shoulders."  Still, I can't help but think of
what might have happened if the had not waited.  "You must be
William," I say to the young man, "Jadeite's younger brother,
Nephrite said Jadeite spoke of you often."
     "Yes," he says sardonically, "but I won't be William for
much longer.  It has been decided that I will take my brother's
place and become the new Jadeite."
     I look at him closely.  I'd heard stories about Jadeite's
brother from Nephrite.  Where Jadeite was energetic, active and
outgoing, William was rather bookish.  True, I'd heard he has an
intelligence that his brother lacked but we already have an
intellectual in our midst: Nephrite.  Having two scholars would
leave only the two senior Guardians, Goshenite and Kunzite, with
military backgrounds.  Of course, there's me but I hardly count
as a real Guardian.  (Something Anchorite never let me forget.  I
won't say I'll miss the stuck up bastard when Jadeite replaces
him.  Actually I'm kind of happy that Anchorite will not be
delaying his retirement a single day.)
     Then, William looks around apprehensively as if he wants to
say something but is hesitant to do so in public.  "May I speak
with you in private?" he asks.  "Certainly," I say glad for
almost any excuse to be away from the glare that his mother
occasionally turns in my direction.  "Follow me," he says. 
Exiting the chapel, he leads me down the hall into a large
library.  I'm impressed at the sheer number of volumes that line
the wall and climb to the ceiling.  William seems more relaxed as
he enters this room as though he were entering his lair.  He
offers me brandy but I decline.
     He pours himself one and swallows it with one gulp.  The
harsh bite of the liqueur seems to bolster him and he then asks
in a rush, "Has anyone ever refused to become a Guardian?  I'm a
historian, so I know that there is no recorded instance.  But is
there an instance spoken of only by the Guardians in private?"
     I pause for a moment, there are stories about the Guardians
that we don't circulate but that is not one of them.  No one has
ever refused when offered the position so I answer truthfully,
"No.  Why do you ask?  Are you having second thoughts about
taking your brother's place?"
     He sighs and says, "I received a letter from the University
of Mercury just two days before my brother's death.  I've been
offered a professorship there.  By sheer luck, I applied just
when a former mentor was retiring.  He was allowed some leeway in
choosing his successor and he chose me.
     That which I dreamed of would be in my grasp.  I would
lecture and learn and speak with the finest minds in all the
worlds.  I was going to announce it to my parents after my
brother received his post.  I didn't want to steal any of his
thunder, you know.  But now... now, in two days, I receive a duty
that I care nothing about."
     Surprised by his words I ask, "Can't you become a professor
there after your duty as Guardian is complete?  One reason that a
Guardian post is so coveted is that you barely age while you have
it.  Why not just pick up where you left off then?"
     He sighs in despair, "Make no mistake, it is a once in a
lifetime opportunity.  If I pass it, up it will not wait for me. 
I cannot just take the position as Guardian and then expect a
seat on the faculty of the University after my service is over in
thirty years or so."
     "Hm..." I muse, "I can see your dilemma.  Follow your heart
or follow your duty.  It all depends on your definition of
service.  Is your planet best served by a professor or a
Guardian?"
     "I guess the answer is easy then..."  He says dejectedly.
     "Well, if you ask Kunzite or Goshenite," I speculate,
"they'd answer 'Guardian' right away but there are other
considerations.  What effect does telling a truthful account of
Earth's and the other planet's histories have?  How will that
effect young people who will be leaders on their planets?  If the
right mind can be changed, wars can be averted or agreements
reached.  The answer to such a question is very, very hard."
     "I just wish it were all more clear.  I know what my parents
want.  I know what my kingdom needs.  Where does what I want
weigh in this?
     "Still," I say, "there's one person we haven't thought of.ž
     "Who?"
     "Your brother," I answer, "What did he want?"
     "He wanted to serve... he wanted to represent my family in
one of the highest positions attainable.  That is why he joined
the army, he wanted to bring honor to my father's name."  As he
says that, a slight smile crosses his face.
     "You loved your brother, didn't you?" I ask.
     "Yes," he answers, "he was the finest of men."
     "Then to honor his memory," I say, "help fulfill his dream. 
Though the dead are gone, their hopes and dreams remain with the
living.  If they are worthy ideals, we must embrace them or what
sort of legacy can we expect to leave?  Now, to be sure such
respect must be earned to be valued.  Did your brother live in
such a way as to earn your respect?"
     "Yes,"  He answers quietly," always."
     "Then your choice is simple," I say.
     He looks at the letter on his desk and sighs, "But it isn't
easy."
     "Living to a higher ideal is never easy."

     The events of the next few days pass quickly.  Jadeite is
interred in the family crypt the day after we arrived.  He is
laid to rest with his family, the rulers of this kingdom to watch
over his land forever.  After a kingdom-wide week of mourning,
the family travels by sky clipper to Ton-lo where the ceremony
will be held to swear in William.  Rather than taking on the
earth name a year in advace as is the custom, he will become
Jadite at the ceremony.
     The next seven days are not easy for William; they are
filled with memorization and study as the rest of us prepare him
for his ascension.  Anchorite and Goshenite instruct him in the
laws that we must live by and the rituals we must keep.  Kunzite
teaches William about the palace politics and how he can remain
above it all.  Nephrite educates him on meditation techniques and
how a Guardian's power is drawn from the belief of the people and
the might of Earth's wonder.  I show him the proper way to wear
the uniform and how to salute.
     On the third day, as we are all eating dinner, three people
dressed in deep blue robes slip past our retainers and enter our
private dining room.  Neither the servants nor Jadeite seem to
notice them at all, even thought they are standing there in plain
sight.  It was much the same when I became a Guardian only then I
couldn't see these people either.
     Anchorite stands up from his seat at the head of the table
and orders the servants out of the room, telling them to lock the
doors and not to return until summoned.  Jadeite looks around
confused at the sudden interruption of dinner.  Even thought the
three robed individuals hover over him like vultures he still
does not notice them.  When it is just us and the cloaked
strangers, a deathly stillness falls over the room.  One of the
figures nods signalling his (her?) permission to continue.
     "William," Anchorite says, "there are certain things kept
secret about the Guardians."
     "When you become one," Goshinite adds, "you will be expected
to lay down your life for your king or planet at any time should
it become necessary."
     "I've already sworn that I would," Jadeite says seriously.
     "We know what you've said," Kunzite says, "but we must know
that for sure."
     "I will submit to any questions or investigations you
desire," Jadeite says.
     "Good," Nephrite says, "because there are certain methods to
determine the truth of your words that are not pleasant.  All of
us had to submit to these tests before we became Guardians.  But
before it happens, we must make sure you do so of your own free
will."
     "Do what ever you need to do," he says serously.
     Also," I add, "once we are absolutely sure of your
intentions, your mind must be sealed.  It must be certain that a
Guardian cannot be dominated or have his will overpowered by some
spell or mindforce."
     "I've never heard of that," Jadeite says, "but I accept what
you say.  I'll submit to whatever preparation is necessary.  When
do we do it?"
     "Now," Anchorite says which is more of an order than an
answer.  At his signal, the three figures place their hands on
William.  Two hold his arms and one places his hands on Williamžs
head.  William tenses a moment in surprise at the unexpected
contact but does not struggle.  The three figures cluster about
him only for a few seconds before they release their holds and
step back.  I remember when it happened to me and it seemed to
take ages.  The three figures file slowly out of the room. 
William watches them as they go, apparently he can see them now.
     "Who were they?" William asks.
     "Have you heard of the Psionics Institute?" Kunzite asks.
     William nods, "I've heard legends."  "You have been visited
by their leader.  This is one of the services they render to
their king.  Had your intentions been false, you would not have
left this room alive."
     William swallows anxiously.
     "Now," Anchorite says ringing the servant's bell, "who wants
pie?"

     The last night before the ceremony, all the Guardians hold
vigil with William in the shadow of the Great Portal.  We all
fast in order to purify ourselves for the transition of power. 
Throughout the night, we chant and meditate at the base of the
wonder of the Ancients.  I think all of us are awed by the
builders of the wonder that opened the solar system to humanity.

     On the seventh day, in the grand chapel, we five Guardians
wait by an altar of purest white marble.  In our hands are our
golden ceremonial staffs each topped with an emerald orb.  Four
of us are wearing grey robes, but the fifth, Anchorite, wears
black.  The priest chosen by lot to represent the many churches
of earth stands in full regalia for his religion.  The only
addition is a deep green sash and golden mantle which represent
the world and all its many beliefs.  Anchorite kneels at the
opposite end of the altar with the staff held in his left hand. 
He is the Guardian in twilight; the one passing on his duties to
the new blood.
     Then, when the sun rises exactly overhead at high noon, the
doors at the end of the church are thrown open.  In the open
doorway, silhouetted by the bright sunlight, is a man dressed in
a white robe.  Slowly, majestically William strides down the isle
towards his new life of service as we all did and as all of those
who follow us will.  Anchorite rises from his kneeling position
and turns to face William.  Black brings the staff around to bar
white's progress.  Jadeite takes the staff in both of his hands
and, for a moment, they struggle symbolically.
     Then Anchorite releases the staff into Jadeite's hands
finding him worthy to be his replacement.  Anchorite stands aside
and resumes his position at the other end of the altar.  In his
final act as a Guardian, he draws the hood of his over his face. 
Anchorite is no longer one of us, when he removes the covering
from his face again, his name will be Merrill once again.
     William kneels in a his white cloak before the altar and
offers the staff up to the priest in supplication.  The priest
takes the staff an holds it high above his head to draw the
attention of the world and the Ancients to the young man before
him.  The priest then takes the staff and taps it lightly on
William's shoulders.  Thus begins the simple ceremony to confirm
him. 
     "From earth you sprang," the priest intones, "as you live
you draw sustenance from it, when you die you shall return to it. 
William, are you prepared to draw power from it as well?"
     "I will."
     "Are you prepared to represent the people of Earth and be an
avatar of their will?"
      "I shall."
     The priest then holds the staff before William who takes it
in his own two hands again.
      "Do you take this duty forsaking all others?"
     "I do."
     "Do you take it willingly with it and it alone, being the
focus of your life?"
     "I do."
     "In recognition of your oath, do you forswear you name so
long as you shall serve?"
     "I shall."
     "By the power and the majesty of the people of earth and the
Ancients who gave us the wonders I decree that you are no longer
William Denson the third but Jadeite... Jadeite of Earth.  Arise
Jadeite and go forth to do the will of the Earth and her people."
     Jadeite stands and then allows his cloak to drop away
revealing his guardian uniform.  Though it is a simple grey with
the green piping of the junior member, he is resplendent, wrapped
in the power and majesty and might of his planet.  We let our own
cloaks fall away to show that we also wear the grey in solidarity
with our fellow.   Now in precession, we lead him from the room
senior to most junior, Goshenite, Kunzite, Nephrite, Ferrite and
now Jadeite.  All, the Guardians of Earth.

     I sniff a little bit and wipe my eyes as I finish my story. 
"I don't know what it is," I say to the ghost, "but ceremonies
like that choke me up.
     "I know just what you feel," says the apparition, "I get a
little misty eyed at that stuff as well."
     "Oh, but Jadeite's family was so proud of their son.  They
seemed to feel better knowing that their dead son's honors
remained within the family.  Yeah, they were really proud," I say
taking a sip of whiskey, "its kind hard to think that we were
pretty much ordinary guys with friends and family like most
normal people."  That prompts another stray thought and I say to
Nephrite, "Hey, remember Kunzite's sister?"
     "Yes, a very odd woman" the ghost snorts, "quite forward
about her... ahem, urges.  As I recall you telling me, you were
the focus of those attentions for a brief period."
     How can I forget," I say, "It was by the slimmest of margins
that I diverted said urges and avoided being pounded into dust by
our senior fellow."
     "It was at that conference in Atlantis," I say dredging up
the old vision of the past, "the year of the Great Jovian famine. 
Strange winds had swept out of the clouds and  devastated the
plant life with the sole exception of the iron oak.  Goshenite,
You and Jadeite were with prince Endymion in Cibolita trying to
drum up support there.  (And doing a damn fine job if what
Nephrite's communiques are correct.)  At the same time, Kunzite
and I were with Arturo at a conference in Atlantis.  The meeting
was one of major import; it was there we needed to rally help for
Arturo's plan to send food aid to the Jovians.  
     The kingdom of Mu had sent what it had available but if many
Jovians were going to see the next year, nothing but a united
effort from all Earth would suffice.  That is why we had called
this special conference in the most powerful Kingdom of earth. 
If we could get the Atlanteans with just a few others to come
along, we would have enough resources to do the job.
     Fortunately Kunzite was a prince of Atlanteans so we had an
advantage with his father, King Tyco.  Tyco, however, was still
sitting on the fence, unconvinced it was necessary that we commit
ourselves to such an expensive plan.   Never mind that we were on
the brink of a more expensive war.  Arturo must not fail or
conflict with the desperate Jovians seemed imminent..."
 
     I was milling about the floor of the reception, trying to
gauge support for Arturo when Kunzite pulls me aside.  "Ferrite,"
Kunzite says, "I wanted to ask a favor of you.  During the
conference there will be many important men in my father's house
and I will be quite busy acting as go between for Arturo and my
father, king Tyco.  I'll be so engage that I really don't have
any time to spare for my sister.  Would you be so kind as to look
after her for me?"
     Certainly, I say, "Arturo said I was to mingle amongst the
guests and try to ascertain their positions.  I think I can do
what you ask as well.  Where is the little tyke?"
     "Over there," he answers pointing across the room.
     I look where he indicates and standing there one of the most
gorgeous women I have ever seen.  Her hair is a lustrous, snow
white that hangs down to the middle of her back.  Her skin is
pale and smooth with a hint of blush at the cheeks.  Her figure
is voluptuous, enhanced by the sea green gown with a deeply
plunging neckline that she wears.  Deep blue eyes sparkle merrily
as she laughs at a joke told to her by one of the many gentlemen
admirers around her.  "My little sister," Kunzite says fondly,
"the sweetest, most innocent girl you will ever meet."  "Uh...
yeah."  I agree.
     Looking balefully at the men clustered around his sister he
says, "Excuse me for a minute."  Then, he steps over to the group
and exchanges some pleasantries with her but at the same time he
does that "looming menacingly" thing of his.  One by one, he
glares at his sister's admirers and they quickly find something
else to do.  After they're all gone, he motions me over and says,
"Lilith, this is Ferrite, when I told him you needed an escort
during the conference, he graciously volunteered."
  "Oh, yes, an escort, how thrilling."  She says impassively.
  "Well, father will be needing me," Kunzite says, "so I must be
off."  With that, he crosses the hall to where his father is
talking with several other nobles leaving us alone.
     She glares at me with no small amount of annoyance and asks,
"So now you are my keeper?"
  "I wouldn't put it that way," I say, "your brother just wants
me to look out for you."
  "I'm quite capable of looking out for myself," she says coldly,
"I swear, Kunzite still thinks I'm a child."  She stands in
profile to me and says, "Look at me, do I look like a little girl
to you?"
  "Hardly," I say dryly, "still he is right about one thing,
there are many who might try to take advantage of you."  I notice
that several men have taken notice of Lilith's little display. 
Two of them I know to be married.
  "And what if I want to be taken advantage of?"  She asks
standing a bit close to me.  She leans forward exposing her
cleavage and breathes heavily.
  "Uh..." I say.
  She lays a hand on my arm and leans even closer to me so I can
smell her perfume.  "Maybe you can show me how to defend myself
from all these wolves,"  She says breathily staring into my eyes.
  "Um..." I reply wittily.
  "I hear you're quite good with a sword."  She glances up at me
with a sparkle in her eye hinting at more.
  "I... er..."
  "Why captain, you're blushing," she says as she reaches up to
brush my cheek.  He touch is feather light as her fingers glide
across my skin.  "How is it that a little girl like me can affect
you so?"  She asks.
     Then I realize what she's doing and laugh nervously.  "Oh,
you are a clever one I'll give you that," I say with admiration,
"trying to scare me away."  Then I change tactics on her too.  I
lean back and glance at her appraisingly.  "You would make an
able general," I say, "You use your assets to their fullest
extent."
  She chuckles and takes my arm, "You know, you're not nearly as
stuck up as Jadeite or Nephrite.  I like that."
  "I hope we can be good friends," I say.
  "What, just friends?"
  "Ahem," I clear my throat uncomfortably, "Kunzite would
pulverize me otherwise."
  "Oh, my brother," she sighs, "He is so naive about such things. 
What am I going to do with him?"
  "Well, you could be a bit more discreet until the conference is
over," I mutter.
     "What, and miss all these interesting men?"  She asks with
exaggerated incredulity, "Look, since Kunzite is going to be a
Guardian for the next thirty years or so, that means I will be
the next ruler of Atlantis.  Politics are going to force me to
have a king at my side so it might as well be one I like.  Maybe
I'll try him out here to see how skilled he is.  Or maybe I'll
just establish a basis for comparison."
     "Atlanteans!" I mutter disgustedly.  I stare at her for a
moment and then say, "Your frankness is both refreshing and
frightening."
     She laughs and asks," Frightening?"
     "Yes, your intentions are so plain it means I'll have to be
extra careful around you.  Ahem!  Lest I succumb to temptation."
     "Look, I tell you what," she says switching tactics, "You
look the other way when I tell you to and I won't forget it.  The
Queen of Atlantis could be a very powerful ally."
     "What?" I say in mock injury, "Here you were making advances
toward me and now you try and recruit me as a henchman in your
schemes.  Lady you wound me."
     "Sorry Ferrite," she says, "though you might be fun for an
afternoon, you are just not on my level socially."  That last
comment makes me wince a bit.  Without a pause, she continues on
matter-of-factly, "Your brother is a baron and you are more or
less the second son without an inheritance.  You owe your
Guardianship to political circumstance and cannot draw support
from the people the Guardian usually stands for.  Somehow,
though, the navy sees you as its own personal Guardian so that
could be useful if the association becomes permanent."
     "Very astute, Lady Tyco, very astute," I say with a nod of
approval, "I can see that you will be an able queen in your time. 
You've certainly got a good grasp of events in the capital.
     "I keep abreast of affairs in the court of Ton-lo and the
leaders of Earth," she says thoughtfully.  "Say," she adds
licking her lips, "could you introduce me to Endymion?   I hear
that you are his cousin."
     "Distant cousin," I add quickly, "and Endymion is just
seventeen.  Wouldn't he be a little young for you?"
     "There is something fulfilling about teaching a young man. 
Besides they're always so enthusiastic and grateful," she says
with a calculating half smile.  She looks at me and says, "If he
fills out like his cousin, he should be quite a man."
     "Thank you," I say at the backhanded compliment, "but I
don't think that Endymion will be interested in any...
'schooling' shall we say, until he comes of age next year."  I
give her my own back handed compliment by adding, "despite the
attractiveness of the teacher." 
     She shares a smile with me and then says, "Shush, Arturo is
speaking to the Lord of Hyboria, King Charles."

     "Don't be so quick to dismiss my plan," Arturo's sonorous
voice can be heard easily, "You may say that it is just their
problem but they need our  help nonetheless.  You are all aware
of their situation, news of the crop failure has spread
throughout the solar system.  Only we of Earth, however, are in
any position to respond quickly or substantially enough before
millions of them starve."
     "What?  None of the other planets can help?"  King Charles
asks sarcastically.
     "None but we have both the food reserves in large enough
amounts and the ships to transport it with."
     "But what you propose," Prince Rupert, Charles' son, chimes
in, "would require us to empty our stocks for the coming winter."
     "If we work together," Arturo explains, "those kingdoms in
the southern hemisphere can get those in the north through their
lean times and vice versa."
     "But what about Jovian demands for a toll through their
space?"  Charles retorts, "I'm sure we can be touched by pleas
for help but we'll not bow to demands for tribute no mater how
many needleships they can field."
     "The Jovians are a proud, frontier people, it is not in
their nature to beg so they bluster a bit.  Ignore those words
for now; if we help them they will be more than grateful.  If we
aid them, they will not rest until their debt to us will be paid. 
The floating continents of Jupiter hold much in their unexplored
territories that could be used to eventually compensate all who
give aid."
     "Eventually!" Charles exclaims, "Eventually those of us who
go lean for the Jovian's sake will find ourselves with empty
store rooms and empty coffers next winter."
     Arturo is about to answer loudly but Tyco of Atlantis says,
"Though Charles is a bit extreme,  he does voice some valid
concerns.  What guarantee do we have that our loans will be
repaid?"
     Arturo turns to Tyco politely, "The High Clan Lord of
Jupiter offers grants of land in exchange for..."
     "Titles to lands infested with jabberwocky and kalmas?" 
Charles asks mockingly, "Somehow I do not find title to tracts
months away by sky clipper and overrun with vicious carnivores to
be all that tempting."
     "And you would rather have the desperate Jovians try to
obtain what they need to live by coercion or force?"  Arturo
shoots back.
     Charles looks down his nose at Arturo and says, "Maybe if
the leadership of Mu were not so afraid of a fight that..."
     "You are calling me a coward?! How dare you..."  Arturo
starts for Charles but before anyone can move, Tyco smoothly
steps between them and says sternly, "Gentlemen!  It is unseemly
that we air our differences in public this way.  Perhaps if we
spoke more quietly at the conference table we could come to some
agreement."
     "Very well, let us adjourn to the meeting hall," Arturo
agrees.  Then the kings and queens of earth leave the princes,
princesses and lesser nobility in the reception hall.  A look
from Kunzite tells me he wishes for me to stay with his sister
while he escorts Arturo.  Perhaps that's for the best, I can
better serve the king by checking the reactions of the nobles out
here.  I watch the Hyborean king strut cockily out of the hall. 
Not realizing I am speaking aloud I mutter, "I wonder what his
game is?"
  "What, Charles?" Lilith asks, "Oh, that's easy..."
  "You know?"  I ask giving her my undivided attention.
  She rolls her eyes as if explaining it to a child, "Charles is
the king of Hyboria.  Hyboreans are always seeking to gain
control of their neighbors.  Charles hopes to precipitate a war
where the Royal Navy would be decimated in conflict with the
Jovians.  Since Hyboria keeps the largest standing land army,
they would naturally fill any void in the military vacuum.  Add a
few fast ships, such as the sky clippers Hyborea has been buying
lately and the Hyboreans could stage an armed landing on Jupiter. 
If it is successful that could force the Jovians to sue for
peace.  Even if they didn't  win many battles, starvation would
make it a quick war.  Then the confederation of the twenty three
kingdoms might move its headquarters from Ton-lo to a kingdom
that can offer them more effective protection."
     "But the Great Portal is there!" I say in disbelief, "The
wonder of the Ancients..."
     "Doesn't mean much when most of the travelling is done by
ship."  She says, "you Muvians take too much stock in that old
metal gateway.  You've got to realize that Earth's power is not
as tied to its ancient wonder the way the other planet's are. 
Earth just does not have a Senshi Terra.  We depend far more on
our navy and merchant fleets than anything the Ancients may have
left us.  We Atlanteans realize this.  Why do you think we put so
much emphasis on our science?"
     I'm standing there thinking about what Lilith says when a
hand suddenly claps me on the shoulder.  In a deep merry tone a
voice asks, "Who let this low-life, ruffian in here?"  Instantly
recognizing the voice, I turn around and am delighted to see my
old friend from the naval academy, prince Edward of Lemuria.
  "Eddie!" I exclaim, clasping his hands and shaking them
vigorously.  "Good to see you again, ya' big lug."  I used to
help Edward with his studies of naval tactics and far-speaker
theory.  Capital fellow, handsome, athletic, good hearted,
personable... thick as a brick.
  "Jo..." he starts to say.
     I quickly hold up my hand and stop him before he can say my
real name.  "Ah, ah, ah..." I admonish, "I've given  up that name
and taken one from the earth.  You must address me as Ferrite...
and, since I still command the Nemesis, that's Captain Ferrite."
     "And you," he shoots back good naturedly, "must address me
as Crown Prince Edward of Lemuria.  Well, Prince Edward will do
but definitely not Prince Eddie."
  "Prince Edward," I say with a respectful half bow and a click
of my heels.
  "Captain Ferrite," he answers with a half bow of his own.
     Lilith clears her throat noisily.  Taking her hint I say,
"Edward, this charming creature is Kunzite's sister, Lilith Tyco,
princess of Atlantis."  She offers her hand and he kisses it.  I
note that she holds her hand close to herself so that he has to
lean forward and gets an eyeful of her cleavage.  I add dryly, "I
am to guard her from all the wolves about."  Quietly I wonder
exactly who is playing the role of wolf here.
     I say to my old friend, "I'd heard you opted out after two
tours.  Finally stopped playing sailor and trying to be a real
leader now?"
  "Yeah," he answers, "father said I should practice more. 
Gotta' study if I'm going to run Lemuria properly.  My days in
the academy helped out a lot though.  Father was real proud when
I graduated.  Said it really made a man out of me.
  "I'll say," Lilith adds boldly eyeing his manly physique.
     Before Lilith can say anything more suggestive I steer the
conversation to politics for the next few minutes.  Lilith shows
her intelligence by offering quite a bit of insight on current
events.  Sadly, a lot of what we say goes straight over Edward's
head.  He's plainly bored talking about all this political stuff
and is polite but distant.  However, when I switch the topic to
horses that really catches his interest.  For a while I let him
talk about his favorite subject and the exact method to best ride
one.  Finally, he gets bored again and excuses himself saying
there are a few things he must attend to.  "What a charming
fellow," Lilith says as Eddie leaves.
     Before I can add my opinion of her assessment, prince Rupert
steps up to us.  He was apparently skulking around waiting for
Edward to leave and interjects himself into our conversation by
asking bruskly, "How does the navy stand on this?"
  "On horses?"  I ask innocently, "we think they are fine, but
generally we prefer to use ships."
  "No, you imbecile," he snaps, "I mean on the Jovian situation."
  I blink calmly at his insult and answer evenly, "I'm afraid I
cannot answer that.  I am not the naval minister nor do I make
policy."
  "Yes, yes, I know that," he says dismissively, "what I want to
know is how the rank and file feel.  You are their pet Guardian. 
You are common like the soldiers and marines.  You know how they
think.  What will they do against Jovian bellicosity?"
  I shrug off his comments since they are largely true and
answer, "In my opinion the men will feel sympathy for the
Jovians, after all, they're starving.  But the men and ships of
the Royal Navy will do their duty to protect the interests of
Earth and follow the orders of their king."
  He grunts a bit in satisfaction at that.  His desire for
conflict is almost palpable.
  "However," I add, "if they were ordered to strip out their guns
and transport grain to Jupiter, that they would do also."
  "You're saying they'd give in to this blackmail?"
  "I'm saying they would happily follow orders to come to the aid
of their neighbors."
  "Pah!  Muvian pacifist fools," he says and stalks off.
     You can call me names and I don't care, but insult my
kingdom?  Many an impolite retort in any of six languages leaps
to my lips but before I can decide on just the right one I am
interrupted.  It is Lilith who surprises me by uttering a very
clever insult I have never before which questions Rupert's
fathers sexual predilections toward farm animals and dicuous
trees.  Sadly, Rupert is too far away to hear it but everyone
around us does.  For a second I aghast; I've never heard someone
use so many adjectives in one sentence before.  "Hyborean
cretin," she adds more politely after a pause for air, "to think
that a blustering fool like that might succeed to the Emerald
Throne should the Jovians go to war.  I think not."
     She turns to me with new determination in her eyes.  She's
about to volunteer something but then she pauses.  I can almost
see the gears turning in her head as a calculating look comes
across her face.  She draws the moment out and then smiles.  When
someone smiles at you like that there's bound to be trouble. 
Taking my arm she says in a friendly tone, "I think I have a way
to sway my father to Arturo's side."
     My ears prick up interestedly and I ask, "Oh?  What do you
have in mind?"
     "It comes at a price though," she says like the cat who
swallowed the canary.
     "And what might that be?"
     "You know that handsome Prince Edward?"
     Uh, oh!  She's got that predatory look in  her eye like when
she was talking about Endymion.  I hesitate, not sure what fate I
may be selling my friend into.  Finally, I nod.
     She whispers in my ear and I raise an eyebrow at what she
has in mind.   

     The meeting between all the high lords is just breaking up
when I find Kunzite.  From the smug look on Charles' face it did
not go well for Arturo.  I feel a little better knowing what I'm
about to do is best for all.  Walking up to Kunzite, I say, "Your
note said to hurry so I came as soon as I could.  What did you
want to speak to me about?"
     "What?" he asks, "I never sent you a note."
     "Well, a servant came up to me with this," I say handing him
a piece of paper."
     He examines it and says stroking his chin, "Hm, it's a good
copy of my handwriting.  But who would want to distract you? 
Security for the kings and queens is handled by the Atlantean
guard."
     "Hey," I say as if just recalling something, "Prince Rupert
was skulking about Lilith when I left.  You don't suppose..."
     Lightning flashes in Kunzite's eyes as he growls, "If he's
done anything to my little sister I'll..."  He strides over to
where Tyco is standing next to Arturo.  Tyco is shaking his head
negatively to something my Lord has just said when Kunzite
whispers a few quick words in his father's ear.  Tyco is about
Kunzite's size and he turns to his son giving him his full
attention.  They both do that "looming menacingly" thing for a
second and then storm down the hall towards the Hyborean
apartments.
     "What has them so upset?" Arturo asks.
     "I'm not sure, my Lord," I say to Arturo, "but I think Tyco
may change his mind about the character of the Hyboreans."
    "Well, don't just stand there," Arturo says, "follow them." I
leave him in the room with the other nobles and head out after
Kunzite and Tyco. 

     It's kind of funny to watch father and son as they move
through the halls.  Their capes swirl about them as they stride
angrily along.  People take one look at the two and get out of
their way, noble and commoner alike.  They enter the guest wing
and Kunzite tears open the door to Prince Rupert's room without
knocking.  Without slowing, he and his father stomp inside.  I
sidle closer to hear what is going on.  An inside door is thrown
open and Lilith lets out a small shriek.  Immediately Rupert
starts stammering for Kunzite to keep calm.  "It was all her
fault," he shouts, "she made advances to me!"
     I peer in through the open doorway just as Lilith gives this
big eyed innocent look and sniffles a bit.  "He said he wanted to
show me his etchings,"  She whimpers.   Kunzite glowers like a
storm cloud and curtly gestures Lilith to one side.  Prince
Rupert starts to stammer an explanations and apologies that fall
on deaf ears.
  "Wait son," King Tyco says, "don't hit him.  After all, he's my
guest.  Rupert's sigh of relief is cut off when Tyco adds,
"That's a father's job.  See to Lilith, boy."  Kunzite leads a
sniffling Lilith over to me and says, "see her to her rooms. 
Father and I have some things to discuss with Rupert.  And don't
pay attention to any notes."  As I walk away with Lilith, the
door slams and we hear more than just angry words from behind it.
     On the way back to her rooms, we take a detour to the far
end of the wing near the stairs, where the least important
nobility from the smaller states are housed.  Right in the
corner, I knock on the door to where the Lemurians are staying. 
After a moment Edward answers.
     "Edward," I say in my best "I've got an important mission
for you" voice, "could you look after Lilith for a while.  I have
no time to explain, but I have to leave her with someone I trust. 
Important matters of security, you know."
     "Certainly," he says looking at Lilith in her torn dress. 
As Lilith glides into the room I hiss in her ear, "Thirty
minutes, only."  She gives a sultry chuckle and says so that only
I can hear, "Good, time for seconds."  She closes the door behind
her with finality and somehow, I don't envy poor Eddie one bit. 

     I turn back to the apparition and say, "Needless to say,
King Tyco came around to Arturo's way of thinking fairly quickly. 
With toads who would take advantage of his innocent young
daughter in the other camp they proved themselves devious and
untrustworthy.  If it's one thing Tyco could not stand was
deception."  The ghost snorts at that.  I continue piously,
"Better he should stand with us fine upstanding Muvians."
     I sigh and take another sip, "I actually felt a twinge of
guilt at bending my instructions a bit..."
"Bending?  Bending?"  Nephrite says in astonishment.
     I clear my throat and continue, "...but I did keep Lilith
away from the wolves.  And, with Atlantis on our side, the Jovian
relief mission was a complete success.  War was averted so
everyone, with the exception the Hyboreans, won."
     "And Lilith?"  He asks.
     "Married Edward the next year," I take a sip from my drink
and add, "Grand wedding, too.  Good eats.  Edward asked me to be
his best man because without me, Lilith and he they would have
never met.  The fortunes of Lemuria even improved because of its
close ties to Atlantis.  And I don't doubt that Lilith got what
she wanted too."
     "Oh, one last thing," I add, "You weren't there to see it
but, at the wedding Kunzite bawled like a baby to see his little
sister so happy.  You know, That was the only time I ever saw his
softer side."
     I take another sip of my drink and give a depressed sigh. 
"Ah, Nephrite," I say to the apparition, "I miss you guys.  You
were a great crew."
  "Even Zoicite?" The ghost says with a raised eyebrow.
  "Even Zoicite," I answer, "when he wasn't being all possessive
and vindictive he could be the most amusing chap at times.  Did
you know he had the largest dirty limerick repetouir I've ever
heard?"
     "I did not know that," Nephrite says with amazement, "with
the sheltered existence he led I find that surprising."
     "You guys were full of surprises," I say.  I drain my glass
and then ask morosely, "How did it happen, Nephrite?  We were the
mightiest the earth had to offer.  We would sooner die than
submit to Beryl.  How did she overcome us and subvert our will? 
How was so much... lost?"
     "Why are you asking me?"  Says the empty chair, "I'm just a
figment of your imagination."

(Part 3.  No title)

     "Sir...sir!" The bar hostess says insistently trying to get
my attention.  I blink and look at her blearily.  "It's closing
time, sir," she says apologetically.  "Thank you," I say paying
my tab and leaving a generous tip.  She looks like she's about to
suggest something but sees that I'm a little too morose to be
much fun and just bows politely.  I step out into the chill night
and find a fog has rolled in.  It's late and there's little
traffic on the streets tonight.  The whole city seems to be
asleep, wrapped in this blanket of silence.
     Is this all there is?  My friend's life ends and nothing is
left of him?  My footsteps echo on the empty street as I find
myself drawn back to the park where he died.  The trees are
lonely sentinels in the mist, at this hour all good people are
asleep.  I don't know what I want there, maybe just the hope of
finding something, anything that remains.
     Groping around in the fog, I find the holes blasted in the
turf easily enough but the exact spot where he died eludes me. 
My efforts frustrated, I transform and take my detector out of my
pocket and change back again.  For a while, I search through the
fog with it until I find the final traces of his passing on a
slick patch of grass.  Leaning down, I caress the damp turf.  For
a moment I imagine it is wet with his blood but it is only the
dew.  In a week or so the grass will regrow over the burned areas
and there will be nothing to mark his passing.  I wave my
detector about once more but even now his aura is fading from
this place.
     Turning it up as high as it can go, I notice a the faintest
glow in one direction.  If it weren't for the fog blocking the
light I might not have noticed it.  Just to be sure I'm not
picking up the last vestiges of Nephrite's death, I step a few
yards away and try again.  Yes, I'm definitely getting a faint
reading bearing to the north.  Pulling a compass out of my
pocket, I make note of the heading for future reference.  Despite
the lateness of the hour, I transform again and set off in that
direction.
     I don't know what I'll find but I run for over an hour
toward my goal straight and true, as the crow flies. 
Occasionally, I pause to check again and the reading is stronger. 
Soon, I've left the outskirts of the city behind and am rising up
into the foothills.  Higher and higher I climb until I reach an
old abandoned church hidden away in the piney woods.  A feeling
of dread hangs over the place, as if it what was a sanctuary of
God was now unholy and unnatural.  The mists that envelop the
place make it eerie and surrealistic.  From the pristine stained
glass windows comes a strange blue glow of eerie diffuse light.
     Overcoming my trepidation, I try the door.  Its hinges creek
open loudly announcing a new supplicant has come to this house in
search of something.  Fearing ambush, I dart inside but the place
is deserted.  The pews are gone, with but a few scatted flinders
of wood are scattered across the floor.  Save for the altar, the
chapel is completely empty.  Strangely, the light emanating from
the window casts itself down on the altar like a spotlight.  By
some form of unearthly magic, the light seems to be coming from
within the window itself.
     Turning away from this wonder, I start to investigate the
rest of the church.  Climbing into the upper levels, I discover a
room that shows some signs of habitation.  A few bottles of
whiskey and other liqueurs along with a couple of shot glasses
sit on a table in the center of the room.  Yes, it looks like the
Professor was here all right.  A little chuckle escapes me when I
spot the sales brochure from a Ferrari dealership in the trash. 
Shaking my head, I remember how I destroyed his sports car.  I
guess Nephrite never got around to collecting the insurance.
     Searching through the dresser near the window, I discover
something completely unexpected: a small book that looks like a
journal.  Along with the book are a number of strange looking
quartz like crystals.  Excited by my find, I reach out to take it
and...  FOOM!

     I wake up later to find I've been blown out the window and
into a pine tree outside the church.  Carefully, I adjust my
position until I'm straddling a branch and leaning against the
trunk.  Luckily the tree caught me, otherwise that three story
drop to the stony ground below would have hurt.  For a moment, I
just hang there taking stock of my condition.  Surprisingly,
there are no broken bones and only a few small cuts from flying
debris.
     It's a good thing as... as...  I shake my head and for a
moment as I try to recall... I can't remember who I am!  My
memory is gone!  Terrified by that more than my precarious
position, I struggle to recall anything.  Then, in a rush, it all
comes back to me.  I take a deep breath and wipe the sweat from
my brow.  Damn!  Nephrite had both a ward of forgetfulness as
well as an explosive glyph one on top of the other protecting his
journal.  If I hadn't had my memory compartmentalized into so
many separate lifetimes I'd have been reduced to a gibbering
vegetable.  Despite my mental defenses, I still can't remember
the lifetime previous to the Bob Davis one.
     Determined to at least get something for my pains, I jump
back inside to try and recover the journal again.  I pick through
the splintered remains of the chest searching for the book.  I
recover a few of the unbroken crystals and at last find the small
tome again.  Thankfully, it's still intact.  Fearful that there
is yet another ward on it, I hesitate to touch it again. 
Finally, I snatch it up and nothing happens.  Apparently I've
discharged all the wards.  Almost anticlimactically, I simply put
it in my pocket.  Now that I have this treasure, I look around me
fearfully.  I'd better get out of here, some youma might come
upon me and I've gotten about all I can from this place.
     Striking out from the church, I head for some railroad
tracks I crossed while getting here.  When the station is in
sight, I transform back to Robert Davis and walk up to the ticket
booth.  Purchasing a ticket, I stand and wait for the early 5:55
to arrive and take me back to Tokyo.
     While I'm waiting, I take out the journal and examine it. 
Its bound in the skin of some reptile that I don't recognize and
the pages are of an odd, onionskin-like paper.  I hesitate a
second before opening it, not afraid of more spells but reluctant
to violate my friend's privacy.  Finally, curiosity gets the
better of me and I open it.  Nephrite's neat, familiar
handwriting graces the pages.  The language is a form of devolved
Arcadian but I can still make it out.  I flip to the last few
entries and start to read.


"Berylsday, Metallium 21, y.e. 2055:  The wolves are gathering. 
With Jadeite purged and my own position imperiled the high youma
jockey to find favor in Beryl's eyes..."

Jadeite purged?  That passage depresses me immensely.  Though I
knew when he stopped appearing to fight the Senshi that something
bad had happened to him, I sort of hoped that maybe he had just
been demoted or imprisoned or something.  I've lost another of my
friends to Beryl and I didn't even know it.  I read the entry
further.

"  ...Magnesite is the most likely choice.  Beryl was both
impressed and amused by his method of removing Sailor V from
Tokyo though she seems puzzled by the odd manner of dress and
speech he has affected of late.  As am I.  This could be to my
advantage as all Magnesite's success in having Sailor V chase
imaginary threats rests squarely on the shoulders of his deputy.  
Neither of them know he is my son.  Perhaps it is time to exert
the right of bloodline and claim him.  He would be a useful
agent, experienced both with Earth and confounding senshi.  Were
it not for her inclinations and their being half siblings he
would make an excellent match for my pupil.  Or is it already to
late for me?  I need a triumph or I fear I will soon join
Jadeite."

     Son?  Siblings?  So Nephrite has children, eh?  I smile at
the thought of my friend being a father then the full
implications of what I just read hit me.  Nephrite saw his son as
little more than a useful tool.  If his son spent this time
misleading Sailor V then he's just as twisted, if not more so,
than Nephrite was.  What about this disciple daughter of his? 
She's probably being groomed for much the same thing: to be used
in a scheme against Earth.  My God, they're all corrupted and
evil.  I rub my eyes in weariness and curse Beryl aloud.  My
utterances cause several of the commuters on the platform to edge
away from the crazy gaijin.
     A blast of the arriving train's horn starts me back to the
present.  By luck, the doors stop directly in front of me and I
find a seat on the early train.  The railroad car quickly fills
to capacity with commuters even at this early hour.  I surprise
the other people no end when, after the car becomes jam packed, I
politely offer my seat to a lady who is standing there struggling
with an armload of books.  She's in her late twenties with
reddish brown hair and appears to be, a teacher, judging by the
number and type of volumes she carries.  She nods gratefully as
she takes the seat.  After the train starts up again, I page to
the very last entry of Nephrite's journal and read some more.


"Sinday, Berrilum 14, y.e. 2055:  Beryl is almost at the end of
her patience.  My failure to recover the human energy in
significant quantities puts my position in jeopardy.  The energy
extracted from Naru's strong emotions (her lover for me?)
placated Beryl only for a s