Antonio Cabañas
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MoonGate, Part 1: Ancient Moon, Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2018-06-06 17:08:23 +0000 UTC Disclaimer: Sailor Moon created by Naoko Takeuchi and owned by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. Stargate is property of MGMSpoilers: Sailor Moon to the end of the Dreams arc in the manga (that means, for those who only know Sailor Moon from the anime, to roughly the sixth episode of Sailor Moon Stars). Stargate mid-to-late 5th Season.
Author note: I'll be drawing the background for Sailor Moon from both manga and (original) Anime. That doesn't mean that I won't draw from other sources (live action series, musical, videogames, etc.)
A.N. 2: I would appreciate feedback on the story, on how could be improved, or in things that I have gotten wrong.
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A NID secret base. Somewhere in the USA
The Colonel stepped out of the lift, returned the salute of the guard, and went toward the lab section where a fifty-ish blonde scientist, the woman who he had handpicked to be the head of the project, was running toward him.
"Colonel Simmons!" said the scientist, slightly out of breath, as her superior got near enough "We didn't expected you this soon."
"I wanted to know the progress of the project, doctor, and if it could be accelerated." Said Simmons curtly. Seeing the quizzical expression in the doctor's face, he added in a low enough voice that only the doctor could heard him "There had been some problematic developments, and we may need your work earlier than we anticipated."
The doctor nodded, understanding that he was referring to the SGC, and guided the colonel to one office, with a big crystal window, from where they could overview the work that they were doing in the lab below. Simmons looked briefly as one technician passed between the equipment with a container full of some kind of pink goop, which seemed to move on its own accord inside the container. His attention returned to the doctor as she coughed to call his attention.
"Let's start with the easier part, doctor. Cybernetic enhancements." Said Simmons "From your last report I understand that the result have been promising."
"Yes, sir. But we seem to have hit a snag. Apparently the type of cybernetics developed by the professor, tend to cause some kind of neural feedback that result in brain damage." Said Walsh "From his notes, apparently he was aware of this, but he was somehow sure that his test subject would not suffer that problem." She added, with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"And you want to get your hands on her, to see what makes her tick." he sighed "Doctor, while I agree those aliens need to be studied, this is not the right time yet. In a couple months, maybe, but just right now is not possible. Let that matter rest for now, doctor."
Recognizing her defeat, she nodded and asked.
"I suppose that the next item are the biological constructs, aren't they?"
"Yes, what have happened with them?" said Simmons "You said that you had hit a wall in your last report, but apparently you seem to have that part of the project underway."
"Oh, that?" she said smiling, and with a small note of pride in her voice "We had a stroke of luck, for a change. As you said, we had hit a wall, but checking old notes, we discovered that he based the biological constructs in his previous genetic research. Once that we knew that, and his obvious lunacy notwithstanding, we were able to work with his notes and what we managed to recover from the destroyed lab, managing to replicate the creation process."
"How advanced is the production process?" asked Simmons
"We have already produced one hundred and twenty specimens already. Also, we are looking at ways to automate the process, so we could be doing a few hundreds a week." said the doctor, smiling broadly.
"Good work, doctor." Said Simmons and the asked the question that the scientist had been fearing "And the bonding process?"
"That is still a work in progress, and our luck have been worse in that regard." she honestly admitted, though the smile was gone now "Apparently the few successes that the Professor had in a perfect bonding were a matter of luck, rather than any particular process that he used. There are some notes that talked about psychological and physiological preparation of the subjects, but by that point..."
"Yes, I have seen the report." he interrupted her, grimacing. He had sent a man to investigate what Tomoe had been doing with the money that the NID had given him, through cutouts, to the professor. They never found all his body parts. "Could we use the result of imperfect bonding in any way, at least?"
"In my opinion, they would make excellent cannon fodder, sir." said the doctor, passing her hand through her short hair "They're dumb as a post, but extremely resilient and aggressive. The problem would be to get them not to attack our own people."
"That is our problem, not yours." said the Colonel, who then added "In your opinion, could we use one of the test subjects of the cybernetic implants in the bonding process?"
"It is possible, we speculated that the physiological preparation referred to the cybernetic implants, but according to the notes only one of his experimental subjects needed that process, due to prior injury." said the doctor "It would be worth a try, though."
"I'll leave now, I have to be in Washington in a few hours, doctor W…, excuse me, Doctor Erickson, I forgot that you just went back to your maiden name." Simmons said.
“It was time." she said without elaborating
“Pretty well, I expect a full report in my table tomorrow morning." Simmons said, turning back to the lift.
"You'll have it, sir." Said the scientist. "I'll include the possible ways that we have devised to automate the production, as well as possible ways to control the imperfect bonding specimens, and if we have it, the first result of the bonding in a cybernetically augmented subject... "
Simmons curtly nodded and went through the corridor, leaving Maggie Erickson to her thoughts.
'Soon, Souichi, soon.' She thought 'The world will know of your genius.'
Simmons stepped out of the lift to the decrepit Air Force installations that served as a cover for the NID base. It was a very "black" operation, so, fortunately, not even his superiors knew where this installation was located, and they didn't know, in detail, what was being done here. And, of course, no paper trail anywhere that pointed to this location, or so he hoped. If he had learned something of the Maybourne debacle, was to not leave a paper trail in his more controversial operations.
Once back in his plane, he mentally checked the operations in course, and silently cursed Maybourne. Not many people knew that there were two sides in the NID: the people who, like him, were not afraid to do what was necessary, and the pussies who were. Just now his side was in control of the Agency, but Maybourne's exposure had given weapons to the other side to attempt to wrestle control from his people. Fortunately Maybourne failures hadn't exposed his own operations, although his failure to capture the alien who had followed that blonde bitch through the gate had cost him some points.
'But those Senshi in Japan are going to be a good replacement.' He chuckled darkly 'Since we started with this project, doctor Erickson had wanted to get her hands on them, for what she calls 'a thorough study'. And if the negotiations with Conrad go ahead, that bitch will follow the same road.'
Under the Moon Palace.
While they were walking through the corridors of the upper underground level, Pluto's mind was firing all cylinders trying to decide what to do, about the obvious danger that the off-world sojourns of the Americans had unleashed. She knew how the princess would see it, signing in without thinking... No, that wasn't fair to her. She would think about it, but she would do what her heart would dictate, trying to help, while scolding the Americans for having ended in that mess.
And that's why she was wavering. They needed to know more about this operation. Judging by the people that they had here, they were good people, but she knew from bitter experience that good people could do bad things if they thought that it was worth it. And she had the uncomfortable feeling that to some people, try to gain access to the power that they wielded would enter that definition, although... you had to start trusting somewhere.
"Well, here are we, Miss..." Said Mason, interrupting her thoughts, as they entered the Gate room.
"Pluto, call me Pluto." Said Pluto.
"You know, you are hitting a good deal of the points of the superhero genre. Aloof, mysterious, an obvious alias..." teased Karen, while Mason rolled up her eyes, suppressing ruthlessly a bit of irrational jealously.
Giving her a brief smile, Pluto got ahead of them, a gesture that made Mason lift slightly her weapon, in case she had to train her weapon on her in a moment.
"What are you doing?" asked Mason, a bit alarmed
"What I told you earlier, I hope to get the Porta in working order, and then you can be in your way." Said Pluto, very calm. "And while are on this, we can talk."
"I can't..." started to say Mason, but she stopped as Pluto reached the console, and put her hand on it, bringing it back to life.
"How...?" started to say Karen, when all the pieces fit in a big picture "Oh, my God, you are an Ancient!." Said Karen
"Ancient? Hmmm, well I could see how we could have been called that, given that we predate current Humanity by several million years." said Pluto, as she read the error code that the console was giving. She frowned and knelt, opening a hatch on its base "Damn, one of the control crystals is gone. "
Karen looked to Sailor Pluto in awe. Since she started to work in the SGC she had assumed that the Senshi were a group of advanced humans, Hok'tar as the Goauld called them, but seeing that at least one of them was an Ancient make her question how it could be possible.
'Damn, I'm gonna have to pay fifty bucks to Sally.' thought Karen, her mind going back to the only other fan of the Senshi that she knew on the SGC, Doctor Sally Monterosso, from Computer Sciences, with whom she had bet fifty dollars about the nature of the Senshi.
Together, they had sent several memos about contacting them in order to get their help against the Goa'uld, but there hadn't been any answer, probably having been punted into the paper basked by some hidebound bureaucrat. As if sensing her thoughts about her, Sailor Pluto looked back at the Japanese-American scientist.
"I know that you have many questions, but I can't answer them just now." Said Pluto, making an apologetic gesture "I have to consult with my partners, the other Senshi, in this matter." She paused, and sighed again "And we can't call with this Porta, somebody removed one of the control crystals."
"And why don't you give us a ride back on your spaceship?" said Mason, and seeing her expression, she asked "You have an spaceship, right?".
"No, Major, I don't have an spaceship, Major." Said Pluto "I... teleported here, and unfortunately, I can't carry anybody with me, it's pretty dangerous for normal humans." Only the other Senshi could come with her through her portals. Normal humans couldn't be exposed without protection to the energies that ran through the Time Vortex.
"You teleported here, all by yourself? How does that work?" said Karen, clearly excited about the possibilities before reining herself in "I mean... one moment"
She stopped talking, as an idea had started to take form in her mind.
"Pluto, you mentioned that you couldn't carry normal people. But, do electronics survive the travel?" asked Karen.
Pluto looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered.
"I think so, but even if I'm wrong, there are ways to accomplish that." answered Pluto. "What's your idea?"
"Well, I'm sure that Sam could McGyver some subspace transmitter or something like that with what we have here, but I'm just a Astrophysicist whose hobby is Archeology." Karen said, while producing an small digital recorder from a pocket, not noticing the look that Pluto gave her when she mentioned Sam. "But I have become used to take notes when I'm in the field."
Pluto looked at the recorder with interest, it was small enough to fit in a pocket of her civilian clothes, so there would be no damage to it, if she changed back for a moment and then back.
"What are you planning, exactly?"
"Well..." she gave a meaningful look to Martha "I think that I need to talk with my friend for a moment, before I can continue."
"I'll stay here, and I won't eavesdrop." Said Pluto, suppressing a startled reaction as she felt that the timeline was becoming even more muddled than before. 'Oh, shit. I have call the others, NOW!' she thought.
Pluto kept an eye on the other women as they walked down the corridor, while she sat on the platform where the Gate was placed and activated her communicator silently.
"Pluto here, don't answer, it is not secure." Said Pluto in a voice low enough to not be heard outside the room "Assemble all of the Senshi, including Chibi Moon and Saturn, and use Sailor Teleport to come to the Moon Palace, as soon as you can. If you have heard it, press two times the alarm button." She breathed in relief as the symbols of Uranus, Neptune, and surprisingly Mars appeared, acknowledging the message. "See you." she said and cut the communication. 'Now to wait.'
A bemused Martha followed Karen down the corridor, until they entered one of the empty rooms, leaving the door open to keep an eye on Pluto.
"So what is your latest brainstorm?"
"She goes to Earth, call the SGC and play the message that we record on the phone. Simple, isn't it?" Karen said "The question is: who to call?."
"Hmm, there is a Public Information Office number for the Deep Space Telemetry program cover..."
"Oh, yes." she said, raising her hand to her face "When I joined SGC they talked me about it. If any of us found something that could be related to the SGC in a public venture, there was a number set in case we couldn't find a secure phone. And the problem is what to tell her. Obviously we can't tell too much about the SGC"
"I thought that you would desire to be as open and frank with her as possible."
"I'm not an idiot, Martha." Karen retorted "Besides, you heard her, she had already guessed a good deal of what we do. I think we should tell her enough to give an outline of our problems with the Goa'uld, so she will be better disposed to us. And while she is not the leader, I'm pretty sure that Sailor Moon values her advice"
"I would say to wait until we make contact with the SGC to ask permission, but we really can't."
"Not necessarily. She may agree to call again at a later hour, record the answer and bring it back." Karen said
"I'm not happy with this, but I can't think of anything else." Martha said with a sigh "We are way out of our depth."
"Do you think that I don't know that?" said Karen "This is the crap that is usually managed by the SG-1, but they aren't here, we are." she sighed and looked away, before starting to speak again "So, what we do, then?"
"What you suggested." Said Mason "Now, let's go to talk with her."
Cheyenne mountain, a few hours later.
Jacob Carter, wearing his Air Force uniform, strode through the corridors of the base. He was thinking about what Major Davies, the officer who had come to collect him in Peterson, after managing to squeeze a bit more speed from the hyperdrive, and arriving earlier than planned, had told him. Basically, it had been a briefing about the situation that had made Samantha unable to collect him. After Davies had finished, he considered the unasked question in the briefing and assured Major Davies that if the missing personnel turned to be unable to reach the Stargate, he would use the Tel'Tac to assist any rescue operation that would be mounted.
After a quarter hour walking through the corridors he finally arrived at his destination, his daughter's lab. He stayed on the doorway, looking as she was checking something in the computer, while taking a glass of water, pretty absorbed in her work. And as always when she was so absorbed, she was rubbing the pendant that her mother bought for her in her eleventh birthday. Curious, he tried to see what she was looking in the screen.
'Hmm..., it looks like seismic records... odd' he thought, but decided that it was probably related to the current crisis.
"Sam?" he said, knowing from long experience that she hadn't noticed his entry
Sam looked back, startled, which prompted a smile in his father's face. It was the same expression that she had when she had been eight and had caught her with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Dad!" she exclaimed, smiling and running to hug her father. "I'm sorry for not having been able to go to get you at Patterson, but with all this mess..."
"I understand, kiddo. A few ops went pear-shaped in my time." Said Jacob, grimacing at those memories "In fact..."
A phone ring interrupted him. With an apologetic smile, Sam answered it.
"Major Carter answering...Yes, sir...Through there?... Sir, it is authentic?... Colonel O'Neill is not going to like that, sir... All right, sir. Where are they?...THE MOON!? How is that fu... I mean, how is that possible?... Oh...Yes, he is here..." said Carter to the phone and then passed the phone to his father "It's General Hammond, we have received news of them from a third party, and we have managed to authenticate it. They ended in..."
"The Moon, I heard. I suppose that I'm going back to space shortly. And I would love to hear how they managed to get the message here without alerting half of the planet." Said her father taking the phone, and noticing the Tylenol blister in the table "Hi, George...I have heard...You have my full collaboration in this matter...So when do we take off?"
TO BE CONTINUED...
