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Ice Squared
by Lerris
Smith
It was not as if outer space was any more far fetched than the magical kingdoms and people that Ranma had been involved in, usually as a result of an attempt to protect or save his youngest daughter. He still could not understand why that had not worked out, although he was greatly beginning to fear that all of their pushing may have had the opposite effect. Both were exceedingly stubborn. For that matter, all of his daughter's were, each in her own way. They were, first and foremost, their mother's daughters.
He was a bit surprised not to be able to summon any tears today, but then tears normally came so easily to him, that perhaps the solemnity of the occasion denied him their small comfort. He knew he would be in tears now if Nabiki were truly lost. Saotome and him had drank far too much during the time she was sick and, in the end, it had not helped one bit.
In hindsight, he could see where he had made the mistake, well one of the mistakes. They had truly believed that Akane and Ranma would be happy and when Genma pointed out that Nabiki was no longer a Tendo, something irrational crawled to the surface. They had worked so very hard to see the Tendo and Saotome legacies united as one, and somehow seeing it all on the verge of being ruined by the development of a relationship between a Saotome and a Mizuno caused that mess.
Still, he was glad this farce of a funeral was coming to a close. In his eyes, his second daughter was alive, and the details were irrelevant. The look in her eyes when she yanked Ranma away from his mother and her crazy ideas about honor, was all the proof he needed. He had seen those eyes before on Nabiki, although it was a glare he remembered far more vividly from when Kimiko directed it at him. No, there were no doubts there at least. That Nabiki was his daughter, and he wished her the best of luck with Genma's son, no matter what her last name was.
Genma was another matter. He had not been seen since the incident, but then worrying about being called to honor his end of a Seppuku contract likely had something to do with it. Of Nodoka, no word had been heard, and she had not come to the funeral either. A few of her daughter's friends had stopped in briefly, although he found it a bit odd that they all wanted to look around Nabiki's room for something they had loaned or some such. He politely declined, since dealing with an angry Nabiki just wasn't something he wanted to do. Perhaps the greatest surprise had been Tatewaki Kuno. He said nothing, and only left a single white rose in memory. All in all, he seemed altogether sane during that brief time, which, from what he had heard of the boy, was downright odd. Yes, he would be glad when this day was over.
The man had graying hair, yet the simple way he had it brushed back combined with the determined set of his face gave him somewhat of a commanding presence. He wore a white button up shirt and charcoal gray pants. A pair of black shoes sat not far away and the tail end of gray socks could be seen under the desk. On the desk, the man began to write in the thick book.
“In the event any historians find this writing, they should know that I chose to use pen and paper, and not out of any fear of the goverment's monitoring programs catching on to the existence of what they would interpret as seditious work. Of course, of late, the later is a real concern.”
“They say that empires rise and empires fall, and I suppose the end of this one will come eventually too, but it is so hard to spend your entire life working towards a goal and to achieve that goal, only to see it disintegrate around you. It all began almost a fifteen years ago when the Empress gave birth to her first child. Six months later the she was dead. I should have suspected then, but the medical checks revealed nothing. Of course, some poisons did not show up on medical tests. The emperor was distraught over the lose of his wife and began to leave more and more details to his advisers and the council of emirs. It seemed a small thing at the time and something that I can now only see in hindsight.”
“I suppose the event that most triggered my distrust was the death of the emperor about five years ago. Once again there was no proof of anything, although some wondered. Very few spoke, yet I still do not know what happened to a few of my friends that did. By this time, the emperor's son Taran was very good friends with the sons and daughters of the current council members. I suppose the thing I really should have picked up on, was all the talk of glory and of divine right the boy was raised on, yet I said nothing, and, perhaps, that is why I am still alive.”
“So now the empire our ancestors built has once more set forth with the goal of expansion, except it no longer is the peaceful expansion brought upon by worlds wishing to join us, but the forced expansion brought on by the greed of the emirs. I do wish I knew who was responsible and who just took advantage of the situation. At least, if I knew that, I could likely manage to kill one of them, although it would likely be the last service I could do for my dead friend. For now, all I can do is write down my thoughts in the hope that the truth will be brought to light one day, but then I will have a lot of time to write now, for you see today is the day I retired, a full four years before I expected to. It seems that even the position of chief historian has some value when it comes to rewarding friends.”
“My greatest hope is that the young emperor can be saved, yet I dearly fear that is not to be the case. He was a good boy I think, yet after so many years of their guidance I very much fear that he can never be the just ruler I had hoped he would be.”
Hotaru smiled. She always liked being held in her Papa's arms, even if she was kinda big for it anymore. There was another reason to smile though. Hotaru did not entirely understand all of what Usagi had done, but Ranma was linked to them now, and that was enough for a smile. Perhaps Ami, or rather Nabiki did have a claim to him, but it seemed likely that he would live a very long time so who could say what the future might bring? She supposed she was kidding herself, since they were married now and, for better or worse, stuck with each other. Then again, soul bonds weren't everything, as demonstrated by Mamoru's on again off again relationship with Usagi. Now there was one subject that was never ever to be spoken of.
On her way out, she grabbed a glass that was left on the table. A quick trip to the nearby bathroom and she was armed and ready. She eyed the slightly steaming cup as if estimating how much water was in it, and then carefully started to pour it on her female husband's hair and side. Finally, when about two thirds of the water in the cup was left, Ranma's hair shifted from red to black. Nabiki smiled and sat the cup down.
With a small smile, she said very softly, “So not even hot water will wake you when you want to sleep huh? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I know your ability to ignore even cold water when sleeping has caused Akane no end of frustration. Well, I suppose I shall have to resort to more interesting measures. We are married after all, if much sooner that I would have ever expected.”
She leaned down and brushed some wet hair back off his forehead before giving him a very soft kiss on the lips. His eyes instantly snapped open, before registering who was there and relaxing. When his eyes closed again, and he stopped responding to the kiss, Nabiki just knew that he had fallen back to sleep on her, so she intensified the kiss, and just for good measure held his nose shut before starting a mental countdown.
On four his eyes opened in panic as he reached to pull Nabiki's right hand away so he could breath. He said, “What the heck?”
“I had to get your attention somehow.” She was sorely tempted to mention that he had fallen asleep when she was trying to kiss him, but really, he had been through a lot lately, so she would forgive him, this time. She said softly, “Hurry and get ready. We will likely be needed soon.” All, in all, it was a lousy start to a honeymoon, but then, it didn't really feel like they were married yet.
The only alternative to a meta psychology based phase drive, that she was aware of, used as its power source a micro black hole, and while that technology allowed for travel through hyperspace at speeds that could match what Swordbreaker herself could achieve, the necessity of using something so insanely dangerous such that a rupture in the engine core could destroy any nearby planets made it more of an intellectual curiosity than anything useful. It also required a reactor vessel many times larger than Swordbreaker just to contain the engine core.
No, the more she thought about it, this had to be something else. It was almost as if they had found a way to travel in a different kind of hyperspace, one that, once entered required no special effort to stay inside of, else what would be the point of a gate? Still, after discussion, their original goal remained unchanged. That gate had to be destroyed, in the hope that it would at least delay further ships coming to this part of the universe. There was also the vague hope that this group was unrelated to the other group that had invaded Pluto, but it seemed that no one really believed that. Peaceful envoy's rarely brought so many ships.
A little time passed, and Canal finally broke the silence when she said, “Secondary psi systems online. Activating full wavelength camouflage. No active sensor scans have touched Swordbreaker and the partial camouflage I had active before was probably enough to prevent us from being noticed. We will be unable to change course or speed from this point on without greatly increasing the odds of being noticed. We will be ready to launch the probe for Minako's plan once we get within range.”
Nabiki smiled at the last. Minako's idea was a good one, even if it did come from some old sci-fi movie. It had the added bonus, that if it failed, they would still have the opportunity of surprise. After all, when facing what looked to be impossible odds, playing fair was just stupid.
About an hour later, Canal said, “I found them on passive sensors. They are still near what must be the entrance to the gateway. I'll transfer the image to the main view screen.” Everyone looked up at the collection of ships as Canal continued, “I count 34 ships. Two of the ships are clearly capital ships and are large enough that they may have the capacity for planetary bombardment. Twelve of the ships are the same type as the pair Kia and I fought. The rest seem to be a random collection of ships, most of which are smaller than Swordbreaker.”
Mercury said, “Assuming the answer to the probe is as we expect, what would you recommend Canal?”
Canal's expression was grim when she replied, “The odds are bad. I suspect the capabilities of the random ships are mostly not in Swordbreaker's class, but there could easily be exceptions. The dozen that match the pair that nearly destroyed me, and did lead to Kia's death are an extreme threat. While their shielding could not stand up to Swordbreaker's main weapons systems, their weapons were also highly effective in taking down our shield before. I have hopes that with the pair of you that it will not be the case this time, but there are a lot more ships now. The two capital ships may be a serious threat as well, but we are likely far more maneuverable than them.”
They discussed tactics with the time they had left. It was, in the end, a desperate plan, but one Canal thought had a better chance of success than what she herself had tentatively planned. Minako's idea would still be used which was neither good nor bad, although the part of the plan that involved her captain concerned her a great deal. The time for debate had passed though. It was time to implement the plan.
Canal said, “Swordbreaker will be arriving at the asteroid we have designated in ten minutes.”
Saturn said, “It is time for us to go then.”
Kasumi said, “I'm going too.”
Mercury said, “Why would you want to go? I can understand Venus, because her one attack can work in space, and of course Neptune wants to go to help protect Saturn, and Ranma needs to pilot the shuttle, but why you?”
Kasumi said, “I had a dream of this. It just felt like I had to go, as if Ranma will need me or something.”
Mercury turned to Pandora who shrugged and said, “It is not as if she will be any safer staying here, and I don't mind.”
Canal said, “Remember that, although that shuttle is outfitted with the field generators necessary to generate a psi barrier and the full wavelength cloak, it has no weapons systems, and even the Psi barrier is vastly underpowered due to the smaller engines and limited space. I cannot guarantee that it would survive any direct hits.”
Pandora said, “But you think that what they did before to me will help?”
Canal said, “I hope so. I will be dividing my presence between here and the shuttle so neither will have my full attention.”
Pandora said, “Okay guys. Let's get going then.”
Pandora, Neptune, Kasumi, and Saturn started to move towards the door, but paused when Pluto said, “In ages past the Moon Kingdom has fought only a handful of great space battles. Win or lose, I think today will be added to that list. I doubt many of you remember the last hours of the Silver Millennium, yet those events are one thing I cannot forget. Serenity said a few words before our last battle. I have only told them to others one time, yet they live on in what became an Egyptian blessing.” She looked each of the departing crew members in the eye and said with a reverent voice, “May God stand between you and harm, in all the empty places where you must walk.”
Kasumi, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon, and Sailor Mars said a quiet, “Amen,” before Pandora and the others left to go to the shuttle.
A few minutes later Canal said, “They are away. Their cloaking system is functioning normally and they are twenty minutes from their designated position. We can proceed with the rest of the plan anytime.”
Jupiter said, “I'm opening the electromagnetic rails now. The probe is in position and is away. It should be in position when they are.”
Uranus said, “I'm heading for the first target.”
Canal said, “Remember that you must try to do all your maneuvering behind the asteroid and be in unpowered flight once we leave its cover.”
Uranus nodded before Pluto said, “The psi barrier and the electromagnetic cloak are operating normally.”
Mercury said, “All is well here. I can feel the drain more sharply since Ranma left, but it is okay.”
Canal said, “The psi energy backup system is at 100 capacity. All weapons systems are online and at near top efficiency. There are five shells for the leap rail cannon.” Canal privately wished Ranma was here, but he was needed where he was. He could fly the shuttle, and to a large degree defend it. Still, the other part of their plan seemed unbelievable.
Pandora asked, over the suit intercoms, “Is everyone ready?”
Kasumi said, “I'm ready, although there is not much I can do.”
Neptune said, “I'm ready as well. I'll do my best to highlight dangers to the ship for you.”
Venus said, “Saturn and I are in position on top of the shuttle. I'm not in Saturn's class, but I'm ready.”
Saturn said simply and quietly, “I was born for moments like this.”
Canal said, “The probe will be activating in ten seconds.”
Mercury nodded and focused her attention on the screen. She had slipped the piloting interface over her arm, but she could do little with it. There just had not been time to learn, although at least the shuttle they took had the same interface installed so Pandora could make use of her training.
On the screen appeared an image of a red haired young woman who Nabiki now knew to be Canal's previous captain. Her words were strange. According to Canal, she had setup the transmission to be sent in every language she knew, which was quite an extensive list. The translation appearing on the screen said, “Greetings. I welcome you to this star system, and would like to inquire as to your purpose for visiting this corner of the universe.”
Fifteen seconds later the image cut off, as the probe was blown out of existence.
Pandora said, “That looks like our cue.”
Venus said, “Hitting the deck.”
The blackness of space somehow seemed to grow darker as dark purple energy began to writhe and coalesce around Saturn's seifuku. The Silence Glaive became to take on an unearthly light as Saturn stood tall and said, “I am the Senshi of Death and Rebirth and by order of my queen do I render judgment!”
Of course, those judged could not hear the words, yet they had the feel of ceremony. The glaive now glowed like the sun with its unearthly light, as did Saturn as her body seemed to take on a violet tinted white light, that was threaded through with blackness. Venus remained pressed down on the top of the shuttle behind Saturn in what she hoped was a safe position. Just the feel of the unnatural energies of the Silence glaive being activated to its true purpose was enough to make Venus want to sick up, but the thought of going back inside was never even considered.
Saturn spun around twice, seeming to gather energy as she spun before finally saying in a shout as she swung the glaive in a quarter circle, “Death Reborn Revolution!” There was no question then of their presence being known, as the line of deadly energy appeared and began to rush towards its intended prey.
Mercury wanted to help, to do something, anything, but right now all she could do was focus, and concentrate on the battle. Concentration increased psi energy flow, or so Canal said. She kept her left hand on the Psi energy regulator. It was at half way now, and Canal had said not to go beyond that point. The strain at this level was already painful, and they had not fired the weapons systems yet.
Jupiter said, “Deploying boost chips. Plasma blaster charging.”
Canal said, “Remember to monitor the readout showing the psychic strain on the pilot. The charged particle lasers are also at your command and do not require psi energy.”
Jupiter nodded, although she had heard it, and read it, so many times before, except then they had expected Pandora to be there, or even Pandora and Mercury together, but then Pandora had her own job. The gage on the screen showed the boost chips had reached their optimum deployment positions, although the wince on Mercury's face might have been sign enough, for those who knew what to look for.
Jupiter said, “Firing Plasma Blast!”
The mass of super energized plasma short forth as Uranus rapidly maneuvered to prepare for the next target.
Pluto said, “Psi barrier at full. Mercury, I'm going to accelerate your personal time now.” She grabbed her staff and pointed the garnet orb at the Senshi of Mercury. A soft violet light shot forth and enveloped her.
To Mercury, everything seemed to slow down, and even the drain on her seemed to be so much less than before.
Canal said, “Impossible! Psi energy output is three times normal.”
Pluto smiled, a grim smile. The strain of maintaining the temporal acceleration field was incredible, and far more than she would have expected, but then her planet was still gone. She said, “I'm not sure how long I can maintain the field.”
On the main viewscreen, the leading edge of Saturn's attack sliced through the giant metal diamond shaped skeleton structure, that they had identified as providing an entrance into hyperspace. The structure exploded and the energy wave that was sent out dwarfed the energy wave from Saturn's attack, which in itself, was designed to destroy planets.
The energy wave of Saturn's attack, the plasma blast, and the wave from the destroyed gate cut through the group of ships. Before they could figure out the outcome, Canal shouted, “Psi barrier to maximum now!” on both ships. She added, “Get inside now!” to Venus and Saturn in the shuttle.
Venus pulled Saturn inside through the open hatch and closed it, but not before seeing what was coming. She let Saturn float as she called on her own power with the words, “Venus Love Me Chain Encircle. Sphere of Hearts.” It was difficult to cast where you could not clearly see, but not impossible. The thin, seemingly frail, chain of hearts spiraled over the outside of the shuttle craft. It was all she could do, but maybe it would help, a little.
Mercury braced herself as the seconds ticked away in her mind. The first launch of the Plasma Blast had taken nearly a third of the reserve, although at least the fusion engines were reporting only 25 utilization. Canal, or whoever built this ship originally, must have really believed in over designing everything they could. It was difficult, but not impossible to understand Canal's slow speech, and the readouts on her laptop confirmed it anyway. She hoped Ranma and the rest were okay, and, of course, it would be nice if everyone survived this.
Mars said, “Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Now!” The wave of super high energy that was used to bridge the gulf to hyperspace impacted and writhed over the barrier. Nabiki looked on with fear as the energy reserve dropped from 73 to 60, to 50, to 40 as the ship shook, yet in the end the barrier held against the kind of power that, from her readings, could destroy planets.
Suddenly the screen cleared, and Nabiki once again ignored the growing pain and concentrated. Pluto's trick was helping a great deal, but she knew it could not be maintained forever. Remembering the temporal field, she forced herself to speak slowly, yet loudly when she said, “We have to hit them again, before they scatter!”
Uranus said, “Right. We are almost in position for the second pass.”
Makoto said, “Firing particle cannons using programmed targets!”
Canal said, “Four type A ships remain, one capital ship, as well as eight other ships.” Canal supposed they would have to come up with a better name for the ships that killed Kia, but not now. Still, that explosion was completely unexpected.
Makoto said, “Opening electromagnetic rails and firing the Leap Rail gun. All shells away!”
A small part of Canal worried about firing shells that twisted hyperspace into a destructive weapon right where they had just destroyed what they had, but there was no going back now.
The shells shot forth and were accelerated by the electromagnetic rails as Mercury saw the energy reserve that she had barely gotten back to 50 drop to 30 as the psi weapon fired. She nudged the control up two notches and tried to hold onto consciousness.
Canal looked Mercury's way as she increased the Psi energy flow. That would have consequences, but then so would dying, and they were committed now.
Mamoru had transformed into Endymion shortly before the battle begun and he now made his way over to Mercury and placed his hands onto the top of her head. He began to glow as he tried to give her as much strength as he could. Sailor Moon looked on her love's selfless actions and the surrounding chaos and summoned the Silver Crystal. She could do nothing for Venus and the others now, and she could not even help Mercury directly, at least not much compared to what Endymion was doing, but she could help Pluto, and, it seemed, that would mean the same thing.
Energy from her gathered in the Crystal, as she said, “Sailor Pluto,” in a soft voice. A ball of warm white energy separated from the crystal and settled into Pluto, even as a smaller string of light tied the two together. The tension in Pluto's form immediately relaxed, and then grew tense again as she realized who was helping her, and how she was being helped. Still, there was no choice. If Mercury were to suddenly have the rate of energy drain increased by her spell failing, it might very well kill her, and then the rest of them would very likely die as well.
It seemed that the longer the battle lasted the slower the psi system recharged. Mercury knew it to be the results of massive fatigue, and despite Endymion and Setsuna's valiant efforts, there were limits and she was reaching them. The readout in front of Mercury had barely returned to 40 when suddenly the barrier was overwhelmed with fire from energy weapons, and, from what she could feel, magical attacks as well. As the first wave impacted the readout dropped to 30 and then 20 and then the next wave hit and suddenly the barrier failed and about a third of the port side electromagnetic rail was blown away.
Canal said, “Major damage to the front port side. Trying to bring the psi barrier back online. One type A ship and eight, no seven other ships remain.” She supposed their was little point in pointing out that one ship was leaving the battle. They might too, if it wouldn't guarantee their deaths. Since the initial explosion of the gate the whole region of space was unstable, and activating the phase drive might well kill them.
Uranus said, “Attempting to lose them. We need time to recover.”
Nabiki winced as the speed poured on. They were back up to 25. She considered upping the limit system more, but it was all she could do now not to pass out, and then presumably the final failsafe would kick in and disconnect her from the psi system. Still, she was a bit surprised that the strain was so much with what Pluto was doing. It hit her then, that the system must measure total stress levels and had already taken the change into account. She prayed that Pluto could maintain the temporal field.
A half dozen more hits came at them, but Haruka and Canal managed to dodge the worst of them, although they did lose two of the maneuvering engines and some of the crew quarters and about a third of the charged particle cannons. Pluto made sure the areas were sealed before Canal said, “Psi Barrier rebooted. Two of the boost chips were destroyed. The psi blaster and some of the canons are still online.”
Mercury noted the readout had recovered to 40. It was thanks to Endymion, Pluto, and even Sailor Moon she knew. She, herself, had already exceeded her own limits.
Jupiter said, “Ready with the psi blaster and particle cannons.”
Uranus maneuvered the ship to line up with the final type A warship, while trying to keep as many of the others as she could in the line of fire.
Jupiter said, “Deploying boost chips. Boost chips in position. Firing. The Psi blaster fired and pulses of high energy devastation annihilated the last ship, while also destroying two of the others. Beams from the particle cannons shot out and destroyed the other five, who lacked the formidable defenses of the others. For that matter, they were probably lucky to have survived this long.
Canal said, “Activating emergency psi system failsafe.” Nabiki slumped in the chair as unconsciousness claimed her. Canal continued with, “No ships are moving under power. I'll take care of the rest. Get some supplies quick and get everyone to the medical room, so I can drop the remaining psi barriers that are holding the air in. I need to save what energy I can.”
Endymion sagged, but allowed his transformation to drop as he held onto the wall. He wanted to help carry Usagi who had also fallen unconscious, but he did not think he could manage it. In the end, Haruka carried Mercury, Rei carried Usagi, and Makoto helped Mamoru to the medical room. A quick trip later by Makoto and Haruka and they had food and drink as well as some clean clothing. While they were gone, Dr. Mizuno and Rei had placed Nabiki and Usagi up on the beds to examine them, while Mamoru just sat in a nearby chair next to Setsuna, who was doing surprisingly well due to the foolish generosity of her princess.
Sounds of the particle weapons firing could be heard, as Canal went through the grim duty of mopping up, to make sure they didn't get killed right after they won. Hino-san placed a few fingers on first Usagi's and then Nabiki's head before saying. Usagi will recover. She is stronger than she looks. I will help Nabiki.
With that he pulled a chair up beside her bed and placed his right hand on her forehead as he began to meditate. For those who had seen it before, it looked much like Ranma's own trick, yet the flow was brighter and disappeared a few minutes later as Rei's grandfather sagged in his chair. Rei shouted, “Grandfather!”
Makoto went over and helped Rei pick him up and lay him on the final bed as Ann came over to look at him. She took his pulse as she checked his eyes. She said, “He is alive. I don't know much else.” She went back over to Nabiki and looked her over again and also looked at the readings on the wall. She said, “Somehow, my daughter is doing better. I was really worried before.”
Her scans had still not turned up what had happened to them, yet she knew that the part of herself that was there was still alive, so she hoped they were too, wherever they were. The data she had collected on the gateway was interesting, and she thought it might be possible to duplicate what it did, but some more study was required. She gave the analysis task as much priority as she could, and dearly wished she was whole again, so she could do it faster. In theory Ranma being lost might have led to her death, especially so soon after the initial bonding, but she thought that Nabiki's presence helped there.
Fortunately, the psi reserves were not completely dry, and she was able to get repairs started, although she would need the help of her temporary captain before long. The whole battle was surprising. They had done more than should have been possible, especially since Ranma had left in the shuttle. Even Nabiki's recovery made little sense. She had been prepared to burn every drop of psi energy remaining to go into her mind and heal the damage, just as soon as she got done making sure there was no one waiting to spring a trap, but then suddenly she felt that the damage was healed. It was all very puzzling. These people were truly incredible when they worked together.
With the current tasks all handled by automated subsystems, she did one final active scan for the ship that got away and was unsurprised to find nothing. She then powered down the secondary reactors. Some of them were damaged anyway, and the main reactors would be adequate to fire the particle canons that weren't destroyed as well as for repairs. Most of the ship was at a near vacuum, and would remain so for at least the next day. It was not so much that it was impossible to fix the leaks sooner, but it was rather that the service robots had a great deal of welding and repairing to do and welding at least, went considerably faster without having to deal with an atmosphere.
Canal disappeared and reappeared in the medical room. She said, “In order to repair the ship as fast as possible you will have to remain here until the repairs are complete.” She paused, but didn't really expect any questions at this point, and was unsurprised not to receive any. She continued with, “I believe the destruction of the gate had an unforeseen side effect. I think that the energy wave released at the gate's destruction swept some of the ships it impacted into hyperspace. Ranma and the others are probably there, and I can dimly sense that Ranma is still alive.”
Usagi had awoken a short while ago, but she remained lying still on the bed. She said weakly, “I think they are all alive. We need to get to them as soon as possible.”
Haruka said, “Hotaru is bound to need help after using her attack.” The worry in her tone was obvious, even though she tried to hide it. Of course, her worry would not just be for her daughter. Michuru was there too, and the thought that she would never feel the touch of the aquamarine tressed woman again had her almost shaking.
Canal said, “There is more. Sometime during the tail end of the battle, one of the smaller ships fled the scene. We were in no position to pursue it then, and aren't now either, but you should know about it. From what I can tell, it should be possible to reopen the gateway into hyperspace at the point of the original gate using the leap rail gun and four modified shells. Unfortunately we have about three days of repairs to complete before that will be possible.”
Setsuna said, “What about the other shuttle? Is it undamaged?”
Canal said, “The other shuttle must be from the group that invaded Pluto. It appears to be in good shape, but it is seems to be pretty ordinary. You would be a sitting target. I don't know if it even has enough fuel to reach Earth.”
Setsuna asked, “Without significantly delaying our departure, could we improve that shuttle any? Something has to be done about that ship.”
Canal smiled before saying, “Something should be possible with your help. We do have all these spare parts just lying around, after all.”
Setsuna thought that the enthusiasm that Canal showed when she mentioned spare parts was perhaps a bit odd, especially considering how they had acquired those parts, but then who would not be enthusiastic about becoming whole again? Makoto frowned as her thoughts went a similar direction, although her's were more focused on the beings in those ships. Somehow she didn't want to find out more about them, yet that decision was taken out of her hands when Usagi, who was still lying on the medical bed, said, “Canal, please find out whatever you can about them. I felt a lot of people out there die today, and we must find out why. If anyone is still alive, well do what you can, but we must get to Hotaru as soon as we can.”
Canal said, “I will do my best. The consoles here can be used much like the other bridge stations. I'll need some volunteers to help look around the other ships and bring back anything useful.”
Setsuna said, “So, just to be clear. The plan is to try to do upgrades to the shuttle and have some people head back to Earth in case that ship heads that way, and the rest of us will go after the others?”
Canal said, “I don't know what I'll be able to do with the shuttle yet, and I still wouldn't fly it all the way to Earth, but then we will be able to use the phase drive long before the Leap rail gun required to get into their version of hyperspace, so dropping the shuttle back off near Earth should not be a problem.”
Usagi summoned the energy to sit up and said, “Thank you Canal.”
Canal nodded and said, “I'll bring the spacesuits and then we can get started on the salvage operation.”